Elections are happening this fall. In Canada, they have already happened. In the US, they are happening very soon. These political minds go hard at it for months preparing, gathering votes, gaining popularity (in some cases, losing it), and essentially doing everything they can to show you they are the best leader for your nation. Whether your elected officials are already in place, or are yet to be determined, these are the people who have been placed in charge to care for your nation. Please do not forget that they are people just like anyone else and they need prayer just like everyone else. Please don't forget to pray for your politicians. Whether the guy you were cheering for got in, or the guy you really can't stand got in, pray for them anyway, they need it.
Blessings!
d.

Who has time any more? We are so busy with school, work, friends, family, traffic, sports, lessons, cleaning, mowing, raking, baking, forsaking, the list goes on and on... Who has time any more?! With all the things that we have in our lives that keep us from taking a moment to enjoy the day... Who has time any more!?! When it gets to the point when we see someone, and ask them how they're doing and don't stick around to see how they are really doing aside from "fine" or "okay" because we're too busy... Who has time any more?!?! No matter how busy you are, God always has time. Talk, listen, He's there for you.
Blessings!
d.

It's 5:30 in the morning while I'm writing this, why am I up? I just witnessed the most amazing light show I've seen in my lifetime. The thunder was so loud, that I could feel it. The lightning was so bright that it made me squint, and at times I simply had to close my eyes from the brightness. The water coming off the side of my house sounded like a flowing river. Where most times I would just see these things as an annoyance disrupting my sleep - this time I stopped, looked, and listened. If Leonardo Da Vinci set up an eisel on my porch, or if Mozart set up his orchestra in my basement, would I be sleeping? Here is one of God's amazing works in my back yard, and I was in bed?! So that's why it's 5:30 in the morning and I'm writing this, the storm has moved on now, but I didn't want to let the beauty of one of God's great works pass me by. It may not come to you early in the morning, it might be at work or at school, or while your on your way to have supper or to a practice. God's works are everywhere, I think we just need to stop, look, and appreciate.
Blessings!
d.

I've been out on my lawn doing some yard work lately and I will forever find it amazing how God makes it all work. You plant something, give it water and sunlight, and it grows. Through the simplicity of it, there's still that complex fact to grasp. What makes it grow? Sure there's the fact that you took the time to plant something, and that it is getting the essential nutrients from the Sun and soil, and it receives it's moisture from your sprinkler, but really what makes it grow? There's more to it than just "I plant it and it grows". There's more! God gave life to every flower, every tree, every single blade of grass. He is the one that causes everything to grow. What about us? Maybe we should grab some of what God has for us, so that we can grow too.
Blessings!
d.

This one, I want you to think about. I titled this email "stores and such". I've mentioned the stores, now for the such. The word "such" by itself doesn't really seem like anything at all. The word has many meanings, and one in particular is to describe the extreme. This word can be found wherever Jesus goes, because Jesus IS the extreme. Everything He is is such - so much. Such love, so much greatness, He's an extreme God! Do you see Him as such?
Blessings!
d.

We hope you have a wonderful Summer holiday coming up and remember as you are outside in the beauty of nature that it is not beautiful by accident. It was created as a thing of beauty, and we need to stop for a moment to thank the God who ochestrated this exquisite symphony.
Blessings!
d.

On my way to the airport yesterday, I witnessed something that I thought to be pretty ridiculous. At a gas station in Los Angeles there was a man waiting for a gas pump. As soon as that pump cleared, another man pulled in - before the man who was waiting could get to the pump. The first man flew out of his car in a rage, threw the second man's car door open and started screaming at him about how long he had been waiting for that pump. The second man tried to reason with the first man by saying that he would only be a couple minutes if the first man would leave him alone. The first man screamed some more, slammed the car door in the second man's face, and just stood there. Not moving, not going back to his car, not letting the second man fill his vehicle, he just stood there preventing the second man from leaving his car. I filled my car, paid, and when I left they were still arguing over this pump. In the time it took them to argue back and forth about this gas pump, both of them could have gassed up and left. Pretty ridiculous, eh? And yet, all too familiar. Sometimes in the church, fighting over the trivial things keeps us from filling up and moving on to do God's work. What would it really take to just let it go? Not that much... let it go.
Blessings!
d.

Last weekend, I received a renewed sense of purpose for this ministry. And even for myself. To make a long story short, I was invited to go along to try out for Canadian Idol, and didn't make it past the second preliminary round. I was given some "constructive" criticism that I didn't really feel was accurate. Needless to say, I let it get me when I really shouldn't have. That same night, I had a concert with a youth group in Winnipeg. I have to say, it was one of my best. During the auditions, I felt very out of my element - during the concert, it was ALL element!! God renewed in me my purpose. My place is not on a TV show that more often than not seeks to glorify one's self. My place is with my guitar, telling people about the love of Jesus. It's where I belong. And I am so thankful for that!
Blessings!
d.

With so many things we have to be excited about, we can't forget to thank God for everything He is doing in and through us. He is the Reason we get up in the morning, the One we live for every day, and the One we pray to in our beds at night. We know we wouldn't be able to do one single thing without Him. Thank You God!!!! Have you thanked Him lately for the good things He has done for you?
Blessings!
d.

Each one of us has a purpose. For me, God has laid it upon my heart to go as far as I can with my guitar and sing and play my music for whomever will hear it. For some, your gift may not be in music. Your gift could be hospitality, your gift could be that you are a skilled listener, you could be great at encouraging and talking to people. Or you may have the gift of giving hugs that melt icebergs. Whatever the gift is that God has instilled in you, whatever purpose He has given you, I encourage you to use it for Him. Don't let it go to waste! God is waiting for you to LET Him use those gifts. So let go, you won't be disappointed.
Blessings!
d.