Nearly Famous

This week, I Googled my husband. Im hoping that since you are reading this blog, that you know what Google is? Its a website where you can search for anything and it will bring up all the other websites which include that word or phrase. So, I Googled Bryce and up came a few sites - there is a Bryce National Park in Utah, there are a couple of sermons on the Southport Church of Christ website, there is a link to http://www.bundymum.com/ and lo and behold there on the top of the list was a link to the Parliament of Australia - House of Representatives website! Our good friend Stuart Robert had mentioned Bryce in a list of friends as part of his maiden speech! I reckon that qualifies as nearly famous.

I also have a few nearly-famous-notches to claim! I have been in an international womens magazine and I have been on TV! (In the womens magazine my email comment was published in the letters to the editor and on TV my face flashed up for half a second in an ad for a womens conference). Ok so not quite famous but Im claiming nearly-famous status and its my blog so I can do that.

But since I probably wont achieve 'famous' status, I thought Id write my acknowledgements now. One day, I might write a book, and if I do, it will be directly because of the encouragement that you guys have given me. Seriously, whenever I find out God has used one of my blogs to encourage people or someone says they really enjoy reading what I wrote, or someone says they think I could write, or speak, or teach or be a good pastors wife :) its awesome emotional nourishment and it keeps me going.

**BUT**
If I speak without God speaking to me, or teach without learning from Jesus or minister without being ministered to by the Holy Spirit then I am only a clanging gong or a resounding cymbal. If you enjoy what I write but its just a story and not a lesson from my life then I am nothing. If God uses my blog but I dont express his love in my life then I gain nothing. (from 1 Cor 13:1-3)

See the most important thing in life, is not to be publshed in someones 'acknowledgement page'.
The most important thing is to be in the book of life (Believe that Jesus as God and accept him as your Lord)
To realise that you are on the first page of Gods book - the page where it says "this book is dedicated to..." YOU!!.
And to be such a good representation of that message that people cant help but ask you who the author is.

So, encourage people around you, you never know what it means. But even more so,

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Rom 12:10-12

"Our changed lives might be the only gospel some people will ever read" Elaine Roulet

My Mum Smells Like Petrol

My mum very kindly picked me up from Brisbane airport on my first trip back to the Gold Coast and needed to fill up the car at the airport servo before heading home. Because there were so many cars waiting for petrol, my mum decided to park in the only vacant petrol bay which meant the fuel tank was on the far side of the car and the pump and hose would have to reach over the back of the car in order to fill up. She has a small car so didnt think this would be a problem and placed the nozzle in the tank and looked at the bowser to see the cost as she proceeded to pull the lever and start filling up the car.

BUT, as you can guess from the title of this blog, the hose was not quite far enough in the tank and petrol immediately spurted out all over my mum, down her leg, and started pooling on the ground. At a quick shreik from me (and the oddly wet feeling in her pants) my mum let go of the lever and we sheepishly looked around to make sure no-one was looking (or at least laughing) at us. We drove the next hour to the Gold Coast with the unbearably strong smell of petrol (coming from my mum) but by the time we got there, we had sort of got used to it and it didnt bother us that much any more.

Has God been speaking to you at all this year? Has he pointed out something to you that you need to change but you have gotten used to it and done nothing about it? Has that deep sense of that new thing God wanted you to do faded? Our failure to do what the Spirit prompts or indeed what God has commanded in the Bible is a stench to God, and to us when we are reading his word and seeking his will. But if we stop spending time with God, we can get used to sin and mediocrity.

The offerings that the Israelites presented to God were "a pleasing aroma to the LORD" because of their obedience to Him. This phrase occurs 25 times in the Old Testament (eg Numbers 15:13). How is your obedience? If there is something you need to do, do it! Do you remember how strong the desire or command was? How you so wanted to do something about it? How you knew you had to act? If so, there is something you need to do.

Or maybe the Holy Spirit hasnt been pricking your conscience or making anything clear to you, however, there is still a command for you: Mark 12:33 says "To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices". Now go and present yourself "a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spritual act of worship." (Rom 12:1)


My mum was looking at the cost and she paid the price.
It wasnt worth it...

Its all in the Name

I was chuckling with a friend about a Principals Award given out last week to a little boy for "trying very hard to write his name". And when my daughter got the award this week for "excellence in reading and writing skills" I was very proud. But I was humbled not long after when I realised that the little boys surname was Grebenshikoff! No wonder he got an award for trying to spell that!

I thought measuring up to the standards and rules was more important than a name, but it depends on the name. Many people think that Christianity is about measuring up to the standards and rules in the Bible, but as Christians we 'bear the name of Christ' (1 Peter 4:16) and Im going to be striving to live up to that. Not because I have to, but because he has given me this new name and I am stoked!

In His Name...
I have life (John 20:31)
I have been cleansed (1 Cor 1:2)
I have been made right (1 Cor 6:11)
I have been made holy (1 Cor 6:11)

Just like spelling 'Grebenshikoff' for a 4 year old, we have no chance of being able to live up to the name of Christ, but thats ok - we still have that name! Being a Christian is not about following rules, its about following Jesus. Im not going to be able to live perfectly, but in everything I want to be living like a follwer of Jesus , and maybe when the 'Principal of Principals award' is handed out in heaven I might hear my name called and He might just say "well done, good and faithful servant".

Obedience Cream

A very good friend of mine, who always looks beautiful and has excellent hair, shared with me a life lesson that she discovered with a hair straightener she bought. When she opened the pack, there was a DVD inside which contained the instructions on the process of how to achieve straight hair. She smiled as the presenter stressed that before using the straightener, the 'obedience cream' must be applied to the hair for the desired result. My friend remarked that we could all use a bit of obedience cream around the house!

I had my own similar life lesson when i took my 3yr old son shopping. We had dropped my daughter off at school and she had been a bit clingy and shed a few tears as her grandparents had gone home that morning. We were going to the shops to buy a remote control car as a gift and so I let him ask the lady at the shop where we would find it. Apparently he had been paying a bit too much (or too little) attention that morning as he asked where the 'self control card' was. Obviously he thought his sister needed a little boost in self control!

Wouldnt it be nice to have somewhere we could order - I'll have some obedience cream, a self control card and some trust tablets please! Unfortunately there is no local grocer that sells fruit of the Spirit and no on-line store for instant character upgrades. What we need is to upgrade our view of God.

I had never thought of it like this before, until I heard Aliki Flodine speak and share through song this weekend. We can try all we like to improve our obedience, increase our trust or boost our self control, but until we are filled with His Spirit, and seeing God for all He is through the Bible, we will never be able to grow. The only way is by having our view of God upgraded.

A friend rang, just as i wrote that, and shared how she needs to spend time in prayer and reading the Bible so that she can fathom how awesome God is, and through that, she will be able to trust him more! WOW!

God provides us with his word which shows us who he is, and he has given us his spirit to apply it and challenge us. I need an upgrade and thats exactly where Im going to start.

Bring it on!

p.s. do you want somewhere to start? Read the Psalms and join with David in praising God for his awesome characteristics or focus on the names of God - El Shaddai (God Almighty), Jehovah Jireh (God who provides), El Elyon (God most High).

Life's a Beach

Speaking of walking, my brother was strolling along a Beach in Hawaii last week (as you do!) and has an exciting story that Id like to share with you.

"I went for a walk on the beach in Maui just to pray. Was thinking, 'Gee I never really try to share God with people'. So I kinda just prayed, 'God give me the opportunity to talk to someone about you'. It was one of those prayers that I wasn't really concentrating on, just sorta said it in passing if you know what I mean...

Anyway, I'm walking along and I see a guy sitting on the beach. I just thought... I've got to talk to this guy.

Long story short, this guy was just praying to God for help a minute before I walked up to him. He was an alcoholic, no job, nowhere to live, hadn't eaten in days. Just down and out. So I bought him lunch and some stuff to eat for the next few days before he started a job he had just got a few days later. It was just so cool that I walked up just after he prayed for help... and very cool that God answered my prayer even though It was just one of those 'in passing prayers'."

That, my friends, is what walking with Jesus is about! Its about being in step with God, so you can just offer those 'in passing' prayers. Its about knowing his prompting - when you just know you have to do something. Its about meeting the needs of people around you in real, practical and spiritual ways. Its about being Jesus' hands and feet and joining him in the work that he is already doing.

"And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 John 1:5-7

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Those footprints in the sand in Maui remind me of someone's...

Signature Walk

Hello everyone! Im back on line! And although i had no computer for a while, there were many life lessons to be had, so stay tuned as Ill be visiting my blog quite a bit over the next week or so.

Even though i had no computer, I was not at a loss for things to do (apart from unpacking boxes, cleaning, pruning and trying to keep my kids under control) because thanks to some wonderful friends, we have a coffee machine and digital set top box to expand our horizons here in Bundy. I did make a few coffees and I had the opportunity just a couple of times to turn the tele on and one show got a few minutes of my attention.

I flicked on to Americas Next Top Model, which would normally not have held my interest except that the judges were commenting on the 'walks' of the prospective models. Apparently, the judges are supposed to be able to tell by a models walk who they are, without even seeing their face and so these up and coming models were told that they cant just have a 'good' walk, they need to have a 'signature' walk.

I quickly flicked to another show but that concept kept coming back to me. As followers of Jesus, we are meant to be distinguished by our walk - by how we live. It isnt enough to have a 'good' life, nor is it enough to look or sound like a Christian, we have to live so radically different that people cant help but notice, and know whose we are.

Col 3:7-8 says "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips."

1 John 2:6 says "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

How do you think Jesus walked that was so different? What did he do that changed peoples lives? What would he do in our community today? What was Jesus 'signature walk'?

I think it is summed up in a verse from the Old Testament, Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

We cant create our own signature walk as Christians, it is only by spending time and walking with Jesus that we fall in step with him. And it is then that people see and know instinctively that we are walking with someone they want to get to know.

Walk On!

Wiped Out

7 more sleeps till the moving van arrives and this will be our 7th move in 7 years of being married. I have cleaned handprints and footprints off more walls than I care to imagine (yes, my walls do have footprints on them, no, I am not sure how they got there). At least I have less walls to clean and less boxes to pack since we decided to downsize :)

Because I have spent much time on my knees with Jiff and a cloth, I thought I would try and find a better way of cleaning walls. So I went to Woolworths, stood in the cleaning isle and picked up every cleaning item with the word "magic" in the title, and a few others just to be sure. Now the 'magic' eraser didn't work for me but I did find the awesome wall cleaning companion I was after - Pine O Cleen Wipes. Just one wipe and those dirty marks are gone! Now with my Pine O Cleen Wipes and my Windex Wipes for the windows and mirrors, I have a great start on the cleaning, and a little start on a Life Lesson!

Using one wipe per wall, I was powering through the grime, and the marks were coming off with ease, until a particularly tricky spot. I scrubbed and rubbed at some nasty looking fingerprints and was surprised that they were not disappearing like the rest of the marks until I realised that I hadn't changed my cloth. I was using a dried up wipe and as soon as I got a new wipe out of the packet, those marks came straight off and I was able to finish the wall with ease. I was using a tired, dried up cloth instead of using a fresh, moist wipe from the packet.

Do you feel like your spiritual life is dried up sometimes? Do you feel tired doing the same old thing, dealing with the same issues and not getting anywhere? Do you keep going through the motions that used to work and find that you are right back where you started?

The Spiritual refreshment available to us is much more life changing than my packet of Pine O Cleen Wipes, but in the same way, you cant keep using the same old formula, it wont work. You have to go back to the source and be refreshed, renewed. God is at work right now, and wants to work on those parts of you that could do with a freshen up. But you cant rely on the Bible Study you did last year, or the small group you are a part of, or the occasional prayer for others, you need to drink again from the well of living water.

One version of Colossians 2:6-7 says "Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done."

The NIV translates it this way "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Jesus said "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

I could encourage you to make a new years resolution here but I'm not going to. Ill do something a bit more scary. I'm going to share with you my resolution. And you can ask me whenever you like how I'm going.

I don't want to rely on tired prayers or old Bible Studies or great small groups any more. I don't want to be ineffective in my life and in sharing with others because I've dried up. I am going to Bundaberg so that I can join God where He is working there and maybe He'll use me to make a difference in someones life - or - how much more exciting - to introduce Him to someone who has never heard! But I cant be effective in anything unless I remain in Him, spend time daily worshiping Him, praying to Him, learning from His word, listening to Him and letting Him scrub those grimy spots off. Then when it is Him working in me, it will be refreshing and effective. And do you know what, I'm not going to be doing it cause I should or because I am a pastors wife, I remember what it is like to be in the vine, to drink from the well of living water. I want to be a Pine O Cleen Wipe :)

Jimmy Needham's song Dearly Loved has some awesome Lyrics that remind me what it is like to know God and have forgiveness and it inspires me to remind people who already know and be ready to tell those who have never heard.

Its worth it brothers
Its worth it friends
To know your maker
To lose you sin
Did you know that you are dearly loved...