Your Cares, His Strength

     I remember as a teenager how burdened I felt, how depressed I often was, I felt the world was too big and I was nothing in all of it. I was always the one last picked in every game at school, chuckled at when I ran, walked, talked, laughed etc. I was the misfit who always felt unfit for acceptance. Those days were trying, difficult and extremely lonely days of hurt and pain; often I was praying and asking God for the help and strength to go through another day of bullying, rejection and so forth. One night as I was praying I remember seeing this verse and it really hit home for me, I simply need to cast my anxiety and my worries to Him because He CARES for me. That was a powerful moment, it didn't say that all heartache and rejection would simply fade away. What was important; what was the paramount thing to understand was this: God Cares For You... 

The World tells you if you want God to listen to you, then you need to earn it!

Well here is the beauty in a relationship with God who dearly loves us and like a father only wishes to give good things; His grace is sufficient and His love for us is relentlessly perfect. God sent His son into the world to set us free from the debt we owed, the price we could not pay, our tresspasses, our sins. When Jesus died on that cross He died for you and me and when He resurrected He established a right standing with God. You were worth that cost, that profound sacrifice, that amazing grace that was undeserved and yet it was freely given. So remember this, you are loved and God desires us to trust in Him; no matter the storm, the trials, the persecution. It's not a road intended for the blessings of earthly things but rather the joy in God's purpose, to reach the lost with the saviour! God takes care of His children and He will take care of you...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

                                                                                        Proverbs 3:5

Laughter Within, Hatred Without

     One thing I know for sure I'm really good with, is laughter! I know that way back when I was a teenager you would almost never find me smiling or laughing. There was a time when I was so sad and heartbroken, I was bullied all the time for my looks and my cloths etc. Strange how things change, when we survive something so unbelievably painful and suddenly we either see things in a whole new light or we fade away in anger. I chose to fly above the hatred, the contempt and learn to love and pray for those who treated me so horribly unkind. Amazingly I found a lot of love for those who I first couldn't imagine ever loving. My laughter is deeper than ever, my freedom is lighter than before and my burdens are quickly cast aside. The bible speaks of loving your enemies and in doing so you become a much more profound person of grace, wisdom and mercy. Remember, love covers a multitude of sin... ;)

My Treasure

     We so often get sucked into the rat race, the desire for wealth and prosperity. It either is coming from the media telling you to buy this car and you'll feel important to even some churches speaking about "The Prosperity" message. The problem is that Jesus, who was the most influential person in history, didn't have all the wealth in the world, though He could have had it. His goal was to save the world not His wallet. We are called to reach the lost and to speak to the hurting and to reach out to those seeking. Now the flip side is to understand that we deal with money in our everyday lives and Jesus knew this and in fact he spoke about money 11 out of 39 parables, so it was and is important. It's all about the focus, what is the real goal, is it to give God the glory or ourselves. Do we hide behind the "I'm doing this for God" card or are we actually doing it for God and not ourselves.
     Do we know who is our provider and do we lay everything at His feet, do we trust in Him when our wealth is great and when our wealth is scarce. Jesus walked in total reliance on God's provision but it was done in wisdom, prayer and in trust. Let's remember who really is the composer of our lives and for whom we really play the song, the symphony of praise. Lay everything at God's feet and take each day as it comes and pray in all things. God always has a better plan than what we could ever imagine.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

                                                Philippians 4:6

That Moment

There I was, feeling the immense pain, the throbbing, the mind numbing pain that almost took my breath away; it swept in like a flood and pounded like a jackhammer. Sometimes it would go to an ankle, then to an arm or a thigh and then back down to a knee. It was like someone cutting my body literally apart but no actual damage.
   This felt like a virtual game that I just couldn't shut off whenever I wanted, this game was playing in reality and I had no choice but to endure it, push through it, rise above it. The first few times it happened after my stroke I thought "okay, it's just a few times it will go away" but now it's nine years later and I'm still dealing with it on a regular basis but now I roll with the punches! It challenges me to see pain as only a guidepost, a marker, a banner that tells me to press forward, upward and onward. God has taught me a valuable lesson in all this suffering, learning to read, write, walk and talk again and what He has taught me is so deep and profound and it makes me smile, my faith is deeper than before, my courage is stronger, my persistence is tenacious and my trust in God's plan has only grown like a strong tree with roots that are deep. God sustains me and in my weakness He is strong and the glory goes to Him, my suffering is but a short while and when it's time for me to go home I will have a new body and my soul will praise Him for all the victories along the way!!!

But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

                                          Isaiah 40:31

Training Is

Fork In The Road

     I love walking through the forest, taking the time to unwind and just smell the fresh air and hear the birds whistling and listen to the sounds of nature around me. It never ceases to amaze me how God designed everything so intricately, fine tuning everything to it's perfect purpose. I love how the trees give us fresh air and we give them carbon dioxide, just imagine if no one was around to help trees survive or vise versa! Everything was perfectly put in place to explain the glory of God's amazing wonder and we are blessed with His love. Every single time I walk into the forest I see the profound intricate details even in the smallest of things and know that God is a God of detail, of immense wisdom, knowledge, grace, beauty, splendor and so much more. One day as I was walking along a path I came to a fork in the road and suddenly thought of a few moments in life where decisions made a drastic difference in where I am today. I think of many of these moments where I prayed and learned to trust in God's plan over what I thought I needed to see. Sometimes the journey needs to be taken and the experience needs to be felt in order for the greatest impact, we don't always need to know everything but what we do need is a little more faith, a little more trust and a lot more patience. 

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

                                                                          Galatians 5:22

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

                                                                  Romans 1:20

Courage

Courage is always a tough thing, it requests and even demands immediate reactions at times, it's in those very moments that we choose to pursue the goal set before us or if we back down and let it pass by...

One thing is for sure, courage changes you, makes you see things in a bigger picture, lets you realize what is worth the sacrifice or not. Your character changes, your ideas change, your strength to pursue grows and grows with each advancing step. Courage can easily begin small but end in great big results of victory but it's a decision each and every time...

Making A Power Packed Training Muffin

Making power packed training muffins are just that easy and they are fresh! The house smells like the best bakery in the world and you can add whatever you like from your list of purchased healthy protein options. I simply heat up the oven to 400 and get out my silicone baking tray and use liners if I have them around and then mix my quaker low fat muffin mix (oatmeal) BAM!
Then I add my favourites like dark chocolate chips 50% or higher then I add Qia, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and sometimes I add sunflower seeds and walnuts! Bake it, freeze what you don't need now and bring a few in the vehicle! I like to bake a dozen and then take a few in the car for the kids. It's always a treat and you save on going to fast food places that never really fill you up but add lots of sodium and cholesterol. The great thing is you can buy little bags of organic mixed seeds etc and just add those to your muffins for a change up, or add honey to the muffins halfway through your baking process. Glaze it beautifully!

Morning View

     I woke up and looked at the drapes and thought what a dreary day and of course I was half asleep and feeling groggy. I went through my regular morning routine and prepared my coffee and came to the computer only to realize I hadn't even looked outside. I assumed it was dreary because I could only see dimly through a pair of drapes. I quickly pulled them open, only to see a beautiful sky of so many colours and a brilliant dance of light. How could I have almost missed the view!
    
 Life is like that at times, we assume something is nothing when nothing is actually something wonderful ;)

     We come so close to knowing the truth and yet we walk away because maybe it's easier to just assume but the problem in the end is that it's not the truth and it leaves you in the same place, no opportunity for change, a healthy change.
     God has so many things planned for our lives and yet we want our own way and we want it to be comfortable, routinely fixed and we just want to go through our day but the problem with that is that it's so short of what God truly has planned for us. There may be suffering and trials along the way but eventually there is a beautiful sunrise of change and a brilliant dance of colours filled with faith, hope and love.

     For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
                                                                              Jeremiah 29:11

Making Something New

One of my favourite things to do when cooking is making something new with whatever is in the kitchen, just going off of what I have in the fridge and making a great soup! The challenge I always have is making something that is gluten free because my wife has celiacs disease and it's a serious issue and so no gluten can touch the ingredients or contaminate anything pertaining to the recipe in any degree, not even the cutting board or the utensils. Today I'm making a beef stew and right off the bat I'm going to add water and salt to taste, I find that tasting the saltiness of a stew before adding the main ingredients is a fantastic way to set the rest up for a home run in a tasty meal!

After setting up the taste of the soup base then I progress to adding a teaspoon of garlic powder (or to taste) and then I grind some pepper (depends on how much pepper your family likes) then I throw in fried onions and six small potatoes chopped up into halves and I throw in half a cup of gluten free wild rice and a cup of chopped baby organic carrots and one stem of rosemary. After all that is done I do two swirls of gluten free mustard and then throw in two handfuls of chopped stew beef (preferably organic) then I let it stew for a few hours on minimum. After two hours you have yourself the most amazing stew!

In His Righteousness

We often think that somehow God's desire is to be the super genie in our lives, that somehow the unfruitful things we do will never be trimmed from our walk in Christ but the bible says the following

John 15:2
2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

What God does with our lives is maximize the potential for bearing fruit for His kingdom and He is the farmer over the fields of harvest. The amazing thing is in God's righteousness, His love and yet firm hand of truth. A farmer goes through his field and he looks at his vineyard and his farmland and he prunes what must be removed for the sake of the harvest and for the joy of our lives in Christ Jesus. 

Psalm 1:1-3 
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

The righteous are blessed continually, yes there is hardship, changing of season, drought, cold, heat waves etc. but they are planted by streams of living water and their fruit is in every season and that is worth rejoicing over! Remember that though you may be going through hardship, there is pruning and things are changing around you, don't forget God has a plan that is far greater than what you can see and He knows just how to make you bloom and produce fruit that will bring Him glory and you victory in Christ Jesus :)

Rejoice

This life is temporary and all it's trials are but a shadow when it comes to our eternity. God brings us peace in the most unlikely places, the most unbearable circumstances and it is in Him we have our hope, our joy and our strength.

In Him

How beautiful it is, to know that we have confidence in Christ Jesus, to speak to God with joy in our hearts. We know that God is a God of depth, love, compassion, understanding, righteousness and so much more. He hears us when we call on Him and He is a God of a personal relationship, not a distant grumpy person who doesn't care for our well-being. Know this, He hears you and is calling you into a life with depth and measure.

Why Me

     Those dreaded days when we go through the worst of times, the times where we feel like we are being pressed from all sides. We look for friends who can comfort us in our long journey but instead we find sour words and false judgement. The amazing thing through all of life's disappointments is God's hand of love. 

Under A Thousand Tears

   Sometimes we bear the weight of our deepest fears in silence. We put on a brave face and all the while we cry on the inside, we break into pieces, thinking, pondering, wondering if anyone knows our pain and do they really care. The bible says this in Psalms

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
                              Psalm 34:17-19
     The comfort we receive is in this very thing, that God is ever attentive, He is ever prepared to easily overcome anything we are enduring. He promises that He will deliver us out of all our afflictions. The great joy we receive is in knowing that God stands by His word, even to the cross! His mercy is ever enduring, ever compassionate and full of love and joy. We have hope because God does exactly as He promises and has never failed, His record is 100 percent perfect and He knows exactly everything there is to know about you and how to make all things new in His perfect grace. So take hope in this very thing, you are loved and that love that is so profound that it causes us to soar above the impossible, to do the very things we thought would leave us in the dust of weakness. God delivers! God Heals! God Restores! God Renews!

 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
                               Isaiah 40:31

The World Will Tell You

     The world will tell you "Don't Let Anyone Define You" but the actual fact is something always will. We are defined by our experiences, our circumstances, our thoughts, our goals etc. God says in the bible

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

                                2 Corinthians 5:17

     That in itself is truly beautiful and amazing to know! We are a new creation and if the old has passed away and we are new in Christ then of course we are defined by God our creator and the victory is in Jesus's victory at the cross. We no longer have goals that are our own but rather we are alive in him and our journey is in Christ. We live in His suffering and we also live in His victory! We are defined, we are something beautiful and precious in God's sight and how amazing is that joy. We live and breath as a new creation and everything we do is to the glory of God and by that we have our being. When Satan reminds you of your past, remind Him of your future ;)

You Will Never Be

Take The Step

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7

Shattered Melody

America in 2017: The Truth is Being Hidden! (Shocking Events)

Never Stop

Never Stop Training!

You train your mind, you train your body and you train your expectations... Always reach further and farther, from one plateau to another!

Feed your mind and body the right food and practice, train hard
and go the distance never known...

In The Name Of

Forget what islam says... what I believe is that we should preach the beautiful message of the cross, not as people of arrogance or a betterment of society but rather as a humble people with love in our mouths, kindness in our hands and grace in our actions..

The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:31

If we stood for that simple truth would we want to kill others, behead others, stab others, desire the annihilation of others or would we be like a child wanting to share kindness, love, laughter, grace, peace...

                                                    Artwork By Ernie Kasper

Kindness Is Easy

I have met a lot of people and the one thing

that keeps occurring as a life lesson is this

Beyond The Pain

There I was, quivering, shaking uncontrollably...

     I felt a lightening bolt surge through my body and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground shaking. I just fought to walk just a few feet and it took everything in me to do it and then I found out seizures became another battle I would surely have to face on a regular basis. The daily tasks that so many people take for granted, I took for granted, now they were mountains of trials; journeys I never new that would test my determination. I felt often frustrated, taxed by new challenges that would face my life. 

     The stroke took everything from me except one thing, my determination, it simply couldn't find a way to remove that very thing that would lead me to where I am today!

Yesterday was a monumental moment, I ran a huge distance along a winding trail with so many ups and downs and there I was, persistent to the very end. I finished my goal and after 8 long years I came to this very point! VICTORY!!!

God always has a plan and when we feel like He isn't there, He is the very one who is sustaining us, challenging us, encouraging us softly. My roots have grown deeper than ever, my understanding of what really matters in life is far greater than before and my joy for life, thankfulness in the simple things makes me one happy guy!

Thankfulness is an art and its returns are endless...

Laughter Is Good Medicine

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:2

Real Friends

Friendship is more than just saying you are friends, it's about investing in those friendships. Over time I have seen many friends come and go and it usually ends up with a person deciding to not invest just a little bit of their time. They go on past experiences and just assume you will always be there until you fade out of the picture because they simply didn't try to be there for you when you needed them the most. Friendships are important but it's a two way street...