Stuff: Noun; Matter, material, articles, or activities of a specified or indeterminate kind that are being referred to, indicated, or implied.

 

I found a lot of stuff when I moved back to my parents for a couple days, I found many things that I had left behind when I moved out last summer, many things that I have lived without for the past year. 

My poor brother has had to bear with his new room {my old room} being cluttered with my stuff for the past year. Since I am not planning on moving home anytime soon I figured it was about time to clean the cluttered mess up.

I worked on it for most of the day yesterday, I haven't finished yet.

Books, cards, letters, décor items, photos; lots of photos, blankets, cloths, sport equipment, craft supplies, magazines, nic naks from years gone by.

 

So much stuff that I have but I haven't used or need for an entire year.  

 

The easy thing would be to throw it all into a bag and get rid of it but we all know it doesn't work like that.

 

So it began the sorting, reading, remembering, recalling, which turning into packing, tossing, burning, and giving away.

When I was finished and done with three boxes, I had one tiny box remaining full of precious photos of family and friends, funeral bulletins and hand written letters that I couldn't toss.

Memories are sweet, things that remind me of those times are precious and worth keeping.
As for the rest of the stuff, it is going, I didn't need it this year and if it doesn't fit into my two trunks I'm not holding on to it.
Goodbye stuff that doesn't matter.
Life doesn't need to be cluttered, its far more enjoyable when it's simple!

You are called to be His

It's all His, every breath, moment, every step you take, every move you make... it's all His. That is something that sounds normal, we know we are to be completely His but stop for just a second and think about what that means. Think over every single one of your breaths, moments, steps, thoughts and actions. If some one was watching you would they be able to see by the way you live that all these things you do are in fact dedicated and wholly His?

We've all heard that Christ is to live in us or that all the good in us is actually Him in us. But think about what it means that He actually dwells in you, the God of everything, who created everything we can see, feel or imagine, this one and only God dwells within You. This is in sane, this thought should completely blow you away in awe and wonder, We cannot even understand what this means. But take it lets take it even further. So the God above all is dwelling within you...now think about yourself, your failings, sins, every wicked, hateful or dirty thought all of this also dwells within us. How can this amazing God dwell in us when we are so polluted, stained, and dirty. The bible explains it in Isaiah 64:6 as our righteous deeds being nothing more then filthy rags. But in all of this dirt, filthy gross garbage bin we want the God of heaven and earth to dwell and reign.

Our lives will until the Lord returns be always stained with sin, but we can not be content or okay with this. We cannot except life as it is in a garbage can, we cannot expect the King of the universe to live in our filthy hearts with which we are content with.

Our lives are to turn from the filthy rags, they are to be washed in His blood and our garbage bin is to be transformed into a glistering temple of God.

You are called to be His, to be full of Him, to learn from Him, and to remain with Him. Let His grace clean you, let His blood wash you, let His love amaze you and let your life be completely changed through Him.

 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:8-14

Easy verses hard!

Early evening and I am sitting in my apartment alone listening to the sound of acoustic guitar and the pump in the fish tank. I'm not even sure what to write about but am bored and want to get some thoughts out.

 I am currently on day 4 of my break before gearing up for summer program with Urban Promise and I am already restless. I didn't have much planned for the day and spent it mostly cleaning up around the apartment and skyping family, then was convinced by a room mate to get out of the apartment and go for a walk in the park and just my luck it started raining, like heavy raining but since we were already soaked we stayed and ended up having a good time and got to watch some deer wondering around for a bit.

So even looking back over this day it was fun and productive but during everything I felt bored and frustrated with the fact that I had nothing to do, not purpose and nothing pushing me to do anything. I woke up stared at the ceiling and thought there is no reason to get out of bed because I have nothing to do. Now this could be because I have been so busy all year with things to do and places to be and never really having that chance to be bored or the fact that I often get so caught up in needed a very evident reason for everything I do. I need a goal to work towards, a bar to reach and if there isn't anything that it seems pointless in my mind.

I'm not sure yet how to fix this about me, I mean its not all bad but it defiantly can be negative! I think about of it has to do with what I view a purpose being, God has a lot of purposes for me each and every day but either they don't seem important enough for me or I refuse to see them for what they are.

I hate breaks, I like to be busy doing what I love and I really dislike not being able to do them. But I also know that breaks are needed and that Jesus talked a lot about taking a break and stopping to be with God, but some times it is far easier to work hard for God then to spend a lot of time with God. Working for Him doesn't always shove honest truth into our faces or make us go really deep and intimate with God. It is so much easier to stay on the surface but God want us to go deep. He wants to know us, personally, individually and intimately well!

A walk in the community

It is easy to get tired in ministry, to get discouraged when seeing results from your work are limited and to be less energetic about the ministry you do because of this.
The last couple weeks have been tough ones for me personally. I have been sick, welcome family back into the country and say bye to others who were leaving, been weighted down with concern for my nephew in sick kids and tired from not sleeping well. This all makes ministry a little bit hard and running camp its self had been a little difficult the last couple weeks.

Then today happened. I had been praying for energy and joy and God provided both in today. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Urban Promise Mom Workers visiting my camp when i arrived today. After chatting with them we all decided to go do some home visits to drop off fliers.

Every year for a weekend in June Urban Promise takes the mom's up for a retreat in Muskoka to pore into them and to build deeper relationships. I was the first time I really went door to door through the Mount Olive community but it was such a blessing talking to the mom's, it was so amazing seeing them get excited about a weekend trip for them and how much it meant to them.

We spend a good twenty minutes talking to one mother who I had never met before about life and how she was doing. It impacted me a lot because of her perspective on your environment  community, fears, joys and everything else. I came back from that walk in the community so excited about the lasting impact this ministry does have on not only the kids but on their families. This woman's children are to old for the program and she had not spoken to anyone from Urban Promise in a year and a half and she was thrilled to see us and shared a peak into her life in that short period.

This also showed me the huge need for a consist mom's program in the Rexdale area as well as a senior high ministry. I am thrilled with what Urban Promise has done, is doing and will do in the future. Please continue to pray for all the staff, leaders, kids and families of Urban Promise.