I am so glad you have taken the time to read this blog where
I will share my heart and thoughts with you. I hope that through my words you
can be encouraged and blessed and that I can truly show the love and
awesomeness of my Lord and Saviour to you. This new blog is a part of my DTS
training during my lecture phase and I am looking forward to how sharing my progress
with all of you will really push me to be better.
I titled this blog as “A Better Beginning” because I really
feel that God has brought me here to learn more about him and just find my
whole identity in him, so this is my chance at a brand new start with God and
my faith and to also learn to go for the better which is found in him. While I had
other opportunities that I could have chosen to follow, but God lead me here in
order to really discover this better beginning that he has planned for me.
In just one week of being here in Herrnhut I have already learned
so much and God has revealed himself to me in ways I have never experience
before already, so I am just really excited about what he will do here in my
heart and in the hearts of my new friends. I have so much more to learn and
this fact scares me and excited me at the same time, for I am afraid that I will
not be able to soak in all the wonderful things that will be shared with me.
But I am also truly looking forward to how God will shape me and how he will
use me to shape others.
Our first speaker for our lectures of January MOTA is a man
who has great talent in photography and helped found this YWAM base here in
Herrnhut. His name is Jan Schlegel and his words were incredibly significant to
me. He talked to us about passion and how being passionate, not only in your
relationship with Jesus but also in every area of your life, can get you out of
the trap of this dull and boring life that we live. Having passion will draw
people in and it allows you to have the chance to be really successful in life,
all for God’s glory. But passion comes with a high cost, for it demands
sacrifice. In order to be passionate, you must be willing to give up the things
that are no longer important and to only hold onto the hope and faith that you
have in Jesus Christ. I have really been struggling with this concept because
while I want so desperately to serve God and to live solely for him, I do not think
I am strong enough to be able to sacrifice all that he asks of me. While I know
that with him all things are possible and that life with him is much richer and
better, if I am being completely honest, I do not think I am ready to be able to
sacrifice enough to get there. I am working on this with God and in my heart I am
wrestling with what he wants for my life, and as I struggle with this I know he
is with me in every step.
Jan also presented the question of what kind of Christians
does this world need, and he shared with us that we need passionate, happy,
hopeful and loving Christians. Love is the most important aspect to that, for
what is anything without love? (1 Corinthians 13) He encouraged us to really
find out what love is and to really live that our in our everyday lives. God
commands us to love everyone, even those that are more difficult for us to show
love to. Jan told us to think of the person that you have the hardest time
loving, and the amount of love you have for that person. That is how much you
love God. When that idea is realized, the choice to love everyone becomes so
much more important. I was challenged by this; to find out what love is and to
truly love everyone.
Many thoughts are swirling in my mind; for example, how to
listen to God’s voice and know his will for my life, and whether I can be
strong enough for him, and how to be more like him in love and in my actions
and words. Then all the other happenings of the day such as intercession and
worship and Bible reading and my art projects and my own personal devotions
and dedicating time to others both here and back home in Canada and to myself
and to God and finding that balance and even my work duty, with all of these happenings
my mind is constantly working. I made that a run-on sentence on purpose to demonstrate
that I am quite busy, but I am enjoying it. I am being stretched to my limits
and God is pushing me in new ways in my walk of faith and I am appreciative of
this opportunity.
So to my loved ones back home, know that I am keeping busy
and am doing well. I still miss home a lot but I will be home before we know
it! I hope life in Canada is going well and may God challenge and bless each of
you!
I will be posting on this blog regularly so you will be able
to keep tabs on me here:)
Take care; I will be in touch.
Love always,
Fina
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