Nicole Murray

Prayer Room

2010-08-03T18:28:00.002+01:00

From 21 Aug to 28 Aug, we’ll be running a 24Hour Prayer Room in Antrim YMCA. It will be a week to really lift our town before God and cry out to Him to move in a mighty way in our town, our own lives and the lives of people we know who need to know Him. God promises in his word that when we cry out to him that he hears us. Come and be a part of this amazing opportunity to pray for Antrim!!

We need 168 hours filled. I am in charge of the slots from 8pm Sunday 22nd to 8pm Monday 23rd. So if those slots are a priority for you, get in contact with me directly. If you would rather book another slot, check out the official blog for the timetable and contact our mail to book.

antrim247@mail.com
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An amazing truth I too often forget...

2010-07-19T19:55:00.004+01:00

The other day when I was upset and feeling really crap - I opened the Bible randomly (I know there are many who hate this type of "bible roulette" - but when you are desperate to hear from God you will try anything - and I did!)

I began to read aloud on the page I had opened... through tears I read these words -

He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart

It was in Psalm 91 - verse 4 I think... It caught my attention and instead of reading on, I went back to the start of the verse and read it over and over again. It brought me so much comfort.

I didn't and still don't know what "rampart" means... but God is so good that He even uses verses we don't fully understand to speak to us and give us comfort and faith that things will work out for the best when we are in God's hands...

Into google I now type "define:rampart"
- an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes; "they stormed the ramparts of the city"

So I guess what this verses says is God will protect us and in Him we can find solace, his love and faithfulness will be my protection and defense... pretty amazing, huh?

What makes it more special is that a good friend of mine lent me Ryan Griffith's album and I've been listening a lot to Refuge...

At the minute, in my life, God is my refuge....

:: GIVING OR RETAINING::

2009-05-10T23:31:00.002+01:00

"Its not about what we give; it's about what we retain."

The Widows offering was little in cost, but a lot to her. She help nothing back. I can give £1000 a week into the church and it can mean nothing if I keep millions for myself.

It's not about what we give, but what we retain. Think about it....

For me, to live is Christ....

2009-05-04T00:08:00.002+01:00

Paul said it in Philippians 1vs21. The question is... Can I say the same?

Is Christ my life, my all, right here at 00.10 on 04-05-09...??

I can think it and I can say it. The point is that God knows the truth. He knows when I put other things before Him. Which is, sadly, much too often.

When God becomes my everything my life becomes much fuller...
When I am sold out for God I can love my friends, boyfriend and family with a deeper and more meaningful love as I am experiencing love from He who created it.
When I am spending time with God I will become more like Him and put my all into everything. Uni assignments and exams will be well worked for and done confidently.
When I seek God, he speaks to me and I can walk through life in His power, with his protection.
Being in a real relationship with Daddy God is more amazing that I could ever imagine....

"For me to live IS Christ" ... it's the only way... x

::STOP::LOOK::LISTEN::

2009-02-01T22:53:00.000Z

STOP…
Tonight I was challenged to ‘stop’ and think. How amazingly, wonderfully, mind-blowingly God wants to be in a relationship with me. Lord of All; who made the universe, placed the stars in the sky, told the sun to shine and it did, created humans with the most complex bodies we could ever imagine!! And he loves me, wants to hear all about my day… even though he already knows exactly what happened during it. When I stop and think of it like this is makes me feel so disappointed that I don’t appreciate God more and spend more time with him. We get desperate sometimes to meet celebrities, I would LOVE to meet Stacie Orrico, Blake Lively, Kate Nash and many other people! But in reality I should be sooo much more excited to meet with God, My Heavenly Father every day. He is always there for me and I NEVER want to take that for granted.

LOOK…
God doesn’t just want to walk with me through my life… he has mapped out my life. He knows all about it now and what will happen in the future.. WOW! He has given me all the amazing gifts that are in my life; a family who have loved me my whole life and would do anything for me, although they do not yet know God I pray and trust God that he will someday save them; friends who brighten up the days, bring fun and just generally reflect Jesus in their kind actions that mean so much to me; Ben – a boyfriend that I wouldn’t change for the world, he makes me laugh more than anyone else and he cares about me deeply… I believe he reflects God’s heart in many ways - the world needs more Bens!! Also a church family where I belong, great young people that allow me into their lives to share and listen with them, many older people in my life that I can look up too and be inspired by, a passion and gift for teaching that makes me feel so alive and fulfilled, a job that I moan enough about but really love… 5years of money, apple polishing, floor brushing and friendship building!! So so so much more when I really look at my life and be thankful for what I have 

LISTEN…
Prayer is class… I can talk to God whenever wherever I want, he will never turn me away or be ‘too busy’ to hear. It isn’t all about talking though, I’m being challenged about listening. Praying – communication with God; talking and listening, crying, laughing, smiling, being silent. The world would be a much better place if we all took time out of our lives to listen to the creator of the world, He is alone is the Wonderful Counsellor, Prince of Peace, All-Knowing, Source of all wisdom. And I don’t just want to be near to all that, I need all that!

All for now…….. I’m away to stop look and listen some more!!!!

Heres to 2009...

2009-01-01T13:27:00.002Z

A night spent with much loved friends saw the beginning of a new year.
A year of unknown; what will happen? Will it be a good year, bad year? Will it be full of broken dreams or hopes coming true! I don't know .. but Im satified in knowing the one who does know. God holds my life in His hands.. To Him I trust to care for me this year, as any other. And he will pull me through, He always has.

"Be Still and know that He is God"

Christmas time.... mistletoe and wine!!

2008-12-18T15:12:00.002Z

I'm relaxing .... Assignments handed in - yay!! .. working at half5 ... but until then im gonna ignore the mess of my room around me and just relax ... I never ge to do this! It's a pretty big deal!!

Christmas 1 week today :)
My next week will be spent
- golden apple-ing it .. Bagging thousands of brussel sprouts, getting my hands ripped to bits by holly wreaths and having customers brighten my days!!
- Hanging out with my special friends .. Cell Christmas dinner, Skating on ice (yippee) Toasting marshmallows, watching christmassy dvds and snugglin up at Rach's, eating loadsa chocolate with Kerri - what we do best!!
- Quality Family time ... 'tis the season and all that! Havent seen some relatives for 2 years now so that will be nice :)
- Ben .. time with him is so precious to me.. any time spent with him will be brill! Bring on my pressies..hehe!

Fa la la la la la la la la...

BUT ... Christmas is a birthday .. the 'reason for the season' (excuse the cringy cliche!) is JESUS. I would hate for my birthday party to become so big that the ones celebrating forgot whose birthday it was.. The good times, the family and friends, the joy in life is a gift from ABOVE. And that is something I never want to forget...

"It's somebodys birthday I won't forget
As I open the things that I get
I'll remember the inn and the stable so bare
And Jesus who once lay there"

A Glimpse...

2008-12-14T23:04:00.003Z

When doubtful thoughts creep in, I stop... and look around me. I know God is there, He shines through my amazing friends; how exciting it is that that is just a GLIMPSE of who HE is...

Combine the beauty of nature
the warmth of a friends hug
the smile of a child
the melody of a beautiful song
the peacefulness of a gently flowing river
the joy of a morning sunrise
the protection of a loved ones arms
the greatness of a mountain
the mightiness of a crashing wave
the satisfaction of a job well done
the gentleness of a lamb
the strength of a rushing wind

And it doesn't even come close to the greatness of God...

Are you gonna RISE?

2008-11-12T21:31:00.003Z

My boyfriend and two others guys are beginning this project in Antrim... It's called RISE, and it wants to bring young people together from all churches and denominations to change the town we live in! Below's is THE VISION and the Promo video of their very first act as a project... Youth Event at Antrim Baptist on 28th Nov!!

RISE - THE VISION
The vision is a radical and irresistible revolution in Antrim
It is contagious and catches like a fire.

Young people have experienced the division between denominations and different churches. Clashing theologies and styles of worship.
We want to unite.

The church is a body not a building. It’s the people not the organisations. Sons and daughters brought together through him.

You see bones. I see an army.

The name of ‘Jesus’ will be a whisper which sounds through every estate, street and home in Antrim.

The very name will send shivers down the spine of those who hear it, and their very being will yearn to know Him.

The people of Antrim won’t see the buildings. They see Jesus.

Passion. Enthusiasm. Energy. This is the fuel generated by young people which powers this movement.

They are as radical on Monday morning as on Sunday night.
Righteousness is sought out in every move they make.
Every turn prompted by their clear conscience.
Darkness hides from the light they shine.
And this light does not burn out.

They don’t live within the sound of church bells. They run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell.
They move with the tide of the world but don’t get swept up in it.

When mothers weep. They wipe tears.
When walls divide. They build gates.
When sadness pulls them down. They laugh it off.
When they fall for the eighth time. They pick themselves a ninth.
When there is still one drunk left, when there is one still lost soul in Antrim they will fight to the very end.

But this is just a mere vision. It is far away from what is here now. But it is still a hope. And Jesus can make it happen. The vision is simple. Antrim will rise

Touching....

2008-10-05T23:00:00.002+01:00

I believe tonight I had an eye-opening experience..something that changed how I view things. Dont get me wrong..for the past couple of years I have been trying to follow in Jesus footsteps and have always tried to strive to serve, but tonight something amazing happened...

We visited some families in the town who dont have very much, we gave them some bags of things from harvest... something small but truely for them something BIG! I met family who my heart broke for..a lovely Indian family, their English isnt good and they are struggling in many ways. The 2 children are gorgeous, wide-eyed, shy and don't understand me at all (but then again I do talk pretty fast!!) .. After knocking several times and praying they werent to afraid to answer the door, they eventually came, Me and the 3 guys with me tried to explain who are were and what we were doing, and they invited us in to their home. We sat in the room, trying to talk to each other and I felt God in a special way. They had very little possessions but a GREAT hope in Jesus. In the car on the way we picked a verse to share and I believe God inspired us as the verse brought a tear to all of our eyes and the father began to open up to us. The verse we shared was Romans 5:3-5... "Not only so but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance, perserverance character and character hope. And hope does not disapoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" .. we then had the chance to pray for the family.
As the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world we should be doing this kind of thing as a way of life... Theres people who need to see Jesus ... and we have to show them.

Enniskillen 360

2008-07-12T14:18:00.002+01:00

Wow, got home last night from an immense week at Enniskillen... Stayed at the Stables, such a nice place! With 15 other people... at the start of the week some were strangers, some were familiar, 1 was a close friend.... Now one week later i can definitely say that all are close friends. We prayed together, planned together, ate together, laughed together, shared together and went out together into Enniskilled to share how God changed our lives with the young people there. All in all it was an amazing week... 360makeover, sport and music during day, 360 drop-in and chill-out at night. So much to be thankful to God for.

Our God is a GREAT BIG GOD... who is MIGHTY TO SAVE

AMEN!

Vented anger...

2008-04-09T19:40:00.002+01:00

Something I've learnt this week.... some nasty people have an aim in life and it is to make other people feel like crap. If you listen to these people you will feel like crap. My advice....dont listen.

I realise no one will probably read this...and i dont really care, i just wanted to vent my annoyance before I punch a wall, tear out my hair .... or something.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.....

Thats all I had to say...

Fragile: Handle with Care

2008-04-01T11:52:00.001+01:00

There's a beautiful gift inside this package.
It's wrapped for protection,
Tied for security.
Stamped: "Fragile!"
"Handle with Care!"

It's easy to loosen the strings,
To let anyone tear away
the wrapping,
To give the gift without commitment—
Offer it to the highest bidder,
Or hand it out as the prize
for a game.

There's a gift wrapped inside this brown paper.
It's for keeps—
not to be exchanged.
No deposit. Non-returnable.
It's a surprise,
A happy treat to be opened by the person
To whom it's addressed,
On the date marked "Forever."

With reference to previous blog....

2008-03-18T21:59:00.002Z

Lovebug was once a sign of my love for Ben, I so thoughtfully made him in art class. I carefully moulded the clay and put my heart and soul into it.

He brutally rejected it by leaving him behind .. his leg fell off and he 'fell' into the bin. He's gone forever.

So should my love for Ben.......

p.s. all Ben had to say about this was 'Learn how to grammatically punctuate" ....

I love him anyway!

Falling...

2008-01-31T16:42:00.000Z

If you had asked me yesterday at approximately 1pm when was the last time I fell over I would have said so long ago I don't remember!! Maybe in the playground in primary school .. ask me now, what would I say?!
Well in the past 2 days I have falled 3times .. 3 .. who does that?! And all of them times was in public .. as I was walking down Stranmillis Hill (perhaps 30ish people around!), walking up the steps today and then 10minutes ago. After art class where I made a clay bug (Lovebug) .. I was holding it very carefully when ... I fell on the wet ground, breaking his antenae :( It was very sad (although my "friends" found it hilarious!!) .. Anyways this reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses ...
"The steps of the goldly are directed by the Lord,
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble they will not fall,
For the Lord leads them by the hand" - Psalm 37:23-24

Thank God that even though I physically fall, I only spiritually stumble .. for He holds my hand...

Happiest day..

2008-01-31T01:11:00.000Z

Today I woke up, sad that it would be another day without seeing Ben. I missed him .. like I always do.
Tonight I am going to sleep, happy that my boyfriend loves me enough to arrange to get here and see me .. 8months today, its been the best 8months ever and today just really topped it off. Seeing his face beside the car as Kattie picked him up (i had no idea who we were picking up!!) was such a surprise .. it felt like it was a dream ...
I love him so so much and im not ashamed to tell the world - I LOVE BEN CONNOLLY.
If you are reading this Ben.. Thank you so much for being you .. xox

Fellowship of the Unashamed

2007-12-10T11:47:00.000Z

I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.
The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won.t look
back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God's hands. I am
finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth
knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and
dwarfed goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity. I
don't have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live
by faith. I lean on Christ's presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the
power of God's grace.
My face is set. My gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my
companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I
will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the
table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid
up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know,
and work until He stops me.
And when He returns I hope He will have no problem recognising me… my colours will be clear…

ABANNA..

2007-12-10T01:29:00.000Z

Tonight I learnt about Gulu War, most people have never heard of it...it's not on the News or in the papers..yet it is going on in North Uganda.
It was started by the 'Lord's Resistance Army' .. in an attempt to make the country 'Christian' .. but kidnapping 20, 000 children and forcing them to be child soldiers or sex slaves doesn't sound very 'christian' to me...?!?! ...

Children as young as 10 (maybe even younger..) are forced to be child soliders, part of initiation is that they must shoot their own parents...by doing this the army are ensuring the children will stay working for them as they will have no family to return home too. They are often forced to cut off their ears/lips/noses ... and eat their own flesh...
Girls of this age are also forced to work as prostitutes for the men soliders to 'use' ... so so wrong.

As a christain i feel convicted to stand up and do something. It's easy to thing 'I could never make a difference...' But if i even make a difference in one of them children's lives then it would be worth it...

20th December - FAST4AFRICA .. Money goes towards these children .. lets stand up against this together.
Also football for africa .. the children in Africa love football tops but they can't buy them themselves. Make a child happy by sending them an old football shirt you may have .. www.abanna.org

Proverbs 14:31 "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker but he who is kind to the needy honours God"

Some songs...

2007-12-10T01:20:00.000Z

"Blot out all my transgressions...
Cleanse me from all of my sin
Hide your face from my shame

Create in me a pure heart O God
Renew a stedfast spirit in me
Hold me close in your presence

You have known me yet you love me
Hold me close in your presence..."

- This is my prayer; when im frustrated or angry at myself I want to be reminded of this song .. God knows me better than I know myself and He still loves me...

"Love so amazing .. so devine
Demands my soul...my life...my all..."

- God does not demand our lives, He isn't a dictator...but His love is sooo AMAZING .. that our lives is what He deserves. Am I giving Him my soul...my life...my all right now?!?! ... No ... but it is my goal and I wont give up 'til I reach it....

It makes sense...when i don't try to make sense of it!

2007-11-20T23:34:00.000Z

I love hearts! I love drawing them; I love any Bible verse about the 'heart' ... it's something I know can be made complete, can be broken .... But surely it's just a muscle - it isn't even the nice, cute shape we imagine it to be! Confused..??!

The word heart starts with the word 'hear' (coincidence or God-incidence?!) The good heart hears God's word and understands it. People of that character long to know more about what the kingdom of heaven is like. They were seekers for the knowledge of God's will.

The heart is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23) ... it is where blood is pumped .. vital to our living!! Desires orginate here (Psalm 37:4) .. God places desires in our hearts ...

We've all heard the God-shaped whole in our hearts analogy .. and we know that we become Christians by asking Jesus into out hearts ... everything seems to begin with our hearts!

Maybe instead of wondering how come this is so..I should just accept this fact. Working on making my heart reflect God's heart more should be my goal (That's my goal! - seen Shayne Ward tonight at Belfast Christmas Lights switch on, lol!)

I'm captured by Your holy calling
Set me apart,
I know you're drawing me to yourself
Lead me Lord I pray

Take me,
Mould me,
Use me,
Fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

Call me,
Guide me,
Lead me,
Walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand"

Fore-runner...

2007-11-19T23:04:00.000Z

Lately I've felt pretty down in the dumps...But last night I felt so touched by God and I guess it reminded me how blessed I am, and how lucky I am to be LOVED by God.

When I was being prayed for .. my friends began to speak encouraging things to me and pray these things for my life. One of these things was that I was a fore-runner.. this statement reminded me of high street and how I went in P7 by myself and now I look around and see so many amazing friends there. I was a 'core-member' ... and it shows the type of person I am (apparently, lol) that I will have ideas before other people and even though it may seem crazy - i should go for it because others will begin to come alongside too. I won't be alone.

This really encouraged me and it is MY prayer that this will be a truth in my life - that I will obey God and trust in his timing .. even if it seems a bit premature to me!

Teaching practice - DAY 1!

2007-11-12T22:01:00.001Z

Wow..5hours on a bus, travel sickness, stressed bus driver, four near crashes, 2hour late-ness, mean teachers! Sometimes I wonder why I bother, is teaching REALLY what I want to do..??

In a class with p3/4's .. hearing them shout 'Miss Murray' .. getting asked questions (i.e. have u ever seen a monkey smoke?!) .. seeing them get excited when they understand something, watching their faces as I read a story .. having the chance to impact on their little lives! YES I'm sure it's what I want to do.

I'm gonna be a teacher and I'm so excited!!

I guess the bus journeys is the price I have to pay!! Grrr...

Quotes of the day...
"My aunty goes to the same anniversary as you!"
"Guess what girl i fancy......?? Every single one of them!!"
"Miss Murray are you married?!"
"You're pretty"
"I wish you were my mummy.." - awww, nearly cried at this one!

I've never felt so encouraged!! I love kids...and anyone who said "Oh My Word..WestWinds is so rough, I feel sorry for you going there!!" .. just because they are from different situations; maybe a bit cheeky...or attention seekers; doesn't change the fact that they are special, unique and all deserve love and attention! I heart West Winds!

My pockets...

2007-11-06T23:45:00.000Z

Tonight I heard a quote from Martin Luther ... "We carry his nails in our pockets.." ... Wow, made me think. I know I sin, and I know Jesus died for sins... but when you REALLY think about it... our sins is what created the need for the cross..our sins...my sins. Flip! It's so easy to forget (or ignore) the link between our sins and the cross.

Isaiah 53:5-6
"But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped and we were healed! All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all."

It's so easy to accept this truth and not actually think about it. But tonight as I go to sleep, I will thank God and let the truth that Jesus freed me sink into my mind. Also remember that with freedom comes responsibility..thats the least i could do!

Thank you sooo much God!!

Colossians 1:13-14
"For He has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins."

Blossom..

2007-10-30T19:36:00.000Z

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
Anais Nin

This is soo true for so many girls (maybe guys too but i can't empathise!) .. from girls i have spoken to, from times in my own life and just from being around girls and hearing comments they make it's so clear that the 'risk it takes to stay in the bud is more painful than the risk it takes to blossom'. Girls spend so much time trying to look good, dressing to impress, wondering what people will think of them, trying to attract the attention of 'that' guy, comparing themselves to their friends...girls have a need to feel beautiful..loved..wanted.
This leads to remaining 'in the bud' .. God has an amazing plan for everyone .. Psalm 139 verse 16.."You saw me before I was born, Every day of my life was recorded in your Book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed".
God's plan is for us to 'blossom' into the people He wants us to be..not the person the magazines, t.v shows, friends tell us to be.

Something I am constantly trying to remember is that I'm not here on earth to make friends...or to impress people...BUT to be the woman (or girl..im not a woman!!) that God wants me to be. In the process I will probably make friends and I will probably impress people but not because of who I am..but because of who God is..working in and through me.

Listen...

2007-10-23T23:05:00.000+01:00

Anyone who ever reads this..and knows me (which i hope u do otherwise why are u reading this?!) will know that i have a tendancy to talk..alot. Well this week I think I am being challenged - about how much i talk and how little I listen!

James 1:19..."My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry"

Wow..doesn't describe me at all.

What is the difference between hearing and listening? .. Well imagine this, you and your friend are trying to have a conversation while people are making so much noise in the background. You are trying to LISTEN to your friend but you are HEARING the noise in the background. Or do u ever have the radio on in your car, and realise you have drove for a couple of miles and haven't listened to anything on it, you HEARD it but if asked to repeat what was said you couldn't! Thats because we hear it but don't listen. Sometimes it can be like that with God, I know i complain that I can't hear God..but is it because I'm trying to hear Him with all the distractions in the background making it difficult. Or am I putting aside everything else and really LISTENING.

My aim - to talk less ... listen more...

2007-10-22T22:47:00.001+01:00

Your results:
You are Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman		80%
Supergirl		70%
Spider-Man		70%
Robin		52%
Hulk		50%
Iron Man		45%
Catwoman		45%
The Flash		40%
Superman		40%
Green Lantern		30%
Batman		15%

You are a beautiful princess
with great strength of character.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Mountains...

2007-10-19T11:04:00.000+01:00

When I'm finding things tough I always think 'I can't do this', I see no way out, no possible way that i can get that particular thing sorted! In the words of Delirious "This mountains high to high for us...."
That's how I feel - that the mountain is to high..that I'll never climb it and get to the top.

It's true though, the mountains are too high for us if we do it alone, we'll never reach the top on our strength..but if we depend on God..ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE...

"When everyone needs compassion,
And love that never fails,
Let mercy fall on me

When everyone needs forgiveness,
Kindness of the Saviour
The Hope of the nation

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My god is mighty to save,
He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again

I give my life to follow
Everything that i believe in
Now i surrender (and i surrender)

Shine a light in and let the whole world see
Singing, for the glory of the risen king
Jesus, Shine a light and let the whole world see
Singing for the glory of the risen king"

You Gotta Have Faith....fulness

2007-10-18T00:21:00.000+01:00

God is thoroughly faithful to those he has committed himself to in love. When we put our trust in God for salvation, we receive full benefit of his faithful love. No matter how many time we sin or fail to return his love, he will always be faithful to us:
"If we are unfaithful
He remains faithful
for He cannot deny Himself" - 2nd Timothy 3:13

No matter what we do, he continues to love us and will always seek to renew fellowship with us. However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't discipline us:
"My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you,
and don't be discouraged when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
And He punishes those he accepts as his children" - Hebrews 12:5-6

It is His FAITHFUL love that motivates him. We must strive to be faithful to God..but something important we must realise is that we, as humans can never be totally faithful .
FAITHFUL - To be true, authentic, trustworthy, relied upon, dependable...
This is soo cheesey but its true - the only one who can be relied on 100% totally and utterly is God. He will never let us down.

God wants us to strive to be faithful:
- to Him
- Within our relationships

Cheating on a boyfriend/girlfriend isn't an act which we would set out to do..it would be a build up on conversations and flirting before the actual thing would happen. Being unfaithful to God and letting him down is the same principle .. it's a build up of whispers in our ears from satan..little temptations constantly bombarding us and leading us to contemplate giving up. Then we will be unfaithful. How could we avoid cheating on our boyfriend..well I know that I would avoid anyone who i thought was 'flirting' with me and I won't put myself in a position where that is ever likely to happen!! I am not comparing this to being unfaithful to God but I'm just putting it in a way that i can relate better. Sometimes for me reading things in the Bible don't make it clear to me..i have to relate it someway to how I can understand!

So i think being faithful to God means being well equipped to fight against the enemy..removing ourselves from situations where we are likely to fall!!

It is God's faithfulness which is the 'ground of our confidence, the foundation of our hope and the courage to carry on through our failings'

1st Corinthians .... "But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it."

I feel so at peace knowing this... that God's people are not those who have it all together but those who realise that they don't. God is our FATHER, our FRIEND and our GUIDE. We as humans say one thing..and do another BUT God, being perfect .. is FAITHFUL all of the time!

Random Acts of Kindness..

2007-10-17T11:07:00.001+01:00

In world which is pretty selfish and greedy..it's important that as Christians we go against this me-me-me mindset!
One way of doing this is 'random acts of kindness' .. yesterday something we did for our tutor was so small yet touched him soo much. Theres 5 of us in our RE class here at Stran! Before class we went and got coffee and brought our tutor one (the 35p divided between 5 of us wasn't very much!!) but he was so thankful and said it had brightened up his day :)
He also went on to say that one of his buddhist friends that he regularly e-mails always puts at the bottom of her e-mails .. "Rememeber the importance of random acts of kindness" .. made me think ........... Jesus commands us to not only love our neighbout but our enemies (Matt 5:43), to exhibit the fruits of the spirit; one of which being KINDNESS (Gal 5:22) and that the only thing that counts is 'faith expressing itself through love' (Gal 5:6)
If someone with little or no regard for God can speak of these random acts of kindness then think how important it is for us as children of God to be kind..look out for others and always help when we can.

"In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father" Matthew 5:16

Testing....

2007-10-17T10:59:00.000+01:00

Hmmm..a wise guy (a.k.a my boyfriend Ben) created this blog for me, and although i get annoyed whenever peopele call me stupid/have no common sense etc etc..i think i can safely say that i dont really have that much! It's took me a least half an hour to figure out how to post a blog..i went to 'help' and found out that i had to sign in first..wow, that was obvious!

Well at least now i know and can start posting up my thoughts and stuff! My flatmates will be incredibly pee-ed off at me cause they already say i spend too much time on this thing..blame Ben - he introduced me to technology!!!

Now lets see if this worked.....................