Friday 30 May 2008

Capturing Summer Greens


What better thing to do on a lazy summer evening than go on a personal photo shoot and see how many different crazy things you can come up with with just yourself and a camera. Most fun I've had all day and you're all thinking I need to get a life. We have some gorgeous maples on our yard that just get bigger every year.

So, now all of you who would like to put a face to the name...there it is.


Wow, uploading pictures takes long. And it doesn't help that accidentally keep deleting them but there's a few. Sorry, I ended up deleting more.
Well, maybe I can post some photos again sometime. I just used my brother's camera...something I would like to invest in sometime. I could really enjoy photography.

God bless you all.

A Little Bit of Everything

So, I'm supposed to be leaving for China on Sunday. *gasps, What?!!!* That's a great reaction. But no, I had a dream this week that I was flying out to China this Sunday and I was going to be doing some work there for a month. Of course, everyone thought I was crazy. I had a dream last night that I broke my bottom retainer and I nearly did this morning. I accidentally tried putting it in upside down and bit down on it really hard. (Don't try that...I doesn't work.) But anyway, I feel like I'm at a point in my life where God has something big right in front of me, I just don't see it yet. I see myself out in the mission field someday, but not right now. I'm content doing what I do right now, and yet eager to move on. I was reading in Matthew this morning and I noticed that Joseph always stayed where He was until God showed him otherwise. He stayed with Mary and Jesus in Bethlehem until he was told to flee to Egypt, then Israel, and later they settled in Galilee. So I shall stay right where I am until God shows me otherwise.

Last night at gym night, some of us girls played soccer and was that ever an interesting affair. I hadn't played since the Wissmanns were at our church last year and it felt like we were just running around in circles until a couple of guys came in to help us. And just to clarify their error we are Lighthouse Gospel Church.

I read 1 Kings 10 awhile back and have gone back to it a few times, so I thought maybe it was time to post about it. But first, in chapter 3, God speaks to Solomon in a dream allowing him to ask for whatever he wants and he chooses wisdom. Then God says, read I Kings 3:11-14. Notice that God does not say I will give thee but rather "I have given thee." At this point I'm going to ignore that Solomon had 700 wives and princesses and 300 concubines because that just scares me, not to mention that they turned away his heart. Now, in chapter 10, the queen of Sheba comes to visit Solomon. She's heard all kinds of things about his wisdom and riches and can't believe it's true so she has to go see for herself. Then she says in verses 6 and 7:

"And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard."

Can people say this about us and our character? Do we hold such a testimony that people don't believe others when they talk about us? Do they have to come to us and see for themselves and only find that we are much greater than of what they heard? I think you'll all agree that you are by no means that kind of person but you can strive to be. It may not be fame of riches and wisdom, but simply godly character and a heart that loves Jesus. I liked how in Do Hard Things, Alex and Brett talked about being known more for what you do do than for what you don't do. What kind of impression do others have of you?

Enough rambling for today...Seek Jesus and Him alone.

Wednesday 28 May 2008

Do You Measure Up?

So, I just read Proverbs 31 again...the chapter I think all young women got to to see if they "measure up" and lets just say I have a long way to go. Guys, this post probably won't help you much but if I could say one thing, it would be raise your expectations. I can 99.9% guarantee you that the woman of your dreams won't be perfect and I know 100% that the man of mine won't be, but don't settle for just anything. But anyway, reading this chapter I came up with a few points.

A virtuous woman is:
  • Precious; "her price is far above rubies"
  • Honoured and can be trusted; "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her" and "strength and honour are her clothing"
  • Works hard; "She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens...her candle goeth not out by night...She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." and many verses in between.
  • Strong; "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms."
  • Loving and wise; "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy...She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness."
  • Loves God more than anything; "Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised."
In that, I could have given you the whole chapter but you can read it yourself. I could have gone into modesty as well but I didn't; read 1 and 2 Timothy or anything that talks about women or youth in general; study godly women of the Bible and in history. You might say, "Well, I'm only 16, I've a few years to go." But I would encourage you now to become that woman worth waiting for and remember that we are now the bride of Christ. We belong to Him now and that should make us strive for this all the more; to develop a meek and quiet spirit and to serve God with our whole hearts. I myself am only in the tiny baby steps toward what this chapter describes, but it is a work that is never done.

God bless each one of you as you continue to grow and seek His face.

Tuesday 27 May 2008

After Nearly Three Years...

...Since I got my expander, my braces came off today and now I'm trying to learn how to talk with a retainer. I got my bands off last month so taking my brackets off today took like a minute... and then it felt like I had no teeth. Then they spent about half an hour polishing and cleaning in which in part of that time water was spraying all over my face. Then switching rooms and getting photos and impressions done again...But it's pretty exciting. Now comes taking care of my retainer to avoid more bills.

If there's anybody reading my blog now who's dragging through the pain and self-denial of orthodontics (all the good food I mean), it's worth the wait. Just don't break anything (although I did that too many times to count) and you're good to go. It almost feels weird not always having to be careful what you eat.

God be with you all.

Monday 26 May 2008

The Lord is Good!

Well the Lord has been pruning, chastising, and pretty well cleaning up a lot of junk in my life. It's not easy but I praise God for the work He's doing in my life. I really don't know exactly how to describe it but I know that if I will seek God, I will find Him. He's opening and closing doors. . . Why I'm not really sure. Maybe He just wants to know whether I'm willing to be obedient. Just a few verses that I'm trying to apply to my life:

Proverbs 27:12
A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself, but the simple pass in, and are punished.

Proverbs 28:26
He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.

That's all I have for today but I hope to get another post in tomorrow.

"If You say go, we will go.
If You say wait, we will wait.
If You say step out on the water and they say it can't be done,
We'll fix our eyes on You and we will come."
From the song If You Say Go

Monday 19 May 2008

After A Wonderful Weekend

Ok, so I got the day off because they tell me it's a "holiday" so here I am updating my blog. Yesterday another church invited our youth for a barbecue. It wasn't exactly barbecue weather so we were inside most of the day but it was good.

A verse that I've been thinking about is Proverbs 17:3 which says "The fining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold; but it is the Lord who trieth the hearts." This is an encouragement to me to know that the hotter the fires I go through the more precious the outcome. To be honest, the last few weeks have been a little hard for me but our adult Sunday school and message yesterday really helped. A couple of days there I felt this emptiness and void in my life like my life just felt really vain. I tried filling it with different things but it just seemed to get worse. Then in Sunday school yesterday I realized what I needed was to really know God. Not to just read my Bible and pray but to really know and experience God. All week I was praying about different things but God just seemed silent. I kept saying "Lord, I want to know You!" When He finally did speak it's like He was saying, "Do you really? Because if you want to truly no Me then I want all of you. Not just a part of you or bits and pieces of you but I want all of you and notjing but you. I don't want you dragging extra stuff behind you; I want just you. Nothing more and nothing less.

In the message a point was made that we have to walk by faith. We can't just use a formula or apply a three step process to anything but we have to walk by faith. Also, that when something comes up in our lives we have to let God in on it but before we do that we need to firmly decide that whether we love it or hate it, we will do what He says.

I also went back to some notes and things I had written down from a book I read about two months ago and was reminded that what I truly longed for was a deep, intimate relationship with God. In the book the author shared some insight on a portion of scripture which really summarizes my desire. Matthew 13:45, 46 says "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all he had, and bought it." There are five points we can get out of this: There is a pearl of great price (Jesus), We are to seek it, We are commanded to purchase it, It costs us everything, and It is worth the price.

So that's about enough for today. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. God bless!

Wednesday 14 May 2008

Quick Post

Since you're probably all wondering where I've been I decided to pop in for a quick post. Short at that for many reasons. I started Driver's Ed this week which is not bad but it feels really wierd after not being in a classroom with a bunch of high school kids in over a year. Alex and Brett over at the Rebelution nearly made me cry after reading their last blog post about five minutes ago on cereal. Had I been there in person I could have screamed at them for at least five minutes but you'll all have to go check that out for yourselves. I read this week in Proverbs that before honour is humility and I've been meditating on that. And there's all the chemistry that I'm not doing which is why I have to make this quick and I'll be going right about...now!

Friday 9 May 2008

Hospital Ministry

Last night a group of our youth went singing at the Tillsonburg hospital. There's were eleven girls and only four guys but it worked really well. We hadn't gone since Christmas so it was really good to go visit the old folks there again. Jesus tells us that it is more blessed to give than to receive and it has been proven true once again. We are just as blessed as they are when we sing there and it's in being a blessing that we ourselves are blessed. Many of the patients were there half a year ago already so they're always happy to see us come back. There are also a few Christians in there and it's amazing to see the joy and peace on their faces as we sing for them. Others get upset though and even those that want us to sing for them, are staring at their TVs the whole time so it brings joy and grief at the same time. It makes you wonder how they can possibly grasp and bit of hope.

Many may think it odd for a group of teenagers to go singing at a hospital on a Thursday night but if only they could know the blessing and reward. It's reaching out to our community in a small way. Which brings me to a the question: What is the calling of the rebelutionary? Each one will have a different answer for this. In a way, I feel we have just done a small part in visiting the sick.

That's all for today so I'll be back next week. Look to Jesus and God bless.

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Fellow Blog Readers

Hello again to my fellow blog readers whoever you all are. My week has been busy. My mom and I made a skirt for me this week and after working on it for three days, we've just a little bit to finish. We had to readjust the pattern a couple of times to get the right fit (good thing we had lots of fabric) and hemmed it twice. I learned many things about sewing and one major unrelated thing. Even when I really don't think so, Mom really is a whole lot smarter than I think. We made the skirt really long and my mom kept saying that we would have to take a few inches off the bottom. But of course I didn't believe her and insisted that by the time we did this and that and hemmed it, it would be perfect. But sure enough, by the time we thought we were finished, it still dragged on the floor (even with shoes on). May I add that my mom hadn't liked hemming it all and now she had to cut a couple of inches off the bottom and do it again. For modesty purposes, we sewed a slip right into, so now we pretty well just have to shorten that by a few inches.

Lord willing, I'm starting Drivers Ed next week with a couple of friends. I don't have all the money together yet but I trust that God will provide. Hey, there's something you folks can all pray about. There'll be three or four of us Christians there so we could really have an impact, being salt and light.

Thank you guys all so much and God bless! And remember, chances are Mom really does know more than you do!

Friday 2 May 2008

What Do We Seek After?

This is a crucial question for everyone. But not only what do we seek after but what takes up our time? Do we get distracted by the things of this world and put our relationship with God on hold? I tend to do this quite a bit and I also tend to daydream when I should be working on something. In a way I have actually set up idols in my life the last couple of days, things that aren't helping me grow and bring only hardship instead of joy. In the end we're left feeling that our life is vain and empty and it is. But we need to seek Christ; to find our joy, peace, contentment and security in Him. Nothing else can truly fulfill the voids in our life no matter how promising they look.

I was reading this morning in Proverbs 1 and I completely saw myself. God was calling out to me and I refused to listen. He called again and I said no again. When I finally realized that I was tearing my own self apart, I called out but it felt like God just wasn't willing to listen. Before I enjoyed sweet fellowship and communion, an understanding relationship that was alive but now I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. This probably hurts more than anything; God refusing to listen because of your sin. Until we repent and turn back to following Him, there's a blockage in our life and the water can't flow freely.

So let us lay aside the false and vain things of this world and look to Christ. He will chastise us until He has us back and it saves us a lot of pain as well. Look to Jesus for He alone is worthy.