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Is Ministry Burnout Possible in Hawaii?
Several times I found myself saying "I can not get burnout in Hawaii. That's just not right!" Somehow it just didn't seem possible. Afterall, people come to Hawaii for a vacation not to work. Yet I was working long hours in ministry. The first six weeks were working at a school with a prayer room that went for five weeks! So I came to a point when I knew I had to go on a hike and just soak underneath a waterfall and pray and feel all the stress wash away. But I was also glad that there were so many new friends to share with and I was so blessed to be part of so many unique ministry events.
Family Worship is something that needs to be restored, revitalized and treasured. Sometimes our spiritual journeys become so individualized that we are not always aware of what our children believe. This may be because we trust someone else with their spiritual training. Imagine if we taught our children to hear the voice of God, to pray powerfully because of the purity they possess, to enjoy being in the presence of God and to have fun learning about God! Let's pray like we believe in miracles!
In June, A wonderful Prayer Warrior, Michele Seibel hosted a Family Worship Festival at her house for all the Wyndward area churches. It was such a beautiful time. We lazed around under tents outside and sang some fun songs - then we entered into a time of worship and didn't want to stop singing. Next we had some food and the kids could play or go through the prayer tent or do the Bible treasure hunt while the adults talked, then had a workshop on how to make worships fun and relevant for the kids.
We then had some more songs and worship as the sun set. I felt the need to pray for our families to be united in prayer and for us to learn how to bless each other, forgive each other and pray over each other. So we broke up into family groups and spent time encouraging and blessing one another. It was a beautiful time. We then ended the night by watching a family movie out on the lawn and drinking root beer floats.
All through the day people could enjoy the Prayer Tent that was set up exclusively for the children although it was great to see some dads go through by themselves too! (We need to keep praying that fathers become spiritually strengthened to lead boldly with the Holy Spirits power.) The prayer stations were set up in a real camping tent which was really cute to put together with some of the stations outside as well.
The next month I was invited to preach at several churches. This was my first real attempt at preaching and I know God blessed my efforts. One of my passions of ministry is to change the culture of prayer in churches. So I went to prayer meetings and taught about prayer even if it involved getting up at 5am in the morning. Central Church is really excited about developing a permanent prayer room for their church and community so hopefully soon they will have someone on fire with the Spirit say they will take on this amazing prayer ministry! It was so fun to be involved with the prayer teams and to encourage them to pray in new ways - especially to wait and listen to God before praying for someone. I preached on the different ways God speaks to me and told some of the funny stories and incredible miracles that have been part of my journey. At the end of the sermon we invited anyone who needed prayer for any reason to come down the front where the prayer team ministered to them. It was an incredible time of prayer with the team sharing later that God had really spoken through them and touched the lives of those who needed prayer. They are now continuing the garden of prayer after every service and listening to God before they pray. This means that people coming to church will always have opportunity to pray with someone and will not have to leave with brokenness or heaviness still troubling them. What a gift to offer the congregation. I am very excited to see this happening as our churches turn more and more into houses of prayer.
I was asked by the Youth Director, Jesse Seibel to design a prayer tree for the summer camp. YES A PRAYER TREE! Now there is no limit to how creative you can be about prayer stations. There are so many ways to make prayer fun. Prayer journeys, walks, prayer stations, prayer treasure hunts, prayer rooms and fun interactive creative worships. This one was centered around the Tree of Life. The summer camp had a beautiful tree right in the middle so I designed about 15 stations that were attached to or near the tree. This was a very fun experience. A lot of the kids loved praying here in the beauty of the outdoors.
During the summer camp I took a morning off to go down the street to a beach that is known to have dolphins visit in the morning. Unfortunately I missed them but a lady told me to snorkel out to the boey then turn right and I would find a giant rock that was home to up to a dozen green sea turtles. I swam out and found about nine turtles resting and swimming around - this was a beautiful experience - I even cried into my mask... thanking God for giving me such a precious moment to treasure. I then drove to one of our favorite snorkeling spots at electric beach. The power plant pumps warm water through huge pipes out into the ocean and is a haven for the most beautiful fish I have ever seen.
As I was driving up to the beach I prayed and asked God if he would , that day, allow me to swim with dolphins today (as it would bring me a joy I could not describe in words). When I pulled up and looked out into the ocean I could see dolphin fins circling around. I put on my sunscreen and fins and swam out to sea. I soon found myself surrounded by hundreds of dolphins. I even saw a little baby dolphin in a pod (about two feet long). The green ocean was crystal clear and up to 50 foot down to the snow white sand on the bottom. I was out a long way from shore and by myself. This was a surreal and intense spiritual time of worship for me. I felt so close to God and was so grateful for this gift. When I got out after about an hour I watched the dolphins from the shore. They started to play and one dolphin made twelve triple summersaults in a row!
I had been working so hard that it was nice to escape into nature and see the incredible beauty that was so rich in Hawaii. A few weeks before, my friends had swum with these dolphins in the very same spot and had some waterproof cameras (if you would like to watch them playing with the dolphins see the link below).
The beauty of Hawaii is breathtaking. At every opportunity I tried to go on a hike. Saturday afternoon was usually a time when friends got together to explore new hikes. Hawaii is full of the most beautiful people I have ever met. If you ever get a chance to experience the islands you will be blessed.
I am overwhelmed that God would send me to do ministry in such a beautiful place. I hope that this is an encouragement to all of us who are in full time ministry - even though we sacrifice many things that others may think essential to happiness, God really knows our hearts better than anyone ever will. As we work with him, he will take us on incredible adventures that will end up blessing us as well as those we minister to.
I met some incredible prayer warriors, friends that will be for eternity, life-changing mentors.
To those who sponsored me financially thank you so much. To Chaplain Mark Hughes, for his house and car while he was on deployment and the Seibels for their hospitality - I could not have done this without you. To those who blessed me through prayer and encouragement bless you! My time in Hawaii was an incredibly intense time of ministry with God revealing to me a much deeper level of understanding into spiritual warfare. I was witness to three separate demonic experiences. This was the first time in my life it has been so real to me. I do not recommend having to experience this to understand the power that we have through believing in the blood of Jesus Christ. The gift of discernment is one I would beg every Christian to find and hold on to for dear life. This is the one gift I desire above all others. There is so much deception around us. There is no time to just coast to heaven by sitting in a pew. Its time to get out the nitrous. To get serious. To take the Red pill. To be ready to go 'All in'. To be ready to say "I did everything I could, I gave everything I had and I finished the race hard and yes, it was worth every step."
More photos of the Children's Prayer Tent and Childrens Prayer Workshop.
More Photos of the Prayer Tree and the Beautiful flowers of Hawaii.
The beautiful You-Tube video of swimming with wild dolphins at Electric Beach.
If you would like Nicki to come to your school, conference or church to help infuse a passion for prayer please email: BlissfulMinistries@yahoo.com
Family Worship is something that needs to be restored, revitalized and treasured. Sometimes our spiritual journeys become so individualized that we are not always aware of what our children believe. This may be because we trust someone else with their spiritual training. Imagine if we taught our children to hear the voice of God, to pray powerfully because of the purity they possess, to enjoy being in the presence of God and to have fun learning about God! Let's pray like we believe in miracles!In June, A wonderful Prayer Warrior, Michele Seibel hosted a Family Worship Festival at her house for all the Wyndward area churches. It was such a beautiful time. We lazed around under tents outside and sang some fun songs - then we entered into a time of worship and didn't want to stop singing. Next we had some food and the kids could play or go through the prayer tent or do the Bible treasure hunt while the adults talked, then had a workshop on how to make worships fun and relevant for the kids.
We then had some more songs and worship as the sun set. I felt the need to pray for our families to be united in prayer and for us to learn how to bless each other, forgive each other and pray over each other. So we broke up into family groups and spent time encouraging and blessing one another. It was a beautiful time. We then ended the night by watching a family movie out on the lawn and drinking root beer floats. All through the day people could enjoy the Prayer Tent that was set up exclusively for the children although it was great to see some dads go through by themselves too! (We need to keep praying that fathers become spiritually strengthened to lead boldly with the Holy Spirits power.) The prayer stations were set up in a real camping tent which was really cute to put together with some of the stations outside as well.The next month I was invited to preach at several churches. This was my first real attempt at preaching and I know God blessed my efforts. One of my passions of ministry is to change the culture of prayer in churches. So I went to prayer meetings and taught about prayer even if it involved getting up at 5am in the morning. Central Church is really excited about developing a permanent prayer room for their church and community so hopefully soon they will have someone on fire with the Spirit say they will take on this amazing prayer ministry! It was so fun to be involved with the prayer teams and to encourage them to pray in new ways - especially to wait and listen to God before praying for someone. I preached on the different ways God speaks to me and told some of the funny stories and incredible miracles that have been part of my journey. At the end of the sermon we invited anyone who needed prayer for any reason to come down the front where the prayer team ministered to them. It was an incredible time of prayer with the team sharing later that God had really spoken through them and touched the lives of those who needed prayer. They are now continuing the garden of prayer after every service and listening to God before they pray. This means that people coming to church will always have opportunity to pray with someone and will not have to leave with brokenness or heaviness still troubling them. What a gift to offer the congregation. I am very excited to see this happening as our churches turn more and more into houses of prayer.
I was asked by the Youth Director, Jesse Seibel to design a prayer tree for the summer camp. YES A PRAYER TREE! Now there is no limit to how creative you can be about prayer stations. There are so many ways to make prayer fun. Prayer journeys, walks, prayer stations, prayer treasure hunts, prayer rooms and fun interactive creative worships. This one was centered around the Tree of Life. The summer camp had a beautiful tree right in the middle so I designed about 15 stations that were attached to or near the tree. This was a very fun experience. A lot of the kids loved praying here in the beauty of the outdoors.During the summer camp I took a morning off to go down the street to a beach that is known to have dolphins visit in the morning. Unfortunately I missed them but a lady told me to snorkel out to the boey then turn right and I would find a giant rock that was home to up to a dozen green sea turtles. I swam out and found about nine turtles resting and swimming around - this was a beautiful experience - I even cried into my mask... thanking God for giving me such a precious moment to treasure. I then drove to one of our favorite snorkeling spots at electric beach. The power plant pumps warm water through huge pipes out into the ocean and is a haven for the most beautiful fish I have ever seen.As I was driving up to the beach I prayed and asked God if he would , that day, allow me to swim with dolphins today (as it would bring me a joy I could not describe in words). When I pulled up and looked out into the ocean I could see dolphin fins circling around. I put on my sunscreen and fins and swam out to sea. I soon found myself surrounded by hundreds of dolphins. I even saw a little baby dolphin in a pod (about two feet long). The green ocean was crystal clear and up to 50 foot down to the snow white sand on the bottom. I was out a long way from shore and by myself. This was a surreal and intense spiritual time of worship for me. I felt so close to God and was so grateful for this gift. When I got out after about an hour I watched the dolphins from the shore. They started to play and one dolphin made twelve triple summersaults in a row!
I had been working so hard that it was nice to escape into nature and see the incredible beauty that was so rich in Hawaii. A few weeks before, my friends had swum with these dolphins in the very same spot and had some waterproof cameras (if you would like to watch them playing with the dolphins see the link below).
The beauty of Hawaii is breathtaking. At every opportunity I tried to go on a hike. Saturday afternoon was usually a time when friends got together to explore new hikes. Hawaii is full of the most beautiful people I have ever met. If you ever get a chance to experience the islands you will be blessed.I am overwhelmed that God would send me to do ministry in such a beautiful place. I hope that this is an encouragement to all of us who are in full time ministry - even though we sacrifice many things that others may think essential to happiness, God really knows our hearts better than anyone ever will. As we work with him, he will take us on incredible adventures that will end up blessing us as well as those we minister to.
I met some incredible prayer warriors, friends that will be for eternity, life-changing mentors.
To those who sponsored me financially thank you so much. To Chaplain Mark Hughes, for his house and car while he was on deployment and the Seibels for their hospitality - I could not have done this without you. To those who blessed me through prayer and encouragement bless you! My time in Hawaii was an incredibly intense time of ministry with God revealing to me a much deeper level of understanding into spiritual warfare. I was witness to three separate demonic experiences. This was the first time in my life it has been so real to me. I do not recommend having to experience this to understand the power that we have through believing in the blood of Jesus Christ. The gift of discernment is one I would beg every Christian to find and hold on to for dear life. This is the one gift I desire above all others. There is so much deception around us. There is no time to just coast to heaven by sitting in a pew. Its time to get out the nitrous. To get serious. To take the Red pill. To be ready to go 'All in'. To be ready to say "I did everything I could, I gave everything I had and I finished the race hard and yes, it was worth every step."
More photos of the Children's Prayer Tent and Childrens Prayer Workshop.
More Photos of the Prayer Tree and the Beautiful flowers of Hawaii.
The beautiful You-Tube video of swimming with wild dolphins at Electric Beach.
If you would like Nicki to come to your school, conference or church to help infuse a passion for prayer please email: BlissfulMinistries@yahoo.com
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Interesting Fact: Spiritual Warfare is real without a shadow of a doubt. Every time I create a prayer room I have intense spiritual attacks against me. I am learning what they look like so I can be prepared and be attentive to God's Spirit. Then when I am finished I have things happen that will try to steal my joy, to stop me praising God and giving him glory for what has happened in the prayer room. I have written about some of my experiences on my BLOG about the dangers of experiencing Centering Prayer and Experiencing Demons. We need never be afraid of anything that can come against us - we must also learn the power that we have in the name of Jesus. An article coming soon to this blog! I would love to find people who would become monthly sponsors and/or, intercessors - praying for my protection from spiritual attacks, praying for my financial needs and praying for God to work and speak and create through me to touch the lives of those I minister to. I am grateful that God has provided for my needs and even for the desires of my heart I am constantly amazed by his provision. He is a God who spoils and gives above and beyond. I have not regretted living this lifestyle with the adventures and faith and dependence it is teaching me. For a while it may seem easy and possible to live on almost no income, but for the long term there needs to be money coming in to support this prayer ministry, as well as for bills and health insurance. If you would like to support this ministry financially (either with a one-time gift or monthly support) please contact me (donations are tax-deductible in the USA). Checks can be made out to FLASH Ministries (the non-profit 501c3 that is sponsoring my ministry). Please include 'Prayer Ministries' on the subject line and send it PO Box 495 Ooltewah, TN, 37363 USA. Donations by credit card are also accepted. Those in Australia or overseas can email BlissfulMinistries@yahoo.com for further details. Thank you for blessing this ministry and helping to change the culture of prayer. Blessings, Nicki Carleton I believe! Blissful Ministries PS Check out my new website www.BlissfulMinistries.com |
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If you are in the location of a prayer room and would like to help or participate in a conference or mission please contact me.
NOVEMBER: Malawi, Africa
Three week Prayer Room and helping at an evangelistic meeting.
OCTOBER: Amsterdam, Kenya
Women's Mission and Safari, Masai Mara, Kenya
October 9-15
Building a 24-7 Prayer Room
October 9-15
Building a 24-7 Prayer Room
Attending the International Gathering for 24-7 Prayer Leaders Europe
October 1-4
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