Decision Points

Well this past week has been a week of much thought as too what the Lord has in store for me not just for the future but for the here and now. I never would have thought the Lord would have challenged and shaken up my world as much as He has in my time here at Kaleo. I always think that God gets a real kick out of us when we think we have it all figured out, when we think that we have our life all planned out. It is in those moments that He likes to come in and say "No I have something much better for you all you have to do is trust and say 'yes'. Not try and figure out 'how' it is going to get done but rather just say 'yes'."

That my friends is exactly what I feel God saying to me right now. I thought I had my life all planned out and figured out but man was I ever wrong lol. God has challenged me a lot and has been asking me to say 'yes' to His plan and to stop trying to figure out the 'how' of His plan.

So with that I have come to some important Decision Points in my life. And all these Decision Points are going to require my full trust in God.

I believe that God uses all things for His plan and His glory. However I do not believe that all things our of God's will. Even though because of human error and sin we as humanity don't always do God's will God is bigger than us in that He can, and will, still accomplish His will through our error. I say all this because my friends I don't want to be that guy who goes against God's will. I want to be the guy who plays a major role in the kingdom of God by not only being apart of His plan but giving a firm 'yes' to to His will and plan's!

I know that in my past couple of blogs all I seem to talk about is trying to know God's will. That is because my friends I truly feel and know that this has and will be a pivotal year for me in life in which the decision I make at these points will be tremendous.

I feel as though I am coming closer to knowing what God's will is in some important areas of my life. And in other areas not so much as I have only now in some cases discovered that God was trying to speak something into that area.

So to close I want to ask for your continuing prayer. I also want to thank all of you for your prayers and support it truly means a lot to me!

God Bless and may His peace fall upon you,

Joshua E.M. Giesbrecht  

Show me Your ways...

This last week was good and busy as it was reading break and I actually had to do quite a bit of reading (hence the name lol). God has been challenging me a lot over the last week and the area that He has been challenging me the most in is to trust him more. This has especially become painfully clear with trusting him with my plan's for the future. There are so many things that I wish He would tell me and I know everything is done in His good timing but at times I feel as though he has forgotten me. Yet I know in my heart that my ways are not His ways nor are my thoughts His thoughts.

Psalm 25:4-5 "Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day."

This verse I want to be my life statement for this year because I know for fact that it is when I follow after God in his foot steps that I am the most at peace and satisfied with life. A lot of the reason why I am so anxious about what God's will is, especially for next year, is that in the past I have gone ahead with "my plan's" and since they are done for the wrong reasons they don't work out. That was the story of last year and this happened a lot as I was a slow learner lol. However God is patient with us and me. since next years plan's for school hold a lot of implications for the future I really want to make sure I hear God out on this one. I don't want anything outside of Him to dictate my decision.

So my friends I ask that you would please pray for me in this area that I would quite my heart and life to hear God's voice on His will for next year.

I want to thank you al for your support and prayers once again you have no idea how much they mean to me.

God Bless,

Joshua E.M. Giesbrecht

Crossroads...

This last week was a busy but good one. I had Old Testament Literature class with Prof. Don Taylor and it was a very intense but also a very good class. I learned a lot of new of important details about the Old testament and how it is so relevant to our faith today. This week I also learned of the options for mission trips this coming spring which was something I had been really anxious to hear about as missions is some thing God has really laid on my heart. 

The options were:

1) Youth for Christ (YFC), Argentina, South America

2) The Garwhal, Northern India

3) First Nations - Vancouver & Vancouver Island

They all vary a lot from each other as the Argentina one is a camp ministry focus, Northern India is a prayer trek focus, Vancouver is more of inner city/first nations focus. I am feeling God's leading do the Northern India one but I would still ask all of you who read this to please prayer that God would make His will known to me on this. There have been many times in my life where I have gone ahead with my own plan's and haven't given God a chance to make known what His will is and I really don't want to make that same mistake again with a decision as important as this. 

This brings me to my next request for prayer. As of late I have been taking into serious consideration what God's will is for me next year. All I know is that God wants me to keep on going to school next year however which on and what for still remains very much up in the air. On one hand I feel as though God has called me to ministry but I also feel as though He is calling me to politics (how I got these two polar opposite interests God only knows lol). Which brings me to my two main options for school Briercrest for a B.A. in Biblical Studies or to Carlton for a B.A. in Public Affairs and Policy Management. I just want prayer from everyone who reads this that I will truly seek to hear God's voice on this and that I wouldn't let my personally self-interests get in the way. 

I want to thank all of you for your continuing support and prayer.

Josh

Where to begin... this past week has been a bit of a crazy on for me won't lie lol. It seemed to fly by so fast that by the end I the week I was like, did that just happen lol. But it was a good week because even in the busyness I grew a lot with God.

This week started off with camp ministers class with Sid Koop. It was a pretty good class as I learned a lot about youth culture in North America today. Then I took off back home for a friends wedding. It was great catching up with family and friends again. I realized in a very real way that week just how blessed I was to have such a great family and friends back home who are praying and supporting me in a very real way. The wedding was pretty good and it was nice and short lol. In all seriousness though it was actually a great wedding and it just made me realize just how fast time flies because it just seems like yesterday that I was back in junior high getting to know my friend who just got married. 

It was really good to come back to Kaleo though even though my visit home was great. So to end with I just want to ask, to all of you who read this, if you would be able to pray for me that God would make His for me clear for next year. Lately my plans for next year have become a bit unclear. Even though I still have quite a bit of time before I need to really think of that I just want to make sure I am seeking to hear God’s voice on this. I found in the past I often go ahead and start doing things without even asking God what his plans are for me. I just don’t want to make that same mistake again.

Thanks,

Josh   

Josue

Well its been awhile since I last posted up on my blog and I apologize for that. The last time I sat down to write my blog was just after the sailing trip and for some reason I just felt really... uninspired to write anything lol. Its really weird too that I would be so uninspired just after coming off of such a great experience of being on a tall ship for 5 days.

However this week God has been laying a lot of things on my heart and doing a lot of things in my life. But since I do not want to skip over last weeks events, even though I found them not the most inspiring (lol). I am going to write a combined blog of both this weeks events and last weeks.

Well about two weeks ago I went off on a 5 day trip on a tall ship. It was a great experience! We sailed just off the coast of Vancouver Island and many different island off of Vancouver island. There were so many cool and sweet experiences on this trip, especially considering that I never been out sailing on a tall ship before. But probably the coolest and most impacting thing for me on this trip was seeing our whole community at Kaleo grow so much closer on this trip. Being on a small ship for five days kinda forces people to get to know each other better lol but I really enjoyed the evening discussion where Jim defiantly gave us tough questions. I found that it was in the questions when we were made the most opened to each other that we truly grew the closets as a community. Another big impact for me on this trip was just seeing God's glory being shown through all of his beautiful creation. I remember on the very first day just as we started our voyage a whole bunch of dolphin type sea animals started swimming with our boat. It was defiantly a site to see! After the sailing trip ended it was thanksgiving weekend and I got invited to spend it at Nathan Kwon's house which was super sweet as I defiantly missed being back home with my family for that weekend. All in all it was a great week.

This past week we went surfing for three days which a super sick awesome time will not lie!!!! LOL! But yah I had a ton of fun on this trip and once again i just really enjoyed growing closer as a community. On this trip we also started the process of sharing our story with the group and that was super sweet as I got to hear Michael's story. No word of a lie I am defiantly kind of scared to share my whole story with everyone... in fact during this past week I shared some of my deepest struggles and failures in life with one that other guys here, Ryan. I just felt like a 1000 pounds were lifted of my shoulders as I found out that my struggles I was not alone in. It was one of the most liberating things I have ever experienced and I could defiantly feel the Holy Spirit working in us that night. I have never experienced so much laying down of my old self and picking up the new self which God has made me to truly be. Over the past two weeks God has really been speaking to me through Lecrae's song "Identity":

Hair check, shoes check, 
brand new fit looking cool check, 
looking in mirror like "ooooh yes!" 
cover for an insecure dude check, She wont' feel me and they wont like me if I ain't in them J's or them brand new Nikes,but lets dig deeper inside my pysche
when it's all said and done even I don't like me
He live in the gym and his hair stay faded
late model car so they think he made it
but he's Christian he gave his life
but he still ain't satisfied in the savior Christ
still finds his identity in looks and cars
if he only knew that he ain't have to look so hard
If looked in God though it may seem odd he be so satisfied he could leave it all.

[ Chorus ]
I'm not the shoes I wear, I'm not the clothes I buy
I'm am not the house I live in, I'm not the car I drive
I'm not the job I work, You can't define my worth
By nothing on God's green earth, my identity is found in Christ.

[ D.A. T.R.U.T.H. ]
How do I gauge success,Why do I say I'm blessed,
Huh,Is it the car that I drive or the place that I rest or the way that I dress, 
now Is the cause of my pride, 
the stage and the set or my face in the press, 
now Cause the applause it dies
When the praise is less if my face is depressed, 
then/It's cause my value and worth is in the volume of the work I produce in the booth 
It's a prize and a curse if defined by the perks when the truth is through
Man I'm goin' feel like I don't want to live no more, no more, no more
Cause they don't like me like they did in 04,04,04
So, I swallow my pride empowered by God, 
I'm complete in Him
He's got peace God's priest I'm in In 
His presence weak-His strength
Meet His kin We His brethren Read this list 
Me forgiven 
He's dismissed guilt and my sin and
I find my worth cause I'm Jesus' friend

[ Chorus ]
I'm not the shoes I wear, I'm not the clothes I buy
I'm am not the house I live in, I'm not the car I drive
I'm not the job I work, You can't define my worth
By nothing on God's green earth, my identity is found in Christ.

[ LeCrae ]
Got her hair done, toes and nails
is that Her? well it's hard to tell
cause she's caked up in so much make up
It's like she's tryna make up for what she ain't 
but she's a saint but so confused
cause she's been rejected by all these dudes
that tell her on a scale of 10 she's a two
but that ain't true if she only knew
In Christ she is loved she secure and accepted
She'll never be rejected by God who's elected her 
Her beauty is her Godliness
And she ain't gotta try to flaunt it cause it's obvious 
[ Identity is found in the God we trust
Any other identity will self destruct.x2 ]

[ Chorus ]
I'm not the shoes I wear, I'm not the clothes I buy
I'm am not the house I live in, I'm not the car I drive
I'm not the job I work, You can't define my worth

By nothing on God's green earth, my identity is found in Christ.

This song really spoke to me because I often found myself sub-consicenly putting my identity in the things of this world. I found myself, many times unknowingly, trying to live that "american dream" by gauging my success on material things and what other people thought of me. But over the past two weeks God has made it really clear that my true self-worth, purpose, and identity is found in Him. I want to close with this passage that God has laid on my heart to live my life for Him,

Joshua 24:14-15

"Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the godsof the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Josue

Wow a lot has happened since the last post! And man does time fly by fast. But where to begin... well since I lasted posted I started my first class Spiritual Formation with Cal Macfarlane. It was a great class despite the fact that I did not fair to well on the memorization of the bible verses. I learned a lot about my relationship with God in this class and I saw this really come full circle in my "24 hrs" of fasting and solitude.

It had been a long time since I had spent any one on one time with God not to mention this duration of time of one on one with Him. When I started out on my time alone with God all I wanted was to be totally alone with my Lord and not see or talk to anyone else (and that is a miracle in and of itself for anyone who knows me lol). I like to talk out loud when I pray to God especially when there is a lot on my mind (which there defiantly was). So I hiked out to the bush with no intention of coming back till morning. I got out to the middle of the forest and just poured out my life completely and utterly in front of God.

It felt so refreshing just to be completely and totally honest with God and to be in a silent place where I could hear God speak truth into my life. One of the things God revealed to me was that I needed to let Him soften my heart especially the people in my life who were closet to me like my family. For I couldn't even show true love to these people how could I loved the unloved of this world?

To end off this week I went with my church out to do a kids ministry on a native reserve close to Duncan. It was such a awesome ministry! We set up this portable trailer stage where they did a puppet show, some songs, and then after the formal show we played games with the kids. This was all set up in a park and it was in one of the worst areas of this reserve. However you could see that God's hand was at work through this ministry in one of the darkest areas of Duncan which was so cool to see!

Thanks for all of your continued support and prayers!

Josh

P.S. I am off on a week long sailing trip tomorrow so please all pray that my mom won't get to many more grey hairs during this week lol!
 

The New Beginning

Well here we are. It has now been a little over a week here at Kaleo and I have already seen God's hand at work here in a mighty way. Coming into this year was a new beginning for me in so many ways. The main way that it was a new beginning was that it was my first year of post-secondary education but going deeper than that it was a new beginning spiritually for me. I will be honest this summer was a tough one for me... It was my first real time being out of the Christian "bubble" that I had always grown up in. I was working at a fishing lodge for all of summer and since this wasn't my first time out of the house I didn't think that it would be a big deal at all for me.  However I would soon find that this atmosphere at the lodge would stretch my faith to the limit. By the end of summer I knew that had not grown closer to God at all and in fact I felt ashamed as I really felt that I drafted apart from Him. I still believed in God but there had never been a time in m life that I could recall where I felt so far away from Him. I was afraid… I thought to myself “Josh you need to have it altogether when you go to Kaleo.” Then I got to Kaleo acting as if I had it altogether when in fact I didn’t… then I soon found that I wasn’t alone. Satan had driven it into my head that everyone who was a Christian had it altogether. However my friends this could not be more untrue. The song written by Casting Crowns “Stained Glass Masquerade” comes to mind where it says in the song at the beginning:

 Is there anyone that fails

Is there anyone that falls

Am I the only one in church today feelin' so small

Cause when I take a look around

Everybody seems so strong

I know they'll soon discover

That I don't belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything's okay

If I make them all believe it, maybe I'll believe it too

So with a painted grin, I play the part again

So everyone will see me the way that I see them

The verse that also really spoke to me was 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it says “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” The leaders here at Kaleo are saying that they have felt God telling them that this year will be a year of grace and I couldn’t have agreed more from what I have been experiencing here already.  I want to end with this last thought. From September 20-22 we went on a hiking trip up Mt. Albert-Edwards and there were some easy parts to this hike but also some very difficult and challenging elements. My walk with God has been exactly like this hike. Some easy times when everything is good but it was in the difficult times that I really found out just how close I was to God. Yet when I got through these difficult elements on this trip it was then that I felt the most satisfied with myself just the same with my walk with God. It was in the hard times when God pulled me through that I got the closet to Him.

Josh