On June 5th, 1977 my entire family migrated from Jamaica to Canada. It was 7 degrees celsius and foggy...and I have loved it here ever since. This July 1 as I celebrate Canada's birthday I will revel in the freedom, enjoying good food, good fun and the fellowship of friends and family. What could be better?
I am thankful to God for the fabulous life I have in Canada. For my Canadian born husband the children. For my Canadian friends. For my Canadian citizenship. For the healthcare and benefits I have as a Canadian. For freedom.
I am not blind to the issues of concern but they pale in comparison to those in almost every other country in the world. Canadians are BLESSED!
This July 1st I will sing O Canada with gusto especially when I get to this part...
God keep our land glorious and free!
and I will celebrate that freedom by acknowledging God's blessings on me personally and on our country at large.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
In But Not Of
Today as I browsed the shelves at a public library there were several books that caught my eye. My immediate thought was - those are Christian books - so I pulled them out to check and, for the most part, I was right. There was just something about them. In many cases, the titles were a dead give away especially in comparison to the titles of some of the books surrounding them. In other cases, there was something about the design on the spine and cover that made me think it was a Christian book. I wanted to take about 8 of them home but ended up choosing just two. (I made note of the authors & titles of the others so I could get them another time.)
As I happily walked out of the library with the books I had happened upon I was encouraged by my experience. I grew up hearing this phrase a lot..."Be in the world but not of it". As a child, teenager and even young adult I struggled with that concept at times. How can I live in the world and not be like it? How do you survive being different?
Seeing the Christian and non-Christian books sharing the same shelves at the public library is a great visual explanation of that concept. If what's inside of me is pleasing to God and if I exude that wherever I am, I can be in the world and not of it. Not only that, it speaks to the fact that Christians have a place in a non-Christian world. People will read us. They will want to know what we have to say. They will be drawn to us by what they see and hear. Not only that, but they can walk away from their encounters with us as happily as I did from the library today.
I love it when God speaks to me in ordinary ways through ordinary experiences. It's further evidence that I can be effective for God in the world in which I live.
As I happily walked out of the library with the books I had happened upon I was encouraged by my experience. I grew up hearing this phrase a lot..."Be in the world but not of it". As a child, teenager and even young adult I struggled with that concept at times. How can I live in the world and not be like it? How do you survive being different?
Seeing the Christian and non-Christian books sharing the same shelves at the public library is a great visual explanation of that concept. If what's inside of me is pleasing to God and if I exude that wherever I am, I can be in the world and not of it. Not only that, it speaks to the fact that Christians have a place in a non-Christian world. People will read us. They will want to know what we have to say. They will be drawn to us by what they see and hear. Not only that, but they can walk away from their encounters with us as happily as I did from the library today.
I love it when God speaks to me in ordinary ways through ordinary experiences. It's further evidence that I can be effective for God in the world in which I live.
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