I just got home from my second day of Fearless Summit...I just have no words, in fact if I start talking about today, it'll just wreck me, like flood of tears wrecked.
The resounding theme of the day was to STAND UP FOR JESUS AND DO IT! Whatever your IT may be. I will do a full recap in the next couple of days, all the pictures and fun stuff will be here and all the notes and lessons will be on Bent Reeds.
Excellence, Authenticity, Action these are what we've been called to as Christians. We've been called to step out of the "Church bubble" and actually provide real life solutions to a broken hurting world. Stephen Beck said in the morning session
"When the meat goes bad, it's no use blaming the meat - where was the salt? In the same way in a dark decaying world, it's no use blaming the world, the world isn't intended to be perfect, but the question on everybody's mind is 'Where are the Christians' "
Yeah, so wherever you are, whatever job you're doing, whatever sector of society you're in, would your boss, your neighbor, your client, your shopkeeper, your husband, your wife, your watchman, your parents, your cousins, would these guys know you are a Christian by the way you live your life. Are these lives around you impacted by who you are. Is your authenticity, your dependence on God causing a stir in your circle?
For me, my blogs, my twitter, my Facebook are incredible tools in my life, even if it's for one person. That one random email or comment I get from someone saying your passion has stirred up my passion for God, or one twitter follower who decided to check out a band or music I've posted and it leads them somewhere with God. Even if it feels like nobody's reading what I'm writing most of the time. I will still do this. I'll do a great blog design, I'll write everyday, I'll do it, because this is what did it for me. Tweets about dependence on God and blogs like Ashley's or Ruthie's reignited my fire. This is an area I've been called to as a starting point for where I'm going.
The chance I've been given to be in Worship Team is an incredible chance to use the calling of music in my life, my Church and all the classes and conferences we have are an incredible chance to use my calling to family ministry through going to and leading a class and eventually interning.
I have incredibly huge dreams and callings on my life...you can bet at every step, I'll strive to use whatever I have in that moment with faithfulness.
Speaking of faithfulness, just have to share this story of my Fearless journey and how I ended up here...I really was hesitant about going just because none of my friends were going and that feeling of being out of place just freaks me out. In the last minute the only person I knew was going ended up not being able to come, by this point I'd already paid, so I had to. You should know I am painfully shy!
Day 1 comes along, I'm freaked out again about going, but I got the number of my my friend's friend and it was cool because we ended up hanging out and I wasn't alone that day! Whew!
Day 2 comes, and my friends' friend who is now my new friend (are you following? :-) ) loses her phone so I couldn't reach her, and again I'm alone...I get there feeling weird, sit at the back, then an Usher asks me to move to a seat at the front, smack dab in the middle of strangers, at this point, I could not feel more awkward...dreading lunch because I had no one to "socialize" with, then at the last minute just as people were leaving, the lady next to me says, "Hi my name is so-and-so" and I'm like, "Hi, my name is Joanne" and she starts a conversation and I ask her if I can join her group for lunch. Whew!
Point of all this, is just to say God is faithful and I feel like He put me in these situations to teach me that I can rely on Him. If I step out in faith to where He's called me to be, even if the vision is hazy and I'm scared of stepping out, and I can't see exactly how it'll all work, I can lean on Him. My new friend losing her phone was also a God thing because at the end of it, I won't say, "thank God, she was there otherwise I wouldn't have survived alone" I'm going to say, "God provided for my simplest (yet hugest) need at that time and He's going to do it again. That's just what He does. That's built my faith.
***Oh, my friend's phone got returned, she had dropped it in a bus, and a guy picked it up and called her last dialed number and arranged to drop it off with that person. Can someone say miracle? God's Plan? HALLELUJAH!***
Sorry for the long picture-less post, just had to get that off my chest, but I will get you lots of pictures and videos after my last day tomorrow.
xx
Jo
The resounding theme of the day was to STAND UP FOR JESUS AND DO IT! Whatever your IT may be. I will do a full recap in the next couple of days, all the pictures and fun stuff will be here and all the notes and lessons will be on Bent Reeds.
Excellence, Authenticity, Action these are what we've been called to as Christians. We've been called to step out of the "Church bubble" and actually provide real life solutions to a broken hurting world. Stephen Beck said in the morning session
"When the meat goes bad, it's no use blaming the meat - where was the salt? In the same way in a dark decaying world, it's no use blaming the world, the world isn't intended to be perfect, but the question on everybody's mind is 'Where are the Christians' "
Yeah, so wherever you are, whatever job you're doing, whatever sector of society you're in, would your boss, your neighbor, your client, your shopkeeper, your husband, your wife, your watchman, your parents, your cousins, would these guys know you are a Christian by the way you live your life. Are these lives around you impacted by who you are. Is your authenticity, your dependence on God causing a stir in your circle?
For me, my blogs, my twitter, my Facebook are incredible tools in my life, even if it's for one person. That one random email or comment I get from someone saying your passion has stirred up my passion for God, or one twitter follower who decided to check out a band or music I've posted and it leads them somewhere with God. Even if it feels like nobody's reading what I'm writing most of the time. I will still do this. I'll do a great blog design, I'll write everyday, I'll do it, because this is what did it for me. Tweets about dependence on God and blogs like Ashley's or Ruthie's reignited my fire. This is an area I've been called to as a starting point for where I'm going.
The chance I've been given to be in Worship Team is an incredible chance to use the calling of music in my life, my Church and all the classes and conferences we have are an incredible chance to use my calling to family ministry through going to and leading a class and eventually interning.
I have incredibly huge dreams and callings on my life...you can bet at every step, I'll strive to use whatever I have in that moment with faithfulness.
Speaking of faithfulness, just have to share this story of my Fearless journey and how I ended up here...I really was hesitant about going just because none of my friends were going and that feeling of being out of place just freaks me out. In the last minute the only person I knew was going ended up not being able to come, by this point I'd already paid, so I had to. You should know I am painfully shy!
Day 1 comes along, I'm freaked out again about going, but I got the number of my my friend's friend and it was cool because we ended up hanging out and I wasn't alone that day! Whew!
Day 2 comes, and my friends' friend who is now my new friend (are you following? :-) ) loses her phone so I couldn't reach her, and again I'm alone...I get there feeling weird, sit at the back, then an Usher asks me to move to a seat at the front, smack dab in the middle of strangers, at this point, I could not feel more awkward...dreading lunch because I had no one to "socialize" with, then at the last minute just as people were leaving, the lady next to me says, "Hi my name is so-and-so" and I'm like, "Hi, my name is Joanne" and she starts a conversation and I ask her if I can join her group for lunch. Whew!
Point of all this, is just to say God is faithful and I feel like He put me in these situations to teach me that I can rely on Him. If I step out in faith to where He's called me to be, even if the vision is hazy and I'm scared of stepping out, and I can't see exactly how it'll all work, I can lean on Him. My new friend losing her phone was also a God thing because at the end of it, I won't say, "thank God, she was there otherwise I wouldn't have survived alone" I'm going to say, "God provided for my simplest (yet hugest) need at that time and He's going to do it again. That's just what He does. That's built my faith.
***Oh, my friend's phone got returned, she had dropped it in a bus, and a guy picked it up and called her last dialed number and arranged to drop it off with that person. Can someone say miracle? God's Plan? HALLELUJAH!***
Sorry for the long picture-less post, just had to get that off my chest, but I will get you lots of pictures and videos after my last day tomorrow.
xx
Jo
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