I'm in Hawaii!!

Hello friends!
This is my first update to you from the beautiful land of Kailua Kona, Hawaii! As I write to you, I’m sitting at Daylight Mind Coffee Company, and I had to share my view with you. Unreal, I know. I find myself waking up everyday looking out at the ocean with a thankful heart that the Lord would bring me to such a beautiful place to learn more about him. But isn’t that so fitting to his character? He is the giver of life and every good thing and I find he often draws me to himself through his beauty.

I can’t believe we’ve only had one week of classes, because it already feels like I’ve been here a month. We had a couple days of orientation, our school went to Hepuna Beach (as seen above) on the first day of “class” and went cliff jumping (Can check that off my bucket list!), and we’ve been having classes, exploring town, and just getting adjusted to life in Kona. The Lord is moving and stretching me in so many ways that it’s hard to put into words all that he is doing. But guys, Jesus is so good. Of that I am certain.

One of the things God is reminding me of this week is that I am here solely to know him and to fall deeper in love with him. There is no other agenda and I love that. When else am I going to have six months dedicated to just studying his Word and falling more in love with him? One thing I love about our classes is that we will randomly stop just to respond to God’s goodness in worship, prayer, and intercession. One day we were worshiping through music and I was so overcome by God’s love and his presence that I just couldn’t hold back the tears. It was a wonderful moment to just soak in God’s faithfulness and beauty.

Yesterday, my friend Micaela and I took the trolley to Magic Sands Beach, had the most amazing acai bowls, walked around town and swam by the pier. It was the perfect day of rest that I needed. And then our outreach team had dinner together...

And YES, we found out our outreach locations this week! I can’t post exactly where we are going, but if you’d like to know please text me or send me your email address so I can send you the announcement!! 

Some things you can be praying for:

*Deepening of relationships and unity in our school and outreach team

*That God would continue to wreck my heart 

*That I'd learn to continually walk in his love

*Funds for my outreach

Thank you so much and I love you all! Oh and if you'd like to communicate through snail mail I'd love to hear from you! My address here is:

Tamara Shibata

Comm Trans DTS - 4th Quarter

University of Nations

75-5851 Kuakini Hwy

Kailua Kona, HI 96740

A late summer update...

Hey friends! I know this is a bit after the fact, but below is my summer update after being at Hume Lake (in case you aren't on my mailing list). Time is flying and I'm already in Kona! I continue to covet your prayers in this new transition and praise God everyday for bringing me here.

I love and miss you all!
Tamara

Courage, dear heart.

"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion."

"Ooh!" said Susan, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."
-The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

As I get ready to board a plane to a new place, new people, new adventures, I'm reminded of the day the Lord called me to COURAGE. I was standing on the Avila Pier looking out at the view you see above, worshiping in awe of my beautiful Creator. As I prayed and watched, I could feel God building up courage in me. I didn't know what it was for - all I knew is that change was coming and he was preparing me for something he had down the road. I felt excitement and joy, strength and boldness like I could fly. I stood there for who knows how long soaking in his presence and trying to freeze that moment so that I'd always remember that feeling of triumph and strength in the arms of my first love.

A few weeks later I was offered a summer job at Hume Lake. There were so many obstacles in my line of vision at the time, and though I wanted to accept the job, I was fearful of all the unanswered questions. A sweet friend reminded me that we often have to take a leap of faith before the Lord clears the path. So sure enough I took that leap and God paved the way for me to go. And what a blessing this summer was! And he never ceased to remind me that he was the one who had brought me there.

And just as I was accepting the job at Hume Lake I was accepted into the YWAM Discipleship Training School in Kona for the fall. God is so good! And now summer has passed and the fall is becoming a reality. Many times throughout the summer and still now I'm reminded of that February day in Avila Beach, when God called me to be courageous. And he has provided more than enough since I gave that firm "yes." Because something God taught me this summer was that I can be totally out of my comfort zone, but completely where I need to be. Because courage is not the lack of fear, but the ability to do something that frightens you. No, this road we walk is not always safe and we're not always comfortable, but God has called me to a higher purpose.

To remember that I am not my own.

So take courage today, dear friends.

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I cam convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you." - 2 Timothy 1:6-14

Holy Spirit come

I may be the worst blogger ever. Sporadic much? Oh well. I know you'll forgive me...

Just wanted to share a little something that I found very encouraging this weekend. We spend a lot of time talking about unity in the church. It is critically important - and for many reasons. God created each of his children so magnificently different. But how does he expect us to be unified while embracing those differences?

Ephesians 4:3 says "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace." When our focus in life is connecting with the Holy Spirit, we will naturally be bonded to people who have the same purpose.

I read a blog devotional by Cody Carnes recently and he said:
"Being a unified body doesn't mean we all operate exactly the same, look the same way or live out the same calling. It means we're all connected to the same "brain" - the Holy Spirit. Just like our brains communicate with our hands and tell them to move, the Holy Spirit communicates with us. When we obey, we can confidently walk in what we were created to do."

And what "we do" looks different. What God constantly reminds me is that we all worship differently. We all connect with God in a different way. We are all called to do different things in life. But God is the bridge between those things and all are important in the body of Christ.

"The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit... If the whole body were any eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it." - 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 17-18

So we have to do our part. Connecting with the Holy Spirit ourselves so that we can live as Christ's body as He intended. I love this A. W. Tozer quote so much:

"Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified."

If you'd like to read the original devotional (and I recommend you do), you can find it here :)

Happy Monday, friends! Praying you are able to connect to the Holy Spirit in a strong way this week.

Be Born in Me

This weekend I get the privilege of being a part of the Grace BIble Church Christmas concerts "Promise of Peace." We've done two out of four concerts so far and I am blown away by God's goodness. I get to sing a song called "Be Born In Me" sung from the perspective of Mary, a young teenage girl about to give birth to the Messiah. Nichole Nordeman wrote this song (I love all of the lyrics she writes) and it paints such a beautiful, vulnerable picture of  Mary and I have loved singing it. Each time I sing it, I learn something more about Mary, and what she must have been going through. Here are the lyrics:

Everything inside me cries for order
Everything inside me wants to hide
Is this shadow an angel or a warrior?
If God is pleased with me, why am I so terrified?
Someone tell me I am only dreaming
Somehow help me see with Heaven's eyes
And before my head agrees, my heart is on its knees
Holy is He. Blessed am I.

Be born in me, be born in me
Trembling heart, somehow I believe that You chose me
I'll hold you in the beginning, You will hold me in the end
Every moment in the middle, make my heart your Bethlehem
Be born in me

All this time we've waited for the promise
All this time You've waited for my arms
Did You wrap yourself inside the unexpected
So we might know that Love would go that far?

I am not brave
I'll never be
The only thing my heart can offer is a vacancy
I'm just a girl
Nothing moreBut I am willing, I am Yours

This is such a beautiful song and in huge part because of the lyrics. I love the bridge, "I am not brave..." and the honesty in the first verse. It shows Mary's vulnerability and how scared and almost ashamed she must have felt. Yet she is on her knees saying "Holy is He. Blessed am I." How many of us in a time of struggle say that? That we are truly blessed to be dealing with those hardships?

And the bridge - "I'm just a girl, nothing more. But I am willing, I am Yours." Total humility. No sense of pride at all. But a sense of willingness and happy surrender. 

I love the idea of belonging to God. I am His... and He is mine. As human beings, we long to belong. We want to fit in. We want to be wanted. But how often do we give ourselves to less deserving objects, goals, possessions,  or people?

God is the creator of the universe! He sent Jesus to be our Savior. We were drowning in our sin and He saved us. Grace. Unfathomable grace.

I want to belong to God. I want this to be my song:

"I'm just a girl, nothing more. I am willing. I am Yours."

Fueled and Aflame

"Don't burn out; keep yourself fueled and aflame." - Romans 12:12 (MSG)

I need to be reminded of this. As a person who works in ministry or multiple ministries, there's often a concern of getting "burnt out." And it's a dangerous thing. But the key is staying fueled and flamed.

Simple idea. Hard to carry out.

For so many of us, the issue is not cutting out bad things for good. It is cutting out good for best. And not saying certain ministries are better than others- more that we have to be involved where the Lord has called us and apply ourselves... instead of piddling ourselves in a bunch of different areas.

For me, I think of this verse in terms of leading worship. It would apply to all ministries, but as I lead people into the presence of God, one of the most important things I can do to prepare is getting fueled and fed myself. It's easy to keep pouring out, pouring out until we are completely empty. But if we are able to pour out from an overflow of what God's doing, we will never run dry. I know as a worship leader, you can't take someone where you've never been. So if I haven't been in God's presence, in his word, and in real relationship with him, I'm not going to be able to lead people effectively. And I have come to cherish those times every evening when I slow down, dig deep and get swept away in God's sweet presence. I hope you all will do the same sometime today.

I guess this post is really me speaking to myself. But hopefully it will be of encouragement to someone else as well :)

This afternoon I'm attending the annual AG Village Christmas concert that happens every year the weekend after Thanksgiving. I'm not in it this year, but it's become a tradition and great way to start off the holiday season! My parents are in it and I'm sure it'll be full of Christmas cheer :)

'Til next time...

Fellowship or Socializing?

For the last couple weeks I've been meditating on the word "fellowship." As Christians I think we often throw the term around in a loose way and think if there is a group of believers meeting together it's automatically "fellowship." But in an excerpt from our Spiritual Disciplines study I found this very interesting...

"Although socializing is often both a part of and the context of fellowship, it is possible to socialize without having fellowship. Socializing involves the sharing of human and earthly life. Christian fellowship, New Testament koinonia, involves the sharing of spiritual life. Don't misunderstand - socializing is a valuable asset to the church and necessary for a balanced life. But we have gone beyond giving socializing the place it deserves. We have become willing to accept it as a substitute for fellowship, almost cheating ourselves of the Christian birthright of true fellowship altogether. When this happens, our practice of the Spiritual Disciplines suffers and our growth in grace is stunted." The author goes on to say that at the end of the day, we often settle for "little more than the fast-food kind of socializing that even the world can experience."

This was a good point to think on.  Socializing with other Christians is often important, but there is nothing like sitting and sharing what's going on in our walks with God. Where He's stretching, teaching and loving us in every day life. These are the conversations that I truly cherish and will continue to think back on.

On that note, I had a great weekend full of great true fellowship. I am thankful to God for the wonderful relationships he has blessed me with and the way we are able to love and encourage each other. I was fortunate to have a free weekend! My Friday morning consisted of coffee with Shelanie, a dear friend and true worshiper. We chatted about life, me becoming an auntie, and the role of worship leading in our church bodies.

That night I attended a chorale concert directed by an old mentor/friend/pastor. Afterwards, a group of us went over to our friend, Anne's house, sat by the fire and talked about life. Then Saturday I had coffee with Joanna, who I've known since I was 10. Sitting in Starbucks talking about being a good steward of God's gifts and how to best glorify him in our uses of those gifts was so encouraging to me.





That afternoon I met Amanda for Thai food (our favorite!) and walked over to the park to sit in the grass and reflect on God's goodness. That night Danielle and Alisha (two of my awesome high school girls) came to spend the night at my house. We had dinner with my fam, went to Boba Stop, watched girly movies, ate cookie dough, and painted our nails. Socializing at it's best! ;) Then we got up this morning and went to church together!

Tonight, Cara, Amanda, and I drove up to Paso to see the choir perform at Shelanie's church and mostly to support our friends and see old friends :) It was a great time! What a full, uplifting weekend! Feeling really blessed tonight.

I hope you all make the time to have some good fellowship. It's so important and so wonderful when we can experience it to the fullest, appreciating all of the ways God is working in our lives.

Love you all.