Breathe Ministries

2017: Blessed is She

[breatheconference]

Love for Christmas

Each December, we find ourselves in the midst of great sales, great decorations, and great pressure to buy the perfect gift or give the perfect dinner party. But the one thing that we should be focusing on is finding within ourselves, or developing and cultivating a greater love, love for each other. Whether it is making a conscious decision that we will love deeper, carry joy with us making every encounter more important or being kinder and more gentle to everyone around us.  We can treasure and grow the great love we’ve found in our lives.  Do our family, our partners, children, friends, pets, and supportive colleagues, need to see more of that love in us, can we dig deeper and find more in us to give out?

 Jesus said “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you to do” (John 15:12). We are led by God to realise that forgiveness is a critical part of great love. The more we love someone, the more likely we are to be hurt by them, and to hurt them ourselves. Without forgiveness, the great love we have is fragile and fleeting. Forgiveness is the glue that keeps us bound to each other and keeps our bonds strong. One of the best ways to show someone how deep your love is, is to forgive them.

 If we are blessed to have great love in our lives, there are many the elderly, singles, those who suffered divorce and bereavement and many other hardships – who may be hiding how desperately lonely they are during the holiday season. Let us be generous, and share our love with all this season. Reach out your hand in love and invite those around you for a drink, or dinner, and let them know that they are valued. Love is the greatest gift we’ve ever been given. Let us share this our greatest eternal gift that knows no height or depth let us share it with all we meet spreading Christmas Joy and the love of God everywhere we go.

God can do anything; you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams (Ephesians 3:20-21). He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

You may be the only one sharing love with that person you reached out too this Christmas. Be that one.

 Have a wonderful Christmas.

- Sarah Glover

[breatheconference]

Peace for Christmas

Often times my biggest understanding of concepts of faith come from the people around me. I asked a good friend what she thinks peace is and this was her description: peace is not just the absence of strife, it has its own presence, its own authority. At Christmas time, retaining peace can be like trying to catch your own shadow; you can see it there, but it’s just out of reach. It’s ironic because it’s literally what the season is supposed to be about and yet this can be one of the craziest times of the year and we can forgo peace almost completely. As each Christmas of my adulthood passes I become more aware of the strife that can come at Christmas time. No longer can I rely on my wonderful mother to sort presents, plans and parties. Suddenly I am responsible for my own time, appointments and budgets every single December. And as my community of friends and family grows, so does the responsibility I feel to show them that I love them through the giving of gifts and time spent. And I feel this weight of responsibility to measure up to the arbitrary expectations that I have set for myself in my head. And then it becomes stressful. I could go on for a few more paragraphs about the ins and outs of my stressful season thus far, and I’ll be honest, I just deleted several dozen words about all that. Even in writing this, clarity has landed gently in my mind. Honestly, any season of life can become stressful. Any one thing that we love to do can cause us equal amounts of pleasure and anxiety. It’s all about perspective. I want to have the perspective of peace over Christmas. I want to be able to look at all the things - busy and quiet, fun and necessary, boring and interesting - and appreciate them all for what they are supposed to be: opportunities for me to intentionally spend time worshiping God and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. That’s what this season is all about right? That’s where the peace is supposed to come from. That’s why it’s not just the absence of something. Peace is the presence of Jesus in everything. I like to think that Mary, in the midst of the madness of public scrutiny, long travels and I am sure much self-doubt, what brought her through it all with such dignity and grace, was the peace she had in her heart. She knew her purpose. She knew that greatness would come of all that she was going through. She knew that God had her back. Her circumstances were not peaceful. But her heart was. I want to really encourage you to take a minute to shift your perspective to one of peace. If you can find no peace in your Christmas season, you’ve missed something. It’s there. And once you grab on to it, peace overcomes the anxiety and the stress. It infiltrates the family tension or the wariness that many jobs in limited time can bring. Peace coupled with Joy can turn most situations into times of greatness, not because our circumstances miraculously change, but because our hearts do. I pray for peace for you this Christmas. I also pray that all the plans you have go well. But even if they don’t, I pray that you are able to see the work of Jesus within them and know that no matter what, He’s there, He loves you and His peace will always surround you. Keep searching for it. You’ll see it soon. - Sarah Hewitson

[breatheconference]

Joy for Christmas

I have had a number of opportunities in the recent past, which have potentially involved change in my own and my family’s life.

I would say that I am a planner (probably not a very good one!) and I like to know what is coming ahead. Change doesn’t frighten me (in fact, it quite excites me, especially ahead of the change!) but I probably overthink a lot of things and anticipate what may happen in light of the changes to come.

Recently, there have been a couple of occasions when changes I had anticipated have not come to pass. I had imagined myself, and my family, a long way down the road of change… and then realised that none of this is going to happen.

How have I responded to these situations? Well, there have been mixed emotions; disappointment sometimes, relief at other times, a sense of loss perhaps, and even loss of self worth.

Then I take a step back to see the bigger picture… I know that God has good plans for my life. I have never lost my sense of trust in God and I always pray about any opportunities and seek God’s will for me in these situations before I go ahead. I believe God has put these situations in my path to teach me good lessons about myself and to teach me more about Him.

In life, I often get consumed in the “what is to come” that I forget to be thankful for the moment. I need to choose joy today, tomorrow and the day after – whatever that might look like!

As I think about the Christmas story, and in particular Mary’s response to all that takes place, I often think how I would have reacted in that situation. Luke chapter 1 tells of the angel visiting Mary to give her the news about the birth of Jesus. It says in verse 29 “Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.” Mary was also afraid and questioned how this could happen. I think, at the very least, I would have been confused and afraid and would have had a few questions of my own! But ultimately Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38).

How accepting are we of the situations we find ourselves in? I’m sure Mary had thought ahead to her future and I’m sure it didn’t look a lot like the situation the angel presented to her.

Mary’s song of praise in Luke 1:46-55 is just breath-taking: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”. Mary anticipates what is to come for her and the implications of the news the angel brought her, she chooses to worship and sing praises to her God. What an example to us!

Every Christmas, I pray to become more like Mary – to choose to worship God and choose joy everyday despite not fully knowing or understanding all that is to come, to trust God fully.

So this Christmas, in all the planning and thinking ahead to all that is to come, I challenge you… choose joy today.

- Lesley van der Walle

[breatheconference]

Hope for Christmas

So, the first Sunday of Advent is here! By now calendar doors are being ripped open, trees are being decorated, cards are being sent and the crazy busy Christmas shopping has begun!

The world goes crazy as we are all preparing for the event of the year, Christmas. The lead up to Christmas seems to have got bigger and bigger as the years go on, so commercialised that somehow the true meaning of Christmas can sometimes gets overlooked.

Advent actually means 'coming' in Latin, the coming of Jesus into the world. So across these weeks of advent this year we would like to prepare our hearts as we remember the true meaning of Christmas. We will be posting a blog every Sunday of advent; we will start by reflecting on how we can find hope in the Christmas story.

Hope is one of the 3 Christian virtues, along with faith and charity. It is mentioned 129 times in the Bible, and especially at this the time of year we see it around our houses, on our mantle pieces, on tree decorations, on Christmas cards. It is a word we are all familiar with. But what do we actually put our hope in?

Hope is a feeling of trust and there are many things we can put our hope in. Hope in a football team, hope in lottery numbers, hope for the next promotion, hope in trying for a baby.

People can become hopeless when they have lost their hope, or what they had their hope in has let them down. If we set our hope on a higher name, one that will never let us down, then it doesn't matter what situation what we faced with, we will never have to lose hope.

In the Christmas story, Mary was visited by angel Gabriel who told her that even though she was a virgin she would miraculously give birth to a baby and they would call him Jesus. The angel then told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth who was unable to have children was also going to have a baby. Both of these miraculous births came to pass because “no word from God will ever fail” (Luke 1:37). If the Bible is the word of God then, if we put our hope in what the Bible tells us, we will never lose hope.

When Mary visited Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth's womb “leaped at the sound of Mary's voice” (Luke 1:41) and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth, overcome with joy, exclaimed that Mary was blessed and highly favoured because she believed God's promises would come to pass and was not relying on her own worldly strength but on the power of the Holy Spirit.  Mary, being filled with the Holy Spirit herself, began to sing of the greatness of God and the hope he had filled her with. If we allow ourselves to be filled and continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit daily, we too will see the hope God has given us. All we have to do is ask God to fill us with his Holy Spirit.

When Mary gave birth to Jesus, true hope was born, the hope of the world. He came to reveal God's character to us, and to ultimately be the perfect sacrifice to die for our sins and rise again so we can have hope beyond the grave. Because Jesus was born, we can have hope not only for the future but also for eternity. The whole of creation can have hope for eternity because there will be a time where Jesus will return again, a second coming, where the book of Revelation tells us that he will “wipe every tear from our eyes” as there will be a world without any suffering (Revelation 21:4).

Whatever situations we may find ourselves in this Christmas season, one thing will never change; we can always find our hope in Jesus.

- Hannah Budhi

[breatheconference]

This Girl Can Thrive, Not Just Survive

When you get to my age you may well have met with many painful challenges in some measure and I have had my faith tested and developed through the refiner’s fire. But God has called us to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:37-38.

Here are some life lessons from me on how I came to thrive even in some of the darkest moments of my life:

1 Everyone has something challenging in their life.

I have come to believe that my tests are the ones that God thinks are best for me.  When I hear about what others are going through I feel that I wouldn’t be able to survive, let alone thrive, in those circumstances.  When trust has been broken I truly have learnt that God is totally dependable and my faith has grown so much stronger.  He is my bridegroom, my husband and my lover as well as my father and friend.  When I learn not to expect people to be perfect, as I am not, I can draw so much more from the well of God’s perfect love which then overflows with mercy, forgiveness, patience and kindness - both to myself and then to others.  

2 Learning how to control my emotions.

This has come both from research into how to act truthfully on stage, as well as understanding someone close to me with really challenging behaviour.  In Proverbs, we read “As he thinks within himself so he is” - that is why we are told to “take captive our thoughts for Christ” and to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.  Emotions are stirred by what we think. Emotions are the bridge between the mind and the body and are purely involuntary. The only way to change emotions is to change your mind about what is in front of you. In my really difficult relationship moments when the emotions and thoughts are so uncontrollable I read Psalm 46, which brings peace as I focus on the truth of who God is.

3 Distinguishing between truth and reality.

Reality can change but truth does not because truth is Jesus and He is God and he never changes.  This year my financial reality changed from one of salary to pension. The truth is that God supplies all my needs according to His riches in glory - that was as true when I was working as when I am not. In Revelation, we read that God himself will be with us and he will wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  I can choose to live in that truth rather than in my present reality, to set my mind and heart on things above where Christ dwells.  And out of that comes the overflow of His presence into the lives of others rather than the diminishing of my soul as I gaze inwards.

4 Never give up on your relationship with God.

A week after my miscarriage, my son, aged 4, went into Intensive Care with breathing difficulties and was intubated for a week.  On his first night there we were told that he was the 2nd most poorly patient in the hospital that night.  In the bed next to him was a drug lord with 7 gunshots who had more chance of survival. We had prayer meetings constantly in the waiting room when people visited.  It took some time for him to fully recover and as I also grieved my miscarried baby. I realised I was not going to get through this without my best friend, Jesus. I read my bible, worshiped and prayed every day, because I am so totally dependent on Him. In my worst days of mental illness when I couldn't pray or read, I would put my bible under my pillow and simply say ‘Jesus’. As a result I know that God is always for me and never against me. I feel His presence with me always, which is the greatest blessing of all.

Everything I have been through will in some way be redeemed by God and used for His glory.

“I have come that they may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance” John 10v10.

- Anne Beaumont

[breatheconference]

This Girl Can Let Down the Walls

Walls can often be there because of what’s happened to us in the past, because of fear, of doubt, of wanting to protect ourselves, to keep ourselves safe, to make sure that we don’t get hurt.

God doesn’t want us to have walls around us. When Jesus died, the curtain was torn in two, which gave us complete access to God. There are no barriers between us and Him and He wants the whole of us to come to Him. We have a choice whether to let down the walls or not, to let people in or not, to be open with God or not.

In my walk with God I’ve learnt how important it is to let down the walls. Before I was a Christian I didn’t let people in. I was around loads of people, had great friends but actually we didn’t share things with each other. We’d make sure that the conversation was kept light hearted, and when I was sad or going through tough times, I used to get with my friends and rather than talk about stuff, we’d get drunk.

However, God wants us to be in community - God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus had His disciples, God has called His people to be the Church - these all demonstrate community. We’re not meant to do life on our own. We’re meant to be vulnerable with people, to let them in. I’m not saying we have to with everybody, but with people who you trust and have confidence in. The definition of vulnerable is ‘exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally’.

I believe that one of the reasons why I kept my walls up was because I had no self worth. Things that had happened in my life backed up what I felt about myself - that I was a horrible person, that I wasn’t good to be around and that I destroyed everything that was around me. I tried to do life just me and God - I was independent, having gone to university far from family and friends, not being in any long term romantic relationships and wanting to stand on my own two feet and I thought I could keep up those walls. 

However, through a few Christian friends I was starting to realise that God was showing me how important it is to let down the walls and open up to people. It would help me in my healing and bring me into His truth of who I am in Him, as my identity as a child of God, loved, chosen, precious and created in His image.

God had given the land to the Israelites and it was theirs to claim, but the city of Jericho seemed impossible because of the wall surrounding it. God told them to march around the walls for 7 days before it would collapse (Joshua 6 v 1-20). They marched in faith and the walls collapsed.

I believe it takes faith for us to let down our walls because when we do, we come into all that God has for us. God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11-13). But I believe the fullness of that will only come into being when we let down the walls.

What are the walls that exist in your life? I encourage you to let them down. It’s hard, but it’s so worth it.

- Lou Walbank

[breatheconference]

This Girl Can Set the Tone

Have you ever over-reacted, and known that it was more about you, and your issues, than the person or situation in front of you at that moment? It doesn’t feel good, does it? In fact, now you just have two issues – the deep-seated issue from your past that made you react that way, and the guilty realisation that you just made someone else suffer unfairly because of it! So perhaps next time when you’re in a similar situation you deal with it differently: you are kind and considerate and patient, despite still having the same internal irritation as before. Better? Not really! Well, sort of – for the other person’s benefit. But how has that left you? Still with your issue, your pain, your insecurity. So what is the best response?

A while back, me and my husband found ourselves in need of marriage counselling. The pain and baggage of past failures was bringing one of the two scenarios mentioned above into our daily reality. Anna Voskamp, in her book The Broken Way, says it like this: “Hurt is a contagion. When one person hurts in a family, everyone hurts”. Margaret Stunt, a Christian speaker, says it like this: “Hurt people hurt people”. I was beginning to set a nasty tone wherever I went. But there was hope. 

A friend led me to a counsellor who as part of the process of recovery and restoration told us that our “homework” was to each separately write a lament. I had no idea what he meant. He then showed us examples of how people in Biblical times would “cry out to God” as they expressed their anguish and disappointment at their situation. It wasn’t about crafting something pretty; it was about getting to grips with your raw emotion, about letting your pain and bitterness and “it’s not fair-ness” out. There was no guilt attached to the “tantrum” – you had total permission to rant and rave. In fact, in the Old Testament book of Job chapter 3, the main character laments “I will speak out the bitterness of my soul” – hardly the sentence that you would expect a Bible character to come out with, but as this man wrestles with his situation for chapter after chapter you get the impression that his unbridled honesty is a vital key to his eventual transformation. For me, once I started to write my own lament it was like a flood gate – all the difficulties that I had tried to contain came out in a gush – I couldn’t write fast enough! Another friend recently told me that for her lament she would use colour and paint as the way to get out all the emotions in her that she couldn’t even find words to express. So what happens next? Am I simply to lie in a heap of brokenness having just put all my anguish down on paper?

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold. The resulting piece being even more beautiful than before as it shows its history of brokenness and inadvertently praises the one whose workmanship brought it back to life.

As a Christian I believe that there is only One who can put us back together with full integrity: Jesus. When he died on that cross 2000 years ago, he did it so that our brokenness was not the end of the story. He did it so that our brokenness could be transformed into wholeness and hope. In the book of Psalms, chapter 147, it says “He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds”. It’s a strange mystery that in human terms makes no sense at all, but as I live out my life, and deal with its disappointments as well as its amazing joys, I know that He is the difference that has enabled me to change from the fake smile when I still have disappointments festering inside, to someone who is prepared to grapple honestly with the struggles of life so that I set the best tone not just for others, but also for myself. Learning how to write my lament has been a big part of bringing the words from the book of Matthew into reality for me, and I believe it can do the same for you too. Try it.

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

- Sandra Roper

[breatheconference]

This Girl Can Make Her Dreams Come True

I am a dreamer. I love to imagine and create. I love to talk about all the potential that things have. I latch onto ideas really easily, and to some, I come across as really easily carried away. I’ll be honest, this is one of my favourite things about myself. I am easily excited but I’m really not easily disappointed.

My prime example of this would be a few weeks ago. It was my birthday on Sunday 1st October. Birthdays are very important to me. In some cases, I love other peoples birthdays more than they do! I will organise parties, presents, cards to be signed, things to be baked for people, because everything in me wants them to be celebrated. It’s just so exciting. One of my housemates was responsible for helping another friend organise a surprise for me. She told me that I couldn't make any plans on the Tuesday night after my birthday, but refused to give me any other details. She did however say ‘don’t get too excited. I don’t want you to be disappointed.’ This was a serious quandary for me. How can I not get excited about a surprise? Especially when you won’t tell me anything. It could literally be anything, with anyone! Her concern I believe was that I would hype it up in my head and then when the reality hit, it would not measure up.

The truth is though, that I don’t work that way. For me the most exciting part is that someone (in this case I didn't know who yet) thought well enough of me to want to surprise me with something. I was already pleased, touched, and grateful. The rest of it was almost irrelevant to the level of appreciation that I have for it. As it turned out though, it was dinner with a few of my close friends and some extremely competitive games after - that’s genuinely my idea of the best kind of night.

I tell you all of this, to say this. Sometimes people don’t dream or have expectations for fear of disappointment. The bible does say to guard your heart and not to be foolhardy. But what if we could live a life of faith that was to strongly geared towards trusting God’s will for your life that you could dream big and not get disappointed if it doesn't work out the way you want it to? Or if god has something different for you, realise that you are called to something more than you could possibly imagine and trust that God is taking you there.

I have three small thoughts for you around this topic:

1 Dream open endedly.

Don’t let your ideas for the future get so narrowly focused that you leave to room for God to be creative. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan, but that does not mean we are not going where we should. Proverbs 19:21 says “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Be open enough to let God’s plan seep into your heart. And go with it!

2 Don’t let your dreams for the future distract you from your present.

Sometimes we are afraid to deal with the hurdles in front of us so we look to the future in the hopes that if we focus on that we won’t have to deal with the now. You don’t want to be taking the challenges of this season into the next one. That season has challenges of it’s own. But remember that you’re not alone in your journey so seek God’s help and the support of those around you and deal with stuff now so you can thrive in your future.

3 Dream with God.

Jesus is in fact your best friend. He only has eyes for you. He longs to join you on your journey and in your dreams. Don’t be afraid to say them out loud and give them to Him. He knows them anyway. The bible says that God has given you the desires of your heart. You can trust Him with them.

The journey that I am on at the moment is one where God is really wanting me to spend time with him one on one. Just him and me and a cup of tea. I am doing my best to create a little space for me in my home where I can sit and not be distracted. And so I would like to pass that challenge to you. Maybe you already spend time with God, just the two of you, maybe you have that place. If you do, awesome, please share your experience with others and encourage them. Because it’s not easy for everyone to do that.

I know that I live in a glass half full world and that it can frustrate people sometimes. It’s not because I’m naive or I don’t want to acknowledge that things are not always great. Life is hard. I have been through heart break and rejection and the numbing of emotion like everyone else. In some ways I’m dealing with the consequences of ‘not dealing’ when I was younger still and it’s a very frustrating process.

But I do believe that we need to look at the world through a lens of joy and to dream about the potential that life has for you. God created us to dream, and to dream big. Don’t let fear stop you from doing that.  Be the girl that can make her dreams come true.

- Sarah Hewitson

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This Girl Can Have And Do It All

Options. Options. Options.

I am a passionate believer that everyone should have options. I am so grateful for the women who have gone before me and made having options an option for girls like me.  The scope and breadth of opportunities available to us as women in the UK is something which I hope to never take for granted.  And yet it doesn’t always feel like we have been ‘liberated’; can we really have and do it all?  It sometimes feels like the options we are presented with are now obligations.  We have the option now to be a working mum, but we should also be an incredible housewife.  We can have an amazing career, but we should also be doing X or Y with the panache of a professional.

Sometimes when I look at my little girl I find myself slipping into a rhetoric that was spoken over me years ago, that was maybe spoken over you; spoken by teachers, friends and youth group leaders to name but a few. ‘You all have so much potential in God, you can change the world!’ ‘But keep your options open’.  Don’t narrow them down, the more options you have, the better life will be.  The more options you have, the more varied life will be.  The more options you have, the more successful you’ll be.

The mandate to change the world felt somewhat overwhelming to me as a 12-year-old girl from a small town most people had never heard of.  That, coupled with the fear of closing down any options, just in case I needed them—to change the world—left me feeling paralysed.  I failed to grasp that an option was not an obligation.  I could never quite marry the Jesus whose yoke is easy and burden is light, the god of rest beautifully mentioned in Hebrews 4, with the way I was living.  

I had a tendency to accumulate roles and not necessarily seek God for what I was really supposed to be doing.  I desperately wanted to have and do it all, but I felt like I was doing it all and having very little.  Christine Caine says that we can have and do it all, but the problem is we do not know what our unique ‘all’ is.  I had some work to do.

The 3 core myths we have to bust if we want to have and do it all are:

1 The myth of capacity.

When faced with an option we see it as an obligation that we have to shoehorn into our frazzled life.  ‘If it’s an option available to me then I must be able to squeeze it in somehow.’   ‘I could do that,’ is replaced with, ‘I should do that.’ We have to get beyond feeling like we should be capable of doing everything.  We have to move beyond thinking if there’s an option then we must have the capacity for it.  Oh the conversations we have with ourselves about what we should be doing!

An option is exactly that, just an option.  Is it something we could do?  Is it something that God has called us to do?  Is it something that we are uniquely placed to do?  Is it something I wired for?  These are far better conversations to have with ourselves than verbally beating ourselves up about what we should be doing.

2 Myth of compartmentalisation.

When juggling everything we think, wrongly, that it is easier if we compartmentalise it all.  We have a work box, a church box, a parenting box, a family box, a health box… get the picture?  But we fail to realise the boxes themselves take up room!  I don’t think compartmentalisation helps us, most of the time I think it adds a level of stress all of its own.  Stop with the boxes and let things breathe a bit more, who knows, we might even find we have more capacity.

3 Myth of competency

We seem to think that we should be completely well-rounded individuals.  This is a myth.  I mean, sure, there are some issues which are character issues that we should all have some degree of competency in, but beyond that we weren’t meant to be well-rounded.  I am supposed to be gifted.  You are supposed to be gifted.  There should be somethings I am great at and things I am not.  There should be somethings you’re fantastic at and I struggle with.  My strengths are what I bring to the table.  Not my weaknesses, someone else is probably great at those.

We have bought into a lie that has been sold to us that we should be amazing at everything, little man-made islands of self-competency.  But an option is not an obligation.  We are called to run our race, not someone else’s.  We are called to fulfil our potential, not someone else’s.  We are called to steward and grow our talents, not someone else’s.  

When we start to grasp what our unique ‘all’ is, we can start to see that, ‘this girl can have and do it all’.

- Rhiannon Beaumont

[breatheconference]

This Girl Can Step Out in Faith

The Bible describes faith, in Hebrews 11 as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” It describes true faith as the belief that God will fulfil his promises even though we may not see them yet. Faith is an inward attitude about what is not seen but that which we can confidently expect to happen.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul instructs the Philippians to give their anxieties to Gods by prayer and thanksgiving. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) God has the same message for us today when we are overwhelmed with worry. We may not always get the answer we expected, or in the timing that we thought was best because our timing is not the same as God’s. God has the perfect timing, the perfect plan. When worry enters our daily thoughts, lets give it to God and He will give us peace beyond our understanding.

Prayer dismantles pride and resentment, filling the gaps with love.  Faith seeks peace, harmony and forgiveness. God knows our past and has forgiven our wrongs, he wants us free from shame and guilt.  Faith is learning to step out by not remaining in the fear and shame we have held onto.

In Matthew 14, Jesus’ disciples were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee during a storm.  Jesus walked out to them on the water and told them “do not be afraid”.  Peter put his faith in Jesus and began to walk towards Jesus on the water.  When he took his eyes away from Jesus and looked at the stormy waves, his faith weakened and he started to sink. If we focus on the stormy waves of difficulty that may challenge us, we too may sink.  Even when we feel we are sinking in doubt, step out with faith onto God’s path and seek peace during the storm.  He is always with us. Lets fix our eyes on Jesus and set our face like flint. “Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:7).

Before I came to C3, I didn’t have true faith in God. I didn’t really choose to follow him daily. Now, the more I pray, read and learn more about God, my faith in Him grows stronger and I know he will not leave me or forsake me. My new life as a Christian has transformed me beyond belief.  I have learned that stepping out in faith is not always easy and can feel uncomfortable, like I’m in unknown waters. But just as God told the disciples in the boat ‘do not be afraid’, I know that I can step out onto the waves and not be afraid.

To help me remember God’s promises at home, I drop a coloured pebble into a glass jar every time He brings me through a time of worry and doubt, and I look back at them when I need reassurance. These are some of God’s promises I like to reflect on:

I will give you rest I will strengthen you I will answer you I believe in you I will bless you I am for you I will not fail you I will provide for you I will be with you I love you

Lets step out onto the waves and step out in faith.

- Cindy Howell

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It's been four years since I stepped foot in a classroom, but I still feel like a teacher at heart. I trained at uni to be a teacher and taught math and science for 4 years in the US before moving here. I still think of each year in relation to the school calendar, my cabinets are filled with an array of teacher travel mugs, I fill with anticipation when I see school supplies resurface at the shops at the end of every summer, and some would say I get way too excited over a fresh new notebook and pen. Teaching is still in my blood. Helping others better understand a concept, explaining things in a way that is hopefully both interesting and accessible, fills up my heart.  

 The saying goes, “Teachers make the worst students.” We have notoriously short attention spans and, frankly, we’d rather be doing the teaching ourselves. Maybe that's why there's one lesson God keeps teaching me over and over. It's not that I haven't heard him, or that it hasn’t clicked, but he keeps stretching me more, increasing the difficulty, like how variables and exponents sneak in to algebra problems with increasing regularity as each school year goes on.

 The lesson God has been teaching me, slowly yet surely, is that dependence on Him does not indicate failure on my part; in fact, it means the opposite.

 "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope.

With less of you there is more of God and his rule."  

(Matthew 5:3, The Message)

 I'm a pretty stubborn person. Independent. A problem-solver by nature. So when I’m in a stressful season I buckle down and get on with it. “I’m fine. I’ve got this,” I tell myself. Then I realize my anxiety level increases. I start to snap at those around me. Coffee becomes a major food group. And, oh yeah, sleep, what’s that again? All the while God is there and waiting to remind me, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30, NIV).

 My family has just come out of a very difficult season where we were separated for several months. My husband was away with work and we had to carry on physically separated for the time. Though it wasn’t always fun or easy, it was manageable and even beneficial because of God’s hand on our lives. He strengthened us daily to handle what was in store, and he deserves all the glory for bringing us through it. I didn’t just survive – I came out with my faith stronger than ever and joy still in my heart. Had that trying time occurred a few years ago, I would have entered it with that same mindset of “I can do this on my own!” naively pushing God aside to prove my strength to myself. But I’ve learned that it’s much easier for me to humble myself and seek God and his strength if I’m maintaining an intimacy with him from the start. When you spend time with someone daily, it’s noticeable when that time suddenly decreases and you are doing things on your own. I could feel the absence of my husband from the moment he left. The same is true with my relationship with God. If I’m walking with him daily, having him guide me when things are easy, I’m much more likely to trust him and lean on him when things are difficult. That intimacy brings clarity for me to see when I need “more of God and his rule.”  We can determine where the end of our rope is – and this is where we decide to trust God fully.

When we are at the end of our rope, and we do just that, we are blessed, not just in the future but also as we live each day. As we continually say “More of you, God, less of me” he continues to stretch and shape us in that way. We realise we don’t need to have it all together because the God of all creation is with us, guiding and strengthening us as we seek him and seek to serve him. It’s debatable if teachers actually do make the worst students, but I can attest to the fact that I have the greatest Teacher. His lessons are ones worth learning.

- Leslie DeLong

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Tanya’s Story // Saturday pm

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‘Breathe Blessing’ // A Testimony

Last Saturday marked 7 weeks since an accident cross country skiing in Austria.  It was nothing to do with skiing, I fell on street ice the first day!  I've skied for 30 years and invited a non-Christian friend who hadn't skied before, to join myself and my two German girlfriends.  To cut a long story short my friend fell on the second day of a ski course and broke her wrist and as time went on, I couldn't walk.  It was a bit of a comedy in that we both ended up in hospital - an alternative holiday!

It's been a painful comedy as I've learnt to walk again, but I can testify to God's miraculous healing and the faithful prayers of the Saints.  I still had back pain at the end of Breathe, but knew that God had touched me and a release would come.  Last night I went swimming with friends and this morning the pain has gone to just a twinge - Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord.  I'm also thankful that my friend is making good progress.

I've learnt a lot through this experience and a significant part is The Priestly Blessing.  One sees dimly now, and the enemy all too readily makes one aware of failings and sins.  But God in His grace and mercy, gives us garments of salvation that were bought at precious cost by His Son, my Saviour Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary.  So God's blessing imparts physical healing and wholeness - Shalom indeed.  

I knew all these things having been a Christian over 40 years, but now I really see God's heart towards me.

-LD

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Priestly Blessing // Numbers 6

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BREATHE // A TESTIMONY

Keeping God at the centre of everything I do is something I struggle with on a daily basis, I live on my own and none of my family are Christians so I have to consciously commit myself to Him every day, but when I invite Christ into my heart, He blesses me in such incredible ways.

 The most recent example is how God called me to C3, and how He has blessed me in so many ways through the church. Every year I go to the Hillsong Colour Conference and there I first heard the song ‘Good Good Father’, which I hadn’t heard before. During the song, Brooke, who was leading, said she sensed that some people couldn’t sing that song as they hadn’t had good fathers growing up and singing it was painful; that was me. She dared us to close our eyes, lift our hands and sing it out to our Father in Heaven. I took a deep breath and sung to God, and I was well and truly swept off my feet by His love and mercy.

 When I came home I felt a strong sense that God was calling me to come and join C3. I had only ever gone to one church and was scared to leave what I knew and move, so I asked a friend to attend with them. That Sunday we sang ‘Good Good Father’ followed by ‘Trust’, another song I had never heard before. I knew Jesus was asking me to trust Him and make C3 my home. Although I am a confident person, the thought of making such a large church my home filled me with so much trepidation. I prayed a lot about it and confessed to God that I was worried I would fall, that He would drop me and I would completely fall away. I felt Him tell me that He wanted me to go to C3 for 40 days and if He had dropped me then I could go back, but if He hadn’t then C3 was my home. I could handle with 40 days. So I started to work it out on my calendar… then I felt God say “No no, I mean 40 Sundays”. That was a serious leap of faith. It meant every day being real, choosing to trust that I was in the right place and that God would surround me with the right people.

 Since attending C3 for several months now my faith has really grown, and simply being surrounded by people who encourage me and value me for who I am has increased my sense of worth. I heard about Journey Academy at C3, and funnily enough I wasn’t working on Thursdays so it seemed perfect… except I couldn’t afford it. That wasn’t an excuse for God! He clearly wanted me to do the course and of course the money came in and I was accepted on the course. In the 1st term alone my understanding of His Word has been totally transformed. The love I feel from and for Him has reached new depths, and that kind of love makes inviting Christ into my heart the only option for my life.

 I put the dates for the course in my diary and the final Thursday is 6th July… with my final ‘student Sunday’ the same week on Sunday 9th July… the 40th Sunday I will be at C3! I believe this is no coincidence.

 Through choosing to follow Christ to C3 I have become part of an incredible family, I have deepened my relationship with Him, begun to truly understand His love for me and made C3 my home.