Rough Acres is the place for me...BC living is the life for me...

I'm sure you're probably grateful that you can't hear me singing those lines! There's where reading has it's advantages! So I guess you're wondering why I gathered you here today...well, I will not boast in having faith the size of a mustard seed - I can only say "thank you" to the One who created me, knows my heart, and loves me beyond my imagination. As some of you already know, I was planning to go to BC to volunteer for a week at a camp - but then I got this whopping huge parking ticket/towing experience which depleted my funds in a hurry.
As God was speaking to my heart to trust Him with this one, I became aware of my need to be obedient. Maybe, just maybe He had something for me in Ontario that I wasn't being sensitive to, just because I love and miss my friends out in BC. I came to the point where I said - where EVER you need me...place me! I want it to be where you want me - not where I think I should be.
Easier said then done...
I got a couple of emails after this revelation from some of the campers who were in my cabin last year. Wondering if I was going - I had to be honest and tell them that humanly speaking I couldn't afford to go - but that if God wanted me there He would provide the way. In my heart I was breaking - I wanted to be there for these girls - they had impacted my life SO much and I have prayed for them and have been concerned about them this past year. Maybe there was a way I could squeeeeeeeeze...but I had to give up. I couldn't...and so I prayed. I went to bed that night totally content with wherever God wanted me.
And then, within 24 hours I received two more emails...emails that financially covered my ticket to go to Rough Acres from people who had been praying. How AWESOME IS THAT!!! God is soooo good! I just sat at my computer and cried...big crocodile tears! And I worshipped God - for His goodness, His provision through His people, and His unfailing love.
And so, it's off to Rough Acres. Who knows what He has for me there...but may I be obedient and available to His work!

ps. And thank you to the family of God who made this possible! You know and I know and God knows...may His generous blessing rest upon your life always!

Enlisting in Combat and Construction...

Sunday mornings at 8:30 am there's prayer time at my church. It's a new thing, and it hasn't really "caught on" yet...but it's a great way to start the day and get focused. So yeah, this morning it just ended up being me - which is a great opportunity for God to speak loudly and clearly when there's nothing but silence filling the halls and the rooms of our little church.
Opening my Bible, the chapter that jumped before my heart was Nehemiah 4. Kind of random, but I felt compelled to read it and once again was amazed at how pointed God can deliver His truths through His Word and our obedience. The readers digest version of it is one of God's servants, Nehemiah, went back to Jerusalem after it had been conquered, and began to rebuild the walls. And as the gaps began to be filled, enemies arose - both from the outside and from their OWN people to discourage them from the work.
Remaining focused and faithful to the task God had called him to, Nehemiah set up people to protect, while others worked on the wall. Some workers held weapons in one hand and their tools in the other. There was always a dual focus: to rebuild the walls and to protect the work. This found a 24-7 dedication from the people!
Anyways, as I read this passage I got a picture of the present day church. The enemy has been bombarding our walls and tearing down the people. There are those who are busy trying to rebuild the walls and to fill in the gaps...but the enemy is not going to sit around and watch - he's trying to stop it...and he even uses means within the church to do it!
And where are we in this picture? Are we labouring vigilently to rebuild and restore what the enemy has destroyed? Are we down on our knees, ceaselessly praying protection over our churches? our pastors? our ministries? our outreaches? Or are we the cynics? the mockers? the embittered unemployed?
How much time to we spend tearing down what other people are doing when we aren't doing a thing ourselves? How critical have we been of our churches without first being the difference that we are waiting to see rise up in her walls? Are we dedicated to building the church? Are we committed to protecting her walls with vigilent prayer? Are we passionate - spending night and day for the cause of Christ and His kingdom?
I challenge you to read Nehemiah 4 for yourself...and pray that God would reaveal in your heart what your task is in rebuilding and restoring His Bride - the Church. He has already promised victory and that He would fight for us...all we need to do is be available and obedient. And pray...PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! Cover your church, for those who minister - for you as you share truth with the darkened world around you! Be aware and prepared for the enemy...but do not cease from continuing to rebuild and restore the city of God.

My Vacation Top 10 List...and thoughts!

Just got back from the cottage and thought I'd drop a line about the top ten things I learned while on vacation...

10. Make sure you have enough gas before starting out on a journey ANYWHERE up north...they run on a different time zone and everything closes at sunset!
9. ALWAYS check for parking signs. It is not fun (or cheap) to get your car towed in Toronto.
8. I may not be able to donate my blood to Red Cross, but there are thousands of bugs who have benefited from my walking blood bank supply as we speak.
7. Bug repellant is a marketing scam!
6. Never eat cotton candy ice cream before swimming (even if it DOES come from Kawartha Dairy!)
5. Sunscreen is always a good idea.
4. Never leave your mouth open while engaging in high-speed water sports that may incur major face plants!
3. Hugs and kisses come best from kids (please remember I am still single and for now I'll vouch that the simple trusting and innocent love of a child can give almost any romantic love a run for its money!)
2. Family - no matter how screwed up - is an amazing thing to be a part of.
1. TRUST!
Yeah, trust made # 1...I know it's not as funny as the rest, but it was the major thread God was weaving throughout my week. As I visited a friend and challenged her to trust in God, the two areas in my life most under attack (my car and my finances) were being put under fire (well, to be more accurate, on the back of a tow truck!) And I could hear God whispering to my heart - "Do you trust me?"...but God - it's costing me 220 bucks! - "Do you trust me?"...
And so I really had to take a look at my life and contemplate how (or even if!) I am really trusting God. Is our trust based on people, or even our circumstances? If everything was stripped away, and we were left with nothing but God, would we still trust on His promises? Tough questions...
And yet God is constantly promising us so much through His word. As I was meditating this past week on what a life of faith looks like, and what it means to trust, the following verses kept popping in my head...
"Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In ALL your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
- Proverbs 3:5-6

"Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He has also become my salvation."
- Isaiah 12:2

"Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord
And He shall give you the desires of your heart."
- Psalm 37:3

God was exemplifying in my current state, my need to trust Him with everything...the big, the small, the expensive! How fitting was it that I was reading about the life of George Muller - a man who trusted in God and lived in faith for ALL his needs - from food and clothing, to housing for orphans, to guidance in what he should be doing.
And as I'm thinking on all this stuff, I could hear the tune from the Jungle Book in the back of my mind "Trust in me...just in my...close your eyes and trust in me..." And I had to close my eyes - to everything that would beg me to doubt God's hand upon my life, and I committed to Him to live a life of trust...of faith. Whatever that may mean - wherever that my call me...whatever hardships I will face - may my faith never be shaken! May I be able - in both prosperity and persecution - to say with Job..."The Lord gives, the Lord takes away - blessed be the name of the Lord."