Funny how He teaches us...

So I've been reading this book called Lady In Waiting (Thanks Penni!), about becoming a woman of God whilst waiting for the guy God has waiting for you. One of the sections I just read got me thinking about some of my insecurities and shortcommings, and a chat I had with one of my pastors before coming back from Scotland. We'd been talking about what I had done and wanted to do in the ministry during my time there and I had told her that I had lots of ideas, but didn't feel confident or equipped to actually do something with them. I've been very aware of my need to feel in control these past few months and tonight God dropped it on me that while I may feel ill-equipped to go back to Scotland to raise up a team of youth to keep things growing after I'm gone- god has already prepared, and is continuing to prepare them to rise up. It's not up to me to manage events and pull kids into the church and throw them into leadership, it's about asking God to bring them in and use me to pull out the giftings that He's already put in them. Well if that isn't a load off my shoulders I don't know what would be.

He promises to be faithful, and while I'm sitting here bemoaning beng single and not knowing how to be effective in the things He's leading me into, He's showing me things that I didn't even know I didn't know (yes that really does make sense :) funny the things He uses to teach us hey?

Life Combo #1

So last week I spent 5 days in Vancouver- I had to go back and collect all my belongings from the place I'd been living in. You would not believe the amount of stuff I had crammed into a 200 sq/ft bedroom- A single bed, desl, 2 good sized dressers, 2 chairs 3 bags of costumes, a garbage bag full of shoes, 2 shelves of books- school related and otherwise... The hard part wasn't loading it all up though, physically speaking it just took a little patience. It did get me thinking about my life though, and I ended up feeling like I had a bit of a double identity- 2 lives if you will, one in Van with all mt classmates and church friends and the other life that I've had here in Drayton for nearly 15 years. Saying bye to everyone in Vancouver was strange, I think mostly because I couldn't tell them if I'd ever see them again- likely There are many of them that I never will. There are certainly parts of that city that I'm going to miss.

Arriving home I started unloading all of my extra furniture into a shed at my dads farm, and a comment was made, lightheartedly enough, about how I was running out of room in the storage space I have there. I got to thinking looking at all my stuff about how fractured my life seems to be sometimes in the physical world- I have a life in Drayton, my life on the farm, have(had?) a life in Vancouver, and now I'm heading to Scotland to start something new there... I feel a bit like I've left pieces of me all over the place but in actuality those places people and experiences have created the me that I take on to the next location. I think the key is appreciating wherever you are and whoever your with while your there- life changes and you can't always take everything with you.

In all this I've been thinking about what home really means- how is it definedon a general or personal level? I was talking with a friend I met in Vancouver who's having a bit of her own location identity crisis- and I came to the conclusion that "home" is wherever you want to be the most, but also the place you can always go back to and feel safe and secure. It seems to me to be more than a location though- not just a house or a neighbourhood but the people and memories that go along with that place.

So much on the brain and so little time to write, I guess we'll see what living on the other side of the ocean does for me and I'll get back to you all.

Be Blessed

Seeing God in the Secular

So I've been watching this show called The Vampire Diaries, and while it involves secular components that I would normally avoid, it's really got me thinking about how God uses whatever we expose ourselves to to show Himself to us. This show has got me thinking about all the fanatacism of vampires in the past year and I started wondering ehat it was that people were drawn to.

I came to the conclusion that it was the idea of immortality that was most appealing (aside from physicall attractive actors and romantic plots that girls around the world connect to). I started contrasting what secular audiences found so appealing: physical immortality, the opportunity to have undying "love", a bit of adventure and exploring the unknown, and realized that really all these things are ultimately found in Christ. He offers spiritual immortality (which in my opinion makes a far stronger case than living in the same body forever, I tend to think I'd get kind of bored, wouldn't you?), He's also the ultimate lover, He loves you so much that he gave his own life in exchange for yours, and then unlike a vampire which can supposedly overcome death (though fire and a wooden stake through the chest tends to put an end to that discussion) he rose again from the dead and is now very much alive and able to pour out all the love you could ever need. And even a Christian won't deny that Christianity can be an adventure everyday. Now maybe it's not like the whirlwind action romances we see on T.V., but the way I see it the end result of believing in Christ and seeking out a personal relationship with Him is a whole lot better than spending eternity in an immortal body on an earth that's going to end eventually anyways. I'll keep my soul thanks.

Blessings, M

There's a first time for everything

and I thought this might be a good time to start a blog. In actuality in might be a bit late, seeing as I've already flown through my first year of university and never got around to setting this up so I could share it with you all, but it's better late than never right?