How I Met Jesus by Jenna Vick Silliman

On a day in early springtime, I rode on a big yellow bus with a bunch of other kids up to the Santa Cruz Mountains of California to a Young Life retreat weekend at Mount Hermon Conference Center. The cherry trees were covered with showy blossoms. During the day we played games and did a lot of singing. One of the leaders asked me, “Are you a Christian?”

I gave her a puzzled reply, “Of course! Isn’t everybody? Isn’t this a Christian nation?”

The speaker that night told of God’s great love for me. He quoted Bible verses about how God loved me so much that He came to earth in the form of a sinless man and died for me to pay for my sins. Jesus died for ME!? This was news—He did it for me, personally. Wow! I also never knew that Jesus was God—I thought He was just a cool guy and a good example to follow. Jesus is God! Amazing! With new thoughts going around in my head, the speaker gave us a fifteen-minute quiet time. We were to walk out in complete silence and go somewhere alone to talk to Jesus/God.

I sat under one of those blooming cherry trees, looked up at the stars, and cried my heart out. In the midst of much confusion, because I thought I was already a Christian just by attending the Catholic Church and being a U.S. citizen, I talked to the Lord Jesus for the first time. I thanked Him for His death for my sins. I thanked Him for His love. I remember feeling a deep sense of relief and I felt settled in my heart about my faith when I got done praying.

When I walked back to my cabin, my Young Life leader smiled at me. My eyes were red from crying, but I smiled right back at her and looked into her sparkling eyes. I could tell she knew. She asked me again, “Are you a Christian now?”

I said, “Yes! I am now!” She took both my hands and jumped up and down and spun me around and laughed. Then she opened her Bible and shared a Scripture verse that has become one of my favorites.


2 Corinthians 5:17,18 If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.


She had a little butterfly drawn in the margin of her Bible by this verse. She explained that a good analogy of becoming a Christian, is a butterfly coming out of a cocoon—a new creation. It is coming alive, spiritually, on the inside. In the Bible, Jesus calls it being “born again.” In fact, Jesus said, “You must be born again.” John 3:7

The next day I bought myself a Bible in the camp bookstore. I wrote my name inside the cover and copied out “my” verse and drew a butterfly beside it. Then I wrote down the date I became a new creation and started a new life in Christ—March 25, 1974.

I committed to reading two pages of the Bible, God’s Words to me, each day. On March 25 this year, 2012, I celebrate 38 years of life with Jesus, and He has been much more than my redeemer. He is my creator, my friend, my counselor, my provider, my strength, my teacher, my father, and He has even been a mother to me. Because we as Christians are the Bride of Christ, I have also come to know Jesus as my Groom, the love of my life. Jesus said, “This is eternal life that you KNOW Me.” John 17:3 Isn’t it amazing that we can know the Lord of all creation a little bit better every day?

Thank You, Jesus, for Your love, Your life, and Your JOY. I’m so glad I met You 38 years ago. I love You, God! "You show me the path of life and in Your presence is fullness of JOY!"Psalm 16:11 and Acts 2:28.

John Himmelberger, His Influence in My Life by Jenna Vick Silliman

1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”

For the past two years I have been blessed to be influenced by the life and teachings of Pastor John Himmelberger of Deep River Church in Sequim, WA. God has given John to us at Deep River as a spiritual father, pastor/shepherd, and a discipler. The way he shares with us from his own journals and life lessons, as well as testimonies of the lives of others, brings revelation and life. Our home church is connected to the rich community of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. We participate via live broadcasts on the web. John, and his wife, Amy, are taking classes with Bethel, and they pass on what they’re learning about. John is a man who seeks to know the Lord Jesus better day by day and lives a lifestyle that is sensitive to the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit. As John says, “School is always in session.”

Personally I have had dozens of life-changing revelations directly as a result of John’s influence. When asked to write on who has influenced me, I immediately thought of him. Briefly, here are some of the things I have learned from John.

John stresses spending time with God and regularly going to “the secret place” to soak in His presence and continue in revival fire of the Holy Spirit. John often answers questions with the question, “What does Holy Spirit say?” to encourage us to go to God with our questions and when there are decisions to be made. The most common statement you will hear from John is, “I love the Lord!” John also constantly reminds us to be thankful and how we enter God’s presence with the password, “Thank You”. (See Psalm 100:4, Message Bible.)

Often John has us pair off and speak encouraging words to one another as we seek to develop a culture of honor, love, and faith. If we look at each other with “kingdom eyes” we will think well and speak well of one another and extend grace and hope to each other. Putting these things into practice has caused them to be more of a lifestyle. More often when I talk with someone now, I listen to the Holy Spirit about what I might share to speak an encouraging word or what I might give them. John is one generous guy and he has so much fun giving that it is contagious.

Our words are extremely powerful and John reminds us to speak out the truth and make declarations in faith of what we hope for, even if we don’t feel like it and even if we do not see it yet. For example, one of our declarations is, “God is prospering all of our relationships.” Another one is, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” Another is, “Our prayers are powerful and effective.”

I’ve come to look at myself, or my identity, more positively too. I am amazing, anointed, gifted, empowered, continually filled with the Holy Spirit, and sent out by Jesus. I have assignments waiting for me every day, everywhere I go. In Jesus I AM the divine appointment because my identity is Christ Himself. As the Word says in 1John 4:17, “As Jesus is in the world, so are we.” Pastor John tells us, “We do what Jesus did and say what Jesus said. It is not enough to believe, because even the demons believe. We are world changers and history makers!”

I even pray differently now. I pray with authority and speak out with more boldness. According to Ephesians 2:6 I am co-resurrected and co-seated with Jesus on His heavenly throne. I don’t ask God or plead with Him to move mountains, I speak to the mountain and say: “BE REMOVED!” I have gift for intercessory prayer. As a result of John’s teaching this has expanded to actually “shift the atmosphere” through praying when I come into a room or in preparation for a worship meeting. Also, in the past I seldom would pray for miracles, but I’ve learned to pray just as Jesus would. John has taught us to persevere in prayer and be expecting miracles. He always says, “The conditions are perfect.” He encourages us to fully trust God even when we don’t see the desired results of our prayers. He has continued to challenge us to be “fearless now” and to “cross the chicken line” and follow Holy Spirit’s leading and not be timid, go by our feelings, our fears, or past experiences. He reminds us, “Our past does not have to determine our future. We have a great destiny.”

John has continually prayed for us to enter into God’s freedom. Freedom is a wonderful thing--free from the fear of what people think, free from fears, free from regrets and “if only” thoughts, free from perfectionism, and free to be all that our Creator made us to be. In these last two years I have come to realize I’m a dancer and a flagger for worship and intercession. To enter into God’s presence as I freely dance and flag during worship and prayer is one of the most glorious things I’ve ever experienced. I think this is one of the things I was born to do!

Not only have I been encouraged, inspired, and challenged by John’s life, I have been CHANGED. Thank you, John, for all you have imparted to us to strengthen and establish our faith and to expand God’s kingdom. You are amazing!

Words of Love, Hope, and Power

A few words come to mind when I think about my fellows here at Kingdom Bloggers. Although I've never met any of them in person, or even talked on the phone, they each have a definite presence for me.

The Word is Love
When I think of Tony C, I think of Love. This man just seems to permeate love for others. It's always there in every account he relates; it doesn't matter if he actually comes out and talks about his love for others or not, it's still always in the subtext of whatever he's saying.



The Word is Hope
When I think of Joyce, I think of Hope. Even just the brief bit of her life that I know resounds with hope; God has brought her through so much in her life - how can I hear what God has done for Joyce and not feel hopeful inside?!


The Word is Power
When I think of David, I think of Power. God's power; manifest in us through His Holy Spirit. I see David earnestly seek after God, sincerely seek to be used by God, and passionately seek after the Holy Spirit's power being manifest in his life.


Not so surprisingly, I've learned about Love from Tony, Hope from Joyce, and God's power through us from David. I'm grateful that I've been blessed to be a part of this group and look forward to learning more from each of them in the days ahead.

Don't be a Dunce

Living life takes a lot of strength. Living for Christ takes a lot of faith. Scott Peck said "Life is difficult." (The Road Less Traveled) But that was before he knew Christ. Because the cross is relational, connecting us vertically to God the Father and horizontally to other believers, it changes how we live life. In fact with faith in the finished work of Jesus, we are transformed "life live-ers." We are no longer of this world, but of the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ dwells within us! Life in Christ (his yoke) is easy.

This week the motley crew, better known as the Kingdom Bloggers are going to write about what we have learned from each other. You'll gain knowledge of a lot of fun facts which pertain to us. For instance Tony C. does not drink coffee ( I know), Joyce gets a little crazy in church, Tracy knows a lot about mental illness (she needs that knowledge to engage the men of this group!), and Stephanie, well she is passionate about  Jesus! So read on this week, there's a lot more nuggets of truth you can't use at the next Trivial Pursuit game.

It is no secret that even with faith, life is difficult. It is only "putting" our faith in Jesus that makes it any easier. There are certainly some Bible lessons for getting through the tough times. HERE is more on that. I have my own story this past few months as I recover from a heart attack. HERE is the latest on that if you are interested. What makes the journey even more bearable is relationship.

Who would have thought commenting on Tony C Today a few years ago would have led to a friendship that is growing deeper in spite of the thousand miles between us? The open door was an opportunity to pray from him the night before a medical procedure. Since that time I know a lot more about being a southerner because of him - Mountain Dew, sweet tea, and really taking weekends off; the stereotypes are true! And I feel like Elvis lives every time I hear his east Tennessee twang. All kidding aside (which is hard to do with a guy like Tony), I appreciate his prayers. When the T-Man prays, you know that God is listening. I also appreciate his uplifting phone calls when he can fit me on his way from the couch to the bed. Thanks, bro. I hope I am as encouraging to others as you are to me.

I have known Joyce since we went on a mission trip to Norway in 2002. We were part of a team of about 50 Americans and Norwegians. You can read more about that HERE. The truth, I have gotten to know here much better through her blog, Sounds of Hope, and Kingdom Bloggers. She tells the unvarnished truth about real life. I appreciate that because it makes me feel more normal. She makes the simplest religious practice seem exciting; she's a great storyteller too. I wold say Joyce is the pastoral one of the group, often gathering the sheep through Facebook messages and prayer requests. You can count on her for compassion, for prayer and probably for anything else if you need it. All of that comes through in her writing. She likes to have fun too! IE: wearing lampshades in church sounds like a hoot!

Stephanie (when she actually has time to join us on Wednesdays) attended a class that I taught at my church. She gave up 7 Friday evenings (pretty amazing for a 20-something) to hear yours truly carry on about his passion for the Kingdom of God in person. What I know about her is faith, child like faith. She reads the word of God and believes it. I need to be more like that!

Tracy is the member of KB that I know the least. However; it is evident from her writing that she is a reader and doer of the Word of God. I should be more like that. She has been transparent with us about the not so joyous parts of parenting along with the triumphs of kids who make good choices. This crew has a lot of kids ranging newborn to over the hill. As a mental health professional, I have enjoyed her insight into a world that I knew little about. It has released a deeper compassion simply by knowing more about it. So, thanks Tracy.



So there you have it, one of the best life classes I have ever taken is working with these brothers and sisters.