Life as a sheep

under the shadow of our steeple

2008-07-24T01:01:00.004-04:00

Does Anybody Hear Her? Can anybody see?

Recently I made a video slide show for a friend who got her self into a really bad spot in life and was "drowning" so to speak. she made some serious mistakes and was now paying for them dearly. the song i used was called "does any body hear her" by Casting Crowns. One of the lines is.

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?Or does anybody even know she's going down today? Under the shadow of our steeple, With all the lost and lonely people. Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me. Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

She came home after her time away and asked for help to get back where she needed to be, to be forgiven by her family, friends and most importantly God. Much to my dismay there were very few who jumped at the chance to help this woman regain her life or even acknowledge her anymore. It was like an old testement ostersizing of a leper. One of the other lines that i really liked from the song was:

If judgment looms under every steeple. If lofty glances from lofty people, Can't see past her scarlet letter then we've never even met her.

One of the main foundations of Chrisitanity is Forgivness. God will only forgive us if we forgive others. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." This person is in a fragile state and needs reassurance and kindness. Granted she hurt some people but when asked how many times should i forgive my brother God said "seventy seven times seven times" I think He would be appauled at the state of "some of" our churches. We are all called to make disciples, love our neighbors and be exibits of Christ in our lives. I highly doubt if a woman in this position came to Him and repented, trying to change and asked for understanding that He would ignore her and walk away.

Now not everone is cut out for exuberant sympathy or care giving but at the very least we are to be kind. If someone has wronged you or one of your friends you have every right to be upset, even maybe a bit angry but we are not to hold onto that. You don't have to like them, go for coffee or hang out but you do have to forgive. If the person is making an effort we need to accept that and pray for them and do whatever we can to help. To turn your back on someone in need is to be the opposite of Christ and we know who that is. No one is not worthy of compassion. Jesus took in tax collectors, killers and prostitutes and helped them to be what God wanted them to be, to live a life for Christ is to strive to be like Him. We can't to that by talking behind backs, making snide remarks, being unforgiving, unkind, cold hearted or indifferent. God is an all or nothing kind of guy. He expects our very best all the time no matter what.

If someone comes to you or your church and they are repentent, and seeking to be changed and need help it is our DUTY as Christians to help them in what ever way we are able, even if the only thing we can do is say a kind word and tell them you will pray for them. Let us build up our nation to be a Godly one by starting in our own churches! Far to often good people make bad desitions and without our help and understanding they will remain lost. God wants us all, we are all sinners and no sin is greater than any other. goosip, slander, cursing, infidelity, murder and down right cold heartedness are all equal sins in Gods eyes. Not one person is sinless. not one person more valuable in His eyes. Every single person on the face of the earth that repents, askes for forgivness, believes and tries to change is accepted by our Father, and should be accepted by us as well.

God is good, Thank you Father for accepting me with all my faults, for helping me to turn from my sinful ways, and for forgiving me as i try to forgive others. Without your guidance and love we would all be lost sheep looking for our shepard. I thank you that you used your servants to find me when i wasn't sure how to find you.

Praising His glorious name,

Leanne

PRAISE THE LORD

2008-05-13T23:16:00.003-04:00

Tonight was by far the best night of my life. My two wonderful (most of the time) teens accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour. My daughter told me she had some questions that she thought she would like to ask our pastor. We went over and visited for quite some time and she up and asked how she could know it was real, how she could be sure God was real, how she could be sure the bible was real. by the time he was done talking she was a blubbering mess. She said i think i want to be in "the family". We all bowed are heads and pastor lead her in the salvation prayer. He, his wife, myself and two of our closest friends were all weeping. my daughter then said "hey guess what? i am now adopted too." (to our friend that was adopted...twice *smile*) She said she was adopted into the family of God . when we got home and she was telling her brother what she had done he said that he had said the prayer and asked God into his heart at Promise Keepers (a mens retreat) a month ago and never thought about mentioning it, I told him in the bible it says to confess with your mouth you are a believer, so off we drove to the pastor again. (he is a very open man and doesn't ever mind to much our continual pop ins) He told my son it wasn't a done deal until he signed on the dotted line and to do that he must confess so my son, right in the same chair my daughter had sat an hour before told us all that he was a son of God and was a believer, that he had confessed his sin and asked Christ into his life. WOW what an absolute blessing. Praise the Lord. God said " Rejoice with me for I have found my lost sheep" what a day to rejoice! 2 for the price of one... literally. Thank you Father for giving your son so that we could all live. I was telling my kids in jest that tonight my prayers would be simple because i didn't have to pray for their salvation and they both asked me to make sure i still kept praying for them. They both told me they were sorry for the way they had been acting latley (things have been ruff esspecially with my son) and told me that they would be praying God help them to be a little more like Him.

With a joy so deep in my soul,
Leanne

Youth Outreach

2008-05-12T09:30:00.005-04:00

When I think of a youth ministry I think of a group of adults doing everything in their power to bring our youth to Christ. In order to do that I believe that NO youth should be excluded from that. It is all too often (not just with youth) that people are un-willing to witness and lead people who are a bit "different" or have a "past" to Christ. It is the really wayward kids we need to be reaching. Everyone always says that outreach starts at home with our mothers, children, siblings. Our church is our family and it is a very extended one at that. Every person in the entire world is our relative in God’s eyes and therefore deserving of the same respect.
We are called to be fishers of men. God didn’t say "hey go out and fish for only people you would like to be around, only fish for those that are clean and proper and act accordingly." If that were the case we wouldn’t need outreach at all. If you jump down a teens throat and tell them they can’t be doing this or that they will leave, Get them in and let God sort them out. If someone had told me when i was seeking "you can’t smoke and you can’t swear and you can’t do this and you can’t do that" I would have NEVER, come back to church and I am not a teen. But with a little open mindedness and compassion and seeing first hand how a true Christian lived their lives I came around and gradually am becoming more and more like what God wants me to be. God is working out all the kinks with me; it is not people telling me I am doing everything wrong that works. The best witness is a life lived for Christ. I believe we should be patient and kind and nurturing, sneaking in the great lessons every new Christian needs in a non threatening manner. Letting the kids know that some things are not appropriate with out being too judgemental. Remember that God tells us not to judge unless we want to be judged ourselves. We need to grow our churches and our youth groups but are we are doing everthing we can to ensure that happens? I think God would be disappointed in some of us that we are not doing EVERYHTING in our power to get as many youth to come to Him as we can. What makes one youth’s salvation more important than another’s? Their attendance at church? It is the ones that don’t attend church that really need us. It is the un-saved that need us most. We need to still nurture and help the ones that attend regularly but not spreading the word of our Lord to every single person that will listen is undermining God’s command for us. I pray that in the future we are all a bit more eager to make sure that the word of God is not reserved for those who have already heard it. There is a wonderful church in the states that is doing amazing outreach to young adults that would never have the opportunity to hear God's word. They are going to the punk and metal shows and preaching the word. They are getting down into the gritty underbelly of the lost and pulling people, quite literally, from the fire. we could all use alittle of there compassion ( even if we aren't all tattooed and pierced)
Click the picture below to see a video of this amazing group of individuals in action

God exceptes everyone who is willing to change their lives for Him, believe and repent. Even the ones that are messy, unkempt and raw around the edges. I implore you to take a good look around your community, at the youth that you cross the street to avoid and try to turn your head from them while thinking of them as God's lost sheep. They are going to die and you could save them! "Come to me and I will make you fishers of men"

EXTINCTION...

2008-04-17T23:19:00.003-04:00

I was recently sitting in the car waiting for a friend as she picked up her little ones from daycare. I sat and watched a group of 20 or so little tykes all playing in the confines of a little fenced in playground. They ranged in age but the majority were between 2-3 years old. at first i thought of how cute they were and then i was struck with sadness. Here in this fenced area being cared for and fed by strangers were our future. Not unlike the endangered animals in a zoo our children are also endangered.

The values and morals of our youth are in jeopardy. I did some research online and was looking for news articles involving youth. In 2008 the top ten headlines involving our kids were related to school shootings, drunk driving and kids being arrested for a variety of offences from trafficking narcotics, videotaping teens beating another teen, and gang violence. I searched then for top headlines from the the 40's and 50's, the articles involving youth were scarce the ones i did come across involved sports, the occasional rowdy crowd loitering around, screaming trying to glimpse a famous musician and one or two in regards to truancy levels.

This saddens my heart. Since the days of stay at home moms, bread winning men, and God in our schools has passed on, it has made way to divorces, single parents having to work, feminism and the need for over crowed daycare facilities. This has transformed our teens futures in to a bleak reminence of social morality.

our mothers instead of marching there kids back to the store they stole from and demanding the owner make them work it off are now covering up for them and making excuses so they don't have to deal with it right before there shift starts.
instead of taking pride in preparing a meal and eating as a family we are ordering out and watching TV. pushing the ever important conversation out the window to make way for more reality TV, instead of taking interest in our families we choose to watch someone elses on the screen.

Juvenile detention facilities are reaching there max and new ones are being constructed as we speak to house all our misguided and neglected youth. Just as the Siberian Tiger is pushed to extinction due to our over consumption of the worlds natural habitats our teens are being pushed to self destructive extinction due to our under consumption of all the things we are meant to be doing. Our youth need to be heard, fed, talked to, nurtured, disciplined and loved. God said

"Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul." - Proverbs 29:17

" Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." - Colossians 3:21

"The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction." - Proverbs 16:21

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." - Proverbs 3:3

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD.' And he worshiped the LORD there." - 1 Samuel 1:27-28

"children are a gift of the Lord..." Ps. 127:1-5

"poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline" - Prov. 13:18

"discipline your son while there is hope, and do not desire his death" - Prov. 19:18

"train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." - Prov. 22:6

"fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." - Eph. 6:4

Everyone always says i wish kids came with an instruction manual... well guess what? they did... It is called the Bible, it was given to us as an instruction manual to life. There are many more references in the Bible pertaining to child rearing, being good wives and husbands, how to live each day for our Saviour and most importantly how to get to be saved! If you haven't read it you should, all the answers to lifes toughest questions can be found there.

Lets get our world back on track and save our youth from the devastating effects of extinction! pick up the BOOK today it WILL save your childs life!!!!

with many prayers for our future,

Leanne

Church... or something like it!

2008-04-14T08:49:00.005-04:00

~ I had the pleasure of meeting a new couple this week who are searching for God, answers and a church. I invited the couple to attend a service at my church so they could see if they liked it. I was asked to give a small testimony at this study (where we met) and much to my own surprise found my self talking about how important church was to me. i have always been the one to tell people " I am a firm believer that you don't need church to be a Christian" which you don't as long as you don't forsake the meeting together in His name. Well until i started talking and sharing i didn't realize just how important my church was to me.

I started to talk about how i was saved at an Alpha Meeting some 6 years ago and how since then i had been nurtured and cared for spiritually by some members of our congregation. How the Sunday Services helped to keep my focus on Him not me during the following week. How my church was an extended family. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Some feel like parents and grand-parents, imparting wisdom, others like wacky younger siblings whom i try to mother, but all in all they are my family. God says that when we come to Him and accept Jesus as our saviour the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us making us part of the family. Nickey Gumbel - who does the Alpha videos - says when we are "saved" we are adopted by God and into His family of infinite believers. Wow, i have a big family!

So while you may not NEED church to be a Christian i would have to say that being a Christian would not be the same without it. God wanted us to gather together in His name, to worship, praise and teach. A building does not a church make. whether you are in a house, an old victorian church, a modern warehouse style building, a school gym or as in the picture above shows an inflatable church for mobile services (*smile*) it is not the building that matters. God is in it if we are. A church is any group of believers whose purpose is to love, teach, comfort, make disciples and spread the gospel, and i would not want to make this journey without the love, support and guidance of my church family.

Father, I praise your name and thank you earnestly for adopting me into your family. For gifting me with a body of believers that i can call on. Thank you for the support of other Christians. Please put it on my heart Lord to BE the example i have SEEN, to others who are searching for a family or may be just signing the adoption papers now. I pray your blessing on all my family in all the world today and always. In Jesus name, Amen

Praising his name

Leanne

Lots of cathing up to do!

2008-04-08T23:22:00.003-04:00

Ever have one of those incredibly long weeks that seems to last for months? well mine actually did! The last post i made was in January. there was snow up to your knees, it was bitter and cold. now the sun is out, it is warming up and a new season has begun. with that has come a new phase in my life. It is like i went to bed one evening in January and woke up to a new season, month, week, life!

Many things have happened, some i am well peased with and some that were a bit hard to swallow. My beautiful daughter is fully recovered and doing fantastic, My son is starting to buckle down in school and is pulling off some great grades, my extremly talented and ever humble nephew has recorded for the first time with his band, i am so proud of him. he really underestimates his ability. I have decided to close my store... *sigh* the last day was last week. I have been incredibly busy getting everything finalized but am nearly done now. as a result of this my sister and i are finding more time to spend with eachother, something i missed terribly. We recently found some old letters at a farm i am helping to renovate, they are very interesting pieces of history. check her blog to read them, she has posted what we have found so far. http://allofmydays-liisa.blogspot.com/ It is truly facinating.

With this new found "time" I have on my hands; now that i am not at the shop 12 hours a day has showed me what i have been missing at home this last 2 years. My kids! i missed being a mom first. It was always, "but i have to do the books", or "there is a big sale coming up i need to plan", "my customers need me". i was not prioritizing like God wanted me too. They are both teens now and this is probably the most important time for them to need me around. this is when all the BIG life decitions come into play with regaurds to peer presure, drugs, sex... the list goes on. They need my guidance now more than ever. With a little shove in the right direction from my wonderful Saviour, I have embarked on a wild new ride, motherhood. I am going to take a month off work to get a new relationship renewed with my kids and then get back at it. as a single mom i can't just not work again, someone needs to provide. but in the future i will be picking a job that allows me to be here for them not just in my heart but in every way. Thank you God for showing me, (against my will at first) that there are way more important things in this life than running a shop that caters to everyone but those who need me most. I have my life back and i am so ready to start living it! Let all things that have breath praise your name Lord!

God Bless

Isaiah 41:10

"When I say I am a Christian"

2008-01-19T15:54:00.001-05:00

I found this poem and had to share it with you. What a wonderful way to put it...

God Bless,
Leanne

When I Say "I Am A Christian"

by Carol Wimmer

When I say..."I am a Christian"I'm not shouting "I am saved"

I'm whispering "I get lost!" "That is why I chose this way.

"When I say..."I am a Christian"don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumbleand need someone to be my guide.

When I say..."I am a Christian"I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weakand pray for strength to carry on.

When I say..."I am a Christian"I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failedand cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say..."I am a Christian"I'm not claiming to be perfect,

my flaws are too visiblebut God believes I'm worth it.

When I say..."I am a Christian"I still feel the sting of pain

I have my share of heartacheswhich is why I seek His name.

When I say..."I am a Christian"I do not wish to judge.

I have no authority.I only know I'm loved.

2008-01-19T14:59:00.000-05:00

Well it has been a long time since i have posted anything on here. Things have finally slowed down a little. So... Here is the recent scoops.

- Jessica's surgery was postponed twice and finally happened on the 10th. She is home now and recovering fantastically. A great frind of mine has arranged for a local hair dresser to donate her a wig so that she can return to school and be a bit more confidant then going back with both sides of her head shaved. The doctors did a great job of not taking to much but it is still alot for a teenage girl to handle.

- Our church has officailly purchased a building. WOOHOO! Heartland has come such a long way since i first started attening a few years ago. We now have a pastor, a building of our own, and a congregation that is coming together as family. God is good and powerful!

- My parents who recently moved out west are enjoying themselves and are really happy now. They are close to some family we have there and are living it up. I miss them terribly but i am so happy for them at the same time.

- One of my friends was away for a week and is back now. She is my crazy friend (meant witht he utmost respect) she is my laughter! her insanity keeps me sain.

- I recieved a little disterbing news today. The devil is really trying to mess with us latley. A wonderful friend of mine, (the one who got the wig for my daughter) and myself, have been the victim of gossip and slander. Someone has tried to cause a rift between us that i pray God will not allow to happen. I pray that my frined has the sense to know it isn't true and i pray that God will allow me to not be so offended by it. I am the kind of person, unfortunatly, that has to have eveyone like them, childish i know but i have always been the sort to not get why someone wouldn't like me, i try so hard to be likable! I am not sure what goes through someones head when they spread hurtfull un truths. What in the world does this person have to gain by hurting us? I wonder if it isn't jealousy over our friendship. Anyway i am dwealing on it and just hope you will pray for us. that this will all just go away and that i won't linger on it or be overcome by it!

Thanks for listening,

Blessings

Leanne

Surgery...AGAIN?

2007-12-15T10:56:00.000-05:00

Well, Here we go again. It is official the OR has been booked. Surgery AGAIN.

Jessica is by far the bravest girl I know, I am bias of coarse as her mother but holy wow! This will be number 17 and she is only 15 years old. This time they will be completely removing the shunt from the left side and placing it on the right side. A newer smaller model too! This unfortunately will take place on the 20th of the month and will likely, if there are no complications, get us home on the 24th. Just in time to celebrate Christmas with family. My wonderful sister has offered to have us stay with her on Christmas eve so that my daughter does not have to get up and down to go from our house to hers. It will be nice to spend the extra time with them anyway. This operation requires 2 incisions in the abdomen and both sides of her head shaved and opened. This is one of the more lengthily operation she will have had. I pray that God will guide the surgeons and they will not only be skilled but humble as well, giving credit to the One that makes it all possible, Our Saviour!

Be with us Lord throughout his ordeal and allow us to have contact with other families in the hospital that need you but don't know how to get there. Let us be a positive ambassador for you and Your Kingdom. Your will be done Lord no matter what that may be!

With love and praise,

Leanne

When your good, your blessed!

2007-12-06T09:48:00.000-05:00

Well it is no secret that life has been a bit of a challenge for me lately... I own my own business, and if anyone else out there does and you aren't Bill Gates you know how entrepreneurs struggle in the first few years. I wanted to open this business not just so that i could support my family but because i want to reach the teens and young adults in my community that may not know they can be Christians. I wanted them to know that even if you have funky multi-colored hair or wear rock shirts (as long as they aren't of a Satan worshiping band) That God loves you anyway. It is like the song... "Come as you are to worship" I don't think He is so concerned with what you are wearing so much as what you are doing which brings me to my point. Over the last few weeks i have been presented with the opportunity on several occasions to get financial help in a not so legal way. Nothing horrible like robbing someone, just not so honest of a fashion. Well God would not let my morals slip and i have remained firm in my resolve not to get any money in any way that might not glorify God. Since making that affirmation things have been turning around. I have had customers every day where in the week leading to my final decision there was no one. My loan manager told me he was now in a position to approve my loan request, where in the week before my affirmation I was told it could be months before he had the funding to lend. WOW... What a message! If we stand firm in our resolve and stay away from things that do NOT glorify the Lord HE WILL bless us in abundance. Things get hard, trials seem frequent but in the end what is important is that we are faithful to our saviour. Stay firm and don't waive your beliefs or morals and He will provide. It will be hard until He does but maybe, just maybe He is testing to see if we will falter or put all our faith in Him who is our creator.

Praising His glorious name today and forever,

Unexpected Gifts from God!!!

2007-11-19T16:42:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those days, weeks, months.... you know the ones where you aren't sure where the money to feed the family is coming from, there is no gas in the car, no funds in the bank? Well I, (being a single mom and self employed) Have had my fair share of these moments. This week has been no exception. With my daughter falling ill with headaches there have been several trips to Sick Kids to figure out what is wrong. This means lots in gas, paying staff/being closed. And while God has usually provided exactly what i needed when i needed it, this surprise was like no other. All this week God has being showing me His care and without a doubt answer to my prayers. Even though my gas tank had been on empty for a week, MIRACULOUSLY, every time i got in it i had just enough gas left to get me where i was going. In 8th of a tank intervals God was filling my gas tank. I don't know how exactly it kept going but who am i to question a bit of gas from a divine man that can create a waterfall or twinkling star at His mear request. Anyway, by Sunday i have pushed every stitch of everything to the last drop, including my miracle gas. i went to my sisters for Sunday brunch...(thanks by the way) and when i returned home i found an envelope in a bag on my door. I opened it, taking it out of the envelope. It said " Thank-you" on the front. I was thinking who could be thanking me for anything, i have so busy running around i didn't think i had done anything extraordinary enough to warrant a thank-you, let alone a card. When I opened it and read the note that was TYPED inside i fell over and wept. In church earlier that day I had taken my quiet time prior to communion to ask God to please just get me through the next few days, All i needed was enough to get a bit a of gas and some much needed groceries. This is what was typed inside the card...

Leanne,

My beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased.

I've been watching you.

Thank-you for giving of yourself,

when that was almost all you had.

Thank-you for reflecting my love to your friends.

I appreciate you. Keep it up girl.

DAD

Praise the Lord, like the card and encouragment wasn't enough, neatly tucked inside, was exactly enough money to get just what i needed. I am not entirely sure who left it but i do know that God used their extreme generosity to answer my prayers yet again. I am reminded of the scripture Matthew 6:26-27

25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

God is good and so are those He chooses to carry out His answers to prayer. Without them i don't know where i would be right now.

Thank-you who ever you were, for all you have done.

Praising His name,

Leanne

Never more than you can handle...EVER?

2007-11-13T09:04:00.000-05:00

As you might remember from earlier posts my daughter has hydrocephalus. In September she underwent a cranio-plasty. When she was 9 she had 2 craniotomies. This is when they remove a section of your skull (about the size of an adults palm) Well one hadn't re attached to the skull. They went in during the cranio-plasty and riveted the skull flap back on. We were only in hospital for about 4 days and sent home. Her poor head by this point looks like a road map.

We had her follow up last week and seemed well. no CT or visits to neurosurgery for about 2 years unless there is an issue. Well after 15 years and 16 brain surgeries i am pretty sure her head just knows that if things are well and she is given the clean bill of health it is time to shake things up again. For 3 days now she has had major headaches and it would seem to me (although i am no neurosurgeon) that the flap they attached is sunk in a bit again. I am not sure how this is possible as it is riveted in place with titanium screws and plates. but i am praying earnestly that it is nothing more than the virus that is going around which does cause headaches. I am not sure, even after all this time how to differentiate between the normal ailments and the life threatening shunt malfunction because the symptoms are the same. I can only pray that God will give us a year or two of normality. He will not give you more than you can handle and i am pretty sure we have both handled more than enough. It is incredibly hard on my son as well as we are away from home and he is made to stay with family... Not really a big deal but there is the worry of your sibling lingering over head it can be difficult. SO lessons in life...
As i was reading In my email study of 2 Corinthians 6 3-10. 3

3We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be
discredited. 4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in
great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings,
imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6in purity,
understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;
7in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in
the right hand and in the left; 8through glory and dishonor, bad report and good
report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9known, yet regarded as unknown;
dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing
everything.

So while i have my fair share of troubles it is a huge comfort to know that even though these men faced certain death, torture and imprisonment they made it, They are with our Lord and Saviour as i type and I am ever grateful to God for the Word. Stories like theirs make mine seem insignificant. Everything i s possible through Him. I will survive, Life will go on, I will continue to thank God for everyday we are able to be here and are able to praise Him openly. God is Good no matter the circumstance.

Praising His name,

1st LOVE

2007-11-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was my second trip to the first love conference in Niagara Falls. It is a women only event (with the exception of a few band members and wait staff.) Glorious praise and worship music, Ann Mainse from 100 Huntley street is the hostess and this year Liz Curtis Higgs (author of Bad girls of the bible) SHE WAS HILARIOUS! she was open about her tumultuous past giving everyone hope for the future. The message was FORGIVENESS and GODS UNFAILING GRACE... What a powerful message she gave. 600 women were in attendance and all were laughing and crying in the same instance, it was almost overwhelming. Imagine if you will 600 voices, strong and diligent, praising the name of our Lord in unison. It was moving and rejuvenating. Talk about a revival! If you think that is fabulous what is even better... Women were saved! one of my dearest friends gave her life to Christ one evening and i was blessed enough to bear witness to it. She collapsed into her own hands, sobbing! one of the ladies at our table came and knelt in front of her and prayed... I fell to my knees and prayed with them! She was saved! Praise the Lord for working through women like Liz and Lori Dortano (the praise and worship leader) If you ever get the chance go to this event you should...It will change your life. you can find out information about the first love conferences here. To find a list of Liz's books including Embrace Grace, follow this link. you won't regret it. There is information here about how to get the live video of her Embrace Grace talk that she gave at the conference... what a truly gifted servant she is!

God Bless you and yours,

Leanne

Fishing, doesn't that involve worms?

2007-10-29T15:29:00.000-04:00

I was thinking today about this letter from an atheist I read at way of the master. (you should check it out the site is full of wonderful things... http://www.wayofthemaster.com) this is the letter:

Do you consider yourself to be compassionate of other humans? If you're right, as you say you are, and believe that, then how can you sleep at night? When you speak with me you are speaking with someone who you believe is walking directly into eternal damnation into an endless onslaught of horrendous pain which your 'loving' god created, yet you stand by and do nothing.If you believe one bit that thousands every day were falling into an eternal and unreachable fate, you should be running the streets mad with rage at their blindness. That's equivalent to standing on a street corner and watching every person that passes you walk blindly directly into the path of a bus and die, yet you stand idly by and do nothing. You're just twiddling your thumbs, happy in the knowledge that one day that 'walk' signal will shine your way across the road.Think about it. Imagine the horrors Hell must have in store if the bible is true. You're just going to allow that to happen and not care about saving anyone but yourself? If you're right then you're an uncaring, unemotional and purely selfish person that has no right to talk about subjects such as love and caring.

Now I have been keen on the fishing for souls since becoming "saved" myself. In fact my friends often, in humor, refer to me as the reacher of the un-reachable because I have a passion for those who most would figure are beyond help. But this letter stirred some questions in me. Am I doing enough? Am I really trying to reach everyone I can before it is to late? If the end came tomorrow would I be satisfied with my attempts to save those around me or even still would HE be satisfied with me? What could I be doing differently? What is the best way to "FISH"? I don't have all the answers but I do know that you and me alike are called to be fishers! Jesus Himself said "Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers for men." Not Hey you, if you want to further my kingdom go ahead, if not...whatever! He cares and so should we. Not trying to reach the un-saved is the same as saying a big fat NO to God. A great friend of mine says all the time that late obedience is disobedience. So... what are you doing? What bait do you use? Do you reach out to those who need Christs message the most? Are you putting off talking about salvation with others? God said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" I know I am not doing everything I could. That letter disturbed me. I am watching as people I know in my own community are marching into the abyss. they are dying and I am not trying to reach them before they fall! I am reminded of something I read on ex-atheist.com, Our best witness is a life lived for Christ!

Lord, Please strengthen my resolve and give me the courage to talk boldly with others about your precious gift of salvation. When I am unable to speak please let my actions speak for themselves. I pray I will always live a life where others can see your light shine in me!

I found some websites on witnessing, if you need help in deciding when and how to witness to others feel free to check them out, and remember to pray... God is the one with all the answers!

http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-witnessing.htm

http://www.victorious.org/lifedeat.htm

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/watchwitnessing.shtml#

http://www.ex-atheist.com/challenge-atheism.html

Praising His Name,

Ever just want to say NO?

2007-10-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

Do all things with a joyful heart! This is a ruff one for me. I was, up until about 3 years ago
(when God gave me a big old slap in the head), A huge grumbling, chronic complaining, pain in every ones derriere feminist. If the "man" wanted it done he could do it himself and do my bidding at the same time. Oh how naive I was!!! My relationships were not formed on respect or even love but on convenience. I hated doing what I was told and even lashed out at the reverend who married my EX and I for even thinking of using the word "obey" any where near me. I thought of it as slavery and there was no way i was having anything to do with it! In my daily bible study, which i do via email with my sister, We were reading 1 John 5 and the verse was this:

when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.

It occurred to me then, that when you love God keeping His commands is easy, because we love Him so much we would do anything he asks of us with a joyful heart. This must then be true for all other loves. If I truly love my family, I will do all the moving and packing and storing they ask of me and I will do it gladly without complaint because I love them, If I truly love my husband (hypothetical, God hasn't reveled that to me yet) I would want to do all the things he needed me to because I loved him. What an epiphany! If I could just Love my neighbour as God REQUIRES me too, man... I could be helping so many people. instead of saying, I just want to say NO for a change, why can't they get someone else to do it. I could be feeling fulfilled and joyful because I was doing something for someone I loved instead of feeling resentful and tired. Not to mention I will be doing what God asks me to do and that is the most important by far. Do all things through love and feel great about it. So the next time you are wishing you could just say NO do it yourself, remember to be thankful you have people who love you enough to ask for your help, and love them enough in return to do it with a glad heart!
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

With love in Christ,

hard times and help...

2007-10-24T17:41:00.000-04:00

~ If there is one thing I have learned over the last few years since having become a Christian, it is that being "saved" does not in any way,shape or form mean that your life will be nothing but lollipops and roses. Bad things still happen. in some cases horrible things still happen. There is one key difference however. Once you are saved and have the understanding and love of our Saviour and God the big stuff seems smaller. Take today for example. My bills are piling up, I have to find a home for my puppy because we can't keep her, my parents are about to leave for their new home out west, I am having trouble with a friend who is trying to lead me astray and my children have decided that I am unfair and they hate me (which is an every other day occurrence when you have teens, well my teens anyway) but you know what? God loves me, He has always provided and helped me keep my sanity and if I keep myself focused on Him and not me and my issues the issues get smaller and smaller until they are gone. That is the miracle of having a personal relationship with God. He doesn't say come to me and I will make sure you never suffer again. He says come to me and you won't have to go it alone. He has my back and I have His. What an awesome God we have! It is a misconception that God will take everything that is bad or wrong or hurtful and you will never struggle again but boy oh boy i can't imagine having to have a day like today without God by my side. How did i ever live with out the knowledge of Him i will never know!

Hope your day is as blessed by His presence as mine!

The Black Sheep! Oh how times have changed!

2007-10-16T14:22:00.000-04:00

~ Unless you were raised under a rock most of us at one time or another have felt like a black sheep in society. Not quite like the others, or maybe a little on the baaaaad side. (pardon the pun) If you are anything like me you would have gone through the wild and crazy stereo-typical teen years. I was most definitely the black sheep. Life was not good, I did not feel blessed, I was alone (aside that is from the many friends I had that were also going down the big wide path to a fiery demise) I felt like life hated me, like God hated me. I wasn't a believer and most definitely wasn't saved, however (in hind sight) I realize now that even when I was the worst of sinners God had a plan for me, He was watching out for me even when I denied Him. Once God starts a work in you He will finish! What a blessing that is. All those times when I could have been killed, when my daughter had major brain surgery and should have died but lived, when I narrowly escaped really bad situation after bad situation... All of this was God's work. He new me before I was formed and His plan all along has been for me to be His. One of the flock, once lost, found and saved by grace! Because of my devious past I really feel strongly about witnessing to teens and young adults who are traipsing down the road to ruin. I was fortunate enough to have someone in my life who was relentless in her attempts to pluck me from the fire, I only pray that God will use me in the same way. So, times have really changed and so has my life. God has miraculously changed me from an out of control addict to a self controlled believer, from a rebellious feminist to an obedient follower, from a scared and cowardly atheist to a strong and faithful witness. All things are possible through Him, our Redeemer and Saviour! Praise the Lord for His unfailing, unwavering love for the lost and broken black sheep.

God Bless you and yours,