My personal thoughts and what God is doing in my life.
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© 2010–2012 Evan Olsen
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Year-End Update (December 2011 Newsletter)
1 month ago (Sun, Dec 11th, 2011)
Hello!
This is quite an EXCITING time for us because we are about to have our first nephew be born! Our sister-in-law, Renee, is pregnant with their first son Joshua who is due on December 8th. We are sure he will come early though and would appreciate your prayers for Erik and Renee to have a safe, easy labor and delivery.Below is an overview of the awesome events that took place throughout the year in 2011. While we’re highlighting some of the significant moments and events, the greatest testament is that the name of Jesus has been consistently exalted as the Lord is building a prayer and missions movement in this region. These seasons are surrounded by hours, days, and weeks of prayer by many of you and us at IHOP-TLH that the Lord would increase Himself in our city and in our hearts!
New Prayer Room and 4 New Staff
January
After many hours of work, IHOP re-opened its new extended Prayer Room in time for the first Friday Night Burn Service of the new year! The expansion couldn’t have come at a better time with 4 new full-time staff members joining in 2011 who have committed to living sermon on the mount lifestyles as Intercessory Missionaries as their primary vocation.
First CRI Training
MarchJared was trained and equipped to reach a harvest in coming crisis, learning practicals such as first aid, triage, critical incident stress management, and much more as well as supernatural ministry in the context of crisis. His heart came alive with the reality, urgency, and necessity that God is raising up end-time messengers to stand as an answer in the midst of coming crisis.
Historic Amount of Pro-Life Bills Passed
AprilThrough lengthy and intense debates, an amazing amount of pro-life bills passed the Florida House! Representative Scott Plakon recognized our IHOP-TLH and Bound4LIFE-TLH group from the House floor and thanked us publicly for praying for the many representatives (and we’re just a physical representation of so many groups who were laboring for the unborn in FL).
Ministry Trip to Washington, D.C. (JHOP-DC) & NY City (JHOP-NY)
MayA group from IHOP-TLH traveled to Washington, D.C. and partnered with Bound4LIFE International to pray in strategic locations for God’s heart for mercy for our nation. We also got to pray with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (pictured above)! While we were in the area, we attended the Awaken the Dawn conference from The Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace in VA.
Then we visited New York City and stayed with the director of the Justice House of Prayer in NYC, Bill White. During this time, God confirmed clearly to us that we needed to attend the upcoming Crisis Response International (CRI) Training in June.
Second CRI Training
JuneJared had already received basic training from CRI so he spent the week as a Unit Leader training over 30+ people, while Karina was going through basic training. They covered training topics from food preparations, critical incident stress management, emergency response, and conflict resolution, to supernatural ministry and the mitigation of judgment through intercession. We were also brought through simulations of a refugee looting, the aftermath of a tornado, and a car bombing.
Fire On the Altar with Rick Pino
JuneWe hosted Rick Pino for a 50-hour weekend of unceasing worship & prayer called Fire on the Altar. Many from churches all across our city (and others) gathered as worship teams from many congregations came. Our focus during the entire event was to minister to the Lord — that where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! Our intent was to reach across the city and encounter God together. God planted seeds all across our city for 24/7 worship & prayer and galvanized our team more for night and day prayer.
The Response
AugustJared & I attended The Response in Houston, Texas where we gathered in a spirit of repentance and in prayer & fasting for our nation, called by TX Governor Rick Perry. This prayer meeting spanned across many denominations, classes, races, etc. Truly the name of Jesus was lifted high above every other name! Jared even got to meet Governor Rick Perry backstage at this event as he helped.
Burn Weekends - 24 hr. “strikes” of Prayer and Worship
August & NovemberWe’re really in awe of what God can do with yielded people as some very anointed worship arose from the Prayer Room! At least 8 different worship teams from across this city participated for 24 hrs with the goal to gaze on God, encounter Him, and exalt the name of Jesus above every other name through unbroken prayer and worship.
Relentless Conference 2011
SeptemberIHOP-TLH hosted the Relentless Conference with Stephen Venable [IHOPKC], Randy Martinez [Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace], and Tenney Olsen [IHOP-TLH, Jared’s dad]. There were four sessions, and each highlighting what the Holy Spirit is doing on the earth that hugely impacted our community and all those who came out. Love for Jesus was kindled so strongly this weekend to be sustained through to tough seasons.
Nefarious Benefit Screening
OctoberThis month we were proud to help host the regional benefit premiere of Nefarious: Marchant of Souls. Nefarious is a documentary that exposes modern day sex slavery (in both affluent countries and impoverished countries alike) and exalts Jesus and the message of God’s Justice.
An Invitation to Partner with Us in Year-End GivingThis year was made possible by your prayers and gifts. Each gift was individually felt as an ushering to continue in our calling as intercessors at IHOP-TLH. While we face the new year, we are praying that our support team would be strengthened with abundant blessing in each family. Our partnership is important to our ability to continue in what we are doing, so we want to humbly invite you to consider giving a year-end gift towards our ministry as missionaries in Tallahassee. Each gift is tax-deductible and so appreciated by us. Without you, we cannot do what we do.
Click Here to Give a Year-End Gift
Thank you!
Thank you for having partnered with us through gifts and faithful prayer for 2011! God accomplished unspeakably much in us and our nation, and we are looking forward to what He will do next year. Your partnership is dear to us. Have a happy holiday season!
In Christ,
Jared & Karina
Optional? No.
I have definitely been taking to chocolate ice cream a LOT this entire month! It’s been one of those months where God has been tearing my heart and I have been trying to let Him without taking shortcuts. It’s so tempting to settle for halfway or a little breakthrough when He is wanting to re-wire me. It’s the first time in the last year that I have said with new revelation that my heart truly is dark and I need Him to change it all—-not just the “bad” parts. I’m in desperate need, not optional need.
God, change every part of me to glorify You. I give You full access to every area of my heart. I need heart surgery, stat!
“THIS, in itself, is victory.”
This past Sunday, the pain in my knee finally rendered me couchridden. I stayed all day sitting down, cringing when I was forced to walk small distances or up stairs. Yesterday I spent the entire day in my living room alone watching TV while Jared was at IHOP. The only time I finally got up was when I was sure that madness would ensue if I didn’t get out of the house, so Jared and I went to Publix.
I wasted two full days already this WEEK that I did not even give one moment of myself to God. Worse, my husband called me and warned me not to let my day be wasted entirely on TV. “Redeem the time”, I recall him saying. Yeeeaaahhhh, I even consciously chose not to redeem the time.
I’ve been sick before, I’ve been bedridden and miserable before, and I’ve allowed for those to be adequate excuses to withdraw from everything but TV, but I’ve never been so jealous for my heart afterwards. THIS, in itself, is victory.
Rebuke
One thing I struggle with is rebuke. How do I tell somebody in love (the way that Jesus would) that their beliefs/actions are unbiblical?
I don’t believe that being the bearer of “bad news” is anybody’s primary calling. Actually, I think Christlike rebuke is a big part of everybody’s calling (if you love Jesus and have an active relationship with Him).
A blast from the past! Look above to see photos from my first worship team in the first location of IHOP Tallahassee in March of 2007.
My Fridge.. It is no more.
Just about an hour ago, I asked my friend to help me out by chipping the ice off of the back of my mini-fridge. He obliged and I watched as he hacked away at this HUGE ICE BLOCK with a pair of scissors. He finally got it to free up one of the shelves that the ice had frozen into place.
“Thanks! That’s all I needed. I think we should stop now,” I said.
“Naw, I’m gonna get the whole ice chunk!” he exclaimed.
“I dunno, I think we should stop..” I cautioned.
We at IHOP do tons of work in our shifts. Check out our makeshift office working!
Jared & I in IHOP Tally excited about what today will continue to bring!
This Confident Applicant
This month God really spoke clearly to me. I was moving up in the ranks in the application process towards a job that I rrrrrreeeeaaaallllllllyyyy wanted. I mean, I couldn’t think about anything else! This job would’ve incorporated my love for math—how much better can it get? And my resume was pretty strongly leaning towards it because I’ve worked with an accountant before. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! Nothing seemed more perfect than me working part-time and balancing it with my IHOP commitments.
And, oh, how gooood it would’ve felt to have a paycheck I could count on every two weeks. But that was just an added bonus, it wasn’t *about* the money. I really felt peace about accepting the job after praying about it, so I was confident there would be a new season coming in my life that would accelerate me towards a new twist in God’s plan for me.
I was right, but not in the way I had thought. [hint towards another soon-to-come blog!]
