If these letters have no meaning for you: other language, other letters: L O v E D iF F e R E n C eS!
Month: April 2014
The Adventure Continues!
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” (1 John ch 5 v 14)
Someone said: be careful about what you pray for the Lord answers prayers! I agree with that.
I could give you thousands of examples about that in my life and my family. But I’ll just talk about two situations you might recognize through our news.
First, do you remember how God has opened the doors for our family to come to Alberta, Canada? It was a project, a prayer of faith, a miracle, an answer from God.
Second, God blessed us abundantly, here in Edmonton, these past 10 months. Then I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, since September, caused by the stress of our moving and the cold in November. We’ve panicked a little, because, as you may know, winter in Edmonton can be terribly cold (-45 ° C). How to survive these temperatures with such a disease? This is where we began to pray, to cry out to God who sent us here. It did not make any sense! Isn’t He Omniscient, God who knows everything in advance? Our limited mind was struggling to follow God’s logic.
But our heart, our faith in Him help us to take our concerns before Him and to trust Him completely. And dear friends, I am still amazed how God responds beyond our expectation! We prayed that He heals me, but, He had something else in mind: His great plan!
Marc’s company has proposed him to move to Vancouver Island (Victoria) British Columbia (Canada) for a new installation. You should know that there, it’s milder climate and similar to that of Belgium: wet, rainy, but almost no snow and no freezing temperatures,! This was too good to be true …
But wait, moving again? Stress again? … We started to seriously thinking about that and even wondered if this was from God. The company was clear: “relocation support is only for the management position and the big Boss.” So, we went back to God with this crazy request: “Lord, if Victoria is Your will for us, convince them, please, to make an exception for us.” And now, Gideon’s wool request was set (Judges chapter 6 verse 36-40): if they accept to pay for our relocation, this will be the sign that God gives His permission to move to Vancouver Island.
“Be careful what you ask for in your prayers, because God hears you.” Hallelujah! A couple days ago, the company informed us that our relocation will be paid for and the icing on the cake: packing our stuff, cleaning our house here in Edmonton and Victoria are included! We suddenly felt small, but at the same time so important in the eyes of God. Our Almighty God has answered twice, beyond our expectations! What an honour! We had tears in our eyes … Thank you Lord!
I read somewhere this reflection that summarizes our thoughts well: “Trying to understand the will of God is not chaining ourselves, limiting our freedoms. Instead, it’s discovering the unlimited horizons that offer us his creative and structural grace through new perspectives opened by the exciting work that God has prepared for us. It is to discover, be amazed that our life here is not limited by a tomb, but, it is getting ready to see the glittering gates of the eternal city of the great God of heaven! “
May the Lord Jesus Christ encourage and strengthen you!
See you soon for new adventures with God 😉
Inside-Out
Have you ever heard about this book: “The 7 habits of Highly Effective People”? It’s a book written by STEPHEN R. COVEY.
To summarize: “Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity, principles that give us the security to adapt to change, and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.”
I would like to share some of his interesting thoughts that, I hope, will speak to you too!
“Each of us has many maps in our head, which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities, and maps of the way things should be, or values. We interpret everything through these mental maps. We seldom question their accuracy; we’re usually even unaware that we have them. We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be.” (Page 24)
“I remember a mini paradigm shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly, some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.
Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.
It was difficult not to feel irritated. (….) It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated too. (…) I turned to him and said, Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?
The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly: Oh you’re right. (…) we just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know what to handle it either.
Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly, I saw things differently, and because I saw things differently, I thought differently, I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. (…) Everything changed in an instant!
(…) We could spend weeks, months, even years laboring with the Personality Ethic trying to change our attitudes and behaviors and not even begin to approach the phenomenon of change that occurs spontaneously when we see things differently.”
Stephen R. Covey, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Page 30-31YOU are my KING!!
I’m forgiven because you were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well
Your spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again
I’m forgiven because you were forsaken
I’m accepted, you were condemned
I’m alive and well
Your spirit is within me
Because you died and rose again
Amazing love, how can it be?
That you, my king. would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
Its my joy to honor you
Amazing love how can it be?
That my king would die for me
Amazing love I know it’s true
You are my king
You are my king
Jesus, You are my king
Amazing love, how can it be?
That you, my king, would die for me
Amazing love, I know it’s true
Its my joy to honor you
Amazing love, how can it be?
That you, my king would die for me
Amazing love I know it’s true
Its my joy to honor you
In all I do I honor you
In all I do honor you
Happy Blessed Good Friday!!
Peace in Heaven!
Far Flying Dreamers 