The power of Truth in a little text I recieved the other day!!

I'm His
I'm Loved
I'm Won
I'm a Winner
I'm a Saint
I'm Alive
I'm Growing
I have Hope
I'm Redeemed
I'm Strong
I Belong
I'm Rooted
I'm Grounded
I'm on Fire
I'm no Quitter
I'm Cherished
I'm Beautiful
I'm Princess Charlie
I'm a lion (!!)
I'm a world Changer
I'm a Daughter
I'm a Fighter
I'm a Lover
I have a big loud voice that says JESUS HAVE THE GLORY. X

'As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collectors booth. "Follow me and be my disciple" Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.'

'If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. The call to follow at once produces a new situation. To stay in the old situation makes discipleship impossible....
Until that day everything had been different. They could remain in obscurity, pursuing their work as the quiet in the land, observing the law. and waiting for the coming of the Messiah. But now he has come, and his call goes forth. Faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting - they must rise and follow him. The call frees them from all earthly ties, and binds them to Jesus Christ alone. They must burn their boats and plunge into absolute insecurity in order to learn the demand and the gift of Christ.' (Bonhoeffer 1959)

The above is a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffers book 'The call to Discipleship'. I am studying it as part of my research project for uni but am finding it so challenging as well.
This chapter titled 'The call to discipleship' really excites me. Its basically about moving forwards, following Jesus, stepping out of the boat and taking risks. All in order to follow Him who gives each of us specific callings.

I think that this is a season where I am thinking a lot about my future calling. I am coming to the end of my three year youth work degree and am busy thinking and praying through the next steps. I feel like they could potentially be pretty big ones and potentially a little bit scary.  Steps that would require faith and a bit of a miracle really. But I feel the Lord building my faith and preparing me to believe for the unbelievable and seemingly unatainable. The book goes on to say 'Peter had to leave the ship and risk his life on the sea, in order to learn both his own weakness and the almightly power of his Lord. If Peter had not taken the risk, he would never have learnt the meaning of faith.' (Bonhoeffer 1959)

RISK. The big R word. Risk is scary and leaves us a bit open and a bit vulnerable but boy is it worth it in the end!!! A friend once sent me the following and whenever im feeling a bit open and a bit vulnerable at a step forwards iv just made I read this:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental

To reach out to others is to risk involvement

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self

To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss

To love is to risk not being loved in return

To live is to risk dying

To hope is to risk despair

To try is to risk failure

But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to do nothing

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, and is nothing

They may avoid suffering and sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live

Chained by their attitudes, they are a slave, they forfeited their freedom

Only the person who risks can be free.

So I guess what I am saying is lets go for it. Lets step forwards and be risk takers and 'leave the boat', lets be people who grasp the meaning of faith, leaning on His word and His direction.

Exciting times ahead!!!!!!

Sweetness out of darkness?

This isn’t a long blog. But I just have had a few really hectic, emotion filled weeks which have some days been so busy that I haven’t had time to stop and think. Third year at uni is actually crazy. Things at home seem to have gotten a little bit messy again and my heart breaks for some of my family and the crazy sometimes insane things that are happening with them. And my heart breaks because it seems that within those situations they have no hope. No hope for change and no hope for a future filled with good and not a future of disaster but a future filled with hope.

Things are all over the place and truthfully I feel broken as well. I thought I was broken all those months ago but I feel broken all over again. But within that I feel a hope.  Within the brokenness is where God reaches deep into our hearts. It’s when we are truly broken and can sit in that for a while and realise the depth of that that we realise and understand the grace and restoration that God can bring into our lives and hearts. That acknowledgment of the brokenness is where the healing can truly begin. Because the last option when we are at our lowest place, desperate to see change and desperate to walk in lightness and not in darkness is to acknowledge our need for our heavenly fathers touch. Nothing can bring greater peace and hope and light than knowing our true need for God. This is where a certain sense of sweetness can be found.

I have no quick and easy method of how to fix messy situations. Sometimes it’s easy to just say I’ll pray about it or to tell a friend who’s broken, I’ll pray for you. Life seems more realistically harder than that. But what we can do is walk every day just releasing slowly more and more to daddy God. Trusting Him in the everyday. Releasing our hopes and dreams to him every day. Asking Him to show us His plans for our lives. And letting Him rebuild us. That’s where I am at. Slowly, slowly. The biggest blessing God has given me is my incredible friends. He has provided such an amazing support network around me. People who will speak truth into my life and gently rebuke me when needed and people who just listen and love me. Sometimes that’s all we need to be for people or need for ourselves. Is an arm around the shoulder and to hear or to say “friend I’m here walking with you.” Sometimes as well I have to admit a bit of Diet Coke and Cadburys does not go amiss!!!

I know a load of people will find this blog hard to read cos it’s a bit messy and its emotional and its real  but you know what it’s the truth that life isn’t always black and white. It can be pretty hard and we can’t always tie mess up with pretty ribbon and sit it in the corner and expect everything to be ok.  its only when we are real about it and acknowledge it that we can allow ourselves to move forwards, one step at a time trusting that our father has got us and that He brings such restoration, grace, love, healing and fullness of life to us. Also hope for an incredible future living out His crazy wild plans for our lives. More Lord.