One of the biggest lessons I've learned is the power of intentional discipleship.

When I signed up for my Discipleship Training School (DTS), I assumed because of the name that there would be discipleship involved, but I had no idea how intentional YWAM Tyler is in the discipleship process.

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.

HERE’S WHY YOU SHOULDN’T GO TO COLLEGE IMMEDIATELY

Graduate valedictorian, go to an Ivy League school, enter a respectable profession, get rich - that’s what I decided my life’s purpose was when I was in high school. The only reason I wanted to do missionary work before college was so that I could have a stronger résumé. Good thing God can take our impure motives and bring something good out of them.

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.

Before you picture the Almighty vomiting fruit, let me quote from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’s second definition for a raspberry. “A sound of contempt made by protruding the tongue between the lips and expelling air forcibly to produce a vibration.” We’ve all done it. You know exactly what I mean. What you may not have known is that God can blow raspberries too, when He’s trying to make a very clear point.

6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE TAKING A GAP YEAR

Let's just go ahead and get it out on the table. Hasn't taking a break between high school and college or college and a job been something you've wished for? There is a way to make that happen and for many it's been the best decision they ever made. But don't get me wrong. Everyone needs to consider what kind of Gap Year they are going to take. 

The first time I heard about a Gap Year was when my son graduated high school and decided jumping into college wasn't on his agenda. Since then I've talked with a whole bunch of students wanting to take a Gap Year and many who already did it. Here are six things to seriously consider before pulling the trigger. 

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.