.faith in action.

.faith in action. - peace blog

i like when i read about my friends making a bit of positive difference in the world...



on god and tetris

october 2010 entry

i was asked to write an article for my church's young adult publication...

instruction manual for life

why do you pray?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-timothy-c-geoffrion-phd/when-prayer-makes-a-diffe_b_601399.html

http://spirit-ledleader.com/

testimony of call

Do not be discouraged.
You have not been promised an easy path,
but you have been assured that the Spirit that calls you
will also accompany you.

Next month I am being ordained into the priesthood of the Community of Christ Church to the office of priest. A few months ago, I had to speak to my call infront of a gathering of church members who then spoke to the call and then voted on whether they agreed I should be ordained. They did. Thankfully. How do you convince a room full of people who barely know you that you feel "called by God". I tried:

The past few weeks I have struggled and procrastinated and prayed alot, knowing that today I would have to stand here and try to convey to you feelings that you may or may not have experienced in your own life, but feelings that I have had for a long time. They have waivered between feelings of deep assurance and confidence to feelings of deep inadequacy.
In my life, God's presence has been a spirit of reassurance, comfort, and direction. As I have reflected on this many times before, but especially recently as I considered this new call, I can recall a number of times where I have had an experience of God offering me love, confidence, and guidance. Many times, for me, God's presence has come to me through other people in my life. When I was 12 at youth camp, God spoke to me specifically in a camp prayer given by the pastor which initiated and steered my own personal journey of faith and figuring out God's plan for me. After my parent's divorce, when I felt lost and confused, a family friend shared what she felt was God's voice reassuring me that God was with me during that time and with my family and not to worry. When I questioned my future after university and then received my evangelist's blessing. It gave me a sense of confidence that there was a deeper calling for me and guided me to pursue that. I struggled with jobs and coworkers who were focused on competition and meeting standards rather than caring about people and relationships and felt like I would be forced to continually work and struggle in an environment like that, knowing that my values and ideals would never match. When I felt at the end of my rope and disheartened about my future career possibilities, I was led to randomly reading a newsletter offering a job in ministry, far away from all of that, a chance to live out a passion of mine. I felt God's hand on my shoulder directing me down a different path where I found new opportunities and goals that gave me hope. And even over the past year when I have felt sad, alone, and at my lowest; questioning myself, my ability, my decisions, and path in life - God imposed upon a fellow minister, who knew nothing about my life, to approach me and share words of encouragement and comfort that God still loves me, is with me and present on my journey and not to lose my faith in that. When I felt like giving up, it was enough to keep me going and seeking out what God has in store for me.
So that is why I can speak to this new experience of God's spirit working in my life. I have felt, through my own sense and through affirmations from others, that priesthood ministry would be a step on my spiritual journey. I had that same feeling of comfort, reassurance, and that sense of God's hand of guidance on my shoulder when this call was presented to me. I would be lying if I said this calling was always strong for me or that I don't sometimes doubt it or my ability to live it out. And I can't pretend to know exactly where this leads me or what this truly means for me or the people around me. But I know that ever since I was 12, when God has spoken to me or lead me down a path, I have always committed myself to learning, seeking, and doing my best to live it out fully. It is because of my past experiences where I have especially felt God has been present in my life and guided me, that I feel much more confident in taking this next step on my journey, knowing that God will be there to help me figure out where it goes.


"continue your journey...you have been blessed thus far but there is so much yet to see, so much yet to do. go forth with confidence and live prophetically as a people who have been loved, and who now courageously choose to love others in the name of the One you serve. amen." - doctrine and covenants 162