Time & Rest

Time is a funny thing. Some have said that time is fleeting. Probably because it is here one minute and gone the next. 😉😉 Today is Sunday July 22, and here I sit writing my first blog post in…. how long? I forget! But alas, I find myself sitting at my computer, nursing a cold on a Sunday afternoon, and typing up some thoughts about time; and subsequently, rest.

Today I’m bored, but last week I was rejoicing. Last week, was my final 14 hr day, scanning tickets down at the stampede grounds. I’m grateful for the work, but after doing that for 6 days straight, my body was craving rest. Rest and being able to wear shorts again. HAHAHA!!!

Rewind to a month ago, the middle of June, I was again craving rest. I have been going nonstop since January and at some point in June, I was starting to feel tired. I had been getting enough sleep at night, but during the day, I felt as though my mind was always working. I was in charge of The Outpouring, a once a month worship service for the special needs community at centre street church; I was co-leading a bible study once a week with a fella connected to URSA; I was part of a team of people helping plan a disability ministry conference, and I have recently become a part of Young Life, with plans of working with them starting sometime in the fall.

So if I wasn’t sleeping, my mind was buzzing with ideas for one of those things. Which, I don’t mind
doing (and I’m actually quite excited to be doing those things once again after the summer is over).But if your mind is going all day everyday like that for 6 months, your energy level starts to wane. Now I’m 6 days into my season of rest, and I’m bored. Reflecting on this, it reminds me of the Israelites after they left Egypt. In Egypt, they worked themselves to the bone for 400 years, complaining and praying to God for some relief and freedom from such oppression. A few weeks into the freedom they so desperately craved, they didn’t like it and wanted to go back. (Exodus 16:1-3). HAHA!! I guess it’s true what they say: history repeats itself. 😛

That said, I’m not going to just sit on my butt twiddling my thumbs until September waiting for things to start back up again. Instead, I’m going to fill the time with stuff that will breathe some new life into these bones. The website, Every Day With God has a series of devotionals on resting and other Sabbath related posts. I’m planning on reading those once a day starting tomorrow. My fitness coaches, Jackie and Jamie are running an 8 week fitness challenge using Beachbody’s new workout program, Liift4. That started this past week, and I plan on following through to the end.

With my involvement in Young Life starting in the fall, I was planning on attending my buddy Erik's

“dreaming about and planning for the future” thing him and his wife are hosting next weekend, hoping it would give me some ideas for young life in the fall, but after some prayer and reflection, I decided to not to attend. Young Life may already have things in store for me when I get there. So ill just grace Young Life’s doors with a “ready to learn” attitude instead. Also, my best friend and I are planning on spending a few days in Edmonton this summer too.

Those are just MY plans. Who knows what other adventures I’ll encounter during my season of rest. The proverbs do say, "A man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.  (Proverbs 16:9). Whatever happens, I’m ready and willing to embrace it, head on.

Forgiving Our Debts

I heard something interesting last week. In an attempt to boost their economy, The Croatian government is cancelling the debt of over 60,000 of its people.

Croatia’s Deputy Prime Minister says those sixty thousand people, “will be given a chance for a new start without a burden of debt." In the article, an economist says this move is exceptional, and that he couldn’t think of anything to compare it too. But I can.

Deuteronomy 15 says we are to forgive people of their debts once every 7 years:

"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed." -- Deuteronomy 15:1-2

The last part of that verse, “the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed” reminds me of these lyrics from the song, Jesus Paid it All:

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save

When I compare my life to that of my Savior’s, there is nothing I can do but admit defeat. Sin has made it impossible for me to have an intimate relationship with God. But Colossians Chapter 2 says different:

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." --Colossians 2:13-15

That’s why I'm so thankful for things like communion. It reminds me of everything Jesus has done for me. Like the people of Croatia, I am given a chance for a new start without a burden. It helps my soul move from a posture of “woe is me” to one of shouting as loud as I can “O Praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.”
 

My Infamous Walmart Story

It has long been suggested I write some sort of biography about my life and the crazy scenarios I, out of sheer happenstance, get into. Like the time I got a ride to church in the back of police car. Or the time that I was late for a bible study because I was nearly abducted and hit on by a seemingly homeless drunk at the train station. (Those stories each deserve their own post at a later date.)

 

I don’t have any plans to write such a book in the future, but if I did, the following story would make one of its chapters.

 

_______________

 

 

My Infamous Wal-mart Story

 

For those of you that don’t know, Wal-mart has this sticker on the door that says if you have a disability and need some help shopping, simply pay a visit to customer service and they will find someone to help you.

 

 

 

So anytime I go into Wal-mart that’s what I do. I wait in line at customer service, and ask them to find someone to help me do my shopping. Well, this one time I did that and got some… resistance.

 

Wal-Mart employee: “Hello sir, welcome to Walmart. How can I help you today?”

 

Me: “Yes, I was wondering if I could get some help doing some of my shopping today”

 

Employee: “I’m sorry sir, we can’t do that today. In fact we don’t do that here.”

 

Me: “But you have a sign on the door that says if you have a disability, like me, and need some help, like me, I’m supposed to stand in line at customer service, like I’m doing now, talk to you, and you’ll find someone to help do my shopping.”

 

Employee: “Okay, hold on a second, let me get my manager.”

 

Manager: “Yes, how can I help you today?”

 

Me: “Hi, I was wondering if I could get someone to push a cart for me, or reach for things I can’t while shopping in my wheelchair, please.”

 

Manager: “I’m sorry sir, we can’t do that today. In fact we don’t do that here.”

 

At this point, I roll my eyes and wonder if I have to repeat myself. Reluctantly, and a little annoyed, I do. To which the manager responds with:

 

“I can’t do that sir, I just don’t have the man power. If I do that, I will be a man short. But I do know what will work. Follow me.”

 

The manager’s alternative was to stick me in one of their electric scooters with a basket on the front.

It wasn’t what I asked for, but she figured I could go around the store, grabbing the things I need and put them in the basket, solving the problem at hand. I cooperated, got in the scooter, left my chair with customer service, and away I went.

 

Down the milk aisle I grabbed my first item and success! The lady’s idea was working…. Until I started the scooter again. I drove the scooter no less then 50 meters and the battery had died. Great! Now what do I do? I was the only one in the aisle and nobody else wandered down there for quite some time. Knowing my ride home would be coming soon, if I wanted to get my shopping done I couldn’t just sit there. I pulled out my cell phone and called the store.

 

 

 

“Hello, thank you for calling Walmart, how can I help you today?”

 

 

Me: “Hi there, this may seem a little odd but, I’m in the milk aisle of your store sitting in one of your scooters and the battery is dead.”

 

Wal-Mart: “You are? Oh dear! That’s horrible! Okay I will get someone to come find you right away.”

 

I thank the person on the phone and a few minutes later, a Walmart employee finds me and offers to go grab the other scooter so I can finish my shopping, only to return with news that the other scooter also has a dead battery, and both are out of commission. After we both laugh about it, he offers yet another alternative.

 

Wal-Mart employee: “Sir? How about I go get your wheelchair, come back with a cart and be kind of like a personal shopper? You tell me what you need and we will go around the store getting it? Sound like a good plan?”

 

I agree, and as I wait for him to come back with my wheelchair, I laugh about it and think to myself, that’s what I asked for IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

 

_______________

 

 

This happened at least 3 years ago, and I have yet to return to that particular Walmart. But there you have it. This is one of the crazy but true slapstick comedy situations that happen to befall me.

The Doors of Hope?

I took one of those Facebook personality quizzes the other day. This particular one showed you a picture of 10 different doors. When you pick the one you would most likely walk through, it will reveal something about your personality.

 

 

I picked door number 8; and here is what it said:

Your fun and playful personality keeps you young and youthful. Although you are easy going, you tend to have lower self-confidence and anxiety about specific things in your life. You are usually unorganized; yet don’t even know where to start to help yourself to fix the messy problem. You are a proud individual but you need to learn to love yourself more. You need to take the time to find yourself through self-expression. How are you currently expressing yourself to the world? Remember that there are people around you that can help you, but you need to let them know you are willing to receive help. Life is easier when you let people in.

 

The accuracy of the personality description had me genuinely surprised. I constantly make jokes about the things happening around me. Whether it be laughing at conversations overheard while enjoying lunch in a public place, turning the name of a restaurant or business into a pun, or tickling others ribs by sharing one of my slapstick comedic adventures, that’s my fun and playful personality traits... possibly inherited from my goofball father.

 

 

What’s also true is my lower self-confidence and tendency to worry about stuff. The lower self-confidence probably explains why I get excited about being asked to do things, especially by God. It tells me that someone sees something in me, that, for some reason, I don’t. I constantly think about what life after 65 is going to be like. It’s something I have wrestled with for ages. It took what seemed like forever for me to settle on a savings plan for retirement. And I still wonder if I did the right thing. My confidence in that is shaken when I read passages from my bible such as Matthew 6:19-21:

 

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

 

I worry about life after 65, but am reminded that God's word says not to worry, but to instead, pray (Philippians 4:6-7). And when I do, the Holy Spirit, and my confidence in God to keep his promises of looking after his beloved restores, or makes up for my lack of confidence. YAY?

 

It’s not hard to see that I’m messy. The cleanliness of my apartment can attest to that fact, tenfold. But unorganized? I would say not completely. What’s definitely true is not knowing where to start cleaning up a mess. When I clean up my apartment, I have the attention span of a three year old. For example, I’ll put some dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, I’ll turn around, see the microwave, and then grab a cloth and start scrubbing the inside of the microwave. When I’m half done, I’ll see an empty milk jug, stop cleaning the microwave and put the milk jug in recycling. After a quick stop in the bathroom, ill clean the dirty bathroom sink and notice the cup in there needs to be cleaned. I’ll take the cup to the kitchen and pick up a few pieces of garbage on the way. Put those things in their place, turn around and see the microwave is half clean and finish what I started with the microwave half an hour ago. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

 

There’s no argument about me being a proud individual. I think I wear that like bumblebees and zebras wear stripes. I think it would be fair to say that it’s sometimes a fault. Which goes along with my need to ask for help. I know help is available but my parents raised me to be a stubborn tryst. As in, try something first. If you need help after trying your best, ask. But not before trying it yourself.

 

Doing this has peaked a curiosity in me. What door "matches" the people of the bible? Are the personality traits of people like Moses, Adam, Abraham, john the Baptist, Mary Magdalene, the apostle Paul or the like, listed here? It might be a fun pet project to read one of the character descriptions in my study bible and see if they match the descriptions listed in this Facebook personality test. Would any of you who read this blog, like to join me in doing so, and explore how God’s matchless power accomplishes more then we can ask or think, despite our weaknesses? If so, leave a comment here and let me know, blessings, Timbitz

 

Feed His Sheep

One of my favorite videos of late is The Skit Guys’ retelling of the conversation Jesus had with Peter, after His resurrection, on the shores of Galilee:

 

Feeling true sorrow for his denial, Peter beats himself with regret for betraying his Lord. The Gospel of John says that if Peter loved Him, Jesus only had one thing to tell Peter that day: Feed His sheep. Jesus’ composure both in scripture and the video is something I admire. Jesus isn’t mulling over the fact that Peter betrayed Him. Nor does He continually draw attention to Peter’s downfall, repeating it over and over again like some angry mob boss trying to “teach him a lesson he will never forget.” Jesus’ response is simply “Feed my sheep.”

 

In the video, Peter says his actions on the night Jesus was arrested is unforgiveable. As such he doesn’t deserve to be with Jesus any longer. He deserves to be punished, and suffer in some way for abandoning his Lord, when Jesus, perhaps, needed him most.

 

In the video Jesus says “Enough with this line of thinking!” and reminds Peter that His death changes things. Through Jesus’ one act of Grace Peter can get back on the horse by simply “feeding Christ’s sheep.”

 

This is something I need to remind myself. When I betray the Lord, give in to temptation and sin, beating myself up over it is one of the worst things I can do. I’m better off to fess up to any wrongs I may have done and, like Peter, get back on the horse and “feed Jesus’ sheep.”

 

Am I alone in feeling this way, or am I on to something that others, like you, can latch on to?

Made for Something Great

 

 

I read an interesting quote recently: "You were made by the God who made Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, and Steve Jobs." -- Donald Miller

Consider the contributuions these people made to the world during their time on earth. If that same God lives in you, how much of a contribution could YOU be to the world?

You are not a waste of time and/or space, you were created to make a contribution to the Kingdom of God for the world that is God’s. Pursue God and live out that contribution. Blessings as you Chase After Him.

Called to Greatness?

In Isaiah 6:8, the prophet says: “I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

The Lord was calling Isaiah to something great, and before knowing what it was, he stepped up and said, “I’ll do it!”

Thinking of how you pursue God, what might He be calling you to? Whatever the answer, keep in mind that the work you do, isnt about you, or your glory it is about the work of God, His Kingdom, and how He might be glorified through you.

“Jesus answered, "If I were trying to glorify myself, my glory would mean nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.'” -- John 8:84 ISV

“So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

-- Romans 9:16 NASB

PRESS RELEASE: Calgary Author Launches New Book

For immediate release

Chasing After Him: Calgary Author Launches New Book

 

By Tim Schmidt

 

Published by Tim Schmidt

 

ISBN 978-0-9876806-1-7

 

Price $14.95 + GST

 

 

 

Do you long to make more room in your life for God? Does your heart ache to be closer to Him?

 

Most of us do... but sometimes it seems so complicated. Or it feels like another task to add to our To Do list.

 

Chasing After Him: 30 Days Pursuing the Heart of God, by Calgary author Tim Schmidt, helps you do exactly as the title suggests – pursue a closer relationship with God.

 

But these short, simple chapters don’t make it a burden. They don’t weigh you down with To Do’s. They help you see God more clearly, shining light on simple steps you take to move closer.

 

As you move into a new year, Chasing After Him will renew your peace and recharge your hope.

 

Chasing After Him ia available for purchase on Amazon Blurb or through Tim’s website

 

http://tims-bits.blogspot.ca/p/books.html

 

Learn more about the author at http://tims-bits.blogspot.ca/

Lighten The Trod

When you ask God to carry your load, the Holy Spirit moves. Once drowning in sorrow the floodgates of God's mercy and grace now overcome you. Lightening the trod on your path toward holiness.

May you pursue Him today with your whole heart, mind and soul. Today, tomorrow and forever, amen.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!

Yes! Seriously! At least that’s what I have been challenged with lately: Taking Jesus Christ and my relationship to Him more seriously.

 

 

I like to joke around. People have suggested that I be a stand up comedian. I considered it at one point, working on a few jokes I might share on amateur night at a comedy club. Then I stumbled on to a problem ... My quick wit is at its best laughing at situations. I make jokes about the world around me. Most often, I’ll see someone do something, and spin 4 or 5 jokes about one situation.

 

Sometimes this tactic impacts my approach to Christ. I will take something serious about Jesus and turn it into a laughable moment. On Easter morning for example, instead of basking in the seriousness of the Saviors Resurrection, and its impact on the world, I will make jokes about it being rabbit hunting season and we should all head to the forest, weapons in hand and let the killing begin.

 

 

In moments like this, people don’t laugh. They boo me and ask why I don’t take Jesus more seriously. And Rightfully so. Jesus is more then just a get out of jail free card. In the world of science fiction, if I am John Conner then Jesus is my Terminator, taking bullets from the evil T-1000 who only wants to steal kill and destroy my life.

 

 

 I wonder why I don’t take him more seriously. What about you? What comes to mind when you think about the person of Jesus Christ?

From Him, Through me, to You

I’ve known for quite some time now that one of my spiritual gifts is intercessory prayer. I don’t know why God chooses me to pray for the people He lays on my heart. I just know it happens. I also know there are 2 things I could do with these random urges to pray for people:

     1.  I could drive myself to the brink of insanity trying to figure out why OR

     2.  I could simply enjoy the fun of watching the Holy Sprit urge me into prayer

Like the time I was lead to pray for someone in Tennessee.

It was wing night at a pub; me and my buddy Cliff decided to meet there and chow down a pound or 2 of wings. Earlier in the day, Cliff managed to cross paths with an MRI repairman from California. After some small talk, cliff invited the man to join us and make it a trio. As I got to know the guy, he told me he was sent by an MRI company to tinker with one of their machines at the university.

For some reason, meeting this MRI repairman immediately brought to mind a friend and her husband living in Tennessee. What an odd connection, I thought. Why is an MRI repairman from California reminding me of friends I have in Tennessee? WeIrD!!!

I didn’t understand the connection, but I still prayed for my friend’s husband.

The next day, while talking to them over Facebook, my friend Michelle tells me her husband needs to get an MRI done on his shoulder and asks me to pray that things will go well when he’s at the appointment. A bit shocked, I tell her about what happened at the pub and the Lord’s already got me praying and will have a better prayer time now that know more about their situation.

Recently the editor of my book went to Russia on a short, 6 week mission trip. Prior to her leaving we built a rapport and she shared some details about her going. I told her if the Lord lays it on my heart/mind to pray for her while in the land of borscht I would.

I recall one time The Holy Spirit did so through the mouth of a barista in a Second Cup.

While filling an order for a French Vanilla Latte, the barista makes an interesting observation:

“What’s the deal with French vanilla? Is it any different then regular vanilla? Why does all the fancy stuff have to be named French, what’s wrong with calling it Russian Vanilla?”

The word "Russian" triggered a memory of that promise of prayer support for Jeanette, my book editor. this lead me to prayer on that occasion and many others during her 6 week adventure. The prompting to pray often accompanied her requests for prayer via her blog or Facebook page. As a thank you,  Jeanette sent me a fridge magnet and a picture from the time she spent there with a note saying that my prayers often lifted her spirits during that time.

I responded in an email saying it was a pleasure, and that my prayers are merely a blessing from God, through me, to you; and that He deserves some credit too.

Maybe that’s (in part) the point of a spiritual gift. Whatever the gift may be, prayer, hospitality, an edifying word, it is God’s way of blessing someone through you.

So if your befuddled with the “why me?” question, remember this simple little phrase. It’s a blessing from Him to someone else through you.

Who or What is Piloting Your Life?

An airline pilot’s main job is to get people from point A to point B safely. When you call West Jet to book a flight, one of the first things they will ask you is where are you going? And you might say, well its November, and I don’t like the cold so take me somewhere warm, like Cancun Mexico. Then they’ll take all your information down, charge your credit card a bazillion dollars and save you a seat on a flight to Cancun in November. They will pass that information onto the pilot who will then map out a route to Cancun and make sure him and the rest of his crew get you there safely and, (if weather permits) zero turbulence.

People have things piloting their life everyday. People may not be Boeing 747’s filled to the brim with passengers and luggage, but we all have things, like the air line pilot that guide us down a path to a certain destination. I hope to inspire you today by asking who or what is your pilot, and where is your pilot leading you?

For example, I heard a story the other day about a mother who was addicted to crack cocaine. She had no money, no steady job and would spend her nights seeking floor space in homeless shelters so her son wouldn’t freeze to death at night. Any money she had, she would use it to feed her drug addiction. At one point she got so desperate for money, she gave her son up for adoption in exchange for a weeks worth of drugs. By doing so, she gave him a better life, but now a mother has to live everyday with the guilt of treating her only child like a simple trading card.



This is an example of a bad pilot. In this story, the driving forces behind mom’s decisions were selfish. She cared more about scoring drugs and where to get her next high, and then she did about a life together with her son. As a result she’s now in a lonely depressive state, bearing a pain that no one should bear. Drugs were piloting her life and lead her down a dark, lonely path.

What about your pilot? Who or what is your pilot? Is it leading you down a dark path, or is your pilot directing you with purpose and vision like Rick Hoyt?

Piloting Rick’s life are his parents Dick and Judy Hoyt. Born in 1962 with cerebral palsy, doctor’s advised Dick and Judy to put their son in an institution. Against doctor’s advice, they kept Rick out of the hospitals vowing that he will live a full and happy life just like everyone else. And that’s whaRick did, entering public school in 1975 and graduating from university in 1993.

Graduating from university is great, but it’s not what Rick is known for. Rick Hoyt loves competing in marathons. He did his firs 5 mile road race in 1977 and loved it. He loves it so much that he has now competed in over 1000 marathons, including a few triathlons. All thanks to his pilot. His father and friend, Dick Hoyt.

Whether he’s pushing Ricks chair down the path, or swimming his son across the river in a small raft, Dick Hoyt guides his son from point A to point B as safe as he can. Dick and Judy Hoyt are piloting their son’s life, making choices that put a smile on Ricks face, and joy in their hearts.

I started by asking about you and your pilot. I’m also going to finish by asking about you and your pilot. Who or what is piloting your life? And where is it leading you? Is it an addiction, forcing you to make bad decisions leading you to a lonely and desperate place? Or is your pilot an adventurer guiding you down paths and across rivers of excitement? Who or what is piloting your life, and where is it leading you?

You're Not Moses

I am six weeks into my membership with a toast masters club. I have been going since January but have been reluctant to join. When you join you get a couple workbooks; one that teaches you about the leadership roles necessary to run the club smoothly and another is filled with assignments that guide you in formal speech delivery and preparation. Some examples of roles in their leadership manual include a time keeper. Someone to monitor the amount of time you spend speaking to the crowd. Another role is the head toastmaster, or emcee of the evening. Their responsibility is to host the crowd and provide smooth transitions between each portion of the meeting.

The workbook with speech assignments give you tools to become a better public speaker. The first assignment’s goal is to build your confidence in public speaking. It’s also designed to show you how easy it is to find content for your speeches.

I became hesitant to join after looking through the assignment book. My hesitation was due, in part, to the fact that I already know the basics of public speaking. I know that opening with a good hook, or catch phrase captivates your audience and if successful, you have lured them in wanting to know more. With approximately a decade worth of public speaking experience, instead of building on the skills I already have, I was afraid I would be digressing.

I also considered Moses who wasn’t the most eloquent speaker (Exodus 4:10), yet led an entire nation of people in revolt against Egypt’s pharaoh (Exodus 3:7-10)

These are two reasons that slowed my obedience to God in becoming a public speaker. I eventually swallowed my pride, listened to the Lord’s promptings, joined, and as of this past Tuesday, completed my second speech at toastmasters.

I have been obedient in joining a toastmasters meeting, but there are still times I catch myself asking why, if I have experience speaking before crowds, am I at toastmasters, revisiting the basics of speech preparation. Until this week.

Possibly my greatest roadblock to being obedient to God's call of pursing public speaking was knowing that Moses wasn’t the most articulate speaker, yet he was chosen by God to transform Egypt’s prime labor force into a seperate nation. If Moses wasn’t the best with words, why must I go through this training that forces me to revisit and reuse skills I have had for years? The answer came in two parts.

First and (perhaps) foremost, Moses wasn’t the one that spoke to the Israelites. His brother, Aaron, spoke to them for Moses. Comparing myself to Moses was irrelevant. Moses barely spoke to the crowds if at all. This comparison could never disqualify me from having to be part of toastmasters.

The second part of the answer had to do with name sakes. If my life was a carbon copy of Moses’ life, I’d still have to go to toast masters, or at least take part in some formal training for public speaking and relearn the basics. Why? Because I’m not Moses, I am Tim. I’m not some adopted son of a pharaoh living as a sheep herder in the Middle East. My name is Tim and I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  So comparing myself to Moses and insisting I don’t need to climb the ranks as a public speaker is just goofy, because I’M NOT MOSES.

And unless your living in the ancient middle east and share the same name, occupation, and lifestyle of the characters in the bible, perhaps your just like me: you’re not Moses (or any other biblical person for that matter), so don’t be surprised when God calls you to do something that no other biblical character has done, regardless of your likeness to any Biblical Patriarch, because, like me, YOU’RE NOT MOSES!!!

A Speech I Gave at Toastmasters This Week

I joined a toast masters club about a month ago and gave my first speech at this weeks meeting. Below is a copy of the speech I gave. I titled it, The Epic Journey of Tim Schmidt and contains snippets of my life story... so far! I hope you enjoy it, and please don’t hesitate to comment and let me know what you think of it, blessings, Tim

____________________

Good evening Mr. Toastmaster, fellow members and guests. I hope you all feel welcome here today. As mentioned in the introduction my name is Tim, and I would like to spend the next few minutes telling you a bit about myself. Because today’s theme has to do with story telling and fables, I want you to listen closely and then afterwards tell me when I was being a mother goose.

The first question people ask when they meet me is: what happened? How did you end up in the wheelchair? I usually respond by saying I was born. Wheelchair and all. That’s why my mother had a C-section when I was born. They couldn’t get the chair through the birth canal.

Okay, really, I was born with cerebral palsy which is the doctor’s way of saying I was born with brain damage. Because of this I use the wheelchair. But having this chair doesn’t mean I just sit there all day, these wheels take me places and I hope to share bit of my journey with you here today.

My fondest memories start at the age of 15 when I discovered a passion for cooking. Earning top marks in foods class filled my head with dreams of going to SAIT and being a chef. Sadly, I never did fullfill that dream. I may not be the sharpest knife in the kitchen but I can still make an orgasmic chicken soup and turn chocolate haters into chocoholics.

my plans for going to SAIT changed when I attempted suicide at 19.  After this I made a life altering decision to go to Bible College and be a youth pastor. It was here that I earned the nickname globe trotter as I embraced a new passion for travelling. If I wasn’t in class I was en route.

For 5 months in 2002 I juggled school work while travelling to the following places:

the country of Belize, Ottawa Ontario, great falls, Montana, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Edmonton, red deer, Grande Prairie, Pine Lake, Taber, and Regina Saskatchewan. I’ve even seen the towers of Isengard and Mount Doom. The last stamp in my passport was in 2005 when I traveled to Poland for 2 weeks.

I think it goes without saying, that after that I cooled my jets, stayed home, and studied. I graduated in 2009 with a bachelor of religious education and since then, my adventure continues. I moved out of my parent’s house, and into a one bedroom apartment in Inglewood. I help lead a small church in McKenzie town and am 2 thirds of the way through editing my first book.

I still like to travel and on Boxing Day in 2009 I took the greyhound to Hamilton Ontario and back. Never do that! That was a LOOOONG trip. That’s 2 and a half days one way.  this past summer I was a counellor at a camp for people with disabilties and a guest speaker at camp Chestermere in august.

Mr toastmaster, fellow members and guests, there you have it. I hope you’ve enjoyed my trip down memory lane and that I have been a good host. there is more to my life then what I’ve shared here today and I look forward to sharing it with you in the days to come. I also hope that I have kept your interest and you’ve been able to pick out my fables.

SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!

“Hey Tim?”

“Yeah Ed?”

“Thanks for doing this –”

“No problem Ed”

“I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when I read your response to my email…” Ed was expressing his gratitude to me for agreeing to share the workload, of preaching to nearly 200 kids at Camp Chestermere. Heading east on the 1A highway out to Chestermere, Ed continued as we approached 52 street. “When we get to camp, I’ll introduce you to the Camp Director. He’s a close personal friend of mine. Well, more like family. You see, Tim, his uncle married my mother less then a year ago. But that’s neither here nor there; I was thinking of speaking to the 10 o’clock crowd and having you speak to the younger kids at 11. And tomorrow we’ll switch. You speak at 10 and I’ll do the 11 o’clock service.”

Being in front of crowds is familiar territory for me. As far back as I can remember I have graced a stage in one way or another. The very beginning of school – kindergarten – for example, I was part of the school choir. If we weren’t rehearsing for some school assembly, we were practicing for trips to senior centre’s to provide the meal time entertainment. In Grade 5 I was fortunate enough to join a small group of grade sixers for reader’s theatre. While my fellow classmates were trying to earn gold stars for reading through their “choose your own adventure” books; I was whisked away to the grade 6 room, to practice for a reader’s theatre competition at the jubilee auditorium.

In grade 7, I played the trumpet in the school band. In Grades 8 and 9 I took a performing arts class. It was here that we’d put on plays, either for our classmates or performed song and dance numbers at school assemblies.

While kids in high school were either shooting hoops, or hanging out in the smoke pit, I hung out with a group of guys who, with the help of a teacher, formed a cover band. We’d get together over the lunch break and cover Tom Petty tunes.

 or we’d be perfecting our performance of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Child.

Just in case you’re wondering, due to fire regulations we weren’t allowed to set any guitars on fire.

We were also constantly reminded by teachers that our teeth were NOT ideal guitar picks.

In college, I had grown quite comfortable with speaking, teaching and preaching, and my near decade career as a college student afforded countless opportunities to speak at churches, and take on various teaching roles. This past summer I was even fortunate enough to share pastoring duties at a camp for people with disabilities. But speaking at Camp Chestermere was different.

When I walked on stage I was greeted by the coolest sound EVER!!!... 200 kids, all chanting, “WE WANT TIIIIIM!!!!! WE WANT TIIIIIM!!!!! WE WANT TIIIIIM!!!!!”

Another first for me happened after one of my speaking engagements that week. Two kids asked me to sign their bible. I didn’t know what to say, I’ve never been asked to sign anything other then a check before. I was able to blurt out some sort of “yes” type response and wrote an encouraging remark on a blank page in 2 people’s bibles. I’m not going to lie. I left that camp feeling like a rock star!

My friend and Pastor, Ed, asked me to speak a total of 4 times that week. And although the chanting and 2 person autograph session are top notch in all things cool, I will admit it’s not the greatest thing to happen that week. The best part of the week (as far as I’m concerned) is that my words made a difference. I was used by God to change someone’s life. That’s the point of ministry. To impact peoples lives with the Gospel of Christ. Through word or deed, everyone has a need for the love of Jesus.

A few weeks after camp, I was invited to a leadership meeting with my pastor, friend, and ministry partner, Erik. As Erik, his wife bonnie and I chatted over dinner Erik challenged me to find ways that I could contribute to the leadership of Expressions. This summer proved to be a busy one. In July and august I had taken on leadership roles at 2 different camps. Armed with nothing but my bible and a servant’s heart, I was able to speak to hundreds of people and spur them on in their pursuit of righteousness and holy living. I left that meeting with an attitude of prayer. What was it that God wanted me to do – not only in expressions community, but perhaps with the next stage of my life? As I lay down at night asking God these questions, I find myself in situations where God’s answer is clear.

As the summer ended, I had an interview with an old employer about possibly working with them again. When we got to talking, she encouraged me to get into public speaking; particularly paid speaking engagements. Some of my Facebook friends would post links to various public speaking groups. Whenever people asked me about my dream job, I would tell them stories of being a keynote speaker at some sort of conference where I would not only get a fee but all transportation and accommodations are paid for. But the clincher came just a few weeks ago during a coffee meeting with another pastor friend of mine, Dallas.

Dallas told me I have a way with words. Not only is my writing an apt tool, but my abilities as a public speaker proved to be an effective ministry as well. He then encouraged me to get into the realm of public speaking. In the days leading up to this meeting, I had been thinking again about Erik’s question posed to me in the fall: how do I/can I best contribute to the ministry of expressions community? My thought was some form of public speaking. But I wasn’t sure if that was something God wanted me to do. In fact I remember saying: “God I think I’m hearing you say go do public speaking, but I’m not 100% sure. Could you be more direct? Like someone telling me: Tim you should do this.

The speaking opportunities I had over the summer were tons of fun. I was extremely humbled and thankful for the opportunities to speak. In pursuing this public speaking route, is it my goal to become world famous, selling out the like of the O2 Arena, the Houston Astrodome or speaking to crowds of 50,000 chanting ““WE WANT TIIIIIM!!!!! WE WANT TIIIIIM!!!!! WE WANT TIIIIIM!!!!!” in unison? Absolutely not! If it happens along the way, that’s great! But the reason I’m taking this route is to bring glory and honor to God.

My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad.

Psalm 34:2

Bringing Faith to Life

The book of genesis tells us that in the beginning the earth was empty. A formless mass; devoid of anything but God and His spirit. And then He spoke.

Day one, “light.”  

Day two, “sky.”

On day 3, “I command the water to separate,” and this reveals the land. Then God speaks seed bearing plants and trees into existence

On Day four, God sets the stars in the skies. Spoken into existence, they are to be a difference maker. Stars and varying kinds of light are to keep night and day separate. Their second purpose is to mark a change in the seasons. Before standard time, people would look to the skies and determine whether it was time to plant crops or to harvest; to grill steaks outdoors or use their oven for the night’s meal. To toss a ball back and forth with your good buds wearing shorts or to light a fire and snuggle with your sweetheart as the snow falls on a chilly winter’s day. Whatever the activity God set the stars in the sky to help us determine the day’s activities.

The next day God said, “The waters need some life in them. I didn’t create them to be desolate and stagnant, but to teem with living creatures. So I shall fill them with fish and other waterfowl. I’ll set some in a random lake and let them reproduce. That way, they will fill the earth and I can enjoy watching them as they populate this planet.” After filling a lake with fish and watching them for a bit, God smiled. His fun continued as he filled the land with livestock and the sky with birds. Thinking about the next days work, day passed into night and soon day 6 began.

On Day 6, God’s creativity culminates with his greatest creation: mankind.

 Genesis 2 provides some detail on exactly how God did it. Genesis 2:7 paints a picture of God in a sandbox saying he took some dust and formed it into a shape of a man. But it didn’t end there. When God was finished shaping his sand-man, he was lifeless until God breathed life into this sand-man. “Now that this man has been brought to life, he needs a purpose. What shall I have him do?” thought God, “I’ll put him in charge of everything I have created! That way he – and those that come after him – won’t wander around aimlessly.” God’s time of creating ended on day 7 with a time of rest.

What captures my attention in this story is the importance of God breathing life into mankind. Prior to that, the inaugural human being had been just like the earth on day zero. Devoid! Or, if I can use a different word here, lifeless or even dead! Genesis says that God’s greatest creation was otherwise dead and lifeless until God breathed life into it. I wonder if the same could be said of a person’s faith. It is dead, lifeless and devoid until God breathes life into it. At least that’s what I find myself learning these days.

There are things that I say I believe but when rubber meets road, living out what I believe becomes a real challenge. I trust God with my life. I am convinced that His plans for me are far better then mine. Yet His timing can frustrate me. Take for example this publishing contest. In May I discovered a free publishing contest for authors. Having written a book but not published it yet, I decided to take a chance and enter the contest.

As far as I know, the manuscript is still floating around their office climbing the ranks and etching its way ever closer to the finish line. But I find myself getting impatient and growing restless with not knowing what’s going on with my manuscript. Daily I fight the urge to pick up where I left off and continue towards self publishing. It’s so tempting and leads to frustration but I continue to wait. As my patience is being tried I find my confidence in God growing. The feeling of trust and confident assurance that comes when you trust a tangible person is welling up within me. As I think about unknown territory my fears and worries for the general future feel more secure. I’m becoming more optimistic. My pessimism is wading away. For this I am thankful.