Perspective

A perspective is basically what you see from where you're standing. In art it is drawing in 2 dimensions in such a way as to see depth and distance. Of course your persepective can change depending on where you are standing.

I remember when I first passed my driving test and got my full licence - too many years ago to think about! But my license said that it expires in January 2011 when I reach a certain age. At the time I remember thinking, 'Well why on earth will I want to be driving at that age anyway?' A few weeks ago I received a letter from the Driving License Centre reminding me that my license was due to expire and that if I wanted to renew it for another 3 years then I needed to fill in the necessary form and sent it back to their office for confirmation. It's strange how my perspective has changed! Of course I want to renew and extend my license.

As a young woman, I could not have imagined how I would feel as the years progressed and held certain opinions about many things, not just about driving. But life is a great teacher and I have learnt many lessons. I have changed my perspective, point of view, outlook on a number of issues. How often do we hear people say that they have changed their minds about certain issues or that they don't think or believe certain things any more or they now do things differently.

I may elaborate on some of my own changes of opinion in future blogs but for now suffice to say that I have learnt to be less dogmatic and more tolerant because I know that over the years I myself have changed.

New house, new start

I have been thinking lately that I should start blogging again. It is now over 3 years since I last posted something here. Since then we eventually moved house in May 2009. We have done quite a bit of work on the house since moving in and are now tackling the garden. So here goes - new year, new house, new start.

A new year comes with the natural looking back and looking forward. Some friends have been talking about their 'to do lists' for the year ahead. I guess that at my age I don't really want to have a long list and feel pressurised into completing it. I may not be as quick and agile as I once was but there are things I would like to do and places I would like to visit. These past 3 years have been a time of waiting and now in this new year I have a sense that things may start to move again so who knows what this year holds - only God. And I just want to journey with Him and go where He wants me to and connect with those whom He has prepared for me to share this part of my journey with. I wonder what surprises He has prepared for me. I have a feeling that it's going to look different from anything I've experienced before. So here's looking forward to 2011.

The end of a season

I have, after quite a bit of thought, come to a decision. I believe that there are seasons in our lives and every season comes to an end. I have decided not to blog any more. I think it was beginning to take up quite a bit of time that really I felt I should be giving to other things. It is so easy to browse and browse and browse and in the end, spend more time than I intended. So today I am writing this as my last entry. This for me is the end of blogging - at least for some time.

Christian politics

I have just been watching the evening news. A statue of Nelson Mandela has been erected in Parliament Square in London and the man himself was there to see the unveiling. Certainly he is a man of politics with a difference.

After spending almost 3 decades in prison because he believed that everyone should have the same rights regardless of the colour of their skin, we all know how he was released and subsequently became the leader of South Africa. When I think of all he must have endured in those years of imprisonment, his political life after release is all the more amazing.

Instead of reprisal and revenge, he introduced strategies of reconciliation.

He is a man of absolute integrity in everything he does.

He is forthright, not mincing his words, but does not choose words in order to deceive, score political points against rivals or give an incorrect impression.

He doesn't lie but speaks the truth, even if it isn't popular.

He is approachable.

I tried to think of other political figures both in the UK and in other countries and tried to imagine them with those characteristics. Quite difficult - even for those politicians who claim to be Christians. Some would say that in politics, you can't display your own faith publicly and you cannot always live according to Biblical standards. There are other faiths to consider. It would appear that Nelson Mandela managed to do a pretty good job! What if ... ... all 'Christian' countries had leaders who really lived the Jesus way, then we would really make a difference for good in the world.

Blair Wingo

I recently listened to a powerful video I found on Sarah Rooney's blog. Click on the link to her blog and then on the video of Blair Wingo - Poet Missionary. I found it very thought provoking.

The changing shape of church

I've been doing a bit of browsing on the internet this afternoon.

A recent post on Martin Scott's blog tells of a research that suggests there are 111 million Christians outside of local church. The question asked is, 'Are they all in rebellion - or is there a (God) movement taking place?' Martin Scott is a very respected prophetic voice and he suggests a number of books on the subject. You can read his post by clicking on my links and on his blog for the post 'Books - or an excuse to ramble'.

I have also read how the church in China is sending out thousands of missionaries in twos to Muslim countries. And a report by Chris Mitchell on

CBN news

tells of hundreds of thousands of Muslims accepting Christ. You can click on the link to watch a video of the report. Many come to know Jesus through the internet and others have had dreams about Jesus.

Another website I like is http://www.god.tv/ It was founded by Rory and Wendy Alec.

The shape of church is changing!

Time for a smile

I read these in the August edition of Inspire Magazine. they made me smile so I thought I'd share a few with you. Hope you enjoy them.

A boiled egg is hard to beat.

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it's your vote that counts; in feudalism, it's your Count that votes.

With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

The guy who fell on an upholstery machine was fully recovered.

You are stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

A plateau is a high form of flattery.

When she saw her first strands of grey hair, she thought she'd dye.

NOT Sold

This afternoon I received a phone call from our estate agent to say that the investor who was buying our flat has pulled out. So now we have to put it back on the market and hope it sells quickly or we may lose the house that we were hoping to buy. We put an offer in and it was accepted but if the owners think they have to wait longer they may decide to sell it to someone else. Again we trust that God will work all things out according to His purposes. There are moments when things get taken out of our control and we just have to trust Him. It's being in a place of 'not knowing' that can be difficult. We don't know if we'll be able to sell quickly. We don't know if the house we want will eventually be ours or if we will need to look for something else. It's as if life has been put on hold - a sort of suspended animation. Like I'm holding my breath and don't know when I can breath out.

Encouraged

I was truly blessed this morning by something I heard at church. A young Church of England vicar has recently been assigned to Yeovil with a remit to investigate new ways of being church in the 21st century. He came to share with us this morning something of his heart for our town. Town plans are to build many new homes in the next few years creating 3 new housing estates. Then David (the young vicar - Rev David Keen) posed the question about what we as the Body of Christ will be doing about the situation. Will we just stay where we are and suggest people travel into town to congregate with us or are we going to move out into the new estates?

I was greatly encouraged when he then went on to say that yesterday he and other church leaders from a number of churches in the town had met together and had agreed about working together on the issue. (Leaders of different denominatins actually agreeing to really work together in a non-denominational way? That's a good place to start!) They want to see people from across the churches working together in the new estates to find out particular needs and finding solutions to those needs. Not to build a church building, but to meet peoples' needs. It's not about them coming to a church building. It's about us being with them where they are in the community.

He also continued saying that all the leaders agreed that they shouldn't be planning too far ahead but seeking God's guidance in what HE wants to be done, when and how. We really need to pray that the enemy will not be allowed to thwart this vision or try to creep in with human plans and projects but it will indeed be Heaven to Earth directed. You can click on David's blog to find out more about him. I went home greatly encouraged.

An Inconvenient Truth

Yesterday I sat and watched the documentary film by Al Gore 'An Inconvenient Truth'. It is truly convincing the scientific data that he comes up with. I was already convinced of the reality of Global Warming and the effect of CO2 emissions but if I hadn't been then this film would have persuaded me. It is a 'must see' for anyone and everyone who cares at all about this planet. He doesn't just tell us the problem but also a solution that is possible for each one of us to live out in our everyday lives. We can each and all make a difference.

My niece has just given birth to a daughter and I don't want in the future for her to look at me and ask 'Why didn't you do something?' You can find out more by clicking on

An Inconvenient Truth

Sold

This afternoon we sold our flat, after being on the market for less than a week! When God moves He doesn't hang about! So now it's all systems go to find somewhere for us to live. They say that moving house is one of the most stressful experiences in one's life. But when God gets moving you don't have time to get stressed. I must admit that I haven't felt stressed. I reckon that if this is God's idea then why should I worry - He'll have it sorted.

An evening with Godfrey Birtill

I have just returned from a wonderful evening worshipping with Godfrey Birtill. Right at the start he said that our churches need to be delivered from 'lovely times of worship'. He referred to Paul and Silas in prison when they began to worship God and sing His praises. Then the earth trembled and the gates were opened. The jail keeper was so afraid he wanted to commit suicide. We know how the rest of the story tells us how he and his whole family came to accept Christ as Saviour. Godfrey with a smile commented, 'I don't think Paul and Silas went on their way that night saying, "Well that was a lovely time of worship!"'

So much of our worship is just singing 'nice songs' and wanting a kind of 'feel good' factor. It can so often be only about us and what we like and how we feel. For Paul and Silas, worship was about shaking the foundations of strongholds and opening the gates to let in God's power.

We spent the next 2 hours really worshipping. I reckon some foundations of enemy strongholds were shaken tonight.

For Sale

Today the estate agent came to write down particulars about the flat and to take photos. After he had finished, up went the board outside. The other board is for our neighbour who is also selling - but his has only one bedroom while ours has two. So now we are officially selling our home and only hope that it won't take too long before someone wants to buy it - and we can move to wherever God has prepared for us. Exciting but a bit scary. I guess it's all in His hands and in His timing.

Prayer for your town/city

Yesterday I read an article in the April-June edition of Prayer magazine about Rev. Jerry Bowers for the US. He spent the first part of 2007 in the UK. He has a heart for unity among churches and corporate prayer. He says:

We add prayer to the programme of the Church, but we really should be adding Church to the importance of prayer. Jesus Christ said, "My house shall be a House of Prayer".

Pastors, you are not called to your congregation but you are called to your city. Jesus Christ will hold you accountable for your city. For you to see change in your city, you must pray with other pastors.'

You can find out more about Prayer magazine by clicking on my list of links.

Busy

I haven't blogged for a while. I've been busy travelling to Birmingham for prayer days at the World Prayer Centre. We are also hoping to move house so I have been cleaning, sorting and decluttering to get the house in order. It's amazing just how much stuff we hoard! Last week we had a consultation with a financial advisor to discuss our financial state. We have now had 2 evaluations on our present property and hoping for another on Monday. Then we'll decide which Estate Agent will sell our apartment. We feel that all this is in God's timing so we are trusting Him for our new home.

Marc's blog

Marc van der Woude has a quote from Brother Andrew on his blog. It says:

If your vision doesn't scare you,

then both your vision and your God are too small.

He also mentions a book called 'Jesus has left the building'.

I just keep thinking about it!

More travels

Last Saturday I spent in Birmingham in the heart of England, gathered with about 2000 other Christians to pray for our nation. It was a very blessed day with great worship and lament for these islands. One quote that stayed with me, when talking about the gospel being more than meetings was '2000 years ago the Word became flesh and we've spent 2000 years trying to turn it back to words.' As Martin Luther said 'a heart curved in upon itself is sin.'

After the gathering was ended I continued north to stay overnight with a friend - Sally Ann. She had been asked to take a prayer team to Newcastle and as I was born and brought up in the area, she asked me to join her, along with Val, a scottish woman who is currently living in the Midlands. So Sunday morning we travelled further north.

We spent the next three days in meetings and prayer-walking. It has been said that Newcastle has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe and people travel from long distances for one-night stands. We learned of sex slaves who have been smuggled in from eastern Europe and saw a building that exhibits pornographic and obscene art. It is considered to be a city in renewal with many building projects but we discovered statues of gods along the riverbank. Paul's words were continually with us as we prayed - 'Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.' (Ephesians 6:12)

I know that meeting together as a Body to worship and encourage each other is important but when you see things like that, you realise that the majority of people are not going to come to church looking for God. We have to take the gospel to them. Yet so often we spend a much greater percentage of our time doing things connected with the activities of the organised gathering than seeking and praying for the lost. These prayer teams give me a glimpse of God's heart and a determination to not make an idol of the organised church set-up and all that goes with it. Going to church on Sunday is not the culmination of my Christian life. Prayer walking softens the ground for the seed of His word to take root and grow and I hope He gives me many more years of travelling and praying and walking the land for His Kingdom's sake.

France

I have just returned from a trip with a prayer team to Lille, France. We went only for a long weekend (travelled there Friday and returned Tuesday) but managed to pack quite a lot into our 3 days there. On the Saturday we went to a small church to pray for them as they were leafleting the area for a special musical evening this coming Saturday.

Prayer together before we went out.

What no-one knew was that in the area we were going to hand out leaflets, there was a street market that day. They are held only a couple of times a year. I guess God wanted to arrange a conversation with someone who doesn't live around there and so otherwise would not have

been in that street at that time.

Walking, praying and Liz conversing with passers-by.

Sunday morning, we returned to the small church. We were an international group as there were a number of South Koreans as well as the locals and ourselves. Some South Koreans are living in another area of Lille, training as missionaries and learning French. That weekend they were also visited by relatives who had travelled to see them. After the service we spent some time praying with individuals.

Laura and Mike pray with a local man.

On the Monday we visited an African community that had recently bought an old, broken down building and were repairing it to make a church for their community. We were able to spend some time with them, looking around and praying with them. Hopefully another team will be able to go out later to give practical help with the building and refurbishment.

What will hopefully be the new meeting place.

We went to a Creperie for our last meal together in Lille.

L-R: Me, Liz (who lives in Lille), Wes, Lesley, Laura, Mike, Margaret and Alan.

Turkish martyrs

I have been thinking a lot lately about the modern day Christian martyrs. We heard recently about three Christians who were tortured and brutally murdered in Smyrna in Turkey. It made me realise that my Christian commitment doesn't really cost me that much. I have never been persecuted or afraid for my own safety. Yet for so many around the world, this is the way they live all the time. You can read about the martyrs of the Smyrna church here

Living Christianity

Today I was reading the Inspire Magazine, and was very interested in an article about Mark Berry who is pioneering new kinds of Christian community, a sort of neo-monastic lifestyle. (You can read the article by clicking on the link to Inspire Magazine and then click on People.) There is a core group of seven but they are not about church planting or growing in community but just being church and sharing God with whomever they meet. They call it Safe Space. You can explore his blogspot on Mark Berry's Blog. Apart from his obvious passion for football, if you scroll down a bit you'll find some really thought-provoking meditations. There are also links to other pages of information about the community. For Mark and his friends, mission is not an activity reserved for certain times and places, but rather it's a way of living. And my spirit responds with a big 'Amen!'