Birth is Not the Beginning

I feel that it's only fair to warn you that the following is a really weird analogy. If you feel uncomfortable with topics like pregnancy and birth, feel free to flee the scene right about now.

Recently, I was thinking about one of Jesus' conversations.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Nicodemus is justifiably confused, so he asks, and gets a... sort of explanation, of what Jesus means.

My thoughts took a different turn than Nicodemus's this time around. I've heard many a sermon and spent many a day thinking on what it means to be "born again," but that isn't what I thought of this time. Instead, I reasoned that God doesn't do things that are incomplete. God doesn't need to be educated on basic biology, He knows that birth is not the beginning of life.

If God doesn't do things that are incomplete, is there more to this analogy than comes out in their middle-of-the-night conversation?

If birth is the beginning of a new Christian's life, then what is conception? When is conception? Does the 9-month timeline, or the 3 trimesters, have any reflection in "spiritual pregnancy?"

I don't have answers to all of these questions, although I imagine God does. In the Old Testament, the analogy of "a woman in birth pangs," is used quite frequently. Usually the idea is that someone is going through something terrible and hard, but eventually it will end, and the result will make the difficult process worth it.

Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in birth pangs. For now you shall go forth from the city, you shall dwell in the field, and to Babylon you shall go. There you shall be delivered; There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. (Micah 4:10)

A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. (John 16:21-22)

The birth analogy is not new to the Jesus' mid-night conversation, although He approaches it from a different angle. If we examine both angles together, we see that the deliverance that is always either explicit or implicit in labour analogies, has a final fulfillment in Christ. Nicodemus, being a Pharisee well versed in the scriptures, would likely have recognized the connotation of "rebirth" right away.

Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked; I will make a wailing like the jackals and a mourning like the ostriches, for her wounds are incurable. For it has come to Judah; It has come to the gate of My people—To Jerusalem. (Micah 1:8-9)

Throughout the bible, God shows His grief over sin, and not just because He is offended, but because He is grieved for the sinner. I mention this because if there is a "spiritual pregnancy" resulting is "rebirth," then God is the one carrying the child, and God is the one who experiences the "birth pangs."

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10)

Jesus comes and shows that the pain of grief was not in vain, but like a difficult labour, it will eventually end, and new life will be the result. Jesus says that He came to "seek" and to "save that which was lost."

The seeking is the painful part, the saving is the joyful part. So it would seem to follow that the seeking is the pregnancy, and the saving is the birth.

This has a few connotations which I think are cool. Firstly, after a child is born, she is largely cared for by her mother, but she may be passed off to others around, to help. As the body of Christ, we can take the baby and help care for her. But before the child is born, she cannot be passed off to anyone else, the mother is the only one who can care for her. In a way, it's a relief for us, because it shows that God is the one responsible for that person's salvation, we don't have to try to bring it about.

 ...being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you (conception?) will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Philippians 1:6 - my note added)

That being said, we are also "the body of Christ," and unlike in an actual pregnancy, this person is visible to all of us, among us all the time. So if we are not the ones responsible for their salvation, what is our responsibility to this "pre-born Christian?"

Let's start with this question, What does a pre-born child need for a healthy pregnancy? The proper nutrition, and the proper environment.

In Matthew 5, Jesus says,

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

We are called to be "salt and light." Salt is a nutrient, and light is a part of an environment. Salt is a preservative, it makes you thirsty, and it helps to retain water. Spiritually, this is an easy parallel to draw, since the One Who brings salvation gives "Living water." (I'm not going to get into what Light is all about, Matthew 5 did a pretty good job of summarizing.)

So it seems to me, that just as natural birth is a complicated, but beautiful process, so is spiritual birth. 

Conception, in both cases, is God's work. Natural pregnancy is a time in which the child is prepared for birth, and nutrition and environment are essential to the health of the child; Spiritual pregnancy is a time in which God is seeking and preparing His child for rebirth, and we, as nutrition and environment, are essential to the spiritual health of the new child of God. 

Both kinds of "pregnancies" can be very painful for the one carrying the child, but the end result is worth the hardship.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. (Isaiah 49:15)

Not Forgotten

It's Mother's Day!

I haven't quite been able to articulate my thoughts for a few weeks, but when I realized that today is Mother's Day, I had no trouble thinking of a host of things to say.

First of all, I am very blessed to be the daughter of Suzanne Thomson, one of the greatest mothers who ever lived. Earlier, I was looking at a vase filled with carnations that adorns the buffet in our dining room, and thinking about the generations of Godly women in my family.

My Dad's family lived in this house before we did, so my Grandma was the lady of this house, and she was known for being a prayer warrior. The vase belonged to my Oma, who was a hardworking, Godly Mennonite. My Mother has set an excellent example of following Christ and following the leadership of her husband. Now, three of my sisters have small children, and I am seeing the trends of love and humility continue.

I have to sit back in awe, and thank God for the incredible women in my life. I aspire to follow in their footsteps.

But my Mother's Day thoughts don't end there. I'm reminded that on every occasion for celebration, there is also grief.

I know that there are many people today, grieving the loss of their mothers. My heart goes out to you. I know that there are many mothers today, grieving the loss of their children. My heart breaks for you.

I am a part of a group, (I've mentioned before) that does activism on the streets of Windsor, talking about the truth of abortion. During one of those days, I spoke with a young man who told me that his girlfriend had had an abortion years earlier. Until our conversation, he had never thought of his child as a baby. It was both heartbreaking and amazing to be able to watch him begin to deal with it. It was hard for him to realize what he had done, but he knew if he never faced it, he would never be able to find peace about it.

I know that there are many women who have chosen abortion, because they didn't see another way out of their situation. Some have faced it, as the man I mentioned did, and found closure and restoration. Others have never had the courage to think about it. Some have never told anyone. My heart aches for you.

I can't imagine the grief that would come with the loss of a child, but even more, I can't imagine how hard it would be to bear that grief alone.

This Mother's Day, I want to remember the mothers who feel alone.

Whether you are raising a child by yourself, whether you had a miscarriage, or whether you had an abortion, you are not forgotten. If you feel lonely or hopeless, know that you are not alone, and there is hope!

For all of us, let's become the kind of people that would inspire confidence from those who are facing such a heartbreaking decision like abortion. Let's be the people who will comfort those who are grieving, and who will support those in need. We pray that abortion will become unthinkable in our society, but let's replace the feeling of despair that drives people to it, with an assurance of support that will encourage people to keep their children.

After all, the kind of parents we aspire to be like are the ones who love most.


Just a note: If you are a mother (even if your child/children are not living) and you do feel lonely or you really need someone to connect with, please send me an email! If I feel that I can't relate enough to your situation to truly be able to encourage you, I have friends who have been through really rough circumstances, who would love to be able to listen to your story, and love you.

You can reach me at keturahthomson12@gmail.com

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matt 11:28-29)

I'm Back!

Hi friends.

(happy sigh)

It's good to be back.

In my last post, (back in the dead of winter) I said something about how I was making life decisions and how God is good. I think now would be a good time to explain.

Since the last time I wrote a post about my life, I was invited again to join 1:11 Ministries on a Christmas tour, performing an old ballet redone, called The Christmas Chest. It was a lot of fun, we worked hard, (both at McDonalds part-time and in the studio) and turned out a really great performance.

Back in 2016, we performed a Christmas ballet called Incarnation, and after that production, I was beyond inspired. My dreams were reawakened and reimagined, I couldn't wait to keep training, so I could keep dancing for the rest of my life.

This time, I wrestled with a lot of different feelings. There was a lot going on, (it's not a simple explanation) so I'll just say that I asked myself and God a lot of questions, and by the end of December, I had decided that I felt called to take a break.

I haven't danced since December 23rd.

I don't know if I will be called back to it, I'm certainly open to that possibility. I still love dancing, it still inspires me, and I think God communicates through it in a way He doesn't through anything else. But for now, I am learning to hear from God in different ways.

At the moment, I am spending my time working at McDonalds, studying for my GED, teaching Sunday school, and trying to sit still at the feet of Jesus.

The other day I was reminded of the old hymn, "Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

That's my life motto right now.

I hope this post doesn't carry a sad undertone. I am really, really excited these days. I see God working in my life, and I couldn't ask for much more. I find GREAT comfort in the fact that God is God, and I am not.

Friend. Keep trusting in Jesus. That's about all I have to say at this point. Maybe next time I'll have something more profound to say...or maybe that's the most profound thing I've ever said.

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!

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.

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

How Dead Is "Dead To Sin?"

"He is Risen!" Churches everywhere will cry tomorrow morning and evening.

He is risen indeed.   

Are we?

He died to our sins.

Did we?

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4)    

I read an interesting internet debate yesterday between a Catholic and a Protestant, one holding the view that Christians can live sinless lives and the other holding that as we are a fallen race, we can't help but stumble sometimes, and in those times Christ has grace for us.

It was an interesting read for me because I have wondered about that for a while, and though I don't have a definite view on it yet, I could debate either side with zeal because both have biblical and logical ground, which is why I am still confused.

Before I get into it, let me just explain that before I decided I didn't know, I thought I understood that people are incapable of living perfectly. What confuses me are places in scripture which seem to indicate that we can.

Romans 6 says, "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" It's asked with an attitude of, "That's silly! Why would we?"

The counter argument would be that we can try not to sin, but we will fail, because we are sinful creatures. After all...    

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23)

Yet then couldn't I say, the text is past tense? "for all HAVE sinned..."

In the very same passage it says,

“being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." (Romans 3:24-26)

 "The sins that were PREVIOUSLY committed, to demonstrate at the PRESENT time His righteousness, that He might be just and THE JUSTIFIER OF THE ONE WHO HAS FAITH IN JESUS."

What are your thoughts on the whole thing?

Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

Is He really giving us a command that's impossible for us to keep? I thought He just freed us from the burden of the law, because it was impossible for us to keep.

Doesn't the bible tell us that we are "more than conquerors through Him who loved us?" (Note: That verse is present tense.)

Does "dying to sin," really speak of something in the distant future, or can we rise above that grave now?

The more I look at it, the more I am starting to be persuaded to think that we can. After all, everyone agrees that Christ is powerful enough to triumph over sin, in fact we'd say He already did. Is He now bound by a waiting period before sin can stop separating us from Him, or does the simple fact that the Holy Spirit lives in us give us the clue that perhaps...we can be without it?  

Another thing that makes me think this way is this. (It's not scripture, it's just logic.)

If we could live sinless during our life on earth, don't you think Satan would try to persuade us that we can't?

If we fully believe that we WILL sin (be it accidental or just in a moment of weakness) because of our fallen nature, don't you think we are more likely to? What if we fully believed that in EVERY situation, "with the temptation will He make the way of escape,"? (1 Corinthians 10:13) Don't you think we would have more will-power to say no to sin?

It would be in Satan's best interest to tell us that we CANNOT rise above sin, that we must always rely on Christ's forgiveness.

I am not suggesting that we don't rely on His forgiveness at all, because obviously we have sinned, and Christ has forgiven those sins, but going back to Romans 6, it seems to say that though we know we need grace and we are thankful for grace, we should not continue to do things that would cause us to need more of it.

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:15-16)

I brought up this discussion to my friend, and one thing he pointed out which I agree with, is that all things considered, it doesn't really matter which side of the argument is true. If you are truly a follower of Christ, you will be striving for perfection, whether or not you think you can attain it.

As I wanted to say when I read the internet debate about it, I don't think it is worth dividing the church over, because that would be another one of Satan's delights.

But if we are to have this conversation, the first time I encountered this view, I felt suddenly way more challenged to strive for holiness than I ever had before. If a goal is reachable, the race seems so much more worth running.  

God showed me something a few years ago which I will share with you, it's found in this verse.

 “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)

Having life more abundantly is about abiding in Christ. I have never felt more fulfilled in my life than when I knew I was doing exactly what He wanted, and spending time with Him. Living in Christ gives a whole new meaning to the word LIFE.

He showed me that the reason I will love heaven is not because there will be no more tears or death, not because streets of gold, but because I will have abundant life the way I was starting to understand it here, but there with NO restrictions, no veils. Nothing between me and God.

But this isn't something to be only had in heaven, we can have life more abundantly here on earth, and this, I believe, is God's will for us. If we were living completely free from sin, we would definitely be more able to abide in Christ, (or if we were abiding in Christ, we'd be more likely to live sinlessly) so it makes sense to me that God would make a way for us to live sinlessly so that we could concentrate on learning how to more completely abide in Him.

For the past year or so I believe God has been teaching me about the significance of names. My name "Keturah" means "Holy," or "Holy Crown." (I've heard both translations) My middle name is "Love."

Maybe the reason I am so interested in this is because God has been showing me that there is a reason He gave me that name, and He is calling me to a higher level of holiness than what I am now. How sinless is it possible to be on earth? Can I really try to be perfect as He is perfect?

Again, it's all just food for thought. I don't know what I think of it quite yet, (although I think you can tell what direction I'm leaning) and I don't think it's worth dividing the church over, but it's definitely something to consider.

At least to ask yourself the question, if you knew that you could live sinlessly, would anything about your life or your efforts change? If so, whether or not you believe you can, allow Christ to refine you further.

Happy Easter. :)




End Note: I am going to Mississippi! If you would like to find out more about it and consider supporting me, please check out my GoFundMe page HERE. :) I'll be getting it fixed soon, but my donations are actually disabled right now, cause I have to get my withdrawal thing set up. So if you would like to donate something toward my trip, you can email me at dancingfor1king@gmail.com, and we can figure something out. My donations should be set up on the page soon.

The Call that Kept Calling

On Tuesday, December 6th, my Grandpa passed away.

As one of the younger grandchildren, I didn't know him as well as a lot of my siblings and cousins, so I don't have a whole blog post full of memories and feelings to write, but I wanted to share something that has really meant a lot to me.

My grandparents influenced a LOT of people. I think they saw a lot of fruit from their labor, but I'm sure a lot of fruit was never seen by them, and sometimes they saw fruit from labor they never saw.

What I mean by that is simply that God works in so many ways, and when people are following Him and open to being used by Him, He can use them in situations in which they can't even see Him working.

One of those times was 6 years ago, when he talked with his 11 year old granddaughter on the phone, on her birthday.

Grandpa always called us on our birthdays, I was happy to talk to him. He asked if I wanted him to start giving out $200 to people on their birthdays, I joked along and said yes.

But then he said something I don't think I'll ever forget.

"My eleventh year was a huge growing year for me spiritually," he told me. He said some more, something along the lines of it being a huge turning point and he grew really close to God that year.

I was really mad at him for saying that.

What he didn't know, was that I had started into the darkest season of my life a year earlier. Everything had been getting steadily worse, and I knew, going into my eleventh year, that it was going to be even worse.

I was purposely turning my back on God, and I did NOT want that kind of reminder. I didn't let on, I said something polite and tried to change the subject.

This dark season continued for the next two years. I became a Christian when I was 13, but before that, God never stopped calling me.

When I look back, I see SO many ways God called me during those three years, and one of the ways He continued to use was that memory.

It came back to me many, many times, and I remember thinking about that with so much regret when I became a Christian. God opened my eyes to the amount of people who had been praying for me, even though no one knew what I was struggling through, and He impressed it on me that my grandparents had prayed for me a lot.

I am so, so grateful for my grandparents.

I wiah I could tell my grandpa how much that phone call means to me now, but I can't. By the time I overcame my fear of telling anyone about that time in my life, he had developed alzheimers. If I told him, he wouldn't remember the phone call, and he might not even remember me.

But I look forward to seeing him someday when we're both in the company of our favorite person, and I can look into the face of the One who called me into relationship with Himself, and one of the ones He used to get my attention.

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, (I Timothy 2:1)

It's Not About Me

I sometimes think about the end of my life. I am sure all of us do, it is something inevitable to happen, unless of course Jesus were to return sooner.

But that thought used to depress me. Not just to think about the end of my life, but the near end of it. My grandfather, who is a wonderful man, has alzheimer's. I love him a lot, and it is hard sometimes to give him a hug and see on his face that he is struggling to remember who I am.

If I were to develop alzheimer's as I get older, I don't want to go through that pain. I don't want to go through the pain of losing my own parents. The future, as it holds so much end of life, used to scare me a lot.

Not only that but, this is something not everyone will be able to relate to I'm sure, I'm a little weird. But I used to not want to grow older simply because what if I were to get married, and have children, they would begin the prime of their life, and I would have to face the end of mine slowly closing in on me.

I say "used to," because seven months ago, my twin nieces were born.

After they were born, I thought about them a lot, about how they will get older and play together, they'll play on our swingset, and make mud pies in the yard, they'll learn things that I learned when I was younger, and they will have a lot of fun. As they get even older, they will have dreams and aspirations, they'll grow to be teeneagers and start to have bigger responsibilities, the list of things that they will do goes on and on.

Through thinking about them, and then about my own kids if I ever have them, God began to show me that my life really is not about me.

It isn't about others either, since we all will pass away at some time. We may seem to be the centre of our life but we really are not, we can't even control it.

My life, truly, is all about God.

This is so freeing to realize, and I continue to realize it more and more each day. I am relieved of the burden of having a life be all about me, and I am given the freedom to live for someone greater, to be a part of something greater.

If all of our lives were about us, we'd go around doing our thing for however many years we have, and the end of it would truly be a depressing thing.

But since our lives are about Jesus, when we die we can know that it is not the end. His plan will continue to go on, helped by other people who realize that their lives are not about them, and we get to have the satisfation of knowing that we are done our part.

So Strong

Hallo again!

I have been meaning to make blogging a weekly thing, but I don't want to blog if I have nothing special to blog about, so I have not done it for the past...about 13 days. I apologize.

BUT.

I believe that there was a reason I felt no strong urge to post earlier, and the reason has just revealed itself now.

Please, anyone who reads this, share it on Facebook, tell your friends about, get the word around.

We have just been made aware that one of our family's friends from a long time ago just gave birth to twins at 24 WEEK AND 4 DAYS.

They weigh only about 1 pound each, (a little over a pound I think, I don't know the exact weight) and have only 20% chance of survival.

The mother's name is Naomi Senn and the babies are Malachi and Ellanie. The Senns also have a little boy.


Naomi has left the hospital for the night leaving the babies in the care of the doctors and nurses, and will be going back tomorrow, please pray that these twins will be alive and breathing when she gets back!

Also that there will be complete healing and normal development in their bodies, as, were they to survive, this situation could cause damage in a number of ways physically.

If you want to find out more about them, look at their Facebook page Here.


As I heard about this I was just in awe at how these babies are so strong. They are so tiny, and can barely breath, yet, without any real reason in their minds, they struggle and are still alive.

Praise God for these tiny lives! Praise God for His ability to make something SO small be SO strong! They are so precious to Him, and I don't think He would ever want them to suffer. Your prayers are really appreciated.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant

A few days ago I attended an amazing funeral.

I haven't been to many funerals, and all of the ones I have been to were Christian funerals, so I can't say much about the comparison, but I can tell you what I found outstanding about it.

I didn't know the man very well, I had only met him in person once I think, maybe twice, but I knew just from the brief moments that I talked with him that he was a very godly man.

When I had just become a Christian I decided that I didn't want to call myself a Christian. I didn't want to tell anyone, I wanted them to figure it out for themselves. I wanted the way I acted, the way I spoke, even just the general way I portrayed myself to be all about Jesus. I thought that if I was a Christian, then I had Jesus in me, right? People say that the eyes are the windows to your soul, so if Jesus is in me, they should be able to see Jesus in my eyes.

This man had Jesus in his eyes. :)

The thing that amazed me about his funeral was that he planned it, and it portrayed what he loved most.

Jesus Christ.

And it was evident.

Right on the front of the program, (picked by himself) was 1 Samuel 2:30, Those who honor Me I will honor.

The verse was proven correct. There were tons of people there, all of them there because in some way or other, he had affected their lives and they wanted to honor him. He was honored by the number of people that were there, by the things that were said about him, by the tears shed for him, and by being taken to a place reserved for the people that Jesus loves. More than we can imagine God has honored him. All because he honored God in his life, and that was what he wanted to show. He wanted to tell people that if you honor God, God will honor you.

I love how even though the event was about him, he still pointed everything back to Christ.

Even though I knew him but for a short time, and I don't know that he even knew my name, I count in as a blessing to have met him. He was a great man, and a great example.

I realized as I stood and sang one of the hymns that this is what I wanted my funeral to be like. I don't want it to be about me. I want people to see that I loved God, and I want people to see how great He is.

I want my funeral to be celebration, because God has at last taken me to a place that I don't deserve to go to, because He loved me.

I want to leave behind the kind of legacy that this man left behind, and inspire other people, like he inspired me, to live so much for Christ that even their death can bring Him glory.

Life

I love life!

This is my first blog post, so I felt that the first words should be important, they should reflect me, what I feel, who I am. The best way I can express this is simply through those three words, I love life.

Take a moment and examine this moment, what do you have to be grateful for? Honestly take a moment and just think, you have so many things. I am not directing this at a specific group of people, I am not saying your life is in order, I am not saying you have everything going for you, I am not saying really anything is right in your life. You may be at your wits end, you may have broken relationships and debts that need to be paid, I don't know what your situation is. But what I am saying is that you live in a world with four seasons, each as beautiful as the next. You live in a world where the rain falls and grows plants of all kinds, where there are hidden blessings all around you. Just look around, you will find them.

There was a time when I could not find beauty in these things.
If this is you, you still have something to be grateful for, and this is the secret to my happiness, the reason I love life.

Someone loves you.

His name is Jesus. He loves you.

He can look past your mistakes, He can look past your wits end, and tell you He loves you.

Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 b) I do love this life, I love its seasons, its joys, its lessons, I love it because it is a gift given to me by my Father, but it is not just this, I love the life that I have because I am a Christian, because now all of those things in this life are given to me more abundantly.

This is life. Learning to accept the love that He has given to you, learning to love Him back. And it is beautiful.