Restlessness

I was listening to music while doing the dishes last night, and a track came on by Mattie Montgomery, called "Restless." I would recommend a listen.
It speaks of our destiny as Christians, what our destiny should really look like.
Check him out (and the song) at http://www.myspace.com/mattiemontgomery or download his cd for free at comeandlive.com
I am really enjoying listening to him, he is actually the vocalist of a screamo band called For Today, but during his concerts he often breaks into preaching, prophesying, praying, etc. This CD is so good, I can't get enough of it. I listen to the songs over and over again.

"We are called to a higher calling, God's vision to struggle for the sake of Christ and for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven... All creation has come together for this single moment...to see what will come of your time here on earth, to see if you will align yourself with Destiny and God, with your inheritance of holiness. Because if you do, you will unleash a tide of hope that will sweep across our generation... that will change everything forever... a new restlessness... as the end of injustice..."

Okay, coffee break is over, back to work,
Enjoy, and have a good weekend!

My Olympics experience - Athletes In Action Olympic Project

I wrote this a while ago... right after the 2010 Vancouver Olympics ended, but got busy with homework and forgot to finish editing it and posting it!

So, here is my experience, pretend you are getting it at the end of February:

Well, it has been about a week since I got back from Vancouver, so I thought I would update you who about my trip to Vancouver for the Athletes In Action Olympic Project. It was a really amazing experience to say the least. I had no idea what to expect going into it, and I definitely got a different experience than basically anyone else who went to Vancouver for the Olympics. So much I could say, but I will just give you an outline of what we did and a few highlights.

A highlight of the trip was traveling to Vancouver and back with the Athletes In Action (AIA) crew from Edmonton. It was awesome to get to know them through the car pool. We had some really awesome talks and it was amazing how quickly the trips flew by (especially on the way back). We had some really neat chats and it was awesome to hear the life stories of these really neat men and women!

Our project started off on Saturday, February 13 at Power To Change headquarters in Langley, for a weekend of training and the yearly AIA staff conference. It was a really neat weekend of mingling between AIA staff and students from across the country. We had some really cool training and encouraging from Doug Pollock. He wrote the book "God Space," and it was so neat to be reminded that evangelism does not need to be us running around handing out tracts to people and sharing the 4 spiritual laws with people! We were given a whole pile of materials to give to people, but we were told to just be natural and just love people in conversation and let Christ shine. There is so much freedom in this! He used some sports analogies; sometimes we need to use the driver (for people who are opposed to God or have never really thought about it before) or just try to get a first down, while other times we use the putter (leading someone to Christ) and get a touchdown. We need to be sensitive to the spirit and sense where people are at in their walks. Just live with people and love them and show them that Christians are not a bunch of crazies who just want to sell them the gospel, but that we love them and want to wonder with them and help them get closer to God. It is so easy to go to either extreme, always want to use the putter or just be friends and never share the gospel. We need to find the balance.

The only disappointments I had with the weekend was that there were so many people I wanted to sit down and visit with (people who I went to Thailand with, etc who I hadn't talked to in like 3 years), but we were so busy that I basically just got to say hi and then a quick update and then back to a session. But, was a sweet weekend anyway.
So, after the awesome weekend we went out into the Vancouver community! We broke into hubs of about 6-8 people and went into the Greater Vancouver area to serve in different capacities. My group was working alongside a church in Burnaby/Surrey. We did a couple of community outreaches in the church (with the Olympics on an overhead and playing games with kids, or serving food to the homeless), and then doing some mini-Olympics in two different schools. I had some really neat chats with a few people. In particular, it was neat one night sitting down and chatting about life with an older retired gentleman who was bringing his grandchildren to the church for activities. He is from a really rough past, but it was neat to just talk to him, and then on Friday I saw him when he dropped off his grandchildren at the school we were serving at! He asked when the next thing at the church was, so hopefully he can connect with someone there.

The school outreaches were really encouraging as well, we could not share about Jesus or anything but just tried to love the kids and share some good messages about teamwork, etc. We told them who we were and that we were working with the local church, so they should check out the street hockey tournament on Saturday. These kids were from really sad backgrounds, a lot of broken homes and teachers were telling us how they needed to make sure that some of them had lunch every day. I led a group around and it was so neat to see how much it meant to just look these kids in the eyes and smile at them and just love them! The kids always wanted to stand in the front of the line next to me! I felt really blessed at the end of the day as a kid who I had met earlier in the week (didn't think I had spent much time with him) ran across the gym yelling, "Jadon, are you coming back next year?!" Showed me how much of an impact we can make in lives in such small ways! I had not seen him all day and had barely talked to him earlier in the week, but he felt a connection with me!

We also spent a day and a half down town, just experiencing the Olympics and talking to people. It was neat how much it means to people for a stranger to smile and say hi and chat with them! Shocked a lot of people at first, but it was really neat to just hear people's stories, share what we were doing in Vancouver and just encourage people! Just letting Christ shine through in our actions and going where the conversation went, and where people felt comfortable going.

One last story, we wore jackets that had icravechange.com written on the back collar (Erwin McManus made a small version of his book "Soul Cravings" that we were supposed to base the "More Than Gold" Project on). Well, we were on Granville Island and I was just chatting with a family whose daughter was playing the fiddle (another cool story in itself, amazing 14 year old fiddle player!) and this guy ran up to me in a hurry. He said, "What is icravechange.com? I only have a minute because I need to go drive a delegate soon!" So, I quickly told him we were with AIA and what we were doing and brought out the "Soul Cravings" book and tried to explain the main concepts to him as he looked at it. He said he had to leave but seemed really interested, so I let him have the book. He was shocked that I would let him have it. It was a crazy conversation, like literally a minute long. I was left kind of dumbstruck! "Did that just happen!" I just kind of stumbled trying to explain everything as quickly as I could and not really sure what to say!
So, we didn't get to go to any events, but it was a really neat experience just to be in the environment and serve people! The atmosphere downtown was incredible, and the weather was amazing the whole week! How can anyone be disappointed in the quality of the event with such a gorgeous setting, an awesome transit system and such an amazing atmosphere everywhere! (I heard people talking about how much better the downtown atmosphere was than Turin, and look at the fans at curling!)

Peace my friends!
And thank you for your support!

PS. Enjoy the picture that I had taken in the Canadian Mint Pavilion! haha They had a booth set up there.

Reflections from NTC- God's love, and sacrifice and freedom!

It is amazing how God continues to blow me away over and over again! It shouldn’t be a surprise at all, but God continually works in people’s lives in ways beyond my expectations! There is so much I could say, so many amazing stories of God working in students lives this past week, so I could write a novel, but I will try to just write an over view and a few thoughts here!
I attended Athletes In Action (AIA) National Training Camp (NTC) in 2004 (at TWU) and again in 2005 (at the U of A), and I felt called to intern this year. I wasn’t really sure why, but I just felt like it was something that I had to do. AIA used to hold two NTC’s each year, one in Western Canada and one in Eastern Canada. In 2006 I was planning to intern at the Western one and it got cancelled due to there not being enough participants signed up, so I was not able to attend. This year I was trying to get my little brother to come with me, so I signed up hoping that that if I attended so would Nathan. Nathan couldn’t come due to work, but I still felt like I needed to go. I was not disappointed at all!
I find it hard to explain exactly what NTC is, as it impacts the lives of people in so many different ways. I will do my best to try to explain it for a background. NTC is a week long conference to help create an environment where athletes can learn how to integrate their faith into their sport (and their whole lives). It is a safe environment for athletes to learn different truths and principles that they can then use in their sport. Many of the principles are good to help with focus and motivation in sport, but also to learn how to worship God through sport and through all aspects of life. It is always amazing to see athletes wrestle through the principles and see them experience freedom in their lives as the week progresses. NTC ends with a 24 hour sports marathon, called the SPECIAL, that brings all of the learning from the week together and the athletes seem to always meet God in really personal and profound ways.
It was an amazing week, starting with a few days of meetings with the AIA campus staff before the students arrived in Ottawa. It was amazing to get to know the staff better and hear stories of how God is moving in the many campuses across Canada!
Then the students arrived and it was awesome to watch them bond quickly and allow God to work in their lives! There were literally student athletes from all across Canada, from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (Mount Allison) to BC (TWU), and everywhere in between! So many universities were represented and it was so amazing to see how God is working in the lives of student athletes across the country! The Holy Spirit is working in the lives of so many athletes across Canada and is building up leaders to further His kingdom. I feel like the Holy Spirit is really moving among key student athletes across Canada and I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to work through these athletes as they go back to their campuses! There were more athletes at NTC than in several years, and many very elite athletes, I really feel like this is the beginning of a movement amongst the University athletic community. I feel like God is building up a group of leaders across Canada who will have an amazing impact on their teams, athletic programs, campuses and Canada as a whole! There is much potential in these athletes and I look forward to seeing how God uses them in the future!
A common theme that I saw was the theme of God’s love for these athletes. That God loves each of them not due to their performance but because He loves them! Christ died on the cross for our sins and we are the most valuable things on this earth! Nothing we do can decrease or increase our value in His eyes. I saw the freedom that this experience gave each of the athletes! They do not have to perform to earn God’s love, and no matter their past God loves them just the same!
The other theme that really struck home to me was seeing athletes giving their whole lives to God, including their sport! This was huge because so much of an athlete’s identity is their sport! I loved seeing athletes using their bodies as living sacrifices for God (Romans 12:1 was very prominent), and using the SPECIAL as a way of worshipping God. It was awesome watching athletes really experiencing the Holy Spirit through sport and just committing and giving up their whole lives to Christ, sport and all!
When I woke up this morning I turned on my iPod and a song by “The United Pursuit Band” came on titled “Even Now.” It really spoke to me especially with the commitments that were made this past week. It speaks of giving one’s heart to God. Giving up our hearts to God is all of us, our lives, our sports, our relationships, our finances, our security, all of us! I saw athletes experience God’s love in ways that they hadn’t before, and laying down their whole life to God. It was beautiful to see! Here is a snippet of the lyrics that really hit home:

It doesn't always work like I've planned it
I've seen a lot of good things, a lot of things been out of my hands
Even when I don't understand it
We have all got choices to make
And this one is mine…

Even now here's my heart God
I'm in love

Runnin' out of reasons to doubt You
Can't live another day here without You

Even now here's my heart God
I'm in love

Your love is sweeter than honey
Your love is stronger than death
Your love lifts me off my burdens
And teaches me to dance

TSN personalities and me...

Okay, I want to write this down before I forget the details... was a pretty "interesting" experience.
So, every year Athletes In Action holds a Grey Cup Breakfast on Grey Cup Saturday. This year the Grey Cup was in Calgary, and since it is in Edmonton next year a whole crew of us from the U of A AIA went down to Calgary on the Friday night (this way we know what is expected of us for next year!). It was the Friday night where there was that crazy weather (a bunch of multi-car pile ups between Red Deer and Calgary). I will get to the story soon here, just gotta lay down the background and foundation.
We were at the Hyatt in Calgary at 5:30 am in the morning, and most of us were assigned around the Telus and Hyatt to direct people where to go for the breakfast. Well, Colin and I got directed quite far away from where the breakfast was being held and were told by the head honcho to stand at the top of the escalators and he would be back in a few minutes to show Colin what was expected of him. Across the room was a room with walls that were all glass, and two sets of glass sliding doors. It looked like TSN had made that area their headquarters. Sure enough a few minutes later Rodd Smith, Dave Hodges and a high strung young lady walked up to the glass doors and tried to get in, but the doors were locked. Colin and I just observed from across the room and tried to remember the Dave and Rodd’s names!
The next thing we knew this lady was walking towards us in a very determined, purposeful manner! (Please note that it was probably about 6:45 am at this point and because of the snow storm I only got to bed at midnight and had to wake up 4.5 hours later… getting driven in a friend’s RCMP Uncle’s new 4x4 from Red Deer to Calgary Friday night was sweet, but that is another story and still made a long night!)
This lady was about halfway towards us and Colin and I both stiffened up because we knew we were in for a rude awakening! She blurted out, “how do we get in there… let us in there… we need to be in there and on the air in 15 minutes!” I tried to explain to her that we were just volunteers, but could only stammer out, “We… don’t… know… how… volunteers” between her aggressive demands. She demanded, “someone hired you, so let us in.” I tried to explain that we were just volunteers for the Grey Cup breakfast, but, could only say “Volunteers… Grey Cup… Breakfast” between more of her rants before she said, “I DON’T CARE what you are here for!!! SOMEONE hired you, so let us in!”
Colin and I were both getting very frustrated, but I once again tried to calmly say, “we are volunteers for the… Grey Cup Breakfast… the person who is in charge… will be back in a few minutes.” But, she kept cutting us off and then stormed off! It was incredible!
She stormed back to Rodd and Dave and a few minutes later a security guard came along and she told him off before he let them in through a side door.
The rest of the day was awesome though. Darren Dutchyshen came along about 10 minutes later so I called him over and showed him the back door in, and he was nice. Then Dave Hodges came out and chatted with me for a few minutes and asked me to let another guy in through the side door. So, I got to help TSN a bit in the end and talk to Darren and Dave!
Oh, and I have SO MUCH respect for Henry Burris (I know Rider fans may jump on this, but it is true), and “Pinball” Clemons. Seriously, such AMAZING men, and such good examples. All the CFL players came by with security guards surrounding them, the Als and Riders specifically, well Hank came strolling in by himself and stopped to shake my hand and ask me how I was doing. This was 7:30 am in the morning, and he genuinely cared to hear how I was! Solid guy! And “Pinball,” after the breakfast he stood and signed autographs for a probably a solid 1.5-2 hours, and I observed him as he signed, and each person was treated so special, like they were his best friends for years, gave every young kid a huge, and meaningful hug. Gave every person so much respect and love!
So, was a good and memorable morning!
Crazy TSN lady and all!

The Advent Conspiracy

Will Smith's Secret to Success | Guideposts

Will Smith's Secret to Success | Guideposts

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Intoxicating

I talked in the fall about how I want to be obsessed with God. That I wanted him to consume my mind and be in love with him more than anything in this World. Well, I came across this song by "The David Crowder Band" the other day called "Intoxicating." I have heard lots of David Crowder and am a huge fan, but never heard this song before! Wow, this song hit home in so many ways for what I want to feel like towards God! So awesome! Especially the last lines of the song,

"If I'm out of my mind it's You, You
'Cause I'm crazy in love with You, You
Inebriated by You, You
'Cause I'm head over heels with You, You"

I want to be intoxicated with God, obsessed with God, so in love with God that He consumes my mind, and that no matter what I am doing that he is in the back of my mind... Just as when I love someone I don't care what people think of my actions to show my love, I want this to be even moreso with Christ, I want to do what He wants from me, no matter if some may think I am crazy!
I want to be able to truly sing this song! I want this to be my prayer!

So, here is the whole song:

"Intoxicating" by The David Crowder Band


Intoxicating You are to me
Illuminating You are to see
Truly breathtaking You are to breathe
Sending my head spinning You are, You see

And I've lost my mind, I'm sure to find
Need to apologize for my
Lack of inhibition, for my belligerent condition
But with You this near I'm dizzy

Inebriating You are to me
Completely captivating You are yo see
Sending my world spinning You are, You see

And now I find a blurry line
Here between You and I
Raise the cup, drink 'til I'm full
Sing 'til I can't, 'til my voice is gone
And my head is spinning

CHORUS:
La, la dee da
La dee da, dee da
Dee da da da
Hey la, la dee da
La dee da, dee da
Dee da da da

Illuminating You are to see
Truly breathtaking You are to breathe
Sending my head spinning You are, You see

And now I find a blurry line
Here between you and I
Raise the cup, drink 'til I'm full
Sing 'til I can't, 'til my voice is gone
And my head is spinning dizzy

If I'm out of my mind it's You, You
'Cause I'm crazy in love with You, You
Inebriated by You, You
'Cause I'm head over heels with You, You

Uncle Stan Paulson- the loss of a Hero

My Uncle Stan Paulson passed away after a two year fight with ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease) on Wednesday. As soon as I heard of his passing, thoughts flooded my mind about how much he impacted my life and the lives of everyone around him through his 74 years on this earth. As these thoughts entered my mind I knew I had to get them out and onto paper, and that I wanted to share the story of my Uncle Stan, from my perspective of course, as soon as I could!
I began to think of this incredible man of God, who I am sure would have made it to healthily into his 90’s if not for the terrible disease gradually destroying the muscles in his body!
This past weekend I went to Grande Prairie for the funeral and I was reminded again about the amazing man that this world has lost!
So, here is how I remember my Uncle Stan! I find it hard to narrow down all of these thoughts that are swirling around my head and make it into a cohesive writing, but I will do my best.
In the fall my Uncle Stan was starting to feel the effects of ALS more and more and he started to chat with a man who was dying of cancer, George, at church every Sunday. They would reflect on life and would compare notes and guess who would get to heaven first. Well George made it there in November, and now Uncle Stan is there as well.
After the church in Sexsmith had a healing prayer meeting for my Uncle Stan one evening, my Uncle was talking to his son, Duane's Father-in-law about the prayer service and had the following insight: "David, do you remember how we used to order from the Simpson's and Eaton's catalogues back in the day, and if they didn't have what we ordered they would give you something better in it's place. I think that is what happens with requests to God. If he doesn't give us what we ask for He gives us an upgrade, something much better than our request! If God does not answer our request, and I am not healed, then He will give me an upgrade, something much better!"
Right until the end Stan was making an impact on lives. I heard stories at the family get together about the last few days of Uncle Stan's life. He had an impact on people right until the end. Nurses were drawn to serve Uncle in ways that are not normal. The story that shows this more than anything else is how one particular nurse served him for only two days, the Monday and Tuesday before he passed away. The nurse came to talk to Uncle before she left her last shift and asked if she could kiss him in the forehead. She said that he had impacted her life in ways that she had not been impacted in before. The way that he was not bitter, but showed love to those around him. The way that they could see peace in his life. Uncle Stan could not really talk at all the last few weeks of his life, but a few days before his passing he was still making an incredible impact on lives of those around him! That is totally God, and shows you a glimpse of how God worked in Uncle's life!
Uncle Stan was like a grandpa to me, he was more than your normal uncle, especially since he was an Uncle through my Dad's sister, Hilda, who passed away in 1993! And the crazy thing about this is that the way that he treated my brothers and I was not an exception. He treated all of his nephews and nieces, and I know also other people who he got to know, in this same way as if they were special, and like they were his favourite! All the nephews and nieces, and even great nephews and nieces had memories of things that he did for us that showed Christ’s love for us. We all thought that we were his favourite nephew or niece!
My Uncle was such a servant! And he inspires me to this day. I want to be half the servant of God that he was! When he retired from working for the school division he started coming out to our farm to help with seeding and harvest and he would work harder than any of us. And Uncle Stan would not just come for a few weeks, he would come right when seeding or harvest started and would not leave until it was over! And when there was ever a break due to weather, or anything else he wouldn’t just sit back and read a book, no, he would get out some paint and start painting the sheds bins, etc. He was always finding ways to serve us and fix up our farm! And I know that between seeding and harvest he would be helping his children, or his other relatives! And every winter he would go on a trip doing missions for a few months in countries like Ethiopia, Korea, Columbia or China! He would help fix up schools, or help fill a teaching role for a semester, or I am sure whatever else needed doing! He had such an impact on the people who he met in these countries that several of them even came to Grande Prairie to go to College and stayed in his house! One of these young men from Ethiopia, Anyo, even flew from Toronto for the funeral and was an usher with my brother and I!
Uncle had the whole funeral planned out, and it was just the way he would have liked it to be, about family, friends, fellowship and fun! And most of all about Christ's love!
I remember every time he came to our farm for seeding he would bring pictures of his expeditions over the winter for us to see how God was working in other parts of the world, and he would always bring coins, and ties and other types of trinkets for all of his nieces and nephews and their children.
Or I think of the letters that he would send me in the mail that were written on birch bark.
Uncle Stan would always be looking for ways to help us, like if he knew we needed a car or that we were interested in something he would get us magazines about it.
Or I think of my cars that I have owned, how am I ever going to buy another car again without him to assist me? He would let me drive his car at such a young age. The first car I ever owned was his old car, and he let me pay for it in installments, so that it wouldn’t hurt my budget heading off to University!
Even the newest car I got. I was in Thailand on a missions trip and Uncle Stan had heard that my old car was starting to fall apart, so he emailed me to come up through Grande Prairie to buy his car. But, in the meantime he had found a car which would probably better suit me, more in my price range. So, he recommended me to buy that car and did all the paperwork for me. I am so glad I had that 4 days with him, while we figured out all the paper work to get it into Saskatchewan! It was hard to see the first stages of ALS at that point.
I have so many memories of Uncle, from him taking us moose hunting, or of us putting coins on the railroad tracks behind his house and seeing how they had been squished by the train!
The last few weeks before Stan's passing he was heard saying several times, "I am ready to go home, I want to go home." One of the requests he had was that his children (Twyla, Sharlene and Duane), and grandchildren (Brady, Brian and Hannah) would live their lives for Christ, so that after he sees Christ, his wife, and parents and the rest of his family already in heaven, that he will wait to greet his family to heaven. He said that the most important reminder for us is to love our family first and then to love others. The most important thing in life is love! And that love flows from Christ!
The World has lost an amazing man this past week, a man of God, and the world was a better place with Stan Paulson in it and is not as good of a place without Him. As my younger brother stated, when Uncle Stan arrived in Heaven, I know that God said, "Welcome home Stan, you have done well, my good and faithful servant!"
Uncle Stan was not given the temporary healing that we wanted for him on this earth, but instead was given the greatest gift of Ultimate healing in Heaven!
I miss him, and I know I always will while I am on Earth, but I know I will see him soon, and I will always be inspired to be like my Uncle Stan. I know that if I come even close to being the man he was that I will make an amazing impact on this world!

Two of my heroes in the faith and men who have had a Huge impact on my life, Uncle Miles and Uncle Stan. This was taken at our 2008 family reunion, and the last time I saw Stan.

Give Me Your Eyes

It has been a while since I have blogged... and this could be interesting... I am tired, but I want to get my thoughts out so that I don't keep putting it off and forget what is on my heart right now!

I have had lots to say, but have been so busy that I haven't had the time to sit down and get it onto paper... hopefully I will get some time to reflect over the next couple of weeks! It has been a pretty great last four months, I have grown quite a bit, and look forward to see what God has in store for my future. I will take some time over the Christmas to explore my options for come the end of April, when my contract ends. I have some really encouraging ideas! Now to see where God wants me.

Anyway, I got a Christmas card from a really good friend who I went to the University of Regina with, a friend from Nova Scotia, who now plays basketball for Windsor University. As long as I have known Emily we have shared music with each other. When she moved to Regina I started to get to know her and I showed her some of my music that inspired me, some worship music, etc. After that she would make me mix CDs of her favourite worship songs, etc. And when she moved to Windsor I made her a mix of some of my favourite goodbye songs (I know, cheesy, but it was fun). Well, with her Christmas card to me she included a CD of worship songs. This Christmas season I have been pondering a lot about how I can make a difference for Christ in this world. There is so much materialism, and even amongst family and friends and the Christian community. I find Christmas to be so shallow and commercialised sometimes. So, I was thinking of how to make it different and I started talking to my family about doing something else instead of presents this year. We are exploring ideas, I think we are going to give to World Vision or something instead of gifts this year.

But, when I was listening to the CD from Emily I heard the song "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath. I can't stop listening to this song! Such an amazing message. Exactly what my heart is saying and what my prayer is for this season. I see so much pain and different feelings as I walk around malls at Christmas time. It is a joyous time for many people, but at the same time it is a very hard time for so many people. Christmas time can be the loneliest and most painful time for so many people. I want eyes like Christ for the people who are hurting. I don't want to just walk by people and ignore them and rush to where I am going to. I want to see people for who they really are, and help them. I want to see them through Christ's eyes and have Christ's heart for them. I don't want to be able to walk by and ignore the pain... but, see who the people really are and help them.

That is my prayer for this Christmas season, and for the rest of my life!

Anyway, here are the lyrics (and the link to the video clip):

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
There’s a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
To ashamed to tell his wife
He’s out of work
He’s buying time
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

I’ve been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
yeah .. yeah .. yeah .. yeah

Working out my Faith and more on this obsession

I heard someone recently talk about working out, how people get obsessed with working out and they love it and it becomes a passion and obsession and they take it to excess. I know that at first the working out was a struggle for even these people. The first little while it feels like there are no results, just pain and soreness, but then results start showing up from being disciplined and one starts to love the workout high or runners high, or just the feeling of getting the adrenaline going, being physically active and seeing one’s body get stronger and look better!

This can be compared with our spiritual disciplines. I have heard people the last couple of years start to shy away from disciplines, it almost seems like the “in” thing to just follow the spirit and throw out the disciplines. But, as the old term goes “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!” (I couldn’t resist using that phrase!) I am all for the spirit leading us, but we still need spiritual disciplines in our lives. It is the same as this physically training, at first it is difficult, but as we train and push through the hard times God rewards us… and eventually we will break through the proverbial wall and feel Christ’s presence in a new and incredible way!

We don’t need to be afraid of disciplines, they don’t remove the spirit from our lives, but they help us. They give us another avenue to hear Christ’s voice. I pray that as we train and keep moving forward as Christ’s disciples that we will fall more and more in love with Him each day. That we will become obsessed with Him and want to know Him more and more deeply every day. That the obsession that people have for working out, for music, for drama, for their significant other, that those obsessions will be dwarfed next to our obsession with our Creator!

As was shared with me recently (I find it amazing that a thought will be in my head and then I will hear several people in the same day share something that reinforces my thoughts and prayers!), “Prayer is not the purpose of the Christian life, neither are any of the vital disciplines that Jesus modeled for us. The disciplines, however, set into motion a mysterious transformation as we deepen our intimacy with God. Transformation then is set into motion by our heart’s desire to follow Jesus and in humility submit ourselves to the practice of the disciplines in community. We allow others to help us keep our commitments to God. A discipline will join a new order of life, a life of discipline and accountability, to be transformed into the image of Christ. There is a new way of saying this that I have found very helpful. We should train to be godly, instead of trying to be godly” (p.19-20, Bill Hull, Jesus Christ Disciplemaker).

I pray that I will fall in love with Christ and that the disciplines that can be used to draw closer to him will become a passion rather than a chore. That I will never be satisfied with doing my "15 minutes a day", but will constantly be wanting more of Him, in anyway that I can get to know Him!

My Obsession!

While reading this I think you should listen to “You are Mine” by Mute Math, or “Obsession” by David Crowder Band or Delirious?. I have been listening to these two songs a lot lately. On Friday for coffee break I turned out the lights in my office and just sat back and listened to the lyrics and worshiped God.

So, I have seen people change a lot when they fall for that "special" guy or girl; suddenly they like different types of music, or bands, or even suddenly have a passion for music, sports, etc for the first time! Wouldn't that be incredible if we fell in love with Christ in this same way! We would love what He loves and do what He does! Think about that, the way that a "liking," "crush," or even "love" for a person on this earth and how that changes who we are. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that there is really anything wrong with this change, these relationships should change both people involved in a positive way, closer to Christ and be mutually helping the person grow. We should look for relationships and build into people and be built into for change in both parties, and more so in the close, tight relationships, and then more so again in a marriage relationship.

But, I digress! Think about how these relationships change us and how much a relationship with our creator can change us! I was listening to a Vineyard song called "Beautiful" and I want to sing this love song to Christ above all else in this World. I want to fall in love with Him in such a tight and intimate way! I want Him to love me (as He does more than I can ever comprehend) and cause me to love Him so deeply that I am obsessed with Him and want to be like Him and want to do what He loves and be where He is, and have His heart! I want to be obsessed with Him and like what He likes and be passionate about what He is passionate about. I want to become like Him!

We become the person who we emulate. This could mean something small, like being Wayne Gretzky or Alexander Ovechkin whenever playing street hockey. We try to reenact their moves, or have their style or dress like them. Or we try to sing like our favorite singer. We start to have the same sense of humour, or have the same mannerisms, or little quirks of our friends, the people we look up to, or our significant others. The people we study or spend a lot of time with we start to become! We see this so often with couples, they start to become the same person in many ways. Suddenly the guy doesn't mind chick flicks, or the girl starts to cheer hard for the Canucks... or even little things like they both start to do that little biting of their lip when they find something humorous, or say that little inside joke. When people look at the couples they start to see each person in the other.

I want to emulate Christ! I want to have His interests become so much a part of me that I do not even know that I am doing them! I want to become so much more like Him that when people see me they see Him. I want to have His little quirks and passions!

I want the desire of a lover for Christ! You know that obsession where the significant other is on your mind at all times!? When you go to bed the last thought is of that person you care for, and the first thought when you wake up is of that special person. I want my last thought as I go to bed to be that of Christ and the first thought as I wake up to be Him! I want the little pauses in my day to be filled with Him and how much I love Him and how He loves me! I want to desire to know Him more, to have a desire to talk to Him and to hear from Him!

I hear of newly married (or even long time married) couples where one leaves on business or a short vacation with the guys or girls. Everyone jokes about how the one left behind now has freedom and is "Batching it" and must be loving being single again. But, the honest response is always that they miss their partner almost as soon as they leave! And this missing isn't because the guy now has to make the meal! It is because he feels that part of him is missing, he does not feel complete without his partner. This same thing is said about the person who is away; they want to share their experiences with their significant other. She sees things that her husband would be fired up to see or he sees things that he knows that his wife and he could enjoy together. They do not feel the enjoyment apart that they would together. I want this to be the same as my love for Christ! I want to share my moments with Him! I want to learn from Him and to include Him in every aspect of my life! I pray that my experiences will feel hollow without His involvement in them!

I yearn to be OBSESSED!

My Calling in music!

OK, so here is some of what I really want to share!

As I was driving back to Hepburn from visiting my brothers for Thanksgiving I was listening to some amazing music that got me thinking!

As I was listening to music I thought about how much God loves us! There is a song by Jacob and Lily, called "Child of the King," that shows how valuable and loved we are. The song talks about just being in Christ’s presence and how we are Christ’s treasure! We are children of the King and are so precious to Him. We are His prized possession! I want to be in Christ and just abide in Him!

The next song that I heard spoke of how Chris has redeemed us (“Embracing Accusations” by Shane and Shane). Each of us is so lost, and there is no way that we can possibly ever live the lives that we have been called to, we can not earn our way to Heaven. But, the amazing thing is that it does not end there! It does not end with our failure, because He has redeemed us. No matter how many times we fail or fall into the same pit over and over again, he is there to accept and save us! We can’t do it on our own, but only through Christ! He has defeated death and sin and has redeemed us!

The next song spoke of how we are to have the same heart as Christ (“Tears of the Saints” by Leeland). I yearn to have the same heart as Christ! That I will be so moved by the pain that I see in the World! Christ is crying for the lost and hurting in this World! I pray that Christ will move in my heart, and that I will never be the same! I am loved and redeemed by Him, and I pray that I will have His eyes and Heart!

OK, I have to leave for hockey practice now… I will get to the brunt of my thoughts soon! This is crazy… I haven’t even gotten to my real thoughts yet! I keep thinking of more that I want to say, and it makes it longer and longer!

More than "just" content to drive these lonely highways with my random thoughts and God

Well, I drove home for thanksgiving this weekend (well, not really home... it was a weird Thanksgiving. I went to Eston to visit my brother, and we stayed at my Aunt's house for the weekend, and she wasn't even there! She was in Regina for the weekend. We had grilled cheese sandwiches on Sunday, and popcorn chicken on Monday!) and for once I really enjoyed the drive by myself. I didn't start to crazy, but instead had some time to just think and listen to music, and most importantly I was able to take some time to listen to what God had to say to me. It has been quite a while since I have felt God's presence or felt Him impress something on my heart that I felt like writing down and sharing. After my drive back to Hepburn I quickly ran to my computer to get some of my thoughts out! It has been really neat to feel Christ encouraging me and speaking to me in this way... As I was going to sleep on Monday I had to get up and write up some more, and then first thing in the morning I had some more to say. I am not saying that it is that profound, but it is really encouraging to me! It will take a few blogs maybe, so that you don't get too confused by all of my thoughts!

To start off with, some non-inspirational insights. There are some really poor drivers out there! I get a kick/feeling of fear from drivers... from those who drive waay too slow (like 20 km below the limit)... to drivers who don't signal (I want to turn left, but am not am waiting for the next car, and then they signal at the last second and turn! I could have went, but now have to wait for the next light)... or people driving waaaay too fast and being impatient/getting cut off. It was crazy, I almost got in like three head on collisions because people tried passing when they shouldn't have! And finally, people following waay too close on the highway. I think that many people do not know how to drive on the highway. If I can't see the following cars headlights then what will happen if a deer jumps out and I hit the brakes? We are not driving in a city at 50 km/hr, but 100 km/hr!

This is getting long already, so I will process my thoughts a bit more before sharing them! I need to figure out the right way to break my thoughts up into more concise thoughts.

But, one thought I have had for a while is the way that many of us tend to pray! I have heard many people when making a request or just praying in general say the word “just,” as in “Lord, just do this for us”, or “I just pray that this event will run smoothly,” or “I pray that you will just heal this person of their sickness if it is your will.”

God is a God of more than “just!” He is beyond “just” and “if!” I am watching how I pray, I want to pray in anticipation and faith! I know that God will go beyond “just” and can and will blow my socks off! I want to see Him go WAY beyond just and do the miracles that He wants to in my life! I am watching how I pray, I pray that even in the little things that God will go beyond “just” as He yearns to do and does continually!

What an adventure to go beyond “Just!”

The Unknown God

I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. Acts 17:23

I recently read of an interview from a few years ago with the Portuguese player Luis Vidigal about his team-mate, Figo. What is so special about Figo, was asked, of someone who had the opportunity to study him at close quarters.

Vidigal replied, "Figo has something special in his feet. He thinks and acts very fast. He is extremely difficult to stop. He is really blessed, without a doubt. Although he doesn't recognize that that blessing comes from the Lord".

Many sportspeople fall into that category – they are blessed by God with a body that works well. In many cases they have a special talent that sets them apart from others. But often they do not recognize God as the source of the talent.

Writing to the Romans, Paul says that there is no excuse for not recognizing that their talent is from God: "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse". Romans 1:20

As we represent Christ in the world of sport (or whatever we do in life) it is our task to help our team-mates, fellow committee members etc to see and recognize the God who is present with them, albeit unknown to them.

As we play with them and seek to share something of our experience of God, we need to pray for them, that they will be open to see and experience the God who loves them.

My way or the high way

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? James 4:1

We live in a culture that seems to say, if I want it, I will take it by force. There have been more wars in the 20th century than in any century before it. We may be technologically advanced but not in character. The world is full of tyrants and dictators who rule for their own gain, not the good of their people.

And it is not just in governments that you find tyrants. Many of us have played under coaches who were bullies, who always had to be right, who humiliated players who dared to disagree with them. Some of us may have experienced similar types of leadership in the church.

The Christian should have no part of this. In the following verses the key words that James uses are "humble, submit, purify". We are to choose God’s way not the world’s. We are to take our example from Jesus who "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Phil 2:6-8).

As we represent Christ in the world of sport, let us aim to do so in a spirit of humility – not pushing for our own position but acting in the interests of others.

Expectations

Jesus answered, "If I want him[John] to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." John 21:22

Shortly after the Beijing Olympics I was told of a conversation that a colleague had on the telephone with South African swimming legend Penny Heyns. They were talking about the pressure of the Olympics and how other people’s expectations and the fear of letting them down can add to the pressure.

Stuart described the conversation in the following way.

Then Penny said: “As Christians we need to remember that we perform for an audience of one and not be weighed down by other people's expectations. I know that is not easy”. So simple yet so profound.

As we walk off the field, step out of the pool, can we honestly say we have given it our all and sought to give glory to God? If so, we have been successful. In sport – as in all walks of life – it is easy to be caught up in what other people think of us.

In the verse at the top Jesus reminds Peter that his energy should be concentrated on following Jesus, not on what happens to John. The challenge to concentrate on what Jesus wants us to do, regardless of what others may think or what others may do, is a timely reminder to many of us.

An Update of sorts

OK,
OK,I know I owe many people emails... and I will reply... soon! my weeks are shot without internet access (I live for the weekends), but the last few weekends I have not had much time on any sort of internet... but soon!
This is an email that I am planning to send out soon (once I have enough time on the internet to type in all of the email addresses and press send!). So, some who read this may get this in email form in the next couple of weeks. But, for now here is an update for those who notice and read this blog type thing!
So, my contract with Bethany College as the Interim Athletic Director ended at the conclusion of April. But, I have continued to live out in Hepburn, in the same house that I have lived in for the year. Let me say that it was an incredible year at Bethany, and I grew a lot. It is a great College and I will be keeping my eyes on the happenings for years to come. It will be kept close to my heart for sure. Great student body, great faculty and staff and it was so neat to be a part of it for a year. God is working on that campus.
I knew it was a nine month contract, which I knew would be a very short time, but wow did it ever fly by! Seemed like it just started and then suddenly all the students are gone!
So, I have been continuing to look for work in Athletics for the last few months. I really love college and university athletics, and pray that I will find the right fit for me. I have found that I really love getting to know this age group and trying to come alongside them and helping them integrate their faith into sport. I am still trying to explore different options and discern what that will look like for my future! Whether I should just work towards being part of an University Athletic Department, or if I should be joining Athletes In Action as full time staff. I want to be where God wants me.
But, as I look for the right job I figured I should be making some money, so I have started working construction with Henry Janzen Steel Buildings. I am still not sure what job I will have there, but I will hopefully be put on a crew soon and start learning! It feels like all I do is work, eat and sleep each weekday, as I start at 6:30 am and am not done the day until after 5:00pm (which is why I have fallen behind on my correspondence!), but I should make lots of money and it is pretty close to where I live. This past week I did some framing, which I really enjoyed... it was neat to learn stuff, after just cleaning the yard for the last couple of weeks.
I kind of wish that I had moved into Saskatoon for the summer (I feel kind of alone out here sometimes), but I did not want to move and then two weeks later get a job where I have to move again. So, I will be out in Hepburn till mid-August likely... and then see where God takes me on this journey.
Well, I said I would keep this short... Hmmm, I think that might be it,
Hope you are all doing well... I will update you when I figure out the next step in this adventure of mine called life! It has been good seeing some of you in Saskatoon this past month, always encourages me to see friends, longtime and new!
Peace,
Jadon
PS. OK, two quick stories:
I have realized that I have entered a new phase in my life- Now people ask me if I am married! That seems to be the first question that is asked to me when I meet someone new at work, church, etc. I almost break into laughter everytime... it seems like an overnight change!
Also, I was cleaning garbage at the yard where I work, just cleaning up all the stuff that got blown into the trees, etc. Well, I stopped for coffee and saw this thing crawling on my arm, a wood tick! Man, do I ever hate ticks! I was paranoid the rest of the day! But, the song by Brad Paisley kept going through my head, "I want to check you for ticks!" haha

Compete as a Christian or don’t compete at all

This was something I read by Stuart Wier, I thought it was worth passing on:

Scott Reavily in his MPhil thesis on competition, came to the conclusion that for the Christian: "the case against competition is more compelling than the case for it". If he is right, then Christians had better get out of sport.

If he is right Christians need not only to stop playing sport but also to stop doing business or entering politics as they will be obliged to allow their opponents to win every time! It is our view that Christians can and must stay in sport and face the tensions head on.

I believe, however, that the challenge for the Christian competitor is to bring a higher quality of competition into sport. That is the crux of the issue we are addressing. Christians are to take God’s world of sport and regain it for his glory. The world of sport, in Calvin’s phrase should become a "theatre of God’s glory". Christians are to be fully engaged in competitive sport, using their God-given talents to the full, giving 100% commitment to the contest. At the same time that commitment is to be given in a spirit of loving one’s neighbour as oneself.

There have been many examples of treating one’s opponent with love in the history of sport. For example, Eugenio Monte removing the bolt from his own bob and giving it to the UK team whose bolt had broken in the 1964 Winter Olympics – ultimately sacrificing his own gold medal chance; or tennis player Nduka Odizor lending an opponent a pair of his grass court shoes before playing him in a tournament.

I suggest that the Christian is to compete with three attitudes:

that competitive sport, like everything else for the Christian should be an act of worship;

that we are to love our neighbour (ie our team mate, opponent and the officials) as ourselves; and

that as Christ’s representatives we must play Christianly.

What better arena is there in which to exhibit the love of Christ than sport, as players love team mates as themselves, as they care for each other and make sacrifices for each other?

Accepting defeat as not the end of the world, and being content to have given 100% for God, may be a radical concept. It is also how Christians need to express their Christian faith amidst the challenges of professional sport.

Embracing Accusation

I feel like such a failure sometimes. I feel like I keep failing Christ, sometimes it really gets me down. There is a passage in Galatians 3 that states that if we do not follow the instructions in the Bible then we are damned, we are cursed! But, the passage does not end there, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being a curse for us! I thought this was such a good reminded when I read this. There are so many times when I wonder where the heck my life is going. I feel like I am wandering aimlessly, and am not being of any use to anyone, let alone God, I fail and fall so often!

Then I went to the Shane & Shane concert and bought one of their CDs, I have been listening to one song in particular, "Embracing Accusation." This is such an amazing song. It starts with the devil preaching over the singer, saying that we are cursed and are hopeless. But, this is the beginning of the gospel! We are hopeless, we are cursed, we can not save ourselves, we are failures. But, that is not the end (as the end of the song is Christ singing the rest of the gospel message, louder and more powerful than the devil's accusation), Christ has saved us! This is such a powerful song... send shivers down my back each time!

When we feel useless and hopeless, these accusations from the devil that we can not gain our salvation, think about how this is the beginning of the glorious message from Christ! That it is Christ who saves us, there is nothing that we can do, it is all Christ!

Christ wants to use us as broken people, He wants to redeem us and use us for His glory!

The devil preaches the beginning of the gospel over us, that we are failures. But, he leaves out the refrain of the gospel, that JESUS SAVES!!!!

Our Value Part IV- We are Christ's Ambassadors

Well, I figured I could start this last installment with a bit of an update. So, as I stated earlier in these blogs... I am unemployed right now, and just trying to get my house in order again.
I will probably just work construction for the summer (while continuing to apply for jobs and seek direction for the fall), and get involved in a church in Saskatoon. I am excited to pick a church and get involved! I miss having that kind of community. It was an awesome year here though, I definitely grew a ton and learned a lot about myself, in some ways that I had not expected to! It was really cool to have the community here... but, now it is gone and I do not know where I fit. Feels really strange, to go from having so many people around and having that community and basically my whole life was wrapped up in this little college. And now it is gone and I need to kind of figure out my life again, figure out where I belong. Very strange feeling. I hope that I can find a community of sorts this summer... or else it could be a long, lonely summer... maybe I should have found a place to live in Saskatoon!

Well, I had a good evening last night. I went to the Starfield concert... I really enjoyed Shane & Shane. They were incredible! I wish that they would have been the headliners, I didn't want their set to end. I bought a few of their CDs, and DVDs came with the CDs, so my music DVD collection is starting to really grow, which I enjoy. I really enjoyed the worship experience. It was nice to see so many people at the concert who I knew as well. A few of us went out for something to eat after, which was nice. I have had some really cool times the last while just listening to music and reading my Bible... so needed. I will have more insights in the next while from what God has been speaking to me about in what I have been reading.

But, the last of this series of mine... haha. I must say that many of my thoughts were inspired from what I learned at Athletes In Action's National Training Camp a few years ago... really changed my life in many ways!

We are Christ’s ambassadors! (2 Chor. 5:20- We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.)

The definition of ambassador is:

1: an official envoy; especially : a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment

2 a: an authorized representative or messenger b: an unofficial representative

This is an honour, we are the personal ambassador of Christ (His representatives!)

You can have confidence to go into any room, with any group of people and not feel small. It is their privilege to have you in their lives, because you were sent by the King of this Universe!

He will send us prepared if we are His ambassadors! (2 Chor. 3:5-6- Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.)

We are already able to deliver, He has made us competent!

We often feel inadequate, but Christ has made us adequate as His ambassadors to do what He has called us to do!

So, I would like to finish off this set of blogs to affirm our value in Christ.

Here are a few things that highlight who/what we are in Christ (I remembered this list from Athletes In Action National Training Camp a few years ago and keep it as a reminder for me daily.):

1) I am Alive with Christ – no longer dead!

2) I am Set Free from Sin – no longer a slave

3) I am a Child of God – no longer an enemy

4) I am Privileged – no longer a stranger

5) I am a Citizen of God’s Household and an Heir – no longer separate from Christ

6) I am an Ambassador of Christ

7) I am a new Creation

8) I am Worth the Blood of His Son

9) I am Not Worthy… But am Not Worthless… I am Loved!

10) In Christ I am an MVP… Most Valued Person (couldn't resist a sports one!)

The theme at our Youth Retreat here at Bethany this year was "Unboxed and Dreaming big," sometimes we view ourselves as so unworthy, and not worth as much as we are in Christ. We are Christ’s ambassadors! He has given us these dreams, and will equip us for them!

If anyone actually reads this I would love to get responses of what your dreams are! He has given us each big dreams, and we often think they are impossible, but nothing is impossible in Him and He has given you your dreams for a reason. I think verbalizing it is an important step! Some of us have verbalized our dream, but we need to remember the commitments we made to Christ!

Share your dreams with someone and encourage others to share their dreams with you. And then affirm those dreams in each other. Christ values us so much and His plans for out lives are so much grander than we could ever comprehend!

Lets affirm each other in our abilities and dreams…