"Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow."

                                                                    - Norman Vincent Peale -

TFTD

"The face of Christ does not indeed show us everything, but it shows us the one thing we need to know - the character of God. God is the God who sent Jesus."

                                                                                         - P Carnegie Simpson -

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"How often does God ask us to step into the water before He will part it? Many times that's all He is waiting for - for you and me to get our feet wet."

                                                                                          - Bonnie Ricks -

TFTD

"Come live in my heart and pay no rent."

                                                                  - Samuel Loven -

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"The brook would lose its song if God removed the rocks."

                                                            - Unknown -

TFTD - Just the way you are

"God made you as you are in order to use you as He planned."

                                               
                                                                                           - S. C. McAuley -

TFTD

"God often gives in one brief moment that which he has for a long time denied."

                                                                                - Thomas Kempis -

TFTD

"You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime."

                                                                                                 - Dale Carnegie -

TFTD - You are part of the plan

"The Talmud says that whosoever saves one life, it is counted as if he saved the entire world. Someone out there needs you. I don't know how or when."

                                                                           - Avrum Bluming -

TFTD - David and Goliath

"The army of Israel looked at Goliath through the eyes of man and said, 'He's too big to beat.' David looked at him through the eyes of God and said, 'He's too big to miss."

                                                                                             - Wally Carter -


*Image: Osmar Schindler, David und Goliath

TFTD

"In the midst of winter, I finally learned there was within me an invincible summer."

                                                                              _ Albert Camus -

TFTD - I've got you, babe

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

TFTD - raison d'etre

"The determining factor of my existence is no longer my past. It is Christ's past."
                                                             
                                                                          - Sinclair Ferguson -

TFTD

"Trust God for great things; with your five loaves and two fishes, He will show you a way to feed thousands."

                                                                    - Horace Bushnell -

They make my heart sing

For a wonderful start to your week, play this video! These amazing people are the Soweto Gospel Choir, and in this particular clip, they are singing Oh Happy Day, a song I have always loved. The SGC are a 52-strong choir that was formed purely to celebrate the power of gospel music, particularly African gospel. They are dedicated to sharing the joy of faith through music, and that is exactly what they do. It is impossible not to feel God, and therefore joy, in the room when they perform. They are uplifting, not just because of the beauty and exhilaration of their music, but because of what they stand for. Their repertoire is sung in English, but also in six of South Africa's eleven official languages - a labour of love, faith and unity. I've been listening to them pretty much since they first performed at a 46664 concert for Nelson Mandela in 2003, and I was lucky enough to see them live in Singapore a couple of Christmases ago. 

I've been living in London for the last 10 years, but I spend every Christmas in Singapore with my grandmother. I have never missed one, and as she gets older, each Christmas is that much more precious.  On the 21st of December 2009, I arrived at Changi Airport and phoned her as usual to let her know I'd landed. She has always been waiting by the phone, anxious for that call, so when she didn't answer, I knew something was wrong. And I was right. My mum turned up to collect me an hour late, bringing the news that Mama had had a heart attack and was in the hospital. She had been in intensive care for 24 hours, but hadn't wanted me to be told because she didn't want me to spend the flight worrying about her. She was waiting to see me before she would agree to have surgery. I went straight to the hospital, and a few hours later, Mama was having a stent put into one of her arteries. My Mama raised me; we are very close and I love her more than anyone or anything, so of course I spent the entire time in floods of tears and on my knees in prayer.

A couple of months before, we'd made plans to see the Soweto Gospel Choir on the 23rd - which now turned out to be just about 48 hours after her procedure. When Mama came out of the sedation, the first thing she said was, "We're still going to that concert." Those of you who've met my granny will know that while she seems like (and indeed is) a nice old lady, you really don't want to cross her. She's very much a fist of steel in a velvet glove. Characteristically, she would not budge. The doctor was forced to give her permission to leave the hospital for a few hours so she could go to this concert. She wasn't too pleased that he insisted we take along an oxygen tank and a portable defibrillator, but she accepted that was the only way she was getting her way. 

So we went, and the joy she got out of that evening was worth it all. She clapped, she sang along, she gave thanks to the Lord, and somehow, the spark within her grew brighter. I'm sure the Spirit filled her. She was uplifted, and she made a quicker recovery than anyone expected - in fact, she was home for Christmas.  

The SGC is special to me because their music speaks to my soul, and because of that night two Christmases ago.

They make my heart sing, and I hope yours will too.

TFTD

"Feelings are everywhere. Be gentle."

                                            - J Masai -

TFTD

"I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all, but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess."

                                                                       - Martin Luther -

TFTD. It matters. You matter.

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

                                                                                            - Mother Teresa -

TFTD

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

                                                                                              - Martin Luther King Jr. -

TFTD

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."

                                                                                 - Archbishop Desmond Tutu -

TFTD

"Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse."

                                                          -Philip Yancey, Disappointment with God -

Just be

"There is nothing to prove and nothing to protect. I am who I am and it's enough." (Richard Rohr)

I think my quality of life would improve tremendously if I could just internalise that, and live it. Of all the things I struggle with - and believe you me that's some list - this is the one I find myself wrestling the most, and it's probably the root of everything else. Richard Rohr also has this to say on the subject:

"It's a gift to joyfully recognise and accept our own smallness and ordinariness. Then you are free with nothing to live up to, nothing to prove, and nothing to protect. Such freedom is my best description of Christian maturity, because once you know that your "I" is great and one with God, you can ironically be quite content with a small and ordinary "I". No grandstanding is necessary. Any question of your own importance or dignity has already been resolved once and for all and forever."

How amazing is that? Because it's true: your "I" is great and one with God. That's the whole idea. He made you, and it's fine that you're not perfect. If He had wanted to make us perfect, whatever that means, I'm pretty sure God could have done it. But He made me how I am, and you how you are and He gave us free will, which by definition means we are going to mess up. And that's ok. 

As Christians, we are all on our way to a better version of us. Christ is our compass, and he points us towards healing and liberation. But on the way, we remain who we are. We have to make decisions, some of which are going to go against the grain of our inclinations and impulses, and we are going to make mistakes. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them, and keep checking the compass. If you choose to head due south, that's something else entirely. But look and Christ and his journey. Think of Christ on the cross, asking that very human question: My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? His words echo the beginning of Psalm 22, and in that context, these are not words of total despair. They are words of submission, but also of trust in the Lord. 

Christ on the cross was crucified as a man, but he never ceased to be God, suffering in our place. In disorder, imperfection and even pain, Jesus found God - and so can we. How can we doubt that we are loved, and that we are meant to be, in the face of an act of such love?

So, I will keep telling myself:  there is nothing to prove and nothing to protect. I am who I am and it's enough.

TFTD

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.

                                                                 - G.K. Chesterton -

TFTD

             If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call to make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

                                                                                             - Stephen Levine -

                                                                            

Postcards from God #5

TFTD

"There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle."

                                                                                                        - Robert Alden -
                                                          

Thought for the day

"I have been driven many time to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."
                           - Abraham Lincoln -

Blessed be the Lord, because He has heard the voice of my supplications! The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with  my song I will praise Him. (Psalm 28:6-7, KJV)

The instant brother

Like many of my Christian friends, I wear a cross on a chain around my neck. It is an outward sign of my faith, but that's not the only reason I wear it. In fact, I don't think that's even the main reason. For me, it's a reminder of how I want to try to live my life, and that God is always with me - which in turn is a great comfort. It's an anchor, a talisman, a beacon. It's the world in a tiny piece of gold. And that little cross has brought me so many blessings.  

Today, I had a doctor's appointment, after which I wasn't feeling my best. My ride let me down at the last minute, due to unavoidable circumstances, so I headed to the taxi stand to catch a cab. That was the plan anyway, but I only made it halfway. There are worse places to faint than in a hospital, but I didn't want my hair all over that floor! I was leaning against the wall when a security guard making his rounds came by. He accelerated past me, and I thought no more of it. A couple of minutes later, he came bustling up with a chair! "You don't look so good, I think you'd better sit down, " he said. I sat, and he dashed off again, only to return with a cup of tea. He waited with me until I felt better, then asked how I was going to get home. When I told him he tsked, and told me that idea was a wash out - the heavy rain meant there was an endless queue and not a taxi in sight. I'd be waiting for at least an hour, maybe more. I said I had no choice, so I'd wait. The security guard pointed at my cross and said, "I can't abandon anyone, especially a sister in Christ! You wait, I'll sort this out."

He whipped out his phone and called his brother, who it turns out was a cabbie. 15 minutes later, I had my ride! While we waited, the security guard told me a little about himself, and how he believed God's grace had worked in his life. I won't repeat what he told me, but I will say I don't think I've ever met anyone with as much conviction as this man, or anyone who was so utterly filled with the joy of his faith, and so free of doubt. It was a blessing just to talk to him, and the quick prayer we said together was somehow particularly moving. It didn't matter that it was the middle of the day, a few feet away from a taxi queue seething with impatience. It was a beautiful, quiet, serene moment and I'm grateful this man crossed my path.