Crazy Love

Week two of school...DONE!

Cierra and I are just beginning to feel settled in and school is rocking our faces off in the best possible way.

There is no possible way to capture what we are experiencing through writing but I will try.

Our school is so outside the box, we are still trying to figure it out ourselves.  We usually have about an hour or so of worship every day and then slip into the most amazing teaching I have ever heard.  Bethel values the presence of God above everything else.  If they sense that God wants to do something throughout the student body then we end up following the Spirit to whatever end He takes us.  Often times worship ends with people laying hands on each other and asking God for breakthrough and declaring His love and goodness.

God made us to experience His love and goodness.  Joy is a byproduct of freedom.  We were created to laugh merely at the thought of the goodness of God.  One of the greatest weapons of spiritual warfare is Joy...wow!

Every friday finds us in our Revival Group of about 65 people (as opposed to the 800 students we are surrounded by the rest of the week) exploring the practical application of what our hearts have been learning.  By the end of our very first Revival Group half of us were on the floor, rolling in laughter with pockets of people prophesying over each other.  When you are full of love, there is no fear.

The biggest part of our learning takes place away from class...its completely counter-institutional!  There is no such thing as just doing your studying and reading to get on with the rest of the day.  We are learning as a couple and as a house how to bring the presence of God with us wherever we go.  It's good to be able to pray together, laugh and discuss all the new things that are going on in school.  God has already touched our hearts in a deep way through different encounters with His Glory!

Pray for that God would give us amazing jobs that pay us way too much!

We have dwindling funds and no income to speak of for the moment.

So far we have received one gift in the mail and we are encouraged by how much God really is in control.

Cierra and I were able to pray for a man from southern Oregon who was visiting Bethel Church at their friday night service and see his back and ribs almost completely healed!  He was no longer able to feel the pain that had plagued him for years and had gained mobility in his back.  We are contending that it will be a solid 100% soon!

God is crazy about us and just has the wildest, amazing thoughts about us.    

He has clothed me with righteousness

Isaiah 61:10 (New King James Version)

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD,
      My soul shall be joyful in my God;
      For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
      He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
      As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
      And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 

Since being here, I have felt a bit antsy, and for a few days almost a bit irritated. I noticed myself feeling and acting that way and went to the Lord about it. I knew there was a lie that I was believing that the enemy was trying to get me to believe. Alone, I asked Papa God (He's my Father, and I like to call Him Papa :) ) If there was a lie that I was believing. I didn't hear an answer. I asked again. No answer. Then I asked if there was something in between Him and I. "Yes." I heard clearly. "What is it?" I asked. He then showed me clothes in front of me (super cute ones, I might add) blocking my view from Papa. I desire for nothing to be in between God and I, especially after experiencing such closeness and freedom in His presence. At the moment I wasn't sure exactly what the wall of clothes meant, but I had a feeling in my gut that it was a right representation of whatever was going on inside. "Jesus, will you help me tear down this wall?" Immediately the wall of clothes tore down in front of me and I froze. My heart felt naked and then I started to feel tingles run down from my head to my toes and I started to cry. "What do you have for me instead Papa?" I asked feeling helpless. He then took me and began dressing me with new clothes and accessories that He had for me. Everything He put on me was beautiful and had almost a glow to them. As he put on each piece of clothing He proclaimed what He was adorning me with..."Righteousness... Peace... Patience... Kindness... Strength... The Father's glory... Beauty... Love..." 

I realized that I was letting insecurity and fear set in. When I went to the Father, He gave me an encounter with Him! He is so amazingly sweet and kind. As a friend recently said in an email she sent, 

"He longs for us to run to His arms, to spill out our pain, and there is ALWAYS healing in His words.DO NOT FEAR that HE is weary of your coming to Him. There is healing just in being in His presence, He will speak words of comfort over you... Bring your pain." 

It isn't worth holding onto pride, fear, pain or hurt. Give it to Jesus! I promise, He won't let you down. Let Him clothe you...

~C

Settling in

We are SO blessed!
I can hardly believe we are here in Redding already. Everything seemed to fly by.  We are living with 2 other couples in a townhouse with 2 cats and a dog... i know, it sounds crazy. It is actually working quite well. As couples, I think we compliment each other well. One couple is from Holland (or The Netherlands). Their names are Ton (pronounced tone) and Rianne. Rianne loves to cook, and she is absolutely wonderful at it. She has made up a bunch of stuff already for us to eat, and our bellies have been more than satisfied. Then there is Brad and Stephanie from Michigan! They are an awesome couple with fiery passion for God! They have their dog, Kipper who is a super cute vizsla. Kipper is a good dog who is unfortunately allergic to mostly everything, including cats and human dander. His allergic reactions have gotten worse since being here. Since none of us have jobs yet, we can't really spend any extra money. Extra vet trips are hard to afford. So if you think about him, please pray for lil Kip's healing.

Jason and I are looking for jobs, and hopefully will get them before school starts next week. I can't believe school starts NEXT WEEK!! Since arriving here, I feel like I am just waiting for school to start already. Bethel, the church we are going to, has weekend services that we will be attending. We have already been to 3 services. It is really exciting to be with such a large group of people that are passionately seeking Jesus.   We already feel God moving in us and challenging us, and school hasn't even begun!

• Please pray for Jason and I as we set an example of Christ's love through our marriage. 
• Pray that we not allow the enemy to get a foothold. 
• Pray for jobs and finances!

                        

Made it!

We are now excitedly unpacking our stuff and replanting our lives.  The 7 hour drive down flew by and  now we have about 2 weeks before the school officially starts.

We are blessed to have my mom helping us get settled down.  Its been super fun to get to know our Dutch roommates and we are excited for our Michigan roomies to be here tomorrow.

Pray that we are able to find a job amidst a 16% unemployment rate in the city.

We also got an awesome surprise blessing from my aunt and uncle while passing through Roseburg...Yay!

 

Cornerstone Chiropractic

Yesterday was my (Cierra) last day of work at Cornerstone Chiropractic. It is an amazing office. What makes it so amazing is the people. Mostly the Jesus in people. I have had the privilege to work under an Amazing Doctor, who genuinely loves his patients and employees. It has been incredible to watch him day in and day out, take care of hundreds and hundreds of patients, with the consistency and love. He is also known for his ridiculous achievements in 100 mile marathons, iron man races, and recently placed 8th in an Ultra-Man race that just happened in Canada. It's insane. Look it up http://ultramanlive.com/. Somehow he convinced me to run a little 5k last year... well, I ran/walked it anyway. (How pathetic am I? Sheesh!)  It was a fun experience that our whole office participated in. Maybe I will get motivated to do it again someday...

My fellow employees are also just fantastic. Amazing people with different gifts that contribute to making Cornerstone the great place that it is. People have said many times that it is not only a place they come to get physical healing, but emotional and spiritual healing too. I have learned a lot from each of them, and am excited to come back to visit :)

Getting to know the patients has been an experience I won't forget. They became friends too, and I will miss them as well.

God has blessed me beyond my expectations, and I am truly, truly thankful.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we may ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church (bride of Christ) and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen" 
                                                                                                
Ephesians 3:20-21



Visit Cornerstone Chiropractic's website! : http://cornerstonechiropractic.com/

The staff

And a few special patients....

4 days left

Only 4 more days left in Oregon. We are still packing and our place looks like a gross bachelor pad! Friends have come by to help take the things out that we are getting rid of or are storing here. We have been spending a lot of time with our friends, soaking in the moments before we say goodbye for a short while. My last day of work is tomorrow and I am saying goodbye to fellow employee friends and patients that have become friends. It has been such a great place for me to work. Amazing boss, amazing people, great atmosphere  We are growing in excitement and anticipation as we draw nearer to going to school. We will be entering into a new season of growth and newness in our lives!

PD!

Jason's mom ( I call her Mamma T ) took us into Portland to get us our new addition to the family - a bicycle! We had fun looking around and found the leads off craigslist. We found our bike and named him PD Xavier ( After PDX ) and call him PD for short ( sounds like pee-dee ). Thank you Mamma T!!

The Ember Days EP

The Ember Days FREE MUSIC download from Come and Live!

Awesome ambient worship from a New Zealand band. We love it. 

Click on the link to download:

 http://www.comeandlive.com/downloads/

Pack Pack Pack

Our poor apartment is an explosion of packing chaos.

With every detail we check off our list in preparation for moving, four more seem to sprout up in its place.  We are just now starting to experience some "lasts" in this season of transition.  This last Sunday night was our final night of Elements high school ministries, this Sunday was Cierra's last morning of singing with the worship team and I'm sure there are more to come in the following weeks.

We are already beginning to miss friends and family...and we haven't even left the state yet!

Pray for:

-Finances.  We have enough money for the first part of our tuition payment and are believing God to provide the money we need to be able to cover moving expenses.
-That God would prepare our hearts to receive ALL that He has for us in this coming season.
-That God would begin to set in motion the calling He has for us...after BSSM.
-That there would be grace in closure for this season.

check it!

-Set moving date to Redding... check!

-Re-paint walls... check!

-Write handwritten notice to apartment management of departure... check!

-Pay 1st deposit for BSSM... check!

-Get rid of unneeded stuff... hmm, still working on that one.

-Plan strategic time to spend with friends... check, and checking! :)

This is only a fraction of my huge to-do list that we are in the process of checking off and adding more things to daily! Only 27 more days till we hit the road with a trailer full of our things and excitement in our bones to Redding, California! It is coming up fast, but I feel unusually calm and confident. God has reassured me and reassured me of His faithfulness and provision in my life. He is a good Daddy and only has excellent things for me! :) Why waist time stressing out when I can enjoy myself in the arms of the One who has everything under control? It's a good trade. My control, for His peace. I love it. 

Jason and I are doing our best to plan for our next big adventure, practically, emotionally and spiritually. Initially it feels like a lot to give over to God, but when you do, it's the easiest thing in the world. We are looking forward to walking out the journey, one day at a time.

So about that checklist... There are a few things we are trying to get rid of so we don't have to haul it to Redding! Here are a few, if you would like to buy any of it from us, or know of anyone who would want any of it, let us know!! All monies would go toward our school fund! Thanks!

~C

2 dining chairs w/ blue slip cover

32" t.v. (and stand too, if you want it!)

dvd player

                                                                        5' tall silk palm tree

                                                                          Love, 

                                                                            us!
                                                              (We are not for sale)