I often wonder when it’s time to say “thank you” in contentment, and when it’s time to say “I need more.” I remember when I was in high school, and a close friend of mine was going through a personal crisis. Everything he knew was beginning to crumble apart around him. However, my Christian conviction kept compelling me to tell him to be thankful. As my friend was dealing with a serious crisis, I couldn’t
The other morning, I was at Next Door meeting with a contractor helping me sort out an issue with our kitchen project. He was very helpful, though in the end I was feeling discouraged, weary and stopped in my tracks. As this project has dragged on, I’ve become too familiar with this feeling, having experienced two or three other challenges along the way. And so being in that moment I just wanted to pray. Often
I am excited to introduce Kayla Dion to our KidsView team this summer. There is no rest for Children’s Ministry during the summer months, in fact, we are getting ready to shift into high gear! Kayla has joined the team to lead KidsView on Sunday mornings and to assist in the leading of the community carnival and Zapped Field Trip Camps. Kayla has graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance. Her
Over the past few weeks a small group of us have met at Next Door to pray and discern the question, “as we are already engaged in Kingdom work, is the Lord calling us be a fuller expression of His church?” This question was formed as the first step in our discernment process, and while the wording of the question is open to some interpretation, it is essentially asking whether we should be more “church
I enjoy running. In particular, I enjoy trail running and the sense of flow that comes with the twists and turns. Ask any trail runner, when you are in the flow you feel like you can run forever! However, there is an inevitability to trail running. The flow never lasts, and you know at some point the euphoria will be interrupted with the challenge of a grueling climb, a steep descent or an outcropping of
Recently on a Monday night, one of regular friends at Next Door, Renee,[1] invited someone to join us for dinner. Renee, who has experienced profound pain in her life, had met this other woman the day before, when she found her distraught outside the local McDonald’s. Renee approached this stranger, told her she looked like she needed a hug, and then hugged her and listed to her painful story. She then followed up with her
To Trust and be trusted. These are good things. Recently, I was feeling encouraged and thankful for the level of trust that we have established with our guests at Next Door. In particular, the subject of trust came to me as I was thinking about Chris*, the coming winter and Chris’ home – a tent in the woods on the outskirts of Aldershot. As I was thinking about him I wondered, how would I know
New habits are difficult to form. Things can start out well but it’s tough to keep it up. Thus, when I publicly committed myself to weekly prayer walking in the Next Door neighbourhood I knew that I was in for a battle. I am two weeks into my new commitment and things are going well, but come September my schedule will fill up and, come winter and shorter days, motivation will wane to make it
The kids had been waiting all week for this story. Anticipating it. Asking about it. Making predictions and whispering theories – What could be God’s Great Rescue Plan? I had told them stories. Stories of God. Stories of creation. Stories of people. Stories of goodness. Stories of brokenness. Stories of fear. Stories of love. And they were waiting. Waiting for the story of redemption – God’s Great Rescue Plan. Thursday, I would tell them. I
Sometimes I feel as though I am spinning through the chaos of life and missing what really matters. Guilt ridden self-doubt; am I enjoying my kids enough or am I too busy to really embrace the special moments? I always attend the events, their sports games, the awards dinners, the drama performance; I put lots of planning and attention into every birthday party. But do I fully embrace their conversations, the times of laughter and
