I missed out on New Word Alive this year, so missed out on this absolute gem of a video on justification. We often make it a complex doctrine, yet this video explains it so simply!
God’s Good Gifts – 20th May May 20, 2012
As I write this, I’m on day three of being sofa bound full of a horrible bug. My first thought was that I have nothing to write on this weeks post … then i thought that just maybe, this is an ideal time to remind myself of the things that are good! So here goes:
1) Health – ironic eh? But being sofabound has made me realise that so often I take my good health for granted!
2) Pink and Whites – warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds they are currently my most favourite food. There’s something about the simplicity of wafers and marshmallow that is an awesome comfort food.
3) Virgin Catch Up TV – hours and hours of convalescing entertainment!
books and tea! May 19, 2012
I have no idea if this really is a CS Lewis quote, but I like the sentiment and the fact that 3 of my favourite things are all linked together!
Arty students resource! May 16, 2012
I have a confession to make before we continue on … here goes: I know pretty much nothing about art. I sometimes do visit galleries and wonder what on earth it is that I’m meant to be looking at! But I do know some lovely people that do know things about art. And many of them have patiently spent time explaining things about art to me over the past couple of years. And the more I’ve heard the mroe interesting it becomes. A couple of my arty friends are Craig and Sarah. They work with art students in Scotland and London (respectively), and have a blog full to the brim of posts, talks, details of events and other arty related links. So whether you’re an art student or just want to think a bit more about how to engage with art (like me!) then head over and take a look!
Rule Britannia! May 15, 2012
Met a friend for dinner this evening on Regent Street (a benefit of living just half hour out of central London!), and was thrilled to see the Union flag (according to my Mum it’s only the Union Jack when flying on a ship…who knew?) flying all the way down Regent Street and Oxford Street. It made me feel a teensy bit proud to be British!
Rule Britannia!
possibly the most stereotypical picture of London I could have taken!
God’s Good Gifts – 13th May May 13, 2012
Somehow it’s been over a week and even though this challenge is only into it’s second week, I’m finding it hard to do! 
But nevertheless, this is the lasts weeks round up of God’s good gifts…
1) Halloumi and Nando’s garlic sauce – this taste sensation during Relay supervision on Tuesday, was a real reminder that not only did God give us food which is varied and can taste amazing (seriously don’t judge it til you’ve tried it!), but that he’s provided me with money to go buy food when I want it.
2) The M6 Toll – I was up North visiting family this weekend and although the motorway wasn’t mega busy on the way home, there was something relaxing about only being able to see three other cars on the road. And the M6 toll services are nice!
3) Handwritten letters - In this age of digital communication there is something so nice about getting a letter from someone you talk to on the phone at least once a week, in a beautiful homemade card.
Cheats guide to a showstopper cake! May 8, 2012
Over the last couple of years I have become a little bit obsessed with baking 
- shows like the Great British Bake Off have made it seem so simple to produce amazng cakes easily. Alas, I do not yet own a Kitchen Aid (which obviously will solve all of my kitchen problems), do not have a huge kitchen in a marquee and don’t have an entire day to dedicate to one cake. This hasn’t deterred me from baking, but has made me very selective over the reciepes that I choose to even to attempt. The Hummingbird bakery carrot cake is a fave as it always turns out looking great (even without the marzipan carrots which are very fiddly and annoying – but the only photo I can find is from the day I spent hours making tiny carrots!), but it’s pretty high on the faff scale – grating 300g of carrots takes a while!
So, for church-weekend-away-at-home-garden-party-indoors-because-of-the-rain, on Sunday I branched out and tried a new cake … and it is literally the easiest c
ake to make in the world! It’s called a Blueberry Soured Cream Cake, and I pretty much followed the receipe on the good food website, but used frozen blueberries to bake into the cake (so much cheaper). It takes minutes to mix, no hand mixer required, and yet looks and tastes like it took hours!
Where is our comfort? May 6, 2012
Where do we get our comfort from as Christians when times are tough? From retail therapy? Grit your teeth? Crossing our finger that it’ll be over soon? One of the real challenges of returning to ‘normal’ life after my stepdads funeral, was resisting a desire to punch those who said ridiculous things to me, in the name of ‘comfort’. I lost count of the number of people who encouraged me to place in my hope in things that we could never know were true. In things which I don’t deny God could do, but of which there was no proof, and could never be proved in this lifetime. So what then can we hope in when all else fails? What should we be pointing one another to?
One of the most striking memories I have from being at New Word Alive a couple of years ago, was during the singing when I glanced over at the friend next to me and noticed she was in floods of tears. It wasn’t just the tears that made it memorable though, it was that she was still singing and praising her God and Saviour. Her tears came after a talk on suffering, and what it means for Christians, just days after her mum was diagnosed with cancer. I remember thinking ‘how can she still whole heartedly praise God’? I couldn’t compute at all that being faced with real, raw pain could lead to God’s praise. It felt like an oxymoron.
But yet, it wasn’t. Surely, if we believe the gospel, then the gospel must be true at all times? It’s easy enough to believe God is good when life is bumbling along nicely. Surely, though when things aren’t good, it’s necessary to believe that God is good. If not, then what use is trust in Jesus at any time in our lives? If it’s only a nice thing to believe when things are going ok, then why bother? Life won’t always be good, we’ll all face pain at some point. And that’s the conclusion that I’ve come to over the last few days. That if God isn’t there, or isn’t good, then everything else is even more meaningless.
So, where should our comfort come from? Surely it needs to be from the character of God, and who He is. The Christian friends that have patiently listened and repeatedly pointed me back to God’s merciful, loving and gracious character are the ones who by far have provided the most comfort. Let’s not try and comfort people with things we have no way of knowing are true, but instead with those things that we know are true and will never change. The attributes of our loving, missional, saving God.
God’s good gifts … 5th May May 5, 2012
I have a feeling that although this is a new blogging venture, it’s not necessarily going to be easy to pinpoint the things from within the last week that have been God’s good gifts! And yet, I know there’s thousands, from each breath to unexpected contact from the wider Christian family.
So, after great thought and mind wracking, here’s this weeks top three!
1) Coffee – stereotypical of a Christian worker I know. The day before my stepdad died, back 
in February, he and my mum brought down an old espresso machine which had been gathering dust in their attic. Sadly he died before he ever got to see the pleasure that a shot of espresso brings me on a rainy morning, but now each time my day starts with coffee, it starts with the memory of a man whom I miss.
2) My new(ish)-to-me car – driving a car that doesn’t feel like it’s head gasket is about to blow and that isn’t helping me to know the local Kwik Fit guys better, is a dream. Add in central locking and power steering and I’m set!
3) Church Family – I feel really blessed to be part of a church family who truly care. Who ask me how I am, and expect more than ‘fine’, who keep asking how I am and more than anything invite me in to share their lives. Not just on a Sunday, but seven days a week.
Celebrating God’s good gifts May 1, 2012
We’re going through Ecclesiastes at chuch at the moment, and I’m really enjoying the chance to look closely at the whole book. On Sunday we reached chapter 3 and look at ‘time’ and how there is a time for everything. The real challenge for me came from verses 12-13 …
I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
It made me realise just how rarely I take pleasure in the everyday good gifts God gives me. And so, here begins a new regular blog. Each week, I’m going to blog about things God has given in the preceeding week, to see the good that God does bless me with on a daily basis midst the things that seem more pressing. The good gifts in and of themselves are not the end, they’re not the thing that will ever give me true meaning but that reflect the gracious and loving character of the amazing life giving God.
