Summer has been extremely good and busy.  I am finally settling in to the final school planning and prep, which I would say is about 50% finished.  I am not as far along as I would like to be, but I trust that it will all fall into place.  If I had been able to order the school stuff in the spring, I would have missed the opportunity to save money and to borrow resources from J -- a couple of them better than what I was going to purchase.  Thanks, Papa!


The message from August 1 at Bethel in Valparaiso is still resonating with me.  Here are some of my initial notes: 
 Endurance - to abide under. 
James 1 - "2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.  Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."



1 Thessalonians 1:3 - "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."



I want to learn to welcome a process that comes to work something better and deeper.  God is testing me in order to help me go deeper and to move me forward -- to take my theory and make it real faith, a place I live out of.  God will develop faith in you, if you have an honest response to the test; it's not pass/fail.  If you are going through a season that calls for endurance, all He asks for is an honest response.
 
3 Things to do:
 
1) Get wisdom, like it says in James.  Go and ask God
 
2) You gotta get a word, rhema.  "God what are you doing?  What can I look for as a result of this?"  Hebrews 11:13 - "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."




3) Get anchored.  Bill Johnson says we should anchor oursleves in something heaven is backing.  Ephesians 4:14 - "Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming."  Pray, declare, decree, share it, create excitement about what He is doing in you.  Hebrews 6:19a - "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.  Anchor your soul in hope and refuse to budge.  Keep your hope fixed and stay anchored!" 


God is about bringing us to maturity and completion, into our destinies in this season!


As we receive a teaching, that particular topic gets tested.  If honor, then we have to love people when they are not very nice.  But each time, we begin to learn and to grow and to mature and will come to the place where it is our natural response.