My bday yesterday

So yesterday was my birthday and for the first time in a long time, I had a really great day. Funny, I was previously nervous about celebrating my birthday in YWAM style (i.e. communal, with seven friends on your table, with the traditional YWAM bday song being sung over you and the requirement to give a speech), but I had the deepest peace inside me all day and I just felt so at ease.

I decided that I would honor each of my guests (Mark, Tammy, Sarah, Andrew, Karen, Bev and Wendy) by introducing them and telling everyone a little bit about them..... so this is roughly what I said:

"Good evening everyone. Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me. I can't say I have every had a birthday quite like this one, being communal-style and it being my first YWAM birthday! I want to thank everyone on my DTS and the associated schools for making my time here more enjoyable....and I also want to thank my seven special guests who made the extra effort to come in and celebrate my birthday. They represent a wider group of amazing friends that God has blessed me with. Because they made the effort to come in today, I want to honor each one of them by telling you a little bit about each one. So starting with Mark (who was holding video camera):

• Mark had gotta be one of the most easy-going, friendliest, sociable people I know. He is part of many different social group and part of a group of friends we have called the "down south crew" who like to head down south to various country locations and have these amazing praise and worship and fellowship times. I really appreciate Mark's friendship;
• Tammy and I met at Bible college and worked in a church bookshop for over two years. Tammy is young and yet she has spiritual maturity and wisdom well beyond her years. She is one of the most loyal, faithful and sweetest friends I have;
• Sarah is currently renting the place I was living in just before I started my DTS. She has been through comparable trials and challenges than I have and so she can empathise with what I've gone through. She is an overcomer and more than a conqueror through God and she is someone I talk to what I'm going through issues - she always knows exactly what to say and what to pray. She's a powerful prayer warrior and I really appreciate her;
• Andrew is someone who many people view as a spiritual father. He is a great leader too and has an incredible ability to analyse problems, break them down and come up with solutions. He is an amazing role model and mighty man of God;
• Karen, his beautiful wife, and Bev are two mighty women of God. They are both powerful women of God. We used to be part of an intercessory prayer team through Bible College who would get together on a weekly basis and pray for students who were struggling. The way I pray today is a reflection of what I have learnt from them both. They are powerful prayer warriors who have moved many mountains and obstacles in the spiritual realm;
• Finally Wendy is one of my favorite role models and mentors. Wendy has also been through similar trials to me and has overcome them. She has a great marriage and three Godly children and I have had the privilege of sitting in her home so many times and seeing how she resolves conflicts and lives a great life with her family. When I get to that stage in my life, I want to be just like her.

The thing that I like about all these people sitting on my table is they all have the gift of encouragement on their lives. They are the sort of people who make you feel great in their presence. They build you up, comfort you, edify you and speak words of life to you. Some time ago, many years ago, i went through a really lonely time in my life and someone taught me to pray Romans 4:17 over my life. It says to call those things that be not as though they are - and I have used this Scripture to call divine friendships, words of encouragement, finances, resources, waring angels to fight the battle for me and protect me. The friendships I have in my life today are a testimony of God's goodness and His faithfulness to is promises.

...and just in regard to wisdom, I just want to say don't let age, race, gender, culture, social status or language barriers be a hindrance to making friendships because you can learn a lot from every person you meet. They all have so much to teach you.

Thanks for making my birthday so special" :-)