Archive

Archive for the ‘News Updates’ Category

25 days of Christian Missions Prep

December 7th, 2016 No comments

I love the cheesy Hallmark movies. And Fa-La-La-La Lifetime. And ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas. Even though many of these movies don’t mention my Savior, I can appreciate anything that brings light and salt and love and value to people’s lives. That is what Christ did. And that is what Christmas can do for any soul.
Regardless of your belief or unbelief, you can respect good fruit (and even the bad fruit cake) this season is so signified by.
In 25 days, I’m embarking on what I expect to be the biggest journey of my lifetime to date. To say that I’m nervous is an understatement. I have spent the better part of the last 90 days since applying to Discipleship Training School worrying.
Worrying that I had made a mistake.
I had heard God wrong. I was going for the wrong reasons. I was moving too fast.
Worrying that I would be embarrassed. What if I didn’t fundraise enough? What if people were skeptical about an organization they’d never heard of. What if I was skeptical about the same organization that I knew little about?
Worrying that I was making the right decision in applying, but that I hadn’t done enough or wasn’t doing enough to properly “answer the call” as we say in Christianreligiousspeak.
Worrying worrying worrying.
All-consuming, all-encompassing worry and anxiety. Do you know what worrying doesn’t get done?
Not a damn thing.
**Stop right there.**
**She cursed.**
*I did.*
And I’m probably even a little convicted to seek God’s word deeper on edifying speech. But this is my first [ministry/missions] blog post; furthermore there will be a lot I say that is controversial. But for the sake of God’s glory and all of the other lost he came to save, please don’t get so hung up on what you consider to be a foul mouth that you miss the message. Remember Jesus was called a glutton and a drunkard by people who thought they were living for God…so, please, give this sanctification thing a chance!

I digress. But no worries. This happens a lot. ??
I had the privilege of working for my Aunt Joanna for a year in her small, local, but flourishing and fruitful business. Whether you were a purveyor, a police officer, a partner, an employee, vendor, client, media personnel, compliance officer, serviceman, or lifelong customer – it didn’t matter – when she dealt with you, she always made you feel like there were “No Worries!” (even when there were definite worries).
In fact most of the time I heard her say it, it was in response to controversy, drama, or some other worrisome dilemma. But as easily as a silk scarf slides across a leather coat. As easily as good wine awakens an expectant palate. As easy as brushing dirt off one’s shoulders, Aunt Joe always punctuated every problem with a stroke of encouragement, “NO WORRIES!”

It’s one of the many valuable tips and tricks I have “taken” from Aunt Joanna in this deal we call life. I remember it. I hear it in my spirit. I say it to encourage others. But if I’m being honest, I worry more than any person I know.

Paul addresses worry/anxiety in his letter to the Philippians.

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭MSG‬

When Paul wrote these words, he was in prison. He wasn’t sitting on a beach with a piña colada in hand with Ray-Bans on catching a tentmaker’s tan. He wrote a letter to the church in Philippi while in chains for preaching the gospel. And while in those chains he encourages them to NOT WORRY. INSTEAD, GIVE THANKS AND PRAY.

I know I tend to make it so difficult. I put myself in the center of the universe and – as a Bible-beating, small-group-meeting,  evangelism-on-the-street-ing reborn child of God that I am, I become swept up in what God is doing for me instead of simply what God does. I praise Him for all that He has done for me and not just praise Him for who He is. I measure and value God by His good works in MY life when I should thank Him for the life-changing, soul-saving, once-and-for-all atoning work Jesus did on the cross. All of it was done in submission and obedience in order to bring glory to the Father, not to fill church pews and bless God’a people.

In these next 25 days, I hope to share with you all God is doing, but right off the bat, I am asking for your help. Please hold me accountable. Everything that Jesus did was in submission to the Father. I want to live in submission to the guidance of the Church over which Jesus is Head and Lord. It is in my nature to make things about me. To self-promote and bring glory to self. Hold me accountable. Convict me. Correct me. Point me to Scripture.

I am about to launch into FULL-TIME missions and ministry work. I can’t for one second think that any of this is for my benefit. I can thank God and give glory to Him in all things, and I hope with this blog I end up doing just that.

I ask that if you have time and resources, that you would continue to follow my journey and support God’s efforts to glorify Himself and make Himself known.

You can support me financially by visiting:

www.ywamsalem.org and selecting “Donate” to make a payment (because the federal government considers the lecture phase a post-secondary school, dOmarion’s are considered tuition payments and therefore not tax-deductible. Please let me know if you have any questions about this).

Don’t forget to specify my name, Brittany Lamke, as the Student on the payment form.

Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, encouragement and support. I love you all so very dearly.

Now off to try to downsize an overstuffed 1-bedroom apartment into “whatever you can carry.”

Humbly serving the Kingdom of Heaven,

Brittany

Categories: News Updates Tags: