Do you believe that God loves you? Because He does. He really does. I so often struggle to believe that God, the one who created the stars, the mountains, the ocean and the sun, knows me as an individual, and loves me. How could a God so big, and wonderful love me, just one out of the billions of people on this earth? I often feel like im nothing special, like the super pastors, or the Bible characters… so can I be sure that God loves and cares for me?

I realized if I miss this truth, I miss what God is all about. God is love, and can love bigger then I understand. He took time to make you and me, and he loves us.

Here are a few things I found in the Bible that talk about just how much God really loves us. Loves you.

* God knows how many hairs are on your head

* God calls you his child.

*God knows what you are going to say even before you say it!

* There is NO WHERE you can go where God is not

He knows your name. He wants a relationship with you. He cares about you. He cares about what you go through day to day. He notices what bothers you. He cares enough to challenge you so you will grow.

I pray we won’t forget.

your sister in Christ

Cat

Hi girls,

The other day I was brushing my teeth and a thought occurred to me: I should start praying for people whenever they happen to be in one of my dreams.  I have so many random dreams and I have discovered it is kind of fun to wake up in the morning, write down the names of the people that showed up, and pray for them.  I have already been able to email a few to ask for specific prayer requests.

If you struggle with being diligent in prayer as much as I do, maybe this would something different to try.  I do believe that sometimes God speaks to us through dreams, thought most dreams are probably just brain junk. Either way, prayer is a good thing, and any reminder I can get to pray more is beneficial!

Dream away girls!

Michelle

“Those who have traveled in the dark night have both very daring and, at the same time, very practical advice to give to new journeyers.  ’Stay in the darkness and emptiness.  Do not flee from the nothingness or try to fill up that hollow place with your own attempts to create new finite pillars on which to build your life…’ In the darkness, all reliance on our human efforts to bring salvation is shattered.  The old self dies. Into emptiness God brings new life. -Sandra Cronk

Through times of hardship, whether it be a break-up, losing someone I loved, being sick in foreign countries, or experiencing disappointment in school or work, I have learned that when  I am stripped to the core,  God reminds me that He is God.  Have you ever felt this way? Are you feeling this way right now?

Allow God to touch the deep parts of your heart and fill you.  Only He can bring healing and life into darkness and emptiness.

Michelle

Happy Monday ladies! Living in Costa Rica has been teaching me alot about simplicity, and recently I actually came across a book of quotes about the topic. Here is one that has been on my mind the past couple days.

“May we look upon our treasure, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try to discover whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.”   -John Woolman, 1774

I don’t know about you, but I shuddered when I read this.  The lifestyle of the average North American is exploiting others around the world. Our materialistic mindset of “more, more, more for cheap, cheap, cheap” fuels a machine of modern-day slavery and injustice.  Companies such as Walmart and Pier 1 Imports have been rated as some of the worst violators of human rights - in fact, slaves have been found as part of their work force overseas, and unfortunately many other companies are guilty of the same.  All to keep prices low in North America so they can sell more.

We may not think that materialism is a very grave sin, but the Bible says that all sin leads to death. Our greed, even though it is very normalized where we live, is resulting in conflict around the world. Our sin is indirectly causing the death of others.  Because injustice breeds conflict, our materialism is most certainly nourishing the seeds of war.

So how do we break out of this?

1. Take a look at your heart. Are you constantly wanting to buy something new, whether it’s clothing, accessories, things for the kitchen, furniture, decorations etc. PLEASE be honest with yourself.  No one likes to admit they are materialistic. But if Jesus came to you today and said, give all you have to the poor, would you be okay with that?  Or would you argue that you worked so hard for these things and cannot give them up?

2. Start purging. Set a goal of how many pieces of clothing you are allowing yourself to keep, and give everything else away. This goes for other things in your house as well.

3. Become a conscious shopper. When you do buy something, be creative about it. Find a second hand clothing store and give yourself a budget. Or repaint an old piece of furniture. Go to garage sales. I rarely go to the mall anymore. In fact, I kind of feel like throwing up when I set foot in one. I have made the transition to buying most of my stuff second hand.

4. Seek out fair-trade options.  Buying something that is fair trade allows people in other countries to make a living in a fair way.

I have discovered that simplicity is hard to attain, but so worth it!  This is the journey I want to continue as a Christ-follower. Please pray for me in this! I would encourage you to start the journey as well.

Michelle

I have spent the last week on a farm in Costa Rica, and two thoughts came to me when I was feeding the pigs:

1.  The slops we poured into the trough were so disgusting.  Peels, left-overs covered in bugs, and other miscallaneous things humans can’t digest.  The pig LOVED it!  But as I was watching the pig eat, I was reminded of the story of the Prodigal Son, who ended up eating pig food because his decisions had brought him to such a bad place.  Meanwhile his father would have had the best food at a table for him if he only came back.  It made me wonder, in what areas of my life do I eat pig food when God has so much more if I am willing to obey?
2.  The trough itself was nasty.  It reminded me that Jesus, the saviour of the world, was born in a manger-which also was used by animals.  What a humble beginning, and what a way for God to make a point.

Girls, Jesus died for us so that we would not have to eat pig slop.  He died so that we can live triumphantly, freed from the bondage of sin. But Jesus was also born in a manger, reminding us that we must humble ourselves before God and others. Let’s keep this in mind this week!

Michelle