A contrast

Earlier this week I took my children to Marwell Zoo and then the following day to Beaulieu Motor Museam and estate. Both days were enjoyable.

I’ve just been struck since coming home though, of the contrast between the two. One showcases living creatures that God himself thought up and brought into being. The other showcases inanimate objects, man made and now relics.

Despite the animals not being in their natural environments, the enclosures are very suited to their needs and as such, it is possible to observe these amazing creations living quite happily. Each one different yet all living their lives lazily at the zoo, being appreciated by visitors. We saw the leopard pacing, the tiger sleeping, the sloth hanging, the red panda dangling … the giraffe eating, the mongoose running, the flamingos flapping and the penguins swimming (I’ll stop there!). 

At the motor museam we saw vehicles, parked up and static. Each one different yet each one frozen in time as a reminder of their brief moment in history, maybe even a claim to fame … driven by Mr Bean, James Bond or Del Boy Trotter! The vehicles are just things though … no life in them, no creator God to care for them.

As humans we can put so much emphasis on our achievements … what’s been invented and how clever we are … but before you can take too much time to glory in your own accomplishments, someone else will have come along and replaced or surpassed what you felt so good about … that’s history for you. The cars, though interesting, cannot compare to the animals … living, created beings.

Anything created or given by God is of far greater worth than anything we can conjure up by ourselves … no matter how great and spectacular human endeavours and achievements are, they cannot attain to the highest standard of creating and sustaining life. In our own small way, our most worthy and rewarding ‘achievement’ must be raising children, loving and looking after each other, and caring for God’s creation … all of it.

Ingrid x

Midweek Thought ~ The Goodness of God

“The goodness of God is infinitely more wonderful than we will ever be able to comprehend” (AW Tozer).

My oldest sister sent me this song to listen to first thing in the morning. The lyrics are so true and remind me that despite who I am, the ups and downs; the struggles and triumphs; my vulnerabilities, weaknesses and strengths… He is faithful and His goodness is actually running after me (even if I’m heading in the opposite direction). No matter how I feel or whether I praise God in the morning, He wants me and more than that, wants to bless me and pour His goodness into my life. How humbling and marvellous. It reminds me of another song “in the morning when I rise … give me Jesus” (Jeremy Camp). 

This one is by Rhett Walker ~ Goodness of God:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CHG6Ak5Jqkc&feature=share

As much as God’s goodness is “running after me”, let my life and lips continually praise His name and honour Him …. his goodness in me should be returned by me giving him all the glory.

Psalm 145v9 “The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made”.

The Austrian born composer Joseph Haydn once said: “Whenever I think of God I can only conceive of him as a Being infinitely great and infinitely good. This last quality of the divine nature inspires me with such confidence and joy that I could have written even a miserere in tempo allegro”.

I fear that we don’t really grasp what goodness means in the biblical sense, and therefore we miss out on what God’s goodness really is. We use the word ‘good’ so easily that it barely resembles a quality at all. Yet in the Bible, good means holy, pure and righteousness … it is one of the fruits of the spirit. Goodness is essentially Godliness. A rather higher state of being than just our every day ‘oh that’s good’ type usage!

It is about being holy (that’s a subject for another day) and having excellence of character. It would be futile to attempt to gain these heady heights of godliness and Christ likeness in our own strength or on our own merit … it requires God’s mercy and grace. 

By absorbing God’s word in our hearts every day, we will nourish and feed the soil of our hearts so that His goodness, pure and holy, will take root and grow within us, flourishing into fruit for Him and as evidence of His love, to others. 

“Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever” (Psalm 23v6)

Ingrid x

“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’s name is to be praised” (Psalm 113v3)

What a difference a day makes …

But I’m afraid the similarities to the song end there, because the difference isn’t you 😆! In fact I’m not sure at all what the difference is. I’m not spiritual enough to spout that the difference today is that I relied on God more or prayed more … life is tricky huh?

So I’m writing this at just gone 9pm on Saturday evening (24th July) and am in a vastly different state to last night. Honestly, it was rough. I can only put it down to too much on the mind and not enough rest and sleep (the two being different entities I think … for example if I am literally on my feet all day rather than sitting down at times, that constitutes very little rest!).

I’m very ashamed to tell you how mean I was in my lack of patience toward my children and I responded to their carryings on in entirely the wrong way … no positive parenting present that’s for sure. Of course they got to bed in the end and were absolutely fine, but I wasn’t. After getting them into bed, I curled up on my own and wept. The sort of crying that leaves you breathless and almost suffocated. The desire for some sort of physical pain to make sense and give a ‘proper’ reason for the internal anguish. It happens (thankfully not that often these days). 

I was sorry for my wrong handling of the evening and my own ugly character … oh the fickleness of the human heart … one minute trying to be more Christ like and learn more about God and the next?.. the polar opposite to anything resembling grace, mercy, long suffering and tenderness. It makes me bow my head in shame.

Move on 24 hours and the scene is a stark contrast. Calm, contentment, patience and kindness … a good story time, prayers and a song. I’ve done the necessary jobs and got organised for going away tomorrow for a couple of nights … the home is peaceful including my insides. Why? I really don’t know but I’m glad for today and this evening! I’m still very tired and hoping for a good night … my body aches from doing so much and I have some tough things to sort out which are really very important and tricky to deal with. 

What I do know and can share, is that both last night and tonight I talk with God … I tell him how I feel and what I’m struggling with … where I really need his help and ask if he can take the situation into his hands and sort it out. I confess my vulnerabilities and weaknesses … I apologise for my humanness and I pray for my children. He know and he cares. He can lift me up when I am weak and can give me strength to continue. Thinking about it as I type, it most likely is the fact that God has given me some peace about the tricky situation which has then in turn enabled me to be less stressed about it today. I suppose I did cast all my cares upon him last night when I was sobbing in agony … I shouldn’t be surprised that he has raised me up today to walk freely and with a lightness because he has lifted the burden of guilt, concern and exhaustion. 

I always love quoting this verse in my mind and speaking the truth of it to myself … I lift my eyes up to the hills, from whence cometh my help … my help comes from the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth (Psalm 121). Despite having to still respond and address the pressing issues of the tricky situation I have (it’s probably not profitable to go into detail), I do feel as though I can rise above it and trust God in the detail … he is above all and in all, so he has got this. He cares for me and he cares for my children, so he will endeavour to intervene for what is right, just and true. I can’t ask for more than that. He is ahead of me already, sorting out the detail. How wonderful!

Now to deal with the tricky message and then to bed 💤.

Ingrid x

Continuation of the thought ... Magnify His Name!

I’m not sure if you can read the attached UCB word for today (22.7.21), but I had to share it as it just continued my thoughts from the past couple of days. I’d not really thought about the verse ‘magnify the Lord’ in a deeper way, dwelling on the word ‘magnify’. It’s just so easy to reel it off and quote like Mary in Luke 1v46 “my soul doth magnify the Lord”. But does it?

Truly think about ‘magnify’ ... if my children want to take a closer look at a very small insect, we use a magnifying glass to make it larger. Intricate markings or details about the object or creature are seen whereas before they were invisible to the naked eye ... attention can be drawn to things which weren’t known before ... therefore we learn more and have a greater awareness and appreciation for whatever it is we are examining in more detail. 

The same therefore, should apply when we magnify the Lord. It starts with a choice, whether or not we want to magnify him. If we do, then studying occurs and details are noticed and enlarged, making our awareness of him far greater than before which in turn must develop a deeper appreciation. It will also showcase him through our lives, to others ... we will want to share and magnify further, what we are interested in. With anything in life, if we’ve learnt something more or new about something we’re passionate about, we’ll talk to others about it.

So let’s get out our spiritual magnifying glasses and take a look at the transcendent God, high and lifted up, who’s train fills the temple (Isaiah 6) ... who upholds all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1) ... who flung stars into space and spoke light into being ... the one who created humankind with all its intricacies, knowing that one day, he would take on the form of a human and suffer in that very body so that his own creation could be redeemed though his death, even though they didn’t even want it! Yes, that amazing God ... who hears the cries of the destitute and abused (Psalm 102) ... who will one day deliver true justice and will reign in righteousness ... the one who is available right now, to hear you, to protect and comfort ... a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46) ... present, right now, no question about it. Let us rise up and call him blessed and let us magnify his holy, magnificent name.

Ingrid x

Midweek Thought ~ Time

I’ve been acutely aware recently how time can so easily pass quite legitimately in a flurry of activities and in response to daily demands. Not so much the bigger picture of ‘wow where did that year go’, but more the day to day hours and how hard it is to protect quiet time ... time to ponder and deepen our appreciation of God’s majesty ... to truly get to know Him.

I am often helped and have real fleeting moments of appreciation for God, with a glimpse of something I wish I could really grasp, understand and protect, as though I could hold onto it within me and never let it go. Once again, David Gooding’s book ‘Bringing us to Glory’ provided one of these moments. In part 6 ‘Prayer’ (the disciple’s journey), he reminds me that I am justified and no longer need to ‘stand at a distance’ ... I can come right into the presence of God because I am completely accepted by him ... I am a redeemed personality and by abiding in him, my mind will begin to renew and I will begin to bear fruit. Yet what is amazing to me, is not just that I can approach God, but that he in the highest, elevated position of power and undisturbed glory, infinitely above earths affairs, “regards the prayer of the destitute and does not despise their prayer” (Psalm 102v17). He looks down from his sanctuary, he views earth from heaven and listens to us ... the transcendent God has not only looked down, but has come down ... his care is beyond our comprehension. He always hears the prayers and cries from earth.

We have lost appreciation for God’s name ... it is not honoured and hallowed as it should be, it is devalued and defamed even by us as Christians. We have most definitely lost the sense of holiness and what it means day to day.

I believe that if I were to protect time each day to learn more about my God ... his holiness, his glory, his majesty ... then my very being would become more aligned with his will for my life ... my choices, my prayer requests, my attitude and perspective would become more like that of Christ’s ... how marvelous! I know that I have a sense of who he is in a basic way, but it’s growth is thwarted by the lack of dedicated time to develop it into anything deeper, plus the fact that my mind is so puny and can only cope with a certain amount of thoughts each day, most of which are absorbed with mundane day to day ‘stuff’. I get so frustrated when I try really hard to stretch my mind to attempt at comprehending eternal and heavenly things only to hit what is the wall of human limitation and ignorance with a lot of tired thrown in! 

I long for more glimpses of glory.

I long to live in the light of them.

In amongst the daily existence of being a mother and many others things, if I am to grow and deepen my appreciation for the God whom I will one day meet and spend eternity with, I must be resolute in my time management ... I must stand my ground so that I can grow healthy roots, to flourish and enlarge my capacity to understand and live for his glory. Not an easy task ... more of a committed grind, but one with consequences of significant magnitude eternally. Of course our enemy with his machiavellian plans to prevent this very desire, will be upping his attacks ... thank goodness God is greater and is available to strengthen us daily to cope with and defeat his undermining tactics and lies.

I feel small and insignificant, a speck ... yet God in all his magnificence chooses to notice each of us specks on this earth and he hopes to hear from us. Quite astonishing!

Ingrid x

Prior to my midweek thought!

It’s gone 11pm and I’m in bed but thinking I should have had something ready to post, but I haven’t ... I have thoughts but they’d come out jumbled right now. So, I’ll just pop this on and then write in the morning with the hopes that I’ve had enough sleep to formulate and share some sensible and helpful meanderings.

This should tie in with my post tomorrow ... sometimes we just need real determination to put aside time to get to know God and to appreciate his holiness and transcendent glory. So much else demands our attention but we must be like the little acorn and stand our ground if we want to grow into the knowledge of God and his will for our lives. To learn and truly appreciate the practical reality of that growing knowledge, requires committed, regular time.

Ingrid x

The same God ...

It’s so easy to praise God and appreciate his presence in your life when things are ‘good’. May be less so when we face trials and despondency. It’s during these times when we need reminding that the God on the mountain top is the God of the valley ... He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13v8). Whether times are tough and you loose peace, or are seemingly calm and very peaceful ... you are never alone.

Every night leads to morning and every winter leads to spring. Don’t doubt God and don’t fall into despair ... keep your faith. The God of the day, is still God in the night. He promises us that he will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13v5) ... never means never ... it is not conditional on circumstances, environment or societal demands. Whatever pressing concern or worry you have, God is present ... he is a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46v1).

Our job is to claim these promises and rest in them. So often I pray and lay my worries before God but keep on worrying. I need greater trust and a fuller, deeper appreciation of God. I can truly depend upon him like no other ... he does care and he will listen ... if I give him my concerns as he has asked me to do (Matt 11v28 & 1 Peter 5v7), then I can expect rest and peace. You can too.

Lynda Randle ~ God on the mountain:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mvkCoC0ZOZc&feature=share

Ingrid x

Keep pondering on this quote and can’t quite manage to process it ... probably because I’m busy, tired and not sure if I have the energy to figure out what sparks a light in me! 😆

I’m wondering if it’s possible for some of the things that spark light to also make you tired ... like children! Ha. 

I think every now and then I need to copy Jesus ... when he was tired, he sat on the well for a rest and drank some water, and by doing so, shared living water. I doubt there’s anything quite so refreshing and invigorating as experiencing living water and sharing it on. That would certainly spark a light.

Ingrid x

A song rather than a midweek thought!

I’m not too sure I have any deep thoughts to share but I have been enjoying this song ... let me tell you about my Jesus ... He is full of steadfast love, faithfulness, truth and justice.

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32v17) ... “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36v5) ... “I lift my eyes up to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121v1-2).

My Jesus ~ Anne Wilson:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cWLm6z42Gk8&feature=share

Ingrid x

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Just thinking about this evenings football Euro 2020 final, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs Italy 🇮🇹 and this quote came to mind. Seeing as this is a blog about my faith, I’d better relate it to that too! 

We’re encouraged in Hebrews 12 to persevere ... “let us run with endurance the race God has set before us”. It’s a long haul with challenges along the way which is why we must endure and persevere ... not naturally easy things at all. We may have successes and we may experience failure but as long as we keep our eyes focused on the eternal prize and our daily perspective trained through the lens of faith in Christ, we will continue ... we will prevail and we will not surrender or give up!

Every breath we take is a new opportunity for good ... so have courage my dear friend, in the face of any opposition, to stand for what is honourable, just and right.

Ingrid x

The Better Part

I am primarily challenging myself here. You see, for the past few weeks I suppose, I have been ‘so busy’ with other things on my mind, that I have rushed and neglected my thought life with God .... my communion and contemplative time. I have noticed this when I’ve come to write a blog post and have nothing to give or share because my mind has been focused on other practical things. 

Since when did ‘so busy’ become a legitimate reason for neglecting what is most needed? It’s bonkers really. The very thing that would help with the busyness of life, the decisions which must be made and the strength needed to undertake what’s essential to get done each day, gets pushed to the back! Why would I or any of us do such a thing? I know the truth of it but I allow other things to wiggle their way in and crowd out the better part. I don’t deliberately do this or allow it, but it just happens and before long there’s spiritual malaise. 

Even with my children, when I pray with them at bed time, I rush it and keep it short. I ask them if they’d like to pray and share something they’re thankful for and even at ages 5 and 3, they often put me to shame and remind me of what’s important!

Discipline is needed ... daily. I honestly wish I could learn this lesson and then automatically exist in a state of closeness and communion with our Heavenly Father, but it requires daily renewal, cleansing, conversation and learning, just like it does (but rather less importantly) with any friend. It’s so relatable isn’t it ... we do it (or don’t) for our bodies with diet and exercise and we see the consequences either adversely or positively.

The very fact that I’m busy and have a lot to get done at the moment, with my mind and body being stretched in many directions, should unequivocally lead me to greater dependence on God and his word. Take for example, strength ... the strength needed to get through each day and just keep going ... what’s that well known verse? “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8v10). Really stop and think about that. If it’s true (which of course it is, because it’s in God’s word), then we need the Lord’s joy to keep our strength up. How do we get joy? Well I can tell you one thing, it isn’t from neglecting the Lord and his word!! It’s exactly the opposite of course. Joy comes from spending time, communion, deep seated trust and conversation ... from living, real evidence of his presence in your daily life and the ability to talk to him whenever and wherever needed. 

I think joy and light go together ... God’s word is a light unto our path (Psalm 119v105). So to immerse myself in his word will also help my daily life even if it feels ‘dark’ at times as opposed to light, his word and presence will illuminate my path ahead, the next step, and bring me joy despite circumstances.

Many of you will know I am a lone parent to 3 little ones and am currently moving house. Yes I may be busy, but being the only adult in the house should surely nudge me toward greater dependency and communion with my Lord, so that I am assured of right thinking, decisions, timing and activity.

This morning I was woken a bit earlier than I would have liked (!) and kept thinking about the fact that I wasn’t praying much at all ... so here I am with a cup of tea and writing away to you guys. 

I often feel sorry for Martha in Luke 10 ... she’s so busy doing legitimate, helpful things. She’s providing hospitality to the most important guest she would ever have ... I mean, can you imagine for example, the queen unexpectedly coming for tea (or whoever you may hold in highest esteem) ... every one of us would be busy first getting everything ready to meet their needs, and then we may wish to sit down and ask them questions and listen to their words of wisdom. What we are less likely to do, is to have them find us in whatever state we are, and to sit down next to them and just listen ... without having even cleaned the bathroom or prepared food and drink. Yet when it comes to our deepest needs on every level, the better part is to come as we are; listen; lean and learn. From that point, we are more fully able to engage in all the activities of the day with strength, joy and peace ... a knowledge that the God of the universe is in the detail and cares very much about that detail.

I will hopefully change my focus and choose that better part first and foremost every day from now on. When I stray and become neglectful, I pray it won’t be for long before I realise my weakness and foolishness in forging ahead in my own fallible, unreliable effort.

Ingrid x

I bow before your holy temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed by all the honour of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength”.
Psalm 138 v2-3 

Midweek Thought ~ Weariness

It’s probably been rather evident lately that I’ve been preoccupied and lazy at my blog posts. So here’s the deal ... we’ve had a bad cold / cough, my 5 year old is now having to self isolate due to a case of covid in his year, so home schooling once again and I’m trying to pack up this home and move to our new one but slowly as there are jobs to be done there ... so project managing and trying to find trades people to do the jobs as well as keeping the basics going has just eaten up my time and energy some days. I still like to support others and get involved in other charitable causes, so come the evening, I’m somewhat dazed ... add to that that for some reason I can’t seem to sleep much ... I’m having a mini season of weariness.

Now I know full well that it’s so easy to compare in order to either make oneself feel better or worse as the case may be ... let’s face it, I’m not being abused or persecuted; I’m not struggling with physical pain, a new diagnosis or unwelcome prognosis; I’ve not been made unemployed or being evicted and I’m not grieving a loss .... in fact, I am supported and cared for by so many ... I am grateful for so much.

Our own lives affect us greatly because they are our immediate and present reality. It’s ok to feel weary even if there’s nothing too ‘major’ going on. Christ compels us to “come to (him) all you who are weary and burdened, and (he) will give you rest” (Matt 11v28). What a great promise to claim!

When we get run down or are just too busy and tired, we’re often encouraged to reevaluate what our priorities should be and to potentially give up some of the things we currently do. That may well be helpful and necessary, but it’s not always the case. I know I would struggle to give up some of the folk I help or causes I’m trying to get involved in ... they help me in so many ways even if they do use up some of my time and energy. As long as I get time to spend with God and then to prioritise my children and their needs, including their need for my time without being rushed or impatient, then to be involved in the causes of others is the best form of encouragement and is uplifting both emotionally and spiritually. 

Christ doesn’t tell us to take stock and stop doing as much, or to give up helping others and to focus on ourselves more ... he simply says to come to him and he’ll give us the rest we need ... he’ll recharge our batteries and provide the vigour required to keep being his hands and feet to those around us. How can we expect to keep going in our endeavours unless we first find our energy from the source of strength, solace and rest ... Jesus Christ. To rely on our own abilities will result in short lived bursts of activity followed by a regular malaise ... not much help to those we can impact and support! Let us use the unfathomable depths of God’s love, grace, mercy, peace, strength, courage, hope and joy as we live our daily lives to influence those around us.

I love these words from Brandon Heath’s song:

“Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken-hearted

The ones that are far beyond my reach

Give me your heart for the once forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see”.

So despite weariness, I hope that I can continue to reach out and be available to those around me who need help, hope and a hug. Let’s never be too weary to represent the love of God. Don’t walk with your head down or eyes closed to the needs around you, but rather, look for opportunity to serve and be a blessing every day.

Ingrid x

God Loves You

Yes God loves you and he specialises in the impossible ... so do not fear but trust him and his timing in your life.

“Jesus did not promise to change the circumstances around us. He promised great peace and pure joy to those who would learn to believe that God actually controls all things ... When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer ... This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person he puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.” (Corrie Ten Boom)

Never give up ... hold the faith and trust in Him who flung the stars into space and upholds all things by the word of His power. We often sing “His strength is perfect”, but so is His timing ... He is faithful and true.

Whatever you may be struggling with right now, God is in the business of coming alongside and breaking those chains; of healing that hurt and of setting the captive free! (I’ve been there). He is the miracle maker and has both a future and a hope mapped out just for you.

I like these two songs ...

Zach Williams ~ Chain Breaker:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JGYjKR69M6U&feature=share

CeCe Winans ~ Believe For It:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n4ggKHAK_xk&feature=share

Ingrid x

You ‘must’ love yourself

(Taken from UCB word for today Dec ‘20)

Ingrid x

Every day is important