Its Raining, Its Pouring!

England is famed for its rain. I'll never forget the first comment almost everyone made when I lived in Austria on hearing that I was english; "oh! It always rains in England, doesn't it?"... "NO!" I would reply indignantly!

However, it has to be admitted that today would not be one of the days I would use as evidenciary support of my theory regarding english weather. It has rained ALL DAY! No exaggeration (well... maybe a slight one!).

The other day it was raining in a similar way, and I began the descent into the moan about the weather. Dave gently but firmly rebuked me that actually I should be grateful to God for his provision of downpour.

In the Old Testament, rain was often a symbol of God's blessing (with the obvious exception of the flood) God judged his people by drought, and the return of the rains were literally God pouring out his lavish mercy and forgiveness...

13"And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.

Deuteronomy 11:13-17

Of course, God's lavish mercy and forgiveness is shown ultimately in Christs atoning death; but the rains are a reminder of God's common grace - his daily provision for our needs. So I'm going to take the opportunity to thank God today for this rain - it provides food, keeps our gardens looking beautiful and most of all, it reminds me of God's blessing as he literally pours out provision for us. Lets thank God for the pouring rain!

Every Moment Captive for Christ

I'm making a new resolution. I've decided I'm going to be much more regular with my blog entries... this decision is all part of a new determination to take every moment captive to Christ... hmmm, I realise I'm rushing, let me start from the beginning...

It all started when my MAPP group (church small group) gathered together to look at the topic of biblical manhood and womanhood. As one would expect, us girlies separated off to tackle the "dreaded" Proverbs 31 woman. Pure perfection - a multitasker - admired mother, loved wife, respected businesswoman - she seems to have it all.

As we worked through the passage us gals picked out one challenge of biblical womanhood that we knew we were failing in... one area of our calling as women that we were failing to live up to. For one woman it was the challenge to do her husband "good, and not harm, all the days of her life" (v12), for another it was the challenge to have a positive attitude in the face of uncertainty "Strength and dignity are her clothing and she laughs at the time to come", for me it was undoubtedly the challenge of this womans industriousness. I had been increasingly convicted at the amount of time I waste, and the challenge that the Proverbs 31 woman "she seeks wool and flax and works with willing hands" (v13), "she rises while it is yet night" (v15)... the chapter is littered with her hard work and time management!

Of course, this womans motivation is not a desire to be a better person; no. It is summed up in verse 30 - "A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised"... she desires to honour God in all she does; that is all the motivation she needs!

The motivation was there, now all I needed was the means! For a girl whose life is decidedly chaotic, this was no easy task. But the Girl Talk gals came to my aid with a fantastic little book called "Shopping for Time" - short, sweet and simple, the book identifies our need to honour God with the time he has given us, and very practically lays out some tips on time management.

So, I have decided to blog more regularly because I think its a good use of time - it helps me focus my thoughts, and leaves me praising the One who has made me to use every minute for His glory.

Bookworm for the glory of God!

A month and a half has been and gone since I last blogged, and my excuse for not blogging in a while is pure and simple. I'm a book-worm.

Travelling on more buses/tubes/trains than ever before recently has led me to experience the joys of reading while commuting - I cant recommend it enough! "Why?" I hear you ask?

1) It makes time fly - Travelling in a stuffed full train/bus/tube (delete accordingly) is NOT fun, ask any experienced commuter and no doubt they will be able to inundate you with terrible stories of aching legs, sweaty bodies and boring journeys. Open a book? Suddenly I'm home - time has flown by and i've been unaware of the discomforts of travelling because I've been completely immersed in whatever i'm reading!

2) It stops me reading all the other junk around - You walk down towards the London underground and its difficult to dodge the countless free papers being thrown your way - numerous times i've picked up these newspapers; sometimes placing them down in disappointment at the gossip that seeps from them, and other times, sadly, being drawn in to the backbiting of the celebrity world that they seem to both worship and loathe. Instead, why not fill my head with something that I know is honouring to God? Something that will help me to serve him better, rather than provoke me to give in to sin, or be influenced by sinful thinking.

3) It gives me a wonderful opportunity to learn from older wiser christians - I'm 22, I know little of life's experience, and that is why, recently, immersing myself in the works of Elisabeth Eliot, Carolyn Mahaney, Jonathan Edwards, John Piper, Catherine Marshall, Edith Schaeffer and others has helped me to gain experience from those who have walked with the Lord longer than myself. It seems like I'm opening a treasure chest of wisdom passed down by godly men and women, and to be honest, their books have left me more eager to live a life that is God-glorifying, Christ-centred, Spirit-strengthened and motivated by the "grace that teaches me to say "NO" to ungodliness" (Titus 2).

4) It leads to opportunities to share the Gospel with my fellow commuters - Just the other day I was travelling to visit a friend and thought i'd take the opportunity of being on the train to read the Bible. I opened my Bible to Ruth and in a fairly empty carriage minded my own business reading away. Before long I became increasingly aware that across the carriage was a young man who had clearly been drinking, my fear only heightened when he spoke up and I realised he was addressing me "Is that a Bible your reading?"
What followed was a conversation about how this young man had once known the Lord, but after suffering some tough blows he had turned his back on his redeemer and turned to the bottle. His life was now wracked through with alcoholism. We chatted about where he was putting his trust, what his refuge was, and about how, ultimately, he would only find the satisfaction he was craving in Christ. I will never know the outcome of that conversation, but I trust that in God's sovereignty and providence he will use my reading on the train that day to accomplish his sovereign purpose.
So, let me encourage you, fellow reader, to dust off the bookshelves and stick your nose in a book, and be praying that God will use your travel time as an opportunity to take every moment captive to Christ, to help us flee sin, to help us learn from those wiser than ourselves, and to be an opportunity for witness with those around.
Happy Reading!!!