Friday, September 29, 2006
Youtube Videos on Christianity and...
Jessica Turner, one of my best friends in the world, is married to this totally wacky, fun-loving, godly Christian writer, Matthew Paul Turner. He just put out two promotions for his new series of books on youtube. (To be honest, I didn't really know that youtube even existed or was popular before about ten minutes ago when I viewed these videos). You have got to check the videos out:What You Didn't Learn From Your Parents About Christianity and What You Didn't Learn From Your Parents About Sex. Oh, and don't forget to pick up his books at the local bookstore. If you really want, I can probably get them signed... for a small fee of course.
Whirlwind of Ministry
Full time elevate has been such a whirlwind. It is hard to believe that my first month of the internship is already passed. I have learned so much about myself, about God, and about full-time ministry. I am discovering more about the character of God. I realize how little I truly understand about the grace and mercy of my Savior and how desperate I am for it. I was telling someone this morning that elevate is an environment that will, if you allow it, totally tear at and rip away your flesh. I am challenged, encouraged, exhausted and exhilarated by all that God requires, desires, expects, and deserves from us.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Are you a thermometer or a thermostat?
Challenge of the week:
Yesterday at Chapel, Michelle Gros, the HPC Elevate director, spoke to us about intimacy. She said something that really stuck with me and I have been pondering all week long. She said that you have the choice to be either a thermometer or a thermostat: thermometers are controlled by their environment; they adjust to the necessary temperature to neutralize the heat in the room. thermostats are just they opposite; they control the environment of the room and detemine how hot the room gets regardless of how who is there.
One of the things that I began to recognize in elevate is that even as passionate and enthusiastic as I thought I was, I am choosing to be a thermometer. I found myself lessening my enthusiasm in a room to make other people feel “comfortable”. I was stifling the passion God has put inside of me to accommodate.
Please don’t take this out of context, as a friend told me today and it is important to note, I am not talking about unfocused energy (though I do have that problem often) . I am talking about not crying out or seeking God with the intensity that I had before.
Lord, I pray that you will revive the passion, fan the flame inside of each of us. Burn with a strong intensity than ever before. Turn up the heat. We give You full reign to raise the spiritual temperature in our hearts, our homes, our relationships. Holy Spirit, revive us with a great enthusiasm. Consume us with your Holy Flame. Thank you for creating us to be on fire for You!
Yesterday at Chapel, Michelle Gros, the HPC Elevate director, spoke to us about intimacy. She said something that really stuck with me and I have been pondering all week long. She said that you have the choice to be either a thermometer or a thermostat: thermometers are controlled by their environment; they adjust to the necessary temperature to neutralize the heat in the room. thermostats are just they opposite; they control the environment of the room and detemine how hot the room gets regardless of how who is there.
One of the things that I began to recognize in elevate is that even as passionate and enthusiastic as I thought I was, I am choosing to be a thermometer. I found myself lessening my enthusiasm in a room to make other people feel “comfortable”. I was stifling the passion God has put inside of me to accommodate.
Please don’t take this out of context, as a friend told me today and it is important to note, I am not talking about unfocused energy (though I do have that problem often) . I am talking about not crying out or seeking God with the intensity that I had before.
Lord, I pray that you will revive the passion, fan the flame inside of each of us. Burn with a strong intensity than ever before. Turn up the heat. We give You full reign to raise the spiritual temperature in our hearts, our homes, our relationships. Holy Spirit, revive us with a great enthusiasm. Consume us with your Holy Flame. Thank you for creating us to be on fire for You!
Monday, September 25, 2006
St. Louis Dream Center
This past week Elevate took a field trip to the St. Louis Dream Center. WOW! What an incredible ministry that reaches a lost and hurting community in St. Louis. Joyce Meyer was in town for her annual women’s conference and God provided this awesome opportunity for us to attend the conference. We were truly blessed this weekend! Thanks so much to the DC interns and staff for their hospitality and thanks to Joyce Meyer for her compassion and love toward all people!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Just Married in Manitowac
This past weekend I had the privilege to witness the union of two great college friends: Brooke Vater and Jay Creigh. Here are some pictures from this fabulous event! Congratulations and have a safe trip to Bozeman, MT!
PICTURES TO COME (experiencing technical difficulty)
PICTURES TO COME (experiencing technical difficulty)
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Don't quench the Spirit
In classes I have heard this line a lot- "Don't do the work of the Lord and neglect the Lord of the work". As a task-oriented person, I am terrified that I will be so into my to do list, that I will forget the people I am doing it for. I don't want to lose the original passion and enthusiasm that God placed within me.
In 1 Thess 5:19 Paul reminds the Thessalonians "Do not quench the Spirit". I looked up to quench and it means "to extinguish or put out as a in a fire". How cool that the Holy Spirit is known as a fire! Paul was saying to make sure that we don't let the flame of the Holy Spirit within us be put out or be extinguished.
When looking in context you can see how to make sure that doesn't happen. He says to: "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
So the components of making sure to keep this fire burning are to:
1. rejoice ALWAYS- be filled with joy, thrive no matter what the circumstances
2. pray WITHOUT CEASING- keep in constant communication with God
3. IN EVERYTHING give thanks- be grateful for things, people, and in tangibles
THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS!
So then I keep letting the thoughts roll and it brought me back to a teaching by the outstanding Ps. Mike Davis at the elevate retreat. He spoke about Karate Kid and one line he keep repeating was, "Don't forget to breathe". What keeps a fire going is oxygen. To keep the flame buring high, you need more oxygen. When you cover the flame or suffocate it, the fire will go out.
With all of that here is what I have come up with. My mathematical formula to destroy my greatest fear:
(joyful demeanor + attitude of prayer + heart of thanksgiving)* x breathing time = UNQUENCHABLE Spirit!
*note: this has no regard to circumstance or external environment
Lord, I pray that you would rekindle the fire you have placed in your children. Fan the flame of joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. Renew your Holy Spirit within us so that we may ever praise you! This is your will for us in Jesus Christ. Amen!!
In 1 Thess 5:19 Paul reminds the Thessalonians "Do not quench the Spirit". I looked up to quench and it means "to extinguish or put out as a in a fire". How cool that the Holy Spirit is known as a fire! Paul was saying to make sure that we don't let the flame of the Holy Spirit within us be put out or be extinguished.
When looking in context you can see how to make sure that doesn't happen. He says to: "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
So the components of making sure to keep this fire burning are to:
1. rejoice ALWAYS- be filled with joy, thrive no matter what the circumstances
2. pray WITHOUT CEASING- keep in constant communication with God
3. IN EVERYTHING give thanks- be grateful for things, people, and in tangibles
THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS!
So then I keep letting the thoughts roll and it brought me back to a teaching by the outstanding Ps. Mike Davis at the elevate retreat. He spoke about Karate Kid and one line he keep repeating was, "Don't forget to breathe". What keeps a fire going is oxygen. To keep the flame buring high, you need more oxygen. When you cover the flame or suffocate it, the fire will go out.
With all of that here is what I have come up with. My mathematical formula to destroy my greatest fear:
(joyful demeanor + attitude of prayer + heart of thanksgiving)* x breathing time = UNQUENCHABLE Spirit!
*note: this has no regard to circumstance or external environment
Lord, I pray that you would rekindle the fire you have placed in your children. Fan the flame of joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. Renew your Holy Spirit within us so that we may ever praise you! This is your will for us in Jesus Christ. Amen!!
It's been a while...
So I have given up on the parazz album from my africa trip. I am technologically deficient and can't figure it out, but if you are really interested in seeing all my pictures just drop me an email or make a comment and I will pursue the matter further. Otherwise I will show you them when we meet again.
But since then a ton has changed and I have not written about it in the least. So here goes: Africa still keeps my heart beating and remains on the forefront of my mind. Often I will smell or see something and just have a flashback of a moment on the trip. Wow, do I miss it. I am getting teary-eyed just thinking about it. But then again it is cool to see all that God is doing in me right now.
After I got back from Africa I sensed major changes and prayed and fasted about it. I didn't want to move outside the will of God. On thursday of that week, God moved and I was invited to join an internship at the church. It is equivalent to a hands-on bible college where we live with other interns, workout together, take classes and work in an internship area of our interest. It is an amazing opportunity for me and very exciting though terrifying because it is the cost of college and I am not making any money.
(sidenote: It is very humbling to have to ask people to support me for money. Boy, does God know how to break down my pride and force me to trust in Him alone. I keep thinking about how if I want to be a missionary I will be needing supporters for my income for the rest of my life. Kind of wild. It has given me great insight to God's view of money. I keep thinking about the parable of the talents and how really none of the money is mine anyway, it is just in my possession for a short time. I find myself being much more cautious about how I spend money when it is not mine. Like a car, I always drive much more carefully when I am borrowing someone else's car. Just some thoughts. I probably will delve on that more later because it is a big thought for me. Thank you to all you who are financially supporting me. Please know that it is being well invested and I really appreciate all of your support).
But back to the internship..I am loving every moment of it! I live with two girls: Katherine and Katie. They are both really cool and I love the living situation. Also, I work in the missions ministry area where we plan all incoming and outgoing mission teams and special events at HPC. Every aspect of this internship is so awesome. I can't even explain how cool it is. Michelle Gros made a cool comment to me the other day and I keep pondering it. She reminded me, " Colleen, just take time and enjoy living in your breakthrough." I have spent a lot of the last two years being broken and it is really cool to start seeing a lot of the pieces start coming together in the puzzle... but I am also on guard for a curveball in the destiny. We will just have to wait and see!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!
But since then a ton has changed and I have not written about it in the least. So here goes: Africa still keeps my heart beating and remains on the forefront of my mind. Often I will smell or see something and just have a flashback of a moment on the trip. Wow, do I miss it. I am getting teary-eyed just thinking about it. But then again it is cool to see all that God is doing in me right now.
After I got back from Africa I sensed major changes and prayed and fasted about it. I didn't want to move outside the will of God. On thursday of that week, God moved and I was invited to join an internship at the church. It is equivalent to a hands-on bible college where we live with other interns, workout together, take classes and work in an internship area of our interest. It is an amazing opportunity for me and very exciting though terrifying because it is the cost of college and I am not making any money.
(sidenote: It is very humbling to have to ask people to support me for money. Boy, does God know how to break down my pride and force me to trust in Him alone. I keep thinking about how if I want to be a missionary I will be needing supporters for my income for the rest of my life. Kind of wild. It has given me great insight to God's view of money. I keep thinking about the parable of the talents and how really none of the money is mine anyway, it is just in my possession for a short time. I find myself being much more cautious about how I spend money when it is not mine. Like a car, I always drive much more carefully when I am borrowing someone else's car. Just some thoughts. I probably will delve on that more later because it is a big thought for me. Thank you to all you who are financially supporting me. Please know that it is being well invested and I really appreciate all of your support).
But back to the internship..I am loving every moment of it! I live with two girls: Katherine and Katie. They are both really cool and I love the living situation. Also, I work in the missions ministry area where we plan all incoming and outgoing mission teams and special events at HPC. Every aspect of this internship is so awesome. I can't even explain how cool it is. Michelle Gros made a cool comment to me the other day and I keep pondering it. She reminded me, " Colleen, just take time and enjoy living in your breakthrough." I have spent a lot of the last two years being broken and it is really cool to start seeing a lot of the pieces start coming together in the puzzle... but I am also on guard for a curveball in the destiny. We will just have to wait and see!
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
