Tim and Olive's Blog

“Are you a dangerous woman? PROVE IT.” Such were the opening words for the invitation to the SheLoves Magazine event I received. My first thoughts: “I’m NOT a dangerous woman. And who are you to ask me to prove it?!” And yet, I RSVP’d “Yes,” bought my ticket and marked it in my calendar. I went because I wanted to meet these women in person. I’d wanted to meet them for the last year and a half. These were the women who had agreed to publish my amateur writing on their incredible online magazine. These were the women whose writing, lives and hearts inspired me in my journey. These were the women who I’d become online friends with through likes, shares, comments and private messages. Read More

[This guest post is by Cindy Brandt, who is generously offering her new book “Outside In” for FREE. Details at the bottom of this post.]

“If the Christian is too busy to stop, take spiritual inventory, and receive his assignments from God, he becomes a slave to the tyranny of the urgent.”
~ Charles Hummel

The city we served in as missionaries had a population of 13 million people. We joke that it’s the biggest city no one’s ever heard of. Let’s assume Jesus had a good model of leading 12 disciples. In order to make disciples of 13 million, doing the quick math, we would need 1.08 million Christian leaders. At the time we were serving, our organization had a whopping 60 members! Anyone who has ever served in any capacity in ministry can tell you: The needs are unrelenting. There is always more, more, and more to do for ministry staff and volunteers.

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No, I’m not Jesus. But I am practicing resurrection. Before I explain, let me give you a bit of backstory.

About a month ago, I had the fortune of attending a one-day retreat facilitated by a former professor of mine. It was the first time I was away from Kayla (who was almost 8 months old) and I was nervous about how she would do. I knew, however, that I needed to go to this retreat because my soul was in desperate need of care. Kayla did great. And I was refreshed and inspired.
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Choosing a home birth was not an easy decision, but I’m glad we gave it a try.

“Redemption” is probably not the first word that comes to mind when you think about childbirth. But for me, it was. The moment I realized I was pregnant with our second child, I wanted redemption. My experience of birthing my first baby was pretty tame as far as birth stories go, but there were elements that made it a traumatic experience for me.

I gave birth to my first baby in a hospital and I came out of that experience feeling unheard, disempowered and simply run through the system. I wanted to do it differently the second time. I wanted to actually experience birthing my child the way I was built for it.
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On January 18, 2015, I had the privilege of speaking to our local congregation at Heritage Mountain Community Church in Port Moody, BC. We are currently going through a series on meeting God in the various seasons of our souls. I shared my story as part of meeting God in the Winter. Although it was not video or audio recorded, I wanted to share the written version here.
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I’m going to write about work today, and the meaning of work from a Christian perspective. But more importantly than a Christian perspective, I’m going to write about God’s perspective of work, and how it is radically different than our culture’s view of work.

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[This is a guest post by our friend, the lovely Danica Grunert]

Last Saturday I was delighted to attend the opening day of the 5th annual Vancouver Christmas Market with my husband Matthew and our daughters Adora (12) and Grace (10). This is our first year living in the Vancouver area, so it was an extra special treat to take in this festive and traditional event.

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When your toddler gets sick
It feels like the world will end
Absolute misery
It’s stupid and relentless

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“My toddler is getting a sibling! Now how do I prepare her for it?” Storytelling, I’d learned from the brilliant book The Whole-Brain Child was a fantastic way to engage then 21-month-old Allie, so I turned to my favourite resource – our local library.

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“You are so loved.” I paused when I read that these were some of the last words spoken to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo as he lay dying at the National War Memorial in Ottawa last week. So fitting, I thought. And so true. Everyone should hear that they are loved in their last moments. After all, there is probably nothing that is more true of us.

But as our country mourned the soldier’s death and celebrated his heroism, I found myself mourning the death of the gunman just as much.
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