Hello my friends, Its been a long time, almost a year since my last posting. There has been so much going on in our home this past year and its been an amazing one. So much has been happening that all I can say is PRAISE YOU LORD!!! You have been there in such an awesome way for us as a family and all I want to do is proclaim Your goodness to all who will hear. It has been a hard year, in a number of ways. I found out that I was pregnant with our second child in March but lost it through a miscarriage in my 12th week, on April 18th. We were very sad since we were very excited and looking forward to another blessing to our family. My husband called our baby "junior" since we all wanted a boy so much. I am over it for the most part but there are moments when I miss being pregnant.
It was also a rough year for us in our marriage but through some counseling, things are all good now. Our pastors counseled us and on August 8th, we renewed our vows and it was awesome. It was pretty scary since it looked like we weren't going to make it. But God intervened. He held us and told us what to do and when we obeyed Him our marriage was restored fully. I thank Him everyday for that.
It was also hard being a homeschool mom. I simply don't know what I am doing, and somehow we made it through our 1st year. We went through the curriculum that we purchased and its a good one to use to start out with. I went along with the teacher's guides for the first few months, but I found their lessons to be kind of silly. So, I figured I could do a better job and we just winged it mostly. Thankfully, it was just grade 1 stuff, so I managed pretty well. Now if only I could stay organized and stick to a schedule!!!
But we have some exciting news! We have decided to move closer to our family, in Ontario Canada. We are moving in a few days and its been kind of stressful but we know that this is where we are supposed to be. We are going to be living on an acreage in the country, instead of a big city, which is wonderful. We want to live on an acreage but being basically city slickers that would be a disaster to do that right away, at least for me it would be. So, we are blessed to have my husband's parents accept us into their home and stay with them for a little while and train us on how to do that successfully. So, we are busy trying to get the house packed and ready to go. We had a few yard sales and sold some stuff so its all good, and our furniture is staying.
Since we are leaving, it is obviously very hard to leave our wonderful church family and friends behind. But Jesus has gone before us and things are happening there that its just confirming His leading. We had our last Sunday at church today here and it was hard and there were lots of tears shed. My husband actually preached today and they prayed over us after he was done. But God showed up in a huge way before all of that. The pastor said that it was to be a healing service which was awesome. And this is kind of unusual for our church, unfortunately. Most of the congregation came to the front and either stood to get annointed with oil or prayed for us. Our friend brought his brother who has a cocaine addiction came for the first time and we all prayed for him to be delivered from it. God is so Good!!!
Just remember folks that no matter what may be happening in your life right now, remember that Jesus loves you as you are and there is nothing He will not do for you in your time of need. I pray that you will look to the bigger picture and not to your circumstances you are in now. Get into God's word, spend time with Him. His peace will fill you and you will be amazed at the changes that you may see.
Love your sister in Christ Jesus,
Tanya
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Psalm 91
Hello there.
Today I would like to talk about the happenings that have been going on in this house lately. It's been a really tough week. It's been really cold here, with record cold temperatures in our area. We have been fighting head colds and other illnesses and other financial issues that have really had us questioning what in the world is going on. We are in the full throttle of schooling at home now and its not easy getting motivated most days. Most of it is because of me and being the procrastinator I am. I am my own worst enemy most days. Even though we are not moving as fast as we should be doing, its actually going really well. Madison's work is A+, as long as I am right there to guide her along the way. It gets really frustrating sometimes because I cannot step away and have her do the seat work that is required without her becoming distracted. But its good since she is learning and seems to enjoy it once she gets started.
We have had the usual financial issues that we have all at one point in our lives happen to us this past week. My husband who pays the bills forgot to pay our electricity bill last week and the company put us onto a load limiter. This hindered us greatly to the point where we could not have more than one or two things going at once without tripping the meter to turn off the power. We could not use our oven or stove or really heat the house for that matter. It was awful. I called out to God, "Okay, just how am I to feed my family now?" We were frustrated.
Thankfully, God understands our pain and His word comforts us when we need it the most. Last night I was reading a book that mentioned Psalm 91 in a chapter where we dont have peace in our minds. So I looked up the Psalm and it took my breath away.
Thankfully when we are at our lowest points He is there to hold us close in His arms. I pray that it speaks to you as well in your time of need. Here is what it says:
Psalm 91 (NLT)
(1)Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty
(2)This I declare of the Lord:
He alone is my refuge; my place of safety
He is my God and I am trusting Him
(3)For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
(4)He will shield you with His wings
He will shelter you with His feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
(5)Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day, (6)nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
(7)Though a thousand fall at your side
though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you
(8)But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.
(9)If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter
(10)No evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling
(11)For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go
(12)They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
(13)You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. (14)The Lord says," I will rescue those who love me.I will protect those who trust in My Name. (15)When they call on me I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue then and honor them. (16)I will satisfy them with a long life and give them My Salvation.
WOW!!! Isn't that amazing? This Psalm really spoke to me because our power went out in the middle of the day and He rescued us alright. Our new church family wrapped their arms around us and brought us hot meals every day until the power was fully restored. At our last service there was an offering taken and afterward the senior pastor and his wife came and gave us the money to pay the bill off. And tonight the children's pastor came with a meal and some new shoes for our daughter. Is God good or what right? We have felt so loved and cared for because God's family listened to the Holy Spirit and helped a family member in need. That is what the church of Christ is supposed to do. Listen and obey and bless others in need.
Tomorrow morning we have to take our 7 yr old daughter to the children's hospital to get her kidneys tested. She has only about 2/3 functionality and they are small and under developed so the specialist wants to see what is actually happening there.
He isnt concerned now so we are grateful for that. Our sweet little girl is very nervous and doesnt want to have to do this. One test is an IV test with some dye and the other is going to be inserting dye via her genitals. So, that being said, I am going to have confidence that God has us in the shelter of His wings and we can rest in Him and His promises.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord Jesus that we can rest in You and Your promises no matter what happens in our lives. I thank You for Your love and presence when we cannot see the big picture. Thank You for guiding our church families to being a blessing when we need them the most. Thank you for being there and never leaving us to go through things alone. Thank You for being understanding and for being such a comfort to us when we call on Your name. I ask that we will always run to You and listen to Your promptings when You speak to us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Today I would like to talk about the happenings that have been going on in this house lately. It's been a really tough week. It's been really cold here, with record cold temperatures in our area. We have been fighting head colds and other illnesses and other financial issues that have really had us questioning what in the world is going on. We are in the full throttle of schooling at home now and its not easy getting motivated most days. Most of it is because of me and being the procrastinator I am. I am my own worst enemy most days. Even though we are not moving as fast as we should be doing, its actually going really well. Madison's work is A+, as long as I am right there to guide her along the way. It gets really frustrating sometimes because I cannot step away and have her do the seat work that is required without her becoming distracted. But its good since she is learning and seems to enjoy it once she gets started.
We have had the usual financial issues that we have all at one point in our lives happen to us this past week. My husband who pays the bills forgot to pay our electricity bill last week and the company put us onto a load limiter. This hindered us greatly to the point where we could not have more than one or two things going at once without tripping the meter to turn off the power. We could not use our oven or stove or really heat the house for that matter. It was awful. I called out to God, "Okay, just how am I to feed my family now?" We were frustrated.
Thankfully, God understands our pain and His word comforts us when we need it the most. Last night I was reading a book that mentioned Psalm 91 in a chapter where we dont have peace in our minds. So I looked up the Psalm and it took my breath away.
Thankfully when we are at our lowest points He is there to hold us close in His arms. I pray that it speaks to you as well in your time of need. Here is what it says:
Psalm 91 (NLT)
(1)Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty
(2)This I declare of the Lord:
He alone is my refuge; my place of safety
He is my God and I am trusting Him
(3)For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
(4)He will shield you with His wings
He will shelter you with His feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
(5)Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day, (6)nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
(7)Though a thousand fall at your side
though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you
(8)But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.
(9)If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter
(10)No evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling
(11)For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go
(12)They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
(13)You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. (14)The Lord says," I will rescue those who love me.I will protect those who trust in My Name. (15)When they call on me I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue then and honor them. (16)I will satisfy them with a long life and give them My Salvation.
WOW!!! Isn't that amazing? This Psalm really spoke to me because our power went out in the middle of the day and He rescued us alright. Our new church family wrapped their arms around us and brought us hot meals every day until the power was fully restored. At our last service there was an offering taken and afterward the senior pastor and his wife came and gave us the money to pay the bill off. And tonight the children's pastor came with a meal and some new shoes for our daughter. Is God good or what right? We have felt so loved and cared for because God's family listened to the Holy Spirit and helped a family member in need. That is what the church of Christ is supposed to do. Listen and obey and bless others in need.
Tomorrow morning we have to take our 7 yr old daughter to the children's hospital to get her kidneys tested. She has only about 2/3 functionality and they are small and under developed so the specialist wants to see what is actually happening there.
He isnt concerned now so we are grateful for that. Our sweet little girl is very nervous and doesnt want to have to do this. One test is an IV test with some dye and the other is going to be inserting dye via her genitals. So, that being said, I am going to have confidence that God has us in the shelter of His wings and we can rest in Him and His promises.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord Jesus that we can rest in You and Your promises no matter what happens in our lives. I thank You for Your love and presence when we cannot see the big picture. Thank You for guiding our church families to being a blessing when we need them the most. Thank you for being there and never leaving us to go through things alone. Thank You for being understanding and for being such a comfort to us when we call on Your name. I ask that we will always run to You and listen to Your promptings when You speak to us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
New beginnings
Hello all.
There have been lots of things happening here lately that I feel that I should share with you.
We have been led by God's Holy Spirit to attend another church. We attended there sometimes when we had car troubles or were running late. They have always been nice to us and welcomed us. We love the music and the Pastor always has an anointed message. They are a more Charismatic style and they are growing. Plus the church is about 2 or 3 minute walking distance from home! It sure is nice to have other couples there who are closer to our age and situation. They are sure into giving back to the community, which is refreshing to see. It has been definitely interesting being at the new church every week. I have joined the worship team, well I've been to a couple of practices and its a whole new level of worship for me. I am not used to singing with other instruments other than a piano. The caliber of musicians is phenomenal as one of the members has 5 degrees in music!!! WOW!!!! It should be awesome. What a learning experience I am in for! Even the pre-service prayer time is wonderful! They intercede for the community and are loud and pray specific, pinpoint prayers. Wow! I am not used that at all. Also, I was asked to help with the fellowship times. I was wanting to help so I thank GOD for these opportunities to serve.
I really am not sure what happened with our old church, but something is missing. Is that Something or is it SOMEONE?? Hmmm, I wonder. I do not want to slander the denomination, because they as a church has been really really good to us over the years. Therefore, I will not mention that particular denomination. When it's Spirit led then what can you do right? At our old church, they cut out most of the outreach including the food bank due to budgetary constraints. That is something that grieves the Holy Spirit don't you think? I hope and pray that this changes there soon. They are now showing signs of a dying church and I don't think I can grow at a dying church.
At our old church, there was a farewell time of fellowship this past Sunday night for a couple of friends who are leaving and heading to the east coast. Their names are Todd and Natalie. They are a fabulous couple who are anointed by God, that is for certain. They have started and have run a compassionate ministry that counsels people probono. It has touched countless lives. She has the gift of music and encouragement. She can sing like an angel and has mentored and supported me since I have known her. And he is so super smart and hilarious! They are both so down to earth and humble. My husband and him have become almost best friends. He also recently became ordained. We had the privilege of being there for the ordination service. We are going to miss them terribly. Even our daughter will miss Pastor Todd as he always makes kids feel special. He's got that knack. We released Todd and Natalie to do what God has called them to do. It was really moving. We hate to see them go, but we have to obey the Holy Spirit. And besides, we will have somewhere to visit when we go on our road trip next summer. Bonus! God has some amazing plans for their lives and I am sure it will be awesome. I have no idea what that is, but it will be wonderful.
Another pastoral couple, Mark and Kathy have recently accepted a request to pastor a church in a town a couple of hours south of here. They are a young family with three young children. Mark and Kathy started a congregation 4 years ago and it has grown with the help of the Holy Spirit. But it hasn't been perfect. People get in the way of the Spirit and things start to go down hill. But they are happy and there is another couple taking over the congregation who seemed excited to be there. Mark and Kathy have some obstacles in their way, like getting a new home and making sure that their current home is taken care of. But it will work out. So we released them as well into their new pastoral position. Our former senior pastor was proud of them and their accomplishments and grateful to have mentored them. He brought us all to tears. We surrounded these two wonderful couples of GOD and prayed for them and released them from ministry at the church. They will be missed by many.
Romans 8:28 " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."
There have been lots of things happening here lately that I feel that I should share with you.
We have been led by God's Holy Spirit to attend another church. We attended there sometimes when we had car troubles or were running late. They have always been nice to us and welcomed us. We love the music and the Pastor always has an anointed message. They are a more Charismatic style and they are growing. Plus the church is about 2 or 3 minute walking distance from home! It sure is nice to have other couples there who are closer to our age and situation. They are sure into giving back to the community, which is refreshing to see. It has been definitely interesting being at the new church every week. I have joined the worship team, well I've been to a couple of practices and its a whole new level of worship for me. I am not used to singing with other instruments other than a piano. The caliber of musicians is phenomenal as one of the members has 5 degrees in music!!! WOW!!!! It should be awesome. What a learning experience I am in for! Even the pre-service prayer time is wonderful! They intercede for the community and are loud and pray specific, pinpoint prayers. Wow! I am not used that at all. Also, I was asked to help with the fellowship times. I was wanting to help so I thank GOD for these opportunities to serve.
I really am not sure what happened with our old church, but something is missing. Is that Something or is it SOMEONE?? Hmmm, I wonder. I do not want to slander the denomination, because they as a church has been really really good to us over the years. Therefore, I will not mention that particular denomination. When it's Spirit led then what can you do right? At our old church, they cut out most of the outreach including the food bank due to budgetary constraints. That is something that grieves the Holy Spirit don't you think? I hope and pray that this changes there soon. They are now showing signs of a dying church and I don't think I can grow at a dying church.
At our old church, there was a farewell time of fellowship this past Sunday night for a couple of friends who are leaving and heading to the east coast. Their names are Todd and Natalie. They are a fabulous couple who are anointed by God, that is for certain. They have started and have run a compassionate ministry that counsels people probono. It has touched countless lives. She has the gift of music and encouragement. She can sing like an angel and has mentored and supported me since I have known her. And he is so super smart and hilarious! They are both so down to earth and humble. My husband and him have become almost best friends. He also recently became ordained. We had the privilege of being there for the ordination service. We are going to miss them terribly. Even our daughter will miss Pastor Todd as he always makes kids feel special. He's got that knack. We released Todd and Natalie to do what God has called them to do. It was really moving. We hate to see them go, but we have to obey the Holy Spirit. And besides, we will have somewhere to visit when we go on our road trip next summer. Bonus! God has some amazing plans for their lives and I am sure it will be awesome. I have no idea what that is, but it will be wonderful.
Another pastoral couple, Mark and Kathy have recently accepted a request to pastor a church in a town a couple of hours south of here. They are a young family with three young children. Mark and Kathy started a congregation 4 years ago and it has grown with the help of the Holy Spirit. But it hasn't been perfect. People get in the way of the Spirit and things start to go down hill. But they are happy and there is another couple taking over the congregation who seemed excited to be there. Mark and Kathy have some obstacles in their way, like getting a new home and making sure that their current home is taken care of. But it will work out. So we released them as well into their new pastoral position. Our former senior pastor was proud of them and their accomplishments and grateful to have mentored them. He brought us all to tears. We surrounded these two wonderful couples of GOD and prayed for them and released them from ministry at the church. They will be missed by many.
Romans 8:28 " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Friendship
I Samuel Chapter 18 1-4, tells us the story about the friendship between David and Jonathon. Bible Gateway.com is a wonderful resource that has all sorts of information that is Biblically related. Matthew Henry has this commentary about this relationship.
“The friendship of David and Jonathan was the effect of Divine grace, which produces in true believers one heart and one soul, and causes them to love each other. This union of souls is from partaking in the Spirit of Christ. Where God unites hearts, carnal matters are too weak to separate them. Those who love Christ as their own souls, will be willing to join themselves to him in an everlasting covenant. It was certainly a great proof of the power of God's grace in David, that he was able to bear all this respect and honor, without being lifted up above measure. (1Sam 18:6-11)”
Can you imagine having that kind of relationship with someone? You probably have had them in your lives. Me, not so much. Saul was Jonathon’s father who wanted to kill David but Jonathon looked past that fact and remained friends with David, and even went out to the desert to warn him of the men who were coming to get him. Wow! What a friend! Mr. Henry had it right for sure.
There are many, many stories of friendship throughout the Bible where it mentions friendships and how intrinsic they were to the believer’s lives. I can imagine during the three years of Jesus’ ministry on earth that the disciples and the women had amazing friendships with each other. That is a lot of time to spend together, day in and day out. Often, Jesus went to eat and drink with people and built relationships with others and made friends. And the disciples went along with Him. They all travelled together, ate together, sang together, worshipped together, worked together and I can almost feel the brotherly and sisterly love felt by all together. I can imagine the camaraderie shared by all. Most of the stories in the New Testament mentions them all being together, as far as I can tell anyway.
But there was no friendship like the one mentioned in John 19:25-27, which says, “While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus' mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.” To me that speaks volumes. Not only did Jesus look after Mary, who needed to be taken care of, but He chose John to do that for Him. Why did He pick John to do that for Him? In the Bible it says that John was part of Jesus’ innermost circle. He loved John. A lot. John must have been a pretty decent guy to have around. Jesus knew John well enough to know that he would be a good caregiver to her. But to call him to be her new “son”?? Wow, that is true trust and love between two people.
John 15:12-17 says this, “12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
God chose us to be His friends. He created us to be His friends, and to be friends with one another. As the saying goes, no man is an island. We were meant to be fellowshipping together on a regular basis. In the book of Acts, They had a prayer meeting for I am told it was days. They fellowshipped together, they grew in numbers daily and the Holy Spirit came upon them and 3000 people got baptized. Given the persecution they suffered at the time, I can imagine that it was a great place to be. A place of refuge, peace and excitement. Yeah they suffered but they had strength not only in their bonds with one another but because God gave them the faith and strength to persevere during the hard times. Now I am not saying that we should all give up our lives and become like some weird commune where we share everything like they did, but it sure gives an excellent example of true fellowship.
Ask yourself this. What kind of friend am I? Am I willing to be a friend no matter what? Do I reach out and just be there when a friend needs me? Am I a shoulder to cry on? Would I lay down my life for a friend of mine? Do I cheer when a friend of mine accomplishes something great in their life? Or does the green eyed monster get the better of me and resent them for being successful? Do I forgive when someone I love hurts me? Do I apologize and ask for forgiveness when I am the one doing the hurting? Ephesians 4:29 says, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
Do we do that for each other? I like to try and be an encouragement to each other because we have more than enough discouragement in the world. It doesn’t always work out that way because I’m human and mess up. I wonder what the result of us encouraging each other would be on this world. Instead of accusing, judging and being critical toward each other, and instead loved each other like Jesus commands us to do, would people want to be friends with us? Would they see something different in us and want that for their own lives? Think of the impact we could have on our community we could have. We are an example of Christ and I think Paul?? said it best when he said that he was an ambassador of Christ. When people see us and know we’re a Christian, they watch us all the more closely to see how we react to things and how we live our lives. That is I think a good starting ground in reaching the lost for the Lord. If they see an authentic real person who loves as the Bible says we should love; then it will make the Gospel even more appealing, don’t you think? All for the Glory of God.
“The friendship of David and Jonathan was the effect of Divine grace, which produces in true believers one heart and one soul, and causes them to love each other. This union of souls is from partaking in the Spirit of Christ. Where God unites hearts, carnal matters are too weak to separate them. Those who love Christ as their own souls, will be willing to join themselves to him in an everlasting covenant. It was certainly a great proof of the power of God's grace in David, that he was able to bear all this respect and honor, without being lifted up above measure. (1Sam 18:6-11)”
Can you imagine having that kind of relationship with someone? You probably have had them in your lives. Me, not so much. Saul was Jonathon’s father who wanted to kill David but Jonathon looked past that fact and remained friends with David, and even went out to the desert to warn him of the men who were coming to get him. Wow! What a friend! Mr. Henry had it right for sure.
There are many, many stories of friendship throughout the Bible where it mentions friendships and how intrinsic they were to the believer’s lives. I can imagine during the three years of Jesus’ ministry on earth that the disciples and the women had amazing friendships with each other. That is a lot of time to spend together, day in and day out. Often, Jesus went to eat and drink with people and built relationships with others and made friends. And the disciples went along with Him. They all travelled together, ate together, sang together, worshipped together, worked together and I can almost feel the brotherly and sisterly love felt by all together. I can imagine the camaraderie shared by all. Most of the stories in the New Testament mentions them all being together, as far as I can tell anyway.
But there was no friendship like the one mentioned in John 19:25-27, which says, “While the soldiers were looking after themselves, Jesus' mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing near her. He said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Then to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that moment the disciple accepted her as his own mother.” To me that speaks volumes. Not only did Jesus look after Mary, who needed to be taken care of, but He chose John to do that for Him. Why did He pick John to do that for Him? In the Bible it says that John was part of Jesus’ innermost circle. He loved John. A lot. John must have been a pretty decent guy to have around. Jesus knew John well enough to know that he would be a good caregiver to her. But to call him to be her new “son”?? Wow, that is true trust and love between two people.
John 15:12-17 says this, “12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
God chose us to be His friends. He created us to be His friends, and to be friends with one another. As the saying goes, no man is an island. We were meant to be fellowshipping together on a regular basis. In the book of Acts, They had a prayer meeting for I am told it was days. They fellowshipped together, they grew in numbers daily and the Holy Spirit came upon them and 3000 people got baptized. Given the persecution they suffered at the time, I can imagine that it was a great place to be. A place of refuge, peace and excitement. Yeah they suffered but they had strength not only in their bonds with one another but because God gave them the faith and strength to persevere during the hard times. Now I am not saying that we should all give up our lives and become like some weird commune where we share everything like they did, but it sure gives an excellent example of true fellowship.
Ask yourself this. What kind of friend am I? Am I willing to be a friend no matter what? Do I reach out and just be there when a friend needs me? Am I a shoulder to cry on? Would I lay down my life for a friend of mine? Do I cheer when a friend of mine accomplishes something great in their life? Or does the green eyed monster get the better of me and resent them for being successful? Do I forgive when someone I love hurts me? Do I apologize and ask for forgiveness when I am the one doing the hurting? Ephesians 4:29 says, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
Do we do that for each other? I like to try and be an encouragement to each other because we have more than enough discouragement in the world. It doesn’t always work out that way because I’m human and mess up. I wonder what the result of us encouraging each other would be on this world. Instead of accusing, judging and being critical toward each other, and instead loved each other like Jesus commands us to do, would people want to be friends with us? Would they see something different in us and want that for their own lives? Think of the impact we could have on our community we could have. We are an example of Christ and I think Paul?? said it best when he said that he was an ambassador of Christ. When people see us and know we’re a Christian, they watch us all the more closely to see how we react to things and how we live our lives. That is I think a good starting ground in reaching the lost for the Lord. If they see an authentic real person who loves as the Bible says we should love; then it will make the Gospel even more appealing, don’t you think? All for the Glory of God.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Women at the well
Good morning, all. I am watching 100 Huntley Street, a ministry of Crossroads Ministries and they are talking about northern Uganda in Africa and the work they are doing there and what is needed. This week, they have focused on different areas of ministry that have helped families become self sustainable, or well on their way. Today's focus is on water. I saw a report that showed women walking 4-6 km each way to go and bring polluted water to boil and give to their children. This obviously takes a long time to do that, apparently takes about 3.5 hours. Not only do the women, but normally young girls do this as one of their chores. Because the girls do this, they are unable to go to school, thereby continuing the cycle of poverty for everyone. The report was followed by a discussion by the people involved in the missions program. The wells were either destroyed by the LRA, the so called "Lord's resistance army", on purpose mind you, or from being abandoned for many years.
As a wife and mother, I cannot imagine having to do that everyday with my beautiful daughter, because I have no choice. Not only going there and bringing large containers of water on my head to keep my family alive. But bringing polluted water which makes us all sick. I know what its like to be slightly dehydrated from having bronchitis last December. I had no energy and was light headed. And I have all the resources here in Canada. I cannot imagine being much sicker than that and having no other choice but to do that daily. So it gets me thinking, what can I do to help with that? Each well to be repaired costs about 25oo dollars and it sustains from 1500-2500 people and it impacts the community exponentially. Just think of it, give a mom more freedom to do other things, and can actually send her daughter to school for the first time, and have energy and strength and health. Then they can farm or have a small business that will give the family a good income that will change their lives. Wow! How empowering would that be for a woman in need. An idea came to me that I should raise the money to donate to them. How that will happen I have no idea at this point, but I believe that one person can make a difference. If it is led by Jesus, then it will succeed. It says in Psalm 37:3-4, "Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. (4) Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (NLT) Wow, powerful stuff there. On so many levels.
It goes on to say in vs 5, "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and He will help you." Whew, goosebumps here.
Will you help me as I go along this journey? I would really appreciate the prayers and support. With everything else going on, homeschooling, business and normal stuff that a family goes through, I'm not sure if I can do it all. But I do want to do something. Something for my fellow man that will glorify God. Thanks for being my friend. Until next time, God bless and take care.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Hello again!
Hey all. Sorry its been so long since my last post. Frankly, I have let fear get the better of me. I have been sort of busy the past little while and well struggling with what to write. I promise to be more diligent with keeping the posts current. Please forgive me.
Things have changed around here somewhat. I am now a SAHM (stay at home mom, just in case you didnt know what the acronym stood for) and loving it. (Well most days.)
My husband and I have decided that since we have such a great need to fill, especially in these tough times, that it would make more sense to give our business a real shot in the arm and run with it. At one point in the spring, I had two part time jobs which were good for the most part. I still wanted to be at home, but since being laid off in January at my last full time job my income has gone down considerably. So, we needed to have an extra income. Anyway, I will be the administrator for the business and we have an actual name now! Yey! It's called Blessed Financial and I am so proud of my honey. He is really focusing and making plans and I think there will be no need to have me work out of the home anymore. That will be so nice.
Since I am staying at home now, we have decided to home school our daughter. She is currently in the local Catholic school system and its a good school with great staff from what we have seen. Madison however is not happy with the lifestyle we led last year. Obviously, she has never said that in so many words. But the attitude we've seen from her is enough to make us want to rethink our decision. We, rather I looked into it first when she was a toddler and liked the idea. However you may think of it, is ok with me. We never got serious about it but researched on the internet and subscribed to a provincial home schooling magazine but that was about it. Then when she was getting closer to becoming school age we really needed me to get a full time job outside of the home. So, we put her into a Catholic french immersion program and it took some adjustments on all our parts that first year.
The past year, it was brutal. My husband took a part time job that started really early in the morning and we got bright and early and got her ready to go to the daycare at 6:30 am, where they'd drop her off at school at about 8:30. She hated that with a passion. We decided to change her program from French immersion to an English program that seemed to be a little better. Although she didnt seem to have as many friends as before. Sad little thing. Plus, she has had some health issues as of late and think that it would help with her functioning properly. More on that at another time. So now its summer. Hallelujah on that! Will has been hinting that maybe we should take another look at it and go from there.
He even went and picked up some textbooks and supplies from a family that didnt need them anymore. So that was a blessing for sure. Since that spark of enthusiasm came into the house, I have been doing lots of research. Thankfully, the lady had some books for the parent to read and one of them is about a pioneer called Charlotte Mason who has an interesting and surprisingly similar approach to what I would do as a homeschooler. (Look her up on Google and you'll find a bunch of stuff about her. )Not sure about it yet. I would like to use what we were given. There are lots of textbooks from geography and science, history, language arts and arts. I have also learned about unit studies and what that entails. Now THAT I would sink my teeth into! It takes the idea that learning should be fun. You pick a subject matter that is interesting to you and your child and study it from a wholistic point of view. For example, lets say that you want to study horses. You would look at the anatomy of a horse, which would be the science portion. Then you go horseback riding, that would be phys ed. Then you would study the different breeds and where they come from and how that place uses them or used them in the past. Geography and history and or culture. Get my point? Interesting right? Then the child writes an essay on what they've learned or something along those lines. Or draws a picture of the horse. It seems easy enough to do. Just wondering of course now how to incorporate the schedule, prep, planning and which school board we are going to register with. We are going to a park here to meet some local home schoolers and hopefully get guidance there too. I have so many questions! (Hope I don't bore them or make them run away!)
But then my human fleshy side starts to kick in. How in the world am I going to accomplish all that this will require of me? I will be taking care of my family, a house full of chores, budgeting, a business, and homeschooling too? Yikes. Thats enough to make me want to hide under the covers and not come up for air in days because of being so overwhelmed! I will be ok I think because it seems Holy Spirit led and where He guides, He provides.
Things have changed around here somewhat. I am now a SAHM (stay at home mom, just in case you didnt know what the acronym stood for) and loving it. (Well most days.)
My husband and I have decided that since we have such a great need to fill, especially in these tough times, that it would make more sense to give our business a real shot in the arm and run with it. At one point in the spring, I had two part time jobs which were good for the most part. I still wanted to be at home, but since being laid off in January at my last full time job my income has gone down considerably. So, we needed to have an extra income. Anyway, I will be the administrator for the business and we have an actual name now! Yey! It's called Blessed Financial and I am so proud of my honey. He is really focusing and making plans and I think there will be no need to have me work out of the home anymore. That will be so nice.
Since I am staying at home now, we have decided to home school our daughter. She is currently in the local Catholic school system and its a good school with great staff from what we have seen. Madison however is not happy with the lifestyle we led last year. Obviously, she has never said that in so many words. But the attitude we've seen from her is enough to make us want to rethink our decision. We, rather I looked into it first when she was a toddler and liked the idea. However you may think of it, is ok with me. We never got serious about it but researched on the internet and subscribed to a provincial home schooling magazine but that was about it. Then when she was getting closer to becoming school age we really needed me to get a full time job outside of the home. So, we put her into a Catholic french immersion program and it took some adjustments on all our parts that first year.
The past year, it was brutal. My husband took a part time job that started really early in the morning and we got bright and early and got her ready to go to the daycare at 6:30 am, where they'd drop her off at school at about 8:30. She hated that with a passion. We decided to change her program from French immersion to an English program that seemed to be a little better. Although she didnt seem to have as many friends as before. Sad little thing. Plus, she has had some health issues as of late and think that it would help with her functioning properly. More on that at another time. So now its summer. Hallelujah on that! Will has been hinting that maybe we should take another look at it and go from there.
He even went and picked up some textbooks and supplies from a family that didnt need them anymore. So that was a blessing for sure. Since that spark of enthusiasm came into the house, I have been doing lots of research. Thankfully, the lady had some books for the parent to read and one of them is about a pioneer called Charlotte Mason who has an interesting and surprisingly similar approach to what I would do as a homeschooler. (Look her up on Google and you'll find a bunch of stuff about her. )Not sure about it yet. I would like to use what we were given. There are lots of textbooks from geography and science, history, language arts and arts. I have also learned about unit studies and what that entails. Now THAT I would sink my teeth into! It takes the idea that learning should be fun. You pick a subject matter that is interesting to you and your child and study it from a wholistic point of view. For example, lets say that you want to study horses. You would look at the anatomy of a horse, which would be the science portion. Then you go horseback riding, that would be phys ed. Then you would study the different breeds and where they come from and how that place uses them or used them in the past. Geography and history and or culture. Get my point? Interesting right? Then the child writes an essay on what they've learned or something along those lines. Or draws a picture of the horse. It seems easy enough to do. Just wondering of course now how to incorporate the schedule, prep, planning and which school board we are going to register with. We are going to a park here to meet some local home schoolers and hopefully get guidance there too. I have so many questions! (Hope I don't bore them or make them run away!)
But then my human fleshy side starts to kick in. How in the world am I going to accomplish all that this will require of me? I will be taking care of my family, a house full of chores, budgeting, a business, and homeschooling too? Yikes. Thats enough to make me want to hide under the covers and not come up for air in days because of being so overwhelmed! I will be ok I think because it seems Holy Spirit led and where He guides, He provides.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
My testimony
I was born in a small fishing village in Newfoundland into a large family. I am the youngest of 11 children. I have 4 sisters and 6 brothers. My dad worked on a fishing boat as an engineer My dad was an abusive alcoholic, and when I was 2 or 3 years old, my mother had decided to leave Dad and took myself and two of my older siblings with her. We moved to a neighboring town and lived there for 6 months I am told. Then we moved to another town and stayed in that town for 13 awful years. Because mom was not educated, or had any employable skills, we relied on social assistance to keep us alive. It was really hard and I don't know how Mom did it, with no help. She was rejected by many people who blamed her for the breakup of the home. At this new town, I was an easy target for bullying. I would start to cry if the wind changed. In grade 6 a lot of kids started to call me a name that I will not disclose at this time. I distinctly remember it being at recess time that they first called me by that name. So, as you can probably guess by now, my self image was all messed up. I was fearful of walking down the street for fear of who might be there waiting to pick a fight with me. I got rocks and eggs thrown at me, people would not even sit on the bus for fear of being contaminated by me, thrown down flights of stairs and just about no one wanted to be friends with me. I got depressed often and had nowhere to turn.
My mother showed me love in her own way, but it never got through to me. She thought that taking me everywhere would prove that she loved me. But I didn't feel that loved. And my dad never came to see me, sent cards or called me. My other friends had dads in their lives and I missed that very much.
I spent alot of time alone in my room because the kids in the neighborhood bullied me and I often walked home as quietly and quickly as I could for fear that one of them would beat me up. At age 13 I decided that in order to fit in and make friends was to get a boyfriend and be a wild party girl. Maybe then, I would finally be accepted. Hang out with the cool kids and life would be better. Maybe. It worked for a while, even to the point that at the age of 15, I had a real boyfriend and we would hang out with each other and sometimes a group of us would party together. And then we moved again. This time it was out of province to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I was back to being alone. But there was no bullying, so it wasn't so bad. I could handle being alone, I thought. My older brother had moved out of the house at that point and so it was just me and mom. I could walk down the street and not fear anything. Finally relief. Like a typical teen, I wanted to have fun. I had several so called boyfriends there who were much older than I was. I started going to the clubs and thought it was so cool. I lived there for 2 years and found some friends who liked to do the same things I did. At 17, I had figured it was time to get out from living with my mother and make it on my own. I'd almost finished school, but had enough of the fighting with mom. My brother had offered to have me come share an apartment with him in Newfoundland, so thats what I did. I moved in with him in the following August and got some part time jobs at various retail places.
Fast forward to 8 years and God was really starting to call out to me. He wanted me to come to Him, but I felt really unworthy to come to Him. I had enough of the party girl lifestyle and wasnt happy at all. I had made some drinking buddies and had gone to university and learned about all these interesting things. But I still felt unloved and desperately wanted to be accepted and loved. I'd had two live in boyfriends and they could not love me like I needed and wanted to be loved. A friend of a friend had become one of my friends. She was a single mother pregnant with twins. She loved me and accepted me and showed me that being a Christian was fun. I had gone to Anglican churches and United church and it was nice sometimes and I really felt God's presence at times. But it had never been fun. She invited me to her church and I don't remember anything the pastor preached. I cried almost the whole time. I gave my heart to Jesus to be my Lord the following week. A lady there wrapped her arms around me and told me that no matter what I felt about myself, He loved me no matter what. I have been a Christian now for 11 years now and have been so blessed. I am very thankful for all that God has brought into my life and for giving me that love that I desperately wanted and searched for all my life. I will never go back to that old life.
My mother showed me love in her own way, but it never got through to me. She thought that taking me everywhere would prove that she loved me. But I didn't feel that loved. And my dad never came to see me, sent cards or called me. My other friends had dads in their lives and I missed that very much.
I spent alot of time alone in my room because the kids in the neighborhood bullied me and I often walked home as quietly and quickly as I could for fear that one of them would beat me up. At age 13 I decided that in order to fit in and make friends was to get a boyfriend and be a wild party girl. Maybe then, I would finally be accepted. Hang out with the cool kids and life would be better. Maybe. It worked for a while, even to the point that at the age of 15, I had a real boyfriend and we would hang out with each other and sometimes a group of us would party together. And then we moved again. This time it was out of province to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I was back to being alone. But there was no bullying, so it wasn't so bad. I could handle being alone, I thought. My older brother had moved out of the house at that point and so it was just me and mom. I could walk down the street and not fear anything. Finally relief. Like a typical teen, I wanted to have fun. I had several so called boyfriends there who were much older than I was. I started going to the clubs and thought it was so cool. I lived there for 2 years and found some friends who liked to do the same things I did. At 17, I had figured it was time to get out from living with my mother and make it on my own. I'd almost finished school, but had enough of the fighting with mom. My brother had offered to have me come share an apartment with him in Newfoundland, so thats what I did. I moved in with him in the following August and got some part time jobs at various retail places.
Fast forward to 8 years and God was really starting to call out to me. He wanted me to come to Him, but I felt really unworthy to come to Him. I had enough of the party girl lifestyle and wasnt happy at all. I had made some drinking buddies and had gone to university and learned about all these interesting things. But I still felt unloved and desperately wanted to be accepted and loved. I'd had two live in boyfriends and they could not love me like I needed and wanted to be loved. A friend of a friend had become one of my friends. She was a single mother pregnant with twins. She loved me and accepted me and showed me that being a Christian was fun. I had gone to Anglican churches and United church and it was nice sometimes and I really felt God's presence at times. But it had never been fun. She invited me to her church and I don't remember anything the pastor preached. I cried almost the whole time. I gave my heart to Jesus to be my Lord the following week. A lady there wrapped her arms around me and told me that no matter what I felt about myself, He loved me no matter what. I have been a Christian now for 11 years now and have been so blessed. I am very thankful for all that God has brought into my life and for giving me that love that I desperately wanted and searched for all my life. I will never go back to that old life.
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