Response to Nefarious

Recently we watched a movie about sex slavery called Nefarious and then we were challenged by one of the students to do something about it. He pointed out that if we don't act upon the feelings that we have from watching it, we will become numb to them in the future. This is true of many things in my life. I have reasoned my way out of things that I probably should have done something about, no matter how little. So I am writing this in response to the movie.

For a few years now I have had a burden about the men in my life. I would ask myself "what are you doing to help them become men whose heart is after God's?" I believe this came about because of the view of men that had been fed to me by the world. I hated it and I remember thinking if guys were truly like how we are told, then I never wanted to marry one. I refused to be used and taken advantage of. So I wanted to make sure that my brothers would become men who reflected the heart of God. I wanted them to be men that a girl would someday feel protected by and not used by. I think this is where I will start.

I will do my best, with God's help to encourage my brothers to become men who won't be the one's aiding in the demand of such a business. I want to be someone who holds them to a higher standard; the one they are made to reach. I want to be a sister who points them to the One who makes all of this possible. And one day if God blesses me with sons, I want to raise them in such a way that partaking in such activities would be a temptation that they can resist because they reflect the heart of God.

So girls, one thing we can do to stop such atrocities from happening is by helping heal the hearts of the guys in our lives. We can encourage them to be different from what the world says. If the demand for prostitutes, porn and such goes away then so will the need for girls to be sold into slavery. We can show them what girls really want in a guy because the world lies. We can build them up and stop tearing them down. We can let them and encourage them to be the men God made them to be. 

Build Up. Clean Out

"Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house." -Proverbs 24:27 (KJV)

"And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man." -Proverbs 24:31-34 (KJV)

Do our relationships with God have strong walls and weedless fields or are the walls surrounding us easily penetrated by the enemy? If we try to go out and work for the Kingdom of God with walls that the enemy can simply walk over and a life full of so many weeds that our works get chocked out, how can we expect to be effective? Here we are told that we should build up and prepare the fields before we build our house so in other words we need to build up and prepare our relationship with strong walls, constantly weeding out the thistles and nettles before we build up our ministry and calling. Without the field prepared we will become useless and overthrown in our calling.    

The moment we start doing something that would impact those around us we are defeated and overthrown by the enemy. For instance if we start praying for someone to be saved and then, due to our crumbling walls, we start quarreling with those closest to us how can we expect to be effective? We must first build up our walls in a faith in God that is built upon the Word of God before we can start doing what God has called us to.

Also the thorns and nettles. These are the things in our lives that suck away all the nutrients that we receive from the Word of God. These are things that draw our attention away from God whether inherently good or bad in itself. We must weed these out and not fold our hands in complacency. If we allow these things to grow in our lives unchecked then soon they will overcome our lives and drown out the good crop, the things that we are doing for the Kingdom of God. Which is why we need to get rid of these weeds, the major ones, before we can begin to build our calling that God has placed on our lives.

In saying all of this, do not fall victim to laziness and slumber because in the end it only reaps destruction. Do not try to build up your house in the Kingdom without first preparing the fields. We must not take the tasks that God has given lightly nor disregard His instruction. I pray that you take this to heart and let God guide you in the weeding and building so that your field may be prepared for what He has called you to do.

So while I am here at Bible school I want to spend the time building up the walls that surround my life so that I may be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy. I also want to spend the time cleaning my life of all that distracts me and keeps me from being effective in what He calls me to do.

Christmas Holidays-Reflection

This morning 5 of us were asked the question "what is the thing that you are most thankful for from your time in Holsby?"-a question that is fitting as we are all leaving for 3 weeks. This has made me think about all that God has done in these last three months. Thinking back I am so thankful for all that He has changed in my life. He has faithfully guided me closer to Him and this is what I am the most thankful for. My answer this morning was different though; I said that I was thankful for all the friends that I had made and that is true but even then it wasn't what I was most thankful for. So as the day went on and I said goodbye to all but 6 others, I still had joy amidst the sorrow.

Pain and Joy

“Perhaps no part of the cost of being a foreign missionary is greater than the loneliness. The alien experiences a sense of utter isolation, and is tempted to cling with greater tenacity to others of his own language and culture.”~ A Chance to Die, Elizabeth Elliot

I might not be a missionary but being in a foreign country with people of different cultures and languages, I can relate to this quote. I have noticed myself hanging out with the North American crowd more and more because it is easier than trying to learn the language and culture of the others. I do see the error in this. I love the people of the other cultures as much as the North Americans. I wish to get to know them and their languages by the time that we are to leave. I want to be able to talk to them in a language where they feel comfortable and able to express themselves. I pray for the opportunities to learn.

The loneliness that comes from being in a country not that of my childhood is not a sad loneliness but a happy one, if that makes any sense. It does not leave me saddened at the end of the night but grateful that I have a chance to lean more upon the familiarity that Christ brings. Plus the isolation isn’t as bad as that which is talked about in the text due to the fact that there are 23 other Canadians here as well J

Through all of this God is cleaning me out. It hurts but I needed to leave in order for it to happen. To be surrounded by His words, presence and people who are also seeking Him at the cost of a year of normal life, is an amazing environment to be cleansed. My view of my sin hasn’t changed, it’s just become clearer. The lectures this week have magnified all the things that I have been forgetting about the character of Christ.

Reading about Solomon and David have a way of taking off the blinders. To hear about the raw honesty of both of them convicts me of my complacency. It shows me of the compromises that I have let into my life: the things that I have reasoned my conscious quite on. It shines a light on the darkness of my heart. For that I am thankful.

Including this and many times where I laughed until I couldn’t breathe. these past few weeks have been amazing! I have learnt knew things and grown in my love for those around me and most of all the God who brought me here. I have come to appreciate those things that He has blessed me with and embrace the things that are new. I am content to be shaped by Him and to be wherever He calls me to be. 

Settling in... :)

Things are finally settling down. I am getting more comfortable with my surroundings and the people that I am going to be spending the next 9 months with. The first few weeks were a bit stressful trying to figure people out and create a new routine. Lectures were just starting and assignments were coming in. God had a lot to teach me about looking to Him for assurance and not those around me. One of the girls gave a devotion at breakfast a few days ago and it talked about looking to God for our acceptance and it was a really good reminder.

We have family groups every second Sunday night and they are probably one of my favourite things. We have a meal with a family that is either staff or a family from he community that has been a part of the school in the past. My family group "Parents" used to be students about 6 years ago. There are 6 students and 1 staff member in my family group and we get to do assignments together :) Small groups are definitely more my thing than large groups. We are also starting up book reading groups this next Monday and I'm pretty excited for the same reason as the family groups. Being able to get to know people in smaller groups is exciting for me. You get to know who the people are in a more relaxed environment.

There are a lot of German speaking students here so I have decided to start learning some German. My hope is to be able to have real conversations with them by the end of the 9 months... It's going to take a lot of work but I'm kind of excited. They are really easy to practice with which makes it so much easier. I just have to stick to it for the whole time and not give up when it gets tough. Maybe I will have to visit them in Germany for a while so that I can become immersed in the language and be forced to learn it compared to being able to speak English whenever I want to. We'll see.

Lectures have started and we have already finished two topics. The first one was on the whole Bible and the next one was on the accuracy and reliability of it, and we are currently doing a series on the Holy Spirit. So far the topics have been really good but this last one has been a bit hard to follow because of all the rabbit trails that we end up on during class. We get new seating arrangements every two weeks and we aren't allowed to sit by the same people which is fun. I like it but I also would like being able to sit in the same place every time though. I am a creature of habit.

Travel weekend is coming up in a few weeks and I am still unsure if I want to go somewhere or stay at the school and take the weekend to just relax and do whatever I want with no pressure to be anywhere but meals. The campus is starting to feel like home and I am a homebody more than an adventurer so we'll see what ends up happening.

The people who have become family on top of a ski hill near by.

First 6 Days...

How does a person describe the confusion of being thrown into a situation that is completely different than what is normal? Trying to describe what these past few days has been like is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Normally words come easily to me so bear with me as I attempt (about 7th time..) to write what it has been like.

I feel like one giant, ongoing anomaly. I feel like I haven't even left Canada yet at the same time I know that I am across the ocean. Maybe it's the fact that about 50% of the people here are Canadian or that I have been able to talk to my friends who are at home. It seems like I could just hop in a car and drive to church or back to my house... It's so strange to me. 

So far I have successfully completed a 10km walk with no socks in Birkenstock's (blisters!!!!), a church service very different from home, a day full of orientation, and being hungry every time I go to sleep. It has made for an amazing week. Finding a new routine has left me so exhausted that I have been going to bed at 10:30 almost every night (so strange...). I kind of want that to change and it might as I settle in more and more every day. I have to read 44 chapters from the Bible in order to finish it in the time that the school requires, which isn't hard but being told what to read took a bit of fighting the rebellious tendencies that I have. Anyways... the internet is going to shut off soon so I have to wrap this up :) 

I miss home but I love it here and I trust the God has me here for a reason and I am happy to see what He does with me while I am here.