Called Me Higher

All Sons And Daughters - Called Me Higher

I could just sit

I could just sit and wait for all Your goodness

Hope to feel Your presence

And I could just stay

I could just stay right where I am and hope to feel You

Hope to feel something again.

And I could hold on

I could hold on to who I am and never let You change me from the inside

And I could be safe

I could be safe here in Your arms and never leave home

Never let these walls down

But You have called me higher

You have called me deeper

And I will go where You will lead me Lord

You have called me higher

You have called me deeper

And I will go where You lead me Lord

Where You lead me

Where You lead me Lord

And I will be Yours

I will be Yours for all my life

So let Your mercy light the path before me

It's been quite the adjustment living here on a ship with all these new faces.  Some days I just don't understand it.  Correction - MOST days I don't understand it.  God's plans are so much more than I could ever think.  This exact time last year, I was seconds away from deciding to not even come back to England.  If you were to tell me then that a year later I would be living on a ship staffing my second DTS, I would say - 'Yeah, ok sure.  Not gonna happen."  But it did.  Here I am.

God is calling me higher.

The other night I was attempting to practice for leading worship the next morning but I happened to write a song instead which simply stated - 'You're calling me forth.  You're calling me out.'  Then I come across this song "Called me Higher" which states the same thing and with even more meaning to me.  This song has been on repeat all day long.  It's on my list of songs I want to learn to play.

So what does this mean?  What does it me for God to be calling my higher?  To be calling me forth?  To be calling me out?  At the moment, it means that I don't need to run and hide behind anyone anymore.  This is my time to truly take everything that I've learned from my time in YWAM and even before and really live it out to the fullest and not be afraid.  It's about letting down these walls that I've always built up to protect myself.  I can truly be who God has created me to be.

God is calling me higher.

You turned my wailing into dancing;

You removed my sackcloth

and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to you

and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever.

~ Psalm 30:11-12

   

What I Do Doesn't Make Sense

“I’m not out to make sense of everything.  But I want sense enough to fall back on You.”

~ Simon Hoskyn

Week 1 - What a week it’s been

Sunday

~ 5 minute car ride from the Oval to the train station

~ 30 minute train ride from Harpenden to London

~ 10 minute Underground Tube ride

~ 10 minute walk to the coach station

~ 2 hour bus ride from London to Southampton

~ 20 minute walk to the ferry terminal

~ 1 hour ferry ride from Southampton to Cowes, Isle of Wight

~ 20 minute walk to The Next Wave (a.k.a - my new home)

Monday - Friday

This past week I’ve been taking part of a training course which included basic first aid, sea survival, firefighting and social responsibility.  

All suited up

These 5 days were packed full of learning so many new things in theory and then practically doing them.  I jumped into the sea with a dry suit on learning how to maneuver around, pull people with me, flip over a life raft and get into one and a few other things as well.  I also got to go into a dark container learning to use the breathing apparatus, searching in the dark with team, putting out fires with hoses and extinguishers, and saving a casualty.  Because of this training, I now notice where all the fire extinguishers and fire escapes are on board the ship.  So that's good.

Saturday

Open Boat

Once a week the ship opens up to the public and people can come and get a free tour around the ship.  This is an easy way of showing people what we actually do here on the ship.  There were so many that came for the afternoon.  I got to give my first tour of the ship even though I’ve only been here for a week.  

Sunday

I woke up to find that we were no longer connected to the dock but we were out to sea.  The wind and rain was coming in so it was decided in the middle of the night for us to go somewhere else to get away from the dock and not destroy the ship.  So with this came my first anchor watch.  My job for an hour and a half was to sit in the wheel house watching the navigation system and radar.  We moved quite a bit, lots of figure eights through the water.  The wind and rain and current of the water was pretty heavy so the ship was rocking in every direction which meant that I definitely got my first little taste of feeling a bit ill at sea.  After spending the day at anchor, we brought the ship back in to another dock.  My job was to jump off and attach the lines to the dock in the wind and rain.  

Quite the day.

Sometimes I just can’t help but think that what I do just doesn’t make sense.

When I was doing the training course, almost everyone was there in hopes of furthering their chances at finding a job.  Some on pleasure yachts, some on cruise ships.  So when asked what I was doing, it was completely different than everyone else there.  It just doesn’t make sense in the world’s eyes.  I realized that I ALREADY HAVE THE JOB.  My job - loving God and loving others, helping people be the best they can be, staffing this DTS, working on the ship, living life to the fullest, serving in any way I can, being a blessing to others.  I can be confident in the fact that God has brought me to this place and this is where He wants me to be and what He wants me to be doing.

MY JOB IS TO BE JESUS TO PEOPLE.

The DTS starts next week.  That came up quick.  We already have a few DTS students with us on board already so in a sense, it’s already begun.  The rest of the students will be getting here this coming weekend.  

   
So it begins...again....

    

Attainable.

The blank canvas stares me in the face.

So many possibilities, so much potential.  Where does it even begin?

It begins with an idea.

Now I'm no scientist and I don't know how the brain works.  But somewhere in this constant flow of neurons and other electric currents which send signals to my legs to make them walk, my arms to make them embrace, my heart to make it beat, the smallest of charges makes its way to a certain part of my brain which sparks an idea.  Here it begins to grow and take shape into something.

SOMETHING.

Something new, something different, something uniquely designed, something original. 

Something attainable.

It is this something which awakens the desire to transform this seemingly unattainable possibility into a tangible reality.

The blank canvas stares me in the face.

I've never been a big dreamer.  Sure, I've had an imagination where I would conjure up stories and songs and scenarios of something outside myself.  But somewhere, my imagination became just that - imaginary.  Not real, not possible, non-existent.  So why begin to dream?  Why put myself through the joy and excitement of these dreams only to be disappointed by the realization that it would never happen?

The blank canvas stares me in the face.

But finally, once again, this long, lost neuron charges its way from the cells in my brain to the depths of my heart then back to that one place which sparks this idea, this imagination, this dream, this desire.  The possibilities of what could be, go rushing through my head.

This time.  This time it's different.

This time.  This time there is hope in these possibilities.

A hope which tells me that this awakened desire of what could be, can be and will be.

    

It Starts Soon!

Words For Today Pt. 5

Every time you venture out in your life of faith, you will find something in your circumstances that, from a commonsense standpoint, will flatly contradict your faith.  But common sense is not faith and faith is not common sense.

Can you venture out with courage on the words of Jesus Christ, while the realities of your common sense life continue to shout, 'it's all a lie?'

Every time my theology becomes clear to my own mind, I encounter something that contradicts it.

Faith must be tested, because it can only become your intimate possession through conflict.

The ultimate thing is confidence in Jesus. 'We have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence to the end.' (Hebrews 3:14).  Believe steadfastly on Him and everything that challenges you will strengthen your faith.

~ Oswald Chambers - My Utmost For His Highest

Consider 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.

~ James 1:2-4

3 Countries - 1 Week

Here's the scenario...

DTS has graduated.
Trainees have gone home.
Staff debrief has finished.
A lot of staff have gone home.
There's a couple weeks before life gets crazy again.
Need to get off the Oval for a bit.
What to do?

How's about go to Wales, the southeast coast of England and France?
All 3 in one week?
OK.

I had the amazing opportunity to go with a friend to her family's cottage in the north of Wales for a few days to get off the Oval for a bit and just relax and spend some quality time together.

We decided to go for a walk through lots of fields.  It was a bit muddy.

Sticking to the footpath

We decided to climb this mountain.  We could not have picked a more perfect day to do it.

From the top

Lunge

Another walk along the hills

We make good treats.

Then I got to go with another friend to the southeast coast of England to spend a couple days there by the sea.
We decided it would be fun to go see the famous White Cliffs of Dover since it was so close.
So we did.

Then we decided to hop on a ferry and go to France for a couple hours to walk around and eat crepes and baguettes. 

As you do.

From the water we had such a great view of the cliffs.

So from the top of a mountain in North Wales to the sea at the south of England and across over to France - I would say that's a pretty good week.