Okay I wish I could explain what we learned today, but I don't think I can convey it in a written message. Let me just say quantum physics was taught and everything about sound and how sound can form and create. It was mind blowing and is really intriguing on how I look at the world now. Do you know that DNA has a song and it is as unique to us as our fingerprint or that when you slow the speed of cricket song down to a human level of sound they sound like a choir on angels of people worshiping the Lord with low and high notes and with crescendos and a knowledge of how and when to bring them in. It was so beautiful. Or that Jupiter and Alpha Sentari create musical sounds. Jupiter's is more different tones and Alpha Sentari is percussive. It is amazing and again can I say that this teaching resonated with me about my voice and that the gates of hell would tremble. I watched a video of a bridge in Toronto similar to the Golden Gate style bridge that because of the wind blowing through the wires it created the resonate sound of the concrete and the bridge began to flow like water and big waves and moving side to side in it's attempt to keep up with it's own resonating until it collapsed like an earthquake had hit it. It was and awesome day of these type of classes all about sound and vibrations and that God created all things.
We the church have a tendency to look at things as being bad if they are not heavenly or they are used by others that may give the glory to the wrong entity. Just a quick example is how new-agers believe that crystals have energy and can heal. Well, the truth is crystals do have energy and they carry vibrations. They are used in watches, computer mother boards and you can even create radio's with them. So we need to begin to cultivate a relationship born out of our similarities rather than our differences. The priests wore crystals on their chest and that is how the armies knew what to do. We just need to believe that God created all of creation and when we say something is bad or evil we are saying that God created something evil. This doesn't mean that it cannot be used for an evil purpose but we need to be the sound that goes into the darkness and the sound becomes light.
I wish I could really explain all this or that this teaching was on DVD because of all the visual parts but even if you just listen you will be blown away. It was awesome and I have yet to figure out how to tell you about it so it really makes sense, but let me the that creation is worshiping it's creator out of love. It is amazing.
The Lord is on a mission of redemption and we are a tool that will redeem the things the enemy had tried to steal from creation! I am looking forward to being my unique sound that will build mountains or tear down bridges.
I am off to have a wonderful real breakfast this morning and a day full of fun classes. Enjoy and I'll let you know how today was tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Day 9 Kim Walker-Smith
So the morning started out great. Kim led worship and it was wonderful. Mostly since the first day here I have been asking the Lord questions during worship and waiting to hear the answer. I decided not to ask any specific question during this worship time. It was great. We were singing Your Presence and we just pushed deeper and deeper into the presence and then I saw myself as a little girl and Father was way down this cloud tunnel and I began to run and He swung me up and spun me around and was laughing and then Father turned into Jesus and I became an adult and then it was like those shots of a soldier who came home and Jesus spun me around and then I gave him big kiss. I was laughing uncontrollably. After a while I came out of it and realized I was bawling my eyes out. It was great fun.
Then Kim talked at our main session and this was a teaching I had heard before. Still a great teaching about worship is our connection to Jesus. All the other things are just ways we show it. She talked about having an encounter with God's love and if we actually had a real encounter we would not help but be crazy for Him and we would have to worship Him. Remember that we love Him because He first loved us. She also talked about a couple ways to fight for or contend for the connection with the Lord all the time. 1)Keep an unoffended heart. Just because it doesn't look the way we want it to look doesn't mean we have the right to be offended with God. 2) Having an encounter with God's love. Now the way to do this is to ask.
So it was a great teaching and just fun to watch. She is very animated and just herself. Just on a side note they are moving back to Redding, CA! This means hopefully we will see her leading a little more frequently. Also, they did tape this one with the main cameras so you never know but it could be on the website. You may want to check it out.
Then for the worship leading class she hit on points and then some q and a. 1st point is honor between pastors and worship leader/pastors. Again, I stress how lucky I am in this situation. I cannot tell you how tangable the honor between Brian and Bill is in the Bethel church, and how much it affects the people. It's great! 2nd point communication is key. It is key between the leaders and between the team members. Again this takes honor! 3rd point is to be accountable to the pastor. In this you have lots of freedom and then when someone dumps all over you you can just direct them to your covering and they get to deal with it.
Then she talked about the difference in her mind between Spontaneous and Prophetic songs.
She looks at spontaneous song as being full(=overflowing) with your connection to the Lord and that is what comes out. Just what you feel aout who He is. Prophetic is when you hit on a point and then the annointing comes over you and you release it. This means it is okay to repeat things over and over because is comes like a wave and you catch it first and then the congregation will begin to catch it. If you don't know what the annointing feels like then start to pay attention and figure it out. She talked about how to do spontaneous song if your new to it and you don't want to sing one note the whole time. She said mostly keep practicing and doing it.
Another point, quit being afraid of making mistakes. They are going to happen no matter what. So either don't worry about it or make enough that they don't phase you anymore. This is not an excuse to be lazy and not strive for excellence.
I really loved this point. Worship is the connection. Certain songs cannot or don't draw you to Jesus. Worship is not my worship it is His and for Him! The rest I can share when I get back.
The late afternoon we had Ben Armstrong who is a pastor at the school of ministry. He talked to us about dreams and also about how God created us with 5 senses and that we miss lots of things in the spiritual because we do not use those senses and how the mutli-dimentional levels of prophetic are on the rise. I'll keep this one short. This is easier to talk about in person.
1)Value your dreams. The Lord is giving dreams to us and we began to seperate things out as just being a dream but they aren't. You see an angel in a dream it's probably not just a dream but a real angel. Start to pay attention to your dreams.
2) Begin to practice your senses. Do not box yourself in to saying you are a feeler, seer or whatever but start to use all the senses. I have a project we can do once I am home to prove this point.
It was a really neat class. Today we are having some visual presentations. I am excited to check out that side of worship. I also want you to know they put the sign-ups for leaders up and I went out right away and they were all filled by the time I got there. I had told the Lord that if this was just flesh or something that I didn't need and someone else really did that I would be okay not making it on the list. It's all good. I am still on a secondary list for Wed. and I will be attending the class to see how they instruct instead of being instructed. I am actually looking forward to that. Have a great day.
Then Kim talked at our main session and this was a teaching I had heard before. Still a great teaching about worship is our connection to Jesus. All the other things are just ways we show it. She talked about having an encounter with God's love and if we actually had a real encounter we would not help but be crazy for Him and we would have to worship Him. Remember that we love Him because He first loved us. She also talked about a couple ways to fight for or contend for the connection with the Lord all the time. 1)Keep an unoffended heart. Just because it doesn't look the way we want it to look doesn't mean we have the right to be offended with God. 2) Having an encounter with God's love. Now the way to do this is to ask.
So it was a great teaching and just fun to watch. She is very animated and just herself. Just on a side note they are moving back to Redding, CA! This means hopefully we will see her leading a little more frequently. Also, they did tape this one with the main cameras so you never know but it could be on the website. You may want to check it out.
Then for the worship leading class she hit on points and then some q and a. 1st point is honor between pastors and worship leader/pastors. Again, I stress how lucky I am in this situation. I cannot tell you how tangable the honor between Brian and Bill is in the Bethel church, and how much it affects the people. It's great! 2nd point communication is key. It is key between the leaders and between the team members. Again this takes honor! 3rd point is to be accountable to the pastor. In this you have lots of freedom and then when someone dumps all over you you can just direct them to your covering and they get to deal with it.
Then she talked about the difference in her mind between Spontaneous and Prophetic songs.
She looks at spontaneous song as being full(=overflowing) with your connection to the Lord and that is what comes out. Just what you feel aout who He is. Prophetic is when you hit on a point and then the annointing comes over you and you release it. This means it is okay to repeat things over and over because is comes like a wave and you catch it first and then the congregation will begin to catch it. If you don't know what the annointing feels like then start to pay attention and figure it out. She talked about how to do spontaneous song if your new to it and you don't want to sing one note the whole time. She said mostly keep practicing and doing it.
Another point, quit being afraid of making mistakes. They are going to happen no matter what. So either don't worry about it or make enough that they don't phase you anymore. This is not an excuse to be lazy and not strive for excellence.
I really loved this point. Worship is the connection. Certain songs cannot or don't draw you to Jesus. Worship is not my worship it is His and for Him! The rest I can share when I get back.
The late afternoon we had Ben Armstrong who is a pastor at the school of ministry. He talked to us about dreams and also about how God created us with 5 senses and that we miss lots of things in the spiritual because we do not use those senses and how the mutli-dimentional levels of prophetic are on the rise. I'll keep this one short. This is easier to talk about in person.
1)Value your dreams. The Lord is giving dreams to us and we began to seperate things out as just being a dream but they aren't. You see an angel in a dream it's probably not just a dream but a real angel. Start to pay attention to your dreams.
2) Begin to practice your senses. Do not box yourself in to saying you are a feeler, seer or whatever but start to use all the senses. I have a project we can do once I am home to prove this point.
It was a really neat class. Today we are having some visual presentations. I am excited to check out that side of worship. I also want you to know they put the sign-ups for leaders up and I went out right away and they were all filled by the time I got there. I had told the Lord that if this was just flesh or something that I didn't need and someone else really did that I would be okay not making it on the list. It's all good. I am still on a secondary list for Wed. and I will be attending the class to see how they instruct instead of being instructed. I am actually looking forward to that. Have a great day.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Bethel Day 8 Kingdom Culture
Okay so on Friday I missed the first session. I was talking to family and was writing down some crazy dreams I have been having. I went to the midday session and was asking the Lord how to teach people how to say no and why it is okay to say no. Then Danny Silk got up and spoke about that subject. It was wonderful and so helpful. I really am going to encourage you all to listen to that teaching about love and what that really looks like. Things it doesn't look like are control, manipulation, pouting or any other way to try and get people to do what you want. It also looks like self-control and boundaries. One great statement was if you never say no then you can't ever say yes. Even if you say yes it become an obligation. It was the best practical teaching I've heard so far. I will be buying it if it is not online.
I then volunteered at the resource room during the conference and that was fun. A great way to meet lots of people from around the world. Then I went back to the Twin View campus and bumped into a car. I was so bummed. I wrote a note and then went into worship. It was great fun and lots of deliverance. There was a specific word to the spirit of suicide and self mutilation. At first they said that those people could stand up on another word so they would not be embarrassed, but then it was realized that the enemy wanted to bring a spirit of shame so they asked those people to stand and walk to the front just as an act to break that off. So we all waited for a little bit and I was blessed to see a guy of about 18 stand and walk alone to the front. It was powerful! Then after a little bit about 20 people went forward. It was awesome.
After that we got to hear Banning. He was so funny I laughed so hard I cried. He had amazing points on how to carry a prophecy. It is understood that we can hear them but we don't carry them so well. He talked about Hannah and Eli and it was great. He gave some easy to follow points. Unfortunately, Friday was a hard day for me. I was feeling sick, hit a car and was way tired. I ended up having to leave at 10:00. So I will get the rest of the notes tomorrow.
I struggled with being homesick on Friday and Saturday morning. With the crazy schedules of everyone, even me, I was unable to talk to family like normal, and that was rougher than I thought. So Saturday morning I decided to go walk the Sundial Bridge. I took pictures and put them on Facebook. It was great fun but very hot so I headed home and stayed in the whole day. Then I got to watch Joyland's service. It was a big help and yes, the Lord answered my question. Sunday was a day of laundry and hanging out in front of the fan. I did normal things like watch some shows and play some games and talk to family.
I am very excited about Monday. Kim Walker-Smith leading worship, speaking at the general session and then a worship leading workshop after lunch. Tomorrow is my most looked forward to day. Next will be if I can get into Brian's worship leading band session. So thanks for all your prayers.
I then volunteered at the resource room during the conference and that was fun. A great way to meet lots of people from around the world. Then I went back to the Twin View campus and bumped into a car. I was so bummed. I wrote a note and then went into worship. It was great fun and lots of deliverance. There was a specific word to the spirit of suicide and self mutilation. At first they said that those people could stand up on another word so they would not be embarrassed, but then it was realized that the enemy wanted to bring a spirit of shame so they asked those people to stand and walk to the front just as an act to break that off. So we all waited for a little bit and I was blessed to see a guy of about 18 stand and walk alone to the front. It was powerful! Then after a little bit about 20 people went forward. It was awesome.
After that we got to hear Banning. He was so funny I laughed so hard I cried. He had amazing points on how to carry a prophecy. It is understood that we can hear them but we don't carry them so well. He talked about Hannah and Eli and it was great. He gave some easy to follow points. Unfortunately, Friday was a hard day for me. I was feeling sick, hit a car and was way tired. I ended up having to leave at 10:00. So I will get the rest of the notes tomorrow.
I struggled with being homesick on Friday and Saturday morning. With the crazy schedules of everyone, even me, I was unable to talk to family like normal, and that was rougher than I thought. So Saturday morning I decided to go walk the Sundial Bridge. I took pictures and put them on Facebook. It was great fun but very hot so I headed home and stayed in the whole day. Then I got to watch Joyland's service. It was a big help and yes, the Lord answered my question. Sunday was a day of laundry and hanging out in front of the fan. I did normal things like watch some shows and play some games and talk to family.
I am very excited about Monday. Kim Walker-Smith leading worship, speaking at the general session and then a worship leading workshop after lunch. Tomorrow is my most looked forward to day. Next will be if I can get into Brian's worship leading band session. So thanks for all your prayers.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Bethel Day 7
So much happened at the Kingdom Culture Conference. It has been wonderful, but I think I am going to share what God has been sharing with me. In worship I saw again the vision of my heart. The one from earlier that he was sewing together with his. Now the stitches were gone and where there would normally be a scar was nothing but now our hearts were one. They beat together and were completely one. Then I saw Him playing me as the bow to a violin. It was awesome!
Then I had a vision of all of us core Joylanders going up to Pikes Peak and just taking some guitars, drums and anything really that we could play and just gathering in a circle singing worship to the Lord. These were songs about His love and Goodness. Mostly what we sing on a Saturday, but not like war songs or victory chants or anything like that. While this was happening people were milling about just visiting the peak. So after a while the Heavens opened and the glory light came down upon us and the mountain. As I am writing this I realize it is the open heaven concept and wherever we go we have an open heaven over us. So then that was shining on us and then the mountain began to smile. It smiled a mountain smile and it was as if it was happy to be free and returned home or like yes this is what I was originally created for. I believe when that woman wrote that first song at the top of the Peak it was in worship and now it was happy to be what it was created to be again. So anyone up for worship when I get back?!
I had a crazy dream last night that I told my mom and am hoping to get help interpreting. I think this will be easier to share in person, but remind me. I wrote it down.
Yesterday we got to hear from Beni, Kris and Bill. It was awesome. I walked through and got an impartation for church ministry and this gal said one thing to me success, great success. Not sure what this means yet. She was the one that seemed to get very specific things for people as they passed through and others released more general impartations about grace and a love for people. I will try and summarize in short what each speaker spoke about.
Beni-The drought is over. We are in the final stage of transition and we are birthing a baby. The Lord is waiting on the church to see the outcome of the years after 2012 and there outcomes depend on us. She also said that it is the time for the owl and the eagle's time is passed. The seers will see crazy things and we need to act or we will second guess and talk ourselves out of it So for all seers feel good that you are not alone with what you are seeing it is crazy stuff all over the world.
Kris - Believing in people and believing in yourself. He talked about David and that we need to believe what God says about us whether we have any other support. He also talked about how Jesus allowed Judas to be the treasurer even though he knew Judas was stealing. He was seeing him in his heavenly persona. With this means you can hang yourself or become an apostle. He also talked about Barnabas and how he mentored Paul until Paul was greater than him and that even when they split over Mark, and then Mark wrote a gospel after Barnabas mentored him. That is was amazing to be a Barnabas in someones life.
Bill - How to ever talk about what Bill talked about. Largest point for me. The teaching that dad taught on months ago that when Jesus was baptized the heavens opened the Spirit came upon him, and the Lord spoke this is my son in whom I am well pleased. And then He went into the desert and was tempted with "if you are the son of God." Bill said that we have the spirit come upon us but people don't want to be led into the desert for fear of the temptations. He said the word of God has to be opposed for 2 reasons. 1) To know the strength of the word and 2) we must have experiences contrary to the word. We must have the opportunity to believe even in direct opposition to the word. There must be a choice so that He can reward you.
A lot was about a transformed mind. I need to read that book. Risk is equal to what we believe. Faith discovers. Then he talked about wrong thoughts lead to wrong prayers. It was phenomenal. Here will be my last thought for today. The Holy Spirit is with us because the rending of heaven. So the enemy wants us to have an exaggerated awareness of the devil and his plans because then he sets our agenda. Therefore instead of living in response to God we live is reaction to the devil.
So I hope this helps. The Lord was gracious to me to allow me to sleep in later than usual and get some rest. So I missed the first session and will probably have to buy it next week or watch once I am home. So I will be going to the last 2 sessions and then taking the weekend off to do laundry and the everyday life stuff.
Miss you all!
Then I had a vision of all of us core Joylanders going up to Pikes Peak and just taking some guitars, drums and anything really that we could play and just gathering in a circle singing worship to the Lord. These were songs about His love and Goodness. Mostly what we sing on a Saturday, but not like war songs or victory chants or anything like that. While this was happening people were milling about just visiting the peak. So after a while the Heavens opened and the glory light came down upon us and the mountain. As I am writing this I realize it is the open heaven concept and wherever we go we have an open heaven over us. So then that was shining on us and then the mountain began to smile. It smiled a mountain smile and it was as if it was happy to be free and returned home or like yes this is what I was originally created for. I believe when that woman wrote that first song at the top of the Peak it was in worship and now it was happy to be what it was created to be again. So anyone up for worship when I get back?!
I had a crazy dream last night that I told my mom and am hoping to get help interpreting. I think this will be easier to share in person, but remind me. I wrote it down.
Yesterday we got to hear from Beni, Kris and Bill. It was awesome. I walked through and got an impartation for church ministry and this gal said one thing to me success, great success. Not sure what this means yet. She was the one that seemed to get very specific things for people as they passed through and others released more general impartations about grace and a love for people. I will try and summarize in short what each speaker spoke about.
Beni-The drought is over. We are in the final stage of transition and we are birthing a baby. The Lord is waiting on the church to see the outcome of the years after 2012 and there outcomes depend on us. She also said that it is the time for the owl and the eagle's time is passed. The seers will see crazy things and we need to act or we will second guess and talk ourselves out of it So for all seers feel good that you are not alone with what you are seeing it is crazy stuff all over the world.
Kris - Believing in people and believing in yourself. He talked about David and that we need to believe what God says about us whether we have any other support. He also talked about how Jesus allowed Judas to be the treasurer even though he knew Judas was stealing. He was seeing him in his heavenly persona. With this means you can hang yourself or become an apostle. He also talked about Barnabas and how he mentored Paul until Paul was greater than him and that even when they split over Mark, and then Mark wrote a gospel after Barnabas mentored him. That is was amazing to be a Barnabas in someones life.
Bill - How to ever talk about what Bill talked about. Largest point for me. The teaching that dad taught on months ago that when Jesus was baptized the heavens opened the Spirit came upon him, and the Lord spoke this is my son in whom I am well pleased. And then He went into the desert and was tempted with "if you are the son of God." Bill said that we have the spirit come upon us but people don't want to be led into the desert for fear of the temptations. He said the word of God has to be opposed for 2 reasons. 1) To know the strength of the word and 2) we must have experiences contrary to the word. We must have the opportunity to believe even in direct opposition to the word. There must be a choice so that He can reward you.
A lot was about a transformed mind. I need to read that book. Risk is equal to what we believe. Faith discovers. Then he talked about wrong thoughts lead to wrong prayers. It was phenomenal. Here will be my last thought for today. The Holy Spirit is with us because the rending of heaven. So the enemy wants us to have an exaggerated awareness of the devil and his plans because then he sets our agenda. Therefore instead of living in response to God we live is reaction to the devil.
So I hope this helps. The Lord was gracious to me to allow me to sleep in later than usual and get some rest. So I missed the first session and will probably have to buy it next week or watch once I am home. So I will be going to the last 2 sessions and then taking the weekend off to do laundry and the everyday life stuff.
Miss you all!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Bethel Day 6 Kingdom Culture
So yesterday was a great day. We started out at school with worship again with Chris McClarney and the Lord came upon us and we sat in silence in the glory for 40 minutes. It was great. I spent a lot of time thanking the Lord for the many things in my life. When you are in the glory the Lord reminds you of the many things we should be grateful for and things he has done for us. Because worship ran long we had a short Q and A time. Mostly we heard about his testimony and how he got into writing worship songs.
After the morning session we had a very long break before our first Creating a Kingdom Culture session. It was wonderful. I went out to lunch with one of the girls I met here, Amanda. It was a great time of getting to know her and finding out that God introduced us. We spent a couple hours together. Then I went off to hunt for a baby gift and found one. It was extremely hot yesterday and I think that is why I feel tired. The heat is draining. I was on the hunt for an ice cream and stopped at a light and yes, there it was. A beautiful sign that said all pies $6.99. My favorite pie that I only get here in California is half it's original cost. The Lord loves me. Kaluha Cream Cheese Pie from Marie Calendar's is the best and I get to enjoy it for days. It was so great.
So I came home and made some phone calls to some people back home and had great talks with Janet and Traci. Then I took off for the evening session. Great worship and then Danny Silk spoke. It was awesome. He spoke on the Undetectable Pursuit of Greatness. It was wonderful. There was such a push to understand that we always need to remember that we are glorious, great, holy but for something that is greater than we are. A lifetime of choices have made us who we are now and what we surround ourselves with will make our character. What comes out of our mouth shows what type of character we have. It is really funny how it seems this stuff should be common sense, but it is really profound and thought provoking. These sessions at the Twin View Campus will be available to purchase next week in case any of you want them.
It was also fun to hear about the amazing story of Jesus Culture. Jesus Culture just released a three song album on i-tunes this last Tuesday. A major online reviewer of music wrote a review that stated that as he looked at the top releases that all the normal people were on there. Yes, there was Eminem, there was Christina Aguilaria and others and he gets to number 10 and said who is Jesus Culture. That's right the album debuted at the number 10 spot above Lady Gaga! He then went on a hunt to figure out what or who Jesus Culture is. He talked about how they are a generation of radical christian revivalists. It was awesome. It also came out that it was self-released and that there is no recording company behind them or a manager. He talked about how the other moguls will be scratching their heads as to how it is even possible to be in the number 10 spot with no promotion or marketing and no one backing them up. Jesus Culture has no marketing plan or budget! Ha-Ha! we have the best backer ever-God is so funny! It was awesome. Again I cannot stress to you that you need to purchase this album. It is a great time of worship and worth the $3.00.
Well, I love you all. I feel like I already have so much stuff to bring back and so many things the Lord is telling me. I can't wait! Rock The Lift tonight.
After the morning session we had a very long break before our first Creating a Kingdom Culture session. It was wonderful. I went out to lunch with one of the girls I met here, Amanda. It was a great time of getting to know her and finding out that God introduced us. We spent a couple hours together. Then I went off to hunt for a baby gift and found one. It was extremely hot yesterday and I think that is why I feel tired. The heat is draining. I was on the hunt for an ice cream and stopped at a light and yes, there it was. A beautiful sign that said all pies $6.99. My favorite pie that I only get here in California is half it's original cost. The Lord loves me. Kaluha Cream Cheese Pie from Marie Calendar's is the best and I get to enjoy it for days. It was so great.
So I came home and made some phone calls to some people back home and had great talks with Janet and Traci. Then I took off for the evening session. Great worship and then Danny Silk spoke. It was awesome. He spoke on the Undetectable Pursuit of Greatness. It was wonderful. There was such a push to understand that we always need to remember that we are glorious, great, holy but for something that is greater than we are. A lifetime of choices have made us who we are now and what we surround ourselves with will make our character. What comes out of our mouth shows what type of character we have. It is really funny how it seems this stuff should be common sense, but it is really profound and thought provoking. These sessions at the Twin View Campus will be available to purchase next week in case any of you want them.
It was also fun to hear about the amazing story of Jesus Culture. Jesus Culture just released a three song album on i-tunes this last Tuesday. A major online reviewer of music wrote a review that stated that as he looked at the top releases that all the normal people were on there. Yes, there was Eminem, there was Christina Aguilaria and others and he gets to number 10 and said who is Jesus Culture. That's right the album debuted at the number 10 spot above Lady Gaga! He then went on a hunt to figure out what or who Jesus Culture is. He talked about how they are a generation of radical christian revivalists. It was awesome. It also came out that it was self-released and that there is no recording company behind them or a manager. He talked about how the other moguls will be scratching their heads as to how it is even possible to be in the number 10 spot with no promotion or marketing and no one backing them up. Jesus Culture has no marketing plan or budget! Ha-Ha! we have the best backer ever-God is so funny! It was awesome. Again I cannot stress to you that you need to purchase this album. It is a great time of worship and worth the $3.00.
Well, I love you all. I feel like I already have so much stuff to bring back and so many things the Lord is telling me. I can't wait! Rock The Lift tonight.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Bethel Day 5
What an awesome day yesterday was. We had Chris McClarney lead us out in musical worship. For those of you that don't know the name you will know the songs. Your Love Never Fails, Your Love Is Everything (We Cry Out Album). Great worship. It was a sweet time with the Lord. I will admit it was hard to focus due to the fact that Kathy put up the sign-up sheet for the band session I was trying to attend, I went out there during the second song and it was full so I made it onto the waiting list in 2nd place. Come to find out Brian will be doing a bnd session now for leaders in July so I am now praying that is the one I can get on the list for.
So after worship Jenn got up and did some Q & A and there were some great questions. So much of what she talked about I think would be wonderful to do now with the team. I am looking forward to talking to you guys about it. Then Brian got up and began to speak about worship leading. His style of teaching is to have a long list of points and start reading them and see which things rabbit trail into more. He was lit up. I just loved this session. He talked about the deep relationship and connection you need to have with your senior pastor or leader. I luck out on this one. It doesn't take so much work.
He made some fun points like we start worship but hopefully by the end of worship you are in the background and the people don't remember who led. Another is that we need to teach our people to express joy, and to celebrate His goodness. Brian said this would change the atmosphere faster than anything else and this way we, as a worship team, do not have to force the issue. Again we do this in our free worship!
We must remember always that we are carriers of the presence. Bill spoke in the afternoon and he said if a dove had descended on us and we did not want it to leave how would we walk? We would take great care to remember the dove is there and move accordingly. The same with the presence. We need to keep it at the forefront of our minds and walk accordingly. It was a great point. Unity of the spirit is the culture of honor. We will not all agree on what we like or do not like but we can be unified in the spirit. He also said that Praise is Faith. These words could be exchanged for each other. Praise is Holy ignoring.
One of my favorites that he talked about was that suckiness songs impart sucky revelations even to new believers. He has found that because a lot of churches focus on how to fix our sucky lives we sing songs about it all the time. Jenn had a wonderful vision of people praising the Lord and God holding a big mirror and those praise reflect back on the people. Because the more we praise Him and spend time in His presence the more we become like Him. This was such a great point and of course we all know I hate those type of songs about how crap I've been but I did not look at it like this is what reflects back on us. Plus he talked about singing what you want to become in 5 years. I don't want to become a sinner in 5 years or a hopeless fool. I want to become holy, righteous, joyful. As you can tell this was awesome. Worship brings revelation and we want people to have amazing revelations. As you can tell there was a lot in this teaching. I look forward to telling you the rest once I'm home.
After lunch I took Brian's Review your song class. This is a class where people play their original worship song and then he and Chris critiques them Wow, can I say we have some awesome talent at this school. Brian even said that this school kicks every other schools a**. Yes, that seems to be one of his words and it cracks us up! I just know we will be singing some of these people's songs someday. They were awesome.
After that was Bill. Need I say more? It was awesome. So profound. I think that most of you should just listen to the teaching. We did find out that the teachings will be available for download for $3.00 almost as soon as the class is done. We will hear more about how to do that today. Also, Brian gave us all the greatest gift by letting us know that at the end of school we will all be receiving chord charts for the new songs they have been trying out on us and that will be laid down on a album in September. This is a change of heart guys! I asked last Friday and they said we would have to wait and just keep checking. This was very exciting. The worship out here has been awesome and watching the songs change and transform each day has been great.
So Bill's teaching was that we naturally become like what we worship. I can tell that in my own life. So much becomes less and less important than spending time with the Lord. He broke down the scripture of 1 Cor. 3:18. It was wonderful. He said the Father looks for worshippers not worship. So true. Again I will repeat this point from earlier. Every move we make we must keep the presence in mind.
Another thing he talks about was if we ask for things that have already happened (ex. rend the heavens and come) well He already did and we will not be able to find our joy in the answered prayer. So then we must find our joy in the discipline of prayer. If it has already happened then it cannot be fulfilled in our midst. There is so much more. Maybe I will write a second blog about it or you can wait till I get home. I have to get ready for today. We start the Creating a Kingdom Culture conference and will be busy for the next 3 days.
The little of The Lift I saw last night was wonderful...dark...but wonderful! I am looking forward to seeing it in person. Have a wonderful day. Love and miss you all.
So after worship Jenn got up and did some Q & A and there were some great questions. So much of what she talked about I think would be wonderful to do now with the team. I am looking forward to talking to you guys about it. Then Brian got up and began to speak about worship leading. His style of teaching is to have a long list of points and start reading them and see which things rabbit trail into more. He was lit up. I just loved this session. He talked about the deep relationship and connection you need to have with your senior pastor or leader. I luck out on this one. It doesn't take so much work.
He made some fun points like we start worship but hopefully by the end of worship you are in the background and the people don't remember who led. Another is that we need to teach our people to express joy, and to celebrate His goodness. Brian said this would change the atmosphere faster than anything else and this way we, as a worship team, do not have to force the issue. Again we do this in our free worship!
We must remember always that we are carriers of the presence. Bill spoke in the afternoon and he said if a dove had descended on us and we did not want it to leave how would we walk? We would take great care to remember the dove is there and move accordingly. The same with the presence. We need to keep it at the forefront of our minds and walk accordingly. It was a great point. Unity of the spirit is the culture of honor. We will not all agree on what we like or do not like but we can be unified in the spirit. He also said that Praise is Faith. These words could be exchanged for each other. Praise is Holy ignoring.
One of my favorites that he talked about was that suckiness songs impart sucky revelations even to new believers. He has found that because a lot of churches focus on how to fix our sucky lives we sing songs about it all the time. Jenn had a wonderful vision of people praising the Lord and God holding a big mirror and those praise reflect back on the people. Because the more we praise Him and spend time in His presence the more we become like Him. This was such a great point and of course we all know I hate those type of songs about how crap I've been but I did not look at it like this is what reflects back on us. Plus he talked about singing what you want to become in 5 years. I don't want to become a sinner in 5 years or a hopeless fool. I want to become holy, righteous, joyful. As you can tell this was awesome. Worship brings revelation and we want people to have amazing revelations. As you can tell there was a lot in this teaching. I look forward to telling you the rest once I'm home.
After lunch I took Brian's Review your song class. This is a class where people play their original worship song and then he and Chris critiques them Wow, can I say we have some awesome talent at this school. Brian even said that this school kicks every other schools a**. Yes, that seems to be one of his words and it cracks us up! I just know we will be singing some of these people's songs someday. They were awesome.
After that was Bill. Need I say more? It was awesome. So profound. I think that most of you should just listen to the teaching. We did find out that the teachings will be available for download for $3.00 almost as soon as the class is done. We will hear more about how to do that today. Also, Brian gave us all the greatest gift by letting us know that at the end of school we will all be receiving chord charts for the new songs they have been trying out on us and that will be laid down on a album in September. This is a change of heart guys! I asked last Friday and they said we would have to wait and just keep checking. This was very exciting. The worship out here has been awesome and watching the songs change and transform each day has been great.
So Bill's teaching was that we naturally become like what we worship. I can tell that in my own life. So much becomes less and less important than spending time with the Lord. He broke down the scripture of 1 Cor. 3:18. It was wonderful. He said the Father looks for worshippers not worship. So true. Again I will repeat this point from earlier. Every move we make we must keep the presence in mind.
Another thing he talks about was if we ask for things that have already happened (ex. rend the heavens and come) well He already did and we will not be able to find our joy in the answered prayer. So then we must find our joy in the discipline of prayer. If it has already happened then it cannot be fulfilled in our midst. There is so much more. Maybe I will write a second blog about it or you can wait till I get home. I have to get ready for today. We start the Creating a Kingdom Culture conference and will be busy for the next 3 days.
The little of The Lift I saw last night was wonderful...dark...but wonderful! I am looking forward to seeing it in person. Have a wonderful day. Love and miss you all.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Bethel Day 4
So last night I thought I heard the Lord tell me to walk/run/jog a mile. So I said if He was serious I need Him to wake me up before 6:00am. So what happened? I woke up at 5:55am. I got the hint. So I got dressed and 1/2 jogged and 1/2 walked the mile around the neighborhood. Nothing major revelatory came out. I believe it was a test. I had told the Lord I would say YES and He started out by asking me to do something I can't stand. It worked out well, but has made me even more tired. I feel like I have been on a emotional roller coaster. Nothing about correction and a baring soul thing--but awesome revelations of who God is.
So this morning worship started and I stood there and told the Lord that I wanted to know who I was supposed to pour myself into. I waited patiently and He spoke the name to me. I am not ready to share the name, but it was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a worship type person or a young singer or something like that. The name given to me was not that. So I am in the process of waiting for the Lord to show me how to pour myself into this person. Now that I have the person I understand the connections but it was still a big surprise. I also had an awesome vision of this person.
After worship Kathy V. talked about transition, and how we were in a season of transition. It was exciting to hear about her and Kris' life. How to be faithful through it all. I figure that the crazy season I and my family have been in and going through is going to and has prepared us for the new thing that is emerging in our lives. It was a very refreshing talk and it made it okay to deal with and even become frustrated or confused by transition. She did say some major points I enjoyed. So I will share these with you.
Don't be obsessed with the way things used to be.
If you imitate someone else all the time, you will only ever be second.
We have to be able to change with what is--not what was.
We need to be listening to God's voice all the time. Not just focus on what He said a long time ago. His word is Forever and Constant. This does not mean to throw out what He said a while ago.
This afternoon I took my first songwriting class with Brian Johnson. It was great. I am hoping to be able to grab a copy of his notes. I took crazy notes but lots of info!
I want to just say I am looking forward to hearing Bill tomorrow.
Here is a chorus that we sang today that I love.
His love is deep
His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce
His love is strong
And it is furious
His love is sweet
His love is wild
And it's waking hearts to life!
It is all about the love!
(thanks Jeremy Riddle for this song Furious!)
During free worship after this song I just began to sing to the Lord to make us one accord and to knit our hearts together. Then I saw this awesome image of God's hand sewing with needle and thread our hearts together. It was amazing and very deliberate. Then I just asked to see what He sees, hears what He hears, and speak what He speaks. I am His hands and feet.
So this morning worship started and I stood there and told the Lord that I wanted to know who I was supposed to pour myself into. I waited patiently and He spoke the name to me. I am not ready to share the name, but it was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a worship type person or a young singer or something like that. The name given to me was not that. So I am in the process of waiting for the Lord to show me how to pour myself into this person. Now that I have the person I understand the connections but it was still a big surprise. I also had an awesome vision of this person.
After worship Kathy V. talked about transition, and how we were in a season of transition. It was exciting to hear about her and Kris' life. How to be faithful through it all. I figure that the crazy season I and my family have been in and going through is going to and has prepared us for the new thing that is emerging in our lives. It was a very refreshing talk and it made it okay to deal with and even become frustrated or confused by transition. She did say some major points I enjoyed. So I will share these with you.
Don't be obsessed with the way things used to be.
If you imitate someone else all the time, you will only ever be second.
We have to be able to change with what is--not what was.
We need to be listening to God's voice all the time. Not just focus on what He said a long time ago. His word is Forever and Constant. This does not mean to throw out what He said a while ago.
This afternoon I took my first songwriting class with Brian Johnson. It was great. I am hoping to be able to grab a copy of his notes. I took crazy notes but lots of info!
I want to just say I am looking forward to hearing Bill tomorrow.
Here is a chorus that we sang today that I love.
His love is deep
His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce
His love is strong
And it is furious
His love is sweet
His love is wild
And it's waking hearts to life!
It is all about the love!
(thanks Jeremy Riddle for this song Furious!)
During free worship after this song I just began to sing to the Lord to make us one accord and to knit our hearts together. Then I saw this awesome image of God's hand sewing with needle and thread our hearts together. It was amazing and very deliberate. Then I just asked to see what He sees, hears what He hears, and speak what He speaks. I am His hands and feet.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Sunday evening
Okay so here is a mini blog of Sunday evening. First I finished my journal. I'll try and put pics up tomorrow and you can play spot the differences! Went to the 5:00 prayer before service and it is now held in the great room. That was awesome. Like uncontrolled chaos. People dancing, praying, sitting and chatting, reading the bible and walking around in a circle with the spirit pouring out of some of them like they were on a roller coaster. There was a ton of joy in the room. After prayer we went into Sunday nights service and began to worship with Jeremy, Will and Joanna. It was a time of huge celebration and then yes it happened. I began to see Father in the Trinity. What an amazing God we serve. He is so generous. So of course I was taken to another realm and missed most of worship.
He showed me drinking from a very calm river. Almost as if there was no flow. Anyway, I was drinking and felt refreshed. Then I (a non-swimmer) dived in and was floating on top of the water and it was gently covering me. It had a cushiony feel to it maybe like jello or something. Anyway as I was laying in this river Father said this was Him and that I was always safe and secure and never had to worry about anything while in His presence. Then He showed me that my drinking from the river was giving me whatever I needed. I.E refreshing, wisdom, grace, money, anything I wanted or needed. Then again I was flowing with the river and I knew, even though I didn't care, that the river was capable of great violence. Then He showed me 2 scenes. One was from the movie Prince Caspian when the river took the form of a man sort of and dashed away the enemy and then was calm almost instantly and the other was from The Fellowship of the Ring when she calls up the river and it rises up against their enemies. Then I just realized that as long as I was with Father He will protect me and I have nothing to worry about. We are learning a song by Jeremy Riddle called Furious (get ready band), but it talks about how His love is furious and yet that fury is never shown or directed at me--only the enemy.
So this is what happened tonight for me. After this I was very tired and actually came home early to write this and then go to sleep. So by now most of you have read why I keep having visions of God in the Trinity and why I asked. I would recommend that all of you do this. Your pictures will most likely look different but there is such a comfort and strength in knowing who God is and how He wants you to see Him. Have a wonderful night. I am off to bed to get up and take a songwriting class with Brian tomorrow. Yeah! Our first technical type of classes.
He showed me drinking from a very calm river. Almost as if there was no flow. Anyway, I was drinking and felt refreshed. Then I (a non-swimmer) dived in and was floating on top of the water and it was gently covering me. It had a cushiony feel to it maybe like jello or something. Anyway as I was laying in this river Father said this was Him and that I was always safe and secure and never had to worry about anything while in His presence. Then He showed me that my drinking from the river was giving me whatever I needed. I.E refreshing, wisdom, grace, money, anything I wanted or needed. Then again I was flowing with the river and I knew, even though I didn't care, that the river was capable of great violence. Then He showed me 2 scenes. One was from the movie Prince Caspian when the river took the form of a man sort of and dashed away the enemy and then was calm almost instantly and the other was from The Fellowship of the Ring when she calls up the river and it rises up against their enemies. Then I just realized that as long as I was with Father He will protect me and I have nothing to worry about. We are learning a song by Jeremy Riddle called Furious (get ready band), but it talks about how His love is furious and yet that fury is never shown or directed at me--only the enemy.
So this is what happened tonight for me. After this I was very tired and actually came home early to write this and then go to sleep. So by now most of you have read why I keep having visions of God in the Trinity and why I asked. I would recommend that all of you do this. Your pictures will most likely look different but there is such a comfort and strength in knowing who God is and how He wants you to see Him. Have a wonderful night. I am off to bed to get up and take a songwriting class with Brian tomorrow. Yeah! Our first technical type of classes.
1st Weekend at Bethel
Okay so my first weekend was spent looking around the town and then relaxing at home and preparing for Joyland. What an awesome time it was to watch and be a part of our first service in the Naz building. Great service last night and all I could think was we are a different church. We are starting out being what church was intended to be. It was amazing to see the people stand in line for hours to have their feet washed. I am sorry I missed that, but the humility of everyone (even leaders) was humbling to see. Thank you all. I'm looking forward to next week.
Sunday I went to first service like they asked us to, and it was awesome. Again the Lord revealed who He was as Jesus in the Trinity. I didn't even have to ask. He knows I want to know. It was beautiful. At least with this one I can describe Him. It first started out with me dancing slowly with my feet on top of His and then as we continued to dance we were cheek to cheek and swaying back and forth and then He was dipping me, spinning and we were ballroom dancing. It revealed to me that He is the Lover of my soul. I just stood there swaying for a long time while this dance of twirls, dips and heart to heart intimacy happened. I realize now how one we are and how much He just wants to be with me. It was so lovely. Like watching two people who were solely focused on each other and there was no one else in the room. I'm not sure why I am sharing this part with you but I believe it must mean someone needs to read this and know.
Then Kris V. spoke on fatherhood and it was wonderful. Some of it was a little about what he talked about earlier but a lot was about giving your children to the Lord and knowing when to change roles and allow the Lord to be their Father. Also, coming to the realization that the Father loves our children more than we do, and that He is their Father! It was really great. You can watch it on ibethel.tv for more details.
I am planning on attending the prayer rooms in the Upper Room tonight at 6:00 and then a night of worship at 7:00. Who knows maybe He will reveal the Father to me. It wouldn't surprise me at all. He is a good daddy and doesn't hold back if we just ask.
I feel like I haven't learned so much for the practical worship leading stuff but I am changing. I am hoping to possibly purchase the school and maybe do some teachings or classes where the worship ministry listens and we go through some stuff. I find that my heart is ripe for the Lord to change me or reveal stuff to me in a way I never realized was possible. I am a friend of God's and He is proving that by the revelation He is showing me. I'll let you know how prayer and worship go tonight. I know some of you will be watching live. If you are look for a purple and white plaid shirt and that will be me.
Sunday I went to first service like they asked us to, and it was awesome. Again the Lord revealed who He was as Jesus in the Trinity. I didn't even have to ask. He knows I want to know. It was beautiful. At least with this one I can describe Him. It first started out with me dancing slowly with my feet on top of His and then as we continued to dance we were cheek to cheek and swaying back and forth and then He was dipping me, spinning and we were ballroom dancing. It revealed to me that He is the Lover of my soul. I just stood there swaying for a long time while this dance of twirls, dips and heart to heart intimacy happened. I realize now how one we are and how much He just wants to be with me. It was so lovely. Like watching two people who were solely focused on each other and there was no one else in the room. I'm not sure why I am sharing this part with you but I believe it must mean someone needs to read this and know.
Then Kris V. spoke on fatherhood and it was wonderful. Some of it was a little about what he talked about earlier but a lot was about giving your children to the Lord and knowing when to change roles and allow the Lord to be their Father. Also, coming to the realization that the Father loves our children more than we do, and that He is their Father! It was really great. You can watch it on ibethel.tv for more details.
I am planning on attending the prayer rooms in the Upper Room tonight at 6:00 and then a night of worship at 7:00. Who knows maybe He will reveal the Father to me. It wouldn't surprise me at all. He is a good daddy and doesn't hold back if we just ask.
I feel like I haven't learned so much for the practical worship leading stuff but I am changing. I am hoping to possibly purchase the school and maybe do some teachings or classes where the worship ministry listens and we go through some stuff. I find that my heart is ripe for the Lord to change me or reveal stuff to me in a way I never realized was possible. I am a friend of God's and He is proving that by the revelation He is showing me. I'll let you know how prayer and worship go tonight. I know some of you will be watching live. If you are look for a purple and white plaid shirt and that will be me.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Bethel Day 3
As most of you can tell I am writing a day behind. So yesterday (18th) was amazing. Jeremy Riddle led worship and spoke. So during worship I decided to do what Jenn recommended which was to ask God who He was in the Trinity. So I asked about who or what Holy Spirit looked like in the Trinity. Let me tell you I was transported to another realm. I am not sure it can even be explained, and I wish I could paint just to try and show what I saw. It had to do with fire and glory light. How to describe glory light? If anyone knows let me know. I was just receiving this vision for about 15 minutes. It was awesome.
Then Jeremy spoke about worship in the church and some of the things he has seen at churches in his travels. It was an amazing teaching on putting faith into action because without faith it is impossible to please God. He talked about how we say we believe God is holy, just, King of kings and Lord of lords but we are unwilling to put that belief into action. We as worship leaders and pastors of our churches need to be so amazingly extravagant in celebrating who God is and putting actions to what we say we believe. This way no one, whether they believe or not, can deny that God is in their midst. So if we are singing songs that say we will bow but are unwilling to put that into action then stop singing those songs. He deserves our wholehearted ridiculousness that people offer to bands like U2 or Coldplay. There is something wrong with our world when they get the worship and praise that is due our King. We as worshippers need to not care what anyone thinks of us and be exuberant in our worship.
He also talked about how, without pastors and leaders who are worshippers first, these things cannot change in a church. I know many of us know this or have experienced it somewhere in our church life, but I just want to say that I feel blessed to be in a church where the senior leadership team are true worshippers and prove it with action. This is a very special thing that Joyland has that may other churches wish for. In talking with some people I met they want our church to happen in their church. I am not talking up Joyland but just the truth of what we do, and how we are trying to train up the people. "Thank you!", to all leadership for setting the precedent of worship and that worship is the thing--not the stuff leading up to the thing.
So after the morning session we had a BBQ at Kathy Vallotton's home. It was absolutely stunning. It was awesome to see how God blesses those who are faithful. There home is built for children, and entertaining very large groups. Their house is used for the ministry. It was wonderful. I also got to talk to Chris Quilala about his new baby Ella! Great name right. I believe this is a God given name and Ella's will be changing our world. She is 6 weeks old and just beautiful. I also got to tell Kris V. what an amazing teaching he did. He is a very gentle man with a sweet spirit. He reminds me of God the father who is gentle and loving and kind but there is an underlying fierceness to Him about His people. Kris is like that. Gentle but fierce when it is needed. So, needless to say the time there was fun and relaxed. I get to go back one more time at the end of school.
Early in the evening I was able to talk to Riley, and he had a very rough day missing mommy. It hurt my heart to hear him sobbing on the phone so I cried for a while and then went to sleep. It helped. He is now doing better and very excited about a surprise day of fun today. I am hoping to figure out what to do today and then be back to watch Joyland's 1st service at the Nazarene Church. So I guess I will see you all tonight...like the fly on the wall. I expect to see exuberant worshippers because the King is in your midst.
Then Jeremy spoke about worship in the church and some of the things he has seen at churches in his travels. It was an amazing teaching on putting faith into action because without faith it is impossible to please God. He talked about how we say we believe God is holy, just, King of kings and Lord of lords but we are unwilling to put that belief into action. We as worship leaders and pastors of our churches need to be so amazingly extravagant in celebrating who God is and putting actions to what we say we believe. This way no one, whether they believe or not, can deny that God is in their midst. So if we are singing songs that say we will bow but are unwilling to put that into action then stop singing those songs. He deserves our wholehearted ridiculousness that people offer to bands like U2 or Coldplay. There is something wrong with our world when they get the worship and praise that is due our King. We as worshippers need to not care what anyone thinks of us and be exuberant in our worship.
He also talked about how, without pastors and leaders who are worshippers first, these things cannot change in a church. I know many of us know this or have experienced it somewhere in our church life, but I just want to say that I feel blessed to be in a church where the senior leadership team are true worshippers and prove it with action. This is a very special thing that Joyland has that may other churches wish for. In talking with some people I met they want our church to happen in their church. I am not talking up Joyland but just the truth of what we do, and how we are trying to train up the people. "Thank you!", to all leadership for setting the precedent of worship and that worship is the thing--not the stuff leading up to the thing.
So after the morning session we had a BBQ at Kathy Vallotton's home. It was absolutely stunning. It was awesome to see how God blesses those who are faithful. There home is built for children, and entertaining very large groups. Their house is used for the ministry. It was wonderful. I also got to talk to Chris Quilala about his new baby Ella! Great name right. I believe this is a God given name and Ella's will be changing our world. She is 6 weeks old and just beautiful. I also got to tell Kris V. what an amazing teaching he did. He is a very gentle man with a sweet spirit. He reminds me of God the father who is gentle and loving and kind but there is an underlying fierceness to Him about His people. Kris is like that. Gentle but fierce when it is needed. So, needless to say the time there was fun and relaxed. I get to go back one more time at the end of school.
Early in the evening I was able to talk to Riley, and he had a very rough day missing mommy. It hurt my heart to hear him sobbing on the phone so I cried for a while and then went to sleep. It helped. He is now doing better and very excited about a surprise day of fun today. I am hoping to figure out what to do today and then be back to watch Joyland's 1st service at the Nazarene Church. So I guess I will see you all tonight...like the fly on the wall. I expect to see exuberant worshippers because the King is in your midst.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Bethel Day 2
So again worship was awesome. I just want you fellow worship leaders to know that the Bethel team is not perfect. Everyone had a great laugh along with Brian when the band and him started playing in one key and he started singing in another. I actually think it helped people relax and realize that they are just regular people. There are some amazing new songs I am hoping to bring back to you all.
So Kris V. spoke in the morning session and truly I could not keep taking notes for fear of missing something wonderful. Can I just stop here and say that what we are doing at Joyland is what these people out here are confirming. It is just amazing. So Kris talked about many things some of which were that the reason Christians are not on the forefront of everything is because we still have a slave mentality instead of a friend mentality. Out of John 15. He said you know you're a friend when you have revelation. It was awesome. He also talked about how there are Pharaohs out there with dreams that we need revelation to interpret. He said just watch movies or listen to the music. They are dreaming but need interpretations. This is not even a 10th of how impactful this teaching was. I am buying the mp3 so we can listen. I do believe it would be good for us to listen to.
In the early afternoon we had a journaling session. So I thought this class was going to be Kathy V. teaching on journaling and why it is important, but was I way off. She talked about a bunch of supplies sitting at round tables and just told us to look through magazines and ask the Lord to throw some things in our face for our journals. Then we cut and paste them on the covers and then mod podge them for good measure. I am not yet finished with mine but if you want to see what the Lord has said so far you can go look at my pictures on facebook. I found more stuff last night, but wow the Lord was speaking to me with mostly words. It is really awesome to see 400 journals and the different things the Lord is speaking to people.
The late afternoon session was Jenn Johnson. Can I just say what a happy person she is. She has put a challenge to us to ask the Lord a few questions. 1) In this season of my life who do You want me pouring into? 2) In this season in my life who do You want pouring into me? 3) In this season who should I surround myself with? She really spoke on being connected to the Lord and that all things in the grey are an area for Holy Spirit to speak to you, and that without the Spirit being on you you will be unable to answer the grey questions. She spoke a lot about relationship and that if you just ask the Lord He will reveal himself and speak to you. It doesn't take years to reconnect with Him. It only takes about 5 seconds. She also stressed that guilt and shame were not at all of God so we should repent and deal with it quickly.
I was talking with dad (Larry) last night and he said that the enemy will use anything to keep us from what God wants us to be doing. This means it can be very unobvious. Bethel is moving into a new season for their church and I cannot wait to see what God will show us at the Hem of His Garment as a leadership team. But one thing I am learning is to be friends with Jesus and to listen and that we are going to change the world. The world is crying out for change and we as friends of Jesus are that change.
Not sure if I posted this in my day one blog but if I did oh well. I had a vision during worship of a word that was given to me last Saturday. It was about the stream of a firework coming down from heaven and hitting me and the exploding and how each one was getting better and better and Jesus was sitting next to Chris N. and just saying if you thought that one was great wait for the next one. I (Jesus) know what is coming. So I had that picture of the fireworks coming down from heaven and hitting the school members and the burst shooting out of them and everywhere in the world the embers landed these people popped up and were shouting the name of Jesus. Like I said in my first post at least 40% of the people are from other nations. We are covering the world with just an ember. That is all the Lord needs to raise up a people who call on the name of Jesus.
Be blessed and I miss you all, but I can't imagine what else is in store for me to learn. This was so much. I am looking forward to everything. My new word is YES!
PS. If you can buy the Jesus Culture EP My Passion you should. You can only get it from
I-tunes and it is 3 songs and 3 bucks. Very worth it.
So Kris V. spoke in the morning session and truly I could not keep taking notes for fear of missing something wonderful. Can I just stop here and say that what we are doing at Joyland is what these people out here are confirming. It is just amazing. So Kris talked about many things some of which were that the reason Christians are not on the forefront of everything is because we still have a slave mentality instead of a friend mentality. Out of John 15. He said you know you're a friend when you have revelation. It was awesome. He also talked about how there are Pharaohs out there with dreams that we need revelation to interpret. He said just watch movies or listen to the music. They are dreaming but need interpretations. This is not even a 10th of how impactful this teaching was. I am buying the mp3 so we can listen. I do believe it would be good for us to listen to.
In the early afternoon we had a journaling session. So I thought this class was going to be Kathy V. teaching on journaling and why it is important, but was I way off. She talked about a bunch of supplies sitting at round tables and just told us to look through magazines and ask the Lord to throw some things in our face for our journals. Then we cut and paste them on the covers and then mod podge them for good measure. I am not yet finished with mine but if you want to see what the Lord has said so far you can go look at my pictures on facebook. I found more stuff last night, but wow the Lord was speaking to me with mostly words. It is really awesome to see 400 journals and the different things the Lord is speaking to people.
The late afternoon session was Jenn Johnson. Can I just say what a happy person she is. She has put a challenge to us to ask the Lord a few questions. 1) In this season of my life who do You want me pouring into? 2) In this season in my life who do You want pouring into me? 3) In this season who should I surround myself with? She really spoke on being connected to the Lord and that all things in the grey are an area for Holy Spirit to speak to you, and that without the Spirit being on you you will be unable to answer the grey questions. She spoke a lot about relationship and that if you just ask the Lord He will reveal himself and speak to you. It doesn't take years to reconnect with Him. It only takes about 5 seconds. She also stressed that guilt and shame were not at all of God so we should repent and deal with it quickly.
I was talking with dad (Larry) last night and he said that the enemy will use anything to keep us from what God wants us to be doing. This means it can be very unobvious. Bethel is moving into a new season for their church and I cannot wait to see what God will show us at the Hem of His Garment as a leadership team. But one thing I am learning is to be friends with Jesus and to listen and that we are going to change the world. The world is crying out for change and we as friends of Jesus are that change.
Not sure if I posted this in my day one blog but if I did oh well. I had a vision during worship of a word that was given to me last Saturday. It was about the stream of a firework coming down from heaven and hitting me and the exploding and how each one was getting better and better and Jesus was sitting next to Chris N. and just saying if you thought that one was great wait for the next one. I (Jesus) know what is coming. So I had that picture of the fireworks coming down from heaven and hitting the school members and the burst shooting out of them and everywhere in the world the embers landed these people popped up and were shouting the name of Jesus. Like I said in my first post at least 40% of the people are from other nations. We are covering the world with just an ember. That is all the Lord needs to raise up a people who call on the name of Jesus.
Be blessed and I miss you all, but I can't imagine what else is in store for me to learn. This was so much. I am looking forward to everything. My new word is YES!
PS. If you can buy the Jesus Culture EP My Passion you should. You can only get it from
I-tunes and it is 3 songs and 3 bucks. Very worth it.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Day 1 of school
Okay so registration took a while, but it afforded me the opportunity to meet some people while in line. I have to say the first person I met asked where I went to church and I told her Joyland. She said that she has heard of it! I was so tripped out. I then realized that she works in the sozo department and probably heard Galen or some of the staff talking about it. Not sure about that but she said it was an unusual name and how it was hard to forget. I also met some gals from Canada and New Zealand and the crazy country of the Valley in Ca! I would say out of 400 students about 40% are from other nations. It is awesome to see.
So Brian and Jenn led us out in worship. They are trying a lot of new songs out on us. They are in a phase of writing and so we are the lucky ones. Yes, I am hoping to grab some of the sheet music for these songs. They were awesome. You can hear some of them from this last Sunday's evening worship service. Great stuff. Then Brian spoke about pride and jealousies arising in us as some people may be elevated while here at the school, and that we are in a season and it is okay that we may or may not be where God fully wants us at yet. It was great. The easiest way to deal with pride or comparison or jealousy is to ask that person to pray with you! Then he had an awesome word for a random guy and said he would be writing a song for this generation that was a chant, and that the Lord is bringing him into his destiny. It was amazing. During this session it came out that at the end of school some people will or could be chosen to lead worship. I am excited to see other students using their many gifts!
After lunch we got to meet most of the instructors and some of the speakers. So many amazing classes that I am having a hard time choosing some. So for sure I am focusing on worship leading classes. There is a class called band session and I am praying that I make it in one of the 6 slots to lead a song. This would mean that the bass player, a back ground vocalist and myself would lead a song with the rest of the Jesus Culture/Bethel band. It would be an awesome hands on training time. I am also planning on taking some songwriting classes and all the prophetic song classes. I am able to purchase some of these classes and should know which ones by today. I am hoping to get the most relevant to bring back to everyone.
After this Kris Vallotton (said Val-a-tun) spoke and it was awesome. He spoke on John 15 (a great place to be) and about pruning. He talked about how one way you know someone does not have a great relationship with the Lord is that they do not take correction well. He talked about the differences of instruction and teaching. Instruction is structure inside of you and teaching is formations inside of you. Instruction is correction, discipline, reproof, warning etc. Teaching is to inform people about the truth. So he was focused on the parable of the sower and the scripture that states about the soil that heard the word and found joy but had no firm root in him and he fell away when hardship came upon him. He talked about his experience with many people that this had happened to and finally figured out what "had no firm root in him" meant. Part of it was that people could not take instruction and therefore could not have the structure inside of themselves to have teachings take formation in them. It was so powerful. So he asked the class of 400 for anyone who felt that in their spirit (an unwillingness to take correction or discipline) to stand up, repent and move on from there. It was amazing to see half the people stand. It was such a revelation to me. I came out here wanting to learn everything I can and am saying yes to the Lord no matter what is asked of me. I am praying for a willing heart the entire time.
I also volunteered to help with the Creating a Kingdom Culture conference. So I am looking forward to that. I am taking classes that put me in an uncomfortable position of having to try new things but with all the words given I know those are classes I need to take.
On the normal side of things non related to school. The weather has been nice besides that 1st day. It is only going to hit high 80's this week. The people I am staying with are very nice, and are a perfect match for me. They have 2 small children that are early risers and love to play! Thank the Lord I get up very early here. They also volunteer at Bethel in the prayer rooms. The town is similar to driving through Missouri, but it is not as small as I was envisioning. I guess everyone's idea about what a small town is are different. I figure if I can get to a food joint or even a mall in under 15 minutes that this is a good size town!
Well, that is all for now. I will try and write some more tonight or tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your prayers and support.
So Brian and Jenn led us out in worship. They are trying a lot of new songs out on us. They are in a phase of writing and so we are the lucky ones. Yes, I am hoping to grab some of the sheet music for these songs. They were awesome. You can hear some of them from this last Sunday's evening worship service. Great stuff. Then Brian spoke about pride and jealousies arising in us as some people may be elevated while here at the school, and that we are in a season and it is okay that we may or may not be where God fully wants us at yet. It was great. The easiest way to deal with pride or comparison or jealousy is to ask that person to pray with you! Then he had an awesome word for a random guy and said he would be writing a song for this generation that was a chant, and that the Lord is bringing him into his destiny. It was amazing. During this session it came out that at the end of school some people will or could be chosen to lead worship. I am excited to see other students using their many gifts!
After lunch we got to meet most of the instructors and some of the speakers. So many amazing classes that I am having a hard time choosing some. So for sure I am focusing on worship leading classes. There is a class called band session and I am praying that I make it in one of the 6 slots to lead a song. This would mean that the bass player, a back ground vocalist and myself would lead a song with the rest of the Jesus Culture/Bethel band. It would be an awesome hands on training time. I am also planning on taking some songwriting classes and all the prophetic song classes. I am able to purchase some of these classes and should know which ones by today. I am hoping to get the most relevant to bring back to everyone.
After this Kris Vallotton (said Val-a-tun) spoke and it was awesome. He spoke on John 15 (a great place to be) and about pruning. He talked about how one way you know someone does not have a great relationship with the Lord is that they do not take correction well. He talked about the differences of instruction and teaching. Instruction is structure inside of you and teaching is formations inside of you. Instruction is correction, discipline, reproof, warning etc. Teaching is to inform people about the truth. So he was focused on the parable of the sower and the scripture that states about the soil that heard the word and found joy but had no firm root in him and he fell away when hardship came upon him. He talked about his experience with many people that this had happened to and finally figured out what "had no firm root in him" meant. Part of it was that people could not take instruction and therefore could not have the structure inside of themselves to have teachings take formation in them. It was so powerful. So he asked the class of 400 for anyone who felt that in their spirit (an unwillingness to take correction or discipline) to stand up, repent and move on from there. It was amazing to see half the people stand. It was such a revelation to me. I came out here wanting to learn everything I can and am saying yes to the Lord no matter what is asked of me. I am praying for a willing heart the entire time.
I also volunteered to help with the Creating a Kingdom Culture conference. So I am looking forward to that. I am taking classes that put me in an uncomfortable position of having to try new things but with all the words given I know those are classes I need to take.
On the normal side of things non related to school. The weather has been nice besides that 1st day. It is only going to hit high 80's this week. The people I am staying with are very nice, and are a perfect match for me. They have 2 small children that are early risers and love to play! Thank the Lord I get up very early here. They also volunteer at Bethel in the prayer rooms. The town is similar to driving through Missouri, but it is not as small as I was envisioning. I guess everyone's idea about what a small town is are different. I figure if I can get to a food joint or even a mall in under 15 minutes that this is a good size town!
Well, that is all for now. I will try and write some more tonight or tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your prayers and support.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)