Outreach Canada Ministries

Full Circle Gratitude

Created by Wilma Findlay on 12/11/2019 10:33:00 AM

30+ years ago I was a Graduate Student.

One of my housemates was a teacher, and a very even- tempered woman that everyone loved. I distinctly recall one weekend she was in tears, and bawling. I had never seen her cry before and asked if she was okay.

She managed to get out “no” between sobs.

Giving Thanks when Life Sucks

Created by Craig Kraft on 12/5/2019 9:48:00 PM

There are so many things that happen in our lives that just suck. How can we give thanks when times are tough? Is it really God’s will that all these bad things happen in our lives? A simple understanding of how we can give thanks when bad things are happening is to look at things from a broader context.

Is Multiculturalism "bad" for the church?

Created by Sherman Lau (Guest Author) on 12/4/2019 10:37:00 AM

Should local churches strive for a multicultural make-up? How does the Canadian multicultural ethic influence Canadian churches? Has multiculturalism hindered or facilitated our efforts in fulfilling the Great Commission?

Is Gratitude a Virtue?

I believe having an “attitude of gratitude”, as the cliché goes, is a good character trait especially if inherent but in years past I struggled to accept it being labelled a virtue.

Virtue to my mind denoted an inherent morality that is absolute- requiring no prompting or trigger to reveal itself. Virtue, I thought, simply is. One is either, at heart, virtuous…or not.

If that is the case, gratitude would not be a virtue, as it is always predicated upon a favorable action initiated by another person, entity or circumstance.

Gratitude for God’s Supply

Leaving a well-paying job for one with lots of uncertainty is very challenging.

Some years ago now after serving as a pastor I was challenged to leave a familiar ministry that was going well and take my family to another country. I was born in Southern California and spent many ministry years on the San Francisco peninsula serving in a large church.

Giving Thanks: A Cure for Weariness?

Is there a cure for weariness in the Christian life? Christians know that they have every reason to be happy, to be joyful.

Experience tells us, however, that the daily cares and pressures of everyday life have a way of wearing us down; of weakening our enthusiasm even though our efforts—in calling, in relationships-- might be perfectly respectable by any normal measurement.

One approach might be to pause and explore the dimensions of gratitude in our lives.

A Stone Named Ebenezer

I have this odd habit--I like to collect rocks. I find them fascinating—each one is unique and in its own way, interesting.

I am as likely to come home from a holiday with a rock as I am with some other memento. I have rocks of all types in my home and in my garden, and each of them at the time was marking a particular event or memory (some of which, I confess, are now lost to my memory).

Transformational Gratitude.

A story years in the making. A Chaplains Story.

Looking a little like Jesus strolling down the path calling out to Zacchaeus, the Chaplain shouted up to Big Ron on his forklift. "Hey there Ron, how're things?"

OC Reads: One Thousand Gifts

OC Reads: Book Recommendations from OC Team Members.

Read Gord Carkner's recommendation for Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.

Gratitude in Loss

It is hard to fathom gratitude with loss, particularly with the loss of loved ones. After the loss of two family members, Jay Randall ponders what he is grateful for in spite of this difficult season.