YWAM Maui week 8

Hi everyone. So I just spent an hour and a half writing out this blog post, and then we lost internet and it all disappeared. And I am very very sad about that. so sad. So very sad. Okay, time to be done being sad- these things happen :) Because of that this blog post is going to be lecture content only, and this week the focus was relationships! Dating, love, sex, marriage, divorce, we learned about it all! It was such a fun week packed with more information than I would ever know how to share!

lecture :)

Quiet times next to Megan!

Me in beautiful Maui this week!




Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Psalm 37:3. Be where you are, be in the season you're in. Let the Lord meet you in this time, let Him fill you up and meet all of your needs. When you find yourself longing for a relationship, but the Lord has yet to bring you one, embrace it. Dive more deeply into Him. He knows His plans for you, and He knows the perfect timing to bring you into a relationship. He is so for you, and for your good. Trust Him with this area of your life. He is far more committed to you and your future spouse coming together than you ever will be- so rest. Let Him work in you, let Him develop you in all the ways He wants to before that time of your life. He is committed to you're future marriage, and He knows what needs to happen in you before that time. Your issues are only amplified in marriage, so let Him work in those areas now- you will be so blessed for it when you get to come into a relationship healthy. Let Him romance you, fall in love with Him. The best gift you can give to your future spouse is a thriving relationship between you and the Lord. Let Him develop your convictions now. Let Him bring you into life giving community. Let Him deal with past hurts and break off generational sins and patterns. Let the Lord have you, every part of you. And then, when the timing is right, let Him bring you into the relationship that He has chosen for you, with the person that He will use both to bless you and to continue to sanctify you. Trust Him. Dwell in the land of singleness and cultivate faithfulness.




a few questions...

just for girls

just for guys

Next,Your physical purity is directly connected to your spiritual authority. So fight for purity. The enemy tries to take a gift from God and twist it. He makes it evil and selfish and dirty. But sex- True, biblical sex- is all about serving one another. Its selfless. When you're married you get to become an A+ student on your spouses body, learning what they like and don't like, telling each other what you want and need. You get to serve each other, please each other, love each other. You get to connect physically what God has connected spiritually. You get to enjoy one another whenever and however you both want to. And it's worth waiting for, it's worth fighting for. And it's not too late for anybody to choose purity, no matter where you've been or what you've done. God makes all things new.


(sidenote I have never been married so all of this is Aaron Stern's advice. I dont have any marriage advice. :) )

Marriage is a gift from God. It's a way He both blesses us and sanctifies us. "I do" is easy. "I continue to do" is harder. A God centered view of marriage is all about meeting God's expectations, giving God glory, and letting Him work His redeeming ways. What if He didn't bring you the perfect spouse for making you happy, but the perfect spouse for making you more like Him? What if He wants to use your spouse to work selfishness out of you and Christ likeness into you? What if there are some needs in your life that only God can meet? God's highest priority in our marriage isn't our happiness but our holiness. There is nobody out there better for you, because the moment you said "I do"- you became one before the Lord. Ultimately He will meet all of your needs and fulfill you, that isn't your spouses job. Sinners marry sinners. don't be surprised when your spouse messes up or fails you- you married someone who isn't yet perfect. The grass isn't greener somewhere else, it's green where you water it, so invest into your marriage.

Invest in your
talk about EVERYTHING. eliminate these things from your conversations: sarcasm, critisism, defensiveness, stonewalling, contempt. The goal with communication is to connect to each other's hearts. So watch your tone, listen with your face, and don't let things sit. Minor conflicts can lead to major ones if they aren't dealt with.

invest in your
Train each other how to love each other! Tell them what you want, ask for it and then act as though you never did. Assume they have goodwill towards you and want to show you love, they simply don't know how. An example: if you want him to bring you home flowers, ask him to, and then when he does act as though you never asked. Soon, he will learn what makes you feel loved and he will do it on his own. It seems a little mechanical, but your spouse doesn't know what you need unless you express it. Don't shame them into anything,teach them!

invest in your
Keep talking it through until you resolve the conflict. Don't leave the conflict for days at a time.

The most important part of marriage is to be selfless, lay your lives down for one another day in and day out. Prioritize each other, never try to control one another, make time for each other. And at least once a year invest in your marriage in a big way, either by going on a retreat or taking a vacation together or some other way to really invest in your relationship. Remember that you are a picture to the world of Christ and His church, His bride. Invest in your marriage and reap the rewards of a selfless, God centered marriage :)




just kidding that's not even close to all! But as always I couldn't get it all written down if I tried! If you want any more information feel free to ask me :)

A brief reflection of what this week meant to me personally. I'm so blessed to be in relationship with the most amazing man of God in the entire world. He leads us with such strength, commitment, and integrity. He has cultivated so much of what was taught this week into our relationship, and loves me with such selflessness and dedication that you wouldn't believe me if I told you. He pursues me, fights for me,and lays his life down for me every single day. He loves the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength, and constantly pushes me into chasing Jesus even more simply by living out his incredible relationship with God before me. It was so fun to hear about what things to be looking for in a future husband and realize that I have them and more in Caleb. It was also such a joy to learn about what is waiting for us in marriage and learn how to invest into all that is coming for us. This week made me even more thankful for this relationship the Lord has blessed me with, and even more excited for His plans for our future. Also this week made me MISS HIM EVEN MORE! But I' so excited to sow into our future the best way possible, by falling more in love with Jesus, dwelling in this land, and letting Him cultivate faithfulness in me.

Next week we're so lucky to have speakers from the Ravi Zacharias ministry coming to teach on apologetics! I'm so excited! As always the Lord is working here in so many more ways than simply lecture content, let me know if you want to know any more! If you guys could continue in prayer for me and my team- we have less than a month until we leave for Indonesia! So crazy! :)