Many of the thoughts that get me delving more deeply into my brain to ponder an issue occur when I’m doing something mundane. I guess that’s just a reflection of my life as a mum! I was busy dishing up dinner the other night when it suddenly dawned on me that I had probably already prepared, cooked and served up hundreds – if not thousands – of dishes since getting married and that there is no end in sight! We will have been married 18 years in August, our eldest will turn 6 in September, but I will still be clocking up the amount of meals I’ve prepared for us well after the time my husband and I retire! I started to get the hump – started to think about how many jobs a mother – and wife – does that go on behind the scenes, unnoticed. But then something in my spirit stopped me. And I started remembering all the times when my husband had sacrificially given of his time and I’d taken it for granted. And the times when my kids may have done something I’d been trying to teach them to do for ages and they suddenly ‘got it’ – but in my weary state I didn’t seem to praise or encourage them that much. I then started thinking about all the people there are in our church. A church doesn’t function without the help of its members and I wondered how often I’d thanked the welcome team for putting out the chairs faithfully each week for example. And, as I head up the worship team with my husband, I started thinking about all the musicians we are responsible for. How often do I take the time to check how each one of them is? I know I make sure to thank each one that plays alongside me on a particular Sunday, but what about all the other times when I’m not leading – do I still make time to show my appreciation? I know that it would seem forced to thank everyone every week, but I did get stopped in my tracks and just believe it is worth each one of us thinking about this. Do we truly appreciate those people who are around us day by day – the ones that we ‘do life with’? We could all do with some encouragement – why not tell someone how much you appreciate them today?
Tag: worship
With pure abandonment…
I was at my sister’s 40th this weekend. She certainly knows how to throw a great party – the food was amazing, there were drinks aplenty, all sorts of games upstairs in the attic for the kids and even a live band in the sitting room! The latter had planned to be outside, but the changeable weather made that difficult. So there they were, 7 brilliant musicians in my sister’s front room. They weren’t crammed in, as she has a large house. But having a full band in your sitting room is slightly out of the ordinary. To begin with, it felt a little odd – the sofas had been pushed back against the walls and so people were tentatively popping their heads round to look at the band, then a few sat on the sofas and watched. Not the most responsive audience for the poor band! But then the frontman encouraged some dancing, and in whirled my sister with total abandonment, grooving away in front of us all, not caring whether we joined in or not. Now I’m not a natural party goer or dancer, so I was slightly embarrassed. It was my sister after all! Some people joined in – including my parents (heightened embarrassment!) – while others, including me, watched from the side. Occasionally I would allow myself a little bop with one of my kids – but I told myself that that was okay because I was doing it for them! Suddenly it hit me – I was using them as a prop to enable myself to join in without feeling awkward. How many of us have something like that – a comforter as it were – to enable us to engage in Sunday worship without stepping out beyond what we know? Do we stay within the bounds of what we normally do or do we allow ourselves to be caught up in heaven’s party? I really felt God check me in my spirit and told me to watch my sister – to look at her pure abandonment. He said that that is how He wants us to be when we come before Him. Totally wrapped up in what we are doing before Him, and not caring if others are joining in – or even if others are watching us with disdain. David danced before the Lord and his wife was mortified. Oh Lord save me from such cynicism and teach my heart to be reckless before you…
Where is your focus?
In church yesterday we had a really powerful time of worship. It was especially poignant for me as it was only the second time I had brought a ‘spiritual song’ without being behind the comfort of my keyboard. But that’s not what this post is about. We sang the words:
You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on earth is as beautiful as You…
Those words seemed to come alive to me afresh yesterday, but also caused me to question myself, and wonder about those around me too because I’m sure we are all very similar! We sing those words, and mean them from the bottom of our hearts (okay, at times), so how come – if ‘nothing is as beautiful’ – do we get so easily distracted by things, by ‘stuff’? That’s one of the points made in the first talk at the worship conference we went to. It’s a simple point, often made, but I might as well say it again here. If we’re not worshipping God, we are worshipping something, or someone, else. So, today, where is your focus?
Time out with God
The last few weeks have been what I can only term mind-blowingly hectic. Thanks to both our mothers we were able to go to two conferences, staying away one night. I enjoyed my first – yes, unbelievable to so many I met there it was in fact my first – Newfrontiers prayer and fasting conference. It was such a privilege to be amongst so many other leaders praising and praying. I was struck once again by the great care of our Lord. While no agenda other than seeking His face and praying His will was set, time and time again there were words about taking this time out to enjoy resting and being refreshed in His spirit. I was also struck again by the humility of our movement’s leaders. They are so approachable, so down-to-earth. It is great to be reminded of why I am so happy to be a part of Newfrontiers, and so relieved at how trustworthy our leaders are. It is true that submission isn’t difficult when those you are submitting to are doing what they are called to!
Invited
I am not a new convert to the idea that worship is not about singing songs on a Sunday morning – it is about our whole lifestyle – a heart issue. I’ve been to a worship conference and a prayer and fasting conference in the last couple of weeks (no small feat given the fact I have two small children!). Worshipping with a great throng is a wonderful experience but even in the midst of that God can still call us intimately. I was amazed at His grace and mercy afresh in both conferences – for different reasons, but some similar things were highlighted. We must remember to be confident in who He is, and who we are in Him – we are invited into His presence. Invited by Him!! And it is His presence that is the most important thing of all – we talked about corporate gatherings and leading worship times within them (there will probably be more on that later, as our worship team get together to feedback our thoughts on the worship conference this week). Stepping back from what we usually do week in, week out, it is easy to see how much we can be distracted. As someone I admire greatly said to a group of us last year, make sure you keep the main thing, the main thing. That is so true – if God isn’t there, what is the point of a meeting?!! Do we even notice if He’s there or not?