*LISTENING TO:*Song:
ComatoseArtist:
SkilletAlbum:
ComatoseQuote:
"...I don’t wanna live, I don’t wanna breathe, unless I feel you next to me. You take the pain I feel; waking up to you never felt so real. I don’t wanna sleep, I don’t wanna dream, 'cause my dreams don’t comfort me. The way you make me feel; waking up to you never felt so real..."* * *
What a great album, the new Skillet album (Comatose)... been listening to that non-stop for days now and still lovin' it. :)
First off, big item of praise... I finally found a job! It's a temporary position (until March) as a Client Services Administrator for RRSPs at MD Management, but I'm hoping it'll lead to something more substantial. Kinda cool that this happened the day right after prayer meeting too... being prayed for really helped and God, by His grace, definitely answered our prayers, for which I'm sooo thankful for. I know the job will be quite busy and demanding, but I hope I can make the most of what God has blessed me with and, if this is where He wants me, that it'll lead to something more permanent. But, for the time being, I'm just relieved that I'll be employed by the end of the month. :) Oh it'll be nice to have an income again as well... heheh. Guess I'll be starting my career... I'm definitely excited and eager to prove myself.
Spent Thanksgiving weekend with parents in Toronto. Did the relatives thing and the grandma thing... nothing special... ate lotsa chinese food... the usual, heheh. Got a chance to eat some all-you-can-order Japanese food there though, so that was a treat from all the usual chinese food. Also got the chance to meet up with Sam a couple of times at bubble tea shops in the evening to catch up and talk. Always good seeing the guy again, and I look forward to seeing him again during the Christmas break. After driving back to Ottawa, was able to catch some time with Karen before she headed back to Waterloo. It was good to see her again, to hear all she's experienced while away the past month, and just to catch up and hang out like old times. :)
Tonight, had an H2O worship committee meeting at Steph's place. Led by Steph's mom (one of H2O's two newly appointed mentors), it was a good time of honest sharing, prayer, planning, and, of course, eating. :) so.....much....apple...pie.... heheh. As we all shared ideas on how we can all draw closer to each other, to God, to dig deeper into scripture, and direct the fellowship as well as keep each other accountable, I grew more and more excited about the upcoming semester in the new year, when we'll be implementing many of the new ideas and, hopefully, give the schedule and direction of the fellowship a fresh makeover. :) Also looking forward to the Gym Night this Fri at OU and the annual Gatineau Hike we'll be having on Saturday!
As for my church situation... I've arrived at a tough decision that I've been struggling with for a while now. After about a year serving there, I've decided to take a step away from Celebration Church and try to look for a home church elsewhere, perhaps at CCCO, where my fellowship resides. My purpose at Celebration has been more and more unclear lately and I just don't really feel like I can pour myself into the church the way I'd like, or the way I feel God would want me to. Through all my personal struggles, I've come to terms with realizing that I can't settle for the status quo week-after-week any longer, and that something's gotta change. God's still first priority in my life, and I need to be in a place where I can worship Him and serve Him undistracted; where my thoughts, my attitudes, and my state of mind are pleasing and honouring to Him. It's been a tough decision because the people at Celebration have been awesome and I believe I've seen some fruits in my ministry there. But somehow, through various ways, I just feel God is leading me away... and that, although He definitely had a purpose for leading me there in the first place, I feel it's time to step aside... So I'm stepping in faith... but as I've discovered during the missions trip, God will not fail us if we place our trust in Him. I can only hope that, during my time there, I was able to do some good at Celebration and that God was able to use me to bless them and bring Him glory... because I know they've blessed me tremendously, and I'm so thankful for that.
As I was listening to music while driving back to Ottawa, I came across a song whose lyrics kinda made me ponder... it's from the new Mercy Me CD (Coming Up to Breathe). It struck me because it talks about what I'm aspiring to do... that through struggles, through good times and hard times, I can still praise Him and give Him glory. As Steph's mom shared tonight, God uses our struggles for a greater purpose than the pain or sadness we feel... and although we sometimes can't see the end-result, we just have to have faith in Him.
The chorus goes...
"Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain"
*LISTENING TO:*
