Okay, so this is week 9 of my Discipleship Training School and I have not written anything to you guys. So I will give you an overview of what leaps and bounds I have made and what the next three months looks like!!
The first week was "The Character and Nature of God". Which just means we learned about Him from the beginning. We reviewed what He has done for us and wants to do for us. This week was good for me because I realized that God is a personal God. He wants to converse with you. He wants to have your whole heart. One of the biggest things that I learned was that I am no better than anyone else. I have no right to judge. I have no right to withhold forgiveness because the God of creation forgave me!!!
"Partnering with Jesus" was another topic. This week was just a challenge to take ownership of the things God gifted you with and walk forward with them. Don't sit and wait and say "Oh God, open doors for me while I sit here doing nothing". I have to be consistently pursuing the gifts and talents I was made with. And when we have gifts we shouldn't segregate ourselves but we should work to the top because when we use our God given abilities it's ALWAYS the best!
"Father Heart of God"- this week was very exciting! Everything that an earthly father has done, didn't do, or half heartedly did is NOT the way God is! He gives us the best, all the time. He never fails. He disciplines us at the right times. This also addresses any authoritative issues you have. I have a great earthly father, but he's not God. I'm very blessed to have an earthly father who supports me, corrects me, and tells me to go for my heart's desires! There is just something about the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE being interested in me. My life. My heart. Relationship with me! So mind blowing!!!!!
"Fear of the Lord"- This phrase is so often tossed about. What does that even mean? To fear God is to walk in awe of Him. (Rodney Atkins "I've been watching you" is a perfect illustration of that. How we do that is by obeying His laws and walk in Him. And walking in Him looks like not gossiping, not slandering, not lying, not stealing. Which are all typical "Christian" things to not do but if we are honest with ourselves..it's STILL something we do!
"Hearing the Voice of God"- This term scared me. haha. Hearing God's voice?!?! Whooooooo I don't want to experience that! But it's not just an audible "Shannon you need to do this" type of thing. He speaks to us through the living word! The bible. Typical and cheesy, yes. But SOO true.
"Intercession"- this means to pray for others. To stand in the gap for people who don't know how to or didn't know they needed to. Moses does this on behalf of Israel. Moses goes up the mountain and the Israelites fall away and "God's anger is kindled" (I don't even want that in my life let me just say!!!!) and so Moses begs God to not just smite them all!! So amazing. And so I've developed a passion for asking God on the behalf of others! To ask God for His heart for a person or nation. In this I've also learned the power of speaking words out. If you say "I like Shawn" then you are going to think in your head that you like Shawn. Because the more you talk about it the more you've created a relationship in your mind with someone. And so the more we speak things of encouragement and fighting for other people it does things!!!
"Missions & Worship"- Wow. Such a good week. Our speaker is a 28 year old man that has let God do so much in his life. He is currently in Indonesia learning the language and ministering to the locals by living in awe of God! In this country it is very illegal to preach the Gospel! And this was our first lecture on the beach! So beautiful. This week really just showed how much God cares about the nations. He wants us to be fruitful and multiply. He says that if we follow Him He will bless us and our future generations. SO good. awalskdfjasldkfjas!!!! And so this week I was challenged with knowing "All NAtions" that God talks about in the great commission. I didn't know many of the countries! There are a lot. (that sounds dumb, I'm aware!!) And the thing about missions is that it exist because worship (personal worship) does not exist! So mind blowing.
That is just a very brief overview of the subjects we are learning about. I can't even begin to describe what it's like to live in community, more specifically live with 11 other girls, my personal walk with God, and the passion I've developed for reading the Bible!
This coming week we are talking about making Jesus Lord. Our speaking is Mark Parker. He is loud. And one of the most passionate people I've ever met! So exciting. If you could just keep me and my team in prayers this week that our hearts would be open to hearing why Jesus should be Lord in our lives would be great!
Next Monday (12th?) we will be leaving for 5 weeks and I will be out of contact. If you have any questions before I leave feel free to ask! During these 5 weeks we will be making a 15 hour bus ride! woooot! Once we get back from our 5 week road trip we are on base for 2 weeks and then we leave for our 7 week outreach and then come back to base for a debrief of a week and then GRADUATION!!! January 21st is that day. Then I leave on the 22nd and arrive the 22nd. (messes with your mind!)
I can not even begin to describe what I've learned since I've been here. So much to tell not enough words!!! Thank you all for your support and prayers and just being there for me! I greatly appreciate it!
I love you all,
Shannon
