Even in the messes

Even in the messes, when things are just a bunch of colours swirling around like crazy, when nothing

makes any sense.  There is an oportunity to find hope.
I had the amazing opportunity to see this man, David Garibaldi, live doing his amazing artwork.  This peice in the video fits so perfectly with what Christ can do for all of us in our lives, when things are all crazy and upside down...He is there.  And He is waiting for us to cry out and take His hand.  What an amazing journey it is. 

Making an autumn shift....

I need to learn something so basic.  I need to grasp and fully comprehend something so simple, so childlike that it almost makes me laugh and terrify me at the same time.  As I've mentioned, autumn is a time of struggle for me spiritually.  I need to grasp something sooo sooo basic.  God created the autumn.  God created it for our enjoyment.  Its part of the cycle of how nature runs here and its beauty is something He created and it is for His purposes. 


So simple right?

But I associate it with the years I was pagan, the years I practiced wicca,  the years I followed the devil.   halloween, my little parties out in the woods summoning things that I dont dare even talk about these days.  I associate it with the begining of the school year when I would start to skip school to hang out and drink or get high.  I associate it with dying my hair red to match the leaves colours.  I associate it with things not of Christ and therefore my struggle chugs on each time that beautiful scent of fall hits the wind.  A scent I crave but hate at the same time.  Its my favorite time of the year and my least favorite time all in the same breath.

This is my goal this fall, to totally change my views of the season I crave to love most with Christ. 



Im running for this simple choice, to transform my way of thinking this time of year, so that the next years will be different. 
So if you see a lot more oranges, reds and yellows, the discussion of fall and autumny things more and more on here, its because Im working this out.  This has to be done.   This needs to be a season where I can embrace Christ as much as the others.   When I smell the leaves crunching beneath my feet, I need to breathe Christ.  When I hear them, it needs to remind me of His love.  Nothing else.

 James 5:7
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.

God is bigger than the Mailman

Even I had a five minute moment of panic about this Canadian Postal Strike where postal workers did not give their 48 hours notice and walked off the job.   How am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to do this, do that?  (Guess direct deposit is a good idea after all eh?)  I read posts from people on Facebook pages about medical supplies that come in the mail, formula for babies, things of big importance to everyone.  You could feel the panic in some of these posts. 

Have we forgotten how BIG OUR GOD IS?!?

He is bigger than this delima.  You bet your booties the enemy is going to try and take firm hold of all of us and sit panic in our hearts!!!!

Jesus tells us in John 16:33  

 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

He has OVERCOME THE WORLD! How amazing a God is that and He is the one who has our backs!!!!

This is a perfect opportunity to place situations, our lives in God's hands and say "Im trusting in YOU fully." 

How simple it is to be a follower of Christ

This has been on my heart to make a blog post about this for a while, not exactically sure why, but I feel like God wants me to post this stuff so here it goes <3 

When I became a Christian after following different religions for about 7ish years of my life, I thought "jeez this is going to be hard. All these rules, this big HUUUGE boring book that Im going to have to read to try and understand... Im loosing control over my life.  I wont be able to do the things I want to do."  I struggled for a long time in my faith in Christ... not because its hard to love Him, I find it quite easy to love the living God who died for me and gave me His Spirit and everlasting life. 

I had a hard time for a while believing that Christ is the ONLY way to God, that its being a follower of Jesus that is giving us eternal life... I had a hard time with that.  But it is said much more than once through the Bible. 

Jesus says in John 14:6  (The Message version)

 "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"

also in Acts 4:12 (New International Version)

 "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The first few years in my walk with Christ - I have been a Christian for 6 years, were hard, I would hear a lot of things that would stick, but I may not have really chewed on them or tried to understand fully.   I had amazing Christian people around me willing to answer my questions and that was fantastic. 

The past I'd say 3 years have been my most amazing Christian years so far.  I WANT to read God's Word.  The words that are not just guidelines, but the words Holy Spirit spoke through these people, to teach us God's love.  There isnt a time that I read the Bible that I dont get something out of it now, because I am fully putting my trust in God that he is Truth.  Before it was so hard, I didnt trust Him.  Boy, what a difference it makes. To listen for Him as I am reading.  Its so awesome.

Someone once said to me "How can you go from a faith that is so fun looking, to a faith that you sit in Church and sing hymns and listen to some guy talk for an hour?  I couldnt do that.  No way."

My walk with Christ has been so not boring, its different every day.  I see God not only in Scripture, I see Him in everthing that grows from the earth, His creation He gave to us to take care of and enjoy.  I feel God in myself because He has given us Holy Spirit within us that gives us a power I still dont fully appreciate to the fullest in my opinion and I have been really praying that God will help me understand His Spirit more and more each day.  I hear Him when I hear His word spoken.  I feel Him tons during worship time, feel His Spirit pour over the Church with such a feeling of Love I have never felt anywhere else so strong.  I have heard Him in so many ways and could share many moments,  the way God speaks to us is so diverse. He speaks to us in ways that work perfect for us.  And when God speaks, you KNOW its God. 

And to be honest, people reading this who havent experienced God's Love to its fullest wont get it.  You want to experience it, start looking at your local Churches, find the one that is right for your needs as a follower of Jesus Christ.  You may need to go to one, or two , three or four till you find the one that you feel at home in.  It might be a hop skip and a jump from your home or across town.  Some Churches can be more traditional, or really up beat and vibrant, or somewhere in between.  The importance is to find the one that works for you and your family.  I think that surrounding yourself with people who also walk in faith is so important because you are going to have questions and if you dont have anyone to ask about them and even help you in your learning, then you may struggle in your walk with Christ as your Saviour.  

Being a Christian isnt hard, and it isnt throwing your "fun life away", heard that one many times!  What have you got to loose really?  A life where you have a God who loves you so much, who died for you, wants to have a relationship with you constantly, to speak to you and allows you to speak to Him anytime!  All that is required is that you accept Him as your saviour and to walk a life that reflects His forgiving unfailing Love.  You dont have to understand everything, He'll show you everything He wants you to understand as time goes by.  His timing is perfect!  Im the furthest thing I think from being religious as I can be if that makes sense. Jesus is my Saviour. I am a follower of Christ.  Its a relationship. 

Stuck in the mud

The past few days I have felt like I have been stuck in the mud.  Worried about something that I really have no control over and yet I find myself constantly all day thinking about it.  And yet Jesus tells us not to worry in Luke 12 ~~

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

   ²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.  (NIV)

I am a bit obsessive over things and until I understand a situation fully, I am almost in a silent panic mode..sometimes not so silent. 

I know God doesnt give us anything we cant handle. Paul tells us: "God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it".

God has got my back. 

In reality, logically, I should give my worries to God. Because He will and does take care of them. I have seen it happen many many times before.  He has answered my prayers, healed what needed to be healed and provided for us what we needed to be provided for. But when its the BIG things going on, I give it to Him, then take it back. Give it to Him... hear what He has to say, get impaitient and then do my own thing.  GAH so frustrating. 

Im sure others of you can relate.  And He knows that I am like this too and is probably sitting up in Heaven going "oooo Candace, you silly girl. Just go to bed, no worries. I got it, trust me." 

I need to get out of the mud, give it to God, and leave it... walk away from it till I feel God telling me it is time.

When a princess asks questions...

She is so young, and yet so wise in ways that blow me away. She has such a simple approach to Jesus. She knows she is a Princess, she is a child of the King! She knows He loves her more than anyone else can and she knows she can go to Him with anything! And she is only six years old.

Over the past few weeks my daughter has really gotten a hunger for God. She is always ready to do a Bible study in the evening or spend a long time just reflecting on Gods love. I always see peices of paper with hearts that say "God" or "Jesus" on the inside and I know it must just make Jesus smile ear to ear!

Along with her love growing for God, her knowledge of how God works and such is growing as well. She is begining to ask questions about those around her who do not have Jesus as their saviour, or to those who believe that all walks of faith lead to God. I have asked all these questions myself in my walk with God, and thankfully due to studying scripture had a few responces for her questions. But I think because Im a "grown up" now I can tend to make things more complicated than they really are.

The one thing I knew was that these questions she had needed to be talked about. There were moments where it almost seemed she wanted to hide away from all those who could hurt her faith. Wow, I have had that feeling many times. She would show fear when I told her that not everyone believes in Jesus, even some people very close to her. But I also talked to her about prayer and how prayer can change things and to also never hide her faith from people when they ask her about it because it may be her that brings them to Christ! I also encourage her to read her Bible, and that together we could find scripture that would help her with her questions. Making sure that she understood that just because one of the people in her life doesnt believe in God doesnt mean we should avoid them! I think thats the last thing we should do! We may be the only Christian in their life. It says in John 13:34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."  No matter what! 

We know a lot of angry people.  Even we get angry.  Our world is angry, and a lot of people want to blame all their problems on God.  They curse His name and figure they can do it all on their own because He has never been there for them.  My daughter made an awesome point, God can not really be there for us when we are so angry and blaming Him for everything, God is love!  He fixes our problems, He doesn't create them but He will make them work out for our good if we just trust Him!  Its so simple! 

Jesus says in Luke 18 in verse 16-17 “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”