Well, I have done it. My teaching talk for the speakers conference I am attending at the end of the month, is ready. I am struggling at finding time to post here. It is similar to it's 8 minutes counterpart which is the previous post, but with 2 minutes taken out of it.... and some extra material regarding David and the psalms,mainly examples. Regarding the pattern of 7 steps found in the Psalms, I developed a chart that 1) shows the principle 2) then shows how that looked for David 3) How it look for me when Daniel was ill
I then conclude vary briefly, and then we all pray together.
Thanks for all your prayers as I prepared this. If you can now pray that we all stay healthy and have a good trip. Thanks you,
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
David decides to trust God
Here it is well the 8 minutes and 20 second format:
If any one can help me out by giving suggestions of what I should cut out, let me know. It was originally over 15 minutes long, then the 2nd draft was 10 minutes long, the 3rd draft 8 minutes and 20 second. arr!
David decided to trust God....
"O most High, when I am afraid, in you I place my trust. God, I praise your promise; in you I trust, I do not fear. What can mere flesh do to me?" (Psalm 56: 3-5)
These are the words of David while he is being chased by a man who is repeatedly trying to kill him. I am not sure I would react the same way under the same circumstances, would you?
David was serving Saul, the king of Israel. Saul liked David so much he had sent a letter to David's father stating that he wanted to keep David in his service. Then
Jealousy comes in the picture. (1 Samuel 18:6-9) When returning from battle Saul see and hears women dancing and singing "Saul killed his thousands, David killed tens of thousands." From that day on Saul was jealous of David. What does a king who is not seeking God's will do when he is jealous of someone else? Kill him or at least try to kill him.
This forces' David to escape from his home and wife, to hide in the desert strongholds, and eventually live amongst Israel's enemy the Philistines.
How would you or I react to treats on our lives... Would we want revenge on this "enemy' of ours? How does David react?
Mercifully. You see Scripture tells us David could of taken the life of Saul, not once but twice. ( 1 Samuel 24) and (1 Samuel 26). At both of these moments David has people around him telling him that he should take Saul life, they even word it ways such as " God has delivered your enemy into your hands, this is the time do it." Doesn't that sound familiar? Is there times in our lives were others are speaking to us about how we should take revenge on others? Or at least make a situation fair?
Of course. How do we handle that? Do we fall under the pressure or not?
Do they manage to influence our actions?
Let us see how David did it.
As a man after God's own heart David decides to trust God. (Psalm 56:3) David followed God's; commandments and he sought the God's advice. Several times in 1 Samuel we hear David seeking God's will: Should I do this, should I go there? David conversed with God and God guided him.
David does not fretting or worrying about his situation. He simply uses prayer to hands over his situation to God who stronger then any man. Through out the various psalm, written by David, during and after this time in his life we see a pattern of 7 steps which David uses to handle potentially frightening situation:
1) beg God to listen to him,
2) tell God about his feelings
3) tell God about the facts
4) Remember how God has been faithful and helped in the past
5) and most importantly be would Praise God
6) and thank him for his upcoming victory over his enemy.
7) and he continues to be obedient to God's commandments and direction.
In the Psalms David is asking the people of God, that is us, to Trust God, like he did even when it seems like our enemies are winning over us or the situation is big and we can see a way out.
How do we go do this? How do we trust God?
What is trust: The Canadian Oxford dictionary states trust
is relying or depending on someone or something.
Some of us can have a heard time at the idea of trusting someone. We been hurt by some of the people we trusted. Some of those people are the ones that are the "Saul" in our lives,... Let's look at that, David is not telling us to trust anybody, he is telling us to trust God...
Who is God,... God created the whole world including us.... In the book of Genesis, scripture tells us that God created us in his image, he knows how we functions. What if you have problems with your car, who do you trust to fix it? Perhaps that guy who gives you the best deal in town, but if you could afford it would you not prefer to take it to the people that made it, to the dealership. Then lets face it, the person we need to trust with our problems is not merely ourselves, or a counsellor , however a good counsellor can help a lot, but the one we can trust is God our creator, . Unlike others who have hurt us and "lost our trust", God knows us inside and out, he knows where we've been and where we are going. He does have our best interest at heart.
So, how do we apply the principles David used to trust God in our own lives:
Let look at an example from my own life:
Like most mothers, one of the fears I have is that my children become ill. This past winter I came face to face with this fear.
At the age of 18 months, my little boy started having seizures which led us to realize that he had a blood disorder.
Through the ordeal people simply couldn't believe how well I was handling the situation, now when I look back at it,... God had guide me to follow the same 7 steps David did. Prasie God!
1) beg God to listen to me : As I my precious little boy in my arms as I yelled "NOOOO! God not this!
2) tell God about my feelings : It was not eloquent or loud, just in my mind I spoke to him about my fears, and worries....
3) tell God about the facts of the situation and how it affects you :I spoke to God about the facts I knew at the time, I must say I also did a fair bit of research on blood in order to gain more knowledge and understand the situation.
4) Remember how God has been faithful and helped in the past both personally and throughout the history of the Church. : My husband helped me remember how God had helped us in the past, certainly in my challenging pregnancy/ delivery for our son and his twin sister.
5) Praise God in song or in words : We kept praying, alone and together as a family. We sang songs of praise to God together.
6) Thank God for his upcoming victory over the situation: I asked God to heal Daniel. I don't think I was though to claim victory over the situation. But I did seek help from others who would prayer in such a way.
7) and continues to be obedient to God's commandments and direction in your life: I continued to listen to God's commandment ; loving my little boy just like I loved him before this medical condition, and I kept following God direction in my life.
Let us pray: God just as you help David trust in you in all circumstances, help us to trust you in all our circumstance, no matter what! God, when we are afraid, help us to put out trust in you, Lord. Amen."
If any one can help me out by giving suggestions of what I should cut out, let me know. It was originally over 15 minutes long, then the 2nd draft was 10 minutes long, the 3rd draft 8 minutes and 20 second. arr!
David decided to trust God....
"O most High, when I am afraid, in you I place my trust. God, I praise your promise; in you I trust, I do not fear. What can mere flesh do to me?" (Psalm 56: 3-5)
These are the words of David while he is being chased by a man who is repeatedly trying to kill him. I am not sure I would react the same way under the same circumstances, would you?
David was serving Saul, the king of Israel. Saul liked David so much he had sent a letter to David's father stating that he wanted to keep David in his service. Then
Jealousy comes in the picture. (1 Samuel 18:6-9) When returning from battle Saul see and hears women dancing and singing "Saul killed his thousands, David killed tens of thousands." From that day on Saul was jealous of David. What does a king who is not seeking God's will do when he is jealous of someone else? Kill him or at least try to kill him.
This forces' David to escape from his home and wife, to hide in the desert strongholds, and eventually live amongst Israel's enemy the Philistines.
How would you or I react to treats on our lives... Would we want revenge on this "enemy' of ours? How does David react?
Mercifully. You see Scripture tells us David could of taken the life of Saul, not once but twice. ( 1 Samuel 24) and (1 Samuel 26). At both of these moments David has people around him telling him that he should take Saul life, they even word it ways such as " God has delivered your enemy into your hands, this is the time do it." Doesn't that sound familiar? Is there times in our lives were others are speaking to us about how we should take revenge on others? Or at least make a situation fair?
Of course. How do we handle that? Do we fall under the pressure or not?
Do they manage to influence our actions?
Let us see how David did it.
As a man after God's own heart David decides to trust God. (Psalm 56:3) David followed God's; commandments and he sought the God's advice. Several times in 1 Samuel we hear David seeking God's will: Should I do this, should I go there? David conversed with God and God guided him.
David does not fretting or worrying about his situation. He simply uses prayer to hands over his situation to God who stronger then any man. Through out the various psalm, written by David, during and after this time in his life we see a pattern of 7 steps which David uses to handle potentially frightening situation:
1) beg God to listen to him,
2) tell God about his feelings
3) tell God about the facts
4) Remember how God has been faithful and helped in the past
5) and most importantly be would Praise God
6) and thank him for his upcoming victory over his enemy.
7) and he continues to be obedient to God's commandments and direction.
In the Psalms David is asking the people of God, that is us, to Trust God, like he did even when it seems like our enemies are winning over us or the situation is big and we can see a way out.
How do we go do this? How do we trust God?
What is trust: The Canadian Oxford dictionary states trust
is relying or depending on someone or something.
Some of us can have a heard time at the idea of trusting someone. We been hurt by some of the people we trusted. Some of those people are the ones that are the "Saul" in our lives,... Let's look at that, David is not telling us to trust anybody, he is telling us to trust God...
Who is God,... God created the whole world including us.... In the book of Genesis, scripture tells us that God created us in his image, he knows how we functions. What if you have problems with your car, who do you trust to fix it? Perhaps that guy who gives you the best deal in town, but if you could afford it would you not prefer to take it to the people that made it, to the dealership. Then lets face it, the person we need to trust with our problems is not merely ourselves, or a counsellor , however a good counsellor can help a lot, but the one we can trust is God our creator, . Unlike others who have hurt us and "lost our trust", God knows us inside and out, he knows where we've been and where we are going. He does have our best interest at heart.
So, how do we apply the principles David used to trust God in our own lives:
Let look at an example from my own life:
Like most mothers, one of the fears I have is that my children become ill. This past winter I came face to face with this fear.
At the age of 18 months, my little boy started having seizures which led us to realize that he had a blood disorder.
Through the ordeal people simply couldn't believe how well I was handling the situation, now when I look back at it,... God had guide me to follow the same 7 steps David did. Prasie God!
1) beg God to listen to me : As I my precious little boy in my arms as I yelled "NOOOO! God not this!
2) tell God about my feelings : It was not eloquent or loud, just in my mind I spoke to him about my fears, and worries....
3) tell God about the facts of the situation and how it affects you :I spoke to God about the facts I knew at the time, I must say I also did a fair bit of research on blood in order to gain more knowledge and understand the situation.
4) Remember how God has been faithful and helped in the past both personally and throughout the history of the Church. : My husband helped me remember how God had helped us in the past, certainly in my challenging pregnancy/ delivery for our son and his twin sister.
5) Praise God in song or in words : We kept praying, alone and together as a family. We sang songs of praise to God together.
6) Thank God for his upcoming victory over the situation: I asked God to heal Daniel. I don't think I was though to claim victory over the situation. But I did seek help from others who would prayer in such a way.
7) and continues to be obedient to God's commandments and direction in your life: I continued to listen to God's commandment ; loving my little boy just like I loved him before this medical condition, and I kept following God direction in my life.
Let us pray: God just as you help David trust in you in all circumstances, help us to trust you in all our circumstance, no matter what! God, when we are afraid, help us to put out trust in you, Lord. Amen."
3 minutes ... why not four?
I had Joey time my "3 minutes testimony" and it turns out that it was 4 minutes! Arch!!! So here is the "3 mintues testiomy: in it's 3 minute fromat" I really hope I didn't ake to much out.
"Hi I am Roxanne Paul, I am from Ottawa, Canada.
Growing up I felt an intense pressure to meet my future husband while I was in my teens.
I went from boyfriend to boyfriend, searching for the guy you would fill all my needs, wants and desires. This lead me to find myself divorced by my early twenties.
While I was in this painful situation, my mother took me aside.
She told me I should go back to the church based youth group I had attended a few years earlier, as at least then I was happy. To get her off my case I promised her that I would go on two conditions 1) that would be on a weekend I was off which were very few, and 2) that it didn't cost to much money.
It didn't take long that I had received an invitation to a weekend retreat from that youth group, which met both those conditions.
Once there, of course all dolled up in case I were to meet a great, handsome, polite church guy, I looked the crowd over, no handsome guy. I took a seat and sighed in desperation. Then I though maybe he is just running late, I choose to listen to the talk in order to talk with him at brake.
Then minister walked in, I was shocked he was not an ordinary clean cut boring man. He had long hair, piercings, and tattoos, Needless to say he intrigued me. He stated that the fast paced life style of needing and wanting everything NOW is not how God intended for us to live and that is why we have so many problems. This all made so much sense to me, this is when I started truly listening. That weekend I realized so many things:
-that God loved me, the way I had longed to be loved all my life, that is unconditionally, I realized that this love could only be filled by God, not some guy.
-I learned that I was constantly getting hurt in relationship because I was not living the way God designed me to live. But God was giving me an other chance, I accept all Jesus did on the cross for me and told God all my sins. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt like a whole new persons.
With all this new knowledge, I knelt down in the chapel and said "God, I give you permission to love me" this was not easy as I had been so hurt by those I loved. As I gave God permission, I pleaded with him, to not hurt me and to be very gentle. That is when, In my mind I saw the picture of a rose bud being gently opened to reveal a magnificent rose. He said that some of the peeling might hurt but that he would do it patiently, gently, and lovingly.
The unfolding of the rose, my heart, happened with God and of some incredible people that have entered my life. I started attending church regularly and other Christian events. These people have helped me learn more about God, and His Word the bible, how to talk with God that is prayer and help me to do the changes in my life I choose to do in order to love God more and more.
Today I can say that I have found the one who fills all my needs, wants and desires, and that is not my husband, he does try, but the one who successfully fills all those things, in his timing, is God. "
"Hi I am Roxanne Paul, I am from Ottawa, Canada.
Growing up I felt an intense pressure to meet my future husband while I was in my teens.
I went from boyfriend to boyfriend, searching for the guy you would fill all my needs, wants and desires. This lead me to find myself divorced by my early twenties.
While I was in this painful situation, my mother took me aside.
She told me I should go back to the church based youth group I had attended a few years earlier, as at least then I was happy. To get her off my case I promised her that I would go on two conditions 1) that would be on a weekend I was off which were very few, and 2) that it didn't cost to much money.
It didn't take long that I had received an invitation to a weekend retreat from that youth group, which met both those conditions.
Once there, of course all dolled up in case I were to meet a great, handsome, polite church guy, I looked the crowd over, no handsome guy. I took a seat and sighed in desperation. Then I though maybe he is just running late, I choose to listen to the talk in order to talk with him at brake.
Then minister walked in, I was shocked he was not an ordinary clean cut boring man. He had long hair, piercings, and tattoos, Needless to say he intrigued me. He stated that the fast paced life style of needing and wanting everything NOW is not how God intended for us to live and that is why we have so many problems. This all made so much sense to me, this is when I started truly listening. That weekend I realized so many things:
-that God loved me, the way I had longed to be loved all my life, that is unconditionally, I realized that this love could only be filled by God, not some guy.
-I learned that I was constantly getting hurt in relationship because I was not living the way God designed me to live. But God was giving me an other chance, I accept all Jesus did on the cross for me and told God all my sins. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt like a whole new persons.
With all this new knowledge, I knelt down in the chapel and said "God, I give you permission to love me" this was not easy as I had been so hurt by those I loved. As I gave God permission, I pleaded with him, to not hurt me and to be very gentle. That is when, In my mind I saw the picture of a rose bud being gently opened to reveal a magnificent rose. He said that some of the peeling might hurt but that he would do it patiently, gently, and lovingly.
The unfolding of the rose, my heart, happened with God and of some incredible people that have entered my life. I started attending church regularly and other Christian events. These people have helped me learn more about God, and His Word the bible, how to talk with God that is prayer and help me to do the changes in my life I choose to do in order to love God more and more.
Today I can say that I have found the one who fills all my needs, wants and desires, and that is not my husband, he does try, but the one who successfully fills all those things, in his timing, is God. "
2nd birthdays
The babies are nolonger babies...
They will officially be two years old tomorrow, however we celebrated yesterday. They had a great little party at home with grandparents, God parents and a dear great aunt. Esther loved blowing out her candles and especially loves "her" cake. Turns out that it was not the cake she loved but the gummy bears that I had put on them. Daniel loved seeing the sparkler on his morning pancakes. All went well,... as I am still working on my "Teaching talk" for the conference. I have put a dead line of tnight on it... I will leave with the joy that I can be more creative in blogging in the near future as my writing for the conference will be complete. God Bless,
Roxanne
They will officially be two years old tomorrow, however we celebrated yesterday. They had a great little party at home with grandparents, God parents and a dear great aunt. Esther loved blowing out her candles and especially loves "her" cake. Turns out that it was not the cake she loved but the gummy bears that I had put on them. Daniel loved seeing the sparkler on his morning pancakes. All went well,... as I am still working on my "Teaching talk" for the conference. I have put a dead line of tnight on it... I will leave with the joy that I can be more creative in blogging in the near future as my writing for the conference will be complete. God Bless,
Roxanne
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Daniel's results
Thank you for all your prayers. Again, the doctor is very happy. Daniel 2nd EEG showed as the 1st one that all is normal. His MRI showed beautiful and there is nothing there that is not suppose to be there! Daniel is still on the anti-seizure medication "kepra". However, he has started the self-withdrawal that kids do. He is still taking the dose of 1/2 tablet at morning and night which gave him 20 mg of medication per 1 kg of weight when he first started the medication however he has gained a good amount of weight hence his dose is actually 15mg per kg. As Daniel has no visible side effect from the medication and has been seizure free, even with fever, since he strated the full dose. Hurray. She agreed to keep Daniel on medication until next May. As Jacob is starting school in September he will likely be bringing home more virus then we had last year. Since Daniel seizures are provoked by virus we want Daniel to protected from more seizure.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
My 3 minute testimony
I might not be blogging a lot lately, but I am sure doing some writing and typing. so here is step one of what I have been working on. This is what I will be sharing at Friday, July 31st in the evening at the SHE SPEAKS 2009 Conference as my 3 minutes testimony.
"Hi I am Roxanne Paul, I am from Ottawa, Canada were I was born and raised.
One of my favorite things to do as a child was to look at my parents wedding picture album. My parents had met while in high school and I felt an intense pressure to meet my future husband while I was in high school. I went from boyfriend to boyfriend, searching for the guy you would fill all my needs, wants and desires. This lead me to find myself divorced and in major financial debt by the I was in my early twenties.
In the midst of my pleasure seeking to dull the pain of my situation, my mother took me aside. She told me I should go back to the church based youth group I had attended a few years earlier, as at least then I was happy. To get her off my case I promised her that I would go on two conditions 1) that would be on a weekend I was off which were very few, and 2) that it didn't cost to much money.
Within a few days, I received by mail an invitation to a weekend retreat for youth and young adults the cost was about 10$. I figure that was the amount I would spend on a cover for one night at a dance club. And honestly I was tired of the kind of guys I met in dance clubs. So why not see what kind of guys I could meet a this church thing. I looked at my calendar and low and behold it was on a weekend I was off.
Here I was heading off to this gathering, of course wearing one of my best outfits, with my hair and makeup on just right, all ready to meet a great, handsome, polite church guy.
Once there I looked the crowd over, no handsome guy! I took a seat and sighed in desperation. Then I though maybe he is just running late, I would listen to the talk so that I could make small talk with him at brake.
Then minister walked in, I was shocked he was not an ordinary clean cut boring man. He had long hair, piercings, and tattoos, Needless to say he intrigued me. He started his talk but telling us the fast paced life style of needing and wanting everything NOW is not how God intended for us to live and that is why we have so many problems. This all made so much sense to me, I started truly listening to all he and the other speakers were saying.
That weekend I realized so many things:
-that God loved me, the way I had longed to be loved all my life.
-I learned that I was constantly getting hurt in relationship because I was not living the way God designed me to live.
-I realized the love I had been seeking all my life could only be filled by God, not some guy.
-I learned that God love me so much that had sent his son, Jesus to die on the cross , to pay for all my sins, that is all those things I did that hurt my relationship with God. It was those things that I did that made God farther from me, he never left me, it was I would had left him by choices I made.
-But God was giving me an other chance, I accept all Jesus did on the cross for me and told God all my sins. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt like a whole new persons.
With all this new knowledge, I knelt down in the chapel and said "God, I give you permission to love me" this was not easy as I had been so hurt by those I loved, but i could not keep going the way I was. As I gave him permission I pleaded with him, to not hurt me and to be very gentle. In my mind I saw the picture of a rose bud being gently opened to reveal a magnificent rose. He said that some of the peeling might hurt but that he would do it patiently, gently, and lovingly.
This happened over the next few years, and in some areas is still happening today.
As I started attending church regularly and attending other Christan gatherings, my life became filled with people that helped me out to learn more about God, and His Word the bible, how to talk with God that is prayer and help me to do the changes in my life I choose to do in order to love God more and more.
Today I have can say that I have found the one who fills all my needs, wants and desires, and that is not my husband, he does try, but the one who successfully fills all those things, in his timing, is God. "
Now to work on the 5 minutes, teaching talk on David.
"Hi I am Roxanne Paul, I am from Ottawa, Canada were I was born and raised.
One of my favorite things to do as a child was to look at my parents wedding picture album. My parents had met while in high school and I felt an intense pressure to meet my future husband while I was in high school. I went from boyfriend to boyfriend, searching for the guy you would fill all my needs, wants and desires. This lead me to find myself divorced and in major financial debt by the I was in my early twenties.
In the midst of my pleasure seeking to dull the pain of my situation, my mother took me aside. She told me I should go back to the church based youth group I had attended a few years earlier, as at least then I was happy. To get her off my case I promised her that I would go on two conditions 1) that would be on a weekend I was off which were very few, and 2) that it didn't cost to much money.
Within a few days, I received by mail an invitation to a weekend retreat for youth and young adults the cost was about 10$. I figure that was the amount I would spend on a cover for one night at a dance club. And honestly I was tired of the kind of guys I met in dance clubs. So why not see what kind of guys I could meet a this church thing. I looked at my calendar and low and behold it was on a weekend I was off.
Here I was heading off to this gathering, of course wearing one of my best outfits, with my hair and makeup on just right, all ready to meet a great, handsome, polite church guy.
Once there I looked the crowd over, no handsome guy! I took a seat and sighed in desperation. Then I though maybe he is just running late, I would listen to the talk so that I could make small talk with him at brake.
Then minister walked in, I was shocked he was not an ordinary clean cut boring man. He had long hair, piercings, and tattoos, Needless to say he intrigued me. He started his talk but telling us the fast paced life style of needing and wanting everything NOW is not how God intended for us to live and that is why we have so many problems. This all made so much sense to me, I started truly listening to all he and the other speakers were saying.
That weekend I realized so many things:
-that God loved me, the way I had longed to be loved all my life.
-I learned that I was constantly getting hurt in relationship because I was not living the way God designed me to live.
-I realized the love I had been seeking all my life could only be filled by God, not some guy.
-I learned that God love me so much that had sent his son, Jesus to die on the cross , to pay for all my sins, that is all those things I did that hurt my relationship with God. It was those things that I did that made God farther from me, he never left me, it was I would had left him by choices I made.
-But God was giving me an other chance, I accept all Jesus did on the cross for me and told God all my sins. A huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt like a whole new persons.
With all this new knowledge, I knelt down in the chapel and said "God, I give you permission to love me" this was not easy as I had been so hurt by those I loved, but i could not keep going the way I was. As I gave him permission I pleaded with him, to not hurt me and to be very gentle. In my mind I saw the picture of a rose bud being gently opened to reveal a magnificent rose. He said that some of the peeling might hurt but that he would do it patiently, gently, and lovingly.
This happened over the next few years, and in some areas is still happening today.
As I started attending church regularly and attending other Christan gatherings, my life became filled with people that helped me out to learn more about God, and His Word the bible, how to talk with God that is prayer and help me to do the changes in my life I choose to do in order to love God more and more.
Today I have can say that I have found the one who fills all my needs, wants and desires, and that is not my husband, he does try, but the one who successfully fills all those things, in his timing, is God. "
Now to work on the 5 minutes, teaching talk on David.
Trivia answer
David didn;t know at the time of his anointing. He found out in the midst of his exile... 1 Samuel 23 ish.
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