Thank you for your words of encouragement!

This past week I was blessed to receive a number of very encouraging emails from our Amberlea family. Thank you. In this very unusual time, where I find myself writing, filming, producing, lighting and editing all alone in my office… I am so grateful to hear from those of you who have found God’s word encouraging. It is in fact an encouragement to me. 

We’ve all needed encouragement haven’t we?  The Apostle Paul wrote:

Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  (1 Thess. 5:11)

The church in Thessalonica struggled and faced an uncertain future. Sound familiar? Many of us today, find ourselves struggling amidst this global pandemic and the uncertainty we face, is real. 

The Apostle Paul wrote to encourage them, reminding them of their faith, love and hope in Jesus. He reminded them that with these assurances they could keep encouraging one another and building each other up.

We have all been on the receiving end of encouraging words. And you might agree that sometimes a word of encouragement has the power and potential to change the trajectory of our thinking, if not our life. 

En­cour­agement is a gift no matter where we are — at work, at school, at home or at church.  It is also a gift we can share! As we come alongside others we can be a blessing to them as we encourage them. It’s not difficult, encouragement can be as simple as listening, consoling, affirming, or just being there. It is truly a way of living out the command to love one another.

Who have been the encouragers in your life? The ones who were there when you thought you’d never laugh again. The ones who listened to you; while others just talked. They were very likely a blessing to you. 

We are so grateful for them, aren’t we?

So, when was the last time you encouraged someone? When were you that blessing in someone else’s life?

“Encourage one another and build each other up…”

This Thanksgiving weekend, be blessed and be a blessing!

Be Well.

Be Safe.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turn on the light!

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." Isaiah 60:1-3 (NIV)

Most of us can resonate with how the prophet Isaiah colours the earth in Isaiah 60:1-3. Isaiah didn’t describe the earth in brilliant blues and greens, or even the stunning orange and reds of a perfect Ontario Fall day. Instead Isaiah speaks of Earth's spiritual atmosphere in other terms… darkness.  Isaiah says, “See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples . . ." (vs. 2a)

I received a touching email from a young woman just shortly after another senseless death of a black man in the United States…

"The murder of black people in the States has been spray painting all over what I knew to be true of God." She said that this and personally struggling in the midst of a global pandemic had been "defacing the image of Christ” that she has in her heart.

I was struck by the imagery she used. It made me wonder what had been marring my own view of God. 

In the midst of difficulties both near and far, how can we hold onto an image of God that highlights God’s power and goodness? So many questions come in the midst of darkness. 

• “Why doesn't God do something?" 

• "Why is there so much evil in the world?" 

• And more personally, "Why doesn't God help me?"

Isaiah didn't offer answers to these questions. Instead, he listened for God's voice and then spoke the word God gave him. 

He painted a picture of an earth covered in thick darkness, yet he also spoke of a light so strong it would pierce the darkness. "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." (vs. 1).

Isaiah did not speak so much of a happy present, but of a blessed future. Though he didn't know Jesus' name, the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Jesus (“the glory of the Lord”) approximately 700 years before His birth.

Isaiah is telling us that what we now know: 

• Jesus is our answer when we wonder where God is. 

• Jesus is the light that dispels the darkness and shows us God's great love.

Like Isaiah and the people he spoke to, we sometimes feel mired in gloom. There is so much darkness in the world. Fortunately, we are not left alone to stumble in the darkness. We have been given Jesus, the light by which we filter life's hardships.

Today, would you take a few moments to move your focus from the problems of the world and the problems in our midst to God. As you do, ask Jesus, to give you a deeper vision of who He is, praying that His character will shine like a light through you. Ask for His help in seeing all that is going on today through His eyes, trusting that He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Darkness is nothing but the absence of light. It's a negative—a nothing. As soon as you flip the switch, the darkness vanishes. Today, ask God to turn the light on in you, so that others will see God’s power!

RBG with gratitude

This weekend was marred with loss.  On Friday, the first day of Rosh Hashanah, for our Jewish neighbours, the world lost an incredible woman —Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg or also known as RBG. If you are unfamiliar with her name do a little google search.

Though she was an American, we Canadians are able to recognize the effects and influences from our neighbours to the south. Known as the “Lioness of the Law”, RBG, among other things, fundamentally changed the Supreme Court’s approach to women’s rights.

When I heard the news, I immediately texted my daughter Emily who for years has had a picture of RBG hanging on her wall.  The picture is a reminder that we stand on the shoulders of strong women who have gone before us to advance the cause of equality under the law. For me personally, as a woman in a male dominated profession, I am grateful for the tenacity, strength and courage of RBG and women like her, who have made my journey that much easier.

Then on Sunday evening, I received news of the sudden death of a colleague. His wife and I graduated with our Doctorate at Knox College, University of Toronto, together.

Brian and I were in a heated discussion about something completely and totally insignificant when we were interrupted by the news. Suddenly what we were nattering about hardly mattered.  Everything narrowed, my heart ached for my school buddy and I looked across to Brian with renewed gratitude. 

Life is fragile. We are here one moment and gone the next. The psalmist writes, however long we live, our years “quickly pass, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). And so, we must pray, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (v12) so that we may live a life of gratitude with gratitude.

I am comforted and inspired by the words of Henri Nouwen who said;

Death is part of a much greater and much deeper event, the fullness of which we cannot comprehend, but of which we know that it is a life-bringing event. . . . What seemed to be the end proved to be the beginning; what seemed to be a cause for fear proved to be a cause for courage; what seemed to be defeat proved to be victory; and what seemed to be the basis for despair proved to be the basis for hope. Suddenly a wall becomes a gate.

In the midst of whatever it is you are going through — whatever crisis, tension, or fear — my prayer for you and for me is to remember that our time, no matter how long we live will “quickly pass” and as Christians death is not to be feared, and life is to be lived (and remembered) with gratitude.