Learning to count my blessings

It’s Saturday night and I’m soon off to bed. But before then, some thoughts are coming together...

The Bible teaches that we should give thanks to God because everything that is truly good comes from Him. But when we’re young we often feel invincible, immune from danger or tragedy, and can easily take for granted “small blessings” in any week, such as being healthy, no major accidents, having paid the bills, enjoyed the week’s work or study, and so on. And yet it’s only since becoming a dad and getting a bit older (I’m nearly 34) that I’ve become more aware of the fact that life is fragile, it’s up and down so quickly, and that I cannot take for granted everything running smoothly.

As I look back at the week just ended, I’m also aware that whatever I’ve been immersed in will effect who I am when I meet with other people in church tomorrow (Sunday).

1. 1.       Will I have “something to bring” as the Apostle Paul describes it?
2. 2.      Will I have a prophecy or a word of encouragement?
3. 3.       Will I come grateful for the week’s chances God’s given me to share life, faith and hope with others?
4. 4.       Will I come with a willingness to serve, listen to others and be alongside hurting people?
5. 5.       Or will I just come as a consumer, hoping to “get something decent” out of the meeting, as though church was the spiritual vending machine and I pay my tithe so expect my weekly boost?

In this case, I’ve preached last Sunday and it went ok, I had 4 days of schools lessons in my local high school (helping to speak out against racism and in favour of loving our neighbour with roughly 120 kids), one day working from home/with my kids, and a Saturday Dad’s Breakfast, wedding and evening of wine and TV with my wife. My family and I have had no major accidents, my daughter may have chicken pox, but we’re otherwise ok, and whilst I’ve had a bit of stress running various errands, God has really helped me in my attempts to curb my road-rage.

This last week, in summary, had been really good, so I thank God for this with all my heart.

As I think about tomorrow, it’s a weird contradiction. Sunday is nothing and it is everything. Going to church doesn’t make someone a Christian just as going to a garage makes you a car. A Sunday service does not transform lives or neighbourhoods in itself, and yet what happens (or doesn’t) when we do  meet together is of extreme value and importance.

As we have scattered to various different places for work, family life, mission, etc, we now gather again to encourage each other, worship God and hear from the Bible. It’s like the largest intake of breath before we go back out into the world as missionaries, servants and activists.

And my prayer for tomorrow – for my church and everyone else’s – is that when we do meet,

1. We would worship in spirit and in truth (i.e., a supernatural experience and not a ritualistic one, as well as people being honest with each other and with God not being false),
2. We would spur each other on towards love and good deeds (as Paul says),
3. We would be inspired by Jesus and by the Bible to follow in His footsteps
4. We would share the hope of the Gospel (really well) with those who have turned up but don’t yet know that Jesus loves them, that He is calling them to follow Him, and that the cost of this is well worth it.

Night and God bless

The Icing on the Cake

My typical week in work involves a wide variety of things, including

1. time with my co-workers, some of which is running sessions, some of which is planning and prayer
2. time driving people to medical or job-related appointments
3. time on my own working on policy, funding or other administration

But the highlight of my week just gone was clear - doing Bible study with a kid from our Kids Club, aged 8, and  with another lad, aged 13, from the estate where we're based. As we do this we explore faith and a hope for the future.

The other jobs etc are, but this is the icing on the cake.

Parenting and Prayer Revisited

 

Things have moved on a little since my earlier blog post about Parenthood, Prayers and Post-It Notes.

My eldest child Sam, now almost 2 1/2, is having plenty of moments of, "No, it's not hers, it's mine" and the challenge to learn to share is as big as ever.


However he seems to get the idea of saying "Thanks" to Jesus in his prayers, then asking for Him to help other people, not just himself.


At the moment, one of his regular prayers is for his sister, 
"Thank You, Jesus, for this lovely, lovely food. And we pray... that you make Ruthie (his sister) happy. Amen"


We humans are all quite self-centered, and Sam is no exception, but he has a very kind side to him that is full of affection for his little sister, possibly an awareness that others who are smaller than he are in need of special care and attention. And my wife and I hope to nurture that as he grows up, so that he doesn't lost it, but it becomes a central part of who he is.


Before I became a Dad, I used to hate parents showing off about their "amazing" children, and I know I run the risk of sounding like that. But I am proud of my boy's growth in faith and in awareness of others. And he is gradually learning some foundational things that will help him become a real man when he is older.