I must be a stubborn creature. When I started this study in 2007, I was struggling with problems I still have today. I seem to be making the same mistakes. Will I ever learn and grow?
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God
works all of them in all men." 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Sometimes I feel incapable - but it is these times that I remember, "When you step into God's plan, when you are simply a vessel that God can use to accomplish His work, He provides the energy and the means." God can do His work through you, even when we don't understand why. All He asks of us is OBEDIANCE.
If I were to die tomorrow, I would want to be remembered as a woman who gave her all - endeavouring to follow God's will. That I cared for His children and I loved my family. I feel passionate about God's Word. I love reading and writing and sharing what I learn with others.
As I teacher I have wanted my students to see the special people God wants them to be - to reach their full potential as learners. I want them to be loved and to become people who care for others. I want them to feel confident in their gifts and in reaching their dreams. Of course, without God as part of the equation, they cannot do these things - so I want them to become His children.
Back in 1979, when I was leaving school, God told me I was to be his `seed planter'. I later realized that this meant marrying a soldier and becoming an Army wife. Moving around to many different places, becoming a part of communities and Church families for only a short time. Planting seeds of love and learning - then moving on. Often, never seeing the fruits of my labours.
Together Mark and I became Foster Parents, Youth Group and Kid's Club Leaders, Church deacons and of course the most of important of all, parents to our own wonderful son, Aaron. This was probably the hardest task of all. We were encouragers to single parents, other Army wives and soldiers and their families.
In 1996, Mark decided to leave the Army and I was accepted at Griffith University in Brisbane. Mark went to to drive a Bus and I started my `teaching career'. Together we continued our `seed planting'.
Now it is 2011. Mark is still driving buses and I am out of work - a housewife again, but no longer a mother. But there are still those `seeds' to plant. Where and how - only our loving Father knows; but as my good mate Max always reminds me, "God is not trying to keep secrets from you. He wants to direct you into His will, to accomplish His work. Understanding who God wants you to be is a vital part of becoming a vessel God can use."
I WILL DO MORE
I will do more than belong, I will PARTICIPATE.
I will do more than help, I will CARE.
I will do more than believe, I will PRACTICE.
I will do more than be fair, I will be KIND.
I will do more than forgive, I will LOVE.
I will do more than earn, I will ENRICH.
I will do more than teach, I will SERVE.
I will do more than live, I will GROW.
I will do more than be friendly, I will be a FRIEND.
I will do more than just be a Christian,
I will LIVE LIKE ONE.
St Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pennslvania.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
GO WITH GOD
Those who know me well know that my greatest desire of all is to follow the will of God in my life. So, it becomes very frustrating when I find myself struggling to understand what that will is.
Not so long ago in 2007, I applied for the position of Chaplain. I would be Bundaberg's first Primary School Chaplain, and it was down to myself and another lady. At the interview I was asked the Question - "If the job became a permanent one, would you be willing to give up teaching?" I suddenly realized that teaching meant more to me than anything. It wasn't the money - I just loved teaching, especially my children with Learning Difficulties. I truly believed that this was what God had called me to be.
So, you can imagine losing my job as a teacher and being told my the Education Department that I am `incapable', has been a huge blow. Surely being a teacher was God's will for my life - what else would he have me be? So I went back to 2007, and a study I did: "Pouring Out Your Life in Ministry as GOD DIRECTS." In the next few BLOGS I will share what I learnt in 2007, which I believe are still very relevant in 2011.
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain
a heart of wisdom". Psalm 90:12
Henry Blacaby once said, "Understanding what God is about to do is more important than telling God what you want Him to do."
How true! How often do we tell God what we want, rather than listen to what He wants. I know the Lord truly knows the sincerity of my heart and my desire to serve Him. I also know that I have so many things I still need to learn or addictions I need to grow out of - my "Fear of Failure" and "Need for Approval".
As I await for God to heal me, I will pray and study God's word, seeking his direction and when he says it is His time, I will move on and GO WITH GOD. Until then I will continue to serve Him faithfully as a teacher.
Not so long ago in 2007, I applied for the position of Chaplain. I would be Bundaberg's first Primary School Chaplain, and it was down to myself and another lady. At the interview I was asked the Question - "If the job became a permanent one, would you be willing to give up teaching?" I suddenly realized that teaching meant more to me than anything. It wasn't the money - I just loved teaching, especially my children with Learning Difficulties. I truly believed that this was what God had called me to be.
So, you can imagine losing my job as a teacher and being told my the Education Department that I am `incapable', has been a huge blow. Surely being a teacher was God's will for my life - what else would he have me be? So I went back to 2007, and a study I did: "Pouring Out Your Life in Ministry as GOD DIRECTS." In the next few BLOGS I will share what I learnt in 2007, which I believe are still very relevant in 2011.
"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain
a heart of wisdom". Psalm 90:12
Henry Blacaby once said, "Understanding what God is about to do is more important than telling God what you want Him to do."
How true! How often do we tell God what we want, rather than listen to what He wants. I know the Lord truly knows the sincerity of my heart and my desire to serve Him. I also know that I have so many things I still need to learn or addictions I need to grow out of - my "Fear of Failure" and "Need for Approval".
As I await for God to heal me, I will pray and study God's word, seeking his direction and when he says it is His time, I will move on and GO WITH GOD. Until then I will continue to serve Him faithfully as a teacher.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Protection for the New Year.
A few years ago, my friend and mentor gave me this little box of promises - Bible verses for each day. It always sat on my desk at school, so it wasn't surprizing that it turned up in one of the boxes of classroom `stuff'.
This morning I opened it up and have decided that it will be one of the inspirations for my BLOG this year. My first promise for 2011 - "God will put His angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go." Psalm 91:11
I am certain I am going to need a lot of that protection as I move into this new year - for unlike other years where I have felt secure in my work and my home, this year I am faced with uncertainty. Even as an army wife, I always knew - even if we moved - that their would be a home and a job waiting for us at the other end. But with this year of uncertainty comes a wonderful opportunity to TRUST THE LORD.
Another inspiration for my BLOGS this year will be some `old (updated) Bible Studies and Sermons I have written in the past. Even though what they say may have been for a different time or situation - the same theme runs through them all - "I am with you, I will protect you. I have never let you down before and I am not about to start now". Just, TRUST IN ME."
Finally - for Christmas I received a little book called: "His Princess - Love Letters from Your King", by Sheri Rose Shepherd. As it would be breaching copyright for me to write out each letter, though I will at times just let you some of the promises God has given me through reading these `letters'. I do encourage you though to find this book and read it. It is one of the best discoveries you can make when you realize you are HIS PRINCESS. I believe there is one written for HIS PRINCES too, written by Sheri's husband. I intend to get it for my husband and son one of these days.
Come with me on a journey this year - a somewhat uncertain journey, but a journey of FAITH. With me, I pray you can make some discoveries and strengthen that bond that I hope you have with your Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
This morning I opened it up and have decided that it will be one of the inspirations for my BLOG this year. My first promise for 2011 - "God will put His angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go." Psalm 91:11
I am certain I am going to need a lot of that protection as I move into this new year - for unlike other years where I have felt secure in my work and my home, this year I am faced with uncertainty. Even as an army wife, I always knew - even if we moved - that their would be a home and a job waiting for us at the other end. But with this year of uncertainty comes a wonderful opportunity to TRUST THE LORD.
Another inspiration for my BLOGS this year will be some `old (updated) Bible Studies and Sermons I have written in the past. Even though what they say may have been for a different time or situation - the same theme runs through them all - "I am with you, I will protect you. I have never let you down before and I am not about to start now". Just, TRUST IN ME."
Finally - for Christmas I received a little book called: "His Princess - Love Letters from Your King", by Sheri Rose Shepherd. As it would be breaching copyright for me to write out each letter, though I will at times just let you some of the promises God has given me through reading these `letters'. I do encourage you though to find this book and read it. It is one of the best discoveries you can make when you realize you are HIS PRINCESS. I believe there is one written for HIS PRINCES too, written by Sheri's husband. I intend to get it for my husband and son one of these days.
Come with me on a journey this year - a somewhat uncertain journey, but a journey of FAITH. With me, I pray you can make some discoveries and strengthen that bond that I hope you have with your Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
New Years Resolutions.
Do you make New Years resolutions? Why? Is it in the hope that the new year will be better than the last. Do you want to have a little control of your life?
Jeremiah reminds us: "I know, O Lord that the way of human beings is not in their control, that as mortals they cannot direc their steps." (10:23: NRSV)
He also reminds us: "I know the plans I have for you. says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope." (29:11: NRSV)
Whatever resolutions (plans) we may make for the new year, it is really comforting to know that God has better plans. I have read this verse in many different versions. Some say, "I will bless you with success" (CEV), "They are plans for good", (NLT), "plans to bring you prosperity" (GN), "plans to prosper you" (NIV) "plans for peace" (GWT). The one I love the most is "plans for your welfare".
I recently read this in the `New Revised Standard" version. I have had a difficult 2010 - no success, not very good, definetely no prosperity, and peace was a little hard at times too. But I am still here in 2011. God has taken care of my welfare, and I have learnt and grown a lot on the way. I still have a future with lots of HOPE. That word is the same in all versions.
Starting to make my New Year's resolutions I decided - better eating, more exercising and lots more bible reading, prayer and Blogging were important. So far so good, but how long it will last who knows. The last 2 days I have been getting up early for my Bible Reading, exercise and today - I tried some BLOGGING. But my husband has just awoken - "Where's my cup of tea", "I hope today you will clean the house", "That spare room looks worse than when you started tidying it up", "Come and have your breakfast with me".
So I leave you with this prayer that 2011 will be a good one - maybe not a lot of success, prosperity and peace in the times you would like them - but a year with LOTS OF HOPE!!
Jeremiah reminds us: "I know, O Lord that the way of human beings is not in their control, that as mortals they cannot direc their steps." (10:23: NRSV)
He also reminds us: "I know the plans I have for you. says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope." (29:11: NRSV)
Whatever resolutions (plans) we may make for the new year, it is really comforting to know that God has better plans. I have read this verse in many different versions. Some say, "I will bless you with success" (CEV), "They are plans for good", (NLT), "plans to bring you prosperity" (GN), "plans to prosper you" (NIV) "plans for peace" (GWT). The one I love the most is "plans for your welfare".
I recently read this in the `New Revised Standard" version. I have had a difficult 2010 - no success, not very good, definetely no prosperity, and peace was a little hard at times too. But I am still here in 2011. God has taken care of my welfare, and I have learnt and grown a lot on the way. I still have a future with lots of HOPE. That word is the same in all versions.
Starting to make my New Year's resolutions I decided - better eating, more exercising and lots more bible reading, prayer and Blogging were important. So far so good, but how long it will last who knows. The last 2 days I have been getting up early for my Bible Reading, exercise and today - I tried some BLOGGING. But my husband has just awoken - "Where's my cup of tea", "I hope today you will clean the house", "That spare room looks worse than when you started tidying it up", "Come and have your breakfast with me".
So I leave you with this prayer that 2011 will be a good one - maybe not a lot of success, prosperity and peace in the times you would like them - but a year with LOTS OF HOPE!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
THE LORD IS MY INHERITANCE
You might have gathered by now that Jeremiah is one of my favourite Bible characters. I don't really know why but there is just something about how he writes - from the heart. This is something I like to do too, but I don't know if my words will ever reach as many people as Jeremiah's have. Oh well!! I hope, that at least they will reach my son and his lovely wife - as these words (sorry guys), are about the only INHERITANCE that I can leave you.
In Lamentations 3:24, Jeremiah says `The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him'.
In the previous verses Jeremiah is filled with anger and bitterness. He has been homeless, sick and `his chains have been heavy'. Yet even in all this, a few minutes later he is reminding himself, that there is surely HOPE in the Lord.
Now and then I start to feel a little `down in the dumps' as Jeremiah puts it - `My endurance has perished, so has my hope from the Lord.' I know my husband thinks a lot about what we don't have rather than what we do. It seems to be the way of a husband and father - as they feel they have no inheritance (financial) to leave to their family. Without a job myself at the moment, I also have experience this `fear' that I have nothing to leave my family. Not just financially, but hope for a future. I feel my family and friends must have lost their faith and confidence in me. I know I have.
But then, I read verses like this from Jeremiah (NLT), when I discover that the Lord is my inheritance. My hope is in Him - and this is what I want most to give to leave my family as their inheritance too.
"The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him. So it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
At Bible study last week I shared with the ladies about my loving earthly father and how because of His love I am able to experience the same wonderful love with my Heavenly Father. I have often shared how the determination and courage of my earthly mother when she died of cancer. Then I remember how my step mother would be up every morning praying for each member of her family. Their understanding that the Lord was their inheritance and their HOPE was in the Lord is what keeps me going even on those days when my `endurance has perished.'
I guess not many people read my BLOGS - I don't have a lot of followers or get lots of comments; but I hope I can be a blessing to some people, for this is my INHERITANCE. For the LORD IS TRULY MY INHERITANCE, AND MY HOPE COMES ONLY FROM HIM.
In Lamentations 3:24, Jeremiah says `The Lord is my inheritance; therefore I will hope in Him'.
In the previous verses Jeremiah is filled with anger and bitterness. He has been homeless, sick and `his chains have been heavy'. Yet even in all this, a few minutes later he is reminding himself, that there is surely HOPE in the Lord.
Now and then I start to feel a little `down in the dumps' as Jeremiah puts it - `My endurance has perished, so has my hope from the Lord.' I know my husband thinks a lot about what we don't have rather than what we do. It seems to be the way of a husband and father - as they feel they have no inheritance (financial) to leave to their family. Without a job myself at the moment, I also have experience this `fear' that I have nothing to leave my family. Not just financially, but hope for a future. I feel my family and friends must have lost their faith and confidence in me. I know I have.
But then, I read verses like this from Jeremiah (NLT), when I discover that the Lord is my inheritance. My hope is in Him - and this is what I want most to give to leave my family as their inheritance too.
"The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him. So it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
At Bible study last week I shared with the ladies about my loving earthly father and how because of His love I am able to experience the same wonderful love with my Heavenly Father. I have often shared how the determination and courage of my earthly mother when she died of cancer. Then I remember how my step mother would be up every morning praying for each member of her family. Their understanding that the Lord was their inheritance and their HOPE was in the Lord is what keeps me going even on those days when my `endurance has perished.'
I guess not many people read my BLOGS - I don't have a lot of followers or get lots of comments; but I hope I can be a blessing to some people, for this is my INHERITANCE. For the LORD IS TRULY MY INHERITANCE, AND MY HOPE COMES ONLY FROM HIM.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wait Upon the Lord
Last week I listened to my husband on the phone PLANNING MY LIFE. If I got this job I would do this and he would do that etc, etc, etc. I got quite upset with him - how dare he tell everyone what I would do.
Fortunately I didn't have the same answer for the Lord when I realized that I was doing the same thing. I was planning my life, with no thought of what the Lord might think about it. I wasn't WAITING ON THE LORD like I had been told to do for the last 3 months, I was waiting for the answer that I wanted.
Was I allowing God to be in control of my life? Now those who know me well know that PATIENCE in not one of my best attribites. By not waiting and resting in God, I was missing out on a very special POWERFUL and PERSONAL experience of Him.
Like Hannah, I had to wait for a child to bless our home. Now he has grown and I am waiting a little impatiently for grandchildren. Recently we received a call from a family member, who told us his daughter was pregnant. Now, she may love her boyfriend, she may even be living with him - I don't know the circumstance, but I do no she isn't married. Now I know it is not frowned upon anymore, and I am not criticizing my neice - but I do thank the Lord that my son and his young wife have followed the Biblical way, and are waiting.
But it's not easy to wait. Especially when you want something so much, and the waiting is just so hard to bear. But what happens when we wait and don't try to tell God what to do. We will experience the wonder of what God has store for us. For me - I wait for a JOB, but not just any job - I want to serve God, I want to make the difference in somebody's life. At the moment, I am reminded that I need to do this as a wife. No matter how hard it is or how tired I feel, I am trying to do just a little bit of housework or baking each day, just to bring a smile to Mark's face.
But most of all I am preparing myself by RESTING in Him, reading His Word, praying and meeting with Christian friends so that I can gain the strength to GO when God says GO. I am TRUSTING, as I always have, that GOD KNOWS BEST. As for becoming a grandmother, I'm willing to wait for that too!!
To hear more about WAITING ON THE LORD, I recommend you go to the Gold Coast Family Church's website and listen to some our minister's `SEASONS' messages. He says it a little bit better than I can.
Fortunately I didn't have the same answer for the Lord when I realized that I was doing the same thing. I was planning my life, with no thought of what the Lord might think about it. I wasn't WAITING ON THE LORD like I had been told to do for the last 3 months, I was waiting for the answer that I wanted.
Was I allowing God to be in control of my life? Now those who know me well know that PATIENCE in not one of my best attribites. By not waiting and resting in God, I was missing out on a very special POWERFUL and PERSONAL experience of Him.
Like Hannah, I had to wait for a child to bless our home. Now he has grown and I am waiting a little impatiently for grandchildren. Recently we received a call from a family member, who told us his daughter was pregnant. Now, she may love her boyfriend, she may even be living with him - I don't know the circumstance, but I do no she isn't married. Now I know it is not frowned upon anymore, and I am not criticizing my neice - but I do thank the Lord that my son and his young wife have followed the Biblical way, and are waiting.
But it's not easy to wait. Especially when you want something so much, and the waiting is just so hard to bear. But what happens when we wait and don't try to tell God what to do. We will experience the wonder of what God has store for us. For me - I wait for a JOB, but not just any job - I want to serve God, I want to make the difference in somebody's life. At the moment, I am reminded that I need to do this as a wife. No matter how hard it is or how tired I feel, I am trying to do just a little bit of housework or baking each day, just to bring a smile to Mark's face.
But most of all I am preparing myself by RESTING in Him, reading His Word, praying and meeting with Christian friends so that I can gain the strength to GO when God says GO. I am TRUSTING, as I always have, that GOD KNOWS BEST. As for becoming a grandmother, I'm willing to wait for that too!!
To hear more about WAITING ON THE LORD, I recommend you go to the Gold Coast Family Church's website and listen to some our minister's `SEASONS' messages. He says it a little bit better than I can.
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