body parts

even amongst christians there are a lot of faith questions that we disagree on...different denominations that emphasise different parts of the bible, different teachings and even have their own guides which are not biblical. How can this be God's plan for his church????

I am a simple christian woman...even that statement implies different things to different people. The word 'christian' means different things depending on which christian you are talking to. Why???

My only answer is this - because the LORD made each of us unique. Then he modelled his master plan of the church on the human body. The human body made up of many different parts playing many different roles united as one. A complex ever changing entity.

(I don't know why he didn't model us on something simple where everyone is the same. But if i remember to ask him when I see him then i will.)

Each of us has a place in that body...but we spend a lifetime trying to figure out what and where our place is. If enough of us get-together and form a hand or a finger...we look around at anyone else who is different and judge collectively that 'one of these things don't belong together' (or however that sesame street jingle went....)

So if you are part of a foot, say a toe and you are surrounded by people who are fingers which form a hand...you think you might fit in but something is still not quite right...you don't look like them exactly but you have a nail, you bend....but still you don't fit in...so you feel like a reject. Everyone that makes up the fingers know you are a reject. If they are nice they try to make you fit in...if not they treat you like an outcast.

Why don't we Christians understand the LORD's 'body' model?? Why do we try to get everyone to be the same? That's not of the LORD that's of this world. The LORD expects us to be unique, different to some and similar to others. But as one whole body we function best UNITED as one, every part playing its individual role to bring harmony to the whole.

The LORD created each of us for a purpose. He knows what and where our place is.

So if you're a toe stuck amongst fingers - get out! Talk to your creator and find the quickest road down to the other end of the body so the church can move forward!!!

dream about a plane crash

Just a night after a dream about my Dad I have a dream about a plane crash.

The Dream:
I am hanging with some people in an outside cafe when I look up and see something falling. Then we realise it is a plane. A big plane like a Boeing 737. It crashes and panic ensues. As I run around I ask myself "when?" and then I see signs in shops windows. But instead of saying 'Sale' or stuff like that, one signs says '24' (i think) and one says '10:30' something.

It was like the signs were saying on the 24th at 10:30am (it was day time so would not be 10:30 at night) a plane will crash. I also got a strong sense it was a Qantas flight.

Now I dont say that this is prophetic, but its strange! Unlike the other dream I dont know what it means. Maybe someone is trying to put me off flying Qantas to see my Dad?

dream about my dad...

...which is strange 'cause I hardly ever dream about him and I never remember my dreams.

The Dream:
Dad, Tali and I went to some evangelical modern large church, kinda like Hillsong. For some reason we did not sit together. The service starts with a bit of theatre which all seemed OK and then an OK sermon (I cant remember the details at all which must mean its not relevant). The general feeling I got was that it would be OK for Dad and not "too religo" for him. But then the service got into exuberant worship, loud "happy clappiness". Oh no I thought. The service ended and I looked around for Dad amongst the crowd. I saw Tali sitting in a row of seats holding a baby, smiling broadly, and the centre of attention from people close by. Then I looked two rows in front and Dad was sitting there looking grim, and the main point - his back turned towards the front of the church. The immediate thought that came to my mind was "he has firmly turned his back on the Lord - he is not happy - and the church is not relevant to him".

My follow up thought was "Dad needs me to have a personal relationship with him for the Lord to be relevant to him".

love moments

I was going to do a series of posts on God moments but the majority of them are painful memories and today i don't want to feel sad...so i've decided to write about my next favourite topic...LOVE.

TOP 5 LOVE moments...

1. when I was 16, I heard a worship song, which made me finally understand how much the LORD loved me. It hit me for the first time that the LORD not only forgave me for being a self-centered sinful little brat but he actually loved that same brat, died for that brat, and wanted me to forgive that brat. It was a new beginning for me, bringing truth to my world, and acceptance for who I really was.
2. at 17 when in a moment of madness...love made me waaay to brave...I wrote on a piece of paper why I liked a certain boy. All the other girls seemed to be taken by his looks and I wasn't. For me it was who he was...he made me laugh, he was quietly confident, he wasn't afraid to be different....I regretted writing that note for the next few years, but for him it was a highlight he never forgot.
3. at 21, almost 22...that same boy captured my heart...he came back into my life at 19 but neither of us were brave in love...until one day that boy was forced into action out of fear of losing me. We celebrate that day as our anniversary and 16 years later we are still together.
4. hillsong conference 2004, I went to that conference wondering what does the LORD want ME to do...I left that conference realising it had nothing to do with me....and it was just what does the LORD want FULLSTOP. I remember screaming out 'whatever you want LORD is fine with me' and I gave him permission to turn my world upside down.
5. seeing our baby boy via an ultrasound this week...wiggling around, touching his face. I was so relieved that he was alive and healthy. If ever anyone wants to see a miracle then look at an ultrasound of a tiny life growing in a tummy of another human being. I look at my tummy and still can't believe there is a little boy growing in there. It's mind blowing!!

BEING A HUSBAND

babe...nothing to forgive.

I don't find it easy to share my feelings. I do try to be the provider...while keeping it "all together".

I now know that while I am capable, my strength needs to come from God. And my idea of HUSBAND needs to come from God.

And by Tali's confronting honesty and truth I have been kicked down paths I did not want to go. God has not taken me quickly from A to B. He has taken me down painful paths of realisation to learn some HUSBAND lessons. And Tali has been God's discerning accomplice all along!

There is a lesson - that when a wife trains a husband...it has to be done with love. Honest love. Sacrificial love. Non-judgemental love. Tali is getting better at this all the time.

So babe, while you may feel you have treated me cruel, and made it hard for me to share and care, it's mainly cause I just did not share! It's a family upbringing thing. I am still not good...but am getting better.

Please love me while I am crap. It's the only way I am going to get better.