Living the Journey

God touched my life in so many ways on this Journey! At first I did not really want to come; but then the Lord got a hold of my heart. The decision to seek Him with all of my heart on this Journey was one of the best choices that I have ever made in my life!

We started off our time in the Northwoods by studying about a murmuring heart. I would have been the first to tell you that I was a complainer; but I never saw myself as a murmurer! The Lord really convicted me about this and asked me to bless others when I felt like murmuring against them. This was such a freeing thing to do!

For quite a while before the Journey, the Lord had been convicting me in another area—He was asking me to be content in my singleness. However, every time I tried to surrender my desire for marriage to the Lord, the thoughts and feelings would come right back to me.

One day on the Journey we studied the deceitful heart and read about Eve in the Garden of Eden. Even though she had been given everything she needed for her happiness—a perfect husband, beautiful surroundings, plenty of food, and a close relationship with her Creator—still she was not content with what she had been given. Instead, she desired the fruit of the one tree from which she had been forbidden to eat.

The Lord spoke to me through this passage and asked me to be content in Him and pour my whole heart into living my single years for His glory! There were things that I could do for Him during these years that I could never do if I were married. He asked me to make the very most of these years of my life and live them with a passion, realizing that they are quickly passing me by!

I was also challenged that until I was willing to rest completely in the Lord, the longing in my heart would never really be fulfilled.

This time when I surrendered my desires to the Lord, I felt a real sense of His peace. I am happy to say that the longing has not come back! Now I’m at peace.

~ Joanna
March 2009 Girls’ Journey

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We praise the Lord for the exciting reports from the first girls’ Journey of 2009! Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. We know that we are in a spiritual war and that the fervent prayers of the righteous have great power! (See James 5:16.) Below are a couple short testimonies from this past Journey that encouraged us. We’ll post another one tomorrow. Please do not stop praying for these sisters in Christ and their families as they continue living the Journey at home!

Today the first fellow’s Journey of the year is driving up to the Northwoods! We’ll post a group shot soon. Be fervent in upholding them in prayer this week.

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Even before the Journey to the Heart ever began, the Lord began convicting me of the pride that I had been harboring down in my heart. While here, we studied the prideful heart and God did a work on me and showed me that without Him I was helpless and could do nothing. I prayed that God would give me a love for others and help me to serve Him with my whole heart. ~ Andrea

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My daughter returned from the Journey transformed. She said, “Dad, I love you, and this is the first time in my life I can say I really mean it. It is also the first time that I really understand my salvation.” I am totally impressed that my daughter would come back with that much passion. ~ A Grateful Dad

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Hello!  We are Kayla, Stephanie, and Allison, sisters living in Florida. Kayla and Stephanie were blessed to go on the May 2008 Journey and then participate in the Living the Journey Challenge in January. This Scripture memorization challenge was such an encouraging experience that we were inspired to host one on our blog, Princesses in Disguise. From March 1st to March 25th, we worked to memorize Colossians 3. Like the Journey staff did here on Living the Journey, we posted daily insights that the Lord shared with us as we meditated on the verses.

Just as a teacher often learns more than his/her students in preparation for teaching, so we feel like it was with this challenge. One theme in particular that the Lord impressed on our hearts was putting off the old deeds and putting on the character that Christ exemplified, while seeking and setting our affection on things above.

The rewards of leading this challenge have been numerous. Having the responsibility of writing the daily commentaries forced us to rely solely on the Lord, dig deep into each word of Scripture, and go to Him in prayer asking Him how He wanted us to apply it to our lives.  Meditating on the verses day and night gave us a renewed passion for God and His Word.

The most difficult part of hosting a challenge like this is being consistent and seeing it through to the end. There were days when we didn’t feel like sitting down to write a post or when distractions of life overwhelmed us. Knowing that we needed to do what we had promised, we did our best to persevere. By God’s grace, there was a post each day, even if it wasn’t up until late in the afternoon.

We would strongly encourage each of you to start your own Scripture memorization challenge. If you don’t have a blog, you can start a challenge among a group of family members or friends, or with your church. You will surely be blessed by it!

~ Kayla, Stephanie, and Allison
May 2008 Girls’ Journey

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I joined a team of young ladies from all over the country this past week, who had gathered in Oak Brook, Illinois to begin a Journey to the Heart. It was a week of seeking after God and learning to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

On Sunday we enjoyed a day of fasting and prayer as Mr. Gothard shared Biblical principles that would help us prepare our hearts to seek our Savior. Monday morning, everyone packed their bags to take the seven hour trip to the Northwoods of Michigan. Each one of us was filled with joy in anticipation of what God was going to do!

I can testify that the presence of God was experienced throughout the entire week! Despite wide differences in ages and backgrounds, each of the girls came together and felt the rich blessing of a one-accord spirit.

While enjoying the great outdoors and taking in the splendor of God’s beautiful creation, we studied and learned to recognize seven sinful heart conditions (e.g. a fearful heart, a prideful heart, and an adulterous heart). We were amazed and convicted to see the sinfulness of our hearts, but had great rejoicing as we repented and looked to the Lord for His freedom, fullness, and joy. Confession of sin and a desire to make life-changing commitments brought deep rewards in many of the young ladies’ hearts. Times of memorization, prayer, singing, and crying out to God were very special.

Midway through the week, we set aside a special day to delight in the Lord and took time to fast and humble ourselves before Him. As a result we experienced the richness of God’s abundant grace!

We left the Northwoods with a song in our hearts, a perseverance to follow Christ’s commands, a freedom of repentance, and a deeper love for our Heavenly Bridegroom.

Upon returning to Headquarters, we worked through the commands of Christ with Mr. Gothard and learned what it is to become “fishers of men” with Mr. Garvin. There was also an opportunity in the evening for many of the young ladies to receive a verbal blessing from their fathers. God’s presence filled the room during this special time of prayer.

It was a Journey to be remembered for a lifetime! Not only did we come to know God in a more intimate way but special friendships were developed that will never be forgotten.

Praise be to Jesus for His love for us in doing exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think!

~ Sara
March 2009 Girls’ Journey

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150,000 people die every day. How many of those souls do you think are going to heaven?

This spring as I was going through the long process of boiling down maple syrup, I spent a lot of time reading One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven by Mark Cahill. It was the best book that I have ever read on the topic of witnessing! After the first chapter, I could hardly put it down because of all the fun stories. It was fascinating to read how people would answer Mark’s questions about eternity.

In this book, Mark shares good ideas on how to start a conversation, how to present the gospel, and how to talk to people of different religions. I was really impressed with how there is nothing for me to lose when I follow God’s leading to share the Gospel. Even if the person doesn’t become a Christian, God can use me to plant a seed that could sprout later. So what’s stopping me?

John Wesley stated, "You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work." Remember, 150,000 people are going to die today. How many are we going to save from hell before we meet our God? How much longer do we have to witness?

This book made me want to be a fisher of men. I pray that you will become a fisherman too.

"He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30).

~ Jonathan
July 2007 Guys Journey

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