Victory

A couple of months ago we had an event and were serving and ministering on and off the water to a group of about 20 or so women who had come out of some tough backgrounds...
The group of women had a few leaders who ran the program that they were all in.   One of the leaders was not planning on joining in the activities... she was planning on hanging back and helping others experience joy and victory over fears of the water, but she did not want to hold herself to the same standards... due to fear.

To make a long story short,  towards the end of the day the lady decided to ride in the boat to help cheer some of the other ladies on.  After we had successfully gotten all of the other ladies up on skis we all looked to her and said "Well, (so and so) are you ready to do it?"  She replied "no, i can't do it, i'm too afraid."  We said back to her "you're going to be ok, first of all, God is with you right?"  She replied: "Yeah I know, but I'm so scared."

I then told her that I would go out on the water right next to her and hold her skis for her while she tried getting up on the water, she then asked "will you jump in after me if I fall"?  I replied "yes, absolutely".   So we scooted her off the side of the boat and on to the bar to grab on.  As soon as she emerged into the water she began screaming even more, so I decided to pray to the Lord and asked Him 'what I should do?'  I heard the Lord say "cast that fear out of her".  So I turned to her and said "spirit of fear, be gone out of her in the name of Jesus, you are not welcome in her".  She then began to calm down some and was able to concentrate on the instruction that I we were giving her.  When she finally got into position I told the boat driver "hit it"..  Then the boat accelerated quickly and before she knew it she was up on top of the water skiing for her first time!

                                                                  ^
(This is a picture of the system that we use when we are teaching most of them to ski, this is not the picture of the lady)

It occurs to me that many of us do the same in our walk from time to time, and some times, all the time.   We see an opportunity, we know it's possible with God, but we just barely let fear come in our way, just enough so that in time we will eventually say; "that could never be done".   You see, fear builds over time, just like faith builds over time, so if you walk in fear, then you're probably a fearful person, but if you walk in faith, then you're probably a faithful person.

This story is a great example of how when we are cleansed from things (like fear) that are not of God, then we can begin to hear Him clearly and act on what we have heard.   Just like the lady was delivered from fear, heard what was being instructed to her and then experienced victory over water for the first time in her life.

John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.   -Jesus

Trials? Yep, those still happen...

Well, ever since I started writing this blog, I felt like it would be best to only share about mainly all of the good things that happen.  Which is good, but at the same time I think it's important to also share about trials and other stuff that happens along the way as well.  So the truth is, the challenges of life do not change, but "who" you're hooked up to in your life makes all the difference of how you get through the trials, how you can triumph through the trials, how you can learn to have victory and help others have victory when you're hooked up to the greatest power source of all, that is what matters.


In just the past few weeks, we have had 1 flat tire, 3 boat break downs with different boats, one of the RV's did not start for a couple of days, and the engine in the suburban blew twice within a 3 day span which we are currently still waiting for it to be repaired.   


We (being human) might not have an explanation for everyone of these events, but the truth is, God has provided for us in the midst of it all, we have not had to cancel one event even with all of these things going on.  For our faith to be tested is truly one of the greatest things in the world.   It might not always seem like it in the heat of the moment, but what greater place to be in order to glorify our Creator, than in one that calls us to rely on Him.   1 Peter 4:16 says:  "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf."   


Temptation may come from the enemy and testing may come from God, but even in testing, God's Word says that if we can endure it, there are many more blessings to come upon us:  James 1 :12  “Blessed is the man who patiently endures testing and temptation. Afterward  he shall receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”   


1 Peter  1: 6-7 says  “So be truly glad.  There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.    These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold.   And so it be tried with fire, that it might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”


There are so many people (even christians) in the world who are very confused about life, especially day to day life... They often ask “why does this happen or why does that happen?”.  Even I myself have done this before...  But now, I think so many times we forget to keep our eyes on the things that God would want us to...like for example: HIM!    God has everything we need, He has every resource we need, He has every ounce of knowledge that we need and beyond.   


Colossians 1:17 says:  “He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”   


It’s just important to remember that we are in a fallen world right now, so there has to be a place for having faith, in our Creator, in our Savior and when all of the trials and testings come, to have faith in our Provider.  
I don’t know about you, but I’m learning to not live my life according to my circumstances, or according to how I “feel” all of the time... but rather according to the Truth of this life, according to the truth of my life, according to the truth of God’s Word.  


I want to dare you all to believe God.  In everything.  Not according to your circumstances in your life right now... but according to the greatness of God and His provisions.. not just who I say He is, but who He says He is:  


Jeremiah 32:27  "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” 


“I have tasted and have seen that the LORD is good”... and that “nothing is too hard for Him”.  Will you do the same?  

It’s never what you thought..

God has things planned for you, whether you know it or not… there are so many things in this life that seem so uncertain, but you must realize that in God’s eyes, everything is certain.  Everything has a purpose and everyone who chooses to follow Him will walk in the goodness of His purpose.

It wasn’t easy committing to join In His Wakes, preparing to join them and even following through with actually joining them!  But like I said, the things that God leads me to do when I want to just glorify Him will seem kind of crazy sometimes.  But God has always provided for me though, He’s always provided the things I’ve needed throughout my life here on earth and I think that we sometimes forget that in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people.   When you put your trust in Jesus Christ, that doesn’t just mean you’re saved from your sins and you will go to heaven if you die.  But it also means that if you trust Him every day with all that you have and all that you are, then He will be the Lord over your “whole” life every day.  


If I did not follow through with this decision, I might of not known how God wanted to use me in sharing the gospel with others through waterskiing… I might of not known what it was like to wake up and literally have the only thing on my agenda being sharing Christ with people.  I might of not known how much I enjoy getting to help lead others in worship at some of the events with the musical gifts God has given me.  


There’s so many things that I know God has for me that I haven’t even touched on yet, probably for different reasons.  Maybe it’s been timing on things, or maybe it’s been my fears getting in the way sometimes.   But one thing I know for sure, is that I never want anything to be held from me in this life and in the life to come because of my fears.  I want to serve and walk with my Lord forever, wherever He takes me.  


John 14:27  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”


I’ve realized that God really wants to help us overcome any and every obstacle that comes up in this life.  But in order to do that we have to put away with our fears, and we have to trust God with everything that we have and that we are.  Fear, doubt and corruption comes from the enemy (Satan).  But faith, trust and truth comes from God.  


I started making plans about 9 months ago to join In His Wakes for this year.  There’s been lots of preparation, prayer and getting things worked out for while I’m gone.  So, anyways, in the beginning of April I drove to Orlando and was getting ready to drive up to Keystone Heights the next day to hop on the IHW bus.  But the night that I arrived in Orlando, something began speaking to me, telling me that “I wasn’t going to be able to do it even with the Lord’s help, and that it was going to be too much for me to handle even with the Lord’s help.”  
This “something” that was talking to me was none other than Satan.  He began trying to convince me that I wasn’t good enough to join the crew, and that I was going to get stuck in tons of situations that I wouldn’t be able to handle….  I can’t even remember all of the lies that he tried speaking to me, but I never once gave into the temptation.   I never once came into agreement with him.  As I was about to go to sleep that night, I told Satan; “I’m waking up tomorrow, driving to Keystone Heights, getting on that bus, and with all my heart, I’m gonna serve God and the kids/people that He puts in front of me.” 


Because of what Christ did on the cross for me, I have the power to say “no” to the enemy.  Jesus came to save me and you, but also (like it says in 1 John 3:8) “… the Son of God came that He might destroy the works of the devil.”  Because of Christ, I can now walk in freedom to love, to live and to persevere like never before in my life.


That’s the thing, we will all be enticed, tempted, drawn, or however you want to look at it from all different kinds of sources that Satan will use, but God offers the same thing to all of us, no matter what our background is, no matter where we’ve come from or what lies we’ve believed at some point in our lives.  God offers all of us “life eternally”, and in this life, “life more abundantly”.   


I’m learning to deny the enemy of his power in my life.  Satan did not purchase me, but God did through Jesus Christ.  I belong to Him and no one (or anything) else.  Satan has no right to rule my life unless I give him permission to.   For instance, God’s Word says in Matthew 6:34 “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own evil.”   But the enemy on the other hand tries to tell me; “you need to worry, you need to be afraid of the unknown, God will not provide for you!”   From there I have the choice to come into agreement with God’s word and trust Him or to come into agreement with Satan’s word and doubt God.


Whether you are a believer or not reading this right now, I want to tell you from my own life, that every single day, God has provided for me the things that I’ve needed.  Sure there are plenty of times when I’m not perfect, there are times when I have worried, there are times when I have made mistakes, but at the end of the day I can thank God knowing that He has been my provider.  There’s been times when I’ve prayed for work so that I can have the finances that I needed, and God provided.  There’s been times when I’ve had friends struggling with finances or physically struggling.  And I’ve gone to my God in prayer and He’s provided in amazing ways for their needs as well.  
I want to end by saying that taking this leap of faith in joining In His Wakes already has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life.  God has provided the support for me financially, He has provided the food that I need, the shelter that I need, the friends that I need and love to be with… and on top of all that I get to use something I love (waterskiing), to help others overcome fears, experience joy and hear the Truth of God for maybe the first time in their lives.

Matthew 6:32-33 “…For your Heavenly Father knows all the things that you need.  So seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you.”

Living for someone greater, is the greatest decision I could ever make.

Offering God your everything,  is the most rewarding decision you can ever make in your life.  He will lead you to greater things always... not greater things in yourself, but greater things in Him.  You'll get in some sticky situations sometimes, but you will never experience anywhere else the level of joy and peace that is found in the LORD.  Now just after 6 days of being on the road, I can already say that I would've missed out big time if I did not follow the Lord's leading to do this.   


Waking up almost every morning knowing that I will come in contact with about 20-35 kids/teens who I have never met before can be a little frightening.... but not with the Lord by my side.  I love getting to love on kids now more than ever before in my life, I love to share with them about how God has changed my life and sharing with them how God can change their lives as well!   


Two days ago I had the chance to do a short exhibition on the water right before I was going to share my testimony/whatever the LORD put on my heart with the group of kids out here.  It was super windy out on the water most of the day and right before I was getting on the water, it began to whitecap.. that's really nice, especially when you haven't skied in quite awhile!   I only had about 30 minutes to ski and then share my testimony with the kids while they were eating lunch.   My exhibition went well, the kids loved it and I also had one good crash while I was out there, which the LORD ended up using in what I shared with the kids.  


I'm always amazed that no matter how much I try to prepare something specific to speak about when I'm giving my testimony or just sharing,  the LORD always calls me out shortly before I speak and tells me to let Him bring to my mind the things He wants me to talk about.  It really is exciting though to not have a bunch of plans all the time.  I mean, sure, of course it's vital (just like I did yesterday) to prepare by praying, getting in the Word and asking the Holy Spirit to lead, but I think the LORD's been wanting to teach me little by little how to truly walk in faith.  Not just in life circumstances, but also in the words that come out of my mouth.   I'm to know His Word, Speak His Truth, Love with His love, Minister by His Spirit.. and then other than that,  let Him be God.  He is way better at being God than I am!  ;)  When I am obedient to Him, He comes through in greater ways than I could ever imagine.                                                                                                      To just be obedient to is one of my greatest goals in life.  I think the LORD is teaching me some of the same things that He taught Moses.  Not to the same level of faith yet...  But just like the LORD told Moses to "go" first... and then He would give Him the words to speak... I feel like He is starting to do a little of that with me too.

Exodus 4:12   Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.     
Jeremiah 29:12-13  Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.  And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.


Well, thanks for reading, I love you guys!

New Beginnings

Well!  So far it's been two awesome days of helping teens overcome their fears, teaching them to ski, but most importantly showing them the love of God through our actions and the gospel of Jesus Christ. 


There were about 160 kids from ages 16-18 that we spent time with over the course of two days.  To see so many of them getting out on that water for the first time in their lives was absolutely amazing!  The excitement on their faces after they first learned to get up on the skis was incredible... and it made me realize just how much more thankful I should be for the opportunities God has given me in my life.

I had pretty much grown up water skiing and snow skiing as well,  so in a lot of ways I've just gotten used to being able to do some amazing things that most kids or people never get to experience in their lifetime.   


But just within the past few days, God has already shown me so much about how awesome He is about providing opportunities to those who are willing to follow Him, no matter where He leads.  
I'm so grateful to have this opportunity to serve here with everyone at In His Wakes.


It's been kind of weird waking up, walking out of he RV and literally thinking... "Ok, biggest thing on the agenda today is showing people the love of Christ, in whatever way He wants me to."   (Whether it be; speaking, praying, helping, serving, or maybe just listening)


Now keep in mind, we all are still very busy getting all the boats, tubes, life vests, skis, gifts, etc, etc ready the day before.  But when we wake up the next morning for the event.. it's go time!!  Instead of saying "game on!" it's more like "God on!"  That's our goal above anything else, is sharing the Truth with them.


Although two days have already transpired, I can now already look back to a few days before all of this when the enemy was trying to speak so many lies to me and tried putting so many fears into me leading up to this time of me joining the In His Wakes crew.  I mean I have everything I could possibly need out here... I have wonderful shelter, I have great food.  I have rest at night... and for the first time in my life, I feel like that's even more than what I need!


But one of the biggest things that I seemed to not think about coming into this, is how I'll be surrounded by some of the most amazing people who love the Lord with all their heart.... by my side... my fellow brothers, sister and disciples.   So many times when I've thought about ministry, I've always thought about being on my own...  Don't ask me why exactly,  I guess it's just when you've stood up for things most people don't stand up for while you're growing up you tend to begin to think that you'll eventually be the only one left standing up for anything.. especially God.  But Just throughout these first two days, God has already shown me other wise.   He has shown me that there are others willing to stand up and beyond that people who truly know how to love with God's love and to share the gospel with truth, fun and great love.  Oh yeah!!... by the way!.. so far, there have been about 40+ teens who have come to know the Lord in the past 2 days!!


That's all for now my wonderful friends!!  Sorry for any lack of grammar skills that I have :)
Please continue to pray, God is doing some awesome things. 


Isaiah 43:2

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Gettin ready for the trip

Something more recently that I want to share about is how God has once again opened up a cool opportunity for me.  I had been praying for about 6 months last year that God would just give me new opportunities in my life, whatever it meant, I just wanted to move on to something new if He wanted me to as well.  Now about a year later from when I was praying those things, He has opened up the opportunity for me to join In His Wakes ministries for a few months this year!

To be honest I’m very excited and slightly freaked out at the same time.  Because I know how cool it’s going to be teaching kids to ski, sharing the love of Christ, the Gospel and ministering to them, but I also know that God is going to grow me like never before (which can be scary sometimesJ).  All in all though, I can’t wait to see all of the things that God will teach me and how He wants to use me.  I know He will come through like He always does.

  I've come to realize that sometimes in order to see God come thorugh in the biggest ways... I need to commit to whatever He has put on  my heart.  (Because the fact is, the things that He usually puts on my heart are so big that they require Him to come through).

Well, I guess that's all I will sharing for now.  Thanks for taking time to read this!...  Please be praying for me and all of the people that I will get to see and be with over the next few months!!   I'm hoping that I will learn to get out of the way and let God do whatever He wants to do through me.

    -Leif