A little thought of mine....

It's been a while since I've blogged, I thought it was time to write my next installment :-)

Since I last spoke.........

I have started a new job at a small optometrist (specialising in Behavioral Optometry), working as a personal assistant/receptionist/optical dispenser-in-training, and I am loving it! There is so much to learn, and I am eager to perfect my role. 

One of the many things I have been asked to do, is to get into contact with a variety of primary schools here on the Coast, to promote a free-of-charge workshop for staff. This workshop is designed to educate teachers on visually-related learning disorders, what symptoms to look for in their students, and how to treat those who appear to be struggling in the classroom. I have had to do my own research for this task, educating myself more and more on what our services provide. It has taken me many hours of gathering and processing information, formatting it into brochures, flyers and information packs. I did not need to do so much research on the topic, as I already knew the basic message I was to convey. But I found myself needing to learn more and more, just incase someone asked a hard question. I had edited and re-edited flyers to make them more appealing to my audience. It came to the point where I had ALL this information – so much literature and perfected reading material, but I had not yet made one phone call to a school!

This experience, although humorous to myself for understanding my minute phobias of public speaking, got me thinking about the evangelical side to our Christianity. We spend so much time in our lives perfecting how we will PRESENT the message of Christ; metaphorically speaking - we edit and re-edit brochures and flyers, combing through minute details in the message we want to bring. We educate ourselves more and more on the product we are to sell, agreeing with various methods in which to promote the sale. Some people even go to conferences to be re-inspired about the message they condone! It is so built into our system that if anyone were to ask us if we were confident with our message, we would resound yes!

But at what point do we make that first ‘phone call’, to START the process of ‘promotion’ to the unsuspecting public?

And why does it scare us so to take that first step in outworking our faith? Fear of failure? Fear of being turned down? Fear of sounding inexperienced and unequipped? Surely the latter is a complete lie – you are MORE than equipped.

Whatever it is, it would be wise to stop and think ‘Am I simply procrastinating this?’ What would it take to motivate you to start?

Food for thought!

P.S. Yes, I have started making phone calls to primary schools, and have since scheduled multiple workshops :-)

JAMES MACPHERSON: @#$#$ ... Kevin's Just Like Us!

I love this! I don't want a leader who is just like me, I want a leader who is better, though able to identify easily with me.

Read on...

JAMES MACPHERSON: @#$#$ ... Kevin's Just Like Us!

An Unstoppable Spirit

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumps even though checkered by failures, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the grey twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

So who's poor anyway?

I have been reading a book called 'The Blessings of the Poor', and have been getting so much out of it. It's caused me to re-think the way I live, how I view my possessions and their worth, and has opened my eyes to what really matters. I've asked myself the tough questions like 'Would I still be content if I had absolutely NOTHING but God?' And I know it's easy to say 'God is all I need' - but when you've been stripped of every material possession you own, would you still utter the same confession? I think that's a great question for a 'self-check-up'. 

I know for my generation, we have been bombarded with materialism with such force. If you don't have the latest of the latest, what's wrong with you?? And how could you EVER live without your iPod? There is an endless list of the 'things' that are at our very fingertips. But how much different would we be without these things, with only God as our possession - and faith to believe He will provide for us; without the comfort of having an income automatically transferred every week? Wow... See, when we are ever faced with the threat of non-employment or not knowing where the next bill payment will come from - what a relief and comfort it is to know that God is our Provider. Perhaps it is in those times that we learn to trust in God and rely on Him.

A successful London businessman when visiting an underdeveloped country recalls his experience:

'As we left the village, one of the peasant farmers I had spent time with, came to me and gave me a huge hug. I said to him that I would pray the Lord would richly bless him as he was so poor. He then said that he would pray for me as I also was so poor. This puzzled me as I could by no means be considered poor. So I asked this humble farmer what he had meant. 'Oh,' he said, 'You are poor. You have God, and things that take your eyes off God. I have only God.' (Neeves, 2007:45)

Blessings of the Poor

The other day I had the privilege to meet with Lynette Merry, the QLD Advocate Co-ordinator for Compassion, and have a coffee. It was most insightful! We talked about everything and anything, and she shared some thoughts on advocacy and how to express the passions within you in a relatable manner. I was also blessed to receive a book called 'Blessings of the Poor' which I have been making my way through. Many sponsors, such as Darlene Zschech, Steve Grace and Rebecca St James, have had the opportunity to visit their sponsor children and have written little stories about their experiences. David O'Rourke (CEO, Compassion Australia) has compiled these stories to form the book. Here are some excerpts...

'The poor who know Jesus are wonderful ambassadors of what is valuable in God's kingdom. They trust in Jesus because they must; their very existence depends upon his provision.' - David O'Rourke

'Others who visit the heroes of the developing world also receive the blessings of the poor, often in unexpected ways. We go to give to someone we think is worse off and discover our own wretchedness and poverty of soul and spirit. People with nothing have discovered what we have failed to discern with all our worldly wisdom and good intentions. They have a living faith, a faith and hope tested in the injustice of poverty, that cannot, and will not, be quenched by circumstances.' - David O'Rourke

'I have seen children with diseases in their bodies who have a brightness and a joy because they have chosen to embrace joy. Conversely, I have seen people back home with relatively minor sicknesses and illnesses and aches who are feeling sad and asking, 'Why won't God heal me?' - Phil Keaggy

I am convinced that you don't need to pray about, or even think about child sponsorship. You just have to do it. I have two precious sponsor children, and not once have I gone without because of my sponsorship commitments. When you are God's hands and feet on this planet, He will not let you be in want. I honestly believe it is our responsibility as people living in the western world to give out of our abundance. And I am convinced that when carrying out the purposes of God in this world, He will provide for us. He is our all-sufficiency.

I asked myself once why I never thought to sponsor a child years ago. I've concluded it's because I didn't realise it was my duty to do so. I thought it was for those who 'had a calling' to be missionaries or were called to that field of ministry. Little did I know, we are all called to be the influence that is so desperately needed in our world. I realised that I can sacrifice a trip to McDonalds every week. Or a cup of coffee or two. And in doing so, provide a child on a different side of the world opportunity to grow, to learn, to become great men and women of God and to influence their world!

How much can you sacrifice?

The wonders of experience...

I was reading over some of my bible college assessments tonight, and although they are only 3 years old, the content seems so gutless! That might sound a little harsh, but...it's true. Let me explain...

When you're raised as a Christian it is really easy to adopt someone else's personal faith as your own - without even knowing it! There comes a point where every individual has to encounter God for themselves and build their own relationship with Him.

So it's not that I 'faked' my Christianity, more that I never truly understood MY personal faith - what it meant to me, how it defined me, and how it brightened my future.

But now, having gone through a whole lot of life in the last 3 years...I read back on sermons/essays/etc and I'm reading it all in a whole new light. 

'Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' (Rom 8:1) now has true and personal meaning to me. When before, dare I say, it was perhaps just a Scripture that I KNEW was true...but didn't know it for myself - now, it is a profound truth that was and is utterly life-changing for me and completely fundamental!

Oh, how experience alters everything! In a good way!

 

I love that over time, you form your beliefs and your relationship grows and deepens. What a horrible thought that I would be the same spiritually as I was 2 years ago!

I look forward to looking back over my writings in 2 years and yet again being blessed to know that I have continued to grow and experience more of God!