Community is...

... Balsamic sausages and roasted red vegetables (recipe here) followed by a game of Uno.

Community is...

In Mosaic, we've been thinking about what community should look like. Over the next few weeks, Mosaic is looking at 'The Gospel-Centred Church' together. I'm going to be posting thoughts on this and photos of a small community of believers that are figuring things out.

So for the moment, community is... tea and cake?

Philippians 4

We've come to the end to this little book. It's small but mighty.

Philippians 4

• v 1 tells us to stand firm!
• v 4 again tells us to rejoice. Chapter 3 has already told us the sort of things we should be rejoicing in.
• v 6-7 tells us how we should be continuously praying rather than getting anxious. Then we will receive the peace of God!
• v 8 is a real tricky one. We need to think about good things. I don’t think this verse is thinking about pretty dresses and cupcakes. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us we need to focus on Jesus, so perhaps it’s more about that.
• Get on with it! v 9 tells us to put into practice what we have learnt.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
(James 1:22-24)

• Sometimes it’s hard to be happy with what we have. Paul has learnt to in v 11-13

Implications for Mosaic

• We can encourage one another in standing firm (Hebrews 3:13)
• We need to rejoice together. Give each other things to give thanks for and tell each other what God is doing so we can praise him for it.
• We need to encourage one another to put what we learn into practice

Summary

• Love one another! Romans 12:10 tells us we need to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves.” Sorry, all those commitment-phobes out there!
• Loving one another keeps us pure and righteous. Have a look at what Jesus says in John 15:1-17. Loving one another seems the way to get and remain plugged into Jesus.
• Jesus is our confidence and reason to rejoice.
• Rejoice some more.
• Get on with it! Paul constantly reminds us to put what we know into practice. 

Quick Questions

• Don't you just love Philippians?
• What do you do to avoid being anxious? (I have a prayer book, so when I'm worried I write it all down in there)
• Do you feel like your life is missing something or are you happy with what you have?

Philippians 3

This is a Bible Study on the third part of Philippians. I hope you're starting to love this book as much as I do.

Philippians 3

• v 1 Rejoice! In the Lord: not in any human efforts
• v 1-6 Where have we misplaced our confidence? Do we put too much in store in our own abilities, or when we do "nice things" for others?
• v 7-10 Knowing Jesus is where we should put our confidence! Everything else is "rubbish".
• Our righteousness comes from knowing the power of Jesus' resurrection and sharing in his sufferings.
• v 12. We're not perfect. This is quite liberating, but doesn't give us an excuse to rest on our laurels. Paul tells us to press on towards the goal.
• v 13. We can't be stuck in the past! Forget about it. Focus on what is ahead.
• v 14 Our goal is heaven! Verse 20 tells us that we're already citizens of heaven.
• v 18 Paul is deeply distressed about those who reject Jesus and live for their own desires.

Implications for Mosaic

• Put all our confidence and reasons to rejoice in Jesus.
• We need a "heaven-focused" view on life.
• We need to live in a way that reflects we are citizens of heaven

 Quick Questions

• What things are you rejoicing about at the moment?
• Where do you sometimes misplace your confidence?
• Are you a past/present/future focused person? 

Philippians 2

This is my second Bible study on Philippians. We've been doing it in Mosaic, and I just love this book. It's short but has a major impact factor. It's like well good, innit.

Philippians 2

• v 1-4 Humility, like that of Christ
• As Christians we are:
• United with Jesus
• Loved
• Tender and compassionate with each other
• United in purpose, love and attitude: that of Jesus (v 5)
• We have a fantastic passage about Jesus (perhaps an early hymn)
• This tells us about humility and the lack of ranks in the church.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 28:25-28)

• v 14 & 15 again emphasises the importance of our relationships. It results in being blameless and shining out like stars (what a lovely image!)
• v 12-13 interestingly tells us to ‘continue to work out your salvation’. Hasn’t Jesus done that for us? Here Paul is writing about the fact that having a faith in Jesus, which results in salvation, will have a response in how we live our lives. Have a look at James 2:14-19.

Implications for Mosaic

• Love, love, love, love one another
• Unity in purpose and attitude. We are ultimately united by a love of Jesus (not our age!)
• We need to serve each other and all that come into Mosaic’s midst before the needs of ourselves.
• We cannot have a faith that isn’t outworked somehow. Otherwise it is dead.

 Quick Questions

• What parts of the Bible have you been studying recently? What did you learn from it?
• Is humility something you've either got or you've not? Is it something that can be worked at?
• Isn't that a fantastic passage about Jesus? What are your favourite passages about him? 

  

Philippians 1

I've recently been leading a Bible Study on Philippians. I have seriously fallen in love with this book. In order to help you do the same I thought I'd post my notes up here. Read Philippians 1 before reading the rest.

Background

• A thank you letter from Paul to the church in Philippi; the sort you write to your nan after Christmas.
• Lots of gratitude going on.
• Theme of unity in Christian community, and rejoicing.

Philippians 1

• v 3-6 Paul gives thanks for the Philippians, due to what Jesus has been doing in them and what is being worked to completion. Who are you thankful to God for?
• Paul’s prayer is fascinating (v 9-11). He prays for an increase in love, which has more knowledge and insight. This leads to discernement; being blameless and pure; having the fruit of righteousness and all for the praise and glory of God.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)

• Paul’s chains advance the gospel, which is awesome.
• v 18 is perhaps surprising: as long as Christ is being preached, the motives are unimportant.
• End of chapter has some challenging truths about facing opposition: that we are to stand firm in unity and in one spirit, and we are to be without fear.
• v 29 suggests that we treat suffering for the gospel as an equal gift as faith in the gospel (see Acts 5:41).

Implications for Mosaic/others

• We need to love one another in order to have discernment and to be blameless
• We need to rejoice due to one another
• We are to face opposition together and without fear

Quick questions

• Do you have a favourite book of the Bible? Why do you love it so much?
• Who are you thankful for?
• Is it possible to treat suffering as a gift? How do you do it?

Reputation

According to Fortune magazine, the five companies with the highest reputation in America are Apple, Google, Amazon, Coca-Cola and IBM. But what is it about them that makes them so highly regarded? The magazine cited their innovation; their ability to invest in long-term plans and ability to expand as some of the reasons. It probably isn't their ethics (Apple has been linked with sweat shops, worker suicides and child labour; Coca-Cola accused of misusing water supplies and linked with the murders of union leaders, as some examples). This got me thinking about the importance of reputations and what I want a reputation for.

Personal experience has taught me how reputations can make or break someone. When I was at sixth-form I had a reputation for being chronically disorganised. It'd be quite easy to say at this point that I was disorganised because people labelled me that way, but I probably need to take responsibility for my own actions.However, when I left for university I bucked my ideas up. I bought an academic diary, I made myself a colour coded timetable, I got a pencil case properly prepared, and put my clocks five minutes fast. Then I began to get the reputation of being organised. So, in order to maintain this facade I worked harder at being organised. I put various systems in place like I would staple my library receipts into my diary so I knew when the books were due and for every essay I read I created a cover sheet with the bibliographic information, key quotes and links to other articles. I was the one that always knew what was going on, to the extent that people will ring me and ask me if they didn't. People started making comments like, "I wish I was as organised as you were." I can now safely say that I am pretty organised.

Probably linked to this reputation and being forced to manage other people's life as a result, I also gained the reputation of being in control. I was never worried, never phased by things and took everything in its stride. In Mosaic, however, I have somehow gained the reputation of being neurotic. One off-hand comment by someone stuck and now I'm seen as a worrier. This week I realised that, actually, I have been worrying a lot, and far more than I used to. I spoke to my friend at university about my reputation for being neurotic and she pretty much scoffed at the idea. Since then, the things I was worried about seem far more manageable and I've found myself less stressed.

I think we see an instance of how Jesus uses the idea of a reputation to shape someone. In Matthew 16:18, he tells his disciple Simon, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Jesus changes someone's name to "Rock". He is publicly declaring, "you are stable, a firm foundation. I believe in you." If we look at what Peter was actually like, he probably didn't deserve that reputation. He was a bit unsteady, brash and unreliable. Jesus saw the potential in him and gave him the reputation of being stable enough to build his church on. And history has shown that the gates of Hades have yet to overcome it.

This has quite a few implications. We can build people through giving them a positive reputation, but equally we can destroy their potential. Ephesians 4:29 states:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

We can work, through the words we say, to dismantle negative reputations of people. We can help people fulfil their potential by shaping what others think of them and what they think of themselves. So remember:

Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. (Proverbs 15:4)

Quick Questions

1. What do you have a reputation for?
2. What would you like a reputation for?
3. Has a reputation ever shaped how you've behaved?

 I have written about similar ideas in other posts. If you want to have a read then here they are:

• Words
• Identity Issues

Philadelphia

James has recently returned to work after the birth of baby Maisie. To welcome him back I hid quite a few heart shaped post-it notes around his desk, each with the simple message "I ♥ U". I don't think he's found them all yet. "So what has this got to with cream cheese?" you ask. In all honesty, not much. So if you came here looking for insightful recipes using the soft creamy filling, sorry.

The Greek word for brotherly love is Philadelphia (which apparently looks like this φιλαδελφίᾳ). A little bit of research led me to some really nice verses about loving one another in a brotherly way.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10 NIVUK)

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. (2 Peter 1:5-7 NLT)

These verses are awesome. I love how we are called to honour one another above ourselves, how we are to have a generous provision of Philadelphia in our lives. We are to be devoted to one another. Our friendships are not meant to be fleeting or superficial, but deep and committed.

So, to all the guys in Mosaic:

I love you. I really do. You are all amazing.

Quick Questions

Have you tried the new chocolate Philadelphia? Yeah, weird.
What makes a good bromance?
How have you showed loved for someone else recently?

New Life

Today is Easter Sunday. It is the focus of the Christian Calendar. Although more seems to happen in the run up to Christmas, Easter is the show stopper. It is what changes everything.

1 Peter 1:3-4 says:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

We believe that Jesus conquered death, and because of this we are given the chance of new life. This is what Easter celebrates. It is a time of victory, joy and fresh starts.

New life is something that is very relevant in Mosaic at the moment. The Bemrose family have just had a new addition: baby Maisie. This gorgeous little girl is so full of hope and potential and new beginnings. She has yet to say her first word, make her first step, reach her first birthday. There is so much for life to offer her.

What is amazing is that we are offered this same newness of life through Jesus. We are offered potential, hope and fresh starts. Jesus came to give life and life to the full.

I pray that you get to experience this new life. A life to the full. I pray you receive this inheritance that does not perish, spoil or fade. I pray this for baby Maisie. I pray that she grows up to know Jesus as her friend, her Lord, her Saviour. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Times flies when you're having fun!

Wow. It's 2012. Not only that, but it's February 2012. I hope you've not been worrying that I fell into a ditch only to be found months later by a passing dog-walker. If you have, you can breathe a sigh of relief. If you haven't, you've got a better grasp of reality than I have.

How has 2012 been for you? Good, I hope. Mine has been really good so far (except for a minor glitch in the proceedings, but more on that later). There have been numerous meals, a games evening, a birthday (mine) and a church weekend away.

The Weekend Away

Last weekend was the church House Party. The theme was "Risk It!" and it was looking at what it means to risk things for Jesus. We looked at the parable of the talents and thought about how we should use our gifts and resources rather than bury them in the ground.

Mosaic was also in charge of the evening entertainments, on the Friday and Saturday night. Jimbo ran a "Exilio goes to the dogs" event, which involved watching weird competitions (e.g. cheese rolling and pillow fights on a beam) and choosing the winner. I came second and my housemate, Crawford, won. Saturday night was a quiz/games night, hosted by the mighty Duncan. We each lead a round. My round was a Chinese laundry/ scavenger hunt round, which went well. Unfortunately, some of my youth cheated by sneaking a look at the answers.

We had hot tubs in some of the lodges and, being the crazy, off-the-wall people we are, decided it would be a good idea add shower gel to the water. There were many bubbles.

Birthday
Monday I turned 24. So old. So old. As it was the day after house party I was given a day of rest, which was nice. For the last two years, my birthday was actually at house party and I sort of missed that, but I still spent it with the Mosaic crew. This year, I met up with James at Trago Lounge (followed by an impromptu trip to IKEA) , and then had a curry extravaganza. There was about 16 of us and we ordered take-away Indian and ate it at the Bemroses'. Some of us then hit the town and got absolutely wasted (and by town, I mean one pub, and by wasted, I mean had two drinks). I was in bed before midnight (it would have been sooner but I went to Tesco Express to pick up some milk for breakfast).

The glitch
The Friday before house party, I had an interview for a PGCE. I thought it went pretty well, and was told I'd find out on Monday (being my birthday). Fortunately, I didn't find out on Monday, as it would have ruined my day. I didn't get the place. Today I received a letter saying:

Thank you for attending an interview for a place on our PGCE (Secondary) course. Whilst we are unable to offer you a place on the course at the moment, we have now placed your name on our reserve list.

(If you were wondering, the envelope it arrived in used FSC certified paper. It's always nice to know that your rejection letter was sent with a clear conscience.) Tuesday, afternoon I was a bit miserable. Wednesday, I was fine with it but had to tell everyone I hadn't got the place. When I told people I was okay about it, they mostly tilted their head and gave me a look to say, "he's either trying to be brave, or he's in denial. Poor chap."

I had the lyrics of The Lord's My Shepherd in my head all Wednesday morning, and it was a helpful reminder of God's goodness throughout everything.

The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E'en for his own name's sake.

Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill:
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint
And my cup overflows.

Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in God's house for evermore
My dwelling-place shall be.

 Quick Questions

1. How has 2012 been for you?

Building community the fun way...

//A month and a half ago two of our group got married. So, whilst on honeymoon we pranked their house. James wrote a post about it here.

Now, whilst the Bemroses were on holiday, they foolishly gave the keys to Erica so she could water the plants. Erica thought it was time to seek revenge. Reluctantly, I thought I would help her with this task.

If you ever see a welcome sign, be afraid...

We took the labels off their cans. As we thought it would be too mean to leave them not knowing what was in the cans, we created a colour code system using shiny stars.

We had hoped to print off the faces of everyone from Mosaic. However, only my face and Duncan's printed. We stuck them all around the house. I expect in years to come, they'll still be finding photos of us.

I don't think the Bemroses have realised the extent of our mischief. Here's a clue:

One final word:

Now I do realise that one day I will get my comeuppance. And it will be severe.

Quick Questions

1. Have you ever played a prank?
2. Have you ever had a prank played on you?

Ten thousand beside

Two weeks ago I scraped my mum's car along a wall of our church office. It wasn't a particularly pleasant experience. It was made even more unpleasant by the apparent costs and hassle involved in fixing the car. The main problem was the bumper. It had come loose behind the driver's wheel and was hanging down. That was an obvious hazard and we didn't want it to get any worse.

But God is generous, and one of the ways he has shown this is by providing a really loving church community. It is really like a family and everyone is so willing to bless others in small and practical ways. Some people in the church are quite handy with the old DIY, so yesterday I was able to take the car to someone's house and they fixed the bumper for me. For free.

Also, with all this car stuff and other factors (like I haven't received my previous deposit back yet and I'm loosing my interest free overdraft at the end of this month) I've been a bit worried about my money situation. Yesterday some friends from Mosaic, who knew about my worries, gave me an envelope with some cash in as a gift.

Yesterday, I really experienced God's blessing on me. He is an awesome and generous God. The day ended with a meal at James and Steph's with copious amounts of curry, and dessert where communion was also shared. It was a really lovely way to recognise all that God has done for us.

I'll leave you with the final verse of the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own great presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

Quick Questions

1. How has God blessed you recently?
2. How could you show God's love to someone else?

Exilio Explained

Some things you need to know about my church. It's a bit unusual. First, its name is unusual. Exilio. It's Latin, or Spanish, or Portuguese for that matter, for Exile.

Another way we're unusual is the way we meet. Most churches meet once (or twice) a Sunday and that is their main meeting. Everyone gets together for that one-and-a-half hour slot and then there are extra things within the week you can plug into. Exilio, however, does not meet all together once a week. Instead, we meet in small groups we call clans. There are six clans, and they're all define by a particular trait, value or purpose.

Our clans (in alphabetical order, not to reveal favouritism) are:

Living Lordswood
This is our geographically focused clan. They live in Lordswood, an area in Southampton. They're also united by a love of nature and they are heavily involved in cleaning up the area.

Mosaic
Mosaic is an ageist clan. It is for the 18-30s (although the age keeps creeping up as James gets older). We meet weekly on a Wednesday and Sunday. Our Sundays vary from car washing, BBQs or just hanging out at Trago Lounge. We also go to the Trago Lounge pub quiz every fortnight (where we have varying success). We're exploring what it means to be a missional community (what does it mean? I would quite like to know) and how we should fulfil John 13:34-35 in our lives:

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

Revitalise
This clan is exploring how God brings wholeness, in spiritual and physical wellbeing. They hold pamper evenings, go on walks and provide support for those who are struggling. They often hold events for the Polish group that one of the group teaches.

Solace
Solace provides a place of belonging to those who need support and time to rebuild their lives. This might be through relationship breakdown, health, poverty, or just about anything. They often have breakfast together on a Sunday, and are involved with other charities such as the Depression Alliance and SCRATCH.

Treehouse
This is the group for families with children under 10. They meet weekly to explore the Bible together but also spend time building up the family both spiritually and practically.

x:cell
The teens! As led by the youthwork (a.k.a. me). You'll read a bit more about what we do through the whole blog, so I won't write too much here.

So they're the six clans. We all meet together about once a month, in what we call "The Gathering of the Clans". This often involves food (gingerbread men one time, cupcakes another), songs and a little bit of craziness.

Quick Questions

1. What is strange about your church?
2. What is the weirdest church experience you've had?

Mosaic and Morris Dancers

Recently Mosaic has been getting to know it's neighbours. By that, I mean James and Steph's neighbours. First was through the Big Lunch, then last Sunday we washed their cars. Both seemed to involve water, mostly in the form of rain. The picture above was stolen from James' blog, who wrote about the Big Lunch in more detail (the photo was taken by me, so I have some right to nab it). It was good to see how these two things meant that neighbours who hardly spoke to each other had an opportunity to share their lives with one another.

Yesterday I went to The Guide Dog, a small country-pub-on-the-city place with my dad. When we got there we were confronted by stick weilding, bell jangling Morris Dancers. What was interesting is how the strange (and, in my opinion, slightly disturbing) sight bought people out their houses. So maybe James could consider that as Mosaic's next thing. It has a ring to it, the Mosaic Morris Dancers, doesn't it?

Quick Questions

1. Do Morris Dancers scare you too?
2. What things bring your community together?

The DNA of Gospel Movements

This is an awesome video, and the start of a whole series that focuses on the different aspects he talks about about.

This gives a hint of what (at least I believe) Mosaic, x:cell and Exilio as a whole are about:

• Living as if Jesus is Lord
• Making disciples who make disciples (D²)
• Being a sent people
• Being radical

For the whole series click here.

On holiday from God

The last three weeks or so, I've mostly been in holiday mode. I've had the Easter holidays and then the four day weekend, so I've mostly been lying in the sun in a local park. I've definitely been relaxing. There has been a bad side to this. For the last fortnight or so I've been finding I've also been taking a holiday from God.

I have definitely not been investing time in deepening my relationship with him and have been getting by doing the bare minimum. Having little structure to my days I've had little motivation to do anything except watch Doctor Who DVDs and sleep. This has meant that I've also had little motivation to spend time with God by reading the Bible and praying. Which is odd, because I seem to have quite a bit to pray about.

It's tough finding the perfect balance between work, play and time with God. It always seems time with God is the first thing to disappear from the list. Read this post from my friend Rachel about the other side of the coin.

On another side, I'm quite excited about what is happening in Mosaic at the moment, and will hopefully blog about it a bit more. Although, my internet is down so it might make things interesting (once again I'm currently in Trago lounge). We're currently going to be reading Acts and, being the class swot, that will inspire me to read my Bible a bit more.

Quick Questions

1. How have you been making the most of the nice weather?
2. Did you watch the Royal Wedding?
3. What are you currently reading in the Bible (if you are)?
4. What tips do you have for maintaining a healthy Bible reading habit?

Everything in Common

I really like Acts 2. It's when everything begins to kick off and cool things start to happen. There's tongues of fire, people speaking in all sorts of languages and an exponential growth of the new church. There is also a really key bit about how the early believers lived their lives together.

That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.

They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

(Acts 2: 42-47, The Message Version)

The early church showed meals in their homes, they were joyful affairs and they praised God. They also shared their resources and lived in harmony and held everything in common. Each person's need was met.

In Mosaic we're beginning to see this done. Okay, we don't have a daily discipline of worship followed by joyful meals. But we do eat and worship together at least once a week (even if it is just very yummy dessert) and we do meet at other times of the week as well.

There is definitely an atmosphere of generosity in Mosaic. We're willing to lend one another our possessions or just a helping hand.

However, the Bemroses once again took things too far. This week they shared something with us that we didn't want. Their colds. Duncan and I have been suffering with a sore throat, coughs, headaches and fatigue. It's been awful. Duncan, who is a better person than I am, was willing to forgive and even babysit for the Bemroses. A true hero. I, on the other hand, did give James a bit of a beating.

Quick Questions

1. "Catch it. Bin it. Kill it." Is it really that hard?
2. Who was the last person you had over for dinner?
3. What was so attractive about how the people in Acts lived that 'their numbers grew daily'?

Fairy Godmother God

In my effort to throw myself into everything Mosaic, I've been trying to find a place to live. Ideally, it would be in the student area of Southampton, bang between chez Bemrose and the Hub. I like to call the area I'm looking to move into "the triangle of joy".

However, my search has not been too successful and I've been getting quite frustrated. And then I give up and things don't get done. I'm trying to do something that I think God wants me to do. So, surely shouldn't it be really easy?

Mosaic have been looking a Nehemiah recently and a more extreme example of when doing God's work isn't necessarily easy. Nehemiah wants to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which had been attacked, burnt and torn down. God gets Nehemiah to Jerusalem and the Israelites start to rebuild the walls. However, they face opposition. His struggles are bigger than mine. I'm a bit tired, and things seem a bit tedious. These Israelites were exhausted, they had threats of attack and they were being mocked. Rather than giving up, what does Nehemiah do? He ramps up the effort.

Nehemiah knows that God's work does not equate to easy work. In fact, it was rather the opposite. It's completely different from how I've been acting lately. I've fallen into this trap of thinking that God is like the Fairy Godmother. He comes in, waves a wand and says I can, indeed, go to the ball. And when it doesn't happen like that I get frustrated.

So maybe it's time I ramped up the effort.

Quick Questions

1. What is frustrating you at the moment?
2. How are you guilty of treating God like a Fairy Godmother?

Skivvies

The main, if not only, reason I went into youth work was that I assumed I'd have an army of minions that I could get to whatever whim popped into my head. "Minion! Wash my car!" "You boy, fill in my tax return." Unfortunately, something went wrong in my plan, I ended up a reformed man and actually trying to encourage the teenagers that I work with.

However, James grasped the first opportunity to abuse his position of power as clan leader and forced the rest of us into hard manual labour. For the whole of the weekend we were made to move furniture, paint and paper walls, sand... It was like something out of a Dickensian novel. Some of us are still recovering from the ordeal.

Irony over. It was actually a really good opportunity to get together as a group, grow that real sense of community in the group and get to know one another. I learnt various things: white spirit is Steph's best friend when redecorating, it takes Duncan three months to notice things that other people notice straight away and I'm very good at holding things but not doing much else. Despite tiredness, colds and general life stress we did a pretty good job (we did notice that we had missed the sides of some cupboard doors).

Hopefully the Bemroses feel really blessed by our efforts.

Quick Questions

1. Have you been blessed by anyone recently?
2. What have you done to bless someone else?
3. What do you think of the colour scheme?

God loves those who beat you

Three of us from Mosaic went to the Trago Lounge quiz. Unfortunately, it didn't go too well. There were a lot of sport and pop questions. Now, I have as much chance of attaining any sporting accomplishments as the Queen Mother and my music knowledge died with Chopin. I wasn't much help. The others of my team were marginally better than I was. There was some confusion between Sandra Bullock and Dick Van Dyke, but we'll let that slide. Our score reflected our general lack of knowledge and we ended up second from bottom.

What made it worse was that the table next to us were doing quite well and they were pretty open about it. In fact, it could firmly be categorised as gratuitous. They would whoop and high-five at every answer they obtained (which was quite a few). It made me think some ugly thoughts. I had remind myself that God loves show offs as much as us losers. I had to remind myself that I had been given the free gift of grace and I deserved it no more than they did. I had to remind myself a few times, especially before I went to throw my drink in their faces.

And when that didn't work I just thought of this verse.

Quick Questions

1. Who really tries your patience? (I'm really setting myself up here.)
2. How do you deal with it?
3. Would you join our quiz team? We need the help.