Great things.

The children were the main focus of the service today, the little one’s and the big one’s. The little one’s were given prizes for various achievements throughout the year and the big one’s (adults) treated us to a puppet show all about Noah, it was fab.

Next up was Ian, who spent most of his time striding around and talking to us in a blindfold, earmuffs and oven gloves, never a dull moment in our church you know! He was actually portraying how he’d appear if an angel had looked down on him 19 years ago.. It’s a pretty good description of where I was at just over a year ago. I didn’t really see God or hear him and I needed someone to take the gloves off for me (thank you Wend) so I could undo the blindfold and remove the ear muffs. I actually said to my friends today ‘ I so wish this had happened years ago’ but I know that God’s timing is always right, I’m where I should be now. Praise God.

Then came a moment I’m still trying to find a word for, a reunion of three friends from childhood. As we sat and chatted over coffee and cake I couldn’t stop looking at these two precious people who I’d grown up with. I was so scared they would disappear, but at the same time I knew that they were here to stay, because my life continues to be Blessed with such amazing things.

How great is our God eh!

Sing with me
How great is our God
and all will see
How great, How great
Is our God.

And He is you know.

Love is all around...

Oh wow, what a truly wonderful service it was today. Love is in the air again and I have to say at this point I don’t ever want to be anywhere else, I’ll just stay right here in my life because I’m surrounded by love on all sides and it gets better and better.

Love God and Love Thy neighbour, that’s it, just that. It brings so many good things into your life, don’t keep score of the things in life that people have done or said to hurt you, forgive, forget and move on, you will be Blessed in every way, believe me it’s a different life. I know because I’m living it right now and I’ll be the first to say, when people told me about walking with God I didn’t believe that what they had was any better than I had, but there really is no comparison. I have no idea what I used to think Joy was, maybe a good holiday, a new car or a good old knees-up at the local, I really don’t remember, because the Joy that goes right through to my soul now, I swear I’ve never felt before in my life. Praise God.

1 Corinthians 13.

We had a wedding today, it was Duc and Le, its been a long time since I went to a wedding and it made me cry, strangely enough it was the very first time I have ever cried at a wedding. I just felt so much emotion for this lovely couple starting out on their married life, a life that they will put totally into Gods hands, its an awesome feeling when you’re at one with God and everyone else in the room is too, you can feel His presence, it prickles your skin and takes you to somewhere that no human being can ever take you.

Yes, I have had to say goodbye to my precious son and that is definitely the most painful thing a parent will ever have to face here on earth, it still hurts more than anything ever has or ever will, but I have Peace, Joy and so much Love in great quantities that nobody will ever convince me it could be anything but a miracle.

Loving this song:

Father God You are my rock,
Its you I trust,
And my heart is longing after You,
It’s You I love,
Cause I want to know You,
To be always with You,
To be always by Your side,
And when I am shaken,
You are my foundation,
All my life, I’ll testify.

Great are You Lord, exalted on high,
Great are You Lord exalted and
I will find my shelter in the shadow of Your Wings,
My Father God.

Amazing.

Oh wow what a brilliant time I had at church this morning, I continue to be in awe of the way God enriches my life, the Grace and Joy is limitless and I’m so very glad that I have Him walking beside me giving me all the things that strengthen me.

Neil was our speaker today, he was bringing part 2 of his message, I’d missed last week but was able to catch up easily enough. The thing about being there and listening to the speaker is that we will all probably take our own message from it and apply it to our own circumstances, we all live different lives and have our own challenges but I find it amazing that every time I listen I feel as though those words were meant especially for me. What I took from today was no matter where we are in life just now, if we stumble as we travel down the path then God will pick us up, dust us off and set us right back on the path, we just have to ask him into our life, live his word and believe that what we ask for will be given.

Sometimes things crop up that scare me or try to bring me down, I’m human and I sometimes forget to ask for the protection and Grace that I know I can have any time. I went back to studying recently and as my previous post explains I started to feel the old familiar anxieties of my school days when I struggled to achieve what was required, it was scary, until this morning that is when I was told ‘ask and believe and you will be given’ God picked me up, got me back on my feet and set me back on the path. I’m so totally full of optimism because I know I can do this now.

For ages we’ve all been praying for L, she’s gone out to Africa to work in a centre for disabled children, she went alone with no permanent accommodation and no friends to keep her company. My prayer for L has been:

‘Thank you Lord for making it possible for L to go out to Africa and help the children and their parents. Send her your strength, let her find accommodation and help her to make friends so that she isn’t lonely’

Her latest communication said she’d found a flat to rent, there were a number of people wanting to rent it but the landlord said he felt compelled to give it to her, she had no money to furnish it but prayed and put it into Gods hands. The next day the landlord said he’d decided to furnish it for her, completely, including extra little luxuries like cushions on the couch. Then the money ran out for the building of the centre and it was thought the whole thing might be held up, low and behold the money came and the centre will be finished in October. She has made lots and lots of friends and is overjoyed about how things are going out there. What a miracle. Praise God.

During the service Col’s guitar string broke so we were all told to chat among ourselves while he fixed it and as I was nattering a familiar face appeared in front of me. I can’t begin to describe how overcome with pure Joy I was to realise it was one of my childhood friends, not just anyone though, it was the third person in our ‘trio’ she’d been living abroad and had only recently moved back here. Wendy Chris and I were very close when we were growing up, we weren’t always our parent’s idea of model children and I never ever imagined we would be reunited in the way we have, but God did. Thank you Lord for all you’ve done and continue to do for me, I am so very Blessed.

Song for this week has to be.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Saviour has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine

Banishing Demons.

Ok I feel like this particular issue is a quiet time one, its nothing to do with Chris or church but it is something that I’m a bit reluctant to put on my normal blog. I have a learning problem that stems back to childhood, it’s definitley a mental thing rather than anything else though. When I was at school I always managed to get the wrong end of the stick and went off at the wrong angle, I’d write loads and it usually had nothing at all to do with the answer they were looking for. Time after time I’d be told to read the question properly before I waded in with the size 7’s, but I never ever learned to do that so ended up feeling as though I was unteachable ( I know that isn’t a word).

This hasn’t been a problem for many years because I was totally confident in everything regarding running a home, working here and there and bringing up two kids. However I’m now back at school and the old demons are reminding me that it wasn’t easy first time round and I do panic now and again that it will be a repeat performance of an earlier life.

First lesson in Psychology was about childhood memories that we didn’t like being shoved into the unconscious and only emerging into the sub conscious when something triggers it and they leak out, well its leaked now and I’m determined that its going to be dealt with and put to bed. I know I’m capable of learning if I don’t panic about it and put the wall up, so I’m working hard on facing up to my demons and telling them to go to hell, they don’t have a place in my life now. That was a different life and they are not getting a look in on this one……..So there!!