Shame game...

We've all been there or perhaps you're there today? Shame's goal is to cause division, to make us shy away from the very One who can bring life into the situation. Shame isn't about your most embarrassing moment and boy do we all have a few of those? No shame (like any weapon the enemy uses) seeks to make us shrink and wither on the inside of who we are. Shame isolates you so that the counter truth we get from God's word and other believers is taken out or distanced from our world. This then leaves our mind unguarded to the lies the enemy. Beloved precious child of God sometimes shame can highlight pride in us too - flippin typical of the way the enemy places us in a no win situation!

BUT the truth is in Christ we are more than conquerors, we are always in a win -win position. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus we are justified forevermore not only when we think we've got our act together. Yes we are being sanctified and are meant to help God in that process by doing life in line with His word, but girlfriend God is a realist - He knows we'll mess up from time to time which is why we have grace... So if shame has placed a bag over your head - go to God confess your sin then be free - because in Christ we can scorn shame!

Danger Woman Rushing!

Doh...! The last 2 weeks have been pretty manic in my world. I had a sermon to write and give, two kids who are mess magnets I know what I should do but it's easier just to clean up myself. I had pastoral 'stuff', a Labrador who is lovely but needs exercised and when he doesn't get enough empties the contents of the bin all over the floor. I had meetings to attend, rotas to email, work on my new book to do, grocery shopping - It's very quiet in the supermarket at 10:30pm! I had to put up 6 of the Watoto choir (which was a total blessing) and an essay to write for a theology course I'm doing...

Well surprise surprise I'm not sure if I did any of these things particularly well. The thing about doing too much is that you end up rushing and feeling dissatisfied because you know it's not your best. Not only that we open ourselves up to danger because we overlook important things like turning our car lights on when driving home from said supermarket... (thanks to the person who flashed me)

Girls we are not superwoman - Jesus never rushed... as I sit here I'm proud to say I'm still in my pajamas.... Me and Jesus are having a waggy day and I really do hope with His help I can be productive and do what needs to be done this week without rushing.

Do you have any tips for time management? Do post a comment I'm sure we'd all be blessed !

Love Ruth x

Worship Ain't Singing...!

Luke 7 v 36-50... Tells us about one of the most profound acts of worship in scripture. A woman of no status no, 'class' desperate to bless Jesus enters the home of a local big wig, a pharisee. Through the shadows and hub bub of discussion she slips in... overcome with gratitude and love for Jesus she begins to weep. She washes His feet with her tears and showers them with kisses. Then she dries them with her undone hair (an unspeakably brazen thing to do in that time akin to showing up in your undies) and anoints them with very expensive perfume.

This act of worship cost this woman so much more than an expensive ointment, it cost her great courage to enter the home risking rejection and further humiliation, which is a lot when you are poor in the purse of dignity. It cost her the scorn of the 'respectable' woman probably preparing food in the kitchen and it cost her alone! You see she was the only one worshiping Jesus that night. There was no flash band, no choir, no songs, no words even - but there was all that was necessary for deep worship - there was a heart undone before Jesus focused on glorifying Him above all.

Beloved I think we have much to learn from the woman with the alabaster box...

love Ruth x

Choice is that really what you want?

We can make some pretty good choices in line with God's manual for life - the bible... and that's a good thing! But sometimes I wonder is having more choice a really a good thing. It takes a lot of time and energy to make considered and good choices, to gather all the information we need... but I wonder if the more choices we're given simply become a distraction to what's really important in life.

My sister is terminally ill and she's being confronted with all sorts of choices she'd really rather not have to make. When we are weary it can be just too much for us to weigh up all the options, evaluate outcomes, consider all the possible side effects etc. and the more choice we have the more overwhelmed we can feel. Life can throw us a curve ball like redundancy, bereavement, injustice or terminal illness and we can feel there is simply too much dust thrown up by the trauma to make a clear decision. So Beloved Child of God I want to encourage you today if you can't see the wood for the trees - God can and He will help you. His word says "Commit your ways to the Lord, trust Him, and He will act" (Psalm 37 v 5). He will act... and He will act in your best interest because He loves you deeply.

Have a good week hugs Ruth x

Hope slippery when wet...

I don’t know about you but for me hope can be a slippery little sucker… Life is so fluid and so many things can colour our perspective. Part of the slipperiness of hope is down to our human-ness. We’re influenced by upbringing, life experience, chemical activity in our brains and all the rest..! So hope can slip out of our grasp. God's been teaching me this slippery hope is child like and His goal for us is grown up hope. Grown up hope isn't affected by life experience. You see as we all go through life we ‘share reality’ but it is simply one aspect of reality. There's a whole other dimension, of which our consciousness experience both individually and corporately is only a tiny part. Eternal reality which is outside of time is spiritual reality.

When we place our hope in something turning out the way we'd 'hopped' the fulfillment will always be temporary but in the eternal truth of Heaven hope is fixed and certain. The hope that Jesus loves us, is good and has a plan to bring us safely home no matter what dumb things we do in this mortal bit of our reality is fixed and certain...

Honey bun can I encourage you today if you feel hopeless - humble yourself before the Holy Spirit and ask Him to give you a non slip hope that no circumstance can steal away... I can testify to the graciousness of God to me in those times when I felt utterly hopeless but carried on just doing the next right thing God brought good from it. Perhaps on the other side of Heaven we'll understand that victories were won in those moments when despite hopelessness we stayed at our post and refused to let our eternal hope slip...

Love Ruth x

Little By Little

I love that my heavenly Father knows what I can handle. We all have aspects of who we are that are a bit ugly (let's be real here) and these bits have got to go if we're going to get life on the inside of who we are (our spirit). But here's what's great. God takes a lifetime to facilitate this refining process of being changed from glory to glory. If he did it in one moment, it would probably kill us... But no, in His loving wisdom he allows it to happen little by little. A little hurt is forgiven, a little self-indulgence gets denied, a little attitude gets straightened out - until one day he calls us home into His arms of love. Dead to our flesh but totally alive in our spirit. So don't get frustrated if you don't see change happening quickly; quality takes time. And you, Girlfriend, you are quality.

Love, Ruth x

Don't put up with it...

For years I lived with chronic pain and popped paracetamol like smarties (not a good idea). I kind of thought the problem might go away or I was just being a big girls blouse and it was all in my head... And the paracetamol took the edge off enough to allow me to carry on as normal. So I put up with this for a number of years till the pain became constant and I was forced to see my doctor. After some surgery I am now pain free completely and wonder why I put up with it for so long!

Do you know we can put up with many different types of spiritual pain in our lives too. Perhaps you are unfulfilled or putting up with a circumstance in your life which you know is not God glorifying. Precious sister I didn't much enjoy the surgery at the time but I feel so much better now that I wish I dealt it sooner.

Is there something holding you back that deep down you know you really need to deal with? Beloved of the Lord...This is your day make a plan and don't be held back any longer

Love Ruth x