Over these past 3 years, I have fallen in love with Jesus in a way that I have only dreamt of before and I have grasped a hold of His love for me and have only just begun the beautiful journey of walking in the abundant life that He offers us for all of eternity. I have helped lead people through freedom, and have been lead through it myself. I have been broken and restored, hurt and healed, died & have become alive for the very first time.
I never would have dreamed of having the life that I live now. I have been blessed beyond words or measure and feel the beauty of it every single day. I never dreamt that I could feel this free, or feel so much peace. I didn't know that it was possible to have a hope that never wavered, or a peace that went far beyond circumstances and wasn't dictated by my situations. I had no idea that there could be a love that was stronger than death and killed every peace of evil in my heart. I am on a process, as we all are, and it's beautiful. It's painful sometimes. The pruning that the Lord brings sometimes it's all fun and games. But it's so amazing to be loved by a God who is love Himself and to discover the depths of it more each and every day.
In the beginning of the Track the Lord told me He wanted to do two things:
1 - Completely free me of fear
2 - Teach me how to have endurance & be sustained
I can say without a doubt that this year has been full of these two things. As you can read over my past blog entries, fear has been erased, and I have found the beauty of the sweet presence of the Lord not being a part of my life... but being the entirety of my life and everything else flowing out of it. The treasures and gems I have found in this place are worth more than any silver or gold...
And now here I am, in the middle of Amsterdam, Holland. I had never been to Europe before, but have always dreamed of going. I told myself that when I went I would never want to leave... I maybe don't feel that strong about it yet, but there has been a love established in my heart for this place and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I will be returning.
The other night our team sat around and hung out and shared what we felt the Lord was giving us in these 2 weeks. I began to share how I felt like again the Lord was giving me two things:
1 - I am marked as an intercessor // The head knowledge that Prayer and Intercession flowed outside of Worship is so vital and a pure gift from the Lord has turned into full heart knowledge. I have seen, felt, experienced, and chased after the beautiful truth that the veil has been torn and we have full access to God. We have the power to shift atmospheres, to change the world, and to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. This is a part of our inheritance as Christians and this revelation became so alive in my heart.
2 - My God Satisfies // This is a part of the meaning of my name (along with many other things). Something that I have always longed for, but never really thought possible when it came down to it, was for God to really be everything that I needed and to be completely satisfied in Him. I wanted to not desire anything but Him... to find my joy in Him, to find my hope in Him, to find true love in Him, to find purpose and dreams and life in Him. This was established in my heart over these past 2 weeks. I couldn't say that there was a "moment"... but as we fasted & prayed, I heard the Lord say that He was giving me this gift. And the amazing part is that it didn't come out of me freaking out, and becoming exhausted and wrongfully striving after it... it was given out of a place of me rest in Him, seeking His face, becoming enamored by His beauty & power.
Today was our last day here in Amsterdam and it was quite wonderful. The majority of us are leaving Amsterdam tomorrow and either heading back to Kona, visiting family for a couple weeks or traveling around Europe. As you know I am traveling to Scotland and London for the next two weeks!!
There are so many other things that I could share about from this trip... but I will close it out for now and share more later. I do want to thank every single one of you though, that helped me get here. Whether you gave financially, prayed for our trip, encouraged us, looked at pictures, read this blog... Whatever it was, thank you so very much. This trip has not only changed my life, but also every one else who came with me. I could not be more thankful or feel more blessed and very loved.
I will leave you with some pictures from the past week... Enjoy!
[My beautiful friend, Tegan and I near the Dam Square] // [Blake, Shannon, Shiloh,
Aarow & Brave - My amazing leaders & their three kids]
[Almost all the girls on my team - Molly, Emily, Ruth, Kate, Cammie, Tegan, and me]
[Our team worshiping in the Prayer Tower and reading the Psalms over the city of Amsterdam]
[Central Station in the middle of the night]
[The view of Amsterdam from the library]
[We took a 20 minute train ride & visited Haarlem for the day! This is the city where Corrie Ten Boom's
house is, The Hiding Place (I will post another blog about our time there). Needless to say,
it was absolutely beautiful and had such a presence of peace in the quaint downtown.]
house is, The Hiding Place (I will post another blog about our time there). Needless to say,
it was absolutely beautiful and had such a presence of peace in the quaint downtown.]
[Kaashuis Tromp // An incredible cheese shop in the heart of Haarlem, Holland]
[The Dam Square]
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