A Day at the Office

So this move to the Atlantic Coast of Canada has been filled with God stories. From the very beginning (you can read about it in my first post An Unusual Journey) God has been obviously present in every detail.

About 3 weeks ago I was hired as a Human Resources Advisor for a large organization in Halifax. The way doors opened up around this can only be explained by His favor on the whole process. Education wise-I didn't have the professional HR designation they were looking for, and I had no formal experience in human resources. And yet somehow, out of 200 quality applicants, they chose to hire a Vineyard pastor who followed the voice of God from Kansas City to Halifax as their HR representative!

Of course the job offer came at the last possible minute; just as all our savings were about to disappear. That seems to be the way it works when we step out in faith. It was one more divine event to add to the ongoing story of God's activity around this move.

Well, all day yesterday and today, I was networking at a healthcare conference at the Delta Hotel in Halifax (pictured above). As I was talking to one of the professionals from the Red Cross, she began asking me about my background and the story of how we got here. I told her all the God stories: the ways He called us here, the perfect timing for everything, the favor we've experienced in the Halifax Vineyard, etc. (It turns out, she's been to the Halifax Vineyard's cafe and ice cream shop, and really "likes the vibe" around there).

As I told her story after story of God's leading and faithfulness, you could see her heart engaging with what His Spirit was doing. When she commented on how risky this dramatic move was, I shared with her that we only get one shot in this life to trust God for anything. Isn't it worth going for?

She was so excited, and walked away with a sense of something bigger than ourselves going on. I walked away with a sense of how important it is to our world that we tell our stories of God at work. Let's tell our stories everywhere we go, to everyone we meet, and watch what happens as a result.

Kingdom Ministry With Kids

I just finished teaching at the Halifax Vineyard youth group. Tonight we told stories from Mark chapter 1 about Jesus' announcement that the Kingdom of God has come near to us. It's not simply a comforting biblical thought, or a concept to talk about in church gatherings, it's a powerful reality of God being actively at work among us.

So after looking at the stories of Jesus announcing and demonstrating the powerful rule of God, we put the words into action:

The Spirit of God gave words of knowledge for a swollen throat, and 2 teenage girls responded. The power of God came on both of them, and their pain instantly disappeared. A whole bunch of kids expressed their desire to follow Jesus whole-heartedly, and give everything they've got to this kingdom thing. We prayed empowering prayers over them, giving them prophetic words of encouragement, and asking God's Spirit to fill them with His love.

As i looked around the room and saw all these young people laying their hands on their friends and inviting the Holy Spirit, I realized that this is a huge part of what making disciples is all about.

I love this stuff! I absolutely love it! I can't think of any other way I'd want to spend the rest of my life, than to share the message and ministry of Jesus with a group of kids that are hungry for something real.