Reflections of Praise

God has been so kind over the past few months to be present as the ministry grows. Even though we’re still in the beginning phase of praying, receiving and refining vision, and developing strategy, it’s been a worship experience in itself to see Him put people and pieces together. There is still a lot to do, but I’m really thankful for the ways He has been present to confirm ideas and to guide us.

In the past month, we’ve been able to connect with 8 hosts in 7 countries who are interested in working with an international team next summer. One of them was an answer to prayer a couple of months ago, when I was asking God for connections in two specific regions of the world. Even though we might not be able to make all 8 happen by next summer, it is still exciting to go through the process of listening to God together for His plans.

Applications for next summer are now open and online (another answer to prayer!). We also have a new name for our international teams program: Wavefront. [Special thanks to the 3 Gees for sitting with me and being my sounding board as I went through the re-naming process. ] We’re pretty excited about how that will fit in with the rest of what is becoming a full suite of programs under Global Impact Ministries.

On top of all of that, I’m set to go to India Sep 23 – Oct 9 on a vision trip! Getting airfare, visa, and drugs (immunization, not street – haha) all happened quickly and smoothly. I’ll be traveling with Sandy Hoffman and his assistant, Janey Sandoval. Sandy is a worship leader from New Mexico who teaches frequently at a YWAM School of Worship out there, and he invited WFI to join him. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what God is doing out there and hearing from Him about how He wants to use us to bring more people to worship Him.

Please pray

• for our 2010 hosts. They have a lot to think through and do to make our ministry together effective.
• for our 2010 teams. It would be nice to have them settled before the year is over so they can have at least 6 months to spiritually prepare and raise support. Pray for God to speak to those He has already assigned to go.
• for the development and planning of our domestic programs. With all that is going on, it’s been a challenge to find energy to invest as much into that as I would like.
• for the trip to India. I’m excited to go, but the idea of leaving all of the work that needs to be done for 17 days is not so thrilling…since I’ll have to make up for it somehow. Pray for wisdom in how to make the most of the time I have as I prepare to go, for flexibility to be fully present in each moment and event while in country, and for His grace and spirit to overwhelm me even now so I can be a blessing to people I meet and minister with there.
• for opportunities to share the vision of WFI and Global Impact Ministries with more supporters. I actually enjoyed presenting and speaking to my church’s college group. Even though I get totally nervous in public speaking situations, it’s a lot of fun to talk about what God is doing.

Looking Ahead

I’ve been reading through Ruth Haley Barton’s Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry for the last 3 months or so. It’s been a slow process, partly because of time and partly because it has been convicting enough for me to need to set it down after each chapter and re-examine my life and my approach to ministry. The last chapter I read was about the concept of Sabbath and how Christian ministries encourage activity, but rarely Sabbath. It’s been a good reminder as I start praying about building a core team. Even in my own life, it has become glaringly obvious how I neglect God’s command to observe a weekly Sabbath as I hit a wall every Thursday for the past two months and seem to find countless ways to procrastinate until after noon. In the midst of that frustrating realization, God reminded me of one of my favorite renderings of Matthew 11.28-30, where Eugene Peterson interprets Jesus’ words as “Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”

Rather than forcing myself and my schedule to fit the typical work week of Monday to Friday and filling my weekends with “ministry activities” or whatever I couldn’t accomplish in the previous week, I have recently felt the Lord was giving me freedom to follow Him and His rhythm for me: including a Thursday sabbath day. The beauty of it is this rhythm is (1) not that weird, as another friend just told me he takes his day off on Thursday, too , and (2) meant to complement the other rhythms He has established for other people and ministries around me, just as different rhythms can work together to complete an entire symphony.

Please don’t get me wrong! I love what I do, which is probably why it has been so easy to get to this point without even realizing it. Just yesterday, someone I deeply respect said something that resonated with me in that way that makes you uncomfortable because of it’s accuracy: “intimacy trumps excellence.” Excellence is one of my highest values in anything I do, work or play. Taken too far, it can also be called, “obsessive perfectionism.” What has been missing during the past weeks and months in my pursuit for excellence in Global Impact ministries is my pursuit for intimacy with God. How faithful of Him to call me out on this before I got too far! The striving and that burned out feeling every Thursday morning is partly due to a need for that rhythm of Sabbath rest, but it is also partly a result of missing God and the time to just enjoy Him in His presence. I want my life to reflect as closely as possible the reality of what waits for us in Heaven, and it seems a rhythm of worship and intimacy is a key characteristic of the life we can anticipate.

Please pray we as the Body of Christ will be diligent and obedient to observe His rhythms of work and rest for us, not only so we can serve Him with all His energy that works so powerfully in us, but so we can simply enjoy Him and bring delight to Him as He fits all of us and our work together into His perfect design.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.  Matthew 11.28-30

Hello! It’s the last day of August! Thanks for praying for me and encouraging me along the way this summer and especially during the past couple of weeks. Applications for 2010 teams are officially open! Info will have to be updated along the way, but it’s nice to get past that major milestone.

This week, please pray for:

• continued communication with next year’s hosts…lots of details still to work out
• preparation for upcoming India vision trip…was able to connect with our Bangalore host (talked to India on the phone! how often do I get to say that?!), and praying he will be able to come up to where we will be; he actually knows the people I’ll be going with, better than I do!
• laying the groundwork for two new programs…especially pray I’ll diligently do for these programs what I want these programs to facilitate for our participants’ ministries: be foundationally rooted and birthed in worship and prayer (hope that all made sense!)
• funding for 2010…that’s a whole different area of thinking and creativity
• (if you get this before noon on Monday) a safe flight back to Los Angeles…love being home, but not so much the flight

Thanks so much! Praying your summer closes off beautifully.

Hello! Thanks so much for praying and for some encouraging conversations last week! Result of prayer: I’m going to India Sep 23-Oct 9! Had a good talk with the guy who is leading two of us in this (total of three people). Looking forward to meeting Christ-followers in India who want to use worship to help transform their country for God’s glory.

This week, please pray for:

• focus as I switch gears between different aspects of Global Impact, that I can be, as Jim Elliot puts it, “all there” wherever I am…what an opportunity to grow in trusting the Lord and experiencing the depth of His peace!
• divine appointments in India…in the process of trying to set up appointments, but also want to be open to what He puts before me when I get there
• 2010 international teams…they’re now called “Wavefront Teams” and are one part of the collective Global Impact effort…applications will hopefully be available by the end of this week (or this month, if you want to be gracious and give me until next Monday )
• our 2010 Wavefront hosts to enjoy and fully engage with the Lord during this setup process…we’re looking at East Asia, SE Asia, South Asia, and Europe

I appreciate your spiritual support so much! God definitely uses you to keep me going. Even an introvert doesn’t and can’t serve Him in a vacuum, so thanks for coming alongside me.

Have a great week!

Actually, it’s the 18th. Thankful for a very full and productive day! Join me in thanking God for getting me in touch with some hosts for next year! Within the last week, we’ve tentatively confirmed (like that?!) 3 locations.

Please pray this week:

• for 6 other potential hosts, all in different countries, who have expressed interest
• for a clear mind and heart as I potentially go to India. Strong possibility I will go end of September to early October on a vision trip to strengthen our existing ministry partnership and start new ones. Trip will either be confirmed (really, not tentatively) or shut down by Wednesday.
• for His energy to work powerfully in me (Colossians 1.27) as more deadlines magically appear on the calendar
• for unwavering obedience to do what God directs me to do above all the other competing requests

I’m really feeling the need for your prayer support this week. It’s going to be packed, and it would be great to honor God by maintaining proper priorities, rightful boundaries, and a sense of humor.

Thanks so much! Have a great week!

Hello! Hope you’re all doing well! Prayer totally works! Met with a few friends for encouragement and to seek the Lord for a program name as our ministry expands. We ended up with lots of laughing and confirmation for a name. God was definitely present with us. Thanks, friends!

This week, please pray for

• progress in setting up next year’s international hosts/projects. We need God’s favor over developing relationships and against any fear and timidity. It’s kind of overwhelming to think this big this far ahead, but we need to if we want to improve the support and backing we give our teams.
• clear thinking as I switch gears among several aspects and roles: clarifying and communicating vision, developing strategy and systems, streamlining operations. Pray I would be prayerfully listening to God through each task.
• potential internship program to help share the load The more, the merrier!

Thanks so much for standing with me and for me. It gets crazy sometimes, but so worth it. Have a great week!