I have something to say!

So I haven't blogged for a while; I suppose nothing much has struck me as that interesting to tell the world about. I had a wonderful moment of clarity this morning. I had to do the children's talk at church; not something I do much but I had offered to cover for someone who was on holiday. Well, at this point in my life I have a memory like Dorie on 'Finding Nemo' - about 8 seconds in length (P Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, SYDNEY!). I only remembered last night that I said I would do it. As I slipped into sleep last night I still had no talk.

This morning the matter that are called my 'little grey cells' started processing and I decided to talk about Simeon and Anna. Over Christmas I realised that everyone has visitors and/or visits. Jesus was a visitor at 8 days old; He went to the temple with His parents as was the custom of the time. Two things struck me this morning:

• Simeon and Anna recognised that Jesus was the Saviour when He was an 8 day old baby. What faith they had. Simeon says, ' “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,"' After seeing Jesus He was ready to leave this earth and meet His creator.
• At the beginning of Jesus' earthly life the gentiles are mentioned. '"...a light for revelation to the Gentiles,and for glory to your people Israel.”' Wow, that is me. The Gentiles were not just an afterthought in the plan of Salvation, we were involved. The great thing about this plan is that ALL nations, colours and creeds can be part of it. I love that God invented multi-culturalism. Praise God.

Perhaps, these thoughts are not revolutionary but they came home to me this morning in a real way and I thank God for the opportunity of having them brought to my attention again. Sometimes, we miss so much in the familiar parts of scripture.

Currently Reading

For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men By Shaunti Feldhahn

What no blogging!

Nothing much to say at the moment (well there probably is loads but I can't think straight to word it!).

Just wishing you all a Happy Christmas and a blessed 2008. May we all know the joy of our Saviour in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

Take care and God Bless you.

Currently Reading

The Unquenchable Worshipper: Coming Back to the Heart of Worship (Worship Series) By Matt Redman

Too good to be true.

Do you ever meet people who are just too good to be true? I do. Some folks I have an uneasy feeling about everything they tell me about themselves but it isn't anything I can put my finger on. They just don't seem real and I tend to take all they say with a pinch of salt. I long when this happens for something to prove me right or wrong about those nagging feelings.

As a Christian I am so glad that Jesus isn't like that. Over the summer I have been doing a lot of thinking about my position in Christ. I praise Him that the claims He makes are real and can be totally trusted. He is the Christ, the son of the Living God. He did die and was raised to life again. He has called me to Himself and 'by grace I have been saved through faith, and that not of myself, it is the gift of God, ...' I am so full of thankfulness that 'In Him I also trusted, after I heard the word of truth, the gospel of my salvation, I was sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of my inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.' (Quotes from Ephesians in the Bible)

So perhaps when I meet these people in my daily walk I need to remember these verses and praise God for His willingness to share Himself with me.

Back to College

I have started back at College for another year. I passed my Level 2 of a Child Care qualification and am now onto the higher level. We had the introduction on Wednesday. I was alright until she started talking about needing to think about things on a more supervisory level and the need for us to do a Longitudinal Observation of a child (translation: study one child over a certain period of time!) I have one particular child in mind and will chat about the possibilities of that with my Manager on Monday.

We have to write up regular log diaries of the work we do but this level needs it to be about situations I deal with (eg discussing with a parent about their child) rather than activities I am involved in (painting etc). OK, that sounds more tricky. I wasn't looking forward to it but once I started it I realised that I do like studying. My tutor wants to have a look at what we have written and will advise us if we have understood her instructions! We have to study more about Child Development theories, do more in-depth child observations on various children and also the Longitudinal Observation. I am really looking forward to this course. I do enjoy studying and I like observing how children behave and interact with their peers and adults. Believe it or not I also like studying the legal side of working with Children (eg Child Protection, Health and Safety).

I am also excited to see where this qualification will lead me. I know that God has a place for me and am very interested in finding out. If this year doesn't kill me (and cause my family to dread me looking at another text book!) I would like to study further and obtain a degree eventually. But God knows and for the minute I am going to enjoy this c

From negative to postive - a work in progress!

I am learning more of God and His greatness over the past few months. One of the ways I am learning of it is through His people. I am naturally a negative kind of person and will often look on the bad side of peoples' motives (some would say this comes with the terrority of being a pastor's wife!). I have to fight this part of my personality. I have been blessed to come across Christians in the past year who without realising have been such an influence on my life by being positive about the Lord and other Christians. I thank God for the Internet for that reason. Unfortunately, (like a reformed smoker!!!) I get really sad when I hear such negative comments about fellow Christians. This is not the way I or the body of Christ should be.

I was able to go to the Bible study the other night. The church is working through Galatians and is on Chapter 6. We looked at bearing one another's burdens and that is the responsibility of all of us in a local church fellowship. The passage (verses 1-5) at first appear contradictory but the man leading the bible study clearly set out what it means. The burdens and load mentioned are different. It spoke to me that the load is to do with my responsibility as a Christian; my study of the word, my worship of God, my work that He has prepared for me to do. I sort that out between God and myself. The burdens of others we are to share, to allow others into our lives to let them help us if necessary.

The last few verses of the study (6&7) the man said they refer to the pastor (that being my husband!). He explained the responsibility of the church to look after the pastor because he teaches the word each week. I was amazed to hear the love that some of our church members have for my husband (and myself). As the pastor's wife it was good to hear. Praise God that they are blessed by his preaching and the way he deals with people.

It is my prayer that we both allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to continue to be of help to this church, our community, amongst our friends and for me the 'cyber' world I frequent. Those of you out there reading this if you ever notice a negative complaining heart creeping in tell me and by God's grace I will accept your words and deal with it. I know that if that attitude takes hold again I am not much use to God nor man!