Create your Hotspot!

Three of us went bird watching last Thursday.  It was one of those days when we didn't quite know where to go, so I looked on ebird.org to see what birding hotspots there were in the Ipswich area. As the walk organiser, I suggested that we go to Sparrowe's Nest Farm, and we had a beautiful afternoon in the sun watching around thirty Skylarks who seemed to be singing with joy. I don't know what you know about Skylarks but as they sing; they travel vertically upwards 50 to 100 meters. For a little bird that seems to involve spending a lot of energy. We saw quite a few other birds on our trip. After a while, we were joking and saying that it was really weird that we had never visited this place before.

It turned out that one of our friends John, who wasn't with us on Thursday, had been to this location so frequently and recorded his sightings, that ebird.org then had created it as a Hotspot purely because he had visited so many times. We felt that John had never really mentioned that he had ever been there. Of course, it might be that we haven't been paying attention to what he's been saying to us. Either way, his consistency in visiting the spot and recording bird-life has brought results. People who don't know the area can find a beautiful spot to watch Birds. While at the same time ebird.org can compile scientific data.

Today I was thinking about this experience. I think ther is a parallel with the spiritual life. We can turn our prayer places into spiritual hotspots by turning up regularly, observing or listening, paying attention - recording what we find in our journal.

To be honest, if we do nothing, nothing will happen. Yet when we start to pray and listen to God regularly, good stuff just starts to happen. I believe it is true to say that if we make ourselves present to God he will be present to us. St. James talks about this when he says "draw near to God and he will draw near to you."

We can choose to approach God at any time. He is a God that allows himself to be discovered. If we set our hearts to expectant, pray and listen we will start to change.

On Thursday we could have decided to stay at home, the weather was changeable; I was tired. But the walk and the effort was worthwhile and we had an experience that we would have never had had if we hadn't taken action.

I will leave that thought there for the moment. I want to tell you a bit about why Debs and I have started writing again after a pause. We are married but through circumstances and Covid-19 we are living on the opposite side of the world to each other. We have decided to reinvent the Ipswich Watchman blog as "A Song for Two Voices." And write about things that are happening to us.

Fall fearless into love

I am marvelling at this phrase "Fall fearless into Love" that I found at the end of a blog. It is meant as a trigger point for meditation. A phrase to turn over in the mind as you go into silence.

God of mystery. Your perfect love "drives out fear" may we (or I) trust in you more today.. Let me fall into love. Let me fall into your ways of loving. Ways that liberate. Give me compassion for others - make me tender hearted. Let me fall fearless into your way, into your love. I know then I will find peace.

May I find contentment with you. Like a weaned child as it says in psalm 131 - or like the bird in the picture my wife took, may I find my nourishment by foraging on the things of God.

Blessings to you and your day!

Stirred up

10 OCTOBER 2017, 06:45 ... 'As an eagle stirs up its nest...so the Lord alone led him' (Deuteronomy 32:11-12 NKJV) In the quote God is likened to a mother eagle. When it's time to fledge the chicks the mother eagle stirs up the nest. One preacher, Bobby Gas - points out that the mother eagle even withholds food in order to get her young to dare to leave the nest! Is it true that God sometimes appears to be holding back so that we wake up and have the courage to fly from the nest? Give us a hunger in our hearts Lord. A hunger that drives us into the "more" - let us hunger for your word! For your love! Let us hunger to lead people to you! You are never truly distant. We distance ourselves from you sometimes. Wrestling with your demands. All you want is our attention! Our love!

Prayer for Healthcare in Ipswich

Below is the opening prayer that was used for Saturday's meeting to pray

Welcome prayer
Thank you to all that have taken time out to attend this morning, I pray Gods richest blessings on you all as we seek him, are thankful to him but mostly appreciate he is the king of kings and Lord of Lords, full of grace and mercy as we are reminded in Psalm 145:8

Remembering as the beautiful worship song we have sang of late “it is his breath in our lungs so we out our praise to him”
All that we have, all our knowledge, skills and abilities is not ours but God’s and in his great wisdom he gives them to us to use.

A bit like the parable of the talents, we can bury our skills afraid to use them just in case, but be the brave servant who took the talents and made it more, did not consider the risk but whose goal and objective was to please and honour his master. Matthew 25:14-30

You may be a health care professional, patient, family member, technician, no matter what your calling in life Gods wants to give you more but only if take the risk, step and do what God has called you to do. You may be a wife, mum, husband, son, God has positioned you for a purpose and for such a time as this. We see every day how much the NHS is in trouble, our schools, our government and there is no quick fix but this I do know and this I have every faith and confidence that our God is still on the throne and he got this !!

I love the story of Esther, she went from obscurity to a woman that saved her nation, one of my favourite versus
is Esther 4:4 “for such a time as this. Esther knew Gods’ calling was not without risk but she also knew she needed support to do what she was going to do. She called a time of prayer and fasting. So today, God has put us together to pray.

Remember God doesn't recruit you without a calling. God calls everybody to use the gifts and the passion that they
have, it is hard to follow God’s calling so do it with much  prayer and support.

Frederick Buechner said, “The place God calls us to is the place where our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Let us reflect upon and celebrate the vocation of the healer.  The role of the healer in the life of a community is
an ancient one indeed.   For as long as there has been illness and disease among humans, there have been those
moved to compassion at the suffering of their neighbors—those who have desired to ease the pain and cure the sick.  Today we give thanks for those women and
men who have found their greatest joy in service to one of the world’s deepest hungers: the hunger for healing and
wellness.

As we open our time of prayer, let us listen to the words of scripture, celebrating the deep connection that our
ancestors in the faith perceived between God and those who choose to minister to the unwell.

Update

I was walking to the station this morning. It's a 30 minute walk so I often listen to the Daily Audio Bible as I wander. I hasten to emphasise that is because I am a sinner and not a Saint. I need to orientate myself first thing or the day goes badly. Anyway I was happily listening to the 1 Samuel being read and getting into it... When without touching my phone the player swapped over to a sermon from the Elevation Church in Australia. Not a live broadcast but from a Sunday. The guy starts to preach.

To begin with I was irritated and thought grumpily I had better swap back to Samuel. But the guy said he was preaching on "why there is suffering" and at that point I thought I had better listen to it.

I made some notes. They are not very perfect and I am sure he said other stuff also - I might add a link and listen again. Especially if God wanted me to hear it I need to get every drop from it.

It spoke to my heart about the daily struggle between being the good version of ourselves or the bad version. I haven't been plotting evil as such - but sometimes it gets harder to see clearly what we are doing and we start going down an unfruitful route.

1. John 16.33  ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ and from elsewhere where it says "nothing can separate us from the love of God"

2. No bad decision is beyond redemption. Sometimes we say "what's wrong with me" * do note Paul was right with God yet he suffered.

3. Isaiah 48.10 "the refiners fire" is like wearing active wear -when we are suffering everything in our lives is revealed. Every blemish in our life! - he used quote from J L Packer "God hates the sins of his people, and uses all kinds of inward and outward pains and griefs to wean their hearts from compromise and disobedience. Still he seeks the fellowship of his people, and sends them both sorrows and joys in order to detach their love from other things and attach it to himself."

4. Romans 8:28

I will tidy this up later and add a link to the sermon. Judge for yourselves...

By the way the J L Packer quote feels like a driving lesson for my life....

Have a beautiful day!

Breath

Today I learnt that I take about 17,000 breaths a day. Most of those breaths are taken unconsciously. Breath in, breath out happens without me being particularly aware of it. The body is a strange and wonderful thing. The design or thoughtfulness of its construction is amazing. I came into the world over 61 years ago. Naked, probably crying I came. Somehow expelled from a womb where I hadn't been breathing air. Umbilical cord broken and then the shock of breathing in the new air of life. Ever since then, breath in, breath out.

Since then I have acquired possessions, which I have either lost again or worn out. Or disliked and thrown away. I don't currently own any possessions that I had on the day of my birth. Apart that is my body. If indeed you own your body or consciousness. Is it a gift or on loan? My mother and father should know but neither can I ask today.

Since then I have loved and lost. Lost and loved, many people. Lived many places. All the time, breath in, breath out. Heart beating. Some people I have been friends with and loved a very long time. My sisters have known me the longest.

I feel I must have had a creator. My mother and father co-operative with God's materials brought me into being. As I said all the stuff or the possessions that were man-made have passed. The constant is a body that grew cell upon cell in my mother's womb. Heart beating.

Breath of God, breathe on me. These morning thoughts are bringing me to knowledge of how fragile and precious our life is. And yet my breathing is happening as I write without my conscious intervention.

Dear God, I thank you for the gift of my life and my love. Help me to renew my commitment to live, to live in love and to the fullest. Breath of God, breathe on me and the town where I live. Send your creative Holy Spirit to make us more for you and your kingdom. Amen

Declare a holy fast! Joel 1.14

If you forgive me the opportunity for a play on words.

To declare a fast for Jesus, for God , is to put on our "go faster stripes" and to train for a deeper spiritual life.

Claire preached to us last Sunday about the reasons for fasting . And we heard from a witness about experiences at the International church.

To fast is to expect more from God. In my experience there is always more! God your ever loving father always wants to give you more. He never wants to give you less.

Do you dare to take from the hand of God? Do you dare to go deeper and let the heart of God speak to your life?

Matthew chapter 25 is about this sort of thing, it divides out into two sorts of subjects "having" and "giving."

On the having front we have all been given access to the full riches of God. He doesn't hold back and doesn't have favourites. He gives to each one who chooses to be his the full riches of God's glory. We can have it all. One day at a time.

The parable story about bags of gold in this chapter is about what we do with his love. Do we hold it like gold? Holding it to our chest hoping that no one will wrestle it away from us? Or do we give it away?  Squander it almost, because we know that there will always be more? Always there will be a fresh infilling of the riches of God for those who give away those riches. That's what Jesus is getting in his teaching, we need to understand that, and realise we are not in a spiritual famine where we need to hold God's riches back for some rainy day future. God gives! we use! Keep nothing in the storehouse God is our sufficiency.

So we have and we give, without fear or favour. We Share God's riches with the the wealthiest and also with the poorest of the Poor.

Matthew 25 "what you do to the least of my Brethren you do to me."

So this coming fast is an exciting opportunity to go deeper into the heart of God. To hear from him at a deeper level.

For reflection
* listen to Claire again
* are you going to pray 7/12/7
* who can fast with you?
* full fast or partial?
* look our Burlington Web page for the fast

* read the book of Daniel