It suddenly struck me tonight how many people go through their own life and only leave behind small ripples that only ever go so far as a few family and friends. It’s not that everyone has to be Mother Teresa or someone known world wide for their humanitarian efforts, but it just hit me how many people are so limited in their thinking.

Their vision only goes as far as their little world around them. Maybe it’s time to change the title of my blog from My Little World… because it isn’t little anymore. My eyes have been opened to the whole world around me. I feel the heartbeats of the world humming around me everywhere I go. It doesn’t overwhelm me but it does urge me forward to think about where I can leave my fingerprints.

I don’t want to get to 86 and find myself dead and look back upon a fairy empty life where only little ripples disturbed the pond I lived in. I think if we try hard enough we can all create a wave large enough to carry someone else along with it. Isn’t that the point of life, waves that carry others when they sometimes can’t swim themselves?

…It’s like being reborn again. They say when you become a Christian, and you accept Christ into your life that you are born again. I wonder if it happens more than once?

At first you start again, like a baby, you have to learn everything again, undo all the stuff you were taught by the world and re-educate yourself about yourself and the world as God tells it. Then one day it all clicks, you spent long enough wondering what His purpose was for your life, to be told it is to love the Lord your God and love others.

Love God. Love others as yourself. It’s the foundation on which to build your life.

I did a group activity many moons ago which demonstrated that what you say about others is a reflection of yourself. I’ve just about had it reading Facebook statuses from people slagging off others and name calling. It’s truly amazing the insight to people you get through reading the bible that are so spot on. Matthew 7 gives us so many important messages but the first one is this:

¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7: 1-5 NIV)

I think this is why the saying is so important to me, because it reminds me that if I talk trash about others, then I am only reflecting my own personality… if I talk good about people, then thats a reflection of who I am also. I would much prefer to be remembered for being a nice person than someone who bad mouthed others.

The ironic thing is, the people who are saying these things are those who not too many years ago were making their own mistakes and still are (as we all do!).

One of the important things I have learnt is this:

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:45 NIV).

It means, when a person talks trash about someone else, what they say comes from their heart. If your heart is in a bad state you’ll speak those things from your lips. If your heart is in a good place, you’ll speak things that reflect that.

Be mindful about what you say, because words hurt. But more so, what you say about others is as reflection of yourself.

Lots of cool and exciting things have been happening lately. Some of you might already know that Steve and I started our own not for profit childrens charity called Opportunity To Do.

It’s a fundraising organisation that provides support for the forgotten children of Uganda in Africa to provide them with trauma counselling to free their lives from the trauma suffered when abducted from the rebel army and forced to become child soldiers or sex slaves for the soldiers.

These children have suffered atrocities our minds can not comprehend. This is not a new problem, its has been happening for the past 20 years. The impact of this war is still being felt by communities all over Uganda. Men, women and children horrifically disfigured, whole families wiped out by murder and the emotional effects of those abducted. Please read this wiki page for more information about the LRA.

It is our aim to help as many of these victims as we can to be restored.

We also provide funding for Australian children towards rehabilition from drug and alcohol abuse and other addictive behaviours. Helping children cope with their past experiences without relying on these life destroying crutches as well as filling them with a sense of self esteem and purpose and most of all unconditional love.

The name Opportunity To Do was gratefully received after lots of prayer and thought about what we wanted to achieve. So many people talk about love but often there is little action to back it up.

“People can’t see what’s in your heart – they can only see what you do”.

The foundational message of OTD is “It is impossible for you to be happy if you don’t get yourself off your mind and start reaching out to help someone else”.

So many suffer from depression and isolation yet if only they would reach out and help someone else, they would find their state of mind transformed dramatically. It is our mission to not only free people from loneliness and depression but to connect them to a ministry that is about doing good for the benefit of others as Jesus does for us. Through this people find themselves being restored too.

Below is taken from our organisational overview.

Core reasons for existence

•    Demonstrate the love of Jesus through action

•    Raise funding to fulfil the Biblical mandate to serve others

•    Provide an opportunity for people to serve others through volunteering and mission trips

Core Bible References

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Our Vision

To be a well equipped and resourced co-operative organisation reaching out to poor communities through the love of Christ to serve and develop people to become self sufficient and live productive lives.

Our Mission

To the glory of God, in accordance with sound Biblical and community development principles, our mission is primarily to serve and where appropriate to motivate, mobilise, guide, assist and coordinate a combined Christian ministry addressing the needs and aspirations of the poorest of the poor, the most neglected and underprivileged people regardless of their race, gender and cultural or religious background.

If you are interested in assisting connect with me at our Facebook page :)

So this morning I was watching Enjoying Everyday Life, as I have for the past nine years and I thought to myself about how I stumbled upon it one morning at 4am when I had woken up to meditate on God as my then ‘religion’ instructed me to as the ‘vibrations’ of the world were still and you could get a good connection to God… I was suddenly overwhelmed with a desire to turn on the television, so I did and this woman started talking and telling me about a better way to live my life. I still watch her program every day nine years later.

So… my challenge to you is this. If you are looking for a better way to enjoy everyday life. Set your tv recorder up to tape each weekday at from 4:25 to 5:05am on GEM, Joyce Meyers tv show Enjoying Everyday Life and each morning, before you start the day or head off to work, watch it in full (goes about 20 minutes). And in just two weeks, I’ll bet there starts to be a change in your thinking. If you happen to be outside of Australia you can download them for free through iTunes as well.

What have you got to lose?

Start now by watching this episode to get you going, don’t miss out on a message that could caterpault you from where you are, its the second part but thats ok Watch Now

Who are you?

It’s an interesting question to ask. The answer however depends on who you listen to… do you listen to what the world says you are, or will you listen to the truth about who you are in Gods eyes? After all, He created you.

If you have 41 minutes to watch a TV program then will you spend that 41 minutes instead to learn the truth about who you really are? It just might change your life.

It did mine.

Who are you?

I’ve always known that God was my Father. He created me and he is involved in every detail of my life. Yet when I became a parent myself – it was then that it REALLY hit me what it is to have the Highest of High as MY Father, a parent. When you are a child, you can only experience your parents from that perspective. When you are a parent you can see life from both sides. I see now how much bigger God is than I ever thought He was. It really astounds me, because I think about the love I have for my son – and then I think about how imperfect I am, and God, the way He loves is so perfect – never ending. Not just to me but to all His children.

I can also better understand now how He parents me. He wants the best for me, obviously – but He isn’t going to hand it to me on a plate. Just like earthly parents we praise, dicipline and help shape our children into the very best they can be. God does this for us too! His love, compassion, grace, patience and understanding is without measure. When I’m good, I am praised, when I am not, He gives me a kick up the butt. But like any loving parent there is forgiveness and love that follows that.

Today, this Friday of Easter – the day that our Lord sent his only son so that through him (and his death) we can all have forgiveness and eternal life. MASSIVE. Would I give my sons life for others? I’m not so sure!!

How grateful I am I said YES to Him.

The Lord’s Prayer Words
(traditional)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

I’ve been a Labor girl for most of my life, but this year sees our first ever-female Prime Minister Julia Gillard – after Kevin Rudd was sacrilegiously given the boot.

So what does it mean for me, a Christian voter this election when the new leader of Labor has proclaimed her atheist viewpoint? She has some great policies and I enjoy watching her campaign but what does her lack of Christian beliefs mean for my family and me in the future?

The Greens want gay marriage and abortion rights; and they’re in bed with Labor. So I know my dear held Christian views are not likely to be upheld if they get into power together.

I don’t like Tony Abbott, he is a strange man – with policies thrown together, who spends most of his time attacking the opposition instead of following up with what he will do better.  But at least the man proclaims to be Christian (or Catholic – we are all one in Christ!)

So really there isn’t much option than to vote Family First in the senate (OK Senetor Steve Fielding is pretty useless and even more so after his appalling performance on QandA where he refused to stand firm in his so called Christianity) but at least they’ll block bills for gay marriage and abortion etc. Which leaves the Liberals for the major party.

To me, the decision from a spiritual viewpoint far outweighs any economic or environmental issue we could face under either party if elected.

Picture: © Channel Ten

A Perth woman who received a controversial second liver transplant after her first failed due to drug addiction has died in a Singapore hospital.

Claire Murray, 25, died just before 12:00pm (AWST) from complications following a “live liver” transplant two weeks ago, where part of her aunt’s liver was used.

The transplant went well but in the past few days Ms Murray developed blood clots in her heart.

Last month health authorities in Perth rejected Ms Murray’s request for a second liver transplant after an earlier taxpayer-funded transplant failed due to her heroin addiction. (Full Story)

Many people had some negative things to say about her situation. Personally I am so sad she has passed away. We’ve all made mistakes, myself many and I still keep making them.

Who are we to judge her??

I am so thankful, at this time of year it’s ironic, Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins and I am so glad though I’m not perfect that He has forgiven me for all I’ve done and will do. I know to a lot of you reading this that will sound awfully dorky, but when you understand the enormity of that, it’s just massive.

I feel for her family and friends and pray their hearts will be open to Gods love and healing in their time of loss.

RIP Claire.

He came to our church in Whittlesea this weekend and really challenged the socks off our church family, from the mens, ladies and youth groups to the congregation as a whole during the morning and evening services.

I’m going to get a copy and post it online it’s just so inspiring.

Basically his challenge was to ask yourself where your fingerprints were in the world? His thought was that we have individual fingerprints because one day Jesus is going to ask us to show where our fingerprints are in the world, in the lives of the orphans, widows, the sick and the broken.

It’s a huge challenge to forget yourself and live for others, but oh how great the reward.

Our Pastor said recently during a conversation we had about the bushfires and all the challenges we faced as a church to minister to our hurting community, what else would you want to be doing?

Truly, living an inwards looking life at what you have or don’t have, or growing and connecting with people around and really leaving a positive fingerprint in someones life.

I love George for challenging our church, they were so shocked from his message noone clapped even!!! Ha ha!!

I sincerely hoped though that some went away and took up the challenge to serve others and leave fingerprints where they matter most.

It’s funny people say they look for God, but really He isn’t hard to find, you only need go where the orphans, widows, sick and hurting are. It’s there you’ll not only find God, but find your true self.