This coming Saturday 10 youth and 3 adult leaders will be going to St. Catharines (otherwise known as Niagara Serve) for a weeklong youth service event. I am excited, and thankful to be a part of this team. This is my 15th SERVE experience, and I have seen God work in amazing ways in all the participants, those served, those leading the site, the youth and adult SERVE-ants. The social time, worship time, motivational speakers, faith-stretching experiences, service opporunities – all surrounded by fun, laughter, and God’s Spirit touching the deep places in our hearts.

Please pray for the team, and for all the others involved in Niagara SERVE. There will be aroiund 50 youth plus adult leaders. Pray also for the Host Team as they work out all the details. Pray for a life-changing experience. The youth going from Crossroads are: Esther Andringa, Zach Biel, Tabitha David, Brandon Hong, James Roberts, Danielle Roberts, Janelle Sennema, Zach Vanderwel, , Cody Walton, Scott Yoshikuni. The adult leaders are Sue Crossman, Norm Sennema and Ralph Vanderwel.

“Some people think that a spiritual quest of any kind is a colossal waste of time. For them, the only things that are real are those that can be proven or measured. They might think, Life boils down to earning and buying and selling… eating and drinking and having fun… respiration, digestion, elimination, ovulation, ejaculation, gestation, reproduction, antiquation, expiration. Why search for something that we can’t prove? Why don’t we just get real and get over it? Why waste energy on a spiritual quest? There’s nothing more than psychology and biology, which is nothing more than chemistry and electricity, which is nothing but physics, which boils down to mathematics. That’s all there is.” (Brian McLaren, The Secret Message of Jesus)

As one who believes that this is NOT all there is, I can’t help but feeling sorry for those for whom that’s all there is! Its no wonder so many people feel empty, pointless, worthless, purposeless. I know, they probably do not want my pity, but I feel it anyway. For me, I cannot ignore the spiritual whisper that is echoing within me. I do not understand it, and I don’t always hear it. But I cannot escape it. It gently beckons me, pulls me from the inside to something beyond the material to the immaterial, beyond the temporal to the eternal. I am on this spiritual quest, and I believe that the voice I hear is the voice of God, otherwise known as Jesus Christ.

God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. [Ecclesiastes 3:11]

What do you think?

Yesterday I wrote about being a practical atheist, and then discovered there is a whole book about the subject – The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel.
A look at the index shows what this involves:

1. When You Believe in God but Don’t Really Know Him
2. When You Believe in God but Are Ashamed of Your Past
3. When You Believe in God but Aren’t Sure He Loves You
4. When You Believe in God but Not in Prayer
5. When You Believe in God but Don’t Think He’s Fair
6. When You Believe in God but Won’t Forgive
7. When You Believe in God but Don’t Think You Can Change
8. When You Believe in God but Still Worry All the Time
9. When You Believe in God but Pursue Happiness at Any Cost
10. When You Believe in God but Trust More in Money
11. When You Believe in God but Don’t Share Your Faith
12. When You Believe in God but Not in His Church

So if the subject interests you, why not make this a part of your summer reading plan.
I’m sure its not a light and easy read – and it may make you uncomfortable.
I think I will.

It is not what we say, but what we do, that reveals what we really believe!
I say that I love Jesus, but do my actions bear that out?
I say that I follow Jesus, but do my actions reveal this?
I say that Jesus is my Lord, but do I strive to do what He says?
I say that Jesus is my Saviour, but do I look to Him and rely on Him for help?
I say that God is real to me, but do I live and act without much thought to God’s presence or power in my life?
I say that the bible is important to me, but do I take time to read it, and apply it to my life?
I say that prayer is important to me, but do it actually prioritize time for praying?

I heard someone talk about “practical atheists”, those who claim to believe in God, and maybe believe in God in their brains, but in reality deny His existence by each one of their deeds!

What do you think?

After posting “The Dad Life”, thought I would post this video, in Mom’s honour!
The Mommy Rhapsody!

In honour of Canada Day, I want to offer you the opportunity to watch this classic from the National Film Board of Canada, made in 1966 by Bill Mason.
I remember loving this movie as we watched it in grade school several times – not on dvd or vhs but on the big metal reels, remember those that clicked when first loading.
Enjoy, its 28m long but its worth it!

C’mon, we know you want to be Canadian… eh?

I found these stones piled up along the shore of Victoria Park, PEI.
Did this happen naturally, or is there some intelligent designer behind it?
To me, these stones testify – or point to – the hand that shaped and positioned them.
They are a silent message, reminding me that they did not just ‘happen’, but that someone put them there for a reason.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. [Psalms 19:1-4]
Can you hear what the stones are saying?

That’s me going for a walk… in the ocean.
Experiencing God is like experiencing the ocean.
You can only touch a small part of it, and you could never grasp the whole of it.
It’s expanse, it’s depth, and the wonder that it contains, is all beyond my reach.
But that doesn’t stop me from stepping in and enjoying what I can.
So it is with God!