Provoked to Jealousy and Birth

Last year I decided to read through the bible front to back, a decision I have made many times in the past and always ended up going back to my comfy place, the Psalms and/or Epistles.

But this time I have really stuck with it, a huge part of the reason has been that I didn't limit myself to one chapter a day. It's amazing how doing less can actually steal your motivation faster. It seems easier, but trust me, it's not.

Anyway, so I've gotten up to Ezekiel. While I was having fun trotting through all the symbolism in Ezekiel 8 this morning, I made a connection which I thought was pretty cool.

The chapter starts off with a being (angel, Holy Spirit, not really sure) appearing to Ezekiel and leading him through the temple. They start off at the door of the north gate of the inner court, it says, "where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy."

“Then He said to me, “Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance. Furthermore He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.” So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall. Then He said to me, “Son of man, dig into the wall”; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there.” So I went in and saw, and there—every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls. And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’ ” And He said to me, “Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.” So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the LORD’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz."

I'll just interrupt here to explain that Tammuz was a "god of fertility," who had supposedly been banished to the underworld. I don't know if at this point in history they actually experienced a problem with childbearing, but the idea was that the fertility god was gone and no longer able to help them.

"Then He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.” So He brought me into the inner court of the LORD’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity;and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭8:1-18‬)

It seemed like there should be some significance in the order of the abominations shown to Ezekiel, since they started at the gate of the court, dug through the wall to find a door which they went into, and then went further still into the inner court of the Lord's house.

So naturally, I thought about lists which might match the "list" being built in this chapter. My first

thought was Egypt, Tammuz reminded me of their various fertility gods, and the sun worship reminded me of Ra. With the ten plagues, God attacked their gods by directly attacking that which their gods supposedly protected. (Ex: the darkness which covered the land, and the death of all the firstborn children)

After the plagues, God led His people out of Israel and gave them the Ten Commandments, which is where I looked.

What I found was that the list of the Ten Commandments did not match up with the four abominations Ezekiel saw, but interestingly, everything seemed to be covered in "the first and greatest commandment."

"And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus‬ ‭20:1-6‬)

"You shall have no other gods before Me." Like the idols they were burning incense to in the temple.

"Any likeness of anything that is in heaven above..." Like the sun they were worshipping with their
backs to the temple.

"...or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to 
them nor serve them." Like the animals they were also burning incense to.

"For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." Reminds me of the seat of jealousy which provokes to jealousy.

"...visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me..." Was Tammuz banished, or was God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children?



I don't know if this really has any intended significance, but here are some ideas I've been thinking about.

When God revealed the Ten Commandments, He had just led His people out of oppression, they were ready and willing to follow Him, they had a good future ahead. But God knew already then, that by Ezekiel's time, they would be doing the exact things He told them not to do. Yet the promise He offered was the same.

The way the two passages align is very similar, but the way they end is very different.

"Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in 
My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

"but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

It sort of looks like the "Old Testament God" vs "New Testament God," but the great thing to realize is that the mercy one was written first. In foresight of all that would happen, "Old Testament God" promised that He would always punish evil, like He did in Ezekiel's time, and would always show mercy to those who broke the pattern of curse and chose to love Him.

Ezekiel and the Ten Commandments seems like a weird discussion at Christmas, but I actually think it ties in perfectly with this celebration.
We have provoked God to jealousy, we have broken His covenant and turned to other sources for what He promised to give us. He led us out of (figurative) Egypt and we turned right back to Egypt's chains.

His solution for us was to come and be born humbly in every possible respect, be raised among the children of the people who had exchanged Him for gods of wood and stone, and die the death of a criminal, amongst criminals, by the hands of criminals.

But He was not the sort of God that could be banished to the underworld, He rose again, proving to us that if death itself could not keep His love from us, who were we to think we could?

Merry Christmas friends. :)



Also...

Guess what? I'm going to Mississippi! The plan is to go to a summer dance intensive by one of my favorite companies, Ballet Magnificat, in July of 2018. To do that, I will need to raise some money, so if you would like to support my trip, you can check out my GoFundMe campaign HERE. Thanks in advance!

~Keturah

Life in Crystal Beach and Old Promises

Hello people!

I did it again, where I didn't write for a really long time and now I'm not sure where to start.

Well, I guess I'll give kind of an overview of what I've been up to/thinking about for the past little while.

As some of you know, I moved in with my sister and my second cousin, (who doubles as my dance teacher) in Crystal Beach, so I could take ballet classes back in September/October. I transferred work to a McDonalds in Fort Erie, and I stayed here for a month, and then went back home for October-November.

I came back near the end of November, and I'm here until the end of January, although I am going home in a couple days for Christmas and New Years. (So pumped!!)

That's a rough synopsis of what I've been doing, but as always, I much prefer writing about Jesus.

Oh....where to start....okay. Have you ever felt like you aren't in a bad place spiritually, you wouldn't really call it a dry season or a phase of darkness, but you just haven't felt the presence of God in a really long time? I've been realizing recently that my ability to quickly and confidently cast away doubts has gone down significantly, and I think it's because what I used to know so strongly is more of a memory for me now than a daily reality. So I've been praying and asking the Lord to send His presence to be with me in a way that I can't doubt anymore, and just waiting on Him to do it.

(Just to be clear, when I say I have been absent from His presence, I don't mean that either of us have forsaken or turned away from the other. Like I said, I'm not in a "dry" or "dark" place, but I have been missing feeling Him. I know I don't need to feel Him, truth is not based on feelings, but it is nice.)

Well a few days ago, He showed me something that encouraged me so much, and I am sharing it with you in hopes that it will encourage you too.

I read Psalm 121, and the whole thing was just really nice and comforting. You should read it, cause I'm only going to mention the last verse. (Seriously read it, it's short.)

“The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalms‬ ‭121:8‬)

Verse 8 struck me because I realized that this promise is not starting now. "From this time forth," does not mean starting now and never ending, that verse was a promise to me when I first was born again into the family of God.

Five years ago, this promise was for me, and for five years it has never failed, and for the rest of my life it never will.

The other thing that stood out to me about the verse were the words "going out and coming in." Of where?

I have been feeling absent from the presence of God for a while now. I have been missing it. I miss just sitting with Him and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is with me, but this verse spoke so strongly to that feeling. If I would paraphrase the verse, I would say it like this.

"He will preserve your going out of His presence and your coming into His presence, from the moment you first entered and even forevermore."

So here's my last thought to close this up. If you are a long time Christian, you don't need a new promise. This one is for you, and God is so true to His promises, He doesn't need to give them again. Hold onto that. Know that He has never forgotten this promise since He gave it.

If you are not a Christian, this promise is being offered to you. You know what you need, you don't need me to tell you, but let God tell you He will give it to you.
The beginning of that chapter says, "I will look to the hills, from whence comes my help, my help comes from the Lord." So look. Look to Him, He is offering help, offering protection, offering love. All you have to do is take it.


Another Update:

After a loooong wait, I finally got my technical difficulties sorted out! So if you haven't heard, I'm planning on going to a summer dance intensive in Mississippi in July 2018! As you may imagine, it is quite expensive, so if you would like to help me out financially, I would appreciate it SO much. I have a GoFundMe page to make things real simple, so if you're interested, click HERE to check it out. :)
Thanks in advance!

He Looked at the Void and Imagined...

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis‬ ‭1:1-2‬)

You know that feeling when you stare at a blank page, a newly sharpened pencil in your hand, and a world of opportunity at your fingertips? Those times when you imagine the beginning of a story, and then rewrite it in your mind a bunch of times before you decide which is the BEST use of your imagination. The piece of art you produce is what made you shiver with excitement before it took shape.

God, the ultimate example of creativity, once looked out on a great empty void, and decided, "Let there be light."

Before there was even light, God imagined the cosmos, the earth, humanity, and all of its history. He imagined a beautiful relationship with humanity, which was bound to be broken in very short time. After that, He imagined His heart breaking millions of times, as He watched those He loved hurt themselves and hurt Him, finally killing Him, and even then, He knew that they would ignore Him. Hate Him. Mock Him.

He imagined this as He looked over the void, and knew He could create a different story. A different world, a different way.

Still He said, "Let there be light."

And so it began.

I don't know why.

I usually like to have a neat wrap up for my posts, but this one I don't. It was a thought I had that blew my mind a little, so I'm sharing it, but I suppose it's something I'll never know unless I can ask Jesus and I can comprehend His answer.

I like to look for parallels between our nature and God's, but when I sit in front of a blank canvas, I just don't choose a painting that shames me. I would never write a song that disgraces me, or choreograph a dance that makes me cry.

Even if I knew it would result in a happy ending, those people who brought judgment on themselves for lack of repentance would never leave my mind. I wouldn't choose a story that turned out that way, but God did.

Lots of people say that God can't exist, or if He does He can't be good, because of the evil He allows to exist. Could it have been changed if He chose a different story? Maybe. I have no idea.

Whether or not it could be, there is one thing I know, and that is that God is good. Whatever world He chose to create, He would not change, and I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

My finite mind can't comprehend much outside of its own borders, but what I know I will hold to, this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Papa

I have four nieces and a (niece or nephew) on the way. One of the youngest of my nieces, Rosie, is 16 months old, and she is quite the adventurer.

For a while, "Papa" was the only word she could say. She would say this constantly, if she was ever afraid of lonely or bored or who knows what, she would ask for "Papa."

"Wow," my sister thought, "This girl really loves her Papa."

Recently she discovered, as Rosie held her arms out to her mother and said, "Papa!" That to her, "Papa" meant both Mama and Papa.

It should be no surprise to my consistent readers that this suggested a parable to me.

I realized that often in my life, if things get hard, if I'm feeling lonely or scared or overwhelmed or "who knows what," it isn't difficult for me to cry out to God, to my "Papa." I cry out to Him a lot, I think that because I turn to Him and His name is the first one I call that I am doing the right thing, but I think sometimes to me, "Papa" just means whatever it is that will bring relief to me.

“Blessed be the Lord, for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me when I was in a besieged city.” (Psalms‬ ‭31:21‬)

Just like Rosie asked for Papa, but was perfectly content when Mama came, so I cry out for God, and stop crying out as soon as relief comes.

The problem with this is it causes me to see God as someone I can call for and He'll help me when I need it, but the rest of the time I'm fine. When I am content with less than Him I never get to know Him deeper, which really is the only thing that will satisfy my longing.

Probably more than 50% of the time, Rosie didn't actually want "Papa." She wanted comfort, but to her 16 month old mind, that's what "Papa" meant.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of the time we are the exact same way. We think we want God, we call out to God, but we don't really know what it means for Him to come to us. To be Himself the answer to our prayer, not just to lend us a hand. A lot of the time, we just want comfort, but in our minds, that is what "Papa" means.

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;” (Matthew‬ ‭15:8‬)

What if we really just wanted God?

What if He really answered that prayer?

Would I be content if Jesus was the ONLY thing I could lay claim to in my life?

When every comfort and every pretence is laid away, would we really be content with "Papa?"

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalms‬ ‭27:4‬)

It is challenging for me to think this way, because I have never known what it's like to be without everything else. Honestly, I think I'm more dependant on the comforts of my life than I realize, but I pray that God would change me, call me closer, and show me in that moment when I move a little bit closer to Him, that I haven't reached Him yet. I need to keep going.

“You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek." (Psalms‬ ‭27:8‬)

But as you ask the question, "Would I really be content with NOTHING but Him?" (Which you should ask yourself, because it shows you how much you love Him vs how much you love what He gives you) And you realize that at the root of that question is, "Is He worth it?" Realize that when He asked the question, "Are you worth it?" His answer was yes, and He DID give up everything just to be close to you, just to know you.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans‬ ‭5:6-8)

Buses and Pie

"Am I waiting for a bus that's never coming?" I sang the echo of the last line of the song I had just made up, as I watched the bus go sailing past me.

The answer to my song was "Yes. You are an idiot."

Before anyone gets alarmed at me speaking of myself in such a harsh manner, calm down! I'm just kidding! I'm not really upset with myself, nor am I questioning my own intellect. I may be questioning my ability to read bus schedules, but at the same time I may also be judging whoever wrote the bus schedule, so it all evens out.

Last week I wrote to you about how my life was pretty quiet. Well this week I am writing about "Fort Erie: The Most Adventurous Time of My Life."

I have never taken a bus before Monday, so I really didn't know what to expect, and was quite nervous, but by the end of the day, I was confident. I still didn't understand the bus schedule, (because it's basically an encrypted treasure map written in Greek) but I knew where my stops were, and what time to get on and off.

The next day my work schedule was off just a little bit. Instead of working 12:30-5, I was working 1-4. So, with my superior knowledge and experience, I sat at the bus stop the next day, and watched as my bus came around the corner, and drove on by. Another lady with me and I stood staring in disbelief, we had been waiting at the wrong stop.

Thankfully my heroic cousin was able to drive me to work, but that still left me uneasy about getting home. Shortly before the end of my shift, I asked one of my managers, (who was the primary reason I got anywhere on Monday) and she said I was right with what I had figured out to get home. So confidently I strode down the street with my coffee and my shoulder bag and waited.

When at long last the time arrived, I watched dismally as it came on the opposite side of the street, and passed me by. Well. Thanks Google.

However, I was not to be beaten! We will just pretend that my texts for help never happened, and I immediately knew the solution. I remembered that yesterday's bus had come at 5:13, and would be coming again, so I waited an hour for that one and took it home. (In reality, Google reminded me about the 5:13 bus. Thanks Google.)

So this morning I decided I would NOT be on the wrong side of the street, I remembered where it had passed me by, and this time it would pass with me on it. As I strode down the street, almost at my stop a full ten minutes before it had come yesterday, I watched it smoothly glide in and out of my view. Really?? Really?

This time my sister drove me to work, with another passenger because a sweet old lady also couldn't read Arabic, and needed to get to Walmart.

Tonight I googled my route again and I feel pretty confident about it. However, I am starting to lose confidence in my confidence. I called the Bus Line, tempted to greet the lady on the phone with, "Hi, it's me again! I still have no idea what I'm doing!" But I decided better of it, and then it turned out to be a wasted temptation anyway, because their business hours end at 5. Go figure.

So tomorrow is a new adventure! But I must say I'm not too worried about it. I have had a surprising lack of anxiety through all of this drama. If you're going to pray for me, don't pray that I would have peace or anything like that, just pray that I get to work on time and learn to read Cantonese.

Update:

I liked the way I ended that post, but I wrote it on Wednesday, so I may as well give you the update now. My bus-riding the next day was indeed successful, and since then, it has gone very well. I now have budding friendships with all of the bus drivers, and the only route I am still guessing on is on Tuesday, but I'm not worried about it. I'm 98.9% sure I know what I'm doing.

Also yes, pie was clickbait again. Hehe. But you may take it as an invitation to bring me some if you want! Maybe some Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream. :)

Keturah's Visit Enters First Week

Last year, I, and my two younger sisters, moved in with my sister and my cousin who live four and a half hours away from Windsor, for three months.

Some of you may remember The Dragon Warrior and the Trunk Commandments. If you don't, don't worry about it. It was a lot of hoopla anyway.

Just over a week ago, on September 20th, I moved back in, just myself this time, and only for one month. It seemed fitting, cut the visitors down by two thirds, cut the time down by two thirds. ;)

Anyway, I just thought I'd give an update on my first week here, since I don't have anything else to write about. If anyone wants to know how things are going, you can read about it here!

The first thing I will say about it is that my pace of life dropped from like an 80 to a 10. At home I was doing school, ballet, working at McDonalds, managing and training an activism group, and church activities, all while living in a household of 9 people. (Plus my sister and brother in law and their three adorable children, so it was really more like a household of 14)
Here, I have one ballet class every other day, and school, (which takes me under an hour to do) and there are only three people in this house.
I have my own bedroom, which I've never had in my life, and pretty much the whole basement to myself, since Rachel and Carolyn's rooms are both upstairs.

Rachel commented that she thinks I must be bored to tears here, with it being so quiet and so little to do, but rest assured, I know how to entertain myself.

I've learned hip hop dances, read old classics, skyped with friends, texted siblings, cleaned, visited my cousins, and who knows what all. It's amazing how much time there is in a day when you haven't filled it with all kinds of stuff ahead of time!

I got transferred for work here, I'm starting on Monday, so that will definitely take some free time away. Yesterday I went out and bought bus tickets. I think I would be revelling in that proud fact more if I wasn't so scared of taking the bus...

But with every adventure of mine, there has to be some silly thing I latch onto, and I think this adventure will always be remembered by an enthusiastic singalong to "Seize The Day."

Yes my friends, I finally watched the Broadway version of "The Newsies." It left me inspired, bemoaning the fact that I can't quite dance like that, and with songs in my head from now til kingdom come.

But did I try to get them out of my head? Nope. Who doesn't want to have that soundtrack on replay 24/7? So of course I listened to the soundtrack until two days ago, when I went to my cousins house and watched the Disney movie "The Newsies." Then I listened to the soundtrack a little bit the next day, before going back to their house, having a really fun swim in the pool, and then watching "The Newsies," the Broadway version again.

Hehe.

Anyway, if I see you when I get home, don't be surprised if I have all of the lyrics memorized. So far I have already had several scenarios which just REQUIRED a Newsies comeback, for example: When we were in the pool, and my cousin was spraying my other cousin with a water gun, a soundtrack was inevitable, "Now those soakers are in for a soakin,' what a sad way to end a career!"

Thanks for reading!

Your friend,

Your BEST friend,

Your brother,

Crutchy

Our Home is in the Master

I had two thoughts, totally separate from each other, which I am going to fuse together in this post, because they do that really well.

The first one I had a long time ago, which stemmed from John 15, which has a whole section in which Jesus talks about Himself as being a vine, and we are the branches. I'll just pick a couple verses to highlight, but you should really read this whole thing, cause it's worthwhile.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John‬ ‭15:5)

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” (John‬ ‭15:9‬)

I have always thought of the word "abide," in this passage, to mean something like "stay," or some translations even say "remain." This isn't wrong, it means both of those things, but it really struck me a while ago as I thought about it that "abide" really means to "live" somewhere. Not just to breathe and be living, but to dwell, to reside somewhere.

When God says He wants us to abide in Him, He means He wants us to make Him our home. To abide in His love is not just to stay in His love, but to stay AT HOME in His love.

Home is where you are most comfortable, it's the place you always come back to, it's the place you can fully be yourself, and it's your shelter. Your protection. Anything outside of your home is foreign but anything IN your home is safe. This is what God wants to be for us. Home.

The other thought I had just this morning came from Psalm 27.

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple." (Psalms‬ ‭27:4‬)

"That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."

At first I thought about being in the Lord's presence all the days of my life, ("all the days," by the way, means ALL the days. Not just when I get to heaven, but to live in His presence on earth.) But then I realized that dwelling in the house of the Lord means more than just living in His presence.

It means living in a home that He is the master of.

If I am going to live under my parent's roof, I have to follow their rules. I have to be respectful of what they want done in their house, and honour the virtues that they uphold. If I want to be a representation of the household I live in, I am not only going to obey their rules, but I am going to conform to them. I'm going to take to heart the correction and teaching they give me so that their values become my values, so that my heart looks like their heart.

This is what it means to dwell in the house of the Lord. Every Christian I come in contact with is another beloved child of the Master of the house, and should be treated as such. Every unbeliever I come in contact with, is like a guest of the Master of the house, and should be treated as such.

I am living under His authority and protection, and He gives me freedom as well as responsibility, as a Father does who trusts His daughter, I need to recognize this, and honour Him.
He is my father, my friend, and the Master and Authority of this house. He deserves my respect,my love, and my allegiance.

 I'm just going to add another verse to help tie the two concepts together.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (I Corinthians‬ ‭6:19‬)

Not only can we dwell in the house of the Lord, and be at home in His presence, but Jesus says "He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit..."

We live and make our  home in Him, but He also lives and makes His home in us. This is not to say that we are the master over Him since He "lives in our home," because when we surrendered to the saving power of Christ we gave Him authority in every area of our life! No, rather it is to say that He is Lord over all. Our physical realm to which He has been invited, and His spiritual realm to which we have been invited, He is Master of both.

Does God Forget?

"Forgive and forget."

Agree or disagree?

For children who offend each other by taking an extra turn on the swing or playing with the other's toy, this is a simple and reasonable catch-phrase.

But for adults or children who have been seriously wounded by another person, given scars which will take years or a lifetime to recover from, are they really expected to...forget?

I have heard from various people in the church over the past few years that "Forgive and forget," is actually not biblical. For a relationship that has been damaged by someone who is likely to offend again, forgiving is necessary, but forgetting is foolish. Boundaries should be set in place, wisdom applied. You can't just pretend it never happened.

As reasonable as that all sounds though, something has always always sounded off about it to me. I haven't put my thoughts into words until now because I realize that I am young and inexperienced, and those people who have been through harder seasons than me are the ones saying this. So I feel that before I say anything on the subject, I should acknowledge that they may very well be right.

However, while my thoughts won't stop bugging me, I thought there could be no harm in penning them in an attempt to bring a new light to the discussion.

Why are we supposed to forgive?

"So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” (Matthew‬ ‭18:35‬)

“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark‬ ‭11:25‬)

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John‬ ‭1:9‬)

We are to forgive because God forgives us. He showed us how to mend the most broken relationship with forgiveness, when He mended ours with Him.

How does God model forgiveness?

“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews‬ ‭10:16-17‬)

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.” (Isaiah‬ ‭43:25‬)

“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalms‬ ‭103:12‬)

When God says that He "Remembers no more," does He wish us to disregard that statement so that when we forgive we can be protected? I don't think so.

Is God all-knowing?

So when He says He "forgets"....does He really? What does it mean for God to FORGET?

I was praying about this, and this is what came to mind. Obviously God doesn't actually lose that memory. If He needed to, He could address it. The obvious conclusion would be that He remembers, but chooses not to think about it or act on it.

If that were true that would still be amazing, but I don't actually think so.

Can you think of a time when someone hurt you, and you had to actively choose not to think about that thing that they did? When that happens, that wrong thing they did is SO hard to not think about because it's at the forefront of your mind. It's A: The first thing you think about when you think about them, and B: Still in your mind somewhere bugging you even when you choose to ignore it.

When God thinks about us, sin is not the first thing He thinks of. (Which raises an interesting question, should it really be the first thing we think of when we think of our relationship to God?)

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬)

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying." (Isaiah‬ ‭65:17-19‬)

When God talks to us, speaks through us, or just lives with us, I don't think He is constantly having to push back negative thoughts about things we did in the past. The sins He removed are not persistent in bugging Him.

When God forgives us...He says that He remembers no more. I believe with all that I am that to be holy is to be made like God, and that what He wants for us is to be made holy. It makes sense then, to me, that the goal of forgiveness would be to forgive AND forget.

Now, as I said before, I am not the wisest or most experienced when it comes to deep emotional wounds. Maybe there are situations that are impossible to resolve to the extent that you would be able to forget this way. But I think we can all agree that at least, if we are to look at God and the goal of holiness, we must conclude that His desire for us is that we would be able to love like Him, and to love like Him we must forgive like Him, and to forgive like Him...we must forget like Him.

A Kind Stranger

I've had three or four blog ideas go through my mind in the past couple of days, and they were all good ones too. It would be nice if I could remember them.

But anyway, since I can't, I'll just talk about something really nice that happened today, which reminded me why I love people!

A few weeks ago, I was standing at an intersection downtown, inviting people to talk with me about abortion in order to hopefully show people what it is and why it's wrong, and this older gentleman came riding along on his bike.

I asked him what he thought about abortion and handed him a pamphlet, and he stopped and smiled at me. He took the pamphlet and smiled at it, then smiled at me again, then smiled at the pamphlet again, and then back at me.

"Well clearly you don't speak English," I thought to myself, as I smiled back and let him ride away.

About half an hour later I met him again inside Tim Hortons, he recognized me so he asked, "Coffee?" "No thank you," I replied. "Why not?" "Well...umm...." I have had it firmly engrained in me that you don't accept treats from strangers since I was a small child, so I said the first excuse that came to mind. "I'm leaving soon."

It was true. I was on my way in the next five minutes.

Well today, about two weeks later, who should I run into at the same Tim Hortons but the same nice gentleman? So again he walks over and says, "How are you? Coffee?"
"No thank you," I said instinctively.
But when he asked me this time "Why not?" I had no excuse! I couldn't think of anything! I was likely going to be sitting there for a while, so I wasn't leaving, but since I had nothing to say, he offered again that he was willing to buy it for me.
"Okay..." I sheepishly agreed. He brought me over to the counter and had me order, asked if my friend wanted anything, and offered a donut or muffin or whatever my heart desired. My heart was already quite full at that moment, feeling such gratitude to this kind man, that I needed nothing more than coffee.

I still don't know what he thinks about abortion, (although it certainly seems like he supports us) or how much English he speaks, or why exactly he keeps wanting to buy me coffee, but what I do know is that he cares about me. Which is such a lovely thing in a stranger. I wonder if this is how "the least of these" felt when they met Jesus.

Chaos and Rain, and a Simple Sweet Gift

"Hi there, what do you think about abortion?"

I've asked this question...more times than I have cared to count.

I'm going to tell you a little story about my day yesterday, which I love.

After doing GAP, (the Genocide Awareness Project, now called the Human Rights Project) twice, I became a part of a group in my own town, called Windsor Against Abortion, which does... pretty much what it sounds like.

We are out on public sidewalks every week showing the truth about abortion, and having educational conversations with anyone who will stop at our invitation.

We always run into problems. Every week. It's basically a given, I believe because the devil does NOT appreciate our work, and will try every angle to stop us from being out there. So this week we lost one of our members, spent half of our activism time searching for her, (well at least I did, the others thankfully were able to set up right away) stood in the POURING rain with our signs, and didn't have very many conversations.

It just happened to be the week that a bunch of new people came to join us.

"We look SO unprofessional," I couldn't help feeling. "They're never going to want to come back."

So in our debrief time, I made sure to mention that we will be much more organized in the future, and I felt that it was most important to thank them for coming, because this work is not easy. It's not inviting. It takes guts and courage to step out of your comfort zone and come. They need to be appreciated, and FEEL appreciated.

However, before I could even say thank you, we hear a car honking near us. We thought we knew who it was, so my younger sister runs over and talks to them through the window, I watch as a loaded tray of Tim Hortons cups are handed out the window.

She returns to tell us that it was not who we thought, it was my brother in law's sister, who we don't know very well, but she saw us and bought us all hot chocolate, without even knowing who we all were and why we were out there.

I felt, as my wet hands closed around the warmth of the cup, that God was saying, "Thank YOU for coming today."

He wanted to say thank you first, because He knows that as much as its good for the new people to be appreciated and feel that appreciation, it's the same for me. Sometimes I would really like to know that my effort is not in vain, and God sees me wandering around the streets of downtown in the rain looking for a lost team member, trying to make this thing run in order to stand up for children that so many don't care about, but He does.

If anyone who was standing there with me on the wet sidewalk today is reading this, there's a reason I wasn't the only one who got the hot chocolate. God appreciates your effort just as much.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James‬ ‭1:17‬

God Said No.

I thought I had been waiting for four months. God knew I had been waiting for nine years.

I am eighteen. I've gathered that the teen years are pretty tough for most people, so I think it shouldn't be a surprise that I just went through one of the hardest times of my life so far.

If you know me, you probably know that for about nine years, I have been working toward the goal of being a professional ballerina. My goal was never to join the American Ballet Theater or the Royal Ballet, I always wanted to use it in ministry.

However, if you know me a little bit better, you probably know that these nine years have not been easy. My body type is FAR from ideal for ballet, my brain doesn't pick things up quickly, and I started when I was nine, or sixteen....depending on what you call "starting." I would say that I really "started" when I was sixteen.

I have never doubted God's power or faithfulness, I knew that none of these things were obstacles for Him, if He wanted me to do ballet.

IF is the key word there.

I didn't know if He wanted me to, but I wanted to, so I tried, and kept trying. For years, I prayed and prayed again for direction, if He didn't want me in ballet, that's fine, I just need to know that.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms‬ ‭139:23-24‬)

“For You are my rock and my fortress; Therefore, for Your name’s sake, Lead me and guide me.” (Psalms‬ ‭31:3‬)

I never received clear direction. At the same time though, my desire for ballet ministry never dwindled, so I kept on pursuing, HOPING God was in support.

One of the ways I prayed for direction was through a person, I thought I would be able to understand God better if He actually SPOKE to me, (however unlikely I knew that was) I was worried that if He put obstacles in my path to try to give me direction, I would take them as challenges to overcome.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
‭‭(Romans‬ ‭8:37‬)

Trust me, it happened. I heard people tell me I would never make it: I ignored them. I had no source of income: I started a business, got a job, and started several fundraising campaigns. I got injured: I worked around it until it healed and then worked really carefully to restore my flexibility.

About four months ago, someone I really trust and respect showed me very lovingly what I already knew, that my body wasn't built for professional ballet, and short of a miracle, wouldn't ever become that way.

"Well, the Lord has finally spoken," I thought to myself, and resigned myself to the reality that that was the end.

We had dance camp coming up in August, so I'd do that, but that would close that area of my life forever.

Almost everyone I told this to, (because I was PRETTY upset) tried to tell me that even if I wasn't built for professional ballet, I could maybe still do it for recreation. Or in some other ministry capacity. Maybe I would become a teacher, or go into a kind of dance that is not ballet.

However... I hated these ideas, I had thought them all through before I told anyone, and I was sure that if God had placed a desire in me that He wanted to yet fulfil, He wouldn't choose to fulfil it in a way that I hated.

“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew‬ ‭7:9-11‬)

I spent the next four months crying nearly every day, I found it so hard to enjoy life the way I am used to enjoying it.

When August came along, dance camp week was...so hard. I don't really know how to describe the kind of emotional turmoil I was going through, and it felt silly, like I shouldn't have cared that much, but I did.

At the beginning of the week, our bible teacher asked us to write down two questions for God. My first one was the number one thing on my mind, "How can I recover from this?"

I did NOT want to "heal" from my hurt, but feel like a wound reopened every time I watched ballet. I wanted to keep loving ballet, but I didn't see how I could, if I couldn't do it.

But God did not answer that question. In fact, it seemed much like He was ignoring it.

Instead, I kept hearing things in bible study, in workshops, in morning session and in my own devotions, that seemed to be saying, "This door isn't closed." It felt like God was challenging my assumption that I had to give up ballet in the first place. I say assumption, because that was how He was treating it, even though it seemed pretty set in stone to me.

Finally, I accepted the fact that He was challenging that assumption. My question changed from "How can I recover?" to "What was on Your heart when You first introduced me to ballet?"

That is when it struck me, or I suppose God spoke to me, that He had a purpose, and He still had a purpose. And if He had a purpose, then it didn't matter if I hated that idea, I needed to make sure that my attitude was one of submission. Whatever road He wanted to take me down with ballet, I need to acknowledge that that is His choice, and His right.

That moment when this all came together in my mind was one of the most freeing moments of my life.

It may seem weird that I was freed by submitting to Him even when it might mean doing something I hate the thought of, but what freed me was the realization that God WAS supporting me in ballet.

After YEARS of asking if He was and never receiving an answer, when I TRIED to quit and He said no... He said no!

I never knew God saying no could be SO fulfilling!

“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.” (Proverbs‬ ‭19:21‬)

I hated those other ideas because it was my idea that I wanted to do for God, and I felt like I failed if I compromised. But if it's God's idea, He's not compromising! If it's God's idea, I don't have to worry anymore! If it's God's idea, He will provide, He will lead me, and He will not give me a bad gift, because He is a good Father.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James‬ ‭1:17‬)

I actually feel more peace now than I did before this hard, hard summer hit. Because even though back then I had a goal to work towards, I never knew if God was leading it, or if it was just me doing my own thing. It's so much more peaceful knowing that the goal I am working towards is one that God set, not me.

Let's Talk About Callings

I've been thinking a lot about callings recently.

I hear, "God is calling me to..." "He's been called by God..." and "If God is calling you..." all the time.

But what happens when you have an idea of what God might be calling you to, so you chase it with all your might, and then suddenly He takes it away?

What happens when after He takes it away, there is nothing to replace it? Or multiple things that might replace it, but nothing FEELS like a calling?

I heard someone say once that not everyone has a "calling."

Does everyone have a calling?

Do I have a calling?

What is a calling?

Am I totally misunderstanding what a calling is anyway?

Sometimes I've heard that you need to just pick something, and God will lead you when you do. But usually I've thought that that thing will either turn out to be your calling, or God will call you in the midst of your action.

Does that always happen?

If you choose something else, have you missed your calling?

All of a sudden I realized, life is not all about one thing! We think so much about working toward a career, or building a ministry, but so often that doesn't even happen til you're at least in your twenties, and even then it doesn't materialize for everyone. Life has purpose before you've reached that!

If you die in a car accident when you're six, did you not have a calling?

If you die of cancer when you're fifty and have a career and through it people come to know the Lord, which was your calling, your career, or cancer?

So then I thought, what is THE greatest calling? The answer came pretty quick, I've always known it.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength."

EVERYONE has a calling.

Everyone has the same calling.

No matter what I pick, or what falls through, I can fulfil my calling.

I don't know what I believe, honestly, about individual callings. I do believe that God calls some people to specific areas of ministry or career paths, but do I believe He calls EVERYONE to something specific? I don't know.

I do know that Jesus has first and foremost called me to love Him, and I like that calling best of all.

Coming Boldly

I was at a dance camp a few years ago, where at the end of one of our dances, it was supposed to be like us finally finishing the race we're running. Our teacher and choreographer said to us, "Imagine you are entering the throne room of GOD. How would you approach Him?"

I answered her in my mind, "Timidly, humbly, slowly, probably looking at the ground cause I am unworthy to look at His face."

"You're not going to shuffle over to Him looking at the ground," she said, as though we all knew exactly what she meant. "You would run toward Him boldly!"

Run toward Him boldly. Now that is one I hadn't thought of.

I have actually mulled this over in my mind a lot since then, because I have often heard, "Enter His presence with boldness," and on the one hand I agreed, but my mind separated that and that fact that I believed I could not enter His presence boldly.

It's one thing to boldly post bible verses on Facebook, it's quite another to waltz up to God in the flesh as though you deserve it.

I realized quite a while ago now that I was wrong. My mindset that I could only approach God with fear and trembling, it was wrong. God does love me, did adopt me, and does delight in me. I have permission to love Him, to be excited to see Him.

But still, I believed my choreographer was wrong. Running toward Him boldly the way she described it seemed disrespectful. Verses like Hebrews 4:16 didn't make any sense to me.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

THAT we may obtain mercy? Like we're entering His throne room boldly and THEN receiving mercy? Whaaaat....?

A couple days ago though, I was studying Hebrews 4 with my friend, and decided to spend longer than usual on this part. Suddenly, I understood.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews‬ ‭4:14-16‬)

I had to simplify the sentences in order to figure it out for myself, so I'll simplify again so you can read what I was thinking.

Because we have a great High Priest, (Jesus) let us hold fast our profession. (Holy Priesthood)

The High Priest we have understands our weaknesses because He went through the same trials and temptations that we do, even though He never sinned.

Because of this, we don't have to be ashamed of our weakness, as though He didn't know about it when He chose to make us priests, instead we may come boldly to the throne of grace, showing ourselves to be exactly who He already knew us to be, to obtain even more mercy, and grace to help in time of need.

I guess the simplified version is even longer than the original, but you get the point.

We didn't choose to become a Holy Priesthood, and God did not accept us because the facade we put on was so convincing. He CHOSE us for exactly who we are, even less perfect than we even think ourselves to be. THAT is why we may enter boldly, because nothing about our boldness comes from who we are, it ALL has to do with who He is, and the decision HE made.

A Matter of Life and Death

Today, I experienced a lot of emotions. Mostly negative.

I was out the door this morning to set up for a funeral at my church. A little boy, 3 years old, was run over by a car a few days ago.

While we were setting up, I asked my sister's boyfriend what time it would be in the UK. It was 2:00pm, Charlie Gard's court hearing had probably just started. He and I prayed about it together, but it stayed on my heart the whole day. What happened? What was decided in that courtroom?

I left the church at 11:00, with the intent to go downtown and do "Choice" Chain, a pro-life activism campaign, but it rained. So we cancelled. Every time it gets cancelled I can't help but feel a little bit like a failure. I can only hope that no one had an abortion today because we weren't there to show them the truth.

I found out in time to make it back for the funeral, (we live minutes away from our church) and got to help with that. No matter how much I did or could have done, it wouldn't have been enough. To lose a son, a three year old... I can't imagine.

While contemplating all of the events of the day, I just felt God impress on me, "Life and death is in My hands."

Three different situations, all involving children dying, made up the backbone of my day, but in not one of those situations, did I have the power to do anything.

But God did. In every one of those situations, He was sovereign. I can trust Him.

The saying, "Leave it in God's hands," suddenly sounds different to me now. It sounds like, "Don't take it out of God's hands." Leave it. Because it was there to begin with.

God has always, and will always, be sovereign. Life and death will always be in His hands, and not one of us would be more capable to hold them than Him.


End Notes:

-Charlie Gard

If you don't know who Charlie Gard is or why he has a court hearing, he is an 11 month old boy who is critically ill, living on life support in the UK. Even though his parents have been fighting for his life, and raising amazing amounts of money for his treatment, the doctors have decided to take him off of life support, saying he should just "Die with dignity," even against the wishes of his parents. There has been a petition signed by people all over the world to provide treat,don't for him, Donald Trump and the Pope have spoken in favour of his life, so the hospital is facing opposition to their decision. If you want more information, there is always Google. :) I searched Char, and Charlie Gard was the first search option.

-Choice Chain

Would you like to join the pro life movement in Canada? It is NOT a hopeless cause! Having been on the front lines myself, I can tell you that I have been blown away by the amount of minds that have been changed, and lives that have been saved through our efforts.
If you are in Windsor, we have a local group called Windsor Against Abortion. Look us up on Facebook and send us a message, we hold training sessions semi-regularly for people who are interested.
If you are not in Windsor, there are lots of pro life groups rising up throughout Canada. Many of them have been taking a similar name, (Niagara Against Abortion, London Against Abortion, etc.) so try googling it to see if you can find one. If not, go ahead and email me at keturahthomson12@gmail.com, and I will see if I can connect you with someone in your area.

Reflection of a Saint

I feel very... humbled.

Sometimes it takes a shock for me to truly see my own reflection clearly, and today I got one.

This Canada Day has been a very strange day for me. I can almost guarantee that the situation which kickstarted my day will sounds quite silly to you.

I woke up this morning at 6:00am, and decided I wanted five more minutes of sleep. I woke up again at 7:09 to my sister, phone in hand. I was supposed to start work at 7:00.

When I arrived at work, I felt AWFUL. Ashamed of myself, and kicking myself over and over for thinking that I'd wake up to another alarm 5 minutes later, when I knew I had been having trouble waking up to alarms recently.

Each person who didn't make eye contact with me or didn't talk to me was noticed by me. Surely they were doing it on purpose.

I was sent to the back, to work the back booth in drive-thru. At first I was relieved to not be around people, but soon I felt very alone with my shame. I wanted to be with people who would just work, and remind me that I was thinking too much, and that no one else was thinking about it two hours later.

As I replayed the morning in my head, I suddenly realized that I felt so awful because for the first time in a while, I was stationed in front of a mirror which showed clearly my fallibility. I am FAR from perfect, and I felt that really strongly today.

I hated the fact that my perfect attendance record had been broken, that my reputation was damaged. My sister left for a month-long trip this morning, and what I had been calling loneliness suddenly was shown to be jealousy.

I came home to an almost empty house, my sister wanted help with her little children, and I looked for an excuse not to help. I hate writing this, because I do LOVE my nieces, and I love my sister and her husband, and I want in my heart of hearts so badly to be a servant, but I wanted to be lazy. This just added to my growing list of obvious imperfections, so I did what I could to remedy that, by taking  charge of my actions since my feelings were stubborn. I helped with the kids, and I am glad I did it. I was right to do it.

Yet still I feel a hole in me, like I was created with potential, and I have been living in willful ignorance of it.

While I was at work I cried out to God, and wished so hard that SOMEONE had brought a bible. No one had, so I prayed, thanking God that I have access by faith, not just through the written Word. But when I got home, what did I do? I surely didn't read my bible.

But still... God definitely loves me. After about 2:00, aside from moments that added to my list, my spirits were lifted over and over by little things people said and did to me. Not only at work, but my sister and brother in-law put on a BBQ for us, and friends came over to help, and more happened that I can't even remember right now. I feel like God blesses me the most when I can most clearly see that I don't deserve it, perhaps to teach me about grace.

Just before we ate supper, my two-year old niece said, "Tante Tuey (tante means aunt, my nickname is Tuey) is a very odd saint."

It brought to mind the many places in scripture where followers of God are called saints. Not so much the halo-adorned type of saint, but biblically, she is right. I am a very odd saint.

I have a lot of problems, today more obviously than most, but I am a saint.

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
‭‭(Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬)

Now I don't mean to make it out that you can live in sin and it doesn't matter because you are a saint. Being a saint is about being in relationship, and "being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit," who is holy and without sin. Sometimes the purification process is very uncomfortable, (like today!) and that, I find, is when God chooses to comfort you by reminding you that you ARE a saint. You may not be a fully developed, perfectly sanctified saint, but God doesn't expect you to be perfectly sanctified before He has sanctified you.

Going on Holiday

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am writing now, because I'm going to my cousin's house for the weekend, and probably won't have time to write while I'm gone.

But that's okay, because this is what I wanted to say.

I have these lovely cousins, see, and I love them so hard.

A long time ago, I was feeling overwhelmed by life, and then I got an invitation to go to their house for a week. I realized when I went that I needed that so much! 

Their house is in the states, so it's far enough away that I really felt like I was getting away from everything that was bothering me, and I felt so restful the whole time I was gone, I just knew God had provided that escape for me.

A while later, the same situation happened! This has actually happened enough times that whenever I feel like I might be getting near the end of my rope, I'm like, "Well, I'll probably get to go to the Russells' when I get there!"

So recently I've been struggling, and it's hard to say exactly how I feel. I don't know if I would describe it as "the end of my rope," because though I feel very much overwhelmed, I do not feel overburdened.

Anyway, they invited me to come for the weekend, and I most gratefully accepted the invitation. I love that God has consistently prepared this home for me as a resting place when I need it. It's just really comforting.

So friends, if this isn't particularly encouraging to you because you have NOT had a resting place, but would wish that you had, take heart.

Know that the same God I serve is the one you serve, and just as He knows what is best for me, He knows what's best for you.

Even better than that, He will never forsake me, and He will NEVER forsake YOU.

For Your Name's Sake

I didn't have a new epiphany this week, but I did remember an old one!

Truth: God is holy, and cannot tolerate sin.

Truth: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Truth: God loves His children and dwells with them.

How can those three things be reconciled?

Christ COMPLETELY paid for our sins when He died. There is nothing we can do that will overcome what He did, He said it's finished. Paid in FULL.

Sometimes though, we think that we can somehow go too far. That at a certain point, God's patience and mercy MUST run out.

At least I do.

I tend to think that every time I sin, I must first ask for forgiveness and THEN Christ's sacrifice will have paid for it, but at a certain point, He must want to stop extending the sacrifice out.

Of course we must ask for forgiveness, but if you were to get struck by lightning a moment after you sinned, and didn't have time to confess, what then? Is Christ's sacrifice not great enough to overcome that?

Of course it is. We're back to the simple gospel, it is not about what you do, it's about what He has done.

Sorry, rabbit trailing a bit here.

Anyway, basically, if this is true, that when you sin you are guilty until He forgives you again, (which according to my logic, He may or may not do) then one of the above Truths must be false.

If sin stays on us (if we are guilty) until God forgives it, then either He can tolerate sin, and is not truly holy, (Truth 1 is a lie) we haven't actually sinned, (Truth 2 is a lie) or He cannot dwell with us. (Truth 3 is a lie.)

But those three statements are all true, and we know that the reason they are true is because of Christ's sacrifice, which again, paid for our sin in full. 

So this idea that we are still sinful after we have believed in Him and His sacrifice for us is wrong.

This is the verse which made this come alive again in my mind yesterday:

Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name’s sake! (Psalms 79:9)

I'll add some emphasis so you can sort of see what I was thinking as I read this.

Help us, O God of our salvation, (Why?) For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, (Why?) For Your name’s sake! (Psalms 79:9)

We think that God couldn't possibly forgive us any more, because we have really pushed our limits.

But it really isn't all about us. He forgives us because He loves us, so in that sense it is, but why does He love us?

Because of who we are, or because of who He is?

For God to love us beyond all reason says more about Him than it does us, it shows how loving He is, it shows who He is. 

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (I John 4:8)

God says throughout the scriptures that He wants to be known, and in showing us love, He is showing us and those around us who He is.

No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

Psalm 79:9 says that to help us, deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, it will actually glorify His name! It will show everyone how great He is, that He would love that far.

I wrote in my notebook about this,

"To say that He can't love us because of something we did is to make ourselves stronger than God. It is partially for His sake that we should ask for deliverance, because if we love Him, we should desire His good reputation."

It is not that God needs us, or that somehow we can make or break His reputation, but when we allow Him to shower us with grace and forgiveness, we are not only accepting blessing, but allowing others through us to see the majesty of our Lord, which is also helping Him accomplish His greater purpose, because He wants to be known by men.

We Call Out to Dry Bones, "Come Alive!"

I don't usually write til Saturday, (or sometimes Sunday or Monday) but occasionally I have something that doesn't want to wait a whole week.

If you have read my blog much, you probably know that I have done pro-life activism before, and if you know me much at all, you probably know that that is something I am fairly passionate about.

Last night at a bible study, this verse really struck me.

“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John‬ ‭3:17-18‬)

It seemed to me to speak so strongly about abortion. If anyone has the physical ability to help the children that they see are in need, but they do not, how can the love of God be in them?

(Now as a disclaimer, I do not mean to say that every person must devote their lives to fighting abortion. There are more problems in the world than that, and no one can do everything. Some people are not called to fight those problems at all, but some other form of ministry. However, the church as a whole is not doing NEARLY enough to fight this problem. I think we must examine our motives. Are you not doing anything to help these children because you feel called to something else, or are you not doing anything because you feel uncomfortable?)

Anyway, this morning in church, we sang a song that I have sung before, loved before, but never saw it the way I did today. The song is called Come Alive by Lauren Daigle, and it speaks of revival.
Through the eyes of men it seems there's so much we have lost, as we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked.

For the first time, this verse brought to mind a very different image than usual. It reminded me of a friend of mine who once found out that a stranger was scheduled to have an abortion, and watched as she walked away. Before chasing after her, she said it was like watching a child literally being walked to their death.

One by one, the enemy has whispered lies, and led them off as slaves.

My heart just started to break.

But we know that You are God, Yours is the victory.
We know that there is more to come that we may not yet see.
So with the faith You've given us, we'll step into the valley unafraid.

Tomorrow I'll be on the front lines of this valley, at a high school talking to students about abortion.

We call out to dry bones come alive, come alive.

This was actually one of the most powerful parts of this song, because the idea is that "dry bones," are dry because they have sat. They've been dead for a while. Sometimes pre-born children don't even have bones, but God showed me how dry bones can mean those children.

We are not reviving them from death, we're saving them from it. They are dry because their death is planned before it happens. To the people involved in the killing, they are already as if they've been dead for a while.

We call out so that dry bones will never be dry bones, we call out "Come alive."

We call out to dead hearts come alive, come alive.

Up out of the ashes, let us see an army rise! We call out to dry bones, come alive.

God, let us save enough children for an army! And let them be Your army.

God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love, 
rescue every daughter, bring us back the wayward sons.

Often, when we discuss about abortion, we refer to the pre-born child as a girl. In order to keep establishing humanity, we use words like "she" and "her," instead of "it." The daughter in this verse represents every endangered child. The wayward sons are this culture, which would be so wicked as to destroy its own offspring.

And by Your Spirit breathe upon them, show the world that You alone can save.

Breath is life. Breathe upon them, give them life.

I know this isn't a happy or encouraging post, but the Lord showed this to me in the song, and I wanted to share what He showed me.

As I mentioned earlier, I will be on the front lines tomorrow. Please pray for me and my team. Every Monday we're doing this, so if you would, commit to pray for us, lives are depending on our effectiveness.

Flesh and Blood

“For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.” Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews‬ ‭2:11-15)

Oftentimes my thoughts are very scattered, so please forgive me if I don't make sense. If nothing from this point on makes sense, at least you will have read some scripture, which is always worth something.

I read Hebrews 2 today, and thought of this.

God is ultimately in charge. If you want to think about it visually like a ladder, God is at the top. He created man, who is flesh and blood, so they are one step down. Because of God they have flesh and blood, just the simple fact that they have flesh and blood shows that they were created of God.

They have children, who are a step down on the ladder from them. The children also have flesh and blood because of their parents, the simple fact that they have flesh and blood shows that they were born of their parents.

For God to put on flesh and blood is an act of amazing humility in itself, because in doing so, He is putting himself on the ladder under His own creation.

Not only this, but think about death.

God is not afraid of death, and death cannot harm Him. There's literally nothing it can do to Him, He would never have a REASON to fear death.

But His children became slaves to the fear of it. His creation was terrified of it.

Not only did He humble himself to the level of a child of His creation, but He allowed Himself to be conquered by the thing that never would have touched Him because He is more powerful than it.

He allowed what His children feared so much to overpower Him, so that it would never have to overpower them.

Obviously, even as a child of flesh and blood, and a victim of death, He still claimed the victory, and still plundered the defeated enemy for his spoils.

Satan's spoils. God's captive children, which He raised up from the ashes of their destroyed kingdom and set on thrones as His heirs.

Let the Weak Say, "I Am Strong."

I wrote this on Wednesday, so it's a few days old, but the truth of it remains. The truth of God always remains.


God ALWAYS comes through.

I've been feeling pretty helpless recently, for a lot of reasons that I won't get into. But this morning, I was just struggling with it again, and praying for help.

I was reading Psalm 70, and praying especially this verse.

“But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.” (Psalms‬ ‭70:5)

I have a few things planned for later today, but I anticipate them being a little bit trying, rather than uplifting. I thought about confiding in someone my troubles, but who? And what could they even do?

Then suddenly, I received a text, from a dear, dear friend. We've been through a lot together, and we have often confided in each other when we needed strength, I trust her.

"Maybe," I thought, "she received some divine inspiration to pray for me, or ask how I'm doing."

But no. Her text was a request for prayer. She was having a rough time too.

My first reaction was sadness, self-pity, I guess, that she was not strong enough for me to lean on. My next that I was not the right person to ask, as I had no strength of my own. But something hit me just then, I realized that I was in the perfect position to pray for her.

As someone who was as weak as she was, we could look together for help from the One whose strength never runs out. Verses suddenly came to mind,

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (II Corinthians‬ ‭12:9‬)

“Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ " (Joel 3:9-10)

The two of us united in prayer, with the Holy Spirit among us, are the strongest possible team, because in our weakness, Christ is strong.

In all the ways I anticipated Him to answer my prayer for encouragement, I never expected it to be through someone who in themselves, could not encourage me. But this is the power of God.

The Hidden Gospel in Jesus' Teaching

I was at a bible study this past Saturday which was not about Luke 10. In fact, I don't even remember why Luke 10 came up, but it did, and it sparked a really fun thought for me, so I'll share it with you.

“And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? ” So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” (Luke 10:25-28)

(I wouldn't have noticed this but for my pastor, so props to him,) The man was quoting Deuteronomy 6:5.

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

What is added?

Deuteronomy does not include "and with all your mind." There is somewhere else in scripture where this shows up though, and that is in Matthew 22.

“Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

It isn't a proven fact, but it seems like this lawyer may have been listening to Jesus previously.

If this is true, I feel like I can actually relate to the lawyer.

Reading the bible, I have often been quite confused by the gospels. When it comes to Jesus' teaching, I found myself often wondering, "What is He even telling us to do?"

Jesus is the core piece of salvation, but though He talked about repentance and such, He didn't really talk much about the actual gospel. It makes sense, because He hadn't died yet, and even when He talked about dying, people didn't understand. So for Him to say, "This is why I have to die, this is how you should respond," (etc.) It would be confusing.

To look at this from the lawyer's perspective, (depending on how long he'd been listening to Jesus) these are the kinds of things He would have heard.

Jesus talked about "the kingdom of heaven." What this kingdom was, or how it would come, He didn't really say.

“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8)

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the 
gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)

There! He does talk about the gospel! He said, "Repent, and believe in the gospel."

But "gospel" just means "good news." So... What good news? 

It's true that it prefaces it by saying, "Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God..." So maybe they got more detail than was recorded, but if He preached the way it is usually written when He preaches about the Kingdom of God, He probably didn't elaborate a lot.

He talked about a coming judgment, and told them to watch for it with eagerness.

“But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.” (Matthew 11:22)

“Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—” (Mark 13:33-35)

He taught people about righteousness.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth..." (Matthew 5:3-5)

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:20-22)

He taught that He had not come to destroy the law... yet He seemed to sometimes break it.

“When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11)

“So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.” (Mark 3:2)

He taught that only those who obeyed His teachings would enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” (John 14:23-24)

But which teachings? ALL of His teachings? Because if that was it...

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

...everyone would fail.

But Jesus doesn't expect people to fail, in fact, He said another time,

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30)


Understandably, the lawyer is confused. But when he asks Jesus to explain Himself, Jesus didn't do it how he wanted. Instead, Jesus asks HIM. "What does the law say?"

The man replies with what Jesus calls the two greatest commandments, to "Love the Lord your God," and "Love your neighbor."

Jesus tells him to go do those. I think it's important to realize why Jesus didn't tell Him, "Just believe."

At least this is why I think Jesus told him what He did. Why are those the two greatest commandments? Why does the whole law hang on those? Because those two commandments show the heart of God.

From the beginning, God desired relationship with His people, He wanted us to know Him, not just know about Him. Love the Lord your God, and you will learn what will please Him. Love the people He has made, and you will learn how to treat them.

The man wanted to justify Himself, it says, so he asked, "Who is my neighbor?"

Did Jesus just tell him, "Everyone, duh."?

Nope.

He told him a story, in which is revealed the heart of God. He tells a story of a man who gave extravagantly for a man who was his enemy. (Sounds a little bit like Jesus, huh?)


Jesus' teaching was confusing. But I think His purpose in so much of what He said was not to teach us specifically how to be saved, but to demonstrate the heart of His Father. He came to be the sacrifice that would allow us relationship with God, but before He died, He showed us Who we would get to have relationship with.

“Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9)

Another thing that used to confuse me about Jesus' teaching, was the fact that though He barely talked about the gospel, (and again, when He did, it didn't really seem like the disciples got it) after His ascension, the disciples went out and preached the gospel, fully understanding it. 

How?

When Jesus called the disciples, He said, "Follow Me." What did it mean to follow Him? Literally, follow Him around. Walk where He walked, watch what He did, listen to what He said. Very rarely did He tell them to do things, though when He left, they all went and performed miracles as they had seen Him do.

This too showed the heart of God. He wants followers who will go where He goes, watch what He does, listen to what He says, and do the things that He tells us to do.

It was really cool to skim through the gospels to get all of these references and things, because I started to see themes, and the way they all concluded was beautiful.

Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, and repentance. He taught about the law, and how there was more to it than the Jewish people understood. And then He talked about faith.

“Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.” (Matthew 8:13)

“Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” ( Luke 7:50)

They had missed it, but they needed to know that a major part of God's heart was that the relationship between them and Him be built on faith, as their father Abraham's was, who was originally given the promise. So Jesus demonstrated for them.

After witnessing a continual testimony of who God is displayed in Jesus throughout the first three gospels, I came to John, where Jesus does actually explain the gospel, and it's amazing to read those words coming from the Man who knew He was going to, but hadn't even died yet.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:14-20)

Just think for a moment, how hard would it have been to say the words, "Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light," knowing that they were completely true?

He who loved so much that He would give everything for them, knew that they would look Him in the eyes, and still nail Him to a cross.

Wow.

I can't even fathom the kind of love that would extend as far as God's love extends. But Jesus came to be a physical representation, and His Spirit lives in me as a constant demonstration of that love, so that I can begin to understand it.

Because that Love wants to be known. That Love wants to be known by me.

The Love That Turns the Other Cheek

Hello friends!

I had a thing I was going to post about, and then I realized that it is Sunday night and I still need to do some study before that one is ready, so I have something else instead.

“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise."
‭‭(Luke‬ ‭6:27-31‬)

 I have often heard the expression, "You don't have to be a doormat," used to encourage people to take care of themselves. I agree with it on the one hand, but I have, for a long time, believed that that attitude can be a little bit dangerous.

Jesus modelled for us the life we need to live, and He was not afraid to wash feet. He became humble to the point of dying on a cross for the sake of relationship with people who MOCKED Him.

Jesus did not protect Himself from that, He became the epitome of a "doormat." Those who followed Him also showed radical humility in the way they lived their lives.

Needless to say, I have always read that verse in Luke 6 to affirm my stance on the idea, which I do think still, but I have a new insight on it now.

Imagine this scenario.



I hit you.

You turn the other cheek to me, "Thanks, I love getting hit! Please hit the other also!" You reply.

No. That's not how it works.

Why are you turning the other cheek to me?

Because you are a follower of Christ, and you know that Christ created me in His image. A pure image, a perfect image, a holy image, one that does not strike someone if everything is okay.

Everything is not okay, and you know that.

Instead the scenario is more like this,

I hit you.

You turn the other cheek to me. "I'm sorry that you are hurting, and I know that's why you hurt me. Please hit my other cheek also, if it will help. I want to be the one to bear your burden with you. You took my cloak, allow me to give you my other also, I want to help you."


I had never seen it that way before, but it's more inspiring, I think.

If I am hurt, and because of it someone is saved, I will willingly be hurt.

If I am slandered, and because of it someone grows closer to Jesus, I will willingly bear that shame.

This is what turning the other cheek about. It's not about being trampled on, it's about loving so much that we are willing to be trampled on.

After all, we were the ones who mocked as Jesus laid down His life. If we love like that, we are only giving the kind of love that was already given to us.

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ 

Saying Goodbye

I'm on the road right now, driving home from dropping off my sister in Port Burwell, where she will live for two months, and then go on to Guatemala, where she will live for another two months.

In case the math was too much for you just now, that's FOUR months away from her favorite sister.

Really, I am just having a rough time realizing that she will be away from me for so long. What am I going to do??

The great thing is that God is good, and He stays with His children.

Whether or not we are in contact with each other, God, who is nearer to me than anyone else, is just as near to her.

I always feel as though there's something missing when this particular sister is gone, but I think that truth will help me through these months. 

I can trust God with her. To take care of her, to comfort her, and to just spend time with her.

This probably sounds really silly, but it does give me great comfort.

I left her a note with one of my favorite verses as we left.

The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

I'll miss you Tirzah! I hope God blesses you greatly while you're away.

Spanish Songs, Nicknames, Cheesecakes, Everything is Awesome.

Yesterday was my birthday, I am officially an adult. 

It was amazing. In the span of a few hours I went from being immature and oblivious, to being a knowledgable, independant and responsible adult.

Here's some advice from someone older and wiser than you, all you seventeen year olds out there: Turn eighteen.

Okay, honestly though, I feel the same. Just like I always have every time I turned a new age.

I didn't have a great epiphany this week, so I'll just talk about some other things which may or may not interest you at all.

Number 1 is my genius plan at work! Anyone who has been to McDonalds in Canada in the past year will have seen their self-order kiosks.

To the average person, it doesn't matter which kiosk is which, but as a Guest Experience Leader at McDonalds, it is really frustrating for me when I can't think of ways to make myself remember which one is out of printing paper, which one is frozen, etc.

They each have numbers, but I have all but given up on my ability to remember numbers.

So two days ago, I came up with a creative solution!

I christened them Beth, Theodore, Eliza, and Charles.

It's worked like a charm. My mission now is to get everyone at my store calling them by those names, which will not only make communication easier, but it will also be really funny.

Imagine.

"Who even took that order?"

"I don't know, OH! It was Theodore."

"Ohhh....Theodore!"

Seriously Ted. Get your act together.

"Beth needs printing paper!"

"Eliza is being stubborn again..."

"Why are you so mean to me? Charles is never mean to me. Charles is my friend."

"So one of your jobs as a Guest Experience Leader will be to ask guests to use the kiosks. These are our kiosks, Beth, Theodore, Eliza, and Charles. Eliza is the oldest. She's mean."

Hehehe. Yeah, it probably wouldn't ever go that far. But it's really fun having names for them.

The other thing I've been up to is choreographing to a Spanish song!

My sister Tirzah is going to Guatemala for a missions trip, and she's fundraising, so we're putting on a dinner for her at our church.

We know a bunch of Spanish worship songs since my other sister lived in Guatemala for ten months, so my younger sister and I picked one and choreographed to it to perform at her dinner.

The song is called La Cruz by Lead, if you want to look it up on Youtube.

Other than that....what have I been up to?

Well I got a cheesecake. That was a first.

#GELperks #regulars #niceoldguyatMcDonalds

Thus ends the update on my life.

I would just like to thank my mom, and my dad, and my sister, and my other sister, and my other sister, and my other sister, and my other sister, and my brother, and my other sister....

Haha, yeah. Such a mature eighteen year old. ;)

I will conclude with thanking everyone for the birthday wishes though! I worked yesterday, and we didn't get to have our family celebration, but the day was still really special.

And my sterotypical, but still really true, ending statement, Jesus is awesome!!!

Everything is awesome! (especially Jesus) Everything is cool when you're part of a team! (God's team) Everything is awesome, (especially Jesus) when you're living a dream! (The Kingdom dream)

Improvised Lyrics by Keturah Thomson

End Note:

I'm planning on going to Mississippi next summer! I still need help raising money, with a goal of $3,015! If you can donate at all to help me out, please email me at dancingfor1king@gmail.com