Roots Going Deep

Right now I am chillaxing and watching Furious Love with some siblings and a friend at a hotel in Minneapolis. The conference we attended here about the Father and Mother Heart of God concluded this afternoon. It was a tremendous blessing. I say that somewhat sheepishly, being as we have had some--quite a few--conferences over the past year and have been blessed over-the-top by learning about the love of God from Jesus followers all over the USA. Father has been leading us on this journey of grace...literally. It takes a lot of grace to travel with so many people (i.e. my fam) for one thing, and possibly would be sufficient to teach us God's grace just so that we could survive. HAHA, no. He has literally been founding my roots in grace, and stripping striving, performance and human effort out of the foundation, where it was laid with good intentions, but brings none or bad results.
Nothing good has come from my efforts or stress to be pleasing to God; for those living in the flesh (even doing good deeds) cannot please God. What pleases God in non-Christianese or normal language, is living life receiving love/life from the Father God and loving Him and others with this love. Christians would call this "abiding". It is so simple and childlike that sometimes those of us who have learned so much about God and what pleases Him and ESPECIALLY what doesn't please Him and how we can best do that based on our view of righteousness (self righteousness) overlook this. This is NOT GOOD when the entire basis and structure of our faith is our Papa God who IS love. When we are created to live as His sons and daughters in His Kingdom of love where we are nothing without love
Someties I have frowned upon myself and our family for attending all these conferences, so I do not blame those of you who scratch your heads or even disagree with our frivolous conference and learning opportunities that we often take off on. When will we ever get it straight to where we can get back to living life, and stop being like those warned of in scripture who are "ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." My dad and I discuss this often, how bad it must look that we go away to enjoy ourselves more often than not, learning about the love of the Father so much when there is so much work to be done in this world. There are so many more who need this love, should we not be assisting them now? We still don't have great answers to that question, all we know is the pull we feel, and the ways He arranges and provides for such activity and how blessed we have been as a result of getting to know Him more. The love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control this walk with Him has brought. He is amazing.
Anyway, dad and I were driving to Wisconsin discussing grace on the way to Wisconsin 3 weeks ago today. We were wondering if we were getting a bit off balance on the grace thing, thinking and hearing too much about it that we may be getting too removed from the righteous judgement of God, etc. His discipline you know? We came to the conclusion that we have no other hope than the grace of God. We confessed to a great lack of grace in our lives and how that wounds those close to us, whom we love the most. It has been proven that the more grace we receive from God for ourself, the more we are able to give away to others. It came to me also that as 1st Cor 13 says we can do all kinds of amazing work for God, but if we don't have love it will all amount to nothing. ALL our works would be for nothing. Our working without having God's love as our foundation would be like building on uneven, sandy, frankly BAD ground. So we may as well not do anything until our foundation is Christ, the Father's love. Yes, if we can't build it in His strength His way (love) we may as well go back to bed for the rest of our lives. We can't move on until we get this! God knows when that is, and He will guide us on our journey. He will guide you as well, as you follow His leading in your heart. I do not preach the "go to more conferences" gospel. I don't recommend it unless He leads, for His Spirit is ultimately the Teacher.
Time will tell what all the benefits of going to this particular conference, but it wasn't to give me more principles to live by, it was to get to know my Father better. HE is better than I can imagine. You can ask my family and cousins what they got from the conference as well, and I can guess that along with wonderful fellowship amongst us all and those at the church, our love for God and each other has increased with the experience and knowledge of the love of God!
That is the general "short" story of what I want to share with you. I wish I could have take all of you with me because I haven't even begun to tell you about the conference really. My mind is buzzing with it all now and I am extremely tired with a sore throat. I will just end with this sweet prayer for you...and me.

Eph 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This is my desire!

Another Day in Wisconsin...

God is always good. I love that. He is the only predictable thing about life.
Today was another wonderful day with Him but not always easy, working through relationships with the people I am around and the feelings that are stirred up because of them. Anger, hurt, and also a lot of joy. What I love is that I can invite God into each of these emotions to speak the truth to my heart. I discovered a place there today that was still wounded from a time when I was around 4 years old. God came into the hurt I still had which was stirred up by the seemingly harmless question of a young teenager tonight. His Words changed everything. I was surprised by the amount of anger and emotions that one question brought! Thankfully, God knew the key, the truth that really does bring freedom!
Also today I came across a youtube song (2 parts to it) by Jason Upton that I hadn't heard until today and it tied so much of what God was telling me together.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jason+upton+back+to+the+father&aq=f
Wow, be blessed. A side note: I would rather listen to his music than watch him :)
A note on my whereabouts--looks like tomorrow I will be heading to Minneapolis for this conference with my cousins. the rest of my immediate family will meet Paige, Nate, Em and I up there. http://www.ktis.fm/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=4027
Yes, there seems to be a theme to all these conferences we go to as a family. We are getting to know our Abba. It doesn't make sense, all this travelling and our life--my life--right now, but this is a season, and I am grateful for it. Like that song says, the more I seek Him, the more I find Him. The more I find Him, the more I love Him!
"I have found Him whom my soul loves and I won't let go" Song of Solomon 3:4

Yes!

Tenth Avenue North - "Any Other Way" Video Journal

watch this and be blessed. He wants the truth in the inward parts...open up and let Him change you completely from the inside out!
He loves to do it.

Winds from the west!

Right now I would compare my life to that of Mary Poppins. I do not identify with the "Practically perfect in every way" aspect of her character, nor very much of anything about her stiff manner. However, the other night while we were watching the Disney story about this magical woman I had to smile when she informed the children she nannied (an invented word I am hoping) that she would be staying until the wind changed. I've been doing so much travelling the past 6 months and undergoing so many changes as the wind of God's Spirit ushers me from one place to the next. It is crazy and oh-so-strange and incredible--but I love it. Yes, the life of Mary Poppins has some resemblance to the life of a Spirit led person. John 3:8 Jesus says,"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
I love this crazy travelling life where I have no main job title, no degree, and no obligation to a company. My life is intirely *gulp* unpredictable and I have given it away, sold the farm. It's not my own anymore, and this makes my insides burst with joy. This is freedom! I wish this same joy and certain uncertainty that saying yes to Jesus has brought me for all of you. He is my Home and I am His. He can take me anywhere and I will have all the comforts and love of home (more!) along with the exciting, challenging variety that He "blows" me into :P. Yes, to whosoever wills He offers this wonderfully unsafe life.
I had previously been working semi-steadily for my family business as a painter--as everyone knows. Work has been slow since Thanksgiving, but God has gotten us through, a few jobs here and there and a whole lot of provision. Our family was known for staying together and have made it a point to do so--another obvious thing for such a large troop. Lately however we have all been spreading out and travelling together, but also separately or with only a few family members. Dispersion shall we call it? In the past 6 months I've stayedin Minneapolis, MN, Pierre, SD, Ankenny, IA, Omaha, Ne, Kansas City, Mo, North Carolina, VA, Washington DC, Elkhorn, WI and Blair, WI--where I am right now on the 2nd trip there this year. What have I all been doing? That is too diverse and confusing to go into right now, but if you corner me and ask specifics, I will try to share some highlights.
I am in Wisconsin right now, between Eau Claire and LaCrosse learning, teaching, praying (aehm, talking to God), cooking, cleaning, organizing playing, and hanging out with (nannying perhaps?)2ndish cousins Heidi (9), LaRetta Sue (11), Nettie (13), Lizbeth (7), and Benny (5). Their parents are on work/vacation and we are taking over the horse barn and shed/house having an interesting (in a good way) and overall sweet time. Paige, Nate and Em, my unusually wonderful teen siblings are here with me as well contributing in every way and also making things interesting (again, mostly good). Tomorrow(considering the hour, that is today) their parents will return after being gone a week. This morning our large bunch had a prayer powow and talk (who wants to call it devotions when you have this age group?) on the absent parents’ bed and prayed for everyone in our group individually. My heart was bursting with joy as we asked God to give us encouraging words and show us how to pray for each one. This is when I come alive! He loves it when we encourage eachother in this way and become unified. I can sense His pleasure inside while we do this. So those receiving prayer plopped in the middle of the bed and those who wanted to pray or had something to share prayed and layed their hands on them. God gave us uplifting things to pray for each one and the kids were all smiles and stuck around the whole time. LaRetta Sue and Em even had a pen-tattoo ministry going on intermittently for the kids to receive Christian and other kinds of art. Now aren't we being seeker friendly? Haha...wow, I just realized what a huge draw that could be now! This has been a fun two weeks, I love these kids!
The rest of the day I was cooking, cleaning and organzing and didn't get to hang out much with the kids, other than talking and doing some reading lessons. Hopefully I will do more of that tomorrow. Instead I was mainly "alone" in the living room and also the laundry room/garage bringing some order and clean clothes onto the picture. This was no ordinary time though, because God met me and was so near during those times that I had to deal with tears. Guys: in the mundane, normal cleaning and drudgery kind of tasks I was having the time of my life! God is too good to be true! Have you thought lately of the goodness of God? He cares for us so we don't have to carry cares. He loved us first. He hears us when we call and answers our prayers. He has our entire future taken care of. He lets us sense His presence. He changes our ugly selfish hearts. He is all love, there is nothing dark in Him. He is our Daddy and our Mom. He understands us fully. He desires us. He walks WITH us and talks to us. He will never leave us. That is just a start.
Anyway, I asked Him questions and discussed life, my desires, concerns, failings and yes, He talked back among other things. I love Him!
This trip to WI I've had the opportunity to visit my grandma a few times, visit many good friends also in this area, and even got to meet a fun Amish couple! Ah, diversity! I love it.
My prayer and desire right now is that I would be one--united with Christ and that His heart and desires would be mine. That I would love these children like He loves them and make them hungry to know this amazing God and have a relationship with Him. To make a difference in their lives for His Kingdom. That they would choose Him and His Kingdom would grow and have that sweeet, incredible effect on them and their surroundings for the rest of their life. God is showing me the bigger picture of His Kingdom, and how righteousness (yay!), peace and joy that the Bible says make up His Kingdom come when Jesus Christ reigns from the central portion of our being. When we yeild to His way there is freedom and unbelievable benefits. Sometimes they are only experienced on the inside, but eventually the collective lives given to the King of Kings will begin to manifest a wonderful outcome that will change the world. When Christ is the King of each heart there will be no killing, hatred, unforgiveness, or greed--eventually there will be no poverty, sickness, death or disease. I like the sound of this Kingdom! So my prayer today is that as I become one with Jesus, His Kingdom will come and His will will be done in Wisconsin at the Tschanz Farm as it is in Heaven. Wherever His wind blows me, I want this to be my prayer. I love being about my Daddy's business. Most of the time I do not know what I am doing, but He is teaching, training and guiding me step by step. I so enjoy hearing about what God is up to in your lives as well. Keep me updated!!!
Well, it is late--I mean early. This should already be long enough to make up for my 22 years without a blog, so I will bid you farewell.
Peace!
Brooke

A Bit of a Confession...

To begin with my friends, I must make a confession.
Not only is it good for the soul, it is good for MY soul to say that I have kind of previously judged those who blog. I have judged their blogs. I have judged those who stay up late on facebook (ahem, siblings!) and those who burn the midnight blog electricity. But all this must end for me tonight--or shall I say early this morning, for it is 3 AM. I do not wish to be judged, and if that is to be the case I must say adeui to my judgements (Matt 7) and here I am, posting my first blog. Yes my fellow imperfect humans, I now have become one of you. Haha, we laugh but unfortunately that is somewhat true.
I can already hear the shocked why's and when's coming from your mouths or minds. I can't exactly explain it, but somehow I felt above having the need to express myself to the world--atleast on the web. Unlike SOME people...haha. I don't know where that came from honestly, but I don't like to see it or own it anymore. I don't want to flatter myself for being so humble. Ok, so more reasons for not blogging are: I like to be different, and not tied down to things such as blogs. I am also shy of the criticism which may follow these written expressions of my heart...and the things I feel God is teaching me.
I am used to journaling with only God as my witness. He is so forgiving. Others are not always, nor understanding like Him. I can't get away with so much skipping around on topics, fragmented sentences, overly long ones and undeveloped ideas. These will still be found on my blog, but not in such great magnitude as my beloved journals...So--I am stepping out--gulp. Yay! I am excited to see what this is like, and honestly I have been asking God to give me some accountability and insite from others, so I welcome you--my reader and probably friend--'s constructive comments. Thanks for reading, and sharing this journey with me.
So here goes...looking unto Jesus: the Author and Finisher of my faith! Who is with me?

Blessinz!
Brooke

PS: I really did feel Jesus leading me to start this. He is doing interesting things like this lately...just had my ears pierced for the first time as well...that is not unusual for most--but for me....thats UNOther story...:)