Home away from home…

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I’m a local church girl at heart.  I love the extended spiritual family that get to feed into our lives and that we get to do the adventure of life together.  I love that no matter where I find myself on the planet, when I go to church it feels like home.  There is something incredible about the people of God.

In my most difficult moments – I have seen God’s people rally round, encourage and support us in incredible ways. The church is full of incredible saints – all over the world.

I have been blown away in the last month or so meeting “strangers”. In the words of William Butler “There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet”.  I don’t get to travel with my man very much – I hear stories and see pictures of the wonderful people he meets and gets to do life with. I connect with most of them on facebook, but I feel incredibly blessed when I get to meet these people in real life.

They are incredible.

I have had “strangers” now friends – pray over us, gave us crazy accurate prophetic words, give presents to our kids, stand with Lily and believe for her complete healing, feed us, put a roof over our heads for a few nights, lend us their car… and the list goes on.  I don’t ever take any of these things for granted. These are real people – sacrificing time, energy and finances so we get to do what we do. I am so incredibly thankful for this family of God.

I met a woman a few weeks back for the first time – I couldn’t believe it as she shared how much she prays for our family, as I saw my name in her bible beside verses that she felt was for me with a date stamp as far as 4 years ago. To say I was encouraged and blessed is an understatement.

God’s people are just wonderful.

I’m challenged by all of this.

Aaron’s new song TO THE WORLD, has a challenge at the heart of it.

“We will be your hands, we’ll be your feet, we’ll be the love in a need. Into a broken world we will go”

We are carriers of hope and resources that can change people’s lives. I have been on the receiving end of people who have blessed our family and small acts of practical love have made a huge difference in our lives. I’m forever thankful.

I spoke yesterday in a church – and the message was simple.

LOVE GOD. LOVE PEOPLE.

WORSHIP. JUSTICE.

It’s the greatest commandment and the call on our lives as the people of God. Let’s be the carriers of hope that we where created to be.

I’m looking for the need today that I can meet. Be challenged and encouraged.  You carry the kingdom everywhere you go. Keep changing the world saints.

The waters of rest….

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Psalm 23 is my Psalm. I know it’s a common one – the one that everyone knows, but I have to fight off the urge to shout “hey that’s mine” when people read it. It’s the first passage of scripture I remember learning as a little girl – and in my journey over the last number of years it’s been the verses that God has opened up as I learn to lean in and rest beside the still waters where he leads me ever so faithfully.

Resting.

What does that even mean?

I’ve learnt that it doesn’t mean do nothing. It’s not complacency. It’s a quiet – at peace disposition – as we tune in and trust in a God who holds us together.  Heb 4 talks about the fight to enter Gods rest,  and I have experienced that fight, that element of me choosing and working to stay in that place. So it’s not about doing nothing.

This Psalm for me is more that just comforting words to quiet my beating heart that races with worries and concerns about life.  It’s words prompt and direct me to a person that changes everything.

I had an incredible moment a few years ago – again my nose in this Psalm soaking in its truth. Reminding myself that he leads me to good places.

My journey has been one of trust – like everyone’s I guess.  My eldest daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was just 2 weeks old.  Needless to say – the questions, the prayers, the hope, the wait, frustration, the patience and trust have been and continue to be landmarks in this incredible journey we find ourselves on.

It’s where the words on a page of a bible are either just words or a way of life. It’s either something we read or something we live.  And in moments when things don’t work out the way we planned in our head – we have a choice. Do we really trust in the God of the bible?  Is he who he says he is?

For me – that’s where I find my rest.  That he is a good shepherd, he watches over me – he’s leading me to good places and I trust those words.

Psalm 22 – the Psalm before (obviously) gives me the reason why I can rest like Psalm 23 suggests.

I had a moment of realising that Psalm 22 is that Psalm that points us to the cross. It’s the   psalm that Jesus quotes when he was dying on the cross.  And whoever decided to place these Pslams together is a true genius.  Becasuse there is incredible truth knowing that it’s only because of Jesus, it’s only because of the cross that we even get to experience this rest that the word talks about.

I love it.

We get to live in Pslam 23 because of Psalm 22 so to speak.

Jesus declared himself at that moment of victory – it is finished. His work was completed and he sat down.

There is no more striving, working, trying to get. It is finished.

And that’s what we rest in.

As a great man in my church says – the work of Jesus was completely perfect and perfectly complete.

He didn’t leave anything out.

And that is the hope that I hold onto. I’m holding – that’s the effort part.

Choosing to believe His promises are true even when it doesn’t look or appear that way at times.

It is done. It is finished. Breathe. Trust. Rest.