Being here in Redding is a dream come true.
God really values our dreams. Not just the ones we have while we sleep, although our sleeping dream time is often used by Him to speak to us. I'm talking about the real deep down desires of our hearts. The things we tend not to tell everyone we meet because they are like a treasure; hidden and waiting for the right time to be revealed. Or they are so outrageous that to disclose them to another person requires a very deep level of trust.
I am becoming alive to my dreams. Things I didn't even know I felt. Desires I have never had the arena or permission to explore. It is a very liberating experience, being given the freedom to dream. And yet, it can be difficult and scary if one has never been encouraged to lay bare the inner workings of their person.
I am learning who I am as a daughter of God. As I begin to learn who He is, what He's like and how He is working in me, I feel safe. Safe to explore my dreams. To my Daddy God, my dreams are important, they are valuable, they are wonderful and precious. Am I saying that if I dream of a sports car, that God is going to drop one off in my driveway tomorrow? Nope, not necessarily. What I AM saying is that in Him, we have permission to dream but even better than that, we are welcomed into His heart to dream WITH Him!! It is glorious.
I am learning just how much my Father in Heaven loves me. That He is so pleased with me, quite simply for being me. I am the apple of His eye! His heart is for me! He never takes His gaze off of me and He is fiercely protective of me for I am His child. Knowing these things (and so much more) creates a safe place for me to express my whole being; mind, body, soul and spirit. It is paradise in His embrace.
Friday 2 November 2012
Tuesday 25 September 2012
Homecoming
We've been 'home' in Redding for about 5 weeks but it feels as though we never left.
Our flight to the U.S. was horrible. Things started off well and our first leg of the journey, from Adelaide to Auckland went smoothly. The kids watched movies happily and the excitement of the plane trip was still fresh. Presents from Grandma and Grandad provided much joy and much sugar, a combination perhaps not so appreciated by the passengers seated around us but the kids loved their special treats from special people.
After a brief stopover in Auckland, we boarded our flight to San Francisco. By this stage everyone was starting to feel a bit tired and cranky. Hannah was not keen to be strapped back into her chair after being able to run free through Auckland airport. The boys just wanted the plane to take off so the T.V. would start working. I mean, they had not watched anything for at least an hour, their screen-high was wearing off and they were beginning to have withdrawals.
Eventually we made it up into the air and the real fun began. Please, please, note my sarcasm. There was, in fact, no fun had that night. Zero. Zip.
Hannah refused to go to sleep and proceeded to cry and scream and thrash about in her seat. Much to the horror of the young men in front of us. There were many rude stares thrown back in our direction. We were doing our best, we really were but Hannah was having none of it. The boys struggled to get comfortable enough to sleep and at one point Lachie was in tears, he was so tired but just couldn't get himself in a position that worked. I really felt sorry for him.
Ben and I took turns all night to walk around with Hannah trying to get her to sleep. She would drop off in our arms and when we tried to sit down she would wake. How about just standing up with her? I hear you ask. Well, she is a sturdy lass and our arms, backs, knees and feet were feeling the strain. Goodness, how we tried but to no avail. It really was like some strange form of torture.
Hannah finally fell asleep about 2.5 hours before we were due to land. I also managed to drop off, the first time all night, only to be woken shortly by an air hostess kindly giving me Hannah's breakfast. Dang it! I let Hannah sleep as long as I could but had to wake her, which was like a cruel joke, so she could eat something before landing. She was as cranky as all get out. No, she certainly didn't want anything to eat. In fact, just the act of asking her if she would like some yoghurt sent her into the scream zone once again. It was quite, quite awful!
So we landed. Gathered up all our belongings and waited for everyone to disembark the plane before it was our turn. We herded the little ones, who were so very tired, up the hallway towards Immigration. Making the crucial mistake of stopping at the toilets meant we were at the back of a VERY long queue. The kids were so far gone. Sam was in tears at the prospect of standing up in the queue for so long. Lachie collapsed into the ground in his dramatic way and declared 'I just CAN'T do it!'. Hannah was so tired she was falling asleep standing up.
After about 2 hours in the line, we made it to the desk. All our paperwork was in order and with the help of three small crazy-eyed kids we were pushed fairly quickly through Immigration and waved past any sort of customs activity. Thanks kids.
We made it to the car hire center and loaded up our van with our luggage. Which, by the way, had been collected for us by some kind person (angel?) and loaded onto carts and was waiting for us as we made our way out of Immigration. Such a blessing.
It was weird to be on the other side of the road once again and the weirdness was enhanced by the fact that neither of us had had any sleep overnight. Sort of felt like a dream. Thankfully, with the help of a very good GPS, we made it out of San Francisco and up the I-5 to Redding.
When we arrived home and pulled into our garage, I noticed there was an odd piece of furniture sitting in there. Looking down the passage as we went inside, I noticed a chair that was in the lounge room when we left was now in our bedroom. Weird.
As we went from room to room, we realised our whole house had been decorated with extra furniture, art work, toys and clothes for the kids and more! We were astounded! My wonderful friends from my small group had been very busy turning our house into a home. It was simply amazing. We felt so loved, it was a wonderful moment. There was food in the fridge and it was the best feeling to sit down for a meal after such a long couple of days. Thank you Jesus!
It has become rather obvious to us that there is a special grace for our family to be in Redding at this time. In this season, Redding is home. Although our hearts are for Australia and we miss our family and friends dearly, this city, these people have embraced us and we love it. It feels as though we are growing at an accelerated rate. Learning new things about God, about us and about the world every day. It's as though God has uprooted us from Australia, and planted us here in a big pile of juicy fertile soil, for us to grow quickly. To speed up processes that may have taken years to happen had we stayed in our homeland. Things are moving at a rate that at times, seems a little scary. But in a good way. Sort of like a roller coaster. It's incredible fun and so exciting but at any moment you could pee your pants.
Thanks for all your love and support. I am sure that much of what is happening for our family would not be possible without your prayers. God hears and He is showing Himself faithful. Be blessed to know that we are doing great!!
Our flight to the U.S. was horrible. Things started off well and our first leg of the journey, from Adelaide to Auckland went smoothly. The kids watched movies happily and the excitement of the plane trip was still fresh. Presents from Grandma and Grandad provided much joy and much sugar, a combination perhaps not so appreciated by the passengers seated around us but the kids loved their special treats from special people.
After a brief stopover in Auckland, we boarded our flight to San Francisco. By this stage everyone was starting to feel a bit tired and cranky. Hannah was not keen to be strapped back into her chair after being able to run free through Auckland airport. The boys just wanted the plane to take off so the T.V. would start working. I mean, they had not watched anything for at least an hour, their screen-high was wearing off and they were beginning to have withdrawals.
Eventually we made it up into the air and the real fun began. Please, please, note my sarcasm. There was, in fact, no fun had that night. Zero. Zip.
Hannah refused to go to sleep and proceeded to cry and scream and thrash about in her seat. Much to the horror of the young men in front of us. There were many rude stares thrown back in our direction. We were doing our best, we really were but Hannah was having none of it. The boys struggled to get comfortable enough to sleep and at one point Lachie was in tears, he was so tired but just couldn't get himself in a position that worked. I really felt sorry for him.
Ben and I took turns all night to walk around with Hannah trying to get her to sleep. She would drop off in our arms and when we tried to sit down she would wake. How about just standing up with her? I hear you ask. Well, she is a sturdy lass and our arms, backs, knees and feet were feeling the strain. Goodness, how we tried but to no avail. It really was like some strange form of torture.
Hannah finally fell asleep about 2.5 hours before we were due to land. I also managed to drop off, the first time all night, only to be woken shortly by an air hostess kindly giving me Hannah's breakfast. Dang it! I let Hannah sleep as long as I could but had to wake her, which was like a cruel joke, so she could eat something before landing. She was as cranky as all get out. No, she certainly didn't want anything to eat. In fact, just the act of asking her if she would like some yoghurt sent her into the scream zone once again. It was quite, quite awful!
So we landed. Gathered up all our belongings and waited for everyone to disembark the plane before it was our turn. We herded the little ones, who were so very tired, up the hallway towards Immigration. Making the crucial mistake of stopping at the toilets meant we were at the back of a VERY long queue. The kids were so far gone. Sam was in tears at the prospect of standing up in the queue for so long. Lachie collapsed into the ground in his dramatic way and declared 'I just CAN'T do it!'. Hannah was so tired she was falling asleep standing up.
After about 2 hours in the line, we made it to the desk. All our paperwork was in order and with the help of three small crazy-eyed kids we were pushed fairly quickly through Immigration and waved past any sort of customs activity. Thanks kids.
We made it to the car hire center and loaded up our van with our luggage. Which, by the way, had been collected for us by some kind person (angel?) and loaded onto carts and was waiting for us as we made our way out of Immigration. Such a blessing.
It was weird to be on the other side of the road once again and the weirdness was enhanced by the fact that neither of us had had any sleep overnight. Sort of felt like a dream. Thankfully, with the help of a very good GPS, we made it out of San Francisco and up the I-5 to Redding.
When we arrived home and pulled into our garage, I noticed there was an odd piece of furniture sitting in there. Looking down the passage as we went inside, I noticed a chair that was in the lounge room when we left was now in our bedroom. Weird.
As we went from room to room, we realised our whole house had been decorated with extra furniture, art work, toys and clothes for the kids and more! We were astounded! My wonderful friends from my small group had been very busy turning our house into a home. It was simply amazing. We felt so loved, it was a wonderful moment. There was food in the fridge and it was the best feeling to sit down for a meal after such a long couple of days. Thank you Jesus!
It has become rather obvious to us that there is a special grace for our family to be in Redding at this time. In this season, Redding is home. Although our hearts are for Australia and we miss our family and friends dearly, this city, these people have embraced us and we love it. It feels as though we are growing at an accelerated rate. Learning new things about God, about us and about the world every day. It's as though God has uprooted us from Australia, and planted us here in a big pile of juicy fertile soil, for us to grow quickly. To speed up processes that may have taken years to happen had we stayed in our homeland. Things are moving at a rate that at times, seems a little scary. But in a good way. Sort of like a roller coaster. It's incredible fun and so exciting but at any moment you could pee your pants.
Thanks for all your love and support. I am sure that much of what is happening for our family would not be possible without your prayers. God hears and He is showing Himself faithful. Be blessed to know that we are doing great!!
Thursday 9 August 2012
Long overdue update!!
Well goodness gracious me. It has been over three months since I last wrote a post. In June I turned 30. Can I just say, time seems to fly by when you get old doesn't it?
Let's back track a little to fill y'all in on the details of the last 4 months. I'd like to take the time to make sure this is well written and witty but I simply don't have the time. Sorry if this ends up feeling a little abrupt! Hopefully by the end of this post, my conscience will be clear about not blogging for so long.
May 14th was Hannah's 2nd birthday and Ben's graduation ceremony. It was a big day. Hannah was very grumpy and spent her present opening session throwing a tantrum. Unfortunately, her mood continued into the cake eating. More screams ensued after being informed that not all the cupcakes were for her to eat. I don't blame her though. I get a bit cranky if people try and take cake away from me.
Our celebrations were rather hasty as Ben and I were trying to get ready for the graduation ceremony. I wore chose to wear a dress that I bought on sale months before and hadn't actually ever worn in public. It was lovely to dress up and Ben looked dashing. It only took 5 goes of tying his tie before he was happy with it. Nerves were making him a little jumpy. The ceremony was going to be streamed live through ibethel tv and he didn't want his few seconds of limelight to be tainted by a ridiculously short tie.
Ben had also been nominated for the M.Earl Johnson award. This award is the highest honour a student can receive. It is named after Bill Johnson's father, Earl Johnson, who established the culture of revival in Bethel Church many years ago. Nominees are selected by the student body and then interviewed by the leadership of BSSM. The award is given to the man and woman who best personify the ideals of the school. Anyway, Ben knew he was in the running and had been told to get a few thoughts together in case he won. He was stressing out about having to make a speech should he win. Needless to say, he was more than a bit jittery when he left for the ceremony.
I made my way there after getting the kids settled with our amazing babysitter, Bec. As I was walking into the Civic centre, I managed to catch a glimpse of my reflection in a large window. It was then that I realised my dress was a lot shorter than I thought. Oh gosh. In reality, it was not that short. I am just not used to wearing such items. Give me a pair of jeans any day. I felt very lady like, although a little wobbly on the heels I was wearing.
The ceremony was long but wonderful to clap and cheer for all the students as they graduated. My guts were churning thinking about the possibility of Ben winning the award. It came time to announce the winner and after a long and drawn out prelude, Ben's name was called. HOORAY!!!!!
It was amazing. In that moment I was so proud of him. I was so happy and nervous, I almost vomited all over my lovely green shoes. I was able to meet Ben at the side of the stage and give him a quick cuddle before he went up to receive the award. Bill met Ben on stage and motioned for me to join them. Uhoh, I wasn't expecting to be doing that! It was really special to be up there with him as he accepted the award. I was given a seat on stage alongside Bill and and the rest of the leadership of BSSM. Lights were in my eyes and all I could think about was how short my dress was and how I needed to glue my knees together at all times. Oh dear! Ben's speech was great and he delivered it very well. I was even more proud of him, if that was even possible.
After the ceremony, we were swamped by people congratulating Ben and it was incredible to have people come and tell me how Ben had impacted their lives at BSSM. It was like I was seeing him in a new light. Although on the other hand I've always known Ben is an exceptional man. Such a wonderful night. A definite life changing moment, but just the beginning.
We left Redding on the 8th of June, driving down to San Francisco in a very large, very sexy Ford F250 truck. The boys were pumped and I have to admit, so was Mummy. I have become quite appreciative of a big shiny truck since living in Redding. Makes a change from the mini-van.
Our plane trip was wonderfully uneventful. The kids were great. All the waiting around in queues at various airports was hard but we made it though by the Grace of God. Thankyou Jesus!
We have spent our 8 weeks here in Milang catching up with family and friends as well as packing up our house. Ben did some work on the farm while his parents were overseas on holiday and also played a few games of footy. He had a lot of fun and was given a variety of religion-based nicknames by his teammates. Ahhh, Aussie culture is a funny thing. Love it.
Last Monday we completely moved out of our house, with much help from our wonderful family and we are currently living out of our suitcases at Ben's parent's house until Sunday, when we fly out again.
The weeks in Australia have passed quickly and I am finding it harder to leave this time as I am more aware of the pressure it puts on my close relationships. Being across the other side of the world makes things just that little bit harder. I know, however, that we are called to Redding at this time so we go with excitement about what the Lord has for us this year.
We had an incredible time last year and we could not have done any of it without the support of our family and friends. Thankyou all so much for loving us and releasing us to follow the call of God on our lives. We will endeavor to keep this blog better updated this time around!!
May 14th was Hannah's 2nd birthday and Ben's graduation ceremony. It was a big day. Hannah was very grumpy and spent her present opening session throwing a tantrum. Unfortunately, her mood continued into the cake eating. More screams ensued after being informed that not all the cupcakes were for her to eat. I don't blame her though. I get a bit cranky if people try and take cake away from me.
Our celebrations were rather hasty as Ben and I were trying to get ready for the graduation ceremony. I wore chose to wear a dress that I bought on sale months before and hadn't actually ever worn in public. It was lovely to dress up and Ben looked dashing. It only took 5 goes of tying his tie before he was happy with it. Nerves were making him a little jumpy. The ceremony was going to be streamed live through ibethel tv and he didn't want his few seconds of limelight to be tainted by a ridiculously short tie.
Ben had also been nominated for the M.Earl Johnson award. This award is the highest honour a student can receive. It is named after Bill Johnson's father, Earl Johnson, who established the culture of revival in Bethel Church many years ago. Nominees are selected by the student body and then interviewed by the leadership of BSSM. The award is given to the man and woman who best personify the ideals of the school. Anyway, Ben knew he was in the running and had been told to get a few thoughts together in case he won. He was stressing out about having to make a speech should he win. Needless to say, he was more than a bit jittery when he left for the ceremony.
I made my way there after getting the kids settled with our amazing babysitter, Bec. As I was walking into the Civic centre, I managed to catch a glimpse of my reflection in a large window. It was then that I realised my dress was a lot shorter than I thought. Oh gosh. In reality, it was not that short. I am just not used to wearing such items. Give me a pair of jeans any day. I felt very lady like, although a little wobbly on the heels I was wearing.
The ceremony was long but wonderful to clap and cheer for all the students as they graduated. My guts were churning thinking about the possibility of Ben winning the award. It came time to announce the winner and after a long and drawn out prelude, Ben's name was called. HOORAY!!!!!
It was amazing. In that moment I was so proud of him. I was so happy and nervous, I almost vomited all over my lovely green shoes. I was able to meet Ben at the side of the stage and give him a quick cuddle before he went up to receive the award. Bill met Ben on stage and motioned for me to join them. Uhoh, I wasn't expecting to be doing that! It was really special to be up there with him as he accepted the award. I was given a seat on stage alongside Bill and and the rest of the leadership of BSSM. Lights were in my eyes and all I could think about was how short my dress was and how I needed to glue my knees together at all times. Oh dear! Ben's speech was great and he delivered it very well. I was even more proud of him, if that was even possible.
After the ceremony, we were swamped by people congratulating Ben and it was incredible to have people come and tell me how Ben had impacted their lives at BSSM. It was like I was seeing him in a new light. Although on the other hand I've always known Ben is an exceptional man. Such a wonderful night. A definite life changing moment, but just the beginning.
We left Redding on the 8th of June, driving down to San Francisco in a very large, very sexy Ford F250 truck. The boys were pumped and I have to admit, so was Mummy. I have become quite appreciative of a big shiny truck since living in Redding. Makes a change from the mini-van.
Our plane trip was wonderfully uneventful. The kids were great. All the waiting around in queues at various airports was hard but we made it though by the Grace of God. Thankyou Jesus!
We have spent our 8 weeks here in Milang catching up with family and friends as well as packing up our house. Ben did some work on the farm while his parents were overseas on holiday and also played a few games of footy. He had a lot of fun and was given a variety of religion-based nicknames by his teammates. Ahhh, Aussie culture is a funny thing. Love it.
Last Monday we completely moved out of our house, with much help from our wonderful family and we are currently living out of our suitcases at Ben's parent's house until Sunday, when we fly out again.
The weeks in Australia have passed quickly and I am finding it harder to leave this time as I am more aware of the pressure it puts on my close relationships. Being across the other side of the world makes things just that little bit harder. I know, however, that we are called to Redding at this time so we go with excitement about what the Lord has for us this year.
We had an incredible time last year and we could not have done any of it without the support of our family and friends. Thankyou all so much for loving us and releasing us to follow the call of God on our lives. We will endeavor to keep this blog better updated this time around!!
Friday 20 April 2012
Practical Lovin
It's strange to be on the last leg of our journey in the U.S. Ben returned from Argentina about two weeks ago and has just 3 more weeks of school before graduation. All our regular groups are finishing up for the summer and it seems as though there are endless people we need to catch up with before we leave for Australia in June. We are excited about going home and seeing family and friends, even if it is just for 8 weeks.
Ben applied for and has been accepted into BSSM 2nd. year. We will be coming back to Redding mid August. Thankfully this time the transition into American culture will not be too difficult. We are not looking forward to the long haul flights again though. This time around, my carry on bag will be heavily stocked with hard drugs and alcohol. Just kidding about the alcohol.
I'll let Ben write his own report about his trip. Even then, I'm sure it will be hard to capture the experience with words. I know he learnt so much about ministry, himself and the Lord. All on very little sleep. He made it safely home though and boy, were we glad to see him. While he was away, I had the pleasure of having my parents come and stay to help me remain sane whilst on solo parent duty. I was only expecting Mum, as that had been the plan but when we met her flight at Redding airport, there was Dad too! It was a lovely surprise and the kids were so excited to see their Grandad.
While Ben was away, the rest of us continued on with the everyday life routine. It was wonderful to have Mum and Dad here helping out. True to past form, Mum once again got my washing and folding under control and Dad went around the house fixing anything that squeaked or wobbled. I was able to go out to my mum's group and continue training for the half marathon I am doing in May. I was so blessed by their presence and their practical ways of helping.
One afternoon I was able to join my friend in feeding the homeless around Redding. This amazing woman began feeding her family's left overs to people in need after seeing them begging on street corners here in town. At first it was just a few plates of food. Now, she feeds up to about 25 people 2-3 times a week. She simply packs the take away packs of home cooked food into the back of her car, along with bottles of water and sometimes items she knows people need from previous encounters. Her three kids happily go along for the ride. The day I went with her, we were serving chicken and rice. It smelt delicious! We drove around Redding, to a few of the places she knows people tend to be. We would drive up along side them, wind down the window, ask them if they were hungry and if so, hand them some food and water. It was an amazing experience. Every person who received food was clearly thankful. Most of them knew my friend from past meals they had received. She greeted each person with such love, it was beautiful to watch. A lot of people asked if we were from Bethel Church, even though we didn't mention anything about God or church. Interesting. I had such a good time. There was a genuineness about all the people we came across, which I appreciated. Sure, some were so strung out on drugs they could barely put a sentence together but the rest were simply grateful to be receiving food and happy to have a chat about whatever. I am definitely going to go along again. Practical love speaks the words these people need to hear.
Mum and Dad left a week ago and already my washing mountain has reformed in the spare room, one of Lachie's drawers in his bedroom fell apart and the couch is wobbly again. *sigh*
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| Sam received a very special award from school. |
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Don't cry for me Argentina!!!
I know it feels like all your Christmas's have come at once as I am writing yet another blog post. When it rains it pours I guess!
I am busily trying to get myself organised to go on a mission's trip to Argentina in just two days time. I haven't even started packing yet, haha! Although I will attempt to try and start tonight.
I am leaving on the 29th of March and returning on the 9th of April. I am so looking forward to it, and at the same time have absolutely no grid to filter through all the things that I know I will be seeing on this trip.
We will be driving from Redding for about 2 hours down to Sacramento, and then flying 3.5 hrs to Houston Texas. Then a 10.5 hr flight to the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. We will be landing on the Friday morning and having the rest of the day off to recover and see some sights and then it's down to some serious work.
We have 3 services to attend at Pastor Claudio Friedzon's 20,000 member church on the Saturday, and 5 services on the Sunday. After the night service on Sunday we are jumping on a bus and travelling another 15 hrs to a very poor region of Argentina up near the Chilean border called La Roija. Here, we will be ministering as part of this Church drive to reach the whole country of Argentina by meeting real needs in a practical way, by providing food, medical supplies, clothes, water etc. But also releasing supernatural provision, by ministering through telling people the Gospel, praying for healing and deliverance, and prophesying over them.
We are up at 5am every morning, and loading the buses with provisions for the people and then praying together and leaving by around 7am and ministering till early afternoon. Then coming back to the very basic army barracks where we will be sleeping, to have a siesta and going back out around 7pm till 10pm or after. We will be loving and ministering to people but also inviting them to a revival meeting on the Friday night which Claudio Friedzon will be running, where they are hoping for 10,000 people or more to show up, to here the Gospel with their ears and see it demonstrated with their eyes. So we then have our meal after around 10pm. We debrief etc after that so I wouldn't imaging getting to bed till around 12 every night which is fine but then we are getting up at 5 every morning. Haha, least having small kids has gotten me used to living on minimal sleep.
After this big evangelistic crusade meeting on the Friday night, which will probably go til around 11pm, we are again jumping on the bus for the return 15 hr bus ride to Buenos Aires. Please be praying for me, as I have had in the past a lot of trouble with sleeping whilst travelling, on both planes or buses. Not because I am not tired but due to a condition called restless legs and trying to sleep sitting up really triggers it which can make it virtually impossible to sleep. So as you can see I am really going to need my sleep on these times of travel to make sure I have enough sleep in the bank, to be fully functioning and bringing the best that I have to offer these beautiful people of Argentina.
So we return to Buenos Aries on the Saturday and 1.5 hrs after getting in we are back at Church for the first of three services. We then do 3 services up to late afternoon when we load up the buses to go to the aiport to return to the good ol' USofA!! Man I feel tired just writing this let alone living it out in the very near future.
I really am so looking forward to it though. It has always been a dream of mine ever since I started reading books on revivals and revival history since my mid teens to go to South America, particularly Argentina and Brazil and feel so blessed to have been personally chosen for this trip. This trip was organised at the last minute and wasn't one of the trips offered. I was accepted to go on a different trip which I had applied for and was fully expecting to go. And then out of the blue, I was personally asked by one of the leaders of this trip if I wanted to go with him to Argentina. I absolutely jumped at this once in a lifetime opportunity. Argentina has been in varying states of revival since 1992 when God used Claudio and Carlos Annocondia and others to really begin to touch their land with the power of the Gospel. So to be able to be ministering in his church and on his outreach is a massive honour. And we are hoping to have some personal time with him for some prayer and impartation which I really hope comes to pass.
You can probably tell I am excited and I am, but I am also a little freaked out too. Ha! I'll be going into another culture, of which I don't speak the language, and trying to witness and minister through an interpreter. We will be having to really rough it physically and I am wondering how I will be affected by seeing such poverty and brokeness. Knowing we are going to be so busy and sleep deprived, with almost 60 hours of travel just makes me realize I need to encounter and carry the presence of God on me at all times on this trip. So I could really use your prayer, for all the things I just mentioned but also that this trip would change my life forever. That I would encounter the raw power of God, that I would be so deeply impacted by seeing and touching the poorest of the poor with the love of God, and the compassion of man. That we as a team would really catch God's heart and follow His Spirit with such accuracy that Argentina and us as individuals would never be the same. That I would be so marked with revival, and touched with revival fire that I would bring it back to my own home land, and see Australia touched with a great move of God.
Also, Jo and I have never been apart for this long ever in our marriage, and I know that it is going to be so hard for me and hopefully she misses me too haha! At least a little bit. But praise God for my amazing mother in law, Margie Mount who is flying over to be with my wife and kids during this time. Her presence with my family puts my heart at ease. However, if you could please be praying for Jo and the kids that would be so appreciated. That Jo would have such a grace on her, a strength to remain steadfast in love and compassion when it gets tough when Dad's not around.
Finally, I'd like to say such a big 'Thankyou!' to all of you who have supported me financially or with prayer to get me on this trip, I am eternally thankful, and I can't wait to give you a rundown of the spoils of this trip in a few weeks time.
Adios Amigos!!
P.S. Above I have added a short video from the host church in Buenos Aires about the mission I am going on. Haha! it is in Spanish so you might not understand a word but it really does show you the kind of thing I will be doing, and the actual area I will be going into. Enjoy it. Please be praying for Argentina!
I am busily trying to get myself organised to go on a mission's trip to Argentina in just two days time. I haven't even started packing yet, haha! Although I will attempt to try and start tonight.
I am leaving on the 29th of March and returning on the 9th of April. I am so looking forward to it, and at the same time have absolutely no grid to filter through all the things that I know I will be seeing on this trip.
We will be driving from Redding for about 2 hours down to Sacramento, and then flying 3.5 hrs to Houston Texas. Then a 10.5 hr flight to the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. We will be landing on the Friday morning and having the rest of the day off to recover and see some sights and then it's down to some serious work.
We have 3 services to attend at Pastor Claudio Friedzon's 20,000 member church on the Saturday, and 5 services on the Sunday. After the night service on Sunday we are jumping on a bus and travelling another 15 hrs to a very poor region of Argentina up near the Chilean border called La Roija. Here, we will be ministering as part of this Church drive to reach the whole country of Argentina by meeting real needs in a practical way, by providing food, medical supplies, clothes, water etc. But also releasing supernatural provision, by ministering through telling people the Gospel, praying for healing and deliverance, and prophesying over them.
We are up at 5am every morning, and loading the buses with provisions for the people and then praying together and leaving by around 7am and ministering till early afternoon. Then coming back to the very basic army barracks where we will be sleeping, to have a siesta and going back out around 7pm till 10pm or after. We will be loving and ministering to people but also inviting them to a revival meeting on the Friday night which Claudio Friedzon will be running, where they are hoping for 10,000 people or more to show up, to here the Gospel with their ears and see it demonstrated with their eyes. So we then have our meal after around 10pm. We debrief etc after that so I wouldn't imaging getting to bed till around 12 every night which is fine but then we are getting up at 5 every morning. Haha, least having small kids has gotten me used to living on minimal sleep.
After this big evangelistic crusade meeting on the Friday night, which will probably go til around 11pm, we are again jumping on the bus for the return 15 hr bus ride to Buenos Aires. Please be praying for me, as I have had in the past a lot of trouble with sleeping whilst travelling, on both planes or buses. Not because I am not tired but due to a condition called restless legs and trying to sleep sitting up really triggers it which can make it virtually impossible to sleep. So as you can see I am really going to need my sleep on these times of travel to make sure I have enough sleep in the bank, to be fully functioning and bringing the best that I have to offer these beautiful people of Argentina.
So we return to Buenos Aries on the Saturday and 1.5 hrs after getting in we are back at Church for the first of three services. We then do 3 services up to late afternoon when we load up the buses to go to the aiport to return to the good ol' USofA!! Man I feel tired just writing this let alone living it out in the very near future.
I really am so looking forward to it though. It has always been a dream of mine ever since I started reading books on revivals and revival history since my mid teens to go to South America, particularly Argentina and Brazil and feel so blessed to have been personally chosen for this trip. This trip was organised at the last minute and wasn't one of the trips offered. I was accepted to go on a different trip which I had applied for and was fully expecting to go. And then out of the blue, I was personally asked by one of the leaders of this trip if I wanted to go with him to Argentina. I absolutely jumped at this once in a lifetime opportunity. Argentina has been in varying states of revival since 1992 when God used Claudio and Carlos Annocondia and others to really begin to touch their land with the power of the Gospel. So to be able to be ministering in his church and on his outreach is a massive honour. And we are hoping to have some personal time with him for some prayer and impartation which I really hope comes to pass.
You can probably tell I am excited and I am, but I am also a little freaked out too. Ha! I'll be going into another culture, of which I don't speak the language, and trying to witness and minister through an interpreter. We will be having to really rough it physically and I am wondering how I will be affected by seeing such poverty and brokeness. Knowing we are going to be so busy and sleep deprived, with almost 60 hours of travel just makes me realize I need to encounter and carry the presence of God on me at all times on this trip. So I could really use your prayer, for all the things I just mentioned but also that this trip would change my life forever. That I would encounter the raw power of God, that I would be so deeply impacted by seeing and touching the poorest of the poor with the love of God, and the compassion of man. That we as a team would really catch God's heart and follow His Spirit with such accuracy that Argentina and us as individuals would never be the same. That I would be so marked with revival, and touched with revival fire that I would bring it back to my own home land, and see Australia touched with a great move of God.
Also, Jo and I have never been apart for this long ever in our marriage, and I know that it is going to be so hard for me and hopefully she misses me too haha! At least a little bit. But praise God for my amazing mother in law, Margie Mount who is flying over to be with my wife and kids during this time. Her presence with my family puts my heart at ease. However, if you could please be praying for Jo and the kids that would be so appreciated. That Jo would have such a grace on her, a strength to remain steadfast in love and compassion when it gets tough when Dad's not around.
Finally, I'd like to say such a big 'Thankyou!' to all of you who have supported me financially or with prayer to get me on this trip, I am eternally thankful, and I can't wait to give you a rundown of the spoils of this trip in a few weeks time.
Adios Amigos!!
P.S. Above I have added a short video from the host church in Buenos Aires about the mission I am going on. Haha! it is in Spanish so you might not understand a word but it really does show you the kind of thing I will be doing, and the actual area I will be going into. Enjoy it. Please be praying for Argentina!
It's time to do the stuff!!
Yeah it's blog time!! It's been a fair while since we posted an entry and forever since I (Ben) have contributed, so I thought I had better make the effort to keep all of our faithful followers informed, entertained and feeling loved. Haha! Now all I have to do is come up with something interesting to say. Come on Ben you can do this!!
What I love about life and especially the Christian faith is the amount of diversity we all carry. How we see things differently and still manage to love each other, because He has first loved us. I know that there will be people that read this blog who absolutely love us, but wouldn't necessarily express their walk with Christ in the same way we do. I also know there are many that would align themselves with how we express Christ's love on the earth. So I want to be able to be honest with all of you and tell you all of the things that are taking place in my experience over here, as I know a lot of you are interested in finding out more about what I am up to in my studies. But at the same time I don't want you to think that I am just trying to espouse my own personal view on you, or that in any way that I am trying to be controversial with how I express what is now for me "The normal Christian life."
All of that as way of an introduction to some of the incredible things that I have been seeing God do over the last few weeks.
As part of my schooling I applied and was accepted to be a part of the Bethel Healing rooms ministry, for the activation part of my course. Which is an amazing honour, as this ministry is world renowned and people fly from all parts of the globe to be in a place where people will join them in contending for their breakthrough in healing. It really has been a growing and stretching experience. There was a lot of training, and teaching to go through before I was allowed to be a prayer servant. For a few weeks I was on a prayer team but only as an observer to see and learn to honour the vision that Bethel has, for how to pray for, and honour every person that walks in asking for prayer.
It really has blown my mind the amount of healings that I have been seeing through Jesus working through my own hands, and just the amount of testimonies that come in every week is simply amazing. I posted a video earlier in the year of God growing out a significantly shorter leg to perfectly match the length of the normal leg which demonstrates miracles aren't limited to just the healing rooms in this culture, it's in Church, it's in the carpark, it's down at the local shopping mall with unbelievers, it's become so normal that it has forced me to address what my new normal now looks like!!!
A big part of it for me, is being willing to step over the chicken line. To step into territory where I was afraid, where I needed to take a risk and to be willing to see nothing obvious happen to give opportunity to see their life forever transformed in a moment of time. It's the same as when we are evangelizing, in that again we need to be willing to be completely rejected and humiliated to give them the opportunity to receive the greatest miracle available, being born again.
So as I have started to overcome a lot of fear and I have started to see a lot of breakthrough in healing. And lately I have been going after growing in the Spiritual gift of the word of knowledge which I have found to be an incredible help in seeing God move more often in healing power. A word of knowledge as it pertains to healing is God revealing to you prophetically a part of a person's body that you feel God wants to heal. Something that you could never have known without the Holy Spirit revealing it to you. The faith that comes into the situation with both the person being prayed for and the one doing the praying is significant once we see what God desires to do rather than what we had planned to do. Again I have to give a lot of this background and basic rundown just to give a frame work for the experiences that I am about to tell you. This is the longest introduction ever. So let's get on with it.
So the healing rooms are on every Saturday morning from about 9am-12pm, and last Saturday morning was the most amazing morning I have had.
A good friend and I were invited by the leaders to go around in the Encounter Room and give words of knowledge and pray for people before they got into the formal prayer room. Within the Encounter Room, there is live worship music playing, there are dancers dancing around, there are artists painting in the centre of the room, and there is just such an atmosphere of the tangible presence of God. It is a room where people go and wait for their turn to actually fit in to the prayer room for prayer as the numbers are often quite overwhelming. Essentially, it's like a time of preparation and soaking where God often heals people without anyone actually praying for them.
Anyway, my friend and I were just waiting on the Holy Spirit and going up to people we felt God was highlighting and then sometimes they would tell us what they wanted prayer for, but often times we would just get a word of knowledge regarding what God wanted to heal without them telling us. We weren't getting it 100% right but it was amazing how many times it was right, and how many times God healed after a word of knowledge was given.
We had one guy come in who we didn't realize until later was an unbeliever and had only come into support his wife, who was a believer and was in the midst of fighting cancer. My friend got a word of knowledge about this man's shoulder, so we asked him if it was correct and after confirming that the word was accurate, prayed for his shoulder to be healed. The look on his face was priceless, he couldn't believe it, but he had to acknowledge that his shoulder was significantly better than before we had prayed for him. We continued to pray for him, and then his auntie who was also part of the family entourage came up and joined us. I got a word of knowledge about her back, and her abdomen. She then told us that she has cancer in her abdomen and that her back had given her problems for 20 years, needless to say I was encouraged as taking this big of a risk in hearing from God is new to me. My friend's accuracy and boldness with the words God was giving him was also so encouraging to me. He then got a word about this guys back, and he had similar problems to his auntie. They both had pain in the lower back off to one side. So we got them to sit down in a chair and test the length of their legs and sure enough both of them had one leg significantly shorter than the other. We first prayed for the man and the aunty watched his leg grow out instantly, and then we got the man to come down close and watch God grow out his aunties leg which God did right before his nose and he was obviously amazed and perplexed, haha! We were able to minister and pray for the man, he wasn't completely ready to become a believer but God has obviously completely opened him up to the reality of the gospel!!!
We then approached a man and his son, who was about 10yrs old. The Dad was having roughly the same kind of back pain as the last two people who's legs grew out. So we got him to sit down and measure his leg lengths and again one leg was significantly shorther than the other. We got excited and told the son to come down near his Dad's feet. We then got the son to lay his hands on his Dad's leg and told him to command the leg to grow out in Jesus' Name, and sure enough, out grew the leg in front of his eyes. And the excitement and look on his face was so good. Just to know that here is a kid that won't grow up with all the doubts and fears about God and His nature that so many of us did. That he has not only a belief for healing but now has an experience to back it up stands him in great sted to see God move mightily in his life without having to push through so many barriers of unbelief, that many of us have had too.
I know this is long but the next story is incredible. We then asked another lady to join us and pray as we felt led to pray for a certain lady and weren't allowed to pray for her without a female on our team. She had massive scars on her neck, both on the front and back. She had undergone numerous surgeries, the final one being to insert a titanium rod into her neck, to keep all of the neck straight and stable from a serious accident she had been involved in years earlier. We asked her what her pain level was out of 5, and it was a 5/5. And how much she could move her neck, which really wasn't much at all. We then prayed and she started to get really hot, and was obviously under the power of God with quite a bit of shaking, and we again asked her what her pain level was. She was now at a 4/5, so we all thanked and praised God for what He was doing. We have learned to always be thankful to God for whatever He is doing. We chose to focus on the miracle of it having improved from a 5 to a 4, instead of looking at the fact that her pain level was still at a 4/5. We prayed again and again, and we saw the pain go from a 5, to a 4, to a 2, to uncomfortable, to 0. We then saw her roll her neck to almost complete levels of freedom. Which is an absolute impossibility with a the rod in her neck. Her family were in shock, she was in shock, we were in shock it was an incredible miracle. Thankyou God!
There are so many more stories from that Saturday morning but I know this is getting very lengthy so I'll leave it at that. I just felt it was important to give you guys an insight to what God is doing and what I am seeing and experiencing over here.
I am learning and growing so much in so many ways. Being stretched beyond what I thought I could do, and seeing God do far more than I had seen before coming here. It really is an amazing place and am so thankful to you all and to God for making it possible to be here. But God doesn't just want miracles and healings to be limited to inside a Church building or a healing service. He is looking for us to imitate Christ and the way He ministered with teaching and preaching in both the synagogue and the marketplace. To partner preaching and teaching with a demonstration of the reality of what He was telling them was true. Both inside and especially outside of the Church. Through the trained and the untrained. He wants His good news demonstrated with signs following (Mark 16)
Thanks for reading this far, and hopefully I will write another post in the next day or so telling you about my upcoming missions trip!!
What I love about life and especially the Christian faith is the amount of diversity we all carry. How we see things differently and still manage to love each other, because He has first loved us. I know that there will be people that read this blog who absolutely love us, but wouldn't necessarily express their walk with Christ in the same way we do. I also know there are many that would align themselves with how we express Christ's love on the earth. So I want to be able to be honest with all of you and tell you all of the things that are taking place in my experience over here, as I know a lot of you are interested in finding out more about what I am up to in my studies. But at the same time I don't want you to think that I am just trying to espouse my own personal view on you, or that in any way that I am trying to be controversial with how I express what is now for me "The normal Christian life."
All of that as way of an introduction to some of the incredible things that I have been seeing God do over the last few weeks.
As part of my schooling I applied and was accepted to be a part of the Bethel Healing rooms ministry, for the activation part of my course. Which is an amazing honour, as this ministry is world renowned and people fly from all parts of the globe to be in a place where people will join them in contending for their breakthrough in healing. It really has been a growing and stretching experience. There was a lot of training, and teaching to go through before I was allowed to be a prayer servant. For a few weeks I was on a prayer team but only as an observer to see and learn to honour the vision that Bethel has, for how to pray for, and honour every person that walks in asking for prayer.
It really has blown my mind the amount of healings that I have been seeing through Jesus working through my own hands, and just the amount of testimonies that come in every week is simply amazing. I posted a video earlier in the year of God growing out a significantly shorter leg to perfectly match the length of the normal leg which demonstrates miracles aren't limited to just the healing rooms in this culture, it's in Church, it's in the carpark, it's down at the local shopping mall with unbelievers, it's become so normal that it has forced me to address what my new normal now looks like!!!
A big part of it for me, is being willing to step over the chicken line. To step into territory where I was afraid, where I needed to take a risk and to be willing to see nothing obvious happen to give opportunity to see their life forever transformed in a moment of time. It's the same as when we are evangelizing, in that again we need to be willing to be completely rejected and humiliated to give them the opportunity to receive the greatest miracle available, being born again.
So as I have started to overcome a lot of fear and I have started to see a lot of breakthrough in healing. And lately I have been going after growing in the Spiritual gift of the word of knowledge which I have found to be an incredible help in seeing God move more often in healing power. A word of knowledge as it pertains to healing is God revealing to you prophetically a part of a person's body that you feel God wants to heal. Something that you could never have known without the Holy Spirit revealing it to you. The faith that comes into the situation with both the person being prayed for and the one doing the praying is significant once we see what God desires to do rather than what we had planned to do. Again I have to give a lot of this background and basic rundown just to give a frame work for the experiences that I am about to tell you. This is the longest introduction ever. So let's get on with it.
So the healing rooms are on every Saturday morning from about 9am-12pm, and last Saturday morning was the most amazing morning I have had.
A good friend and I were invited by the leaders to go around in the Encounter Room and give words of knowledge and pray for people before they got into the formal prayer room. Within the Encounter Room, there is live worship music playing, there are dancers dancing around, there are artists painting in the centre of the room, and there is just such an atmosphere of the tangible presence of God. It is a room where people go and wait for their turn to actually fit in to the prayer room for prayer as the numbers are often quite overwhelming. Essentially, it's like a time of preparation and soaking where God often heals people without anyone actually praying for them.
Anyway, my friend and I were just waiting on the Holy Spirit and going up to people we felt God was highlighting and then sometimes they would tell us what they wanted prayer for, but often times we would just get a word of knowledge regarding what God wanted to heal without them telling us. We weren't getting it 100% right but it was amazing how many times it was right, and how many times God healed after a word of knowledge was given.
We had one guy come in who we didn't realize until later was an unbeliever and had only come into support his wife, who was a believer and was in the midst of fighting cancer. My friend got a word of knowledge about this man's shoulder, so we asked him if it was correct and after confirming that the word was accurate, prayed for his shoulder to be healed. The look on his face was priceless, he couldn't believe it, but he had to acknowledge that his shoulder was significantly better than before we had prayed for him. We continued to pray for him, and then his auntie who was also part of the family entourage came up and joined us. I got a word of knowledge about her back, and her abdomen. She then told us that she has cancer in her abdomen and that her back had given her problems for 20 years, needless to say I was encouraged as taking this big of a risk in hearing from God is new to me. My friend's accuracy and boldness with the words God was giving him was also so encouraging to me. He then got a word about this guys back, and he had similar problems to his auntie. They both had pain in the lower back off to one side. So we got them to sit down in a chair and test the length of their legs and sure enough both of them had one leg significantly shorter than the other. We first prayed for the man and the aunty watched his leg grow out instantly, and then we got the man to come down close and watch God grow out his aunties leg which God did right before his nose and he was obviously amazed and perplexed, haha! We were able to minister and pray for the man, he wasn't completely ready to become a believer but God has obviously completely opened him up to the reality of the gospel!!!
We then approached a man and his son, who was about 10yrs old. The Dad was having roughly the same kind of back pain as the last two people who's legs grew out. So we got him to sit down and measure his leg lengths and again one leg was significantly shorther than the other. We got excited and told the son to come down near his Dad's feet. We then got the son to lay his hands on his Dad's leg and told him to command the leg to grow out in Jesus' Name, and sure enough, out grew the leg in front of his eyes. And the excitement and look on his face was so good. Just to know that here is a kid that won't grow up with all the doubts and fears about God and His nature that so many of us did. That he has not only a belief for healing but now has an experience to back it up stands him in great sted to see God move mightily in his life without having to push through so many barriers of unbelief, that many of us have had too.
I know this is long but the next story is incredible. We then asked another lady to join us and pray as we felt led to pray for a certain lady and weren't allowed to pray for her without a female on our team. She had massive scars on her neck, both on the front and back. She had undergone numerous surgeries, the final one being to insert a titanium rod into her neck, to keep all of the neck straight and stable from a serious accident she had been involved in years earlier. We asked her what her pain level was out of 5, and it was a 5/5. And how much she could move her neck, which really wasn't much at all. We then prayed and she started to get really hot, and was obviously under the power of God with quite a bit of shaking, and we again asked her what her pain level was. She was now at a 4/5, so we all thanked and praised God for what He was doing. We have learned to always be thankful to God for whatever He is doing. We chose to focus on the miracle of it having improved from a 5 to a 4, instead of looking at the fact that her pain level was still at a 4/5. We prayed again and again, and we saw the pain go from a 5, to a 4, to a 2, to uncomfortable, to 0. We then saw her roll her neck to almost complete levels of freedom. Which is an absolute impossibility with a the rod in her neck. Her family were in shock, she was in shock, we were in shock it was an incredible miracle. Thankyou God!
There are so many more stories from that Saturday morning but I know this is getting very lengthy so I'll leave it at that. I just felt it was important to give you guys an insight to what God is doing and what I am seeing and experiencing over here.
I am learning and growing so much in so many ways. Being stretched beyond what I thought I could do, and seeing God do far more than I had seen before coming here. It really is an amazing place and am so thankful to you all and to God for making it possible to be here. But God doesn't just want miracles and healings to be limited to inside a Church building or a healing service. He is looking for us to imitate Christ and the way He ministered with teaching and preaching in both the synagogue and the marketplace. To partner preaching and teaching with a demonstration of the reality of what He was telling them was true. Both inside and especially outside of the Church. Through the trained and the untrained. He wants His good news demonstrated with signs following (Mark 16)
Thanks for reading this far, and hopefully I will write another post in the next day or so telling you about my upcoming missions trip!!
Sunday 19 February 2012
Loved Up
Valentine's Day was last week. In the last few years I have noticed Australia making a bigger deal out of it than ever before. I think Australia tends to permanently borrow other country's special days or celebratory holidays. That's probably because we are so 'young' as a nation and we just want to have more days off work, or reasons to waste money on cards and chocolates. Am I saying Aussie's are lazy, Hallmark card-loving gluttons? Perhaps.
Anyway, we were not prepared for the Valentine's day extravaganza here in the U.S. I have found you can gauge the level of community support for a cause/holiday/occasion here by the size of the display of appropriate products at Walmart. Valentine's was no exception. Everywhere was red and pink with shiny helium balloons professing undying love (for one day at least). Rows and rows of cards for every person you can think of; mother, brother, cousin, uncle, grandma, teacher, pastor. It was amazing. I mean ask yourself Australians, who amongst you would present your sibling with a Valentine's card? Maybe for a joke, accompanied by a nipple cripple or wedgie for good measure. Oh no, not here. It is serious business. Our boys (reception and pre-school) were asked to bring a valentine for each of their class mates and also some love-esq treats for a class party. Having no idea of the Valentine's day etiquette, we went on down to Walmart and wandered the aisles of love trying to find the right thing to buy. We ended up with a packet of Cars 2 valentines, boxed conveniently in a Cars 2 'mailbox', in preparation for all the valentines the boys were going to receive in return. This really should have alerted me to the serious nature of the valentines giving ritual. Sam and Lachie enjoyed writing everyone's name in the little card and were pumped for their class parties. Sam took a packet of heart shaped marshmallows. Lachie took red grapes.
I don't think anyone of us realised what the day was going to hold. Especially Lach, who was calling it Ballentine's Day.
During the day, I went to the 'store' to get a few things and I was amazed that the customer ahead of me in the line wished the checkout lady a 'Happy Valentine's Day' to which she replied. 'Oh and also to you!' It felt like it should have been Easter or Christmas. An American friend of mine said 'at least we balance out our love of death during Halloween with our love of love on Valentine's'. So true. It was very strange though. I guess I always viewed Valentine's Day to be for couples. As in you wish your spouse, girl friend, boy friend etc a 'Happy Valentine's Day', not the lady down at the shops!!
Upon collecting the boys from school on Valentine's day, I had one of those dreaded moments in parenting when you realise you sent your child into a situation slightly under-prepared. Both Sam and Lachie hopped in the car holding a paper bag full of candy, little toys, trinkets and cards. Most valentine's cards had a little something attached to it. Some had a lot. Some cards were 3D, some were pop-up and others were made with materials found only in a craft shop. It was eye-opening to say the least. Lachie even had a home-made cookie in a bag with a ribbon. WHAT???? I was kicking myself I hadn't taken more notice when reading 'The Babysitter's Club' and 'Sweet Valley High' books in my pre-teen years. Oh well, the kids loved the candy and now we know for next year to step up the level of participation.
All this being said, we were very impressed with the atmosphere of love and honour for every child at Bethel Christian School. The day focused on God's love for all people, His Goodness and His affection for us. Prior to Valentine's Day, Sam was given a paper heart to decorate for a student and their family in his class. It was wonderful to be able to write words of affirmation from one family to another. Once again, we were impressed with the atmosphere of love and honour at this wonderful school. Although Valentine's day was much bigger than we'd anticipated, I know my kids came away from it feeling cared for and appreciated for who they are.
Ben and I were blessed to be able to go out to a movie and dinner for our Valentine's day celebrations. We enjoyed our time alone together and loved the buzzing atmosphere of the busy Italian restaurant we went to. The waiter even gave me a red rose. It was a great night. I felt blessed to be loved not only by my amazing husband but by an outrageously good God who calls me His 'Beloved' everyday of my life. Everyday is Valentine's day with the Lord.
Anyway, we were not prepared for the Valentine's day extravaganza here in the U.S. I have found you can gauge the level of community support for a cause/holiday/occasion here by the size of the display of appropriate products at Walmart. Valentine's was no exception. Everywhere was red and pink with shiny helium balloons professing undying love (for one day at least). Rows and rows of cards for every person you can think of; mother, brother, cousin, uncle, grandma, teacher, pastor. It was amazing. I mean ask yourself Australians, who amongst you would present your sibling with a Valentine's card? Maybe for a joke, accompanied by a nipple cripple or wedgie for good measure. Oh no, not here. It is serious business. Our boys (reception and pre-school) were asked to bring a valentine for each of their class mates and also some love-esq treats for a class party. Having no idea of the Valentine's day etiquette, we went on down to Walmart and wandered the aisles of love trying to find the right thing to buy. We ended up with a packet of Cars 2 valentines, boxed conveniently in a Cars 2 'mailbox', in preparation for all the valentines the boys were going to receive in return. This really should have alerted me to the serious nature of the valentines giving ritual. Sam and Lachie enjoyed writing everyone's name in the little card and were pumped for their class parties. Sam took a packet of heart shaped marshmallows. Lachie took red grapes.
I don't think anyone of us realised what the day was going to hold. Especially Lach, who was calling it Ballentine's Day.
During the day, I went to the 'store' to get a few things and I was amazed that the customer ahead of me in the line wished the checkout lady a 'Happy Valentine's Day' to which she replied. 'Oh and also to you!' It felt like it should have been Easter or Christmas. An American friend of mine said 'at least we balance out our love of death during Halloween with our love of love on Valentine's'. So true. It was very strange though. I guess I always viewed Valentine's Day to be for couples. As in you wish your spouse, girl friend, boy friend etc a 'Happy Valentine's Day', not the lady down at the shops!!
Upon collecting the boys from school on Valentine's day, I had one of those dreaded moments in parenting when you realise you sent your child into a situation slightly under-prepared. Both Sam and Lachie hopped in the car holding a paper bag full of candy, little toys, trinkets and cards. Most valentine's cards had a little something attached to it. Some had a lot. Some cards were 3D, some were pop-up and others were made with materials found only in a craft shop. It was eye-opening to say the least. Lachie even had a home-made cookie in a bag with a ribbon. WHAT???? I was kicking myself I hadn't taken more notice when reading 'The Babysitter's Club' and 'Sweet Valley High' books in my pre-teen years. Oh well, the kids loved the candy and now we know for next year to step up the level of participation.
All this being said, we were very impressed with the atmosphere of love and honour for every child at Bethel Christian School. The day focused on God's love for all people, His Goodness and His affection for us. Prior to Valentine's Day, Sam was given a paper heart to decorate for a student and their family in his class. It was wonderful to be able to write words of affirmation from one family to another. Once again, we were impressed with the atmosphere of love and honour at this wonderful school. Although Valentine's day was much bigger than we'd anticipated, I know my kids came away from it feeling cared for and appreciated for who they are.
Ben and I were blessed to be able to go out to a movie and dinner for our Valentine's day celebrations. We enjoyed our time alone together and loved the buzzing atmosphere of the busy Italian restaurant we went to. The waiter even gave me a red rose. It was a great night. I felt blessed to be loved not only by my amazing husband but by an outrageously good God who calls me His 'Beloved' everyday of my life. Everyday is Valentine's day with the Lord.
Saturday 21 January 2012
A whole lot of healing going on.
We've had a big week. It's been busy, yes, but it was also big in other ways.
Randy Clark was in town running a Healing and Impartation school (pretty much just a conference with 'doing' bits) with Bill Johnson. As a BSSM student, Ben was invited to attend free of charge and I was able to go to 2 of the evening sessions.
Randy is a healing evangelist and in fact unintentionally started what is now known as the 'Toronto Blessing'. I know many of you may freak out about that. Back in 1994, in a normal everyday meeting, Randy simply invited Holy Spirit to come and He came! Yeah, some people did some weird stuff but no one I have ever spoken to that went to Toronto during that intense time of renewal came away unchanged or uneffected by God. In fact it still continues today.
Anyway, Randy and Bill were teaching on healing and everyday there were many people healed of all kinds of things. On the last night there were over 200 people healed. That's a good night at church. Metal disappeared, cartilage grew, backs were straightened, headaches went and skin conditions were healed in the name of Jesus. There was so much going on it was amazing. It was intense too as some of the time the people who were ok were praying for those with the need. Sometimes nothing happened. That can be crushing both for the one in pain and the one praying. In all things though, it was reiterated to me this week that I have a responsibility to pray because I believe that God is Good and in a good mood. I believe that when Jesus died, He died not only for our salvation but also for our freedom from all oppression, including sickness and pain. So I will pray.
Tuesday saw the Lord provide for us in new and exciting ways. We needed money and He came through for us. What a loving Daddy we have. When He promised in His word that he would provide for all His kids, He wasn't kidding. It was amazing to really know He has our needs sorted.
This week I volunteered in the Bethel Christian School lunchroom. Oh my, it was loud. I was crossing off the names for the hot lunches and I had fun chatting to the kids and freaking them out with my weird accent. The whole 'lunchroom' thing was new to me and yet again, I felt as though I had climbed into my TV back in Australia.
It was also raining most of the week. Like really really raining. It was sort of nice being all cosy inside while it poured down outside but the kids were going a bit stir-crazy by Friday. A lot of snow fell on the mountains around Redding which is a treat to see. Sam managed to get very wet each day at school. Probably because he chose not to wear his rain jacket a lot of the time. Apparently he 'likes the rain'. I have my suspicions that it is all a clever ploy to get me to buy him an umbrella.
Thursday 5 January 2012
Californian Christmas
Well Hello!
Its been quite a while since my last post and it feels as though a lot has happened. Although, when I really think about what events have occurred, its just everyday life stuff. Birthdays, Christmas, visitors, holidays; these are all things that everyone has going on across the globe. It's this fact that sometimes stalls my blogging. Can I make the 'everyday' interesting enough to post?
Anyway, I shall press on.
December 1st was our 10th Wedding Anniversary. It seems to have passed rather quickly, I guess that's a good sign? I never would have thought we'd be living in California when we said our vows 10 years ago. We were very blessed by Ben's revival group and were given money to spend out at a lovely restaurant for dinner and they even pitched in and bought me a beautiful necklace. We were both very touched by the generosity of fellow students, whom we know are also living pretty close to the wire financially. The culture of giving is amazing here. The offering each Sunday is one of my favourite parts of the service. Can you believe that?
My parents came and stayed with us for 3.5 weeks over Christmas and in fact left just yesterday. Sam cried all the way home from the airport after declaring 'I didn't want them to ever leave!'. We enjoyed trips to the library and the shops together. Grandma was dishing out the tictacs like nobodies business and Grandad played more games of 'this little piggy' than I'm sure he thought possible. My washing pile not only got under control but disappeared as Mum worked her magic. My sink was the cleanest its been since we moved in. I have a suspicion she also cleaned the bathroom before she left.......
It was wonderful to have them here for Christmas. Present time was the usual heady mix of fun and craziness that comes with having kids. Lego was built and sometimes Grandad even let Sam have a turn. Haha! New jumpers were forced over existing one's in order to model the upgrade and new pajamas were also on show immediately. We ate turkey and stuffing and too much chocolate. It was a great day.
I forgot to mention that in the week before Christmas, Ben made a quick trip to Australia for the wedding of some very close friends of ours. I was pretty sad that I couldn't make it as well but as my Dad would say 'dem's the breaks, kid'. Ben returned late afternoon Christmas Eve. When we arrived to pick him up from the airport, there was quite a crowd of people waiting for the plane. Something was going on. As we waited, a bunch of older gentlemen formed a guard of honour, each holding the US flag. Right next to me, waited a woman about my age holding a toddler. She was looking anxiously towards the arrival doors and started to shake and cry when she saw her husband, a returned soldier walk across the tarmac. It was a very special moment and I felt so honoured to be there. As the couple were reunited, I heard the soldier say to his little boy, 'Hi fella! I'm your Daddy'. Needless to say, I was reminded of how blessed we were to be getting Ben back after just a week away.
A sad consequence of Ben being away was that he missed Sam's 6th birthday. It was also Sam's class Christmas party at school so the boy was in party heaven. I went in and dropped off some cupcakes and sang 'happy birthday' with his class. His teacher, the lovely Miss Brown, also asked a few kids to pray for him and bless him on his special day. It was just another moment in which I was so very thankful for Bethel and it's culture of Love.
The day before Mum and Dad left, we drove up to Mt Shasta to see the snow and go tobogganing. Many happy memories were created, the best being watching Mum and Dad come down together on a toboggan. Oh I haven't laughed that hard in ages. The boys had a blast and were climbing higher and higher up the slope the more confident they became. Hannah hated it until about 10 mins before we had to leave, then chucked a fit because it was over. *sigh*
All in all, things are travelling pretty smoothly. Ben and the kids go back to school on Monday and I think I am ready to get back into some routine, although don't ask me at 6am Monday morning.
We pray that as you step into 2012, you would know and encounter the immense Love of God for you. His total Goodness and the Hope that comes from knowing Him. There is always More.
Its been quite a while since my last post and it feels as though a lot has happened. Although, when I really think about what events have occurred, its just everyday life stuff. Birthdays, Christmas, visitors, holidays; these are all things that everyone has going on across the globe. It's this fact that sometimes stalls my blogging. Can I make the 'everyday' interesting enough to post?
December 1st was our 10th Wedding Anniversary. It seems to have passed rather quickly, I guess that's a good sign? I never would have thought we'd be living in California when we said our vows 10 years ago. We were very blessed by Ben's revival group and were given money to spend out at a lovely restaurant for dinner and they even pitched in and bought me a beautiful necklace. We were both very touched by the generosity of fellow students, whom we know are also living pretty close to the wire financially. The culture of giving is amazing here. The offering each Sunday is one of my favourite parts of the service. Can you believe that?
My parents came and stayed with us for 3.5 weeks over Christmas and in fact left just yesterday. Sam cried all the way home from the airport after declaring 'I didn't want them to ever leave!'. We enjoyed trips to the library and the shops together. Grandma was dishing out the tictacs like nobodies business and Grandad played more games of 'this little piggy' than I'm sure he thought possible. My washing pile not only got under control but disappeared as Mum worked her magic. My sink was the cleanest its been since we moved in. I have a suspicion she also cleaned the bathroom before she left.......
It was wonderful to have them here for Christmas. Present time was the usual heady mix of fun and craziness that comes with having kids. Lego was built and sometimes Grandad even let Sam have a turn. Haha! New jumpers were forced over existing one's in order to model the upgrade and new pajamas were also on show immediately. We ate turkey and stuffing and too much chocolate. It was a great day.
I forgot to mention that in the week before Christmas, Ben made a quick trip to Australia for the wedding of some very close friends of ours. I was pretty sad that I couldn't make it as well but as my Dad would say 'dem's the breaks, kid'. Ben returned late afternoon Christmas Eve. When we arrived to pick him up from the airport, there was quite a crowd of people waiting for the plane. Something was going on. As we waited, a bunch of older gentlemen formed a guard of honour, each holding the US flag. Right next to me, waited a woman about my age holding a toddler. She was looking anxiously towards the arrival doors and started to shake and cry when she saw her husband, a returned soldier walk across the tarmac. It was a very special moment and I felt so honoured to be there. As the couple were reunited, I heard the soldier say to his little boy, 'Hi fella! I'm your Daddy'. Needless to say, I was reminded of how blessed we were to be getting Ben back after just a week away.
A sad consequence of Ben being away was that he missed Sam's 6th birthday. It was also Sam's class Christmas party at school so the boy was in party heaven. I went in and dropped off some cupcakes and sang 'happy birthday' with his class. His teacher, the lovely Miss Brown, also asked a few kids to pray for him and bless him on his special day. It was just another moment in which I was so very thankful for Bethel and it's culture of Love.
The day before Mum and Dad left, we drove up to Mt Shasta to see the snow and go tobogganing. Many happy memories were created, the best being watching Mum and Dad come down together on a toboggan. Oh I haven't laughed that hard in ages. The boys had a blast and were climbing higher and higher up the slope the more confident they became. Hannah hated it until about 10 mins before we had to leave, then chucked a fit because it was over. *sigh*
All in all, things are travelling pretty smoothly. Ben and the kids go back to school on Monday and I think I am ready to get back into some routine, although don't ask me at 6am Monday morning.
We pray that as you step into 2012, you would know and encounter the immense Love of God for you. His total Goodness and the Hope that comes from knowing Him. There is always More.
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