A New Year, A New Decade

I know its the last day of the old year but I am wondering what is coming. I've had this sense of expectation but with intrepidation for a few days now, then this morning have been up since before 6am and found that my daughter was awake too, and my husband was sort of awake. It was like that night before Christmas feel. Its odd
So I got up and have been reading as God has led and have read Jeremiah 34 (where they Hebrews repent and release their brethren they've enslaved and they change their minds) and Revelation 12 (the woman giving birth and the dragon coming to try to kill her and God protecting her and her offspring). And I wonder what God is saying through all this and all I can write in my journal is "the world is changing".
I've checked the news pages and there is nothing significant, not like the Tsunami of Boxing day 2004 or the Twin Towers, but I just get that feel of that, of something coming that we don't expect, that we didn't really see coming, that will change people's worlds.
I wanted to blog it so that I have it in writing and also in the hope of some feedback from anyone who reads this.
So I am praying for an safe new year for us and and for us who "see" things to be vigilant and praying so that the unexpected does not happen and that we follow what God wants and do not relent.


Wow! Talk about getting confirmation - check out http://3generations.eu/blog/?p=1840&cpage=1#comment-1810 2010 from Paul Leader on Martin Scott's blog
And there is a post from Sharon Stone that I want to read in more detail too, which seems to be saying similar things. Probably to be found on her website though I got it from EmergeWales email.
Glad I wrote what I did first!!

Jesus come unexpectantly

I am reading in some wonderful Christmas letters from some great out-there people and the reoccurring theme is that Christmas is the time when Jesus came unexpectedly and that is what we should be looking for not just for this season of December but for every part of the year. Interestingly this must be something God is wanting to say to me because I also read it in "Honey cakes and Silence" by Rowan Williams, Arch Bishop of Canterbury.
So I've set off with looking for Jesus coming unexpectedly as I go around. Monday the weather was snow but no ice. A quick thank you to God. But then it got better! On our river for the 3 years I've been living here there has been a lone Canadian goose. Well Monday morning I could hear him honking and really going for it. When I saw him on the river there was another Canadian goose with him and it was like, yes for him Christmas had come. He'd got the best present ever, a mate to be with and wasn't he letting the rest of us know about it. I was then spoiled to see a robin washing in the snow on the path in front of me. Hey why am I not so delight that Jesus has come to be honking like crazy like that goose? Why do I stay quiet? Perhaps I have forgotten how great He is and how much I need Him?

There is so much stuff we have forgotten about the Christmas story, so much about Western life that we have got complacent about, so much we expect "them" to sort out, and forget about all those other places there "they" mean terror.
I'm praying regularly with Open Doors monthly prayer letter and that brings me back to things about how lazy we are here about getting excited by Jesus. You know we can shouting it from the roof tops, honk like crazy like my goose, without getting into trouble, and yet there are people in certain countries who are going out where they could get killed telling other about Jesus, being bold enough to follow Him when it could mean death.
I am hoping to spend some time reflecting on how I can really get my head round just how great it is to have that total, forever companion in Jesus

Hey and I love the way God takes my fingers when I type. I did want to do a whole thing on some of the historical things of Christmas as I did with the 25th Dec last time and wanted to do with Carols, Shepherd, etc but He had other plans. Maybe too these blogs and what He uses to talk to me :>

Christmas

I often wonder if as Western Christians we have missed that mark and often in teaching other cultures how to evangelise help them to miss it too. I've been having interesting discussions with friends and family over this so thought I would share.

The reason we celebrate the birth of Jesus now here in Britain, now of course across the world, is that the Celtic Christians knew about the solstice festival and the feast of the sun on 25th December as the sun started its journey back up into the sky and the days started getting longer and saw that this perfectly showed about how Jesus came to give peace and rest and reflection, as the sun went lower in the sky, but that He was the true light and the true giver of hope, warmth, life and purpose and so taught and showed the pagans this. They saw it all so clearly and grabbed at the True God with both hands because the Celtic Christians had showed them something in their culture that showed God.
So often Christians get embarrassed about Christmas being at solstice and get in a muddle with it all. Yes it has become a materialistic festival and we do need to redeem that but the Celtic Christians use it to show that God is in everything.

The other thing was the whole story of the Glory of God coming down. We sing it in some amazing carols which actually where many still need healing from school assemblies we miss the awesomeness of them.
I listened to a talk about the Glory of God coming down but it was done, as so many churches at that this time of year do - in a twee please everyone sort of way. I sometimes think we see the Glory of God and the awesomeness of the Christmas story as a bit of an embarrassment we are not quite sure what to do with. Instead of seeing it as a time to celebrate in even bigger amounts than we should do each Sunday we decide its time to open doors to those who haven't yet encountered Jesus but then we don't want to offend so we down play things and those who have come see gentle Jesus meek and mild rather than awesome Jesus who came to die for us.
My daughter had a great discussion with college friends wondering why there were so many songs that were given to depict this gentle baby and yet there seemed to be so few that dealt with His death and the fact that He conquered death.
In fact that was the reason the Celtic Christians got so much notice from the pagans of their time because it was a festival that showed that the death of winter had been beaten, and they just showed that Jesus was the one who did that

Oh I could go on about the significance of Shepherd and wise men but I will save that till another time as I have Christmas cards to email. :>

Unity of Purpose

Christmas is coming and the blogging is slowing down. My head is just so full of stuff - food, present, planning. Its all a bit topsy-turvy this year too as Ben is working full time with the RSPCA so has this Thurs off, which we are seeing my mum, next Tues off which we are seeing Ian's parents, then Christmas day off from the RSPCA but has been asked to do 5hrs in the hotel he works part time in, then is off 27th and we are walking with Ian's sister and her partner, then has New Year's eve off of which he will be going out! All very confusing for a family that has often spent time just on its own, almost going to ground! And interesting when unity seems to be so on my heart at the moment.

In fact I keep looking more and more at the whole thing of unity. Ian is quoting things that the Romans said about the Celts, that they were a strong race but so busy fighting amongst each other, not having any unity, that they were very easy to beat.
With home education being under attack by this present government I have seen very diverse people coming together, unity to fight a cause, and being willing to compromise on so many things to win the fight for freedom to educate our children at home the way each parent sees fit.
I have been praying in this prayer network we have felt led to start on line with our town and have been fascinated how people cannot see how important unity is. With Christmas approaching each congregation is doing its own Christmas service on the same day at the same time! What could happen if they united? It just feels like if as Christians we could stop being like the Celtic tribes and fighting for our territory and become more like the home educators and be willing to see the common cause - which again is freedom with life to the full on top - and be willing to unite and fight for it.

Is this what Church should be like?

I know this is an oldish song by Faithless but I heard it on the radio this morning and it made me think - Do people see our congregations like this or not? And if not then why not? and how are we going to make them more like this?

This is my church
This is where I heal my hurts
This is my church
This is where I heal my hurts
This is my church
This is where I heal my hurts

It's a natural grace
Of watching young life shape
It's in minor keys
Solutions and remedies
Enemies becoming friends
When bitterness ends

This is my church (2x)
This is where I heal my hurts
For tonight
"GOD IS A DJ."

This is my church
This is where I heal my hurts

I hope when I meet someone in at my church then I can help them reach God and let Him heal their hurts :)

I Stand at the Crossroads

I have been meaning to write on this for a while but things have got in the way, as they do. 2 or 3 Sundays back we were in Bath and Paul spoke on Jeremiah 6:16 “Stand at the Crossroads and look.....and find the Ancient ways....and walk in the good ways”
It is always interesting to me how sometimes the message that is given disappears out of my head so quickly and yet other times it just stays and stays. This one was most obviously a word in season. But it is interesting how hard even those are to put in place. 
Ok so we can get all caught up in what are the ancient ways, which we did have an interesting supper conversation with friends about, but what has really struck me is this “Stand” and “Look”. In this modern fast paced world just standing and looking is really hard work. And it was said that the “stand” in this passage is an active standing, of being still with God and taking stock. It is not a passive word here. And the word “Look” in this passage is not just to take a quick glance but is to be actively looking around weighing up the situation. It is about having bold and open eyes to see what God wants you to see, but again it is for now just looking, just seeing. Oh, how hard that is to see so much and not go off and do something about it. It is about looking and then not just going but of seeing what the ancient ways of God are in this situation, of waiting until those ways appear, of walking only in the good and right ways God wants one to walk in. So often we see the things that need to be done, we often even see the good ways to walk in but so often still we move to soon.
This is all very much a message for me when I see my teenagers going off into the world to conquer it and I wanting to know what is the next part of my journey, and because I am a seer, a visionary, prophetic, I see so much and yet I have to wait.
My notes at the end of this talk were “I need to be bold enough to continue with stopping and taking stock and not be afraid of not being busy. I need to work in His timing”, which is all so hard when so many people say “so what are you doing now?” I need to be bold and say “waiting on God” no matter how silly I think that may sound.
Actually I have realised that when I was in Ywam and we didn’t move till we felt God say yes, and that was a whole team of us, it was much easier to say “I am waiting for God to tell me” or “I’ll pray about that” before committing to something, but when everyone appears to be doing, when everyone appears to be full on and busy, not stopping to wait on God, or at least not saying the words, then it is so much harder!!