Louis Vuitton Promises

A few years ago I had a series of God-dreams that funnily enough featured suitcases. I was travelling on different vehicles carrying my suitcases and God began to speak to me again about my future…

In suitcases we carry all our personal belongings and the things we need on life’s journey. God showed me that the suitcases represented the promises and plans he had for my life. In the dream he was giving me luxury designer suitcases. The very best; custom-made plans… The Louis Vuitton of promises! For those who are uninitiated in the fashion world, Louis Vuitton makes suitcases that are the top of the range and they are very, very expensive!*

2008 has been a bit of a Louis Vuitton year for me. Promises that I have carried in my heart for a very long time are starting to coming to pass and it has been amazing to watch. After farewelling a wonderful five-year-long season at Hillsong College, my ministry Awaken Your Dreams was birthed at the beginning of the year. We celebrated with a group of close friends and supporters at a launch party hosted by the newly formed AYD Board.

The year kicked off with a Young Adults camp by the beach with Bayside Church in Victoria. Feedback was encouraging as so many commented that they understood clearly how to hear the ‘sounds of God’ often for the first time. It was also wonderful to be able to minister across denominations during the year with the first of my seminars; The Other Side of the Conversation given at Grace Church (Church of Christ) in Nunawading, Melbourne.

The Awaken Your Dreams seminar was fully developed this year. As a half day workshop, it gives a biblical basis for hearing the voice of God through dreams and visions as well as guidelines for discernment and interpreting symbolic messages. One person asked, If God spoke so often to people in dreams in the Bible, how come I have never heard this before? Great question! We are missing out on one of God’s most powerful and creative methods of communication. He still speaks in dreams today. Within days of the seminar, I heard from three different attendees that they had just experienced supernatural dreams.

Of course the highlight of the year was my first overseas trip to Germany and Switzerland where I spoke in five different churches teaching seminars and preaching. I was doing my all-time favourite things - speaking on the topic I love and hiking in the Swiss Alps in between! It was a truly custom-made experience designed for me - the very best God gives.

When I was 21 years old, I prayed a radical prayer giving my life completely to God. At the time I feared that if I gave him everything, I would somehow lose out. My life would be a disappointment. How wrong I was! How unfounded my fears... God is a Louis Vuitton God. He gives the best. He already gave his best at Christmas time two thousand years ago. How will he not graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Thank you so much for all your love and support and friendship this year which means so much. May you know his very best this Christmas!

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things (Romans 8:32).

*This message is abridged from a new CD series to be released early in 2009.

In the Heart of Switzerland

During a seminar, Michael shared a dream he had. He was walking inside a grand cathedral. In the shadows at the side was a confessional. There he looked up and saw a beautiful woman hanging on a cross. The image became imprinted firmly in his mind as the dream ended.

He explained to me that at the time he had fallen madly in love with a girl. The dream revealed what he was slowly becoming aware of. His girlfriend had taken the place of Jesus in his heart.

The Jewish Talmud says that; An uninterpreted dream is like a letter unopened. God may be speaking to us, but we do not recognise it. Maybe it is because we do not know how he speaks, or perhaps it is because we are just not listening. The "Other Side of the Conversation" seminar aims to help people hear the voice of God and understand what he is saying.

It is wonderful to hear the testimonies of people as they learn more of God's desire to speak personally to them. God longs to speak into the very depths of our hearts and he is a masterful communicator!

In Switzerland I have been graciously hosted by Barbara Wyss, one of our Hillsong College graduates. She has worked tirelessly to build a church in her home village. While quaint church steeples prominently mark most village skylines, sadly not so many are filled with thriving congregations. Kirchberg is an exception! They have been welcoming and open - even as they listen to an Aussie preacher for the first time.

Along with Barbara, a number of other swiss graduates have taken the input and training they received in Sydney and are serving in the churches of Zurich, Winterthur and Lausanne. Last weekend I had the privilege of speaking to them at the 'Swiss Connection'. It is inspiring to hear their God-stories and encourage them to fulfill their dreams.

In between preaching and teaching seminars, there has been plenty of opportunities to enjoy one of my favourite countries in the world... We have walked the cobbled streets of Berne, explored the Emmental countryside and eaten copious amounts of cheese fondue. The Autumn colours are dazzling.

A highlight was our trip to the mountains. Our home for three days was a country chalet nestled in a deep valley with cows grazing at our doorstep. Unfortunately during our stay the cable cars were closed and our amble on the peaks turned into a 6 hour mountain hike. But the aching muscles were worth it for the views.

Handy Tip: Do not go hiking in the Swiss Alps on the day you are preaching - and - always smile sweetly at passing farm tractors...

My first overseas ministry trip ends this weekend after speaking in one of the 'state' churches and a Bible College in Zurich. As God promised it has been a gift and I haved loved every minute of it!

A Pinch of Reality

Have you ever had a promise from God that looks like it will never come to pass? Perhaps you have seen it in a vision or heard it in a prophecy. Or maybe it's a deep desire conceived in a moment of insight.

For the last 15 years I have carried around a little suitcase bulging with exciting promises from God. But through the course of time those divinely inspired words have been threatened, attacked and stolen… There have been times when I have sat alone at night wondering if God really had the power to fulfill them.

This week I began to see my promises turn from inspired words into stunning reality. I am pinching myself. After years of prolonged waiting, is this really happening?

Hong Kong is a bustling international city strategically placed as a gateway into China. For two days I had the privilege of spending time with Pastors John and Sandra from the Vine Church. I trekked through the legoland of highrisers in the CBD, learnt about the city's people and history over a meal of minced pigeon and watched a spectacular display of fireworks across HK Harbour for Chinese National Day. It was one of those very special divine appointments!

From the steamy bustle of Asia I arrived at pristine Zurich airport where Freimut Haverkamp was waiting in the early morning with a welcome Starbucks coffee in his hand… He and his wife Jo lead an amazing church in Konstanz, Germany. It was so wonderful to witness the miracle of God's favour on a church planted from scratch by two of our College graduates. Lakeside Church has the fingerprints of destiny all over it to be a nation changer.

There were lots of inspiring God-chats while driving through the fairytale countryside, eating Black forest cake in the Black forest (it’s only proper) and exploring the historic old city of Konstanz where the legendary pre-former Jan Hus was burned at the stake for his teaching.

But the highlight was teaching a dreams seminar on Sunday evening to a packed church. I had the chance to briefly practise my High School German and then there was lots of self talk; “Speak s-l-o-w-l-y” (how does a woman do that?) as I was being translated for the first time. It is the ultimate privilege to inspire people to a more intimate walk with God and help them understand what God is saying to them.

Yes it is real isn't it? God, you really do what you say…

It is worth the long wait. Keep carrying your promises. God is not a man that he lie. What he has spoken, he will do!

Dream Come True

I was 17 years old when I first visited Switzerland. There was something about that country of towering peaks and sweeping valleys that captured my imagination like no other place I have visited.

Since then Switzerland has become a source of inspiration and sort of a symbol of my life dreams. So it is sweet poetic irony that I am leaving for Switzerland tomorrow! But then again, is it surprising that the God who is the Giver of our deepest desires should choose Switzerland to be the destination for my first overseas ministry trip? He loves to give us exactly what we long for!

I will be overseas for 3 and a half weeks, visiting a church in Hong Kong, then onto Switzerland with a couple of side trips across the border to Germany. During that time, I will be preaching and teaching in churches through my ministry Awaken Your Dreams. I will also be spending some time in the mountains writing!

I know that my trip is God-ordained - sort of a meeting with destiny. Though you may think I may not need it in a place like Switzerland, I would love your prayers for ministry effectiveness and for God's purposes to be fulfilled! While I am away I will be updating my blog as well (my latest technological feat). To subscribe you can click on the Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) button below. (For those techno novices, once you subscribe to a blog with your email address, it cleverly feeds blog entries into your inbox whenever there is an update!)

Thanks so much for your friendship and support!

A Taste of Life on the Road

My suitcases are way too heavy… I thought as I lugged them around Melbourne airport. I'm going to have to get better at this.

Further note to self: Do not forget woolen socks when visiting Melbourne in the dead of Winter.

The suitcases are unpacked now and it is good to reflect on the first official trip with my ministry. Preaching to the enthusiastic and bubbly Hope Generation Youth church and inspiring old friends at Brighton Christian Church... Helping out with a wedding of friends from my former church. Rich moments hanging out with longtime friends and family. Most of the time with that exhilarated feeling of; 'I was made for this!' swinging to panicked moments of; ‘What was I thinking?!’ Gone forever is the 9-5 predictability of my old life.

One of the highlights was conducting the 'Other Side of the Conversation' Seminar at Grace Church of Christ. This seminar aims to equip people with the ability to hear from God in a clearer way. With 80 registrants; young and old, men and women from a church of 300, there is a hunger to be in conversation with Almighty God. A wonderfully warm congregation came together on a Saturday afternoon with thoughtful questions about the things we ponder on most when hearing from God.

Planning is in progress for my first overseas ministry trip. This one is to the land of my dreams. Literally. Switzerland has always captured my imagination and my heart’s desire. It is just like a loving Father God to orchestrate his purposes in ways we love! And then to provide the way there. But that is another story…

Dr Phil and the Psychic

Ok so I know you don't watch daytime TV (or would never admit to it), but I just happened to flick it on the other day - to that all-American show Dr Phil. For those of you who are unitiated, Dr Phil is much-loved, slightly bald psychologist who counsels people live in front of millions over a myriad of deep-seated issues ranging from family conflict to weight loss to sexual abuse. I love his down-to-earth commonsense approach to problems although I still wonder how he manages to get so many people to expose their lives on national TV. But that's another story.

On this particular episode, he was hosting an 'expert' - a newly published author promoting his book - a beginner's guide to ghosts - or something to that effect. After a few guest testimonies about their spiritual experiences, the expert psychic begun to do readings in the audience. Usually spot on, he soon had people in tears as he finished his reading with "God bless."

Dr Phil is respected for his Christian and moral values. He wasn't passing judgement or providing analysis. In fact I am not sure what his purpose in having a psychic on the show was. I just wondered: How did a psychic get to be on Dr Phil?

Here's what I notice: More than ever, exploration of the spiritual realm is becoming mainstream. Our rational scepticism is being rapidly abandoned for spiritual experiences from a higher realm. Magazines and TV shows are full of options. Who wouldn't want to know their future? Who wouldn't want to tap into other powers; to receive spiritual guidance?

Yet there is a God in heaven who offers the ultimate spiritual experience. Who longs to communicate directly to us and offer personal counsel far superior to any spirit. Why go to a pyschic when you can consult with the God who is sovereign over all spirits and who knows everything? Why seek light and understanding in unknown places when there is a God who knows you better than anyone?

Go to a loving, holy and all-powerful God you can trust your future to. He is the best option.