Daily Rules from God for 2009
1. Wake Up!! Decide to have a good day. 'Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.' Psalms 118:24
2. Dress Up!! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. 'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart.' I Samuel 16:7
3. Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking. 'He who guards his lips guards his soul.' Proverbs 13:3
4. Stand Up!!... For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.. 'Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good...' Galatians 6:9-10
5. Look Up!!... To the Lord. 'I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.' Phillippians 4:13
6. Reach Up!!... For something higher. 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path.'
Proverbs 3:5-6
7. Lift Up!!... Your Prayers. 'Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING.' Philippians 4:6
25 April 2009
16 April 2009
Michelle's housewarming party
Am having a housewarming party soon. I only really want about 15 people to come, just a small intimate party.
13 April 2009
Fundraiser at college
Last Thursday I went to college as a blonde! Check it out. I received so many compliments, I'm thinking I should be blonde more often! :-) This is my good friend Annete as a redhead and I :-) 
05 April 2009
Great role model
Recently, I have totally fallen in love with this guy's ministry in Singapore. Oh i wish i could go to his church, which apparently has 18,000 people! His name is Joseph Prince, married to a beautiful lady called Wendy, and his church is called New Creation Ministries. I just love his sense of humor. Not a wonder he has such a successful church. We have seen quite a bit of his teaching at college.
03 April 2009
African hair style!
Things are going good. I have moved into a season of blessings. Every week now, people come over to my house on Friday arvos just after 5pm and have coffee, before heading to the Well. Today Kristin, Cheri, Ben, Netty and Marise are coming ... and maybe Alice, Peter, Wolfy, Dee and others....
Tomorrow, I am getting my hair braided in African style with extensions put in, so my hair will be two colours. I am so excited, but a bit nervous. It costs $200 and will take between 4 and 6 hours to complete... hopefully four hours will do it. It seems like a VERY long time!!! It better be good. I have chosen to let Marise's friend, Rose, do it because although she is expensive, apparently she does it really well and uses high quality products. I had a look at the job a girl in college did for another student and it was done with cheap synthetic material that pretty much looked like red wool. Really gross and definitely not worth the time or money invested in doing it. In fact within one week, she removed it and had her hair done differently by someone else, cos it was so bad. Apparently, mine will last a couple of months.
Tomorrow, I am getting my hair braided in African style with extensions put in, so my hair will be two colours. I am so excited, but a bit nervous. It costs $200 and will take between 4 and 6 hours to complete... hopefully four hours will do it. It seems like a VERY long time!!! It better be good. I have chosen to let Marise's friend, Rose, do it because although she is expensive, apparently she does it really well and uses high quality products. I had a look at the job a girl in college did for another student and it was done with cheap synthetic material that pretty much looked like red wool. Really gross and definitely not worth the time or money invested in doing it. In fact within one week, she removed it and had her hair done differently by someone else, cos it was so bad. Apparently, mine will last a couple of months.
28 March 2009
26 March 2009
22 March 2009
Netty's bday
So sad, Annette booked a table for 20 friends at Zamia Cafe to celebrate her 37th birthday yesterday and 16 people didn't show up! How rude. So it was just Net, Kristin, Marise, Ronaldo and I. Ronaldo was a freeby :-) I added Angelina to my collage of the party, to make Annette feel better. How miserable and the saddest part is most of them didn't even apologise or say they wouldn't come! Oh well, it's quality, not quantity :-)
07 March 2009
Gday
Wow, been a while since I did a post on my blog. I have moved into my beautiful new house, but no longer have free access to the Internet, cos I made the mistake of purchasing one of those flash sounding mobile Internet deals, which didn't quite measure up to my expectations!
I signed up for a one year contract, in which you get given a portable USB stick that has all the software you need for the Internet on it, so you merely plug it into your laptop computer and hey presto, the Internet works ... well, that's what was meant to happen! For $25/month for 1G, it sounded perfect (half the price of my Telstra deal). Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, it doesn't work in my laptop! Agggghhh, but only on mum's computer at home :-( I tried taking it to the computer shop and getting the professionals to solve the problem, as well as the Vodafone sales staff and all, but to no avail - booohoooo ...and because I signed up for a one year contract, I don't particularly want to get into a new Internet deal until this one expires. So that means I have to drop into mum's house if I want to use the Internet. Uuuurggghhh ... bit frustrating.
I guess it is only 20 minutes away (one direction), but it would be so much easier if it was in my own home!
Anyway, that aside, things are going really well. My initial week in the house was a bit of a nightmare because both mum and Julz got really nasty in different ways, but I realise it was just a bit of persecution before a tremendous blessing of accomodation. The place is so lovely and I have already had a little dinner party with Kristin, her folks, two friends from college and my friend's little four year old boy. I also had a beautiful lady from college come over with her eight-year old twin daughters and we took Communion and prayed together. I also let Annette do a couple of loads of washing and had Marise and Kristin over on separate occasions. Everyone agrees that the place is absolutely stunning. I am so happy. There is such a peace about the house.
Julz left the place pretty dirty though, so I have spent copious hours cleaning. As an indication of how grotty the place was - I have already filled four big sulo bins worth of rubbish that they left lying around the house - things like soiled nappies!!!, food wrappers, bits of wood, tiles, plastic, cords, pipes, piles of weeds, fruit peels, dirty cloths, etc... I don't know how they could have lived in this place in the state it was in. I have much higher standards of hygiene! The windows did not look as though they had been cleaned in years, so I have spent ages getting newspaper and windex and cleaning those. I have also done a lot of mopping.
Because of the renovations they did (and their lack of cleaning), there appeared to be white dust over everything from the floors to the walls to cupboard doors, to inside the cupboards and on top of the cupboards, well everywhere really! I discovered how dusty the floors were when I accidentally dropped a black skirt on the floor and picked it up, only to find it was covered in white powder! Grunde gave me his dining suite and lounge suite, which was really nice, however, on close inspection, I discovered the dining chair seats were thick with white cat hair, which has taken me ages to pick off and the lounge material is covered in cat claw scratches. I found some lovely doona covers though, which I have covered these scratches with. I was very touched to have an old guy at church rock up one night with a small coffee table under his arm and present it to me. It is just perfect and has a cute built-in magazine rack.
I am still in the process of collecting little things for the house, but the aroma of Jesus is in the house and His sweet annointing permeates every part of the house. I just love it so much. I know I can't take it for granted. Julz has been unpredictable in the past, so every day I consider it a blessing to be in such a magnificant home and paying such cheap rent - $150/wk. I pray I can stay in it all year.
Things are gradually getting better with mum. I think it will take time for her to get used to the idea of me having moved out, but coming back frequently to visit her with Angelina and also to use the Internet, has made the transition easier. I split my babysitting money with her on Fridays, so she gets a bit of dough.
I signed up for a one year contract, in which you get given a portable USB stick that has all the software you need for the Internet on it, so you merely plug it into your laptop computer and hey presto, the Internet works ... well, that's what was meant to happen! For $25/month for 1G, it sounded perfect (half the price of my Telstra deal). Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, it doesn't work in my laptop! Agggghhh, but only on mum's computer at home :-( I tried taking it to the computer shop and getting the professionals to solve the problem, as well as the Vodafone sales staff and all, but to no avail - booohoooo ...and because I signed up for a one year contract, I don't particularly want to get into a new Internet deal until this one expires. So that means I have to drop into mum's house if I want to use the Internet. Uuuurggghhh ... bit frustrating.
I guess it is only 20 minutes away (one direction), but it would be so much easier if it was in my own home!
Anyway, that aside, things are going really well. My initial week in the house was a bit of a nightmare because both mum and Julz got really nasty in different ways, but I realise it was just a bit of persecution before a tremendous blessing of accomodation. The place is so lovely and I have already had a little dinner party with Kristin, her folks, two friends from college and my friend's little four year old boy. I also had a beautiful lady from college come over with her eight-year old twin daughters and we took Communion and prayed together. I also let Annette do a couple of loads of washing and had Marise and Kristin over on separate occasions. Everyone agrees that the place is absolutely stunning. I am so happy. There is such a peace about the house.
Julz left the place pretty dirty though, so I have spent copious hours cleaning. As an indication of how grotty the place was - I have already filled four big sulo bins worth of rubbish that they left lying around the house - things like soiled nappies!!!, food wrappers, bits of wood, tiles, plastic, cords, pipes, piles of weeds, fruit peels, dirty cloths, etc... I don't know how they could have lived in this place in the state it was in. I have much higher standards of hygiene! The windows did not look as though they had been cleaned in years, so I have spent ages getting newspaper and windex and cleaning those. I have also done a lot of mopping.
Because of the renovations they did (and their lack of cleaning), there appeared to be white dust over everything from the floors to the walls to cupboard doors, to inside the cupboards and on top of the cupboards, well everywhere really! I discovered how dusty the floors were when I accidentally dropped a black skirt on the floor and picked it up, only to find it was covered in white powder! Grunde gave me his dining suite and lounge suite, which was really nice, however, on close inspection, I discovered the dining chair seats were thick with white cat hair, which has taken me ages to pick off and the lounge material is covered in cat claw scratches. I found some lovely doona covers though, which I have covered these scratches with. I was very touched to have an old guy at church rock up one night with a small coffee table under his arm and present it to me. It is just perfect and has a cute built-in magazine rack.
I am still in the process of collecting little things for the house, but the aroma of Jesus is in the house and His sweet annointing permeates every part of the house. I just love it so much. I know I can't take it for granted. Julz has been unpredictable in the past, so every day I consider it a blessing to be in such a magnificant home and paying such cheap rent - $150/wk. I pray I can stay in it all year.
Things are gradually getting better with mum. I think it will take time for her to get used to the idea of me having moved out, but coming back frequently to visit her with Angelina and also to use the Internet, has made the transition easier. I split my babysitting money with her on Fridays, so she gets a bit of dough.
21 February 2009
I am an overcomer
Well on Thursday evening Phil and Jeanette came and prayed over the house and annointed it with oil and repented of anything not honouring to God that had been done in the house. They also prayed for peace between me and the neighbours that Julz and her bf have deliberately stirred up and now have a restraining order against. Jeanette said the place was beautiful and I could tell she really meant it. I think she was a bit overwhelmed with just how lovely a student's accomodation could be.
She prayed for me and stressed the importance of retaining it as a safe hazen, being mindful of the fact that many single females wanting to escape their own problems, would want to use it as a refuge too, but that I needed to be strong and set boundaries and not let them stay over to offload their burdens on me, because I need this time to recover and grow strong again. I have had enough challenges myself - i don't need everyone elses as well to deal with. Afterall, i prayed this new beautiful place into my life. They need to pray their own miracles into their lives. I have already had a few girls hinting at sleeping over.
Mum is still going ok, surprisingly, and even assisted me in getting things together for my new place.... but has thrown in the occasional manipulative emotional comment, like "well i'm just going to sell everything and move to America" and "these are our last days together for a long time" and "well i'm going to downsize too and move on" and more... Its an emotional insecurity thing, but Jeanette said I need to come separate from all the family stuff. I have to move out and get on with my life and cast all my anxieties and worries to God. I have felt the need to separate from friends who don't use words of faith or make me feel any better about trials I have shared with them in the past. They all seem to be ringing, but I need to withdraw from their company for a season. Fair enough.
On Friday when I took Angelina to college, she was all clingy to me and whenever anyone tried to hold her, she broke down in tears and was clearly troubled. They say babies between 6 and 8 mths old do that. So anyways, it made my day very stressful, because i couldn't eat any morning tea and i was hot and bothered and ready to scream. Then i smelt that familiar putrid smell and realised Angelina had soiled her nappies .... man, big time poo!
To make matters worse, Julz had dressed her in a very trendy, but extremely unpractical outfit, which had to all be taken off at once, rather than just unbuttoning the bottom part to deal with her nappy..... so the sweet little thing was lying there starkers briefly and crying her little heart out....and what do you know, it just so happened that I had run out of wipes and the creche also had run out, so I was trying to wipe off the poo with hard scratchy hand wipes, which then ran out too!!! In the end, i just had to put a new nappy on over the remnants of poo. I got some new clothes, cos the other outfit was just too difficult to get back on and I was already feeling frustrated.
Anways, after college, I had the brainwave of sorting out a new arrangement. From now on, Julz will drop Angelina off at Kylie's house all three mornings, pay Kylie $30 extra and then Kylie will bring Angelina in with her pram on the train, and also take her for morning tea time. Praise God, both Kylie and Julz agreed and I am free!!! I will just look after her with mum (hopefully) three afternoons a week to cover rent and expenses. What a legendary idea :-)
She prayed for me and stressed the importance of retaining it as a safe hazen, being mindful of the fact that many single females wanting to escape their own problems, would want to use it as a refuge too, but that I needed to be strong and set boundaries and not let them stay over to offload their burdens on me, because I need this time to recover and grow strong again. I have had enough challenges myself - i don't need everyone elses as well to deal with. Afterall, i prayed this new beautiful place into my life. They need to pray their own miracles into their lives. I have already had a few girls hinting at sleeping over.
Mum is still going ok, surprisingly, and even assisted me in getting things together for my new place.... but has thrown in the occasional manipulative emotional comment, like "well i'm just going to sell everything and move to America" and "these are our last days together for a long time" and "well i'm going to downsize too and move on" and more... Its an emotional insecurity thing, but Jeanette said I need to come separate from all the family stuff. I have to move out and get on with my life and cast all my anxieties and worries to God. I have felt the need to separate from friends who don't use words of faith or make me feel any better about trials I have shared with them in the past. They all seem to be ringing, but I need to withdraw from their company for a season. Fair enough.
On Friday when I took Angelina to college, she was all clingy to me and whenever anyone tried to hold her, she broke down in tears and was clearly troubled. They say babies between 6 and 8 mths old do that. So anyways, it made my day very stressful, because i couldn't eat any morning tea and i was hot and bothered and ready to scream. Then i smelt that familiar putrid smell and realised Angelina had soiled her nappies .... man, big time poo!
To make matters worse, Julz had dressed her in a very trendy, but extremely unpractical outfit, which had to all be taken off at once, rather than just unbuttoning the bottom part to deal with her nappy..... so the sweet little thing was lying there starkers briefly and crying her little heart out....and what do you know, it just so happened that I had run out of wipes and the creche also had run out, so I was trying to wipe off the poo with hard scratchy hand wipes, which then ran out too!!! In the end, i just had to put a new nappy on over the remnants of poo. I got some new clothes, cos the other outfit was just too difficult to get back on and I was already feeling frustrated.
Anways, after college, I had the brainwave of sorting out a new arrangement. From now on, Julz will drop Angelina off at Kylie's house all three mornings, pay Kylie $30 extra and then Kylie will bring Angelina in with her pram on the train, and also take her for morning tea time. Praise God, both Kylie and Julz agreed and I am free!!! I will just look after her with mum (hopefully) three afternoons a week to cover rent and expenses. What a legendary idea :-)
20 February 2009
New bro
This is my newest bro and friend. Apparently he plays in a famous band called Men In Christ, . You should hear him sing and play piano, absolutely exquisite and therapeutic. Pretty kewl having such a talented friend. I think he's really kewl.
18 February 2009
Spilled the beans
I have felt physically ill just thinking about telling mum about my plan to move out.... but I know I am doing the right thing. I had a long chat to Jeanette the other night and she said sometimes children take on too much responsibility and parents demand more from them than they should and she said I need to come separate. It is time for me to stand on my own feet and live like an adult. I just spoke Phil Howell on the phone and he asked me when I was moving out and I said "as soon as I get the courage to tell mum". I told him ideally I would like to move out ASAP.Anyway, I got home and was determined to tell her, so I just went to her room and spilled the beans. Surprisingly, she did not get really angry or worked up. She just said "ok, can you give me a time frame?", so I said some time within the next two weeks. Is there more of a reaction coming? .... all this angst for nothing? I pray that's the case and all remains calm and sweet.....
12 February 2009
Getting to the promised land
Man, this all seems so silly, every time mum goes shopping or has a shower or is asleep, I am frantically packing things into my car. Then I get up super early and drive to my new place and unpack the things out of my car and into their new places in my new house before going to college. Mum doesn't yet know I am moving out and I don't intend to tell her until I have moved everything out. Fortunately, she has not been upstairs to my bedroom for ages, so she has not seen how empty it is looking.
To be honest, I am a little bit wary of telling her, because I am the last one to move out and she has relied on me for so many things. The thing is, I know without a doubt that now is the right time. I have been praying for so long for God to help me find a place and so I write down everything I want in a rental property and hey, God just miraculously answers EVERY SINGLE ATTRIBUTE, despite how impossible it seemed to everyone else who knows anything about the rental market, which is rapidly becoming more pricey due to high interest rates. I never expected the place God intended for me to move into would actually belong to my sister and that God would prompt her to move out!!! Wow, all those renovations were being done for my benefit. Still can't believe it. God is soooooo good. Glory to God.
To be honest, I am a little bit wary of telling her, because I am the last one to move out and she has relied on me for so many things. The thing is, I know without a doubt that now is the right time. I have been praying for so long for God to help me find a place and so I write down everything I want in a rental property and hey, God just miraculously answers EVERY SINGLE ATTRIBUTE, despite how impossible it seemed to everyone else who knows anything about the rental market, which is rapidly becoming more pricey due to high interest rates. I never expected the place God intended for me to move into would actually belong to my sister and that God would prompt her to move out!!! Wow, all those renovations were being done for my benefit. Still can't believe it. God is soooooo good. Glory to God.
07 February 2009
01 February 2009
A bit of de ja vu!
Today I gave my testimony about Bible college AGAIN, but at the packed 10.30am service (with around 1,000 people!) because Ps Margaret specifically requested that I do it again and that mine be the only testimony regarding Bible college all weekend. Oh man. The thing that kind of threw me was that when Ps Judy told me to do it again, she said I was not to repeat the content, unless the Holy Spirit directed me to do so. She said to pray and ask the Holy Spirit, saying that I needed to give fresh manna, so my words were annointed. Boy, did that make me feel some pressure!
Anyway, so I committed it to God and then decided to repeat some content and add new content, which was not all that easy. Finally yesterday, I finished my speech and presented it today a little differently. I felt last week's was much better. I felt the annointing on that message. Didn't feel anything on this message, but then after I sat down, I heard the Holy Spirit say that God was pleased with me and that I had done a good job. That was all I needed to hear. It touched me so much and I was overwhelmed with tears while sitting there.
The lady next to me, my friend from Bible college (Catherine) told me it was excellent. Also a lady from Thursday prayer (I think her name is Irene?) turned around to give me her nodd of approval. Then Ps Margaret referred to my testimony three times, which indicated she was pleased with what I had said. I left early to avoid other feedback, but Ken's brother Dion called out that it was an awesome testimony as I left the building. Praise God. That was all the encouragement I needed. I dunno why, but just the thought of others telling me it was good made me feel uneasy, afterall, it is God who deserves the glory, not me. So, anyway, here are my notes, bearing in mind I had to promote a new youth ministry unit at the end!
Faith project steps – applicable to any problem you’re facing in your life today:
1. Identify your need. At the time I was doing this assignment, I decided that I would like to change my accommodation. I wanted a new place to rent.
2. Look at what the Bible says about your situation. I discovered that God is El Shaddai – the God of More Than Enough (Genesis 17:1) and that He is Jehovah Jireh - My Provider (Genesis 22:14). God’s Word says that God is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), that He has promised to instruct me, guide me and teach me in the way which I should go (Psalm 32:8) and that His Word says that when I delight in Him, He will grant me the desires of my heart (Psalm 37:4).
3. Ask God for what you want, being very specific. I didn’t just want any accommodation, but rather, a place of quality and beauty. Therefore, I wrote down a very detailed list of everything I wanted in a place to live, not missing out any details I felt were import. This was what I wrote: “a beautiful apartment, which has all the attributes that I desire in a rental property, i.e. located in close proximity to Victory Life Centre, excellent security with good lighting and a safe place to park my car, lots of built-in storage space, nice kitchen and bathroom with fans, one or two bedrooms with a built-in wardrobe, a separate laundry, well-ventilated open plan living area with adequate room for my furniture, floors that are easy to clean, good landlord and quality neighbors, <$200/week rent and a place that is warm and welcoming to friends needing to be refreshed”.
4. Believe that we receive what we ask for in prayer. In the natural, it looked impossible. However, Ps Anne taught us in a class to declare we had uncommon favor, and since she said that I have been declaring that over my life every day. Every time I came close to doubting or had negative thoughts, I took those thoughts captive and made them obedient to Jesus Christ. Additionally, various teachers convinced me through their personal testimonies that God is a BIG God through whom absolutely nothing is impossible.
5. Thank God as though you have already received what you asked for. Almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day, I said: “Thank you, Lord Jesus that you have granted me the desire of my heart and prepared the right accommodation for me, which surpasses all my expectations. I believe Your Holy Spirit will lead me to it at the right time. I declare my needs met in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen. Having confessed my faith by declaring this statement, I believe that God hears and answers my prayers and that He will fulfill His Word as He promises”.
6. Wait in patient expectation.
I said how after I had finished this assignment, I handed it in, in September 2008 and started to look at rental properties. I looked at so many apartments. Some places had 70 or 80% of the attributes I wanted and there were times when I was ready to compromise because the places seemed quite decent. However, every time I was almost ready to compromise, I felt the Holy Spirit say “no, not this one”, “no, not this one either” ….and after looking at so many properties and feeling that none were the right one, I decided to have a break from looking.
Then come start of the year, a person who knows me, who is not a Christian and who didn’t know about my faith project, came to me. This person bought a duplex some time ago and over the last year has spent considerable time renovating the entire interior of this place. It could easily be rented out at $350 or $400/week rent, however, they offered it to me at a mere rate of $150/week rent. Before accepting the offer, I referred back to my list and was astounded that every single detail was met in this place. The most amazing thing is that this person had no intention of moving out of the property when I started this assignment and only made that decision in December 2008.
I learnt in Bible college that God’s people are destroyed through lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and I believe they miss out on so many blessings that God has for them because they don’t know how to access them. Bible college gives you knowledge and it teaches you how to extract the Word of God and apply it to the situations you are facing.
Last year my niece was critically ill and rather than accept medical advice that she may die, we learnt how to lay hands on the sick, how to anoint a person with oil, how to use the name of Jesus and pray Scripture over a situation to dramatically turn it around. That’s exactly what God did for me after I applied what I had learnt. My niece was miraculously healed and is still healthy and living a normal life today.
Every day, the teachers put before you a feast of Scripture and last year, every time a teacher highlighted Scriptures that I liked, I went home and wrote them onto a list of Scriptures that I declare over my life every day. For example, Ps Eunice taught us about Daniel and one thing that caught my attention was that Daniel had a spirit of excellence upon him. I learnt that you can claim everything good that you find in the Bible for your own life, so that’s something that I claim for my own life. I thank God every day that He has given me a spirit of excellence.
Ps Peter taught us about Joshua. I noted God’s words to him that if he meditates on scripture day and night and puts it into practice, then he is guaranteed of success and prosperity, so that’s something that I claim for my own life. Ps Judy highlighted some scriptures in Isaiah that say we don’t have to hold on to the shame of our youth, but that we can claim double honor. Ps Jim highlighted a Scripture that says that we can actually claim seven fold restoration of everything the devil has stolen from us. Ps Ginny taught us about the Book of James and pointed out that we can ask God for wisdom and He will give it to us liberally and without reproach, so every day I thank God that He gives me wisdom liberally and w/o reproach to choose ways that are in accordance with His will.
There is something for everyone in Bible college!
For those who are passionate about empowering young people, Bible college also has a special unit for you. It’s a brand new accredited unit that focuses on youth ministry. For just two hours a week, starting this week, you get to study the following life-changing subjects: 1. Youth ministry leadership; 2. Planning and applying youth ministry programs; 3. How to coordinate youth ministry outreach events and evangelism; and 4. Youth ministry in schools.
So if you’d like to ask anything about Bible college, then come down to the Bible college table downstairs and there’ll be someone to assist you.I was grateful that an older lady from college,
Anyway, so I committed it to God and then decided to repeat some content and add new content, which was not all that easy. Finally yesterday, I finished my speech and presented it today a little differently. I felt last week's was much better. I felt the annointing on that message. Didn't feel anything on this message, but then after I sat down, I heard the Holy Spirit say that God was pleased with me and that I had done a good job. That was all I needed to hear. It touched me so much and I was overwhelmed with tears while sitting there.
The lady next to me, my friend from Bible college (Catherine) told me it was excellent. Also a lady from Thursday prayer (I think her name is Irene?) turned around to give me her nodd of approval. Then Ps Margaret referred to my testimony three times, which indicated she was pleased with what I had said. I left early to avoid other feedback, but Ken's brother Dion called out that it was an awesome testimony as I left the building. Praise God. That was all the encouragement I needed. I dunno why, but just the thought of others telling me it was good made me feel uneasy, afterall, it is God who deserves the glory, not me. So, anyway, here are my notes, bearing in mind I had to promote a new youth ministry unit at the end!
Faith project steps – applicable to any problem you’re facing in your life today:
1. Identify your need. At the time I was doing this assignment, I decided that I would like to change my accommodation. I wanted a new place to rent.
2. Look at what the Bible says about your situation. I discovered that God is El Shaddai – the God of More Than Enough (Genesis 17:1) and that He is Jehovah Jireh - My Provider (Genesis 22:14). God’s Word says that God is able to do immeasurably more than all I could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20), that He has promised to instruct me, guide me and teach me in the way which I should go (Psalm 32:8) and that His Word says that when I delight in Him, He will grant me the desires of my heart (Psalm 37:4).
3. Ask God for what you want, being very specific. I didn’t just want any accommodation, but rather, a place of quality and beauty. Therefore, I wrote down a very detailed list of everything I wanted in a place to live, not missing out any details I felt were import. This was what I wrote: “a beautiful apartment, which has all the attributes that I desire in a rental property, i.e. located in close proximity to Victory Life Centre, excellent security with good lighting and a safe place to park my car, lots of built-in storage space, nice kitchen and bathroom with fans, one or two bedrooms with a built-in wardrobe, a separate laundry, well-ventilated open plan living area with adequate room for my furniture, floors that are easy to clean, good landlord and quality neighbors, <$200/week rent and a place that is warm and welcoming to friends needing to be refreshed”.
4. Believe that we receive what we ask for in prayer. In the natural, it looked impossible. However, Ps Anne taught us in a class to declare we had uncommon favor, and since she said that I have been declaring that over my life every day. Every time I came close to doubting or had negative thoughts, I took those thoughts captive and made them obedient to Jesus Christ. Additionally, various teachers convinced me through their personal testimonies that God is a BIG God through whom absolutely nothing is impossible.
5. Thank God as though you have already received what you asked for. Almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day, I said: “Thank you, Lord Jesus that you have granted me the desire of my heart and prepared the right accommodation for me, which surpasses all my expectations. I believe Your Holy Spirit will lead me to it at the right time. I declare my needs met in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen. Having confessed my faith by declaring this statement, I believe that God hears and answers my prayers and that He will fulfill His Word as He promises”.
6. Wait in patient expectation.
I said how after I had finished this assignment, I handed it in, in September 2008 and started to look at rental properties. I looked at so many apartments. Some places had 70 or 80% of the attributes I wanted and there were times when I was ready to compromise because the places seemed quite decent. However, every time I was almost ready to compromise, I felt the Holy Spirit say “no, not this one”, “no, not this one either” ….and after looking at so many properties and feeling that none were the right one, I decided to have a break from looking.
Then come start of the year, a person who knows me, who is not a Christian and who didn’t know about my faith project, came to me. This person bought a duplex some time ago and over the last year has spent considerable time renovating the entire interior of this place. It could easily be rented out at $350 or $400/week rent, however, they offered it to me at a mere rate of $150/week rent. Before accepting the offer, I referred back to my list and was astounded that every single detail was met in this place. The most amazing thing is that this person had no intention of moving out of the property when I started this assignment and only made that decision in December 2008.
I learnt in Bible college that God’s people are destroyed through lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and I believe they miss out on so many blessings that God has for them because they don’t know how to access them. Bible college gives you knowledge and it teaches you how to extract the Word of God and apply it to the situations you are facing.
Last year my niece was critically ill and rather than accept medical advice that she may die, we learnt how to lay hands on the sick, how to anoint a person with oil, how to use the name of Jesus and pray Scripture over a situation to dramatically turn it around. That’s exactly what God did for me after I applied what I had learnt. My niece was miraculously healed and is still healthy and living a normal life today.
Every day, the teachers put before you a feast of Scripture and last year, every time a teacher highlighted Scriptures that I liked, I went home and wrote them onto a list of Scriptures that I declare over my life every day. For example, Ps Eunice taught us about Daniel and one thing that caught my attention was that Daniel had a spirit of excellence upon him. I learnt that you can claim everything good that you find in the Bible for your own life, so that’s something that I claim for my own life. I thank God every day that He has given me a spirit of excellence.
Ps Peter taught us about Joshua. I noted God’s words to him that if he meditates on scripture day and night and puts it into practice, then he is guaranteed of success and prosperity, so that’s something that I claim for my own life. Ps Judy highlighted some scriptures in Isaiah that say we don’t have to hold on to the shame of our youth, but that we can claim double honor. Ps Jim highlighted a Scripture that says that we can actually claim seven fold restoration of everything the devil has stolen from us. Ps Ginny taught us about the Book of James and pointed out that we can ask God for wisdom and He will give it to us liberally and without reproach, so every day I thank God that He gives me wisdom liberally and w/o reproach to choose ways that are in accordance with His will.
There is something for everyone in Bible college!
For those who are passionate about empowering young people, Bible college also has a special unit for you. It’s a brand new accredited unit that focuses on youth ministry. For just two hours a week, starting this week, you get to study the following life-changing subjects: 1. Youth ministry leadership; 2. Planning and applying youth ministry programs; 3. How to coordinate youth ministry outreach events and evangelism; and 4. Youth ministry in schools.
So if you’d like to ask anything about Bible college, then come down to the Bible college table downstairs and there’ll be someone to assist you.I was grateful that an older lady from college,
31 January 2009
My cousin's wife
Hey Dave, this is Jenny, isn't it? I mean i can't imagine you putting a piccy of some other beautiful chick on your facebook profile, hey??? :-)
29 January 2009
Overcoming stress
On Tuesday, Rob came to ask me if I wanted to accept a different job again, only this time when I said no, because I was busy, he then asked whether I would like to do the new job on the days I already work, i.e. swap jobs entirely. That was very sneaky and showed me his character. What was awkward is he did it in full view of Ps Rhonda, Gail and Margaret and they immediately discerned he was trying to poach me. They piped up that every time he sees someone with potential, he comes to steal them away. Ps Rhonda said "he can't have you!". I liked the way she said that. She wasn't joking though, she was clearly annoyed. Somehow, whatever I mumbled, prompted Rob to go to Ps Judy's office and stir up a mess. He presumptiously told Ps Judy I was very keen to swap jobs and I think he said to her that had already accepted his offer because she was obvsiouly disturbed afterwards.
When I was leaving, she said she needed to talk to me, but she was talking to two new teachers at the time and it wasn't a great time. I told her I didn't really want to change jobs and I hadn't meant to give that impression. Then I said there were heaps of students who would love the opportunity and I said how I think Rinna really wanted the job I have now, so perhaps they could put her in that position. She confirmed that Rinna did want the job I have. She said it would all have to be put to prayer and asked that I don't say anything to Rinna. Fair enough. In fact afterwards, I was thinking she probably wouldn't be the best suited to that job anyway. My friend Annette would be much better in that position (which I suggested in an email to Ps Judy later).
Then I lfet church and went to Koorong and bumped into Kristin's parents and had a coffee with them, their shout!. After I left, I felt very unsettled about the church situation like I had some unresolved business. So I rang Rob (couldn't get through) and then Ps Judy and blurted out how I wanted to clarify with her that I had not meant to give the impression I wanted to change jobs and all. It was kind of awkward and she stressed that I make that clear with Rob, so I tried again to get through to him and couldn't. I tried ringing Tammy and then sent her a text message, but to no avail. She didn'd reply, so I went back to Ps Rhonda and asked her to leave a message for Rob to call me back.
Finally, he did and then I stuttered out what I wanted to say and apologised for giving him the wrong impression. Then I text messaged Ps Judy to confirm I had spoken to him, clarified I was committed to stay in that position for the year. She sent me back a message saying thank you and that I was a blessing. Phew, that sorted, I felt a load come off my shoulders. I never realised there were politics at work!
Apparently after last Sunday, Ps Margaret got such great feedback from my testimony that she has asked that I do it again, but at the 10.30am service (the biggest one) and that mine be the only testimony given for the whole weekend! Oh man .... and the worst thing is that Ps Judy doesn't want me to repeat the content and only go with what the Spirit leads me to say .... aggggghhhhhh, talk about pressure.
Well, I wont repeat all of it, but I just feel I need to repeat the faith project steps again because it's my best example and what else am I meant to say?!?!?! I am just going to prepare to say it again, and if the Holy Spirit guides me to say something else, then I will.
When I was leaving, she said she needed to talk to me, but she was talking to two new teachers at the time and it wasn't a great time. I told her I didn't really want to change jobs and I hadn't meant to give that impression. Then I said there were heaps of students who would love the opportunity and I said how I think Rinna really wanted the job I have now, so perhaps they could put her in that position. She confirmed that Rinna did want the job I have. She said it would all have to be put to prayer and asked that I don't say anything to Rinna. Fair enough. In fact afterwards, I was thinking she probably wouldn't be the best suited to that job anyway. My friend Annette would be much better in that position (which I suggested in an email to Ps Judy later).
Then I lfet church and went to Koorong and bumped into Kristin's parents and had a coffee with them, their shout!. After I left, I felt very unsettled about the church situation like I had some unresolved business. So I rang Rob (couldn't get through) and then Ps Judy and blurted out how I wanted to clarify with her that I had not meant to give the impression I wanted to change jobs and all. It was kind of awkward and she stressed that I make that clear with Rob, so I tried again to get through to him and couldn't. I tried ringing Tammy and then sent her a text message, but to no avail. She didn'd reply, so I went back to Ps Rhonda and asked her to leave a message for Rob to call me back.
Finally, he did and then I stuttered out what I wanted to say and apologised for giving him the wrong impression. Then I text messaged Ps Judy to confirm I had spoken to him, clarified I was committed to stay in that position for the year. She sent me back a message saying thank you and that I was a blessing. Phew, that sorted, I felt a load come off my shoulders. I never realised there were politics at work!
Apparently after last Sunday, Ps Margaret got such great feedback from my testimony that she has asked that I do it again, but at the 10.30am service (the biggest one) and that mine be the only testimony given for the whole weekend! Oh man .... and the worst thing is that Ps Judy doesn't want me to repeat the content and only go with what the Spirit leads me to say .... aggggghhhhhh, talk about pressure.
Well, I wont repeat all of it, but I just feel I need to repeat the faith project steps again because it's my best example and what else am I meant to say?!?!?! I am just going to prepare to say it again, and if the Holy Spirit guides me to say something else, then I will.
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