Book Report #1

Throughout the schools available here, the students have the opportunity to read four or five incredible books and then reflect through reports on what they have read. Here's my first one from Phase II:

"A Tale of Three Kings" by Gene Edwards

Report by Hannah Angier

1. Breifly summarize the entire book:

"A Tale of Three Kings" by Gene Edwards is written much like a play. Edwards opens the book as if we are the audience to a reenactment of King David's life. We begin by seeing David, the youngest of his brothers, as a shepherd boy. We watch him grow and soon come under the supervision of King Saul. After a short while, the king becomes threatened by young David as he sees the potential in David. He becomes afraid at the thought of losing his place on the throne, so in turn, King Saul threatens David. Since David was honoring of the authority anointed by God, he flees rather than fighting back. David was crushed; utterly broken. He spent his days living in caves. Others also started fleeing the kingdom because of King Saul's madness. David had followers but never rebelled against the king. By no act of disrespect, David took his place as king. After many years of reign, David's son, Absalom began rallying citizens against King David, against his own father. But David did not fight because he knew that the throne was not his to take, not his to protect, and not his to keep. For it was the Lord who placed him there, and the Lord would be the only one able to remove him. David did not fight. Just like he had not fought Saul, though both Saul and Absalom were unworthy kings, David knew it was not for him to decide.

2. What are two life-changing concepts you derived from reading this book?

A. God is the only one who decides who is anointed to lead, and who is not And he does so in such a way that often defies what we thought was true power. Edwards poses a conversation that likely happened between King David and Abishai. David says, " 'God once delivered a defenseless shepherd boy from the powerful, mad king. He can yet deliver an old ruler from an ambitious young rebel.' " God will preserve His anointed, even when it looks like the anointed should fall or be defeated. God has His hand in the whole matter.

B. Often, God will put unworthy men in authority to reveal their weaknesses. As Edwards says on page 36, "He [God] sometimes gives unworthy vessels a greater portion of power so that others will eventually see the true states of internal nakedness within that individual." So not ever man in power is God's anointed vessel to carry out great works for Him, but every man in power is there because God allowed him to be there for one reason or another.

3. Apply one of the concepts to your own personal life: 

I've see many men given great authority when I don't think they deserve it in the least. But through this book, God has been teaching me that no matter who is in power, no matter how ill-equipped they may be, God has them there for a reason. The only part of it I control is how I respond to what God has allowed. Like David, I choose not to rebel and fight what I cannot control, but instead to let God have His way. He will protect and preserve what He has destined. Even if protection looks like becoming so broken as David had to, through that, he became what God needed him to be as king. God is not looking for perfect persuaders, or ambitious rebels, He is looking for broken vessels. The image that comes to my mind is that of an opaque glass bottle. What is contained within cannot be seen until the bottle is cracked. Only then can the light, if present, can shine through. Saul was broken, but the light was not within, so only madness was revealed. David, on the other hand was full of the light of God, so when he was broken, what was hidden behind the opacity was revealed and shone greatly through the brokenness.

4. Is there anything in this book you disagree with? Why?

In this book, while on the topic of God revealing who is the anointed and who is not, he often writes that God knows, but He does not tell. I am unsure as to whether or not I agree with this. I think often God does tell. But He tells only people that He trusts. Knowing who has been anointed can be a giant burden, or a major blessing.

Community Outreach!

Every Tuesday night, three Phase II students, including myself, get to lead a group of DTS students in ministry, serving Confluence Ministries near Downtown Denver. Every week since the 9th of October we have had this privilege of driving down being prepared for anything because our service changes by the week! And every week, as we surrender the night to God for His will to be done through us, our minds are blown with His presence and His power, and His love!
Yesterday, we had a group of four DTS students, three Phase II students (we lead the outreach every week) and one staff member to drive us. When we got down to west downtown Denver, we met up in the confluence building an prayed about what we were to do. So we prayed and we all got different things but in three categories. Three people felt like they were supposed to head down a certain street, two people felt lead to stay and intercede in the building, then one if the girls kept getting the image of McDonalds but thought it was just her. But then Stephen, our staff member said, semi-jokingly, "Dee! You should go to McDonalds and buy someone's food!" Dee freaked out and told us that she was feeling McDonalds and didn't know why! So we split into three groups. Stephen and Megan stayed and prayed over the building of Confluence ministries, Mats, Brielle and Malia prayer walked the streets, and Ben, Dee and I went to McDonalds! While we were praying, I felt like we were supposed to split into three groups, and God said that I was to follow and lead from behind. So I was to take up the slack, but it was my job to nudge the students forward. So I went to McDonalds because the other two PII leaders got clear answers on where to go. On out way, Dee told us that she's never payed for anyone for anything before but she had $10 in her name and she felt like God wanted her to bless someone by buying their food. So we got to McDonalds. While we were walking in I saw and old man with dark eyes and instantly God put him on my heart, but I was the follow up, not the initiator this time. So I greeted him and we went in. We stood and stared at the menu for a long while, waiting for anyone to come up and order food. After waiting semi-patiently, a man came up from behind us and went to the counter. I saw him and it was the old man from outside! I knew instantly that I was him so I turned and looked at my two students with a huge smile and I said, "Dee! What about him? Is that him?" And she looked at me as if she had been waiting for that last little push. So she went. The look on the cashier's face and the old man's face was beautiful. Dee paid and the old man walked over to wait for his food. While he was waiting I wanted so badly to ask if we could sit with him but I was the follow up. This wasn't my job tonight. Both students felt lead to sit and pray. So we went to a to a table and read some Bible and prayed. All the while I was laughing because the Holy Spirit filled me with joy during acts one conference and I have basically been laughing since then anytime the Spirit is moving. Dee caught it too and also started laughing and suddenly, as if he's been waiting for something specific to happen, Ben stood up and said, "I'm going to go sit with that man!" I was so ready for him to go that I just said thank you when he told us. Hahah so he went and sat with the man, Phil. Dee and I started interceding and while we were interceding, God opened both of our eyes to another lonely person. I looked at Dee and said said, "Do you think I..." And before she could finish I said, "yes. Go!" So she went and sat with this lady who turned out to be a pagan named Piper. While Dee and Ben were making friends, I say and read my Bible, praying and laughing because He is so good! I asked God what He wanted me to do because they weren't anymore lonely people. I noticed there was a ton of trash and I thought about cleaning it up but I certainly didn't want to offend the workers. So I sat and prayed some more. One of the workers came out not to long after noticing the trash and he began cleaning up. When he walked past my table I thank him and told him that he was doing a great job. He thanked me and continued cleaning. A little later, he came and sat across from me and said, "I probably shouldn't do this because I'm working. But I really didn't want to come into work today but I had to. But since I'm here, will you please pray for my family?" Tears welled up in his eyes as I eagerly agreed to pray for him. I asked if there was anything specific and as the tears filled up, he simply asked for me to pray for his mom and his brothers. I assured him I would pray. His name tag said Joshua but he went by Josh. I don't know if I'll ever forget the desperation and brokenness in His eyes when he asked. And then the tint of hope and peace when he walked away. At this point, it was already 8:19 and we were supposed to meet back at the building at 8:15. So I went over to Dee and Piper, Dee, knowing that meant it was time to wrap up. So we prayed with Piper and then she asked Dee if she was still accepting donations for her outreach to Cambodia, Dee said yes and Piper handed her $20. Twice as much as Dee came with and had dedicated to God. We cleared Piper's table and as the lady left, Dee and I just looked at each other, completely astonished! Then I went to Ben and Phil and as Phil was finishing up his last story, I couldn't help but notice to light in his eyes!! They were so blue and bright! Not like they had been when we walked past him outside. God was there with us, and with Phil! We asked if we could pray for Phil and he told us that he didn't think even Billy Graham could fix what he's going through. I told him that even though Billy Graham might not be able to, that God was more than able. Phil thanked us so much for our presence and for blessing him with food and with a listening ear, and he walked out. What an incredible night!!!!!

Back to the writing desk

I’d spend time apologizing for the duration of time between my last blog and this one, but there are more important subjects for discourse.

I love writing, and thinking, and exploring. But I have been rather busy, which, may I remind you, is a terrible reason to cease doing what you love. With that said, I made the mistake of writing much less because of my schedule changes. This morning, during worship, God asked me to write for Him again. And so here I am!

First, I’m going to share with you the entries from one of my many journals. This journal was given to me by one of my greatest mentors, and favorite high school teachers and in it I write whatever I feel is worthy of residing in such a lovely leather journal.

Keep in mind these are thought processes and are by no means new found facts. I highly recommend that you take any of your questions back to God’s written word, and I promise to do the same. Also, since these were written a while ago and God has continued to teach me since, anything written in the red parentheses indicates updated additions or comments. One at a time. So here we go:

Saturday, May 15^th 2010

Philippians 4:11-13 (this passage has since become one of my life passages from the Bible. I love it!)

“11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living with plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Lately, I have realized that I tend to enjoy myself no matter where I am. Knowing that a difficult (/challenging) situation is ahead I get excited. I love the challenge to bring joy into that difficulty. I love the chance to “suffer” for Jesus. In the volunteer guide for my trip (to the Dominican Republic) reading warnings about uncomfortable sleeping arrangements and tiring work makes me fund raise that much more. I am so excited to leave this country for a little while. Everything is so easy in comparison  to the rest of the world. We have so many luxuries that we tend to view as life necessities. Cars, houses, roads, and grocery stores are almost as common as people in the United States. Then there are people living all over the world who have not even seen a store, or a paved road. There are many who have not even seen a store, or a paved road. There are many who have only seen a car once or twice in their lives. I can assure you, though, the majority of these people are content, joyful even. They don’t need worldly conveniences to enjoy life and be satisfied all the way to the end. Then there are those in the U.S. (and much of the western world) with all this, and even more, who are still unhappy. They are marvelous examples of the idea that things of this world have and will never satisfy.

1 Timothy 6:6-7

“6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

Fire Bible study says, “The key to contentment is realizing that God has given you in your present circumstances everything you need to endure, grow closer to Him, and remain victorious in your relationship with Christ” (1Co15:57; 2Co2:14; 1Jn5:4). The ability to live steadily and triumphantly above changing circumstances comes from Christ’s power flowing in and through you. This ability does not come naturally, however, it must be learned and developed through dependence on and obedience to Christ. 

I graduated! Plan:
Now-October: Work, work, and maybe one more work.
October-December or March: Phase II
January-May: Staff BDTS in Denver
June-August or November: Staff SDTS in New Zealand.
We shall see!
I feel like there is a lot I want to say here, but there's really nothing.
I want to start posting pictures of the clothes and trinkets my sister and I create.
Maybe that will end up here.
We shall see!


We shall see...

Finally back!

I know it's been a while! But I've been crazy busy learning amazing things about myself, about God, and about His plan for this world. A lot has been happening, we've had crazy speakers come in and blow our minds with new wisdom and awesome ideas about our heavenly Father. John Murphy taught on the realm of relationships, Troy Sherman taught on missions and evangelism, Pastor Blake Mattocks taught us how to more effectively study God's word. I can tell you everyone here is ten times more excited to read the Bible now! This week we are doing outreach prep with Kelsey Gilchrist leading it. We are learning lots of skit, dramas, puppet shows and crafts to do while we're on our outreach. It's going to be amazing!

Today, two vans drove down the mountain to downtown Denver right after dinner to minister at the skate park, and to those on 16th Street Mall. Yesterday I had made twenty duct tape flowers to give away as a sign of God's beauty and His never dying love. Very clever, I know. =P So I stuffed those in my little backpack named Josh Bergen, with the intentions of giving them out to random women I ran into. Turns out I didn't actually meet any women, but I did give a few out to some homeless men that we spoke to and prayed for. Cameron, Ashley, NZ Michael and I wandered up and down the street looking for the Holy Spirit to lead us somewhere. The first homeless guy we ran into was Glen. In efforts not to overwhelm him, Cameron and Ashley talked to him while Michael and I interceded on a bench a little ways down the street. They spoke to him for a good while, prayed for him, then came over to us and told us about their conversation. Glen was reading the Bible when we first saw him and he told Ashley and Cameron a great story about how he used it once in a coffee shop. A lady behind him said something derogatory against homeless people. Glen turned around and asked if she thought she was better than him. She said yes, and told him that everyone in that coffee shop was better than him because they weren't homeless. Glen pulled out his Bible and asked, "are you saying you're better than Jesus? 'Birds have their nests, and foxes have their holes, but the Son of God has no place to rest His head." Ah ha! You go, Glen! The lady was caught completely off guard and lost all her pride in that moment.

We kept walking. After a while of not really feeling drawn to anything, we each silently began to pray that God would clearly guide us to a person or a place so we could share His love. At that moment, a tall gangly man came up behind us and began telling us a the story of his situation. He said his name was Benny and he and his wife were left there by their ride and have been trying to find a ride or a place to stay that night. He asked for money and told us he knew where to find an ATM. Whether his story was true or not, I decided I am not one to judge, and God had asked us to love on this man. We pulled some money out for him and then asked if we could pray for him. He was all for it so we prayed over him for safety and hope. I gave Benny a rose and asked him to give it to his wife. I explained what it meant to me and asked him to pass that on. He thanked us and went on his way. "Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me."

Later, we all got a good laugh out of a guy who made a banner crooked, ran into a trash can and slurred to us, "Hah I love doing that!" We laughed and kept walking, only to discover that he really did love doing that because ALL the banners were askew. Oh funny!

We later ran into Andy, an elderly homeless man that Michael had met the first time he went to 16th Street Mall. He is such a joyful, kindhearted man! He blessed me just with his caring heart as he remembered Michael, and took great care in learning the rest of our names. We prayed for him and continued on.

On our way back to the vans, a man started talking to us, asking for spare change so he could buy his brittle-boned mother a punt I milk. He said she's into politics and doesn't believe in buying thugs by the gallon. This guy was hilarious as he knelt on his knees and joking begged for money. We didn't have any change on us so I pulled out a flower and gave to him. His whole face lit up and sprang to his feet and told me that he loved me. He went to shake Michael's hand but then quickly turned and hugged me and kissed the top of my head and made us laugh a bit more then moved on.

What a good night! When we regrouped back at the skate park, we got to hear of some more awesome stories that happened there as well. All that to say, I serve a good and powerful God who is worthy of my obedience. Now I'm going to sleep!

Back!

Made it back from Aspen! We're home! Yay soft beds, showers and laundry! Don't get me wrong, though! Our X-Games experience was amazing!!! Street ministry every night! Loving and ministering to people at the venue! Amazing! I met a lot of drunk people. There was one instance when a drunk guy in his early to mid-twenties was sitting on the bus across from one of our staff members, Stephan Cheateams. The drunk guy leaned over an bumped Cheats and said, "you're stupid. You're so stupid!" A little later he said, "you're beautiful." We got to a stop and Te lights came on and the drunk guy realized Cheats was a man so he pointed to the door and said, "get off!" then we started going again and he pulled out his phone and shined the light on Cheats, put it away, then leaned over and threw up in his own hood. At this point I had to turn away and continued praying for this guy's safety. If he thought Cheats was a girl, he could easily get into some bad situations. I also met a completely sober guy who actually saw Jesus Freaks last year, which is a video/documentary of the Boarders DTS that took place in 2007! It was cool finding people all weekend that knew who we were. Pretty awesome! We did a lot of really great evangelism all weekend! We also got to experience the X-Games! I witnessed the first snowmobile front flip on competition history! And I saw Shaun White score a perfect 100 on his VICTORY lap after he knew he had already won. Pretty insane. I also smacked him in he ribs as he walked by. All kinds of fun in Aspen! Now we're back at Eagle Rock and in about 36 minutes we're driving down to Arvada to get our laundry cleaned, then when we get back, I get to shower and sleep!!! So excited!

I don't apologize for slacking on here... Sorry.

Ha! Paradox. Anyways! Yesterday we went down to the Arvada base for worship, intercession and class. Our speaker this week is Greg DeVries, teaching on evangelism! STOKED! We are weeks worth of class in three days so we can be better prepared for our X-Games outreach! It's going to be amazing! I am expecting such great things for our time there. Sleeping on the floor of a church is going to be wonderful. I love living with less when I know it is for the Glory of my God! Anyways!!! After class, we did our laundry, I always have fun at laundry mats, I discovered. I like them and I think they're nifty and great for pictures! Then we went to the mall to get supplies for the X-Games, but I didn't need anything so I bought gauges. Yep. For my ears. Then we came home and slept.

Today! We had class taught by Greg on walking in the Spirit while we're evangelizing (which should be always) and being sensitive to where the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit wants to do through our willingness to serve. I cannot wait to hear the Spirit clearly while I'm going about my life and act on it, then see radicals things happen because of it. Ahh! SO EXCITED! After class and lunch, then class, we had work duties, during which, Alecia and I went to the Murphy's cabin to help Bethany clean and watch the children. They're a joyful bunch! I love them all so much! Then dinner, then we had the option to watch "Jesus Freaks," an hour long documentary on the Boarders DTS of 2007. It was awesome! And afterwards, the joyful, community centered atmosphere and the general friendliness of our group tripled. Nothing like an awesome video to boost moral. Then a couple of students and staff and I gathered for a Bible study in the dining hall to study the book of Joshua! We plan on meeting every Tuesday night to dive into what we believe to be our generation's calling to be Joshua leaders.

I'm exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to be doing, and it feels amazing.