Seeing God Everywhere

I want to see God who gives gifts in hospital, and gravesides, and homeless shelters, and refugee camps, and in rain falling on sunflowers, and stars falling over hayfields, and silver scales glinting upriver, and sewage flowing downriver. Eucharisteo is everywhere and I want to see eucharisteo everywhere, and I want to remember how badly I really want to see.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

How badly do I want to see?

On Friday evening this past week, our family participated in a Sandwich Run with an organization called Project417 where we distributed bagged lunches to people who call the streets home. I wasn't at all prepared for what I was going to see... today, it is three days later and I am still shaken!

Putting together sandwiches...

We started the afternoon off by driving to pick up juice boxes donated by someone from our church... juice boxes that will go into the lunch bags we're preparing for the Sandwich Run.

Then we headed home where my kids and I put together 80 bologna and cheese sandwiches. We packed them in coolers and our whole family headed downtown to meet a few other families from our church!

Putting together the lunch bags...

In the middle of a downtown parking lot, we put together the lunch bags... one sandwich, a juice box, an apple and a granola bar. Then we headed off to meet the person who would take us on this Sandwich Run.

He drove us around the downtown core. One of our stops was beside the Gardiner Expressway, an elevated highway, running above Lake Shore Boulevard.

The Gardiner Expressway

Our guide parked the van and asked two or three of us to get out and walk with him. As we started to cross Lake Shore Boulevard on foot, I remember wondering where we were headed as there were no homeless people in sight.

We kept walking underneath The Gardiner... on muddy ground with overgrown weeds... until we got to the point where the on-ramp to The Gardiner from Lake Shore Boulevard intersected.

Our guide poked around underneath the on-ramp... and at this point, I could start to smell the odour of urine. Not too long after, out came a person from underneath the on-ramp. Friends, a person!

As my hubby and our friend from church started handing out lunch bags, I just stood there frozen. Literally not being able to believe or process what I'd just witnessed. There are apparently seven individuals in there... this place is their home! We later learned that these people live in this place... all year long, even during the Winter months!

Walking back to the van was tough... I could hardly contain my tears. Such injustice, such atrocity... in a city as affluent as Toronto!

The next few stops took us around the streets and parks of downtown Toronto where we met dozens of street-involved folks. Very quickly, the 80 lunch bags we brought were gone! We could have easily given out 20-30 more bags. It was truly an eye-opening experience.

Where is the gift here? Where is God?
Well, friends... I am grateful for organizations like Project417 and places like The Salvation Army Gateway {one of the other stops on our route} for their commitment to being Jesus’ hands and feet to people who call the streets home. Our family is encouraged by the work that these organizations do and we count it a blessing to be able to partner with them in any way we can!

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with a grateful heart... for gifts from a God who is always good... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1495 - #1501:

:: That God continues to break our family's heart for the things that break His.

:: More momentum building for Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy... as we dream big and pray lots!

:: My boy's fresh haircut! :-)

:: Learning from a group of fellow Compassion Advocates during a training session over the phone this week.

:: Dinner out and catching up with a great friend!

:: A lazy Saturday spent at home.

:: The opportunity to share our family's story as part of the Ordinary Radicals teaching series at church. {A huge *thank you* to everyone who supported me through prayer as I stepped out of my comfort zone to do this. Friends, you have no idea how much your prayers meant to me! This introvert sister-friend of yours is forever grateful!} 

Happy Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am, to a new week of seeing God in the every detail of your every-days!

That is what I am made for - to give Him more glory. More eucharisteo, more. And not only yesterday. But today - Manna today or I starve.

~ 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!

Remembering...

In recollecting all the goodnesses of God — all the brokenness in us re-collects. We are put back together. We are re-membered. We heal.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

We are re-membered. We heal.

This day, I am remembering... to exactly one year ago when our family woke up to Day #1 in the Philippines.

Here's one of the stories from that very first day... it also goes on to recount some of our experiences during those three weeks that God used to break our hearts for the things that break His!

One year later... today... we are re-membered. Our hearts have somewhat healed... emotions are not as raw. Yet, as with the healing of skin tissue... it's always re-membered in a new way, healed but with a reminder of what was once there.

And so it is with our family... as we learned, this past year, to live out this new normal... to be intentional about not slipping back into what's comfortable, to not forget what we saw.

This, though not easy, is a gift indeed... the goodness of God so evident!

One of the ways we are living out this new normal is putting this together... Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy! Will you join us? Will you come?

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with a grateful heart... for gifts from a God who is always good... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1487 - #1494:

:: The gift of remembering... and being re-membered, healed.

:: More momentum building for Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy... as we dream big and pray lots!

:: Fun evening spent with our Lead Pastor here at our home.

:: For a Lead Pastor who is patient as we prepare for an opportunity to tell my family's story as part of the Ordinary Radicals teaching series. {I ask for your prayers, friends... as this introvert steps out of her comfort zone and faces an audience that could easily be in the thousands... truly, only by the grace of God.}

:: A Meeting House Home Church being birth in our home this Fall. Exciting!

:: My girl getting a haircut and donating her hair {for the third time now!} to make wigs for cancer patients.

:: Spending Friday afternoon with my sisters and their families at the Toronto Music Garden.

:: Then, Saturday afternoon at the Royal Botanical Gardens with my boys!

Happy Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am, to a new week of remembering, and being re-membered!

This is what I want.

This kingdom laden with glory, this, the pearl of great price, the field I'd sell everything to possess. This is the pearl that crams me with a happiness that throbs, serrated edge, pit open wide for more of His glory. The only place we have to come before we die is the place of seeing God and I remember and this is what I'm famished for.

More of God-glory.

~ 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!

A Day of Becoming Undone...

I am an emotional wreck today. I think I've felt this coming for days now... yet, I never expected it to hit me like a ton of bricks... like it did today.

You see, the past few days I've been thinking back to one year ago this week... when our family left for a self-guided missions immersion trip to the Philippines. We came home broken... somehow changed... not to be the same ever again. This year has truly been a journey towards living out and reconciling with this new normal... of having seen, of having known, of being broken, of responding, of living!

Island of Masbate, Philippines... where our Compassion child, Florianlyn, lives.

This morning, I woke up to these two Bible verses posted literally one after the other by friends on Facebook...

This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:10, The Message.

"He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord. ~ Jeremiah 22:16, NLT.

Are you seeing a theme? Me? Yup, I sure am! :-)

We are blessed, in order to bless! As Ann Voskamp so eloquently writes in her book One Thousand Gifts... "God calls me to do thanks. To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received."

Or as Richard Stearns says in his book The Hole in our Gospel, "God had not turned His back on the poor in their suffering. God had sent us."

Am I living each day as a sent one of God?
Friends, are you? This is what got me... I am addicted to comfort. I give to the poor and needy from my excess. Yes, we already give away a lot... but we're not lacking anything, are we? In fact, we still have many luxuries to enjoy!

How is that doing justice? How is that loving mercy? How is that walking humbly with my God?

This is a life-long lesson... this denying one's self, this picking up one's cross, this following Jesus! I can only be thankful for grace... for my Heavenly Father's amazing grace.

And then, this afternoon... Ann Voskamp posts a blog post... one she wrote after coming home to Canadian soil... after seeing and experiencing Haiti with a team from Compassion Canada. She titles it... The 1 Thing You Really have to Know About Your Family. As I read, tears just fell... it was the start of me becoming undone! It reminded me of what I wrote the day after visiting our Compassion LDP Student, Rochelle, in the slums of Cebu City, Philippines... where she lives.

And who does Ann refer to as part of my family? You guessed it... the poor and the needy. They are family too!

Street children. Manila, Philippines.

Ann pens words that describes my heart... here's a snippet... 

I’m angry at me.

Angry at how much I want comfortable more than I want Christ.

I feel sick that I feel so angry.

Sick... that I don’t want to be a witness, that I want someone else be an uncomfortable voice for the poor.

Why would we rather turn a blind eye to the needy than turn to the needy and be like Christ? Do we like our own wants and comfort more than we want to be like Christ?

Where is the Spirit who interprets all these impossible groans? What is the solution to poverty in this world? What in the world do we all do?

You don’t leave your kin to save your own skin.

You don’t stay in the palace if you want anybody to find deliverance – especially yourself.

You don’t forget who your brother is — when you know Who your Father is.

When you are born again into the Kingdom of God, how can you ever again forget your kin? Part of the solution to poverty is doing whatever it takes to get your heart to stay with the poor.

There may be miles between the rich and the poor, but how can there be distance in the family of God.

Wow, right? So powerful and beautiful, convicting and thought-provoking, all at the same time!

Friends, let's not skip the hard parts.

Let's live lives that aren't marked with ease and comfort. Let's not leave our kin to save our skin. Let's not stay in the palace. Let's not forget who our Kingdom family members are!

Our Lead Pastor shared a devotional with us a couple of Sundays ago and I thought it's very appropriate to end this blog post with it. It's entitled Where Your Treasure Is and it's from Henry T. Blackaby's Experiencing God Day by Day Devotional. Here it is:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)

What you value most is your treasure. Where you spend your time and your money is your treasure. Whatever dominates your conversation is what you treasure. What others know you for is a good indication of what your treasure is.

Most Christians are quick to claim that God is their first priority. Yet often their actions reveal that their treasure is not God but things of this world. Some Christians find it difficult to discuss their relationship with God, but they can chatter easily about their family, friends, or hobbies. Some find it impossible to rise early in order to spend time with God, but they willingly get up at dawn to pursue a hobby. Some find it difficult to give an offering to God but readily spend lavishly on recreation. Some boldly approach strangers to sell a product, yet they are painfully timid in telling others about their Savior. Some give hundreds of hours to serve in volunteer organizations but feel they have no time available to serve God.

If you are unsure of where your treasure is, examine where you spend your available time and money. Reflect on what it is you most enjoy thinking about and discussing. Ask your friends to tell you what they think is most important to you. Ask your children to list the things most valuable to you. It may surprise you to know what others consider to be your treasure.

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

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Everything is Eucharisteo

Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in Milton, Ontario.

What in the world, in all this world, is grace?

All is grace.

I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and I am saved and I see through the woods of the world: God is always good and I am always loved.

God is always good and I am always loved.

Everything is eucharisteo.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Everything *is* eucharisteo, friends!

This week has definitely been a beautiful example of this truth!

From experiencing Haiti, not only all the pain and suffering but more importantly, the hope that our Haitian brothers and sisters possess... through my computer screen by following Ann Voskamp and an Advocate Team from Compassion Canada... by reading What You Really Need to Know Before You Step Out into the World... to witnessing How the American Dream becomes Christmas in July... to seeing Haitian children sponsored within minutes of Ann posting their photos on Facebook... I went from shedding tears, to smiling, to praising, to worshiping God... He *truly* is always good and truly, everything *is* eucharisteo!

From feeling the joy seeing my boy and his friend work on a presentation about the Millennium Development Goals to present at the school board level... to oozing happiness hearing my girl invite her friend to participate in doing compassion initiatives with our church... to putting my thoughts together for this blog post on being a Missional Mom... He *truly* is always good and truly, everything *is* eucharisteo!

From digesting two teaching pieces by Dr. Andrew Farley and relishing in the truth that just His grace alone is truly enough for me... to learning more about our church's Anabaptist roots and being challenged anew by the fact that we are part of a Kingdom that has given us a radical counter-cultural mission in this world... He *truly* is always good and truly, everything *is* eucharisteo!

From seeing momentum build for the Eucharisteo Benefit Concert that our family is putting together in order to build a Compassion Child Development Centre in the Philippines... to seeing many come forward with sponsorship money for this purpose... to many others taking piles and piles of tickets to help sell... to experiencing a few cold receptions and non-responses... He *truly* is always good and truly, everything *is* eucharisteo!

From saying goodbye to my parents as they end their visit with us... to spending a couple hours helping a friend pack for a move... to experiencing the beauty of God's creation at Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area... to a beautiful Saturday morning spent walking in the forest and hanging out by the lakeside... He *truly* is always good and truly, everything *is* eucharisteo!

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with a grateful heart... for gifts from a God who is always good... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1477 - #1486:

:: Momentum building for Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy... dreaming big and praying lots!
:: Summer basketball for my girl.
:: Visiting with a new friend.
:: Dinner with my parents before they left.
:: Time to read...
:: Lighter work load at work during the summer months.
:: Planning for our summer vacation.
:: Being outdoors and in nature.
:: Everyone in the family serving at church on Sunday morning.
:: A meeting to wrap-up the ministry year at church and seeing God's goodness and His grace!

Happy Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am, to a new week of being awed by a God who is always good and who always loves!

I am of chronic soul amnesia, ever the losing of memory, ever the surprise of remembering, circling again into the old new ways, always re-found. I empty of truth and need the refilling. I need come again every day, bend, clutch and remember, for who can gather the manna but once, hoarding, and mind store away sustenance for all of their living?

~ 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!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Missional Motherhood

Ann Voskamp and her oldest son, Caleb, are in Haiti this week with Compassion Canada. Today, she writes a letter to her son... What You Really Need to Know Before Your Step Out into the World... beautiful, beautiful, beautiful blog post... a must read, especially if you are a mom!

This is how our God is known from all the other gods, for standing with the weak. Who will be strong enough to do this? Will you be known what our God is known for and love who God loves and give to the poor like God gives? The greatest steps out into the world never step away from the poor. {from Ann's blog post}

What a heart-warming, thought-provoking, God-honouring letter... same words I would've love to write to my own children if I was as gifted a writer as Ann, that is... so, I will just have my children read Ann's blog post instead! :-) My little man is actually reading it right now as I blog...

Because the thing is: I don’t want you to get all A’s in life. I want you to get life. I want you to get God. {from Ann's blog post}

Yes, that... it's my prayer too... the cry of my heart... to raise two truly great kids!

Learning about creation at the Creation Museum (Petersburg, Kentucky), 2007.

Speaking of raising up truly great children... two weekends ago, I had the privilege of hearing Helen Lee, author of the book The Missional Mom, teach at a conference for moms called Redefining Motherhood. What a treat!

It was very encouraging to hear that hubby and I are indeed parenting in a way that pleases God... in a way that will launch our kids into greatness, not as the world defines great to be... but great in God's Kingdom.

Admiring God's creation at Peggy's Cove (Halifax, Nova Scotia), 2006.

Packing Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, 2007.

Helen Lee started her talk off with this question: What are the hopes and dreams you have for your children? My answer: To be great in God's Kingdom.

Such a simple answer... yet, not easy to be lived out, especially in a society where we feel pressured to fit into a certain mold, to conform to the patterns of this self-absorbed, materialistic world. But what does God want for us? This...

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:2, NIV 1984.

Packing care packs for the homeless. Christmas, 2008.

In her talk, Helen Lee suggested Four "R"s that will help us to redefine motherhood... to become more missional in our approach. Here they are...

1. Reduce Busyness:

~ An acronym for BUSY is this: Burdened Under Satan's Yoke.
~ We need to ruthlessly eliminate hurry in our family's life.
~ Don't become so busy with the things of this world that we settle for a mediocre version of our faith.

2. Reject Success:

~ If we aim for success as the world defines success, we will soon see that someone will always have more than us!
~ We need to look at success {the world's definition} as something that we graciously accept if God chooses to bless us in that way. It should never be our life's goal.

3. Recalibrate the Centre:

~ God should be the centre of our family.
~ Our children need to see faith authentically lived out in our family.
~ There needs to be a tangible difference in how a family of faith lives versus how an unbelieving family lives.

4. Reclaim God's Mission:

~ God has a dream for each one of us.
~ God is on-mission. Where is God sending you? 

Christmas cookies for our local fire fighters. Christmas, 2007.

Shoebox Time! Fall, 2008.

Donating her hair to make wigs for cancer patients. Summer, 2009.

Helen Lee also shared eight markers of a missional family... how our lives can become missional outposts... a conduit from which blessings flow to those who are in need... a family with a Kingdom purpose!

A backpack drive for needy kids... my boy's 10th birthday party!
September, 2010.

Leading their school to pack over 450 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.
Fall, 2010.

First marker of a missional family... GENEROSITY... living simply and giving generously... marked by sacrificial living.

Trick-or-Canning! Halloween, 2010.

Second marker of a missional family... SENSITIVITY... asking God to help us see what He wants us to see... hearts broken for the things that break God's heart.

Dinner for homeless folks. Christmas, 2010.

Third marker of a missional family... UTILITY... each person using their gifts as service to God.

Christmas presents for inner-city children. Christmas, 2010.

Fourth marker of a missional family... DIVERSITY... taking intentional steps to building relationships with people who are different than us... with people who make us uncomfortable... stepping out of our comfort zone.

Using his Christmas money to buy socks and underwear for the homeless.
January, 2011.

Fifth marker of a misisonal family... HOSPITALITY... realizing that we are blessed beyond measure... using the blessings we have received to bless others... inviting people into our lives.

Serving a meal to the homeless. January 2011.

Sixth marker of a missional family... COMMUNITY... we need to be on-mission with community. {Side note: This is why we are so thankful for our church family!}

"... nothing can be called missional until the mission of God is defined, which means nothing can be called missional until it is connected to Jesus and the kingdom of God/the Age to Come, and nothing can be missional if it is not shaped through the local church." ~ Scot McKnight.

Helping to cube cheese for a homeless dinner. January 2011.

Seventh marker of a missional family... HUMILITY... asking God to show us what's best... where He would like us to go... to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with Him.

Missions immersion trip to the Philippines. Summer 2011.

Eighth marker of a missional family... INTREPIDITY... to be bold, to be radical, to be brave!

Venturing into the slums of Cebu City where our Compassion LDP student lives.
Summer 2011.

Hand-pumping water in the Philippines. Summer, 2011.

It was a great conference... lots to ponder, to digest... and to put into action! I learned that missional motherhood will produce children who are... compassionate, creative, humble, justice-seeking, spirit-led, righteous and self-sacrificial. The very values I want my kids to possess!

Shoebox Packing Party! Fall, 2011.

Packing care packages for the homeless instead of getting gifts.
Christmas, 2011.

Serving dinner to the homeless with our church family.
February, 2012.

A BBQ for inner-city children. May, 2012.

A letter-writing evening... writing our sponsor children. Spring, 2012.

What will our family's story be? 

How about you, friend? What will your family's story be?

What would the world look like if Christians didn’t care about keeping up with the Joneses but about keeping company with Christ?

Maybe we could be brave enough to be different, have less and be more, and change the world?

~ Ann Voskamp.

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

A Thing of Beauty

Snippets of our Living Room.

All that is, is permitted by God; I may see ugly, but because it pleases God, it is a thing of beauty. Then is there much of anything in this world that is truly ugly? That is curse?

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

I am pondering the above quote today... particularly this phrase... "Then is there much of anything in this world that is truly ugly? That is curse?" Is there?

This past Saturday, our family had the opportunity to help a friend move. Then we had a late lunch with another friend and his young son, and spent all afternoon and into the early evening with them. Both families have one thing in common... the breakdown of marriage... the ugly.

Yet throughout the day... I saw beautiful things... rising up from the ugly... that quiet joy, the support of a best friend, a faith community coming alongside one who's hurting, that peace that surpasses understanding, a career change into ministry, a strengthened bond between father and son.

All that and more... beauty arising out of ashes... the grace of God in the realest form! In light of this... then, there really isn't anything much in this world that is truly ugly, is there? What an amazing thought... what a reassuring truth for those of us who are Christ-followers!

Speaking of the ugly-beautiful... this week I am stalking my computer and following a team from Compassion Canada, travelling to Haiti for the first time after the earthquake struck two plus years ago! I am particularly excited about this trip because Ann Voskamp and her son are a part of this team. Plus, our family is super excited as a small birthday package from us is travelling with the team... for our Haitian Compassion child, Bell Bradley... one whom we'd love to meet face-to-face one day! :-)

Ann and her son Caleb are there primarily to visit the Child Survival Program that Caleb funded with sales from his Advent wreaths... I am awed by this young man's heart... a heart broken for the things that break God's heart! What an awesome example and role model!

So many things to look forward to this week... as I continue to count grace-gifts, with a grateful heart... for gifts from a God who transfigures all into beautiful things... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1469 - #1476:

:: We are full speed ahead in the promotion of Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy... dreaming big and praying lots!
:: Summer routine off to a good start!
:: My girl enjoying accelerated Summer school.
:: A family outing to the Cheltenham Badlands.
:: A Saturday spent helping and being with friends.
:: Enjoying birthday cake with my sister-in-law.
:: Awesome Sunday spent with our church family at church in the morning and at a park in the afternoon.
:: A Sunday evening trotting around downtown Toronto.

At the Cheltenham Badlands.

Happy Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am, to a new week of being awed by a God who transfigures all things into beauty!

God does not "willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men" (Lamentations 3:33 NIV), but labors to birth grief into greater grace, transfigure ugly into beauty, gestates darkness into new life.

~ 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!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!

Summer's Here!

RCMP Musical Ride (Photo from 2005)
We saw this on Canada Day 2005... it's still one of my
favourite Canada Day presentations!

First of all... Happy Canada Day, friends!!! Our family feels tremendously blessed to be living in this beautiful country... ranked within the top ten best countries to live in the world! My prayer today goes much like how the song I Will Go by Starfield goes...

Let me not be blind with privilege;
Give me eyes to see the pain.
Let the blessing You've poured out on me;
Not be spent on me in vain.
Let this life be used for change.

Yes, let this life be used for change!

It was yet another awesome Sunday morning at church yesterday, on Canada Day! We had a visiting teacher, Dr. Andrew Farley. He taught on the topic of grace, God's amazing grace! 

My role is to wake up everyday & say "Thank you, God!"

~ Dr. Andrew Farley.

With a grateful heart... for a Good God who gives good gifts... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1458 - #1468:

:: A great end to another school year.
:: Celebrating two seriously amazing school report cards!
:: Summer basketball training.
:: Delivering snacks to UrbanPromise for their summer day camps.
:: Excellent medical care that's free!
:: Start of CSA season at our local farm.
:: My boy chatting with Farmer Paul about our backyard veggie garden.
:: An opportunity to hear Helen Lee teach about missional motherhood.
:: This beautiful country, Canada!
:: Family visiting...
:: Quiet Holiday Monday spent at home.

Happy Monday, friends!

May you be looking forward, as I am, to a new week of resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ!

He takes the empty hands and draws me in close to the thrum of the full Love. "You may suffer loss, but in Me is anything ever lost, really? Isn't everything that belongs to Christ also yours? Loved ones lost still belong to Him - then aren't they still yours? Do I not own the cattle on a thousand hills; everything? Aren't then all provisions, in Christ, also yours? If you haven't lost Christ, child, nothing is ever lost."

~ 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!

Unwrapping more of His love in this world.

Act justly.  Love mercy.  Walk humbly with God!