Thoughts from the Fire Conference
It's funny how the perception of the passage of time is so variable with your current state of mind. It feels like years since the fire conference - I only came back on Sunday! It was a great weekend and I hope that I'm carrying some of what I got there with me at work. I'm on labour ward this week which is not exactly the least stressful of environments! Done quite a bit this week, a few sections, did a lovely ventouse delivery today, (and cup placement almost perfect too - just a bit lateral due to a slight bit of asynclitism but perfectly at the flexion point!)
What should I say about how the weekend went? I don't know, I was talking to Mrs R after the prayer meeting on Monday - and what an amazing prayer meeting that was too, it was like all the fire from the fire conference was in that little room at church. We were only about 7 people but it made no difference and we were doing business with heaven. Towards the end the presence of the Holy Spirit was almost palpable and it was lovely.
Anyway I was talking about the weekend!!!
It was fantastic. There was a lovely feeling of everyone "going for it" and seeking the deeper things of God. I was very aware of the need for us to worship Him, a need which is within us and until we can find that state of being where all we are is worshipping God we will never be fully satisfied. That is what Heaven will be - an eternity to look at His perfection and beauty and be overcome in pouring our love out to Him. Sometimes I long for this so much it physically hurts inside. I'm so glad that the word hope in the biblical sense has no connotations of uncertainty. It's going to happen one day, the only uncertain thing is whether we'll get there before we die physically. But the Holy Spirit living through your life is so wonderful too. I understand Paul when he said about being torn between wanting to die and be with the Lord and to stay here and continue serving on earth.
We are so predictable as humans, the first mention of serving others brings up our reflex of pride and we want to be on top, in charge. Service is seen as something the lower ranks do and we should aspire to rise above this. It's distasteful to human desires. But serving God is the opposite, it's how we are fulfilled and can be all that we were created to be - it's how we are free. Dying to live, losing to gain an eternal reward...
Just meditating on the mystery of God...it will take a lifetime to even scratch the surface.
When we got back to Leeds on Sunday I was over at Sarah's ostensibly helping her unpack (!) and we were talking about how wonderfully God had worked at the weekend and in our lives - the miracles we've experienced, His love, His grace. I don't know why I said it but I just suggested that we should pray before I went home - that was about 8pm. So we did and - wow! It was just the two of us in her front room but the Lord Jesus Christ was there and we prayed together and worshipped Him and before I knew it 2 hours had gone by. I could have stayed there all night, it was so lovely.
Praise Him! God is moving in our midst and it's so exciting.
I'm going to London to the conference next week and expecting great things. After that I'm on annual leave for two weeks and then it's the barn camp at Ingleton.
What an amazing month to look forward to!
In the meantime I'm wanting to make up a new CD for listening to in the car. I've got a few songs picked out already:
Red Letters - DCTalk
Beautiful Sound - Newsboys
Treasure Island, Burn the Ships, Remember Your Chains - Steven Curtis Chapman
Goodbye December, Leaving for Gold - Nervous Passenger.
Any other suggestions?
For some reason I've started listening again to the Christian music that I used to listen to at uni this week and it's really been speaking to my heart. There are so many ways to express our worship. I love the majesty and beauty of the old hymns and the exuberance of the newer songs. I'm discovering that our ideas of praise are so limited compared with what could be, and will be, when all is made perfect; when we see Him face to face.
Time to go. I think I may be coming down with some kind of virus so I'm having an early night to try and stop it before it gets started!
Good night all...
What should I say about how the weekend went? I don't know, I was talking to Mrs R after the prayer meeting on Monday - and what an amazing prayer meeting that was too, it was like all the fire from the fire conference was in that little room at church. We were only about 7 people but it made no difference and we were doing business with heaven. Towards the end the presence of the Holy Spirit was almost palpable and it was lovely.
Anyway I was talking about the weekend!!!
It was fantastic. There was a lovely feeling of everyone "going for it" and seeking the deeper things of God. I was very aware of the need for us to worship Him, a need which is within us and until we can find that state of being where all we are is worshipping God we will never be fully satisfied. That is what Heaven will be - an eternity to look at His perfection and beauty and be overcome in pouring our love out to Him. Sometimes I long for this so much it physically hurts inside. I'm so glad that the word hope in the biblical sense has no connotations of uncertainty. It's going to happen one day, the only uncertain thing is whether we'll get there before we die physically. But the Holy Spirit living through your life is so wonderful too. I understand Paul when he said about being torn between wanting to die and be with the Lord and to stay here and continue serving on earth.
We are so predictable as humans, the first mention of serving others brings up our reflex of pride and we want to be on top, in charge. Service is seen as something the lower ranks do and we should aspire to rise above this. It's distasteful to human desires. But serving God is the opposite, it's how we are fulfilled and can be all that we were created to be - it's how we are free. Dying to live, losing to gain an eternal reward...
Just meditating on the mystery of God...it will take a lifetime to even scratch the surface.
When we got back to Leeds on Sunday I was over at Sarah's ostensibly helping her unpack (!) and we were talking about how wonderfully God had worked at the weekend and in our lives - the miracles we've experienced, His love, His grace. I don't know why I said it but I just suggested that we should pray before I went home - that was about 8pm. So we did and - wow! It was just the two of us in her front room but the Lord Jesus Christ was there and we prayed together and worshipped Him and before I knew it 2 hours had gone by. I could have stayed there all night, it was so lovely.
Praise Him! God is moving in our midst and it's so exciting.
I'm going to London to the conference next week and expecting great things. After that I'm on annual leave for two weeks and then it's the barn camp at Ingleton.
What an amazing month to look forward to!
In the meantime I'm wanting to make up a new CD for listening to in the car. I've got a few songs picked out already:
Red Letters - DCTalk
Beautiful Sound - Newsboys
Treasure Island, Burn the Ships, Remember Your Chains - Steven Curtis Chapman
Goodbye December, Leaving for Gold - Nervous Passenger.
Any other suggestions?
For some reason I've started listening again to the Christian music that I used to listen to at uni this week and it's really been speaking to my heart. There are so many ways to express our worship. I love the majesty and beauty of the old hymns and the exuberance of the newer songs. I'm discovering that our ideas of praise are so limited compared with what could be, and will be, when all is made perfect; when we see Him face to face.
Time to go. I think I may be coming down with some kind of virus so I'm having an early night to try and stop it before it gets started!
Good night all...