The money is in! Praise Jesus!
Booking my flight this week...writing songs...practicing newer songs...preparing for my classes...
I'm so intensely excited about what God has for me...not just at the end of August, but right NOW.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
promises
I am so blessed by the contributions I have received towards my trip. God is strengthening my faith in what I know He has promised me. I know He is sending me to DIVE school even though I wasn't sure how it would happen.
Last night, I still needed $940 to be able to afford to go.
I sent DIVE school an email updating them on how much money I still needed, but confirmed that God was going to make it happen and that I was ready to book my flight and pay the tuition on my credit card regardless. This was a big step in faith for me...I have always been anxious about money, wary of debt, and have let myself doubt God's provision and promises when things seem financially impossible.
Then, the Lord sent me $500 total in the mail this morning. What an absolute confirmation for my doubting heart! I can almost see him smiling at me..."Do you need me to remind you I've got this one?" YES! Apparently, I do. :-) Thank you, Jesus!
Last night I was working at our church clearing out a neglected storage closet and doing some much needed decluttering. In the process, I discovered some additional valuable equipment...some of it was even brand new, unopened in its original box.
I think this is a good analogy for what I believe DIVE school is going to be for me. I think God has given me an abundance of resources and gifts He wants me to use, but a lot of them have been buried in a closet, or maybe haven't ever been opened yet. That is why I like Rita Springer's vision statement so much--it is God's revelations to our hearts that change our lives, and "if we live changed, our creative expression is limitless."
I also received what I believe to be a prophetic dream over my trip. I dreamed it the same morning I found out I was invited to DIVE school.
In the dream, my hands were bound by strips of cloth that were unwrapped to reveal healing wounds. I was aware that I had received some sort of procedure and that my hands were in the process of recovery. I was asked "what do you see?", and as I looked down at my hands, I noticed one of the wounds was not healing correctly. "This one needs to be redone," I said.
I remember seeing a surgical knife inserted into my unhealthy hand. It wasn't even painful; it was just the process that needed to be done. Afterwards, my hands were rebound and I held them up triumphantly, declaring victoriously, "In the name of Jesus!"
I believe there are things to be revealed and spiritual surgery waiting for me at DIVE school. I know God has something amazing planned and that this is one step in my part in it. I believe Jesus is going to move within His church in BIG ways and I want to be ready for the limitlessness of Him. I want to be in the middle of it when God unleashes His glory upon earth!
Last night, I still needed $940 to be able to afford to go.
I sent DIVE school an email updating them on how much money I still needed, but confirmed that God was going to make it happen and that I was ready to book my flight and pay the tuition on my credit card regardless. This was a big step in faith for me...I have always been anxious about money, wary of debt, and have let myself doubt God's provision and promises when things seem financially impossible.
Then, the Lord sent me $500 total in the mail this morning. What an absolute confirmation for my doubting heart! I can almost see him smiling at me..."Do you need me to remind you I've got this one?" YES! Apparently, I do. :-) Thank you, Jesus!
Last night I was working at our church clearing out a neglected storage closet and doing some much needed decluttering. In the process, I discovered some additional valuable equipment...some of it was even brand new, unopened in its original box.
I think this is a good analogy for what I believe DIVE school is going to be for me. I think God has given me an abundance of resources and gifts He wants me to use, but a lot of them have been buried in a closet, or maybe haven't ever been opened yet. That is why I like Rita Springer's vision statement so much--it is God's revelations to our hearts that change our lives, and "if we live changed, our creative expression is limitless."
I also received what I believe to be a prophetic dream over my trip. I dreamed it the same morning I found out I was invited to DIVE school.
In the dream, my hands were bound by strips of cloth that were unwrapped to reveal healing wounds. I was aware that I had received some sort of procedure and that my hands were in the process of recovery. I was asked "what do you see?", and as I looked down at my hands, I noticed one of the wounds was not healing correctly. "This one needs to be redone," I said.
I remember seeing a surgical knife inserted into my unhealthy hand. It wasn't even painful; it was just the process that needed to be done. Afterwards, my hands were rebound and I held them up triumphantly, declaring victoriously, "In the name of Jesus!"
I believe there are things to be revealed and spiritual surgery waiting for me at DIVE school. I know God has something amazing planned and that this is one step in my part in it. I believe Jesus is going to move within His church in BIG ways and I want to be ready for the limitlessness of Him. I want to be in the middle of it when God unleashes His glory upon earth!
Friday, July 15, 2011
rita
I can hardly believe I am going to Rita Springer's worship school. It is hard to explain exactly how I felt when I first read about it online, but I basically heard God say "GO". As weeks went by, I kept getting confirmations that I was supposed to apply...and so I did, acting in faith that if I was accepted, the money would come in.
I feel honored to be one of the chosen women invited to attend in September, even though I was briefly panicked when I initially found out. (What about work, my classes, the money?) Already it is causing me to trust that yes, God wants me to go, and that yes, I will be going. Instead of worrying how it will all work out, God keeps reassurring me that I need to let Him take care of it and that I should simply be responsible and obey. I can be excited that He has something incredible in store for me in this.
The other thing I feel inside me is a struggle with pride. This is, of course, nothing new, but I find it aggravating that it is distracting me from my purpose. My mind starts dreaming about what doors might open up for me because of this opportunity--which would almost be okay if these thoughts were not self-serving. I am aware of how easy it is to imagine how I was personally chosen by RITA SPRINGER and that we are probably going to be best buddies now...that everyone is going to think I'm amazing and she's going to hook me up with a record label and our church will become famous.
But I really don't want any of that, nor do I believe any of it...nor does it matter! My whole desire for going to this worship school is to dig deeper into worship and into Jesus. I have a lot of questions about my journey into greater freedom and feel that Rita is one of few people able to offer me the exactly what I need.
I have always liked Rita Springer, and the more I know about her, the more I like her. But I also don't want to idolize her even though my respect and admiration for her is so great. I am very hopeful that I will encounter a gifted woman who can challenge me in my spiritual maturity, but I shouldn't be distracted from what Jesus is leading me to discover about myself and Him. Rita is simply a woman who strives to listen and obey the Lord, and her vision is to encourage others to do the same. I don't want to feel either inferior or elevated because of her guidance in this process.
And still the realities of life must also continue on--I still have a job, classes to prepare for, a house to tend to, family and friends to enjoy, artistic creativity to be unleashed, a husband and my own self to care for, and now a trip to prepare for!
I actually have half of the money I need already, and more is still coming in. I can't say I'm surprised, but I am always amazed to see how God works and am so blessed to experience it. Oooh, what next God?
I feel honored to be one of the chosen women invited to attend in September, even though I was briefly panicked when I initially found out. (What about work, my classes, the money?) Already it is causing me to trust that yes, God wants me to go, and that yes, I will be going. Instead of worrying how it will all work out, God keeps reassurring me that I need to let Him take care of it and that I should simply be responsible and obey. I can be excited that He has something incredible in store for me in this.
The other thing I feel inside me is a struggle with pride. This is, of course, nothing new, but I find it aggravating that it is distracting me from my purpose. My mind starts dreaming about what doors might open up for me because of this opportunity--which would almost be okay if these thoughts were not self-serving. I am aware of how easy it is to imagine how I was personally chosen by RITA SPRINGER and that we are probably going to be best buddies now...that everyone is going to think I'm amazing and she's going to hook me up with a record label and our church will become famous.
But I really don't want any of that, nor do I believe any of it...nor does it matter! My whole desire for going to this worship school is to dig deeper into worship and into Jesus. I have a lot of questions about my journey into greater freedom and feel that Rita is one of few people able to offer me the exactly what I need.
I have always liked Rita Springer, and the more I know about her, the more I like her. But I also don't want to idolize her even though my respect and admiration for her is so great. I am very hopeful that I will encounter a gifted woman who can challenge me in my spiritual maturity, but I shouldn't be distracted from what Jesus is leading me to discover about myself and Him. Rita is simply a woman who strives to listen and obey the Lord, and her vision is to encourage others to do the same. I don't want to feel either inferior or elevated because of her guidance in this process.
And still the realities of life must also continue on--I still have a job, classes to prepare for, a house to tend to, family and friends to enjoy, artistic creativity to be unleashed, a husband and my own self to care for, and now a trip to prepare for!
I actually have half of the money I need already, and more is still coming in. I can't say I'm surprised, but I am always amazed to see how God works and am so blessed to experience it. Oooh, what next God?
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