Twenty Seven Million

There’s a song that has just come available today on iTunes in Canada that I purchased first thing this morning.

I can’t say that I’m necessarily in love with the music, I am however in love with lyrics & the cause.

Twenty Seven Million, by Matt Redman & LZ7, is a song to fight human trafficking. Partnering with the A21 campaign, all proceeds from this song are going towards fighting modern day slavery.

Roll Up the Rim, a Canadian tradition at Tim Horton’s, is currently happening. When I think of the cost of a coffee as opposed to the $1.29 I paid for Twenty Seven Million, I can’t help but think there’s absolutely no comparison. The value of any prize won at Timmy’s doesn’t even come close to the value of freedom.

Today, if you’re contemplating spending loose change on a coffee, can I challenge you to reconsider? Do something today to change the world. Be someone’s freedom. Let your actions speak out against human trafficking.

Wilderness Message

{Adapted from Sister's Connect at Dominion GateWay Center, February, 13th, 2012}

Did you make a New Years Resolution this year? Have you managed to keep your resolution so far? One of my resolutions was to start an online Bible readying plan through YouVersion, which will lead me through he Bible in one year. Truth be told, I've read through the Bible before. Second truth, I've started this plan before (this is my third time actually) & have failed. Perhaps this time will be different though...

I've recently finished the book of Exodus. I don't know if you've ever read Exodus before, but for me, reading it through this time, it was as if every day there was something new for me to ponder or be challenged with.

I've been challenged by the courage of Moses' mother & sister, two amazing women who changed history by protecting & saving Moses' life.

I've been confronted with my feelings of inadequacy, much like Moses, wondering "who am I God, that you would choose to use me?"

I've remember past springs & autumns when my house seems to be full of flied & have felt as though I can identify with the Egyptians being faced with the plagues...although I'm sure the handful of flies in my house is nothing compared to what they dealt with.

As I read about the plague of frogs & Pharaoh choosing to wait one more day for the frogs to be gone, I've wondered what I've been holding onto in my own life until "Tomorrow."

My thought process & perhaps even my value system on some levels has been reexamined as I've read over the laws God gave to His people to try & protect them from following anyone other then Him, in attempts to redeem them.

But something that has really stuck out to me I read in Exodus 7, prior to the first plague of the water turning to blood & its been on my mind ever since...

Exodus 7:16a (NLT) - Then announce to him, 'The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you, "Let my people go, so they can worship me in the wilderness.

Wow! Did you catch that..."so they can worship me in the wilderness." Really, worship in the wilderness? Who in the right mind would choose to worship in the wilderness? I'm not talking that mountain top experience, or standing before the vastness of the ocean, I'm talking wilderness. No thank you, I much prefer my safe, comfy church to the wilderness.

Being someone who really likes words, I thought perhaps there was more to the meaning of wilderness, then my knowledge of wilderness. So here's the definition:

Wilderness

noun [usu. in sing.]

an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region.

• a neglected or abandoned area of a garden or town.
• figurative position of disfavor, esp. in a political context

Uh, no, it's exactly what I thought it was! & the thing is, people are led OUT OF the wilderness, not INTO it!

Perhaps there was a method to God's madness. Perhaps leading the Hebrew people (& other followers of His over the years) into the wilderness has something to do with some He said earlier in Exodus 6:7 (NLT) - I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you know that I am the LORD your God who has freed you from your oppression in Egypt.

By being in some place uninhabited, God could truly claim His people as His won. While in Egypt, God's people were slavs, under the ownership of Pharaoh. They had already been claimed in a sense. By leading His people in the wilderness, the Hebrew people were under no rule & then God could step in & claim them as His won.

When I look at my own life, I can actually identify with being claimed as God's own in the wilderness.

The wilderness' I've experienced have helped define who I am. The wilderness is without a doubt not a place I've enjoyed being, or look forward to going back to, but it's totally uninhabited & uncultivated, a place where God can truly have His way in our lives.

The wilderness is not a permanent destination, thankfully! It's merely part of the journey to not so much GET to where we're supposed to be, but to MAKE us into who we're supposed to be.

Happy Love Day

It’s Valentine’s Day, the one day out of the year specifically dedicated to love.

For some couples it’s perhaps that one night other then a special anniversary to go “all out” on showing one another just how important, special & cherished the other truly is.

For other couples Valentine’s Day is just another day. Perhaps for them this day is just another day out of the year to tell the other how much they’re loved & appreciated, but really it’s just like February 13^th or 15^th.

There are those whose Valentine’s Day has changed drastically as children have been added to the mix & suddenly, this once romantic day has turned into doting the little people in their world. Little love notes are being left in random places & special little treats are waiting to be opened.

For some, it’s a painful reminder that they are still alone, feeling as though everyone else seems to have someone special in their world. It’s become “Singles Awareness Day” & is faced bravely, though inside is terribly lonely.

February 14^th, a simple day that can hold so many emotions & experiences.

This year, I’d like to share with you what I guarantee will be the greatest Valentine you will ever receive.

“God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.”

John 3:16

For just a moment look at this a bit differently. Where you see the blanks insert your own name:

“God loved _________________ so much that he gave his one and only Son. If ______________ believes in him ________________ will not die but have eternal life.”

This statement spoken thousands of years ago, speaks a great truth of a love has stood & will continue to stand the test of time.

The greatest act of love you will ever receive was given for you before you ever breathed one breath. This act of love doesn’t care about what you’ve done, what you look like or who you are.

So Happy Valentine’s Day whoever you & at whatever stage you find yourself today. May you know & feel a love so great today & everyday!

...days ordained for me...

I had started writing a blog yesterday. Since I had a bit of a crazy day I had typed a few thoughts, but hadn't completed anything. As it turns out, today I received an e-mail asking me to share at a ladies cafe-styled evening in a couple weeks. So, my thoughts will be saved until after that evening, at which time I'll post them on here.

I'm not one who believe in coincidences. To say that having these God-thoughts rolling around in my head & then being asked to share God-thoughts in just over two weeks, is a coincidence is not me. I do however believe in a much bigger plan.

The curriculum I use in the children's ministry I lead talks very much about The Big God Story. How this amazing story started in Genesis 1:1, continues throughout the Bible, includes me & will continue on to my future with Jesus. Such an amazing way to look at life. Not as isolated events, but rather as God's amazing narrative playing out as He reconciles humanity back to Himself.

Psalm 139 is one of my all time favourite parts of the Bible. As I've been contemplating timing in the midst of the thoughts rolling around my head & the incredible invitation I've received to share my thoughts, Psalm 139:15 has come crashing to the forefront of my mind.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

God knew exactly what was going to go down. In fact, He ordained it.

And so here I sit, mulling over numerous things, smiling to myself, amazed once again at how my God is at work.