Seasons come and seasons go.  One day at a time.  Sunrise, sunset.  Then one morning, you wake up and realize the season has altogether changed.  Sometimes it’s so gradual that it takes a while to notice.  Other times it’s like you’re flying down the highway at 70 miles per hour and suddenly you’ve shifted down to 3rd gear, skipping 4th and without using the brakes… and the engine whines and moans and shudders and shakes till finally you’ve slowed down to a speed reasonable for 3rd gear.  That is how this fall felt.   And I’ve been looking forward to this year’s winter season all year.

This Last Season…

April through mid-October has been a high output, fast paced season for me and for Light of the World Prayer Center.  To summarize, here have been some huge answers to prayer in areas/projects where I have been actively involved:

• In April when I was able to come on staff at LOWPC full time as Worship Director.  The Lord laid this ministry position on my heart at the beginning of 2011, and brought it about in His perfect timing.  This is truly a desire of my heart fulfilled.
• Over the spring and early summer months, we devoted much prayer, time, and energy to defining/refining an organizational structure, staff roles, goals, and expectations.  Over the course of this year, we have added 4 new staff to our team, each with a mentor/supervisor and area of focus.  There are now 15 on our staff team!!
• Fire on the Altar – our first 7 week, full time internship!  It was SUCH an honor to partner with the Lord in ministering to, journeying with and discipling 17 passionate, hungry individuals!  When we gather in unity, genuinely seeking God together, He shows up.  The way God impacted each of these lives would have made the internship worth it.  But it was additionally fruitful for LOWPC as three of the students are now part time staff members, and 6 more have committed to a season of continued involvement in prayer meetings and small group discipleship.
• David’s Tent Olympia – We set up a tent at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia and for 10 days straight, day and night, we lifted up songs of praise and worship to the King of Kings.  The Lord brought it all together, bringing teams from all across the Pacific Northwest to lead at the tent.  We were the first state to to host a David’s Tent.  🙂  I was the night watch captain – my shift was from midnight to 6am every day.  Check out my longer post about DTO and a bunch of pictures here.
• The Lord continues to bring music students.  This provides some financial support, but more importantly gives me the opportunity to teach and train in music.  The majority of my students’ primary goal for learning an instrument is for worship!!
• Since September, once a month I get to lead worship for a local youth group.  It’s such an honor to lead middle and high school students in worship!  It’s also been fun building relationships with the leaders.
• In October, I had the joy of serving a dear friend as maid of honor in her wedding.

So that was this last season!!  Through the busyness, through the serving, through the demands on my time and energy, through the CRAZY, the Lord continues to lead, to draw, to shepherd my heart.  He is the best leader.  He’s been asking me this question since the beginning of 2010: “Do you trust me?”  While I continually realize how many areas I still have to learn to trust, I’ve also realized that the question is less of a test for me and more of God setting Himself up to prove His faithfulness to me, over and over again!!  Time and again, chapter after chapter of His goodness, faithfulness, and relentless love…and when faced with something that seems impossible, I look back at the HisStory of my life so far and dare to take the next step.  This summer, while at gathering for house of prayer leaders from the Pacific Northwest, the Lord gently challenged me again in the area of trust…but in a way I would not have expected.  It came through an invitation.  To dare to hope, dare to dream, dare to believe, and dare to ASK!  Then he added, “Do not dare not to dare!” (a quote from A Horse and His Boy, my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis).  So that is the current assignment.  In every area.

The current season…

I said earlier that I’ve been looking forward to this winter season all year.  I knew going in that most of the year was going to be spent working on important projects, but projects that weren’t necessarily working on my focus area as worship director.  Worship at LOWPC – something that I’ve been praying and dreaming into for years.  An area in which I have so many ideas for and things that I’d like to do that it’s frankly overwhelming.  At the beginning of the year, I thought that at the end of the year I’d finally get to dig in and get started…and I do.  Just not quite in the way I thought.

In September, we started seeking the Lord about the focus of the next season.  Through the scriptures and words that he was highlighting to us, we narrowed it down to three things: It’s time to come home/fall back; it’s time to rest; it’s a time of consecration.  The spring/summer, as I said before, was a season of much output for our entire team.  Very fruitful, and very tiring.  We’ve set aside October through January as a time where we aren’t pushing forward any new projects; we’re scaling Newsong (the multi-church worship/teaching gathering we host) back from weekly to once a month; we’re doing as little ministry-related travel as possible; we’re focusing on rest and health in our physical bodies; we’re spending time with family.  Most importantly, we’re spending time going deeper in relationship with the Lord and with each other.  Seeking the Lord’s face for his plans and purposes and the map for the road ahead.  I don’t know what exactly comes after this season.  I DO know, however, that taking this season and embracing it, for all HE is, is absolutely critical for what lies ahead.  It’s probably bigger than we realize.  We’re laying another foundational layer together in prayer.  We’re being fiercely intentional in doing this.

Prayer Requests…

Here’s how you can partner with me in prayer over the next couple of months:

• Pray for strength and refreshing for the staff, board, and volunteers at LOWPC from Isaiah 40:31.
  

  but they who wait for (or trust in, or hope in) the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

• Pray from Philippians 1:9-10 for the discipleship group I’m leading and for the staff members I’m mentoring/supervising.  Pray that we would grow in love, that we would see each other through our Heavenly Father’s eyes, and that I would have wisdom and be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as we journey together.
  

   And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

• Pray for protection over LOWPC staff relationships and communication from Ephesians 4:1-3 and James 1:19, as we press deeper together in this season.
  

  Eph 4:1-3 – I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

  James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…

• Pray that I would continue to get vision and strategy in the area of worship from the Lord.  With an abundance of ideas, I need wisdom and direction on timing of when to start what.  I continue to organize and facilitate the Burn (24 hours of worship the first Friday/Saturday of each month), coordinate teams for and/or lead worship for events/meetings we host(ie. Newsong), lead worship for 3 weekly prayer meetings, and am working with staff and prayer leaders to develop committed teams around prayer times.
  

  Proverbs 29:18 – Where there is no revelation (vision), the people cast off restraint (or perish, or are disappointed); But happy is he who keeps the law.

  Psalm 127:1 – Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

• Pray for me and the other musicians at LOWPC as we use this season to practice and continue developing skill on our instruments.  Pray for inspiration and discipline for songwriting and other creative expressions of worship!
  

   Psalm 33:3 – Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

• Pray for health and protection in the area of health for all the staff team and our families.  Pray especially for our director, Jason, and his family as they have had a number of medical needs this year.  Pray for provision for medical bills and related expenses.
  

  Psalm 103:2-3 – Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases…

• I’m planning on visiting my sister and brother-in-law in Texas in January, but still waiting for provision for the trip!  Anyone have air-miles they want to share?
• Pray for continued and increased financial support for LOWPC as a whole and for each of our staff.  This support is what allows us devote our time, energy, and talents to this ministry!  It’s a blessing and privilege to partner with the Lord and help build His house in our city!!  Giving to LOWPC and to me through LOWPC is tax-deductible.  If you would like to send a year-end gift, here’s how.

Thank you!! Thank you for your faithful support in prayer and finances!!  I could take each of these praise and prayer points and expound on them SO much more.  My heart is FULL as I reflect on what God’s done this year in me, in those around me, in Bellingham, and beyond!!  Truly, we’re seeing a little bit of His kingdom being established and His will being done, here on earth as it is in heaven.

On the horizon…

If you’ve made it this far and are still reading, here’s one thing in the works for next year that we’re REALLY excited about: a LOWPC original album!!  Our hope is to share a taste of our prayer room with you by capturing some of songs that have been written by our worship leaders/teams while worshiping at LOWPC!!  It will be a live recording project, right here in the prayer room, as our worshipers do what they love to do!!  There will be a couple that I wrote/co-wrote on there.  🙂

I’m praying the Lord’s richest blessings for you in this season of Advent, that Christ, the Light of the World, would shine the brightest in your eyes, would be made the greatest in your heart…

for the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone…For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom,     to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.  (Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7)