Read all stories from the perspective of Toronto City Mission Staff, Interns and Volunteers
I have a confession to make: I am a coward.
I still remember sitting in church back in high school, listening to missionaries share about the work they were doing around the world. They spoke with so much passion and conviction about the places God had called them to. It was inspiring.
That was one of the first times I wondered, “God, are you calling me to missions too?”
Read MoreI was listening to a podcast earlier this season that spoke on the story of Peter walking on water. The host suggested that when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus, he may have tried to rely on his own strength to save himself instead of trusting Jesus to keep him afloat, suggesting that we start to sink the moment we try to fix our problems and neglect Jesus, the one we are to trust.
Read MoreI always thought that being prideful was an overt expression of self-centeredness, arrogance and loud boasting about your own achievements. Yet God showed me that pride can also be found in silence, through deep-rooted stubbornness, self-reliance and unwillingness to ask for help.
Read MoreWe can feel grief when something grand has changed in our lives such as: losing a job, a change in social setting, moving, or ending a chapter in your life that you didn’t want to end. All of these things can trigger us to start grieving, without us noticing. The reason it's important for us to know this is because when we see ourselves going through this process of emotions it's important that we bring God into our lives and ask him how we should handle these big emotions.
Read MoreAs someone who is naturally fearful, the impact of fear continues to affect me today and sometimes it seems like an endless battle to overcome. When we are anxious or worried about something it is usually tied to the fear of what may happen or the fear of the unknown…The type of fear we want to overcome are the ones that overwhelm your life and paralyze you from doing the will of God. In the bible “do not fear” is mentioned multiple times throughout the bible. Yet how do we practically overcome our fears?
Read MoreAs programs began the following week, the feeling of determination I had developed over the summer had returned. While the word, determination, might sound promising or even praise-worthy, don’t be fooled. This determination was fuelled by doing a good job and meeting criteria in order to be able to sleep well at night. In other words, I began to rely on my own strength to attempt to power through and even cope with the challenge of increased leadership. It wasn’t until a couple of incidents that I finally understood what this more important word, Strength, had meant both in terms of ministry and my life as a whole.
Read MoreAs I think about the life of Jesus, my mind thinks of how great it probably was to be sinless and perfect. I think of how he probably never had to worry and could handle any challenging situation. Then I really think about the life of Jesus and realize that although He was perfect and sinless, it doesn’t mean that there were not challenging situations around him. One lesson we talked about in our curriculum this past semester is the stress that Mary and Joseph had to endure while preparing to have Jesus and even the years following.
Read MoreIn my first complete year as an Outreach Worker in the community of Jesse Ketchum, I have felt both broken heartedness, and the joy of having my heart be healed by God's grace and love. I want to share with you a story of how my heart broke for what breaks God's heart, and how my heart was also healed.
Read MoreAs I prayed, God revealed that one of my strongholds was “control.” In this sense, a stronghold is a place we create to protect ourselves from attack. However, I realized that the more I wanted to control my life, the more my anxiousness got worse—it didn’t serve as an actual, ultimate stronghold.
Read MoreFor the longest time, I’ve struggled with expressing my emotions to God. I somehow convinced myself that when I come before Him, I should have nothing to complain about—that my prayers must always be filled with joy and thankfulness. As a result, especially during times of sadness, I became good at invalidating my emotions. Instead of bringing my feelings to God, I would try to handle everything on my own.
Read MoreIn reality, we’re crumbling inside–so afraid to let anyone see cracks in our facade, but we continue to break. We become masters of disguise, hiding our vulnerability behind a mask of indifference. However, this isolation only deepens the wound, preventing us from experiencing the healing power of Jesus through connection and vulnerability.
Read MoreAs someone who tends to prioritize tasks and plans, I often ignore and suppress my emotions in the name of getting things done. However, I am reminded that God created emotions for us to feel, not to hide away. So if you’re still reading, pack your bags and your bible and join me on this adventure as I try to make sense of feelings, what the bible says about them and what are my most relevant feelings right now.
Read MoreIn today's attention and headline grabbing society, our feelings of well being and hope can at times be determined by the number of likes or clicks or from what we read and feel as we scroll through our most liked social media platforms.
Read MoreThe past 6 months have been some of the most interesting moments in my ministry career. In late 2023. I felt like the Lord was calling me to take a leap of faith. I didn’t fully understand what God was calling me to because my ministry at Jesse Ketchum had been going extremely well. We were hitting our capacity numbers and I was becoming comfortable with my role as an OW, the children, and their parents.
Read MoreGod is doing a new thing. I am both challenged and encouraged by this statement because I am a creature of habit. In the times when I ask the Lord for something or ask Him to change a situation, I find that when that change comes, I still grieve the loss of the former things.
Read MoreAs Christians, we are asked also to be faithful to God. A trusting relationship grows only by stepping out in faith and making the choice to trust. The ability to believe God develops most often through pure experience.
Read MoreThroughout this school year, the children and youth have been finding connections throughout the Bible of how God provided a bridge, Jesus, to be in communion with people.
Read MoreAs the children at Toronto City Mission’s Kids in Community after school program learn about the Importance of building bridges, it is with much hope and prayer that they recognize that God’s gift of gentleness as described in the fruits of the spirit will be a simple pathway towards each bridge that life may lead them to.
Read MoreIn our own lives, a kind person would be seen as nice, generous, thoughtful, and helpful. You can do nice things for people and it reflects a part of the fruit of the Spirit. You can also do nice things for others without having to be particularly religious. The tough part is doing kind things for people who may not be kind to you.
Read MoreFor the longest time, I let my circumstances dictate my level of joy. To me, joy was merely another word for happiness, an emotion tied to my ever-changing feelings.
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