Germany Ministry Trip, EXCITING Update!

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  Today, July 26, 2012 is one month from when I leave on my first overseas ministry trip--to Germany on August 26th. For the two weeks I will be in Germany, I have had two open days and nights on Saturday, Sep. 1 and Sunday, Sep. 2nd. I've been waiting to see what God has for me. I just got contacted via Facebook Message by Monika in Dusseldorf, Germany near to where I will be. She leads a flagging team! 
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• She has written me to meet them for prayer and flagging on the streets of Germany! When you watch the video, Monika is the white-haired woman pictured here. BEAUTIFUL!!! When I saw the awesome banner with the roaring lion I was blown away! God is sooo good.
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  Here is the Facebook message I just received:
  
  Hello Jenna,
  My name is Monika Hümbs-Schröder and I lead a flagging ministry in Germany. If you want to know more about us look up www.maranatha-banner.de
  
  Unfortunately, the site is in German [Note: most of it has an English translation.], but we also have a short English video about our team:
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrBC_TbP1-M&feature=channel&list=UL
  
  We would be really interested in connecting with you and praying together. We could meet with a few people from our team on Saturday evening and/or on Sunday. It would be great to go onto the streets of Germany and minister together. 
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  In the summer, we regularly go out and flag in the city (mostly in Duesseldorf), so we also have a music box where you can put your ipod/mp3-music in. 
  
  
  It would be practical for us if we could meet in Duesseldorf, but we would also be willing to come to Duisburg if that is the only option.
  We are looking forward to meeting you!
  God bless you for your ministiry,
  Monika
  
  (Personally, I don't speak english very well, so I let my daughter translate the e-mails, but in our flagdance-team most people speak english, so that shouldn't hinder us.)

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John Himmelberger, Honoring His Influence

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.”

Since Spring 2010 I have been blessed to be influenced by the life and teachings of John Himmelberger, Pastor of Deep River Church in Sequim, WA. God has given John to us at Deep River Home Church as a spiritual father, a 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, have taken 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 one of the people who has influenced me the most, 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. To value one another, and to be valued, for who we are in our identity as God's beloved people and the body of Christ, is life-changing!

John is one generous guy and he has so much fun giving that it is contagious. Everywhere he goes he sets an awesome example of pouring out your life, your time, your attention, your possessions, your money, and your love. He even gave up his music studio/office for someone who needed a place to live for awhile.

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. We have a culture of freedom at Deep River Church and it is awesome. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM!

In these years at Deep River Church 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!

 John and Amy Himmelberger, July 2012

Secrets of a Joyful Life

One of the turning points of my life is when I learned to be joyful. Yes, joy is a byproduct of our spiritual life, and the mark of a true follower of Jesus, but we can foster it and we have choices to make. In my Bible reading I realized how many instructions there were about being joyful—it isn’t just automatic for a believer. In Philippians 4 we read about letting our mind dwell on whatever is good and whatever is worthy of praise. There are many, many verses about how we are to be joyful and praise God, sing to Him, thank Him, and rejoice always.

For the Lord takes pleasure in His people…Let the people be joyful…Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth.                           (See Psalm 149:4-6.)

Let my mouth be filled with Your praise all the day. (See Psalm 7:8.)

Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! (See Psalm 66:1)

Another revelation to me is that complaining is a sin. I had to break bad habits of complaining and criticizing. In The Scripture commands us (See Phil. 2:14.) to do all things without complaining. Whew! That is a hard one. One day I came across a verse, Numbers 11:20, in which God calls complaining despising the Lord. Yikes! Have you ever tried to go a day without complaining? Or a week? Try it--it is not so easy!

I took a 17 hour road trip from Washington to California with four teenagers. We had a contest where I gave a ticket to anyone who complained and whoever had the most tickets lost. It was my idea because I thought the time together would be so much more enjoyable if we were not complaining. Guess who lost? Me! I bought the four of them ice-cream to reward them. We still laugh over that one. Hahaha!

Complaining leads to self-pity. Self-pity is just that—a pit. It is just about opposite of joy. As a young Christian in youth group we were assigned prayer partners for one school year. Mine taught me a valuable lesson—turn each complaint into a prayer. This is what we see David did in the Psalms. “I cried unto the Lord…”  What happens when we turn complaints into prayers is a very interesting thing. We have to wait. Yes, we then wait on God for answers, so we have to trust Him with our lives and all the things we are unhappy with. When He answers, which He is always faithful to do, the result is…JOY!

In the classic book “The Christians Secret of a Happy Life” the author, Hannah Whitall Smith, repeatedly discusses the choice of happiness. She writes, “It is altogether the way we look at things, whether we think they are crosses or not. I am ashamed to think that any Christian should ever put on a long face…”

Our family home schooled for about fifteen years. We have one daughter, who we named Valerie Joy. (Yes, she is a joy in our lives!) When she was 11 years old she started a magazine for girls and called it “Joyful Heart”. She and I worked on this together and gained subscribers and each month mailed out a few hundred copies. It was a lot of fun researching, writing articles, getting articles and interviews from the subscribers, finding clip art to go with the writings, proofreading, and putting it all together. We xeroxed it at the copy shop with a pink paper cover. Those are happy memories of days long ago now. Joyful Heart Magazine was published for three years from 1999 to 2001. After a year or so, we changed to a quarterly because it was so much work. Here’s a photograph of the 24 issues we published.

Joyful Heart Magazine, 24 Issues

In every issue we included Bible verses, quotes from books, and stories from girls about being joyful. To write on joy today brings back memories of those “Joyful Heart” days. One of the quotes I like, that we published in one of the magazines, is from the life story of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of “The Little House on the Prairie” books. “If we expect to enjoy our life, we will have to learn to be joyful in all of it…the habit of mind…”

I have found the habit of gratitude and giving God thanks and praise leads to joy. Psalm 100:4 says we enter His gates, (His presence) when we have thanksgiving in our hearts.) In the Message Bible this verse says “THANK YOU is the password to His presence.” My very favorite verse in the Bible (it is actually in two places, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament) is about JOY.

“You show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy.”                         (See Psalm 16:11 and Acts 2:28.)

Forever a Child

If heaven was giving out awards, I think I would be in the running for winning the award for “Biggest Kid”. After all, I’m five feet eight inches tall—that is a pretty big kid! Some of my best friends are children. I don’t have very many peers that like to goof off as much as I do—they are probably embarrassed to be seen with me! I like to load up my car with kids and go to the beach, go swim at the pool, go folk dancing, or go to the park. I turn the radio up nice and loud and sing at the top of my vocal capacity. I don’t wanna get a speeding ticket, but I really like to drive fast. What I do is “hug the turns” whenever possible and as fast as possible (while keeping safe, of course). It is so fun to make the kids squeal! As a result of hanging out with kids a lot, I get invited to their birthday parties. My favorite one so far was Angelina’s princess party. I am pictured here, dressed as a princess, surrounded by my little friends. I told you I was the biggest kid!

One way I am childlike is that I like to have fun. If you ask me what one of my goals is, I will probably say, “To have fun!” To be funloving is a character quality I admire and hope to develop more and more. I like to goof off with kids because they really know how to have fun. When they go to the beach or the park, kids don’t think about their list of things to do or how much money they have in the bank or about their next appointment—they just have fun. My youngest child, Peter, and his friend, Michel and I went shopping one day and I was having a good time with them skipping in the parking lot, telling jokes, and looking at stuff to buy. Michel paid me a high compliment that day. He said, “You know Jenna, you are more like a kid than a mom!” I said, “THANK YOU VERY MUCH!”

I like to make people laugh. Laughing is SO fun and it is contagious too. One of my favorite scenes from a Disney movie is the one in Mary Poppins where they all start singing “I love to laugh—hahaha!” and they all float up to the ceiling. Wouldn’t that be fun?! Children laugh on an average of 400 times per day! Adults laugh like about 15 times a day. Whew--what a difference! I think I’d rather be a kid, wouldn’t you? If you listen carefully, children call adults “dolts”. So that’s what I’ve started calling them too. Hahaha! I’d rather be a kid than a dolt!

Another way I’m like a kid, is I love to sing silly songs. It is common for me to break out in song and the silly ones are my favorites. (With a last name of Silliman, I can’t be too serious, now can I?) For some examples, you might know this song: “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly…I don’t know why she swallowed a fly; I guess she’ll die!” Do you know this one? “I had a little sister; her name was sister Sue, we put her in the bathtub to see what she would do. She drank up all the water, she ate a bar of soap, she tried to eat the bathtub, but it wouldn’t fit down her throat!” Here’s another favorite: “If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops, oh what a rain it would be! I’d stand outside with my mouth open wide, singin’ ah ah, ah ah ah, ah ah!”

Don’t you love the way children are full of wonder and amazement at the world? They chase butterflies, blow dandelion seeds and watch them float on the air, and they love to run and jump and dance around. I love to go swimming with kids and play games in the water. That’s a blast. I like the way kids will get enthusiastic about things too. Why do we have to be so dang reserved all the time? To be childlike is to be more trusting and loving and spontaneous and honest. I teach a children’s dance class and my students never cease to amaze me at how loving they are. They run over and hug me and tell me they love me. They skip and frolic around with carefree abandon. I want to be more like that. Yesterday one little girl told me, “I like your colorful blouse, but I don’t think it matches your twirly skirt very well.” Hahaha! That made me laugh! Kids are so honest. They tell you when they like something and when they don’t.

When I was a girl I was often scolded for daydreaming. My hands would slow down at the task at hand—such as washing dishes, folding laundry, or doing a math assignment. Instead I would stare off into the distance, lost in my dream world. I wrote creative stories about make believe lands and enjoyed reading and daydreaming about what it would be like to be one of the characters in the book. Even now, at age 54, I like to dream. You’d think I would have grown out of it by now, wouldn’t you? No, I like to dream about all the possibilities in life, such as where I’d like to travel and what I’d like to do. The Bible says, “Nothing is impossible with God.” We have an unlimited God and so we need not limit ourselves or our lives either.

As long as I am faithful and responsible and dependable and all those grown-up things, I don’t see anything wrong with being like a kid. In fact, the Lord Jesus said, “Be as a little child to enter My kingdom.” Now I have a new dream. I can picture the Lord saying, “Here’s your award, Princess Jenna.” Jesus walks towards me in a trailing purple robe and in His hands is a golden crown all sparkling with diamonds and jewels of different colors and He places it upon my head and says, “Good job on being childlike! Well done—you have entered into My joy everlasting!”

Flagging Prayer Ministry

On the 1st Annual International Flagging Worship Day, I had a blast worshipping the Lord Jesus. There were flaggers all over the world doing the same thing. I got permission at my bank to use the little Bank of America lawn on the corner of our city's two major streets, Sequim Avenue and Washington Street. Here is my TESTIMONY of what happened:

Street flagging in worship and prayer with just me & the Holy Spirit on a sunny Saturday was AWESOME! I started about 2 p.m. and flagged for two hours. My boom box was cutting in and out, but Papa God said to use it anyway. I chose different colors of flags as each song began, asking Him to guide me & I danced around to the music. As people passed by in cars and on foot I prayed for them without them knowing it. I prayed with understanding and I prayed in tongues quietly. I also prayed for the city of Sequim. I flagged and danced freestyle and I worshiped the Lord. People stopped to ask me what I was doing and I told them I was worshiping the Lord Jesus. Talked and prayed with Mary, Dan, Warren, Greg, Matthew, Nora & Mary. Dan had his wrist in a brace. He did not want prayer. Holy Spirit showed me my shadow. I asked Dan if he would let my shadow cross his wrist for healing power like Peter in the Bible. He said, "Sure!" As I let my shadow cross his wrist I said, "Pain be removed, just like Jesus told us to tell the mountain to be removed." He wiggled his wrist and shouted, "The pain is gone! YOU ARE MAGIC!" I said, "No, it is the Holy Spirit." He said, "WOW! I FEEL IT!" Hahaha! That was FUN! 

Saturday, July 21st, was Sequim's annual gigantic lavender festival. I found out the Bank of America park was not being used for anything else, so I invited brothers and sisters to join me in my flagging prayer ministry from 2 to 4 p.m. There were seven of us this time. Here are photos: 

The annual Lavender Festival was happening in Sequim, so we wore  lavender.

Seven of us participated on Saturday, July 21, 2012, Sequim, WA.

Flagging Prayer Ministry during Sequim's Lavender Festival, July21, 2012

FLAGGING PRAYER MINISTRY

I plan to do some flagging prayer ministry on the streets of Germany with other flaggers and intercessors when I am there for two weeks in the end of summer. To do a flagging prayer ministry on the streets, I have found it effective to have three teams or at least three people. One for interceding, one ready to talk and pray with people, and one just focused on flagging/dancing in worship to the Lord. (All 3 can be flagging also.) I use an ipod player for upbeat and worshipful music and a playlist to last two hours. As people in cars and on foot pass by, we pray for them without them knowing. If anyone stops, we ask them if we can pray for them. We have seen some miraculous healings! :)

Jenna Silliman and Joelle Nicholson, 7-21-12

Charli Anderson, Lavender Festival 2012

The Roar of the Lion

At Bethel at Open Heavens Conference, October 2011, I was given a prophetic word that I had “the roar of the lion”. I have an affinity for lions; like Aslan of Narnia, they represent Jesus. 

The Lion of Judah is also a symbol for Israel. I have thought about how fierce and passionate that roar is—definitely describes me and my faith in our awesome Lord of lords and King of kings.

I’ve heard the force of the roar of the lion will stir up a cloud of dust and can be heard all over the animal kingdom. My friend Christlyn lived down off Sequim-Dungeness Way near the Olympic Game Farm in our city, Sequim, Washington, and she told me that every morning at 8:30 she heard the roar of the lion when he roared for his breakfast. She said every day, no matter how many times she’d heard it, the roar of the lion made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, it was so powerful.

Thinking about lions, of course the movie Lion King  comes to mind.

One morning I was feeling overwhelmed by my circumstances and how much I had to do. I started to feel defeated, down, distracted, distressed, and discouraged—all those dreadful ‘D’ words. On Facebook someone posted a lion roaring at an alligator and wrote a one-sentence analogy to how we can roar with the authority of God and take dominion and the enemy will flee. DOMINION!

Dominion is the most awesome ‘D’ word I have ever heard.

Often in the natural realm, God communicates to us what transpires in the spiritual realm. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this realm.” (See John 18:36.) To understand “the roar of the lion” spiritually, prophetically, and in the realm of the Holy Spirit, I needed to understand “the roar of the lion” in the natural realm. I decided to Google it. I searched the Internet to answer my question: “What does the roar of the lion mean?” I found this one sentence that answered it for me, “Most of the time when lions roar, they are claiming territory.”  That sounds like expanding God’s Kingdom to me!

Here’s what else I learned about lions. The lion has wonderful strength. The muscles of his legs and neck are very large and almost as firm as iron. A lion will strike down an ox, carry him away in his mouth, and devour him. Picture an ox for a minute. That animal is huge! The lion is the most powerful animal in all the animal kingdom. (As a side note, the only animal that is stronger is the female lion. She doesn’t roar, but without a sound she can take down the male. Haha!)The lion lives upon other creatures which he kills. His teeth and claws are formidable weapons, and while the cat's tongue is only rough, the lion's is armed with strong, sharp points. The lion's roar strikes all animals with terror. It does not appear that lions are cowardly. They go after what they want!

When I read this paragraph on lions on the Internet, that last sentence was highlighted to me. LIONS GO AFTER WHAT THEY WANT. Oh! Lions have got the power! They just go after it. They just make up their minds what it is they want and they go after it. Papa God spoke to me and said, “What do you want, Jenna? GO AFTER WHAT YOU WANT.” Do you want your house fixed up? Go after it! Do you have dreams of using your gifts and talents for the Lord? Go after it! Do you want to write a book and get it published? Go after it! Do you want to do more ministry trips and go flagging around the world—GO AFTER IT! God communicated to me in that one sentence that His favor is with me, He wants to bless the work of my hands, and He has given me His power. I AM POWERFUL because I have the lion of Judah, Jesus Himself, living inside me. I simply have to go after what I want. I AM POWERFUL just like the lion, so I can go after what I want.

This affects my prayers. I want to be fierce like a lion in praying about what I want as well. The Bible says, "The fervent prayer of the righteous man avails much." (We ARE righteous because of the finished work of Christ on the cross!) Our prayers are powerful and effective. Whatever I want, I'm can GO AFTER IT in prayer!

I looked in the Bible to find places about the roar of the lion and found three verses. (As a side note, God often will give a confirmation of three. It has happened to me countless times.)

Amos 3:4, "Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?"

Amos 3:8, "The lion has roared, who will not fear?"

Isaiah 5:29, "Their roaring shall be like a lion…

They shall roar and take hold of their prey...and none shall deliver it."

Okay, I understand now, Papa God. The enemy has lies and schemes to cause me to feel  defeated, down, distracted, distressed, and discouraged, but I have the roar of the lion to take DOMINION! In the book of Peter there is a verse that says the enemy is like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour. But we also know from Scripture that the enemy is defeated and de-armed--no feet and no arms! Hahaha! He is crawling on his belly! Let's just laugh at that, shall we? Hahaha! We have the all-powerful "Lion of Judah", the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, living within us WE HAVE THE ROAR OF THE LION! Say these declarations with me:

I AM AS POWERFUL AS A LION.
I WILL NOT LISTEN TO THE LIES OF THE ENEMY.
I WILL TAKE DOMINION.

I WILL GO AFTER WHAT I WANT.
I WILL GO AFTER MY DREAMS.
GOD IS FOR ME, WHO CAN BE AGAINST ME?

I HAVE THE ROAR OF THE LION!

Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion! (See Num. 23:24.)
Do you have "the roar of the Lion" ?

LIVE YOUR DREAM!

Germany Info Letter

“I am my Beloved’s and He is mine and His flag over me is love!”  ~Song of Songs

Dear Friends,                                                                                                           July 2012

All followers of Jesus are “ministers” wherever they go, but sometimes God has a special assignment. God has shown me I’m going to Germany. In October I attended Bethel’s Open Heavens Conference in Redding, California and a BSSM student there gave me a prophetic word from God. She saw the word “UNLIMITED” on my forehead. Then I kept meeting people from Germany. People from all over the world were there, but everywhere I turned I met Germans. It was amazing.

I met a German pastor named Rudiger. He said, “You should meet my wife, Stefanie--she is a dancer, a dance teacher, and a flagger like you.” He told me the name of their ministry is UNLIMITED. That caught my interest! On their website www.unlimitedgod.de it says, “Experience the Unlimited God.” Rudiger extended an open invitation to visit. My son, Daniel, is getting his PhD in Germany and his wife, Beth, leads a ministry at Tuebingen University and they have invited me to visit them also.

It was a dream, because I didn’t have money for such a trip, so I put it in God’s hands. Shortly after I got home I received a check in the mail for $1,000 for an insurance settlement for repairs for a scrape on my car from a minor accident. Then for Mother’s Day my children all chipped in another $200. They didn’t know it, but this was exactly how much more I needed to buy a round trip ticket to Germany. I bought my ticket and now my dream is coming true. On August 26^th I am flying to Germany for two weeks for my first overseas ministry experience!

Rudiger and Stefanie have invited me to stay with them near Nuremberg, where they are planning to plant a church, and to help teach a worship dance class. I am bringing my flags and have some ideas. I don’t know all that God has planned for me, but I am excited to be “sent out” overseas for Jesus. I love the Lord and I am thrilled to share the abundant LIFE wherever I go. We truly are UNLIMITED, for Jesus said, “All things are possible with God.” (Mat. 19:26) For more information, photos, and updates visit www.TheDanceofLifewithJenna.blogspot.com . It is so fun to share my adventures with you!

Please pray for me to receive the Lord’s preparation that I’d be fully ready for this ministry trip. Please also pray for the hearts of the German people that I meet, to be ready to receive from the Lord. I hope to be inspiring, encouraging, and equipping. I would like to invite you to support me financially, for my first overseas ministry trip to Germany. Even a few dollars will be received gratefully. I have need of money for train fare and food money. See my contact info below.

Blessings,

Jenna Silliman

Postal Address: 931 S. 7^th Ave, Sequim, WA  98382 USA

PayPal: JennaVickSilliman@gmail.com  Verizon Cell Phone/Texting: (360) 477-3152

E-mail: JennaSilliman@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/JennaVickSilliman

Mission Statement of Jenna Vick Silliman

I am a woman that is led by the Holy Spirit whose passion in this lifetime is to see God’s abundant life and love manifested here on earth; to carry the fire of God and to shine for Him. “Our God is a consuming fire.” (See Hebrews 12:29.) I have been called "A Divine Arsonist" and I agree!

I am blessed to be a wife to Cliff, a mother to eight awesome children, and to be a writer, a communicator, and a dancer and flagger for worship and intercession. Dancing in the Holy Spirit has become a passion and a ministry in an of itself, but it is not my sole mission in life.

First and foremost I am a seeker of God’s Kingdom of joy and power in His Holy Spirit. His Kingdom is within us, here and now, heaven on earth—eternity has begun! Jesus said, “This is eternal life, to intimately know God.” (See John 17:3.) I am a worshipper of the One God, the Almighty King of Kings and Lord of Lords. I love Him with my whole self and enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him, giving Him thanks and rejoicing always. I am His little girl and I trust my Papa God. I delight in knowing Him and hearing His voice and He delights in me and hearing my voice. Day by day I seek to know Him more and know His Word. 

I love to soak in His Presence, like basking in the sun!

My life Scripture verse is: 

“You show me the path for my life; 

In Your Presence is fullness of JOY, 

At Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” 

This verse is in the Bible two times, in both the Old and the New Testaments. 

See Psalm 16:11 and Acts 2:28.

 I am a devoted follower of Jesus Christ and I live in the power of His Holy Spirit, His anointing, His calling. As Jesus did, I do. As Jesus prayed, I pray. I am a prayer warrior; my prayers are powerful and effective. Like Jesus, I am a mediator, a connecting link, between people and Papa God and the destiny He has for each one. Like Jesus, I am a revealer of truth, a storyteller; I share testimonies, parables, spiritual awareness, and Bible stories—as the Spirit leads. Like Jesus, I am powerful. He said we would do far greater things than Him; therefore I will heal the sick, raise the dead, destroy the works of the devil, and perform miracles just like my Lord and King. “As Jesus is, so are we in this world.” (See 1 John 4:17.)

I am a creative person with unlimited potential because all things are possible with God. I am a living epistle, a letter, to be read by anyone. “Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you have.” (See 1 Peter 3:15.) I am ready, willing, and able to do whatever Papa God tells me to do.

I am a minister and I live to make God’s truth known. I live by the awesome seven ‘F’ words that I preached on at Deep River Church: Focused, Faithful, Fulfilled, Free, Fearless, Fun-loving, and Firey! I believe the words of John Wimber, “There is only one ministry and that's the ministry of Jesus. If you find out what He's doing and participate with Him, that's where you'll find what you're made for and with it you'll find joy.”

I AM ALL OUT FOR JESUS and on fire with the good news of great joy, abundant life, and healing for all! Carpe Diem…Seize the day! GO FOR IT!

Walking Habitually With God

God showed me how it pleases Him to walk habitually with Him. I had read this in my Amplified Bible, “Noah walked habitually with God.” Genesis 6:9 and “Enoch walked habitually with God.” Genesis 5:24. Their habits pleased God we read in Hebrews 11:5-7.

One of my favorite hymns is “In The Garden.” It tells of a love relationship with God and how He walks with us and He talks with us and we’re never alone because He is always with us. He is forever and always right with us—we don’t have to do a thing. We don’t have to earn the right to keep His company; we don’t have to be good enough. The Lord Jesus is Emmanuel—God with us.

Sometimes those little daily devotion books lead us astray because we are led to believe that once we do our devotions, or have our “Daily Quiet Time”or our “Fifteen Minutes Alone with God” or “Time in the Secret Place” that we are good to go—we’ve done our duty and spent an allotted time focusing on God so now we can go merrily on our way for the rest of the day.

Awareness of the presence 24/7 of my beloved Lord Jesus, and CONTINUALLY enjoying His favor, love, abundant life and everlasting joy, has been the most profound discovery of my life. My favorite verse of the Bible is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. “You show me the path of life; in Your Presence is the fullness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11, Acts 2:28) My favorite translation of the Bible is the Amplified which says, “You enrapture me, diffusing my soul with joy.” Jesus told us the reason He came to earth was to bring us abundant life. He never said He bought us a ticket to heaven. Life with Him is abundant and it is NOW—eternity has already begun. There is no waiting line! Whoohooo!!!

Over the years I see a progression in my relationship with the Lord Jesus. At first I knew Him as Savior and Redeemer. About two years later I came to know Him as Lord and Master and I saw myself as His servant because I owed Him my life. At some point Jesus spoke to my heart through the verse that says, “No longer do I call you servant, I call you friend.” He became my closest and most loving friend to confide in and trust with my secrets. Next I learned that I had been adopted and He wanted to be more than friends—we’re family! We share the same bloodline—the same D.N.A. or Divine Nature of Abba. “We have received adoption in the Holy Spirit and our spirit testifies we are children of God in the bliss of which we cry, Abba! Father!” See Romans 8:15, 16.

The Lord has spoken to me through His Word that I am His treasure. He actually calls me, “Darling.” I am a part of His Bride preparing for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. I am one of the pure virgins keeping my lamp burning for Him. My heart resonates with the Song of Solomon. My songs of worship are often love songs for my beloved Jesus, my Groom. His heart resonates with our love and gratitude and devotion. I believe His love language is consecration. He wants us to only have eyes for Him and to rejoice in Him always.

The Word tells us that He inhabits or dwells in the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3) Have you experienced His presence so sweet and close as you worship Him and sing to Him with all your heart in love and gratitude? To taste and see and experience the Lord’s goodness changes us forever.

About four years ago I saw a woman dancing during worship. I asked her to teach me everything she knew. Christlyn taught me Israeli circle dancing, but more than that she taught me how King David danced with abandon before the Lord and didn’t care what people thought. (2Sam.6:14) David commanded the people to follow his example and “Praise Him with dance.” (Psalm 149:3,150:4) As I began to dance with my beloved Lord Jesus in worship, I experienced His presence and His pleasure like never before. To dance with the lover of my soul as a form of worship is one of my favorite things!

Sometimes I worship dance with colorful flags. Flagging before a congregation is a form of leading in worship. Sometimes I feel like Miriam leading in a victory dance (Exodus 15:20). 

Last fall I was privileged to dance and flag for a conference called The Healing Explosion in Canada with Georgian and Winnie Banov. Andrea York (one of our Kingdom Bloggers) and I flagged onstage while Georgian played his fiddle! I was front right and Andrea was front left. Wow! It was glorious and joyous! Winnie Banov had a most awesome and life-changing message about how she discovered there are some things missing in our modern translations of the Bible. There are supposed to be these two little letters “co” before certain words. We are co-crucified, co-buried, co-resurrected, co-enthroned and co-heirs with Jesus! To be seated IN the heavenlies with our Groom and to know ALL He has is ours, our rightful inheritance—these are truths that make you want to dance and celebrate with ecstatic joy!

I started this writing telling you about how I learned it pleases God to walk with Him habitually. Well, now I have learned to DANCE with Him habitually. Hahaha! Whether I am dancing Folk Dance, Clogging, Swing Dance, Hula, Waltzing, Contra, or Tap Dance—I’m dancing with Jesus!

I say, “Yes, Lord, Thank You, Lord.” all day long.

Walking with Jesus is where I belong!

And every time I get a chance,

I say to my Beloved, “Shall we dance?"