Sunday, October 14, 2007

PEAKS AND VALLEYS



Just got back from the X{CL}:8 conference and it was a wonderful experience. The emphasis of the weekend was on Mentorship. In fact all of the delegates were divided up and given an in house mentor (I was one of them) and then challenged to find one in their home faith communities. Along with Mentorship, over the course of the weekend we were blessed to hear from some great speakers including the Allens (Salvation Army officers in Mississauga) and Doug Hammond. Both were great speakers and were very challenging. In particular Doug really challenged me indirectly to get more into the word and to memorize scripture. His ability to recall scripture was absolutely remarkable and something I want to strive for.

This weekend was a certainly a spiritual high or a peak and it reaffirmed the fact that my Christian walk has been and is all about Peaks and valleys. God has been teaching me that I can enjoy the Peaks, but it is actually in the valleys in which we truly grow.

I am thankful to God for a wonderful experience and I am mindful of those close to me who may be in a valley. My mother who is going through cancer treatment. She is a trooper but I know it is hitting her hard, especially the waits in between operations and treatments. I pray my mothers faith and friends/family will help her through this.

I am also mindful of a good friend of mine a mentor and his family who just experienced the loss of baby. Having just experienced the birth of my first child and the anxiety associated with waiting for him and praying for his safe arrival. I can not imagine how it would feel to have lost a child in that process. I again hope that they are able to move through this in faith and even though they may not understand why, that they see the other blessings around them( their other beautiful and healthy children) and some how make it through.

I pray for all of you who are going through valleys. I pray you will find your way through them and be better off on the other side of the valley. I also pray for all of you on a peak and I pray that God will equip you for the next valley.

Peace,

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Thanksgiving

What I'm thankful for -
  • The arrival of my handsome son Jackson Thomas.
  • My beautiful wife
  • Great friends and mentors and strong Christian community
  • A God who loves me even though I am a big screw up sometimes (most of the times)
  • I am thankful that God has blessed me with enough that I can sacrifice for others.
  • Most of all I am thankful for life and its twists and turns.

What I could live with out -
  • Politics (not in the government sense of the word, although that can be annoying) but rather human politics and interesting personalities.
  • Crying, I love my baby but I could certainly do without the exercising of his lungs.
  • Other than that I'm loving where God has placed me.
All in all life is good and I have a lot to be thankful for! Thank you for reading my thoughts and commenting. My God bless you to bless others this thanksgiving!

PEACE!