Thinking.
I think... we do too much thinking sometimes. Well, more like pondering on the thoughts that we have been thinking.
Whatever the thought... I have been thinking.
I have been thinking that there is so much more to life than what we gather there is.
That there is so much more to give than in the four walls of our house or our work place.
I have been thinking that our life in the modern world has become so self preserved and selfish.
I work in a grocery store as a cashier and I work in a Canada Post outlet. So a lot of my time is spent talking and communicating to customers. Also known as: Customer service.
What has amazed me over the years is how unhappy people generally are, and rude. It saddens me.
Is it completely technology? Is it that life is too busy? Is it that we are consumed with how many digits we make at the end of the year? Maybe all three of my questions?
All I know is that the times when I do have a moment to talk because there aren't fifty other customers lined up to hurry out the door, they are sweet and precious ones.
I have the privilege of hearing stories of family members who have passed away, and I get to comfort them and give them hope. Sometimes I don't know why they chose to tell me their personal life to a complete stranger, but what I have learned is this:
We are so busy with our lives that a lot of the time we miss the opportunities to bless people. What any human being wants is a listening ear. In the modern Western world, we have turned that off to "my life is more important than yours so I'm not listening." Or just cheer rudeness of respect to each other in managing how much time we stare at our phones.
Take time in your day to hear someone's story.You never know what interesting things you may learn. You don't know what encouragement you could give to them.
Think a moment, and allow yourself the time for others. Purpose to think of someone other than yourself. ... myself included. You'd be amazed how much you would bless someone.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Where am i
A creature in it's habitat, the unknown inhibits it's thoughts and dreams. It yearns for something bigger and something new.
I guess I could call myself that creature. I yearn for the new, for things that make me feel uncomfortable in other environments... other than my known habitat. I love where I live, the beauty of the mountains, the easy temperament of the people and the pretty mild weather. But, somehow, I don't quite feel at home. I am a born Canadian, yet have this desire to always try living in other environments other than my own. I have always desired to live in Africa for a time, I have lived in the US for a year and a half, and my newest venture draws me to the US again.
This blog is an honest write up of where I am, what God has been teaching me and what comes next in the pattern of life.
December would have been a very difficult month for me. I had no vision, no ideas of where I was going. It's as though each day dragged. I was at a loss for what to do next and where God was calling me to go.
The time between Christmas and New Years, I was inspired. An idea was brought to me, and so I looked up information and did some research. I became interested in going to a Ministry School in Northern California known as "Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry." This has been the greatest journey of faith I have had with God so far and it has also been one of the most confirming times.
God had been putting circumstances and asets into my hands to this ministry about 7/8 years ago. I just didn't know it. God has a good sense of humour. I had picked up a book by Bill Johnson (Pastor of the church). I was intrigued by the title of the book, "When Heaven Invades Earth." This title still intrigues me, and so does the content in the book. It's real and beautiful. I encourage anyone reading this to read that book. Three years or so later (February 19th, 2010), I would find myself surrounded by a gang of young adults and adults in a living room in Vancouver, BC, speaking words of prophesy over my life. A gift God had blessed me with a year after I came out of a church split and an agonizing time of trying to find my identity. Three and a half years later, I would find myself at a worship tour held in Vancouver in the summer of 2013 by Bethel worship, invited by the same person. In that time of worship, I felt every bind that was distracting me from true praise and worship to God released. I felt freedom. I felt His supernatural freedom and His truth. In the course of those three years, I would see some of those prophesy's fulfilled. Things that I could not have even explained to happen.
Four months later, I would be inspired to go to this ministry. Honestly, even in August, I had no thought and no desire of going to Bethel. God would soon change that. Four years later to the day, since the prophetic ministry in February 19, 2010, I would have my interview and be accepted into the program, February 19, 2014.
Now, what I have to credit is how amazing God works things together. Before the church split had happened, I had picked up "When Heaven Invades Earth," by Bill Johnson, read it, and I can say I really didn't understand it. Seven to eight years later, I read it and almost everything I read in there I had been studying and meditating on for the last three and a half years through Celebration Ministries International, from Pastor's Tom and Bonnie Deuschle in Zimbabwe. God has been preparing my heart to receive more.
I am now on a journey of trust in His promises and works that He has started. I am not fully sure how I will get there, but I am convinced He has already fulfilled and completed what He has started. I have received opposition, but I know my God still rules over the circumstance. Sure, there are times I doubt and I think how is this possible? Yet, I am brought back to how God supplies and how His Kingdom operates in such a supernatural way. We may not see it, but I sure believe it. He has asked me to be obedient to His word. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." God is moved by faith. He is moved by your or my trust in Him. That we would seek His face and His presence over the dwelling of the circumstance that faces us in opposition.
I am ecstatic about the things to come, and in the meantime I am learning to rest in Him through the trust that I place in His hands.That my eyes would only see His face. Last night, I was blown away by a gift that was given to me for the start of my journey. My faith was encouraged.
And so, I encourage anyone. Dream dreams. Dream big dreams and visions. Trust in His Word. Believe and dare to dream things that are impossible. Impossible is God's possible. As long as partly possible is in our dream description, God is not involved - we are. I challenge you to dream what only God can make come to pass. What you may find is that that dream is already there, the passions that God has given you are dreams. Be willing to live them out, to take a risk. He is waiting.
I guess I could call myself that creature. I yearn for the new, for things that make me feel uncomfortable in other environments... other than my known habitat. I love where I live, the beauty of the mountains, the easy temperament of the people and the pretty mild weather. But, somehow, I don't quite feel at home. I am a born Canadian, yet have this desire to always try living in other environments other than my own. I have always desired to live in Africa for a time, I have lived in the US for a year and a half, and my newest venture draws me to the US again.
This blog is an honest write up of where I am, what God has been teaching me and what comes next in the pattern of life.
December would have been a very difficult month for me. I had no vision, no ideas of where I was going. It's as though each day dragged. I was at a loss for what to do next and where God was calling me to go.
The time between Christmas and New Years, I was inspired. An idea was brought to me, and so I looked up information and did some research. I became interested in going to a Ministry School in Northern California known as "Bethel Supernatural School of Ministry." This has been the greatest journey of faith I have had with God so far and it has also been one of the most confirming times.
God had been putting circumstances and asets into my hands to this ministry about 7/8 years ago. I just didn't know it. God has a good sense of humour. I had picked up a book by Bill Johnson (Pastor of the church). I was intrigued by the title of the book, "When Heaven Invades Earth." This title still intrigues me, and so does the content in the book. It's real and beautiful. I encourage anyone reading this to read that book. Three years or so later (February 19th, 2010), I would find myself surrounded by a gang of young adults and adults in a living room in Vancouver, BC, speaking words of prophesy over my life. A gift God had blessed me with a year after I came out of a church split and an agonizing time of trying to find my identity. Three and a half years later, I would find myself at a worship tour held in Vancouver in the summer of 2013 by Bethel worship, invited by the same person. In that time of worship, I felt every bind that was distracting me from true praise and worship to God released. I felt freedom. I felt His supernatural freedom and His truth. In the course of those three years, I would see some of those prophesy's fulfilled. Things that I could not have even explained to happen.
Four months later, I would be inspired to go to this ministry. Honestly, even in August, I had no thought and no desire of going to Bethel. God would soon change that. Four years later to the day, since the prophetic ministry in February 19, 2010, I would have my interview and be accepted into the program, February 19, 2014.
Now, what I have to credit is how amazing God works things together. Before the church split had happened, I had picked up "When Heaven Invades Earth," by Bill Johnson, read it, and I can say I really didn't understand it. Seven to eight years later, I read it and almost everything I read in there I had been studying and meditating on for the last three and a half years through Celebration Ministries International, from Pastor's Tom and Bonnie Deuschle in Zimbabwe. God has been preparing my heart to receive more.
I am now on a journey of trust in His promises and works that He has started. I am not fully sure how I will get there, but I am convinced He has already fulfilled and completed what He has started. I have received opposition, but I know my God still rules over the circumstance. Sure, there are times I doubt and I think how is this possible? Yet, I am brought back to how God supplies and how His Kingdom operates in such a supernatural way. We may not see it, but I sure believe it. He has asked me to be obedient to His word. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." God is moved by faith. He is moved by your or my trust in Him. That we would seek His face and His presence over the dwelling of the circumstance that faces us in opposition.
I am ecstatic about the things to come, and in the meantime I am learning to rest in Him through the trust that I place in His hands.That my eyes would only see His face. Last night, I was blown away by a gift that was given to me for the start of my journey. My faith was encouraged.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Revelation of His Mysteries
Here is when I begin to write about things that I have researched and written in the book that I began. I have "finished," but feel that there is so much more I can do with the content I have looked at and studied.
One of the principles I really had to learn about when studying iniquity was the reality and the existence of it's presence in our culture, in our families, and in our generations. Why is it considered a mystery in scripture? In 2 Thessalonians 2:7a it says that "the mystery of lawlessness (iniquity) is already at work." What I wondered and studied, and learned was the reality of this mystery.
Mystery is defined as "any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation" on www.dictionary.com. Revelation is spending time in God's word by reading and meditating on scripture. As it says in Romans 10:17, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." That same principle is relevant in revelation. Your faith is built when you have a second hearing. Hearing is used twice in this passage for a specific point to be made. Hearing the scripture once does not seal the word into your heart. It barely stayes in your mind. The objective of the scripture is to be written on our hearts. How do we get from mind to heart? We hear and hear and hear. We listen the first time and the second time we really hear. The second hearing comes from the word "rhema," the living word. The revelation word of God. When God reveals himself to us our faith is built.
For me, it was the revelation of the subject of iniquity. As I began to study out and to see the manifestation of the revelation of God as I worked out my own issues, my faith was built. When we seek to know God and to understand His being, our faith is built stronger. We begin to see His presence and hear His voice. We begin to be familiar with His Spirit manifest in us.
Now what is this mystery? Iniquity is a subject not spoken of, nor is it understood. The North American culture has forgotten about it and pulled back from understanding it. Those who are ready to hear about and learn of this topic are desperate and eager to hear about it. But those that are not ready have a tendency to either (by personal experience) 1. Get offended 2. Pull Back 3. A lot of the time, don't even want to hear the word "iniquity" mentioned 4. Think it's a dumb idea/concept
Iniquity is a wall. It is a bondage and a barrier that seeks to keep us in our pain, to continue our wallowing and to stay there. When I speak of this subject, it means that you have to deal with your past. You have to deal with the pain.
We have to take responsibility for our negative patterns that we have learned from our parents, and grandparents. It means we have to relearn healthy habits. In Romans 12:2 it says "do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God." Renewing is a continual act of learning and relearning new habits. New mindsets. Tearing down the old or negative and building a new foundation of good. A new foundation built on the word of God and His principles and patterns.
Spend time in His word today, and allow His Spirit to move as you dig deeper into understanding His character and His mysteries. They are there for you, you just have to find them.
One of the principles I really had to learn about when studying iniquity was the reality and the existence of it's presence in our culture, in our families, and in our generations. Why is it considered a mystery in scripture? In 2 Thessalonians 2:7a it says that "the mystery of lawlessness (iniquity) is already at work." What I wondered and studied, and learned was the reality of this mystery.
Mystery is defined as "any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation" on www.dictionary.com. Revelation is spending time in God's word by reading and meditating on scripture. As it says in Romans 10:17, "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." That same principle is relevant in revelation. Your faith is built when you have a second hearing. Hearing is used twice in this passage for a specific point to be made. Hearing the scripture once does not seal the word into your heart. It barely stayes in your mind. The objective of the scripture is to be written on our hearts. How do we get from mind to heart? We hear and hear and hear. We listen the first time and the second time we really hear. The second hearing comes from the word "rhema," the living word. The revelation word of God. When God reveals himself to us our faith is built.
For me, it was the revelation of the subject of iniquity. As I began to study out and to see the manifestation of the revelation of God as I worked out my own issues, my faith was built. When we seek to know God and to understand His being, our faith is built stronger. We begin to see His presence and hear His voice. We begin to be familiar with His Spirit manifest in us.
Now what is this mystery? Iniquity is a subject not spoken of, nor is it understood. The North American culture has forgotten about it and pulled back from understanding it. Those who are ready to hear about and learn of this topic are desperate and eager to hear about it. But those that are not ready have a tendency to either (by personal experience) 1. Get offended 2. Pull Back 3. A lot of the time, don't even want to hear the word "iniquity" mentioned 4. Think it's a dumb idea/concept
Iniquity is a wall. It is a bondage and a barrier that seeks to keep us in our pain, to continue our wallowing and to stay there. When I speak of this subject, it means that you have to deal with your past. You have to deal with the pain. We have to take responsibility for our negative patterns that we have learned from our parents, and grandparents. It means we have to relearn healthy habits. In Romans 12:2 it says "do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable will of God." Renewing is a continual act of learning and relearning new habits. New mindsets. Tearing down the old or negative and building a new foundation of good. A new foundation built on the word of God and His principles and patterns.
Spend time in His word today, and allow His Spirit to move as you dig deeper into understanding His character and His mysteries. They are there for you, you just have to find them.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
The Unspoken Air
The last couple of years have spurred my faith. They have strengthened it. I had a year of wonder and joy as I studied at Northwest University in Washington, then I was thrown back into a year at home in Canada. That was hard.
In one of my papers, from one of my classes, we had the opportunity to virtually write about anything. I chose to write on a very unspoken subject. A subject well known to Jewish culture.
Iniquity.
I spent hours making sure the paper made sense. And in the time I wrote it - I was learning it myself.
This topic grabbed me to learn about my Bible. Never had I searched, cross referenced, and spent hours learning about God. This topic opened the Word of God to speak to me in a way I had never experienced before. It became alive.
I became so inspired by this topic and the material I found that I felt God prompt me to write a book on it last Winter (2013). I spent hours researching and getting to know this subject, and in learning, God opened up things in my life that needed to be and showed me things in His Word I never saw before. I also began to see healing in my family's life.
Iniquity.
What is it?
What does it have to do with me?
It has everything to do with us. The best scripture that explains the simplicity of it comes from Exodus 34:6-7
'And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." '
While studying iniquity, I began to see the reality of God as a generational God. Nothing in this world that was created leans on one person alone, because one person is such a small picture of the grand painting. God's existence is so large that it is saturated in the principle of generations. I've learned more and more that this is why those long genealogies are so important in the Bible. God's plan exists far beyond our ideas of time. God's plan exists in generations. They fully incorporate each person in a family, combining one person to another.
What I also learned was the importance of "AND" used in this passage. "Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," there is a really good reason why "and" is put there. They AREN'T the same. Each word means something different, and the difference is important to know. Sin is missing the mark. Transgression is knowingly rebelling against God's righteous law. Iniquity is the character of the sin in your life. The sin is so familiar in your life that it becomes part of who you are.
Iniquity is known as a generational curse. It's also characterized as a familiar family spirit. It begins in one generation either by a negative vow or by a malpractice (a negative circumstance/situation happens to you, but you are of an innocent party - you become the victim and it effects you for the rest of your life). The best way to describe the three of these parties is this; a tree. Trees have a root, a trunk and branches. The branches are sin and transgression. They are the fruit, and the fruit that you see is the iniquity within (the root). What springs out of that root is the fruit, or branches. That is why, it is unspoken.
The reason I took such interest into this subject is because of the freedom that comes from understanding it. I've learned much of the Israeli culture from studying this subject, and because it is a subject so widely talked about in scripture - there's so much to study!
I feel as though I could go on and on... until next time - I will explain more!
Credit to the beginning of my study is thanks to Pastor Tom Deuschle from Celebration Ministries International, Zimbabwe.
In one of my papers, from one of my classes, we had the opportunity to virtually write about anything. I chose to write on a very unspoken subject. A subject well known to Jewish culture.
Iniquity.
I spent hours making sure the paper made sense. And in the time I wrote it - I was learning it myself.
This topic grabbed me to learn about my Bible. Never had I searched, cross referenced, and spent hours learning about God. This topic opened the Word of God to speak to me in a way I had never experienced before. It became alive.
I became so inspired by this topic and the material I found that I felt God prompt me to write a book on it last Winter (2013). I spent hours researching and getting to know this subject, and in learning, God opened up things in my life that needed to be and showed me things in His Word I never saw before. I also began to see healing in my family's life.
Iniquity.
What is it?
What does it have to do with me?
It has everything to do with us. The best scripture that explains the simplicity of it comes from Exodus 34:6-7
'And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." '
While studying iniquity, I began to see the reality of God as a generational God. Nothing in this world that was created leans on one person alone, because one person is such a small picture of the grand painting. God's existence is so large that it is saturated in the principle of generations. I've learned more and more that this is why those long genealogies are so important in the Bible. God's plan exists far beyond our ideas of time. God's plan exists in generations. They fully incorporate each person in a family, combining one person to another.
What I also learned was the importance of "AND" used in this passage. "Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," there is a really good reason why "and" is put there. They AREN'T the same. Each word means something different, and the difference is important to know. Sin is missing the mark. Transgression is knowingly rebelling against God's righteous law. Iniquity is the character of the sin in your life. The sin is so familiar in your life that it becomes part of who you are.
Iniquity is known as a generational curse. It's also characterized as a familiar family spirit. It begins in one generation either by a negative vow or by a malpractice (a negative circumstance/situation happens to you, but you are of an innocent party - you become the victim and it effects you for the rest of your life). The best way to describe the three of these parties is this; a tree. Trees have a root, a trunk and branches. The branches are sin and transgression. They are the fruit, and the fruit that you see is the iniquity within (the root). What springs out of that root is the fruit, or branches. That is why, it is unspoken.
The reason I took such interest into this subject is because of the freedom that comes from understanding it. I've learned much of the Israeli culture from studying this subject, and because it is a subject so widely talked about in scripture - there's so much to study!
I feel as though I could go on and on... until next time - I will explain more!
Credit to the beginning of my study is thanks to Pastor Tom Deuschle from Celebration Ministries International, Zimbabwe.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Inspiration... it's only JUST the beginning
In the months of trials this year has brought me, I am in a constant state of being more aware of the voice of the Lord... because I am always desperate to hear Him speak. I have learned so much in searching and adhering to the voice of the Lord. To know what it means to seek and find the mysteries of the word of God that awaken and revolutionize my spirit. I have found truth abounding and I am seeing God work through my life and my family in doing so. I have always been passionate. Passionate to learn more of who God is and His entirety (which of course I will never understand to full length, but at least a little is enough to continue to make me search).
I haven't blogged in a very long time, but I felt the need to again. Even for one person. God speaks to us in many ways and maybe my blog is what you need to read to inspire you to read the Bible more. I have learned that God has open arms to reveal to us His truths, the gifts are open wide. What we fail to learn is to receive them. In order to find them, we have to search for them - and searching takes a lot longer than a couple seconds. To receive the love of God, is to know Him and to know Him is to find Him, to find Him is to dive into His word. Learn WHO He is and the truth that He gives. It has set me free. It has opened my eyes. It has given me more passion. It drives my Spirit.
Short... at least I will try: Overview ~
The last 4 1/2 years have been an especially growing experience for me. I have had to trust the Lord and grow to knowing who He is. A large portion of inspiration comes from Celebration Ministries International in Zimbabwe. At one point I remember finding four 5 minute messages by Pastor Tom Deuschle (Senior Pastor; Found Pastor of CMI) and listening to them on repeat on The Kingdom of God from iTunes because it was the only material I could find.When I listen to them again here and there, I can pretty well mouth out exactly what He's about to say in the next sentence cause I've memorized them. They were the content of what I needed to hear at the time. God knew that the material I was hearing is what I needed to learn from to begin this journey. The main point of all of those messages was that "The Kingdom of God is right-thinking, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" found in Romans 14:17. It isn't a place... but a disposition. Disposition means "a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character" in the Oxford Dictionary. The Word of God is a continual development of character and mind. It has opened my mind to reading the Word of God a different way than the standard reading. It has also shown me that in living life, our character is built by how we perceive and believe of ourselves through the word of God and the love of His character to us.
The thought of reading the Bible to me isn't just reading, but digging. I'm a digger. The best way to describe that is a dog digging into the dirt to find the bone. And inevitably, when he doesn't find it one spot he will find it eventually. The same happens with God and His word, if you want it enough to get dirty, you will find the truth.When I get started I can't stop. It's like one thing leads to the next to the next to the next and I get carried away because everything connects! It blows my mind!
I hope the same is found for you. God wants to reveal Himself to you, and He knows you, it's time for you to KNOW Him. To know Him is to find Him, to search Him, to KNOW Him is to receive His Word. God is His Word. You will know Him when you search for Him and you will find Him giving you revelation of WHO He is.
Until next time... God's Richest Blessings.
I haven't blogged in a very long time, but I felt the need to again. Even for one person. God speaks to us in many ways and maybe my blog is what you need to read to inspire you to read the Bible more. I have learned that God has open arms to reveal to us His truths, the gifts are open wide. What we fail to learn is to receive them. In order to find them, we have to search for them - and searching takes a lot longer than a couple seconds. To receive the love of God, is to know Him and to know Him is to find Him, to find Him is to dive into His word. Learn WHO He is and the truth that He gives. It has set me free. It has opened my eyes. It has given me more passion. It drives my Spirit.
Short... at least I will try: Overview ~
The last 4 1/2 years have been an especially growing experience for me. I have had to trust the Lord and grow to knowing who He is. A large portion of inspiration comes from Celebration Ministries International in Zimbabwe. At one point I remember finding four 5 minute messages by Pastor Tom Deuschle (Senior Pastor; Found Pastor of CMI) and listening to them on repeat on The Kingdom of God from iTunes because it was the only material I could find.When I listen to them again here and there, I can pretty well mouth out exactly what He's about to say in the next sentence cause I've memorized them. They were the content of what I needed to hear at the time. God knew that the material I was hearing is what I needed to learn from to begin this journey. The main point of all of those messages was that "The Kingdom of God is right-thinking, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" found in Romans 14:17. It isn't a place... but a disposition. Disposition means "a person’s inherent qualities of mind and character" in the Oxford Dictionary. The Word of God is a continual development of character and mind. It has opened my mind to reading the Word of God a different way than the standard reading. It has also shown me that in living life, our character is built by how we perceive and believe of ourselves through the word of God and the love of His character to us.
The thought of reading the Bible to me isn't just reading, but digging. I'm a digger. The best way to describe that is a dog digging into the dirt to find the bone. And inevitably, when he doesn't find it one spot he will find it eventually. The same happens with God and His word, if you want it enough to get dirty, you will find the truth.When I get started I can't stop. It's like one thing leads to the next to the next to the next and I get carried away because everything connects! It blows my mind!
I hope the same is found for you. God wants to reveal Himself to you, and He knows you, it's time for you to KNOW Him. To know Him is to find Him, to search Him, to KNOW Him is to receive His Word. God is His Word. You will know Him when you search for Him and you will find Him giving you revelation of WHO He is.
Until next time... God's Richest Blessings.
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