back from an evening at TACF

Last night was awesome!! If I had my laptop, I would post some pictures. But I don't :(. Anyways, we landed at TACF about 6:30pm, and Ruth Fazal got the worship started about 7pm. After lots of formalities(?), and more awesome worship, Heidi took the stage and laid on her face for another 50 minutes(!) before speaking from John 15:1-11. I love how Heidi completely takes God's agenda (and His alone) when she speaks. It was 10 to 10 before she even preached a word! It was a truly awesome message. We didn't get back to St Catharines till 2am.

I'm kinda choked today, cause the NCC bus failed to come over to the residence to pick us up to head to Toronto for the Truth Conference at TICC. Oh well, I've got things to do anyway, but it wouldve been a good teachings. I guess I could always buy the cd's?

So I started working at an apartment complex about 5 minutes away from Celebration Bible College. I'm not sure for how long, but I'll have work for at least this week, maybe longer, it's hard to say. Money is good though. Hopefully I'll make enough to stay in school hahaha!!!

Everyone looking for some good books to read should have a go at: Eternity In Their Hearts; Kingdom Principles Of Financial Increase (the best book on the doctrine of biblical prosperity that I've come across); and Total Forgiveness. Those are some of the required reading for the courses of World Religions, Biblical Economics, and Christian Family, respectively.

So thats my update, for today. Hope you're all doing well.

Matthew 20:28

Ok, so I promised a more exciting post this time, but it's not gonna happen, I have nothing prepeared. Actually, I just blogged a pretty good one, but the computer crashed and now I have to do it over again >:(. Anyways, I'll get over it. But here's a good tidbit from the "Heart of s Leader course we are doing: "JESUS LED BY SERVING". Get it? Leaders serve. It's crucial. And on and on and on.....

So I havent found a job yet but my applications are in at 8 different locations. A job would be nice, considering that if I want to stay for my second semester, money would be good. I really don't want to have to come back to PEI to work for a ticket to Africa without completing my associate degree first. That wouldnt be cool. But, whatever, its all good.

Speaking of good, this weekend a carload of student are going to TACF to see Heidi Baker preach at a conference. Then early saturday morning, a busload of us are cruisin from St Catharines to Toronto to take part in the Truth Conference at TICC (Peter Karl Youngren's church). That conference deals specifacally with apologetics, which is a sweet subject to study.

So, thats whats happenin. I am also looking for another apartment cause the resdience is not the greatest place to reside. So there you go, some things to pray about for sure, if you feel so inclined. Have a good week.

Looking for a job, I am. I went to a few different nursing homes the last couple days, but no luck as of yet. I should know better, having been in the nursing system for a long while. It often takes a while to get guaranteed hours in that line of work, so I may have to go for something else. We'll see, we'll see.

Classes have been good. Same ole. Been volunteering a few extra hours at NCC, just helping out in the kitchen, or getting all their newsletters (55000 of them!!) enveloped and ready for mailing. There is lots to do. I would like to have some amazing crazy revelation to share with you all today, but the teaching the last few days has stayed pretty consistent with the totality of the finished work of Christ, which is a mighty revelation in itself, I guess. It's a rock solid concept.

In other events, I walk for at least an hour everyday, going to and fro, here and there. The public transit system here is not so great, and rather pricey, so I have chosen to just walk everywhere I need to go. Not to bad, exercise is good, or so I've heard. The weather has been great, at least, yesterday, it was 29!! OK thats it. No more; my next post will be more interesting, I promise.

DESTINY (& predestination)

Mark 4:3-8
1. Your destiny exists as a seed
2. When you are born again, that seed must grow,
a. by praying
b. by seeking God

Currently I am involved in a 'Fulfilling Your Destiny' course. It has touched on the ever-misunderstood concept of 'predestination'. Here is some notes from the course, so far:

God has a perfect plan and destiny for your life, predetermined and predecided before time began.
There is a doctrine of predestination that essentially says, "Whatever will be, will be." Expanded, this means that those who will be saved - will, and those who won't be saved - won't. The theory goes that the choices we make cannot change the course of this 'predestination' because God knew before time began who would be saved and who would not. Further, this 'predestination' offers more than salvation and so life becomes a matter of "whatever will be, will be". This teaching is a perversion of Scripture.
Predestination does indeed involve the concept of a fixed destiny that exists for each person, but as to whether or not a person recieves that destiny is dependant on the individuals life, and upon the choices they make.

A big problem with the english word 'predestination' is with how the english translators translated that word from the original Greek language in which it was written. Don't get me started! Many of the false doctrines that, as a whole, confuse Christians world-wide, are confusing because of imperfect translations of the Hebrew or Greek texts. So much too say, but sooo little time.

To end this post on the topic I planned to start--> Destiny! Here are 6 points that refer to your destiny, in Christ:

1. Destiny is specific and individualized.
2. Religion says, "Die from your destiny and vision!"
3. Jesus says, " Die from your self effort." If we think we can accomplish what God has ordained for us, on our own, we will fail desperately. This is the true meaning of 'repentance'.
4. We are not to wait for our destiny to be fulfilled. We are to discover, and walk in it.
5. Abandon the idea that it is hard to know the destiny that God has for you.
6. Throw away the thought that you must fast & pray for days, and maybe, if you do enough, God will grudgingly let you know His plan for you.

So there you go. Some tidbits from Celebration Bible College, and from Pastor George Woodward.

life at CBC

Things are well; busy. So far I'm enjoying life in St Catharines. The school is going well. Sunday night they had a commissioning service for the outgoing missionaries to Indonesia, what an awesome time that was. When I get better prepared, I'll write these posts out beforehand, then blog them. Anyways, the service was awesome, the missionaries just preached about all the excuses we have for not going onto the field, and they tore those excuses apart!! T'was a thing of beauty.

So today, in the a.m. I was doing a course called Youth Ministry, then in the afternoon I was doing World Religions (today focused on Hinduism, very interesting. My student duty is duplicating all the video correspondance tapes, as well as duplicating the school sessions onto cd. I also recieved my student ministry, which will be helping out with the overseas ministry area. HALLELUJAH!! Thats fairly sweet. So I'll be learning about what is involved in organizing, putting on, etc etc etc a crusade (festival, as we call them) in a foreign country. Nice!

The school is quite diverse, student wise, I mean. Fitting in may be my big challenge. I'm not too worried about it though. My sense of direction has been super strengthened in the brief time I've been here, and it appears it is not going to abate in the least!!

So yeah, next few posts, I'll try to relate a few of the more exciting things that have come up in my class and study time. 5 of us students are on a weeklong hunt to really discover the meaning and importance of New Covenant fasting. What do all you think about it? Why, as New Covenant believers, do we fast? Why? Don't answer too quickly now, the answer is much more in depth than you think. Study it out, then let me know. Blessings all.

St Catharines

So, I have made it to St Catharines and have started my school year at Celebration Bible College (formerly known as World Impact Bible Institute). The first week was good. It's tough to get adjusted and spend all the few dollars you have on buying things that you neglected to think you need before arriving. But, oh well. There are about 66 students enrolled this semester and they seem like a decent lot. It's good to have internet access again. I'm at the public library right now, my laptop remains in Roswell trying to be fixed. Hopefully it won't take too long or be too expensive seeing that finances are TIGHT!!!! But I may be recieving my new cell phone very soon, in which case I will be trying to arrange a plan where you all can call me on a sort of unlimited-recieving-calls type of deal. Anyways, tonight I am going to a missions supper at the church. Niagra Celebration Church sends out missionaries every septmber under their Celebrate Jesus Intl (CJI) banner. So they are having a support supper for them tonight. Should be good times.

So here are some prayer requests for all you reading intercessors:
- I need a job to stay in school (financially) but the job would seriously restict my participation in the unending list of ministry opportunities associated with CBC. For instance, the staff want me to lead an evangelism team of students around St Catharines doing all sorts of Gospel work. So pray that my job wouldn't interfere with these time schedules, or pary I wounldn't need to work at all and that I could totally devote 100% of my off time to the ministry here.

Actually, I think thats my big request. That is my pressing issue in my life right now. How awful it is that finances direct the flow of ministry many times. It makes me sick! Alas, they are needed nonetheless. So there you are everyone. God bless you all, and hopefully now, I will be in steady contact again!

Rochester, NY

And...........48 hrs after leaving Roswell, I arrive in Rochester to visit Jaci for the day. My layover in St Louis was INSANE!! The bus was an hour and a half late, and their was about 250 people waiting to catch a bus that only held about 55 people!! There was 3 other non-official line ups, much cursing between the lines and almost a fist fight. I was among the lucky 55 that managed to secure passage to Columbus though; hallelujah, amen! The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful.

So it's like 5:30am, and I have to jump on another bus in like 3 hrs, to get to St Catharines. The day in Rochester was great. Jaci took me out to her fanilies place where we ate and played 'boucha(?)' or something. T'was good times. Then we came back and I helped her write a support letter for her trip to Redding, CA and the school at Bethel's Supernatural School of Ministry. We finished at like 3:30 am or something outlandish, then raved till now. The last year of our lives has been extremely eventful. She's doin good though, praise God!

Sorry folks, no pics to update. My laptop is still in Roswell, and I'll only be gettin it back when it is fixed. Not really sure what the problem is; whatever it is, it better be cheap to fix. Anyways tomorrow I register at WIBI, and am back in Canada for a spell. Be talkin to ya's soon. Peace out...........

more from Roswell/Carlsbad/Ruidoso, NM

The last couple days have been interesting; oh yeah, interesting! Joy and I cruised around to all the UFO hotspots here in Roswell and stuff. It has been a most educational(?) trip? People cannot believe I came all the way from eastern Canada to spend time in 'Roswell'; that's funny! But it has been good, indeed.

So for my birthday, Joy and I cruised'er 90 miles south to Carlsbad, where there are some doce underground caves with the huge stalagmite stalathitity thingy things? Know what I mean? It was pretty cool................for an hour!! Then it got a little monotonous. But it was amazing altogether. I believe we watched "End of the Spear" later that night. The movie didn't impress me much cause it seemed like they diluted the influence of Christ. It was almost like a compromise so that the movie would be accepted in the secular world. Ah well, wasnt that bad though.

Today, Joy, John Mark and I went to Ruidoso and ate at an amazing place called "Can't Stop Smokin". It had the most amazing pulled pork sandwiches ever!!! Good times.

And I am writing this post from Joy's Apple because my Gateway's screen went :(. Nao bom!! So it's at this guy's place trying to see whats wrong with it. I may not even get to take it back to Canada because it may have to stay here for repairs :(. Not cool. So yeah, pray for my laptop to be healed!!!!............................in the bloody name of Jesu Cristo!!!!!!!!!

But all in all, my trip has been amazing. I leave tomorrow morning for a two-day bus trip north to Rochester, NY where I will spend a day with yet another HoGi before jumping the border into Ontario on the 5th. It was muito bem to see Joy and to just sit with her and rave about God and our lives etc,etc,etc. God seems to move in lives more when you really get hungry for Him.

So yeah; next up.............Bible school. I cannot wait to tear into the Word of God. Can you say hungry? I sure can. And I sure am. So, Roswell....................."out."