Obedience Over Sleep

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I heard y'all. I haven't been writing much lately, and when I have, it's been depressing as balls. (Yes, I said "as balls." Deal with it.)

That's just the season I've been slogging through. Slogging might be too positive of a word for this situation. More like swirling around the drain of a death spiral with the occasional attempt to climb out of the stream, only to be nudged back into the flow... all while maintaining the "I'm fine" smile, because that's just what tough girls do.

But that's not really what this is about.

I timed out my day with plans to relax, get that illusive yet allegedly essential eight hours of sleep, go to the gym, then head to work. Easy peasy, right?

Wrong. I woke up about three hours into sleep time.

I tried praying, knocking off a couple items from the ever-growing to-do list, snacking, Facebooking, etc. Still wide awake. So, I grabbed the book I've been reading at the slowest possible pace, "Girl, Wash Your Face" by Rachel Hollis.

I'm a pretty fast reader, so spending a couple months on a book is incredibly unusual. The reason it's been taking so long is that pretty much every chapter is super relevant and convicting in some way, so I only make it through one before setting it down to stew and chew on it.

Today was no different. Of course, the first chapter I read (no, I'm not gonna tell you which one, sucker!) was directly related to that thing I was praying about. I kid you not. My brain went into overdrive thinking about her story and the similarity to mine, which I was so not here for. Hard pass.

So, I read another one to distract myself. Spoiler alert: IT MADE IT ALL WORSE. Now, my brain is all fired up on multiple things. Thanks for that, Rachel.

I tried to sleep it off, but that's just not how God works, is it?

Nope. He had to plant a some bloggable thoughts into my brain that were not going to go quietly. Here's how this argument went down.

God: *plants ideas*
Me: Cool. I'll do it later.
God: I've heard that before. You never wrote those posts.
Me: My bad. But, I'll really do it tomorrow.
God: No, you won't.
Me: I need to sleep! I work early tonight!
God: And?
Me: If I go write, I'll be tired and sucky at work.
God: I'll sustain you.
Me: But...
God: WERE YOU NOT LISTENING IN CHURCH SUNDAY? Didn't Koppang just preach about obedience?
Me: Yeah, but...
God: Okay, now you are going to write about obedience first.
Me: *Sighs and grabs laptop.*

Yes, I'm stubborn. Whatever. Don't act like you aren't too.

Pastor James' point Sunday was that obedience to the voice of God will result in a better life. It will solve your problems because you aren't doing things in your own strength, but rather relying on Him to guide you on the path He designed for you. Had the children of Israel obeyed, their lives would have been much easier.

Disobedience is pretty childish, isn't it?

How many times do you hear Christians saying that they want to be used by God, but then prioritize their own agendas over an opportunity to serve? Oh, so guilty on that one. How many times has that been you?

It's pretty hard for God to move when His people are being stubborn children who won't pick up their mess and share their toys. We can pout or throw a fit about it, but what ends up happening? I don't know many parents who will reward that kind of behavior. God is a Father who wants to heap rewards and blessings and goodness onto our lives because He loves us and we are His. But, He's a good and just Father, so misusing our free will can become a hindrance to our own blessings if we let it.

All He wants is obedience.

So, here I am, writing when I should be sleeping. (Well, my alarm just went off, but that plan to workout is now off the table! Ha!) I guess we will see how this obedience over flesh thing works out for me.

P.S. To the prayer warrior who, after the message on obedience, spoke over me that God would wake me up when I'm sleeping to talk, could you redirect that prayer with a better time frame? Please?!

A Weird Winter at World Revival School of Ministry: Part One

I'm doing this a little differently. The quarterly quotes is going to come in chunks. Call it an inspiration from Rose, who as you're about to read, said, "I look at this list and I kinda don't want to read it. It's so much." That had nothing to do with the quotes, but putting six classes into one post was far too long.

So, for now, you can enjoy some of the memorable moments from the winter's Tuesday/Thursday ministry classes!


Book of Acts with Pastor Mark Pederson (PMP)

PMP: "When your passions become white hot in God, that's when you'll shake the world."

PMP: "The weakness in revival relationships is not usually a weakness in truth, but a weakness in fruit."

PMP: "People set on fire by God do not bring leftovers."

PMP: "When you believe the lie, you empower the liar."

PMP: "It takes character to pray for someone else what you want for yourself."

PMP: "Don't be afraid to tell your story. In fact, please do tell your story."

PMP: "You will find God continually dealing with your fear."

PMP: "Kingdom living begins in a place many people don't want to go. It begins with emptiness."

PMP: "Steph, are those gummies?"
Stephanie: " Yup."
PMP: "That's how I know you're close to the Lord!"

PMP: "Unrighteous anger is never satisfied."

PMP: "God doesn't come at you through your past. He comes at you through your future and pulls it into the present."

PMP: "The root of prejudice is pride."

PMP: "Anointed people are consistent."

Esther: "It's like following JD around and 'doin' the stuff.'"

PMP: "I remember stepping on a frayed extension cord. It was at night so there was a little dew on the ground. It moved me. *sings* I feel the earth move under my feet."
Caila: "Is that an old song?"

PMP: "Fear is never more prevalent than in times of revival."

Bob: "Bonus question. Why did I pick Tootsie Rolls?"
Caila: "Because you love us?"
Bob: "If I loved you, I wouldn't give you this trash!"

*Stephanie draws on Dylan's face with orange marker*
Dyaln: "No! I don't want to be Trump!"


Practical Ministry with Pastor James Koppang (PJK) and guest speakers

PJK: "Class expectations. Students are expected to attend class. Such high expectations."

PJK: "You're no longer in kindergarten; you're in big boy class now!"

PJK: "Ministry is building up the body that you've been put into."

PJK: "I don't have to look it up. I have students!"

PJK: "Pastor people toward something, not away from something."

PJK: "It's easy to dream on Instagram. It's harder to steward what you've got."

PJK: "I'm going to tell a story since I have time. Oh, wait! I'm supposed to get through four of these things?! I only got through one!"

Shelley: "Being around people of no vision will eventually steal yours."

PJK: "If I can persuade my wife to go a certain direction, I can persuade the masses. I've never had a harder sell than my wife."

PJK: "That's my natural reaction when I've upset my wife: go buy flowers or candy. It would be a little more weird if I went and did their dishes."

PJK: "I'm going to have to bite this. I can't talk with it and... I'm not that talented."

PJK: "I don't know what that's called."
A couple students: "Self-deprecating."
PJK: "Self-defecating?!"
Class: "No!!"
PJK: "I was gonna say, I don't care who you are, I'm not going that far."

PJK: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Pastor Jack Walter: (goes off on tangent about filling gas tanks) "What does this have to do with weddings? Oh! So, when you go on your honeymoon, you don't run out of gas."

Bill: "I really don't like panic. If there is a crisis and you panic in front of me, I might just shoot you to get you out of my way."

Bill: "We call [the media department] the toilet. Throw money in and flush it."

Bill: "If you take care of people, you're never going to lack for volunteers."

Belich: "For some reason, I like the interaction. I'm sorry."
Esther: "Ask Pastor James how that goes,"

Belich: (shares example and uses Mary Jane as the name)
Hunter F.: "Darn Mary Jane!"
Belich: "I'm not sure why I said Mary Jane. (pause) Isn't that a pseudonym for marijuana?!"

Belich: "Twitter is mostly younger people. Facebook is obviously every person on earth."

Belich: "Cher is the only person who comes to mind, but not her. She doesn't need the social engagement."

Hunter F.: "Man, I had to look for like 10 minutes to remove that marijuana part [from previous class' video]."
Stephanie: "It's still going in the blog."
Rose: "You can't remove it from our hearts!"

Belich: "You have to work through *sigh* and be nice."

Belich: "Now we can run them [lights] at 100 and if people get blinded, it's only temporary,"

Belich: "Mmmm! They [lights] look great."
Hunter F.: "Like a fine pasta!"
Belich: "It IS like a fine pasta!"

Belich: (class hears noise) "That was weird.
Erica: "It's the bathroom."
Belich: "Are they scratching their name in the wall? 'Aaron was here.'"

Belich: "If you don't want team participation, ask your questions now!"

Rose: "I look at this list and I kinda don't want to read it. It's so much."

Erica: "Especially if they are doing sermons, hopefully they have a scripture base."

Belich: "This is good. How do you propose implementing it?
Hunter F.: "Doing it."

Belich: "It's all nasty stuff, like two pounds of roast beef and meatballs topped with... butterscotch."

Pastor JD King: "As students and all, you need to learn things."

JDK: "We have a tendency to think of the gift of administration as licking stamps and filing papers."

JDK: "I said this wasn't going to be theology, but just this part only."

JDK: "A little weirdness, a dash of weirdness here and there, I'm like ehhh. But if you're weird all the time by definition.....,,,,,"

JDK: "Do I sound like an ugly person?"

JDK: "Community is the glue that allows deeper truth to be heard."

Bobbie King: (on administration) "Bossy. Scheduling. Money. Sounds like being a mom."

BK: (on flunking a college class) "Can you believe it? Part of it was you have to go to class. But it was a three hour night class and I had better things to do, like my fish had babies and I had to be there for her!"

BK: "In the Kingdom of God, there is no hierarchy,"

BK: "Oh gosh! I've sheltered my kid too much. She's crying at the Bible."

Caila: "Get all of this out so when Heather gets here, I can focus."
Dylan: "You'll focus anyway."
Caila: "What, are you Mr. Heather now?"

Heather: "What if she goes to the left?"
Caila: "Ahhh!"
Heather: "Isn't that your right?"

Heather: "So, what we've learned today is that Caila is not a catcher."

Heather: "Don't be weirdy-weirds."

Heather: "What if she walks in and the people who have the antidote are selfish?"

Karen DeHaven: "Every minute at church counts."

PJK: "I want to leave ample time for Q&A."
(class laughs)
Erica: "Esther told [the guest speakers] to ask you how we do Q&A."
PJK: "Yeahhhh.... He's real proud of you on that one.

PJK: "The thing about the Holy Spirit is, He doesn't leave with a bang."

PJK: "At the end of the day, pride is going to be the thing. Pride is the number one destroyer of the anointing and the Holy Spirit moving in your life."

PJK: "I found that secret in my personal life. I mean, I'm sharing it. It's not really a secret. Read your Bible."

PJK: "Teaching is a stretch for me. I'm like, we've got the five-fold for a reason!"

PJK: "I call it pucker factor. I don't know if it's a thing or not."
Caila: "I'll look it up for you."
PJK: "Uhhh.... I wouldn't."

PJK: "People that you typically want to be like don't have five hours to hang out with you. If they do, they typically aren't the type of people you want to be like."

PJK: "We should have no one who is entry level for very long."

PJK: "You have to expect success on your life. You can't accept failure as an option."

Legalism Or Life: Questions After Two Years Without Alcohol

Yesterday marked two years since my last drink. Woo! I was pretty entertained to hear that Isaiah Saldivar will be in town on almost the same day I heard him speak two years ago and made the decision that changed my life. I have a feeling it means there is another big step around the corner, but we shall see.

Recently, people have been asking me when I'm going to drink again and haven't been so ok that it's not in my plans. One of my coworkers went so far as to say he was going to slip me some hard orange soda sometime because I said I didn't want to try it. (Yes, I lectured him on how absolutely wrong that idea is.)

This guy also said I was being legalistic by saying no, but I disagree.

During the drinking days.

It's a concept we talked about in Covenant class last quarter: is the rule designed to be oppressive or is it there to bring life? In my case, it's the latter.

The example Pastor Aaron brought up in class is telling little kids that they can't play in the street. The action itself isn't evil. As adults, we know that's meant to keep the child alive and without injury. It's designed to be life, not legalistic.

In starting to write the book, I had to spend some time dredging through my past, and not all of it is pretty. The majority of the ugly, painful stories involved alcohol on some level. If I hadn't been drinking, I probably could've avoided some situations that I now regret. While drinking might not be the worst thing in the world, creating this boundary for myself is meant to keep me from getting hit by a car [insert: distraction] when I'm playing with something unsafe.

My coworker said I'm missing out and limiting my life by this rule. Again, I disagree.

Now.

Have I skipped things because of I don't drink, sure. (But, honestly, what part of being the only sober person at a bachelorette party on a fake holiday where "puke and rally" is the mantra sounds like fun. I love my friends, but I do not handle vomit well. Sorry. Plus, I was cleaning up after a destructive relationship and pictures in a bar would not have looked like I was back on the right path.) That situation isn't every time. I went out to the bars after my friend's wedding just to be with her. I didn't drink, but I still went and the groom spent a solid 30 minutes thanking me for the gesture.



To steal Pastor James' line, I'm "squeezing the day" and living life to the fullness, but I don't need booze to do it now. Honestly, I'm enjoying life more now than I was then, by a long shot. Plus, there is the bonus of being able to be used for God in new ways. Heather said in class this week that you can't have a deep level of compassion for a situation until you've lived it. Conquering a situation opens doors to reach into people's lives. Your victory gives you credibility with those who are still in the battle.

God gives us guidelines so we can interact with Him and others without doing damage, not to limit our fun. Like Pastor Aaron said, "If love is boundary-less, it's not love." I choose to love my relationship with God more than a liquid. I choose to love myself enough to submit to a rule, not out of legalistic desires to be a "good girl." but to protect my future. I've lost friends and missed parties. So what? I'd rather lose those things than be disqualified for my mission.

Worship Through The Pain; God Is Still There Through The Hardest Moments

I've been procrastinating this post long enough. I keep saying I'll write it after I do my homework, but that isn't going anywhere this week, so here goes.

September was a really rough month for me, and I'm incredibly glad it's over.

It all started the morning of the first when a very important relationship in my life blew up in spectacularly dramatic fashion. Break-ups are hard enough, but the way it crumbled around me left me crushed and isolated. If it would have ended that day, maybe the month would have felt differently, but that's not how life goes. Every time I thought the situation was improving, there was a sudden twist back to Suckytown waiting at the next step. One of those rocked my world with pain that eclipsed the initial heartbreak, but I never really mentioned it to others outside the situation. That's all I'll say about that, so, moving on!

Toward the end of the month, my Grandpa passed away. My dad left a message on Facebook to call him after I was done with wedding rehearsals. After a couple rounds of phone tag, I finally got a hold of him for the update. He put me on speakerphone and I got to tell Grandpa I loved him one last time. I asked him to hold on for nine more days for my previously planned surprise visit, but he was gone within five minutes of the call ending. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much that night.

By that point, I was just ready for this train wreck of a month to end. With two days left in September, Pastor Eric Thomasson preached something during chapel that I needed to hear. He said, "Worship through the pain. Sing with a little anger." He talked about how just because we don't feel like doing something for God, doesn't mean we get to give him less than our best. "You don't do it because you feel like it, guys. You do it because it's right," Eric said. "God gets the most glory out of people who don't feel adequate to do what God has called them to do, but do it anyway." Pastor Eric went on to talk about not letting seasons in life dictate who God is and using whatever pain we are struggling with as ammunition through the darkness straight to the heart of God. (See, I was paying attention despite my phone going off! Ha!) Not only was I paying attention then, but I though about the concept all week.

Friday rolled around and I went to church as usual. Right before service, I was informed that my attempt at being nice was twisted, and I about lost my cool. As my eyes welled up, the woman told me not to let it ruin my night. Pastor Eric's words came back to my mind. "Sing with a little anger." In that moment, I had more than a little fuel and I fully intended to use it.

So that's what I did, and dang, did it ever work. It took a couple minutes and a lot of focus, but worshiping THROUGH the pain broke off that anger. Maybe we shook it off with our awkward jumping trio, but I found myself smiling and laughing again without forcing it.

During worship, Pastor Eric said, "Don't fear this new season. The new season will bring a brighter day." He kept trying to talk, but the world's worst feedback took over. The devil really didn't want that message sinking in, but I grabbed on to it.

Then later, Pastor James had one woman go to the front because how she was worshiping after everything she's been through in life took his breath away. Before he even finished saying what he was going to have her do, Esther pushed me and said "go." I didn't move. Pastor James said he wanted her to pray for women who were going through a tough time. Esther shoved me again, but that time I went forward. Lots of tears later, the woman next to me grabbed my knee and squeezed. I have never talked to this woman, but I wrapped an arm around her and we just sat there, soaking in the strength in that moment.

Pastor James talked about how storms reveal our foundation, but there will always be a morning. "It's in knowing God that we will be able to stand through any storm." So, I decided then, this seemingly never-ending storm sucks, but it's not going to ruin what's ahead for me.

All of this drama and loss distracted me from all the good that's been happening around me throughout the month. I started a promotion at my primary job, and have had a complete blast with it. My schedule changed to a four day work week, which is pretty fantastic. I got a raise at my part time job. I jumped back into WRSM. I got to stand next to a friend of 17 years as she started a new chapter in her life with the most fun wedding I've ever been to. I spent time catching up with old friends and made fantastic new ones. I went camping, fed bison, and moved a massive tree branch on my own.

Even with my grandpa's death, there is good. He isn't in pain anymore. I'm pretty lucky that I made it to 26 years old before I lost the first grandparent. I already had a trip home planned, but he gave me more time with family. (Granted, being in the house without him is strange as all get out!) Heather messaged me out of the blue and said, "Your grandpa now watches you from above and is encouraging you with his love." I think that's pretty true considering how proud he looked when he found out I was in ministry school during my last visit.

There was so much good in this month, but I let the bad overpower the positive. The biggest positive of all is that I'm still standing. September wasn't just hard on me. There were a lot of people going through major trials at the same time, and we are all still standing because of how we handled the problem and where we placed our faith.

I didn't want to leave service that Friday night, but before I ran off to work, I hugged Dean'na. After a moment, she said, "You aren't leaving. You have too much to do here." I already gained so much peace and freedom throughout the service, but she just added on to it. I may not know exactly what role lies ahead, but I am certainly not going to let jerkwads and drama keep me from it. I'm not going to let anger and bitterness toward them block me out of God's next move, so I pray for them and for the strength to not go back to that place of darkness.

Like Pastor Eric said in chapel, "If you aren't satisfied, you are in a good place. Satisfaction leads to complacency." I'm not satisfied with where I am, but I'm also not going to let the storm steal the joy and goodness of God that is surrounding me on this journey.

I think we both knew that my visit in January would be the last time we saw each other. He wasn't expected to live long enough for me to get there then, but I got to pray for him and he lasted another 8 months. When I told him it was time for me to go, he grabbed onto me with both hands. They said he cried once I left, and so did I.
I missed seeing him again this time by 9 days. 
Lyle Carr was quite the character and an amazing man. I'm so blessed to call him my family. We miss you so much, Grandpa! 

11/1/26 - 9/25/15

Second Quarter Quotes

Now that I've slept for about a week straight to kinda sorta catch up on all the rest I missed the past 8, it's time to put a bow on winter quarter at the World Revival School of Ministry. For some reason, it feels like it lasted forever. That's probably because it was an incredibly bumpy few weeks outside the classroom. Or it might have been the enemy attacking since we were covering such important topics. Each class was its own unique blend of wisdom, powerful moments and laughter, but each class changed us deeply. I just went through my notes and typed out most of the quotes I wrote down. They aren't in any particular order, other than grouped by serious and hilarious. There are a lot, but a lot happened during those 120 hours we spent in the classroom. I hope at least one quote helps you through whatever is going on in your life.

• "We don't let the enemy drag us where we don't want to go." - Autumn Darden
• "Survival isn't dignified. Do you want to be pretty or free?" - Autumn
• "Grace of God is an empowerment. It's not mush-gushy. 'I still love you anyway' is not grace. That's mercy." - Autumn
• "God wants us to BE better, not DO better." - Autumn
• "Hungry people don't care about you. They want help." - Pastor Steve Gray
• "We don't want to be the people who say 'This is who I am.'" - Pastor Steve
• "Things are happening while you are sitting here thinking about what you are going to have for lunch!" - Pastor Steve
• "Don't start asking if you don't have any honor or respect for Him." - Autumn
• "Everything that can be shaken, will be shaken." - Autumn
• "If you've decided who you are and who your trust is in, you will not be shaken." - Autumn
• Anything you don't expect is there to shake you." - Autumn
• "If it's too hard, you haven't grabbed a hold of the strength of the Lord and are doing it wrong." - Autumn
• "We don't want an emotional response. We want a Word response because that's what changes your life forever." - Pastor Steve
• "If you don't respond, He'll quit speaking to you." - Pastor Steve
• "When it's all about you, it's hard to be happy." - Autumn
• "Prayer is easy when you recognize Him as supreme ruler." - Autumn
• "America is Martha. We don't know how to be Mary because we think Mary is lazy." - Autumn
• "Hypocrisy in religion causes you to be lower. It pushes down. It doesn't pull up." - Autumn
• "Wanna see more miracles? Respond to the word you've been given." - Autumn
• "God doesn't like a shortcut relationship. Good enough is not good enough. It's an attitude that there's no excellence put into it." - Pastor Eric Thomason
• "It's the 'nevers' that cause us to be greater because eventually, you'll end up doing it. Don't ever short change God in your life and say 'I'll never do that' or 'I'm not good enough.'" - Pastor Eric
• "Don't be mad at the world for being the world!" - Pastor Eric
• "Don't get impatient with God. With God it is about the journey, because when you find fulfillment, the seeking is over. The journey ends when you are dead." - Pastor Eric
• "If you notice God isn't speaking, you've either gone too fast and need to back and let him walk you through it, or you've stopped praying." - Pastor Eric
• "You need to recognize what is in you will bring life to a dying world. It will bring light to the darkness." - Pastor Tom Trout
• "The battle for recognition is easy. Throw yourself into Jesus." - Pastor Tom
• "Worship needs to reinforce, powerfully, the truth of God." - Pastor Tom
• "Whenever you say yes to God and no to the world, you are putting the enemy under your feet. There's an escalation there." Pastor Tom
• "You can't self-deliver you. Deliverance is something only God can do." - Pastor Tom
• "Do they walk away from their experience with you blessed? Or do they walk away from their experience with you drained?" - Pastor Tom
• "Your perspective dictates your response. You base your response on what you see." - Pastor Dustin Smith
• "We've been taught in church to sing, not to see. We've been taught that silence equals reverence." - Pastor Dustin
• "Commands are for me to experience the benefits of God. Traditions only allow me to experience people." - Pastor Dustin
• "You don't give thanks ahead of time because you don't have it, but giving thanks ahead of time shows we know we already have it." - Pastor Dustin
• Pastor Dustin's acronym for Worship = Worth & Warfare, One focus, Response, Shifts atmospheres, Honor, Invigorating, Purpose & People
• "The best way to be responsive in worship is to ask to be sensitive to what to respond to." - Pastor Dustin
• "When your worship is just rules made by man, it brings no life." - Pastor Dustin
• "You can have your eyes fixed on the monster, but I prefere to look at the growing fire that consumes the monster." - Pastor Tom
• "Each one of us, because we are human, are like a fingerprint of God, and a fingerprint is a form of identification." - Pastor Tom
• "Prayer and action go hand in hand. It's not something we do. Prayer is who we are." - Pastor Diana Trout
• "In order to do something with your life, your going to have to get off the path of least resistance." - Pastor James Koppang
• "Walking with God is more important than being blessed by God." - Pastor James
• "You are blessed to be a blessing." - Pastor James
• "We've got a lot of work to do on the men of our culture. Our culture really messes up girls' brains about what's worthy of being pursued." - Pastor James
• "Don't be an idiot." - Pastor James
• "People are moved more by the weather than by the Holy Spirit. That's why God lets the weather get out of control so they will ask the Holy Spirit for help." - Heather Eschenbaum
• "There is always going to be a mocker or two, so don't get bummed." - Pastor Kathy Gray
• "Perfectionism kills the anointing. Analyzation kills the anointing. Analyzation kills the blessing." - Heather
• "Perfectionism, you need to recognize it in yourself as a flaw." - Heather
• "Looking inward causes people to die around you. Introspection causes harm." - Heather
• "Evaluation is important in a moment, not a lifestyle." - Heather
• "God is like, 'Stop talking to my enemy and I'll kill it.'" - Heather
• "The mistakes will never stop. Mistakes will never stop until you are in heaven. Your mistakes should spread out. Prefectionism takes you back to the start." - Heather
• "It's golidlocks syndrome. You're either too young or too old. You'll never be just right." - Heather
• "If we already had it, it wouldn't be called hope." - Pastor Kathy
• "He's not looking to make your life hard. He's looking to be a part of it." - Heather
• "It's not about the bar. It's not about the club. It's what's been birthed in you to get you to that point." - Heather
• "If Mary had been concerned about having a boyfriend or getting married, she would have missed a move of God." - Heather
• "You don't really love him. You're in love with love." - Heather
• "Type A people, don't be driven. Type B people, come up." - Heather
• "Word of wisdom rises above common sense. It's divine." - Heather
• "Elijah was looking for heart. The guy with the mantle was looking for hearts." - Heather
• "You are on an accelerated path with your mantle. This is an Olympic training center. You are being trained for the Olympics of God." - Heather
• "Don't let the enemy cover you in the things that aren't of God." - Heather
• "People leave because they don't want to have to change anymore. The people who succeed are the ones who transform from glory to glory in Jesus." - Heather
• "If you want to live a spiritual life, stop talking about the things you don't have and talk about the things you do."
• "You never lose in the Kingdom of God by giving what you have." - Pastor Kathy
• "It is a rare breed who do not get offended by the Word. It's ok to feel a response. It's another thing to feel offense." - Heather
• "Elisha didn't find the mantle. The mantle found him. God looks for true leaders in the field of obscurity." - Heather
• "What has God called you to? He's called you to more." - Heather

But not every moment was serious. Sometimes, things just got silly. Some might be 'had to be there' moments, but they cracked us up like none other.

• "What are you going to give up for lent? Uh... lent!" - Pastor Steve
• "We've been freed in Christ, yeah, but not freed to be an idiot!" - Pastor Eric
• "We are a car one moment an a monster the next!' Pastor Diana (on transforming our passions back and forth)
• "Knowing the capitals of all the states is not going to help me in my life. Ever." - Pastor James
• "To squander our time is borderline sin. I won't go all the way and say it's sin because then you can't quote me! I said borderline!" - Pastor James
• "I'm sorry son. You can't see, but your mother really likes her hair." - Pastor James (on financial priorities)
• "At some point, you're going to have to ask her to marry you. If that's your first conversation, that's weird!" - Pastor James
• "Did you just say you are happier when Trevor shuts up?" - Kimi "Now THAT is funny!" - Pastor Diana
• "That would be borderline hell for me, having a Q & A with you guys." - Pastor James
• "I go talk to the people who are smiling. If they are frowning, pffft! Unless I feel like I need to go check on them, because I'm a PASTOR!" - Pastor James
• Don't 'woooaaah' me! 'Wooooaaahh' God... If you're feeling saucy today." - Pastor James
• "Healthy does not mean a size one... girls! You might wanna have a little extra on ya for the winter!" - Pastor James
• "I realize eating gallons of gummy worms is not good, but they're so good." - Pastor James
• "Your wife has every liberty to comment on how you're maybe becoming overweight. You have zero to say to her. Like Nazi! Communist! DO NOT!" - Pastor James
• "Somebody, Dustin, introduced me to 24. He didn't tell me it was like crack! I can't label it anything other than straight pagan!" - Pastor James
• "Pastor Steve and Kathy are not type A. They are type Jesus." - Heather
• "You cannot be this happy and be a perfectionist, like Rainbow Brite comin' outta ya!" - Heather
• "He's so comfy. He's like a big sack of potatoes." - Pastor Kathy (about her cat)
• "Being single is a gift. Write that down!" - Heather
• "Holy Spirit Mafia." - Pastor Kathy
• "No, you want her poor little mind to explode!" - Heather
• "I'm trying to break open your minds and reach my hand in and pull something out. Don't make me do it for real!" - Heather
• "Is that a man you want to raise children with? 'But he's hot.' Well, then your children will be pretty punks." - Heather