Our worship gathering this morning was led by a young girl from out east. No name… but a sweet spirit. Great songs that reminded us about justice, compassion, salvation, and of course passionately loving Jesus. I’ve been asking God this week to help me encounter him for the pure joy of his presence. Often even I can get caught of pursuing him for the sake of others, the church, the mission - but I have an innate need to pursue him, for him! Funny, I’m not a worship fanatic (i.e. the hype, or really long extended singing every time the church gathers), but I do believe passionate worship and a deep desire for God’s presence are key to a meaningful relationship with God – and I do believe a week like the one we're on are great opportunities to spend more time developing worshipful/prayerful moments with God.
(today's assignment)
Today’s assignment was simple but proved great for a family. We basically baked 400 cookies and hand crafted 200 cards to bless people with. The recipients will be 1. the students on SOAR who are likely needing a boost ½ through the week, 2. the volunteers in the kitchen, set-up, etc. who are sacrificing their own time for the participants (like us), and 3. a movie crew who’s on site filming a CTV TV movie called Faker.
The crew has caused both problems and opportunity for SOAR. It’s caused us to move around a lot, forfeit our use of some areas of the school, and sometimes adjust the schedule – havoc for the staff/volunteer especially. It’s also been a great opportunity to be a blessing by being gracious about the changes, which has opened doors for conversation about faith with the crew (so I hear). When my daughter gave her card and cookies to one crew member his response was, “SWEET, this is great, thanks so much” (with a big smile).
(back to the assignment task)
We did all this (cookies and cards) at Lakeshore Church in Dorval, hosted by Tammy – their youth pastor. Tammy has a great heart, and I never leave Tammy’s presence without feeling like I’ve been with someone who really loves people. I also rarely leave unaffected – usually b/c I’m convicted about how I need to be more hospitable to others and live more like Jesus in my own culture.
(end of the day)
Our kids ended the day in a combat in the halls… and then in our rooms reviewing the day and reminded about how light doesn’t only shine, but has the power to shine through things. We lit a sparkler and prayed… AMEN.
Until tomorrow.
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