Suemitch's blog

2011-11-03T19:15:00.002Z

I don't believe

2010-08-09T06:29:00.002+01:00

I'm getting increasingly frustrated!

I don't believe in the God I have faith in.

I have faith in a God who heals, yet I don't believe he'll do it.

I have faith in a God who can use me, yet I don't believe he'll do it.

I've heard stories of churches in foreign lands where the people believe in a child-like manner. What is said in the Bible is true, therefore it applies to them. Churches where all new believers are healed of vision problems and no longer need their glasses. Yet in the UK, wearing glasses is seen as normal so we don't even think to ask God for healing of our eyesight. Our expectations about what is normal in life outweighs our expectations of what God can do for us. There are churches where there has been healing of tooth cavities! We have dentists to fill our teeth so we don't expect God to heal our dental problems.

I'm aching! But it's just my age. My eyesight is getting worse each year, but it's just my age.

I have friends suffering from severe migraines. Nothing has cured them. They're even having to try medication which has not yet been accepted in the UK! Is this what God wants? For us to be guinea pigs for a cure? We accept our ailments. We pray that God will heal us, but in reality we don't really believe he will.

I want to believe in the God I have faith in!

I want to KNOW my God, to experience him in my life and to let others see how amazing, loving and miraculous he is!

Witnesses

2010-06-08T07:10:00.004+01:00

John 1: 4 - 9

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

I'm being struck, time and time again at the moment, by the necessity for our role as witnesses. John took his role seriously, he was a full time evangelist telling people about the need to repent and follow God.

It's not feasible that every Christian gives up work and spends all their days out on the streets witnessing. It is feasible that every Christian has a living testimony of what God is doing in their lives and that they talk about it every day.

I was challenged a couple of years ago by a talk I heard. A comment about people who recall what God did in their lives many years ago. Our testimony needs to be current. We need to be aware of what God is doing day to day. Not only the big miracles but the small ways that God touches our lives. The peace He gives in a difficult situation, the speed with which events occur, the friends He places around us, the joy that sings in our hearts despite a sorrow that invades.

Big miracles have their place. They are awesome to recount. If we are to be witnesses for God to ordinary people, to point them to a loving Father, we need to be able to tell them about our everyday lives and the affect He has on them. Sometimes we don't need to verbally tell them. Sometimes our friends know a difficult situation we are going through but they see a strength in us which amazes them. When they ask, we need to be ready with the answer that God is our strength. We must never be ashamed to be a witness for all that God is doing!

2010-05-30T08:20:00.004+01:00

John 1: 1 - 5

In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.
⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created
and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Jesus brings light to everyone. We hear amazing stories of people living in isolated places who have never heard of Jesus yet they have encounters with Him and become believers. His light shining brings about change in people. His light shining cannot be extinguished or understand or overpowered. Different bible versions use these different words, but what if the original word meant all three? I'm not a scholar, so I prefer to just use the internet to compare the different versions, it widens perspective.

In our lives we can choose to follow the light or ignore it. We can choose to let it bring life in all it's fullness or just live an existence on this planet. We can choose.

From my own personal experience, I much prefer living when I allow God to be in my life than the times when I've ignored Him and gone my own way. Life with Light is much brighter. We can see more clearly and enjoy life so much more!

Where is He?

2010-05-28T06:35:00.005+01:00

I haven't blogged for a very long time but two things I know: God wants to me to read His Word and He wants me to blog. Now please don't think I haven't read His Word since 2008, the two aren't mutually inclusive. I just find that when God speaks to me I want to share it, but I've been lazy at doing so. It's also very easy to read God's word without allowing Him to speak through it. Some of you will read this, skim over it and not give it a second thought, others will read it and agree or disagree, a few may even read it and allow the words to make you think. I want to read God's word and learn. I want to read God's word and it make me think. I want to read God's word and it excite me! When that happens, I want to share those things with others. I want to use this blog to that end.

So what has God been saying to me?

Read my Word. That's fine, but it's a big book and I've made the excuse of not knowing where to start. The beginning is not always the best place. In reality it's easy to find out what to read. If God's told me to read His word, then He knows where He wants me to read and if I ask Him, He'll tell me. Guess what? When I asked Him, He told me. John.

So this morning I took myself into a quiet place. I asked God to show me something new. The problem with John is that most of us know it too well and it's so easy to read it without reading it! I sat down expecting to read most of chapter 1, but in truth, verse 1 was sufficient. ( I read New Living Translation, if I read something different, I'll let you know). So without further preamble, here goes:

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God and the Word was God.
(John1:1)

As humans we need to compartmentalise things and God is no exception. I've always wondered where He is. Where is He? How could He exist before anything else existed? When did He start? By trying to answer these questions we're trying to humanise Him, or even to make Him like everything else around us - a created being. God isn't created, He IS. As He named Himself to Abraham, I AM.

There is no time, or space with God. In our terms He has always existed. We struggle with this because we need a beginning and an end to all things. Everything that is created has a beginning, everything will eventually die and fade away. God does not fall into this category because He is not created. He just IS. He doesn't occupy a particular space, He just IS.

When the Bible talks about "in the beginning" it isn't talking about the beginning of God, it's talking about the beginning of our created universe. God already existed, but not in a physical space or time. He chose to create everything we know, He chose to begin His work.

So now I need to stop imagining God floating around the earth above the atmosphere and allow Him to be who He is. God does not need materials to create something. He does not need time to create it in and He certainly does not need the space in which to do it. God is God, not a human and I need to stop trying to visualise Him and make Him human. I need to stop trying to understand Him. I need to just accept that God IS.

The LORD of Heavens Armies

2008-11-10T05:48:00.002Z

What an amazing title!

I am loved by a God who is Lord of Heavens Armies.

Ephesians 6:12

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Yesterday was difficult. Yet instead of battling against the spiritual forces, I allowed them to ruin my day. Often we fail to acknowledge the work of satan in our lives trying to prevent us from doing God's will. Satan does not have authority in our lives but he does have the ability to mess things up if we allow him. We need to take the authority given to us and use it to reclaim what it rightfully ours as sons of God. We must learn to fight in the heavenlies whilst remembering that God has the victory. The daily battles we face will not have any effect on the battle that has already been won when Christ died for our sins. The daily battles we face will have an effect on our present day lives if we do not live in the power God has given to us.

We have as our Commander in Chief the Holy of Holies, the Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Our daily victories are secure if we put our trust and faith in Him and don't allow satan to rob us of our daily inheritance. When we go in to battle in the spiritual realms we are not fighting alone, but alongside the multitude of God's angels who are under the orders and authority of God. Our victory is assured!

All we need to do when satan attacks is acknowledge the attack and go in to battle with the Lord of Heavens Armies knowing the victory is secure.

Honour God with your sacrifices

2008-11-09T07:13:00.002Z

Malachi 1

6 "A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honour? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?' 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the LORD’s table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favour? says the LORD of hosts.

I was challenged by these verses about my offerings. The offering we should give on a daily basis to God is our worship. Yet how often do I not bother to even give God the time of day? How often do I fail to open my Bible, let alone read it with a view to allowing the Holy Spirit to spend time talking with me?

When I go to church on a Sunday, I love to worship. I love to sing and to be an enthusiastic worshipper. Sadly, I'm easily distracted. I watch others, my mind strays or I just sing because it makes me feel good. My heart and spirit are not always fully engaged. These acts of worship are like the lame and sick animals that were presented for sacrifice.

I've always tried to be punctual and get frustrated if others make me late. I get annoyed inside when people arrive for a meeting after the start time. To me, the meeting start time is when the formal part of the meeting begins, but just as important is the time before when we meet and welcome our friends and catch up on life. Yet many people arrive for church at the start time or later. They chat and go to their seats slowly. The meeting begins late because so few people are ready to begin at the appointed hour.

Isn't this just another form of polluted offerings?

Our corporate time of worship should be as disciplined as our personal time. I show a lack of respect to God when I arrive late or spend time chatting. I show a lack of respect to God when I neglect to read my Bible or talk to him each day.

Father, You are a Holy God and my offerings to you should reflect my love for you. Forgive my lack of respect, forgive my casual attitude to your word. Father, I thank you that you always forgive me when I repent. Your love for me is so immense that you don't condemn my failings when I ask forgiveness, but you open your arms and welcome me with your love. Father, I will make time each day to read your word and to allow you to speak to me. I will begin my day in worship to a holy God who has poured out such love to me. Father, I thank you for your love, your patience and your faithfulness. Amen.

Minor Prophets

2008-11-02T08:29:00.003Z

The other week I was challenged about where I read in the Bible. "Look for the clean pages, the pages that have never been opened."

Now I have many times begun to read the Bible from beginning to end only to give up after a couple of months. I've rarely read as far as Isaiah, and certainly never read the minor prophets! I remember well a series of Bible studies on the book of Amos despite it being over 30 years ago, but the others? I haven't a clue about them.

I'm going to make an effort to read them, starting with the last book of the Old Testament and working forwards. So, hopefully, there will follow a series of thoughts on the minor prophets. They are going to be thoughts, not intellectual study. I won't be looking deeply into meaning, or probably even the history. It's going to be my thoughts about what God is revealing about himself and myself today.

I hope you find them interesting.

Just passing through or enjoying the journey

2008-11-01T05:35:00.002Z

The other day a friend saw an image of me sitting on a fast train. It was an express train, travelling at speed through the countryside without stopping. I was enjoying the journey.

As I've thought about the image over the last couple of days I realised how true it is of my life.

I'm really enjoying it! I long for the day when I will live eternity in God's presence praising him. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying my life.

There are ups and downs, times of trial and joy, but in essence I'm excited by what God is doing in this present age. I'm excited by my life. I know there's a lot more to do and see but for the present time - I love living here and now.

The greatest lie

2008-06-16T21:35:00.003+01:00

I think one of the greatest lies that Satan tells today's christians are that we are not important enough for him to be bothered with us. Satan will do his utmost to prevent us from doing God's will. We need to acknowledge his interest in our lives and come against him with the authority given to us through the blood of Jesus.

I've had a rotten day at work. I've been so near to tears on many occassions and at other times I've succumbed. Satan has robbed me of my joy, peace, self-control and I've let him!

Yes I have the victory, but on a daily basis we all sin. We make mistakes, say wrong things, do wrong things, think wrong things. We go about our daily lives wanting to live God's way yet not asking him whether what we're doing is actually what he wants us to do. We assume that because we're not planning on sinning, what we're doing must be God's will. We have the audacity to assume we know what God wants us to do.

Jesus spent hours every morning in prayer. Now we can assume he was just having a chit chat with his Father, or spending time praising him. But isn't it more likely he was spending that time asking his Father what his will was for that particular day. Seeking information about who he should spend his time with, which relationships he should cultivate, where he should go. He knew when to heal and when to cast out demons. Yet we often just blindly pray for healing without asking God whether a sickness is a sickness which will bring glory to God, or whether it is a sickness brought about by demonic powers.

Satan is determined that we will not have the power and the victory that Jesus had. When we sit passively whilst people around us are crying out for God, when we don't speak up for justice, when we don't speak or pray or heal for fear of what the other person will think, or for fear of failure - then we are listening to satan's lies and not God's truth. When we don't act because of fear, we are sinning.

My bad day has been caused by my own sin. I have wallowed in fear, frustration and anger and it's prevented me from living the victorious life God has planned for me. Instead of allowing the things that have come against me to show God's victory I've allowed them to destroy my day.

I'm glad I've got a heavenly Father who loves me despite my failings. I'm glad I've got a heavenly Father who will forgive me my failings. I'm also glad I'm beginning to acknowledge that when I allow the bad to cause me to be negative then I'm allowing satan to come in to my life and steal what God has given me. My joy, peace, patience, self-control etc have been taken because I've allowed them to be. My repentance will restore God's glory in my life and cause me to worship my awesome heavenly Father.

2008-05-17T19:45:00.002+01:00

I've had one of those annoying days when I've not really felt I've achieved much.

It started early, when I logged on to the net and chatted with my mum in Spain. I told her about my husband, Ian, being ill and she said I needed to get him checked out. Checking out has taken most of the day and resulted in him being admitted to hospital pending further tests. I'm now at home wondering where all the hours have gone, feeling lost because he's miles away in a hospital with no family around him and feeling frustrated because now all I can do is wait for the next batch of tests and their results.

I've done all I can do. Instead of allowing him to sit at home ill, I've dragged him off to get medical advice and I'm relieved that I haven't been wasting their time. The medics are concerned about his welfare too!

If I think about things sensibly, I've done nearly all I can. He's in good hands at the hospital. He's in better hands in God's care. I haven't done ALL I can do, as I still need to be praying. Praying for Ian, for the medics and the staff who are caring for him and praying for his brother when I phone him.

God holds us all when we go to him. He's our strength, our peace and our protector.

He's our creator and he know better than anyone exactly what is wrong with Ian's body and what is required medically to fix it. But my God is a God of miracles and I'm praying Ian will return from hospital without the need for surgery.

Awesome beauty

2008-05-14T22:45:00.002+01:00

I was told the other week that I'm a worshipper. Now, in my eyes, everyone is a worshipper to some extent. In my case I was told that I can look at the beauty of a sunrise and it just causes me to lift my heart in praise and worship.

Well I have to agree! I just love God's awesome creation! The picture on this page was taken one morning as I drove to work. I was stuck behind a bin lorry collecting rubbish and had to stop, so I took out my phone and clicked a couple of pics. (Isn't technology great?)

The beauty of God's creation makes me stop and sing! When I walk on the mountain behind where my mum lives in Spain, I sing praises to God at the top of my voice.

Somewhere in the Bible it says that people cannot help but know God exists. All they have to do is look around at his wonderful creation. (I really must find out the reference and learn it!) To me it's the most obvious reason to believe.

I'm getting so frustrated!

2008-05-13T21:28:00.003+01:00

I'm really being challenged at the moment about living every moment in God's will yet it seems an almost impossible task!

When I'm driving to work, I get frustrated by the drivers who sit close behind me trying to intimidate me into driving faster - and breaking the speed limit. Surely it isn't God's will for me to be frustrated? So I'm not living in his will at those times.

I get annoyed when other people leave my work space a mess for me to return to - I wouldn't leave theirs a mess, so why should they have so little regard for mine? Getting annoyed isn't God's will for my life.

After almost 9 months of no pain, my husband has been suffering a migraine for several days. Now this one is REALLY frustrating me! I know God has healed him. It hurts me to see him suffer, yet I fail to pray with faith for the pain to just miraculously leave his body.

Talking to my son on the way to his life group I mentioned these things. I said I don't believe we should be surprised when God heals, but rather surprised when He doesn't! Could you imagine how surprised Jesus would been if He spoke health in to a life and it didn't happen? And yet we're told we are to do greater things than He did.

I believe we are living in a time when miracles are happening on a daily basis, I'm just not seeing them on a daily basis in my life and I'm getting frustrated!

More than anything, I'm frustrated with myself because I'm not expecting them to happen!

Freedom!

2008-04-04T05:14:00.003+01:00

There's just one word to describe how I feel these days - excited!

God's teaching me so much about living in His freedom, about claiming victory over Satan in my life and about living with God's authority in my life.

God is showing myself and many others the need to be aware of the plans of Satan to prevent us from doing God's will. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Satan will win (he's already lost!), but we often listen to his lies when God gives us a task and so we fail to follow through God's plan. God's ultimate plan will never fail, but we often allow stumbling blocks to prevent us from moving on as quickly as we could.

By recognising our failings and admitting they are sins, we can go to the Father for forgiveness. This then places us into freedom and the release and excitement that comes through repentence is immense! We gain a power to live!

Prayer that releases freedom! What an awesome gift from our heavenly Father!

My Heart's Desires

2008-02-24T21:09:00.002Z

Often when I think of God giving me my heart's desires I imagine the biggies. In reality it's the little things that make life great. The little things that I fail to mention to friends, and sometimes even family, that seem insignificant to anyone but me.

Yet often it is in these things that God shows me how much He loves me. I've been reminded about how special I am to Him twice in a matter of days.

A couple of days ago I mentioned to my husband that I haven't seen my mum for what feels like ages. Last September she underwent major heart surgery and was so ill before the operation that she died on the table BEFORE they began surgery! It took weeks before she was fit enough to return home and she's seen a slow but steady return to health. Mum lives in Spain and so it isn't a simple job for me to just pop over to visit. I came home from work 3 days ago to be greeted by my son telling me to "Phone Nanny, she's coming over to visit." She's only coming over for a long weekend, but it's exciting because 5 months ago it was touch and go whether she would survive, and now she's fit enough to fly over and visit. But it's more exciting because the announcement came after I had expressed a desire to see her before our planned trip in August. God's given me the desire of my heart.

This morning I woke and had a yearning to chat to my son on the Internet. He's recently returned to the French Alps to ski and chef and I miss him when he's not in the UK. I thought about sending him a text message but know that it's expensive to reply and I hadn't had an email from him so felt he probably hadn't found an Internet cafe this year. I didn't mention any of this to anyone. This afternoon whilst on the Internet, Rob suddenly appeared and chatted. He's met up with someone he worked with last year who has a laptop and the guy was giving him to surf time. I was thrilled to be able to chat. I was more thrilled that God had once again given me my desire.

My family is very important to me and I would give them their desires if I believed it would be good for them. God has the same heart for me. These desires were beneficial, not just to me, but to the others invovled too. God has a family heart for His children. I am so thrilled that He loves me so much that he knows my desires, even the ones I don't tell Him about. He knows my desires and it pleases Him to give them to me.

2007-09-04T04:14:00.001+01:00

I've woken in the night singing. Thankfully not out loud! I don't think my husband would have appreciated that!

I can't remember all the words to the song but the main jist is:

You deserve the highest praise
We can give - and more!
Lord we give you our praise,
That's what we came here for.

At present my mum is in hospital in Spain awaiting a heart by-pass operation. Yet we are at peace because we know she is in God's care, as well as the medics.

Despite the seriousness of her condition, the fact remains that God deserves the highest praise. I can thank God that this situation is now, just when we're due to fly over at the weekend for a week. I can thank God that she is in a country that acts swiftly. I can thank God that she is saved and experiencing His peace at this stressful time. I can thank God that he is who he is, he does what he says he will do and he loves us with an immeasurable love.

God deserves the highest praise we can give! And more! I love him!

Coventry

2007-08-03T08:19:00.000+01:00

We moved to Coventry in February and this week took the opportunity of a break from work to visit the city centre and be a tourist.

We wandered in to the centre looking for a place a friend had told us about to eat lunch. On the way we discovered Coventry's first cathedral - destroyed by greedy Henry VIII. My mind became confused because I thought the old cathedral had been destroyed during the war! I remember being taken to the new and old cathedrals as a child and this one didn't fit the bill.

During a delightful lunch sat in the sun I spotted the shape I remembered of the new cathedral building. So, after lunch we set off in the direction and quickly found both the present day cathedral and the bombed cathedral. I was amazed to discover that Coventry has had 3 in it's history!

I wonder if at any time these wonderful and immense buildings have seen spirit filled worship. To imagine a weekly meeting in these places with over 1000 people giving glory to God! What would the acoustics be like?

Woshipping God in an awesome cathedral or worshipping God in a converted cattle shed makes no difference to either God or the worshipper. But sometimes these magnificent buildings can act as a starting place for a pilgrim looking for the answer and finding it in a wonderful loving Father God.

A Servant Heart

2007-06-12T06:33:00.001+01:00

I did a couple of VERY small favours for a friend and colleague yesterday and it got us talking about serving.

I remembered a previous colleague who had done a favour for someone. She had the attitude that now "he owes me." I remember thinking what a sad way to live. Only doing things for others because then you can get something in return.

The example Jesus set us is to be a servant. I love being able to do small things for others. I love helping others at work because it helps to relieve their stressful times. I never do it with an attitude of "now they owe me".

Yesterday my friend said that God will bless me because I have blessed others. Satan whispers in my ear - "so you're only doing things for others to get God's blessings! You're as bad as the others!"

No! I love to serve! It's what I've been created for and when I'm fulfilling my purpose there is a peace and a joy which far outweighs any "pay back" friends or colleagues can offer.

Rooted in the Word

2007-06-05T05:59:00.000+01:00

Searching on Biblegateway.com for references to "The Word", I found 359. 261 were in the Old Testament and the phrase was qualified by "The word of the LORD".

Of the many New Testament references quite a few were references to the parable of the Sower: Matthew 13:1 - 18, Mark 4: 1 - 20, Luke 8: 4 - 18. These 3 accounts of the Parable of the Sower also include Jesus' explanation. The fact that each of these gospel writers included this parable and also the explanation shows the importance of understanding the Word for our lives.

There are many people who hear the Word of God but who fail to acknowledge it in their lives and ignore what they have heard, others who like what they hear but don't allow it to take root (they don't take action to accept the word into their hearts), another group who hear the word and accept it, but don't live by it. They allow the worries or the pleasures of live to dominate their lives and eventually their lives take control, rather than allowing the word to control their lives.

The final group are rooted in the word. For this to happen we need to be reading the Bible and allowing it to feed us daily. I'm still guilty of not doing this. I need to take God's word and allow it to control my life.

Towards the end of May, Steve Peake came over to Coventry to speak on The Word. The golden rule for his family is "Whatever I see in the Word, I will do". They take the promises of God and apply them to their lives. It was a challenging message. I'd always thought that when I read James 1:22

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

The verse referred to doing good works, looking after the poor, loving our neighbours etc. Steve showed me that "Doing the Word" also meant taking hold of God's promises and applying them to our lives. In order to live by God's promises we need to make every effort to read the Bible; when we find promises applicable to our circumstances, hold on to them; learn promises by heart in order that they can be recalled when problems arise.

God's word needs to be the foundation of our existance. It not only tells us how to live but also gives us the strength and ability to live. This is not a life of obedience to a list of rules as in the Old Testament, but a life of freedom.

Spending time with God is the best part of our lives, spending time in God's word is the doorway to God's presence. In the words of Matthew Ling - "The word is a dynamic place to meet with God".

City Gates

2007-06-04T07:04:00.000+01:00

Just over a week ago, we heard about gates being the way into the city. In Nehemiah, a long list of people who worked together to rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem was given. The list included the name of the main man and the section of wall he rebuilt or the gate he rebuilt.

The text was used to challenge each of us on the different places that God has given us to work. For me personally, I was challenged by the Old Gate. Now I may be feeling old when everyone lovingly calls me Grandma (my daughter has recently given birth to my first grandchild), but it isn't an age thing.

The Old Gate was rebuilt by Joiada whose name means The Lord Knows. We were told that God knows the work we have done in the past and it was not in vain. The gate was also rebuilt by a guy called Meshullan, whose name means ally. God will be our ally if we go back and restart the work with His favour.

For me, this meant restarting the blog. I'm not sure if I've touched any lives by what I wrote in the past, but I believe my written thoughts will be a blessing as people touch base with the blog at some point in their lives. I will probably never know who or how this blog has helped them enter God's city, or even re-enter. I just know that God wants me to use it for his purpose.

Now I'd said I'd be talking about this week's word and yes there is a link. The next discipleship point was that Jesus called and the disciples responded. By writing this blog, I'm responding to the call of Jesus. It may seem a trivial way of touching lives, a safe haven as I don't meet face to face. But I believe that sharing my faith through this media will strengthen my ability to share my faith face to face as well as touching lives anywhere in the world.

Never Understimate God

2007-06-04T03:49:00.000+01:00

I copied this from a diet web site I'm a member of:

Dwight Nelson recently told a story about the pastor of his church.He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc. The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, thetree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went "boing!" and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten. So he prayed, "Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping," and went on about his business.A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food. This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, "Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?"She replied, "You won't believe this," and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, "Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it." She told the pastor, "I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her."Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor!!

I found this on a "get motivated" forum. I've been "trying" to lose weight for too long, but never really have the motivation. I'm officially "obese" and really need to lose weight, but I love my food too much. It's so easy to forget that God is interested in the trivia of our lives, which includes our eating habits. I've just realised that if I need to find the motivation for anything in my life, who better to turn to for strength, encouragement and support than my best friend, my father and what better counsellor and advisor can I need?

Discipleship

2007-06-03T21:16:00.000+01:00

Today we were looking at discipleship and hearing that the word disciple is one of the most frequently used words used to describe Christians in the New Testament. The word Christian only actually occurs twice.

The first point of the meeting was that the disciples "came to Jesus"

Matt 5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

Jesus walked away from the crowd but the disciples chose to follow after him. We make a conscious decision when we become Christians and we continue each day to make the decision - do I follow Jesus, or do I go my own way?

As Christians we should stand out as people who are obedient to the word of God, our daily lives should show that we are following Jesus in everything we do.

On my return to teaching I'm now working at a school 25 minutes drive away. During the journey I play praise cds which encourage a conversation between myself and my maker, my saviour and my guide. On non school days I rarely take the time to tune my life in to a conscious decision to follow Jesus that day. I'm hoping that by reflecting on my "Sunday notes" each day I will find a means to daily decide to follow the life that Jesus has for me.

New decision

2007-06-03T21:01:00.000+01:00

I've decided to use my blog to help me to do something I've been meaning to do for years.

Each Sunday I conscientiously take notes in the meeting. I then close my notebook and never refer to them again. I've been prompted many times to make use of the notes during the week for my quiet times. Another rare thing!

Having also been prompted to return to blogging, I've decided to combine all three. I'll use my notes to meditate on during a quiet time of study and reflection and then I'll log my notes in the blog.

Now this becomes a scary thing to publish! Blogging will become my record and anyone who reads it regularly can challenge me about my times of reflection (or lack of them..).

I will add that they will be personal to me, that is that they will be a logging of what I believe the Holy Spirit is saying to me. They will not be comments which are applicable to everyone, but a personal logging of thoughts concerning my life and faith.

We'll see what follows....

Busy week

2007-06-01T07:37:00.000+01:00

There's something about a Bank Holiday which leads people in the UK to do DIY. It's reportedly the time when there are more serious accidents in the home than at any other time.

Well Ian and I have been busy working on our kitchen and it's beginning to look fantastic!

When we bought our last house, we spent about 3 years completing our kitchen. We had fantastic large units, a good layout and an awesome, black granite/composite sink. It was my biggest reason for not wanting to leave! I joked from the day we fitted the sink that when we moved I'd take the sink with me.

Our new home did NOT have a good kitchen. The design was ok, but there was an area which I felt was wasted space. Soon after moving in my dad generously gave me a financial gift to "do those jobs you need to do after you've moved into a new property." We redesigned the kitchen and then went shopping for units and bought the same as previously - well we loved them! We did look at others but none pleased us as much. As for the kitchen sink? Well we've almost got the same one... This time we've gone for a full sink, rather than a bowl and a half. I've got a large wok and it won't fit in the dishwasher and wouldn't fit in the previous sink. Now having a large bowl I have somewhere to wash my wok!

Rob, my eldest son, worked hard over the last bank holiday weekend stripping out half the kitchen and replacing it with the new units. This week, we've had a friend around to do the professional part of the plumbing and a bit of rewiring and the carpentry side of the worktop cutting. Yesterday, Ian and I spent the day doing the finishing touches to the final units.

There's still the decorative part to do, the flooring, tiling and a bit of painting but apart from that it's a fully functional, working kitchen which is perfect!

One of my favourite promises of God comes from Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

One of the desires of my heart was not to lose my kitchen! God, as a loving father, used my earthly father to allow me to "keep" my kitchen after we'd moved house.

God cares for the little things, the insignificant things as well as the important things in our lives. He designed us to have abundant life, a life of fullness and joy. What appears to some as unimportant can be important to others and God knows what is important to each of us.

When Ian and I were first challenged to move house we thought we would be movin north of our home in Nuneaton. A couple of months later and we realised we were to move south to a city we were dreading living in.

Since the move I've not stopped thanking God! I love this place! I love the area, the house and the accessibility to everything we need for living. Now I can add to my list of thanks the return of my kitchen sink! and thankfully - no injuries!

Challenged!

2007-05-27T08:22:00.000+01:00

I received an email today from someone who has read my blog. They asked why I hadn't blogged since Auust 2007.

I guess if I'm honest it's because I was in a bit of a stalemate. I won't lie and pretend I'm going on with God so rather than tell the truth about life I just kept quiet.

God has been challenging me recently to start writing again and the email has given me the extra push.

I've recently returned to teaching after an 18 month break due to stress. I know I'm doing God's will by returning and I am thoroughly enjoying being back in the classroom. By the end of the first week the school, through both staff and pupils, was giving me very positive feedback about my work and I'm extending my temporary contract till Christmas.

We finally moved house in February of this year and God has really blessed us with our new home. Ian and I dreaded the idea of moving to Coventry, but we are both so much happier here than where we were previously. God's peace is truly on this house!

If I don't blog again for a while - someone give me a nudge!

May today be a day of God's blessings for each one of us!

Getting Changed

2006-08-16T06:40:00.000+01:00

Ephesians 4 : 17 - 24 tells us to put off our old selves, the way we think and act, and take on our new selves.

When the Holy Spirit enters our lives he enables us to change how we are. Not who we are, but how we react, how we think, how we interact with others.

The problem is, this isn't some instantaneous result of becoming a Christian. This is a conscious act we need to make. It's a daily, if not moment by moment, decision we need to make if we are to be effective for God.

The other day someone said something to me at work and I had to struggle with how my mind dealt with the comment. Eventually, after asking God to help, I viewed the comment from a totally different perspective and saw it as an opportunity not a threat.

This "new attitude of mind" that Paul talks about requires practice, daily decisions to do things God's way. We don't do this in weakness but, because Jesus lives in us, His Holy Spirit gives us the power and authority to live as God desires.

I've got a challenging day today - I'm going over to visit one of our customers with the MD. I've never done anything like this before and naturally I'm scared, unprepared and worried I'll let the side down. I thought I was just going to be sitting there looking efficient (hopefully) but yesterday the boss told me I'd be taking the lead at some point! Mega scarey! I've prayed, I've prepared and now I feel ready. I could still let the side down, but I know I won't let God down if I allow Him to guide me through the process.

If God has placed me in this job, he's placed me in this position today and it won't be to fail but to succeed! I know I can do this, I just have to put off my old self of condemnation and put on my new self as a child of the Living God. Whatever the company implications of today's visit, my role is to glorify God in everything I do and say. What a great opportunity!

Mimics

2006-08-14T06:27:00.000+01:00

Eph 5:1

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.

How many of us have watched children grow and develop. It appears they develop their own personality, their own way of doing things. In many ways, each of us is unique. Yet each of us are imitators of those closest to us - for many - our parents.

10 years ago I visited my sister in Australia. She'd lived there for 10 years and had had little close contact with us for several years before. Mum surprised us with a visit part way through and one night we went out for a meal. Liz and Mum sat side by side and it was startling how similar they were. I'm not just meaning their appearance (although mum's hair was grey :-) ), it was their mannerisms.

We pick up little nuances, such as posture, fidgets, facial expressions etc without realising we're doing it. We pick up phrases and ideals without realising we're doing it. How many times as a child/teenager did I hear my mum say things which annoyed me and yet those very words and tones I use with my own children these days.

God wants us, as His children, to mimic Him. It's a bit hard just through reading a lot of Laws to know the Father - although King David's love for his Father enabled Him to know Him. God helped us by sending His Son, Jesus, as an example of how his Law is to be lived. What it means to live the way God intended us to live.

How often have young people been told "What would Jesus say if he saw you doing that???" When really they should be encouraged to think "What would Jesus DO in this situation?"

We need to be imitators of the perfect example. We need to be reading God's word, along with spending time with Him each day. That way, it's so much easier to become an imitator. We cannot imitate someone we don't know. We need to get to know God intimately if we are to have any hope of imitating Him like a child imitates his parents.

Ephesians

2006-08-13T08:50:00.000+01:00

For the past week I've been going through Ephesians as part of my daily readings. I've been meaning to write about what I've been learning/what God is saying to me etc, but I haven't had the time in the mornings and I've forgotten what I wanted to write by the evening. (ooh that implies I've forgotten what God had said to me!) Anyway, here's today's thoughts from Ephesians 2: 1- 9

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions

—it is by grace you have been saved.

God chose to love me. His love for me is not conditional on my loving Him. His love for me is not conditional on my obeying Him. His love for me is not conditional on the work I do for Him. His love for me is not conditional on the work I do for Him.

God's love for me is a gift, freely given, that I may enjoy life, that I may propser and that I may life a life so full that I can only praise Him for his love and for all that I have.

Yes, there are conditions for following Him, but there are no conditions to receiving His love or for remaining loved.

His love is a gift He will never take away from me.

Romans 12

2006-07-19T21:05:00.000+01:00

Romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,

to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,

holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

I find this quite an intriguing verse. What does God mean by my offering my body as a living sacrifice?

At present I am "morbidly obese". Now to look at me, I have to admit I am overweight. But sadly our culture has so many oveweight people that we no longer recognise those who's lives may be in some health danger.

Two weeks ago, Ian and I joined Weightwatchers. My target at the moment is to weigh less than he does! But it's a tough struggle when he loses twice as much as me each week!

I looked at this verse and wondered about how to present my body as a living sacrifice. Now I may be wrong here, but my thoughts came up with 3 areas.

First My body must be healthy. To be healthy I need to be eating correctly and exercising. I really can't believe I added the second part! I need to make sure I am not being tempted to eat junk food, chocolate, fatty foods etc but instead I should eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, fibre etc. (The exercise bit I'll think about later!)

Secondly Greed! it's all very well eating healthy food, but even too much of it will cause obesity! The idea is to stop when you begin to feel full and not continue until the plate is cleared or you are stuffed! This is a tough one if you've been brought up to always clear your plate "think of the starving children in India". The solution is to cook less and put less on your plate. I've started putting bigger helpings on Ian's plate and half as much on mine! Sadly he still lost more than me this week!

Third Appropriate appearance! Away from the food aspect is appearance. People make their assumptions about us from how we initially appear. it's important to always look our best whilst taking into consideration the place we are and the purpose for our being there. A ball gown is not appropriate for a camping holiday and shorts and t-shirts are not appropriate for office work. I've always tried to think that the best way to dress is fashionable but not trendy. Our clothes need to be clean, well cared for and sensible. Inappropriate dress can hinder how others view us and therefore affect the the way others view Jesus.

Before presenting herself to the King, Queen Esther spent 3 days fasting and praying before she entered the throne room. She spent time preparing herself with perfumes and ensuring she looked her very best.

Each day, we seek an audience with the King of kings. Shouldn't we take just as much care of how we look?

I'm still stuck on how this "taking care of my body" is an act of spiritual worship, but I know that today, whenever I was tempted by the vending machine at work, the act of giving my body as a living sacrifice kept me away.

The weight loss will be a long slow process, but hopefully with God's help this time I will succeed!

Time

2006-07-19T20:53:00.000+01:00

I've now twice begun reading a book. Both times I haven't got beyond the first chapter. Last time, the time wasn't right. This time, it's because there's a lot to think about.

The book is geared at the busy woman. Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George.

It begins by stressing that if we give time to God, spending time in his word, we will gain more time to accomplish the tasks he sets before us each day.

Three simple steps

1. Give time to God

2. Make it the first thing each morning.

3. Do it early each day.

Our ritual in the morning is for the alarm to go off, and whilst I wake slowly Ian goes off for his shower. After a real struggle to stir this morning I reached for my bible. I have to admit this is the first time for a long time I've reached for it early in the day!

I hadn't a clue where to start, so I asked God and he directed me to Romans 12.

The words I read there have kept me strong today.

I've always found that when I give God the first time of each day, my life seems to fall into place better. Things may go wrong, but by giving God some time to talk to me, I find I am better equipped for the day.

So, for now, it's early time first thing for me.

Captivating

2006-06-27T13:22:00.000+01:00

I've been captivated by the love of Jesus since reading Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge. I was amazed at how long it took me to read through this book. It's only 200 pages and with a week avoiding the burning spanish sun, I had plenty of time to read. But this is a book that requires thoughtful reading if it is to be effective in your life.

I'd better add, this is a book for women. When read by a man, it will provide insight into his loved one but it's main aim is at the heart of a woman's soul.

I've found that in the past couple of days I've found it so much easier to see myself as being truly loved by Jesus. I've always accepted that his love for me led him to the cross. But I've seen it as a love which will bring me into God's presence.

Now I see it as so much more. Jesus pursued me. I didn't find him, he chose me. He chose me because he desired me to be his loved one and to enter into an intimate relationship with him that extends to so much more than just being a person who can stand in the throne room of the Almighty God.

I guess I've always seen myself as one of the courtiers in the crowd of a royal throne room, but Jesus sees me as so much more.

Whilst away

2006-06-25T07:25:00.000+01:00

I had a worrying email from my daughter yesterday. It informed me that something terrible had happened but not to worry!

Why do we say that? The natural reaction is always to imagine the worst. In this case, I hadn't imagined the worst. But almost the worst the happened!

On Thursday night our home was burgled. Not much was taken, but it's an awful thought that someone has been in your house whilst you sleep. Sadly, it was the boys who were home when the burglary happened and they were fearful of telling us.

Rob, in his anger and frustration punched a wall and has badly broken his hand. Thankfully, their immediate reaction on discovery of the theft was to inform the police - and then Rob went to the hospital!

The children are all blaming themselves. I've assured them that there are so many "If only"s that no one person can take the blame. The only people who are guilty are the people who grabbed an opportunity to take another person's property.

Tonight we return home. I told them that the only reason I will be angry is if they have failed to supply Ian and I with milk for breakfast tomorrow! We both leave for work around 7 and will have no chance to purchase any. The burglary is done, they police have been informed, the children now need assurance of safety in their own home, not recriminations.

Special Day

2006-06-23T19:13:00.000+01:00

Today has been a special day. 47 years ago, my mum gave birth to me.

Ian and I have been enjoying the spanish sun and food for the past 5 days and today, after a magnificant 2 hour lunch we returned to mum's.

After a rest (it's amazing how exhausting a big meal can be) we all went down to Mum's pool. Ian and I stood either side of Mum and after 60 years since she became a Christian, mum was finally baptised. It was a special day!

Mum emailed me several months ago to ask if I would baptise her this week and I've been so excited ever since. When I arrived, she hadn't mentioned it since the email but I was determined to do it. I mentioned it to Mum and she suggested today. It appears that her desire hadn't faded. In fact she was excited at the thought that on the day she celebrated giving life to me, I could celebrate bringing her into a new life.

What a fantastic place to be baptised! In your own pool, in the middle of breathtaking spanish beauty!

Great Expectations

2006-05-26T17:11:00.000+01:00

I started a new job last week and spent 1 1/2 days being trained. This week I've been basically on my own. For the first time in my life I've spent a whole week feeling totally lost and hopeless! Usually, after a couple of days I'm beginning to find my way around and understand at least a small portion of what's expected of me. This has not been the case here!

For the past couple of days I've just wanted to get out! A couple of times to even just walking out and not going back!

This morning I asked God to get involved. As I walked out to the car I asked God to help me through the day. I reminded myself of the jobs I hadn't got believing that they were not where God wanted me. Therefore if I got this job, it must be because this is where God does want me!

As I turned on the engine a new song began on the cd player.

Beautiful Lord, wonderful Saviour

I know for sure all of my days are held in Your hand.

Crafted into Your perfect plan.

You gently call me into Your presence

Guiding me by Your Holy Spirit,

Teach me dear Lord.

To live all of my life

through your eyes.

I'm captured by Your holy calling

Set me apart,

I know You're drawing

me to Yourself

Lead me Lord, I pray.

Take me, mold me, use me, fill me,

I give my life to the Potter's hand.

Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me

I give my life, to the Potter's hand.

I left work at the end of the day amazed at the difference I had felt today at work. I began to accept that I was able to do things. I no longer felt like a failing cog in a large engine!

I went over to The King's Lodge and met with a few friends. When I mentioned how my day had been different and told them of my prayer, one man of God said "You know why God answered your prayer? Because you expected him to!"

How often do we pray and not expect God to answer? Yet Jesus said

Mark 11:24

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

I had to admint, that I KNEW God would answer my prayer today.

A simple lesson, yet one I'm sure I will need to keep learning until expecting God to answer my prayers becomes the norm rather than the unusual!

Let's raise our expectations!

A Pure Heart and Joy!

2006-05-25T07:15:00.000+01:00

I've been struck recently by comments about being pure in heart.

Psalm 51:10 - 13 says

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you.

There are 2 things that strike me.

First we need to be seeking God for a pure heart. We cannot be pure on our own. It is only by living God's way and continually acknowledging and accepting our need for forgiveness that we can have a pure heart.

The second has been niggling me for a while and came home more strongly last night. We heard about 2 women who had become Christians at the Alpha course this week. We prayed that their joy would be contagious.

Where's the joy of my salvation?? Why do I no longer live a life that overflows with joy for the salvation I received?

These verses are my prayer for the moment.

Restore to me the joy of my salvation, then I will be enthusiastic about spreading the good news of Jesus and the wonderful things he has done and is doing in my life!

Another new mission field?

2006-05-22T07:00:00.000+01:00

Yesterday we viewed what could be our next new home. It's slightly smaller than our present home but in an area where we believe God is asking us to go.

If our offer is accepted, we then need a buyer for our present property!

God has a lot of changes He is revealing to us at present and it's almost too much to keep up.

I'm just glad He's got everything planned for our good and not to cause us discomfort and pain! Not getting the other jobs left me feeling slightly rejected, but almost immediately came a sense of calm knowing that those were not jobs He had prepared for me.

When we seek God in our decision-making we know all things will work together for good. At times it can still be frustrating and worrying whilst the wait goes on but our Father God tells us not to worry and by leaving things in His hands He will work them out in His time.

I'm so glad I have a hope and a future that is in His hands!

A new Mission Field

2006-05-18T08:05:00.000+01:00

Today is a scary day! Today I begin work in a new place. A different environment. A different type of job.

I know I'll be able to do it, but there is this little niggle of doubt which I need to overcome. The recruitment agency sold me BIG time! I have a feeling I probably added to that at the interview! Now it's time to live up to a good reputation.

What if I fail? What if I'm NOT capable of doing all the things I said I could do? What if I'm not the person I said I was?

Everyone at the King's Lodge exclaimed: Oh fantastic! A new job, a new mission field!

One more thing to worry about?

Confidence blown!

2006-04-21T12:20:00.001+01:00

Over the past couple of weeks several things have hit my confidence. This has caused me to doubt the value of my words and stopped me from putting my thoughts to screen and blogging.

Slowly God has been reminding me of the promises of his word.

Jacqueline and I had spent some time looking at God's promises to us and realising the worth of knowing God's word in order to fight the lies of Satan. God's word is most certainly our strongest weapon against the deceiver. As we read and absorb God's promises to us we realise what a faithful and loving Father we have.

Deut 32:4 states

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

upright and just is he.

All of God's promises to us are true and eternal. We love and worship an unchanging God who is incapable of lying. This gives us a security for living in confidence of who we are.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people belonging to God,

that you may declare the praises of him

who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

(1 Peter 2:9)

We need to be speaking out these words both to ourselves and to others as a statement as confirmation of who we are in order that we build up ourselves and those around us.

Confidence blown!

2006-04-21T12:20:00.000+01:00

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

upright and just is he.

All of God's promises to us are true and eternal. We love and worship an unchanging God who is incapable of lying. This gives us a security for living in confidence of who we are.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood,

a holy nation, a people belonging to God,

that you may declare the praises of him

who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

(1 Peter 2:9)

We need to be speaking out these words both to ourselves and to others as a statement as confirmation of who we are in order that we build up ourselves and those around us.

On the Move

2006-04-01T18:47:00.000+01:00

Today, Ian and I have spent most of the morning and afternoon driving around villages looking for somewhere to live. We're now both settled on a particular village and interstingly found that all the properties available there we liked, yet the dozen we found from elsewhere we didn't like!

Sadly we got home too late to take a call from our own estate agents asking if someone could view. Hopefully they are interested enough to try again tomorrow.

It's a difficult time... do you sit at home all day, not daring to go out in case you miss a call? or do you carry on with normal life and hope potential vendors accept you are busy people?

We're hopeful that God has a good home planned and prepared for us and in return there are good people being prepared to take over our present home.

It's an exciting and interesting time! Added to the trial of job hunting...

I can't wait to see what else God has in store for our lives!

More good food!

2006-03-31T07:54:00.000+01:00

All I ever seem to do is eat!

Last night the ladies from our cell group met up with the ladies from the Coventry church and enjoyed a buffet meal. Sitting around a circular table made it easy to chat with several people and we made sure that we sat by people we didn't know well. Several people took to changing seats when they arrived back with food, which meant that we got a chance to chat with even more people!

It was a good way to get to know the other women and a great ice-breaker for when we next meet!

Good Food, Excellent weekend

2006-03-31T07:41:00.000+01:00

Ian and I had a lovely weekend in the Cotswolds. It's an area of the country I had never visited before and it was really beautiful.

Sadly we had lots of rain and instead of being able to really enjoy the sites we just dashed from shop to shop. As it was our paper wedding anniversary (1st) we'd decided to buy a picture. We saw lots of oil paintings, but I pointed out they were done on canvas and couldn't count. Thankfully we weren't excited about owning any of them anyway.

I was disappointed that most of the local images were of the villages themselves, but Ian and I are landscape lovers. It's a pity when it's such a beautiful area of the country that God's creation isn't more copied onto paper.

I have to admit that we also ate some amazing food! On Saturday night we ate in the hotel where we were staying and on Sunday morning were unable to eat anything other than a slice of toast with our tea or coffee! The Burford Lodge has recently been extensively refurbished and everything about it was excellent!

On our way home we visited an art gallery which had some delightful paintings in that we had viewed on our way down on Saturday. Together we chose a lovely sea scene! A bit odd when we were in the middle of the country, but Ian and I both love sea and sky scapes.

So we came home with our paper anniversary present afterall.

Special Days

2006-03-25T09:33:00.000Z

Ian and are are off for the weekend to a delightful small hotel in the Cotswolds. Tomorrow will be one year since we became man and wife and we're looking forward to some quality time together.

The past 12 months have seen a lot of changes in both our lives and ourselves. God is doing amazing things and we are both aware of the changes he is doing in our lives.

Sadly, or maybe not, I received a letter today saying I hadn't been short-listed for a job I'd applied for. I'm not really upset, as I believe that I would have received an interview if the job was in God's plan. It just leaves that further time of unknowingness lying around.

But I know that my God is a God of love. Oddly enough, today's verse from Is 66:13 on our calender is:

As a mother comforts her child,

so I will comfort you.

God is my rock and my comforter, not only when I worry, but also when I don't know where I'm going.

Today though, I know where I'm going.... away!!!! yeah!!!!

See you all after my return!

The Stirring of the Spirit within me

2006-03-21T15:05:00.001Z

It's been an odd day at work, the phone has been quiet, few people have called in and few have lurked in the reception area.

In place of the distractions has been a compelling desire to read my bible, friend's blogs and listen to a Hillsong's cd.

This afternoon I turned to Psalm 107 and read it through. At present my life is full of changes of direction and the words of this psalm were very reassuring.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say this—

those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands,

from east and west, from north and south.
Some wandered in desert wastelands,

finding no way to a city where they could settle.
They were hungry and thirsty,

and their lives ebbed away.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way

to a city where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

It's great to know that God's love is steadfast. He never changes how he deals with us. We are his redeemed children and we area blessed by his love for us.

I particularly liked verse 7 "He led them straight to a city where they could settle." as Ian and I are in the process of selling our house and moving to a new town/village. We have in our hearts the village he is calling us to, it's interesting how often though the natural way exerts it's power over our search for a new home. We fret and worry about our present house sale going well, that we achieve a good price and then that we find a new home that fits the bill and the bills!

Yet if we trust the love of our steadfast Father, I believe he will lead us straight to the place where we are to settle.

It's an exciting time!

God's People

2006-03-21T09:56:00.000Z

On Sunday our cell group joined with the small congregation in Coventry. We'll be spending the rest of 2006 worshipping each week with this group of people and it was great to have been asked to join them in their pioneering work.

Chris H-H spoke on Sunday about being joined in unity. We've come together to do God's work and it's important that we are able to join as one and not see each group as a seperate group.

Chris mentioned Psalm 133

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!

It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life for evermore.

For me there was no difference between worshipping in the large congregation at Broughton Astley and worshipping with the much smaller group in Coventry. We were united in praise and we received God's blessing!

So I echo David, How good it is when brothers dwell in unity!

God's Peace

2006-03-12T08:32:00.000Z

I've been having a great time working with Youth with a Mission at the King's Lodge the past couple of months! I would love to stay there and work full time!

At present I'm seeking God for where I should be after March and oddly enough I've been in quite a turmoil about staying at the Lodge. Yet on Saturday morning I woke up at peace!

Peace - because I believe God wants me to do what I don't want to do. I've started looking for jobs and saw a couple that interested me, yet the job that fascinates me the most I'm not motivated to apply for and another position which fascinates me less I feel excited about!

Life is full of questions and direction changes, yet with God's help we can find the right path. His plan for our lives is for our good, yet so often we try to make decisions without him.

Right now I want to live totally for God and that means seeking his good and perfect will for my life even if it's not exactly what I want to do. I want to do it because it's God's will.

My mind keeps coming back to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene. He had a choice to cut and run or to go through with his Father's will. In reality, because of his love for his Father and his desire only to please him, Jesus had no choice. The same applies for us. If God asks us to do something we don't want to do, surely if we love him and want to obey him, then in reality, we do must do what he wants.

Word Cloud

2006-03-06T07:57:00.000Z

Chris HH talked about a word cloud on his site the other day and I thought I'd have a go. It's interesting to see what I blog about! It's also interesting to wonder whether my blog is indicative of my everyday life and chat!

Am I being too fussy?

2006-03-01T10:00:00.000Z

My husband has just gone into hospital for a knee operation. When asked his religion, we always say Christian. SO why oh why do they always write C of E?

Am I right to correct them? There are so many things in the Anglican church which I object to, such as the appointment of homosexual leaders, that I really don't like being associated with the Anglican church.

Has anyone got a solution for what they ask to be put on forms when they are completed by a third party?

Quandary

2006-02-22T12:20:00.000Z

I'm sitting at my desk in a quiet reception area reading. The dilemma is - what to read!

I have before me my bible - which I need to spend some time with.

"Is that really you God?" by Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM. An excellent book telling the history and some of the amazing stories behind the group.

"Help! I'm leading part of my cell meeting" - (I've just read the appropriate part for tonight's cell)

and finally, the manual for my new phone! It's amazing, but seems so complicated compared with my old one!

Talking about the new phone - it's my first camera phone. Isn't it just so frustrating when the kids pick it up and quickly perform tasks with something that belongs to you not them? And in order for you to do it, you need to refer to the manual!

Our dog has also learnt to be wary of camera phones. I'm not sure if the kids always use the flash with theirs' indoors, but when I tried to take a pic of my dog this morning, he sat in his basket and turned his head to the wall! He just wouldn't turn around until I'd moved away! He looked like a naughty school boy sitting in the corner but in reality he was a dog with a fear of strong light. Thankfully my phone didn't need the flash and I eventually got a pick of him. Sadly he wasn't looking happy! He had a hangdog expression on his face, probably waiting for something nasty to happen!

When I get the software loaded onto the pc at home, I'll be able to add pics to my blog!

Hidden Depths

2006-02-21T10:50:00.000Z

Yesterday I asked my son to help me dismantle 2 double wardrobes in our bedroom. There was a run of 4 double wardrobes along one wall and we'd decided to remove two from the middle and push the bed back into the gap.

As we pulled the second wardrobe out, my son noticed the carpet was sagging alongside the wall. We pulled the carpet back and discovered that the floor underneath was disintegrating! There appeared to be just an inch thick of plaster or cement, but there was nothing underneath to support the plaster! Previously there had been a fireplace and chimney breast in the room which the previous owners had removed. For some unknown reason, they had just filled in the space left with the plaster although there was no support underneath. They had then proceeded to place two large wardrobes over the weak floor.

As we pulled the carpet back the plaster just crumbled away! We now have a hole 4 foot wide and 3 feet deep in our bedroom floor!

It's really quite scary the bodge up jobs some people leave behind when they sell their homes. I only hope we don't leave an horrendous legacies for future owners of our property!

It's all good fun though! As long as the bed doesn't move in the night and fall down the hole... I'd hate to wake in the dining room!

Forgiveness

2006-02-20T09:04:00.000Z

Yesterday was breakthrough day for me. To be honest, most days are breakthrough days at present.

David spoke on forgiveness and he had hardly started speaking when I knew there was one large area of my life that was causing me to feel bitterness and resentment. Now the person to whom I have these feelings is probably totally unaware of the fact, but the feelings I had were still incredibly strong within me and often caused me to well up with tears.

The amazing thing about God's forgiveness is the way he so gently brings us to an understanding of our wrong doing. Our response then is to either forget it (or at least try to! God's Holy Spirit will keep on convicting us until we repent) or to ask a gracious heavenly Father to forgive us.

Together with some friends, I asked God to forgive me and to give me the strength to forgive this person for the wrong they had done. I accept that he will probably never make up for what he has "stolen" from me, but God will.

Joel 2:24-26

25 "I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—

It's a time of realising that when God repays the things we have lost, he does not repay in the way that we repay, like for like.

Whilst dishing up our evening meal yesterday, my eldest son said.

"I love eating here! Sunday roast in this house is the best there is! Just look at the colour of the vegetables, everything cooked to perfection, all the colour so bright! At xxxx's home, everything is over-cooked, the colour is lost and the flavour is gone."

Now this may seem an odd comment to relay here in the blog. But to me, this was just what I needed! I praised God that he was returning something I thought I had lost. There is a very tenuous link between the person I had to forgive and the comment Rob made, but the link was enough for me to know that God was letting me know he had begun my restoration process.

I cannot thank God enough for all he has done for me, for all he is doing now and for all he has planned for my future.

I know that God is faithful, that all he has planned for me is good. I am excited to place my life in his care and see the great things he has for me!

Encouragement

2006-02-19T08:06:00.000Z

I often wonder why I write this blog. Part of it is to keep a record of my own thoughts, part of it is to be an encouragement to others, a small part is to just cry out when life gets to me.

Initially I used to check daily how many visitors I had to my site. I began to get hung up about how popular I was! These days, I rarely check the statistics. I don't believe my blog will ever attain high popularity and massive daily readership. It's just good to know some people read it. My readership hasn't grown dramatically, and most readers just log in occassionally. The great thing is, the feedback I get from people I know. They all say they find the blog encouraging.

I haven't asked in what way. But I just want to put it on record, for those of you who have told me you find the blog encouraging - THANK YOU!!! Thank you for being an encouragement for me to continue.

Dancing Partners

2006-02-14T19:58:00.000Z

This morning at work, during the intercession time, we were given the illustration that our prayer times are a bit like dancing with a partner. When you first learn you're wooden and give up easily. With practise, things become easier.

When we watch an experienced dancing partnership, we see fluidity of movement and beauty as the pair move in a seemingly effortless way across the dance floor. Others can join them on the dance floor yet although each pair is moving independently of the others, there is no major collision, no bumping and pushing, but again, a seemingly effortless and beautiful movement of bodies.

Our prayer times were described as a dance with the Holy Spirit as our partner. At first it's a new relationship, one which we need to work on. With time and patience we can improve our dancing. The Holy Spirit is a tireless partner, eager to help us learn new things. When we come together with others to pray, it can become like a crowded dance floor where all are dancing to the same tune, all are moving beautifully together, yet independently.

I found the description enlightening and it somehow released me to pray with less fear of what the others around me would think. So often I can be nervous of praying in company. I worry I will fall over my words, stumble around and just generally make a fool of myself. I even sometimes worry that what I say may almost be taken wrongly and it will be theoretically incorrect!!!

Our times of prayer and intercession are times of partnership with the Holy Spirit. Its a time when together we can communicate with our creator. He's not a dance judge, He doesn't condemn us if with pray clumsily. He only cares that we communicate with Him to show our love, our concern, our fears etc.

Dancing alone or dancing with a crowd, prayer is a time for us to express ourselves. We won't crash and destroy the evening for we are dancing with the perfect partner, the Holy Spirit. If we allow Him to guide us and to help us, our times together will become ever more beautiful.

Life Changing Power

2006-02-13T11:37:00.000Z

God's at work in His people!

At present we are seeing lives changed, and people overcoming so much in their lives.

Yesterday we sang Amazing Grace, a powerful song of declaration. The final verse has always talked to me of our time in heaven when we get to spend eternity praising God, but yesterday God spoke to me that we are already in the time of praise.

When we've been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we first begun.

God wanted me to know that

These are your days of praise

These are the days to declare my faithfulness

These are the days to shout for joy.

Don't look to your circumstances.

Don't look at your fears.

Look to me and declare your praise!

Look to me and declare my faithfulness!

For these are your days of praise.

If we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, if we keep our lives Spirit filled, we will see victory in our circumstances.

What is man?

2006-02-08T07:40:00.003Z

Before Christmas, Ian and I were shopping for presents and we were looking at calenders. We found one of those daily pad calenders that has a beautiful image and a bible verse and we keep it beside the computer.

We're going through a bit of a difficult time with the kids right now and this morning I've just come upstairs and torn off yesterday's verse to find these verses from Psalm 8:

3 When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

4 what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

God does care. Not only for me, but also for my children. Our lives are held firmly in His hand and he will see us through this difficult time.

I have a God in whom I trust. A God who is faithful and loving and who I know will provide and care for me.

What is man that He is mindful of him? He is God's creation!

Genesis 1:31 reminds us:

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

and that includes me! He cares for me because He is pleased with the way he created me. That is why he cares for me.

Anointed

2006-02-07T07:55:00.000Z

On Sunday David Lyon spoke powerfully about the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It's left me with much to think about and much to do. God has made us His people for a purpose and that is to do His will. He hasn't left us to work unprepared but He has fully equipped us to do all the things He has ordered for our lives.

The thing that struck me the most was that he has anointed me to do His will. I am set apart for Him and this anointing of His Spirit has given me the same power that Jesus had when he was on earth.

21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.
He anointed us,
22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

I used to think that when Jesus spoke of us doing more amazing things than he did when on earth, that meant we would have Godly power. In a sense it does, but when Jesus walked the earth he walked it as a man with all the limitations that entailed. He possessed no super powers other than those given to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in Him. It's this same Spirit that abides in us and when we live our lives accordingly we can do the same as Jesus. Not in our own strength, but the same way as Jesus did, by allowing the Holy Spirit to flow from within us.

Doubt and Self Worth

2006-02-04T21:42:00.000Z

One of the main reasons I haven't been blogging as much has been the state of my mind over the past few months.

I've been suffering from a grave lack of self worth and this has led me to feel that my thoughts are worthless and therefore not worth posting.

Thankfully, God has me in his hand. His loving kindness is at work and even if I think what I write is waffle, they are my thoughts. I don't need to worry about what others think of my thoughts. If someone disagrees with my words, they are free to respond. If I make a mistake, I am happy to be corrected (But be kind please). If I encourage or excite by what I write, I would love to know as that in turn excites and encourages me.

If my thoughts invoke no response from the reader, then I hope I will continue to blog because for me, the act of putting my thoughts down has been a positive act. By failing to blog, I am only increasing my feelings of failure and worthlessness.

So if you find I have not blogged for a few days, please add a comment to encourage me.

Life is not easy for anyone. We all need encouragement and I pray that at times, my blog will be an encouragement to those who read it.

God's Spirit is at work in this land and I am so glad to be a part of His plan!

New Job Description

2006-02-01T20:07:00.000Z

Today I have been repeatedly introduced as "Sue, our new part-time, temporary receptionist". Everyone was really pleased! The role has been filled by staff and students on a rota basis for a long time and they were all pleased to know that for 3 days a week they will be relieved of the task.

I'm looking forward to being out of the house and meeting new people. I'm looking forward to being with like minded people. I'm looking forward to being where God has placed me, even if only for a short while. I'm looking forward to doing a job where I am appreciated.

It may only be part time, it may only be temporary but the job I'm doing is a vital part of any company and although a lot of admin staff view reception work as menial, it's important and it's always been one I love doing. Often for no other reason than it is a job who's most important task is to smile.

Phrophecy or predicting the future?

2006-01-27T07:27:00.000Z

Rob has returned from France 3 months early. I knew he would be home before the end of his expected time of April but this is because I know my son and I didn't really expect him to last 5 months.

This wasn't a prophetic knowledge, it was just a prediction. I can't see into the future.

Some people are debating the possible sainthood of Judas Iscariot saying it wasn't his fault he betrayed Jesus because there were several prophesies and Jesus himself said that one of the 12 would betray him.

We need to remember that God is outside of time. He existed before time and will exist after time. Our days, years and months are not boundaries for God. Jesus knew Judas would betray him because he had seen in happen. He wasn't making a prediction about something, he was stating a fact of something he had witnessed.

When God gives a prophetic word we need to hold on to the truth of the statement because it will happen, God has already witnessed it. This should give us a security and strength as we go about our lives.

God will fulfill his promises to us. He is unable to lie.

Awesome Night!

2006-01-13T08:57:00.000Z

Awesome God!

Our cell group met last night and although only about half of us were present God didn't stay away!

The main cry of our local church at the moment is about moving and living in the power of the Holy Spirit. Last night was to be a night where we exercised.

Individually, we were asked to say which of the gifts we felt most comfortable in using and then to say which gift we felt we wanted to move in. Everyone else seemed to know where they were and where they wanted to go.

I felt alone.

I speak and sing in tongues but don't feel that these are my giftings for the building up of the church, more that they are the gifts which are for my personal uplifting and strengthening. This is not to say that I don't believe there will be times when God will use me to bring a tongue.

Everyone was very encouraging and spoke of words I had brought in the past to the group, or in Sunday meetings, which they believed where from God. The odd thing is, I thought these were just words of testimony, yet others felt there was a prophetic nature to them. I had never seen them like this and it was very encouraging.

It was good to see that we all were seeking more of God's power in our lives, not for our benefit but for the benefit of others. For some, it was for power to build the church where God has placed us, for others it was for power to impact the lives of those yet to know God. None of us were seeking power for ourselves or for our own personal glorification.

Moving in God's power, using his gifts, is not so that we as individuals can say "hey look at my super gift! See how powerful I am!" God's powerful gifts are for us to use for the benefit of others.

We each need to be seeking God's specific gift for our lives, whilst not ignoring the need for each of the other gifts to be displayed when the Spirit prompts.

This is an exciting time we are moving in. Don't let yourself be left behind!

The perfect job?

2006-01-05T08:50:00.000Z

Whilst looking around a web site today I saw a position vacant for my perfect job. The problem? Well it isn't lack of qualifications or lack of experience, I have both of those. It's unpaid!

Time to seek God!

Who Am I?

2006-01-04T05:49:00.000Z

I'm one of those people who's very negative about myself, very unsure about my skills and very low in self esteem.

When I started this blog it was with the intention of it helping me to become more positive and in some ways I do feel a lot more positive. Yet I know I have a lot more to learn. When I look at myself I see someone who has very little joy for living and I know this is not as it should be.

I feel challenged at the moment to really seek who I am. To find out what it means to be a child of God.

I can rattle off a load of phrases about being a royal priesthood, holy, pure in God's eyes, set free from condemnation, full of the Spirit etc. Yet I believe I need to get to grips with what this really means in my every day practical existance.

Over the coming weeks and months I want to try to formally put down in words a study which will guide me into discovering what it really means to be a child of God.

This year we bought a desk calendar which gives bible verse for each day. Today's comes from Joshua 24:15

But as for me and my household,

we will serve the Lord

This seems as good a place as any to start. I am a servant of the Lord. Now in a practical, everyday sense, what does this mean?

Any suggestions?

The old has gone

2006-01-01T07:09:00.000Z

I lost the last 2 days of last year. I spent them in bed with a migraine! So we missed the party, the fireworks and everything else that goes with seeing in the New Year.

Thankfully, this morning my head is almost normal and I can walk around the house again.

The past year has seen big changes for me. I'm expecting more changes this year as I seek God's will for our lives.

I've now handed in my notice and feel lost as I haven't a clue which direction I should be looking for new work. But I know that I am not alone. I may not know where I am going this year, but God does and I know he is in control. I feel a bit like someone who is walking with an experienced hiker over mountainous terrain. I know I need to get to somewhere, I don't know where somewhere is, or how to get there but I have absolute faith that the leader does. As long as I follow them and don't stray I will arrive safely at the destination.

To me, New Year's Day is nothing special, it's just another day. But at the same time, every day is a special day to seek God's will and begin a new phase of work for Him.

A Quiet Christmas here..

2005-12-28T20:57:00.000Z

We enjoyed a quiet family Christmas, missing Rob. Whilst he enjoyed a far different day in the French Alps!

During the morning, he dressed up as Santa and took a ski lift up the mountain. He then donned his sack and strapped himself onto his snowboard to set off down the mountain with goodies for the children in the chalet. Much to the concern of other children on the nursery slope - Santa fell over!!!! He hurt his coccyx heehee but, with a "HoHoHo" he got up and set off back down the main slope to the chalet. He had just arrived back and sat down surrounded by the children, when his mobile went off! So he joked it was Mrs Claus checking he had arrived safely. He loved the experience!

Sadly the day did not end so well! He ran out of gas during Christmas dinner and spent hours running up and down stairs to another kitchen to try to cook the meal. He was disappointed as it meant he spent less time on presentation than he would usually and so felt he had let the guests down.

I'm looking forward to getting some pics of him as Santa. I'll make sure I post one on here for posterity!

As for me? My worst present was THUD, by Terry Pratchett! It's made me almost a recluse whilst I read it! If I read it in the company of others I keep laughing and sadly if Iread back what has just amused me, it doesn't seem as funny to the listener. So I have to cope with being given strange looks, or becoming a hermit until I've finished the book. I truly love the writings of this author!

It may be Christmas but life goes on..

2005-12-24T08:13:00.000Z

This week I've put in place the next step of my life. On Monday I went into school and handed in my notice. It's been a strange few weeks seeking God's will for our lives. It has been a joint decision with Ian and myself seeking what God wants for our lives. My cessation of teaching does not just affect me but the whole family.

The strange thing is that last night I realised just how much we live in this world, but not of it! Ordinarily people do not leave a job when they have no idea of where or what they are going to do next. Ian and I have considered the financial implications of my not having a job and although we recognise that my salary is vital to our living, we are not concerned about it's loss. We believe that God is in control of this situation and, if anything, we are excited about what he is bringing us into.

David spoke at the carol service last night about the season we are in. Ian and I firmly felt we are at the start of Spring. The old is dying off and under the ground new shoots are coming up. As yet they are not visible, but we have a hope, a firm belief, that they will come through. Soon the reality of new things emerging will be all around us. God has great things planned for our family. This time last year I was single with a new Christian as a partner and no thoughts of getting married. Within 3 months I was married and the strength and security I have received from God's union is awesome.

Now God's plan is moving on. It's an exciting time.

Almost Christmas

2005-12-24T08:00:00.000Z

Tomorrow is Christmas Day.

It will be a little strange knowing that Rob is not with us, but cooking a fantastic Christmas dinner for 14 strangers somewhere in the French Alps. He's having an amazing time over there! He started ski-ing and snow-boarding about 10 days ago and gets a couple of hours in each afternoon. On Christmas Day he gets to dress up as Santa, throw a sack of presents over his back and ski across to the chalet. it seems strange that Rob's doing this seeing as he's the least experienced skier of the staff! We have visions of him ski-ing right past the chalet, not being able to stop, or else crashing into the french windows at the front. Whichever it is, I'm sure everyone will enjoy his arrival!

Back home, we are looking forward to a quiet weekend. We completed all our Christmas shopping on Thursday and have just relaxed since then. The house looks lovely! I'm so pleased with the new carpets and the completed decor. I was more adventurous with my Christmas decorations this year as I had been donated a lot of mum's things when she moved to Spain. It's strange how she considers me to be more creative, yet in this area I tend more to the understatement. Having mum's beautiful welsh dresser in the dining room, I simply remembered how she dressed it and hopefully followed suit. The dining room is now one of the warmest rooms in the house and I'm really looking forward to eating my turkey dinner there.

I wish all my blog readers, both regular and infrequent, a Very Happy Christmas. May you enjoy and relax at this special time and above all, celebrate the greatest gift ever given!

Living with past failures

2005-12-11T16:55:00.000Z

Over the past couple of weeks I've been tackling the issue of whether I need to change my career. I now stand in the knowledge that it is time to move on. Satan has had a field day! He's been whispering in my ear about failure! This is something else I've failed at, something else that I just don't have the bottle to see through!

This morning I went to church knowing that both my peace and joy have been stolen from me! I've been living in the knowledge of who God is, but not accepting what it means to my life.

Roger Aubrey was speaking and very powerfully spoke into many areas of people's lives. For me, it was the word that nothing will seperate me from God, not my present nor my future. He pointed out that the past is not mentioned in Romans 8: 37 as it has already been dealt with. The past has no hold on my life, it cannot dictate how my future will be or even how my present will be.

As a Christian, my sins have been forgiven, the old life no longer has a hold on my present or future. My past mistakes are just that past! They have gone and are no longer to have a hold on my life.

My peace has been restored and now I need to rediscover the joy of being in Christ and being filled with his Holy Spirit. I've felt so low recently as I've gone through this time of searching. This is not how God wants me to seek his will and direction in my life! He wants me to know his joy at all times in my life for what he has done for me and to rest in the security that his plans are for my prosperity and not harm, plans to give me a hope and a future.

I'm getting excited now about what God has in store for me. When chatting to Roger after the meeting he said something about us never knowing in January what December will bring. I recalled that in January I was a single woman with no idea that on March 26th I would be getting married! If such a major change can happen in 3 months of this year, what amazing things has God got in store for me over the next few months??

All I know is, I want to be where God wants me to be! If that means stepping out and facing major changes in my life then I'm prepared to do it. It's a small step compared with the steps Jesus took to bring me into a place where my life is held secure in the loving hands of an all powerful and all mighty God!

Plans and Promises

2005-12-08T07:29:00.000Z

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I've been fretting and worrying about something big recently. Whether or not I'm in the right job, whether or not I'm even in the right career. The part answer appears to be no but whether it's to the first or the latter I'm not sure. I've been putting off making my decision (and to a certain degree still am) because I'm concerned about the pressures I'll put my colleagues under, and about what they will think about me if I quit. I was reminded last night that I need to be concerned about only one person - God.

My decision to stay or to go must be based purely on whether it is God's will that I remain. My decision about when I go should also be based purely on God's will for my life.

My desire is to do the will of God, sometimes it can be so difficult to know exactly what that is.

Be Still and Know

2005-12-05T07:14:00.000Z

I'm trying to study for an Open University course. I have to admit that it isn't going too well. I'm not a single player, I don't work well when I get stuck. My first thought is to quit. I'm someone who needs others around me to get my little grey cells working.

The course is all about how our minds solve geometrical problems, what strategies we use. Now as someone who quits when the going gets tough, this is a bit of a dilemma for me! The interesting thing is that whilst doing the last 2 tasks I have given up each time, then when I just lie back and try to sleep, my mind solves the problems. The truth of the problem comes to me and I'm able to work my way around to the solution.

Sadly, this is not a pedagogic strategy and I don't suppose I can use it as my method for solving these problems! I need to continue to look for the correct learning terms for my assignment.

I do however believe this is a God given strategy!

Psalm 46:10 says:

"Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

God knows there are many times in our lives when it just gets too much for us. He wants to help us to overcome our problems and he's given us the key - Be still and know that I am God. When we sit back and rest in his presence, the worries of the world pale into insignificance. They don't disappear, they are just put into perspective.

Learning to be still in God's presence is something I particularly need at the moment, but it's something I believe we all need to practice everyday.

Arrived!

2005-12-02T16:16:00.000Z

Yesterday Rob arrived at the main resort where he'll be staying for one week's training. Then he spends a further week at the smaller resort where he'll be for the remainder of the 5 months. I haven't had much feedback yet, apart from a few daft texts and the knowledge that French soup and bread are the way forward!

At least he sounds happy and his nerves seem to be settling! This is such an amazing opportunity to experience so many new things! I just wish I could be a fly on the wall to see how he reacts! :-)

Zeal for my House

2005-12-01T08:51:00.000Z

I've found recently that I'm struggling at work with the way children speak to each other and to their elders. There appears to be nothing but hatred and malice in their lives.

I get so angry inside for the way they are and I want to challenge them and change them. But what right do I have? Am I perfect myself? No way! Not by a long way am I any better.

Yes, I do love my God, I do sing praises and worship the God of all creation. But is it having an outward effect on my life? Am I any better than the people I see around me? I don't think so. I'm critical and often condemning. I pass judgement and want punishment for those who misbehave.

Yet one day, I (with everyone else who has ever lived) will face the judgement seat. Being a christian will not save me from judgement! I will be judged according to how I have lived my life in the knowledge that Christ is King over all, in the knowledge that God is an awesome, mighty and holy God! Am I living as though my judgement will come? Is my life an example to others of how to live or am I just judging them? If I really want to change them, I need to follow the example of Jesus and just live my life as an example of how to live in obedience to God. Listening and obeying his word for my life.

GONE

2005-11-30T22:08:00.000Z

Well, I'm home after spending most of the day driving! The weather was good, Thank God! The only problems were on the way home when there were apparently several accidents on the M1 just after we needed to exit the M25, so we took a detour and came home via the A5. Boy, what brilliantly straight roads those Romans built! It took an hour longer to get home, but that included a good 30 min break for food and it was only an extra 10 miles. Well worth the detour if it meant avoiding several tail-backs in the early evening!

I'm now waiting for Rob to text me to let me know if he's been allowed into France. I, erm, washed his passport this morning! It's ok, just a bit worn and tatty, but still legible. I'm justn ot sure if they'll class it as "tampered".

Prayers for a passport?? lol

Night night.. I'm shattered and my eyes are worn out! heehee

(but thank God we've had a good day for driving!)

2005-11-30T10:25:00.000Z

Whilst reading John 2 this morning there was a footnote which took me to the verse in Psalm 69 where it says "zeal for your house will consume me."

I turned to Psalm 69 and so easily managed to see myself in the lines of this psalm. I'm going to admit to the fact I'm struggling at the moment.

14 Rescue me from the mire,

do not let me sink;

deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep waters.

15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

or the depths swallow me up

or the pit close its mouth over me.

This is how I feel at the moment! Yet I will praise my God! Life may be tough, but God is all I need!

29 I am in pain and distress;

may your salvation,

O God, protect me.

30 I will praise God's name in song

and glorify him with thanksgiving.

I am finding that through all that is trying to drag me into the miry depths, nothing is stopping my soul from singing praises to my God! Even when I wake in the night, my soul is not crying in self-pity but is singing praises to my loving Father and my Saviour King!

God is worthy of praise, even when life is tough. Without God, I am nothing. With God, I have all I need to live according to his will. I love an awesome, creative but amazingly loving and caring Father God!

Thank you!!! You are my everything!

Going..

2005-11-29T08:32:00.000Z

Tomorrow, Rob (my eldest son aged 18) sets off for the French Alps for 5 months. It's going to be a totally new experience for him and over the past month, since he got the job, he's been really excited. Yesterday he became quieter. The nerves are beginning to kick in. All the worries and doubts are beginning to surface.

I'm really excited for him! It's a new challenge in his life. A time to learn new skills, meet loads of new people, gain some independance.

He's going to be working as a chalet chef, catering for around 14 guests. He'll be responsible for breakfast and evening meals, even having to shop for the produce. Although there is a menu of what to cook, it's up to him to present it well and produce the food to a high standard. Rob, in the kitchen, is a marvel! It's a natural talent he possesses. Sadly in the past he has failed in his jobs because he gets incredibly nervous when people are standing around watching him. He's convinced they are passing judgement! Now he'll be working independantly he will be able to do what he does best - cook and present food which delights the eye first and then the palette!

Tomorrow I'm driving him down to Dover, so I need prayer for good weather! Rob needs prayer too, he's a very long way from God but I really believe these few months will bring him into contact with other Christians. I pray that they will hear God speak and chat openly to Rob about their faith. This is going to be a time of blessing for him!

All his family will miss him, but knowing he is in God's care gives me peace!

Immediately!

2005-11-28T06:06:00.000Z

Having completed 1 Peter, Jacqueline has agreed to work through John's gospel for our next study. It's a big book, but as usual we will take it in small chunks.

Last night and this morning I've read chapter 1. The thing that hit me is that the 4 disciples who are called all recognised Jesus for exactly who he was... the one spoken of in the prophets, the Son of God, the Messiah. All of them, on hearing his words, immediately obeyed his call on their lives and followed him.

Yesterday, we were honoured at church with the return of our senior elder. Having heard the voice of God telling him to take 40 days off work to seek Himself, David obeyed and has been away from work getting closer to God, listening and obeying. David's message yesterday (at least the one I heard) was about getting intimate with God. We need to be listening to him, hearing his words and obeying them.

The most striking message I got was that we are to live our lives remembering that we are living it with an audience of One. I wrote the phrase down at least 4 times throughout my notes because I considered it to be so important.

Chatting to my son on the journey home, it had obviously hit home to him too. He is so easily led into mischief, if someone tells him to do something, he does it! He's so often in trouble at school for his silly behaviour. He said, next time someone tells him to do something he'll think "Who is watching? Who is the only audience I need to care about?" The Audience of One!

We need to get close to God, to sit and listen, to hear his voice. We need to be obedient to whatever his call is on our lives, either long term, or just for that moment in time. We need to live our lives remembering that there is only one person in the audience!

To the four disciples who heard and obeyed the call of Jesus, from that day forth, there was only One person who mattered to them. They lived for Jesus, some of them later died for Jesus, but to them, there was only one thing they had to consider whenever they made a decision - is this what Jesus has asked me to do?

Hearing?

Obeying?

Living for an Audience of One?

YES!!!

Let us lead a HOLY life!

It's been a long time

2005-11-27T21:06:00.000Z

I've not been feeling too hot the past few days... I guess it shows by the lack of blogging.

Anyway, the great thing is... no matter how bad I feel, God's love for me never cools.

One of the best things about being married is that I now have someone to talk to when I feel low. Someone who will encourage me and stand by me. Now I know I always have God, (even hubby has to go to work and isn't around ALL day!) but somehow, it's more difficult to avoid talking to Ian, or answering his questions.

I don't want to turn a deaf ear to God, but it can be so easy sometimes. Now don't get me wrong, I havent been walking away from him, I just havent been making the effort to give him quality time. I still wake in the night singing his praise. I still love him more than anything else. I've just been too wrapped up in my worries to walk close beside him.

Worship this morning put that right. The opportunity to hand everything over to him. In the past I've said "here Lord, take it all" without actually being specific. This morning I was specific. I named several worries, handing each one individually over to him and receiving the peace which comes from knowing that Father is taking control. This doesn't mean life will become suddenly far less troublesome, just that by placing these things in his hands I have the ability to overcome.

I just cannot get over the fact that I worship an awesome creator God who loves me so much that he sent his Son to die for me. I cannot get over the fact that Jesus loves his Father so much that he lived only to obey him. That Jesus loves me so much that he was willing to live here on earth to give me a demonstration of how to live. I cannot get over the fact that the Holy Spirit is my personal survival kit! He is everything I need to cope with this life. My power and strength, my guide and counsellor, my friend and comforter.

I stand in awe of a mighty God who created me.

I cannot help but praise him, I cannot help but love him!

My Creator

2005-11-17T03:51:00.000Z

Psalm 8 says:

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.
You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

you put everything under his feet:

As I look back over the past year... (I know, I'm a bit premature for the old year reflections) I can see very clearly the path of revelation that God has led me through.

I started the year learning about God's awesomeness. His amazing power, holiness, creativity and love. This led me to look at Jesus and the example he gave me on how to live obedient to God's law. It also reiterated God's incredible love for us that he would sacrifice his only Son to allow me into a relationship with himself. A relationship which is far closer than most of the old Testament guys ever knew! Later, I gained insight into the character and gift of the Holy Spirit. Another example of God's love for us! By giving us his Spirit, we have more power, more awareness, more understanding, more ability to live the way God has created us to live.

The learning has almost taken me back to where I began. Being more aware and familiar with the three persons of the God head, I once again stand in awe of a God who created the heavens, yet who wants me!

Sing a New Song

2005-11-13T16:07:00.000Z

or write a new psalm...

Wherever I go, whatever I do

My lips will proclaim your name!

When I wake in the night

Your name is on my lips.

My soul sings praises to you whilst I sleep.

When I wake your praises are on my lips.

Lord you are great!

I cannot help but proclaim your awesome love for the world.

I love you, I worship you, for you have created me.

I love you, I worship you, for you have redeemed me.

I love you, I worship you, just because of who you are.

Proverbs

2005-11-11T13:54:00.000Z

I've got some bullies in my form. I'm sure all classes have bullies, but it's my job to try to encourage the bullying to stop in my own form.

Yesterday I looked through Proverbs and found a useful verse.

Proverbs 11:17

When you're kind to others, you help yourself;
when you're cruel to others, you hurt yourself.

I asked several members of the class if they were ever bullied. The pleasant students replied they were not bullied. The not so pleasant students replied that they got bullied. The students who are kind receive a pleasanter life at school. Other students don't "get their own back" as there is nothing to get back at.

The students who are nasty, pick on their peers, name call, hit or pick fights all find that the same kind of thing happens to them.

It proved a point.

If you're kind to others, life is pleasanter! If you're nasty to others, they will be nasty in return!

Let's be kind. After all, who wants to be picked on?

I'm a sinner

2005-11-09T06:12:00.000Z

That's something I confessed when I became a christian. It's something I admit to now and again. But in the small hours of the morning, it really hit me how in just one aspect of my life I sin big time!

I've got a large form of 29 kids. Most are ok kids. One is small, uses puppy-dog eyes to look at me. He's quiet in form and in maths and also hard-working. Yet this child I see is not the child others see! In most other lessons he is silly, misbehaving and a nuisance! He often back-chats the teachers and over the last 2 days has had fights three times with other members of the form during a lesson. He has also been reported by prefects for spitting at them and swearing at them when he got told to stop! I had a chat to him yesterday because I want to get to the bottom of why he acts like this. To me, he's a nice kid. I want to help mold his character.

I have another boy in my form. He lies, he stabs girls with pins, he is incapable of speaking the truth to anyone. He has previously accused a teacher of sexual harassment. We have been warned never to be alone with him. I confess that when he's around, my flesh crawls.

In the middle of the night, I was lying awake. I decided to pray for the first boy. I'm concerned for him. I asked the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom and guidance. I added "give me wisdom to deal with the others too". Hasty words! God's Holy Spirit inside me told me to love them!

Ok, I love them. No I don't!!! Most of my form I just have ok feelings towards. A couple, like lad number 2, I really can't be bothered with! The first, I really want to help!

God's word tells me I need to love everyone as God loves them. When I fail to do God's will, I don't just fail to do his will. I sin!

Everytime I don't show God's love to another human being, I'm not being disobedient, I'm sinning!

I have never before realised the immensity of just failing on this one thing.

When I wake up in the morning...

2005-11-08T06:13:00.000Z

I think of you.

I may not be the best at reading my bible every day. I may not be the best at praying. But these days, put me with a crowd of worshippers and I'm lost. Lost in wonder, lost in awe. I cannot help but praise the Holy God who created this world.

I wake in the morning and I'm singing his praises. The busyness of the day envelops me and my singing gets lost amongst the thoughts and pace of what's going on around me. But in reality, it isn't really lost, it's just drowned out by the noise. When I quickly still my mind, the songs are still there.

On Sunday, a problem at home almost caused me to miss getting to church. As the time approached for us to need to leave, my heart was crying out in pain at the thought of not being amongst God's people worshipping him. I was struck by the strength of my emotions. I really wanted to be there! I desired more than anything else to be with God's people worshipping him! As it was, we made it, only a couple of minutes late. The meeting ran to a different format but the worship was amazing. I needed no warming up, I just walked straight in, raised my arms and let my soul sing to my redeemer, my creator, my comforter.

I just want to praise God every minute of every day. I need to learn the skill of not allowing that voice of praise to be drowned out whilst I go about my every day life. My soul's song needs to be heard (by me) through everything I do. Then others will see God's glory through the life I lead.

It's been so long

2005-11-07T19:50:00.000Z

I've not written on here for a while. For the past few weeks I've been letting life get on top of me and I've not felt as though I want to share my thoughts. Yet if I'm honest, my thoughts aren't bad, they just don't seem to be inspiring.

When I began my blog, I didn't intend it to be a source of inspiration for others. My intention was just to put down in words how I felt about my life and the things that affected my life. If I'm finding life tough, I can write it down. If I'm finding life amazing, I can write it down.

So I'm going to try to return to writing down my daily thoughts. Forgive me if they bore you but hopefully there will be times when you find my thoughts useful or inspirational. Whatever effect they have when you read them, please feel free to pass a comment. Argue, agree, laugh or cry, but feel free to join in when the urge takes you!

Too busy?

2005-11-01T20:14:00.000Z

Since our return from Spain, it just seems to have been one thing after another with little time to take breath!

Laura applied for a job and was interviewed whilst we were away. She made such an excellent impression that she has been offered a higher position than the one she applied for! For some time now she's been suffering from low self-esteem, but this has really boosted her again!

Rob was also busy applying for jobs and decided to escape the country! He applied for a few jobs as a chef in ski resort chalets and this morning has received an offer of a job! In just a couple of weeks he will be travelling to the French Alps for 5 months! it will be strange not having him around again!

As for me? Well it's back to school, lessons, planning, a parent's evening for our new year 7s tonight, courses, studying and life!

Escape the the country!

2005-10-22T17:07:00.000+01:00

Here we are, Ian and I, back in Spain for the half term break. After a very early start this morning, all we've been fit for on arrival is eating and sleeping! Mum reminded me earlier that I came over about 4 years ago during the October half-term and it rained for 6 out fo the 7 days! Such rain as Spain hadn not seen for many years! Locals hired taxis to take them to the nearest large town and they stood along the river bank with cameras taking photographs of the water levels!

On arrival the sun was shining today. I'm grateful I've got the break from school to recharge my batteries, I'm just hoping I don't spend my time recharging them by sleeping all day and all night!.

This really is a beautiful country and I love coming here to unwind and relax...

It is well

2005-10-19T07:15:00.000+01:00

I'm finding my job pretty tough at the moment. I've got to the stage where I wonder why I bother. It all seems so pointless, attmepting to teach when I'm being constantly harrassed by groups of 20 - 30 teenagers who just don't want to be there. When I say harrassed, I mean harrassed. I often get pointed personal comments made and I'm finding it tough not to react. Yesterday I snapped! One group of year 11s got the full force of my wrath!

So why do I do my job? Because there is nothing more satisfying than watching someone learn! Sadly those moments appear few and far between!

This morning I've woken up feeling low, yet inside I'm singing... the annoying thing is I can't remember any more than one line!

"It is well, it is well in my soul."

Do I need to sing any more? It is well in my soul! My soul sings to a creator God. My soul can sing in his presence. Singing praises will lift my spirit. God's spirit will bring to my soul the words I need to encourage myself.

So if today all I sing is " It is well in my soul" then that's all I'll sing. For my soul is well! I am a new creation! I am a royal priesthood. Everyday life may be pressing in, but God's kingdom is here with me when I do his will. When I praise him, I do his will!

These are words of encouragement and affirmation of who I am. So to those who want to knock me down, to those who want to see me break, just hear this...

It is well in my soul!

Royal Priesthood

2005-10-17T06:00:00.000+01:00

I'm still slowly working my way through 1 Peter. Partly because there are days when I just don't read it and also partly because I'm just reading such small parts at a time.

Yesterday, Tony Ling was talking about the restoration of God's church. We may not be seeing it here in the UK, but God's church is worldwide and it is growing. God's church is being restored. What we need to be doing is making sure that we are not left behind.

1 Peter 2 4 - 12 talks about us being built together. We are the living stones that are being put in place as God's temple. We are his priesthood, his nation. His sacrifice.

The Jews had different types of sacrifice. We are not the sin sacrifice. That sacrifice has been totally paid through the death of Jesus. He paid the final price for every sin, both past, present and future.

We are the sacrifice of praise. Everything we do is to be a sacrifice of praise that raises glory to God. Our lives should be such that when non-believers look at us, they see the glory of God.

It's hard to make everything we do a pure sacrifice of praise. We so often mess up. But God knows our weaknesses. He knows our human-ness. That's why he hasn't left us on our own. He's given us, not only the gift of a new life, but also the gift of his Holy Spirit that we may have the strength to do God's will. His Holy Spirit within us guides us, speaks to us, counsels us, empowers us.

I've gone through the year getting to know the Trinity but the Holy Spirit seems to be the one who is most difficult to bring into my everyday life. Yet the Holy Spirit is the one who dwells in me.

If I am to be the person God wants me to be, if I am to fulfill his will, I need to daily acknowledge the person of the Holy Spirit and allow him to be my guide and strength for each day, for each action, for each second of my life.

Get to know the Holy Spirit in your life, get filled each day that you may live God's way that the glory of God may fill the place where you are as the life you lead is a sacrifice of praise to the most holy God. Worship the Lamb of God, worship Jesus by the way you live. Let your life be a sacrifice of praise in every moment you live.

It's a tough call, but with God's spirit in us, it isn't impossible!

Awesome Praise

2005-10-16T19:48:00.000+01:00

This morning I awoke still feeling lousy with my cold. In fact, during the night it appeared that the cold had moved down to my chest and I was developing a cough. Now, seeing as I suffer mildly from asthma, this is generally not a good time. I felt that I would need at least one more day off school. I'd need the time to renew the strength so that i can carry out the physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting job of teaching kids aged 11 - 16.

Nothing was going to keep me from going to church though.

We had good worship, we had a good talk by Tony Ling. At the end Tony went very quiet. I was getting a bit worried. He kept repeating "praise and worship, praise and worship". So that's what we did. We entered into a further time of praise and worship, this time, instead of it being led from the front, we were exhorted to just worship God individually. At first the time was a bit strained. We're so unused to worshipping in public without it being led. yet slowly we awoke to the task. For much of the time I just sat and watched the people. My son had brought a non-Christian friend and I wondered what he thought. Then I watched the faces of the worshippers. As the time of worship grew, so their faces changed. You could see them enter God's presence. The initial fears and worries of being led to worship this way was fading as people entered their own place of worship. As I watched, my spirit was stirred. As my spirit was stirred I felt my strength restored. As my strength was restored I was lifted into that awesome place of God's throne room.

This evening, after a restful, but not lazy afternoon, I am feeling as though I just have a few snuffles. I know my strength is renewed. I know I will be in school tomorrow, to serve my God in the place he has put me to impact the lives of those I come into contact with.

Oh, and Matt's friend? Well he was pretty spooked out (his words) by the worship. The woman behind who was singing in some foreign language... the people with their eyes closed and their hands raised... He told Matt that he won't be able to come next week. Then he added, "but I should be able to come the week after"!

God's at work! He's restoring his tent!

Cold

2005-10-15T07:23:00.000+01:00

Why is it that a simple cold can wipe a person out? For the past couple of days I've had a head cold. Yesterday I awoke with no voice, so I stayed at home. It's pretty difficult to teach without a good voice. It's impossible to teach without a brain! Yesterday, that's how I felt. My head was just a fuzzy mess. Everyone time I tried to communicate, it wasn't the lack of a voice giving me problems but the lack of coherant thoughts!

I'm feeling slightly better this morning, at least my voice has almost returned to normal. I'm hoping my brain will function better too!

For the record - God is great! Not because I've got a cold, but because he's my God and I love to worship him!

2005-10-12T07:04:00.000+01:00

Donald Miller in his book "Searching for God know's what" talks about communion. And he said he thought the disciples would be a little perplexed to see us sitting around or lining up to take communion and everything being so quiet and somber. He said he thought the disciples would have a huge cup of wine, and a loaf of bread and sit around and tell Jesus stories.

I thought about that for weeks. We do a once a month service called Encounter and we always take communion and like you, I am always looking for a way to make it fresh and different. This week we had loaves of bread... a lot of bread... and we had big cups of juice... and we sat around and we ate and we remembered Jesus, and we told our Jesus stories. We laughed, we cried, we celebrated. It was an awesome night.

I've copied this from the evotional site I like to peruse. It's a comment made by another reader after reading the blog from October 9th - Communion Tin.

The first thing that hit me was the thought of how the disciples possibly "remembered Jesus" when they took the bread and wine. Were they probably just sitting around sharing a meal and someone suddenly broke the bread and said "remember when Jesus did this? Remember he told us to remember him?"

Did they just sit back and quietly contemplate his death and the new meaning it had brought to their lives? or did they sit and share stories about the things they'd experienced whilst he was with them?

"Remember that day on the hillside when he'd talked for hours and then we realised how hungry everyone was? Remember he told us to share out that little boy's loaves and fish! Boy how stupid we felt! One crumb or two sir?"

"Remember when he sent us, I mean us!!! fishermen!, to go and heal the sick! Go on , admit it. Did you really think you could? But when we took that first step, Wow!! the impact! Not just on the healed, but on us! When we realised the power he had shared with us! I just thrill every time I think of what he does through me!"

"Remember the time when life felt it had fallen apart? Then we realised that he was in control. That he cared so much for us that he had suffered for us. He wants us to remember him, not because he wants us to be sad but because he wants us to know his intimate love!"

It thrills me to think that Jesus didn't just die for my sins! He died to bring me into a place where I could stand in awe and worship the most holy God. Where everyday of my life I can come into his presence and enjoy being with him.

I just want to celebrate the life I have now because of what Jesus has done for me! I want to remember all the amazing things he has done since I gave my life to him!

Check this out

2005-10-09T08:24:00.000+01:00

The other week I did a search on Holy Spirit blogs and I found this site. I'll be adding a link to the site later but this guy alternates from quirky comments on his life to incredibly intense comments about a spirit filled life. He just lives for God and is making incredible use of technology to get into people's lives.

http://www.evotional.com/

Check out Flight Delay Entertainment for quirkiness!

Feeding Time

2005-10-09T07:46:00.000+01:00

Yesterday morning, Ian and I were up early to go to a bible study entitled Bible Overview. One of the things that hit me was a more casual comment about eating. God's word is the Bread of Life. It is meant to sustain us and give us the strength to live, yet how often do we starve ourselves and then binge eat? It's so easy to have a busy day and forget to read. Then when something important is approaching, or when we are energised by God, we binge eat for a while.

In 1 Peter 2:2 It says

Like newborn babies , crave pure spiritual milk,

so that you may grow up in your salvation.

A newborn baby generally drinks 6 feeds a day. It will never miss a meal, it will never snack. A baby naturally knows the importance of regular and substantial meals if it is to grow and develop into adulthood.

In the same way, we need to be eating 6 regular meals a day. It would be fantastic if our lives allowed us the time to sit and eat God's word for half an hour 6 times a day, sadly for the majority of us that is impossible. In my busy day at school, there are sometimes days when I get less than 20 minutes to sit and eat my lunch, and many others of us have similar hectic lives.

But in our busy days, we can still feed on God. We can listen to songs of praise and worship as we work, or as we drive to work. We can dot words of life around us that our eyes may rest on them as we go about our lives. We can chat to God at any time, even whilst walking around a class full of demanding children.

If we retire to bed at the end of the day and realise we haven't touched base once with our creative God, we are starving ourselves and missing out on our chance to grow. Sometimes we only find the time to snack but surely we should be making much more effort to grab a good hearty meal.

Sit down and devour God's word. Enjoy the pleasures of good eating!

Hectic week

2005-10-06T06:00:00.000+01:00

This week we're having lots of little jobs done on the house. It's exciting, every day I come home from work and look to see what's been done. You know all those annoying little jobs that you never really get around to? The ones you put off because you know that although they're simple tasks, they're simple to someone who is experienced and knows what they're doing.

Two weeks ago the shower heating element died! So we've had baths every day since then. Now don't get me wrong, I like nothing better than a leisurely soak in the bath now and again. But these days I really don't have the time to run a bath in the morning, let alone soak in one! Today the shower man comes to fit a new shower! (As well as the handyman continuing with his jobs!)

Change is good, renewing is exciting!

At work, school is busy. We had our annual open evening on Tuesday, which meant smiling at prospective parents and pupils until 9 at night. It appeared to go well in our department and we were surprised that we still had parents visiting the maths department at 9.10pm.

Many other things are happening and I feel as though I'm not getting my job done well, or that I've got the energy to keep going! Yet, yesterday someone commented that I was looking far more relaxed and less stressed at school than I had last term. Now last term, due to staffing, I was on a reduced timetable and only teaching 12 lessons a week. This term I'm teaching 21 lessons! The difference? A Holy Spirit difference.

I'm feeling far more prepared to face my days this term. God is doing amazing things and some of it is being done to me! I'm excited by the strength I'm gaining. I'm feeling so much more secure in God, so much more in awe of him, so much more in love with him. So much more hungry for more!

I may not be witnessing openly, but God's power within me is beginning to change the way I work, the way I react around other staff and around the pupils. People are beginning to notice a change! I know I've felt different. It was encouraging to hear that someone else had noticed a difference too.

The Return of the Prodigal!

2005-10-02T21:44:00.000+01:00

This week my daughter asked if she could join us at church with a friend tonight. She's made friend's with a christian youth worker and together they came with us to the church my youngest son attends on a Sunday evening.

It's been many years since Laura has attended church and although she sat quietly throughout and didn't participate, she afterwards remarked to another friend that she will be coming again - because she knows she needs to!

God is at work in this house. Laura still has a long way to come, but it's good to see she is beginning to recognise the need for God in her life.

Often we give up on our kids, our friends, or even our spouses and parents. But God is at work. This morning I was reminded that God knows my burdens. He knows the people I have a burden for and that he has a burden for them to. I need to hand them over to God and trust him.

Part of tonight's message was that God has a plan for our lives, we need to be patient and let him see it through! Often we look at the situation and try to hurry things up. If we try to take control, to fulfil God's plan before his time, then things are likely to go wrong. In God's time, things work!

Fully Rely On God! That's what we need to do in every aspect of our life! That's what we need to do with all the people we have a burden for! Rely on God to see them through.

Why?

2005-09-29T06:17:00.000+01:00

Some friends of mine are going through a time where their faith could so easily be tested. In fact, a time when many of us around them could start questioning "Why God?"

Through everything that happens to us, God wants us to love him. He will see us through anything and everything that life throws at us. At this time, I know my friends have turned to him for everything they need.

I'm sure most of us are feeling useless at this time, last night I told them that all I could do was pray for them. It made prayer sound such a small thing! Yet prayer is the most powerful and wonderful tool that God has given to us! I don't need to know the details, God knows them! I just need to support my friends, to show my love for them through prayer.

1 Peter 1: 22 says

Now that you have purified yourselves

by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers,

love one another deeply, from the heart.

These people need to know how precious they are to us, how deep our love is for them, how sincere. If ALL we can do is pray, then we can show them love in no greater way than praying! If we don't know what to pray for our friends in need, we pray in tongues letting the Holy Spirit lead our prayers. Our Father in heaven will provide all they need.

I'll go back to verse 13

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled;

set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Chris is revealed.

Our hope is in all that Christ has done for us through his death on the cross. Let us worship God and not question him. Let us be active for him in our support for our friends. Active in prayer.

When God Speaks

2005-09-26T05:57:00.000+01:00

When God has something important to say, he usually says it loud and clear and repeatedly! Yesterday he spoke at least 3 times to me about the same thing.

In the morning, I'd shared about preparing my mind for action. At church a couple of hours later, there was an amazing anointing of God's Holy Spirit amongst the people. We were being to called to not only BE anointed in the Holy Spirit to also to be an anointing to others. To be active for God! In the evening we went over to Coventry to a different church and the call was once again to serve, to be active for God.

In some ways there were 3 messages given, but in others I really felt a sense of God calling me to action. To live the life he has chosen, to be a visible example of God's love. I'm not sure how God wants me to serve him, I only know that by preparing my mind each morning, by living in his kingdom, by seeking him in everything I do, I will learn to hear his voice. If I truly want to serve my Saviour King I will obey his will. For the present, I need to just be the person he created me to be. As I learn to live my life in obedience to him, by honouring him in everything I do, then he will begin to show me what he wants me to do.

One thing I do know for sure. I love God more than anything else. His love is the most precious thing I have and I don't want to allow anything in my life to seperate me from the joy of living in his kingdom. I want to serve my King. I need to listen to his voice, to be prepared and to obey.

Prepare Your Mind!

2005-09-25T07:54:00.000+01:00

1 peter 1 13 - 16 tell us to prepare our minds and be self-controlled.

Last night I was watching The Bourne Supremecy with my son. He'd seen the first film but I hadn't, so I was a bit lost about some of what was happening. The lead man was acting on instinct. He had been well trained, his mind had been prepared to succeed in the tasks set before him. Sadly, (and I don't know how as it was in the first film) he was suffering from limited amnesia and there was a lot in his past which he was incapable of remembering. This meant that although his mind was prepared, he was often mixed up and confused. He didn't know what or why he was reacting the way he was.

Peter calls on us to prepare our minds. We are still living on earth and unless our minds are fully prepared, we are more likely to react in an earthly way instead of a godly way. We need to keep our minds fixed on the things of heaven. We serve a holy God and we cannot expect to come into his presence unless we ourselves are holy.

Peter calls us to be holy in all we do. Unless we prepare our minds for action by reading God's word, by chatting to him, talking to him, and above all, by listening to him, we will not be prepared for the tasks he sets for us.

Time for a bit of honesty? The past couple of days I've slotted in a quick read of my bible at the end of the day when my eyes are tired. Friday I didn't even make that much time! The days when I get up and the first thing I read is God's word, those are the days I know I am prepared for my day ahead. I've often in the past done my quiet time at the end of the day, but I'm finding I am so much more prepared for life when I read in the morning.

Think about it... how often does a general plan his attack at the end of the battle?

Our times with God are our times of preparation! We need to prepare our minds in order than we can face each day. We need to spend time with God in the morning, not in the evening. Don't get me wrong, added time in the evening is excellent. We must get our minds prepared in the morning. Our final thoughts of the day can be a time of reflection and praise but our early morning time is a time to focus and prepare. Just like Jesus did every morning.

A Disappointing Expectation Realised

2005-09-22T06:02:00.002+01:00

This week I'm in the middle of producing an assignment to end my Open University's present course. I've found the course tough going because of the style of presentation in the course text book. Every few comments are interupted by yet another task for me to complete and I have found the flow of the text too severaly interupted to be able to follow the ideas. The assignments have been even more frustrating to complete and I have struggled, not to do the work, but to complete them in the format they have insisted we use.

Next week I begin two more courses. The start of new courses is usually an exciting time. yesterday my course material arrived for the courses but sadly the only difference on one of the courses is that instead of studying algebra, I'll be studying goemetry. I'm greatly disappointed as I know I'm going to have to work harder about being positive about the course, than on the course content.

The course I attended in the summer provided times of reflection on our learning the previous day. One of the things we openly talked about was how the course was giving us, often painful, reminders of what it is like to be a learner.

Looking at my disappointment for the coming months, in a way it must be how many of my pupils feel when I say we're about to study an area of maths they find difficult. Or when I keep badgering them to set work out in a particular way and they want to just jump straight in with an answer.

Having met the authors of these courses in the summer course, I hold them in great respect as people who are not only knowledgeable, but from observing them, also great classroom practitioners. I need to change the way I view the coming months. There will have been great discussion amongst them about not only the course content but also the way it is presented and the best way to enable us as learners to formerly write down our thoughts about our learning.

This is a challenge, not a trial! Although at times it will feel like one. If I go into the coming 12 months with the expectation that I will hate it, I most probably will! Alternatively I can choose to see this experience as more than just a means to an end, but as an opportunity to learn new ways to improve my own skills as a teacher and to extend my learning and understanding of topics which I really enjoy in maths.

Life is full of challenges, it's how we choose to approach those challenges which determines our enjoyment, success and commitment.

Learn to face life's challenges with good expectations and excitement of what is in store. Never predetermine they will be unpleasant and a waste of time. Yes, I'm talking to myself as well!

Testing Faith!

2005-09-21T07:20:00.000+01:00

1 Peter 1: 7

These (trials) have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.

How often do we say "God is testing my faith!". God will not test us! He will not tempt us! Tempting and testing come from Satan. God is incapable of hurting us, it is not in his nature!

Trials in life are not tests of faith! They help us to see that the faith we have is genuine. If our faith is not genuine, we will fall. If our faith in God is genuine, we will survive! Not because we have a strength of character, but because we have a God who holds us strong. We are kept safe in his hands, secure and loved.

When we come through tough times our hearts are full of praise for the love of our God who has held us safe.

So don't see trials as testing, but as a means to demonstrate to yourself that your love of God is genuine. Think of all the tough times David suffered during his life. So many Psalms begin with frustration and panic as he worries about how he will ever get out of whatever trial he is facing. Yet each psalm ends in praise as David acknowledges the awesome majesty of his Lord. His faith was never tested! His faith proved to him that his love of God was genuine and would always keep him safe.

Let the trials you face be an opportunity for you to be reminded that your love of God is genuine and not just superficial.

A Living Hope

2005-09-20T05:47:00.000+01:00

Can you remember a time at school when you were reprimanded for using too many commas and full stops in your work? You then start writing great big long sentances with no commas no breaks you just waffle on and on without any break and the sentance just grows and grows. You feel you're doing a great job that your english is improving! Then later the teacher appears to change her mind. Use them less frequently! You're told not breaking up your work properly! Create sensible sentances!

Life seems to be full of comments which later appear to be contradicted.

As I return to 1 Peter this morning, I come across some amazing comments, all bunched together into one long sentance! I want to break it down into chunks to meditate on but I struggle to find the end of the sentance! Yet when I reach the end of the sentance and glance at the next one... I appear to find a contraction from Peter!

(3) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, (5) who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

(6) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Verses 3 -5 speak of a living hope and God's shield of power keeping us safe until Christ's return, yet verse 6 speaks of the grief of many trials we will face!

If we are protected by God's power, why are we facing trials?

We visited relatives on Saturday. As young people they went to church and had a faith in God which held them fast. Sadly, Shirley's brother died. He was struck down by lightening! Along with her brother, Shirley's faith died. How could a God of love allow such a thing to happen? Especially when we are told that lightening (for insurance purposes) is an act of God!

It's often so hard to understand why God allows all the cruel things of this world to take place. I don't profess to know the answers. I try to live through my faith and accept that for me, my hope is in the future. Whatever I face here on earth will not change my future when Christ comes again. I have a living hope that sustains me. I can say these things, I haven't suffered the way so many have suffered. I really don't know how my faith would stand up if I lived in south USA at present or in the many countries where christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith.

In my faith, I will hold on to my living hope, that through the resurrection of Christ, my Lord, I will come into an inheritance that will never spoil or fade! My hope is not for an easy life on earth, but for an eternity to be spent worshipping God!

I cannot imagine how fantastic that will be. All I have is the knowledge that when I worship God, when I come before him in reverance and awe, there is no greater feeling, no greater time in my life. I am glad that I have Christ Jesus, who has sanctified my life, in order than I am able to enter God's presence for eternity to worship him.

time to meditate

2005-09-19T21:21:00.000+01:00

How often do we read the opening of a letter and just glance at the welcome?

1 Peter 1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

To God's elect His chosen people, selected for a purpose! That's me!!!

Strangers in the world we are called to live in God's kingdom, we are no longer part of this world but strangers in it. it seems strange to think that for so many years we have lived on this earth, yet now as citizens of God's kingdom, we are alien on this land. Our kingdom is not the earth but God's kingdom!

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father God's plan for each of our lives causes us to be chosen, not just to live in his kingdom, but to serve there too.

through the sanctifying work of the Spirit I had to look up a definition of sanctify ( just to check it before I typed here) but it means made holy! we are people who have been made holy by the Holy Spirit!

for obedience to Jesus Christ how can we be anything other than obedient to Christ when the Holy Spirit has made us holy? Often it is so easy to forget God and just get on with life. But if we allow God's Holy Spirit to truly dwell in us, if we make ourselves aware of his amazing presence around us and in us in everything we do, then we will strive to be obedient to Christ through our everyday living.

2 small verses at the start of a short letter yet they are full of amazing truth and encouragement for who we are and how we should be living our lives.

Kingdom living! That's what I want! God's kingdom here on earth!