I WILL STAND!

I will stand,
I will stand and say,
My God is with me,
Each and every day,
I will shout,
In-spite of doubt,
And fear and shame,
I know the Lord,
The lord who knows my name,

I cannot see where to go now,
I will be faithful, to God this I vow,
And even Though I cannot feel him close,
I shall proclaim loud and clear,
Through the tears,
For all to hear,
Jesus is Lord,
JESUS IS LORD over all,

I will cling on,
To all that God has done,
And as I cry out,
I know once more,
That as I do,
I open up the door,
To my God who reaches in,
Despite my doubt and sin,

So I stand, I stand,
I take a breath, breathe in and out,
Jesus is Lord I WILL shout.

(By Ian Ley)

Why wait?

I have spent a long time waiting recently. Waiting, is utterly annoying and frustrating. Standing waiting to get where I want to go, waiting in traffic, in bank queues, the list goes on. The estimate is that we spend six months of our life queuing.

But the fact that we do wait shows something. It shows that what we are waiting for is worth standing in a queue for, or stuck in a traffic jam for. 

Maybe there is something in this waiting that we should take hold of and make our own. That we should not necessarily enjoy the wait but we should appreciate the opportunity it gives to recognise that we are waiting because it is worth it. Whether it is waiting for a train that is delayed to go home to a loved one, whether it is waiting in a queue to get some money to go out for the night. 

Waiting give us a chance to give thanks for what we are waiting for and as a result renew our joy in life?

Waiting plays an significant part in the life of those who follow Jesus. We wait in the short term maybe for answers to prayer, or in the long term, we wait for God to put this broken world to right. Maybe God has us wait so often because it helps us realise that God is the one who is in control and not us. But as we wait we can be renewed:

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31)

Its not about what you have...

...but what you do with what you have

 The stories that people love are the ones where the little guy, with a really hard start in life goes on to achieve something big. Someone who has experienced hardship in childhood really makes something of themselves. Or someone starts a business on a market stall and ends up with a large corporation. Stories like those of Alan sugar or maybe Richard Branson. People who recognise that it is not about what you have, but what you do with what you have. 

As I go about my job it is way too easy to compare myself with other people and I am sure it is the same whatever work you do, whether being a mum or a banker. But comparing what we have with what other people have is pointless because it only leads to being frustrated.

We need to value who we are and not compare ourselves to others. We are each made differently, with different life experiences, education, skills and abilities. We are each unique and if we can grasp hold of this and value who we are then maybe we can each move forward into using to the best of the ability what we have and not being distracted by what others have or are doing

The Bible talks about each of us being knit together by God before we were born (Psalm 139). We are each unique. We have been knit together not to be like someone else or to achieve the same things as other people, but to do unique things in our family or our community or in the world. Comparing ourselves with other people will only end up with us squashing ourselves.

If we can grasp hold of the truth that it is not about 'what we have but what we do with what we have' we will become more accepting of ourselves and move forward as more whole and peaceful people, content with where we are in life and looking forward to seeing where our unique package of gifts and abilities take us.

Accustomed to wrong-ness

Two conversations this week have really made me think. I asked a friend who is about 30,"does where you live feel safe?" and their answer was "yes, definitely . Then later on in the week I was talking to someone older who was telling me how they didn't feel safe anymore. This person lives in the same area as the first but he was telling me that he used to leave his door unlocked but doesn't feel able to do that any more. It raised the question of whether we have got accustomed to living in a way that accepts something wrong.

We have become accustomed to having to lock our doors every time we leave the house. We have got used to a certain way of being, and a certain way of acting. Because we are so used to thinking in this way we don't realise we have got used to something that we shouldn't have to have got used to. We have forgotten that there could be a different way of being. 

When two cultures meet

It is only when two different cultures meet, you see the difference. In the case of my conversation, it was the culture of someone who was 80 and the culture of someone who is 30. But how many other things might there be that we have become accustomed to? 

Maybe if we can look again at the culture that we are part of and reexamine it. If we can see the bits that are bad and the bits that are good we can find ways of bringing about change. Maybe not on a big scale, but maybe in many little ways. If feel we always have to lock our doors, what could we do about it? 

Give yourself a culture shock

We don’t really get perspective on what’s close to us until we spend time away from it or are confronted with a different culture. maybe you could....

• Go into an area where the majority of people are from a different culture to you and if you can stop and chat to people, see what occurs to you as you do this.
• If you are a Christian, go to a different Church from what you are used to. Maybe one that is aimed at Students, or that is very traditional
• A more major culture shock....Go and volunteer in another country with an organisation like VSO (Voluntry Services Overseas)

Reflecting

Try and look at where you live with fresh eyes. Walk around your local area and ask yourself the questions:

• What is there to celebrate here, what is good where I live?
• What is not good here, what is there to dislike?
• What do I see that needs improving?
• What problems are hidden here?

Moving forward

Stop and consider what you can do to bring about change. How can you see things in a fresh way and  change things. How can you help others see things differently. Watch this video for the way one person managed to do this:

Seeing things differently

Or if you believe in God then pray God would help you find new ways to bring about the type of world that He would have us live in. A world where there are no more tears or pain (rev 21:4) or oppression (Luke4:18) and each person loves others as they love themselves (Mark 12:30-31).

'Beautiful' Bond Girls

I have become a bit of a MasterChef addict over the past few weeks. The show sets cooking challenges for a group of aspiring chefs each week and last week in one of the episodes they got together a group of 'Bond' girls, for the contestants to cook for. All women who at one point in their career had starred next to James Bond.

They showed pictures of the women in the films and all of them were roughly in their 20's or early 30's. Then in walked this group of people who were maybe 30 or 40 years older than they were when they starred in the film. And it showed quite clearly that 'beauty' as defined by TV, movies, magazines fades.The type of beauty that is aspired to by many and so emphasized in the media is very short lived. So maybe there should be a different sort of beauty we aspire to.

What does God have to say about beauty?

Do not let your adorning be external...but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.(1 Peter 3:3-4)

The wisdom in the Bible suggests that we aspire to cultivate an inner beauty, something that does last. This wisdom is not just from the Bible but many others have joined with this way of thinking:

“The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.” ― P.C. Cast
“No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt

How to change the way you think?

In a country where outer beauty is so emphasized, it is going to be difficult to change how we think but here are some ideas. Which could you do?

One lady has decided not to use mirrors for a year - A radical step to try and change her perception of beauty! (Link). Or maybe...one day a week as a no mirror day?


Maybe change our view of  beauty is to forget about ourselves for a while. Take time to go and serve someone else and cultivate something of that inner beauty that Jesus and the bible speaks about.

Recognise if everyone feels bad about the way they look, it must be the standard that needs changing. 

Remind yourself each time you see an advertising board with the perfect looking person on, that they are not real, almost all pictures are digitally enhanced and remember that the people who use these pictures are trying to make us feel bad about ourselves so we  buy their products. There have been campaigns to get advertisers to label photos that have been digitally enhanced to make people more aware (Link). 

Or suggest other ways in the comments area below.....

Baking cakes reduces crime

There was a lady in Bristol. Who decided that she was going to move into one of the most deprived areas and find the most difficult people to work with to share the fact that God loves all people. She moved into a place called Knowle West and it didn't take long for her to find the most difficult people. 

At the end of the street...

There was a gang that gathered at the end of her street. This gang caused people who lived in that area to be afraid to go and do thier shopping. This particular lady began thinking about how she could connect with these young people. So she began baking cakes and she took them out to this group and asked them if they would try them to see whether they were any good. She baked a lot of cakes and gradually that group began knocking on her door and asking for cake. Gradually that lady was able to help those people. She helped many back into work and into education. The police knocked on her one day and asked if she was the cake lady. She answered "well yes, I guess I might be, I bake a lot of cakes". They told her that since she had arrived the crime rate in that area had dropped by 70%. Her desire to share her faith and to love and bles others had changed that place massively.

Adopt a street

In June, Newall Green Baptist Church that I am part of, is going to be 'Adopting a street' for six months. This is us going out to serve our community to try and build community togetherness through serving and praying for the people on that street. We will keep that street clean  and also do “acts of service” like a street BBQ, planting daffodil bulbs and more.

If you would like to get involved whether of Christian faith or not, visit the website (Click here) and use the 'contact' link to get in touch.

Where will this lead?

How fantastic would it be if each street in Newall Green was adopted, each street had someone praying for it and serving it. As a church we are going to begin with one street and see where God takes us!

It wasn't me!

I am quite clumsy. I walk through one of those pretty little gifts shops and have to make a conscious effort to make sure I know where all my limbs are so not to knock anything over.

There was a moment a while ago when I was walking back to my table in a coffee shop past the table with all the milk and sugars on. I somehow managed to knock it over and things clattered to the floor.  There was an instant when I stood there, still wondering whether if I just carried on no-one would notice and I wouldn't have to admit it was me.

We have probably all had the experience of when you are talking about a person negatively, and then turning around to find that person standing behind you (or is that just me?)...and then wishing you could curl up and disappear. 

It is hard to admit, a mistake or mess up. It is easier to try and avoid admitting responsibility. If we do make a mistake it is easier to ignore it or make excuses for our screw ups...I'm having a bad day, they wound me up, I am too tired. Excuses that we allow for in ourselves but don't allow for in other people. Jesus points out the fact that it is easier to spot others mistakes than our own:

First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matt 7:5, The Bible)

Often we see the 'best in ourselves and the worst in others' but maybe this should be shifted around and we should 'admit the worst in ourselves and see the best in others'.This could change our perspective on life. Have a positive bias towards other people. When someone offends us or upsets us try and think about why they.This teaching of Jesus has the potential to change our relationships with others.

Maybe when you are offended, frustrated, annoyed by someone this week try to understand the ir behavior. Look at what they are not saying by their actions and figure out why they do what they do. It may bring you to a place of greater empathy. Try and have a positive bias towards other people and their intentions and see how it transforms relationships.

Get space in your life!

Two people are sawing wood. One person works solidly through the day. the other takes a break for ten minutes every hour. At the end of the day the person who has taken the breaks has cut more wood.

   "How can this be" says the other man.

   "Every time I took a break", comes the reply, " I sharpened my saw".

(Story from Steve Covey) 

Time and space to contemplate and reflect enables us to stay sharp. Working solidly through may seem more effective but this may not be the case. Stopping enables us time to pray, to recapture our vision, helps us to evaluate where we have been and where we are going.

God also think space in our lives to stop is a good idea. One of the first things God said was, "take a day off". Both when he created the world and then later when he gave our his top ten rules for a society (the ten commandments). We are created to need time and space. Whether or not you believe in God this time is important however I believe prayer adds a dimension where we can receive affirmation and direction through connecting with the ultimate creator and power behind the universe.

I used to take the first thirty minutes in each day and sit and pray, sometimes talking, sometimes quiet. I had dropped this as I felt too busy....but a couple of weeks ago I started again. It has not meant my days have gone perfectly but, actually, I think I have been more productive and the space has resulted in me being more creative and inspired.

Have a go for a week then post your thoughts here :-)

Only seeing concrete

Hunched over and clenched,
Beaten down by the struggles of life,
A lone figure walks down a street,
The battles she's faced have made her wary of looking too far ahead,
The pavement beneath her feet is all she sees,

A busy street bustles with life, 
The warm summers' breeze cools people from the hot sun,
A child licks his ice cream happily,
The music from the jazz band on the corner make people smile as they pass by

And as the band change tune, a woman walks past,
She doesn't notice the music or the child,
Staring at the ground, life has lost its colour,
All she sees is the grey street beneath her feet.

There are people who have been beaten down in this life by tough things that have happened to them. So eventually they are unable to enjoy life. The future seems hopeless, difficult and hard. So instead of looking forward to what might be, to all the possible futures that could be, people learn to look down. 

Who do you know like this? Who can only see the difficulties not the possibilities? Who is focused on what they can't do rather than what they can? Who can you help to lift up their eyes to see the world afresh? Whose life can you speak some encouragement into and give hope.

Jesus came with a message of hope. A message announcing that he wanted to set people free from the things that had beaten them down. Jesus said;

God’s Spirit is on me he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce freedom to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free (The Bible, Luke chapter 4)

Carry on? or Carry ON!

Four weeks ago I was sitting at the roadside, 45mins cycle from home and I had this question in my mind; Carry on? or Carry ON!

I'd just had some bad news that had really got me down. Also I'd visited some old friends who were having a tough time. And I had been to visit someone in hospital. And it had rained on me every cycle journey that day. And I had just fallen off my bike. And the keys in my pocket had made a large hole in my leg. I frustrated with life spiritually, and physically cut and bruised. And it was still raining!! Carry on?

I sat at the roadside thinking whether it was worth carrying on (I know this was a bit over dramatic, but it was how I felt). The things I thought about were my family and friends, that God has given me a job to do where i am and I want to see it through, that it is a blessing just to be alive and healthy,  , that I want to meet God one day knowing that I gave this life all I've got! Carry on!! 

So I did 'Carry ON!' and I got home with renewed determination, not weakened because of a bad day but strengthened because of it. A strange end to a difficult day.

The thing that reminded me of my bad day was this quote:

"When something bad happens you have three choices. You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you."(Unknown)