Movie Night

On Saturday my husband and I went to the movies together, we watched "The Case for Christ" which is based on a real-life story. The movie follows Lee Strobel's journey from atheist to Christian as he tries to prove that Christianity is false. Lee's journey reminds me of my own, I remember how Christianity was the last religion in the world that I would have guessed to be true. God knows each one of our stories and he will use different paths to reach different people, but what we all have in common is that he will call us on a journey to get to know him. Lee came to faith in God after he had looked at the historical and medical evidence for Christ, my journey was completely different.


I remember having encounters with God already as a child but I didn't know what this "higher power" was, I just knew there was something out there and that there was some type of God watching over us for sure. I personally don't find the medical or historical evidence for Christ that interesting, mostly because I've experienced God's presence in such an intense way a few times in life that I don't need any additional proof to know he is real, but we all have different journeys. The beautiful thing is that no matter who we are God can reach each one of us in a unique way. The website Rotten Tomatoes describes the movie The Case for Christ in the following way:


"A hard-driving journalist, Lee Strobel was exactly where he expected to be at work: on top. His award-winning investigative reporting recently earned him a promotion to legal editor at the ChicagoTribune. But things weren't going nearly as well at home where his wife Leslie's newfound faith in Christ went against everything Lee believed-or didn't believe-as an avowed atheist. Utilizing his journalistic and legal training, Lee begins a quest to debunk the claims of Christianity in order to save his crumbling marriage. Chasing down the biggest story of his career, Lee comes face-to-face with unexpected results that could change everything he knows to be true."

Finding The One and Keeping The One

God wants our relationships to be beautiful, but that takes effort. Whether in singleness or in marriage, the common denominator is that we must faithfully steward what we've been given. 

Jennie Lusko teaches a great sermon at Fresh Life Church called "Becoming The One". We often focus our attention on finding the one but unless we focus on "becoming the one" ourselves we won't do well in our romantic relationships. We all have our issues and ignoring them won't make us happy, when we actively work on developing our character our romantic relationships will thrive. The same is true for marriage, even after we have met the one and gotten married there's no room to be lazy if we want our marriages to stay strong. Just like a garden requires a lot of work to keep it beautiful a marriage requires us to actively work on it every year to keep it strong.

I've really enjoyed the Swipe Right series at www.freshlife.church this spring. "Becoming The One" and "Worth Fighting For" are my two favorite messages in the Swipe Right series. I learned many of the same truths that are being shared in the series when I was in my early twenties and still today they are making a difference in my marriage. I won't be able to save money and keep my finances in check without a budget and in the same way I can't have a thriving marriage without building it upon wisdom. Levi and Jennie Lusko share great wisdom in the Swipe Right series that when applied will make a romantic relationship strong and healthy. I can't protect myself from natural disasters, most diseases or accidents in life but I can protect myself from relational pain by building my marriage upon wisdom. 

Tips for a Minimalist Lifestyle

I love this video by Sarah Nourse where she shares her best tips on how you can simplify your life. Sarah shares her best minimalist life hacks in the video and I find many of the tips to be very helpful. Creating a minimalist lifestyle is a great way to move towards consuming less stuff, living greener and saving money. Most of us live pretty busy lives in today's society so a minimalist lifestyle can also help us save time and make life less stressful.

My favorite tips in the video is to live without a car if possible and to borrow an outfit from a friend for special events like galas and weddings instead of always buying something new. I also like the idea of sharing certain toiletries with my husband like shaving creme and body wash to consume less and have less clutter in the shower. Another great tip is to buy all linens and towels in the same color so that everything matches and to make doing laundry faster and easier.

The Song Story

Melodie Malone and Brett Younker from the Passion Band talk about what inspired them to write the song Holy Ground.

Holy Ground

Chains fall
Fear bow
Here, now
Jesus, you change everything
Lives healed
Hope found

Life With One Hand

Brandon Yap tells his story about what it was like to grow up with only one hand. Hearing others tell him he couldn't do things made Brandon develop insecurities growing up. Brandon's insecurities made him ashamed of who he was and made him want to hide his arm when meeting new people. Over time Brandon developed depression and anxiety. He worked hard trying to earn acceptance and approval from others for many years and when his family moved to another state things got worse. Brandon was bullied in his new school and started to believe the voices in his head who were telling him he was worthless.


One day Brandon's sister Jennie invited him to Skull Church and from then on Brandon's life started to change in a big way. God was teaching Brandon that his imperfections could be used as his platform. He decided to learn how to play some instruments and today he is using his gifts to serve God. I love what Brandon says in the video: "I once saw myself as a victim, but God has given me the heart of a victor."

The Weekend

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I had a very slow weekend which was super nice! I mostly stayed home and didn't do much else than spend time with family. My husband went out and got me coffee and a croissant for breakfast on Saturday morning and I stayed in my PJ's until it was afternoon. That pretty much sums up my favorite way to start a slow Saturday! :)

On Sunday it was sunny and +16 degrees Celsius in Toronto so I decided to enjoy a stroll along the lakefront in between running some errands. Welcome Spring, we hope you will stick around!