Katie Peak

Switzerland

Firstly apologies for the very long break in blogging! I have been busy settling back into life in England and trying to settle into somewhat of a routine. I hope to keep up the blogging more again now.

L ast weekend I met up with some of my American friends in Switzerland for a wedding of two of our CBC (Charis Bible College, Colorado) classmates. I spent four days in Switzerland where we not only attended the wonderful wedding but also got to travel around Switzerland sightseeing - all paid for by the brides family!

We also took a day trip to Como, Italy, at about half the usual price due to a special on the trains for that weekend.

For the whole trip I spent only half of what I had taken but did much more than expected - as we said a lot on the trip, "we are so blessed, we have a good Dad". The trip was so much more than my personal budget could have paid for. As I am seeing over and over, our heavenly father loves to bless His children, He loves for us to have a good time and His provision for that is unlimited!

It was also very refreshing to be with my college friends again and together experience yet another culture. It was wonderful to meet more family at the wedding. I love traveling and being amongst family of that country. God has made us all so different and yet when His family meet together, no matter what part of the world we are from, we have something very special in common that makes for great fellowship. 

God's continued amazing provision!

I have now been home for just 3 weeks but am starting to feel more settled here again and God's miraculous provision is confirmation to me that this is where I am supposed to be at this time.

By the end of my first week back I had bought a good car (the newest and best car I have had yet!) and was able to get it taxed, insured and put fuel in the tank! Good going considering I haven't had paid employment for 2 years!!
In my second week back I was offered the first job I applied for, in a children's nursery.
By the end of week three I had two more part-time job offers teaching horse riding!
I start teaching this Wednesday evening and will probably be teaching at another establishment most Saturday's this month. Then starting next Monday I will be working part time in the nursery 4 hrs/day, 5 days/wk. Not only that, but I still have money to keep me going until my first pay cheque and enough to go to my friends wedding in Switzerland in September!! God is so good His provision is amazing, I am so blessed!

I also went to see my horse today who is now about 26 years old (quite old for a horse), he was looking very well and still moves extremely well and is a pleasure to ride. Last year he had laminitis but he made a rapid and full recovery and has not suffered from it at all this year. The power of prayer - for animals too!

I miss the USA (especially my friends and the weather!) but I am really enjoying being back with friends and family here. It is always great to be where God wants you to be.

Preparing for home!

Well life is busy here as I prepare to leave. I have less than two weeks until I am back in the UK! I am making the most of the glorious sunshine and heat here as I see England has had a lot of rain - hmmm...nothing new there :-)

I have been spending a lot of time out at the ranch here in Colorado over the last month. God is continuing to use us (horses and volunteers) to minister to each one of the kids that visits. We have such a variety of children, sometimes it is obvious that they are enjoying themselves and God is doing a work and others you have to closely watch their reactions and facial expressions to see the change in them as they spend time at the ranch. Just last week we had a girl come who was clearly hurting emotionally  and initially quiet and reserved but as she spent time with the horses her face began to light up and she began to be much more open to talk to us too. Two of our regular kids were out with us today and call on a regular basis just wanting to hang out - they don't care what they are doing they just want to be there with us, it is very clear that they enjoy being at the ranch and we have had the pleasure of leading them to Christ! The love of God is flowing out from us and the horses and the anointing that rests on the ministry is powerful! I am going to be very sad to leave the ministry here, I will miss the people I have worked alongside, the horses and the kids; but I am excited to see what God has in store for the ministry He has called me to establish in England!I know He has already gone before me and has the right horses for me and He knows the children I am to minister to - how exciting!I have certainly learned a lot from volunteering for Horses From Heaven.

I am confident that God's plans for my future are far greater than I can imagine. Although there are still a lot of unknowns in terms of the steps to take when I return home, I continue to dream big knowing that God will exceed my expectations. I know He has great plans for every one of us - we have to trust Him to guide us by His peace, as we walk out in the things He has prepared for us.

"...he who abides in Him (who adheres to, trusts in and relies on Him) shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations" Romans 9:33 (amp.)
What an awesome promise! What an amazing God we serve!

Bond-servant and Apostle - a contradiction?

In Romans 1:1 Paul referred to himself as a bond-servant and an apostle to the Lord Jesus Christ - is this a contradiction in terms?

No, the bible never contradicts itself, here is what I believe it means:

A bond-servant is one who has chosen to devote his/her life to their master, they have made a covenant to never leave. Servants were given the choice on the year of jubilee (7th year) to be set free but they could also choose to stay with their master. If they chose to stay with their master their ear was pierced with an awl on a door post - believed to signify them always be attentive to the voice of their master. This is like the covenant we make to Christ when we are born again; we are giving our life to Him and making Him the master of our lives. We were slaves to sin but Jesus paid the price for us to be set free from that and step out from the kingdom of darkness - sinfulness and into the kingdom of light - righteousness. When we take the step from sin to righteousness the next step should be complete submission to God; becoming a bond-servant to Him.

An apostle is one who is sent, however God will not send someone who has not first committed their life to Him and made a decision and a promise to make Him master of their life. God gave us a free will to choose whether we follow Him or not but once we make the decision to follow Him we are in essence His servants, He will send us where He wants us to go and appoint us to do what He wants us to do. However because He is a God of grace and mercy He does not punish us when we don't do things His way; there will be consequences in this world but God is not mad at us, He loves us so much that He allows us to make mistakes and will gently correct us and put us back on the right track if we allow Him too. God is not a forceful master, but He should be the master of our lives. We can do nothing of ourselves, without Him we are nothing; if we will truly be bond-servants to Him He will lead us in a life of victory, He will direct our every step, He will conduct our lives and be in control; but it will be a life far better than we could have in our own strength. Although slavery has the connotation of hardship, slavery to Christ is the complete opposite! It is not without suffering and persecution but He gives us the strength to endure all things and walk in victory; He will lead us in glorious triumph!

The question is do you want Him to be your master, will you make the decision and commitment to lay down your own life and follow Him, to be a servant to Him? Will you allow Him to send you out? Are you going out in your own strength and asking God to bless it? Or are you letting God send you out into the blessed life He has for you?

"...let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus is our ultimate example of a bond-servant and we are to follow Him, it was His hands and feet that were nailed to the cross that He would do the will of the Father, He was in complete submission to the Father in heaven.

Graduation

I graduated from Charis Bible college last Saturday. It is hard to believe that my 2 years at bible school is finished! What an amazing 2 years!!

My Mum and friend Christina came over for graduation; they have been here almost 2 weeks now and we have done plenty of sight seeing recently in between graduation preparations, parties etc. It is a bitter sweet time, although it is nice to have a break from 4 hours of classes 5 days a week I think I will miss it after a while, and I know I will miss the staff and my friends. I have learned so much and grown a lot over the 2 years, I feel ready and excited to move on to the next chapter. In just over 6 weeks I will be moving back to the UK! As Christina put it "a time of goodbyes is followed by hellos." Really looking forward to saying "hello" again to friends and family in the UK and stepping into new things back home!

Thank you very much to all those of you who have supported me, both financially and in prayer! It has been a life changing experience! I will be continuing on at the ranch here for the next 6 weeks, but will be moving out of the "Esther House" at the end of next week and handing over the management to one of the other girls in the house.

Seeking After God Entirely

S.A.G.E (Seeking After God Entirely) is the name of a ministry group at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch for teenage girls; the group combines worship and bible teaching with horse activities and as the name states it is teaching the girls to seek after God with their whole heart - what a wonderful ministry!
The week I was there visiting they started the group off with a group activity; they had four large sacks of horse grain weighing 50lb each, the group of about 20 girls were given the task of carrying the bags three times around the arena (approx size 20m x 40m) - the idea behind it was to use it as an analogy of our walk with God, each lap signified a stage in relationship with Him; didn't even attempt the task - haven't started their walk with Christ; If they started but gave up part way - following God but not fully committed; Went the whole way in completing it - Giving Him their all, following whole heartedly. The question was posed to the girls after the activity "where are you at in your walk with God?" and each stage of the analogy explained.

I think this is something we all need to ask ourselves on a regular basis, are we seeking after God entirely?

We had a guest teacher at college today and he spoke about his ministry experience and tips and pointers for longevity in ministry. One of the points he made was the three dimensions of who we are from Romans 1:1 - Paul introduces himself as - Paul, a bond servant and apostle.

1. Paul - who he is, his person-hood,
2. Bond-servant - servant-hood,
3. Apostle - his calling.

He stated that it is important we don't get so wrapped up in our assignment that we lose who we are, our person-hood. The word teaches us to be thou not do thou. This made me think of this activity at the S.A.G.E group again, if these girls had got caught up in the task they may not have done it, they were not told the purpose of the task before they did it they were just told what to do and because they had relationship with the leaders and they trusted and respected them they did what they were asked to do.

Seeking after God entirely isn't our works; it wasn't the act that was important for the girls but the lesson that was taught from it - the work was simply a picture. Sometimes our works are profitable for ourselves or the extension of the kingdom, but sometimes they just give us a picture of God. It is not our works that are important, rather a relationship with Him. Out of our relationship with Him we will flow in that which He has called us to; but without that relationship we are nothing! If the girls at S.A.G.E were not there and listening to the leaders they wouldn't have known the task; even if they had been there the week before, they couldn't turn up the next week without talking to the leaders and know what to do. The same goes for us in our walk with the Lord, we need to take time to be with Him and listen so He can send us out, not skip the first two stages and try to do. Mark 3:15 says that He ordained the 12 disciples to be with Him that he might send them forth to preach. He will send us where He wants us to go, equip us to do what He wants us to do, and give us the strength to run the race.

Heb 12:1-2 "...let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

Success in any area of life comes out of a relationship with Him, I believe the key to Seeking After God Entirely is walking and talking with Him constantly, in an intimate relationship.

Continued confirmation

God continues to confirm His words to me over and over. Today in one of my classes at college the instructor prayed over each of us in the class. The words that God spoke through Him confirmed things again that had been spoken over me in the past and that God had been revealing to me through His word in terms of my giftings, that which he has called me to and the things He has for me in the future.One of the things prophesied was that I will see all my desires and dreams come to pass - Praise God! I have been dreaming big and setting high expectations of what God will do in me and through me and although I know the word says He will exceed my expectations doubt still tries to creep in; but God is continually confirming to me that I am on track and He will meet and exceed my expectations. I know He has great things for me and it is so good to be continually reminded of this.

I love to dream big because I know His ways are higher than I could ever think or imagine. I can be assured that I cannot out dream God but rather in dreaming big I am allowing Him to fulfill all that He wants to do in me and through me!

Another God ordained trip

Wow! Another amazing, clearly God ordained trip to Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. Last time I was there was when Tracy and I met this time the two of us together were gleaning all we could for our program here in the Colorado and for my program back in England. God met us in the little details of finding a cheap but nice motel room and good places to eat at reasonable prices to giving both of us what we needed to see and hear at Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch.

After the first day at the ranch Tracy and I agreed that even if we had only had that one day it would have been worthwhile - but, God had so much more in-store for us and we had another 3 fantastic days. We spent time shadowing the different activities going on, some time working with the horses and spent a lot of time talking with many of the staff about the ins and outs of how things are run and what they have found does and doesn't work. Kim Meeder (ranch proprietor) didn't know we were going to be there until she got back into town Monday night, but she went out of her way to spend a lot of time talking with us, and ministering to us, as well as teaching us some of the training they do with the horses. All of the staff were very warm and friendly and willing to be open and share with us their experiences and wisdom and insight.

As we looked at the magnitude of the program at Crystal Peaks we could have been overwhelmed but God showed both of us the foundation and the simplicity within the structure. After the first day God spoke to me that it was like a large, beautiful building, most people would look at it and see the beauty of the entire structure but in order to build something similar it is also necessary to look at the foundations that keep the building standing. It can be tempting to try to build something beautiful, maybe copying something we have seen work or going on something God has shown us, we try to go straight into the structure and detail, the practicalities, the outward beauty; but if we don't take the time to lay the foundations, even if things look good and go smoothly for a while, it will not stay standing for long. He showed me that the core foundations of Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch are Faith, Hope and Love (1 Cor 13:13 "And now abide faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love")  Many of the children that go to the ranch are not of the Faith and have not been taught the truth of God's word, many of them are without hope and do not know true love. Through the staff at Crystal Peaks sharing their faith, they give the children hope and lead them to the true love, our father God, Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life.That is the goal of this ranch, it is not to teach the children to ride, it is not only to love them and provide them with a fun place to play and learn about horses, it is to make a difference in their life, to give them a hope and an empowered future.

An important thing for Tracy and I to be reminded of for our programs is we are not there to people please, to try to give them what they think they want, the real thing we have to give is the love of God and the horses are one of the very effective tools to share that love with them, but as with any tool, if it is not used correctly, it will not work as well. It is from a solid foundation and deep roots that good fruit will come consistently. This trip for both of us refreshed the simplicity of our vision, and the foundation, as well as showing us creative ways to be effective and build from a solid foundation.

Oregon Again

Well, life continues to be an exciting adventure. I have just 4 weeks left at school, just over a month until I hand over management of the Esther house and about 2 1/2 months until I return to the UK!! Lets just say life is busy in the finishing of one chapter and preparing for the next exciting chapter of my life.

Today I am going to the Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch in Oregon again for a week. This time myself and Tracy (proprietor of Horses from Heaven, Colorado Springs) will be shadowing the everyday activities of the ranch for us to see how a more established program looks. I know this trip will help both of us in operation of Horses from Heaven and also help me for my future program in England.

As always God has made a way where there seemed to be no way! We have been planning this trip for some time and up until a few days ago it was looking like financialy we wouldn't be able to do it; I knew God wanted us to go but I had been doubting the timing but God continued to confirm that now was the time. God told me I needed to take a step of faith and prepare to go. So I started telling people I was going, transferred money ready to book the flights and told Tracy - we are going! One my fellow students who had already given me $100 gave me another $150 for the trip and I found a slightly cheaper flight. I know this trip is going to be even better than I am expecting and that God will plant things in both of our hearts to implement in our ministries - I am excited!!

Just for Fun

I will be leaving shortly for a long weekend in South Dakota with some friends to join their family for Easter. Life has been very busy recently so I am really looking forward to doing something different, seeing another part of the country and gaining some rest whilst having a good time with friends.
God knows what we need and when we need it and not only that but He provides extra just for us to have fun and enjoy ourselves. At the end of college today another student handed me $100 and said I heard you are going away this weekend, I just wanted to bless you, use this to have fun. It was totally unexpected, I am used to God providing for my needs and over and above but to receive a gift specifically for me to have fun really blessed me! God really does take care of us, far over and above our needs!