Empty or Meaningful?

In BSF this year we are studying the book of Isaiah.  When I heard about that I kind of thought we were just studying bible history. I knew there were lots of prophecies of Jesus in it but I didn't know it would challenge us on all levels. 
Do we trust God? do we REALLY trust Him? do we REALLY trust Him with EVERYTHING? 
When we worship Him, do we worship Him with our whole heart or do we just go through the motions?  Are our hearts engaged in our bible reading, prayer, and worship? 
Do we think if we offer the right kind of sacrifices, do the right kind of good deeds, or  perform enough traditional rituals that we can appease God or earn our salvation?
When it says that we need to take our "evil out of God's sight" (Isa 1:16) isn't that kind of impossible? Where exactly is the place that God can't see? 
Are we ready for some spiritual housecleaning? 
It's kind of scary and exciting...scary because of what I know I'll find, exciting because I know what God can do with it.  It is my prayer that all of us will be honest and transparent as we are challenged to take a deep look at what God wants us to do with every area of our lives, that we will be willing to trust each of those aspects of our lives to Him, and that we will share the message of His incredible gift of salvation with others. 

"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

Celebrating with Matt!

Last night Robert and I attended an awards ceremony at UFV with Matt.  He was awarded a $3000.00 'Excellence Entrance' scholarship at his high school graduation.  It's such a blessing to be gifted the way Matt is!  We hope and pray that he always uses his gifts to honour & glorify God and to benefit those around him.

The Award

Matt with the UFV President & Chancellor (Brian Minter)

Strength for the Day

This is a big lesson that I have been learning.  God gives us strength for the day, when it's needed. It's so easy to 'worry' about how we'll get through this afternoon, tomorrow, or next week.  I have learned that we can trust that we will be given strength when it's needed - not ahead of time, not too late, but just at the perfect time.  God has always been the source of my strength and, because He never changes, the source of my support will remain constant, even when circumstances swirl and change around me.  What a comforting thought!
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:19 ESV)

Count your blessings, name them one by one...

There are so many people and things in my life that fill me with joy and make me thankful:

• Robert – who cheerfully picks up my slack in every single area of our lives. I honestly do not know how I could possibly cope without him.  He gets up early to make breakfast & lunches for the kids. (This is a huge deal to me b/c morning is usually my worst time.) I am so thankful that he does this every single day! He faithfully does the laundry, cleans the house, gets the groceries...and so much more! 
• Our kids who each in their own way gives me energy to keep going.  They are each precious in a different way and I love their uniqueness.
• Loving family members - so thankful for them, their care & love, their encouragement & most of all, their faithful prayers.
• Church family - the way they come alongside us no matter what's going on & how they do that for everyone in the church family - what a blessing!
• The multitude of friends for their care and love, whether we see them often or not, we always know that they still care and we can pick up where we left off whenever we do see each other 
• Dr Ross - my family doctor whose strong Christian character makes me know that prayer guides his practice.
• The fact that God is teaching me a deep lesson through all this and is so patient as I learn it
• The fact that joy is not about our circumstances but about what God has in mind for us, how He makes everything work together for our spiritual good, what it means that His son died on the cross for me and what His promise is concerning eternity for all those who believe in Him. (John 3:16)

"In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (I Th 5:18)

Remarkable & Amazing

Jeremy is home from the hospital!  Our hearts are so filled with praise and thanksgiving for how God protected and spared our precious son throughout this week. It will take time for him to be pain-free and to feel stronger but he has already improved so much it's wonderful.  I have realized again this week how fiercely we love our kids and how helpless we feel when they're hurting and we can't take the pain away.  It is my prayer that all of us will benefit spiritually from this week so that we will be able to look back on it and be thankful for what God taught us even through such an intense trial.

Life is fragile - handle with prayer

We have much to be thankful for as our 20 yr old son, Jeremy, was spared in a motorbike accident on Monday morning. He was heading to work at 6:30ish and skidded on loose gravel and hit a telephone pole. His bike is totalled but he is alive. The police & paramedics that came to the scene said that if he had been speeding or driving recklessly things would have turned out much differently.
Initially it looked like Jeremy was going to be totally fine but, after they let him get up for just a couple minutes on Monday morning, he almost fainted and his abdominal pain got much worse. He ended up having a CT scan and they discovered that his spleen is lacerated in several places and started leaking fluid into his abdominal cavity. He was moved from a non-acute bed to an acute bed in emergency so that they could monitor everything more closely. A surgeon came to see him and has decided that he would hold off on removing his spleen at this time and would move him to ICU to keep a very close eye on him for a bit. He looks so good on the outside but his insides obviously took quite a beating. They are also doing bloodwork every 2 hours to keep an eye on his hemoglobin. They will be watching bloodwork results and vital signs closely and will hopefully be able to leave his spleen heal on its own. He will have to take it super, super easy for the next weeks to allow his spleen to heal. In the meantime, he's on IV morphine for the pain. They're also prepared to do blood transfusions if necessary. We have so much to be thankful for already but he is not out of the woods totally yet either.
I read this Psalm last night and felt again how God is watching over Jeremy so far...
Psalm 121 - "A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you-- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."
It's just unreal how quickly our lives can change.  Life is fragile & needs to be handled with lots of prayer.
Please remember him (and us) in your prayers and we will keep you posted.