Last Sunday we brought my neighbor to church, her and her daughter have been such a blessing to me as I've had the privilege to share with her and speak openly about my faith in ways that I feel I'm sometime out of practice with. Shay, makes me think, she asks good questions and she struggles with things that I once struggled with. Chatting with her reminds me of God's goodness and trans-formative power and yet the need to surrender as well. Today Shay and Molly came again and invited another couple friends. The message was from 2 Corinthians 5: 11-21, which in my bible is titled "We Are God's Ambassadors". Pastor Ron gave a clear presentation of God's redemptive plan, his desire for us to be reconciled to himself, and then to share that message of reconciliation with all people. I pray that I can be that ambassador that God calls me to be, both in my neighborhood and community as well as family and with my kids. It's crazy sometimes to think that God is making his appeal through us to others; that he trusts us and believes in us enough to give us this important task. I am praying that I can have the same understanding of our fearful responsibility to the Lord that Paul speaks about. So much of 2 Corinithians 5 has hit me in a new way today... I could go on forever. Instead, I'd love to hear from you guys. What's God been teaching you? How was the message you heard today? Did it shake you, encourage you, change you? If not, I challenge you guys (whoever you are, because i still only know a fraction of you that read my silly blog) to read your bibles, and tune into a preacher who will do that for you! It's sooo good.
Anywho... last Sunday was also wonderful because we had bunch of people from our church for dinner. We all eat outside while the kids (9 girls) played together in the sandbox and kiddie pool. It was so relaxed, so easy and it just felt right. Funny how without a lot of history, you can feel so comfortable with people because you all share the same love for God. It was also nice to see Kara interacting with other little girls her age. Ever since Sunday she's been asking me every night "Mommy where are we going, what friends am I playing with tomorrow?"
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| This picture I found online (we forgot our camera, again). It looks a bit like the stretch of the river that we ate dinner beside (minus the quiet sandy pools). |
This Sunday we joined 3 other couples for dinner along side the Vedder River. For those of you who will never visit here, the Vedder is a beautiful fast moving river that has a trail running all along it. Tonight we ate pizza pie irons and all kinds of other random yummies on a sandy spit that had a beautiful view of Chem (the most famous Chilliwack mountain). The kids played all evening in the calm pools and in the sand. It was so nice to enjoy a new area with great people and great food. Sadly, Dave had to take off right after dinner because he was on call at the hospital. I will not miss the 24 hour on call shifts but I am so glad that Dave was able to hang out with us for a little bit. Today was another great Sunday!
Tomorrow is Monday. A new week, a new work schedule, new places to go, new conversations to be had, new adventures. I wonder when things will stop feeling new here? I'm guessing, as long as I have kids there will always be new things. I pray that even more than that, new things will be taking place because God promises it.
"Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:17.
There are days when I crave the routine, the expected, the comforts of the familiar but for now I am thanking God for everything that he has made new in my life. New can be so stretching but yet so rewarding. So anything new? Please call, write or message me with an update. We'd love to hear an update.
