My very sensitive relationship with my car

The car I drive right now is not mine. I just would like to preface this post with that fact…

I love the fact that someone is lending me and has been lending me their car for over a year! It’s a huge blessing and I don’t know how to even thank that person.

The car is a 1995 Saturn, stick shift with no AC. So summers have been a struggle, but better than not having a car at all.

This is the story of the car and me:

-Last year every now and then the car would just cut out. Especially annoying when you’re going 65 mph down the highway and suddenly your engine dies and you have to get it going again… (4th gear, clutch in let it come slowly). It worked every single time and I didn’t say anything before because, when I did, people seemed to freak out about my safety here and there… Thanks, I guess.

-This year the car started to overheat whenever it was not going a solid minimum of 45 mph. I started to find out how amazingly convenient the Las Vegas Freeway system is. It was just a couple times that I got stuck in traffic and was yelling at others to ‘KEEP MOVING’. By the time I got to where I was going I was completely drenched in sweat and had to actually sit down for a minute to avoid fainting. Plus I was pretty grumpy! LOL Real story! Only happened once that bad tho.

-My clutch broke. But since I didn’t have any money I kind of learned to live with it for a while. So I parked only in spots where I didn’t need to back out of (the use of reverse was pretty limited). I only learned to start driving in 3rd gear, since that was still working fine. Then, through the incredible generosity of my friends I was able to fix the clutch and can now back out of parking spaces again.

-My latest fun thing are the windows. Since I have no aircon I greatly appreciate the use of the windows. All windows in this car are automatic, which makes it hard (aka expensive) to fix.A few months ago the passenger side window stopped about 4 inches down. that was it. Then a couple weeks ago, the driver’s side window stopped working all together. Now I drive a sweat bucket, with 4 inches of air coming through. And the saddest thing is: the passenger side window doesn’t even go up all the way anymore. It stops 2 inches short.

Ready for a new car… Any chance you want to join me in prayer to get a new car? I got $1400 towards it right now and need at least $600 more before I can really look for something that would work.

Now, if you have a car standing around and would like to donate it, please let me know! :)

YWAM turns 50

Loren Cunningham founded YWAM in 1960. Since then the staff has grown from 2 to over 20,000 (holding over 150 passports I think). We have bases/presence in over 1200 locations and we are still passionate about Jesus and finishing the Great Commission.


Last week we celebrated YWAM's 50th in Denver. Loren and Darlene Cunningham (and their daughter Karen) came to tell us more about what's going on in the world, where we are at with the Great Commission and what still needs to be done.

It was a fantastic time of meeting new people, catching up with old friends and just having some much needed time of getting new vision and excitement for what I do.

Since we drove to Denver (13 hours!!) and took the DTS, it was also a great time to get to know the students and talk with God whilst driving... Totally legal! :)





While at the conference we stayed at 'Eagle Rock', part of the YWAM Denver base, just located in the middle of nowhere... Beautiful... So here are some pics! :)





The dorms















the sun











more sun
















YWAM Vegas peeps











dining room and kitchen











YWAM Colorado Springs peeps










yeah, it was nice! :)












the crazies...












fearless Vegas DTS leader













fearless Vegas DTS












Vegas peeps












Vegas peeps

The rubber band gun and why it is significant for me

Last night we had a giving night here at the YWAM Base. Giving nights are awesome and usually very powerful.
This is the way it works: you ask God what He might want you to give away and to whom. Then you wrap it up (just cover it) and bring it to giving night.
You ask the person to join you in the middle, give him/her whatever you brought, explain it if you need to or if God gave you a word or something and then you pray for that person.

It's amazing how powerful giving something away can. Sometimes God asks me to give something big, something my heart is really attached to... (i.e. guitar, money, ipod, computer) and sometimes he asks me to give something small (flag, candle, clock etc)

This time I received something: A rubber band gun!
I'm pretty excited about the gun, but it was the 'explanation' that came with it, that made me cry and thank God for the fact that He really knows what's going on.

It was just one sentence... The guy who gave me the gun said: 'when I see you, when I see you lead, you lead out of a place of fun with God. You're a fun person.'

You got to understand that I don't know this guy very well and he doesn't know me.

To hear that he sees me as 'fun' and to hear that he sees me and God having fun was amazing...

Why, you ask?

Well, for the past couple weeks I haven't heard that at all. in fact, I have heard quite the opposite! A person I really respect came up to me and told me that I look pissed off all the time and mean. He has a problem with my face! (which I can't really change...)

I've asked God to help me through that, coz it seems petty to make a big deal out of that. I love having fun with God and I know that often times that is NOT reflected in my face. But there's nothing I can do about it... except for fake smiling, but that's actually exhausting and not me.

So for someone who doesn't know me to say 'here's a rubber band gun, because I think you're a fun person'... That was pretty much God speaking to me audibly.

So I've had WAY too much fun with that gun today!

Thank you Lord.

Grace

These past couple weeks I've been studying up on grace.
In YWAM we have the privilege of getting some amazing teaching and the grace teaching is one of those that really started to change my life.
And now it was time again to brush up on what grace really means in my life and how I can live it out more.

Here are some things/quotes I learned/liked so far:

Grace is always free for the one who receives it, but it always costs the one who gives it.

The Russian Doll Analogy...
When we get saved the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us (Smallest doll placed in next bigger one)
Then we are also placed IN Christ. (put first 2 dolls into the next bigger one)
When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ.
The image of grace is the image of Christ.
(thanks to Daniel Susenbach for that analogy)

Of course the question of 'cheap grace' comes up... How can you learn something when you're just constantly being handed grace and sort of a free way out? What about knowing that you WILL be forgiven if you sin? The whole attitude of what can we get away with?

Philip Yancey in his book 'what's so amazing about grace' describes it pretty well (page 190)

He makes a great example with a groom who in the wedding night has this conversation with his bride:
'Honey, I love you so much and I'm eager to spend my life with you. but I need to work out a few details. Now that we are married, how far can I go with other women? Can I sleep with them? Kiss them? You don't mind a few affairs now and then, do you? I know it might hurt you, but just think of all the opportunities you'll have to forgive me after I betray you.'

If I approach my relationship with God the same way this groom does, then I don't understand the first thing about love or grace.

Extending grace to others means forgiving them.
Receiving grace means knowing and trusting God, that everything really IS taken care of. Sometimes that is still the hard part for me.

What do you think?

PS: Read 'What's so amazing about grace?'. Great book. :)