Deep Fried Friday

Welcome to 'Deep Fried Friday' a monthly worship service

hosted by -------

Jenn Maynard

(as told to Sarah Stiewig)

We started Deep Fried Friday (DFF) to create a service young people were involved in. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where identity is cultivated, where we encourage people to step into what God's calling them to do and be. We want to partner with what God is doing in the people who come.

Each month we have a different speaker and we encourage people to come up and give testimonies. It's a free and comfortable atmosphere where people can worship and just be themselves. There are people painting and we have drawing supplies so you can do prophetic art. We leave plenty of room up front so people can dance. I love the service because it's a fun and safe place to be where we know who we are and who each other is in God. We trust each other and we trust ourselves. We are able to recognize each other's gifts and give each other the opportunity to move in them.

We are always listening for the Holy Spirit's leading for the whole service; we want to know what He's doing and where He's leading us. Wherever He's moving is where we want to go, if He's talking about something that's what we want to talk about. It could so easily become just another church service where we do the same thing every single time we get together and it just becomes a repetitive thing. Instead we want it to be full of life. I find that the whole month leading up to DFF I'll be going through all this stuff and not know why until the night of the service. Then I'll realize I needed to get that breakthrough in my own life because there is someone there that needs it.

Treasure Hunting

Another post about treasure hunts :) This is for a newsletter I am working on that will be mostly testimonies of good things God is doing. It's meant as an encouragment for the whole body of Christ in our valley. I will be featuring our monthly Friday night worship service and the treasure hunts. Eventually I hope to also interview the folks who are running the healing rooms in town and include that as well. This article will be part of the first letter and is an introduction to treasure hunts. I couldn't get it to copy and paste for some reason so I just spent a lot of time re-typing it and I spell-checked but did not proof read. I must get back to the kids and the kitchen and...so forgive any typos etc :)

Treasure Hunting

Bear Perrin (as told to Sarah Stiewig)

A "treasure hunt" is a fun, easy form of street evangelism that was inspired by the book "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt" by Kevin Dedmon. Kevin is the director of Bethel Church's Firestorm ministry in Redding , CA. After reading his book and participating in a couple of treasure hunts at conferences in Redding we saw that it was an easy way to hear God's heart for individual people.

God is eager to touch people's hearts and lives through us, all it takes is listening to Him. All it takes is seeing what He wants to do and acting accordingly. Prayer is finding out God's heart about a person, subject or situation. Then after we find His heart, He asks us to go do or declare something about what He's shown us. Treasure hunts will show you just how easy it is to hear God's heart for someone and watch their lives transform before your eyes. It is amazing to see people come alive, both on the receiving and the giving side of a treasure hunt.

At the start of a treasure hunt we meet and worship. We ask God to show us who is on His heart by giving us clues about that particular person. We write the clues down as our "treasure map" as they come to mind. Clues can be a person's appearance, name, location. what they need prayer for or other miscellaneous. I think the biggest obstacle to this process is trying to think of good clues. In 1 Corinthians 2 it says "No one can know the what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us...But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." (vs 11-12 and 16b). So, knowing we have the mind of Christ, we get to trust that when we ask God for clues the things that come to mind are from Him. I have never been on a treasure hunt where something doesn't happen with the clues that God gives us. Ever. As silly as they may be.

Here is just one example of how God comes through: It was First Friday art walk where people come and walk the streets to check out the stores and hang around, it's a big social thing. It's a really great time for treasure hunts. We've seen a lot of people who say they were raised Christian but without proof of who God is in their lives they've "fallen away" from their faith. We get to prove that God's thinking about them, so ti's been phenomenal. My son, Zachary, on his map had 'pink pants' in the appearance category and in miscellaneous he had 'green'. I had 'star symbol' in miscellaneous and 'left knee' and left eye' under prayer needs, someone else on our team had the location. A guy walked in front of us limping pretty badly, so I walked up to him and introduced myself. I told him about the treasure hunt and said, "I believe you're God's treasure", and he looked at me funny. I asked if he was limping because of his left knee. He said yes. I showed him that i had left knee on my map, and told him I believe God gave us these clues about people he wants to touch, and that I would love to pray for him. He said "No!" and turned and walked away. As he was walking off I was praying for him anyway, just silently.

Zach came up to me and said, "Dad, there's the guy on my treasure map." I asked him how he knew and he said he had pink pants on his map. There was a guy wearing pink board shorts and a green shirt (remember Zach had 'green' on his list too). We walked up to the guy and introduced ourselves and explained the treasure hunt. While we were talking I had a word of knowledge that had a leg length discrepancy. He was telling us he was raised a Christian but didn't really follow those beliefs any more. He said he believes God is like a big wheel, the hub of the wheel is people and no matter what belief system you follow all the spokes lead to the same god. I said "You know, that's an interesting theory, but if you believe Jesus is one of the spokes then that theory doesn't' work very well because Jesus said he is the way, the truth and the life. I have proof because Jesus walks in signs and wonders all the time. I believe you have a leg length discrepancy." He asked what I meant. I told him his left leg was half an inch shorter than the other. He asked how i knew that and i said I believe God is telling me so He can touch it. We also handed him the treasure map and asked if any of the things on it were something he was dealing with. He looked at it and said, "Are you guys following me around or somethings!?" He told us he had very little vision in his left eye because he had worked with a friend who was a glass blower and stared at the torch for two days which ruined his vision.

I had him sit down on the ground with his back against a wall to see what his legs looked like. His friends were looking on as we put our hands on his legs and said "In the name of Jesus, leg grow." And right there and then the left leg came out even with the other. He kind of freaked out and and went, "Um, um, um! The only way I'm really going to be able to test this it ti, um, stand up and move around." So he stood up and moved around and said, "Oh man, what did you do? What did you do?" Then he looks up and goes, "No way!" and I said, "You can see now can't you?" Then he started reading street signs all over the place.

This is just one of many, many stories of God's goodness.

A Little Rambling

It's been a while I think, since I rambled on here, that is. I've been drawing a lot of blanks lately when I try to write. You should see my "April" folder in my journal, it's conspicuously empty. I haven't been rambling anywhere...

Except in pictures.

I got a new mountain bike this week and have been enjoying it Immensely! My old comfort street bike now looks like a tank. With the lighter weight and, of course, being a mountain bike (you know, how the handlebars relate to the seat is different) I've been cruising up hills with, um, relative ease. Nate took me out on one of his trails through the woods today. It was a little scary dodging trees and riding over roots and around tight corners and down steep hills, but fun too. I was excited to have done something a little challenging and to have stretched beyond my comfort zone (as far as "safety" I'm a little afraid of crashing into a tree or going over my handlebars) It felt good. And riding with Nate I worked a lot harder than I would have on my own. By yourself the climbs just become work and it's harder to go as far as you know you can, at least for me. My whole body was tired when we were done, but I was happy to think I am getting stronger all the time this way.

I will be so glad when we are done hatching eggs for the year. I knew I went a little overboard with all the eggs I got, it was exciting at first though. The main problem has been that our hatches aren't going so well this year. We've had lots of eggs that didn't hatch and some chicks that died soon after. One of our chicks I peeled out of the egg because he had dried out and the shell and membrane were stuck to his body. There was no way he was getting out on his own. I'm not quick to help them out, the saying is if they're not strong enough to make it out of the shell they're not strong enough to survive and you don't want to mess with weak birds which is perfectly true in nature but in an artificial environment where the fault could be mine (i.e. incorrect humidity in the incubator) it's impossible for me not to help. It's also stressful wondering if they're going to make it out of the shell or not, and do I help or not etc... But, just today we had two chickens and a turkey bust out of their eggs no problem, so I'm feeling quite relieved tonight. I have ducks and turkeys due in a week and more ducks two weeks after that. Then No More This Year. Nate is trying to talk me into guineas. I keep telling him I'm not hatching any more this year, I'll hatch you some next year. And he's started making noise about peacocks. Just how many birds do you want to feed??? :)

I know this is not news if you know me, but it's come to me again lately that I feel more alive when I write. Even a little journal entry is enough to keep the blood flowing, so to speak. And I feel alive when taking pictures. I need to remind myself once in a while to make sure to keep these two simple things in my life on a regular basis. It's amazing to me how easy it is to let even something you love and know you need go neglected because you're tired. Or overwhelmed by life in general. It's hard to be creative when your brain is going numb from the demands of the day.

We are planning to make a dash to the beach tomorrow, in spite of the cold. It has just been too long since I've been there. I need to see the ocean!! I'm hoping to get the boys to cooperate for a little photo shoot while we're there, it's high time for some portraits. Although, I'll probably end up using my favorites, candid 'portraits', for what I have in mind anyway :) We'll see how it goes...

When next we meet it should be over some great beach photos. See you then ;)

Took a Walk in the Rain Today...

It was so beautiful out with the rain pouring down. I've been wishing for rain like this. I went out by myself while the boys were playing games (big boys included) and walked up the hill, into the woods. I went without a hat, the better to feel each lovely giant raindrop falling on my head.

I was fortunate enough to come upon our ravens. Usually they are extremely wary and don't let a human anywhere near them. I guess the rain muffled the sounds of my coming enough that they stuck around a while. I leaned against a tree and enjoyed the many calls sounding nearly over my head. There were answers a ways off, the other half of the pair. Did you know ravens mate for life? Or that they have over twenty different vocalizations? Or that they have tested smarter than chimps in intelligence tests?

Standing in the rain, listening to the ravens, watching rainwater flow down the glistening orange madrone trunks, breathing deep, acknowledging the creator of all with my joy was as spiritual an experience as praying for my friends in church this morning. Different, but not more or less. It was what Madeleine L'Engle calls "being'' time. Just listening, just "being".

I felt a tingling, an awakening in my being. Perhaps the beginning of a Story.

Ramblin'

My poor neglected blog! I will write a little something for you today...


December is flying by as quickly as every other month this year has flown. I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I don't feel terribly Christmas-y. Once again I have let the month slip by with very little in the way of crafts and baking and storytelling. *Sigh* We do have a tree and other decorations up. I have a bit of sewing, gift wrapping, and cooking to do this week. Sadly I think I may need to venture into a grocery store. I thought I had everything I needed for the week, but I've forgotten a thing or two.

Nate was in a rotten tomato fight this afternoon. The boys and I stayed home to nap, so we missed out on the...um...fun. I've been informed over the phone that a very smelly, slimy husband is on his way home.

My writing project is going well. My partner keeps asking if I am still having fun. I've even been called a loon. They can't quite imagine writing being fun rather than a chore. I am actually giddy with the fun of it. I love words and the rearranging of them into a pleasing form is enough happiness to make me silly with it.

A week or two ago I introduced my boys to the movie "The Neverending Story" for the first time. No one was feeling quite up to par that week and so they watched it nearly every day. By the fourth watching they were happily quoting their favorite parts. I enjoyed their enjoyment immensely.

Well, while it's not a very long ramble, at least I wrote something. :D Merry Christmas everyone!