So, tonight's service was crazy awesome. Just full of God. What an absolute hit. It hit hard, then it uplifted. By the end, my constant prayer was that the extra measure given to us be like a weight that would be physically felt. That it would push us further into awe and just put in us a spirit of obedience. Then, that we would be raised up on that foundation by the fresh fire Pastor was praying for. It really was a service to grasp onto. I loved it. I always try to start my time with God by praying for His Word to write itself on my heart so that I can know and recognize Him. Pastor called to that tonight. He asked us to firmly plant what God is doing in us. To rest on it. To push in it. To grow. I felt the weightiness of that moment; You couldn't not. We're a church poised for action.
Poised: Steady, in readiness, assured, having an elegant bearing
--> Those are the worldly definitions for poised. Can you imagine knowing the definition of His call to action? We're learning it right now, with every moment we give to Him. I know not the plans He has, but we are most assuredly living in a time of preparation.
Jeremiah 29:11
"'For I know the plans that I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.'"
--> He's got them covered.
The service was about working through this year of transition. Pastor talked about how on Friday, we're officially halfway to 2012. About what that means. About how we've made it to this point. About how NOW is the time that makes or breaks us. We've made it this far, now is the time for a change. Now is the time for the push. Now is the time we give to God. Now is when we put things in His Hands. Now is the time we put ourselves aside. Now is the time we stand on guard (halfway point: Canada Day - that's just awesome). Now is the time to walk His path. Now is the time to surrender ourselves to Him and Him alone. It was also about how now is the time to leave the past behind to change. To transition in our verse of the year.
Philippians 3:12-14
"Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
What a push! Then, he spoke about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). About the transitions made through the story. How the first half of the story is about the son living his way, prodigally, sinfully, carnally, and basically living a wasted life. About how the second half of the story is him returning with a repentant heart. He returned to serve, he put himself aside, and the acceptance he found was amazing. Too amazing; Too hard for us to grasp. It's something so of God.
Tonight we grasped onto God. Really grasped onto God. Grasped onto Him as HE IS, not as how we would have Him be. We can't pigeon-hold God. He can't fit into any box I can make. I need to stop trying. I need to accept Him for Him. He is all that is good; I know that. Still though, I struggle with what He has for me. I have trouble just accepting what He does. That He could love me. He does though. He loves every single one of us. We just need to know Him. To live for Him. To love Him. To live in His love, in His light, in His truth, and just in Him. In Him. In Him alone.
Tonight, we reached out. When we reach for God He's there. Always. We just need to finish the year by continually reaching for Him. It's the only way to complete anything. Living for Him - It's the only way to be whole. The rest of the days of this year I'll live for Him as I never have before. I want that not just for the year, but for always. Forever. Continually. Towards the "upwards call of of God in Christ Jesus". We'll keep transitioning. I don't want to stop moving towards Him.
The song of the service. I love it:
It was an amazing service. Grasp it:
It's The Second Half! June 29th, 2011
Thursday 30 June 2011
Saturday 25 June 2011
The Ease of Choosing Faith.
Faith in God is something that we have to choose daily. We have to work against our flesh and against the world, and choose to instead take up the life Jesus died to give us. His lifeblood is over us. It's a difficult choice. The title of this post is not to show faith as easy, but to talk about how much easier it is to choose faith nowadays. We have so many opportunities to choose Him. So many areas where we can recognize God's hand in our lives. What a gift.
In reading my dailies, I came across the story of Naaman. It affected me greatly. There was a line in it that peaked my interest:
2 Kings 5:17
"And Naaman said, If not yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules; burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifices unto other gods, but unto Jehovah."
Naaman was at first offended by what he determined to be Elisha's disinterest, and probably disrespect, but still he followed the Prophet's advice and was healed of leprosy. He then proclaimed the truth of the Lord. He offered Elisha gifts, which were refused (that was interesting too - timing of acceptance), then asked for earth. I just didn't understand why he took the earth with him. I asked Nenners and she researched it out. Naaman knew the truth of God, but also knew that He was the God of Israel. As such, he took the earth to sacrifice on. He wanted to live for God, but couldn't do that in a land that didn't belong to Him. What a faith. Verse 18 talks about how Naaman will face difficulties in the land he will return to. He proclaims in verse 17 that he will not live for any other god, but he asks to be forgiven for following his earthly king. Then Elisha responds to him, saying:
2 Kings 5:19
"And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way."
To me, this parting was a covering for Naaman. He had made his belief in God known and his heart was strong in Him. God knew that, knew him. I had a covering when I first came to God. It was precious to me in so many ways and was with me in so many different situations. The timing of it was so important; It was His.
I feel like this story shows the difficulty in following God. Naaman was covered, and that is so important, but he also needed to bring the physical land of Israel with him. He did so because he felt unworthy in his own land. It wasn't God's land. We live now, not in land, but in Jesus. He sacrificed Himself for us. Then, on the third day, He rose again. He gave His people the Holy Spirit. Then, He gave all people, who knew Him, the Holy Spirit. He opened the truth to the gentiles. To us. That is the gift of today. The ease of faith. The gift of choosing Him every single day. That is why living nowadays is a amazing, because we can live FULLY in Him.
Choosing faith is difficult; It's also easy. It's unexplainable. We have to actively choose Him, but it's the choice of a lifetime. He loves us. He gives us so much. He gave us life, then He gave us the life of His only Son. We live in Him. He is good. I love Him muchly.
Acts 15:8-9
"And God, Who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as He did unto us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith."
--> Wow. He's for everyone. He's for us. Praise God!
THIS IS MY EVEN 100th POST! I like that. I like evens. I'm going to have a hard time breaking that. I'm a little Monkish sometimes. Hmmm... I'll start working towards it.
In reading my dailies, I came across the story of Naaman. It affected me greatly. There was a line in it that peaked my interest:
2 Kings 5:17
"And Naaman said, If not yet, I pray thee, let there be given to thy servant two mules; burden of earth; for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor sacrifices unto other gods, but unto Jehovah."
Naaman was at first offended by what he determined to be Elisha's disinterest, and probably disrespect, but still he followed the Prophet's advice and was healed of leprosy. He then proclaimed the truth of the Lord. He offered Elisha gifts, which were refused (that was interesting too - timing of acceptance), then asked for earth. I just didn't understand why he took the earth with him. I asked Nenners and she researched it out. Naaman knew the truth of God, but also knew that He was the God of Israel. As such, he took the earth to sacrifice on. He wanted to live for God, but couldn't do that in a land that didn't belong to Him. What a faith. Verse 18 talks about how Naaman will face difficulties in the land he will return to. He proclaims in verse 17 that he will not live for any other god, but he asks to be forgiven for following his earthly king. Then Elisha responds to him, saying:
2 Kings 5:19
"And he said unto him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way."
To me, this parting was a covering for Naaman. He had made his belief in God known and his heart was strong in Him. God knew that, knew him. I had a covering when I first came to God. It was precious to me in so many ways and was with me in so many different situations. The timing of it was so important; It was His.
I feel like this story shows the difficulty in following God. Naaman was covered, and that is so important, but he also needed to bring the physical land of Israel with him. He did so because he felt unworthy in his own land. It wasn't God's land. We live now, not in land, but in Jesus. He sacrificed Himself for us. Then, on the third day, He rose again. He gave His people the Holy Spirit. Then, He gave all people, who knew Him, the Holy Spirit. He opened the truth to the gentiles. To us. That is the gift of today. The ease of faith. The gift of choosing Him every single day. That is why living nowadays is a amazing, because we can live FULLY in Him.
Choosing faith is difficult; It's also easy. It's unexplainable. We have to actively choose Him, but it's the choice of a lifetime. He loves us. He gives us so much. He gave us life, then He gave us the life of His only Son. We live in Him. He is good. I love Him muchly.
Acts 15:8-9
"And God, Who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as He did unto us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith."
--> Wow. He's for everyone. He's for us. Praise God!
THIS IS MY EVEN 100th POST! I like that. I like evens. I'm going to have a hard time breaking that. I'm a little Monkish sometimes. Hmmm... I'll start working towards it.
Friday 24 June 2011
Publicly Funny.
I'm pretty sure my sister just leaked the existence of my under-wraps, top secret, second blog. Oh dear, I was with her when she did it the first time. Her whole body language told me she was creating trouble. It felt like she was shaking... and I was across the room. Then, she admitted it and started laughing. I got her to take it down. Then, seeing as she shared a post with an embarrassing story about her, I let her make her own choice. Apparently she's chosen to overcome her popcorn inadequacies, and risk social isolation, because my viewers went through the roof. Readers of this blog, it was to be revealed to you first, but life doesn't always work as planned. I never should have given her a preview, but I accept the consequences. I'm not at all caught up in it, I've actually hit the limits of postings you can make without possibly being a computer (I've been questioned), so here is the unfinished work of my humorous side:
THE SECRET ONE
And here is Nenner's Blog, 'That I May Dwell', because she shared mine without sharing hers.
THE SECRET ONE
And here is Nenner's Blog, 'That I May Dwell', because she shared mine without sharing hers.
Thursday 23 June 2011
The Girl in the Drawer. Choosing ways to grow. Past & Present & Future: He is there.
Ottawa gave me writing withdrawal pains, so prepare yourself for many posts. I have a tendency to store up my words. I keep them and then unleash them on the world. It's why I'm both a non-talker and a non-stop talker. Either way, here I go.
I mentioned before that I felt small this week. It was hard. I started thinking about Robert Munsh's 'The Boy in the Drawer'. I don't like all Munsch books ('I'll Love You Forever' gave me nightmares - install an alarm system grown-up child), but I still love the ones I grew up on. I loved 'The Boy in the Drawer'. It's about a boy who grew when he was insulted and shrunk when dealt with in kindness, with love. Let me tell you something, feeling small brings on big emotions. Then the problems start. I took some time to think about those the big emotions associated with feeling small. I started thinking Munsch-ly. I started thinking about the sides of stories. I started thinking about truth.
In the beginning, the main character is frustrated with the boy and, in trying to get rid of him, manages to grow him bigger. We do that with mistakes and situations and even with people. We're working on our own is why it happens. Not so good. Knowing that it's not so good though, that's a good lesson. Still, I learned more for the other side, from the shrinking. And since I struggled with feeling small, I'll share from his side. The boy had a hard time of it. I think if we're really honest, we have a tendency to live like he does. He shrinks when he's vulnerable. He retreats. He retreated himself right out of existence. I feel like that's possible for us. We can hide all that we are. I don't want that.
I protect myself. Always have. Always hid. Lied to hide. Lived for it. In it. In pain. It wasn't my job though, it's something I took on thinking of myself. I have an advocate in Jesus. I'm loved, protected, and cherished by God. I'm pushed to grow in Him. 'I'll Love you Forever' creeps me out because it represents a big, all-consuming parental love. I'm not a parent, but I am a daughter, so hold on please. I just feel like there's something off in the kind of love described. I get wanting to give your children everything, but if you don't know God, then filling them with everything you have leaves you empty. Then, it leaves you alone, as they start to do the exact same thing with their own children. God refreshes, replenishes, and refills. It would be hard to let children grow and mature without that breath of God, without that steadying and strengthening touch. I think the book is about holding on too tightly. That's not how He loves. He gives us the freedom to choose Him, to make mistakes, and even to walk away from Him. He expects a lot, but He doesn't control us. He lets us seek out His presence willingly. I love that.
These Munsch ramblings are just that, ramblings. I set forth in them to recognize where I'm at in things. We all face good times and bad times, but we choose whether or not we'll grow. We choose our attitudes and our actions every single day. I choose to let Him push me to grow through both the good and the bad. That changes everything because it changes us so completely. We put Him in the centre and He takes the core of us and starts the lifelong process that is His work in us. I need to constantly remind myself to work with Him. I need to always let Him in. Even when I screw up, especially when I screw up. Otherwise, how would He fix me. He lets us choose. He'll stand back as long as he has to, then He'll rush to us the moment we let Him. I learn lessons over and over again. Stubbornly. One of them is that I can't make things perfect. I can't fix anything without Him. He needs to be in everything. It's the only way I can truly exist. Funny sounding, but oh so true to me.
Psalm 139:23-24
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
--> I've been dwelling on those words the past couple of days. I know it's a time of narrowing. We can't fit through His path while we're trying to hold on to the world. We can't fit when we carry things, our burdens, with us. We can only fit when we let Him lead, or rather, when we choose to follow; When we choose to take our hands off of things and let His order reign. God's ways are ordered; Loving, perfect, complete, and whole. Why do we constantly choose chaos? Why would we rather live in the despair of separation from Him, than in His comfort? The worldly me is not worth that, I have nothing of worth, of Him, in that pain. I find everything worth anything in Him. My life is in His hands. My joy is in Him. My past pointed the way to Him. My present life is with Him. My future will be found in living for Him.
I mentioned before that I felt small this week. It was hard. I started thinking about Robert Munsh's 'The Boy in the Drawer'. I don't like all Munsch books ('I'll Love You Forever' gave me nightmares - install an alarm system grown-up child), but I still love the ones I grew up on. I loved 'The Boy in the Drawer'. It's about a boy who grew when he was insulted and shrunk when dealt with in kindness, with love. Let me tell you something, feeling small brings on big emotions. Then the problems start. I took some time to think about those the big emotions associated with feeling small. I started thinking Munsch-ly. I started thinking about the sides of stories. I started thinking about truth.
In the beginning, the main character is frustrated with the boy and, in trying to get rid of him, manages to grow him bigger. We do that with mistakes and situations and even with people. We're working on our own is why it happens. Not so good. Knowing that it's not so good though, that's a good lesson. Still, I learned more for the other side, from the shrinking. And since I struggled with feeling small, I'll share from his side. The boy had a hard time of it. I think if we're really honest, we have a tendency to live like he does. He shrinks when he's vulnerable. He retreats. He retreated himself right out of existence. I feel like that's possible for us. We can hide all that we are. I don't want that.
I protect myself. Always have. Always hid. Lied to hide. Lived for it. In it. In pain. It wasn't my job though, it's something I took on thinking of myself. I have an advocate in Jesus. I'm loved, protected, and cherished by God. I'm pushed to grow in Him. 'I'll Love you Forever' creeps me out because it represents a big, all-consuming parental love. I'm not a parent, but I am a daughter, so hold on please. I just feel like there's something off in the kind of love described. I get wanting to give your children everything, but if you don't know God, then filling them with everything you have leaves you empty. Then, it leaves you alone, as they start to do the exact same thing with their own children. God refreshes, replenishes, and refills. It would be hard to let children grow and mature without that breath of God, without that steadying and strengthening touch. I think the book is about holding on too tightly. That's not how He loves. He gives us the freedom to choose Him, to make mistakes, and even to walk away from Him. He expects a lot, but He doesn't control us. He lets us seek out His presence willingly. I love that.
These Munsch ramblings are just that, ramblings. I set forth in them to recognize where I'm at in things. We all face good times and bad times, but we choose whether or not we'll grow. We choose our attitudes and our actions every single day. I choose to let Him push me to grow through both the good and the bad. That changes everything because it changes us so completely. We put Him in the centre and He takes the core of us and starts the lifelong process that is His work in us. I need to constantly remind myself to work with Him. I need to always let Him in. Even when I screw up, especially when I screw up. Otherwise, how would He fix me. He lets us choose. He'll stand back as long as he has to, then He'll rush to us the moment we let Him. I learn lessons over and over again. Stubbornly. One of them is that I can't make things perfect. I can't fix anything without Him. He needs to be in everything. It's the only way I can truly exist. Funny sounding, but oh so true to me.
Psalm 139:23-24
"Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting."
--> I've been dwelling on those words the past couple of days. I know it's a time of narrowing. We can't fit through His path while we're trying to hold on to the world. We can't fit when we carry things, our burdens, with us. We can only fit when we let Him lead, or rather, when we choose to follow; When we choose to take our hands off of things and let His order reign. God's ways are ordered; Loving, perfect, complete, and whole. Why do we constantly choose chaos? Why would we rather live in the despair of separation from Him, than in His comfort? The worldly me is not worth that, I have nothing of worth, of Him, in that pain. I find everything worth anything in Him. My life is in His hands. My joy is in Him. My past pointed the way to Him. My present life is with Him. My future will be found in living for Him.
Small Spaces vs Bigger Places & Moments
As I've mentioned before, my parents are moving into a condo. The house that they've lived in for 14 years, and me for 13 years, has been sold. Went down to help them out a bit. Didn't have much to do at all. Still, some things caught me off guard. Not a particle of my things remained. My room was clear and re-painted. It was so empty that when I coughed before I went to sleep it echoed. Crazy. It was weird. I know that the common phrase is that things look smaller when you go back to them, when you're older, but some things were bigger to me. The kitchen dwarfed me in its emptiness. I couldn't turn out some of the lights in the basement, because I wasn't tall enough. I had to ask tall people to step in - I felt like I was 3. My room felt bigger. Everyone felt smaller though. Not that anyone was - these are the people in my life. I can't really explain it - it was like everything was condensed. That's probably not going to make sense. Sorry. Still. Either way, the people fit, but the place didn't. I don't think it ever did. I hated the house since the first time I set foot in it. I was upset that they bought it. I spent some time this week determining if there was a place or a part of it that I liked. There wasn't. It's a beautiful house. It's not a beautiful home. That's what I set my foot towards in that first entry step. My home is found in God. It took a lot of mistakes before I could claim that. Houses fail. People fail. Our dreams, our plans, fail. His don't ever fail. Ever. I fit wholly only in His presence. Only when I'm existing in His presence.
Moments was another thing I struggled with this week. I'm not an event person, I'm a consistent one. I like moments with people. I blame my sisters. I got to know Nenners slowly while she tutored me in French and shared books and book conversations with me. I got to know Seb by being around her, watching movies, and sharing funny times and stories. I think it was Tate that made me a moments person though. I was in University when I started spending time with her. She was on mat leave and would pick me up to do errands with her. No matter what we had to do or where we had to go she would take exactly 3 hours. Hilarious. I like knowing that I got to know her during ordinary errands. Either way, my sisters showed me that relationships aren't built on events and only fun things; They have them, but they're not supposed to be built on them. Time. Patience. Knowing the person and not the front. That's what I go for with everyone now. It's hard. It's takes a lot of effort, time, strength, and love. It's so much easier to pretend to know people, but that's not caring for them. It's not even caring about them. It's about self. It's not the right way. Don't be a people pleaser, that's about living with a front. Drop it. Don't go along to go along. Don't throw people to the curb. Know them, then love them with the Holy Spirit glasses on. See the good and the bad clearly. Truthfully. Be responsible with those truths. I struggled with moments this weekend because I miss moments with the people here. I miss everyone here, but I miss the moments most. I miss unscheduled time. I miss the cores of my family and friends.
This was my last time in the house. Weird.
Here are my Ottawa Kidlets:
Here are my Ottawa Kidlets:
NOUGAT:
LEE JUNIOR:
FRANNIE:
The Trip Mash-up:
Thursday 16 June 2011
Nieceamine vs The Braces.
Long battle. Victor: Nieceamine! Yay! She's so excited! I got text updates from the chair. So funny! Way to go Nieceamine! You rocked the train tracks, then kicked them to the curb! Now, go and lick your smooth teeth for a month and settle into your pearly whites!
Hey you! When I get back - Gilmore Girls singalong. Also, we have to finally watch Master of Disguise. While you were in the chair, I was singing 'I want to be a master of disguise'. I was singing it in a funny voice. Out loud. One time, it sounded like I was saying 'I want to be the master of the skeez' - not true - good thing I didn't work today, or I would have said that there. All that to say, we must watch it so I can get the song and dancing turtles out of my head! 'Now I going to have to go on youtube and look at videos of turtles for the rest of the day!' Love you bracesless one. Have fun times!
Mister Giggles.
Apparently, my incommudicado existence begins when I get into the car to Ottawa and no sooner. In thinking about leaving for a week, I knew I was going to put up a Nieceamine moment, then I thought about how much I'd miss all of my neices and nephews. Since I birthday shouted out Mr. Si and pain shouted out Sunshine, I wanted to say something about my other one of the littles, who's always getter bigger, Mister Giggles.
This kid is funny. Since the moment I met him, I've been taken in by his funny. He has the best giggle. When he laughs with everything he's got, you can't just half laugh. You join him fully. He started with hilarious toothbrushedness, with those 'BAM' commercials. I think for me though, it was the dancing. The kid was dance. He doesn't go full out anymore, but as a 2 year old he didn't really care about an audience, he was exactly himself. I think I spent most of my sister Tate's wedding reception hilarious dancing with him and the rest of the kids.
One of the other things I love about him is his voice. When he sings seriously he seriously sings. I love his favourite song not just for itself but because he loves it. He's a game changer this one. All of my nieces and nephews are. He's the type of kid you love fiercely. You love him with everything and then you get a glimpse of the full out person that he is. Wow. He's super smart too. He remembers everything. He used to play video games, like intense stories with lots of instructions, and before he could read at all, he would memorize every bit of the game world.
He's a worker too. He has amazing focus. Set him on any project and he'll work with all he has. He's a helper too. You give this boy a project too small, he'll come to you and let you know how much more he can do. He can do so much. I can't wait to see him grow up and be a tall and strong and cool man of God. I love Mister Giggles and I'll miss him even in the 6 days I'm gone. It's an aunt thing.
This kid is funny. Since the moment I met him, I've been taken in by his funny. He has the best giggle. When he laughs with everything he's got, you can't just half laugh. You join him fully. He started with hilarious toothbrushedness, with those 'BAM' commercials. I think for me though, it was the dancing. The kid was dance. He doesn't go full out anymore, but as a 2 year old he didn't really care about an audience, he was exactly himself. I think I spent most of my sister Tate's wedding reception hilarious dancing with him and the rest of the kids.
One of the other things I love about him is his voice. When he sings seriously he seriously sings. I love his favourite song not just for itself but because he loves it. He's a game changer this one. All of my nieces and nephews are. He's the type of kid you love fiercely. You love him with everything and then you get a glimpse of the full out person that he is. Wow. He's super smart too. He remembers everything. He used to play video games, like intense stories with lots of instructions, and before he could read at all, he would memorize every bit of the game world.
He's a worker too. He has amazing focus. Set him on any project and he'll work with all he has. He's a helper too. You give this boy a project too small, he'll come to you and let you know how much more he can do. He can do so much. I can't wait to see him grow up and be a tall and strong and cool man of God. I love Mister Giggles and I'll miss him even in the 6 days I'm gone. It's an aunt thing.
 |
| Loved fiercely. Hugged against his will - what we loved him okay? |
 |
| This kid IS funny! |
 |
| Who is this? Hilarious. It was so funny and he looks like a stranger. |
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| He's a cool one. Look at that smile. |
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| His picture of his bible. Photography skill. |
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| The smooth man himself! Ready for anything. |
The reason for his nickname:
Wednesday 15 June 2011
Service & Furthering Jenga Approach & Don't get all Babel-like
Service tonight was really great. Pastor was talking about recognizing what God has placed in us. It was powerful. It was about having a third day faith. I liked that because sometimes I still feel new to the church. New and old all wrapped up together in Lisa packaging. It was about preparing for revival. It was about taking on mantles. About not taking out the things God has placed in us. It just lined up. I love that it just lined up.
During the service I was thinking about building. I was thinking in terms of towers, and the one of Babel came to mind. It started being built because people wanted to show what God can do. The higher it got, the less it was about God. It was about mankind's knowledge and power; as if there really is such a thing. These people had a foundation in God, but then they started placing the pieces. They used man-made brick and tar, instead of stone and mortar. Their way was 'better'. It was convenient. It was disobedient. It was sinful. It wasn't in line with God's will. Like in the Jenga post, the higher they built in the dust pieces, the less they heard from God. The more they assumed. God stepped in. He showed them their place, their true natures, our true natures. He took them back down. He stayed right where He was. We have so many reminders of this awesome God move. With every communication problem we have, with every language barrier, with every misheard word, with every assumption we make, with all of the lies we speak and hear, we can remember the tower of Babel. We can remember the choices that were made and purposefully work against doing the same. We can let Him build our foundations, even those with the people around us. He can work in every area of our lives, He's just waiting for us to let Him in. To let Him lead.
If we've been building on ourselves, we need to stop. God will align us, but we should be mature enough to step in and fix our mistakes before He has to. At least on the third or fourth try - we need continual growth. He lets us know when we make mistakes. He lets us know how to fix them too. We repent. We change. We grow. He forgives. Then He asks us to do the hardest thing, He asks us to let things go.
Moving right along... destroy your pieces. Not yourself, but your dust pieces. There was this impatience tonight, an unrest really. I know I just blogged about being patient, but not in this. Be patient with people, but not with sin. Never with sin. Shake the pieces down. Knock them over like a two year old who can't wait for the tower to get bigger! Be firm in God.
Genesis 11:1-9
"Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.' And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, 'Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.' The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, 'Behold, they are one people, and they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech.' So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth."
--> I like this story. I like the push for more. More of Him, more in Him. Less to none of ourselves. We can choose to build in Him. This story shows how building anything not for and from God fails. It's all about obedience. We all need it. The 'come, let us...' parts of the story remind me of the biblical 'come let us reason together'. Philosophical thinkers pulled on that as if it was their own, as if that's attributed to a man and not quite clearly to God. That's a distortion of His truth kind of lie! Even the fact that that happens shows the trick of reasoning with men. Attributing this verse to man's knowledge is just what this story warns against! Come, fellow Christians, let us work at putting ourselves aside and learn and act with the reasoning He gives us. With God. Pastor was right, it's still all about working towards Proverbs 2. It's about working towards the Bible and Him as a whole.
Isaiah 1:18
"'Come now, and let us reason together,' Says the Lord, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."
--> He's all about promises. We're all about not trusting them. If we did, we wouldn't try to build in our own ways. We'd be built up to work in His purposes. Once again, I'm working on it.
I'm going incommunicado for the next week or so. Still, this 3 week old blog contains 6 months of writing, so you can just read backwards instead of forwards! Later my friendly (non-biting and generally non-threatening) reading alligators!
During the service I was thinking about building. I was thinking in terms of towers, and the one of Babel came to mind. It started being built because people wanted to show what God can do. The higher it got, the less it was about God. It was about mankind's knowledge and power; as if there really is such a thing. These people had a foundation in God, but then they started placing the pieces. They used man-made brick and tar, instead of stone and mortar. Their way was 'better'. It was convenient. It was disobedient. It was sinful. It wasn't in line with God's will. Like in the Jenga post, the higher they built in the dust pieces, the less they heard from God. The more they assumed. God stepped in. He showed them their place, their true natures, our true natures. He took them back down. He stayed right where He was. We have so many reminders of this awesome God move. With every communication problem we have, with every language barrier, with every misheard word, with every assumption we make, with all of the lies we speak and hear, we can remember the tower of Babel. We can remember the choices that were made and purposefully work against doing the same. We can let Him build our foundations, even those with the people around us. He can work in every area of our lives, He's just waiting for us to let Him in. To let Him lead.
If we've been building on ourselves, we need to stop. God will align us, but we should be mature enough to step in and fix our mistakes before He has to. At least on the third or fourth try - we need continual growth. He lets us know when we make mistakes. He lets us know how to fix them too. We repent. We change. We grow. He forgives. Then He asks us to do the hardest thing, He asks us to let things go.
Moving right along... destroy your pieces. Not yourself, but your dust pieces. There was this impatience tonight, an unrest really. I know I just blogged about being patient, but not in this. Be patient with people, but not with sin. Never with sin. Shake the pieces down. Knock them over like a two year old who can't wait for the tower to get bigger! Be firm in God.
Genesis 11:1-9
"Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.' And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, 'Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.' The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, 'Behold, they are one people, and they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech.' So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth."
--> I like this story. I like the push for more. More of Him, more in Him. Less to none of ourselves. We can choose to build in Him. This story shows how building anything not for and from God fails. It's all about obedience. We all need it. The 'come, let us...' parts of the story remind me of the biblical 'come let us reason together'. Philosophical thinkers pulled on that as if it was their own, as if that's attributed to a man and not quite clearly to God. That's a distortion of His truth kind of lie! Even the fact that that happens shows the trick of reasoning with men. Attributing this verse to man's knowledge is just what this story warns against! Come, fellow Christians, let us work at putting ourselves aside and learn and act with the reasoning He gives us. With God. Pastor was right, it's still all about working towards Proverbs 2. It's about working towards the Bible and Him as a whole.
Isaiah 1:18
"'Come now, and let us reason together,' Says the Lord, 'Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool."
--> He's all about promises. We're all about not trusting them. If we did, we wouldn't try to build in our own ways. We'd be built up to work in His purposes. Once again, I'm working on it.
I'm going incommunicado for the next week or so. Still, this 3 week old blog contains 6 months of writing, so you can just read backwards instead of forwards! Later my friendly (non-biting and generally non-threatening) reading alligators!
Steadiness. Jenga building.
The push in living fully for God. In seeking His truth. It comes down to steadiness. In the desire to live for Him in all things. You do that and things just start lining up. They start making sense. Not from the world's viewpoint, but from those right with God moments we get. We start getting steady in Him. What an amazing thing. There are no sides in this life, only truth. Not our opinion of 'truth' but the ultimate truth. His truth. The world is unsteady. People who aren't living for God are unsteady. Before I was saved, I looked steady. I was surfacely steady. Outward appearances can hide so much. I was dying. I was shaky all of the time. I was building a foundation for my life on lies, on the determination to appear steady. Being saved broke me. It's supposed to. I broke and starting getting built up in God. I made mistakes. Many mistakes, but when you're working towards Him, reading and understanding His Word, when you're living for Him alone, they get revealed quicker. He doesn't let us stray without recognizing that we are. It may not be a 'You're moving away from Me' voice in the night. It may just be about realizing that you've started giving less of yourself to this King of kings and Lord of lords. That you've strayed from reading the Bible. That you've been unwilling to pull on the things of God.
I just got the game Jenga - Donkey Kong style - so funny and cool (actually, so funny and geeky). It's silly but I've been thinking about this since before I set out to buy the game, so stay with me for a bit. Since I've put my life in the Lord's hands, I've been being built up. Built up in His purposes. Steadily. With a good foundation. Like I've mentioned before, I still make mistakes. The tower that is my life in God can start swaying. But the foundation He has built in me is made of firmly placed and weighted stones. The Jenga pieces He places are glued together. The ones I place are weak. They are man-made. They are easy to destroy. That's a good thing. It also means that we can't take out what God has placed in us. That we can't pull out something firmly placed just because we don't want to deal with what comes with it. That we can't live in lies for an extended period of time. If He has pieces glued together in a firm base, then the leaning pieces will fall and leave only His foundation. His will never fail, they'll never fall. His are built only on His own. Ours fall. Then He'll start to build us up and glue His pieces together once again. Each time, He reigns. Each time our pieces fail, He rebuilds. Yes we have to go down, we've failed. We worked on our own and failed. We can hit lower levels - but only in us! His level is always the same! That's amazing! He is steadiness! He is our rock!
Psalm 18:2
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
We can move away from God. It's a horrible truth, but we need to recognize it as that. It's the worst thing that could happen to us. I'm afraid of it. Afraid of living without Him. It's the only fear I desire to have for my whole lifetime. A lifetime lived in awe of Him.
2 Peter 2:21
"For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them."
--> This is the only way our Jenga tower of faith can fail. When we determine to live apart from God and work at placing our pieces (in their precarious positions) for long enough that they can separate us from His foundation. The further we get, the farther we will fall. Still, as soon as we call to Him with a full and repentant heart He can pull those pieces, those weeds really, out and set us once again on His Word, on Him. We need to be close to Him to hear His voice though. The further the distance we put between Him and us, the more pain we create for ourselves. Seek His truth. His truth stands even in people who have turned away from God. They still know what God has done in their lives, they're tormented by the separation. Seek His truth. It will stand. Seek His truth. Seek His truth. Seek His truth! Attune yourself with Him.
Hebrews 10:38-11:1
"But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that faith unto the saving of the soul. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
--> Faith in Him. I'm not going to lower levels. I pray for His nudges and the previous posted whack-a-Lisa moments. For Holy Spirit sensitivities to the mistakes I make. For an alignment in His will. I will live by faith and let Him build me up.
I just got the game Jenga - Donkey Kong style - so funny and cool (actually, so funny and geeky). It's silly but I've been thinking about this since before I set out to buy the game, so stay with me for a bit. Since I've put my life in the Lord's hands, I've been being built up. Built up in His purposes. Steadily. With a good foundation. Like I've mentioned before, I still make mistakes. The tower that is my life in God can start swaying. But the foundation He has built in me is made of firmly placed and weighted stones. The Jenga pieces He places are glued together. The ones I place are weak. They are man-made. They are easy to destroy. That's a good thing. It also means that we can't take out what God has placed in us. That we can't pull out something firmly placed just because we don't want to deal with what comes with it. That we can't live in lies for an extended period of time. If He has pieces glued together in a firm base, then the leaning pieces will fall and leave only His foundation. His will never fail, they'll never fall. His are built only on His own. Ours fall. Then He'll start to build us up and glue His pieces together once again. Each time, He reigns. Each time our pieces fail, He rebuilds. Yes we have to go down, we've failed. We worked on our own and failed. We can hit lower levels - but only in us! His level is always the same! That's amazing! He is steadiness! He is our rock!
Psalm 18:2
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
We can move away from God. It's a horrible truth, but we need to recognize it as that. It's the worst thing that could happen to us. I'm afraid of it. Afraid of living without Him. It's the only fear I desire to have for my whole lifetime. A lifetime lived in awe of Him.
2 Peter 2:21
"For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them."
--> This is the only way our Jenga tower of faith can fail. When we determine to live apart from God and work at placing our pieces (in their precarious positions) for long enough that they can separate us from His foundation. The further we get, the farther we will fall. Still, as soon as we call to Him with a full and repentant heart He can pull those pieces, those weeds really, out and set us once again on His Word, on Him. We need to be close to Him to hear His voice though. The further the distance we put between Him and us, the more pain we create for ourselves. Seek His truth. His truth stands even in people who have turned away from God. They still know what God has done in their lives, they're tormented by the separation. Seek His truth. It will stand. Seek His truth. Seek His truth. Seek His truth! Attune yourself with Him.
Hebrews 10:38-11:1
"But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that shrink back unto perdition; but of them that faith unto the saving of the soul. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
--> Faith in Him. I'm not going to lower levels. I pray for His nudges and the previous posted whack-a-Lisa moments. For Holy Spirit sensitivities to the mistakes I make. For an alignment in His will. I will live by faith and let Him build me up.
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Mr. Si's birthday present arrives! Go thinkgeek!
Yay!
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| Red Micro Atom (THINKGEEK brand) Helicopter! |
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| My new favourite picture of him. Awesome facial expression! |
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| TIMMY The Thinkgeek.com Mascot/Hobbit/Randomness! |
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| Timmy! Still awesome. |
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| Hehehe. Sci Fi. Go go allusions! |
Sunshine.
My niece Sunshine is a trooper. She's a go getter. She's a strong one. She's hurt. She fractured her ankle being a cool trampoline kid. My Dad is lecturing her now, he hates trampolines so much - which is weird because they're safer now. Her parents have a lecture coming too :( I say, go trampolines... except first we're going to get Mr. Si to design safety trampoline boots, so this never happens to anyone ever again. She was being safe when it happened. Sunshine didn't even feel the pain of it at first. Being the tough one that she is, she walked around on it for awhile, even going to the store to get some treats with Mr. Si. See how strong she is? It's why she's working to be an Olympic Gymnast! Anyways, all this to say, I love her. All the best in your recovery sweetheart!
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| Always sweet and cute. |
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| But also always made of tough stuff. When little... |
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| ... and when big. |
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| Sunshine ready to face the world! |
Pentecost Sunday!
It was the day before yesterday (yes yes I'm behind the times)! The morning service was super powerful. Speaking about God's glory. About miracles. About how everything from Genesis to Malachi points to Jesus. About how the things of God can come like a whirlwind.
Ezekiel 1:4
"Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like color of amber, out of the midst of the fire."
I love that. I've felt that. I felt that in April and I wrote about it, except I called it a tornado. It was a tornado prayer time service. It was powerful. So incredibly God powerful. Then a great dramatic representation of Pentecost. It was really moving.
Then hit the Kingston Kingdom Come Prayer Meeting. From there, onwards to Ottawa to the Fire of God Church to hear Jesse Duplantis speak. He's really funny! He threw out the message he had planned. I love that, it's how I was saved. He had powerful things to share, mostly about being willing to receive from God. About purposing to receive.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed"
Purposed. The core of his message was in this. Purpose affords anchorage in God. We give so that we may receive. It sounds wrong to us. We fight against it. I fight against it. Jesse spoke about how this feels like greed to us. That that's a lie from the enemy. What we feel may be greed could instead be us, or others, seeking growth. Nothing's wrong with growth in God, in fact it's everything right. Jesse Duplantis explained that purposing our hearts is outside of feelings. It's something we determine before we let ourselves feel emotion. Before we even get to church. We purpose in God, become prayerful, perceive His truth, and then operate in His power.
He also spoke further about power. About determining the power of God and not taking that on ourselves. He spoke on how Jesus was superior to power. How He never threatened with armies of angels. He, with power, kept Himself on the cross for us. He was above it, not overcome by it. Jesse Duplantis talked about how people can be overcome by power. They can fail. People can fail, but God can't. We need to believe that with all that we are.
There are so many promises in the Bible. For us. For every single one of us. It's painful to see other people not claiming them. It's a deflection. I know I haven't been willing to claim them either. I haven't felt worthy. We're not, but He still offers us "an abundance for every good deed". He still offers us His love. Taking it fully is living wholly for Him. I'm working on it.
Ezekiel 1:4
"Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like color of amber, out of the midst of the fire."
I love that. I've felt that. I felt that in April and I wrote about it, except I called it a tornado. It was a tornado prayer time service. It was powerful. So incredibly God powerful. Then a great dramatic representation of Pentecost. It was really moving.
Then hit the Kingston Kingdom Come Prayer Meeting. From there, onwards to Ottawa to the Fire of God Church to hear Jesse Duplantis speak. He's really funny! He threw out the message he had planned. I love that, it's how I was saved. He had powerful things to share, mostly about being willing to receive from God. About purposing to receive.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
"Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed"
Purposed. The core of his message was in this. Purpose affords anchorage in God. We give so that we may receive. It sounds wrong to us. We fight against it. I fight against it. Jesse spoke about how this feels like greed to us. That that's a lie from the enemy. What we feel may be greed could instead be us, or others, seeking growth. Nothing's wrong with growth in God, in fact it's everything right. Jesse Duplantis explained that purposing our hearts is outside of feelings. It's something we determine before we let ourselves feel emotion. Before we even get to church. We purpose in God, become prayerful, perceive His truth, and then operate in His power.
He also spoke further about power. About determining the power of God and not taking that on ourselves. He spoke on how Jesus was superior to power. How He never threatened with armies of angels. He, with power, kept Himself on the cross for us. He was above it, not overcome by it. Jesse Duplantis talked about how people can be overcome by power. They can fail. People can fail, but God can't. We need to believe that with all that we are.
There are so many promises in the Bible. For us. For every single one of us. It's painful to see other people not claiming them. It's a deflection. I know I haven't been willing to claim them either. I haven't felt worthy. We're not, but He still offers us "an abundance for every good deed". He still offers us His love. Taking it fully is living wholly for Him. I'm working on it.
Sunday 12 June 2011
As Frosty (the Snowman, not Wendys drink) says: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Another Birthday is upon us. One of awesomeness! It's Katie's! I love her so I thought I'd write a shout-out! She worked hard at becoming my friend. I'm a tough one to get to know. I'm awkward. I'm an odd duck. She worked in spite of all those things. She's persistent. Persistently awesome. I'd seen her around. One of the first things I saw in her was a heartfelt passion for God. The first things I'd heard about her were expressive accolades from my nieces and nephews, who all love her to bits.Then one day I talked with her for like a second. Then she sent me a text that I love, calling herself the crazy person. I like crazy. She's a funny lady, full of cool. I wish her all the best on this the day of her birth!
Friday 10 June 2011
Patience.
I spent last night working on patience. I sat outside for 2 hours waiting for a Thunderstorm. It didn't show. You could feel the air getting charged and the winds change. It cooled down and that wonderful rain smell came out to play. Still, nothing. I thought about being disappointed (I'm weird that way). Not worth it. I'm good until next one. I'll sit outside and wait another day. Some things are worth the wait. Some things are also worth not having. It's not up to us to determine what's best. I wanted to sit and watch a storm. That could have been a horrible thing. I can't plan out the details of this world. By the end of my watch it was too dark to see anymore. I'd sat and listened to music and read my dailies and then some of my favourite short stories. Definitely not a waste of my time.
This generation has a tendency to move fast in all things. I have a different pace. It's more than a natural inclination and it's certainly not a coincidence (I hate that word - see His order instead). Not everyone is supposed to live at the same speed. When you try to keep pace with others you lose bits of yourself. You lose your uniqueness. You lose the way you see and respond to things. You lose the individuality which weaves people together, like in the body of the Church described in the Bible. Be patient with the things around you. Know the order of God. Know that He has plans for you. Work in the timing He has provided by being who He made you.
Last night I worked on patience, today some of it was rewarded. My sister Sarah got engaged on March 12th and I've been waiting to hug her since then. Before then actually. I haven't seen her since February! That's a long time for me. Today Sarah and Jeff were in town and I got to see them. Yay! I had to work hard at being patient with that wait, but it was worth it. I was so excited. They came to see me at work. They pulled a funny and asked for a different colour of milk (you have to hear my work lemonade story to understand). Hilarious. I was so hyper that I got teased the whole rest of my shift. I didn't mind. I focused on the minutes (at this point I was impatient, but entertaining) left until I could see 'em some more. Got to go enjoy my night. Later!
Romans 8:24
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?"
Psalm 37:7
"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him"
Romans 12:12
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Proverbs 16:32
"Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city."
Tuesday 7 June 2011
Found while looking for more. Trading in a nomadic existence.
We're Christians because we looked for more. There was an emptiness in our lives that nothing could fill. We tried stuffing ourselves full of the world. Nothing. Nothing but God. This morning I've been thinking about the emptiness in God's children. In those who don't know that they are God's children. In those who know, but don't feel as though they are God's children.
There's a weightiness that has come into the world in this past year. There's this sadness. Some days it's worse then others. It feels like people are trying really hard to distract themselves, but when they can't they can't. I know it's a God thing because the weightiness is in everyone at the same times. When you let yourself see where the world is headed it can be scary, but we've looked for more, we've found it, and we have that to rely on. We go through hard times, but there's a hope that comes with our daily faith walk. We can recognize God's love. We can read it in His Word. We can dwell on it in the Spirit. They can't. They can't see what's in front of them. Sometimes it's an honest never having met God thing. Other times, as it was with me, there's a willful decision not to see. Either way, it's sad. Either way, these people are miserable. Sometimes, people go through my cash and I just get overwhelmed. I cry like a baby, then I pray like a warrior. Other times I'm glad. I know that God is using these situations, gently turning them from bad to His kind of good, and leading them back into His arms.
Giving everything to God is scary. I needed constant lights in my choice to live for Him. He provided them. He provided the moments that led to my salvation, to my homecoming. I was a nomad, not necessarily in the physical (though I had some of that too), but fully in my heart. I was homeless. I never let myself belong anywhere or with anyone. Even now, six and a half years later, I still struggle with this daily. With the idea of being His. With recognizing that He's placed me where I am to be known and to know. I know that that's what these people are facing. There's a fear that comes with such vulnerability, but overcoming it is the only way we can hope to understand the amazing fullness of the love and of the life that our God, our Father, offers us.
When we demonstrate God's strength in our struggles we show Him so clearly. His love comes across like a beacon. These people, these lost ones, are not looking for perfection in us. They're looking for it in Him. In Him through us. They need to know that we struggle, that faith is hard, and that it's a daily choice. They also need to know that we survive now only through knowing Christ. Not in any way in our own strength. They need to know the truth of our relationship with Him. They need to know that they can seek the truth for themselves. Show Him daily. I needed lights and now I want to be one. Always. For the lost. For Him. That we all may be found in Him.
Matthew 5:16
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
1 Timothy 6:12
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called."
Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?"
There's a weightiness that has come into the world in this past year. There's this sadness. Some days it's worse then others. It feels like people are trying really hard to distract themselves, but when they can't they can't. I know it's a God thing because the weightiness is in everyone at the same times. When you let yourself see where the world is headed it can be scary, but we've looked for more, we've found it, and we have that to rely on. We go through hard times, but there's a hope that comes with our daily faith walk. We can recognize God's love. We can read it in His Word. We can dwell on it in the Spirit. They can't. They can't see what's in front of them. Sometimes it's an honest never having met God thing. Other times, as it was with me, there's a willful decision not to see. Either way, it's sad. Either way, these people are miserable. Sometimes, people go through my cash and I just get overwhelmed. I cry like a baby, then I pray like a warrior. Other times I'm glad. I know that God is using these situations, gently turning them from bad to His kind of good, and leading them back into His arms.
Giving everything to God is scary. I needed constant lights in my choice to live for Him. He provided them. He provided the moments that led to my salvation, to my homecoming. I was a nomad, not necessarily in the physical (though I had some of that too), but fully in my heart. I was homeless. I never let myself belong anywhere or with anyone. Even now, six and a half years later, I still struggle with this daily. With the idea of being His. With recognizing that He's placed me where I am to be known and to know. I know that that's what these people are facing. There's a fear that comes with such vulnerability, but overcoming it is the only way we can hope to understand the amazing fullness of the love and of the life that our God, our Father, offers us.
When we demonstrate God's strength in our struggles we show Him so clearly. His love comes across like a beacon. These people, these lost ones, are not looking for perfection in us. They're looking for it in Him. In Him through us. They need to know that we struggle, that faith is hard, and that it's a daily choice. They also need to know that we survive now only through knowing Christ. Not in any way in our own strength. They need to know the truth of our relationship with Him. They need to know that they can seek the truth for themselves. Show Him daily. I needed lights and now I want to be one. Always. For the lost. For Him. That we all may be found in Him.
Matthew 5:16
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
1 Timothy 6:12
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called."
Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Monday 6 June 2011
Mr. Super Si
This is for Mr. Super Si. No longer a kid, but a teenager! I sit here now with him watching Eureka and wanted to speak about his awesomeness. He's a great person and an awesome nephew. Always has been. My little buddy Luigi has grown (his toddler years - head swaying cuteness). We're going onto www.thinkgeek.com to pick out a cool present later on! It's going to be fun! Plus, he already made a hilarious video 'Julian Smith' style, so I know he's going into the teen years in coolness. Happy Birthday Mr. Super Si!
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| Best fuzzy picture ever! Soon he'll have a real one. No. Please NO! |
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| Him being Mr. Super Si while I airplane him! |
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| Him today. 13. 13 & AWESOME!!! |
I love you bud. You're going to kick thirteen out of the park. I say another play day is in order. The air bazooka is being brought. Wednesday. AM. Prepare yourself.
Service. Praise & Worship vs Our Mindsets (Constant battle. Winner: God!)
Pastor Andria taught last night. I loved it. She had a lot of God stuff to share. She did so with surety and confidence and with some funny quips. It was a powerful message. It was about applying Pastor's message from last week, about arising and being called to higher levels, to praise and worship. How God's glory coming down, or us being pulled up, is a by-product of our praise and worship. Basically, it was about the heart of our faith walks. That means it was about attitudes and choices. It really fell in line with the direction the Church is going in. It was about gates and doors and just about different ways to transition.
I loved learning about thanksgiving. About the struggle that comes with sacrificing for God. I loved that it led into praise and worship. She also talked about how it worked against the false humility that comes up against us. I love how services come together like that. The work described in entering the Tabernacle is tedious, but worth all. I like the verse that Pastor Andria dwelt on:
Leviticus 22:29
"When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted."
--> God sees our hearts. We can't be surface Christians because that's not being a Christian at all! It's an all or nothing faith. It's hard work, but we were made for it. Like Pastor Andria said, this verse is in the middle of directions and regulations regarding the Tabernacle. They couldn't pretend. We can't pretend. No good works will come out of that, they'll be empty. We would be empty.
Psalm 100:3-5
"Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations."
--> I liked the way this was brought up too. We can only get closer to God by following directions, by being obedient. We get closer through thanksgiving and then further with praise. There is a defined path to God. There's a book that was written to help us pattern our life to move towards Him. Why would we have the Bible if not to work towards understanding truth?
I loved learning about thanksgiving. About the struggle that comes with sacrificing for God. I loved that it led into praise and worship. She also talked about how it worked against the false humility that comes up against us. I love how services come together like that. The work described in entering the Tabernacle is tedious, but worth all. I like the verse that Pastor Andria dwelt on:
Leviticus 22:29
"When you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted."
--> God sees our hearts. We can't be surface Christians because that's not being a Christian at all! It's an all or nothing faith. It's hard work, but we were made for it. Like Pastor Andria said, this verse is in the middle of directions and regulations regarding the Tabernacle. They couldn't pretend. We can't pretend. No good works will come out of that, they'll be empty. We would be empty.
Psalm 100:3-5
"Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations."
--> I liked the way this was brought up too. We can only get closer to God by following directions, by being obedient. We get closer through thanksgiving and then further with praise. There is a defined path to God. There's a book that was written to help us pattern our life to move towards Him. Why would we have the Bible if not to work towards understanding truth?
At the end of the service we listened to Jason Upton's 'Come Up Here' song. It was so powerful. There was a line in it that cemented the service in my head. It's so silly, but it was the idea of wanting to fly like an eagle through the doorway in the sky. I just started thinking about it during the song and the songs that played afterwards, praying about it really. The thing is, there is no longer a past to go back to. The only thing I think of when thinking about turning away from God (Ew... I don't even like writing that) is that it would be death. It would be. Here's the thing about eagles, about birds really, if they stopped flying mid-air they would fall and they would die. We can't land safely after deciding to live for God. We're in the air and there's no good way down from that, only death. If we're walking along thinking why believe and stand for God, we're already losing the desire to live for Him. At that point, we're falling towards the ground. The wings would be useless, because flying is only for those after God. It's a use them or lose them type of situation, which is true of many gifts we are given by God. We have to make the choice to live for Him daily to keep a level flight, but we were meant for more. We're supposed to test the boundaries we put on our walks, our flights. We're supposed to want to go up. Through the doorways in the sky. To new and ever-increasing levels of faith. We're supposed to work towards God. Not with our timing, but His.
The other thing that it made me think about was the natural inclination of things. Pastor Andria mentioned Myles Munroe's (I think that's how it's spelled) thoughts about how a fish swimming is glorifying God by doing what it's supposed to do joyfully. The obedience necessary to do this in our own lives was a good hit. I liked it. Anyways, all that to say flying is natural to eagles. Glorifying God is natural to us. Sure, sin came in and screwed things up. We broke away in the Garden, but we've been redeemed. The whole Bible is about Jesus laying down His life so that we could have the OPTION of living for God. Scary big things. There's no choice left in it for me. I will live for Him. Again with the tangents. We were created by God for God. Our whole lives are about deciding to exalt Him. It's not as scary to give Him everything when we recognize that we're doing what we were created to do. Yes, the world has a different idea about what life is about, really about how much they can take from the time they have on the Earth, but that's not the real way to go. We were all meant for more. The truth is coming. I know this. We need to stand for it in the meantime. We are the light and salt. We need to represent Christ (funny voice... you better say that in a funny voice... right now... out loud... hint: LOUD)!
Isaiah 40:31
"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."
--> His timing. His strength. His glory. He's worth it.
Anyways, off to get ready for my day at No Frills :P
Coming Soon (at like 8pm): Mr. Si shout out!
Isaiah 40:31
"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."
--> His timing. His strength. His glory. He's worth it.
Anyways, off to get ready for my day at No Frills :P
Coming Soon (at like 8pm): Mr. Si shout out!
Sunday 5 June 2011
Service Tidbits. Positioning Humility. MIGHT!
I just got back from the morning service. Pastor Peter's message was great. Lots of things were lining up and good things were happening. I definitely can't talk about it all right now, I've got to put some studying time in and read the passages he mentioned in their entirety, but I did want to write one thing down.
Towards the end of the service, the issue of humility came up and it definition always brings to my mind a fine line. It's a difficult thing to know, to tread, and basically to apply humility to our walk. He mentioned that humility in our hearts puts us in position (all about positions) to know Christ and to go after wisdom like we've been studying in Proverbs 2. Then he said something really cool. He said that as soon as we move that humility to our minds we lose it. I think thats so true.
When we try to bring humility and its gifts of wisdom and knowledge to our minds, we face great risks. Humility is always only a stone's throw from pride, and as Pastor often reminds us, false humility is nothing but pride. Purely, and at the same time not pure at all, pride. Pride goes after those gifts we receive in humility. Wisdom and knowledge can easily turn. We can fall back to thinking about how much we know and not what has merely been revealed to us. That's when a hunger for knowledge for knowledge's sake is built in us. We're called to be hungry for the knowledge from and of the things of God. Nothing else leads to wisdom. It can't. You could be in the horrible position of thinking you know everything, when in reality you know nothing of worth. This is something I struggle with. There's so much I want to know about and do, but I really have to pull back and ask God to focus my path. What would be the point of learning something that I wouldn't put back into the things of God. Like when we store up too many earthly things, the end of our lives would show nothing but pointless quests for empty wisdom, earthly knowledge, and really, for intellectual bragging rights. Triviality. We need more than that. We can't be built up by anything without Him being active in our choices.
Our belief system, our faith walks, need to be positioned evenly. We need to know the truth of God by recognizing it in our heart, in our soul, and in our mind. That's how we recognize its fullness, His fullness. They work in tandem, they have to, or we'll fail and fall (like on that faith bicycle). We need to step it up. We need to focus. We need to get in the right position. To do that we need to seek the things of God. We need to ask. We need to pray. We need to praise. Then, we need to work. We need to work harder then we have ever worked before. For our faith. For the people around us. For the Kingdom. There is nothing of greater value, actually there is nothing of value at all, to be had without making this choice. Live for Him today. Chose to live for Him EVERY SINGLE DAY. Declare it, or it's worthless. Be all or nothing for Christ. Be wholly for Him. Love Him as we are called to:
Matthew 22:37
"And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"
--> Wow. Do you know what's the craziest part of this verse? He loves us the same way. The entire Bible is Him loving us! With everything good. God is everything good.
Deuteronomy 6:5
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
--> I love this verse. I love that it includes might. I love that the word might isn't maybe (the way we use it today). It means everything. With strength. We choose Him. We fight against our flesh and we choose Him. There are no maybes in such a decision. It's a declaration. With absolutely every stitch of ourselves that we can gather together, we push aside our muck and out our junk, and love God. We live for Him. We live not for a dying world, but for Him.
Towards the end of the service, the issue of humility came up and it definition always brings to my mind a fine line. It's a difficult thing to know, to tread, and basically to apply humility to our walk. He mentioned that humility in our hearts puts us in position (all about positions) to know Christ and to go after wisdom like we've been studying in Proverbs 2. Then he said something really cool. He said that as soon as we move that humility to our minds we lose it. I think thats so true.
When we try to bring humility and its gifts of wisdom and knowledge to our minds, we face great risks. Humility is always only a stone's throw from pride, and as Pastor often reminds us, false humility is nothing but pride. Purely, and at the same time not pure at all, pride. Pride goes after those gifts we receive in humility. Wisdom and knowledge can easily turn. We can fall back to thinking about how much we know and not what has merely been revealed to us. That's when a hunger for knowledge for knowledge's sake is built in us. We're called to be hungry for the knowledge from and of the things of God. Nothing else leads to wisdom. It can't. You could be in the horrible position of thinking you know everything, when in reality you know nothing of worth. This is something I struggle with. There's so much I want to know about and do, but I really have to pull back and ask God to focus my path. What would be the point of learning something that I wouldn't put back into the things of God. Like when we store up too many earthly things, the end of our lives would show nothing but pointless quests for empty wisdom, earthly knowledge, and really, for intellectual bragging rights. Triviality. We need more than that. We can't be built up by anything without Him being active in our choices.
Our belief system, our faith walks, need to be positioned evenly. We need to know the truth of God by recognizing it in our heart, in our soul, and in our mind. That's how we recognize its fullness, His fullness. They work in tandem, they have to, or we'll fail and fall (like on that faith bicycle). We need to step it up. We need to focus. We need to get in the right position. To do that we need to seek the things of God. We need to ask. We need to pray. We need to praise. Then, we need to work. We need to work harder then we have ever worked before. For our faith. For the people around us. For the Kingdom. There is nothing of greater value, actually there is nothing of value at all, to be had without making this choice. Live for Him today. Chose to live for Him EVERY SINGLE DAY. Declare it, or it's worthless. Be all or nothing for Christ. Be wholly for Him. Love Him as we are called to:
Matthew 22:37
"And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"
--> Wow. Do you know what's the craziest part of this verse? He loves us the same way. The entire Bible is Him loving us! With everything good. God is everything good.
Deuteronomy 6:5
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
--> I love this verse. I love that it includes might. I love that the word might isn't maybe (the way we use it today). It means everything. With strength. We choose Him. We fight against our flesh and we choose Him. There are no maybes in such a decision. It's a declaration. With absolutely every stitch of ourselves that we can gather together, we push aside our muck and out our junk, and love God. We live for Him. We live not for a dying world, but for Him.
Saturday 4 June 2011
Chuck Season 4 (epic-ly awesome) Finale!
So, I'm crazy. I am. It's a factoid for you. I love movies and television shows and such, but I'm not really one for current series. It's a crazy person thing. I'm the kind of person who reads the end of the book first, otherwise I can't enjoy it at all. I go crazy thinking about all of the possibilities. I also do this with movies and shows. In an effort to not let myself dwell on things that aren't important, I watch old shows and only watch current shows with 1-3 episode arcs max. You know the type, general ones, good, but not emotionally draining. Chuck is the exception to my rule. It's about a nerd thrust into the world of spies. How could I not love that? It has the essence of 'North By Northwest' and it geek-quotes Star Wars (The Imperial March was in the second last episode! THE IMPERIAL MARCH!), classic video games (Zorg and so many more), The Princess Bride (IN THE SEASON FINALE!), Superman (They had an actor who played him. Er. Shaw... I love you as Superman), Batman (Best Cute-Meet ever - Vicky Vale rap), Star Trek (Robert Duncan McNeill directs it, Scott Bakula's in it, and so many more), Tron (POSTER OF AWESOMENESS and MUSIC), Matrix (What do you know?), War Games (Castle and his Dad), Knight Rider (I don't know why it feels like it in the finale... there's no overt references... I think it's the driving into a truck thing), Lord of the Rings (The One Remote Control that rules them all), and basically anything I find awesome. Huey Lewis songs! Scott Bakula from 'Quantum Leap' (LOVE IT!) is his Dad! Come on! It's epic! I love it too much. I don't sleep when I don't know what's coming. As a defense against this level of insanity, I don't watch it while it airs. I watch it in batches. Safely. Me and Jenn have been watching it with B since I got here. It's been fun times, full of shenanigans. Today we, plus Nieceamine, watched the last two episodes! Amazing! Best Ever! LOVE IT! I wore a Chuck shirt. I got Nieceamine to wear another of my Chuck shirts. I even got Jenn to wear yet another of my Chuck shirts. Suffice it to say, I own way too many Chuck shirts. Jenn admitted that she hadn't worn a tee with a boy on it since her tween years. Impressed I was with her (hehehe... Yoda speak)! Anyways... all that to say I love the show. I would recommend it to non-kids (it's got some if-y things). But, be cool, start it from the first season like a sane person. I could watch it everyday. Anyways... here's to awesomeness:
Off to finish watching 'The Goonies' so I can sleep and be rested for Church! Go be awesome!
Off to finish watching 'The Goonies' so I can sleep and be rested for Church! Go be awesome!
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