Thursday 31 December 2009

New Year

Well it's the last day of 2009 so time for recap and looking forward.

This year has been a really good year, but not really how I'd expect it to go. 2009 was a big year for me as I left school and started college, something I wasn't all that sure if it was the right thing or not. In fact, to begin with I really wondered what I was doing. However, after October it all took an unexpected turn and it got better - just got a bit more comfortable really. I have a friend now and I'm really thankful for every small thing.

This summer was a different one as I did camp leadership at the local Christian Endeavour camp as a first. It was an interesting experience I have to say.

The other thing about this year ... I've spent so much time online but it's been a good thing in my opinion because all these people over there <<<<<< in the blog roll who continually amaze me with their faith in hardship and with many other things. Obviously I'm not naming anyone here, but I'm sure everyone knows who they are.

2010 looks uncertain and I didn't think it would be a good year. However, I then realised I said the same thing last year! and as I've said, this year's been fine! So that gives me hope. Right now I'm excited to see what God has in store for me.

While writing this post the song playing on my computer is this - the current number one in UK singles chart - while I don't really pay much attention to that normally this one (ok, X Factor winner!) includes lyrics which fit the New Year pretty well.

A happy new year to everyone out there. The end of this year has not been good for some people (see previous post for example) but who knows what God is planning for next year - keep smiling, even when things don't go your way. (Here's some more song lyrics - I love them!)

Blessings for a good 2010 everyone,
Emma

Tuesday 29 December 2009

Prayers Needed!!

Can't believe how bad some people have it ... Just checked the Riggs family blog and after all the concerns with Abby's cancer, now it's a car accident for their son .... oh grief.

Please guys, remember them in your prayers. Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Sunday 13 December 2009

Temptation, Elsie and the X Factor

It's been a busy weekend but good. My grandparents just celebrated 50 years marriage (an amazing achievement) and of course there was family here visiting for the occasion.

Anyway, the title of the post ... starting with the Elsie books, I have to admit they're one of the best I've ever read. Set in the 1800s so not entirely up to date, but you get a bit of history lessons in there added onto the story of a little girl with amazing faith. The first two were books I've had about two years and just love.

Book 1, Elsie's Endless Wait, was quite tear-jerking because we see Elsie living in a house full of six aunts and uncles close to her own age, who mistreat her. It's not only their teasing, their mother often claimed that since she was no blood relation she couldn't excuse a punishment as she would her own children, so for that reason in the very first chapter she is punished through no real fault of her own. Yet she is then consulting her Bible and reminding herself that Jesus bore worse than that patiently.

But the main focus is her endless wait to meet her father, which does happen in this book, but they conflict slightly as he doesn't agree with her strict principles. He is a very determined man, and we see a glimpse of what is to happen in the next book, Elsie's Impossible Choice. She had strict principles about the Sabbath, as to what is or isn't suitable to do on a Sunday. If you think that's easy back in the 1800s, by reading this it is not. The real conflict is caused by her refusing to read a newspaper on the Sabbath. A small thing maybe, but it all built up to a big thing and she suffers HUGELY.

So after reading those I wondered about trying out the Sunday idea .... which was easy enough at first but these past few months it has got so much harder to keep the faith that I'm doing the right thing. Back to another part of the title post ... X Factor. I don't watch TV much nowadays, but got a bit hooked on X Factor last year and it's hard to stop once you've started - it's quite good actually.

The only problem that arose this year was that it was extended for the whole weekend with the results on Sundays. I thought it would be simple to just record and watch another day, but because we are so busy and it's hard not to find out when you're out on Mondays, it just became much tougher than I anticipated it to be. I haven't seen the final yet so that's 4 hours to catch up on tomorrow.

When you're making things complicated for yourself, I admit I was tempted to give up and just watch it at the usual time. MANY times. I never thought I would ever say that, but there you go.

However, luckily the Bible has something to say about that:


"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Children and stuff ...

Well, this is a collection of thoughts really, but I wanted to blog it all into one. Firstly, the other day while on a public bus I saw a toddler of about one or two years old sharing all the sweets in their packet with another kid. I did find that kinda sweet and it's a great start to kids learning to share early.



And an interesting conversation my mum was telling me she had with a five-year-old. Obviously I'm not going to name names or write out the entire conversation, but she had been learning about "Baby Jesus" in school and asked heaps of questions. When all her questions had been mostly answered, she asked "How do you know all this?" When told it is in the Bible, she responded with "What's the Bible?"



Quite honestly, that question is a bit frightening! What has this world come to, that kids have never heard of the Bible? We were discussing how much you can actually tell a kid when they aren't your own. Our church runs a group for kids and most that come aren't from Christian families, but just jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak. Just last week we were trying to tell them what we read in the Bible is all real, something I actually never considered during my childhood. Of course, when you start on teaching kids what's real and what isn't, you come back to that guy at the top of this post.


Santa. Sometimes if parents have to tell their kids Santa's not real, they then think Jesus can't be either. How exactly are kids supposed to understand what's real and what isn't? And is this Santa stuff really worth it? Anyone got any thoughts on this stuff?


Speaking of which, Christmas is just around the corner!

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Thankfulness

I was just reading up on a couple of blogs, both American, as a lot of the blogs I read are, and they are trying to find one thing to be thankful for every day, in the run-up to Thanksgiving. Of course we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, but it did get a few things going for me....

Main thing: why is it that people who have the tough life seem to find it easier to be thankful? Then we, the perfectly ordinary people, seem to grumble and moan all the time! I'm not saying I don't - I complained this morning about it being cold. But I do think if we think hard about it each day, we CAN find something to be thankful for. After a whole term of wondering if this college course I'm doing was the right thing to do, and not really having friends, and losing heart a bit with my faith, the right people just came into my life at the right time!

God is good!

Last thing- my blogroll now has every blog I'm following on it, just to make it easier. Check out this one and this one in particular for the thankfulness in hardship!

Friday 23 October 2009

The Gospel According to Harry Potter

That's the title of a book I read some time ago. It refers to "glimmers of the gospel" in the books. I've been a fan of Harry Potter for years but went slightly off it when I became a Christian, but since got back into them, and this book was a great help. It was written before the final three Harry Potter books were written, so I suppose you just need to figure those ones out for yourself. :)

Song lyrics are actually what makes me think the most. And today I actually made a connection between "When I survey the wondrous cross" and Harry Potter. This is an old hymn I know quite well by now, it's a favourite in our church. But ironically the line I connected with Harry Potter comes from the new version, Wonderful Cross: "bids me come and die and find that I may truly live".

I connect this part with the ending, or almost, of book 7, Deathly Hallows, Harry realises he must surrender himself to defeat Voldemort, but since there was a part of Voldemort's soul in him, all that happened was that the Horcrux in him was destroyed, thereby granting him life.

So, our salvation is summed up in that song lyric. Just like Harry, we know we must die, i.e. surrender ourselves to God, and because He loves us so much, we are then saved from hell by His grace and we may live!

P.S. Back to the previous post... sadly the baby has not survived. Hard to understand why, but I know God has His reasons.

Thursday 8 October 2009

Give this Christmas away

The title of one of the songs which I heard yesterday that has really made me want to make a difference this Christmas. This is the first, which came from the Big Idea (Veggie Tales) website. In my music collection it was followed by "Hands of Love" by Michael Harcus.

Putting these two together it had lyrics like "If there's love in your heart, don't let it stay there", "what about the people out in the cold, the starving and the hungry, by no fault of their own". There is a Christian company called Blytheswood, and through them we fill shoeboxes of Christmas presents for the poor. I haven't yet done anything for them this year, but these songs have encouraged me to do something, however big or small.

I also want to ask prayer for one of the families whose blogs I follow. The Stansels had sextuplets prematurely, and now only 3 are left. One is possibly going into kidney failure and they may have to say goodbye to this one too. I have seen this happen on another family blog, but with lots of prayer, that baby survived! Please lift them up in prayer and stop by their blog to give them some words of encouragement.

Friday 24 July 2009

Weakness

I want to share a little bit of scripture, and a song lyric since I love these :)

From "Power of Your Love" by Darlene Zschech it says "I've come to know the weaknesses I see in me will be stripped away by the power of Your love". I love that - it's a very comforting bit.

I've been reading a lot of Joni Eareckson Tada recently and I would recommend them. The original Joni is a bit graphic, but The God I Love and Ordinary People, Extraordinary Faith are really rather awesome. It was in one of these books I found this bitty from the Bible I'm going to share now:

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12: 7-10)

Monday 15 June 2009

Little Wonders

A blog question the other day asked "what is your favourite blog?" Now there are a LOT that I follow, so this was a tricky question. But in the end, for now, I think Little Wonders takes the spot. Why?

You can see little Zoey's picture to the left of this blog, with a link to the blog. See her smile? You'd never know this child has gone through as much as she has. You'd never know this child is seriously ill. If a child as young as that can zoom through things like that with such ease, then surely we ought to be able to take anything that comes our way. It's hard, I know, but just remember Zoey whenever something bad but considerably smaller than what she has comes your way.

"Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3, NKJV

oh yes, and Eilidh, if you're reading this -





























HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Tuesday 19 May 2009

Voice of Truth & Kayleigh

Don't know if these go together or not, but hey. Just to the left of this post is a button / badge which says "Pray for Kayleigh" and shows a tiny hand over a bigger one. Kayleigh Freeman passed away last week (I know I'm late) after spending 10 months in hospital. Kayleigh was simply a miracle - she survived the odds so many times. I ask that you keep this family in your prayers. You can access their blog by clicking the button I was referring to, or by scrolling to the bottom where you will find "Kayleigh's Story".

Voice of Truth

Oh what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
onto the crashing waves
to step out of my comfort zone
into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
and He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
boy, you'll never win
you'll never win

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says do not be afraid
the voice of truth says this is for my glory
out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Oh what I would do to have
the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armour
wishing they'd had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
and he laughs at me
reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
the giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
boy, you'll never win
you'll never win

Well the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
on top of them looking down
I will soar on the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to
the sound of Jesus
singing over me



When my sister heard this, she didn't understand the part in the first verse when it goes "all the times I've tried before and failed". What she said was, you can't have tried and failed to walk on water because you'd have drowned! Anyone else thinking along these lines, it's metaphorical. It's imagery used to help you in ANYTHING in this world you've tried to do and failed, and you really want to. It says you can do anything if you know Jesus is with you.


I apologise for the lack of photos on this blog, but I don't know how! I just tried and failed - help?

Saturday 18 April 2009

Prayer for a Friend

So I meant to put these up Easter weekend, but it didn't quite work. Just pure forgetfulness.


Lord I lift my friend to You
I've done all that I know to do
I lift my friend to You

Complicated circumstances have clouded his view
Lord, I lift my friend up to You

I fear that I won't have the words that he needs to hear
I pray for Your wisdom oh God and a heart that's sincere
Lord I lift my friend up to You

Lord I lift my friend to You
My best friend in he world
I know He means much more to You
I want so much to help him
but this is something he has to do
Lord I lift my friend up to You

'Cos there's a way that seems so right to him
but You know where that leads
He's becoming a puppet of the world
too blind to see the strains
Lord I lift my friend up to You



I really like this because it's a good one to use as a prayer for our friends. I do have a few friends who aren't Christians. Sometimes we are so desperate to do it ourselves we can forget the best thing to do is turn it over to God and pray for them.

Friday 10 April 2009

Praise You in this Storm

In honour of Good Friday, here is another Casting Crowns song!


I was sure by now,
God, You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away
stepped in and saved the day
But once again I say amen
and it's still raining

Well, as the thunder rolls
I'm barely here, You whispered through the rain
I'm with you
And as Your mercy falls,
I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away.

And I will praise You in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried,
you hold in Your hands
You've never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry, You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone, how can I carry on
if I can't find You

I lift my eyes up to the hills
where does my help come from
My help comes from the Lord
maker of heaven and earth

Monday 6 April 2009

Who am I?

Recently discovered a liking for Casting Crowns. I just keep on finding really good songs, so I thought I'd share the lyrics for some of them.


Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name,
would care to feel my hurt
Who am I that the bright and morning star would choose to light the way
for my ever-wandering heart.

Not because of who I am, but because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done, but because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean, a vapour in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
and You told me who I am – I am Yours.

Who am I that the eyes that see our sin would look on me with love
and watch me rise again
Who am I that the voice that calmed the sea would call out through the rain
and calm the storm in me

Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear
'cause I am Yours.


Just shows we really don't deserve a loving God. Why would He care? Because He loves us.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Heaven

Last night we went to a concert for Michael Harcus' new CD, which I'm listening to now :) He ended on the song "Party" which goes like "A party like never before, when we reach that golden shore". The track ends with a tune written specially by Andy Cant called "Heavens Above", good toe-tapping tune.

After that, what the minister said was: "Let's hope when we get to heaven there'll be a corner of Orkney musicians with Michael at the head!" Now I come to think of it, that would be pretty awesome.

Another reason why I kinda look forward to heaven is quite often I stumble across really interesting people online I'd love to meet in person. That and being able to be with EVERYONE and never parting again - awesome!

But while I say all that in other ways I don't want to go quite yet - feel there's a lot left to do here on earth!

Take a look at the buttons I added at the side of the page to get to some awesome other blogs. :)

Monday 16 March 2009

Pride

This is something that came to mind the other day. I don't know about you, but I tend to over-react to criticism and get angry (really angry). I yell at my parents way too much and am starting to feel sorry for them.

Well, this lyric from a song came to mind: "Sometimes it takes the critic's opinion just to see the strength of my pride." I get on at others about their not doing things right, and this kinda brought me crashing down to earth, if you know what I mean.

None of us is perfect! We all need God's help, no matter what age we are and even after we're saved and think we're walking well with God, well, you can't just kid yourself all the time that you can manage on your own.


Just a short thought, and would also like to say, everyone can start off their praying by praying for Abby! Check out the Riggs Family blog on my sidebar or go to www.riggsfamilyblog.com.

First Blog Post

Just thought I'd write something to start off this blog. Hopefully I will post prayer requests, events here or just thoughts that come into my head. Feel free to comment or make suggestions, anything.