I'm Just a Sinner Saved by Grace....

...and other Christian Myths. That is the title of a sermon that I just listened to...twice. This is a phrase that I have heard thrown around in Christian circles for years and it has always kind of bothered me, however I wasn't sure why. The problem with the phrase, you see, is it is not overly biblical.

Let me back up a little...the series of sermons that Tim and I have are from Ronnie and Janelle...they picked them up in England. There are a few others with equally interesting and though provoking titles such as, "God is so big and so strong, He can't be hurt; The Lord gives and the Lord takes away...always ending with,'and other Christian Myths'. The pastor is Pete Read and he is quite funny and has this wonderful english accent that is positively entertaining to listen to! Back to my point. He begins the sermon with multiple scriptures frankly stating that the word 'sinner' refers to those that are pre-God, outside of relationship with God or independent of God. (Genesis 13, Psalm 1, 25, 51, Proverbs 11, 13, Matthew 9, Luke 5, Romans 5, 1 Timothy 1:5) Biblically speaking, all those that are in relationship with God are called Saints. We, His people, are His saints. Our inheritance is in heaven (Eph 1) and God's inheritance is in the saints. We are His treasure. No wonder He protects and looks after us! It seems to me that it would be offensive to God to keep calling ourselves sinners if God sees us as HIS saints and HIS inheritance! He calls us His holy and righteous ones, we are sacred and set apart. So then, what is the relationship between saints and sin? Acts 3 says that once I have turned to God, my sins are blotted out. But that doesn't mean I don't struggle with sin. When I put my faith in God, I am not still in my sin-I am free. We are freed from the guilt and shame, but also the power of sin over us.

However, there is an important 'tension' to keep in check; the tightrope between justification and sanctification.

1. Justification: having right standing before God. Christ makes this possible through His death and resurrection. It can be a slippery concept on it's own without sanctification-Is it right that someone has terrible things hidden in their heart and keeps sinning because they know that they are 'just a sinner' and God's grace will cover them? NO! It's like having a rich relative of a murderer pay to have that person released...How many of you or how many people do you know that live this out daily? I once had a friend who was involved in perpetual sin and they used to say, "I don't doubt God's grace...and maybe that's my problem." You see, they believed that God would always forgive and cover them if they said sorry, but there was never a true change...

2. Sanctification- cleansing of my inner life, Christ's character being formed in me, being made holy. God does a work in our life to make us clean. Not just to deal with the past, but to give us a power for the future to deal with sin. When we repent, we have to be sure that we allow sanctification, true change, or we are doomed for failure or a life spent trying to live out 'rules' without the heart behind it.

So then, how do I live? Eph 4:24-"Display a new nature, because you are a new person created in God's likeness: righteous, holy and true." We should think of ourselves as ex-sinners, saints who might occasionally sin. If I live like a sinner (saved by grace), I live with a certain inevitability hanging over me. We live up to who we believe we are. If I believe I am a sinner grasping to the grace of God...but know I will still make it to heaven one day...I will live it out. I will always struggle...I am just a sinner. Chances are: I will crash.

1 John 1: 5: "This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the Truth is not in us, but if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

God doesn't expect us to sin, yet so often we expect it! We live in a state of just waiting to slip and fall. I want to encourage you with what has encouraged me:

Become what God says you are: A SAINT, A HOLY ONE, SET APART for HIM...

...if you do sin: confess, repent, be cleansed and restored.

Mexico 2006

As requested by the lovely Kristin, I shall finally sit down and write about our trip to Mexico. First of all, I have to say that our flight times definitely were a bonus when factoring in how much time you actually get to spend at your resort. We traveled at night 1:30 am flight from Edmonton (which actually left at 2:30). We were at our resort by noonish as the drive was about an hour and a half. The highways are much better than ours here in Saskatchewan....and they have some very nice charter buses, so there was no nervousness on our travels for me...plus I slept some of the way. And when we left Mexico, our flight wasn't until 11:20 pm, so we didn't have to leave the resort until 6:30 pm...We had a whole extra day there!

It is a massive resort that is actually 3 in one, all created by the Gran Bahia Principe group. Ours, the Coba resort, just opened in November of 2005. It is behind one of the others-so not beachfront, but only a ten minute walk. Or if we preferred, we could catch one of the little buses that went straight to the beach. Our room was beautiful and after looking around, I have decided that ceramic tile and marble tile must be inexpensive in Mexico as it was everywhere! The foliage was gorgeous...there were 'Birds of Paradise' flowers everywhere I looked. They are one of my favorite flowers!

Saturday the 11th was my birthday. It was a gorgeous sunny day, about 27 degrees, and not a lot of wind. Tim and I had breakfast, which let me tell you...I have to rave about the food after I tell you about this day...and then we grabbed our snorkel gear and headed for the beach. At this particular location, there is a very large reef right off of the beach. You pretty much walk six feet into the water, put on your gear, put your face in the water-and fish everywhere! I found it so neat that the water is so clear and that there are lots of little (some big) colored fish swimming all around me. That was pretty much the most fun thing I have ever done on my birthday. We had lunch and then chose a spot by the pool and layed in the sun and read. It was so nice...and the pools are beautiful! We had a lovely supper that night at one of the a la cartes. We were allowed four of these during our stay and there were about 11 different restaurants to choose from. I'd have to say that at all of them, the food was equal or better than any place in Saskatoon. Heck, ever the buffet blew us away. At breakfast, you could have made to order omelets, waffles, pancakes, fruit, cereal (Tim loves Cocoa Crispies...basically chocolate rice crispies...and they aren't sold here!) They had milkshakes and basically any kind of breakfast meat you might want. I do not think that a buffet really exists in this town that would match the "Kukulcan" Very nice....it's a wonder we both didn't gain 20 pounds?!

Valentine's day began with a 30 minute massage outside on the deck at the spa...pretty nice! Another great day by the pool and a wonderful steak dinner...couldn't have been more perfect! On one of these nights...can't quite remember which one, we went to one of the shows. They were pretty well done...things like 'Broadway', 'Cats', 'Illusion'...on this particular night, It was Michael Jackson. All of the singing was Michael Jackson recordings and then they lip synched, but the costuming and the dancing were spectacular...honestly, the guy impersonating Michael was perfect...it was like being at a concert (back in 1996 when he wasn't quite so weird...)

We did have some cooler weather for about 3 of the days...kind of depressing until we found out that it was -40 degrees here...OUCH!! I think that we would go in March next time as many of the locals said that March is usually perfect. It was quite windy while we were there which made ocean playing not an option most days....but it still looked really nice!

On Thursday, it rained...so we took a cab into Playa Del Carmen and shopped the famous 5th avenue. There were some amazing little stores...lots of jewelry stores with things that I have only seen in In Style magazine. I know that I should have bought something, especially as you could basically offer them thirty percent of the price and as long as you took out your cash, it would be sold...but unfortunately, I wasn't in a buying mood. Next time...

Playa Del Carmen is right on the beach. Tim and I decided next time we go to Mexico, we will fly to Cancun and then stay at a hotel in Playa and go on adventures everyday. There is some amazing snorkeling close by and pyramid ruins that we would like to see. By the end of the trip,we were ready to come home and see the kiddies. We also found that we got a little bored by the end as we both like to 'do' things. But, this time, this was exactly what we needed. We spent lots of time laying in the sun, or sitting in the lobby drinking coffee just talking. It was a fabulous holiday that was perfect...It was the honeymoon we had never been on...

Now...some random pictures...

Tim at the beach... 

...and Jenn 

ice sculpture at the buffet 

Michael Jackson!?

inside Lobby Coba 

walk to Lobby Coba 

one of many iguanas 

February Events

Hmmm...well, it is only 3 more sleeps until Tim and I leave for Edmonton to hop on a plane that is going to take us to Mexico. We are very excited! Tim has been to the tanning beds and I have been applying tanning lotion as I have decided after last summer that I would like to look like I am 27 till I am 60 (at least). My point being-I don't want to glow like some kind of whitey mcwhite white while there, but want to save my skin so...that's what I am doing! This past weekend Tim and I were in Edmonton visiting some friends of ours. Jason had tickets to the Edmonton/Vancouver game, so we got to go for free (a perk of working for an insurance company!) Soon after we got there, and a random security search for Tim-he looks scary, eh?, we took our seats. I nearly teared up with excitement and then the oddest thing happened......I fell in love with live hockey. I know, I know...Jenn is not really all that into sports...I pretend to play them and have fun, but watching them sucks! Not anymore! I am now a hockey fan. I need a team and despite my inner erge to be a thorn in Tim's side, I will not chose Toronto. Any suggestions would be welcome.

So...I don't have a job anymore. I up and quit on Thursday half way through my shift. That kind of behavior is not something that I condone, but enough is enough! I won't say much here as I don't want to create trouble (I know that some of my students read this!) But I will say that it was not a hissy fit on my behalf. It was a valid 'quit' and one that was encouraged by Tim. I'll miss the students, but I couldn't do it anymore. Needless to say, I am now on the hunt for a new job...preferably one that has some administration requirements, although in the mean time, I can re-do the room in our basement and have massage patients here. I hear there is good $$ in that :)

You know, I never did tell you about Ethan's birthday party...it was the coolest and the kids are still talking about it! It was a pirate party with Tim and I in costume, eye patches and pirate hats for all of the kids, walking the plank, a treasure hunt and cupcake islands. Here are some pics...ENJOY...and call me if you need a party planner...I can't put pics of all of the kids as I know that some parents would not apporve of that...they were all sooooo cute!