Sunday 23 December 2012

Crowns

I'm cooking Christmas dinner this year!

Don't worry, it's only for 4 of us & I'm actually not too bad in the kitchen. I went to the shops to get all the bits this weekend which included all the vegetables, the pudding & of course the turkey. As there are only four of us, I opted for a turkey crown. We've also got the tableware out the loft when we put the tree up, including napkins & crackers. The crackers are awesome ones I got in the sale about 3 years ago which have gardening or kitchen items in them, and paper crowns of course!

That's two mentions of crowns. There are so many crowns mentioned in the bible, from the crown of life in James & Revelation which we are told to bear, to the one that our Savior wears, the holy crown of thorns. These Christmas paper crowns (which we must wear all day!) and the turkey crown which we are fortunate to be able to celebrate with are fantastic, making our days together as families and friends even more spectacular. But they are nothing in comparison to the real crown, the real spectacular, the meaning of Christmas, Christ! He really is the King of all Kings, the Lord of all the Lords! He's royalty! 

As an extra crown, one of my favourite bands and the one that brought me to Christ. Here is Silent Night from Casting Crowns. 

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Heaven chases out the Hell

I felt God putting this blog title into my head a few weeks ago and I've only just finally got around to writing it. (Since then I've made a list of other blog titles too so you're in for a treat over the next few weeks!)

Heaven chases out the Hell - ultimately what I mean by this is that if you believe, you are cleaned of all your sins. We all have pasts, we've all made mistakes, have done wrong and maybe regret things, but if we believe and give our lives to Jesus we are forgiven.

There have always been battles. Whether that's between good and evil, countries, counties, family members or between thoughts and feeling in people's heads. But the Heaven & Hell one is perhaps the most important. If you believe in God and live for him on this Earth, you are empowered, and all those wrong doings will leave you, allowing room for you to shine like stars. You can fill up with light as it brightens the dark.

Monday 10 December 2012

Song of the Week | Chris Tomlin 'Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)'

This is the latest release from Chris Tomlin & I absolutely love it! Sums up our awesome God in so many ways! Praise the Lord.

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Don't Look Back

In Anger. Into The Sun. We're told not to all the time. For good reason.

I remember I was I little. Remember school sports days? I was always pretty awesome in the running. There was one race where you had to collect the bean bags that were lined up in the course, and run them back one at a time to a bucket. Once they were all collected and the bucket was full you had to run with it to the finishing line. For a couple of years I nailed that race, easy!

The next year though, I did something stupid. I wondered how far behind me the other runners were and I looked back. I tripped and fell, and lost the race. There were tears - mainly for the grazes on my knees!

Taking this into a Bible story, Lot's wife (whom we don't know the actual name of) was told to not look back. She did, and was turned into a pillar of salt. Slightly worse than grazed knees however the same principle. So often in life we look back rather than looking forward, into our next chapter, into our future. When you're moving forward - don't remember me, my pride might take another hit - remember what happened to Lot's Wife, and don't look back!

Monday 5 November 2012

Tuesday 16 October 2012

2 Years On

Today is my wedding anniversary. It;s been 2 years since my best friend became my wife. It only seems like yesterday, I can't believe 2 years has passed, it's flown by!

This last Sunday at Church the sermon was all about the bride of Christ, how we are the bride collectively and one day we will meet him at the marriage. It shows just how important marriage is and I'm so happy to be able to spend my life with someone I love so much. I can't wait for another 2 years, and all the ones we are blessed with after that! Happy Anniversary to my Mrs! x

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Redundant

Felt like writing some stuff down for the first time in a while.

Last week I got made redundant. I'd been miserable at work for the best part of a year and when the meeting came up, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get out, to take a package, a bit of money and go. If I'm honest, I'm glad to be out. Whilst it was a strange day, saying farewell to folk I've worked with for a long time, I feel freed.

As deflated and down as we may get, no one is made redundant from our Lord. Work can be rubbish, people can leave, you can lose your role, get a pay cut or be part of a company that goes bust, but if you give your life to God then you are fine. For once me and the wife aren't worried because we have given this to Him, we've prayed about it. What will be will be, but it will only be because He's decided so. Pray for us, and I'll keep you updated. Blessings.

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Busy Summer

We're into the first week of summer and I haven't blogged for what seems like the entire of summer. What a summer it was though. I've never felt closer to my wife and our lives seem to be heading in the right direction which is awesome! We're so busy though and even though we pray I haven't been to church in ages. With stag dos and weddings and other events and then having to work a shift this past Sunday, it's never ending! I've signed up to a husband course though, the role of a husband and how to be better so by the first week in October I should have fresh insights to share with you! I've also got a new favourite song. It's called OMG by Superhero and I'll put it up as a song of the week in the coming weeks, but go take a listen and leave me a comment below if you cant wait that long! I love it because it discusses a situation I think everyone who believes in God has been in. Its relatable and I've been singing it at the top of my voice when driving. Autumn is my favourite season and already I've got a casserole cooking in the slow cooker! I best go as our Tortoise has got stuck tying to climb over the leg of a table! It's never ending! Blessings guys!

Friday 17 August 2012

Awesome week

Sorry for the absence for a while folks. We've had our niece staying with us all week. She really is fantastic and even though the wife & I are both exhausted, it's brought us closer together. From the outdoors stuff we've done like going to the seaside, to the indoors meals out and in our tiny kitchen, to the grumpy times of being overtired (me as well as my niece!) and putting her to bed after a fantastically fun time together, it's incredible to see a young person grow. She is six years old and already you can see what a beautiful person she is and how much more beauty will appear as she grows. God creates amazing things and showers us with love. We were reading from her children's prayer book last night and it was from John, where the Lord know us each by name. He does and he also knows the journeys we are taking and the road ahead. Growing up happens so fast, but it's a magical kind of fast. Even more so with the Lord in your life. Awesome work Jesus!

Monday 6 August 2012

Monday 11 June 2012

Song of the Week | MercyMe 'The Hurt & The Healer'

The title track from MercyMe's new album. Keep my eyes completely fixed on you! Fantastic!

Thursday 7 June 2012

We received a letter today...

...from some family members who were informing and updating everyone about their plans to move to Africa. They are from Amy's side of the family and we've only met a few times but the letter was really inspirational. Leaving a country, somewhere you call home, to go somewhere you are needed and help to change the world. Putting your entire trust in Him that it is the right move for you, that you can do His work and your are walking the correct path.

They aren't leaving 'til next year as plans need to be put in place but I just wanted to share some encouraging Bible quotes if indeed you are in a similar situation of movement:


For in Him we live & move & exist. - Acts 17:28


In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. - Job 12:10


I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 3:14

Thursday 31 May 2012

Long Weekend

It's the Jubilee weekend in a couple of days. The Queen is ace, but with all the events surrounding this wonderful event, we must be sure to put God in the centre of it all too. So yes Keep Calm and Carry On, but Pray too!

Monday 14 May 2012

Song of the Week | Mercy Me 'I Can Only Imagine

Have you ever thought about what it will be like when you stand before your creator? When you come face to face with the big man upstairs? When you meet God?

We can only imagine what it will be like. But we know it will be amazing!

Monday 7 May 2012

Song of the Week | Matt Redman '10,000 Reasons'

This is a fantastic song of Matt Redman's latest album. Sing like never before!

Sunday 29 April 2012

Rain, Reign


It's absolutely throwing it down here today. It has been for about a week. One newspaper headline read 2 months of rain in 48 hours. The drains are barely coping, umbrellas are permanently in our hands and the holes in my trainers aren't great! It;s funny though how we're still in a hosepipe ban however that's a different story!

Our front roof over the bay window in the lounge is leaking! I had a tin of emergency repair stuff which I went out with in my waterproofs and attempted to sort the roof out. I don't think it worked. I'm not great with heights and standing on the ladder in the high winds and rain was a nightmare for me. The roof is still leaking! I'll try again once the rain ceases.

When i was perched on top of the ladder though I kept myself calm by singing one of the songs from this morning's church service. It kind of worked. I also thought about how we've had a ridiculous amount of rain, but at the same time a ridiculous amount of people don't believe in Him reigning. So many countries in this world need rain, so many countries also need reign.

My wife creates greetings cards as part of her graphic design and I think the one in the picture sums up just what our Lord did for us, and continues to do.

I also found a bible quote which kind of sums our leaky roof issues up:

Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house. - Ecclesiastes 10:18

The previous owners of our house may well have left us with some problems and we must turn that laziness and idleness around to make our house rain proof and reign-filled!


Sunday 22 April 2012

Running the Race

I've been running a little bit recently. I started off last month with a 6 mile effort (which left me unable to move properly for a few days) and then today went out for a slightly smaller effort of just over 3km. I'm no marathon runner, but well done to all those who completed today's London Marathon.


It's funny really. I felt great for the first couple of kilometres but then started to flag. The massive hill didn't help much but I thought about our relationship with Christ. How we walk, run, sprint, jump, basically journey with God. How he is with us in every journey we do, all parts of our life. He supports us, he gives us strength when perhaps we would otherwise give up, he's forever with us if we are with him.


There are loads of passages in the Bible about running. I'm sure you know a few yourself and can lean on them when you need. Here's one that I found about endurance.


"For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." - Hebrews 10:36

Monday 16 April 2012

Song of the Week | Group 1 Crew (feat. Chris Tomlin) 'He Said'

Group 1 Crew have been around for the last 5 years but only recently hit the mainstream with the help of American Idol using some of their songs. This is taken from their 'Outta Space Love' album, enjoy it.

Monday 9 April 2012

Song of the Week | Moriah Peters 'I Choose Jesus'

This is the title track from Moriah Peter's debut album of the same name. Will you say 'I Choose Jesus' too?

Sunday 1 April 2012

#BelieveInHim

Over the past couple of weeks the football (soccer to non-Brits) world has come together and united.

Firstly a player collapsed on the pitch. A young player, one who was fit, healthy and had passed medical upon medical. Collapsing during a match in front of a stadium full of on lookers was tragic, the scenes were unwatchable, even as the cameras pulled back whilst emergency services attended the scene. He suffered a cardiac arrest.

We're told that a specialist was fortunately in the crowd and immediately knew what had happened as the player fell to the grass. He jumped the barriers and used his skills and experience to, what we now know, save the players life. Fabrice Muamba is now recovering in hospital after a massively near death experience.

A couple of weeks later Stiliya Petrov, another player of the game was diagnosed with leukaemia. Known as Stan, he said he is taking inspiration from Muamba and will fight the disease. Once again the world of football rallied round and showed support. Club mates wearing t-shirts before kick off, fans uniting and holding up banners, it is fantastic to see.

In the world where breaking news now appears on Twitter usually before it hits our TV screens, there were messages of support for players in both of these cases. Hashtags are all the range these days because of the social networking site and #prayformuamba & #prayforstan were immediately being used and trending worldwide.

It is awesome that people unite over a specific cause, but how many of these fans, club mates and members of the general public all over the world are actually praying? How many of them actually believe in God? I hope that these situations, these happenings and occurrences bring more people to the Lord and not only these 2 footballing individuals, but thousands of other people around the world can be saved by Christ.

#BelieveInHim


Wednesday 28 March 2012

Where was God?

You hear it all the time. Where was God during the Holocaust? Where was God when the Tsunami hit? Where was God when the planes his the Twin Towers? Where was God? Where was God? Where was God?!


People seemingly get angry. Non-believers get angry! What's that about? Surely if they read the scripture they would see that the Earth was given to mankind. We're the ones who have messed it up. 


Look at Psalm 115:16: 


The heaven of heavens is for God but he put us in charge of the earth.


Us! He put us in charge. He's in heaven, the afterlife, the new world. He didn't say he'd stick around and sort out our messes. Our messes have already been forgiven, wiped up, that happened when Jesus was sacrificed for us on that cross.


We have been allowed freedom. God could have kept us all on a string, dancing to his tune, like puppets. He could have moved our mouths and made us sing when all we wanted to do was sleep, but didn't. God's given us freedom and handed us this planet.


Where was God? He was right there. If you believe in him, he takes away your fear. He says that it will be OK, he is with you. With great loss on this Earth, the finger is often pointed to the big man in the sky. But amongst the grief, even amongst the anger on this Earth, our Earth - He is there and is welcoming those people into his world.

Monday 19 March 2012

Song of the Week | David Crowder Band 'O Praise Him'

Our first song of the week selected by one of our interviewees! This is a recommendation from The Rend Collective Experiment. Enjoy!

Wednesday 14 March 2012

The Rend Collective Experiment Interview

Hello Chris from The Rend Collective Experiment. How are you doing? Hows 2012 going so far?

We're doing pretty excellently right now - I'm in sunny California on a day off from the 30-something date Rock and Worship Roadshow with Mercy Me,Tenth Avenue North and Lecrae among others. We had some great album launch gigs at the start of the year, selling out in London and made it into the top 40 on Itunes on the week of our release. So yes, we've had a fantastic and exciting 2012 so far!

If people dont know about The Rend Collective Experiment, how would you describe yourselves?

We're a Collective of diverse people trying to work out faith, life, God and community. We write honest, organic worship songs inspired by that journey together and aren't afraid to diverge from some of the conventions of the worship music industry.

How was the band formed & the name of the band created?

We have all known each other for over 10 years and got to know each other through a ministry for college students, called Rend, which our drummer Gareth started. It wasn't at all about music, but rather learning how to translate the faith that we learned in Youth group into our adult lives and working that out in community. The band began when the ministry eventually had run its course. We began recording the songs that had been birthed out of the movement and those songs became the basis for our first album.

What song would you say you are most well known for and why?

Probably "movements' and I think the reason for that is that the video for the song really captured the spirit of the collective:  a sense of joy, freedom and friendship. These things seemed to really resonate with people searching for authentic church. The song itself is fun and has a certain indie-pop appeal sonically, but is a serious song of commitment to Jesus in all circumstances.

If you had to pick your favourite track of your own, which would you pick?

Very dificult question: it's like picking your favourite child! Maybe "Build your Kingdom" from our new album as I love to see people connecting with the idea of furthering the gospel at all costs with such joy and abandon. It's always rewarding to see people really enjoying your music and every time we play this live, the atmosphere transforms in the room.

When did you first come to Christ?

I was 17 years old and was reading the bible alone in my room when I felt God speaking to me through the passage in Revelation which talks about God desiring the church to be either cold, or hot  but never lukewarm and I realised I needed to decide which I was going to be. 

What message do you want to give through your music?

I guess the underlying message of our ministry is about the idea of collective and family. We want to model the beauty of the church when we set ego aside and come together as a team rather than as a group of individuals. That's the reason why nearly all our songs are written collaboratively and we have two lead singers. We want to demonstrate an alternative to Christian celebrity culture and individualism.

Back to your roots, how did you all first come to music?

Most of us began in the church and then moved on to secular rock projects in our teens(heavier than you might imagine given our music now!).

Where do you find influences?

We all read widely and make the effort to listen to a broad spectrum of musical styles and approaches. I personally read as much poetry as I can and find that very helpful.

How do you write music, how does the process work?

We write nearly all our songs as a team. The process that sparks the song off is pretty specific to the individual who brings the "seed" idea though. Some of us start with melody, some with guitar parts and some with lyrics. There are no formulas!

Who would you love to perform with, past or present?

David Crowder. What he and his band did with worship music was incredibly fresh and really for a lot of years there was no-one doing anything like him. He's a hero!

What artists have you most loved sharing a stage with?

Well we had a great time on stage with both Chris Tomlin and Martin Smith. I think it's a tie!

What are you currently listening to on your mp3 player?

A combination of NEEDTOBREATHE, Bon Iver, Ram's Pocket Radio and Sleeping at Last.

God's Earth is a huge place, where have you most enjoyed visiting, what cultures have you embraced?

We think Norwegians are the coolest people on the face of the planet! we have never been anywhere where we have felt uglier or less fashionable-they set the bar so high! It's such a beautiful country as well and the festival we played was on the beach. Difficult to beat!

Best live performance you
ve played?

We loved our album launch in Belfast in January this year. There's nothing like a home crowd and we had Mike Pilavachi over to speak at the event which really made for an amazing and unique night.

What do you miss the most when you
re on the road touring?

Sausages! The UK is really in a class of its own when it comes to sausage production!!

How does it feel to be in a position to inspire so many people, including young people to turn their lives to Christ?

It's certainly a heavy responsibility. It is so important to try and live a life consistent with the words we sing and to honour the call God has placed on our lives.

If The Rend Collective Experiment was a Jelly Bean, what colour and flavour would you be and why?

Sausage flavour!

Some quick fire questions:

Tea or coffee? 

Coffee

Summer or winter? 

Winter

Superman or Batman? 

Batman

Mac or PC? 

Mac (obviously!)

Bread or Wine? 

Wine

Favourite passage from the Bible? 

The sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7)

What
s coming up in the rest of 2012 and next on the agenda for The Rend Collective Experiment?

We are touring with Francis Chan, Tenth Avenue North and others on various US tours this year. We're looking forward to Soul Survivor/Momentum this summer and we're always busy writing new material...

This year were giving our interviewees the chance to choose a Christian track or hymn for our song of the week section. What would you like to select for us and why?

David Crowder Band , " O Praise Him. It changed the landscape of Christian worship music when it came out and it's still one of my favourite worship recordings.

And finally, how would you describe the love of God for all those people who are unsure of their direction and of course those already on their journey with Christ?

Hard to find a better picture of God's love than that of the father in the parable of the prodigal son. God's arms are always wide open to us no matter how far we wander and how much baggage we have or even, like the older son in the story, to those who have forgotten they are in need of grace and have gotten hard and cynical. There is grace enough to cover all of us.

Thanks Chris, have a blessed day!
Make sure to check out next week's song of the week for The Rend Collective Experiment's selection!


Monday 5 March 2012

Song of the Week | Matt Redman & LZ7 'Twenty Seven Million

We really want to show our support for this track.

How many songs do you hear like this in the national mainstream charts? It was the highest new entry in the charts yesterday and reached number 12! It can really make an impact on this country. 27million need Heavens mercy!

Download it now!

Monday 27 February 2012

Monday 20 February 2012

Song of the Week | Tenth Avenue North 'Stronger Enough To Save'

This is taken from the band's Live DVD check out this performance of Strong Enough To Save, with a few words from the band too!

Sunday 19 February 2012

God Steps In

I just wanted to do a short but snappy blog post as I have been really quiet on here recently.

Life is so busy at the moment. We try and find time to spend together, to see family and friends, to relax and have personal time, are busy with work, take on new freelance clients, do volunteer work and generally, then the time is up and gone.

However, you know I've been trying to work on that, and we've also been looking at what church we should be going to. Sometimes you feel a little bit in limbo, a little bit like you're unsure which road to go to or which leap of faith to take. But then God steps in. He showed his face today which has confused things even more, but knowing that it was He who showed his face, and perhaps gave things a shake up, adds comfort. I hope you've had a fantastic weekend and God has shined his face on you.

Monday 13 February 2012

Song of the Week | Roo Walker 'Sound Of Selling Ourt'

Roo Walker is currently supporting Philippa Hanna on a coffee shop tour around the UK.

This is one of my favourite songs by Roo (I love them all!) and I massively recommend getting along to one of the dates on the tour.

Monday 23 January 2012

Song of the Week | Casting Crowns 'Jesus, Friend of Sinners'

This album was one of my awesome Christmas presents. We had the start of Christmas Day at our house, opening presents, going to church, before travelling over to family a couple of hours away. Before getting the album I had resisted listening to the tracks online as the band released them weekly via their Facebook page. I wanted to listen to it as an entire album. This was one of the tracks which really spoke to both me and Amy and I wanted to share it with you. He never picked perfect people, he's the friend of sinners. Amen!

Sunday 22 January 2012

Pass It On

Already this year I've had a couple of messages from people saying how they appreciate this blog, the posts I write are often relevant to their days and they enjoy the songs I select week on week. This got me thinking...

Sitting in church this morning I find it sometimes difficult to become a sponge, to gather teaching and then take it with me into my week. Even more so to perhaps remember stuff to say on here. When in sermons I listen and the words the preacher is saying trigger other ideas within in my brain about things I can delve further into or maybe discuss at house group. But walking out the door I so often forget those gems of ideas. A simple way of overcoming that - taking a pen and notebook into church with me.

I got the image of a canal this morning. With the locks being individual people passing the reading or word of the Lord on. That's on a one to one basis. It's great to take specific bits of information from church, whether it's about basic Christian teachings or an individual passage and pass it onto a friend. Why not be like the tower of champagne glasses though? Why can we not fill up on the Lord's word, his entire message, the 'good news' as people often call it, and then let it cascade down into other people, eventually filling up the lives of loads of others? Individual passages are fantastic, but the fact He is there, He can be in your life and wants to be walking beside you is what we should really be passing on.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Manage Your Time

I find it as hard as anybody to manage my time. I hit that snooze button until the very last minute, there's nothing more I love than sitting on the sofa on an evening and vegging out in front of the telly or wasting some time looking at things I don't need on the internet. But is that the best use of my time? What should I really be doing with those 24 hours in my day?

God has given us a limited amount of time on this earth to make a difference. Is my watching of the TV or looking at what new CDs to buy really making an impact? Probably not. But some things that I do, can indeed help others. What we all must do is describe ourselves and see if what we say actually happens in our lives. You might say that you are a family man, but do you spend enough time with your family? One thing I should do is make more time for my marriage, tell my wife that I love her more often and we should both find the time to do some bible study together.

I got up earlier the other day, as soon as the alarm went off. I showered and got ready for work, got the earlier train to work, had a productive day, which flew by. I got loads done, felt more awake and it was really beneficial. When I got home we had a nice tea, I had a relaxing bath and we even managed to find time to do some bible study!

There is no way of lengthening our day as we cannot function without a decent amount of sleep, but we can make the time we do use more effective. If we know the activities we are doing are for His grace, then we can forget what time it is, stop looking at the hands on the clock and instead, put our life into His hands.

Monday 16 January 2012

Song of the Week | Aaron Keyes 'I Am Not The Same'

Just like last week when we had a track from a CD my wife chose from the closing down sale at Living Oasis, I also picked a CD off the shelf, asked to listen to it on the store headphones (track 1 didn't play) so I skipped on to this track and this was what I heard. I only had to hear about 2 bars of the song before I knew I was going to buy the album. I hope you enjoy this song by Aaron Keyes!

Sunday 15 January 2012

The Year Ahead

Have you ever seen the film 2012? Where John Cusack and fellow A-list Hollywood stars struggle to survive the end of the world. Quite the action blockbuster. However, whilst that is all special effect fiction, the New Year does often bring added pressure for people.

January blues, financial worries, other problems which seem to get blown out of proportion, it can be hard to give him your full trust. Setting out your stall with Him for the year ahead can often be difficult, delving deep into prayer when you have worrying thoughts in your mind. 

Take this passage from Proverbs 3 (The Message):

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.

And this one from 2 Thessalonians 3 (NLT):

May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. 

Fall into Christ, let him guide your way this year. He knows exactly what is best for you and whilst the lows might often seem lower than usual, the peaks of your life will be fantastic. Let Him be your guiding light. Your life won't be a disaster movie!

Monday 9 January 2012

Song of the Week | Jason Upton & The Goodland Band 'Mountain of the Living God'

Me & the wife were taking a look through the CDs on offer as the last store of Living Oasis closed before Christmas. This was one of the albums that jumped off the shelf at Amy and this is one of our favourite tracks from the album. Unfortunately I couldn't find complete version of it online and this one cuts off before the end but there are a few live versions on YouTube too. Enjoy it :)

Friday 6 January 2012

Book Suggestion | Dopple Ganger Chronicles

I am yet to delve into this book but wanted to share it with you incase you had any birthdays coming up this year to buy for. I purchased this before Christmas as my wife had seen it previously but we found it on offer. I am really into my comic books and graphic novels (as you no doubt have realised from previous blog posts) and Amy thought this might be perfect for me. Yes it's perhaps aimed at those younger than me however it looks great, and the reviews I've read seem to imply that people love the writing and illustrations equally, especially those who don't particularly find it easy to get into reading like myself. If you pick up a copy, enjoy, there are 2 a follow ups to the first book!

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Roots Maneuver

I know, it's spelt differently to the musician, it's intentional. I wanted, a few days into this New Year, to bring you a short blog post on your roots and how you can maneuver and be firm with them this year to ensure tightness and closeness with our Lord.

We were on a lovely walk the other day before the 'dreaded' first day back at work after the Christmas break, the lakes were bursting their banks as there had been so much rain, the sun was out, and there was a rainbow - God does keep his promises!

Slightly up from the banks of the lake were some trees, with massive roots on show for all to see. They had firm roots, strong, even under though the soil around them had been eroded and they were open to the battering rain and being climbed up by kids. This all made me think that these trees have the strongest of roots and are firm in their standing. Just as we should be.

We all face trials, especially at the beginning of the New Year. It's seen as the 'long' month where money is perhaps tight, there is the pressure of going back to work, the adverts on the TV telling us we must lose weight or buy a new sofa, better ourselves. We even face the battering of other people telling us we are wrong, not just in our faith, but in our jobs and other roles in society. People often climb all over us, put things on our shoulders and it's often pretty difficult.

But if we have strong roots, firm foundations, in faith, with God, we can become the strongest of trees, the mightiest of oaks, and all in His name!

Monday 2 January 2012

Song of the Week | Hillsong United 'Consuming Fire'

What better song to start the New Year with than this?!
Have a passion for His name all year, and every year!