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My Story

Hey Everyone,

You might be wondering what I do for a living, I ask that with many of my favorite YouTubers like Tobucus, iJustine, Lifeburry, Catrific,  and many others. Well on matthewdykstra.com I am going to give you the skinny.

Lets start by letting you all know that I am on O.D.S.P that is the Ontario Disablity Support Program. This helps me pay for my living expenses like Food, Clothing, Housing etc..  but this was not an easy fight and I never wanted to be on this. You See I have Spinabifida, Fibromyalgia and related conditions. Let see what Fibromyalgia is

This is not a great disability to have as there is a fight to if Fibromyalgia is a real disability or if it is mental or real pain. I also have related ailments such as Irritable Bowel Syndrom, Chronic Pain, Since this video (see above) was done I now also have Vertigo and suffer from massive headaches. They are not migraines because of my healing from them. I also suffer from CFS Lets take a look at how Chronic Fatigue Effects Me

Now I am also on a boat load of medications for pain, bladder issues, headaches and fibro related conditions. Lets take a look at my medications at the time of the taping

Since this video was done my medications have changed by the conditions .  My current medications go like this

  • Extra Strength Tylenol
  • Codine (as needed)
  • Detrol LA
  • Gabapentin
  • Solfax
  • Senokot (as needed)
  • Metoprolo (1/2 twice a day)
  • Domperidone
  • Ultram (samples for trial)
  • Cymbalta
  • Tecta

So you can see here from this list that not much as changed but when you think about the doses that I am on for each (not stated) I will take upwards of 10 or more pills daily and yet I am still not well at all. All medication aside the worst part of my disability is what is called Fibromyalgia Fog or Fibro Fog. Lets watch this video from Health.com

Now that you understand a bit of what Fibro Fog is you can understand that I have trouble with many things. I forget things a lot I will leave my iPhone out on the poarch, forget my keys in my mothers trailer or even loose my bank card often (currently on card #24) . I will forget a pick up time with Durham Transit. Many times as I am leaving the house I will have to go back in 3 or more times because I forgot something?, checking weather or not the coffee is off, did I feed the cat?, Do I have everything for my volunteering at the church.

This is something that I do not like, even in my daily vlog I will say ummm a lot because I forget what I was going to say. Lets see my daily vlog called “ummmmmm

So you can tell how I say umm a lot in this video this is just one of the many examples on how Fibro Fog effects me I forget alot what I am going to say.

Now I must go. But I hope you enjoyed reading & watching this page. Tell me your Fibro story, tell me what is going on in your life. You can always see how Fibro myalgia effects me by watching my playlist called “My Fibromyalgia Story” Below or on YouTube this playlist is a following of what is going on when I am sick or my fibromyalgia is effecting me.

Updates Via E-Mail

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Nature Walk With Friends – Video Three

Feeding The Ducks and Seguls

Greetings From Owen Sound

Greetings from Owen Sound,

Here I am finally taking some time off and spending time with the family.. My Parents, My sister and even the kids came along for this trip. It has been an exciting journey. At first I was not going to bring my laptop but when I heard that dad was bringing his I broke and brought mine.

So far we have had an amazing time. We have not done that much but that is what traviling for me is all about just sitting around and doing nothing. So I put my churches live feed on and began to type.

We are right now in a private camp ground and just enjoying the morning sun. What beauty is all around us that we miss when we are in the city I truly am enjoying myself and just loving the time I can spend in the nature and with the family. What could be better nature, the church live and my laptop.

I do miss each and everyone of you back in Oshawa and all though this is a short trip I will be back on Monday Afternoon and back to the grind.

C U All When I Get Back

Handling Your Own Affairs

Hello,

You might be asking yourself, what is with all the writings this past month and really I don’t know either. I am starting to wonder myself and it is because my spirit is stirring. There has been a lot going on and a lot that has been happening.

This past week I have decided to go back to getting up early every morning (5 out of 7 days and 1 afternoon a week) and get into 2 hrs of quality time with the Lord. I decided that it was time to get my house in order. It is like the apostle Paul said in 1st Timothy 3:4-5 he said

5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) (HSCB)

For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? (MSG)

5 (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); (KJV) (NKJV)

For me this was a big passage. It got me to thinking that I really need to get alot of things done and get my life straight. For the past little while it seemed to me like things were getting out of control in the spiritual side. I had ask the Lord to keep me in the hidden place. I wanted everyone else around me to be put into the lime light so to speak. Well he said to me are you sure? I answered yes! He reminded me to be careful what you ask for.

Well he did it. So many times I have seen things that I thought they will ask me to do that or Pastor Derek will mention me in a sermon and BAM! It gets turned to someone else. I started to get up set and the Lord reminded me that you asked for this. I began to realize why I asked for this and started to get things in order.

The first thing I did was setup a calendar on Google and started to plot out my days so that my time with The Lord, Family and Friends were made avail. I then began to look at my ministry stuff and plot all of that in and realized I spend a lot of time at the Church, None the less I know that is where I am called to and will stick to it.

After all of that was done I realized that I still did not have enough time in there for the Lord one full afternoon a week was not enough. A prayer here a prayer there was Good but flair prayers don’t always get the job done.

Pastor Derek was teaching a series on Persistence and Diligence and talked about how he made 2 hours a day for the Lord and how that changed his life. The Lord reminded me that you used to do this. What happened to you?, Where are you my son?

So that was it! I now every morning except Tuesdays and Wednesdays get up at 5:00 – 5:30 and prepare to spend 2 hours a day with the Lord.

Now before you ask what about Tuesdays and Wednesdays, well it is like this Tuesdays my mentor has set aside for me to spend the entire afternoon in prayer and studies so that morning is free for me to get ready to come for my ministry day at This Generation and Wednesdays is my 7th day that is the day I go visit my parents, see my grandmother at the nursing home and babysit my sisters kids Lilly and Ivy (see photo on front page) nothing interrupts that day.

How has this changed my life? well let me tell you this much, there is nothing like putting on the IHOP Live Feed and praying along side the worship and hearing what the Lord would have me pray into for my life, my friends, my family, ministry and yes even my mentor

You should try this! You do not have to do it like me but if you cannot get your own house in order how do you expect to help in the church or even mentor to others. We need to keep God first in our lives and we need to remember the important stuff in life.

So I will leave you with this thought from Matthew 16:26 it says “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (KJV)

Till Next Entry

Serving The Lord, Serving With The Right Heart

Hello,

It has been some time since I wrote and you all must be wondering where did he go?. I am still here and Still serving the Lord but I am in a interesting season right now and I hope some day to tell you more about it.. But I got to thinking today…. so here we go…

It is Monday November 23, 2009 and I just got off a major conference with Larry Randolph and Bob Jones and I was put en-charged of over seeing the editing and duplication of all the audio/cd sermons (as well as an mp3 disc) and well I began to think

1. We just produced over 600+ cds
2. We had a great team of people who were serving with the right heart
3. Boy I need a rest LOL

But in all of that I began to think what is really serving with the right heart. I have been in ministry now for over 3 years and really it is a question that we should ask our selves on a daily basis. What is serving with the right heart.

Lately I have been pondering that in my own ministry. I have been going through a rough period and really just had to sit back and re-evaluate why I am still serving (or volunteering) in God’s House? and what are my motives? Are they personal, or selfish or self-serving or even just because my church (or place I volunteer at) needs help?. Well if you have been following my journal/blog/diary then you will know that is not the case. But in all things we must re-evaluate what we are doing.

I believe that serving (or volunteering) with the right heart looks like this

1. We want to serve Jesus/God/Christ not serve the Pastor, Preacher, Evangelist etc.. If we are just there because (put name here) needs help then we are not serving God.. We have to first want to serve God before we serve anyone else..

You see I have a great set of mentors one from embassy | this generation and one from Durham House of Prayer and both are teaching me things and both do need my help but like I stated above if I only want to help my two mentors and submit only to what they want and not what the Lord is telling me to do (both in my private time and through them) then what good am I to the Kingdom.

2. We want to further the kingdom of God on the earth.. “…On Earth as it is in Heaven Matthew 6:10 (NASB)” Everything we do should be for the greater good of furthering Gods work on the earth.

I believe that in this day and age we should have no problems with this like it says in Mark 16:14 “..Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all… (MSG)”

As a person who loves technology this is one of the best ways to Go into all the world and preach the good news. I just created a site with all of the young adult sermons in an easy to find and organized manner. So as to get the good news of what God is doing out to the nations. With the media and technology these days we can be in some remote part of the world or some small town like Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada and get the news out there.

Look at www.god.tv and see what they are doing with Media and Technology. Even look at International House of Prayer with a live 24hr prayer room feed you can at any time of the night put on the prayer room and join in with Kansas City USA right in your part of the world in Prayer.

It brings to mind a verse from Revelations 11:9 (from The Message Bible) that says “…For three and a half days they’ll be there—exposed, prevented from getting a decent burial, stared at by the curious from all over the world…” now how in this day in age will that happen.. The Media meaning internet, digital TV and satellite and many forms that we have not even seen or heard of yet.

3. What is our motives for serving the kingdom are we doing it to help (put name here) or are we doing it to get the rewards that come with serving (lunches, use of equipment we don’t have, free entry into a conference or something to do because we are disabled or have no job right now) or are we doing it because we want to serve The Kingdom..

This reminds me of a verse out of Matthew 6:5-6 Jesus was teaching his deciples how to pray he went on to say to them about doing things in public and that we should go to the secret place.. well I believe that we should be serving in the secret place meaning that first we cannot be doing our serving to be seen by man (or everyone) and to say look at me I am serving the kingdom praise me praise me.. we should just go about doing our duties and if we are never seen by man God sees us and will reward us. The portions of the verse I found went like this.. here is two versions of that verse (same portions)

New American Standard Version (NASB)
V5 “…so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full…”
V6 “…go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you…”

The Message (MSG)
V5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

V6 “Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

Yes it is nice once and a while to know that we are doing a good job by those who God placed over us such as mentors, friends, family, etc.. but really in the end it is what God thinks that totally matters. We must keep our motive pure and serve in the right heart.

What are your motives? Here are mine

Mine are simple.. Yes, I have a disability that keeps me from having a job that wants me to work a 40 hr a week. Yes I know that being in ministry is my destiny and calling.. but really it is simple.. I want to take the giftings that the Lord has blessed me with and using them to bless others. IE sermons.embassyonline.ca.

I want to get the message of Jesus/God/Christ out there for all who are not saved to know the Love and Grace that I have found. I want others to live with Joy. I want to teach others that there is more to life then just problems and the day to day stuff that we must go through. There is a God who loves us, cares for us and just wants to have a one on one relationship and help us to be in the place that he has destined for each of us.

My prayer for you all is that when you are serving or volunteering in the kingdom weather at the church, nursing home, or even going that extra un-paid mile at your work that you do. Do it with the heart of God and as a good friend always says “Do It Unto The Lord”

But remember this much.. If I have to check myself after 3 years of ministry and volunteering.. make sure you check your motives once and a while too. You would be amazed at what you find and what needs to be cleaned out.. Get rid of all those roots not just the bad fruit.. but that is an entry for another day LOL

Be Blessed!

Your Destiny, It Comes in Stages

Hello,

Today I just read an amazing post by my mentor and friend and it reminded me that we cannot sit back and let God do all the work when it comes to God given destiny. We must work for it. God already has a place for us we just have to work for it. I love what he said “What are you willing to do to see you vision fulfilled?  What are you willing to sacrifice?  How long are you willing to pray?  How much are willing to submit?  How much money will you give?  For your destiny to be fulfilled you MUST fight!” I have been getting up early and praying now for close to two months and then I got the flu (see other entries) and then BLAM! This week has been hard (see last entry) 

But there is one thing I have learned since coming into my destiny is that is does not come all at once. It comes in stages. If you know me then you know the stages and seasons I have gone through in the last two + years. I have had to give more and more of myself to the Lord to see his Kingdom Purpose for my life full filled. 

Even my prayer life has had to change with the seasons.. When I came to the church in 2006 doing a daily devotional was hard.. but then that got to easy and it was on to 1hr of prayer a day, then two, then more.. I remember my first prayer of what I think was the prayer of petition.

embassy | this generation (formerly youth and young adults as Embassy Student Ministries) was in need of a computer to do the worship slides (in the family centre) we had an old 486 IBM Think Pad laptop and a copy of Microsoft Power Point.. what a job that was to keep things going and running.. every time you booted up the computer scandisk/chkdsk even if you were to let it finish it would still load it each and every time.. constant viruses, constant having to reboot the system any error you could think of would happen to this computer. So one day I started to pray for us to have a new computer.. I prayed every night for a year and the one day my mentor said to me guess what? We are getting a new computer for the family centre! Now we have a computer that can do more then we expected we have media shout and our slides now look like a million bucks. This computer blows away the old laptop 1000X more then ever before. 

But as I grew in the Lord I started to listen to sermons over and over and over.. I would even go to sleep with them on and let my spirit man take it all in while I was a sleep. I loved just taking them in.. making notes.. following the scriptures and making sure that I understood all that there was to take in on that particular message. I loved it. Some of my favorites at that time were “Seeds of Greatness“, The Repentance Series, Fear and Anxiety Series and many others. At that time we were developing a new website, I was helping out in the Creative Arts Department (sound, recordings, media shout) 

But as time went on I began to serve with My Mentor one day a week and continue to help out on Sundays in the area of Media Shout. It has been now over 2+ years and what have I taken from all of this? What have I learned? I have taken a lot I cannot begin to tell you how much I have learned from my mentor, Pastor Derek, and many others at the church and I am constantly learning. Learning never stops.

Just this past winter I had the pleasure of beginning to take my talents and giftings and serve with Lorna McDougall at Durham House of Prayer and get them started on their own Creative Arts Department. We even started a members own audio blog to host and hold all of the recordings from weekly & all night prayer services. The Lord has also begun at embassy | this generation to give us a team of people who are willing to serve in the area of Creative Arts. This will allow me to step back and move into other areas.

With all that said.. I am just grateful for what the Lord has done with me and what he still is doing and what is to come
Till Next Entry

Random Thoughts 2 of many

Hello,

Tomorrow marks my two weeks since I started on a journey of making purpose time for God.. I make the time because I want nothing more then to get into his presence and nothing more then to know what he wants for my life and not what I want. Life still has its ups and downs and life still throws me a loop once and a while but I have ever been more happier.

I have been blesssed and then some.. I have everything I need, I have all the things my heart could ever want. I love what I do and I love the people that God has placed around me. I am really greatful for my Mentor and Closest of Closest Friend with out him and the people God has placed before me I would never have gotten as far as I did in life. But I cannot forget my family, they stood by me when even when I was not right with God.. even when I was in my period of rebellion. But as my experinces taught me we who are raised in a Christian home always come back to God

During my period of Rebellion God still had people around me praying for me and keeping me surrounded. I never realized what I had till one day I looked in the Mirrior that I had to change.. living with no hope, always in pain, blaming God and just down on myself was not the way to live.. Even my mother told me to wake up and look around.

As I sit here tonight in some pain not being able to tolerate lying in bed.. I know that things will get better, I know that tomarrow is a new day, I know that God has my life in his hand and he will be the one guiding and directing me in everthing that I do. Tomarrow is my long day of Volunteering with my extended family at the church and there is no place (other then home with mom and dad) that I would ever want to be.

Pastor Derek spoke in a sermon called “Seeds of Greatness” that when you find the thing that you want to do the most you don’t care if you ever get paid. Now in this series His Kingdom, Your Purpose Pastor Derek teaches us how to find our place within the Kingdom of God and how to achive what the Lord wants for us in our lives. I know that I found my place and I know that I will excel in it. I always come back to a phrase in my book from John Maxwell and he said “Nobody ever got to the top on their own, We all had help some time or another” This is so true we may have done something on our own in the flesh (like write this entry) but in the spirit as believers we always have a hand helping us along the way, and helping us make the right choises in our lives.

I am thankful everyday that I have weather at home, this generation, DHOP or just down by my computer editing a sermon I know I have a friend and that I am never alone. Now if I could find a good Women things would be 10X as awesome! but in his time.

Till Next Entry

Sacrifice

Hello,

Greetings this early morning.. I thought that I would start my morning devotions with a blog entry seeing has what has transpired over the last week or so.. You see this has been an interesting week for me.. I have had myself knocked down a few notches and realized that there were some things that I had work on and even some things I thought were someone else but turned out to be me.I learned about roots that were still firmly planted from my past that had to be delt with for me to go further in life & ministry.

Now over a week ago after hearing Part 1 of a message by Pastor Derek Schneider on the topic of a Consistent Devotional Life I decided that enough was enough.. This religous attitude that I had in regards to a quick prayer here, read my bible off and on and I am too tired to pray will not cut it any more. I really just wanted to change all of that. In the last few months of 2008 I grew complacent and just thought “Ya, I am a leader there is nothing more I need to work on” Oh baby, bad bad move. Don’t ever get so full of yourself that you ever start to think that.

When you start to think there is nothing you need to change in your life God will start to deal with you. At least for me he started to deal with me.. I started to slip into old habits and started to become the person I thought I had left behind. Even my mentor started to notice that.. I did something last week I had not done in over a year and a half and was not impressed about it. I had enough! I was going to make the decision to change or loose all that I had created in the last 2+ years of ministry and well I love what I do (not who I am) way to much to let that go

So I took a look around.. I rememberd I bought a book on Leardership and started to work on that, but never fully got into it until now.. My closest friends and my extended families at DHOP & This Generation had (and have) begun to help me out and really help work on the person that I am as well as give me guidance in my ministry work.

I learned that we who are leaders before we have submitted ourselves to someone will never understand what the people that we lead are going through. We must learn to be sheep and be under a shepperd before we can be the sheppared with a flock. If we are going to be successful in ministry or in anything we must sacrifice. No one ever got to where they are now alone. We who are leaders are leaders because someone wanted us to succeed. Anyone who ever said I did it all myself is lying. We all had someone help us get to the position that we are in now.We all needed help in some way along the road.

If we can learn to make God Number 1 he will supply all of our needs. God will also send us the people that are needed in the season that we are going through some people he sends may become Good friends and mentors. But we must now sit down and ask ourselves.. what is it that we want out of life? What is our goals?, What is our dreams, what are we willing to sacrifice in our own lives to see the glory of God manifested in us.  There have been many great leaders that just could not handle the attacks that have come on them and their ministries fell. But there have been many that have weathered the storm and become great leaders such as Benny Hinn, Billy Graham and others.

There is a verse in the bible that come to mind from Luke, (Luke 12:48) and the portion of it goes like this …From everyone who has been given much, much will be required and this is so true for us who want to see change in our area of influence, weather you are a pastor, land owner, factory worker or what ever you do you must remember that the more God gives us and shows us the more he will require of us.

I remember this because when I started in Ministry I was just a guy who recorded and streamed our This Generation (Student Ministries) sermons and just marvelled at what others were doing and wanted that. But I had to learn to be faithful in that.. Then when the lord saw that I was faithful in that he moved me up to leader and when I was faithful in that I became assistant to who would become my mentor and friend. Now here I sit.. moving into the next level of my ministry. Can I do it? Can I wather this storm that I am in right now? Can I learn to be diciplined? The answers are always simple but the end result is not.

I have never gone through a season were God was beginning to deal with all of the bad roots in mylife that I thought I  delt with. I have been shown some roots that I never though were messing up my Kingdom Destiny (podcast link) but if I don’t deal with them then what am I? I am the lost sheep that ran astray and the sheppered spent all night looking for me but could not find be because I hid (or at least that is the way I see it)

Well I think that is enough for today.. I am off now.. Have a Blessed Weekend!

Identity

Hello,

As I sit here pondering the things of my life and really being thrilled at the things that happend today I start to re-evaluate what it means to have an identity. As Christians we all should base our identity on that we are a Son or Daughter of Jesus Christ and not on what we do. But the unsaved and even some of us Christians ask the question what do you do? who are you?

Ask yourself this question What do you do? Who are you? I have been putting myself on a schedule the last week of getting up early and starting my day by talking to my Heavenly Father now to unsaved this may seem strange and you may ask the question, why would we want to get up early just to spend time in the presence of a person who to some may not even exist. Us Christians new and long time might ask.. why would you do this.. why not at night

Well for me the answer is simple.. I would rather start my day off on a High Note tell God everything that is on my mind and start the day Fresh.. As a man who has done 2+ years of ministry in many different places you need to be focused on what the Holy Spirit is saying to me and must work according to what he wants for our lives and not what we want. Some times this may be one and the same.. but most times we can stray off the deep end.

I am still after two years trying to keep what I do and who I am seperate, this is not an easy task. Some times we can let our passion consume us and we forget who we really are, a son or daughter of the most high. We must remember that what we do keeps us busy, gives us an income, puts food on the table and provides us (well most of us) with great joy. Who we are is more important then what we do.

The Pastors at my church from the day I met them said to me “We Love You For Who You Are, Not What You Can Do For Us” This is something they tell me to this day and never let me forget it. I beleive this is such a profound statment and if we can remember that God loves us for who we are and not what we do we will all ready be steps further then we have ever been.

I truly have a passion for what I do.. both inside and outside the 4 walls of the church. I never claim to be an expert and I never claim to know it all. I still have things to learn about my passion. I think the biggest lession that I am learning right now is that I must seperate what I do from who I am. We are all human.. we all have a purpose.

My Pastor at embassy | this generation is doing a series called His Kingdom, Your Purpose and what a series I recommend that you take time to listen to it (click the title for the podcast feed) and really hear what he has to say about finding your place in the kingdom. This series really openend my eyes to what I did not know about my place in the kingdom.. I always knew what my purpose was I just did not know how to apply it and this series will really open your eyes.

Just recently after a meeting with my mentor and close friend I really had my eyes opend to things that I still need to change in my life and things I need to work on. Some of these things are not going to be easy and without pain and some of these things are going to be quick and painless. But I want to be the person who God created me to be.

I will tell you this much.. My old blog www.geeks4god.web44.net is still around but is now going to be just a fun blog about things I find on the internet, things I want to share, and all around neat things on the internet. Why would you start a second blog? and why would you want to do this? well thank you for asking.

I can tell you this much.. and I just learned this today, what ever nicknames or personas you give yourself such as Geek 4 God, PR, MJSD, Opti Bob etc. people will only see you as far as your name precives who you are. I always called myself the Geek 4 God because I wanted to put a posative spin on that work “Geek” but as I delved deeper into things I began to realize that this was fruit of a root that was not delt with and as of today (mark it on your calendar) I AM NO LONGER THE GEEK 4 GOD!.. I am Matthew Dykstra a son of the most high.. If I ever get off my path and start calling myself that I want you to push me back on the streight and narrow.

As of todayif I never ever again update my other blog (stated above) I don’t care.. if they delete it because of inactivity then so be it. Today I bring over all of the important entries that acutally have some meaning and really will I hope teach people something about who they are and that God loves them for them alone not what they do.  So from now on please check me out at this blog address www.matthewdykstra.site90.com and my rss feed feeds.feedburner.com/MatthewDykstra/

I pray that as I write things that are on my mind, that you will be blessed by them, and if you want to look me up I am on Facebook please come and find me and say hello, there you will find tons of my previous blogs and their entries.

That is all for today
Be Blessed!