Aloha! from Kona, Hawaii!!!!!!
Man, We cannot get over the beauty & how blessed we are that God has called us here to ywam!!! We had 12 hours of travel time and got to meet some of our fire & fragrance family in the airport in Seattle! It has been crazy busy & overwhelming at times but we are loving it!! We are meeting people from all over the world it is so cool!! Including Korea, Norway, England, Australia, Canada, and various places across the U.S.
Yesterday we had our school orientation and went through the handbook. Andy Byrd, the one who pioneered fire & fragrance was there going through this and telling us what fire & fragrance is all about. He touched on the "revival culture" & the different traits that it is. The 5 different traits that lead to that atmosphere are: Just Jesus, Faith, Holiness, Thankfulness, & Discipleship. The things that stuck out to us the most is: repentance is a gift and we should have joy filled repentance and that will lead to having more of Jesus. God wants to speak to us because He wants to use us through our simple obedience! Where Jesus is the center of anything.. that IS REVIVAL!! There was a lot of other amazing things he said but I walked away from that saying, .. and this is only the handbook. --- Can't wait to see how the Lord transforms our hearts & lives.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
a goodbye
As this year is ending soon the words that the Holy Spirit spoke to us on Jan 1, 2011 have been on my mind a lot. He promised us that this year was for preparation & at the end of the year He would push us out. Well, in 6 days we are leaving Glendive, leaving our family, our friends, and pretty much anything we are familiar with. We will be flying out Jan 5th to Kona, Hawaii.
I feel like we've been walking through this year and finally we can see a door at the end. I don't know what is behind that door but we have confidence that it is good. We are excited to go & be wrecked by the Lord. He has already been wrecking us & it has been amazing!! [ that is foolishness to the world; something new the Lord has been speaking to us about] He has began to put desires & dreams in our hearts. He is calling us to live radically obedient to Him! We know that through this school the Lord is going to do deep, deep work & we will be totally wrecked in a way that we will never be the same.
On Saturday the Glendive Alliance Church is hosting a Burn, which is a time of worship & intercession. Jr & I will be seeking the Lord for new promises He has for us for this year. I want to encourage you to do the same, it doesn't have to be there but wherever you are, seek the Lord for His promises for you this year! It is really cool seeing Him fulfill those promises! It is really helpful throughout the year too, you can always remember those promises and hold onto them in tough times.
The next blog we write, we will probably be in Kona so make sure you keep checking back to hear what the Lord is doing in us!!
Thank you to everyone who is praying for us & who donated to us! We know without a doubt this is where the Lord called us to, so thank you for being obedient to Him!! We love you all!!! Have a Happy New Year!! And be expectant of the Lord to do a deep work in your life & in Glendive!! We have high expectations for Glendive this year!! Can't wait to see what He does!!
I feel like we've been walking through this year and finally we can see a door at the end. I don't know what is behind that door but we have confidence that it is good. We are excited to go & be wrecked by the Lord. He has already been wrecking us & it has been amazing!! [ that is foolishness to the world; something new the Lord has been speaking to us about] He has began to put desires & dreams in our hearts. He is calling us to live radically obedient to Him! We know that through this school the Lord is going to do deep, deep work & we will be totally wrecked in a way that we will never be the same.
On Saturday the Glendive Alliance Church is hosting a Burn, which is a time of worship & intercession. Jr & I will be seeking the Lord for new promises He has for us for this year. I want to encourage you to do the same, it doesn't have to be there but wherever you are, seek the Lord for His promises for you this year! It is really cool seeing Him fulfill those promises! It is really helpful throughout the year too, you can always remember those promises and hold onto them in tough times.
The next blog we write, we will probably be in Kona so make sure you keep checking back to hear what the Lord is doing in us!!
Thank you to everyone who is praying for us & who donated to us! We know without a doubt this is where the Lord called us to, so thank you for being obedient to Him!! We love you all!!! Have a Happy New Year!! And be expectant of the Lord to do a deep work in your life & in Glendive!! We have high expectations for Glendive this year!! Can't wait to see what He does!!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Seeing through the "eyes of your heart"
HEY!!! I can't even begin to explain all of the things that God has been revealing to me ever since I confessed my addiction to pornography. I have a journal and I have never really been too big into writing in it a lot, but since Sept. 28 i have filled up more that half of my journal, just trying to remember all the new things that i am learning and going through. My biggest prayer since all of this has happened was that through all of this that i could help other men who struggle with the same problems as me. Hope you enjoy what God is doing, not just in me but so many others.
God i pray that i could confine all of the things that You are doing into a short enough blog that people could keep paying attention. Thank You.
Something that has been coming up so much is the few verses in Ephesians 1. It is Paul's prayer for that church,
Eph 1:17-18 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
(may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your heart being enlightened; that you may know the what is the hope of His calling),
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
this has been my prayer for me, and the whole church body. God give us new and fresh revelation about You and who You are!! and that "the eyes of our heart would be enlightened". God help us to GET IT! really get it, not just know in our head things about You, but know in the depths of our hearts the things about You that captivate us!!
God has enlightened the eyes of my heart in so many ways, i understand so much better now the need for intimacy with Jesus. i listened to a sermon by Misty Edwards on the parable of the 10 virgins called psalm 45. i have no idea why she called it that, but she went through and explained what the things in there represented. the 10 virgins are believers in the last days waiting on Jesus' return. The lamps are there calling, or their ministry. finally the oil represents intimacy with Jesus. in the last days there will be foolish Christians that are so focused on their ministry (lamp) that they won't actually be spending the time with Jesus (oil). then when He comes back He will say "I never knew you". then there will be wise one that took the time to spend with our Lord that they really know Him intimately and they will be ready for the marriage feast!!
We all need to be spending more time with the One who made us. He really wants us to know Him intimately, more than what we see in the church today. We will be married to Him some day, would you want to get married to someone that you didn't know that well? Neither does Jesus!
We are the body of Christ, and when my stomach has something good in it, the rest of my body knows it and gets to experience the joy from that good thing. I am convinced that when Christ is working in one, like me, it is most definitely not limited to that one person, Christ extends the goodness to all. So i know that as my eyes are being enlightened and i am growing in intimacy with Him so will you!! When we are obedient to Him, He blesses us beyond belief, get out of the rut that you are in and spend time with the Joy Maker :)
God i pray that i could confine all of the things that You are doing into a short enough blog that people could keep paying attention. Thank You.
Something that has been coming up so much is the few verses in Ephesians 1. It is Paul's prayer for that church,
Eph 1:17-18 "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
(may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your heart being enlightened; that you may know the what is the hope of His calling),
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
this has been my prayer for me, and the whole church body. God give us new and fresh revelation about You and who You are!! and that "the eyes of our heart would be enlightened". God help us to GET IT! really get it, not just know in our head things about You, but know in the depths of our hearts the things about You that captivate us!!
God has enlightened the eyes of my heart in so many ways, i understand so much better now the need for intimacy with Jesus. i listened to a sermon by Misty Edwards on the parable of the 10 virgins called psalm 45. i have no idea why she called it that, but she went through and explained what the things in there represented. the 10 virgins are believers in the last days waiting on Jesus' return. The lamps are there calling, or their ministry. finally the oil represents intimacy with Jesus. in the last days there will be foolish Christians that are so focused on their ministry (lamp) that they won't actually be spending the time with Jesus (oil). then when He comes back He will say "I never knew you". then there will be wise one that took the time to spend with our Lord that they really know Him intimately and they will be ready for the marriage feast!!
We all need to be spending more time with the One who made us. He really wants us to know Him intimately, more than what we see in the church today. We will be married to Him some day, would you want to get married to someone that you didn't know that well? Neither does Jesus!
We are the body of Christ, and when my stomach has something good in it, the rest of my body knows it and gets to experience the joy from that good thing. I am convinced that when Christ is working in one, like me, it is most definitely not limited to that one person, Christ extends the goodness to all. So i know that as my eyes are being enlightened and i am growing in intimacy with Him so will you!! When we are obedient to Him, He blesses us beyond belief, get out of the rut that you are in and spend time with the Joy Maker :)
Monday, December 5, 2011
this is my heart.
There is a new passion rising up in me.
With everything that has happened in these last few months I have learned a lot. One thing is that you can't think "that will never happen to me" or never think "that sin" could happen to you.
As women we need to stop being ignorant and stop pretending that this could never happen to us because the guys we know love Jesus or because they love us too much to do that. The reality is that the devil is out to kill, steal, and destroy YOU. your life. your marriage. your family. your kids. He will do anything to do it.
So, how can we as women help our men keep their eyes pure? Dressing modestly. It is that simple. I think it is such a small thing that it gets overlooked but this action will help drastically! I want to help women understand how this can impact every guy we come in contact with.
Pornography is like the Elephant in the Room. Everyone knows it is there but the women think it isn't happening to anyone they know. And the men know it all too well. I am not saying every guy struggles with this because they don't. I just know that lust is everywhere in this world and if you don't be purposeful to keep your eyes pure it will be too far easy for the enemy to entrap you in this sin.
What would happen if us as women stopped turning our cheek away from this and actually confronted this? Can we really change this culture of sex and raise awareness about what it is actually doing?
Quick Fact: Studies show that a person's brain on meth & a person's brain that uses pornography trigger endorphin's the same way.
I want everyone to know that I love Jr more than I ever have. These last few months have literally been the best months of my life. We have became so close and our hearts are running after Jesus more then ever before. I love Jr's heart<3. He wants what the Lord has for Him and what He has called Jr to be & he wants to be the best possible husband he can be.
--ashley. :)
With everything that has happened in these last few months I have learned a lot. One thing is that you can't think "that will never happen to me" or never think "that sin" could happen to you.
As women we need to stop being ignorant and stop pretending that this could never happen to us because the guys we know love Jesus or because they love us too much to do that. The reality is that the devil is out to kill, steal, and destroy YOU. your life. your marriage. your family. your kids. He will do anything to do it.
So, how can we as women help our men keep their eyes pure? Dressing modestly. It is that simple. I think it is such a small thing that it gets overlooked but this action will help drastically! I want to help women understand how this can impact every guy we come in contact with.
Pornography is like the Elephant in the Room. Everyone knows it is there but the women think it isn't happening to anyone they know. And the men know it all too well. I am not saying every guy struggles with this because they don't. I just know that lust is everywhere in this world and if you don't be purposeful to keep your eyes pure it will be too far easy for the enemy to entrap you in this sin.
What would happen if us as women stopped turning our cheek away from this and actually confronted this? Can we really change this culture of sex and raise awareness about what it is actually doing?
Quick Fact: Studies show that a person's brain on meth & a person's brain that uses pornography trigger endorphin's the same way.
I want everyone to know that I love Jr more than I ever have. These last few months have literally been the best months of my life. We have became so close and our hearts are running after Jesus more then ever before. I love Jr's heart<3. He wants what the Lord has for Him and what He has called Jr to be & he wants to be the best possible husband he can be.
--ashley. :)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
confession & redemption
So... there has been SO much going on in the last 2 months. Starting on September 28th, 2011 i finally confessed to Ashley that I had been living in sin. i had been looking at porn very regularly since before we were married. there were some breakthroughs for a couple of those months, but mostly i was doing this almost every day. it started with my smartphone, i knew as soon as i got that i was going to be able find porn on there. i figured that it would just be every now and then, and i wouldn't let it get out of control or nothing, and that once we got married it would stop because i wouldn't have to deal with this temptation anymore because we were going to be able to have sex. These were all lies that i listened too, sin is never something that u can just do sometimes, and it always gets out of control when its allowed. This was a trap like most sins are for ppl, i tried so hard to get out of it by myself, but never succeeded.
There were so many times that i would want to cry out for help because of sermons that i heard or just because of feelings of guilt and condemnation were so strong and i just wanted them to stop. I had an accountability group that had my back and i would tell them about my failures and they would try to help me. They would encourage me to confess to Ashley my sin, i couldn't do it. Ashley had expressed to me her hatred for pornography and the way that men think about women a few times, and that made me scared to tell her. I would think, "what if she wants to divorce me?" We had just gotten married and i loved her so much, so i reasoned in my head that i couldn't tell her.
This went on for over a year. Finally after hearing a sermon on how Jesus can sanctify us, or cleanse us, i decided that i was going to tell Ashley. I wanted it to be the perfect time though, like some weekend when there wasn't anything going on so that we could spend the time to talk it out. That perfect time didn't seem like it was coming, and i was quickly figuring out ways to talk myself out of it. I would say to myself "I will trust in God for deliverance and then once i have been completely freed from it i will tell Ashley about how i used to struggle with it." Bad idea. Ashley had a dream one night that i was cheating on her, so she asked me, just to make sure, if anything like that was going on. So i knew that this is my chance, and so i told Ashley the whole truth!
i figured that since i was finally doing what God wanted me to do that He would reward me for it and things would be smooth sailing from there. it wasn't. It took a long time for Ashley to really be able to understand more of my struggle. We both were reading books talking about men and porn. She found one for women, "Every Heart Restored", and i read "Every Man's Battle" and "Pure Eyes". All great books that helped us both. The "Pure Eyes" book really helped me to understand that it was an addiction and that there were so many triggers that i didn't even realize, like emotional triggers, i had no idea that when i was angry or sad it was so much easier for me to talk myself into sinning.
Since i finally confessed to Ash my sin it has been so much easier to battle temptation. It was the hardest and best thing that has ever happened in our marriage! We heard from books and from other ppl that this is something that we would always have to deal with, but today as we were having our Jesus time in our living room Ash came across a promise, Psalm 3:3-4 "You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill." 3:8 "From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people." We do NOT have to deal with this forever, God has promised to redeem and sanctify us for His glory and we need to take Him on His word that He really will sanctify us!
Enough of this weak battle that we have been fighting, men and women, we need to stand on God's promises that He will take care of us. My prayer is that we can be radically obedient to God and do whatever He wants us to do. We were created for one purpose, to GLORIFY GOD WITH EVERYTHING!! lets do it and not let sin and temptation hold us back and make us fear. Since my confession God has been able to work in both Ashley and i so much and i want to share with the world, but i can only do so much at one time, so hopefully i can share more soon..
--JR.
There were so many times that i would want to cry out for help because of sermons that i heard or just because of feelings of guilt and condemnation were so strong and i just wanted them to stop. I had an accountability group that had my back and i would tell them about my failures and they would try to help me. They would encourage me to confess to Ashley my sin, i couldn't do it. Ashley had expressed to me her hatred for pornography and the way that men think about women a few times, and that made me scared to tell her. I would think, "what if she wants to divorce me?" We had just gotten married and i loved her so much, so i reasoned in my head that i couldn't tell her.
This went on for over a year. Finally after hearing a sermon on how Jesus can sanctify us, or cleanse us, i decided that i was going to tell Ashley. I wanted it to be the perfect time though, like some weekend when there wasn't anything going on so that we could spend the time to talk it out. That perfect time didn't seem like it was coming, and i was quickly figuring out ways to talk myself out of it. I would say to myself "I will trust in God for deliverance and then once i have been completely freed from it i will tell Ashley about how i used to struggle with it." Bad idea. Ashley had a dream one night that i was cheating on her, so she asked me, just to make sure, if anything like that was going on. So i knew that this is my chance, and so i told Ashley the whole truth!
i figured that since i was finally doing what God wanted me to do that He would reward me for it and things would be smooth sailing from there. it wasn't. It took a long time for Ashley to really be able to understand more of my struggle. We both were reading books talking about men and porn. She found one for women, "Every Heart Restored", and i read "Every Man's Battle" and "Pure Eyes". All great books that helped us both. The "Pure Eyes" book really helped me to understand that it was an addiction and that there were so many triggers that i didn't even realize, like emotional triggers, i had no idea that when i was angry or sad it was so much easier for me to talk myself into sinning.
Since i finally confessed to Ash my sin it has been so much easier to battle temptation. It was the hardest and best thing that has ever happened in our marriage! We heard from books and from other ppl that this is something that we would always have to deal with, but today as we were having our Jesus time in our living room Ash came across a promise, Psalm 3:3-4 "You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill." 3:8 "From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people." We do NOT have to deal with this forever, God has promised to redeem and sanctify us for His glory and we need to take Him on His word that He really will sanctify us!
Enough of this weak battle that we have been fighting, men and women, we need to stand on God's promises that He will take care of us. My prayer is that we can be radically obedient to God and do whatever He wants us to do. We were created for one purpose, to GLORIFY GOD WITH EVERYTHING!! lets do it and not let sin and temptation hold us back and make us fear. Since my confession God has been able to work in both Ashley and i so much and i want to share with the world, but i can only do so much at one time, so hopefully i can share more soon..
--JR.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Being Confident.
Yesterday we received an email from our school telling us what dates the money is due and I started to get overwhelmed and scared that we wouldn't have all the money. How many times do I let my circumstances rule my emotions and the way I think? Today the Lord spoke to me through these verses:
Jeremiah 17: 7-8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
it's leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.
I am praying for more confidence in Him and that we would be like a tree, with our roots deep by the stream.
That we would not fear when heat (circumstances, trials) come.
In times like this we need to be holding on to Him even more and believing what He says and who He says he is! We know He will provide.
If you want to give any amount to us toward this next season you can select the link above: "support"
Thank you for your support financially and prayerfully!!
Jeremiah 17: 7-8
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
it's leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.
I am praying for more confidence in Him and that we would be like a tree, with our roots deep by the stream.
That we would not fear when heat (circumstances, trials) come.
In times like this we need to be holding on to Him even more and believing what He says and who He says he is! We know He will provide.
If you want to give any amount to us toward this next season you can select the link above: "support"
Thank you for your support financially and prayerfully!!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Check your oil!
Last night we watched a teaching by Misty Edwards on the Parable of the Ten Virgins-- Matthew 25:1-13
I had never understood this parable but she brings FRESH revelation on it.
25:1-5
"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
Misty goes on to say this oil is the intimacy with Jesus, our secret intimate time with Jesus alone.
The lamp is our calling and ministry.
This parable is talking about how there will be christians who are more focused on their ministry and calling rather than spending that intimate time with Jesus. She said that it is the people who talk about praying, who sing the songs of worship, basically the people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They never actually take time out of their day to be intimate with Jesus. Also, it is the people that you hear of "getting burnt out".
25:6-9
"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!" Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' No, they replied, there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
Misty believes that there will be a 'voice' in the darkest hour before Jesus comes back. A voice that will be telling everyone that Jesus is coming back. A voice to wake the church up. These foolish virgins asked the others for oil but they couldn't give them that intimate relationship with Jesus. We can only get that from spending time with him.
25:10-13
But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. Sir! Sir! they said, Open the door for us! But he replied, I tell you the truth, I don't know you. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Jesus comes back and the wise virgins who had their oil filled (intimacy with Jesus) got to go into the wedding banquet. The foolish virgins couldn't go in because Jesus did not know them through the intimate relationship.
This teaching was so convicting, scary, but also makes me want to run to Jesus all the more. It really made me think, am I carrying jars of oil? We need to be getting our oil filled DAILY. Just like the passage says, we don't know the day or the hour when Jesus will return. I pray that we will keep faithful to Jesus and run to him daily for that special intimate time.
I recommend watching this!
mistyedwards.com
the teaching is called psalm 45
I had never understood this parable but she brings FRESH revelation on it.
25:1-5
"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
Misty goes on to say this oil is the intimacy with Jesus, our secret intimate time with Jesus alone.
The lamp is our calling and ministry.
This parable is talking about how there will be christians who are more focused on their ministry and calling rather than spending that intimate time with Jesus. She said that it is the people who talk about praying, who sing the songs of worship, basically the people who talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. They never actually take time out of their day to be intimate with Jesus. Also, it is the people that you hear of "getting burnt out".
25:6-9
"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!" Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' No, they replied, there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
Misty believes that there will be a 'voice' in the darkest hour before Jesus comes back. A voice that will be telling everyone that Jesus is coming back. A voice to wake the church up. These foolish virgins asked the others for oil but they couldn't give them that intimate relationship with Jesus. We can only get that from spending time with him.
25:10-13
But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. Sir! Sir! they said, Open the door for us! But he replied, I tell you the truth, I don't know you. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Jesus comes back and the wise virgins who had their oil filled (intimacy with Jesus) got to go into the wedding banquet. The foolish virgins couldn't go in because Jesus did not know them through the intimate relationship.
This teaching was so convicting, scary, but also makes me want to run to Jesus all the more. It really made me think, am I carrying jars of oil? We need to be getting our oil filled DAILY. Just like the passage says, we don't know the day or the hour when Jesus will return. I pray that we will keep faithful to Jesus and run to him daily for that special intimate time.
I recommend watching this!
mistyedwards.com
the teaching is called psalm 45
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