Thursday, February 25, 2010
I love Shane Claiborne
"We are thirsty for social justice and peace but have a hard time finding a faith community that is consistently pro-life or that recognizes that there are "moral issues" other than homosexuality and abortion, moral issues like war and poverty. So some folks just end up trying to save individual souls from their sins, and others end up trying to save the world from "the system." But rarely do we see that the sickness of our world has infected each of us, and that the healing of our world not only begins within us but does not end with us."
He's Hard at Work
I have been so encouraged lately at how God has been working in very visible ways in my life and the lives of the people around me.
For me, its simply working out kinks in my personality and time management skills as I practice obedience. Nothing overly exciting, but still very important and all by God's hands on His time.
In other people's lives...
-God making it so clear that Coll is called to this missions and that He has big plans for her. The money is coming together easier then we could have ever imagined and its amazing to see.
-A lovely girl, C is on missions with YWAM in Mexico and it is overwhelming obvious that God is working through her as she pushes her comfort limits and lets God lead her.
-Seeing an amazing guy make radical changes in his lifestyle to almost become a different person so devoted to Christ after years of fighting Him.
-A friend overcoming his parent's painful divorce, tough trials in high school, and constant health problems and finding refuge in Christ. His life is now an amazing testament to his family and friends of God's generosity.
That is just 4 examples of a lot of amazing things going on around me, and although satan constantly tries to complicate things and make things more difficult, God reigns over each and every situation when we are obedient!!
For me, its simply working out kinks in my personality and time management skills as I practice obedience. Nothing overly exciting, but still very important and all by God's hands on His time.
In other people's lives...
-God making it so clear that Coll is called to this missions and that He has big plans for her. The money is coming together easier then we could have ever imagined and its amazing to see.
-A lovely girl, C is on missions with YWAM in Mexico and it is overwhelming obvious that God is working through her as she pushes her comfort limits and lets God lead her.
-Seeing an amazing guy make radical changes in his lifestyle to almost become a different person so devoted to Christ after years of fighting Him.
-A friend overcoming his parent's painful divorce, tough trials in high school, and constant health problems and finding refuge in Christ. His life is now an amazing testament to his family and friends of God's generosity.
That is just 4 examples of a lot of amazing things going on around me, and although satan constantly tries to complicate things and make things more difficult, God reigns over each and every situation when we are obedient!!
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us.Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith..." -HEBREWS 12:1-2
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
The Path Principal
Direction (not intention) determines destination.
At Blizzard this year I was given a CD with a copy of Andy Stanley's 4 part series titled 'Destinations'. He does an amazing job talking about something called 'The Path Principle' in which he explains the difference between our intentions in life and our directions in life; Two very different things. He speaks into my life about something as simple as living life and the decisions we're making everyday. Basically... we can have all the best intentions in the world, but if we don't put ourselves on the right path going in the right direction, we won't get to a desired destination.
He specifically highlights the disconnect between our intentions and actual directions. We must understand that the things that grab our attention DO change and influence our direction.
In part 4 of his series I particularly liked when he talked about obedience. Its been something that has been a theme in out bible study since Christmas and it just highlights what God has been showing me in my own life lately. The things that I give my attention to DO direct my life. The things that i pay attention to and the things that capture my attention DO influence my direction in life and I think Go does try and remind us of this throughout the bible.
God always tells us to pay attention to His word because He's trying to warn us against danger and distraction. He wants us to pay attention because in our obedience, He will bless us so richly, people will stop and stare. People will desire to know what's different about us.
At Blizzard this year I was given a CD with a copy of Andy Stanley's 4 part series titled 'Destinations'. He does an amazing job talking about something called 'The Path Principle' in which he explains the difference between our intentions in life and our directions in life; Two very different things. He speaks into my life about something as simple as living life and the decisions we're making everyday. Basically... we can have all the best intentions in the world, but if we don't put ourselves on the right path going in the right direction, we won't get to a desired destination.
He specifically highlights the disconnect between our intentions and actual directions. We must understand that the things that grab our attention DO change and influence our direction.
In part 4 of his series I particularly liked when he talked about obedience. Its been something that has been a theme in out bible study since Christmas and it just highlights what God has been showing me in my own life lately. The things that I give my attention to DO direct my life. The things that i pay attention to and the things that capture my attention DO influence my direction in life and I think Go does try and remind us of this throughout the bible.
God always tells us to pay attention to His word because He's trying to warn us against danger and distraction. He wants us to pay attention because in our obedience, He will bless us so richly, people will stop and stare. People will desire to know what's different about us.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Blizzard Re-cap
Blizzard this year was... like last year... amazing! It never ceases to amaze me how strong God's spirit is present throughout the weekend. Life Support from Atlantic Canada lead worship and Dennis Pethers along with Richard Powney came from the UK with Viz-A-Viz Ministries and they blessed us with their words of truth. They came along side the CBOQ team to lead us in an amazing weekend of worship and praise.
On top of everything else, this was the biggest Blizzard the BCOQ has ever had. About 50 staff members came together and prepared for a weekend of 670 youth and leaders who travelled from all over Ontario to simply celebrate and praise our generous God. The energy was overwhelming and God had big plans for the weekend!
God out imagines me so often. So many youth who had never seen God or church in any capacity got to experience Him in a truly powerful way. I had the opportunity to connect with a lot of amazing youth leaders who work in these kid's lives everyday. My hat goes off to them. Their dedication and love for the Lord overflows into their kids and Blizzard gives them an opportunity to share this weekend with their youth in a tangible way to strengthen their connections and build relationships. Seeing Him work in those relationships is truly encouraging.
There are always forces that make a brilliant attempt to rattle me before big weekends like this. This year these forces had been working long and hard but during the weeks leading to Blizzard, God had really worked in my heart to remind me that He'd take care of it and I had no need to worry. I stopped my silly fretting and of course He came through.
God reminded me of a lot this year at Blizzard. Mainly that we all make mistakes.
God blesses us to bless others.
He is generous enough to forgive us of all sins so we must forgive.
He is stronger.
Strong enough to cover us all with His love, and strong enough to defeat sin in our lives in very real ways.
He pursues us.
We were made for Him.
We all have a purpose.
"All the broken and the dislocated pieces
are fixed and fit together in this love that saves us." - New Again
"Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing: Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything, And I will adore You!" - Revelation Song
On top of everything else, this was the biggest Blizzard the BCOQ has ever had. About 50 staff members came together and prepared for a weekend of 670 youth and leaders who travelled from all over Ontario to simply celebrate and praise our generous God. The energy was overwhelming and God had big plans for the weekend!
God out imagines me so often. So many youth who had never seen God or church in any capacity got to experience Him in a truly powerful way. I had the opportunity to connect with a lot of amazing youth leaders who work in these kid's lives everyday. My hat goes off to them. Their dedication and love for the Lord overflows into their kids and Blizzard gives them an opportunity to share this weekend with their youth in a tangible way to strengthen their connections and build relationships. Seeing Him work in those relationships is truly encouraging.
There are always forces that make a brilliant attempt to rattle me before big weekends like this. This year these forces had been working long and hard but during the weeks leading to Blizzard, God had really worked in my heart to remind me that He'd take care of it and I had no need to worry. I stopped my silly fretting and of course He came through.
God reminded me of a lot this year at Blizzard. Mainly that we all make mistakes.
God blesses us to bless others.
He is generous enough to forgive us of all sins so we must forgive.
He is stronger.
Strong enough to cover us all with His love, and strong enough to defeat sin in our lives in very real ways.
He pursues us.
We were made for Him.
We all have a purpose.
"All the broken and the dislocated pieces
are fixed and fit together in this love that saves us." - New Again
"Holy holy holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing: Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything, And I will adore You!" - Revelation Song
Monday, February 8, 2010
update coming!
It has been so long since I've posted.
well.... a week.
I don't have the time now, but let me tell you I have a lot to say about this past week!
God is SO good and has been moving in a powerful way!
Stay tuned to hear about Blizzard 2010 and all that came with it!
well.... a week.
I don't have the time now, but let me tell you I have a lot to say about this past week!
God is SO good and has been moving in a powerful way!
Stay tuned to hear about Blizzard 2010 and all that came with it!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Consider Simply having Faith...
In December I blogged about a church service I attended in Halifax while visiting some friends. This message has really stuck with me and its been coming up a lot in conversations, and my own life.
Here's the thing. The beauty of God's love is that He gives us the ability to choose. Some decisions are easy to make, like getting out of the way of traffic, or picking up the phone when it rings. But other decisions are not as clear, like where to spend the limited amount of money you have, or when its time to act. When you add any amount of desire or pressure, decisions become hazed and stressful.
Most of the time when we have a decision to make, we lay out the options and weigh the pros and cons. I personally do this a lot because I like to over think things, but honestly... its a waste of time. These pros and cons become distractions, temptations and can potentially lead us towards false desires instead of towards God's will. And let's be honest here.. does God need us to lay out the choices for Him?
"Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" -Proverbs 3:5-6
Consider simply having faith and just... giving it to God. Nothing will happen if we don't act. Sometimes we need to be couragous and there is a time and place to be catious and wreckless. He knows the answers, and knows when we need to hear them. If you feel like He's not working hard enough to get you the answer when you want it.. maybe you simply just don't need to know. Maybe we simply need to just trust Him.
This video called "Lord Lord" is one of my favorites. OneTimeBlind does a lot of amazing skits, but this one in particular fits perfectly with my theme.
Here's the thing. The beauty of God's love is that He gives us the ability to choose. Some decisions are easy to make, like getting out of the way of traffic, or picking up the phone when it rings. But other decisions are not as clear, like where to spend the limited amount of money you have, or when its time to act. When you add any amount of desire or pressure, decisions become hazed and stressful.
Most of the time when we have a decision to make, we lay out the options and weigh the pros and cons. I personally do this a lot because I like to over think things, but honestly... its a waste of time. These pros and cons become distractions, temptations and can potentially lead us towards false desires instead of towards God's will. And let's be honest here.. does God need us to lay out the choices for Him?
"Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" -Proverbs 3:5-6
Consider simply having faith and just... giving it to God. Nothing will happen if we don't act. Sometimes we need to be couragous and there is a time and place to be catious and wreckless. He knows the answers, and knows when we need to hear them. If you feel like He's not working hard enough to get you the answer when you want it.. maybe you simply just don't need to know. Maybe we simply need to just trust Him.
This video called "Lord Lord" is one of my favorites. OneTimeBlind does a lot of amazing skits, but this one in particular fits perfectly with my theme.
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