God is in control

It's nice to know that God is in control.  Sometimes we get so nervous about...everything...and I think God is up there saying, "Hey.  Breathe.  Chill out.  I got this.  Breathe again.  Relax.  And think about the fact that, really, I got this!"

This is similar to last week's post, but I suppose this my my stage in life right now.  I think God has just been reminding me, "Hey Tim, relax.  I got this."  And even though I know that, I still have nervous moments.  It's funny that we know that God is in control, we can look back and see how He's worked in our lives in the past, He reassures us that He is STILL working...and yet we still get nervous or anxious sometimes.  I suppose that is just our human nature, but that is the wonderful blessing of grace - that God understands our human weaknesses, and He walks with us and comforts us anyway, and tries to remind us along the way that yup, He's in control.

So, hey you, relax!  Oh wait, that's just a mirror.

More Faith Please

This past Sunday, I lost my cell phone.  The last place I remember having it was at the grocery store after church.  Since then, I looked EVERYWHERE for it.  I called it over and over, searched my house, my car, my office at LIFE, even went to the grocery store and all the neighbouring stores to ask if anyone had turned anything in.  Nothing.

I talked about this on the radio two days ago, and got lots of helpful calls and tips...but still, no phone.  Then a friend emailed me this:

Tim, I know someone who knows where your phone is......

God does!!!!!!....He will show you!

I saw the first line of that email and I was so elated!  Finally, someone who knows where my phone is!  Then I saw the second line...and I wasn't too happy.  In fact, I was irritated.  I thought, Urg, I know God knows where my phone is!  But a lot of times I pray and nothing happens, so is He really going to bring my phone around?  Besides, I've looked everywhere in my house, I can't hear it vibrating, and it's two days later and no one has turned  it in.  So let's face it.  It's lost.  And I was literally 100% sure nothing would happen.

A couple of hours later I was sitting in my office and I thought, "Okay, I really should pray.  My friend is actually right."  (I had been praying about it since Sunday, but not as intentionally as I decided to do it at that moment.)  So I prayed then, and when I got home from work, I talked to my wife and mentioned the email, and we prayed again, intentionally.

That evening, my wife walked past our couch and stepped on something that was under it...and lo and behold, the phone!!!  I could not believe it.  I couldn't believe that it was in my house.  I couldn't believe that we'd actually found it.  And I couldn't believe that God actually heard our prayer and brought it to us.  I felt so much joy...and a bit of shame for not trusting God to answer my prayer.

It served as a great reminder for me that yes, God is in control, and yes, He does care - even about the small things.  I actually have something else in my life that I'm a bit nervous about right now, so this phone incident has served as a reminder of God's presence, and because of that presence, I have a lot more peace.

I hope this helps you out if you're nervous about something.  Pray!  God does care!

Contentment

I've been wresting with this issue for the past few years...actually probably all my life.  What is contentment?  What does it mean to be content?  Is there a certain level where we should all be content?  Is there a different level of contentment from person to person?  (This discussion is specifically about finances.)

Let's start in the bible.  Philippians 4:11-12, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

Paul clearly was content.  Despite being shipwrecked multiple times, beaten, whipped, starving, on the run, cold, imprisoned, etc., he was content (1 Corinthians 11:23-28 for Paul's struggles).  He had God, he lived for God, and that's all that mattered.

Now in the 21st century, is the same?  Can we be that content through all circumstances?

Let me elabourate a bit.  If you make enough money to pay your bills, put food on the table, and stay out of debt (with wise budgeting and spending), but you can't afford to put your kids in swimming/skating/music lessons, you can't afford to go on vacation, and there are no extra frills in life...should you be content in the fact that your bills are paid and "that's good enough"?  Is it okay to want more money to do the things mentioned above?

What about if you can't even pay your bills?  The point where you are relying on God to meet your daily needs, and help you pay your bills at the end of the month?  Is it okay to want more then?  Or should you rest in the fact that God is providing for you and "that's good enough"?

Then there's the other end of the spectrum - you make enough money to pay your bills, and then some.  You can take a vacation each year, put your kids in sports, fix up your car, go out to dinner once in a while, etc...  Is that contentment?

There are missionaries who have nothing and yet are the happiest people you'll ever meet.  And there are wealthy individuals who have everything, and yet have nothing.

I know that the answer is God.  We find our contentment in God and not in worldly things.  Yes, thank you.  Good Sunday School answer...that is annoying but true haha.  But I guess the question comes down to this - when is it okay to want things?  If someone is in one of the first two scenarios, is it wrong to want more money so that you can live a little bit more comfortably, or so that you can give good things to your kids?  I can't imagine that there's anything wrong with that.  And yet by wanting more, does that mean that we're not thankful for what God has already given us, and not trusting Him for the rest?

I don't know.  I see both sides.  What I do know is that we should be content in all circumstances.  The 'want' part is where I'm confused.  Any help is welcome.

Impulses

The past few days/weeks, I've been wondering about 'impulses'.  That feeling you get that you need to pray right now for a certain situation, or you should call someone that just came to mind, or you should stop in at this coffee shop, even though you weren't planning on it when you left your house.

How many of those impulses are from God?  How many of them do we actually follow and go for?  I've had it happen three times in the last two days, that I've gotten the 'impulse' to pray for someone.  And I've done it.  Actually, once I ignored it, but then someone else asked if we could pray and I knew right away that I should not have ignored my impulse.

I think we get them a lot more than we think we do.  For some reason though, we can sometimes tend to ignore those thoughts.  I have a huge tendency to say, "Oh, that's just me and my thoughts, not God".  What if I'm wrong?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says "pray continually".  That means as you're looking around, you see things from God's perspective.  As I'm writing this and I look out the window in my office, I see three houses outside, and the thought comes to mind - "pray for the people in those houses".  Is that God?  I can't imagine that EVERY time it's an impulse from Him telling me to pray; personally, I don't think that's how it works.  But I do think that as we become more Christ-like, we get His mind, see things His way.  And I believe Jesus probably prayed for everything, all the time.  Even short, quick prayers - "God please help that person"; "God, let the people in the car in front of me come to know you"; "God, let something good happen to this cashier today, and let them know that it was because of you"...etc.

I wonder if that's how it's supposed to be.  I think so.  I try to do that.  And it's nice to know that God hears each of those prayers, even if I don't know what will come of them.

It's been a fun week!

I like weeks like this on the internet.  All the neat and weird stories that have popped up, it's fun!  It's a nice break from the heavy (and often negative) stuff that can often be in the news, and that can sadly make up our world today.

But this week was different.  I've smiled and laughed a lot the past few days, and my curiosity has been peaked.  It started off with the mystery bunker found in Toronto.  What is this bunker, who built it, what was it for, when was it built, etc...so many questions and no answers.  Crazy!  (It's too bad it's been filled in now...)

Then it was the story of the llamas on the loose in Arizona.  Police, bystanders, people in their cars - no one could catch these for about 20 minutes!  A fun video to watch (here's the shortened version):

Then there came the story of the giant catfish.  Dino Ferrari reeled in this monster - 280 lbs, almost 9 feet long! (He released it.)

And then of course, the one that has completely boggled my mind - "The Dress".  The dress that has polarized the internet.  Some see it as white and gold, others and blue and black.  For me, it so CLEARLY was white and gold all morning, and I emphasized that on the air and to all callers today...and then five hours later I looked at it again and now all I see is blue and black...  It's messing with my brain!

I can see both variations now (it's all the lighting and the angle).

Hopefully one or all of these stories made you laugh too!  If not, look one of them up and enjoy!

Birthday

I turned 33 yesterday.  It was my birthday, meaning I could do whatever I wanted.  My wife kept asking, "What do you want to do?  Anything you want, it's your day!"  But I worked in the morning, and had a 2.5 hour meeting that I had to go to in the evening...so there were only a few hours in the middle of the day that were 'mine'.

So what was my choice for 'whatever I wanted to do' for those few hours?

I took a nap.  A wonderful, magnificent, almost heavenly, nap.  My wife took the kids, and I had some one-on-one time with my pillow.  I woke up feeling so refreshed.

For those of you who think I'm lame, I understand.  I too used to be so naive once.  Then I had kids.  And started working at 5am.  And everything changed.

It was the best birthday ever.

It's about time

Our new washer arrives today!  Finally!

Our washer broke about two and a half weeks ago and we called a repair man in to fix it.  He said it was a write off and we should get a new one.  We were finally able to order one at the beginning of this week, and it'll be delivered today.  Whew, just in time, our bedrooms are literally full of laundry. With a two year old who doesn't care about his clothes and a baby who still spits up, laundry piles up FAST.

Over the past couple of weeks though, I've been reminded again of how great it is to have good friends.  Since our washer broke, we have done about eight loads of laundry at three different people's homes...and we easily could have done more.  In fact, if the new washer wasn't coming today, we'd be calling on our friends again this weekend.  But all the friends just jump in right away - "Of course, you can use our washer and dryer anytime!"  One person even folded our laundry for us, lol.  Too sweet.  The hassle of carting laundry back and forth in a small car is nothing when compared to how great your friends can be.

So I am beyond grateful for our friends...but I can't wait to not have to rely on them anymore :)