Life Can Be Difficult

Sometimes, life can seem very overwhelming. I am in one of those times and yet, the things that are going on around me and affecting me are very good things. Still, they are overwhelming.
For the past several months I have been in a "state of Grace". God has been very present, but right now He seems hard to find. I am sure He is still very present and that it is I that have turned away.

However, I have learned in life is that there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Good pastors know this.
When I sit with a friend who is hurting, I sometimes just sit, knowing my being there is enough. There are no words to heal deep hurts and often we need to be there just to make "tea", not to offer advice or try to fix the problem. We need to be able to quietly take their hand and just sit, connected in silence.
This is not easy, but it can be mastered. And it points to a fact about our Heavenly Father too, He does sit quietly beside us, not fixing us. He is just still, offering us His types of tea. So perhaps, after all I am wrong when I say "He is hard to find". I am trusting He is right here beside me, breathing in the aroma of fresh tea, waiting until my fear and lament have ended. He is gently holding my hand being respectful of my pain. When we begin to see God as friend, like the way Jesus called us friends, then we can let go of trying to quickly escape all of the overwhelming stuff and just be. I am still in a state of Grace, but I have learned I must sit down into that Grace, when it is offered.
Prayer: Father of Jesus, Almighty God Creator of the Heavens and the Earth,
Come into our midst quietly and gently. Sit with us while we have some tea. Thank you for your grace and mercy and compassion. Thank you for all the good things and the victory over the bad ones. Thank you for your love.
Take great care of my family and friends this week, whom are really struggling.
Thank you for a great church community,
Thank you for a good Seminary to go to, so I can learn about you.
And this may seem strange to some, but Father thank you for creating me. Thanks for all my talents and skills and gifts. Thanks for making me
In Jesus name, I ask these things and pronounce your eternal glory.

A Beautiful Home Going Send off: Aunt Hannah Wicks (nee Broadhurst)

Hannah Wicks (nee Broadhurst)
Born October 13, 1914
Died August 17, 2007

Yesterday, my family gathered to say goodbye to a dear sister, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great great grandmother, aunt, great aunt, friend, sister in Christ and child of Gods' Hannah Wicks.

The service was beautiful, including our family theme song Blessed Assurance.

To me, great Aunt Hannah (my beloved fathers aunt) was always kind, cheerful and a very good listener. When I went to visit her in her retirement home, her place was filled with pictures and memories. She loved to talk about her parents, my great grandparents and tease her sister, my grandmother Nancy.

She will be very much missed, but we will see her again, when the Lord, her saviour Jesus returns and we all will be resurrected into His glory-this was her faith and the story she lived out!

Thank you God for a wonderful Aunt

Sept 2007 A new begining, or should I say ending?

So I finally made it, my last semester of Seminary and the upcoming new pastors retreat with the BCOQ.
Am I terrified? You bet! There is a huge responsibility to becoming and living as a pastor, one I am looking forward to with God's help and grace.
I will miss my time at the Toronto School of Theology, but I am also glad it is over. This semester will be a mixture of tears and joy.
The picture above is the hallway to the Wycliffe chapel-Hallowed Halls!

Pastoral Internship For Me

On May 2, 2007 I began my Wycliffe academic Pastoral Internship under the guidance of Dr. Susan Schriver and Rev. John Torrance of Yorkminster Park Baptist Church.
I have been very blessed to have these wonderful people in my life and for Paul and I to find a new church home.
In this internship I did many wonderful things. My favourite part was preaching and serving in the services. What a joy it has been! This congregation is beautiful and very supportive of a student. It is home!