The Beaver vs. The Sluggard

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. 9How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep-- 11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
-Proverbs 6:6-11

Every summer, my family looks forward to renting a cottage for a week or two. Throughout the year, we all get tired of the busy city life and look forward to spending a week in nature, God and each other. This year, we went further than usual, to the real “bush”. My Dad and I really enjoy fishing, so we always make sure that there is a lake that has lots of fish. This year, we rented a cottage in northern Ontario that was right by a small lake. When we went fishing, we saw many animals, the most fascinating of all, were the beavers.

One particular day, we were fishing and we heard a loud thump, as if someone was hitting the water. Turning around, all we saw was water flying everywhere. We wondered what it was, but kept on fishing. Later, we saw a beaver swimming around in the lake. My Dad and I were fascinated and watched him swim the rest of the evening. Sometimes, he would swim towards his dam with a small branch in his mouth or dive into the water to swim to his home. Each night, without fail, we would see him swimming about, fixing his house and chewing on wood. My Dad and I would usually leave as soon as it was dark, but one evening, we stayed out later and saw the whole family come out of their dam. Mother, Father, and the baby beavers would all work tirelessly to add more branches to their home, and eat wood. I couldn't believe how hard they all worked to keep their home in tact and to feed themselves.

Those beavers really made me think. They are just animals, but they are such hard workers. Every night, they came out to look for food and to fix their home. King Solomon talked about ants and how hard working they are. Parhaps we can learn the same thing from beavers. If the beaver decide that he was tired and didn't want to go out of his home, his dam would eventually fall apart, and he would starve. The Bible constantly tells us that God will make sure that our bread and water will be sure, but it does tell us that God wants us to be hard workers and not lazy. God is willing to help us do our best work, but we need to make the choice to do it! Why don't we all learn from the beaver and do our best work, and God will be sure to bless us! 

More than a Name

 ^"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

-John 13:35

Yesterday, I was waiting for the bus as I was heading to church when I saw something interesting. It was a red light at the intersection and beggar began to walk in between the cars on the road, hoping that someone would drop some money into his Tim Horton's cup. As I watched the man walk, my eyes turned to the various drivers who simply looked away or stared straight ahead. Undeterred, the beggar kept walking down the row of cars. As he kept walking, one driver stopped to put some money into his cup. Afterwards, I watched the driver put his seatbelt back on because he had unclipped it in order to get his wallet. My heart was touched by his kindness. While everyone else couldn't be bothered to help the man, he took the time. My mind began to ask millions of questions. Who was this driver? What is his story? Is he generally a kind person? Where does he work? Does he always give to the needy? Before I could even imagine answers to those questions, I happened to glance at his license plate...it said "GOLDNRULE". All questions were answered. 

Seeing that scene impacted me for the rest of the evening. It was so refreshing that this man didn't just have the golden rule as his license plate because of it's virtue in itself. He  didn't have that license plate there simply because he wanted other drivers to know that he was a great guy, but he actually lived up to it. What about us? If we are Christians, that is our label, it is our license plate. Do we live up to our name or is it just a pretense? The verse above clearly pinpoints the fact that our actions will show others who we are. Moreover, if we are Christ's followers, we will demonstrate that love for others. 

Ask God today to help you live the Christian life rather than have a garb of Christianity. 

-Nina

I do!

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it." Philippians 3:14-16 The Message

Marriage is a legal declaration of commitment, “I____, take you ______, to be my wedded ____. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And here to I pledge you my faithfulness.”  These vows are binding promises made by each partner to each other. A few weeks ago, I was having a discussion about societies' view on the union of marriage ’is society making a mockery of the wedding vow?’  Divorce is all the rage........ it’s the'in' thing. The point was made that a  wedding does not insure marital bliss ‘no one is willing to put in the work to make the marriage work; as soon as problem comes along they are ready to jump ship.’ Sad though it is to say, every time I turn my television there is a next celebrity getting divorce, society is making divorce glamorious.  Society plays a very Cogent role in our attitudes and actions regarding marriage. As followers of Christ we can't be shaped by the views of society, but by the cross of Christ and the divine Words of God. For a marriage to work each partner must put in the work.  

Many enter into marriage with the “fairy tale, happily ever after” mentality.  ‘I do’ take thee, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for richer, in health, to love and to cherish. What will happen when the worse, poorer and sickness come along? Are we having the same “fairy tale, happily ever after” mentality in our walk with God? As soon as suffering, sadness, and heartache comes along, do we start filing divorce paper? Are we saying ‘God we can’t take this anymore, we want out’?  If you expect nothing but happiness and bliss from marriage, it’s likely you expect the same from your relationship with God. When adversity comes along, is normally when we strike out, but Commitment accepts the circumstances and tries to work through it.

Why not make a vow to God today……I do take you God , from this day onward in trial and temptation, in financial crisis and sickness, I will love you  Lord  with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind.

‘I'm single-minded in pursuit of you; don't let me miss the road signs you've posted. I've banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won't sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I'll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you've done it. I relish everything you've told me of life, I won't forget a word of it.’ Psalm 119:9-16 The Message

 Your reward is sure, happiness, riches and health will be bestowed upon you. Are you ready to my a commitment?

KemJ

Training

 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

-Proverbs 3:5-6-

     When we first started to train our dog, Vulkan, it was quite interesting. My dad had several dogs in his childhood and knew that it would take a lot of time and patience to train a dog properly. As a girl who always LOVED  dogs, I enjoyed watching my dad train Vulkan. The first thing that my dad taught him was that he couldn't eat his food until he was given the command to do so. This was a trick that my dad learned back home so that dogs wouldn't eat food from strangers and “food” laying on the ground. So, when my dad went to feed our dog, he put the dog food into a bowl and set it on the ground. When our dog realized that there was food in the bowl, (which was right away,) he charged at the bowl, happy to fill his stomach. Just as he was about to eat, my dad's arms held him back. Vulkan couldn't understand what was going on. He barked and tried to keep running, but without any success. Finally, my dad would say the command, “Yesh!” (which means “eat” in Russian) and let go of him. Vulkan would run as fast as he could to eat his dog food. Vulkan could never understand why my dad kept doing that to him every time before he ate. Each day, he would slowly learn that he couldn't eat until told. Now, whenever we put any kind of food in front of him, he just sits with his mouth watering until he is given the command to eat. It's amazing to me that even though he wants to eat the food so badly, he doesn't try to grab it or do anything, he just sits patiently. I'm pretty sure that he still doesn't know why he can't eat until he is given the command. Instead, he has learned to just obey and take things by faith.
     What about us humans? Sometimes what God asks us to go through for Him doesn't make any sense at all, but all we need to do is just trust Him. We may never fully understand why God wants us to do certain things, but that's not important. The most important thing is to just trust God and when we follow His commandments because we may never know the dangers that we have be protected from, just like Vulkan. He never fully understood why he couldn't just eat things right away, but there was a bigger reason that he may never fully understand. So next time you're tempted to question God's will, remember that God sees the full picture and knows what's best for us. 

-Victoria