Dreams really do come true when you place the timing of them in the Father’s hands

I’ve dreamt of doing the world race since I was a little girl. For whatever reason, stumbling across the website at 11 years old was in the works of the Father’s hands even if it didn’t come into fruition for years. I’ve dreamt of walking on this campus with the endless twinkly lights. I’ve dreamt of eating foreign foods and sleeping in my tent. I’ve dreamt of living out of a 65 L pack for a year. I’ve dreamt of doing nothing but sharing to good news to new people and in new cultures. And all of that has come true. I can say in the last 14 days I have fallen head over heels in love with the 22 members of my squad, my alumni squad leaders, my squad mentor, and my coaches. I’ve walked all over this campus and I have never felt so content and at utter peace in where I’m supposed to be.

Training camp was beautifully messy. It was filled with early mornings and late nights. Rain that felt like it would never stop, leaving some of our tents soaked. Using only porta potties and showering when scheduled. It consisted of sleeping at a decent angle in my tent and waking up halfway down my sleeping pad. I got all of my belongings taken away for a night and I ended up getting the same dang cold everyone else had. My squad hiked Mt. Yonah in the pouring rain and I kinda hated life for a little bit, but we did it. I sang a disney song blindfolded to find my first team on the race and it was embarrassingly hilarious. Finding out our ministry location and marveling at how specific God was in choosing the specific members of my team and the the specific place we soon get to call home. It was one of the most memorizing moments in these last two weeks. Truly he works in mysterious and glorifying ways! We worshiped our hearts out, baptized people, and learned new things about the goodness of Jesus. We humbled ourselves and served those around us. We received teachings on things that I’ve never given a second thought and I’m so glad to be giving them second thoughts now. Prayers were boldly said over me and some of them even caught me by surprise in the sweetest way by the words that were being used. That’s the beauty of the holy spirt dwelling in so many around me. World Race training camp has been a beautifully messy time and I’m endlessly thankful for the last two weeks here.

So all of that is the fun reality of what life has looked like here the last little bit. So here’s all the lessons from the endless sessions that consumed us (in the best way) these last two weeks. These things wrecked me, made me think, and helped me to pursue the Father even more than I ever have. I hope they challenge you. They’re supposed to 🙂

• If the teachings of Jesus do not offend your flesh, then your reading it wrong
• The truth is not the truth because I chose it
• Do not abuse the gifts God gives you
• If you measure yourself by the bible, you will find Jesus himself
• He wants to be IT
• You would rather free fall on your own then trust the guy on your back
• Philosophy filters, the bible doesn’t
• Don’t limit yourself to your minds or your hands; if you do, your limiting God
• Jesus HAD to be IN HIS FATHERS business
• Your individuality is worth more then what you can produce
• Make HOLY the name of the Lord
• If your thirsty, you can come
• The enemy gives us an identity that ties us to our past; you are not a sinner; you are a son or a daughter
• Jesus didn’t call us into the kingdom to be an echo, he called us to be a voice
• God will offend your mind to affect your heart
• The God of the universe HUMBLED himself
  • have you ever really thought about that? how underserving we are.
• He chose you to carry your portion of Himself that no one else has
• We need to seek Jesus in his world, not ours, to find him
• Haven is not on some far side of Pluto. It’s HERE. AT HAND.
• Does the weight of the gospel actually hold weight on your heart?
• God is not dependent on us, but He wants us
• Sabbath is for us to enter into His alignment
• Sabbath is finding the face of God
• The demonic trinity is: me, myself, and I
• We are the Israelites after God parted the Red sea: when God goes away/ is silent, we put up a new God
• Find the thing that binds people to Jesus
• God is asking that person to the end
• A person’s name is the sweetest thing they will ever hear
• Is it about your head or your heart?
• Unconditional love is the purist form of love
• You need to know how to live from God’s approval
• Our biggest problems are not from the devil, its our spiritual immaturity
• Repent: the Greek word is metanoia, which means “to put your mind close to God”
• He wants to give us the kingdom!
• Seek FIRST the kingdom of God
• Our God FREELEY gives, he expects nothing in return!

Well, that’s what life has looked like camping in the woods in the middle of nowhere Georgia for the last two weeks. I have loved my new life here and I think I’m gonna miss sleeping in my tent. Ya never do know when you might just pull that thing back out tho 😉

Z-Squad heads to Guatemala in the morning and we are more then ready to get going and go love on the ministries we’ve all been placed at. Keep us in your prayers!