Mon & Tue

After sunday's message that Bill preached on dreaming, and how a day starts at sundown, I have been having much better sleep... which is good.

Monday prayer day was good. Basically read the rest of the day :)

Tuesday my body was feeling tired... must be the cold, and the extended time of not doing too much... dono... Then we had worship :) It must be the best worship I ever had. Had I said this before? well... today I just had so much breakthrough in worship... it felt similar to Sunday night... after being prayed for by so many people... its just good... as if everything inside of me is whole and in the right place.

We had Tracey Evans speak to us. wow. If ever you don't know what to do in life - go help her out in Mozambique... your life will change.

we also started with international transformation track. scary but good stuff - changing the world as you see it on the news.

So my track and activation scares me... which is good... challenges me to step out of my comfort zone...

bring it on !!!

:)

Sat & Sun

Sat

Slept in till 1pm, then did some homework, and took a long walk to Lema ranch - very nice.

Sunday

Church in the morning, Bill spoke on getting victory in your dreamworld - exactly what I was wanting to hear about :)

Evening Chris spoke on why God is silent sometimes... that He is actually forming us. He spoke 5 days, and then the sixth day He was silent, yet He worked by forming earth into Man. It was a good preach. Chris also spoke on the difference between Babel and the Church... how one used bricks and tar, and the other stones and mortar. Babel uses conformity and a common vision to get people to work together. The church uses individual unique stones with a specific fit, held together in love, working together to form a house. Afterwards we all stood in lines and people prayed for us... it was great :) I think in these times I get like the greatest sozo's ever... just so much restoration, freedom, deliverance... its the best thing ever :) Highly recommendable :)

And I put up the Christmas lights - very orange... but anyway ;)

Fri

Doing homework, eating turkey sandwiches, and other Thanksgiving leftovers, going for a long walk in the fresh cold outside, reading, spending time with God and getting so much peace... wow... God is a good Father... and then having some of my own milk tart and cream, then off to Despicable me movie - only $2 :)

Thu - Thanksgiving awesomeness :)

So I woke up, had a good quite time.. reflected on some stuff Bill talked about... got stoked about life :) good times :)

Then I read a few pages... for homework... tried to...

And had some eggnog for the first time ever... wow... the stuff is rich... just had a little bit, and I was full already. If ever I have trouble sleeping, I should drink some eggnog - it makes me want to sleep instantly...

Then Joel & Adrian came and picked me & my milk tart up, to go to the Christiansen's for Thanksgiving. We waited from 1 till 1:45 to eat... it made me super hungry, just because everything smelt SO GOOD :) ha ha...

Then Bret gave us a brief intro on Thanksgiving, we prayed, and then ate... some glorious food... sweet potato dish with marshmallows and nuts on top, Turkey stuffing, Turkey, green bean casserole, salad, sushi (yes, Joel brought a platter), real raspberry sauce, and a green jelly concoction, and home made buns - with apple butter. Jummy :)

Then we waited a while, and sat in the living room, watched a part of miracle on 34th street, and had some good coffee.

The we had a very good Texan sweet toffee pudding with white ice cream. It was not too sweet... just right... and it was not too heavy either, but light... so it was good. One of the better puddings I ever had. My milk tart was okay, a bit dry, but with cream it went down well... it was a let down compared to the toffee pudding brilliance :) ha ha :) Luckily I was not trying to impress :)

Then we played some golf (a card game with scores). It was a good game :)

Then we had some crackers and cheese :) And watched some Christmas movie about Santa change jobs...

Then just talked, and got lazy :) then went back home :)

Sun - Wed

Sun

It was weird to go to church at Bethel at 8:30am... and see the sanctuary half full... and quiet... it was kinda weird... Bill told some hunting stories... and got kinda side tracked... but said many good stuff... like honoring other people's God-experiences... and that you mimic them... and then get what God is doing later on... get the sermon...

"People with the most hope, have the most influence" - Bill Johnson

In the evening had Danny talk on compassion, and connectedness of the body, and how our life reaches so much further if we do things our of compassion for others, and not only for ourselves.

Mon

Pray day :) was cool to have a chilled day. Also baked some scones.

Tue

My Birthday :) It was great :) had many good birthday wishes :) And later had Bill at 3pm just have a more informal 'real' talk with people that are left for the break... it was good... just to get to know that life is practical... its getting through the every day stuff, and doing it well also... spending time with people, and valuing relationships now, before you are too old.

One thing struck me... just Bill's openness for the impossible to happen... he basically asked us "What do you want to be normal, that is not normal now?" And he asked people... and people said stuff like praying for malnourished children, and teleportation, and levitation... and the best thing is that he totally agreed with it !!! Basically, dream it, and believe that God want to privileged you to carry an anointing (grace) to be able to break though into the impossible, and bring other people into the same breakthrough. Insane... but so good... I just love it that someone on Earth believes that what I believe is possible is possible. This gives me the liberty and license to pursue the impossible until it becomes the normal :) whoo hoo !!!

And then Pete and Ruben and me went to Starbucks for something hot to drink and celebrate my birthday :) And Ruben gave me some super delicious ice-cream when we got back home... mmm...

Wed

Baked a easy milk tart, and watched 4 episodes of Castle :) only 4 guys left in the house of the thanksgiving break. Tomorrow everyone (including me) will be eating a lot of food [official thanksgiving day]. Friday there are some crazy specials in stores... from 5am to 11am at Walmart... it is called "Black Friday", because everyone buys stuff for Christmas, and the stores have crazy specials for a limited time. People have been trampled before... and its just crazy, so I doubt I will go to town :)

Sat - 20 Nov 2010

Saturday
Slept in till about 11am. Then had the most amazing haircut done by one of our house-mates (Peter). For the first time I feel like my hair has some style to it :) Then tried to read some Supernatural ways of Royalty... slowly... Think I am in lul mode... the following week we have thanksgiving break. I'm going to the Christiansen's on Thursday for thanksgiving (at about 1am), to eat, and eat some more :) ha ha :)

Anyway... O, then Brandon and me went to Walmart, got some juice for a potluck combined home-group gathering at twin view. Basically bring something to eat, and share with everyone :) It was fun to chat to some community people that I have not seen before :) P.S. the iPhone is amazing in that it has google maps on it... so if someone asks you "where are you from?" then you can just show them on the iPhone :) And we figured out that South Africa is much bigger than Texas. It seems that everything on earth is measured in Texas units :) it funny...

We got there about 5:30pm and left at 9:00pm... I played scum (card game) with a group of people that i did not know, and then played flux also (very cool card game that is different every time you play).

So for the next few days I have to get into some routine to get though all my homework... will probably go to church tomorrow... will see what the plan is :)

---

On the spiritual side, I have learnt much truth this week that has changed the way my spirit functions. I am also more aware of my emotions, and can more easily process them, and find out why I feel Glad, Sad, Mad, or Afraid.
:)    :(    >:/    :0

---

And tis raining again :) the whole week has rain forecast. Just 10 miles north of us, the interstate is closed due to snow. The mountains have warnings for heavy snowfall. So its good that we have no school now... so I don't have to paddle in the cold wind :) Otherwise I have to get used to these houses having central heating... What I wear inside is not what I can wear outside... but luckily all the shops have heating in them also... kinda funny... makes life so much easier... you can get so much more done in your house, just because you don't feel like you are freezing the whole time. So if I ever get a house, I'm definitely going to invest in making the house central heated / cooled.

Thu (night) & Friday

Thursday night
We went to two older ladies (Abby & Barbra) that served in Pastors on Call, for our healing outreach. Basically they did not need any healing, but we were sent to receive a blessing form them, and give them  blessing. It was very encouraging to hear their Abby's story. She is big into intercession, and was not really into healing, and then one day in the prayer house God told her that she would have her own healing meetings. Later on a guy from Egypt came up to her in the prayer house, and asked her of she would come to Egypt and have a healing meeting. Crazy. So she agreed, and went (all expenses paid), and stayed with the family. She saw many healings. And now she is going back with 5 other people. The church in Egypt wants all that Bethel has... and wants the to bring it... amazing...

Our group leader also had a similar experience, being invited to Kenya with an all expenses paid trip, for him to sozo a group of pastors. crazy. Our group is number 5, and we have been experiencing God's favor. More to come :)

Friday
Had a super good day again... the end of relationship week :) a bit of info overload... but good stuff...
The highlight for me was the 4 stages of a relationship.

1) Attraction - finding out you have a mutual attraction / interest
2) Uncertainty - mentally process stuff
3) Exclusivity: mutual choice to date only this person
4) Intimacy: Sharing heart & committing to fight through battles
5) Engagement

* Note on intimacy is that it can only be shared after committing to an exclusive relationship, with the intention to marriage. (this got me)

Another good point that Dann made was on communication... during conflict.
1) I message - Communicate feelings, observations, and effects of actions
2) Reflective - repeat what the person said... to open space for more communication.

The evening service was good. Some good insights on the spirit and soul, and identity :)

Thursday

Day of workshops of relationship week.

>>> School:

The guys and girls were split up, and had different talks. There was an option for hearing more about boundaries, but you needed an invite, or you could ask special permission (only a few got it - including me).

So I went to the boundaries workshop. It was good. It was something that I needed. How I felt before the talk, compared to after the talk shows you just how much I needed it ;)

Basically the talk was on needs and boundaries. Not only for dating relationships or marriage, but for ALL relationships. First on needs, Josh talked and explained that we have 9 needs, and that we need them fulfilled, else we get hurt. Naturally these needs should be met in the family, by your father, siblings, and mother. In the case that these people could not fulfill your needs, God is there to fill those needs, as a Father, as Jesus, as the Spirit.
The needs are Protection, Provision, Security, Identity from your dad or the Father.
Then Communication and Companionship from friends & siblings or the Son.
Then Comfort, Nurture, Revelation/Teaching from your mother or the Spirit.

He also talked on all relationships being built on love and trust. He also had a good explanation on where hurt and confusion comes from in relationship: Basically boundaries that are crossed, or not communicated clearly. Every hurt in a relationship has a underlying cause.

The best part was when he explained that YOU are responsible for:
1) your own happiness
2) your behavior
3) your attitude and outlook on life
4) your choices
5) your feelings.
These are the things that YOU should manage in your own life, and that no one else should manage or control. You can not blame people for influencing these 5 aspect of your internal world... you are the one that are supposed to set up boundaries and keep people from affecting these aspects of you.

The truth is, that you are powerful. Your voice counts. You are your own person. You have authority. You are strong.
You should not allow people do dominate you, control you, look down on you, suppress you, oppress you. If they do, then you should speak to them. Tell them how their actions make you feel, and change boundaries between you. If they accept, then you have created protection for yourself. If they do not accept, then communicate that you will draw back in the relationship and make sure that the same does not occur again.

You are the one that gives people the right to walk over you and oppress you.

The main thing about any relationship is that you have to communicate your boundaries with people. If you do not like anything in a relationship - then talk about it. If you do not talk about it, then the other person will not find out about it - nor how their actions make you feel. Be brave, and communicate, and protect yourself. You are worth it.

---

>>> Healing activation

Teressa spoke on our relationship with the city. She has amazing vision for city transformation, and how it will come about. I just get inspired by listening to her.

Then had a guy named Dennis came and speak to us on healing. His main teaching is praying until the reality of Jesus is greater than any other reality, Believing that the truth will come to pass (overcome disappointments), and that we already have everything we need - we only have to become aware of the Power that is within you (God).

We talked about three times at healing meetings that he meditated on Jesus' healings, and that his mind changed in that moment. At that instance he said that he did not see any impossibilities. Everyone got healed in those meetings. He also said that Smith/Lake said that the only hindrance to any healing is that you believe that there is a hindrance.

According to my new belief on the enemy, this fits right in there... because any authority that the enemy has is that what we grant them. Jesus has all authority, and He already died for our sickness. The only things that keeps us from that is that we give sickness a place in our bodies. This view is proven by my experiences after i got filled with the spirit. except for once (when I was under heavy spiritual attack), all other times I got sick, I got well by simply refusing to be sick. This happened three times in my life - where I had fever and flu, and then refused it, and then it went away in a few hours.

So my new view on sickness incorporates many ideas. I have not gone through all my ideas on healing, but my current view incorporates and explains the majority of cases.

Wed - Relationship week Day 2

Wed


What a day ! I heard so many things spoken of that I knew, and no one talked about before... and some things that I never knew, that makes totally sense in hind sight... you gota love truth spoken out :)


>>> Dann:


Dann Farrely spoke from 1 Corinthians 7. This must be one of the best preaches I have heard... just because he explained exactly what stood in the Bible. I can not repeat the teaching, because I will get things wrong... so I will do the worst thing, and just give the conclusions I got from the sermon...


* There is no 'perfect one' for you
* God does not decide your partner, you do.
* To marry or not to marry is TOTALLY your choice.
* Marrying because of desire is a legitimate reason.
* Not marrying for the sake of the kingdom is a legitimate reason.
* Sexuality is good, and God given, and righteous and holy.
* Sexuality is a state of being (male/femaleness), sex is an act.
* Jesus expressed Himself sexually in a healthy way (His man-ness)
* Sexuality and creativity is linked
* Sexuality can be expressed through warmth, tender friendship & touch towards people
* The feeling of sexual tension and the anointing can be mistaken
* A crush = collapse of boundaries.


What do you look for during dating?

* Men should ask themselves: Can I commit to sacrificially serving this person for the rest of her life?

* Girls should ask themselves: Can you choose to respect this man for the rest of his life?

>>> Jayson:


Then Jayson Vallotton spoke on dating relationships, and how to set boundaries. He also went into a lot of things concerning feelings. He defined the goal for dating not as intimacy, but rather trust. The way to build trust is to fully communicate everything (basically). Communicating where you are at, and how each person feels about things, and how open they are to a step closer in intimacy. Trust has to determine the level of intimacy in any relationship. Intimacy should not be used to strengthen a connection, but rather trust. Trust & communication precedes everything in a relationship. Risk is the responsibility of the man - and that is to be vulnerable to the girl, in taking a step closer.


The whole purpose of dating is to get to know if the person you are dating is the one you want to marry. Every dating relationship should start with both people being open to being married. If a man asks to go on a date, he is not asking you if you want to marry him. He want to get married, and you may be the person he want to marry... but he needs to get to know you, to see if you are.


Trust is the chief value in relationships, because if either decides that the other is not the person they want to marry, then there should still be mutual feelings of being cherished, loved, valued and honored.


The onus is on the man to control himself, and also lead the relationship, and protect the girl in the relationship. The girl also needs to protect herself in the relationship. She should only give as much vulnerability to the man according to the trust she fells for the man. Girls need to feel safe before they grow in vulnerability. Men creates a space of safety for a girl only through trust. Trust is something that you build, and takes time, and needs small increments of risk in order to grow.


The definition of love is commitment and choice - not the feeling.
The definitional of passion is feeling that comes through exploring intimacy with a person.
The goal is love, not passion.


Passion is feelings and emotion - and does not make for a good driver. [Dann said that emotions make your head into a bowl of soup]. Emotions should not drive or determine a relationship. They are part of a relationship, and need to be managed.


When you have very strong feelings for someone, then there is a high chance that there are some needs in your life that are not met, and that you need to get those fixed [the idea that marriage is not for you to have your needs met, but rather to give]


---


Wow.. thats a lot of stuff... changed my mind... and gave me so much freedom :) Esp. knowing the choice is all mine to choose :)


---


>>> Crazy occurrence: 
Remember two blogs ago (Sun) that I said that a guy came up to me and gave me a prophecy on Matt 11:28 (taking His light burden and soft yoke) well... something weirder happened actually that night... here is the fuller story:


Friday night I was standing and worshiping, and a random guy came up to me and prayed over me. I heard him in plain English, and he was just generally praying for release of burdens, over my life, and taking on God's yoke. (basically Matt 11:28). After he prayed I thanked him for the 'good word', and then heard the same word spoken by Mark Brookes... so I turned to him again and said 'good word'.


So I met the random guy today... his name is Eli... (he is a real guy, and not an angel or something else) and when we talked, he said that he did not understand why I said 'good word' to him on Friday... So I told him about the same scripture that he gave me, was the one I got for a girl the previous day, and that Mark also gave the same scripture. This is why I said 'good word'.


Now the following really came to a surprise to me... and my brain is still trying to process it. This is the crazy part: His honest account of Friday night was as follows: He felt that God wanted him to pray over me, so he walked up to me, laid his hand on my shoulder, and started to pray in tongues. And then after a while of praying in tongues, he stopped, and sat down. So, basically he only prayed in tongues over me. umm... yes... he only prayed in tongues over me. - but i heard him pray in English over me... but he only heard himself pray in tongues over me..ok, that is weird...


So I asked him that that is impossible, because he basically prayed Matt 11:28 over me. And he said that he did not pray any verse, or anything in English over me at all... just in tongues, nothing more... and that is why he was confused about me telling him 'good word'... because he did not give me any word... and he did not eve recognize the scripture... so basically when Mark Brookes came up and gave the scripture - that was the first time he hear the scripture in a while...


Okay, so that has to mess with your head... one guy prays in tongues over me, and all I hear is someone praying over me in English. Weird. Yes. But good :) ha ha :)

Mon & Tue

Mon
Prayer day. Wow. If every day is like this, then Heaven may have come to Earth :) The weather was just right, there was a slight cool breeze, and the sun was shining warm [my perfect weather]. Then I had a great time at the prayer room, and came home and had some great food :) O, I made some scones, and they came out better than I expected... scones and strawberry jam is just divine... it just makes music in your mouth :) Love it... Then spent the rest of the day finishing homework :) Finally finished Experiencing Fathers Embrace. After the book I just felt so much love inside of me :) God is good :)

I also did some Bible homework... that ended in my receiving some holy joy :)

Tue
Started a week of relational talks this week. It was good today. We did some Biblical foundations of the place of sexuality in Christianity. Then there was a talk on his needs / her needs, and the difference between men and women and their needs. (i have heard this, and there is some stereotyping in it, but its still a good place to start at). The Jayson Vallotton spoke on the place of God, and how we can put other people in His place - then become slaves to them. He also talked on other unhealthy set-ups for relationships: being need based, in stead of strength and giving based. The goal is to be whole yourself, and then to find someone else that is whole. Believing that another person can complete you, or fill you lacks are not a healthy base for relationships. We first need to be whole, then we can add strength to a relationship, instead of draining it.

We had a revival group party after class, and we had some Mexican food :) Tortilla chips, cheese sauce, mince, black beans, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, cheese, jalapeños and salsa :) I made the best mix ever... mmm... so much guacamole and sour cream... just loved it... really filled me up :)

Then we played some ultimate ninja, and then did some swing dancing. This is my second spontaneous dancing lesson in Redding :) So i'm learning how to dance :) ha ha

Listening to United Pursuit Band & Will Reagan... good stuff...

Sat & Sun

Saturday

Tried to do some homework... tried :) and then went shopping that night with all the guys at Winco :) fun times. Then went to a South Africa braai where there were about 20 South Africans. We had it at Darrell & Kim Hill's house. Darrell is an old South African. He works at the IT department of Bethel. He & his wife will also lead the San Fran mission in March :) so its cool that I got to meet them beforehand :) just a bit of God's favor :) Had a great time. Cool to speak some Afrikaans, and hear some Durban slang :) Felt a bit like home... was good.

Sunday
Church in the morning. Bill spoke on the orphan spirit, and how it causes relational, financial and health problems... so what God wants to do is bring us into His love as a Father, and letting us know that He has adopted us as His children.

Something crazy happened: I gave a girl a prophecy at the Saturday night braai about the scripture Matt 11:28 (taking His light burden and soft yoke), and then this morning during worship a random guy next to me gave me the same prophecy. And then seconds later a pastor came up and gave the same scripture :) ha ha :) talk about confirmation - 3 times - the same scripture from random sources... insane :)

Then spend the rest of the day trying to finish Experiencing Father's Embrace... it is tearing my hear to pieces... but its good :)

Thu & Fri

Thursday was veterans's day, so we were mostly at home, chilling, and trying to catch up on some homework... That night we watched Warlords (Chinese dubbed movie). It had some good fighting scenes in it... anyway...

Friday we had school :) Yeah :) We had Dann finish on parables and how to read them... mostly to take the at face level, and how to identify the main references in the parable. When we read parables we come with a preconceived idea... so if we write it down, we can review it... Half way through I had a meeting with one of the interns (Troy) - he's a great guy. Just talked about how i was finding school, and stuff :)

So during break a BSSM friend told me that he got $1000 in cash, anonymously. Basically he did not have any money... he had to pay rent, tuition and missions deposit - and he did not even have money for food... He has been getting money for random people walking up to him. But now everything is paid for ! wow !

I just love the culture of giving... many people are giving other people money... and it is a thing that is happening... even if it is just a few bucks... there is an atmosphere of giving freely :) It's just crazy :)

Then we had Judy Franklin speak to us on her testimony, and how she went from seeking God, to being offended with the church, to working through things, and getting back to seeking God and going to church :) It was good to hear. She also talked on visions. It was good. I went to one of her things a month or so before, and learnt a lot :)

Testimonies:
Yesterday I heard the third testimony of visions actually affecting the physical realm. (A) The first was a guy that got motion sickness very easily. He had a dream of someone praying for him, and then he actually got healed of it - and went to a roller coaster park and had a great time :) (B) The second was a boy that was hyper allergic & also had diabetes. If the boy even touched milk his skin would peel off. He had to stay away form anything acid also like orange juice. He even had to be airlifted because of some allergic reactions. His mother always had to carry a shot with her. So in a vision the boy saw Jesus and He gave him a pizza. The boy said that the pizza would make him sick, but Jesus said in the vision that if he eats it, that he would be healed. After the vision the boy went to his mom and told her this. She got food ready for him that would cause him to get an allergic reaction... she had the allergic shot ready... then she watched as he ate everything that would have put him into the hospital. She also decreased his diabetic medicine, and went in to the doctor, and he told then that he does not have any diabetic problems anymore. (C) The third was a girl that was in a vision, and saw an yellow ostrage sized jewel that represented her friend. Her friend had cancer. So in the vision she gave the jewel to God, and God changed the jewel's color from yellow to orange. The next day she got a text saying that her friend was healed !

Three testimonies from three unrelated people... one form a guy, one from an older women, one from a girl. They are totally unrelated, and the stories are very different, but the principle is the same... that visions and dreams can affect the physical... as in themselves... so stuff that happen in visions actually changes the physical :)

That is good to know...

And I got breakthrough in my dreamworld. I can feel that God is in my dreamworld, and this morning I could feel that my dreams were different. so Yeah :)

Wed

We had Dann talk, and then Kris.

I love the stuff that Dann is talking about... just how the Bible was written, and how John had a completely (90% original) different view on Jesus. I love the background info. Also we are going through a book called "graspig God's word"... it is totally how Bill Johnson reads the Bible... word for word. I just read some chapters in Mathew today, and I automatically read slower though scripture... every word counts, and has been chosen for a specific purpose. I love it. Just reading through some scripture my mind is already looking for connections and lists and structure in the scriptures... its as if seeing in 3D for the first time... and its been there all the time :)

The book reads very easy, and the exercises are straight forward... I think any Christian that is bored of the Bible should get the book and go through it... it makes scripture just come alive...

Then Kris spoke... wow... I missed him... it is as if i can't get enough of him... if BSSM was just him talking, then it would be worth it... yes, i love Bill Johnson... and love his deepness... but I think like Kris, and just love it... anyway...

He spoke on identity... that we have to realize that we are sons of God. Creation knows we are His sons. The enemy knows we are His sons. God knows we are His sons. Angels know we are His sons, but we are the only ones in the dark... we need the revelation... for creation yearns for the revealing of the sons of God.

He also spoke on Daniel 7... how judgement has been made in the favor of the saints, and that we have been given the kingdom of God (Gospels confirms this)... so then it means that the enemy no longer overcomes us, but that we are the ones that are overcoming him.

We have the dominion now. The enemy and his forces no longer have dominion. All the dominion they have is what we actually give to them. The enemy has been placed on earth so that he may be crushed by us. The enemy tried to get dominion, yet was cast out of Heaven. Now we have been given dominion (the very thing that the enemy sought) and we are seated in Heaven. So the enemy is jealous, because we got what he wanted :) And on top of that, God thought it good for us to stomp on the enemy, while he is on earth... before the enemy is thrown into the lake of fire...

So all the enemy can do is bark at us like a japing dog... if we submit to God, and resist the enemy, then the enemy will flee from us.

We have been restored to the original mandate: we have been given dominion over the earth. The enemy is a lier, and wants us to believe we have no dominion... all the enemy can do is talk us into giving our authority to him.

we need the spirit of revelation to know our calling as sons of God - to realize who we already are.

God is good, and He loves you :)

Mon / Tue

Monday was weird
felt different than other days... Somehow I felt that i was my raw self for the first time... it took me 3 months to come to face my normal self again... it feels weird to be myself here... as if it was the real me, but only in another place... well, more like in one of the best places on earth... well, the weirdness aside, it gave me a good time to think about why I am here, and what I am supposed to do here. I took the day having tis in the back of my mind. I also worked through a very good chapter in Embracing Father's Embrace. The chapter revealed a lot of my life that I was not aware of... how I have been walking in forgivingness towards people, and how that has pushed people out of my life... I feel a sense of breakthrough in this area, and know that it will be a long road to restore years of bad seed that I have sown... but there is grace, and I already feel more open to people around me... one step at a time... one day at a time...

Tuesday was good.
In the morning God confirmed the reason why I came... basically He confirmed that He wants me to be where I am right now, and that He has me in His plans. The set up at school was a bit crazy... all the people showed up earlier, and we had to set up in 10 min, because of the rainy schedule... so that threw my rhythm. But I went outside and got out of the business. Then went in again, and we had worship. Worship was one of the best times I had... just encountering God in a close and real way. Then we had Beni Johnson (I love her teachings) speak to us on the prayer servant ministry at Bethel.

Then we had Prophetic AMT. The last one... it was good ... learnt much... I think i have a better picture of what good prophecies looks like. Its 90% about delivery. The inspiration part is the easy part... the step by step delivery part is the hard part... taking it all one step at a time, and going very slowly over things... and explaining as much as you can... given that you found some gold in the dirt, and are sharing only the gold... then you can't go wrong...

Then got back home and went to town and bought rain proof pants (because I got drenched today), and bike lights (because it is pitch dark at 5:30pm), and a solid tire (because its been my 3rd flat tire), and some milk and eggs... because I have a stomach :) eggs are $1.84 for 18 eggs... that's 10c an egg... good price...

now I am just chilling... getting late... long day... but good overall...

mmm... I just love God :)

Some things learnt

Some things  have learned...

Being more natural, with supernatural flavor.
Being a son to God, before I am a servant.
Recognizing that I already hear God's voice.
To walk in love and forgiveness towards myself and others.
Focusing on the good, and seeing it grow.

Sat & Sun

I got new photo's of San fran :) Check http://picasaweb.google.com/franslight/Usa?authkey=Gv1sRgCLSSg9buipfcbA#

Saturday I spent the day reading Experiencing Father's embrace - Jack Frost... very good book if you are a Christian :) A must read for everyone... And then at night we went and saw Megamind :) I really liked it. It was 3D, and the story was done very well... not typical... which I love... and the facial expressions of the people are just priceless... it also contains some good jokes, all of them clean :)

Sunday Dany Silk spoke on being courageous, and how righteousness is being courageous... living from the heart, and believing against all obstacles. It was a good message. check it at http://www.ibethel.org/site/sermon-of-the-week

Afterwards we went to a Mexican place and ate some Burito's, taco's, and other Mexican stuff... good food, at a good price. Eating out here is around $5 a meal. Movies are $12. It does not help converting everything into Rands the whole time... else you will not do anything, or go out with friends... this is a bit hard for me, seeing that I count every quarter. Everything lower than a quarter only makes your wallet heavy... and trying to pay in cents makes the tillers hurry you up... so paying in quarters are best... that and dollar bills... and all the cents and dimes you give with tips or something...

It is amazing to me that everything is paid for... my housing, school fees, missions trip, and return transport. So basically all I have to pay for is monthly food and expenses & going out & also blessing people. There are a number of people in my class that still have outstanding school fees, and the last payment is due 19 November. Basically if you do to make the payments, you get kicked out of school until you can pay. Other people are trusting God for monthly rent, and daily living expenses... it seems like there are quite a number of people that are living like that... literally living by God's provision - daily. You may say its bad, but the amount of testimonies I have heard so far is just amazing... any girl only had $11.25 left on their name, and then "sowed" it by faith, because she felt God said so... and then she have nothing... nothing but faith and God's promise for provision... and then later someone walked up to her and gave her $1000. yes, that is craz - but that is only one case.

Another guy sowed $10, and then got $100 from a guy a few moments later.

Another guy got $500 and another $100, out of the blue, without asking people for money... just people walking up to them and giving them money.

Another guy spilled water on a laptop, and it broke. Then he went in to get it checked out, and they said it was beyond repair. He did not have any money, so he believed for a miracle, and went to another store to check it out. The store checked it out, and the laptop had no water damage whatsoever - and it worked. On top of that the guy needed to pay $40 for they guys that checked out the laptop, but he did not have cash... so the guy at the store said it was okay for him not to pay !!! He said something about believing in "paying it forward" and random acts of generosity... that is just crazy :) coming for unbelieving people...

So financially miracles are happening, and healings are happening, and a coin i stuck on the wall has been stuck there for over 7 days now...

the more you focus on what God is actually doing, and focusing less on what He is not doing, the more you allow Him to do stuff :) The principle is that whatever you focus on increases... so focus on what is good (even if it is small), and it will grow and overcome the evil (that you are not focusing on anymore).

Fri

Had Dann talk on how to read the Bible more carefully, and also the history behind the gospels... good stuff... first time that I heard this stuff... ever... about how the Gospels were put together, and how they do not follow modern biography styles, but ancient biographies... where the death of a person is very important... or how they die. That is why so much of the gospels are centered around Jesus' last days. The gospels are also written for the purpose for convincing the reader that Jesus is the Lord and Savior. So they are not written purely as documents on Jesus' life... which is clear, because of the lack of detail of Jesus' early life.

Anyway :)

Then we had Mark talk on God's love for us. Good talk about how we see ourselves, and how God created us uniquely and made us to uniquely experience God, and also uniquely express God. So we each have a very unique walk and history with God - And we should celebrate and thank God for how we works in our lives... instead of always looking to other people's experiences, and wanting God to meet us like He met them... He wants to meet you in a unique way, that He has not met anyone in all of history... just because you are uniquely created and special :)

Then we went to small groups. Chatted about life, and prayed for each other. Great people.

Went home, had some supper, then went to Friday night service.

I love this service the most of all I think... its it centered around worship and prophetic prayer. We come to God as priests, and just minister to God. This is one of the few places where there is a corporate pouring out to God. It is funny that worship in church usually is focused around encountering God and inviting Him... not really praying to Him, and pouring out our lives to Him... which I am used to... so its funny to sometimes start off with a "worship" song, and just be in His presence from the word go... no praise... no praying to God... just directly going to Him and adoring Him. Seems like you don't have to follow the same path to get to God... In the New Covenant, we can just come before Him as we are... no entering into His gates or anything... just standing before Him... not that praise is no longer needed... no... its more about realizing that we are more free to approach God every second of that day... without having to do something before we can be before Him.

Something to think about.

It is autumn here now, and tomorrow all the clock are going back 1 hour - daylight savings. So that means waking up an hour later, but that you hit the sunset earlier... so it may be dark when i get out of school at 5:30pm. Will see how it goes...

Thu

Had Bill Johnson share his testimony... and how he always pursues 'more'. He described how he told God that he would make the move of God the main thing... and not change it... so then everything changed - to support the main thing - the move of God.

Then Terisa Dedmond spoke on creative arts...

Then went over to twin view for some more training on healing. We had interns from some heavy healers come speak to us & answer questions on healing. Good stuff. God always want to heal everybody. We need to focus on God, and what He IS doing, not on what He is not doing.

Had another flat tire... bummer... need to find out what's wrong with it... mmm...

Jesus is live :)

Tue / Wed

Tue: Did homework.

Wed: San Fran

Tuesday night at about midnight we drove to San Fransisco to drop off Harry. Toby drove his car, and me and Brandon and Christian went with. We got there at about 4am, dropped of Harry, and then went to downtown SF to a car park. We drove down to the 4th level, and then slept there till 10am. Adventure :)

Then we went up, and hear that the Giants won the series... and SF supports Giants... so there was an orange parade, and a crowd of people, and confetti in the air (amazing) and planes pulling "Giants" and "budwizer" banners.

SF is amazing. The atmosphere is so cool, and the people are friendly... some people asking us if we need directions... and the tram drivers being like dads to people on their tram.

O, so we took a tram to the Fisherman's wharf area, [bought a day pass]. We explored the area, and went to pier 39, and ate at Bubba gump shrimp. A place that has a Forest Gump theme, with shrimp :) I had a French loaf, with shrimp pops & fries. It was really fresh and taste :) Then we went to check out some noisy sea lions.

we then took the tram back south, and stopped at Lombard street, where they have "the world's windiest street"... very beautiful, zig zag road with trimmed hedges and Christmas roses. We took the tram again to China town :) We walked up grant avenue, and checked out some Chinese stores. Reminded me of Chinese stuff in SA :) Seems like the shops here in the US don't have any China stuff in it... even though all the US brands are manufactured in China... go figure...

We then trammed back to the car park. I love hanging onto the side of a tram, while it goes up and down steep hills :) Its just great :) It was now about 5pm now. We drove out north to the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE !!! WOW !!! I stuck my head out the car just to see the fullness of it... It is SUPER HUGE... COLOSSAL... wow... it must be on of the biggest man made structures I have ever seen. Wow.

We stopped at the lookout point, just after the bridge, took some pics, and then WALKED ON THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE !!! ha ha ha :) it was so great :) We all just felt o free :) We took amazing pics, and the view was just insane... on of the best panoramic scenes that i have seen... SF, the golden gate, and Alcatraz. It was just great...

Then we drove back... and the sun set was also insane... fire orange... then we passed a place with water on the side... and it was a mirror image of this incredible sunset... then later it turned completely red... wow...

we came back at about 10pm... so we made good time... mmm... satisfaction of having had a great adventure with great guys in a great city :)

Sat - Mon

Seems like I am not getting into writing my blog so often... but i will make a point of it... or try to...

Saturday

Watched "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". Love the music in it, and the old American feel of the movie. It seems so much closer to real life if you watch American movies in America. Somehow you can more easily see what is true America, and what is part of the editor's touch... I enjoyed that the movie had some trippyness to it... to make it feel more like a fairytale than an actual true story.

Sunday

Had one of the best conversations with a few people today as we went out to get something to eat after church. Those kind of conversations that you learn more about yourself, and find more answers in trying to put into words what you try to say. It takes a good listener for me to engage in such conversations.

And I experienced American Halloween :) It started just before 6pm, and went on till about 9pm... kids from all ages knocking at the door saying "trick or treat". Some could barely walk, and were closely followed by their parents... others were in middle school. They all were dressed up... carrying pumpkin buckets, or pillow bags. We gave out a lot of candy. Two guys in the house dressed like pirates, and had Pirates of the Caribean music playing. When we ran low on candy, they went to trick or treat :) Some people gave reluctantly... commenting on their age and facial hair :)

Monday

Pray day. Seems like I am learning a lot more about creativity and the process involved in being creative. I reflect more often on how God actually made stuff... like that He actually took 7 days to make earth... that's a long time for a all powerful being... so it must be that He values process above product... He is into quality, not time or resources. And He works form the bigger to the smaller...

Also watched an episode of Castle on abc.com [only works in america], and I am enjoying last.fm > listening to internet radio... seeing that we have a pay per month contract [not pay per data].

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Otherwise I am learning more about myself and what makes me come alive. The culture here allows you to discover that for yourself... they allow you to be yourself to the full, without limiting yourself... and they basically give you the responsibility to lead yourself and keep yourself in line. The leaders here believe in you more than you believe in yourself, and the people love you more than you love yourself - so you kind of have to grow into the freedom that people give you.

I think you can come here without trying to learn anything about the supernatural and still step into your more of who God created you to be... just because of the atmosphere here. Its what Bill refers to as the greenhouse effect of culture... that culture is designed by leaders to allow the growth of specific things.

I think it also help that the leaders are geared towards empowering people, honoring people, coaching & refereeing people (brave communication).

Well... learning lots...

God loves you :)