Bowen News

Bowen News

We are excited about some happenings.

Wednesday I had the opportunity to encourage a young lady at Frisch's Restaurant. I noticed her when we were paying the bill. I knew she was a person of mega influence. 

How did I know? I had an inner impression that I've come to know through practice, as a Holy Spirit prompt. She reminded me of another person I recently noticed as an Influencer. 

I pulled my car around. I pulled up to the window and asked, "I sometimes receive encouraging words for people... Would you like an encouraging word?" 

She was so open. I shared what I felt she needed to hear about being an influencer etc. I mentioned, "I'm a follower of Jesus  and He wanted to encourage you today."
She had a huge smile and I could tell what I said resonated within her. She asked my name and thanked me. She then turned around and began telling the other team members what had just happened. 

I've discovered people are very open and in need of encouragement. The Holy Spirit loves to drop thoughts of encouragement into our hearts. We just need to be open to hear His nudges and respond.

Vaughn Family
Adam Vaughn and family were given three promo videos that E.J. Wiltemire put together. The videos have helped The Backwards Missionaries raise their profile and allow people to view their ministry connection in Costa Rica. I'm extremely grateful for the people who gave to us to pull off this idea. Jesus is so much smarter than I am. He has great ideas. 

See video here https://youtu.be/HJInTmUCEGo


Overtoun House Fun Stories.
Bob and Melissa have received the 3D rendering of their Castle / Home. It's been fun to see Bob send the rendering to the teams who have worked over fifteen years to bring the home to completion.

You can view Joel Menken's, of Imagine Video, 3D rendering by following this link. https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=LKm2aTYeep3https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=LKm2aTYeep3

When the home was being constructed in the 1800's, over one thousand workers camped out on the grounds. They used the ash from their fires to insulate the floor spaces. When the teams renovated the floors the dust went everywhere.

To top it all off, when the workers made the plaster they mixed horse hair as the binder. When the teams removed the plaster the hair went everywhere. Unknown to Bob and the team, fleas lived in the horse hair. Guess how they found out? You guessed it, a summer Flea invasion!

Bob told me that the largest team was ninety nine people. Can you imagine having all those people in your home? Melissa is a hero.

They have received their multi occupancy permit and are now in the process of creating and implementing care procedures for women at risk. Their goal is to create an environment of love and acceptance to help the women heal, develop job skills and re-enter into the community successfully. If you are a professional counselor and would like to live in a castle contact Overtoun House.

Bowen's
Pattie and I are grateful that my sister who lives with us will be moving into an apartment of her own. I know she is excited. She will be receiving the care she needs and will be taken care of.

We are launching our new web site soon. We continue to press into the vision of encouraging leaders, missionaries and churches. Pattie is working as a literacy teacher in a kindergarten in the Kettering schools system. She will travel with me when she can.

I'll be sending the link to the new web site soon.

Thanks again for partnering with us in our adventure.

I'll be heading to Virginia at the end of the month.

I'm also helping a few churches in the Dayton area. Encouraging, and advising concerning outward-focused missionalness. This has been fun and refreshing for me.

Steve

If you'd like to partner with us please use Donor Box.
 

Repost The power to be...

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 
1 Cor 4:7NLT

Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you. 2 Tim 1:14 NAS

The greatest treasure: His Presence within us, upon us and with us.

We are who we are. When we are fully who we are in Christ, and secure in whose we are, we shine bright and give God glory. 

We all have treasure within us. Gifts, talents, abilities, thoughts, personalities, emotions and skill sets have all been entrusted to us. All of us are different. No two people are alike. You are uniquely you, wonderfully created.

My wife is a triplet. Even though the sisters look similar. They are very different. Each have different personalities, emotional make up and talents. They are each beautifully unique. 

What you have within you is a treasure. This treasure within you is so valuable it needs to be guarded, protected. The gifts, talents and abilities are treasures that are entrusted to your care, are given to you for the sake of others. We receive so that we can give what we have received.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Prov 4:23 NIV

Acts 1:8 states when the Holy Spirit comes upon you He will give you power to Be...pause for effect... His witnesses. Notice what comes first... the power to Be... comes before His witness.

Think about this thought. When He, the Holy Spirit comes upon you, He will empower you to Be. 

His power upon you gives you the ability to be fully who you were created to Be... uniquely you.

When His empowerment comes upon you, and when you begin to allow the treasure within to flow out to others, you cannot help but be His witness. 
Steve Bowen

Be not do...

Note: Peter didn't say we would "do witnessing" but we would be His witnesses. 

Being fully you, empowered, with all your gifts talents and abilities 

confidently flowing is when you are a most powerful witness.

As believers we have access to the power of the Holy Spirit. The impartation of His supernatural power within you, upon you, and with you changes everything. His power enables us to be the very witnesses He created us to be.

In my book Go. Sow. I ask...How much power to do we need?

"How much power do we need? I’m all for more power of the Spirit and pray most days to be empowered. However, I have been around long enough to know I have to be willing to begin to take risks now, in this present time, in order to enter into the power of the Holy Spirit. I’ve learned I often have to be faithful in the small tasks and the small steps before the greater is realized. Beginning in the natural often helps me to move toward releasing the supernatural.  

True power of being, enables heaven to bring to our earth(our lives) the power we need to reach out to people of our earth—our sphere of influence. 

His power often flows from me when I’m out in the community, face great need, and sense my lack. It is the very awareness of my lack that propels me, in that moment, to reach out for more of His power, in order to meet a need. If I feel weak and small, I still step out in my weakness and smallness. I still serve, and I still pray. Often I sense no feeling of noticeable power when I pray for people yet, amazing things happen. 

One lady recently came up to our group and said, “When Steve prayed for me, I received not one job, but two jobs. I was so grateful that he took the time, and listened to me, and prayed for me. I just wanted to thank you all for being out here caring and serving us.” 

I wanted to say, “Woman, I who am speaking to you am he.” 

Bowen, Steve (2014-04-23). Go. Sow. A simple practical guide into the arena of outreach. (pp. 178-179).  . Kindle Edition.

Note she stated, "I was so grateful that he took the time, and listened to me and prayed for me." 

What she noticed was not my power, but my being. Who I am. His love for her was expressed through my actions, and by my attitude. I had no physical sense of power. No awareness of, "Boy I'm bringing it today!"  I simply released the treasure I knew was within me by faith, and Her need was wonderfully met.

Step into being who you are.

Often I have to step into who I am... in order to be. 

 I have to remember whose I am, and who I am, then act accordingly.

At my core I know I am wired as an encourager. So, in order to be the encourager I am, I have to stir up the gift that has been entrusted to me, and step into being the encourager I am. Sometimes, I literally declare as I step out of my car, or walk into a meeting, "I now step into my gift, and into my calling as an encourager." 

When I remember who I am, I can then be who I am.

 It's all about knowing and being.

The stepping into principle happens when I consciously step into being a husband, a friend, a worker, or a leader. 

Our identity is our foundation for all things. Our identity flows from His Presence.
Such we are, sons and daughters.

1 John 3:1 NASB See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. 

This is who we are, sons and daughters. We are adopted, heirs given full rights as sons and daughters.

We are loved by Him. When we treasure, the treasure within us, we discover a whole new level of securely. We are called to be. Knowing whose we are and who we are brings security into our calling. 

We receive, we give.

Jesus knew whose He was. Before any public ministry Jesus knew whose He was. He was the Beloved Son in Whom the Father was well pleased.

It's also interesting, Jesus had a custom. He often slipped away to the Mt. of Olives to be... in the Presence of His Father. Life flowed from the overflow. He didn't meet with the Father for the overflow. He met with the Father simply to be...His Son, to enjoy His relationship with the Father. Everything flowed from His sense of being the Father's Son.

He lived out of His empowered Being. He was secure. He was humble. He was loving. 

John 13:3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

Jesus modeled the principle. We follow. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, lives within us and is with us, He empowers us to Be.

UK Trip Prophetic... fun.

While in England preparing before a meeting I wrote, page, writer, stuck. 

In the meeting I asked if anyone was in the room named Paige, not a common English name. The Paige person didn’t show a hand. I told everyone that I was practicing and sometimes I get things mixed up, or I am just wrong.

Noticing is important.

I had a word for a girl and I asked her to stand. The word was about dreaming a new dream and she was in process of moving into the dream. I later found out she was moving into developing some strategy for their group. I received the word for her because I saw a girl that day who looked like her and had "dare to dream" tattooed on her neck. 

I then moved on to find the writer who was stuck. The stuck writer was the girl sitting next to the girl I had just had the word for dreams. I thought that was interesting.

When she stood, there was suddenly an amazing flow of Jesus love for her. Seems she uses Mac to write her poetry, songs, on... pages. She felt stuck. Some who knew her were laughing and crying as I spoke over her. She was crying and laughing. it turned into an impartation and a very encouraging word to her for what was ahead. 

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere and I knew I had tapped into Jesus’s heart for the people in the meeting. A few other encouraging words flowed.

Later, the dream girl came up to me and told me her middle name was Paige. So, Paige, dream girl, was sitting next to the writer who was stuck. How good is that? Bye the way, they had traveled the longest to get to the meeting.

I also, found out the writer had written and presented some pretty amazing poetry in the church. Which, when presented was powerful, not just in the writing, but how she presented her poetry.

Scotland, prophetic was also flowing again. 
I found myself moving down a intuitive prophetic path as I was speaking and suddenly knew, "Oh know( it was an... oh know) I knew spoke too fast and too far." If you've been doing this for awhile you will know that feeling of how do I correct myself in this situation. I had to back up, apologize and reminded the person of the first part which was the main Father's love connection. 

Yesterday, I emailed the person and asked for forgiveness.

Shawn Boltz book Translating God is so helpful. I've read it twice so far. 

The book has a section about being accountable for our words, attitudes, actions. He encourages the reader, when we give direction, times, or dates to track what we have said and see if what we have said comes into being. If not, then we may have some cleaning up to do. He encourages people to have self-awarness, to be emotionally intelligent and to ask for honest feedback. John Paul Jackson was the forerunner of this concept and made moves to establish this in the prophetic movement. 

So glad I asked the leaders for feedback. I knew in my knower I was heading in the wrong direction. Self correction, is so important.

3D Rendering
Joel Menken Imagine Media Facebook did an amazing job videoing and 3D photo of Overtounhouse.com.

Use Crome and this link https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=LKm2aTYeep3 
a 3D rendering of a castle we shot. 

I think churches will begin to use this as a virtual window for websites. Cutting edge technology. If you are in the Dayton Area grab Joel. He'd be glad to give you a price for your business, church etc.

Here is a short video of my time in the UK. 

All in all it was a great trip. Thanks to all who support us.