2010 –The experience so far…

2010 started off in an amazing way with a Youth camp just full of God’s grace, this camp brought about a change in many people’s characters and came with a message on the Father Heart of God and experiencing God in a new way. And then even before that there was the start of the RE-IMAGINE series, which also, is about a new experience and encounter with God, but at the same time to take our thoughts and imagination beyond physical borders and to start dreaming again (but not in a small way). I do not think that the fact that Avatar (the film) came out at this time, I get this feeling that God knew how I was limiting my own thoughts on Him and on what is possible, and that He knew that a film like this will completely rock my own little world and push my mind open to start imagining things not seen before.

Directly after the camp, when I got home, I started to wash all the clothes from the week past, and while the washing was going I just had this feeling that I need to just spend time with God. JJ, my house mate, wasn’t at home so I went into the living room with my Bible, the Laptop (where I journal), a notebook (where I also journal), and an open heart. For about two to two-and-a-half hours I just put on some Retief Burger and Tree63 and praised God, in between I would go through some of the things I typed the week before and also read through the first approx. 12 chapters in Psalms. This was such a great time of just waiting on God and expecting Him to speak, eventually I turned my thoughts on the RE-IMAGINE series, just asking what God wants to speak into Sunday’s (Jan 10^th ) meetings.

So Sunday came and in prayer meeting before hand I just shared with the others on how God doesn’t want us to hold onto the past glory of the church (at the time of Acts), but that we should expect and hope in the greater things that is to come, as Jesus wants His bride to dance before Him for His pleasure. I also spoke to Arthur (our Life-group leader) regarding the first Life-group meeting and that we are just going to open the year in prayer. The reason I asked him this is because I really felt that God wants to speak into the members of Life-group’s lives. Late Sunday evening I got home, and behold, JJ returned (no more time of waiting on God in the living room), I went into my room and connected the Laptop to the desk speakers and just spend time in my room praying, reading and listening, and just trying to pick up anything that God was saying to the guys at Life-group.

Everything I felt that Sunday night (and then Monday night just before Life-group) I typed out or got some objects, and just gave it to the others and blessing them with encouragement. And just through that I knew that this year God wants to break open more gifts in the body. Craig was saying the one Sunday; last year was a year of positioning and this year we will get rooted and carry fruit and experience a great harvest. And in that God really placed us where we will be most effective and started teaching us on the different gifts and ways to be effective, and also on the importance of not being self-conscious and sleep below deck while the storm is raging (Jonah in Jozi), and now this year is where all the teachings of the year past will actually be birthed into the gifting and impact that it was meant for.