Someone's been on a Date

I'm dying to know who it was, but I guess since you didnt leave your name, I'm not supposed to know.

But Somebody has been on a date!

A huge gift was left for us today, and the timing was impeccable!

I didnt pick the theme of giving, but it has been coming up quite a bit recently hasnt it! I love joining God where he is working, and blessing people by giving in all sorts of ways. And the effect that it has when Gods people are obedient is amazing. The receiver is totally blown away by Gods provision people who dont know God get a glimpse of his love because of someones generosity.

God's plan for the nation of Israel is that they would be his representatives on earth. That others would know what God is like by seeing how they treat eachother, and how they take care of those in need.

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58: 10-11

Paul writes to the Christians at Corinth, thanking them for the gift they sent, that he was going to pass on to others:

"What you are doing is much more than a service that supplies God's people with what they need. It is something that will make many others thank God. The way in which you have proved yourselves by this service will bring honor and praise to God. You believed the message about Christ, and you obeyed it by sharing generously with God's people and with everyone else." 2 Corinthians 9:12-13 (CEV)

And I'll leave you with one last verse...

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor 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. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:10-13

A Potamus Up a Tree

Last night we found this little critter up a tree...

Josh is still learning that it is a "possum" and not a "potamus" although he was the first to put his hand out to give the potamus some bread to eat.

Hannah however, was quite reluctant and held the bread close to her body. She didnt realise the joy and experience of holding her hand out and having the potamus take it from her in its little paws.

Sometimes in life we hold things tight and close in order to stay safe. But it is in opening up and letting go that we experience true joy and deeper experiences in life.

Do you have some bread to let go of? You never know, there might be a potamus just around the corner!

Chasing Turtles

Josh and I went out today chasing Eagles

- Im still determined to get that shot of an eagle soaring...but today was not my day for that.

Unfortunately, I cant get close enough to get a good shot. So I either need to be on a hill or mountain (neither of which can be found in Bundaberg!), or I need them to fly lower.

{{orrrr maybe I need a super SIGMA AF/MF 170-500mm ZOOM LENS!! haha}}

Instead of chasing eagles, we stumbled upon a turtle.

In the middle of a dirt road. With his neck stuck riiiiight out.

Not the smartest place for our little turtle to be. In a pond, he would be in his element. Able to do whatever it is that turtles do. But out here he was most certainly in for some trouble. He politely refused my offer of help to get him off the road and so we drove around him and wished him all the best. I just have one little comment from todays expedition

If you're going to stick your neck out and stand your ground,
you'd better make sure you are where you're meant to be!
(otherwise you'll be left high and dry
and in the path of some very large oncoming vehicles!)

p.s. if you look very closely, youll see he smiled for the camera!

TenFold

Speaking of dates, Id like to clarify a point and add a very cool story.

Two of my very close friends told me this story and both suggested it would be good to share it with you.

The offering bag came along at church and my friend paused a moment before putting anything in. Due to serious medical conditions, the family hadnt received any income for some time. My friend considered putting a gold coin into the bag, but chose instead to put in a $10 note, knowing they had little cash to get them through the time ahead.

At the same time, another friend was having a little word to the Lord about what was in her purse. You see, she felt for some reason that God wanted her to give the $100 note that she had, to this other lady. She was very politely telling him that he must be mistaken because she doesnt usually have that kind of money in her purse and surely she could have used it for other things. But my friend was obedient and, after the service, gave the $100 note.

Heres where the story gets really cool - When the first lady got into the car after church, she told her family what had happened, and her son said "Its a miracle!". When asked why, he explained that he saw his mum put $10 into the bag when he knew they could not afford it, and now he saw God give her back 10 times that amount! What an awesome lesson!

Its not very often we get to see both sides of the story, or God working so clearly, but I know he does and Im really glad he let us in on this one!

How important it is for us to join God where he is working! He has huge plans that I am totally oblivious to, but if I listen to his promptings, feel and respond to his tug at my heart, then I can join Him and Oh what a privilege it is!

But I dont serve Jesus cause He is my boyfriend, I dont try to please Him cause it makes me feel good. I serve Him with my whole heart cause He is the creator of the universe, the most Awesome God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Even though I deserved to be separated from Him for eternity because of my choice to go my own way, He chose to take that punishment on Himself and be crucified and die and rise again so that I could be with Him forever. And now that I know who He is, there is no higher honour I'd rather than to kneel in service for my King.

BTW, Your King requests your presence in the throne room :)

Ooh, A Date!

Have you ever been on a date? I remember some dates that Bryce and I went on. We went to musicals in brisvegas, walked along the beach at sunset, went bushwalking, to the movies, stayed up late looking at the stars.

Tonight, Bryce has a date. Well, its not really a date, he's gone with a mate of his to the movies.
In Brisbane.
4 hours away !

... I know... what a strange thing to do! what a strange thing for Bryce to do! But they are good mates so instead of going on a fishing weekend, they drove to Brisbane to see the new 3D U2 movie. Now I am actually very impressed that Bryce would do something so silly. Why on earth would you drive 8 hours to see a movie?? haha! He has my full support (and Im going to play that card next time I want him to do something outrageous with me!)

When we are getting to know someone, we tend to go out of our comfort zones to do things they like doing, or new ideas they might suggest. But then after a while, we end up not doing those things any more. Sometimes our own preferences creep back in - I dont actually like sand on my feet and Bryce thinks movies are a waste of time - well, so he said! Sometimes we just settle with doing the day to day things instead of thinking of the other person. And if I remember rightly, when we chose to do those special things for other person, we actually had a great time with them!

Do you remember that time when you would do anything for Jesus? You went on Beach Mission or Overseas trips, you served the poor, you prayed for people, you gave your money to those in need, you sang your heart out, you told people about Him? But maybe now, those things just arent things you enjoy, or can afford, or have time for, or even think about?

Life isnt meant to be like that. Our relationship with Jesus isnt meant to be about commitment to work first, or balancing our budget first, or not offending our friends by not talking about Him.

I think its high time we asked Jesus what he wants to do.

Cause life is so much better when we join Him where he is!

I've got a date this week. (Yes, I should arrange to go on one with Bryce too!)

On Wednesday, Jesus and I are going to give $100 to a lady who's glasses got stolen and she cant afford to buy new ones. Im a bit scared, she doesnt know Him, so she's going to think Im a bit weird. And cause she squints all the time, she looks a bit scary and I always feel like I'm in trouble! It might not work out the way I plan, its definitely out of my comfort zone, but if thats what He wants to do, then He can count me in!

Lets get back to that time in our relationship with Him where we would really sacrifice all we have to be where He is.

Why dont you ask him right now what he wants to do this week?

Get A Grip!

I have been bowling for about 8 weeks now, and was using the generic bowling balls provided, usually a different one each week as I could never find the same one as the week before. But this week, everything changed!

When I was in primary school I used to bowl in a league and I still had my marble-pink bowling ball! I decided to dig it out last week and have the holes re-drilled to fit my 'mature' fingers. I took the ball in and I thought I would have to try lots of different sizes finger holes to see which fitted best. But when I arrived, he actually measured my hand and fingers and distance and span and width and noted all these dimensions down before marking and drilling my ball.

I wasn't sure that was the right way to do it, but I trusted him and stood ready to use my 'new' ball for the first time. Much to my shock and embarrassment, my thumb got stuck in the hole and I ended up on my knees! Obviously, I thought, there must be a problem with the ball but this wasn't the case. Apparently, you cant grip a new ball like the old ones. In the old balls that have generic measurements to fit most people, you have to grip with your thumb to hold on to it, and make sure it doesn't slip away, but with a ball made to measure, designed specifically for you, you have to hold it loosely, with an 'open hand'.

The man who drills your ball doesn't fit you to pre-measured balls but measures you and fits and adjusts your ball perfectly. And God, who holds your life in his hands doesn't expect you to fit into generic moulds or roles or make you conform to others expectations, but has a specific purpose and unique attributes which allows you to fulfil that purpose for which you were created. Your life and circumstances are designed to carry out this purpose.

If you hold tightly to try to make your life go the way you want - to be in a certain financial position or in a particular role or successful in that area or pleasing those people or avoiding that perceived 'failure', you will miss the mark and the only place you'll end up is on your knees.

God has given you a life to use but you have to grip it right
You have to hold it with an open hand and let it go
And you have to trust Him

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb"

The last piece of advice I was given was this 'If you have any trouble, come back and see me. Tell me where it hurts. I might adjust the ball, but more than likely, Ill adjust your grip.'

Are you having trouble in your life? Are the circumstances you are in getting you down?
Take time to go see your creator
Tell him where it hurts
He might adjust your circumstances, but more than likely, he'll adjust your grip!

'I have learned to hold all things loosely,

so that God will not have to pry them out of my hands.'

Corrie ten Boom

Poking Wasps

Hello girls and boys! Todays life lesson has been brought to you by the letter W and the number 3.

My son who is 3 hasn't had a particularly good week. Yesterday he was very excited about having some friends around to play. When we arrived home, he immediately bolted around the side of the car to greet them and ran straight into an opening side door leaving a nasty cut, bump and bruise on his forehead. He was just too busy rushing around to see what was happening right in front of him.

On Tuesday, while playing soccer in the backyard with Dad, he noticed a wasps nest hanging on the fence at about head-height. Being an inquisitive little lad, he said "oh, look at this!" and proceeded to poke the wasps nest with his finger. As you can imagine, the wasps didn't take kindly to this and swarmed onto his face stinging him 3 times on the cheek and nose. This time his busy fingers got him into trouble.

One of the traps for us in life that we don't often see or realise is our busyness. Being busy doing 'good' things often prevents us from doing the 'best' thing or seeing the open doors for our life or ministry.

Does your life feel too busy? Do you know why you let yourself get busy?

Maybe you get a sense of significance in doing good works? Maybe you try to please others by saying yes to all thats asked of you? Maybe your busyness is an attempt at avoiding loneliness or being alone? Whatever the reason, its time to stop and take a look around at what you are doing.

It is in quietness that we are able to assess what the best thing for us to do is, and to weigh up the consequences of our actions, and really seek to join God where he is working.

There might be an open door just waiting for you to see, or you may be about to get stung cause you went ahead instead of waiting for your Heavenly DAD!

Psalm 46:10 says "Be still, and know that I am God". You aren't going to miss out if you wait on God (well, you might miss out on some nasty stings!). You will actually be more effective cause you will be doing what He wants you to do! And you will enjoy it more because you wont be weighed down by all the other unnecessary things you have signed up for.

I tried this concept out this week, and I feel much more relaxed, and have had more meaningful times with people as I had the opportunity to be spontaneous because I hadn't pre-booked my whole week. Thinking back, because I chose not to busy myself, I was able to go bowling with my son when he asked (he really did deserve it after this week!), I was able help a stranger who needed an extra pair of hands while working, and I saw a mum at school in a bit of a different light. How refreshing!

It really is worth it! So... be still... our DAD is right there with you and will guide you if you wait for Him.


A friend just added this quote..."Whenever you say Yes to something you're also saying No to something else, be it God, family, friends or even sleep!!!!"