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This week, show us something thatโs a HABIT. It could be your daily walk to the bus stop, or your daily paper lying on the doorstep. Maybe itโs the guy behind the counter at the deli you always visit for lunch, the stuffed bunny your child must have at bedtime, or the view from your desk as you sit down to blog.

ย My Thoughts ๐ญย
For this weeks challenge i wanted to share a photo of the daily fuel that keeps iChristian going (other than the obvious โHoly Spirit answer).
This is a Mocha fresh from our excellent little coffee maker (Dolce Gusto)! I love Mocha, Lungo intenso, Cortado & Expressoโs and hot chocolate (not all in one day! lol) ๐
More of my Weekly Photo Challenges
My Thoughts ๐ญ
After watching this amazing testimony of Godโs Love & Grace i couldnโt stop thinking about the lyrics below from the powerful โConstanceโ song.ย
๐ Lyrics from โConstanceโ by Mr. J. Medeirosย
The sound of rain is her backdrop laying there
Like sheโs waiting for somebody to say they care
While the tears of God fall down the window pane
She feels unholy like the Father doesnโt know her name
Marry Magdalene and the woman at the well
He knows everything that happens
And in His arms she fell

The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, โI was wrong.โ
Sydney J. Harris


Ephesians 4:17-32ย The Voice
Therefore, as a witness of the Lord, I insist on this: that you no longer walk in the outsidersโ waysโwith minds devoted to worthless pursuits. They are blind to true understanding. They are strangers and aliens to the kind of life God has for them because they live in ignorance and immorality and because their hearts are cold, hard stones. And now, since theyโve lost all natural feelings, they have given themselves over to sensual, greedy, and reckless living. They stop at nothing to satisfy their impure appetites.
But this is not the path of the Anointed One, which you have learned. If you have heard Jesus and have been taught by Him according to the truth that is in Him, then you know to take off your former way of life, your crumpled old selfโthat dark blot of a soul corrupted by deceitful desire and lustโ to take a fresh breath and to let God renew your attitude and spirit. Then you are ready to put on your new self, modeled after the very likeness of God: truthful, righteous, and holy.
So put away your lies and speak the truth to one another because we are all part of one another. When you are angry, donโt let it carry you into sin.[a] Donโt let the sun set with anger in your heart or give the devil room to work. If you have been stealing, stop. Thieves must go to work like everyone else and work honestly with their hands so that they can share with anyone who has a need. Donโt let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths. Instead, offer only fresh words that build others up when they need it most. That way your good words will communicate grace to those who hear them. Itโs time to stop bringing grief to Godโs Holy Spirit; you have been sealed with the Spirit, marked as His own for the day of rescue. 31 Banish bitterness, rage and anger, shouting and slander, and any and all malicious thoughtsโthese are poison. Instead, be kind and compassionate. Graciously forgive one another just as God has forgiven you through the Anointed, our Liberating King.
My Thoughts ๐ญ
I was talking to Christian brother Ben shortly before our men’s group on Wednesday about the inner peace of knowing our true identity in Christ, and how we can then apply that truth, comfort and joy into our daily lives. Then today, loving sister Shelly said it perfectly!! ๐
Here is a poem I wrote about how different things would be if we put our trust in the Lord.
If Only
If only I trusted that I am worthy of love, I wouldnโt let people use and abuse me.
If only I trusted that I was chosen to be a child of God, I wouldnโt dwell so much on the times my earthly father disappointed me or hurt my feelings.
If only I trusted that I am Godโs masterpiece, I wouldnโt believe what others have said about my appearance.
If only I trusted that I am holy and dearly loved, I wouldnโt listen to the hurtful comments people have said to me.
If only I believed I was an heir to the King of Kings, I wouldnโt spend so much time and energy trying to acquire material things.
If only I trusted that I belonged to a royal priesthoodโฆ
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My Thoughts ๐ญย
ย Dear readers, please could you pray for my lovely wife Sarah. Weโve just received the date for her eye surgery (Friday 15th Nov 12:00 UK time) and Sarahโs worried as this eye has lots of other complications from previous operations. So iโd like to gather as many brothers & sisters together to pray for her!ย
Iโm posting this a week early as i thought if you only get weekly notifications then you still have time to join us in prayer! ๐
Matthew 18:20ย The Voice
For when two or three gather together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
My Thoughts ๐ญย
Sarah & i have just got home from โThe Johnny Cash Roadshowโ at Epsom Playhouse. When they introduced Johnny Cash as a Singer, Songwriter, Christian & Sinner, i knew it was going to be good! ๐
Description from the Epsom Playhouse
Johnny Cash Roadshow
7 November 2013
The UKโs No1 Tribute, fronted by respected singer/songwriter Clive John, re-creates with astounding accuracy and truly captures the essence of what it was like to be at a real Cash show! Also featuring Jill Schoonjans as June Carter, Amanda Stone and Sheena Beckett as the Carter Sisters all aspects of Cashโs life are covered with impeccable taste.
The show takes the audience from the 1950’s right up to 2002 and all the stops in between. All the greatest hits are included, Ring of Fire, Walk the Line as well as the Johnny and June duets Jackson and If I Were a Carpenter and so many more, all the while accompanied by an amazing video back drop with evocative images and shots from Johnny Cash’s life.
ย I hadnโt heard many Johnny Cash songs (even though i play a few) but i was pleasantly surprised with the strong Christian message in some of them! Now iโm totally Countryโd out!ย I’ve added a few songs played tonight, enjoy! ๐
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โStart Overโ
(feat. NF)
Everybodyโs got a blank page
A story theyโre writing today
A wall that theyโre climbing
You canโt carry the past on their shoulders
But you can start over
Regrets, no matter what you goinโ through
Jesus, He gave it all to save you
He carried the cross on His shoulders
So you can start over
Donโt let your heart be troubled
Donโt be afraid
To the broken hearted that wished that theyโd
Never been born, never been torn, never sinned, never disobeyed
I know you think thereโs no hope, but that ainโt true
I know you feelinโ regret
(Like I) brought this all on myself
(Like I) messed it up big time, and this time I donโt deserve Godโs help
(Thinking) how can God forgive me after knowinโ what I did (can He?)
After knowinโ that I hid from Him, and I stayed away and backslid
Jesus came for the sick (so true)
Jesus came for the weak (amen)
Jesus came to give good news and have set the captives free (amen)
Jesus came for the poor (amen)
Jesus came with the keys
Jesus came to remove the chains so the prisoners are released
Everybodyโs got a blank page
A story theyโre writing today
A wall that theyโre climbing
You canโt carry the past on their shoulders
But you can start over
Regrets, no matter what you goinโ through
Jesus, He gave it all to save you
He carried the cross on His shoulders
So you can start over
See, His love is deeper than the ocean floor
Run to His arms like an open door
God the Father sent the Son
So men can come and be free and ainโt gotta run no more
Come to me, all who are weary; with heavy burdens, Iโll give you rest
Separated you from the sin, as far as the east is from the west
Thrown in the sea of forgetfulness
What sin? What offense?
And when them waves come crashing in, Iโll calm the winds in your defense
So, whatever it is that youโve done
He put that punishment on His Son
Youโll never come under His condemnationโฆ Satan and his accusations
So, dry your eyes, lift up your head
Hallelujah! God is not dead!
Plus He gave us His peace, and He took our guilt on the cross instead
Took our place and now we embrace
A clean slate with the eyes of faith
We know unfailing love, unfailing love, itโs not too late, start over
Everybodyโs got a blank page
A story theyโre writing today
A wall that theyโre climbing
You canโt carry the past on their shoulders
But you can start over
Regrets, no matter what you goinโ through
Jesus, He gave it all to save you
He carried the cross on His shoulders
So you can start over

There are wounds of the spirit which never close and are intended in Godโs mercy to bring us nearer to Him, and to prevent us leaving Him by their very perpetuity. Such wounds then may almost be taken as a pledge, or at least as a ground for a humble trust, that God will give us the great gift of perseverance to the end. This is how I comfort myself in my own great bereavements.
John Henry Newman




My Thoughts ๐ญย
Not going to a firework display this year, so here are some photos from last year. Hope you enjoy!! ๐

Called to become
You are called to become a perfect creation.
No-one is called to become who you are called to be.
It does not matter how short or tall or thick set or slow you may be.
It does not matter whether you sparkle with life or are silent as a still pool,
Whether you sing your song aloud or weep alone in the darkness.
It does not matter whether you feel loved and admired or unloved and alone.
For you are called to become a perfect creation.
This becoming may be gentle or harsh, subtle or violent.
But it never ceases, never pauses or hesitates, only is –
Creative force – calling you.
Calling you to become a perfect creation
Edwina Gateley
Psalms of a Laywoman.
My Thoughts ๐ญ
One of our ministers (Nik) just emailed me this amazing poem which was read out whilst on her retreat. Thought it would speak to some of you too! ๐

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Let us pray for the Church and for the world, and let us thank God for his goodness:
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you promised through your Son Jesus Christ to hear us when we pray with faith.
We pray for your Church today, gathering all around the world in tiny churches and great cathedrals, to praise you, to hear your holy word, and to meet with you in bread and wine. Give us a sense of expectation as we come and inspiration as we go. Help us to put our differences behind us and to behind the great commission of Jesus to make disciples of all nations.
We pray for a world which struggles to live justly and in peace. We pray for those who have to search for daily food or walk long distances for clean water. We remember with sadness those whose live are cut short by preventable diseases and malnutrition, and those who have fled their homes for fear of violence. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done as it is in the heavenly places.
We thank you God for your forgiveness and for revealing that you are Love. Thank you for those people who sustain us by sharing this love to us. Thank you for the network of people with whom our lives are inextricably linked and who make up the fabric of our family and community life. Make us alert to each otherโs needs and quick to serve and encourage one another. May our gentleness with each other reflect your gentleness with us.
We pray for those who are laid low by suffering and those who are experiencing the outrageous assault of pain. We trust your love for us and for all people, and your deep desire for our well-being. As we name in our hearts those who are in the grip of suffering, help us so to pray and to act that they may know your comfort and healing, both now and in the coming days.
We thank you for those people who have tonight given us examples and models by which we try to live. We thank you for those who have lived and died in quiet holiness and whose prayers have helped to sustain the world. Help us to live in the light be which they lived, and to worship the source of that light, Jesus Christ our risen Lord.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of all people, we commend ourselves to your unfailing love. Merciful Father, accept these prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
My Thoughts ๐ญ
Tonight at our cafรฉ style evening service we were lead through this lovely prayer above. Thought you might want to join in with us. ๐
ย Letโs go out and capture black and white images that are EERIE.ย

โง โThe Retreatโ Log cabin looking EERIE in Acle, Norfolk โงย


ย โง There was a definite EERIE feel around Castle Rising Castle โง

1 John 5:1-6ย The Voice
Itโs easy to say โI love God,โ but genuine love reflects Godโs love. If we belong to God, then we will love each other regardless of how hard love is.
Everyone who trusts Jesus as the long-awaited Anointed One is a child of God, and everyone who loves the Father cannot help but love the child fathered by Him. Then how do we know if we truly love Godโs children? We love them if we love God and keep His commands. You see, to love God means that we keep His commands, and His commands donโt weigh us down. Everything that has been fathered by God overcomes the corrupt world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith.
Who is the person conquering the world? It is the one who truly trusts that Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus the Anointed is the One who came by water and bloodโnot by the water only, but by the water and the blood.
Just as we do not get to choose our biological brothers and sisters, we do not get to choose our spiritual brothers and sisters either. But what comes along with loving the Father is loving all His other childrenโeven the really annoying ones! While it might seem to be easier to go off and live in isolation rather than put up with those we are not naturally attracted to, there are responsibilities that come with living in a spiritual family. We reflect our worship of God by living in respect with our Christian brothers and sisters. How we treat the people around us on a daily basis is the real test of our love for God.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us DINNER!ย
โฆfor tomorrow we die. The world is ending tomorrow! Tell us about your last dinner!

ย โง Fillet Steaks โงย

โง Love heart potatoes โง ย

โง Doughnuts โงย

โง Elephantโs Foot โง ย

ย โง Hot Chocolate โง
My Thoughts ๐ญย
Lucky iโd be dead tomorrow, as i think iโd die anyway after eating all of this! ๐
It’s just gone 2am here in the UK and i’ve just saved Sarah from another nasty hypo (yay, i didn’t need to call the ambulance out!). This song was playing on the radio and helping me stay awake. I’ve never heard this song before so i thought i would share it with you now all is well! ๐
Thanks to Spannerr for recommending this song to me!

James 2:1-7ย The Voice
My brothers and sisters, I know youโve heard this before, but stop playing favourites! Do not try to blend the genuine faith of our glorious Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, with your silly pretentiousness. If an affluent gentleman enters your gathering wearing the finest clothes and priceless jewelry, donโt trip over each other trying to welcome him. And if a penniless bum crawls in with his shabby clothes and a stench fills the room, donโt look away or pretend you didnโt noticeโoffer him a seat up front, next to you. If you tell the wealthy man, โCome sit by me; thereโs plenty of room,โ but tell the vagrant, โOh, these seats are saved. Go over there,โ then youโll be judging Godโs children out of evil motives.
My dear brothers and sisters, listen: God has picked the poor of this world to become unfathomably rich in faith and ultimately to inherit the Kingdom, which He has pledged to those who love Him. By favoring the rich, you have mocked the poor. And, correct me if Iโm wrong, but isnโt it the rich who step on you while climbing the ladder of success? And isnโt it the rich who take advantage of you and drag you into court? Arenโt they the ones mocking the noble name of our God, the One calling us?
We are often mesmerized by the rich, powerful, and beautiful people of the world. We dream of associating with them; but when we focus our attention on the fashionable people of this world, it is often at the expense of those who need it the most.
Ignoring the needy and favouring the wealthy is completely contrary to the example Jesus modeled for us while walking on earth. God often chooses those who are the poorest materially to be the richest spiritually. We should welcome everyone equally into Godโs kingdom, even if it means upsetting boundaries like class and race. The rule is simple: we should treat others in the same way we want to be treated. God does not play favorites, and neither should we.

Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again.ย For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still.
C. S. Lewis

Iโve spent most of this week changing my email subscription status on the many blogs i follow. I didnโt know that after all this time, i wasnโt getting any posts through!! I thought that you didnโt post much. lol.ย
As i donโt use the โReaderโ to follow blogs (its just too clunky with how i use zoom and speech on my mac, so i read your post via Email) i wasnโt keeping up with you guys at all! So sorry if you thought i was being ignorant, but as from this week, Iโm back and you should see me around your blog soon! ๐


Psalm 139:23-24ย The Voice
Explore me, O God, and know the real me. Dig deeply and discover who I am.ย Put me to the test and watch how I handle the strain.ย Examine me to see if there is an evil bone in me,ย and guide me down Your path forever.

ย

2 Corinthians 4:1-12ย The Voice
Drawing from Exodus 32โ34, Paul uses Moses as a model of one who has been transformed by Godโs glory, but in a limited way. Moses encountered God (the Lord) through the Spirit on that mountain, but the Spirit nowโas a fulfillment of the new covenantโdwells in the hearts of believers and continually transforms them. This transformation is based on a new way of understanding Godโs revelation: Jesus Himself, the One who reveals Godโs glory, is the very image of God. Through this Spirit-enabled encounter, believers experience a new way of living and therefore come to resemble the Anointed One as they reflect His glory.
Since we are joined together in this ministry as a result of the mercy shown to all of us by God, we do not become discouraged. Instead, we have renounced all the things that hide in shame; we refuse to live deceptively or use trickery; we do not pollute Godโs Word with any other agenda. Instead, we aim to tell the truth plainly, appealing to the conscience of every person under Godโs watchful eye. Now if our gospel remains veiled, it is only veiled from those who are lost and dying, because the evil god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. As a result the light of the good news, the radiant glory of the Anointedโwho is the very image of Godโcannot shine down on them. We do not preach about ourselves. The subject of all our sermons is Jesus, the Anointed One. He is Lord and Master of all. For Jesusโ sake we are here to serve you. The God who spoke light into existence, saying, โLet light shine from the darkness,โ[a] is the very One who sets our hearts ablaze to shed light on the knowledge of Godโs glory revealed in the face of Jesus, the Anointed One.
But this beautiful treasure is contained in usโcracked pots made of earth and clayโso that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us. We are cracked and chipped from our afflictions on all sides, but we are not crushed by them. We are bewildered at times, but we do not give in to despair. We are persecuted, but we have not been abandoned. We have been knocked down, but we are not destroyed. We always carry around in our bodies the reality of the brutal death and suffering of Jesus. As a result, His resurrection life rises and reveals its wondrous power in our bodies as well. For while we live, we are constantly handed over to death on account of Jesus so that His life may be revealed even in our mortal bodies of flesh. So death is constantly at work in us, but life is working in you.
Jesusโ death is the means to new life for others. Similarly when believers suffer for others as Jesus did, their suffering is an avenue for Godโs life to transform situations.

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When we understand that He is Lord of our time, we realize that interruptions are of His planning.ย They become opportunities to serve rather than plagues to keep us from functioning.
Karen Mains
โI am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs awayโand the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me. (John 10:11-14 NRSV)
โI am the good shepherd.โ
Itโs an interesting concept and one which is ripe for misunderstanding when viewed through modern Western eyes.
In many places today sheep are herded by being driven from behind, often with the help of sheep dogs and farm vehicles. Itโs a benign practice but it conjures up completely the wrong image of Jesus as the good shepherd.
Instead, picture the shepherd as the one who spendsโฆ
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My Thoughts ๐ญย
After being back in my home town of Derby this weekend, i didnโt want to leave without having an โElephants Footโ from Birds. Other bakers around the country do similar styles of cakes, but never taste anything like one of these beautyโs, they simply canโt be beaten! My sister got me a box of 4 to take back home and Sarah & i canโt thank her enough! ๐
If you visit Derby or Derbyshire then i recommend that you try one! Please let me know what you think! ๐

Matthew 11:28-29ย ~ย The Voice
Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Put My yoke upon your shouldersโit might appear heavy at first, but it is perfectly fitted to your curves. Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. When you are yoked to Me, your weary souls will find rest.

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Check this out!! ๐
A musical history lesson from the fabulous Pentatonix

It would seem, after having been a Christian for almost 80 years, that I would no longer do ugly things that need forgiving.ย Yet I am constantly doing things to others that cause me to have to go back and ask their forgiveness.ย Sometimes these are things I actually do- other times they are simply attitudes I let creep in which break the circle of Godโs perfect love.
Corrie ten Boom
Yesterday, a small group of women from my church started the bible study, โUngluedโ by Lysa TerKeurst.ย For those of you who either know me really well or even justย through this blog, you are aware of my ability to sometimes spew my emotions onto my family.ย My hopes are that through this study, I will learn to stop letting my feelings get the best of me in lifeโs tricky situations and use Godโs word to combat my raw emotions before I allow them to sabotage my most valuable relationships.
Before weโd even left the church yesterday, I knew there was something from the guide that I would be sharing with you all today!ย Lysa gave us a list of โanimals,โ asking which described us best when faced with an unglued kind of situation:
Wounded bear:ย I am hurt & unpredictable, so watch out!
Agitated skunk:ย I may or mayย not createโฆ
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Thinking Of You Mum
My Thoughts ๐ญย
Today wouldโve been my Mums 64th birthday. Some of you who have read My Testimony or my About page may remember that she died in the same month i was registered blind 13 years ago. My family & i miss her lots, so iโve added some of their facebook comments below,