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,

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!

Puke, poop and Pee!

It has been absolutely amazing to spend the last two weeks with my beautiful wife and son! I think at this point I have seen things come out of every orfus of little Jacksons body, getting peed on twice and pooped on once and yet I still wouldn't rather be anywhere else!

Monday real life starts again and it is time to play the game of balancing life, work and family. I pray for strength in this and wisdom!

I hope everyone is doing well!

peace

Jason


Here are some of Jacksons first bath(@home) photos!

The Baby is finally here!

Hey everyone the last week and a half has been the most amazing week of my life thus far! Watching Gods creation come into the world although scrary at times (a lot more blood then I thought) is absolutely amazing.

The hospital stay taught Kristen and I patience and we were lucky enough to return home on Saturday afternoon! Bringing the baby home has had its challenges, such as very little sleep it has been amazing to see this little life get accustomed to the world around him!

A special thank you to our friends and family for their prayer and support and to the Freeway for providing us with meals while we figure out life with our new family member.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful little guy!

STILL WAITING!!

For those of you who don't know my wife is pregnant (very pregnant) in fact she is actually a week over due at this point! I am glad to say she is handling it very well, except for being really tired she has done really well!

As we eagerly wait for the arrival of the little guy I have a healthy mix of excitement and fear! But I know everything will go well I just want it to happen sooner then later!

Stay posted for an excited update!!!

PEACE!

New Book

Just started reading "The Emerging Christian Way." So far it is an interesting book and offers some valid criticism of the current Church. That being said, the theology offered in the book is a little shakey. It appears that the authors (there are about 1o contributors) are arguing that Christianity "the church" must make a paradigm shift in order to survive. They believe this shift is already starting and in fact one of the authors argues that it is both "the best of times and the worst of times for Christianity." They believe Christianity should be less about a one time decision that will lead to heaven and more about a transformation. This argument I can cling to (although some of the other things in the book may not be as Biblically sound). Too often our faith revolves around a decision many of us made 10, 20 or even 30 years ago, and if we look at our life and the way we live not too much is different from that day. Except for the things you don't do anymore (get drunk, sleep around.....). I believe God is more concerned with the new things we are doing and less concerned about what we aren't doing anymore. Take Paul the Apostle for example, he becomes a follower of Christ and yes he stops persecuting the early Church but more importantly he starts to spread Christianity among the Gentiles. Certainly it was good that he stopped killing the Christians, but just imagine if all he did was stop with the "butterfly in the tummy feelings" and didn't put is faith into action.

Friends look at your life, if your life is as boring and crummy as it was before you were saved, or if all Christianity is to you is a set off "Don't Do's" make a change!!! Following Christ should be Transforming, remember the old has gone and the new is come.... Give the the world around you an example of how exciting following Christ can be and not how boring it is.

Just some random thoughts. The book although not the greatest certainly has made me think a bit deeper!!

Peace,

Jason

PS Remember if you aren't being challenged by Christ or the word your probably doing something wrong!

Are you are morning person?

Hey everyone as most you know when I am not spending time with my beautiful wife I am at Routes. So I though it appropriate to petition all of my blog readers for some help! We are starting a breakfast club on Tuesday and Thursdays, and I my guess is that when this gets rolling it could be huge. As a result I need some volunteers! If you can help give me a shout!!


PEACE

PS if mornings aren't good for you I run lots of programs in the evenings as well!!

Bass Guitar oh how I missed you

Since leaving Kitchener 2 years ago I haven't had a chance to play Bass regularily until last Sunday when Pernell gave me a shout and asked me to help with worship. Although I sucked bum (which is pretty bad) they asked me to play this Sunday in Niagara Falls to support Pernell as he brought the word at Niagara Orchard Salvation Army. Again stinking the joint up pretty good it was just great to play and be an integral part of corporate worship again! My fingers are a little sore but they are starting to find the right strings!

Peace

A Free Happy Ending!

I was driving around Dofasco yesterday as I dropped my father in-law off at work and I was wowed by the number of "Massage parlours," "nudie-bars," and other similar establishments. This got me thinking about the emptiness someone must feel to go into a place like that. I am sure for a brief moment while the act is being administered an individual must feel fulfilled but that sense of fulfillment can't last for long. In fact that happy ending is probably the start of many unhappy things (disease, addiction.....). Then I thought of a happy ending that doesn't end, " Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 cor. 5:17. Following Jesus can give you surges of happiness but more importantly following Jesus offers the happiest of all endings and a new way of living before the end the comes. I pray more people will find their way to Jesus instead of looking for quick "Happy endings"

Funny stuff

I saw this guy Gerry Phelps on Jimmy Kimmel laughed so hard! Check it out

From the all nighter!!!

Well its 3 am and my mind is starting to slow down so I thought it would be a good idea to start blogging!!

Tonight we are holding are second annual end of summer sleepover, although last year we vowed never to do it again I am really glad we decide to try it again! With a lot more staff then last year and some great kids we have had a fun night of connecting and developing relationships!! I guess somethings are better the second time around.

PEACE!

PS we are always looking for some great volunteers to help out some equally great kids!

You know what really burns me?

Human Nature...really burns me. The bible teaches that the tongue is worse then any sword and it can cut deep.

Over the past couple of months I have been burned several times by an individual who feels it is his job to pass on information to others without checking its validity. This gossiping has lead to some issues which are completely unnecessary and were totally avoidable. This need for gossiping while really pissing me off, has taught me a very important lesson. If I am going to share something with someone about someone else I need to first check my intentions and then make sure the information is correct. I challenge all of you to do the same. Like my mom always said "if you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." Hopefully the individual I was referring to catches that message as well.

On a brighter note here are some life updates!!

The baby is not here yet, but it is still cooking and very healthy a long with his beautiful mother!

The Church plant is starting to come together (PS still looking for some missional Christians to help out!!) I am hoping to start meeting with potential leaders this september!!

PEACE!!

Camping with the Freeway

Back from a great weekend of relaxing with the Freeway at Valens Conservation area. Our days were filled with eating great food (thanks Natasha), and chilling out by the lake. It was really nice to connect with some great people and develop strong community! But, now its back to the grind of working and getting things ready for the baby!

I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend as well!

Peace

Glimpses of Real Church Community

After a couple of weeks of really slacking off and doing nothing but worrying about things that are completely out of my hands God has kicked me in the pants and told me stop focusing on the insignificant and start focusing on him.

As a result I have kicked off a personal study of Acts which is easily my favorite book in the Bible. I love the vision that Acts gives for what Christianity is and what it should be. Reading through the first 6 or so chapters yesterday I was again amazed at the growth of Christianity. A spreading of not only a religion but away of life that was starkly different from the culture of the day.

When I was reading through the opening chapters I started thinking about the complaint I here most often when I speak with my Church friends. For the most part they complain that their Church isn't growing. They often tie that lack of growth to something like crappy worship or bad preaching. Ironically if they would look at the ACT's church compared to their own community they may see some more realistic reasons why "Non-Christians" are not drawn into Church communities like they were in first century AD.

Check out this passage and see if you can see some differences between how we play Church and how they live out Church.

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. ⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. - Acts 2 40 - 47

These early Christians were practicing true community and were helping those in need and as a result their numbers grew exponentially. Their values and lives offered a stark contrast to the values of the day. They were truly new creations, their old values were gone. Is it really any surprise that Western Christianity is in the decline? Consider that Christianity over the past centuries in the Western world has moved away from a community based religion, a religion that is focused on the needy and has become a Church that shares more in common with a country club then the original church. The Acts church asks for nothing less then complete devotion to the Saviour of the world, in lieu of his sacrifice not really that much to ask for. In contrast todays Christianity asks for an hour to an hour and a half a week and may be an evening during the week. Is it really surprising that half ass Christianity has bread half ass Kingdom growth.

Sorry if my thoughts are a little scattered my mind is a bit shot today. My hope isn't to offend but offer a challenge, a challenge that God has placed on my heart as well. I think as Christians we need to join together devote ourselves to Christs work!! Let us all pray that we as a Christian Church can catch the fire that the early Christians had!

HELP WANTED!

As most of you know by now I have been exploring the possibilities of church planting. One of the first steps in planting is surrounding yourself with people who share a similar vision and who are willing to help out with the plant. I need people who are willing to be active participants. Basically I need people who are willing to join me in doing the grunt work doing the small things that go into launching a church community. Now I know many of you are probably saying I would love to be involved in some ways but I don't want to leave my current church. If thats the case and you feel God wants you where you are, you can still support spiritually and financially. If you are willing to help out by praying for the church or if you are willing to support it financially please drop me an email!

I guess the next thing I should do is let you know some of the non-negotiables about the church plant. The vision I have had for this church plant is one of a "community Hub" or a "Third place". Basically I am hoping to create a community that meets spiritual, social and physical needs. I want to create a community like we see in Acts. A group of people who come together often, who share there things when someone is in need, but most importantly they are a community that embraces the community around them with Christ's Love and Peace!

Please pray about it, and if God convicts you and you are interested I would love to meet with you for coffee. There are a lot of unknowns in this process but I know two things for sure. One I can't do it on my own and two God wants it to be done and I don't want to get in his way!!

PEACE

Sorry about the delay

Life has been crazy as per usual, and looks to only get busier with the arrival of my little guy at the end of the summer. That being said I couldn't be happier, and it is amazing to see God working through the chaos. Over the past couple of weeks Kristen and I have settled into our new church community "the freeway," which has been a lot of fun. I have accepted a part-time position selling for a tech company Emrose in T.O to help with the bills as we prepare for maternity leave. On top of which Routes has been pretty busy with lots of programs and trips! BUT Life is good and more importantly GOD is good!

Peace!

The Beach

2 days on 2 different beaches + No sun screen = one serious burn.... So I am a bit of a lobster right now and when I say a little bit I mean a lot. As I am typing my back feels like it is going to peel right off. Ouch I just moved. Turns out I learned the age old lesson again "Every decision has its consequences." The past months have been filled with decisions and I pray I am making the right ones as opposed to the ones that are going to get me burned!

Peace

MONEY MONEY MONEY

I was reading Pernell's blog yesterday, and he went off on something I have been interested in for a while. This whole idea of the "Prosperity Gospel," the idea that if we are good little middle class Christians God will reward us with more money then we could ever imagine. I don't buy into that one iota. You see I agree that God can bless us with money and material possessions but he doesn't want us to use it for selfish reasons or hoard it. God wants us to give it away. This is certainly an area of life that is difficult for many of us to give over to God, because we want so desperately to cling to the resources "we earned with our own hard work" we need to remember in this screwed up world, the richer I get or you get the poorer someone else gets.

If you are blessed to have the nice house, the great job, the good cars remember most of the world isn't and give God what is God after you "give Caesar what is Caesars (taxation - completely unrelated but I love it when Jesus throws stuff in the "MANS" face)."

Remember the rich young ruler, Jesus called him to give up everything and he couldn't. The more we hoard and cling to the harder it is to separate our selves from money. Its not a sin to make money, its what we do with our money that truly shows where are heart lies.

Peace

Funny Army stuff

Here is some funny SA stuff Kristen found on youtube,

CLASSIC

Faithfulness

What if we were truly faithful, what if we actually believed that God works for the benefit of those who love him. What if we gave him everything believing he would fulfill all of our needs. We would find the peace that surpasses all understanding. This week God has proved over and over that when there seems to be no way he will find away. Its premature to announce what has happened this week on my blog but stay tuned, I will share it next week!

peace

Jason