spring, sun, green grass

I get it.  Life is sometimes hard when you are locked in a house because it is so cold outside; it gets dark by 4:30pm; 2000sq ft house feels like 600; the neighors live to close; there is no food in the fridge - another chips and salsa supper etc.  Then the first sign of spring roles around the corner and it is almost without fail - life returns to you.  you want to be outside, raking leaves, planting flowers, riding your bike, going for walks - amazing. 

I have some thoughts.  We were created to live outside - God didn't create houses - although he made the resources for us.  He created nature and the outdoors - and us to enjoy it.  The problem is that we lock ourselves into our homes - doing things that cause our minds to rot (typically), and eat food out of a box or can that sat on a shelf for 6 months.  No wonder we are sluggish. 

God made things amazing.  He put the sun in the sky for our good.  Not just to give us light, but also to give us necessary vitamins.  He designed creation to work together for our good.  Plants eat our poison, we eat theres - and somehow it works.  Very cool.  God designed it for us to eat what he created.  I think it is interesting that we all get so sick, but we have gotten off the plan that God initally set up.  I wish an epidemic broke out in Canada - where people would start growing their own food, planting fruit trees, canning food etc.  Heaven forbid that we put some time in outside to gather our own food.  Perhaps we need to learn this for our health as well as for the end times.  Just saying :)

I am blogging to myself as well.  We now are going on year 3 with the garden, and we planted our first apple tree last fall.  hoping to get some apples this year already. love it!!

training leaders or me?

this weekend i had the chance to go and hang out with a church from winnipeg.  I took 4 leaders with me from our church to do majority of the speaking and i was going to meet with the leaders from the church and spend time praying and looking into the future with them.  Asking God what it was that he wanted to do in their church for 2011.  It was a phenomenal weekend.  But I am uncertain if it was what I expected.  I thought that I would bring leaders with me in an attempt to train them and see how they speak and engage with people.  I wanted another chance to teach them and help them grow.  However, I think I was the one who grew this weekend.  From the minute they walked in the door you could not tell that they were not part of the group.  They walked up to complete strangers and began to get to know people.  They gave their lives to a group of people they have never met. They fell in love with a group of people that spends a lot of time together, and became one of them.  They opened their lives to them.  encouraging them, strengthening them, building them up in the faith.  Amazing.  They went all weekend engaging with people.  Throughout our time there i watched them pray with numerous people, i saw them intentionally steer conversations into a place that would truly honor God.  not that the conversations were not honoring him - but these were intentional conversations leading people closer to the king. Unfortunately this is not common in our society.  Typically we keep things to ourselves, and talk about menial things only, and they spoke the truth of Jesus and shared their testimonies of how the lord has transformed them in the last few years - AWESOME!

This weekend I was truly proud and excited to be a pastor of these 4 young leaders who have sold out their lives to Jesus.  I was a student this weekend, watching their heart and passion explode.  I want to live my life like these young people.

Thank you Lord for people like this that you have brought into my life that together we can labor for the sake of Jesus!