Intersection in Mozambique
This is the story of my recent journey in pursuit of God’s abundance for my life and His full destiny. Let me back up a bit. After I graduated from a university in England with a PhD in revival history, I came back to the OC before quickly heading to Redding. During my last days while in England I was getting drawn back to California and also to Redding. I had intersected Bethel while living in Mozambique in 2000 when I took one of their teams with me out to Camp 2000, a church I helped to plant there in the bush. It was that team who got to experience the miracle of bread multiplying. In 2001, I returned to the States after my time in Africa and I visited Bethel, was given a chance to share at the school of ministry which was very small at that time, and they took an offering for me. I was blessed beyond words and I always knew I would one day re-intersect with the community there. I did the School of Prophets and have visited a few times since then.A month in Redding
From September- October 2011, I spent the month in Redding and loved it yet still was without a car and nothing seemed to be opening for jobs. I returned to Orange County in mid-October for a wedding and considered staying there to set up my new life. While there, I really struggled because my heart was still in Redding and I felt the pull very strongly to return. It was on November 22, 2011, that I finally made the decision to go ahead with being ordained New Year’s eve with Heidi Baker in Redding. This very same day I decided to prepare for that as well as release my next book, Water to Wine: Experiencing God’s Abundance in the Canary Islands, which I felt would be a word from the Lord for this next season and also something that would help me make it through the challenging season I knew I was about to face.
Ordination
I headed back up to Redding at the end of the year and was ordained on New Year ’s Eve surrounded by a beautiful community of kindred spirits. It was a very special night indeed. I had only packed a small suitcase because I had a window of one month to see if I could stay there and if anything would open up. I was blessed to have a friend, Carrie, take me in for that time which enabled me to explore being in Redding more permanently. I slept on an air mattress for a month, was car-less (since I sold my car to go to England in 2007), got rides from people when I needed them, and had to walk at other times, 5.5 miles to church a couple times when nothing would open up. This was a challenging yet rich season in my life where I had the opportunity to intersect with so many special people in this new community. I had a Dream
It was during my time in that season, on January 19, 2012 that God gave me a dream. See the video further down where I share this in detail. In my dream, I went on a plane I had previously been taken up in and explored the beautiful waters on but this second time the plane was filled with people sleeping. These people had just went on strike and left everything to be on this plane and since they were all sleeping, I started waking everyone up and then I noticed they were not the same people I thought they were. We began to go on this exciting adventure to some foreign place and I remember being so excited because I knew the Holy Spirit was leading this plane and everyone was in their own quarters doing all they were created to do together. I also remember wondering what these people would become in the process of this journey and that they would take on new identities as warriors.
Attempting to Walk by Faith Regardless of Circumstances
Towards the end of January, it was time to move on to stay true to my commitment but nothing at all was opening up in relation to car or place to live. I figured, if I had a car, that would be all I needed because I could be more flexible on where I lived and I could always sleep in the car worst case scenario. Anyways, nothing was opening up to live. In the midst of all of this, on January 27th, I got to do a radio interview for a Texas station which now looking back is really fascinating as it captures my faith struggle as I openly shared in that moment that I had no idea where I would live the next week but I knew God had it all. Here's a clip...
Towards the end of January with some others, I discovered a house that was going to be opened and for rent. There was something that struck me about the house and I even shared my heart and vision video with Brad, the owner, to see if he would be willing to invest in us to get the house. Through a series of events, things were not coming together for the group of us to live there. Not long after, I found out that one of the original girls to be in the house was out and it didn’t look like it was going to happen so I started looking for alternatives because I needed to be out by February 1st to stay true to my commitment.
It was also around this time and when I was in this season that I recorded the following which is about trusting in what God says regardless of the surrounding circumstances...
Saying "no" to the Silver without any Gold in sight
Then on the 31st of January, the day before I needed to move, I found this bedroom available to rent which was a really good price and in a quiet neighborhood and would have totally met my needs. The only downside was that I was not allowed to have people over that often. But because I was in a crunch and needed to be out the next day, I was desperate. I even said yes to the landlady before meeting the other people who would be my roommates. However, because I had just released Water to Wine which encourages people to press into and take hold of the abundant life God promised and not to settle for silver when God’s destined them for gold, I said no to this provision and I did not have any back up plans. I had just finished school and released that book and I felt this was my season to contend for abundance. I had just given up everything to start my life here and I felt I needed to hold out for some reason. Thankfully, Carrie, who I was staying with, encouraged me not to make a rash decision and that I could spend some more time there so that I could find the right fit. She was a true gift from God during that season!
Breakdown to Breakthrough
On Thursday February 2nd, after another endless day of spending all day researching and looking for a car and a place to live without any luck, I looked out the window and watched my potential ride drive away. That was breaking point for me. I was done. I had no car, was sleeping on an air mattress for a month, no place to live when I was supposed to be out 2 days before. This was not how God's abundance was supposed to look and feel like. I had peace for a season there because I understood that to be part of the plan and journey but I knew that season was now over. I was done. I was going to carry my heavy computer and start walking the 5.5 miles back home even though it was already becoming dark. Then all of a sudden, Rene, a friend who was there at my ordination, drove up. As soon as I saw him I broke down and he prayed for me and then all of a sudden, literally within moments and out of the blue, I was surrounded by my friends who just happened to be there right at that time. Several of them got on the phone to try and help me find a place to live. I remember that the sunset was just gorgeous and in the midst of all this happening, I got a response text from Heidi who had a room I could stay in the midst of transitioning into the new place: from Breakdown to breakthrough literally within moments.
Released to Dream Again
It was that night and after all this pressure had lifted that I was released to dream again. It was that night when I knew I would have an in-between place to stay that I received the vision from the Lord all about the specifics of the Destiny House. The vision for the house kept flooding my mind. It was only after I said no to provision and sought God for His abundance that the vision for the Destiny House was dropped into my heart. Thank God that vision was released because it played a crucial role in what was about to happen the very next day. All this to say, sometimes it’s only after we say no to provision and contend for God’s best that His best gets revealed.
Not the answer I expected
The very next morning on Friday February 3rd, I decided to call Brad and tell him I am in for sure for the house and that I will take it. I had one girl committed to move in with me although we still would need 1-2 others to make rent at this point in time. He told me that in the meantime of when we saw him last that he had a pastor and his family see the place, agree to pay the full rent and also provide all their own furniture. Brad had to choose between him and someone who did not yet have a job, had no furniture, no car, and who was asking for a discounted rent. I shared with him the vision of what we were going to use the house for and urged him to give us the house. He was going to pray about it. At this point, while I had absolutely no control over the situation and was forced to surrender the house once again to the Lord, at the same time I fully believed it was part of my destiny and something I needed to contend for.
Shortly after that phone call, I ended up doing my weekly Silver to Gold meeting with LaChelle and we decided to go for a walk on the Sacramento River trail. While there, we prayed over the house and the situation. It was while we were praying that I got a voice mail from Brad. He had been praying and even called Bethel to learn more about Iris Ministries and he decided he wanted to give us the house and sow into this ministry. He said he had never done anything like this before and that he was stepping out in faith. Praise God! We got the house, now just had to figure out how to pay for it.
Destiny Group for Writers
The very next day, Saturday February 4th, I did the first Silver to Gold Destiny Group for Writers at a coffee shop which went really well. I remember sharing how important it is to live the books you release. It was there that I met a girl from Scotland named Jo, who I found out lived just below where I was going to move in. Through conversation about my books and studies she asked me more about where Carrie Judd Montgomery's husband George. It turns out that she is somehow related to him! Ok, how awesome that the house I was moving into has someone related to George Montgomery there! Part of the purpose of the Destiny House is based after Carrie Judd Montgomery’s healing home in Oakland, The Home of Peace. It was pretty epic to hear that confirmation and connection for sure.
The very next day, Saturday February 4th, I did the first Silver to Gold Destiny Group for Writers at a coffee shop which went really well. I remember sharing how important it is to live the books you release. It was there that I met a girl from Scotland named Jo, who I found out lived just below where I was going to move in. Through conversation about my books and studies she asked me more about where Carrie Judd Montgomery's husband George. It turns out that she is somehow related to him! Ok, how awesome that the house I was moving into has someone related to George Montgomery there! Part of the purpose of the Destiny House is based after Carrie Judd Montgomery’s healing home in Oakland, The Home of Peace. It was pretty epic to hear that confirmation and connection for sure.Car Hunting
While I was on my car hunt during this whole process, which seemed to take forever, a friend, Kris, was driving me to test drive a car and we got to talking about the house and I was telling him how it used to be a church and how it was so cool that when Brad was remodeling it, he picked up the carpet on the bottom floor and saw that someone had painted Bible verses and blessed all the corners of the house and that they even painted a river of life. It turns out that Kris used to live there when it was called the Kabod House and he was one of the people who helped to paint the verses on the floor! He said that there were times when the glory cloud even appeared in the house when they were praying. I have also found out through others as time has gone by that many know all about this house, people have had significant God encounters here, and there is a much richer history than even I am aware of here.
Bill Johnson's Desk
The house was not ready until mid-February so I was still in my transitional housing. It was there that I was working on finalizing the manuscript of all my 4 years PhD research for the book called Life on Wings: The Forgotten Life and Theology of Carrie Judd Montgomery that was going to be released in April 2012. I found out after I finished the manuscript that the desk I had been working on to finalize this very important work used to belong to Bill Johnson! I was very happy for my work to soak up his anointing! Who knows, maybe the Lord led me to that place just for that reason.Blindsided
Move in date was to be Valentine’s Day and I still only had one other with me but I still believed this was God. The afternoon before move in date I received a voicemail from the only other person that was committed to this with me. She decided she was not going to move in. While I love this girl, hearing that the day before the move took me by surprise and it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. So there I was, the day before I was due to move in and I was all alone.
Was I making a Huge Mistake?
Was I out of God’s timing, was I going to be able to pull this off financially? I had no desire to fall into major debt or to put Brad in an awkward situation. However, as I sat there, there was this deep sense that this house was still God’s and that I needed to contend for it. If I had unlimited resources I would move into this house in a heartbeat and fulfill the vision God had given me. So there I sat, and likely for the first time in my life, rather than freaking out and getting upset and giving up, I sat there and contended. I literally did everything just to stand in faith in relation to this house and continue to move forward regardless of the circumstances. I asked God just for one other person to be with me in this; just one was all I needed because this burden was getting to heavy to carry alone. After about 20 minutes of struggling to stand in faith, I got a call from someone I had never met before named Rachel. She had heard about the house from a friend and was trying to find a place in Redding for months so she could move up. Because she was passionate about the vision and because of the timing, I knew it was the Lord and she was in. Move in date was February 16th now and she was going to move in the week after.
Was I making a Huge Mistake?
Was I out of God’s timing, was I going to be able to pull this off financially? I had no desire to fall into major debt or to put Brad in an awkward situation. However, as I sat there, there was this deep sense that this house was still God’s and that I needed to contend for it. If I had unlimited resources I would move into this house in a heartbeat and fulfill the vision God had given me. So there I sat, and likely for the first time in my life, rather than freaking out and getting upset and giving up, I sat there and contended. I literally did everything just to stand in faith in relation to this house and continue to move forward regardless of the circumstances. I asked God just for one other person to be with me in this; just one was all I needed because this burden was getting to heavy to carry alone. After about 20 minutes of struggling to stand in faith, I got a call from someone I had never met before named Rachel. She had heard about the house from a friend and was trying to find a place in Redding for months so she could move up. Because she was passionate about the vision and because of the timing, I knew it was the Lord and she was in. Move in date was February 16th now and she was going to move in the week after.
More than a Cash Transaction
On February 16th, I went to the bank with my friend Nicol who was a big support during this whole process, and took out money I had set aside for my car and paid the whole deposit by myself for the house. This was a most spiritual transaction taking place. In this process, I was shaking like I was on my ordination night, there was a spiritual interaction taking place when I took out the money and it literally felt like I was walking into something, a new level, it was a spiritual interchange. I moved in this day with Rachel coming to move in the next week and still needing a couple more roomates to cover the rent.
Birthday Celebration
Shortly after, Kirsten, whom I had never met until that night, told me that she had been fasting and praying for something exactly like this and she wanted to move in but she was still in another 3 month commitment somewhere else. I immediately knew that she was supposed to be a part of this house but remember thinking that the time is now, not in 3 months because the "plane" is taking off. I didn’t say that to her though, I figured it’s God’s house and I am really just along for the ride anyway so I will let Him do that. It turned out that she found a replacement and even before Rachel was to move in that weekend, things freed up for Kirsten to move in a few days after I had met her. It’s very cool to watch the video and to actually see this process of God speaking to Kirsten happening right before our eyes...
Abundance of Furniture released!
Furniture got released in abundance and in agreement with everyone in the house, we felt that we are to set aside the master and nicest bedroom for the missionaries and leaders so that we could make the room available for all whom the Lord sends to us. We are believing the Lord to provide in abundance for the rent for that room and more than enough so that we can receive those He sends us and bless them liberally without any expectation. We want to bless those on front lines serving the King and we want this to be a place where they can be blessed and honored and celebrated for all the work in the kingdom they are doing. We believe that in this home people will experience breakthrough into destiny, healing, and blessing through His presence.
Furniture got released in abundance and in agreement with everyone in the house, we felt that we are to set aside the master and nicest bedroom for the missionaries and leaders so that we could make the room available for all whom the Lord sends to us. We are believing the Lord to provide in abundance for the rent for that room and more than enough so that we can receive those He sends us and bless them liberally without any expectation. We want to bless those on front lines serving the King and we want this to be a place where they can be blessed and honored and celebrated for all the work in the kingdom they are doing. We believe that in this home people will experience breakthrough into destiny, healing, and blessing through His presence.
We are so blessed to having received so many gifts for this house. A few special moments have been a couch brought to us during the anointing service, furniture, the very first offering coming from Carrie Judd Montgomery’s healing home (the Home of Peace in Oakland), and missionary friends hearing what God is doing and literally giving all the money they have so sacrificially to sowing into God’s work here. We already have had people prophecy about planting further Destiny Homes in the future and there’s already talk of expansion. God is definitely on the move here and I literally have no idea where this is going but I am just trying to enjoy the ride and hang on! Brad, Rachel, and Kirsten all have their own unique journeys that led them here which hopefully will be updated in the future (Brad shares some on one of the the videos too).Placer Street
Another cool thing that happened a few weeks after we had moved in, was that on March 9th, after prayer with Kirsten and Rachel, we ended up being interested in learning what the meaning of our street name (Placer) was and if there was any significance. We discovered it had something to do with mines and mining and I immediately connected it to Brad and how he saw the gold here and spent such a labor of love to bring it out in rebuilding this house and I also thought of Carrie Judd Montgomery and how I had to dig to find the gold in her forgotten story.
Life on Wings
Then I felt I really needed to share with the girls my all time favorite sermon by Carrie Judd Montgomery because she talks about mining for gold in it. The title of her 1910 sermon, “Life on Wings”, is actually the same name I gave for the book I am releasing on her story. It’s also my favorite sermon because it highlights what’s at the heart of Silver to Gold as well. As we were listening to the sermon (I had read and recorded it a year ago), there is a part where she mentioned mining for gold and she actually said that there were "Placer" mines. That is the exact name of our street!!! I am continually blown away in how crazy God ties everything together so perfectly and beautifully. It almost feels like all this was planned a hundred of years ago and I simply got to fall into His wonderful plan!
You can listen to Carrie Judd Montgomery's sermon HERE and here's the excerpt that stood out... “In California we have many gold mines even yet, although they are not so plentiful as they used to be. There are two kinds of mines: one is the placer mine which contains the loose gold mingled with the sand and which therefore can easily be separated; the other is a quartz mine, where the gold is in the rock…Now God is after the gold in us. “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayst be rich.” Carrie Judd Montgomery 1910
Life on Wings Then I felt I really needed to share with the girls my all time favorite sermon by Carrie Judd Montgomery because she talks about mining for gold in it. The title of her 1910 sermon, “Life on Wings”, is actually the same name I gave for the book I am releasing on her story. It’s also my favorite sermon because it highlights what’s at the heart of Silver to Gold as well. As we were listening to the sermon (I had read and recorded it a year ago), there is a part where she mentioned mining for gold and she actually said that there were "Placer" mines. That is the exact name of our street!!! I am continually blown away in how crazy God ties everything together so perfectly and beautifully. It almost feels like all this was planned a hundred of years ago and I simply got to fall into His wonderful plan!
You can listen to Carrie Judd Montgomery's sermon HERE and here's the excerpt that stood out... “In California we have many gold mines even yet, although they are not so plentiful as they used to be. There are two kinds of mines: one is the placer mine which contains the loose gold mingled with the sand and which therefore can easily be separated; the other is a quartz mine, where the gold is in the rock…Now God is after the gold in us. “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayst be rich.” Carrie Judd Montgomery 1910
I will be honest with you, moving towards the Destiny House was the hardest thing I have had to contend for in my life, but I know that all the wonderful things the Lord will do here will be more than amazing! I hope this account demonstrates and encourages all to press on for God’s best and the abundance He is longing to pour out. I hope it also brings some reality to the table that moving into one’s destiny does not always or maybe never comes easy. Many times, maybe all times, destiny lies on the other side of great challenge and struggle. While provision can come more easily, our true destiny, God’s best, the gold, and His abundance for our lives has to be sought, contended for, taken hold of, and pursued regardless of the cost.
Water to Wine
It was only because I had just written and released Water to Wine that I was convicted to say no to provision so that I could move forward and into abundance. Let me quote Water to Wine where this theme comes alive even more: “Where there is no risk, there is no pain. Even more importantly, abundance in almost all situations lies on the other side of risk.” Until next time, I will leave you with one of my favorite prayers from Carrie Judd Montgomery taken from the very same sermon where she mentions the street name of the Destiny House :
"Now, who is going to trust God for the winged life? You can crawl instead if you wish. God will even bless you if you crawl; He will do the best He can for you, but oh how much better to avail ourselves of our wonderful privileges in Christ and to “mount up with wings as eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint.” O beloved friends, there is a life on wings. I feel the streams of His life fill me and permeate my mortal frame from my head to my feet, until no words are adequate to describe it. I can only make a few bungling attempts to tell you what it is like and ask the Lord to reveal to you the rest. May He reveal to you your inheritance in Christ Jesus so that you will press on and get all that He has for you."
To learn more about the Vision of the Destiny House or get involved, go HERE.
To learn more about the Vision of the Destiny House or get involved, go HERE.
