The Living Dead?

     A rich widow had a fine harden, but the birds in the springtime kept eating the fruit and the vegetables. Her gardener told her to have a carpenter make a frame that could be dressed like a person.
     "Dress it in bright-coloured clothes," he said, "and the garments will flap around in the winds and scare the birds away."
     So the widow had a carpenter make her a scarecrow and she dressed it in a bright, loose blouse and a skirt that could sway in the wind.
     The scarecrow seemed to help, but one night there was a bad storm. The scarecrow was knocked over in the gale and washed away in the flood. It came to rest near the edge of a lake some distance away.
     The villagers saw it and hurried to tell the priest.
     "A saint!" everyone exclaimed. "Probably a miraculous saint that can cure our ills."
     The scarecrow was duly installed in a chapel of the church, and miracles began to take place - at least so the people thought.
     Then the rich widow became sick. She went to the medicine men, but they didn't help her. Hearing of a miraculous saint in a nearby town, she decided to visit it. She had her horse hitched to her carriage and went with her daughter to the village. First she visited the priest and asked about the new saint. Yes, he assured her, some cures had been effected. After giving him a generous donation, she and her daughter went with him to the church. He drew aside the curtain in the little chapel, and she knelt before the saint and began to repeat prayers. Presently her daughter nudged her.
     "Mama, doesn't this saint's clothing look like our scarecrow's dress?"
     The mother raised her head and opened her eyes wide.
     "My scarecrow!" she cried and, rising, left the church never to return.
     After the story, Pedro taught the people from the Bible, showing them that the dead do not turn to ghosts after they die, but rather return to the earth.
---Taken from the novel A Man Called Pedro by Barbara Westphal.

A Simple Prayer For My Mom

Now dear Lord as [I] pray, take [my] heart and mind far away from the stress of the world all around to Your throne where grace does abound. May [my] life be transformed by Your light, may [my] soul be refreshed from above. At this moment, let people everywhere join [me] now as [I] come to You in prayer.

My mom and I - It is my fervent prayer
that I will be able to see her give her life to the Lord.
I love her and I don't want to see
her miss out on all the treasures and happiness
God has in store.

Lord, You know my struggles and the hardships I'm facing. You can see the [people] that are making life on earth difficult for me. I pray, Lord God, that You will forgive [their] transgressions. [They] don't realize the pain [they] are afflicting because [they] are blinded with sin. Open [their] eyes to Your peace and never ending love. Soften [their] hearts to feel the gentle pricking of Your tender hand. Reveal to [them] the hurt [they] are bringing to others. I want to see [them] surrender [their] lives to You and I know the divine power of prayer. Thank you God for hearing this prayer by your humble servant.

Your Daughter,
Bailey


When you are discouraged and everything seems to be bringing you down, my good friend gave me great encouragement.

---When you can't stand...kneel

Eternally Burning In Hell?

In order for anyone to study the destiny of the wicked from God's Holy Word and get a correct understanding of it, one must begin with the fact that the law of love is the very foundation of His government. All of God's actions toward the people He has created originate from that premise. Thus it is impossible to believe in the doctrine of eternal torment.
Although the great monarch of the universe is a God of love, at the same time He is a God of justice. While the element of love controls His being, we must never forget that those who reject His love, His infinite sacrifice made in the death of His Son on Calvary, will have condemned themselves. They bear the guilt of rejecting the Spirit of Grace.

So what about the accounts in the Bible such as 'eternal fire', 'everlasting punishment', and 'the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever'?
Many persons misunderstand the meaning of the word punishment. They define it as conscious suffering and believe that when the senses no longer perceive any affliction, it ceases to be punishment...For instance, why is the sentence of death recognized as the greatest punishment? It is not because the pain involved is more intense, for some forms of torture such as whipping produce more pain that decapitation or hanging. But we consider it as the greatest punishment because it is the most lasting. It deprives its victim at once of all the relations and blessings of life, and we estimate its length by the life the person would have enjoyed. So it is, when death from which there is to be no release is administered, that is to say, no resurrection. That punishment is everlasting, or eternal. The second death deprives the sinner of the bright and ceaseless years of eternity. And just as the life of the redeemed is everlasting, so is the loss, or the punishment, or the wicked.

Hebrews 6:2 speaks of eternal judgement. Not a judgement eternally going forward, but one that, having once passed upon all men, is irreversible in its decision and eternal in its effects.
In Jude 1:7 we are told that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha suffer "the punishment of eternal fire". The apostle Peter tells us that God turned 'the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes...making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly' (2 Peter 2:6)

All taken from the book: A Trip Into The Supernatural by: Roger J. Morneau
-The book is an account of his life with spirits and how he came to know and surrender himself to Christ in a matter of one week. An incredible book that I recommend!

What If Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops!?

Enjoying the rain that
pleasantly downpoured while
I was running (:

Today, God has been so good to me!! (Not that He hasn't been equally good any other time). I have been on a high for God all day. I can't wipe the smile from my face and the joy swelling inside me.
I've been reading many books recently while at work about the struggles and hardships some Christians have to endure. One such book is "I Will Die Free" written by Noble Alexander. It informs of the intense hardships, beatings, and even tortures I can't quite put into words! All the while he kept with his worships with God and brought others to Him! I STRONGLY recommend this book to ANYONE!
As these books have been speaking to my heart..I've desired more in my relationship with God. Today, I read once more the verse 2 Corinthians 5:17. If any man be in Christ he is a new creation; the old has passed away behold the new has come. God wants me to change my attitude when I face trials. Instead of getting upset and be downcast, I need to have peace in my heart. When people ridcule and put me down, I need to put a smile on my face. You never know who's watching and as the quote goes, "you never know who's 'falling in love' with your smile".

GOD IS SO GOOD! It can never be said too often or too frequently!

I have been going to the gym for a few months now and can feel the difference in my stamina and endurance. Before and after work I walk to work and home again; this evening I decided to run! From work I started my journey (this trip home takes about a 40 minute brisk walk). While passing my past checkpoint of my record running distance I looked at the blackening clouds in the sky. Sweat was running down my face and I wished a sprinkle would come down to cool me off. Running up my 2nd and longest hill I stopped at the top to catch my breath and sprinkles came from the sky. Ahh! God blessed me!! I smiled as I ran up my 3rd and steepest hill and as I ran into my backyard it began to pour!! Two things that made me jump off the walls: I ran all the way home! And I was blessed with rain. (:
Let this be a fact that I was barely able to run down a street that was maybe 150ft before without panting and loosing my breath.

God blesses us so many ways during the day. Let us take time to think about all the ways God has blessed us today. (:

Three More To go



You've got three more to go, yeah, you're on the right road.
Don't give up! Just keep going!
I want you to know though the road may seem long,
and the struggles too hard...
Don't give up! Keep holding on!
Soon you'll be home.

 This is the chorus of a song that my friend Randy Folkenberg wrote. I first heard it on his soundcloud page and it really spoke to me.
No matter what I'm facing...I know that God doesn't want me to give up. He has called me to stand strong because the end is coming. Soon we who love Him and eagerly follow His teachings will be home in heaven with our Father!

(This song may have different meanings to others, but that's what it meant to me.)

(:

Summer Thoughts!

It has officially been summer for about 2 weeks now. The weather has treated me very kindly except for the sun; apparently it enjoys burning my skin a lobster-red colour. I am all moved into my mom's “new house” (quotations around it because we rent; we call things of this nature ‘brand-used’). I have a full-time job now and am enjoying the sense of responsibility. Most importantly, God has been teaching me so much lately! I am becoming more aware of the changes I need to make in my life. Too many times I view myself as better off than those around me. God must favour me more because I don’t drink, smoke, go to parties, or listen to putrid music. God must love me because I read the Bible every day and don’t swear. I find that these thoughts are chaining me down, keeping me from growing more in my walk with the Lord. Think about it for a second…if I am viewing myself as so high and exalted, why would I need to strive to be more like Jesus? I am already good enough, right? NO! Good enough shouldn’t even be in my vocabulary.

Jesus doesn’t look at our “overall goodness”. Look at it this way: there’s a man who murders your mother. He comes before the judge and the judge looks at his records. This judge sees that the man helped an older person across the street and went to the nursing home to visit the elderly the day before. He then looks at the man and says, “You are innocent because of the good you did. Go free.” Would this judge be considered a good judge? (This analogy was first brought to my attention in the movie Courageous). This judge would be considered unfair, but Bible says that God is just and fair in all ways. He looks at the heart. Would God then let me be in his kingdom because I did a few righteous things in my life, or does he look at the bad as well?

 Is my heart in tune with where God wants it to be? Am I letting my pride and self-centered personality take the best of me? Am I willing, right now, to surrender myself to Him once more?

Every day I need to surrender myself to God. I need to die to self daily; only then will my life be more pleasing to my Lord; only then will I be able to live as a witness to those in my sphere of influence. There are so many people that are close to me that I want to be with me in Heaven. My closest relatives have yet to fully surrender themselves to the Lord. I can’t nag and prod, poking them with a stick. I can’t dump fertilizer, water, and heaps of soil in expectance that their seed will grow in abundance. That will choke the seed and destroy any future hopes I have. I need to live a lifestyle that demonstrates what I believe. Before I can be a witness in my life to those around me, I need to know God as my best friend and my closest ally. How can I draw people to Him if I don’t know Him that well myself? God willing He will transform my life. All it takes is prayer and submission.

Afros, Bobcuts, and Combovers

                Hair is an interesting piece of our total makeup. It’s thin, yet durable. Along with that, it knows its place. Have you ever done your hair in the morning and try to alter it later on in the day; something as simple as changing where you part it perhaps? You spike it, curl it, straighten it, flatten it, whatever you do to it, it usually withstands the daily elements. Sure, sometimes you need to fix it later on during the day to give it an extra boost...but it’s resilient. However you do your hair in the morning will affect it throughout the day.

                Now let’s compare hair with our spiritual endurance. Just like hair, you need to get spiritually ready in the morning. We do our hair because we know we want to be ready for the day. Look presentable. God has specific appointments for us daily that we need to be prepared for. Just like you wouldn’t go to your first job interview with bed head, you shouldn’t go throughout your day without heart, soul, and mind prepared. When we neglect God in the morning, we miss out on the opportunities to share what we learn; we aren’t awake or thinking about Him all day. Sometimes it’s even necessary to add extra time for Him afterwards to regain that enthusiastic approach to the rest of the day.

                I know I have disregarded God in the morning many times and I’m sure I’ve missed out on countless divine appointments. Something always seems to get in my way, my mornings are hectic, there’s no time, I have things to do, I get no quiet time, God understands if I worship with Him later (I mean, I’m still worshipping Him , right?). These are all excuses I’ve used too many times. Is God ever too busy for me when I call on Him? Does He ever turn a deaf ear when I’m talking with Him? Does He ever push me away because I’m not worthy? Never. God is always there and all He is asking is a little time in that “chaotic” morning for Him to recharge you for another day. We always have time for our hair, don’t we? How much more should we arrange time for our Lord?

Because He Lives!

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!


Later in the year when we think of Easter, most of our thoughts directly focus on the commercialism of the holiday; the easter bunny, colourful eggs, various sizes of chocolate, Easter lilies, feasts, and scavenger hunts.

Just the other day I was helping my kindergarten teacher with her Easter craft for the kids. I was enjoying the project while listening to her read a story to the children. Now, this school I was at (and attended as a child) is a public school; yet my old teacher paused the story for a moment and asked the students, "Who doesn't know who Jesus is?" To my GREAT surprise, HALF the students rose their hand. She simply explained Him as a kind man who never got angry and was generous and loves us. Simple for the kids, yet hopefully enough to make them remember Him. She told them of His importance to this holiday and that it didn't start with the Easter bunny.

Now I'm sure if parents complained she could get in a little trouble for talking about the Lord in a public school, but I was pleasantly surprised that she took the time to tell those kids about Him.

What was most surprising to me though...was that HALF the students didn't know Him. Doesn't that say something to us as servants of Christ? We all, I'm sure, at some point in our lives, want or have wanted to go on a mission trip. I know I do! But we need to stop for a moment and think. Don't we have work in our own countries? Aren't there people in Canada, America, and other homelands that we live in, that don't know God? Flight tickets themselves can be thousands. Can't that money go to Christ's servants that are already in the area? Can't they witness themselves?

Just something to think about for the season. God is calling us to witness NOW. Where ever we are. We don't need to travel far to spread the gospel because there could even be people in our own families that neglect to worship our Saviour.

Today, Christ lives in me. I pray that He will make me a missionary in my own country, province, city, and home first.

The Gospel Race

You’ve trained your whole life and now you’ve made it; the Olympics are within reach. The entire summer you’ve set the morning to run and the afternoon to lift weights in preparation for the physically straining times ahead. Now you are an official participant of a running race and are planning your next moves fairly strategically.

            As the days approach, you think you have the entire route memorized and every hurdle’s position learned. The entire map of your run is set to memory and you feel strong and confident in your upcoming events.

            It’s race day and you still have the map in your mind. You know where to jump, where to turn, the “secret passages”, and everything else you believe your components wish they knew. You begin to run and things are going just as you have planned. You see people falling behind you and snicker. You feel on top of the world.

            Another bend and you realize you don’t know where you’re going. The trail of the race has taken an unexpected twist and you find yourself bewildered because it wasn’t in the plan. You stop and try to look for a sign, something that will show you that you’re going in the right direction, but there’s nothing. You still have energy to spare so you continue the race. You come to believe that the officials changed the route a little so that no one could cheat their way to the top. You don’t want to give up because you’ve trained so hard; nothing is going to stop you from finishing victorious.

            You’re near the end and see the finish line approaching. As you cross, you remember how, when the change in the trail occurred, you stopped and you beat yourself up for it because you know you should have kept going. You could have run faster. All this fades now as you see the man coming with your trophy. You’ve won.

            Just like this race, we are running a race as well. God has prepared us and “trained” us to be His disciples. When running a race in the Olympics, some small change wouldn’t stop you from running harder and faster. God has our path all marked out. We believe we have a plan for our lives and know what we want to do and where we wish to go, but God’s plans could be different. We can’t let changes in our lives hurt our chances of “winning” our gospel race. There is something that’s different in God’s race however because in His race, everyone who crosses the finish line wins. God’s race doesn’t call for you to pass others falling with a chuckle, but to stop and help them up reminding them of the prize at the end.

            God is calling you to be an advocate for His race. He promises you that, even though there may be changes in the route, He will reward you a great prize at the end; eternal life.

The Life-Changing Room: PART FOUR

            2 more hours passed before we were escorted to our car and then back into Canada. The house that we have been living in for over 4 years, still full with furniture, clothes, and appliances, would now be desolate from any from of moving life. Our school was left behind along with our friends and acquaintances. The tears never ceased to flow as the trip prolonged.

            We approached the Canadian border once more, "You know you have to do something with this car? I'm going to have to guide you over to that building over there and they'll tell you what you need to do."

            We knew this was going to happen. My mom still had payments to pay on her Pontiac so the border is entailed to impound it until we are able to finish paying the expenses. Parking the car, we didn't even need to exit before guards were at the driver's window asking questions. Someone looked familiar. It was a woman. She looked with compassion and seemed to understand what was happening. YES! It as the Canadian lady we had talked to while first entering the country. She knew our situation and with the sympathy instilled in her heart, she waved us off with our car reminding us that if we couldn't make the payments soon, we would eventually have to do something about it.

           

            This life experience left my whole family and me in the dark. We are still trying to figure out what we are going to do about school (which is SO different it would be practically impossible to finish here), about our house there, about my mom's job…we're blind to the future.

            You hear about people who lose everything, they have no hope and their life is falling apart, so they decide to take their own life. Without God, I'm sure something like that would happen to me (maybe not as life-threatening as that, but something that would eternally hurt me). God is so good. He gives me peace at heart as everything is shattered. He knows how to reconstruct for the better. I don’t understand how this will end up benefitting anyone, but God does. He sees the future, whether tomorrow or the end of time. I am given hope, willingness to use my circumstances for Him, and ever-growing patience! It's extremely hard, but worth it. Prayers are constantly being sent above for guidance and for the salvation of lives due to our pain here on earth.