The new and improved www.jmnroofing.com
I have been so grateful for is to have
Jordan, Addi and Rylan working with me during this time as an essential
service. However, what an incredible
time of upheaval in our world it has been.
We have all had our lives turned upside down with this Covid19 outbreak,
social distancing and lack of real meaningful connection with other
people. I’m sorry, but video calls just
don’t cut it after a while. I have heard
stories of people just craving for human touch and longing for a simple hug in
the midst of all this craziness. There have been people in groups of five
walking downtown Guelph with signs protesting what is going on silently. The sign they held up was, “We were meant to
live together”.
One
question that has been asked is, “when are things going to be normal
again?” We are all doing our best to
cope during this time and for some it has been extremely difficult just getting
by and I feel for you. As for myself, this
time has been an opporunity to really dig in and become a better version of
myself. TBH… I really wasn’t excited
about the person I was becoming. In some
ways, I felt like I was being lulled to sleep in my lifestyle. My life was predictable; there was no
surprise, no carpe diem to me. I was
living life on auto-pilot and then the crisis hit and we were all caught in the
whirlwind.
So, you say, how are you managing? I don’t want to manage. I’ve actually turned into a voracious reader
with 4 books on the go and just completed 3 books.
Here are the books I read for other avid
readers now lol.
Extraordinary by John Bevere; In A Pit With
A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson; Unexpected by Christine Caine; Compelled
by Heidi Baker; Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet by Sarah Hagerty; Hungry For More
of Jesus by David Wilkerson and The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do.
I haven’t read this much since my days in
Bible College…lol. and learning a lot
about myself, gone on more walks than ever before and committed to a daily
workout routine! It has all kept me
grounded. I have never run this long or
this fast for that matter…I just did a 17.3km run on my way to doing my first
half marathon. Running for me makes me come alive. I laugh now because this virus has turned my
sons Rylan and Jordan into competitive runners and Addi, I’ve never seen her
workout so much! BTW I quit facebook and
Insta…at least until I feel like it’s worth going back there…too much time
wasted scrolling.
The most important thing that has been
rediscovered for me is my walk with Jesus and listening to the Holy
Spirit. I really love journaling and
hearing from the LORD, HE definitely still speaks today and is longing for us
to listen. Here is what I sensed the Holy
Spirit telling me recently.
Jack, continue to rest in my presence and
be satisfied with my unfailing love. Keep you face like a flint, ever seeking,
ever knowing the path of life. I then searched up “face like a flint” and
discovered it in Isaiah 50:7 It means to
stand strong in the face of adversity, regard these difficulties as worthwhile
when you consider what they will lead you to.
As we come out of this hibernation of sorts
with this virus lockdown slowly easing, the thing that God has really showed me
is that I need to step out in faith in greater measure. I’ve been reading through the Psalms and in
77 the psalmist Asaph reminds me to cry out to the LORD and He listens. This is a time of repentance (a change of
heart leading to a direct change in lifestyle), a time of reset to where God is
leading. I’m challenging in my reading
that the greater risks that I take, the more that God can use me. I also know that it needs to be a
God-ordained risk. I also am riveted and
rocked by Jesus’ words when He says in Matthew 19:29 that everyone who has left
houses, family, and children will receive a hundred times in this present age
and eternal life. I also know that when
we finally arrive in His presence fully in heaven, it won’t be the sins of
commission that we will regret, but the sins of omission. Our biggest regrets
will be the missed opportunities! For
me, I know that it comes back to my life verse, Matthew 6:21, “wherever your
treasure is, there will your heart be also”. I know that to make a real difference my
investments can’t be tied to the here and now.
It’s a huge wakeup call right now when our financial investments are
getting flushed down the tubes to stay in that place of trust. My investment needs to be in people, it’s all
about others in the kingdom of God!
Steven Furtick in his latest message was
sharing how we were not meant to go back to normal. In fact, he said we should just remember that
we have never been normal…that’s not the goal.
However, why do we want to go back to normal? The reason is because it’s familiar. Sometimes we even crave normal even when we
know it’s killing us like the children of Israel longing to go back to Egypt in
Exodus 14. I love that he said, “Let’s
have the funeral right now! We are not
going back to normal! God brought us all out of Egypt, but is Egypt
(representing the world and its values) out of us?
So, what will your new normal be?
As much as I want to light a fire under us,
I also want to remind us of the encouragement, hope and strength that God can
provide us in the midst of this uncertainty.
I was reading Psalm 91 this morning.
We are called to rest and to abide in the
safety of the presence of the LORD. We
are not to people overwhelmed with fear and anxiety. As children of God, we are under his wings
and sometimes in the darkness we don’t even realize how close we are because we
are covered right under his wing!
“Realities are released through
decrees. Say what God is saying. The power of life and death is in the
tongue.” Bill Johnson We need to speak life over ourselves and our
families during this time.
Sing this song over your family, it is so
powerful!
and something to make you smile :)
