It's been almost 6 weeks since I handed in my criminal records check to volunteer at the school my AT works at now. I can not start volunteering until I have it. I am turning into a mad woman checking the mail each day to see if it has arrived! I want to start volunteering ASAP, but without it there is no chance of that happening, the quicker I get into the school, I can learn more, and buddy up to the principal! =)
Based on a dream I had last week though, I just need to hold on to God's promises for me once again. That dream left me with a smile on my face. God is good!
The CRC has not arrived yet =(
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Stumblebum
This is a hilarious game! I can't wait to play it with the rest of Zoe when they come back for the Christmas holidays!
Went shopping with Richard, Kelly, Eleasa & Bonnie on Sunday. It was fun times indeed! We accomplished our mission and we bought a fun new game! It is crazy how packed the mall is already, but then I thought about it yesterday, there is only about a month left until Christmas, so it is crazy how fast time has passed!
Went shopping with Richard, Kelly, Eleasa & Bonnie on Sunday. It was fun times indeed! We accomplished our mission and we bought a fun new game! It is crazy how packed the mall is already, but then I thought about it yesterday, there is only about a month left until Christmas, so it is crazy how fast time has passed!
Hungry
This past weekend was eye-opening in ways. I have to admit that I did not think that it would work, and then I get totally owned by God. This is what happens when I do not believe in Him and his power to convict each of our hearts.
On Saturday we did a program that shed light on poverty, hunger, and HIV/AIDS around the world. We fasted from Friday night's dinner to the next day's "lunch" which was prepared by Felix's grandparents in the form of plain congee. It was really eye-opening and an experience in itself to go through it all.
On Friday night, God had spoken to me about another aspect that was not necessarily touched upon in Saturday's program but I still felt that God was trying to teach me something, to encourage me. I wrote this down in my journal:
I need to be hungry - both spiritually and physically.
Spiritual:
- need to read the Bible to become full
- cannot be fully satisfied each day without my spiritual food (Bible reading & prayer)
- I need to feel hungry!
Physical
- reflecting on how truly blessed I am!
- every reminder of food turns me back to God who provided me with it
- showed me how the people around the world who go hungry each night feel
On Saturday we did a program that shed light on poverty, hunger, and HIV/AIDS around the world. We fasted from Friday night's dinner to the next day's "lunch" which was prepared by Felix's grandparents in the form of plain congee. It was really eye-opening and an experience in itself to go through it all.
On Friday night, God had spoken to me about another aspect that was not necessarily touched upon in Saturday's program but I still felt that God was trying to teach me something, to encourage me. I wrote this down in my journal:
I need to be hungry - both spiritually and physically.
Spiritual:
- need to read the Bible to become full
- cannot be fully satisfied each day without my spiritual food (Bible reading & prayer)
- I need to feel hungry!
Physical
- reflecting on how truly blessed I am!
- every reminder of food turns me back to God who provided me with it
- showed me how the people around the world who go hungry each night feel
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Who Am I
After talking with Kev last night and talking about James and how we sometimes feel like we are like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind because of our doubt that God will deliver, I was reminded of this song, Who Am I by Casting Crowns:
Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.
And it is so true - it is totally not because of who I am, because seriously, I suck, and it is all because of GOD and everything that he has done for me! I am totally, 100% God's! He hears me when I cry out to him and is always there to catch me, who can I say in my life has ALWAYS been there for me, since I was born until where I am today. God rescued me from so much darkness in my life to redeem me and make me his child. I need to be reminded everyday that I am HIS and need to live my life as such.
Since I did not have this song on my computer, I turned to youtube, and this video really touched me last night.
And then it was pretty cool that Marc chose to sing this song at Prayer Meeting tonight!
Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
I am yours.
Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.
And it is so true - it is totally not because of who I am, because seriously, I suck, and it is all because of GOD and everything that he has done for me! I am totally, 100% God's! He hears me when I cry out to him and is always there to catch me, who can I say in my life has ALWAYS been there for me, since I was born until where I am today. God rescued me from so much darkness in my life to redeem me and make me his child. I need to be reminded everyday that I am HIS and need to live my life as such.
Since I did not have this song on my computer, I turned to youtube, and this video really touched me last night.
And then it was pretty cool that Marc chose to sing this song at Prayer Meeting tonight!
Blessings
God has definitely blessed me the last week with some awesome conversations with friends, old and new!
An interesting conversation with a friend on Thursday last week where I was challenged about my spiritual disciplines. Jeff altered my views on some things, very refreshing indeed. I am so glad that I took the time to meet up with him since we don't get to see each other as often anymore. But I am happy for him and it was great hearing about what God is doing in his life!
Friday night was dinner with Aban for her birthday. God has been convicting me to demonstrate my faith more openly and publicly. The fact that there were some non-Christians there who I have been friends with since high school was a great opportunity to do so. Although it was about a particular topic that we never really got to a unified answer to, we were still talking about the Word and using it as our foundation to answer the question, which may cause them to think further.
On Saturday morning, Zoe met with Pastor Scott, a prospect for the English pastor candidacy at church. It was an interesting topic, he did a spin on prayer, and it ended up being about church history, but it was interesting nonetheless. However, he did challenge us on our knowledge of the Bible. As in the words of one of the girls, he made us feel like "bad Christians." But I think that it was a wake-up call for me, like I may say I know things about the Bible, or people may perceive that of me, but do I really know the Bible?! I do not even know all the books of the Bible, especially the OT (minor prophets...)!
Sunday's message by Pastor Scott was also convicting. He preached on mercy using Jonah as an example. Jonah knew what he was supposed to do, God spoke to him so loud and clear, yet he still ran the other way. However, God is merciful, and he came to Jonah a second time, and spoke to him. This time Jonah obeyed. He did what he was told, and preached an eight word sermon to the Ninevites. Only EIGHT words! But God worked mightily through those eight words because Jonah had finally chosen to obey. God provided Jonah with a second chance, God has provided me with a second chance, third, fourth, fifth,... chances - Pastor Scott challenged the congregation have I been giving others these chances?
Sunday school was also awesome. It challenged me again about my Bible reading - something that I had just talked with Jeff about a couple days prior. He provided four things that are required in order to effectively read the Bible:
1. PRAY (oh how often we forget this!)
2. Genre
3. Reading the OT through the lense of the NT
4. Using Scripture to interpret the Scripture
Meeting Jessy on Monday was another great blessing! Things just flow out of my mouth and I don't know how to stop them sometimes when I am talking to her. But of course, there is that security of not being judged or condemned for the things that I say. She has been such a help to me the last few months and I do not feel that I have been the same to her at times. I pray that I can encourage her as well with the things that she shares with me!
Tonight I also had a great conversation. The first one was with Kelly, a dear friend and sister in Christ since our days at MCBC. We both went through the same thing in our past, something that we can relate to each other about, I feel it is something that connects us. However, I feel that we have not really connected for a long while, with conflicting schedules and just being dumb at times. But tonight it was full of great conversations and really opening up to one another - not being afraid to share what is on our minds, something that unfortunately I know that I struggle with sometimes. I have always been a private person, sharing yet witholding some things - keeping it to myself. But tonight God was convicting me just to share and be totally open. Some of the things I shared so few people know about, but I trust her and she can trust me as well. It is crazy to see how far we have come since those days at MCBC and even from just last year!
This week God has truly blessed me with wonderful conversations and showed me how many people are there to encourage me. He has also convicted me to to pray for all of them as we shared with one another and learned more about our lives, the need for prayer is so much stronger. We NEED to pray!
God reminded me about a number of things this week as well. We NEED to pray and we NEED to read our Bibles and be grounded in the Word! I am blessed indeed. It has been an AMAZING week!
An interesting conversation with a friend on Thursday last week where I was challenged about my spiritual disciplines. Jeff altered my views on some things, very refreshing indeed. I am so glad that I took the time to meet up with him since we don't get to see each other as often anymore. But I am happy for him and it was great hearing about what God is doing in his life!
Friday night was dinner with Aban for her birthday. God has been convicting me to demonstrate my faith more openly and publicly. The fact that there were some non-Christians there who I have been friends with since high school was a great opportunity to do so. Although it was about a particular topic that we never really got to a unified answer to, we were still talking about the Word and using it as our foundation to answer the question, which may cause them to think further.
On Saturday morning, Zoe met with Pastor Scott, a prospect for the English pastor candidacy at church. It was an interesting topic, he did a spin on prayer, and it ended up being about church history, but it was interesting nonetheless. However, he did challenge us on our knowledge of the Bible. As in the words of one of the girls, he made us feel like "bad Christians." But I think that it was a wake-up call for me, like I may say I know things about the Bible, or people may perceive that of me, but do I really know the Bible?! I do not even know all the books of the Bible, especially the OT (minor prophets...)!
Sunday's message by Pastor Scott was also convicting. He preached on mercy using Jonah as an example. Jonah knew what he was supposed to do, God spoke to him so loud and clear, yet he still ran the other way. However, God is merciful, and he came to Jonah a second time, and spoke to him. This time Jonah obeyed. He did what he was told, and preached an eight word sermon to the Ninevites. Only EIGHT words! But God worked mightily through those eight words because Jonah had finally chosen to obey. God provided Jonah with a second chance, God has provided me with a second chance, third, fourth, fifth,... chances - Pastor Scott challenged the congregation have I been giving others these chances?
Sunday school was also awesome. It challenged me again about my Bible reading - something that I had just talked with Jeff about a couple days prior. He provided four things that are required in order to effectively read the Bible:
1. PRAY (oh how often we forget this!)
2. Genre
3. Reading the OT through the lense of the NT
4. Using Scripture to interpret the Scripture
Meeting Jessy on Monday was another great blessing! Things just flow out of my mouth and I don't know how to stop them sometimes when I am talking to her. But of course, there is that security of not being judged or condemned for the things that I say. She has been such a help to me the last few months and I do not feel that I have been the same to her at times. I pray that I can encourage her as well with the things that she shares with me!
Tonight I also had a great conversation. The first one was with Kelly, a dear friend and sister in Christ since our days at MCBC. We both went through the same thing in our past, something that we can relate to each other about, I feel it is something that connects us. However, I feel that we have not really connected for a long while, with conflicting schedules and just being dumb at times. But tonight it was full of great conversations and really opening up to one another - not being afraid to share what is on our minds, something that unfortunately I know that I struggle with sometimes. I have always been a private person, sharing yet witholding some things - keeping it to myself. But tonight God was convicting me just to share and be totally open. Some of the things I shared so few people know about, but I trust her and she can trust me as well. It is crazy to see how far we have come since those days at MCBC and even from just last year!
This week God has truly blessed me with wonderful conversations and showed me how many people are there to encourage me. He has also convicted me to to pray for all of them as we shared with one another and learned more about our lives, the need for prayer is so much stronger. We NEED to pray!
God reminded me about a number of things this week as well. We NEED to pray and we NEED to read our Bibles and be grounded in the Word! I am blessed indeed. It has been an AMAZING week!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Knowing God
I have only read the first two chapters and I have already been blown away by it! I actually have to reread through it at least 2 more times to fully understand what J.I. Packer is saying. But God reveals himself each time and I find that there are so many things that speak to me about actually knowing God, versus knowing about God.
I started sharing my thoughts with a close sister in Christ and it's crazy how God has been speaking to both of us about some of the same things Packer talks about. I am excited to continue this sharing and relationship in order to become closer sisters in Christ. This book excites me and motivates me to do so much more than I am right now. God is truly pouring out his blessings!
I started sharing my thoughts with a close sister in Christ and it's crazy how God has been speaking to both of us about some of the same things Packer talks about. I am excited to continue this sharing and relationship in order to become closer sisters in Christ. This book excites me and motivates me to do so much more than I am right now. God is truly pouring out his blessings!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Books
Tonight I went to Mitchell's in North York with the "team." Lots of books to choose from, I only got 2, and a bunch of cards. A little exasperating going through the shelves of books, especially if they were not in any order, but I am happy with my purchases.
The car ride to and from the store was probably the best time for me. We are so very different people, yet God has divinely appointed us to be a part of this team, and I personally have seen growth already amongst us. Of course there are always those bumps in the road that we all go through, but I was reminded today that we must try harder to encourage one another by keeping each other accountable.
The conversations in the car was interesting, as per usual. The laughter that filled the car was memorable. Lastly, the fellowship in that Nissan Altima was priceless.
The car ride to and from the store was probably the best time for me. We are so very different people, yet God has divinely appointed us to be a part of this team, and I personally have seen growth already amongst us. Of course there are always those bumps in the road that we all go through, but I was reminded today that we must try harder to encourage one another by keeping each other accountable.
The conversations in the car was interesting, as per usual. The laughter that filled the car was memorable. Lastly, the fellowship in that Nissan Altima was priceless.
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