Friday, November 23, 2012

doing today and not waiting for tommorow


Ok girls, time for  a little bit of transparency.

How many of us if we are truly honest, have woken up on a Monday morning and realised that you had  forgotten  to wash the school uniforms due to a hectic weekend?
How many of us have heard the  words .."where are my socks and where is my  undies"...due to an overflowing laundry basket, that is now like a make shift wardrobe
I know I have, on more than one occasion
I guess for some of us we have more in common than we think.

Things can often get away from us.
The busyness of life can come, and take over the things that are a priority in helping us have a smooth running household.
Its Like the pots we have left to soak in the sink, with the hope that some one else will come along and wash it them for us ...

Or the full load of towels in the washing machine that we forgot to hang out, and now have to re wash as they have gone a bit smelly ...

Then there is the old vegetable at the back of the fridge, the one that is now growing enough penicillin to source a chemist,(I mean we have been meaning to throw it out,haven't we )

And last but not least, the morning you wake and realize there is nothing for school lunches, your  already running late and apart from giving them salt on toilet paper as that is all that seems to be available, you run frantically to the local store and nearly spend your whole life savings on a bread and peanut butter

Yep these are Just some of the things that slip unnoticed until we have no choice but to deal with them
If the truth be known, we or should I say most of us have experienced one or all of these things.

We swear  that next time, we are going to wash the uniforms the moment the kids get home from school.
And as for laundry baskets, well as soon as its off the line your going to fold and put away in every ones draws.
And never again will you soak a pan,or forget to hang out the washing.

And as for your fridge, well from now on that's going to be sparkling with only the freshest of veggies.
and your pantry well that will be filled to overflowing with home made items so school lunches are always on hand.
Phew !!!
Until the moments of change turn in to hours, then days, then months, and before we know it we are back again swamped with overflowing laundry baskets and moldy veggies.

Like anything in life to be organised and take hold of the things that will make our lives run smoother  takes effort.
I am reminded of   The healing Pool in John 5
One man had laid there for 38 yrs, the fact that he was at the pool you can see he desires healing, but being at the pool and getting in the pool are two different things.
 Its like knowing you need to wash uniforms and actually washing them.
 They are not  just going to jump from the ground themselves in to the washing machine.
So many of us today know we need healing and we believe with sincere hearts that we are sitting at the pool waiting to be healed  and Yet we feel God is doing nothing.
We can so often let the hustle and bustle and Pain that life throws at us steer us away from making our own healing a priority,  so we put it of for another day.

However we cant just sit by the pool, we have to get in to it

When Jesus approached this man he asked him "Do You Want To Get Well"
the man replied and said "I cant sir as i have no one to help me in to the pool while iam trying to get in some one goes in ahead of me'

We can sit at the edge of the water so to speak, waiting for the tide to turn on our situation and whist waiting we can grow mouldy like the old carrot in the back of the fridge.

We can remain for years in the same situation, whist we watch others running forward to receive their freedom ,but not us we some how cant move ahead.
 So its often easier to sit and blame others for why we lay at the edge of the pool paralyzed ,lame or blind especially if they have genuinely contributed to your pain. Yet when we live this way it stops us from taking ownership.

Only we can step in to the water and move forward.

Next thing Jesus said to the man was "pick up your mat and walk"
some of us have been sitting on the same mat for years and years, its felt comfortable
Yet frustrating and painful ..
I was pondering Jesus words and I thought how amazing that he doesn't say "Leave your mat behind and walk."
The man would still carry his mat but it would now be cleansed and new.
 Even once we are healed we can still carry the scars of our past, but they are now healed and whole and now have the amazing ability to show the world of Gods amazing power.
As i thought on that I was thinking of how our own pain can bring healing to another life, instilling hope and freedom, as we carry what ever it is that's held us back and walk in to the healing pool of Gods amazing presence.
When others see our scars they will listen to our story
HIStory
So the challenge is  Do we want to get well?
 If so what mat have we been sitting on.
 Is it Anger, Depression,Fear,Rejection, Pain, Abuse, Unforgivness, Self esteem, Eating disorders, Addictions, ..
What ever mat it is  Jesus is calling to us to not wait till its all out of control, but today pick up your mat and move forward.
He knows our fears and he will guide us each step of the way .
Hope I see you alongside me at the waters edge ready to emerge  ourselves fully in the healing of The King 
be blessed  love Debs x




Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Travel Light




Can you imagine what it would feel like if you had just arrived at your dream holiday destination in the snow only to open your suitcase and find it packed with bikinis and summer outfits. 

Just the sheer thought makes me feel uneasy. The entire holiday could be far from pleasurable, and somewhat uncomfortable

Yet so often our lives can be just like this.

 Sometimes we can find ourselves in a new season and we are still carrying an abundance of last season’s junk, plus the season before that, and the one before that.
Making our current season heavy and weighed down. Which makes  it very hard to move with the freedom that God has given us?

Imagine your life like a big huge suitcase, as the years have passed the case becomes heavier and heavier, you have been meaning to de clutter but things just get in the way.
Not only that it can also it can feel quite scary to get rid of the things that you have held on to for years. I mean everything has a memory attached whether it be a good one or a bad one.

We can be fully aware that our life is overflowing with too much unnecessary baggage, we know that no matter how much we try to ignore it eventually the zip will break.
And what we thought was a “Neat, compact nobody can see what’s in my case kind of life “eventually will spill out, causing us to now have a suitcase (life) were the handle has fell off and holes have appeared and all the stitching is coming apart.

Every new season we enter we need a spring clean. There is no point if you’re in a summer season to continue to wear your winter outfit, or vice versa.

We need to begin to learn the art of traveling light. Some of us we are carrying pain and hurt and grief around. For others its addictions and anger and the list can go one.
only we know what’s in our case and only we can unpack it 

why not join with me, and open up our lives before God and allow him to De clutter and spring clean our hearts enabling us to walk in the freedom that is ours love Debs xx