How To Be a Godly Christian Wife

    It’s been a topic on my mind for a little while. But I wasn’t really sure where to start. I came across a sermon from Lakepoint Church on YouTube about this very topic. I hit play and loved every minute of it. I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob. (I hope you got that reference) pastor Josh did such a great job preaching that I thought I would simply re-listen to it, take notes and share those notes with you.

    Pastor Josh started off by reminding/informing us that the enemy is after our family and our marriage. He points out that at the end of Genesis 2, Adam and Eve get married at the beginning of chapter 3, the enemy comes and tries to divide them. And unfortunately, he was successful. I have never looked at those verses like that together before, but I’m so glad I have now.

    

    His first point is that a Christian wife is a “Helper,” or as I like to say it and one translation, I think King James says it, “Helpmate.”

   

     He also first references Genesis 1:27-28: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

    

    Both men and women are equal in dignity and value. But different in function. God wants us to be fruitful and multiply. He wants us to enjoy our marriage bed, keep it holy, and then have dominion over the animals. We are to work together and complement each other. We are not to compete with one another, but to complement each other. God created men to be loving heads of their families and wives to be the respectful helper. If God created man and woman to be equal in function, then marriage and family would not work. I’ve heard many different analogies for this next point, and all have their place. Pastor Josh said it something like this, “if you marriage doesn’t have a head, then you have a corpse because you have a headless body. And if you and your husband both play the role of head, then you would have two heads on the body, and that's a freak.”

    

    The word “helper” also gets a bad rep. People think it is referring to an assistant or a glorified receptionist. When in reality, the same word is used to describe how God is our helper. It’s not a weak word, its a powerful word. When Jesus assended to heaven after being raised from the dead, He said that He would be sending His helper to us, meaninig the Holy Spirit, and when the word helper is used to describe God, many of the examples are in reference to military help. So to be called our husband’s helper is an honour, not a burden. As wives, we are called to help our husbands on the journey that God has given to them. Many of us have our own callings that God has put on our hearts outside of our marriages and families, but within the context of our marriage, our role is to be our husband’s helper.

    

    Pastor Josh goes on to remind us women that we have a special feminine power. A power that can be used for good or for evil. We need to use it for good and to build us our husbands. With this idea in mind, there are three types of marriages and how wives use their feminine power over their husbands.

    

    A wise  wife uses her power correctly. She builds up her husband. She encourages him. She does not tear him down.

   

     A foolish wife wastes that power. She doesn’t know or care about her power. Likely doesn’t know about it. She isn’t trying to tear her husband down; she just doesn’t know how to use her power wisely.

    

    An evil wife knows she has power and uses it against her husband. Manipulating and nagging him. Tearing him down and controlling him. As I’m writing these notes, I’m thinking to myself, “Oh my goodness, that was me.” Thank you, Jesus, that I am no longer that wife and am daily learning to use my feminine power wisely.

    

    He then made a cute reference to Winston Churchill and his wife. They were filling up their gas tank and noticed that the attendant was an old high school boyfriend of hers. Windson Churchill made a comment that if his wife had married that man, she would be the wife of a gas station attendant. She responded that he would have been the Prime Minister. Suggesting that regardless of who she married, that man would be the prime minister. A cute story shows the power that a wife has.

    

    Ladies, we have the power to build up or to break down our husbands and families. As someone who didn’t use her power wisely and, by the grace of God, has since learned to use it wisely, take it from me. Use your power wisely and watch things change in your marriage and family.

    

    Second point in the sermon. A Christian wife is submissive to her husband.

   

     Ephesians 5:22- 27 “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love our wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present to her himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

    

    Submission is not… All woman submitting to all men. That’s Islam. We submit to our own husbands. It's not all women to all men, just wives to their own husbands. Also, women can be leaders in the community or at work, but not at home. Because we as wives are called to submit to our husbands, but not to every man on the planet.

    

    It is also not submission to sin or abuse. We are not called to submit when our husband is leading us into sin, whether that be deliberate or accidental. We are also not called to submit to abuse. If he is abusing you, you don’t have to take it. I pray that no one reading this is submitting to abuse. Anyways.

    

    It is also not “no voice, no choice.” I’m bad for playing this card. The enemy will start attacking me worth and then I take away my own voice and choice when hubby wants my opinion or feedback on something. I will then tell him I’m submitting, and he calls me out and tells me that that’s not what submission is. And he is right. Its not. Submission is respecting our husbands and the decisions that they make for our marriages and families. The whole reason why God gave us to our husband is because they need our voices and input.

    

    It’s also not waiting until you think he deserves it. The Bible doesn’t say to submit if he does x,y or z. It simply says to respect and submit. I also deeply failed in this category for a long time. I was also encouraged not to submit if there wasn’t anything to submit to at the time. Thankyou Lord for working on me and changing me. I’m still a work in progress, but, by the grace of God, I am better than I was.

   

     What submission is..

    

    “Honouring his role as the loving head of the family and taking a posture that acknowledges, encourages and follows his leadership in both words and actions as the head of the family.” Pastor Josh.

    

    We don’t submit simply when it pleases us. We submit to our husbands in reverence to God.

  

     In reality, when both husband and wife are acting in their roles, both roles are easy. Submission is easy when you know your hubby loves you and is doing his best to care for you. Also, there are very few times when a husband will have to play the “submit” card. Usually it's when we wives are deeply in need of a break but refuse to take it. Our loving husbands will then tell us to go and take a bath, have a girls' day, or whatever fills us up.

   

    The pastor brings up the principle that the husband is the head and the wife is the neck, and therefore she can turn him anywhere she wants. He and his wife watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” and at one point, the mother tells her daughter that she can turn her husband anyway she wants. Wives, take it from someone who has tried this theory: it doesn’t work. Nor should it.

    

    Proverbs 12:4 “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.” We are not the neck, we are his crown. We bring glory and honour to our husbands. We get to bless them. We don’t manipulate or control them.

    

    Pastor Josh reminded us that the crown signifies that there is something special about the person wearing it. Without your crown, you are just another person walking down the street. But, with a crown on, you are made important and special. I have two coworkers that I am close with and often talk to them about hubby. One day, one of them said that despite only meeting my hubby a few brief times, she knew he was a good man because of the way that i walk about him. She is correct, I do have a wonderful husband. Wives, by our words and actions, we are communicating who our husband’s is to us and hopefully his special how special he is to us. I have also been the wife who is decay in my husband’s bones and have been called out on it a few times over the years. Let me tell ya, not fun. Be his crown ladies, not decay in his bones. Trust me, it will bless you both.

    

    Third point in the sermon. A Christian wife respects her husband.

    

    Ephesians 5:31-33 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh” 32 This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

    

    We respect our husbands with place and pros. We respect him by giving him the appropriate place in our lives. God first and then our husbands. Then, the kids and the rest of life. In my case, I struggle with putting my hobbies before my husband. I’m working on it though, and the nights that I would rather sew or worl on a blog post, I have to stop myself and think about what I am prioritizing. Because even if I’m not in the mood to watch a movie, I know that the nights I choose to watch a movie with him over sewing, we always have a great time together, and I am thankful for the choices I made. There is a place and time for hobbies and all the things. For me, it's usually during the day on Saturday, and then we will watch a movie together that night.

    The last point that the pastor makes is that a husband has a part of a man’s heart that is reserved for you, and whatever you say, he will believe. So speak life over and to him. Writing out that part sentence was more convicting than I was expecting. Not towards hubby, though, towards myself. Hubby has recently been learning this in his own life and has been encouraging me to do the same in my life. So use your words wisely, ladies, towards your hubby and towards yourself. Lift him up, don’t tear him down and pray for him.

“Encouragement in the mouth of a wife is strong in the heart of a husband.” Pastor Josh.

    Thank you for making it to the end of this post, friend. It's double the length I usually write. But when I started listening to the video on YouTube, I knew I had to share the message with you. I pray that it blesses and challenges you as much as it did me.

God Bless

~Hannah

Embracing Change and Growth

    I have struggled with change for as long as I can remember. I don't like change. Probably doesn't help that, while I was growing up, my dad joked that the word 'try' was a 4-letter word. Meaning that it was a sware word. Not knowing the potential damage it could do down the road, I adopted that ideology for myself. I recently discovered that the joke isn’t that funny, and no one gets it. So, out the window it goes.

    I struggle with change and growth in my personal and spiritual life as well because in my mind, change is scary and unknown. I would rather stay in old bad habits and such because as awful as it is. It's familiar. I have changed a bit of course, but not nearly as much as I could have by now if I had only allowed God to change me.

    As you might imagine this causes some tension in our marriage. Recently hubby and I were discussing my lack of change and desire for change. As usual, he was making the argument that change is a good thing, which he is right. Later that morning at work, I prayed and asked God to give me examples of good change. He instantly brought to mind getting sober, walking away from drugs, losing weight, accepting Christ as your Lord and Saviour. It gave me a chuckle. I’m thankful that I don’t struggle with any of these struggles, but I certainly have my own. Anyways.

    For a while now I have been praying half hearted prayers about change. Part of me wants change and part doesn't. God is working on me and teaching me that change isn't scary and that it can be a good thing.

    We were having a discussion, I misheard part of what he had said in the beginning of his thoughts/ideas. I then responded with my thoughts and ideas, but because I missed what he said in his opening communication, my part went downhill. I thought I was right and trying to explain why I was. I kept repeating myself, thinking that he wasn’t understanding me. Things get heated, words and tones that didn't need to be there entered the room. (Yes, normal, healthy, honest couples argue sometimes. Arguments are okay. It's what you do with the argument that matters) I leave to walk, Blessing. During my walk, I realized how I had misheard his opening thoughts, which he had informed me of a few minutes before I stormed out. I thought through it while I walked, I came to terms with the fact that I was wrong. Emotions were still high at this point, but I decided to direct my emotions and tell them where to go and called him to apologize for my part. I said my emotions were still raw, but I was chosing to apologize before they had a chance to catch up.

    He apologized for his side. I didn't want to listen though. I just wanted to grab the negative things that were said and stake my identity on those things instead of listen to the word of God and what He says about me. Because that's easier and doesn't require change. So I told him I didn't want to hear his apology and that he didn't need to say it because it wasn't true. In these moments, he knows that I am listening to the voice of the enemy and not the Holy Spirit. When this happens, he lovingly reminds me of what God says about me. But I didn’t want to listen, so I hung up on him. When I returned home we was gone. He went for a little bike ride.

    When he returned home. Apologies had been made, but emotions were still there. I was thinking about just going silent. I didn't want to change my behavior and fix the problem. Then Holy Spirit gently reminded me that change is a good thing. It took me a few moments to get on board with the idea, but I knew He was right. I don't recall what happened after that, but the emotions of our home went back to normal/happy shortly after that.

    A few days later, I decided that I would call hubby and ask him to meet me outside of our apartment building so that he could help me with the doors while I get my bike inside after work. It had been a good day, and I knew the frustration of getting through doors after work would take it all down. So I decided to call hubby for help. I called once I was on our street. He was all to happy to meet me outside and help me get in the door. It blessed me and helped to bless our afternoon and evening. I decided to make a change and was blessed for it. Now I call him every day as I arrive home and ask for his help, and every day he is waiting outside with a big smile on his face when I see him.

    What I have learned over the last few weeks is that change is, in fact, a good thing, and I am slowly enjoying the results of the changes I am making. Change can be scary, but it's worth it. There are lots of other changes to be made, but one day and one action at a time.

    To be honest I see God working in hubby all the time and enjoying my view. I know that I, too, can have that much change and transformation if I just let God do the work. So, I am. Slowly, but surely, I'm letting Him do the work. Teaching me that change is a good thing.

    The other night, hubby and I were lying on the couch, enjoying a quiet evening and each other's company. We were talking about how good God is, and all the things He has been doing in our lives recently, and the victories we are seeing in our individual lived and watching it trickle into our marriage. One of the things I shared was how God was showing me how change is good. Hubby made a really good point that I hadn't realized before. Even if you don't like change, you are always changing. We grew up, we physically grew from infants, to children, to teenagers and now adults. Our physical bodies are changing all the time in lots of different ways. Change is inevitable, we simply struggle with changing our hearts and souls. The rest changes without our consent, but we get to choose how our minds, souls and spirits change.

    I pray that this post encourages you to make the good changes that God is calling you to make and not to be afraid of them. Yes, change can be scary, but it can also be fun and exciting at times. I’m still learning that part.

God Bless

~Hannah

Soon, by the grace of God, I will no longer recognize the version of myself in this picture.

 And that my friend, is exciting.

Mother's Day Tribute

    In honour of Mother's Day and her birthday, let me tell you a little bit about our mom.  First off, she homeschooled all six of my siblings and me. Three of us all the way through high school, and three to grade 8/9. Two of whom have dyslexia, and we suspect that 4 to 6 of us have ADHD to varying degrees, along with neurodivergent issues. So, needless to say, homeschooling all six of us was a feat in and of itself. She is also a woman of faith and raised us to know and love Jesus. She also taught us the importance of eating healthy and exercising and that the easiest way to exercise is to have it as part of your routine. All of which I am very thankful that she taught us these things.

    Mom has always been and will always be a mother who is for her children and will do anything she can for us. Including this winter. This past winter, Mom drove to Petawawa from Sudbury (just under 4 hr drive) every two weeks and then babysat two of my nieces for two weeks. My brother and sister-in-law are both military. My sister-in-law was away for a course all winter, and my brother had to go between Ottawa and Petawawa every two weeks for work. So mom took turns with my brother and helped take care of my nieces. She would spend two weeks getting the girls to and from the bus for school, driving them to their extracurricular activities and all the other things the girls needed. Once my brother returned for his round, she would head home and catch up with her house-cleaning clients. Mom has been a cleaning lady for the majority of my life, and for most of that time, for elderly people. She also takes a couple of her clients out for errands, appointments, and whatever else they need. She and my dad recently took one of her customers to Toronto for eye surgery. Another trip that is 4 hrs each way, including overnight in a hotel.

    She has a group of friends who call themselves 'the grannies'; she is one of the youngest in the group. They do a bunch of outdoor activities throughout the year. Including biking. She will go for a 32km bike ride like it's nothing. While the rest of us are done after 15km. She knits dishcloths in her sleep and gives them away to whoever would like one or a dozen and still has a drawer full of them. She loves her backyard.  She has a nice deck with a gazebo, firepit, lots of flowerbeds, a vegetable garden and a pond with fish. All the birds in the neighbourhood know about her birth bath and line up for a bath. Her vehicle is spotless, both interior, exterior and under the hood.

    4 out of 6 of us don't live in town. When mom is out shopping or running errands and sees something that she thinks one of us would like, she sends a text, or sometimes she doesn't, to surprise you. And then once you go and visit, you get a pile of presents, and even though you likely know about the majority of the items, you probably forgot, and now you are opening up presents. It's like Christmas every time you go to visit.

Like most good mothers, I would imagine, she knows what makes each of us feel loved. And does so accordingly. One of my favourite things she does for me is text me the story of the night before I was born. It's a text I look forward to every year, and I ball my eyes out every time.

    My sister was working 2 hrs away from my parents' house at one point and so one day they took a drive, met my sister during her lunch break and took her out for lunch.

    On several occasions, my younger brother has called her up and asked her to make a cake for his friends for birthdays and other special events. My nephews girlfriend goes over and bakes with her and takes it home to my nephew. She also bakes regularly and puts cookies in the freezer, so that when company comes over, she is ready with cookies and a handful of dishcloths for you to take home.

    Whenever hubby and I get up to Sudbury, which isn't often, unfortunately, because we live 8 hrs away, she takes me fabric shopping and treats me to fabric, along with telling me to go through her fabric stash to see if there is anything that I would like.

    She isn't a big coffee drinker, but most of us 'kids' are. So one day about 15 years ago, she and I were out walking, and found a yard sale. Naturally, we stopped. The lady had a new coffee maker in its original box for $10. Mom looked at me and said it would be perfect for company. So we walked it home, and it lives in the basement until guests come to visit and then it lives on the counter for the duration of your visit. My hubby is one of those coffee drinkers; last summer, we visited my parents and went to Bulk Bark. Hubby wanted to try some speciality coffee, so we brought it home and tried it out. Now my mom has a bag of that coffee for when hubby and I visit.

    She isn't a big dog person, but when any of the grand dogs come for a visit, she makes sure that their favourite treats are stocked up, and sees to it that they get as many off-leash runs on her favourite heighboughood trail.

    Her guest rooms are stocked and ready for company. Hand cream, water bottles, chocolate, whatever you need or like, it will be there, ready and waiting for you.

    So please, metaphorically or literally if you wish, while you are relaxing and reading this.  Please stand with me and raise your glass and toast our mom. The one and only, Mrs. Marlene Tindall. We love you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Birthday, yesterday.

God Bless

~Hannah

Mom and her 4 boys. Thanksgiving 2025

Food Anxiety

    For upwards of the last 8 years, I have struggled with what I'm going to call 'food anxiety ' for lack of a better word. I have spent the majority of my working adult life taking salad with me to work for lunch because I stressed about not eating healthy enough. In my head, if it wasn't a salad. It wasn't healthy. For lunch anyway.

    I also have a salad every day because I am a creature of habit and routine. So buying salad ingredients for lunch every week is easy and predictable. It doesn’t require any thought or planning. There is no anxiety in the morning about what I will take for lunch because I already know what I will be taking. So the idea of changing things up wasn't something I wanted to do.

    Hubby and I have always tried to eat healthy enough; last year, he was tired of his weight and wanted to make some changes. With God, he went on an incredible weight loss journey, and in that process, I worked along side of him and started cooking healthier.

    One night a week or so ago, I was making supper and thinking about how healthy we really do eat these days. We eat a veggie omlette 5 out of 7 days of the week. I was eating a salad for lunch, and he had a chicken leg. That evening, I was pondering our eating habits while making chicken fajitas. I realized that 85-90% of our meals are homemade from scratch. Including a good combination of protein, veggies, some carbs and healthy fats. I am proud of the progress we have made with our food choices. Anyways, as I served supper that night, I realized that I was done with salad for work and would start bringing leftovers or something else entirely. I went to Pinterest for some inspiration. I landed on a variation of an adult Lunchable and all the different elements you might want in your lunch. Such as protein, cheese, something crunchy, fruit, etc. Part of the reason why I always ate salad was that I was afraid I wouldn't get enough veggies in me, but I'm still getting enough and am enjoying packing the different 'elements' to an adult lunchable. We have also always been bad for lefovers being forgotten and going bad in the fridge, so this will also help with that.

    So, why am I sharing my change of lunch menu choices with you? Well, honestly, partly because one of my goals this year is to write a blog post every week. I’m a little behind now. The last few weeks have been a bit busy. I wanted this post to be published for the last week of April, but that didn’t work. God has been working on some big things with me recently, but I haven’t written about them yet. So yes, this post is partly a “filler” post. But maybe there is someone out there who has had a similar food struggle as I have had and will find encouragement from it. Either way, I decided I wanted to share with you my recent dietary changes.

I pray this encourages, blesses, or challenges you, friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

Mary vs. Martha

    Luke 10:38-42. 38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at [a]Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

    41 And [b]Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

    I'm Martha in this story.

    This past Sunday, I was feeling exhausted in the morning and therefore a little prickly around the edges. Hubby asked what was going on. I told him I was exhausted, but I didn't feel I had the right to be, because we don't have kids. Looking back now, that logic makes no sense. Kids are not the only reason for being tired.

Anyway, hubby reminded me that I had been burning the candle at both ends. He was right. I had been overdoing it and starting to burn out.

    Our home is not spotless, but I do my best. And the idea that someone might walk into my apartment and see me relaxing with a book while there is housework to be done terrifies me. Again, not logical, no one is going to just walk into our apartment without notice. I wanted to share this part with you in case you, too, struggle with this issue. I wanted to encourage you that you are not alone. Being found resting while there are non-essential chores to be done. In my head, if someone were to walk into my home and see me in this situation, it would make me feel lazy and devalue myself in their eyes. I’m learning to remind myself that that situation is not likely to happen and that the person coming into my home does not get to dictate my worth. Only God does. Because of this fear and another issue, I struggle to sit down and relax. The other half of my issue is that I struggle with attaching my worth to my work. Something else God and I are working on.

    During worship at church later that morning, God told me I was being Martha. I don't recall my exact thought in response to His conviction, but it was something like, 'yeah, you are right." I prayed and asked for forgiveness at the end of the service. I wasn't a shocking conviction by any means. But it did get my attention. I told hubby about it on our way home. His response was, 'yikes.' I told him I wasn't upset.

    There is a time to get things done and a time to spend with the Lord. But time with the Lord does need to come first. When we put Him first, He will give us all the time and energy needed to get everything else done.

And yes, traditionally, or at least here in the west, it's common place that when you are hosting people, you are likely not sitting down. Because you are refilling drinks, taking empty plates, etc. The way that the story reads suggests that there probably was pleasantly of time to serve later on, meaning that Martha could have sat at Jesus feet and taken in the message before serving the meal. But, if she had done that they it may not have been recorded in the Bible and would be a lesson for us today. I’m so thankful for these two women and many other women in the Bible that we get to read about. Because it shows us that we are not alone in our struggles. There are times when we read their stories and think to ourselves, “I would never do that,” and then somewhere down the road, we find ourselves in their shoes and get a serving of humble pie.

    I'm not saying there isn't a time and place for a busy day or a fuller schedule. But when the Savior of the world is in your home, visiting and preaching, you should be sitting and listening. But the poor woman was in autopilot and doing what she knew to do. Serve. But, in that moment, there was a better option. One that she missed out on, but we don’t have to anymore. He may not be physically in the room with us, but He is in our hearts and is with us always, which means we have even more opportunity to spend time with Him than she did.

    So, the next time you find yourself doing a chore that doesn’t really need to be done in that moment, ask yourself if there is something else better that you could be doing. Should you spend some more time with the Lord in your prayer closet or maybe unwind with a bubble bath? Take a step back, and check your heart and motives and see if there is something more beneficial that you could enjoy instead.

    

The world celebrates Martha, but God celebrates Mary. Let’s be more like Mary.

I pray this encourages, teaches, challenges, and blesses you today, friend.

God Bless

~Hannah

It's time to stop amd take a break.

Our Response to the Empty Tomb

    Last weekend, we celebrated Easter. On Friday, we celebrated Good Friday and the sacrifice that Jesus made for us by dying on the cross. He suffered a horrific beating beforehand, then had to walk through town with the cross, and finally was nailed to it and then hung to die. All while being mocked and ridiculed. Thank you,Father God, for sending Jesus to die for my sins, and thank you, Jesus for being obedient to the Father and going to the cross for me. And demonstrating the ultimate form of love.

    My hubby and I watched The Passion of the Christ on Friday night. At one point, after he was beaten and bruised, I started thinking to myself about how violent it was; if it were anyone else getting whipped and shredded to pieces like that, we wouldn't be watching the movie. Hubby reminded me that this was beautiful because through this terrible treatment, He did it out of love for us. He is right, of course. I quickly reset my mind and went back to being thankful like I was at the beginning of the movie. I share that portion with you incase you ever think the same thing, we are wrong, but you are not alone in this thought.

    Then on Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection, there would be no Christian faith. Jesus would simply have been a nice man and a good teacher who was killed because the religious people of the day didn’t like what He had to say. But He wasn’t and isn’t just a nice, wise man who died. He IS our Lord and Saviour. He is our connection with our Heavenly Father and our connection to eternity in Heaven one day.

    John 20:1-18 was the text that our visiting evangelist preached through on Sunday morning. John 20:1-18  NKJV '1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.' 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together , and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also, and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, *Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him. "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher)."

    After discovering that the tomb was empty, Peter and John went home and went on with life. But Mary went searching for Jesus. She wasn't satisfied knowing that His body had been moved; she wanted to know where it was. She asked a man, whom she thought was the gardener, where Jesus's body was. She needed to find Him. As soon as the gardener opened His mouth and said her name, Mary knew that the man was Jesus. She found Him.

    

    Jesus did His part and faithfully went to the cross for us. Now it's time we do our part and seek Him. He isn't hiding, but He does want us to put forward effort to seek after Him and find Him. It's not enough to know that the tomb is empty; we have to search for Him and find Him. We will find Him. He wants to be found by us. But He wants us to be intentional and seek Him. We have to respond to the empty tomb by seeking after Him and building a relationship with Him. Whether you are a new believer or you have loved Him so long you don't remember life before Jesus. We have to continue to seek after Him and deepen our relationship with Him. Every day this week, God has reminded me of that. And every day I am responding and seeking after Him and deepening my relationship with Him. Was I already seeking Him before that sermon? Yes, but I am now doing it with a renewed passion.

    I pray this message encourages and challenges you to respond to the empty tomb and seek after our Lord and Saviour. Hallelujah! He is risen! I pray blessings over you today, friend, as you enter into this next season of seeking after Jesus.

God Bless

~Hannah

Give to Caesar What is Caesar's.

    Back in December, my company decided to shut down for the two weeks around Christmas, and anyone who wanted to could apply for EI. They said to apply for the whole two weeks, including the statutory holidays. They figured it would be fine because we would be paid out later on for the holidays, and therefore we could claim the whole two weeks. Unfortunately, they were wrong.

    So, mid January, a bunch of us received letters saying we owed the government money back. We were not pleased. We had been given advice from our HR department that was faulty, and now we're in trouble for it.

    I spent some time praying about it and asking God what He wanted me to do about it. Our HR department said that they wanted copies of our bills, and then they would decide what they would do about it. Whether they would pay us back for the mistake or ask us to pay it back. So, I emailed them a copy of mine and waited. In the meantime, I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do. God told me to pay the bill. To give to Cesar what is Cesar's.

    Matthew 22:15-22 “The Pharisees: Is it Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar? Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of man. “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? “Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Cesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.”

    I said, okay. I paid the bill a week later, on a Tuesday. That Friday afternoon, HR came by and told us that the company would be reimbursing us. They asked us to pay the bill and bring in our receipts. I told them I had paid my bill a few days ago and was now waiting for them to email me a receipt.

    At the end of my shift, hubby picked me up as usual, and I told him the good news. I didn’t expect them to pay us back. I was pleasantly surprised when they announced that they would be reimbursing us for it.

    When God told me to pay my bill, I did so quietly and didn't tell anyone. Throughout the process of receiving these bills and waiting several weeks for a decision from our HR department, one of my coworkers was particularly upset about the situation, and we discussed it a handful of times. They felt that the whole thing was our employers' fault and not ours. That we had acted on their advice. Which is correct. A few of my coworkers were extra smart and applied for EI, but didn't claim the stat holidays. Personally, I clued in a little too late, but I have learned my lesson and will never do that again.

    The other day, I talked again to my extra upset coworker and listened to their argument and why they felt so justified in being upset. I then felt in my spirit that it was okay to tell my coworker how God had called me to respond. I said that yes, we were given mad advice. But, we are all adults, and therefore can make decisions for ourselves and could have not claimed those days in our EI claim. We didn't have to take the advice from our HR department. I believe God wanted me to share my viewpoint and calm response to the situation with my coworker because I am a believer. This coworker of mine knows I am a believer and, from time to time, asks questions. The coworker was raised with religion vs faith and ended up walking away from the church when they got older.

    The point in all this is that a) give to Cesar what is Cesar's, and b) that as believers, we are called to act and look different from the world around us. Which I know that the majority of believers know that already. But it's true. We are called to let Jesus shine through everywhere we go. We are called to respond differently to bad news so that when the world around us sees us, they see Jesus and wonder about Him.

    Do we flawlessly represent Him every day? Of course not. Thankfully, that's where God's grace and mercy come into play. But we are supposed to be continually seeking after Jesus and strengthening our relationship with Him so that through Him, it becomes easier and easier to respond the way that He wants us to respond.

    Please hear my heart, this post is not intended to slander my employer or my HR department. I've deliberately left their names out because I don't want them to get into trouble because I shared private information. I'm sharing this experience to remind us believers, that we are to give to Cesar what is Cesar's and to God what is God's. From the sounds of it, there are going to be some repercussions for my employer, but I don't care to find out what they are. It's none of my business. Or anyone else's, for that matter.

    So friend, let's give to Cesar what is Cesar's and show the world around us how Jesus wants us to respond to difficult situations.

God Bless

~Hannah