God is so neat

So, we deliberated over spending money and popping down to the nearest city (2 hours away) for a night at a fun hotel and a visit to the science centre and golf course etc. Casting our frugal inclinations to the wind we decided it would be a great weekend to go and off we went. I had made reservations for a restaurant at the golf course for Sat night and after our visit to the Science centre that afternoon we headed off to the restaurant with google maps in my head. . . Lo and behold we could not find the place for the life of us. I had the intructions vaguely in my head and I could not find my bunch of maps I'd printed off. So, finally we give up and try some restaurants on the periphial of the city. All of the ones we stopped at had long wait times. An hour later starving and considering resorting to fast food we decided to go to the downtown core where our hotel was and where there were a bunch of neat restaurants that we assumed would be just as busy. But no, they weren't. In fact the restaurant we were in had only one other couple in the room with us.

Dan and I decided to share a greek platter, but had to agree whether we would have rice, potatoes, or pasta. I declared to the waiter that we would have the pasta as i don't care for rice or potatoes much. Dan rolled his eyes and made some snide comment about me making the "mutual" decision. The waiter laughed and made a comment about his wife doing the same thing. I just shook my head in mock dismay, for I really am not that controlling of a person (just sometimes :))

Anyway, it was a quiet meal. Didn't really talk to the waiter too much, but Dan suggested that we leave him a large tip to take his wife out. There was no 'logical' reason for that. Just something he had the urge to do. I thought that was a great idea. After supper I took the kids ahead and walked back to the hotel while Dan payed the bill and drove the car back to the hotel. When Dan finally arrived he told me that he gave the waiter a large tip and asked him if he had any kids. The waiter told him that he had one and it was the reason he and his wife were still together. He went on and told them that he and his wife were in couselling trying to work on their marriage. . . Dan then told him that the reason why he gave him a large tip was so that he could take his wife out. The guy looked at Dan strangely and told him that tonight was the first time they have had a chance to to go out alone in a long long time and that he was taking her out that very night. Dan's response was a laugh and then,'It looks like God's got you covered then.' And then he went on his way. . .

God is so complicatedly amazing!!! In other words, hard to comprehend His ways. The timing, the placement, the strategy of His love!

Deep Thoughts

"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes."

by Jack Handy

I am free to love without condition

So guys, I am really excited right now. Just had to get up out of bed, cause my mind was spinning with delight. You should have seen it. . . Anyway, I've been reading Steve McVey's 'The Divine Invitation' and finally got to the last chapter tonight. I have to say the last 2 chapters of the extended version are the ones that hit me most profoundly. He saved the best for last (in my humble opinion - hardy har har). So, I get to the last chapter and all he is speaking about is loving unconditionally. And I start to see that 'Yes! This is what I want to do!' For some reason I have been under some illusion that I had to practice restraint and discernment with whom I would actually love. Now, I am naturally a reserved person, so I am not saying I am going to go up hugging every person I see and pouring out lavish words of affirmation. But something is different. I wish I could explain what i am feeling better. Let me just say that I feel that I have been hindered, in some way bound from being permitted to love the unlovely. There are various reasons I am sure, but part of it must have felt like a work and part of it felt that it was unwise. What utter nonsense. Just cause a person is going down stupid road doesn't mean that I shouldn't lavish love upon them. And any person i am free to love. Can you believe it?! Can you believe that I haven't felt free to love unconditionally?! I don't really understand it myself. All I know now is that this is my hearts longing. I desire to pour out His love (the way He loves me) upon any and everyone! This is my desire. I want Him to just pour through me. That is it. What an utter privelege. By all means, feel free to ask Him to keep me in the light of this love of His. This is good stuff. I don't feel obligated anymore. I don't know why I felt obligated before, but suffice it to say that I sure like this freedom I am experiencing!

There you go.

To Love and Feed People

I get such a kick out of the name of this cookbook. . . You can see the point is: If you love someone why would you feed them garbage? Well, at least that is what I get from it. There is much food out there, being prepared by massive corporations, that is being consumed by the vast majority of North America, much to their physical demise. Much to their demise because the foods are filled with toxins and shortcuts and sucked dry of almost any natural nutrient. It looks good, but appearances can be quite deceptive. . . Much of what a person eats nowadays is artificial or tainted. And you can see the results walking around us and in the hospitals around us everyday. Gee, I sound like a health freak. But I say this because I see the parallels in the spirit. The core reason why we are receiving and eating this substandard food is greed. Not necessarily personal greed, but greed of a large entity that is unable to function out of love and therefore produces fruit worthy of it's tree. It is so large and the benefits of producing cheap filler is so much more enticing than the thought of benefitting the one to whom it goes.

We have a friend who loves to quote the phrase,'What happens is the natural happens in the spirit.'

How true it is. How many people are fed toxic belief, which they tend to assume is adaquate nourishment? But if they were to see the actual effect it has on a body they would be much more likely to turn to truly nutritious food. Garbage in garbage out. . . It is the ones who have seen the negative consequences of consuming toxic food who "radically" call the devil's bluff for the sake of letting the consumers know that there is a greater way. Feed on Jesus. Drink of Him. Stop imbibing these in TOXIC ating poisons. . .

It is the reason for these blogs. HE is the reason for these blogs. To be a voice in the wilderness. To call out to those who have been travelling the road of false beginnings and feeding off the lies of the destroyer. To speak truth where there has been lies. To speak life where there has been death. To speak freedom where there has been condemnation. To speak joy where there has been sorrow. This is our call, our natural inclination which stems from tasting and seeing the Lord is good. We are no longer compelled by obligation. We are compelled by love. And therefore, we walk as our firstborn brother walks, with the simple desire to love and feed as we ourselves have been. We can't not. He is in us.

A Time To Rest