It's been a pretty average day. You woke up, maybe gave God a little "Good morning!", had some breakfast, took a shower, and went about your day. Maybe you went to work, or hung out with some friends. Maybe you needed a day to yourself and just curled up with a good book and some homemade cookies. You had some dinner in the evening, maybe hung out with some friends again, and are now ready to go to sleep. You crawl into your bed. Maybe you're feeling really connected to God right now and you say some very sincere, meaningful, perhaps lengthy prayers as you thank Him for your day. Maybe you're in a rut at the moment and just acknowledge that He had something to do with something nice that happened; you give Him a tip of the hat. Maybe you in a sticky situation, and you take a few minutes to ask Him for some help. Maybe you're just tired, but either way, you eventually feel like you've done what you needed to do and drift off to sleep.
Such is prayer life for many of us. Life is crazy, and we always seem to be running around within the noise. Sometimes, we just "don't have the time."
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Keep Going
Growing in faith is a lifelong journey, not a one time "here's your faith, have a good day" thing. Very understandable - life is full of success, full of opportunities, but it is also full of stress, sadness, and failure. In the whirlwind that is life, faith can be a difficult thing to hold on to.
But many people do hold onto it. They realize that faith is a journey, and that Christ never said it was going to be easy. Included in that faith journey is something that C.S. Lewis called the "Law of Undulations," the fact that we can experience times of highs and lows in our lives; a series of peaks and valleys - ups and downs. And yet, while we all experience these ups and downs, we can still be progressing, becoming more aware, becoming stronger, and becoming closer to God, despite our many setbacks.
But many people do hold onto it. They realize that faith is a journey, and that Christ never said it was going to be easy. Included in that faith journey is something that C.S. Lewis called the "Law of Undulations," the fact that we can experience times of highs and lows in our lives; a series of peaks and valleys - ups and downs. And yet, while we all experience these ups and downs, we can still be progressing, becoming more aware, becoming stronger, and becoming closer to God, despite our many setbacks.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Why I'm in Youth Ministry
Spirit Day 2009 planning is well under way. The annual pre-Confirmation event for Gr. 7s entitled "Believe" this year, is a fantastic way for the youth of the archdiocese to seriously think about their faith. As I am wracking my brain trying to think of ways to get the message of "Believe" across, I am reminded of a blog I wrote after last year's Spirit Day. As I read through the blog, it puts a smile on my face to know that my opinion of youth ministry hasn't changed - and that's a very good thing.
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This Past Saturday, Nov. 15th 2008, marked the 5th annual Spirit Day, entitled "Shine Like the Son", an event organised by the YMO for the Gr. 7s of the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The day was filled with awesome music (courtesy of Matt Maher and his band), Speaker sessions (courtesy of Apex Ministries), skits, testimonies, icebreakers and food. It was the largest Spirit Day to date - 1400 Gr. 7s; 500 eager youth had to be turned away. On top of those 1400 rowdy ones, there were a huge number of volunteers, including the stage team, the spirit team, logistics team, stage hands, lighting people, sound people, MCs, and adult chaperones. It was an amazing day filled with tons of people ready to open their hearts to God.
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This Past Saturday, Nov. 15th 2008, marked the 5th annual Spirit Day, entitled "Shine Like the Son", an event organised by the YMO for the Gr. 7s of the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The day was filled with awesome music (courtesy of Matt Maher and his band), Speaker sessions (courtesy of Apex Ministries), skits, testimonies, icebreakers and food. It was the largest Spirit Day to date - 1400 Gr. 7s; 500 eager youth had to be turned away. On top of those 1400 rowdy ones, there were a huge number of volunteers, including the stage team, the spirit team, logistics team, stage hands, lighting people, sound people, MCs, and adult chaperones. It was an amazing day filled with tons of people ready to open their hearts to God.
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