I am sorry for not posting again last week. Although it was my intention- here we are at Thursday morning again and I am again finding myself with so much to say...hopefully it can fit into this space! First of all ERIC GOT A JOB!!! He started at Tiffin Motorhomes on Monday. He's been working 10 hour days to catch up on orders. Thank you Jesus for your provision. There are several people in the Ramp community here still without jobs. Please pray that something will open up for them and that the Lord will sustain them until then with peace.
So, now that Eric has a job, I'm at home with Raynie without a car! So we have been very inventive finding things to do all day. Lets just say that we may have watched Peter Pan one too many times. Last night I dreamed that Karis and I were learning how to fly! Ha! I wasn't able to stay up, whatever that means:) Hopefully the weather will warm up and we can spend some time outside. I have made some invites for play dates, the first one being today:) We're lucky to have numerous kids around here that are around karis' age.
Last Wednesday night Damon shared about The Secret Mountain of Gods Presence. (I think that was the name--if not that it was along those lines:) ) Since then and over the past week some things have just been stirring in us. God is challenging us to take this walk with Him to another place. He is challenging us to live in the Secret place . Only out of that secret place with Him can any good thing come. We are learning how to make Him our lives. Learning how to keep our minds stayed on Him. Learning how to live undistracted by life. It is definitely a process that can only by accomplished in us with the help of Holy Spirit. God is just pressing us to strip things away...whether that be TV, sports, sleep, or just wasting time. This relationship with Him is work. It is laborious. But its worth it. We are positioning our lives to live in His presence. At some moments that repositioning feels like getting a leg broken in order that it would heal correctly. We are learning how significant yet insignificant our lives are. We just desire to burn for Jesus and for the things that are on the heart of the Father. We desire to live a life poured out and laid down for his purpose. Because of that desire there has been a great laying down of things that seemed important- our gifts. We have had to come to the realization that if we really want a life laid down, that means us maybe giving up leading on a stage. Sharing our "gift". While gifts are given to us to share, there comes a time that God will say, "Give it up to know me." It seems like a risk. It seems unfair. It seems unwise. Yet, when you follow what God says to do, its' NEVER a risk. The risk would be to stay on the stage. (Casey made that statement last night about risk in his message).
I am led to think about Abraham, who was given Isaac but then asked by God to kill him. I think about David, who was anointed to be king, and then BACK into the field to herd sheep. I think about Joseph, given dreams from the Lord, then sent to the pit and the prison. And then John the Baptist. A life truly laid down. He was in line to be a priest. I'm sure the expectation was that He would fall in line to tradition. And yet, God asked something different of Him. God didn't need another priest in the temple...but what he did need was someone to prepare the way. These men all had a choice to follow what would be considered fair and right according to the word they were given. Abraham could have held onto Isaac, David could have pushed his way past a mad king to take his rightful place, Joseph could have lived his life in bitterness, and John. John could have been a priest. All of those outcomes could have seemed at the time, the rational obvious choice. But because of their laid down lives, look what God could do! He made Abraham the Father of many nations, David a man after His own heart, Joseph a provider to his people and John, a burning example of a life laid down. And so- when looking at these men, and the lives of the disciples, we are ruined to try and live an ordinary, what seems right life. Today, I want the sacrifice, the field, the pit and the wilderness to be where I live. Those are the places where true character is determined. Whatever has to be left behind, its worth it. This life is too short to live not poured out.
I know this probably seems extreme. We have decided that's where we want to live though. I want to live without reserve. I don't want the American dream. I want Gods dream for me. Whatever that looks like. Whatever that costs.
"Sometimes I fear I'm too intense for my own well being.... then I remember the man with fire in his eyes and a sword in his mouth and think, "well I could be worse". " -Molly Huff
This has definitely not been a wrap up of our literal week...but this is what is burning in us. Until next time....
No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. The pulpit can be a shop window to display one's talents; the prayer closet allows no showing off. -Leonard Ravenhill
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Who's and It's
What an incredible week. I'm not sure where to begin.
I should start off first by saying that these blogs are definately not the best representation of all that God is doing in us and here in Hamilton. On wednesdays when we come in from service I can hardly put into words what we have experienced at service and have a hard time summarizing the whole week. I am contemplating maybe adding another blog during the week, hopfully to capture for you a more accurate picture of what God is doing in us.
This was a conference weekend so may brain is definately full! I would say that this conference was one of the most spiritually hard ones that I have been in. The goup that came in came in more with the attitude that, "I know how to jump, I know how to scream...this is just another service, and I can go through the motions." From the girls in the bathroom comparing the ramp to a rock concert to the squeals and shrieks of young ladies in response to EVERYTHING...this was just a different atmosphere. After several songs, we really just broke out in a time of prayer and Damon identified the majority of the young people in attendance as "mask wearers". .. By mid day service on saturday, there had been great repentance and change in hearts, resulting in a powerful saturday night service. Wrapped up in one sentance from the message..."The life of holiness should parallel the life of legalism but with a different motive." Just ponder that if you want more junk in your life cut out.
Sunday night Damon spoke about Paul and Silas out of Acts 16. (I must say that this message is one of my favorites- you can get an older version of it off the ramp podcast called A Generation of Its... But prepare yourself!)
As they were on their way to PRAYER, they encountered a demon possessed girl. { Note..whenever you set yourself to pray, or are going to pray, you will encounter the demonic realm!} She followed them saying, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved." Wow!! What pastor today wouldn't want that kind of message shouted out for them? Most churches pay for that kind of publicity. Instead of allowing the demon possessed girl to continue her praise of them, Paul spoke to the demon with-in her. "I command you to come out of her in the name of Jesus." And yet, we revel in the praise and elevation of the enemy and call it favor. Thus becoming people who desire to be known...these are the "who's"
Alongside of this text Damon talked about John the Baptist. A man set to prepare the way for Jesus. A man who's life is poured out in a hot desert. A man who is sent to prison, whose message is then stolen by Jesus. A man who has every opportunity to become offended at the one who He has poured his life out for. *Remember, while Jesus, Johns cousin, is preaching Johns message, John is in prison-- UNVISITED by Jesus.* And then, a man whose head is cut off for the sake of a holy standard. A man who lived as an "it"...A man who made a mold for a generation today to conform to. One crying out in the wilderness. One who wasted his life. One who noone recognized as Elijah come again.
Paul and Silas could have chosen to be who's...John didn't have to choose to be an it. And yet, because of their examples we find a mold to live by.
That is just a part of sunday nights message--it was really powerful. We had a time of prayer for healing at the end and many people were healed and set free. Awakening is happening.
Tonight Damons sermon was called, " The Secret Mountain of Gods Presence". Eric and I have been talking since we got home about things in us that the Spirit has reawakened even tonight during the message. I am actually going to save the service details until tommorow and let it sink in some more before I go on writing about it. God is just doing some major stripping away and some major focusing work in us. We are making adjustments accordingly. What does revival look like? We are finding out one day at a time.
Until tomorrow...
I should start off first by saying that these blogs are definately not the best representation of all that God is doing in us and here in Hamilton. On wednesdays when we come in from service I can hardly put into words what we have experienced at service and have a hard time summarizing the whole week. I am contemplating maybe adding another blog during the week, hopfully to capture for you a more accurate picture of what God is doing in us.
This was a conference weekend so may brain is definately full! I would say that this conference was one of the most spiritually hard ones that I have been in. The goup that came in came in more with the attitude that, "I know how to jump, I know how to scream...this is just another service, and I can go through the motions." From the girls in the bathroom comparing the ramp to a rock concert to the squeals and shrieks of young ladies in response to EVERYTHING...this was just a different atmosphere. After several songs, we really just broke out in a time of prayer and Damon identified the majority of the young people in attendance as "mask wearers". .. By mid day service on saturday, there had been great repentance and change in hearts, resulting in a powerful saturday night service. Wrapped up in one sentance from the message..."The life of holiness should parallel the life of legalism but with a different motive." Just ponder that if you want more junk in your life cut out.
Sunday night Damon spoke about Paul and Silas out of Acts 16. (I must say that this message is one of my favorites- you can get an older version of it off the ramp podcast called A Generation of Its... But prepare yourself!)
As they were on their way to PRAYER, they encountered a demon possessed girl. { Note..whenever you set yourself to pray, or are going to pray, you will encounter the demonic realm!} She followed them saying, "These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved." Wow!! What pastor today wouldn't want that kind of message shouted out for them? Most churches pay for that kind of publicity. Instead of allowing the demon possessed girl to continue her praise of them, Paul spoke to the demon with-in her. "I command you to come out of her in the name of Jesus." And yet, we revel in the praise and elevation of the enemy and call it favor. Thus becoming people who desire to be known...these are the "who's"
Alongside of this text Damon talked about John the Baptist. A man set to prepare the way for Jesus. A man who's life is poured out in a hot desert. A man who is sent to prison, whose message is then stolen by Jesus. A man who has every opportunity to become offended at the one who He has poured his life out for. *Remember, while Jesus, Johns cousin, is preaching Johns message, John is in prison-- UNVISITED by Jesus.* And then, a man whose head is cut off for the sake of a holy standard. A man who lived as an "it"...A man who made a mold for a generation today to conform to. One crying out in the wilderness. One who wasted his life. One who noone recognized as Elijah come again.
Paul and Silas could have chosen to be who's...John didn't have to choose to be an it. And yet, because of their examples we find a mold to live by.
That is just a part of sunday nights message--it was really powerful. We had a time of prayer for healing at the end and many people were healed and set free. Awakening is happening.
Tonight Damons sermon was called, " The Secret Mountain of Gods Presence". Eric and I have been talking since we got home about things in us that the Spirit has reawakened even tonight during the message. I am actually going to save the service details until tommorow and let it sink in some more before I go on writing about it. God is just doing some major stripping away and some major focusing work in us. We are making adjustments accordingly. What does revival look like? We are finding out one day at a time.
Until tomorrow...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Give Us Burning Hearts
Sorry I'm posting this up late. I went to bed last night, completely forgetting that it was wednesday! It seems here that you lose track of the days! Nevertheless, I did remember this morning...so while Karis snoozes, we can go back through the week.
We have all finally recovered from our illnesses! No more sore throats. No more coughing. No more fevers. Thank you JESUS we are well! I hadn't gotten to go to church since the first day of winter Ramp...so by the time Sunday came I was glad to be out of the house!! Casey Doss, one of the young men here, spoke on Sunday night concerning the condition of our hearts and how we view God. He expounded on the fact that we should keep our hearts burning for Jesus, whether we can feel Him or not. He is expecting to find in us a burning heart, hungry and waiting for His presence. Casey also talked about the importance of how we view God...that it is important that we see Him rightly, as both God and Father- for one with out the other can not be God. God is not a big bully in heaven just barking orders at us down here on earth, getting plaesure from seeing us scramble to follow the orders. But He is a God to be feared, but who has the heart of a father. Anything that He asks us to do is because He ultimately has our best interest/end result in mind. Seeing God as just father or just GOD can be dangerous to our walk. To live our life in fear of judgement is unhealthy as well as living our life with no restraint is unhealthy. God give us undivded burning hearts for you and you alone. Allow us to see you rightly as the God of the universe who loves us like no father we have ever ever known.
Following the Sunday night service, we had prayer and worship tuesday night. What an awesome time with the Lord. With just an acoustic guitar and our voices we sang, worshipped and prayed to Jesus, the only one worthy of our love. I enjoyed it thoroughly and left feeling refreshed. It reminded me of times back home in the prayer room at ROC with the young people and masters students... Just there to worship and seek Gods face. I wish we could have that every night! As you know our heart is to see houses of prayer and that is what tuesday night felt like!
Wednesday night Ms. Karen shared her heart concerning the vision for this place, The Ramp and the city of Hamilton. It was so awesome to hear what the desire of her heart is to awaken a generation. She talked about how the ramp started and how it has grown and multiplied in ten years!! What a short amount of time that God has done such awesome things!! It would be long to go into all that she has plans for, but hearing it made us so very excited to be here and confirmed once again that we are where we belong.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support for us. Like I have said before and will continue to say, we couldn't be here without you! We are praying for a great awakening in this nation. One where church and life as normal would not be. Holy Spirit come and consume our hearts, that there would be no room for any other desire. Come and give us fresh vision and stir up with in us a passion for JESUS. Make us dreamers and diligent servants.
Until next week...
We have all finally recovered from our illnesses! No more sore throats. No more coughing. No more fevers. Thank you JESUS we are well! I hadn't gotten to go to church since the first day of winter Ramp...so by the time Sunday came I was glad to be out of the house!! Casey Doss, one of the young men here, spoke on Sunday night concerning the condition of our hearts and how we view God. He expounded on the fact that we should keep our hearts burning for Jesus, whether we can feel Him or not. He is expecting to find in us a burning heart, hungry and waiting for His presence. Casey also talked about the importance of how we view God...that it is important that we see Him rightly, as both God and Father- for one with out the other can not be God. God is not a big bully in heaven just barking orders at us down here on earth, getting plaesure from seeing us scramble to follow the orders. But He is a God to be feared, but who has the heart of a father. Anything that He asks us to do is because He ultimately has our best interest/end result in mind. Seeing God as just father or just GOD can be dangerous to our walk. To live our life in fear of judgement is unhealthy as well as living our life with no restraint is unhealthy. God give us undivded burning hearts for you and you alone. Allow us to see you rightly as the God of the universe who loves us like no father we have ever ever known.
Following the Sunday night service, we had prayer and worship tuesday night. What an awesome time with the Lord. With just an acoustic guitar and our voices we sang, worshipped and prayed to Jesus, the only one worthy of our love. I enjoyed it thoroughly and left feeling refreshed. It reminded me of times back home in the prayer room at ROC with the young people and masters students... Just there to worship and seek Gods face. I wish we could have that every night! As you know our heart is to see houses of prayer and that is what tuesday night felt like!
Wednesday night Ms. Karen shared her heart concerning the vision for this place, The Ramp and the city of Hamilton. It was so awesome to hear what the desire of her heart is to awaken a generation. She talked about how the ramp started and how it has grown and multiplied in ten years!! What a short amount of time that God has done such awesome things!! It would be long to go into all that she has plans for, but hearing it made us so very excited to be here and confirmed once again that we are where we belong.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support for us. Like I have said before and will continue to say, we couldn't be here without you! We are praying for a great awakening in this nation. One where church and life as normal would not be. Holy Spirit come and consume our hearts, that there would be no room for any other desire. Come and give us fresh vision and stir up with in us a passion for JESUS. Make us dreamers and diligent servants.
Until next week...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
We're back!!
Wow! Has it really almost been a month since we last blogged? It seems that way! We returned back to Hamilton after Christmas on the 28th...welcomed back with a sinus infection! I was sick for the last 8 days, karis has been running a temperature of 102 for 3 days, and eric has a sore throat!! Luckily, my antibiotic has kicked in, Karis went to the Doctor today and starts an antibiotic this afternoon and eric is resisting the sickness!!
At home we enjoyed 11 days of family, friends, SNOW and food!! Karis got to play in the snow and experienced her first Christmas where she kind of understood what was going on. I left our photo card at moms, so I'll post some pics from our trip later:) Although it was nice to see everyone, 11 days was a long trip and we were happy to get back home.
Winter Ramp started on the 29th and lasted through the New Year and it was PACKED!! There was no extra space for anybody else and many people had to sit in the lobby--plus there were 1,600 on the waiting list that couldn't even get in. I was only able to attend one day of the services because I felt so crummy, but Richard, Christie, Savannah and Mariah Wilson were here and got to attend the majority. From what I saw and watched online, the services were refreshing and a great start to the New Year. To allow some of those on the waiting list to come, they opened up a second winter ramp in a couple weeks.
Eric is still job hunting if you can believe it!! He did get hired on at a Walmart about 30 minutes away, but the hours were awful in relation to our schedule at the Ramp...so after orientation, we prayed about it and he decided to turn down the job. We are believing the right place at the right time is coming.
While here we've been spending time in His precense and have gotten the opportunity to read. if you are looking for some great, challenging reading check out "Crazy Love" and "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. What an awesome revelation of Gods love and the great crisis in the American Church. Also, Eric has been reading "Spiritual Authority" by Watchman Nee, an incredible book with insight into the vital importance of submitting to spiritual authority. These books will stretch you, so be prepared before reading them!!! Also, if you're loking for some new worship music, Misty Edwards just put out 2 new CD's you can get on Itunes. We've been listening to "Fling Wide", which has some great revelation of Jesus!!! Misty is an incredible lover of Jesus and it shows through her lyrics.
I am leaving you this week with a great quote by AW Tozer. Jesus may this become the cry of my heart day by day and moment by moment. Until next week...
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully concious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my ove, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long."
At home we enjoyed 11 days of family, friends, SNOW and food!! Karis got to play in the snow and experienced her first Christmas where she kind of understood what was going on. I left our photo card at moms, so I'll post some pics from our trip later:) Although it was nice to see everyone, 11 days was a long trip and we were happy to get back home.
Winter Ramp started on the 29th and lasted through the New Year and it was PACKED!! There was no extra space for anybody else and many people had to sit in the lobby--plus there were 1,600 on the waiting list that couldn't even get in. I was only able to attend one day of the services because I felt so crummy, but Richard, Christie, Savannah and Mariah Wilson were here and got to attend the majority. From what I saw and watched online, the services were refreshing and a great start to the New Year. To allow some of those on the waiting list to come, they opened up a second winter ramp in a couple weeks.
Eric is still job hunting if you can believe it!! He did get hired on at a Walmart about 30 minutes away, but the hours were awful in relation to our schedule at the Ramp...so after orientation, we prayed about it and he decided to turn down the job. We are believing the right place at the right time is coming.
While here we've been spending time in His precense and have gotten the opportunity to read. if you are looking for some great, challenging reading check out "Crazy Love" and "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. What an awesome revelation of Gods love and the great crisis in the American Church. Also, Eric has been reading "Spiritual Authority" by Watchman Nee, an incredible book with insight into the vital importance of submitting to spiritual authority. These books will stretch you, so be prepared before reading them!!! Also, if you're loking for some new worship music, Misty Edwards just put out 2 new CD's you can get on Itunes. We've been listening to "Fling Wide", which has some great revelation of Jesus!!! Misty is an incredible lover of Jesus and it shows through her lyrics.
I am leaving you this week with a great quote by AW Tozer. Jesus may this become the cry of my heart day by day and moment by moment. Until next week...
"O God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully concious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, "Rise up my ove, my fair one, and come away." Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long."
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