Justice Water with Jamie

I haven't blogged in months and don't have anything extremely fancy to write about, but figured that I might as well put an update up about where I am at, where I'm going, and what the Lord has been teaching me.  It is the weekend before my last 4 finals of the year and is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday today- a day that I was planning on studying hard through but am feeling a little burned out on school right now.  The school year has been a wild ride, going from wondering what I am doing and why I am in University to loving the opportunity to learn and being thankful that I decided to be obedient to God and to go in this direction.  One of the big privileges this last year for me has been getting to be a part of the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship group on campus and getting asked to join the leadership team for next year.  We have had a weekly Bible study this year going through the Parables of Jesus in the first semester and then studying the book of Philippians for the second semester.  It has been so life giving for me to get to study scripture with other believers from the University. 

A big struggle that I have been dealing with this year is how to live as a follower of Christ and to be a light of life in such a different environment than I have been accustomed to over the last few years.  It was very difficult for me to transition at the beginning of the school year and to adjust to daily life back in Canada but it has been something that I needed to deal with and I have seen firsthand the impact of honesty and accountability, of seeking community to be around, and of daily, simple faithfulness to Christ.  It is so key for me to spend time with God daily through prayer, Bible reading, and worship and I've found that oftentimes when I don't set aside a quantity of time with the Lord, I also end up missing on some quality in my walk with Him throughout the day.  This makes sense, that as I spend less time in communication with my God, I also neglect Him in other parts of the day.  I want my life to scream that "I count all things to be loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord" and it seems like a step toward that is through setting aside purposeful time with Him.  I also mentioned to importance of community and accountability and I've found that through the step of humility required of asking other believers around me to watch my life, hold me accountable, and have the tough conversations with me I have an opportunity to grow and to let the Lord work in my life.  Through submission to His body (the church), we are truly submitting to Him.

I am have been so blessed with the opportunity to travel all around the States through the first four months of this year, crossing the border four seperate times since the turn of the year.  It has been awesome to catch up with friends, see what the Lord is doing in different contexts, and see a dear brother get married to an awesome woman of God (what a great wedding, Steve'n'Lex!).  These trips to Idaho, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, and most recently North Dakota have encouraged me and provided great breaths of fresh air and opportunities to step back and look around.  

The next step for me is to finish exams, see my sister get married next weekend, and then to jump right into work for a farmer who I have worked for in the past, an amazing family who have taught me a ton about life-long faith and about hard work, and then to work delivering ice around central Alberta for another previous boss and also another awesome, faithful, and godly man and family who I am truly privileged to work for.  It will be great to get most of the summer outside and working with my hands while getting to learn and develop skills that are quite different than what I do in school.  During the summer, there will be many weddings and hopefully a couple crazy camping trips and it should be awesome to get the opportunity to have a bit of time out of school to re-focus on what God is doing here in Alberta, in me, and what I should be emphasizing and focusing on for this next year.  

If you made it to the end of this essay, congratulations and thank you for your love and prayers. I always covet your prayers and would value prayers for our IVCF team and that we can be a light on the campus for Jesus, for me that I can see what God is doing here and in me, and that I would be faithful with what God has given me and is doing in me now and not just look ahead to some future, perfect, super-Jamie.  

Galatians 5