willbedoneonearth

I avoided watching the Passion of the Christ for a long time until now.  Seeing that it came out in 2004, I have avoided it for 15 years. Why did I not watch this movie earlier, being a Christian and a movie watcher?  Well I usually steer clear of violence in movies as I seem to have a low tolerance for images of cruelty and bloodshed. The reason I thought about watching it this year is that our pastor decided it would be screened for a movie night at our church.  Because I wanted my initial experience to be before the big night, I asked a close friend if she would preview it with me.  We both were very nervous to say the least and I was tense for the days leading up to the experience.  We ended up with my friend and her husband, and another friend in her lounge room- no snacks- and much nervous chatter and could I say 'avoidance' chatter beforehand and even at certain intervals throughout.  There were murmurings of 'here we go', 'now it begins' and 'o...

God gives us many good promises in the bible.  The promise we are mostly aware of is his promise to save us from our sins if we call on the name of the Lord (Acts 2 v 21). In our being saved, he calls us "Holy" even though we can see we are still very human and weak.  He says even though our sins are as scarlet, we will be made white as snow (Isaiah 1 v 18). In Romans 4 v 17 the scripture says of God that He is the "- God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were".  This scripture is amazing, because it is quoted in the context of the story of Abraham, a man who God enabled to father a child at 100 years old and his wife being 90, not exactly the peak childbearing age! It was before God enabled Abraham to father a child through Sarah, that he called him by the new name, Abraham.  Until that point his name was Abram.  God said: "No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a F...

"He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless" Isaiah 40 v 29 NLT. I read this verse this morning and saw it in a totally different light.  I used to mainly see this as talking about God's power to sustain us daily, that is, while we are experiencing particular weaknesses and struggles...(which I still agree he provides). Power = Empowerment He also gives us empowerment- and I saw this as a type of 'deliverance'- lasting changes in our feeling of power and strength through changes in us and our circumstances and situation. This is the concrete lifting of us from a weakened or powerless state in any number of areas and promoting us to a more enabled position. The following are some examples of the many kinds of empowerment that I could think of... Leverage The ability to create change The ability to influence The ability to be heard- having 'a voice' The ability to sustain a healthy relationship Emotional happiness and stabili...

John 17 v 4 "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do" NIV Jesus prays in John 17 this statement of fact when he is with the disciples, before he went to the cross.  It seems Jesus had a sense of completion of at least one stage of God's work for him at that time.  It was like he was giving his own eulogy before his departure. And he had succeeded in completion. I believe that's a word for myself and others right now- completion. If we are thinking about giving something up, ask yourself- have I really completed this? There is work God has given us to do- and there is a point of completion God has in mind for each of those areas. We get so tired sometimes that it seems something has to go out of our schedule- maybe the most difficult thing is the most tempting to let go of- God might be releasing you- but pray for wisdom... I had realized there was an area of ministry I was involved in I was starting to dread fronting up...

Psalm 62 v 1-4 (Passion Translation) To the Pure and Shining One King David's melody of love's celebration " I stand silently to listen for the one I love, waiting as long as it takes for the Lord to rescue me.  For God alone has become my Savior.  He alone is my safe place; his wrap-around presence always protects me.  For he is my champion defender; there's no risk of failure with God.  So why would I let worry paralyze me, even when troubles multiply around me? But look at those who want me dead, shouting their vicious threats at me!  The moment they discover my weakness they all begin plotting to take me down. Liars, hypocrites, with nothing good to say.  All of their energies are spent on moving me from this exalted place." David is in an interesting position.  He stands serenely waiting for Gods help, for which he is fully confident.  The visual image is that he is wrapped in protection, and that is Gods very presence....

"When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.  And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple" 1 Kings 8 v 10-11 This is an amazing scene.  Solomon has finished building the temple and instructs the ark to be brought up.  All the people are gathered.  And God comes and fills the temple with his presence. Last month I had a vivid dream about our church service being interrupted by the power and glory of God.  I looked out and suddenly the chairs were cleared- everything was 'out of place'.  Someone helped me find my place in the order of service 'script' as I was worship leading.  Someone called out 'can we have the chairs back?'.  When I went out to the bathroom a door was hanging off it's hinge as though 'the place had been shaken'.  (This reminded me of the place in Acts 4: 31 where it says "After they prayed, the place ...

My son has struggled with his health the last year and a half.  After many investigations it was revealed he had a parasite infestation- sounds terrible, right?  Apparently it's not uncommon for us to have some species in our system but most people don't get any symptoms. My son's had a lot of nausea and fatigue and missed many days of school.  This year he missed almost the whole of the first term of grade 7.  It took awhile to go through the processes to confirm the parasites again this year and he's on his second lot of antibiotics.  So it was the second lot of antibiotic, we ran out of supply and missed the closing time at our country pharmacy. He missed almost two days.  If you know antibiotics you need to keep them up regularly to be effective. I was in the pharmacy this morning- I was rushed, tired and not feeling fantastic emotionally after a disturbed sleep.  The pharmacist or assistant tells me that sorry there's no repeats on the script...

What does a faithful Christian look like?  Are they always happy and energetic and smiling? I had a disappointment when a something I thought was going to happen didn't.  How many of us have experienced this? We receive a promise from God and then something leads us to think its happening "this week" or 'this month', even 'this year'- all the signs are lining up- we get all exited. WE might fast, and spend ourselves in prayer.  WE might tell our close friends.  WE might take some actions towards this thing coming to pass.  And it's all in the faith of expectation- because we believe God- that this thing is going to happen. Then it doesn't happen when we think it would happen and we feel exhausted.  We feel silly, maybe bitter, that we 'spent ourselves' getting exited and laboring over this event or promise we thought was coming like 'now'. Today I prayed God would give me his perspective on my disappointment.  I truly had e...

I was in my study early spending time with the Lord this morning and I was distracted by the draft from the door to the study that led outside. I was thinking about how my husband had said I might want to get one of those draft blocking 'snakes' for the winter chill coming under the door.  Even though I was risking getting sidetracked, I wrote in the notes section of my phone- 'Pay Day'- 'Door snake used to keep cold air out' (as in, when I go shopping- remember to buy one of those door snakes- not the conventional term for that item I'm pretty sure). As soon as I wrote these words I was hit with a 'suddenly' moment I believe from God's spirit on a 'wordplay' on what I had written.  And the following is what came to me and the thoughts that followed from there... Pay day usually means the time we are paid income to our bank account, but this wording was now resounding to me as 'pay day' like divine retribution.  Divine retrib...

The following poem was a personal reflection of both life's realities and faiths hope, particularly the power of Jesus Ressurection in us to give us a freshness and newness and freedom from our past. I'm really feeling a theme of 'freshness' for this season from easter and ahead... Ressurection Morning Seasons come and seasons go Its hard to keep up With the ebb and flow We try to prepare and take care But I struggle, you know Past seasons holding on Can't seem to shake free Things from the past holding me Telling me I'm not free Feel the freshness of the morning A new day dawning Crisp air Birds singing New beginnings Hope is beckoning to me He makes all things new Ressurection morning Bringing me hope Power Strong and undefeatable He makes me Naomi Richardson The following I wrote for children to make a connection with the sweetness of Jesus love and the sweetness of chocolate easter eggs. Oh so sweet Here's a chocolate, oh so sw...

Joseph had a hard time then finally his time of blessing came. He came to power, saw seven years of abundant crops and stored away plenty of food for the famine years. He was in a position to rule and save lives. In the seven years of amazing harvest Joseph had personal blessing of two sons born (Genesis 41. 47-52) The first he named 'Manasseh' saying "God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my fathers family" (Genesis 41.51). (Manasseh- causing to forget, footnote, NLT). He embraced FORGETFULNESS. There are blessings given to us to help us forget about our painful past. He cares about the effect the memory of a painful past has on us and wants to help us forget the past with FRESH JOY in the present! Ephraim his second son was named by reason of "God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief"(Genesis 41.52). Make no mistake, despite things getting better and the assurance of God's plan and purpose he still refered to Egypt a...

Joseph had served time in the darkness, his gifts operating quietly...Then suddenly he was interpreting the personal dreams of the Pharoah and giving instructions on saving Egypt from famine. Before Josephs promotion the bible in Genesis 41.37 says "Josephs suggestions were well recieved". And Pharoah remarks to his officials "Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?" (Genesis 41.38). This interaction and display of wisdom impressed the officials of Pharaoh and Pharaoh himself. It marked the start of his promotion from 'prisoner' to second in command of the entire land. The anointing of God was recognized. Display of ANOINTING sets the STAGE  for the APPOINTING. As God sets the stage for someones appointment to a position in his will, he makes the suitability apparent to those in power to appoint WITH EVIDENCE of an anointing from God apon the person for the task. Joseph STEPPED INTO the anointing IN FAITH without...

Why I love being up the back at church... You see the needs- children- people who got upset by something and are leaving- you might be able to chase them out the door and talk to them. Are you more concerned with the 99 or finding the one (Matt 18.12)? An elderly person struggling to open a door and you are ready. Ready to smile and welcome someone who is late and needs to feel grace- ready to sit with the newcomer who won't join in 'the midst'. I love being able to see Gods people while I worship. It can be a place of service as opposed to the slackness that 'might' be associated with the 'back seat'. And it can be a place of humility as oppossed to a 'prideful indifference' that might be associated with not being in the 'main seats' in the congregation. "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God...(Ps 84.10)" David says in Psalm  concerning that he would rather be in the lowest place than be in evil- a humble place,...

I've been praying about what is coming up for me in 2018, what Gods plans are and what he has for me... I had an interesting dream recently where I was among many people who were in a supermarket being assigned jobs. Suddenly the supermarket was not just a grocery story but had expanded into a department store. There was food, clothing and everything you could think of to buy. Multiple adjoining buildings. Huge spaces devoted to specialty items. There were so many people wandering around. Some of these people were wearing colour coded vests they had been given by the store which indicated they had been assigned a role. But although some had their vest, they were not yet at their post, they were wandering around asking questions and trying to find where they were meant to be. I was aware I had my vest on but could not search for my place because I was with my son Caleb helping him find his place. I asked the Lord what this meant. I felt the change in store size and variety indic...

Faith is based on what God can do- it's not dependent on human experience- not based on human ability- not based on human qualifications. Optimism is based on the human ability to pull through, to have enough resources to make it through. It's based on experience of making it through enough to be pretty sure things tend to go well most of the time.  The old Aussie saying we know and love.."she'll be right, mate"...Optimism is hard to scrape up when your experiences have been full of disappointment in the resources of others and your own- failing- not measuring up- there not being enough- people not coming through- not being able to come through for others. Some people are very optimistic and positive and we may assume that equates with faith but not necessarily. Look for those with the gift of faith to share your dreams with!!!! Protect the dreams of your heart by sharing with those who will see with the eyes of faith.  Faith sees the calling of the Lord.  ...

How does God feel about our past as Christians? Sin is forgiven- we are not treated less than 'pure love's expression' flowing to us God is compassionate for our troubles we have been through. God's heart and plan is our restoration and healing from damages and losses we have suffered God delights to bless us God is delighted in our faithfulness to him despite what we have lost or gone through- your faith is of greater worth than gold...!!! This was impressed apon my heart recently the father's pleasure in my faithfulness especially "because of" the losses I had endured... Praise God! His thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways!!!

Don't be afraid or discouraged because the Lord is with YOU!! Fear and discouragement are closely related. Discouragment is a lack of courage to face or cope with a certain challenge- it's a natural reaction to circumstances that push us beyond our personal resources. But God says, because we have him on our side, to refuse discouragment. Refuse to lose courage in the face of any challenge, because his strength is sufficient for us to succeed and be triumphant. I am refusing to to be discouraged about the challenges I face in my marriage at present, the fact there have been daily tensions. I am refusing to be discouraged because God has victory in store for the upright in Christ Jesus. Even if it seems a long wait, he has victory in store for me, for us. I choose to believe it.

There are different types of deliverance for which we praise God for the victory.  The deliverance from sin and darkness to salvation.  The deliverance from a specific situation, or sickness or oppression.  There is another type of oppression from which we need deliverance and the clue in in the line of the song, 'No longer slaves- Bethel music, u tube: ‘We have been liberated from our bondage to sin- let us sing our freedom’.  When we have been liberated from our bondage to sin- Paul says stand firm and do not let yourselves AGAIN be bonded with a YOKE OF SLAVERY!  He appeals to them, he urges them. “So Christ has truly set us free.  Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law” (Galatians 5:1) Freedom is a gift. We can use our freedom to serve one another in love..and try to not allow our freedom to serve our sinful nature… We might have a tendancy to allow ourselves to take on a yoke others set upon us....

Some days are not quite what you'd hope they'd be! Here are some reasons for this particular day...and the highlights also... 1. Overall reason-  I really prayed for this day to be awesome and it wasn't completely- there were many irritations and struggles.   There were good things.  I spent some time with my 8 year old daughter at the local bakery.  I took her for a haircut and she got a new hair brush in her favorite color.  I wasn't too uptight to say no to the hairbrush request and I was glad because she was so happy.  We looked at beautiful fabrics and lovely craft things in a sewing shop and we are both creative.  I saw the Lego Ninjago movie with my boys and I liked it. 2. I felt my husband was not giving me a lot of attention and affection.  I was getting irritated at him. 3. I wanted to be generous and let my kids see two holiday movies because we aren't doing much having moved house early in the first week.  Aft...

So everyone is demanding things of me and this tense feeling is rising up in my chest and I want everyone to leave me alone.  I want to run away and hide. I might need some time out.  But sometimes it isn't possible. If I can't change my circumstances can I change myself to fit my circumstances? I start muttering...Not again!  Can you just be quiet for 5 minutes! Every request produces an inward sigh.  "Mummy can I have something to eat (15 minutes after eating!)"...sigh..."Mummy the Internets not working (haven't you heard of a thing called a book?)"...sigh... Could the issue behind this sort of inward groaning and complaining be unbelief? Usually when I am overwhelmed things have got to a point where I am feeling like I have got nothing left to give.  This tank is empty kids! Now let's say when we are starting to verge toward this line of thinking we were to affirm, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4 v 1...