God is Good - Kneedrill

At kneedrill this week we had the most wonderful time of worship to YAHWEH.
Wow.
It was crazy, knock your socks off worship.
I had been praying and worshipping in my room for about 45 minutes before, just rearing up to go.
When we got there, HOLY SPIRIT just let loose.
I honestly did a full on workout during worship. Busting out some moves that I've never seen before.
There was so much Freedom. It was beautiful.
Some words were shared. One which actually came from Toronto that morning - that God doesn't just have a reservoir for us (that is stagnant and still) but a full RIVER that is flowing and constantly fulfilling and satisfying.
Also some words about us being a Warrior Bride.
It was powerful.
Someone got healed of Scolioses (sp???) through worship and prayer. The Power of the LORD is strong.
We were praying for more than just the Oil of the LORD but the FIRE as well. Sanctification. Purification.

Send the FIRE today! Let the Redeemed of the LORD say so.

Ghetto Superstar

So I'm still living in the Downtown Eastside and parts of my life are still as ghetto as ever.
Within the last 10 hours two VERY ghetto things have occured, which hopefully will at least bring a smile to your face.
Last night as I was in the midst of some lovely dream I was awoken by something. (Rochelle, you are going to love this!) There was a mouse on my head! I sleep on my side, so it was just on my hair above my ears. So gross. Eeks. I didn't know what to do to scare it away. I moved quickly and it scampered down my bed and then in my mind what seemed to make the most sense was to punch the wall. Who knows if it was scared. I, on the other hand, was just super grossed out.
Incident no.2: So I started work at 5:30am this morning. All was going well until one of our regulars comes in. He's a homeless guy that tries to get money on the streets, but is always respectable when he comes in, so of course we serve him. Today he told me that he had decided to pay all in pennies (there was a big line-up behind him). I tried to regain all my patience, but then, to my dismay, he pulls out his "bag" of pennies. All of the 200 pennies were in a condom. No joke. So gross. I had to count it. It was definately interesting.

So I am a ghetto superstar. Woohoo.
Peace.

General update

So to keep you guys on the cutting edge, here's a quick update on my life this year so far...
Starbucks - 30h/week. It's good. Being trained up as a supervisor. Wake up at 4:30am, but I do like my job.
School of Justice - I love teaching this class. It's going very well. This session has a lot of great ideas.
ExPRO - Good stuff going on. Again, a lot of passion in the guys here. Everyone is eager to hear from the LORD!
Battlecry - This is an area of active social justice that I head up. Most of the time it's us doing ProLIFE demonstrations, but we also do some Human Traffiking info stuff and prayer vigils. It's going really well.
NightLIGHTS - REALLY REALLY GOOD! I love co-heading this ministry to the prostituted people down here. Powerful stuff.
Gospel Choir - Generally it's going well. We've had a lot of people drop it, and some new folk, but I love the music and the Holy Spirit is all up in it. Hallelujah.
Leading Worship - God has really been teaching me a lot. I've been leading every week and Kneedrill and God's been pushing me and growing me. It's a beautiful thing.
Homestead - I lead a group there once a month. It's going really well. Took some new folk out there this week. Good times :)
War Room: I do 3 hours a week. This is always good. Sometimes hard when I am really sleepy, but the LORD has been talking to me a lot about Holiness in my shifts. Gold.
I also teach piano! Going splendid. Oh, and I am getting some photo gigs which I am happy about.
Please pray for good and restful sleep. To find time for cooking and stuff like that. Ummm, and my rations. To really be fruitful, sweet, and very refreshing. God has really been putting JOY into my Spirit and I am always singing and praying and praising the LORD, for He is GOOD!! Thanks to all of those who keep me in their prayers. I really do appreciate it. Wow, what a blessing.

Family Patterns

Today I caught up on most of my blog reading and it seems that there is a common pattern occuring in my family these days.
Joel (older bro) had his bike stolen from him. He LOVED his bike. Been with her for 4.5 years. Biked across Canada etc.
Dad lost all of his hardrive. All gone - files, music, photos, everything.
Josh (younger bro) has his health 'taken away'. He's really sick and finding it hard to breathe.
Rochelle (older sis) is a missonary in Zimbabwe - her husband is gone on a conference or retreat or something.
And myself - This weekend I accidentally deleted 2,000 of my photos from my memory stick. 2000!!
I was sooo mad at myself.
Anyway - all this to say that I think it's interesting to see how we deal with loss. I know that these things are all relatively minor (although, Josh, I am really praying for FULL HEALING!), but there's this really popular worship song that has a line "You give and take away (but) my heart will CHOOSE to say "Blessed be Your Name".
I can't speak on behalf of the rest of my family, but for me in my "loss" (yes, in the grander scheme of this is quite minor) I see how God is highlighting how we hold on to things.
It reminded me of the story of Jonah - in the last chapter when God gives Jonah a tree to rest under and then God took it away and Jonah got mad at God.
I want to live my life full of JOY and THANKFULNESS, recognizing that ALL good things come from God, but I don't have ownership, I simply have to be a good steward of the things he lends me, while they are in my posession.
Weigh it up, pray it up.
Peace.

Funny moment

Today I was teaching Joshua White a piano lesson - our first piano lesson, and he was getting frustrated (which is understandable) because all of the sudden this person comes in to give you structure and teach you scales and it's not all that amusing.
The best part was, in the middle of our lesson, Joshua puts one hand on his head and shakes it a bit, saying:
"I think....I think we're just going to have to re-schedule."
Joshua is 6.
Priceless.

Word about SIN

I was finishing off Ezra and starting of Nehemiah today and the LORD was downloading some revelation that I would like to share.
I am not an expert or a theologian, but here's the word from the LORD that I received.
Ezra and Nehemiah were men that really repented for their sins and this sin of their land. They didn't just say a little prayer - they threw themselves on the ground, they wept, they screamed, the mourned, they fasted. They did not take it lightly. Now, I don't think that they really were more sinful than we are, but I think that they just GOT IT. They recognized sin for sin and what it does to you. They knew that it was the thing that came and seperated them from the only true good thing in their life - Yahweh.
I've been praying for holiness a lot lately, and it's rising up more and more in me - a hate for sin. Not so that I can be pious and look down at others (not at all!) but that I can see how just a small portion of sin, a little bit of yeast if you'd like, can severely pollute you.
I want the refiner's fire to be hot. If I am not being convicted by the fire of the Holy Spirit, and I am not seriously pursuing a life of purity and a heart full of the love of Christ, then I won't really feel any strong inclination to do anything more than say a simple prayer (obviously it strikes to the heart - not just what I "do").
If I was in some serious refiner's heat I would weep and wail and grieve and mourn.
So is my water cooling off? Oh, LORD, please let this not be a case.
I pray for you to TURN UP THE HEAT under your bride, your church, your body, that we would know the conviction and be purified. LORD. Purify us like gold purified seven times over. Please, Jesus!!! Please.

Community lunch

Today I had the day off from work. I enjoyed a bit of a sleep in, good chat with a friend in a far away place and then around lunch time came a ring on the phone. Supposedly the rEVOLution session was unable to attain lunch at their regular location (there are 16 of them). They were wondering what to do...
So, I invited them all over for lunch. I also live with about 15 other people and sort of forgot to ask their permission first, but thankfully everything worked out. Spaghetti all around!
It was a blessing. I love being a part of this community - it really is like a big family.
If my brother was in town I'd invite him over for dinner, and I'd do the same for any of these guys.
Today I am thankful for where I live and the people that God has placed in my life. Praise Jesus.

PS I am also starting to do the LIFE JOURNAL. It's getting popularized here so I jumped on the train to be a part of the corporate blessing ;) The LIFE JOURNAL is a plan to read the bible through a year and comes with a journal to encourage...journaling. heehee

Sleep, or the lack thereof

I am in the midst of discovering the secret to planning out your week when you get up at 4:30am every morning and still be fully functioning...
I've been getting a bit delusional, but supposedly I am funnier that way.
614 Vancouver had an all night of prayer from 10pm on Friday night until 6am Saturday morning. We were praying and interceding mainly for Human Traffiking. Powerful stuff. I wasn't sure that I'd make it through the whole night, but God gave me strength. Hallelujah.
I found it very challenging to continue to pray God's heart back to Him.

War College year II is going really well. There's a million things that I want to do, but must find the Grace of Jesus so that I won't burn out.

Much to write about, but have to go.
Oh, and tonight I start the gospel choir up again. Very exciting.
Grace,