Grace, Quesadillas, & Leviticus

Oh my goodness. What a week! I wish I would have had time to write on here earlier because now my brain feels like it could explode! SO MANY THINGS TO TELL! =)

Ok...where do I start! This week was crazyness. I just finished a report that is due by tonight at midnight...(that is SO not like me to wait this long!)

So...we read Leviticus this week. Holy Cow! How insane?!?! I'm pretty sure I've read this before...but it was kind of interesting to me how I was reading crazy law after crazy law in Leviticus....and then reading 3 chapters in God's Lavish Grace about how we are no longer under the law. PRAISE GOD! I mean I understand that the purpose of this law was to set the Israelites apart from the rest of the world and to fulfill God's covenant with Abraham. But, OH my goodness that a lot of rules. And killing animals. (those poor priests!)

So...as I'm reading God's Lavish Grace I found myself reading incredibly slow, trying to take in every ounce of information and wanting to highlight nearly every sentence. lol

Some of my favorite quotes from what I've read so far:

"The only way in is through his perfect gift of righteousness, and having gained entry we must learn to stand in grace"

Talking about how we all try to set goals for ourselves or "new years resolutions" and then when we fail to meet these self-imposed requirements, we feel disqualified.

"Forgetting to read what the text actually says about 'reigning in life", we tend to set ourselves targets to live by, as though that was the secret"

"You reign in life by receiving abundant grace, not by putting yourself under laws. It is because of your standing that you reign in life"

"You will always be vulnerable to Satan's pointed finger of accusation if you don't understand and wholeheartedly embrace the gift of righteousness that God has freely given you."

There is also a part of the book that talks about how sometimes on the day that people get saved they meet a mixture of freedom and implied bondage, the lightening of their load followed by a new load. A series of new rules and guidelines that immediately imply unworthiness or inadequacy. Not cool. Not cool at all. That's PART of the reason why it's so important to understand this concept of grace. To share it with others!

"Unless a church has been invaded by clear teaching on the grace of God it can often breathe an atmosphere that lacks joy and seems far removed from the ethos of the early church"

FAVORITE:
"Let the wonder of God's gift of grace overwhelm you. Let his grace set you free. Let it bring you into a deep sense of his total acceptance of you, just as you are!"

Everybody together now....breath a huge sigh of "oh my GOODNESS that makes sense!" =) haha

So yeah...the book is amazing. (I probably could have just summed it up with that and moved on...or maybe I should have just copy and pasted the whole report I just wrote.) haha =)

So....Thursday morning. Woke up at 6am. Left at 7 for Pastor's prayer. Got there around 10:30. All the pastor's of the New Frontiers churches in Missouri were there AND I got to meet the year teams at the other churches. =) That was cool. Met the other two year team girls. =) Chit-chatted with them about what it's like to be with only boys. (FINALLY! Someone who can relate!) haha

The prayer time there was amazing! These men are such prayer warriors! It was intense. So cool to see the leaders of the church interceding for growth in the church that already exists, and expansion. We even prayed for the northwest and thanked God for all He's doing there! It's amazing. He talked about how Chris Brannon's church is becoming a part of New Frontiers this month (I think it's this month) AND The River Center is officially a part of New Frontiers VERY soon also!

I WISH that I could just give even half of my excitement about that fact to the people in the River Center! We Really truly have no idea how awesome it is to be joined to this family. And that's really what it is, a family. Every day I'm amazed at how everyone knows everyone (or knows OF them at least). It's like this GIANT cobweb =) haha Seriously though, I want to come back to the River Center and get people excited about the conferences that are taking place all across the United States with these amazing teachers and WE get to be a part of them! Coming up in January is the Mobilise conference for College students that I'm SUPER excited for. And then the Equip For Missions conference a month-ish later.

AHHHHH!!!! I just wanna scream with excitement and gratitude for how GREAT our God is and how excited I am for where we are headed!

Ok...so...we drive home from the prayer meeting. Get home around 7ish....and have Bryan drop us off at Amie and Rebekah's house for a little time of fellowship. We ended up eating quesadillas and then worshipping...and praying like crazy! Just praising God and thanking Him for who He is and what He's done. It was one of the most powerful prayer times I've been a part of.

Ryan suggested that we pray for people individually. So we prayed for healing for Allison who has had excruciating back pain for days and dr.'s don't know what is causing it. So...while we're praying over here people started having visions, and words, and praying for not only physical healing, but emotional healing as well. It was amazing! You could just SEE the Holy Spirit moving in her as we were praying for her. And for the first time in my life, the Lord gave me a vision. For Allison. My first instinct was, "ok, is this for REAL?" And all of the sudden I found myself shaking...and crying and I was like "WHAT is wrong with me?" I shared it with her, and then began to regain my composure. =)
People had words over her about how God was just beginning a process in her. Powerful powerful stuff.
We also prayed for lots of other people, including myself.
It was SO apparent that the Holy Spirit was touching people. I found myself praying things and not knowing what I was saying....but making sense. (If that makes sense)
And God spoke to me....THIS is one of the things I'm going to grow in! THIS is one of the spiritual gifts that I want to learn to use, for God's glory.

We got home late. Super exhausted. But it was worth it.
Today was nuts. So...tonight I'm just kinda chillin.
In fact, maybe I'll watch a movie?
I DO miss home. Especially when John Lanferman was talking about The River Center and Warren....*sigh*

Miss and Love you all...