Accepted as I am

Kindom Signs on Sunday

2008-07-07T14:57:00.000-07:00

What an amazing day it was on Sunday with two young people being baptized. How encouraging it was to have two young people make this public commitment to follow Jesus.
The baptism that I was able to attend was in the evening and was part Opawa Baptists monthly Soak service. Soak is a time to come and just soak in the presence of God.

Sunday evening was meaningful to family and friends as they gathered to witness the baptism, but it was also special for me.

There are several stations set up that you can go to reflect on God and what He might be saying to you. One of these has Bible passages with a picture to reflect upon. The one that struck home to me was this verse from Isaiah 49 “I will not forget you! See I have you engraved in the palms of my hands.” How special it is to know that I am not forgotten and the scars of crucifixion are there because I am loved so much.

It reminded me of a picture someone sent to me last week of a person being held lovingly within the hands of God.

Last Week in Review

2008-07-07T14:46:00.000-07:00

Last week was a very busy one and seemed to go past in almost a blur. If I’m being honest there wasn’t a lot of time to stop and consider the Kingdom. It was there though in nature, in times taken out to sit quietly at God’s feet, and in the people who crossed my paths.

This week I’m off to Wellington for a course and won’t have access to a computer to blog, so will put my Kingdom signs from this week up next week.

The Kingdom in people

2008-07-03T02:39:00.000-07:00

Today I have seen the Kingdom in family. We celebrated my grandson’s 13th birthday tonight. Where have those years gone to? It was a joy to see what a fine young man he is becoming. He has a love for family, and a lovely big hug and kiss for me every time he sees me no matter where we are. As he hugged me and kissed me in the restaurant I thought there are not many 13 year old boys who would be so relaxed about doing that.

My other Kingdom sign today was to see a hearing child and a deaf child interacting with one another. One could not speak and the other could not sign, and yet they were totally comfortable with each other. They seemed to understand what each other wanted and played happily together with wide smiles on their faces.

The Week to date

2008-07-02T00:01:00.001-07:00

I am a few days behind with my writing. The end of term is an extra busy time for teachers. Any way I have decided to give an update on the week so far. Monday I reflected on the Sidedoor Service at our church on Sunday evening. This is a service that uses art installations to help people connect with God. Sunday it focused on doors and for me it brought up issues related to a time at school when I was eight years of age. A teacher got tired of me talking and shut me in a cupboard and then forgot about me until my mother came to find out why I hadn’t come home for lunch. I was not aware that I was holding bitterness towards this teacher until Sunday night. I was aware that I had issues related to this that I had to surrender to God. I came home feeling that a burden had been lifted and I felt a real sense of freedom.. Thank you God that you work in ways that we sometimes find difficult to understand.
Monday also, brought issues with a student, when I was on lunch duty, that were hard to deal with, and yet I found that by thanking God for all the blessings I have I was able to see past the problems and be encouraging to others.
Tuesday I was able to spend sometime with a friend who is going through a difficult time. She is not a believer, but I was able to speak some words of encouragement into her situation.
Wednesday: I took the advice that I gave to myself a few entries back and took the time to stop at the beach and admire the spectacular sunrise this morning. That time on the beach with God and me just set me up for the day.

Friday's entry on Saturday

2008-06-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

Where did Friday go? I don’t know, but it disappeared so here is Friday’s entry on Saturday.

Yesterday we took some of our students to the Antarctic Centre. It was a great trip and we enjoyed watching the penguins being fed. As I watched them catching the fish and swimming around and listened to the keepers commentary I was struck by how much the keepers loved these penguins. They made sure that all of them had a chance to get some food, including the little blind one. This reminded me of God’s love for us. He really wants to care for us and to see that we get enough to eat both spiritually and physically. Then I began thinking how does God feed us spiritually? He does this through His Word, the Bible. How I need to read this every day, to know what He is saying to me! Through study groups and Sunday church services when the time of praise to Him will often speak – sometimes through the words sung, the message preached, or a word from a fellow believer. Just as those penguins need their keepers, we need our Heavenly Father.

Sunrise, seagulls and peace

2008-06-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I had my camera, and my batteries were charged, and the sunrise, although not as spectacular as some mornings, was beautiful. I spent around 20 minutes on the beach as you come into Sumner by Shag Rock and then around the beach a bit further. It was an amazingly relaxing, if slightly cold experience. As I watched and snapped the sunrise I thought how can people not believe that God created this world.

The seagulls arrived for their breakfast and I watched them soar, and dive. How free they were to move as they wanted, in a carefree manner. It reminded me how free I can be when I rely on God and cast all my cares upon Him.

I arrived at school relaxed and ready for the day. I was able to leave some of the frustration mentioned in an earlier blog at the beach with God.

Enjoy the photos of my special morning spent with God appreciating His creation.
Note to myself: Stop more often at the beach to spend time with God before going to school.

God at work across ages and stages.

2008-06-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I attended a Bible study at church and was excited to see God’s kingdom at work across the generations and also in the lives of people at various stages of their faith journey. It was exciting to hear a new Christian describe it as a safe place to be able to ask questions. It’s also good to see people who have been Christians for many years wanting to develop their knowledge and understanding further. Thanks God for a terrific group of people and for our great pastoral leaders.

"Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him." Ps 37:7

2008-06-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling frustrated about the progress of certain things I am trying to achieve. God is in control and His timing is best. I know this, but do I know it in my heart, or only in my head?

Yesterday as I shared some of these frustrations with a friend she asked me if I had read my devtional 'Word for Today' (published by Rhema Broadcasting Group). She gave it to me and wouldn't you know it, it was all about patience. The bit that spoke to me most was this: "When you spend time in God's waiting room, He's developing qualities in you that simply can't be developed any other way. When He's finished you'll come out stronger and wiser. And you'll have the maturity to handle what He has in mind for you."

Thank you God. For those of you who are pray-ers you could remember me as I rest in His 'waiting room'.

Time for review

2008-06-21T00:54:00.000-07:00

Time to review what God has been saying. He has really used nature to talk to me over the past few days. I have never really noticed before how much winter can be a positive time if we look at it through Christ's eyes. My focus has normally been on how cold it is and how I'm longing for spring. This is not say I am not finding it cold, especially on the frosty mornings, but as I look forward to spring I can see God in the world, and at work around me.

Let me see clearly

2008-06-20T00:32:00.001-07:00

Today I left for work in the fog and the fog had returned by the time I was coming home. This made me have to really concentrate on my driving. Once home I was thinking about how sometimes I have problems seeing what is there in front of me. God remove the fog from my eyes and give me clear vision to see you at work in my life and the life of others.

Of trees and seasons

2008-06-19T03:35:00.000-07:00

This is a tree outside my classroom. (For those of you who don't know me I am a teacher of children who are deaf.) One of the senior students at our school loves trees. He enjoys standing under the trees and looking up at the leaves and enjoying the effect of the light filtering through the trees. Then in autumn he delights in shaking the trees and watching the leaves as they swirl to the ground. A favourite past time is to rake up the fallen leaves. Today I watched said student shake the tree and wait for the brown leaves fall, but nothing happened, so he began to delicately and carefully remove the leaves. They are strongly attached though and with a look of disappointment e wandered off to look at the trees that have already lost their leaves. He will continue through the winter examining the trees waiting for the first signs of spring. When he spots the first sign of green buds he will run about excitedly telling everyone that the buds are back.

This got me thinking about how I approach the various seasons that I go through in my everyday life. Do I approach things in life with the same love, care, anticipation and excitement ? Do I respond to God in the same way when I am going through hard times? Do I wait patiently for God to show the green buds of a situation being solved, or do I fail to see His hand at work, and just see the cold bare lifeless branches?

Who is the creator/

2008-06-18T02:46:00.000-07:00

Today coming home from work I marvelled at the sunset. The sky was scarlet red over the mountains and rose pink towards the south and I admired it and the one who created it. I find this time of the year a blessing, because I'm going to Sumner to work in the morning and often get treated to the most amazing sunrises. It sets my day off to a good start as I reflect on Creator God as I drive along, and of course the sunset today helped me to put aside the day's work and relax and prepare for what was waiting for me on the home front. Mental note to myself: Put the camera in the car so I can take photos and put them on my blog.

Thanks for the reminder God

2008-06-17T01:12:00.001-07:00

I was thinking about what to write and decided to share God's reminder to me today. I am trying to work through a difficult situation with someone at the moment. Can't really say any more than that really. After work I was feeling quite frustrated and decided a quick walk might do me good. It did. I was walking in a park when I heard some birds singing. I stopped and listened and watched as they flitted about in the tree. As I watched I felt God saying look at them they are enjoying life and not worried about things. Give me those worries and move on. When I came home I gave the issue over to God for His will to be done. Thanks for the reminder God that you are a good listener and that you can, and do, take on our burdens if we will just give them to You.

Flutterings in the kingdom

2008-06-16T01:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at church (Opawa Baptist) Steve Taylor (emergentkiwi.org.nz) talked about the first flutterings of a baby in the womb as it moves. Was it a movement, or imagination? If it's a first child then it's really hard to tell. He related this to the kingdom, and if, and when we are aware of the flutterings of God at work.

This got me thinking about past times when I have been unaware of the Holy Spirit giving me a prompt about something, and later I have heard what has happened and I've thought "Oh, that was the Holy Spirit giving me a flutter and expecting a response." If I'm honest I know that sometimes I have been aware of a prompting and have ignored it, because I am afraid of what it might lead me into. Maybe I won't have the skills to deal with the situation, maybe it will take to much time, maybe it will take me outside my comfort zone, and all the other reasons one can come up with. However, as I've journeyed along I've begun to realise that God doesn't ask me to do the impossible. He provides what I need for that situation. So, watch this space as I see and hear flutterings over the next four weeks.

Who am I?

2008-06-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

Hi
My name is Judy More and I am a widow with three adult children, one daughter-in-law, and one grandchild.

I have been a Christian for about 40 years.

I try to have God at the centre of my life daily. This is not always easy, especially in difficult times, and I have experienced many of these over the years.

God has taken me overseas on four mission trips and is currently preparing me for a further trip. I have seen God at work in some amazing ways and in some amazing places.

For me God is my confident, my friend, my constant companion, my challenger and life changer. Although feeling a bit nervous, I am looking forward to sharing my journey with God, with those of you who choose to read this blog, because I know that through doing this I will be challenged and will grow in my relationship with God.