The Familiar

I’ve been displaced from my home this winter. We've moved out in order for our apartment to be completely gutted and renovated. I didn't look forward to moving out; I didn't relish the thought of two moves in three months, or sharing space with another family in the interim. However, I know that something much, much better is in store just on the other side of this temporary displacement. When we move back home next week, it will be a much bigger and much brighter space. I am very excited!

Our cat Lilly is much less excited than I am. She was on edge as we packed things in boxes. She twitched her tail whenever she walked into a room and things were missing, or not “where they should be.” When the last piece of furniture was being moved out, she literally laid on top of it and refused to move. I tried to move her and she became limp spaghetti. She was just plain NOT going to give up the last familiar fragment of her crumbling life!!

Have you ever tried to explain to a distressed animal that, just wait, you can’t see it now, but in the end this is going to be SO much better?? You’re going to have more sun-drenched windowsills to bask on. You’re going to have more rooms to race between at top-speed for absolutely no reason at all. Just wait, trust me, this is GOING to work out for the best… I know this FOR SURE… I can even SEE the progress of the renovations and I know it won’t be long…

Lessons about my relationship with God sometimes come from the most peculiar and unexpected places! As I tried to somehow reassure a still-not-thrilled cat, it occurred to me…

How often have I clung to the familiar, the known, the “safe”? How many times have I stubbornly laid down on the last piece of furniture in some area of my life, refusing to surrender what I CAN see for what I CAN’T see? Even when I know God is in control and has a much bigger plan, I sometimes struggle with the urge to grasp onto anything that makes sense and try to keep things in their place.

Over and over, God gently reminds me, “Just wait, you can’t see it now, but in the end this is going to be SO much better. Trust me, I have a plan; I just need you to allow me to work.”

My reading on Ash Wednesday set my focus for this Lenten season. It captures this ongoing battle to let Go, to surrender to the God who loves us infinitely and who knows the bigger picture. It says:

“Today I turn over my will, understanding that I cannot see the whole picture, and that I need to leave room for God to work.” - Dayton

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

Arlene M.

Pearls

Aren't pearls stunning? Whether in a solitary setting or strung together as a necklace, pearls have a calming, appealing luster that exemplify class and style. Pearls in nature can be found in a variety of shapes, sizes and even colours. The most valuable ones, of course, are the ones which are perfect – perfectly smooth, perfectly round, and perfectly white. Doesn't that also seem to be how the world measures the value of a woman? Advertising, media, and retail all glorify and cater to ‘perfection’ in female appearance, leaving all of us in doubt of our value and self-worth because we know it’s unattainable. Yet we still try. Why? There is a constant craving in women to look beautiful so they can feel valuable. This lie has even penetrated the church. The good news is that as Christian women, we have all the tools we need to reverse this mindset and redefine what being a woman of value really means. And we need look no further than the pearl.

Have you ever reflected on how a pearl is made? In nature, an oyster has a hard outer shell to protect its tender inner tissue, and for the most part it lives out its days as happy as a clam (no pun intended.) Occasionally, though, this inner tissue can become sliced or wounded, or an unwelcome particle can get caught inside an oyster’s shell. This unexpected wound or annoying irritant disrupts everyday life. It is a constant, nagging presence that can cause great wear and tear if ignored. The oyster must exert great energies to secrete a smooth, healing balm to encapsulate the intruder or cover the wound. Over time, a beautiful pearl is created. We all have known seasons of brokenness and pain in our lives which leave us feeling drained, tired, scarred – anything but beautiful. Yet God wants to use each of those times to create a unique and beautiful pearl in your life; something of great meaning and value for you to showcase to others as proof of God’s powerful love. So how does God form these pearls, you ask? We all know many people who go through difficult times and come away with only bitterness and regret. How can we as Christian women demonstrate the truth that God really does work all things together for our good? We find the answer simply by examining the characteristics of pearl development.

First of all, pearls are formed in secret. In the wild, they are found in one of the most remote climates on earth – inside one of millions of oysters piled together at the bottom of the ocean. This hiddeness of the heart is also essential for every woman of God to have. What do you do during times of stress? Turn on the TV and try to escape? Vent your frustrations to those around you? Or do you take time to be alone with the Lord, asking for His peace and to bring your thoughts back in line with His perspective? Though God doesn't cause pain and grief, He often allows it in order to get our attention. He wants our hearts to be hidden with Him; He is the God of intimate relationship. Only through spending quiet time with God can He form the pearl and

reveal His beauty to us.

Secondly, pearls are formed in an environment that is very wet and messy. You may say you know all about God - yet when was the last time you allowed the Holy Spirit to move you to tears? As adults, we have learned how to analyze our feelings, which is good, but also to dismiss or suppress them, which is not so good. The worst pain and grief is the kind that pierces the heart; and the battle for your heart is a messy, emotional business. Tears bring healing and refreshment to the dry, ravaged battleground of your soul. I think there is great symbolism in the promise God gives us in the Bible that “[He] will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes” (Revelation 21:4). Its context is meant for heaven, but it’s symbolic of how God moves right now. He can’t wipe away tears until we allow ourselves to cry; and this can only happen when we are honest, genuine and vulnerable with God. Just like when you would cry unhindered as a child. Becoming child-like with its tears and mess is essential for pearl formation. Human hearts were created to be softened by the Holy Spirit and to pour out genuine emotion at Jesus’ feet – and tears can be our assurance of that essential process at work.

The third factor involved in making a pearl is time. Pearls develop over a period of many years. We live in a society of fast food and quick fixes, and we often forget how God’s time differs from ours. “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) During difficult times especially, the pain seems to make time stand still and all we want is for God to intervene quickly. Yet we have to allow God’s plans to unfold in His time; to let go of what we are doing and learn to just be His. Like a career resume is to a family tree, so the story of what we do is also strikingly different to the story of who we are. It takes time to grow a deep understanding of our unique identity as a child of God. Learning a new job skill make take only a few months, while learning how to exchange gladness for mourning may take a lifetime.

So how do you measure up on God’s scale of beauty? Just remember it’s the opposite of the world’s definition. The world defines value in terms of uniformity and perfection; God defines it in terms of diversity and brokenness. Who the world would deem worthless and throw away, God longs to rescue and restore simply because they are His. But it must start with a surrendered heart. Only then can the pearls begin to form.

Ruth-Ellen W.

Through The Wilderness

As I write this, I find myself in a very challenging time in my life. One of those situations that challenge the emotional, physical and spiritual all at once. One of those situations that makes you want to hide at home. 

While we all deal with challenges differently, it is fairly universal that we all go through these times in our lives.

Our ladies Bible Study is currently going through the book One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer, and many of us seem to find ourselves in the same place, while our situations are different. In the book Priscilla relates these times and situations to the Israelites time in the wilderness. Boy can it feel that way.

You see. If you read the story of the Israelites closely, you see that God intentionally led the Israelites to the wilderness. Priscilla goes on to show us that that wilderness time was meant to build relationship between the Israelites and God. While He could have led them straight to Canaan, they perhaps would have been more focused on the blessings of God than on God. The wilderness was a great way of showing the Israelites to have faith; to rely on Him and have relationship with Him.

In our lives, there are many times that we think we know how God should work in our situations, but He doesn't. I am realizing more and more that this is more for my development than I would care to admit. If God were to answer my prayers and work in my life the way that I would have it, would I be learning to rely on Him the way that I am? Would I be required to actually have faith in Him and the way he works? Would my character be growing? Likely not. I have to trust that God is working my life the way He is, for two reasons:

1 - to develop my relationship with Him

2 - to bring glory to Himself

1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

While living this out in the day to day is easier said than done, and we still may feel like hiding, we have to know that God's plan in our situation is better than our own. Our faith and relationship will be built, if we learn to trust Him.

Kourtnay K.

Rivers of Life

Out of the top 10 dead rivers in the world, Manila Philippines has 2 of them. That’s 10 rivers that produce NO LIFE, contain no fish, oxygen, bacteria, and plants.  Nothing.  Dead.  Imagine, a water source with no purpose but to be death to all who use it.  Yet millions of people live within feet of its toxic banks.  Used as drinking water, laundry, toilet, garbage disposal and a pool, these people don’t listen to the advice of ecologists, scientists and government officials and continue to use this cesspool of filth as their life line.  Although we may not live in the squatter village that lines the bank of the Marilou or Pasig Rivers in Manila, what river have we planted ourselves close enough to that we are drawing our sustenance from? 

From the top of the bridge high above the grey murky death pool, there appears to be small plants growing on the shore of the river.  A closer look perhaps would reveal that although this greenery appears healthy, the inside is toxic, dead, empty and void of any life giving qualities.  It’s roots, dry, shrivelled and unable to withstand the impending floods of July’s rainy/ typhoon season.  If we were to dig up our roots, would they appear the same? If we were to look beneath the soil, dig deep, would we find that the roots we’ve tried so hard to keep buried were just as dead, brittle and unable to breed life? Or, when the rains came, would we find that our roots had been so nurtured and watered and planted deep that we could withstand the flood and persevere until the rains receded?  You see, it depends on where you’re planted.

Are you “like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.  Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” Psalm 3:1

Or are you “like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water” Isaiah 1:30

Am I rooted next to a life giving water source that brings life and nourishment and hope to my soul?  Or is my tree great and mighty on the outside but planted near toxic ‘nourishment’, slowly starving my roots and emptying my veins of life and fruitfulness?  Sadly, most of the people living beside the Pasig River don’t know that it is toxic.  Yet some still chose to take the risk.  Here’s MY choice:  Do I stand on top of the bridge and yell for these unsuspecting souls to get out of the water because it’s killing them, afraid that I might be contaminated if I get too close?  Or do I go down to the water’s edge, give them a hand and show them a pool of living water that won’t drown them when the rains come, and will give them everything they need to not only SURVIVE, but THRIVE?    I too, need to be choosing the right water source.  I too, need to be daily making the choice to root deep in the Word.  I too, need to live in ‘THRIVE MODE’, not ‘SURVIVE MODE’!

I’ve walked among the squatter housing.  I’ve touched the faces of the children; I’ve wiped tears of mothers, high-fived young boys.  I’ve breathed deeply the toxic air that fills their homes.  I’ve looked into the eyes of a little girl who pulled on the hem of my shirts and pointed to her mouth.  Hungry, thirsty and in desperate need of food and water for herself and her young siblings.  In this moment, as tears stained my face, I couldn’t deny the presence of the Father.   In our desperation do we seek for the presence of the only one who can satisfy our needs?  He is, the life giving water. “But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  John 4:14

Root deep, root strong, root beside LIVING water. Healthy roots produce healthy plants, healthy plants withstand the storm.  Healthy plants breathe life, nourishment, provide a resting place and shelter for others.  The world needs strong, healthy trees.  Bring them to the waters edge…

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

Tara W.

Bless the Lord!

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits!

Please join me on my Awareness Walk. I began this habit when I took the
Spiritual Disciplines course from Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatoon.

 I firmly shut the door, leave my yesterdays, leave my tomorrows, and become
'present'. Some call this 'mindfulness'. It's a time to meet God in His
world.

It is a prairie winter morning. Cold air slaps my cheeks. I catch my breath.
Take a long, slow breath. I pause and feel the breath of life fill my lungs.
I take another long, slow breath. And another, enjoying the rhythm. For in
Him I live and move and have my being. Thank- you, thank-you for the gift of
Life!

A giant poplar stands in my path. Tall and bare and patient. It knows the
seasons. It is resting. I touch the bumpy buds that hold a secret. Life is
present and waiting. Lord, I want to be like this tree - patient and strong.
Make me a giver of life!

Snowscapes catch my eye - snow, wind and snowploughs  push the prairie into
sweeping sculptures. Some with glossy peaks. Some are jagged cliffs. I
ponder the creativity of God.  Sacred ground. You meet us in the burning
bush and in the steps of snow. You are ever present! You are an amazing God!

Gentle snowflakes wash my face. Thousands of them. Ten quintillion water
molecules make up one snowflake. Each one unique in symmetry. A Master
Designer, for sure. O God, when I look at the work of Your hands, I praise
You!

I stop walking. I stand in silence. Perfectly still. I eavesdrop on a party
- of birds - there in the tall evergreens. Hidden in the boughs, they're
having a party! Chirping with friends, low pitch, high pitch. They're
Manitoba birds and talking about the weather. But they're cheerful, not
grumpy. I stand there a long time. And stand and stand. Do they mind the
intruder? Their music delights me. I smile at my tiny friends. I sing with
them, All creatures great and small, Lord God, You've made them all.
Thank-you, thank-you!

 Ribbons of blue are driving away the grey in the West. The horizon is
brilliant! I pause and muse. Awe and wonder! I know this Master Artist! My
heart pours out praise!  The Heavens declare the glory of God! I worship
You, O mighty God, there is none like You!

My steps are full of joy and I keep walking. I feel the muscles in my thighs
and calves. They're working hard; they enjoy working for me. I feel my toes.
They're happy to give me balance. The systems that allow me to walk are
infinitely complex. I pause. I celebrate. I am fearfully and wonderfully
made! I am God's masterpiece! Thank-you, Thank-you God!

I am home again. Relaxed. Refreshed. Joyful and humbled.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits! Bless His holy
name!

Ruth G.
Ruth is a mom, grandmother and distant ed. student at Horizon College & Seminary in Saskatoon. God has used her to bless numerous others in her local church.

Feelings

I am a female and sometimes I feel insecure. There, I said it!

I don’t know if all females feel this way, but I do know many who do wrestle with feelings of insecurity.

I also realize just because I FEEL this way doesn’t mean I am. It means I feel this way and there can be a difference between feelings and reality.

Our feelings can drive our thoughts and our actions, and I want to suggest we can pull our feelings into check and realize they are nothing more and nothing less than our feelings. It tells us something about ourselves, and ourselves in relation to the situation around us.

I have always lived in Canada, which means I am very familiar with the term wind chill factor. Wikipedia says wind chill “is the decrease in air temperature perceived by the body on exposed skin that is due to the flow of cold air.” Interpretation – if it’s cold and windy, it feels colder than it actually is. (For those of you who live in significantly warmer climates you may be more familiar with the term humidex. Wikipedia says humidex is used “to describe how hot the weather feels to the average person, by combining the effect of heat and humidity.”)  The terms wind chill factor and humidex are used as a measuring stick. It tells us how hot or how cold it feels. It’s important information to have, but not reality in regards to an actual temperature.

If the actual temperature is -30C and there is a 10 km/hr wind, it will feel like -40C. Wind can do that to an actual temperature. It changes the actual to feel like something which is different. This would be a good place to say that whether the temperature is -40C or whether the wind chill is -40C, it’s still really cold and one had better dress for the weather or risk frostbite!

My point is this. Just because I feel insecure about a situation or a comment made, or a look given, doesn’t make it reality. However when I feel something, like insecurity, perhaps it’s a good opportunity to look inward and ask myself why that specific situation or those specific words resonate for me. Perhaps this is an opportunity to stand on the foundation of God’s Word and remind myself of His truth about me.

This is where it’s important to have scriptures memorized and tucked in the recesses of our mind. Here are a few to start with:

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” HCSB

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. I have kept on loving you with faithful love.” NIRV

Isaiah 43:1b says, ““Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” ESV

These scriptures are a good starting place to realign our feelings about ourselves to God's reality about us.

Jo-Ann

Offering Jesus

Have you ever felt like you've got nothing left to give?

Have you ever felt like even though you've offered all you could to a situation; it still wasn't enough?

Have you ever felt like you just weren’t enough?     

. . . Me too!

I am reminded of what Jesus says in Matthew 20:28-29.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” NIV

What if YOU really don’t have anything left to give? . . . But Jesus

What if YOU really don’t have anything more to offer? . . . But Jesus

What if YOU really aren’t enough for the situation ahead of you? . . . But Jesus

We can have all of the life experiences in the world, but if we don’t point people to Jesus, how will they ever find rest for their souls? Our world is longing for this Jesus, who will carry their burdens and give them rest, but they need to meet Him. Jesus needs to be introduced in the midst of their everyday situations.

The reality is – the only thing we truly have to offer into any situation is Jesus.

So how do we do this?

     1. Know God’s word in season and out of season.

Begin with memorizing one verse. Once you’ve memorized it move to another one. After that memorize one more verse. And so on and so on. You have to start somewhere – begin with one verse . . . today.

     2. Offer God’s truth into the situation.

It’s stronger than any conviction you’ll ever have, it’s more significance than your opinion, and His Word is essential in informing our views of the things around us

     3. Learn to trust Father God to love and care for His children even more than you do.

God has created us for a purpose – to give Him glory – in ALL we do and in WHATEVER situation we find ourselves in. He is trustworthy and worthy of our trust.

Let’s equip ourselves with God’s Word tucked into the recesses of our mind to pull up at any given situation.

Let’s be prepared to “care for the orphans and widows” in practical and tangible ways – always for the purpose to show Jesus to others.

Let’s cling to God’s truth.

This is how we give to others . . . even when we have nothing left to give . . . We Offer Jesus!

Jo-Ann