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