I am attempting to get an idea from my blog readers, friends and family if you are at all interested in reading my review of the Twilight saga.
Please vote on the poll at my site:
Greatly Appreciate it!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Gaining Sanctification
So I have a question....is surviving a Canadian Winter enough to gain sanctification?
Probably not, but it sure does give me a whole lot to offer up when I have to walk through inches of snow, sleet and ice, and somehow manage to keep my head afloat and avoid falling flat on my r...
So why write about it. Well, as I started my trek through the snow, ice and the -20 C temperature this afternoon, I am dreaming about how nice it would be to have a second car I could be sitting in a nice, warm car, and picking up my boys from school in this nice, warm car, as well.
What do you think were the first words from my younger son’s mouth when he saw me? “Are we walking?” He lets out a loud sigh, when I respond with a resounding “YES!”
As we are walking, I try to keep our minds off the chilling wind on our faces, by engaging him in conversation about warmer things...I began to sing the jingle from the Polar Express...”Hot, Hot, Hot, Hot Chocolate...” which brings a smile to his face, albeit temporary.
As we are trying to avoid slipping on the patches of ice on the sidewalk, we take to walking on the snow covered boulevards, which is a more adventurous path for the boys anyway, and if they fall, well it’s part of the fun, so much so, at times I think they dived into the snow, purposefully.
As my older son is also resisting the temptation to complain about having to walk, he is reminded (by me of course) to “offer it up” and then I think, is this walk in the freezing cold weather, a way for us to gain our sanctification really?
It is such a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things, but it is a sacrifice none the less. We take consolation in the fact that after our 20 – 30 minute walk, there was a warm, cozy home waiting for us, where we enjoy all the comforts of home, including of course, a rich, hot chocolate drink.
It got me thinking about all those, who are out in this freezing cold weather, with no warm, cozy home to go to, and then I remember that no matter how hard I think I have it, there is always something I can give, to help someone else who has less. I know I have an extra blanket, coat or sleeping bag, somewhere in this house.
It also brought to mind, how reflective this walk in the cold, is to our journey on this earth. For the most part it is filled with sacrifices and trials; we too can take consolation in knowing that our warm, cozy, love filled home is waiting for us. Our destination is heaven, our journey is long and arduous though along the way, as we try to make the best of it, we have those moments of joy and happiness, even if they are only temporary.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Part II: Why Do You Pray?
Part II: Why Do You Pray
Certainly to acknowledge the purpose and need for prayer we are recognizing that our faith is a supernatural faith. God is an invisible reality. However, many of us at some time or another have fallen into the notion that God is a distant God; believing that he is looking down on us from heaven with scorn and condemnation, so we are afraid to pray. If you can relate to this, I implore you to watch Rob Bell’s Video: LUMP which is linked on my blog.
We must come to a place where we understand God is a personal God – that Christ is a person who is alive and with us all the time as he promised.
When we reflect on the gospels one that comes to my mind very often is the time when Jesus healed the young boy who was tormented by an unclean spirit. When the father of this young boy approaches Jesus it is clear that his faith was not very strong. On some level he understood that Christ had the capacity or ability to cure his son, but his request is worded as “if you can do anything to help him” Christ’s response to this man, could be very similar to what he says to us many times in prayer. When we pray for something, with little faith and he must be thinking “If I can? Certainly, I can.” Therefore, we must approach prayer like this father approaches Christ: “I do believe, help my unbelief.” Mark 9: 20-29
Certainly to acknowledge the purpose and need for prayer we are recognizing that our faith is a supernatural faith. God is an invisible reality. However, many of us at some time or another have fallen into the notion that God is a distant God; believing that he is looking down on us from heaven with scorn and condemnation, so we are afraid to pray. If you can relate to this, I implore you to watch Rob Bell’s Video: LUMP which is linked on my blog.
We must come to a place where we understand God is a personal God – that Christ is a person who is alive and with us all the time as he promised.
When we reflect on the gospels one that comes to my mind very often is the time when Jesus healed the young boy who was tormented by an unclean spirit. When the father of this young boy approaches Jesus it is clear that his faith was not very strong. On some level he understood that Christ had the capacity or ability to cure his son, but his request is worded as “if you can do anything to help him” Christ’s response to this man, could be very similar to what he says to us many times in prayer. When we pray for something, with little faith and he must be thinking “If I can? Certainly, I can.” Therefore, we must approach prayer like this father approaches Christ: “I do believe, help my unbelief.” Mark 9: 20-29
Monday, November 23, 2009
Part I: Why Do You Pray?
Why do you pray?
Part I
Can you answer that or does this question stump you?
I think awhile ago I would have been stumped by this question. My response might have been something like: “I pray because it helps me through difficult times, to remember that I am not alone, or in control.” In itself I don’t know that this response is incorrect or unreasonable, however there is much more to the reason we pray then just petition and consolation, I hope.
I will be responding to this question in a series of blog posts, otherwise I fear this post would be too long.
First of all, what is prayer?
Prayer is when we turn our heart and mind to God. When we address God and give Him praise, thanksgiving; we ask for help and ask for His mercy in our failings.
If you are reading this, then it is safe for me to assume that you agree that we are all on a journey, while we may be at different stages of our earthly and spiritual journey, the fact is we are all on a journey.
Now I take this a step further, we know God is the supreme creator of the whole universe, and we as human beings are His most prized creation, as we were made in His image and likeness. We also know that we were initially made to live with Him in paradise; because of sin we have been separated from Him.
Being separated from Him doesn’t change the fact that we are all physical and spiritual beings. We were made for heaven; we were made to live outside of time, therefore when we pray it’s like calling home.
Prayer essentially is a gift that God has given to us, even though we were forced to leave paradise because of sin, He invites us to call “home” often in order to connect with Him.
Christ is a prime example of this; He left paradise to come to Earth, and He took on a human body, while he walked among us his apostles found him rising early to pray; before he made any major decisions, he would pray, when he lost his cousin, John the Baptist, he wanted to go off to pray. If Christ, who would have been very close to His father needed to pray so often, how much more often to we need to pray?
Part I
Can you answer that or does this question stump you?
I think awhile ago I would have been stumped by this question. My response might have been something like: “I pray because it helps me through difficult times, to remember that I am not alone, or in control.” In itself I don’t know that this response is incorrect or unreasonable, however there is much more to the reason we pray then just petition and consolation, I hope.
I will be responding to this question in a series of blog posts, otherwise I fear this post would be too long.
First of all, what is prayer?
Prayer is when we turn our heart and mind to God. When we address God and give Him praise, thanksgiving; we ask for help and ask for His mercy in our failings.
If you are reading this, then it is safe for me to assume that you agree that we are all on a journey, while we may be at different stages of our earthly and spiritual journey, the fact is we are all on a journey.
Now I take this a step further, we know God is the supreme creator of the whole universe, and we as human beings are His most prized creation, as we were made in His image and likeness. We also know that we were initially made to live with Him in paradise; because of sin we have been separated from Him.
Being separated from Him doesn’t change the fact that we are all physical and spiritual beings. We were made for heaven; we were made to live outside of time, therefore when we pray it’s like calling home.
Prayer essentially is a gift that God has given to us, even though we were forced to leave paradise because of sin, He invites us to call “home” often in order to connect with Him.
Christ is a prime example of this; He left paradise to come to Earth, and He took on a human body, while he walked among us his apostles found him rising early to pray; before he made any major decisions, he would pray, when he lost his cousin, John the Baptist, he wanted to go off to pray. If Christ, who would have been very close to His father needed to pray so often, how much more often to we need to pray?
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Christ: DO YOU TRUST ME?
This past month we found ourselves without regular access to our computer, internet or e-mail. Anyone who knows our family is well aware that we rely greatly on our computer. We have no cable and the work we do for the non-profit organization and our work as Marriage Preparation course instructors, relies greatly on what we can do with our computer. At first I was a miss as to why God would allow this to happen at the busiest time of year for us.
Then I sought this as an opportunity for a much welcomed break! I felt like I was on retreat, with radio, telephone and social outings being our only link to the outside world, all of a sudden I was overwhelmed with extra time for prayer and reading.
So what was the problem?
We soon realized our computer was not worth fixing and we would “need” to purchase a new one! Well, our financial situation has drastically decreased since I have responded to God’s call to be home for my family. So, there was that question again...Why did God allow this to happen when we are already stretched out financially?
Truth is I still don’t know why. However, not having a computer quickly became an impediment and not a needed break from doing God’s work.
Though having to “give in” to the unexpected, extra expense of purchasing a computer has made me reflect on those families who are in a similar financial crisis this time of year, but who did not freely choose to walk away from the security of their pay checks.
My heart goes out to you.
While some may see my situation as completely different, I am not so sure it is much different. I responded to God’s call by freely choosing to say “YES” first and then resigning. Perhaps, the loss of the job was not freely chosen for others, but for some reason God has allowed it to happen, and He may still be waiting for your “YES”.
He is waiting for our YES to His question: Do you trust me? It’s so difficult to give him our “yes” isn’t it? Even though I gave it to him when I walked away from my job a few months ago, I find myself having to say “yes” everyday, when I am reminded of the sacrifices we have to make as a family, or that I have to make personally.
I found peace in saying “YES” even through the sacrifices; I am constantly reassured at least on an intellectual and spiritual level, that God is looking out for me and my family, and we have all we need for today; tomorrow will be taken care of as well.
I have spoken to many others who are still looking for this peace in the midst of their confusing time of job loss and I want to say to you: What if you haven’t found peace because you are refusing to say “YES” to Christ. Trust him, if it’s difficult for you...tell Him so; He wants to be your friend, your confidant; He wants you to share your burdens and your tears with Him.
Then I sought this as an opportunity for a much welcomed break! I felt like I was on retreat, with radio, telephone and social outings being our only link to the outside world, all of a sudden I was overwhelmed with extra time for prayer and reading.
So what was the problem?
We soon realized our computer was not worth fixing and we would “need” to purchase a new one! Well, our financial situation has drastically decreased since I have responded to God’s call to be home for my family. So, there was that question again...Why did God allow this to happen when we are already stretched out financially?
Truth is I still don’t know why. However, not having a computer quickly became an impediment and not a needed break from doing God’s work.
Though having to “give in” to the unexpected, extra expense of purchasing a computer has made me reflect on those families who are in a similar financial crisis this time of year, but who did not freely choose to walk away from the security of their pay checks.
My heart goes out to you.
While some may see my situation as completely different, I am not so sure it is much different. I responded to God’s call by freely choosing to say “YES” first and then resigning. Perhaps, the loss of the job was not freely chosen for others, but for some reason God has allowed it to happen, and He may still be waiting for your “YES”.
He is waiting for our YES to His question: Do you trust me? It’s so difficult to give him our “yes” isn’t it? Even though I gave it to him when I walked away from my job a few months ago, I find myself having to say “yes” everyday, when I am reminded of the sacrifices we have to make as a family, or that I have to make personally.
I found peace in saying “YES” even through the sacrifices; I am constantly reassured at least on an intellectual and spiritual level, that God is looking out for me and my family, and we have all we need for today; tomorrow will be taken care of as well.
I have spoken to many others who are still looking for this peace in the midst of their confusing time of job loss and I want to say to you: What if you haven’t found peace because you are refusing to say “YES” to Christ. Trust him, if it’s difficult for you...tell Him so; He wants to be your friend, your confidant; He wants you to share your burdens and your tears with Him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)