Created to SEE God

Day 2 of Intro, and I am not sure where to store some of the stuff He has been telling me. We weave in and out of Him telling me reasons that He loves me, to things He has created me to do. And somewhere in the midst of all of that, I get overwhelmed with how much I do not know this man Jesus. I recognize my selfishness before Him, and He smiles and keeps telling me why He loves me. I try to dwell in repentance, and He asks me to joyfully worship. Who am I to not let go of the guilt and shame that tries so hard to stick to me? God loves to enjoy me, why should I rob Him of this heart that He created for Himself?????

This morning, we spent three hours just hearing stories of God's faithfulness and goodness. Those three hours covered only three paragraphs of a ten-page syllabus. So, we'll see how that goes. We are just in the process of learning some of the prophetic history of Kansas City, and the specific words that the Lord gave. It was neat how everything always led back to Jesus being worshiped. How, to gaze upon Him, is the best thing (Psalm 27:4). How we are transformed into His image, by beholding Him. As Corey, the Intro leader, said, "It's as if God is saying, 'It's best for you if you see Me.'" He's not a egotistical, He just knows His own goodness.

We learned about "governmental intercession." I don't even know where to begin with that...and we only touched on it and I'm speechless. It did dethrone some of my ideas of how much the enemy "attacks" me. We were talking about how the enemy doesn't do half of what we think he does. I would try to explain that more, but it is still swimming around in my head...and heart. My eyes were also opened to what a forerunner is. I thought I knew, but I don't think I had actually really ever thought about it. It never really clicked in me that I was one. A forerunner is someone who will teach the church about the things to come. Corey's explanation really struck me. He said a forerunner is ahead of their time, that is, seeing what is to come. I wasn't always like that, and though I still lack incredibly, God has spoken to me of things to come. So. I will just leave that at that until God does more with it.

We spent five hours in the prayer room after that. My first hour was pretty dry, and I was dealing with some silly things that shouldn't be a big deal. I was letting the enemy lie to me, and then it was my small groups' turn in what they call 'prep rooms,' a type of prayer meeting in a room off to the side. The Lord really started speaking to me about my name. Katherine, means "pure." God then led me to Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." God said that He named me Pure, and the outcome of my name being Pure, is to see God. That is my identity outside of sin. To see God. Isaiah 43:1 says, "I have summoned you by name., you are mine" He has called me His own, naming me Pure, so that my destiny would be to see Him. To behold Him. He created me to see Himself. Of course I belong to Him. He will have my heart, I will give it to Him.

Something the Lord had showed me a while ago, is that it takes every personality ever birthed throughout time to encompass the personality of God. My personality, your personality, is a very specific attribute of God...and NO ONE else has it. Same with our names, as well. I think our names are so important, and today He told me that it also takes ALL of our names, throughout time, to encompass how beautiful His name is. Jesus. Jesus' name had to be broken down in to the names of what we call ourselves. Pure. Princess. Beloved. Warrior. Messenger. Our names mean these things, and Jesus means ALL of them. Wow. That's cool. You should look up your name. It's great. See what has been prophesied over you your whole life. Here's my family:

Dennis: Latin origin of Dionysios, a judge converted to Christianity
Judith: From Judea
Keith: Wood
Kevin: Kind, gentle, handsome (wink)
Nicole: Victory of the people
Madison: From a form of Matilda, meaning strength in battle
Kohrs: From a word meaning wisdom

Cool.

"But now, this is what the Lord says-
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
'Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name: you are mine.'"
Isaiah 43:1

Upon entering the bubble...

Like any organization, Ihop has it's own culture, language, rhythm, and operational dynamic. It can be kind of a bubble. I came into this knowing that I am capable of becoming a robot. I don't want that. Ihop has so many riches, and while here, I want to learn to feast with my King. Some of my facades have been revealed in the past couple of weeks, I am still not sure what I have been protecting, but the Lord just asked me to stay an open heart, no questions asked. Just receive, just take what is on the table. "IT'S YOURS!" is what He says to me in His smile.

So, today was my first day of the Intro program. Monday's are going to be our Sabbath, so it only lasted a couple of hours; every Monday we will have off. I received a bag loaded with books. In fact I was one of the lucky one's whose bag did not break resulting in what looked like a carpet made out of books. Not joking. I sat down next to a lady named Adrienne...yup...and through sharing stories, learned that we both had worked in residential facilities. We started talking about the Justice Orphanage...wow. Let me preface this by back-tracking a bit. My very first day here, Jenn, the house mom, told me about how the Justice Prayer Room is in the operations of starting the Justice Orphanage. Their core verse is Malachi 4:5-6, which I might add is the exact same verse that God gave me about 6 weeks ago for my future ministry. It says this, "I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers." I have spent the past year working in a residential facility, and realized that I was called to work with the orphaned, and God has since been speaking to me a lot about orphans. Well, what the Justice Orphanage is seeking to do, is to adopt children throughout the world and raise them in houses of prayer. To raise the abandoned and unwanted children of the world to know who they are to the Father, and to worship Him...before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Mufasssssaa. Oooooh, say it again. MUFASA!!!

We also met our small groups today. I had to laugh. A lot. There are about 10 of us, and I am one of three white people. There is a couple that I am not sure where they are from, but before long I am sure I will know. It is a dominantly Asian group. Some are Americans, and others are not...but it is just fun thus far. We went around and shared random stories, and what are some justice issues that are burdens on our heart. It was unanimous in our group...orphans. At this point I can't ignore the giant elephant. I am also here to learn about the Justice Orphanage.

After sitting in the prayer room for a while, I took myself on a tiny drive. I found a lake (photo above) and reflected on some other things that the Lord shared with me today. My heart is filled with awe today. And it was just a half day. I go from 9-6 tomorrow (5 hours of that in the prayer room). I sure hope you all like to read, because God is reconnecting me to writing.

"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." Psalm 45:6

Bed and Bath...

I know, I know, the purple bathroom is the absolutley BEST thing about this whole place.

New temporary home

My favorite chair in my new home, I have discovered, is the green papasan chair in the back. This weekend has consisted of moving in, getting acquainted with my new roommate, and my new space. The climax of today was literally just discovering my favorite place in the living room, to create my nest. So, here I sit, books everywhere, laptop...on my lap, bowl of soup on the reading table, and my feet warmly clothed in green socks.

3304 E. 107th Terrace feels like home already. I thoroughly enjoy waking up to my itty-bitty bed covered in lots of blankets, and the glow of green from my make-shift curtain made out of a chaudor bought in Afghanistan. It's simple, but beautiful. Having a smiley roommate starts things positive, and my shower in the bright purple bathroom is, well, just amazing. Amazing.

Elizabeth, my new roommate, is a beautiful 18-year old from Southern California. Her smile is beautiful, and her eyes shine bright for her Lord. Even know we are discussing across the room things that the Lord has taught us today. When Adrienne and I arrived on Thursday night, Elizabeth and I already shared a kinship. I am once again in awe of the strategic planning of God over our roommate arrangement. There is purpose here beyond our understanding.

Heading out to the prayer room has brought back a lot of memories, but also a vison for an exciting new journey. God has done soooo much in the past three years. I am a new person, with new perspective,
and a new heart to learn and receive in ways I have yet to learn. Oh, the excitement to come!

Since I can only fit 4 pictures on this blog...I will open up a new one with the bedroom and the wondeful purple bathroom.