The Mountain Peaks at Dawn

      I'm currently reading "Mountains of Spices" by Hannah Hurnard. "Hinds Feet on High Places," the first book, really ministered to me when I read it some years ago. Emily gave me both books and I took the second one to Norway with me. I felt the slight urging to start reading it, and since I have, I see again how God's timing is perfect. The message and words are confirming the themes God has been bringing up in my life since being here in Norway. Simple truths. Profound Love. This is a song the young woman named "Glory and Grace" sings to her Beloved, the Shepard, on the Mountains of Spices. It fits perfectly with the setting I am in here in Norway-Praise Jesus!-and it speaks out my heart. Be Blessed. And run to meet Him.

The Mountain Peaks at Dawn
As in the early morning 
the snowy mountain peaks
Look up to greet the dawning,
 So my heart longs and seeks
To see thy face
And glow with grace


Here like the peaks at sunrise 
My mind to thee I raise;
Clothe me with glory likewise, 
Make me to burn with praise
In love's attire
Of flaming fire


In robes of snowy whiteness
 They greet their lord the sun;

I too, await thy brightness, 

On winged feet I run.
Give, now we meet,
Communion sweet.

Beauty and Majesty

 "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." Psalm 19:1 The view right outside our dinning room windows. :o)

"Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out thorough all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them he has placed a tenet for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them...." Psalm 19:2-6

               
                               On Mini-Outreach: the view outside of our host's home. 

Joints

"As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." ~Ephesians 4:14-16

   Last week each track was sent out on "mini-outreach," where we each went to a different location to spread the love and joy and ministry of Jesus Christ. Our dance track went to a town 4 hours north of Alesund. It was quite beautiful-Norway's roads are incredible to travel on. You are driving right along the sea, watching the waters move in different directions. The mountains have snow covered peaks and are dotted with colorful homes and buildings. There's fishing gear along the coast, and thin, elegant trees all along the roads. Sometimes there was snow and ice as we traveled. Snow lying in long yellow and green grass in so beautiful! 
      While we were there, we were in charge of the program for a youth club on Friday night. The youth club is pretty much a youth group, though more open to non-Christians. This night we were doing a prophetic improv dance. This meant that Paulien had picked a song and we were going to dance to it, but we had no choreographed dance moves. We were just to move with the movements that were on our heart to do, or dance to whatever message or impression God would give us as we yielded ourselves and our bodies to Him. The night before, Thursday, we talked about who should do the dance. I suggested we practice what we'd been learning to do more-hear God's voice corporately  So we each prayed that night and in the morning, asking God who should do the dance. 
     We got together in the morning and each named who was put on our heart to dance. Everyone got someone different! One dancer, Emily, got a picture of a silhouette not a specific person. We asked, God spoke, now we needed clarity! So we prayed again for a few minutes. People still had the same people, but there was also this new sense of doing it together. God showed me all those who were named were supposed to do the dance, each of us showing a different part of God's heart. I was so pumped! God allowed me to understand that the silhouette Emily saw was displaying that anyone could dance, anyone could fill in that shape, because each would bring Jesus-we bring the same heart, but display different characteristics of God and different passions through each unique dancer. Then I realized how beautifully this all fit into the verses in Ephesians I had read earlier! God excites my heart when he puts these things together. :o) My head joins my heart and I am in unity with myself. (!)
     Friday night we danced, and it was such a glorious display of God's love for the youth there, our love for God, and the importance of each individual part-working together in love. I can't say every specific way the dance showed all of this-but God definitely knew what He was doing. ;o) At one point in the dance Emily came and started dancing with me, God had put on her heart the need of "connectedness." I too felt this need-my heart was moved to be there for my fellow brothers and sisters. I picked up Emily in my arms and spun with her. Our two dancers who were not presenting said that moment was very special. I love that I can create "special" moments with others for Jesus and because of Jesus! Every individual part is needed to work properly in our body of believers-every joint supplies a part of this body, with Christ as the head. Since being here at DTS God has just shown me with increasing clarity how much he roots for the individual within a community. (And the community supporting the individual-yep-it's a circle.) If you are a Christian, you are part of a beautiful family of special, united individuals. Believe it-receive it! Know-your joint counts! :o)

Love Feast Craziness

   I was the sun and my dancer friend Cristina was the moon-our assignment was to dance together to the song "Fly Me to the Moon." Definitely the best assignment. ;o)

 Chai Tea at YWAM's cafe downtown during an open mic night!

        Mathijs cutting the Thanksgiving turkey like a pro. ;o)

          JoEllen and I-- happy after a successful Thanksgiving. 

                                                      Yay for turkey!

                   Thankful for these wonderful friends. :o)

Highlights of Grace

Life here in Norway continues on! All the different tracks just got back from their different mini-outreaches. Here are some highlights of what God's been doing in Norway at and through YWAM. :o)

    . Dance party! 
Though dancing has taken place in the kitchen, we had our first official dance party with everyone on the base after the staff treated us to a "Love Feast."

    . Thanksgiving! 
JoEllen (a fellow America) and I planned a Thanksgiving celebration for everyone. We baked three apple pies, two pumpkin, had vanilla ice-cream, a whole turkey and turkey breasts, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, homemade croissants, apple cider, and stuffing. It was a wonderful, cozy time with everyone. JoEllen and I also did a dramatic reading of the Thanksgiving story--we were a hit ;o)--and we played "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" on a screen in the background. We also went around the table and said what we were thankful for-this is a personal family tradition started by my aunt and I was happy to continue it in Norway. 

    . Hip Hop!
Our last creative week the dancers got taught hip hop and breaking! Unfortunately  I had hurt my wrist and couldn't do much of the breaking, but the hip hop was a blast! I never knew I enjoyed hip hop so much. I won't say I'm very good at it, but I can get into the confident attitude pretty fast and I enjoy the beat-filled music. Our hip hop teacher was a YWAM staff and family man. I actually babysit for his little son, Liam, once a week. It was so nice to have a male dance teacher! Yay for males who love dancing for Jesus! Our breaking teacher was also a part of the YWAM family and he actually has a dancing crew back in California-they formed out of Bethel School and their dance style is amazing-combining breaking with contemporary style. 

    . Night of Worship!
We had a night of Worship one Saturday evening from 7-12. Each hour had a different person leading with a different emphasis. I got the privilege of leading with a fellow student, Mathijs. He played guitar and we both sang. We both decided we would sing only old songs, meaning older than the 2000's. We sang a couple hymns and some classics such as "As the Deer." It was so nice to sing the songs to Jesus that I grew up singing in church. Mathijs has a lovely voice, and harmonizing to these songs was such a blessing. I thought of my family and my sister Emily and how much I enjoy harmonizing together with people as we lift our voices in praise to Jesus. 

    .Room Change!
After praying, talking, waiting, hoping-our room got to switch to a room with a loft! And who got the loft? Me! I am so happy and grateful. God continues to bless my life with these wonderful reminders of His love. It is nice to still be with my roommates, but to have a bit more of a private space. It's like a tiny room-and it's up high! As I write this, I'm enjoying my first night on my new bed in my loft, feeling cozy, happy and blessed. 

   . Letters (and packages!) from home!
I love receiving mail and I've gotten some great postcards from Hawaii, as my parents took a little visit there. I also got a great card from my sister Emily that had the characters of "Hoops and Yoyo," two goofballs that remind Em and I of ourselves together. The card was one of those talking cards-fun! I also have received many neat packages, complete with tea and gum. I share the wealth and each week try to give my housemates little gifts in their mailboxes. (Tea, gum, Dr. Suess stickers, chocolate, etc.) My last package had one of my favorite chocolate bars-white chocolate with oreo bits. Yum! And....candy corn!!! I was a bit giddy receiving that package. All in all I am, again, so grace-filled and blessed, as my family likes to write. I have received more packages and letters than anyone else here. My parents rock. 



     . 

Another Week of Jesus

So, for the past two weeks we have had prophetic assignments that we've worked on. 

     

Explanation: each student and some staff were given a number. This number represented a person-none of us knew who this person was. We were to pray about this person and ask God to speak to us for them. Then, according to our different tracks, to create a piece, (dance, song, painting, etc.) that spoke to them what the Lord had inspired us to create from. 

For my person I got a clear scene in my head and created a dance out of it. Though I was nervous and wasn't sure about this-it was awesome how God was so specific and the dance was perfect for the person who received it. 

Then there was JoEllen. She's a fellow American and though she's from Wisconsin and we do have differences, it's amazing how we actually relate a lot. JoEllen is in the acting track and decided to make a video for her person. God gave her a story line and some specific words. She asked me if I could be in her video-as she needed some help. I enjoy acting very much, and making films, so I said, "Sure!" 

"Wouldn't it be funny if you're in it and it's for you?" JoEllen asked me. 

I laughed, "Yeah, that would be funny."....yeah, you know where this is going. ;o)

On Friday when we showed each other our pieces and it got to JoEllen, I was excited-I was in this! Then they called the name who it was for-- "Beth."

 Me: What?! haha.

I sat down and watched....here is the link to the video-watch and then read the rest: 

https://vimeo.com/52794373

After I watched this I was a bit confused, but I also understood some things from the video. I laughed when I watched myself chasing myself....I realized- I'm the one who puts the labels on myself. And the hand in the video that slaps the post it on? Yep, mine. And who wrote those words on the post its for JoEllen? Yep, me. And the fact that is was JoEllen "being me," allowed me to receive the video more than if it had been someone else I think. I thought about the video and prayed with someone after that God would give me clarity about it.

Testimony. God is doing what was happening in the video-He has and is always completing to write on my heart my identity in Him. I realized I try to pull those labels off myself, I know I don't walk in the lies of the enemy. Yet God has been teaching me that I can pull those labels off, but they'll still be there unless I allow God to write His truth on my heart. God has been romancing me here in Norway-He's such a glorious God, and yet He comes close and pulls me into His heart and shows me how much He loves me. 

This video has already touched people in Belfast (!) and I know will speak to many more. I am so grateful that God not only pays attention to me, He works specifically in my life to give me just what I need. He wants to do the same for you. God is speaking-will you pause and allow yourself to rest in Him. Listen to His words of love-

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love." ~Jesus

You are Beloved.

Don't be Afraid to Burn

     Tuesday night we had just finished teaching and I was happy to find "Time" magazine sitting on the table in the living room. An American magazine! And one that would inform me what was going on in the world! I began reading, already feeling more comfortable now that I was sitting being "informed." On the second page there was a little paragraph down in the left corner about the Taliban shooting two teenage girls. It said simply that the Taliban had aimed for a 14 year old girl who had talked about what life was like under the Taliban 3 years earlier when she was 11 on some news channel-so they had been targeting her all these years. They actually missed her and shot her two friends....that was it. That's what I read. An actually pretty typical story with all the horrors that go on in our world. I've read stories like this many times. 

    But I felt this burning inside. This anger. I looked up and said, "uhhhhhhh!" My two friends on the couch were very gracious when I explained. They said it was o.k. to feel upset. I had this feeling like I needed to respond some way, but I flipped through the magazine and tried to read some other stuff. Usually when I start to feel this way after reading something like that, I pray and then move on. But I felt uncomfortable and wanted someone to pray with or just feel with. I got up and decided I needed to go pray in my room or something. I thought of praying with Jena, the staff in charge of intercession, but didn't know where she was. "I might cry," I thought as I felt that sense starting. So I went downstairs to the studio, hoping no one would be in there. Turns out Jena was in the studio. I showed her the article and as she read tears started flowing from me. I asked her to pray with me and as she took my hands and as we came before the Lord the tears started coming from deep within. I started shaking and feeling sick and there was definitely.... a lot of snot. I knew God was giving me his heart. Jena and I prayed and we brought the girls, the surviving girl, the nation of Pakistan, and the Taliban to Jesus. We prayed at the end that God's love would save-that His love would be seen as truth and that His love would bring freedom to the Taliban soldiers and the 14 year old girl. 

    It's awesome to receive God's heart....and it's hard. It didn't feel "good" to have those reactions to God's heart going around in my body, but my spirit felt connected to Christ-and that part of me did feel good. I was actually encouraged by God's love, as I just experienced a small portion of what God was feeling. Those girls are not forgotten  God knows them, they are eternal to Him and He cares about each news story out there-because He cares about each person on this planet. I felt peaceful as Jena and I ended our interceding time. Jena thanked me for being faithful to respond to what God had put on my heart. "Well, at first I didn't!" I said. I knew "two is better than one" and that having two or more agreeing in prayer is important, but I still had the thought of, "Who do I go to? What do I do with this?" It's so much easier for me in my own room, feeling the pain of God, or the joy of God and praying with just me and Him....but God has created us for partnership, for community. Jena then said to me, "Don't be afraid to burn." 

    Whoa. That hit me. I wasn't afraid to feel God's heart, I pray for that, though I understand it's a huge thing I'm asking and it's hard to handle. But I do become afraid to "burn" with God's heart, and with passion when I'm with people. It sounds ridiculous, but I actually can feel guilty when I display passion for Jesus in front of my Christian friends because they don't always have the feelings to match, or they don't know how to respond. But the thing is-that's o.k. We just need people to grasp hands together and support each other in prayer. If one is feeling led to pray for something, the other doesn't have to cry and feel passion for it-but by agreeing and supporting  in prayer we are fulfilling the Bible's command to carry one another's burdens. There are no "super Christians," there's just those who are available to God-who are ready to receive His heart. When you're open to God, He's open with you. 

    This morning in our small group my friend David said, "This morning  when I was praying I asked God for the first time how He was feeling." So good! David said we give God our feelings, but we don't think about asking Him what He's feeling. God feels all the time-He loves us, He is moved by us. Later today we had a sharing time of wounds in our lives. (We had each made a "redemptive art piece" that represented our situation.) David turned to me in the middle of it and said, "I think because I prayed this morning, 'God what are you feeling,' He is showing me, because usually I'm better with my emotions, but I'm feeling for the other people more." I replied, "You mean you're 'better' now, cuz' this is the way God wants you." He nodded-yep-that's the way God wants us.  God is compassionate, God is loving, God's heart burns. Ask Him about His heart sometime....and don't be afraid to burn.