The face of God

Today was my day alone with God. I had a new picture of what time with God really is. Yesterday I was thinking about the story of Mary and Martha. How Mary just wanted to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to Him. Can you picture haveing Jesus in your life like that? He just pops in for a visit, sits down at your table, ask you how your day is going. Mary is so happy that he's there that she wants to lay down everything she's doing to just sit with Him. Just enjoy Him being there. What would it feel like to chill in the same room as Him? Maybe like seeing an old friend that you've missed or finding something that you forgot you even lost, something dear and treasured. But more than that. Like when you look at Jesus your heart sings. You look at Him and think "Thats what I've been searching for all along!" At the heart of all our desires, our needs, our pursuits, at the bottom of everything, is a longing for something very particular that we can't put our finger on. Something we've longed for since birth, something at the core of our being. And jesus fills that longing to the fullest. We were created for loveing Him. Sit at His feet and take it all in. Do not hold your hand over your mouth any longer; burst forth in song. Do not place fetters on your feet; get up and dance. Why not? Why bite your tonge? Does one plug up a spring that carries fresh pure water? Do we sit down to a table spread with a feast and let our stomachs grumble? Reach out your hand and graps His outstretched. Walk in the garden hand in hand. Sit with Him beneath the willow. Breath fresh, drink deep, sing loud.

Patty Olson

This week in Shift we're talking about living in community. Patty olson came and talked about her calling to work in bad neighborhoods and grow a sanctuary for young adults. She was really fun to talk to. She's this kindly little elderly woman who just poured out her heart for us.

She has a community house in South Minneapolis near me. She owns three houses with in three blocks of eachother and she hosts a potluck sunday nights and a bible study. She encourages people to really dig deep into finding Truth and conversing with God. She was a great encouragement to me because you could easily see God's hand in her ministery. She wasn't striving on her own she was just following God and this is where He led her.

Let God take you to the ends of the earth. To the full extent that He desires.

Shift School

I'm in a discipleship School right now called Shift. It's in Minneapolis run by some friends from my church. Its affiliated to Stieger International. If you don't know them thier awesome, look them up (www.steiger.org). I live in Mpls anyway and I knew most of the leaders already so this is no big change for me. But it is for others. Most of the students are from differant parts of the country. There's six students; they come from Southern California, Colorado, louisiana, Illinois, and Arkansa. The goal of the school is to help one take thier relationship with God to a deeper level. We're learning how to let God change our lives and encourage our growth, maturity, character... so forth. This allows for a unique time in life. The school covers your rent and food for the whole three months. I don't have to work or spend any money, all my living expenses are taken care of. This frees me to dedicate all my time/thoughts/worries to whatever I choose!

We spend our mornings in prayer worship and study. We share lunch and dinner and in the evening we have either a class, church, or a community thing. We have a day to pursue God alone on friday, do a service project on saturdays, and sundays are totally free. This keeps us pretty busy but the best part is when we're not in class we have no other worries or obligations. I love not having to watch a clock. I ride my bike along the river and go loose myself in the woods. I wonder the MIA (Minneapolis Institute of Arts) and spend hours in front of my favorite paintings and sculptures. I go to the library and dig up ancient thoughts I want to post notes from our classes and lectures, my own thoughts, poems, art, stories, ect... Stay tuned, your in for a wild ride.