Thankful Times Ten

With the way things are in our world and all the trouble going on in various places, it is very easy to become despondent. Instead of being despairing and negative, it makes me thankful for the country we live in and the freedom we have in this land. Being an island has its advantages.

The almost constant rain we have experienced recently is another bone of contention for a lot of people at present. I admit rain affects my equilibrium very quickly. So instead of complaining about our world and the rain which was pouring as I typed this, I decided to praise God for a warm dry house that has not let in one drop of water during the onslaught.

The reality is it’s always easy to see the negatives instead of the positives. So I decided to make a list of some positives in my life.

First is having a relationship with the living God and knowing that no matter what happens He is always in charge. Even if I don’t understand what is happening or why, God knows and has a perfect plan.

The second positive is having a husband who shares that faith.  I can’t imagine how hard it must be in a marriage where one is a believer and the other is not. It would be like being pulled in two different directions.

My third thing to be thankful for is a son and a daughter who are following the Lord and serving Him. They married Christians and are now bringing up the next generation to believe in God and follow Him. As I talk to some Christians whose children have walked away from God and His teaching, I realise how blessed we are.

Fourth is living where we live on the beautiful south coast of New South Wales.

Just to go for a walk along the bay is such a blessing. To see that bay at sunrise and know God has given us another day is something to be thankful for. This was the sunrise last Christmas morning. What stunning colours. Like a special Christmas gift from God.   

Living where I am, may mean that I am not living as close to family as I would like,  or that sometimes I can’t travel to get to events or that shopping for certain items is difficult but despite the negatives I wouldn’t swap it.

Fifth is belonging to a church where God’s Word is faithfully preached.

Sixth being involved in that church and being able to serve the Lord as part of the music ministry. Music is such a blessing in life and I don’t only mean church music but lots of different kinds of music. Just as I can’t imagine a church service without music, I can’t imagine a world without music.

Seventh, I’m thankful for eyesight to be able to see the wonders of God’s creation around us, whether that is the scarlet and blue rosellas, the king parrots, the kangaroos that inhabit our area or a flower in the garden or maybe one in a pot indoors.

Eight is the gift of friends who care about us, who spend fun times with and who will pray with and for us.

Ninth is the gift of words- whether we are using them to write a poem, devotional, novel or to share the gospel truth with another person in conversation.

Tenth is books. To be able to read firstly God’s Book and learn more about him. But also to be able to read novels, poetry, biographies, articles.

It would be easy to keep going of things to be thankful for. But this is enough for now. What I would like though is to hear one or two things you are thankful for.

Dale writes fiction, poetry and children’s fiction, and has written bible studies and Sunday school lessons. As well as writing and reading, Dale loves to sing. She is involved in the music ministry at her church. More information about Dale can be found at www.daleharcombe.com or on her Write and Read with Dale blog http://www.livejournal.com/users/orangedale/

 

Just Pick A Cup!

It never ceases to amaze me how the Holy Spirit seeks out and uses everyday experiences to teach me lessons; profound lessons that often bring conviction and correction as well as encouragement and blessing all rolled into one neat little object lesson. 

Once such lesson came mid-2012. It was a 'normal' day; our 3 year old son was finishing his lunch and asked me for a drink of water. . . 

"Mummy, I'm very drinky." 

"Okay, I'll get you some water."

"Not that cup, mummy!"

"Why not?"

"I don't like the white cup!"

"Okay, fine; how about this cup?"

"No."

"This one?"

"No."

"This one?!"

"No."

"The green one?"

"No."

"The blue one?"

"No."

"The red one? The orange one? The one with your name on it?"

"No! No! No!"

"Well I can't give you water if you won't take a cup!"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I froze on the spot. Tears came as the revelation overwhelmed my soul; God wanted more than anything to bless me, but I had to choose a cup! 

You see we had just, (quite literally the previous evening), decided that after 18 months at our "new" church, it was time to move on. I say "we" but it was really me.  I earnestly plead my case to my husband, "I'm miserable, I haven't connected with anyone, there are too many 'issues,' it just isn't working." He eventually conceded, and called our connect group leaders to tell them of our decision. They strongly encouraged him to reconsider, to give it some time. He agreed, but I had made up both our minds. We were leaving.

And now, not 24 hours later, here I stood, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, vulnerable and yet expectant. Through the beautiful, gentle love of the Holy Spirit, the facade of my heart was removed, and I could see the truth behind my discontent; fear. Surprisingly, not of being disconnected, but rather the opposite, of actually reaching out and letting people see the 'real' Helen. Of putting down roots and daring to say, "Yes! We will commit to this particular church - this cup - which God is offering to us." 

It came as no surprise that my husband had been feeling uneasy about the decision all day at work; what a relief for him to find my heart so changed from the night before! He immediately rang our connect group leaders and, with great humility, let them know that we would be seeing them the following morning after all. 

We've now been at this church for a little over 2-1/2 years and are slowly growing into it. I'll admit that sometimes I feel like ditching my cup, gathering up my roots and making a break for it; but then God brings His comfort and love, and I find peace. And taking a deep breath, I drink from His beautiful, bountiful river of blessing.

Oh yes, my cup truly does run over with blessings from my Lord. 

You prepare a table before me
  in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
  my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me
  all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
  forever.  Psalm 23:5-6

A Jigsaw versus a Body

When my family arrived in Australia (almost 14 years ago now), one of the first things we did was to hunt for a church to join. Every Sunday, we’d visit a different church. Having worshipped in the Baptist church since my husband and I were married, we were drawn to three Baptist churches in the area. One was very large, one was very small and one was in between. After some thought and prayer and several visits, we felt that the Tea Tree Gully Baptist church would suit our little family best.

The people were friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed the worship. The children’s programs were great – an important consideration for our eight year old son. A wide range of ages was represented in the flock, from bonnie bouncing babies to wise white-haired elders. And yes, the size of the church was just right! Our first years there were happy ones and I soon made a few friends. Every Sunday morning after service, I sipped my morning cup of tea while enjoying a blessed time of fellowship with them.

The services strengthened me greatly in my faith and so I looked forward to my Sunday mornings. One Sunday, I looked for my friends but they weren’t to be found. To my consternation, I heard that they had decided to leave TTGBC. I was very sad. I’d grab my cuppa and look for someone else to chat to – but often I’d not find anyone. My cup of morning tea didn’t taste the same.

It was embarrassing to hang around sipping tea, while around me swarmed lots of chattering people. I rate myself as friendly rather than unfriendly, but I can be painfully shy. I hate to butt into other people’s conversations. And so – I started to feel very lonely in church. A misfit. A bit like the piece needed to finish a jigsaw puzzle but the wrong shape, size and colour for it! I have to admit that there followed a period of several years, when I was often tempted to leave our church.

Why did I stay on? Simply because each time I wanted to leave and sought God about it, He said ‘No’. And who was I to resist God?

Some years later our church moved. Guess where! Right near our home. We now had less than a five minute walk to get to church. What luxury! We loved the new building – a modern spacious one. It was situated right next door to my son’s school. How easy it was to get there. Very simple too to get to my volunteer job at church, now only a hop step and a jump away unlike the earlier 1 ½ hours away by bus. Wonderful!

Little by little I got to know the church folks and they me. I began to make friends. When we went through difficult seasons, our pastors blessed us greatly by their support, their encouragement and their prayers. I became very active as a church volunteer as we ministered to the community. I began to feel a delicious sense of belonging. I didn’t even mind if I had no one to talk to after service. But you know what? I usually found plenty of people to chat to, with our without my tea cup in hand!

Yes, I finally belonged. It was an awesome feeling. How thankful I was to God that He didn’t allow me to leave when I pestered Him about it. How thankful that I’d obeyed Him. I thanked God that my church, its pastors, its flock and it’s worship had added much richness into my life.

We writers are part of a Christian Writing Community aren’t we? Do we need each other? Yes, of course we do. Yes, you and I do need each other. And you know, collectively we can make a far bigger difference to our world far more than we could ever do as individuals. At church last Sunday, the sermon spoke clearly to me. The preacher talked about the difference between fitting in and in belonging.

She said that if we try to ‘fit in’, it means we need to change.
But if we “belong” it means that we may come as we are.

Isn’t that lovely? We writers belong. We don’t need to change who we are or what we do. We don’t need to “fit in” to a jigsaw puzzle of writers. One of us might write romance stories; another mystery novels. One might write non fiction and one may write short stories. One writer may be a children’s writer while another writes YA novels. It doesn’t matter that we don’t all write the same genre of books. In fact, it’s preferable we don’t. We need variety in the body. That way, we can fulfil the niche in the Christian market by joining together to provide the variety of books that are needed to serve our world.

Do you feel you belong? In your family, in your community, in your church and in our writer’s group? Belonging is such a vital part of life. We were all made to belong.

A jisaw puzzle has to fit in just right. The pieces have to be exactly the correct shape, the right pattern, the right colour. Thankfully God has not called us to be a giant jigsaw puzzle. No, He has called us to be a body – each with a special function. We all have diferent aspects of life to bring to the body. As individuals we contribute. Through our strengths; through our backgrounds; through our experiences; through our knowledge; through our writing; through our giftings; through our walk with God.

If one person suffers, we all suffer. If one rejoices, we all rejoice.

1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that we are all important in the body of Christ. The eye cannot say it doesn’t need the foot. The hand cannot say it doesn’t care about the kidney. The nose cannot say the ear is not important. We have all been touched by His grace and redeemed. Redeemed to sing the praises of Him who called us all out of darkness into His marvellous light.

Do you sometimes feel a misfit? Please remember that you don’t need to change your ‘shape’ to fit in. In the Kingdom of God, everyone belongs. It’s a promise from the Master Himself. And He's the head of the body isn't He? He should know!

Yes, my friend, you can come as you are. You belong!


Anusha loves playing with the English Language and also loves connecting with people. She's blessed to be part of this wonderful writing community Down under who seek to lift God's name through what we were created to do. You will see her sitting on her garden swing enjoying God's creation, typing away at her much loved computer or drinking in the beauty of her world as she walks around her beautiful neighbourhood.

You can also visit her at her website Dancing in the Rain:
http://anusha-atukorala.webnode.com/blog/

Her first book 'Enjoying the Journey' was published in June 2010. She hopes there will be many more hitting the bookshelves in the not too distant future!