SD retreat



Chillin at the cabin in SD! (It's a little pixel-y)



The view of the Missouri River from our cabin in SD!

(again, a little pixel-y) We ate the BEST food- thanks to chef Kelley!



We went on a rattlesnake hunt- yes, I was there- and we killed two!



We then proceeded to kill and grill the rattlesnake- and yes, I did eat snake!





Dear watching at the river!



Trip to the ocean in Oregon

Multnomah Falls, OR- a great pit stop after a long road trip!

Sharing watermelon with our YWAM friends!

Enjoying some Humble Pie Pizza on the beach!

We had such a great time, despite the chilly weather!

Mary, did you know???

Oh Mary, did you know you would be used as an example of what it means to slow down, take a deep breath, and just wait before the Lord?
Or did you know that you would be used to teach Rebekah Miller what it means to rest?

You know how when God wants to teach you something, He teaches it to you in many ways, and in the end when you finally get it, you realize he was trying to show you this "revelation" for over a month? Yeah. Thats me, here.

This past month, God has trying to teach me how to rest! Well, it may be safe to say that God has been trying to teach me this for alot of my life! It seems when I look back in my life, I am always going, never stopping, never still, whether it be work or play!

My "revelation" started when I took the Gallup Discover Your Strengths test, required for one of my IBEX classes. I came up as: Activator, Woo, Restorative, Achiever, Communication. For those of you that don't know the Gallup strengths, this basically means I am a do-er, a striver, and go-get-em personality. These can be strenghts, when they are used correctly, and in the right capacity. But in my life lately I have been letting them surface as weaknesses, by never resting. This brings me to the edge of burnout (an edge I have visited a couple times before!)

As I was pondering this, I remembered that earlier that week, in my IBEX small group (which we call "mini-herd time", because we are goats...get it? :] ) , this was one of the things that had been burdening my heart. I shared that I was always tired, anxious, and uptight. I shared how I always feel the need to go, go, go, and am not very good at sitting still for very long. I was encouraged by my mini-herd leader to take a sabbath, a day of rest. She, and my other teammates, told me that it is ok to rest before the Lord, and it's great to do things, and great to strive and reach a goal, but sometimes God is calling us to take a break, rest, wait on Him.!

Then, as if that wasn't enough confirmation of what God is teaching me, I started reading a book for one of my classes, called Boundaries, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. The book is all about setting limits for yourself, and learning when to say yes, and how to say no to things that may be good things, but not good for you at the time. The first chapter alone was all about a person who over-commited herself, and then doesn't justify her feelings of burn-out because she is suppose to be "christian, and self-sacrificial, and giving, and hard-working, etc." The next chapter (which I haven't read yet!) is going to teach when and how to set Biblically correct boundaries for yourself.

And if that wasn't enough, today at church, IBEX recieved prayer from the church elders for injuries inflicted by our marathon training. One word given during the prayer hit me really hard. We were told that healing is a process, and we should listen to God, and let him walk us through it slowly. Walk us through it. Slow down. Take a break. They went on to say that we should walk with God in this, and let Him speak to us, because we have to realize that we can't do it all on our own, in our own strenght!

To top off my learning experience, God decided to use the pulpit. Today in church, the pastor preached on God being our friend. Alot of times, as Christians, we think its all do do do, go go go, serve serve serve, etc. And we don't look to God as a friend, but as our master, or Rabbi, (which He is, but He is also calling us to be friends of his!) The pastor compared Mary and Martha in John 15, where Martha is busy serving in the kitchen, and Mary is at Jesus' feet, soaking in His words. Jesus is calling us to sit at his feet! Jesus is calling me to sit at his feet! He has things to tell me! I just need to slow down, sit down, and listen!

After typing this all out, I was thinking: Now how does this apply to me, because I'm an IBEX student. Busy is what we do. Serving is what we do. I simply don't have alot of time to sit and rest. Plus, its not really "me" to just chillax and coast through the days. How do I apply this, Lord? But it all comes down to this- I need to take a sabbath! I should know this... it is one of the commandments! But I need to intentionally take some time out of my week to relax, to do something fun, to have alone time if I need it, to have fellowship time if I need that, to have some time to sit and rest in God's presence!

All in all, I am so glad that God revealed this to me before I reached that burn-out stage. I'm not sure how it's going to look, but I am going tobegin  intentionally sit at Jesus' feet, and take a sabbath!

~Rebekah

2 Months In!!!

Wow. So much has happened since my last blog post... at the rate I'm going, I'll get one post in per month! I'll have to work on that! Ok. So I left off in September 4th. Since then I have continued my routine of never stopping, always going. But staying busy keeps me out of trouble...right?!?

In the past month, I worked in the the media track on Sunday mornings, helping with sound and such. Now I switch on to a new track- Lifehouse Children's ministry! My first Sunday was great... initiation of the new leaders is always fun. Lifehouse is awesome- I am working with the K-2nd grade kiddos... I think i will really enjoy this track!

Our 1st cycle (like a school quarter) has ended, and ended with a big bang! We just got back from a retreat in South Dakota. A very kind couple from our church, and their neighbor, opened up their homes to us, so we got to stay at a beautiful cabin on the river! The view was absolutely breathtaking! The retreat was our "evaluation" week. That basically means we were able to get together as a team and see how we are doing so far in our IBEX journey. At the begin of the year, we made a "Community Rule of Life". This encompasses some of our priorities as an IBEX team, and the guidlines we want to live by. (I'll post it on this blog for y'all to see!)  We were able to check ourselves and see if we were working and living by the standards that we had set for ourselves. We also had a night of seeking the Holy Spirit, and soaking in God's presence. It was a really great end to a crazy awesome 1st cycle! Not to mention all of the fun we had hunting rattle snakes and jack rabbits, riding ATVs, running down neverending gravel roads, and eating some of the best food in the world!

One really big update I have for you... I know where we are going for our 2 month global journey! Drumroll, please...

Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan!

Two places... two teams...

Yes. We are splitting up. Because we have such a large group, it isn't practical for us to all go to the same place. It was prayerfully considered, and thought out by the upper leaders.

I was pretty... not happy... when I found out we were splitting up. It hurts to think of our team splitting. But it totally makes sense. I think it is gonna be hard though, so please keep this in your prayers. I will find out for sure which team I am on by the end of November hopefully, so I will keep you updated! In the mean time, we will begin raising money for the trip! It will cost about $50,000 for all of us to go; but God will provide!

More big news!!! If you did not hear, Trinity Church (15555 West Dodge Road) has officially changed their name! We are entering a new season, and the Lord has given us a new name. Over a period of time, God has been revealing to our Pastors and Elders what he is leading us into, and it is good things!
We are now LIFEGATE Church!!! http://www.trinityomaha.com/ (This is going to be hard to get use to saying!!!) So exciting!

The Gobbler Grind (1/2 marathon) is coming up so soon! I believe it is just a little bit over 6 weeks away. Wow. I hope I am ready. People on the team are still struggling with some injuries, including myself. We are training hard... in fact, I am running 6 miles at Zorinski tomorrow! We are praying that God will give us the grace to press on towards the goal of finishing the race!

To sum everything up, this month has gone by so fast. Days sort of blend together, and I am so busy I hardly have time to process things. But God is doing some cool things in our group, and I feel that it is just going to get better!

*Prayer Requests*
~For the team
     Unity
     Financial Provision
     Peace about splitting up for our global journey
     Energy for the upcoming marathon, discipline to continue training, and healing of injuries
~For me personally
     Sleep- and dreams and visions while I'm sleeping!
     Peace about the global journey (I am still dealing with the emotions)
     Grace to process all of the stuff I am learning and doing and experiancing
     Healing for my shin splints, and strenght and discipline to continue training for the marathon
     Financial provision
     More of God- I want to continue pressing deeper and deeper into God, and what he has for me. Pray that the Holy Spirit would manifest himself in my life! I (and we) want to see God move!
     Focus- that I would be free of distractions in IBEX

Thank you so much for reading my blog, and for partaking in this journey with me! You support means so much to me! Love you all!

~Rebekah

My first blog post! Update on the past month

Woohooo! I am officially in the blogging world now! I decided that this would be the easiest way for me to update y'all on my IBEX journey!

So my first official day in IBEX was August 3rd... it's September 2nd... I have a lot to catch you up on!

1st week was basically orientation week! We went over the rules and how the program will be run. I learned that I will be serving in Uprising, the jr high youth group (I had been serving there previous to IBEX). I am extremely excited about working in that ministry! During that week, I was able to attend the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit. Wow, I learned so much! I felt like an information sponge... and after the first day of the two day conference, I needed to squeeze my brain out so that I could soak up some more the next day!

The 2nd week of August we took a trip to Salem, Oregon! There is a YWAM (Youth with a mission) program called Niko (which means in greek "to overcome") that we got to participate in! It was an intense wilderness hiking trip with the goals of creating team unity and building leadership skills, as well as pushing and stretching you physically, mentally, and spiritually. I made it out alive! When people ask how Niko was, my reply has been "Hard. It wasn't all fun, but it was all good." God revealed to me many things about myself, my team, and His character! There is something about getting out in the woods that makes it so much easier to hear God's voice. Needless to say, I am so glad I did a Niko. It was hard, and it wasn't all fun, but it was all good.

Week 3 of August we started our ministry tracks. I am loving Uprising, and am finally getting into the swing of our schedule... Work out real early, get ready at the gym, and then classes and other activities in the morning, and ministry track in the afternoon. Every day is packed full, which makes for a long week. I can see our team is progressing in unity, and I really enjoy all of the people in IBEX!

This past week was crazy. Jam packed with evening activities at church, as well as our daily morning workouts at the gym, and full afternoons, the schedule didn't leave much time for sleep! I LOVE the classes though, and as much as I hate to admit it, I actually do like having to get up early and work out. It's good for me, right?

In closing thoughts for tonight, IBEX is definately a journey. Yeah, it is a program, a school, a way to serve; but it is a journey. Consecrating 10 months of my life to seeking God, and His heart for my life, is not a one time thing. So step by step I will climb the mountains before me, and I am excited that you are part of this adventure with me!