To Ablaze

Ablaze,

Thank you so much for having Rach and I at camp. You have absolutely blown me away with your sheer desperation for God. Hearing about the way some of you prepared for a camp by fasting for a week pre-camp has challenged me to take my desperation to a greater level.

You have set such a high standard and incredible example for budding youth ministries like gen180 over here. Thank you. We’ve told the youth here about you guys and will continue to because what you guys are doing shows us that it can be done. It is possible to build up on-fire, passionate, expectant, visionary youth in countries like New Zealand where the culture and lifestyle is similar!

It is possible, as a leader, to love your people to the extent that I have seen and know your leaders love you guys. It is possible to grow this group!

I was also so touched by the humility that is so rampant in you. Your openness to learn, your willingness to serve. I was personally challenged also by the camp committee who worked so hard before and during the camp but who didn’t complain at all despite being so tired! Wow. Thank you.

I know I don’t know you all that well but I felt so proud looking around at Sunday communion and seeing the huge circles of people. Don’t stop there! Continue not to be satisfied! Keep asking for more like we did at camp!

I have taken away so much from you all. You are such life-giving people! Again, thank you. Just like we miss the people in our International LG, Rach and I miss you! We’re there with you guys but you’ve got all our support all the way from across the ditch! (Except in the rugby, of course!)

Go, Ablaze, GO!

- Steph

[My] International Lifegroup

Just swung by El’s blog and thought I’d also acknowledge my incredible international LG.

(I’m posting the same pic as El cos it’s my absolute favourite photo from camp) (:

So here we have some of my favouritest people ever: Mel, (Uncle) Peter Truong, Rach, Jacq, El, Daniel, Shirls, Raphael, Beng and Jon

Sunday morning communion at camp was an incredible few minutes. Committing to encourage and pray for each other, to support each other, to serve to our best in each of our ministries… These are people that I am so honored to be able to be a part of this lifegroup with. So so honored.

To lifegroup people, let’s keep at it with all our hearts! Let’s grow our ministries, let’s learn from each other, let’s stay strong. I will keep to my committments to you all the best that I can. Thank you for speaking in to my life. Rach and I miss you all heaps!

A New Season

A new season is upon Hope Auckland and its members. This is something I’ve felt in my spirit for a few weeks now and am so grateful that God confirmed through a prophetic word last night at prayer meeting.

This post isn’t about camp but it’s linked partly to one of my experiences there. Will post about camp soon. This is just something that’s so heavily on me that I got to post it (:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

- Hebrews 12:1-2 -

Personally, Friday night at Ablaze Camp was a night of receiving personal direction through prophetic words. God gave me a whole new level of personal direction and finally, I think it’s slowly starting to sink in that yes, God really does have a huge huge plan for my life. It’s one of those cliche things we say and it’s finally sinking in .

Saturday night was the night of breakthrough in my personal life in a few areas and this is what relates directly to what I believe is happening and needs to happen here. I believe this is a season of preparation in Hope Auckland. This season of time just before we enter that new season God is bringing upon us.

I believe it is a season where people need to go through Hebrews 12:1-2 and let go of the extra weights. I am in awe of what God has done over the past few days. In choosing a theme for Sunday’s worship, I was thinking along the lines of freedom and man, God truly confirmed that last night at Prayer Meeting with the prophetic words. Praise. God! I am so expectant and desperate for a mighty move of God on Sunday!

God, please stir something. People must first believe there is a reason for them to rid themselves of these things. They must have caught on to something. If not, they won’t drop the things they to. If not, they may drop things temporarily out of emotion.

God, show us Your glory.

Awaiting the Aftershock

Last night at Prayer Meeting, it was a God-encountering time and it was awesome to see the beginnings of a re-envisioning happen here.

We know and are constantly reminded of the fact that 2008 is our year of Breakthrough. God has promised us that. At the beginning of the year, many events collided together and brought about vision and excitement in people’s hearts. Goals, drive, action.

That was half a year ago. And now, 6 months later, here we are, June, halfway through this year, 2008. Am I where I want to be? No. Am I satisfied? Definitely not. I know I wasn’t the only one who was ready to yell NO when we were asked these questions.

It’s time for that aftershock that God spoke about through Kevin. It’s time for that second wave. It’s time for re-envisioning, for re-focusing.

It’s time for a breakthrough from the complacency that we’ve caught ourselves up in because we got satisfied with the effects of the first wave of breakthrough, with the original earthquake. It’s not enough.

It’s time for a new wave of passion. A heart that’s broken again. It’s time for the opening of eyes which have been seeing a cloudy world. It’s time to see walls broken. It’s time for the pleading of a new wave of strength which we will need. It’s time to pull together. It’s time to see more. It’s time to get so fidgety, so desperate.

It’s time to obey what God spoke through Mum last night - we need to get ourselves right because we’re not ready yet because once we are, God will bring the harvest to us. No, not show us where to go out to to look for the harvest and gather it, God is making it easy for us and bringing the harvest right. here.

It’s about time we started getting on our knees for this broken broken country. Just in the past 10 or so days alone, an Indian liquor store owner was shot point blank, an 80 year old Chinese grandmother got attacked and shoved into a wardrobe (she died a few days later from internal injures) and a 39 year old Chinese lady got robbed and run over in a supermarket carpark in front of her 8 year old son. (And all of this was just in Auckland alone).

I was reminded last night of the vision God gave me for The Rock at the beginning of 2007. A vision of the Epsom Girls’ school hall absolutely packed with girls worshipping Him. I want to see it happen.

It is time. It’s not going to be easy, of course not. But it’s time.

I’m. Not. Satisfied.

Here’s a picture taken at one of the Market Days at EGGS. Man, wouldn’t it be awesome if this was a gen180 event and these were the girls who came?!

God, I really seriously desperately need Your help to break out of this mould. Please. No one else can help me but You.

Countdown.

Counting down to:
- The end of my first semester of uni
- Haircut!
- Raphael coming - which means lots of fresh vision and learning!
- Ablaze Camp - even more vision and learning (Get ready Justin, Chris, Torchie and all other Ablazey people! Rach and I are coming as super big sponges and we’re gonna soak up as much as you can pass to us)! (:
Woo hoo! (:

Almost.

• Statistics Exam: Done
• Psychology Exam: Done
• Philosophy Assignment: Done
• English Exam: Coming! EEK!

Almost there (: Looking forward to making up for lost sleep and for the serious brain overuse (:

Constant Reminders

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”

- 2 Timothy 1:6 -

 

Anointing + Courage + Wisdom for Discipleship + Outreach

 

God, please bless me and enlarge my territory. Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain. - 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 -

Followership

I was supposed to be studying for the upcoming exams last night but dived into “Follow the Leader” by Simon McIntyre and got a little carried away!

This book speaks about the art of followership and there are so many things I’d like to quote from it but here’s just one of the concepts it mentions - being able to follow willingly arises from an awareness of who we are, what gifts we have, what God created us to be, being satisfied with that and just get on with it.

“Get on with you - that’s all you have and that is enough. ‘You’re blessed when you’re content with who you are - no more, no less.’”

This next bit really got to me -

“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he hadcome from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist and… he began to wash the disciples feet.

Jesus was able to do this because he didn’t have an identity crisis. He knew exactly who he was and where he was going.”

Definitely time for some self-evaluating on my part! I need an increased awareness of both my strengths and weaknesses. Be willing to accept both. To not pretend I don’t have certain strengths (whilst not being prideful) and to not only acknowledge my weaknesses but get on to fixing those that I have the capacity to start fixing.

Not expecting a brand new version of Steph tomorrow morning but let’s start something rolling!

Commitment

Here’s a gem of a video that I found on YouTube for youth yesterday:

Definitely recommend watching it! It’s only 2 minutes long! :)

25 Days

25 days till my first exam. AAH.