Raindrops in the Ocean

Hurrah! Dance is a gift returned to me with abundance. How can I be so near to the ocean and keep from dancing? Yay. My friend Damaris took this picture. She is very famous. Maybe you have heard of her. She is a wonderful photographer, but she is best known throughout the world for how she loves Jesus and people. *waves at Damaris*

We prayed together and asked Jesus where we should go on our outreach. It was such an incredible time. I have experienced life like this with friends like Lisa, but I guess on some level I thought it was rare…so rare…I mean…it is…but here I am with these beautiful people who are teaching us how to hear and follow Jesus as a team. It is so incredible to see. We spend time in worship, then we pray through aligning our wills to God’s, asking Him to take away all the distractions, then we ask God what we are seeking Him for (in this case, where we should go on outreach) and we go into quiet time and just listen. When we come back together, we compare notes on what we heard. We are looking not only for God’s will in our mission together, but also we want to hear whatever He is saying. For me, He confirmed the place He had told me a year ago (and kept pursuing me with for the last several months). I’m not sure if I’m supposed to post where we are going, but if you know the place that has been on my mind, then now you have half of the picture. 🙂

I think the very best moment was when my friend Jon heard from God. We had gone on a prayer walk the day before. This kind of prayer and hearing God speak is new to Him, so He did not know where to begin. As he and I were talking, I was moved to pray that Jon would be able to hear God speaking in his heart. The next day when we asked about where to go, he heard a place that he was not wanting to go, a place that wasn’t even on his radar. It turns out that that place was confirmed over and over again in the things that we all were hearing…it is where we are going!

(Don’t you wish I would just out and say it? *smirk*)

Here is another picture that the famous Damaris took. We had a bonfire on the beach last night, and people were blowing bubbles. Lo is the beautiful woman in the green scarf. I think Jesus has plans for her…I think He’s going to blow her mind on this trip. She knows Him and follows hard after Him. The princess holding the bubble wand is Zahra. She’s a star. I think that Jesus can’t wait to see her shine. But that’s just my opinion. Can you tell I love these people? I would have to say that is the biggest thing for me so far, is seeing God in all of the people around me and asking Him for His heart toward them. I love it. Love love love it.

My biggest prayer request is that we would all encourage one another and call out the beauty we see in one another. That is my desire for this week. That we come together around one another and that no one gets left behind…I know that Jesus has something for each of us. For me, I need rest. I’ve been running on adrenaline and prayer for the last thirty days, and I need to take care of my health. I’ve also been struggling with self contempt. So if you could pray about that, I would really appreciate it.

God bless you!

Beth