26.1.06

January 26, 2006

It’s been a good week. There have been adventures in sleeping! Extreme swings from waking up too early to not being able to get up in the morning (afternoon). But I feel like I’m getting enough sleep now, I just have to make myself get out of bed.

They have been giving us so much to read, I haven’t had time for much else.
I did go to dinner with Skip and Janet on Monday. It was so fabulous to just sit and talk with them. We had a good time.

Tuesday night (Wednesday morning) I played piano on Dan Ricketts team. It was fun. But the hard/weird part about it was everyone has headphone monitors that they mix themselves. Which I think is a great idea, but it’s weird to not know how well you are blending with the rest of the group. I had no idea how it sounded in the room, that part was totally up to the sound tech. Which I suppose is always the case, but still, it was weird to not have even the slightest idea of how the mix sounded. Other than that, it was a great experience. They use talk-back mics so that the band can communicate with each other. It’s a great thing.
So for everyone who’s been bored by the above paragraph, I apologize. I really enjoyed playing and in 2 weeks I am subbing again.

I wanted to give you guys an idea of what my schedule was like, but it is so different everyday. But basically, Monday and Tuesday I have class at 10pm, except on Tuesday there is an all-staff fast meeting from 4-6. Wednesday class is at 7pm, Thursday is our “Sabbath” so I don’t even have to be in the prayer room until 4am. Friday-Sunday we go to the Forerunner School of Ministry building for the Encountering God services and their Sunday evening service. Friday’s focus is on intimacy while Saturday’s focus is on the end times. They are big on being aware of that here largely because they believe that we are coming quickly upon the last days. Which, I know, everyone since Jesus left has thought that they were in the ‘last days,’ but it’s going to happen sometime and you can’t go wrong in knowing what the Word says about it. In fact, Revelation 1:3 says “Blessed is everyone who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” There are a lot of people with a lot of knowledge and understanding about what the Scriptures have to say on this subject, and it made me realize how little I know, how little I have studied or asked God for wisdom about this. There are a lot of assumptions that I’ve picked up along the course of my life that just aren’t scriptural.

But since that’s not the focus of this track, Saturday night is the only time we have a teaching on that, except for where it comes up in conversation.

It has been so incredible to just sit at the feet of Jesus and know His love in deeper ways. He is so passionate about His bride.
Last night I was studying John 13:20 which where Jesus says, “I assure, most solemnly I tell you, he who receives and welcomes and takes into his heart any messenger of Mine receives Me [in just that way]; and he who receives and welcomes and takes Me into his heart receives Him Who sent Me [in that same way].”
It made me think a lot about hospitality and brotherly love and how important it is. The same way that we treat each other is directly how we are treating Jesus and the Father. It is very sobering.

Right now I am sitting in High Grounds Cafe' sipping a heath mocha avalanche. Mmmmm.

Love,
Amanda

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