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White taxis and butternut squash
God spoke to me very clearly just recently. He conveyed to me how much He cherished me in a way that I had never quite grasped before. I viewed a wonderful film in my mind’s eye of a maternity ward where my birth was taking place. God waited for me to take my first breath of life and let out that first cry which brings joy and relief and wonderment to a parent. I felt wanted, cherished, loved, safe, adored, like my life was planned and I was longed for by my heavenly father. I’ve never felt as loved as I did in that moment. God delighted in me.
Tags: Christianity, Grace, Identity, Life
Playing by the rules
Red:Writers is one of our excellent groups that meet around the city twice a month. You can find out more about red:writers here. Here is a sample of some of the things they have been up to. Enjoy!
Gods Proxy Polaroid
It is God who does the first missional act in history - He sends his word into the nothing, unleashing seven days of perfect and unparalleled creativity. In an almost prophetic statement of everything that his great story line will accomplish God speaks light into being and separates the light from the darkness. Then come the heavens and the seas, vegetation, plants, seeds, trees, fruit, seasons, evening, morning, night, stars, birds and beasts. God speaks and the lifeless nothing bursts into life. And over his new work God makes his first declaration of judgement, that everything he has just created is good.
Tags: Christianity, Identity, Life
Officially cool
A few years back my brother won a competition with a plan to set up a business where coolness can be bought for £5.99 with a certificate and badge to prove it in case anyone is in any doubt! The concept behind this is really taking the mick out of how people buy approval in the form of Converse shoes, an iPhone, or by subscribing to the newest social networking site. People are so desperate to be considered ‘cool’ that they will chase the latest label in order to prove it to those around them.
Tags: Identity, Life, Relationship
Grace in dangerous places
On Monday night I went out for a drink with some friends, one of whom happens to be gay. Brought up in the church and a follower of Christ, albeit in ‘another’ place on his journey at the moment we had some fascinating and revealing discussions about how the church (not just our church) can converse with those in the gay community.
Tags: Christianity, Church, Faith, Hope, Identity, Life, Made me think
Accosted by Christians
So, this is a narrative, kind of, about something that actually happened to me, but I couldn’t just tell it. I think I might turn this into a short play, but I secretly hate having things be about me. I feel like it’s self centered...anyway, here goes... Upon entering a street in central Belfast I see 2 men with a small table with what appears to be books on it. My first thought is are they JW’s?, second thought are they Mormon’s?, third thought are they Christians? I had seen their counterparts before, 2 women, long skirts, same table, same books. I kept walking. I had things to do. My thoughts got the better of me...
Tags: Christianity, communication, Identity
When I grow up I want to be me
Richard had more Star Wars figures than me. He had the AT-AT Walker, I was never allowed the AT-AT, too big you see. Richard also had a small but much coveted collection of Star Wars dressing up costumes, he was always Luke Skywalker, I had to settle for Darth Vader. I always wanted to be Skywalker. When I was 9 I wanted to be Richard.
Tags: Identity, Life, Made me laugh
God’s big picture
A few months ago, I finished reading a great book by Vaughan Roberts, Rector at St Ebbe's Oxford, called 'God's Big Picture'. Presented to me by my brother for my 23rd birthday, this book went into a growing pile of books that I would "get around to some day". And I tell you - I am very glad I got around to reading this book!
Expression of the heart
Sometimes the seasons of life we go through can be very painful and spoken words one to the other we cannot express, only words that seem to flow when written bring meaning to the soul. Here is a poem that a member of our team has written.
Being single and accepted
For the first time in a long while I feel accepted. I'm not talking about my status in Christ – I know I am accepted, even if at times I do forget that important truth. As a single person I feel accepted in a church environment – but not because I am single, I feel accepted as a person. At Redeemer Central we are a family. Before I came to Redeemer that meant something completely different. I felt on the fringe of the church family being a single person. I had good friendships with the small group I was in but not fully accepted by the rest of the church. I'm having difficulty explaining what I mean, I'm not even sure I can describe it in words – I had many friends and spoke to lots of people but when it came to the church corporately it felt as if I was an outsider being an unmarried, childless woman in my 30's.
Tags: Identity, Life, Relationship
Made Himself nothing
Importance, rank, position. Things we all, at some level, place a great emphasis on. I have found myself, as I have started a new job with a fancier title, getting caught up in a sense of importance. People must listen to me; do they know who I am? People must respect my opinion - I'm an expert after all.
Tags: Identity, Life, Made me think