Yesterday I got to do my favourite thing in the world - speak to young moms at local church. I was given the topic of being "priests in our homes". I had no idea what I would say, but as I started to write, read, pray and think more about it, suddenly I had a talk that went on for at least 35 minutes.
The main things I wanted the moms to know was that as people of the New Covenant, we no longer need a mediator, or a priest, or sacrifices offered - now we have free access to the Father through Jesus. How does that impact our parenting? I described how we are like Job, able to intercede on behalf of our children from the moment we find out we are pregnant through their whole lives. We just don't have to sacrifice a lamb, thank goodness, for every time they sin.
Then I said how we must teach our children how to go to the Father as well, for themselves. In our house there can be constant conflict between siblings. They need to learn to call on God for help in their own conflict resolution as well as for help in developing their character.
But my main focus of the morning was to remind the women to teach their children about the High Priest, God Himself, first and foremost. This can only be done through the reading and memorizing of Scripture. For a young mom, that can be overwhelming, so I just walked them through things we did as a young family that have developed into habits now as an older family.
I also introduced them to the idea of family worship. For some, this was brand new. For others, it was happening, but they had so many questions as to how this can be practically worked out with teens and babies.
The Old Testament talks about building an altar in the tabernacle and how the fire must be lit day and night. It is essential the fire is never allowed to go out. Having an "altar" in our homes is so important - be it the kitchen table or the family room. God promised the Israelites to meet them there and that He would speak to them if they just came to the altar with their sacrifices of worship. For us, we must simply show up at our family "altar". We must simply open God's Word. Worship can be singing, talking, discussing, praying, even disciplining children! But whatever we do at the altar, making our "sacrifices" of worship, it is essential we show up. Then God promises to show up, to speak to us. How we all need to hear His voice.
If there were a way for me to do this every day I would. I loved it so much. I was surrounded by young moms, babies, toddlers. I didn't want to leave. Talk about firing me up. I am so grateful for these opportunities. This weekend I'll head off to the Ottawa homeschool conference where I'll share my "Anger" talk and a new talk on marriage and then the next weekend will be the Hamilton conference. These are the most exciting times for me. Oh, and a lot of our little getaway this weekend (as we're taking the kids with us for a few nights) will be at least partially covered by our little kitty business! How amazing is that?! Thank you Lord for kittens!
I have to share one very cool thing my son experienced yesterday...it was right out of a movie.....
My son had to take an Evolution course this year for his Biology degree. He hated every minute of it, but got through it. So many times he wanted to go and take his professor on, but always decided he needed his marks more, so he wouldn't. One time, his prof showed an antiquated diagram of some embryos that "proved" evolution. My son will often go right to the Creation Ministries website, or Answers in Genesis, to find out what creationists will say about certain things like that, right in the middle of class. More often than not, he will discover that the prof is displaying outright lies that have been disproven over and over even on the evolution websites. The diagrams the prof showed that day was one of those times where it had been proven wrong and a lie and yet he displayed them anyway. My son was furious! But said nothing....until yesterday.
He ran into the prof on campus where he had returned to sell some books. The prof recognized him as he always sat right in the front. He noticed my son was holding a book on how creationist debunked evolution and asked him about it. My son said, "Yeah, I'm a creation scientist." The prof grabbed his head as if he had a headache! Then my son said, which I can barely believe he had the gall to do this, "You know, you showed that diagram of embryos that is completely proven false." The prof, rather taken aback tried to explain how it wasn't. My son insisted and said, "No, it's a lie." The prof, now with his tail between his legs, said, "Well, maybe I'll have to take that slide down." Yeah, good idea.
My son walked away feeling a load off his chest I think. I couldn't believe God gave him the opportunity and the boldness (he had his marks by this point?!) to take the prof on. I was amazed. I can only think my son has become a grain of sand in the guy's shoe. My prayer is that all summer that prof will be so bugged by my son's comment. Who knows, maybe, just maybe it will be the beginning of a spiritual journey for this man.
Thursday, 25 April 2019
Monday, 22 April 2019
Easter Saturday - Rediscovered
Today is Easter Monday. When I was a kid, all I knew was it meant a day off school. So I loved Easter Monday. Today we are doing school because it is going to be a short week as we're heading out of town at the end of the week, so my kids won't know Easter Monday the way I did. However, what I am learning is that you can, perhaps should put the word "Easter" in front of each day of the week, so tomorrow is "Easter Tuesday"! We shouldn't have just a few days set aside to celebrate what the Lord did for us, it should truly be "Easter" in front of every day of the week.
We ended up celebrating as a family on Easter Saturday this year. At first some of my kids were a little upset about that as it wasn't technically on "Easter". But on the morning of our get-together, I started to do some reading about why Saturday was in fact a really significant day to celebrate it together.
On Friday, the disciples had watched Jesus die and then on Sunday they found out about His resurrection. On the Saturday, they were right in the middle, not knowing what was ahead and potentially stuck in the sadness of what had just happened.
I read about John. He had been at the foot of the cross and watched Jesus die. It must have been so confusing for him. Then, though he and the disciples could have left town and were even perhaps thinking of it, they stayed together, albeit in locked rooms as they were worried for their lives. On Sunday morning, when the women found the tomb empty, they were easily able to locate John and Peter who rushed to the tomb as well. Though they had just gone through two terrible days, they were able to experience the resurrection miracle first hand.
Celebrating on the Saturday suddenly became this amazing opportunity for me to think in a similar way, to live in a more hopeful way. Instead of being stuck in "Friday" and all that confuses me about situations we find ourselves in sometimes, I feel like the message of Saturday is to stay close to Jesus and trust Him for His miracle-working power of Sunday. He can take the confusion of Saturday and even though it can feel like a wilderness, it doesn't have to be. In light of the resurrection it can now be an exciting time of anticipation
I had never thought of Saturday that way before and never will again. I absolutely loved celebrating it on the Saturday, the middle day, the day where no one knew what was going to happen. Somewhere it is described as Holy Saturday. I couldn't agree more.
We ended up celebrating as a family on Easter Saturday this year. At first some of my kids were a little upset about that as it wasn't technically on "Easter". But on the morning of our get-together, I started to do some reading about why Saturday was in fact a really significant day to celebrate it together.
On Friday, the disciples had watched Jesus die and then on Sunday they found out about His resurrection. On the Saturday, they were right in the middle, not knowing what was ahead and potentially stuck in the sadness of what had just happened.
I read about John. He had been at the foot of the cross and watched Jesus die. It must have been so confusing for him. Then, though he and the disciples could have left town and were even perhaps thinking of it, they stayed together, albeit in locked rooms as they were worried for their lives. On Sunday morning, when the women found the tomb empty, they were easily able to locate John and Peter who rushed to the tomb as well. Though they had just gone through two terrible days, they were able to experience the resurrection miracle first hand.
Celebrating on the Saturday suddenly became this amazing opportunity for me to think in a similar way, to live in a more hopeful way. Instead of being stuck in "Friday" and all that confuses me about situations we find ourselves in sometimes, I feel like the message of Saturday is to stay close to Jesus and trust Him for His miracle-working power of Sunday. He can take the confusion of Saturday and even though it can feel like a wilderness, it doesn't have to be. In light of the resurrection it can now be an exciting time of anticipation
I had never thought of Saturday that way before and never will again. I absolutely loved celebrating it on the Saturday, the middle day, the day where no one knew what was going to happen. Somewhere it is described as Holy Saturday. I couldn't agree more.
Thursday, 11 April 2019
National Sibling Day and Ten Year Reflections
Yesterday was National Sibling Day. I have no idea if this is true, or if my kids just made it up, but they used it to their advantage and when we asked two of them to go pick up their brother at university, they said, "Sure....on one condition...." They scheme. All the time. So now I know for sure at least once a week they are going to head out for half-price apps together. We used to complain and harass them for all the money they were spending, the late hours, all the gas, but one day we looked at one another and said, "Why? Why are we fighting them?' We are so happy that they hang out. We are so happy that they enjoy one another. The only problem is the fall-out for the younger siblings who want to go out and stay out late, too. We keep telling them their time will come.
We are now "celebrating" ten years in Niagara. We have now lived here the longest than we've lived anywhere else. Every Spring I'm reminded of what we were doing ten years ago. We were decluttering our other house, getting it ready for sale. We were fixing all the things that needed to be fixed, painting all the spots that needed paint, redoing the driveway, the grass in the backyard, flowers in the garden....you name it. We did it. We then staged it and listed it and in one day it sold for the highest price on the street. With that money we bought a lot out here, built a house, found the farm in the middle of the house build, moved into the house when it was partly done, renovated the farmhouse at the same time, moved into the farmhouse, went back and finished the other house, listed and sold that one and oh yeah, had a couple babies in there, too.....WHEW!!! What a busy ten years it has been! All in the name of getting debt-free......
I also remember sitting back in our other house more than 10 years ago wondering how we would ever get in a better financial situation. We had sold everything we could think of. The only thing we hadn't sold yet was something big - like a house. So we built one! In some ways things haven't gone entirely as planned. I didn't know I would have two more babies in that time frame. I didn't realize my big kids would get older and require more of us financially. I didn't know that we would go without work for a long period of time. I didn't realize how much work would need to be done on the farmhouse in order to make it livable. Some things just don't go as you plan them. I had a plan for sure. I had pretty much told God how things should go (at least in my head). I think, rather obnoxiously, that I should be on God's advisory board sometimes as I would be so much better at running my world. But things have not gone entirely as I thought and I have had to adjust my expectations. Actually I've had to completely surrender my expectations. No, I've had to throw out ALL my expectations. I haven't stopped praying. I still pray all the time. But now I look back and see all that I was being taught, all that I needed to learn. I can actually see how being completely financially wealthy would be a potential danger for me as I've never been so dependent on God for everything. A regular source of money can make you start trusting in your bank account and not so much on God. So I have seen my walk with God improve greatly over the years.
We're still glad that we did all the things we did. We enjoyed the process of building the house. We learned so many things. We love where we live now on the farm so much. We love the freedom our kids have to play loudly, run far, and have animals. We could never have been able to do that if we hadn't built the house. Knowing how hard our kids are on houses, we are so glad we have the old farmhouse now. As much as I would have loved to stay in the new house, it got a lot of wear and tear in the one year we lived in it. We need an old building like this one. My husband is getting a little tired of fixing it, admittedly, and hopefully one day we'll be done.
So, ten years later, ten years old, ten people stronger (well, 2 added to make ten!), ten years of spiritual growth....I'm excited to see what will happen in the next ten years, but what I have now learned is to thank God in advance that I don't know and to thank Him for allowing me to trust Him for all the unknowns, all the good and the potential hard things ahead. If He chooses to keep us in the exact place we are now, that's fine. If He chooses to pour blessings, I'll be grateful. But I've also learned that the blessings are here now and very few of them are monetary. I see how much we've been blessed and I never would have experienced those blessings if God had answered my original prayer ten years ago. I'm glad He doesn't answer me the way I ask sometimes.
We are now "celebrating" ten years in Niagara. We have now lived here the longest than we've lived anywhere else. Every Spring I'm reminded of what we were doing ten years ago. We were decluttering our other house, getting it ready for sale. We were fixing all the things that needed to be fixed, painting all the spots that needed paint, redoing the driveway, the grass in the backyard, flowers in the garden....you name it. We did it. We then staged it and listed it and in one day it sold for the highest price on the street. With that money we bought a lot out here, built a house, found the farm in the middle of the house build, moved into the house when it was partly done, renovated the farmhouse at the same time, moved into the farmhouse, went back and finished the other house, listed and sold that one and oh yeah, had a couple babies in there, too.....WHEW!!! What a busy ten years it has been! All in the name of getting debt-free......
I also remember sitting back in our other house more than 10 years ago wondering how we would ever get in a better financial situation. We had sold everything we could think of. The only thing we hadn't sold yet was something big - like a house. So we built one! In some ways things haven't gone entirely as planned. I didn't know I would have two more babies in that time frame. I didn't realize my big kids would get older and require more of us financially. I didn't know that we would go without work for a long period of time. I didn't realize how much work would need to be done on the farmhouse in order to make it livable. Some things just don't go as you plan them. I had a plan for sure. I had pretty much told God how things should go (at least in my head). I think, rather obnoxiously, that I should be on God's advisory board sometimes as I would be so much better at running my world. But things have not gone entirely as I thought and I have had to adjust my expectations. Actually I've had to completely surrender my expectations. No, I've had to throw out ALL my expectations. I haven't stopped praying. I still pray all the time. But now I look back and see all that I was being taught, all that I needed to learn. I can actually see how being completely financially wealthy would be a potential danger for me as I've never been so dependent on God for everything. A regular source of money can make you start trusting in your bank account and not so much on God. So I have seen my walk with God improve greatly over the years.
We're still glad that we did all the things we did. We enjoyed the process of building the house. We learned so many things. We love where we live now on the farm so much. We love the freedom our kids have to play loudly, run far, and have animals. We could never have been able to do that if we hadn't built the house. Knowing how hard our kids are on houses, we are so glad we have the old farmhouse now. As much as I would have loved to stay in the new house, it got a lot of wear and tear in the one year we lived in it. We need an old building like this one. My husband is getting a little tired of fixing it, admittedly, and hopefully one day we'll be done.
So, ten years later, ten years old, ten people stronger (well, 2 added to make ten!), ten years of spiritual growth....I'm excited to see what will happen in the next ten years, but what I have now learned is to thank God in advance that I don't know and to thank Him for allowing me to trust Him for all the unknowns, all the good and the potential hard things ahead. If He chooses to keep us in the exact place we are now, that's fine. If He chooses to pour blessings, I'll be grateful. But I've also learned that the blessings are here now and very few of them are monetary. I see how much we've been blessed and I never would have experienced those blessings if God had answered my original prayer ten years ago. I'm glad He doesn't answer me the way I ask sometimes.
Monday, 8 April 2019
Post-Traumatic Bridal Shower Disorder
Yesterday was the bridal shower for the friend of my daughter. She looks so young. It is hard to imagine in just over a month she will be married. I have to say, I wish I could have a bridal shower every weekend. If I were to describe my perfect day, yesterday would have been it, but now I have PTBSD - Post Traumatic Bridal Shower Disorder.
There are so many things I loved about it. First of all, I wouldn't describe myself as a very creative person, but I had a couple ideas jump into my head the day just before the shower that were super cheap and made the place look amazing. I have all these "vine trees" I made last year for Christmas, but I have since discovered they can be used for everything - all year round. I went to the Dollar Store and bought some white thule, then I made giant bows and placed them on to top of all the trees. With some more thule, I wrapped the trees in white spirals all around the them and then placed them on different levels all around the family room. It made the place look bridal shower magical. I added some tulips on every surface and some other plastic flowers from the Dollar Store as well and made a big display on the center of the table. It felt like Spring had entered the house. I was so happy!
The other thing that made me happy was the push it gave our whole family to tidy up on an epic level. I am always tidying, always cleaning, but this pushed us to go do even more. It also pushed my husband to finish up all the electrical in the house so there are no more unseemly wires and cords or exposed outlets. No one would notice if they walked in, but our family noticed and it just gives that finished look to the house that you can't quite put your finger on. When you have a tidy house, everyone just seems happier. It also makes you want to keep it clean. I'll be pushing for that this week.
Next came the actual event. I'm not going to say I don't love having my boys and husband around, but there is something about a room full of women, sisters and friends, young and old, to just make the place full of life and laughter. It was so fun to have the house full of laughing, talking women. The sound was deafening! My husband was probably glad he was gone. I had help with the food, so I didn't even feel overwhelmed by having to make it all. We kept it really simple with veggies/dip, fruit/fondue, cheesecake, cheese and crackers.....super delicious.
Add in the fact it is about a wedding! About romance! About a bride and groom! It was so much fun to be a part of it! Every one introduced themselves with a story from their proposal or from their honeymoon. Lots of laughs and we all learned new things about one another.
My only sadness was when it was all over. I could honestly have had it gone on for hours. I did find out I will be hosting Easter, so yeah! Now I have another reason to keep the house clean and I can look forward to more people coming over! An introvert might read this post and get an anxiety attack, but it just goes to show how differently we are all wired. I think about who I can have over pretty much all the time. It fires me up. It fuels my whole being.
Having gone to another shower recently that was not with other Christian women, I also noticed a huge difference. No fellowship. At that shower I walked around the room trying to engage other women, trying to start meaningful conversation, but it just wasn't happening. I never want to leave events early, but that time, I was ready to go almost as soon as I could. I couldn't put my finger on what the problem was, why was I feeling so empty? That was when I realized it was the lack of fellowship. Had I talked with other women that time? Yes. But there were no "heart" conversations. When these other Christian women got together yesterday, there was non-stop heart conversations which is perhaps why I didn't want it to end. In that case, I don't think you have to be a extrovert like myself - all personalities need to be fed.
The one funny thing about the day had to do with our neighbours' chickens. They seem to love our place. If they get let out of their coop, they race over, eat our cat food, poop on our porch and hang out with our chickens all day. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want my friends to be stepping in chicken poop when they came, but I didn't want to stress our neighbour out either. We always have escaping animals! So I tried texting her as nicely as possible and just wanted to let her know her chickens were back. Within minutes her husband was over trying to wrangle 4 birds off our property onto his with a broom. It was very funny to watch. Picture it - herding chickens? Very amusing I must say, but he did it!
So now I have post-shower withdrawal. I joked with my husband that I should get into the bridal shower business as I love it so much. He actually thought it was a good idea! But for now, I will have to be content that the shower is over and start looking forward to the next event. I still thank God though that He has wired me this way. I thank God for fellow Christian female friendships. I thank God for these fun opportunities to receive fellowship that reaches all of us on a deeper level. I thank God for how He uses these things to bring our family together to accomplish a greater good - hospitality and even stewardship of our home. I thank God that our home can be used to bless others in this way and that even in the blessing of others I end up feeling the most blessed.
There are so many things I loved about it. First of all, I wouldn't describe myself as a very creative person, but I had a couple ideas jump into my head the day just before the shower that were super cheap and made the place look amazing. I have all these "vine trees" I made last year for Christmas, but I have since discovered they can be used for everything - all year round. I went to the Dollar Store and bought some white thule, then I made giant bows and placed them on to top of all the trees. With some more thule, I wrapped the trees in white spirals all around the them and then placed them on different levels all around the family room. It made the place look bridal shower magical. I added some tulips on every surface and some other plastic flowers from the Dollar Store as well and made a big display on the center of the table. It felt like Spring had entered the house. I was so happy!
The other thing that made me happy was the push it gave our whole family to tidy up on an epic level. I am always tidying, always cleaning, but this pushed us to go do even more. It also pushed my husband to finish up all the electrical in the house so there are no more unseemly wires and cords or exposed outlets. No one would notice if they walked in, but our family noticed and it just gives that finished look to the house that you can't quite put your finger on. When you have a tidy house, everyone just seems happier. It also makes you want to keep it clean. I'll be pushing for that this week.
Next came the actual event. I'm not going to say I don't love having my boys and husband around, but there is something about a room full of women, sisters and friends, young and old, to just make the place full of life and laughter. It was so fun to have the house full of laughing, talking women. The sound was deafening! My husband was probably glad he was gone. I had help with the food, so I didn't even feel overwhelmed by having to make it all. We kept it really simple with veggies/dip, fruit/fondue, cheesecake, cheese and crackers.....super delicious.
Add in the fact it is about a wedding! About romance! About a bride and groom! It was so much fun to be a part of it! Every one introduced themselves with a story from their proposal or from their honeymoon. Lots of laughs and we all learned new things about one another.
My only sadness was when it was all over. I could honestly have had it gone on for hours. I did find out I will be hosting Easter, so yeah! Now I have another reason to keep the house clean and I can look forward to more people coming over! An introvert might read this post and get an anxiety attack, but it just goes to show how differently we are all wired. I think about who I can have over pretty much all the time. It fires me up. It fuels my whole being.
Having gone to another shower recently that was not with other Christian women, I also noticed a huge difference. No fellowship. At that shower I walked around the room trying to engage other women, trying to start meaningful conversation, but it just wasn't happening. I never want to leave events early, but that time, I was ready to go almost as soon as I could. I couldn't put my finger on what the problem was, why was I feeling so empty? That was when I realized it was the lack of fellowship. Had I talked with other women that time? Yes. But there were no "heart" conversations. When these other Christian women got together yesterday, there was non-stop heart conversations which is perhaps why I didn't want it to end. In that case, I don't think you have to be a extrovert like myself - all personalities need to be fed.
The one funny thing about the day had to do with our neighbours' chickens. They seem to love our place. If they get let out of their coop, they race over, eat our cat food, poop on our porch and hang out with our chickens all day. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want my friends to be stepping in chicken poop when they came, but I didn't want to stress our neighbour out either. We always have escaping animals! So I tried texting her as nicely as possible and just wanted to let her know her chickens were back. Within minutes her husband was over trying to wrangle 4 birds off our property onto his with a broom. It was very funny to watch. Picture it - herding chickens? Very amusing I must say, but he did it!
So now I have post-shower withdrawal. I joked with my husband that I should get into the bridal shower business as I love it so much. He actually thought it was a good idea! But for now, I will have to be content that the shower is over and start looking forward to the next event. I still thank God though that He has wired me this way. I thank God for fellow Christian female friendships. I thank God for these fun opportunities to receive fellowship that reaches all of us on a deeper level. I thank God for how He uses these things to bring our family together to accomplish a greater good - hospitality and even stewardship of our home. I thank God that our home can be used to bless others in this way and that even in the blessing of others I end up feeling the most blessed.
Wednesday, 3 April 2019
Door Closed, Now Open!
Well, I can't say I'm surprised. Turns out Africa isn't as closed as we thought! We all went to the banquet on Monday night to hear the missionaries speak about what is going on around the world in missions. I cannot say how glad I am that we went. Initially we were going in order to support my son. At the time we reserved spots as we thought he was going to Africa for sure, but then everything changed and we found out he wasn't going! We still needed to be there.
As a family we had read the book called The Sword and the Scalpel about the life of Dr. Bob Foster and his parents who had started the hospital in Zambia where I was born. When we found out his son, Dr. Steve Foster, was going to be one of the speakers, I was so excited. It was like meeting a hero in real life. We've read about so many missionaries over the years, but they've always been dead for years like Adoniram Judson or Jim Elliot. But this time, the missionary we had read about was alive and we would get a chance to meet them in person!
I knew my kids would be the youngest and that it would probably be a challenge for them to sit, but they did great. There was endless amounts of punch in the punchbowl. They must have been back and forth a hundred times.
There were 3 speakers, a woman from Pakistan, who shared her story of being there for 16 years. And then an another amazing speaker who is a Canadian missionary to the First Nations in Northern Alberta! He had to be one of the most inspiring men. He has truly taken and is using his unique skill set, which is not your typical missions skill set - fitness, entrepreneurialism, and music, to this northern community. There he teaches fitness, guitar/piano lessons and built a hotel (crazy story!). He is making connections with this community in such a neat way. I was trying to figure out how I could get one of my daughters to marry him.....
Finally Dr. Steve got up to talk and he was also inspiring as he shared what is going on in Angola. As soon as it was done, I knew we had to go up and try to talk to him. I was shocked when I saw my son be the first to run over to him. I guess we were thinking the same thing. I was so pleased when I saw Dr. Foster take the time to listen to him. I was eventually able to get over there as well and introduced myself.
Turns out, the only reason he was turned down was because my son hadn't indicated he would be willing to do "anything". They assumed he ONLY wanted medical experience. That is true, but my son has so many other things to offer. They started to interview him. They found out his love of animals, his farming background, his interest in being in nature and the wilderness. Dr. Steve's eyes were popping out of his head. He needed someone over there to help with the farm they manage - cattle and kudo (a type of antelope!). They need help with the hunting. They need help using drones to find out where the wild animals are. My son's eyes started popping out of his head. He was basically begging them to send him and Dr. Steve was saying, "We'll do anything to get you there. We'll meet you at the border!" It was pretty much a done deal. Dr. Steve made sure that we all got a picture together so he wouldn't forget my son's face. So, it looks like he is going to Africa and he will get medical experience and a WHOLE LOT MORE! He is so excited to be able to use all his farming experience over there. I can't imagine what is in store for him....Dr. Steve's final question to my son was, "Are you ready to experience something wild?" Uh yeah!
Meanwhile, my quiet older children standing beside me weren't out of Dr. Steve's range of view....."What are you two interested in?" When he found out my next son had an interest in flying and is considering the flight school out of Alberta, Dr. Steve quickly mentioned how they love the pilots that come out of there. My son left the evening so confused - was God opening that door again? We had kind of half-closed it because of the cost. So it is back on the table now.....
My daughter was also interviewed by Dr. Steve as well as by the nurse who caught me at birth! She said, "What are you interested in doing? We'll have to stay in touch. You need to consider coming over for a short term missions......" My daughter said, "Yes! I'd love to!" Oh boy. How many kids will end up in Africa!? I can only "blame" my grandparents and parents who put the Africa bug in me and now in them! But, honestly, after an evening like that, it makes me sad that more people weren't there to hear the inspiring messages they told. I wanted to go myself after that. It seems like missions is "out of style".
But it isn't at all! I loved how fitness and business and music can all be used so effectively! Technology is now used to make super interesting videos to update all of us on what the missionaries are doing. It isn't out of style at all. The mission is keeping up with what is going on in the world. I think my kids grasped that it was a life with purpose they were pursuing. They weren't considering average jobs. They were considering doing something with all the skill sets God gave them. It all goes back to the verse from a couple days ago,
"...a wide door for effective work has opened to me...." I told the kids the morning of the banquet, "God can open it again or keep it closed". It looks like He opened it. I can rest that if He wants more of my kids in missions than He will open those doors, too, or slam them shut. Now we just keep praying and waiting in anticipation of what He is going to do.
As a family we had read the book called The Sword and the Scalpel about the life of Dr. Bob Foster and his parents who had started the hospital in Zambia where I was born. When we found out his son, Dr. Steve Foster, was going to be one of the speakers, I was so excited. It was like meeting a hero in real life. We've read about so many missionaries over the years, but they've always been dead for years like Adoniram Judson or Jim Elliot. But this time, the missionary we had read about was alive and we would get a chance to meet them in person!
I knew my kids would be the youngest and that it would probably be a challenge for them to sit, but they did great. There was endless amounts of punch in the punchbowl. They must have been back and forth a hundred times.
There were 3 speakers, a woman from Pakistan, who shared her story of being there for 16 years. And then an another amazing speaker who is a Canadian missionary to the First Nations in Northern Alberta! He had to be one of the most inspiring men. He has truly taken and is using his unique skill set, which is not your typical missions skill set - fitness, entrepreneurialism, and music, to this northern community. There he teaches fitness, guitar/piano lessons and built a hotel (crazy story!). He is making connections with this community in such a neat way. I was trying to figure out how I could get one of my daughters to marry him.....
Finally Dr. Steve got up to talk and he was also inspiring as he shared what is going on in Angola. As soon as it was done, I knew we had to go up and try to talk to him. I was shocked when I saw my son be the first to run over to him. I guess we were thinking the same thing. I was so pleased when I saw Dr. Foster take the time to listen to him. I was eventually able to get over there as well and introduced myself.
Turns out, the only reason he was turned down was because my son hadn't indicated he would be willing to do "anything". They assumed he ONLY wanted medical experience. That is true, but my son has so many other things to offer. They started to interview him. They found out his love of animals, his farming background, his interest in being in nature and the wilderness. Dr. Steve's eyes were popping out of his head. He needed someone over there to help with the farm they manage - cattle and kudo (a type of antelope!). They need help with the hunting. They need help using drones to find out where the wild animals are. My son's eyes started popping out of his head. He was basically begging them to send him and Dr. Steve was saying, "We'll do anything to get you there. We'll meet you at the border!" It was pretty much a done deal. Dr. Steve made sure that we all got a picture together so he wouldn't forget my son's face. So, it looks like he is going to Africa and he will get medical experience and a WHOLE LOT MORE! He is so excited to be able to use all his farming experience over there. I can't imagine what is in store for him....Dr. Steve's final question to my son was, "Are you ready to experience something wild?" Uh yeah!
Meanwhile, my quiet older children standing beside me weren't out of Dr. Steve's range of view....."What are you two interested in?" When he found out my next son had an interest in flying and is considering the flight school out of Alberta, Dr. Steve quickly mentioned how they love the pilots that come out of there. My son left the evening so confused - was God opening that door again? We had kind of half-closed it because of the cost. So it is back on the table now.....
My daughter was also interviewed by Dr. Steve as well as by the nurse who caught me at birth! She said, "What are you interested in doing? We'll have to stay in touch. You need to consider coming over for a short term missions......" My daughter said, "Yes! I'd love to!" Oh boy. How many kids will end up in Africa!? I can only "blame" my grandparents and parents who put the Africa bug in me and now in them! But, honestly, after an evening like that, it makes me sad that more people weren't there to hear the inspiring messages they told. I wanted to go myself after that. It seems like missions is "out of style".
But it isn't at all! I loved how fitness and business and music can all be used so effectively! Technology is now used to make super interesting videos to update all of us on what the missionaries are doing. It isn't out of style at all. The mission is keeping up with what is going on in the world. I think my kids grasped that it was a life with purpose they were pursuing. They weren't considering average jobs. They were considering doing something with all the skill sets God gave them. It all goes back to the verse from a couple days ago,
"...a wide door for effective work has opened to me...." I told the kids the morning of the banquet, "God can open it again or keep it closed". It looks like He opened it. I can rest that if He wants more of my kids in missions than He will open those doors, too, or slam them shut. Now we just keep praying and waiting in anticipation of what He is going to do.
Monday, 1 April 2019
Opening and Closing Doors
We have entered a very new and unexpected stage of life - bridal shower season. My oldest daughter's friends are now getting married and I am now hosting bridal showers as she is one of the bridesmaids. I actually love it. In the case of the wedding coming up in May, I had the privilege of being in on the "interview" of the spouse-to-be. My friend and I both sat him down at a campfire a couple summers ago and we grilled him for at least 15 minutes, she on one side and me on the other. We were doing it kind of in jest, to make him nervous, but to our delight, though the wife-to-be was mortified, he handled it really well and answered all our questions. We wanted to know how he had gotten saved, his family life, his future goals, his strengths, his weaknesses. It was funny, but we were somewhat serious. After that, my friend and I gave him two thumbs up. He had passed. So in honour of him passing the test, I am now hosting a bridal shower for his fiance!
A natural question for my daughter is, "Will I always be a bridesmaid and never a bride?!" I was in at least 7 weddings before I got married, so there is a chance that could happen to her, but I somehow doubt it. I, too, wondered if I would ever get married. It seemed like everyone around me was getting married. I had all the same concerns - it seemed then, as now, there were tons of capable women, but few godly men. We interview my son all the time as he's involved with the Christian group on campus, "Any good guys there?" His comment is often, "Well, they're good guys, but....." No one is jumping out at him as a future spouse.
But I've received great encouragement in this area recently from 1 Cor. 16 where Paul uses a series of phrases that really stood out at me,
"I will visit you after passing through Macedonia and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me and there are many adversaries...Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."
A strange series of verses, for sure, not really related to children getting married, but what I noticed is that all throughout that passage there are phrases that spoke to me about how we may plan things or hope for things to come, like future spouses for our children even, but it is always, "if the Lord permits" as it says above. Paul says things like, "I hope to spend some time with you," but he has no idea if that will actually happen. He makes the plans, but it is only if the Lord allows it. He also uses the phrase, "for a wide door for effective work has opened to me". This phrase is one of my favourite as God does this all the time in my life - He opens and closes doors and sometimes they are like a "wide door", so clearly meant for me to walk through. My son has made plans to go to Africa this Fall and all things were going smoothly, but as of last week, it seems the "wide door for effective work" has been closed. They aren't looking for medical students, they want medical doctors. He isn't one yet, so for now, at least temporarily, the door is shut. However, what I love about this verse is that the implication is that God shut it. He did not permit things to happen, though my son had hoped this would be the path, it doesn't appear that it is at least not yet. Tonight, however, could change things, we'll see. We're going to a missionary banquet where we will meet the son of the man who started the hospital he was going to work at. He is the guest speaker at the banquet. Maybe he'll get a chance to meet the doctor and then he'll say, "Of course we want you!" or maybe he'll say, "Yeah, sorry, no opportunities this year." But when you read verses like the ones in chapter 16, you can confidently know God has this all worked out. This includes spouses for my children. There have been times where we thought we had potentially met someone that could have been in her life, but again, doors close. The Lord did not "permit". At one point Apollo did not come when Paul first thought, "He will come when he has the opportunity" - God will bring someone into her life when He wills, when everything is right for that person to come into her life. The last verse sums up what we are to do in the meantime, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (and strong women), be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." It doesn't seem connected to the verses before it, but I think they are exactly connected because of the short little phrase, "there are many adversaries". We will make plans, hope, do effective ministry, but there is an enemy trying to undo it all, so while my son is making future plans for more schooling and my daughter is hopeful for a future spouse also in the midst of finishing her schooling, they must both "be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (and godly women), be strong" and let all that they do "be done in love", around the house, with their siblings, with us as their parents - it's all the training ground.
A natural question for my daughter is, "Will I always be a bridesmaid and never a bride?!" I was in at least 7 weddings before I got married, so there is a chance that could happen to her, but I somehow doubt it. I, too, wondered if I would ever get married. It seemed like everyone around me was getting married. I had all the same concerns - it seemed then, as now, there were tons of capable women, but few godly men. We interview my son all the time as he's involved with the Christian group on campus, "Any good guys there?" His comment is often, "Well, they're good guys, but....." No one is jumping out at him as a future spouse.
But I've received great encouragement in this area recently from 1 Cor. 16 where Paul uses a series of phrases that really stood out at me,
"I will visit you after passing through Macedonia and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me and there are many adversaries...Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love."
A strange series of verses, for sure, not really related to children getting married, but what I noticed is that all throughout that passage there are phrases that spoke to me about how we may plan things or hope for things to come, like future spouses for our children even, but it is always, "if the Lord permits" as it says above. Paul says things like, "I hope to spend some time with you," but he has no idea if that will actually happen. He makes the plans, but it is only if the Lord allows it. He also uses the phrase, "for a wide door for effective work has opened to me". This phrase is one of my favourite as God does this all the time in my life - He opens and closes doors and sometimes they are like a "wide door", so clearly meant for me to walk through. My son has made plans to go to Africa this Fall and all things were going smoothly, but as of last week, it seems the "wide door for effective work" has been closed. They aren't looking for medical students, they want medical doctors. He isn't one yet, so for now, at least temporarily, the door is shut. However, what I love about this verse is that the implication is that God shut it. He did not permit things to happen, though my son had hoped this would be the path, it doesn't appear that it is at least not yet. Tonight, however, could change things, we'll see. We're going to a missionary banquet where we will meet the son of the man who started the hospital he was going to work at. He is the guest speaker at the banquet. Maybe he'll get a chance to meet the doctor and then he'll say, "Of course we want you!" or maybe he'll say, "Yeah, sorry, no opportunities this year." But when you read verses like the ones in chapter 16, you can confidently know God has this all worked out. This includes spouses for my children. There have been times where we thought we had potentially met someone that could have been in her life, but again, doors close. The Lord did not "permit". At one point Apollo did not come when Paul first thought, "He will come when he has the opportunity" - God will bring someone into her life when He wills, when everything is right for that person to come into her life. The last verse sums up what we are to do in the meantime, "Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (and strong women), be strong. Let all that you do be done in love." It doesn't seem connected to the verses before it, but I think they are exactly connected because of the short little phrase, "there are many adversaries". We will make plans, hope, do effective ministry, but there is an enemy trying to undo it all, so while my son is making future plans for more schooling and my daughter is hopeful for a future spouse also in the midst of finishing her schooling, they must both "be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (and godly women), be strong" and let all that they do "be done in love", around the house, with their siblings, with us as their parents - it's all the training ground.
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