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Can’t believe it’s 2010!!

How space age does that sound?!  Talking of space.. check out this little film on youtube : How did we get here? It’s quite cool, no ?

Amber’s poem (from small group “ask an Elder” on Weds 5th Aug)

Baptism

Adam wrote a blog on Baptism on his website- I thought it would be good to put a link to here too : http://www.adamwhite.co.uk/article/how-to-get-baptised-in-swindon/

Giving my day to God

I sat at my desk this morning and said a little prayer, I then felt like I needed to start my day at work in God’s word, so I scanned through some of my old bible studies and this one jumped out at me.. BS23 : Lift up your heads, O you gates: Psalm 24

It spoke to me again about God being bigger than any of the situations or circumstances we are in. He’s bigger than any of our worries, problems or desires.

When we seek God first and spend time with him and praise His name before giving our attention (or the glory) to anything else, good or bad, then the rest will follow. He will give us peace because we are reminded that we can trust in Him for all things, and He will help us face the day ahead no matter what it might bring.  Praise God for his wonderful word !!

Church

My friend Adam sent me a link to a really good artical on how church should be: http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/article_francis_chan/ It’s really good, but its a reminder of just how far away we are from being the church that God planned us to be… but there’s hope! I know that our church (Gateway church ) are moving forward and seeking to be more and more like the church in the New Testament. With God’s help we will restore the church to how it’s meant to be!

Marriage

If you want some fab teaching on what God thinks a great marriage looks like, have a listen to “The Peasant Princess” series by Mark Driscoll. It’s very challenging to both husbands and wives, with talks about so many different areas of married life – from time & money, to sex & work. Go on have a listen, I dare you!

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/the-peasant-princess

(p.s. you need to start at the bottom and work your way up the list as the most recent talks are at the top!)

Lifehouse “everything” skit

I first watched this several months ago and told loads of people about it. I watched it again tonight, and it’s still really good, so I decided to put a link to it here . Make sure you watch it to the end – it gets better!!

Life

Sometimes life seems so complicated. Sometimes life seems so simple. It is because I change or because life changes? When it’s simple I wonder why others make things so complicated. When it’s complicated I wonder why no-one else seems to find it so.

Some days I live on the earth, my eyes focussing on what is seen and my mind occupied by wordly things. Other days I live in the clouds, not worrying about today and looking forward to what is to come. The things that are seen being only temporary and the worldy worries only momentary.

Yet wherever I choose to live, I cannot seem to stay for long. I move from one place to the next, caught between two worlds, two minds, two ways of thinking. I am stretched, pulled, torn between what is seen and what is unseen. Between the simple and the complicated, between the self and the selfless.

Sometimes life seems so complicated, but perhaps tomorrow will be a simple day again.

*****

Friends

Friends are the best, I love the people that God has put around me to make me smile, to challenge me, to help me and to share the good times and the bad. There are friends who you see all the time and if a week has passed when you haven’t caught up with them you feel a bit like somethings missing, then there are friends that you don’t get to see so often because they live further away, yet they are such good friends that when you meet up again it’s as if no time has passed at all! What a blessing it is to have good friends who know you well and still seem to love you!! Thank you God for my friends, both near and far. I pray that I will be as much a blessing to them as they are to me. (You know who you are!!!)

…

Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu’il a donné son Fils unique, afin que quiconque croit en lui ne périsse point, mais qu’il ait la vie éternelle. Jean 3:16

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A limerick or two

…

There once was a girl called Lindsay

Who everyone knew was quite flimsy

But one windy day

She got blown right away

The sad story of poor Flimsy-Lindsay

…

There once was a chap called Franck

When he drove by, the girls would all honk

Coz he was a rock star

(Yet drove a girls car)

But never after drinking French Plonk!

…

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24 hours in your shoes

Franck and I were reading a book yesterday and it said: suppose Jesus lived your life for 24hours.. He woke up in your bed, went to your work, did your job, saw your friends, ate your lunch, drove your car etc etc. The only difference would be that your heart was exchanged for his heart. From the outside no-one could see any difference.

Would people notice any difference in you?

Franck and I had a chat about it and we thought that Franck would probably come across with more authority if he had Jesus’ heart, people would notice that he was more confident in who he is (in God) and although he would still be humble, he wouldn’t have fear, because he would know that God was with him and the authority that God gave Jesus was also given to him through Jesus.

Me, I’d be less critical of others and a bit more gracious I wouldn’t put my friends down in jest. When Franck got home from work he wouldn’t find me at home on my own doing some housework, he’d have to go looking for me! When he found me I’d be sat in a pub or café or club or church or anywhere that people gathered, and I’d be talking to them about God!!

What about you? If you had Jesus’ heart for a day, what would people notice in you that was different?

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Time

If I stopped for a while what would I see

That usually won’t catch my eye?

If I stopped for a while what would I notice

That normally passes me by?

If I stopped for a while what would I hear

When music and talking has gone?

If I stopped for a while what would I think

Without work and stuff to be done?

…

If I stopped for a while who would I call

When I often just don’t have the time?

If I stopped for a while who would be pleased

It was me on the end of the line?

If I stopped for a while who would I meet

When diaries don’t rule the day?

If I stopped for a while who would I see

Who wanted to come out and play?

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Being thankful

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. Hebrews 12: 28

I’m thankful for the patience God has with me, even thought at times I’m not very patient with others.

I’m thankful that I am a “work in progress” and with the help of the Holy Spirit I’m getting closer each day to being the person God made me to be.

I’m thankful that on “bad days” I can start again without feeling condemned as soon as I turn back to God in repentance.

I’m thankful for my wonderful husband who encourages and supports me as we walk through life together. I’m thankful that God joined us as one and that we can serve God better and give God more glory together than we can do apart.

I’m thankful for my wonderful home that is also a “work in progress” and month by month we are making it into the house I imagined when I first looked round it. I’m thankful that I have a garden that I can sit in and view a tiny bit of God’s creation.   I’m thankful for all the little wildlife I see living in my garden, bees and butterflies and birds of all kinds (but I’m not so thankful for the slugs!)

I’m thankful that God has provided me with friends and family who know Him. People I can share with and be real with. People who I can help up when they are feeling down, knowing that they have done, and will do, the same for me when I am down. People I can laugh with, cry with, pray with, work with, play with, talk with, be silent with.