"Guys... I have been thinking about you all week. I am friendship-in-love with you!" is what my best friend said out of a revelation she had after going a few days without seeing us.
God has been truly amazing by blessing me with such special friends. After moving here permanently with Jason at the end of 2007 to Oregon, I felt a huge hole. Leaving my family and best friends in southern California wasn't easy. It only took a couple months for it to really hit me that no one but my husband really knew me. Yikes. I couldn't have made it the first year being married and living in Oregon without, of course, my amazing husband and my new family, the Wortmans. They are truly God's gift to me. What an amazing family that I married into! It's been two and a half years now since Jason and I have been married and living in Oregon. Crazy how time flies! God has confirmed that Oregon is my home. He has given me a heart for the Portland area and has given me a new family... And just because God is so amazing, He has rekindled old friendships and has made them closer than ever!
Melissa and I grew up together after her mom had practically brought her to our doorstep, looking for a babysitter. My mom accepted the "babysitting offer" and that is when we were forced to become best friends... Okay, not really, because I really do love Melissa, but really. If it weren't for My Aunt Mary's boldness, we may not have even known the other existed! Our parents became close friends and we did too. So close, in fact we call each other's parents, Aunt and Uncle. Melissa's family moved from our neighborhood when we were 4, but we still kept in contact via snail mail. She was my first "pen pal". Fast forward 17 years to Jason and I's wedding day. Melissa was of course in my wedding, and meets a certain gentleman, Justin Nichols (one of Jason's best men). Jason and I move to Oregon immediately after our wedding, and a year later Melissa follows :) She and Justin fall in love and are getting married this summer! Jason and I have grown close to the couple and marvel at how God set the whole thing up.
Then there is the amazing Sarah. Sarah and I met in high school, and immediately clicked. Her passion for God, life and music inspired and attracted me to her. After high school, I hadn't heard from or seen her in a while. I had gone on a DTS with YWAM in New Zealand, and shortly after I came back, she left to do the same thing in Mexico. 2 years later, we reconnected! Sarah was also part of my wedding, using her beautiful voice and talent for strumming the guitar during our ceremony. About 2 years later, after much prayer, she felt like God was leading her to move up to Oregon too. I would have NEVER thought that we would both wind up in Oregon, pursuing our passions and sharing our lives together!
I am truly thankful for such amazing friends! We have all become close friends who pray for each other, keep one another accountable, share with and do life with. You know we have gotten close when just a couple days go by and we miss each other. We are friends. We are community. We are family. We are "friendship-in-love".
Pronunciation: \in-ˈthü-zē-ˌa-zəm, en-, also -ˈthyü-\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein to be inspired, irregular fromentheos inspired, from en- + theos god
Date: 1603
1 a: belief in special revelations of the Holy Spirit b: religious fanaticism 2 a: strong excitement of feeling :ardorenergy and enthusiasm>b: something inspiring zeal or fervor s include sailing and fishing>
This is the word we were told to look up by an agnostic after we prayed for him and his family on the sidewalk.
Before I go into the details of that divine appointment let me give some context. Yesterday was the last "official" LifeGroup meeting for the sophomore guys and girls that Cierra and I each meet with separately. We wanted to do some sort of special event for our last night and decided to join our two groups together for a treasure hunt.
By 6:30 yesterday the stage was set for a night of radical encounters and life changing prayer. After a few minutes of worship and soaking in Gods presence the 12 of us each grabbed a notecard and began to write down God's response to," God, show me details and give me clues about who you want to touch and love tonight."
We broke into teams of 3 students and 1 leader per team and jumped in the car to head to Bridgeport Village, outdoor mall. My team of Carli, Matthew and Ryan headed towards the middle of Bridgeport, since we had water, fire and a few other "clues" that indicated this might be a good location to start. After about 15 or twenty minutes of wandering around with no one being highlighted from our list I remembered one item from Carli's list was "light", which took us to Z Gallery.
Right in the middle of Z Gallery were two young women looking at a chandelier...LIGHT! We went up and told them we were doing a treasure hunt and that we thought they might be on our list. Only one or two things on the list matched but I then told them I believed that God had highlighted them and asked if they needed prayed for anything. They both turned to each other, gave each other a high five and in a sing-songy way said,"Halo!" They then told us about how they were in the middle of a week of fasting and praying for job and financial breakthrough in their lives...and we had showed up to pray for them! Next, under the twinkly display lights of the store we prayed for favor in their jobs and financial breakthrough and freedom to be able to give and bless with their money.
Now that we had broken the ice for the night we were excited for whatever God had next!
We found ourselves at the back entrance of Borders when a lady wearing yellow shoes and a yellow cardigan walked past us and into the store. Again I turned to Carli and asked what was on her list.
Yellow!
I knew it! As a group we ran to track down our "yellow" lady and almost lost her in the rows of book displays. We asked if she could help us on our treasure hunt and told her that we thought maybe God was highlighting her for some reason. After looking through all our "treasure maps" she identified with a number of things on each one!
From Ryans list:
-"apple red" she was a teacher and identified with the iconic apple association with teachers.
-"dark rock" she was wearing a bracelet with the center piece made of a dark colored stone.
From Carli's list:
-"yellow" she had a very cute yellow centric outfit on.
From Matthew's list (if I remember right...)
-"water" her favorite element.
From my list:
-"horses" she used to raise miniature horses
She told us she hadn't been to church in a long time, no one had prayed for her in a long while and that she had been having extremely bad headaches the last few months which was making teaching 1st and 2nd grade a challenge...to say the least! She was open to us praying for her right then and there so we took advantage of the opportunity. Sickness does not come from God, so we agreed with God's plan for wellness in her life and prayed blessing and encouragement over her. You could tell she was very touched by the time we said goodbye.
Our final encounter was at the very end our night and was motivated by Matthew's zeal to find a person having to do with his "pizza" word of knowledge. Rounding the corner with the California Pizza Kitchen in view we saw a family of four (with one on the way) coming out from dinner. We didn't need much more motivation after quickly looking at my list and seeing my clue "soon to be mother" at the top.
We all ran across the street and asked if they had moment to talk. I kid you not, the very first thing out of the mans lips were,"Yeah, as long as you are not trying to sell us religion..."
I just smiled and said,"You're going to laugh..." and then went on to explain how we believed that God had highlighted his family and asked if there was any way we could pray for them.
The SECOND thing he said to us was,"Pray that we all stay safe from Joseph Smith". This was the agnostic guy that I had began to tell about at the beginning of this story and it was pretty clear that he was suffering from some pretty deep wounds that religion had caused him and most likely though a false representation of Christ through the LDS church.
Somehow he was still humoring us with his attention and the soon to be mother just looked on, almost encouragingly of us. We showed him our "maps" and there were a few matches like his recently fixed busted leg which was on my list and "yellow" from Cari's and "pizza" from Matthews. Again he surprised us by agreeing to be prayed for right then and there.
Matthew boldly led us in prayer but was interrupted half way through by the guy after praying for financial stability in their family. Apparently they were "well off" and had no need what-so-ever in the financial department. Not a bit phased, Matthew acknowledged the guys retort and then bowed his head and kept on praying blessing and protection over their family.
In parting, God spoke prophetically through this man as he thanked us and told us to look up the etymology and definition of "enthusiasm".
Meanwhile in my (Cierra) group!...
Our group consisted of AJ, Nicole, Emma M and I. Our first encounter found us in the Banana Republic store because of a location clue on Emma's "treasure map". After not finding anyone in the store that matched our list we were asked if we needed any help from a store employee. After explaining our treasure hunt he seemed almost disappointed that he wasn't on the list. We still had the opportunity to pray for him and bless him before moving on to the rest of the night.
Next we met a guy in the music section of Borders who, after talking to him, told us he had discomfort in his wrist, which was on my "map". We prayed for healing in his wrist and that the pain would leave. After praying, we wondered down to the cafe section of Borders and ran into the "wrist guy" again who indicated we should talk to the woman behind the counter.
She showed interest in what we were doing and was open to our desire to pray for her. Emma M prayed for her upcoming tests and college in general. She stated an interest in checking out Grace Chapel this coming summer after discovering that we knew a friend of hers that attends there as well. By this point we had eyed a guy in the corner of the cafe wearing a pinstriped shirt, which was on my list.
Nicole and I approached him and were greeted with openness as we explained our lists and what we were doing. He identified with "frog" on Nicole's list and explained that he lives near a park where he can hear frogs every night. We discovered that he is actually a neighbor of mine and Jason's! Whoa! He said we could pray for his upcoming job change, so we did and he seemed blessed.
At this point AJ was pretty set on finding the person on his list who would be wearing a blue (maybe black...) shirt, jeans and a large belt buckle as we walked through the Container Store. We spotted a potential "treasure" with a particularly large belt buckle and I sent AJ and Nicole to talk to him once he was off his cell phone. Emma and I approached a middle aged woman elsewhere in the store. Emma graciously explained what we were doing and after identifying with clues on both our lists, opened up to share that her father was currently in the hospital with Leukemia and not expected to live very much longer. We prayed for her dad and their whole family situation, asking that God would bring her peace, comfort and show her love in the midst of this trial. With tears in her eyes she thanked us with a hug and shared how perfect the timing was.
AJ and Nicole lost their "suspect" as he couldn't get reception on his phone and hurriedly left the store. However, outside the store the four of us ran into a couple with a guy who had on blue jeans, a blue jacket and a large belt buckle. Although they didn't have any specific prayer requests after we explained our mission we ended up just praying a prayer of blessing and moved on. It seemed like we planted a seed of hope even though they didn't really outwardly respond.
Our final encounter of the night was an exciting one!
We ran into three women and handed our "treasure map" cards to them to see if they identified with anything there. Amazingly, they seemed to relate to the majority of our clues and one lady was even ok with us praying for her broken toes and her messed up knee. The women felt a little bit awkward after I asked how her knee and toes were feeling, as if somehow I had "failed" with my prayer of healing. I went on to explain that my role was not to heal but simply to ask for healing in the name of Jesus and even to expect it. I told them that God loves them very much and it wasn't a coincidence that we had run into them that night.
When you are a fanatical lover of Jesus and His people, the Holy Spirit loves to reveal the Fathers heart to seek out the lost and broken...even if we are too broken to seek Him first.
Are you living a life of freedom that results in love?
1 a: to save b: to heal c: to deliver 2: to save a suffering one, to make well, heal, to deliver from penalties of the Messianic judgment
SO, WHAT IS SOZO?
The Sozo ministry is a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry in which the main aim is to get to the root of those things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus with a healed connection with Father, Son and Holy Spirit you can walk in the destiny to which you have been called.
Sozo is an inner healing/deliverance ministry
Sozo is simple, fast, Spirit led and effective
Sozo finds issues in minutes instead of years
Sozo helps heal your relationship with God to enable you to fulfill your destiny
Do you hear from the Father? How about from Jesus? The Holy Spirit? They are all one but each with a distinct voice.
What if we asked God to speak to us? What if we then waited and expected an answer? What if all the "self talk" and "thought imagery" that we called our "imagination" was more than just that.
I propose that our thoughts and mental impressions come from one of three places biblically.
God (either directly or through angelic activity)
satan (mosty demonically since satan is not omnipresent)
Self
One of the most amazing experiences in the world is being a part of someone hearing from the Lord. Cierra and I are so blessed to experience His presence in such a tangible way every week with the Sozo ministry we are a part of! Check out the Co-Labor Ministries website...
Lets start asking God what He really thinks of us, throw out any lies we are believing about Him and start living a life defined by how God sees us and not by how we view ourselves.
Three months of no work. I (Jason) find it super weird to have so much free time. I find myself, reading, playing computer games, worshiping and devouring sermons, podcasts and documentaries at an alarming rate.
Revival fire is in my veins. I just don't know what to do with it.
God gave me a word of knowledge today at church.
It was the "super bowl sunday" of sunday mornings...easter. It started like most. Cierra left early for worship practice, leaving me to embrace the morning at my own speed and cadence. I arrived at church about 30 mins before kick-off, greeted a handful of people and then proceeded to the little aquarium of a prayer room we have, where every person in the sanctuary can see you sitting next to the larger-than-life tile mosaic cross leaning against the wall.
I spent a few minutes outwardly verbalizing the conversation I'd started early that morning with Jesus. He is such a rad friend. I was joined by our churches ruggedly handsome, Scottish intercessor, Scottie. Its good to share air space with a guy like this. It blesses me every time. During this time I had missed a call from an old friend, so i quickly exited the "aquarium room" and ran outside to see if i could catch him with a call back. I did and then proceeded inside, as the service was just starting.
The worship was wonderful and Cierra sang beautifully. Our fearless pastor gave a really amazing sermon, complete with illustrations and only a few awkward comments about his wife. It was coming down to the end of the "fourth quarter" in the service and we were wrapping things up with a few worship songs. Towards the end of the last song I get this feeling like something is happening on the right side of my peripheral vision.
Thats when it happened.
It litteraly happened in a heartbeat as a moved my head only slightly to my right. It felt like the after-image you sometimes get when you look at a bright light and then close your eyes suddenly. In the moment it took to move my head a few inches to the right i clearly saw the outlined image of the man across the isle from me, worshiping. This outlined replica of the man was about 2 feet taller then the man himself and he had the worlds best posture, shoulders back and chest out, exuding confidence. The impression i was getting from God, was that the man had some sort of back problem or injury and that God wanted to straighten him out.
Think back to that one time when, upon arriving at your good friends house for dinner you are warmly greeted at the door with a hug and the pleasant aromas of dinner, just out from the oven. You feel all warm inside and as if that wasn't enough, they hand you a glass of wine to keep you company until all the rest of the guests arrive. Now, in anticipation of this very meal now teasing your senses you had decided to completely skip lunch. No big deal. But in the comfortable presence of your friends you had already nearly finished that same entire glass of wine with little to nothing in your poor little tummy. You start to feel a little "warm" as the alcohol begins to run its course through your body. You feel entirely safe, surrounded by friends, but a little loose and not really expecting it.
This is how I felt, standing there in the middle of worship with the image I had seen on repeat, flashing through my head. I wasn't really expecting it and at that point wasn't really sure I wanted it.
I knew I needed to do something.
In hindsight I've learned a few things.
1 Corinthians 1:27
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."
God's kingdom is an upside down kingdom. The meek inherit everything. The ones who mourn are comforted. The ones pour in spirit get the kingdom of God.
The very first "church service" ever held saw 3,000 people give their hearts to Jesus. How, you may ask?
Drunkenness.
The Spirit of God so filled each of the 120 gathered in the upper room on Pentecost that they drew a crowd of people perplexed by their apparent drunkenness at 10:00 in the morning! This vast assortment of people from different regions of the known world were hearing the wonders of God proclaimed in their own specific language. It wasn't until Peter stood up to addressed the crowd with an explanation that God was glorified and the harvest reaped.
Like I was saying, in hindsight, I never would of had the courage to approach this man after worship if it weren't for the dose of courage i now felt running through my veins. I literally felt a little numb but full of joy. God loves to bring us to that point of utter reliance on Him. We may feel completely foolish in that moment but God just smiles and nods in the direction we need to go.
Worship is done, so i make my way across the isle, hoping I don't stumble. How embarrassing would THAT be?!
Moment of truth.
I tapped him on the shoulder and asked, "I know this is really random, but do you happen to have any back problems or stuff going on in your lower back?"
He sort of looked at me with a half grin and replied,"Yes, actually I do...".
I introduced myself, explained what i felt like God had showed me and then continued to pray for him right there, as he was sitting.
I declared the love of God over him and commanded healing to whatever condition ailed his lower back. We then parted ways.
Well, I really hope God does something really miraculous for this guy. Selfishly, I kind of want to know if something does happen. In the end, I'll be ok if I don't hear a thing.
Side note: My wife is super amazing and really wonderful on the ol' eyes!
We are so blessed to have friends that we can celebrate the goodness of God with. This last weekend we spent time with our good friends enjoying some amazing Thanksgiving fare prepared by the Chesbroughs. It has become a yearly (2nd year running!!!) tradition that we greatly enjoy.
The crew consists of Jordan and Lianne Philips, BJ and Cheryl Quimba, Jordan and Jessica Chesbrough and ourselves. Its a huge blessing to know that you can walk through life with friends by your side!
After a cornucopia of deliciousness we played Wii Sports Resort and worked off our huge meal followed by the game Scattergories. It was a wonderful time filled with laughter and cheer!
Wow! Life seems like it goes by so fast! It is already November! Jason and I are enjoying life day by day with our jobs, small groups with the high schoolers from Grace Chapel, our kittens (we still call them kittens, even though they are pretty much full grown now!), hanging out with friends, and enjoying the beautiful colors of the fall. Life is full and good. Here are a few snaps of now! :)
Today I have no work and tomorrow is looking the same. The kittens are growing like little weeds. We have no money. Cierra is a super star of a hot wife who works long hard hours at an amazing job that God has blessed her with. HEAT WAVE! Peter gave us a fan, so now we can actually get cooled off from the pool of sweat that we sleep in most nights.
The Miraculous:
Yesterday i prayed with my co-worker to receive Jesus into his heart! Life change is awesome!
Day before last I wing-manned an inner healing Sozo session with Peter. Dude is now FREE! FREE! FREE! The old is gone and a new identity has taken it's place.
Simply BEAUTIFUL.
God has given me profound revelation into what is means by "freedom for the prisoners" and "release for the oppressed." Until this last week the only thing i could testify to and in turn realistically present to others was salvation from sin. A guarantee of eternal life with God through believing in the work of His son.
Now, i have my true identity!
With power and authority I am the son of a king, I have a destiny for greatness and a boldness from my inheritance.
Jesus died for our sins: *Check* (Justification)
Jesus conquered death: *Check* (Sanctification)
I grew up knowing about both justification and sanctification but had never experienced the life change of true sanctification.
The Holy Spirit has now closed the doors to the old and begun to give me a taste of the new! There is so much i have always know about but never experienced! God is too good for words more times than naught.
Here is a glimpse into what the Sword of the Spirit is etching into the softness of our hearts:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might...
Ephesians 1:17-20
Cierra and I are blessed to be a little over a year and a half into our marriage and just beginning to see the true glory of our beautiful inheritance in God. We are finding that we LOVE to be in God's presence as we fall more and more in love with him. We don't ever want to selfishly hold onto the blessing and testimonies that God is continuously bestowing to us. We know that God does each good thing for a reason and we want to be able to share that with those around us.
We are excited to begin sharing both the mundane and the miraculous with friends and family.
Melissa and I grew up together after her mom 
Life seems like it goes by so fast! It is already November! Jason and I are enjoying life day by day with our jobs, small groups with the high schoolers from Grace Chapel, our kittens (we still call them kittens, even though they are pretty much full grown now!), hanging out with friends, and enjoying the beautiful colors of the fall. Life is full and good. Here are a few snaps of now! :)
