Ive been totally slacking on keeping updated.

hey everyone. So its been awhile since i last wrote but things have been crazy, which has become the new normal. This past week and weekend, we went to a waterfall, and it was crazy! we found a 50 foot jump, and got to jump off. Things are going great. The walk with God is going great too, this week was prayer week, which was crazy, and changed a lot of stuff in the dts. Instead of lectures from 9 to 1, it was very informal and prayer took place 24 7, in 2 and 3 hour shifts. And than had lectures which were just prayer and worship 9 to 1, and night lectures 3 days of the week,so it was very mentally tiring. At the beginning of the week I was super excited to see what God was gonna do. And what kind of crazy encounters i could experience. Throughout the week though things weren't going so well, I had placed expectations on God and when he didn't meet my expectations i got frustrated. "whats wrong with me, i cant hear God, hes not showing up. Then just as the week passed, God just wrecked why i was asking these things of him. I was asking to see God, i wanted him to prove himself to me, i wanted to see him for pride, for all these reasons, and God just told me, He's not gonna show up when my heart isn't right. He'll show up when i legitimately am praying out of love. The next week was prophecy and lifestyle of miracles, it was really challenging coming from such a conservative background, but basically I looked at scripture and there is no reason why God cant perform miracles, theres no reason why someone can prophecy, theres no reason, and seeing things in other countries where the supernatural and spirit realm are so easy to see, is going to be crazy i fully believe God will perform healings, the supernatural, and all sorts of stuff. The next week intimacy with Jesus, in this week Dan Baumann was our speaker (video on youtube) and he is amazing, he has just lived a life committed to Jesus, willing to trust and lean on none of his understandings but Gods. And he has what I want, he has adventure, he has stories of crazy miracles, trials, hardships, and just an overlying joy and happiness about everything, hes been imprisoned in Iran, almost died 3 times, held at gun point, lived in a warzone, travelled the globe at Gods whispering voice, that he wasnt sure of. This mans life is just everything i pictured when listening to God, but im still wrestling with the sacrifice it requires. In the bible it tells us not to build without counting the cost, not to go to war without deciding if we can even win. So Im counting the cost, and in all reality if it came down to my heart, i wouldnt die for christ, i wouldnt sacrifice never seeing family or friends again. I wouldnt sacrifice not having a wife, I wouldnt put my kids in danger. (if i ever have any). I am not willing to lay that down for God, but God knows my heart and he is working with me, he is taking the clay ive given him and is going to shape and mold until his work in me is complete (death) The one thing i love and will take away from Dan is God is the same as he was yesterday today and tomorrow, he loves me the same no matter what i do, i could barely sin today, share the gospel, win a soul to christ, but man he loves me the exact same those days as when i cant do anything right, when i cause others to stumble, when i encourage sin. and thats real christianity, not rules, not doing "spiritual things' not reading my bible a certain amount or praying for an hour, its about the prince of peace, who came for me, and came for you. The other thing Dan showed me is God just cares about the small stuff, following God isnt about just sharing the gospel every day, God knows our heart and wants us to have fun, he created those desires, he created the desire to enjoy cars, or adventure, and those who seek him and love him, he will fulfill the desires of their hearts. Finally this last week was The Living Word, bible, bible and more bible. Wow God has been busy these past few thousand years.. Ya it was just so interesting to wrestle with hard issues of the bible. Other than that we have been living it up! finally getting better at surfing, recently just climbed glasshouse mountains, been doing some crazy stuff.

Thanks for your prayers, Thanks for your support.

just another week in paradise

Hey there, sorry i havent been in contact in a while ive been super busy, and to be frank im in australia and dont wanna spend time on the internet haha. So basically we are a week and a half in things are cool, i live in a house with 10 other guys, but its cool because we all have a heart that is seeking God, so there is barely any confrontation. Things in Oz are cool, its been raining quite a bit lately but its a nice break from boiling hot. I will try and upload some photos soon. but more importantly...

Spiritual Update.
Things are frustrating and confusing now, but ill start at the beginning of the week. I went to a church called Goodlife in maroochydore. I sat down, and things were cool its a great church so far, and basically right away the pastor mentioned there would be a baptism today. And God was very clearly like, youre getting baptized today. and i was talking to him, and arguing because i was scared, because thats a public declaration of this world and heaven and hell, that i have given my life to christ and i will follow him. So i was just sitting in church not listening to the message and just looking through my bible and i was like something in here has gotta prove im not ready, and of course, classic baptism story the eunuch and phillip. There is water why shouldnt i be baptised? ya, so i was like, crap. and as the sermon past they were like we are going down to the pool and you can come and witness the baptism. so I got up, heart beating out of my chest nervous, and Jesus was just walking down the stairs beside me, and giving me peace and he said you wont have to do anything, you will be called upon and the spirit will answer for you. so of course the pastor is like does anyone else yada yada.. and of course God raised my hand. and i got baptized. Later that night God was like k, now come spend some time alone with me. so i went down to the beach. umm, basically it was an experience beyond words the best i can do, is God gripped me, and showed me the littlest bit of his power, which was unbearable. he just spoke into my life, and it was beautiful. and gradually he told me more and more and i was just with him. eventually i broke down and God was holding life in his hands, but to truly live is to die, and i had to die to this world and grab the life God had for me, which was hard, as well as God being there so was satan, and he fed me lies like you cant make that choice youll just fail, youll never amount to what God wants you to be. but jesus was there also encouraging me, and he wouldnt stop and i broke down and literally raised my hands to grab my life, and the glory of God was shown, i lost all feeling in my arms, and they were shaking, i could visualy see myself grab the life God gave me, and right after my legs gave out and i fell to the ground. and God was with me, he was there, it was so apparent. and ya than days after i was feeling good, and what not, but lately these past few days God was just like teaching me lessons and hard ones to take... he gave me a vision of this house, the house was the man God wanted me to be, and i saw it and it was completed, than God showed me i had been decieved and that it was an illusion, Jesus was beside the house and he was just starting to build my house, and he invited me to help. and satan had used my being "done growing" as an illusion to keep me from working on my house. and more recently God has been teaching me a lesson so often taught but never grasped. You cant earn your way to heaven. Im killing myself trying to live as a christian who just spends all this time with God and always doing what i think he wants, but im trying to feel like i deserve my salvation because of my works. But i can never earn my salvation, he jsut gave it to me, and i dont like that feeling because its love, its intimacy, its everything im scared to know in the fullest way, to be given everything for nothing, even more to be given everything and doing everything to not deserve it. And im fighting Gods love, and its a battle everyday to see that i will never ever earn it. God just is being relentless and its exactly what i asked him to be. i asked him to break me everyday so that when he builds me ill never go back. and i cant see his works 90% of the time, but im sure when this ends, i will see the fruits of Gods labour.

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. - Ephesians 2: 8-9

Hey there, sorry its been awhile i planned to do this more often but wifi is somewhat scarce, plus in reality i dont care for spending to much time on the web. So a quick update, i arrived safely, everything went well, virgin airlines is the greatest. I caught a bus to my destination and the first day felt like an eternity, it was incredibly hot, but i met all the guys and then we explored the town and it was incredible. now we are in day 2 and things are awesome the house is cramped but it is a great community.

For a more spiritual update, things are moving and moving big! just on the plane God was pumping me up, my spirit was literally set free, i had supressed it for so long and just like that God released it. I was so stuck and i realized how blind i had been, how the enemy convinced me thats how it was, his way. But when God broke the chains i realized what i was missing all the time. day 2 came and things got even better we had a worship session in the morning and it was so good for my spirit. God is just breaking the walls by the hour that the devil had spent months building. Its so easy to get caught in the mentality that your world is the world, and in the same sense, what you know is all there is. for me that was like seeing God and experiencing christianity and saying this is it. this is all there is, this is what a relationship looks like, this is christianity, this is it, and than block it off, and mark it out so my mind can comprehend, and place it somewhere, but the spirit is ridiculous, and its impossible to explain, but its like if you truly let it loose it cant be contained, and you feed it, and you keep seeking, there are no borders, its crazy.

  "And these are but the outer fringe of his works; 
   how faint the whisper we hear of him! 
   Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” Job 26:14

Purpose?

Why am i doing this? thats a question I'm sure some people want to ask me, and a question I've asked myself many times. This is my answer. Throughout highschool, things were normal, things were average, things were...lukewarm. As the end approached I had to face that daunting question, What am i gonna do with my life? As most guys do, I was thinking of something that involved money and lots of it. So I thought of furthering my education. This is what most kids are thinking of.. eventually i came to the realization that i wanted to fit my life into a nice equation. Education=Good Pay= Good Life=American Dream=Happyness. But once I saw the equation for what it was i was no longer interested, i was repulsed. Education=Good Pay=A Pursuit of Money=Average Life=Death=A waste in my mind. 


Theres this book, Dont Waste Your Life, that was given to me, in all honesty it was dry and i read a quarter of it. But i took away a sentence that changed the equation of my life. "There was this man, on his deathbed, he was knocking at deaths door, and he yelled, I've wasted it!" (paraphrased) Is that what i wanted? Is that the life i wanted to live? A life where I kiss deaths hand and right before i go through the agony of what might have been?! and God crashed my illusions in front of me. And in the very same breath He let me know that my life is a vapor, gone in the blink of an eye. When I'm dying do I wanna lay there thinking about the wasted time, the time the locusts have stolen? The time spent chasing a piece of paper! cause thats all my old equation was; paper. No, God gave me the inspiration to live a life that relied on him. No im not an extremist in the sense that i hate money. But it is not my God. God told me when I came to this realization that If i followed him, i would live a life unparalleled to the previous. That if I followed him, I could lay there dying and say, I squeezed life for all it was worth and I took every drop of fulfilment, joy, love, and happiness it would give. 


And Australia is where he is sending me. 


1 Timothy 6:17-19 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is LIFE indeed.

"What Is Tyler Doing In Australia?"

Hello everyone! welcome to my blog, which i started basically because i was told to. haha. But seriously i am doing this to keep in touch and let people who want to know what is going on with me and what i am learning. I am going to Australia on Feb 10th, I am participating in a YWAM, for those of you who dont know this is a worldwide organization that trains young adults to pursue, learn, teach, and serve, all for God, and so much more. I am going on a DTS which is a discipleship training school. basically i will be in an enviroment which is focused on one thing, knowing God and making him known. Im actually not to familiar with how its all going down but this is my attempt at it. I will be living in a house with guys doing the dts with me, each week there is a speaker that teaches us about God in a specific topic or with a specific focus, there is also individual study time, there will be chores kind of like bible camp, dishes, cleaning, etc.. the first three months i will be doing this in Australia, the town i will be in is called Maroochydore, and is located in the province of queensland and is right in the Sunshine coast. (i was sold as soon as i found out where it was). The next 2 months i will be going to an unknown location (we find out during the first 3 months) and doing an outreach. This is more of a missions trip except for 2 months, to give you a basic idea. We go to a location and put into practice what we learnt in Australia, (ill talk more about this later). And then i come home.