In response to my thoughts regarding social media in my
last Blog I posted this on Facebook on the 10th December.
"I
am always communicating with others:
Status
updates, location 'Check In', how I feel, what I think, what makes me happy or
sad... not to mention the texts and emails...
I
was challenged on Sunday from Daniel Chapter 9 (regarding Daniel's prayer)
about my own prayer life.
Why
do I update my Facebook 'friends' more than I update God?
From
now on I vow to:
-
Pray more than I update!
-
Pray every time I update or even look at Facebook!
-
Use Facebook as a prayer list!
-
Seek God's desires and pray to Him as the One true God.
-
Make my Status updates less about me and more about what God has done for, in
and through me (for His glory NOT mine)
Romans
11:36 (ESV)
"For
from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.
Amen.""
I have made attempts to make more useful posts and have
used Facebook as a prayer list.
These are some links to the videos that I have seen over the
last few weeks:
I have felt that the run up to Christmas has been
exceptionally ‘none religious’ this year.
Lots of people have been offended by the regular
references to Jesus, the Bible and Christ during December. Some people get
offended when they are reminded that Jesus is the reason for the season.
I love people celebrating Christmas, but get offended
when people celebrate Christmas on their own terms and ignore Jesus Christ.
Would I go on holiday abroad and celebrate another
religion/cultures festival but alter it to suit my needs? NO – we tend to
embrace their festivals, wear their clothes, abide by their customs and
celebrate their festivals for the reasons they celebrate them.
Why has it become acceptable to allow Christmas to be
turned into another festival so that it does not upset people who do not
believe in Jesus?
I am certain that it will become harder and harder to be
a Christian and have the freedom to live out our faith.
The big day has come and gone. Did you feel festive? Was
everything planned for the special morning?
I do love celebrating Jesus birthday. I always find it
hard to keep the right focus.
How do you make Christmas Day all about Jesus? Please
share...
Shouldn't I live every day for Jesus and shouldn't Christmas day be an extra special day to live for Him?
December
 |
| My fellow students! (some could not make it) |
I had the privilege of preaching at Chorley Evangelical
Church on Sunday 2nd.
The men of Grace Church, Halewood had a Chinese and quiz
night on the 5th (I left a light on inside my car and the battery
went flat!!! Oops!)
Lectures finished on the 11th and we had time
to share lunch together at a nearby restaurant.
Talking of restaurants; Amy and I had our first date
since Poppy was born. Grandma and Grandad came to baby sit while we grabbed
the early bird menu at ‘Pruno’. We had a lovely meal and then got a Caramel Hot Chocolate and Vanilla Latte
from the Costa Express machine at the Shell garage on the way home. We sat in a
car park drank and chatted! Romantic or what? We thought it was great...
We travelled to Woolpit on the 20th and stayed
until the evening of the 25th. Mum and Dad did a great job of
putting up with the chaos that we brought with us (Harry and Poppy!). It was
great to see and be with my family again. We went to see Snow White in
Pantomime on the 22nd in Ipswich. We must thank Uncle Andy, Marie,
Uncle Nick and Morgan for making a special effort to come and see us at my
parents’ home while we were there.
We had the Bishop-Cornet Christmas on Boxing Day. It was
great to see and be with all the family.
No sooner had we arrived back home when Anna and Esther
arrived to see us, I finished unpacking the car; we shared some lunch together
and caught up a little bit. Thanks for taking the time out of your journey to
see us.
Bring on the wall!
Sunday 17th was the day we hit the wall! 30 weeks
of worry, 10 weeks of little sleep, 30 weeks of holding it together, 10 weeks
of patience… all came to a head as the realisation of Poppy hit us.
I confess to my part in being unhelpful and not
supporting Amy as best I can. I confess to being an excellent sleeper! I
acknowledge how AMAZING Amy is as a Mum and wife. She goes above and beyond
every day. I am truly blessed to have her as my best friend.
“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them
all.” Proverbs 31:29 (ESV)
With much prayer from friends and family we have come out
the other side of the wall! We still need time to chat and resolve some issues
but we have plotted a path and put things in place to help us move on and be
more prepared to tackle the next wall that comes our way! (Maybe we will manage to fit through the hole next time?)
We are so thankful to God for the day to day strength that He has provided us with.
We are so thankful to God for the day to day strength that He has provided us with.
January 2013
1st January:
Amy
and I try to set aside some time to review the previous year and look ahead to
the forthcoming year.
We have a lot to be thankful for in 2012 and loads to
pray into for 2013. I love spending this precious time with Amy and wish we had
more time to do it.
5th January:
I
am looking forward to a morning away with the Elders of Grace Church at the
beginning of January where we will spend time praying together and sharing our
thoughts for the coming year.
9th – 10th January:
Our church are also setting aside a
few days of prayer to see in the new year and commit ourselves to God and His
plans for us in the coming months.
10th January:
Lectures
begin. I will be in college on a Tuesday and Thursday. This term is set to be
the busiest of all for me due to my choice of lectures. (I made the first term
lighter on lectures and essays and this coming term heavier, knowing I would
have struggles with family life – hoping to have gained some level of normality
by January! Pffft!! – shows what I know!)
18th – 20th January:
I am away at the FIEC Hub Conference
near Milton Keynes. I look forward to learning, gleaning and sharing with
people in a similar situation to myself.
25th & 26th January:
The North West Partnership annual conference is being held at St. Andrews Church, Leyland. I hope to be able to attend that
also.
27th January:
I
am preaching in the evening at Grace Church.
I would like to meet regularly with a few men from our
church. I would love to pray with them, read a book with them and be able to
encourage each other to keep on living for Jesus. I want to learn from them,
share with them, listen to them and love them. Please pray that this will
happen.
Poppy
Poppy has had a medical appointment at least once a week
since she was born and even had a ride in an ambulance on Sunday 30th
Dec! (Harry got to turn the blue flashy lights on!) We value the love, care,
support and most of all the prayers of our friends and family.
 |
| This is a smile, not wind. |
We get so many amazing offers of practical support and know
that we can call upon a number of neighbours, church friends and family to do
almost anything that we might need, at any time that we might need it.
Poppy continues to keep us busy and we already have at
least 5 appointments over the first 2 weeks of January!
Harry
 |
| Harry was Servant #1 |
Harry gets worried every time Mummy and Daddy go to the
hospital – he thinks that he will not see us for a week!
Harry still sings the songs from his school Christmas
play (The Bossy King). We loved being able to go and see him perform. The Head teacher
gave a very brief, but excellent message after the play and reminded us all
about who is at the centre of Christmas. Well done Mr Smith.
Amy
As I have already mentioned, Amy is doing amazingly well.
Please pray that we will be able to make a decision regarding Amy’s return to
work. This decision will be based upon several factors including finance, child
care, my availability to have a set day off each week, Poppy’s health but
mainly how Amy feels about going back.
 |
| Amy also looks gorgeous in the mornings. How blessed am I. |
I want Amy to feel happy being a Mum. I want Amy to feel
happy being my wife and I want Amy to feel happy going back to work. I do not
want her to feel the pressure the other way round. Work and money must be the
least important factors. We must be wise and careful, but Amy is a wife and a
Mummy first, then she is a Doctor.
Please pray particularly for Amy in this decision.
Jamie
I continue to struggle with time management, reading
books and committing enough time to my studies. Please pray for me in these
areas.
The change from leaving home to work and being
disciplined by the school bell and pupils arriving to be taught then driving
back home – to waking up and going downstairs to work while the family go about
their business in the house is very difficult.
I love being able to take Harry to school and see him
more than I used to. I love being around to support Amy with Poppy. I enjoy
being flexible and having opportunities to meet people and do things that I was
unable to do before due to the restrictions of working in school.
HOWEVER – I must manage my time better.
One issue is that I may spend too much time working because
I over compensate for the occasions when I am spending time with my family
during the day.
Please pray for me to have a good balance with work and
family, to establish a good routine and for good, wise time management.
Final thoughts
On Sunday 30th December we had Matthew 6:24-34
read and preached at our Church. This sermon was very helpful to me (particularly
as Amy was at home with Poppy and Harry due to both of their poor health and a
bad night and unknown to me that Poppy would be taken to Alder Hey hospital in
an Ambulance that afternoon).
We will worry and be anxious about problems in life but:
What will I do with my worry? Will I remember that God
created me and will sustain me? Will I remember that worry is doubting God?
Will I remember that God is in control of my life and my death?
What will I do when I am anxious? Will I pray first? Will
I call upon the promises of my faithful God? Will I ask people to pray for me?
Will I remember who God is and who I am in Christ?
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we
eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?” For
the Gentiles (those who do not believe in God) seek after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore
do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:31-34
(ESV)
It was interesting to follow the panic that the end of
the Mayan calendar caused! The media seemed to hype it up to be much more than
it was. It suddenly became another prediction for the end of the world!!
December 21st 2012… was just another day on this amazing earth.
All the media hype for the end of the world predictions
amused me greatly and was particularly relevant to the book of the Bible that I
have been reading this month – 2 Peter.
These verses have particularly stood out to me:
“But do not
overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise
as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should
perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come
like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly
bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are
done on it will be exposed.”
2 Peter 3:8-10 (ESV)
I am so glad that my life is in God’s hands and that I am
ready for death or for Jesus coming again – whenever that might be.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my life and
thank you in advance to those of you who might pray into the situations that I
have mentioned.
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