It's been a while...

Dear friends,

It's been a long while since I blogged about anything. I had a busy summer working at Camp which I really enjoyed. Since then I've been home babysitting 3 little precious girls and doing lots and lots of reading. Check out my recent reading list, if you want to know what books I've been reading. I'm hoping to go to England soon for a visit, as I miss my family and friends there.

I've also started a wishlist on amazon.ca - what a great idea for friends and family. I've been to New Brunswick this year and to 2 Canadian weddings! I went to a Canada National Park in Nova Scotia called Keji for Thanksgiving weekend, and it was amazing. The trees were changing colours and it was so beautiful. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera, but I've put a few pictures below that my friends took. There were so many amazing walking trails. I've also been going for a walk on a daily basis and loving it! It hasn't snowed here yet, but the weather is starting to get colder now.

A beautiful sunset

Deer

The pumkpin carving that won the contest at Keji!

Enjoying one of the awesome views of God's creation at Keji

More beautiful fall colours on Thanksgiving weekend!

Last but not least, my favourite!

Love from Ash x

The Book Of Job

I received an e-mail yesterday from a friend who had recently read an interesting article about the Book of Job, and so he forwarded it to me. I read it this morning and thought it worthy to copy and paste here for you to read...and I hope that you will be blessed by doing so. It's from Dr Warren Vanhetloo's almost-daily "Cogitations" - an email that he sends around to those who request it containing some great thoughts and insights on Scripture...


Pray to learn from Job and to live like Job.
"Consider My servant Job": Ah, Job. What an interesting character and story! My assumption always was that the book was well summarized by the idea of suffering. Trials, tribulations, sorrow, false accusation and all the other things that tend to make our lives miserable appear to cluster around Job like metal filings to a magnet. He endured more loss than dozens of us put together could possibly register. He kept only his wife and his life (and sometimes it appears as if keeping his wife was not all that great a blessing). Yes, like the Savior, he was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."
But somehow, that isn't the whole story! Many years ago I was having lunch with the late Louis Paul Lehman (twice pastor of the great Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, MI, radio preacher, and widely-known conference speaker). Paul was a delightful eccentric who tended to say things as they popped into his mind. He turned to me that day and said, "Do you know the real theme of the book of Job?" I answered with the obvious, "suffering." He, said, "That is an element in the picture, but it is not the real main theme." He went on to say that he was convinced that the main theme was this: Will a man serve God for nothing? He challenged me to study the encounter between God and Satan early in the book to determine if he was actually correct. I did, and he was.
God asks Satan if he has considered His servant Job. Satan responds that he has, but that he is not incredibly impressed. He suggests to God that anyone as blessed as Job would surely serve the God who had blessed him. He boldly suggests that if God takes away all he has, God might find another Job altogether lurking under the surface of the grateful and joyous Job he knows so well. The obvious implication? Job serves you for what he can get out of it. Take that all away and see what he does. In other words, let's find out if a man will serve God for nothing. [Rather than keep you hanging in case I forget at the end, the answer to that question is also strikingly clear before the conclusion of the book: yes, but with great difficulty!]
God sets a couple of boundaries and then tells Satan he can have at him, and the rest of the book unfolds the story of what transpires. There is a fairly simple outline to the book that goes as follows:
The Prologue - Chapter 1:1-28 (the story of Job)
The Dialogue - Chapter 2:9 - 42:6 (the struggles of Job)
The Epilogue - Chapter 42:7-17 (the sequel of Job).
Job's struggles are many and intense. He struggles with his circumstances, with himself (a major factor in the book), with his wife, with his friends, and with his God. The struggle with his friends takes up much of the book and is quite revealing. I think the phrase, "With friends like these, one doesn't need enemies," may have originated in Job. They were so spiritually ignorant that they said the right things to the wrong person, the wrong things to the right person, and the wrong thing to the wrong person, but never got around to saying the right thing to the right person.
Most of us are sufficiently familiar with the story that it is probably unnecessary to review all the gory details; suffice it to say that Job goes "through the mill" in ways that few if any of us have ever experienced (and most of us could not survive either physically, spiritually or emotionally), and he does so more than once.
We have the theme (a question and its answer), and we know the story. What lessons can we learn from his experience of God's dealings in his life? I believe there are at least ten lessons we can learn from His servant, Job.
1. God always has His purposes even though they are often unknown to us (should I have said most often unknown to us?). A praise chorus says, "though I may not understand all the plans You have for me, my life is in Your hands, and through the darkest night, I can plainly see, God is good!" And His overall purpose can be known: to glorify Himself through His servants.
2. Satan is alive and well on planet earth. No need to belabor this point; we all have eyes and ears. I always have mixed emotions at this point, however, as it is easy to blame everything that goes wrong on Satan and to fall back on the old excuse, "the Devil made me do it." The opposite, however, is equally wrong and dangerous - that Satan isn't involved in anything that happens. Don't automatically blame your troubles on Satan as some of the worst may be self-created. Don't, however, rule out the role that Satan plays in keeping the world in rebellion and the Saints in personal turmoil.
3. Struggles don't indicate sin in the life. Don't get over-simplified! Job had done nothing wrong to warrant what happened to him. Don't assume that your own sufferings or those of others have their root in some specific sin. It would be wise also to realize that lack of struggles at a particular time does not indicate that "God loves you better than He does His other children."
4. The overall story of the exchange between God and Satan also brings to the forefront the importance of motives. What Satan was really after was discovering the actual motives that drove Job. How much we need to examine our hearts to be sure that what we do is done for the right motive (at best as humans are able to do such). I've often said that right is its own reward. This - and many other truths - expresses that our motives are what determines the worth, if not the outcomes, of our efforts for the Lord.
5. It is natural for man to struggle. I think there has been a lot of erroneous teaching in this area. You know, the "comfort clichés" that are part of an evangelical arsenal. If you think a struggling believer is required to "suffer in internal silence while expressing major external happiness," I think you have missed the point. Read the Psalms again. David said some things to the Lord that I would be even hesitant to think, and he did so out of the intense struggles through which he was passing. I'm not God, but I do know from Scripture that He remembers what we forget, even about ourselves: that we are dust!
6. This follows on the last point. It is ok to take our struggles to the Lord. He knows what's going on in our minds anyway, and it would seem only logical to openly bring such matters to Him. Again, I cite many of the Psalms of David. You can suffer in silence and loneliness, but I'm not at all sure that is necessary. If He keeps all our tears in a bottle, then he must have a lot of crying people coming to the throne.
7. The lessons to be learned are always worth the trials to be endured. Many of us can testify that some of the greatest learning experiences of life have been provided by the problems we have faced (especially those that were of our own making). In a moment we will see some of the incredible lessons Job learned. There is enough in the book to change our usual approach of "How can I get out of this?" to "What can I get out of this?"
8. Great flashes of light often come in the darkest of night. In the midst of his struggles (in Chapter 19), Job makes some striking revelations. Remember, Job probably lived in the Patriarchal age, and his story may well be the oldest in Scripture.
With that in mind, look at the "flashes of light" God gave him:
He got a glimpse of personal redemption - verse 25 ('I know that my Redeemer liveth," which expresses personal faith in redemption by a Personal Redeemer").
He got a glimpse of eternal resurrection - verses 25&26. "He shall stand upon the earth" (an interesting indication of millennial truth); "In my flesh I shall see God."

He got a glimpse of supernatural recognition - verse 27. "Whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold," even though right now I feel like I am being destroyed ("my heart faints within me").
9. Ultimately, things always turn out right. Humanly and temporally, they do not. The way the lives of some of God's choicest servants end is, from a human standpoint, just plain not right. I think particularly of Donna and Doris and the host of others who are struggling near the end of the way in a manner they never knew before. The assurance is, however, that in the end, it all comes out right. What we must realize is that death is not the end, and that "the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed."
10. The final message of Job: Hang on to your faith no matter what. Job is a book of broad perspective, and we need to realize that Job didn't know what we know - that he was going to see it all come out right in this life (which also happens at times today). On the basis of what we know now, however, we would surely say to Job, "Hang in there, Buddy." And that's a good note on which to leave our study of Job - "Hang in there, friend."
God knows what He is doing whether or not we have even so much as a clue. – Dr. Chuck Wood

Compassion

What is indiscriminate compassion? "Take a look at a rose. Is it possible for the rose to say, 'I'll offer my fragrance to good people and withhold it from bad people'? Or can you imagine a lamp that withholds its rays from a wicked person who seeks to walk in its light? It could do that only by ceasing to be a lamp. And observe how helplessly and indiscriminately a tree gives its shade to everyone, good and bad, young and old, high and low; to animals and humans and every living creature - even to the one who seeks to cut it down. This is the first quality of compassion - its indiscriminate character." ....

.... What makes the Kingdom come is heartfelt compassion: a way of tenderness that knows no frontiers, no labels, no compartmentalizing, and no sectarian divisions. Jesus, the human Face of God, invites us to deep reflection on the nature of true discipleship and the radical lifestyle of Abba's child.

(Brennan Manning - Abba's Child, 75-76)

A disciple is one whose dream is to be like Jesus

Are you a leader or a follower? Do you like blazing new trails? Or are you more comfortable a well-defined path? Do you regard difficulties as challenges or as setbacks? Are you the kind of person who will keep pressing in to get what you’re after? How far will you go to realize your dreams?

A disciple is one whose dream is to be like Jesus.

Don’t confuse being a Christian with being a disciple. Every believer is a Christian but not every believer is a disciple. Disciples are believers who are committed to going deeper and deeper with the Lord—as deep as they can go. Most believers are content just to be saved. They’re just happy to have their ticket to heaven. The demands of the deeper life in Christ don’t really attract them.

And with good reason: those demands are high. In Luke 14:25-33 Jesus sets out the demands of discipleship in such terms as bearing a cross, counting the cost and forsaking all. Not for the faint of heart!

The deeper things of the Spirit are reserved for those who are willing and determined to press in and claim them—to plunge headlong into the wellspring of the very heart of God!

Paul was this kind of person. He was a trailblazer: “…I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation…” And he was willing to pay any price to touch the heart of Christ: “…I…count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…” He understood that this would require single-minded determination: “…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

You don’t have to be a trailblazer to be a disciple. You don’t have to be a natural leader. All you need is an abandoned love for Jesus and a heart that yearns to be like Him. It’s what Jesus calls hungering and thirsting for righteousness—and He promises satisfaction.

(Tommy Tenney - Finding Favour With The King)

A LOVE AFFAIR OF THE HEART

For above all else, the Christian life is a love affair of the heart. It cannot be lived primarily as a set of principles or ethics. It cannot be managed with steps and programs. It cannot be lived exclusively as a moral code leading to righteousness. In response to a religious expert who asked him what he must do to obtain real life, Jesus asked a question in return:

"What is written in the Law?.... How do you read it?"
He answered: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
(Luke 10:26-28, emphasis added)


The truth of the gospel is intended to free us to love God and others with our whole heart. When we ignore this heart aspect of our faith and try to live out our religion solely as correct doctrine or ethics, our passion is crippled, or perverted, and the divorce of our soul from the heart purposes of God toward us is deepened.

(The Sacred Romance 8)
(The Ransomed Heart 21 - John Eldredge)

Humility

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?
2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

- Philippians 2 v 1-11 (New Living Translation)

I read the passage above sometime last week, and it has really stuck with me all week, especially verses 6-8. I've been reflecting a lot lately about times in my life when I know that I'm right about something, and someone else disagrees, how I try to prove to them, that I really am right. Or when someone thinks something about me that is not true, I get upset and want them to see the truth of who I am.

Yet, in the passage above, it is amazing to see the extent of humility that Jesus carried, that though He was God, He was willing not only to be human but also to publicly die the death of a common criminal. I find that so incredible, and I realise how far I am, from walking in the humility that Jesus walked in.

Is my heart tender and compassionate? Or is it more concerned with how others see me?

O Father, please give me a tender and compassionate heart!

I've also been reading Colossians the last couple of days and in addition to the passage that I mentioned in my last post, below is another passage that has stuck with me, may you find them encouraging... and may you find Christ and hear the good news, if you don't already know Him.

Lots of love, Ash x

19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,

20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

- Colossians 1 v 19-23 (New Living Translation)

Mercy

We had a staff meeting at work this morning, and one of my colleagues read out Colossians chapter 3v1-17. I particularly liked verses 12-14: 'Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.' I like that idea of clothing ourselves in love, and sometimes that is easier said than done.

Over the last week, I have been going to bed at night and listening to Laura Woodley's cd 'In Love' as I drift off to sleep. The first song/prayer on that cd is called 'Mercy' and there is this one line that gets me every time. She sings:

"I've been forgiven of more than I could ever be angry for.
Instead of judgement, I choose mercy."
I love that line, especially the last part : Instead of Judgement, I choose Mercy.

That has just been going round and round in my head all week. I can't stop thinking about that line! What a beautiful thing to choose :)

Over the last week, I found myself in a situation that upset me, and my first instinct reaction in my heart was to judge, but as soon as I made that judgement in my heart, I knew I had to repent, and I had the opportunity to put into practise this very wonderful gift that I have received...Instead of Judgement, I choose Mercy.

My prayer is that one day, that will be the instinct reaction of my heart, to choose mercy and not judgement. May we all choose Mercy and clothe ourselves in Love - how our world would be a better place if we all did that. Mercy Triumphs Over Judgement!

Love Ash x

Colossians 3-17 (The Message)
So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.
Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Another year is over, another one begins! A new beginning, a clean slate... how will we live this year? What will we accomplish? What will we regret? What are your goals and dreams? Do you have any resolutions? Or is it just another ordinary day?

There's so many hopes and dreams I have for this year, but I know that it is the Lord who guides my footsteps, so I give Him this year, so that He may lead me in all that I do. I heard this song the other day and I liked it, so I'm sharing it with you and hope that you find Jesus this year, if you don't know already know Him.

My Jesus - by Todd Agnew

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land?
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand?

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side
or fall down and worship at His holy feet?

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part?
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You,
love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Love the Unlovely

3 days ago, I listened to a reading of Isaiah 53 by a friend, and since that morning there has been one verse that has stuck around in my head, it's one of my favourite verses in this chapter, and it is the second part of verse 2 which says: "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him". There's something about this verse that I love so much, and I will try to explain why this verse means so much to me.

In Isaiah 53, Isaiah was prophetically speaking about Jesus. When I think of what Jesus did on the cross for us, my first thought is always of how terrible the agony must've been for Jesus, to be seperated from the Father for 3 days, to be in utter darkness, carrying the weight of our sins, basically the sufferring of his soul. It's a thought we can never truly comprehend, a thought so terrible it makes me shudder! (And let us not forget too, how terrible that must`ve been for the Father too, to be separated from His Son whom He loves, and to willingly give up His Son for us).

But before that even takes place, verse 2 tells us that there was nothing 'lovely' about him and Isaiah goes on in verse 3 to say that: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

So often the world thinks of Jesus as being so beautiful and lovely especially now as Christmas approaches and we sing about the 'little baby Jesus sleeping in a manger, laying down his sweet head'. Yet, the world forgets that this sweet little baby, is the same Jesus, that had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, and that he was despised and rejected by men, a man familiar with sufferings.

This baby Jesus came to our world on a mission. He came to identify with us in our humanity, to offer us a better life and to point the way to the Father, He shared in our sufferings, He took upon himself the weight of our sins, He didn't look like a Brad Pitt male model, there was nothing special about His appearance, He more likely looked like an ordinary man, that would walk past you in the street and you wouldn't even notice.

Yet Jesus was beautiful: in loving the unlovely; in sharing in our sufferings; in carrying our trangressions; in allowing the suffering of His soul so that our souls could find freedom that we didn't deserve; in being oppressed and afflicted in silence for our sakes; in being pierced and crushed for our iniquities; in taking our punishment so we can have His peace; He truly is beautiful! In choosing to not use His divinity to ease the pain, so that He could identify with our suffering, He truly is majestic!

So this Christmas season, remember that it is the coming of this Jesus, that is the true reason for the season. If you are suffering, if you are despised by men, if there is nothing in your appearance that others would desire, remember that Jesus loves you. Remember that you are the reason He came to earth, that He wanted to share in your sufferring, and give you hope and comfort in the power of his resurrection, in what He defeated on the cross for you. To give you a gift of eternal life, and as we receive what He gives us and reflect on His beauty, may we be changed and be made beautiful in His likeness.

And for those of you, who are not suffering, who are loved by others and are lovely in appearance, may you remember to give a little love this Christmas and remember to love the unlovely, and if you look hard enough, you may even find Jesus in those that the world despises.

Isaiah 53:2-7 (New International Version)

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Enchanted

I went to see the film Enchanted tonight. It was hilarious. I absolutely loved it! I had no idea what it was about, and I didn't even know that I was going to go see it, until just a couple of hours before. I wasn't going to go, because I had to go and do the last of my Christmas shopping tonight. Which meant that I would need to spend all the money that I had left (as it wasn't much in the first place). Anyway, so I knew I wasn't going to have any money left to go see the movie, and seeing as I hadn't seen the trailer, I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. But fortunatley for me, I have some very fabulous and wonderful good friends, who decided to pay for me and take me with them to the movies. I'm so glad that they did.

I don't think that I've ever heard myself laugh out loud so much in my life. It was one of those films that appeal definitely to females more than males, but it wasn't your typical 'girlie' film. It was really funny, and it was one of those films that touch some place in your heart (even though you know in your head that it's a fairytale and not real - some part of you still wishes that somehow it would be wonderful if fairy tales like that could come true).

I'm so glad that I went, I loved it, but even more than that, I am so glad to have such wonderful friends that I can have so much fun with. Thank you God for giving me such wonderful friends with whom I can laugh out loud so much.

New Beginnings

Dear All,
I apologise for having neglected this blog for so long. I am once again back in Nova Scotia, living in a new home, having made new friends, and working in a new job. I am having a great time. I love my job, my colleagues, my friends, my home, my life.

I hope that you are well too, and are enjoying your life.

Lots of love from Ash x

Back in England

Dear All,

I apologise for my long absence from the blogging world. I have been busy. I am now back in England and have recovered well from the car accident. I will be here for another month before going back to Canada.

Just a few photos to share with you.

Wembly Park Stadium - not that far from where I live in London.

Trafalgar Square in London

Views of Chelmsford

Durham Cathedral

Durham

England is beautiful.

Car Crash

Sorry, I haven't updated in a long time. I was in a car crash a couple of weeks ago, and I'm only just recovering. I was a front seat passenger. Praise God - I had no serious injuries (but I did get taken to hospital in an ambulence). The car was totally written off. The driver and backseat passenger were ok, shaken but not injured.

I only have one more week left here, so life is quite hectic at the moment, will update again when I'm in England.

Real Quick Update!

I only have a few weeks left here and oh so so much to do before I leave. I am in the middle of working on about 5 different glass projects (more about that at a later post when I finish the projects and hopefully remember to take photos to post).

I am also helping the Iraqi eye doctor here with a PowerPoint Presentation and Film Editing (the other day I watched two hours worth of operations on the eye - they were quite fascinating - the human eye is incredible).

I've also been doing quite a bit of babysitting for various friends.

And I also have a whole load of other stuff to do, but let me tell you about yesterday afternoon. I was having lunch and all of a sudden Rachel gave this loud shriek of excitement as she was looking out the window and there were three deer right before our eyes in our garden. It was an awesome sight. I ran to get the camera and only managed to get a couple of photos before they disappeared!

We also bought some Humming bird feeders and so far I've seen one tiny Humming bird, although I know there have been a lot more around. Well I've gotta fly for now :)

Our Solar System

Tonight, Tasha who's 11 asked me if I could type up her school project on the solar system for her. She had already done all the research and written it all out. She just wanted me to type it up for her. So I did. As I was typing, I got more and more fascinated by our solar system and how God created such an amazing galaxy. It totally baffles me, how anyone could possibly look at this, and then say it's all a result of some random bang. I'd like to share with you just a few bits from Tasha's project, and to make it more interesting, I even found lots of cool images from the internet to go along with it. Hope you enjoy reading this and I hope you marvel at what an awesome Creator God truly is...

The Solar System

The Solar System is made up from stars, the Sun, Moon, and the nine planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

The Solar System is also made up from minor planets, comets, meteoroids, and cosmic dust. It would take about 2000 years to get across the solar system, moving as fast as a 747 Passenger Jet. All objects in the solar system orbit the Sun.

Pluto

The smallest planet; It is the coldest planet.

Neptune

· Neptune has two thick and two thin rings surrounding it.
· It is approximately 2.8 billion miles away from the Sun.

Uranus

· Uranus is almost identical to Neptune.
· Uranus is made of Methane ice.

Saturn

· Saturn is the 2nd largest planet in the solar system.
· 755 Earths could fit inside Saturn.

Jupiter

· Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System.
· Jupiter is mostly made of a gas called hydrogen.
· Jupiter has a small rocky core at its centre and it is bigger than the Earth.

Mars

· Mars is often called the “Red Planet” because of its colour.
· It is about half the size of the Earth.
· In Mars, one day is 24½ hours long.

Earth

It is often called “The Water Planet” because it is the only planet in our Solar System which has liquid water on its surface (about 70% of the surface of Earth is covered by water).

Venus

· It takes Venus 243 days to spin around one full time.
· Venus is about the same size of the Earth.
· It is very hot all over the whole planet (465˚C).

Mercury

· It is the closest planet to the Sun.
· It has no moons.
· It is the hottest planet in the day; At night, because Mercury spins so slowly, you could freeze to death.

The Sun

· The Sun is a star.
· It is made of gases called hydrogen and helium.
· The outside temperature of the Sun is 11,000ºF.
· More than one billion planet Earths could fit inside the Sun because it is so big.

The Moon

· It is about 250,000 miles from Earth.
· The Moon is moving about one inch away from the Earth each year.
· It has a diameter of about 3,476 kilometers.

Stars

· There are roughly 100 billion stars in the galaxy.
· The Sun is the closest star to Earth.
· It would take about a hundred thousand years to get to the closest star using the fastest space ship on earth.
· A star is made out of a bunch of burning gas made of Helium and Hydrogen.

Cats and Dogs

Hello again.

I finally have some time to update my blog. Over the last few months, I've met some new people and made some new friends. One of those friends is a very lovely person called Sjanna who has four gorgeous kids and a lovely family. I was at her house last week and their cat had just given birth to 4 kittens a couple of days earlier, so I got to hold them for a few seconds. It was really cool. I'd never seen new born kittens before and I had no idea how tiny they would be. They are so small. They still had their eyes shut that day. I'll be going round to her house again tomorrow, so I don't know if they will have opened their eyes or not by then.

The four kittens

Look how small that kitten is and my hands are really small.

Sjanna and I

Another gorgeous Nova Scotian view

I will really miss the pretty scenery of Nova Scotia when I go back to England. I've booked my flight for early July. I will be going back to London, and at the moment, it looks like it will be for good, as I still don't have a valid work permit to allow me to stay and teach here. So that is kind of sad, but it will be nice to see my family and friends in England again.

Anja and Gina have a friend at school called Morgan, and Morgan has this cute Shitzou dog called Zoe. I'm not a fan of small yappy dogs, but I have to say that Zoe is just so cute! So I had to have a photo taken with her just to show you. (Elaine - I wish you could see her in real life - she really is sooo cute).

Today, I went to the Yarmouth Museum with Anja and Gina on their school trip. I really did enjoy the tour and it did make me feel like, 'I wish I could get a job and stay here', so I'm still hoping that a miracle will happen before September and I'll be able to come back here.

Speaking of Anja and Gina and school activities, they had a Medieval theme and they made these lanterns at school, and I think they are so cool ... k

Also, they had a project where they had to make a musical instrument, so I enlisted the help of my good friends John and Wendy one weekend. Wendy helped Gina make this glass wind chime. Gina had to cut and grind pieces of coloured glass and Wendy helped her to hang them with thin fishing wire. It looks really cool, and makes a lovely sound, although the wires can get tangled quite easily.

Anja was very adventerous and decided she wanted to make a harp. So John helped her to cut some wood and nail it together to make it look vaguely like a harp. I tied the strings (again we used thin fishing wire). Anja sanded it down and painted it. It looks really cool, and it does makes a faint sound. I'm really proud of them both and really thankful to have such good friends as John and Wendy, who were willing so kindly, to help us out with this project.

So, as you can see, I've been busy with the girls and with making new friends. I also started attending a Bible Study group for Young Adults that is run by Hebron Baptist Church (which is where I met Sjanna - as in I met her at the church, not at the group). The Bible Study Group is quite informal and we meet fortnightly, and I am really enjoying it. And their church is going to be organising a Kid's club for one week in June, and I have signed up to help out with that, so I am really really excited about that and looking forward to it.

This Friday, Rachel and I are taking the girls to a church in Mahone Bay (which is like a 2 hour drive from here) and we're really excited and looking forward to that too.

In other news, my sister has signed me up for a 5K run in Regents Park (in London) on the 22nd of July, so I'm going to have to start training soon and do some running. It's to raise money for 'Cancer Research'.

I did a 5K run with her a couple of years ago in Hyde Park (that time I ran to raise money for a charity called 'Action Aid' that works to Make Poverty History). I enjoyed it, but I hadn't trained until 3 weeks before the run, and it took me 45 minutes to run it. Hopefully, this time, I'll get a lot more training in before the run.

That was us before the run - it was a very hot day!

After completing the run

Relaxing :)

Well I guess that is enough news for one post. For those of you, who have been waiting for my newsletter. I was going to write one and e-mail it to you over the Easter holiday, but then I got ill for a couple of weeks, then I got better but as usual have been quite busy. (Oh yeah, I've also been stacking some more wood recently - all good stuff for building up my non-existent arm muscles. I've also really enjoyed the gorgeous weather we've been having this week too). Hopefully, I'll manage to write a newsletter and e-mail it to you soon and give you a more personal update.

Another quiz

You Are a Prophet Soul

You are a gentle soul, with good intentions toward everyone. Selfless and kind, you have great faith in people. Sometimes this faith can lead to disappoinment in the long run. No matter what, you deal with everything in a calm and balanced way. You are a good interpreter, very sensitive, intuitive, caring, and gentle. Concerned about the world, you are good at predicting people's feelings. A seeker of wisdom, you are a life long learner looking for purpose and meaning. You are a great thinker and communicator, but not necessarily a doer. Souls you are most compatible with: Bright Star Soul and Dreaming Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

101 Things About Me

I saw this on Rebecca's blog, and decided to join in and do the same, especially as I am aware that I have been quite lazy at updating my blog, so this should be fun...

1. I am a born-again Christian.
2. I love Jesus with all my heart.
3. I believe that Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE (John 14v6).
4. I believe that God is a God of LOVE.
5. I also believe that God is jealous for our love.
6. I fear God (fear as in the highest form of respect rather than being terrified).
7. I believe the Bible is the true word of God.
8. I love the Holy Spirit and my heavenly Father as much as I love Jesus.
9. I love Iraq and the diversity of the cultures within.
10. I love that I was born in Baghdad.
11. I was named after the Queen of Babylon and the goddess of love, fertility/life and war.
12. I have very smart parents.
13. I have two younger sisters: a lawyer (it's her birthday today - Happy Birthday gorgeous!) and an actress (I'm so proud of you for not giving up on your dreams).
14. I love all my family members.
15. I can speak, read and write Arabic and English fluently.
16. I know a little bit of German.
17. I have cousins who are half German.
18. I have more cousins than I can keep count of.
19. I was kidnapped and held at gun-point when I was a baby about 7 months old.
20. God saved my life.
21. I went on a plane for the first time when I was 11 months old, and have been travelling the world ever since.
22. I contemplated ending my life when I was 18.
23. Then I met Jesus, and He saved my life again.
24. I nearly got run over by a car countless times in my life.
25. God saved me each time.
26. I can't swim.
27. I fell in the river in Cambridge when I was 19 and nearly drowned.
28. God saved me again (my friend jumped in and got me out).
29. I've renounced my death wish ever since then, and have had no more 'near death' experiences.
30. I love the plans that God has for my life.
31. I have no idea what's next in the plan.
32. I love being in the presence of God.
33. I love to worship God and to tell others about him.
34. I love to pray for the sick and see God healing them.
35. I love it when God intervenes in someone's life and makes it better.
36. I can't live without God.
37. I love people who are honest, genuine, and down to earth.
38. I LOVE people who make me LAUGH. (They say that food is the way to a man's heart, well making me laugh is definitely the way to my heart!)
39. I have chocolate brown eyes, but I wear blue contact lenses when I go out.
40. I'd rather have one true godly friend, than a thousand friends who aren't.
41. I love to dance, although I'm not the best of dancers.
42. My dad is the best dancer I know.
43. I love the Lebanese TV show 'Star Academy'.
44. I was so happy last week when Shada Hasoon (the first Iraqi girl contestant) won this year's Star Academy. She's also the first girl contestant to ever win the show and you can see the final episode here.
45. I am so privileged to be living with my Pastor's family.
46. They are my spiritual family and they are awesome.
47. I love them (each and every one) and they will always be a big part of my life.
48. I try to always treat others in the same way that I would like to be treated.
49. I love people who are hungry for more of God and who are not afraid to be out of the box.
50. I love making new friends and getting to know people from different cultures and countries.
51. I love the colours blue, pink, lilac and red in that order.
52. I love Hagen-Das vanilla ice-cream.
53. My favourite alcoholic drink is Baileys.
54. I have never been drunk and never want to be either.
55. I love the Irish accent and the Jordi (New Castle) accent.
56. I made a commitment to serve God full time.
57. I want God to enlarge my heart, and let His heart flow through me.
58. I struggle with loneliness and rejection at times.
59. But I do believe that I am very special and valuable to God and that He never leaves me alone.
60. I am short.
61. I was born a month early and weighed only 2kg.
62. I hate it when people are two-faced.
63. I hate hypocrisy.
64. I love truth.
65. I love leading people to Jesus.
66. As you can tell from this list, I love talking about God.
67. I hate the occult, but I love the prophetic.
68. I hate injustice.
69. I like to read books, especially ones that challenge me to go deeper in my walk with God. 70. I like to listen to music and to sing along when no one's around to hear me.
71. I like to encourage others in their walk with God.
72. I like to have encouragement from other Christians around me.
73. I miss my really good friends.
74. I can be very quiet in group situations.
75. I like to think before I speak.
76. I don't like to offend others.
77. I relate best on a 'one to one' level.
78. I can be a chatter box at times.
79. I can be extremely patient with some people.
80. Yet I can have a very short and feisty temper with my youngest sister. Sorry babe!
81. I find it hard not to argue back at times.
82. I choose to die to my self and my selfish desires daily and I choose to live for Christ.
83. I very often FAIL miserably at doing that, but at least I try.
84. 8 is my favourite number and 4 is my second favourite number, followed by the number 2. 85. I love drinking fruit smoothies.
86. I love eating Iraqi kebabs and shawurma.
87. I love eating olives.
88. I love strawberries with ice-cream and sugar on top.
89. I would love to have identical twin girls one day.
90. I'd love to travel the world many times over.
91. I believe that God has a sense of humour.
92. I'm not afraid to be different, or to go against the grain.
93. I love adventure.
94. I love the countryside and natural beauty.
95. I love to go for long walks with a friend, I especially love to walk in the woods.
96. I love the word of God.
97. I want my heart and my life to be flowing with God's compassion and grace for others.
98. I believe it is better to forgive than to have unforgiveness in my heart.
99. I hardly ever cry.
100. I know that God is softening my heart when I do cry.
101. I love all my friends.

The Three Trees

'The Three Trees' is one of my favourite stories ever. I've read it to every class I've taught several times. Today, a friend e-mailed me the story and it was nice to be reminded of it, so I thought I'd share it with you today.



Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."

Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."

Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the Hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."

After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a Carpenter, "and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.

At the second tree the woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.

When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the Woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one," and he cut it down.

When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark.

The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time.

Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said "Peace" and the Storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.

Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.

The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best. May your day be blessed. And until we meet again, may God cradle you in the palm of His hand.

Congratulations sis!

My sister had her graduation ceremony from the Law Society a couple of weeks ago in England, and I thought it was about time, I blogged to say Congratulations! I'm so proud of her!