Every call has a dream and with that dream, preparation!

Today marks the celebration of Chicago Master's Commission class of 2015. Now to some this may not mean anything, but for those who know my story; you understand. This has to have been the hardest season of my life! I am not over exaggerating either! Nine months ago I was stepping out believing God was calling me into Chicago Master's Commission. CMC is where I experienced days where I was pulling out my hair, because I didn't know how to deal with the immaturity of some. At times I wanted to throw in the towel because I couldn't figure out why some would choose to come in to a discipleship program if they didn't have the heart to receive discipline or serve. Why go in to a program where you had to live by strict standards if you just wanted to break everyone? I found myself questioning and more than that I found myself humbled before God, because I knew He had to teach me something. I went through seasons where I could hear him and I went through seasons where He was quiet. Many times I saw the ugly in myself. I continued to ask God to bring anything in my life that was unpleasing to Him; to surface. When faced with trials we see who we really are. The last week of CMC we served at a Pastor and Leadership conference. I sat there many days feeling as though God was preparing me for something, I just don't know what. What if I had these teachings before this year? I would do a lot of things different. You see being a leader has nothing to do with position, rank, or age. Being a leader is about stepping into position to take a stand and lead when no one else will. Our last night the director had us carry boulders to the beach. I knew there was a lesson here. What I believe God was showing me is sometimes being a leader is slowing down and waiting for those who need more time, and sometimes it's not racing to the finish line but walking across the finish line together as a team. It's encouraging the rest of your team. It is not position. Once we got to the beach we made a monument to represent the 12 stones ( Joshua 4).
 Sitting on the beach with the covenant I wrote in October, I realized that everything I went through this year is for a purpose and it has taught me so much. God uses everything.In the quietness of the early evening I was taken down memory lane, once more God showed me the journey He's gone on with me this year.
God knew my desire was to go to Bible school and finish. I have to say He took that desire and gave me a season of being baked in His oven. Through out this year God reminded me of the call He's placed on my life and with that call comes the dreams; He's placed on my heart. Like I said before if you have read my Testimony, then you know more of what this looks like. Words can not describe the beauty that God has planted in my life this year. At times I hated where I was, but then God reminded me "how can you hate the place that I brought you?" This was not always cheerful moments, but they were always moments where I found myself on my knees crying out for more Him and less of me. If we ever get to the point where we believe that we can do the small things on our own, then we need to go back into the oven. I have learned that I can not even get out of bed in the morning and breathe without Him. We need to lay our pride down and we need to humble ourselves and ask the Holy Spirit for more of Him and less of ourselves. We can not do it alone. We go through the oven when trials come, but the truth is we are constant students so we constantly need to be baked. If we want to live out the call that God has put on our lives then we need to dream His dream, and let Him take us through the preparation that He needs us to go through.

James 1:2-4 (MSG)
 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.