A risk worth taking!

I realise that I haven't posted in a while to be honest I have been struggling spiritually and a lot of things have happened in the family over the last few weeks!

Last week one of the young guys at work did a little preach on risk taking and it is a subject which has stuck with me ever since. To be honest I don't know why it stuck but somewhere it must have struck a cord.

I have started reading Exodus and I realised that risk are things which we as Christians need to take more of.
Imagine if Moses didn't take the risk....
Moses took a risk when he initially killed the Egyptian, a risk which it turns out was a bit of a failure... but out of that he found a purpose, he found that he was loved by God and the God was going to use him in a very specific way.
Moses took a risk when God told him to return to Egypt, He took a risk going to Pharaoh but ultimately he took the risk that God would show up just like he said he would.
I'm pretty sure that When Moses set off on the journey he at some point had doubts.

for me a risk is anything which may end in embarrassment and makes me vulnerable.. I hate being up in front of people...which is difficult when your in the music Team!!
However the first time i had to lead worship there was just me, 1 singer and the pastor and i had 24 hours notice that i was doing it!! It was a Risk!!!
From that risk God has shown up time and time again but I can still fall back on ME! and its straight back to square 1!
I took a risk returning to God. I was a lapsed Christian when my now wife and I got together, I had been hurt by some stuff relating to old members of the church and was initially not prepared to take the risk of returning. But I took the risk and found a love I had not experienced previously.
It was a risk for me to take my current Job but God has blessed it so much!

Basically every risk I have taken for God has led to something wonderful happening.

I also know that God is calling us to take bigger risks in his name. Unless we take risks the world will not experience the love which God has to give.
They will not understand how Jesus died for them and took their sins away
Its a risk to speak to your neighbour about God, Its a risk to give a little extra to the poor,its a risk to show love by actions, its a risk to speak of an amazing love... you never know how people are going to react. But ultimately its a risk worth taking.

Becoming Like Children

Matt 18:3
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"



(old photo!)

Anyone who knows me knows how proud I am of my children.
Well I have to be honest and say I am more than just "proud"

We (my wife and I) have done and are doing our best to bring our children up to believe in Christ and to never be afraid of their beliefs. Well so far so good!! in the midst of all our struggles, problems and issues with our faith are my 2 angels! they have no fear , no issues and proclaim the Good news to all who listen, they may be only children but we could learn so much more from them

On Friday Night we went to A Christian Concert (LZ7 ) they had a ball!! but the best for me was yet to come.

On Saturday Morning there was a knock at the door and one of my Eldest child's friends came to the door my eldest immediately started telling them about the concert but also went on to tell them about the songs,that all the songs were about Jesus and how cool it was that she went to a concert all about Jesus!!

Me lying in bed thought WOW! how amazing is it that she can just come out and say it yet me a 36 year old man struggle to even mention it to my non Christian friends.
I am incredibly lucky to be working for a Christian Charity now but for years i have worked elsewhere...........I have I left a lasting impression of a Christian in their midst or something else, my guess would have to be something else.

But i know my eldest has left a lasting impression on not just the person from Saturday but from other friends too. she is so proud to be a Christian and has such faith in Jesus that it puts me to shame.
There is so much yet that I have to learn and I couldn't go much further than looking at home!!



Matt 18:3
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven"

Human Trafficking

John 10:10 (New International Version)

¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

(All links open a new Window!)
A Few months ago I attended an event in Manchester Called "The Stand". The event was put on by a Christian Charity called Hope for Justice.
The event was to raise the awareness of Human trafficking in the UK and to enable the Local church to actively combat this issue!!
Ever since that day both my wife and I have had a real heart about the issue and it is one which breaks both our Hearts, we have both written about it several times.

Unfortunately in the UK we are still not doing enough as a church or politically to combat human trafficking and i feel that it is very much swept under the carpet by some, but the issue is currently being debated in parliament. This is a step in the right direction but its just that a Step there is so much more that we as a church can do and should be doing. My admission today is that i am not doing enough! particularly for an issue which weighs heavy on my heart.

Please read the story below, there are many more stories very similar and worse.

Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con):
"So where are all those slaves, and whom does this affect? In the United Kingdom, the main victims are women and children. They are often tricked into coming to this country, usually with a promise of some sort of job. When they arrive here, they are often locked up and forced to have sex with up to 30 men a day. I shall give the House an example. I met a 14-year-old Kenyan girl who had been trafficked into this country by a middle-aged white man on a passport that did not bear her name and did not have her picture on it. She was taken to Liverpool, locked in a house and forced to have sex with numerous men. Luckily, she escaped after a few days and was helped by a national charity. She was one of the lucky ones, if you can call it lucky to endure what she had had to. She managed to escape, but how many girls do not manage to do so? How many girls are locked in houses such as those while we are debating this issue today? Even if there were just one, that would be one too many, but there is not just one; there are thousands."
(taken from the Parliamentary publications page.)

PLEASE - Pray for victims, Pray for the authorities, pray for those brave enough to stand up to these traffickers!
Raise the issue in your church, in your family, with your friend, lets make the world far more aware - Lets do something!!!

But ultimately remember, Christians, We are in a battle and it is a battle that we ultimately win!!

Isaiah 25:8 (New International Version)

⁸ he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces.


Amen!

See no Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil

One of My Pet hates is Blasphemy in Films or on TV, I turn off!. This seems extreme to some Christians but not to me! there are good reasons for this and I will do my best to explain.

It does mean that I cant watch some Really good films but this is what's called Sacrifice!

Blasphemy is the ultimate sin against God. In Matthew 12v31 Jesus Says
"blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven"
For Me if God Abhors blasphemy so much that it is a sin which "will not" be forgiven, how can I then let such a sin into my home?


It took me along time to introduce this as a rule in my home but it was an issue I wrestled with for quite sometime, My Wife was convicted of this way before I was and to be honesty it annoyed me, we couldn't get out some really good films or watch certain TV programs but I stuck with it because spending time with her was more important than the programme! But I Kept asking God why this was so bad and what was so wrong with me watching it because if I switch it off, it will still be there so what good was it doing anyway.
One evening I was reading through my bible when I came across the scripture above whilst making my way through Matthew, and it suddenly made sense!! Why would I allow something that offends God so much into my home?
If one of my children came how one day and started blaspheming how would that make me feel? the thought knocked me for six!

If I tell him that I love him and then allow my favourite TV character to Blaspheme in my home, do I really Love him as much as I claim?
Jesus Said that the greatest Commandment was
"Love the Lord your God with all your Heart and with all your soul and with all your Mind" Matthew 22V37

If I watched things that blasphemed the name of Jesus was I loving him with all I am or was the program / Film more important?

Was I allowing this to enter my mind?

What we watch is a direct reflection of who we are and if, as Christians we allow this sin into our homes and minds,then what does that say about our relationship with God?
Please don't get me wrong I am no better than others!!!! I am not saying this to say "look at me Look how righteous I am" cause the truth is far different! - but I do find myself explaining my stance quite frequently!

The question I frequently ask in reply is If it was the name of Allah or some other god used in vain what would happen?

We know from historic events what happens when Allah's name is take in vain in the media, there is a public outcry, But Jesus is OUR Lord and Our Saviour yet we sit by and do nothing! if we as Christian would stand together and simply say "no - We wont watch this", then film / TV producers would sit up and take notice.




Again I am Not judging Christians who do allow this - This is my stance !! and how I feel about it!


God Bless!

The Sway the Truth and the Life!

You ever notice how during a service Christians Sway....

I am sure that there must be a spiritual reason but here's what I think:


1- To much on the night before - you know the score an old friend invites you out for A drink but 1 becomes 2 , 2 becomes 3 and before you know it your running down the road at 1am singing "footballs coming home" so in order to deflect from this you just close your eyes and begin to sway in a valiant attempt to appear super spiritual, when really you just want to sleep.

2 - The person next to you has a particular odour which you want to avoid so you begin to sway from side to side just to take the odd gulp of clean fresh air, problem is that the person on the other side thinks your a bit nuts and begins to sway to keep away from you.

3- the person next to you is a bit nuts.

4- to irritate the person behind - you do the side to side sway on purpose because you are 6ft tall and the person behind you is only 4ft, your church has one of those screens that hang on the wall and you know that if you sway then the person behind has no chance of viewing the screens.

5 - to avoid the person in front who is annoyingly swaying, possibly deliberately to stop you seeing the screens!!

6 - you want to get a closer look at the thing the person in front / to the left or right has on the floor, this could be in the form of the forward to backward sway or the side to side sway, just be careful I have seen many people sway just that little bit to far........

7 - to relieve boredom - your worship leader has been up all night seeing to his 3month old and is playing all the easy songs mainly from the 80's which are really annoying.

8 - Exercise - Let be honest , this is the only chance this week you have had for any exercise so in an vain effort to try to get a little in you use the 20min worship session to get those leg muscles going to prevent them wasting away!

9 - You want everyone in the room to think that you are a very very spiritual person, so you close your eyes but every so often you take a peek to see if anyone is watching, if they are not, you up the swaying ratio until either someone notices or you fall over, thinking that maybe someone will think you have been slain in the spirit - come on I have seen you - you kn ow who you are!!

10 - because some wally close by is pretending to be super spiritual and is trying to get a Mexican wave effect going until they fall over and now your sway is to stop yourself from wetting yourself with laughter.


I'm sure there must be more but I cant think of any. let me know if you have any ideas!!

Builder block

The other day I was assisting a great friend in clearing his house after builders had been in doing a little - Rather a lot really - Bit of work on his house.
I went expecting to help tidy up and help them be able to move back in fairly soon, However when I arrived it was a real mess!!!!. The job the builders had done was a good job but they had left so much mess behind after them it was unreal!! - I would not have been impressed!!

Any way this got me thinking about people and relationships I have had and I found my self asking a simple question

Have I built something up only to leave a the mess for someone else to clean up?

We all try to bring people to God but can quite often get it wrong we can attempt to go it alone and bring them to God in our own strength. IF we are doing it in our own strength more often than not it will result in failure and we may create a mess that someone in the future is going to have to sort out!! But if we rely 100% on God he will do it.
God has a history of showing up at just the right moment... not always in our timing but always perfectly in his.

I can think of several people almost immediately and you know what I am going to pray for each of them (I don't know where they are now....in more ways than 1!)and hope that God does something with each of them.

"How He Loves" - John Mark McMillan (Live in HD @ University of Mobile)

England Will BURN - Prayer Storm Trailer from James Aladiran on Vimeo.

I am Not Worthy!

One of the greatest things about my new job is that daily I hear about how God has transformed lives such as stories like Nicks!!. There are many other stories about how God changes lives, Today for example one of my work Colleagues was telling me how God has told him to plant a Church in another area and how he fought it but God insisted!
But sometime this can be a little discouraging,

When I say Discouraging what I mean is that I hear stories like this and my heart leaps at what an awesome God we have, but later I start to think about my life and how I came to know God which is nothing to dramatic really( in comparison!) and I start to think how dull my testimony could be!!

But God Knows different.... HE reminded me of the MANY miracles that I have seen occur in my life, how HE has provided when all hope seemed lost, How HE has provided a Job when I needed one, how HE has healed friends and family, how HE provided a house at the right price, how HE has given me courage to play in front of others, how HE brought me to really know HIM and how unique and exciting it was and how exciting and unique I am to HIM.

How HE died on the cross for my sins.

God rejoices for each person who comes to know him through the cross whether they were a drug dealer, a prostitute, a tax collector, a fisher man a Warehouse man or whatever!
Each story is as exciting and unique as the other one.

So will I be discouraged again................................................I don't think so somehow!!!!!

~God Bless!

Prayer Sandwiches

Our worship recently has become a little.......how can I put this.....
Well what is happening is - we will sing one song then there will be a scripture and prayer then another song and so on and so on.........
Now i have 2 issues with this

1 - Worship should flow naturally and going through the above method does not give it time to flow and therefore there is no flow. Personally I feel stifled and unable to get into worship.
The problem with this is that worship is not just about the songs we sing our how many we sing its about the state of our hearts and our lives. so I know I have to deal with it!!!!

James 5:13 (New International Version)

¹³Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise

2 - The Bible CLEARLY tells us to obey our leaders. If you believe that your leader is truly anointed by God ( And I do!) then you have to believe that when he/ they make changes then they are doing what they believe God is telling them - So I have to Trust.
In my experience the first people to admit a mistake are our Leaders so until then I will have to trust that this is from God and I will have to figure out what God is trying to Teach Me / Us!

Hebrews 13:17 (New International Version)

¹⁷Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Sometimes I dont agree with what we are asked to do but will do it anyway, that's part of belonging to the Body of Christ!!

Well I know that everything is in Gods Hands so over to you Lord!

Healing service

On the last Friday of every month the church I go to holds a healing service.
So this Friday is the day!
If you have anyone on your heart you would like me to pray for just leave their name and a will do so!!

Luke 9:10-12 (New International Version)

¹⁰When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, ¹¹but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

New Beginnings

For the Last 16 Months I have been working a job I didn't particularly like or enjoy and like a lot of people felt stuck with no way out, I have even prayed about this, prayed that I could do the job for God and not for me!
Luckily I have been privileged enough to work with some terrific people and made some excellent friends in this Job and will miss them , I wont however miss the company I worked for (enough said!)

From the 2nd of August I will be working for a Christian charity Called "The Message". This is a new beginning not just for me but for my family too. It is not a management role (something I struggled with for the last few years) but is a role which will make a real difference to peoples lives! I will not be on the front lines but what I do will enable those on the front line to carry out their jobs with out worrying about certain things.
My prayer now is that they are blessed by my work and that God is truly honoured.

Kids say the Best things!

Quote of the Day:

Daughter "Daddy, Did Jesus die on the cross for our future and present sins too?"
Daddy: "Yes"

Here it comes.......quote of the day



Daughter " WOW"

My kids never cease to amaze me.
How often do we take it for granted? how many times to we sit back and think about all that the Lord has done and say "WOW" ?


Have you kids come out with any pearls of wisdom?

Pasta necklaces and little red buses -REPOST!

I Have been thinking a lot about this post recently ...so i have decided to re-post it!

Matthew 18:3

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".



I have two little girls of whom I am Very proud, not only do I see them as a gift from God, but I have learnt so much from them.

My youngest brought home from school this week a little red bus she had made from a cardboard box and some string. She was so proud of what she had achieved (as was I!!)And couldn't wait to show her daddy what she had done and how it worked. This got me to thinking about my relationship with our Father - strange how our children can do this!!
When I sit down to talk to God is he proud and excited about what I have achieved that day, have I served him well in all I have done, have I done my best? And am I excited to show him what I have done with what he has given me?

She also recently made a necklace from pasta which was at a later date broken. She brought this to me to fix.....and I had to explain to her that I couldn’t fix it.
This was not the first time that one of my little cherubs have brought me something to fix, it sometime seems like a daily occurrence, they Always believe 100% that their daddy can fix anything and I have previously heard my eldest child tell her friends that her daddy can indeed fix anything!!
But time and time again there are things that I can’t fix, but they are never fazed by this or do they ever lose faith that the next time I can!!

There are so many things that we can learn from our children, do I honestly believe that my father can fix anything... he can move mountains, but can he fix my stuff?
The obvious answer is yes, but do I really believe it?
There are times when I have prayed about things and seen the miraculous occur but there have also been times when I have prayed and no answer seems to be forthcoming, there are also times when I have given up.

I have to learn lessons. God puts things before us to learn, he teaches us sometimes in the strangest of ways but He also puts it before us in the simplest of ways!

Matthew 18:3

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".

Bumper Sticker.

For week's now I have had a sticker in the pocket of my car. Yep its a religious one and says " JESUS IS LORD" ,but it has stayed where it is for the last few weeks.
Why?

Bumper stickers and other outward signs are great but ultimately count for nothing when the heart is not right, and I know right now my heart is not right, I know that I am not doing everything that God wants me to do and a times I even want to rebel and run away!

God doesn't ask us to put our faith on display in our cars he asks us to live the life, the same life that Jesus lived. He doesn't ask us to put our faith on display in our cars he asks us to give our lives to him for his purposes.




“That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”- Romans 10:9-10

10 Favourite songs (this week at least!)

10 Favourite songs (this week at least!)


In no particular order

1. Born Again – Third day
2. True Love – Phil Wickham
3. Finally Home – Mercy ME
4. House of God – Mercy Me
5. Thief – Third Day
6. This Man – Jeremy Camp
7. Somewhere in the middle – Casting Crowns
8. Cannons – Phil Wickham
9. Gone – 33 miles
10. Love song for a saviour – Jars of clay

This may change next week!!!!
I may do this again In a few months see how it changes!!
Any recommendations

Love Crucified Arose

Long ago He blessed the earth
Born older than the years
And in the stall a cross He saw
Through the first of many tears
A life of homeless wandering
Cast out in sorrow's way
The Shepherd seeking for the lost
His life, the price He paid

Love crucified, arose
The Risen One in splendor
Jehovah soul Defender
Has won the victory
Love crucified, arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again

Throughout Your life You felt the weight
Of what You'd come to give
To drink for us that crimson cup
So we might really live
At last the time to love and die
The dark appointed day
That one forsaken moment
When Your Father turned His face away

Love crucified, arose
The One who lived the died for me
Was Satan's nail-pierced casualty
Now He's breathing once again

Love crucified, arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again

Love crucified, arose
The Risen One in splendor
Jehovah soul defender
Has won the victory

Love crucified, arose
And the grave became a place of hope
for the heart that sin and sorrow broke
is beating once again

Love crucified, arose
The One who lived and died for me
Was Satan's nail-pierced casualty
Now He's breathing once again

Good Friday

I love Easter but not (until now) a big fan of Good Friday.
Growing up as a child I found Good Friday depressing and a bit morose , that carried through to adulthood until now.
On Thursday I went to bed praying that this would not be that case, that God would reveal something new to me about Good Friday.

Now I know some are probably going to think .. but your a Christian. But I could not understand why it was so depressing.
As Christians we know that Jesus died to save us and that Good Friday was a means to an end and that on Sunday we will be celebrating the fact that Jesus rose again.
But we know this already so, still why so depressing?.

Well....

There is a whole world out there that does not know what Jesus did for them. For them Easter is a time to give gifts of chocolate etc, and no thought is given to the real meaning. I have even been watching the media this year and no mention of the real meaning has been made yet

The world needs to know that Jesus Died on the cross for them took on their sins and suffered. All so they would not have to suffer. Then on the third day He rose again and that victory was won ONCE and FOR ALL.

From now I will look at Good Friday differently, possibly with a touch of sadness and maybe with a touch of guilt but only because of those who do not know and because of opportunities missed but also with gladness and excitement for I know My redeemer lives and for opportunities still to come.

Hope you all have a great Easter

Matthew 28

¹At dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

²There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

⁸So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy

Six hours one Friday

Some times learning is not easy!

Today for the first time in ages I knew God DID want me to sing the ministry song..
This is not a moan...but my work day stated out bad, improved ever so slightly later on but went quickly hill after lunch. I am not saying this to boast but that I had to learn something today!

Now i am not one to say that the enemy doesn't want this to happen or that to happen but i really get the feeling that he didn't want this today..
I am supposed to be at church for 7:30 pm to prepare but didn't get home till 7:15 due to work issues

IN the past I have made the decision to not attend church when things have gone bad or when I have come home late from work.

Recognising that Satan does not want us to carry out Gods work or to hear his word can sometimes be a slow process and for me it has taken a fair while, I mean I knew this in my head but not in my heart!
God wants us to want to do his will, to hear his word and to carry out the job he has given us
If we do these thing and follow his way then the gate of hell will not prevail!

Matthew 16:18
"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

Some times learning is not easy!

To Obey is better than sacrifice

I recently wrote a post regarding Sacrifice and before that one regarding an issue we had in our Church (We or I...does it really matter)

I remember praying about the I and we thing and remember feeling God saying to me that it doesn’t matter what matters in that you are obedient. I was still unsure until recently.

Our Church hold several Holy spirit teaching sessions each week.. These are not services but where we are taught. This week we were learning about obedience and also what it means to be disobedient. The scripture below was read and I can honestly say my life can never be the same.

1 Samuel 15

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices,
as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.
²³For rebellion is no less a sin than divination,
and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.’ (NRSV)

When God asks us as individuals or as a church to do something then we should obey being obedient to Gods Word is far more important than anything else.

John 14

¹⁵If you love me, you will obey what I command. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever— ¹⁷the Spirit of truth

²³Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

Tithing, Facebook and Sacrifice

It dawned on me just today (as i was sat playing games on facebook!), God asks for 10 % of ALL we have. This isnt just a financial request but MUST include time.
That equates to 2 hours 24 min's per day its not really a huge amount.
then I thought were will Get this time from....

As I sat on facebook I thought..... I wonder how much time I spend on facebook per day. Not over 2 hours usually( although it has been known) but that SHOULD be God time. Time dedicated to my ministry or time dedicated to a bit of bible reading or time spent with God in prayer or in his presence.

Now I am certainly not anti facebook quite the opposite! but i should not be spending more time on facebook or twitter or Myspace than I spend with God

Right now I cant honestly say God is asking me to give up facebook but I am asking myself would I be willing to if He asked me. What else would I be willing to give up if asked?

2.5 hours is nothing really, we could all find this time if we look.



Hebrews 10:14

because by one sacrifice HE has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Miracles..

During February I have been reading Matthews Gospel.....28 chapters in 28 days!

What has hit me most is the sheer number of miricles in Matthew (according to Wikianswers 34!)

They seem to come one after another after another to be honest i was stunned by the sheer number.

Jesus said that we would do all these thing and more......now let see....when did I last heal a blind man? or cast out a demon.
Don't get me wrong I have seen miracles performed and God has performed innumerate miracles in my life.

But Jesus said..¹²"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.John 14:12

Help Me!!

I Love Ice hockey but I am facing something of a dilemma....

Canada or USA?????

Let me explain.

For years as a child my family was ( as i thought) mainly Canadian. My Grandpa moved from California to Canada divorced and Married a Canadian Woman..MY Grandma...

But years later My mother by miracle, discovered that her Mother was still alive and well in California (this is probably another story for another day!!)but also discovered that we had a very large family in The USA(who i have yet to see!!)

So you see my dilemma........

USA or Canada?

Finally Home - Mercyme

Says it all...nothing to add!

I'm gonna wrap my arms around my Daddy's neck
And tell Him that I've missed Him
And tell Him all about the man that I became
And hope that it pleased Him

There's so much I wanna say
There's so much I wanted You to know
When I finally make it home
When I finally make it home

Then I gazed upon the throne of the King
Frozen in my steps
And all the questions that I swore I would ask
Words just won't come, yeah

I'm so amazed in what I've seen
So much more than this old mind can hold
When I finally make it home
When I finally make it home

And the sweetest sound these ears will get to hear
The voices of the angels
When I finally make it home
When I finally make it home

Evan Almighty & Prayer

I Love this Film Its absolutely fantastic.
But there is one part in this film the i love more than any.

When Morgan Freeman appears to Evans Wife Joan

"Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

How many of us can relate to this? So often we pray to God with a specific request and we expect everything to work out, but God answers in ways we cannot even begin to understand. often it can seem that our prayers go unheard, but God hears everyone of them no matter how small and will provide the answers when the time is right for HIM!!
How many of us have prayed for patience with our own children or our work colleagues or someone else only to find ourselves being impatient or frustrated on your next meeting. Funny how these situations occur like that and how often!!


When we pray are we praying expecting God to do something or are we expecting God to do something that we want to see done. When we pray for an opportunity to use the gifts given by God are we praying with preconceived ideas of what we want. I know that I have prayed like this and in all likely hood will probably do so again.

When I pray I will pray expecting God to do something, but I will also be asking God to remind me of my prayers, to give me that little nudge in the back to say "Oi you asked"!!!

Weekend!!

Well I'm in for a busy and fun weekend.

We are finally off ice skating. I have been promising the children this since before Christmas and have been telling the little ones that i can skate......but that was 15 years ago!!!! so we will see!!
We are also visiting one of our friends to work on some songs, and added to this, the best bit Sunday morning and Sunday night Services!! I am really looking forward to it.


Anyone else doing anything Interesting?

WE or I…does it really matter??

Over the last 2 years God has been telling us to sing we not I on songs. This was to focus us on the body and not on the individual…However this has been a source of much consternation among some of those with in the church….

Personally I felt that if we all sang I what did it matter we would be one by all singing I. Over time it has become an annoyance because half the church sings I half sing WE our music leader sings I and WE, but the words on the screen probably say we.

What I have come to learn is that it is not the I or the We that matters it’s about doing what God wants. If God says go Left we go left if he says go right we turn right.

Can you imagine if Noah didn’t do what God Said or what about Moses, what about Paul…eventually!!? How about Jesus what if he didn’t do what God said? It doesn’t bear thinking about does it. But look what happens when you do as God Says.

I am sure that each of us has a great story to tell of an instance when we have done as God said. The results are usually amazing and spectacular, Miracles happen and life takes on new meaning.

Haiti Earthquake

No-one could have failed to have heard or seen images about the disaster in Haiti, and my heart breaks when I see pictures!!

But when these things happen you will hear a lot "where is God in this?" but this got me thinking, you see I Know where God is and I know that his heart is breaking just like ours!
God is right there in Haiti!! he is in the hearts of the survivors, he is in the hearts of the rescuers,HE IS RIGHT THERE in the midst of the suffering and you wont have to look far to see him.

Look at the picture above and tell me God is not there!



****Final thought: Why does no-one ask "Where is the Devil?" just a thought! ****

Make a difference!

Today my journey to work took alot longer than normal, why? because of a 30 yr old woman on a motorway bridge who wanted to jump. This of course saddened me when I found out as during this period I was getting frustrated stuck in traffic!.

But it got me to thinking about the state of our world.
Whilst many of us are going about our daily lives of to work then off to church and carrying on like normal, there are thousands of people who are struggling just to get through each day who are really in need and don't know where to turn. How bad must things have been to want to jump from a motorway bridge.

Where does the blame lie? the blame has to lie firmly at the feet of the church, God called us to go to ALL men so who do we go to? who have you shared a little of the gospel with today? who's life could you have saved? What sacrifice have you made? personally today I cant remember sharing any thing spiritual with anyone outside my church - I cant remember yesterday or the day before either!

The church (in general!!) spends so much time trying to make sure that they have something for every one, Many churches are even run like a business even though attendances are falling, trying to cover their cracks with pretty decoration's that they are forgetting the real purposes. I do realise that there are many out there who are working for Gods purposes and are doing a fantastic Job, but until the church starts to show Jesus, how many more are going to want to take that jump? How many more are we going to lose.All the while we bicker about doctrine and rule and regulations, concentrating on things other than our mission the world is turning and people are suffering.

I may be naive but I truly believe that if we as Christians spent more time concentrating on the task given and less time looking at our differences finances, steeples, or whatever! then we could really make a difference and less people would fell like they suffer alone.
We can make a difference there is evidence to show........Just look at Jesus. He came to earth with a specific God given Mission and carried it out perfectly and look at the difference he made!!

"As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Chosen Few?

The problem I have with some religions is that they are limited. Some believe that only a certain number of people will go to heaven, some believe that you can only got to heaven if you have undergone certain rituals.I believe that there was only 1 proviso. To believe that Jesus is Our Lord and Saviour.

The type of people Jesus Chose to follow him were ordinary folk like you and me, none of them had any wealth to speak of. His disciples were Fisher men, tax collectors and a zealot(That we know of) the rest were probably average joe's as well.. warehouse men, street cleaners, Lawyers, Waiters - whatever!! He didn't limit it to the rich or poor to the intellectual or the idiot he didn't say that you had to be confirmed he didn't say that you had to go to confession every week - he never mentioned purgatory, he didn't limit it to 144,000.

He calls us all but there is a price to pay...it will cost us our lives, Everything we do needs to be for the purpose of GOD - When I go to work ....go for God, When I do things with my children do it for God...when I am playing in the music group....Play for God!
only when we do it for his purposes, can the Kingdom of God really come on earth!

^{Luke 9 -57} As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."

⁵⁸Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

⁵⁹He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

⁶¹ Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

⁶²Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Our Snow Week

Casting Crowns - Until the Whole World Hears

Lets be honest for a moment.

When I heard that Casting crowns were releasing a Fourth studio Album, I thought oh no its just not going to be as good as the others.
But I am glad to say I was wrong.There are similarities between the albums but what do you expect, Casting crowns do what they do. They just want to sing songs to capture the emotions.
What they have done beautifully is capture all possible stages of a Christian walk.Personally they have song which i can listen to what ever and where ever I am in my walk.

The first track and title track is brilliant and is possibly now my favourite Casting Crowns Track. All the songs are again memorable.

Part way through writing this.........

I brought this record for a brother at church whom I love very much and has been there for me for the last 20 years and has provided advice and support during this time.

The biggest compliment I can pay this record is this. For my Brother.
It has provided him with some much valued spiritual warmth over the last few weeks as his family have gone through some serious pains and continue to do so. He listens to this album daily and it reduces him to tears.

I don't really know what else to say about it, I love it and am glad that my brother has found joy in this record!