Marked

So our fall DTS began on September 23, our house is full once again! We have 13 new students at the base, ready to be MARKED by Christ! Before the students ever got here, we asked God what the theme for their DTS should be, and we felt it should be "Marked", with a question of what are you marked by, love or selfishness, faith or fear, victory or defeat? Our goal is ultimately to be marked by Jesus, that He would shine through all that we do!

We're coming to the close of our 4th week and I am amazed at all that has happened so far! Our first week was a lot of orientation as well as teachings on hearing the voice of God! We've had some great speakers, Ezra came and spoke on Biblical Restoration, and with that week so much freedom was brought! As one of my small group girls said "Wow this forgiveness stuff really works!" Releasing forgiveness to people who have hurt us is incredibly freeing and also incredibly hard, but already hearts are healing and people are becoming more whole in Christ! Last week Al came and spoke to us on Atonement and the Cross, why do we believe what we believe? It was an extremely challenging week in that he was digging with us through the scriptures, getting us to really think and look at what we believe! This week Bridgette is speaking on Relationships, how to have Godly, healthy relationships, how to interact with one another! She is talking about relationships from family to friends to romantic relationships, and really bringing truth to our skewed perspectives of how relationships should be!

Like I said the lectures have been great, but it makes it so much better that the students are really willing to jump into what they're learning! Walls are being torn down all over the place and it seems like everyone is just craving a change, craving more, not settling for anything less than what God wants! The students came in already being such worshipers and servants, but there's a growing fire in our prayer times and our ministry times because the students are genuinely excited about each thing and realize the impact that can be made!

It's been real busy, but amongst the busyness, God has really been speaking to me and is continuing to shape me! Not gonna lie, sometimes it's so hard and I feel like I'm walking through fire, but I know it is going to be more than worth it! I'm really learning to lean on God and I'm finally allowing him to be my strong tower as the storm is going crazy around me. I feel like I've never had to deal with so many things at one time! Learning how to deal with losing my best friend, when literally not a day goes by that I don't think about her, still learning how to be away from my family and be supportive at the same time! Planning menus, doing one on ones, dealing with my own heart, regrets, next steps! It's so much but I have this weird feeling of chaos and peace, I don't know that I fully understand it, but I know one thing and that is God is always GOOD and He is always FAITHFUL!
Good situations or bad, God is using them all to grow me! I want to be marked by Christ and I want it to shine through in every decision I make and how I handle every situation!