Lent Ponderings {First Feast Sunday}

It's feast day...

Yes, it is... and a chicken is currently roasting in my oven as I compose this blog post. For this season of Lent, I am taking on the challenge of cooking all of our family's meals and refraining from eating out or buying take-out, even during feast days. On feast days, I have decided to make special meals instead... thus the roast chicken!

You see, we love eating out... and at times, it has become excessive... many, many, many dollars spent in restaurants that can be and should be spent helping the least of these. Now, don't get me wrong... I am not saying that eating out is wrong. What I am saying is that, at times it can be!

When it becomes "I deserve to..." or "I am entitled to..."

It has also become mundane... un-special. We eat out and consume without even giving it a second thought anymore... like it's a normal part of life... when in fact, it isn't!

The goal isn't to not set foot in a restaurant ever again. Far from! Rather, the goal is, that after this season of Lent is over, we will see eating out as a treat... as something that is special, to be enjoyed, to be thankful for... and to be mindful of many of our brothers and sisters who are the least of these, who don't even know what a restaurant is, let alone set foot in one!

As I read through A Place at the Table these past four days and practiced the discipline of cooking simple meals at home each and every day... I have become very aware of my own vulnerabilities. As Chris Seay wrote on Day 1:

... when we strip away the many comforts of our dietary pleasures, we may not like what we see in ourselves. 

In time it will become painfully clear that we are not the pilots of this ship. Submissions to our King is the only way forward.  

The only way forward...

Yes, in just four shorts days, I have realized that submissions to our King is truly the only way forward. As Chris puts it, "How will you stand up to your Pharaohs on this journey?"

Yes, we are slaves to many Pharaohs... including to our many comforts. The thing is... there are many of our brothers and sisters who are the least of these who, not unlike us, still live in slavery today... yet, there is no way they can stand up to their Pharaohs without our help.

I sincerely believe that it is through our submissions to our King, through our daily giving up of our many comforts, through our standing up to our Pharaohs... that we can, in turn, effectively help to free our brothers and sisters from the slavery that they are prisoners of.  

Chris writes about this on Day 2: 

When I look at the shelves of chocolate in my local convenience store, I know that much of the cacao farmed across the globe comes from children who are forced into labor due to unjust debt. But I ignore it.

Modern-day slavery --- it is what's been pressing on my heart these past few days. Cacao farming is just one example of many forms of slavery. How about the coffee and tea we drink? The sugar we sweeten our coffee and tea with? The clothes we wear? Let's not even talk about human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and pornography!

Friends, modern-day slavery is real. A crisis and an atrocity that we can no longer ignore! 

The thing is...
There are extremely simple things that each and everyone of us can do to help in the fight to eliminate modern-day slavery.

Such as buying only fair trade chocolate products. The Camino products are regulars in our home and I highly recommend them!

Such as switching to fair trade coffee... a staple in our house! We buy coffee from by Level Ground Trading, a company not only committed to "investing in job creation and organic initiatives," it also "provides school scholarships for over 200 children."

Such as checking this website first to learn how our favourite brands relate to trafficking and other labor abuses. I've found this website to be extremely helpful when buying clothing and footwear. Speaking of which, how about wearing our clothes and shoes until they are totally worn out before buying more so as to minimize our slavery footprint?

And how about human trafficking?

Just last week, on February 27, was Shine a Light on Slavery Day organized by End It Movement.

Personally, I once thought that human trafficking is just too big a battle to fight... that I cannot somehow do anything significant.

But, my girl has shown me the flaw of my thinking! In the Fall of 2013, she started an initiative called Freedom Creations. In this blog post, she writes about how Freedom Creations was born!

Because of Freedom Creations, my girl has taught this mama how to knit... for freedom! Last week, on End It Day, I posted this photo on social media... it made my heart skip a beat as I realized that there is nothing too small... nothing too mundane... nothing too insignificant that one can do to help in the fight for freedom!

Even something as small as one stitch... can fight for freedom!

You see, Freedom Creations in its short six-months of existence has raised over $1400.00 for International Justice Mission Canada! Yes, that's over $1400.00 to fight for freedom... all done one stitch at a time!!!

This is from Day 3 of A Place at the Table:

When we begin to take courageous steps to end poverty, modern-day slavery, and the water crisis, our actions easily multiply because of our influence on the people in our lives. When entire churches begin to feel a truly familial connection with the least of these, the world will never be the same.

The world becoming a better place... that, friends... is my prayer! Is it yours, too?

By the way, friends... this blog post has taken longer to write than anticipated. In between the time that it took to start and finish up this blog post, our family has had an awesome time of worship with our church family, celebrated with a brother-in-Christ who got baptized, and had the yummiest roast chicken we've had in a long time!

Chris wrote in today's reading...

... it will be a beautiful day of worship and an important part of our fasting journey.

Yes, today certainly was that... and more!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Lent Ponderings {Day 1}

During Lent this year...

I will be reading through Chris Seay's book, A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor, with my fellow Missions Coordinators from over 15 different sites of our church, The Meeting House.

I love this community of Missions Coordinators, all of us volunteering our time, passionate about and committed to leading and encouraging our church family into being the hands and feet of Jesus to people living in the margins of our society, both right here at home and globally.

It is not my first time reading through this book. In fact, this will be the third time! I had to really sort out in my heart that I wanted to do this again... not because I have to, just because my fellow Compassion Coordinators are doing so. And, I've come to the conclusion that... yes, I want to do this again! What I am most excited about, in addition to reading it in community this year, is the fact that God transforms me in a fresh way each and every time. Exciting!

Another reason why I love this book is Chris Seay's partnership with Compassion International in writing this book. It's no secret to those of you who are regulars on here that my family and I love the ministry of Compassion. In fact, all four of us are fully trained Advocates!

What Lent isn't...

So, in pondering whether or not I wanted to go through this book again for Lent this year, it really helped me to think through what Lent isn't.

I've found this blog post by Eugene Cho to be most helpful in sorting out the motives of my heart. The title of the blog post makes me chuckle, every single time:

Umm, I didn’t ask you to give up coffee. I asked you to give up your life to me.” ~ God.

Witty, yes! But honestly... soul-searchingly well-said!

And Eugene posted this on Facebook yesterday:

What we need isn’t more religion.
We need Gospel.

And by Gospel, I’m not speaking of a self-help, pop spiritual psychology, but a Gospel that cuts into the heart of humanity with a grace that compels us to not just merely salvation but a life committed to justice, reconciliation, and redemption.

Isaiah 58 speaks of fasting but fasting that God is not pleased with. It’s a fasting that caters to our own eyes, flesh, and pleasure but not the kind of fasting that God invites us to:

a life broken and transformed by the things of God.

Yes, that is why I am observing Lent this year, yet again... it is to cultivate a life broken and transformed by the things of God... to be that pencil in His hand.

So, here's to the start of 40 days of solidarity with the poor.
Will you join me, friends? I love what Lysa Terkeurst writes in the Foreword...

... this journey isn't about our power, strength of character, or self-control. It is a journey of surrender to God that will usher us from rut dwelling to transformed living. 

In the process of being transformed, we will become more and more aware not just of our hunger but of the hunger of the world. 

We will sit down at the table more eager to ponder those we might serve instead of pouncing on the plenty to which we've grown so accustomed. So very tragically accustomed. God help us. 

A place at the table. Indeed, a place at the table for God and for remembering those less fortunate. But even more so, a place to stop the rut of constant inhale. Taking in, taking in, taking in. It clogs the soul. So for 40 days, let us learn to exhale with great thanksgiving. 

For pondering what God might bring close during this fast. For this place where our souls breathe and dream once again.

That, friends... is my prayer too! Join me?

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Multiplied A Thousand Fold

We are a pencil in the hand of God. It's not about us. Our lives speak, our actions speak, far louder than our words. ~ Fred Katagwa, as quoted in the book What's Your Mark? by Jeremy Cowart.

The words struck me deep...

"A pencil in the hand of God." I sat in the waiting room of the dentist's office this past Monday morning reading What's Your Mark? as my kids had their routine cleaning and check-ups done. I scrolled through page after page of stories, of everyday ordinary people, of people just like you and me, all making a mark for God's Kingdom... in Jesus' name. Inspiring stories!

And I smiled... because just a few days before, on Friday... an email appeared in my inbox from Stephanie at Compassion Canada, an email reminding me that beautiful God-stories can unfold if we are willing to be that pencil in the hand of God.

The subject line caught my attention right away... Compassion - Completion Report. I excitedly double-clicked to open up this long-awaited email and I. just. could. not. stop. smiling. as I read the attachment that came with it.

As I read the report, tears started to stream down my face to join that unerasable smile because even though it's right there before my eyes, on hard copy... I couldn't {actually, I still can't} believe that God actually used our family to make this permanent facility for Patnubay Child Development Centre {a Compassion project in Masbate, Philippines} a reality!

Friends, here is our story...
Two years ago this very month, in July 2011, God sent us to the Philippines on a self-guided missions immersion trip. Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal... but to this family, it was. You see, we were comfortable, very comfortable, with our North American Christian lifestyle. Hubby and I didn't see a need for a missions trip to a third-world country... we were already making a difference, right here where we are... and to us, that was enough!

In fact, if you asked people who know us, they would tell you exactly that... we are a family that's actively involved in local missions, making a difference in the lives of the marginalized right here in our very own city.

But God had other plans... and we were in it!

It wasn't easy, but it was right. "If you want to make a mark," Gary says, "go where people are having the hardest time believing God is good." Leave where you are. Go there. ~ from What's Your Mark?, Gary Haugen's story.

Seeing the Philippines had a profound impact on our entire family...
It had been twelve years since hubby and I were last there. Even though we both grew up there, we didn't really see or realize the extreme poverty that surrounded us. We were brought up to live in the security bubble of our upper-middle-class existence. We were oblivious to the suffering that was right outside our doorstep.

Street children. Manila, Philippines.

When I was seventeen, my family moved to Canada. Hubby came a few years later. We got married and happily settled into a comfortable North American Christian lifestyle, still oblivious to the sufferings of our fellow brothers and sisters back home and in developing countries all over the world.

Even when we went back to the Philippines in 1999, with our girl who was just a toddler at that time, we went as tourists... resort-hopping, shopping to our heart's content, eating all the Filipino foods that we missed... never once thinking of or even looking at the suffering that was right before our eyes.

But God is truly gracious...
He would use our girl to open up our eyes to the plight of the world's extreme poor. She was just 12 years old that Christmas back in 2009 when she asked for nothing else but a little sister from Compassion Canada. That was when our journey of sponsoring children started... and we haven't looked back since!

Two years later, we found ourselves in the Philippines... with both of our kids in tow, not really knowing what God had in store for us... just willing to be that pencil in His hand.

We met our Compassion sponsor child, Florianlyn.

We met Compassion LDP student, Rechelle, who we decided to sponsor right after our meeting.

What we saw forever changed us, breaking our hearts for the things that break God's heart.

My girl and Rechelle, inside Rechelle's house.

My kids and Rechelle, at the Compassion project where she grew up!

Our family and Florianlyn's family, inside her house.

Slums, a very common sight in the Philippines.

People... families... living on the streets, another very common sight.

Forever changed...
It's not an easy place to be... forever changed... but I agree that it is the most blessed place to be.

When we were at Patnubay Child Development Centre where Florianlyn belongs to, the Pastor shared with us a dream they have... for a permanent facility to better serve the 272 Compassion children and their families.

It's merely a dream because they did not have the funds to make it a reality.

The dream...

All they had as classrooms were these...

God's still small voice...

The permanent facility would cost about $30,000.00 to build. Somehow, hubby and I couldn't shake the feeling that God was asking us to give a substantial amount of money towards it.

A fairly substantial amount to us, yes... but still not quite enough to complete this building.  

It felt to us like the little boy's five loaves and two fishes... you know, that story from the Bible... it was all we had, yet it wasn't quite enough.

We committed that sum of money to God and waited to see what He would do with it.

What came next nearly knocked me off my feet. My first reaction? "Not me, Lord. Not our family! We are not qualified to organize something like that!"

An opportunity was dropped on our family's lap... to put together a benefit event... with all proceeds going towards the Patnubay building project. It was a lot of hard work... many sleepless nights... many nerve-wracking days complete with me having ugly melt-downs. 

My sister and her choir, the reason this event came to be in the first place!

My friend and fellow Compassion Advocate, Ann Voskamp, who so graciously agreed
to partner with our family to make this event a reality! She and her family are truly inspiring!!! ♥

Our family and Ann, at the conclusion of the event.

To this day, I'm not really sure how we pulled everything together... it is truly a testament of God's amazing grace! Yes, only by His grace alone...

The event raised just enough money to top off our donation to reach $30,000! The total amount turned over to Compassion Canada was $30,158.42!!!

A few days after the benefit event, it was time to write our cheque... you know, that substantial amount we felt God was asking us to give. I'd be lying if I told you it was easy. Writing a big cheque to give away hurts. But I think the beautiful thing is this: Doing Kingdom work, the expression of Biblical justice, is supposed to hurt. Loving with a cross-shaped love hurts... just look at Jesus' example.

Forever changed is not easy... but it is the most blessed place to be.

Writing that cheque meant curbing our family's eating out budget. But "millions of people go to bed hungry each night. In fact, about 1 billion people today are chronically short of food, many slowly starving to death."¹

Writing that cheque meant no big family vacations for at least a couple of years. But for many of our fellow brothers and sisters in the developing world "there aren't any vacations from the hard work of daily survival."¹

Writing that cheque meant delaying our home renovations for yet another year. But "nineteen thousand children under the age of five die every single day of largely preventable causes simply because they are poor. That's almost 8 million children every year, one every four seconds..."¹ simply because they don't have adequate shelter to ward off simple diseases.

Writing that cheque meant delaying replacing our 16-year-old car for some more time. But "783 million have no access {to clean water} at all. Instead, they walk miles each day to dip their buckets in filthy, bacteria-ridden water that makes them sick and kills their children."¹

{1. Chapter 4: Magic Kingdom, Tragic Kingdom, and the Kingdom of God. Unfinished, by Richard Stearns.}

You see, when we finally get the proper perspective for why we give away, though it still might hurt and it's supposed to, we find joy! It becomes the living out of thanks, thanks-living!

This past year, our family has found real joy in making meals together... eating healthier as a result. We have come to realize that giving of our time in serving the marginalized is as much fun, if not more fun, than a family vacation. We have come to appreciate our home as it is, and have been surprised by God's provision so that some of our planned renovations can indeed happen. We were happily driving our old 16-year-old station wagon and was content to drive it to its grave when God literally led us to a newer car, and provided us with enough funds to buy it!

Richard Stearns has this to say about Kingdom work, in his most recent book Unfinished:

It's about the thousands of daily twists, turns, detours, and choices that make up the very fabric of our lives. It's about a life well lived for Christ by those who know their destination and take seriously the role God has given them to play as full participants in his kingdom work.

So, back to that email I received last Friday...
Our meager offering, our five loaves and two fishes, God has multiplied one thousand fold... through us, weak and unqualified people... just because we were willing to be that pencil in His hand. He truly does make the impossible, possible.

To see this report, two years to the very month our family stepped foot on that bare land where this beautiful building now stands... is. just. so. utterly. amazing!

We serve an awesome God!
To Him be all the glory, honour and praise... great things He has done!

It doesn't matter who you are, how big your audience or your bank account, you can make a mark.

You can do it. Jesus did. He is the example, the eternal Truth we love because he loved us first. We serve because he served first.

~ Jeremy Cowart, What's Your Mark?

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

It's the First of April!

and, it's Easter Monday... 
Friends, Christ is risen... what a wonderful and most beautiful gift! On Easter Sunday, I posted this as my status on Facebook:

"Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. The one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new."

This is the gift of Easter.

Happy Easter, friends!

{Our family is headed to Yorkdale mall right now where Easter Sunday service will happen right in the midst of brokenness. Praying for those affected by the gun violence last night.}

Yes, we had a very meaningful Easter celebration... more on that in a bit. Today, however, is a school holiday here in Canada so hubby and I sort of take the day off as well. Sort of... meaning hubby will only deal with work if a computer emergency presents itself. So, hopefully it will be a day without such incidences. :-) It's been a busy few weeks, so having our calendar fairly empty this Easter weekend was such a gift!

Amid the busy-ness of the past few weeks, I am thankful that I took the time to read a little each day from Chris Seay's A Place at the Table. Reading the gems in this book each day during Lent truly did help to prepare my heart for Easter.

Such as this prayer from Day 32: "God, do Your work within us. Give us the wisdom to know how to share ourselves, our lives, and our resources with one another as well as those scattered abroad. We pray that You will show us how to give. Everything we have is from You. We ask that our focus would remain on You. That our worship would truly change us. Your love is unyielding. Amen."

Or this gem of a prayer from Wednesday of Holy Week: "Father, Your love and provision are far reaching. Your miracles never cease. You could drop bread from the sky for Your beloved, and yet You give us the blessing of giving and connecting in Your precious name. May Your Spirit continue to free our hearts and inspire us, Father, to further Your movement of grace and love and equality next door and around the entire world. Amen."

Or this thought-provoking paragraph from Holy Thursday: "After months of the disciples fighting over who would sit in the seat of power, Jesus turned the tables; the real fight was over the largest foot-washing basin. This was a game changer... service trumps power in the kingdom of God. Which kingdom are you living in? Have you devoted your life to humble service, or do you avoid it like an infectious disease? Jesus came to change the world, one dirty foot at a time. How about you?"

By Good Friday, my heart was ready... 
... ready to soak in and to reflect on the magnitude of this gift that was given to me, to all of us, on that very first Easter. I wept through most of our Good Friday service... the music, the message, the breaking of bread... every. single. thing. moved me to tears!

One song, in particular, reminded me of my One Word for 2013... surrender... ♪♫ "Rid me of myself. I belong to you. Oh lead me. Lead me to the cross." ♫♪

I realized that, if I am truly honest, there are still many things that I am unwilling to surrender... and, if Jesus surrendered to the Father's will, so should I. Yes, so should I!

What a beautiful realization!

Saturday night came and we were chilling at home as a family when my girl noticed that #Yorkdale was trending on Twitter. 

Upon further investigation, we realized that gun violence had erupted there that night and one person died, another one wounded. The entire parking lot was on lock-down and it was chaotic, to say the least.

Well, Yorkdale is the mall our church meets at each and every Sunday! We rent the movie theatres there. What does this mean for the Easter Service that was set to happen there the very next day? Will we be allowed in? Will we have access to the parking lot? How will our church's truck/trailer unload all the gear if we aren't?

Lots of questions, no definite answers. We went to bed hoping to hear more concrete answers in the morning. Morning came, and the parking lot was still taped up... still considered a crime scene! We decided to drive over...

True enough, only a couple of parking lots were accessible... and we had to unload all our gear by the side of the road and wheel everything up to the nearest mall entrance and up to the theatres! 

Our community wasted no time and sprang into action, church was set-up, word spread on social media, a shuttle service was put in place to shuttle people from a nearby parking lot... I even had the opportunity to talk to a local reporter about our church! It was not, by any means, a typical Sunday morning at church! 

It was surreal --- having Easter Sunday service right in the middle of all this brokenness! But, isn't that what church is all about though? To be the beauty in the broken? To be wounded healers? To be a light in the darkness? 

Didn't Easter have to happen because of our brokenness?  

Didn't Jesus die because sin had left a crimson stain?

Didn't God so loved the whole world that He gave His Son?

Yes, yes and yes! 

Needless to say, I will remember this particular Easter Sunday for quite some time. I can truly say that it was the most meaningful Easter Sunday service that our family has ever had!

When it was all said and done, despite the challenges of accessing the mall, 220 people had joined us to celebrate Easter, not to mention the over 7,000 who attended cross-regionally at our church's other sites all across the province! Wow, just wow! Our God truly is good, He truly is awesome!!!

After the service, after all the gear has been loaded up into the church trailer, just before the truck pulled away... our team gathered by the side of Yorkdale Road (we still didn't have access to the parking lot at this time) and we gave thanks for a meaningful Easter service... and prayed for those affected by the gun violence there the previous night... and prayed that we would continue to be Jesus' hands and feet in and amongst the brokenness. 

As Chris Seay concluded in the book, A Place at the Table...

I encourage you to dream big. To see the problems of this world, the devastation of extreme poverty, and the many global crises we face, and to believe that God is leading us as His people to be His restoring hands that bring healing to the suffering.

At the end of the day, our greatest calling is to love God and to love our neighbor. My greatest struggle is to take myself and my selfish desires and ambitions out of the way and to replace those selfish desires with the desires of God.

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who paid my debt once for all... these are the things I am thankful for these two weeks... #2884 - #2893:

:: Grace that sustains through busy weeks.

:: A successful AIDS Care season at church... a God-sized result in spite of my lack of faith. 

:: Heart prepared for Easter by reading Chris Seay's A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor... a must-read!

:: A moving Good Friday service... a great message, thought-provoking and convicting.

:: Easter dinner with family.

:: A meaningful Easter Sunday service, having church amidst the brokenness of gun violence. Surreal... but what church should be all about! Thankful for a faith community that understands this reality.

:: Watching the finale of The Bible Series, on Easter Sunday evening... an absolutely reflective end to the Easter weekend. A must-see!

:: An extra day off!

:: A news article about my girl... a proud mama moment!

:: No available replacement parts for our stove, so the store is giving us a whole brand-spanking-new stove as part of their extended warranty program! Wow!

Hello Monday and hello April!

To move into His presence and listen to His love unending and know the grace uncontainable. This is the vault of the miracles. The only thing that can change us, the world, is this; all His love.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Choosing to live a surrendered life... because Christ's love compels me... and giving thanks for everything that my good God so freely bestows, so lavishly gives and so extravagantly showers!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Lenten Prayers

During this Lenten season, I am reading A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor by Chris Seay.

There are quite a few beautiful prayers within the book. Here are some...

God, we thank You for being near in a world filled with selfish ambition, where too often our tendency is to turn inward and contemplate our own desires despite the suffering that surrounds us. We live surrounded by a wealth that defies the imagination of our poorer brothers and sisters, yet we live with the fear that we will never have enough. Expand our hearts, Lord, that we may learn to truly love. 

May we put our hand to the plow and work as those who have a higher calling. In the days that come, Lord, reveal to us new patterns of living where our spiritual lives and work lives become an integrated whole. May all that we do be worship to You.

We acknowledge that out of the ashes of our lives You are bringing shalom. We believe You are calling us to be a part of Your shalom work in our own cities and across the globe. We ask You to lead us and guide us. We are called to be Your hands and feet. As representatives of Christ we believe we should carry Your message of love and grace into the dark places You came to restore, the places where disease and illness plague people. Lord, do not allow us to seek safe havens, to hide the news of Your gospel; instead, call us out so that Your Good News will be evident to all.

Amen, amen and amen!

I came across this video today and thought it's quite appropriate and in line with what I've been reading in this book.

If not us who will be like Jesus,

To the least of these.

If not us tell me who will be like Jesus,

Like Jesus to the least of these.

Boys become kings, girls will be queens,

Wrapped in Your majesty.

When we love, when we love the least of these.

Then they will be brave and free,

Shout your name in victory.

When we love when we love the least of these.

When we love the least of these!

And this week, my friend, favourite blogger and fellow Compassion Advocate Ann Voskamp and her family are in Haiti on a family missions trip! Today, they visited a Compassion Child Development Centre and a miracle unfolded! So, so, so beautiful! I love this one sentence from the blog post, "...compassion is always the rain that ends the drought."

Friends, during this season of Lent will you...?
Learn to truly love? Put your hand to the plow as one who has a higher calling? Be Christ's hands and feet? Love the least of these? Be the rain that ends the drought?

Will you sponsor a child today?

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Joy-Filled!

Loving this quote...

... from my God In The Moment desk calendar --- a collection of quotes from Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts.

Happy Sunday, friends!

Make sure to check back here tomorrow, Monday... because, with my 1,000 Gifts blog post will be a special announcement and a couple of giveaways! :-) 

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

22 Minutes to Joy!

Hello there, Friday!
Friends, do you have 22 minutes today? If you do, I highly recommend you watch this... {if you don't have 22 minutes right now... please be sure to come back later when you do... because I promise that this is worth spending your 22 minutes! :-)}

Isn't this just beautiful? What a gift this is from my friend, Ann Voskamp! Seeing my own name flash across the video screen had me relishing anew on just how much God loves!

"A-I-M-E-E." Loved one.

God is always good and I am always loved and eucharisteo has made me my truest self, "full of grace." Doesn't eucharisteo rename all God's children their truest name:

"Loved one."

~ Afterword by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Aimee is also the name of Ann's sister... the sister whose tragic death Ann wrote about in the starting pages of One Thousand Gifts. This tragedy that marked the beginning of Ann's journey towards full communion with God.

This book and the practice of eucharisteo has indeed transformed me. Eucharisteo has allowed me to see Grace every single day. Each new day, I am on the hunt for grace-gifts!

And... eucharisteo didn't need to rename me... yet, like Ann, I didn't live like I knew the true meaning of my name. Until this practice of eucharisteo, that is! It has made me my truest self, "loved one." Aimee --- it means loved one! :-)

I can't wait to watch the rest of the videos... there are four more parts to this! 

So much joy...
Watching Ann's video for the first time yesterday brought me so much joy! Friends, I hope it brings you to celebrate joy too... because God is always good and *you* are always loved!

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Affluence to Generosity

Yesterday...

I wrote about the abundant, overflowing and indescribable heart-blessings that God has so graciously showered our family with as a result of our sponsorship of children with Compassion International. It's truly been a spiritual journey like no other. It has stretched us, grown us, changed us!

I wouldn't trade it for anything else!

And honestly... having learned, over these past few years, to live simply so that we can give generously... we've found ourselves to be happier and more content! We certainly have realized how abundantly blessed we truly are... because even in giving away, we still don't lack anything materially-speaking. 

This is the reality of how abundantly blessed materially we all are --- those of us who live in this affluent society called the First World! Did you know that if you make $25,000/year, you are among the top 19% in the whole world? 

I am currently reading the book Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity by Ronald J. Sider and the paragraph I read just yesterday really stuck with me...

In a consumer society that increasingly measures a person's worth and importance by the amount of his or her material possessions, biblical Christians will reject materialism without falling into asceticism. They will delight in the splendor of the material world but not forget that things can not ultimately satisfy. They will enjoy the good earth and celebrate its abundance without neglecting sacrificial sharing with the needy. They will distinguish between necessities and luxuries. They will enjoy possessions while recognizing their seductive danger. When forced to choose between Jesus and possessions, they will gladly forsake the ring for the Beloved. {Page 105}

Forsake the ring for the Beloved!

Friends, it is my prayer that I will always forsake the ring for the Beloved! How about you?

In this affluent society that we live in, it is so easy to get lured into the trap of wanting more... and justifying those luxuries into necessities. May we always seek to be biblical Christians... may we always choose to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.

On this Saturday...
I urge you to take 23 minutes of your time to watch this newly released short film from Compassion International called Rescuing the Future:



Friends, I hope that this video will help you move from affluence to generosity... to forsake the ring for the Beloved... because the abundant joy that results from giving away and reaching out to the needy is something truly worth celebrating!

This month of October, I am participating in a blog link up called 31 Day Series. I will be writing about Celebrating JOY! Click on the banner below for 1000+ other topics! 

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

It's Finally The Week...

Friends, this weekend... this Saturday...
It will finally be the day for Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy!!!

This past week, a friend posted something on Facebook that captivated me. It's an excerpt from the book called Free of Charge by Miroslav Volf. Here it is...

... if we believe that God has given us everything, then giving will be our way of living... earning and possessing will become folded into giving. God gives us life, powers, and abilities, and so we earn and possess. We'll earn and possess so we can give, as when we share our food with the hungry: we'll give even while earning, as when we create goods and offer services with dedication, care, and wisdom; and we'll give even by possessing, as when we open our home for others to enjoy. Earning and possessing are not just a bridge between our desires and their satisfaction. They are a midpoint in the flow of gifts: from God to us, and through us to others. We give because we have been given to: we don't let others simply fend for themselves because we haven't been left to fend for ourselves.

Friends, this quote sums up why our family said "Yes!" to making this benefit event happen!

... because God has given us everything.
... because we shouldn't let others simply fend for themselves.
... because we want to be one of the midpoints in the flow of gifts
               ~ from God, to us ~ through us, to others.

Will you join us this Saturday, friends?
Let's link arms... and together we can be a midpoint in the flow of gifts... from God, to us... through us, to the families that rely on a Compassion International project called Patnubay Child Development Centre in the island of Masbate, in the Philippines. Join us? It will be *so awesome* to celebrate joy with you!!!

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... for gifts from a God who gives so generously thus compelling me to become a midpoint of that flow of gifts... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1564 - #1569:

:: Trusting that HE who promised is faithful and that this will bring glory to Him alone... Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy... happening this Saturday, September 29th, right here in Toronto! It's now just a few days away, friends!!! Will you come celebrate with us?

:: A great week for ticket sales... we are now projecting at least 550 people in attendance at Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy!

:: A good week away at Leadership Camp for my girl.

:: Time to work on the video, the programme layout, the info sheet... for Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy.

:: Wednesday night dinner with hubby at Chipotle.

:: A nice Saturday morning drive up to the farm to get some meats.

Happy Monday, friends!

This week, this... on counting blessings and discovering God!

Count blessings and discover Who can be counted on.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

Click on the banner below for more Multitudes on Mondays posts...

Jump in... I promise you will be blessed!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Dear Fifteen-Year-Old Me

Hey there! It's me... the older version of you. It feels a little strange writing to you... well, because it is twenty six years later now. What feels even stranger is... now that I'm in my 40s {which was my mother's age back then}, it doesn't really feel that old. At least not as old as you'd thought it would be!

This is kind of back-to-the-future-ish, don't you think? Well, bear with me... because I think you'll like what I have to say!

First of all, do you want to know what's so cool? My beautiful daughter is exactly as old as you are! Yes, fifteen... which is precisely why I knew I had to write this letter!

You see... my baby girl... she is nothing like you! Well, maybe the brains part of her... she's like you. :-) Other than that though... nothing. like. you. at. all!

My beautiful daughter!

While you were such a shy and introverted girl, even to the point of not talking for long periods of time at school... my girl, on the other hand, isn't afraid to strike up a conversation with just about anyone! In fact, she says that her hobby is talking! :O

You'll be amazed to know that God's grace truly is sufficient. Though still a true introvert, this older version of you has been stepping out of her comfort zone lately... to the point of agreeing to share her story as part of the Ordinary Radicals teaching series at church this past Summer!

While you had low self-esteem and didn't quite feel that you fit in most times... my girl, on the other hand, is one who is very confident in her own skin! She has a radiant personality and fits right into any situation or people group.

You'll be relieved to know that God has given this older version of you lots of confidence... that He who began a good work in her will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!

While you couldn't even run a short distance without feeling cramps in your stomach... my girl, on the other hand, plays on her school's basketball team!

You'll be happy to know that this older version of you runs a race now... running in such a way as to get the prize... running with perseverance, fixing her eyes on Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of her faith. But she only still just takes long walks for her exercise. Still no running! :-)

While your worldview didn't include much, other than benefiting your own self... my girl, on the other hand, wants to change the world!

You'll be encouraged to know that God will transform your worldview... so that this older version of you now understands what it means to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him. Among other things, this transformed worldview has been expressed through child sponsorships... and most recently, happening right now actually... through a project called Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy!

While you struggled to grasp the reality that God is good and found it hard to believe that God can be a loving Heavenly Father... my girl, on the other hand, rests in the knowledge that she is a daughter of the King, mostly because God has given her an awesome earthly daddy as an example!

You'll be happy to know that this older version of you has finally grasped how wide and long and high and deep God's love is for her... mostly from a gift God has graciously given her, the grace of her life... but also from discovering for herself that she is a beloved one... that God is always good and she is always loved!

So why am I writing to you about all these things?
Two words. God's grace! You might not yet see it... but it doesn't mean that God isn't already at work.

In just two short years, you will leave the life that you've known since birth. You will move half-way around the world to a foreign country called Canada. You will start a new life.

It is where this older version of you still live today... twenty four years later! Yes, you've actually now lived more years here than you have in the Philippines! You've become 100% Canadian now... hard to believe, eh? :-)

It is in this new country, in its education system, where you will learn to slowly come out of your shy shell and start to have confidence in yourself.

It is in this new country, in the several faith communities you belonged to, where you will learn what it means to run God's race and what it means to have a Christian worldview.

In just three short years after relocating to this foreign country, the man your soul loves will come after you and three years after that, you will marry him! {Side note: Ignore all those boys right now because they don't compare to the best that God has for you. :-)}

It is in this marriage, soon after your baby girl was born, that you start to grasp God's goodness and start to understand that He truly is, and always has been, a loving Heavenly Father and that you, too, are a daughter of a King!

It is in this marriage, through the good and the bad, that you finally understood God's relentless love for you... that He truly is always good and that you truly are always loved!

Knowing and following hard after God has enabled you and your hubby to parent your baby girl God's way. And by God's grace, she has grown up to be a beautiful girl, not only on the outside, but more importantly on the inside! By the way, she will soon be followed by a bouncing baby boy... who is now 12 years old... a young man with a special heart! You are truly blessed!

See? Didn't I say that you'll like what I have to say?
In recent years, this older version of you has come to love the writings of Ann Voskamp. So, I'll end this letter with one of the quotes from her book, One Thousand Gifts:

The secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is.

Beautiful, right? I hope you'll take that to heart and know that God is always good, that you are always, always, always loved!

Love,

This Older Version of You.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

To Love Radically...

In Shane Claiborne's book... The Irresistible Revolution {Living as an Ordinary Radical}, he writes:

I saw the gospel with new eyes. One of the texts that had always given me trouble was John 14:12: "Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." You shall do even greater things? Here's the Son of the Almighty, God incarnate, telling us ragtag disciples that we will do the same things he has been doing. I don't know about you, but I haven't raised anyone from the dead lately. I haven't seen anyone turn water into wine. And I hadn't healed any lepers. Even though I touched them, they still went home lepers at the end of the day.

It wasn't that Jesus healed a leper but that he touched a leper, because no one touched lepers. And the incredible thing about that love is that it now lives inside of us. In the verses just after the one about the greater things, Jesus assured us that the Spirit now lives in us. Jesus says that he is going to the Father but will also remain inside of us, and we in him. We are the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus to the world. Christ is living inside of you and me, walking the earth. We shall do even greater things because the love that lived in the radical Christ now lives within millions of ordinary radicals all over the planet.

~ Shane Claiborne, The Irresistible Revolution, pages 84-85.

To be an ordinary radical is to love radically... like Christ did when He walked the earth... like He still does now with His unfathomable love for each one of us!

My thoughts, on this beautiful, sunny Wednesday... {as I link up with the community over at A Holy Experience on The Practice of New Habits... as a whole community of bloggers Walk with Him and write about a spiritual practice that draws us nearer to God's heart each Wednesday....} are centered on learning how to love radically... a habit that we can certainly all practice anew each and every day!

One way our family is practicing this very habit right now is by obeying when God called us to spear-head this... Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy, with Ann Voskamp... happening exactly one month from today --- Saturday, September 29, right here in Toronto!

Will YOU come celebrate with us?

Friends, it has not been easy... sometimes, it has felt a tad bit overwhelming... yet, it has thoroughly been an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything!

Yesterday, I had another one of those freak-out moments... I tell ya, I am thankful for a daughter who is mature beyond her age. She truly helped me through my freak-out-session yesterday, reminding me that God is in control... and that all we need to do is follow His leading!

Ah, His grace truly is sufficient... and sometimes, like yesterday, it comes in the form of a beautiful, 15-year-old daughter whom He's given just the right words to say! I am truly blessed. ♥

Happy Wednesday, friends...

Our happiness comes, too, not in the having, but in the handing over. Give your life away in exchange for many lives, give away your blessings to multiply blessings, give away so that many might increase, and do it all for the love of God.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Click on the banner below to read more Walk With Him posts every Wednesday...

I promise you will be blessed!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!