I’ve had a great summer so far – just incredible! This post is going to get personal and if your ok with that – read on…

The first week in June we were on an inside passage Alaskan cruise, it was extremely beautiful and we had really close views of the glacier.

Next, we went on a 3 day vacation to Clearlake Manitoba, we spent the time with family, going on long walks – there is a new trail that goes on for quite a distance. It is the off season so not everything is open but I had a great time. We saw the Elkhorn Resort.. when I was a kid we used to stay in the chalets there. Next year we are going to stay at the stowaway inn.

We stayed very close to the middle of town, just seconds away from the ice cream shop. Clearlake has mixed emotions for me, I’m sure you have some fond memories of childhood… I have great memories of my childhood – some of the best of those were made in Clearlake – but that’s the difficult part for me. Clearlake is not the same place it used to be, I don’t mean that in an overly negative way, I mean that I miss the Wigwam restaurant, and most of all being there as a kid with my grandma & grandpa Janz.

My grandparents were the salt of the earth, unfortunately I become a different person after I was ten years old and that was not in a good way. I won’t talk about what changed – but I become cold, mean, and only cared about what I could get from other people. When I write it out – it sounds terrible, but it’s true. My grandma Janz got a brain tumor and she also changed, eventually I lost the two people in this world that I actually loved – but by then I was already ice cold inside.

The decisions you make and the people you hang around with will change you. Sometimes a sweet person will become something unrecognizable from what they used to be. They might not know it because the changes are subtle and happen overtime but if a much younger version of yourself would see you now – they might recoil with revulsion at the sight of what you have become… I’m not talking about what you look like, I’m talking about the person you are inside, in your heart.

I had many reasons to go down that route – none of which I will mention here. But I will talk about what brought me back to being the Jason of old – the person I was before I let things change me into a lesser person.

I’m not going to claim to be some amazing Christian, being a Christian is a daily struggle. It’s about letting go of toxic memories and bitter emotions. When people have done terrible things to you – forgiveness seems to be an impossible ask. You can choose to let those type of things twist you into someone bad… those memories are like a toxic well, the more you drink from it – the more poisonous you become.

What brought me back was putting Jesus Christ back into my life, front and center. All the Sunday school lessons I listen too came flooding back. I don’t care if people are cruel to me and I don’t care what anyone says about me – what matters is what Jesus has to say about me. He says that I was worth dying for… and he gave his life for us, now in return I give my life back to him. What I want most is transformation, I want God’s anointing for my life. I want my household to reflect and resonate Christ’s love.

What was hard about being at Clearlake is remembering the times I had with my grandparents there – but I have to learn to separate from the past.. now there are new memories to be made. We can’t dwell on the past, we have to look toward the future, and there is no greater future than the one with Jesus Christ in your heart, guiding your steps.

Let me ask you a question… and please, genuinely think about the answer for a couple of minutes. Think about how your life currently matches up to what God expects from you. Deep down inside you know what I mean… there is no getting away from the truth. If you know that your life is not matching up – I’m asking you to get on your knees and pray, talk to God and tell him that you want his glory to be first and foremost in your life from now on. Make that change and you won’t regret it.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jason