Loving life with Jesus

Sometimes the most honest prayers we can pray are the ones that sound like "This is hard. I'm scared. Please help" The one thing I knew I wanted to take back as a souvenier from my Israel trip were mustard seeds, to have out as a reminder of what Jesus teaches us about having faith the size of a mustard seed. If you haven't seen a mustard seed, they are so small, you can hardly see just one single seed if it was in your hand. In the bible, Jesus teaches that if we have faith even as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains, and it will grow just like a mustard seed will, one tiny seed if planted will grow into something so much bigger. Even with such a small amount of faith, we can do so much more then we can imagine, and that is all we need for Jesus to do the work in us and flourish that faith!  I have never understood that illustration more then the past couple of months. When my health started going off the edge and it went from living in pain everyday, to l...

  A cool breeze gently blowing through my hair, the gentle rock of the boat, the beautiful sunset over the horizon, and the glowing lights all around us beaming off of the cities on the hills. I couldn't put it to words, but the peace that came over me as our boat sat on the sea of Galilee, the same sea where Jesus was on, and it was like I could feel Him there, just as if he was sitting on that boat with us.  Its hard to even begin to explain what it was like to spend 10 days walking through the same places that Jesus did and being in the land where the bible came alive! It was one of the most beautiful, chaotic, calming, exciting places I have ever been too, and without a doubt I would go back in a heartbeat! No matter where we are, we can always feel God, but there is something different about being in His land, where Jesus lived and breathed and died, and I cannot explain the feeling, but it made the whole bible come to life, and in a sense it made my faith more real, bein...

"My body hurts, and so does my mind, it's a vicious cycle I can not get out of"  "Health is a relationship between you and your body" says Terri Guillemets.  It is so fascinating, how connected our body and mind really are, and I don't think we always realize that. There are so many worldly things that can cause pain and sickness in our bodies, and as much as those things are real and do affect us, people are finding more and more these days that a lot of the problems we have to deal with in our bodies actually comes from our mind and the state it is in. When our minds deal with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress, it can drag our bodies along with it. It is wild how connected they are, two different things that are one, so connected with each other, and so when one is hurting, the other hurts as well. It's amazing the stories I have heard about how people's bodies have healed by healing their mental health first, and takin...

Two months felt like two weeks, and before I knew it, I was back in Canada, living the rich life again. What am I suppose to do now? Go forwards and leave everyone and everything I saw behind? Because I can not, what I had seen and experienced changed my life, and my heart is so full of joy but also filled with sorrow that I had to leave these people behind in those conditions, while I get to go back and live comfortably again.  I have been back for four months already, and it was a hard adjustment back, and I felt like I could not put the right words down on paper about the last leg of the trip, until now. The last two weeks in Nicaragua were full of sight seeing, building deeper connections with the people there, and soaking in everything we could before we had to say goodbye and drive away, not knowing if we would ever see them again. I did not think I would become so attached to the people there when I could not even speak to them without a translator, but I did, and seeing the...

             Miriam Adeney says that “ You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That's the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place”. I can not agree more with this statement, and I can see it becoming more relevant the more places I go to. A piece of my heart lies in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and now Nicaragua, and the longer I am here for, the more I feel at home and attached to the people. I guess that is why they say its a price you pay for loving and knowing people, because it sure does not feel good to have to say goodbye, not knowing when you will ever see them again, always having a piece of you that longs to go back. This week, we moved into a little village house to become immersed into their everyday life and learn how to live the way they do. This was a huge step for me, throwing me way out of my comfort zone, putting yourself into a survival m...

                                 And just like that, I am in Nicaragua, already done my first week. This past week has been full of stressful and unexpected but also amazing things. We have seen so many new sights and parts of this culture, giving me such a bigger picture of how amazing God has created this world! The volcanoes, all the different kinds of trees and plants, sunsets, and city structures have just been breathtaking to see! Nicaragua really is such a beautiful country. But coming here has also come with a lot of struggling and culture shock. I have heard of how different these parts of the world are compared to North America, but never really understood it, until now. When you go to living down with some of poorest people, your perspective gets completely changed on what life is really about and how rich a lot of us actually are. Driving down a road, where half of the traffic is people, car...

                                                                                                                    It is so surreal that I am sitting in 25 degrees weather right now, with palm trees right outside our house! We have just completed 3 days of traveling to Nicaragua and have made it all the way to Los Angeles. Me, along with three other young adults who are also doing this year long internship through the Youth Farm Bible Camp, started off our trip with driving all the way from Rosthern Saskatchewan to Idaho USA on our first day. Day two of our trip, we drove through Utah, and stopped to hike parts of Zion National Park, which was just breathtaking to see! We than drove into Las...

Street lights shine into the darkness of the night all around the city. Above, the sky is sparkling bringing off the radiance of perfection, but down below, I don't see perfection, but pain and brokenness everywhere I look. I see broken families, wounded hearts, addictions, homelessness, lost souls looking for some comfort, but unsure of where to find it. Hunger coursing through their bodies, holding on to the little belongings they posses.  Most of my life, I have been pretty sheltered from a lot of things, including homelessness. You briefly see a homeless person sitting alongside a building, but most times you pass by not thinking much of it. A lot of the darkness is hidden away from the eyes of the public throughout the main streets you drive or walk on everyday. When you don't intentionally go out looking for the people who are living on the streets, you won't see it and most times it will get pushed to the back of our heads.  I was given the opportunity to go out with...

  Everyone has giants in their lives that come and knock on their doors, threatening to take away their confidence, peace, and happiness. Even though the giant, Goliath, that David faced in the bible was a real human being, our giants are not humans but rather things like, fear, doubt, insecurity, habits, etc. These giants, when we are confronted by them, can seem larger and scarier than they really are. It may seem impossible some days to stand up and fight against them especially when they have been a part of our lives for so long. But no giant we ever face is too big for God, because the giants before us will never be greater than the God who is beside us. God is always standing with us, fighting for us every single day of our lives, and too many times we forget that we have the creator of the whole world fighting our battles for us. Deuteronomy 3:22, "For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory" . When w...

  Our world is full of fear, and that fear can rub off onto us without us even noticing. It creeps up like an animal looking for its prey, and jumps at the right moment when we are vulnerable. We need to always be on the look out for devil so we can be prepared for when he tries to attack us. There are so many different tactics that the devil will use to attack us with, but one very common one is fear, and especially in our world today, we can see it everywhere we look. The amazing thing is, we do not have to allow that fear to affect us because we have a weapon against it, and that weapon is faith. In the bible, God promises us that we can trust Him that He has everything in control, and will only do what is best for us, even when we may not see it sometimes. When Satan takes that fear and plants it into our heads, he is trying to control us and make us believe that God is not in control. We can either allow him to have the satisfaction of winning us over, or block him out and fil...

  I can not believe that it has already been 8 months since I started Bible School and now I am living back at home again. These past 8 months, I had my life planned out for me and did not have much to worry about. The thought of leaving scared me, because my future is unknown and I would be leaving what is comfortable to me and all the people I love. After living in this amazing place, I thought that moving back home would mean I would be downgrading back to how my life was like a year ago before I went to Bible school. These past few weeks I have been wrestling a lot with this idea, and God turned that idea I had and flipped it around to show me how I should view this change in my life. God showed me that living a life with Him is never downgrading, and even though it may physically look like I am downgrading back to my old life, I am different internally and can take this change and have a whole attitude and perspective on life. God is bringing me back home for a reason to...

Life can throw unexpected situations at us that can be sometimes difficult to handle. As humans, we love the comforts of our lives and planning out every situation we go through or have to face. The problem with that, is that there is only one person who knows exactly what is going to happen and has control, and unfortunately that person is not us. We may think we can control what happens, but really the only thing we have control of is how we react and respond to the situations we find ourselves in. Are we going to surrender and say yes to where God is leading us, or are we going to ignore His calling and stay in our comforts? I am not saying that our comforts are bad, because they are not....unless they hold us back from following God. God will put us in situations for His purpose, to test and strengthen us, even though we may never understand why. Instead of being afraid of the unknown, we need to trust God and step into uncharted waters with faith. He will never put you in a situ...

  1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Imagine if the whole world could live by this standard that God has given us? There would be so much peace, love, and unity between everyone, and the world would be a different place. To truly love someone is to do what 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says. As humans, with our sinful nature, we have a hard time putting on love and showing it to everyone around us. God is love, and is the greatest example of how we should love someone. God gave up His only son to die to save us because He loved us so much, and could not imagine heaven without us. Not only did Jesus willingly die for us, God is SO patient with us, forgives us no matter what, rej...

  Lungs too heavy to breath, heart racing, hands shaking, all while you mind is racing with the thoughts, "When will this ever end?" Stomach turning, body sweating, "What is wrong with my body? Am I going to die? I can't catch a breath....I can't breath." Anxiety, panic attacks...unfortunately a normal part of a lot of people's everyday lives, but it does not have to have the power to take control of your life and tell you, you are messed up because your body reacts the way it does. It can a part of you without being you. I have always been a person who thinks too much and when you add that with stress it does not mix well. I started getting anxiety in elementary school because of bullying and stress and I have had it ever since. I got my first four panic attacks this past year and the first time I had it, I thought I was going to die. Knowing what to expect, now helps me to recognize it quicker and deal with it so it does not get out of control. But r...

  Hurt, a word we can easily give power to, to define who we are. When we are hurt by someone, especially if they are close to us, it can leave scars on our hearts and wound us to the point where we don't think we will ever be able to heal from it. At one point in my life, I thought it would be impossible to ever trust people again, because I was afraid to let myself get hurt one more time. I thought my heart was far gone from being mended and I would never feel normal again. Allowing the hurt to consume yourself, making yourself feel like you are sitting in the dark all alone, will just hurt you even further to the point of suicidal thoughts. If we sit with the hurt too long, we can allow it to creep into every part of our lives and define us for who we are. Once it starts to define us, we believe all the lies we have been told and that the hurt we have experienced is who we are and we will never be without it and should just accept it and live with it weighing us down each and ...

  And just like that another year has gone by in a blink of an eye. Though this year has definitely been one for the books. Last year, on December 31 st at 11:59pm everyone was gathered with their families and friends ready to welcome the new year of 2020 and celebrated when that hand turned to 12:00am. Little did we know that we were celebrating for a year that would make history. No one knew what was going to happen or that we would be living in a world wide pandemic. I bet most people are cheering for 2021 because it means we get to leave this past year behind us and this year was one many would not like to remember. This pandemic has taken a lot from me and everyone around the world. This past year was suppose to be the year I would finish my senior year, have a graduation, and so many more things that we were unable to do because of the world we live in right now. Even though I am so excited for this new year, this past year has not been all bad. Instead of looking only to t...

  Christmas is by far my favorite holiday of the whole year. Growing up, I understood the true meaning of Christmas, but like any kid the presents and the food were always first in line inside of my head. To say, Christmas is about Jesus' birth and how he came to earth to save us from our sins, is one thing, but do we actually understand what that means for us, or are we just saying that because that is what we were taught as kids to say? The older I became, the more I started to realize how much more significant Christmas actually is. I mean, the beginning of the story already starts off bizarre! Mary becomes pregnant by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God. To me, that already is almost humanly impossible to comprehend, because it is something that does not normally happen here on earth. God sent His only son, to the earth as a baby, to be born in a dirty, smelly, and uncomfortable stable, so He could be killed for us. I don't think that would be easy for any parent, to give t...

  Most of my life, I never had many friends, and if I did, they always found some excuse to leave me. I dealt with a lot bullying for many years in school, and became very insecure in who I was. I am naturally more of a quieter person, but after dealing with all of this, I really shut myself off to everyone. I built this huge wall around myself, and would grow it bigger every time I was hurt. It caused me to feel so insecure in who I was, I would hate how I looked, how God made me, and I would never talk because I became so afraid I would be judged or would say something wrong. I believed people did not care about what I had to say or who I was and so, I would hide in my shell where at least I was partially safe from being hurt. Masks...masks are such a huge problem for so many people, and became too easy for me. It was scary how easy it was for me to put a mask on and show who I wanted people to see. It became a regular thing for me to cover up how I was really feeling and only sh...

“ So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. “ This verse, is one of my favorite  verses in the bible. It is short, but SO powerful. The first time I read it, it gave me a sudden feeling of hope and peace. This verse illustrates that God, no matter where you are or what you have done, God is always with you no matter what. He is never going to leave you, and walks beside you ever step of the way. When we know these truths, we do not have any need to be afraid of anything that happens, because our faith in God and the truth He gives us, can get us through anything. Whenever we do feel weak, or fall down, God is right beside us, and will pick us up, brush the dust off of us so we can try again. No matter how many times you have let down God, or walked away from Him, He loves you so much, with love we can never comprehend.  He will always be chasing after us, h...

  My name is Alysia Wielinga. I lived in Orangeville Ontario all of my life until a few years ago when my dad got a new job at a Bible Camp in Rosthern Saskatchewan.  Writing has always been a big passion of mine, it is one of the ways I can escape from reality, and just get my feelings or ideas down on paper. The thing I love most about writing is that there are no rules. You can write about anything and in any way and there are endless possibilities of where you can go. Growing up, I wrote little stories all the time and whatever I was feeling would get put into those stories. A few months ago, I realized that God has given me this amazing gift, and I want to use it in some way for His glory. I have always wanted to use my writing to help, encourage, or change people and what better way to do that than starting a blog! My goal for this blog, is to take my story, my feelings, and my beliefs, to hopefully encourage and help others who may be going through or feeling the same w...