Well the last couple of weeks have been have been pretty hard. There has been a lot of pain but through this time I know the Lord is with me and there is something I am meant to learn from this, I'm not to sure what it is yet.
Sometime I wish I could just crawl into this little hole where no one could find me just the Lord and there would be no memories to make you sad, just the Lord holding you tight untill you were ready to climb out and face the world again.
Lord I pray that you will help me through this, you no the desires of my heart Lord but in the end its your will that will be done.
I surrender it all to you Lord I have tried to fix it on my own and it only makes things worse, so I give it all to you Lord.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
unlovable people
Recently i have heard a fair bit of talk about people who are hard to love - family, friends, lovers, work colleagues, church people, strangers. Why the heck does God put these people in our lives. Being a christian would be easy without these people!
I am learning that He wants me to love - and make a difference. NOT to talk about how unlovely they are. To show them the grace, love and forgiveness that Jesus has shown me.
So whether it be my wife, my Dad, my boss, my twin, "mature" christians - i know I gotta stop thinking "why me" and just start loving. Who knows - it may be the difference in that person's life that turns them to Jesus.
If I am going to "be salt" I gotta start being salty.
I am learning that He wants me to love - and make a difference. NOT to talk about how unlovely they are. To show them the grace, love and forgiveness that Jesus has shown me.
So whether it be my wife, my Dad, my boss, my twin, "mature" christians - i know I gotta stop thinking "why me" and just start loving. Who knows - it may be the difference in that person's life that turns them to Jesus.
If I am going to "be salt" I gotta start being salty.
Monday, December 26, 2005
christmas
What is normal I ask? OK sorry - back on track. The bestest bits of my Christmas were
- spending time with my brother Duncan before seeing him off on his holiday on Christmas eve
- seeing Claire turn up at Charlie's on Christmas eve
- connecting with people at Church - getting to wish heaps of people a Merry Christmas
- spending time with Uncle Richard on Christmas day in hospital
- sharing Tylah's excitement as he played with his new PSP - he did not have the words to explain his excitement!
- chatting with Kaki on Christmas night
Christmas has never been a normal set pattern for me...but I think I am seeing a pattern I would like to start following. I know the day after I will not even remember my own presents - but the memories I will keep are the ones I spent with people.
christmas
I had a very weird christmas. A big part of our christmas was missing with May and Bubba in NZ. I missed them heaps. There was no May to say hurry up it's nearly christmas come to the lounge...or to say come and eat....she's the one who keeps our Christmas day 'programme' moving along.
We were missing Christmas carols even tho we burned some and so did zee...we didn't even do our traditional poppers and confeitti on time...
Even church on Christmas day felt all disjointed. Apart from Lipo and Maggie singing I didn't really enjoy it. It felt weird too - even Frank wasn't his usual polished self.
It was my LORD's birthday, and he still lives...that's what really matters.
Tylah, my nephew fell asleep because there was no Bubba to play with, and he was feeling sick.
We were missing Christmas carols even tho we burned some and so did zee...we didn't even do our traditional poppers and confeitti on time...
Even church on Christmas day felt all disjointed. Apart from Lipo and Maggie singing I didn't really enjoy it. It felt weird too - even Frank wasn't his usual polished self.
Oh well, we all made the best of it, including my brother, Charlie, who played the good host.
It was my LORD's birthday, and he still lives...that's what really matters.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
40days task
Hey fanau
task for next Tues: E - EXPERIENCE...we kind of started drinking the champagne before we settled our tasks...so if everyone is ok with below then we will do this Tues.
task for next Tues: E - EXPERIENCE...we kind of started drinking the champagne before we settled our tasks...so if everyone is ok with below then we will do this Tues.
1: reread pages 246-248, in case we have forgotten what EXPERIENCE was all about.
2: Do questions on pg 246 relating to FAMILY, EDUCATIONAL, VOCATIONAL, SPIRITUAL, MINISTRY, PAINFUL experiences.
3: Also, what are the main lessons you have learned for EACH of these areas: FAMILY, EDUCATIONAL, VOCATIONAL, SPIRITUAL, MINISTRY, PAINFUL experiences.
I think this will be heaps. Enjoy!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
SERVING
Lesson I have learnt:
SERVE THE LORD WHOLEHEARTEDLY IN HIS NUMBER ONE PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE - HIS CALLING WHICH IS PERSONAL TO YOU.
Do the things which will teach you more, equip you more and prepare you for this purpose. There is so much you can do now - TODAY MATTERS.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS A DISTRACTION and IS OPTIONAL, EVEN IF IT'S SERVING. Don't spend 100% of your time SERVING in DISTRACTIONS. That's just walking into Satan's hands.
Unless you have no idea what the LORD wants you to do.
GOD is not so small that HE WILL NOT PROVIDE...Try it and if it's not for you...you have no peace about it...you don't look forward to it...THEN STOP BECAUSE IT'S FOR SOMEONE ELSE...and you could be stopping them from stepping up to fill this gap.
NO ONE IS INDESPENSIBLE, FALSE SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY is not what the LORD needs, but to be responsible for the work he has given you specifically IS THE ONLY RESPONSIBILITY WORTH FULFILLING.
FOR ME: Primary Purpose
Missions - to save the lost (there are lots of christians who feel as lost as those who don't know the LORD), to show people God loves them and cares for them right where they are now in their every day lives by having active personal relationships with them.
Particular focus - remove poverty from Africa, give children a future, by again showing them that God cares they don't have enough food, shelter, water. He cares for them right where they are in their every day lives. Jeremiah 29:11 is true for them as much as me.
Kingdom builder - to make this even more true for me and my family. I am only scratching the service right now but there is so much more the LORD needs me to do. I am blessed to be a blessing.
Now I have to walk this...
SERVE THE LORD WHOLEHEARTEDLY IN HIS NUMBER ONE PURPOSE FOR YOUR LIFE - HIS CALLING WHICH IS PERSONAL TO YOU.
Do the things which will teach you more, equip you more and prepare you for this purpose. There is so much you can do now - TODAY MATTERS.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS A DISTRACTION and IS OPTIONAL, EVEN IF IT'S SERVING. Don't spend 100% of your time SERVING in DISTRACTIONS. That's just walking into Satan's hands.
Unless you have no idea what the LORD wants you to do.
GOD is not so small that HE WILL NOT PROVIDE...Try it and if it's not for you...you have no peace about it...you don't look forward to it...THEN STOP BECAUSE IT'S FOR SOMEONE ELSE...and you could be stopping them from stepping up to fill this gap.
NO ONE IS INDESPENSIBLE, FALSE SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY is not what the LORD needs, but to be responsible for the work he has given you specifically IS THE ONLY RESPONSIBILITY WORTH FULFILLING.
FOR ME: Primary Purpose
Missions - to save the lost (there are lots of christians who feel as lost as those who don't know the LORD), to show people God loves them and cares for them right where they are now in their every day lives by having active personal relationships with them.
Particular focus - remove poverty from Africa, give children a future, by again showing them that God cares they don't have enough food, shelter, water. He cares for them right where they are in their every day lives. Jeremiah 29:11 is true for them as much as me.
Kingdom builder - to make this even more true for me and my family. I am only scratching the service right now but there is so much more the LORD needs me to do. I am blessed to be a blessing.
Now I have to walk this...
simplifying life
Lots of changes recently. Where to begin...I know the LORD has been speaking to me about simplifying life and I finally did it.
Three things brought this home to me last week.
ONE: Last week, I asked our group to think about what they would like to achieve next year as a group and as individuals. Mine was to focus on my primary purpose in life. To make progress in this area.
TWO: I went to hospital to see my sick uncle. I kept a brave cheerful face for him but sitting in the car after we left him, I couldn't stop crying. I saw my uncle at Gau's wedding in Oct, I was upset at how sick he was looking. His daughters reassured me he was alright. But I said to myself, I need to go see him at his shop more - I miss him. Seeing him at the hospital it felt like he was dying and I still hadn't been to see him. I didn't have the time for him until now that he's in hospital.
We prayed so much for him that night at our group meeting because I know the LORD is always willing to listen to us. In fact he already knows what we are going to ask, but it's in the asking that our own faith is released to believe him. Thankfully, he's recovering and moved to a normal ward now.
THREE: I found out I was responsible for children's ministry at our church which I serve in out of filling a gap and don't have any passion for. Don't get me wrong I love hanging out with kids, but teaching them is another matter. I don't have this gift, but there was a need and I helped fill it.
That was the final straw. It hit me that I have been serving at church for the last year in all areas but my primary purpose. I was serving at church Wed, Thurs, Frid, and Sunday. The other days I had to fit in strengthening my struggling marriage, relationships with girlfriends who don't believe, 40days which I know the LORD absolutely wanted me to do, my niece and nephews, family, a friend I have seen once this year and then I took on work. I haven't even started the IVF programme, plus Mondays I was doing a bible college course.
I have been struggling for a while for all that I am responsible for at church and I no longer felt peace about it. I was doing way too much.
So I had one moment of clarity and it hit me I don't need to do this. I thought if I pull out of serving at church I would be letting the LORD down because right now the church needs me. But when I saw that next year would be more of the same I realised I had become one of those Christians that drive me crazy. I WAS SERVING THE CHURCH BUT WAS I REALLY LOVING GOD MORE AND LOVING OTHERS? I was SERVING the formal structure, but not BUILDING real relationships.
I had become a part of the hierarchy and I am not like this. I quit jobs because I didn't feel like being part of the hierarchy would really help people in their real lives.
I was not fulfilling my primary purpose and I remembered from the 40 days book it said that Satan would do anything to stop you from saving a life, even let you do good things. That's what I was doing good things, but to save lives I need to be making progress in why God made me unique from anyone else. To serve his unique purpose fore me in his body.
There will be other people to do other work he has planned but I can't be so busy doing all these other things that I NEVER make progress in the work he has planned for me. I have tried many new things this year but the time for experimenting is over - I KNOW HIS PURPOSE FOR ME.
I use to despair at people who served the church in all the right ways, they were so busy doing so much that they had no time to focus on what is most important to the LORD - personal relationships. He desires a personal relationship with us and he desires us to have personal relationships with each other.
I have no real time for people because I'm busy being this leader who provides services but without really knowing the customers these services are for.
So I'm not serving at all in church next year. Not in any of the formal structures. I am going back to basics. I am going to serve by getting to know people in their every day lives. I want the 100 people sitting in church to be 100 people in eternity. Saving people means impacting their every day lives. I can't do that if I have no time to meet with them, to socialise with them, and get to know them personally.
I want to increase my church FAMILY not just my church. Family is important to me. I can't be a part of people if I don't have relationships with them. That's how families build that special BOND.
Things have happened to confirm this decision. I found out my worse fears about a close member of my family. It made me realise I have no idea what's happening in his life and I barely talk to him. I have no time for him.
It's funny I only said to Lipo a couple of weeks ago how I am like him and when I make a decision I do it without letting anything stop me, including how people will feel about my decision. I have just made one of those big life decisions. I should say I remembered who I was.
And I have peace.
Three things brought this home to me last week.
ONE: Last week, I asked our group to think about what they would like to achieve next year as a group and as individuals. Mine was to focus on my primary purpose in life. To make progress in this area.
TWO: I went to hospital to see my sick uncle. I kept a brave cheerful face for him but sitting in the car after we left him, I couldn't stop crying. I saw my uncle at Gau's wedding in Oct, I was upset at how sick he was looking. His daughters reassured me he was alright. But I said to myself, I need to go see him at his shop more - I miss him. Seeing him at the hospital it felt like he was dying and I still hadn't been to see him. I didn't have the time for him until now that he's in hospital.
We prayed so much for him that night at our group meeting because I know the LORD is always willing to listen to us. In fact he already knows what we are going to ask, but it's in the asking that our own faith is released to believe him. Thankfully, he's recovering and moved to a normal ward now.
THREE: I found out I was responsible for children's ministry at our church which I serve in out of filling a gap and don't have any passion for. Don't get me wrong I love hanging out with kids, but teaching them is another matter. I don't have this gift, but there was a need and I helped fill it.
That was the final straw. It hit me that I have been serving at church for the last year in all areas but my primary purpose. I was serving at church Wed, Thurs, Frid, and Sunday. The other days I had to fit in strengthening my struggling marriage, relationships with girlfriends who don't believe, 40days which I know the LORD absolutely wanted me to do, my niece and nephews, family, a friend I have seen once this year and then I took on work. I haven't even started the IVF programme, plus Mondays I was doing a bible college course.
I have been struggling for a while for all that I am responsible for at church and I no longer felt peace about it. I was doing way too much.
So I had one moment of clarity and it hit me I don't need to do this. I thought if I pull out of serving at church I would be letting the LORD down because right now the church needs me. But when I saw that next year would be more of the same I realised I had become one of those Christians that drive me crazy. I WAS SERVING THE CHURCH BUT WAS I REALLY LOVING GOD MORE AND LOVING OTHERS? I was SERVING the formal structure, but not BUILDING real relationships.
I had become a part of the hierarchy and I am not like this. I quit jobs because I didn't feel like being part of the hierarchy would really help people in their real lives.
I was not fulfilling my primary purpose and I remembered from the 40 days book it said that Satan would do anything to stop you from saving a life, even let you do good things. That's what I was doing good things, but to save lives I need to be making progress in why God made me unique from anyone else. To serve his unique purpose fore me in his body.
There will be other people to do other work he has planned but I can't be so busy doing all these other things that I NEVER make progress in the work he has planned for me. I have tried many new things this year but the time for experimenting is over - I KNOW HIS PURPOSE FOR ME.
I use to despair at people who served the church in all the right ways, they were so busy doing so much that they had no time to focus on what is most important to the LORD - personal relationships. He desires a personal relationship with us and he desires us to have personal relationships with each other.
I have no real time for people because I'm busy being this leader who provides services but without really knowing the customers these services are for.
So I'm not serving at all in church next year. Not in any of the formal structures. I am going back to basics. I am going to serve by getting to know people in their every day lives. I want the 100 people sitting in church to be 100 people in eternity. Saving people means impacting their every day lives. I can't do that if I have no time to meet with them, to socialise with them, and get to know them personally.
I want to increase my church FAMILY not just my church. Family is important to me. I can't be a part of people if I don't have relationships with them. That's how families build that special BOND.
Things have happened to confirm this decision. I found out my worse fears about a close member of my family. It made me realise I have no idea what's happening in his life and I barely talk to him. I have no time for him.
It's funny I only said to Lipo a couple of weeks ago how I am like him and when I make a decision I do it without letting anything stop me, including how people will feel about my decision. I have just made one of those big life decisions. I should say I remembered who I was.
And I have peace.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
sad
Feeling sad today. Said good-bye to one of my cousins, Emma...and Lipo, one of us...tomorrow zee goes, another one of us...makes for a very sad me.
Tonite saw someone else who was sad. She is one of the most beautiful, inside and out, God chicks I know.
Then their's my uncle who is in hospital and his situation is critical. He is someone I imagined would live a long life because he looked after himself, even though he has always had health issues. He never let it beat him.
Our group last nite really lifted my spirits. I felt like praising the Lord in the midst of our troubles. No matter what I will always worship him because he deserves all the glory.
All the riots and racial tension in Sydney at the moment is also depressing me. This is the down side for feeling empathy...sometimes it's just not good to feel so much.
I feel like praising the LORD again. It's my answer to trouble. Draw near to him because I desperately need him to draw near to me.
Times like this I find his promises flooding my mind...he knows exactly what I need.
LORD, please heal our city - bring some good out of all this sadness, work your light through all our lives so we can take back from the darkness what belongs to you. Be a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path...so I can stand without falling and walk without stumbling. Love you LORD and thanks for loving us. Oh and thanks for letting Jamu and Vince leave Samooa despite the many obstacles.
your daughter.
Tonite saw someone else who was sad. She is one of the most beautiful, inside and out, God chicks I know.
Then their's my uncle who is in hospital and his situation is critical. He is someone I imagined would live a long life because he looked after himself, even though he has always had health issues. He never let it beat him.
Our group last nite really lifted my spirits. I felt like praising the Lord in the midst of our troubles. No matter what I will always worship him because he deserves all the glory.
All the riots and racial tension in Sydney at the moment is also depressing me. This is the down side for feeling empathy...sometimes it's just not good to feel so much.
I feel like praising the LORD again. It's my answer to trouble. Draw near to him because I desperately need him to draw near to me.
Times like this I find his promises flooding my mind...he knows exactly what I need.
LORD, please heal our city - bring some good out of all this sadness, work your light through all our lives so we can take back from the darkness what belongs to you. Be a lamp unto our feet and light unto our path...so I can stand without falling and walk without stumbling. Love you LORD and thanks for loving us. Oh and thanks for letting Jamu and Vince leave Samooa despite the many obstacles.
your daughter.
i surrender again
i can imagine the Lord having a chuckle as he sees my subtle panic about flying alone. He knows I hate it, and i am scared as anything of going by myself on airplanes.Some may say "its only 3 hours to Nz" i say "thats 3 hours too long"
but its amazing how much God catches my attention in these times of flying solo.I hear everything as Im so much more alert than i am normally to what he says to me.In the air, I am all ears and for the first time NO MOUTH! it must be a ball for the Lord, coz he gets to do all the talking. The Lord reminds me again on how it feels to surrender all to him and to leave him in 110 % control.I feel so helpless on the plane, because there is absolutley nothing i can handle on the plane....apart from alcohol! My life is in his hands, my trust completely thrown at his feet as i rely and depend on him. Trust me...3 hours of that is an eternity for me, but thats how the Lord wants me to live everyday...like i am a child who cant fend for herself but rely on him for my every need.
I love how God speaks to me in the midst of my worst fear...he is truly my comforter!
"Lord keep me in your hands tomorrow when i fly out to nz...you are my protector and i hide myself in the shelter of your wings. I plead Psalm 91 all over that plane, and on Emma and Lipos plane tonight.No weapon forged against us shall prosper in the awesome and everlasting name of Jesus!!
but its amazing how much God catches my attention in these times of flying solo.I hear everything as Im so much more alert than i am normally to what he says to me.In the air, I am all ears and for the first time NO MOUTH! it must be a ball for the Lord, coz he gets to do all the talking. The Lord reminds me again on how it feels to surrender all to him and to leave him in 110 % control.I feel so helpless on the plane, because there is absolutley nothing i can handle on the plane....apart from alcohol! My life is in his hands, my trust completely thrown at his feet as i rely and depend on him. Trust me...3 hours of that is an eternity for me, but thats how the Lord wants me to live everyday...like i am a child who cant fend for herself but rely on him for my every need.
I love how God speaks to me in the midst of my worst fear...he is truly my comforter!
"Lord keep me in your hands tomorrow when i fly out to nz...you are my protector and i hide myself in the shelter of your wings. I plead Psalm 91 all over that plane, and on Emma and Lipos plane tonight.No weapon forged against us shall prosper in the awesome and everlasting name of Jesus!!
Marriage...Love..Unity!
Ive just finished writing my samoan speech for Enokas wedding (our cousin/bro who is getting married in two days in nz) and it just hit me that he is getting married for real. I guess i was subconsciously waiting for him to pull out and say its off, but saying goodbye to Lipo who is going too, just made it real to me. Its a huge committment to be entered into, and it should be with fear and trembling i guess, not with a possibility of divorce or separation. Nothing can scream Gods desire for unity so clearly than marriage!
im sad,but for selfish reasons, i want all my brothers to myself...but also glad that hes finally made a choice! A lifechanging choice i bet, but he will be better for it. Its a choice that definetly pleases God and for me thats enough to snap me out of my selfishness and be joyful.
Its a joyous occasion no doubt and i pray that Noka and his bride take it as a committment to the Lord first, then to each other. "Lord may they be founded on you, may their family be built on your love and truth,may they always find love in you, may they unite in you"
I pray also that me and Lipo,take a new flavour of faith to Nz with us. That we can stand against conformity and declare what God has done for us without fear.That the Lord will strengthen us in the shortime we are there so we can be a shoulder to lean on, a calm and refuge for those already caught up in the wedding madness.That we maybe a voice of discernment and wisdom, that we may be peace makers.I pray that I dont get stressed myself I pray that we take the Lord with us!!!
i look forward to it.....to letting my brother go to be cared for and loved by the woman God has chosen for him. To be blessed by her and vice versa, so they can go forth and multiply and give me great and wonderful nieces and nephews :p
Yes, its all about me!!!
im sad,but for selfish reasons, i want all my brothers to myself...but also glad that hes finally made a choice! A lifechanging choice i bet, but he will be better for it. Its a choice that definetly pleases God and for me thats enough to snap me out of my selfishness and be joyful.
Its a joyous occasion no doubt and i pray that Noka and his bride take it as a committment to the Lord first, then to each other. "Lord may they be founded on you, may their family be built on your love and truth,may they always find love in you, may they unite in you"
I pray also that me and Lipo,take a new flavour of faith to Nz with us. That we can stand against conformity and declare what God has done for us without fear.That the Lord will strengthen us in the shortime we are there so we can be a shoulder to lean on, a calm and refuge for those already caught up in the wedding madness.That we maybe a voice of discernment and wisdom, that we may be peace makers.I pray that I dont get stressed myself I pray that we take the Lord with us!!!
i look forward to it.....to letting my brother go to be cared for and loved by the woman God has chosen for him. To be blessed by her and vice versa, so they can go forth and multiply and give me great and wonderful nieces and nephews :p
Yes, its all about me!!!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
I am full of joy...
hey team...thought I would update you on why I am so full of joy these days.
I am really really reallly really enjoying building my faith at the moment. I am reading heaps (the Bible, 'resources'), meditating, understanding, praying.
I feel it's all building me. Making me more solid. Giving me more peace and grace. All nice words I know...but in my heart I know it's real. It's changed me...and changing me.
And the more I do it, the more I enjoy it. The more I enjoy reading the Bible. Studying other books. And praying.
I am really really reallly really enjoying building my faith at the moment. I am reading heaps (the Bible, 'resources'), meditating, understanding, praying.
I feel it's all building me. Making me more solid. Giving me more peace and grace. All nice words I know...but in my heart I know it's real. It's changed me...and changing me.
And the more I do it, the more I enjoy it. The more I enjoy reading the Bible. Studying other books. And praying.
so much going on - what's the answer?
We may have relationship changes, riots in the streets, and ask 'what now?' Once again I am reminded that we were not born to be alone.
When I do my personal testimony, this will be a key message. I was alone. Sure I had people around me. I interacted. But my style (with work, family and friends) all added up to me being alone. Which I thought was OK because I am a loner!
Sure I am to blame for creating this style. But I also allowed it to happen rather than confront the issues that created it. Whatever the reasons, I now know I needed to not be alone.
Loneliness, the very opposite of community, is the most crushing of all emotions. Only in 'community' can we feel most fully alive. Most human. As Christians we need to build 'community'. It ain't easy. But God wants us to have commuity in our small groups. In our Church. And in our community.
The best way to feel part of a community is by a warm loving welcome. That's what I feel with this small group. And, selfishly, I dont want to lose it. What can I do? Being persistent and keep on being loving and welcoming.
When I do my personal testimony, this will be a key message. I was alone. Sure I had people around me. I interacted. But my style (with work, family and friends) all added up to me being alone. Which I thought was OK because I am a loner!
Sure I am to blame for creating this style. But I also allowed it to happen rather than confront the issues that created it. Whatever the reasons, I now know I needed to not be alone.
Loneliness, the very opposite of community, is the most crushing of all emotions. Only in 'community' can we feel most fully alive. Most human. As Christians we need to build 'community'. It ain't easy. But God wants us to have commuity in our small groups. In our Church. And in our community.
The best way to feel part of a community is by a warm loving welcome. That's what I feel with this small group. And, selfishly, I dont want to lose it. What can I do? Being persistent and keep on being loving and welcoming.
Monday, December 12, 2005
life's dramas...
It's almost Christmas. Exciting!!! It will be a very different Christmas this year without my cousin, May, to play Mum over all of us...and then Christmas without Bubba...gee I write that and i have to hold back the tears. How sad am I?!
For me Christmas is all about the kids in 'our extended family' which is May and her tribe, my brother and his tribe, and our household (myles, my other bro - rob, and myself). So the kids are Bubba, Tylah, Taneisha and CJ (they are all crazy and very hypo). Except without Bubba it will be very boring for the other 3. She's the eldest, the ring leader, the others are siblings who get up each other's noses every minute of the day! I'm going to seriously miss her.
But then Len, my other cousin, and his family are joining us, plus his bro, Eddie and his girlfriend. We all get along well so it should be heaps of fun but different.
I was telling the rest of our group that this will be the first christmas I am looking forward to since my Dad died (Mar 2003). Ok, tears again, sad sad sad....it use to feel like it was only yesterday I saw him, but now it feels like a long time ago...and yes I miss him desperately.
bittersweet my life will always be
without you next to me.
yes, I will miss my Dad always.
For me Christmas is all about the kids in 'our extended family' which is May and her tribe, my brother and his tribe, and our household (myles, my other bro - rob, and myself). So the kids are Bubba, Tylah, Taneisha and CJ (they are all crazy and very hypo). Except without Bubba it will be very boring for the other 3. She's the eldest, the ring leader, the others are siblings who get up each other's noses every minute of the day! I'm going to seriously miss her.
But then Len, my other cousin, and his family are joining us, plus his bro, Eddie and his girlfriend. We all get along well so it should be heaps of fun but different.
I was telling the rest of our group that this will be the first christmas I am looking forward to since my Dad died (Mar 2003). Ok, tears again, sad sad sad....it use to feel like it was only yesterday I saw him, but now it feels like a long time ago...and yes I miss him desperately.
bittersweet my life will always be
without you next to me.
yes, I will miss my Dad always.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Staying Strong
Well I can honestly say today is one of the worst days this year. Its so hard to be strong in the Lord, when things are going so wrong. The devil is trying so hard to make me turn to him and follow his ways, but I'm trying to stay strong.
Lord please show me what I'm meant to learn from this, you no the desires of my heart and I pray that you will help show me the path and help keep me strong. I know Lord you only put us through situations we can handle.
I will not turn away from my Father no matter how much the devil trys to hurt me, I will not give up.
I love you Lord and thank you for being there for me even though I'm not always there for you, you never turn your back on me. Thank you Father, for your love and for your comfort.
Lord please show me what I'm meant to learn from this, you no the desires of my heart and I pray that you will help show me the path and help keep me strong. I know Lord you only put us through situations we can handle.
I will not turn away from my Father no matter how much the devil trys to hurt me, I will not give up.
I love you Lord and thank you for being there for me even though I'm not always there for you, you never turn your back on me. Thank you Father, for your love and for your comfort.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Once again...our God reigns!!
its amazing when i reflect on what the Lord has taught us all in this time apart, from Griffith to now, we are all together yet the Lord has taught us different things about his work, his kingdom and our spiritual growth individually and together.
He workded according to the level of faith we all had, and to think we were in Griffith together (Tali, Myles, and myself) yet learnt different things about our God is just awesome!Its more amazing when we come to that revelation that our God knows what we need not what we want, and he gives it to us as we are ready for it.
And then Lipo and Clare here and what they learnt toegther and separately, it is to help us all grow together.
Sunday was Satans big day out, and though he pushed and pushed we walked away stronger and more equipped to continue the Lords kingdom and he walked away smaller in our hearts and minds. LOVE is all it takes, our Lord requires MERCY not sacrifice. LOVE covers a multitude of sins and LOVE never fails!!
Thank You Lord for your divine victory!
OUR GOD....HE REIGNS!!!
He workded according to the level of faith we all had, and to think we were in Griffith together (Tali, Myles, and myself) yet learnt different things about our God is just awesome!Its more amazing when we come to that revelation that our God knows what we need not what we want, and he gives it to us as we are ready for it.
And then Lipo and Clare here and what they learnt toegther and separately, it is to help us all grow together.
Sunday was Satans big day out, and though he pushed and pushed we walked away stronger and more equipped to continue the Lords kingdom and he walked away smaller in our hearts and minds. LOVE is all it takes, our Lord requires MERCY not sacrifice. LOVE covers a multitude of sins and LOVE never fails!!
Thank You Lord for your divine victory!
OUR GOD....HE REIGNS!!!
Monday, December 05, 2005
GOOD WORK
Wel, what can I say!!! I dont really have much to say but say GOOD WORK everyone.. from what happened to the trip to Griffith and back and to Myles's work on our blog photos. "Well Done Everyone". Everything that happened and everything that we have done so far is all Gods plan.. Its been a while since the last time we (our group) got together but through that time, I've realised something.. I cannot do this on my own. My walk with the Lord and trying to grow in my faith is impossible without you guys, even though the Bible says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me" and with Him everything is possible.. The Lord taught me something that to be independent and trying to do things by myself is not the way to go.. Yesterday the 4/12/2005 was one of the worst day that could recall. It felt like I was lost again, there were so many things going through my head that even going to church felt like there wasnt any meaning at all..
BUT then when I look at you guys, it puts a smile on my face cos yous are the Lords face here on earth for me, and thats why Im saying GOOD WORK.. Cant wait to meet up again... And Myles, good stuff with the photos man..
BUT then when I look at you guys, it puts a smile on my face cos yous are the Lords face here on earth for me, and thats why Im saying GOOD WORK.. Cant wait to meet up again... And Myles, good stuff with the photos man..
Saturday, December 03, 2005
His word is the seed
Well I was on the trip too...so I should give my version of the events! It was a small hare. I hit it going 120kph. It cracked the radiator tank, and we could not get it repaired till Tuesday. So we had an enforced 2 day holiday.
But the lessons learnt were the amazing things. Here's mine:
But the lessons learnt were the amazing things. Here's mine:
- Firstly, it seemed like God's peace was over me. There was no worry. No stress. Instead of saying "why me?" it was "Lord, what can I learn from this?", and "Lord, how can I use this to serve your purpose?"
- It gave me a chance to develop my relationship skills -with Emma, Zee, Eliza (Emma's friend), the mechanics, people at the Church...I just felt in relationship developing mood.
- I got the sermon about "you reap what you sow"...but for me the key point was "the seed is his Word". It's all there...written down for us. All we have to do is read it!
I am happy at the moment to just grow in my faith. Read, explore, question, understand. Sort it out...reason it through. Read the Bible my friends. A sentence, a paragraph, a chapter. 1 minute, 10 minutes, an hour. It's God's seed into us. I am lucky cause when I read it I enjoy it. It's not always been the case, but as I read it more...the more I love to read it.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
The three R's
Rabbits, Radiators, and Rest - what did you think? :p
well, youve heard the story, the short version of it, if i told it i would have told it with 3 times more information!
My boss was very upset that i didnt tell her i was going to Griffith, i've vowed this will be the last time i lie to her, i felt terrible about it all weekend.The lord was prompting me to tell the truth but did i listen..NO!! so lesson learnt, even a white lie is a lie!
but in retrospect, the trip was worth every second spent.
I also truly believe we went there in Gods good and perfect timming, were we to go earlier, we wouldnt have heard George and wouldnt have been encouarged spiritually the way we were. It was awesome to see a little church with so much potential to reach people for Christ.The whole time I was praying for them to grow, to spread over Griffith like wild fire so people will know the Lord. We arent the smallest church after all, we arent the only ones trying to grow, experiencing new things and all working for the one goal.....Christ! Our borthers and sisters around the world are also experiencing this growth, no wonder the Lord wants us believers to always prays for each other and love and show hospitality to each other.
That song pops into mind "tell the world that Jesus Lives, tell the world that...tell the world that..tell the world that he died for us..tell the world that"
awesome, awesome awesome!!!
For me, our adventure was God pulling me aside and almost reprimanding me about "spiritual rest" Ive been focusing on physical rest since it was one of the things i needed to keep going, that i neglected spiritual rest. Our God is so good like this,its like he says "now youve mastered that, now focus on this my child..your out of balance in this area" He is so faithful like that!
Though i have plenty of physical rest, it is not rest if I dont have spiritual rest, because thats when I spend time with God, talking to him, him talking to me, me listening him glorified, i draw near he draws near...its like what George said " you cant go asking God to draw near to you if you draw near to other things instead of him"
I will reap what i sow...i wont reap spiritual blessings if I spend time focusing and sowing into the things of this world.I cant ask for the Lord to bless me financially if I dont sow my finances into his kingdom....boy i got hammered!!
the biggest revelation for me was the Lord instructing me on how to start the work my heart desires the most. reaching people, bringing them to Christ, showing them that Christ lives.I have been asking him this more frequently than ever before in the past months.. "Lord how do I start, where do i start, am I on track? " and because he is so faithful, he answered when I least expected.
and i now have my first steps outlined for me.The greatest thing about the Lord is that, even though we do about it all wrong, he sees only our hearts and will direct our paths accordingly, thats what he did with me on the weekend. I was encouraged to be a faithful prayer person, to be a faithful doer of his word, which means I have to know his word.
The other things I also learnt was that I must refrain from being dutiful but busy getting to know the Lord more.
SPIRITUAL REST is the key!!
Im encouraged and looking forward to spending more time with the Lord and less trying to control or manage the world around me!
Thanks Lord....it took a rabbit to get my attention :)
well, youve heard the story, the short version of it, if i told it i would have told it with 3 times more information!
My boss was very upset that i didnt tell her i was going to Griffith, i've vowed this will be the last time i lie to her, i felt terrible about it all weekend.The lord was prompting me to tell the truth but did i listen..NO!! so lesson learnt, even a white lie is a lie!
but in retrospect, the trip was worth every second spent.
I also truly believe we went there in Gods good and perfect timming, were we to go earlier, we wouldnt have heard George and wouldnt have been encouarged spiritually the way we were. It was awesome to see a little church with so much potential to reach people for Christ.The whole time I was praying for them to grow, to spread over Griffith like wild fire so people will know the Lord. We arent the smallest church after all, we arent the only ones trying to grow, experiencing new things and all working for the one goal.....Christ! Our borthers and sisters around the world are also experiencing this growth, no wonder the Lord wants us believers to always prays for each other and love and show hospitality to each other.
That song pops into mind "tell the world that Jesus Lives, tell the world that...tell the world that..tell the world that he died for us..tell the world that"
awesome, awesome awesome!!!
For me, our adventure was God pulling me aside and almost reprimanding me about "spiritual rest" Ive been focusing on physical rest since it was one of the things i needed to keep going, that i neglected spiritual rest. Our God is so good like this,its like he says "now youve mastered that, now focus on this my child..your out of balance in this area" He is so faithful like that!
Though i have plenty of physical rest, it is not rest if I dont have spiritual rest, because thats when I spend time with God, talking to him, him talking to me, me listening him glorified, i draw near he draws near...its like what George said " you cant go asking God to draw near to you if you draw near to other things instead of him"
I will reap what i sow...i wont reap spiritual blessings if I spend time focusing and sowing into the things of this world.I cant ask for the Lord to bless me financially if I dont sow my finances into his kingdom....boy i got hammered!!
the biggest revelation for me was the Lord instructing me on how to start the work my heart desires the most. reaching people, bringing them to Christ, showing them that Christ lives.I have been asking him this more frequently than ever before in the past months.. "Lord how do I start, where do i start, am I on track? " and because he is so faithful, he answered when I least expected.
and i now have my first steps outlined for me.The greatest thing about the Lord is that, even though we do about it all wrong, he sees only our hearts and will direct our paths accordingly, thats what he did with me on the weekend. I was encouraged to be a faithful prayer person, to be a faithful doer of his word, which means I have to know his word.
The other things I also learnt was that I must refrain from being dutiful but busy getting to know the Lord more.
SPIRITUAL REST is the key!!
Im encouraged and looking forward to spending more time with the Lord and less trying to control or manage the world around me!
Thanks Lord....it took a rabbit to get my attention :)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
what's happenin??!
What's the latest peoples? Everyone a weee bit busy to blog - surely someone has some news?
How was your party Claire? Have you got any photos we can download on to our blog :)
Now don't be shy I'm sure you looked FABBO in your 80s clothes! Or was it 70s?
Since my other two escapees have not done an update on our trip to Griffith looks like the person with too much time on her hands, (as my Pastor's wife would say), will have to fill in the gaps.
Zee, Myles and I went away for the weekend to visit our cousin in Griffith. We kept telling her for the last few months that we were coming, but there was always a clash with our busy lives. So finally we decided to go before she returns to NZ.
So we had a marathon trip to Griffith - 8 hrs out of Sydney. We left late Frid 25th just for a quick weekend away. Most of the trip there we had a storm following us. It was always just in front or on our right side or just behind. It was AWESOME. You could see the dark clouds spreading like it was following us and trying to catch us but it never did.
I love storms - the lightning was amazing. Zella's 10 yr old sister said the most imaginative thing about lightning - it's God taking pictures of us! How cool is that! No wonder I get such a buzz out of it.
Anyways we were seriously speeding - doing over 120k...we wanted to get to Griffith before midnight. We were almost there when out from the side ran a rabbit. I screamed, the rabbit made two very loud thuds underneath the car.
I felt so sorry for it but there was no point stopping. It was mince meat at the speed we were travelling. Then about 20 mins later just as we hit the small town just before Griffith our car just died.
We were all very thankful that the car died in a very well-lit street with town and street signs so we could give the NRMA guy directions. God and his great rescue plans. 10 mins before and we would have been stuck in the middle of nowhere with no lights and no way of knowing where we were.
After seeing Wolf Creek our imaginations would have worked over time!
So we got to Ems, our cousin, finally at about 2am. Car was towed to a garage. Next day we found out it had a hole in the radiator - no longer felt sorry for that rabbit....instead it was 'stupid rabbit, was it blind, couldn't it see the lights' :) We had a good laugh over that one. Plus the rabbit was growing in size - it became the size of a wombat, even joked it was a kangaroo. But unfortunately I have an instant replay in my head of it - it was a large grey rabbit - or hare...do they have these in Australia?
Griffith is such a small town that even the Holden garage/dealer didn't have a radiator. So we had to order it in - but it would take a couple of days. So instead of returning Sunday nite, we returned Tues, yesterday.
It was great we all caught up on our sleep, reading, watching dvds and relaxing. Zee was saying it was like the LORD knew she needed to rest and made her take time off work. Myles found a new best friend - this huge comfy cosy lazyboy chair which was big enough to accommodate all 6 ft 1 of him!
Sunday morning, Myles woke me up for church - I had gone to bed at about 5amish, so I wasn't feeling like going. But Myles said to me we have to go to support Emma. He was right so I got up and woke up Zee. We all hopped in the car we hired and drove around the corner to church (yip, Griffith is small).
It was an awesome service...from the moment we walked in to very loud music with only 7 or so people in the crowd but a full on band. There was a young woman with an awesome voice singing and I recognised the old songs of my baptist days - it was great. Just a small group of christians raising the roof with heartfelt worship.
They had a guest preacher - a Pacific Island man who goes around all the small towns to encourage them to keep up the good fight. He was incredible. There was nothing spectacular about him, I mean he looked just like us - just his awesome faith and heart for the LORD's people. An ordinary christian doing EXTRA ordinary work in God's body. It was incredibly encouraging to see even in small towns the LORD is moving and the message was awesome.
It reaffirmed messages from the LORD. I found myself writing so many things for our church and for our 40 days group.
The LORD is calling us to a greater level of obedience and commitment. For me it means an increase in my prayer life. I have already had this message from the LORD for me personally and for our church. He expects even more from those who already have.
What we say or do will have no major effect if we don't draw near to the LORD. The awesome thing is that we don't have to be at the same level to increase our commitment.
He talked of sowing seeds to reap a harvest. Whatever seeds we sow we will reap. It made me wonder what will we reap with the seeds we are sowing now? If we want to save lives, to make a difference, to love God more and love others more - then are we sowing these seeds to reap a great harvest for our LORD?
We believe the LORD allowed this accident of ours to keep us in Griffith so we could hear this man speak. So we could rest and realise that we are not indispensible - work will always be there, commitment and responsibilities will always be there BUT without a one on one active and vibrant relationship with the LORD it all means nothing.
Good thing I am working - this lesson cost us $700 and it was worth every cent!
My heart was moved by George, this small town preacher, doing his part in the body of Christ. If each of us did as much as he did, unsung and unnoticed by the rest of the body, then the LORD would have an unstoppable church. It filled me with hope for the LORD's body.
I am going to tell our pastor about George. He's visiting Sydney and i have his email address. How cool would it be to connect us to his work, to support small communities, a lot of them aboriginal. It's definitely something we could include on our short term missions projects for our 40days group. He's from Bourke, NSW....I am imagining a trip to bless him in his community work!
This church only had about 8 people but they worshipped as if there 50 people there. It was very inspiring. They were like our church...people kept arriving late. Nobody really knows what the LORD is doing in all his churches and his communities. But it seems he is even busier than us!
How was your party Claire? Have you got any photos we can download on to our blog :)
Now don't be shy I'm sure you looked FABBO in your 80s clothes! Or was it 70s?
Since my other two escapees have not done an update on our trip to Griffith looks like the person with too much time on her hands, (as my Pastor's wife would say), will have to fill in the gaps.
Zee, Myles and I went away for the weekend to visit our cousin in Griffith. We kept telling her for the last few months that we were coming, but there was always a clash with our busy lives. So finally we decided to go before she returns to NZ.
So we had a marathon trip to Griffith - 8 hrs out of Sydney. We left late Frid 25th just for a quick weekend away. Most of the trip there we had a storm following us. It was always just in front or on our right side or just behind. It was AWESOME. You could see the dark clouds spreading like it was following us and trying to catch us but it never did.
I love storms - the lightning was amazing. Zella's 10 yr old sister said the most imaginative thing about lightning - it's God taking pictures of us! How cool is that! No wonder I get such a buzz out of it.
Anyways we were seriously speeding - doing over 120k...we wanted to get to Griffith before midnight. We were almost there when out from the side ran a rabbit. I screamed, the rabbit made two very loud thuds underneath the car.
I felt so sorry for it but there was no point stopping. It was mince meat at the speed we were travelling. Then about 20 mins later just as we hit the small town just before Griffith our car just died.
We were all very thankful that the car died in a very well-lit street with town and street signs so we could give the NRMA guy directions. God and his great rescue plans. 10 mins before and we would have been stuck in the middle of nowhere with no lights and no way of knowing where we were.
After seeing Wolf Creek our imaginations would have worked over time!
So we got to Ems, our cousin, finally at about 2am. Car was towed to a garage. Next day we found out it had a hole in the radiator - no longer felt sorry for that rabbit....instead it was 'stupid rabbit, was it blind, couldn't it see the lights' :) We had a good laugh over that one. Plus the rabbit was growing in size - it became the size of a wombat, even joked it was a kangaroo. But unfortunately I have an instant replay in my head of it - it was a large grey rabbit - or hare...do they have these in Australia?
Griffith is such a small town that even the Holden garage/dealer didn't have a radiator. So we had to order it in - but it would take a couple of days. So instead of returning Sunday nite, we returned Tues, yesterday.
It was great we all caught up on our sleep, reading, watching dvds and relaxing. Zee was saying it was like the LORD knew she needed to rest and made her take time off work. Myles found a new best friend - this huge comfy cosy lazyboy chair which was big enough to accommodate all 6 ft 1 of him!
Sunday morning, Myles woke me up for church - I had gone to bed at about 5amish, so I wasn't feeling like going. But Myles said to me we have to go to support Emma. He was right so I got up and woke up Zee. We all hopped in the car we hired and drove around the corner to church (yip, Griffith is small).
It was an awesome service...from the moment we walked in to very loud music with only 7 or so people in the crowd but a full on band. There was a young woman with an awesome voice singing and I recognised the old songs of my baptist days - it was great. Just a small group of christians raising the roof with heartfelt worship.
They had a guest preacher - a Pacific Island man who goes around all the small towns to encourage them to keep up the good fight. He was incredible. There was nothing spectacular about him, I mean he looked just like us - just his awesome faith and heart for the LORD's people. An ordinary christian doing EXTRA ordinary work in God's body. It was incredibly encouraging to see even in small towns the LORD is moving and the message was awesome.
It reaffirmed messages from the LORD. I found myself writing so many things for our church and for our 40 days group.
The LORD is calling us to a greater level of obedience and commitment. For me it means an increase in my prayer life. I have already had this message from the LORD for me personally and for our church. He expects even more from those who already have.
What we say or do will have no major effect if we don't draw near to the LORD. The awesome thing is that we don't have to be at the same level to increase our commitment.
He talked of sowing seeds to reap a harvest. Whatever seeds we sow we will reap. It made me wonder what will we reap with the seeds we are sowing now? If we want to save lives, to make a difference, to love God more and love others more - then are we sowing these seeds to reap a great harvest for our LORD?
We believe the LORD allowed this accident of ours to keep us in Griffith so we could hear this man speak. So we could rest and realise that we are not indispensible - work will always be there, commitment and responsibilities will always be there BUT without a one on one active and vibrant relationship with the LORD it all means nothing.
Good thing I am working - this lesson cost us $700 and it was worth every cent!
My heart was moved by George, this small town preacher, doing his part in the body of Christ. If each of us did as much as he did, unsung and unnoticed by the rest of the body, then the LORD would have an unstoppable church. It filled me with hope for the LORD's body.
I am going to tell our pastor about George. He's visiting Sydney and i have his email address. How cool would it be to connect us to his work, to support small communities, a lot of them aboriginal. It's definitely something we could include on our short term missions projects for our 40days group. He's from Bourke, NSW....I am imagining a trip to bless him in his community work!
This church only had about 8 people but they worshipped as if there 50 people there. It was very inspiring. They were like our church...people kept arriving late. Nobody really knows what the LORD is doing in all his churches and his communities. But it seems he is even busier than us!
Friday, November 25, 2005
stop and pray
family
we didn't stop and pray last nite. It's funny cos zee, myles and I were together but we forgot.
So if you read this during the day/nite, add to my prayers...
LORD
i feel the need to draw near to you - it's why i remembered that we hadn't prayed together. it's what i love about the nite, Lord, it's like the world has gone to sleep but you and me.
i'm missing you tonite and i think it's because i saw a lot of people in need today and it reminded me how important it is to build real relationships. that even your loved ones don't know who you are, how you're feeling, how you're coping with life.
I pray for our 40days group LORD, help us to build real relationships with each other. To speak the truth in love to each other, to support each other, to encourage each other, to accept each other with all our strengths and weaknesses.
I'm still adjusting to what it means to lean on others - my brothers and sisters are the physical representations of you. It's for that reason that I need them most.
I pray for our church LORD. Teach us LORD. Help us to seek you in everything we do. Help us to build your kingdom and not our own. Help us to work on your body LORD and not just our patch. Renew our minds LORD and fill us with your spirit. Help us to learn from our mistakes so we can be better at harvesting, better at building disciples who will go out and save the multitudes.
LORD, you know i'm not big on sameness. I know you've given us such variety in our church because we need each other to strengthen our weaknesses. I pray for the leadership team LORD. Help us to lead my example - not our own but your example.
Don't let us be a church that only builds on earth LORD, help us to prepare those you have given us for your eternal purposes. What good is a large church LORD if when we get to heaven there are only a few of us? A large church on earth means nothing if it's not a large church in eternity.
LORD help us to communicate with each other. Bind us together LORD, show us how to stand in the gap for each other. Help us to meet real needs, help us to listen. Don't let us build a house on sand LORD.
I stumble all the time at loving those around me...it always brings me back to you. Teach us HOW to love LORD.
In your AWESOME life changing name, my Lord and Saviour.
we didn't stop and pray last nite. It's funny cos zee, myles and I were together but we forgot.
So if you read this during the day/nite, add to my prayers...
LORD
i feel the need to draw near to you - it's why i remembered that we hadn't prayed together. it's what i love about the nite, Lord, it's like the world has gone to sleep but you and me.
i'm missing you tonite and i think it's because i saw a lot of people in need today and it reminded me how important it is to build real relationships. that even your loved ones don't know who you are, how you're feeling, how you're coping with life.
I pray for our 40days group LORD, help us to build real relationships with each other. To speak the truth in love to each other, to support each other, to encourage each other, to accept each other with all our strengths and weaknesses.
I'm still adjusting to what it means to lean on others - my brothers and sisters are the physical representations of you. It's for that reason that I need them most.
I pray for our church LORD. Teach us LORD. Help us to seek you in everything we do. Help us to build your kingdom and not our own. Help us to work on your body LORD and not just our patch. Renew our minds LORD and fill us with your spirit. Help us to learn from our mistakes so we can be better at harvesting, better at building disciples who will go out and save the multitudes.
LORD, you know i'm not big on sameness. I know you've given us such variety in our church because we need each other to strengthen our weaknesses. I pray for the leadership team LORD. Help us to lead my example - not our own but your example.
Don't let us be a church that only builds on earth LORD, help us to prepare those you have given us for your eternal purposes. What good is a large church LORD if when we get to heaven there are only a few of us? A large church on earth means nothing if it's not a large church in eternity.
LORD help us to communicate with each other. Bind us together LORD, show us how to stand in the gap for each other. Help us to meet real needs, help us to listen. Don't let us build a house on sand LORD.
All this means one thing to me LORD.
Help us to love.
To love you and all those you give us.
I stumble all the time at loving those around me...it always brings me back to you. Teach us HOW to love LORD.
In your AWESOME life changing name, my Lord and Saviour.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
'Wolf Creek' - a bad movie...but why?
Went to see a movie called 'Wolf Creek' last night with the team. It was meant to be a 'scary R18'. And I was wondering after why I thought it was a bad movie. Sure it had some 'gruesome, disturbing' scenes (rape, torture, murder)...I know this kind of evil exists in the world. Then I realised what made it a bad movie is that none of those scenes really added to the movie. They did not really add to the suspense...they just existed to be gruesome. Which makes it kinda boring. And the plot weak. And in terms of weak plots - I have watched enough episodes of CSI to know that if the lad at the end was picked up within walking distance of the camp, with the burnt out cars, the fact the baddie frequented fuel stops (outback locals forget little) - that the police would have easily found the large camp from an aerial view of the area.
As a Christian I don't shy away from a gruesome story (have you read the Old Testament!) but after reading the Bible a story has to have a good plot to have meaning!
As a Christian I don't shy away from a gruesome story (have you read the Old Testament!) but after reading the Bible a story has to have a good plot to have meaning!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Scripture from my journey
hey all...as part of our study I ran us all through scripture I had received since becoming a Christian that I felt was special.
Firstly, Philippians 2:12-13 "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose."
Then a couple on salt - Mark 9:50 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other." and Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
Then two on secrets - Luke 8:17 "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." and Hebrews 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
And finally, what could be the Bible in a summary - 1 John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
And finally some words from an old Negro spiritual:
we feel like a-shoutin as we
come out of the wilderness
leanin' on the Lord
Firstly, Philippians 2:12-13 "...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose."
Then a couple on salt - Mark 9:50 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other." and Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
Then two on secrets - Luke 8:17 "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open." and Hebrews 4:13 "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."
And finally, what could be the Bible in a summary - 1 John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
And finally some words from an old Negro spiritual:
we feel like a-shoutin as we
come out of the wilderness
leanin' on the Lord
Sunday, November 20, 2005
nite owl
don't know why I am still awake. I should be tucked up in my bed sleeping soundly but instead I'm awake. Oh well an opportunity to post.
I should have gone with Rob to watch the rugby, but instead i feel like hanging with the LORD.
LORD
Thanks so much for an awesome last few days. It's been great having spare time to do nothing and then time to spend building relationships.
We had Wednesday to go watch family play oztag that was great and heaps of fun. Thursday saw TD Jakes who amazed me with just how much he spoke the word (memorised verses and stories). His version of the prodigal son story gave me fresh insight into a story I already love because it's an AWESOME illustration of your GRACE and LOVE.
Thanks again for the awesome alter call. I had such a burning desire to pray for the alter call even before TD Jakes had finished his sermon. I could sense the presence of your spirit, that feeling of warm hands even tho there was a cold wind blowing. It felt like your spirit was walking through the aisles seaching for your lost sheep and calling me to pray to set them free. You were probably calling all your children to do the same in that meeting.
It was very moving LORD. I couldn't help but cry in awe of you and your love for us. How you long for your children to be saved. At times it frustrates me that I can't scream to the world that you are the answer to all they seach for and long for. But they don't recognise that you are the answer because of us, your children.
It saddens me LORD that with all we know about you that we still can't understand that it's your kingdom we are building not our own. What's the point of recognition and honour in this world if when we get to heaven it's empty and hell is full?? I'm reminded of Reinhardt Bonnke's narrow road story. That your sacrifice on the cross bridged that narrow road so that many would be saved.
You spoke before your death Jesus about this narrow road but after your resurrection you opened the doors of heaven to the multitudes. Forgive me LORD for not doing enough to save the lost. There are people you have put in my life over the years that I have not done enough to save.
LORD, if you put these people back in my life, then I will not hestitate to tell them that I am who I am because of you. That all the good that they saw in me was from you. That you love them and you are willing to wait for them to return home.
So many blessings you have given me. All my life you have watched and guided my steps even when I walked the opposite way you wanted me to go, I took you with me. Like a spoilt little kid who dragged their Dad by the hand somewhere he didn't want to go. You didn't try to stop me but you knew what would happen and would scoop me up exactly when I needed to be saved and protected. I learnt from my mistakes and I wouldn't do it again.
Help me to bless others LORD. To see them with your eyes. To love them as you do. To be like you and see their heart. Don't ever let me get in the way of your work LORD. Help me to hear your voice, to know your will in my life. Renew my mind more and more LORD.
Thanks for the great week...
Friday I spent the day with Irene which was heaps of fun. Thanks for all the good stuff you are doing in her life LORD even with all her struggles. She has so much potential to be an awesome woman of God and Satan knows it. Thanks for protecting her and her family LORD. Thanks for continuing to answer my prayers for her - especially not letting her give up!
Friday nite had Claire and Zee over after pass the plate. Thanks for bringing so many people that nite. I have clicked on that secret weapon. I'm excited about Christmas coming up and how much more we can show others the true meaning of celebrating your birthday.
Today blessing zee with an opportunity to buy herself clothes for work and do her budget. Then hanging out with my two girlfriends. LORD, please help them. You reminded me today of how else I can bless them. I invited them to our Christmas service - thanks for that opportunity. Please give me another one to follow up on the invite. I would love to share Christmas with them in some way LORD. For them to see what Christmas is really all about.
Tired now. good nite, LORD.
I should have gone with Rob to watch the rugby, but instead i feel like hanging with the LORD.
LORD
Thanks so much for an awesome last few days. It's been great having spare time to do nothing and then time to spend building relationships.
We had Wednesday to go watch family play oztag that was great and heaps of fun. Thursday saw TD Jakes who amazed me with just how much he spoke the word (memorised verses and stories). His version of the prodigal son story gave me fresh insight into a story I already love because it's an AWESOME illustration of your GRACE and LOVE.
Thanks again for the awesome alter call. I had such a burning desire to pray for the alter call even before TD Jakes had finished his sermon. I could sense the presence of your spirit, that feeling of warm hands even tho there was a cold wind blowing. It felt like your spirit was walking through the aisles seaching for your lost sheep and calling me to pray to set them free. You were probably calling all your children to do the same in that meeting.
It was very moving LORD. I couldn't help but cry in awe of you and your love for us. How you long for your children to be saved. At times it frustrates me that I can't scream to the world that you are the answer to all they seach for and long for. But they don't recognise that you are the answer because of us, your children.
It saddens me LORD that with all we know about you that we still can't understand that it's your kingdom we are building not our own. What's the point of recognition and honour in this world if when we get to heaven it's empty and hell is full?? I'm reminded of Reinhardt Bonnke's narrow road story. That your sacrifice on the cross bridged that narrow road so that many would be saved.
You spoke before your death Jesus about this narrow road but after your resurrection you opened the doors of heaven to the multitudes. Forgive me LORD for not doing enough to save the lost. There are people you have put in my life over the years that I have not done enough to save.
LORD, if you put these people back in my life, then I will not hestitate to tell them that I am who I am because of you. That all the good that they saw in me was from you. That you love them and you are willing to wait for them to return home.
So many blessings you have given me. All my life you have watched and guided my steps even when I walked the opposite way you wanted me to go, I took you with me. Like a spoilt little kid who dragged their Dad by the hand somewhere he didn't want to go. You didn't try to stop me but you knew what would happen and would scoop me up exactly when I needed to be saved and protected. I learnt from my mistakes and I wouldn't do it again.
Help me to bless others LORD. To see them with your eyes. To love them as you do. To be like you and see their heart. Don't ever let me get in the way of your work LORD. Help me to hear your voice, to know your will in my life. Renew my mind more and more LORD.
Thanks for the great week...
Friday I spent the day with Irene which was heaps of fun. Thanks for all the good stuff you are doing in her life LORD even with all her struggles. She has so much potential to be an awesome woman of God and Satan knows it. Thanks for protecting her and her family LORD. Thanks for continuing to answer my prayers for her - especially not letting her give up!
Friday nite had Claire and Zee over after pass the plate. Thanks for bringing so many people that nite. I have clicked on that secret weapon. I'm excited about Christmas coming up and how much more we can show others the true meaning of celebrating your birthday.
Today blessing zee with an opportunity to buy herself clothes for work and do her budget. Then hanging out with my two girlfriends. LORD, please help them. You reminded me today of how else I can bless them. I invited them to our Christmas service - thanks for that opportunity. Please give me another one to follow up on the invite. I would love to share Christmas with them in some way LORD. For them to see what Christmas is really all about.
Tired now. good nite, LORD.
Friday, November 18, 2005
"Talk our way out of it"
how awesome is our God! he doesnt say " work your way out of it, or cry your way out of it, or hurt people on your way out...he has simply given us the power to "talk"or "speak" our way out of it. Through his word!!
T.D Jakes, explained this parable in Luke 15 like noone else Ive heard...he spoke the truth and had scripture to back it up. And it just confirms how our God is upsidedown..instead of killing yourself trying to get out of trouble, strife and hardship, he has given us the power to overcome, to become conquerors, to be victorious and say to satan " I have power over you in the precious name of Jesus, the name above all names, you have no right to my life anymore for I am a child of God and by his precious blood I was set FREE, free from you and your lies.I am good enough, I am imperfect, I will stumble, I will have hard times, but My Lord said "in this world you will have trouble but do not fear for I have overcome this world" so GET OUT in the name of Jesus " Through words and faith our enemy flees! You speak it and believe it!
Last night at T.D Jakes, confirmed a lot for me in regards to my mouth...the Lord knows what my struggles are without me knowing, but last night I heard the voice of God, speaking to me about my mouth and how my mouth holds the power to OPEN UP THE GATES OF HEAVEN AND SET PEOPLE FREE OR TO OPEN UP HELL AND KEEP PEOPLE IN CAPTIVITY.
It was a conviction!! that I must use my mouth to speak blessings, to praise, to worship, to tell the truth, to keep the peace, to declare salvation, to free the captives and to CLOSE THE GATES OF HELL FOREVER!!!
Something else T.D Jakes said that convicted me, "the word/scripture is the sword and the only weapon we can use for spiritual battle, you cant go into battle with your emotions, your feelings, or tears..you need the sword given to you by God to fight and fight anf fight and WIN"
The enemy likes it when we rely on our feelings and emotions, coz it doesnt scare him, so often he distracts us to focus on our feelings so we dont go for the word of God, but Praise God, his spirit lives in us and through inner promptings he will direct us to the SWORD..his scriptues, his truth, his weapon.......and the devil trembles at the thought of US thinking about the word.He hates the WORD for it is truth and it is life.
Through speaking and meditating the truth about Christ we bring about our victory, we put an end to satan and his lies, we can kick Satan out of our lives just by speaking to our circumstances the truth Jesus gave us. That he died to set you FREE....that he came so you can have life and have it abundance.....that he loved you so much he died for you even before you knew who he was, that by his wounds your sins were forgiven, that so far is Gods
You see......WE CAN TALK OUR WAY OUT OF IT!!
Thank You Lord for your love so amazing, for when my spirit called, YOU ANSWERED!!
T.D Jakes, explained this parable in Luke 15 like noone else Ive heard...he spoke the truth and had scripture to back it up. And it just confirms how our God is upsidedown..instead of killing yourself trying to get out of trouble, strife and hardship, he has given us the power to overcome, to become conquerors, to be victorious and say to satan " I have power over you in the precious name of Jesus, the name above all names, you have no right to my life anymore for I am a child of God and by his precious blood I was set FREE, free from you and your lies.I am good enough, I am imperfect, I will stumble, I will have hard times, but My Lord said "in this world you will have trouble but do not fear for I have overcome this world" so GET OUT in the name of Jesus " Through words and faith our enemy flees! You speak it and believe it!
Last night at T.D Jakes, confirmed a lot for me in regards to my mouth...the Lord knows what my struggles are without me knowing, but last night I heard the voice of God, speaking to me about my mouth and how my mouth holds the power to OPEN UP THE GATES OF HEAVEN AND SET PEOPLE FREE OR TO OPEN UP HELL AND KEEP PEOPLE IN CAPTIVITY.
It was a conviction!! that I must use my mouth to speak blessings, to praise, to worship, to tell the truth, to keep the peace, to declare salvation, to free the captives and to CLOSE THE GATES OF HELL FOREVER!!!
Something else T.D Jakes said that convicted me, "the word/scripture is the sword and the only weapon we can use for spiritual battle, you cant go into battle with your emotions, your feelings, or tears..you need the sword given to you by God to fight and fight anf fight and WIN"
The enemy likes it when we rely on our feelings and emotions, coz it doesnt scare him, so often he distracts us to focus on our feelings so we dont go for the word of God, but Praise God, his spirit lives in us and through inner promptings he will direct us to the SWORD..his scriptues, his truth, his weapon.......and the devil trembles at the thought of US thinking about the word.He hates the WORD for it is truth and it is life.
Through speaking and meditating the truth about Christ we bring about our victory, we put an end to satan and his lies, we can kick Satan out of our lives just by speaking to our circumstances the truth Jesus gave us. That he died to set you FREE....that he came so you can have life and have it abundance.....that he loved you so much he died for you even before you knew who he was, that by his wounds your sins were forgiven, that so far is Gods
You see......WE CAN TALK OUR WAY OUT OF IT!!
Thank You Lord for your love so amazing, for when my spirit called, YOU ANSWERED!!
stepping out...
well I had a great time at the T.D.Jakes event last night...and all through his preaching it was like he had a message to me - which was to give the message to Duncan! So I have bought the DVD and will give it to Duncan. It may be a seed - or a lightning bolt!
I gotta remember 'saving' is not my job - it's the Lords. I just gotta hand out the invite!!
I gotta remember 'saving' is not my job - it's the Lords. I just gotta hand out the invite!!
satans work vs the LORDs work
whatever the problem, hardship, trial, testing:
EG: relationship problems...myles and me, claire and lipo, zella and nick
EXAMINE YOURSELF not the other person, don't focus on the other person in your relationship, ask yourself these questions:
He wants to set you free from whatever is holding you back. Don't be like the waves tossed back and forth...stand your ground...keep up the good fight of faith.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)
So even if you feel like you're still struggling to escape the prison, and you're still doubting, etc. IT STILL DOESN'T CHANGE THE TRUTH - THE LORD HAS SET YOU FREE ALREADY!
EG: relationship problems...myles and me, claire and lipo, zella and nick
EXAMINE YOURSELF not the other person, don't focus on the other person in your relationship, ask yourself these questions:
- Can you see what Satan is doing in your relationship?
- Can you see what he is busy at work trying to do?
- Can you see how he is using your relationship to steal, kill and destroy you? (John 10:10)
- Can you see what Satan is trying to imprison and enslave you with? So you can't escape and have no choices left in life but to give up and blame God for this mess.
- Can you see what the LORD is doing in your relationship?
- Can you see what he is busy at work trying to do?
- Can you see how he is using your relationship so you can have and ENJOY your life (John 10:10)
- Can you see what the LORD is trying to set you free from?
He wants to set you free from whatever is holding you back. Don't be like the waves tossed back and forth...stand your ground...keep up the good fight of faith.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal 5:1)
Whoever the Lord sets free is FREE indeed...
(this is NOT a feeling THIS is a FACT, the TRUTH)
So even if you feel like you're still struggling to escape the prison, and you're still doubting, etc. IT STILL DOESN'T CHANGE THE TRUTH - THE LORD HAS SET YOU FREE ALREADY!
If you belong to the LORD than stop fighting him and start fighting the enemy.
Remember we are all on the same team!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Escape Pt 2
Take me..take me....ill escape too!!!
Tho for me its more of a FREEDOM thing and i cant say i am eternity focused, but Thank God he created Tali who is very eternity focused and who set me free of my limited imagination of heaven and how it is, otherwise, i wouldve continued to think that in heaven there is no work, just singing and hallelujiah, hossanna from morning to night, i imagined myself standing in a qoir like setting singing alto forever, tho it wasnt the singing that scared me, it was standing in one spot for a long period of time...at one point of my life i considered heaven pretty dull if thats all we did!
NOT ANYMOOOOORE :p
But escape for me is a sense of freedom.Rules, rules rules, how I dislike them, Im always daydreaming of "roadtrips"... love 'em! The freedom I always craved, not to do whatever I want but to NOT be a victim of social constraints, misconceptions, conformity, imposing views etc..etc..to not be held down when I want to soar.I think this is my area of specialty....seeing people set FREE from their lives, thats my SHAPE, my GIFT and the Lord knows I can do it, because he made sure I could!
Once again, im in awe of how Gods imagination works!!
"I love you Lord, and i LIft my voice, to worship you oh my soul......REJOICE!
Tho for me its more of a FREEDOM thing and i cant say i am eternity focused, but Thank God he created Tali who is very eternity focused and who set me free of my limited imagination of heaven and how it is, otherwise, i wouldve continued to think that in heaven there is no work, just singing and hallelujiah, hossanna from morning to night, i imagined myself standing in a qoir like setting singing alto forever, tho it wasnt the singing that scared me, it was standing in one spot for a long period of time...at one point of my life i considered heaven pretty dull if thats all we did!
NOT ANYMOOOOORE :p
But escape for me is a sense of freedom.Rules, rules rules, how I dislike them, Im always daydreaming of "roadtrips"... love 'em! The freedom I always craved, not to do whatever I want but to NOT be a victim of social constraints, misconceptions, conformity, imposing views etc..etc..to not be held down when I want to soar.I think this is my area of specialty....seeing people set FREE from their lives, thats my SHAPE, my GIFT and the Lord knows I can do it, because he made sure I could!
Once again, im in awe of how Gods imagination works!!
"I love you Lord, and i LIft my voice, to worship you oh my soul......REJOICE!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
dancing
hey claireI think we are going to have your 1st dancing lesson on Friday....time to get rid of that stronghold in your life.
Don't worry it will just be us girls!
plus i have some good news...i finally got my cheque book for Watoto. I will be writing a cheque tonite and delivering to you Claire as soon as I can!!!
we are building that home for God's orphans!!!
it's been cold but this picture shows that even when it's cold there is beauty, God's visible hand at work.
It depends on our view of the world...
do we see it with our LORD's eyes or the eyes of this world?
Let's not conform any longer to the patterns of this world. If God rules our lives we have nothing to fear - if God is in control then we have the opportunity to enjoy all that he has created. If God is for us than why do we worry when we can't control things.
Let the LORD drive and just sit back and enjoy the ride
escape
Learnt something about myself last nite...I always wondered why I love sci-fi programmes, exploring other worlds, travelling, visiting other cultures, etc. what's the common theme?
I like to escape. I have this imagination which is focused on eternity, the biggest escape ever - what would it be like?
Imagine living with your Creator - the Creator of all things...all planets, all life...WOW...I think that's what sci fi programmes give me. An opportunity to see what living somewhere without the natural rules found on earth - where there is no gravity...where people live in space...and are beamed from one place to another...holograms....the things they make up in these programmes like time distortion, time travel, dimensional travel...it appeals to my imagination.
when i get to heaven one of the first things I see myself doing is:
sitting at my LORD's feet as he takes me around the universes, showing me sights that no man has ever seen...parts of the world that men have yet to walk on...i'm not alone but with others like me. The LORD is pointing things out to us and we sit there IN AWE...like little kids...mouths open in amazement...saying WOW every 5 seconds!
I have few goals in life...
but one of them is to see as much of this world before I leave it...visit all the pacific nations before they disappear into the sea...go to both ends of the planet...antarctica and the arctic...well Alaska...visit every continent...visit Jerusalem and walk where my Lord walked.
I fulfilled some already but it's only the beginning of a life time of journeys.
I like to escape. I have this imagination which is focused on eternity, the biggest escape ever - what would it be like?
Imagine living with your Creator - the Creator of all things...all planets, all life...WOW...I think that's what sci fi programmes give me. An opportunity to see what living somewhere without the natural rules found on earth - where there is no gravity...where people live in space...and are beamed from one place to another...holograms....the things they make up in these programmes like time distortion, time travel, dimensional travel...it appeals to my imagination.
when i get to heaven one of the first things I see myself doing is:
sitting at my LORD's feet as he takes me around the universes, showing me sights that no man has ever seen...parts of the world that men have yet to walk on...i'm not alone but with others like me. The LORD is pointing things out to us and we sit there IN AWE...like little kids...mouths open in amazement...saying WOW every 5 seconds!
I have few goals in life...
but one of them is to see as much of this world before I leave it...visit all the pacific nations before they disappear into the sea...go to both ends of the planet...antarctica and the arctic...well Alaska...visit every continent...visit Jerusalem and walk where my Lord walked.
I fulfilled some already but it's only the beginning of a life time of journeys.
where id it go?
so i purposely added colour to by entry below so it will look like the rainbow, somehow the reds and violets arent working!!!
not happy, never in my entire life have i seen a rainbow with a hint of black!!!
not happy, never in my entire life have i seen a rainbow with a hint of black!!!
mmmmmmm.... icereeeeeeeeeam
i like fun!!! im up for enjoying life...im up for being a different christian ....im up for salt lots of it....im up for Jesus..im up for it all!
I think the best thing about my SHAPE that i have now come to realise and appreciate is that God made sure that someone was there to show people that its fun being a follower of christ.To say "i went to church on sunday" with enthusiasm rather than dread. To dress, walk, and talk like a christian with a difference, not hold my head low, and struggle through life, and forever saying "well maybe God is testing my faith........again" I didnt want to be that person.I wanted to be the "coolest christian" you can find!! I want to show people that loving God requires only a simple willing choice.That one choice takes you far...i didnt want to be a boring, tied down, holier than thou dutiful christian....i wanted to mingle...with anyone and anything if it means letting them see the Lord i serve is all about enjoying life.I didnt want to walk around with a sign on my head saying " follower of Jesus, beware" or "only christians welcome"
The more i think about this the more I am convinced that I was created to break all inhibitions created by man that stops people from enjoying life in christ. I despise the stereotypes of christianity " quiet, skirt and hatwearing, pearl lacing,home by 6pm,dont talk to strangers, tie your hair in a ponytail, hymn singing etc..etc.. kinda stereotypes" I want people to have a great laugh with me, listening to hip hop, reggae, country music(yes you heard me Tali) over a nice glass of wine and then fall of their chairs when i start talking about the God i serve!!
I want to serve God as I do my family and friends, as my boss at work, as my team, but as my first priority with everything I got.... Like a hot wire not a dead battery...i dont want to just get by...i want to LIVE!!! I want to touch a black and white world and see colour spread throughout the land...what can i say? Im a rebel with a cause.....and im infectious!
Love the Lord and Love others.
We are the difference, we are the salt, we are the light, we are ambassadors of Christ! We ought to tell the world that loving God is the new fashion trend, its the latest in technology, its the most popular hangout, its a glass of wine, its your best meal, its your best night out, its your favourite song, your favourite memory, its your best escape, its your best quiet time, its your best!!!!!!
like the song goes "Onward Christian soldiers" tho i imagine them all in different coloured uniforms :p
I think the best thing about my SHAPE that i have now come to realise and appreciate is that God made sure that someone was there to show people that its fun being a follower of christ.To say "i went to church on sunday" with enthusiasm rather than dread. To dress, walk, and talk like a christian with a difference, not hold my head low, and struggle through life, and forever saying "well maybe God is testing my faith........again" I didnt want to be that person.I wanted to be the "coolest christian" you can find!! I want to show people that loving God requires only a simple willing choice.That one choice takes you far...i didnt want to be a boring, tied down, holier than thou dutiful christian....i wanted to mingle...with anyone and anything if it means letting them see the Lord i serve is all about enjoying life.I didnt want to walk around with a sign on my head saying " follower of Jesus, beware" or "only christians welcome"
The more i think about this the more I am convinced that I was created to break all inhibitions created by man that stops people from enjoying life in christ. I despise the stereotypes of christianity " quiet, skirt and hatwearing, pearl lacing,home by 6pm,dont talk to strangers, tie your hair in a ponytail, hymn singing etc..etc.. kinda stereotypes" I want people to have a great laugh with me, listening to hip hop, reggae, country music(yes you heard me Tali) over a nice glass of wine and then fall of their chairs when i start talking about the God i serve!!
I want to serve God as I do my family and friends, as my boss at work, as my team, but as my first priority with everything I got.... Like a hot wire not a dead battery...i dont want to just get by...i want to LIVE!!! I want to touch a black and white world and see colour spread throughout the land...what can i say? Im a rebel with a cause.....and im infectious!
Love the Lord and Love others.
We are the difference, we are the salt, we are the light, we are ambassadors of Christ! We ought to tell the world that loving God is the new fashion trend, its the latest in technology, its the most popular hangout, its a glass of wine, its your best meal, its your best night out, its your favourite song, your favourite memory, its your best escape, its your best quiet time, its your best!!!!!!
like the song goes "Onward Christian soldiers" tho i imagine them all in different coloured uniforms :p
break
hey fanau
I am more convinced now that I'm home that we need a break. We have been meeting regularly for 40 days plus. So I propose that next week instead of doing the study we planned we take time out and have some fun. So how about we go to a golf range and have a few hits (for the boys and me) then we go out to dinner somewhere fun next Tues. What do you guys think?
We have all come a long way...do you realise we spent 4 hours doing study tonight? Praising, prayer, bible study, heart study, talking, praying...THAT'S AWESOME! We use to do that twice a week remember :)
We have been faithful with this - we meet together no matter what and we have given the LORD at least 3-4 hours each time. Before that how much time did you dedicate to the LORD?
So don't be hard on yourselves. The Apostle Paul said don't give up meeting together - and we haven't. The joy of the LORD is our strength. This is the day that the LORD has made and I will be glad and rejoice in it! We can sing that song (in a round and even Claire can do it)
love yas
I am more convinced now that I'm home that we need a break. We have been meeting regularly for 40 days plus. So I propose that next week instead of doing the study we planned we take time out and have some fun. So how about we go to a golf range and have a few hits (for the boys and me) then we go out to dinner somewhere fun next Tues. What do you guys think?
We have all come a long way...do you realise we spent 4 hours doing study tonight? Praising, prayer, bible study, heart study, talking, praying...THAT'S AWESOME! We use to do that twice a week remember :)
We have been faithful with this - we meet together no matter what and we have given the LORD at least 3-4 hours each time. Before that how much time did you dedicate to the LORD?
So don't be hard on yourselves. The Apostle Paul said don't give up meeting together - and we haven't. The joy of the LORD is our strength. This is the day that the LORD has made and I will be glad and rejoice in it! We can sing that song (in a round and even Claire can do it)
This is the day, this is the day
That the LORD has made
That the LORD has made
We will be glad, We will be glad
and rejoice in it and rejoice in it
For this is the day that the LORD has made
We will be glad and rejoice in it.
This is the day, this is the day,
That the LORD has made!!!
love yas
ENJOY YOUR LIVES!
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Gal 6:9)
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
(John 10:10 Amp)
That's our LORD talking to us. Let's take his advice and enjoy our lives.
some hints for restoring your soul this week, renewing a right spirit within you:
if you don't feel like praying, then praise - listen to worship music, blast it, sing it out loud.
if you don't feel like loving others, then love the LORD.
if you don't feel like loving the LORD, then love others.
the secret to this recipe is: don't focus on what you can't do, don't feel like doing...but focus on what you can do and what you do feel like doing.
We just studied the heart now let's put it into practice. If life is hard then do something you enjoy, love the most, etc.
Here's some ideas:
- hang out with someone who makes you laugh
- dance, in your room, with a loved one
- shout someone lunch or coffee who needs a break
- celebrate - christmas is around the corner, our Lord is going to be over 2,000 years old - that's a birthday worth celebrating, make some plans, present lists
- bless someone less fortunate than you
- go for a walk
- hang out at the beach
- travel somewhere you haven't been too and that won't cost the earth
- play a sport - tennis, volleyball bash after work
- read a book
- listen to music
- go to a movie, rent a dvd that will make you laugh, inspire you
you get the picture. It doesn't have to be christian focused. We are unique and the LORD has given us different loves, passions, likes, etc...Now use your imagination and ENJOY YOUR LIFE!
Satan wants you to focus on your problems and what's wrong with you. INSTEAD focus on what's right with you and all the blessings you have - their is a huge waiting list for orphans at Watoto, disabled kids, children dying every day...WE ARE BLESSED. We have a roof over our heads, more than enough food and water...LET'S ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF OUR LIVES.
GOD ACTUALLY LOVES YOU AND ME!! HE'S NOT PRETENDING TO LOVE US OR TOLERATE US - HE ACTUALLY LOVES YOU MORE THAN YOU LOVE YOURSELF!
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Mixed Up
Well its been a bad day. Work is not going good and my head is just all mixed up. But I know I just have to give it to the Lord and not lean onto my own understanding.
For some better news, I think I'm getting some where with my friends its a slow process but I will not give up and I will continue to love them.
Last Saturday was our friends birthday, it was the first time we had all been together since all this trouble had started. It was a bit awkward but I continued to talk to them and show them that I forgive them for what they have done and I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused them.
It took all night till they started to talk to me more and start conversations with me, so I just thank the Lord for what he is doing in my life. Our friendship is not back to normal but its a start and I know that the Lords timing is perfect not mine. So I will continue to love and be patient and I know when the time is right everything will work out according to his plan.
For some better news, I think I'm getting some where with my friends its a slow process but I will not give up and I will continue to love them.
Last Saturday was our friends birthday, it was the first time we had all been together since all this trouble had started. It was a bit awkward but I continued to talk to them and show them that I forgive them for what they have done and I'm sorry for any trouble I have caused them.
It took all night till they started to talk to me more and start conversations with me, so I just thank the Lord for what he is doing in my life. Our friendship is not back to normal but its a start and I know that the Lords timing is perfect not mine. So I will continue to love and be patient and I know when the time is right everything will work out according to his plan.
Monday, November 14, 2005
you are a gift from God
Did you know that the most precious gift God has ever given you to take care of IS YOU.
He loves you with such a passion that he wrapped himself into the most vulnerable human state - a little baby, put himself into the care of a young girl and her beau, subjected himself to all the natural and human laws, and took our sins on to himself physically, mentally and spiritually.
He thought we were worth dying for, worth saving, worth loving.
He could have made each of us the same, lots of little holy ghost juniors or jesus' juniors. But every single human being ever born is different...someone with such a huge imagination, why would he settle for everything the same?
When I say I want to be like Jesus...i'm not talking of a copy or a duplicate...i'm talking about his heart, his love for the LORD. He fulfilled his purpose in the time that his Father gave him.
I love the LORD, but I want to love him with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength and all my mind.
I think I love variety that's nothing compared to the LORD...I'm only a mere reflection of him...look around us VARIETY is everywhere in creation. How much fun it must have been to create all the animals, stars, universes....seriously mind blowing variety.....
somewhere along the way in church history unity equalled SAME. But if anyone has any idea who the LORD is than surely they can't escape the TRUTH before their eyes :
He's after balance and in the body of Christ we balance each other out. One group has weaknesses in some areas that others have strengths in....we stand in the gap for each other. We're meant to support and cherish each other, spur each other on to fulfil our purposes. (One day Lord....)
He loves you with such a passion that he wrapped himself into the most vulnerable human state - a little baby, put himself into the care of a young girl and her beau, subjected himself to all the natural and human laws, and took our sins on to himself physically, mentally and spiritually.
If I am the most precious gift he has given me then I want to return to him something so beautiful worthy of keeping for all eternity.
He thought we were worth dying for, worth saving, worth loving.
He could have made each of us the same, lots of little holy ghost juniors or jesus' juniors. But every single human being ever born is different...someone with such a huge imagination, why would he settle for everything the same?
When I say I want to be like Jesus...i'm not talking of a copy or a duplicate...i'm talking about his heart, his love for the LORD. He fulfilled his purpose in the time that his Father gave him.
I love the LORD, but I want to love him with all my heart, all my soul, all my strength and all my mind.
I think I love variety that's nothing compared to the LORD...I'm only a mere reflection of him...look around us VARIETY is everywhere in creation. How much fun it must have been to create all the animals, stars, universes....seriously mind blowing variety.....
somewhere along the way in church history unity equalled SAME. But if anyone has any idea who the LORD is than surely they can't escape the TRUTH before their eyes :
MY GOD LOVES UNITY
UNITY EQUALS
MANY PARTS OF ONE BODY
MULTIFUNCTIONAL, WORLDWIDE, DYNAMIC, MULTICULTURAL, THRIVING, MULTICOLOURED MIX OF MANY DENOMINATIONS,
MANY WAYS TO WORSHIP,
MANY STRENGTHS AND GIFTS
WORKING AS ONE!
He's after balance and in the body of Christ we balance each other out. One group has weaknesses in some areas that others have strengths in....we stand in the gap for each other. We're meant to support and cherish each other, spur each other on to fulfil our purposes. (One day Lord....)
God vs Satan
God is seriously working overtime with me...the weekend has been a tug of war between the Lord and his enemy, i imagined myself looking like the Neurofen add, where people were pulling from each side while a sumo wrestler was stomping on my head, and an opera siger screaming her lungs out while i try and shut it all out with a struggle.
been a weird weekend for me, lot of uncertainities, or perhaps the enemy confusing me now that my purpose seems to be clearer each day. I feel like a huge battle is going on in me and im struggling to break free, the more serious the kingdom is in my heart the bigger the struggle to overcome the enemy. at one point over the weekend, i was overcome with fear.Fear of what i dont know, i know one thing was that i feared time running out and I have not done enough for the Lord, which results in my loved ones not knowing Christ...theres so much for me to do but just dont know where to start and if i have, not sure whether its the right place to start.Sat in church, and had the Lord remind me again of how i tend to wander off and rely on myself rather than him, that with him ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.Yet, i walked out still anxious and nervous.At one point i even doubted my salvation, and started to look from the outside at the work Im doing and whether it was what im supposed to be doing.Felt pretty helpless because i cant seem to shake enough people to come to knwo Christ.Satan had a field day helping me to entertain the idea of being committed to nothing and how good it was when i lived for myself rather than the Lord.How great it was to walk in late to church and leave early and not fellowship or know anyone. How great it was to not be part of any ministries or outreaches, to care and look after my needs rather than pray and love others. Bizzare!! I got a glimpse of the battle fought for me, all the while a strong calm held me steady, all the while a gentle voice kept me coming back and reminding me of who i was over and over again.Thats just how faithful and patient God is with me and my mental wanderings. I prayed i wont be like the waves of the seas that James talks about! I feared being a fence sitter and being a luke warm christian and whether I am causing someone else to stumble etc.etc.
I know the Lord prepared me for this, in my scritpure time i found myself reading about getting busy doing the Lords work rather than on the signs of the end of days. Theres no time to waste, for that time of salvation is now, no time for slumber, preparation so when the Lord returns he finds me working and not just sitting around waiting for him. so much revelation, its no wonder Satan got scared!!
Indeed because he is the WAY we will never get lost
because he is the Truth we can never be deceived
because he is the LIFE, we can never be killed.
Thank You Lord for rescuing me even when i didnt know i needed rescuing.
your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
been a weird weekend for me, lot of uncertainities, or perhaps the enemy confusing me now that my purpose seems to be clearer each day. I feel like a huge battle is going on in me and im struggling to break free, the more serious the kingdom is in my heart the bigger the struggle to overcome the enemy. at one point over the weekend, i was overcome with fear.Fear of what i dont know, i know one thing was that i feared time running out and I have not done enough for the Lord, which results in my loved ones not knowing Christ...theres so much for me to do but just dont know where to start and if i have, not sure whether its the right place to start.Sat in church, and had the Lord remind me again of how i tend to wander off and rely on myself rather than him, that with him ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.Yet, i walked out still anxious and nervous.At one point i even doubted my salvation, and started to look from the outside at the work Im doing and whether it was what im supposed to be doing.Felt pretty helpless because i cant seem to shake enough people to come to knwo Christ.Satan had a field day helping me to entertain the idea of being committed to nothing and how good it was when i lived for myself rather than the Lord.How great it was to walk in late to church and leave early and not fellowship or know anyone. How great it was to not be part of any ministries or outreaches, to care and look after my needs rather than pray and love others. Bizzare!! I got a glimpse of the battle fought for me, all the while a strong calm held me steady, all the while a gentle voice kept me coming back and reminding me of who i was over and over again.Thats just how faithful and patient God is with me and my mental wanderings. I prayed i wont be like the waves of the seas that James talks about! I feared being a fence sitter and being a luke warm christian and whether I am causing someone else to stumble etc.etc.
I know the Lord prepared me for this, in my scritpure time i found myself reading about getting busy doing the Lords work rather than on the signs of the end of days. Theres no time to waste, for that time of salvation is now, no time for slumber, preparation so when the Lord returns he finds me working and not just sitting around waiting for him. so much revelation, its no wonder Satan got scared!!
Indeed because he is the WAY we will never get lost
because he is the Truth we can never be deceived
because he is the LIFE, we can never be killed.
Thank You Lord for rescuing me even when i didnt know i needed rescuing.
your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
funny morning
10:30pmish last nite it occurred to me that my mum was going to spend her last day in Sydney by herself at home...and she had forgotten to buy something for someone. So I emailed my boss to see if I could work Wed instead of today. The problem was I knew she didn't work Mondays so it was a long shot that she might pop into the office.
I woke up this morning and texted her as well. Asked the LORD to let her get the message in time. But got ready for work anyway. This morning I had to catch the bus for the first time. I planned to catch the second bus so as to give my boss time to respond. But she still hadn't texted me back. So I had to rush to the bus.
The LORD was so kind to me this morning. I had to cross three roads to get to my bus stop. The first road crossing cars zoomed by just before I got there so it was clear, second crossing, the cross sign came on just as I got there, and third crossing all clear.
I got to the bus, the bus driver was having a smoke, people were already on the bus. As soon as I got there he jumped on the bus and we zoomed off. It felt like he was waiting for me.
I accepted that I had to going to work so I was keen for the bus to get their quickly. As soon as I pulled into the bus stop by work - I got a text from my boss saying that's fine I can have the day off.
That was so funny. I think the LORD was testing my faithfulness again. To see if I would still be prepared to go to work even if I didn't have the day off. Janelle texted me just in time. So I crossed the road and waited for the bus to come home.
Now I'm here. I get to spend one last day hanging out with my mum. She was pleased to have me come back. God is good.
I woke up this morning and texted her as well. Asked the LORD to let her get the message in time. But got ready for work anyway. This morning I had to catch the bus for the first time. I planned to catch the second bus so as to give my boss time to respond. But she still hadn't texted me back. So I had to rush to the bus.
The LORD was so kind to me this morning. I had to cross three roads to get to my bus stop. The first road crossing cars zoomed by just before I got there so it was clear, second crossing, the cross sign came on just as I got there, and third crossing all clear.
I got to the bus, the bus driver was having a smoke, people were already on the bus. As soon as I got there he jumped on the bus and we zoomed off. It felt like he was waiting for me.
I accepted that I had to going to work so I was keen for the bus to get their quickly. As soon as I pulled into the bus stop by work - I got a text from my boss saying that's fine I can have the day off.
That was so funny. I think the LORD was testing my faithfulness again. To see if I would still be prepared to go to work even if I didn't have the day off. Janelle texted me just in time. So I crossed the road and waited for the bus to come home.
Now I'm here. I get to spend one last day hanging out with my mum. She was pleased to have me come back. God is good.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
OUR WAYS ARE NOT THE LORDS
Hi people,
How's everyone? Hope everyone's good and blessed by the Lord this week.
Last night as we all know it was Carla's 21st Party, Claire was at one of her friends 21st as well. So it was kind of a big weekend planned for me.. Well as I thought it was going to be cos I havent taken a Saturday off from work for a while now just to go out and have a bit of fun..
BUT!!!!!
Our ways are not the Lords.
I rocked up late at Carlas 21st after dropping Claire off to her friends party and everyone was starting to party.. So straight away I felt like a drink, but I couldn't cos I was driving.. Well I was blah blah blahring last night about it. Tali knows cos she was one of them that I blah blah blahed to.. For some reason I was really keen for a drink.
A few of my mates called me up and asked me to come to the city, So I decided to leave Carlas party, go and pick Claire up and drop me off to my mates..
It didnt happen..
I picked up Claire, but as I was driving towards the city, rang my mates fone and it was off.. I kept ringing but no success..
So I started to think of Carlas party at Leighcart, thinking I'll just go there to enjoy my night but for some reason I started to feel weird..
We were actually in the city but then I just turned the car and headed back home.
About 2am, I heard a knock on my bedroom door, it was Lana trying to wake me up if I could take Pritch to the hospital, he was all swolen up..
He had to stay at hospital till 7 this morning..
To cut the story short, If I didnt come home, no one would have been able to take Pritch to the hospital. I wouldnt have been there for him. As we are praying to our Lord to help him change. I believe that our Lord has a total different way of doing things.. And I am thankful for it...
The devil tried to lead me in to his trap but the Lord stopped me from it. My mate called me today and asked me why I didnt call him last night and why I didnt come, I told him I did call his fone but it was off and I left messages..
He said his fone was on all night and there are no meassages... FREAKY???
NO!!!!
COS OUR WAYS ARENT THE LORDS WAYS.. "BELIEVE IN IT" ITS TRUE......
How's everyone? Hope everyone's good and blessed by the Lord this week.
Last night as we all know it was Carla's 21st Party, Claire was at one of her friends 21st as well. So it was kind of a big weekend planned for me.. Well as I thought it was going to be cos I havent taken a Saturday off from work for a while now just to go out and have a bit of fun..
BUT!!!!!
Our ways are not the Lords.
I rocked up late at Carlas 21st after dropping Claire off to her friends party and everyone was starting to party.. So straight away I felt like a drink, but I couldn't cos I was driving.. Well I was blah blah blahring last night about it. Tali knows cos she was one of them that I blah blah blahed to.. For some reason I was really keen for a drink.
A few of my mates called me up and asked me to come to the city, So I decided to leave Carlas party, go and pick Claire up and drop me off to my mates..
It didnt happen..
I picked up Claire, but as I was driving towards the city, rang my mates fone and it was off.. I kept ringing but no success..
So I started to think of Carlas party at Leighcart, thinking I'll just go there to enjoy my night but for some reason I started to feel weird..
We were actually in the city but then I just turned the car and headed back home.
About 2am, I heard a knock on my bedroom door, it was Lana trying to wake me up if I could take Pritch to the hospital, he was all swolen up..
He had to stay at hospital till 7 this morning..
To cut the story short, If I didnt come home, no one would have been able to take Pritch to the hospital. I wouldnt have been there for him. As we are praying to our Lord to help him change. I believe that our Lord has a total different way of doing things.. And I am thankful for it...
The devil tried to lead me in to his trap but the Lord stopped me from it. My mate called me today and asked me why I didnt call him last night and why I didnt come, I told him I did call his fone but it was off and I left messages..
He said his fone was on all night and there are no meassages... FREAKY???
NO!!!!
COS OUR WAYS ARENT THE LORDS WAYS.. "BELIEVE IN IT" ITS TRUE......
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Friday, November 11, 2005
40 days study
Hey freshies
As agreed our next focus is H - for heart from our SHAPE study.
I think by the time we have finished doing the SHAPE, you will know who are in Christ. Then I was thinking we spend one session focusing on each of us. So one session on Claire, one session on Lipo, etc etc. To summarise all that we learnt, but also to put into action some plans for going forward for each of us.
So that what we learn is not just to gain knowledge but to spur us into action - like our reading...to wake up from our slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
The SALVATION that the Apostle Paul is talking about is not when we first believed - not when we were first saved as individuals - but the final salvation of all our brothers and sisters when Jesus returns.
THAT'S why we are called to act now...not because we know when he will return but because WE DON'T KNOW WHEN HE WILL RETURN. So we must prepare because we have generations to think of. Like Paul prepared for us...we must prepare for others to come because the LORD could come tomorrow or 20 years from now.
But like Rick Warren's words - only we can do what our generation is meant to do...we are responsible for doing our part NOW. If we don't it won't get done. It's that simple.
SO my beautiful brothers and sisters in Christ - lets not just think on Tuesdays about what we have learnt...but now that you have some idea about your spiritual gifts, pray about it, study it. If your spiritual gift is to encourage others - then read through the bible and see what it says about how to love others so you don't settle for just being good at it but AWESOME at it.
If your gift is to speak, teach, lead...then read and learn from the leaders in the bible. None of them were perfect but the LORD taught them important lessons especially with their weaknesses.
One thing we must do is study Jesus' example. Perhaps in our bible studies together we can focus on that? What do you think? Otherwise I am happy to do it for my session.
Have awesome days...rest in the LORD.
OUR TASKS:
As agreed our next focus is H - for heart from our SHAPE study.
I think by the time we have finished doing the SHAPE, you will know who are in Christ. Then I was thinking we spend one session focusing on each of us. So one session on Claire, one session on Lipo, etc etc. To summarise all that we learnt, but also to put into action some plans for going forward for each of us.
So that what we learn is not just to gain knowledge but to spur us into action - like our reading...to wake up from our slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
The SALVATION that the Apostle Paul is talking about is not when we first believed - not when we were first saved as individuals - but the final salvation of all our brothers and sisters when Jesus returns.
THAT'S why we are called to act now...not because we know when he will return but because WE DON'T KNOW WHEN HE WILL RETURN. So we must prepare because we have generations to think of. Like Paul prepared for us...we must prepare for others to come because the LORD could come tomorrow or 20 years from now.
But like Rick Warren's words - only we can do what our generation is meant to do...we are responsible for doing our part NOW. If we don't it won't get done. It's that simple.
SO my beautiful brothers and sisters in Christ - lets not just think on Tuesdays about what we have learnt...but now that you have some idea about your spiritual gifts, pray about it, study it. If your spiritual gift is to encourage others - then read through the bible and see what it says about how to love others so you don't settle for just being good at it but AWESOME at it.
If your gift is to speak, teach, lead...then read and learn from the leaders in the bible. None of them were perfect but the LORD taught them important lessons especially with their weaknesses.
One thing we must do is study Jesus' example. Perhaps in our bible studies together we can focus on that? What do you think? Otherwise I am happy to do it for my session.
Have awesome days...rest in the LORD.
OUR TASKS:
- Study the H from our 40 days book.
- Answer questions on pg 251.
- Define in your own words what fruitfulness and fulfilment means to you.
- Myles is doing the bible study.
- Zee is going to put her bible study on the blog for us to ponder some more.
- I will type up all the insights and evaluations for each individual from our spiritual gifts study.
Off to take the old ladies shopping.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
building family relationships - an update
hey crew - thought I would give all an update on my 'building relationships with my family' growth (plan).
So far this week I have:
So far this week I have:
- sent a couple of emails to my mom
- sent a birthday card to my sister (thanks Tali for pushing me)
- sent a package to my Dad of a CD of photos and movies, with a letter (it had been under my bed for a couple of months)
Bad point is I have not been able to meet up with Duncan - just emails and phone calls. Though I did get him to do my "strengths and weaknesses" task...which he enjoyed doing!
Next step: email my Dad...and get him to do my "strengths and weaknesses" tasks...which I know he will enjoy doing!
Onwards and upwards!
Monday, November 07, 2005
finally some simplifying
Myles and I have finished our course - hoooorrraaaaayyy!!!
Huge relief. It was weird...the structure of classes didn't appeal but our lecturer spoke on relevant topics to our lives during the time we were doing the course and I got tons of prayer points out of it. It fitted in with my 40 days study and 30 days of attitude with Joyce, but it was mostly stuff I knew on leadership. I did write notes on our lecturer's own insights. So maybe that's all I was meant to get out of it. The input of an experienced Christian.
So now I have Monday nites free - LORD, don't let me waste the time but put it to good use. Show me how i can make the most of my Monday nites. Look forward to spending time with you.
Huge relief. It was weird...the structure of classes didn't appeal but our lecturer spoke on relevant topics to our lives during the time we were doing the course and I got tons of prayer points out of it. It fitted in with my 40 days study and 30 days of attitude with Joyce, but it was mostly stuff I knew on leadership. I did write notes on our lecturer's own insights. So maybe that's all I was meant to get out of it. The input of an experienced Christian.
So now I have Monday nites free - LORD, don't let me waste the time but put it to good use. Show me how i can make the most of my Monday nites. Look forward to spending time with you.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
spiritual gifts - a revelation
Being a 5 minute Christian - when I read the Bible I learn something new most times. But today I learnt something BIG! We are studying "spiritual gifts" and Tali and I were reading passages from the Bible...when I realised that 1 Corinthians 12 (about spiritual gifts) leads into 1 Corinthians 13. Now that may sound obvious!
But I had read both chapters but always seperately! The beauty of seeing them flow together is that it just reinforces that LOVE is the key. The one key sentence that ties the two is:
First, however, let me tell you about something that is better than any of them! (1 Corinthians 13:1)
So we move from 1 Cor 12 (spiritual gifts) to 1 Cor 13 (love). And he tells us that LOVE is better than any gifts. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone! Well it just blew me away - again!
But I had read both chapters but always seperately! The beauty of seeing them flow together is that it just reinforces that LOVE is the key. The one key sentence that ties the two is:
First, however, let me tell you about something that is better than any of them! (1 Corinthians 13:1)
So we move from 1 Cor 12 (spiritual gifts) to 1 Cor 13 (love). And he tells us that LOVE is better than any gifts. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone! Well it just blew me away - again!
Jesus is tough - Love your enemies
I love this cartoon. It says it simply that we need to follow Jesus even when we don't like the standards he puts onto us.To put it not so simply - I read about his standard of "Love your enemies!" It means LOVE and your ENEMIES. Nothing less. This is not a standard to be compromised. I can't reduce its claims on me...to make it easier on me. If I do the result and the irony is that I lose the offence of Jesus' radical claims. I lose his appeal. I can be affronted and intimidated by Jesus yet intrigued and drawn for the same reasons. The paradox remains that the more uncompromising he is the more appeal he has. I like the fact he was a counter-cultural radical who knew who he was, what he stood for and did not compromise...and expects us to be and do the same!
Friday, November 04, 2005
FOR THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE!
I have been instructed by my husband to write down our tasks for the next 40 days gathering.
- Our study is going to focus on the 1st letter of shape. S: our spiritual gifts. So study what the word says about spiritual gifts and reread the section on S in our purpose driven life book.
- Evaluate yourself and then everyone else in our group on spiritual gifts.
- Ask other people our strengths and weaknesses: 1) family member 2) friend 3) a casual acquaintance.
- Pray whenever you are driving, sitting on the train, walking to work for 1) Our three flatmates and Eddie 2) Watoto 3) Each Other 4) Church building.
- Zella is going to bring us a word in our next meeting. So we do a bible study together. She will also put it in our blog so we can refer to it during the week.
- Fill out our health assessments that Myles printed out.
I can't wait till our next meeting! It's vital that we know who we are in Christ not only so we can serve the LORD best but also so we can come up with strategies against Satan who loves attacking our weaknesses. We can say to him...you're not telling me something I don't know...I know who I am and there is no condemnation because I know who I am IN CHRIST and my hope is in him!
Lets not be afraid to face who we really are - it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us. He loves these imperfect people that we are and each day he sets us free from something else that is holding us back. Don't worry the LORD is not like us - HE IS THE KING OF PATIENCE. He will never give up on us!
So if today has not turned out the way you were hoping. Don't worry the LORD will still be there tomorrow to cheer you up and remind you of who you are - his beloved child not his perfect child but his most loved child. He thinks that way about each of us.
I picture him sitting by our bed side waiting for us to wake up and he doesn't come alone but he brings boxes of presents that he can't wait for you to open. So don't walk around with your eyes closed stuck in yesterday but see yourself as the LORD sees you with a new day ahead on your Father's shoulders.
God loves us so much it blows my mind away! God bless whoever reads this and if you don't know the LORD than don't wait another moment. Write us a comment good or bad.
ENJOY THIS AWESOME DAY THAT THE LORD HAS GIVEN EACH OF US! For this is the day that the LORD has made and I WILL be glad and rejoice in it!!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
ITS A NEW DAY
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever troubles comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your Faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.
James 1 : 2 - 4
We are all walking a tough road at the moment. But God has chosen and called us to work and use our lives for Him. It is going to be a tough and rough road, as my faith is now being tested everyday, but as James said, it will develope and will be strong in character to do anything for the Lord.
Everyday is a new day now, because now we have chosen to live our days for the Lord..
Lets work hard and continue to work together because we dont have time, As Philippian 1 : 6 says
And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you,
will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when
Christ Jesus comes back again..
God Bless Everyone..
L
James 1 : 2 - 4
We are all walking a tough road at the moment. But God has chosen and called us to work and use our lives for Him. It is going to be a tough and rough road, as my faith is now being tested everyday, but as James said, it will develope and will be strong in character to do anything for the Lord.
Everyday is a new day now, because now we have chosen to live our days for the Lord..
Lets work hard and continue to work together because we dont have time, As Philippian 1 : 6 says
And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you,
will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when
Christ Jesus comes back again..
God Bless Everyone..
L
Prayer for the nation
Lord,
with all the talk about bomb threats and terrorist acts on australia, we pray that your promises of divine protection and delivrance from evil will be our banner.Be our shield and our rampart, and may we always find solace under your mighty wings.Let us not fall into fear and doubt of your love for your creation and we plead your blood Jesus over all our families and friends, colleagues, acquaintances and this nation!
Lord we will not forget your blessings nor will be give in to the evil manipulation of the enemy, for we are confindent in who we believe and that is You.Awesome, loving and merciful father.
You are our refuge, you are our God in whom we trust.No weapon forged against us shall prevail in your mighty name Jesus.Speak to us all Lord, and remind us in our weaknesses who is in control, and Greater, so much greater are you who dwells in us, than who lives and roams in this world.
We lift up to you this nation Lord, and we ask that you Bless it with your love and protection, that no evil shall prevail in your name Jesus. We also pray for those who are attemtpting these evil acts and we bring them to you and ask that you have mercy on them, renew them and change their hearts so they will turn to you and receive your peace and salvation.
We praise your holy name for you alone are worthy of our praises and our utmost reverence.To you Lord be all the glory, from now on and forever. Protect us according to your perfect love and may we live to proclaim your mighty name to all generations until you come again.
In your name Jesus we pray
Amen
with all the talk about bomb threats and terrorist acts on australia, we pray that your promises of divine protection and delivrance from evil will be our banner.Be our shield and our rampart, and may we always find solace under your mighty wings.Let us not fall into fear and doubt of your love for your creation and we plead your blood Jesus over all our families and friends, colleagues, acquaintances and this nation!
Lord we will not forget your blessings nor will be give in to the evil manipulation of the enemy, for we are confindent in who we believe and that is You.Awesome, loving and merciful father.
You are our refuge, you are our God in whom we trust.No weapon forged against us shall prevail in your mighty name Jesus.Speak to us all Lord, and remind us in our weaknesses who is in control, and Greater, so much greater are you who dwells in us, than who lives and roams in this world.
We lift up to you this nation Lord, and we ask that you Bless it with your love and protection, that no evil shall prevail in your name Jesus. We also pray for those who are attemtpting these evil acts and we bring them to you and ask that you have mercy on them, renew them and change their hearts so they will turn to you and receive your peace and salvation.
We praise your holy name for you alone are worthy of our praises and our utmost reverence.To you Lord be all the glory, from now on and forever. Protect us according to your perfect love and may we live to proclaim your mighty name to all generations until you come again.
In your name Jesus we pray
Amen
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