Prayers, Werewolves, and Vampires, oh my!

Hola amigos (as if multiple people are really reading this blog haha! )


Well today I guess i have a couple things on my mind. First off I want to inform you of the AMAZING experience I had the other night. For a little background info, I've been attending prayer nights in Duluth with some friends from UMD for almost a month now, and the first two times a different family graciously opened their home for us to use. Well this last Monday night we were back at the Dillon's house (well this was my first prayer experience at the Dillon's, but i had been UBER pumped to attend one there!)

I'm so encouraged to know that there are families like the Dillon's out there. They are so welcoming and hospitable to everyone, and their hunger for God and His word is a great example for the college kids they welcome into their home!

We spent the beginning of the evening in some awesome fellowship, soaking in God. For those of you (again, I'd be surprised if people are actually reading this haha) who are not familiar with this "soaking" concept, let me explain! =D

As Chris (the mother in the Dillon family) put it, when two or more are gathered God is there in the midst of them. So often when we get together in His name we spend a lot of time talking about Him, talking to Him, but maybe not so much time trying to listen to Him and here His voice. Soaking is a time of just quieting yourself and trying to listen to God's voice, in whatever way He may manifest Himself to us.



Now this is something I struggle with. Quieting my mind. My mind is always in a constant state of turning, thinking of a bunch of random or maybe not so random things, contemplating one of my many musings, and sometimes preparing by thinking of multiple outcomes of a situation. and then sometimes my mind is just daydreaming haha.

Anyway the point is I have trouble just stopping and clearing my head. As I soaked, I attempted to focus on Him instead of the millions of things racking at my brain. Well it worked some of the time, I could stop trying of thinking about things, things to ask of Him, things to thank Him for, and I could find momentary brain silence.

But I still need practice on this. At one point I think I may have seen an image of the top of a windmill that was not moving. At first I was like, okay God, what the heck does a windmill mean? But then I thought about how the word "Spirit" can be translated as "wind". Perhaps I need a little more of God's spirit in my life to get my windmill really moving?? I don't' know, I'm still new to this ahah. I'll just keep practicing.

Well, after that we talked a bit and it was super cool to get to better know the people I've been praying with for a while.

Then by about 10, 10:15 we got to the praying part. We all stood in a circle around the one we were praying for, laid hands on him/her and went around the circle praying for the person. Wow! It was so incredible.

Now, I heard prayer at this house was intense, and I'd heard some stories about "hitting the deck". Hitting the deck is one of the way God encounters us, sometimes the power of God is too amazing that you can't even stand up anymore. Most people we prayed for hit the deck, including me. I didn't think I would but its hard to explain, God just fills you so completely the next thing you know you have no control over what your legs can hold up haha! it's so amazing!

We prayed for a girl named Rebbecca before me, and one of the ways she encountered god was an uncontrollable laughter! She was so full of Joy she would burst out in wonderful fits of laughter! Oh what a joyous sound!

While I was being prayed for I started up standing, and Rebbecca would burst out and I'd giggle a bit, being so happy to hear that joy! But Next thing I knew i was falling over backwards and was laying on the ground and I had some ab crunching, body tightening laughter just burst out of me! I could not contain it! The ones praying over me felt it was a laugh of victory, which is so amazing!

For me, I think I always underestimated the importance of prayer, but let me tell you, its one of the most important things! Through prayer we get to have conversations with God! We can make known our desires (even though he knows the very most desires of our hearts) we can ask for blessings, we can praise God and so much more! There is an amazing connection you can get with God and those you pray with, that only comes with the power of the Holy Spirit!

Another thing that was so amazing was I experienced people speaking in tongues for the second time in my life (the first time was at my first prayer night with this group of people a few weeks ago). How amazing is it that we can be verbal vessels, if you will, of the Holy Spirit!

All in all we got done at like one in the morning, but it went by so fast and I wish we didn't have to stop. It was such an amazing and rewarding experience, I can't wait until the next one!!! I loved being in the presence of other people who are so on fire for God! Its so encouraging, and its soooo helpful to get prayer and here their prayers for me: for my life, for my role on campus as an Intervarsity leader. Praise God for the ways He comes to us and for His love!!

The second thing I'm going to write about today is the new movie in the twilight series that just came out, Eclipse. Yes I went to the Midnight showing. I wasn't planning on it but one of my friends had an extra ticket so I thought what the heck, why not. Now don't get me wrong, it's an okay story (But it know a better one =] ) but the whole twilight craze scares me.

I'll admit i was sucked in at the end of my senior year of high school. I read the books, twice, and was intrigued by them. I let myself get too close to the story, like my emotions were actually effected by it. During the whole second book I was depressed like Bella, I found myself wishing for the kind of love Bella and Edward had, and stuff like that... just way too over the top (thankfully that's definitely not the case anymore!).

What scares me is that some people are drawn too much into the story that it becomes a sort of worship. Its what fills peoples time and thoughts. As I was sitting in the theater last night, there were girls, like elementary and Jr. high kids that were completely obsessed with the characters, drooling over them because they thought they were "smoking hot" and had "hot abs" or something like that. The crazed fans could probably quote a million lines from the books, know the names of all the characters, know the main points, know the story.

I couldn't help but think, but how many of these people have encountered Jesus with this much fire and intensity?? Is this what these girls think true love is about? Having a smoking hot body? Being so ,for lack of a better word, obsessed over the one you love that you are that bound to them? Now I understand that the majority of them were just teenage girls gaga over cute boys, but will they grow out of it? Does our society really give that much of a different picture as to what love is in other areas outside of twilight? I don't think so.

The only one that we are intended to be that bound to is Jesus, to God! God is love! The problem with Bella and Edwards relationship is that it is not centered in Christ! No relationship should be less than three, because Christ must be there! The only way any relationship we have can be anywhere close to it's potential is if it is held together by Jesus!

This applies to all relationships, not just "romantic" ones. This is something I've thought about alot lately. I've never really had any sort of what we would call a "romantic" relationship. I was kind of bummed about it on and off throughout high school and the beginning of college, never having a boyfriend like the other girls in my class,(and being completely inept in the whole general "boyfriend" field haha).

But I've come to realize something. My heart is not mine to give. It belongs to God. Before I was not seeking a relationship for the right reasons. I was seeking earthly love before heavenly love. I wasn't accepting the unconditional love, that surpasses anything this earth could give me, the love of God. It's still something I'm working on, but God has changed the way I think about it.

I now understand that all (there is that all word again haha, as if our seeking of the Lord is some easy task and not a day to day seeking and yearning) I need to do is seek first to fill myself with God's love, and if he blesses me with someone else to share this earthly life with, to pray with, to long for God more with, to grow old in His love with, then so be it. If not, so be it.

God's plans may be different than mine, but His are always better in the end. I need to trust God's direction in my life and spread His love to the world to the best of my ability (and of course I still fail. oh fiddle sticks I'm human).

How many in the theater (and the theaters across America) could quote the greatest story of all with such passion and love for it? How many are being surrounded with a craze, like that of twilight, for the story of Jesus?

Don't get me wrong, I get caught up in all the wrong things too, I waver and fall short like all of us, I lose my drive sometimes too! Maybe this is a call we Christians must fill! We need to be the ones to be praying for fire, to be working on our campuses, living intentionally, getting to know people and show the love of Christ in every way , in every are of our lives!!

Our time on Earth is unknown and limited, How are we going to spend it!!? Oh Lord stir up the desires of this city, let our hearts burn for you with unquenchable passion!!


<>< ♥ ♰
God Bless =]