Prayer Walking

This is Jamie. Jamie is an upper year student at SFU studying Chemistry, whom I meet with weekly to disciple. Jamie and I pray together, share our faith, talk about how she's doing in leading her Bible study and grow in God's word together. It is awesome to see her taking steps of faith and learning how to communicate her faith with friends and family :-)

On this sunny Vancouver day, Jamie and I went for a walk around campus praying for the hearts and minds of the students. Prayer-walking is a great way to led God change your heart for a particular place. Seeing the beauty of the city, campus and mountains as well as the myriad students rushing to classes and lounging on the stairs reminded me that God is a great God who can even change the hearts of apathetic or angry students.

Let's keep praying!

Church-->Feel Bad-->Isolation

I've known for sometime that Canada, and specifically Vancouver, is becoming increasingly secular. Suspicion toward religion (especially Christianity) seems to be rising. Last week as I was walking home, I noticed this graffiti on a garage door on my block.

Clearly, the artist has had some experience in the Church and left feeling taken advantage of ("greed"), lonely ("isolation") and guilty ("feel bad"). I have to say these feelings are not uncommon. It's obvious that the artist felt a strong desire for HOPE...but really, don't we all?

Upon seeing this, I began to wonder what part I play in adding to people's feeling of guilt and isolation. Surely, if the artist had met Christ himself, there would have been an opportunity for acceptance and hope. I think that as Christians in a world that is becoming increasingly anti-religious, we need to expose ourselves for what we are: sinners who are hopeless without God's love. It's time that we stop acting self-righteous, annoyed, prudish and unfeeling toward non-believers. Like the artist, I too am often searching for Hope and meaning in a world that seems bleak.

What if we began to explore with our non Christian friends and neighbors those desires and fears that success and relationships leave unmet? What if we joined them in grieving, in celebrating and in questioning? I think it's time we come alongside people like this artist and love them where they are.

(Also) Check out to learn more about how to engage with people based on their desires and needs....

Korean BBQ and spiritual legacies

This past Christmas break, at our Western Canada Winter Conference Randy Newman came to speak. Randy is many things: a father, a fellow staff member, my mother's childhood friend, author of two books and, in a way, my spiritual Grandfather. You may be wondering what I'm talking about. Pause a moment and think about the person who shared the love of God with you, who first taught you about His grace, and who invited you to accept Him. In a way, that person is the father or mother of your new birth in Christ. It's amazing when we begin to share stories that we can see the myriad ways God works in so many situations to bring us to Himself. Our belief today is a result of some telling us, and that someone was told by someone....all the way back to Paul, Peter and the apostles. What a heritage!

Growing up, my parents often read us Bible stories and taught us to pray in all situations. I remember the day my mom and I were in the car (where most of our good conversations happened) when she shared with me how I could pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart. And so my mother is also the one who led me to new birth in Christ. My mom, who grew up going to Church, was not interested in God until tragedy struck and she began to ask God "why". Randy, her long time friend who had just become a Christian at Temple university, began to share his faith with her. And so, with time, my mom placed her faith in Jesus.

This is more than an interesting story; this is the spiritual lineage that God ordained to lead me home to Him. It's true that each of our stories is unique, and this is what occurred to me in a Korean BBQ restaurant with Randy, Varun and a friend, Berman, one evening during winter conference. Berman has been on staff for several years and was integral in leading Varun to faith. And there we all were, eating sushi and talking about life in Vancouver. Who would have imagined the impact a testimony of God's greatness could make? How many lives have been touched through Varun by Berman sharing his faith with Varun? Would I know God personally if my mom hadn't told me about Him? If Randy hadn't told her?

It's amazing to look back and marvel at how God works. Were the students who shared their faith with Randy years ago nervous that he might reject them? Probably! Did Berman doubt that Varun would care about Jesus? I'm sure! Do I hesitate to declare God's amazingness? Too often. But I learned that evening at supper that God works in powerful and intricate ways to bring us to Himself...A chinese canadian leading an Indian to Christ who would marry an American who was led to Christ by a mother who met Jesus by a former Jew.

{If that's not inspiring I don't know what is}

Martha, Martha, Martha

Today during our staff prayer meeting at UBC, we looked at Luke's story of Mary and Martha. Part of me can't help feeling badly for Martha--always portrayed as the sister in need of a smack down. Perhaps it's because I sympathize strongly with her desire to impress Jesus with her hard work and excellence. Similarly, I bring to God a basket of my achievements and efforts...so much so that when I'm weak and failing I think He'll love me less.

And that's the beauty of it: God neither loves me more nor less based on my efforts to please Him. That's what it means to be saved by grace! And so, I am free to serve Him or sit as His feet. (sigh of relief)

A Rose by any other name...

Last week, staff from western Canada convened in Somewhere Cold, Alberta. We spent time with God, time in training, time watching fail blog(!)....needless to say, a great time was had by all.

Being there really recharged me as I hung out with men and women who have given their wisdom, time and careers to coming alongside students in their spiritual journeys. It blew my mind to hear Rod Alm (30 years on staff!) talk about students he had led to Christ who are now working fathers, teachers in Canada, pastors in unreached lands...what a legacy, eh?

During her training, Tara talked about a Bible study we once did back in Montreal. We went to a graveyard and looked at the tombstones...we talked about how one's life is represented merely by the dash in between the birth and death dates.

Powerful.

What will that dash look like? What impact and legacy will I leave? Our time in training last week really made an impression on me: that no matter where I go or what job I have, I am called to share the goodness of God and make disciples of Jesus.

This brings me to another, more funny but also equally pertinent point: how to describe my job of making disciples on campus.

What do these situations have in common: Applying for a credit card, chatting people up at parties, small talk at family reunions? I am asked what I do, and usually give a less than intriguing answer.

Answers I've given:

I work on campus with one of the Christian clubs.

I'm staff with one of the Christian clubs on campus. Which means I lead Bible studies and join students in their spiritual journeys.

Umm...basically I work at UBC....I'm kind of like a counselor?

I help students to discover Jesus.

I engage students in dialogue about spirituality.

Answers I've considered:

I drink a lot of tea and meet with students to talk about life.

I'm a life coach.

I guide people in their spiritual journeys.

I attempt to rouse students from their existential apathy and encourage them to ponder the big questions.

Answers I'll never give, but have crossed my mind.


I get paid to hang out with students.

I'm here to represent the God you're taught not to believe in, the creation you're taught was a cosmic accident and the love you're looking for.

I'm sort of a like a professional Christian on campus.

I'm still not sure what my job is...

*~*
The main problem is, most of the answers are received with a "Mm hmm. That's interesting. What are you doing for Christmas?" Or, my favourite: "Oh. What will you do after this?"

What do you think? How can I express my passions and job in a way that rouses people's interest and leads to further conversation? How can I engage friends, family and strangers in what I'm doing?

How Worrying is like Chocolate

We all know that after a long day of work or studying, what we really want to do is grab a bar of chocolate, flop onto the couch and begin to mull over the day's conversations, conflicts and concerns. (Or at least this is what those of us with two X chromosomes desire). Somehow, I think that worrying is an excellent accompaniment to chocolate because they are so similar.

There are an endless amount of things to worry about: money, job, family, health, friends, friend's health, friend's job, friend's money....like chocolate, things to worry about can be found quite easily, and for cheap. Worrying gives us something to mull over, something to chew on on the drive home, an excuse for being unkind to those we love, a reason to bite our lips and burn dinner. Worrying and chocolate distract us from life and keep us company when we just want to pout. Finally, and y'all knew this was coming, they're unhealthy! Too much chocolate, "they" say, is not so good for one's arteries, blood sugar level, ability to run on the treadmill for more than five minutes....Similarly, worrying is like lipids to our faith. In the race of faith, worrying slows us down, chokes our heart and encourages us to sit down and go "No way could I run a marathon, who do I look like, Lance Armstrong?" (Incorrect, but our lazy side doesn't care).

God tells us not to worry because it destroys us.

I know this. I have known this. I will know this. As Varun says, the longest journey is from the head to the heart. How I wish I could ditch worrying (or chocolate, for that matter).

Hmmm...actually. If i were to ditch chocolate, I'd need to eat something else, as I'm a very hungry girl. Probably I could eat crackers or celery or an apple. If I were to ditch worrying, I'd need to replace it with prayer, scripture, encouragement and brainstorming.

Not a bad idea....

Safely Home

On my way home from campus today, I had to wait for four 99 b-line's (the biggest buses) because the line was so long. As I stood there in the pouring rain I angrily thought about the injustice of the world, the cruelty of the drivers sitting in their buses "waiting" for their proper departure time, and my own stupidity in not bringing my umbrella. Once I got to my car, I played with the radio and drove like someone who wanted to go home and felt traffic to be an unnecessary annoyance meant to bother me in particular. And then I sat at Cambie at King Ed for 25 minutes while an accident was cleared. As the cars began to move, I ended up parked with a front row seat of the damaged car (see above).

Granted, the car wasn't horribly damaged and I pray the driver (and passengers) were okay. But how sobering, eh? Suddenly all my pettiness and annoyance at the world melted away as I saw reality glaring at me. How thankful I am to have a car! And to have gotten home safely today! I'm so thankful to have had a jacket, and warm soup and a cup of tea! Today was a good reminder that the world is not out to get me, and my middle-class rants about what I deserve are selfish, obnoxious and without any real perspective...Humbing....

"The problem with life is it's so daily"

I read this quote recently in a book* and at first thought it was stupidly obvious, but at second glance was struck with the truth of the statement. When I look back on seasons of my life, I see events--birthdays, Christmas, dinners with friends, snowboarding trips, evenings spent eating ice cream and going to pubs. I don't remember the monotony of standing in the bus queue, doing laundry, buying groceries--unless something very funny happened.

The daily-ness of life is what wears us and tires us, yet also somehow comforts us when everything else is volatile. It's the milestones and the nights out and the reunions that tug us out of our apathy and invite us take a step back and breathe.

A word of sincerity: Growing up is hard! Financial independence, relationships, insurance, rent, paperwork, conflict resolution...somehow our years of education didn't prepare us for the many realities of life.

I've been thinking back recently on how simple life appeared to me as a child. I am continually shocked at how my parents provided for us a stable, loving, warm and joyful home, in the midst of a world in chaos. Moreover, they managed to give us attention, love, fun memories and a priceless education and value system, meanwhile navigating the grown-up world of mortgages and sickness and jobs and drama. On the one hand, it scares me to death to imagine parenting and the continually growing pile of responsibilities. And yet, on the other hand, I look at the heroes who have gone before me, my parents and siblings and neighbors and friends at Church, who wake up every morning and face the day with energy and vigor and smiles.

Knowing now how much effort went into my parents giving us birthday parties as children gives me such appreciation for the joy and simplicity of the events. I now look forward, with greater joy and anticipation, to the sweet moments of rest, family and peace...

Growing up isn't as bad as Peter Pan made it out to be as we are given so many blessings mixed with the toil. As a kid, I couldn't have imagined how joys could be mixed with sorrows and still be joy. And yet, today, as I embrace ministry and marriage and the long journey of maturity, I think the difficulties make the joys all the sweeter.

*Love and Respect, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

A new sister!

This story was written by a student at UBC. She and I are following up with this new believer, please pray for us!

"Hi, My name is J* and I am a fourth year student at UBC.  I became involved with this club when I was in first year.  I was built in and discipled by many girls and became convinced of the need to share the Gospel with others.  However, I confess that I thought that God was powerful and faithful indeed, but I thought that my God was quiet in my life.  If there was a Saul/Paul of today, it was happening somewhere else, but not in my life.  In the beginning of September, God showed me just how powerful he was and how my tiny expectations of what he would do on campus were blown away. 

On Imagine Day, the first day of school at UBC, C4C had a booth where we were passing out Real Life Kits to students so that they would fill out SIQs (Spiritual Interest Questionnaire). We met with people that were interested and I met with a girl named Sarah*.  We got to a point in the conversation where I shared the gospel with her.  I thought she would say, "I'll think about it.", "It's not for me right now."  Looking back at what happened, God convicted me for being so hesitant, when she was so eager to hear the Gospel.  She accepted Christ right on the spot. 
 
 The actual implications of what actually happened didn't really hit me until I got on the bus to go home.  It felt wrong to go about my daily routine at home, I wanted to tell every believer I knew what had happened, I wanted to throw a party.  I think then I really experienced the feelings of the woman who lost her coin in Jesus' parables.  I was so happy I almost cried.  As I got to know Sarah better, I found out how God had been pursuing her in her life.  I was so lucky to be the person to tell her about Jesus.  But what really struck me was that anyone could've been able to share the Gospel with her.  She was just on the verge of accepting Christ.  What if she went through life and no one shared with her?  The thought scared me.  There are student on campus like Sarah who need to hear, who want to hear.  There are students on campus who through Real life Kits will start recognising their need for God.  This ministry is so crucial and as God showed me so amazingly.  He is faithful and working in the hearts of students on campus who are lost and need God."

*Names have been changed

Reasons to be thankful

Evelyn and I were discussing the other day how in the west we tend to have a complaint based culture. "How are you" "Ughh, I'm SO busy...I hate the rain..." And thus we establish grounds of similarity in our shared complaints and dislikes of the world.

I'm first in line to admit I'm a perpetual complainer. In the hour since I woke up I complained about the weather, my wardrobe, the bathroom, my hair....

So, someone told me or I read it or perhaps made it up...but I've heard that thankfulness is the antidote to sadness and complaining.

Here's the list off the top of my head of what I'm thankful for this morning.

I'm thankful for...

-A roof over my head
-My godly, responsible and funny husband
-Loving family, especially that my Dad is here to visit!
-Food for breakfast
-The freedom to have Christian clubs on campus and openly share our faith
-Our Summit retreat this weekend with C4C
-Our car, which was a gift
-Amazing friends at Church who love us and care for us
-A relationship with God!
-My full support
-Part time jobs for Varun
-Health
-The opportunity to lean on God for everything, to trust in His provision
-So many people praying for me and the ministry on campus


This reminds me of Holiday Inn, an old Bing Crosby movie (which you should watch!) and a song he sings in it about thankfulness. Check it out while you make your own list--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn-X0EucLT0