Worship 1.1

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Rom 12:1-2
What is worship? Is worship the same as praise? Is worship music? Is worship limited to a certain style? Is there a set form for worship that all must follow?

Over the next few months, we will consider the question ,“what is worship?,” more in depth, but a good working definition will be helpful for us to stay on the same page through this journey: True worship is the continual turning toward God through every situation of trial or rejoicing in order that He would be glorified and honored and that others would come to know Him, or know Him better. What this definition suggests is that worship is not at all related to or defined by music or songs, but rather is related to our heart attitude toward the LORD. Throughout this month let’s read and reread the above italicized statement spending a little time letting each word mature in our minds and penetrate our hearts.

“Oh Lord, You are glorious. You are magnificent. You are the One who is above all else. Thank you that you are also the One who chose to indwell Your people by Your own Spirit. Lord, may we ever know You better, see You clearer, love You purer. Teach us what it is to truly worship You. Amen.”

Fundraiser

Hello family and dear friends,
I hope everything is going well with you.

As some of you may know, I am the Tour Ministry Coordinator for the Multnomah University (Bible College and Biblical Seminary) Ambassador Choir. The choir is already hard at work learning their music and I am hard at work bringing together venues and making lasting contacts with churches around the Northwest. The Ambassador Choir takes about a week each spring to share excellent music and minister to people throughout the Northwest. On the tour, we minister through:

• Encouragement to believers in the communities traveled
• Outreach event opportunities for the hosting churches
• Presentation of the Gospel through music and testimony

While on choir tour, students (and myself) stay with families from host churches and have various opportunities to minister to them which include sharing their testimonies and being available to pray with their host families. It is not uncommon to hear of someone whose life has been deeply changed as a result of the Multnomah Ambassador Choir coming to their town. A highlight of Spring Tour 2010 was a morning spent serving those in need in a small town where the choir was scheduled to perform that evening.

This coming spring, March 15th - 23rd, 2011, the Ambassador Choir has the opportunity to travel to Alaska. With the recent addition of a Multnomah Seminary teaching site in Anchorage, Multnomah’s relationship with Alaska is growing even stronger. Multnomah previously sent smaller music groups to Alaska to connect with, encourage and minister to believers, but this will be the first time the full Ambassador Choir will travel there.

As the tour ministry coordinator, this trip will give me opportunities to encourage believers in their faith, help churches reach out to their communities, meet some of the spiritual needs of the families I stay with, as well as serve the choir, our director and the church pastors in various ways. In addition to ministry, I will travel long hours and have rigorous meeting and set-up schedules. More than anything, I value your prayers for myself, our choir and crew, and for those whose lives will be touched by God through us. You may specifically pray for safety, good health, smooth travel, and financial support. Just knowing that you are praying will be a great encouragement!

Beyond your prayers, if you are led to join me through financial support, I would be grateful. Each person in the Ambassador Choir (including the support staff) must raise $1,000 by November 12, 2010 to cover airfare and the food and lodging for our first and last nights in Alaska.

Will you pray about supporting me on this trip? On the right side of this page is a "Donate" button designed through Paypal which makes it easy to contribute through electronic means. This is a journey that God has opened up for me and I would greatly appreciate any level of support you are able to offer.

Again, I really hope things are going well for you and I’d love to hear an update on what’s going on in your life. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this letter, and if you have any questions, please let me know. I hope to hear from you soon!

Thank you for partnering with me in ministry once again and God bless you,
Laura Jean
503.799.8111
To support financially, use the "Donate" button to the right. For checks: make payable to Multnomah University with "Alaska Tour" in the memo line. On a separate slip of paper, you may indicate my name, and please include your contact info so that a tax deductible receipt may be sent to you. Please, DO NOT write my name anywhere on the check. Thank you!

PS, If you are interested in a non-traditional method of providing support, you may consider purchasing or renewing your magazine subscriptions through the site listed below. When you order of renew through this site, up to 40% of the purchase goes to support this trip. Feel free to pass this link to others who would like to order magazines while also supporting a ministry.
Thank you!

efundraisingonline.com/AlaskaTourMinistry

A Day in the Woods

Sunday I had the good pleasure of disappearing into the woods surrounding Mt. Hood. I congratulated myself on having nearly every essential thing at my finguretips as I prepared to leave (not an easy task when you are temporarily living out of a suitcase). One quick stop at Bi-Mart for berry-picking buckets, an Oregon Road Atlas (mine is in Washington, so I had to replace it...can you imagine? A book FULL OF MAPS!!!), and a Dt. Dr. Pepper (my vice).

With my backpack full of water, my front seat full of maps and buckets and my truck loaded with a bike, I hit the road heading for Zigzag and the Lolo pass. My goal? Time spent alone with God in the woods. I knew before I left that there would be no berries this early in the season, I just wanted to be out in creation. I realized that aside from Alaska last summer, I haven't spent much time enjoying the great outdoors and the largely untouched areas of what God called good.

It was a grand adventure. At the first place I pulled over, I found some huckleberry bushes. I usually take someone with me when I go berry picking. That someone is usually my mom. We have a rhythm and predictability to our methods. I am good at spotting the pink huckleberries and she is good at spotting the mountain blueberries (regular huckleberries). However, neither of us are any good at doing the opposite. Because of this, I had no idea if I would even find a mountain blueberry bush that day, not because I didn't see one, but because I wouldn't know it if I did!

Anyway, I got to work plucking the pink berries into my lovely new berry bucket. All twelve of them. (This was my first stop, so I wasn't discouraged...remember, I hadn't expected to find any.) I thanked God for the find and proceeded to try out my hiking shoes on the nearby slope. I was pretty sure that Mt. Hood would be within sight if I climbed up a bit. My hard climb paid off :) (I had to use my cell phone cuz my Nikon got left at home...)

With that I was back to my car and off again. I was fairly sure I had gotten onto the wrong road, so I turned myself around and tried again. I made my way up another road and there was an interesting stand of trees that looked to be begging for investigation. So, with my trusty bucket in hand, off I went to explore. I found berry bush upon berry bush, but all were berry-less. As I crunched through the trees (all the moss was dried out, so it looked soft, but made a strange crunch sound as I stepped onto it), it occured to me that there might be snakes! Suddenly my movements were more planned and I was a bit more watchful of potential snake hiding places. Alas, I found no berries and I found no snakes, but I was safely back to my car. Again, I was on the wrong road.

Once inside my car, AC cooling me off from my exertion (after all, it was pretty hot and my windows don't roll down), I decided that finding the right road was relative. I didn't care where I was going. I didn't have a goal other than being out with God. So far we were having a grand time. :) My radio had been playing a lovely variety of worship songs, but I wasn't interested in the music. If I was gonna hear something, I wanted it to be from God talking, not the radio blasting.

Off again I went. The map said I had made it about an inch. I was on the windy road I was hoping for....."ah JP, hug those curves!" (My car's name is Jetta Pack - JP). I had my sun roof open and spotted a solitary Salmon Berry and stopped just as quick as I could. There was a little side road (made of dirt!) that I followed up to a dead campsite. I turned the car around before killing the engine (something my mom taught me) and looked around me. It was lovely and quiet. I clambered up a hill to see if there were berry bushes, but once I was up there, I didn't know how I would get down again. No berries and no way out but the way I came. Yikes. So, I did something I've never done. I ran down the hill. I know that might sound silly, but I have bad knees, so I haven't. But in that moment, I asked God "how am I gonna get down?" "Why don't you try it?" was my answer, so I did and I didn't fall or break anything! It was fantastic! I think I was more exhilarated by this little victory than I was about buying a book full of maps. :)

Back to the road. Did I mention that it was hot? I had the AC going to keep things moderated, but then I would get cold, so temperature regulation was a contant struggle. From time to time, I would open my door while driving. This was great 'cause I could get a little circulation AND I could take a look at things with an unobstructed view (my windows are tinted). It was then that I spotted mountain strawberry clusters growing along the roadside! Again, I found a little dirt "road" to pull down and got out to investigate. As I looked around, I saw that the strawberry patch was all around me. Nothing was ripe yet, but the blossoms were at the "fall off" stage. I was tickled! I thanked God for this find and continued to look around. I discovered my pink huckleberry bushes too! I noticed a trail and decided to once again go in search of a mountain view. With buckets in tow, including my 12 berries from the first stop, I headed off into the woods. It didn't take too long to get to the end of the trail. Initially disappointed, I started to turn around, but something familiar caught my eye. I walked over to it and recognized the mountain blueberry bush! It had berries forming on it that would be ready in the next couple weeks. Outstanding!

I was gonna head back to the car, but decided that I hadn't found the mountain view yet. Just because I had hit the end of the trail didn't mean I was done looking! So, I grabbed a stick and made my way into the woods, this time without a trail. (Probably not the best idea...) {An Aside: it was about five minutes into this trail-less hike that my phone suddenly got service and there was a text message from my friend telling me not to get too lost out there! hahahahaha! I laughed a lot. Thanks Scottie} About three minutes in, something bit me hard on the leg. I looked down expecting to find the snake I was looking out for earlier or a deer fly confused by the bright white flesh of my seriously untanned skin. Nope, it was a raspberry bush. :) Now, I've never even attempted to go raspberry picking because I've never known where there were raspberries. Until I went to my dad's a couple weeks ago( where he's growing a few raspberriy plants), I didn't even know what the bushes looked like. So, to literally stumble across one out there was just too wonderful. Of course, no berries.

So, in this one location, I can return in a couple weeks and get strawberries, pink and blue hunckleberries and raspberries! Back at the car I was just giddy with excitement over the find. I was telling God how grateful I was while I looked into my nearly empty berry bucket. GASP! All but one berry had escaped! Apparently the berry bucket had not faired the hike as well as I had. I thought to myself, "do you really think you're gonna come across any more today? Nope. Then you better take care of this one before it gets away too! OK." So I ate it. Good decision. Then I was back on the road.

There was a split in the road ahead. I knew my road went down the hill, but the other one was dirt and a mystery, so I took it. It led me up to Top Spur Hiking Trailhead for Mt. Hood hikers. Well, I may like to hike through the woods at my own pace, but I am no hiker, so I passed on by. However, the road was significantly less used this far up. In fact, the bushes were growing over most of the road and it was clear that no-one had been up there recently. I pulled over then and took my bike down to ride. Once again, exhilaration! it was fantastic.

Farther up the road I found something I had never seen before. I had known it exisited, but I had never seen it with my own eyes and I found it to be amazing. I didn't even know that it was so close! I was in such shock at the sight that I was sure a trick was being played. Alas, there it was - Mt. Adams. Hahaha, I had to pull out my maps...like three of them to make sure that I was actually looking at Mt. Adams. I never would have believed it if someone were telling me. So, that felt like a God hug...a big tight one. (The mountain is actually a lot closer than it looks in the picture). Amazing.

By this point it was getting late in the day and I knew I was going to need to get serious about heading somewhere. I decided to go all the way to Hood River. My mountain road meandered this way and that and eventually I made it to a highway. That highway took me to a freeway and that freeway would have taken me home....except there was a sign for the scenic Columbia Highway. :) I couldn't resist. My last stop was at Bridal Veil falls. I hiked down and took a picture (which didn't turn out great :( ) and hiked back out. I thought it was a fitting end to the day and felt very satisfied with the day on the whole.

I think I spoke 5 words Sunday. I can't remember the last time I was completely silent and just listened. Granted there have been periods of silence, but not whole days. Thank you God for the gift of time spent together.

MAPS

I am a map lover. I know, I know, it's not the most...popular of interests, but I love them. In fact, one of my favorite places in Seattle...no, actually, my favorite...is Metsker's Maps. I may even have linked this one already. Anyway, it's a fabulous map store in Seattle right down by the Pike Street market (My mom and I will go downtown from time to time, and she does markety type things while I explore the world - via Metzkers). :) And to stay true to my passion, click here for a map.

So, now that you know that about me (or have been reminded of that), imagine my sheer delight as you read my story.

You may be aware that I have spent the past few months studying in the Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) program at Multnomah University. After I finished my undergrad, I decided to continue education that would help me as a worship pastor. I figured that counseling would be great since I am often told I am a good listener and I really do enjoy hearing about people's lives and being trusted to speak truth to them in return. Much of a pastor's time is spent providing spiritual counsel, so studying counseling made sense. However, as I got into the program I discovered that the MAC is focused on clinical counseling - not at all what I wanted to be doing.

I put the issue to prayer and patience, and not long after that, decided to quit the program. I was pretty sure that was the end of my masters work and was going to focus on finding work "as is".

A couple months ago I remembered that Multnomah offers a Pastoral Studies program that focuses on counseling and pastoral care. "Perfect!" I thought. I went about researching the program and praying through whether I should go for it or if I should stick to quitting. After getting all the info I needed/wanted, and talking to various instuctors and students, I made the decision to switch.

Last week (on my birthday actually) I had my interview with the head-hancho. I was so nervous, yet so relaxed at the same time. I had already known what I would do if I didn't get in, but I wanted to get in. It was so different from when I was attempting to be accepted for the undergrad at Multnomah - I needed to get in. This time I didn't need to get in, I just wanted to. My nervousness stemmed from the fact that I was meeting with someone who was going to decide, after only knowing me for 30 minutes, if I would indeed "get in".

Well...
I GOT IN!

"Hey that's great Laura, but where is the part about sheer delight?"
Good question!
So, during the tail end of my research, I made a discovery. Now, it wasn't enough to base a decision on, but it was one that I got a kick out of and it felt kinda like a "God hug". Remember how MAC means Master of Arts in Counseling? Well, my new program, Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies, is MAPS. ha! Isn't that delightful? Yeah, I thought so too.

I will start at the end of August. :) Thanks for reading my little story :) God bless you.

Alaska, that great state

After having spent a summer at camp in Alaska, I am hooked. You may recall that I went to AK a couple years ago to work in a fish cannery. While that was not the best experience of my life, I did return to Alaska a couple years later (last summer) to direct a camp. That was a wonderful experience, and now I find myself homesick for my campers and the great state of Alaska.

Fortunately for me, I will be traveling to Alaska in March! I hear it's still cold then and considering I haven't ever spent a winter in AK, this should be semi-eye openning. :) Anyway, I am planning choir tours for Multnomah University (MU) and our trip this school year is going to be to AK. We're going to travel between cities in the Anchorage/Wasilla track. I have been working on plans for this for the last couple months. Students (and myself) are going to start raising support soon. Choir tours are ministry and outreach focused, so we treat them as mini-mission trips. In a "normal" tour, MU provides the funding, but for a trip to Alaska, students will have to raise a portion to cover flights, and motel and food for a couple days. We are excited about what God is gonna do and how He might use us for His kingdom. :)

As I have been planning for this trip, it hasn't helped with my home-sickness for Alaska! HA! Nope, it has only been heightened. So much so, that my mother and I are now considering a trip up in August! It would be the most whirl-wind of trips, but I think it could be great fun. :)

THEN, while we were thinking and planning our whirl-wind Alaskan adventure, we decided it would be great to have our whole family get to come. So we started planning for an additional trip next July (that's right folks, a year from now!)

So when all is said and done, not one, not two but three trips to the great state that I miss so very much will take place in the next 12 months! Who knows, perhaps there's a fourth trip waiting for me too :) I am looking foward to all the twists and turns this next 12 months might bring along :)

God bless you.
I don't know who reads this anymore, but since I have finished undergrad work, I think I will be updating this more often :)

Graduation

Ahhh, the sweet sound of victory! Victory over classes, grades, homework, lack of sleep, stress...you name it! Anything that has to do with finishing my undergrad degree is now over! I am a graduate!!!!!! Praise Jesus!

My official ceremony will be Friday, May 14 at Rolling Hills Church in Tualatin at 7:30:
Rolling Hills Community Church, 3550 SW Borland Road, Tualatin, OR 97062

Now what? I am going to start my masters degree in Counseling. It will be another 2.5 years, but when finished I will be licensed/certified to be able to counsel, so I will be done and ready to enter the work force in a more permanent way.

Being about to start school again feels different now somehow...like I have finished something colossal and now am going to tack on a little bit extra here at the end. However, I know this is no simple add on; I am beginning a new adventure. :)

In the meantime, I am working as a music event coordinator and planner for Multnomah University. I love my job incredibly. I get to talk to new people, build report with local churches and churches throughout the northwest. I get to encourage Multnomah choir students and help them grow in their confidence. I get to be a vital; part of a team that is doing something! Every work day is exciting. It's a hard job, don't get me wrong. Apparently other people who have worked this job couldn't wait to get out of it. But for me, it seems to be my perfect fit. :)

Praise Jesus!!

More than halfway through

The summer seems to have flown by. There have been so many amazing and funy moments at camp. God has really been at work.

I was pretty nervous leading the first group of campers. This is a type of ministry I have never really been involved in before, so I was concerned about "messing up." But as each day progressed, I deturmined to give God control. It was so incredible how a day would go so smoothly when I just let Him lead the way!

As we were approaching the second session, I found myself nervous again. This time I was scared that I would forget something that had "worked so well" in the first session and somehow would cheat my second group out of the most important information. Well, you probably guessed it, I had been trying to take back control. Ha! Silly me. So, again I found that by turing over everyday to God, things went perfectly. Did I forget things? Yep. But, other things came to mind that actually were more effective for that group that I never would have thought of if not for the grace of God and the leading of His Holy Spirit. woot woot!

With 2 sessions, or 4 weeks of camp, behind me, I found myself worrying yet again. This time it was, once again, a control thing. See, with this group, we had a shorter first week by a full 2 days. This meant that 4 of our lessons would either need to be dropped, or squeezed in with the second week lessons. Neither of those options were appealing and I found myself trying to make thing work. But, as before, I decided that giving it all over to God would be a better idea, and when I did that, time openned up all over the place. We ended up not having to drop or squeeze a single lesson. Right on...

These past several weeks have been really great and I wish I could recount all that has transpired, but there is so much! My campers have made huge decisions to follow closer to Jesus. They have dedicated their lives to serve our Lord. They have wept for fear of losing sight of what they have found to be most important in their lives - Christ and their relationship with Him.

These past several weeks have been hard too. Most everything goes really well. The work is hard, but when I stop and recognize where my strength comes from, there ceases to be a problem. It is the amount of rest, or lack, that makes things most difficult. People have been asking what we need or what they can pray for and my answer is always that we get our rest and time alone with the Lord. That is what I would ask of you. Please pray for my team that the rest we get would be refreshing, even though it is small. Also that we would have time in our day to spend with God refreshing our spirit as well.

I am here for 3 more weeks. I would love to hear from you. It is sooo encouraging to hear from home, about what you are going through and what's new. Also, I am still far short of raising the funds needed to pay for this mission. If you are able and willing to support this trip, thank you!

God bless you, and I will write again soon.

Laura Jean

Write to:
'Snaps'
Victory Ministries
64741 S Victory Road
Sutton, AK 99674

Support:
Victory Ministries
64741 S Victory Road
Sutton, AK 99674

Please do not write my name on your check; include my name on a separate slip of paper for identification. Thank you :)