Live for each day!!!

Here I am awake! So I thought what better way to fill my time than to blog. Except I don’t know what to say, so I have decided to try this book tagging that Paula so kindly tagged me in. So here are the steps…… 1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages). 2. Open the book to page 123. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the next three sentences. 5. Tag five other people. My nearest book is one by Colin Urquhart called “God’s plan for your Healing” The sentences are: “When Jesus died on the cross He paid the price not simply for your spirit which will eventually go to heaven and live in glory with Him, but also for your body which houses His Holy Spirit during your earthly existence. How important it is, therefore, to honour God with your body; He does not want you contracting sickness because of any misuse or abuse of your body. Your body belongs to the Lord and is to be treated accordingly.” Lastly the people who I have tagged have been contacted!!! Happy book tagging!!!

I wanted to share an amazing piece of writing which I came across when reading today. It is from 'The Purpose Driven Life' by Rick Warren. 'You were planned for God's pleasure. The moment you were born into the world, God was there as an unseen witness, smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival gave Him great pleasure. God did not need to create you, but He chose to create you for His own enjoyment. You exist for His benefit, His glory, His purpose, and His delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for His pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. It proves your worth.' (page 63)

Holy week has been one of real growth and journeying for me, especially as this has been my first Easter at a church as a Christian. All of the services have been so inspirational and truly moving. From the first evening service on Maundy Thursday, to the morning service on Good Friday with the march of witness and this mornings moving service God's spirit has been so evident and powerful. This morning we sang the Crystal Lewis song 'For I know my Redeemer lives' it has been said for weeks that if you cant sing about our Redeemer living on Easter Sunday then when can you. I have agreed with that completely, however today when singing these words they really connected with me. We now have freedom because of Jesus Christ's selfless act. For I know my redeemer lives And in the end He will stand on the earth For I know my redeemer lives And in the end He will reign on the earth Though my flesh it be destroyed Yet with my eyes I will see God For I know my redeemer lives An

I have had a brilliant afternoon. I have been at the church for Easter Saturday Celebrations!!! It has been great, there was Easter tea and activities such a the beetle game, the newspaper game and other random games and quizzes. It was hilarious, the children got extremely high on sugar and just had time to run around and be free. As well as making things like Easter gardens, Easter hats and painting egg cups. Then to top it all off it snowed!!! I am not that keen of the snow when I am in it - however driving in it has been awesome. As it was snowing I took a detour on the way home. I then parked up by some fields and just watched. I have struggled recently with direction. Which direction I should go on lots of different matters, it was really thought-provoking watching the snow fall. Each flake has no real direction, their paths are far from straight, however their end destination is always the same.

My Grandad has been described in the local gazette as a 'would-be-hero'. He is a nightmare, last week while a robbery was taking place he was close by, but instead of leaving it (especially as he is in his 70's), he decided to trip the thieves up while they were running past!!! When asked why, his reply was "just instincts really". When told off ferociously by my Mother and Grandmother (and you really wouldn't want that to happen,) about the possibility of the thieves being armed his response was "I didn't actually think of that, and they weren't so it's OK, I am just upset they didn't get caught!". So we had great fun today in winding him up about his up coming questioning from the local police - bless him!!!

"You have achieved success if you have lived well, laughed often and loved much." Author Unknown

Tonight a close family friend lost her long and difficult battle to cancer. Sylvie has been battling cancer on and off for a couple of years and today was called home by God. I don't quite know what to feel. It is one of those situations where you are so sad for the loss yet pleased that her pain has ceased and she has been called home to the Lord. She was young, vibrant and full of live, she will be missed terribly by all who knew and loved her. Sylvie loved God and was a caring, generous person who placed everyone elses needs before her own, so I have no doubt in my mind she is now in eternal glory. Take care Sylvie x

Tonight in our youth cell we spoke about healing. It was difficult to get some of the youth to understand that healing is not necessarily just physical, but can also be emotional and spiritual. They couldn't grasp this fact because physical healing you can see, it can be very obvious but emotional and spiritual healing is unseen. Their train of thought was, if it is unseen it can not be real. Jon put it this really helpful way that I actually haven't heard before. You cant see the wind; only the effect it has on things therefore it must be real. You cant see electricity; only the effect it has making it real. You cant see God - but you can can see God's work in people therefore.........

A while back in Youth, we looked at why we should give; out of this session the youth members decided they wanted to give to people less fortunate. Which is why we held a cake sale today at church for the charity 'Open Doors' who send Bibles out to Persecuted Christians. It was awesome. These young people were just brilliant. They were so enthusiastic and came bearing loads of cakes and helped as much as they could, wherever they could. To top it all off we raised a massive £229.40 for open doors, which was just excellent. It also challenged me in the sense that am I as enthusiastic and willing to give to other people as I should be?

At times when I am feeling sad and think that no one cares, I feel the vibrations of your wings and know that you are here. I then feel your tender touch as you enfold me with His Love A yearning prayer has come to earth, sent down from Father above. I can never deny your presence. You fill my heart with song. All sad thoughts simply disappear, knowing that I am not alone. You loan me strength when I give out. And you raise my courage up. I can face my troubles head-on Mortal thanks is not enough. I will live each day I have in humbleness and in prayer. With heartfelt words I’ll write and with all others, share. Lottie Ann Knox

Hope is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only take a deep breath and say, "Yes," and hope will reappear . - Monroe Forester Hope is knowing that people, like kites, are made to be lifted up - Unknown Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow - Albert Einstein Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only one second without hope - Unknown Hope never abandons you; you abandon it - George Weinberg Dum spiro, spero; "While I breath, I hope" - Latin Proverb What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life - Emil Brunner Hope is the pillar that holds up the world - Unknown The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope - Barbara Kingsolver Hope is not a dream but a way of making dreams become reality - Unknown Hope is the dream of a soul awake - French Proverb Hope

I came across this quote which I thought was brilliant........... "We Are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" Oscar Wilde

Finding myself without any plans on a Friday evening and after being slightly mocked for my little driving sessions, I decided to go for a walk along Southend sea front tonight. It was freezing!!!!! Beautiful but freezing! I thought I could get the best of both worlds, by have a drive down there with my music full blast and then peaceful, reflective prayer time whilst walking along the sea front. There is something truly amazing about the sea late at night, the tranquility of the rolling waves cascading on the shore and the wind blowing against your face - it was a true time-stopper. People were rushing past getting ready for their nights out, while I just stood and stared out onto the vast sea. Walking further down the amusement lights brought such vibrant colours to the sea and sky - the usual annoying songs playing and the laughter coming from within these places really filled me with warmth and happiness. Out by the sea, in the cold air gives a brand new perspective on the world. I

I had youth cell tonight, which I found tough - the first one so far. They weren't all that interested tonight and I found it really hard to keep their attention for longer than 2 seconds which hasn't happened before. Because of this I decided to skip most of what I had planned and asked them this question instead. 'If you had to pick an animal that represented your relationship with God, which animal would you pick?' To my amazement we had some truly amazing answers - the young people were really engaged. We had answers like... "I would be a dolphin because sometimes I am above water and my Christian life is doing well but sometimes I am under water and I cant breathe" "I would be an octopus so I could cling tightly to God" "I would be a crab, as I sometimes bury myself in the sand and ignore my surroundings and God whilst other times I come out and explore" So I pose the question to you........what animal would you be and why?