Last night ended a very huge and life altering piece of my journey.  I am officially finished working at Starbucks after an incredible year there.  The decision to move on came quickly, but with the very evident hand of God behind it.  I really loved working at Starbucks, and only time will reveal the incredible degree to which my time there has impacted my life.  In fact, I was just finishing my assistant manager training and up until a month ago figured I'd probably be there for a while.  Then I went to Calgary – HA!

A couple months ago I was in Calgary to hang out with friends from Epic, and to do a house concert at the Schuster's.  It's the house concert that really wrecked me in an unforeseen way.  God really opened my eyes to the potential and plans He has for this area of my life.  The simple truth is that when I came home and went back to work I was quick to realize something in my heart had changed.  Time has taught me that what I was feeling usually means God is about to move me or introduce me to something new.  My initial reaction was actually anger and frustration.  The loss of contentment at Starbucks coupled with the fact that I know God doesn't want me taking a 'job' at a church left me confused and wondering what He wanted me to do with a Bible School degree and 15 years of 'church' experience.  The prayers that resulted went something like: "God, I need you to either give me back the peace and contentment I felt at Startbucks before… or to open up new opportunities that make sense given everything else you're doing and teaching me!"

What happened next showed me once again that our God is an amazing God.  Early on at Starbucks I met Shawn (the director of the Salvation Army in the Valley.)  He regularly stops in for a coffee, and we've been trying to get together for the better part of a year.  Right in the midst of my confused and pray filled place I finally set a time to meet with Shawn.  I wasn't looking for a job, but rather had been thinking there may be some way Janna and I could start helping out with something the Salvation Army is up to in the Valley.  Shawn and I grabbed coffees, sat down, shared our journeys… and at the end of our conversation Shawn said; "Chad, I don't even know if it makes sense to do this given everything you've just told me… but, I think I'm supposed to offer you a job."   

Walking away from that encounter I knew that God had answered the prayers I'd been throwing around consistently for days.  A month after that conversation with Shawn, I've accepted a job with the Salvation Army as a 'Shelter Case Worker'.  Pretty much, I'll be working with the homeless, addicts, etc who stay at a Salvation Army shelter in Courtenay.  I'll work with many broken and needy people everyday, attempting to help them find the resources they need to put life back together.  Given all that God has been stirring in my heart for injustice over the past few years, I'm beyond excited about this!  In fact, as I write this entry I'm overwhelmed by the fact that the breadth of what God's done here can't be captured by in a blog.  I'll keep sharing the stories of this journey both here and as many of us sit and share our lives in coffee shops and the like.  In the mean time… praise God, and know that He's got everything figured out… all the time. 

FYI: A good chunk of my salary will be covered by BC Housing.  You can have a look at the document Shawn and some others in the valley have done up to properly describe the issues and proposed solutions surrounding the 'housing crisis' in the Valley.  My new job is a part of the proposed solution: Mayor's Task Force Report on Homeless  

A couple years ago I was in a prayer room with some friends.  We gathered there to spend some time praying together, and in the midst of our prayers came this song.  My friend Paul was praying through Psalm 61, and the chorus became a real declaration.  "You are my refuge, You are my shelter, You are my Sanctuary, You are… Everything."  The song has since become a real declaration of my heart, and has given words to a multitude of situations and circumstance.  I pray it continues to fuel very real and potent times of intimacy in prayer.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Psalm 61

For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments. 1 O God, listen to my cry!

      Hear my prayer!
 2 From the ends of the earth,
      I cry to you for help
      when my heart is overwhelmed.
   Lead me to the towering rock of safety,
    3 for you are my safe refuge,
      a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me.
 4 Let me live forever in your sanctuary,
      safe beneath the shelter of your wings!
                         Interlude

 5 For you have heard my vows, O God.
      You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.
 6 Add many years to the life of the king!
      May his years span the generations!
 7 May he reign under God’s protection forever.
      May your unfailing love and faithfulness watch over him.
 8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever
      as I fulfill my vows each day.

Last week I had the privilege of hanging out in Eston Sk.  If you've ever been to Eston you probably know that the town itself isn't much of an attraction.  It's a very small Saskatchewan farm town nestled away in what is very much the 'middle of nowhere'.  What made it such an amazing week were the people that congregated there for the week.  I was there to help lead worship and to speak at a Sr High event facilitated by Eston College (a Bible College in the middle of that tiny town.)  Almost 300 Sr high students came, and together with some of my best friends in this world, we joined them on quite a journey.

Going into the weekend I had a strong and deep anticipation.  I just knew God was going to meet with us in a divine way… and He certainly did just that.  Through out our time of prep and then into the weekend, we continually saw God moving.  More than anything I felt like he was challenging us to really live.  I was deeply challenged to pursue Him with much more commitment.  To allow faith to grow in me… believing that He will show himself in the midst of our daily lives.  The week woke me up in many ways.  Not that I was 'asleep', but I think now is a season where God is calling me to 'move forward' in many ways.

More than anything my time in Saskatchewan reminded of the deep deep value of friendship.  It was SO good to be with people who have a 'like heart', and who love my heart.  People who time and again call out the best in me. People who really 'know' me, and who I can be incredibly real with.  It is in the safety of these friendships that I come to life in many ways.  Worship, justice, evangelism… it all makes SO much more sense inside of community.  God is birthing incredible dreams in me right now, and I can't wait to walk them out with friends.  Jason, Ari, Sheri, Daniel, Alexandra, Kevin, Andy, James, Jamie… Rob & Sarah, Greg and Kim.  Having spent the weekend together was an incredible example of how incredibly God is able to weave lives together.  I was talking w Jason (a new friend from the weekend… brought into my life all the way from California) and he was reminding me of something I've said many times before;  God's ability to connect hearts is one of His most mind blowing characteristics.

I  am truly grateful for all God did last week, and find myself energized and excited for what's to come.

Check out more pics from the weekend here