"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
                                       George Orwell 

More true words than these were not spoken for times like these. 
We live in interesting times and this quote by George Orwell couldn't be truer.  
I have become a news junkie and well truth be told... it's the kind that does not make television headlines, you know the one: 'Fake news' 
the alternative to your daily dose of the global narrative.. lol

There is a battle going on and it is for our minds, not only ours BUT the minds of our young... and Who will win?

I remember hearing a saying once and it went like this:
"Whoever wants this generation the most will have her"
I agree with Orwell's quote because telling the truth is revolutionary, he must have known something.. hmmm
But what .

Our enemy is more clever than we would like to believe and he is a strategist. Going for the high places of our society and occupying them using his messengers. 

For example: using Social Media, and Academia to influence the narrative and mould the belief system of the next generation through subtle twists of the truth. Where slowly but surely every shred of truth is dismantled and a generation is deceived.
And 
Well...
It's working.

But more importantly looking at it in an Up close and personal way
Who narrates my life, is it fear or faith? Who reports the events of our lives? 
Hmmm 
This is a good question to ask ... 
How will I interpret the news that comes my way?
With fear and evil foreboding 
or 
will I respond with truth, or more specifically His Truth?

When looking at our personal life events I believe the enemy of our soul's strategy for us would be to agree with his narrative for our lives,
Will we 
Or
Won't we?
​
That is the question.

​Helene 

"A remnant can shape a culture"
Is a statement I just heard from a well known evangelical voice on his Facebook live feed...

Wow
I think this is an incredibly encouraging word for the times we live in!

Let me explain...
When we think about, for example, of the LGBT, which, in 2014, according to Statistics Canada represented  1.7 % and 1.3% of our society respectively.
It is well known that this small group has influenced our culture, and this from the arts to politics.
This truth makes me ask myself: 
What happened to the evangelical Christian remnant?
And.. It's influence on our culture..
I think this is a necessary question to ask ourselves at this juncture in our history.
I believe there is a gap , a void, waiting to be filled.
Will we stand by idly watching more of our precious Judeo-Christian values deteriorate and allow the gradual destruction of all of what we once held dear?
Or
Will we take a stand and do something, say something,
Or 
Create something that will shake the new status quo.
And, even perhaps, start a movement that will eradicate the course that our precious society is on.
 
I heard a story once and it went like this:
There was a group of people on a large floating vessel and they were all standing on the deck of this ship. While they were socializing there was a thumping sound that increasingly got louder. Concerned the passengers started to follow the source of this sound. It came from one of the cabins where a passenger was using a hammer.
He was making a hole in the ship's floor and alarmed they asked,
"What are you doing?"
"Oh" this passenger said: 
"don't mind me I'm just doing my own thing".  
And so I believe it is with society.

Certain actions, and behaviours, that we have tolerated, on our watch, have influenced and shaped our culture and the course of its future.
I think this analogy can be applied to so many aspects of our present state of affairs.

I believe there needs to be an awakening to our stinking reality and a corporate consciousness of the seriousness of our condition.

Then the question is this: 
Do we want this ship to sink or sail towards it's great purpose and destiny?
If so, I believe, it is up to us to turn this 'Titanic' unto a course that will keep it safe and secure so that it can fulfill the journey it was designed for.
​
To finish...
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:13-16‬ ‭

Helene

We know where this beautiful statement comes from...
it is from the book of Esther in the bible. This phrase is spoken by Mordecai to his cousin Esther the queen of the Persian Empire. It is spoken at a pivotal time in the history of the Jewish people and it goes like this:   
“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"
‭‭Esther‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭

This passage never fails to touch something deep inside of me.
It brings to mind some key words like
Royalty, Position, Authority, and Influence. 
But what does this have to do with me 
right now....you might say(?)

Well...to begin with the part that stands out most is : 
".... you and your father's house will perish" and "If you remain silent at this time relief and deliverance will arise....from another place."
Phew... Wow 

Do you see it?
I certainly do, when I look at the new political landscape and it's ripple affect on the world and now the exposure of what was once hidden for all to see.  
I can't help but be acutely aware that we certainly are in an Esther season.  
I believe that God is warning us Firstly about our Father's house and secondly He is giving us an invitation to be a part of the solution.
And if we decline His offer ......
Well, He will certainly find someone else to step into those shoes.
So...
Will you accept His invitation?
He's waiting for you...for such a time as this.

​Helene

...all you need is love....
That's how the famous song goes.

It's true this world needs love...

What is love?
We experience it as newborns and as we grow into mature human beings.
It is the ingredient that propels us and inspires us to venture into our dreams and life adventure.

Human love:
It feeds us, nurtures us and helps us feel secure.
It does so many things, the list is endless.
There is a love, though, that is eternal.

In the book of life it says:
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
1 John 4:6

How can a divine being personify love... It is a mystery.

Another powerful passage is this one:
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wow, God gives us a very high standard when it comes to love.
But there is another scene that stands out to me when it comes to love..
This one occurs in the Bible when the pharisees bring a woman to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery.

It goes like this:
“they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
.... He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more." 
‭‭John‬ ‭8:4, 7, 9-11‬ 

To me this is love.

When she deserved stoning (according to Mosaic law) she received protection.
When she felt shame, He covered her. When she was despised, He forgave.
"'Love' (Jesus) covers a multitude of sins"
When someone deserves punishment but instead receives forgiveness and kindness...

this is true love.

Helene

"Be my Valentine" was a phrase that rang across the school halls packaged in a so very sweet little card presentation and I grew up hearing it every year during this time of year....
Its influence was real when I was young and a painful reminder at times when I didn't have a 'Valentine'.  
Back then I was in love with the idea of 'being in 'Love' and my friends and I thought we were very cool.
But there was one friend who was different and she stood out from the rest. She would speak to me about Jesus and how he cared about my love life. 
Surprised I would say "Jesus actually cares about my personal life?"
She responded 'Yes He does'
This was a new and radical concept for me, a Catholic girl who went to church at Christmas and Easter.
It would be one of the many radical truths my new friend would whisper to me in the middle of ballet class. We took every opportunity to chat during those years at ballet school......they were good days.
But let me fast forward to my graduating year when this exceptional friend would invite me 'one more time' to attend her church on Sunday.  This time, I would say yes, and it would forever change the course of my life and my eternal destiny.  
On that day, as God's word says 'angels in heaven celebrated my new life in Jesus.
But the story does not end there ...
Because she would then give me my first bible on Valentine's Day.  In it she would write that no boy would ever love me as much as Jesus does.
It's true, not one.
On that day the course of my life was forever changed!
His Word became my guiding light and the compass for my life. 

These words couldn't ring more true today as they did back then:
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
Robert Frost

During this season of love let's be thankful we know the One who adds no conditions to His Love.
But gifts us with true unconditional love:
His name is Jesus.

My true Valentine. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16

​Helene

The Man in the arena.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
This powerful speech was written over a hundred years ago, by Theodore Roosevelt. It was written as a rebuttal against the ones that were critical of individuals who were trying to make the world a better place. 
Hmmm ...Has anything changed much in a hundred years, well it is for you to decide.  
I was introduced to it when my daughter was a competitive skater. As parents we would encourage her with this quote when she would fall on the ice in the arena in front of a panel of judges and get up again and again. It was a powerful image to me about tenacity and never giving up in front of the critics. 
As they say "When the going gets tough the tough get going".
It is an encouragement to all of us when we are faced with challenges in life and when it feels like the critics outweigh the blessers. It is a reminder that you are not alone and that many have gone before you in the battle for good. 

In my view these words say it best:
"You cannot love a thing without wanting to fight for it."    
 Quote by Gilbert K Chesterton
                     
And also this one:                             
"In the absence of love, there is nothing worth fighting for."                
Elijah Wood.                             

Wow how true!
                               
Love is the force that fuels our battles, Love for family, Love for God,
Love for His ways. A love for freedom and all it encompasses.            
I believe these are causes worth fighting for and.       
 .....worth getting back up for again and again and again.
                
Perhaps these verses from a song called "The words I would say"
by Sidewalk Prophets, can fill us with courage to get up in the arena of life:        
"Be strong in the Lord and,          
Never give up hope,                    
You're going to do great things,           
I already know,                              
God's got His hand on you so,      
Don't live life in fear,                   
Forgive and forget,                           
But don't forget why you're here,    
Take your time and pray,              
These are the words I would say."

And finally in the words of the apostle Paul:   
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."   Galatians 6:9
                                 
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."   Hebrews 10:23

​Helene                                  

In this day and age there seems to be few occurrences for moments of thankfulness. We are on a quest for always wanting more, 
More time, more space, more friends, more family. 
And on and on it goes. 
We are easily irritated and rushed.
But gratefulness, I think breaks the back of the incessant need for more which can often bring dissatisfaction...
Let me share a little bit of a personal testimony on this journey of learning about gratefulness.
During a time of great loss in my life;
I lost some of my nearest and dearest family members.
In those days the most difficult moments of the year were the holiday seasons when I felt very alone and it seemed like I had nothing.
My focus was on the loss....which was very real and very painful...
I would then take long walks and talk to the One, who it turns out, understands loss, because well you know the story.....
"He gave His only begotten son to be crucified and to die for my sins and to free me from death and the grave to give me eternal life..."
.... Hmmmm
I think He gets it, I thought to myself.
So any advice He had to give me would come from a place of honesty and real life experience because 
He had experienced loss(!)
And as I walked and talked to Him
this is what He told me:
"Instead of focusing on your loss why not start to enjoy what you do have; like your family and your children and the ones that are still with you"
Huh....I thought to myself
I've known this truth somewhere in the back of my mind. 
But that day it became my new reality and a life saver.
Being grateful for what I do have versus what I don't have, enriched my life!
So when the Holidays rolled around I was just thankful for what I was blessed with.
In this season of Thanksgiving 
Let's be intentional about remembering the good.
This passage expresses it best:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." 
​
Philippians 4:8

What is it about thunderstorms that excites us? Is it the foreboding dark skies in the distance or the sudden darkness that covers a once bright day? A few weeks ago we experienced such a storm and it did not disappoint. Lightning struck, the furnace shook, the alarm went off,the phone and cable was out....we had been hit.

They say that the area that is calmest in a hurricane is what is called "The eye of the storm". This  space is found at the centre of a tropical cyclone. When the winds of life start to beat and whip our otherwise calm existence can we go to the eye of the storm? And how do we get there when all of life seems to be in turmoil around us?

Jesus tells us in the gospel of Luke 6:47,48:
"Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice , I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on a rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built"
​
Another passage in Job says:
" Then The Lord spoke to Job out of the storm"
One of the most flexible trees is the palm tree.  It can bend at over a 90 degree angle. I read something about trees and their ability to withstand storms. It is said that their roots grow deeper with a series of storms and that their trunk grows thicker which helps them grow stronger. Could it be that we enter the eye of the storm by going deeper into the knowledge of His word and the promises it holds....  And it's ability to sustain and feed us makes us 'thicker skinned' and thereby we grow stronger?

In the evening when the thunderstorm had passed we went outside and the air was filled with the most pungent fragrance. The scent came from the cherry blossoms and it permeated the air.  I thought how peculiar.....is there something about going through the storms of life that bruise us and afterwards ,and only if we have walked through it, there is a fragrance that emanates from you that only can be produced from the storm. As this passage beautifully illustrates in the Song of Solomon 4:16
"Awake north wind and come south wind!  Blow on my garden, that it's fragrance may spread everywhere" 

As we weather the storms let us holdfast to these truths and know and believe that He is at work in us. As we bend and are squeezed, feeling whipped by the high winds of life may His fragrance fill the air we breathe and all that surrounds us be touched by His beauty and love.
To conclude, here are some words that capture this place of peace He alone can provide.
They are from the chorus of the song called
"In The Eye Of The Storm"by Ryan Stevenson and Bryan Fowler:

" In the eye of the storm
You remain in control 
And in the middle of the war you guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me in the eye of the storm"

​Helene