Terry Schmidt

New year...new things to come. Time to dust off the story and put pen to page again.

The Kingdom of Paeratesia - Verity, Vow, Voice

Thinkin' bout writin', ain't writin'...

I'm speaking tonight at Foothill Alliance Youth! We're talking relationships and the dreaded Frenemies! I'd appreciate your prayers!

Talking identity, sex and relationships and doing an open Q&A with the young ladies up at Foothills Alliance youth tonight (Wednesday). Pray it up for us all, would ya?

Lent 2015 Day 10 February 28, 2015 - Authenticity 1 Corinthians 4:20-21 (MSG) God’s Way is not a matter of mere talk; it’s an empowered life. So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who makes you toe the mark? Or as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? You decide. We are often faced with new paradigms in thinking and as I age I struggle with acceptance of these new thoughts and patterns of belief and understand...ing. Mostly I just don’t understand. In the face of these societal changes, and they seem to happen at a speed with which my aged brain flounders at absorbing, we are confronted with a choicealways a choiceto go with the flow of the new or to take a stand and build a dam against a rising tide. Standing alone in not a comfortable place to be. I often wonder if there is a way to state our conviction and still not be viewed as an evil pariah at best or a prejudicial fool in one of the worst. At any rate the tide will likely leave you behind. I get tired with keeping up. Can I not just be who I am, think and do what I feel I must and still be in harmony with the world? How do I project authenticity into the world who has no desire or need for it? So many times I have been faced with situations that I just did not want to deal withI ask God, ‘Why?’ or ‘Not this too?’ or wonder ‘Why do I have to deal with this?’ The bottom line is that the love of God comes out through relationships and relationships are messy. Messy and conflicted and contrasted. So when faced with someone revealing new information about themselves or how they’re viewing the world and everything that is within me wants to cry, ‘Ugh, no, you’ve got to be kidding! This is going to change everything. I have to adaptagain. I want this to be easy.’ I have a choiceI can speak with my flesh’s authenticity or God’s. God empowers. He prepares. He is not severe to those He has chosen, but He is compassionate. And so that becomes my authenticity. For Lent, let us start a new response system to a world that moves so fast, give up our complaints and frustrations at change and choose consolation and love over all. Lord, let my reactions to the changing world be Your heart in heart to heart with others.

Lent - Day 9 February 27, 2015 - Surrender Will Matthew 11:29 Walk with me and work with mewatch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. This verse has been reverberated through my head for weeks now. I love how the message talks of the ‘unforced rhythms of grace’. There’s so much I wantthings I want to come to pass, relationships healed, things I want to do. And my life is filled with the tasks and activities around those desires. They are not evil desires. The...y are admirable goals, even in the specifics. And often I will get bound up in my desire to ‘make’ them come to be or pass and there is no rhythm and it all seems forced. It’s good to have a planto figure things out and step ahead in action. I’m an action-focused person. But the risk is high if I hold the plan too tightly and don’t allow for spontaneity or trial. Holding onto a plan gone wrong for too long, leads to disaster. Unforced gratuitous, unrestrained, natural, unaffected Rhythm cadence, flow, measured, beat, tempo Grace mercy, favour, compassion, leniency This is how I want to live. In the cadence and flow of a natural and unrestrained compassionate leniency. That everythingEVERYTHING.every. thing. I do is bathed in the measured beat of God’s own mercy. That means no holds barredor maybe it means all holds are barred. That I live hands off and let God’s hands on me, to work through meand open conduit for His natural favour to course through. What a life that would beto be so tuned to God’s music that your life is a choreographed waltz where you pass on His grace without a thought to restraint. Let me be that woman.that every word I say be Histhat every action comes from His willnot that I don’t have my own passion and drive but that they are Holy Spirit-merged to the Father’s desire. Lord, let me surrender my will to Yours, and that my passions might be matched to Your desires.

Lent 2015 Day 7 February 25, 2015 Sacrifice Strength 1 Corinthians 1: 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. The impetus of the North American life is to strive for independence. Strength is idealized in both mental fortitude and physicality. Intellect and knowledge are keenly sought after. And though wisdom is highly touted, I think it is rarely achieved. Just look at some... commercial slogansImpossible is Nothing. Just Do it! Success it’s a mind game. Innovation. Make Believe. Challenge Everything. We try harder. This is what the media tells us we need to be and do. And it all hinges on our own abilities. How many in society can really live up to this supposed paragon of ideal? All that is foolishness and weakness is how God appears to the unbelieving masses. Even as believers we try to achieve our culture’s standard while trying to be God’s people. But the ideals are so juxtaposed that they can’t measure up. So for Lent, why don’t we try giving up strength and embrace our weakness. When we have an understanding how little we know, how tenuous our control over everything really is, we surrender to God’s greater strength of character to lead us in any given situation. In conceding our will to God’s, we acknowledge His greater wisdom. In surrendering, we actually bring more into our lives of what we are giving up.more strength, more wisdom. Just by acknowledging we can’t attain these things on our own, God gives us more. Lord, help me to give up my strength and wisdom and draw on more of Yours.

Lent 2015 Day 6 February 24, 2015 Sacrifice Regret Micah 7:19 (MSG) And compassion is on its way to us. You’ll stamp out our wrongdoing. You’ll sink our sins to the bottom of the ocean. They say you can’t go back. You can’t undo or unsay the things you have said. Remorse and regret are often honest reactions of a softened heart. I can easily remember when I’ve instantly bemoaned an action or words I’ve said. You get that prickly feeling in your head as the rush of adren...aline pours in and then the flush rises up your neck to your face and a lead ball sinks in your stomach while your heart rises in your nauseous throat. Sometimes that feeling doesn’t come until long after the fact and the length of time between the crime and the conviction intensifies the regret because of the length of distress that may have been caused. Guilt weaves in as an afterthought and sense of drowning whirlpools through the shame. Even after the apology, a plea for forgiveness and restitution is made, the lingering memories of disgrace can steal away hours of thought. What will turn us away from past failures? The hurts against the heart of God are what I hold in deepest regret and yet it is the guilt I should let go of the quickest. A forgiven sin is far away from Godsunk in the ocean depths and flung far into the starry heavens. He does not remember them. It’s not possible for us to fully forget but we can let go. The pool of regret and guilt is stagnant and doesn’t move and if we sit there it begins to permeate into our life in a negative way. God has compassion on us and so we must have that for ourselves. So for Lent, why don’t we draw on more compassion and less on regret? Give up regret and leave it in that guilty pool. Compassion flows fast and freely and so we can ride upon it to a new place far from blame. Let yourself find a fresh place in this season. That is what God always offers when He casts your forgiven sin away. Let go of regret and live life in a new way. Lord, let me not hold on in guilt for that which You have forgiven.

Lent 2015 Day 5 February 23, 2015-Sacrifice Comparison Galatians 3: 28-29 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us... is an original. Mark Twain is quoted as having said ‘Comparison is the death of joy. The truth revealed in that statement shows how high we value ourselves. It is common practice for North American’s to look to another and find them lacking and in doing so boost our own self esteem. The flaw in this tactic to find self-worth is that it works both ways. We can look to others and find them above us thus taking wind from our sails and giving our ego a beating. We are in a pitiable state when we can’t see our own value in simply who we are. What a shame that our worth is based on another’s failings. Why don’t we believe that we have value and worth, just for beingnot because of what we do or do not do? God tells us we are loved and valued and worthy for just being. We are his creation, each of us unique in design and giftings. He has a design for our lives perfectly suited to how He has wired us and it won’t look the same for any other person. And He allows us to work that out with Him one on one. So how about for Lent, we give up the comparison game? How about when we look at another person working out life, we view them as God does, a perfect masterpiece, an artwork in the medium of love, unique, original and brilliant. How about we view ourselves as equals with each other? Then perhaps we can base our worth and value based on God’s view of us. You see He held us in such high esteem, in such great affection and with such hope and joy, that He died for us. So you can sacrifice your need to compare and stand tall in light of His sacrifice for you. Lord, help me to find my value and worth in Your vision of me, Your beloved masterpiece.

Lent 2015 Day 4 February 21, 2015 Receive It Ephesians 2:7-9(MSG) Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. (faith) It’s God’s gift from start to finish! (grace) We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make no...r save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. Everyone loves presents. There’s that sense of anticipation and acquisition. We are expecting something grand and at the same time, there has been no cost to ourselvesso free bonus. There needs to be an assessment of the gift to find it worthy though. You can unwrap it; slowing peeling back the paper to reveal the truth of its contents. Often in the blink of an eye we will evaluate the gift and decide in mere milliseconds that it is just what we wanted and receive it with joy. Sometimes it takes at least a few minutes to determine what the gift really is. What will be your reaction? Will you be thrilled or disappointed? Even a free gift if left on the table or put on the shelf has little value to the receiver. Grace is the free gift of redemptive love by sacrifice accepted through faith. Like a present we receive it in our hands out of no effort or cost to ourselves and we discover its intricacies and nuances by peeling back the layers one by one. When we see what this gift offers we must make a decision whether we will fully accept it. Grace does us no good if we have no faith in the love with which it was offered. Do you hear that? What if this Lent instead of giving something up, we truly receive something redeeming into our lives? What if we receive grace by faith? What if we allow our faith to say, ‘I will fully accept what you offer, Lord, knowing that the saving grace You offer is TRULY mine, a gift with no strings, all Your doing, all of Your making and just mine to say yes to. The value of His gift is determined by how we pick it up, dust it off and use it every day of our lives to fully live. Lord, I receive your gift of grace fully in faith of the Love that spurred You to give it.

Lent 2015 Day 3 February 20, 2015 - Give It Up 1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Matthew 19:21 If you want to give it all you’ve got, Jesus replied, go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.... Philippians 3:13-14 I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. We like our stuff. Not just the material stuff but the activities of our days, our projects, our hobbiesall the things that make up the frenzy of our days. Even our own troubles become a comfort to us. Better the devil you know.and the devil loves it. The frenzied life keeps us so preoccupied with the living of life that we lose focus on the purpose. Part of it is the anxiety and worry and guilt that are mixed up in the fabric of the frenzy. How will the worry and anxiety solve your trials or add one minute to your life? It just pulls you into a whirlpool that never ends and stagnates any solutions you might come up with. It has a paralyzing effect. And where will all the treasures of the earth, the trappings of the ‘good life’ get you at the end of your days. Don’t you want to pursue passion instead of possession? And does the past dog your days? Your regret and humiliation over past hurts keeps you pressing towards a pursuit to win appreciation and respect to absolve yourself of your contraventions. Why don’t you just give it all up? We studied Mary and Martha tonight in our life group and it was a reminder of all the things that keep us from the ‘one thing’ that is the only thing we really need. When we focus on Jesus, look at his example, hear His words and follow Him, all the trappings of this world fall away. The trappings trap our time and mind and efforts in a borstal of ineffectiveness. If Lent is truly about a sacrifice of the world to spend more time in prayer or study, then why don’t we give up the negativity that slows our footsteps in the path of Jesus? Why don’t we refrain from worry and anxiety and lay it at God’s feet because we know He cares for us and worry is never from Him? Why don’t we drop the pursuit of wealth and the acquisition of ‘things’ and pursue Him and His ways instead? Follow me, He calls to us. Why don’t we cast off regret and guilt for those things forgiven, knowing we are capable in His presence to do better and just move forward? Give it up.all the worry and possession and regret will not add one moment to your life or bring you lasting joy. Give. It. Up. Follow. Him. That’s the one thing you need more than anything. Lord, loosen my grip on the way that shackle my legs, so that I might follow you freely.

Lent 2015 Day 2 February 19, 2015 - Get Ahead (sorry folks...wrote this last night and forgot to post it this morning!) Philippians 2:3-4 (MSG) Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. North American society has long been steeped in selfish ambition. Keeping up with the Joneses. Have to get ...ahead. The acquisition of material wealth seems to be the primary goal. But I think there is an underlying sense of inferiority. We never think we’re good enough, worthy enough, able enough and we look for things to disprove our deepest insecurities. In the process, we overlook others, push ourselves to the forefront, say and do whatever it takes to ‘get ahead’ or to take the advantage over another. All to try and find our own significance The greatest oxymoron of the ‘get ahead’ mentality is that when we forget ourselves we gain the most. Jesus tells us tells us to put aside our own needs to meet another’s, to lend the helping hand. This is the spirit of Lentit’s a putting aside of earthly things to maintain a heavenly focus. A heavenly focus is that which focuses on others. So what if for Lent we decided not to give up a thing but an idea. The idea that we need to put ourselves first. What if we decided to every day of Lent to make someone else our priority? Make a cup of tea for a co-worker. Shovel a neighbour’s walk. Visit a senior’s home with cookies. Ask a friend about their family. Find just fifteen minutes a day to take the focus off yourself and put it on someone else. Perhaps getting ahead will take on a whole new meaning in personal significance. Lord, help me to forget myself in favour of another and find elusive satisfaction in the process.