I feel that I am rarely an open book with my personal feelings or my testimony on the internet, but I would really like to open up about how God has shown me one way how He has redeemed me. I started to feel sick Friday night. Saturday I woke up having a head cold, so I had to cancel some plans to go Christmas tree chopping. This was a bummer for me since I really wanted to go outdoors and get out of Redding a bit. I made the best of it and spent the day alone and watched movies. But I still was just feeling down in the dumps and yucky...ya know? Sunday I woke up feeling about the same, a little better, but I decided to skip church. I woke up and tried to be positive, but I just wasn't feeling it. I was in a poor mood. It's that feeling when there is no purpose anymore, when you feel all has failed. I felt so overcome by a victim attitude and I had no hope for feeling any better. I was more sad by this feeling because the past week I had received so much breakthrough at school with joy. I realized I just was totally negative. I don't know if I knew how to be positive at all, it's like I was slimed and there was no way of getting out of it. Today...I wake up and while I am getting dressed I think, "what is the point of me being here on earth?" I didn't catch how crazy this thought was, but it felt so normal. I used to think these things all the time before I came to know the love of God. Before encountering the Presence of God, I had no idea why I was living because I had no concept of how much my God, my Father, loves me to such an extreme that I cannot comprehend.
Today, I go to school trying to be in a good mood, but really I was feeling awful. We start praying and the first thing the woman who is leading the prayer says, "I want you prayer warriors who are feeling hopeless and depressed to come up and pray with me." What she also revealed is that there was a suicide in Redding this weekend and we began to pray and wash over these feelings. It just overwhelmed me because I realized this is what I was feeling. And I was reminded of my thoughts of suicide that I had this morning because I didn't even think about how crazy it was, it just slipped in my mind. I gave these thoughts to God and repented because I know that God loves me so much and I don't need to feel grief about feeling crappy, but I just need to receive His love and forgiveness. God's love gives purpose and it gives destiny...it never brings hopelessness.
My main reason for writing this is because I want every person to know that there is hope and that God has destiny. Jesus is washing your minds right now with redemption for you to feel the tangible love of God. He has a purpose for your life. It may sound crazy that the God of the universe has a purpose for wee little you. But it's serious! He loves so extremely that Jesus came to earth to be human with us and then suffered a sinner's debt for us to live in a free relationship with Father God. His life redeemed by the cross gave us the opportunity to have that same life of redemption. Nothing you do could ever separate you from the love of God.
Life is worth living because God made us to know us and to be in relationship with us. All He wants is to be with us. This is a question that I struggled with a lot for the last 7 years. I never understood what the point of us being here is and it's just to be living in communion with Him.
Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15
I love you all. Bless you and your spirits to receive this testimony for what it's worth. I share this just to encourage any of you.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Missions
Greetings! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Thanksgiving was so good here! We had about 15 people eat with us, but then we had more people in the neighborhood that we were able to give plates of food to as well! It was such a different kind of Thanksgiving for me, but it was so wonderful. I hope you all had a good holiday too!
For our program here at Bethel, we all have the opportunity to choose to go on a mission trip with the teams here at Bethel. We chose from places all the over the world to go. I will be going to Tijuana, Mexico! I am so excited to be given the opportunity to go to a place that I have never been to and never thought I would travel to! I will be going April 9-April 16....here is the description that Bethel gives of the trip:
We will be based out of a camp that Bethel has been coming to every year for 10 years. There is Revival breaking out among the local pastors who have set up a network of churches including the Ensenada area. Teams of BSSM students will minister as worship leaders, children’s ministers and have opportunity to preach, teach and give words of knowledge in local church meetings. Open Heavens are over the area and there is an expectancy for the supernatural in the community. We will also minister on the streets with prophetic art, treasure hunts, drama and many other forms of outreach. We will visit the legendary Revolution Street for a large evening crusade using various local churches to assist us in reaching out to the lost. This is a time of experiencing community on a team, personal freedom and God breaking out. Come and experience being used by God to love the poor, love on tons of children, heal the sick, the blind, the lame, and encourage Pastors as we partner with them to see Revival change a nation. We will end the trip with a blow up service at a sister church in southern California, hang out on the beach and enjoy how good our God is.
This trip is going to be a life changing experience for me because I am going to be doing missions like I never have before. Living here in Redding has also been teaching me how I want to live as a missionary. I am learning a lot about boundaries in relationships and how to give without exhausting myself. It has been really challenging, but I know it has been so good for me to have real life experience in community living. I came here to BSSM to learn how to be a healthy missionary. When I started classes, it was totally different than I thought because we were mostly learning about how to live with the Holy Spirit and live resting in the Presence of God. I realized that this is how you learn to be a missionary. You have to learn how to rest in His Presence; if you don't you will be giving out of a place that is only yourself, and that is what is exhausting. When you realize that the Holy Spirit is the one who ministers to people's hearts and spirits, then you realize that it's not tiring at all and you don't have to try really hard. I am definitely still learning and I think I will have to learn for a while, but it is such good and awesome revelation. This is one of the reasons I am excited to go to Tijuana, because I know this mission trip will be based off the Holy Spirit's direction and I trust better what the Holy Spirit does than what I think should be done!
My trip to Tijuana has not been financially funded yet, so if you would like to give to it I would be wildly blessed by that! I would also love to have people that will be interceding for me and my team. Your prayers and your financial support will have a dramatic impact on the people we will be doing outreach to in Tijuana. Your partnership with me is partnering with God's plan and my testimonies are your testimonies because you are sending me!
If you would like to give money, you can go to this address: missiontrips.ibethel.org Just search for my name (Emily Scheihing :) in the section that says "search for a traveler" and then click the tab that says "Give" in the row of my name.
Here is my e-mail in case you have any questions for me: eascheihing@gmail.com
Blessings to you guys!
Emily
Thanksgiving was so good here! We had about 15 people eat with us, but then we had more people in the neighborhood that we were able to give plates of food to as well! It was such a different kind of Thanksgiving for me, but it was so wonderful. I hope you all had a good holiday too!
For our program here at Bethel, we all have the opportunity to choose to go on a mission trip with the teams here at Bethel. We chose from places all the over the world to go. I will be going to Tijuana, Mexico! I am so excited to be given the opportunity to go to a place that I have never been to and never thought I would travel to! I will be going April 9-April 16....here is the description that Bethel gives of the trip:
We will be based out of a camp that Bethel has been coming to every year for 10 years. There is Revival breaking out among the local pastors who have set up a network of churches including the Ensenada area. Teams of BSSM students will minister as worship leaders, children’s ministers and have opportunity to preach, teach and give words of knowledge in local church meetings. Open Heavens are over the area and there is an expectancy for the supernatural in the community. We will also minister on the streets with prophetic art, treasure hunts, drama and many other forms of outreach. We will visit the legendary Revolution Street for a large evening crusade using various local churches to assist us in reaching out to the lost. This is a time of experiencing community on a team, personal freedom and God breaking out. Come and experience being used by God to love the poor, love on tons of children, heal the sick, the blind, the lame, and encourage Pastors as we partner with them to see Revival change a nation. We will end the trip with a blow up service at a sister church in southern California, hang out on the beach and enjoy how good our God is.
This trip is going to be a life changing experience for me because I am going to be doing missions like I never have before. Living here in Redding has also been teaching me how I want to live as a missionary. I am learning a lot about boundaries in relationships and how to give without exhausting myself. It has been really challenging, but I know it has been so good for me to have real life experience in community living. I came here to BSSM to learn how to be a healthy missionary. When I started classes, it was totally different than I thought because we were mostly learning about how to live with the Holy Spirit and live resting in the Presence of God. I realized that this is how you learn to be a missionary. You have to learn how to rest in His Presence; if you don't you will be giving out of a place that is only yourself, and that is what is exhausting. When you realize that the Holy Spirit is the one who ministers to people's hearts and spirits, then you realize that it's not tiring at all and you don't have to try really hard. I am definitely still learning and I think I will have to learn for a while, but it is such good and awesome revelation. This is one of the reasons I am excited to go to Tijuana, because I know this mission trip will be based off the Holy Spirit's direction and I trust better what the Holy Spirit does than what I think should be done!
My trip to Tijuana has not been financially funded yet, so if you would like to give to it I would be wildly blessed by that! I would also love to have people that will be interceding for me and my team. Your prayers and your financial support will have a dramatic impact on the people we will be doing outreach to in Tijuana. Your partnership with me is partnering with God's plan and my testimonies are your testimonies because you are sending me!
If you would like to give money, you can go to this address: missiontrips.ibethel.org Just search for my name (Emily Scheihing :) in the section that says "search for a traveler" and then click the tab that says "Give" in the row of my name.
Here is my e-mail in case you have any questions for me: eascheihing@gmail.com
Blessings to you guys!
Emily
Monday, November 12, 2012
Royalty
I wish I could consistently update this, but it is so hard with so much going on here at BSSM. I am loving it!! I love love love it here. I am praying that I can keep more up to date with my blog because I really would love to share more about what is going on.
Royalty is what I'd really love to share with you. This has been the most important thing that I have been learning about while at school. So, what does royalty mean in the Christian world? It means I am the daughter of the King! King Jesus! Since I was called a daughter of royalty, this gives me the right to the inheritance of that kingdom.
Royalty is what I'd really love to share with you. This has been the most important thing that I have been learning about while at school. So, what does royalty mean in the Christian world? It means I am the daughter of the King! King Jesus! Since I was called a daughter of royalty, this gives me the right to the inheritance of that kingdom.
"If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:21
This is my identity.
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:4-7
I am learning so much about this. It is a transforming of the mind to think of myself as royalty. I just try to think sometimes about the way I act and I wonder if a queen or a princess would act differently. I mean in the worldly sense, I don't want to act like a queen because all I think about is snobby and ungrateful. But when I think of a queen in the kingdom of Heaven, I think of justice, humility, grace, and beauty. I think of a woman who is full of abundance and never feels like she is in lack. If I really accept my royalty, I would never stress about a credit card bill or about getting groceries. My royalty also has to do with my response to the King. Living in response to the King is realizing He is always there. If I am living with Him in His house I am going to hear when He moves; I am going to hear when He opens the door. God is always talking and is always showing me what I should do. It is my duty to make myself aware of His voice and to learn what His voice sounds like. In the same way, my royalty brings me into closer relationship with Him because we are resting together. I am learning about how He works and I am learning about His heart.
My mind really does have to be transformed. I believe God is doing that for me in this season. He is re-wiring my brain. He is revealing to me where I don't trust Him, and helping me to see why I should!
I am having such a fun time learning about my identity in Christ. The students are going out and applying what we are learning too. I am serving the neighborhood I live in and yesterday we held a block party. It was such an amazing time together to meet new people and to see children playing outside. The most amazing part of it was seeing the Holy Spirit touch people. 7 people gave their life to Jesus!! God is so good!! He showed up in our cul-de-sac and loved on them. Keep our team in prayer as we minister to our neighbors here in Boulder Creek. Jesus loves them so deeply and is doing really cool things to show them!! Pray for an open Heaven over us as we walk out to knock on people's doors to encounter God.
Love to you all!! You are all princes and princesses! Kings and queens!
Emily
Monday, October 1, 2012
Community
Wow, a whirlwind has happened since school has started. It is so wonderful here. I have changed so much already. I hope to update this more, but since I have been adjusting so much this month I didn't get to it. I thought I would tell you a little bit about my time at my retreat and my revival group.
Every student is assigned a revival group, and the groups consist of about 70 students. Our time in class is wonderful, but the time in revival group is a whole different dynamic. This is where you create more intimate relationships with people that you may not have if you weren't forced to! haha. Every group has their own feel too. So my group is special. I absolutely love it and I love the people in it because we all have such great and inspiring personalities.
I got to know more of my RG members on a retreat we all took to Chico. We spent a couple days there getting to know each other better and worshiping God. This time together brought so much breakthrough for me and for the others. I loved it so much! The time there, I experienced the Holy Spirit like I never had before. It was an uncontrollable presence that I had longed for. I wanted an encounter with God and so did everybody else. And God came. He showed us how much He wanted to encounter us. So much freedom was brought to people to just be undignified. It did not matter how stupid we might have looked in the natural because we were fully engulfed in the supernatural. It's really hard to put into words all that happened, but it showed me that God wants me to feel Him. It is normal to feel Him. All that this encounter with God showed me was that my identity is in Him. He is mine, and I am His. What was really important to me also was the encouragement I felt from the people around me. They encouraged me to encounter God more. They wanted to see me on the floor laughing at the glory of God, and they cheered me on. I wanted the same for them too! I wanted us all to have that holy laughter. I wanted us all to basque in the glory of God. There is something so special about people who are around you that can encourage you to be the best you were made to be. I am so thankful to have always had that wherever I am, and I think this time on my retreat showed me how important my brothers and sisters are. Without them I would be so lost because God created us to be together.
I still wake up some mornings and think, "How did I get here?" I am so thrilled to be learning from such awesome revivalists. And I am so honored to be learning alongside future revivalists. A huge thing that is taught here is that what we receive here is being given to the people we know back home. I impart the glory and power that I have experienced in this last month and I ask for more of your presence Lord to manifest in their lives. I ask that the miracles I have seen here would double and that You would work in power through their hearts.
I am so thankful!
Emily
Every student is assigned a revival group, and the groups consist of about 70 students. Our time in class is wonderful, but the time in revival group is a whole different dynamic. This is where you create more intimate relationships with people that you may not have if you weren't forced to! haha. Every group has their own feel too. So my group is special. I absolutely love it and I love the people in it because we all have such great and inspiring personalities.
I got to know more of my RG members on a retreat we all took to Chico. We spent a couple days there getting to know each other better and worshiping God. This time together brought so much breakthrough for me and for the others. I loved it so much! The time there, I experienced the Holy Spirit like I never had before. It was an uncontrollable presence that I had longed for. I wanted an encounter with God and so did everybody else. And God came. He showed us how much He wanted to encounter us. So much freedom was brought to people to just be undignified. It did not matter how stupid we might have looked in the natural because we were fully engulfed in the supernatural. It's really hard to put into words all that happened, but it showed me that God wants me to feel Him. It is normal to feel Him. All that this encounter with God showed me was that my identity is in Him. He is mine, and I am His. What was really important to me also was the encouragement I felt from the people around me. They encouraged me to encounter God more. They wanted to see me on the floor laughing at the glory of God, and they cheered me on. I wanted the same for them too! I wanted us all to have that holy laughter. I wanted us all to basque in the glory of God. There is something so special about people who are around you that can encourage you to be the best you were made to be. I am so thankful to have always had that wherever I am, and I think this time on my retreat showed me how important my brothers and sisters are. Without them I would be so lost because God created us to be together.
I still wake up some mornings and think, "How did I get here?" I am so thrilled to be learning from such awesome revivalists. And I am so honored to be learning alongside future revivalists. A huge thing that is taught here is that what we receive here is being given to the people we know back home. I impart the glory and power that I have experienced in this last month and I ask for more of your presence Lord to manifest in their lives. I ask that the miracles I have seen here would double and that You would work in power through their hearts.
I am so thankful!
Emily
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
School has begun! boom!
The emotion I can articulate to you right now is completely and utterly grateful. Aw man, I am so grateful. I felt a rush of this emotion when I was watching Bill Johnson speak to the 1200 of us in the BSSM 1st year class. It was so good. I can't quite grasp it all yet since it was only a couple hours ago. I just feel so supported and the best support I feel is from my Father in Heaven. God has shown me all the people around me who are willing to support me, but it is the best feeling to know that God is cheering me on. The God of all this earth cheers me on! Wow. What an awesome feeling. And to know that He does the same for all who step into His will is another awestrucking (No, this is not a word) feeling. There was a moment of this when all the students were praying and asking for more of Him this year, and at one point the noise of all the students sounded like a roar in a stadium. It was like the noise at a football game. It was so powerful. The students here are so inspiring.
So from my first day, what is the biggest thing that I have learned....
Well, since this whole year is about stepping out in faith and being equipped in ministry leadership, I feel that I need to get over the fear of rejection. Yeah, it's a super big burden that needs to go. God is pointing that out to me just by my interaction with people that I am really effected in my relationships with people by this fear. I am just so happy to be in an environment that is continuing to seek healing. This fear also showed me that it reveals a lot about my relationship with God. This place also reminds me that there is indeed time to talk and commune with God on a daily basis. I just need to make it my priority and I am reminded to do that here. I am so regretful that I did not make this a priority at home. God's presence is everywhere. An atmosphere of worship totally shifts your way of thinking. One of the biggest thing that I have taken away from my roommates and Sunday worship, is that spending time in God's presence will change you every time. That is so huge. EVERY TIME I SPEND TIME IN GOD'S PRESENCE I AM CHANGED. All I have to do is spend time with Him.
Goodnight to you all! I want to figure out how to make this blog a little more fancy schmancy, or just add pics and things.
Emily
So from my first day, what is the biggest thing that I have learned....
Well, since this whole year is about stepping out in faith and being equipped in ministry leadership, I feel that I need to get over the fear of rejection. Yeah, it's a super big burden that needs to go. God is pointing that out to me just by my interaction with people that I am really effected in my relationships with people by this fear. I am just so happy to be in an environment that is continuing to seek healing. This fear also showed me that it reveals a lot about my relationship with God. This place also reminds me that there is indeed time to talk and commune with God on a daily basis. I just need to make it my priority and I am reminded to do that here. I am so regretful that I did not make this a priority at home. God's presence is everywhere. An atmosphere of worship totally shifts your way of thinking. One of the biggest thing that I have taken away from my roommates and Sunday worship, is that spending time in God's presence will change you every time. That is so huge. EVERY TIME I SPEND TIME IN GOD'S PRESENCE I AM CHANGED. All I have to do is spend time with Him.
Goodnight to you all! I want to figure out how to make this blog a little more fancy schmancy, or just add pics and things.
Emily
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Redding is alive
I am in Redding! My family left this morning, so today has been my first official day to myself.
I don't start school till next week so I am going to try and find things to fill my time this week! Biking will be something that I will be doing a lot while I am here so I want to get adjusted to using a bike as my transportation. I went on a ride this morning and it was so tiring! I am so out of shape, haha! I noticed on my bikeride that almost every person I passed said hello and good morning to me. I was so filled with love from the people of Redding! I love the west coast for that. It is definitely a different feel here than the east coast in terms of socializing. I feel more at ease having conversations with random people than I ever have! I love it.
My roommates here are AMAZING. They are four beautiful women of God. They are all 2nd years here at Bethel School of Ministry. My roommate is Heather; she is 21 and from Fargo, North Dakota. She is a musician and is all-around creative. My 2 other housemates are Beatrice and Sarah. They are both from Germany. Sarah and Heather lived in our house last year, and Beatrice and I are new to the neighborhood. Speaking of the neighborhood...I love it! I have awesome neighbors who are my new "big bros". Their names are Alex and Joseph, and they both go to Bethel church and help organize the house church in our neighborhood. I haven't had the opportunity to go to the house church yet, but I think it's tonight? I have heard it is full of life and wonderful. I can't wait to see the community come together to worship and go deep in the word. When I first got here I was a little worried about living in a place that looks rougher, but after meeting some people I had complete peace.
Even though I haven't started school yet, the Bethel culture here is already rocking me. In my conversations with people there is so much life that comes out of them. I feel loved, accepted, and encouraged to live out the gifts God has given me. I am so hungry for God. I am so hungry to learn more about Him and about His heart.
Prayer requests!
Please pray that my neighborhood would be flooded with God's love and that people would feel the comfort and hope of Jesus when we speak to each other. Pray that they would encounter the presence of God when they walked into our houses and they would be touched by the huge love God has for them!
I am praying for intimacy with Jesus to be even deeper for you! I am seeing how much God desires our time and vulnerability. I pray you encounter the love and grace that brings us closer to Him.
Love to you all!
I don't start school till next week so I am going to try and find things to fill my time this week! Biking will be something that I will be doing a lot while I am here so I want to get adjusted to using a bike as my transportation. I went on a ride this morning and it was so tiring! I am so out of shape, haha! I noticed on my bikeride that almost every person I passed said hello and good morning to me. I was so filled with love from the people of Redding! I love the west coast for that. It is definitely a different feel here than the east coast in terms of socializing. I feel more at ease having conversations with random people than I ever have! I love it.
My roommates here are AMAZING. They are four beautiful women of God. They are all 2nd years here at Bethel School of Ministry. My roommate is Heather; she is 21 and from Fargo, North Dakota. She is a musician and is all-around creative. My 2 other housemates are Beatrice and Sarah. They are both from Germany. Sarah and Heather lived in our house last year, and Beatrice and I are new to the neighborhood. Speaking of the neighborhood...I love it! I have awesome neighbors who are my new "big bros". Their names are Alex and Joseph, and they both go to Bethel church and help organize the house church in our neighborhood. I haven't had the opportunity to go to the house church yet, but I think it's tonight? I have heard it is full of life and wonderful. I can't wait to see the community come together to worship and go deep in the word. When I first got here I was a little worried about living in a place that looks rougher, but after meeting some people I had complete peace.
Even though I haven't started school yet, the Bethel culture here is already rocking me. In my conversations with people there is so much life that comes out of them. I feel loved, accepted, and encouraged to live out the gifts God has given me. I am so hungry for God. I am so hungry to learn more about Him and about His heart.
Prayer requests!
Please pray that my neighborhood would be flooded with God's love and that people would feel the comfort and hope of Jesus when we speak to each other. Pray that they would encounter the presence of God when they walked into our houses and they would be touched by the huge love God has for them!
I am praying for intimacy with Jesus to be even deeper for you! I am seeing how much God desires our time and vulnerability. I pray you encounter the love and grace that brings us closer to Him.
Love to you all!
Thursday, August 16, 2012
A home
This is a very delayed post, but about...I think a month ago... I found a place to live in Redding, CA. I will be living in a neighborhood about 3 miles from where my classes will be and then about a mile from Bethel. I am really excited about this house because it is a part of the outreach ministry that I will be doing while I am at Bethel. My apartment is a part of a lower-income apartment neighborhood in Redding. The people that will live in my apartment and other apartments located in Redding are focused on revival, and they are actually called revival apartments. Our intentions in living here are to love the people around us, to bring people into encounters with God, and to create community that is loving and honoring. We will also be apart of a house church, which turns out to be somewhat like a weekly small group/worship/prayer meeting.
God providing this house for me means so much to me. Before I was seriously considering going to Bethel I considered moving to DC. I was to be a part of a community that is working and living as an intentional community with the diversity around us in DC and inside the house itself. I was very passionate about the idea of interacting with the diversity of DC, but I was not given peace about doing this program and could not figure out why. When I decided to go to Bethel, I had complete peace about going, but a part of me was sad that I would not get to experience what the program in DC had to offer. I desired to live in a place that allowed me to create community with people that I would not be able to otherwise and I wanted diversity. I am so thrilled to meet the people that God will be putting in the boulder creek community in Redding. Also, I have learned that over half of BSSM's student pop. is international!
I have been so excited to go to Redding, but I have been really excited about the things that God is teaching me before I leave. Friends in Annapolis have shown me so much about the potential of loving people and loving God. I am really thankful and joyful about my summer. And let me be honest, a lot of it has been taken up by catching up on tv shows, which has been super restful (is there such a thing as too restful?)
Before I go! I wanted to share something that God has been teaching me...Grace! A lot of my process of deciding to go to Bethel had to do with the question...is this what God wants me to do? Is this His will? And I've learned that no matter what my decision was, God would have been with me. It is so hard for me to apply God's grace to my life sometimes, but I know He will continue to teach me to live it out. Listening to the Holy Spirit's peace has a lot to do with making my decision, but I know that God loves me just the same whatever my decision may be because He knows my heart. "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you." Psalm 9:10 I am so thankful for this psalm because it reminds me that He is always with me, even when I think He is disappointed by my decisions or failures, but really He loves me all the same.
I am praying that you learn more about His grace as I am learning too. We will never capture the full measure of His grace in this lifetime...it is SO abundant.
Love to you all! I hope I get to see some of you before I leave!! I have 13 days!
E
God providing this house for me means so much to me. Before I was seriously considering going to Bethel I considered moving to DC. I was to be a part of a community that is working and living as an intentional community with the diversity around us in DC and inside the house itself. I was very passionate about the idea of interacting with the diversity of DC, but I was not given peace about doing this program and could not figure out why. When I decided to go to Bethel, I had complete peace about going, but a part of me was sad that I would not get to experience what the program in DC had to offer. I desired to live in a place that allowed me to create community with people that I would not be able to otherwise and I wanted diversity. I am so thrilled to meet the people that God will be putting in the boulder creek community in Redding. Also, I have learned that over half of BSSM's student pop. is international!
I have been so excited to go to Redding, but I have been really excited about the things that God is teaching me before I leave. Friends in Annapolis have shown me so much about the potential of loving people and loving God. I am really thankful and joyful about my summer. And let me be honest, a lot of it has been taken up by catching up on tv shows, which has been super restful (is there such a thing as too restful?)
Before I go! I wanted to share something that God has been teaching me...Grace! A lot of my process of deciding to go to Bethel had to do with the question...is this what God wants me to do? Is this His will? And I've learned that no matter what my decision was, God would have been with me. It is so hard for me to apply God's grace to my life sometimes, but I know He will continue to teach me to live it out. Listening to the Holy Spirit's peace has a lot to do with making my decision, but I know that God loves me just the same whatever my decision may be because He knows my heart. "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you." Psalm 9:10 I am so thankful for this psalm because it reminds me that He is always with me, even when I think He is disappointed by my decisions or failures, but really He loves me all the same.
I am praying that you learn more about His grace as I am learning too. We will never capture the full measure of His grace in this lifetime...it is SO abundant.
Love to you all! I hope I get to see some of you before I leave!! I have 13 days!
E
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Trusting is so beautiful
Oh wow! How true does that psalm feel to me right now. I am so joyful and happy in leaning on the arms of Christ. It sounds so silly, but to me I feel like such an infant in my joy for His provision. As I venture to trusting God to get me to Bethel I am seeing the little things that count so much! They count so much because I know it is all being done by God! I know that God is giving me an amazingly wonderful deal on my plane ticket out. I know that God is allowing the perfect gap of time for my parents to come to Redding to see where I will be living and to help me move.The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. Psalm 28:7
Even today, as I live and do the things I do normally, I see God with me. As I spend time with Him and nurture this hunger I have for Him, I see how easy it is to be with Him in all things. I see that the things that used to bother me go away.
I'm not sure what has changed. A couple months ago or even a year ago, it was so hard for me to be happy about life. I definitely had a love for God, but something left that I had when I first started my walk. I was less hungry. I was filling myself with things that did not last, like knowledge. Don't get me wrong-learning is great! We need to learn, but when you come to the point when your only hope for living in this world is to have knowledge and to understand everything...it gets tiring. You never think you're good enough.
I love all the experiences I had in the last 2 years! I loved them all and I would never take them back. I lost my focus though. I lost my steam and energy for loving God.
Lord! I ask for more, more, more! I am so thrilled by Your promises! Your promises are true to everyone! I pray for your promises to be released to all who have come across this blog and desire to know! You promise the best for all because You are good :) ALWAYS. And You made us good. Help us to see again what is good in us and what You created us for and give You the glory.
In Jesus name!
Monday, July 9, 2012
A New Adventure!
I feel passionate. I feel peace. I feel ready!
For this next season of my life, I have decided to attend Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, CA. I am so encouraged by people I have met while deciding to do this and I feel that God is preparing my heart by expelling fear and giving me a hunger for more of Him. Before graduating from Eastern, I felt that my post-grad season needed to be something that engaged my heart with God. To me, that means worship. I wanted to just worship God and get to know Him more. I feel as though He is already allowing me to do that. Out of my desire for Him he has shown me how I can get to know Him more and He has shown me the time that I can set aside for Him. Going to Bethel is for this same reason. I want to set aside this next year to engage my heart to worship Him while, also, receiving tools and being equipped to be sent out into the world. My desire for future ministry is to be so wrapped up in His love that people's ears are opened to His heartbeat by their own personal encounter with His love. I feel confident that Bethel's school can prepare me for that and they can set a foundation for my vision for ministry.
Listening to faith-driven lovers of God the last month have encouraged me in what I need to do to prepare for Bethel. The biggest thing I need is prayer. I am moving across the country, which is a bit scary for me. I need a job in Redding. And I need to find an apartment. All of these things I know God will provide in time, but I would love to have people to support me in prayer and I want to communicate to my community the ways you can be supporting me. As a person who feels called to do ministry in the future, I feel I need to start getting better at communicating with the body of people who are supporting me from long distances.
So far God is being so faithful in getting me to Redding. I have found wonderful encounters with friends and strangers (now friends!) that have encouraged me in my journey to Bethel. God has provided more hours at work in the past week which is so great for saving money.
I pray that my time at Bethel is encouraging for others and that it doesn't just effect me, but the people around me.
Love to you all! And if you read all of this, THANK YOU! :) If you have any questions about the details of Bethel, please e-mail me at eascheihing@gmail.com or facebook message me!
-Emily
For this next season of my life, I have decided to attend Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, CA. I am so encouraged by people I have met while deciding to do this and I feel that God is preparing my heart by expelling fear and giving me a hunger for more of Him. Before graduating from Eastern, I felt that my post-grad season needed to be something that engaged my heart with God. To me, that means worship. I wanted to just worship God and get to know Him more. I feel as though He is already allowing me to do that. Out of my desire for Him he has shown me how I can get to know Him more and He has shown me the time that I can set aside for Him. Going to Bethel is for this same reason. I want to set aside this next year to engage my heart to worship Him while, also, receiving tools and being equipped to be sent out into the world. My desire for future ministry is to be so wrapped up in His love that people's ears are opened to His heartbeat by their own personal encounter with His love. I feel confident that Bethel's school can prepare me for that and they can set a foundation for my vision for ministry.
Listening to faith-driven lovers of God the last month have encouraged me in what I need to do to prepare for Bethel. The biggest thing I need is prayer. I am moving across the country, which is a bit scary for me. I need a job in Redding. And I need to find an apartment. All of these things I know God will provide in time, but I would love to have people to support me in prayer and I want to communicate to my community the ways you can be supporting me. As a person who feels called to do ministry in the future, I feel I need to start getting better at communicating with the body of people who are supporting me from long distances.
So far God is being so faithful in getting me to Redding. I have found wonderful encounters with friends and strangers (now friends!) that have encouraged me in my journey to Bethel. God has provided more hours at work in the past week which is so great for saving money.
I pray that my time at Bethel is encouraging for others and that it doesn't just effect me, but the people around me.
Love to you all! And if you read all of this, THANK YOU! :) If you have any questions about the details of Bethel, please e-mail me at eascheihing@gmail.com or facebook message me!
-Emily
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