You are welcome here...

Social media is like the comment card of today. There`s no need to fill out a piece of paper anymore with thoughts, compliments or complaints. All one needs to do now is simply snap a photo and post it on Instagram. Or write thoughts on Facebook and Twitter.

I`m lucky enough to get to read some of the comments students, staff and guest speakers leave after having stayed at YWAM Brisbane. Because I oversee the Hospitality Ministry at the base, I sometimes get a note card (yup, people do still do those things) with a word of thanks or even as an encouragement for the ministry here.

Just check out some of the photos I've included from different people who've stayed at YWAM Brisbane in the last few months. I'm regularly impressed to know that little things do indeed make a difference. A smile. Offering to make a cup of tea or coffee. Getting to know someone. A freshly cleaned room. Those things and many more go a long way in making people feel welcome.

For nearly two years now I've been overseeing the Hospitality Ministry at YWAM Brisbane - a ministry that seeks to be an extension of God's love and generosity to others. That means making this base a welcoming and value-instilling environment for people who call it home - or a place to lay their heads for a few nights - or just a spot to hang out after school. I've been fortunate to use my natural strengths as a nurturer, relater and love for people to 'spur one another on toward love and good deeds' (Hebrews 10:24).

We all play a part in making people feel welcome. That`s true for here at a YWAM centre in Australia, and it`s true for the way I`ll hopefully one day run my own home. And it`s true for wherever you call home too. We can do the smallest and simplest things to show others they matter...they have value...they are a child of God.

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You are welcome at my house...let me supply whatever you need.
Judges 19:20 (NIV)

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10 (NIV)

Practice hospitality.
Romans 12:13 (NIV)

In Person Love Letter

This is a love letter that God delivered to a young cashier who works at my neighbourhood grocery store.

The letter starts about a month ago. As I was going through the check-out one afternoon, I noticed the unique name on the woman's shirt - Chey.
I then asked the young cashier how she was doing.

Not great, was her response. She'd been off work the day before because she'd had an asthma attack and fainted in the break room.
My heart stirred when she told me - and I sensed God urging me to pray for healing.

I told Chey that I was a Christian, and that I believe God heals. That God loves her so much personally, that He doesn't want her to have any physical problems.
So I offered to pray for her while she scanned my groceries. She agreed. I prayed for her lungs, each cell that takes in oxygen, for her airways, and for her heart to know God's love.

When I was finished praying, I asked Chey how she felt. She said she felt much better, even simply because someone showed they cared about her.
I said I hoped to run into Chey again. I'd hoped to meet up for coffee sometime while she was on a break. She agreed.

But I didn't see Chey again, until today.

I finished my groceries at another check-out, and while I was leaving the store I noticed the name tag of another cashier from a distance.
Yes. It was Chey.

I went to say hello and to find out how she was doing. I reintroduced myself. And immediate Chey remembered who I was.
She thanked me for praying for her that day about a month ago and for what I had done. In fact, she said she was grateful for what God had done.
Wow! She totally acknowledged God's healing hand. It turns out she hasn't had a single asthma problem since that day. Chey said she's even been able to exercise again without suffering an asthma attack.

God loves her.
He didn't need to write it down in a letter.
He showed up and showed Chey His love right smack dab in the middle of her work day.
And He is hopefully doing it everyday she is able to breathe freely again.

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And one of them (a leper), when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God. 
Luke 17:15 (NKJV)

 

Love letters...

In the lead up to Valentine’s Day, I decided to write out some recent revelations I got when reading my Bible. Essentially it’s my recognition of God’s love letter to all of humanity. Enjoy!

I love when I come across Scripture that is just so rich in proclaiming God’s goodness to us. Even if I’ve read it many times before – I get giddy, excited and full of an overwhelming gratitude.

Today, it’s all of Psalm 103 with lines such as,  “Praise the Lord…who forgives…heals…redeems…crowns with love and compassion…satisfies desires with good things.”

God does all that and all we have to do is receive it when we make Jesus Lord and Saviour.
That’s something worth praising!

Then in verse 11 it reads that God’s love for us (for me) is as high as the sky! God really knows how to capture the heart of a young woman. Jesus really has words and love to truly sweep me off my feet and satisfy me.

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From head to toe, I'll bless His holy name.
Psalm 103:1 (Message)

Why Australia?

A pastor who dropped by the base one day last week asked me why I decided to come to Australia to serve in missions. It’s a question that’s been posed to me several times recently. So, apart from my own initial reaction - that this is my “do-over” after having failed to come on a university exchange - I hadn’t given it much, serious thought. 

When I finally sat down to think and pray about it, here’s what came up.

This is a nation packed with the fatherless, broken homes, multiple parents and siblings under one or many roofs, alcoholism, as well as public displays of verbal and emotional abuse. Perhaps it’s because I’ve paid more attention than I ever did before. But I honestly think there is something that needs God’s presence here in families more uniquely than what I witnessed growing up in Canada.

Sure, I had many friends whose parents were divorced when I was younger. And yes, there are broken homes all over the place. But there is something that pulls on my heart for Aussie families.

When I first moved here two years ago, I distinctly remember walking to the shopping centre and hearing a mother screaming at her children in her house. The Queenslander-style of home is very open to let a breeze cool things down. But that open-concept building also means you can hear your neighbours – even as you walk past – in a way that was totally unfamiliar to me. I was used to brick, sealed windows and insulated walls that keep the elements out and the sounds in.

Maybe it makes sense to pursue the Kingdom task of encouraging godly families in Australia, simply based on the anecdotal evidence I’ve witnessed. To champion godly families – and communities – I believe it’s necessary to first champion godly women and men who truly know their identity and value in Christ. Because once they have that down, the women and men know how to treat each other and their family. 

The question isn’t so much why Australia, but how do I begin seeing God’s Kingdom expand here especially in families.  I don’t have the answers, but luckily, I serve the One who does.

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A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
Psalm 68:5  (NIV)

...seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you... Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)

Imitation, flattery and people watching...

I really like to people watch.
Not in a creepy, stalker way. More so because watching someone gives me a glimpse into who they are.

At church, I’ve noticed how the pastor’s wife really serves him on the Sundays he is teaching. Her actions are really simple – like passing him a bottle of water, touching his arms when he gets up to speak, and being the biggest cheerleader in the front row. But because she isn’t the same on other Sundays, it’s clear she does this to serve her husband.

Or, at a recent YWAM leadership meeting, the National Director of the organization in Australia took time out to really get to know some people. There was even one day his adult daughter came to visit, and he sat towards the back of the room praying with her while the meeting was underway.

Our Base Director – the boss – gets down to grubby, menial tasks on a regular basis when he could argue it’s not his responsibility. The same goes for our Training Coordinator, she’s often cleaning up in the kitchen after events even if she hasn’t been scheduled to do so.

What do other people see when they watch me?
Am I living a life worth imitating? 

In writing to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul encourages them to follow his example of how to live a caring and Christ-centred life. His encouragement does not come because he thinks he’s something special. Paul’s only reason for telling others to look to him as a guide, is because of his intimate, and in-step walk with Jesus.

I got a glimpse into how other people see me this past week when I taught on one of the Discipleship Training Schools at the base. The topic was “Prayer and Intercession”, however, with promptings from God throughout my teaching, the lessons took a bit of a different turn. Everything was coated with messages or ideas about God’s heart (for us as individuals and for those strangers to whom we want to reach), as well as reminders that we need to give God the glory.

On the final day, I received a giant thank you card with notes from the students. I know the only reason they saw certain qualities in me, and my teaching, is because God is shining through me. While preparing my teaching, and even the mornings of, I prayed “God, I have no clue what to say to this group, but you do.” In response, the students wrote me comments such as: “thank you for sharing such powerful revelations”, “thank you for being so open with us, and just so sweet and loving all the time”, “your enthusiasm for the Lord can be seen in your shining face”.

There is no way any of those compliments were a result of anything I did by my own abilities. God really showed up, gave me grace, and gave me the right words or ideas to share with this class. I hope this is just the first of many exciting teaching opportunities to come!

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Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:14 (NIV)

Where there's smoke...

For the last few days my neighbourhood has smelled like a giant campfire. Just a few kilometres from the YWAM base firefighters set a controlled burn last weekend to get rid of dry grass. It hasn’t rained for 55 days and the humidity is really low. But, the controlled fire jumped some sort of barrier and set a bushfire. Welcome to Australia I suppose!

(You can check out some photos of the fire here....)

I was travelling back from the downtown area on Saturday and could see the smoke cloud from there. As I got closer to my neighbourhood, that’s when I realized how close the fire was. Then on Sunday night, when walking in the hill-top car park at church, I could see the glowing red flames of the fire in the tree-lined slopes in the distance. I never felt unsafe, and thankfully the fire is now almost extinguished. But seeing the smoke and flames gave me a better idea of what the Israelites may have seen tracking with them through the desert for forty years.

Day after day the Israelites had a pillar of cloud to guide them through the wilderness. And night after night a pillar of fire blazed before their camp. Yet, even though God’s presence was right in front of their faces – day and night – they still woke up some days forgetting about Him: 

He guided them with the cloud by day, and with light from the fire all night…But they continued to sin against him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High.
                  Psalm 78:14, 17

How is this possible? How could the Israelites forget God, when they had a daily, physical reminder of His presence? Not just the presence, but miracles too – manna, water, a parting ocean!

I am just like the Israelites. I too forget God’s presence…His provision…His blessings…His mercy. I wake up some mornings thinking, “if only this were to happen God, things would be better.” Yet, I know He has done amazing things in my life.

There are pillars of cloud and fire in my life every day too. I simply need to keep my eyes open to them. God has provided money from me when I need it for rent or food. He has healed – much quicker than should be – my body from colds, pink eye or a sprained ankle. God has set me up with my own bedroom (a massive blessing in YWAM), and continually uses me to guide other people to Him.

I’m so blessed. I’m understanding how important it is to remember those blessings as the best way to never forget God’s presence.

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I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider your mighty deeds. Psalm 77:11-12

When being holey hurts...

I’ve used food, fantasy of future relationships – even good things like fitness or family – to fill my hole-infested heart. That is a good term. Because the more I try to fill my heart with cheap, substitutes for Christ - the more holes start appearing elsewhere. It’s as though I’m patching up one hole, just to have another one rip open in another spot because the whole structure of my heart isn’t in good shape.

Now don’t go feeling bad for me, for dealing with emptiness in my heart. Because the good news is that’s exactly why Jesus died. He died and rose again to be our bread of life, our living water, our one and only satisfaction. It’s just taking me some time to actually allow that truth to permeate into all areas of my life.

Earlier this week, one of my housemates commented that I and another young woman have been lamenting over our lack of husband potentials. At first, I was aghast. How dare she say that about me! How dare she lump me in with the other woman, who I even notice talks a lot about her no-man-status. But at second glace, I recognized my housemate was right. Why couldn’t I see that in myself? How had I let my self-talk become so destructive?

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount gives an explanation. I couldn’t see my own dysfunction of emotions and thinking because of the giant block in front of my face. Jesus refers to this block as a plank in one’s eye that needs to be dealt with, especially before wanting to help someone else. My heart is to bring other women to emotional wholeness in their relationship with God. So, what am I supposed to do to fix my own heart first?

In his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew Henry puts it this way:
It is as strange that a man can be in a sinful, miserable condition, and not be aware of it, as that a man should have a beam in his eye, and not consider it; but the god of this world blinds their minds. Here is a good rule for reprovers; first reform thyself. 

Another piece of good news: I don’t need to try and fix or reform my heart on my own. Jesus wants in on the process. I realized that a big part of my reformation must come at the foot of the cross, where I lay down those things I’ve used as substitutions for fulfillment. I must choose to surrender – not because of the hope of receiving back what I’ve given up. (Don’t get me wrong, it’d be nice to surrender my dreams of a family and then get one in the next few years.) But instead, I choose to surrender because in the end Jesus is my all-in-all. The dreams and desires are really just a glimmer of what Christ has to offer.

These less-than-worthy alternatives, pale in comparison to Christ. David writes in Psalm 16:11 that in God’s presence there is “fullness of joy.” And the same “completeness” is promised by Christ himself in John 15:11. Plain and simply, the only true hole-filler comes in the form of a first century Jewish carpenter.

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You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

A light is only bright in the darkness

A Christian, a Muslim and an agnostic sit down to tea…

No, this is not the start of a joke. It was my Sunday afternoon.

Awhile ago God started talking to me about being a light. As Christians we are called to be that light on a stand shining and pointing people toward the goodness of our Heavenly Father and His Son.  It’s easy to live in a Christian community like I do, figure things are all good and well, but make only momentary impact on other people living around you.

This past Friday, a young girl riding a bike somehow tossed herself over our property fence and landed on a pile of bricks we have stored in an out-of-the-way area. What I heard from my living room was loud crying and screaming and next thing I know I see a man carrying a girl. When I spoke to one of the staff from our centre he told me what happened.

My immediate reaction was to say a short, silent prayer that the little girl would be okay. And then I knew I needed to visit the family of which I believed the little girl belonged.

I put together a little care package - a colouring book, chocolate, lollies, a glittery purse – and went over this weekend to bid a ‘get well soon’ and to meet the neighbours. I wandered up to the front entrance. And upon knocking on the door heard an accented-voice from an upper balcony call “Hello?” I peaked my eyes up to introduce myself, and the lady announced she would come down to unlock the door.

It turned out the girl who had flipped-the-fence was the daughter of a friend visiting the home. Thankfully she’d only chipped a tooth and had some bruising that kept her in hospital over-night. I do say thankfully, because it could have been much worse.

The couple next door moved in recently and I had yet to talk with them. Together they have a newborn daughter, and she has two other children. The couple was nice enough to invite me in when I inquired about the injured girl, we ended up having green tea and talking for 45 minutes. The woman is from Indonesia – a Muslim - while the man is originally from another part of Australia – the agnostic. And we had a bit of a laugh that they’d moved in next door to a bunch of missionaries – the Christian.  

Wow, what an exciting opportunity to get to be the light right next door! There truly are divine appointments happening all around us each day – we just need to take them. 

I’m definitely speaking to myself here.

Being a foreigner in Australia gives me such a great foot-in-the-door for conversations about God. About 85% of the time I get asked why I’m in Australia, to which I can answer and explain about YWAM and the relationship with Jesus that I have. But I don’t always take those opportunities. When Jesus tells us to be the light, He doesn’t just mean sometimes, or when it’s convenient. He means all the time.

I’m reminded of my Opa whenever I think about practical, everyday evangelism. As a pastor, my Opa was used to talking to congregations full of people about God. But it was those times at a restaurant or out walking in the park that really stick out to me. My Opa would simply wander up to a table of people eating their meal in a restaurant, and start talking to them like they were old friends. I remember feeling so embarrassed. The thought going through my mind was something along the lines of “Oh my gosh, Opa! This is embarrassing. Can you hurry up!”

Now when I look back, I realize the amazing an example my Opa was for living with other people as one’s focus. He didn’t care that it might take half an hour to make it out the door of a restaurant, because he was talking to every waitress or family table he passed. In the same way, I had simply planned to drop off a care bag to my neighbour, but was pleasantly inconvenienced to stay for a tea and talk.

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In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Beautiful

I love that it’s the simplest things in life that make my heart soar.

Bamboo swaying in the night breeze, sounding like an old, creaking door…
Sunrise shining on me while I jog or lift weights…
The smell of freshly brewed coffee…
Waking up to the sounds of birds singing…
Climbing into bed after a long day…
Laughing until my stomach hurts…
Talking to God while laying on a hammock at a farm…
Good, long hugs…
Cooking and enjoying a meal with friends…
The smile on someone’s face when you’ve just ‘made their day’…
Praying for other people and encouraging them…

The best thing I’ve realized about enjoying the simplicity of life’s pleasures is that it is easily found. It doesn’t matter where I live, what I do or who I’m with, I’m able to find things in which I find joy. The secret, I think, is to keep my eyes open to them. 

In all these things I see God’s hand. He knows what makes my heart happy, and so often puts me smack-dab in the middle of His beauty. Even in spending quiet time with Jesus each day, I find that joy, or peace, or contentment that I might be lacking elsewhere in my day. The real simplicity of my relationship with Christ not only gives me what I need in my own life, but also gives me an attitude or abilities He wants me to use to bless others.

That is truly beautiful. 

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I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Philippians 3: 8 (NIV)