Anniversaries

Posted on January 18, 2023 by Lynn

My oldest daughter posted a picture on Facebook the other day celebrating the fact that she and her husband started dating 20 years ago. They were poor university students who managed to scrape together a little money to have their picture taken at Walmart. Their fresh young faces brought back my own memories of them. I hadn’t yet met the young man who had captured her heart then to become our son-in-law two years later. Six foot seven, with a heart to serve others just as big, he started his spiritual journey by attending Alpha meetings at a church near the Lethbridge campus my daughter attended. It was there he was saved, and today he is a wonderful husband, father, an Elder in his church, and a certified Biblical Counsellor. A God-sized love story to be sure!

On Friday my husband and I will celebrate our 45th engagement anniversary. We met in the Canadian Military Reserves in the summer of 1977. He was actually my commanding officer that summer, but that’s another story left for telling another time. We met again in the fall at the University of Victoria where I was in my second year of study in Education and he was on his way to getting a science degree. A chance encounter walking across campus, almost bumping in to each other, led to a coffee date and the rest, so they say, is history. We were engaged on January 20th, 1978 and married a year later on June 2nd, 1979. We usually celebrate those anniversaries with a sentimental card and a dinner date.

This year marks our church’s 35th anniversary. Just like other anniversaries we mark as special remembrances for our family, Bow Valley Baptist Church has a rich history with numerous God stories of His faithfulness throughout its thirty-five years. For my husband and I, we have called BVBC our church home for nearly thirty-three years. We’ve served in various volunteer and staff capacities there, been involved in two building projects, seen staff and dear families come and go as God led them, and developed life-long friendships. Our children were rocked in the nursery, taught Bible Stories in Kid’s Church, and discipled as youth within the walls of that church building. My church family has prayed for me and ministered to me through two cancer battles. As a church family we have celebrated God’s Goodness through challenging times as well as those seasons of great blessings. I’ve attended countless potlucks (it’s a Baptist thing 😄), and Bible studies, special events, choir presentations and more. I love being part of the family there.

That’s what we are.

A family.

Some people don’t get it. They don’t understand the importance of attending a church, going regularly to Worship services, being involved in Bible Studies, and actively serving in the ministry of a local church. During the Covid pandemic, the hardest thing for me was not being able to attend Worship services in person. Watching online services is not the same as being surrounded by a Body of believers actively worshiping the Lord. I missed the interaction, the fellowship, and yes…even the potlucks 😁

We are a family at Bow Valley. We are not a perfect church, filled with perfect people, but we are a church that strives to Love Like Jesus, Live Like Jesus, to change our world. We haven’t arrived yet, but the joy is in the journey.

We will be celebrating our church’s 35th Anniversary the weekend of June 9th to 11th. We will remember the years past as we look to the future. That weekend we will gather together as a church family to celebrate with great Worship and Praise. We will invite the community to celebrate with us and yes…there will be a potluck! 😆

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

Giving God the Glory for 35 years!
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My New Year’s Prayer

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Lynn

Dear Heavenly Father,

I have meditated upon Your Word this morning.  I have reflected on this past year, and the lessons You have taught me through the many highs and lows I’ve experienced this year.  In everything, I give You praise!

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” (Psalm 150:6)

I admit this past year I have squandered opportunities.  I have allowed discouragement and anxiety to overwhelm me while at the same time knowing that YOU were (are) always in control and I need not fear.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)

I have prayed this year, laying my requests before You.  You have been faithful!  Still, there were times I was surprised by You.  I prayed, with mustard-seed faith, and was surprised when You answered back with mountainous blessings.  Forgive me for my lack of faith!

I BELIEVE, Lord!  Help me with my unbelief! (Mark 9:24)

I confess I became impatient many times, trying to do things on my own, in my own strength.  I would find myself running ahead of You, or lagging behind rather than allowing You to set the pace and then join You comfortably in the centre of Your Will.  Forgive me for trying to circumnavigate my way around You, having the audacity to think MY agenda was more important than Yours!

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Lord, as a New Year unfolds, keep me mindful of the things that are of utmost importance to You.  Rid me of any stubborn pride or vanity.  (John 3:30-35)  Teach me to better:

“‘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 neighbor as yourself.’”  (Luke 10:27)

I thank-You for the year ahead.  I thank-You for Your Son, for Your Word, for the gift of Salvation!  Thank-You for this incredible Journey I walk with You every single day.  May everything I do or say this year be to Your Glory! (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Amen!

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Blooming in Winter

Posted on December 13, 2022 by Lynn

I love when I see summer flowers blooming in winter! I had to snap a picture of my orchid and anthurium blooming side by side in the window.

If you look past them, you will see my yard covered in snow and the temperature outside a balmy -21 C.

I have written many times about my love-hate relationship with winter. Living in Southern Alberta, the fluctuating temperatures that go from +24 C to -10 C in less than twelve hours is not that unusual here. When a Chinook wind blows in we can go from a bone-chilling -32 C to above zero in a few hours. Those like me, who are sensitive to the rise and fall of the barometric pressures, endure the migraines that inevitably come. Still, Alberta is one of the sunniest provinces in all of Canada. The west coast may have the milder weather, but we have the sun. It’s the compromise I can live with.

I looked over at her, sitting beside her sweet husband in church last Sunday. She found out a week ago she has colon cancer. She had the most radiant smile on her face as she sang “Joy to the World”. A few rows behind me I heard the harmonizing voice of another friend. Last year she had her husband beside her, this year she faces her first Christmas without him. I turn slightly and see sitting together an older couple who have just recently started to attend our church. They moved to our town to be closer to their children and grandchildren. They were just settling in when their son was horrifically burned in a house fire. He remains in hospital, and recovery will be long, but they have a peace that surpasses all understanding. “Prayers have sustained us!” They say, as I let them know after the service that I continue to pray for their family.

I must not forget those who have triumphed, and overcome health crises over this year too. A dear man who we almost lost to a sepsis infection in the summer, returns my hug with renewed vigour. He understands, as I do the meaning of “second chances”. I pass young, expectant moms, busy families with toddlers, teenagers sauntering past me, and I realize I am on the roller coaster of life, with all its ups and downs with all these dear ones on the ride with me. It humbles me, and I am honoured to be amongst them. We step out from the warmth of the church building into the blistering cold of winter, but feel the sun in our faces and are miraculously renewed.

The One constant in our lives – never changing. We “bloom” where He plants us, we face all the seasons of life, because of His Great Love for us. No matter our circumstances, we find Joy in His presence. The Son always Rises.

Emmanuel – God with us.

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