Over the past few months I have been attending the Mentoring school of Glasgow Prophetic Centre. It is a monthly free school that helps you to listen to God and practice skills.
If I am honest, I first went along to it to see what it was... I was not too sure if it was for me and I certainly would not class myself as a prophet.
I do however volunteer for Healing Rooms Scotland, part of International Healing Rooms. So praying for people is not out my comfort zone.
At first I was hesitant....but I have grown in confidence and been open to God.
At one session one of the leaders asked me if I had tried prophetic art....I could not help but laugh my art is not much better than stick men that my toddler can manage.
But the comment was a seed planted....so a week later I bought a pad and pencils.
Now I would love to say I have mastered technique, but alas I have not ....but I am learning to be still before God - draw (even if it is badly) and then writing any words or scripture that has come to mind.
I am learning and on a journey with God.
The school is giving me a safe place to hone skill.
Now I know some that may raise an eyebrow at this but for me its a journey I am willing to explore.
There have also been a few dreams on my heart for years and I was beginning to wonder if they would ever be more than a thought in my mind or were they a crazy thought?
Well they are no further forward as yet but after a prophetic check up from some of the team (none of whom knew me) I still have hope
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Sunday 5 September 2010
Crabgrass
Well I have had an interesting weekend. I have been to our annual staff weekend that we have in YWAM Scotland.
What did we talk about - Crabgrass.
It is not something I know terribly much about....infact I am not sure I have heard of it before. Crabgrass however is a weed that spreads everywhere. One of the interesting things about Crabgrass is that it will suck up the the nutrients it can get in one area and if that section has enough to sustain it, then the crabgrass will pass the excess nutrients along the roots to an area that needs more.
Isn't that a wonderful image for a national mission agency/ church? (not the weed aspect the sharing resources aspect.)
Within our organisations we have several locations that work independently yet we are still organically linked as we are one charity. So we have this dichotomous aspect as we are one unit YWAM Scotland, yet we are also location based as well throughout the nation.
I have never been big on promoting our YWAM Stirling Name
What I am Big on is
God
Being Obedient to Him
Seeing Communities and Lives transformed
His Kingdom
I want to be at the very pulse of what God is doing in my area and nation -
if that means I partner or volunteer with a like minded organisation, then I will do that...
Its not about the "success of the organisation" or who is the Lead role....its about God and seeking first His Kingdom
What did we talk about - Crabgrass.
It is not something I know terribly much about....infact I am not sure I have heard of it before. Crabgrass however is a weed that spreads everywhere. One of the interesting things about Crabgrass is that it will suck up the the nutrients it can get in one area and if that section has enough to sustain it, then the crabgrass will pass the excess nutrients along the roots to an area that needs more.
Isn't that a wonderful image for a national mission agency/ church? (not the weed aspect the sharing resources aspect.)
Within our organisations we have several locations that work independently yet we are still organically linked as we are one charity. So we have this dichotomous aspect as we are one unit YWAM Scotland, yet we are also location based as well throughout the nation.
I have never been big on promoting our YWAM Stirling Name
What I am Big on is
God
Being Obedient to Him
Seeing Communities and Lives transformed
His Kingdom
I want to be at the very pulse of what God is doing in my area and nation -
if that means I partner or volunteer with a like minded organisation, then I will do that...
Its not about the "success of the organisation" or who is the Lead role....its about God and seeking first His Kingdom
Wednesday 11 August 2010
What shape do you want to be?
Okay, so the title of this blog might intrigue you.
Thinking about what I wanted to write here, my mind drifted to a small snippet of the TV show "Outnumbered" where the young girl comments on how silly it is to have a size zero dress size to her gran....the gran explains that it is just a number but that women can be whatever size or shape they want to be regardless of the popular images.....the little girl responds by saying "I want to be Hexagonal".
Its funny, but my question here is Do you/I dare to be different?
Sometimes I long to have a normal job that gives be a regular, stable income and a life where I have far less juggling and "stuff"
I have nearly been in this ministry for 5 years and still lots of people don't get it....sometimes I think people think I am doing this until I can get a proper job when the kids are older. Some just presume I am a housewife.
In fact I don't fit nice and neatly into any "box". Sometimes I like that.....I know I challenge their stereotypes of what a missionary should be....I am married but my husband is not in the mission...I regard myself as part time in hours but full time in what I do.
Let me explain, I work part time in the mission. I have 2 young kids so I don't do a 37 or 40 hour week. I am however always a missionary. If I go to a toddlers on "my day off" I don't not talk about God if the opportunity arose....being a witness is what we are all called to be, is it not?
Why do we get so bogged down on labels and qualifications.
I have worked in care for the last 5 years purely to support my ministry, its a tent making ministry if you like. Now having been in a position for 5 years the powers that be think that in order to be in care you need to registered and have a certain qualification.
The question for me now is do I want to jump through the hoops to get the right piece of paper when that job is not my calling...its a means to an end. Whilst I am always professional, my call is not primarily to work in the care service...
There are some who think I should give up and concentrate on the family....others that think if I give up the job then God will surely put it on people's hearts to financially support my work...
What I am saying is that I will never please everyone or fit the box that they might want to place me in....
I want to be whatever shape and size God wants me to be, whether that is round, square stripey or hexagonal....as long as I am walking in His will for my life....that is all that matters.
Thinking about what I wanted to write here, my mind drifted to a small snippet of the TV show "Outnumbered" where the young girl comments on how silly it is to have a size zero dress size to her gran....the gran explains that it is just a number but that women can be whatever size or shape they want to be regardless of the popular images.....the little girl responds by saying "I want to be Hexagonal".
Its funny, but my question here is Do you/I dare to be different?
Sometimes I long to have a normal job that gives be a regular, stable income and a life where I have far less juggling and "stuff"
I have nearly been in this ministry for 5 years and still lots of people don't get it....sometimes I think people think I am doing this until I can get a proper job when the kids are older. Some just presume I am a housewife.
In fact I don't fit nice and neatly into any "box". Sometimes I like that.....I know I challenge their stereotypes of what a missionary should be....I am married but my husband is not in the mission...I regard myself as part time in hours but full time in what I do.
Let me explain, I work part time in the mission. I have 2 young kids so I don't do a 37 or 40 hour week. I am however always a missionary. If I go to a toddlers on "my day off" I don't not talk about God if the opportunity arose....being a witness is what we are all called to be, is it not?
Why do we get so bogged down on labels and qualifications.
I have worked in care for the last 5 years purely to support my ministry, its a tent making ministry if you like. Now having been in a position for 5 years the powers that be think that in order to be in care you need to registered and have a certain qualification.
The question for me now is do I want to jump through the hoops to get the right piece of paper when that job is not my calling...its a means to an end. Whilst I am always professional, my call is not primarily to work in the care service...
There are some who think I should give up and concentrate on the family....others that think if I give up the job then God will surely put it on people's hearts to financially support my work...
What I am saying is that I will never please everyone or fit the box that they might want to place me in....
I want to be whatever shape and size God wants me to be, whether that is round, square stripey or hexagonal....as long as I am walking in His will for my life....that is all that matters.
Saturday 22 May 2010
You never know what will fall through the letter box
Today I had an interesting letter.....a letter informing me that I might be made redundant. In a way it was a stage before that actually. The letter to let us know that some people may get a job at risk letter as redundancies will have to be made.
This job is a care job I do on a casual basis. In one sense I could see how my job will be at risk since I don't do that many hours a month....then again getting rid of me won't save them much.
On the other hand that job funds 99% of my ministry costs so it raises a few questions.
One one hand I know God will show me the next step and on the other there is a gap that needs filled....
Interesting times.
Thursday 6 May 2010
It has been a while since I have written anything here and well that has been life.
In the last few months we have had a variety of challenges one after another.
For a while we got pestered with teenage pranksters on a daily basis, often several times a day....
What they saw as fun, actually began to grind us down and make us anxious....The human side of you wants to defend your territory and knock heads together while you are trying to remain calm and be reasonable.
Then there was a fall, concussion and now nearly constant headaches....such is life you have to take the rough with the smooth...
I have been pondering lately about how we perceive things...
In my church we have a Bible in a year challenge.... so lots of us a reading the daily reading and its stimulating discussion....
Someone wrote in a blog discussion "we have so many programmes and so little yield.... people do it because its what we do in Christianity"
You know I get part of what the person is saying but my heart is saddened and frustrated with such comments. How do we know what the yield is?
We may not always hear the results or see the results of our actions... I always remember one of my school friends telling me after being a Christian for a while that she became a Christian because of me.
I was stunned, as I had no real memory of witnessing to her.....but she said " You started by saying hello to me on the way to school and then I watched you for a bit and you got me thinking, you became my friend and you had time and listened"
It was a chance conversation that I found that out.....
Getting back to the blog guy.... I wonder if he realised that his idea of seeing the yield might be that he lives in a world that seems so fixed on targets and achievement that he has slipped into that himself and has a negative view on church.
We will not always know the fruits of our labour and we can not assume we know their motivation...be slow to judge.
In the last few months we have had a variety of challenges one after another.
For a while we got pestered with teenage pranksters on a daily basis, often several times a day....
What they saw as fun, actually began to grind us down and make us anxious....The human side of you wants to defend your territory and knock heads together while you are trying to remain calm and be reasonable.
Then there was a fall, concussion and now nearly constant headaches....such is life you have to take the rough with the smooth...
I have been pondering lately about how we perceive things...
In my church we have a Bible in a year challenge.... so lots of us a reading the daily reading and its stimulating discussion....
Someone wrote in a blog discussion "we have so many programmes and so little yield.... people do it because its what we do in Christianity"
You know I get part of what the person is saying but my heart is saddened and frustrated with such comments. How do we know what the yield is?
We may not always hear the results or see the results of our actions... I always remember one of my school friends telling me after being a Christian for a while that she became a Christian because of me.
I was stunned, as I had no real memory of witnessing to her.....but she said " You started by saying hello to me on the way to school and then I watched you for a bit and you got me thinking, you became my friend and you had time and listened"
It was a chance conversation that I found that out.....
Getting back to the blog guy.... I wonder if he realised that his idea of seeing the yield might be that he lives in a world that seems so fixed on targets and achievement that he has slipped into that himself and has a negative view on church.
We will not always know the fruits of our labour and we can not assume we know their motivation...be slow to judge.
Saturday 13 February 2010
Spring Term - Monday Classes @ ICC
Once again, International Christian College is opening its doors for short courses.
Topic include
http://www.icc.ac.uk/content/monday-classes
Topic include
| 10:15am - 11:15am | The Bible and the End of the World | Jane McArthur |
| 12:00 - 1:00pm | Prophets, Priests and Kings Exploring some Old Testament themes | Ralph Martin |
| 7:30pm - 9:00pm | Who Would Jesus Vote For? | Graeme McMeekin |
The cost is £8 per class or £40 for the series if paid in advance or on the first week.
(For Friends of ICC the cost is £6 per class or £30 for the series if paid in advance or on the first week)
http://www.icc.ac.uk/content/monday-classes
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