My classroom called life...Kingdom lessons

Stand (Spoken word from the Father to His African American sons)

charredsmore — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:15:45 +0000

Stand.

Arise.

Come up higher.

No longer the problem or the issue, you are the solution.

Break of chains of oppression.

My love and strength cut you free from all stereotype or assumption.

You were born for greatness.

You were created for glory.

So, I say again,

‘Arise,

come up higher,

come up here

you are my son.’

A Prince in the Royal Kingdom.

No, you did not earn it or strive to attain it,

but I freely adopted you as my own.

I created you.

I take pride in you, my son.

Do not bow down to the ignorance or hate of another -

disagree with it and fight with love.

Counteract with the opposite spirit.

You have a high calling.

Your life has purpose.

I created you with great purpose in my heart for you.

Arise and stand in greatness.

Live Out Loud (Poem I wrote for the first page of the yearbook)

charredsmore — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:51:19 +0000

Listen to those whispers deep within your heart.

What are they speaking out?

Those whispers are desperate to come out and play.

Whispers long to be declared on a megaphone.

Whispers are gentle tour guides into the possibility of your destiny.

Butterfly flutters within you, stirring, anticipating the moment of their release.

Listen to your whispers.

Longings you never imagined could actually become a reality.

It’s time.

It’s time to live out loud.

Let the world see your radiant life, your amazing beauty.

So bright.

So clean.

Vibrant colors waiting to splash the canvass of your community.

Live out loud.

The world needs your whispers to come alive.

“Let’s search for gold”

charredsmore — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:54:42 +0000

Jesus extended His hand to me as an invitation. I held onto His hand and we ran along a path…we ran so fast we started flying. The wind beneath me. Freeing. Refreshing. Effortless. He swooped down toward a large body of water. Something that resembled both a river, with the depth of an ocean. We dove right into the crystal blue water. Swimming through the ocean, noticing the vibrant colors and beauty within.

“Let’s search for gold. I have given you a gift to draw out the gold in people. This is what I placed in your heart, a desire to look for the gold. Let’s do it together.”

Yes, Lord, let us go on this great treasure hunt together. What a fun adventure. Let me see what you deposited in them that perhaps has been tarnished by the world. Let me see a glimmer of your glory in them and draw it out.

Reflections from the School of Worship #2 – Royalty

charredsmore — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:35:37 +0000

You were born into ROYALTY

Do you know who you are? Daughter of the King. Prince. Yes, once a peasant, now born into a royal family. When you made the decision to let Christ be your Savior, you were born into the Kingdom of God. you have access to limitless possibilities. You Daddy owns it all! He created it for you to enjoy.

He has given you strength, grace, and favor to live a radical life. Go for it! What are you fearing? What lie is holding you back? Replace each lie of intimidation, doubt, and fear with confidence of knowing your identity. You are now a part of the royal family. Let it sink in to the depths of your soul. Display this truth in the way you live your life. It’s all about a perspective shift in your mind that will manifest in your words, actions, and pursuits. Know who you are in the royal family of God.

Reflections from School of Worship #1 “Open Heaven”

charredsmore — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:29:18 +0000

Reflections from School of Worship #1

Open Heaven

This is what it feels like to not be in “spiritual warfare” mode all the time. I feel like I just jumped into this portal that has open and free access to Heaven. Serious. Love abounding. Creativity limitless. Joy intoxicating. I’m loving this place with Jesus right now. The Kingdom certainly is here and I am soaking it all in. There is a sweet spot with the Spirit that we have access to, and I never want to let go. Now, before I get to exulting a place (in the natural), let me explain. It’s not about Bethel, it’s not about the School of Worship. It’s about a culture, it’s about the Kingdom of God kissing the Earth. It’s about choice. It’s about perspective. It’s about love. Certainly, this is available to all of us, wherever we are living. There is a momentum when a community of people are loving the Lord passionatley and going for it together. I long to see this and feel this same thing in Cairo, in Minneapolis, in ________________. You fill in the blank with your city. God is good everywhere. Even in the darkest places. He is! I can say that because I have experienced it! Yesterday, I heard someone say, “Light always wins!” True. Think about it…you are in a dark, dark room, someone lights a candle. The candle’s light pierces the darkness. Light wins..yay! I will choose to let the light win in my life. I will choose to let the light win in Cairo.

I encourage you to look at your life, your heart, your spirit and make a decision. Chose life, chose joy, chose His goodness. God is your biggest fan! That might sound silly, but He really is! He delights in you. He created you for love! So just receive it! Amen.

Lessons from the Flood – “Revival from the Shelter”

charredsmore — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:00:30 +0000

As I was carrying my guitar in from the car, I had about five people ask me “Are you leading worship tonight?” “Sure, why not?!?” I had gotten to the shelter earlier that day (at Shawnee Community College), and was planning on spending the night. After spring break, and at least a week out of school, I was really missing my Cairo family and wanted to have some time with them at the Shelter. Amanda had already been there the night before and so I thought it would be a lot of fun for the two of us to put together a little worship dealio.

It felt like a little forerunner meeting, with a small group of misfits. In the natural realm, one would look at this unlikely group and chuckle. Those the world disregards, the Lord embraces. He looks at the heart and not the outward appearance.

During our worship service, we had spontaneous songs, prayer, testimony, and preaching. It was amazing to hear the hearts of those who had been touched by God during this tragedy. A man shared how during this time he had been drawn closer in his relationship with God. He had a deeper desire to read the Word and get back to Church when going back to Cairo. Others were comfortable to lead in prayer (who normally would not have volunteered to pray out loud) as they asked the Lord to transform our community, to bring unity to Cairo as we rebuild. One man even got to preaching…he was not messing around either! Another older gentleman was getting his Holy Spirit dance on…along with calling forth the power of God in the shelter. I got rocked…I mean, I was just on the floor laughing with the joy of the Lord. I was having a great time with my friends. Even a five year old got on the mic and told us how much Jesus loves us!

At the end of our service, one gentleman said, “We should do this every night! Same time, same place!”

Praise God! He is bringing revival to the hearts of the refugees! Amen.

Lessons from the Flood #1 – Stuff

charredsmore — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:55:59 +0000

So, I have been meaning to share a few testimonies from this whole ”Flood of 2011″ situation, but haven’t gotten started until tonight. I can honestly say that there has been so much good coming out of tragedy, so much pruning, so much stripping away, in a good way. It’s hard to put language to all of this, because in no way do I want to come across as “God planned for this all to happen”, however I do believe that He allowed it. I am still working on what I believe about all of that…and I don’t think I necessarily need to have my theology all straightened out to be loved my my Creator. I’m just going to “be” for now and rest in the shadow of His wing. He’s pretty good like that. We don’t need an opinion or an absolute understanding of why things happen, perhaps just the process of how He is using it for our good. Here is a little ditty I put together in processing my attatchment to “stuff”.

Stuff

Have you ever had the thought to get rid of your stuff? I mean…I have had boxes and boxes of stuff sitting in my parents basement for years since leaving after High School Graduation. I can even hear my mom saying, “Amen” after reading this. Oh, wait, she probably won’t say that, but she would respond with a “YES! And I am so glad you went through your boxes and condensed it down to five.” Haha. Anyway, back to the blog about “stuff”. Lately, before the flood, I had been thinking about getting rid of some things. Clothes, books, junk…you know the stuff that just seems to clutter up your house. I had been thinking about going through my closet, for real, and getting rid of things that I no longer wear. Things that have been in there for at least five years, and I have never touched. Things that no longer fit…too big, or too little. I have been wondering, if I were to move, could I fit all of my things in my car? Random, I know…but the thought crossed my mind. No way, I mean, my book collection alone probably wouldn’t even fit in the car. Sad. I say that I want to have all these books as resources for others…but how often are others reading them? Hmmm…I think I am about to make a serious donation to the church for a library or something.

I knew things were getting serious when they called off school for a week, because let’s face it, our District doesn’t do things like that. We decided to evacuate the day before they made it mandatory. For some reason, none of us in the house were freaking out. We were kind of excited and giddy…not for our town to be in danger, but that we were now on this adventure of “unknown” for a week. Or so we thought. When packing up my things, it wasn’t as hard as I thought to make quick decisions on what I wanted to keep. I knew that I would only have enough space to fill my car, that was the limit as to what I could bring. After getting my clothes together, I called my roommie in to look at my closet, she said, “Now, this looks like a normal person’s closet.” Conviction! After I had already gotten the clothes I wanted out of the closet. I think it is about time to make a donation to the thrift store.

Stuff. Why do I have so much stuff? I have been asking myself that lately. It is certainly interesting how a situation like this can cause you to re-evaluate areas of your life. I really would like to be less tied down to my stuff…available to just give it away if someone needs it or even wants it. This is a personal challenge I am giving myself. I want to be free to travel and move around without thinking about how I can move all this stuff. If I lost everything that is left at my house in Cairo right now, would I be content? Sure. Would I even miss those things? Probably not. What is truly important in life is held in my heart and relationships. I am thankful for this lesson. I’m looking forward to downsizing when I get back home to Cairo.

AAFA Promo

charredsmore — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:59:21 +0000

AAFA Promo.

Please join in praying for the African American community. God is raising up a people! Amen.

There is a conference being held in February (3-5th), through the International House of Prayer (www.ihop.org), called “Stand” through AAFA.

New Lenses

charredsmore — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 15:02:47 +0000

Lately, I have been struggling with the students at school. Some of them have REALLY terrible attitudes. I know it is much deeper than just a bad attitude. It comes from deep pain and hurt. It comes from places that I not familiar with. It comes from dark places inside of them that the Lord wants to touch and heal. Of course, this makes teaching a difficult task. When students are disrespectful, rude, and disruptive…well, let’s just say, teaching becomes a challenge. At times the apathy is so overwhelming. At times there is so much junk to sift through before even getting to the lesson. It’s hard to do all of this in less than an hour. So, of course I am calling on the name of the Lord. I am asking for divine wisdom and understanding and strategy.

New lenses. I want to see things from HIS perspective. He sees the dark and the light. He sees the potential – ALWAYS! He sees things from a Kingdom perspective. He sees things from the angle of glory. He sees things from the beginning to the end. He sees things with a vision in mind. He sees things with the lens of HOPE. He sees things from a standpoint of VICRORY. Victory has already been won for these, His precious children.
Today, Amanda and I went on a prayer walk around the school at 7:00am. No school due to Veteran’s Day. We woke up early and headed out the door excited to meet with our Father as we lifted up the students and faculty. God certainly met with us and encouraged our hearts. We walked about 1.5 miles and prayed. As we prayed He revealed His heart for the students and reminded us of things that He has done in that place. As we walked He filled our hearts with HOPE and encouragement for the students. Amen!

Amanda had picked up a pair of lenses that were in the parking lot of the school. Haha…she didn’t even know my prayer, but God certainly did. Talk about a prophetic token of what He was giving me. I asked for new lenses, and He gave them to me spiritually and physically. I love it! New lenses! Thank you Jesus.

I’m back!

charredsmore — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:35:09 +0000

Today, when I opened my email, I had a comment on my blog. My blog! I had almost forgotten that I had a blog. Seriously, things have been just crazy busy and I have nearly forgotten how much I love updating my blog. Of course, I am always writing in my journal and reflecting on life…but sharing my writing with family and friends has not been as common these days. Hmmmm…it’s time to get back into this blogging thing. Yes, it is time. So, to bring you up to speed since the last update on the top 10 in San Francisco…goodness. I might have to give the “cliff notes” version. And, I still need to write the top ten of my other two fantastic sites from the summer. The summer…woah! That seems like a lifetime ago. I might have to get busy today for these updates. Good thing I have the day off work to do some reflecting.

Update since the summer:

The summer:

I bounced back from the west coast, after traveling each week to one of my beautiful sites (working as an Area Director with Youthworks). My summer was spent divided up between Denver, San Francisco, and San Diego…each week traveling to one of these cities to visit my amazing staff teams that were serving with YW. It was quite the summer! Talk about adventure and surprise. God moved in unique ways, in the lives of the youth that came each week, in the lives of the community members, and of course each one of those staff members – including my own life. We will never be the same. I am so thankful for the opportunities He gave me to serve and learn through the Body of Christ.

The Fall:

Coming back to school was quite the transition. First of all, being back in Cairo was quite the transition. I was getting used to the city from my summer experience. I was getting accustomed to the busyness of the city. It was also nice to be back to this small town where everyone knows your name. Where you see friends at the post office and the gas station. Where you can drive from one end of town to the other in less than five minutes. Hmmm…Cairo. Yes, I did miss you over the summer. You have a special place in my heart, Cairo. A week after I returned, I had a quick turn around to going back into “teacher mode”. There was a gracious transition as God took care of the details. It was nice to back in this familiar place.

Going back into the building, it had a different feel. It felt more peaceful. It felt more hopeful. There seemed to be more unity among the teachers. It just had a different all around feel to it. Sometimes I couldn’t even explain it in words, but there was just something different about the place. I wasn’t the only one noticing this difference either. There were other teachers and staff that were saying the same thing. “There is something different about the CJSHS.” Hmmm…there is something bigger going on in this place.
I have noticed major POSITIVE changes happening within the school. I have written about it to friends and family, sharing the testimony of wonderful things that are happening. It is exciting. God is moving. I am seeing prayers being answered. Even five-year old prayers.

Perhaps I will share the list of positive changes on the blog for you all to read.

God is moving…