Congrats to our graduates!

Congratulations to our graduates!

Lynn and I are celebrating both Joel Currie's and Allison Erskine's graduation this year. But, unfortunately, we did not make it down to Delaware to see Allison walk. We do not have pictures of her, but she is fabulously beautiful and very accomplished. She's really quite wonderful and we miss her a lot.

We did see Joel walk, so here a few pictures...


(Joel and Sarah)


(Joel sang lead in "We're here for a good time" by Trooper)


(The fam)


(The fam now including Robbie!)

Another update :)

1. I led worship at our baptist associations ladies retreat last weekend and it was awesome. What an opportunity! Leading worship is such a "dream job". It's like, "Hi, can you come and usher in the presence of the Lord and watch as He does wonderful things in our midst?" ..."Okay!"

2. Lynn stayed home (he wasn't exactly invited to the Ladies retreat...)and partook of a beautiful service at our church. The Lord spoke to Pastor Peter that He was going to heal some particular people in the congregation of some particular things, and a beautiful healing service opened up with God ministering to many. There are some beautiful testimonies of some people getting healed in the Lord's grace.

3. I spent a wonderful few days with Joy Green on Grand Manan Island. We had a blast and talked nonstop for days :) I also chopped my hair off, which I have been waiting to do for ages, and it felt sooo good!



4. Last evening, Sunday the 17th, we had our choir concert of praise! It was the finale for our choir this spring and they did such a fantastic job! Lynn is so gifted at drawing out their strengths and pushing them to go beyond where they think they can. It was awesome!



5. This Wednesday morning, Lynn and I are leaving for my brother Joel's high school graduation in Moncton. We are taking some vacation days to spend with the family and are very excited to see my (one of my...) studly, talented, amazing brother achieve such an awesome accomplishment. Yeah for Joel!!!



6. We have not been blogging about this, but Lynn and I have encountered a situation that is resulting in something very sad... We are losing our house. As a first time home buyer, you can carry your RSP's over for your downpayment. Lynn and I had two substancial RSP's, personal and through the Wesleyan Church. We were under the understanding that we could consolidate them and use the money towards our downpayment. The transfer took about two months and our banker changed in the midst of the process. The new banker called us when the transfer was completed and we found out we had more than we needed in funds. However, we were then informed that the pension plan through the Wesleyan church was the one kind that we are not allowed to touch until we're 55 :) We have all this money set aside for retirement, but we don't have any (or very little) for right now! We have been working on other options but none are satisfactory. We do not know what this means or where we will live. We are very sad and have been heart broken through this process. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months and what the Lord has up His sleeve...

Continue to pray for us!

Natasha

Memories

As Tasha got on the Grand Manan V on Tuesday, I decided to walk around the side of the dock and watch the crew prepare to head to the island. I glanced at the boat and was stopped by the open deck on the top of the ferry. I was facing the very place on the Grand Manan V that was the breaking point (or, making point, rather) for Tasha and me. For those on BBC Chorale that year, you'll remember that Tasha and I both went to the upper deck to stare at the sunset. We weren't speaking because we were both confused and a little hurt, secretly madly in love with each other. (There's an imfamous picture in our home stuff to document this if you ever visit.) Suddently, Elizabeth was to my right, and she hip-checked me in Tasha's direction. We all talked for awhile, but Tasha and I eventually talked again and sorted through our (mostly my) emotions. There's something about that November weekend that was pivotal for where we are today. Staring at the spot on the upper deck of Grand Manan V this Tuesday has brought on a flood of feelings, thoughts, and gratitude for where we are today.

Today marks exactly one year from the first time Tasha and I came to Truro for our first interview with IBC. On Sunday, it will be a year from the time we attended our first service here and in which I perceived the Lord in a pillar of cloud right in front of Pastor Peter. The Lord still moves powerfully before us here! (Our spontaneous healing service has resulted in at least two miraculous healings literally on the spot, and that's just one small part of what happened among our fellowship this past weekend!)

Odd question...

Okay... bikini's or no bikini's?

I'd like both male and female opinions regarding the appropriateness of Christian women/girls wearing bikini's.

What do you think?

(Natasha)

Another (long) update.

May has been super busy!

1. Lynn turned 26! Yeah for Lynn! He's now officially old :). Myself and the Chute family pulled together a surprise birthday party for him. I babysat the two boys earlier that week, and we had a blast making decorations and planning a rather elaborate treasure hunt where we hid all the gifts in the dryer and had SEVERAL clues leading up to finding them :) What a blast! (You can see pictures of the event in one of the picture trails below.)

2. We enjoyed an all day prayer vigil at our church for God's guidance as we continue to investigate a possible building expansion. What a beautiful day in the presence of the Lord! We trust in his continued guidance as our church continues to grow.

3. We concluded our semester with Cantabile Singers with a finale Broadway Dinner Theatre. It was so much fun! We each had unique and creative costumes, but concluded the evening with our third set of songs in black tuxedos and formal dresses. It was long, exhausting, and wonderful!

(Lynn and I sang "Summer Nights" from Greece as one of the ensemble numbers. During rehearsal, our director, Ross, said, "Lynn, can you please be a little more raunchy?" Off stage at the performance, the other choir members were calling him "Raunchy Reverend"!)

4. Lynn and I received dreadful news as our financial plans for the house took an unexpected twist. We are still waiting on the Lord as He continues to minister to us, growing us into a family that is secure and content in Him, no matter what we have. It has been an amazing journey as we continue to hold God's promises in our heart, but seem to face obstacle after obstacle in regard to our house. He seems to be speaking into my heart, "I promised you blessings, but I AM your security. Rest in me today and I will provide for tomorrow."

In the midst of this trial of trusting, God keeps dropping hints of blessing in our lap. We unexpectedly received a washer and dryer, which are two of the three appliances we need for our home! They are good models and in good condition - the right size and everything for what we need! Also, some of our friends said they were convicted of the Lord about how much stuff they have and thought they might be able to give us some of their furniture! They are not at all bound if they happen to change their mind, but God is speaking to us through all of these acts of blessing.

Father make us trusters and givers, content to have our basic needs met, and then to bless others!

5. I am preparing to lead worship this weekend for our Baptist Association's Ladies Retreat. We convene at Camp Pagweak Friday night for a weekend with the Lord! There is much anticipation in my spirit; but I am also aware of unknown territory... I am praying for favor and grace as we gather from different backgrounds and are familiar with different songs of worship... I know God will unite us and far exceed my expectation of faithfulness and anointing on such a weekend. My experience with these women so far tells me that there is little I'll have to do to actually lead! They are very eager and hungry for the Lord!

Lynn and I continue to grow as we adjust to being out on our own, serving in ministry for the first time, in a new place, new denomination, and with new people. We are blessed beyond measure by our senior pastor and staff, and gracious congregation.

We love you all family and friends!

For Fun

Here are some more pictures to enjoy.

Lynn's Birthday Weekend

We just thought we'd share some of last weekend with everyone....

My thing.

I am a very passionate person, but tend to keep that passion under pretty tight reigns... when I can. However, there often comes a day when I encounter the thing... and suddenly passion begins to take over...

Life is moving along, there are dishes in the sink, the floor is filthy, my bathroom is filthy, and drying laundry is draped all over the house... no problem. We are having some financial stresses and have some uncertainties regarding the future... we're still okay... but then, out of the blue, there comes that one thing that pushes me over the edge. It's that one thing that makes me say, "Okay, that's enough! Lord, it's time to intervene!"

Right now I have a thing. It's the toilet. For some reason, I am incapable of flushing our toilet. I seemed to flush it fine from January through April, but the past few weeks, I find myself incapable of flushing the toilet. I'd like to think that it's not me, that it's a recent problem developing with the toilet flusher... but no. Every time I flush it makes a water-swishing sound and then... nothing. Lynn however, can come in the bathroom, press the flusher, and all is well. But no, not me. I am incapable of flushing the toilet. The worst part about the whole thing, is if it doesn't work the first time, then it takes another half hour to refill so I can try again. What am I supposed to do? wait for a half hour just to flush the toilet? or leave the toilet unflushed hoping that no one needs to use the washroom within a half hour, if I even remember to come back to it?

The long and short of it is, the toilet's flushing abilities have little if anything to do with it. It jut happens to be my thing right now. I've always remembered one of Pastor Kevin Matthews sermons at Moncton Wesleyan that talked about this. I don't actually remember any real spiritual content of the message; but I've always remembered that if Pastor Kevin has had a bad day and comes home from work and walks into the kitchen and one of the kitchen cupboard doors is open, then he loses it. He just can't stand when the cupboard doors are left open. But it's not really about the cupboard doors, it's about everthing else that happened earlier in his day.

So what do you think? Do you have a thing?

(Natasha)

My thing is not always a toilet problem... hopefully they're too rare to consistently manifest themselves in a season of distress...

Fences

Last night at SOAK, we talked about building fences (or boundaries) in relationships. Someone brought up an interesting point that got me thinking. Someone mentioned we are often too quick to put up a boundary with someone when we feel hurt by them. We feel hurt, so we begin to write that person off as a friend, sometimes calling them a "toxic" person. Often we need to realize that our boundary for someone is often put up, in such a situation, because of ourselves. We have a feeling, we took offense, or we wrote the person off, indicating that we have a problem.

Here's where my thinking begins. While you don't have the context of the conversation, hopefully you get the point above. We have problems, and we blame other people or other circumstances. (Maybe I should just say "I" here, but I doubt I'm alone on this.) Someone hurts us by hitting on a nerve we don't want to face, so we shut them out. The problem? My nerve. Or we begin to hold someone at a distance for fear that we might be hurt or they might not be a friend. The problem? My fear. Or even worse, we set up a boundary because someone's action or involvement in our lives uncovers an area in which we don't trust someone close to us. The problem? Either my mistrust or the problems of someone close to me that I don't want to face.

I have a few family members who say to each other in disagreement, "That sounds like your problem," if one or the other says, "You make me mad," or, "That was a hurtful thing to say." While I don't agree that a person has no responsibility for my feelings, I do think we are entirely too quick not to take responsibility for ourselves in our relationships. If we hurt someone, we often point to people in our past (or present), events in our past (or present), or circumstances in our past (or present) in order to provide a "reason" why we act the way we do. We're caught up in the "I can't help it" game just to save ourselves and/or our reputations. Rather than admit we have room to grow and allow someone close to us to help us through it, we push the problem on them, on our past, or on some factor in our present that renders us "helpless" to do anything but behave poorly or set up a fence too quickly. We make it inconceivable that we have any room to grow because that would make us capable of hurting another person and responsible for contributing to a relationship problem.

Let's face two things here: 1) Sometimes boundaries do need to be established, but we are quick to do that in order to protect ourselves rather than to work through something, and 2) We're human! That's right, human. In other words, we aren't going to have perfect relationships, and we're going to hurt and be hurt. Even very godly people who love each other can hurt and be hurt. Even "free" people who seemingly have "arrived" at a place in which they have no human foibles anymore are subject to miscommunication and misunderstanding, meaning that hurt is still possible. We are so quick to protect ourselves by building fences that demand grace be given to us for our past, our present, etc., but we rarely extend the grace to other people to consider their past, their present, etc. And we almost never acknowledge misunderstanding.

Two closing remarks:

1) In light of this, it seems, then, that we should work harder in our relationships not to hold people at a distance. We should bring people closer, taking the risk that hurt brings. After all, Proverbs tells us that a wound from a friend can be trusted. In other words, if someone loves us, they probably don't intend harm if they wound us. They're probably the ones who can help us work through it.

2) Sometimes boundaries really are necessary, but it's probably not a good idea to set one up until you've tried to work on a relationship through honesty among all parties. Once you've accepted your responsibility and brought that to the Lord to release offense/bitterness and/or unforgiveness, there remains a time of openness and honesty with the offender. If the offender chooses blindness and won't accept the possibility of shared responsibility, then it seems a boundary has already been drawn by that person. I'm not saying I'm 100% right on this, but it seems, at that point, that this is a good time to start building and painting that fence.

(Lynn)

Another one...

 

We're still missing our family. ;) Here's another one we wanted to share.

Missing...

We miss our niece and nephew!

Sketchy

There's a sketchy part of town off Brunswick St. that has scrap metal piled high and dirt all over the place. If you drive into downtown from the east side, you can't miss the eyesore, which happens to be close to the air force building that is in need of repair. This area is, of course, just off the railroad tracks, where several people are known to walk alone at night. As if that weren't sketchy enough, carnival rides and booths recently started being erected in the parking lot by the air force building, with the scrap metal pile in the background. Driving through there at dusk earlier this week, I couldn't help but take a second glance to see if any "carnies" would peek out from behind the ferris wheel or tilt-a-whirl.

Blessed!

Well, what can we say!? The Lord looks out for His own :)

Lynn and I went to the grocery store on Tuesday in fear and trepidation :) (Not really... I'm usually more afraid than Lynn!)

We were having family for company and were in much need of groceries... so off we went. We had a little difficulty at the cash, but lo and behold, we walked out with our groceries, ready to host our dearly loved family members!

When my cousin, her husband, and their nephew arrived just before 7:00 pm to stay for the night, we thought we were receiving a blessing of family fellowship. This we did receive, but also more! Steven, my cousin's husband, is the head chef at a restaurant on PEI. He has several contacts in the food industry and gets all his meats on special deals. As he was bringing in their luggage, they dragged in a big, blue cooler. They opened it up and presented to us a truckload (not really...) of meat! There were ribs, haddock, lobster (still alive!), and scallops galore! Steven then preceded to host us in our "own" home and we ate lobster and scallops for a late supper/snack :)

Isn't that wonderful! We had a surprise visit from our family and a surprise blessing of provision from the Lord!

What can I say? We're blessed!

Mothers

Neither of us is a mother, but we have lots of friends who are! We've sent congrats to our moms and will probably call them today, too. For our "mother" friends who check this today, be blessed and Happy Mother's Day!

FYI

Well, for your information, my personal blog is now open for anyone to read and comment.

www.natasha-erskine.blogspot.com

Natasha

Why I Blog Infrequently

A new post is better than commenting on Natasha's post below, particularly since we are sharing about two different topics.

Contrary to popular rumors, I check our blog frequently. I actually spend time reading it regularly. I have two excuses for not posting more frequently:

1) Natasha often posts, and I see little need to have two posts per day on a regular basis. She often posts about things we discuss, and I rarely have a better way of writing what she expresses. We think more alike all the time.

2) I post infrequently for the same reason I suspect many people we know post infrequently. We tend to think of good blogging ideas at inopportune times. Let's not lie; I forget what I want to write. I'm no less opinionated. I just exercise good time management at work (meaning I rarely open our blog there); I like staying active in the community (meaning I don't take my blog with me everywhere I go); and I can't remember everything I think or do in the run of a day or week. :)

There you have it.

A question.

(Editorial insert from Lynn: "Turnips" are now on recipe blog.)

I have a question. Please respond if you legitimately have an opinion.

Should I open up my other blog, a more personal journal, to be read publicly?

Here's the thing... I canceled my other blog ages ago because I found it difficult to balance sharing the private thoughts of my heart with "fellowshipping" casually among friends in this world of blogdom. I needed a outlet while I was on my internship, and thus started a blog... but didn't realize my own susceptibility to the comparisons that can easily take place when we begin sharing personal things about our journey with the Lord, etc on our blogs.

I then joined Lynn's blog - this blog - which He in turn transformed into a romantic expression of our oneness as only he would... However, now I find that He rarely blogs, I often blog, and comments are made mostly by the same females who had commented on my previous blog! So what have I accomplished in changing over to this blog? ...very little.

The problem is... I really enjoy sharing my thoughts with you. The Lord is often leading me to write and it burns within me to share... So I opened a new blog as my own personal journal that is not opened to anyone to read except Lynn. I have tried to keep this one more casual and focused on the happenings of mine and Lynn's life, a casual opportunity to keep in touch with friends. However, I still find myself sharing personal things on this blog because I really want to share. Sometimes I write in my other blog and its everything I can do not to copy and paste into this one where people can read it and share their thoughts...

Here's what I'm thinking... Keep this blog a family blog for Lynn and I (hopefully he will blog more...) and open up my other blog to be read by others... (though I may not allow for comments yet only because of my own susceptibility to get caught up in what you think...)


Does anyone else struggle with the line between personal journaling and casually keeping in contact with people? Does anyone else feel the susceptibility to compare your posts to someone else's? as though one could be more "spiritual" or better than another?

Weekend update.

Last weekend was extremely busy... and extremely rewarding!

Saturday, Lynn led our 2nd quarterly Worship Workshop, which was once again... fabulous. It started at 9:00 am and finished at 3:00 pm. This time we discussed such topics as Worship and Performance, Worship as Service and Obedience, the Function and Practice of Worship Teams, and Songwriting. We always begin with a time of worship (a setting where Lynn has a little more freedom to introduce new songs and new styles of worship); followed by a time of testimony and discussion concerning the positive aspects as well as the distractions during that time. So far, we have had small numbers, which has made for very intimate times with the Lord and one another! So good!
(Seeing Lynn in this role births so many visions in my heart. He is so excellent at bringing people together and learning about the Lord. God has blessed him with the anointing and gracious spirit that compels others to seek, ask, and knock... and of course find, and receive! Praise the Lord!)

Sunday morning was my (Natasha's) first time preaching here at Immanuel. It went well; though it was a humbling and stretching experience for me. I have "long" since settled my arguments with the Lord concerning my call to teach the Word of God; and now face the enduring hard work of obedience down the road ahead... I am incapable of such a life, nor would I ever have chosen it. But if I remain in Him and He in me, I will bear much fruit; apart from Him I can do nothing (John 15:5).

Sunday after church, Lynn and I left just ahead of our choir to New Beginnings Church in Dartmouth, NS as the guest choir and speaker (Lynn) for their Anniversary Service. This is a black church in our Baptist convention with which we are building a strong family and musical relationship. The evening was full of joy and excitement as we celebrated together, black and white, in many different styles, in the presence of the Lord, for the faithfulness of God. We sang, ate, and listened to a powerful message Lynn spoke on Jeremiah 29:11. We also ate and drank of the Lord amidst the fellowship of believers. "Poor" Lynn wore many hats that day as he played, sang, directed, and preached... jumping from one position to the next! But it was so worth it for the fellowship we shared and the impact this experience had on our choir.

As the cherry on the cake... (except no one even likes cherries, so why do we use that expression? It should be more like the yummy and decorative chocolate shavings...) we spent the rest of Sunday evening with the wonderful Wiedmaiers until we were kicked out of Starbucks, and then until our toes were numb from the cold pavement of the parking lot...

So life is good and God is great!
Praise His Holy Name!

A Miracle.

Yesterday, we saw a miracle. For the second time, our computer just died. It all of a sudden just wouldn't turn on. We had paid to have it fixed not too long ago and we have no more money to put into a computer right now. Lynn also had Greek homework due last night and thus needed the Bible study software and resources on this computer. So we prayed...

While Lynn was at work I said, "Lord, this is just not okay. It is, actually, unacceptable. You know we need this computer and we don't have the time or finances to make this thing work. For the sake of you Name, Lord, fix this computer!"

Lynn came home a few hours later and tried the computer. It didn't work. We said, "Lord there are no if's, and's, or but's about this one. You just need to make this work."

Lo and behold... it turned on!

We weren't yelling at God or wielding some manipulative power over Him. We just knew His will and this broken computer was not matching up with His will. So we boldly declared it to be fixed and God did it. We were so blessed by this miracle and immediately praised the Lord. He was with us! He heard our prayer and answered it immediately. Praise His holy, gracious Name!!

This has helped build our faith for the many things we are believing God for right now! In particular, the finances for our home, and the right job for me.

"Did I not say that if you will believe Me, you will see the glory of God!" John 11:40

Laughs.

You guys are awesome :). Your comments about babies and recipes were really very funny... Both will come soon enough (though hopefully recipes sooner than the other!).

For now, I would appreciate your prayers as I am looking for a job. I feel as though God has released something in me after graduation... I really want a job in the community where I can build relationships (and settle down... start a family...). There is a women's federal prison in town and I would love to work there!!! Can you imagine being a chaplain or something in a place like that!? Would they even let me talk about Jesus? And if they didn't... would I anyway!?

Anyway... who knows what the next few months will hold. My prayer is "Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness... make straight your way before me... For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield" (Psalm 5:8, 12). The Lord brought me to these verses just prior to grad and then used the commencement sermon as confirmation (it was all about walking with God's favor). This is an act of discipline for me to not worry about how we're going to pay for our house, etc... and scrounge around in all sorts of directions looking for a job. But to keep walking straight ahead, not looking to the left or the right, and believing God to orchestrate divine appointments and lead us in the straight path of righteousness for His Name's sake.

So I am walking into the blessings of God, living by faith and not by sight! Here is my next season... A season of Life and community relationships, a season of radiating the dark corners of Truro with the glorious light of Christ...

Bring it!

(Natasha)

Fini.

Well, it's official... I'M GRADUATED!!!

It has been quite a journey! Thank you to everyone who came to graduation, sent cards, gifts, or supported in prayer and encouragement!

This season of life is officially closed. On to the next! (Which is what?!)

Natasha

Interesting Week

Tasha told me to blog a couple of days ago, which I neglected to do in all the week's activity. I'll get to Saturday and Sunday nights in a moment. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all days in which I left at 9:00 a.m. and got home long after 9:00 p.m. every day. There were only two days "in the office" this week, so I scrambled. This is also the second Music Festival week, so I'm doing a lot of accompanying. Add Matt's birthday to the mix, and you've got a lot going on. And I'm sleeping well as a result - so good!

Saturday: Tasha's brother Joel was in West Side Story, so we drove up to see the family and the show. What Tasha didn't know is that her sister and family flew up to surprise her for her graduation (this coming weekend). They came a week early so they could also catch the show. I was in the loop so that we could get us in the right place at the right time. After a fairly decent argument over switching the date of our trip from Friday (planned for me before I knew about Melissa) to Saturday (an awful day for me, but now I knew about Melissa), we began to plan. (Fortunately, Tasha's grandmother, who also knew about the surprise, convinced the family to plan our family night for Saturday, regardless of our original Friday plans.) I couldn't convince Tasha to pack anything because she wanted to come back home for church. After exhausting all of my plans, I prayed, "Lord, you know she's going to want to stay. You need to handle this." He did. Less than ten minutes after that prayer, Tasha called me in to the room and said, "You know, I think I should pack for the week in case I choose to stay with the family." Good thing!

Sunday: I got home at 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning after the show (in which Joel was GREAT!). I got up early, went to the church, and had a fairly normal Sunday. I arrived home that night at about 9:30 p.m., put all my things on the table, and received a phone message from Tasha. I thought, "Okay, I'll take out the recycling so I don't forget, come back in, and call Tasha back." Grabbing the recycling that was still in the house, I headed for the garage to retrieve the rest. Out of habit, I reached behind me and locked the door. As soon as the door shut I thought, "I just locked that." I checked, and sure enough I locked myself out of the house. I checked every window and was chagrined to discover my thoroughness in locking the house down for added security (we're sitting). There wasn't ANY way to sneak in. Neither was there any spare tool or implement in the garage small enough to pick a lock. I grabbed a crowbar at one point, ready to break in at any cost. Instead, I walked down to the Mini-Mart to call a locksmith (now about 10:45 p.m.). No one would come. He told me to break a window, and he'd come fix it in the morning. That call ended quickly. I started walking back home to the crowbar when it hit me: Micah and Jody would be awake! I walked up the hill to their house (with the wind in my face!) and crashed on their couch till the morning. Eventually, a man 40 minutes from my home came to let me in. I was in by 9:30 a.m., showered, and rushed out the door to accompany at 10:00 a.m. Guess how high my blood pressure was?

Recipe Inactivty.

I just responded to two comments on our last post referencing the inactivity on our recipe blog as of late. I thought I'd write a short post about it.

Lynn and I have a recipe blog. We have never been very active at posting new recipes on this blog; but our activity has apparently decreased even more as of late. The reason is this:

Lynn and I (moreso the "I") are out of sorts in our current kitchen. We are still house sitting because, as we've already mentioned, we bought a house but don't close until the end of June. The house we are sitting is lovely, but I find it especially difficult adjusting to someone else's kitchen, kitchen tools, and recipe books. I've never actually looked in her recipe books, though we don't have ours either...

Also, Lynn and I are conserving as much of our budget as possible due to house expenses. Therefore, most of our creative meals involve canned tuna in one form or another... We've actually really enjoyed it and are perfectly willing to post about our cheap, creative, canned tuna meals. (Lynn made one out of the very random ingredients in our kitchen one day that tasted delicious but looked like something too gross to write on this blog...)

One of our favorite benefits to house sitting thus far has been the George Foreman Grill! I don't know what we're going to do without it when we move!! We highly recommend it!

Anyway, we'll be sure to post more recipes, though they may be interesting, within the next little while!

(Natasha)

Repetition.

I read the most amazing thing the other day about repetition. It wasn't really about repetition; it was actually about joy. It is found in John Ortberg's book, "The Life You've Always Wanted".

Ortberg quotes G.K. Chesterton in regard to children and there innate ability to do the same thing over and over again with the same amount of enthusiasm:

"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again'; and the grown up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, but our Father is younger than we."

Isn't it refreshing to remember that God is the most joyful being in all creation!? Can't you just picture Him exulting in the sun's glory every morning? Many of us would sit and describe how the universe moves and how the earth circulates around the sun, thus causing the impression that the sun rises and falls, when in reality, the earth is just spinning on its orbit... God set things in motion and now it moves on its own.

Truth be told, we can find just as much joy and creativity in the Lord by studying science. I have great respect for those who worship through such scientific research and study. But I also love being a child! When I wake in the morning, I love it when God says, "Good morning, my child!! It's about time you woke up! See, I have risen the sun again today! Today, all creation sings praise to My Name! Today, the Son is glorified once more because His mercies are new again today!! Today, the wind of My Spirit will blow to and fro and no one will know where it is going or where it will stop. Are you ready to come on another adventure with me today, My child? An adventure into the wonders and mysteries of God?"

There are so many facets to my God; but I think His joy is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, though, it may be the one characteristic that goes most easily unseen...

God show us Your boundless joy and the truth of Your Word that says, "the joy of the Lord is my strength"!!

(Natasha)

PMS

Okay, we're in a fun coffee shop in town right now having a spontaneous date. We're sitting on the couch by a real fireplace made faux for safety codes. A pew is across the coffee table from us. That's right, a pew. Who said pews are irrelevant? They're totally here in one of the coolest spots in the province. (Seriously - the place has a reputation.) We came here for Maple Tea, which, of course, the "other" cafe has. (There are two of these in town.) Bleh. So, I went with coffee and honey. Tash is having honey and ginger.

Is this the most boring post you've read in awhile? Likely. There's little content. The last time we did a "little content" post, we received more comments than ever. What does that say about us? Or about you? :)

Happy Easter!!!

Good morning and Happy Easter everyone!!!
The most amazing thing happened this morning... Our early church service was canceled on Easter Sunday due to the huge snow snowstorm we received last night!!! Many of you may be in a similar boat; but isn't it just absurd?!

Anyway, snow or no snow, service or no service, hallelujah! Christ is risen, Christ is risen indeed!

With love,
Lynn & Natasha


(Easter morning 2007 out our front window - good thing we don't get mail today!)

(We woke up to the sound of birds who will not be bathing and neighbors who will not be driving.)

Politeness.

There are many unique characteristics of our little town, Truro. Lynn and I are discovering them more and more as we become accustomed to the culture and traditions here. Though I would love to tell you about the many unique tree sculptures, or the interesting history and religious traditions of the town, I will save those for another day. Today, I'm going to talk about "politeness".

What is politeness? It refers to the mannerly behaviors of a community, in healthy relation to one another. Though my perspective is limited, I have observed this to be a very high value in the town of Truro. Being historically part of a "Bible Belt" area, it has strong roots in religious traditions (there I go talking about it...). Over the years, however, as our pagan nation has grown and developed, the town has evolved in its pagan culture. Thus, we live in a pagan community rooted in religious values and traditions. The result is politeness.

Here is an example of the complex pagan/religious culture of Truro:
Driving along, one will undoubtedly come to a four-way stop intersection. These are very common in Truro. Often, when coming upon these intersections, one will encounter some other Truronian in opposing root. Being a very polite community, whoever arrives to a complete stop first, graciously waves the other to go ahead first as if to say, "No, please, go ahead." The other, however, will respond likewise, "No please, you go ahead." After several of these interchanges, eventually one does move forward.

These exchanges are quite common, and frankly, irritating when traveling through town. Lynn and I have often thought, "This is getting dangerous!" The other day, I arrived to a complete stop at one of these four way intersections at (what appeared to me to be) the same time as three other cars, each at another stop. No one moved ahead right away, so I thought, "Okay, I'll go." I moved forward into my left turn (blinker clearly on!), when the car opposite me began moving straight ahead (as in directly i to me). I stopped and nodded apologietically while the other moved on through. I then continued my turn only to find that the car I was coming up alongside at my left was giving me "the finger" and swearing at me! I thought, "This is absurd!"

The poor man in the car is NOT an accurate reflection of our friendly fellow Truronians. However, it seemed so ironic to me. Somehow, the value of politeness in town was not upheld by me moving ahead first. Then, however, it was appropriate to cuss? ...interesting.

So what do you think of politeness?

(Natasha)

I Have It Good

I'm sure you can pardon the slangy title for such a sweet post. It just wouldn't do for me to go to bed tonight without letting you know how good I have it.

We left church today and drove over to our house to see whether the "SOLD" sign went up yet. (As far as we know, we met our end of the conditions on Friday.) As we were leaving for our drive, Natasha let me know she had been scheming and invited me out on a spontaneous date. She had obviously put a lot of thought into it because she had planned a movie (knew where it was playing and the times) and a relaxed afternoon in the city. We saw our house and left immediately on our date. We walked around a little, dreamed about the house a lot, talked about Jesus the whole ride down, had Quiznos and Starbucks, watched "Amazing Grace" (not bad at all), and loved each other.

It's been a hectic several weeks. I know several wives and husbands who would not reward such a busy time with a sweet, lovely, spontaneous date. Among the many reasons I am blessed, one of the most significant is my wife, who selflessly allowed me to run amok for three weeks and still thought to plan a day just for the two of us - exactly what I (or, I suspect, we) needed. She should teach "wife" seminars. :)

Another update.

Lynn and I are currently experiencing an extremely busy season in Truro! A few of the things we're involved in this week are:

• There are the regular Palm Sunday and Easter preparations that any worship pastor must undertake.
  
• Lynn and I are also involved in Cantabile Choir, as we've mentioned. We have a large concert, joined with the First United Church, this Saturday night.
• After Lynn's accompanying "debut" with Contabile (mentioned in a previous post), word quickly spread throughout the town of his accompanying skills. He is now accompanying for many vocal students in the Music Festival, taking place this weak. (I am also observing as many classes as possible since I will possibly be taking over someone's vocal studio in the Fall.)
• Last, but not least, we are trying to meet the last conditions for our house! I am meeting with the house inspector today to go through the house. The end is in sight!

We are so enjoying these various events, and the connections we've been able to make in the community; but we're also adjusting to the high demand of time and energy!

(Personal update - Natasha)
In the midst of all our recent activities, I stubbornly began wrestling again with questions like, "What is my role?" God has been so good to me, and I walk into new ministering opportunities every day; but still my heart grew weary last week and I felt discouraged. I said to the Lord, "I know I am to be content in You, but how long, O Lord! Must I still wait when it feels so strongly like the time is now!!!??"

Within two days I received an email and had a phone call from two loving friends (Ang and Liz). They so encouraged me. My heart was once again grounded in my faith and trust as a child of God.

The next afternoon, within a span of two hours, I was called on to officiate a funeral this Friday, I was asked to preach at our home church May 6th, and asked to preach at a fellow Baptist church in Halifax. I also still have two women's conferences coming up for which I've been invited as worship leader and guest soloist. Also, I recently taught a session in Lynn's worship workshop where I "released" so much of what the Spirit had deposited in my heart. It was rather powerful and broke into a powerful prayer session. One of our church leaders who was there immediately began planning a women's conference at our home church since we have "our own Beth Moore right here" she said :)

I share this because I am overwhelmed by my God. He loves me so much!!! There is no pride in what I do because it is not me who does it! My rest and freedom comes in that I cannot take the credit or the blame for anything I do in His name. Yet, He allows me to walk in the power and strength of His Spirit. He promised me that if I delight myself in Him and rest in His nature, if I "commit my [way] unto the Lord, than He will bring it to pass" (Psalm 37). It is quite something to watch the promises of God unfold before my eyes, things that he had whispered into my heart as a small child...

As his Word says, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe me, than you would see the glory of God!" (John 11:40)

Thanks!

Lynn and I are so excited about our new home (it feels like home already, even though we have a long ways to go before we're actually living there!). Thank you so much all of you who have celebrated with us by posting your encouraging comments. We really hope you get to see the inside, whether in person or by photo. It is soooo awesome :)

Natasha

Expect the Unexpected

The image to your right is the exterior to what we hope will be our home. Yes, it is very soon after so many other things have happened for us. If nothing else, we're being reminded that the Lord's schedule is very different than ours. The story you're about to read should have been expected, considering who the Lord is, who our realtor is, and who we have become.

Natasha and I have been looking for a permanent home here since November. We were blessed with a house-sitting opportunity, but we knew the Lord would have to open some other door relatively soon, since we can only be here through the summer. We've looked in more homes than we can remember, and we've consistently felt that our realtor needs to be involved in the whole process.

Our realtor is not only good at her job, but she is in love with the Lord. She has been praying with us constantly since we met for a smooth transition to the town and this particular ministry. She definitely walks in the Spirit.

Not long ago, Natasha felt strongly that our realtor was going to find our home. One week ago today, she (the realtor) called me at the church to say there was a hot new listing that many of the realtors seemed to love. It's in a nice area of the community and gorgeous inside. There was already a list of people to see the home. After some consultation (i.e. Natasha saying, "We need to see this NOW!"), we went to the house that day. If we ever felt a strong sense of "This is it!" since we were married, it was that afternoon. Less than 36 hours later, our offer was accepted and we began meeting conditions for the purchase of this, the Lord's home.

This was decidedly not my timing. The night we saw the home, before our second look, I spent a lot of time praying. I kept telling the Lord that too much was happening too fast. I kept getting silence. When I finally asked the Lord if He agreed with me, He said, "I am with you. What's too fast for that?" We went back the next morning, and I've never felt that kind of peace.

Now we're praying to the Lord, believing Him that this sense of peace was the revelation of His will for us. We're close to meeting the conditions, after which we will close on the house later this summer. We received a very encouraging e-mail from our realtor, who is now a dear friend and sister in Christ, reminding us that this isn't our property to begin with. This is the Lord's, and He will see to it that He uses it for His glory, His kingdom, and His ministry. While this is an exciting time, we invite you to believe with us in Jesus' name that the next two weeks will progress smoothly and that people will find restoration, healing, encouragement, challenge, peace, etc., in our/the Lord's home. We are in awe of what He is doing around us and how He is revealing more of His character through it all. We are humbled to know Him more through these intensely packed weeks. Thanks for your prayer.

(FYI, the house has a front and back deck, a great yard, lots of landscaping, three bedrooms, one and half bathrooms, a laundry room, utility room, sauna (used for storage by the current inhabitants), storage, family/small groups room in walk-out basement with propane woodstove, living room with propane fireplace, dining room, big kitchen, breakfast nook, mudroom, more storage than I expected in a relatively old home, a shed, a fence around the back yard, a double-wide driveway, and a location just on the edge of town to satisfy my desire to be near civilization and Natasha's desire to be in the country. Yes, it's quite perfect.)

The Wind.

A few weeks ago I had a prophetic dream.

We lived in a white house in Truro (though the area is not particularly significant). There were people upstairs in a "den-like" room watching TV and laughing together. I recognized some but not all.

Lynn and I went to a store. It was an athletic store and one of my close cousins was there. We were in a large, open, white room with rows of sneakers on the walls. There seemed to be an adjacent room with something else going on. The clerk was working behind the desk when suddenly a huge wind storm swept into the town bringing destruction. Lynn and I stood holding each other in the midst of crazy wind. I was frightened but we were quiet and at peace. (I just now realized that none of the sneakers moved from their places on the wall. We were abiding in the refuge and protection of God.) The clerk was now standing in the middle of the room facing the door. She was amazed, even mesmerized by the sight. The wind swept in through the door and carried the clerk away. Lynn and I moved into a back closet as the noise got louder and the wind stronger. We held tightly to one another. I did not see what happened to my cousin; but I knew she was fulfilling the important role God had for her. It just led her in a different direction.
(Signifying a vast move of the Holy Spirit)

The wind subsided and debris lied everywhere. Houses and buildings were destroyed. The friends watching TV in our home had disappeared.

Suddenly, a lot of time had passed. The dream shifted to an area I do not know with people I did not know. It focused on two particular women living in a home, one younger and one elderly. They wore long, dark robes that covered their bodies and their heads. This signified hard work, grief, and trial.
(This signifies persecution)

The younger woman seemed to work hard outside of the home; but the elderly woman seemed particularly hidden. She was set apart as though she had her own hidden "wing" in their home. (The home was large, but desolate, colorless, and run down). One day, the younger woman came in to the elderly woman's "wing" and saw a young man (young adult age). He was sitting at a school desk and grinning from ear to ear. He was full of color and life; he was glowing! The younger woman was shocked because she had not realized that he was there. The dream ends focused on the young man as though one cannot keep his eyes off of him. He is so radiant in God!

Who is this man? Is he another deliverer for the people of God to be raised up after persecution? or Is he somehow the Christ, coming again to deliver His people for all eternity?


Today I came across another prophecy concerning this "wind storm" over the Maritimes (and beyond). There have been many. It's by Larry Randolph from Dec 6/06:

Larry Randolph was speaking in the Oshawa just a few weeks back and shared the following:

He had a vision of Jesus standing off the east coast of Canada in the Atlantic Ocean. Jesus bent over and blew a great wind, the wind of the Holy Spirit. It created a huge wave that headed to the east of Canada, & from there it went down along the eastern seaboard of North America.

Living Vicarious.

Drake Emmerson (with Mom - my sister, Melissa Emmerson)
*born Christmas Eve 2006
*soon to be three months old















Destiny (~1 yr & 10 months) and Drake (~3 months)

We love our niece and nephew!!!

Overwhelmed!

Well, Lynn and I have had quite a week.

I'm not even sure I can count all the exciting or devastating things that have happened in the last week or so, but they have all led up to a physical and emotional breakdown for me today :). I wish I could learn to catch these dives into the pit of exhaustion before they come; I have yet to master it. Thankfully, though, by the grace of God and the encouragement of my husband, I am much quicker at recovering and getting back to my normal self.

We will have an update soon that explains some of the week's events.


Those who go down to the see in ships, who do business on great waters, they sea the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths; their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end...

Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because they are quiet; so He guides them to their desired haven.

Oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, and praise Him in the company of the elders.

Psalm 107: 23-32

(Natasha)

Our new car!

Before...















...and after!

Update.

Lynn and I have been experiencing the joys of a busy life in ministry! Here a few key points of interest:

1a. The fourth pastor has officially joined the IBC staff. Kaj Binderup is retiring from the ministry to Truro to be near kids and grandkids. So, as all good retiring ministers do, he has joined the IBC staff as part-time visitation/seniors pastor. We are just getting to know him, but are quickly becoming infatuated :).

1b. His wife Joan is my new favorite person on the whole earth! She's blunt, spunky, hysterical, and cute :). She and I will be ministering together in May at the women's retreat for our Baptist Association (sort of like a district). I will be leading worship and teaching on worship, while Joan is the guest speaker. I greatly look forward to this ministry opportunity!

2. Lynn conquered his first major event at IBC a couple of weeks ago. It was our 117th Anniversary service!! :) The whole day was filled with music from our choir and guest choirs, mostly from the black-Canadian churches in our area. It was awesome. A little crazy, too; but awesome :).

3. Non-ministry related - by tomorrow evening, Lynn and I will be driving a brand new Corolla! We are very thankful to our dear old car who has done so well these past three years and protected us from any serious danger... But there is a season for everything and the season of our '95, teal, Grand Prix has come to an end. God has come through once again. Isn't it the craziest thing to go from a 12 year old car to an brand new one!? Praise the Lord!

4. A quote from last week:
Lynn: "You are the most patient wife on the face of the earth."
Natasha: "Was that sarcasm?"
Lynn: "No, just blatant lying."

Have wonderful day dear friends!
Natasha

One Chance

This won't be long.

The regular accompanist for Cantabile (a community choir in town) felt sick tonight and was unable to attend. The conductor came in and announced that he had no conductor, so he would have to try and play. Once his coat was off and he stood in front of the choir, I asked, "Do you want someone to play?" Much to my great surprise and delight, he said, "Yes."

I can only thank the Lord for such a great opportunity. His mercies are so precious and unique that He even allows me to enjoy opportunities like this. It was probably one chance, but I'm thankful many times over!

Faith.

I'm delighted to tell all of you that Lynn and I have a new car and a new home!

Okay... We don't actually have them yet...

Today I have renewed faith in the God who owns a thousand cattle on a thousand hills. Who is our God anyway? Did I forget that He's the God who doesn't just love me, but SO loves me!? that He doesn't do just abundantly more, but exceedingly abundantly more than I could ever think or imagine!? He doesn't even reprimand me for making foolish decisions with our money. But as he did with the prodigal, He places a ring on my finger and a robe around me, and throws an expensive party on my behalf - because He loves me! What Father doesn't delight in giving good gifts to His children?

As I was sharing and praying with a dear friend who is like a spiritual mother to me, I was reminded of my little faith and how that grieves our Father's heart. We talked about how we often assume God's heart is broken over our sin and weaknesses; when in reality, He has always known about those things. Don't you think sometimes He thinks, "But I already knew about that. It's okay!"

I think what really breaks the Father's heart is when we don't believe in Him. When we get stuck focusing on those sins or weaknesses and forget that we are more than conquerers in Christ Jesus our Lord! His desire for us to be holy goes so much further than our sins and weaknesses... In Isaiah 43, He says, "I have chosen you that you might know me and believe me and understand that I am He." In that chapter, God is speaking to th Israelites while they are in sin and He's saying, "Stop focusing on the past and pondering the things you've done wrong! Put Me into remembrance and realize that I am your Creator and I have redeemed you!!!" (Natasha's paraphrase, with some exact wording).

I am so guilty of sometimes forgetting just who it is exactly that I am serving. God's heart is for me to know Him and believe Him and understand just how big and full of love He really is! That truth really has nothing to do with a car or a house; but I do have renewed faith in the Lord's provision. He is a good God of abundant blessings and I intend to hold Him to it!

Second Post of the Day

You can read the other post below, but I need to follow through with my intent to fill you in on Isaiah. Basically, the passage hit me like a bolt out of the blue last week. I was meditating on Scripture, hoping to find the right one to communicate God's heart to the church. Isaiah 54:11-55:5 wouldn't be found on its own in many scholarly works, but it is a passage that discusses God's endowment. We in North America are generally interested in endowments or anything that sounds like a promise for our good. Often, our interests are shallow; we tend to think God's endowment rests in money, health, prosperity, and the like.

To read the passage, one might think that we had it right all along. After all, God promises to rebuild His people's lives with many precious stones (54:11-12) and to endow them with splendor (55:5). He promises children with connections to God and wisdom (54:13). There are also connections to nations, a new generation that the people do not yet know (55:3-4). There's even the promise that God's people will no longer have to fear the people around them (54:14-17) and the reminder that spending one's labor on foreign connections and delicacies (as Judah was doing at the time of the prophecy) is futile. It sounds like prosperity, success, money, and future to me.

Or does it? What about the people to whom it was originally written? What about how the prophet addresses the people in 54:11? They are afflicted, wracked by storms, disconsolate. They were homeless, city-less, protection-less, military-less, family-less, and status-less. They were slaves. They were mocked, beaten, tortured, threatened, raped, and pillaged. For a good idea about the emotions of the people in Babylon, read Psalm 137. People with that outlook on life don't care about prosperity, success, money, and future. If they had money, their captors would spend it. If they had health, they would only endure torture longer. As for prosperity, the Hebrew ideal was that of shalom, a deep sense of inner well-being and infiltrating peace. (That's a whole other post or blog or something.)

God's promise in the original passage was that of security. The promise of rebuilding with precious stones was one to make the people feel secure that they would be rebuilt; they would again have a place of their own. The home would be strong (note use of words like "walls," "stones," "pinnacles" or "battlements," and "foundation") and beautiful (hence, the precious stones). They would also receive the security of a future. Not the kind of future provided by money or health, but the kind of future provided by children (the rebirth of a nation) who would know the Lord (unlike their ancestors whose inattention to God put them in exile) and a shalom peace. Finally, God would give them the security of stability. They would no longer fear any attacker. To prove it, God reminded them that He created the attackers, implying that He could take care of them. Even, "No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed."

We might think that's the point, but did you notice the build there? The security promises are all well and good, but why the build? Why the promises? Why the security? Look at 55:1-2, the climax. "Come." Yes, that's it. That's the point. "Come." God will rebuild the city, give them a future, and even fight for them just so that they could come. It didn't matter if someone was in Forbes magazine or if they were penniless; God's invitation echoes through the corridors of time. "Come." Spending money and labor on things that don't satisfy (for Judah it was treaties, foreign friends, foreign gods, etc.; for us, you name it - nothing satisfies but Jesus) is ridiculous. Come to the Lord, who requires absolutely no money. After all, He made provision for the cost to be paid. How much truer is that for us in the Last Days (New Testament era) who don't have to have that provision made annually in Jerusalem? God took care of that in Jesus and now invites us to come. He says something interesting in 55:2 "Pay attention to me. Listen to me so you can live" (or something like that). Come to Jesus and live. Think Chris Rice's "Untitled Hymn." Everything we receive is intended to inspire us to come to Jesus, to free us up to come to Jesus, to empower us to come to Jesus.

This is the message of Isaiah 54:11-55:5: Come to Jesus and live life to the full.

Ever changing...

I (Natasha) have have been meaning to post this for a while...

Lynn preached this past Sunday for the first time at IBC (Immanuel Baptist Church). It was incredible. It was another one of those experiences when I sit back in awe of the man I fall asleep beside every night.

Lynn is constantly growing and changing. But sometimes, I miss the change taking place. It's subtle and deep within him - not easily noticed on the outside. Suddenly, he'll say or do something that is totally different from something he would have said or done before! He thinks, "What? I've always been that way!" But I know the truth. The truth is that Lynn has mastered something that few people can claim. He keeps looking at Jesus; as he looks, he's slowly but surely being changed into His likeness.

Being the "godly" woman that I am (sarcasm noted), I sometimes wish Lynn would spend more time looking at himself :) - you know, when I want him to change something on demand :). My pushiness often encourages his stubbornness, and for a time he might refuse.

But in all his stubbornness, he keeps looking at Jesus. So before we both know it, it happened anyway!!! Isn't that amazing?

I've observed that usually the things I want Lynn to change about himself are areas that need to be strengthened in my own life. For example, I am much too often focused on the areas in myself that need to be changed rather than accepting them as part of my journey and just looking at Jesus. When we trust Him with our salvation (from justification to glorification), the changes will always occur. And instead of being done out of a fear of not being good enough or something like that, the changes will take place out of love and gratitude in response to His love and salvation.

I guess we are ever changing.

Try It

It is much too late to be awake, let alone online. Nevertheless, you need to try something.

Open your Bible and read it without considering chapter and verse divisions. You'll find several sections of Scripture that make more sense when taken holistically. For example, I've been studying Isaiah 54:11-55:5 for a sermon on Sunday. I never would have selected that passage for a graded assignment or personal study. I just read the passage as part of a larger reading when I was hit with the impact of the prophecy. Since I know a few people from the church spy on me here occasionally, I won't steal the Lord's thunder. See you there!

(If you're not nearby, don't despair. I may blog about this next week. It's incredibly powerful!)

Availability

Natasha has gone again. It's for a very good reason, and I'm extremely proud of her. She is in a position right now to be available for many good things the Lord may bring across her path. She's able to help a good friend in a time of serious need right now. She's mentioned different opportunities for involvement in the church and community when she returns. She sits at home so often, but when I come home she often has stories about calls with people or Bible study time. There's something to be said for availability. She's quickly becoming one of the busiest people I know, but she's available for the Lord. She says, "No," appropriately, but she's available.

Why all this wife-praise? It's not fundamentally about Natasha, is it? It's a question that burns in our hearts at times: Why am I not more available for the little things the Lord prompts me to do? I suggest that we allow our circumstances to dictate our priorities, regardless of how we verbally list our priorities. To few of us (meaning me) place ourselves before the Lord with open availability for His service. We think of that needy person down the street who could use groceries. Then we justify our inactivity by listing our bills. We think of the widow at church who just wants to tell someone her story. Then we remember our own story and say, "Some day." We feel that little prompting somewhere in the middle of our torso that tells us there's more, but we sit back and take another Tums. Our jobs won't allow us to leave in the middle of the day to minister to someone. Our schedules won't allow us to take a few minutes and build community. Too few people have reached out to us, so it's better just to go home and think about the community we wish we had. We list our actions, call ourselves available, then go to bed at night feeling okay. While Natasha is human and doesn't do everything right, I'm challenged by her availability. She made herself available, and everything she's doing within a nine day span fell into place. She'll be here this weekend, having accomplished more eternally than many of us do in a month. Again, this isn't about her; it's about our availability to God. It's like Scott always says, "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8).

Early Retirement

(Natasha writing...)

Well, who'd have thought I'd be retired at age 23!? Okay, so I'm not really retired. I'm just not working or going to school or doing anything involving any idea of a career!

The point of saying that, though, is to say that I have been so blessed to have opportunities like the one I am currently experiencing because of this season I am in (that much resembles eary retirement!). Lynn calls me a "free agent of the Lord". I am able to just walk with Him every day, not knowing what we're going to encounter together. This week I am in Fredericton with our dear friends, the Brewers. I am supposedly here to be helpful, but we all know I am being doubly blessed by these nigh angelic beings...

Anyway, last week I was in Wolfville, NS at Acadia University visiting my cousin Rebecca. This week, I am in Fredericton experiencing the bliss of my early retirement...

What a blessed life! ...and what a gracious Husband!

Tasha just pulled in the driveway!!

Enmeshed

So, Natasha is away. It's just been since this morning, and she'll come back tomorrow evening. This sucks. While I'm glad for her, my selfish side is thinking, "You are way too enmeshed for this."

Two Parts

This post has two sections. I thought about doing two posts, but we can all handle a long one, right?

1) Where did we ever get the idea that any one experience typifies "true" faith? Why is it that some people look for a certain prayer, others look for a particular crisis, and still others look for provable actions? I admit that it's difficult to deny someone's faith after a dramatic crisis conversion. Yet Jesus Himself indicated that those whose faith is in Him would be those who would join Him in glory. I think of the thief on the cross next to Jesus's cross who acknowledged Jesus's lordship without the breakdown of "saved, healed, delivered." I also think of Matthew, who followed the Lord simply because he trusted Him when He said, "Follow me." Our theologies and doctrines are important, but when did they give us the right to judge a person's eternal soul? Any authority we have was given to us only by God and does not give us the right to shun and shame people.

2) One of the first things that made me stop and look at Natasha differently is her love. I've never seen anyone who really loves people like she does. Of course, we've learned a lot about love since we've been married, and particularly in the last year. We've seen a lot of what love is and even more of what love is not. There are many people whom we love around the world (mostly North America), many of whom exemplify love for us. The Scriptures say that love bears all things. That love never fails. That love covers a multitude of sins. What a joy it is when we see people who love freely with God's love in a way that bears with us, that does not fail, that keeps no record of wrongs, that is patient, that is kind, that covers a multitude of sins! At the same time, how hurtful it has been when we have faced people who did not bear with us, who keep a record of our wrongs, who are impatient, who focus on sin rather than the soul, who are unkind, and who seemingly failed us! (We've been dealing with a lot of that and have sought healing in our new surroundings.) In a time when I have been tempted many times to speak out boldly against those who do not love, the Lord has reminded me, "But for the grace of God, there go I." I am tempted to find fault among friends who aren't true, to be impatient with loved ones who are hurtful, to be unkind to those who seemingly don't care, to choose to stop bearing with people, and even to shift my circle of friends. I assume that the Lord's revelation precludes His warning not to be a hypocrite, reacting out of hurt and confusion for Natasha and me. Instead, I choose to love, to be real, to embrace the goodness and peace of the Lord, and to dive in headfirst to the imperfect, often frustrating congregation of the Church. After all, if we look through the screen of human imperfections, we begin to see that 1 Corinthians 12 is real when it says we are all the body of Christ. Why would I want to hurt the body of Christ? If I'm the foot, why would I want to kick my own shin? Why do so many members of the body do it?

Readership

I'm (Lynn) sitting in a practice with Worship Team B right now. They're doing a nice job practicing, but two great things just happened.

1) We stopped and prayed for our sister who needed to sit back on the Lord for a moment. For that sister I have the following lyrics from a praise song written by someone at Christ for the Nations. (The speaker is a worshiper, speaking to Jesus.)

The more I seek You, the more I find You. The more I find You, the more I love You, Jesus. I want to sit at Your feet, drink from the cup in Your hand, lean back against You, and breathe, and feel Your heartbeat. This love is so deep; it's more than I can bear. I melt in Your peace; it's overwhelming.

2) We just had a conversation in which I found out that a few of the worship team members read this blog. Not the worship blog I set up for the church - this one. I love that! :)

Mac

I want everyone to know that I am typing on a Mac. I was afraid to post until the Mac actually came, but the new MacBook is the tool the Lord provided me to do my work through the church. Yes, a Mac. I'm sure I'll get the usual comments from Windows lovers and people who resist change. I'll choose not to defend this transition I've been dying to make for a long time. If you want responses to compatability myths, etc., please visit apple.com. (I still love you all.)

Once Upon a Snowy Afternoon

It's Lynn writing this time. It's a snowy afternoon, and I'm sitting in the home office the Lord provided for us. None of that matters to most anyone reading this, particularly since we've gone on about that a lot. Still, it feels good finally to be here. Natasha rightly observed that it's been almost a month since we last had a place to let our collective hair down. We sat and watched "Two Weeks Notice" last night, after which I fell asleep in record time. That's how I do it. Sleep. Natasha and I had that conversation yesterday. She remarked how she tends to get worked up and feels as though she doesn't handle change very well. She thinks I handle it very well. The only reason she thinks that is because I'm social. It doesn't really matter whether we're in change; I just like to be around people. I get tired, though. She didn't sleep many nights last week prior to settling; I sleep more every night that goes by. I slept in past 10:00 a.m. twice in the past week! (Half the day was gone!!) We have been invited out so many times, but we're often with strong personalities - a good thing, since I tend to get with people and sink into a tired speechlessness. You know, the kind of peaceful speechlessness that feels best with a warm cup of Stash wild blackcurrant tea in my hands with the sounds of my wife's voice in my ears, gratitude to Jesus in my heart, and the jazzy music of someone like Bing in my head - all on a snowy afternoon.

A word from Francis.

The God Whose Name Is Jealous

…True salvation is a betrothal….

…Whatever challenges Jesus' right to our hearts becomes His enemy, which He will confront. Because of His jealousy toward us as His bride, in regard to these false gods, the Lord demands we destroy these idols ourselves.

…The spirit of antichrist [that spirit which exalts self as deity] is resident in much of the church today, opposing the move of God, displaying itself as being God.

…Is there something in your soul which opposes and exalts itself above God, taking its seat in the human temple of God , displaying itself as being God? The resistance in you against God is an idol. It is the most powerful idol in the human heart.

…What mankind has done is move the pagan temples from the high places of the countryside to the hidden places of the human heart.

Every time we inwardly submit to the strongholds of fear, bitterness, and pride, we are bowing to the rulers of darkness.

Would you be holy? Then remove the idols of self and sin from within you. For holiness exists in a soul purified by love; it exudes like incense from a heart without idols.

Francis Frangapane

Random thoughts from the sick wife :)

Yes, I am very unfortunately sick and using this post of random thoughts as a distraction from my misery.

Isn't it interesting that I decided to stop blogging and then asked Lynn if I could post sometimes on his blog, which he then re-designed for us to share, and suddenly he's disappeared and only I remain?

Just to inform anyone who might be wondering, I have not besieged my husband's blog. It's just that for right now, I'm awaiting our final move into our more permanent home, while being miserably sick and lazying around our hosts home; meanwhile Lynn is hard at work at the church, but without a computer as of yet! So I have all the time in the world to sit at the computer and blog, while Lynn is still in the process of ordering his new laptop for the church.

I promise you, he will return!

I would also like to comment about the picture Lynn chose for the new design. A dear feind had innocently commented that it seems "erotic" :). I apologize if we've made anyone uncomfortable for it is not meant to be an "erotic" picture, but rather a soft, gentle, romantic kiss - perfectly appropriate for blogdom :).

This picture was actually taken by Ryan Wiedmaier in downtown St. John. It was a scheme against me for a surprise Lynn was conjuring up.

We do seem to be outward with our affection, more than some... or maybe most. When we first started dating I was terribly shy! I tried to keep Lynn from making his random outbursts across the cafeteria or from the car window as he passed me going down the hill (at BBC)... but my efforts to control his random outbursts were completely fruitless. So I eventually learned to work with it :)

More seriously, though, when Lynn and I were falling in love, both sets of parents were experiencing extreme marriage difficulties. Two completely different situations that also had completely different outcomes led us to question love and its ability to last a lifetime. The outcome of these difficulties as they've shaped our relationship (along with the combination of our ridiculous personalities) led us to operate in our marriage out of a certain "philosphy". As Christians living in a world depraved of love, why not shout out from the rooftops that the enemy has been defeated and the love of Christ reigns in our marriage forever!? Why not reflect the love of Christ through our love for one another to people who have long since stopped believing that they could ever know a love that never fails...

This "philosphy" (for lack of a better word, and as tribute to Rev. Starks) is most certainly influenced by the innocent and unashamed love that exherts from my husband's pure heart. He is so precious and we couldn't be different even if we tried because he cannot contain his joy and love for the Lord which overflows onto his abundantly blessed wife.

So without shame, we will keep our "erotic" picture on our blog, proclaiming to all the world that love prevails!

How's that for a dramatic ending? :)

One "first" down.

I just have to say, though none of us are surprised, that my husband is the best worship pastor ever!

We had our first Sunday yesterday and Lynn did an exceptional job. He is obviously very capable musicaly, but also walks with the anointing and favor of a son - a son who knows His Father, is like His Father in image and character, and trusts in His Father's faithfulness.

I am so proud of you, Husband :).

(From Natasha)

A Blessed Life.

I (Natasha) am taking this opportunity to post about our current situation. Some of it will likely be redundant; but hopefully it will make more sense all compliled into one neat summary :).

Okay, here's the gist. We (meaning Lynn) accepted the position of pastor of worship arts and small groups at Immanuel Baptist Church in Truro, NS, Canada. We finished up my internship in Presque Isle, ME, moved our stuff into a very kind man's basement, celebrated our anniversary, then left for the holidays. We had a wonderful time with Lynn's family in DE over Christmas and mine over New Years. We arrived back in Truro just in time for Lynn's first day on January 2nd. Needless to say it has been a busy few weeks!

We had announced earlier that we were going to buy a house in Truro. We loved the house for a starter home and were in the middle of drawing up a formal offer with our lawyer when we felt a very strong need to pull back. We stalled for a little bit, but ultimately had to face the fact that we did not have peace about buying this house. Lynn had to make the difficult phone calls, informing those involved that we were pulling out. We found oursleves homeless once again.

Just around that time, however, we received an e-mail from the senior pastor of our new church, mentioning a possible house sitting option. Both of us immediately felt peace and a release of tension at this suggestion! Since then it has been blessing after blessing! The Lord has provided a more than perfect solution to an impossble situation (without getting into the details...) and has also used us to be that very same thing for another member of the body of Christ! Somehow, He took two impossible situations and molded them together creating an abundance of blessing, warmth, and peace.

Lynn and I will be house sitting through the spring and possibly until August. A bigger, better home awaits us on the other end :).

It is surely a blessed life to be in the hands of a loving father who promises to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever think or imagine!

Drake

Happy New Year! Baby Emmerson now has a name: Drake John Emmerson. He is my favorite nephew, mostly because he's beautiful. Is this superficial? Absolutely, but I haven't held him, talked to him on the phone, or taken him to a basketball game yet, so we don't really have much history. Drake and I only go back about a week, to be honest. It looks like we have a lot of ground to cover. In the meantime, I'm going to live vicariously through my in-laws, who have wonderful children worth a lot of love!

In other news, Natasha says "Hi!" and "Happy New Year!" We're going to be lazy and watch a movie before the big "Christmas" dinner this afternoon (with my in-laws, who weren't with us at Christmas) and the trip home. We hope 2007 is a big one for all of you. The Lord is literally standing in front of us, waiting for us to run after Him. He has a new world to unfold, should we actually challenge Him to prove it.