Value

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A friend called me a few days ago asking me how much does a 13k ring cost? I kinda just went.. uhhh. I do not pay much attention to such matters, I have no idea. She proceeded to explain herself because I was beginning to wonder if she had received a proposal or something (lol). Turns out she found a ring a few years ago during her high school years and thought nothing of it; she simply thought it looked cool and added it onto her car key ring. Years pass by. A few days ago, she was with her friends in Tim Hortons and someone noticed that she had a real gold ring hanging on her keys. She was shocked to find out that the ring could possibly be very valuable! I can't help but think about every time she started the engine, the ring would hang there, possibly worth more than the car itself... all those years! Isn't that crazy? How could someone carry around such an object of value and not even understand the worth? It got me thinking... I am so very guilty of doing the same, in a spiritual sense. How often I walk around, adding God to my little key chain, never stopping to think... WOW, how precious and valuable! Maybe you can sympathize with me. Dear friends, let us stop a moment and take in the beauty of Christ, let us understand the unmeasurable value of what was done for us on the cross. Stop. Think. Stand in awe. Let's not be numb to the truth. Do not dare get used to it, do not dare forget the value of yourself, the value of Christ.

Have a blessed week everyone :)     

Tribulation, not Isolation

Going through a rough patch? We have all been there- publicly and privately.

Walking with God through the garden,

 beauty surrounds you, 

your hand in His,

 the dewy ground beneath you is soft and the air is cool.

 Possibly some time passes and you feel different... 

This may occur slowly without your notice or quickly- 

the ground seems dry, 

the grass withered, 

you no longer feel the grasp of God's hand in yours.

 Why did your beautiful walk in the garden come to a halt? You think... "Why?"

Why am I in the desert? Why is it so hard? And most painfully: Why did God leave me?  

   

Dear brother and sister, He has not left you. He may have let go of your hand, but His is right there watching over you. A trial does not equal disconnection from our Father. Hold onto the promise "I will never leave you nor forsake you.". When you are in Christ, you are in Christ. Simple. 

So remember: tribulation is not isolation.

Buryatia

Hey everyone! Sorry for being MIA for a bit, just making some changes to the blog look. It's good to be back. Ok this may seem totally random but I've been thinking about my missionary trip to Russia this past summer. Here are some pictures I found that I thought I'd share.

We found random kids off the street to play with.. Rather, they found us! This was at our church home.

Our very serious, dare I say...silly, spontaneous, people-loving pastor of the church. Mihayil Ivanovich. 

Beautifully hyper children.

The girl who didn't talk much, but she did dance when we sang songs. I still think about her.

Lake Baikal. We just sat on the rocks and stared at the majesty of God's hand.

The men did construction on a church in a small village. Those ponchos are simply a must-have for any wardrobe!

The play. The coat symbolized our sin and flesh and how Jesus took it all upon Himself at the cross.

Dashinema, part of our team. He had a moving testimony about how God healed him because he was completely paralyzed and his struggle with running from God and finally coming to know Jesus.

Our guys picked us flowers from a random field.

Brother Sasha. I still remember his laugh. He was a good bus driver.

In action: Throwing LOVE to the kids. (It was a play about sharing God's love)

My one and only Buryatia Family. I love them so much.

What an awesome experience we had! Thank you God!