As I awoke again to the sound of the sea surging on the rocks, the scream of the gulls, and the beautiful vista fanning out before me, I was struck with the thought, “However did I end up in Newfoundland?” Me, whose life was going to be happily-ever- after in the nirvana of Beautiful B.C. The chain of events was unexpected, un-sought, and wandering, yet God brought me to my heart’s home in this extraordinary province.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility? Being a leader is far from easy but if God called you to it He won't lead you astray. He wants to guide you through every situation you will face in life. Aaron Wardlaw shares his testimony about personal obstacles he overcame during outreach while being a small group leader.  

After sitting in three months of mind-blowing DTS classes, I was ready to get our there into the real world with the rich truths I'd learned! The best way to solidify all God has done in our lives is to transfer the knowledge into our daily experience, allowing His grace to have its perfect work.  And that’s just what He did during our 8 weeks of travel covering 20,000 miles, including 2 nations in East Asia.

Get a FREE copy of Is That Really You God?

Ever wonder if the thought forming in your brain was from God?

I know I have many times. 15 years ago, I did my DTS and read the inspirational book by the founder of YWAM, Is That Really You God?

His stories left me wide-eyed and wonder-filled. I honestly couldn't put it down. He addressed the very questions I had about hearing from God. 

Depression doesn't have to control your life.

Before I knew God, I drowned in dark depression, deceit, and lived in fear. Sin and suicidal thoughts controlled me, and I had no escape. I struggled to find so many things: purpose, love, peace, joy, zeal for life, and much more.

Meeting the Lord of all creation brought me out of the trap I was ensnared in and gave me life abundant. Not life without struggles, but life with hope.

WHEN LIFE DOESN'T GO AS PLANNED

2020 has been a year none of us expected. I wish I could just blame the pandemic for wrecking my plans, but I'm learning a bigger lesson when my life plans get sideways.

On my journey over the last year and half, there have been many times I had to continuously remind myself of the goodness of God in spite of my circumstances.

"Make sure there's no evil unbelief lying around that will trip you up and throw you off course, diverting you from the living God."  (Hebrews 3:12)

During one of my YWAM training schools, I learned a new word, Renounce, which changed my life and the way I daily practice dependance on God.

In all the talk today of measuring success by numbers, based on how many “hits,” “clicks,” or “likes” we get on our social media, I am often taken back to the memory of my very first Youth With a Mission trip in 1984. We were traveling through the Atlantic Coast of Canada, performing an evangelistic drama known as Toymaker and Son. It was a 52 minute long drama performed in full costume to a soundtrack recorded by a professional orchestra. It was all mime and dance, a real workout for us young people to perform in the hot summer sun, and we performed it anywhere we could. One performance stands out above the rest to me because we performed it on an empty grass lawn, to no audience at all.

“Are you insane?” is what you may be thinking, and I do have to confess that we’ve felt that ourselves as we look to the future. To give a little background, our last three years have been some of the most challenging and rewarding times of our lives. We’ve walked through joy, grief, hopelessness, and anticipation. After serving two years in Jordan, we returned to America in  May 2015 

Globally there are 25,000 full-time YWAM missionaries right now, and every one of them has completed a Discipleship Training School. DTS is remarkable training that is intended to bring you into a more intimate relationship with God. While igniting your passions, you discover your part in God's purposes for the world and learn to follow Jesus in new ways with a different perspective. 

It is intended to challenge us through teachings, community living, practical training, AND that's just the lecture phase. These are just a few of the truths I learned during my DTS Lecture Phase:

“Nah, I don’t need to do that!” I emphatically told God one day after being asked by our ministry leaders to do a YWAM DTS. At the age of 34, my husband and I had already been serving the Lord in full-time ministry for years. We had worked as youth pastors in Kansas, while attending school. Then we planted a church in South Carolina. Missions was nothing new for us because we had led numerous teams around the world. Why would we need to do a Discipleship Training School?

On a trip to South Asia, my colleague and I smuggled Bibles into a country that persecuted Christians, and never allowed the Bible to be brought in or published. We knew it was God’s desire to give His word to people in their heart language, so we took a risk and stuffed fifty Bibles into our luggage.