Merry Christmas Dear Friends!

Christmas Greetings to NRSD Cohort
December 17, 2012

Hi Dear Friends,
I haven’t posted in some time, but I certainly have not been forgetting about you. Actually I have been working on the January 11-13, 2013 retreat. I have also been in a season of special prayer for all of you, our Rest & Be Thankful Clan.

At the head of 2012, God gave me the theme of “Breakthrough Year” for all of us in the clan. Glennis gave us the word “Gather!”… and Micah 2:12-13 is where the Lord directed me.

“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the survivors of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture; it will resound with people. The one who breaks out will go up before them; they will break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass on before them, the Lord at their head.”

I have been fasting and praying for the full blessing of that word for this year, and also looking forward into the coming year, 2013.

I feel that the KC IHOP conference will be blessing for 2012, and for 2013. I believe it will be a milestone in our lives, those of us who are able to go. There is still time, by the way, to come along. R&BT can still give the sweet “Glennis scholarship” of $100 out to you if it looks like you could still come. Just let me know!

The retreat will be rich, as it always is. I feel the Lord wants us to have an extended TAWG somewhere in the weekend to give all of you a chance to review the old 2012 and welcome the new challenges of 2013, so come prepared to do that. Of course the weather outside might be “frightful”, but we are hoping the conditions might be right for snowshoeing and/or hiking. And of course we have 2 fireplaces and plenty of places to snuggle inside…

Pray for our absent members – Mark D… Trent and Kristen in Juarez until the 19th… Zach and Chana in OK…

So, Steve and I wish you a happy and BLESSED Christmas. We will see some of you in KC, we will see all of you we hope on January 11-13. If you are around Spring Valley during the Christmas season, be sure to drop in to say hello.

Love and Hugs,
Steve and Joanie Tyvoll

Reflections & Looking Ahead to UR 2-2; January 11-13, 2013

NRSD Blog Post 10-9-12

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Dear Cohort Friends O’Mine,

               I hope you are all rested up and getting back into your routines. Several of you had colds, now Steve has a cold but of course he can’t decide which of you gave it to him. J  I hope you are all doing better.

               I didn’t have your homework assignments ready to give you this weekend, so I am posting them today (I hope it works, otherwise I will have to get Chana to put them up for me!) You will see I am assigning 2 books to read for our prayer journeys, we will be looking over the gospels and Acts in our Bible survey class, and there is quite a bit of Boice to read as well. Lots of reading! I thought that would be okay given the substantial stretch of time before our January 11-13, 2013 retreat. The reading will help you stay grounded over the busy holiday season!

               It seemed to be a particularly lovely time together this past weekend. I am still processing and praying about what God did for us, and what gifts he brought to me personally during the weekend. I hope you have time to do that as well. I always feel “tingley” after the retreats – one of those Holy Spirit things that speaks to me of anticipation… I feel like we are all on the edge of big things, and that Holy Spirit has more, more more in store for us… very exciting.

                              I found a fb message from Dayn later Sunday afternoon, and I want to share it with all of you because they are always meaningful and full of grace from God. See how Dayn’s prophetic prayer fits with what you experienced this past weekend.

… My "NRDS alarm" went off yesterday and I said a little prayer and am praying for you all this weekend. Romans 16:20! I sense that this has happened and now like a phoenix from the ashes, the mighty "bird" of God (Holy Spirit, you, our community, NRSD folk) will rise. http://www.facebook.com/l/4AQEG2mKCAQHQ8OIc4dUyczR-mxwocmPfPwsXTqXNPTFAcA/m.youtube.com/watch?v=CKRF8UihM5s

I sense much breakthrough, much color (Spirit) and much victory, joy, strength for you all this weekend. I think there will be a big breakthrough. I am seeing lots of color (Holy Spirit) in worship. Breakthrough, victory, power, joy, freedom, celebration, peace, yes, joy in the Spirit--this break in, this rise above, this breakthrough in the Spirit. God is going to be exchanging "ashes for beauty" this weekend. Out of the ashes will arise a great awakening.

Isaiah 61:1-3

Much love to you all. Much love, so much love. And God bless you. Wish I could be there with you all, but I trust I will receive as you receive and you will receive as I receive in the Spirit.

Much love and God bless,

dayn

Please come visit the Steve-O and me in the next few months. We will get mighty lonesome for you if we don’t see you until January 2-13.

Love and Hugs,

Steve-O and J

September 21, 2012

Hi Dear School Friends,
Here we are even closer to the fall retreat on October 5-7. I don’t know about you, but this retreat sure seemed to come fast. Steve and I are working away to get things ready for you when you come, and we are trusting God will help us do that!
I am feeling an assurance from the Lord that the extra class spot that we have open this time is just right for an important topic to bring up: End Times Prophecy. It is just crazy that we are living out ancient prophecy every day of our lives! We are!
It is exciting, but also a little unnerving. As I am putting together the second installment of the Old Testament Survey – the Prophets – I am seeing that this is a natural and lovely place to talk about God’s plan for his church, Israel and the whole world in the End Times.
Here is a tip I wanted to pass on to you as you scramble to get the reading etc. done for this retreat: BE SURE TO USE YOUR BIBLE HANDBOOK AS YOU LOOK AT THE BOOKS OF MAJOR AND MINOR PROPHETS! I think most of you got Henrietta Mears’ handbook “What the Bible is All About”. This is a wonderful tool to help you place the prophets in the right time periods, and she summarizes themes and topics they dealt with that really helps make sense of these guys.
I suggest that you start with reading her handbook instead of trying to plow through the actual books of prophecy. Our understanding of the books of prophecy and an appreciation of their message for then and now has to come from scholars who have a ton more study into language, history and Bible than the average person (you and me) will ever have. So take advantage of their help!!!
So that is the main message I have for you today. Use Mears! It will help! And it will help us when we talk about End Times Prophecy as well!
See you soon!

Love and God Bless,
Joanie T, and for Steve-O too…

3 Weeks Countdown to UR 2-1 October 5-7, 2012

September 13, 2012

Hola, Cohort!

As the UR 2-1 draws ever nearer, you are all on my mind. The Holy Spirit is making the content and schedule more clear as I press in, pray and ponder.

It seems that this will be the retreat to finally talk about small groups… Remember the book I had you all read for the very first retreat by Cloud & Townsend? “Making Small Groups Work”…

The topic is actually one we want to spend some time with, so I am glad we finally have found room for it. Steve and I were talking about it this morning, and between him and I, between his expertise and mine we will have an interesting discussion about small groups. So you can pull out the book from the bottom of your school books pile, dust it off and review it before October 5-7.

I am once again extending an invitation to you to feel free to invite anyone you want to hang out with us during the retreat in October.

               I would ask you to pray for the school as always. We depend on the Lord to make a way for each of us to come to retreats (without any hindrances the enemy likes to throw in our paths). I depend on the Lord for wisdom as I prepare for each class presentation. We need his favor and blessing on each detail of the retreat – food, weather, classes, fellowship…

               We will be missing Mark Ducklow of course. Zach and Chana are not sure whether their circumstances will allow them to make it. Let’s be praying for each other, and trust God to do amazing feats of power to get us together, okay? (Mark said, for him it would take one of those “translating deals” that the Lord did for Philip…)

               I know I say this all the time, but truly – the Lord keeps pouring out new wisdom and understanding to me as I read and study. There is so much to learn! If I am still learning and growing, I figure probably all of you are too, or at least can be, so he still has a purpose for us meeting together in the NRSD.  

               Be thinking of what you want to share concerning your senior projects… update and organize your portfolio as we head into year 2… pray, and come expecting God to do more cool stuff with us.

Love and hugs,

Joan (& Steve!) Tyvoll

October 5-7 Retreat Update

Dear Fellow Perpetual and Forever Learners,
I hope you are all fine and enjoying the change of seasons. I write this thinking of some of our cohort who have changed addresses. Your autumn may look very different than what you are used to! Chana and Zach and Mark, we are thinking of you and praying for you. We hope you are settling in and enjoying your new adventures!
Our Unit Retreat 2-1 is only a few weeks away – October 5-7. There is no telling what the weather will be like, but regardless, we are sure that it will be “warm and sunny” as we catch up with each other, pray together and get more knowledge of the Bible in our hearts.
Steve and I are still exploring ideas of what the special seminar for this retreat will be; hopefully we will have that information for you soon.
It was exciting to hear all your ideas for your senior projects last retreat, and in October we will hear updates from all of you as your senior project takes shape. Be ready to share yours.
How are you all doing with your reading? We will do the second part of the Old Testament survey, and as we learn about the role of the prophets we will be more able to put that ancient time into the whole picture of history. They should be, and can, speak to us today! The topic for Systematic Theology is Christology. I am so glad we have Boice to give us a good foundation for seeing Christ in all his glorious functions.
It has been such a full and rich summer for us, hasn’t it? It is amazing to see how God really takes our desire to grow and learn seriously. It seems that no matter how old we get he keeps stretching us and pushing us out of our comfort zones.
Thank you for praying for my mom. She is back in the nursing home, much weaker but still in the Lord’s care.
If you have any concerns or questions about the coming content for UR 2-1; your senior project; or anything else, be sure to contact Steve or I.

Looking forward to October 5-7,
Joan Tyvoll

Reflecting on UR 1-4, Looking forward to UR 2-1

August 8, 2012

Dear NRSD Cohort,
I hope you are all recovering from our full weekend here on Norwegian Ridge. I hope you all “heard” me say how blessed Steve-O and I are to have you in our lives. I feel a special joy in welcoming dear ones into our home – and you are all dear ones!
It seemed to be a unique gathering this time, in so many ways. Dayn’s Skype visit, Glennis, Dr. Lawrence… so many things added spice and depth of flavor to what we learned and experienced. I have a feeling that it will take some time to really see what God cooked up for us.
Jenny and her band of faithful helpers did such a lovely job with the food. I feel such a thankful heart for her and all who helped. Food is necessary – but it is also a huge blessing, and this food was wonderful. Shirley thinks she can be back with us on October 5-7. (She is doing well, by the way. Thanks for praying for her healing).
It has taken me a few days to rest up, clear my head and my desk! As I do, I feel that God is assuring me that he was indeed present with us. So I am expecting fruit from our time, and it will unfold “in the fullness of time”. Be alert! Keep asking God for “eyes to see”.

“17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…” Ephesians 1:17-18

“15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere."Ah, my lord, what will we do now?" he cried out to Elisha. 16 "Don't be afraid!" Elisha told him. "For there are more on our side than on theirs!" 17 Then Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!" The LORD opened his servant's eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” 2 Kings 6:15-17

You all got Mark’s fb message about a teaching job in Kabul, Afghanistan. He has accepted the job and will be leaving September 3rd! I hope he will fb all of us before he leaves to give us his prayer requests…
Check out the assignments posted on the NRSD blog for the next retreat, October 5-7. It is only 2 months away, so I just want you to have that on your radar… Steve and I are still discussing what the special seminar for this retreat will be; we will let you know as soon as it is clear to us.
Thanks again for your hearts, your openness to God and for your passionate pursuit of the One who is worthy to be pursued…

Love and Hugs,
Joan Tyvoll

Prayer Needed at Crunch Time 7-13-12

Prayer Needed at Crunch Time 7-13-12

Hi Cohort,

               I hope you are all well and feeling strong in the Lord. I am giving you a prayer alert for the discipleship school as we near our retreat time. As usual, the devil will try to pull us apart and keep us from meeting on July 27-29, because he knows the fruit from our time together is a huge threat to him and his dark kingdom. Pray for yourself, your friends and the families of the cohort.

I need your prayers and partnership with me as I pull together the teaching I am responsible for the UR 1-4. The spiritual battle is intense right now on many fronts, and my school prep time is growing short. I am spending the important, vital time I need to in prayer and counsel – that is so crucial because the battle is truly heating up.  Pray God multiplies time provision for me in other ways.

Dayn by the way, sent this promise for victory in the midst of the battle from the other side of the world just the other day:

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Romans 16:20

I am feeling the importance and significance of your training is just growing and growing. I know that God intends for you to be powerful servants in his harvest fields. I really believe that about you all. As you wax strong, you are more of a threat to our enemy. 

Just be aware of the battle, dear ones. Don’t take this lightly. Listen. Pray. Wear the armor and pray in the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:10ff)

See you soon,

Joan Tyvoll

2 Week Countdown to NRSD Retreat - July 27-29

July 11, 2012

Hi everyone,

Wow, have you all been on my mind and in my prayers. Some of the focus comes from my work on our July 27-29 retreat classes – COMING SOON!!! Some of the attention God is shining on all of you is because of what I am hearing from you, from world and national news, and from the Spirit. God is on the move, and it is certain he is determined to fulfill his promise for 2012:

“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob, I will gather the survivors of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture; it will resound with people. The one who breaks out will go up before them; they will break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king will pass on before them, the Lord at their head.” Micah 2:12-13 

So, yes, I am praying for all of you as the retreat draws near. Now is when our enemy will be throwing road blocks in front of you to keep you from the retreat, now is when you need your focus on the assignments we will be processing together, now is when Steve and I need your prayers for the preparation of our time together…

The content of this retreat on spiritual warfare is extremely important, and I would expect you to have opposition and conflict in trying to get here for the weekend. Be aware of that, dear ones, and determine to even make sacrifices if you have to in order to get here. It will be life changing, I promise. 


IT IS CRUNCH TIME, COHORT!

A reminder about the seminar on Saturday, July 28th on Bonhoeffer by Dr. Lawrence: invite anyone you think would be interested in joining us at 10 a.m. It is a unique opportunity for us to sit under Dr. Lawrence, and we want as many people to take advantage of it as possible.

Please broaden that invitation to people you think may be interested in seeing what the school is all about. Visitors are welcome to hang out with us all day on Saturday. Beyond Bonhoeffer we will be having our Systematic Theology class and most likely the Old Testament Survey class.

We continue to pray for God’s direction concerning starting a new cohort for the fall, 2012.

I am so amazed at how God is dovetailing our studies, Cohort. All our study topics are coming together – fitting together as if God had designed the school schedule… Hmmmm.

We will be missing Zach and Chana. They are settling into their new home in Tulsa. Pray for jobs for them, and for new friends that will make it a new home for them. Here is their address:

9301 East 64th Street Apt. K
Tulsa, Oklahoma  74133

We will see you soon!

Love and hugs,
Joan & Steve

July Retreat, Bonhoeffer Seminar & Senior Projects!

NRSD

June 29, 2012

Greetings, Cohort!

I hope you are having a delightful summer so far – Isn’t this just the best time of the year?

One of the sad things right now for me is that we have to say good-bye to Chana and Zach. They are packing up and I believe their departure date is set for July 5^th. Maybe they can post on the blog for us and give us up to date information about their plans. We are happy for them to be setting out on this new adventure, and praying God’s choice blessings to come their way!

The July 27-29 NRSD retreat is bearing down on us, Cohort! I hope you are making progress on your reading and studying. Here are some reminders:

·        Have your year-end review ready to share. What have you learned? How have you grown?

·        This month I have to hear from each one of you concerning your ideas for a senior project. At the retreat everyone will have their turn sharing their project plans, so you have to come prepared and able to tell us how can we help you accomplish your goals.

As I announced, Dr. Joel Lawrence from Bethel Seminary will be presenting a seminar on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He will be presenting on Saturday morning, July 28, at 10 a.m.

NRSD extends an invitation to anyone who is interested in hearing Dr. Lawrence present. Cohort, I encourage you to invite friends and family to come that morning to learn about Bonhoeffer.

You might also invite people you think are interested in learning more about the school. They are welcome to hang out for the morning and/or afternoon classes as well as the Bonhoeffer seminar to get a taste for what the school offers.

We have had several inquiries about a new cohort beginning in the fall, so it is a distinct possibility that we will start up a new class then rather than waiting until 2013. Now is the time to bring the invitation to your friends. We will need at least 10-15 committed people to form a Fall 2012 NRSD Cohort.

I will be eagerly awaiting your call or visit so we can get your Senior project going. You all have had Marilyn Gleason’s invitation to register for her blog. She is regularly posting on the blog along with another more personal piece as her senior project. It is a wonderful project that will help her find her personal and prophetic voice. Support her by registering on her blog site.

I am getting really excited already about the wonderful July retreat. Be preparing and praying!

Love and hugs,

Joan Tyvoll

Norwegian Ridge Retreat

NRSD

June 4, 2012 Finally!

Monday, June 04, 2012

Greetings NRSD Cohort!

I apologize for neglecting this blog for so long. It has been a busy spring, but our garden is in, and I am ready to focus attention back to our lovely school and all of YOU lovelies. It won’t take long for July 27-29 to sneak up on us.

I finally have the books and assignments posted for those of you IPHONE gen people who don’t keep track of handouts well (J).

Our July retreat will be packed, as usual, but I am so excited for the topics up for discussion. I hope you have found a Bible handbook that will help you as we start doing our Bible survey (OT for 2 retreats, then on to NT for the last 2 retreats.) How is the Otis book going for all of you? Big stuff, but so important…

I know we are OVERLOADED with books and reading for the July retreat, but I do want to tell you about JUST ONE MORE BOOK… A dear friend of Ben & Kaaren Tyvoll’s has graciously agreed to do a special workshop on Dietrich Bonhoeffer! Dr. Joel Lawrence Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at Bethel Seminary. His PhD is from Cambridge, England. He did his dissertation on Bonhoeffer, is a member of the Bonhoeffer Society, has published a book about him and teaches a Sem course on him. This link takes you to Bethel Sem, http://www.bethel.edu/stories/begin/seminary/making-links; and the second link takes you to a Wheaton Conference where he presented a paper on Bonhoeffer. 

http://www.wheaton.edu/WETN/All-Media/Lectures-and-Conferences/Wheaton%20Theology%20Conference

There is a new book out on Bonhoeffer (Eric Metaxas and Timothy J. Keller, 2010) which Dr. Lawrence says is somewhat controversial because the authors “do not have a good grasp of Bonhoeffer’s theology”. A better biography is 1000 pages long (I couldn’t face it!), so his recommendation is for us to read “Life Together”. This book is about community and is Bonhoeffer’s shortest book and “easiest” read, although any book by this man is not what you would call "easy". 

What a blessing to have Dr. Lawrence do this workshop for us. This short intro does not do him justice, but we will get better acquainted with him in July. Steve and I are really excited to have this special treat planned for the school.

Remember Ben Colbenson and his Nav team in your prayers. They will be in Indonesia from June 20^th – July 28^th. Dayn Lukes is in Asia right now as well.

We want you all to be reviewing your first year as NRSD students. When we meet in July we will share our thoughts about this first year. And then of course a big deal is our senior projects. Each of you should have a plan for your special Senior Project. I will be contacting each of you in the next few weeks to go over your ideas with you so that when we meet on July 27-29 you will be good to go with your plans.

Another big item on my “to-do” list is to get a NRSD publicity document together that we can share with people who might be interested in starting a new NRSD class in September 2012 or September 2013. We are praying and discerning what God might want us to do. If there were enough interested people, we could start a new class this September.

So here is our request: please be praying about anyone you might know who would like the kind of school we are doing here. I will be sending you a doc you can email to anyone you might think of. Please pray for us as we discern God’s leading in this.

I promise to be better about blogging here in the next weeks. As always, you are welcome to visit, call or skype with us.

Love and Hugs,

Joan & Steve T

The Joy of Stewardship and Giving

March 9, 2012

Hi Faithful Cohort Buddies!

I hope you are all well and enjoying the promise of spring. It is supposed to be amazingly warm this next week, and I am really looking forward to it!

I am reading, studying and praying about the next retreat April 20-22. The discipleship school is such a blessing to me – it is energizing beyond measure to think about what God wants you all to learn, and how he wants you to grow in knowledge and character. What a wonderful privilege it is for me to be able to contribute to that growth. I love, love love it!

I got an email not too long ago from Karissa. She was getting excited about the topic of stewardship and giving that we will be addressing in April. (David Tyvoll will be presenting a workshop on Biblical principles of stewardship). God was reinforcing his message to her about giving by having it also come up in a powerful way at her church. Here is what Karissa said, and I am including the link to her church’s messages from March 13, 21 & 27 of last year.

I wanted to share another couple of sermons from my church. Robert Morris spoke at our my church last year and the two sermons he gave are some of the best I have ever heard. It is very interesting time for me right now because I have been reading the Randy Alcorn book about giving, my church talks about money once every year, and these last few weeks have been sermons on tithing and giving, and my other bible study from my other church was also talking about giving this last week and this next week. God apparently had something to say to me about my finances. I am glad he was able to pound the message into my head! Anyways, the sermons are here:


https://www.rivervalley.org/default.aspx?page=4204&ItemId=144&ChannelId=3&TopicId=57&BlobId=28515 

Robert Morris, by the way is the author of the book “The Blessed Life” that I recommended to you. I know many of us (all of us?) find the whole subject of finances and budgets challenging to say the least. I believe that God wants us to be obedient in small things, so he can trust us with bigger things. As Karissa’s pastor shared in his March 13th sermon, it is more than (MUCH more) just a money issue – it is a matter of our heart.

Be blessed as you listen to these sermons from Karissa’s church, and as you read the Alcorn book in preparation for our UR 1-3. God wants us to grow in faithfulness and obedience! It is a joy!

Joan Tyvoll

February 29, 2012

Greetings, Cohort!

It is an auspicious day – 2-29-12, so on this Leap Year day I am bringing you all a warm greeting. It is also a snow day for most of us, the only one really of this funny winter, so that also makes this day special. I hope you make the most of the really nice snowman snow if you can!

I have been working on Lenten devotionals for my R&BT website the last 3 weeks, trying to get some ahead so I can concentrate on school stuff. It won’t be long and April 20th will be upon us, so I am trying to put the ingredients together for an awesome time together - Unit Retreat 1-3!

I am really excited about our UR 1-3 workshop time around church history. Not everyone loves history, but it really gets my blood jumpin’. Especially as a woman I have seen the inestimable value of knowing the history of the church. If I would just look around me in the present day without a knowledge of what women have contributed in the past, I would not have any confidence in my calling at all. But as I have dug into the history of the Christian church, I have been able to see women working side by side with men in every age, exercising every gift God promised to all believers.

I will not be majoring on women in history during the UR 1-3 Church History Workshop, but I will briefly tell you about 2 special independent studies I did during my seminary days that highlighted some women’s contributions to the church.

David Tyvoll will be presenting a workshop on Biblical Stewardship on Saturday, April 21. He will give us  a much needed foundation for understanding how God wants us to treat money and other resources he entrusts to us. Be sure to read “The Treasure Principle” in preparation for David’s workshop. Another really great book Steve and I like is by Robert Morris called “A Blessed Life”. It is a wonderful testimony of how God honors us when we honor him with the first fruits of what he gives to us.

“Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Proverbs 3:9-10.

I have some ideas about enhancing the Systematic Theology presentation this time that I think you will find very helpful and informative.

You are prayed for regularly, and lovingly. God has a plan and purpose for your life, especially as it touches our school. He is bringing much fruit to you and me because we are pressing in to know him better.

My day just got to be more special because of a visiting troop of ROBINS! There must have been 15-20 in my trees and bushes! WOOHOO! SPRING IS ON THE WAY!

Love and Hugs,
Joan Tyvoll

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Welcome to spring, friends! Well… it sure seems like it this week with the warm temps. My dining room table is covered with seed catalogues, so you can tell that spring fever flares up for me at this time of the year…

The other stuff piled on my table is books! Of course. I re-read the Billy Graham book he wrote in 1975 called “Angels” this week. I put his book on your “optional” reading list and as I am reading it I decided to HIGHLY recommend it! It is encouraging, empowering and downright strengthening! God is so good to us to provide angels’ help in little and big ways.

With some national ministers/prophets saying that they feel that God wants us to pray for an increase of angelic presence for the church and individuals in 2012, “Angels” helps us to understand what it is all about, and why we might really want to do just that!

Graham’s book has been on our bookshelf since the ‘70’s, but I hadn’t read it in a long time. So it was a huge blessing to me.

I am already studying and preparing for the April retreat. God is giving me plans for the summer retreat as well. I thought I would remind you of the dates for the summer retreat, and encourage you to be sure to put it on your calendar. It is so easy to fill up your weekends in the summer months. As I see how God is building on each of the retreats, I would hate to have anyone of you miss even one retreat.

Note the date for the October 2012 retreat as well as the January 2013 one. Those two retreat dates are negotiable for a time, so if you see a conflict, now is the time to speak up while I can still make some adjustments… Otherwise they are set in stone.

I am trying to connect with each of you by skype, phone or visit. If I haven’t talked to you since the January retreat, please get in touch with me so I know you are alive, okay and happy! When you talk to me or your coach if it isn’t me, be sure you are beginning a discussion about a possible senior project. Some of you already have some ideas, which is really fun.

Please post any prayer requests or thoughts on the school blog; it is a good way for us to keep current with one another. By the way, I am thrilled you “city folk” are doing some gatherings on your own!

School is such a wonderful blessing to me. As I “handle” this God-stuff, my conviction and commitment to him and his Kingdom work just deepens. It is a huge gift to be passing this precious stuff on to you. I have been thinking about the Mercy Me song: “Spoken For”.  “take this world from me, I don’t need it anymore…”

It occurred to me that this is the heart of NRSD: I want to spoil you for this world (cosmos). I desire for you to fall so deeply in love with the things of God that nothing else will satisfy… “My heart is spoken for…”

Love to all of you. Hope to hear from you soon, and just know I am praying for you.

Joan Tyvoll

UR 1-3: April 20-22, 2012

UR 1-4: July 27-29, 2012

UR 2-1: October 5-7, 2012

UR 2-2: January 11-13, 2013

UR 2-3: April 19-21, 2013

UR 2-4: July 26-28, 2013

GRADUATION!

Books and Assignments for Unit Retreat 1-3, April 20-22, 2012

Book List for NRSD UR 1-3, April 20-22, 2012

• Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Comprehensive and Readable Theology, Dr. James Montgomery Boice, IVP, 1986. (Systematic Theology)
• Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity, Mark A. Noll, Baker Academic, 2000. (Church History)
• Watchman Prayer, Dutch Sheets, Regal, 2000. (Prayer Talk)
• The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving, Randy Alcorn, Multnomah, 2001 (Sunday Seminar on Stewardship)

Optional Texts for More Reading:

• Streams of Living Water, Richard J. Foster, Harper, 1998.
• Angels, Billy Graham,1994.

Assignments for NRSD UR 1-3, April 20-22, 2012

• Systematic Theology: Boice, Pages 109-116; 147-175
• Church History: Noll, Read/skim as much as you can handle
•  Sunday Seminar: all of Alcorn’s book. You will love it.
• Personal Portfolio: The “Strengths Finder” if you can afford it…  &  Journal and/or draw a life map, and mark the turning points, road signs where there were significant life forming events, good or bad, and where God changed directions or really showed up…

Post Retreat Wrap Up, January 18th, 2012

I am anxious to share some messages that I have received from you all since the retreat. Dayn Lukes was happy to get my personal message to him about the retreat going well. Here is his response to the part I added telling him that I hope he can come to one of the school retreats sometime:

I'm jealous to come to one of the retreats--I feel a bit like Paul to the Romans:

 "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles." (Ro 1:11-13)

But, until that Kairos moment I am happy and privileged to journey and be with you all from afar in KC.  Oh, the hope and joy in the Sovereignty of God.  I love it.

Myanna was good enough to send some ideas for eval, along with her note of encouragement that she thought the retreat was great. Thanks, Myanna!

Jenny is her usual encouraging self, Marilyn has a cold – pray for her!

Mark has a good story to tell of what the Lord is stirring in his heart…

And I… well I am “regrouping” as Steve puts it. Those retreats are tiring! But I loved it. God is so present with us, and he continues to assure me that he has big plans for his harvest for us! I am excited about that.

If you have an item to share, or any suggestions, be sure to post them on this blog.

I uploaded some docs to google docs, and I think I emailed notice to you of their existence there… but HELP! DREW! It doesn’t seem like I quite have this down yet…

And for those that missed some sessions and were counting on a video… well, that is a work in progress, so we will let you know…

I am going to post ASAP: For NRSD UR 1-3: April 20-22, 2012

·       Book List

·       Assignments

Keep checking, and again, if you don’t get notice of the school blog into your email box, be sure you are signed up for notifications.

Thanks for your part in the wonderful retreat,

Joanie Tyvoll, also for Steve-O 

Hail, Cohort (have you noticed that it is hard to use a commonplace greeting with the stately “COHORT” title? I feel I have to use something regal, roman centurian sounding…)

This is just a last minute reminder for the retreat this weekend. Bring:

·        Laptop

·        Bible

·        Personal journal

·        Warm clothes for outdoors (maybe a bonfire Friday or Saturday night?)

A suggestion from last retreat was to have some personal reflection time. That is tough with our packed schedule, but we have squeezed in a time or two for your personal journaling and prayer.

Steve and I are getting all set up, we are so excited! See you soon! Steve-O and Joanie 

This is a special note to the women in NRSD, and perhaps women you know who feel called to ministry. This is a very encouraging letter written to women in seminary from Kyle Roberts. Kyle Roberts is Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Lead Faculty of Christian Thought, Bethel Seminary (St. Paul, MN).

  I wish he had been at Bethel Seminary while I was there, it would have made things easier for me (and the other women there of course).

Women, read this and take heart that God knows what he is doing by calling you into leadership ministry places. God is also raising up men who have the courage to confront the popular and strong viewpoint that wants to “put we women in our place”. You are called by God, and he will defend you and promote you!

http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Open-Letter-to-Women-in-Seminary-Kyle-Robert-11-01-2011?offset=0&max=1

See you all on Friday for supper! Yay!

Joan Tyvoll

January 3, 2012
Greetings, Cohort!
I am assuming that everyone is back to work, school, and normal routines! I have to confess I find it a relief by now to be back to a normal schedule, but then that is my “Melancholy” go by the book personality. If you are a sanguine… well, you are still looking for a party to attend!

We had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. I hope yours was blessed too. Now, back to work.

I am in the school groove in a big way again this week – and if you pray for me real hard, hopefully everything will be ready for you when you show up on Norwegian Ridge come January 13th – only 10 days away. Wow.

Steve and I spent several hours yesterday hashing through some pieces of the Sys Theo class, and the Bible study class. It just reminds me again of the reality of this cohort being our guinea pigs – thanks for the grace you extend to us as we figure the school content and the curriculum out.

 It will be an interesting retreat as we tackle more doctrine, Bible study, Ben’s emotional intelligence workshop and Postmodernism.

We are officially welcoming Mark Ducklow and Karissa Long as members of the cohort this time. They are committed and excited to be part of this first NRSD class, and it will be fun to get to know them and make them part of the gang.

I don't know what the weather will be on January 13-15th. Bring warm clothes and boots if you want to take some walks outside... I am afraid the snow (such as it is) will be gone again by then, so snow shoeing doesn't seem likely. What a difference from last winter.

Come prayed up and take your vitamins… this will be another intense, fun time.

Love and Hugs,
Steve and Joanie Tyvoll