An Adventure in Ministry

I love music. I am one of those people who would happily have 3 different radios playing in the house so that I am surrounded by music. I also Love the way God speaks to me through music, all different types of music. Psalm 100 talks about how we can use music in order to praise God. "Shout for joy   to the   Lord , all the earth.     Worship the   Lord   with gladness;      come before him   with joyful songs.       Know that the   Lord   is God.      It is he who made us,   and we are his ;      we are his people,   the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving      and his courts   with praise;      give thanks to him and praise his name. For the   Lord   is good   and his love endures forever;      his faithfulness   continues through all genera...

I am me! This week I had a revealation. I am me! Some of you may be thinking “duh, of course you are you!”  But this week it was something that really hit home. As part of our training and development as ministers in the Salvation Army Paul and I have just spent the last week at the William Booth Training college in London. It has been an interesting and challenging week in many ways! There was some great teaching, thought provoking worship and some fellowship with people walking on the same road of ministry as me. But for me, the greatest part of the week, was in the gentle call and affirmation that God seemed to breath over me as the days went by. There were a number of points over the week that God spoke to me and said “you are you and I made you that way. Stop worrying over the way you are, if you are wrong, I will tell you!” On Monday morning as I read my devotional I was struck by these Words As I meditated on these words I penned this prayer ...

It’s been a bit of a week! It was the first week back in full swing after Christmas which is always difficult. It’s one of those weeks that is spent trying to get back into the routine of things and getting up to date on all those little things. It has been busy to say the least! It has also been a week full of vision and dreaming, with meetings looking ahead and God laying heavy on me an urge to think big and to start walking in it! Our church is growing and God is miraculously providing. There have been moments that have felt like the ascent at the beginning of a fairground ride. The anticipation of what might be ahead that excitement mingled with nervousness and that little bit of dread that you cant make it on your own. It has also been a week of brokenness. There have been so many people through our doors this week screaming out for Jesus. There are people struggling with illness, grief and addiction. It really has been heartbreaking, but I am so grateful that we are able...

At this time of year, lots of people talk about resolutions. People talk of dieting and keeping fit, quitting smoking or drinking. I heard a statistic that 35% of us make a new years resolution and only 8% of them stick to it. That doesn't sound good, does it? I haven't made any resolutions, as such, but have made a renewed effort to spend more quality time with God each day and try to have more of an attitude of gratitude.  In my devotion time I have felt God has shown me a picture of a door. As I considered this, I began thinking about God opening and closing doors in our lives. It is a concept seen time and again in scriptures and also in my life. I  believe there are times when God closes the door on situations in my life and has opened new doors for me with fresh opportunities. There have been times full of hurt, bad situations, dark times and God has closed the door to them. There have also been good times, enjoyable times that have become closed doors. But the ...

At the start of this new year I felt called by God to try something I had come across in a few blogs. You choose a word (prayerfully!) and use it to hang your thoughts, journal and ideas for the year. A lot of people I have read about have seen it really transform their life, so I thought I would give it a go! The word I chose was GRATITUDE. So this week I have started 52 weeks of gratitude, and I will attempt to share some of my ponderings with you!    The first week asks why start this challenge? Well gratitude is a great thing to exercise. The talks time and time again about giving thanks. But how often when we pray are we guilty of giving thanks to God as a pre-curser to the main event.....asking for what we want.  Having an attitude of gratitude is something that I believe could completely change my faith, my marriage, my ministry and my relationships. When we go through our life looking for opportunities to give thanks, we can't help but also see love, ...

It came upon a midnight clear. This is a fascinating carol. The first verse reads: “It came upon a midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of Gold; ‘Peace on the Earth, Goodwill to men, From Heaven’s all-gracious king.’ The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angel’s sing.” Sometimes I wonder what it must have been like when the angels sang. Last week I went to see ‘Messiah’ sung by the local choral society, and I think it have me a glimpse, especially in the Hallelujah Chorus! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the angels came today, to our society. Now I know it would probably look nothing like this…but just imagine     The second and third verses of this Carol give a great truth. The second verse reads: “But with the woes of sin and strife, The world has suffered long, Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong, And man, at wa...

In my consideration of Advent and with Christmas approaching I have been thinking a lot about Mary and the part she played in the Christmas Story. The beautiful hymn 'Gabriel's message' kept running through my mind. Why not take a moment and listen to the song The words to this song are beautiful. They say: The angel Gabriel from heaven came,  His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame, 'All hail' said he  'Thous lowly maiden Mary' Most highly favoured Lady, Gloria! 'For known a blessed mother thou shalt be; All generations laud and honour thee, Thy son shall be emmanuel, by seers foretold' Most highly favoured Lady. Gloria! The gentle Mary meekly bowed her head; 'To me be as it pleases God,' She said 'My soul shall laud and magnify his Holy name' Most highly favoured lady. Gloria! Whilst considering the Christmas story and Mary, I can't help but wonder whether it wasn't quite so ne...