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| Olive at Bethel, Redding CA. |
We have been very tardy in updating the Blog
since we got back to Canada. But wanted to back track a bit and share our
experience we had spending 6 weeks at Bethel Church in Redding CA.
When we arrived it was a Sunday night service
and the place was rockin' Sunday evening worship was in full swing and you
could feel His presence in the room. It is really amazing to be in a service
where everyone's heart is tuned into the Lord. After service was over we found
a place to boondock for the first night. The next day we booked into
the Premier RV park for a month, which is about a 5 minute drive to
Bethel...very clean bathrooms and friendly service. We headed back up to the
church to work in Hebrews Coffee Shop and soak in the atmosphere... it's like a
spiritual hot tub....without the pruning of your fingers! The first week we met
the most amazing people from all over the world and spent time talking to them
about their experience attending Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. All
the comments were positive and they couldn't say enough about how blessed they
were to be going there and how it has changed their lives. We met an older
couple in their mid seventies that were in first year, very sweet, and they
said Mark and I should check out the school…well we did and we are enrolled for
this fall 2012 and really excited about what God has in store for us in our
first year.
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| God will knock your shoes off! |
For the past year I had also been praying to
feel the weight of the presence of the Holy Spirit upon me. I had seen others
tremble and go down under His presence but I had never felt that before. Well
while we were at Bethel we attended the “Dream Conference”, which was great!
Well just before we were to take a break from the conference Andrew (one of the
organizers/speakers) said that the children from the school were all in the
sanctuary and were getting “whacked” by the Holy Spirit…prophesying, getting
“drunk” (not in a consuming liquid form but drunk in the presence of God). He
asked if we would all like to go through a fire tunnel that the kids were
setting up (this is where there are two rows of kids, one on either side, and
you walk down the middle). Sure we all said, there was about 70 - 80 of
us. Well as we walked into the sanctuary
I could feel a weight in the air, it was warm and peaceful. As I entered the
fire tunnel the small children from kindergarten to grade 8 were speaking words
over us and all of a sudden I was finding it very hard to stand, my knees were
getting wobbly. I managed to walk through the tunnel and take about 4 or 5
steps out of the tunnel and fell to my knees. I just couldn’t stand under the
weight of His presence. It was so amazing…and with His presence came such a
feeling of peace that filled my entire body. After a while I thought I would be
able to stand and managed to walk half the way across the sanctuary, although
very wobbly, and a young boy came over to me extended his hands said a few
words and down I went again. I sat there laughing and thanking God for showing
me what being in His presence, in a small way, feels like. It is a feeling that
I never want to loose and will press into Him to carry His presence with
me. To be able to show others what being
with God is like….well that is a gift to be shared.
Ever since that time… the minute I turn my focus
to Christ I feel His presence, it is amazing.
We spent ever chance we got
fellowshipping with the wonderful people we met there, and can’t wait to get
back to see them again. Love to you all!
I also have to share one of
the many encounters we had…besides, people having extreme pain from cancer and
walking out with no pain at all, a tumor on this ladies ankle disappearing,
surgical metal plates disappearing… Most assuredly, I say to you, he who
believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than
these he will do, because I go to My Father. John 14:12
One evening during worship
the Holy Spirit showed up…and worship continued for two hours…it was like a
spiritual rave for the Lord. Mark and I looked up towards the ceiling and said
to each other what is that floating in the air. The whole front of the
sanctuary ceiling was shimmering with gold dust. We were singing and watching
it and it would get bigger and smaller but it never fell to the ground it just
hovered above. I know some would try to explain this away, with one logical
reason or another but Mark and I both believe that is was the presence of the
Holy Spirit, a Glory cloud. It was wonderful to experience. It happened again
on another night and spread almost to the back of the sanctuary again nothing
fell to the ground. When you experience things like this how can we not have
faith that our God is bigger than anything we can imagine. And what is even
more indescribable is that He loves us and wants to have a relationship with
us. Bountiful Blessings to you.
