Number 2

Reflections since my first Blog:

I feel very humbled at the responses that I had from my very first Blog.

Thank you to all those who chose to read, comment or 'follow' my ramblings.

As I reflect upon my reasons for writing a Blog, I wonder what my motivation was for publishing it. Was it really to share prayer requests? Did I want to see how many people liked me!? Was I just playing with technology and wasting time in my study? Maybe I have become subject to the world of social networking and have an inbuilt desire to share my every move, location and personal thoughts with a whole load of people that I don’t know very well!

Having thought about it (far too much) I hope and pray that this Blog (Number 2!) becomes for me a way to encourage others and offer some insight into my life (to encourage you to pray for me as I seek to serve God in all that I do) and to encourage you through my mistakes and occasional successes!?

Number 2!

What have I been up to?

September was a tough month because all the church ministries started up again, everyone went back to work after their holidays, school started back (including my ex colleagues heading back to work!)... it seemed that everyone else was getting back into a routine - everyone except me!!!

Looking back: School

I pondered upon these feelings often. For 10 years, my working life has been governed by a bell! Alarm clock went off at 6am - straight out to work. Shower and breakfast at work. Preparation for the day from 7.30am. Start work at 8am (being controlled by a bell every 30 mins and pupils arriving at my door demanding to be taught every hour!) After school activities and then home between 6pm and 7pm.

I finished work on the 20th July and did not start University until the 4th October.

Ministry Trainee

I struggled to find any kind of routine while all around me things were changing. I started my Ministry Trainee role at Grace Church, Halewood, which gave some focus to the week.

I meet with Sydney (Pastor) and Jodi (Ministry apprentice) weekly and have a one to one with Sydney fortnightly.

Sydney, Jodi and I are reading through one book of the Bible every day for a month. We reflect upon it weekly and Sydney gives us tasks each week to consider as we read. We read the book of James during September.

University

October 4th finally arrived. I was looking forward to this day. The start of my course gave me hope for some routine in my life!

This terms lectures are:

• Cultural Exegesis
• Creation and the Doctrine of Humanity
• Pastoral Ministry and Leadership

BUT THEN...

9 days early... Child 'number 2' arrived - Poppy Faith Rose Sparkes was born at 12.43am on the 5th October, weighing 5lb 15.5oz.

After a few complications (understatement!), Harry and I were able to bring our girls home.

Poppy has been improving daily and has now managed to drink her way back up to her birth weight.

My study (from which I write this Blog) seems to have become a Pink walk in wardrobe for Poppy.

Harry has more new toys than Christmas and his birthday combined! (Thank you everyone who has made a fuss of Harry and made him feel special too.)

Amy and I are being fed like Royalty by our Church friends who have put together a meal rota so that we can focus on Poppy and Harry and get our heads around this new addition to our lives.

What have I learnt?

From the book of James:

1:2-4 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

1:12 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

God has moulded Amy and I over the final 20 weeks of pregnancy and in these last 3 weeks as we have had to come to terms with our newest family member. After our 20 week scan Poppy was diagnosed with a rare genetic abnormality which means that she will have severe learning difficulties throughout her life. We were strongly advised to, and given various opportunities to, terminate the pregnancy up to 32 weeks.

We are SO thankful to God that He chose us to have Poppy. We would never have wished for this situation and do not think that we have the capacity to cope. Thank God with us, that He will give us all that we need each day - to manage and cope with whatever additional demands that Poppy offers to us!

We also thank God that Harry will grow up with the opportunity to love his little sister who will need extra big brother love!

We look forward to the ways that God will shape and mould our family as we meet trials of various kinds

Pray for us, that we will remain steadfast under trial..

Thank God with us for Poppy.

1:14-15 "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

1:22-24 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like."

3:2-12 “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well....

... but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.”

4:7-8a "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."

I have seen, in myself, the pull of my own sinful, human nature and how easy it is to succumb to temptation. I continue to be amazed (although maybe I should not) at how temptation arrives at my door step (mind, heart, thoughts...). Even through good, seemingly godly intentions a situation can easily turn from God and good to temptation and sin.

I continue to battle with temptation, that I would not be enticed by my own desires.

I seek to be a doer of the word (Bible) and not simply a hearer. I do not want to deceive myself or others.

I want to guard my tongue and be a spring that pours forth fresh water only!

I pray that I would do this by submitting to God and resisting the Devil. I call upon the promises of God to help me to do this.

5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

I thank God for the friends close to me whom this verse can truly be effective.

What next?

We are now reading the book of 1 Peter each day for a month.

I am preaching at Grace Church twice in November (Growing In Grace (Evening service) - "You gotta have Faith" looking at the characters from Hebrews 11).

Amy is off work - on maternity leave. Pray for her as a Mum, Wife and every other aspect of who she is (particularly having to put up with me!)

Harry is coping well with his big brother role. Pray that God would use him in that role and that his character would be developed as he manages the changes in our home.

Poppy is growing and feeding better. She needs to work out the difference between daytime and night time!

Please pray for my routine. So far I have not managed to settle into one due to the multiple changes in every aspect of our lives (Me starting as a Ministry Trainee, Amy on maternity, me starting Uni, Poppy arriving, working from home, Harry being on half term!!!)

Pray that God would do a mighty work in my life and that I would not resist the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray also that I would love Jesus more and more and that this would be evident throughout my whole life.

Thank you for reading Blog 'Number 2!'. I hope that you may be encouraged by my failings, ramblings and small successes and that you may catch a glimpse of how great God is and that you, along with me, might want to know him more.