Friday, 25 March 2016

Temperatures are rising, and hope is rising!

April Showers!
Let the Spring rains come and refresh the Earth. God's seeds of goodness are germinating in us! 






Click here to see more Spring colour!



This month's theme song: The Reason, click here!
 


This month's prayer: ( we are now wording the prayers so you can pray for your neighbourhood wherever you live in the GTA.)

Pray that God's Spirit will refresh the minds and hearts of your neighbours, 
and that they experience renewed hope, renewed dreams, renewed relationships.


This month's theme:

The land is being refreshed by the rain. Everything will soon be blooming!
New life will be sprouting up in us too, new hope, new energy!!   



Encouragements

Hosea 6:3. Let us press on to know God, who comes to us every day like the brilliant dawn, like a fresh spring rain!

John 7:37-39. All those who are thirsty, come to me and from within you rivers of living water shall flow out!

2 Corinthians 4:16. Our inner being is renewed every day!

Jeremiah 17: 7,8. Those who trust God are like trees planted by the river. They are not bothered by hard times. They keep producing good fruit.

Psalm 23. God is always close beside me. He brings me to safe, quiet places where I am refreshed!

Matthew 11: 28-30. Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls."









 How refreshing to know that since Jesus died for us, nothing can separate us from God's love!





  
Spring rains awaken the seeds!

Sunday, 21 February 2016

Happy Easter!!






 God raised Jesus to life! God will raise us from the dead too when eternity comes, but now God makes our lives new every day!!

Christ is the first of all who will rise from the dead. For God was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God made peace with everyone. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. ( Taken from Colossians 1:23 )



March Prayers

   


Spring is on the way!

March can be messy and at best dull! Let's look forward to Spring even if everything is grey! Let's remember that God's blessings are all around us even if they are not obvious. Let's look for them and be thankful every day. Remember that the snowy and rainy days are preparing the soil for the new life that's coming very soon.

 
What we are praying for:

Let's pray that everyone in the LGBTQI Community will never lose hope and that they will open their hearts to the blessings that God has prepared for them.

This month's theme:

Every day is new! God in our lives will make our experience new every day. New challenges, new ways of looking at things, new ideas to make a better future, new ways to love!
This year Easter is early. Not only can we look for new life in our daily lives, but we can remember that we too one day will be raised up to live with God forever as Jesus was. 

 
Encouragements:

Hosea 6:3. Let us press on to know God, who comes to us every day
like the brilliant dawn, like a fresh spring rain!

Lamentations 3:23. God's mercies are fresh every day.

Psalm 139: 7-10. No matter where I go your hand will guide me,
your strength will support me.

James 1: 17. Every good gift is from God.

Psalm 23:6. God's goodness follows us throughout our lives and we will
live with God forever.




Spring is on the way!!

Sunday, 31 January 2016

Jon Foreman - "Your Love Is Strong"

                             


Another song that could be used for February's prayers.
Part of the Lord's prayer is used in the lyrics and the song could be sung as a prayer.

February, The Month Of Love!!

                             


February Prayers

This month let's remember that God does really love us and that his love can be found in Jesus Christ and his actions toward us,
not just in his death for us but in his communicating with us every day.
 
What we are praying for:

Let's pray that everyone in the LGBTQI Community will sense God's love and know they are not alone,
that God is with them all the time, and that they allow God's love to fill their hearts, 
so they can love themselves and those around them.

 
This month's theme:

God's love is there for us and is enough! God is watching over us in every area of our lives. 
God's love is the safe harbour, the anchor of our souls! 
God's love gives us the strength to face life's challenges!

 
Encouragements:
How do we know that God loves us?

1 John 3:16a, John 3:16, Romans 5:8
God showed his love for us by sending his son to die for us.

Romans 8: 32, 38-39
If God would give up his son for us, wouldn't he give us all our needs too?
Nothing in all creation will ever be able to seperate us from the love of God 
that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:4,5
God loves us so much that he gave us eternal life when he raised Christ
from the dead.

Let the Holy Spirit fill your heart with God's love. It will strengthen you, inspire you and bring you peace, joy and healing throughout your life!


 

Saturday, 2 January 2016

Winter Blues!

January Prayers

                      



Happy New Year!!



It's not about making “New Year's Resolutions”. It's about choosing the light every day of the year! Our bodies are renewing cells and healing themselves every moment. Just the same we need to choose those things that bring us healing, peace and joy into our lives every day.



What we are praying for:

Let's pray that everyone in the LGBTQI Community accept God's love
and not be afraid to ask God for help in their lives.

 
This month's theme:

We can look at “New Year's Resolutions” in different ways.

  1. Same old, but, in new perspective. Change the way you look at your life if everything has to remain the same.
  1. Same old, but, done in a new way. Breathe new life into old bones.
    The change is as good as a rest! Tweak instead of overhaul!
  1. Learn new tricks. Do something new, learn new ways of doing things, go down a different path, go down a new path, do new things within
    your comfort zone that are still familiar so you don't feel lost or get out of your comfort zone and try completely different things to stretch and grow! 


It's your life, your story that you are writing, so there is no right or wrong, just lessons to be learned! Remember who your source is.
God is your strength! God is your guide!

 
Encouragements:

God is in the details! God will cover you in the old and the new, the familiar and the strange! God's got your back!!

Ephesians 2:10. The Holy Spirit will enable us to do God's work on Earth.
God will raise us up to live with him in Heaven.

2 Corinthians 12: 8-11. When I am weak, the Holy Spirit is strong within
me and enables me to do God's will and changes
me into the likeness of Christ.

John 3: 27-36. God in Heaven appoints each person's work.
God becomes greater and greater, we become less. 

Psalm 118: 13-14. The Lord is my strength and song,
God has become my victory.

Psalm 37: 23. God delights in every detail of our lives!
And not to judge, but to help, for our best interest! 


Remember where strength and love comes from!
Thank you for your prayers!
All the best to you for this year!
 







Christmas pics!

Sunday, 13 December 2015

Merry Christmas 2015

                  




       
What we are praying for:

That those in the LGBTQI Community recognize God's gifts in their daily lives,
and that they recognize their God given talents and accept the Holy Spirit's help to allow God's expression through them.

This month's theme:

God came as the baby Jesus to give us the gift of His life for ours.
What gift do you have and how are you to share it?
What story does God want to tell through you?

Encouragements:

God is the one who gave us our unique talents. We need not be afraid to share them. Let them shine! With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can manage our talents so God can generously minister through us to others. 1 Peter 4:10,11.

2 Timothy 1:6. Don't be afraid to fan into flame your God given talents!

Psalm 32: 8. God guides you along the best pathway for your life!

James 3: 17, 18. Your God given gift comes naturally
and peacefully and is full of love!




This year's prayers and meditations are the same as last years. 
The best way we can celebrate such a gift is to give to others.

Have a very blessed Christmas as you join with us to pray for others and share out of the gifts you have.

Peace of Christ be yours always!










             






Sunday, 25 October 2015

November Prayers

 






What we are praying for this month:

Let us remember to
pray for our service men and women who are protecting our country, those fighting or working to maintain peace throughout the world 
and the families of our fallen soldiers.
Let us remember to pray for our vets that they get the respect and help they need.



Let us remember to pray
for those in the LGBTQI Community who are still fighting for our rights, our protection and our benefits as equal human beings here in Canada and all over the world. 
Let us remember to pray for our service men and women who are gay that  they are treated fairly and respectfully as all service members should be.

The theme this month is to remember:

Let's remember to honour and pray for those who have fought for our freedom and those still fighting to maintain that and all those in authority positions in government, military and all levels of society.

Remember, God is real and there for everyone. We should love everyone, but that is only possible with God's help. With God's help we can be all that we are intended to be and do the things we are called to do.


 Scriptures and meditations:

Romans 13: 1, 7, 1 Peter 2: 17.  Respect and honour those in government and all whom it is due.

John 15: 13, Psalm 116: 15. There is a great calling on those who choose to lay down their lives for the freedom of others and that calling affects greatly their families too. Remember that police, doctors, nurses, religious leaders, social justice and humanitarian aid workers, many in our society are included in these prayers.

Thank you all for joining with us in this month's prayers! 



 

Sunday, 11 October 2015

Thanksgiving in downtown Toronto!

 
Thanksgiving at Allen Gardens. The flock is shining nicely in the sun while peaking at the CN Tower.                                                   















Colour starting to show in the trees downtown.













Flowers reflecting the sun as they smile at passers by!










Rich Autumn colours all around in the green houses!









                                                                                                                                                                                                  Sunshine glowing through the cooling glass in  the late afternoon.      



Sunday, 27 September 2015

Express Yourself - Charles Wright

Audioslave - Be Yourself

                                              



Life can be huge! So much going on and everyone wants to say who and what you should be and do!  
Be you! Then your story will be told!


October Prayers

                                      


BE GOOD TO YOURSELF!!

Whatever you do, be gentle with yourself. You don't just live in this world,
or your home or your skin. You also live in someone's eyes.
Sanober Khan

Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?
Ian Wallace 

This month we are focusing on our relationship with our self!
Love yourself, do something nice for you today! Say something nice to you today!
Accept it when someone says or does something nice for you.
Remember, love is all around, sometimes you need to recognize it.

This month's theme:
October is about being thankful! Be thankful for you, for your life, for your unique attributes that make you to be you! 
Your purpose in life is appropriate to your talents and your personality!

This month's prayer:
Pray that those in the LGBTQQI Community not only accept themselves, but be thankful for their talents and gifts, their sexuality 
and all that makes them unique! May this bring healing to them and enable them to love and accept those around them. 
May they recognize and accept their talents and their purpose in life!
 
Scriptures:
Why should we love ourselves?
1Corinthians 13:4-8. Love is patient and kind, believes all things good, hopes all things good!
1Corinthians 1:7-9. God invites you into friendship! 
Romans 8:26. The Holy Spirit prays for us. 
Ephesians 2:10. We are God's workmanship.
Phillipians 1:6. God started the work in you and thinks that you are worth finishing!

If God is for us, we must have somthin' going on! 

Why the video this month? 
Look at the people with signs in the video. Sometimes we have to look for the blessings in our lives. But focusing on what we do have 
gives a better perspective. Even if we don't have friends to call on, we can call on God who will give us inner strength and change the negative to positive 
and sometimes do it through others coming into our lives and sometimes through means we never thought possible!

Love yourself! You are worth it!
Thank you for your prayers! 

 

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

Gta Prayer Walks goes to the Miss Gay Universe Pageant 2015!

I'm thankful to have witnessed so much talent and so much love. The participants in the pageant have such a message of love and being true to self and they communicate it in such a beautiful way it blows my mind! May they continue to live out their message and express it in creative ways.


Here is the speech I gave at the pageant. Jennete, the co-host helped by doing the prompts italicised. n the photo below you see me with Chris Edwards, the host of the pageant.



                                   2015 Pageant Speech                      
Hi! I'm James.    
Thank you for giving us a chance to share with you
what is happening on the street in the Church and Wellesley Village.

Do you believe in the power of love? I see a lot of love here tonight and I see a lot of love in our community.
Do you believe in the power of prayer?

Prayer? Whad'a ya talkin' about??
Well, we've all heard that prayer is asking for something. Sometimes what we need is just a question away! But, what about a kind thought, a strong desire that someone close to you does well.
It's all heard throughout the universe. Every thought, every desire inside of you is heard. All of us have  love, wisdom, truth, a piece of the universe, a piece of God if you will, inside us.
There's a message inside of you that if you listen to and live by,
you will be the truth, the beauty and the power you dreamed of.
The magic is inside of you to know who you are and
what your life is about.

Sooo James, what's your message?
I just want to tell you that every month a few of us  go for a walk through the Church and Wellesley Village and we pray as we go.
We pray for those struggling, those who are ill, we pray for the volunteers, and the activists fighting for our rights, and we pray for you, everyone here. We pray for everyone who lives, works and plays in the Village and the surrounding neighbourhood.

We are not trying to convert anyone to any religion. We just want to encourage everyone in their own spiritual awareness. Whatever that means to you and whatever way works for you.

I'm sooo busy, how can I remember all that?
Well, I've brought you some presents!
I've brought wrist bands! They have on one side THE POWER OF LOVE and on the other they have THE POWER OF PRAYER,
so you can turn it to the one you feel the strongest.
And different colours!
There's even one with the colours of the transgendered flag!

The idea is to use it to remind yourself to take care of your spirit,
that message inside of you, the truth for you that brings healing and guides you through your life. Feel free to take one, they're free!!
I love them! How can we keep in touch?
On the inside of the band there is an email address,
gtaprayerwalks@gmail.com, so you can look us up if you want to join us for a walk in the village, or if you just want to know more information as to what we are doing, drop us a line.
Take one of our cards. That has the address to our blog site.
There  you can see the monthly prayers and music videos!
And there's more- we ARE working on a new website
and we can send you the link when it's complete. The new website will include  other activities we are doing on the street. 
Like what activities James?
Well, like promoting - spiritual awareness at the
Halloween Street Party - in full costume! We'll have a fabulous time!
I can't wait!
So feel free to send us your prayer requests! We're here for you!
Send us your comments, what would “Church on the Street”
look like to you? We would love to hear from you!
REMEMBER, nothing is black and white, right or wrong!
Things aren't always the way they appear!
The magic is inside of you to know the truth for your life!
Thank you for your time!


We were well received and many took wrist bands!
Thank you all for your prayers!

Tuesday, 25 August 2015

September 2015 Prayers





God is our friend!

This month's theme:

Continuing in the theme of love, we are focusing on relationships. This month is about our relationship with God.
How do you know it's healthy? How do you keep it that way?

What we are praying for:

Pray that God helps all those in the LGBTQQI Community and all those in the downtown core to find it comes naturally
to do those things that maintain a healthy, loving relationship with God and those around them.

Scriptures:

1Corinthians 1:7-9.  God will keep you until the end of time, for it is God who has called you into friendship with the Son Jesus Christ.

John 1:12,13. To all who believed Him, He gave the right to become children of God.

John 15:5. Abide in me and I will abide in you.

John 15:15-17. Jesus calls us friends.

Romans 10:8-13. The message is on the tip of your tongue, even in your heart, that God is love and you belong to God.

James 4:8. Draw near to God and God will draw near to you.

Romans 5:5. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

If we open our hearts and minds to the message of God's love, then we will know in our hearts that we are loved and be able to love ourselves and others.


Autumn is soon upon us. Nature is going to sleep, the sunshine lessens and the temperature dropping. Let's not go to sleep, but stay bright and keep our hearts warm by responding to the love around us.

Thank you for your prayers and loving thoughts!