The summer is over..

       Hey everyone! I hope that you are all doing well. The Summer is over, Fall is here. I feel it in the way the nights feel still and cool and the the way the sun hangs in the sky late in the afternoon. Last time you heard from me I was in the middle of helping my good friends lead the 18 Inch Journey. Every year we finish, I think to myself, I am so glad I got to do that again! This time was no different, I am so glad I got to do it again. The Lord never stops pursuing me and calling me higher and revealing more of myself to me and more of Himself to me. The Lord is so gracious to show us ourselves isn't he? This was literally the best school I have had the honor to be apart of. From start to finish and every little nuance in between, the Lord was there. He was as hungry to meet us as we were to meet by him. I like thinking of Him that way: desperate in His pursuit to meet us. I had an incredible time leading my small group this summer. There were times where I thought I didn't have it in me, but I can humbly and honestly say that I surpassed my own expectations. Don't get me wrong I wasn't perfect but I could tell that I have grown in my confidence and leadership. What a great gift from the Lord to put us in situations to show us how much we've grown. As with every July 31st in my summer the school is over. What beautiful memories I have in my heart from this summer. Thank you all for your prayers and support, I literally couldn't do it with you all!
       Jonathan, Melissa, the rest of the band and I were just recently in England on a ministry trip and it was awesome! Man, it was so good. Probably one of my favorite trips out of the country so far. We played at this event called "Davids Tent". It is a 72 hour non-stop worship event in the English countryside, dreamed up by an amazing group of friends in the UK. We got to see some of our incredible friends, some 18-Inch Journey alumni and we made some more really great friends. The presence of the Lord at that event was so awesome. He consistently met us, whether it was 12:30 in the morning or 2:00 in the afternoon. The spirit of adoption was definitely the big theme of the event this year. Which is a big deal for our english neighbors. What the Lord is doing in england is so special. He is meeting there lack; their need to feel and Fathers smile, their need to feel apart of the family of heaven, their need to experience God outside of a church building. He is intentionally pursuing them exactly how their hearts need it. He is so good to do that with each of us. What a guy.
       I am excited for the Fall. I am excited about playing music and about traveling and cultivating my craft of playing guitar. I am excited for the rest that Fall brings. The slowing down of my heart and my mind. The remembering that takes place. And as always the growing. The realizing. The revelations. Fall is the best time of year. I have a feeling this Fall is going to be one of those ones that marks the rest of my life. Lord, let it be so. I am beginning to really believe that I can not do anything unless it comes from a place of being fully identified in the Father. I mean, the fruit that comes from a deep rooted,  trusting, faithful, joyfilled heart is much sweeter and satisfying then any shallow rooted, "I can do it alone," "I need it now," orphan-minded kind of heart. I've experienced both kinds of hearts. But I feel the maturing, by Gods grace, into a full-time soft heart, the one with the sweeter fruit. The Lord is still redefining "responsibility" and trust and sonship and ownership in my life. It feels like I am blind folded and being asked to take the next step in unknown surroundings. I guess that's faith though. Thank God He doesn't make us go it alone. He is always right here with me, one step at a time. You ever walk through the woods waving a stick around to get all the spiderwebs out of the way? That is what I feel like the Lord is doing for me right now. He is protecting me from getting entangled in things I can't even see half the time. He is good to me.
       Thank you all for taking the time to read this. Thank you for all your prayers and financial support. It means so much. I am so thankful that I love what I get to do and do what I love all at the same time. I pray that all of you would be able to enter into this Fall full of expectation for all the good things the Father has for you! What ever you need, He has it. Just ask him for it. I'll be asking Him to give you all what you need to. Until next time!

Me and the band at David's Tent 

London

- Jake

M I D_S U M M E R_U P D A T E

Hey everyone. 

I want to give you an update on what my life is looking like currently. Right now I am smack dab in the middle of leading the 2013 18" journey. It is quite possibly the best summer/school we've had yet. The willingness of all the students and the willingness of the Father to meet us in our willingness is immense. Even in my own heart the Father has been proving Himself faithful more than ever before. He is continuously providing for me in extravagant ways from financial needs to my heart needs, it has been eye opening and heart softeningly humbling. 

Last week the Father met me in an incredible way after some medical needs came up. I went to the doctor and it turn out that it was going to cost me a great deal of money. So after some wrestling in my mind and heart about the cost I moved some money I has saved around and I would be able to cover the bill. When the doctor saw me he began to ask where I lived and what I did. I told him about "A Place for the Heart" and the schools we run in the summer and of all my travels around the world leading worship with one of my best friends. As he was writing out a prescription for an antibiotic that I needed he said, "I am glad that I got to meet you today. You bless so many people around the entire world, you were chosen to do this with your life." I was taken aback by the encouragement I was receiving from this doctor, it was so special. He sent me on my way and I go out to pay and the amount was.... $60! OH MAN! I couldn't believe it. The Lord's favor is so real. As soon as I walked outside to meet up with my girlfriend Justina, we hugged and cried together because the Lord is so kind. 

Next tuesday is my 22nd birthday! It's so crazy how we are always just getting older. It is such a gift from the Lord to grow and mature not only in age and in life but also in our hearts. I feel such a growth taking place in my heart this summer from leading and being apart of the school. It is always good when you can look back at last summer and see growth in just a year. I've seen dramatic changes in how I view the Lord. I know that doing what I am doing here at the farm is really forming a foundation of dependence on the Lord that I will be able to build my life and my home upon one day. He is teaching me so many things that will help me be a better husband and father, when those days come. Discovering my identity in the Father is probably the biggest thing that my heart is undergoing this summer. That and falling in love with the Word like never before. I mean, the bible is fully alive! There is so much life inside those words. I pray that you would began to experience the bible to its fullest.  That the the places your heart has grown tired or familiar that the Father would re awaken to the beauty of the written word of God! My good friend Adam says we've gone from "fascinated" to "familiar" when it comes to the Bible, and it is time that we turn that around. We need to become less familiar and more fascinated. That is what I want for my heart, and all of your hearts too. 

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. I feel the weight of your help and I know that the Father is honored to partner with you all in supporting me. I know that the seeds you're all sowing will reap a harvest greater than you could imagine in your lives, because the Lord is so faithful. 

Until next time.

- Jake

The "It's March already" update.

Hello friends and family.
        I hope this blog update finds you all in a very good place. I have had quite the busy year so far, much busier than I had expected it to be. Not long after our ten day christmas vacation we were back at it, hitting it hard and heavy. We began the new year with remodeling our kitchen here at the farm, in preparation for the 2013 "18 Inch Journey Internship," that began January 15th. Needless to say we had our work cut out for us to remodel and double the size of our kitchen in just two weeks, and cultivating the atmosphere with prayer and thanksgiving for the fast approaching internship. Before we knew it January the 15th showed up, and thus began the new internship. It really has been incredible so far. Here we are, almost two months into it and I know that all us of us in leadership here have grown an incredible amount. The Lord has been inviting me into a higher place of leadership than I have ever been before. It has been one of the hardest things I've had the honor of going through, but I truly believe that this season is going to set into place a firm foundation on which I will one day build a marriage and a family and a life full of the Lords favor. A place to call Home. A Place for My Heart.
        Me and a good friend and spiritual father of mine, David Shaver, have been building a new dark room for photography the past couple of weeks. Once we finish this new space we will have three fully functioning art studios. One for visual art, a studio for music and now finally a photography studio. Which is incredible to continue to grow the dream of A Place for the Heart and release a generation to discover the Lord through creative arts.
        The Lord has been so faithful to have placed me with a family such as this to learn all that I am learning and to grow in what makes my heart come alive and to teach my hands to work hard and steady.
        I hope you're all doing well!

           -Jake

A whole year.

       I can't believe that a whole year has already past before our lives. What a year it was. So much joy and laughter, so many new and familiar sights, so many tears and broken hearts. It has been a full year. A year that I am very thankful to the Lord that I lived. I think part of me is ready for a new one, and part of me is still learning to soak up every big and or small moment life has to offer. So, there is a bit of tension, but what better place to meet with the Lord. I've met him there many a time in this past year. You know, he is a real great guy. I like him a lot.

       I apologize for my lack of updating as much as I said I would this past year of blogging. The Lord is still, and hopefully will always be, growing me up in certain areas of discipline. So I would like to tell you a bit about what I have done since I last posted an update. The fall was super busy for us this year. We did a lot of traveling and a lot of moving things around and preparing for next years internship. 

       We went on ministry trips to Kona, HI, Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Boulder, CO. All incredible trips. We were honored to be hosted by some incredible new friends and met all sorts of folks. We went to the YWAM base in Kona, Hawaii for a solid two weeks. It was so great. The Lord is doing incredible things there. I was completely inspired by everyone I met there and the heart they carry for saying "no" to compromise. There hearts are so pure before the Lord. My hunger for a pure heart increased so much when I was there.

       In Florida, we led worship for a conference at a church called "The Harbor." They are literally changing their city. I was very impacted by the times of worship we led and honored to be apart of it. I felt the Lord calling me to a higher place in engaging His spirit in worship. The sheer gift it is to be able to worship Him is awesome. I don't want to take times of worship for granted ever again, I probably will, but man, if ever there was way not to, that would be the best. In Boulder, I think that I drank more water in that week then I have ever. It was awesome being a mile above sea level. The worship conference we were apart of was super fun. We got to meet a lot of awesome people. I think what I liked the most about this conference was that all the bands leading worship were totally different. It was awesome seeing the vastness of expressions in worship like that. It's really east to get caught up in only what you're doing sometimes and forget that there are so many different ways to touch the heart of the Father. He loves them all!
       As for 2013, it is going to be an incredible year... The Lord has already begun to do so much in my own heart and in our community. I keep praying that the Lord would give me eyes to see and ears to hear. I don't want to miss a thing He is doing. Our 18" journey Internship starts on the 15th of January. So we are focusing a lot of our energy into getting everything planned and ready for the 6 new interns moving to the farm for 8 months. It's super exciting.
       Thank you all for your support through prayer and finances. It really is a blessing. I see the Lord moving through it all, every month. I pray that the Lord would beyond meet all of your needs and that you would feel His proud smile over you each morning as you wake. Love to you all!

JAKE

There is to many good things in life to worry...

       It’s crazy how right when you feel like life will slow down for a second, it doesn’t. As difficult of a truth that is to overcome, I am beginning to learn to welcome it with open arms. Sometimes when I think of responsibility I relate it to time, like finishing projects in a time line, or setting a time limit to finish something. When I succeed I feel great, I feel “responsible”. But what about when I don’t succeed? When I don’t succeed I get overwhelmed by quite a number things. I begin to believe things about myself, that honestly just aren’t true. Today I was thinking about how the destination isn’t the point of the journey, the journey is the point of the journey. The destination is a gift to give your entire being to, to enjoy upon arrival. Imagine if you took a road trip and the whole time you complained about how high gas prices are, the radio being too loud, the inside of your car being too cold and then too hot and then too cold again, or the drink you spilled on your lap during lunch. By the time you reach your destination you’ve got a piss poor attitude, because your still too caught up in all the things that happened to you on the way. The things that you couldn’t have done anything about anyways. But... What would happen if you embraced those things as they were? Found beauty in the tension of being too cold then too hot? Or being thankful that there is even gas to get you where you want to go? Or thinking, "man that was a dang good lunch, to bad that soda spilled in my lap." The journey is the point of the journey. The things you face on the road of life shape you into who you are upon arrival. Whether good or bad. Hopefully character is developed, not cynicism. At least that’s what I think. And I think it’s true. It’s what I am learning in my life right now. 

        Life doesn't really slow down. At least not since the time I last posted a blog. Which was too long ago. A lot has happened since then. How do I begin to fill you all in? 

The school...

 is what took up most of my time since the last time you have heard from me. It sure was incredible. We had thirty students from all over the world come and live and learn and do community with us. The Lord definitely blew my expectations away for the students and in my own life. This was the best school I have been apart of by far. It is so great to be put in situations that will either cause you to grow or fail miserably. It causes you to see where you still need to grow and also see places that you have grown, where you would have failed terribly a year or two earlier. I experienced both of those situations this past summer. I saw places that I have grown, I faced fears in areas I didn't believe I had what it took, and I also fell short in areas, but the Lord had plenty of grace to cover my back. I really do love this family I get to be apart of. We really are changing the world. 

Other than the school we have been traveling quite a bit. I have been playing a lot of music this past month and I love it! It has been so refreshing. I love everything about the beautiful gift of playing music. This fall is going to stay pretty busy for all of us traveling. There are some incredible places we are going to have the honor of traveling to, like Kona, Hawaii, Boulder, Colorado, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. So awesome! I will do my best to post a blog about each trip. I am learning that when you don't have time to do things you just make time. Its not as hard and overwhelming as it seems. 

Last but not least.

       I really would love to just thank all of you for all of your support. It really has meant the world to me and has proved the Lord's faithfulness. There have been times when I have had just enough money and then there has been times where I have more than enough and I was able to give money away and just bless my friends. So thank you all for giving and sacrificing. I have really learned a lot about the Lord in this process and I believe that that gift in and of itself is just as great as receiving a check in the mail. May the Lord bless you all abundantly in every area of your life. May he give back to you a thousand fold of what you have given to me through finances and prayer and support. I am praying for you all. 

a sneak peak of my summer:

Click here to watch the 18" Journey video

There and back again, again

        Sorry it has taken me so long to write about the month of May. As many of you know I went on a trip to Brussels, Belgium and London, England last month Jonathan and the family and we returned just in time to start the 2012 18" Journey. So needless to say, I have had my plate full in the most beautiful way.
       So, Belgium and England. Wow. What incredible nations. In Belgium we lead worship for a conference where the people spoke English, French, and Flemish. While we led worship the words on the overhead were in all three languages. It was quite an incredible thing to see. It is cool to think about people engaging the Lord through our songs in there own heart language. Beautiful. The many people that attended that conference were transformed before our eyes in three short days. They uncovered the Lord's delight in them. When we truly see that, everything changes.
        From there we got to take a train under the English Channel to London. That was an incredible thing to experience, as if traveling across the Belgium and English countryside isn't incredible enough. When we arrived in London we were greeted by the 2012 Olympic sign. Crazy. We got to spend a whole lot of time in London. Not enough to delve deep into the heart of the city but I learned enough to get from the Piccadilly Circus underground station to Big Ben and back. The event we played at in England actually wasn't in London, it was in the county Sussex, in a town called Steyning. That event was a big ol' seventy two hour non stop worship event with about nine hundred people in attendance. We were honored to connect with the incredible people in United Pursuit Band and Jason Upton and his band. We felt so at home spending that weekend with them all. England is so close to revival smacking them in the face I couldn't even believe it. I mean, I am pretty sure they are already in it. The Lords smile over the U.K. is mighty precious. He loves his English, Irish, Scottish and Welsh sons and daughters.
        And as for the school... I don't know how to adequately put words to it, but I will confidently and futilely attempt to. We have twenty-nine students from five different nations. They are all incredible and have sacrificed so much to be here. This is definitely the best 18" journey we have had yet. It is easy to say that every year, but lets be honest it's actually true every year. It is just one of those things. The Lord is so very faithful. We are currently about to begin our third week of the school and it is incredible how much of a family we have already become. Forty plus people's journeys and walks with the Father are being intertwined this summer. I love my life. I am so honored to be apart of something that is changing the world as we know it. I can't wait to wake up on august the first and look myself in the mirror and see how much more of myself  I have become. But, it's the day by day that will get me to that day. I will be thankful for and faithful to find the Lord in every moment of each day. The Lord is in no hurry. I am learning to submit myself to the Lords pace He is setting for my life. It is quite the process. I am in a beautiful place of growth and for that I am thankful. I pray that I will always be growing.

Belgium sky

Arrival to London

Big Ben

        

There and back again..

      I just returned from a twenty day adventure with six of my closest friends, to Dubai, U.A.E., Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa. It was my third time going to Dubai, and second time going to South Africa. These trips are something I look forward to every year, and am so thankful that I got to see the familiar faces of long distance friends. I cannot write about all the events that took place on the long journey, but here are some highlights.





[Dubai]  
   The first leg of my journey brought me to Dubai. We were there to lead worship at a weekend conference in a church called "Gate Keepers." In those two days, we led two five-hour worships sessions.  The city is Westernized(to an extent) and pretty open to the christian church and the fact that we got to worship there was an honor. The people were so hungry for the love of Jesus and the heart of the Father. It was quite refreshing and it has awakened something within me. 


    

[Johannesburg]
 After an extremely full weekend of worship, we packed up our bags and headed toward South Africa. We were picked up from the airport and dropped off at Mark and Kathy Bush's home, which was actually a bed and breakfast called, "Grace House."As you can see below, the place      was awesome. We ate incredibly well, and were treated like kings!

       Two days after our arrival, we began playing at a worship school in Johannesburg with Central Parks Church. We did a set every morning and evening, and held teaching sessions in the afternoons for three days. I led two sessions on song writing and guitar. The students at the school were asked to choose from several different sessions lead by members of our team. The morning of my song writing class I found out that fifty-five students signed up! Honestly, I was freaked out, but, I went for it. I shared part of my personal story, shared songs that I've written and my process of song writing. I write songs to process where I am at in life and where I am at with the Lord. I wanted to encourage all the students to write songs for themselves, for the heck of it, not for anything else but the smile of the Father.

       The students were hungry to learn. We were constantly pouring into their lives, which was great but tiresome. The beauty of it all was that the people we ministered to really grasped the Father's heart. They were like sponges, asking and truly receiving the impartation of God's love.

[Durban]
      After a lot of ministry, we drove eight hours down the road to Durban to take a break. We spent three days in the most incredible beach house on the shores of the Indian Ocean. The Pastor of Central Parks Church, his whole family and a few of our new friends from South Africa came along with us on our adventure. There we rested, ate great meals, enjoyed the beach and got to know each other better.
      When we first arrived, me and Stephen(our sound guy/bassist) ran to the beach. The shores in Durban are really rocky, and have tons of crabs on them. Stephen and I caught one in hopes of eating it for dinner. The only problem was that it was scrawny, and interestingly colored, and the two of us didn't know if it was poisonous... so we set him free. lucky guy.


       The trip was  awesome and very stretching. I love traveling with the people I do life with. We will be hitting the road again soon, to Europe. We'll be ministering in England, Germany and Belgium, stay posted for updates! Thank you all for reading and supporting!