Cwmbran

I don’t know whether any of my readers are wondering about this Welsh outpouring I was so excited about.  Did it live up to expectation?  Would I go back?

 

Well, I was one of the first in to the meeting, as they allowed people with disabilities and their regular church-family in through another entrance.  I lost track of time when I was in that room, but maybe about half an hour beforehand we were asked, as the worship-team did their sound-check, just to begin to pray and give God some praise.  That’s what people came into – us praising and worshipping God.  Brilliant!  They didn’t make a big thing of starting the meeting; people just joined in as they arrived.

 

As we worshipped, the pastors felt the time had come to pray for people, and encouraged us to believe we were receiving something from God that we could take back with us.  Those wanting prayer went to the front while others carried on worshipping, and this is what they sang as I was prayed-for.

“Just one touch from the King

Changes everything.”

 

The message was all about the Israelites when they had crossed the Red Sea and came to a place where they couldn’t drink the water; then God showed Moses a tree, and Moses put a piece of wood into the water and it became sweet.  The tree was there all along, but Moses didn’t see it.  How many times is God there all along and we don’t see?

 

What the preacher said that really spoke to me was:  “You can’t live someone else’s life for them when they’re completely off their trolley, when they’ve messed up, but you can live your life … keep your life sweet, and keep the cross at the centre.”  That’s what God is doing in me at the moment – teaching me to keep my life sweet.

 

Before I went to Cwmbran, a pastor there gave one guarantee:  Not a guarantee that everyone who went would be healed, but a guarantee that they would experience the tangible presence of Jesus … and I did.  So yes – it lived up to expectation, and would I go back?  Absolutely!

 

The meetings are still going on with hundreds coming to Victory Church from all over the world.  Will you be one of them?

5-Minute Friday: Song

I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo today for one of her 5-minute Friday posts.  Fancy joining in?  She just gives you a prompt and you write for 5 minutes.  Simple.  Then you can link your post up to her blog and read others.

 

Well, this week’s prompt is ‘Song’.

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“We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are fixed on You.”  Somebody talked about that just the other day as I sat watching from my lounge, and this morning it came back into my head.  Because when we don’t know what to do, that’s the best thing we can do is turn up the music and let songs of praise flood the house.  Fix our eyes on Jesus.

 

“Don’t tell God about your problem; tell your problem about your God” – another quote I heard the other day, and isn’t that true – that the more we focus on our problems the more unattractive we become?

 

So I’m asking for joy.  Asking for songs of joy, from the One who rejoices over me with singing.

Taxi!

I’ve never encountered this before, so I thought I’d blog about it just to give you a laugh.

I’m going on a bit of an adventure on Monday.  Do you remember in the A-Z challenge I wrote about the Welsh outpouring?  I said it made me feel like jumping in a vehicle and heading straight there – well, I’m finally going!  I have to book assistance on the trains and the nearest station to where I’m headed doesn’t have any staff.  I could go to the one further down the line that does, but the taxi fare from there to the hotel is about double, so I looked at train-times and phoned a taxi firm.  I explained I was blind, didn’t live in the area, and could a driver meet me on the platform and show me the way to the car?  Simple you might think, but no, this is the laughable bit.  They weren’t happy to do it, unless I gave them my permission for the driver to touch me!  Has the world gone mad?  I sensed they were uncomfortable, so I found another taxi firm.  Yes, they would meet me on the platform; did I have a white stick or a dog so they’d know who I was?  And yes, they’d put me on the train next day; no problem at all.

Gwent Taxies, and all the taxi firms round here come to that, thank you for having some sanity!

Yesterday

I did something yesterday that I do just a few times a year; I went on a train-journey, and I want to thank God for the way He provided for me.  Although enjoyable it was looking to be a bit of a challenging day, so I said to Him:  “Please could I have a Scripture for the day, or more than one?”  And what unread messages do I open before I go?  This one with a tonne of Bible-verses in, and this reminder about grace.  They really helped.

 

If you remember my post about the 2 questions I asked God, you’ll know why fear bothers me, and yet it’s been a weakness of mine.  My big struggle has been a phobia of dogs.  On the train about halfway through my outward journey, a dog barked.  It was a few seats in front of me; I didn’t know exactly where, and I didn’t know whether the owner would let it walk around the train a bit.  I stiffened a little, but then I decided to get out the Bible-verse I had carried in my handbag for a month or so – the one that says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I kept it in my hand for a while, and again this really helped – just to have a tangible reminder.  When I felt my body tense up, I told myself:  “I can do ALL things, even being on a train with dogs, through Christ who gives me strength.”  Eventually I put the card away and sat there quite normally, which was a miracle and I don’t say that lightly.

 

I got to where I needed to be and was all for doing what I could while I was there to do it, but once we’d done the most important things, my friend said:  “I just want to chat to you for a bit.”  Then God answered my morning’s prayer again and I thought of Martha and Mary.  Just sitting with one another is important too.

 

On the way back, when a train had stopped at the platform and no member of staff came to help me onto it, a lovely lady heading for the same train said:  “You’re welcome to get on with me.”  And when we had to wait for police to remove someone from the train, even though thanks to recent events in Boston my first thought was terrorism, I had complete peace that it was going to be ok.  We soon found it was just someone trying to get out of paying for his ticket.

 

So, don’t tell me God doesn’t care, because I probably won’t believe you.

A-Z: Zest for Life

There’s an Amy Grant song I absolutely hate.  Lyric-wise it’s probably one of the worst Christian songs I’ve heard.  The honest cries of breaking hearts are better than a hallelujah sometimes?  She’s basically saying God loves our honesty and brokenness more than our praise, but I don’t think that’s right.  Because I think us honestly telling God how we feel should complement our hallelujahs, but never replace them.  I remember hearing a friend say that when he felt down he would find things to praise God for, like a table or a chair or the roof over his head, and I think that’s what God loves – authentic praise; when things are going well, and in the midst of heartache.

When you reflect on someone’s limited time on this earth, you’re reminded of how important it is to take an extra-deep breath of fresh air and make the most of the time you’ve got.  I was originally going to put this quote from Pope John Paul II under H for hallelujah, but it fits in well with ‘Zest for life’.  “Do not abandon yourselves to despair.  We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”

A-Z: Yes!

I expect at some point you’ve read or heard somebody say something and you’ve thought:  “Yes!  I really needed to hear that.”  I’ve had a couple of those yes-moments in the last few days, and here’s the one from today.  It’s a post from Holley about recharging the batteries and God’s power going out from you.  I’ve mentioned Holley on the blog before.  I like her posts.  They tend to be short, and some (like this one) are so impactful; I’d really recommend you read it.

A-Z: X-Ray Vision

Who has X-ray vision?  Well, God does.  “His understanding no one can fathom” – Isaiah 40:28.

 

Our pastor asked one day what we thought a mediator was and somebody said:  “An enabler of dialog.”  He liked that and so did I.  Jesus has opened the Way for conversation between us and God.  He went on to say that if you were choosing a mediator, you’d want someone who ‘Really got you’/really understood where you were coming from, so they could put your case to the other party.  Jesus understands us.  He knows us intimately, and what’s more, we can know God.

 

I heard a story this week that I really wanted to share on the blog, so I’m glad it fits in here.  An actor was once the guest of honour at a gathering, where he was asked to recite extracts from different literature.  An old preacher who was there asked him to recite the 23^rd Psalm (the LORD is my Shepherd).  He said he would, on one condition – that the preacher also recited it.  The actor’s recitation was beautiful.  He put the emphasis in all the right places, and as you’d expect, there were applause.  The preacher’s voice was rough from years of preaching; his rendition anything but polished, but when he finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.  When asked what made the difference, the actor said:  “I know the Psalm; he knows the Shepherd.”

A-Z: Wrestling

I need to give Sue some credit for this post.  We met on the web through this A-Z challenge, and her alliteration theme seems to have wound its way in here …

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It’s been a week this week when things worked out well, but what about when you’re wistful and weepy and wondering what’s next?

 

I was talking to a friend once about someone who went through a difficult time, but instead of throwing a wobbly, he wrote a worship-song.  My friend called it an indication of his character – that he could write “Jesus, I love You Jesus”, and not a where-are-you-now sort of song.  It’s wonderful to have conversations like that.

 

What about you?  Which songs do you wander to, while you’re wrestling with feelings of hopelessness?  This one by Keith Green builds my faith and makes me want to smile, while this by Third Day wowed me enough to buy and then play it nonstop.  I love story-songs.  I know Third Day have written at least one song about people they knew, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this one was too.  It’s encouraging to be reminded in your desperation that you’re not on your own; God’s willingly come through for others and answered their prayers.  You might feel weak and wan and wilting, but remember one of my favourite promises:  “Your strength will equal your days” (Deuteronomy 33:25).  Don’t waver, but wait for the LORD.

Vzzzzz

Vzzzzz!  Vzzzzz!  Can you hear me?  I don’t have a big voice, but when there’s a whole crowd of us, then you’ll hear.

We watch the tourists come swooping in on their planes.  Their feet hit the tarmac and whoosh!  We surround them – so many the air’s heavy with our presence, but it’s no fun at the airport.  The repugnant smell of all that cream they’ve smattered on their arms is enough to put you off, or sometimes you try to get a hold and something from within them pulls you away.

No, when the sun goes down is when the fun starts.  My colony and I – we make our airborne way through the city.  The little mud huts are our destination; there’s sure to be a crack or two …  In we go while the household sleeps, and straight to the huddle of children.  I dive down to one of the bodies – so small you might mistake me for a speck of dirt, and finally a victim!  Surely one of my colony is having the same thrill next to me – the air’s heavy with our presence …  Bad air.  Malaria.

And the victim stays a victim long after I’ve finished with them.  If only they could travel!  There’s a hospital with medicine, miles into the distance, but what transport do they have?  Only their feet, and an unhealthy body walks nowhere.  Once, near the hospital I saw a breathless grandfather struggle to carry his little one, only to be turned away.  No money, no medicine.  Ever the victim.  That’s how it’s been for centuries …

What?  That one next?  Oh, we can’t go in there; lost cause.  Why?  Well, peep through the door and I’ll show you.  See that?  The net over the bed.  Sure to be a crack or two?  Not likely!  Even if there were, the stuff they cover them in is so overpowering, you can hardly breathe.  Malaria intervention, that’s what they call it.  Folks from the local church give out these nets.  Just $10 a piece.  Shh – they’ll all want one!  And once they’ve got them, that’s it for us.  We can’t get near the huddle of children.  Ever the victim?  More like never the victim!  If it’s not the nets, they’re growing strange trees and we can’t get near them either.  So what’s left for us now; do we just have to twiddle our wings?

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Today is World Malaria Day, and you can click here to read more mosquito posts.

A-Z: Unique

This time next week the A-Z challenge will be over.  Are you joining in?  How have you got on with it?

 

When I first started watching Formula One, it was commentated by Murray Walker.  He was such a passionate commentator I’m sure he could have converted me to any sport, but Murray Walker and mistakes sort of go hand-in-hand.  In fairness, it’s not always easy to tell which driver is which when they’re shooting past at a hundred miles an hour.

 

Sometimes he’d say something, and you could almost hear the cogs going round as he spotted the blip and tried to correct himself.  For anyone who doesn’t know, there are two cars per team in a Formula One race, and so he came out with one of my favourites:

 

“This McLaren car is absolutely unique!  Except for the one in front of it, which is identical.”