Seize the season

These days Lent seems to have become about what you give up for the forty days before Easter. People give up chocolate, watching TV, or some other 'vice'. It is undeniably good to learn the discipline of giving up things we desire, the discipline of sacrifice, but it strikes me that it is what we replace those things with that is more important.

According to wikipedia, "the three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent" are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is worth noting that they are to be practised with 'renewed vigour', implying that we already do all three regularly. It is also worth noting that they are all things to be done, they are activities to participate in.

So, when you are deciding what to do for Lent this year, remember it's about more than what you choose not to do.

Seize the season!

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians 3:12

Ahem!

I was feeling tired this morning and was tempted to give church a miss, but I decided to drag myself out of bed and get over there.

As it turned out the pastor was preaching about Jonah. Every time he said the name 'Jonah' I instinctively looked up as it felt like he was addressing me directly.

Somebody was certainly trying to get my attention!

Don't just stand there...

Pray something!

I first read this book by Ronald Dunn when I was a teenager, and recently there has been a story from the book that has been playing on my mind. I went round to see the friends who lent me the book all those years ago and they promised to try and find it for me. When I got home yesterday the book was on the door mat. I read the whole book that night. Here's a summary of the bit that had been on my mind.

Basically, the story goes that while Ronald Dunn was pastor of a church, the youth choir were to go and do some performances in shopping malls, parks and evening meetings as part of a big evangelsitic event. They needed $4000 to enable the trip to take place.

In what he describes as a moment of "sublime unconsciousness" the pastor agreed they would do a fundraising event. The young people held a pancake breakfast in which they sold pancakes from a marquee under the slogan WhatAChurch! WhatAPancake! The marquee was conveniently situated next to a hamburger outlet called WhatABurger.

They raised $2000 that day. For the next three days the pastor says God beat him over the head until he repented of his foolishness and agreed to trust God to provide the remainder of the money through one person. A few days later the prayer was answered.

The conclusion...

"We raised $2000 selling pancakes and $2000 praying. When we sold the pancakes we thanked the choir members for standing in the middle of the street. We thanked the deacons for giving up their Saturday to cook pancakes. We thanked WhatABurger for the silly-looking chef hats. We thanked Aunt Jemimah for selling us mix at a discount, and Log Cabin as well - and then we worried that we might have forgotten to thank someone.
When we raised $2000 by prayer, we simply thanked the Lord. He got all the glory and all the credit. After all, that's what prayer is all about."

I'm not anti-fundraising, but I am pro-prayer!

What's blue and yellow and eats money?

Well, I guess it could be a blue and yellow, money eating monster.

The correct answer is, of course, IKEA.

I even went prepared with a list this time to make sure I didn't buy anything I wasn't supposed to be buying.

Lists don't work! IKEA wins again.

Ah, yes.

Young man with all the questions.

Be Thou My Vision

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me save that thou art
Thou my best thought by day or by night
Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word
I ever with thee, thou with me, Lord
Thou my great Father, I thy true Son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battleshield, sword for the fight
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight
Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower
Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance, now and always
Thou and thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, after victory won
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

It is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs

As a parent I know there is a lot that my daughter, Abby, has to learn.

I know that I have a lot to learn from her too.

When was the last time you went to sleep with an open bible on your bed?

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6