Ok, so I was looking forward to going camping with my children this past weekend since I booked the site way back in May. The day finally arrives for us to go and we're off to Sauble Beach. The only problem was, it rained all weekend long. It was nice for us to spend time together alone, with my children and my niece. Luckily we brought cards, the game trouble and some books or we would have been in big trouble. We had maybe 4hrs of pleasant weather all weekend, which we took full advantage of. We went for a hike to the falls and went to the beach. By the time we got to the beach though it was getting chilly and we didn't last too long in the water, besides Matthew was turning purple and still insisted that we stay. That's kids for ya! In the end we cut our trip short a day and got soaked packing up our stuff. Usually I love camping but this time I was wishing for a cottage. Which normally I think is overrated because tenting it under the stars is usually my favourite thing to do in the summer, but somehow I lost it this year. I think it's because I was looking so forward to it, and it let me down. Which I guess shouldn't have surprised me since I continuously have been let down what feels like a lot lately. Disappointment is all around, but luckily my spirit is still up. I really don't know how it is, but by the grace of God it is!
Since I've been back from camping I have gotten this boost of energy. I have been going like the energizer bunny and it feels really good. Now, I just have to find some time to go over all my children's school books. I'm homeschooling them for the first time this year and it is both exciting and yet a little bit scary because I haven't done anything like this before. The people around me have mixed feelings and although they say they support me, for some reason I am a bit skeptical of their confidence in me. But when you feel led by the Spirit you just got to move ahead in His plans. So, I trudge on and am gaining strength through Him which isn't a hard thing to obtain, that is, once you give in to it and all. So, if anything pray for my family.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Attack, attack!!
So, I've been having to deal with a lot of situations in my life this past month. It has been a little rough but with God's help I keep finding His peace. It seems ever since I got back from my amazing trip to Nicaragua, Satan has been trying to attack not only me but my family and friends. I can't even begin to say all that has happened. But I can say that both my dad and my uncle got hurt at work and had to take time off, leaving them both with financial setbacks, me with my job, Matthew's dad also getting hurt and is off his feet which looks like it could be for a year, my friend Angelina getting into a huge car accident with her husband and four kids, and so many more things it is just crazy.
But the one thing that I know is true is that God is with me and although satan attacks he really can't do anything to harm me, because even to die is life. Which I know isn't happening just yet, because God has many plans on the table for me and although it is at times a little scary to think about them it is also exciting to be able to see everything come to light.
And so I'll leave you with this: God is amazing, and it doesn't matter what you are going through He is with you, crying, laughing and comforting in everything. Amen.
But the one thing that I know is true is that God is with me and although satan attacks he really can't do anything to harm me, because even to die is life. Which I know isn't happening just yet, because God has many plans on the table for me and although it is at times a little scary to think about them it is also exciting to be able to see everything come to light.
And so I'll leave you with this: God is amazing, and it doesn't matter what you are going through He is with you, crying, laughing and comforting in everything. Amen.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Christians cannot remain neutral.
Ok, so I was really peeved and now I'm over it! I knew writing in the blog would help. I just wonder how I got through the earlier part of the year when I neglected this blog.
Anyway, while looking on the net for this that and the other, I hopped over to a site called word.ca and listened to a very interesting clip regarding Israel. It is definitely worth a hop skip and a jump over to the site to take a listen. The speech was written and voiced by the president of my college Dr. Charles McVety.
It is extremely important that we as Christians stand up for Israel. We owe a lot to that wonderful nation. So here is one of the articles that I found profound and worth repeating.
Christians cannot remain neutral
By Dr. Charles McVety
The war in Israel and Lebanon rages on with destruction and loss of innocent lives on both sides.
Many Christian leaders have decided to remain neutral between Hezbollah and Hamas on the one side and Israel on the other. As Christians, however, we are obliged to be both compassionate, and at the same time to pursue righteousness. Compassion demands that we care for the suffering of our fellow human beings, but righteousness demands that we reject neutrality. We cannot expect the blessings of God while being neutral.
There is no moral equivalence between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel is a democratic state attempting to provide peace and security to Jews, Christians, Muslims and all people who live freely within its borders. Hezbollah and Hamas, on the other hand, are terrorist groups committed to the destruction of Israel and the elimination of Jewish life in the Middle-East. When innocent people die as a result of Israeli military acts, its people grieve but when innocent civilians die at the hands of Hezbollah and Hamas, supporters and sympathizers of these organizations rejoice, because that is precisely what they set out to do – murder innocent civilians. It is unconscionable to equate the government and people of Israel with these evil terrorists.
Who can forget the spectacle of two captured Israeli solders being murdered by a wild mob on worldwide television just a few short years ago while onlookers cheered? Who can forget the images of the murderers dipping their hands in these young men's blood, smearing it on themselves as some sort of a perverted badge of honour?
Today the world expresses its dismay as Hezbollah rains terror down upon Israel with thousands of sophisticated rockets and missiles – all aimed at innocent civilians – but we should recall that these missiles have been falling on Israel for more than 5 years now, albeit with less frequency. Such actions are evil and we can never side with evil.
Tens of millions of Christians remained neutral in the 1930s and early 1940s when evil was on the march in Germany. They remained steadfastly neutral when the Nazis marched into Austria, and then Czechoslovakia, breaking solemn treaties and agreements along they way. Many called for continued neutrality when the Nazis invaded and conquered Poland and remained neutral even while the Nazi's exterminated 6 million Jews. Speaking as a guest at the ceremony commemorating the establishment of the German Peace Corps in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy quoted a passage from Dante's Inferno: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality”.
Every page of the Bible teaches us to not appease evil, but to stand against it with the power of God. Jesus says in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Ephesians 6: 11-12 says “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We must not remain neutral in the face of the wickedness of terrorism. It is, moreover, hypocritical to pray to the God of Israel and then turn a blind eye to unprovoked attacks on Israel.
God says in Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless thee (Israel) and curse those who curse thee”. Every nation that has cursed Israel has met destruction. The Pharaohs enslaved Israel and we no longer have Pharaohs. The Roman Empire brutally dispersed the Jews and hated them. The Roman Empire is no more. The Nazi's tortured the Jews and killed millions of them. Shortly thereafter the Nazi's were destroyed. Nations like the United States and Britain have received the blessings of God as a result of pro-Israel actions. It is very clear from Scripture and history that if we want to prosper and receive the God of Israel's blessings then we need to bless Israel.
Israel has given us everything we have. Every word of the Bible was written by Israelites. The prophets, priests and kings were all Israelites. Even Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Mathew, Mark, John, Peter, Paul and most of the disciples and apostles were Israelites. We have a relationship with Jesus Christ because of the gifts given to us by Israel.
Yes, innocent people are suffering, but among those innocent people who are suffering are over 700,000 Israeli's who are living in bomb shelters, and more than 250,000 who have been forced from their homes as refugees. They deserve compassion too.
The perpetrators of evil, on the other hand – those countries like Iran and Syria whose leaders threaten to “wipe Israel off the map”, and their terrorist proxies who ensure that every Israeli citizen lives with the terror of being killed or maimed by indiscriminate rocket attacks and suicide bombings – these are wicked people who have earned our disdain and righteous wrath.
The time has come for true Christians to throw off the threadbare garments of false neutrality and to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish friends in their hour of need. Each of us must find a way to actively support Israel, for “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). True Faith requires us to pray for Israel, but it also demands that we support Israel with tangible action. Speak out. Organize or attend rallies. Call your Member of Parliament and Prime Minister. God will surely keep His Word and bless us “exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think”.
Dr. Charles McVety is President of Canada Christian College and Canada Family Action Coalition. He is also Chair of Christians United for Israel - Canada.
Anyway, while looking on the net for this that and the other, I hopped over to a site called word.ca and listened to a very interesting clip regarding Israel. It is definitely worth a hop skip and a jump over to the site to take a listen. The speech was written and voiced by the president of my college Dr. Charles McVety.
It is extremely important that we as Christians stand up for Israel. We owe a lot to that wonderful nation. So here is one of the articles that I found profound and worth repeating.
Christians cannot remain neutral
By Dr. Charles McVety
The war in Israel and Lebanon rages on with destruction and loss of innocent lives on both sides.
Many Christian leaders have decided to remain neutral between Hezbollah and Hamas on the one side and Israel on the other. As Christians, however, we are obliged to be both compassionate, and at the same time to pursue righteousness. Compassion demands that we care for the suffering of our fellow human beings, but righteousness demands that we reject neutrality. We cannot expect the blessings of God while being neutral.
There is no moral equivalence between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel is a democratic state attempting to provide peace and security to Jews, Christians, Muslims and all people who live freely within its borders. Hezbollah and Hamas, on the other hand, are terrorist groups committed to the destruction of Israel and the elimination of Jewish life in the Middle-East. When innocent people die as a result of Israeli military acts, its people grieve but when innocent civilians die at the hands of Hezbollah and Hamas, supporters and sympathizers of these organizations rejoice, because that is precisely what they set out to do – murder innocent civilians. It is unconscionable to equate the government and people of Israel with these evil terrorists.
Who can forget the spectacle of two captured Israeli solders being murdered by a wild mob on worldwide television just a few short years ago while onlookers cheered? Who can forget the images of the murderers dipping their hands in these young men's blood, smearing it on themselves as some sort of a perverted badge of honour?
Today the world expresses its dismay as Hezbollah rains terror down upon Israel with thousands of sophisticated rockets and missiles – all aimed at innocent civilians – but we should recall that these missiles have been falling on Israel for more than 5 years now, albeit with less frequency. Such actions are evil and we can never side with evil.
Tens of millions of Christians remained neutral in the 1930s and early 1940s when evil was on the march in Germany. They remained steadfastly neutral when the Nazis marched into Austria, and then Czechoslovakia, breaking solemn treaties and agreements along they way. Many called for continued neutrality when the Nazis invaded and conquered Poland and remained neutral even while the Nazi's exterminated 6 million Jews. Speaking as a guest at the ceremony commemorating the establishment of the German Peace Corps in 1963, U.S. President John F. Kennedy quoted a passage from Dante's Inferno: “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality”.
Every page of the Bible teaches us to not appease evil, but to stand against it with the power of God. Jesus says in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Ephesians 6: 11-12 says “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We must not remain neutral in the face of the wickedness of terrorism. It is, moreover, hypocritical to pray to the God of Israel and then turn a blind eye to unprovoked attacks on Israel.
God says in Genesis 12:3 “I will bless those who bless thee (Israel) and curse those who curse thee”. Every nation that has cursed Israel has met destruction. The Pharaohs enslaved Israel and we no longer have Pharaohs. The Roman Empire brutally dispersed the Jews and hated them. The Roman Empire is no more. The Nazi's tortured the Jews and killed millions of them. Shortly thereafter the Nazi's were destroyed. Nations like the United States and Britain have received the blessings of God as a result of pro-Israel actions. It is very clear from Scripture and history that if we want to prosper and receive the God of Israel's blessings then we need to bless Israel.
Israel has given us everything we have. Every word of the Bible was written by Israelites. The prophets, priests and kings were all Israelites. Even Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Mathew, Mark, John, Peter, Paul and most of the disciples and apostles were Israelites. We have a relationship with Jesus Christ because of the gifts given to us by Israel.
Yes, innocent people are suffering, but among those innocent people who are suffering are over 700,000 Israeli's who are living in bomb shelters, and more than 250,000 who have been forced from their homes as refugees. They deserve compassion too.
The perpetrators of evil, on the other hand – those countries like Iran and Syria whose leaders threaten to “wipe Israel off the map”, and their terrorist proxies who ensure that every Israeli citizen lives with the terror of being killed or maimed by indiscriminate rocket attacks and suicide bombings – these are wicked people who have earned our disdain and righteous wrath.
The time has come for true Christians to throw off the threadbare garments of false neutrality and to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish friends in their hour of need. Each of us must find a way to actively support Israel, for “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). True Faith requires us to pray for Israel, but it also demands that we support Israel with tangible action. Speak out. Organize or attend rallies. Call your Member of Parliament and Prime Minister. God will surely keep His Word and bless us “exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think”.
Dr. Charles McVety is President of Canada Christian College and Canada Family Action Coalition. He is also Chair of Christians United for Israel - Canada.
Really peeved off!!
Every time I am heading right in the direction of the Lord, something always has to come and try to knock me over.
This time it had to do with work. They accused me of something that I never did and would never do. Others backed me up and they still wanted me to sign something that said I did what they were accusing me of. Of course I would not. After feeling mad, angry, upset, disappointed, and disgusted I realized that this job that I was holding was a dime a dozen and because I don't want to work for a liar and a hypocrite, today I quit. I did it professionally with two weeks notice, but inside I wanted to yell at their unjustified acts and make a stink. Of course I didn't do that. But at the end of my shift what do they do, they get the snake who crept into the workplace to tell me that today was my last day.
I was both happy and mad. I wanted to not even go in today but I wanted to show them I was the better person and that is why I was giving them some notice, and then they do that. It just totally pisses me off!! I am really mad right now and I felt it good to write about it since I can't sleep anyway.
This is the second time that I have been wronged at a workplace and I want to hire a lawyer but is that really the Christian way of dealing with things? I don't know!
For now I will take it to God. And besides vengeance is his anyway, right?
This time it had to do with work. They accused me of something that I never did and would never do. Others backed me up and they still wanted me to sign something that said I did what they were accusing me of. Of course I would not. After feeling mad, angry, upset, disappointed, and disgusted I realized that this job that I was holding was a dime a dozen and because I don't want to work for a liar and a hypocrite, today I quit. I did it professionally with two weeks notice, but inside I wanted to yell at their unjustified acts and make a stink. Of course I didn't do that. But at the end of my shift what do they do, they get the snake who crept into the workplace to tell me that today was my last day.
I was both happy and mad. I wanted to not even go in today but I wanted to show them I was the better person and that is why I was giving them some notice, and then they do that. It just totally pisses me off!! I am really mad right now and I felt it good to write about it since I can't sleep anyway.
This is the second time that I have been wronged at a workplace and I want to hire a lawyer but is that really the Christian way of dealing with things? I don't know!
For now I will take it to God. And besides vengeance is his anyway, right?
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