Tag: church

Troubled

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In the spring of 2015, my husband began to look for work outside of our home province of Quebec.

Since Montreal is a big city with plenty of opportunities, most of our friends and family established their lives in basically the same parts of the city where they grew up. And we thought we would too!

But sensing God’s call to explore opportunities elsewhere, we polished up the resumés and scoped out the Help Wanted sites for hiring youth pastors across the country.

When we put our house on the market (but not the children)

As a sidebar, I also happened to be giving up the six years of seniority I had accrued with my local school board teaching History and English at the secondary level. I was sure I’d teach with that board until retirement. Unfortunately, I was just 30 years shy of that goal.

Turns out the anticipation of moving was really only exciting to me in theory. When it got down to it, my heart was troubled.

Life, as I knew it was about to change forever. Apart from my little family, the solid pillars of my life – work and community – were crumbling around me faster than I could grasp them and bottle them up.

I want to tell you that it was an exciting time. I want to say that we were super pumped and eager for what would come next. And although there were many days when that was certainly true, it was often scary too. And in quiet moments, I was troubled.

Waiting for our flight to Leamington for a week of candidating

I didn’t actually want things to change. I didn’t want to uproot my family. I didn’t want to meet new people. I didn’t want to find a new church. Or make new friends. Or live in a new house, find a new job, or new community.

As much as I love surprises and adventure and exploring, I didn’t want those things at the expense of giving up the good things I already had: a close knit family that lived nearby, lifelong friends who knew me to my core…

It’s just easier to move on when your current reality sucks. But mine didn’t suck! I was happy. And I was in no rush to change a thing.

That’s why I think it’s possible to hold those things in tension: peace about change, yet heartache over loss too.

Fortunately, God knows better and He was already putting the wheels in motion to make those changes in our lives before we even recognized our need for them.

Our first youth group event: baseball practice!

What to do with a troubled heart

I’m reminded of Jesus’ disciples in John 14. Like me, the disciples were blissfully content with the status quo and had no interest in drastic changes that would alter their lives in any way.

So when Jesus warns His disciples that He would be leaving them soon and that they could not follow after Him, they were clearly troubled by the news. So Jesus tells them:

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe God!

– John 14:1

What strikes me about this is not so much what Jesus says, but what He doesn’t say. He doesn’t say, Do not let your hearts be troubled…

  • Suck it up!
  • You can do it!
  • It’ll be fine!
  • Believe in yourself!
  • You got this!

When our hearts are troubled. When the future is unknown. When the path is confusing. When the plans are unclear.

Believe God!

Not yourself. Not your strengths. Not your gifting, talent, organizational skills, educational background, charisma, charm, or cash.

Just, God. Believe God about what He says about both Himself, and His promises to you.

The only thing we can trust in a changing world of unknowns, is a God who is unchanging, and who makes Himself known.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes].

– James 1:17 AMP

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

– Romans 1:20 NLT

As Jesus told His disciples, the only remedy for a troubled heart is to believe God. I had mentioned this in my Easter post, but it bears repeating because I feel it to my core.

Leaning on anything besides Jesus for meaning or purpose will crush under the weight of our expectations for it to sustain us.

Moving was really hard. But it wasn’t impossible! And it didn’t crush me because I believed God for who He is.

  • He is trustworthy and true (Revelation 21:5)
  • He works all things out for my good (Romans 8:28)
  • His works are wonderful, I know this full well (Psalm 139:14)
  • He sets my feet on solid ground (Psalm 40:2)
  • He goes before me (Deuteronomy 31:8)
  • And He sustains me (Psalm 54:4)
Windsor Airport, after our weekend interview when we knew we had found where God was leading us

Core Strength

When Saul was still king of Israel, he felt so threatened by his successor, David, that he made it his mission to destroy him. 1 Samuel 30 describes a time when David and his men discovered that their city was burned and pillaged, and their wives and children were taken captive. It goes on to say that David’s men wept for their families until they had no more strength to weep. And while we’re being honest, I get it! But not David…

David strengthened himself in the Lord.

– I Samuel 30:6

At some point, we all must decide where we’ll turn and what we’ll do when our hearts are troubled. Do we strengthen ourselves like David did, in the Lord, THE Source of strength? Do we believe God for who He is? Do we believe in His promises?

As the disciple Peter told Jesus in John 6:68,

Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life!

Peter recognized that there really is nowhere else to go in hardship but to Jesus. My prayer is that we’ll all get there too!

Preach to the Choir

One of my favourite Psalms ends with the author literally preaching to himself, and almost nothing could be more relatable. We all do this at some point, don’t we?

Psalm 43:5 NLT says:

Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again— my Savior and my God!

Other translations use terms like: depressed, downcast, disturbed, overwrought, disquieted, despaired, disheartened, gloomy, dejected, restless, and of course… troubled.

It’s ok to feel these things! God knows all about our brokenness and the broken world that causes pain. He created us. And He created our emotions and feelings too.

But it doesn’t mean He wants us to stay there. Sometimes, we have to do like the psalmist, and preach to ourselves. Put my hope in God! Believe God! Trust God! I will praise Him again… this troubled season won’t last forever.

Exploring the lake the day after after moved

To quote Shakespeare:

All’s Well, That Ends Well

Not to keep anyone guessing, but we did settle nicely into our new life and I wouldn’t change a thing. Not because I haven’t had a troubled heart here too, but because I believe God. And I only want to be where He planned for me. Where else would I go? He has the words of eternal life.

What’s in the Ears

Join the conversation! Comment below, send me a message, and even share this with a friend!

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Mindset

Published on by tinavila202 Comments

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Happy Easter to all! It is a GOOD, Good Friday. If you checked out my post on Lent, you know I invited us to try memorizing a portion of Philippians chapter 2 together!

Seeing as the passage has been on repeat and repeat and repeat for the past 40 days, I just HAD to dedicate my Easter post/episode to the Hymn of Christ – as it’s known.

I got so much out of studying it over Lent and I can’t wait to dive in together.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;
7 rather, He made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
    He humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
    and gave Him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

– Philippians 2:5-11

One of my favourite things about about these few verses is that the sum of them actually represent the life of Jesus broken down into five sections.

1. Pre-Existence

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;

This verse points to the eternal nature of Jesus. He is not a created being or inferior to God. He is in very nature God. This means that any immutable (unchanging) attributes of God are also ascribed fully, not partially, to Jesus as well. In Jesus, are God’s omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful), omnibenevolence (all-good), omnipresence (all-present), and eternal (all-existing) qualities.

Ok but, so what? Why does any of this matter? It matters because of what we see unfold in the next verses. Let’s go to the next chapter of the story.

2. Incarnation

7 rather, He made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,

This picture of Jesus gives us such a stark contrast to the Jesus we read about in verse 6. Jesus, being equal to God, before anything existed, actually left His throne and made Himself NOTHING. He didn’t come to earth as a mighty ruler or powerful religious leader; but poor, obscure, and vulnerable. So that we could actually relate to Him.

We don’t have to wonder what God’s love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, patience, and ultimately, His sacrifice might look like in our tangible world. Because of the Incarnation, all these qualities were fully manifest in the life of Jesus. So if you want to know how to live, what to prioritize, how to treat people, how to pray, how to love, and how to forgive, just look at Jesus.

3. Crucifixion

He humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

The more closely I draw near to Jesus, or more like, the more closely He draws me to Himself! – the more moved I am by His sacrifice. Because of Jesus, those who believe in Him will NEVER feel the level of pain, humiliation, or rejection that He experienced on our behalf.

His death meant that sin and death were conquered forever. So when He cried out on the cross, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me (Matt. 27:46), it’s because it was the first time since pre-existence and beyond, that He was not connected to God the Father.

God turned His back on Jesus and allowed the full wrath of God to fall on Him, destroying sin and death forever. Jesus was completely alone in those moments. Not just abandoned by His loved ones, but rejected by God so our sin would be defeated in the death of Jesus.

4. Resurrection

9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
 and gave Him the name that is above every name,

Jesus’ resurrection is the tangible proof that sin and death were actually defeated on the cross. Jesus said in John 10:18, No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded. His resurrection power is then available to anyone who calls upon His name.

5. Ascension

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus ascending to heaven means that we’re not simply saved from our sin as a result of the crucifixion, and then left to fend for ourselves. His ascension means two critical things:

  1. Jesus intercedes for us. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus lives forever to intercede with God on behalf of those who come to God through Him.
  2. The Holy Spirit was sent to help us. In John 14:16, Jesus says that He would ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. That’s the Holy Spirit

In His ascension, Jesus was restored to the full glory of God. And one day, everyone will know it too! Because on that day, every knee will bow and everyone tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Bonus

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

You may have noticed that as we went through the Hymn of Christ, we skipped the beginning, where we are invited to actually adopt this posture in our own lives. Paul doesn’t go through Jesus’ whole biography for the purpose of growing our intellect, as great as that is. We are encouraged to actually live that way ourselves!

So whatever status, reputation, education, corporate position, fame, skillset, or dollar signs in the bank account, none of us begin at the same level of glory as Jesus, who in pre-existence, was equal to God the Father Himself.

This means by default, whatever level of humility we may think we’ve stooped to for the sake of others, it is nothing compared to that which Jesus subjected Himself, by being made in human likeness, becoming obedient to death on a cross.

So this Easter, let’s not just be intentional about appreciating the sacrifice that bought our salvation, but let’s look for ways to manifest the sacrifice, humility, and love that Jesus modelled for us.

Moreover, we must press into the resurrection power of Jesus. For anything else we might lean on for strength or meaning is an idol that will crush under the weight of our expectations for it.

The Apostle Paul says this in the Message translation,

I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience His resurrection power, be a partner in His suffering, and go all the way with Him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.

– Philippians 3:10 MSG

Where does this land for you? Do you also recognize the eternal implications and benefits of having the same mindset of Christ Jesus? I hope so! Because I can personally vouch for the fact that there is no peace, hope, joy, goodness, or power apart from Him.

What’s in the Ears

Let me know your thoughts in the comments or send me a message! Happy Easter, friends!

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United We Stand

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It’s no secret we’ve all struggled through the past few years, but for various reasons. Personally, I’m grieved by the growing division amongst followers of Jesus.

I recently finished reading Francis Chan’s Until Unity. Y’all… I HIGHLY recommend it and I’ve linked it here. I’m not foolish enough to attempt anything more original than him, but it’s worth sharing highlights I found especially compelling.

So, if you’re weary of divisiveness, and still think unity is possible, then this is for you!

6 thoughts to compel us and propel us toward unity.

1. Why unity?

Because it was Jesus’ dying wish. One of Jesus’ very last prayers before being crucified was for unity. I think we sometimes breeze past this without giving it much thought.

We can become enthralled with someone’s last words, death bed confession, or final blessing before they pass. With this in mind, should we not give more consideration to Jesus’ desperate last words to Almighty God in the garden before His own death?

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. 22 I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are One— 23 I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.

– Jesus, in John 17:20-23

2. Unity: Because nothing is more important

We weren’t called to follow political parties or ideology, nationalism, consumerism, or power. Instead, we were called to apprentice ourselves to Jesus’ way of life. We were called to be part of establishing the Kingdom of God here and now in our walking-around lives.

– Sarah Bessey, Out of Sorts

If we’re truly a people that believe Jesus’ call to unity is as important as He says it is, then by default all the other things that may define us or divide us are simply not as important, and should not take precedent over our unity and the fellowship of believers. It’s that simple.

3. Unity: Because it’s the one thing that makes our mission effective

If we can at least agree that the believer’s mission is to make disciples of all nations, then scripture is clear that love for one another is the way that we’ll succeed in our mission.

This is how everyone will know that you are My followers: if you love one another.

– Jesus, John 13:35

Notice how Jesus doesn’t say, everyone will know you are my followers if you form compelling arguments regarding:

  • correct ways to worship
  • women’s roles in the church
  • spiritual gifts
  • the relationship between church and state
  • strong Biblical literacy vs. charismatic Christianity
  • Biblical politics

It’s solely about how we love one another!

4. Unity: Because division grieves a Holy God

When love is shallow, all it takes is something as trivial as a disagreement to divide us.

– Francis Chan

Division has plagued the church for centuries. So if we can get serious about this and consider that the disagreements we’ve allowed to divide us are actually the work of the enemy, and not Spirit-filled conviction from God, we would be humbled to realize that we are actually grieving God’s Spirit who dwells in us.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

– Ephesians 4:29-32

5. Unity: Because I couldn’t possibly be right all the time

The love chapter (1 Corinthians 13) states that for now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

Friends, how can we be so arrogant to think we are right all the time, every time? How?

Even the Apostle Paul admits in this passage that he couldn’t know it all perfectly on this side of heaven! I love how Francis Chan puts it when he says that if God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34 and James 4:6), it’s hard to imagine those who are most arrogant would be the most accurate. Yes!

He goes on to say that…

Everyone seems to start out with the assumption that his or her opinion of God is right, rather than recognizing that all of us have an incomplete, flawed knowledge of God. Without humility, we will never have unity. More importantly, without humility, we cannot be in a right relationship with God.

6. Unity: Because nothing matters more to God

Consider this, if God moved heaven and earth in sending Jesus to die so we could be reconciled to Him, would it not make sense that He would also want His beloved children to be reconciled to one another as well?

His plan of salvation, the goal of redemption, is to reconcile all things unto Himself! Allow these words to wash over you from Colossians 1…

15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
    He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
16 for through Him God created everything
    in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
    and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
    Everything was created through Him and for Him.
17 He existed before anything else,
    and He holds all creation together.
18 Christ is also the head of the church,
    which is His body.
He is the beginning,
    supreme over all who rise from the dead.
    So He is first in everything.
19 For God in all His fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through Him God reconciled
    everything to Himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in His physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.

This passage really struck me as I asked myself a simple question. I encourage you to reflect on it too:

If I will stand before God, holy and blameless without a single fault after all He’s done to reconcile me to Himself — what is stopping me from lovingly accepting a fellow believer who I don’t understand, cannot relate to, and have rejected as dead wrong?
Am I justified in that?

What’s in the Ears

This is an old hymn and I just love this rendition so much. As Jackie Hill Perry recently put it, this song’s dripping oil (anointed). Enjoy!

Do you also share the grief of disunity among believers? Let me know if this encouraged you! Send me a message, comment below, and share with a friend!

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Paradigm Shift at a Pig Roast

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I was part of a book club this summer that went through Out of Sorts by Sarah Bessey. It’s about making peace with an evolving faith.

It really helped me nail down things I have struggled with over the last little while – particularly when it comes to the Church, her role in the world, and my own role within all that.

I’m hoping some of my own thoughts on this will be helpful to you as well!

As you may know, I was a history teacher before I started raising kids in Essex County, so this next bit really fascinated me. I’ve made it as concise as is humanly possible, but reach out to me if you want more!

The history of the Church has had four major paradigm shifts including her inception at Pentecost.

A paradigm shift occurs when a new discovery is made, new research is revealed, or new techniques are developed that changes the way of thinking or doing things.

Since these paradigm shifts have taken place roughly every 500 years, that should tell us a lot about where we might be heading!

  • The first was the foundation of the Church itself at Pentecost
    This consisted of the Holy Spirit falling upon Jesus’ disciples in the upper room in Acts 2. Then followed by the Apostle Peter being filled with the Spirit and addressing the crowd where thousands came to faith on that very day.
  • The second was when the Roman Empire fell, and the Dark Ages of Christianity were born, circa 500
    These medieval years were unfortunately tainted with Holy Wars and Crusades that did little good to draw ordinary people to the Saviour.
  • The third is known as the Great Schism in 1054
    At this time, there was conflict in the church. Most of it surround the belief that either Peter or Paul was the first official head of the church, as well as debates surrounding a Pope. My overly simplified response to that is… Jesus? Regardless, this resulted in the first of countless church splits. And the Catholic and Orthodox Churches were born.
  • The final shift took place during the Enlightenment Period and is known as The Reformation
    This is when opposition arose against the corruption and absolute power of the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church was born.

I sure hope y’all enjoyed that little history lesson as much as I enjoy learning about these important markers of our history. Because many church scholars and theologians would argue that we’re about to enter another shake up in the life of the Church.

Buckle up kids, it’s going to be a bumpy ride! I mean, I say this in jest, but actually, it’s all very serious and intense.

Keeping in mind these important changes in Church history, I am dying to get to the good stuff of this post found in Acts 10, and I can’t wait to share some applications I am trying to adopt in my own life too.

Let’s check it out together.

Three main things happen in Acts 10

  • Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, is visited by an angel because he is a devout, God-fearing man who gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (vs. 2). The angel tells him to send for a guy named Peter and have him come to his home. He does just that.
  • Meanwhile in Joppa…. the Apostle Peter is hungry and up on a rooftop praying. Suddenly, he has a vision of this sheet coming down in front of him and all kinds of animals are on it. Some kosher, some non-kosher.
    In his vision, God tells him to kill and eat. Peter, in his usual adversarial manner, argues with the Lord that he cannot eat meat that is impure and unclean. God tells him, do not call anything impure that God has made clean!
    They go back and forth on this three times. (Because apparently “three” is the magic number for Peter!) While he’s thinking about this vision and what it might mean, the men who were sent to fetch Peter arrive and escort him to Cornelius’ home.
  • Peter meets with Cornelius and tells him that technically he shouldn’t even be there since Cornelius is a Gentile (non-Jew) and it’s unlawful for them to even associate.
    Peter then asks Cornelius why he sent for him. Cornelius isn’t exactly sure! He tells Peter that an angel told him to send for a man by his name, so he did.
    Peter then realizes the meaning of the sheet with the impure and unclean animals.

And this is where it all comes together…!

This story is about including non-Israelites into the family of God. Because guess what? After Peter tells Cornelius all about Jesus, Acts 10 concludes by saying:

…the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

So, even though Peter’s vision was about God permitting the consumption of ritually impure foods, the vision was only a symbol God was using to prepare Peter for a huge paradigm shift in the early Church!

What was the shift?

  1. No longer have to keep kosher
  2. No longer have to be circumcised to be included in God’s family

WHAT DOES THIS SHIFT IMPLY?

NO MORE DIVISION
ONLY DIVERSITY

Y’all I don’t know how to communicate what a HUGE deal this was for the early believers. Or if we can fully appreciate what this meant for the people they rubbed shoulders with in their daily lives.

To think that after thousands of years, the very things that set them apart as God’s chosen people, namely: circumcision and keeping kosher… these were no longer requirements for being included in God’s family. And it is BLOWING MY MIND.

So what’s the point?

Friends, let’s be open to what God desires to change in our way of thinking. Now, don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not talking politics. I’m not talking Covid. I’m not talking the right or wrong way to do church.

  • I’m talking about each of our individual views of God. How we perceive Him, and how those perceptions INFORM the way we see our world.
  • I’m talking about how those views of God FRAME our perceptions of the people around us.
  • I’m saying, let’s ASK God for vision-of-a-pig-roast kind of moments
    • to shake up our thinking
    • to prepare us for what’s coming
    • to equip us with His wisdom and His heart to interact with HIS world the way He desires for us!
  • I want the next paradigm shift to resemble a Peter and Cornelius moment; rather than the schisms of division or the crusades of holy war that have for too long tainted the Church of Christ and her mission in the world.

And what’s the mission?

To love God. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

To love people. (Mark 12:31)

To make disciples of ALL NATIONS. (Matthew 28:19-20)

What’s in the Ears

This song is a little different than my usual, but it’s my favourite on Dante Bowe’s new album, as well as being very well suited to this topic, so win-win. Enjoy!

Ok I need to know your thoughts on this! Was any of this new to you? Does it resonate? Do you agree/disagree? Let me know in the comments or send me a message!

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Youth Ministry, We Bid You Adieu

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A pastor wife’s farewell to 13 years of youth ministry

*Click HERE for the podcast on Spotify; or HERE on the Anchor app!

It was the summer of 2008 when my family embarked on our first and only trip to Greece (so far). My husband, Xavier, was still my boyfriend at the time, and leaving him behind for three weeks was the longest we had ever been apart.

I set off for the motherland with my parents, two brothers, and countless calling cards. Travelling internationally in 2008 meant unlikely access to unreliable internet and no smart phones for us to keep in touch.

Me + my two brothers in Athens

So international calling cards, Greek island pay phones, and a 7-hour time difference was the only recipe we had for successful connection during my stay in Greece.

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, we were as cool as we looked.

Greece was, as you’d expect, an absolute dream.

We spent two weeks on the home island of my Destounis family – my dad’s side. We visited the home in which my grandfather grew up in the 1930s during Nazi occupation. His sister still lives there, and was gracious enough to feed us and show us around the olive grove that still surrounds the family home.

From the roof top overlooking the olive grove of my grandfather’s childhood home in Kefalonia. My great-aunt and her husband maintain it now.

We visited cousins in Athens who took us off the beaten path of tourists and travellers to rooftop restaurants overlooking the Parthenon and other ancient landmarks, as you do when in Greece.

Rooftop bar overlooking the Parthenon. “When in Greece…”

Like I said, a freakin’ dream.

Meanwhile, back in Montreal…

My boyfriend (now husband) had been making plans to leave for Nova Scotia to enrol in a flight school there! He saved his money, had a few flying hours logged with an instructor in Montreal, and was excited to embark on this new career path.

He spent the summer as a youth intern at our church. And although he enjoyed the experience, we both felt pretty settled about his new journey to the pilot career he had always dreamt of.

One of our first youth leadership teams! Can you find us in the crowd?

When God has other plans

Between beach hopping and Greek frappé coffees, I would call my now-husband with the calling cards we had purchased for the trip. We missed each other terribly. And I wondered how in the world we’d manage being separated for months at a time when he’d go to flight school on the east coast, and I to McGill University in Montreal to complete my teaching degree.

During one of our long distance calls, Xavier shared some big news: he had been offered the permanent position of youth pastor at our church.

This came as a surprise to both of us! We needed to take some time to pray into God’s will for this ministry opportunity, and I just couldn’t believe that I was halfway across the world when this game-changer was dropped in his lap.

But the space between us was good. The time apart was critical. We were able to bring this pastoring opportunity before the Lord as individuals with clear minds, and come together – over our next long distance, muffled phone call, to discover that God had been gracious to bring us both to the same place, and on the same page… despite the thousands of miles that separated us geographically.

When a surprise open door leads to your calling

Xavier and I both felt so much peace about him accepting this role and changing our plans for the future. We were excited about this new opportunity to minister to the youth of our church. It felt so right, and we were so grateful to God for opening this door.

Xavier started the new position of Youth Pastor in the fall of 2008 and asked me to marry him shortly after. We were married in the summer of 2009, a year after my trip to Greece and the calling card phone calls that changed it all.

We celebrated 12 years of marriage this year! Which means Xavier has been a youth pastor for longer than he’s been my husband.

After 7 years of youth ministry at our home church, we had lived in two homes, had two boys, and lots of teens walk through our doors and into our hearts.

However, God was doing a new thing, and a new opportunity presented itself to our family as we stepped out in faith to a town called Leamington and a church called Meadow Brook.

Our last Sunday at Westview Bible Church in Montreal

Another open door, a new church, a new town, a new place to call “home”

We moved to Leamington six years ago when Xavier accepted a position as the Youth and Worship Pastor at Meadow Brook. There have been many highs, many lows, but God’s steadfast love and faithfulness to us unmistakably through it all.

Walking to our first youth night at MB: Baseball practice for church league baseball!

I think it’s a very good thing that God doesn’t warn us of all our hardships in advance, or we may not step into the spaces He calls us to. For those of you who follow me on social media, you might assume my highlight reel is for a journey from mountaintop to mountaintop. But no one can jump that high. Sometimes you have to go through the valley to get there. And let me tell you, there certainly have been valleys.

I’m not trying to be cryptic or overly dramatic, just honest and candid. Hardship is part of life! We all go through something that shapes us. Hopefully, it’s for the better.

The last six years of youth ministry for Xavier at Meadow Brook have been beautiful to watch.

It’s been a privilege to be in the front row of his growth in leadership and confidence. To pour into teens who are in hard situations… pointing them to Jesus, speaking truth, speaking wisdom, speaking encouragement. He does so much good behind the scenes and under the radar that only God knows. And if you know Xavier, you know that’s exactly how he likes it.

Speaking to the youth with our eldest joining in

So as we turn a corner and close our chapter of youth ministry, I’m finding it to be a bittersweet adieu. Seeing how effortlessly Xavier connects with teens and they with him… it makes my heart ache to wonder how their needs will be met going forward.

Thankfully, God knows. He’s got that covered, and we get to move on to a new thing, knowing He sees them and provides exactly what they need too.

Behind the scenes (our basement office) of recording/producing/streaming our Sundays services during Covid lockdown. He occupied this space for very many long hours over several months.

We’re not leaving ministry, we’re not even leaving our beloved church! But a new role for a man who’s proven faithful with little, and can now be trusted with more. (Luke 16:10)

Who knows, maybe we’ll even take a trip to Greece to commemorate the occasion.

Not in Greece. Still very happy.

What’s in the Ears

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Was any part of our journey new to you? Based on what’s been shared, can you relate to anything we’ve been through? Let me know by sending me a message or comment below!