A Bee in my bonnet.

I love Christmas TV but this year I have been wound up by the adverts.
Every time I switch on the TV there is a least 1 advert that is asking me to sponsor an animal of some kind - A dolphin, a panda, a dog and the list goes on and on!!!!
First off if these charities / agencies spent the money they spent on advertising on the cause then I wouldn't have to sponsor an animal and secondly (most importantly) when did we become a world which cares more about animals than about people the number of ads asking for money for humane charities appears to have decreased.

Now don't get me wrong I am not anti Animal but I am pro Human.
Look around and you will see plenty of place where the money can go.....a lot closer to home.
there's the homeless, Children, poor families, Sick and the elderly.
If i was to make a new years resoloution it would be go give more of my time to Humane issues.

Is it a surprise that humane issues continue to rise when at the same time we are being asked to give our money to look after animals......somethings not right.

Again I am NOT anti animal campaigns I would just like to see us looking out for each other more.

 I love this song and it says it all!!!

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night.

Casting Crowns - While you were sleeping

Christmas like A Child

"Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ" - Luke 2:11

Christmas day is fast approaching and I have to remind myself of the real reason for the season.
With so much going on around us it can be easy to forget.
You see I wanted to get my children a specific present this year, both love singing and i love to hear them singing...anyway the thing has sold out in ALL the shops except for the really really expensive ones.
So I was a little upset because I couldn't get it.
Then he heard the Third Day song Christmas like a child one of my favourite Christmas songs of all time and it hit me like never before especially the third verse and the end of the song!

Some may say that 25 December is not the day Jesus was born but who cares!!! The 25th December is the we CELEBRATE the Birth of the saviour of the world, the one who came to show us the way, the one who would Die for our sins.
Its not about the presents under the tree, although this is fun! and i love the kids faces, not about the perfect gift or the perfect tree or the perfect meal its about Jesus - His birth, His life and His Death


Christmas Like a Child - By Third Day

I want to feel Christmas, how it used to be

With all of its wonder falling on me

This season has felt so empty, oh for quite a while

I want to feel Christmas like a child

I want to see snowflakes fall to the ground

My brothers and sisters all gathered around

Singing "Away In A Manager" as we sit by the fire

I want to feel Christmas like a child

It's been so long now, I can't say

Just when I lost my way

But I'm going back to how it was

When this day meant everything

And we spent our time remembering

The baby Child born for us

It's all about Jesus, asleep in the straw

This infant, this King, this Savior for all

So I don't need bells to be ringing

'Cause I'll join with angels singing

Gloria

And I can feel Christmas like a child

I want to feel Christmas like a child.

 Oh... i still haven't got the present!! but they have plenty of others!!!

Revalation - Third Day

 

I have been listening to this album for some time now and have been trying to think of what to write, but nothing has come to mind.......... this however is not a bad thing..... because I cannot single out a single song for individual praise.. the whole album is excellent and I cant recommend it highly enough. I would recommend this to everyone especially those new to the Christian faith looking for good music.

There are not many bands either Christian or secular  (for want of a better phrase) who have produced 10 studio albums of a constant  quality for both song writing and music. Like other Third day albums this one makes me feel challenged, blessed and forgiven all in the space of 60mins!!

So once again I whole heartedly recommend this to one and all!!

Christian management

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men"

Colossians 3:23

I had this whole big blog planned out and almost ready on this subject, but just never felt comfortable with it, and I think I now know the reason why.
There is no difference between a Christian manager or a Christian labourer to think that because i am a manager that there was a difference was pompous!!

When we go out into the world we all face the same challenges and problems, even those employed in the serving Christ face the same problems.
These problem are nothing compared with the trials Jesus had to face. Jesus went about his job daily knowing that in the end it was going to cost him his life. His actions were questioned, those who followed him questioned his actions,  The authorities of the time where just waiting for him to slip up, he faced trial and tribulation.
Sounds familiar.....well if it does just remember the first part..... Jesus knew he was going to die when his job was finished. So how did Jesus carry on.
I think ( and i may be wrong!) that Jesus was in constant contact with his Father and that he would never do or say anything which would not honour him.
So if we approach our daily tasks in them same manner or even close to the same manner, everything we do will be ok!, it will bring glory to the father - as long as we don't take the credit, and we give thanks!

"Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed"
Proverbs 16:3

Halloween

****NOTE - These are MY personal views and No offence is intended!!****

Recently I have read a lot of post's relating to the celebration of Halloween. Some totally dismissing the event others suggesting alternatives.
The question I have had to ask myself when reading these posts is "Would Jesus associate himself with the celebrating of Halloween?" in its current form I would have to say No there is no way that he would do that, I don’t even believe that he would celebrate an alternative.
Halloween celebrations are a personal choice and it does give Christians a chance to share their faith with people who they would not normally associate with, however how many of those who you have shared your faith with on this night have come to believe?
The other issue I have with Halloween is that for 364 days of the year we tell our children not to talk to strangers yet on one day per year we encourage them to knock on the doors of strangers or the doors who we share only a casual good morning too but don’t really know. To me it seems just a little daft....

Once again i think that this is totally a personal choice and would never condem anyone for chosing to celebrate Halloween.

10 things i find really really annoying

1- Unfunny comedians- I know that this is a matter of taste, however........some people are just not funny, please do not subject me to them!!!

2- adverts - every now and then a gem of and advert comes up but for every gem there are a million awful awful adverts usually involving animals, cleaning product, makeup & cheesy magazines... the world would actually be a better place without any adverts what so ever - i will not buy your product casue you tell me too!!!

3- My laptop - even as I am writing this may laptop has crashed... at times I want to throw it out the window

4- My diet - ...... have had to cut out all snack foods this is mainly annoying because when I wake up in the morning I am so hungry.

5- Getting out of bed - It doesn’t matter if it is a nice sunny day or the coldest winter's day. I am not sure if it’s the getting out of my nice warm bed or just the waking up that I don’t like

6- Home video shows - now I like slapstick humour but these show are usually the same repeated snippets of un-funny staged rubbish it started with you've been framed but now we have Oop's TV which is just not in the slightest bit funny and to make it worst has an unfunny comedian(see No 1) narrating the show!

7- Drivers who leave it to the last second to get in the correct lane! - Why why do they do that.

8- The fact that Asda don’t do free re-fills on there Coffee anymore! - Asda used to give out free re-fills now for some un known reason they have stopped it, so where 2 coffees at dinner cost me 85p they now cost me £1.70- probably not a bad thing really cause I no longer have 2 coffee's!

9- Manchester UTD - no explanation needed!

10- Soap Opera's - these for me, are TV at their lowest like adverts they make me want to throw things at the TV every channel has at least 1 and they are all the same.

Forgiveness

Recently for, for some reason every where i turn the topic of forgiveness seems to be coming up....like a wally i think i have actually figured it out.
My job entails me working directly with the directors/ owners of a large multi million pound company.....however they run the company like a little shop which can be find incredibly frustrating, my direct boss doesn't get things done and regularly changes his mind on vital issues so i regularly feel like i am working for an idiot!!!!! he is a nice guy but!!
anyway i digress slightly( this is going somewhere...Honest!!)

I realised that the problem lies with me, rather than getting frustrated at the boss i need to learn to deal with the problems and issues in a calm way.
If i remember to love my neighbour as myself then i am not going to think he is an idiot but offer the best i can give regardless!, and if he changes his mind then i just need to deal with it and get on with it.
Going to work in "the world" is a challenge and people do not always do things in the correct manner. working with a forgiving manner is not always easy, especially when you are in a position of responsibility, at times you can feel battered from all directions, for me it can be directors,colleagues, workers or even suppliers. for others it could be from many other areas, but to enter prepared with a forgiving attitude is a good start.

We should remember that the issues we face at work were nothing compared to the issues Jesus had to face, he went to work every day knowing that in the end it was going to cost him his life. through out his life the authorities were constantly looking for ways to trip him up and how did he deal with it, he offered them hope and above all forgiveness.

Now my problems are nothing compared to the issues which Jesus faced yet he still said
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."


**** I wrote this post on Tuesday night!! went to church on Wednesday night and guess what the word was.....yep you guessed it.....Forgivness!!****