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Sunday, September 25, 2011

We Are Not There Yet

"...the promise of a better day. We are not there yet. Let it come, let it come in. Love is here and love is coming..." Gungor filled our car with his amazing music as we set out on our journey to downtown Vancouver.




Drop-off by car at the Surrey Central Skytrain station and off we went, Naomi and I. It was going to be a beatiful day out on the town, just the two of us plus the company of a lovely new friend.

The ride to downtown went without a hitch, Naomi being a little nervous about the exam she was about to write at the UBC office, but all in all excited about going shopping and having coffee....the weather was perfect, if a little humid.

Upon arrival we sought out the office, found it right away, and went for lunch as we had enough time to do so. Lunch was great and we looked around which stores we were going to hit first after her exam.

Back at the office, all checked-in, I left to meet a friend. She was held up on the road - so much traffic - it didn't bother me. I took pictures, sat on the stairs at the Vancouver Art Gallery, watching the fountain and the variety of people passing by, thinking 'God loves every one of you.'



Different groups of people meeting on the stairs - business men and women having their lunch; after lunch different groups of smokers gathering. I was on the other side. Some people were drawn to me as I was sitting there for quite some time all by myself, not eating lunch, not smoking...just enjoying the fountain. As I started to smoke weed right along with them (second hand, of course), conversations were started with me, about random things. I did not know these people, but I knew God does, and I knew He loves them, so I was not bothered by being talked to by any of them.

My friend showed up and as we left I noticed I had not talked to them yet about how much God loves them, yet they were sad to see me go. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35) Could it be?

I had a lovely, fun time with my friend. She bought me coffee, we shared some good over-the-top stories of adventures we had been on, had a lot of laughs....Naomi was done early with her exam and joined us, and off we went shopping.

We had a great time shopping, topped it off with the most delicious cupcakes from the Cupcake Ladies and parted ways with our friend to head home.



It would be a smooth ride home; just as smooth as the ride in. Or would it?








As we were relaxing on the train, talking about all sorts of life things, we suddenly heard the name for the next station - Sapperton. "Where's Sapperton?" Naomi asks. I don't know. We both quickly read the map on top of the train - we're on the wrong train. We took the Millennium train instead of the Expo train. "There are two different trains?" "I guess so." We get off at the next station, quickly cross over and take the train back to Columbia station, where we will then take the Expo line.

Being all confident yet feeling a little bit creeped out by the empty wagon in front of ours which doors would not open, we stop in the middle of "nowhere", with all passengers looking at each other "Why are we stopping?" "This is not a station." etc. After a while, with no announcements of happenings, we keep going.
Having notified our ride home from the last station we happily get off at Columbia station and very happily enter the next train, the Expo line to our destination. Doors closed we are told "This is the Millennium Line." "What!?" At this time we felt like we were stuck in some time loop.

Getting out at Sapperton this time we yet AGAIN endeavour on our way to Columbia station.  This time it HAD to be the right train. It just HAD to be. With our ride waiting for us at destination station we felt quit NOT-so-streetsmart.

At Columbia station we pretty much asaulted other passengers "PLEASE, please tell us is THIS the Expo line!?" "Yes, it is." "Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?" almost shaking them for re-assurance. "Does the train go to King George station?" "Yes, it does." "Thank you! God bless you! All of you!"

As we board the train a man calls out "Pretty lady, you can always tell which line is coming by the red sign on the top at the station." he says smiling. "There's a sing?! that tells us this?" I am just as grateful as I am ashamed. Where has my public transit knowledge gone? I used to do this with three small children all the time.

Relieved is not a strong enough word to describe when we heard the announcement of the next station. This is OUR route. We are going in the right direction and yes, we WILL get there.

With my husband waiting at the end station, we bolted off back to our home town - exhausted, mixed feelings about the day (not everything is included in this story as it is too personal), 7 minutes late for our 7 o'clock meeting, but not the last ones to be there, we did it. We arrived. We were there. We were home.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Remember

Your presence is a present to the world.
You are unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You will make it through whatever comes along.
Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.
Do not put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal and you prize.
Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
The longer one carries a problem the heavier it gets.
Do not take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
Remember that a little love goes a long way.
Remember that a lot ... goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life's treasure are people together.
Realize that it is never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have heart and hope and happiness.
Take the time to wish upon a star.
AND DO NOT EVER FORGET, FOR EVEN A DAY, 
HOW VERY SPECIAL YOU ARE!

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Breathe by B. Reith

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Facebook Hamlet - by Synthia Friesen

 To like or not to like. That is the question.
To reply or not to reply. Another question. 
Whether 'tis nobler on the status to suffer
The comments as arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to ignore against a sea of troubles
a friend request and by opposing end them. To join—to block,
No more; and by delete to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand notifications.

That flesh is heir to: "accept" Devoutly to see more. To chat, to upload;
To edit, perchance to dream—ay, there's the poke.
For in that free gift what dreams we share,
When we have hugged all of our friends,
Must we pause for the request
That make the games most recent news.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of all,
The event - not attending; the proud man's contumely.

The agony of editing information, so personal,
Political view, religion, and the spurns
of page suggestions, groups and strangers.
When we ourselves our quietus make
With a reply? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary app,
But that the dread of someone's comment,
The undiscovere'd rare egg, from whose search
No traveller returns, must hunt,
And makes us bear those ills we have
To fly and kidnap others that we know not of.

Thus applications do make players of us all,
And thus What's on your mind?
is greatly overused with the pale cast of thoughts, emotions. 
Enterprises of great wall posts and messages -
With one more turn to recent news
Then loose the action to - log out.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Giant We Slay©

The yoke seems too heavy to carry,
the giant you face lives right inside of you
standing up ten feet tall at the most unexpected time.

The sunrise seems to never come,
darkness appears to be all there is,
load piles up upon load in seemingly endless despair.

Among all the chaos around you
the walls appear to be closing in,
loneliness while amidst friends and family creeps up like a prowling lion,
devouring you bit by bit.

The pieces of your heart are too many to assemble
them back together,
the wounds seem too deep to ever heal.
You're drowning in the storm around you and within.

You've stopped reaching, you've stopped trying,
it's just too much, there's no denying.
The pit seems too deep, the distance too far.
You feel like you've tried your last try.

Love lives out there, not inside with the giant.
Treasures of grand for all but you.
You and your giant will do just fine,
as long as you hold your ground.

How much more will it take?
You don't have the answer.
Just you and your giant, you'll weather the storm.

The walls close in tighter,
the storm turns worse,
the weight keeps on growing, along with the fear.

At one moment in time,
out of nowhere it seems,
the giant stands up and with his feet
crushes you to the ground.

You are surprised.
You didn't expect it.
You weren't prepared.
What can you do?

You see the debris the giant left behind
and in great dispair realize
that he not only crushed you,
but your loved ones around you.

You want to declare defeat
like so many times before,
yet you reach out.

You reach out to the sling and stone
a helping hand is giving you.
You hear yourself say a prayer
and with all the strength left in you,
you swing that sling, you release the stone,
you hit your giant straight on the head.

In disbelief you see him fall,
all ten ugly feet of him,
flat to ground with a great big thump,
breathing his last nasty breath.

 You stand there, broken and trembling,
in awe of what just happened.
It seems so quiet, so peaceful at last,
yet the storm around you has not stopped.

You look at all the ones around you,
crushed by the giant within you,
broken and hurt in so many ways
that you panic out of fear that you lost them.

You hear a voice "Come, child, come."
and you look up at a familiar face.
You know this face from years ago
when you used to do life together.

You thought that He had long forgotten you,
that you had gone too far,
that He would never come to your aid again
no matter how loud you cried.

You then look into His loving eyes
and see His answer there,
"My child, I do not work that way. Come let me hold you thight."

"For so many years I have called on you,
but the giant spoke too loud -
you didn't hear my voice.

I reached out to you
but the giant had bound your hands.
I showed myself to you in those surrounding you,
but the giant had blinded your eyes to see."

After all those years
you fall on your knees
weeping a stream of tears.
"I'm sorry, Father," you cry out,
"for leaving your side! Have mercy, Father, I need you back into my life."

You grab His stretched out arm
and finally again reach soul hands with the One who is Love,
the Only One who can calm the storm.

You sit by His side as He calms the storm,
as He picks up all the tiny pieces
of your heart and the hearts of your loved ones,
and puts them gently back together;
as He heals all your wounds and wipes all the tears.

You wonder, why did I wait so long?
How did I let the giant grow so tall inside of me?
When love is so much greater and joy is so much brighter.

Dwell not, my David,
for you slayed the giant.
Your Father will provide the rest.
Take His hand and the hands of your loved ones
and walk together from hereon out.

There are many treasures to be opened
on the road ahead.
Don't look back and enjoy every one of them,
for He so freely gives.

                                   Synthia Friesen

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Purposeful Resistance

"When you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it, he faints. When he sees that you are living what you read, he flees. When you are about to re- post this, he will try and discourage you... I just defeated him!! Copy and re-post if you can, even if many of your "friends" laugh and make fun of you.....Any takers?"

This status has been flooding newsfeeds all over Facebook. And while this all may sound nice and fuzzy and easy, it is also a big fat lie. A lie from the Father of lies.

When you carry the Bible, satan will try to convince you to put it down. "You don't need it."
When you open your Bible, he works on getting you to close it again and lose interest. This is no time for him to collapse. 
When satan sees you reading the Bible, he does NOT faint. he will try to distract you with everything he has.
When you live out God's Word, satan will spend all his time getting in your way. 

The only way to make little satan flee is by TELLING him to get away from you IN THE NAME OF JESUS. There's no way he's going to run as long as you don't tell him to do so. 
It is our calling to live out God's Word and glorify HIM, and satan might "crinch" at that and stomp his feet and pull his hair out and what not, but he will STILL try to distract you and come up with ways (especially busyness) to get you off God's path. 
USING God's Word VOCALLY, using it to TELL satan to take a hike, now THAT will make him run.
satan can't read your thoughts. he's only a fallen angel. Only your MAKER, your CREATOR, knows what you're thinking. We do not THINK or simply LIVE satan away. We TELL him to run, and we ONLY tell him in the precious NAME OF JESUS.  This does not mean we can live as we please. By all means NO. This means James 4:7: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
According to Clarke's Commentary on the Bible this means:
Submit - to God - Continue to bow to all His decisions, and to all His dispensations.
Resist the devil - He cannot conquer you if you continue to resist. Strong as he is, God never permits him to conquer the man who continues to resist him; he cannot force the human will. He who, in the name of Jesus, opposes even the devil himself, is sure to have a speedy and glorious conquest. He flees from that NAME, and from HIS conquering BLOOD.

Don't underestimate the hidden schemes of our enemy, even in fuzzy looking statuses and sweet sounding phrases. 
We are not in Kingdom Club Med. We are warriors in a battle not seen with human eyes. We are conquerors for The Most High God. We WILL NOT defeat satan without using God's Word and the power of the blood of Jesus.
And don't EVER underestimate the POWER of God's Word SPOKEN. We have been given the awesome privilege of God's Word. The same God that spoke the World into being resides in us, His children.
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and atittudes of the heart.

 It is time we stop thinking we can do it without saying a word, and start USING the power of HIS WORD. 
It is time to send satan trembling and squealing the ONLY way that works, in the sweet NAME OF JESUS. 
Greater is He who is in us than he who is in this world.

Only through BOTH - Submission to God AND Resistance to the devil, will we live lives free from satan's influence. 

Prayer: Father, I give my life to your will and I rebuke satan. Thank you for making me a victor over him. Amen