Laminin

Louie Giglio is such a dynamic speaker...you gotta check out this vid.

What's on your cardboard?

I watched this movie on Joshua seller's blog, and I couldn't help but post it on my blog too...watch it and weep!

It's official!!

Well, I'm please to report that I've made it out alive from the ridiculously long Convocation ceremony, and I now have the official piece of paper that I worked four years for. I must admit, after my name was called and I walked across the stage to get hooded and shake some man's hand, I walked right out the door and was on my way. There's no way I had the attention span to sit through a few hundred names being called and watch them all walk across the stage. Afterwards, we did the whole picture thing and the bought a frame for the most expensive piece of paper I'll ever own...we must keep it in good shape!

All in all, I'm glad I went, but I'm even more excited for the coming years. It seems like just yesterday I was unpacking all my stuff into my first year residence...and now I sit here four years later with a plethora of knowledge, a piece of paper (my degree), many fun stories, and a great experience overall. I'm excited to see how the Lord will use these past 4 years and the many experiences I had here in London, for the future. I sure learned a ton...about the world, myself, but more importantly, my Saviour.

And to those who are about to enter this chapter in their life, I have just one thing to say. The very FIRST thing you do when you enter your dorm room for your first year of college/university, put your bible on your bed and hit your knees in prayer for the coming years. Take a stand at the beginning...let people see that you are different. Trust me, it'll be a lot easier down the road when making harder decisions, as you never compromised on the small things at the beginning. If you're willing and wanting to let the Lord use you, I have no doubt that He will.

Below are some pictures of the day, enjoy!

Above: getting "hooded" as I walked across the stage.

With my degree

Family potrait, minus Eric.

After the ceremony.

My kids! (well, GOD's children actually)

Each Wednesday I head to London to hang out with some of the most incredible students ever...it's such a privilege and honour to be apart of youth ministry at Harvest Bible Chapel, London. I never would have thought the Lord would have used me in this ministry even going back a year ago, but I'm so SO thankful that I obeyed His call in serving the students at Harvest. Every student that walks through the doors of the Youth for Christ building on Wednesday night is such an encouragement and blessing to me personally...the Lord increases the love I have for them every single week. It's incredible -- thank you Lord! The group started off small at the beginning of the year, but the Lord continues to be so faithful in growing His church and leading more students to come out each week. I just pray that we as leaders are seeking the Lord and directing these students down the path of righteousness, as really it's about the quality of the disciple, not quantity.

Our nights are normally structured as followed: arrive anytime after 6:30pm, games start at 7pm...we usually try and play a couple big games that everyone is involved in and geared toward developing teamwork. Following games time, we sometimes have a quick mixer/announcements, then a time of worship through song. Next, we have a time of teaching, then branch out into small groups. This year, my small group was the grade 11 and 12 girls...all such lovely young women, whom I love dearly. If you ever think about it, just pray that the Lord would continue to provide me with wisdom and discernment when talking with these girls.

Below is a picture from last week, but many of the students are missing. I hope to post more soon.

Sweet Surprise...

Well, I have a bit of time to kill before my fabulous friend Steph (featured in the picture) arrives here...she decided to make a surprise appearance in Sauga city tonight...driving all the way from London because I selfishly wanted to see her. Tomorrow morning we plan on treking up to Harvest Barrie as a good friend of ours (Sarah) is on the worship team, then we're heading back to her place for a feast. Sarah has three little kiddies that I'm stoked to play with them...such sweet kids!

Wow - as I'm typing this, Steph arrived! Must go!

Proof?

Just take a look around you...He's everywhere. We serve a living and active God, who desires to have an intimate relationship with us, His children. How deep the father's love for us...

"Quotes"

One little secret about me: I love a good quote. I love quotes that take a moment to sink in and digest. I do enjoy funny quotes, but I especially appreciate quotes from invidiuals whom have much Godly wisdom. Individuals such as Piper, A.W. Tozer, MacArthur and the like.

Here are a few of my favs:

"The holiness of God is the most fundamental reality of all. It refers to the reality that God is utterly unique and in a class by himself—that's his set-apartness—none compares with him. There is no other Creator, no other sustainer, no other final measure of good and evil. He is utterly set apart in a class by himself, unequaled, unrivaled, totally underived, absolute in his being and perfection, without beginning or ending or improvement. In a word his holiness is the supremacy of his infinite worth among all that is." John Piper

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose"
Jim Elliot

"You can't learn while you're talking" Beth Moore

"To inculate me from the praise of man, He baptized me in the criticism of man, until I died to the control of man" Francis Frangipane

"God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the call."

"The main thing is to keep the Main Thing the main thing" (referring to the Cross)

"God’s holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable… Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard" A.W. Tozer

"Hast thou no mercy, rendering none."

Treadmill thoughts...(my thinking time)

People are different, cultures are different, but we all have the same need...Jesus Christ. My last night in Thailand I had the opportunity to have dinner with three Thai girls (plus Bec), where we were able to encourage each other and share what the Lord is doing in our lives. It was incredible. They had just gotten back from a missions trip to Burma (when the cyclone hit) and their passion and love for the Lord was so evident. Although these girls have so little in the material sense, they truly do have so much -- an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. I think it puts a lot of us to shame here in the Western world. I was sharing with someone the other night about the conversations I had with these Thai girls and how their relationship with the Lord was so encouraging to me, and his response: "Canada/north America is one of the hardest places to be a Christian". After some thought, I realized this statement does have some truth to it. If you think about it, here in Canada we have everything we "need" - clean water, great food, and a solid roof over our head that doesn't leak at night - all of which aren't the case in Thailand (and many other countries). Anyhow, our lives here are so abundant and filled with "stuff," that it's so easy to feel like we don't "need" the Lord...it's so easy to push Him aside and do thing on our own. Rely on our own wisdom (or lack of). I'm guilty of that for sure. We (myself included) so quickly rely on our own strength and depend on ourselves to get through each day...it's almost scary. It blows my mind that we can trust God with our eternal destiny, yet fail to trust Him with the small details of each day.
Anyhow, my thoughts are a bit scattered right now, but I guess I'm just "wowed" how Christ's love truly transcends all borders. Christ's love is universal. He IS love. I may not have been able to speak Thai(at the dinner, one girl translated), but I pray that each person I came in contact with during my time there saw just a glimpse of Christ in me, the hope of glory. Perhaps it was just a smile I gave them, or a little wave, whatever...I just pray that Christ's love shone through.

More thoughts to come...

Livin' for eternity,
A



(these are the three Thai girls I had dinner with)

You just can't stop Him.

During my time in southern Thailand while staying at the hotel, we had a few english stations on the television. Anyhow, as we were flicking through, American Idol popped on and the performance I have posted above was playing. It was incredible. Here I was, sitting in Thailand, watching American Idol...hearing them sing "Shout to the Lord," with millions of people watching worldwide. All that ran through my head was...Nothing can stop Jesus Christ. No secular television show can stop the power of our Lord.
Apparently, this was the second time they had sung the song. The first time was at the end of one of the shows (but they substituted "my Sheppard" for "my Jesus"), but due to popular demand (topped the itunes charts)...they brought the song back one more time WITH the correct lyrics.
God will let nothing steal His glory. And if we don't cry out to Him, the rocks will.
Go Lord go!!

We ride elephants, not cars.

Today was incredible!! Bec and I had a super early start this morn and decided to trek over to the mountains (on her motorbike) to visit the elephant camp. But, I must mention one thing first...motorbikes here in Thailand, I think, must be made specifically for the Thai people, whom are a wee bit smaller than us white folk. So, it was absolutely hilarious trying to get two white girls up this mountain to get to the elephant camp, while all the Thai people are buzzing by us. I could have run faster than the bike was going...apparently there's a weight restriction that we didn't know about! ha! Bec pretty much had her legs down trying to push us up at points. Too funny.
Anyhow, once we arrived there, we were greeted by about 10 elephants just bathing in the river...not more than 10 feet from us. When they stretched out their trunks you were close enough to touch them...super duper cool. Then we get to watch the elephant show for an hour, seeing them do a ton of neat tricks -- play soccer, paint pictures, throw darts, stand on their rear legs -- definitely have pictures to come. Toward the end, the elephants come right up to you in the stands and you can take pictures with them...I stood in between four of them, then they proceeded to wrap their trunks around me!! I think I half excited and half freak right out, as I thought they could squeeze the life out of me!
Following the show, Bec and I went on an elephant ride for an hour through the Thailand jungle...absolutely incredible. There's just something about walking through God's creation on the other side of the world, on top of an elephant, that cannot be described. I had never really been through the jungle here yet, so to be able to do that on the back of an elephant was amazing. It undoubtedly gave me a whole new perspective on the Lord's incredible creation. Pictures to come as well.
On our way back down the mountain (WAY easier going back down...) we stopped in at one of the national parks, which had a total of ten waterfalls. We didn't really realize this national park was more of a "hiking" thing, and trying to trek through the jungle/park with flip flops (and ponchos) was quite the adventure. It seemed as though we were making our own path half the time two as we hiked up to see the top waterfalls. The verse that was rolling through my head the entire time was "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" (Matt 7:13,14) The path to the narrow gate is undoubtedly harder and far less travelled...and that truth came alive to me today like none other.

Anyhow, all in all, it was a fantastic day. We ended with grabbing some dinner at the local night market, then enjoyed the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Very cute - recommend it for sure!

Tomorrow is my last day here...not too much planned, perhaps stopping by the silver factory for a bit and maybe the night market, but that's about it. I have to gear up for my 20 hour flight back home!

See y'all soon!

Much love,
A