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- Details
- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Thoughts
In Christian culture, it is so often glorified to live "sold-out for God" - trusting him for everything and not being ensnared by worldly things. John the Baptist and almost all the other Biblical prophets are good examples. Modern examples abound as well, and they can inspire and challenge us. But I wonder if focusing only on the most dramatic examples of faithfulness sets us up to feel like failures if we end up having an ordinary life.
What about those of us who don't get a radical prophetic call? Can we be sold out for Jesus and still take a mortgage? Can we make friends without evangelising them or indulge our kids in ice cream truck treats without guilt over the panhandlers we passed by? I think the answer is sometimes yes. Does that sound like a middle class cop out? Maybe it is - I'm trying to figure out where to draw the line!
I don't believe God gave us life simply for us to suffer (not that a life of sacrifice is necessarily a life of suffering). His promise is for abundant life to all who believe in him, and abundant life can take many different forms I think. At the centre of all those different forms is obedience to Christ and I think that's where it gets tricky.
- Details
- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: suffering
Recently Matt preached about the woman with the issue of blood, and as part of that service, I wrote a monologue to read before the sermon began. Here it is!
I have been invisible for 12 years.
I felt myself wasting away from the inside out, felt strength withering from my bones in the heat each day.
I hate crowds, hate the crush of flesh and smells and sounds, like an ocean current cutting through the city, carrying a life that I'll never know. People going to work, to weddings, running errands and meeting friends. That day the crowd was waiting for Jesus, hoping to see a show, and I watched from a doorway, kept my distance as usual.
- Details
- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Prayer
Well the blog has certainly been quiet for a while! Life has been full of lots of good things, and time after time blogging sifted down to the bottom of my list of things to get to. No hard feelings, right? Honestly, I'm not even here to say things are going to change.
However, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to preach at my church, and while the audio recording is currently incomplete, I wanted to share my transcript for those who are interested what I had to say. Feel free to read it out loud to yourself or ask a winsome and engaging friend to read it for a more sermon-like experience. It's how they did it in the old days, before podcasts ;)
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: suffering
"Knowing that you were ransomed... not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ."
1 Peter 1:18-19a
A House in the Sky tells the true story of Amanda Lindhout, a Canadian woman who was kidnapped and held hostage for over a year in Somalia. Eventually she was rescued after her family raised a huge ransom. This story came to mind when I was reading this passage, as I reflected on friends who are going through a hard season.
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Uncategorized
In keeping with this week of advent, I have been reflecting on hope, and this is the song I keep coming back to. Take a listen, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been!
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Thoughts
The Christmas season is approaching, and stores are already sparkling with tinsel and wreaths. I've ordered my first gifts online, and my calendar for December is already half full with commitments big and small. Leaves are still clinging to the trees outside, and we've decided where to place the Christmas tree in our new apartment.
["Obviously," you think - except I wrote these words two weeks ago before Remembrance Day had even passed.]
It is possible to spend so much time getting ready for Christmas that the holiday itself passes by in a blur of peppermint extract and paper snowflakes, and when Christmas is over we sigh with relief and hunker down to nap off the calories.
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Thoughts
We sang this song in church yesterday, and I was reminded as I have been over and over that God is not limited by raw materials when he creates. A few years ago I wrote a poem that says, no spark caught dry tinder, no switch sent electrons shooting through copper wire, before there was fire before there was sun, into the darkness God spoke, "let there be."
And I wanted to share this vision that was triggered by this song, of light streaming out from the heart of a dark place. The world feels like darkness is creeping over it with war and rumours of war. ISIS gives us a common enemy but not necessarily a common cause to fight for. We can speak of unity and pray for unity, but the fact is humanity is divided. We seem to only have the capacity for so much love, so much compassion, and we ration it out disproportionately around the globe.
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Life
We are moving!
A few weeks ago a friend texted me that she and her husband were moving elsewhere in the city and wondered if Matt and I would be interested in taking their apartment up the street from our church. We thought about it and prayed about it and went to see it, and we weighed the pros and cons of staying in our current apartment. Gradually we each swung towards wanting to move, and then we met with the landlords to go over the details, and now we are giving our notice to be out by the end of October!
Although I tend to resist change, I am really excited to live in a new space. I have been reading articles about living room layouts and researching routes for my commute to work. I'm looking to make the most of two more months with a playground right next door and good friends just a few floors down, but I'm also excited to count down the last few trips to the laundry room, long waits for the elevator, second hand smoke in the hallway, and hot nights with no air conditioning.
At this point I'm looking forward to packing, and my goal is for us to only bring the things we want to keep. Our last move included a few bags and boxes of miscellany that we didn't particularly need or want, and our apartment is currently housing a selection of crates and shoeboxes that contain homeless items I wasn't sure were trash. Surely two months is enough time to sift a two bedroom apartment. Right? I'm cautiously optimistic. I imagine boxes packed and stacked and labeled for where they belong, ready to make our new apartment home.
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Life
My birthday's coming! In a month, to be exact - technically everyone's birthday is "coming" unless it's that day, right? So I have been thinking about how to celebrate. This year my birthday falls on a long weekend, and Matt and I have talked about potentially going camping, and if that falls through we'll probably invite some friends over for cake.
Or something.
While plans for the day remain up in the air, I have decided on one thing: what to ask for gifts.
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- Written by: Alyssa
- Category: Missions
Make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. - Hebrews 12:13
Our annual trip to Bathurst was good this year - we had a strong leadership team and a hardworking group of students, and I'm so proud of the things we accomplished. God showed up, and it was so great to see students grow in their faith and step out of their comfort zone to reap the rewards of taking holy risks.
In spite of all this, I think our biggest challenge is still in front of us - settling back to normal life without losing the excitement of living for God every day. Going on a mission trip can be a spiritual high, and if it's not you might wonder whether you're doing it wrong. But here's the thing.
Taking a mission trip changes where you are and what you do, but it does not change who you are or what God wants from you. Sometimes the change in routine and perspective can help clarify your understanding of those big questions - who am I? What does God want from me? - but ultimately the spiritual fruit that so often comes out of these experiences is accessible through every day faithfulness.