August @ KidzHarbour
We ‘ve all seen how difficult it can be to try and cope without strong connections… and I don’t mean just the internet kinds. We need our relationships and friendships to keep developing in order for us to feel more grounded and children are no different! Although we are taking a break from our weekly Zoom children’s programming, if you would like to sign up for a one-on-one Zoom call with Pastor Laura that is an option! If you’re needing…
Your Greatest Tool
After reading the book Holy Sexuality and The Gospel by Christopher Yuan as a pastoral team, one of the takeaways I got from the book was that empathy is our greatest tool to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the World. No matter your race, gender, sexuality, or anything you place your identity in, Jesus wants to take that place. But having any conversation about such things without the holy spirit can be rather futile. I believe that empathy…
Make Every Effort to Know Who You are In Christ
Yesterday, we had the privilege of hearing our Elder, Jonathan Koh, speak about the challenges of being in the world, but not of the world. There is truly a struggle in the world today figuring out “who am I”? As Jon transparently shared yesterday, one of his greatest struggles was figuring out if he identified as Singaporean or Canadian. Since he spent part of his life in Singapore and part of his life in Canada, he felt like he didn’t fit it…
Updates Required
A number of year ago the Lord used my cell phone to give me a valuable object lesson. Nothing seemed to be working properly and there were bizarre glitches taking place that I couldn’t seem to clear? (Does one clear a glitch…?) Anyway, after trying to delete pictures and old text messages, I realized that my phone needed to go through a series of updates. I had seen – and ignored – the notifications. Reminders were a nuisance until there…
Vaccinate or Not?
Dear LifeSpring Family, Ever since the vaccine for Covid-19 became available, there has been much said, written, and posted about whether one should vaccinate or not. In the past several weeks up to today, I have had several discussions about the merits of one or the other. Today I had lunch with a colleague of mine from FamilyLife Canada, who has decided not to be vaccinated. And around dinnertime, I made a call to our dear friends in Kelowna out…
Moving Forward in Challenging Times
We are living in unprecedented times. Many of us have never experienced a pandemic before that lasted so long, and affecting every country in the world. My grandmother who is turning 102 have said she has never lived through a time like this. We are also experiencing multiple challenges like climate change resulting in horrible forest fires, devastating flooding, and the challenges that are very unfamiliar to us. Political instability in many parts of the world. Tragic human suffering is…
Having Compassion
“Jesus traveled among all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness. Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The size of the harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send…
Pace of Grace
Today I want to share with you a word that God spoke to me, that I believe might help some people out on the way to making every effort to grow in maturity. Over the past couple months I’ve been trying to up my cardio by jogging at the high school track near my house. Every time I would go, it seems like I would always gas out at 2 and a ½ laps. Sometimes I could push it to…
Blessed
As the people of God we know that we have been called to be a blessing to those around us. At LifeSpring especially we continue to return to this Kingdom reality: We are blessed to be a blessing! While we often refer back to God’s initial call to Abraham (Genesis 12) and the covenant they formed together – the same promises that continue to bind us to the Lord – Jesus also taught about what it means to be blessed.…
Stop. Listen. Pray.
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6 I’ve really enjoyed the messages that have been shared over this past month at Life-Spring. Gabe, Donna, and Mae-Tuin all spoke into different aspects of our journey as a church. Gabe spoke on the topic of faith, Donna on identity and the armor of God, and Mae-Tuin shared her testimony of seeking and finding God in community in the midst of trials. Something…
“The heart of man plans his way, but…”
I just celebrated Dorothy’s 60th birthday and was so thankful to God for His provision, protection, and blessing upon Dorothy’s life. A day later, I walked over to make payment to the two teenage boys who mow our lawn. Their mother answered the door and I was a little startled. I apologized for waking her up from her afternoon nap. But her response totally caught me off guard. “I am not doing well, Jerry. I was diagnosed with cancer, had…
Faith, Hope, Love & War
Yesterday we had the privilege of hearing Mae-Tuin’s journey of growing in God. Through the highs and lows, through the unknowns and the challenges, through it all – the Seto family came out the other side closer to God. Jesus says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” There is an age old question – “If God is so loving, why do bad things happen”? This is a real…