The Sword and the Fruit...

On the day we join forces with Jesus, we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit. Eph. 1:13-14

We step into battle.

We are handed the SWARD of the spirit…Which is the word of God.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph. 6:17

The same sword the Holy Spirit uses in battle against the enemy. We are given this weapon as a gift, and told to make it our own.  To do this we must learn how to use it, practice and gain knowledge of the power we hold in our hands.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

As we use learn to use the sword of the spirit and wage war within our own lives, killing off our selfishness, anger, bitterness, etc.  we are slowly released from living under the authority of the law and start to operate in the fruit that comes from the Holy Spirit.

For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death.

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Romans 7:5-6

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

The fruit of our lives as warriors of God using the powerful weapons of war He has given us should produce some amazing results!

What is the result of our actions today?

Where do we need to re-examine and re-focus the use of our spiritual armor?

The Paralyzing fear of Faith

 

By faith. How do you live your life by faith? What does that really mean?  We say we believe, then God asks us to put that faith into action and… oh, geez….(scared face!)

Why do we let the paralyzing fear control us over the power of God and our faith in Him?

When I think about faith, I think about Abraham and how he took his son to the top of a mountain to sacrifice him to God, because he believed in the promises of God for his future. When God said I will make your descendants like the stars in the sky everyone was assuming that He would start with this child.  Abraham believe that no matter what, God would not forsake him, and that He would bring the boy back to life or give him another son.  Abraham didn’t know what the result would be, but he believed in a God bigger then himself.  He believed in the God of life and death.  (read the whole story for yourself Genises 22)

I think what God was really asking for here was obedience. The act of obedience out of faith. It’s something I’m learning doesn’t always make sense in my little human mind; sometimes God gives us a job that is bigger than we are.  He gives us things that we are incapable of outside His power. 

Stepping into the act of obedience without the full knowledge of the outcome is something that has to be done by faith.  Jumping in like this can very often can be deemed as stupid to the world.

This week God asked me to step out in an act of obedience and faith.  My journey has nothing to do with sacrificing anyone on an alter!!! It is simply Him asking me to believe in the best for myself.  The best that He has for me. Not to settle in any area of my life, but to surrender it all to Him knowing that he wants so much more for me then I do for myself.  He has asked me to surrender in every area of my life, not just the things I feel comfortable giving him control of, but the things that I want power over myself. 

To say the least, I’m scared.  Why?  Maybe I’m afraid that He will ask me to do something that I don’t want to do.  Maybe I don’t have the faith I know I should have. Maybe I just like control.

No matter the amount of fear I feel and the seconds of freaking out uncontrollably, I still have that sense of peace.  The peace that is bigger than this world; A peace that can only come from the beautiful power and love of the grace of my God. In spite of the fear, I know my God is in control. I know that I live in His kingdom and I am so excited to experience the depth of His love. 

Even if I never see the end result of my act of faith and obedience on this earth, I can walk in the peace and love of my Father God, and there is no other place I would rather be. God doesn’t promise us a life of ease or even a clear result of the lives we’ve lived, but He does promise that He will never leave us or forsake us. (Deut. 31:8)

I Bless your spirit today to step into a place of authority over your mind, body and emotions. I bless your spirit to connect with Holy Spirit and claim the promises He has for you today.  I bless you know that you are a creative, beautiful reflection of God. I bless you to enjoy each moment of today and surrender each fear, pain and disappointment to the author of life, claiming the life full of grace, peace and joy that is being poured out on you right now.

The Love kind of Change.

Instead of joining the war of what’s right and wrong right now, I just want to encourage my fellow Christians to do something more powerful then join in the argument.  I want to encourage you to love. It’s that simple.  You’re not going to change people with your stupid opinions.  They have enough of their own and are not going to be swayed by yours. The one thing that will sway the popular opinion is to love.

If you love a person with all the love of Jesus, that love will change them from the inside out.  I mean, isn’t that what it did for you?

The love of Jesus changed you!

Jesus loved you so much that He created you. He gave you life. Why? He allowed you the freedom to sin. Why? He died to take the punishment for your sin. Why?  He still loves you even though you failed again. Why? Because, He loves you, and He want’s to have a relationship with you.

Every time you let Jesus love you, you change a little more.  You open up and let the pain and anger and hatred and everything ugly out and love pours in. The changes might be little and hard to see, but take a look at your life five years ago. Your different.  The difference you are seeing right now is either good or bad...It’s either the process of love, or the poison of pain, anger, etc.

Don’t be the pain and anger that stops the change in people’s lives.  Be the love that leads to a faithful relationship with Papa!

Don’t forget that God’s not done working on you yet! Take this opportunity to grow a little yourself. Let this be a season to open up and let some of your own wounds be healed. 

“the battle was exhilarating, but I’m tired and, it’s ok."

 Sunday morning, I was ready for Church. There was a part of me that wanted to go. I didn’t. I sat down on the floor in the corner of my room and I wrote this.

Why? Why was I struggling like this right now? Why was I in this place that I couldn’t even really describe? What was this discouragement that I felt and this weight of responsibility weighing down on me?

I knew there where people that looked at me and saw something different. I couldn’t be failing them.  I was different. I was full of the love and joy and hope of Jesus. I was born to show this to the world and to express the love of God.  

Then where was the Joy? Why couldn’t I feel any of it right now? Why couldn’t I feel anything? Anything but tired. So tired all the time. A deep, deep tired that seemed to seep through my body soul and spirit and land with a resounding thud in the depths of my core. I didn’t want to fake something so amazing as the love and joy of God, but I wasn’t feeling it right now. Not in a way that this world would understand anyway.

This depression had been apart of me for as long as I could remember. This tiredness was something that I had been working my way through for years. Trying always to keep the Joy that God’s love was suppose to give me. I couldn’t today.  I was barely making it through my short work shifts before going home and collapsing to sleep for two to three hours.  Eat, sleep and work. That’s what I was doing. Surviving.  Barely. 

I don’t survive well. I never have.  I have never been able to live a life just to survive.  I am a thriver. A person that needs to be working toward a cause. I need a project and a goal.  Something greater then myself.  I needed God’s direction.

So, what’s happening here? Where is this deep tired coming from?

I sure don’t have all the answers, but I believe for me it started with expectation.

Expectation from myself of where I thought I should be in this world by this time in life. You know, the life with a carrier, married, with a family.  That’s what most people my age where doing.

Expectations of what I believe others think I should be doing. Yeah, Pretty much the same thing. Married, family, good job. At least settled in one place with a plan and a goal as to what would be happening in the next few years. Haha.

Expectation of what I think God believes I should be doing. Even just writing that makes me cringe.  What am I thinking…I know that God loves me and created me for a relationship with him.  He knows exactly what I’m going through and how much I’m struggling with life right now and He doesn’t love me any less.

What a load of crap, All of it! 

Here’s what I know for fact…

You’re career position doesn’t define you. Duh!

Money won’t bring you happiness or joy, Only God can do that.

Being married or in a relationship doesn’t “complete” you. That’s apart of God’s job as well.

Emotion is healthy.  The lows don’t define the highs. Usually low’s follow the highs. 

Rest doesn’t mean your being lazy. Rest was created as a way to keep your body healthy and strong. 

I did a self-evaluation this week, and by my own standards, I failed miserably. I found myself as Elijah did in 1 Kings 19 exhausted and just wanting to be done with it all.  

I needed rest. Rest is a gift from God. A treasure that few of us understand or realize how badly we need and desire it.  We push ourselves to be, to accomplish, to grow, to become, to live. When what we really need to do is STOP. Stop trying. Stop moving and just sit and rest. 

When we do this, God will meet us there, It the quiet moment.  That is where His Joy becomes full again.  In 1 Kings 19 it talks about how Elijah was going up the mountain to find God.  He went through an earthquake, a hurricane, and a fire and still hadn’t found God.  After all of this was over, there was a small whisper, a gentle and quiet voice.  The voice of God coming to Elijah with encouragement and strength.

If your like me, and you have been searching through the hurricane and the fire and earth quake for God, let’s stop.  Let’s sit and rest and let the still small voice of the Holy Spirit wash over us. Let’s just rest and be in the center of His love. 

Let’s let go of the “responsibilities and expectations” that have been placed on us, or that we have put on ourselves, and lets rest in the quiet.

Let’s be ok with the low after the high. Let’s be ok with not doing some of this stuff that we have deemed essential and spiritually acceptable and let’s start letting God renew us in His quiet gentle way. 

And above all, lets be real. Real with our issues, real with our pain. Real with the fact that following Christ isn’t always cherries on top. Let’s be as real with the low’s as we are with the highs.  

We still know where our strength comes from. We aren’t failing anything. It’s in times like these that God is working for us.  The times when we have no strength left and we end up fighting ourselves, God is stepping in and saying to us. I’m right here leading you beside a quiet river, “making” you sit down and rest.  I will give you future direction, but only when you’re ready, only when you rest and are healthy enough to stand up and move forward.

It’s all apart of the journey. 

Be ok with the quiet, rest.

Thoughts from today and eight month ago...

 I haven’t posted in a while now and thought this would be a good opportunity to catch you all up on the past few weeks of life.

After having made the decision to not go to Colorado Springs right away, God threw a few things in my lap.  He brought me directly back to the after school program I have worked with throughout the past few years.  He has reconnected me many of the students.  He is showing me the reasons I need to be where I am right now.  He is guiding and directing every conversation and building His kingdom one day at a time.

I will also be going back to work at Starbuck in the next few weeks.  I believe that God is providing everything I need. 

A few days ago I was looking at my DTS notes, and come across some re-inspiring thoughts. During the first week of Lectures we were talking about hearing the voice of God…

There are three voices that you can hear,

One of them is the voice of the enemy. This voice operates in fear and rejection and condemnation.

One voice is the voice of our own rationalization.  We with enough thought can rationalize ourselves out of anything.

The Voice of God is experienced with a love and peace that can overcome any fear or rationalizations. Even in the middle of the most chaotic moment God’s voice can bring so much peace.

I want to encourage you to focus on His voice and let him lead you through any difficult situation you are facing today.

Postpone the April plans

Proverbs 16:9

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

This past week has been a challenging, thought filled week.  I have just started the processing of the past seven months.  I being an internal processer have filed a lot of information away for a future time when I can start to think through things.

This week it has all started.  And though it has already proved to be a challenge, I know there is a lot more of these deep thoughts coming my way.

Due to this and a few confirming conversations I’ve had this week that I have made the decision to push my counseling school back a bit.  Though the exact plans aren’t made yet, it is still in my mind to pursue this direction.    I believe it would be wiser to process what is already in my head before I try to pile more information in there…there might be an explosion!

I believe that God has a lot for me to accomplish right where I’m at and He will be directing my steps all along the way.

Thank you everyone for your continued support and prayers! 

Here's to the random!

Here we go. On another adventure. I'm on a plane headed toward North Carolina. 

Along with four of my closest friends occupying seats in the cabin around me, There are countless strangers now bonded together by the choice of flight direction. All headed toward the next step in life. Friends and strangers alike. One common goal, to reach our destination and keep going. 

How quickly this group of people will separate after this flight. How quickly will the common bond be broken. 

The reason for this trip? 

The desire to grow these relationships of this bonded community of friends. the need to escape the cold of the Minnesota winter and cabin fever. (Yes, I've only been back for a week, doesn't take long to set in!) The ever present need for a new adventure. The constant drive to discover the what's next of our lives. The delight of a chance to curb our wanderlust. The eagerness of visiting old friends and making new ones. 

(Sadly one main member of this random band is in a far off land, and though we are excited as to where God has him, we selfishly wish he was on this plane with us!)

Our goals for this trip? To laugh. To live, and to just be. To step outside the norm that sometimes becomes life and together sharpen and strengthen not only our personal relationships with our God and creator but challenge each other to grow and to live the life that God has desired for each of us.

This trip is an opportunity not only to discover the promises of God but to step into those promises and start living in those promises with all of who we are. 

We are a team united under God separated by different passions, but brought together by the growth and sharpening that happens with the years of life together. 

My personal goals of this trip? To laugh. To let the grace of Gods amazing love take me to a place complete freedom. To fully step into the promises of God and let go of fears and concerns about the future. To embrace the Joy of the new and not wonder at the what if's of what could have been. 

Partners for this journey toward Counseling Ministry

 It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. ¹² He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. ¹³ And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature. –Eph 4:11-13

Some He calls some to be teachers, some to be preachers, some to be in the law enforcement and some to counsel, some to encourage, some to go, and some to send.

He has chosen me, and blessed me with the gift of counsel.  He has given me the ability to not just speak into people’s lives, but hear their hearts. He has given me a desire to grow and learn and become a person who wants to see healing fill the hearts and souls of every person I meet.  

There are countless people who have stepped into my life and have shared their hearts with me. I desire to help and this is why I have decided to pursue the Foundations for Counseling Ministry School through YWAM.  I cannot help without first getting the help and knowledge myself.

I have no intention of doing this without you! I have asked God to build a team to walk through this season along side me, and now I’m asking you to ask Him.  Please ask him right now if you should be apart of this team.  

I am seeking prayer and financial partners.

The Foundations for Counseling Ministry School cost $3,295 for the 12 week lecture phase and $1,895 + airfare for the 8-12 week outreach phase.

If you would like to join my financial support team, you can send donations directly to me at –

Jodi Noordmans

10434 Legionville Rd

Brainerd, MN 56401

Online by going to-

https://www.ywamsf.org/payment/

or you can send them to the YWAM Colorado Springs office –

Youth With A Mission - Colorado Springs

PO Box 60579

Colorado Springs, CO 80960

Please note my name (Jodi Noordmans) on any donation you make…checks can be written out to YWAM.

I love that God is already preparing the hearts and minds of those He will be putting into my life this next season! I know that He has a lot to teach me and I am so excited to start learning more and more!

Thank you so much for all you are in this world!

Blessings people!

Jodi

PS-If you tried to read my last blog and couldn't see any of the words...it's fixed! :)

The story of the car...

It was my last week of outreach when I got the message that my car had been in an accident. My being in South Africa prevented me from doing much of anything. As I worked with my friend to figure out the logistics of everything I felt the challenge of being a crossed the world.   

Getting back to California I heard the whole story of what had happened and my heart was in my throat. There was no way this car had survived. 

She had somehow driven off the road at a high speed, narrowly missing a telephone pole on one side and a wall of rocks on the other side. As the story was told I knew in my heart that only God could have kept them safe and unharmed in anyway. 

She ended her story telling me that it felt like God was lifting the car off the road and carrying it into the ditch. 

Sometimes we don't know the reason for the small miracles, but we can still be thankful for them. 

Looking at the car for the first time I was in shock. It appeared there was nothing wrong. We opened the hood and looked inside and saw that the front end had been pushed in a little bit. If It had been a quarter of on inch more the air bags would have been deployed. 

My friend was able to pull out the front, and straighten everything. In less then 10 hours of work the car was drivable and ready to go!

A few weeks later there was a flat tire.   Easy fix. No new tire needed. 

The next thing that happened was strange....

My friends returned from taking my car for a week. I went to drive away and unknown to me the car was leaking transmission fluid. A mile away from the base the car stopped. 

We learned as we where sitting on the side of the road awaiting our rescue that there had been a huge accident at the end of the road. God supplied several miracles at that time. The man that had been driving the car should have been dead. God said no, we said no and the man is walking without pain. His family is good, their car is not. 

The fix on my car was a simple 10min job of replacing a hose and refilling the oil. 

The day after that I drove into Chico and suddenly I couldn't shift. I had no gears. I called for another rescue. 

Again it was a simple fix only taking a few hours. 

In the mean time I came to the decision that I was not going to drive home to Minnesota.  My sister was suppose to fly out and drive back with me. She said, "that's not going to happen. I don't trust your car. I'll just take my loss on the ticket, and you fly home."

Monday morning her flight was canceled and she got a full refund. I made arrangements to leave the car here and fly back Minnesota. 

I was praying with a friend the other day and she said. "Jodi, I don't think the devil likes your car very much."  Thinking about that comment has brought a realization of how much of a sanctuary that car has been. It has been the place of many major decisions, many deep conversations, many heart to hearts, many tears, and many spirit filled moments.  God has used that car for many things for many people and I pray that He will continue to do so until it's end. 

Please join me in prayer for...

Please pray that I will have wisdom to know what should be done with the car. 

Pray for the four schools that are starting here in Chico this week!

Pray for safe travels for myself and others coming and going this week.

Thanks everyone! MN we will see you soon.