It's never going to be the same again

Several years ago Jim and I owned a caravan at Pauanui Holiday Park. It was a permanent caravan that was ours that we could go over to anytime. But after owning it for a few years, the next season we were in dictated that we sell that caravan. We have gone back since and wandered through the campsite remembering our times there and all the good times it held, and at times wishing we still had that, but now in going there, we can barely recognise the place we had, because it too has changed so much and it is not how it was.

Recently Jim and I went down to Queenstown where our daughter now lives. But it was an area that I went to for some of my time as a child. I grew up for a time spending my holidays at Lake Hayes in Arrowtown. And now after going back there all these years later, can once again barely recognise what it was like in the past now things have changed and developed so much since that time. The once carefree memories of a child now caught up in the busyness and prosperity of what Queenstown and Arrowtown now holds.

I believe we are coming into a season where we may want to long for the child like things of the past, how things once were, perhaps more carefree or simple, or so we thought, but we cannot go back there. We cannot look back and desire to have it how it once was. The Lord is moving us all into this new place, He is at work, doing things that may be challenging, even a little fearful, that may stretch us, may be taking us to new heights or perhaps depths, that we didn't know existed, but God is still the same today, as he was in the past and will be in the future. He is faithful, He is trustworthy, He is dependable and He is reliable. 'Our job' if you like, is to continue to remember to not worry about tomorrow, but trust Him in today. He will give us grace for what is in our days, strength for tomorrow and peace as we walk the journey.

I had never been in a helicopter prior to this recent trip to Queenstown and I was petrified about it as I have had a fear of heights, but as I overcame the fear and decided to go, I loved it and thought how much I want to learn to fly helicopters, because it was absolutely amazing. There are new experiences and heights that the Lord wants to take us to if we will only step out of our comfort zone and overcome in our fears, put our trust in Him and let him lead us.

Bless you all in the new things the Lord has for you.

"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household" Matt 10:36

Recently we have been pondering how to deal with situations in our family that don't line up with the word. What action do we need to take? Are we being too harsh? Do we accept the behaviour or be considered by those around us as "too radical" or "too black and white"? "Where is grace in all of this? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? What about forgiveness? What is the role of discipline? What makes that sin any worse than lying? What is true love? And there are a lot more questions going through the mind in how to work through this and know God's will and desire for the situation and the person. And firstly to say we have not come to any conclusions and are growing and learning day by day in this but I want to throw it out there. In Matt 10:34-39 says "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "a man against his father, ...

"I am ruined for the ordinary"

“I am ruined for the ordinary” A statement that can possibly be to some, come from a place of judgement, or it can be from a place of there is more in the Kingdom of God that I am yet to experience or understand, revelation that I have tasted of something that actually shows me that I have not tasted of anything yet. A place where there is such a contentment and joy in what I have seen and longed to see and yet a revelation that there is way more "beyond what I think, ask and imagine" (Eph 3:20) and one that spurs me on to seek and discover all the fullness that could be ours in the Kingdom of God. When we as Christians see other Christians going places or experiencing things that we don’t understand or perhaps we have not yet moved in, we can either become jealous of that person and judge and bring them down to our level, exclude them from our lives or we can choose to be excited by what is happening and be encouraged and spurred on in the Lord for the more than ca...

Kiwi Culture verses Kingdom Culture

The above is the title of a book that I have on my heart. Whether or not it ever makes it there we will see but in the process I want to put some thoughts down and see what it opens up. I grew up with phrases like "God helps those who help themselves" or "Too spiritually minded to be any earthly good". There are many many more that I am sure you know of - I would love to hear them so please blog me about them or Facebook me so I can add them. But phrases like that that we grew up with that actually have become a part of world view and things we base our lives on. Things of our culture that are so much a part of culture that we think is actually a part of the bible or at the very least is no big deal in God's eyes; like sarcasm. I have had to question some of these phrases - "where does it say in the bible God helps those who help themselves?" "What actually is sarcasm and does it build up and encourage people?" etc. Jim and I lived ...

The Dinah Sheets need changing.

Have you ever gone into a Hotel Room and smelling the smell of fresh clean sheets and a bed beautifully made? Or even hoping into your own bed after you have changed the sheets and have beautiful fresh pillowcases? Well this morning in a vision I saw a Hotel Room and the word that came from the Lord was - "The Dinah Sheets need changing" and knowing there was blood on the sheets and calling for a Hotel porter to come and bring new sheets. Dinah was Jacobs daughter and her story is told in Genesis 34. She was a virgin, pure, but then Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, took her and violated her. I encourage you to read the whole story and to see what takes place in retribution for her defilement. But the point that I believe the Lord is wanting to show me and to bring, is that once we were pure in Christ, but things have happened to us that defile us, make us ‘unclean’, where we are no longer ‘pure’ and the Lord would say to you this morning, “change ...

Obedience and Commitment are big things in Gods Kingdom

Reading in Acts 7 this morning the story through Stephen of Abraham being told by God to " Leave your country and your people and go the the land I will show you" So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child." As I reflected on this and the journey of Abraham stepping out in faith into a land that he received no inheritance in but a promise of what was to come for his descendants of which we live in the fruit of that, I thought of todays generations in which often is only doing things that we want to do or that will benefit us personally as we live for 'today' not worrying about tomorrow. A sense of if it feels good then do it, if it doesn't then we will move on - perhap...

Our words create our worlds

Last week I had a vision and I saw fire coming up from the ground and water coming from the sky, it was chaos and people were running for their lives as disaster struck. I was asking the Lord about it as it felt like judgement coming and I was trying to reconcile judgement with my God that I know who loved the world so much that he sent his only son to die for us not to condemn the world but to save the world, and he said to me - Sarah "your words create your world." Everything God created was good and in Genesis we see God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth. And through Jesus, God has given us authority and dominion over the earth, the same authority he gave Jesus now lives in us to those who believe. And I realised that as a people we can reap what we sow in respect of our words. The power of the tongue is powerful, it either tears down or builds up, life and death is on the power of the tongue. In John 1:14 "The Word became flesh ...

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