Lessons from Election Day

Today was European and General Election Day. I went to my local polling station hoping to cast my vote. I have voted at every election since I was legally able to at 18 years old. People fought for women's rights to vote and I count it a privilege. To be honest, I'm not very political and there is a lot about politics that I don't understand. But, I am glad for the chance to vote. 

So today, I dashed into the polling station to take cover for the big dark rain clouds that were appearing above my head, and joined the queue to tell the polling clerks my name and address. Standing in queue I began to look around at the people in the voting booths, and wondered if they really knew the party they were voting for was the right or best party? Did they have an assurance that the party they were putting their trust in was going to fulfil their promises and make the necessary changes to improve our society? 

I looked at the people surrounding me, they were from all walks of life, different backgrounds, different ages, and each person was unique. Soon it was my turn to talk to the polling clerk. I confidently said my name and address. She looked through the list, and looked again, then with a blank look she said "you're not on the list"! I looked at her and gave her a half smile. I felt cheated and a bit embarrassed. Being a British Citizen surely my name should be on the list? But there was a time last year when I wasn't living in the UK so I wasn't actually on the latest electoral register. The polling Clerk politely smiled at me and I waked back past the queue of people behind me and sat down at the entrance while I waited for the people I was with to vote. I felt a bit irritated. I wanted to vote! 

As I sat there streams of people continued to walk through the doors to vote, a few people glanced at me as they joined the queue. I wanted to be doing what they were doing. I felt silly and awkward sitting there, and was glad to get out. Haha.

To be honest, in the grand scheme of things, not voting one time in my life really isn't that big of a deal. My name may not be on the latest United Kingdom electoral register, but my Bible tells me that God knows me by name. God says "... See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands..." [Isaiah 49:16]

The amplified version [which we all know is the girl bible, because it has lots more words] puts it like this,  "Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands".

You see, if you trust in Jesus, your eternal destiny is secured. Not only does God promise us eternal life, but He also promises us ABUNDANCE [John 10:10] of life while we are here on earth.

So actually, even if I was a bit miffed that I couldn't vote today, I have a rock solid assurance, a confident hope that I am a child of God. I am loved. I am chosen. I am believed in. I am forgiven. I am accepted. I am destined for greatness. He is for me. He is with me. He has good things for my life. And, I am on HIS list. Yes, God has a list. Well actually He calls it a book. The Lambs Book of Life. You see, the bible describes Jesus as being our great Shepherd and we are His sheep. If we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour, then our name is in His book.

I am so grateful to God for rescuing me and saving me. It says in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." It is not God's will that any should perish. He sent His son Jesus to the earth to pay the price for humanity's sin. Jesus lived a sinless life and died a brutal death on the cross. He took the punishment for all our sin, past, present and future, for all humanity, for all time. And then, He rose again. He is alive! He did it so that we, you and me, could be made right with God and spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

Revelation 21:27 [NLT] says, "Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life".

I would rather have my name written in the Lambs Book of life than on any other list. 

I have a rock solid assurance that my name is on His list, how about you? What about our friends? Our family? Our neighbours? 

Elephants and Ladybirds

[photo taken at Kruger National Park, SA. From a very excited tourist vehicle!!]

Recently I had the amazing opportunity to go on safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa. I have wanted to go on safari for as long as I can remember, and it was an incredible experience. I loved it! We saw some amazing animals, lions, crocodiles, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, buffalo, and a cheetah! But, the animals that I loved the most, were the elephants. My friends and I had prayed in the morning and had given God a huge list of all the things we wanted to see. He did not disappoint us ;-) But the elephant experience was one I will never forget. We were driving along a bumpy dirt road in the middle of the Kruger when we heard a rustling. We stopped the vehicle and to our amazement, about 30 [I'm not kidding] elephants came out of the bush. We were surrounded!! There were squeals of sheer excitement coming from our vehicle, cameras flashing, everyone elbowing each other to get the best shot, it was a blast. The thing that struck me was the size of them. They were absolutely MASSIVE!! I wanted to get out and stroke them all because they just looked so cute, but I decided not to when I saw one hit the car in front of us with his trunk and almost sent it flying into the depths of the bush!! They were so big yet it was as if their feet were made of marshmallows. The baby elephants were adorable too, like little 'Dumbo's'. I used to be in love with Giraffes, but now I've seen elephants in the wild, I'm in love with then too!

This week I was waiting in queue to be seated at a restaurant. I was so hungry and was slightly irritated that the guy on the desk was taking so long to seat the queue in front of us. I tried to block out my hunger pains [I mean seriously, I need to learn more patience when it comes to food, some people in the world are starving, literally! And here I was getting irritated!], and found myself staring at the back of the man in front of me. As I was staring, a very small ladybird flew and landed on him. I began to watch as it climbed up the mans back, up his neck and across his head [haha]. I almost flicked it off, but then thought maybe that wouldn't be the best idea, so I just watched the little red insect with black spots on. I was aware of how small it was. Suddenly, it flew away and I could no longer see it.

Today I was reading the beautiful passage in Matthew 6:25-34. Jesus is telling us not to worry about ANYTHING because He will take care of us. He talks about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. He reminds us that He cares so wonderfully for the birds and flowers, that of course, He will care for us even more.

I began to think of the huge elephants in South Africa and the small ladybirds in England, and was again reminded that God CARES about every area of our lives. He is interested in the BIG things, and the small things. Both are just as important to Him.

I wonder if we have faith for God to move in the big areas of our lives. If we have faith for Him to move big mountains and big obstacles, yet to ask Him to meet a small basic need seems a bit silly. Well, no! God is interested in YOU, every part of you and your life. And He wants to provide, care for and intervene in the big things as well as the small things. 

My prayer is that we wouldn't be so foucussed on the end result of the mountain moving prayers, that we forget to surrender our daily lives to His care. No prayer is insignificant to God, He hears it all. He knows how many hairs are on your head, He knows you by name, and you are His!

Let's not be so focused on believing for our big miracle, that we miss the miracle that is actually daily being outworked.

Recently I was in a situation where I was believing God for a miracle [and when I say 'believing for a miracle' I mean the on your face before God, declaring EVERY scripture you know, pouring your heart out, doing everything you can spiritually and physically, waiting for Him to move kind of believing!]. Anyway, as I was trusting God for a miracle, I was so very aware that I was actually in the middle of a miracle. I saw the protective hand of God on my life in a way I'd never experienced. That was a miracle! I witnessed His favour and blessing in the midst of devastation. That was a miracle! I experienced supernatural peace in the strongest of storms, and I literally walked through evil fires without even the smell of smoke on my hair! A miracle!!

Our God is so good. Our God is faithful.

A couple of weeks ago I needed some toiletries [a basic need right?]. Well, a lovely lady dropped a bag at my house full of hotel toiletry samples. I was so blessed and had to smile because I knew my God was again, providing for me. 

God is interested in the BIG and the SMALL, and EVERYTHING in between.

Let's never forget that He loves us. He is interested in our lives. He wants to walk through life with us. He is our protector and our provider. I'm determined to look for the miracles in each day, and trust God with the BIG, and the small.

As we open our eyes, we WILL see the goodness and faithfulness of God in the land of the living, and we WILL witness miracles!

What miracles are before our eyes today?

It's just stuff!

I don't like materialism. It irritates me and nowadays it can even make me feel physically sick. I have never been one to be materialistic. I've never had the newest gadgets, a flashy car, I've never shopped at waitrose, I've lived in a house where holes in the carpets are stuck together with celotape, I've not been to the hairdresser in over a year, I wear make up from pound land, I take the soap from hotel rooms, and I live in hand me down clothes or buy clothes from the sale rack in primark or charity shops. I currently don't have a mobile phone or a car. I'm NOT complaining! :-)

After recently spending time in Swaziland with the worlds poorest people, and visiting homes where families literally have NOTHING, and also being in a devastating situation where I pretty much lost everything I owned, [beautiful gifts loved ones had given me, sentimental stuff, and precious things I had taken time to make, gone, just like that!],  I have again been reminded, literally, that stuff just doesn't matter! It's just stuff! It will die, it will end, it won't hold our hand through the trials of life. 

That expensive perfume, or make up that we 'have to have' won't save us from a dangerous situation. Our brand new state of the art phone, won't fulfil the deepest longings of our heart. That massive cheque that we are waiting to receive, although it may meet some financial needs, won't sustain our soul. The only thing and person that will ever meet all of our needs, is God!

When we don't have money in the bank, we can't go out for a meal to a resturaunt. When we have a car on the drive, we will  probably choose to drive it, rather than walk places. When we  walk places, we see more and get to spend time with God and meet people. When we don't have too many clothes in our wardrobe, we don't have time to obsess over "what shall I wear?", or "I have nothing to wear" which is a thing most women say looking at a wardrobe bursting with a zillion outfits [trust me, I've been there!] When we don't have a phone, we are not distracted by trivial games and apps on it, or the constant need to send and receive text messages. 

We live materialistic lives, and we don't even realise it. We think that our stuff isn't that important to us, but I believe we don't actually know if it is or isn't important to us until we don't have it! I'm not suggesting that we get rid of all our stuff, or that it is taken away from us in a cruel way. And I'm not suggesting that we don't spend money or buy the things we really enjoy. Most of us reading this blog will own a lot of stuff. If we have food in our belly, clothes on our back, money in the bank, then we are among the 8% of the richest people in the world!!!

My challenge is not necessarily about the stuff we have, but rather what are we doing with our stuff. Are we allowing it to be our focus? I've even been challenged with my bible. I was recently given a new bible, I love it, it looks nice, it feels nice, and the words of Jesus are in red, which is always a bonus. I love spending time in the word, but I love it even more when I love the bible I am using. But, what if I only had one of those cheap bibles, you know, the ones on recycled paper, the cover is like black cardboard and it has that distinct smell that shouts "this is the cheapest bible on the planet". If this is your bible, please don't take offence, I'm sure you love it. But would I love spending as much time reading that one as I would my beautiful new bible? Am I more concerned with the stuff that I have used to dress up the real content, or am I concerned with the one who is the very word of God? Stuff can complicate things, it can bring confusion, jealously and mostly total distraction.

What if we didn't have the Internet, a CD player, or YouTube to watch our favourite worship artist? Would we still be able to worship God, in a room, by ourselves, no cd, no instrument, just us, and God?

I believe that stuff clutters our lives. Stuff gives us momentary answers. When we are sad we buy chocolate to eat or a new outfit to wear, or play video games, it's just stuff. When we want to spend time with a friend we watch a movie [ive never understood that, if I want to spend time with someone, I TALK with them]. 

I recently read this comment, "Some people are so poor, all they have is money". We can be so focussed on the blessings that we forget the one who blesses us. We can be so focussed on the stuff we have on the outside of our lives, that we neglect, or miss what is going on on the inside of us. Our value, or how we measure Gods blessings in our lives, should not be based on what is in our external lives. But, I believe we should measure it on our internal lives, the core of who we are. The place where our attitudes, our convictions, our thoughts, dreams, fears and desires reside.

“Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. (Matthew 6:19-21 MSG)

The bible says, "store up for yourself treasures in heaven".

I actually don't mind going without 'luxuries' on earth, as I am daily storing up treasures in heaven. This earth is so short, so temporal, we are not here very long. I don't mind if I never visit another hair salon on earth [cutting your own hair is actually pretty fun], It doesn't matter if I don't own the best home, or drive a nice car. Each day, when I choose to love and serve my God, with the little that I do have. When I keep my attitude right, when I do the right thing when the wrong thing is happening, when I bless those who curse me, when I keep my heart and speech pure and when I trust God, He will pour out His blessings on my life. Real blessings, eternal blessings. He will give me peace in the core of who I am. His joy will saturate my heart. My faith will be enlarged. He will enable me to walk in integrity and righteousness, uprightness before my God. 

So let's take a moment today to write a list of all the things God has blessed us with. If our list has more material things than 'real' lasting things, maybe we need to re-evaluate our lives? 

Scrambled Eggs!

This morning I was making scrambled eggs for breakfast. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, I kind of like cracking eggs! 

Oftentimes an egg is used as an illustration to describe the Trinity [God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit], three in one. The egg is a whole but it has three different parts, the shell, the white and the yoke. But, I wasn't thinking about the trinity this morning as I was cracking eggs...

The egg shell has to be cracked [or boiled if you want a boiled egg] to experience the fullness of the egg. Otherwise it is pointless. It will just sit there, unused and unable to fulfill it's potential. It has to be cracked in order for the goodness to come out. It has to be cracked in order to produce something of purpose. It has to be cracked to fulfill it's ultimate potential. An egg white and yoke neatly left in the uncracked egg shell will just go off and won't produce what it is meant to.

It's not until we are in the middle of a storm that we discover what is in the middle of us!

"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." (1 Peter 1:7 NLT)

So often in our own lives things happen, and it may feel like they are breaking us, but it's actually allowing the good things, the God flavours that are in our life, to come out. It strengthens our character and our faith.

Whatever challenge we are facing today, big or small, I pray that we would stand still, I pray that we would put our hope and confidence in our Creator, that we would know His hand upon our lives.

The bible says that "Greater is HE in you, than he who is in the world". If our lives [your spirit, soul, emotions, heart and body] are rooted firmly in His love, in His saving grace and in His redeeming power, there is NOTHING we cannot go through with Him. We are immovable. We will not be shaken. We may feel like the ground under our feet is slowly slipping away, but I promise, if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on our circumstance, He will bring us through, and bring us OUT stronger, wiser, happier, and more beautiful than before. 

Take a deep breath and know that even when situations are not good. God remains good and His plans are always to prosper us and not to harm us. Let's allow Him to work in us as we go through the fire. And let's trust Him that He will bring us through, with greater experience, wisdom, grace, anointing and faith than we ever had before.

How BIG is your BRAVE?

God never promises that life will be easy, He doesn't promise us a bed of roses, and no pain on this earth. But, what He does promise, is that He will ALWAYS be with us. He will NEVER LEAVE us or forsake us.

I wear a bracelet that has the word 'brave' on. It's pretty and reminds me that I am to be brave throughout the seasons of life. This weekend, I found myself looking down at the leather band around my wrist, and asking myself the questions, "How big is my brave? What does it mean t be brave?" I began to recall some times in my life when I had to brave. I was brave when I did a skydive, brave when I moved to Australia in my early twenties, brave when I stood up to give testimony at my love,y Aunties funeral. I was brave as I sat with my beautiful Granma and watched her breathe her last breath on the earth and graduate to Heaven. I was brave when I held a massive snake around my neck at the zoo. I was brave when I stood up and preached moments after someone had said some cruel things to me.

Being brave is about standing up, standing strong and stepping out, bold and confidently, in the face of adversity or challenge [whatever that looks like]. As I began to remember different times in my life when I had been brave, I asked myself another question, "HOW was I brave?" The reason I can be brave in the midst of trial, challenge and adversity is firstly because I know that God, My God, Creator of the Universe, is with me. And also, I have a company of family and friends, who know me, love me and stand with me. I know for a fact that I would not have gotten through that nasty illness I suffered as a teenager had it not been for my immediate family nursing me and speaking life over me as I slept. I know I would not have been brave enough to jump out of an aeroplane if I wasn't strapped to a hunky man! I know I wouldn't have been brave enough to hold a big fat snake without the zoo keeper being near me. I know I wouldn't have been brave enough to get on the plane to move to Australia without my family waving me off and telling me I could do it. I know I was only brave enough to be with my Granma when she breathed her last breath, because my dad was with me.

As all these thoughts were running through my mind, I was so aware that I can BE brave, not because of anything to do with me, but, because of the power of God in me, and the wonderful people that surround my life.

I then began to wonder what it would look like if we EXTEND our brave, to other people. We CAN extend the invitation to them too. We can tell them that God is for them and so are we! There are people in this world, in our lives, who are aching for us to be brave for them. The woman whose husband is beating her, the neighbour who is alone, the post man whose wife just left him, the work colleague who has been diagnosed with cancer, the elderly relative who is in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's, the child who has an alcoholic father, the girl at the check out who would rather work all night than have to face what awaits her at home, the university student who is crippled with anxiety and stress due to deadlines, the friend who can't find work, the baby fighting for his precious life in the hospital, the girl who is forced into prostitution...

Recently, I have been so aware that there is so much injustice, pain, trauma and heart ache in this world. People are crazy and do crazy things.the enemy is a liar and has the sole purpose of trying to destroy us. Thank God, that if we belong to Jesus, the silly devil is powerless and only has the authority over us that we give him. But, still, bad stuff happens to good people, all the time.

I want to fix things. I want to see people healed and restored. I want to be part of the solution and not the problem.

Over my life, I have learnt that the most powerful and constant thing, is the word of God. Whenever I am facing a scary, dangerous or difficult situation, if people try to destroy me, if the doctor gives me a bad report, if I am anxious, nervous or tired, whatever I am facing, whatever I am going through, Gods word is bigger, stronger and WAY MORE POWERFUL than anything that I face!

His word makes me brave! His word, being 'fleshed' out in my life makes me face crazy situations with bravery and courage! His word, on my lips, in my heart, and in my mind, makes me brave. When I read, listen to, speak out, and declare the very Word of God over my life, the powers of darkness flee, every demon in hell trembles, because, My God shows Himself strong, and, HE MAKES ME BRAVE!

I can declare the promises of God over other people's lives as well as my own. I can push back the darkness and bring Gods glorious light.

We can stand up. Rise up. Sing. Shout. Declare. We an raise awareness, and then be moved to action [awareness is POINTLESS if we don't ACT on what we are aware of!] we can be the voice for those who cannot speak.

Will you be brave just for you, or, is your brave big enough for others too?

Today, I want to challenge myself, and you, if you're up for it, to ask the question, "HOW BIG IS YOUR BRAVE?"

Who are you?

The other day I was walking past a train station. Two men walked passed me, and for some reason, they grabbed my attention. No, I didn't notice that they were extremely attractive [even if they were I still probably wouldn't have noticed! Haha]. They walked down the road in front of me and I immediately knew they were business men. They both wore suits, carried brief cases, their shoes were so shiny they could probably see their own reflections if they looked down. Their hair was cut short and smart, they walked tall and confident and they were in deep conversation about something which seemed important. It was obvious, by their appearance, their walk, their talk, that they were in the world of business. Going to meetings, making decisions, managing a caseload etc.

I started thinking about how people viewed me. What do I look like? What is my sound? What impression does my life make?

We all have jobs, responsibilities, roles and families. But, what we do should not define who we are. Rather, WHO we are should define what we do.

So today, I want to ask myself, and you, the question. Who are you? Take a moment to think about it.

My response: I am Leah! I am a daughter, sister, friend. I am a child of God, an overcomer. I am called and chosen. I have a voice. I have influence. I am confident and secure. I choose to live above my circumstances and trust the One who is in control. I love God. I love people. I love life. I want to make a difference.

If your identity is wrapped up in your job title what happened if you loose your job? If your identity is wrapped up in your relationship status what happens when your partner dies, or abandons you? If your identity us wrapped up in the amount of properties you own, or what's in your bank account, then what would happen if you had a financial crisis?

It's not about what we do, who we are us what matters most.

We are called to be light in this dark world, to bring out the 'God colours' in our communities and work places.

When you walk past people, do they sense peace, confidence, trust, hope and joy? Or are we so consumed with the worries of our lives that our lives speak sadness, confusion, doubt, fear and just too busy to help anyone out?

I know there have been times in my life when I have been so focused on what I am doing that I miss what is going on in the lives of those around me. But I don't want to live That way. I refuse to live that way. I want to have a smile on my face, a spring in my step and love in my heart. I want to walk past people and smile and say hello. I want to spread love where there is hate, peace where there is war, joy where there is depression and hope where there is hopelessness. 

I recently set myself a challenge. I don't have a car right now, so I walk a lot of places and see a lot of people. I decided that I would SMILE at EVERY single person I met. I thought it would be easy, as I didn't realise just how many people I walk last! Wow, it's a lot! It has been fun smiling at people. Lots of people smile back, lots don't. Some people won't give me eye contact, they flat out refuse. For those people I usually give a cheerful "hello". They sometimes respond with a grunt, they sometimes look, and I guess sometimes they just don't hear [probably because of the music blasting into their ears]!

Anyway, it has been fun to see people's reactions and also to actively spread some joy around. I know that when someone takes a moment to give me eye contact and smile, it makes me feel like they care.

A smile says; I see you, I care, you are valuable, you are worth something and you matter.

So I am committing to push my shoulders back, lift my head high and SMILE at the world. There is enough rubbish going on, in the news, in our communities, in our world.

Don't let your circumstances or relationship status, or your job title define you.

If you have said "yes" to Jesus, you ARE restored, redeemed, set apart for great things and to make a great impact.

So, wherever you are and whatever you are doing, choose to bring your best and reach out, with love and joy, to the precious people in our world :)