Well, I have been in Abbotsford for about a week and a half now. I am still looking for work. Once I find a job I will start looking for a car. My niece is pretty much attached to me when I am home. I miss having my own room, a place where I can just get away. I suppose these trips to the library to check my email and what not are my chance to get away. I ordered a book off the ACOP website. It's called Streams of Grace. It's about the history of the ACOP. I'm enjoying it. Before I came here I was watching the World Cup semi-finals (GER vs ARG). Germany was down 1-0, but came back to score at about the 80 minute mark of the game. They went into OT, then to a Shoot Out. Germany won the Shoot Out 4-2. It was a great game! This afternoon it will be Italy vs Ukraine, then the final will be on Tuesday.
Ya, so not too much going on in my life right now. I'm hoping that once I find a job and get connected with a church I will actually be able to make some friends so I have someone to hang out with. Oh, actually, I did get to meet up with a few friends in Kitsilano on Wednesday night. We went for supper, then to Kits Beach. It was so wonderful to see the ocean again!!! And it was such a beautiful night. If I could afford it I would love to live in Vancouver. It really is very beautiful. And I'd have the best of both worlds: having the mountains that reveal some of the beauty and majesty of God on one side and having the ocean that reminds me of the vastness and depth of God on the other side.
I have been going to sleep so early that I have yet to see a beautiful starry night. But in the mean time I drink my tea, read my book, and remember my dear friends from college whom I miss so much.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Just thought I'd let you know some of the questions I've been thinking about for the past couple days...
From Matthew 7:21-23
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
What is the will of the Father?
And with that...
From Mark 16:15-18
15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
So how can we tell the difference between the "signs"?
AND...
Is there a difference between "being saved", "entering the kingdom of heaven", and "having eternal life"? If so, what is it? Is it different for each person?
ALSO...
If people aren't in the kingdom of heaven, does God still have authority over them? Is it possible for people to "be saved"/"have eternal life" and NOT enter the kingdom of heaven? Is there a difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God?
So this is what has been running through my mind. I have had much time to look into it in depth yet, but soon.
From Matthew 7:21-23
21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"
What is the will of the Father?
And with that...
From Mark 16:15-18
15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
So how can we tell the difference between the "signs"?
AND...
Is there a difference between "being saved", "entering the kingdom of heaven", and "having eternal life"? If so, what is it? Is it different for each person?
ALSO...
If people aren't in the kingdom of heaven, does God still have authority over them? Is it possible for people to "be saved"/"have eternal life" and NOT enter the kingdom of heaven? Is there a difference between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God?
So this is what has been running through my mind. I have had much time to look into it in depth yet, but soon.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Prayer - What happened?
There are a couple directions this post is coming from. One is from a couple experiences of the Global Day of Prayer and the other is from an MSN conversation. I was reading Coralee's post from June 4th where she wrote:
"Went to the 'Dome for Glbal Day of Prayer today. Rather disappointing since they only gave us three 2-5 minute segments to actually pray, and kept cutting us off by announcing time was almost up. Sad influence of our jet-set a.d.d. multi-tasking pre-programmed self-seeking culture. For some strange reason I was expecting a prayer meeting. Where I get these odd ideas from, I'm not sure."
This reminded me of my experience at church that day. Pastor Keith put a list of things to pray for on the screen, then had us get into small groups to pray for these things. Our group started praying and were quite content to continue doing so, but after about 10 minutes we were interrupted and were invited to join in worship (singing). I was upset by this and it happens way too often! Why must we stick to schedules so tightly? I mean, if some people needed to leave,t hey could have done so, but why interrupt a corporate time of prayer (especially on the Global Day of Prayer!) to move on to something else?!?!?!
This brings me to my second direction for this post. I was talking with a friend on MSN and I thought of how the statement, "I will pray for you" does not seem to mean as much to people these days. Is it because so many people say it but don't do it? Is it because it has become something that people say without even thinking about it? A Christian cliché? When someone says these words to you, do you say a simple "Thanks" and just brush it aside? Or are you truly thankful for this act of love?
What about when someone is saying they will pray for you and they say, "It's the least I could do"? Do they realize what they are actually saying with those words? It is completely irreverant to say that prayer is the least you could do. It belittles prayer, which directly belittles God. Prayer is one of the most important and beneficial things we could do! In fact, some of the things we might be physically able to do for a person could be less beneficial than prayer. When will we learn to trust God?
I do realize that it is important to help people physically when we can, but I do not agree with the idea of giving people something just because they say they need it. That has done a lot of damage to a lot of people.
Thinking back to the question "When will we learn to trust God?"... How often should we pray for something? Should we not pray for it because God knows what we want and need anyways? Should we pray for it once and leave it in God's hands? Should we keep praying for it until we get it know we won't get it? Is it different when it comes to things or people? Is it different when it's intercession?
Regardless of the answers to these questions, we need to remember to get face down before our God.
"Went to the 'Dome for Glbal Day of Prayer today. Rather disappointing since they only gave us three 2-5 minute segments to actually pray, and kept cutting us off by announcing time was almost up. Sad influence of our jet-set a.d.d. multi-tasking pre-programmed self-seeking culture. For some strange reason I was expecting a prayer meeting. Where I get these odd ideas from, I'm not sure."
This reminded me of my experience at church that day. Pastor Keith put a list of things to pray for on the screen, then had us get into small groups to pray for these things. Our group started praying and were quite content to continue doing so, but after about 10 minutes we were interrupted and were invited to join in worship (singing). I was upset by this and it happens way too often! Why must we stick to schedules so tightly? I mean, if some people needed to leave,t hey could have done so, but why interrupt a corporate time of prayer (especially on the Global Day of Prayer!) to move on to something else?!?!?!
This brings me to my second direction for this post. I was talking with a friend on MSN and I thought of how the statement, "I will pray for you" does not seem to mean as much to people these days. Is it because so many people say it but don't do it? Is it because it has become something that people say without even thinking about it? A Christian cliché? When someone says these words to you, do you say a simple "Thanks" and just brush it aside? Or are you truly thankful for this act of love?
What about when someone is saying they will pray for you and they say, "It's the least I could do"? Do they realize what they are actually saying with those words? It is completely irreverant to say that prayer is the least you could do. It belittles prayer, which directly belittles God. Prayer is one of the most important and beneficial things we could do! In fact, some of the things we might be physically able to do for a person could be less beneficial than prayer. When will we learn to trust God?
I do realize that it is important to help people physically when we can, but I do not agree with the idea of giving people something just because they say they need it. That has done a lot of damage to a lot of people.
Thinking back to the question "When will we learn to trust God?"... How often should we pray for something? Should we not pray for it because God knows what we want and need anyways? Should we pray for it once and leave it in God's hands? Should we keep praying for it until we get it know we won't get it? Is it different when it comes to things or people? Is it different when it's intercession?
Regardless of the answers to these questions, we need to remember to get face down before our God.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Oh, by the way, for those who haven't heard...the new name for FGBC will be Eston College. It was made public at the ACOP Conference in Kelowna yesterday.
3 more thoughts:
1. Jack (the cat) is sick.
2. Yuki (the fish) jumped out of the water to try to get the food out of my hand. I thought he was going to try to bite my hand. He's never done that before (that I know of) so it really scared me!
3. I miss my roommate(s)!!!
GO OILERS GO!!!
3 more thoughts:
1. Jack (the cat) is sick.
2. Yuki (the fish) jumped out of the water to try to get the food out of my hand. I thought he was going to try to bite my hand. He's never done that before (that I know of) so it really scared me!
3. I miss my roommate(s)!!!
GO OILERS GO!!!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Humorous conversation(s) of the last couple nights...
Last night after hockey...
Kathy: I figure I need to take care of a plant to learn how to take care of a pet to learn how to take care of a child.
Lorraine: There's a big difference between taking care of a plant and taking care of a pet or a child.
Kathy: Well, ya, it's easier to kill a plant.
Lorraine: Um, I think it's illegal to kill a child. But that's not what I was going to say. I was going to say that pets and children are vocal about getting what they want.
Tonight after explaining last night...
Ruth: Ya, you water a child and it pees. There are consequences!
This week seems to be dragging on! It even felt that way before lunch on yesterday. 3 more days, a weekend, then 5 more days and it's done. CRAZY!!!
GO OILERS GO!!!
Last night after hockey...
Kathy: I figure I need to take care of a plant to learn how to take care of a pet to learn how to take care of a child.
Lorraine: There's a big difference between taking care of a plant and taking care of a pet or a child.
Kathy: Well, ya, it's easier to kill a plant.
Lorraine: Um, I think it's illegal to kill a child. But that's not what I was going to say. I was going to say that pets and children are vocal about getting what they want.
Tonight after explaining last night...
Ruth: Ya, you water a child and it pees. There are consequences!
This week seems to be dragging on! It even felt that way before lunch on yesterday. 3 more days, a weekend, then 5 more days and it's done. CRAZY!!!
GO OILERS GO!!!
Monday, June 05, 2006
Hockey and not so hockey
Hockey cheerleaders? Now I've seen everything! Ty Conklin...poor guy. I suppose I was somewhat hoping for this to go to Game 6, which would mean we'd have to lose 2 games, but I would much rather Edmonton win the next 4 straight! Hopefully Roli will be okay and up for the next games. GO OILERS GO!!!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
It's hard to believe that I've only got 2 weeks left in Eston. And if they're anything like the last 4 weeks they will just fly by. Next weekend is the Eston Rodeo, so if anyone is interested...come here next weekend!!!
I'm actually looking forward to going to church tomorrow. I haven't been to church for 3 weeks now (well, I've missed 2 Sundays) and I am finding that I miss that kind of worship and fellowship. Probably because I was so used to having it 3 times a week for about 8 months. It really has become a part of who I am.
Some time in the future I think I will continue on my journey of becoming a Social Worker. It's something I started to pursue in 1999, but I was not really ready for it at that time. I'm still not, but I am definitely more ready to tackle it.
Oh, and I did update my other site.
I'm actually looking forward to going to church tomorrow. I haven't been to church for 3 weeks now (well, I've missed 2 Sundays) and I am finding that I miss that kind of worship and fellowship. Probably because I was so used to having it 3 times a week for about 8 months. It really has become a part of who I am.
Some time in the future I think I will continue on my journey of becoming a Social Worker. It's something I started to pursue in 1999, but I was not really ready for it at that time. I'm still not, but I am definitely more ready to tackle it.
Oh, and I did update my other site.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Just to let you know, I started a second blog on Monday. This new blog is dedicated solely to things I am seeking to learn about. You can find the link for it under my "Links" section or click here. If I remember I will let you know on this site when I have updated again, as the other site will not likely be updated as often as this one.
Real Life - Real People
How often the enemy is at work. I see it more often in the lives of youth, but it is everywhere!
I'm not really sure what to say. How would YOU respond to this girl who is believing these lies? What does she need to hear?
"You don't have the words or the actions to go along with your so-called faith. How can you be a witness? You don't know anything. You can't explain anything. You can't even bring yourself to spend time with this God of yours. You have no purpose. Even what you thought you had, you don't have anymore. Nobody wants to hang out with you. They would much rather hang out with other people. You've got nothing to offer people. They would be better off without you bothering them all the time. Just end it. Maybe then they'd realize...."
How often the enemy is at work. I see it more often in the lives of youth, but it is everywhere!
I'm not really sure what to say. How would YOU respond to this girl who is believing these lies? What does she need to hear?
"You don't have the words or the actions to go along with your so-called faith. How can you be a witness? You don't know anything. You can't explain anything. You can't even bring yourself to spend time with this God of yours. You have no purpose. Even what you thought you had, you don't have anymore. Nobody wants to hang out with you. They would much rather hang out with other people. You've got nothing to offer people. They would be better off without you bothering them all the time. Just end it. Maybe then they'd realize...."
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