Obedience

I learned this week that obedience to God is tough.

That seems pretty obvious maybe, but I've never had much of an issue trying to obey God in most of the big areas of my life. I choose not to go out and party or get involved in anything that God would disapprove of because I want to honor Him.
But that was easy - that stuff isn't my scene anyway.

I recently gave up TV in the last month because I didn't want it anymore and God had been putting it in my mind to just cut it out. So I have and I don't miss it. And that was easy too.

But this past week was something a little more difficult.
Not that what I may have gone through was huge, I'd just never been tested before.

It was a small issue that I hadn't realized I was so involved in and I knew it probably wasn't best for me.
 But I know what I'm doing right?

Well part of me was praying for intervention for God to do something before it became an issue and the other part was saying 'Go away I know how to handle this'

But God is just really good to me and decided to intervene the next day! And yes... I was upset. I was still convinced I could've handled it.

But deep down I knew that I needed to listen and trust God's plan rather than walk myself off of His plan.

The second difficult part about this obedience thing was my attitude towards it. It's been fluctuating back and forth between being sad and being glad. And again I tried to control that- to reign it in, cheer myself up.
But I was doing it in my own strength and that wasn't working. So my go to verse this week had been this:

My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart

    and my portion forever. 

~Psalm 73:26~

This is where

You know when you question where you should be and are scared it's not the right place?
Well I'd thought about it a couple times since starting college.

But over the last week I've just been giving it to God and every time He's just calmed me and I'm completely at  peace with where I am and am not going to doubt where I'm to be.

To confirm this more, last Thursday one of my professors told the class that this year there were hundreds of applications to the Social Service Worker program and the faculty that teaches the course had to gather, sit down and hand pick the 75-80 students that were accepted!
Isn't that crazy?!

 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' 

This verse popped into mind during my prayer time last week and I didn't think much of it because that's not what I was thinking about at the time. But today as I sat down to just have some quiet time it came to mind again and I realized I really am at peace right now because that verse is true! :) 

Simple drawings

Something I drew: 

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him...

Colossians 2:7 

I don't normally read the NLT version of the bible but I really liked how this verse was worded.

And I just thought it was so simply put and lovely that I had to draw something simple and lovely to go along with it. 

So the roots are growing down into Christ/ the Rock
 (if you can tell that's what the tree is growing on) 

And I decided to add more symbolism and draw fruit growing on the tree. Get it? :D

Just wanted to share that!  :) 

Where His heart is

There's always worry when choosing a career path.

In 7 days I will be moving away from home and heading to school to become a Social Service Worker.
I'm really excited about my classes and am eager for school to start.

The last couple months I've been having times of second guessing a lot of things. Things along the line of:

'What if I can't handle the heart break of all the people with needs as I become a social worker?' 

But it doesn't matter. I have Jesus to lean on.

He would go help those who are sick, hungry, hurting. Listen to them and care for them in every single way  He can.

The problem is me, I  don't want to have to experience other's heart break, suffering and problems as they try to handle life. I have my own share of it too. 
But that's the selfish part of me talking.  

But this is where Jesus's heart is. With His children.
And so it should be close to my heart as well.
To help others with needs. It's what He would do.
And so that is what I will do.

God works in *funny* ways

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

“Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

[Matthew 17:24-27]

 

Can you imagine that? Jesus literally just asked him the craziest thing... Go fishing and you'll find enough money to pay the taxes in the fish's mouth. That sounds completely bonkers. But Peter listened, he obeyed and what happened? Jesus proved (again) that He is enough. He could've handed Peter the money - but He asked him to trust His plan and I'm gave Peter a hilariously strange story - that would also make me laugh 2000 years later!


* I posted this on my Facebook as well and thought I'd share on here*

:) 

Concerning angels

 "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"

[Hebrews 1:14]

~~~

So I was reading this during my prayer time at the boardwalk today and I got thinking about the similarities in job descriptions of human and angels. 

Firstly, God made humans 'a little lower than the angels' and so (to me at least) it makes sense that we have some of the same 'jobs' such as worshiping and ministering to others.

It's hard to convey in words how cool that thought is. Just let it sink in. 

That's all! 

I'm a big kid!

You know what I love? Being a child. Not physically (seeing as I'm turning 19 this week), but just having a child like joy from trusting in God.

Some peers my age think it's strange that I delight in cool playgrounds, dressing up, pretty colours and skipping around humming songs usually reserved for Sunday school.
Actually most people don't even notice this about me and I've only ever once had it pointed out (by another person) that I really am a child at heart (And I was SO glad, that it had been noticed)!!!

And you know I am completely happy with this because Jesus said:  

 “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"

[Matthew 18:3]

AND

 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

[Matthew 19:14] 

I think as people get older they forget how to be a child - but that's gonna be what people are like in Heaven - so why not be like that on earth as well?! 

God Bless! :) 

A snapshot of my vacation

I haven't posted anything in a few weeks, not because there's been nothing to write about but because I just got back from vacation on the East Coast of Canada! :D

We went through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI all in 10 days! It was truly beautiful!

There was ziplinig, whale watching, sigh seeing, light house visiting, Cabot trail driving, fortress exploring, beaches, Anne of Green Gables and visiting friends! Quite a whirl wind! So I thought I'd post a few pictures of the vacation.

Zip lining in New Brunswick! (Something that was on my bucket list- not necessarily the New Brunswick specific part - just the zip lining)

Visited the Hopewell Rocks in NB

At Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. 

We were really busy the whole trip and this was one of the few moments I just got to learn "Be still and know that I am God' as I listened to the waves of the ocean. Sure it was only for 10 minutes. But that still moment was great none the less. 

This was driving along the Cabot trail.

I love this picture so much! I loved green fields and cliffs right beside the ocean! 

This was also somewhere along the trail... 

LOOK: Trees and... trees....and more treeees! 

A look out point on the Cabot trail. 

One of the beaches we went to in PEI 

Yep. Red rocks and dirt and sand. I was actually there!

I can cross off going to PEI off my bucket list as well now! Although... I want to go back many more times so maybe I won't ;P
I really loved it there!

Wild Lupins growing outside our hotel 

Anyway that's a little snapshot of the vacation! 

I love...

Right now I'm really learning bits and pieces.

I mentioned in my last post about how I was learning to pray out loud more. And I'm still doing that!

I'm also starting to learn how to just

“Be still, and know that He is God" [psalm 46:10]

I got a few of those moments out on vacation, where i just sat and listened to the sound of the waves and took in the vastness of the ocean and the number of the trees! 

I've noticed that lately, I like just going out and sitting down, being still(which is difficult for me) and sitting with Jesus. Not really praying or anything at the time, just sitting in unearthly peacefulness and maybe humming a song. 

And I've realized in these times that I just want to spend time with Him for no reason what-so-ever is probably because I'm falling in love with Him. 

And that's actually a really amazing thought and I've suddenly realized how much God has really protected me in my love life. 

I have never had many crushes in my life (about 4 as far as I can remember) while I did go through a weird phase in grade 7 where I wanted boys to really like me, I never really had much interest in them and all through high school friends would ask who I was crushing on and 98% of the time it was nobody. And sometimes they didn't believe, but eventually they realized I actually don't really 'crush' on boys. 

And I've realized just how blessed I really am that my heart has not been broken over and over by guys, like a lot of girls my age. 

To top it all off, I know what I want in a guy and most of the character traits I have in my mind of 'Mr. Right' are character traits that Jesus has. And I've noticed lately that a guy can't seem to capture my heart if he doesn't love Jesus as well! 
And that is just a huge blessing! 


So that is the basically what I've been learning and thinking about and noticing the last few weeks! :) 

What's up?

I haven't posted anything in a little while but..  I've been spending time with God and learning things that are personal that I don't need to really share because they're between me and Him and just spending time with Him.


I've tried to get into the habit of going off on my own and praying out loud. Generally I write things down in a journal- because trying to pray in my head gets me waaaay sidetracked, and with journal you can go back and read it again afterwards.
But I'm actually really liking going out to the backyard or down to the boardwalk and just having a conversation with God. And it's really funny because I have a tendency to pace back and forth the entire time and sometimes i'll just start dancing randomly (which for those who know me is not out of the ordinary) and I generally start singing at some point... which also isn't unusual for me. But I've sure if you saw someone like that down at the boardwalk it would look quite silly. And that's ok because I was having a fantastic time for that half hour I was out there and it was just a really wow moment because... (ok.. this is going to sound dumb... but...)

 I'm really realizing that Jesus can be one of my best friends and who I can talk to about anything. 

I've tried to grasp that in the past but it just hasn't clicked before.
 It was a really sweet evening! :)


I've also been keeping up a mini bible study I started. Finding all the parts in the Gospels where Jesus says something along the lines of 'blessed is the one who...something something something'  (besides the sermon on the mount) There actually weren't that many.. So I decided to go through the psalms and find them as well. I'm not done but I'm getting close to halfway through them.

What I've noticed though is most of them seem to say something very similar and simple

        (These are my 4 favourites I've picked out of the growing list I've complied)

Blesses are those who hear the Word of God and obey it 

 [Luke 11:28]

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they might have right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city

 [Revelation 22:14]

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them

 [psalm 32:2]

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord

 [psalm 40:4]

I've found that most of the 'blessings' say something along the lines of Trust God, obey Him, and stay righteous before Him. 

No need to complicate that. :) 

You give and take away

You give and take away 

Have you ever had something that you wanted to give up, that you knew wasn't good for you, that you felt ashamed of, that you prayed would be taken away but you still refused to do anything to help yourself out of it? 

Well, I did. 

God is so good, he stepped in, intervened several times as this was going on- and I was happy because I thought He had gotten me out. But I got myself back in, again and again, and I still willfully stepped into it and didn't really keep myself from it. 

But again God stepped in and took it away - for good this time. 

And I wasn't happy. 

In fact I was kind of angry (not at God, at myself) and it hurt, and I felt completely stupid that I let myself slip like that. And I was more hurt by the fact that I was hurt about having to give up something I know God was asking me to give up. 

I think that God must have been kind of disgusted with me, but I just poured myself out to Him. And He's glad to pick my sorry butt up out of the hole I'd dug myself into! Praise God! 

He gives and takes away...

 

Still my heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name :) 

Flaws

So lately I've noticed how God's been able to take one of my flaws and using it to help the relationship we have.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a tough time making decisions, even if it's something small like "Do you want to go out to lunch?"

I run through everything in my mind, the pros and cons and then usually can't decide on something as simple as that. This flaw sure annoys me and probably gets on other people's nerves too, but I've noticed that.. well.. in that moment I have to decide and I'm learning to remember to ask God about it.

 So my inability to make a decision forces me to ask God about it so He can direct my life more! :D

 [whoa!]

I just think it's so cool how He can use that for good!
I'm actually kind of excited to see what other flaws He can turn around and use too!

Dear readers:  Is there any flaw you've noticed that God has been able to use for Him?

Feel free to comment! 

How great is our God

Sunday at church we were singing 'How great is our God' and suddenly I looked around the sanctuary at everyone I could see and I was just struck with how amazing it was that each person standing there at that time had somehow and in some way been touched by God -
 even if it was their first time to church or their first time going back in a long time or if they'd been a committed follower of Jesus for most of their lives- 
each of them has a unique story written by God and nobody is left out or forgotten and I was just so joyful about that - about each person's journey and story and how God is just so good and loves each person there so much- I kind of wanted to hug everyone there, because I get to spend eternity with these people! 

Often I'm so wrapped up in my own journey, that I don't ask about other people's - even though they do all have something unique and amazing - It just makes me think of how BIG our God is that He can write a different story (even all the intricate details) for every Christian in the world - and in all of history. 

Wow, how great is our God!!! :D 

Touring

So last week I had the chance to be part of a really unique ministry opportunity touring with The Sky Family. I don't think I've ever mentioned these guys by name but they are the same people who's concert I went to that I shared about in 'My journey' post over a year ago and their ministry was the 'final hurrah' to me deciding to accept Jesus.

So the Sky Family was in my area this past week for the last part of their Spring tour and I asked if I could help out during the four days they were in the area and they said yes! So last Tuesday I went up to where they were playing and as me and my mom were almost at the church to get there a huge van and trailer pulled out right in front of us and lo' and behold it was them! Which was pretty convenient since we didn't know if they would be there yet or not.

After some hugs from everyone, setting up began pronto.  Hauling bins of lights, cords, speakers, tables, CD's, and the dance floor was hard work when you don't know what you're supposed to be doing with anything haha

 After everything was set up we had a prayer time before sound check and then again before the concert. And God brought out someone they had met a concert there the year before and it was just a miracle that he could come out and he had such a powerful testimony, so it was really nice getting to meet him.
And after the concert we had to take everything down and load it back into the trailer! Phew!


The next day the process started just the same except this time I got get the full roadie experience and travel in the 16 passenger van hitched up to the trailer!  We traveled about an hour to the church we were playing at that day - the SAME one that I first met them at 2 years ago so it was really amazing! I felt like I'd really come full circle.
 And that night at least three things ((That I know of)) got answered while we were praying  before the show- it was really amazing to see such specific things get answered!
That night myself and the female member of the band (and now a very good friend of mine) Miriam , got to stay the night at my house while the rest of the band stayed at my adopted families a few minutes away - since the concert the next day was right in my home town.

So in the morning we went over in the morning and had a huge pancake breakfast and then enjoyed a really nice time of worship out on the back deck and the weather was so beautiful and it was just a really nice time!

Now this night was the hardest part of the tour (for me) because my non-Christian family was coming out to the concert that night and we were all praying for them a lot! I was trying to keep away doubts and just trust that God would do something but even still I was on the verge of tears most of the day and during the concert. So needless to say by the end of the concert I was just mentally and spiritually exhausted as well as physically from the three days of doing concerts (though that was much less of an issue than the other two)
I can't really tell you the impact the concert had yet because I don't know what God is starting - but I do know that they didn't react badly, which was what I was most afraid of. And they did ask Miriam more about their family testimony at home which was really neat - since I was praying they'd get to hear it on a more personal level than just what Tom (her dad) said during the message of the concert.

The next morning (Friday) and the last concert myself and Miriam got up and went down to the boardwalk by my house and spent some time chatting (even though we'd chatted every night until 1am- but hey this girl lives across the country so I'm gonna take the chance to chat in person while I can) then we went over to where everyone else was staying and had another worship/ prayer time out on the back deck with lovely weather yet again.

 Concert :Take 4. setting up, singing, and praying. During the concert a really sweet girl won the door prize and was so happy about it that she was crying - that was definitely the sweetest part of the night. The last night the concert seemed to go in a blur, I had a really nice chat and jig time with one of their bible school students who is with them and just really enjoyed the last night of fellowship and spending time together. After the concert we packed everything up and went pack to my place and something amazing happened. My dad who rarely reads for leisure anymore had gone to the library that day and gotten the book 'To Heaven and back' out of the library and was halfway through it. And together with Miriam we prayed for my brother who didn't make it out to the concert at all and that is the first time I've ever prayed with my family and it really meant a lot.


And in the morning they were leaving back to their home in Prince Edward Island.
And I have actually lost my voice because we were all constantly singing worship songs during prayer time, or setting up or..well just because! So that was definitely a great way to lose your voice- along with all the puns and jokes being pulled day and night. I had an official position on the crew as 'Laugh-Support' since I genuinely laugh at even the lamest of jokes.

I really enjoyed getting to serve with this family who truly lives for God, and worship with them, share a lot of laughs and just get to know them better! A very busy but blessed week.



PS. Here's the Sky family website if you want to check them out
http://www.theskys.org/

In the moment

Well.. it's been a couple weeks since I've written anything but the last few weeks I've been learning to just

Stop.
And try to pray in the moment.

 I have this tenancy to go off and seclude myself and have a prayer time in 'perfect conditions', so for me somewhere alone, somewhere quite and with few distractions, (Usually the short walk down to the board walk beside the lake) while this is good for me I've realized that  it might be very beneficial to actual pray myself through something (while it's happening) instead  of before it happens cuz I won't know how to pray about it because... it hasn't happened yet. This task is proving rather difficult but I'm trying to practice it more.

Lately I've been finding myself just stopping and slowing down more to just sing or hum a worship song while I'm on my way somewhere and to just be content in His presence in the mundane things like sweeping the floors or stopped at a red light. :)

 That's it for now!

Need

This has sort of been on my heart and mind the last two weeks is...

How much I really need Jesus... like, everyday. 

GROUND BREAKING statement, I know. 

**I bet nobody has ever thought that before **(end sarcasm)*

No but seriously, I've really noticed it the last couple weeks. I know I'm not the best at keeping consistent with things... for the last little while I'd be (mostly) ok with really getting something out of the Bible or a prayer time one day and then the next couple days skive it off because (my logic at work here) 'well yesterday was good I don't need to get into it quite so much today because yesterday was good' 

That really is not a good mentality to have is it... I think part of the problem is I don't really have anyone to keep me accountable.. actually that's kind of the purpose of the blog the past few months, so I could have something to remind me and keep me more accountable.. and it's working! so HA! 

So with that I've been able to keep myself more on track and I'm starting to (slowly but surely) reeeaaally try to just be with Jesus and keep Him in mind everyday. 

Three weeks ago I was getting away with the old attitude but the last two weeks if I didn't spend REAL time with Jesus that day, I noticed I was just irritable and angrier -both are traits that I'm not proud of when they come out. I don't think the bad mood is a coincidence either - I'm pretty sure it's God's way of making me stick to my guns and to make me love Him more and more.
And I'm joyful about that! :D 

The Gates

Finally figured out how to do an image for this verse I've been wanting to do for quite some time... and here it is! 

The writing in the picture says (from left to right):
For the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction...

For the gate is small  and the way is narrow that leads to life. 

Matthew 7:13-14

Now I'm going to ramble on about certain aspects of the drawing and reasoning behind it. 

The gates: I made the broad gates look flashy, showy and extravagant, that's what the world is like - it tries to draw people in by making it look fabulous and enticing, but the actual gates were a yellow, coloured over in roan red, making it look like rust and finally grey . 

The narrow gate is obviously smaller and has a simpler & humbler look to it. Simple - because of the simple power of the gospel to send someone onto the narrow road and humble because Jesus who walked the road was humble. 

The roads: The broad road is drawn in pencil and the lines smudged because I've noticed the world tends to smudge black and white into many shades of grey and you're never too sure one way or the other any more. 

The narrow road has very definite edges and lines and is clear to see when you're off of it. 

 At the end of the broad road is a red/grey blur (the destruction), and at the end of the narrow road is a golden glow, which would be everlasting life. 

And finally before the gates there is a fork in the road symbolizing the decision one must make at some point in their lifetime, to walk the broad or narrow road. 

Any comments? What do you think??