Ephesians 3

take it all in:

Ephesians 3 (NLT)

God's Mysterious plan revealed.

"What I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ for the benefit of you Gentiles... assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

And this is God's plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. [this means God has invited everyone- can you think of a better example of inclusion?] Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to

Christ Jesus. By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

Though I am the least deserving of all God's people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in

the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence. So plese don't lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honoured.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand full. Then you wil8l be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is abl

e, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."

my REFLECTION:'

I had a real revelation the other day. I think i was sitting at bible study with my mouth open and jaw dropped because of this realization. How come people often think Christianity is an exclusive religion? Only a few get in, or somehow there is this concept of predestination which equates to a special selection of certain people. The gospel has been totally misrepresented if this is the common perception. The truth is, the thesis of the entire new testament is one of "inclusion." This word inclusion had made me think. okay, so back in the day, there was a real distinction between jews and gentiles, but echoed throughout the entire nt is this message of how Jesus bro

ke down that wall of separation between the two groups. Jesus' message is for all. I think I take that fact too lightly. David crowder's song says, "oh happiness- there is grace enough for us and the whole human race." This model of inclusion is Christ's vow. I just realized now why my professor at trinity adopts the model of "full inclusion" in the classroom to incorporate all students into the regular classroom. I am so inspired by this model of full inclusion, which was taken right from Jesus. I am compelled to adopt an inclusive attitude and build relationships with others. Isn't it amazing that God wants all to know him? he hasn't selected only a few; he doesn't prize some over others. No, "he loves us. [each and every one of us] oh how he loves us."

Zoe

Zoe:

life the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate every living soul life of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever. Lately, I have been stuck on this word, Zoe, which is Greek for the word Life. This word is used 135 times in the New Testament. We know the verse in John 10:10 where Jesus states that he has come "to give abundant life." What does it look like to step into this abundant life? Although this has been one of my big questions for a long time, I often didn't know how I could discover, or walk in, abundant life. But I am beginning to recognize that the answer is that being connected to Jesus allows us to have life. In First John it says, "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have th Son of God does not have life." The secret to living life fully, with purpose, is to have relationship with Jesus. The bible speaks about how Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When we walk close with Christ, we will experience life more fully. Walking close to Him means abiding. "abide" : to remain, to continue, to stay with, to dwell, to reside, to act in accord with, etc. I want to abide in the father. When we remain in him we bear fruit. I don't look to the result of bearing fruit, but I want to keep my eyes focused on Jesus so as to stay in his will. I want to keep eye contact with him continuously. but i've been thinking about how you have to learn eye contact. sometimes it's not natural. but I want to keep checking in with my father. When we are not in relationship with the Father, we don't have life. Grace recently said this to me, "To remain in the Father means He will remain in us, and when we do, just like the vine and the branches, we will bear much fruit......but this fruit isn't necessarily the fruit that we think it is. What kind of fruit does an apple tree produce? Apples of course. So in the same way by remaining in the Father, we will be like the Father, and that is the fruit!" We know we are alive when we are connected to the vine. The fruit is to be like Christ. It means we will be clothed with the same qualities that he has in himself- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and even more. To walk with the Father, is to walk in Life because he is the source of Life. side note: Incomplete thought: Isn't it funny that when we strive, we often don't get anywhere? It's only when we abide in Christ that we receive peace, rest, contentment, joy and it is when we are in that place that he is able to show himself to us. When we are preoccupied with crossing him off our list, we lose our love. When we abide and delight there is so much to revel in. I think God has something to say about striving. He even saved us from our strivings. How come when we worry about something, nothing happens? but when I am simply "being" I am able to live? I guess God= Freedom and striving isn't complete freedom. I hope you sit with Christ. I pray that you abide in him because as you do, you will live and move with vitality.

Let everything that's in me Praise the Lord!

I have so much to praise God for. He is so good! Let everything that's within me Praise the Lord!

As you may know I was offered a part time teaching job for the fall. I feel so honoured to have been asked to fill this position. As I think about it, I am overcome with this confidence that God is a good God, a daddy who cares for his children and has great plans for them. At the end of the school year, in April, I knew that I needed some time off from University. Although I only have my professional year remaining for teaching, I was tired and empty and needed some time off from studying. So, although I had already been accepted to do the professional year program at Trinity, I turned it down to wait and complete it the following year. At that point, I only had plans to travel for the summer and didn't know what I would do come September. But God has great plans. I thought that perhaps I would submit my name for Teachers' assistant job, but didn't get around to it before my adventure in Asia. I left for a three month adventure in SouthEast Asia with JoAnne, Tesia and Alanna in mid May, still wondering what I would do when I returned. In mid July I was contacted through email to ask if I would consider teaching part time primary music. I was so astounded by the offer. God has a great way of orchestrating how things will work becuase he knows all. I was so honoured to be asked to fill this position and I have such a great mentor to guide me through my first teaching experience. Upon starting the staff here has been great. They are so resourceful and encouraging. The small notes and kind words speak volumes. And when they drop by my office to ask how my first week went means so much to me. I have been enjoying teaching so far. It is so wonderful to hear the students sing praises to God Most High. They lift up their praises and I get the opportunity to teach them what it means to praise God. Our song of the month is, "Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee." I explained to the students that this is a prayer song and even though I sing it nine times a day, it is really becoming my prayer. I was challenged this summer by Denise to "Take a risk and play because it's FUN!" I want to thoroughally enjoy every moment and fully engage in everything that is before me.

"Lord may my life flow in ceaseless praise. Praise you for every gift you have brought into my life for such a time as this. Let me walk in confidence of who you've made me to be. Let this classroom resonate with your praises and I ask that each student will respond to the music, participating as you've created us to. Give me great joy as I teach and allow me to convey living life in abundance for you are the Lifesource!"

... more thoughts to come soon about living Life in the Son...stay tuned!

new song

Check out this new song that Louis introduced me to today.

It's on my video bar on the left-hand side.

here are the lyrics:

Your love is pure your love is precious your love is all i need

your love surrounds me your love astounds me your love is everything.

i run to you my heart is weak i cling to you you're all i see
it's my hearts desire to be close to you cause here in your arms i'll find my strength.

your love is pure your love is precious your love is all i need
your love surrounds me your love astounds me your love is everything.

i run to you my heart is weak i cling to you you're all i see
it's my hearts desire to be close to you cause here in your arms i'll find my strength

you're everything I want; everything I hope for; everything my heart cries out for.

Beautiful! A new prayer! You're everything I want; eveyrhting I hope in; everything my heart cries out for.

a few pictures

Me in Chiang Mai- loved that place.
My second elephant ride. These elephants were huge!

Hello Tiger (notice that I am not petting the tiger).


The Ayutthaya Ruins. We had such a fun day biking around the city and exploring the ruins. We also love that we wore brightly coloured shirts this day.

here are some pictures. they're a little old, but realized I haven't posted pics for a long time.

enjoy~

Hello Readers!

So I am entering the last three weeks of the trip. I'm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia right now and tomorrow I'm heading to Medan, Indonesia.
I just had a relaxing week with my friend Denise. We were able to meet up in Cambodia and then we headed down to Phuket Thailand. We were hoping to get some good sun on the beaches; however, the rainy season is in full swing here, so our plans were somewhat altered. It rained everyday; sometimes only for ten minutes, sometimes all afternoon. I will always remember swimming in Cambodia in the pouring rain. We were able to also see my friend Judy, who is in Phuket. I hadn't seen her since my days at Rick Hansen and so it was such a privilege to get to see her. We were invited to her house for a party. It was neat to hear her speaking Thai with her friends. She is just like I remember - full of life and passion and love for those around her and she has such a generous heart.

Thought of the day: A generous heart demonstrates love; A generous heart shows interest, compassion and value. (Judy is a beautiful example of a generous heart).

God is... GENEROUS!

Thanks Denise for a great, relaxing week. It was a real adventure! Sihanoukville, 13 hour bus trip, sleeping in, your sun burn, Nachos, Transformers, overpriced tuck-tuks, party at Judys, music and dancing in the room! I'm so glad that it worked out for you to come and meet up with me. You're teaching me a lot about listening to the Spirit, asking for ongoing insight from God.

check out denise's blog for a few pics. www.travelingbeyond.blogspot.com

Have a great day!!!

To inquire of the father's heart

Let me cry out for insight.
Let me ask you before I make decisions.
Not out of fear. Not out of duty.
Let me love you.
Allow me to hear you.
Teach me to seek you.
Before I make a decision, I want to inquire of your heart.
Do I come to you before I go? or do I go before I come to you?
Teach me to ask.
Teach me to bring even the small things into your hands.
You want to share with your children.
Remind me that you speak when I come to you.
Continue to show me more of the Father's Heart.
When I converse with others, may I bring them before you.
Guide my conversations. Guide my words with each encounter.

This is to walk in God's will.
To walk with him before, during, after.
To commune all the time.
To shift my attention onto His heart.
To know your heartbeat.
To not only know your heartbeat, but to move in sync with it.

This is my desire.



Jeremiah 33:3 (The Message)
2-3"This is God's Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.'

Jeremiah 33:3 (New Living Translation)
3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

Jeremiah 33:3 (New King James Version)
3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’