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What love
Every now and again I have words in my head that buzz around and prevent me from doing whatever I'm meant to be doing. Lately it's been at a late (or early - depending upon how you look at it!) hour of the morning. I thought I'd share one of these set of words with you.
A road worth travelling
The first autobiographical book I ever read was Corrie Ten Boom’s ‘The Hiding Place’. I was about 15, and I got a lot more than I had bargained for. Corrie Ten Boom and her family were Jews living in Holland during the Second World War. They spent several years living in a cramped hideout in their home, helping many other Jews to hide and escape. Eventually, in 1944, they were discovered, and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where both Corrie’s father and her sister Betsie died. Corrie’s faith in God remained strong; when she was eventually released, she became an evangelist, and travelled extensively, talking about God’s love and his forgiveness. Probably the most well known part of Corrie’s story is one of forgiveness on an almost unimaginable level, when Corrie came face to face with a former concentration camp guard; one who had not only witnessed, but been part of, the pain and humiliation she and her sister had suffered. I’ll let Corrie tell the story.
Tags: Faith, Life, Made me think, Pain, Suffering
Spiritual bandaids
I generally consider myself to be quite a laidback, fairly contented kind of person. But sometimes, I get a little frustrated with where I am at in life. This kind of feeling usually comes about as a result of some work-related issue or incident. You know those days, when work just feels like it is going on forever, and you cannot remember what on earth possessed you to select this career, and you feel like you are just treading water, waiting for something dramatic and exciting to happen, but secretly worrying that it never will. Days like that, all my positive, laidback feelings fly out the window and I can find myself having a little moan. I realise it is not a very mature response. But sometimes it is as much as I can manage. And I can guarantee you that as soon as I start to moan, some nice well-meaning Christian (often my mother) will chirp up with those over-quoted words from Jeremiah 29: “God has good plans for you, Emma, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”. Yes, I know. I read that verse too. And it is ruining my moan.
Tags: Faith, Finances, Life, Made me think, Suffering
A touch from God
Last summer life seemed to be like living in two differents worlds at the same time. We were experiencing such an outbreak of God’s Kingdom, heaven touching earth every day, seeing healings and people set free, lives transformed and people coming to search for and then know God. It was a truly wonderful time walking in anticipation of what God was going to do next and then being even more surprised as He far exceeded our expectations. At the same time we were having difficulty in a few relationships with friends, two of our parents were ill and then in one day we lost a much wanted baby and my brother was rushed to hospital with a suspected heart attack.
Rollercoaster ride
2009 has so far been a bit of a rollercoaster for my family and I. As I sit and think about some of the circumstances we have experienced I feel quite overwhelmed with emotion. I can’t deny that a lot of what we have faced has been tough going but what brings tears to my eyes is how our friends at Redeemer have supported us.
Pain and suffering, where is God?
At this point in time I can honestly say with my hand on my heart I truly believe my God is right in the middle of any and all pain and suffering. It sounds glib but I assure you this conclusion came after a long struggle, being angry at God and the world and questioning His goodness and painful experiences. Read on to find out more.