Kissing God

To all my fellowshippers (everyone reading this), I am severely excited to finally tell you about the radical things that God has been doing in my life the past few months!

When we started our worship team

Three years ago I was asked to start a worship band for a small children’s ministry at church. The hours and efforts where tedious! In the end we grew in a few numbers and also in musical quality. But, for some reason, I could not grow past a certain point as a worship leader. I had the passion, commitment and talent, but as a worship team we also began to stagnate. And I knew it was because I, the leader, was holding it all back.

Then, a month ago our ministry underwent enormous changes and came under new leadership. This leader saw this hunger in me and what God wants to do through my life as a worship leader. He fought against my spiritual captivity through prayer and empowerment, and finally I was empowered as a leader – as a worship leader. Within just two weeks we had a larger ministry, venue, a band who is better in quantity and quality, and for the first time we can cultivate our passion for God, people and worship beyond just ourselves. We are dreaming of reviving the lifeless everywhere we go. This is incredible! So many of our band member’s lives have already changed radically in just two weeks! God has come to set our worship team free. And now, we can in turn revive lives and cultures!

Where we are now! Isn't God GREAT!

What I personally have learnt about worship is the following:

·        The word worship is translated from the Greek word proskuneo which means “to kiss the hand, to bow down before”. These are very intimate things to do.

·        God doesn't ASK us to worship Him, He COMMANDS us to worship Him.

·        Why do you think He would command us? Would it change how great and sovereign He is? No. He is ALWAYS the same. He never changes. But then why would He command it if He doesn’t NEED our worship??

·        It’s becauseWE need to worship God.

·        Through worship we discover things about Him. About His character. About His heart towards us.

·        Through this we are in essence discovering these things about OURSELVES as we are made in His image.

·        

This is why He commands us to worship Him:

For us to see the truth about who He is

and who we are

and through what Godly authority we 

as His prototypes 

can live and reign on this fallen world.

The authority to move mountains

And to set the captives free.

The authority of a King for whom nothing is impossible.

·        Yes, it is a command. But you still have a choice to worship Him.

·        Do you want to live an average and mediocre life?

·        

         Or do you WANT to play a part in this incredible, Godly, miraculous guaranteed adventure?

So let’s spend time in the manifest presence of God and intimately encounter His passionate love and dreams for us, His prototypes.

Let’s respond to our Calling: to live in intimate relationship with the Almighty, Victorious, and Loving God.

At a Youth Event a week ago

God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. Jhn 4:24

My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long. Ps63:1

Love,

Praying like a Kid

At children’s ministry this morning, we took the kids out in the streets (with parental consent) to pray for car guards.

We split into little groups and I decided to have a little chat with my group before we mission out. I asked them what they thought the cargaurds needed prayer for. The answers were a bit sharply edged on my heart as they gave superficial answers such as: “They need more money”, or, “for better jobs, like working at KFC across the road.”

Then I had to ask, “You agree that they are people too with hearts just like you and me, right? And even though they might not have a lot of money, they may be rich. What do you think?”

Then their answers bloomed into beautiful ones like, “then maybe we should pray for them to show more of God’s kindness to the people they meet every day out here,” and, “that they can influence people through the job they do, ‘cause it’s an important job.”

We missioned out to pray for car guards. The children were so bold in the way they approached the situation. They asked the guards about their families and they showed them so much kindness and compassion. There was even a Muslim guard who asked us to pray for him...  (that's him in the picture)

These children really inspired me in the way they prayed. 

I expected that I would have to lead them in prayer and instead they surprised me with how not intimidating they find praying – even in front of others. 

Praying is easy. 
Yes, sometimes we feel so angry or upset that we don't want to pray. Or we feel as if no one is listening. Or we have prayed so many times, but have only recieved a few answers. O r maybe we feel like we are talking to the roof. 

Just persist. He IS Listening. To every single word. To every single emotion.
Praying is not a ritual that you DO. It is a convo that you have with God.

So many of us have the excuse that we don’t have time.

If you have time to think  and worry about things, you have time to pray about them.

For example,

Instead of THINKING: “Oh goodness, this is so scary.”

PRAY: “Dad, this is so scary. Do you think I can do this?”

Instead of THINKING: “I feel so fat.”

PRAY: “Dad, I feel fat. And I don’t like it.”

Instead of THINKING: “I am so good at this.”

PRAY: “Look Dad, I am good at this. Thanks for the talent!”

It basically comes down to CONVERSATION.

You cannot build a relationship with a friend if you do not communicate. 

About everything and anything. 

It’s the same about you relationship with God, too. 

Just TALK to Him.

Tell Him if you are angry. Tell Him when you are happy. Thank Him. Ask Him if you don’t understand things about life.

Just TALK to Him.

I promise you your relationship will grow.

If the kids can do it, so can YOU.

Love

NO DATING... for a YEAR?! That's crazy! Or is it?

I was in a very long and serious relationship with a man who had everything I wanted. Our relationship really worked – we could laugh together, we communicated well, we could be vulnerable together, and the list of reasons why it worked continues. 

But there was just one thing.

One thing that made everything that worked not work. 

I was broken.

A month after we had begun our relationship I found out that my parents were getting a divorce. And not for the civilized kind of reasons – the disastrous and messy kind. It left me, the youngest in the family, with so much hurt and fear of abandonment. It felt as if the once solid and secure foundations my life has been built on for the past 19 years have been ripped out underneath me. 

Suddenly I had no sense of security in my life. My family use to be the one sure thing I had and now that too has been torn apart.

Needless to say my boyfriend became my rock. Well, more accurately, he became my crutch. I was broken, and he carried me. I took out all of my hurt towards my family out on him. And he took it. Every single hit of anger and insecurity I had bottled up.

About 8 months into the relationship I had a little feeling in my gut that I had to end the relationship. I didn’t want to hear it, so I ignored it. It continued to nag for three months. Then, after a lot of prayer and discussion with my ‘fellowshippers’ and with God, I finally ended things. Officially the hardest decision of my life so far. I thought we were going to get married. And now I was ending it.

I decided to take a year off. Now, I know that Andy Stanley has this challenge for people to take a year off from relationships as part of his “New Rules for Love, Sex and Dating” series. But I didn’t even know who Andy Stanley was at the time. 

My year had purpose of something along these lines:

1. To find my identity.

2. To find God’s identity.

3. To find how 1 & 2 come together.

I decided on a year, because I knew that as soon as I meet someone new who was willing to be crutch, I would take the opportunity when things would get tough. So it was a time-specific guideline for me to heal purposefully with no shortcuts.

I decided ‘no relationships’, because I knew that the biggest distraction in my life has always been my boyfriend. I would run to him for comfort, validation, protection and attention. And this is not meant to come solely from another person. No one can live up to that role in its fullest capacity. Only God can. And I wasn’t getting it from Him, because it was much "easier" to get it from my boyfriend. 

But it didn’t sustain, and I was a broken, insecure girl who couldn’t imagine life without her man. So I basically gave up my ‘Isaac’. 

However, the morning after the breakup I woke up drenched in peace. And it is now a year and a few months later and I haven’t cried about it once. 

I had peace and faith and the biggest ADVENTURE of my life.

It wasn’t easy, but today I can say that I, regardless of my past, 

am a woman who sacrificed a little year of no dating

so that I can become a 

healthy, confident, content, secure and godly woman

who won’t depend on my future husband 

for happiness or worth.

I can be a whole person with him.
The wife he deserves.

I also gave God the opportunity to lay the most secure and beautiful foundations for the rest of my life. 

It is as if all of the values, lies, hurt and perspectives my life has been built on have been broken down and rebuilt to its best possible version. Like the city of Zion in the Bible. 

Are you up for a challenge of your own?

Did you also take a year off?

Feel free to share your story or questions with me! Three girls I am mentoring are currently taking up this challenge and I am very excited to say that God has met every expectation and even more!

Collinsleighann75@gmail.com

LOVE

IT'S NOT ABOUT LIVING "RIGHT"

IT IS NOT ABOUT LIVING “RIGHT”.

IT'S ABOUT FILLING YOUR LIFE 

WITH MORE OF HIM.

You have a HUNGER and THIRST for Him. 

Whether you want to admit it or not.

You were CREATED to be in a relationship with Him. 

And only He can FILL the deepest desires of your soul 

as HE is the ONLY one who knows what they are.

Listen to worship music. Get involved at church. Talk to others about Him. Ask others about Him. Discuss Him with others. Talk TO Him. Think about Him and how beautiful everything is that He created. Thank Him. Ask Him. Trust His good plans for you.

If you focus more on this than on how many mistakes you have made, 

you are set for an Adventurous Relationship with Him. 

It’s that simple. 

Love

RULES vs. RELATIONSHIP part 2: Why do I need the Bible, Church and Fellowship?

                              

Now that we have the ‘relationship with God’ part sorted out, then what about the Bible, the church and fellowship? Will I go to hell if I don’t go to church/ read the Bible/ not have fellowship with others?

NO. Well, that’s what I believe. It makes sense. And here’s how:

[Hypothetically speaking]

You have always heard about this person (Let’s call him Godfry), but have never met him. You eventually meet him, but it’s a bit awkward as you initially don’t really know what to talk about. Then, you go for coffee and it’s very frustrating as you do not understand the way he speaks/ means what he says/ why he doesn’t answer when you ask him questions. This frustrates you severely and just as you are about to give up on building a relationship with Godfry, he passes you a book – his very own biography. He tells you that even though you don’t always understand the way he speaks to you, that you can find out a bit more about what he likes/dislikes, his characteristics, why and how he says the things he does, etc.

So you went in your own time and read a bit of it and then somehow you began to understand a bit more of why your coffee convo’s went the way they did.

At your next coffee the coffee went less awkward and frustrating because you understood Godfry a bit better – but still not fully.

So you go on Facebook and you stalk him a bit and see that you have mutual friends. You ‘happen’ to see one of your friends later and then you discuss Godfry a bit. This friend explains to you how they have experienced Godfry in similar situations that you have that have frustrated you. And then suddenly those situations make more sense.

Then, you get an invite from Godfry to a social event that he is hosting – every single week. At this event many of Godfry’s friends come together and meet and spend time with each other. Godfry is the guest of honor at this weekly event and one of his friends give a little speech about Godfry and his character.

SO… Obviously:

Godfry = God

Biography = Bible

Mutual friend = fellowshipping with another believer

Social event = church

CONCLUSION:

The Bible, church and fellowship are not determinants for going to heaven… but, 
they are vital TOOLS that will assist you in your relationship with God. 

I can promise you that they will make your relationship with God and your whole experience as a Believer

SO MUCH EASIER and FUN. 

You don’t have to struggle in getting to know Him better. 

He is patient and gentle with you. 

He desires a relationship with you desperately. 

So I want to challenge YOU to use these tools to get to know the most awesome person better. It’s an adventure. 

Regardless of your past, present and future. 

Do it. I know you want to.

IT IS NOT ABOUT RULES/ RELIGION, 

BUT RELATIONSHIP.

Love

RELIGION vs. RELATIONSHIP

Hey guys! I have had a very rough past three weeks with exams, etc. But I have been writing about things that have been happening and now I am back to share them with you!

Ultimately, there is only ONE THING that you need to hear:

If a parent has many rules and punishes their child if they make a mistake, the child will obey the parent out of fear. The parent is like a “master” and the child the “slave”. These children usually end up being rebellious and bad.

If a parent and child have a RELATIONSHIP wherein they talk to each other and care for each other, the child will obey the parent out of LOVE: because they want to make the parent happy. Not because they have to and fear punishment if they don’t.

There is no fear in love.

It is the same with God.

In the Old Testament, He was like the strict parent with RULES. But then Jesus came and took the punishment on your behalf.

Now, God is like the parent who cares about a RELATIONSHIP with you.

What do I mean by relationship?

Well, it’s very simple really. How do you initiate and build on relationships in your life?

·         You meet someone

·         You then spend time with them

·         You honestly communicate with them how feel and what you like/dislike

·          You do little things for them to show your love for them

·         You compliment them and build them up with kind and loving words

·         You thank them for what they do out of love for you when you least deserved it

·         How else do you build on your relationships with people you care about?

Well, building a relationship with God is pretty much the same… He created the concept of ‘relationship’ after all…

Next post we will discuss whether one can get into Heaven without the Bible, Fellowship or the Church. I bet you have thought about that one before…

Love

The PERSON you will NEVER get away from...

Has it ever occurred to you that you have a relationship with yourself?

Auntie Joyce (Meyer) spoke about something that I have never really thought about… I don’t know about you, but this concept intrigues me considerably…

Just think about it… You spend the most time with yourself. More time with you than with anybody else. You can never get away from yourself – not for one second. You have the most opinions about yourself. You know everything about yourself. You talk to yourself. You talk about yourself. You have a relationship with yourself. Good or bad.

Now the problem is when you don’t like yourself… Imagine spending every second of your life with the one person you can’t stand. The one person who can never do things right or the way you want them to be done. The one person who you don’t like looking at, because they are so ‘ugly’ in your eyes. That’s what it's like not liking yourself…

But, we don’t think about it like that, because we see these judgments of ourselves as opportunities for ‘improvement’.

Now imagine having a relationship with someone for the rest of your life, but this person isn’t someone you can stand at the moment. You don’t mind, because you see the relationship as an opportunity to ‘fix’ that person so that they can become someone you actually like one day…

Problem is, you still have to spend time with that imperfect person until that day comes… And with the ‘fixer’ mindset you’ll always find room for improvement… which means you’ll NEVER like that person… what a miserable life…

Now with that said, how does one have a relationship with yourself that is not as depressing as the one just described?

Well, I believe it is quite simple… How do you treat and feel about the people who you love and admire the most in your life? Your mom or dad or partner or leader? How do you treat them? With respect? With kindness? You probably don’t constantly insult or offend them? Or judge or criticize them?

You encourage them. You compliment them. You learn from their mistakes. You ensure them that regardless of their mistakes and failures that you still love them. You treat them gently. You build them up with your words.

Now, think a bit how you speak to yourself?

If it feels strange to intentionally speak to yourself, here’s how I have been practicing it (try looking in the mirror whilst doing this to make things fun):

“[Insert your name here], you are so awesome. You have such a good and gracious heart. You have a great sense of style and a strange, but interesting vocabulary. You make corny jokes, but hey, someone’s gotta make them. You are beautiful. I accept you exactly the way you are right now at this very moment – with your freckles and curves and very emotional days. You are worthy. You are to die for actually. Jesus thinks so too.”

(If you’re a guy you probably would want to replace “beautiful” with “handsome” and other manly words…)

Let’s stop being so hard on ourselves.

Let’s start enjoying our own company. 

Let’s look for reasons to love ourselves.

I assure you there are MANY.

Make a list! Stick it on your mirror!

Number one should be: Made in God’s image.

This means that you have God’s characteristics in your DNA!

So what is God’s character: 

God is Love, right? 

Then what is Love?

Love is patient, love is kind. 

Which then HAS to mean that

YOU are PATIENT, 

YOU are KIND.

Apply the rest of this TRUTH about yourself to yourself:

Replace LOVE with your name.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7New Living Translation (NLT)

4 (I am) patient and kind. (Love)is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. (Love)does not demand its own way. (Love)is not irritable, and (Love) keeps no record of being wronged. 6 (Love) does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 (Love) never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

BE WITH SOMEONE THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY.

Love