A move is coming ...

As I was praying I could feel God's growing power as a blizzard ... If felt like it was cold and dark outside, but the snow was starting to come, the wind starting to blow, things starting to stir! It may be cold, dark times but God is moving and stirring and the blizzard of His Spirit, love and power is coming! I especially felt this move concerning the saving of the lost - God is coming for them!!!
Come Lord Jesus, come!
Show them who You are!
Come like a blizzard!

Dreaming my life away~

I used to have very vivid dreams when I was younger. Almost every night ... dreams that would stick in my mind for the rest of my day, week, month and even on into the years. I never put too much stock into them ... well, I wasn't a believer until a few years ago, so I don't suppose I would have picked up on any meaning anyways! I even tried to get rid of them at one point (with a dream catcher) because they were getting increasingly scary or disturbing, if I remember correctly. Well, as it happened, around the time I got saved was when I stopped dreaming ... at least I cannot recall any for the last 3 or so years. Especially since moving to Japan, I have had almost no dreams whatsoever. That is, of course, until now. Since getting to IHOP it appears that I cannot stop dreaming. I am still not sure what to make of them. Some are very obviously from God and some seem to be but I cannot figure out what they mean. Two of them in particular have me a bit confused because I have had virtually the same basic dream in both occasions but different reactions and things ... gah, it's hard to explain ... Well, I am praying for clarity and we'll see where this goes. I usually don't look for God to speak to me through my dreams, but if He is, I want to be ready and open to receive what He is saying!
More Lord! Let me hear your voice in new and wonderful way!

The Supernatural Ways of Royalty

This is an amazing book. I am only about halfway through reading it, but I would seriously recommend it to anyone looking for a closer relationship with God and a better understanding of who they are in Christ! It covers the poverty spirit, forgiveness, friendship with God and so much more! I really can't express how much I genuinely like this book and how much I feel I have learned from it already! If you are looking for something to read, and even if you aren't, you should definitely give this one a try!
SO GOOD!
YES!

It's kind of personal ...

So, I feel that I haven't been posting as much as I could be, and I'm sorry, but looking back over my journal I've realized that most of the last week+ has been personal revelation, stronghold breaking and God working IN me. Not exactly the best writing material (well, I guess that is debatable but it's not the best for ME). To share briefly, the last few weeks have been a lot about getting stuff out of me that doesn't belong ... not always the most fun process, but a necessary for sure! It's been hard, revealing and, most importantly, freeing! I hope I will have more to share in the future! Yay!

B-B-B-Blackout!

Okay, so the last few days have been a little tough with my cold, not sleeping well and a couple other factors, but today takes the cake for mishaps! As I was in the bathroom, everything suddenly started to go black and I knew it wouldn't be long before I totally lost consciousness ... unfortunately for me, I wasn't fast enough. I suddenly tipped over and smashed my face right onto the tile floor ... was so fuzzy I couldn't even think to put my hands out to catch myself! I landed smack on my mouth and right shoulder. I think the fall actually helped to keep me awake (cause of the pain) and I managed to figure out what was going on pretty quickly. I reached my hand to my mouth only to discover that my labret piercing as gone back through my lip splitting a part of my chin open (and was oozing blood), another piercing had secured itself in my skin and my lip was severely swollen and blood burst! I managed to get up, stick a tissue on my lip, gather my stuff and slink to my bedroom just in time to lay down (preventing me from blacking out again)!
I'm doing much better now ... still in a bit of pain, but no worse off than I normally am! It was an adventure, but not one I'd like to be repeating soon!


Sorry about the up the nose shot on the first pic, but it was the only way to get the full effect! =/

Touched

This last Friday I was able to go out and enjoy some juice with a Japanese friend I met here at IHOP. It was fun to sit and talk and hang out. Later, we went to the Encounter God Service and as I have a cold, asked her to pray for me. As it turns out, Wes had just called out migraines as a prayer focus and so the lady I live with and her friend came to pray over me for that. As they were praying, I felt completely light, as if I wasn't even sitting on the seat anymore. I felt something in my head as well, but am not sure what it was. I don't know if I got healed or not, but the Holy Spirit was definitely doing something!
After they left, my friend asked me if there was anything I was struggling with that I got in Japan - not necessarily a sickness, but any spirit or feeling. Nothing really came to mind, but she felt led to pray over me, break things off and ask forgiveness for her country for the things I had endured there and anything that was clinging to me! It was awesome! It really spoke to my heart. I have never had someone do that for me! In all honesty, I had never thought about things from Japan really attaching themselves to me ... people prayed about it before I left, but I didn't pay it much mind. Hearing her pray for me, thank me for going to her country and then apologize for ways that Japan could have influenced me negatively (plus calling out protection for the next time I go) was SO encouraging and incredible.
I am so grateful.
Thank you Papa for inspiring our hearts and how we pray!
I love this!

An exchange of hearts~

I got a picture the other day of a small, playful fox who, after looking at me, took a running leap and jumped right inside my chest to where my heart is. He looked at it and said "I love this heart" and proceeded to give my heart a huge hug. He then asked "can I consume it?" Not eat it or devour it, but consume it. He waited for a while then asked "well, can I?" I quietly answered yes and in one gulp, he swallowed it whole. Then, his chest began to pulse and his own heart came through. This he set in the place where mine used to dwell. It was dark red, filled with fire and burning coals. "Won't you die without it?" I inquired. "I have yours to sustain me," he replied, "It's worth the sacrifice just to have your heart! To exchange your heart with mine!" Later on, a slinky little weasel tried to get at my new heart but couldn't because it was too hot to touch.

It's a weird picture, but it really speaks to me about the work God wants to do in each of us. He loves our hearts! He delights in them! He wants to consume them, to have them all to Himself. He won't take it unless you let Him. He will wait until you are ready and willing to give it all to Him. When we decided to give all that we have, our whole heart, to Him, He in turn gives us His own heart. It is different, it burns with a fire unlike that of our natural heart. It may be uncomfortable at times, heavier than we are used to, but the exchange is far more than worth it! Having the heart of God protects us from things that would try and enter where they are not wanted. God's heart is a treasure that He is offering for the simple price of our own. Are we willing to pay it?

Make us willing Papa!
Make us desirous of a total heart exchange!

...uh...random...

So, the other day was chock full of random. I couldn't escape it! First, I was in the prayer room and decided to make a run to the restroom. Whilst washing my hands, I observed a girl going from mirror to mirror looking intently at her reflection. Suddenly she turned to me and said "my eyes are lighter ... they like, have light in them or something!" "Oh really?" I said ... I had never met this girl before so I wouldn't have know one way or the other if they were any different than before! "They're different," she said as she proceeded to stick her face an inch away from mine and stare into my eyes so I could see the evidence for myself. Not being too terribly comfortable with the situation, I managed a disbelieving "are they?" "Yes," she confirmed as she finally backed away and out the door. When I told the lady I am staying with about it later, all she had to say was "well, we do attract some crazy ones here." Hahaha!
After that, I waited for my friend to come pick me up and while sitting there, had an interesting conversation with an old lady. She was very sweet, but like to keep a running commentary on the people going in and out of the building. She also is not fond of people who wear jackets when their kids don't have one and Arab people taking over buildings in London, so she said. She was constantly asking if I was cold and had anything warmer at home and if I had a ride. I'm pretty sure she would have driven me home and gotten me a coat on the way if I didn't have them already!
Lastly, I was sitting in on the student chapel ... just chilling in the back on the bleachers getting prayer and this guy comes up to me and asked "are you from Japan?" So I told him yes I was and he informed me that we had met over there when he came before and was wondering if I remembered him. Of course, I said I did but it wasn't until a little while later that I actually figured out who he was. He thought it was "sweet" that I was here. I agree.

Japan team cometh!

So, for the past few weeks, I have been mostly only going between my house and the prayer room. Haven't really ventured out much more than that. It has been really good, but I was looking for a wee bit more people connection. This week I found out that there is a group that prays for Japan every Wednesday and that I was invited to join them! It was very exciting and encouraging to meet with them and pray for Japan together! It is so humbling to meet people whose prayers have made the way for my work in Japan. They have been interceding and crying out for this country long before it was even an idea to me - before I was even a believer! I feel SO honored to not only be called to Japan, and not only to have already gone, but to have been there for 2 years and to get to go back! Also at the meeting, I discovered that there is an IHOP team headed for Japan in less than a week! I had met some of them before, so it was fun to see them again and get to know the new people as well. I attended a sushi fund raiser for them and they prayed over me and encouraged me in my work in Japan. It was really really good! Today I am going to their last team meeting and sharing with them about being American in Japan - the cultural dos and don'ts! I am really glad that I can be a blessing to them, even in this small way! I am so thankful that I have gotten to meet them before I go! It truly was a divine appointment! Thank you Papa!

Rah! Best worship ever!

As much as I hate to admit it ... I totally fell asleep in the prayer room today ... even so, God blessed me with my favorite worship set so far! It was so FUN! It's so encouraging and uplifting to see people just enjoying the Father and having a good time during worship! It really ushers in the joy that God has! The joy He carries inside Himself - that which we are also called to carry! I haven't had any laughing fits, but the joyous heart of the Father has been made increasingly obvious and available here and today was just the BEST so far and I am sooooo looking forward to more! Here is a link to the prayer room archives:

http://www.ihop.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000066807

On the right hand side you will see a list of days and times that you can choose from. Click the one that says "8:00am Tue Nov 30, Jon Thurlow - Worship in the Word", skip to the 51 min mark, sit back and enjoy! It's just a GOOD set! The whole thing, but the middle and last parts especially!

God is good! May His joy consume us!

Back to the 90's ... ??

Found a little gem of a holiday cooking magazine from 1992 ... food looked good and all, but there was one advertisement that I could just could not quite see as being accurate ...



Who, in all honesty, would be that happy to have a pizza shoved in their face right as they walk through the door carrying a bunch of stuff? Answer: NO ONE. I have no idea who they thought this would appeal to. Fail 90s.

The cutting of the rope

The other day during prayer I saw a picture of myself going into the Holy of Holies. I had a bell attached to my ankle (as the priests did from the Old Testament ... it was attached to a rope in case they were struck dead by the glory of God, the other priests could pull them out). God reached down and cut it off - we are now free to enter His presence anytime without fear of death! He has made Himself readily available to us! By the blood of the Lamb we are made pure and are able to enter His courts without spot, blemish or shame! We are able to dance before the King and simply enjoy His presence!
I love this!

A little "pick-me-up"!

God enjoys Himself. The Father loves that we love Jesus, cause He loves Jesus. He enjoys Jesus, therefore He enjoys Himself. We also enjoy Jesus, and because He is in us, we should enjoy ourselves! And the more we become like God, the more He is seen in us. The more of Him we have, the more that is not of Him will be made apparent... this part we do not enjoy about ourselves so we are compelled to get rid of it... to clean it out! Our enjoyment of God and of ourselves leads us to be more Christlike!
So go ahead, enjoy yourself!
(^_^)b

Charlie Brown and the Meat-Free Thanksgiving!

Alright folks!
I apologize in advance for the attack upon what you hold so dear in your hearts as the traditional Thanksgiving feast, but Tim was kind enough to take pity on me and make an entirely meat free meal! He did, however, make enough food for 7 people when there were only 2 of us eating ...







We had mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, quiche, french bread, peppered cream cheese log, cranberry relish, fruit and vegetable plate (with ranch!) and brownies! [BONUS - if you look closely, you may notice a certain magazine on the table... it's from 1992 and was full of exciting meal ideas ... as well as some painfully 90's clothing ensembles!] Luckily we live with a bunch of guys who will, without a doubt, help us polish off the leftovers!
It was a good day.

Psalm 116:17
"I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and will worship the Lord."
<3

*contemplation*

During prayer I got an image of Jesus placing a ring on my finger.
The feeling was that we are engaged but not yet married, so my heart needs to be set on the wedding day. The ring is on our hand, but often we wear it as just another piece of average jewelery. We don't feel the true weight of it, the worth of it, the meaning of it. My roommate is engaged (gee, I wonder who I could be referring to) and when her fiance is gone, she misses him. She eagerly looks forward to his return. She wants to hurry up and get married so that they can be together. This must be our heart toward the Bridegroom.
Although we are engaged, we often live our lives as one determined to be a bachelor(ette) up until the very day of the nuptials. We live freely and flirtatiously with the world around us, parceling out our affections to things far inferior to what we are called to. Inferior to what we are offered. We constantly trod upon the feelings and heart of our Betrothed. Whether we do it on purpose, or out of worldly habit, our love is rarely poured out to Christ and Christ alone.
If only we would return the love He has for us!
If only we would live as one desperately anticipating our wedding!
Anticipating our Bridegroom!

..fasting..

Part of the preparation of the bride before the wedding day, preparation for the Bridegroom's return. It's part of the beauty treatment we must go through before being presented to the Lamb. Not that He doesn't already see us as beautiful, He does. He has already chosen us, this is our part of the deal. Asking God the Father to weed out what doesn't belong and to grow and move in you that which will get you closer to being who He has called / designed you to be! That which will draw you deeper and deeper into His heart, the heart you are going to be bound to for the rest of eternity. To understand more and more of your Beloved. Is anything to great a sacrifice to give up for Him? How badly do we want to know him?

I hunger and thirst for Your righteousness Papa!
Nothing else will satisfy me!

Father, Son, Bride - a unique dynamic

God the Father loves His Son and is looking for a bride that will love Him with the same love. God gives us His love not only so that we know we are loved by Him but also in order that we can love His Son with the same love, with the very love of God. A kind of love that, in our natural state, we would never be capable of. That we can love Him with the same fire, passion and desire that the Father has toward Him. He finds us a suitable partner, a suitable bride for the Son that He loves so much.
At the same time, Jesus Himself finds us so desirable that He has chosen us as the one He will present to the Father as His bride. The one He can stand before the throne with and say "Father, here is the bride I have chosen to be by my side forever, to rule and reign with me over our kingdom!"

Oh, the delight, desire and love God has for us!
It blows my mind.
The entirety of His being resonates with a deep longing for us!
It is only right that we respond. That we go after Him with a wholeheartedness not given to anything else in our lives.
That we are obsessed with Him. That our lives are given in an endeavor to make ourselves ready for the day of the Bridegroom's return, given to the preparation of a bride for her wedding day.
The day of His heart's desire. The day He finally gets to be with us.
Create in us a burning for that day, an unquenchable thirst and passion for our marriage to the Lamb!

Thank you for choosing us God! Thank you for desiring us! Thank you for loving us!

Photo Op ... Room Style Go

Well, I realize my posts are a little backwards, but I wanted to post the more exciting things first ... so I did.
Now let's take a step back and sneak a peek at my IHOP-KC lodgings, shall we?







There ya have it. My little room in Kansas City. Bed, rocking chair (bonus), dresser, closet, mirror (with bonus shot of me), desk (complete with Jet Li background on my laptop) ... perfect! I am staying with a rather adorable couple called the Heckards and sharing the rest of the house with 6 guys! Good thing I am used to that, thanks YWAM! :)

Roat Drip (or Road Trip, whichever you prefer)

Trippin' Around the good ole US of A ...
It's 2:30 in the morning and I am having a difficult time posting pics, but at this hour it's a little hard to care so you only get one.
You better enjoy it!

The delight of the Father

Attended an awakening service tonight.
Was challenged to pray for others.
Asked the Lord to give me someone to pray for.
Next thing I know a lady stands up behind me.
She wants prayer for neck and shoulder.
She's had pain there for some time.
We laid hands on her and began to pray.
A few minutes later she suddenly jerked her body away from us.
I thought maybe she was done with the prayer process.
Thankfully, I was wrong.
She moved her head and shoulder and informed us that the pain she had felt for so long was now gone. Completely.
Not only that, but the migraine she had had all day before coming was also gone.

THANK YOU GOD. YOU ARE SOOOOO GOOD!

God delights in us. He delights to heal us.
He formed our bodies and he loves them.
We are His sanctuary, His resting place.

I love you Papa!

worship, worship, worship

I got to see two of the more famous IHOP worship leaders tonight - a miss Misty Edwards and a certain Matt Gilman. Misty was great and the presence of the Lord was obvious but it was Matt Gilman who made my evening. Well okay, if I'm honest, Jesus made my evening - Mr. Gilman was just a bonus. A fantastic bonus. I think that out of all the IHOP worship leaders, he is my favorite. He takes you straight to the throne room of God, he creates and atmosphere of complete abandon to Him. He draws out emotions and feelings in a way that I have not often seen done. He sings with a conviction and passion that causes my heart to respond. That is successful worship right there. Plus, he has an INCREDIBLE voice.

Props to you, Matt Gilman.
For listening to the Holy Spirit.
For singing out your love for Him.

...........

If you don't know who Matt Gilman is or haven't heard any of his music, I would suggest checking out his album "Holy" (with Cory Asbury, overall worship leader for IHOP). It's amazing. Honestly.

A little surprise, a glimpse of God's heart

As I think most of you know, I enjoy a good dance.
Especially if it's put to Korean pop music.
Obvious guilty pleasure, but I'm not ashamed!
I experienced dance in a whole new way tonight though. Now before you get to excited, I shall make it clear that it wasn't ME who was dancing - sorry.
Just before I begin, a little confession, I am a worship watcher. I occasionally (and by this I mean "often") watch other people worship God. I love it. It's so inspiring to see other people delight in and praise Him. I've watched some of you worship. Get over it.
With that said, on with my story.
Tonight during worship I witnessed something that completely touched my heart and made me marvel at how truly amazing God is.
I saw men dance. I mean, I saw them really dance. For God. It was remarkable.

Our God is an awesome God, He reigns...

First, there was this bald gentlemen in a red shirt (imagine a shorter version of Adam Carlson). He simply spread out his arms and spun in circles at the front of the room. Not paying any attention to the crowd behind him, he simply enjoyed the presence of God.

Then came a young man ... he danced with all the passion and intensity of the girls next to him. If an objective observer to were to see, I imagine they would liken him to the drunk brother of the bride who invaded the dance floor at the reception and who everyone wishes would just go away. Such was the ridiculousness of his motions. He was completely foolish, completely abandoned, completely enjoying the love of His king.

Next to him came the other most inspiring dancer of the evening. A long haired, larger gentlemen who had to be at least in his mid 40s. He looked like a trucker and if I had seen him outside that building, I probably would have crossed the street to avoid him. What I saw come from his heart during the song astounded me. Here was this guy, totally lost in his dance before his Beloved. He skipped around, held is hands to his heart and not once did he seem to worry about what was going on behind him - he was enjoying Jesus and that was enough.

Just as the deer pants for the the water brook...

As the songs changed, so did the dancers. I looked over to where I had last seen the young man only to find a balding one in his place. This was no disappointment however because this man, as the one before him, was dancing before God with everything he had. To me, it looked like a sad attempt at ballet, but I could feel the pleasure of the Lord as I watched him. He was unashamedly pouring out his heart to the lover he knew would gladly accept it.

Lastly, there was a tall, thin gentlemen who I had also seen the night before. His brand of dancing appeared more like a tweaker at a rave than an art. He twitched violently and spazz'emd all over the place. It was surreal. It was his heart. It was awesome.

There were of course, I few ladies who danced as well.
One that was particularly encouraging was an older lady (probably mid-70s I would say) dance and circle her way around the room for her Lord. She didn't move much, but she gave her all in an endeavor to please the King. Mission, accomplished.

Lastly, I got to see some epic African braided head banging. Took me a little by surprise. Haha!

...........

There you have it. The beauty of dancing before the Lord. I still haven't done it but I definitely felt a pull in that direction tonight! I want to delight in Him so much that I am lost to the world around me, completely abandoned to my delight of Him!!! If that means praying, then I will pray. If it means singing, then I will sing. And if it means dancing, then I will dance.

I love you Jesus.
You are more than worth it.

The foundation of our generation

I love IHOP.
I really do. Not just because it is "IHOP" but the people there are incredible.
The thing I love most is the older people. I mean, it's encouraging and exciting to see how many young people, people from my generation, who are there worshiping and loving God there are. It's a must - our generation NEEDS to rise up - but it's much more fantastic to me to see people a little older ... 40, 50, 60, 70 ... These are the people who, after years of doing Christianity one way, have let Jesus work a great change in them and learn to love and enjoy and see Him in a totally different way! These are the people that will mentor, guide and release our generation! They are abandoned to God and in letting themselves be so, show the younger generation what it looks like to go after Him with everything that they have and to give themselves over to Him no matter what it looks like. I have mad respect for these people and can only hope one day to be as much a beacon of Christ as they are.
Already my experience at IHOP is an amazing one.
Already I am being surprised, fascinated and captured by God.
Already I can feel a change in me.

Thank you God for letting me come!
I'm not leaving without your heart!