~Do You Like Deep Water?~

Luke 5: 1-11

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."

Jesus blessed Simon with lots of fish. So much fish they needed two boats to hold it and even then the boats began to sink. Imagine having so much fish that there was no possible way for you to carry it in your boat without your boat beginning to sink?

Jesus uses the situation with the fish for Simon to come and follow Jesus as His disciple.
Jesus said “Put out into DEEP WATER. Maybe Simon wasn’t in a deep enough area for catching fish. What Jesus really wanted was for Simon step out in faith and PUT his nets in to deep water.

Let’s look at this for ourselves. Many times when I think of deep water I think of, sharks, lots of fish, whales, jellyfish and lots of other kinds of sea creatures.

I know I am not much of a lover of water or swimming at that. I am a go-in-get-wet and get out kind of person. If that was my life with God do you think He would be happy with me? I do know He would want to see better in me. God does not want to see us in the shallow end. He wants us in the deep end, catching the “fish”.

What is the deep end? It’s when we let God use us to every opportunity and we obey Him fully even when it might be extremely hard. Also it’s when we use our gifts to His glory.
One of Simon’s gifts would have been the obvious, fishery. Even though he was out in the water all the time he used that gift to God’s glory.

When Jesus told Simon to put his out into deep water Simon did. He obeyed God. He had no idea to why Jesus was asking him to do it but he did it anyways.

That is what God wants to see in us. He wants to see that He can tell us to do something and then for us to do it.

After Simon catches all the fish Jesus says to Simon “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

Jesus is saying that Simon is going evangelize to the people and bring them to true life with Jesus Christ. It’s almost as though Jesus is sending Simon out.

Now looking at ourselves again we are as well called to “catch men” We all know the great commission.
Matthew 28:18-20
The Jesus came to them and said; “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Now just as God called Simon to the deep water, so does God call us to the deep water.

Think of it this way. At football game or a soccer game, there will be people standing on the side lines watching and then there will be people in the game playing. God does not want us standing on the side lines watching He wants us in the field. He wants us want us to give it all we got under HIS couching!!

So now let me ask you some questions.

Do you like deep water?

Where are you in your life with God?

Are you in the shallow end by the shore?

Or are you in the deep end giving it all you have for God?

~God WOWED Me Today~

Tonight my house mate Hilary and I went to aerobic. I really enjoy it because it's a christian community of all of women who love and serve the Lord. It's amazing. One thing the aerobics instructor got us to think and pray about were things such as worship, discipleship, ministry, mission and fellowship.

It was interesting because as I was standing there doing my thing I really began to think and I was thinking hard on these things. I prayed about them as well. I really felt God's presence over whelm me as I was there. I felt such peace when began to think about them and pray about them . I also felt God teaching and giving me questions to think about. Kind of like the child again. I was amazing. I was so moved. The questions God laid on my heart were :

Do we really know what it means to worship God our King?
Do we really know what it mean to be a disciple of God our King?
Do we really know what ministry is in the eyes of God our King?
Do we really know what mission means to God our King?
Do we really know what it means to fellowship as God our King did?

Please don't get the idea that I am stressing out over these question because I am not. I feel really God's peace over these questions. I really that with these He take me to a deeper level. I want to know more and more about God. He excites me every day. It's so neat how God can teach you in the simplest and smallest ways but they seem SO HUGE to you personally. HA! I love it! GOD YOU ARE GREAT!! Maybe this all sounds so off the wall to everyone, but even if it is I want you to know that God has changed me inside and out and that He got me thinking about simple things in a BIG way. It's hard to explain but I love it. If you do understand what I saying I hope you were able to get something out of this. Well I must go. I am getting way too excited right now. May God Bless you all always in all that you do.

John 4:24~ God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in spirt and in truth.

~Like Father, Like Daughter~

God has been laying a lot on my heart lately. I have been in a major thinking mode lately. I am really enjoying it. It has been drawing me closer and closer to God. Questions pop up in my head like "How can someone serve the Lord and have many people be influenced by them in a good way and then walk away from God as if it was nothing?" Questions running through my head such as "where are their hearts?" It hurts me deeply because I truly love them and my heart breaks for them. People that I looked up and respected have fallen away or are being tempted.

One question that keeps coming to me is "What if all your friends left me Jessie? Would you still you follow me with all your heart?" I am at place where it's just God and I and I only know to know Him more. I don't want to ever get in a place where I depend on other people for faith or idolize their faith. I am thirsty, I want more.

I really think God is taking me back to a place of simplicity. I go to God and ask Him the simplest questions, but I ask because they are on my heart. I'll lay in my bed thinking and asking God why about so many different situations. I feel like a child asking her father why and watching him intensely so I can grow and be like him. I can’t even fully express the feelings I have right now. I feel like I am going to explode. I am so fascinated by Him.


Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

~My Father's House~

Luke 2:41-52
Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Let’s look at this verse in the perspective of Mary and Joseph. Imagine yourself as one of them you’re looking every where for your little boy. You are worried of where he might be. You search for him for 3 days. Then finally you find him. You are so relived! The first thing your boy says to you when you find him is
“Why were you looking for me?”
Let’s stop for a second.

You have been traveling for 3 days, searching high and low for your little boy. You were worried sick about him. That is not exactly something you would expect out of anyone that you haven’t seen in 3 days. You are probably a little taken back by that question. Then your little boy continues to say to you “do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
Alright so by now you are probably really thrown off by everything your boy has just said to you.

Jesus was a boy of only 12 years. When he asked his parents “Do you not know that I must be in my Father’s house”? Jesus was not referring to Joseph. He was talking about his own personal relationship with God. He realized he had something special with God. So when he was talking about his father’s house he was talking about God not Joseph. Joseph is only Jesus’ ‘legal’ father. Also it was strict that no Jew would call God ‘Father’. So when Jesus said to His parents ‘I must be in my Father’s house’ it showed His love for His heavenly Father. He had desire to walk out all that God was calling him to do through out his entire life. Jesus walked in complete obedience and humility.

What I really enjoy about this is that Jesus was only 12 and He had wisdom that no one could understand. He had a desire to be in God’s presence and to have a personal relationship with Him. Jesus leads by example. He wants us to enter into God’s presence, to seek after Him, to love him and obey Him.

Just think we are the temple of the God, the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have the privilege of God reigning within our hearts.

1 Corinthians 6: 19
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

How does it make you feel knowing that God is living within you?

He dwells within us, already knowing everything about us. The Spirit that lives in us is the same Spirit that formed the heavens and the earth.

So what are we going to do about this?

Are we going just stay complacent and not pursue a deeper relationship with the King who finds His home in our hearts?

Or are we going to pursue God who chases us everyday?

Seek after Him as He seeks after us. Do you thirst and hunger for more of a deeper and intimate relationship with Him?

Do we, like Jesus want to be in our Father’s house?

~The Skate Competition~

Well today we had the skate competition. I have to say that it turn very well. In our head we were all expecting something like 20 or 30 but we ended up with way more then 20 0r 30. It was a great day. The weather was perfect.
Here are some pictures of the afternoon.

Thank you to all those you helped out and also thank to everyone who prayed for us before and during the skate comp. God work wonders today! All glory goes to Him.

~First week at Taylor~

Well it's been a wonderful first week at school. I have enjoyed getting to know all the new students. I live with 3 other girls. They are Hilary, Susan, and Rachel. They are all great girls and awesome to hang out with.

This week all the students have been working on an outreach for the end. We are planning on having a skate comp. tomorrow at Stone church. It should be amazing. We are using the Stone church parking lot and bringing in ramps and all the rest of that crazy like skater stuff.

Last night the LDP'S ( Leadership Development Program - people), and Erin and I went how to a movie. It was really nice to get away from the school for a night as well as see some new faces.





Oh and tonight Erin, Hilary and I are dying are hair. This is my night with Erin before she heads out to Victoria, B.C. We chowed now on such yummy nachos earier in the night!

This has been a great week with great people. I am really pumped for a new year at Taylor College. I am excited to learn and I am excited for my placement. This will be good.

DEAR ERIN:

Well Erin I cannot believe your heading to B.C
I cannot believe the friendship I have been able to develop with you over this past year. I am so thankful we got to know each other the way we do today. You are a radical woman of God. Sometimes I wonder if your even human. I love you so much. So are so wacky and freaking funny. I could go on and on about you but I that would take too long, plus I really don't know how interesting this is for anyone else who may be reading this. Erin I pray that God will provide for you in every area possible. May He show you Himself in whole new way. May you fully experience God and His powerful healing. I pray that you may walk in boldness and couragousness. May you walk like a lion, in boldness and ready to leap into faith. I have learned so much from you Erin. You have taught me so much in my own walk with God. Thank you so much. I look up to you as a sister. Thank you for being such a great best friend. I love you.

P.s sorry for being so sappy and cheesey

Well that is all tonight. Peace out everyone.

~Eternity~

Something that God has hit me hard with lately is His eternity. There are simpley no words, pictures or actions that can show or describe eternity. As humans we will never be able to fully comperhend eternity.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

I guess this has been on my mind a lot lately. Working at camp and having little 8 year olds saying " but Jessie, there has to be a begining and an end. It doesn't make sense!"
That is it! It simply does not make sense to us. The way humans think is that everything has a beginging and an end. Everything is born and everything dies. Everything ages and grows old. It's amazing what you can beging really ponder about when you have little 8 year olds asking you these questions. I have learned so much from my campers it's crazy. God used them to teach me about simple things that we often forget about.

I love the thought of knowing that God has been hear the whole time. Think about it.....
The WHOLE time. I really I don't think many of us stop to think about it enough. I mean truly thinking about God's eternity. I certiantlly don't think we give God all the credit He deserves.

The sky we look at night is the same sky God created when he first created the earth. Wow! That thought seriously brings chills up my spin. God is so big and creative. Think about it...... Who would come up with trees. Like look how they are shaped. Seriously it's crazy. Or a zebra! Now we are talking hahah the name alone is cool and then the colors. Wow God is not a boring God. Let's take a look at a giraffe. HUGE long neck and spots. Wow. Everything God created is beautiful. I really don't have a lot to share but I guess I wanted to more write down my thoughts. I guess I have a much more of a apperication of God's creation and His eternity. I love stopping and thinking about it. ETERINTY