How can I love him back?

The ironic thing about life with God is that as new believers we are passionate about figuring out what the purpose is for our life. We boldly ask God questions like: “What’s my purpose?” and “What’s my calling in life? Please reveal it to me!” What happens when God answers our questions? We freak out. The response often sounds something like this: “Aaaaaah! Nooo, I don’t want to do that! That’s too scary and too big for me to accomplish! Don’t get me wrong God, it’s a beautiful plan, but are you sure you have the right woman for the job? I’m not strong enough for that calling. I don’t have enough courage to accomplish what you are calling me to do!”

God’s response to our fears is usually something like this: “I know, and that’s exactly why I chose you. You do not have what it takes, so the only way you are going to be able to accomplish this great task is by letting me do it through you.” God is a great God, and it should come as no surprise that He will call us to great things. Plans so beautiful and big that we get both excited and terrified at the same time when He reveals them to us. We are not the first people in history to have that response to God’s big and beautiful plans for our lives. When God chose Moses to lead the people of Israel Moses was convinced that God had chosen the wrong guy for the job, because Moses had a stuttering problem. But God knew exactly what he was doing, our limitations will not hinder God’s great plans for our lives, but our disobedience can.

The Bible calls us to love God and love other people. We know what we need to do to love other people; prioritize spending time with them and help them out. But how do we love God? It’s simple; we spend time with God through prayer and reading the Bible and we help him out. How can we help God? We help God out when we do what He is calling us to do. There’s something we were created for and when we do what God calls us to do we express our love for Him.

“Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome.” (1 John 5:1-3 MSG)

It’s a joy, not a burden, to get to live this life serving God and follow his purpose for our lives but it’s also scary. Following God will often include the need to face some fears. If I’m only willing to obey God when I’m not afraid, then I won’t do much good in this life will I? There are a couple of different journeys that God is clearly calling me on during this season of my life and I haven’t started neither of them yet. Why? Because I’m terrified! Obeying God would require me to face a couple of my biggest fears. It’s tempting to listen more to my fear than I do to God. But what does that say about my love for God? If I know what God wants me to do during this season of life but I choose to disobey him because I’m afraid, then I don’t love Him very much do I? I’m not surprised that God is calling me on these two different journeys this year. Fear has too much power over my life and God clearly wants to change that. My problem is that I’m too content with life the way it is right now. I’d rather stay stuck and be comfortable than get up and face my biggest fears.

God loves me so much. He has given me so many beautiful gifts in this life since the day I was born. God gave me a loving and warm mother, a loving and protective father, a loving and kind brother and many wonderful friends growing up. God gave me a healthy body with arms and legs that work. I can walk, talk, sing and dance, my body is a beautiful gift from God. I was also gifted with the great honor, responsibility and blessing of being born in a country where I never had to worry about having enough food, clothing or a roof over my head growing up. God has given me so many beautiful gifts throughout my childhood and he continues to bless me every year in powerful and beautiful ways. How can I not love Him back?

I can choose to follow my fear, or I can choose to face my fears and obey God’s call on my life. It’s time to make that jump. I want to love God back! No more excuses. I know God will give me the courage I need for each step of the journey after I take that first step of obedience, so here we go! Step 1, check!

to be continued...

Let Go and Enjoy Today

Early mornings and Quiet Time has become one of my favorite parts of the day. I like to get up a little earlier than usual, light a candle in the darkness and read my Bible and pray for half an hour each morning. It's easy to underestimate the power of having a daily Quiet Time each morning. My friend told me she never used to do it regularly before she had three kids and she became desperate for God's peace and strength in her life.

My Quiet Time always gives me joy, peace and strength for what lays a head that day. Spending time in God's presence each morning changes my approach and attitude toward everything I will face that day. I go through each day with a different type of awareness, it becomes easier to see the lesson God is teaching me in every blessing and every struggle that I face. Once you know God you quickly realize that there is no such thing as random events, every situation that comes my way can teach me something. Every blessing and every difficulty is an opportunity for me to grow in character and holiness. I'm fully aware that there are a lot of areas in my soul where I still need to grow. That's what life is for, growth.

This morning I was reading Numbers 32 during my Quiet Time. What stood out to me in this passage was how important courage is in life. I could use some more courage in my life. I have a highly sensitive personality which is a gift in many ways. The downside is that my personality also causes me to get easily overwhelmed. When I get overwhelmed and fearful in life all I want to do is flee. It takes courage to stay and fight when all I want to do is run away.

Numbers 32 talks about how when God called the Israelites to finally enter their promised land they got fearful and didn’t want to do what God was calling them to do. They were fearful and started to discourage each other which led to everyone choosing to disobey God. Among all the fearful Israelites were two young men who had courage; Caleb and Joshua. Caleb and Joshua were ready to follow God’s plan for their lives wholeheartedly. Fear and discouragement can keep us from so many good things in our lives.

The only way I can do what God calls me to do is if I choose to encourage myself. My courage will quickly run out if I start to discourage myself. The Israelites discouraged each other and quickly everyone became afraid. Courage doesn’t always appear by itself, I must stir it up inside my soul through encouragement. When I end up discouraging myself I usually tell myself lines like these: “This will never work, I know I’m going to fail, I might as well not even try. It’s safer that way. I don’t want to take any risks.” 

Everything changes when I start to fight my fear rather than follow my fear. When I choose to fight against my fear I encourage myself with lines like these: “It makes sense that you are afraid, but don’t let the enemy keep you from your calling in life. You might fail, but God never fails. God will redeem all the mistakes you will end up making during the process. Follow God and He will take care of the rest, His plans for you are good. This won’t work without God, you’re right about that, but with God anything is possible.”

Another fact that encourages me to follow God’s call on my life is knowing that there is no other way. The Israelites choice wasn’t between doing life their own way or doing life God’s way. God was the one in charge, and sooner or later they would have to bow to His leadership. The choice that the Israelites had was between obeying God or disobeying and walking in the wilderness for the rest of their lives. That might sound like very few choices, but it’s often what’s needed for us to finally make the right decision in life.

When there’s something in my life that I don’t want to do I usually try all other options first, before I finally decide to do the right thing. Obedience isn’t comfortable, which is why it makes sense that we often avoid it. When I was 17-years old my parents told me I needed to go to driving school. I didn’t want to do it and told them I didn’t really need a driver’s license that much. My parents told me I didn’t have that choice, I was going to driving school whether I liked the idea or not. Driving school was very uncomfortable, scary and at times overwhelming for me but I did it! Today I have my driver’s license and I know that unless my Mom&Dad had done their job as parents I would not have my license today. We don’t always like what our parents tell us to do but loving parents have the child’s best interest at heart. I’m so grateful for everything my wonderful parents have taught me about life, their love is what made me who I am today.

I will not always like what God calls me to do in life, but I can trust that he has my best interest at heart. Young kids can never understand why their parents want them to do certain things, but there is always a reason. Sometimes we have to wait until we are older to understand why our loving parents did what they did. I find that it’s the same way with God. I won’t always understand why God says “No” to certain things I want and “Yes” to other things that I don’t want, but there is always a reason. 

Seven years ago I was passionate about finding a job in Vancouver but God kept saying “No”. I was very frustrated with all the doors that God kept closing in front of me. God gave me a job in Toronto instead and one month after I arrived in Toronto I met the love of my life. I won’t always understand what God is up to in my life, but I can trust that He is working in all things for my good. God’s plan is always better than my plans. It’s freeing to let go and trust God. The more I get to know God, the easier it becomes to trust Him. The more I trust Him, the less I worry. I can let go and enjoy today, because I know that God holds my tomorrow.

Take Courage

Sing praise my soul
Find strength in joy
Let His Words lead you on
Do not forget
His great faithfulness
He'll finish all He's begun

So take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He's in the waiting
He's in the waiting
Hold onto your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He's never failing
He's never failing

Take Courage

Slow down, take time
Breath in He said
He'd reveal what's to come
The thoughts in His mind
Always higher than mine
He'll reveal all to come

Take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He's in the waiting
He's in the waiting
Hold onto your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He's never failing
He's never failing

Sing praise my soul
Find strength in joy
Let His Words lead you on
Do not forget
His great faithfulness
He'll finish all He's begun

And You who hold the stars
Who call them each by name
Will surely keep, Your promise to me
That I will rise, in Your victory!

The Storm Inside

We all face storms in life. These storms many times devastate us and leave us torn apart and beyond recognition. Heartbreak. Fear. Regret. Insecurity. Shame. When these emotions well up inside you, it's difficult to believe you will make it through. We have an enemy who says you will not survive this one.

But God offers us a way through the storm. In The Storm Inside, we'll look at the stories of eight women of the Bible who traveled the path from shame to love, from disappointment to hope, from insecurity to courage, from despair to faith, and more. We'll get to know them as real people and see how God came through for each of them. We'll see the crucial choices they made, and we'll lay hold of the grace that forgives what is past, gives strength for the present moment, and offers hope for the future.

Join Sheila in this eight-session video-based Bible study of eight women of the Bible, whose stories still speak today, encouraging you that God is faithful enough to get you through the worst storms in life.

Sessions include:
1. From Shame to Love
2. From Disappointment to Hope
3. From Fear to Joy
4. From Heartbreak to Strength
5. From Regret to Rest
6. From Insecurity to Confidence
7. From Insignificance to Courage
8. From Despair to Faith


You can buy "The Storm Inside" by Sheila Walsh as a book, audiobook or DVD Study at www.chapters.indigo.ca

The Call: Caring for Orphans

Katie Davis was dreaming about taking a gap year after high school and doing mission work abroad for a year before going to college. After finally being able to convince her parents to let her put off college for a year Katie spent a year in Uganda teaching kindergarten at an orphanage. When Katie's year abroad was over she had fallen in love with Uganda and the people there. She went back to the US again and started college but felt miserable. After a few months of trying but failing to live a "normal life" in America again Katie returned to Uganda. Today she is 26 years old and still lives in Uganda where she runs the non-profit Amazima ministries. Katie has also become the mother of fourteen orphaned girls that she has adopted in Uganda. Last year Katie got married to her husband Benji Majors.


What I find the most inspiring with Katie's story is that she didn't hesitate even when life started taking a very different direction than she had planned for herself. Katie has an incredible courage and a warm heart, she is ready to care for whatever child or person God brings into her life. I also like what Katie Davis has to say about finding our calling in life. Many people feel like they don't know what God wants them to do with their life, but as Katie points out, it's no secret. God has made it really clear in the Bible that he wants us to love other people as we love ourselves. The Bible teaches us to care for orphans and widows, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick etc. If we are calling ourselves Christians doing these things are no longer an option in life, it's a requirement. Mother Teresa makes it really clear and simple in this quote:

"Faith in action is love, and love in action is service."
Mother Teresa

How Does Knowing God Help Us?

Michael Frost talks about how fear and laziness has the power to hold us back from all the good things in life if we let it. We were built to live free. We were created to live a life of courage, sacrificial love and purposeful work but fear and laziness can make us stagnant, stagnant in our growth and held back from experiencing fulfillment in life.

It's a sad day today

It's a very sad day once again as the world mourns the people who lost their lives in Brussels and as we are reminded of how much evil there is in our world. My prayers today are for everyone who have been affected by this tragedy and who have lost a loved one.

Another sad fact is that every time an attack like the one in Brussels happen there are some people who speak up and say that we have to be tougher on immigration etc. It's understandable that the natural reaction is to become afraid, very afraid.

I think it's important that we all remember that fear has never solved any problems in the world, but fear has definitely created many problems. Fear will cripple us and hold us back, but if we resist it we can find the courage and willpower to push forward and get back to working on building a warmer, more inclusive and loving society together. Martin Luther King Jr. said "Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." We need to remember that fear has nothing to do with love, but fear can easily give birth to hate. We live in a world with much evil but when we choose to resist fear and rather unite in love we will change the world together.

Facing your fears with a purpose

Cindy shares ways in which one person can make a significant difference by facing their fears and finding courage to follow through with their own big idea. The difference between simply having big ideas and actually making those ideas come to life stems from overcoming your fears, believing in yourself, and having determination, perseverance, and (the biggest reason) the “why.”

The Courage to Let Go

Christine Caine knows how hard it can be to let go of your past. Christine comes from a background of being marginalized because of her ethnicity, she grew up in the poorest area in her state and in the third poorest area in all of Australia.  Christine grew up in a government assistance neighborhood in a very run-down part of Sidney, Australia. The school Christine went to rated very low on academic achievement and very high on teenage pregnancies, substance abuse and gang violence.


Christine Caine realized that she had a very long list of factors from her past that she could have used as excuses to stay stuck in her past. Except for growing up marginalized and in a very poor neighborhood Christine was also sexually abused as a child for twelve years by four men. As an adult Christine got a chock when she found out that she had been adopted as a baby and nobody had told her about it. All these factors strongly impacted Christine and she spent many years doing difficult work to eventually be able to let go of her past. Today Christine Caine shows us all that it is possible to overcome a past that includes a lot of pain and brokenness.


Today Christine Caine is one of the most sought after Christian speakers in the world and she founded The A21 Campaign a few years ago. The A21 Campaign rescues young women and girls out of sex slavery around the world. I sometimes hear people say that The Bible and The Christian Church completely lack strong women. I personally can't think of anyone who would deserve to be called a strong woman more than Christine. Christine Caine is an overcomer and a great inspiration to all of us. We don't have to stay stuck in our past.

Don't settle and you WILL find true love!

It's amazing what we can get to experience in life once we decide to stay true to ourselves and choose not to settle. Moriah found her true love Joel and got her first kiss at the altar! :) Courage and strength in your faith will always be rewarded by God. Let's be brave so we won't miss out on the best things in life just because we didn't believe they would ever happen.

Ben&Katie

Living "The Life of Love" looks different for everyone. Ben and Katie felt called to move abroad and be teachers in Haiti. After they had gotten married they stepped out of their comfort zone and gave up "The American Dream" for serving others in an underdeveloped country. It's a story of courage and love.