Hello folks! This blog is going to be very long because I have not written one for almost a month now. This month has been incredible! I don't even know where to begin, so bare with me.
Week Six- Faith Dutton spoke on Relationships. Faith talked about how there are only two standards in life, and we make a choice everyday of what standard we are going to live by. We have a choice of going by God's standards (love and humility) or Satan's standards (selfishness and pride). I don't know about everyone else, but I tend to make excuses of my selfishness or pride behavior by saying, "I'm only human or I can't help it." God doesn't set us up for failure, and if he made a standard for his children then we are able to do it. Another thing Faith talked about is how we should not follow our heart, but lead it. If we allow our emotions determined our decisions, we would usually make the wrong choice. Jesus tells our to love our enemies, but we can't do it if we allow our emotions to rule us. We have a choice to respond in a humility or prideful way, but before making that choice, we need to set aside emotions.
Week Seven- This week was "Destiny by Design" and understand the unique calling that God has placed on each and everyone of our lives. This week had been very difficult for me because I never really understood or known what my calling is for my life. I always felt like God was calling me to missions, and that is a big reason why I came to YWAM (Youth With A Mission). I always felt silly when I told people I felt called to be a missionary because I never been on a Mission trip. During this entire week, I wrestled with the concept that God actually might be calling me to be a missionary, but towards the end, I talked to the speaker, Gwen Bergquist, and I to the conclusion that I'm being called to be a missionary and work with children. My personality, interests, dreams, and experiences are design for this call on my life. God made me this way for a reason :)
Week Eight: Thanksgiving week! I hope everyone had an excellent Thanksgiving with family and friends! I'm bummed I couldn't be there with ya'll, but I was still able to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving with my entire class complete with turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pumpkin pie! We had a 3 day lecture on "Spiritual Warfare" and the speakers name is Kristen Williams. I learned a lot about the Holy Spirit and how we should make room for the Holy Spirit with no restrictions. There are Christians who want the Holy Spirit to invade them, but we need to invite the Holy Spirit, and once we do, the Holy Spirit will come in a powerful way. Kristen made an excellent point that many people focus on how corrupt and evil the world is. We shouldn't look at the devil... we should look at Jesus and nothing else. If we focus all our attention on what the enemy is doing, we will miss what Jesus is up to in our personal lives and the World. So its our job to receive the light (Jesus) and be the light for the World. (John 8:12 & Matt 5:14 & Philippians 2:15). Another thing I learned during this week is prayer shouldn't be an event, but a lifestyle because prayer is the foundation of everything. When you pray, you are exchanging back and fourth with the Living God. Prayer is not all about request. I used to hate prayer because I always prayed the same things over and over, and it just seemed all meaningless. I didn't truly express how I felt within my heart. After this week, I realized I didn't engage with the Holy Spirit and once I did prayer is now one of my favorite things to do.
PRAISE GOD
I'm sure all of you are wondering if I had received all my finances and I'm extremely stoked to tell you that I did! A day before my outreach fees were due a teammate on mine came up to me and said, "I will cover your outreach fees!" Let me tell you, I owned $908.90. Praise God! He is so faithful! Thank you for all your support and prayers
-Kimberly
