Step by step

Have you ever felt like you've been wondering around without direction?
In a beautiful pasture, but you've been looking for something better?
If that's you this easter, when things just don't let up, perhaps you've reached the end of your rope, when you're looking at your diary or callander and you have just a busy schedule, you have no desire to do anything.
If that's you today, and everyone is telling you to take it easy, but you have no idea what that means.
Come and sit down and just have a break for 5 minutes.
The truth is, no one knows you better than those around you, or yourself, and God.
You see the reason why sometimes we feel so far away from God is because we don't take time just to have a chat, you'd be suprised on how many people feel so far away from God because well they are just to busy, it seems like everyone is mapping out their lives for them, because you don't know yourself.
Nothing is beyond you that you can't face through alone, perhaps it's time to go back and see what life is all about.
And perhaps when you walk back to the past, and thing that have you've gone through you can realize that you've been strong all your life.
God is there and he sees it.
He sees what you've done, but he's not there to rap you over your hands for the things you've done.
Everyone slips up and God is always, knows that.
But that doesn't mean you have the right to do what you want to do, because sometimes it's hard, but God gives you opportunities to be strong, and when you're strong for yourself you're strong for others.
We all come to a point of surrender, and we all need to come into that place, and that place is never easy if you've been strong all your life.
You see, when we get tired, we get mentally tired as well, and that is when we just don't care about much anymore.
And I have been there,  sometimes you want to just give up, when there's all the encouragement to hang in there.
It took me a few years to actually seeing what it was, I was secretly depressed as a teen ager,  I was confident of God's love and grace, but I would think that would for be for others, but as a friend who I spoke to last week, we long for relationships, and we want to trust people, and when tat trust is broken, we break the trust with God.
Parents need to trust their children, so instead of being talked to like a little girl, we have to encourage them with trust.
Trust is such a misleading thing these days, it's hard to do the work sometimes if we don't feel the trust it sometimes even harder to do the work, because we get into the mentality of proving, and we're not bread dough ready to prove just to get it right, so we come out of the oven puffy and nice.
Infact Jesus said to get rid of the yeast in our lives.
He meant pride, and everything that isn't pure.
And if you're battling with Purity, and wanting to become everyones friend in the process, we learn easily that we won't become everyones friend.
Jesus wasn't everyone's friend, he was looking at the bigger picture, he was disliked, he had is moments, he wasn't this sweet and mild, person.
He struggled with things that well held him down, we sort of think that because he was super natural, that he wasn't human, that well he didn't see what it was like.
We get it from the pulpit, and some times it's easy to go into preacher mode, but we don't need that, in the mist of pain.
You see the more we see people for who there are, the more we care, not scare them.
We aren't there to scare people, and to be afraid, even though sometimes it might be that people are scary.
Innosence is a gift, and when we aren't strong, we know that God is there.
We're not made to be size zeros or photoshopped.
God leads us step by step, and if you need to go back to church, then go, go back to where you left off, because he is waiting.

Rest for the weary.

Hi there,
I've some how lost my previous post, which I can seem to find.
How's your day going?
How are you going with your things?
Have you thought about God, and what does God think of you today?
How do you see God?
I know this seems repetitive, and some how you need, to know that God is pleased with you.
He first of all exchanged his stripes and beatings to set you free.
Today I want to talk to you about rest.
Because sometimes it's hard to actually see rest as in laying things down, because we see, we have to fight and have to do things that, we get tired, and we have to have all our eggs all in one basket.
Or be like a performing clown, and perform in front of people.
Sometimes we find it harder to keep all these things up.
We can live like this all our lives, like this a performance, and we live to get clapped in front of our friends.
Sometimes it's like that, and we feel threat ed by what's coming, because we don't want to show others what we're really like.
We have a mentality, '' you've got to fake it to you make it.'' it happens alot in cheffing.
And sometimes it's easy to believe it, but I don't believe it and I'll tell you why.
Because it's not true, and a lot of people who know you, yes who knows you on a leave not a flaky level, know that you can't fully function, and the wheels will come off sooner rather than later.
Alot of people I know might think I've been sheltered somewhere like a garden shed, not knowing anyone, and might come across as un caring. But I look around and I see alot of people out there, living for less, and the thing I want to do is, to encourage that person out there that wonder what on earth is going on.
Perhaps you've had broken promises to you, said over and over again, perhaps you've been abused, in what might be like a perfect family, perhaps you've been bullied at work, school or for your faith.
Perhaps you've been told to have good short term plans, but you're a long term person.
I can't be you, I can't be God and make things better.
I can't fix things.
Perhaps it's all a bit to much, at the moment, perhaps your one day off, and 11 days on, is tiring, all you can think of, sleep and catching up on things that have been neglected.
have you been Neglected, have you been living out your life, for others not really seeing the cracks in your own life?
My dear friend, we  all are all the same, you can go to all the trouble in the world, as you like, but when you see that God is watching over you, that no matter what happens in your life, no matter the great lessons or advice in the world that you can take.
Nothing beats the promise that God is watching over you, it's when we stop and we know that God is keeping it all together when we're tired, that we can't actually remember the last time we just plain enjoyed ourselves just for enjoying.
Our lives might be filled with drama,  and perhaps we like the thought that we like it, but God is there in the drama, in those family things that cause us, pain and grief.
We can't always be the perfect family, we can't be there, and sometimes when we need prayer, we might just need to be strong and grow up a little.
It through this that we perfect our faith, instead of getting all worked up about something, and getting prayer.
It's in that time of pain, we see Grace.
The widow gave her last 2 coins to God before the feet of Jesus, and he said that nothing goes un noticed.
So my friend if you're feeling a bit weary, a bit un noticed, Jesus sees it, and he loves you the way you are, if you're exposed, if all your secrets are out, if people are advising you on how to live, and liking their own voice, and you just want them to be quiet, extend the hand of Grace, extend the hand of grace, and do it with out complaining, no matter if they complain against you.
God didn't come to save the Christians, he did come for the well, he came to the sick.
He came to make a way for us, to say the best is yet to come.
Chloe

Are you alone this easter?

Hi there,
I hope that you're well and doing ok.
No doubt you've been busy rushing around doing different jobs, and carrying on working.
With all the rushing around this busy week, it's suddenly dawned on me that sometimes we can find ourselves alone at easter.
Perhaps it's you, perhaps you've lost someone this year, that at easter time you think back of all those lovely times you've had together, and that at easter time it might be filled with no many happy memories.
Some of you might have lots of friends but feel lonely, some of you might be so consumed with your work, that even if it is a long weekend, you simply can't leave it alone and have time with your family.
I'm not going to put some christian slant on it, but rather, look at someone else, the thief that hung on the cross next to Jesus.
When you have addictions, you simply can't leave it, no matter what it is, it always starts small.
Then it grows like some sort of disease.
You see Jesus didn't need to save himself, he didn't need to prove anything on that cross, he only needed people to come to him, but they came to him with insults and abuse, and beatings.
It was the thief that stopped in his tracks, and humbly repented of what he had done.
My friend if you're in that ''can't reach out to anyone because no one understands me'' thinking, that's what the Thief thought, but he had faith, to believe in God.
Because he is indeed the King of the Jews.
We might, think oh yes, he was, but not now, not in my life, I don't have time.
Maybe you've been constantly critised by people that you know, and bit by bit you can't trust anyone, and you're wondering if you can trust God.
How we relate to people also reflects on how we are with God, we might just be like that with him.
Will he be kind when people have been unkind to us?
Will he hold me, in the mist of pain and suffering when no one really knows?
Does he know about my addictions?
Jesus is there, and he knows everything, and he is not a see through God.
He's not a one way God, if you've run off settled for more, but one way or another you have settled for less, God knows.
If you see no way through, God does.
And trusting him means, through thick and thin, through the waves and storms, through the calm, through all of it.
It was easy to trust God when the going is smooth, but what happens if it's not so?
Can you still say, ''this is my song this is my story, I will keep praising God though the storm?''
God doesn't want us to to insults constantly, but sometimes, it's a good thing when you don't take insults to heart, because you have better character. And you are showing them kindness by not retaliating, because , they might, have all their lives, being blamed for things that that is all that they know.
But if they see you being responsible, and not making excuses, it's you telling them, this is the way to live.
The Thief was held responsible for the things he did on earth, but Jesus was the king of the jews, and he thought that if he was a king, he has the mind to over look his plight on that cross, and Jesus did.
Perhaps you need him in your life, that for so many years you've tried to over look it, but can't.
Jesus can help you.
That's all I want to share with you today.
Chloe

Brothers keeper

Hi there.
Today I want to talk to you about being a brothers keeper.
What do i mean?
What does a brother keeper mean?
Did i just open up my bible and just radomly stick a finger in a page and there it was?

No,
So what is a brothers keeper?

A brothers keeper is, someone that goes the extra mile, and takes time to care about someone or something.
Sometimes,  it's so easy isn't to just pass off things, to get upset at the little things, the things that upset us, the things we take offense to, the things that just grate against us.
Sometimes it's like that, sometimes we get tired of things, and we're just plain tired of being worn down, and it's like that in church sometimes.
It's so easy to leave the church, to throw up our hands and say ''where were they when we needed it?''

A brothers keeper, gets along asside them and helps someone out, you just never know if that paid for cup of coffee is helping that lonely person, it's saying '' I care about you, enough to be my friend''

Sometimes it's in those hard times that we reach out and become friends,to someone that offers you some amazing advise, that you never know when it will come in use.
I used to be a closed up person, but I've worked on it, and becoming a chef makes you serve other people, it's a serving profession.
My brother matt, said never compare yourself to someone, and he's right, because you'll never be that person.
Yes some people might anoy you, and the thing is, you probably anoy people too, yes that on going thing, that never lets up, the teasing, the bullying, never give up, by giving up you're giving that person, permisson to take advantage over you.
Never leave, of course you have to if it's a vollent relationship.
But if you're called to stay, stay there, the light house is beaming it's light out just for you
I recently worked with some one, that wanted to work my public holiday shift,  and to swap, then offered to buy my car because it had low Ks on t, and then he was joking about going over to Germany to see our working friend, anything that he said would just anoy us,
He wanted everything, I liked how he came across, he was so determined poor chap, that he just said he didn't mind that if I said no to the swap of my shift, but in a way he did because he already made up his mind, that he was dertermined to have it.
I  am going to be strong, and say no to buying my car I might be blond, but i'm not to blond to think  if  he gets my car, I'm trapped to getting to work, , and no to working my shift.
Mum wants me to give him my shift, so that we have a family day together, so is my life hard?
Do I need a brothers keeper?
I would say I do, because i am tired, no matter how much sleep i get it seems  not much.
My life isn't hard at all, it's probably seems quite easy, I think about the people in hopsices, all around, and to my frined who has recently over come brain surgery, I asked God this week, why?
Where are my tests of faith?
My Dad said always pray for others, and if you think you need to increase your faith, pray for tests to come.
So my tests aren't health things, they are in everyday life, to be the light in the dark.
You are someone's brothers keeper, you might just not know it yet.
Chloe

going through the storms together

This is, post 80.
How amazing is that?
This morning, i want to talk to you about going through storms.
We all go through storms, we go through really bad things. sometimes we don't have an answer to what we're doing to ourselves. sometimes we get upset with the world, and sometimes we get upset because well there's no answers.
When even our closest friends don't have the answers, it's easy to say God does.
Is that because it's easy to say?
Is it easy because we get told that God has all the answers?
The more you're around people, the more you listen to them, look to what God is telling you, and be strong, somethings are notes that God is telling you.
I was thinking in bed last night, about what is beyond our plans, what's is on the cards for our family?
So I called my brother, and yes called him at work on my break.
I feel a bit empty sometimes, so I ring my brother quite a bit, and he just encourages me, to keep going.
Matt takes risks, the more he takes the more his faith grows, I'm not a risk taker, and sometimes I don't know what to do, so I look to other people, and this got me thinking about my life at night,  Matt knows what he wants in life, and he finds time to do other things for people, and I want to be like that.
And God knew this because he said, "I know the plans I have for you, plans not to harm you but to give you a hope and future.'' we are all scared and we are afraid of the outcome.
But when we go through the storms, they aren't so fierce as before.
When I was dropping some people home, we had to drive through the waves, and it was quite fun but scary, sometimes scary, a bit wave came and I could see it rising then crashing over the car, i loved it,and it was so much fun, but it probably wasn't so much for my friends.
And it made me think about the storms in life,we all need to look at a point to get us out of the storm and that point is, the light out house.
Light houses, are amazing piece of engineering, because they were built on cliff faces, to  warn the boats on high seas, that there's rocks around, the beam of the light house, goes not just a few metres out, it goes 50km out to see.
And that's just like God, God isn't just a small God, interested in other things, if you're in a storm, if you're wondering why there's pain, God is there, he keep the light on, and doesn't turn off.
He is in there as you ride through the waves, as they crash around you, keeping you intact.
God in there.
When you're wondering if anyone still cares, God is there, and he'll bring people around you, to stand  around when things get tough.
See how the world sees strength, it's by  being bullying and mean, to sort of beat into shape, I suppose but if we're weak, we are strong in God.
We have to be encouraging, when we get discouraged, we have to be open, but not to closed up, we have to get people around us that we can encourage, because those people who encourage us, are good to be around. Don't get around with the  ''poor me crowd.'' because you will get things rubbed off on you. Be careful to whom you listen to and who you get your approval from, people who can't get that approval, always look for it, and won't find it, because that comes in Christ.
Well I better let you go.
So if you're in a storm right now, don't give up, when the waves are coming around you, you will see the beam of light of God, reaching out to you and will get you to safety.
Chloe

Today

What are you waiting on for today?
What happens if you only have today?
Not tomorrow, not yesterday, but today?
What would you do differently?
How would you change things?
Would you reach out to others?
Would you try the things you heard that you heard you couldn't do?
Would you live in the moment?

It's a funny concept because we are all rushing around, trying to fix things, help people, see people through God's eyes, and try to do everything.
But if we just put our feet up for just one moment what would God say to you?
Have you been on strong all your life and then all of sudden, something has gone?
Have you been betrayed by a friend?
Have you had broken promises, that you believed in?
Have you been led along a path that isn't your own?
Have you been had a life of being trapped in something you are trying to be free from?
God is there.
You know when we reach out to others, God is in that, he isn't a one way God.
He is a two way person, he is there, and if you have a thoughts thoughts that come into, your mind, and you have no idea where or how the come in, but they are there.
Go and get some help, don't struggle alone, trying to cope with it,because it will come back, no matter how hard you are no matter if you are a strong person, the thing will come back.
Now the ''thing'' might be depression, or some other thing that was done to you, you have to name it, and you have to say it out loud, not name and claim, but actually realize what it is, and get to the point of the problem.
You can, be strong, but when it comes to actually getting there, where you want to go, you have to be a victor not a victim.
And you'll have to make some changes, it might be going to a good friend who cares about you, and having a genuine care, and hope, and someone who walks beside you, of course, I can't do anything, but if you're noticing things that are a bit amiss.
Tell someone, that you're struggling, it might be making better friends, it might be knowing that you're not coping, it might be laying down, whatever it is, and letting God come in, and doing some work in you, saying what he will do in your life.
Jesus, didn't only come to save us from the world, he came to free people, not just people who believe in him, but for others.
As a church the worst thing we can do is, preach from the front about how good God is, and how perfect our lives are.
What happens if you're going through pain, what happens if all you hear, is '' you're doing it wrong?''
That is false responsibility, we can come so in grossed with people, that we can wear the problem.
I'm not saying to turn a blind eye, to through up our hands and say ''well that's your problem'' it's not what I'm saying, the thing is, we are supposed to walk aside people, but if we really care, we care enough that they should get help before anything else gets worse.
Of course we can't always change people, it has to be them to see it for  themselves, and to see freedom.
So what are you up to today?
My challenge for myself, is, to fulfill the promises that I've made for people. and as I sit down and make a plan for today, I see that the grace of God is with me, because he has made this day, and we will rejoice in it.
Chloe

March thoughts

So another week goes past, and turns into a month.
I can't believe that it's march all ready.
How's things going?
I hope that things are going well for you.
I know that sounds a bit shallow, and probably a bit impersonal, coming from a computer.
I've been thinking about this post, and it's been a long time coming.
Because, I always find me thinking about things.
Have you ever questioned things?
Like faith, God and pain?
It's always hard, because we slowly, become immuned to things that we are strong.
Perhaps it's a shallow out look, but it got me thinking about something.
We don't want to experience pain, we try to avoid it at all costs.
And we always try not to harm ourselves, but we live in a world of risk.
And we are taking more risks than our parents or anyone before us.
So what happens now?
Did Jesus take risks?
Yes, each time he went to a different part of Israel, Jerusalem
He was told to leave many towns, because he helped people.
I was thinking of, it today, that do we really care?
How are you and me, Jesus hands and feet?
Are we waiting for the ''right time, right place right people'' to come along?
 Sometimes we need to grow up and just get out there and do it.
So the question isn't just to you, it's also to me.
How am I going to do this?
What am I going to do this week to make a diffince?
Each time you pray, you get an answer, it might be painful, but you always get an answer to what you pray for.
Maybe it's being kind to people who are hard, on you, perhaps it's respecting, those people who are high up than you, when you have the answer,  Jesus is there in that.
Jesus also uses everything to give you what you need.
It might be in that trusted friend, in God you're never alone.
God uses you in all you are, and loves you.
Perhaps you're holding onto pain, things that no one knows about, you're always noticed by God.
Forgiveness always makes a way, when you think pain is always your friend.
It's not, you really don't need to be a victim anymore.
There is no pointing finger, there is no one to blame you for what you've done, no matter how ''dangerous'' or hurting or painful, because lets face it, we all have it,
No matter how bullet proof vested, protected you are against pain or hopelessness, be in in depression or even Christian depression, God is always there.
You are worth more than gold.
When you're a victim of unspeakable things, it's easy to wear that badge, it takes good counselling to actually see the truth behind the pain.
Because Pain disguises itself as the truth.
God is the voice of truth.
You see the power of the cross isn't just because we died to pain that day, Jesus spent, 8 hours silently, dying there.
He knows the personal pain, of death, but doesn't end there.
We rose with him, and he fought for us, that love found us, and death has no sting anymore.
You might think, that's simple, but it's real, pain hurts, death hurts, it's final.
And yes there's a certain grief, that comes, because we are human and we are mortal, but we are immortal, with Jesus, because we rose with him.
We have the spirit of him in us.
When we die we die to things that we hold on to, and that's good, sometimes it's a personal grief, it's something we all have to do.
But we also rise with Christ, Jesus, goes before us, always.
Jesus doesn't leave it there, he is walking with us, through what we are going through.
He isn't there for a short time, he's there for along time and he will see that you get what you need.
When you have a friend in Christ, you know that he won't let you down.
He's there for the whole distance, like a long distance drive, he's there not just when you need him but when he needs you.
It's not just a 2 way street, when you believe in Christ,  you are also strong in him, he carries you through things you can not face alone.
My friend, if you are feeling lonely, because all you hear is a good message from church, it doesn't help your faith, because all you hear are good things.
Like children we need to grow, babies don't stay on milk for all their life.
Likewise with the Christian walk, we need to get a bit gritty.
You may struggle with this, should we pray for hardship?
 no, but we can help people who are going through it.
Babies grow to children, and children grow up and become adults, if we are just in a church pew hearing good things, how are we going to become stronger if we don't grow?
Jesus is there, and it's no use being a clean dish on the outside and being dirty in the inside.
Love is hard, it's always warm, love is hard, because it always reaches out, because love believes through thick and thin,
God created that love, because it is stronger than anything else.
We are called to love, and to be there for the long haul, not just for a short time.
We can't have short time fun, we can but it doesn't really last all that long.
We need people who know all about us, who care about us, who are in for the long haul, not just for the Sunday afternoon drive through the Christian life.
So perhaps it's time to go back to Christ, go and be strong, go and be clean on the inside not just the outside, to find the people who need to be there for the long hauls, not the Sunday afternoon drives.
Chloe