Girl Guides

I wanted to post this a few days ago but I've been letting is simmer for a while as I'm so upset and hurt about it, I didn't want to post in that state of mind.

In York with a Girl Guiding sign - I was proud to be involved!

As you may or may not know, I have been involved in the Girl Guiding movement all my life. I know a lot of people probably say this but I mean literally. I joke that it's in my blood; it's who I am. My Grandma was a Girl Guide, going on to be a Guides leader and then District Commissioner, continuing on to be a Brownie Guides leader - she retired after gaining her 40 years' service honours. My mum followed in Grandma's footsteps and did both Guides and Brownies, earning her 20 years' service and then I joined in, qualifying as a Brownie leader.  In fact, I never really left! I 'finished' Brownies at 11 years old, stayed on to 'help out' and then when I was old enough, started my leadership qualification.

Three generations of Guiders (back in 2006)

Unfortunately due to work commitments, we had to close our unit in 2012. It was devastating. We had been through ups and downs and thought we'd have to close a couple of years previously when we were down to around 3 girls on our books - most girls wanted to join cubs and scouts since they became unisex. We did a last ditch recruitment drive, putting up posters and flyers and we turned it around.

Grandma making the headlines for delivering
me and keeping her Guide Promise!

We had a big party at the last meeting and there were tears all round. I genuinely loved those girls and all that we stood for. We met up in the November to attend the annual Remembrance Parade, as we always had done, but just as ordinary members of the public, rather than a uniformed organisation. It was strange but I wanted to go - I'd never missed one in all my life! Unfortunatly I don't think I'll be able to attend this year - it's just too difficult and raw at the moment.
I still get teary when I think about it!

So why am I telling you all of this? I guess that I just wanted to give you a bit of background. I'm sure that if you read the newspapers regularly, you'll have seen the news last week that the Girl Guiding movement have taken steps to remove God from their Promise.

The Brownie Promise was:

I Promise to do my best: 

To love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, 

To help other people and To keep the Brownie Guide Law

It has now been changed to:

I Promise to do my best: 

To be true to myself and develop my beliefs. 

To serve the Queen and my community,

To help other people and to keep the Brownie Guide Law

Now it's not the first time the Promise has changed. Apparently, in 1994, a little girl refused to say that she would "do her duty to God" as was the Promise, so they changed it to "love my God", which would emcompass all peronal beliefs and 'gods' in general.

We had a Brownie once who was happy to participate in everything. She never mentioned anything about her Promise but her mum came in early one night and heard us saying our prayer. She wasn't happy and said that she didnt want her daughter to participate in it. We explained that as a Christian organisation, and as our meeting place was a church, we weren't going to stop doing it. If her daughter didn't want to join in, she didn't have to, and we would take her name off the list to read the prayer. This pacified the situation but the little girl was really upset that her name wasn't on the list, often asking (as they all did), "when is it my turn to read the prayer?" and joining in with the Lord's Prayer every week, unless she spotted her mum.

I had always said that once I had got myself settled: married; children; and living in an area I'm going to stay in, that's when I'll renew my warrant and re-open a Brownie unit. As I stated earlier, it's who I am; I'm lost without it. Now that they've secularised themselves, though, and basically turned their back on all they stand for, I won't bother. I still have a heart for voluntary and children's work but I'll have to find another outlet for it.

Julie Bentley - campaigner for
abortion rights and the
woman who removed
God from Girl Guiding.

To say I'm devastated isn't an over-reaction. If anything, it's an understatement!


I guess it was only a matter of time, after all, they did hire a woman as Chief Executive last year who was former head of the Family Planning Association, an abortion and contraception group (and had never been a Guide herself!). She said last yar that the Girl Guides are "the ultimate feminist organisation" - I retweeted them telling them exactly what I thought of that and that I was ashamed to be a part of it. I mean rally, why we need a Chief Exec is beyond me - it's a charity, not a business.

I'll end with a quote from Stephen Glover in the Daily Mail (please don't discredit me for using the DM - I know they're not the most prestigious but my Grandma sent me a clipping!) 
"You may think the Girl Guides are unimportant, but they're not. A promise that once soared to embrace God and country is cut back to concentrate on self. don't tell me that this won't be a big thing for millions of young women."

My heart breaks. Pray for our young people, our country and those in charge.
- Lisa

Marriage and the Church

I'm aware that this is potentially a very taboo topic but I make no apologies. I've wanted to post this for some time now but have been looking for the 'right time'. I suddenly thought to myself, "Who needs a right time? If it's on my mind, let's just have out with it!"

So today I want to discuss marriage. In particular, marriage in the Church.

Now I'm not going to go into all the usual debates, there'll be time for that another day and what I have to say is somewhat more pressing.

Let's play the "Who Here" game! If you haven't heard of it, I say, "who here thinks....." and you raise your hands (but for the sake of the blog and your friends' views on your sanity, maybe just raise a smile or a nod).

From Style Me Pretty

Who here thinks marriage in church is a big deal? 

(I guess a lot of you put up your metaphorical hands - I did)

Who here thinks that a couple should be married before having sex?  

(I guess a lot of you still have those imaginary hands up)

Who here has noticed that people tend to get married at a very young age in church?  

(You've clicked on. Probably losing some now) 

Who here thinks that we've lost respect and reverence for marriage, using it as a way to have sex as soon as we can, or even worse, an excuse for a big party? 

(I'm probably rubbing a lot of you up the wrong way now, aren't I?)

Well this is my issue. Forgive me if it's not yours or if you think I'm way out of line here. Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, isn't it!

In the Church as a whole, I believe that many Christians rush into marriage. Sometimes a couple have been together a month, the pressure or the lust gets too much so they have a wedding just a couple of months down the line. How many of those weddings produce a true, meaningful marriage? I have to be honest with you, I personally know more divorced or separated Christians than married (or happily married) ones.

That not only shocks me, it breaks my heart.

I believe in marriage. I believe in forever. It's a binding covenant and although I'm not going to go into the issue of divorce today, I personally don't believe in it. There's just no need if you know your future spouse before signing that contract. That's essentially what it is, isn't it? You can't just cancel a binding, legal contract but it's so easy to divorce these days, in this generation of disposable everythings.

Some of you may know that I am a big believer in love. I probably have some Disney-fied, rose-coloured view of it but I can't help that I've been so overwhelmingly loved in my life. I can honestly say that there has been no time in my life where I didn't feel loved, by God, my parents, grandparents, brother, partner, spiritual aunts and friends, even my dogs! I am blessed because I am loved beyond measure. When was the last time you actually sat and thought about how loved you are?

Let's move on a little, before I cry!

When did marriage become so structured, organised and legal? Back in the day, if you wanted to marry a woman, you went to speak with her dad, gave him a sheep or a ram and then you were married. Bob's your uncle (or uncle-in-law, if your new wife has an uncle Bob!)

Nowadays it's thousands of pounds, a massive party, drunken relatives and a little piece of paper. It saddens me that we seem to have lost the true meaning of marriage. I'm not married yet, legally, but in truth I committed myself to Riki, before God, years ago. I thank the Lord for him daily and even though I know that He is working in Riki's life, I also know that there is much discussion behind my back about my being "unequally yoked". Believe me, that's a MAJOR issue with me. I'm actually going to make an entire post on it, maybe the next one.

From OneWed

So when did it become less about God and more about sex, money and parties? I guess around the same time that our world started to fall apart (that is when we, as a planet, turned our back on the Lord and became selfish). Don't even get me started on those who have no desire to enter a church in their entire lives, and no intention to ever return to one again, but want to get married at a church.

You only have to look on Pinterest or the hundreds of wedding-related forums, websites and blogs out there to realise that it's been taken too far. I'm not going to lie, I've got more than a handful of boards on my own Pinterest related to planning my wedding, and I'm a member of some of those forums, discussing wedding-related topics and sharing tips and advice with other brides-to-be. I'm not denying that these are great tools to have but it's the frame of mind behind them that's the big deal. Are you getting married because you want to show the world, and God, that you're committing yourself to this person for the rest of your life, or is it because you want to throw the best wedding amongst your friends/family, or you want to have sex without the church elders shaking their heads?

It baffles me. It really does.

Anyway, thanks for playing the "Who Here" game with me if you did join in, as adults we don't get to play many games; it made me smile!


-Lisa

Let's Catch Up

It seems I've been MIA for almost a month now. I have been here, lurking in the shadows, but have been silent for some strange reason.

So I had my driving test on Monday. I failed. Obviously I was upset, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but I was strangely comforted in knowing that I had prayed for God's will. Of course, I prayed to pass the test but I also prayed that if it were in God's will for me to pass that day, He would take control of that car and get me through it (see this post for reference).

My test was at 08:10 and I knew I had failed by 08:20! They make you continue on and tell you the result at the end. I was home by 09:30 and just went back to bed until after noon. I was so emotionally drained and I remember praying and feeling awful because on the one hand I was upset but on the other I had prayed for the Lord to take control in the situation. I just said, "Lord, I know that I said I'd respect and accept Your will, but I'm allowed to be upset!"

In honesty, it was a blessing in disguise. As I booked my next test, I checked my bank balance and I simply wouldn't have been able to afford to change my car insurance over from a learner to a lone driver this month. I guess when I prayed over my tithe that the Lord would sustain me financially, He kept up His side of the bargain!

With that in mind, if you remember back to my post about tithing, here, I mentioned that I was going to start tithing at my church. This month I did, for the first time! It was strange - I was immersed in a world of envelopes, standing orders and Gift Aid. I suddenly felt more grown up and even though most people just put in their envelope or handful of change and have done with it, I felt like it was a momentous occasion. I even had a little lump in my throat!

I'm looking forward to the Days of Wonder event at Hull tomorrow night (see link here). Unfortunately, due to my not passing my driving test I won't be able to go to all three nights but I have managed to get a lift into Hull for the first night tomorrow. I'm believing that God will certainly show up and meet with us. It's going to be a great night and I can't wait! If anyone knows anyone who needs a ticket, I've got a spare for tomorrow and two tickets for Friday and Saturday! Just let me know, here.

So that's what I've been up to. I do apologise for not posting for a while. I don't even have an excuse, I guess I've been lazy or something. Rest assured, I'm back and raring to go!

~ Lisa

Greater than Jesus?

Obviously nothing and no-one is greater than Jesus, that's not what the title means. It's simply referring to what Jesus said in John 14:12,

"I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone 

steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to 

do the things that I do; and even greater things than 

these, because I go to the Father."

Let's just look here at what Jesus was saying. I'm no Biblical scholar, nor am I theologist, so please don't expect Latin translations and really deep meanings here. What I believe Jesus was saying is, "All these works I have done here on earth, it's merely a taster of what is to come. When I go to the Father and send the Holy Spirit in my place, you too will perform these same signs and wonders, and not just these but you will do so much more."

Jesus' time on this earth was short lived. His ministry was even shorter. I'm not going to go into how long it was because I've seen online that there are conflicting arguments. The fact is, it was long enough to fulfil God's plan.

If we subscribe, for argument's sake, to the "Jesus' ministry lasted 3 years" idea, then really, once we've been baptised in the Holy Spirit, we should expect to be performing the same miracles that Jesus did, and since we (hopefully) will be around for much longer than the three or so years Jesus was after He was baptised by John, we shouldn't just stop there. We should expect these greater things too.

I think the problem today is that we get complacent. We shy away from praying for things, saying, "If it's God's will, it will happen anyway" - God does have a plan but He won't force it on you. Quite often I'll say something similar to that. For instance, if I'm applying for a job I'll say, "If it's God's will for me to have this job, He'll pave the way, if not, I don't want it anyway!" That's not me saying I'm not going to put all my effort into the application and interview; I do. I also pray over it but I'm still very accepting to God's will and so I'm at peace with whichever decision is made.

From howjesusprayed

When Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, He knew what He wanted - He even knew God's will in the situation, which we often don't - but He still prayed for it not to happen. The important thing to remember is to pray, "nevertheless, not what I will, but as You will and desire" (Matthew 26:39).

We expect people to be saved and sometimes, we even expect them to be healed and delivered from binding spirits and strongholds. We occasionally expect our "special, gifted" Christian brothers and sisters to perform these miracles in Jesus' name. What we often don't expect or have enough faith to believe, though, is that we can and should be doing these things ourselves!

I'm by no means denying that some people have been given special giftings in the Spirit. Some people are called to have a healing ministry, some are prophets, but that's not to say that we can't all do these things. It tells us in 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 that we should desire spiritual gifts but "especially that you may prophesy". In 1 Corinthians 12:28-31 it specifically tells us that we should all desire the best gifts. To me, this tells us that yes, even though someone may have that gift upon their life, it is open to every single one of us.

Don't be lazy and complacent! Are you seeking and desiring these gifts today? Are you seeking God's will for your life? Are you seeking these "greater things", even greater than the amazing, awesome things Jesus did?

From thethingsiponder

Our primary goal on earth is to live our lives as Christ-like as possible, but Jesus said himself that we shouldn't stop there! We have the same Holy Spirit that Jesus had but we have more time to use it. I believe that we are all falling short of God's plan. We are all falling short of the expectations and the giftings that He gave us. He wants us to be doing such wonderful things that we can't even imagine, yet we are happy to just coast along.

Miracles, healings and salvations are wonderful, and we should be grateful for every last one of them, but we should also be seeking more.

I'm excited. Aren't you? I want to know what these "greater things" are! "On earth as it is in heaven" isn't just a line from a prayer that we all learned at school, it's a desperate plea for God's glory and power to manifest itself. For God's kingdom to become evident in our mortal world; to invade us and take over. How can this happen if we're not pursuing it?!

I challenge you all, myself included, to seek and desire these greater things

Tithing

I know, I know. Everybody hates this subject!

I think I once heard that it's like flossing our teeth. We all know we should be doing it but we don't like it and we don't like people discussing it, especially if we're just tucking into a luxurious meal!

The truth is, though, that it is an expectation. It's not that God said, "well if you want to give a little, you can." He commanded that we give the firstfruits of everything we have, to God - it belongs to Him.

Even right back in Genesis (13:20), Abram gave the Lord a tenth of all he had. Deuteronomy 14:22 says "you shall surely tithe" and Malachi is so bold as to say that in neglecting and witholding our tithes, we are actually robbing and defrauding God (Malachi 3:8-10).

I'm not going to stand on a pulpit and command that you must tithe and in that tithing, you must give exactly a tenth of what you earn. Who am I to say that to anyone?! I have no idea what circumstances you're in and I'm not a hypocrite. I've never tithed a day in my life.

Sure, I've put money into the offering bag at church on a Sunday morning, I've even talked myself into believing that the money I spend on donating to charities and ministries etc can be counted as my tithe, but even then it probably wouldn't add up to 10%. As a student I struggled financially and I thought to myself, "God will understand. I have to eat; I have to get to uni"

Over the past few weeks though, I've been really convicted by the Spirit. I'm working full-time now and I spend money on unimportant, wordly things every month like my mobile phone contract, driving lessons, internet, Sky TV and my unlimited Cinema card. Not to mention the books I might buy or the subscription to magazines, Christian or otherwise, meals out and general day-to-day spending.

Don't relegate God to the bottom!

I'm not saying it's wrong to treat ourselves to things we like, we work hard for our wages and we shouldn't feel guilty about spending them. What I am saying, though, is that in my life I was putting God right down at the bottom of my necessity list. I would make all the payments I had to make, get all the things I wanted to get, and then I'd put a couple of pounds in the offering on a Sunday and feel pretty good about myself. Sometimes I'd even work out how much I had after all these outgoings and then give 10% of the leftovers.

That's nice, it's good to give what we can but it's not what God asked for. He asked us told us to give the first fruits. Before everything else.  

Matthew 6:24-34 tells us not to worry about where our food or our clothes will come from; the Lord will keep us and provide for us. He is, after all, our Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord who provides!

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, 

and all these things shall be added to you" 

(Matthew 6:33 NKJV)

I really love the New Living Translation of the same verse, which reads,

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, 

and live righteously, and he will give you 

everything you need."

He will give us everything we need! All we have to do is put Him first; allow Him to come first in our lives and show it, both in the way that we live and with our finances.

I remember once a few years ago, when I literally only had £20 available to me in my bank account, otherwise I would go over my overdraft limit. I was expecting my student loan installment to go in soon but had no idea when. I had taken it out to get to university the next day and went to a Sunday night revival meeting. I felt that it was the right thing to trust in the Lord and I put my last £20 in the offering bag. That night I got home and my student loan had gone into my account!
 

From crosslifeverobeach.blogspot.co.uk

Some people believe that due to Jesus' grace, we are released from the constraints of the Law, including the obligation to tithe. While I'm not discounting the fact that Jesus pardons us in the eyes of the Law, in Matthew 23:23 He specifically rebuked the Pharisees for finding loopholes in the Law and basically trying to cheat their way through it. With this in mind, I believe that Jesus still holds the Law in very high esteem and this aspect of it is still very relevent for us today.

Also worth noting, though, is that it's not necessarily just about money. I tended to focus on money here because that's what most people think of when they think of tithing, but in the New Testament, Jesus' heart seemed to be more focused on giving in the more general sense. While Jesus taught a lot about money, I think it was due to the fact that He knew that money and finances are the areas we tend to get caught up in; the areas we tend to become selfish about and, if I may say so, obsessed with.

I read somewhere that tithing was primarily meant for seeds and grains, and that not everyone was a farmer - some were carpenters, and were they expected to tithe in wood? I don't have the answers to those questions, and I'm sorry if I've just confused you all the more, but I feel it's only right to bring both sides of the equation.

From DailyMail.co.uk

In essence, our attitude towards money or material things shows where our heart is. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21 AMP) If we are able and willing to give money (or anything else, for that matter) to God, rather than hoarding and keeping it for ourselves, it proves that our hearts are generous and unselfish, and that we put nothing before our God.

Please don't read this and think that I'm condemning anybody or saying that you must tithe. Only you know what's in your heart and what your circumstances are. I'm simply sharing the next part of my journey in faith.

I hope, if nothing else, that this post has given you something to ponder and if you have any thoughts on the subject, please feel free to leave a comment.

-Lisa

Poem - I See You

I See You

I see You

I see You coming from the sky

Returning, as promised,

For Your patient Bride

I see You, my Lord

In a cloud of Glory

Descending from Your Heavenly abode

And I know

You’ve been waiting for this

Much longer than I have

Yearning to return to Your people

Longing to save us from what the world has become.

But You had to wait

And it pained Your heart

Precious Jesus, Your soul ached to be back with us

But Your timing is perfect.

I see You

And I am astonished

No longer my beautiful Saviour,

No longer the smiling face and dancing eyes that I once knew

No.

Jesus, You are not here to continue where You left

You are not here to win our hearts again

Jesus, I see You

I see You as You really are

A part of the Living God

A Warrior, ready to fight

A Soldier in the War of all Wars

I see You

Riding upon Your horse with power

With fire in Your eyes

And victory in Your heart

I see You

And I fall to my knees

I cry out Your Glorious Name

And I know this is it

 Jesus You came back

You came back to end our suffering

Once and for all

You came to seek victory over the evil one

And You reign victorious over all the earth

I see You, Jesus

As I never have before

And I am not scared

I see You

And I am with You

Forever.

Copyright - Lisa Davies, November 8th, 2010.

If you use or distribute this work, please keep it in its entirety, and link back to this page so that the appropriate credit can be given. Also, please let me know if you do use any of my work, just as a courtesy. It's great to have feedback :)

Anything Could Happen

So I guess you know that "Anything Could Happen" is actually a pop song by Ellie Goulding (or maybe not - I had to Google it to find out!) I actually heard it for the first time on the US X Factor last year, the girl group, Fifth Harmony, did a version (here) which I actually really enjoyed.

No, this blog hasn't turned into a music blog, but it is one of those songs that stays in your head all day!

The moon's just visible above the tree

As I was praying this morning I remembered something that a lovely lady at church said a few weeks ago, "If you don't believe it's going to happen, don't even bother praying for it" - if you have no faith at all that your prayer will be answered, if you think that your request is too big or too difficult for God to listen to, don't even waste your time praying for it, because it'll never come into fruition if you don't believe it/don't have enough faith to see it through.

I was kneeling on the carpet, kind of hunched over the bed and looking out of the window. I could see the trees; the blossoms; the beautiful magnolia petals; the awe-inspiring blue of the sky, with the moon still partially visible because it's such a clear day. I could hear the birds chirping and singing their unique melodies.

I can't believe that we still struggle to accept and believe that God is capable of anything! Literally, anything is possible with God and it's so easy to say that and not actually think about what we're saying, but absolutely anything you can imagine, it's possible. The only stipulation is whether it aligns with God's will or not!

Let's look at it this way, you're looking for an employee. Someone comes in and you think, "Hmm, I'm not sure they can do this job." You ask them for their experience and they hand you a CV and you're shocked at what they can do! You never in a million years thought that this was the right person for the job and yet, the evidence speaks for itself!

People, the world is God's CV!

When will we realise?! Look around you, everything that you can see; smell; hear; taste; touch, everything around you is the evidence, the proof that God exists, He's here all around us and He can do anything!


He can do all things. Anything can and will happen, why would we hinder His power with our unbelief?

-Lisa