Message of the Flower

I found a little flower outside today in our garden, at the end of November! It had overcome the snow, the frost, and was still alive and blooming in the midst of all that was going on around it!

As I look at that flower, it teaches me alot.

* It teaches me that no matter the storms that are going on around me, I can choose to "bloom".

* It teaches me that if God can take care of a simple flower in the snow and frost, how much more will He take care of me?

* It teaches me that God will give me strength to grow, even when things are working against me.

* It teaches me that with a positive attitude, I can do anything!

* It teaches me that miracles happen everyday, if we just pay attention!

* It teaches me that sometimes we have to fight for what we want, and the end result is worth it!
* It teaches me that life doesn't stop just because the weather of life changes.

* It teaches me that I need to LIVE LIFE, not just EXIST in this world.

* It teaches me that God is still in control, even when things around seem out of control.

* It teaches me that I need to stop and appreciate the little things, the simple things in life.

* It teaches me to have more HOPE & FAITH!

If you found a flower growing in the middle of the snow, cold or harsh climates, what would it teach you

Miss the Mark

I've been reading a very interesting, and funny book the past few days,called  'Evolving in Monkey Town' by Rachel Held Evans . I had never heard of her until I read her blog entry called "Blessed are the Uncool" which was posted on facebook for awhile, by many christian friends.  Her writing is funny, yet also honest, gutsy, and real...

In her book, she writes something, one of the many things, that I thought was very interesting: "Strange now the fact that before I lost my first tooth, or learned to ride a bike, or graduated from kindergarden, I committed my life to a man who asked his followers to love their enemies, give without expecting anything in return, and to face public exectuation if neccessary.  It is perhaps an unfair thing to ask of a child, but few who decide to follow Jesus know from the beginning what they're getting themselves into." 

How true a statement that is!  Did any of us really consider such things before accepting Christ?  But more importantly how good are we as Christians at doing these things now?  What would you do if you were called to litterally give your life for Him?  Would we have the reaction of Stephen in Acts 7, praying for those that were stoning him?  Are we good at loving those who persecute us, or people who tease us because of our faith? Are we joyful, even when bad things happen? Are we able to forgive those who hurt us?  Are we able to give up what WE want, our earthly desires, for what HE wants? 

God knows that we are human, we have shortcomings, and although our intentions are good, or start out that way... sometimes, alot of times, if we're honest, we fall short, and miss the mark, of doing and being all that God wants us to be. But sometimes He uses those shortcomings to teach us to be better, to be stronger, to be wiser, to more loving, to be more gracious, to be more faithful...but we need to be open to Him, and be willing to be taught by the Master, the One who created us for His good, His purpose, and His plan.

Blessed By New England

It's been quite awhile since I have done any writing here, and for some reason, just felt like I had nothing of importance to say yet - maybe I still don't, but I'm going to write anyway.  You can choose now, to continue reading this, or "x" out of it.  I won't be offended.  Haha!!!

It's hard to believe that summer is over, and Fall is upon us already!  Where does the time go??  I think I missed summer, or at least it passed way too fast!  It was nice to have time with family this summer, my siblings, their spouses, and my nieces, Sasha and Gracie, and nephew Malcolm all made trips out here over the course of the summer, and it was nice to get Auntie Manda cuddle time with them all. 

September... my favorite month!  Not just because it is my birthday month, but also because, for the past 3 years now, I have gone to New England for a week.  I guess you could say it's like my birthday present to myself every year. Why New England of all places??  For some reason, it's like going home for me. It's familiar, comfortable, relaxing!  This year was different, a good different!  You know how sometimes you just need to spend time with, and be blessed by other people, and other surroundings, and you don't even know it?  That's what I needed, and that's what I got!

From walking by the ocean with my dear friend, listening to the ocean crashing on the rocks,

Seeing the boats in the harbor,

Rye, New Hampshire

Seeing a butterfly enjoying the flowers,

 Watching a bunny enjoying an afternoon snack,

Enjoying a stroll through Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Tugboats in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

A walk in the woods (one of my favorite things to do!)

Seeing friends that I haven't seen in awhile, catching up, and being blessed by them!  Enjoying times of laughter, and sharing life with each other over lunch, or a walk, or just chilling out together.

Myself and dear friend Kait Stratton

Those are some of the things that make trips like that so worth it! I could never put it all into words, all that I did, and the conversations that encouraged me, the laughter, etc.  Every year though, it makes it hard to leave all that behind, and come back home, leaving that part of "home" behind.  I read a quote the other day, that pretty much sums up my times in New England... and it said this - "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying good-bye so hard!" 









Uncertainty or Faith?

**Writers Note:  I wrote this awhile ago, but thought I'd post it here.**

How many times in our lives have we had to have faith because we had no certainty as to how things would work out? Alot, right? But how many of those times did you put faith in something or someone else other then God?

I've been doing ALOT of reading...bad habit of mine it seems. I wasn't sure what I wanted to read, so I just picked something. It was the book of Hebrews, didn't think much of it. And I started reading...and evenutally got to Hebrews 11, also known as "The Faith Chapter". There is a verse in that chapter that has always struck me...verse 8 "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going." I have always loved that verse. And I can't help but think...Didn't Abraham freak out and go "No way God! I'm not going anywhere, especially when I don't know how long it will take! How am  supposed to get there?  Where am I supposed to live? Hw do I provide for my family, etc? Are You NUTS?!?!?!" But there wasn't any of that, God said "go!" and he went! Abraham walked through the door of uncertainty that God opened, stepped out of his comfort zone, and did what he was told...no questions asked! He allowed God to lead him wherever it was He wanted him to go, he had faith that God would provide for him, whatever he faced!

WOW!!! Am I strong enough to do that? Do I have that kind of faith? When I'm faced with a choice like that, am I able, or willing, to just drop things and go? I am the kind of person, and I know alot of other people are too, that like to know where we're going, what the end result will be for things...I constantly question myself and say "Am I really doing what I should be?" "Am I sure this is where God wants me to go and what He wants me to do?" "What if it doesn't work?" What if I'm not hearing this right and I take it and it bombs, then what?" "What if I'm not the right person for this?" Any of these sound familiar? But you know what...in the end, it doesn't matter if you bomb or if you succeed, the point is that you listened, obeyed, went, and tried, and in that, God sees your faith.  He's pleased, and uses that time, whether success or failure, to make you a better, stronger person! If He opens a door for you, and you have the courage to take that step of faith, He's not going to just leave you to do it on your own. God will always provide you with the means to do it! Whether it be food, money, a job, a place to live, whatever it may be. I've seen it over and over in my own life. God's told me to do something, and I don't have the finances to do it, or have no idea where I'll live, and it never fails...God has always provided exactly what I needed, maybe not more then that, but I've never been without!

Comfort zones are nice, but sometimes in them we forget that we could be capable of doing bigger and better things! God has had our lives planned before we were born!  He knows where we'll go, what we'll do, the mistakes and successes we'll have, and He knows how we'll finish this "life race".

 

The question is...do you have faith enough in all of that to step out of that comfort zone you're in and say "Ok God, here I am, take my hand, and my life and lead, even if I don't know where I'm going, You do!"?? Am I strong enough to say that?? I hope so!

The Power of One!

I have become a slacker in terms of writing anything here the past few months.  Not sure why, but I've recently been encouraged to get back to it after reading some of my friends blogs (Thanks Kait and Abi!).  I guess I needed some motivation?  Inspiration?  Encouragement?  Or maybe I just needed a good kick in the butt!  Haha! 

The last few weeks, I've had alot of things going on in my head, just haven't gotten around to writing it down.  I've been thinking alot about the power of one!  Do you ever feel like you are just another person in this crazy overpopulated world?  Do you ever think, "What significance, or contribution could I possibly bring to this world, that nobody else can?"  It's easy to feel that way sometimes.  I know I have felt like that alot over the years. 

I was reading this past week a book about Esther by Charles Swindoll, and it made me change my tune on how significant I am, not only to this world, but to God and His plans! 

He writes: "There is only one you.  You're the only one with your exact heritage, your precise series of events in the pilgrimage and sufferings of life that have brought you to this hour.  You're the only one with your personal convictions, your makeup, your skills, your appearance, your touch, your voice, your style, your surroundings, your sphere of influence - you're the only one." 

Wow!  I hadn't thought of that, or maybe it's just that in the crazyness of this life, we lose sight of those facts.  There are so many stories from history, and in the Bible, of single individuals who have made a difference (Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, DaVinci, John Calvin, Columbus). Think about it!  And as you read through the Bible, you read about how God chose individuals... (Moses, David, Joshua, Esther, Jonah, Mary, etc) to carry out His plans, and purposes, for His good!  God knew the gifts, talents and what each of them could do, even though at times, they themselves didn't see it!   How cool is that?!?!?!  I mean Moses wasn't a good speaker, yet God used him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt!

Don't underestimate yourself, and what you bring to this world!  God placed you here, at this point in time, for a purpose!  Have the courage to be who you are, and not conform to who others want, or expect you to be!  You should only be concerned with who GOD wants you to be, and who He created you to be! 

Heart for Japan

It's been a few days since the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, but it is far from over!  They have had over 120 aftershocks, the last one at 7.6, which is no light little bump in itself!  The nuke plant being unstable, is not helping things either!  It seems like the news from there keeps getting worse and worse, and the death toll keeps climbing higher, and more places are found to have been wiped out completely! I watch and read, and sit here with a broken heart for the people of Japan.  To know that their lives that day, March 11th started out normally, and within minutes, everything was gone, including family members, homes, cars, all swept away, so fast!  You watch the videos on tv of big tanker ships, planes, cars, houses, all being tossed around, and floating away, nothing can stop it!  The fear, panic, chaos, horror, sadness, etc  that those people faced that day, and definately in the days, months and years to come...I don't think we could ever truly understand!

There so much that we in this country take for granted!  Do we really understand, or percieve just how fortunate we are to live where we do?  Are we grateful that nothing like this has ever happened to us?  What would you do, and how would you feel if you were the one in Japan who lost everything, a young child losing her parents, a parent losing their child?  Do we look the other way and say "well, it's over there, it has nothing to do with me.", or "Thats terrible for them in Japan, now who is winning the game."  It angers me and saddens me to see how insensitive some people are to the suffering of others in this world, simply because they don't know them, or they live on the other side of the world.  Who cares people!!!!  It doesn't matter where someone lives, whether you know them or not,  in the grand scheme of things, those people in Japan, they are just like you and me, human beings on this planet, trying to survive, now more then ever before, who need support, encouragement, prayers, and to know that someone cares!  Don't we all need that from time to time?  I know I have! 

Maybe my heart is overly sensitive to the people of Japan and what is going on there because of my personal loss with the Tsunami in Indonesia and the earthquake in Haiti.  I grieve for them, and with them. I pray for them and with them. What about you??  

"Father God, be with the country of Japan, with the people there, and around the world, searching for answers and loved ones. Let people come to You through this tragedy. Help them to rebuild, and come out stronger from all this. I pray that we, as Christians, would not have a deaf ear to the crys of your people there, or their suffering, but to do whatever we can, even if it is just to pray. Give us compassion! Give us your heart, and your love for those people! They are your children! Help us to remember that while we may be here in Canada, or the USA, or wherever we are, in our cozy homes and eating food on the table, with our loved ones around us, to stop and think of those in Japan who have suffered such loss that we can't even fathom! Give us humility in these times Lord, and remind us to be thankful for what we have, and not take it for granted.
 In Your Name Dear Jesus, Amen!"

Thoughts on Earthquake & Tsunami of 2011

"Tragedy reminds us that love is wasted unless it's translated into actions!"

I woke up in the middle of the night last night, which isn't unusual for me, but there was a weird heavyness on my heart.  I didn't know what was going on, or why I felt that way.  Strange for that early in the morning.  So I went to check my mail, and saw the headline...."8.9 Earthquake and Tsunami hit Japan".  Here we go again!  Immediately I knew that this was going to be another moment in history never to be forgotten!

As I sit and watch the news and see the devastation, and wait for the tsunami to hit the West Coast of the US and Canada in a few hours, it is unbelievable!!  I am reminded of the Tsunami of 2004, which hit Indonesia, where I lost missionary friends, and then the earthquake in Haiti last year where I lost more friends...the pain that came with those horrific times in this world, hit me, effected me personally, sitting here in Ontario Canada, thousands of miles away.  I have friends in Japan, my friend Kenji has family there, I have alot of friends on the West Coast of the USA and Canada, that may or may not be effected by the tsunami of today.  I pray that they aren't!

It's not only the magnitude of the quake and the tsunami that make this horrific, but that so many other countries, even our own, are going to be directly effected.  It blows my mind!  I ask myself  Why?  Why do these things keep happening? Why are so many lives lost?  Is there a purpose, a reason?  There are often so many questions when tragedy strikes, and often little to no answers.  That's where faith comes into play, but that is often when faith is the hardest thing demonstrate.  Trust me! 

Last year when I was dealing with the loss of my friends in Haiti, and all that was going on there, someone sent me a video of a powerful song, that to this day, will make me cry.  But whether it is Indonesia, Haiti, Japan, or maybe just a personal heartache,.... we need to always remember "He's got the whole world in His hands, and  He feels your pain."  

 Listen and be encouraged!