Moving With God

Baby steps of faith, hope and love

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Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Thoughts; Published: 07 July 2013

I've been reading in Philippians this week and was struck by this passage:

Philippians 3:12-14

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

It is usually quite easy for me to remember that I have not yet attained perfection. It is not always so easy for me to remember to keep looking forward. When I read this, I wonder why exactly Paul talks about forgetting the past - is he alluding to his history as a persecutor of the church? Did he ever become discouraged doing God's work when he remembered his part in arresting and executing Christians before his conversion? Or did Paul need to turn his back on the past because it could tempt him towards complacency? After all, he had planted numerous churches and preached in many cities, he faced death threats and jail time and slander all without shirking. Perhaps if he thought about everything he had already done for God he worried he'd lose some of the fire to press on.

Read more: Project 333 Update

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Life; Published: 01 July 2013

Happy Canada Day! It may not really be a day off this year (Torre doesn't know what a stat holiday is), but I am very grateful to have this country as my home. I like our colourful money and the fact we put u's in more words than Americans. I love our maternity leave and free health care, decent schools and relative lack of corruption. I enjoy that there is French on my cereal boxes. It may not be perfect, but Canada has certainly been a wonderful place to grow up and now to be raising a family in.

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Reviews; Published: 29 June 2013

On our last night in Victoria, Matt and I saw a movie with friends: This is the End.

The premise of the movie is that a house party hosted by James Franco is interrupted by the apocalypse, and the celebrities (playing themselves) have to figure out how to survive. If you are considering seeing this ridiculous comedy, don't read this review yet because there will be spoilers, but know that you are signing up to watch a really irreverent satire of rapture theology and hollywood culture, and brace yourself for a ton of swearing, some sexuality, and more than a little gore. But I'm not saying don't see it! Just don't go and see it because I saw it so it must be okay.... Yikes.

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Uncategorized; Published: 28 June 2013

We are safely back in Toronto and happy to be done flying with a baby! Torre did really well, and there were lots of babies on both our flights so I think everyone was pleasantly surprised overall with the minimal amount of crying/fussing that happened.

My computer is not uploading pictures right now, but hopefully I can sort that out soon and put up a few highlights from our trip soon! On the bright side, we returned to a much fancier looking building than the one we left (under construction) - a playground has been installed next to the building, and the landscaping has been gussied up with lots of shrubs, benches and lights - all making it much nicer to sit out on nights (like this one) where it is cooler outside than inside :)

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Uncategorized; Published: 21 June 2013

There is a popular song out right now called Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert. It is a song against homophobia and in support of gay marriage, and it raises some good points: Disagreement is no excuse for hatred, and judging a person or thinking you know them based on one aspect of their beliefs or lifestyle is absolutely unfair. Sadly the positives of this song are outweighed for me by the inconsistency of promoting tolerance and understanding while painting opponents of gay marriage with a single brush.

Unfortunately, I think this song highlights the dangerous direction our culture is swinging, from the homophobic extreme that has caused so much hatred, fear and pain to the opposite extreme where homosexuality is unquestioningly celebrated and anyone who isn't on board with that is sidelined and labelled as an ignorant bigot, a religious nutjob or both.

Read more: Same Love

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Uncategorized; Published: 17 June 2013

Vacation is still going really well, and I have been enjoying some good reading both online and off. Some of the more provocative/inspiring/challenging links are below: Enjoy!

Thoughts on a Funeral via Grace for the Road

12 Things an Addict Wants the Church to Know via Red and Honey

Jesus called me the N Word via Prodigal Magazine

Guard Your Heart, Bro via Jamie the Very Worst Missionary

If you read any or all of these articles, wanna drop a comment to let me know what you think?

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Three Things Thursday; Published: 13 June 2013

I came across this picture on the internet and decided it was worth sharing. To be fair, when I get sad, I usually stay sad for a while, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Your brain can do some crazy stuff if you make a habit of repressing emotions. But this quote got me thinking, and I was hoping to post today, so here come 3 ways to be awesome instead of sad:

Pick one thing (or three!) that you love about yourself. Sappy? Only if you make it sappy!
For example, something sappy I love about myself is my inner beauty. Something awesome I love about myself is being able to write acrostic poems for any occasion:
Read more: Three Things Thursday [Vol. 18]

Details: Written by: Alyssa; Category: Life; Published: 03 June 2013

That was the gist of my dad's sermon this morning, which really spoke to me despite the fact that my attention was divided between sermon and baby (I'm always glad when God gets himself through my distraction and confusion). I definitely have the tendency to idealize the future, to think that when certain circumstances come my way or when something changes that then I'll have the energy/passion/desire to do more for God and be my best self.

On a related note, I was struck by the line in a hymn this morning: "my richest gain I count but loss" and thought how the accomplishments I'm striving for will be really disappointing if I achieve them and then realize that pursuing them instead of a close walk with Jesus has cost me in my relationship with God. I have been playing a dangerous little mind game with myself lately in which I mask selfish motives with spiritual lip service - God wants me to be happy, right? And he's a great big God, so he can use me wherever I go and whatever I do. So I should just do whatever I want and let him chase after me sprinkling spiritual confetti on my pursuit of personal fulfillment. It's embarrassing to realize how thin of a facade I've been hiding behind and fooling myself into neglecting prayerful discernment and submission to his direction.

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