When God Moves

When God moves, He moves. Henry Blackaby wrote in his book, Experiencing God this fundamental truth: God is always at work around us. Maybe we might not be able to see it in our own lives at the moment, but if we lift our eyes from the selfish reflection in the mirror and look around, what we see just might astound us.

That is what happened to me this week.

Let me be honest, I have been in a funk for the past couple of weeks. Not really sure why, other than my ugly fleshly nature still surfaces once in a while. I milked the funk. Do you ever do that? Where you justify why you can act the way you do. Where you want other’s sympathy… Let’s just say it was a nasty couple of weeks!

On Wednesday, I attended a worship service. The International House of Prayer sent a team to Penn State to do ministry for one week. They happened to be here the same week of our Agape event and were helping us lead worship as well as promote the event on campus. I was sent to meet them and be a part of their work.

For the two hours that followed, I resembled a Ping-Pong ball; bouncing between beautiful worship and selfish boredom. (Remember the funk I was in… and I was liking it) My worship that day was not like sweet incense going up before my Father, but rather like a “stinky-egg fart” as my seven-year-old sister would say.

I was thankful when the service was over. The leader of the group decided that they should pray over Dannah and I before we went into our big event two days later. They laid hands on us both. They prayed for Dannah – it was beautiful, sweet, and encouraging.

Then they got to my stinky self. One girl – no doubt incredibly anointed by the Holy Spirit - began to pray for me. Mind you, I have never met her in my entire life nor said anything more than, “Hello,” when I walked into the room earlier.

She began to pray for my broken heart; the pieces that still remained shattered. (Pain has been coming to the surface recently and her beginning prayer shook me to my core.) Continuing, she prayed for healing over specific details and things that happened in the last few months of that relationship that I have told no one.

Tears fell down my cheek. “Jesus loves you. You are priceless and beautiful. He will always fight for you.” Then, she looked me dead in the eye. “You’re in physical pain?” Before I could even answer, she laid her hands on my right hip and began to pray for healing. Now I was weeping. “You once had the faith to believe that you would be healed completely. Where did that go? God wants to heal you. His desire is that you are whole. Reclaim your faith.”

She prayed and spoke words of encouragement from my Father. Details, fears, concerns I had told no one, God redeemed through her. As she continued to pray, the depth of her discernment continued to shake me. If I had a doubt, that just proved GOD IS REAL. I believe He reveals Himself to those who need to see Him most. At that moment, that was me. God messed me up! The rest of the day I was a puddle at the feet of Jesus.

I am so thankful that He comes to meet us right where we are; even in the midst of my stinky, selfish temper tantrum. I needed an attitude adjustment. A heart of love and compassion ready to to move with the Lord's Spirit; ready for Agape. 

So many of you have either supported financially or by your prayers the work of AGAPE. It is a faith-based event uniting many campus ministries to bring healthy, God-honoring relationships back to Penn State’s campus. I have been working on this project since the fall and it finally culminated with an event on Friday night at PSU.

Let me shed a little bit of light on why the issue of sexual wholeness is such a big deal on this campus. Last year, the Sandusky scandal began to reveal the corruption that resided within Happy Valley. While 40,000 students are on the campus, only 2,000 claim to be active Christians…

Virginity is not tolerated on the campus at all. Being a virgin here is asking for severe persecution. Sororities use sex as part of their induction week – I will spare you the details. There is an app that allows students who want to “have sex now” to find another person who wants to “have sex now” on a map. The hook up culture has become nothing more than a treasure map to instant gratification.

Penn State needs truth. We targeted the Christian kids. They talk the talk but many of them struggle to walk out their faith in such a difficult environment. We assembled a team to speak to these students – to encourage their faith. Never doing anything like this before, we figured it would be optimistic to expect 200 students to attend. That would be 10% of the Christian culture on campus - enough to effect change. 

We were shocked when over 450 students showed up; we had chairs for 230. Students were standing along the walls, sitting on the floor and crammed in the hallway, anxious to hear truth. My team was incredibly humbled by God’s move.

After a time of combined worship, the men moved to a different location and were encouraged to “pick up their stones,” and fight the good fight. The women received a rose and were called to take guys of the table for ten days and fall more in love with Jesus. I shared my broken-heart testimony and tears began to flow. Intercessors were set up around the room ready to pray for girls who needed to be made whole. 

For the next hour we prayed with countless young women. I know of at least one salvation. Many hearts were set on the road to healing. I will be taking a young lady who is a Hindu to church with me tonight as a result of her attending the event and the Lord stirring her heart. 

After the students left, the team sat around in awe of what God did. The stories of victory and hope are already pouring in.

I know many of you were praying and figured you would be blessed to hear the outcome. God is at work. He is always at work. Maybe even deep in the heart of the person you least expect it. Do not quench the Holy Spirit. Be a sponge. 

Thank you for your prayers and support. God moves. He moves big.  

You Don't Always Have to See

God continues to bless me with incredible opportunities! This week Dannah was asked by a Penn State graduate student to come speak on campus. The student was showing the documentary, The Virgin Daughters, focusing on the purity movement within Christian churches (religion and sexuality collide). Dannah was out of town during the event so, naturally, she sent me – obviously the next most qualified to talk about such issues! The faith she places in me sometimes is quite humbling!

Following the film, I answered questions and defended purity to the best of my ability. For an hour and a half I held conversation with atheists, feminists, academics and agnostics… It was an amazing experience and provided an opportunity to invite students to AGAPE.

Friday, my Grace Prep High School girls had a sleep over. I got to chaperone the wonderful ladies! There was no Truth or Dare or teenage gossip. Rather, the girls talked to one another about removing the fake masks we put on to impress one another. As a result, barriers were broken and forgiveness, healing and restoration flowed. From 11pm until 4am, the girls held one another, prayed for each other, and spurred one another on.  The Lord showed up in powerful ways!

And because this blog involves him, I will introduce you to Blake. Since it has been on Facebook many of you have been asking questions anyway! He is the graphic designer for Pure Freedom and an incredible musician - he can basically play every instrument known to man. God brought us together when neither one of us was looking. The Lord is using him to unknowingly redeem many things in my life. Never before have I seen God's fingerprints more all-over anything. I know y'all told me not to go fall for a Yankee... I think with a pair of boots we could convert him easily! 

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Well for the rest of you enjoying the warmth of spring, It is March 25^th and we are expecting three inches of snow today – as I write, we are on a two-hour delay - it has already snowed 3 inches and we have a 100% chance of snow until 8pm… I am getting desperate for spring. It was 46 one day last week and I was wearing shorts! 

This past Monday, we had another massive (to me) snowstorm that quickly dropped six inches of fluffy, frozen, white stuff. That evening Blake and I had been with his family. After dinner and a movie we ventured into the frozen tundra so he could take me home.

It had continued to snow and ice while we were inside, so a nice layer of frozen moisture had plastered itself to the windshield. Late and frigid, we were in a hurry to get in the car and start the heater. We couldn’t find the ice scraper, so with his gloved hand Blake scraped ice off of the driver’s side of the windshield.

The drive to my house is short and familiar, however the roads were very nasty. I am still not used to driving on snow and ice so I was a bit apprehensive. Not to mention the fact that I could not see out of the front windshield at all! I began to give Blake a hard time about not seeing; I was nervous as we turned a corner and slid on the ice. “Heather, do you really have to see? Just trust me,” he reached over and gently grabbed by hand.

Very clearly I heard the Lord’s voice, “Do you get it? Maybe I don’t want you to see. I want you to exercise your trust in Me.” As Blake held my hand, I felt the tangible touch of my Jesus. The Lord continued to release a powerful revelation to me as we drove.

Blake knows the roads - even in the dark night. He knew exactly where we were going and how to get there. Being a Pennsylvania boy, he is comfortable driving on snow and ice. I know he cares for me deeply and to him I am precious cargo. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to me. No, I couldn’t see, but what did it really matter! He got me home safely. My ability to see had nothing to do with it. 

I have been presented with a contract to remain at Pure Freedom. Excited and blessed, it is still a huge decision to move 2,000 miles away from home. Kelci has also been asked to remain a team member and she and I are looking to buy a house. Many changes, no solid five-year plan, and big decision have been stressing me out. I have been fighting to see out of the windshield. 

We know that I am not a huge fan of change but, the Lord keeps allowing the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place - one at a time. Until our snowy car ride home, decisions and house hunting had overwhelmed me. The very clear word I received in the car changed all of that.

Do you feel like you’re riding blind too? So much more than Blake ever will, my Jesus loves me. He cares deeply for me. He knows exactly where I need to go. He knows how to get me there safely – even when it seems like we are driving on a solid sheet of ice and I can't see what's ahead of me.

I am guilty of missing out on so many fun drives simply because I choose to panic behind a sheet of ice on a windshield. God wants us to trust. If He is the driver, we must let Him drive. It is not essential that the passenger always see. My anxiety about big decisions quickly faded into that beautiful snowy night. God has already brought me this far… why would He fail to continue to drive me safely where I need to be?

Are you facing big decisions? A circumstance you can’t find a way out of? A relationship that seems to be beyond repair? Let God drive. You in the driver's seat should be a terrifying thought. 

Maybe God has allowed a blinder to come up not to frustrate you, but rather to give you a chance to grow your faith. Consider a horse. In parades or large groups, blinders will often be put on the horse. Why? For their own protection and well being.

Relax. Let the Lord drive. Hold His hand. Turn up the music and enjoy the ride. You don’t always have to see.