December 2013
-Brie was cramping and bleeding. It seemed like this was another miscarriage for sure. It had all the signs. We, and many others were praying that God would allow this child to live and grow up to live for Him.
-about a week later Brie got an ultrasound which said the baby was alive and had a strong heartbeat. I remember waiting for the call from Brie in my classroom and getting a text from Dave Whitelaw. It was so cool to see God's hand on us and further proved that He was in control. Dave had no idea about the situation but said that God had laid Brie and I on his heart that morning and that he had been praying for us. It is so cool that God is always watching out for us. When we lost the baby in October 2012 we got a Facebook message from Luke Crawford saying that He felt God calling him to pray for us. It is so amazing that God loves us enough to actually lead others to pray for us. Praise Him!
I am so excited because I really feel lime God worked a miracle for us. He saved this child for us and is looking out for our entire family. Thank you Lord.
January 2014
Praise God!!!! The hematoma is gone! Brie and the baby are healthy and strong. This has been such an incredible rollercoaster ride, but Brie and I have been so blessed as we have trusted in God throughout this time. Here is what happened:
So many friends and family have been praying for Brie and the baby. We had the opportunity to go in for weekly ultrasounds. It was amazing being able to see the baby move around, suck its thumb, etc.. Being able to enjoy that with Aivry has also been nice. She thinks it's a girl :)
As we had been going in for the weekly ultrasounds they were tracking the hematoma. We were told at one point that it had gotten smaller, but then were called the next day and told that the ultrasound technician had been mistaken and that the hematoma had actually increased in size. We were encouraged to go to emerge to see if there was anything that should be done to help Brie and the baby. We were given the news that there was nothing that could be done and that unfortunately there was about a 50% chance that this pregnancy was going to end up in a miscarriage. During the ultrasounds, it was so difficult to see that hematoma right beside our beautiful baby, knowing that this hematoma could end our child's life. It was a helpless feeling, but we were placing it in God's hands, praying for a miracle and asking Him to protect our baby. We were asking Him to keep our baby healthy and safe and for the baby to be one which was born healthy and strong, and to become a person who loves who serves Him and spends eternity with Him one day.
We got our miracle. The hematoma had gotten a little smaller (praise God!) and had changed shape a bit, but after our last ultrasound, there had not been a lot of progress. The hematoma did not look like it was going away anytime soon. On the day that Brie was scheduled to go in for her latest ultrasound, I was teaching a lesson at school. I was writing something on the whiteboard when I looked up on the clock and saw that it was about time for Brie's ultrasound appointment. I prayed a small prayer to myself at the front of the room. I asked God to "please take this hematoma away. Please help it to not even be there anymore." And praise God, that is exactly what He did! The ultrasound technician said that she could not see any sign of the hematoma, and when we got the results back from the doctor this was confirmed. Not only was the hematoma gone, but Brie was told she now had a healthy pregnancy and no longer had to be on bed rest.
It has been so amazing to witness this miracle. What an amazing answer to prayer! It has been so cool to be able to share this miraculous answer to prayer with family, friends and co-workers.
THANK YOU GOD! PRAISE YOU LORD!!
Thursday, 20 February 2014
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
God's righteous jealousy
God is very clear in His Word that He is a jealous God. Many people try and argue that this is a form if hypocrisy because He says that jealousy is wrong. When you examine God's jealoisy , however; you realize very quickly that He is talking about a type of jealousy that is a good kind. It is a kind of jealousy that we should be thankful that He displays. It is also a form if jealousy that all if us should be displaying in certain situations.
Bad jealousy is the type where you want something that does not belong to you, but rather belongs to someone else. The good jealousy that God displays is the kind where one is jealous for something that does belong to them but is wrongfully drifting towards someone or something else.
In our relationship with God, He is jealous for our heart. He wants all of our heart, and rightfully so. He loves us more than we can imagine and He knows what is best for us. He is what is best for us and therefore He wants to live in close communion with Him. Unfortunately however, we are often far too easily satisfied. We try to find fulfillment in things other than God. This makes God extremely jealous because something else is competing with Him for our heart. He alone must be what we find our fulfillment in because He alone provides TRUE fulfillment. Sometimes we can also fall into the trap of thinking that we are completely surrendered to God and are finding our fulfillment in Him when in reality we are not.
Often times the reality is that we are half-heartedly pursuing God, while pursuing other things as well and attempting to find fulfillment in those things. Once again, we must never allow ourselves to be far too easily satisfied. We may think that we are fulfilled by the things we are pursuing and enjoying, and we may think that we are fulfilled by the little bit of God that we are devoting our time to pursuing, but the reality is that until we completely surrender ourselves to God and are completely sold out for Him, we will not know true happiness and fulfillment.
God wants so badly to have this type of relationship with Him, but He will not force it. He says in the Bible, "I stand at the door and knock". He created us and therefore knows what is best for us. He wants to provide it, but we must do our part and pursue Him wholeheartedly. I know from my personal life experiences that I have NEVER been disappointed by Him.
Greater fullfilment can even be found in the things that we enjoy doing when we choose to make God the center of them and do them for His glory. When we decide to worship God with our efforts in all things, and surrender all results to Him, it ensures that we are keeping our focus on Him and finding our fulfillment in Him alone. When we do this, not only will our our relationship with God improve, but we will find greater enjoyment in the things that we enjoy doing. This is because our attitude toward them is in line with the attitude God wants us to have, and anytime that happens we are in the right place to experience true joy and fulfillment. We must never find fulfillment in anything or anyone but God.
I don't believe God will ever bless any of our efforts in anything where that thing is competing with Him for our heart. Our heart belongs to God. He is jealous for it. If ever we are pursuing something and itncompetes with God, I just cannot believe that He will allow us to be fully blessed in it. While this is a result if His jealousy, it is also a result of His love. We are so far better off when we are completely surrendered to Him.
If God truly has my heart, then I will be can mpletely surrendered to Him. HE ALONE WILL BE ENOUGH FOR ME. I will work hard at all things, but be surrendered tonwhatnit becomes, letting Him decide, for I long for Him and Him alone.
Deuteronomy 4:15-31
Deuteronomy 5:4-10
Nahum 1:1-15
Exodus 20:1-7
Psalm 104:1-35
Psalm 78:56-64
Bad jealousy is the type where you want something that does not belong to you, but rather belongs to someone else. The good jealousy that God displays is the kind where one is jealous for something that does belong to them but is wrongfully drifting towards someone or something else.
In our relationship with God, He is jealous for our heart. He wants all of our heart, and rightfully so. He loves us more than we can imagine and He knows what is best for us. He is what is best for us and therefore He wants to live in close communion with Him. Unfortunately however, we are often far too easily satisfied. We try to find fulfillment in things other than God. This makes God extremely jealous because something else is competing with Him for our heart. He alone must be what we find our fulfillment in because He alone provides TRUE fulfillment. Sometimes we can also fall into the trap of thinking that we are completely surrendered to God and are finding our fulfillment in Him when in reality we are not.
Often times the reality is that we are half-heartedly pursuing God, while pursuing other things as well and attempting to find fulfillment in those things. Once again, we must never allow ourselves to be far too easily satisfied. We may think that we are fulfilled by the things we are pursuing and enjoying, and we may think that we are fulfilled by the little bit of God that we are devoting our time to pursuing, but the reality is that until we completely surrender ourselves to God and are completely sold out for Him, we will not know true happiness and fulfillment.
God wants so badly to have this type of relationship with Him, but He will not force it. He says in the Bible, "I stand at the door and knock". He created us and therefore knows what is best for us. He wants to provide it, but we must do our part and pursue Him wholeheartedly. I know from my personal life experiences that I have NEVER been disappointed by Him.
Greater fullfilment can even be found in the things that we enjoy doing when we choose to make God the center of them and do them for His glory. When we decide to worship God with our efforts in all things, and surrender all results to Him, it ensures that we are keeping our focus on Him and finding our fulfillment in Him alone. When we do this, not only will our our relationship with God improve, but we will find greater enjoyment in the things that we enjoy doing. This is because our attitude toward them is in line with the attitude God wants us to have, and anytime that happens we are in the right place to experience true joy and fulfillment. We must never find fulfillment in anything or anyone but God.
I don't believe God will ever bless any of our efforts in anything where that thing is competing with Him for our heart. Our heart belongs to God. He is jealous for it. If ever we are pursuing something and itncompetes with God, I just cannot believe that He will allow us to be fully blessed in it. While this is a result if His jealousy, it is also a result of His love. We are so far better off when we are completely surrendered to Him.
If God truly has my heart, then I will be can mpletely surrendered to Him. HE ALONE WILL BE ENOUGH FOR ME. I will work hard at all things, but be surrendered tonwhatnit becomes, letting Him decide, for I long for Him and Him alone.
Deuteronomy 4:15-31
Deuteronomy 5:4-10
Nahum 1:1-15
Exodus 20:1-7
Psalm 104:1-35
Psalm 78:56-64
Sunday, 9 February 2014
God's Bucket List For Your Life - and helping your kids know God
Romans 13
- God's bucket list for your life is to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love my neighbour as I love myself.
-love does no harm to one's neighbor. It seeks to serve, love, be understanding and peaceful.
-all of God's rules and guidelines are there out of love. They are there to help us manifest a proper relationship with Him. This is why the Bible says that "love sums up the law...". God's Word is not about rules for the sake of rules. The Bible is a book that teaches us about how to have a deeper relationship with God.
-I feel that as Brie and I raise our children that we should set rules and should discipline in a way which keeps these things in mind. It can be very easy to try and teach our kids to simply behave and be good - but if we don't teach them how to have a meaningful relationship with God, then the only thing we are doing is teaching them how to obey rules. We will have missed the mark and not taught them how to live for Christ. We will have raised "moral pagans". It is imperative that we are teaching our children how to have a meaningful relationship with God. When we are teaching them to follow His rules and guidelines we must make sure that they understand that the reason why they are doing this is because these rules and guidelines are given to us by God out of love. He gives them to us so that when we follow them we are pitting yourself in a place which will make us more like Christ. And if we are becoming more like Christ, then we are becoming people who can have a more meaningful and deeper relationship with Him which leads to a life that can be truly lived to its fullest.
-look for blog..."Raising Pagan Kids in a Christian Home"...have some great insights
- A relationship with God is not about being good and setting goals and then hoping that if we are good that God will allow us to accomplish our goals. A relationship with God is about loving Him and being surrendered to Him. We are called to work our hardest in all things, but we are called to do so for the glory if God. This means that we work hard to glorify God and are surrendered to Him for all results of our efforts. God calls me to work hard in all things and then be surrendered to Him for all results.
-It is okay to be a "go getter", but it is more blessed to be a "go giver". Both can be done for the glory of God, but when we look at the life Jesus lived it is clear which He most values.
+ Grace is not opposed to effort (which is action), but to earning (which is trying to accomplish only what we want rather than being surrendered)
- God's bucket list for your life is to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love my neighbour as I love myself.
-love does no harm to one's neighbor. It seeks to serve, love, be understanding and peaceful.
-all of God's rules and guidelines are there out of love. They are there to help us manifest a proper relationship with Him. This is why the Bible says that "love sums up the law...". God's Word is not about rules for the sake of rules. The Bible is a book that teaches us about how to have a deeper relationship with God.
-I feel that as Brie and I raise our children that we should set rules and should discipline in a way which keeps these things in mind. It can be very easy to try and teach our kids to simply behave and be good - but if we don't teach them how to have a meaningful relationship with God, then the only thing we are doing is teaching them how to obey rules. We will have missed the mark and not taught them how to live for Christ. We will have raised "moral pagans". It is imperative that we are teaching our children how to have a meaningful relationship with God. When we are teaching them to follow His rules and guidelines we must make sure that they understand that the reason why they are doing this is because these rules and guidelines are given to us by God out of love. He gives them to us so that when we follow them we are pitting yourself in a place which will make us more like Christ. And if we are becoming more like Christ, then we are becoming people who can have a more meaningful and deeper relationship with Him which leads to a life that can be truly lived to its fullest.
-look for blog..."Raising Pagan Kids in a Christian Home"...have some great insights
- A relationship with God is not about being good and setting goals and then hoping that if we are good that God will allow us to accomplish our goals. A relationship with God is about loving Him and being surrendered to Him. We are called to work our hardest in all things, but we are called to do so for the glory if God. This means that we work hard to glorify God and are surrendered to Him for all results of our efforts. God calls me to work hard in all things and then be surrendered to Him for all results.
-It is okay to be a "go getter", but it is more blessed to be a "go giver". Both can be done for the glory of God, but when we look at the life Jesus lived it is clear which He most values.
+ Grace is not opposed to effort (which is action), but to earning (which is trying to accomplish only what we want rather than being surrendered)
Making the most of my time
-If I could see His glory I would give Him all of my time and energy and be completely surrendered to Him. I would not seek to live for my own glory, but His alone. I would be so completely surrendered to Him.
- I must recognize that I am so tiny and insignificant, that to live for my own glory would be incredibly ridiculous. I must seek to live for God's glory because His purposes are meaningful and worth being a part of. To live for myself would be meaningless. It would be a waste of a life. Only God's purposes are truly worth living for.
- it is shameful to think that I would be excited to serve a celebrity and do stuff for them. How much more I should do this for God. I know the God of the universe. This just goes to show how foolish I am. I must take God so much more seriously. I must see Him for what He truly is.
I am to live as if my life has a point, and I am not it. My glory has no meaning, God's glory is the definition of meaningful, and He wants me to be a part of it. My glory is too little a thing to live for. I am too small a thing to live for.
Priority determines capacity. When I get my priorities straight it allows life to be more enjoyable. It is not necessarily a case of not getting to do the things I enjoy, it is just making sure that the most important aspects of my life come first. A good visual of this is trying to fit big rocks into a jar if pebbles. The rocks represent the important priorities in life, while the pebbles represent the things that we simply enjoy doing. When the pebbles take priority and go into the jar first, then they take up too much space and you can't fit in all the rocks. If you put the rocks in first however, then when you put the pebbles in they will find space around the rocks and you can then fit both the rocks and the pebbles into the jar. Priority definitely determines capacity. If you prioritize correctly, then you should be able to fit everything into your day/life that you need to.
When you try and rush things in life, in order to fit everything in, then it greatly hurts intimacy. Therefore when it comes to my relationship with God, as well as Brie and my kids, I must never rush. I never want to hurt intimacy in these relationships.
By putting the "God rock" into the jar of my life first, it helps me maintain proper priority in all areas of my life. After all, why wouldn't I do this. God says in Matthew 6:33 that He knows everything that I need and therefore I am to "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness", and that when I do that He will provide for me everything else that I need. It is amazing that God knows what I need and promises to give it to me when I seek Him first, so of course He must come first in my life.
I believe that this means that I should spend the first minutes of my day with the Lord. It is a way to put Him first and set my day off right. It makes sure that God remains the center if my life in general, and therefore all that will arise in that day.
A good saying from Martin Luther is "Pray and let God worry". God wants to never be anxious about anything.
You will make better decisions if you live realizing that your days are numbered.
Investing small amounts of time on things that matter will have a positive cumulative value. At the same time, neglecting spending time on things that matter also have a negative cumulative value. And no one installment of time really matters. It is cumulative value over time that matters. For instance, spending time with my family once will not have a positive impact on my life. It is spending time with them on a consistent basis that will matter. At the same time, if I consistently neglect spending time with my family that will have a negative effect over time on my relationship with them.
Often times it can be very easy to fill our time with random things. For instance, surfing the internet in a leisurely manner, watching t.v., watching movies, etc.. It is important to realize that when you take these things and add up the time youbsoend on them theubhabe no value. There is no benefit to them. Therefore, it is important that we spend those random amounts of time on things which will have a positive cumulative value when we add them all up.
Ephesians 5:15, 16, 17 teaches these principles. It instructs us on the importance of making the most of every opportunity and using our time strategically.
The book of Ecclesiastes speaks in depth about how meaningless life is apart from God. It talks about how life does not always make sense. An example if this is when someone is faithful to God and bad things still happen. The good news though is that no matter what happens in life, God still wants us to trust Him and be faithful to Him. And He will use all things for His glory. Therefore, with these truths in mind, it makes it increasingly clear how important it is to live surrendered to God following His will for your life. It is important tonseek His will, discovering that which he chooses to reveal to you, and then live to tally surrendered to Him. Everything else in this life is meaningless apart from Him. Everyone lives, works hard, gains stuff and then dies leaving all that stuff to someone else who didn't earn it. Living life surrendered to God is the only way to find true fulfillment.
Do not waste your life "chasing the wind". Do not waste your life chasing after things that really don't have any eternal value. It is so important to keep your priorities straight. God has given me a wife and children to love and impact for God's glory. I must not miss the mark. I must not miss out on investing in their lives for God's glory, for this is a way that I can have an impact for God's Kingdom for generations to come. I must be in prayer for my kids and their kids and all future generations. I know things like my job can have eternal value, and it is important for me to pursue hard in these things, but I must never do so at the expense of my family. This is the most important investment God has given me for His Kingdom. The moral if much if this is to make sure that I am setting my priorities straight so that my time is spent serving God and seeking how I can be better surrendered to Him so that my life is spent furthering His Kingdom.
- I must recognize that I am so tiny and insignificant, that to live for my own glory would be incredibly ridiculous. I must seek to live for God's glory because His purposes are meaningful and worth being a part of. To live for myself would be meaningless. It would be a waste of a life. Only God's purposes are truly worth living for.
- it is shameful to think that I would be excited to serve a celebrity and do stuff for them. How much more I should do this for God. I know the God of the universe. This just goes to show how foolish I am. I must take God so much more seriously. I must see Him for what He truly is.
I am to live as if my life has a point, and I am not it. My glory has no meaning, God's glory is the definition of meaningful, and He wants me to be a part of it. My glory is too little a thing to live for. I am too small a thing to live for.
Priority determines capacity. When I get my priorities straight it allows life to be more enjoyable. It is not necessarily a case of not getting to do the things I enjoy, it is just making sure that the most important aspects of my life come first. A good visual of this is trying to fit big rocks into a jar if pebbles. The rocks represent the important priorities in life, while the pebbles represent the things that we simply enjoy doing. When the pebbles take priority and go into the jar first, then they take up too much space and you can't fit in all the rocks. If you put the rocks in first however, then when you put the pebbles in they will find space around the rocks and you can then fit both the rocks and the pebbles into the jar. Priority definitely determines capacity. If you prioritize correctly, then you should be able to fit everything into your day/life that you need to.
When you try and rush things in life, in order to fit everything in, then it greatly hurts intimacy. Therefore when it comes to my relationship with God, as well as Brie and my kids, I must never rush. I never want to hurt intimacy in these relationships.
By putting the "God rock" into the jar of my life first, it helps me maintain proper priority in all areas of my life. After all, why wouldn't I do this. God says in Matthew 6:33 that He knows everything that I need and therefore I am to "seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness", and that when I do that He will provide for me everything else that I need. It is amazing that God knows what I need and promises to give it to me when I seek Him first, so of course He must come first in my life.
I believe that this means that I should spend the first minutes of my day with the Lord. It is a way to put Him first and set my day off right. It makes sure that God remains the center if my life in general, and therefore all that will arise in that day.
A good saying from Martin Luther is "Pray and let God worry". God wants to never be anxious about anything.
You will make better decisions if you live realizing that your days are numbered.
Investing small amounts of time on things that matter will have a positive cumulative value. At the same time, neglecting spending time on things that matter also have a negative cumulative value. And no one installment of time really matters. It is cumulative value over time that matters. For instance, spending time with my family once will not have a positive impact on my life. It is spending time with them on a consistent basis that will matter. At the same time, if I consistently neglect spending time with my family that will have a negative effect over time on my relationship with them.
Often times it can be very easy to fill our time with random things. For instance, surfing the internet in a leisurely manner, watching t.v., watching movies, etc.. It is important to realize that when you take these things and add up the time youbsoend on them theubhabe no value. There is no benefit to them. Therefore, it is important that we spend those random amounts of time on things which will have a positive cumulative value when we add them all up.
Ephesians 5:15, 16, 17 teaches these principles. It instructs us on the importance of making the most of every opportunity and using our time strategically.
The book of Ecclesiastes speaks in depth about how meaningless life is apart from God. It talks about how life does not always make sense. An example if this is when someone is faithful to God and bad things still happen. The good news though is that no matter what happens in life, God still wants us to trust Him and be faithful to Him. And He will use all things for His glory. Therefore, with these truths in mind, it makes it increasingly clear how important it is to live surrendered to God following His will for your life. It is important tonseek His will, discovering that which he chooses to reveal to you, and then live to tally surrendered to Him. Everything else in this life is meaningless apart from Him. Everyone lives, works hard, gains stuff and then dies leaving all that stuff to someone else who didn't earn it. Living life surrendered to God is the only way to find true fulfillment.
Do not waste your life "chasing the wind". Do not waste your life chasing after things that really don't have any eternal value. It is so important to keep your priorities straight. God has given me a wife and children to love and impact for God's glory. I must not miss the mark. I must not miss out on investing in their lives for God's glory, for this is a way that I can have an impact for God's Kingdom for generations to come. I must be in prayer for my kids and their kids and all future generations. I know things like my job can have eternal value, and it is important for me to pursue hard in these things, but I must never do so at the expense of my family. This is the most important investment God has given me for His Kingdom. The moral if much if this is to make sure that I am setting my priorities straight so that my time is spent serving God and seeking how I can be better surrendered to Him so that my life is spent furthering His Kingdom.
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