Life is....Part 3

"Psalm 37:5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.Trust him, and he will help you."Sounds hard doesn't it? Are you at a place in your life when you can honestly say, Lord I commit my life to You - I commit my health to You - I commit my thoughts to You - I commit my actions to You...

 I think that the word "commitment" is a very scary word to a lot of people. It means this: it is a duty or responsibility that you have accepted; it is a promise, it is a strong belief that something is good and that you should support it. 

It is a decision that you have to make. No one can make it for you. 

So when life throws a pot hole on your road of life - don't get discouraged. Just realize that that is life. As you watch people pass you by as you are on the side of the road remember - they too have hit pot holes. Some bigger than you, some smaller than you - but I guarantee they have hit them. 

As you commit your life to God, He is the one that fixes the damage. He is the one who directs your path. He is the one who enables you to see past your present problems and gives you hope to a brighter future...As you commit to Him. 

Take some time today - tell Him exactly how you feel, ask Him for help, seek His direction...then get back onto the road of life :)

Life is...Part 2

Life is...part2

Life is a freeway, just watch out for potholes!

....It all boils down to this – you are NOT in control. What is the answer then? Well, all too often people rely on their own strength. And do you know what is the hardest part...while you are sitting on the side of the road, you watch the other people pass you by. People that you were once ahead of. 
Don't get bitter...and that is very easy to do. Don't get vengeful...even though you may be justified. Don't get frustrated...you need to trust.

"Psalm 112:7 says, They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them."

There are so many pot holes on the road of life... - who are you trusting when you get bad news? Are you trusting your "professional contacts" when you get laid off? Are you trusting the bottle when a loved one passes away? Are you trusting your good looks when your relationship breaks apart? Or are you trusting the One who loves you, cares for you, and wants the absolute best for you?

There is a very important piece of trust...it is commitment - When I speak of commitment, I am talking about everything. "Psalm 37:5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.Trust him, and he will help you."

Sounds hard doesn't it? Are you at a place in your life when you can honestly say, Lord I commit my life to You - I commit my health to You - I commit my thoughts to You - I commit my actions to You...That is a big commitment....
to be continued...

Life is....Part 1

Life is...part 1

Life is a freeway, just watch out for potholes!

Have you ever been wronged? Have you ever been hurt and it came out of the blue? Have you ever questioned - “What did I do to deserve this?”

Well today Life is going to be compared a freeway.

A sunny day, blue sky, cool breeze and you are in a great mood. “Going to be a great day,”you think. You are cruising in your car and all of a sudden....bang...pot hole...your car shudders, the steering wheel jerks and the car comes to a halt. You are on the side of the road, your plans have changed and you are not moving. You think to yourself – I have places to be, people to see, things to do...and now this!!! That is you and your car, now imagine how life is like this.

A loss of a job, the death of a loved one, a bout of depression, a broken relationship,...potholes of life.

They come from out of nowhere, they hit fast, they hit hard and they do damage. That is life. No matter how much you plan, how much you organize, potholes appear. Not all the time, but often enough. I am sure everyone reading this can relate. I know that I do.

It all boils down to this – you are NOT in control. What is the answer then? Well, all too often people rely on their own strength....to be continued...

Facing the Storms of Life

Storm rolling in !

I think that the snow is done...maybe a flake or two will be around, but the big snow is over. The flowers are starting to come up. The birds are singing loudly in the morning. The buds are on a lot of the trees and the grass is starting to green up a little. Spring is here. 

One interesting thing about spring is that it is a very stormy season. Warm air hitting cold air, rain, wind and even a little bit of sunshine. 

Life is a lot like that. Sometimes as we go through seasons, we face storms. They may be light, they may be quick and sometime they are severe. The important thing to remember is that storms will pass. And often, after a storm there is a great benefit to the storm.

 Zechariah 10:1 says - "Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture."

The storms of life may be scary, but it's after the storm when the birds sing, the grass grows and the air is fresh. Remember - The Lord will be with you during the storm. He will be with you after the storm as well - but you need to rely and trust in Him. The rewards are three fold - peace, comfort and love. 
Have a great day friends :)

At the beach - in March !

Southampton Beach - in March

Sun, clear skies, cold temperatures - I'll take it. In a few short months, this area will be filled with beach goers, swimmers, cottagers, tourists and boaters. I was the only one on the beach...very peaceful. Just the bids flying overhead and the ice groaning as it fights to stay together. In the quiet, in the stillness, in the peacefulness I found myself thinking - how many grains of sand are under my feet? I couldn't count them if I tried. They are uncountable. Millions, no Billions, maybe Trillions of grains ...uncountable, then it hit me - that is how much love God has for us!

Psalm 139:17-18

King David wrote about this. "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! Psalm 139:17-18.

Often as the hours, days, weeks, years pass us by, we are caught in the business of life. What we need to do, where  we need to go, who we need to please, when is my next appointment, why are things not going my way....the questions of life.... I challenge you - take a few minutes, turn off the t.v., radio, computer or anything else that can be distracting you - and spend that time with God. Just you and Him. Thank Him, magnify Him, honour Him and realize that He loves you !!!

Have a great day friends !

The Whirlpool of Life - What can I do?

Have you ever watched a whirlpool? When on the outside of it, it takes a long time to make a complete revolution. The closer you come to the middle, the fast things rotate. The force increases, it gets harder to escape. I think that life is like a lot like that. Troubles can happen when you are on the outside of the whirlpool, but they are few and far between. They don't really bother you. Then they become more frequent, more sudden, more unexpected. The whirlpool tightens. As it tightens, you have to act quicker, you have to be stronger, you have to have to come up with a plan. Sometimes it takes that spinning, faster and faster, before you are forced to cry out for help. Just look around us today. Gas is up 18% in a couple weeks, food is going up 5-10% in the next few months, the housing market is close to being on another bubble, HST has added more tax on virtually everything, hydro prices continue to climb (another 45% in the next 5 years). Emergency - I don't think so. You want an emergency, here is one....30,000 Children are going to starve to death today.

My plan for battling this: Commit everything you do to the Lord.Trust him, and he will help you. Psalm 37:5

You notice that it says Commit everything that you "DO"... There are always options -  downsize the house, sell one of the vehicles, de-clutter,... help my brothers and sisters instead of just talking about it.

We'll see - Like I said - I'm committing everything, trust Him and I know he'll help :)

Do I... ?

Do I....

Do I develop grudges against those I disagree with or do I pray for those I disagree with?

Do I lead by example or do I say one thing and do another?

Do I go to church for worship or to worship?

Do I attend church out of habit or do I want to be there?

Do I give out of pressure or do I give because of a willing heart?

Do I help others because it is the right thing to do or do I help because I really care for others?

Do I seek God's will or do I seek my own will?

Do I worry about tomorrow or do I cast all my cares to God?

Do I hold on to past hurts or do I forgive those who have hurt me?

Do I ?

Taking the Garbage out...

Well today we did something as a family. We cleaned the house. And I don't just mean vacuuming. We knelt down and prayed as a family. We asked the Lord to show each of us anything in our house that is offensive to the Lord. Then we took a couple garbage bags and cleaned the house, as a family. 2 garbage bags later it was done. No one fought, no one was upset. Everyone agreed. Sure, someone else may find nothing wrong with the stuff we threw away - that's ok. But this was something that we needed to do. And we could have made quite a bit of money selling the movies that we tossed. - but I can't rationalize that. I couldn't in good conscience sell what we were convicted of. 

You may be thinking..."Tim, you've gone over the deep end" Go ahead, think that way :) It really doesn't bother me. I'm responsible for my family.

When all is said and done, and I stand before the Lord - I want nothing more than to be able to say with a clear conscience - "As for me and my house, we served the Lord."

It's a journey, and we stumble sometimes. But the Lord is faithful, kind and compassionate. He's a good God. :)