Week One of BSSM.

Where do I even begin?
I am just so constantly amazed that God knows how much we need things, when it's not even on our radar and when we think we don't need something. Perhaps that means nothing to anyone else, but after a week like the one I just encountered I am positive that this one thing is true: "God's faithfulness knows no bounds and He will stop at nothing to show us."

I have in the last week:
1)Seen just how much I've needed BSSM. I've always loved God with my whole heart, but something is already coming alive in me that I didn't know was there. My love for Him is burning, and I think for the first time, in a long time, I can feel His love for me burning as well. As we learned this week, we can only love people as well as we love ourselves. I'm excited for a year where I can once again learn how to be a good daughter, able to receive His love fully and without sabotaging myself with doubt, worry and fear. Being around revivalists from all over the world is amazing! God has already used a few of them to show me just how important my role is, and each of their roles are in the Kingdom and in seeing revival touch every part of the world. Worship has been beyond incredible; somehow worship with 1,100 people of all nationalities and ages just gets you closer to the throne than you've ever been. We're only 3 days in, but I can already see just how much this school year is more than exactly what I've needed and longed for. It has jump-started my faith in ways I've longed for. Faith...I'll get to that later.

2)Been incredibly blessed by 2 amazing women that have walked into my life. With 2 jobs and school these 2 girls have allowed me to be goofy, tired, and sometimes just plain lazy and survive. They have made me coffee, food, and encouraged me in times that I needed it most. I know that with the crazy schedule I have they have enabled me to not just survive, but thrive. After 5 months of living by myself and having to organize and take care of everything it's been an adjustment, but an amazingly joyful one to be able to share life with these girls. They are healthy, steady, and in love with Jesus and I know that God will use them to challenge me into a deeper walk with Him. It's been 2 weeks and I love them both already!

3)By the amazing courage of people, this week I was able to cut my tuition down by $600! This only leaves $1400 left altogether on my tuition and only $400 more  due by the middle of October! YAY! This just so amazes and blesses me. If you are interested in giving in any way for this year, feel free to email me or check previous posts on how to do that.

4) Intaken SO much life-giving information. I seriously don't even know what to write here. I knew that by going to BSSM I would be learning  a lot through our teachers, the Holy Spirit, in worship, and in our revival groups but I seriously had no idea. I would say the theme for me the most this week or what stuck out the most was how much we talked about faith. Here are a few snippets for you to chew on to close this way-too-long yet not-long-enough-to-explain blog:

"Faith is spelled R-I-S-K in the kingdom."
"Faith comes from our capacity to hear His voice, that capacity comes from the word of God."
"Faith can't be drummed up by striving-it comes from the residue of being with the faithful one."
"Faith should be the most normal expression of the believer."
"For faith to function well we have to be more convinced of what we can't see, rather than what we can."
Other things:
"Reasoning without Christ at the center is demonic in nature."
"Freedom is the mark of Heaven's citizenship."
"Life flows from honor."
"God wants to so renew your mind, He can do your will."
"Don't be intimate with God just for ministry's sake, that's called prostitution. Just be with Him for loving sake."
"We must learn to live as one who simply adores God."
(all quotes from Bill Johnson and Kris V.)

That's just a little glimpse into my week and life. For all of those not quite sure about the School of Supernatural Ministry, feel free to ask questions. I am certain that this has been the greatest investment of my time and money thus far in my journey for so many reasons. I have loved every step of my journey and of my life so far, and each step has been significant and important, but if in just 3 days my mindsets can shift so much, and I can come alive like I have, I cannot wait to see where I'm at after 8 months of it.

Week one: complete.
L

Here we go!!

Deeep Breath.

Wow. What a wild ride. Never in my life have I known more deep within me that everything is about to change. Tomorrow is the first day of school and while I don't think that I'm nervous in the sense of 'will I fit in?' 'Will I make friends?' I am nervous because I know that what I have opened myself up to is going to change everything. In sooo many ways I'm beyond ready to start living the life I've always dreamed of. I've always longed to live in a way that risk is just my nature. To be so passionately sure of God's hand of love that I will jump knowing He will surely catch me. To envelope His love to those around me, and to walk in favor so that I may be a continual blessing to others body, soul and spirit.

One month ago, today was when I made the decision to attend the School of Ministry and I cannot believe that it is already here. In so many ways, the last month has been a complete and total dying to myself. I've always talked about that in concept, but now, I have seen a little taste of what it's been to walk through it. I almost see my life as a huge white board. For some reason, God has taken the eraser, scrubbed everything off and said, 'Let's see what we can do if you have this sort of mindset this year.' I know God, and I know that He wastes nothing, and values every single thing we walk through. But for me, this year the slate is clean. My heart keeps singing the question to me, "What can He do through one who is simply willing?" "What can He do through one who believes that He can do anything?" For some reason my heart dares to ask, "What could He do in me if I would really give Him a year to do whatever He would like to? None of my intentions, expectations, standards, or rules? How would I look if I simply took a year to learn how to love Him and love who He's made me? How transforming and shaping could this one surprise, crazy year be to my ministry for years and perhaps generations to come?"

Now, perhaps that seems a bit too large to some of you...but God told me to dream big this year and for my life, so that's what I will do. I refuse to put boundaries in my mind on what He can do this year. I refuse to miss a single thing because of a perception or past experiences. Every day I long to live and get the fullest reward. I will not hide behind my tiredness, my fear, my worry, my doubt, my 2 jobs, my introverted-ness, or anything else. I am a kid in a candy store this year, and God's 'flipping the bill.'

In the past month I have seen God do amazing things and it hasn't even started yet. Because of amazing people like yourselves I only have around $1100 left to raise for tuition...that's amazing! THANK YOU! And I will still be working my 2 jobs FOR NOW. I am believing the Lord for a creative way to make money so that hours will not be an issue and being too busy will not take anything away from school.

I have also been blessed with 2 of the most amazing roommates in the world! I truly believe that God has hand-picked each of us and I think this year will hold many amazing memories for each of us. I'm so looking forward to building relationships with these girls and for the joy that will be in our household. They have been amazingly gracious as the last few weeks I have been processing so much that it's pretty much just turned me just plain annoyingly goofy at moments. Anyways, I have been blessed with sweet, precious roommates and for that I am overly thankful.

As I stood in line today for over an hour getting registered I was amazed to think of how honored I am to be a part of this. At first, it was really easy for me to be a bit frustrated that God would ask me to go back to school. But now, I am overwhelmed at how lucky I am. To sit under teaching from people that have been walking with the Lord and have experienced miracles on a regular basis. To sit with peers from around the world, elders who have been in ministry for years and years, and younger passionate lovers is almost more than I can bare. I am outrageously humbled and once again crying at my computer...you'd think there'd be tear stains by now.

God is able to do what He'd like. But if you open up your heart to Him and commit to doing what He says, the ride is unbelievable. Am I still worried about finances? Sure. Am I still unsure of jobs and futures and other things? Absolutely. But seriously? Why would I stop, when I know who He is and His love? Why would I be 'safe' when I could have what He wants me to?

Day one of BSSM is tomorrow. And I can hardly wait.

Here we go!

My beautiful housemates acting a wee bit goofy at the lake!

For those of you facebook-less I got some new hair for a new season. ;)

Back to School?!

Let me begin this blog by saying that in case you didn't know before...God has a very crazy sense of humor. I had no idea when I moved to California 8 months ago that one of the reasons was because God wanted me to go back to a school for Ministry. I thought I was done. I know that I have so much to learn, and that He wanted to teach me more about who I am and what exactly He has for me, but I had no idea until about 3 weeks ago, that this was the next step in the process that is my life.

But...through a couple of crazy, only-God-can-do-that encounters, here I am. 2 weeks and 1 day from starting school, $3000 to raise plus living expenses. Impossible, yeah? Nah, this same crazy God that has told me to go to school to begin with? I am in this process of learning how to trust Him. (hence the name of this blog) And while the thought of raising money makes me feel nauseous at times, I am pretty settled on one thing that I am so thankful for: God is just a little bit bigger and more able than me.

I will say though, that I frequently have to remind myself to take deep breaths. This came so far out of left field that I'm pretty sure I got blind-sided. Why is it that some of the best things in life come when we're not looking for them? I'm so glad that God is not confined to our tiny paradigm boxes, that He operates with eternity in mind, and that He knows exactly what we need even when we don't think we 'need' it at all.

I am going back to school. What?! It doesn't even seem real yet. I'm just gonna throw this out there: I never really liked school. I LOVE to learn and study and dissect things. I love to ponder and muse on an odd mix of subjects. I love to teach other people things too. But school? At about the 5th grade I really started to dislike it. I have a very unique learning style. I do things in odd orders, I have to create while I learn in order to really, fully learn and in most school structures I could hardly keep up enough to take notes, let alone draw little pictures beside them so I would remember. In many ways I felt like school killed a little part of me. My innocent creativity and imagination, my unique style of learning seemed to fade in the structured time slots of class periods.

I'm in awe of God. He just knows what we need even when we cannot put words to it. Did I say that already? Yeah, well I'll say it again anyways. Since moving to this insane place called Redding, God has been removing so much in my heart that could separate me from Him and other people. In almost every way He could make me uncomfortable, He has. I'm away from my family, and almost every other form of 'safety' I've previously known. Everything that I loved before is being reworked, almost like He is remaking the very fabric that holds me and defines me.

One day last week I was thinking about everything that's happening at an insane pace. I was almost frustrated at the thought of really going back to school...in some ways it felt to me like a step backwards, like I should already 'know' everything I need to really start into ministry. And, with needing to raise funds and ask for money I was feeling like it was confirming to me that it was. (why do we always do this to ourselves! Maybe it's just me?) Feelings can be very deceiving.

But...then I found this. For 'some reason' before I moved here I had found this at home and while I left all other keepsakes back in iowa this one got stuck in my planner. Throughout my time here it's actually annoyed me, constantly falling out and in the way of where I need to write my plans (there's that sense of humor again, God!) At one point I actually used the paper as scrap paper, that's how much I thought of it.  But, on this day last week, the sweet simplicity brought tears to my eyes, and insane peace to my heart.

I wrote this in the 1st Grade...

As I read it I realized that while I know I want and am called to serve Him with my life in ministry, I'm not sure in what capacity and in what way. I want God to take me back to the simplicity of living like this. When I look at the scope of the Kingdom I really do need and want and am excited to go back to school. What a huge honor to get the most, and best training I can. And what a huge honor that God would take me back to school now, and here even when I didn't think I needed it. Without me even looking, I have again been blessed beyond measure.

I had to laugh because with 2 jobs and running a house on my own, the last season of my life can be summed up by the word Chaos. I was relieved to see that I  think God wants to give me this kind of a season. Simple truths that shape who I am, and my life. I don't know a whole lot, but I do know this:

I love Jesus because He's fun. Father God is my favorite because He loves me all the time. I like school because it's where I want to be. I need a miracle to make it a reality. I will sell my kidney, or even worse, my piano if I have to because God has asked me to go back to school and no sacrifice is too great. And...I still like to read books because I like to look at pictures.

Welp, there you have it. It's big news and hard to believe that just a little over a month after God birthed this decision, I will be sitting in class. But, like I said, it's going to take a huge miracle. I will be attending Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry. It is a training for leaders who want to see Revival all over the world. I have so much to learn about what my role is, and if you would like to invest in what God is doing in me and in my future, words would not express my thankfulness. I also value very highly your prayers. This is a huge transition to make in just over a month. Like I said, I have a lot of money to raise in a very short amount of time, like a week from today would be great. 

For more information on the school:

http://www.ibethel.org/bethel-school-of-supernatural-ministry

If you would like to make a donation towards my tuition:

http://www.ibssm.org  (click donate online, donate to my name, you can do this annonymously)

If you would like to donate to my living expenses this year, as I will only be able to work a limited amount of hours at my 2 jobs or if you have any questions at all you can email me: larahochstetler@gmail.com

What do I even say? Thank you SO much and God bless you abundantly! I'm looking forward to many testimonies in the future!

Blessings,

Lara

Do these glasses make me look smart? I should probably get them for school.

Happy Birthday to me!

Birthdays were always something that seemed to bring an odd sense of disappointment along with them. For some reason, having a birthday in the Summer meant that a little of the magic was lost in the bustle of getting ready to go back to school, having to be back to school, family vacations or just the madness that happens in the Summer months. I absolutely love my family, but growing up as the tag-a-long and learning now that I'm older that my love language is gifts was just a recipe for disaster. I've almost never hated a question more than, "What do you want for your birthday?" "What do you want to do for your birthday?" Guys and gals, let me just give you some hints...if your significant other has a true love language of gifts, you should not ask them this question. Be intuitive, figure it our yourselves! Be creative, and do something loving...you'll be golden if it actually means something significant. I mean, someone could give me a stick and if it has a meaning behind it, I would cherish that stick for the rest of my life! (just saying) So...needless to say, in a busy family of 6 I was lucky to get a cake, and for some reason true happiness has always eluded me on my 'special' day. 

I'll never forget one fateful day when I was in 5th grade. It was the first Summer that we started early to school, and our first or second day landed on my birthday. You can't blame mom, because the other kids were just getting back to school too. 2 to college, and one a senior in high school. I'll never forget my exchange with her the evening before. I had envied the other kids in school my whole life because they always got to bring treats to school on their birthdays. I had never had that glorious opportunity to do the same.  Sure, they had that dumb day where we would celebrate 'summer birthdays' but I never got to experience the great joy of having the spotlight and impressing my peers. I wanted to take something that would knock their socks off. I wanted to take ice cream drumsticks. 

Now, I was a  smart little girl...I knew the price of each box, I had made sure to check the last time we were at Aldis. I knew the price per drumstick and I knew exactly how many we would need, with 3 left over for my family. I was certain that this was a sure-fire plan in getting exactly what I wanted. Except when mom said no. I was devastated to say the least. I was so mad at her. How dare she deny me my right to have the ONE thing I wanted for me birthday? Well, the next morning came and I was NOT going to be denied. I ran around the house, gathering as much spare change as I could find. Checking all of the usual spots that dad would empty his pockets when he got home from work. I ran to the country store, feeling completely dejected but needing a plan. I left the house without saying bye to mom, by the way. I got to school and not as proudly as I would have liked, went up to my teacher to tell her I had brought a 'treat.' In vain, we enjoyed our Tootsie Pops, me knowing I was a complete and total failure to the rest of the class.

It wasn't until that afternoon that the embarrassment truly set in. I have always had an enormous guilt conscious and I was feeling pretty sick by lunch time. Not only that but my mom, while I secretly stole money from around the house and bought tootsie pops in shame...went to Washington. Do you want to guess what she bought for me and my classmates? Ice cream drumsticks. But, we had already had my treat...not only had I stolen something, I now completely underhanded the outrageously kind thing that my mama had done for me. The ice cream didn't taste the same that year. Though, the 6 boxes did last us a long time at home.

This is just one of the many silly experiences I've had on my birthday. For some reason they were just never as special as I thought they should be in my head.

This year I wanted to be proactive in changing some of that. Around January, I found a post on pinterest that I kind of morphed into my own. In the post the family had a jar that they would write their favorite memories on from the week. Then on new years eve, they would get them out and read them, reliving the joys, laughing, and telling even more stories that came to mind. 

When I saw it, I couldn't help but wonder, "How much do I forget throughout the year that God has done in my life, simply because I don't write it down somewhere?" So I set out on a journey. Every time I remembered, I would write down the good things that God had done in me, or in my family. i would write of things He would speak to me or do for me. Verses that spoke life to me, testimonies of His goodness or healing, anything of significance would get written down and go in the jar. About 2 weeks in I found myself being more thankful for all of the little things that I had seemed to forget about in the past. 

I decided, that since in the past my birthdays haven't been 'all that amazing', I would read my testimonies on that day, focusing only on the good He had done and not my 'lack.'

I was really amazed at what I found. These were only from since January! I can't imagine how full it will be next year! Especially with how it's starting out. Good grief. I laughed, I cried, I marveled at what a mighty God we serve, and how good He is to His children.

I forgot to count them, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was one for every day. His goodness follows us everywhere. I never want to forget about that again.

When I started this, I knew there would be a second component. I never knew what that was, but I felt like I was supposed to burn these testimonies for a few different reasons.

1)Whenever you seal something, you use heat or fire. When they used the old wax seals on an envelope they would melt the wax before applying the seal. I felt like God was asking me to seal in all the good things that had happened in my 23rd year of life.

I was pretty amazed at how big some of the flames could get from one piece of paper. It reminded me that one testimony can keep us burning for a long time. 2)I felt like I was to burn these testimonies because they are now in the past. While God always wants us to remember His goodness, He does want to give me new testimonies for my 24th year.

We cannot afford to limit Him to the way He's 'always' done things in the past. He's God, and He wants to build in us line upon line, precept upon precept, taking us from glory to glory. If we only expect Him to show up the same way He's always shown up, we will miss what He wants to do now. Lastly, I spent some time in prayer and let the ashes blow away. This is a new year to trust Him. A new year to let Him be Lord and Savior of my life.

I realized as I'm typing this, that I think this is one of my first Birthdays away from 'home.' While there could have been a lot of temptation to feel alone and sad, the testimonies of my past allowed me to dream and believe for a future. This was something that I desperately needed....Happy Birthday to Me!

This 24th year has already set itself up to be a doosey. More on that to come. Who knows where it will take me. One thing's for sure....I'm gonna need a bigger jar.

Enough

Blogging? What's that? As much as I'd love to apologize for the lack of writing on my end, I think that if anything else was added to my plate right now there would be one crazy Lara running around Redding, as if I wasn't crazy enough already. ;)

I hardly ever do this, but I wanted to share a song that I literally just finished about 15 minutes ago. It's stiff, needs a lot of work, and is far from perfect but it is just so much what I sense a lot of people, especially my closest friends are walking through right now.

This week was a hard one for me, I won't lie or try to sugar coat it. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't figure out how to pull myself up. Sure, I was homesick, and sure I'm not necessarily loving my jobs at the moment but really nothing 'bad' happened at all that really should have triggered the intense battle that I've walked through in the last 5 days. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that internally I was dealing and contemplating with a question that I think every follower of Christ walks through in different levels throughout their lives-"Is He enough?" Now. I'm not talking, is God enough when things are good, but really, truly, deeply, is God enough for me to live the life I'm living? Is He able to meet not just my physical needs but my emotional and mental needs as well? When I have literally no one to turn to, when there seems to be no point to what I'm doing, is He sufficient? Is He worth everything?

I feel like the deeper our walk goes with Him, the more we will ask this. Every level deeper we go in our relationship, the more serious His kingdom is for us the more we will have to know...Is He enough? Is He worth it? Is He able?

While I haven't settled it completely in my heart, the best I can do is lean into Him, trusting Him with control and laying down my independence at the foot of the cross where Jesus paid dearly with His life as a shining beacon that yes, this God that we serve, He is sufficient for all our needs and He will pay any price for us to know it.

To everyone right now that is going through this same battle I pray and trust that Papa God will show and prove Himself strong for you. In the meanwhile, I pray that you will trust that He is enough. I am thankful that we serve a God that wants to be a part of our mess, that isn't afraid of our questions, and who longs for realistic relationship even when that means we have doubts and we struggle. Hold on, for like me, I believe daylight is coming for you as well. I'm in this for the long run, even when my feelings betray me, I will trust that He is enough.

This song is for you: Enough-Lara Hochstetler August 3, 2012
Will you be enough for me
Will you be my shelter so I can hide
Will you be enough for me
Will you be my comfort when I just can't understand
Will you be enough

Will you be enough for me
Will you hold me close when I can't stand on my own
Will you be enough for me
When my faith is weak and I can hardly hold on
Hold On

You are my hope when my courage has failed
You are my refuge through the storms
You are my joy when all colors have faded away
And through it all I'm amazed to find You're enough

Will you be enough for me
When my days are at their end
Will you be enough for me
When I breath my last, and we walk hand in hand

You are enough
You are enough for me dedicated to the late Lynn Swee

'My Life is Christ' An update after 5 months in Redding

It's hard to process a life that is so full. Full of joy, full of pain, full of life, full of confusion. Full of love, hope and peace and full of chaos, a frantic pace,  and unanswered dreams. God's faithfulness in this season of my life in Redding leaves me breathless every time I think about it. When I look at who I was 5 months ago, or even a few days ago for that matter, I hardly know who I am any longer. The joy that I feel in seeing His perfect strategy of removing me from everything I've once known, is something that would leave anyone breathless. It's like He's had to remove me from all of the safety, or what I thought was safety,  to show me strengths that lie within. Strengths I would have never known I possessed if I wouldn't have moved here.

Redding has been a challenge, to say the least. I never would have dreamt when I moved here that I'd have the life I have now. And yet, I never would have dreamt that I could be doing the things I'm doing, living the life I'm living and be fully, completely happy. I've learned that if I'm trusted with something huge, like a house, I will work and fix it up to the best of my abilities. I've learned that when God's favor is on your life, you have crazy things happen to you-like an offer for a second job you'd never thought you'd enjoy. Also, that God's favor is never for yourself, always to give away which I enjoy giving to my beautiful ladies at my new job. I've learned that if you take everything away from me and drop me in a foreign place, I would be ok there. I've learned that in the middle of chaos, if you make yourself be quiet and listen to God, He will always be saying, 'It's going to be ok.' I've learned that if you're ever in need, God is the best Father, Friend, Provider, Brother, listener, and lover you could ever have or dream of wanting. I've learned that His dreams and ideas for my life are way bigger than my pea-brained mind can ever comprehend. I've learned that when faced with the choice to save-face and act like someone you're not in order to gain access or approval from people, you should always just be yourself-the issue is theirs, not yours.

I've also learned that I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. I see God's strategy singing over almost every area of my life except those things that I've held dear as my dreams in the past. Those things, still, are on hold. I thought when I moved to Redding I would have amazingly divine connections, see crazy things (which I have), and know where my life is heading. And in all honesty, the completely opposite has happened. God has taken everything and pretty much put it upside-down. Am I a musician? Will I ever write books? Will I travel the world, seeing Him show me unspeakable things, all for His glory? Will I ever get to camp again, and speak/encourage and equip youth to live and fulfill their destinies? Will I ever be able to host and encourage dreamers? Will I get the immensely HUGE honor of leading worship with God's precious body ever again? I had a thought yesterday that I've thought about before, but I don't know if I've ever really, fully walked through before like I am right now:
"If you're not willing to lay down something for the Kingdom's sake, then you're not going to carry it correctly and therefore, cannot be trusted with it". Sometimes God has to make sure that He knows that we have all of the things we need to carry something in and with character before He can release us into the fullness of what He has for us. It's like our pastor's always talk about out here, 'He will never give us something that will destroy, and ruin us. It's in His mercy that some times, He withholds certain blessings. Now, I'm not talking healing or anything like that, of course, but there are things that, if given pre-maturely will hurt us. I have no idea if that's what's going on in my life, neither do I know if what I've dreamed of before was in the right heart and if it was from God.
One thing I do know: It is my honor to serve Him in whatever capacity He gives me. I told Him long ago that I longed to give Him my WHOLE life, every moment, and every fiber. It is in this season, that I am showing Him. I find joy, where there previously was none. I find strength where my strength used to run out. I find peace even though I am battling far bigger/harder/greater things than I ever have before. And I find myself encouraging so many more than (embarrassingly enough) I ever had when I was 'in ministry.' I find myself being overwhelmed by His goodness in moments that I look at my checkbook and future and have NO idea where my life is going to go next. But most of all, for perhaps really the first time in my whole life, I enjoy being ME. Not because I think I'm better, stronger, or greater than anyone else...but because I am truly beginning to understand Papa God's love for me.
It is from here, from this love, that I long to change the world, that I long to mother nations, and see youth set free and released into their destinies. It is from this place that I long to release hope into the 4 corners, and see every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.  It is from love that I long to write-down heaven and release it like honey into a hurting world. It is from this place that I know one day, sickness, darkness, and demons will flee because they can't stand the sight of Jesus in me. And it is from this place, this understanding of His love, that I am able to be here, be working 2 jobs that previously would have meant less than nothing to me, re-doing a house, trying (feebly) to help in ministry, and be doing it almost completely alone-with a joy that I have never possessed before. It is because of His love, that this season is what it is.

I love my life. As chaotic as it may be. As much as someone else would look at it and say it's nothing special or that I'm not 'doing much'. My life is everything, because my life is Christ.

Day 2: Glendalough, Avoca.

Day 2 started and we were off for more adventures. This is just one example of some of the roads we ended up on. No room was ever wasted. :)

Our first stop was at St. Kevin's church at Glendalough. St. Kevin came to Glendalough in the 6th century. As a monk, His monastery became the parent to many more monasteries in Ireland. He was known for His extremely devout nature, and His solitude. We had the honor of meeting the priest and a precious sister at the church. It was a rich experience and it was very much a set up from God.  I loved listening to the Father talk, He was a wealth of knowledge who was deeply concerned about the people of Ireland. It would be fun to return there someday!

Next we had the honor of going to see the monastic sight of Glendalough. It has been one of the most visited places in Ireland for 1400 years, starting with the arrival of St. Kevin and then later with St. Lawrence O Toole who was known for his hospitality and His sanctity for people during the many invasions that Ireland has endured. 

At one time there were 7 churches at this small site. People would flock here on a pilgrimage to meet with God. And though most of the site was destroyed by the English in 1398, what remains is beautiful to say the least. While here, I had to wonder, 'if the presence is so strong here now, what was it like when it was a fully-functioning site?'

This, in it's time, was the largest church in Ireland. There was something about walking into this place that made me want to worship God. His presence, even after this place has laid in ruin for so long, lingers here. It's strong on the whole site of Glendalough, but here in the church I could feel it the most. I wanted to pull up a chair and stay a long while.

This was the tower that would ring the call for times of prayer. Also it was used to store food and valuable things. The door is so high because in times of invasion they would hide people in the tower then pull the ladder up so that no invaders could get in. Here, and at another site we went to we noticed that the towers were the only things with no damage to them. The call for intercession and prayer still rings out all over the land.

Glendalough was what we call a thin-place. A place where you could feel heaven's presence just being there. We had fun soaking it in, and also partnering with what we felt God was speaking to us about Ireland there. Many prayers were said for the glory that we felt there to spread all over Ireland, outside the church and into every realm of society.

Behind the celtic cross you can see a hill on the right. This was my favorite hill. Like never before, I was sure there were a whole lot of angels there.

While in Ireland we did a lot of praying at different waters. We prayed that 'deep would call to deep' that the land would remember the times it was in revival in the past and that God would help it happen again. This was a place that I had read about in a brochure the night before but we had no idea where it was, or how to get there. And what do you know? We just 'happened' to drive right past it. It is a place called the 'meeting of the 2 waters' and it's literally 2 rivers merging into one. It was beautiful.

Next we got to go have a bit of fun in a wee little town called Avoca which is better known as the filming sight of BBC's Ballykissangel, a precious show that the VanWinkle's have gotten me attached too a bit. If you ever want to learn a bit more about the culture of Ireland, I recommend it. (uncle Gary.)

Here Jim and Brenda are acting out a scene from Ballykiss.

Next we stopped to have fish and chips at Fitzgeralds. How much more irish can you get?

It was just a little delicious. :)

We drove and found a random B&B in the middle of the country with one of the most precious owners. We all felt extremely blessed as we settled in for the evening. And as if the full day wasn't enough, God gave us this before we went to bed.