Heidel Kiddos

Every Thursday from 10 - 2 I have the privilege of baby-sitting these German darlings. Yahron, Aviel and Rebekah Joy are the blonde beauties of the Gateways Community and watching them is one of my favorite responsibilities. Also, due to the fact that they are more bilingual now than I could dream of being, they're helping me work on my German:)

One of their favorite activities is going on long walks along the winding streets of their mountain village, Trimiklini. This last week we came across the treasure of a line of caterpillars. It's so fun walking with the kids and rediscovering the small treasures in the world around us.

The kids also loved taking pictures with the self timer:)

Oh Cyprus, Stand with the Righteous!

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to celebrate Jesus at the second Streams in the Desert event of the year, hosted at New Life International Church in the capitol city of Nicosia. An exciting part of this gathering was the afternoon seminars offered before the corporate worship in the evening. Our desire is to serve the people of God in any way that we can and have had requests on these topics. We do not assume to know everything or have all the answers but we do have a sincere desire to bless the body here on the island. Because this was the first time for these seminars, we had great expectations for what the Lord wanted to do during this time of equipping the saints and connecting to His heart in worship. We were not disappointed! The two seminars that took place simultaneously were powerfully anointed. Matthew shared with worship leaders and worship teams about how they can step into a new dimension of prophetic worship, while Pastor Norm shared on the glory of the Bridal intercessor in the place of intimate encounter with the Lord. Both seminars closed with ministry time and powerful prayers of impartation. There was so much immediate fruit from this time including a release of prophetic songs in the Greek language. We are so encouraged and believe that this is just the beginning of what the Lord wants to do in Cyprus!

The power and beauty of the afternoon carried right into the evening worship time when the Lord released His spirit on the people in the song and the dance. As we danced together, bringing an offering to the Lord, He led us into a time of intercession for the island where we cried out “Oh Cyprus, stand with the righteous!“ After worshiping through song and dance, we continued worshiping through exhortation from the Word. Matthew shared a burning message about God’s heart for this island that challenged us to throw off complacency and believe for what looks impossible to man. It is time to take a passionate stand for the Lord’s purposes and to align ourselves with them, no matter the cost. Many came forward at the end of the evening to receive prayer and prophetic ministry from the Lord.

Over the course of the day a prophetic word came forth about a stronghold over Cyprus being broken. We are believing and standing on this word, also knowing that something was also broken in our hearts for this island that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. God tells us to just ask and He will give the nations to us. We are asking and believing for Cyprus, declaring to this people, “You belong to the Lord!“

Streams in the Desert - Extravagant Worship from GBI on Vimeo.

Mini Flight School

It was Monday morning and I was on Mini Flight School (MFS) duty. MFS is the children's equipping ministry of the Gateways community. I enjoy this time with the kids, but wasn't prepared for the deep revelation I would receive that morning. The lesson was about creation and I was talking to the kids on a very elementary level about how God made night so that we can sleep and light so that we can see to work and play. And then three year old Trace interjected with "And God made light so that we can have new days!" I was taken aback by his comment and the revelation that it held. How good of the Father! As a sign of His renewed mercies, He chose to make new days. He didn't have to make beautiful sunrises that illuminate horizons, but He knew that the human heart needs fresh starts and new beginnings. He knew that we would sin and feel the weight of it, so He chose to give us a picture to help us understand His washing us clean. The cycle of sin, repentance, forgiveness and sanctification is shown in night and the light of a new day. What if He had made just one, long, never ending day where all the good and the bad just piled on top of each other. No rest, no fresh start. He knows us too well to create such a world.

Every time I think I know how good He is, He is better still. And He choses to reveal His goodness to me through theologians and three year olds.

Bright Star vs. The Young Victoria

I recently watched the two movies Bright Star and The Young Victoria. These movies seem to have so much in common - both are period dramas based on true stories, taking place in England in the first half of the 19th century. The lead female characters are both eighteen and the male leads are in their mid twenties. Both films are rated PG are are free of explicit content. And yet with all their similarities, they are strikingly different.

My conscience did not allow me to love Bright Star. The film, which revolves around poet John Keats and his romantic attachment to Fanny Brawne, is made quite well and maintains historical accuracy, but my issue with it lies with Miss Brawne's character. Throughout the story, she proves herself to be immature, selfish and melodramatic. She continually pursues John Keats, handicapping his lead. He realizes that he can not afford to marry and attempts to safeguard Fanny's heart, but what she wants, she gets. It seemed as though the majority of her character was counter Kingdom and I could not endear myself to her.

Then we watched The Young Victoria. This film takes a deeper look into the time just before Queen Victoria's coronation at the age of eighteen through her marriage to and young married life with Prince Albert. Although Victoria's character is far from perfect, she displays the feminine grace and heart that is worthy of emulation. She allows Prince Albert to pursue her and conducts herself with guarded beauty. Their love story is founded on healthy femininity and masculinity, each fulfilling their proper role, allowing the other to thrive. These characters have quickly stolen my heart and this film has become one of my all time favorites.

What's the difference? What's the big deal? I have come to a place of frustration with the films that my generation in the church have fallen in love with. I'm not even talking about inappropriate content, although that is important. Both of these films were quite clean and bore the PG rating, but they conveyed such different messages. Selfishness vs. giveness - immaturity vs. responsibility - infatuation vs. ardent love. So many of the movies that young women claim are their favorite movies are the ones which glorify selfishness, rebellion, impurity, and deception. Don't even get me started on The Notebook! Shouldn't we be glorifying the love stories that line up with the Kingdom we profess to belong to. If we continue to be so enamored with the world's version of love, how can we expect to ever have something better? I believe more and more everyday that if we continue to indoctrinate ourselves with the cheap version of love all around us, it will surely be our fate.

Streams in the Desert

One of my responsibilities with Gateways this year is organizing the Streams in the Desert events we host on the island. Two of our senior leaders are in charge of this ministry and I am their right hand girl. My job consists of reserving venues for future events, correspondence with believers and pastors on the island, publicity for events, managing the event blog, as well as all the details that go into putting on an event, as a ministry, for 200+ people. It's a lot of work, but I really love it and get to use the administrative gifting God's put in me. I love getting to know the Body of Messiah on this island and building relationships with them. I've started getting encouraging emails from them and am now identified as the "Streams girl" at island wide events. They're so sweet. Streams in the Desert events are about coming together and giving worship it’s rightful place once again, for Jesus never ceases to be worthy. Our aim is to unite the Body of Christ in Cyprus to take part in worship and intercession that changes the spiritual atmosphere. We had an amazing time at the Ajax Hotel on February 21st as believers from all over the island untied in something bigger than themselves. Power was released as a group of people, with the Spirit of the living God inside of them, cried out for a nation and a generation. We connected with the very heart of the Father, as He came near and lavished His affections on His Bride in Cyprus. Through that place of intimacy, there was birthed a strength to war in the spirit for God’s purposes in this country and region as a whole. It’s for Cyprus. It’s for the world.

Prayer Ministry

My bestie, Tab, running the projector

Me manning the info table & Matti and Remi ready to pray for people!

The Perks of Community

One of the greatest joys of this year and a beloved perk of living a community lifestyle is seeing the work of God in my classmates (pictured). We have walked together for the last 3 years and to see them stepping into their destinies on new levels is a treasure to me. We are growing in unity and relationship with one another through serving and learning together. When one of them receives a break through, my eyes fill with tears of joy just as their own do. I can not help but believe that this is the way the Father intended the church to operate. Believers walking side by side, holding each other up in difficult times, and dancing with them in the joyous ones. So often we only see people once a week at church where we drop the "Christian f-word" to each other,

"How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine."

We fake our way through it all week after week. But in community, there's no faking it. If you're not walking in the truth of God's Word, there's at least a dozen people who will notice and love you enough to call you out on it. I was called out on something last week. It was painful and my flesh would have preferred my friend stay silent, but they knew that I needed to get it right. The moment I repented I could literally feel the difference. My stoney heart softened and the presence of God came rushing in like a flood. Perhaps it's time to stop being afraid of offending people and start speaking into their lives out of love. Let us set aside Christian camaraderie and start practicing Biblical accountability. Because although it may be uncomfortable having others close enough to see the bad, it is life to the soul to also have them cheering you on in the good.

Grace Everywhere

The Toyota Rav4. It's a cute, little, inconspicuous SUV. I had never really noticed them, that is until we got one. All of a sudden they were everywhere! On the highway, in the parking lot, up the street. Where did all these Rav 4s come from? Why had I never noticed them before?

Isn't it funny how that happens? In a day we can go from being oblivious of something, to being completely mesmerized by it. Saturday night we were exhorted that it's the same way with grace. Often times I take God's grace for granted in my life. It's sad to say, but true. It is the treasured gift of Heaven and I can go too long without identifying it in my life and giving thanks for it. But when I stop and take the time to see Yeshua's rich grace that He's lavished on my life, I start seeing it everywhere! I can't stop seeing His goodness. It's an unending cycle that I love falling into! But it all starts with pausing from the craziness of life and choosing to look on His goodness with a grateful heart.