Leave it to Weavers

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

2008-04-10T15:48:00.004-04:00

lol, ok so Im thinking about staring each post for a while with a chicken quote... it's kinda fun!! :) and right now, 5hrs into my 12 hr shift at work...fun is good!

ok, today I want to talk about what comes first....reconcilliation or sanctification. I am of the belief that FIRST comes reconcilliation and then comes some form of sanctification. That being said, I dont understand the problem that so many Christians have with sinful people living in sin.

Many Christians that I know seem to have a very hard time forming any kind of relationship with non-christians, and I think I know why, Im just not sure that I understand it. I think that we as a Christian society have come to expect that non-christians need to change their lives in order to have any kind of relationship with us which may eventually lead to salvation and reconcilliation.

But isnt that backwards? shouldnt we Expect that the non-christian will still be living in sin when we know and befriend them? shouldnt we Expect that they will have absolutely NO power in and of themselves to change their behaviour until Christ empowers them to do so? And beyond that, Why should they change thier behaviour if they have no relationship with Christ? Will being a "nicer sinner" get them into a nicer hell? I dont think so.

I think they are what they are. They are without God. they are living in Sin. THAT is the main issue for me. The main issue is NOT that they are Gay, or a perpetual liar, or have a filthy mouth etc, the issue is that they are without God. And because they are without God my expectations for them are signifigantly different from my expectations of someone who IS a Christian.

I expect someone who IS a Christian to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and open to recognizing their behaviour as something that may go against Gods will and desire to change that. I DONT expect that the moment they become a Christian that all will be right in thier world and that they will be living a sinless life. I expect them to have an moldable spirit and be open to change what GOD tells them to change WHEN he tell them to change it.

For the NON-Christian, I expect sin. In any or all forms. I expect this because I dont believe they are physically able or expected to live a blameless life until they have God in their life, and honestly why would they? they are not held to a higher standard because .... they are NOT christians!!! Do I wnat want them to live a blameless life with God, YES!! do I Want them to care about what God wants for them... YES, but can i expect that of them before they come to know Christ, No. I dont think so. Does this make sense to anyone else???

So, if this is true, then WHY are we fighing to change people who cant change because they dont have the motivation or the reson to want change? shouldnt we be accepting them where they are and modeling for them a life that is better than they are living? Shouldnt we be loving them through AND in thier sin? being available, and yes....DOING LIFE with them? I understand that you may not agree with the lifestyle sinners live, and be uncomfortable with that, I understand it's hard to do life with someone who is not in the same place you are... but isnt that what being a Christian is all about?

Im sorry if this post has been "spacy" im getting to the end of my 12 hr day at work and Im not the best at this yet... but im just hoping to start a conversation here. what do you think? are our expectations of non-christians justified or do they need to change?

Chicken Blogger

2008-04-09T21:13:00.003-04:00

You know, i've been thinking, I really am a Chicken blogger. I have these great ideas and oppinions, and I discuss them with select friends that I think wont judge me, but am I bold enough to post about them? No.

Instead, I go to other people's blogs and read their posts which are wonderful and worded just right. I agree with them or dissagree, but never comment. Then I come back to my own humble blog and admire it's pretty-ness and am saddened by how Un-controversial it is. You see, I dont really like to be controversial, but i DO like that when you state something controversial that many times, it gets people talking. you can have a discussion going.

This both thrills me and frightens me. What if I write something that's heretical? what if I say something (as I often do, just ask my husband) that I dont really mean or that would get me in a lot of trouble. I love talking about things, and lots of times I will state my oppinion as if it were hard and fast, but really, Im very open to changing that oppinion and would love to hear what others think!!

So that's it for me, Im gonna try to come out of the chicken blogging shadows and post about things I think about and talk about. things that might be controversial, and discussions that might get tense. I want to do it. I need to do it. If Im going to continue to grow in my knowledge and understanding, I need to stop hiding behind good friends who are bold and take those steps myself.

Sooooo. good controversial post.... here I come... Just as soon as I can think of one. :)

A challenge

2008-03-14T15:38:00.002-04:00

Why is it that we women crave and need open and comunicative friendship and yet many times we shy away from allowing those friendships to take root? We get close to someone, and then just when the relationship has hit a crux we back off. "Oh I cant call them now, it's much too late, and she wouldnt be interested in this heartache"...and the excuses go on. I think it's because we are scared. we are scared that our special friend will get too close. She'll see everything and want to run. I think were scared of rejection, scared of being juged, and scared of being left alone. You see there's no commitment level to measure friends against. They didn't say "I Do" and so I think were scared they will leave if they see too much "bad side"

But what if.... what if we decided to be brave, to take the plunge and really open up to people, our hurts, our fears, our joys, our struggles, the times when we feel like less of a wife, mom, friend etc. what if we DECIDED that we were not going to keep things from those special friends but would CHOOSE to include them. what would happen? well from where I sit I think that we would be uplifted, identified with and encouraged. I think we would find out that many of the myths we hold to as women are wrong and unhealthy. I think we could start to change the way women think about themselves, their worth, and their roles. If each person would choose to be Very real with two people, Gut wrenchingly real I think we could not only signifigantly improve our life, but also the lives of our spouses (think of how much less stressed you and as a result he would be), our children, our extended families, and the list goes on. eventually this choice would touch other countries.

The choice to be real. To let someone in and see who you are for all it's glory, and all it's uglieness. To rejoice with you when you rejoice, to morn with you when you morn. This is the challenge. What do you think? can you/DO you do this? how does it impact your life? and if you dont yet have one or two special close friends, will you consider going deeper with someone?

Give it a REST!!!

2008-02-28T18:30:00.000-04:00

I've just begun reading a new book called "Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom In The Rhythms Of Rest" by Lynne M. Baab and it has me thinking... does anyone still actually keep a sabbath? How do you keep your sabbath? what makes it special?

"The variety of sabbath possibilities is amazing. A university student loves to wear a dress to church. Then she says in her dress through the evening to remind herself that this is a special day. Even something as mundane as breakfast cereal can mark a day of rest. A couple prepares steel-cut oats on Sunday mornings because the meal takes so long to cook. The gift of the sabbath is the gift of abundant time, and a slow cooking breakfast helps this couple step outside thier daily routine of schedules and hurrying.

Some people nurture particular bible study and prayer habbits for their sabbath. One buisness owner saves up the homework for his bible study class and does it all after church on Sunday, his sabbath. He admits that he enjoys letting the assaignments pile up, because then he's motivated to spend time in the scriptures on Sunday afternoons. Another man, a Bible school teacher and administrator says he devotes Sunday afternoons to intercessory prayer. Whenever he get's an email with a prayer request, he prints it out and sets it aside for Sunday's. He enjoys reading back over those prayer requests and praying in a leisurely fasion on his sabbath.

One family observes a sabbath that begins on Saturday in the late afternoon and goes until just before dinner on Sunday. They begin their sabbath with a family gathering that includes a breath prayer. "Breathe out your frustrations and worries into the presence of God" the father or mother says, "Breathe in God's presence. God is as near as the air you breathe." This prayer has become so special to the kids that if the parents forget the breath prayer, the kids remind them."

So what do you think? has the sabbath observation become obsolete? is it a requirement or a suggestion? How do you observe the sabbath? What does the sabbath look like for you?

Top Three!

2008-02-25T18:54:00.005-04:00

I have a very important question for all you mommies... and everyone else too!! As a young married woman I know that my time is of the escence and I want to use it wisely...I want to do so many of those things we all "say" were going to do and then place on the back burner becuase of kids, jobs, etc.

Right now, my job is fairly steady, no kids to speak of yet...soooooo the question looms in my head...what should I do with all this free time??!!

So my question to you is simple... What are three things you wish you'd had the chance to do before life happend.

before kids, career, etc.

three things.

go.

~Jess

SnapCraclePop There go my bones....

2008-02-22T21:15:00.002-04:00

So after working and living in Sydney for the last year and a half, I notice something unusual. something unique to me and my fellow call center workers. Something that other people dont seem to strugle with and something which, quite frankly, makes me feel old and feeble.

I have noticed that I pop and crack and well, I just dont think it's healthy!! I mean not just a once in a while back cracking... NOOOOO!! No this is a daily, hips popping, neck cracking, back cracking ... Hourly!! issue!!

So my question is this: do you experience this in Your job? or is it more geared to people who work in call centers and sit down all day long? any suggestions on how one would stregthen bones and muscles at the same time as working in a call center??! come on people! there MUST be a way and Im sure one of you brilliant folks have just the cure!! :)

~Jess

The greatest thing since sliced bread!

2008-02-05T18:31:00.000-04:00

Winter has officially set in and the cold/flu season has begun!

After being sick twice in the last two-ish weeks, these tissues have become my best friend... well, in the world of tissue/human relations I suppose!
Every year I try to stay as far away from potential cold/flu donors as possible however since the flu shot does bad things to me, colds and flu's seem to be just a fact of life.

Thankfully all that is made better by the good ol' people at puffs who take care of my Nose!!!

Elf yourself!

2007-12-14T20:52:00.000-04:00

This is Hillarious!! Thanks Jess Rader for putting it on your site!!
check it out, you'll die laughing!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1409760913

Thank you Lord!

2007-12-04T01:28:00.001-04:00

Well everyone,
for those of you who dont know, God is faithful and Nate has permanent Residency!! :D

I dont know if all of you know what P.R. is, So I thought I would take a minute to explain why I am so excited we have it and why we've been applying for it!

Without P.R. Nate has had to have VISA'S. This is not a major problem except that it is costly. everytime you have to get a new visa you pay another 150$ and it only lasts so long. (for example the maximum time limit on a general visitors visa is 6 months) visitors Visa's also do NOT allow re-entry into Canada. Basically it means that one would be "legal" to be IN the country, but if they left and tried to get BACK, that's another story. With a visitors visa you can not hold a job, have a health card etc.

However, with P.R. you CAN leave the country and get back IN!! :) you can also hold whatever job you wish, and do not have to be approved for it. you can hold a health card and basically have all the rights and honors as a canadian - minus the ability to vote in a Federal election.

So there you have it. My husband is legal! he can come and go as he pleases (when they get around to sending us the card) he can get a job, healthcare, he could even vote in a provincial election if he so chose!

This lasts for 5 years, and then you would have to renew your status, but we are hoping that in less than five years we will not only have P.R. but also have Citizenship! we are so much closer to the end goal everone. Thank you for your prayers! and Thank YOU Lord for your faithfulness~!

WOOO HOOOO!!

2007-11-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share quickly that the Immigration officer who is processing Nate's permanent Residency application called us today and set the appointment for Thursday the 28th of this month at 2pm~!!!! WOO HOO!!

So we will be heading up to Hallifax either Wednesday Night or Thursday Morning and will have our interview. This is the LAST step folks!! The end of the road. The yes or no point. PLEASE pray with us that the interview will go well and that Nate will have NO problems recieving permanent Residency. Im SOOO excited that it's happened this fast! I never thought things would work this quickly, but PRAISE the LORD! It has, and Im sure God's had has been all through this!

Keep praying with us people! we can see the end of this thing!!

Exciting things are happening~!

2007-11-17T01:35:00.000-04:00

Well, here I sit at work, completely bored out of my mind...Perfect time to Update you all!!! :)

A couple of exciting things have happened in the last few weeks! Michael and Tammy have been hired to be the property managers for several apartments in and around the area we live in, and as a result; we have been working with them on this. A few weeks ago, we started having big problems with the people that live above us and started considering moving....again. Well, Praise the Lord, Because Michael and Tammy are property managers...they just happened to know of a few good places! So we looked at what they had and found a great apartment that is only a little further down from where we are now and is HUGE!!! It will be a perfect size for us while we are here! We will be able to have a spare bedroom, a guest bedroom and even a pantry! :) Right now the apartment needs some work, but we've been given the green light from the owners to go ahead and make improvements! We start painting tomorrow!
I will post pictures as soon as it's picture-worthy!

Another really exciting developement is that we are getting very close to a decision on Nate's permanent Residency!! We recieved a phone call from the man in Halifax who will be doing our interview and he told us that we would be recieving a letter telling us what we would need to do before we set up the interview (all done now!! Way to Go Nate!!) and then, once that was finished, we could call back to set the appointment. On Tuesday of this coming week we will be calling to set that appointment, so PLEASE pray with us about this! I let you all know when the appt is as soon as we know.

I am so gratful to God in this, I NEVER expected to hear back from the government so soon about this. and I KNOW that the only reason this is processing so quickly now is because we have a Big God who can handle big problems.

Our God is MORE than able to handle EVERYTHING that comes his way, Be encouraged today. God is Greater than the obstacle you face. Trust him with it. And if you are not facing any obstacle, be grateful for what he has provided for you! Isen't our God Great!

Finally an Update!

2007-10-18T00:19:00.000-04:00

Okay, Okay, So I know Im not the best at updating this thing...but hey, sometimes my life is boring!! However this time that is not the case. I have not updated in a while and much is happening, so in typical bullet format, let's update!

*Nate and I have taken leadership of a Sunday morning small group.
this deals with whole families learning together, parents teaching their children (with some direction) and discipling them while they learn with them.

*Nate's family was down for a visit and it was wonderful! They were here in September and got to stay for almost a week...It was a much needed visit from family.

*I am trying to audition with the cape breton chorale.
They are an amazing singing group and Im not even sure if I have a chance, but Im gonna try, and if they want me Im gonna pray like crazy to get my schedule changed around to accomidate!

*I have started working "back office" in the new place that I work which means a much less stressful job and much more relaxed atmosphere...it's great!

*Nate's birthday was today! He turned 23 today!

*Saturday we are throwing a Murder Mystery party for Nate's birthday!
I am hosting, and Im nervous but excited! I hope it will be a fun time for all.

*I've joined an online facebook group that's all about hiking cape breton, and Im excited about all the hiking locations I've found so far! Nate and I are going to try one this weekend...pictures to follow...if we make it!

...phew! a lot HAS happened with us in the last while! :) well, there you have it. our lives in a nutshell. I will try to do better next time at updating this, bear with me, and if I start taking too long just leave me those "helpful reminders" you all seem to love giving :) more to come soon.

7 DAYS!!!

2007-08-28T20:06:00.000-04:00

Nates Family is coming down for a visit in 7 Days!!! we are SUPER excited!!!

Goodness~!

2007-08-01T16:20:00.000-04:00

Eish!! It's been a while since I wrote any kind of post!!! Sorry about that guys! (that's assuming there are still people who read this! :)

Well, lots of exciting things have happened in the last while! I have started a new job, well...same job, just a different employer. I am still a call center rep...:( but I am now a lot closer to home and spending much less in gas per month!! :)

My friends Matt and Tami were down for a few days and it was wonderful to see them and spend some time with them! We had a great time despite the massive heat wave we have been experiencing here in Cape Breton!

Nate's family is coming down at the begining of September and we are looking forward to seeing them and spending some time with them!

Nate and My Anniversary is only about 2 weeks away!!! I cant believe we've been married for almost a year!!! wow time really flies!

We have moved from our first apartment into another one in Whitney Peir...I like our apartment, it's taken a lot of work to get it looking good, but I think were getting there!

So, that is probably the newest info in the life of me...soon I will grab some pictures and do a photo update, but for now, you will have to suffer through reading and reading alone!! I hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!!

2007-07-04T15:08:00.000-04:00

Happy fourth of July everyone! I hope you all are enjoying bar-b-que's, friends, laughter, and my personal favorite...Fireworks!!! :D

Point Auconi Picnic

2007-06-26T15:30:00.000-04:00

Nate and I had the afternoon off from everything yesterday and went up to a wonderful place on the Island called Point Auconi! It is beautiful up there and it was so relaxing! Below you'll see some of the pictures! (sorry they are so small, I cant figure out how to make them any bigger!)

The Approach!! arriving at Point Auconi!

Nate getting creative with the camera.

View of the coastline...very far down, and very Gorgeous!!

God made such a BEAUTIFUL world!!!

Hey Look!!! its ME!!!

Looking up the hatch into the lighthouse!

Nate inside the lighthouse...look, he riped the door off!! My Man is Strong!! :)

Some weird couple we met along the way!! :D

View from inside the lighthouse

Postcard Perfect!!

Rocks that are VERY far down, but really dont seem it in this picutre!

Getting creative with the camera

Picnic time!! yummy!

Packing up and going home!

What a perfect day!...more perfect day pictures to come soon!

Update time...

2007-06-22T20:15:00.000-04:00

Ok...I need to start out by appologizing for the lack of updates...to be honest it's a combination of not having time/not having any interesting things to talk about!!

Lets see, what is new in the life of the Weavers... well, we are officially moved into our new apartment, however I still do not have pictures for you, they will be coming soon. (I hope)

I have begun a new adventure in my life...I am now a consultant for Pampered chef! I have my first show tomorrow morning! (*pray for me*)I am excited about the possibilities this holds for relationship building, and hopefully some extra money to pay off bills etc.

Nate and I tagged team preached about a month ago, and at first thought I did not think I would like it, but it turned out it was really quite fun! It gave both of us a way to be involved and I dont know about Nate but I had fun preaching!

Harbour Wesleyan is gearing up for a summer ministry team coming in early August and I am trying to get arrangements ironed out for a VBS program for the kids of a low-income area. This is an area very close to where we are living now, and a place that I feel we need to be reaching out to, So I am excited to hopefuly see this VBS happen there!

nate and I will have been married for a YEAR in about a month and a half and I cant BELIEVE it!! Man does time ever fly when your having fun/sadness/adventures/new experiences/everything else that's happend to us this past year! I am so grateful for my Husband. He makes me smile.

Summer is here and I am looking forward to visits from family, friends, trips to new places that we have not seen since living on the Island, and lots more adventures!!

Well, thats as good an update as I can think of right now, and were getting busier at work, so I will end this here and will attempt to get pictures of our apartment up sometime soon (*cough* like maybe next month when all the boxes dissapear *cough*)

Fire! Fire! Fire!

2007-05-21T08:21:00.000-04:00

Well, this morning I got to see a real live fire up close and personal. Around 2am I woke up to the sight of about 5 different fire trucks lining our street.

two doors down from our house is a white house which no one has occupied for the last year or so, and, which at 2 this morning we realized was on fire!

The firefighters arrived and verified that no one was inside and then for the next few hours worked on putting out the flames and when I left for work at 6am it seemed to have been put out.

I was reminded this morning of how blessed and protected we are! that fire could have easily been in our home, but God spared us from the fire and from so many other things! I am grateful that it was not our home, I am grateful that there was no one living in that house, I am grateful that it did not spread, and I am grateful that God sent rain early this morning to help the firefighters put out the fire.

What are you grateful for this day?

The Facebook Song!!

2007-05-18T11:01:00.000-04:00

Mov'en on up...

2007-05-10T09:43:00.000-04:00

Well, the warmer weather has finally seemed to arrive and with it... moving season! This year hundreds of people will feel the need to pack, clean, pack, clean some more and eventually.... move! and amazingly enough... Nate and I will be one of them!

Thats right evryone! were officially moving.... about 3 killometers away! :0) Currently we are living in a one bedroom aprtment and are paying about 550 plus electricity per month. Now we are moving into an older home, we will have the main floor apartment, and be saving much money in our monthly bills. It is a nice two bedroom apartment on the main floor of the house. The kitchen is great... LOTS of cubbort (sp?) space and a REAL stove!! **you see in our apartment now, we only have an "apartment sized stove" and basically what that means, is you cut off about a third of the real stove size and you get my stove!**

The apartment on a whole is probably about the same size as our one bedroom that were in now, its just ordered differently to make it a two bedroom... I think its a better use of space. and... highlight of the day.... we have a TUB!!!! for the 8 months we have been in our current apartment, we have only had a box shower... and let me tell ya...it will be SOOO nice to be able to take a bath in my own shower!!

Our landlord is letting us move in the last week of the month, so hopefully around then we will have some pictures...you have my permission to get after me if you dont see those within the next few weeks! :0)

The apartment has a few great perks! There is definitly more cubbort space in the kitchen, and (*Horray!*) we will have a Full sized stove instead of an apartment sized! Anyway, more information on all of that to come!
talk to you all soon,
Jess

Note from Nate

2007-03-19T16:22:00.000-04:00

Yes, I, Nate Weaver, am indeed alive and well, for all those wondering. I am in Cape Breton with my beautiful wife, I just haven't updated the blog lately.

Interesting note concerning this: When I first went up to visit Jess's family I got sick. (Maybe it was from stress, but who knows.) Anyways, it was when we had planned to visit Jess's best friend, Melissa. I ended up staying in bed and Jess went alone. Needless to say, Melissa was convinced that there was no "boyfriend", but that Jess had made the whole thing up. However, I am real! I do not just live in the imagination of Jessica Weaver (or do I...).

So, things have been going well here. Jess mentioned I got my VISA back which was a huge praise. In addition to that, I got the results from my fingerprinting back from the States (I'm not a criminal! Yay!!!). It was the last thing I needed for my application packet for Permanent Residency. It is all sent in and now I just need to wait. Jess is VERY happy I have that completed.

I think someone wanted to know how I like Cape Breton? I enjoy what I know of Cape Breton, but I can't answer that question fully cause my view would solely be based on Sydney. Which, of course, is just one small part of the Island. I enjoy Sydney. I like to describe it as a city with a small-town atmosphere. It's nice, and so are the people. I can't wait till summer when I hear there are lots of events happening.

That is all I will write for now. I'll try and keep updated on what is going on.

-Nate

Trivia: The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called "aglets."

update

2007-02-27T17:55:00.000-04:00

...So, as you can see, Ive been lacking a little bit in updating this blog... But have no fear! we are still ailve and well! I am still working on the Vista contract... for now... things have been VERRY slow and the threat of being moved around seems to be looming. Already several agents have been moved to other less paying contracts. However, God has been amazing, and has kept me on the contract so far!

Nate is doing well, HUGE praise note... we recieved his visitors VISA extension in the mail a while ago and he is now leagally allowed to stay in Canada for 1 YEAR!! :D We are so excited!!

In other news, the church plant has started holding Sunday services in the Huttons livng room. Its great, it really feels like we are living the Acts 2 church all over again, and I for one am pumped to see what God will do with this generation in this place. I have started teaching sunday school and I am working together with Tammy and Michael and the team to come up with a plan for our children's ministry in the future. Nate is working on the newsletter every month and is pretty much the go-to guy for many odd projects.

Ok, well I dont want to make this too long or no one will read it... so come back agian and I'll write more! :0)

Oh the JOYS of life...

2007-02-05T22:22:00.000-04:00

well, here I sit at work practically bored out of my mind... ( you see I work at a call center and I have recently been switched to a new contract VISTA and it is really slow right now )
and so I thought to myself, what a good time to blog!!! :)

Ok, so here is the low down on me and Nate. We are both doing well, and having fun here in Sydney. HUGE praise report for those of you who have been asking... I met a FRIEND!! :) Ok, so I know that sounds really corney and sad, but it is really hard to move somewhere totally new, with no existing church group to welcome you in and make friends from!

Since moving here I have met lots of great people, but no one that is a born again christain that I have been able to really connect with. but the other day, all of that changed.... the other day, God intervened, the other day, I met Sweekar.

Sweekar is an awesome woman of God and I met her ... oddly enough while I was doing quality monitoring on her... (again, I mentioned I work at a call center, our calls are monitored, and for a while, I had the oportunity to be the one to monitor peoples calls.... so here we begin the story.. I was nervous.... about to listen to yet another strangers call and hoping they would not yell at me if I had some suggestions for improvement)

Sweekar is from the Middle East, and my experience with people from the middle east here told me that she might be a muslim, so I was being very careful to not offend. As we were begining to wait for her next call, she asked me what had brought me here..... again thinking she might be muslim, I didnt exactly know how to tell her I had come here to plant a Christian church, but I knew that I would eventually have to spit it out, so I told her, "I came her to work at a new chruch" upon hearing this, her reaction was "what kind of church? you mean like a Born - again church?" (side note, by this time in our short conversation, I was sweating buckets... and hoping desperatly that she was not noticing :) ) very cautiously, I replied ... "...yes"

And thats when it happened...a HUGE smile spread accross her face and she said "No Way! I am Born Again too!!" for the next five minutes, you would have thought we were long lost sisters finally re-uniting after long years of separation :)

We talked for a while that day, and I left feeling completly at peace, and feeling like God had provided the friend I had been praying for. I didnt see her for the next couple of days, but again, God provided, and a few days later, I saw her on the new VISTA floor. we talked for a little bit and then decided to get together that weekend...and the rest is history

I really just want to praise God for the way he provides for his kids. I felt like I was at the end of my rope and had no hope of finding someone who was my age and a christian, let alone someone that I actually clicked with, and well, let me just say that God doesnt just give you a small portion, but he showers his faithfulness in extravagence.

So I know this is not a complete update, but for now, I am going to end here. I want to end not on bills or struggles that are inevitable, but on the faithfulness and Greatness of my God!

Talk to you all soon
-Jess

Update

2007-01-23T16:28:00.000-04:00

Hmm...let's see, what has been going on in our lives? Well, we just finished a week of 24/7 prayer. That is, continual prayer 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It was great! A bunch of churches in the are came together to accomplish this. Sunday evening was our closing service and it focused a lot on what happened during the week and to further encourage the unity between churches.
This is something that I really think was a struggle in Cape Breton in the past and now God is helping bring His Church together here. Seeing Christians from many different denominations unite has been amazing and encouraging.
Jess is still working at Stream and I am still working on getting Permanent Residency. For those who don't know, we got a new car! Our truck was done. The frame snapped in half and we had to get something else. Oh well, God provided and now we are driving a bright blue Kia Rio. That is basically the gist of what's up. This weekend the team is going on 'retreat' to help better visualize our goals, who we are as a church, and who we are as individuals.

Nate

Bit o' Trivia: In the rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel", 'weasel' refers to a regular household iron which was commonly pawned ('popped') by factory workers to get Saturday night drinking money.

A Humble Psalm

2007-01-04T12:11:00.000-04:00

Lord, your glory far outshines the dawning of the sun;
your greatness is mightier than the ocean's waves.

Who am I to bow before your throne;
my mortal voice is unworthy to speak your name.

Forgive my sins, Lord,
cast them from me.

Open my heart to hear your words;
my mind to know your thoughts.

My mind wanders wherever it wills;
my heart yearns for things unholy.

Hear my plea, Lord,
listen to my cry for help.

I long to serve you with all my heart,
but my fleshly desires tear at me.

I long to do your bidding,
but my feet are led astray on worldly paths.

I long to do your work,
but my hands become preoccupied elsewhere.

I long to hear your voice,
but my mind is clouded with my own thoughts.

Come, wipe away the cobwebs of my thoughts;
clear away the chambers of my mind and fill them
with things of you.

Free my hands from meaningless work;
release them from things I know are unimportant.

Guide my feet back to your paths;
lead me in your will, Lord, and let me never wander
from it again.

Cleanse my heart so that it is yours completely;
refresh my soul so that it relishes in you.

I will put my trust in you,
for the world is untrustworthy;
I will call to you for strength,
for I am helpless and weak.

I cannot rely on myself,
I am but a wisp of smoke;
I am easily blown by the wind,
I can withstand nothing;
My life is brief,
here today and gone the next.

But you, Lord, are unshakable,
nothing can withstand you;
you will never perish,
you will reign forever;
I will rely on you,
for you are stronger than the mountains.

Strike the evilness that surrounds me;
tear away the wickedness in my life!

You alone are God,
worthy of all my praise;
I will place my life, my whole, in your hands.

-Anonymous

The life of a tentmaker

2006-12-21T14:03:00.000-04:00

Balancing act. When you are living the life of a tent maker you learn to be very good at the balancing act. You learn to handle work, home, office work, personal time, family time, bills, chores and even the broken down car that happened in the middle.

The life of a tent maker I have come to discover is not an easy life. I'm sure we all know that theoretically, but I have come to experience it. There have been days when I thought this life was much to hard to handle, and days where I questioned if in fact this type of lifestyle could really be Gods desire for someone. However, God never said our lives would be easy, but if we would remain faithful to him, he would provide what was needed.

Well, after 4 months of being and living in Sydney, God has been faithful and we have some good things to report! In the last few months, God has opened doors for conversations with people like I could have never imagined. One exciting example came when I was pulled off of the phones (I work in a call center) by my supervisor to talk about the differences between her faith (Catholicism) and mine. The conversation lasted roughly an hour and there is the hope of more to come.

A few days later, I had a conversation with one of the people I work with about what religion is, and whether or not there are significant differences between denominations. Another day some co-workers and I talked about what constituted church, and yet another day I was able to pray with a co-worker. The doors here seem to have been blown wide open with people being very open and honest with me. I have been blessed to have made some good friends who have allowed me their respect and now are open to discussing many topics together.

Thinking now over the joys and struggles of church planting and tent making, the balancing act is not always easy, and there are days of feeling discouraged. I don't deny that its difficult, but the reward far exceeds the cost. I'll take being tired any day of the week if the reward is seeing someone come a little closer to Jesus, to making him Lord of their life. We can do ALL things through Christ who gives us the strength, so lets stand up in his strength and allow him to continue using us to daily influence people for all eternity.

-Jess

Merry Dissatisfaction

2006-12-19T09:13:00.000-04:00

Christmas is said to be, expressed to be a wonderful holiday wherin we all realize how blessed and happy we are. And yet, this is not the expression found within our culture, and if we are not careful, within us.

Our culture uses this holiday to create a self-centered, all for me, its never enough mindset, and they have almost succeeded in convincing the entire population that this mindset is normal. They have almost won us all over to thinking that we dont have enough, what we have is not good enough, we would only be happy if we had what sarah had, or what Don had, or what mary had...

Speaking of Mary...

1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

...Lets take some time this Christmas season to remind ourselves that Christmas is not about dissatisfaction, not about what we have or what others have, or how much we have. It is a time when we are reminded of a gift so precious, so perfect. A gift that would love us, protect us, teach us, guard us, and above all save us.

Given what we've already recieved, is there really anything else that one could ask for this Christmas?

-Jess

The Real World

2006-12-12T11:03:00.000-04:00

What is "the real world"?

Is it a big house with a yard and kids in the back?
Is it a fancy car with all the extras?

No.

So what is "the real world"?

Is it being surrounded by people who believe what you do?
aligning yourself with them and them alone?

No.

We have in the christian culture, decided that the real world is a "cushy, expensive, everyone comes to me place where we dont work for anything, but miraculously because we are chrisitans, everything will naturally fall into our laps" world.

But that is not the real world. The real world is hard and ugly.

A few days ago, a woman appeared on the steps of the church plant door. An older woman who very quickly expressed to us that she was cold and hungry and if we did not do something for her, she would die. She was not what one would call a "desirable woman" she was dirty, and haggard with hair falling out in clumps. She wasn't polite or socially exceptable

That night she explained to us her situation, and we told her what we could do for her and near the end of the conversation, Catherine, in her 6 year old wonder, saw past the ugly, crass exterior and joyfully brought her piggy bank downstairs to do all she could to bless this woman. The piggy bank was opened, dumped out, and the contents lovingly given to our guest.

The real world is full of the "un-lovable", the undesirable people of the world, the people that make you cringe and who do and say things that are uncomfortable. People who are dirty and badly dressed. who smell and have teeth missing.

The real world is not a ralley with hundreds coming to Christ, rather it is having one conversation with one person in a month about why God allows bad things to happen to good people. The real world is answering simple questions so that later you may have the right to ask deeper questions. People will not hand their trust to you on a platter, but they will let you earn your way in, allowing you a piece today, and a peice tomorrow.

That is what the REAL world looks like

Oh Happy Day!

2006-11-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

Criminy, I still can't think of creative titles. Oh, well. I was so excited about having our new blog up that I decided I couldn't wait to post some pictures. So, here they are:

Ok, so we only had our photographer take pictures of the ceremony and I can't figure how to get those on here yet. Therefore, you get the after-the-wedding pictures! This is...a kiss...basically it speaks for itself.

Here Jess and I are cutting the cake. I could have put a picture of us feeding each other the cake ...but I didn't. You'll just have to imagine what it looked like.

I just decided that I will put more pictures up when I can get our official ones on. So enjoy these two for now and remember, the best is yet to come...

-Nate

Interesting tidbit: The famous London Bridge is now located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

Because I can't think of a creative title, this shall be called, "Wedding"

2006-11-29T10:51:00.000-04:00

So, our very first post (well mine anyway) is about a very important thing. Jess and I are married. Yup, that is right...married! And let me tell you it is great. So anyway, just trying this thing out. Pictures of the wedding to come!

-Nate

Interesting tidbit: It is actually three months after our wedding. That tells how good we have been in getting this thing started.