The Biggest Miracle of my life --- Mars Hill Graduate School!

The biggest miracle of my life is about to happen.

This summer, while building a permanent prayer room at a church in Indiana, a lot of people kept suggesting  I should do my Masters. My spirit stirred within me as a mentor suggested if I wanted to teach people more I needed to learn more… But where to study and what to study?

I wanted to do theology, to learn more about God, but as a women I realized that would leave me with the same career prospects as I have now! Full time ministry supported by donations because I do not have a call to be a pastor of a church. But I do have a calling to ministry - to see people healed and develop a powerful and intimate relationship with God. So the idea of Psychology - a large part of my undergraduate degree - planted itself in my mind. Could I, as a broken human being be used by God to help heal others?

Then came an email from Darchelle. "You have to come to Mars Hill Graduate School - you will not enjoy any other university as much as this one - in Seattle." A seminary - teaching theology AND Psychology. Sounded like a perfect match. So I went to visit for three weeks, to spend time soaking in the culture of the school, to hear the hearts of the professors and see the results played out in the lives of graduates as their ingenuity and fresh approaches to social justice impacted the community around them.

I went to classes and realized that the mission of the school was to transform YOU as a student. Not to give you a lot of knowledge to store in your mind to use later but to rework you into a more 'in touch' human being able to hold your own story so you can gently hold the stories of others. I fell in love. With this beautiful school on the harbor, close to the Seattle Space Needle. I love the core values of the school,  exploring the interplay between text, soul and culture.

(To read the rest of the story of the miracle, how God protected us from crashing, being taught by Rob Bell and how I am about to take the biggest risk of my life CLICK BELOW or KEEP READING.)

While at the school Rob Bell, (of the Nooma video preaching series and pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids and author of Velvet Elvis) taught a workshop on The Art of Preaching. This eight hour experience changed my life.  It was more than how to preach well... it was about living the Word of God, letting God pour through you. For more specifics check my blog in the future….

Saved From Being Run Over by a Truck!

Darchelle and I had a trip planned to drive to Vancouver B.C. to the Passion Conference World Tour to see Louie Giglio and the David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. Before we started I prayed to be protected by 20 angels. I don't think I have ever mentioned a specific number of angels before but I did think that if there were trucks around us they may need a few angels to move them.

It was raining, the cars were stopped dead ahead and Darchelle realized that we were going to hit the cars in front because the car was sliding. I knew there was a very big truck beside me. Out my window I could see the cab coming up next to me travelling quite fast. I knew it was about to hit us - we had no options. But incredibly Darchelle moved beside the row of cars and the truck whizzed by us as if there were now three lanes of traffic. For some reason I had no fear or panic - it was a rather surreal experience. We were so grateful for those angels. And so grateful to God for honoring our prayer and honoring our lives. There are some things left for us to accomplish! 

As we arrived in Vancouver the bank of dark clouds we had been traveling under for two hours abruptly stopped and the sunset was  now glowing intensely in clear skies. A huge brilliant rainbow was able to be seen for a few minutes. It was one of the most beautiful rainbows I have ever seen. We stopped for Tim Horton's Donuts that brought back memories of when I was a student in Toronto at Brock University and it was nice to be back 'home' in Vancouver. I grew very fond of this city in 2001 when I graduated from the most life changing experience of my life. Discipleship Training School at Youth With A Mission.

Remember: Pray for Protection when you Travel!!!!

The Biggest Miracle of my Life

On the last Monday of my visit to Seattle another miracle happened of such great proportions I cannot actually tell you what it is. Because it is still being revealed, and planned. So when it is completed I will have a great story to tell. Because this is a miracle in progress it still needs a lot of prayer for it to come to fruition. The Spiritual Warfare is HUGE when it comes to Prayer Ministry and the enemy will do anything to shut it down. So please Pray for this miracle to be completed! I will be so excited to report the outcome. HINT: It involves a part time job in Seattle and a greencard.

A Few Weeks Later...

The Letter finally arrived in the mail. I am officially accepted into the Masters of Counseling Psychology at Mars Hill Graduate School. I know I am meant to do this and that God is continuing to guide my life to places that delight my heart and soul.

I Will Not Doubt. I Will Take the Risk.

This involves the biggest risk I have ever taken and will need the most amount of courage yet. To go to school takes $32,000 per year for three years. I am Australian so am not eligible for financial aid (borrowing the money),  so I need a part time job and scholarships/donations to get through this. Please pray that all the money I need will be there at the right time.

My Sabbatical.

This is the seventh year of my ministry. November 2010 to November 2011 when I will start my Masters. For the next few months I will be in Orlando writing my book then back to Tennessee to build a prayer room at an elementary school.

Please continue to pray for Blissful Ministries - that I may continue to be used by God to bless those around me. If you would like to partner with me on this journey of discipleship you are most welcome to pray or donate and for those in the US it is a tax deduction. This is how I live. So thank you for helping me continue in ministry in 2011.   

To see pictures of Seattle, the rainbow, Mars Hill Graduate School and some great art CLICK HERE.