Today’s post has been inspired by my conversation with my sister-in-law, Ruthann Brock, who I love dearly! She was telling a group of us this weekend that when leaves change colour in the fall, they lose their ability to produce chlorophyll.  This means that that they are in the process of dying.  How ironic is it that leaves demonstrate their full splendour as they die?

Ruthann tied this in beautifully with the life of a Christ-follower.  When we die to self and our selfish ambitions, we glorify God with the brightest of colours.

This is the kind of Christian I want to be.  This fall, let’s all keep this in mind as we celebrate the most beautiful time of year!

Michelle

Jay and I just got home from road tripping across Canada to do a film about sex trafficking, and we are both pumped about the interviews we had and the people we met. Thanks so much to those of you who have supported us in this project! 

One theme that we were reminded of again and again during our journey was that we are in God’s hands.  We made the poor decision to drive from North Bay to Thunder Bay in one day, and at 2:00 am we were still on the road, navigating ourselves through the curves and slopes leading to Thunder Bay while trying to stay awake and hoping that a moose would not barge out onto the road.  Towns and gas stations were few and far between, and street lights were non existent.  It was one of those moments where we were relying on God for every bit of progress we made.

When was the last time you were in a situation that made you desperate for God’s protection and guidance?  Certain circumstances can remind us that God is indeed the one in control and keeping us alive. But how can we remember this even in the comfort of our own homes, where we feel safe and in control?

As Mark Batterson recently wrote in his blog, we take 23,000 breaths a day.  Seems like we owe God 23,000 thank yous!  Job 34 says that if God were to withdraw His breath all live would cease.

A man from Houston Texas just wrote on his blog that his dear wife just passed away just days after their first baby was born.  Follow the blog here: http://www.bandssullivan.blogspot.com/  Let’s pray for this family and be reminded that we should never take life for granted.

Love you girls!

Michelle

It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him.

I read this in my devotional this weekend and I had to go over it a couple times to grasp its full implications. Christians are always trying to do stuff for God.  It goes hand-in-hand with our North-American mentality that we do not have worth unless we are producing something.

But in the process of doing things for God, we sometimes forget to check up on our heart and mind. Are they ready for God’s work to be done through us? It is fairly easy to build a house for someone in Africa, or volunteer at the local food bank, or sing in the worship band at church on Sunday.

It is a lot harder to develop the environment within us that lets the Holy Spirit truly breathe and thrive and change lives around us.  Are we obeying God in every area of our lives?  Are we actively surrendering jealousy, bitterness, materialism, lust, discontentment and worry at the Cross or are we trying to hold onto them while simultaneously trying to build the house in Africa, volunteer at the food bank, and sing worship at church?

Doing things for God will not benefit God’s Kingdom nearly as much as creating an environment within you that does not quench the Holy Spirit.  When the Holy Spirit is allowed to breathe freely within us, our acts for God will truly have an impact.  This is my prayer for all of us this week.

Michelle

In the past couple weeks I have encountered several cynical people.  Cynical about life, about marriage, about dreams, about ministry, about church, about people, about hope.  Jay and I were talking the other day and he asked: “at what point does one become a cynic?”

I got my answer this week. I found myself thinking very prideful thoughts when I was talking with a friend.  They were telling me what they had been learning from God and I immediately thought: yeah yeah, I learned that so long ago. But I realized in that moment that I was not being excited for this person. I was letting my pride get in the way of rejoicing with my friend.  To be totally honest, I was cynical that God was teaching them as much as he had taught me, and this could be described as nothing other than foolish, selfish, sinful pride.

I realize there are other ways of becoming a cynic. People who study politics or international development get cynical out of hopelessness. People who study philosophy  get cynical because of ‘intelligence.’  People who suffer or see suffering get cynical because of experience.

Politics, international development, philosophy, and experience are all supposed to draw us to God.  And when God teaches us something, He expects us to steward it well.  When we start looking down on others because supposedly we have more experience or because God has taught us more, we are in danger of becoming cynics. And cynics, as far as I’m concerned, get in the way of what God wants to do in this world.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. -1 Timothy 4:12-16

Ladies, let’s set an example by keeping our eyes on Jesus and not letting the world mold us into cynics.

Michelle

I have been wrestling with something this past week: the friction between justice and mercy.  God has many amazing character traits, and justice is the one that resonates most with me. But for another friend I was talking to last week, the quality that resonates with her the most is mercy. 

As most of you know, this fall Jay and I are making a documentary film about sex trafficking in Canada.  When it comes to this issue, I feel like justice and mercy butt heads.  When I think about the victims of trafficking, I want to demonstrate God’s mercy. But when it comes to the traffickers who rape, abuse, and sell them, I want God to bring down His justice: to lock them up and throw away the key.

But God’s Word is so clear that sin is the real issue. Traffickers themselves are enslaved and need God’s salvation.  How can they be healed in an imperfect correctional system? Most jails make them harder and smarter while robbing them of heart and life change.  So the question is: how can we show traffickers God’s mercy while simultaneously protecting the oppressed and powerless? How can we administer justice in a Godly way while we are imperfect people living in a fallen world? 

I threw this question up on facebook to get peoples’ input.  One response that I got was so wise, and I can sum it up in one word: redemption.  To quote: “It may be a hard thing to swallow, but might I suggest that a key element of what God has called you to in this ministry is redemption; not just of the victims, but also of the traffickers.”

I don’t know what that looks like.  But I want to spend the rest of my trusting God’s wisdom to figure that out.  Redemption.  What a beautiful, hope-filled word to apply to a dark, dark issue.

How can you practice redemption in your life?

Michelle