Acts I Conference

"The generation that changes the world is the generation that the world cannot change."

                                                                            -Jay Haizlip

This past week at a glance...

*On Saturday I made my first pilgrimage with one of my roommates to The Arc! It's pretty much just like a Goodwill back home. All my roommates love going there (go figure being girls and all). It was nice to get a sweater and some boots considering the weather has turned very cold this week! 

*We all went to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs! It's a state park that is centralized around these miraculous mountains! There are stark white and red sandstone colored rock formations that extend to the sky. We were able to walk around for a couple hours and rock climb a bit! Everyone had a blast exploring and taking pictures of the beauty that God has created. 

*From out of the blue I got to reconcile with a friend that I haven't talked to in probably a year. She contacted me & immediately I was overjoyed just to have the chance to talk with her again. God is so good and has been working in both of our hearts. We put our pride and differences away and forgave each other through re-establishing a relationship. Thank you Lord!!!

*We had a prayer evening for whoever wanted to come and pray, specifically for finances to go on our outreaches. The 50% payment is due this coming Monday and some people were really feeling the pressures of not being completely supported yet. So, we met and prayed that God would provide for the down payment and the other 50% of the funds that are due just before Thanksgiving. It was so good making sure that we had pure hearts before going before God with our requests. After some prayer and worship we took communion as well. After this I actually broke down a little bit. There is the saying that says about how when you put gold into a fire it exposes the impurities and ultimately causes the gold to be more pure. Well, I think the fire for me was the Acts I conference (which I will share below in a moment). It all built up and a huge impurity was revealed within myself. If you would've asked me a week ago if I was a loving person I would say yes, and while this is true I came to realize something that night we were praying. I started crying and could barely speak the words to one of the girls that I have become closest with. I realized that inside all the gushy love parts of my heart it was, in fact, very hard. It has affected me in many ways and I could never figure it out until this night. Confessing it with my tongue was very powerful and through hard work, prayer, and confessing it I have finally let it be broken and softened by the saturation of God's love for me. Wow, I had no clue but because I have been asking God to show me things about myself that I need to change, I believe he opened my eyes to this area of my life that needed serious attention. 

*Friday night was my first KINGDOM NIGHT!!! So every Friday night we go out into Downtown Denver and we simply love on people, evangelize, and worship. Oh my goodness it was so wonderful! First we drove to a local church in Denver where we spend some time worshiping and praying over the evening. Afterwards we walk to the 16th Street Mall and we form a group and worship or ride the bus to different parts of the street and just talk with people. 16th Street Mall is a very long street that is extremely popular to visit. There are many wonderful shops and things to see. My group boarded the bus first and I noticed a guy in the back sitting by himself, I grabbed a friend and went back to talk to him. It's not about seeing how many people we can talk to and "get saved." It's about simply spreading the love of God and talking to people. If the opportunity arises and we get to talk about YWAM or our testimony then we do, but it's not forced. We walked into a hotel and I got super excited because I saw a lot of people wearing Saints (NFL football team) Apparel. I thought the team might be staying at the hotel that I had walked into since they are playing the Denver Broncos this Sunday evening. :) However, they were just fans that had really nice Saints gear. Boo. 

My group walked up and down the streets and met a man names Larry. He was homeless and very obviously intoxicated and under the influence of drugs, however, he allowed us to pray for him, and he even prayed as well. Afterwards he serenaded us with 4 songs which we lovingly stood and listened to. Yes it did bring a smile or two to my face. :) God loves that man with such a passionate love and even though he was older it's never too late for him to know God. Not know of Him, know Him. We told him that we would be back next week and honestly I hope we get to talk to him again. 

One thing that I realized was that I really need to make sure that I am intentional about having such a strong relationship with the Lord that the world doesn't phase me. We were only out there a couple hours and seeing billboards and advertisements caused a fleeting thought to run through my mind. I started to compare myself and feel bad about not running in two days. UMMM REALLY?? Media has such a huge impact and its ridiculous. I'm making sure that I will not be conformed to the ways of the world. My identity is in God, not clothes, hair, makeup, jewelry, money, or anything else of this world. It just really amazed me and is a strength I will continue to develop. 

At the end we met at the church and shared stories with each other and prayed. We froze outside but it was totally worth it. I'm so excited for next week! 

:: Acts I Conference ::

         So last Sunday our entire base packed up our things for a couple days and drove an hour and a half to Colorado Springs, CO for the Acts I Conference. We joined with all the YWAM bases throughout Colorado for this event. From Sunday until Wednesday we had very long and intense worship and seminar sessions. We had three different speakers and my favorite was Jay Haizlip. He is a professional skateboarder with quite a story. He is so PASSIONATE about God and the Gospel. It was so refreshing to hear him root everything in scripture and see how much he truly loves God and wants everyone else to love him with a hunger and intensity that he does! One of his sessions that he taught on was, The Makings of a Champion. He went into depth with the story of David and Goliath and made very interesting observations that he then encouraged us to examine and apply to our own lives. 

During our intense worship times we would literally worship for an hour and half! It was awesome, even though a lot of us lost parts of our voices! Some people danced, some people waved flags, some danced, and some even turned the worship songs into hardcore screamo songs. What's cool is that we all got to express our love to God in the way that we wanted to! During the sessions we didn't have a set schedule, we followed wherever the holy spirit led us. I seriously have some amazing stories from this even how God used me as a vessel to speak to one of my peers and how he had someone pray over me that helped me release two insecurities about myself that were connected! I'm trying not to make my blog too incredibly long... so I might start doing special updates instead! All in all it was an amazing conference, and even though 8 girls shared a single hotel room with one bathroom, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I'll never forget. 

Check out the video cast from our base! I'm in it actually :)

YWAM Denver Video Cast

^^^ This is the link! ^^^

:: Guest Speaker: Pastor Blake Mattox ::

Thursday we had a guest speaker that came from Faith Bible Chapel, Pastor Blake Mattox. He came and spoke to us about the Holy Spirit. I really enjoyed this teaching because more times than not I feel like the Holy Spirit is the one that is least talked about out of the Trinity. One exercise that I enjoyed was him having us draw a chart. We had 4 different categories; right, wrong, confusing, and missing. Then we went through and wrote everything about the Holy Spirit that we thought was right, wrong, confusing, and missing! I actually learned a lot from this. Here are a couple notes that I wrote down during our lecture.

" The Holy Spirit is a person- the third person of the triune God who is revealed in the Bible. He is not merely a force, influence, or power, although He exerts all of these. He has personality, though not a body of flesh. In order for someone to have personality, the characteristics, properties, and qualities of personality must be present."

The Holy Spirit was present and involved at creation. (Genesis 1:1-2) (I never realized this fact)

A cool concept that I learned has to do with the comparison of a home. In a house you have power that already runs through it. It was built for power. All you have to do is turn a light switch on and you get power and electricity from it. Well applying that to us, we are wired for power already... we just need to activate the power source which is the Holy Spirit! Pretty cool huh?

We talked about the gifts of the Holy Spirit as well!

 Manifestation gifts:

*Theses gifts are for the common good.

*It is God manifesting IN you and THROUGH you.

*There is no manifestation apart from cooperation and responsibility

*The discovery and demonstration of the gifts are for serving

There are 3 categories of the Manifestation Gifts:

1.) Gifts of revelation- word of wisdom, word of knowledge, and discerning of spirits

2.) Gifts of inspiration- prophecy, tongues, and interpretation of tongues

3.) Gift of power- faith, miracles, and healing

Then there are gifts for equipping and maturing such as:

1.) An Apostle

2.) Prophet

3.) Pastor

4.) Teachers

5.) Evangelist 

:: Outreach ::

This coming Monday is when our first outreach payment is due (which I have already paid thanks to you all and the Grace of God). After that we will be receiving more information on the outreach because our final teams will be established. I'm still praying for God's provision because I need $1200 to pay off my outreach! 

Sorry I don't have a lot of information this week but there will be more coming in the following weeks! 

This blog again (I know) is very long, but I hope that you can all see how much I love being here and that I love learning all of these things that I have never known before. Thank you for reading this weeks blog and as always please keep me in your prayers! 

Miss and love each one of you! Have a fantastic week :)

From My Heart, 

Brielle Renee

"Climb high,

Climb far,

Your goal the sky,

Your aim the stars." 

P.S. Thank you to everyone that has FaceTimed and Skyped me! 

Here is your shout out Derek :)

Father Heart of God

"... I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." 

*Isaiah 49:16

This past week at a glance... 

* Went to Faith Bible Chapel for church and heard from a man named Irving Roth. He is a Holocaust survivor who had been in a concentration camp at Auschwitz. Hearing his story was so outrageous yet such a testimony of how God's plans are mysterious & ultimately for our good! 

*For Community Ministries this week my group went on a "tour" of Arvada. We drove to places that we thought could be in some need of prayer! We went to the Fire Station, Police Station, Planned Parenthood, and Arvada's Elementary, Middle, and High Schools! While we were driving to each location we would all take turns praying, then when we arrived all of us piled out of the van and read 2-3 chapters out of the bible. Our goal was just to blanket these places in prayer and scripture!

*Sushi!!! In our school there are 3 girls that are all having their birthdays this month and one girl, Hanna, wanted to go for sushi for her birthday! We found a deal on Groupon and all the girls in our room went and had amazing sushi for about $3 a person. I would sacrifice that to eat one of my favorite foods ever! 

*Every Tuesday I have the opportunity to play Indoor Soccer! YES!!! 10-15 of us get together at 6:45 in the morning and we travel to a local rec. center where we get to play soccer for 90 min.! I cannot begin to tell you how happy this makes my heart! God has blessed me so immensely with things that I love!

*I had the opportunity to babysit for The Vineyard Church! It was so fun because I'm beginning to form relationships with these sweet children and their parents! 

*Received my first package from home along with a few letters from from home! PLEASE keep them coming because it makes my day when I walk by the mailboxes and I happen to see that there is something addressed to me!

*Friday was Small Groups! My small group went to "Happy Cakes"! They make so many varieties of cupcakes it'll blow your mind! The kind that I chose was "The Infinite Monkey Theorem Perfect Pear"! Its description said, "lightly spiced pear cupcake topped with sauvignon blanc butter cream and drizzled with a spiced pear glaze"... um SERIOUSLY?? It was amazing!! Then we went to a coffee shop and recapped about our week! 

::Guest Speaker: Jeff Pratt::

           This week our speaker, Jeff Pratt, taught us in his session series entitled, Father Heart of God. Oh my goodness it has been a very good and emotional week for everyone here on base! It's crazy how I feel that we are all a huge family hungering after our Father, especially now that this week has concluded!

This is some of what we learned!

"Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." - Proverbs 4:23

Everyone has three universal needs which are;

1. unconditional love

2. feeling needed in this life

3. To leave a legacy behind ------ (This reminded me of the sermon that my Aunt Jenny shared this passed Father's Day.)

God's "Many Faces of Passion" As;

1. Lover & Bridegroom (John 3:29 / Matthew 25:1 / Song of Solomon 7:10)

2. Husband/Wife (Isaiah 54:5)

3. Friend (Proverbs 18:24 & 16:26)

4. Mother (Isaiah 49:14-16)

5. Father (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 / Matthew 6:9)

*Did you know that in the bible "Father"(in reference to God) is used 178 times?)

"We can't give what we haven't experienced."

We need to experience God and His love for us in ALL forms! (As much as we humanly can considering that in our humanness we are limited in the knowledge and depth of God's love for us!)

Matthew 22:37-38 "... Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, & mind, This is the first and greatest commandment." 

- This poses the question that if this ^^^ is the greatest commandment, then would NOT doing this be the greatest sin? And since all sin is equal, (James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty at breaking all of it.") then doesn't that mean that lying about something is also the greatest sin? Reasoning that if you lie, then you aren't loving God with all your heart, soul, & mind which is the greatest commandment! Wow! 

On one of the days we identified the bricks that create a wall around our hearts. I'm gonna be vulnerable and share with you all some of the biggest that I identified. PERFORMANCE- Trying to prove my worth through performing, FEAR OF MAN- being addicted to receiving the affirmation of others, UNBELIEF- inferiority & insecurity, GUILT/SHAME- the enemy tries to constantly accuse us, & HURTS & WOUNDS- fractures of the heart which affect how we view ourselves.

"Our past needs to be reconciled so our present can be filled with power, and our future bright with hope." 

"Healing is not the absence of memory, healing is the absence of pain." 

"Forgiveness is NOT a feeling, it's a choice.

                   it's NOT pretending you're not hurt

                   it's NOT saying that the people who hurt us were not wrong

                   it's NOT necessarily trusting that person again"

"You can know that you've forgiven when you are no longer held in the bondage of pain!"

I LOVE this verse so much....

                                                "I will restore the years the locust & canker worm have eaten as if no bite

                                                 had ever been taken."  - Joel 2:25

So basically this week we have been learning so much about God's love and how HE views us. We have forgiving those who have hurt us and healing our past so that it can all be put behind us, yet used as a tool to minister to others in our future!

Thursday morning was crazy. Everyone in our school humbled themselves and became very vulnerable as they shared things that they have struggled with. We all got our dark secrets off of our chest and we all took time to pray for one another in a prayer session that I will never forget. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place! You could actually hear people letting go of things through their cries and tears. One of the hugest things that I have needed prayer for was the courage to use my voice. I have had a crippling fear of singing in front of people. I have believed a lie that I was not blessed with a beautiful singing voice. No longer am I bound by this lie because I have made a choice that I will use what God has given me to the best of my ability! So I am excited to really develop this musical tool! 

Such an amazing week with an amazing speaker :)

::OUTREACH::

Ok! So here is the deal. I have been doing some serious praying and listening to God about where He would like me to go on outreach! Because of this and some confirmation that I got from my cousin, I have officially paid for half of the outreach to..... 

drum roll please....

THAILAND & CAMBODIA!!! 

I am beyond excited!!! It took me having to give it to God and be flexible that I was able to come to this decision, because when I left PA I was set on going to Kenya. I was really stressing out about where God wanted me to go, however, I had to remember that no matter where I go God will be with me, and that I will be a tool that God can use to further His love and Kingdom!! Now, this opens up an opportunity for me to bless someone who will be going to Kenya due to some preparations that I made in Pennsylvania. I am praying that God reveals to me who needs it the most!

In Thailand and Cambodia I will be helping to minister to orphans and also prostitutes in the red light district. That blows my mind because I can't even imagine how God is going to use our team (of 15) to minister to these people that need it the most!  Half of the time I will be in Thailand and then we will be leaving to spend the other half of the time in Cambodia. I will let you all know more details as they become available. 

::PRAYER NEEDS::

Calling all prayer warriors I could use your prayers for.....

*Safety

*Energy and rest, this emotional week has totally drained a lot of us!

*Finances (still needing $1,200) that's it!

Love you all, and thank you so much for taking the time to read this incredibly long blog! It means the world to me that you care and are interested in how I am doing. 

Feel free to call, text, email, facebook, or comment on my post to let me know how you are all doing! OH!! And write as well!!!

" We live in a universe at war; a war for the affections of your heart." -C.S. Lewis

From my heart, 

Brielle Renee

Week #2 of Musicians DTS

The Glory of God...

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

-Habakkuk 2:14

         This week has been so incredible!! I have gotten to...

-Be apart of Community Ministries! This is where all the students from all 3 of the schools (at the Arvada      base) get split up into groups and we travel to various locations where we have opportunities to minister to others. Every Tuesday night we rotate where our location will be. This week my group went to Faith Bible Chapel College Night. Faith Bible Chapel is across the street from the base and they have some housing for college students a couple blocks away. Tuesdays they have worship at this house, and we went to establish a relationship with them! I had a great time getting to connect with 2 local girls my age, and talk with them about what God has been doing in each of our lives!

-Babysit! At the Mile High Vineyard Church on Thursday I got to help babysit! I was able to go with one of my new friends from the base and we babysat toddlers while their parents were in a newcomers class. I love kids so much! 

-Small Group! For small group this week we traveled to downtown Denver. Our small group leader, Molly made some homemade cookies that we gave to some homeless people. They were so appreciative and it was a wonderful way for us to just spread the Kingdom of God. We met a man named Rob who was in his early 30's. My heart broke for him as I heard some of his story and looked into his eyes. He knows who God is, and I could tell that he wanted a better life than the one he was living. He appreciatively let us pray for him and I couldn't help but start sobbing when he started praying as well. It was amazing seeing little reflections of God in all of the people that I met, especially since everyone is made in God's image. Amazing day, enough said. 

-HAVE A VISITOR!!!! My beautiful cousin Aubrey lives in Casper, WY and she flew back home to PA for a week of visiting last Saturday. Casper doesn't have a big airport so she drives down to the Denver. I had the privilege of being able to have coffee with her at an art show last Saturday, have her sleep over at the base, AND have lunch with her upon her arrival back to Denver yesterday! I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful friend as a cousin who is following so hard after God's heart. I was blown away by our conversations and at how alike we are. I'm so so so thankful.

-Ice Skating! Saturday night I got the opportunity to go ice skating with a couple new friends at the local Recreation Center! Such a fun night! 

::Guest Speaker::

This week we had our first guest speaker! His name is Don Stephens and he taught us about God's Glory, worldviews, religions, and the Kingdom of God! He explained to us the timeline in which different worldviews and religions came to be, what they believe, and how the evil one was there twisting so many things. (Dad, you especially, would've loved to hear some of the things that he talked about!) Mr. Stephens was a fantastic teacher with some mind boggling things to say, and with that, I would like to share something that really stuck out to me! 

I had never heard about Harmonic Resonance before, but after this week I am so fascinated by it! Harmonic Resonance can occur when you take two pianos and set them up on either side of a stage. When you play a middle 'C' on one of the pianos the second piano's middle 'C' will vibrate. The frequency matches so perfectly that it causes the other key on the other piano to vibrate because it is practically the same. WELL, the same goes for us and what God has written in each one of our hearts. Think about it... why do most people love the movie, The Notebook? How about in the movie, Blood Diamond, why is it that we cry when the father risks it all to be reunited with his son again? I NEVER thought about this, but it is because moments in these movies depict something much larger that is in our heart, and by no accident. God's glory is all around us and he has written love, adventure, and glory in us all. So in The Notebook, we are so drawn to this story because of the constant love that is taking place and we are drawn to that. In Blood Diamond, it resonates with us in this way... the son was taken away from his father, (man-kind being separated from God through sin) and the son was gradually brainwashed to think and act like the Guerrilla soldiers that kidnapped him. The father relentlessly fought to find his son again and bring him back to his family (just like how God constantly pursues US with love to bring us back to HIM!!!). That in a sense is an EXCELLENT example of harmonic resonance! When we feel something so overwhelming we should identify where it comes from, because chances are it is the reaction to something bigger that is written in our hearts! <3 (if that was confusing I apologize!) 

This week has been such an eye opening week full of teaching and having God romance my heart. I'm so excited to begin week #3!! (Can you believe it?? week #3 already?!)

::OUTREACH::

Thank you everyone for your love, encouragement, and support!!! I'm so grateful!!! I could really use you prayer warriors right now though. First thank you to the Lord for His provision, I have 50% of the finances that I need to go on outreach!! Total I only need $1,800 to pay for the rest of the outreach with YWAM. That number is my balance... that's crazy! Out of the almost $7,000 that I needed at the beginning of school I only need $1,800 left!! God is so GOOD, and thank you to everyone who has so graciously donated to help me to get here. ALSO, I will be making my final decision on where I go for outreach in the next week or two. I had originally been drawn to Kenya, Africa, however, after hearing more in depth about the Kenya outreach and the Thailand/Cambodia outreach I have been conflicted. I am praying and trying to gather as much information as possible about the two outreaches. I'm so excited and so nervous at the same time, but I'm putting my trust and faith in God because I know that ultimately whichever outreach I end up going on, He will be with me. I will keep you updated when I have made my final decision and I appreciate your prayers! 

Thank you so much family :)

I love you all and miss you guys so very much! 

"... things which are impossible with man are possible with God." - Luke 18:27 

P.S. I'm totally new to this whole blogging thing so feel free to text me or leave me a comment saying if you would like me to include more or less of something. I want this to be a helpful tool that we can use to stay in touch, and with that I want to make sure that the information that I am communicating is helpful! Thank you! 

October 6th , 2012

Hello Family & Friends!

Welcome to my blog that will be following me in Arvada, Colorado as I complete my Musicians Discipleship Training School (MDTS), through Youth With A Mission (YWAM)!

It's almost been a week since I've been here & I'm already experiencing God on such a deeper level than ever before!!! (Because I am listening and responding to the Holy Spirit)

There are currently 4 schools going on right now at YWAMDenver. 

            - Musicians DTS 
            - School of Social Justice
            - Young Peoples DTS (Eagle Rock Campus)
            - Phase 2

In my school (Musicians DTS) there are between 40-50 of us including the staff, and I room with 7 other girls! I already love all of them because each one of them are so beautiful and have a hunger for the Lord. They are encouraging and so much FUN! 

The weather here is super wacky! A couple days ago the high was 81 degrees and there were people out playing volleyball and relaxing in the sun. Yesterday I awoke to SNOW!!! It's been so cold ever since! I can't seem to keep up with this weather, but it sure is beautiful!

This week has been what we call "bonding week." We are getting to know each other through bonding activities such as games, field trips, and the telling of our testimonies. How valuable this time has been. We all come from different places and backgrounds. There are students here from South Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, and of course all over the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii)! 

One of my favorite things so far is worship. I've never experienced worship like this, and I've never LET myself experience worship like this before. We usually gather every other day for an hour of worship. During this time I've found what it means to whole-heartedly worship my Lord and Savior. My fear of man has kept me from experiencing this powerful expression of showing my love to my Heavenly Father. Letting go of this fear has unlocked such a joy and anticipation in my heart for our collective time of worship!!! 

On Thursday we met in our small groups for the first time. Our small groups consist of a staff member and 4 MDTS students. I have a great small group, and for our first outing our leader, Molly, took us to a local coffee shop! The coffee shop is called "Noa Noa," in Golden, CO. After we got our coffee (in my case chai!!) we all sat down and Molly pulled out some rocks and sharpies. She asked us what one thing was that we were looking forward to while we are here at YWAM. Then she asked what thing would hold us back, or that we were afraid of. For me, I said that I was excited to start my new journey with God, and something that would hold me back was my "fear of man." She had us write these things one on each rock. Afterwards we traveled to Clear Creek (which is more like a river!). Clear Creek carves its way through the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and boy is it magnificent to see. The mountains tower so high with these miraculous evergreen trees and towering rock walls. Air here seems so refreshing and pure as the water looks so clear and crystal-like. 

When we arrived Molly explained that God wants both of these things and that we shouldn't try to hold on to either. We counted to three and shouted what we were afraid of and then cast the rocks down into the river as we did the same for the rock that explained what we were expecting. It was so helpful having a symbol represent something that we needed to do internally. After laying these things at the feet of Jesus, I feel such a freedom from them! 

We have had some amazing seminars so far on intercession and the flow of worship, just to name a few. I'm excited to dive into next week which is when the real work begins! We already have some assignments that are due and book reports! 

I will try to update this blog at the very least every week so I hope that you continue to check in and hear the amazing things that I will be discovering about God. 

From My Heart, 

Brielle Renee

" The Earth is rigged for adventure, like a sailboat. And our hearts have adventure written deep within, like sailors hear the call of the sea."

                                                                                       Love & War

"As for God, His way is perfect; the Lord's word is flawless. He shields all who take refuge in Him." 

                                                                                        2 Samuel 22:31