You Can't "Undo" It

Mason and I (Keith) have been setting some time aside each week to share about things pertaining to our upcoming journey.    We typically share about the readings we have been tasked with, and what kind of insight they are giving us for what we are about to experience.   It is always great to have someone to share thoughts and ideas with - and ultimately, grows our excitement for what we will be impacted by...

I was so blessed by where God took our conversation - and he is the big theme in a nutshell.

When you go someplace to intentionally seek God (could be church, The River, a room to pray in your own home, or a trip to Israel), that becomes a faith experience that you can't "undo".

So for us, there is great excitement in knowing that we are going to Israel, not just to experience a new place, see new things, and meet new people - no, we are going to Israel to experience and seek God.  Each of us, in our own journey of faith, seeking after His face and asking Him to reveal more of himself to us, to make us more like him, and to stir in us a passion to be a part of His kingdom.

Last night, at our Sunday Night praise and worship, we listened to "Hosanna" by Hillsong.   Something that I have shared with many people, is that there are some really powerful words in worship songs for us to be singing.   It could be a whole other topic on that we can't just show up and sing words on a screen - we truly make them the cry of our heart and life if we want them to be worship.   In this song these lyrics show up:

"Heal my heart and make it clean

Open up my eyes to the things unseen

Show my how to love like you, have loved me"

"Break my heart for what breaks yours,

Everything I am for your kingdoms cause

As I walk from earth into, eternity"

WHOA!   Really!   Do I REALLY want that?!?   The healing my heart part sounds nice.  But from there it gets pretty...shall we say....sacrificial!

Asking God to "open up my eyes", "show me how to love like he loves", "break my heart for what breaks his", and that "EVERYTHING I am is for his kingdoms cause.......those are no small requests.  That is literally saying, I am ready to die to myself God that I might truly understand and see things as you see them.   And not only that, but that I would be called to go and do something about it!

And so, as Mason and I chatted.  Our trip to Israel is engulfed in prayers now for some of those very things.   When we experience the Holy Land, and the Bible comes to life in a new way, and we experience our faith in a new way, and we come to know our Savior in a new way - we can't "undo" those things in our life.   We can't pretend like they didn't happen.   We can't say - oh, well, that was nice, but now back to the way things were.

We have no idea what things God has in store to reveal to us in June.   But we are filled with joy and excitement in knowing that we are going to intentionally seek HIM, and that he has something beautiful in store for us while we are there.    Can't wait to see what that is.....

Trip Orientation Call - April 10, 2016

Today was the second of 3 conference calls that our group of 26 shared in preparation for our journey to Israel.   I can honestly say that the meeting made things 'feel real' - as we are about 72 days away from our trip and the excitement for what lies ahead grows.

As I mentioned - 26!! - people will be taking this trip together - 6 of those being our core group.   So, I am excited for the chance to share in this experience with several other people as well, and build relationships that will always share this trip in common.   A reminder that this journey is a "Discipleship" trip, meaning their is an adult mentor going with each "young adult".   For our journey, we aren't specifically pairing up, but more Pat, Anita and I will be celebrating the trip with Bryce, Mason and Cory.   In fact, I am pretty sure in some respects, we will be mentored just as much by them as they are by us - and that is a cool thing!

A quick run-down of the phone call:
1. We first went over some trip details, specifically dealing with what to pack, how much to pack, what are the most important pieces to take, etc.   Our health goal is to be able to walk 5 miles non-stop per day, and climb 10 flights of stairs.   As they mentioned, this task isn't so daunting on day 2 and 3, but more so on days 9, 10, 11 when our bodies begin to physically wear down.   PRAYERS FOR HEALTH AND STRENGTH WOULD BE APPRECIATED DURING THIS TRIP!

2. The majority of this conference call dealt with diving into the Historical aspect of the trip.   Understanding what was happening around the world during different eras of the Bible.  For instance, around 2000 BC is when we think Abraham was called to Canaan - at this point in history, the pyramids had already been built and civilizations were pretty well established.   Most of this occured during the Bronze age, as did the time of Moses.

The time of David, around 1000 BC, was the Iron Age, so as armies found better ways to fight and cultures find new ways of doing this, we find Davis conquering much land for God's people.   As the moved through the time of the Exile, we see many different cultures dominating the world landscape, culminating with the Romans during the time Jesus arrived on the scene.  These are important for us to understand as we will see many different ancient ruin sites and this allows us to be able to connect to what was happening in world history at that time.

The last thing we did was to study the different aspects of the "Jews".   Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, Pagons, Herodians - all of them had their own beliefs and way of thinking the Law should be followed - but what is important for us is to understand that Jesus came and blazed a new trail for us to follow.   There are so many parallels already between then and now, which I think will hit home even more during our travels.



So - lot's of info there for you - but as I said, as we drink in this stuff, it escalates our excitement for this journey and what we will learn of God's people, God's plan, and God's power!

May 15 will be our final conference call as we tackle the geography of the land - so not just understanding WHAT was happening, but WHERE is was happening as well.    Until then....

Why Am I Excited - Anita Sietstra

I'm going to be 100% honest here...I'm NOT completely excited to go to Israel.  I know, I know, WHAT?!  And I debated for a long time on whether or not to share this, but recently a friend encouraged me to share the words God has placed on my heart, so here it goes...

As many of you know, I am a mom to 3 fabulous, wonderful, terrific kiddos whom I love with my whole heart.  Everything I do is for them.  When I'm not with them they are constantly on my mind (Is Lydia using the potty OK today?  Is Savannah crabby because of her new teeth?  Is Kase paying attention in school?)  There's rarely a time when I don't think about them.  So to be away from them for 2 weeks is almost more than my Mama Bear heart can handle.  HOWEVER, as much as I love them and treasure them, I need to remember that they are not supposed to be my primary and most important relationship.  God comes first.  I've had a relationship with God for a very long time but it's never been a DEEP love that I desire.  My prayer is that this trip will deepen my Jesus love in a way I never knew possible.  I'm a visual learner, show me how to do something and chances are I'll get it right next time.  So to see the actual place where Jesus arose?  To TOUCH the actual tomb?  Mind blowing!  To walk through the actual places where Jesus walked?  I'm in!  And while I will miss my kids tremendously while we're gone, I cannot pass up a trip like this.

My second fear is safety.  We have been assured that where we are traveling is very safe, and I believe that.  I also know, however, that the devil has evil tricks and has great power.  The devil also knows that safety is one of my fears for life in general.  He knows that my heart beats 10x faster when I'm in a car or airplane.  He knows that strange locations make my blood pressure rise above a normal level.  But I refuse to let him win.  I will not live my life in fear.  I will not let fear tell me what I should or shouldn't do.  I choose to believe that good will win.  

Anita is Keith's wife, and member of Faith Reformed Church in Rock Valley.

Why Am I Excited - Keith Sietstra

Talk about a loaded question!

I have confessed to a few people, that when the opportunity first came up to go to Israel, my reaction was excitement to take a '2 week vacation' and just enjoy being in a place I have never been before.

Oh, how God has been working on my heart since that time....

So, in the cheesiest fashion possible, I offer you:


Keith's Top 5 Reasons He Is Excited To Journey To The Holy Land

1. The Promised Land: When we step off the plane in Tel Aviv on June 24, we will be setting foot into the 'land flowing with milk and honey' that God promised to his people in the Old Testament.   It is a land God had said would provide for their every need, and it is a land that he set apart to be holy, and that when people think and speak of it, they would know His presence!

2. Dusty Feet: I have heard over and over again, that to be a disciple back in Jesus day, meant that you literally would walk 'in the dust of the rabbi'.   As they walked single file, the teacher would kick up dust, that his followers would walk through.    We get to walk those same paths.   We get to end our day with dirty, dusty feet.  And Jesus sacrifice of washing his disciples feet will take on a whole new meaning.

3. Via Dolorosa:  Especially just coming out of Holy Week, I have a hard time even wrapping my mind around the fact that in a few short months I will walk the path that Jesus walked to take my sin upon a cross.  It is one thing for me to know that truth in my heart, but to now experience and praise God for each step that he took in a physical way - tears already starting to flow!

4. Parables: So many of Jesus' words to us in the Bible were given through parables.   And the fact that those parables so often were referencing something they were looking at, or a place they were journeying through, creates a deep excitement in me to view those parables with 'new eyes'.    Connecting God's teachings literally with heart, mind, and now eyes will be a powerful experience.

5. Miracles: Matthew 11:5 - "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor."

And we get the chance to see the places where those things happened!  From where the walls of Jericho fell, from the valley where David defeated Goliath, to the stable where Jesus was born, to the hill on which he died, and to the tomb in which HE NO LONGER LAYS!    All of these truths of our faith will become sight for me - and for that, I praise God.

So, like Bryce said, to put this journey into words is turning out to be far more difficult that I imagined.  What was once a "get-a-way", God has revealed is about to become an amazing 'faith-growing' experience.   Not only that, but to do it with people whom I have come to love and care deeply for, will help to make it all the more special as we grow together!

Keith is the Director of Discipleship at Faith Reformed Church in Rock Valley.