Woah! Another week has flown by. So unbelievable how fast the time goes by here. The weeks are going by insanely fast and it's hard to believe we've just finished our fifth week of lecture phase. I've been learning so much! This week our topic was on the Fear of God. We had the base director of YWAM Perth come and speak to us on it and it was a super challenging topic to discuss at times but at the same time, extremely interesting.
It's hard sometimes to get my thoughts together and focused to write something but I'm super eager to share what we've been learning here this week. We've been introduced to tons of scripture on the Fear of God and it's be such a learning experience going through it all together and having someone talk about it. I'd have to say a highlight from this week would be not having fear of men, but fear of God. In my life, I've often gone to other people on confirmation on what I should be doing instead of going to God. When I've felt convicted of doing something wrong, I've been afraid of seeking out God and instead I've gone to others and asked for direction, counsel, guidance. This week I've been practicing going to God for it and it's led me to making a ton of steps towards forgiveness and repentance towards others. When I've felt convicted of something, I spend time with Him in prayer or just waiting on His voice and it never ceases to amaze me how especially present He is in those times! This has probably been one of the most important lessons to me in my step towards healing. I'm learning how to focus on not being afraid of others judging me and what I do because the only thing I should be concerned of is if I'm honoring God in what I do. And it was that very thing that led me to making some super important decisions in regards to my life.
I'd say a low time this week was most definitely the fact that God has humbled me immensely during this time. And having to push through that was very painful and difficult to realize. I've been very prideful in how I dealt with some things and even the way I looked at situations. At first I was quite at odds with this and thought "Well no, I didn't do anything wrong in those situations." but even while telling myself that, I knew the wrong I had done was been prideful, even since then. One thing that constantly was on the forefront of my mind in the final parts of this week was the way Jesus humbled himself and washed his disciple's feet. My friend, Abby, and I were going to lead worship this past Thursday and we decided that doing this as a group together would be a good idea. It brought together an amazing feeling of unity for us and with that as a theme in my mind since then, it resulted in me taking some steps to taking down the walls of pride in my life and letting God humble me by following His voice. I can't say I like what my next steps in this are, as it takes humbling myself to others as well, but we don't live life to do the things we want. We're called to glorify God in all that we do, difficult or not.
It's been an amazing educational time here and there's always so much going on that it's hard to concentrate on a daily basis sometimes. If you could be praying for a better sense of focus for me, I would appreciate that. Also that God would continue to humble me in all the areas that I need to be humbled in and that I would keep having the willingness to follow where He is leading me and what steps I need to be taking. I have one on behalf of my best friend, who has just arrived back from her outreach yesterday and is quite jetlagged. Pray that she will be energetic and awake enough to fully participate and enjoy her last week here! :)
Love and miss you all SO much!!!
-Naomi
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." - Proverbs 9:10
Friday, February 13, 2015
Friday, February 6, 2015
Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours
The Father heart. That was the topic this week. I can't remember a week that's been more difficult for me to push myself through. It's hard to put it all into words to communicate and for you to understand, but I do want to try, so that you at least get a glimpse into what my world was, and is, like right now.
I'll begin with the hardest part. We discussed heart problems. The first question God asked Adam and Eve in the garden was "Where are you?" It wasn't a matter of God not knowing where they were. This is the contextual question of where they're at, where they're coming from. The second question He asks them is "Who told you?" This is a question of authority, as in where did it come from? Who did they look to for the authority at that time? And the last question was this: "Have you eaten?" Which is the responsibility and stewardship question. God gives them the opportunity to step forward and take responsibility for what they've done, and instead they shift the blame. Adam says "The woman YOU GAVE ME." Eve says "THE SNAKE..." In both cases, neither takes responsibility. Adam blames God and the woman, and Eve blames the snake.
Having that as the base for our week (a look into the heart of mankind), we dove deeper into ourselves and had many discussions during class to get to our heart issues. They had theirs, and it never ends there. It continues to this very day. I went through a conversation in class as well where we looked at our families (context), who we gave authority to in our lives, and then learned how to have stewardship over that. We all come from broken lives, broken families, because we're all imperfect. And when things don't go the way we planned, it's never our right to turn it on our families and say "Oh, if they'd only been different," or "Well, they did this wrong," because Adam and Eve had the perfect Father and they still messed up to an incredulous extent.
See, we can go the rest of our lives blaming each other and trying to make sense of matters, thinking that if things were different, everything would change, but the truth of the matter is, that's not the case. We're all human. The human race is a mess. Sin corrupted us and blankets us with lies that surround us as we grow up, and no matter what happens, we will always have heart issues no matter what family we grow up in, no matter who we surround ourselves with, they will be there because our world is a world of dysfunction. That's not said to discourage you, but rather to encourage you because now we all know we're in this life together, to build one another up, to help each other grow and see past the brokenness that we've come to know.
I won't go into detail with what my heart issue was, because it's personal for me and I've chosen to keep that to myself unless I decide to speak it out to someone. My family in Christ here knows because they witnessed the speaker and I digging to the bottom of it and putting words to the feelings in the deepest parts of my heart, but I'm at peace with this somehow. It is something I will need to work through, and it's something everyone else here is working through as well. I've shed many tears today on this topic because sometimes the pain of looking into oneself after never having completely done that can be entirely too overwhelming for someone to bear. Please pray for me as I continue on in this process. God is growing me into the woman He desires me to be and even though I strongly dislike this process, it is one I'm willing to go through because I know it will be worth it.
I know this post is getting to be quite a bit longer than I intended it to be, but I'd like to share the highlight of this week as well. I am filled with joy. It's strange, I know, because of the turmoil that's been going on in my heart, but it's an odd mixture of these feelings that I have. My heart is being broken bit by bit, but in that, I'm finding myself relying on Him more and more every day. Something that has given me much comfort in this is a phrase I've come to love. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours." It's this phrase that I 've carried with me this week. I find myself having a conversation with God every morning before I get out of bed. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours. I hate this, God. But do it anyways. I'd like to get this part over with, if You don't mind." Not your usual prayer, I know, but I've always been an honest person when it comes to my discussions with Him, so I'm sure He understands.
I've had many deep discussions this week with fellow students and staff. I honestly believe I've come such a long way from the lost, broken girl who arrived here 4 weeks ago. I've felt joy in my heart. I've felt my heart break in more ways than I can count, I've found a loving family in Christ who supports me and stands by me, and I've found even more evidence of God's love towards me. It is so overwhelming sometimes to see the goodness that He has in store for me and to feel His presence as I walk through the rougher days here. I've also been able to bring singing and music into life here and it's brought me more joy than I can even express in words!
Today we were given the analogy on how we are like a water bottle and God is like an ocean. We can only hold so much water, but He has an immeasurable amount. He created us to love us and have a relationship with us and He wants to be able to flow through us so much that we overflow with love that we pass on to others. Naturally, there will be brokenness, and the brokenness creates holes in the bottom of the bottle. But that is the only way for the water to flow out when it is being filled at the top. He pours into us, we pour out to others through our broken lives, and so the cycle goes. I like that a lot. It comforts me knowing that God is using my brokenness to pour His love into others lives. I'm starting to see it as a blessing. I think I may even be close to being thankful for it. Not quite, but I may be getting there.
Thank you all again for your continuous love, support, and prayers. One last thing that I need to say is that if any of you are feeling compelled to help me out financially while I'm here, please contact me on Facebook, Email, or even on here. I am still needing finances for my outreach and the date is coming up pretty quickly! You can help by...
1. If you have any bottles that you'd like to get rid of, let me know and I'll send someone over to pick them up. The money will go directly into my account and then get forwarded to YWAM right here in Australia.
2. If you're wondering what to do with all of that loose change, put it in a piggy bank over time and at the end of February, I would love to take it off your hands, if you'd be so kind. :)
Missing you all like CRAZY! Sending lots and lots of love!!!
- Naomi C. Friesen
I'll begin with the hardest part. We discussed heart problems. The first question God asked Adam and Eve in the garden was "Where are you?" It wasn't a matter of God not knowing where they were. This is the contextual question of where they're at, where they're coming from. The second question He asks them is "Who told you?" This is a question of authority, as in where did it come from? Who did they look to for the authority at that time? And the last question was this: "Have you eaten?" Which is the responsibility and stewardship question. God gives them the opportunity to step forward and take responsibility for what they've done, and instead they shift the blame. Adam says "The woman YOU GAVE ME." Eve says "THE SNAKE..." In both cases, neither takes responsibility. Adam blames God and the woman, and Eve blames the snake.
Having that as the base for our week (a look into the heart of mankind), we dove deeper into ourselves and had many discussions during class to get to our heart issues. They had theirs, and it never ends there. It continues to this very day. I went through a conversation in class as well where we looked at our families (context), who we gave authority to in our lives, and then learned how to have stewardship over that. We all come from broken lives, broken families, because we're all imperfect. And when things don't go the way we planned, it's never our right to turn it on our families and say "Oh, if they'd only been different," or "Well, they did this wrong," because Adam and Eve had the perfect Father and they still messed up to an incredulous extent.
See, we can go the rest of our lives blaming each other and trying to make sense of matters, thinking that if things were different, everything would change, but the truth of the matter is, that's not the case. We're all human. The human race is a mess. Sin corrupted us and blankets us with lies that surround us as we grow up, and no matter what happens, we will always have heart issues no matter what family we grow up in, no matter who we surround ourselves with, they will be there because our world is a world of dysfunction. That's not said to discourage you, but rather to encourage you because now we all know we're in this life together, to build one another up, to help each other grow and see past the brokenness that we've come to know.
I won't go into detail with what my heart issue was, because it's personal for me and I've chosen to keep that to myself unless I decide to speak it out to someone. My family in Christ here knows because they witnessed the speaker and I digging to the bottom of it and putting words to the feelings in the deepest parts of my heart, but I'm at peace with this somehow. It is something I will need to work through, and it's something everyone else here is working through as well. I've shed many tears today on this topic because sometimes the pain of looking into oneself after never having completely done that can be entirely too overwhelming for someone to bear. Please pray for me as I continue on in this process. God is growing me into the woman He desires me to be and even though I strongly dislike this process, it is one I'm willing to go through because I know it will be worth it.
I know this post is getting to be quite a bit longer than I intended it to be, but I'd like to share the highlight of this week as well. I am filled with joy. It's strange, I know, because of the turmoil that's been going on in my heart, but it's an odd mixture of these feelings that I have. My heart is being broken bit by bit, but in that, I'm finding myself relying on Him more and more every day. Something that has given me much comfort in this is a phrase I've come to love. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours." It's this phrase that I 've carried with me this week. I find myself having a conversation with God every morning before I get out of bed. "Break my heart for what breaks Yours. I hate this, God. But do it anyways. I'd like to get this part over with, if You don't mind." Not your usual prayer, I know, but I've always been an honest person when it comes to my discussions with Him, so I'm sure He understands.
I've had many deep discussions this week with fellow students and staff. I honestly believe I've come such a long way from the lost, broken girl who arrived here 4 weeks ago. I've felt joy in my heart. I've felt my heart break in more ways than I can count, I've found a loving family in Christ who supports me and stands by me, and I've found even more evidence of God's love towards me. It is so overwhelming sometimes to see the goodness that He has in store for me and to feel His presence as I walk through the rougher days here. I've also been able to bring singing and music into life here and it's brought me more joy than I can even express in words!
Today we were given the analogy on how we are like a water bottle and God is like an ocean. We can only hold so much water, but He has an immeasurable amount. He created us to love us and have a relationship with us and He wants to be able to flow through us so much that we overflow with love that we pass on to others. Naturally, there will be brokenness, and the brokenness creates holes in the bottom of the bottle. But that is the only way for the water to flow out when it is being filled at the top. He pours into us, we pour out to others through our broken lives, and so the cycle goes. I like that a lot. It comforts me knowing that God is using my brokenness to pour His love into others lives. I'm starting to see it as a blessing. I think I may even be close to being thankful for it. Not quite, but I may be getting there.
Thank you all again for your continuous love, support, and prayers. One last thing that I need to say is that if any of you are feeling compelled to help me out financially while I'm here, please contact me on Facebook, Email, or even on here. I am still needing finances for my outreach and the date is coming up pretty quickly! You can help by...
1. If you have any bottles that you'd like to get rid of, let me know and I'll send someone over to pick them up. The money will go directly into my account and then get forwarded to YWAM right here in Australia.
2. If you're wondering what to do with all of that loose change, put it in a piggy bank over time and at the end of February, I would love to take it off your hands, if you'd be so kind. :)
Missing you all like CRAZY! Sending lots and lots of love!!!
- Naomi C. Friesen
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Arms Wide Open
Another week of lectures has finished on this stranger weathered Australian Friday. My mind is once more in a frenzy as I try to piece together everything I've learned and it's strange realizing that it really is possible to learn a life's amount of lessons in a matter of months, but it seems as though that's what's been going on here. Lately I've been trying my hardest to communicate, really communicate, the things that I learn and walk through during this eventful journey. I don't think I've ever had to go through a more overwhelming process than the one I'm currently in.
The topic this week was on the character and nature of God and it has blown my mind. I'm not entirely sure where to start in sharing the experiences and difficulties I've faced this week, so forgive me if it's all a bit out of sorts!
I'll definitely start with the highlight of the week for myself. On Wednesday, my Emerge school group did an activity in our afternoon class of writing our name on a sheet of paper, decorating it a bit, and then sitting around a table and passing the sheets around to write a note of encouragement, a picture that God has shown you to share with this person, or a scripture of some sort. Anything that could be an encouragement to them. When I received my sheet of paper back, I was extremely overwhelmed with everything that everyone had written on it to encourage me! The following day, we again did a similar exercise with the addition of the Sports school group as well. Again, I received incredible words of encouragement from everyone. One note that stood out to me the most was this one: "There's an inner sunshine in you. Can't wait to get to know you better and see you shine!" This one spoke volumes to me as it was something I'd been struggling with these past six months. How could I shine again? I've felt so burnt out and just dead inside for so long. Sometimes it feels like I've forgotten how to laugh and smile, so for someone to see that and say that to me was a little strange. I've wondered for a long time how to step out and shine again the way I knew I could. It concerned me that no one really knew me and it scared me to think that what if these whole six months went by without anyone really knowing the sunny, bubbly, expressive me that I am? It seemed though that while I was questioning all of this, God was already working on something. He took something I'm passionate about and directed it back to me through music, showing me a lot of direction on the next step I should take. I noticed that God wanted me to step out more and put myself out there, so that He could begin using me for His glory. Of course, this is scary for me and I'm terrified of those dumb questions of "What if no one likes the sunny, bubbly, expressive me?" or "What am I supposed to do now?" popping up, because I know they definitely will. But I'll be fighting against those for the next while as I learn to express myself again, especially in a new community such as the one I've moved into. That was a highlight for me this week. Getting to know myself again.
Now the not so easy part. The biggest struggle. These past six months of my life, and even prior to that, I've learned how to turn off my emotions and numb myself to feeling things. I thought that was what was best and I thought that was the easiest route to take, instead of facing a lot of pain and heartache that come along with the experiences I've gone through. Along with learning the things I've learned this week, I've still been processing the things of the past week about vulnerability. Feelings come along when one becomes vulnerable and last week, I'd finished my blog post with not quite knowing how to go from knowing to being. (I didn't phrase it in those words, but that is somewhat along the lines of what I'd meant.) However this week, I have come to terms with it and it's a slow process of taking it one step at a time. It was a week of firsts as I expressed to someone how I felt about something, which I was terrified of doing, but in the end it strengthened our bond and made me love this person all the more. I went to someone for help with an emotional struggle I've been facing this week and found open arms and a load of understanding, as we talked and prayed together. Even though feeling again has unlocked a lot of positive things, it's mostly been the rough side of emotions that I've had to deal with. Because of blocking out sadness and heartache, I've had to invite those things in again along with the joy and excitement of feelings. I'm still in a place where I don't know what to do with the emotions I've been flooded with. Sometimes I laugh like a maniac because I'm finally able to and other times I just sit and cry because I have no idea what feeling is like anymore. It'll be a slow process of adjusting to all this unfamiliar weirdness. I never knew that I was really numb until all of this happened and suddenly it all flooded over me in this waterfall of icy water. It really is something I can't put into words.
I think the main thing I will need prayer for this week is just the ability to maintain openness and vulnerability with the amazing family I've found in these people. They're all loving, accepting, and eager to get to know one another, so pray that my heart continues to open up more with each passing day and that I would have understanding in other areas that God wants me to grow in. Prayer for patience is also something I would appreciate, as I'm a bit impatient when I know something is going on.
Thank you all so much for your love and support as I continue on this indescribable journey!
-Naomi
The topic this week was on the character and nature of God and it has blown my mind. I'm not entirely sure where to start in sharing the experiences and difficulties I've faced this week, so forgive me if it's all a bit out of sorts!
I'll definitely start with the highlight of the week for myself. On Wednesday, my Emerge school group did an activity in our afternoon class of writing our name on a sheet of paper, decorating it a bit, and then sitting around a table and passing the sheets around to write a note of encouragement, a picture that God has shown you to share with this person, or a scripture of some sort. Anything that could be an encouragement to them. When I received my sheet of paper back, I was extremely overwhelmed with everything that everyone had written on it to encourage me! The following day, we again did a similar exercise with the addition of the Sports school group as well. Again, I received incredible words of encouragement from everyone. One note that stood out to me the most was this one: "There's an inner sunshine in you. Can't wait to get to know you better and see you shine!" This one spoke volumes to me as it was something I'd been struggling with these past six months. How could I shine again? I've felt so burnt out and just dead inside for so long. Sometimes it feels like I've forgotten how to laugh and smile, so for someone to see that and say that to me was a little strange. I've wondered for a long time how to step out and shine again the way I knew I could. It concerned me that no one really knew me and it scared me to think that what if these whole six months went by without anyone really knowing the sunny, bubbly, expressive me that I am? It seemed though that while I was questioning all of this, God was already working on something. He took something I'm passionate about and directed it back to me through music, showing me a lot of direction on the next step I should take. I noticed that God wanted me to step out more and put myself out there, so that He could begin using me for His glory. Of course, this is scary for me and I'm terrified of those dumb questions of "What if no one likes the sunny, bubbly, expressive me?" or "What am I supposed to do now?" popping up, because I know they definitely will. But I'll be fighting against those for the next while as I learn to express myself again, especially in a new community such as the one I've moved into. That was a highlight for me this week. Getting to know myself again.
Now the not so easy part. The biggest struggle. These past six months of my life, and even prior to that, I've learned how to turn off my emotions and numb myself to feeling things. I thought that was what was best and I thought that was the easiest route to take, instead of facing a lot of pain and heartache that come along with the experiences I've gone through. Along with learning the things I've learned this week, I've still been processing the things of the past week about vulnerability. Feelings come along when one becomes vulnerable and last week, I'd finished my blog post with not quite knowing how to go from knowing to being. (I didn't phrase it in those words, but that is somewhat along the lines of what I'd meant.) However this week, I have come to terms with it and it's a slow process of taking it one step at a time. It was a week of firsts as I expressed to someone how I felt about something, which I was terrified of doing, but in the end it strengthened our bond and made me love this person all the more. I went to someone for help with an emotional struggle I've been facing this week and found open arms and a load of understanding, as we talked and prayed together. Even though feeling again has unlocked a lot of positive things, it's mostly been the rough side of emotions that I've had to deal with. Because of blocking out sadness and heartache, I've had to invite those things in again along with the joy and excitement of feelings. I'm still in a place where I don't know what to do with the emotions I've been flooded with. Sometimes I laugh like a maniac because I'm finally able to and other times I just sit and cry because I have no idea what feeling is like anymore. It'll be a slow process of adjusting to all this unfamiliar weirdness. I never knew that I was really numb until all of this happened and suddenly it all flooded over me in this waterfall of icy water. It really is something I can't put into words.
I think the main thing I will need prayer for this week is just the ability to maintain openness and vulnerability with the amazing family I've found in these people. They're all loving, accepting, and eager to get to know one another, so pray that my heart continues to open up more with each passing day and that I would have understanding in other areas that God wants me to grow in. Prayer for patience is also something I would appreciate, as I'm a bit impatient when I know something is going on.
Thank you all so much for your love and support as I continue on this indescribable journey!
-Naomi
Friday, January 23, 2015
Tears of Change
This week has been incredibly intense for me. I can't remember a time when I've cried as much as I have. It's been so overwhelming being here and having all these new things brought into my life. It's a huge change not only externally but internally as well.
The topic was Hearing God's Voice and Communicating with God. It centered a lot around vulnerability and that's where I had a really difficult time. It involved being open with the people around me and with God and even myself at times. There were multiple exercises about digging into oneself and listening for God's voice, which has amazing and wondrous results. I never felt more in tune than in those moments.
Honestly, the majority of this week was spent asking myself the question "Why am I here?" The things I had to walk through and am still working through went painfully deep and every time we'd come out of a deep thought-provoking and spiritually searching exercise, I always ended up in a pile of tears. My days were spent wondering what was happening and my nights were spent questioning what on earth God was doing to me. I felt broken and I can't recall a time in my life when I've had to face so many difficulties in just making it to class without breaking down or being surrounded by people every day.
I avoided as many things involving people as I could until I finally confided in someone that I was slowly shutting down, which is probably one of the first times I've gone to someone about that with the intention of getting help to steer clear of it. And it worked. I was in a dark spot and by pushing myself to my limit and surrounding myself with loving, supportive people whenever I could was actually surprisingly good for an introvert like me. And the encouragement I received brought me to tears, but the happy sort this time.
All week, I've felt in sort of a black hole in the area of my spiritual life. I've never walked through a healing process like this, and yes that's what I believe this is. I've faced every hurt area that I've had in the past year and even though it's still difficult and I still don't understand what's going on, I think it will all be okay. Waking up this morning, I laid in bed and again said "God, why am I here?" and I had this distinct impression of a still voice saying "Persevere, Naomi. You've done well. Keep persevering. Be strong. You're almost there." That was definitely a jump start to my day!
And that is honestly where I'm at. Still in the middle of this strange mess I'm facing but feeling strangely calm and patient with it. I would really appreciate prayer in this as I know it is only the beginning of a long and crazy journey. And with that, I'm signing off this entry. There's not much left to say other than what I've shared because I'm still in the midst of processing all of this and working through it. But thank you for all of your love and support while I've been here! It's been an adventurous and incredible two weeks so far!
- Naomi
The topic was Hearing God's Voice and Communicating with God. It centered a lot around vulnerability and that's where I had a really difficult time. It involved being open with the people around me and with God and even myself at times. There were multiple exercises about digging into oneself and listening for God's voice, which has amazing and wondrous results. I never felt more in tune than in those moments.
Honestly, the majority of this week was spent asking myself the question "Why am I here?" The things I had to walk through and am still working through went painfully deep and every time we'd come out of a deep thought-provoking and spiritually searching exercise, I always ended up in a pile of tears. My days were spent wondering what was happening and my nights were spent questioning what on earth God was doing to me. I felt broken and I can't recall a time in my life when I've had to face so many difficulties in just making it to class without breaking down or being surrounded by people every day.
I avoided as many things involving people as I could until I finally confided in someone that I was slowly shutting down, which is probably one of the first times I've gone to someone about that with the intention of getting help to steer clear of it. And it worked. I was in a dark spot and by pushing myself to my limit and surrounding myself with loving, supportive people whenever I could was actually surprisingly good for an introvert like me. And the encouragement I received brought me to tears, but the happy sort this time.
All week, I've felt in sort of a black hole in the area of my spiritual life. I've never walked through a healing process like this, and yes that's what I believe this is. I've faced every hurt area that I've had in the past year and even though it's still difficult and I still don't understand what's going on, I think it will all be okay. Waking up this morning, I laid in bed and again said "God, why am I here?" and I had this distinct impression of a still voice saying "Persevere, Naomi. You've done well. Keep persevering. Be strong. You're almost there." That was definitely a jump start to my day!
And that is honestly where I'm at. Still in the middle of this strange mess I'm facing but feeling strangely calm and patient with it. I would really appreciate prayer in this as I know it is only the beginning of a long and crazy journey. And with that, I'm signing off this entry. There's not much left to say other than what I've shared because I'm still in the midst of processing all of this and working through it. But thank you for all of your love and support while I've been here! It's been an adventurous and incredible two weeks so far!
- Naomi
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Insanity
This past week has flown by so quickly and yet I feel like I've been here for so long. It was more of a settling in sort of week for us all here. Learning the ropes of the place, about YWAM and how it came to be, along with the vision, and things like that.
Lectures started more towards the end of the week and although I know the word lecture sounds like it wouldn't be so fun, I find myself enjoying them so much already! The things we learn, the way it's explained to us, it's all in a way that I've never thought of looking at it before.
We learned about how God created us with the intent of having a purposeful relationship with us and how that theme carries through the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament, we see numerous occasions where God wants to be with the people. Then in the New Testament we see how God comes to us through Jesus Christ and how He dwells within us now. The whole theme of it is how God just wants a relationship with us. It wasn't that the topic was new to me, I just had never noticed how much of a pattern had formed throughout all of the stories in the Bible. Satan seeks to destroy relationships and that's his motivation. Whereas God seeks to have a relationship and encourages us to have relationships with others.
We also learned about the role of the Holy Spirit in a disciple and the role of the disciple. This was probably my favorite of the two lectures and I especially loved how the speaker explained that condemnation was from Satan and others, while conviction was something from the Holy Spirit. Conviction moves us towards God, towards being a better person for Him. Condemnation makes us feel ashamed and move away from God and feel like we're not good enough. This, among many other things, are what has got me thinking quite a lot. And has made me reevaluate how I see the Holy Spirit in me. Not as someone taking part of me away, but someone who is adding to me and completing me.
It was a wonderful time of thinking for me and I especially loved the part about how the Holy Spirit brings with it a feeling of acceptance, belonging, value, etc. It's been hard on me to settle in here because I often feel like I don't belong, like no one will accept me, like I'm worthless. And I know that's not what the Holy Spirit is about. I live with an eternity of all of these things because I'm a part of God's kingdom. Acceptance by others doesn't matter, because I am accepted by God. I am worth so much in the eyes of my Heavenly Father.
The role of the disciple was what our role is to be followers of God. I liked this part a lot because it showed us a list of what we are to be if we're to represent God in the way we live. There were also ways to put off the old and put on the new. This for me was difficult. Not because I have difficulty with the idea of altering my life around for Christ, but because the list was this: Recognize and resist, Take responsibility, through confession and repentance. Forgive others.
Forgive others is normally really easy for me but in the past few months, I've had an increasing amount of difficulty forgiving one person for how they've hurt me and treated me. I know this process will take more time, but I know it's something I need to do. I'm willing to surrender to Christ and have Him change me and renew me, but this last step will definitely take some time and I would appreciate it so much if you all would keep me in your prayers during this time of renewal in my life. God is doing a good work! And He will be faithful to complete it.
Missing you all! With love,
Naomi
Lectures started more towards the end of the week and although I know the word lecture sounds like it wouldn't be so fun, I find myself enjoying them so much already! The things we learn, the way it's explained to us, it's all in a way that I've never thought of looking at it before.
We learned about how God created us with the intent of having a purposeful relationship with us and how that theme carries through the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament, we see numerous occasions where God wants to be with the people. Then in the New Testament we see how God comes to us through Jesus Christ and how He dwells within us now. The whole theme of it is how God just wants a relationship with us. It wasn't that the topic was new to me, I just had never noticed how much of a pattern had formed throughout all of the stories in the Bible. Satan seeks to destroy relationships and that's his motivation. Whereas God seeks to have a relationship and encourages us to have relationships with others.
We also learned about the role of the Holy Spirit in a disciple and the role of the disciple. This was probably my favorite of the two lectures and I especially loved how the speaker explained that condemnation was from Satan and others, while conviction was something from the Holy Spirit. Conviction moves us towards God, towards being a better person for Him. Condemnation makes us feel ashamed and move away from God and feel like we're not good enough. This, among many other things, are what has got me thinking quite a lot. And has made me reevaluate how I see the Holy Spirit in me. Not as someone taking part of me away, but someone who is adding to me and completing me.
It was a wonderful time of thinking for me and I especially loved the part about how the Holy Spirit brings with it a feeling of acceptance, belonging, value, etc. It's been hard on me to settle in here because I often feel like I don't belong, like no one will accept me, like I'm worthless. And I know that's not what the Holy Spirit is about. I live with an eternity of all of these things because I'm a part of God's kingdom. Acceptance by others doesn't matter, because I am accepted by God. I am worth so much in the eyes of my Heavenly Father.
The role of the disciple was what our role is to be followers of God. I liked this part a lot because it showed us a list of what we are to be if we're to represent God in the way we live. There were also ways to put off the old and put on the new. This for me was difficult. Not because I have difficulty with the idea of altering my life around for Christ, but because the list was this: Recognize and resist, Take responsibility, through confession and repentance. Forgive others.
Forgive others is normally really easy for me but in the past few months, I've had an increasing amount of difficulty forgiving one person for how they've hurt me and treated me. I know this process will take more time, but I know it's something I need to do. I'm willing to surrender to Christ and have Him change me and renew me, but this last step will definitely take some time and I would appreciate it so much if you all would keep me in your prayers during this time of renewal in my life. God is doing a good work! And He will be faithful to complete it.
Missing you all! With love,
Naomi
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
The Questions
I've come to the realization that I didn't really have a set plan of what I wanted to be blogging during my time here. So I decided to spend some time alone in thinking of the direction I wanted this to go in and focus primarily on that. Most of the questions I receive while I'm here is "What is God doing in your life in Australia?" So in answer to that, I will be having certain questions that I come back to every week to communicate with you all exactly what God is doing during my time here. This will all be completely honest, totally blunt, and expressively from my heart to yours. I have four basic questions that I will ask, and at the end of every week, I'll be letting you all know how the week went by answering them, openly and honestly.
1. What has been a highlight of this week?
2. What has been the biggest struggle for me?
3. What has God been revealing to me?
4. How can I apply what I've learned this week in my walk with God?
Let me know if you'd like to know more! I can always add more questions to the list.
Thank you all so much for your continual prayers and support. If you'd like to donate still, I'd be more than happy to receive that as money towards my outreach. Get in touch with me on how you can help out! :)
Naomi C. Friesen
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Settling In
They spell "tire" differently. They write "tyre." I'd say this is the hardest adjustment, but not quite. Although it is quite high up there on the list. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle as I settled in, but not in the way that I'd expected. I expected emotional struggles, doubts, and just general uncomfortable feelings about being in an unfamiliar place. But I didn't experience much of that at all. I experienced so much joy in being in this new place.
We went to a beautiful lookout point that overlooks the coastline. You can see for miles on a sunny day! It was foggy out, so one could only see a limited distance, but it was still a breathtaking sight for sure. We went to the shops to pick up some necessaries for the stay here. Things aren't much different in that regard, but it's strange hearing Australian accents everywhere and I'm still in a state of awe whenever I hear it. The beach followed that afternoon and it was one of the most amazing things I'd seen yet. The waves are enormous, and I'm told they get to be quite large. The sand feels like it's kissing your feet as you walk in it. And the water feels incredible!
I settled in nicely though. All of my things were unpacked and organized in a matter of minutes. The only adjustment that I truly had a hard time with last night was trying to stay awake until 9 PM... Well that and thinking it was Friday, My body told me it was bedtime much earlier already, but of course, I had to force myself to stay awake until I was nearly dead with exhaustion. But I did get rewarded with a lovely night sleep and being awakened by the sound of birds singing in the rain.
Yep. I could get used to this.
- Naomi
We went to a beautiful lookout point that overlooks the coastline. You can see for miles on a sunny day! It was foggy out, so one could only see a limited distance, but it was still a breathtaking sight for sure. We went to the shops to pick up some necessaries for the stay here. Things aren't much different in that regard, but it's strange hearing Australian accents everywhere and I'm still in a state of awe whenever I hear it. The beach followed that afternoon and it was one of the most amazing things I'd seen yet. The waves are enormous, and I'm told they get to be quite large. The sand feels like it's kissing your feet as you walk in it. And the water feels incredible!
I settled in nicely though. All of my things were unpacked and organized in a matter of minutes. The only adjustment that I truly had a hard time with last night was trying to stay awake until 9 PM... Well that and thinking it was Friday, My body told me it was bedtime much earlier already, but of course, I had to force myself to stay awake until I was nearly dead with exhaustion. But I did get rewarded with a lovely night sleep and being awakened by the sound of birds singing in the rain.
Yep. I could get used to this.
- Naomi
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