The View Is Peaceful

One of my favourite things to do is go for long walks and bring my camera along the way! I find that in this busy digital world of constant contact with everyone, that somehow we are losing the art of reflection. Listening to God when He speaks softly, hearing Him tell us things that encourage us, challenge us, motivate us. We are so busy with the carrot before the horse, the proverbial destination of success that we lose the essence of what is so profound and deep. We lose our identity, our families and our peace along the way.
I heard a retired man at a coffee shop tell a group of retired people that one of the best memories he has in life wasn't his accomplishments with his money, his job, his accolades in various enterprises but rather when he was forced not to work for a period of a few weeks. He stated the following "I have to tell you, my wife and I had the best times ever, the best memories, the least amount of fighting during that time. We took the time to walk with each other, talk with each other about our dreams, our hopes and so much more." 
That was a powerful point and it's something worth remembering in this present digital jungle we live in...

Grace

Grace...

The beauty of grace is far deeper than we can imagine, it's a lifelong journey of seeing and enduring through life's choices, trials, the valleys and the mountain tops. We See things in the moment, maybe even when we reflect on the past but it's always foggy through the eyes of humanity.
God speaks to us profoundly and with depth of love when He tells us to walk in our weakness, endure in our suffering, because in our suffering God is glorified and we are humbled. Pride is buried quickly in our struggles and that lense of cloudy muddy perception quickly fades and we begin to look more fervently at the light when it breaks through the clouds; like a lighthouse we become far more dependant on where God wants us to go and less on where we want to be.
When we see the light with joy and with reliance we begin to celebrate the destination, the journey, God's wisdom is always far better than our own. In the end our weakness is His testimony to a loving Father, an amazingly gracious giver of hope and victory. The light always breaks through the darkest storms...

~You Prepare A Table~

When all is said and done, God is our strength and our hope in times of trouble. He is ever faithful in preparing a time of peace during our worst struggles, our worst trials in life.

Lions Den

When I faced my stroke,

there were many times I couldn't speak,

express my thoughts,

move or understand

but I knew one thing,

I was facing a circumstance for which I could only simply be still and let God do what He does best, turn hungry circumstances of potential great loss into a victory for which only God can be glorified. That is truly what He has done for me :) Just trust Him and keep on praying, keep on living the gospel message and let God do the impossible.

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.

Heaven Bound

~Heaven Bound~ 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. John 10:10

I read this verse a while back and it shook me to the core, I realized that we
are all responsible for our actions, our choices and our inevitable destination.
Thankfully I chose life and if I had not, most likely I would have died in some
crazy violent way, I was a very lonely, angry human being. I was bullied
so badly as a teen that it made me hate myself deeply
and it carried on into my martial arts, pushing as hard
as I could until I was exhausted with anger. I eventually met up
with one of my bullies years later, after I became a christian as was shocked
at his appearance, he was nothing more than skin and bones with a hollow
look in his eyes. He had used drugs so frequently that it had aged him
and drew all the youth right out of him. He was just a shell of a human being
and all of a sudden I had nothing but compassion for him. God had
rescued me from a lot of pain and I am so grateful for His endless love.

The Beauty, The Mercy, The Peace

Half Way Alive

A Christian Needs To Go Much Further Than

Church On Sundays

Leaving Their Habits And Preferences At Home

They Need To Step Into The Apostles Devoted Call

To Reach The Lost

To Live The Gospel 24/7

To Bring The Peace That Passes All Understanding

It Transforms The Heart

The Life

The Actions Of The Soul

That Hears The Salvation Message

                                         By Ernie Kasper

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... ;)

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.

By Design

Psalm 139:16

You saw me before I was born.

    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

    before a single day had passed.

That is the beauty of knowing God, knowing that He knows everything, past, present and future and yet with all that information, all that knowledge of our rights and wrongs, He loves us deeply and with such devoted grace through Jesus Christ his son. Never forget that He has everything perfectly planned out and what He sets in place, no one can silence, smother, crush or destroy...

Count Your Blessings

     A beautiful day to praise God and remember that counting your blessings makes you forget all the things that were never really worth complaining about in the first place.

     When I can't talk I sing praises in my mind, when I can't walk, I pray for all those God wants me to reach with the gospel, when my mind is angry I pray for all those who have hurt me most. So whatever struggle I go through I'm keeping my eyes on Gods purpose and focusing less on my struggles. God always triumphs over the worst of adversity, I just have to know that He has me in His hands and that everything is going to be okay, in fact everything will be so much better because I walk with God or in my case RUN.