One of the best parts of my job is knowing something I find joy and life in is also an integral part in seeing the Kingdom grow. Straight-up praying is hard work. It’s easier — and maybe even more powerful — when you mix it with worship. Even easier when that worship is expressed in songs. Worship helps change the atmosphere. It makes a difference in the heavenly realm, opens up connections between heaven and earth. This mission definitely needs some of that heaven-coming-to-earth dynamic happening. So…for those of you who are praying with me, wanna worship with me, too?

Been wondering lately how I can bless the Lord. We hear that a lot in the Psalms and in songs, but in most teaching on being a blessing — at least among us humans — it’s about giving stuff and, occasionally, about doing something for someone who can’t do it on his or her own. According to that line of thought, trying to bless God would be like trying to get a gift for the person who has everything. Only this time, He really does have everything.

The start of each beatitude in Matthew 5 can be translated as “blessed” or “happy”. So the thought came to me, maybe I can bless God by making Him happy. I don’t want to fall into a performance trap with Him, trying to earn His love. I know that’s not what this is all about. Still, wouldn’t it be cool to just know I put a smile on His face? He doesn’t have to do anything about it. Just enjoy it. I’m sure that’s oversimplifying it, but that’s all I can handle right now. I’m not sure how to do that, but I get the feeling I’ll know it when it happens.

Please pray I’ll be mindful to live and speak and act in such a way that makes Him smile. That would totally make me smile, too.

Ever since discovering a prophetic prayer ministry at a local house of prayer (saw it first on a facebook news feed–facebook works! haha), I’ve been going there to receive encouragement whenever I feel spiritually dry (“The Well” is an appropriate name for this ministry ), when I’m about to embark on a major ministry project, or when I return from pouring into a major ministry project. It’s been a sustaining ministry, also, as I listen to the MP3 recordings of those times. Sometimes the words are for that moment, and God meets me at my point of need and discouragement. Sometimes they are for the future, and their ministry meets me as I review their prayers weeks and months later. Here are a few that I feel are for this trip. Some came from this past Saturday, some from months ago. Pray them over me, won’t you? Thanks!

It’s Harvest Time

Picture of wheat ready to harvest…planted and sown and given a lot and now it’s time to start reaping. Please pray the years of prayer and my small attempts at ministry in Japan will bring more fruit this time than I have any right to expect.

Humility

Meek and lowly in heart…have a humility that attracts His presence like honey attracts flies. Please pray I will find new ways to remember my rightful place before Him so I can be a better carrier of His presence.

Atmosphere

Create a safe place where people feel loved, valued, welcomed like family. Please pray I can minister to many Japanese, even despite limited language, to feel at home in His presence.

Untapped resources

Have been saving spiritually, and account has grown…God also has been putting into that…reservoir of untapped resources. Please pray I will continue to steadily “invest” into that spiritual savings account, that God would multiply that with interest and release spiritual resources for powerful ministry, that our entire team and those with whom we interact would be blessed by what He pours out. Especially as I’ve been learning a little more about angels lately, please pray I will learn how to properly partner with them to jointly build a testimony of God’s activity.

Mysteries

Spirit of understanding…deep cries unto deep…want to commune deeply with God…He will reveal mysteries and secrets…going places in the spirit…experience supernatural presence of God and heavenly realms Please pray I will experience God in deeper and supernatural ways, not fearing what I can’t explain in the natural but trusting in a supernatural God to invite me to go higher in spirit and in truth.

Calm in the storm

Like watching a movie…outside of the scene…can choose when to jump in…working in partnership and friendship with God…John 15.14-15. Please pray I will choose wisely and with discernment and a listening ear for the Holy Spirit’s direction about when to get involved and with whom, to know what God is doing and whether or not He wants to use me in any given situation.

Can’t believe I leave in about three and a half days! So excited to go back… From here on out, I’m going to limit my calendar to only the essential and the enjoyable. It’s going to be a busy 3.5 days.

Here’s a quick update on more of the details people have been asking (and I couldn’t answer until I got the email last week).

• Our team is about 12 people. Could be one or two more.
• I’m projected to be over 100% supported. Thanks to all of you who have given. Thanks to all of you who are committed to praying! Seriously…I’m feeling the need for your prayer support more and more each day!
• We’ll be spending about half of our time in Tokyo with trips to Osaka and Sendai.

Projected schedule (subject to change)

• Nov 11: depart from LAX for Narita
  • Singapore Air #SQ11
  • Departs 2:15pm (Pacific time)
  • Arrives 7:05pm (Tokyo time)
• Nov 12-13: Tokyo
• Nov 14-15: Osaka
• Nov 16-17: Tokyo
• Nov 18-19: Sendai
• Nov 20-21: Tokyo
• Nov 22: happy day! Fly back to LAX
  • Singapore Air # SQ12
  • Departs 8:50pm (Tokyo time)
  • Arrives 11:50am (Pacific time)

Prayer requests

1. Spiritual protection…definitely feeling some oppression over the last couple of weeks.
2. Completing work tasks by Tuesday night so I can spend as much of Wednesday and Thursday just soaking in the Lord’s presence.
3. Packing: it’s different packing for a recovery mission than an English-teaching mission
4. Time to brush up on Japanese…and the ability to recall what I learned 7 years ago.
5. Meeting with friends in Tokyo. I don’t have authority to determine our schedule, so it would be great if they could come to some of the meetings CRI will be holding.
6. That I would bless my teammates, leaders, and the people we meet and minister to.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the emotional life — specifically desire and passion — this year. That actually sounds a little funny…thinking about emotions. Somewhere in the first two months of 2011, I felt like the Lord was releasing me to actually feel. I’m not very emotional, so this is a good stretch for me. If someone were to ask me, “how are you feeling?”, my response would probably be something along the lines of “about what?” or “huh?” I’m that intelligent.

Psalm 37.4 tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord. Delight: a passionate emotion. Ourselves: our entire beings, not just our minds. In the Lord: not just information about Him, but Him.

I often get asked about my “calling to Japan.” While I have a clear and specific testimony of God’s invitation for me to invest my life into that nation, I don’t know that I’m supposed to live there, to be a missionary there, to [whatever--you can fill in the blanks] there. All those things we tend to think of when we hear the words, “called to …,” I haven’t had peace about doing yet. Until then, I’m still in the US taking it season by season, trip by trip, opportunity by opportunity, and evaluating as I go along. I can give strategic reasons for my short-term involvement with Japan, but really, at the heart of it all…I just really want to do it. It delights me. I see God there.

I’ve always interpreted the second half of Psalm 37.4, “and He will give you the desires of your heart,” as “He will give you what you want.” Let me say for the record that I do not believe this means He will give us everything we want! I am very aware this is a conditional clause and assume that by delighting myself in Him, my desires will be purified, changed and altered, cleaned up to look like His so He can then fulfill them without violating His holiness…but they’d still be essentially mine. I still think this could be true, but recently I’ve been wondering if it’s the whole truth. What if there is an aspect of our desires that isn’t ours at all? What if the fulfillment of this verse is not just about changing our desires, but trading them in, ours for His?

While this may sound like the same thing, the core difference is ownership. I don’t own my desires anymore in the sense they originated from me. They belong to Him, and He can change them when and how He desires. Those desires in my heart…I didn’t dream them up; He did. Those desires in my heart…I didn’t put them there; He did. That challenges my sense of autonomy.

That’s the approach I’ve been led to take as I pray over supporters for this upcoming trip to Japan: for people to give and pray because it is a desire God has put in them. Not because they’ve successfully made themselves want to do it because “God loves a cheerful giver,” but because their delight in God has led to this desire. Thanks for praying this with me! I hope you’ll also find your hearts’ desires given to you!