5th September 1998

Posted on September 5, 2008
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This is us on our wedding day ten years ago today, back in the days when you used film to take a photo and had to send it off to get developed! It’s scanned in, hence the poor quality. K, so we’ve aged a little now! This is us today

I am so blessed to be married to Jonathan he is my best friend, my soul mate. You couldn’t find a nicer guy. He’d do anything for you. He is very honorable and gentle. If he makes a promise he keeps it, whatever. He treats me like a queen. He never expects anything. He respects me. He loves me. He has opened my mind and stretched my thinking so much over the years and has helped me to grow without hedging me in. He pushes me far past my comfort zone, which at the time makes me extremely uncomfortable - I am an INFP after all, whereas he is an extrovert, once through the uncomfortableness though, I am thankful for the nudge!

For us, our tenth anniversary is a very special occasion. We didn’t have the best start to our marriage. We spent most of our honeymoon with food poisoning, and then we found out we were expecting a honeymoon baby. I fell into depression. We nearly divorced. I’m so glad that God got through to us both and that we were reconciled. We’ve been through some really tough times since then, but we have gone through united clinging to each other and God rather than divided as we first were. We always said that on our 10th anniversary we’d have a second honeymoon.

We are off to London today for a weekend away. K, so London is hardly Paris or Rome, but we have a son with Aspergers who needs to know that we are not too far away. So, the kids are staying in North London with my mum, so we are only a tube ride away if needed. We are making the most of our time minus kids. We are staying at the Hilton in Mayfair, by Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. Tonight Jonathan is taking me to Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant for dinner. We also plan on visiting the Tate Modern, Greenwich, Covent Garden and just pottering around shops, coffee houses and eateries! Later on today he is taking me to Loop in Islington to get me some nice yarn to knit myself a few bits with. Told you, he’s a nice guy.

I love you babe, Happy Anniversary.

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Politics

Posted on September 5, 2008
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Excellent posts by Julie and Mak about the US political race.

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Tom Sine, Michael Frost

Posted on September 4, 2008
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Just seen that Tom Sine is in the UK later this month and is speaking at CMS and also at Blah in Manchester plus a few other places around the UK (H/T Jonny Baker) Jonathan might go along to the CMS day, but I can’t as it’s a school day. We are also looking forward to going to hear Michael Frost speak, who is doing a UK tour in October. He will be in Southampton, Portsmouth, Oxford, Bristol, London School of Theology and LICC. See here for details if you are interested in hearing him speak.

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Burning Bush - JT Devotion Day Eight

Posted on December 5, 2007
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“There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:2-10 (NIV)

Today’s Jesse Tree symbol is a burning bush. Fire is a symbol which depicts God in scripture, be it the burning bush in Exodus or the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit in Acts. Moses, a Jew, was raised as an Egyptian by the pharaohs daughter. He then spent many years as a Shepherd in Midian, which is when the burning bush experience happened. This is God’s call on Moses’ life to lead his people out of Egypt into the promised land. Over the next few days we will continue to read about Moses and his experiences with the Israelites, who were sometimes, like us all, quite a trying group of people!

Note that God says “I AM” the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, not “I was”. God was saying that the forefathers still live. In Luke 20:37 Jesus says “But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Also “I Am” is God saying “I am here today, I’m not an I was, I am with you, I am relevant, I have not gone away.” Moses was alone in a quiet place when he had his encounter with God, sometimes the still and quiet places in life are where we hear and experience God best. Today try and find a quiet place and give God your full attention, just be, just listen. Let the God of Moses speak into your life today and show you that he is “I Am”. If you want take off your shoes as a sign of respect and obedience, for are you standing on holy ground? Read more about Moses in Exodus 2:1-4:20

To read more from fellow advent bloggers, please click on this link.

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Synchroblog - How Do You Pray?

Posted on August 27, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized, synchroblog | 29 Comments

God, Prayer and Me

This prayer synchroblog came about through a conversation Erin, Cindy and I had following a post I did last week called Emerging Prayer. In that post I wrote about how I see prayer as my “chat” with God which I do where and whenever, and I also shared about how I had recently started to do some art meditation work which equated to prayer. Today I want to share some more of my thoughts and experiences. Erin, Cindy and I are really looking forward to reading what others share today.

I tried writing this a little while ago, and found myself stumped for words, as I know that my prayer life is not what others would call prayer. You see I follow no formula, no set routine. I don’t have the daily quiet time which I have been taught about time and time again in church. Then I read Julie’s post and felt free to be me, as, like I think we’ll read a lot of today, there are many of us who have been wandering in the same direction.

I talk with God a lot, maybe my biggest down fall is that I do not always listen to what he has to say to me. When I read the news, have a phone conversation, read an email etc I am praying silently in my head. With me prayer and praise go hand in hand. My prayers tend to be more of a cry out - “Be in that situation God” “Help them” “Why is the world in this state?” I guess praise is what I would call my prayers of thanks. I will praise God when I see the wonders of creation. I will praise him when I hear a friend has given birth. I will sing songs to God whilst I’m cleaning the house - these songs are my prayer. They are both secular and Chrisitan. The truth be known I get a lot out of bands such as U2. You see, I want to see the world changed. I want to see justice and peace. I want to see God working more and more in my life. I want to see God transforming the community around me. I guess in some ways my life is a prayer.

I like the fact that there is no agenda with God and I. I love it when he just shows up, makes his presence known to me. I like watching a candle burn down whilst thinking. I like listening to instrumental CD’s. I will sit or lay down, and just listen. I try hard to focus on God. Sometimes I get no where, my thoughts start to wander and I’ve given up before I’ve begun. Other times I can really sense God. I can feel him. The air smells sweet and I want to stay there forever, just listening, feeling. Sometimes I think God speaks to me, other times he doesn’t, but I know he is there. Those are the best moments. The moments no one can take away from you.

I don’t always have the words when I pray. I always tell God how it is, I don’t mince my words and I’ve let go of the Christianise. Sometimes though, I just sigh, groan or wail. I simply don’t know what to say or how to say it, sometimes I don’t have the energy to begin to try. Romans 8:26 says “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” Even though I’m not saying anything, he is listening, he knows, he’s there.

Prayer for me isn’t about how good I am at getting up early, reading some scripture and praying. I don’t do devotions. I am no good at them. I’ve failed before I’ve begun. Prayer is one of my expressions to God, it is key to how I connect with him. It is personal and intimate and more importantly it can never be wrong. No one, apart from God, can ever tell me that I am not praying properly. I think it is something unique to each individual, although there will be many similarities with others. Others may judged how I pray but at the end of the day it’s all about the heart, and God knows that in my heart I want to be with him, I want to follow him, and that’s good enough for me. I don’t have to meet any human mark or standard. I want to finish with Jesus’ response to how we should pray.

The Message 6:7-13
“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

This is my prayer today.

Those participating in the synchroblog today are:
Cindy Bryan Teach Me to Pray…Again?
Lyn Hallewell God, Prayer and Me
Erin Word Prayer=Sex with God
Rick Meigs Prayer Helps that Get Me Deeper
Alan Knox Pray without Ceasing
Julie Clawson Prayer Synchroblog
Heather Synchroblog Prayer
Alex (Heather’s Husband) Prayer Synchroblog II
Lydia How Do You Pray
Che Vachon My Thoughts…
Paul Mayers Praying and Learning to Pray Again
Sonja Andrews The Appearance of Holiness
Jon Peres How Do I Pray?
Paul Walker One Congregation Experiments with Emerging Prayer
Susan Barnes Synchroblog: How Do You Pray?
Brother Maynard Fear Not the Silence
Nate Peres How Do I Pray?
Barry Taylor Synchroblog:How Do You Pray?
Emerging Grace Clearance Sale on Intercession Books
Jim Lehmer Synchroblog - How Do You Pray?
Lew A How Do You Pray? - Synchroblog
Jon Hallewell When I’m Spoken To
Deb Prayer Synchroblog
Barb Prayer without Throwing Things
Patti Blount How Do I Pray
Doug Jones How I Pray
Glenn Hagar Prayer Phases
Pam Hogeweide The Art of Blue Tape Spirituality
Mary How Do I Pray?
Rhonda Mitchell Prayer SynchroBlog
John Smulo Praying Naturally
Rachel Warwick How Do You Pray?
Barbara Legere How to Not Pray
Jonathan Brink Posture - Sitting With My Daddy
Andy How Do I Pray
Cynthia Clack How Do I Pray
Makeesha Fisher The Mystery of Prayer
Joy Prayer 
Robby Mac Synchro-Prayer
Larry Prayer Is Weird
Rick Stilwell Push

Thank you to everyone who has taken part today. We are truly amazed by the response. There are some excellent posts out there, be sure to check them all out.

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