A good song....and if you look up the music video on youtube, you'll notice the little boy at the beginning of the song is wearing an UPWARD soccer jersey! How cool!
Kings and Queens
-by Audio Adrenaline
Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me
Will we leave behind the innocent to grieve
On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun
These could be our daughters and our sons
And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating
I know my God won’t let them be defeated
Every child has a dream to belong and be loved
Chorus:
Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in Your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free
Shout your name in victory
When we love when we love the least of these
When we love the least of these
Break our hearts once again
Help us to remember when
We were only children hoping for a friend
Won’t you look around these are the lives that the world has forgotten
Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open
CHORUS
If not us who will be like Jesus
To the least of these
If not us tell me who will be like Jesus
Like Jesus to the least of these
Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in your majesty
When we love, when we love the least of these
Then they will be brave and free shout your name in victory
We will love we will love the least of these
We will love the least of these
We will love the least of these
We will love the least of these
We will love the least of these
We will love the least of these
------
How will we love the least of these?
Monday, March 25, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Rely on God.
Ran into these couple of Bible verses in a blog written by a Godly woman whose three month old son passed away in January. They spoke to me so much. I just wanted to share them with you because I think they are incredibly meaningful. I usually read/write my Bible verses in the New International Version, but she had this verse written in the New Living Translation, and I liked how clear the message was so I'm going to use that version to write the verses out.
The verses come from 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. It is Paul writing and he is talking about what he has endured while he's been in Asia.
...We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
I feel like in some ways I can definitely relate with Paul on this one.
...We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die (wanted to die). But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger (emotional anguish, fear, complete devastation), and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
I encourage you today, to put your own problems into this verse and to stop relying on yourselves and learn to rely on God. No problem is too big for him. Note that Paul says that they were "overwhelmed beyond their ability to endure" - normally we think we can endure all things...that nothing will come at us that we can't endure...but in reality, many things come at us that we can't endure. There is no way we can endure them in our own strength. Life is way to hard for that. We can only have the strength to endure these things when we have God's strength, which only comes when we stop relying on ourselves and rely on God. That means fully, completely, wholeheartedly. Let it go. Give it to God. His strength will prove true and real. I've seen it, I'm living it. I couldn't be living today if it wasn't in His strength. Honestly. Let Him be your true strength today too.
The verses come from 2 Corinthians 1:8-10. It is Paul writing and he is talking about what he has endured while he's been in Asia.
...We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
I feel like in some ways I can definitely relate with Paul on this one.
...We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die (wanted to die). But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger (emotional anguish, fear, complete devastation), and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.
I encourage you today, to put your own problems into this verse and to stop relying on yourselves and learn to rely on God. No problem is too big for him. Note that Paul says that they were "overwhelmed beyond their ability to endure" - normally we think we can endure all things...that nothing will come at us that we can't endure...but in reality, many things come at us that we can't endure. There is no way we can endure them in our own strength. Life is way to hard for that. We can only have the strength to endure these things when we have God's strength, which only comes when we stop relying on ourselves and rely on God. That means fully, completely, wholeheartedly. Let it go. Give it to God. His strength will prove true and real. I've seen it, I'm living it. I couldn't be living today if it wasn't in His strength. Honestly. Let Him be your true strength today too.
Monday, March 18, 2013
The call to step out
A very compelling passage... (why have I never read this passage before?)
Read your Bible...it's really full of everything we need for life. Read your Bible daily, often, as much as you can...it will change your life. Fall in love with the love letter that God has written to us.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and you will raise up the age-old fountains;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
~Isaiah 58:6-12~
This is how we show the world the light of Jesus. Not an easy task in our culture where comfort, success and me are the focus. It's hard to change our focus. To lose the life of ease/comfort we've built for ourselves. But we are called to get out of our comfort and reach out, help those we aren't comfortable in helping....such a hard thing to do. As it says in Isaiah though, there are huge benefits to helping/serving. The Lord will guide us. He doesn't abandon us when we step out to help, He goes with us and strengthens us. Are we missing out on His strength because we live within our comfort and are therefore weak?
If your interested, just listened to this today....so good:
http://semcmission.podbean.com/ - Be Great: Ready to Serve
Read your Bible...it's really full of everything we need for life. Read your Bible daily, often, as much as you can...it will change your life. Fall in love with the love letter that God has written to us.
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and you will raise up the age-old fountains;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
~Isaiah 58:6-12~
This is how we show the world the light of Jesus. Not an easy task in our culture where comfort, success and me are the focus. It's hard to change our focus. To lose the life of ease/comfort we've built for ourselves. But we are called to get out of our comfort and reach out, help those we aren't comfortable in helping....such a hard thing to do. As it says in Isaiah though, there are huge benefits to helping/serving. The Lord will guide us. He doesn't abandon us when we step out to help, He goes with us and strengthens us. Are we missing out on His strength because we live within our comfort and are therefore weak?
If your interested, just listened to this today....so good:
http://semcmission.podbean.com/ - Be Great: Ready to Serve
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Those we don't yet know
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
~Psalm 27:13-14~
Good verses for today.
Almost done with our homestudy. Can't believe that is true. I remember when the thought of a homestudy terrified me. Today we had a lovely questionnaire that we were left with to figure out what we can handle or not handle in an adoptive child. So hard to fill out. So hard to say what type of child you wouldn't take....or would take....ahhhh
I'm just trusting that God has the right child/children for us and will give us what we need to be able to handle that/those child/children. It will take a lot of work and a lot of support and a lot of advocating and learning about our adoptive children....but isn't that the case for every child....you do whatever it takes to help your child.
Looking forward to meeting this precious child/these precious children in God's timing.
Please join us in praying for our kids we don't yet know.
Thank you so much.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
~Psalm 27:13-14~
Good verses for today.
Almost done with our homestudy. Can't believe that is true. I remember when the thought of a homestudy terrified me. Today we had a lovely questionnaire that we were left with to figure out what we can handle or not handle in an adoptive child. So hard to fill out. So hard to say what type of child you wouldn't take....or would take....ahhhh
I'm just trusting that God has the right child/children for us and will give us what we need to be able to handle that/those child/children. It will take a lot of work and a lot of support and a lot of advocating and learning about our adoptive children....but isn't that the case for every child....you do whatever it takes to help your child.
Looking forward to meeting this precious child/these precious children in God's timing.
Please join us in praying for our kids we don't yet know.
Thank you so much.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Another day
Another day. Not sure why today is a mixed emotion day. It just is.
It's been a busy week. Trying to get my head on straight for this coming week.
Looking forward to a skating party, dinner with our church family and hopefully a few other families and a family movie night too. Should be a lot of fun. Needing to get into the right mindset for that. I'm hoping that some of our Upward families will come out!
I think part of the melancholy is that a friend of the family passed away this morning. Hard to know what to do with that. I think death just makes me sad. Not much more to say about that. I think I'm just overly sensitive to death now. It's something I take seriously now, if I didn't before. I can understand and empathize with the families now, because I feel their heartache.
We stopped by our Kalyna's grave this afternoon as well. 8 months old tomorrow...such a beautiful little girl she is I'm sure! :) He grave is super pretty though. Pink grave stone with her beautiful name and a rose and cross beside. Etched in the stone under her name has her birthdate and then it says "Forever loved, forever safe in the arms of Jesus". It's so true and I will forever believe that and look forward to the day when I see her again. Until then, I know she is with the greatest parent ever. :) And probably to her in Heaven it's only a blip until we are there; eventhough it may seem like an eternity for me on earth!
This past week we continued our homestudy on Monday. It was very positive and went really well I think. We meet again on Wednesday this week with our home assessor.
This past week we also had our last two Pride training sessions which finished them up for us.
What a great course to have. It builds so much empathy for the kids in care and for the families that end up there. I'll have to write more about that in another post. It really is a great course.
Anyways, that's all for now.
I hope you all have a good week.
Thanks for reading.
I'll leave you with a verse, that I read this morning and liked:
It's been a busy week. Trying to get my head on straight for this coming week.
Looking forward to a skating party, dinner with our church family and hopefully a few other families and a family movie night too. Should be a lot of fun. Needing to get into the right mindset for that. I'm hoping that some of our Upward families will come out!
I think part of the melancholy is that a friend of the family passed away this morning. Hard to know what to do with that. I think death just makes me sad. Not much more to say about that. I think I'm just overly sensitive to death now. It's something I take seriously now, if I didn't before. I can understand and empathize with the families now, because I feel their heartache.
We stopped by our Kalyna's grave this afternoon as well. 8 months old tomorrow...such a beautiful little girl she is I'm sure! :) He grave is super pretty though. Pink grave stone with her beautiful name and a rose and cross beside. Etched in the stone under her name has her birthdate and then it says "Forever loved, forever safe in the arms of Jesus". It's so true and I will forever believe that and look forward to the day when I see her again. Until then, I know she is with the greatest parent ever. :) And probably to her in Heaven it's only a blip until we are there; eventhough it may seem like an eternity for me on earth!
This past week we continued our homestudy on Monday. It was very positive and went really well I think. We meet again on Wednesday this week with our home assessor.
This past week we also had our last two Pride training sessions which finished them up for us.
What a great course to have. It builds so much empathy for the kids in care and for the families that end up there. I'll have to write more about that in another post. It really is a great course.
Anyways, that's all for now.
I hope you all have a good week.
Thanks for reading.
I'll leave you with a verse, that I read this morning and liked:
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
~Isaiah 55:12~
~Isaiah 55:12~
Monday, March 4, 2013
Upward Basketball
I cannot believe that our Upward Basketball Season 2 came to an end this week!!!
We had our last game day on Saturday morning and then our End of Season Celebration in the afternoon! This past Saturday during the team huddle, the kids learned about what the verse John 3:16 means from their coaches.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. ~John 3:16~
What an important truth to share with our kids. That God loves each and every one of them enough to let his son die on the cross. What an intense meaning that has for us. And such a priveledge to share with the kids that come to out to play basketball.
I just thought I'd take a moment to share some memories and thoughts about this year's season.
What an intense season it was for me. The sharing of Jesus with kids and families has taken on a new sense of urgency in me this year. Life is short....you never know what is going to happen, so you have to make the most of every opportunity. How often do you have families and kids come out to play basketball where you have a chance to share the gospel message with them? Through our season with our team huddle devotions for the kids, and the half time speakers for our families, we tried to present them with the gospel message and why we do what we do. On Saturday we had an awesome juggler - Eric Dettweiler from Catch-A-Laugh Entertainment. What a show he put on. It was great....he had people on the edge of their seats and laughing pretty histerically. It was really great! He also pointed out to the kids that each one of them has a special purpose...that God created them for a specific reason and that He loves them and cares for them and referenced Jeremiah 29:11 - one of my favourite verses. I think its great when kids and families hear the same message consistently from different sources. It really makes them think.
Let me share with you a couple of stories that makes all the work we do to put the Upward Basketball League together so worth it:
Last year, we had a grandmother register her grandson for Upward Basketball. He played the whole first season. This boy is great, but definitely one of those kids, that you never know quite what they are thinking. At any minute you feel as though he might fly off the handle so to speak. He's interesting, although that does tend to make them more indearing especially when you've found an outlet for them where they can run off some of that energy and possible anger.
This year, his grandmother registered him again for basketball, and his grandmother also brought his friend. This grandmother is really great to be so dedicated to her grandson. So these two boys are now in our league. Their coach called the one boy's parents regarding being part of a snack schedule, and they made it very clear that they don't want anything to do with the basketball - that the coach should be calling the grandmother about anything related to basketball.
However, about half way through our season, both boys' parents starting showing up. How cool is that? That means they were there, hearing about how God loves them and wants to know them!
So about half way through the season, one boy started asking some really good questions. What is a cross? Who is Jesus? Commenting how it sounds like Jesus did some pretty cool things. During the juggler, he struck up a conversation with his coach about Jesus being so cool because he could walk on water. This coach was able to tell him about the coolest thing Jesus ever did - dying on the cross for our sins...and coming back to life again. This conversation with a child that our coach had no idea that he really heard anything she said.
To me that makes everything worth it. This boy, now knows about Jesus and will hopefully make a decision...but he is beginning to hear about Jesus and have questions about who HE is... for the first time. Amazing!
Another story from another coach is that a player who's family doesn't attend a church because according to the mom, they aren't church people, at the last game of the season, during the team huddle, this player offered to pray for her team. May have been the first time she ever prayed, but somehow felt that she wanted to talk to God and pray like her coach had done during every other team huddle.
God is at work. He's working through our coaches and working within the children playing basketball and their families. Lives are being changed. God's love is being made evident by all the amazing volunteer staff that help make Upward possible.
So thankful for these wonderful people willing to give of their time to share in sharing God's love with others. It is making a difference. All these volunteers really embody this verse - as it is not easy to give up so much time and energy...
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
~Acts 20:24~
We had our last game day on Saturday morning and then our End of Season Celebration in the afternoon! This past Saturday during the team huddle, the kids learned about what the verse John 3:16 means from their coaches.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. ~John 3:16~
What an important truth to share with our kids. That God loves each and every one of them enough to let his son die on the cross. What an intense meaning that has for us. And such a priveledge to share with the kids that come to out to play basketball.
I just thought I'd take a moment to share some memories and thoughts about this year's season.
What an intense season it was for me. The sharing of Jesus with kids and families has taken on a new sense of urgency in me this year. Life is short....you never know what is going to happen, so you have to make the most of every opportunity. How often do you have families and kids come out to play basketball where you have a chance to share the gospel message with them? Through our season with our team huddle devotions for the kids, and the half time speakers for our families, we tried to present them with the gospel message and why we do what we do. On Saturday we had an awesome juggler - Eric Dettweiler from Catch-A-Laugh Entertainment. What a show he put on. It was great....he had people on the edge of their seats and laughing pretty histerically. It was really great! He also pointed out to the kids that each one of them has a special purpose...that God created them for a specific reason and that He loves them and cares for them and referenced Jeremiah 29:11 - one of my favourite verses. I think its great when kids and families hear the same message consistently from different sources. It really makes them think.
Let me share with you a couple of stories that makes all the work we do to put the Upward Basketball League together so worth it:
Last year, we had a grandmother register her grandson for Upward Basketball. He played the whole first season. This boy is great, but definitely one of those kids, that you never know quite what they are thinking. At any minute you feel as though he might fly off the handle so to speak. He's interesting, although that does tend to make them more indearing especially when you've found an outlet for them where they can run off some of that energy and possible anger.
This year, his grandmother registered him again for basketball, and his grandmother also brought his friend. This grandmother is really great to be so dedicated to her grandson. So these two boys are now in our league. Their coach called the one boy's parents regarding being part of a snack schedule, and they made it very clear that they don't want anything to do with the basketball - that the coach should be calling the grandmother about anything related to basketball.
However, about half way through our season, both boys' parents starting showing up. How cool is that? That means they were there, hearing about how God loves them and wants to know them!
So about half way through the season, one boy started asking some really good questions. What is a cross? Who is Jesus? Commenting how it sounds like Jesus did some pretty cool things. During the juggler, he struck up a conversation with his coach about Jesus being so cool because he could walk on water. This coach was able to tell him about the coolest thing Jesus ever did - dying on the cross for our sins...and coming back to life again. This conversation with a child that our coach had no idea that he really heard anything she said.
To me that makes everything worth it. This boy, now knows about Jesus and will hopefully make a decision...but he is beginning to hear about Jesus and have questions about who HE is... for the first time. Amazing!
Another story from another coach is that a player who's family doesn't attend a church because according to the mom, they aren't church people, at the last game of the season, during the team huddle, this player offered to pray for her team. May have been the first time she ever prayed, but somehow felt that she wanted to talk to God and pray like her coach had done during every other team huddle.
God is at work. He's working through our coaches and working within the children playing basketball and their families. Lives are being changed. God's love is being made evident by all the amazing volunteer staff that help make Upward possible.
So thankful for these wonderful people willing to give of their time to share in sharing God's love with others. It is making a difference. All these volunteers really embody this verse - as it is not easy to give up so much time and energy...
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
~Acts 20:24~
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