So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.....

I haven't written in a while, which is pretty usual for this person. This year has been complete chaos, but I am still alive and I am at peace.

In January I wrote about my 'One Word' for the year and that word was FREEDOM.

The scriptures God gave me to go with it were:

Psalm 91: 'Because He loves me' says the Lord 'I will rescue him and protect him; for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, i will deliver him and honor him.'

John 8:36: 'So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.'
, The word FREEDOM was to represent the freedom He was going to take me through this year. I was to be set free of depression, anxiety and fear. And that was it however as I reflect back on my year, the word FREEDOM has meant so much more than just that. I was expecting it to be a personal thing only but it was more than that:

It meant that my Grandma would be set free from her suffering (July she took her last breath after many many years suffering with Parkinsons/Dementia) and I got be there with her in her last moments and see Jesus take her home. It was the most humbling experience I have ever had, and now knowing she is free from all pain I am at peace. I miss her dearly and Christmas was not the same without her but we spent time with her in our own ways.

We also said goodbye to a Great-Aunty who passed away in September. She had just turned 90 and had been unwell for a short time but she was the most amazing person you could ever meet. She was not afraid to live out and speak her faith. She had no fear in that and I have so much respect and honour for her.

FREEDOM also meant that our church said goodbye to a program that has been running for 15 years, while it was hard to make the decision we fully believe God was in it and he has bigger and better things coming for us and our community.

My oldest son has had Epilepsy for 6 years now and recently we have had to get more tests done as we have been concerned. He has now been diagnosed with ADHD and we are hoping to get a referral for tests on the Autism Spectrum also. While he hasn't been set free from these thigs, the FREEDOM has been that we have an amazing supportive Doctor who has walked this journey without judgements toward us. The FREEDOM comes from now having a diagnosis to better understand him and we can put things in place for him.

In November I got my first and only tattoo.

I never ever imagined I would get a tattoo, but after my Grandma passed away my sister set the scene and it has become a family venture.

The significance behind it has more than one meaning.
Obviously the word FREE had to come from FREEDOM. If I am in Christ, I am FREE. My Grandma is FREE and I have hope that my son will be set FREE from his medical issues. The bird means FREEDOM and the purple ribbon is Epliepsy/ADHD/Alzheimers Awareness. Now every time I raise my hands in worship I see the picture in my mind of the bird flying up to FREEDOM. It will be a life long reminder of the FREEDOM I have and that I don't need to dwell on the hard storms that come my way as they have in the last couple of months of 2014. It has been hard going, but I am thankful for this reminder.

I am saying goodbye to 2014 but God working the FREEDOM in my life will be continuous. I still have so much to be set FREE from but God isn't finished with me yet!

See my nextpost for my 2015 word! :-)

Cheerful Giving

This was written for the context of my own church members. We are currently doing a series on 'Planned Giving' - I hope and pray in sharing this it may touch some hearts.

As you know when we first moved in to the Quarters (house) we had an empty vege patch, and while we weren’t avid gardeners we just couldn’t let that patch sit there with nothing in it, so off to the garden shop we went to buy loads of seeds to plant. To get all the vegetables we wanted we had to plant the seeds, and if we didn’t we weren’t going to get anything. It has been amazing watching the garden grow, because we have planted what we thought was enough but as it has all grown we have been seeing some amazing results that are beyond what we expected. We were blessed with a huge tomato crop, we were blessed with hundreds of beans, we were blessed with capsicums and much more.

The Message Version of 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says this:

A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving.

^8-11 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done.

When we have planted seeds we get back what we planted and more. We are amazed by what grows in our garden and we can be amazed by the blessings God gives back when we give. And this is a promise. Because God is good and he is generous.

Let me give you a bit of context behind this particular scripture first:

From A.D. 52 to 57 a huge proportion of Paul’s time and energy was devoted to organizing a collection among his Gentile churches for the poor in Jerusalem. In Chapter 8 Paul had been boasting about how the Macedonians gave even through their most extreme trials and poverty. It was testament that even though they were small gifts, God was full of grace towards them. Paul He was amazed that even in the small gifts they gave he saw God’s grace and wanted it for his people in Corinth.

He wasn’t commanding them to give but he was encouraging them to because he saw the benefit in generous giving.

Paul used the picture of the farmer sowing seed because it’s what their lifestyle was like. The people were into farming in a big way and this picture made sense to them. The image of harvest naturally suggests the freedom of the sower to plant as much seed as he chooses similarly each person is responsible for deciding in his heart what he will give and then give it to a cause.

POINT 1: - Decide

So there are three points I want to pick up on today the first is that the people had to decide what to give.

Verse 7 says ‘Each man should give what he has decided in his heart’.

Now I guess if you read that on the surface its saying we get to decide what we want to give and give it, but if we go deeper than that I actually see it like this:

We can decide what to give, and if God is in our heart he will be in that decision also, this making our giving the idea of the God given goal that would have been talked about last week.

How do we know if what we are giving is the amount from God? The God Given Goal?

There are a few ways you can know for sure that God is speaking to your heart. First you may have niggly thoughts that line up each time about a certain topic. These niggly thoughts may come to you at the most random time, maybe even at 3 o cock in the morning when you feel like sleeping, God may be speaking to you, and maybe it’s time to listen.

Along with those niggly thoughts, you may also find that when you read your bible, scriptures will pop out to you that go with what you had been thinking and feeling or it may even say the words to the exact same words God told you. You may have people come to you and say something to you that goes along with all that as well.

I remember when we started thinking about college, there was no way it was our own thinking because I never in my life would have chosen to become an officer by myself. God was prompting us, and what started setting it in stone for us was that Logan and I would be apart all day, then when he came home we would talk about things and he would often have been thinking the same thing I had been. We had scriptures pop out that lined up, we had people say things that lined up. There was no way we could deny that God was speaking to us, and very clearly.

Another way of knowing is that you may feel an overwhelming sense of peace that doing something is absolutely God’s will.

When you have an overwhelming sense of peace it feels like whatever battle comes your way about the situation you still feel God with you. You know that whatever happens God is with you, and walking with you.

Deciding in our hearts what to give means that it will between us and God. It means that we don’t have to justify to anyone else but God as to why we are giving that amount. We also don’t need to compare with each other how much we are giving because that is between us and God in our own heart. Some of us may even do it as couple rather than singularly and that is ok too. But that is still between you and God.

 POINT 2: - CHEERFULLY

Verse 7 continues on to say ‘not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

God promises to bless us when we give, but if that is our only motive then there is no point.

In the book of Mark the story of the poor widower comes to mind. This little old lady turning up to church with her last 2 cents, around her people are throwing their coins and paper money into the box because they feel like they have to. They are giving their money because they can and they are doing it so everyone can see them. It makes them feel good to be seen giving loads of money without ever really thinking about it or why they are giving it. Then steps forward this lady and gently puts her last two cents into the box.

Jesus sees her do this and says to his disciples “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”

She put her full trust in God that He would meet all her needs for her. That is cheerful giving. She is doing it because she wants to. She didn’t have to but she did.

Which brings me to the next point FAITH.

 POINT 3: - FAITH

We are living in a world today where there is extreme poverty and we even see it in our own neighbourhood. I absolutely do not believe God wants us to go into debt when we give but I do believe that when we give we will be repaid and it says so right in verse 8! God’s grace will give us everything we need.

When we give in faith, just as the widow did God’s grace falls upon us and he will bless us. (Please whatever you do, don’t think that just because God will repay it back we can give, that also is not cheerful giving, that is doing it because we want back what we gave and more – that is a selfish reason.)

There have been many times in the past when we have been low in money for whatever reason. Sometimes it is because we have had big things happen where we have had no control and sometimes it has been because of poor decisions  There have been times when we have felt to give our last $10 to someone, but you know what – EVERY SINGLE TIME we have been in a situation where it looked like we might go without food for some time until the next pay day, God has been gracious and faithful to us and has provided for us in that moment. Whether it has been someone inviting us over for dinner, or a secret squirrel posting a shopping voucher in the mail and it arriving on that exact day we have needed it.  The last time I was extremely worried and learned through God’s grace that he was never going to let us down was when we were at college. There was one week where we needed money for petrol so we could get to Woodville to preach and lead. That week our Working for Families didn’t go through. I spoke to IRD and I got off the phone and cried and asked Logan ‘what are we going to do?’ He said to me – it will work out. Isaiah had a really good friend and his mum looked after the boys for a couple of days in the holidays and when we went to pick them up on the same day, we knocked on the door and Malachi came to the door with a painting for me. He had painted me a rainbow, and instantly God said to me “It’s going to be ok” I almost cried right there. So as the peace started to surround me my worry broke away and from that moment on I have never worried about money because God will have our back. He has proven it over and over again. And I believe he can do the same for everyone.

So, I have talked a bit about deciding in your heart what to give, Paul encouraged his people to give what they decided in their heart. We can ask God to help us decide on that – that is our God Given Goal. Paul told his people to give cheerfully and not out of reluctance or under compulsion, meaning don’t because you feel like you are being pushed. Remember that God promises to bless us when we give, but if that is our only motive then there is no point. To give cheerfully is between you and God and no one else. Even if it’s the tiniest amount it’s what your heart is saying that matters. And lastly, do it in faith that God will provide your needs at all times and in all things. 

Journal Bible

I am a part of the Studio Calico Forum and a lovely lady by the name of Shanna (Shanna's Blog) posted about 'Art Journaling' in her Journal Bible. And I love the idea!!!!

At the beginning of this year I challenged myself to read my bible more and the only way I was going to be interested in doing that was having the room to write in it. Except I didn't have the room...
My wonderful hubby had bought a journal bible last year and planning on using it as his sermon bible but he never used it. So I asked him very nicely if I could please have it and he said yes. (Aren't I a blessed woman!)

I couldn't leave my cover black, it is boring, so I used some rub on and a few flower stickers to decorate it a bit, but I am not happy with it at the moment, so I am going to work on that part!

I then decided I would use my colour pens to make it look pretty when I write in it and have read a good amount.

Now that I have come across Shanna's post I am even more excited to read it and decorate it!

An example of the ESV Journal Bible. It has a great wide margin.

I journal with a lot of words and not a lot of pictures but after reading Shanna's blog post I am going to challenge myself to draw pictures a bit more. 

I can't draw very well, but I love doodle drawing and I can see that working in my bible. 

The other thing I never though of and picked up from Shanna's blog was to add tags and stickers etc. In the two pictures you can see a couple of tags. I used a couple of left over pieces of paper and added double sided tape to attach them. The light colored ones will have titles and reminders on them and the brighter ones that can't be written on will be there to make it look even more pretty but aren't necessarily the most important thing at the time. :-)

This is the inside of the front cover. The word 'FREEDOM' stands out because that is the word God gave me for 2014. Underneath are some significant scriptures that stand out to me and a few of them are from an old bible and they were significant at a time in my life and then when I read them they spoke to me again! God is good!

Underneath the attached PL Card I have added this quote - I found this in an old journal I had written while  I was at the training college to become a Salvation Army Officer. It was a difficult time for us and I watched the movie 'Facing the Giants' and one of the guys said it. 

This will continue to be significant to me because as Officers we will move a lot of places and see a lot of things and in the most hardest times I need to remember my calling and why I am doing what I do. :-)

(The bit under the flowers was a 'routine' I was hoping to get into, but I haven't stuck with it! Typical!! lol)

So, this is only the start of something that could turn out amazing! I am looking forward to looking back on this bible in the years to come!

One Word - FREEDOM

I have been struggling the last few months to spend time with God and hear from him. Each year I ask for a scripture for the year and for this year decided to ask for one specifically for my boys also. I got one each for the boys but struggled to get anything, but in the time of struggle there was also a sense of peace to just keep waiting on the Lord.

We have just got back from an 8 day holiday and God spoke to me through I book I took away on holiday. The book is 'The Power of a Praying Life' by Stormie O'Martian. I am a huge Stormie fan. I have read and own quite a few of her books and this one would by far have to be my favourite!

So the word I got through reading this book is 'FREEDOM'. Freedom from the bondage of anxiety, depression, anger and fear. And as the word 'Freedom' began to set in my heart I started to realize that this book was all about freedom, especially when we pray and spend time with God.

With this word 'FREEDOM' also comes more that one verse which I can hold on to for this year:

'Because he loves me' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, 

for he acknowledges my name. 

He will call on me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, 

I will deliver him and honour him.'

PSALM 91:14,15

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'So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.

JOHN 8:36

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I have always allowed my anxiety/depression and fears to over rule what God says. My biggest fears and anxieties happen in the middle of the night or just before I go to sleep. So when I am tired I then become angry easily and run down with depression making my work a lot harder and people harder to deal with. To be honest just before we went on holiday I was seriously thinking about heading back to my doctor for some kind of medication because I became so sick. 

This year my hope and goal is to:

• seek daily the light of Jesus that leads me 
• spend time in worship and prayer each day, even if it is only 5 minutes - at least it's something
• to seek positive influence in people around me
• to allow God to take over my entire being - he knows I give myself fully to the work he has for me it's those times when spiritual attack comes that I start to head off in the wrong direction and follow my own path. (It's not fun!)

Another thing that comes each year is a song of some sort. And the words of 'In Christ Alone' have been playing around in not only my hear this last week but also in my boys hearts which is so awesome! 

These words I plan to put up on a poster in my office to remind me each day whose I am and who I follow:

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Here's to another good year!

God Bless

What Path?

Sermon for 5th January 2014.

See this picture – Let’s just say each of us is standing at this fork in the road today.

On the left hand side you can see it goes off and you can’t see where it’s going. On the right hand side you can see an opening at the end.

At this moment with a show of hands without knowing what I am going to be talking about if you could choose who would choose the left path? –

And who would choose the right path?

Today I want to bring some encouragement for the New Year. New Years is a time of reflection and a time of resolutions…. I have been thinking about how my 2013 went and what I would change for this year. – I am at the fork in the road – I have a decision to make.

Proverbs 3:5 says this

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make you paths straight.

Last year was a good year for us. It was great to get here and start the work God had laid on our hearts. The first 7-8 months were really good, I felt like God was with me all the time and I was happy, then all of a sudden something changed. I started to get tired and wasn’t going to God first as I should. I began relying on my own strength and wanting to do things my way. So because of that it became harder and I was less motivated and all things became negative. 

This scripture is my life verse and God always brings it up at the right times.

The word lean has the sense of putting your whole weight on something, resting and trusting in that person or thing. When we have an important decision to make we can feel like there is no one to trust – sometimes we feel like we can’t even trust God.

Which in turn makes us rely on our own strength and that gets us no where!

So leaning on our own doesn’t really make sense now does it? How can we lean on ourselves? We could lean on a wall – but is that really leaning on ourselves – not really because there needs to be something there for us to lean.

So how about we change this scripture to ‘Trust in the Lord and lean ONLY on his understanding.’ How would that be? When I think of it like that it makes sense. I need something to lean against, if there isn’t anything there then I would fall over!

In all your ways acknowledge him:

That part of the verse uses the word all. Who knows what all means? Here are some words from the thesaurus that kind of tells us what all means:

Completely

Entire

Fully

Totally and Utterly

All embracing

All encompassing

All inclusive

Everything

Widely

The works

Whole

The dictionary says ALL: - the whole of, the greatest possible, everything

So this is saying – Totally and utterly, completely, entirely, fully, with everything, acknowledge him. Give him everything you have got.

So after that explanation looking back on 2013 how and when did we acknowledge God? Did we only acknowledge him things were good? Did we say thank you even when times were tough? Did we give him credit for absolutely everything?

 The last part of the scripture says: and he will make your paths straight.

So going back to the picture - The left hand I see that as a representation of us making our own decision and going on our own way, the path will become curvy and bumpy making it difficult to see the end result.  It looks dark and choosing the wrong path does bring darkness.

The right hand side represents us trusting God. We can see what is in the end. When we have made the decision to follow Jesus we know where we are going and we can have total peace in that. We know the light is at the end. Now, choosing this path can be hard work because we know there are hard times and there are bumps and curves in the road but we know at the end there is light, not darkness.

I often find that when I am getting too far in my own ways there comes an overwhelming darkness on my life. It becomes a time of deep anxiety, depression. That darkness brings judgemental and negative towards others.

  

Thankfully, I believe in a redemptive God. I believe in a loving, caring God who helps. When I have gone onto the wrong path he will bring me back to the right path.

Have you ever been in a forest similar to this? While we were in Upper Hutt we found this really cool walk way we would take the boys in because it was only short and we knew it was safe. It was kind of similar to this.

The right hand side was a straight path that went straight towards the river, but the one on the left went off into the walk. You would be walking then there would be another fork and you would have to decide on what one to take. One side would head towards the straight path towards the river, and the other would take you another way.

I see God like this – we are allowed to make mistakes. We are not perfect but God still loves us anyway. So those times we do take the left hand path – eventually they there is another path that can get us back on the straight path. God is a redemptive God and he gives us more than two chances.

So today we are at a fork in the road. It’s the beginning of 2014 where we can make the decision to go our own way and or we can choose the right path and acknowledge God in everything we do.

I know I don’t want to be on the same path as the last few months. I need to get back on the right path, and make some changes in my life. Who’s coming on that journey?

Trust in the Lord, lean only on his understanding and in totally and utterly, completely, entirely, fully, acknowledge him in everything. Give him everything you have got and he will make your path straight.

As we finish up I want to give a chance to respond, to make a new years decision. Down here is a path you can take. One path leads to the door for this moment this represents us making the decision to go in our own strength and not giving God our all. The second leads to the mercy seat/prayer corner, if we make the decision to acknowledge God in our totally and utterly, completely, entirely, fully, everything, acknowledge him then take the moment to give to him what we need to. Give up the stuff that needs to be let go from last year. This is a new year and this is an opportunity to tell God ‘I trust you, totally and utterly, completely, entirely, fully, in everything I do.’