DTS Prep...

We started our first week of Staff Training today, (yesterday was Labour Day, a national holiday so we Bar-B-Qued and fellowshiped as we celebrated at baby Abby's dedication - But normally our weeks start on Monday too!)

We began with an All-Base meeting thismorning, which was fun, and at the end we took our staff pictures, so i included mine foor you to see! It was a good time to wait on the Lord together and hear what he has to say about our city. We had a scripture from Jeremiah 29:4-7, when God tells Israel to go and be a part of Babylon, to build houses, to plant gardens, to give their children in marriage, and to work for the prosperity of the city. God has used this verse to speak direction to us as a base since the beginning, it spoke as a conformation of God calling each of us to Seattle.



Today when others were sharing things or verses that people felt God had spoken to them, there was a theme of spiritual warfare, and the spiritual climate of the city which kept coming up. Things about all the depravity and sin in our city. I felt that we were being challenged to be more aware of the things which are strongholds in the place where we live. Ben talked about how each bad choice has a spiritual attachment, and when there is a place where many people are making the same bad choices over and over, the door opens and the enemy has his foot in the door. It becomes a stronghold over the city. I felt challenged to remember that as we make the decisions each day in our own homes, we can effect that spiritual climate. We are not perfect but we can try to chose well.

As I prepare for the DTS, I want to be more concious of the struggles in my own life and the battle I am fighting personally, I also we want to be fighting on behalf of our students as they prepare to make a good choice and give the next 6 months of their lives to the Lord. We, as a community want to keep fighting for our city too, in prayer and also in action in our own lives.

This week we will be sharing our stories together and praying for each other. I believe that this is an essential part of the preperation we'll do for the DTS. Knowing where each person comes from and some of the significant things in their lives can give us new understanding and help us journey better together in the season ahead.

The next few weeks will be crazy, with time out to celebrate my birthday in the middle! so please pray for strength and energy for all of us, and that we will rest when we need to.