Regarding Breathe Skateboard Ministry

Since I have began dreaming up this ministry, I have had the honor of taking part in many other skateboard ministries. Since then, I have also moved many times, based on my situation and opportunities that have come up. And at first I felt bad, like I was letting people down who I told the vision to. But then, I realized that my gifts are best used when I am moving. And I had a lot of freedom once God reminded me that He is the one who changes people, not me. They aren't reliant upon me (besides, the whole point is to point them to God anyways). Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make up an excuse for not sticking to my original plans. The problem in that was that it became my plans instead of God, like it started out.
In addition to all that, I recently got married, and I have found that God has some pretty big plans for the loth of us together! So, it's with great excitement that I say, we won't be based in just Arvada, CO anymore! But, we will find our ministry wherever we are, whatever we do, and above all else, we do it for the glory of God!

God Hears...!

A few days ago we were having a skateboard competition at one of the local parks. It is a small park, and there has never been anything there for those in the community before. Quite literally, the city didn't even know how to rent it to us, because it had never been done.

So, we came up with this outreach as a way to bless the skaters and the locals in the area. We would have different skateboard competitions, free giveaways, free food, and an area to do graffiti art also, and of course, present the Good News!

Well, the day had finally come, and there was an anxiousness inside me. I began to think of the illustration of the wedding Jesus gave in Matthew 22. Those who were presently invited, found other things to do. But the wedding wasn't about to be called off. No, instead the father of the groom sends out his servant to tell anyone he could find and invite them to come to the wedding.

I was unaware of who was going to go to the event, and I knew how great it would be and didn't want people to miss out. So I grabbed the last of the flyers I had, with the intent of handing out every last one before returning, and set out for the little city just down the road. I told every person I came in contact with along the way and handed out many flyers. But there was one, who God spoke to...

I was on the main road, when i saw a man with a backpack, just on the other side of the trees beside me. It was obvious he was a traveler. I wasn't sure if he would come, but something about him just made me stop to find out about his life.

I began to tell him about the event and how I'd love to see him there, and he expressed some interest. But I wasn't able to leave just at that- this man needed to know about Jesus's sacrifice for him. He told me he had lost his wife and his son, and basically had come to CO to get marajana. I asked if I could pray for him and bless him and he agreed. I remember praying that God would provide for all his needs, and give him even the desires on his heart, and somewhere stated how God lost His son too. It was a very simple prayer and quite childish in ways too, but God worked through it!

I said amen and he looked up at me and said "This is just the craziest thing. Before you walked up I had shot up a prayer to God...then you come by." He was wanting to know if God would hear his prayer, and God did more than just hear it, He spoke back! There was a joy on his face that was not there before by the time I left him! When I continued to tell him that God hears his prayers, he smiled with an assurance that it was true.

He didn't end up coming to the event later that day, to hear the testimony we had to share for everyone. But he ended up having a testimony of his own, and he is now well aware that there is a listening God waiting to answer his prayers, whenever he calls on Him! Praise God! It is such a joy to be a part of what God wants to do in people's lives!

When you follow God...

...nothing is certain, except your faith in Him! So, my life has changed a lot in the past 5 months of my life, most of which I could not have planned to work out so well, even if I tried! It all started by my accepting God's call for me to minister to His heart by bringing His children back to Him, in this case, the people at the skateparks in Arvada, CO! So I finished my term at YWAM Denver so I can focus more on this ministry, and soo many side adventures have come into play that I barely thought possible!
First, I found myself in California catching up with friends I hadn't seen in years, and being with family nearly 24/7 for an entire month! It was such a huge blessing to me to physically be a part of their lives again like my heart has longed for for such a long time!
Then, I was in Canada hanging out with a great friend of mine who had a bad accident: with a plane ticket I didn't pay for, hospitality I didn't ask for, and money I didn't have! Needless to say God knows the depths of our hearts and gladly wants to give us good things- all we have to do is buckle up and go along for the ride!
Now I'm back in Arvada, CO, getting ready to move to the Spings for the next four months! There I will be interning with another skateboard ministry before i start my own! I leave tomorrow and still have no means to live off of! I have a place to stay, a car, many people who are praying, and God's Word to go! Sometimes it's hard to live by faith like this, but when I see all the other times He came through, it makes all the unknown things worth it! It's always worth it when I'm following after God!
If you would like to contribute to the skate ministry, or just to what God is doing in my life... pray about it, ask God, and let me know! You can contact me on facebook or via email: newbychrist@gmail.com
Thanks for keeping up with my life!
Stacy Schworm

What of my time at YWAM Denver...and what's to come!

My time at YWAM Denver has been anything but ordinary. Through my DTS, God showed me who He is. Then, in the School of Ministry Development, I found my part in His ministry to others and to Him. And if that wasn't enough, I came on staff, and that's where I learned how to have a relationship with God. It's intresting to say that I didn't have a crazy deep relationship with Him before YWAM, but it's true. Before I came to YWAM, I was doing ministry as if my eternity depended on it; everything I did had a religious obligation behind it; and I really had no idea how to find my identity in God, nor did I really know Him- that He is actually good.

God is many people in one to me: He is Father, Savior, healer, lover, Lord, and friend. Could I have learned all these things without coming to YWAM Denver? Sure, but had I not actually had to give up everything for Him, it may have taken much longer to see. Coming to YWAM Denver gave me the opportunity to learn all these things, partly in the teachings, and partly in community living, but mostly in the choosing it...because of love! It is amazing how simple it actually is...and for the longest time, I complicated it. Things like: why pray, what is worship, how do I devotions, etc. were  But what I was missing all along is that it's simply about relationship. And then there were questions of: what is ministry, and how do I do evangelism? Both good questions, but lacking meaning entirely, because the simplicity of those defined are simply To share about the One you love to others.

Since I came to YWAM Denver, it's felt like I've been on a freight train hauling without any breaks. My friend John  likes to say it's like drinking from a fire hydrant. You feel like you can barely take a breath, but all the while you won't pull away because it's what you've been longing for. Before I came to YWAM Denver, I would look at people who are how I am now and think, "I will never be like that". Not that I didn't want to, but I thought I couldn't. But I have learned that God eagerly wants that we all know Him deeply and intimately. And most of the time the only thing that holds us from that is our perspective of ourselves and Him (which is sometimes why we need to get away from our comforts).

For some reason we talk ourselves out of a Relationship with our Heavenly Father and Savior and Holy Spirit and settle for the lesser routine of Christianity- all the while not knowing the Christ we are following.

Would I recommend YWAM Discipleship Training Schools for other people? Yeah! Joyfully! But they can only go into it knowing they will only get out of it what they put into it. God isn't about to force Himself on any of us...that's where the love comes in, when we choose Him.

And i guess that's where I'm at right now. It has never been about doing another Christian camp or retreat for me (besides, we should never have to "retreat").It was about giving my life completely to God and saying I'm all in- no matter what it looks like. I've had to give up many things over the last four years of my life. Most of them material things: I sold my car, quit my job, gave away my camera, snowboard, skateboards, clothes, etc. all for the glory of God (and boy did He get it!). Yet, the hardest thing I had to give up was my family. And now I finally get to go back to them for longer than a week or two. But not for long even still...

Since my time here in Arvada, CO, I've noticed a certain desire on God's heart for the area: for those in the skateboard scene to know Him. And though I am not very good at the sport myself, I have found a certain joy in ministering to God's heart in this way. Yes, skateboarding is a joy to me also, but anything without God isn't nearly as great as it was meant to be! So, that is where Breathe comes in.

I am starting a skateboard ministry called Breathe- to breathe Him in and out. Literally, to do life with God at the skate parks and to invite the skaters to do life with Him. It will consist of bringing God's presence to the skate parks and bringing them into an atmosphere of God's presence. That is where I need you! The biggest part of the ministry isn't just to chill and skate all day (though it will happen). The biggest part of this visions the house. the house will be the place where we host the presence of God and the skaters- where they will meet face to face! There will be diner nights, movie nights, and skate nights, but there will also be discipleing in the simplest of ways- doing life together.

I have felt this call on my life, not because someone else can't do it, but because He has asked me to do it. I think I asked Him for it first, but I was surprised when He said, "ok". Please stand by me in this call to the skateboard generation of Arvada. I need lots of prayer, laborers/ coworkers, a house, and of course finances. It's going to be quite the adventure though! I'm excited! If you want to follow the ministry and what God's doing, you can visit our facebook page Breath Skateboard Ministry, our blog http://breatheskateboardministry.blogspot.com/, or email us at breatheskateboardministry@gmail.com

Thank you for reading!
-Stacy

On to more exciting things...!!

   So, I've spent the last four years with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Denver. And even though I am no longer on staff, I'm still living out there-only now, to start a skateboard ministry called Breathe. Some people have asked me, "Why not out in California?". Honestly, it's an easy answer, but not soo easy to explain.
   You have to understand my heart, before you can begin to understand my thinking (here's my best attempt at explaining it). Since I've been living in Arvada, CO, a suburb town to Denver, God has layed the skateboarding people on my heart. Now, remember I didn't even really skate before I came out here- the ministry isn't about the skateboarding itself, but the place specifically.
   The biggest thing is God has entrusted me with the skateboarders of Arvada. Why?...because I asked Him for them...and a funny thing happened, He said ok! See, a funny thing happens when you ask God for something that's already on His heart to do, He does it!
   Already, since I've been there doing ministry (untitled), God has met with so many people! He has shown many that he loves them, that He likes doing life with them, He cares about the things they're passionate for- and likes to be at the center of it, He likes it when they are in their right mind (not drunk, high, or anything else), they have identity other than in skateboarding and drugs and alcohol, He is healer (of their bodies and mind), He loves them! These are just some of the themes God likes to address when I'm there, and each one comes with a story of a real person seeking a very real God who has been waiting for them all along!
   This is the reason why my ministry is to the skaters of Arvada, CO and not to San Diego, CA. And I am so excited to see what God is going to do! If you've never seen a person who was lost in his own pride, selfishness, depression, or anger, be transformed in love, humility, peace, and grace, well...it's worth it!...even if there's only one! And that is exactly what God is doing out here in Arvada.
   So, I'm writting this so you will better understand my heart, but more, so you can know God's heart in it! In my insecure "unqualifiedness", I tried to give this ministry back to God, and every time he has given it right back. "No, no," He says, "I've given this to you, Do it". What started out as just a cool idea, has turned into a commission from God Himself. This is why I have to do it, and not that of my own strength, but on God alone, so that everyone will see that this truly is His ministry!

Pet Peeves...

Pet Peeves- an attribute or act someone else does that is an annoyance to you. There is no right or wrong about them, except that what one person deems as outright annoying the other labels as a norm. Merely opinions bugging opinions, upbringing verses upbringing, and all a sudden, we have chaos. One person turned against the other, words being thrown around without definition or none at all, and there's a crack...a break in the relationship. That is, until one person admits to their "fault", and they make amends, only to find it happening again later on.
So, what's to be done of such faultless matters where we wage war on one another for the sake of our Right opinion? Well, if we simply ask ourselves, "Why does this matter so much to me" and "Is it worth risking my relationship with said other" I think we'd find ourselves picking another fight. Instead of face to face, we'd fight back to back. We would turn our preferences away from the priorities of our lives and fight for each other like we ought.
See, in the midst of the great debate of "my opinion verses yours" we somehow lose sight of the individual on the other side and see them merely as a case to be won. But where has that ever proven profitable? Pet peeves my friends are little nothings that wager lives ruined in big or small ways all for the sole profit of selfishness. A vain conceit that screams from the inside of you "This should be like this, instead!"
Must I go on? Must I say it over so maybe it sticks? There are far too many people who have been wounded in some way, brokenhearted even, and in most cases, due to some silly pet peeve scenario gone bitter. It's time we see it for what it really is and move on. Leave the little things little, and leave the big things to God.

When Papa Gives You Something...

When Papa gives you something:
It's yours to keep
It's a gift, so it's for free
He won't ever ask for it back, unless He plans on giving you something better
He won't ask for anything in return (He only wants your affection)
He isn't beating around the bush
He isn't after your deepest desires to throw it away
It might've come as a sacrifice, so treasure it
It isn't a fake, He won't settle for less than the real deal for you
Don't shrug it off like it's no big deal
Don't treat Him like He doesn't really care
Don't throw it away (His gift is real)
When Papa gives you something, it's because He wants you to know He's real 

Breathe Skate Ministry Info

Breathe Skate Ministry 
(To Breathe Christ In and Out)

What we’re about:
"Breathe"- To inhale and exhale. Breathe Skate Ministry= to Breathe Christ in and out. We take Him in to be filled, then we breathe Him out, that He becomes the only thing people see from us! "For me to live IS Christ"-Philippians 1:21. "For I resolve to know nothing except Christ and Him crucified"-1 Corinthians 2:2. Breath Skate Ministry is primarily built from God’s heart to reach the skate community of Arvada, and a crazy bunch of volunteers that believe he will do it! We desire to create an environment of encouragement, joy, and family. We do this in part at the local skate parks, but our main hub is at the house…and that is where family comes in.

Our Vision:
The vision is pretty simple: to create a place where anyone can come and experience God. While we will have a large presence at the skate parks, our heartbeat comes from within the house. We will have “Family Nights” about two to three times a week. These nights will consist of dinners, movies, or skate nights. But, we know that it goes deeper than just another skate video or hang out sesh. So, we are hoping to also have tutoring hours, mentoring, and on-site housing when needed. However, our goal isn’t to take people out of their current life situations, but to teach them how to succeed and press on through them.

Activities:
In addition to the Family Nights, we want to reach out to the surrounding communities and farther. One of our later desires will be to take them on road trips within the country and internationally as well. Our goal for this is to see them step out from where they are most comfortable, and be willing to become vulnerable and live lifestyles of servant-hood as well.

Why Skateboarding?
Above all else, He is our prize! We live in a world that honours sin and lives for fame. Our hope is for God to show Himself to them and to do exceedingly more than they could ever ask or hope for. We want to show them that there is more to life than sex, drugs, alcohol, and parties…and it’s way more fun too! But, in order to show it, we have to live it ourselves.
One thing some people don’t know is that skateboarding isn’t just a hobby, it’s a life-style. It’s its own culture. There are do’s and don’ts and everybody knows them. They live and breathe skateboarding, die-hards to the very end. And that is why God so eagerly wants them to know Him. You know what it looks like when someone is passionate about the thing they love. Well, think about when someone uses that passion for a greater good than their own! They become unstoppable. They then take up a cause that was not their own, but now live and breath it as if it were. We want them to pursue the heart of God and live and Breathe Him- to show Him to all the world.

How you can be a part of Breathe:
It starts now! We don’t yet have the house, or a car to get there, but God is already moving in this culture and it’s on the verge of breakthrough! But, we need your help for the final push for the house. It costs $260,000 up front, it is the only way we can get it (I am currently still a missionary at YWAM Denver and don’t have the salary they’d like to see for a loan. But that isn’t how God wanted to do it anyhow.) For the last year, God has told me He’s going to give me a house. Now, I know that it is up to God to provide this house, and He will. But I know that there are some who have been asking God how to give. I’m not asking you for your money, but I want to give to those who want to give, an opportunity.
It also goes much deeper than that of course! It’s not just a one time giving opportunity, it’s an investment that will last a lifetime to those Breathe will be reaching out to over the years. Friends, lives will be changed from this ministry. And they in turn will raise up others, and so the wave gets bigger and bigger! God is doing something huge out here!...and it’s starting with a leap of faith to get this part on it’s way!

A Quick Testimony:
I met this guy about two years ago, we'll call him Jeremy. He was a crazy skater, but was always on something. I knew from the start that God had some big plans for him. He’d be drunk or high nearly every time I saw him and he’d let me know it too. He lived a careless lifestyle, even the way he skated showed it. One day, I was skating at the park and Jeremy made his way to my side. He proceeded to tell me that his knee was in pain and God reminded me to pray for him. So I prayed for his knee and God showed up! I then asked how it felt and this was his response, “It feels better, but I feel it more so in here”, and he placed his hand on his chest. I was taken back for a second, (because God was doing more than I had expected again), and then I forced words out of my mouth. “Do you know why that is?” I asked him and he said yes. “He loves you you know.” Jeremy skated off and I didn’t see him again for a long time.
He was a Christian; at least that’s what he told me. But what he meant was that he believed in God, but had a harder time committing everything to Him. I saw Jeremy a few weeks ago, “I’m clean,” he told me, but there was something that went so much deeper. He was different, he was tender-hearted, he was humble, he had allowed God to affect his heart! That’s one life that was changed by the simple conversations in a relationship that we are about.

forgiveness is not a toy

Then Peter came up and said to Him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." It goes on to tell a story of two men who owed debts. The story goes like this:
    The first man came to his master and begged for more time to pay off his debt (millions of dollars). "Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all", he said. Then, his master was filled with pity for him and forgave his debt.
    However, that man went away and found a fellow servant who owed him money (a few thousand dollars) and acted harshly to him. "Be patient with me, and I will pay it," pleaded the second man to the first. But, the man took him and put him in prison till he could pay off his debt.
    The master of the first man heard about this whole thing and brought the man in. "I forgave your huge debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?" Then the master locked the man up till he could pay his debt.
    Jesus ends his story by closing with this statement, "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."

The cool thing about this is that God forgives us! But, if we don't extend the same grace on others who have hurt us, we help no one.

Forgiveness is NOT a toy. Don't play with it! No. Forgiveness is more like a knife. It can either stab someone, or set them free. Choose wisely- once you thrust it in, you can't just take it back out and expect things to be ok again. Mind your health as well. This knife is just as sharp on the handle as it is the blade. You may not feel the pain of the resentment, the shame, or the betrayal that you may inflict on your now victim. However, down the road, you'll find the scars of what were open wounds that never healed right in you. Those wounds that never got the right attention, all because you didn't want it. Unforgiveness is a painful weapon for both parties. The Victim, the "supposedly deemed, unworthy of your forgiveness". They are now the hurt one...don't you see the pattern? Another one hurt, another one withholding grace. Who made you judge, or God, that you should withhold the key to freedom and stab someone with it instead? Who are you now hurting? Who hurt you? Let it go...forgiveness is better when you choose it!...and it can't be extended till you do. You choose the end of your story...................

When All Else Fails

So, these last few weeks have been both, the most encouraging, and the most discouraging. I'm in the process of starting a ministry to the skate-boarding community in Arvada, Colorado, and it's been very hard. In ways it'd be easier to not do it at all. I don't have supporters, I don't have anyone willing to do the dirty work with me, (to help with everything needed before it actually starts). It's literally just me and God right now, with this crazy idea- that for some reason, I know I have to pursue, because I know God will use it amazingly.

So, I guess the point is: As much as I want to see certain things happen (and I can't because I can't see the behind-the-scenes of what God is doing), I just have to put my hope back in Him and press in. But I can't quit, I won't. God's heart is too much for this that I can't let it go...NO! "I press on toward the goal for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus"-Philippians 3:14

Complacency defined

-Complacency- to be comfortable with where you're at that you lack motivation to move forward or onward.

Most people don't like the sense of feeling bored, so what happens?...we fill our lives with senseless voids till there isn't room for anything else. Or, we get comfortable with the routine/ the day to day, that we take on an "out of sight, out of mind" mindset as an excuse to being stagnate. But, if we just call it what it really is, it's complacency. We simply become "ok" with our lives as we know them.

Now, I'm not talking about discontentment...well, in a way I am. What ever happened to being discontent; how it gave us reason to strive after impossible dreams and doubtful visions? What happened to the "American Dream", as we like to call it- of a BETTER life than what we're living now. Back then, people used to expect extraordinary things out of themselves...and of others. We had high expectations of adventure and fulfillment. We had Hope.

I think it's time we start chasing after our widest dreams again. To walk into the unknown for the sake of something greater...and to do so willingly, if not earnestly. So, I guess this is my challenge to whoever reads this: what was your greatest dream, and why'd you stop chasing it? Start the race again...it's time! Awaken your zeal. Awaken the fierce warrior or the humble princess from the stories we loved...and step into the reality of your story.

Skate ministry update!!!! it's happening!

So, if you have been following me for any amount of time, you would know at least a little bit about the Skate Ministry I'm in the process of starting. Here's a little more info, if you care to do your history...
  I moved to Colorado, unaware of how long I'd be here, almost four years ago. For the past for years I've been with an amazing organization called YWAM Denver, or Youth With A Mission Denver. First, I took some schools through them, then I joined their staff team for the last three years and worked with those schools...I can't even begin to tell of all the amazing things God has done during my time here! Not only in the lives of the students, those we minister to in the community, or of the staff, but myself also! but that's a different story.
   So, ever since my second school here, which was three years ago, I've had a vision to reach the young people in the skateboard culture. Yet, two years went by and I had almost forgotten about the vision, when God reminded me. So, this past year, I started intentionally going to our nearby skate park, not just to skate, but to serve and reach out to that community. I prayed for open hearts for the skaters and open eyes for myself- to see what God was doing there. I've have seen many hearts open up to God and many receive healing physically and  internally.
   One friend of mine messed his knee up real bad one day and couldn't skate anymore, so I was prodded to pray for him by the Lord and God touched him! However, it wasn't so much his knee that he felt God's presence (though it did feel better), but inside his heart! I'm still amazed at that day. There have been many more like it and will be many more to come!
   That is the reason why I am starting a ministry specifically focused toward skaters in that area- God is doing something already and the harvest is ripe! However, as of now, the workers are few, or, in my case, solo. While it's been a fun and exhilarating seven months in the dreaming stages with just myself and the founder of this idea-God, I am excited to have a few people who will want to join in on this vision.
   Honestly, I like that it's just me and Him, because no one can argue their ideas. It's simply been me bouncing ideas off the Creator and Him saying "it's good", or "let's think bigger". I think that's why I'm so excited about the ministry, because with motives so pure and driven directly from the Father's will, what can possibly stand in our way!
   But, we are the body of Christ, and there are quite a few things that I have no gifting in that I need help with (and in some areas I quite literally need some hands and feet to help me get this thing started). I need workers- people who can and know how to build ramps and rails. I need financial supporters who will help me put down the money for this house, so I can begin the building process. I need builders, the house is a good size, but needs a few more rooms for the vision I have for it. And I need prayers, to labor with me for the lives of those who will be impacted be this ministry. Oh, and two or three who would like to move to Colorado with me and work side-by-side and encourage one another as God works through us to this community!
   Those are the updates and the needs, let me know if you would like to help in any way! Thank you all! Stacy

Highlights from the Action Sports Conference

Alright. Finally I have some down time to write! It's been a busy few weeks since I've been back from Florida, but let me refresh on the highlights:
-Met up with some awesome people who are already doing what I want to do with the skate ministry in Arvada
-Got amazing tips and encouragement from the pro's
-Started friendships with like-minded ministries so we can pray for each other and meet up occasionally to hang out

*Altogether it was such a refreshing time, both for the vision of skate ministry and encouragement for me to know I'm not alone in the area! We also ended up staying with a past student from YWAM and friend of ours. It was such a blessing! We had a huge house to ourselves, food provided for us, a pool, it was mind-blowing! 
In addition to all that, we ate alligator, went wakeboarding, skateboarding, and had an eye-opening conversation with a stranger how to share the Gospel in love without withholding the truth- which is what we learned at the conference all week.

Those are some of the definite highlights of the conference, that God provided for in whole for Josh and I to attend. The actual kick off time for skate ministry Arvada is coming up fast, so if you could be in prayer as the Bigger needs are brought into line, that would be amazing! Specifically, I'm looking for a big house with property (like a ranch) within short walking distance of the skate park. I also am looking for a few vans: a 15 passi and more of a Suburban type car for the "Fam"(I am also desiring to adopt some kids and make them part of my family)! 

Thank you to everyone that made this event possible for me to attend! Check in next week for an update on what I'll be doing next at YWAM- for my last quarter on staff (and pray for a smooth transition out of the community of YWAM into the ministry...and for some people to join in the mission with me)! 
Until next time, God bless you and have a wonderful weekend!

Building My Alter

So, what exactly is an alter? It is something on which a sacrifice is made. It can also be a memorial to remember something- so when you see it, you recall to mind the thing you wanted to remember. A few weeks ago I laid down skate ministry as I knew it and gave it to the Lord (with all the dreams for it and the training conference I wanted to go to as well). I actually had forgotten about this alter of "sacrifice" of my dreams of the skate ministry, until now. Which is where the alter of remembrance comes in.

Bring it back to today's timing. Just a few days ago a friend of mine and I were working on a project together and he asked me about the skate ministry and the training conference. I was taken back at first-it had, since laying it down, escaped my mind. Then, I realized that God was in the bringing back of this dream as I began to share with him.He then told me that he wanted to help me out with some of the initial funding for the training conference now only three weeks away. He provided me with almost the perfect amount for the plane ticket there and back.

Now I am building an alter of praise- remembering all that God has done for me so far in this journey. So, sometimes we have to build the alter of sacrifice before the alter of remembrance. It leaves room for God to show up and remind us how faithful He truly is...and we build our alter of remembrance so we will never forget that! 

To Glorify God???

What does that expression mean? It's tossed around a lot, and it's often vaguely defined. It is just glory He wants? As if He were some power fiend? Sometimes we view God as another earthly ruler who wants all eyes on Him. Yes, every knee will bow and every tongue confess His name, but we forget why: "that we shall be saved". But we aren't being saved from Him, we are saved for Him- to be reunited with Him through relationship.

If God wanted to be just another ruler, like the ones we have on the earth, why would He tare the veil that was between us and Him (making that a possibility forever)? I believe that God desires glory so He is recognized (not just "to get the credit", but so we'd want to start a relationship with Him)! He loves us! 

So, when we speak of glorifying God, we shouldn't have a mindset of having to give Him a good reputation. He can do that on His own. But we ought to remember that in giving Him "glory", we point people to a very real, loving, and faithful God, in order that they may in turn desire the relationship with Him that He has been longing for (yet waits patiently for our equal longing for Him); For us to "allow" Him to love us (He won't force it). He is a good God! "Thank you Lord: For loving us! For desiring relationship with us! That you aren't some impersonal being somewhere up in the sky! But that you earnestly desire good things for us! That you never leave us! That you are deeply concerned for us! That you Are good!"