Soap for Jesus

Sometimes I think the world has a clearer grasp of right and wrong than we as Christians do, although they try to explain it wrongly. Christians tend to blur up the Bible in an attempt to accept everything they see around them. "Oh, God can't have said. God didn't mean." Well, maybe He did and you just don't want to accept it because you're putting your little code of what you think is right and wrong before His. While our faith is based on historical facts and logical processes, most of the day to day living is a sheer walk of faith. After all, isn't that why it's called our "faith"? Faith like a child. Trusting. Simple. Daddy loves me enough to catch me when I jump. Mommy loves me enough to keep me away from the hot iron and the cars on the road. Faith that while we don't understand and maybe never will understand God's ways or reasoning, He is right and just. Faith means grasping the simplicity of life and leaving the conf...

The lovely Katie Comstock posted this on her blog recently and sent me a link. Now I share it with you, and pray that those who need to read it will read - and listen to - it. This is an anthem for the homesick, for the beaten, The lost and broke, the defeated - A song for the heartsick, for the standbys, Living life in the shadow of a goodbye. Do you remember when we learned how to fly? We'd play make-believe we were young and had time on our side. You're stuck on the ground; got lost, can't be found. Just remember that you're still alive. I'll carry you home; no, you're not alone. Keep marching on - this is worth fighting for. You know, we've all got battle scars. You've had enough. But just don't give up. Stick to your guns; you are worth fighting for. You know, we've all got battle scars. Keep marching on. This is a call to the soldiers, the fighters, The young, the innocent and righteous. We've got a little room...

But as I post that and mean it from the bottom of my heart, that one can never have too many true friends, and one can never have too many messages from them, sometimes physical limitations get in the way. :P I have posted this on my G+ Wall and my blog, and am emailing it out to all my contacts as well. I've just taken on a secretary to deal with my rather large amount of messages/chat notifs/emails. I'd like to introduce you to my dear friend and adoptive sister Emma Alabaster, who will be answering some of the messages that come in to me. I will still be attempting to respond personally as much as possible, but sometimes I can't complete it on the weekend before the working week begins, and if this lapses too long, well. Some of you are waiting for a response after 2 years. Em will be operating on my FB and Gmail (and occasionally to perhaps answer blog comments) ONLY WHEN I HAVE SENT HER a private message stating that I need her to clear something for me. THIS...

We cheered on the Olympians, and still more the Paralympians, with pride in our countries and awe at their amazing achievements. Those guys (and gals) sacrificed years and time and money and strength and purpose to one goal - to compete here. As Christians, we have our own Olympics to run. Our goal - which is Heaven, our struggle - which is life. And we are commanded to run in such a way as to win the prize - the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus. I went to the opening of the Baptist Bible College in Telford area today. The guy who preached was Pastor David More. He talked on running the race. But not so much the beginning, as the ending. We need to end well. Many people, he said, start off enthusiastically and with zeal. But not so many end up finishing well, because they didn't run with dedication and purpose. We need to set our sights on Christ and following Him. That must be our goal. We may change immediate goals and our lives turn around in the me...

I heard a heart-breaking story today, but one that's only too often repeated - how a girl lacks the emotional connection she needs with her father, and therefore becomes easy prey to guys who promise to love and cherish - and abuse that privilege and then abandon her. Yes, I know that children who are well-raised often fall by themselves through no fault of the parents. However, I'm just touching on the majority of people that I've witnessed. Young men are far more likely to become addicted to pornography and girlfriends to boost their insecure self-esteem and girls are far more likely to dress immodestly (not counting in the peer pressure, of course) and move into relationships with boyfriend after boyfriend, even giving up their virginity, if they lack the emotional family connection back home - and most importantly, the influence of their father. When a guy has a close emotional bond with his father, and when a girl has an open communication and connection line wit...

I've had nothing to say for a long while. Kinda long while, anyway. I just want to take some excerpts from a few emails and chats and pray God they encourage you. "While you are alive in Christ, you still have a sin nature - a dead weight, a dead body, that you're chained to, much like a Siamese twin. That burden you carry around for the rest of your earthly life. And to prevent us from thinking of ourselves as gods, I think He lets us have the weaknesses to try and make us rely on Him more. All of us struggle with idolatry in every shape and form. It's not even as simple as a graven image. And any addiction when submitted to becomes Idolatry. And yes, the sin is big and black and monstrous in the eyes of a pure and holy God. But what we forget is that He's looking at us through the red blood of Christ - and we're already pure. The biggest struggle is what you're enduring - getting up and going again. The righteous man falls seven times and rises...

Tweet earlier: I stink of alcohol. And blood. Not mine. Will explain later. Please pray for my new friend Noel. Thanks. :) Walking home from the X51, I was heading to the 404 when I approached these three dark-skinned kids (you know the type, baseball caps, etc) around this older white man on the floor. At first I thought they were beating him up, but one was offering his hand and another attempting to help him stand, which didn't quite make sense. On asking what was going on, they said that they'd seen him collapse and were just trying to help him back up again. Two community support officers (kinda like police backup but without much power) came up to us then, and they told me (I'm going to tell it you all in one bunch so you don't have to try and piece it together like I did) basically, that he'd been drinking (Noel claims he hasn't drunk all day, he's just on a hangover) and that he'd walked into a window earlier uptown, and that he'd been...

It's painful. And it's sore. It's so sore I spend washtime dabbing water on portions of my skin because if I shower properly, I end up crying with pain. It's inherited genetically. I remember Daddy telling me his started when he was 19. It went all over his entire body - including his face. He had the wet kind - weeping, they call it - on his face. He had to go to work every day like that. And he said he felt disgusting, like a leper. Until he took aloe vera tablets, which reduced his eczema to some kind of controllable level. It started when I was a kid. Behind the backs of my knees and in the crooks of my arms. Then it faded until I only had it occasionally on the elbow of my right arm. Last year, it flared up again. REALLY bad. On my arms. Then I went to America. It was bad when I arrived. Came back a little in Oregon due to the dryness of the air. But otherwise, it was cleared. I forgot I had ever had eczema. Then I came home. And started work. ...

Life's a rough trail, and most of us take the wrong track at some point on the journey. I'm guessing roughly, but for girls, I'd say about three fourths of us, especially in this modern age, have lost virtual or physical purity along the way. Those that are Christians or that later come to Christ may feel something terribly empty inside. Disconnected. Broken. Isolated. Like there's a hole that can't be filled. And a terrible deep sense of guilt. Shame. Dirt. For those that have been pure a long time, or that were subjected to rape, it can lead to self harm or even worse. There is something terribly wrong. A unity meant to last forever has been broken apart. A forever minimised down to a here-and-now. A wealth of meaning diminished to a trivial circumstance. One of the most sacred things in creation has been dragged down into the mud. And we look up at the sky and choke on our tears. For now that we have lost that which made us set apart, what man of the kind that we...

This is a big topic of small importance... I attended the OYAN Summer Workshop 2011 last year (well, obviously last year). And loved it and everything to pieces. (I think you were still intact when I got home though... *glances at her trident*) I spent two months in the States. 2 weeks in Kansas, 2 weeks in Oklahoma, 1 week in Oregon, 1 week in Texas and 2 more weeks in Kansas. June 15 - August 16. I am not a millionaire and family circumstances were such last year that it is a total miracle that I even got there, much less to travel that extensively. My families took care of me and loved me and God bless them very, very much. Thank you. I fell in love with America while I was there. I'm a passionate British patriot, but I feel two totally different ways about both countries. America and Britain are not perfect - but America is a new land. A beautiful land. A new life. A fresh start. And chock full of my friends and people I love. Long and short of this being, due to my family'...

It's interesting when I'm talking to some of my friends regarding some of their troubles. Time and again, I ask, "Why don't you talk to your parents?" Not that I don't want to share their burdens, just that - the older I get - the more I realise that parents have been there before. Because I have. And as I share my experience with my girls and my friends, my heart aches as I watch them argue against it the way I did once and watch them turn aside into the mistakes I've made. Mistakes are good in a weird sense. But they are heartbreaking. Perhaps even more so for the one who stays in the pain and yet can see all sides and what could've been if the person hadn't made that mistake and kept themselves safe from unnecessary pain. (Yes, I used the adjective for a reason.) Makes me aware of what God must feel like us - as He lives in us and has borne the burden and carried the punishment for what we're doing and the pain of it with us. Way more than w...

Literally. These two quote are from yesterday. (Began 22-10-11 or 10-22-11) I put my little orange Testament from Texas on my desk yesterday and walked away to get some water. Ryan, my coworker, said as I went by: "Is that a Bible on your desk?" Me: "Yes, it's a Testament. Are you a Christian?" *hopefully* Ryan: "No, I like to call myself an atheist. But it's good to see some people have faith." -- I went to the water fountain and stepped aside to let coworker Becca go first. She responded by wriggling with helpless frustration and said, "Ohhhhh! I really don't like you!" Another coworker waiting laughed and said, "Well that's nice first thing in the morning!" Becca answered, "It's because she's so NICE! Always opening doors for people, etc." I walked away and grinned. Maybe, maybe, MAYBE, God is shining through!! :D -- Kushan is a Hindu. He worked next to me for a day or so. I was having a good day on ...

( WARNING: Some of this content may be unsuitable for younger children. ) You won't ever recover or get to your full potential in Christ as long as you're focused on the grey line. If you’re constantly saying, “I don't see the harm in it; as long as I'm not doing anything OBVIOUSLY WRONG, then it's got to be all right,” it's focusing on getting as close to the line as you can without stepping over, not on trying to get as far away from it as you can to please Christ. I feel like I want to go out down the clubs and spend time with some young people my own age in some tighter clothes and have a bit of alcohol and dance with a guy at a disco and do some necking in a car. My physical side's so achy I can't resist it. And the Bible doesn't say I can't. It says I shouldn't be immodest. Well, I'm not. I'm going to wear clothes that are a bit comfortable that make me look good without being revealing. It says I shouldn't get drunk. All r...

Climbing up onto the rough log fence, I stretched my arms out for balance and looked down at my feet. The surface was slippery. Two logs, roughly fitted together with a nail through the ends, formed the basic, repetitive structure all around the edge of the playground. I like adventure, to some degree. Daring feats like climbing wobbly tree logs and walking on them, or dancing around a shop aisle laughing at people's expressions. Yep, I love being nineteen and having the freedom to do that. I also like the internal lessons God teaches through it. Like today. I soon realised that by walking carefully, watching every next step I was going to take, would lead to overcarefulness and I would fall. By walking confidently with arms outstretched for balance, and consciously quelling the fear of "I'M GOING TO FALL!" inside, I was LESS likely to fall than if I gave every conscious moment over to the fear that I was very likely to fall. By taking my eyes off the log and keeping ...

Yesterday I left Houston, Texas, on what would be the final lap of my journey through the United States. I flew from Houstin to Austin, from Austin to Dallas, and finally, from Dallas to Kansas City International. Here I spend two more weeks, until starting my flight back to the United Kingdom on August 15th. I arrive home on August 16th. As the family I stayed with passed out of my vision and I began my long walk to my gate, I cried. Trying to accept that all of it was over and that I was probably never going to see these people again was very hard. I don't think it's any good trying to write it like a story, because who wants to hear of ragged sobbing that would ease off and then come back? :P Needless to say, I was feeling very alone, very young and very afraid. Then this dear lady walked by me, stopped and said, "Do you need some tissue, sweetie? I know how you feel, I was crying my eyes out a few hours ago." The kindness of it touched me and I started to cry agai...

So you need a rather rapid update. Recently, my Mom, Jose and myself have moved house. We went beyond the range of the BT Openzone hotspot, so I spent the first night scouring the list of connections. At present, I'm connecting to an open network called TP-LINK. I have two bars of connection, which is better than the BT one, and it breaks less frequently. On June 1st, Mom is having a BT landline installed, which will give us broadband back. God is very gracious. For the next three weeks, my life is going to be intensely busy before I practically disappear offline for two months. I will be taking my laptop and camera with me to the States, so watch out for updates, etc. :D Unfortunately, I won't be able to get a video camera, so you'll have to suffice with piccies. :) I'm trying to sort out the details of my trip at the moment, so when that is finalised as much as can be with the families I'd like to visit, I'll update you. For now, I'm trying to visit Texas,...

One of the worst things for cutters, in my experience/dealings, is when withdrawing...even the mildest cutter has an almost overpowering urge to cut for little to no reason. It is an addiction, it is a dreadful one, and I beg anyone out there considering trying it - don't. Even worse than the self harm which leaves permanent damage, if not physically, then emotionally, is the powerful urge after leaving it to continue punishing oneself for an angry mood, a sour temper, a bad day - in short, anything you feel is your fault and you want to punish yourself for. The effort to fight off that urge is very difficult, and can lead to devising other ways of self harm. The problem is, when you're doing it, you feel like you're punishing the person who deserves it. You can even get into a self-satisfied victim mode; I've punished me, I'm content. Starting it is dangerous. You think you're a coward if you don't, and that you're a coward if you do. As with drugs, you...

Written by Luke, inspired by God, sent by a friend. Luke 7:36-50: When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love hi...

This is a notice to all of my American friends. If you don't know me fairly well, then please ignore this. Due to circumstances with the family I planned to stay with expecting their first grandchild around the time I am (God willing) in the States, I am wondering if any OYANer in Olathe, Kansas, in the surrounding area or who plans to go to the OYAN workshops would consider taking me in for two-three months. I know that this does sound rather cheeky, but I promise that I will work very hard if that can be in exchange for room and board. I seriously do not want to impose upon the good people who intend on taking me in at a time like this. They will have enough to do without the burden of a strange guest on them also. They were intending on taking me in anyway; this is just my attempt to relieve some of the stress. If you are interested in having a wild-and-crazy Brit in your house for that extraordinarily long amount of time, email me at: forgodsgloryjohn3.16@gmail.com In Christ, ~...

Some of you might find this interesting...here is a chat on relationships I had with one of my close friends. What really amazed me is that there's no way that I could've phrased all that myself. I think God was showing me a few things as He spoke through me. Hope this blesses someone in some way. (11:24:15 PM) Rich: I learned that her mom things a break would be a good thing for the both of us (11:24:33 PM) Rich: That she thinks Danielle is distracting me from my life at college (11:24:46 PM) Sian Jones: ... (11:25:48 PM) Rich: I... (11:25:56 PM) Rich: I can't handle that... (11:26:12 PM) Rich: I'm depressed already because Danielle's gone for a weekend (11:26:22 PM) Rich: If she was gone longer... (11:26:26 PM) Sian Jones: *softly* (11:26:37 PM) Sian Jones: You learn that there are times that you need to be apart. (11:26:45 PM) Rich: But a break? (11:26:49 PM) Rich: *voice cracks* (11:26:50 PM) Sian Jones: Especially if you're going to spend the rest of your l...