This is my story, this is my song…

FMF:STORY

notepad, felt-tips and glasses with hand-written words – This is my story

Do you know this song?

This is my story,

This is my song,

Praising my Saviour, all the day long…

There is one big story – the story of the God who created the world and all that is in it and saw that it was good.

The God who so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.

The creation story and the redemption story is the story of the Bible – It is the Gospel.

Likewise we each have a story, the story of our creation, our response to it, and our redemption.

This is my story. This is my testimony – what I have seen, heard, experienced and witnessed.

My story is my truth and my witness of praise to my Saviour.

It always strikes me how St Paul loved to tell his story over and over.

He spoke only about how he was the greatest of sinners, but God…

He spoke of his journey on the road to Damascus and how Jesus spake, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’

This was his story, his testimony. It was therefore his way of presenting the gospel.

Read and ponder how St Paul tells the Gospel through his story.

(You will find it in Acts 9 and again in Acts 22.)

Ask Jesus what the nuggets of your story are? What He wants you to share?

Which parts most give glory to Him, the Saviour? Ask Him,

What is my story, my testimony, my song of praise to my Saviour and God?

Then share this for His glory.

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes. The prompt this week is: STORY.

Actually, I do read through my script afterwards to correct my mistakes, underlined in red; to check scripture references and to find an appropriate image to illustrate the topic.

http://fiveminutefriday.com/linkup .

Stop Staring at Your Pigs (They’re Dead)

As if the title weren’t enough to spend a minute or two reading, the whole piece is powerful and punches right to the heart.

View from the Valley

Days 13 & 14

Matthew 8:28-34

Sometimes, when Jesus comes to you with the hope of His kingdom, He comes unexpectedly, without announcement, and He starts in on the things that terrify you most. Like maybe you have a horrible situation on the edge of your life, something you have shoved away and refused to think about, much as the people of the town whose crazy men were so violent no one could come near them. Oh well, you think, if I put the problem far away and just don’t deal with it, I can go about my life. I can make do.

Only Jesus has this way of jumping right into the middle of the things that you most want to hide. Here He comes, seeking you out, ready to talk with you, and right away He sees the worst. Those crazy men jump out to scare him off…

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I choose LIFE.

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes. The prompt this week is: CHOOSE.

Actually, I do read through my script afterwards to correct my mistakes, underlined in red; to check scripture references and to find an appropriate image to illustrate the topic.

journal with caption saying ‘Today I will choose life’

Deuteronomy 30:19

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

Choose life. This is the call of my heart. It is a daily choice, a daily plea – to choose life.

What does it mean to you?

Choosing to awaken and breathe.

Choosing to stand and to walk.

Choosing to see, listen, smell and taste.

Choosing to touch and hold.

Choosing to speak and create.

Choosing to dream and hope.

Choosing to trust and to risk.

Choosing to give and receive.

Choosing to open the heart.

Choosing to love…

Choosing to embrace life!

It is a daily choice. Tonight I chose, against my lethargy to go out and go to an AA meeting – to give and receive. In AA we say we are to choose ‘to do the next right thing’. It helps; it heals, but only I can make that choice. It is my privilege.

It is the highest and most exciting privilege.

The devil seeks to destroy, kill and steal our life, steal our spirit, our hope, joy, motivation, energy and faith.

Jesus came to restore our spirit, hope and heart and give us life to the full; abundant, bouncing, thriving life.

Heaven and earth witness the choice you make – curse or blessing, death or life.

Which will you choose this morning, and this afternoon, and this evening?

He is a gentleman – He stands at the door and knocks.

Will you invite Him in?

Will you choose life? Glorious, abundant life?

Reaching 8 years! Out-reach.

16:55

I thought I would write something about the outreach/ missionary work being done in Romania. I spent a week out in Romania last week, visiting a friend who is working in Metro Ministries in a beautiful town of Sighisoara.

I spent a wonderful week in Vienna first, with my son, who is doing a doctorate out there, and then I took a long night train (13 hours) across Hungary to Sighisoara.

Me and Josh wandering Vienna…

one view of pretty Sighisoara

It was all such a privilege and adventure and I knew I was so blessed.

I felt like I had been away for two months, rather than two weeks, as the experiences were so rich!

The outreach in Sighisoara, within a very poor community, was very special indeed. The staff and team do such an amazing job with the families.

I was mainly taking part just in accompanying the beautiful little children to and from the Kindergarten in the Rhema centre. One day I had the pleasure of joining them in the Kindergarten too.

I loved the people and the country very much!

But today I realise that it is a week after my birthday. It is the 9^th of March, and that means that it is another milestone reached for me. On the 9^th March 2015, I had my last alcoholic drink.

I did not know if I would ever reach a whole month of sobriety and a year felt out of my reach completely.

It really was one-day-at-a-time!

It is for every addict.

But I reached the month goal. I reached 6 months and was rewarded with a little ‘chip’ medal.

Nine months was turbulent, but I reached a whole year, then 2 and now I have reached 8 years of sobriety.

It is due to the gift and the grace of God. It is thanks to the Power of Jesus. It is also thanks to the fellowship of AA, whose stories, acceptance, honesty, love and humility have taught me so many truths and taught me to see denial when it sought to confuse me.

I praise and thank God, AA, and my friends and family for loving me in my weakness and loving me into healing.

I thank them all for helping me to reach what I could never have attained by myself.

Stop.

An additional point to notice here is that the work of AA is also an extremely effective outreach work for the Kingdom of God!

Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. We are given a one-word prompt and write – unscripted, unedited, pure free-write – for 5 minutes. The prompt this week is REACH.

Actually, I do read through my script afterwards to correct my mistakes, underlined in red; to check scripture references and to find an appropriate image to illustrate the topic.