Like a Child

Last night I spent time with a girlfriend before I fly away for the Holidays. It was a nice break to have inbetween all this last minute studying as the semester comes to a close.

We went to see a movie, overindulged in fatty foods, then absolutley had to go for a walk to burn off calories. This was the first time since my neck healed that I have done some serious cardiovascular activity. It was late in the evening and a balmy 5 or 7 Celsius outside. We are having a lovely Chinook here in Calgary. We crossed the bridge over the Bow River and came upon a well-lit park. We were the only ones there!

We excitedly saw the swings and my friend, who has a playful heart said, "Let's go on the swings." I wish I could have responded with reckless abandon, but my first thought was, "Gee, I hope I don't get a wet bum!" That thought quickly dissipated once I managed to squeeze into the seat of the swing. I immedately started to fly through the air. I could not help but laugh and smile!!! What a joyful feeling! I laughed and thanked the Lord in my Spirit, praising Him for His goodness! As I was swinging, I looked at the slide, teeter-totters, monkey bars, etcetera. What wonderful memories! What a wonderful moment in time, there with my friend and the Lord!

Not too soon, after swinging, my full belly was a little queasy and my hips started to pinch on the swing! Yikes! Guess that happens as you age. Not being a size 5 anymore also may be a factor! LOL LOL LOL The whole point here is how it made my Spirit sing! When Jesus taught his disciples in Mark 10:15, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." Wow, pretty powerful, but so true!

Children jump head long with reckless abandon to experience what is at the end of the tunnel, not knowing what is at the bottom, they run excitedly toward things. This is how Jesus wants us to be. Just rush in, jump without looking, wildlessly accept the Love of the Father, accept His Son into our hearts with the joy of a Child. We do not know what is on the other side of accepting Jeus into our lives, but we will never know unless we jump! One thing is for sure, he will catch you, with his neverending, all-encompassing LOVE!!!

Street Church Update

Below is an account of Street Church and Monday Night Evangelism this week. Monday night was very cold, hovering between minus 19 and minus 21 Celsius, with a wind chill much colder.

God is so faithful, even when it is minus 25 with wind chill, God will bring out souls to hear
the Gospel. We had 30 people out to Street Church on Sunday, with one man receiving Christ.
Last night we had 3 men respond to Jesus at the Salvation Army, and the Bible study was full.
I have not received any word from the other locations, but I was encouraged to see all the warriors out
last night regardless of the weather, God is truly building His army of faithful ambassadors of Christ.

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise
against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17

I am truly excited to be in God’s army!!!!

Kevin responded to Jesus last night, but had a lot of questions. Kevin owned a limousine company in Canmore, the
company hit hard times after 9/11, and finally went under. He has been staying at the Salvation Army for months, with
severe depression. We talked for over an hour about the whys? I prayed over Kevin at the end and he started weeping, God
truly touched Kevin last night. Let’s pray that the seed planted in Kevin’s heart would grow, and be fruitful for Jesus.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY AND TELL PEOPLE ABOUT OUR BIG CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION DECEMBER 18 @ 2:00pm
(Across from the Drop In Centre. Bring a friend, clothes, and baked goods if you can) We want to celebrate Jesus downtown Calgary, and
show the love of Christ to the homeless!!!

Live life in light of eternity

Lawrence

If anyone reading this blog will be in Calgary on December 18th, please join the ministry team at 2 pm in Triangle Park across from the Calgary drop in centre. You may need to park and ride the C-train or take the bus as they are expecting a large turnout. Gospel Elvis will be performing, there will be food and hot drinks and great testimonies. Daniel is expected back from Africa, so it should be a tremendous time for all.

God Bless Everyone this Holiday Season. I will start writing again after Chrstmas holidays, as I am leaving the province and will be back in January.

With much love in Christ to you and your families,
Karen

November Update

It has been over a month since I wrote anything on this blog. I thought it best to give an update.
I am very busy in school. By far, this semester is the busiest. Working many hours plus doing studies takes up a good portion of my time.

I have taken a step back from ministry to spend some time with the Lord and allow Him to do some deep healing in my life. I will be going back full swing in January. The Street ministry is doing absolutely fantastic as the Lord is blessing and moving through this city of Calgary.

I am trying hard to focus on my studies and my goal is to finish all my assignments in less than three weeks, which is approximately six to do. I am presently working on 5 out of 6 of those assignments as I write.

After that I fly to my home town to visit with my family and friends for two weeks over Christmas. This will be a lovely time. It has been a long time since I had a vacation, as I was working two jobs in the summer.

Please join me in prayer for the time spent with my family over the holidays. It will be our first since my Stepfather passed away earlier this year. He was in our lives for over 24 years. Pray especially for my mother who is still grieving his passing. Also, join me in prayer for my brother's salvation. More and more he asks me about Jesus. I look forward to telling him more, and also look forward to praying with him. I know he will become born again. The Holy Spirit is drawing him to Himself.

As for other news, Street Church will be having Church for the Homeless on Sunday December 18th at 2pm in Triangle Park, across from the drop-in-centre downtown Calgary. We will be having Gospel Elvis, clown, balloons, food, andmost importantly, there will be testimonies and the GOSPEL preached. If you are in Calgary, please come down and join everyone. You will be blessed!

Hope to write soon.

I pray for God's Love to encompass your hearts this holiday season.

The Refining Fire

Lord Have Mercy

Today has been a day of healing, revelation, blessing, pain and anguish. I am a bible college student and today I felt like my brain was about to blow up. All of a sudden I felt anxiety and an incredible deep inner groaning within me. Today was not the first day I felt this. Over the last few weeks as I have been seeking the Lord, this has been happening almost daily. Today it culminated with the realization that many things I thought I had known, I was no longer sure about. The Lord is revealing many deep inner truths to me about His word, but through the process the intellect feels as if it has been raped by a thousand foreign comprehensions.

Am I relaying my feelings here?

It is so hard to describe. The last few weeks my prayers have been, "Lord please help me to become less like me and more like you." I want to change and do great things in your name. Equip, refine and use me Lord. I have learned that in order to grow in the Lord we have to allow the Lord to take us through the refining fire. It hurts. I am thankful.

Any growth process takes stages and times can vary. The process is stretching, mending, molding, feeding and ultimately different than its inital stage. Like a seed to a flower, or a child into an adult, there are stages, transformations and incredible growth.

I just thought of this verse from Romans:


Rom 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rom 5:2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
Rom 5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
Rom 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

What a powerful portion of scripture. It fits in with what I am feeling and knowing that I have hope, joy and am working on my character in Christ Jesus.

The Lord called me to go to Bible College. I had many friends and siblings in Christ tell me that I did not need this education. "Karen, you are called by the Lord, you are producing fruit, just Go and get involved in full time ministry!" Well, I did Go! I just went in a different direction...the only one...led by the Lord to the Bible college I felt Him lead me to. When the Lord said it was time, I moved across the counrty to come here to Alberta. I knew I needed a solid biblical foundation in order to minister the word of God the way my Father wanted me to do it in His name. So...here I am.

I am so thankful I am pursuing an education. My foundation is solid in Jesus Christ, but needs the strength of the word of God, the mortar of the Holy Spirit, and the hands of my Father to keep it from crumbling.

Another portion of scripture that has been ringing through the recesses of my mind the last few weeks is from James:

Jam 4:6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
Jam 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Jam 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Jam 4:9 Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Jam 4:10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

The last few weeks as the Lord has been working through me I have been groaning deep cries and sighs as I have been seeking deep intimacy with Him. I know it is the Holy Spirit working through me and not some crazy attack of depression. As I go through this fire, I will often wake up the next morning and hear the Lord's voice ever so clearly, whispering words of love, wisdom, inspiration and revelation.

To those reading this blog I encourage you to humble yourselves before the Lord. Mourn, weep, cry, groan and seek him with all of your heart. When you go through a trial, seek Him first. Don't assume that all the hard stuff you go through in this Christian life is an attack from the devil. The devil is not behind every door knob lurking to give you a hard time. Often, it is our Lord trying to get your attention because he loves you. He desires you to experience the richness, joy and maturity that results from resting in His love.

When the hard times come, say " Lord, here I am, your child. You have my attention Father. I love you and need you to help me through this time. I want to change. I want to become more and more like you Lord."

He will be there to wipe your tears, to wrap his loving arms around you and to give you the strength, guidance and direction you need. Do not be afraid of the refining process. Perfect love from the Father drives out all fear.


Can you hear Him?

He is calling you, to come and be with Him.

A New Creation

Karen's Baptism


I decided to post a picture of the day I was baptized: August 17, 2003. I looked for this picture after the verse came to mind,

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

I am a new creation in Christ! Hallelujah! The water baptism symbolizes us dying to ourselves, being crucified with Christ. I am sooo thankful that I am a daughter of the King and have been given an opportunity to live eternally.

I talked to a girlfriend earlier this evening, of which I have been friends with for 17+ years, although we have known one another for about 19 now. We had alot of laughs and were able to talk so openly with one another. She commented about how she loved my honesty, how I am so funny and even though I am a Christian now my values deep within myself are much the same in many respects but that I am so much more relaxed. She even commented that I am more humourous. I am still the same Karen, but better, different, in a good way. She loves it!

All theses changes are because of Jesus! I do laugh even more than before. I still joke alot, although much cleaner and more tasteful. Those deep values and desires are much the same, except that Jesus is my first priority and my greatest love. He is my heart's desire. Doing ministry, seeing people healed, set free from demonic bondage and most importantly, coming to know Jesus as their Saviour gives me an incredible, almost uncontainable yet unexpressible JOY!

My girlfriend is not a Christian. She was raised with Christian values, in her meaning of what those values are within her own understanding. She was and is not born again. I have told her about Jesus and occassionally we continue to have conversations. I have prayed many times for her salvation.

Tonight I just enjoyed her. Yes, we talked about Jesus. She enjoyed me. She enjoyed Jesus through me. I was a transparent witness for my Lord.

I am so thankful for the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, all the time. The last couple of weeks have been tough times of spiritual warfare. After hearing my friend tonight tell me of the wondferful positive changes within me was much like God whispering to my heart.

Thank you Lord for your tests, for your trials, for your Love.

God is so Good!

Street Church August 28, 2005

I now have internet again, praise the Lord! I wanted to post at least one picture of us at Street Church. This day we had 8 people come to the Lord and 8 were baptized in the Bow River. It was an awesome time. Many people were crying and being touched by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our entire service lasted over 3.5 hours!

I thank the Lord for answering all of our prayers. We had alot of opposition for preaching in the park. We were on the radio, in the paper and on the local news on television. Most importantly we prayed for God's will to be done. The day before this service we were granted permission from the City to preach here, with no fee attached. We were prepared to be arrested on the account of the gospel of Jesus Christ if necessary.

God worked all things out for His purposes so that this ministry could keep building the Kingdom of God! Hallelujah!

Update

Hi Everyone!

Just to let everyone know due to a strike here, I am without a phone or internet.

The Lord is continuing to do a mighty work through the Street Church and Monday Night Evangelism. Hallelujah!

School starts shortly. I am very excited!

I hope to have communications up and running soon.

God Bless!

To be His Vessel

Psalm 24 Days continue in ourMonday Night Ministry, Street Church and now in another location. We are experiencing revival here in Calgary! Glory be to God!!!!


Isa 57:15 For so says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity; whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, even with the contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (NKJV)

I thought it fitting to use the above scripture as we are seeing the lives of many individuals being changed and turning their lives to Christ. Street Church is growing, now 8 weeks since our first service and every week we baptize in the Bow River. People are becoming born again, renewing their lives to Christ, being healed and set free from demonic bondage. I found out a few days ago that we are on the front cover of an Ontario Christian publication called 'Christian Week'. Hallelujah and praise be to God! May He receive all the glory!!!

I am sooo blessed to be used by the Lord during this time, His timing for my life. I am trying to keep record of when and how the Holy Spirit uses me to further His Kingdom. I have had an opportunity to preach three weeks in a row, hallelujah!

On Monday July 25th, I entitled the sermon, 'The Search for Spiritual Significance'. I preached from the truck using a microphone in a location of Calgary I had not been to before. The Lord gave me the words to speak that were specific to the crowd. It was a good night and many seeds were planted in people's hearts.

The following Monday the Lord had me speak on His crucifixion, Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross and the theives on the cross on either side of Jesus. Once again, it was appropriate for the crowd, already pre-planned by the Holy Spirit. This night we served pizza first, then preached the gospel. Another brother gave his testimony first, and worshipped the Lord through song and playing his guitar. A woman came forward and gave her life to Christ, and asked for prayer to be delivered from demonic bondage. It was a beautiful experience, one that shed tears and mended hearts.

On Sunday August 7th, I was asked to preach at Street Church. I will say I was nervous and excited all at the same time. Me Lord? Preaching a Sunday Service? So I prayed every day all week, seeking the right topic and scripture verses. The Lord led me through a dance in the bible, in which I came up with five different sermon topics, but did not feel it was what the Lord wanted me to speak upon. As I asked the Holy Spirit what to preach on, He said, "Tell them of my love." I thought, okay Lord, that is a broad topic and can be made into a sermon series. Soooo, I pressed into Him more as the week went on. I finished reading a book called "Chasing the Dragon" by Jackie Pullinger, coupled with practical experinces of showing the love of Jesus, and I knew what I wanted to preach about. I would like to share with you the verses I used:

• Mar 12:28 And coming up one of the scribes heard them reasoning, knowing that He had answered them well, he asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all?
  Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord;
  Mar 12:30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment.
  Mar 12:31 And the second is like this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
  Mar 12:32 And the scribe said to Him, Right, Teacher, according to truth You have spoken, that God is one, and there is no other besides Him.
  Mar 12:33 And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love the neighbor as himself, is more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.
  Mar 12:34 And seeing that he had answered intelligently, Jesus said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared to question Him any more.

• Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
  Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

• Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
  Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
  Joh 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
  Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
  Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
  Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
  Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
  Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
  Joh 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

This sermon touched on some personal experiences in my life where I was able to forgive and bless others with the love of Jesus. More and more I am in love with Jesus. His love is overflowing in my heart for others. I really do love other people. I am developing a greater, deeper compassion for the lost and for Christian siblings struggling. I am so thankful and blessed.

The last two sermons have touched me deeply where I have weeped with joy. As I preached on Sunday, I know the devil has alot less footholds in my life and others as I was obedient to the Holy Spirit. I could feel and see the fire of God rumbling in my belly. I know this will become stronger as I step out in faith for Him. As He increases, I decrease. Words cannot describe how grateful and blessed I am to be used by Him, as His Vessel to bring Him glory.

A New Home, A Peaceful Heart

This weekend I moved again for the third time this year. I found an apartment when I moved from Edmonton to Calgary, but my landlord was getting married. On May 15th, I moved into a new place but found it was not where I was supposed to be. This third move was completely of the Lord and was the best move I have had to date!

When I started seeking the possibility of another apartment, I was looking into an area of town where I am employed. Nothing was affordable or felt right in my spirit. The Lord kept leading me to a source and told me there was a place for me. I had a difficult time seeing what the Lord had for me. There was one possibilty in the same neighbourhood. I kept thinking that would not make sense...move three blocks away? I trusted the Lord and made the phone call.

The apartment was a little out of my price range and before I called I asked the Lord to give me an amount that He would bless. I then called this Christian couple and explained my situation. I went over a couple of hours later. I told them my circumstances, that I was a bible college student and explained my passion for ministry. As I described what the Lord was doing, the three of us were filled with tears. Praise the Lord! We were an answer to one another's prayers! We even recieved the same rental price for the apartment from the Holy Spirit!

I then went to look at the suite. Wow! Everything that I was seeking. I measured the space and was so excited that my poor furniture could finally have a home. It had sat covered in plastic outside in all of the rain and flooding. Furthermore, it had sat on a porch from January to April. The Lord has truly blessed me. The place is serene, beautiful and peaceful. It is a gift from God. As I sat soaking in the bathtub, I couldn't help but feel that I had dreamed of this place before, that this apartment was hand picked for me, for such a time as this.

I had only started packing for this move two days before. Unfortunately, I pulled back muscles, possibly even a ligament in my lower back region. I went to the chiropractor at work that day and he concurred I had indeed pulled muscles. I had to ask for help. So, I asked three Christian brothers/friends to help me move so that I did not have to lift any heavy items. I think the Lord was teaching me a lesson. Get myself out of the way and ask for help! I try to do so much on my own. The Lord is teaching me to rely on Him and through this experience He most certainly has.

So, I had no details on the move and therefore could not really give any answers to those that I might need help from. My new landlord told me not to worry. So, that is exactly what I did. Trusted God for the end result. On Thursday evening I was too tired and sore to pack. On Friday I worked a full day, then decided to go to Bible Study and got home at 11:30 pm. On Saturday morning I ran errands and picked up some empty boxes and looked after my girlfriend's cats. Around lunch time I started packing. My landlord came over around 1-2 pm and we started slowly bringing items over to the new apartment. In between I packed and made a couple of phone calls to arrange for help. I even took a break around 3 pm to answer email and talked on the phone for 30 minutes or so.

At 5pm, my landlord showed up with a truck. His friend let us use it for free. We loaded up some items and took it over to the new place. When the guys arrived at 3:30, they moved all the heavy boxes and pieces of furniture. Then we slowly packed items into boxes and away we went. At 9:30 pm, all four of us (the one guy went home early) sat down at a restaurant to eat supper. Everything was out of the apartment! The Lord blessed me even more. Oneof the guys paid for my dinner! Can youimagine? I should be blessing them! Instead, the Lord showered me with blessings. I am sooo thankful!

On top of all of that, my landlord arranged my furniture for me and brought boxes in from the garage so I would not have to lift them. Furthermore, the young Christian man that was here before has allowed me to use his phone for a few days until I can make arrangements for a telephone since Telus is on strike. If it is possible, I may be able to use his line and change my phone number. This is how I am writing this blog entry now. I feel blessed beyond measure and feel a deep gratitude in my heart for everyone that helped me. Most importantly I am so thankful to the Father. I trusted Him, I did not worry and it was the easiest, least stressful and most affordable move I have ever made in my life! The old Karen would have worried incessantly, taken an unbelievable amount of time to pack and would not have trusted God as she did through this process.

I am sooo thankful I am a new creation in Christ, one that is dying to myself so that I can strive to be more like Him.

Part 7 - Psalm 24 days!!!

A couple of days ago I spent over an hour writing this post and then accidentally lost it all! So...it was not meant to be. Therefore, I condensed this post. There has been so much happening with regard to ministry that I have not been able to keep up with entries. For this I am thankful. I desired to be used by the Lord, and I am being filled up and growing in Him daily.

The Lord is continually drawing people to himself and we are being used by the Lord to lead people to Christ. The last couple of weeks we have seen several people come to Christ through 'Street Church' and through Monday Night Evangelism. Every Sunday at Street Church people are giving their lives to Christ, being baptized in the Bow River and receiving baptism of the Holy Spirit.

On Mondays, the Lord has been leading me to the skateboard park, where we are getting the ground ready for harvest. We are not preaching there right now, but are witnessing for the Lord. On Monday July 11th we led our first person to the Lord at this location. He was about fifteen years old. That night we forgot our bibles, so we did not have any to give him. It was the first night we handed out pizza and it was well received. Last Monday we had some excellent conversations about the Lord.

On Wednesday July 13th, three of us were asked to speak to a young adults group. We spoke about the Monday night ministry. It was an absolutely fabulous evening. We had several youth interested in coming out and helping at the skateboard park. The end of the night a brother and myself were able to minister to a young woman. The Holy Spirit impressed needs upon our hearts, which might lead to a ministry opportunity in Saskatchewan in the next month or two. Praise the Lord!

Today we had our First Christian Festival at the skateboard park. We had a band and worship team, a dance group, people with flags/dance and speakers. We had a free barbecue complete with hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks. There were carnival games, candies, a prayer tent with bibles and I did some face painting. It was a beautiful sunny day, one in which many seeds were planted. Praise the Lord!!!

I decided to end this series with the seventh posting. I have great expectations of a great God. He will be continually working through this ministry and I will continue to write stories. In the last 6 and a half months we have had about 170 people come to the Lord through this minstry. I look forward to the many ways he will continue to use me. Even now, I have another opportunity awaiting aside from this ministry to go and witness to a family. Hallelujah!!! When I decided to follow the call of God on my life, I told Him I would go wherever he sent me. Jesus...I will follow you to the ends of the Earth until the day I see you in Glory!

I thought it fitting to end with Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV):

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

Part 6 - Psalm 24 days!

I just realized it has been 15 days since I wrote my last post! My goodness, the Lord is good! I have been very busy being used by the Lord to further His Kingdom! Hallelujah!

On Sunday July 3rd, we had a couple of people re-dedicate their lives to the Lord, and a man walking by come up for prayer. Afterward, 3 people decided to get baptized in the Bow River. One was a young man driving by on his bike. He came out of nowhere and said he wanted to be baptized. He openly professed that Jesus was his Lord and Saviour, was baptized and disappeared as quickly as he came! The Lord certainly draws His people!!! It was a beautiful day.

Afterward, I asked some of my brothers to pray for me as I was asked to the family's home that I ministered to on Father's Day. (See Part 3 of this Series) Their daughter was just married on Friday and they were having a family barbecue. I went inside and immediately went to the man I had prayed with only a few weeks before.

I held this man's hand. He was very weak and had a hard time speaking to me. I noticed his hands felt better and that his circulation must have improved. He looked at me with a beautiful smile and said how happy he was to see me. He said, "Karen I was just thinking about you and now here you are! I am so happy to see you. I have so much to tell you." I asked him how he was feeling as I stared into his very yellow eyes. He said he was weak, and not better although we discussed his circulation and he noted that it was improving. He said although physically he was still suffering, that something indeed had changed in him since I had been to his home and prayed with him only a few weeks before.

He held my hand tightly and with much love, said "Karen, I have been a very cynical man, a hard man to penetrate most of my life. Anyone close to me will tell you so. When it has come to any matters of religion, I have not wanted to listen to what they had to say, until you came along." He then went on to explain to me that he had talked to his mother again, perhaps offending her, but not really caring as he was speaking truth to her. He looked very deeply in my eyes, continuing to hold my hand tightly, giving it a firmer squeeze each time he became expressive in his voice and face. "Karen as I told my mother and I am telling you now, I have not ever in my life seen someone glow as you do. I have known and met many Christians but have not seen them radiate such a light as you have. In you there is truth and a purity I have not seen. It is the closest thing I have seen to God."

With tears in my eyes and rolling onto my cheeks, I asked him, "so now do you believe in God?" He also had tears in his eyes and replied, "I am not sure if I can say that to you, but I will say I am believing there is something going on with what I believe. I have not been the same man since you prayed for me. Something is changing inside of me." He was very tired, so I asked if I could pray for him and he said he would very much like that.

The Holy Spirit lead me in this prayer and filled me with an incredible boldness! I prayed that the power of God would come upon this man so mightily that he would believe in Jesus. I prayed for his salvation, and thanked God for his healing. I prayed that he would not ever depart from this earth unless he accepted Jesus into his heart. I prayed for the loving arms of our Father to wrap around him and fill him with His love. I asked the Holy Spirit to fill him to overflowing, extending and pouring out his grace and mercy into his life.

He said he would like to see me again soon. I then spent the next couple of hours with his family, talking about the glory of God and just allowing the Lord to use me as a vessel.

~~~~~~~~~~

On Monday July 4th, as I prepared myself for Monday Night Evangelism, I was seeking the Lord where to go to do ministry. Which location Lord? How would you like to use me? I had no particular leading, so I agreed to go wherever the Lord needed me. One of the Brothers had started a ministry out at a skateboard park the week before. So, this night would be their second night. He boldly asked for people to come with him to help out. No one stepped forward. Inside I was battling as I wanted to go back to the drop-in centre. I kept thinking of the relationships I was forming with some of those folks. Then I said to myself, 'teenagers'? Not exactly what I was looking forward to. I kept thinking of the rebellion, rejection and bad attitudes we might face. In the few seconds of thinking I looked at my brother standing, waiting for volunteers and felt the Holy spirit urge me to say what I had received in prayer earlier that day. "I will go wherever the Lord needs me", and stepped forward. He said I need you, so let's go! We managed to invite another brother, who was even more uncomfortable going to the park. When he realized what he was doing, he tried to back out of it. I said, "we need you". Give it a try and let the Lord work through you in your discomfort. We always grow when the Lord places us in the position of uncomfortablilty.

So, the three of us went off to the skateboard park with pop, chips and bibles. When we found a patch of grass, I thought if we used my massage table, we could attract attention. It worked! People thought they were getting free massages, then realized it was food and bibles! We gave away everything, except perhaps a few pops. We had many deep conversations about God and Jesus Christ. We talked to kids about sex, drugs and rock and roll. I had a conversation with a young man, perhaps between 25 and 30 years of age. He was new to Canada from China, just visiting the park and watching the bikes and skateboarders. We discussed many things about Christianity as a whole. He asked me about God and how the Trinity worked. I was sooo thankful at this moment I had researched Saint Patrick last semester. I grabbed the leaves of the tree behind me. I found three that came together on the same branch and explained how God was three in one, the Trinty, but all the same God. He seemed to really understand through illustration. He showed me three fingers, for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He then made a fist to show one God! He got it!!! Yeah!!! I gave him the web site to contact the gideons to found out about how he can get a bible that is half English/half Chinese so he can understand the bible. He thanked me very much for my time and said he would like to meet me again sometime to talk more about it.

My other brother was making headway with a youth that was struggling to give up his heavy metal music. We both explained to him that we gave up all of our heavy metal music and why. The music does not glorify God at all. Over all, we had an amzing night, being used by the Lord and being able to witness the love of Jesus Christ! Praise you God!!!

I will try to write more later on this evening, so keep posted! God Bless!

Part 5 - Psalm 24 Days!!!

It has been so busy lately that it is hard to keep up with writing. For now, since I am behind I entitle these posts as 'Psalm 24 Days!'. Maybe I will change the title, perhaps I will keep it for now as Psalm 24 is so powerfully entertwined with what the Lord is doing in my life. My eyes have been more on Him, I am looking upward with great expectations. My faith is soaring with the eagles. My spirit is humming along with the most beautiful music in heaven.

On Sunday June 26th, we had our second service of Street Church. Again, we offered communion to those who believe in the Lord. We were blessed with great weather. We had three persons come to the Lord, one of which was a re-dedication to Jesus Christ. These three were baptized in the Bow River. We all sang with great praise and joy in our hearts as each one came up a new creation in Him! Afterward, we prayed for baptism of the Holy Spirit for these three. It was an emotional time, and one in which God was mightily glorified!

Monday Night Evangelism was the following evening. I had prayed and felt the Lord say I was to minister alongside one of the Pastors. So, the pastor and I talked briefly and we went to the same location. The location we went to is the same location in which we have our Sunday church service. Despite the fact that it was raining, we had quite a turn out.

You could tell people were hungry for the gospel, not just for some of the food we had to serve. Prior to the sermon and during worship, we were being challenged and stretched by many people asking questions. They wanted to know if we were real, does Jesus really exist,what about science? I had some comments about hypocritical Christians. I had comments about the love of God and how some Christians don't appear to demonstrate that love. I had one man say to me, 'Why would you care about me?' I do care, I replied. 'How do I know that?' I replied, 'Because of Jesus Christ'. I smiled and then prayed for him in my heart as I was being pulled away by another woman.

This woman was the lady we prayed for last week, and that had given her heart to Jesus. She pulled me away from the crowd to share with me some wonderful news. She said to me with such excitement, "God is healing me!" She bent down to pull up her pant leg and socks to reveal some healing wounds on her leg. Then she asked me if I remember her walking up to the truck last week for prayer limping. I had not remembered her limping, but I knew she had been in great pain. She said that the pain had been much alleviated and that she was limping less, plus the wounds were healing. We praised God, cried and hugged one another, once again basking in His glory!

We then walked over to hear the rest of the sermon, plus I wanted to be prepared to pray for others. There were several people coming forward very quickly to receive prayer for salvation. It generally starts with one brave, broken soul, then others follow in suit. This man came up beside me. I asked him if he wanted to accept Jesus as his Lord and saviour. He said yes and was quite emotional. I started to pray, then the pastor on the truck came and led him to Jesus alongside of us. The woman that had been healed the week before was also ministering, laying hands on and praying passionately alongside of us. I cried tears of joy and incredible gratification to Jesus!

I was praying in tongues as the Pastor was leading this man into salvation. I prayed as the Holy Spirit had me pray. This man stopped and looked at us while we were praying blessings over him and leading him to the Lord and said, "How did you know my name?" I said I did not know his name. Then he looked at myself, the Pastor and the other woman. He exclaimed, "None of you know my name! I did not even tell you my name!" He then looked at me and pointed his finger in my direction. "You keep saying my name! How did you know my name?" I said, "I honestly don't know your name. I am not saying your name, I am praying in tongues. It is a prayer language from God." He said,"Listen, I do not know what these tongues are that you are talking about, but you keep saying my name. That is what I am hearing you say." I then realized that the Holy Spirit was at work, allowing this man to hear his name. I had heard of these miracles. This even happened on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. The four of us were speechless, in awe of the Lord's power. To be used as a vessel in such a manner was profound. We cried, praised God and watched as the Lord continued to work on this man and others as they were coming to the Lord. We figure about 8-10 persons just in this one location came to the Lord that night. Halllejuah!

At the end of the evening, we praised God! We went back to the main location to all share with one another all that God did that night. I went to encourage the one brother by telling him of the healing with the woman from the week before. He prayed and praised God on the spot! What an awesome sight it is to see fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, on fire!

I anticipate more and more miracles, signs, wonders, healings, salvations and baptisms as the Lord does a mighty work here and brings revival amongst the poor and homeless in Calgary.

Praise be to you God!!!

Part 4 -Psalm 24 Days!!!

On Sunday June 20th, I went to Monday Night Evangelism. It was another awesome night in the Lord! There are several centres our group goes to. I stayed outside the Salvation Army as I had the week before. The lady we prayed for the week before came to express her good news. We prayed for her healing and believed in faith that her cancer was healed. She went to the Doctor and all the tests revealed that her cancer is completely gone! Praise the Lord!!! She had medical evidence...proof that the Lord healed her completely of the cancer. We had her give a short testimony.

One of the Pastors then preached a powerful message of salvation. His daughter then went up and gave a mime show, totally filled with the Holy Spirit. It was soooo beautiful and apparent that it touched the faces of those present. Afterward, we asked anyone to come forward for prayer. A couple of ladies came forward. One was a Christian, just baptized the day before. Myself and a brother in the Lord prayed for a woman for her to be healed of a terminal illness. While we were praying for the powerof the Holy Spirit to heal her, our Brother led her to the Lord. The three of us were enveloped in one another's arms. She was crying and desperately seeking Jesus. We held her and loved her. The Father poured out his love and blessings into her life. Hallelujah!

Afterward, I went inside to join the bible study to participate in prayer. Once again, the Holy Spirit was busy at work. We prayed for a man to be healed of alcoholism, suicidal tendencies, depression and a heart condition. We finished with some great discussions, encouraging one another and building each other up in the Lord.

I went home, once again, soaring as with the eagles, praising God in my heart!

What an amazing God we serve!

Part 3 - Psalm 24 Days!

Now I wanted to report how God worked last Sunday, June 19th. On Friday, I had lunch with a couple of women, ministry related. The one woman's husband was terminally ill with cancer, and both of them not born again. I stressed the importance of salvation, particularly with regard to her husband's situation. I had been asked to minister to this couple back in April, however it was not the Lord's timing YET to do so. This man had been raised in an environment where he was consistently preached at by his mother and it turned him off of God. I asked if I could come in and pray for his healing. They said they would have to ask him, and that the condition was to not come in and try to make him born again. I found out Saturday evening that the man agreed for me to come to his home and lay hands on him Sunday afternoon for his healing. Praise the Lord!

On Sunday morning I drove to church to the normal intercessors prayer gathering, but no one was there. I had forgotten the information at home to go to this home after church for ministry, so I drove back home. On the way back, I felt the Lord motion for me to go to a different church. So, I did. I went to a spirit-filled charismatic, dancing and praising congregation. At the end of the service I went up to one of the Pastors and asked for prayer and guidance with regard to this man's prayer for a healing from the Lord. I asked him to agree with me in prayer for this man's healing and asked for a special anointing, etc. He then said that the Holy Spirit has given me this assignment to go forth and pray for this man. So he said to look at this as an assignment from God and go in obedience no matter what I might feel, think, etc.

So I drove to this person's house. When I arrived, this person's family was present. One relative that is born again, joined me to lay hands on and agree in prayer, with accordance to Matthew 18:19 which states,

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven."

On the way to this person's home, the Lord led me to John 14 and I also decided to read from John 5. I sat down in front of this man and explained what I was about to do. I told him that through the power of the Holy Spirit healing occurs, not through me. I told him that I was going to read from scripture and stand on the word of God. I explained to him I would not preach to him, that I was praying for him to know the Lord, but today was prayer for healing. I gave him some testimonies of the healing power of God and how much the Lord has done in my life.

I held his hand and prayed. I prayed for a full complete healing of the cancer in the name of Jesus Christ. We stood on Matthew 18:19, I read from John 5 (the same scripture I preached on on Monday night), then I read from John 14. I explained the beginning of this chapter, that it is a message of slavation, I read from verses 9 to 14.

9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

I ended the prayer session thanking Jesus and giving God all the glory and honour. The family took the process very well, some tears. I said, "you have been healed in Jesus Name!" I mentioned to his wife to work slowly at building up his strength again. They all said they would contact me again in the near future, once he was able to eat more. While all of this was happening, this man picked up the phone and called his mother over in England. He said 'Hi Mom, I have a young lady here that has something to tell you about what has happened.' He handed the phone to me. I said to his Mom, "Hi Mam, I just wanted to let you know that your son has been healed by the Holy Spirit. We agreed together in prayer, layed hands on him and stood on the scriptures." She said, "Thank you so much." I said, "No, don't thank me, thank the Lord, praise him...He did all the work. I am just the vessel." She replied with, "Praise the Lord and thank you for being there for my family, for listening to God." The man and his mother continued a conversation for awhile. After a coffee, some encouragement and warm hugs, I said goodbye.

After this, I drove quite a distance to go to our first church service for the homeless outside one of the shelters. We call it 'Street Church'. We believe the Lord is going to do many things through the start of this church. It is outdoors, rain or shine, with preaching and worship, prayer and baptisms. It was incredible!!! Seven people gave their hearts to the Lord. Five of those seven made decisons to be baptized in the river. We walked down to the flooded river where it had come up over the walkway. We were very careful and had rope in case. These five gave their testimonies of their faith, confessing publicly that Jesus is Lord. Then they were baptized in the very dirty flooded river. Afterward those same five came for prayer for baptism of the Holy Spirit, kneeling in reverance with wet knees to the ground. It was soooo beautiful!

This ministry is the same one affiliated with Monday Night Evangelism. It is a ministry that God is blessing, is producing fruit and may even become the start of revival here in Calgary. I am blessed to be involved, to be used by God and to be here. Words cannot express the excitement I feel in my heart and spirit.

I will write about the rest very soon!!! Praise the Lord!!!

Part 2 - Psalm 24 Days!

I have so much to write about over the last ten days or so. I will split it up into segments. I will start off by praising and glorifying God! He is soooo awesome! My faith has deepened and my spirit is alive in the Lord, in a different way than I have been in the past! I am excited, happy, blessed and more in love with Him! Hallelujah!!!

On Monday June 13th, I went to Monday Night Evangelism for the second time. I had met one of the guys that helped to start this ministry a couple of years ago in the afternoon. We were discussing the call of God on our lives, testimonies, etc. He told me that he was going to be preaching that night, however God only gave him half a message. Later in the conversation, he said he felt the Holy Spirit encouraging him to ask me to preach that night. Even a little testimony would be good. We could both speak. I said sure, I could think of something. We then walked down the hall and let the man who organizes the speakers know what had been suggested and decided. This guy walked up to the organizer and said, "Karen is preaching tonight." He said OK. So it was settled. Then I had my nervous jitters and realized I only had 3 hours until I had to speak. The Lord had given me a message, actually an entire sermon within five minutes, so I prayed as I frantically drove through heavy traffic. I had to pick up a gal from church. I ate supper in the car after arriving at home. I only consulted my bible about five to ten minutes before preaching.

So, the first speaker went up and spoke for five to ten minutes. Then I followed in pursuit. I want you to visualize the scene. We are all outside a salvation army, in a parking lot. There is a truck with a great big Jesus Sign on it professing Jesus as 'King of Kings' and 'Lord of Lords' with a website and phone number. There is a boom box and a microphone. I got up on the flat bed of a truck and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ! Many years ago, I would never have thought of me doing this for the Lord. I could speak for my profession, but for Jesus? It was incredible.

I gave a testimony on the healing power of God. I preached from John 5:1-15 ( you can read this by cutting and pasting this into your web browser: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%205;&version=50 OR perhaps click on the link). I preached that God is a God of healing and that the Holy Spirit does the healing, not us Christians. We are the chosen vessels. We pray in faith, believe in the word of God, and stand on the scriptures for the healing. I talked about the Holy Spirit, the love of God and how He wants relationship with all of us. I let them know that whether or not they were looking at me, the ground, not listening, it did not matter...the Holy Spirit was working on their hearts and that He loved everyone of them. I then prayed for people to come forward for prayer for healing and salvation.

Some of us prayed for people and others served pizza and juice to those who waited in the crowd. I prayed and talked with one man at length, then was asked to go on the other side of the truck and pray for a woman. Many gathered around her, layed hands on her and prayed alongside of one another. Her prayer request was for a healing of lung cancer. As soon as I placed my hands upon her body, I could feel the Holy Spirit come in power. As I prayed for her healing, I could feel a Holy Heat rushing from my hands into the small of her back. I declared her healing according to the word of God, and praised the Lord for healing her of this disease! I asked her after the prayer if she could feel the heat in my hands and she said yes, that it was still burning in her back. Praise the Lord!!!

Afterwards, I wanted to go inside. They were just finishing the bible study and about to start prayer. I walked into a group of people, of which there was alot of hurt and pain. There was one person swearing at another man, and just about to start a fight with him. She was also very angry at God. I will not go into the particular issues, as it was very personal. I told her she needed to forgive God, forgive her enemies and pray. Well, she did not want to hear that. She stared me down, in a very challenging manner and swore at me too! I told her that God loved her, I loved her and so did all of us here. She told me I was full of it, and walked out, speaking more profanities as she left the room. I told the group that we needed to pray for her, that she had a hard time believing that we loved her, but we did. As we were about to pray, she walked back in the room, looked me straight in the eye and asked if I really loved her and why. She also wanted to know how it is I know that God loves her. I told her about Jesus, His love, His death and the Love he put in my heart. I spoke the word of God. I stared her down too and would not let my gaze leave her. Then we all prayed as a group. There were tears and joy. The Holy Spirit was at work, brilliantly and lovingly making all things work for His good.

The girl I came with and I finally decided to leave after all prayer was done. We were praising God for so much! We went outside and just as we were about to leave, we saw a fight break out. It was terrible. The one guy had the other guy on the ground after wrestling and punching him in the head. Then he proceeded to kick him repetitively in the head. My friend and I were horrified. We raised our hands toward them and started prayer with fervour and passion. We prayed for the fight to stop, for the Holy Spirit to come between them and split them up and have them walk in opposite directions and go home. It was miraculous! When we prayed that prayer, they split apart and went in opposite directions very quickly. We started to praise God again over and over, amazed at answered prayer, basking in His love. Then, within moments, the woman that we prayed for before, came and knocked on my car window to thank me for praying for her and helping her. I got out of the car and gave her a great big hug. We talked for a bit, then went with some other Christians for donuts and coffee to discuss all of the wonderful things God was doing in our lives and through this ministry.

Praise the Lord!!! I will try to write more segments very soon. The Lord is doing so much right now, it is hard to find the time to write about it. I am sooo excited and on fire for Him. I cannot wait until the next opportunity comes my way , in order to show Jesus to others and glorify our Lord!!! Hallelujah!

Update on Flooding

First of all I would like to thank and Praise God during this time. Secondly, thank everyone of you for your prayers.

I prayed for the Lord's help and He came through. The basement did start to flood from the rain. However, the water never moved past the towels I left on the floor. They were completely saturated, but no water moved beyond the towels. This was Friday evening I first noticed the water. Saturday we were pummeled with rain, fast and furious. The reports were over 100mm over night, not including all of the rain we had on Saturday. I believe this is just one of the many miracles of God.

Today the landlord brought a plumber over to make sure the reason for the water. After ruling out all possibilities, it was decided for the first time ever this house let in water from the rain. I checked out my couch today. The bottom of the couch where the water level rose up, caused minor wetness and a tiny spot of water elsewhere, no more than five inches in diameter. I let it dry out today, airing it out in the sunshine. I tried to move it into the apartment, but it just would not fit. So now, I will find a home for the couch. This poor couch has had more travel and stories than alot of people I know...LOL

As for the rest of Calgary 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes this weekend, some only returning today. We are in a state of emergency due to the dirty water from all the rain and flooding. We are on a strict consumption of water. The next 24 hours will be crucial. If Calgarians do not watch their water usage, we may lose our ability to use it for awhile (extreme measures). Residential homes will be the last to be affected by that course of action. There is plenty of water, the water treatment plant cannot provide enough clean water necessary for the current demand for consumption.

Well, off to Monday Night Evangelism. I have so much to write about what the Lord has been doing this past week. I have not had much time with ministry and work, plus the phone lines were affected, just fixed today. So, I did not have internet access.

Stay in touch for more stories....

Prayer Request - Flooding

Well, it looks like we are in another rainy period here in Alberta. Last night I could not sleep all night. I had a dream that Calgary was about to receive another 256mm of rain. I think that was the number. That would be alot moe rain than we had during some of the more serious flooding. At work today I asked the girls if they had heard such a number in the forecast. ( That is how real the dream was) They all said no. Last night I heard we are supposed to receive showers on and off over the weekend. It rained last night, but not too much. Today however we have had a combination of downpours and steady rain.

At work tonight we started to get a flood in through the back door. We did not leave until late, having to mop up and leave towels and cushions to mop up the water over night. It enters in right where the electrical panels are. Please pray for no damage and for the employee's safety.

So, I came home, of course tired and having to be at work in 8.5 hours from now. My yard is soggy, I got a foot soaker through my running shoes. I am concerned that the couch will get damaged. I am praying and trusting in the Lord that it will be OK. So far, the last flooding we had here in the city and Southern Alberta, the couch was very dry and undamaged. Praise God! However, today, there is more water here in this end of town. Just five days ago, further south there was serious flooding after the other flooding around.

So, I come inside. Inside the laundry room there is flooding. I moved some of my belongings to one side for now. I mopped and used towels to get some of the water. I left towels for overnight. The landlord is coming in the morning. Please pray for my couch outside and all of my belongings inside. I do not have contents insurance as I cannot afford to do so. Plus, some insurance policies do not cover flood damage. The government here was kind enough to give relief to those flood victims that were denied assistance from their insurance companies.

So, all is in the Lord's hands. I trust in Him, no matter what happens. I feel peace and will press into Him as I monitor the situation. Thank you for joining me in my prayers. God Bless.

Part 1 - Psalm 24 Days!

On Sunday June 5th, the Holy Spirit lead me to read over Psalm 24 several times, etching the scripture deep within my soul. What a profound scripture, yet I knew I needed more intimate time with the Lord and to look up at Him in every situation.

I went to church Sunday morning with a heavy heart. I had been rejected by my peers for revealing some of the things I have learned about, in and through the Holy Spirit. I was very sad when I drove home after Friday night bible study. Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of a time a couple of years ago. I had talked about the very same thing with a man that was on fire for God, but had no understanding of the spirtual realm. I experienced rejection there as well. Perhaps a year and a half after the fact, I met him at a prayer vigil. He was pumped up, his eyes had been opened to the truth. He apologized for rejecting what I had to say, but had to go through the Holy Spirit's leading the hard way. I only planted the seed. The Lord took him through the process, to bloom a beautiful flower of truth and knowledge in the Spirit.

On Sunday morning, I went to pre-service intercession. There are a couple of ladies, just overflowing with the Spirit and completely on fire for God. Perhaps this is what keeps me at this church for now. As we were praying, interceding and worshipping the Lord, three of us entered into a wonderful intermingling of the Holy Spirit. I had kept receiving a visionof gates. At the gates the Lord was ushering people in, to come in those gates. To be with Him, come meet with Him in the Holy place. This happened a few times during prayer, then as I recieved the vision again and heard the words in the spirit to enter in/come on in, one of the ladies passionately yelled out, "ENTER IN!" My goodness, I slapped my hand on the table and started praising the Lord...she and I started giggling in the spirit and praising God. The third lady was receiving Psalm 24 at this time and started to burst forth the glorious words from the scriptures. "Lift up your heads, oh you ancient gates! Come to see the Lord of Glory!" Wow...we cried, laughed, praised God and marvelled at how he used us three as intricate pieces of a puzzle, coming so perfectly together in the Spirit.

After this, I decided to go and sit amongst those that rejected me a couple of nights before. I did it in the right spirit, with great love in my heart and wanting to do what God wanted, not what my flesh desired. It turned out be be okay. Although they may not agree with my views, it appears they are not rejecting me altogether.

There are so many lessons to be gained from this experience:

• During the tough times of your journey, always keep your eyes focused on God. Satan and his army will attempt to pull you into despair, unforgiveness, bitterness, depression, etc. . Anything opposite to the fruit of the spirit to pull you away from God, to prevent you from looking up to Him.
• I have learned from experience that when you go forth with a word from God, perhaps a revelation He has given you, often it will be rejected. Not always. During these times, trust in Him. He will not leave you nor forsake you. If you are putting forth His truth and it is not of your flesh, it is of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will come through for you. As Christians we are taught to test all spirits, so let them test what you have to say. The Holy Spirit is one of truth, He is the only one who can open up eyes and ears to see, hear and experience all He has to offer. Pray for those that persecute you and reject you.

I am certain there are many more things I can write from this experience. In fact, I am sure I had a list of five things in my head. The most important thing for me was to know that the Lord is always with me and comes through for me, for we are Victorious in Christ!!! Hallelujah!

Lift Up Your Heads

Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.

1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

2 for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.

3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Selah

The Lord led me to this psalm on Sunday evening. The Lord had me read it several times. The more I read it, the more I hear the Holy Spirit speak to me.

In the first 2 verses, God is shown to be our absolute authority. He made this earth and everything in it. Read that verse many times and it will appear more profound each time. We all know He is the Creator, but the more I read these verses I felt a deeper reverence for the Sovereignty of our Lord.

Verses 3 to 6 touched me very deeply. To stand in the Holy Place of the Lord, one must have clean hands and a pure heart, not swear by what is false and not lift up our soul to an idol. What great blessing such a person will receive. David then says, such is the generation of those that seek Him.

Lord, I want to be of such a generation. I want to be able to stand in your Holy Place, to experience your awesome splendour and glory!

Verses 7 to 10 are very interesting. Not only is the King of Glory more clearly defined, but I feel even a greater reverance for Him, the more I continue to read. He is strong, mighty in battle, He is the Lord Almighty, the King of Glory. Hallelujah! I looked at some commentaries to try and grasp the 'lift upyour heads you ancient gates'. Barnes says this is when they are coming into the city of Jeruslaem, carrying the ark of the covenant.

I feel the Holy Spirit placing something deep within as I read this, something for the generation then, now and the generations to come. Oh, lift up your heads you ancient gates! That is us, you and me. Get out of our complacency and set our faces before Jesus! Lift up our faces before the Lord so that the King of Glory may come in. The Lord is seeking such a generation.

I leave this verse with you to meditate upon. I pray the Holy Spirit will speak to you in the way He has spoken to me this evening. Praise His Holy Name!

Pray for Alberta

Currently many parts of Southern Alberta have been declared a state of emergency. Some communities have had a mandatory evacuation. Due to increasing levels of rainfall, rivers are rising and overflowing. Ten years ago Alberta experienced severe flooding, mostly in the Southern part.

Now, in Calgary, the rivers are rising. The Elbow River is threatening and rising on the banks, creeping into yards. Outside of Calgary, one community in the west of Bragg Creek has had a suggested evacuation as well, as their only bridge is threatening to be washed out. Pincher Creek has flooded over, and Sheep River is threatening some communities West of Calgary.

Please pray for safety for all adults and children in these areas. Please pray for minimal or no damage to their homes/belongings. The rain might let up a little by tomorrow, but areas will still be on watch until the water starts to dry up. Calgary has not delcared a state of emergency, but is in the process of preparing for one.

On my end here, The Lord has been good. A friend helped me bring in my loveseat from outside and it was fine. Praise the Lord! I now have furniture! We moved it in the rain and it got wet, but dried out with no problems or damage. My couch is outside on the lawn wrapped in plastic, as it will not fit in my apartment. It appears to still be dry, even with all of this rain. I asked the Lord to keep it dry and praise the Lord he has! Even our first bout of rain a couple of weeks ago, I was driving home and it started to pour. I prayed, Lord please save the furniture. When I arrived, the wind blew the plastic off, it had rained, but the furniture was completely dry. The plastic was wet, and a puddle to boot. I praised God aloud right there and thanked Him. Now, I am hoping to bless our church's new youth pastor with a couch. I will not find out until Sunday if he can take it. Please pray to keep it safe so it can bless someone, hopefully this new Pastor that is moving to our city from the US.

On a final note, some may think that the big things we see God do are miracles. I believe the little things are miracles too. God keeping my furniture dry under such circumstances is a demonstration of His magnificent power and He does deserve the glory!!!

Babe in the Woods

Today I made a decision to go to and be involved in a new ministry. I am in a new city, now since December 18th, and need to meet people who have a passion for God. A Christian I met recently asked about the call of God on my life and I told him the Lord gave me a vision back in the winter of 2002. He wanted to know what it was, so I told him. I explained how the Lord brought me to this point of my life and had me move across country for Him. He was very enthusiastic and said that I had to come out to his ministry group.

I will tell you what this ministry is and its set-up. It is an evangelistic ministry that primarily preaches out doors, mostly to those of lower income or homeless individuals. A couple of these places are outside of shelters and drop-in centres. It is street evangelism, John Wesley style. It is a little out of my comfort zone in some respects, in other respects, it is right up my alley. I will explain this last point. I confess, I am not the most comfortable walking and doing street or door to door evangelism. I like to be led by the Holy Spirit to those I do 'blunt, in your face' evangelism to. What I love about this ministry is praying for others, seeing souls saved and people healed/delivered by the Holy Spirit.

I was very excited to go this evening. Last week, I think they said eight people were known to give their lives to Christ, many had hands on prayer, one person was delivered of demons, and another still struggling with demonization. Our prayer was for the demon-possessed man to come back tonight. As far as I know, no one saw the man, but I believe he will be saved and delivered. I did not know where I would be used this evening. It has been raining heavy in Alberta, so they brought the ministry in doors this evening, the other groups went out in the rain to preach. I was one of the groups that stayed indoors at the Salvation Army.

As we went outside to recruit people to come hear the wordof God, have pizza, bible study, etcetera, I approached 3 people huddled together smoking to invite them in and struck up a conversation with them. I saw many others further away in amongst some of the trees, and thought I could go over and invite them too. They said, "No, Karen..they are all over there doing crack. It is not safe for you to go over there alone." Then the one guy said to me, "I see we have ourselves here a babe in the woods." I kind-of defensively said "No, not really a babe in the woods. If you knew my testimony, you would be surprised. I may only look innocent and that is due to the Lord doing all the work in me. I am just not comfortable or know the area. It is my first time down here you know." Afterward, as I walked inside I thought I may as well have eaten my foot whole. Goodness! What a bunch of babble! I really am a babe in the woods in some ways. I am learning more about crack since becoming involved in street ministry, but this area is new to me in so many ways. I have been exposed to all kinds of alcohol and drugs over the years. I worked at a homeless shelter for teens, confiscating drugs and weapons. But the street ministry,seeing it first hand...I am a babe in the woods.

Tonight we shared the gospel, gave away some bibles, had an opportunity to pray for some folks. I drove one gal to a shelter. Talked with some other folks. All in all it was a good night, one filled with personal lessons and growth. Tonight I feel God handpicked just for me ( I apologize if that sounds selfish, as there are so many helped through this ministry). I feel after I heard the Lord speak to me this morning, and electrify me this evening, this is the beginning of many beautiful paths.

The Self Pity Rollercoaster

Today will not be one of those positive posts I like to write all the time. Lately I have written about feeling joy, peace, etcetera. This is true. The Lord has blessed me abundantly in so many areas. However, occassionally I seem to get on a rollercoaster of self pity. I would like to destroy this rollercoaster, blow it up, erase it from my existence. I hope to one day be like Paul and to be content in every circumstance.

Living in a new city I feel lonely. All the people I started to get to know are now no longer involved in my life due to the relationship break up I went through five weeks ago. All except for a couple of people have remained in contact with me. I went to a friend's wedding last weekend and my ex-boyfriend was there as well. We had originally been invited as a couple, then circumstances changed. I was still invited to the wedding as I have become friends with the couple. These two have remained in my life and have been like angels sent from the Lord. They have been such a blessing. The wedding was very difficult to attend. My ex and some of his friends completely ignored me and were very rude. I cannot understand why Christian men would act in such a manner. We are all to be brothers and sisters in the Lord. In my hurt and pain, I gave it to the Lord. I cannot carry this burden any longer. I need to heal from all the bad things that have been said and have occurred.

Moreover, I had to find a new church. Any of the contacts I started to establish at this old church have fallen to the wayside, due to the fact that my ex is there. Some of the folks I had been developing close relationships with have not called to say hello or to say anything with regard to the breakup. These are family in the Lord. I do not understand how or why Christians act this way. We are to be an example to the world, not be exactly like the secular world around us.

In this new church, I felt excited at first. It is a well-balanced congregation. It is sound doctrinely, has upbeat worship, mixes a charismatic flair with tradition. I still don't know if it is for me. I like the charismatic churches, as I love having the Holy Spirit working in full power, not squashed or limited due to fear. I tried a couple of more charismatic churches, but they do not seem balanced enough for my liking. I might occassionally this summer try different churches to see if something fits more what I am seeking. However, I will plant some roots at this congregation for now. The intercessory group is on fire for God, but I am not seeing this in a good portion of people that attend there. I am so desiring friendships with people that are on fire for God, understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit and move in them. Like I said in a past post, perhaps the Lord wants me to be an example to others. It feels strange worshipping God next to others that are not exuberant about their praise, yet I put my hands up in the air and like to dance a little jig. So, I will remain different to some around me, but I am focusing on the Lord. What they think should not matter.

I received my first assistance last weekend. I had tried to get hold of the food bank, but they have limited hours. Plus, I had been struggling with the shame and other ungodly emotions I was struggling with realizing I had to go through an application process. The church I am attending has a food bank, so one of the younger gals asked on my behalf if I could have some assistance. So, I ignored any stares I may have receievd, with thanksgiving in my heart, carried the bags of groceries to my car after the church service. Last night I used my grocery coupon. I planned my grocery list, to combine meals from food at home to leftovers my friend's gave me when they went on their honeymoon. I actually added up every item, being careful to not overspend on anything.

So now, on to my work issues. I have recieved a second job, praise the Lord, but I cannot start until I receive medical insurance and registration to cover me while I work. Can you imagine they received my application over a week ago and I still have not received my number? I called every day this week. It has been frustrating. I could be making some extra money to cover expenses. I have let the registration office know my financial situation, but it has not made a difference. Same with my other job. I have let them know for weeks how I need extra hours, but once again, I receive only 10-15 hours per week. It was not until I mentioned that I recieved a second job, that they posted the schedule weeks in advance and gave me more hours. Crazy, huh?

Now, I am in a quandery. My job in the north is 25-30 minutes to drive, my other job is 15-20 minutes. My school is only about a 10 minute drive maximum. My church is about 15 minutes to drive, further south. I just moved here to this apartment a couple of weeks ago. I don't want to move again. However, my apartment is so tiny that my furniture is out on the lawn. I am going to see if I can receive help to move my love seat inside which will require 3 doors coming off and yet there is no guarantee that I can get it inside. The couch will have to find a home. If I decide to find a cheaper apartment in the north, my church will be too long a drive, school will take longer, but not a big deal. I have decided to remain in the south for now, make a home of it and keep my eyes open. Not too far away from where I live there is a gorgeous park, with trails and a fabulous view!

So, as writing this post is to get my feelings out, I have been feeling sorry for myself and am trying very hard to remain in a cycle of joy. Since I left Ontario almost a year ago and moved across the country, I have had to face alot of trials and adversities. In December, I was tempted to walk away from it all. I thought, if it is this hard now, what will it be like in full time ministry? Even though I was in that space of wanting to tell God that I wanted to hang up my robe and walk away, I could not do so. I want so much to make a difference in this world, to bring God much glory and to see thousands of souls saved. So, here I am having a pity party and riding a roller coaster I do not want to be on. I even prayed and asked the Lord if I could return home, but that is not God's will to do so. So, I remain...lonely, grieving, crying and pushing through to focus on God during these tough times.

Before I left Ontario to pursue the call of God on my life, my Pastor told me that it is not an easy walk to do so. I had suffered a terrible situation dating a so-called Christian man, that ended terribly and the guy renounced Jesus Christ. My Pastor said it was one way God was trying to prepare me for dealing with bad scenarios that will come as a result of pursuing the call. This past year has helped me understand what he was trying to communicate. Walking in God brings persecution from all angles. Paul taught us that we are to rejoice through such times. I have had time to reflect on this. I think Paul, like the rest of us, had to go through the muck and the swamp of life in order to obtain and keep an attitude of thanksgiving and contentedness. There were 10 hidden years that the Lord worked on Paul. In this time, I am convinced the Lord put him through a baptism of fire over and over again until Paul was ready to do the work of the Lord.

I have cried to the Lord many times, change me and transform me to your likeness. Make me more like you and less of me. I know He is taking me through the process and getting me ready for ministry. To be a leader of God's people, we must be more like Him. To live,breathe and eat the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lord, although I confess my sin of grumbling before you, I love you more than life itself. I want to do great things in your name. So, once again, I thank you for the trials and tribulations of life. I look forward to the time when, like Paul, I can say " I have learned to be content in whatever state I am." (Phil.4:11, NKJV)

Summer Break

Praise the Lord! I give Him all the glory, honour and credit for all He has done for me! I am finally finished school now until September. On Friday morning I handed in my assignments. After all the difficulties I had to face this semester including the passing of my Stepfather, the school gave me an extension to finish. This was God's grace.

I am almost settled into my apartment and am seeking a home for my furniture. It is wrapped in plastic in the backyard as it will not fit in this place. I have a tiny basement suite. When the Lord called me here to Alberta, I prayed about what to keep and what to give away. I wanted to keep my bed, dresser, and my big desk. The desk takes up most of my livingroom, LOL, but I call it my Ministry desk. It is great for studying, research, writing and fits my personality! The couch and loveseat were not on that list, and I want to bless a Christian family or organization. Please pray for someone to be blessed!

Now that I have the summer break, I will focus on employment, health, grieving and the Lord. I have not really grieved my losses this year and need the Lord to heal and mend many areas. My stepfather is with the Lord now, and that makes me smile. However, there is so much I need to focus on, allowing the Lord to wrap His loving arms around me, loving and strengthening me.

I am looking forward to writing and reading this summer. There are books that I have wanted to read for awhile, just no time during studies. I anticipate this time with the Lord.

In the River

Lord,

You are the twinkle in my eye,
You are the love in my heart,
You are the bounce in my step,
You make me shine.

Your word gives me sustenance,
Your Spirit speaks deep wisdom within,
You feed my soul,
You speak whispers of knowledge.

You fill me to overflowing,
Gentle streams gurgling in my laughter,
Rushing rivers pouring forth,
Giving me the ride for eternity.

I am white water rafting in the river of life,
Jesus my friend is with me,
The Holy Spirit is guiding my path,
My Father is Smiling down at me....

I am having the most fulfilling time in my life,
Full of joy and new experiences,
The work on the River is challenging,
It can be hard, but exhilarating....

Wanna come for a ride?

Remember Jesus

I just finished studying the Pastoral Letters. Actually finished my assignment yesterday. Paul gave Timothy much commands, directions and advice for living out the call God put on his life. One of the things that Paul taught was to remember Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:8-13

8Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. 10Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

11Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him,
we will also live with him;
12if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

Pretty powerful words from Paul. I wondered why Paul had this teaching in here about remembering Jesus. When you look at the life he led, how could he not remember him? However, when you are enduring hardship for the sake of the gospel it is important to keep Christ the focus. If not, it would be easy to allow suffering to overtake you, giving Satan too much ground. It is when you let your guard down that Satan will attack who the Saviour is, trying with all his might to pull your eyes away from the one that saved you.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There is no other way.

Life is Full of Surprises

I want to thank the Lord, once again for all things that pass my way, good and bad, negative or positive, hardships or blessings.

I have moved into my new place,which has its own comedic set of errors! First of all, and now the second apartment since I moved to this city, my furniture will not fit. So, my couch and loveseat are on the back lawn wrapped in plastic. So, either I sell or give to the Salvation Army. The next few weeks will help out there.

Secondly, on Monday I locked myself out of the apartment. It was about 5- 5:30 in the afternoon. I had no access to a phone, no money, did not know the landlord's number, did not have other numbers handy. So, I thought, I cannot just wait here, this will take forever. So, placed my hand on the door and said Lord, please help me I need a miracle! Then I knocked on the tenants door, I thought they were home as the 2 cats sound like a herd of elephants. No one home. Then went to the shed and grabbed one tool box and my briefcase, hoping that maybe there would be a bobby pin. Worth a shot, I am thinking. Then I remembered I had left the 2 windows open. So, the one side of the house I thought someone would call the cops for sure, as it is wide open. So, I decided to climb through the bush and try the other side of the house. I had to bend and pry the screen open. The opening of the window was 17" wide by 13" height. The drop to the bed was a few feet. Can you imagine I made it through the window with no injury? Afterward, my thumb and wrist hurt a little. So I praised and thank God for the miracle. First of all, that I was not fat, secondly flexible enough to bend through the window like that, thirdly that I did not have to wait for a long period of time for someone to show up. Fourthly, felt relief that knowing if I ever had to make an exit out ofthe window, at least I know I can fit through.

I would like to thank the Lord for His help with my schoolwork. I only have 2 assignments left to do which both have to be completed in the next 6-7 days maximum. It is only by the grace of God that I have managed to do this, move, deal with a relationship break up,etc. ...all at the same time! There are blessings in the adversities of life. We must remember to thank God for all of them!

Trusting in God

As I go through my journey, I realize this is an area that I am still struggling with. The Lord started teaching me Easter 2004 that I really need to let go and let Him steer the course. Right now I am in the Lord's ship, on his waters, chartered for unknown territory. The Lord is my rudder and is steering my direction. The moment I get worried or anxious about a circumstance in my life, in other words a storm is brewing or I am in the middle of the storm, I grab onto that rudder for dear life and try to steer it myself.

This is the difference between trusting God in all things and not trusting Him to see me through the hard times. I want to be like Jesus, sleeping on the boat, unaware of the storm around me. Why? Because all of my trust is in God. This is a difficult process to learn.

Last night I received that today I should write about trust. I looked through the psalms and found some amazing scriptures I would like to share.


Psa 25:21 May my goodness and honesty preserve me, because I trust in you.


Psa 27:14 Trust in the LORD. Have faith, do not despair. Trust in the LORD.


Psa 28:7 The LORD protects and defends me; I trust in him. He gives me help and makes me glad; I praise him with joyful songs.


Psa 31:14 But my trust is in you, O LORD; you are my God.


Psa 31:19 How wonderful are the good things you keep for those who honor you! Everyone knows how good you are, how securely you protect those who trust you.


Psa 32:10 The wicked will have to suffer, but those who trust in the LORD are protected by his constant love.


Psa 37:5 Give yourself to the LORD; trust in him, and he will help you;


Psa 38:15 But I trust in you, O LORD; and you, O Lord my God, will answer me.


Psa 56:3 When I am afraid, O LORD Almighty, I put my trust in you.


Psa 56:4 I trust in God and am not afraid; I praise him for what he has promised. What can a mere human being do to me?


Psa 62:8 Trust in God at all times, my people. Tell him all your troubles, for he is our refuge.


Psa 84:12 LORD Almighty, how happy are those who trust in you!


Psa 115:11 Trust in the LORD, all you that worship him. He helps you and protects you.


Psa 119:66 Give me wisdom and knowledge, because I trust in your commands.

Psa 143:8 Remind me each morning of your constant love, for I put my trust in you. My prayers go up to you; show me the way I should go.


I chose 15 verses from Psalms in the Good News Bible. There are 134 verses found in the old and new testament of the Good News Bible that menti0n trust. As you can see from these verses alone, there are many positives to trusting God. There is an unshakeable confidence in who God is, that He will always protect and help you. He answers us, guides us to where we should go. Wisdom and knowledge are ours for the taking, he listens to our troubles and answers us. We are happy, filled with gladness and enveloped in His love.

I feel much at peace after reading these pslams. I will continue to read these verses of scripture over the next little while, as I desperately seek to trust Him in all things.