The Adventure Continues

The impetus to start this blog is coming from my impending DTS (Discipleship Training School) – a 3-month intensive Biblical training followed by about 2 1/2 months of mission work. However, this is not the beginning of my adventures.

For a free range Christian (props to my mom for this catchy bit of phrasing), the adventure is everywhere and all the time. We’re a unique breed – we may not belong to a specific church or group, but we love our God and our Savior Jesus Christ fiercely and follow Him determinedly. Our “free range” tendencies do not mean that we are flippant with the gospel or it’s application – on the contrary I firmly believe in the absolute truth contained in the Bible and in living according to its precepts – but rather mean that we are convinced of our freedom to live our best lives according to the leading of God in Christ in us. That may look like a missionary. Or a pastor. Or a prayer warrior. Or maybe a soldier, an engineer, a student. For me it looks something like this:

God has called us all to serve and live in different ways.

1 Corinthians 12:18-20 (ESV)

¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

I’ve loved verse 19 for a while now. If all of us were complete and self sufficient and whole, there would be no body. We all need each other and we all need each other to be unique to strengthen this beautiful body that we’re all part of. No cookie cutter Christianity for me, thank you!

And for this unique little Christian snowflake, my purpose in the body, though still murky to me, must include adventure! From the time I was little, I’ve been taught to take Philippians 4:13 at its word.

Philippians 4:13 (ESV)

¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Alternately,

Philippians 4:13 (AMP)

¹³ I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]

When you’re told repeatedly that you can do anything with Christ’s help, you eventually start to believe it. I realized several years back that I actually believe that there really is nothing I can’t do if I have God on my side. There are plenty of things I won’t do, plenty I may not do, don’t want to do, shouldn’t do; but can’t do? Nope. With this attitude I take life head-on, never fearing to try out the hardest courses, take a couple months off, quit a stable job for something I love, move across the country, whatever God’s will seems to take me. (I say seems to because I’m far from perfect at listening to or hearing Him. But things have worked out so far.) I need a little adventure in my life and, thanks to my parents (though perhaps much to their chagrin – I fail to stay close to home for long), have never feared seeking it out.

So the adventure continues with the beginning of this DTS. I’ll be flying to Oahu tomorrow and from there to Kona, Hawaii on Thursday to start this next phase. I’m excited and nervous and entirely freaked out that I’ll forget to pack something important. I’m completely diving into the deep end here; I’ve never done anything even remotely like this. But mostly I’m thrilled for my next opportunity to trust God, to put Philippians 4:13 to the test and prove that we CAN do anything with Christ’s strength!