gods.

A "god" is defined as:

1.     a spirit or being that has great power, strength, knowledge, etc. that can affect nature and    the lives of people.
2.        One controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
3.        a person or thing of supreme value (Merriam-Webster.com)

Based on these definitions, a god can be something that has great power, affecting nature and lives of people, controlling their reality, and someone or something of supreme value.

We all worship something.

Money. Sex. Possessions. Et cetera.

All these things can begin to control us. Then they start to own us, if we can't give what we own away.

I want to serve God, not  my job, education, etc. that are fleeting. They are great on this side of life: before eternity. I want my life to count and point to God not myself. The gods of this life can be knocked down by focusing on what really matters. What matters to me is that I live with God at the center of my life, not gods I erected in place of him.

To close, I want to share this video:

set apart from the inside out

I am created by God to live transformed from the inside out. I am renewed by what I think about. If I want to change my life, I need to change my thinking.

Shifting my thinking onto the things God cares about will change the way I act.

Prayer begins to change me from the inside out. I experience intimacy with God. I slow down and really process what my thoughts circle around. I ask myself, "Is what I'm thinking about glorifying to God?"

If my thoughts don't match what I believe, that leads to confession and repentance. I am transformed from the inside out.

Conforming to the world is not what God desires from me. I am created to live transformed. 

Transformation begins to fuel me into deeper intimacy with God.

Newcastle, AUSTRALIA!!!!

Sometimes life is crazy. I applied for YWAM DTS in Newcastle, Australia and I have been accepted into the school!

 

Yay me!

 

A part of me is beyond excited to have this kind of opportunity to serve God and His people. Yet another part of me is skeptical thinking, "Okay. This cannot be real. I'm living in a dream."

 

But it is real.

 

I pray God would give me the faith to believe this is where He desires me to go. I may never have this opportunity again and I'm going to run with it!

Some of the work I'll be doing with YWAM DTS is helping with Youth Street an outreach ministry for youth which is where my passion is. I love working with youth.

DTS goes beyond a missions trip. 12 weeks of DTS is filled with lecture, then the remainder of the time is outreach to another country. Before I further pursue this (sending in my registration fee, getting a passport, etc.) I must examine where my heart is and where my motivation lies as to why I want to go on this trip.

I have applied for numerous missions trips/ministries before through different missions organizations (Youth for Christ, Youthworks, Spring Hill camps, Reach Your City, etc.) and it just didn't work out. :-(

I'm praying YWAM Newcastle DTS is my opportunity to put my faith in action and serve a broken world.