Start of the Leadership Development Course

As always, this year's LDC began with a welcome breakfast ( a beautiful spread of different cheeses, fruits, cereals and breads), followed by worship and a creative meditation around our theme scripture of 1 Peter 1: 3 - 8.
That was yesterday morning, but by the evening - after a full day of orientation activities and getting to know each other better - we felt as if we'd been together for a week and not for only one day!
Today we launched into some of the LDC's teaching topics about spiritual leadership, and that will continue throughout the week as we consider how our different personality types and giftings have an influence on the way we lead and work in team. On Thursday morning, we'll be inviting all our international guests to join us in a special time of intercessory prayer for the nation of Spain.

A number of changes lie ahead for me this week: tomorrow my housemates move to their new accommodation, which means that I'll be "home alone" for the coming weeks. I'm still trusting that God will show me the right solution for my housing/ new house mate in the season that lies ahead. And then the other change is that I'll be a year older by the end of the week; of course, it's not as big a change as it sounds; it's just that I'll  have a birthday at the weekend, and so some friends have invited me and the other LDC staff to their home for a birthday brunch on Saturday morning. Sounds like fun!

New web page launched for Challenge 2013

We're almost at the end of April, and so people will soon be wanting to download the Challenge 2013 Bible reading booklets for next month. As the booklets' popularity has continued to spread, I've launched a new Bible Challenge blog, so that people can find all the booklets in one place and can leave a message to let me know which country of the world they're in. You can download the May booklets and future booklets from this page:

www.biblechallenge2013.blogspot.com

Start with the basics

The leadership development course starts at the end of the month, and this year the theme that God has given us for the school is found in 2 Peter 1:3 - that God has already given us everything we need to live a godly life. By drawing on the resources that God makes available to us, we will find that we are able to live a godly life, even though we live in an ungodly society.

And so, if we read further in that first chapter of Peter's letter, we'll find a list of the "building blocks" that we'll need in order to be godly and live a Christian life in our generation: things like self control, perseverance and knowledge. But Peter is careful to specify that we need to start with the basics. The very first thing we need is faith in God - a personal decision to believe that He is who He says He is. Once we have that foundation in place, we then add the other qualities to it. First we add goodness, and then we add knowledge of God and His Word. And so we continue, adding brotherly love, kindness, godly lifestyle and so on.  One thing builds upon another.... but we need to start with the right foundations.

Before you can teach your child to read, you need to begin by teaching him the alphabet. Before you teach your dog to bring you the newspaper or the remote control for the TV, you begin by toilet training him and teaching him the obedience basics like "come" and "sit." And before you can develop qualities like godliness and love,  you need to start by knowing and having faith in God. That's the most basic of foundations - just like teaching your child to speak or teaching your dog to sit.

Finally, speaking of teaching your dog to come or to sit, I can't resist posting another little video of my Teddi - demonstrating for your amusement that cats can understand those basic commands too.

Getting ready for the finger of God

The Bible tells us (for example in Deuteronomy 9:10) that the ten commandments weren't given to us by any human being, but were inscribed onto tablets of stone by "the finger of God Himself." I don't know exactly what that means. Do we imagine that God really has a finger, the way that human beings do? Or was it more like the special effects that we see in movies, and did Moses watch in awe as a powerful laser beam came out of the clouds and began to inscribe those words on the stone tablets? How it happened is kind of a mystery, but we know for sure that those "laws for a long life" were God's idea in the first place, and that somehow He was the one who wrote them down for us.

Reading yesterday, however, in the first couple of verses of the next chapter (Deuteronomy 10: 1 - 2), it struck me that God didn't simply do all the work. In order to be able to hear the words of God, Moses also had his part to do:

1. Firstly, he had to get a hammer and chisel and actually prepare those tablets of stone. Sounds like hard work, back in those days when people didn't have the power tools that we have now!
2. Secondly, he had to set aside enough time to hear what God had to say, and that meant climbing up the mountain and staying there in God's presence for more than a month, leaving the other people down in the desert.
3. And thirdly, he had to prepare a container, a wooden chest, so that God's words wouldn't get lost or forgotten, but could be carried with the people wherever they went.

In many ways, the whole process of hearing from God in 2013 is very similar. God is more than willing to speak to us... but first He asks that we are willing to do our part: that we put in the effort involved in preparing for the finger of God.

1. Firstly, it's important that we prepare our hearts; that we deal with sin, unforgiveness, and all kinds of other stuff that could get in the way of our hearing Him. He'll show us what we need to chisel away. Often the biggest obstacle is our unbelief that God really wants to speak to us personally today.
2. Secondly, we need to set aside enough time to come into God's presence and hear what He wants to say to us... and that usually means more than giving Him five minutes at the start or end of our day. We may need to turn off the TV or the computer; we may need to sacrifice time with our friends and be alone for a while. We need to find sufficient time to quieten our hearts and really be able to listen to what God has to say.
3. And thirdly, we need to prepare a container,  so that God's words won't get lost or forgotten, but will be remembered and applied in our lives wherever we go and whatever we do. That "container" could be different things for different people. For me, it's been my journal that I write in during my times alone with God; times when I'm reading the Bible and praying. I've lost count of the number of times I've been reading through an old journal and I've been surprised and encouraged to be reminded of something specific that God had spoken to me nearly a year previously.

What about you? In what ways can you be more prepared? When is the best time of the day or week for you to carve out more time in your schedule for spending quality time with God? And what kind of "container" will help you to remember the words that He speaks to you? These things can require effort and discipline in the beginning, but after a while we discover that there's no greater joy and privilege than being able to receive truth, encouragement and challenge from "the finger of God."

Making friends with Felix

Friends who've gone away for the weekend asked me if I'd mind popping into their house today, to check that their cat was doing okay. He's called Felix, because he looks just like the cat on the cat food package. I agreed to go to their home and spend some time working there on my computer, so that Felix would have some company and I could top up his food and water. Well, it took him a long time to decide whether he actually wanted the company of a stranger, and for three hours he remained hidden under a throw on the couch, before finally venturing out to accept a treat and get a drink of water. But, since then, he keeps coming and hovering near the table where I'm working, so perhaps that a sign that we're "making friends" now.
When I move into my new season (see previous post), I suppose I'll be the one asking a friend to check on the cats if I'm gone for the weekend.... at least until I find a new housemate (preferably one who likes cats!)

MOVING... into a new season!

I lived in the same house for most of my growing up years. From the age of six months until the day that I left home, I had the same room in the same house on the same street. So, when I talk to people who tell me that they moved house six times during their childhood, or that they went to eight different schools, I wonder what it must have been like to pack your stuff into boxes and move to a new place so often.  

I lived in three different houses during my first eighteen months here in Spain, and I remember that it gave me the feeling of "camping," rather than settling into a new nation.  I took great comfort in a verse at the beginning of Psalm 90, which says, "Lord, you have always been our home." Spain began to feel like home once I moved to a more permanent place and could finally unpack all those suitcases, instead of keeping half my stuff under the bed!

On the other hand, the people who tell you of all the times they moved house are usually speaking about moving within the same nation. Just like my early Malaga experience, you pack all your stuff into boxes and suitcases, and you make several trips in the car; or you load your furniture into a removal van and you drive a few hours to another part of the country. The few times in my life that I've had a major move, it's involved leaving everything behind and moving to a completely new nation or continent.

I thought of 1990, when a serious lung illness prompted me to move back to Scotland from Austria, leaving behind all the bedroom furniture that I'd recently bought for my flat in Vienna. Then, after several years of living in Paisley, it was time for another big move, as I packed my first suitcase and headed down to South Africa. Nearly fifteen years in Cape Town was long enough for me to gather new belongings, build a house, get my first car, buy new furniture, get a dog...
But you can't pack more than fourteen years of your life into a twenty kilo suitcase, and so relocating back to Europe in 2007 meant once again that I left all my furniture and other belongings behind.

In 2008, when I made the decision to move to Spain, I remember that feeling of having to "start all over again." Of course, all of our things are "God's stuff," anyway. He provided them, and so they basically belong to Him. If we have to leave things behind when we move in obedience to His prompting, we can have confidence that He will once again provide all that we'll need in our new location. Just before my move to Alhaurín, when I was contemplating the prospect of having to start getting furniture, kitchen utensils and other household things again, God spoke to me through a promise in Deuteronomy 6:11 - the part where He tells the Israelites that they are going to "live in houses filled with good things that you did not provide for yourself."

And that is exactly what has happened during these few years that I've lived in Spain. If you've followed this blog for a long time, you might remember the first time it happened (see this post from 2008) when my English flatmate, Sue, decided to bring all her furniture and other stuff from the UK. I actually wrote that post about God's provision when I was praying about my need for a vehicle... and only six or seven months later, I was able to buy my little blue car which has served me so well over the past four years.

When Sue returned to England, I moved in with Ada and Gabriela in their little flat, and once again found myself living in a home full of furniture that I hadn't had to provide for myself. Then we moved together to the house that we've been living in for the past three years and - although we officially rent it "unfurnished" - the owner had left behind some tables and chairs that were very useful to us... and even an office chair which has been wonderful for me during the seasons of the year when I spend long hours working on the computer in preparation for different ministry projects.

Now yet another new season lies ahead. After three and a half years of sharing accommodation with me, Ada and her (now teenage) daughter will be moving to a flat of their own at the end of this month. This may mean that she will be able to get housing benefits as a single parent - something that wasn't really possible when I was sharing the house and was unable to prove a regular monthly income.

If at all possible, I'd like to stay in this house - instead of having to pack up my stuff (and my cats) and move yet again to a smaller place. However, in order to do that, I'm trusting for God's provision in different ways for the new season. First of all, I'm trusting for wisdom - that I would know God's solution for my housing needs in the months and years ahead.  If that solution is that I continue to stay in this house, I will be trusting for another friend or colleague to share the accommodation and the rental with me. (I wouldn't be able to pay the monthly rent on my own.) And thirdly, as Ada takes her furniture with her to their new place, I'll be entering a season where I'm no longer living in a house filled with someone else's furniture. Perhaps this will be the season where I will need to see provision of some furniture of my own again.

So I'm moving.... and even though I hope I won't be moving geographically, I know that I'm moving into a different season of God's provision for my life and ministry here in Spain. Thanks so much for your prayers during this transition time.

It's amazing the difference that 3 minutes can make!

This post is a reply to "Anonymous" who saw Sunday's video of Teddi's high five trick and asked how long we practise every day. It's actually not very long at all. Because I don't want Teddi to get fat at the same time as getting clever (!) I need to limit his daily treat intake. So we probably spend about three minutes a day, learning a new trick or reviewing an old one. Maybe five minutes at the most, if it's taking him longer to catch on to a new trick. Now, that I think back over the past few weeks since beginning trick training, it's actually amazing how much you can achieve if you're consistent with just 3 - 5 minutes a day! Makes you wonder what else we could achieve in life if we committed just three to five minutes a day to it.

What if we were to take just 3 - 5 minutes a day for some exercise, instead of sitting down all the time?  How many new words would I learn in a month if I spent 3 - 5 minutes a day learning some Spanish vocabulary? What difference would it make if we were to spend just 3 - 5 minutes a day praying for a family member or for a challenging situation that we face? How many people would be encouraged if we took 3 - 5 minutes a day to make a phone call, send an encouraging email or write a note to someone we appreciate?

Hmmm.... If a cat can make progress with just three minutes a day, how much difference could we make by giving just a few minutes a day to things that are really important?