Week 7
This week was the first week in my DTS I finally hit a wall. I think I was running off of excitement adrenaline and caffeine for the first 6 weeks and unfortunately it caught up with me. And the caffeine stopped working. It was a great week though and I learned a TON from Johnathan Spainhour. The lecture this week was on Bible overview, and we really went through the whole Bible in 12 hours. I loved the way Johnathan taught. His humor but mostly his knowledge made a huge subject so much easier to digest. We went through the story of the entire Old Testament, spending a lot of time focusing on Genesis 1-3 and Exodus. One thing my Bible reading group and I talked about last week reading Deuteronomy was this idea of the laws and how punishment didn’t make sense coming from a God that is loving. Johnathan actually talked about that without us asking which was really cool. We talked about how important covenant was at the time of the Old Testament and how God used covenant and laws to show the Isrealites how He was different from other gods that were being worshipped at the time. And the fact that God stuck true to His word when the Israelites disobeyed is a testament to His faithfulness. It’s interesting seeing it from that perspective. A personal favorite quote from this week regarding that was “it’s not God being a dick it’s Him being just.”
We talked about how we can take our own views and our own backgrounds and apply it to scripture when we read it. I feel like that’s exactly what I’ve been doing all this time. I knew I wanted a greater knowledge of the word, but I honestly didn’t really know how to go about it. I was always afraid I was going to read it wrong or something along those lines. And I mean there are definitely wrong ways to read it, but having a better understanding now of what was going on at the time the Bible was written has been huge. It’s easier to remove that modern lens if you have history to replace it with. The best thing Johnathan did for me this week though was leave me desiring more. I was reminded of the desire I’ve had for a deeper relationship with and a deeper knowledge of scripture. It’s getting me excited for what the future may hold - Bible school maybe ! Who knows!
Part of the reason I was so distracted this week is because I was thinking about the future. We have 3 weeks left of lecture before outreach prep week, and then we’re off to Africa for 2 months. It’s just crazy to see how fast it’s all gone, and I know time is just going to go by quicker and quicker as we get closer to leaving. I’m really excited for outreach though! And I can’t wait to share more with you guys when I am able to. Just trust me when I say it’s going to be really cool.
Besides big outreach we do local outreach as well. Working with Whatcom Love Inc’s Jesus Taxi has been incredible. Getting to meet and pray with and help our neighbors in Whatcom county has been a blessing, but I’ve been lucky enough to join an even called Come Join the Circle a few times over the course of the last month. Come Join the Circle takes place at a sober house in Bellingham. It was started by one of the graduates as a way to share what Jesus is doing in your life or teaching you through things like stories, poems, and songs. It’s just this big beautiful fellowship of believers talking about how God is good, and it is incredibly refreshing. I must admit though, this week I was distracted even at this really amazing event. Which stinks! I just could not shut my mind off for whatever reason. It didn’t help that I was already feeling sort of off. I remember being like “hey God I thought you said you were going to deliver me from this” right before my turn came in the circle. After we went around one of the people there said while I was talking he had this vision of God putting this oil on me and that He was healing me. And He declared that over me in Jesus’ name. I have no other words to say except it was kind of nuts.
I spent a lot of time driving around to try to get my mind to slow down for a few minutes, often taking my camera with and just documenting Lynden and the surrounding towns. The spark for photography and sharing my work that disappeared when covid hit last year is back, and I’m excited to be able to do something with it. (Follow LaurenLeaseburgPhoto on Instagram for more updates)
I just can’t get enough of this place. Who knew my and many others’ lives would change in a little town just south of Canada in Washington state. If you asked me this time last year I literally would’ve thought you were crazy. I had just moved back into my parents house and YWAM was a thought that could possibly become reality. And man I am so grateful it is. And as much as I love MN, I’m so glad there's more than that too.
Until next week,
Lauren
