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.

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...

"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...

"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, ...

Bus crash in Botswana - Rejoice in the Lord always.

Well we had an interesting introduction to Botswana - yes a bus crash. It was amazing and most probably the worst accident I have been in to this day (but not bad I am sure to some of you out there) but thankfully the Lord looked after us and protected us. The front tyre of the bus blew out travelling about 120ks per hour and the bus tipped from side to side as it careered off the road into the bus. How it never hit cars and no one was killed we will never know apart from the protection of the Lord. We were flown all over the place but thankfully only came out with a few cuts and bruises. It was literally a miracle that we didn't roll. One girl was thrown out of the bus in a serious condition, others hurt in various ways but it could have been a whole lot worse. The Lord gave us peace and we went about praying for people and was blessed especially by one lady who felt the fire of God healing her so much so that she was laughing and crying all at the s...

There is an army rising up!

Are you struggling in your family? Are you struggling with people in the body of Christ? Keep going in love and you will see the breakthroughs you long for. Over the past few months the Lord has been showing me some scenes where the enemy has been trying to attack and destroy families, and so I believe it is a time where we need to be alert of the devils schemes and counter attack with the truth and the love of God. Three areas we ourselves as a ministry are currently contenting for breakthrough in are: 1. the unity of the body of Christ, 2. for whole families to come to Christ 3. for mental health issues to be overcome .... and so of course the enemy wants to come and try and destroy in whatever way He can within churches, within families, in individuals and so I/we need to be alert to the schemes of the enemy. Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." One vision I share with you I ha...

Today's complacency will lead to tomorrows captivity

While Jim & I were in bible college training to go on to the mission field, one thing we learnt was that we needed to be continual learners. And over time I have found if I am not learning, if I am not growing in the Lord in some area of my life, then more than likely I have stepped into a place of pride without even realising it or have become 'comfortable' and content with where things are at. To be a continual learner is to position yourself that you are continually growing, being challenged in your thinking, perhaps being called to step out in something you have never done before that you know God is speaking to you about. It's a place of questioning yourselves "why am I not seeing what I believe for yet?" in the Lord, those promises perhaps that He has already spoken about, and then stepping into them in faith trusting that God will lead the way. Samuel Rodriguez say's "Today's complacency will lead to tomorrows captivity." I ...

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