Usually when I write, I let it come from my heart and my mind. This update, I'd like to attempt to describe the curriculum that is changing my heart and my mind. It's a bit of all over the place, because that is where I am right now. Each day.. each HOUR is filled with a million and one lessons to learn from, to absorb, and I'm having a hard time putting it all into sentence format.
God has really drawn together a unique group to make up DTS360. There are 23 students, 8 women and 15 men, ranging in age from 17-32, from Brazil, Canada, France, Russia, Sweden, and USA. Along with the staff nationalities we represent 10 nations. I feel so blessed each and every day as I am greeted by my brothers and sisters in Christ. After much deliberation and prayer, the two outreach teams have been decided. I will be joining the mission to Mexico and Chile, leaving the first week of April. We will be partnering with an organization called Homes of Hope and ministering to people in a practical way to share the good news of Jesus Christ. All the students had been anticipating the final decisions for so long! We were thrilled to see who would be placed together, but have agreed the only situation better than what we've got would have been if all 23 of us could hit all four countries together. Unless the proverb of showing kindness to your enemy to heap burning coals over top his head applies to the devil.... We're seriously ready to karate chop Satan in the face.
Phil Leage is a firecracker of a man of God who comes to our classroom once each week to go over the "Keys for Dynamic Bible Study." He's shared with us the top three approaches to reading and studying our Bibles. The Devotional Approach is good for personal growth, and tends to be a day to day assignment. There is a Deductive Approach, a sort of preconceived scripture application. There are times I've gone to the Word with a thesis, it's common to draw conclusions before reading in context. Here at YWAM, we are being trained to touch the nations, and are studying under the Inductive Approach.
Notes I have on this include:
Friend and DTS Staff Cory Passehl has often said to us, God created 24 hours in a day, and sometimes you need all of them. This phrase rings through my head and I'm almost haunted by it. There are so many things I'm learning and areas I so desire growth in, I need to remember I'm taking baby steps backwards to that childlike faith I was so blessed with as a little girl. I never seem to have enough time for all the scripture passages and faith based books, sharing the gospel with people downtown, volleyball and exercising, making new friends and making sure I call 'home'.. Not to mention then finding the time to journal and in turn, update this new little blog of mine.
I'm loving the place the Lord has called me to be. This statement is not entirely related to my physical location, but Hawaii is indeed beautiful. I'm emotionally raw. Jesus is healing and restoring wounds even I had forgotten about. I'm spiritually renewed each day.
"Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall. My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; the are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
[Lamentations 3:19-23]
At times I feel as though God has lead me out into the wilderness, and it's intimidating, but it means I'm at a point where I am learning to trust Him and not lean on my own understanding. [Proverbs 3:5-6] It was a leap of faith to come here with my pockets turned inside out and place my faith in someone I can't physically see, touch, or hear. I just need to remember that anytime God lead someone into the wilderness He was preparing them for something great. Moses gave up his rights as a Prince to follow God's will. Noah was blistered for his faith, and he had to go into the wilderness numerous times to get all those animals. God gave up His SON, and then Jesus gave up His LIFE. He gave up His rights as the King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, the rights even to kingship on earth... he was born in a barn. This is some of what YWAM founder Loren Cunningham shared with us this week.
Our campus was lucky enough to have Grandpa Loren and wife Darlene as speakers for the entire week! There are three DTS schools here this quarter, near 175 students in total. Each morning session last week, all three schools met in the Ohana Court and had hours of sitting under their guidance and wisdom, hearing amazing stories of what they've seen the Father do in their lifetimes, and vision for what He plans to do throughout all of ours! Love, Faith, Character of God, Giving up rights, and What to do when you don't know what to do were the main topics for the week. I learned I need to submit it all to the cross, including freedom- when God chooses, He chooses the best. If I could open my eyes to more than my selfish desires, I would see a bigger picture. The Lord loves creativity, but any plans I could create, He could blow out of the water. The love language of the Father is obedience. I remember asking my dad when I was growing up, "What do you want for Christmas? What do you want for your birthday? What do you want for Father's day?" For each circumstance, he would reply, "Obedient kids." Unfortunately, I took the easy route in buying a Fleet Farm gift certificate.
Obedience says I trust you. It ways, whatever you ask of me I'll do because I know you're looking out for my best. Abba doesn't want dutiful direction followers, but instead children willing to obey out of a love for Him and His commandments. It doesn't count if you're a robot going through the motions.
When you obey, you will learn joy. We have a generation who is dying for daddies.The world I lived in for a long time replaced joy with entertainment. It was so worthless, empty, unsatisfying. I lived a stale, dull, complacent "Christian" life. My prayer now is for God to transform me into the woman of God I was intended to be; I am not of this world. I am a princess and my Father runs the universe. The wilderness defeated the Israelites but empowered Jesus. Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered. Overall, I'm learning that the Bible is practical. It gives us principles for righteousness. This practical God we serve has given us everything, down to coping with difficult situations, right in His Word.
Kailua-Kona's YWAM base is changing lives and enabling those to get out and change more. At the beginning, it sure sounded like YWAMers were in a wilderness all their own.Darlene told a story of the miracles God lined up to buy this property in Kona alone. Once they did get the property, she jokingly stated, "It was overrun with weeds, and YWAM meant Youth With A Machete." Overrun is no longer the word for the weeds and this spiritual soldier is now armed with a rake and garden spade versus a machete. My outdoor work duty of grounds/gardener is going fantastic and I am finding new ways each day to adore God's creations around me.
I'm trying to get better at doing more than one update a week, but for now I hope you don't mind the random pages of my journals splattered over your web browser.
Blessings to you.
Love from K-Maxx
God has really drawn together a unique group to make up DTS360. There are 23 students, 8 women and 15 men, ranging in age from 17-32, from Brazil, Canada, France, Russia, Sweden, and USA. Along with the staff nationalities we represent 10 nations. I feel so blessed each and every day as I am greeted by my brothers and sisters in Christ. After much deliberation and prayer, the two outreach teams have been decided. I will be joining the mission to Mexico and Chile, leaving the first week of April. We will be partnering with an organization called Homes of Hope and ministering to people in a practical way to share the good news of Jesus Christ. All the students had been anticipating the final decisions for so long! We were thrilled to see who would be placed together, but have agreed the only situation better than what we've got would have been if all 23 of us could hit all four countries together. Unless the proverb of showing kindness to your enemy to heap burning coals over top his head applies to the devil.... We're seriously ready to karate chop Satan in the face.
Phil Leage is a firecracker of a man of God who comes to our classroom once each week to go over the "Keys for Dynamic Bible Study." He's shared with us the top three approaches to reading and studying our Bibles. The Devotional Approach is good for personal growth, and tends to be a day to day assignment. There is a Deductive Approach, a sort of preconceived scripture application. There are times I've gone to the Word with a thesis, it's common to draw conclusions before reading in context. Here at YWAM, we are being trained to touch the nations, and are studying under the Inductive Approach.
Notes I have on this include:
Let scripture speak for itself, What is the author actually saying? ..to whom is the author speaking?There is a 24/7 prayer room on campus, and it has been a great place of refuge for me. It's doors are open when God wakes you up at night with a person or situation to pray for but you know you'll fall asleep praying if you stay in your bed. During a fast, I can't quite handle sitting in the dining area watching my friends eat... gotta love the prayer room. It's pretty common to have live worship, but there are time frames where a soothing playlist is on the speakers and all is calm.
How can we understand it then, now, and forever?
It's not about how you use the Bible, it's what the Bible has to say.
There is no short cut in Bible study. You can't sleep with it under your head and know it, over your heart and wake up living it.. The only way is reading it verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, and praying for understanding.
This means we use structured steps as we read to come closer to the Author of Life.
Pray, Read correctly, Observe (who, what, where, why, when, how), Interpret, and Apply.
Friend and DTS Staff Cory Passehl has often said to us, God created 24 hours in a day, and sometimes you need all of them. This phrase rings through my head and I'm almost haunted by it. There are so many things I'm learning and areas I so desire growth in, I need to remember I'm taking baby steps backwards to that childlike faith I was so blessed with as a little girl. I never seem to have enough time for all the scripture passages and faith based books, sharing the gospel with people downtown, volleyball and exercising, making new friends and making sure I call 'home'.. Not to mention then finding the time to journal and in turn, update this new little blog of mine.
I'm loving the place the Lord has called me to be. This statement is not entirely related to my physical location, but Hawaii is indeed beautiful. I'm emotionally raw. Jesus is healing and restoring wounds even I had forgotten about. I'm spiritually renewed each day.
"Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall. My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; the are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
[Lamentations 3:19-23]
At times I feel as though God has lead me out into the wilderness, and it's intimidating, but it means I'm at a point where I am learning to trust Him and not lean on my own understanding. [Proverbs 3:5-6] It was a leap of faith to come here with my pockets turned inside out and place my faith in someone I can't physically see, touch, or hear. I just need to remember that anytime God lead someone into the wilderness He was preparing them for something great. Moses gave up his rights as a Prince to follow God's will. Noah was blistered for his faith, and he had to go into the wilderness numerous times to get all those animals. God gave up His SON, and then Jesus gave up His LIFE. He gave up His rights as the King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords, the rights even to kingship on earth... he was born in a barn. This is some of what YWAM founder Loren Cunningham shared with us this week.
Our campus was lucky enough to have Grandpa Loren and wife Darlene as speakers for the entire week! There are three DTS schools here this quarter, near 175 students in total. Each morning session last week, all three schools met in the Ohana Court and had hours of sitting under their guidance and wisdom, hearing amazing stories of what they've seen the Father do in their lifetimes, and vision for what He plans to do throughout all of ours! Love, Faith, Character of God, Giving up rights, and What to do when you don't know what to do were the main topics for the week. I learned I need to submit it all to the cross, including freedom- when God chooses, He chooses the best. If I could open my eyes to more than my selfish desires, I would see a bigger picture. The Lord loves creativity, but any plans I could create, He could blow out of the water. The love language of the Father is obedience. I remember asking my dad when I was growing up, "What do you want for Christmas? What do you want for your birthday? What do you want for Father's day?" For each circumstance, he would reply, "Obedient kids." Unfortunately, I took the easy route in buying a Fleet Farm gift certificate.
Obedience says I trust you. It ways, whatever you ask of me I'll do because I know you're looking out for my best. Abba doesn't want dutiful direction followers, but instead children willing to obey out of a love for Him and His commandments. It doesn't count if you're a robot going through the motions.
When you obey, you will learn joy. We have a generation who is dying for daddies.The world I lived in for a long time replaced joy with entertainment. It was so worthless, empty, unsatisfying. I lived a stale, dull, complacent "Christian" life. My prayer now is for God to transform me into the woman of God I was intended to be; I am not of this world. I am a princess and my Father runs the universe. The wilderness defeated the Israelites but empowered Jesus. Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered. Overall, I'm learning that the Bible is practical. It gives us principles for righteousness. This practical God we serve has given us everything, down to coping with difficult situations, right in His Word.
Kailua-Kona's YWAM base is changing lives and enabling those to get out and change more. At the beginning, it sure sounded like YWAMers were in a wilderness all their own.Darlene told a story of the miracles God lined up to buy this property in Kona alone. Once they did get the property, she jokingly stated, "It was overrun with weeds, and YWAM meant Youth With A Machete." Overrun is no longer the word for the weeds and this spiritual soldier is now armed with a rake and garden spade versus a machete. My outdoor work duty of grounds/gardener is going fantastic and I am finding new ways each day to adore God's creations around me.
I'm trying to get better at doing more than one update a week, but for now I hope you don't mind the random pages of my journals splattered over your web browser.
Blessings to you.
Love from K-Maxx