Thai Food & Great Company
Last night I had a wonderful experience – thank goodness it is not a rare occurrence. At a fantastic Thai restaurant my son Nicholas and I had dinner together and just enjoyed each others company. Each of my children is very special to me – no favourites – just great human beings that I love to hang out with. We chatted, we laughed, we eat and we shared some dreams and heart desires together. As I left the restaurant I had a couple of thoughts!
Firstly - I pondered how many fathers and sons or daughters would have had this experience? A time together – face to face – just the two of you – enjoying good food and good time.
Secondly – as I walked away with Nicholas going to have a coffee with friends - I thought about my relationship with my father in heaven. If I enjoyed my time and conversation with Nicholas so very much, how much more would God enjoy his time with me. I didn’t want my time with my son to end – does God experience that same joy during and after my time with him. I absolutely believe that to be the case. Somehow I think that God cherishes each and every moment with me – hanging on my every word – not wanting the time to finish – hoping it will not end. I know this is not an original thought but it refreshed my attitude to prayer once again.
It also made me more keen to just hang out with all my children – I just love them!
Perhaps as a parent you may be prompted to do what I did – have a meal with one of the kids? Don’t delay do it now and enjoy simply the best time ever!
Letters From The Front
Last weekend our church hosted its annual ANZAC weekend services with the theme ‘Letters From The Front’. Letters were read from a soldier facing an impending battle and also from a soldiers family to their loved one on the front line. After the service many people asked if they could obtain a copy of the letter that was read from Major Sulivan Bullou to his wife Sarah. This is quite a famous letter written during the Civil War in America and can be found at numerous websites – here is one of them – http://american_reflections.home.mchsi.com/ballou.html
The theme of our services centred on the thought – ‘Nothing focuses your priorities in life more then when you are facing a life threatening moment’.
With this in mind the Creative Arts team built a trench on the stage of the church complete with sandbags – portraying a trench of the Western Front. Then i asked people at the end of my message that if they wanted to change some aspect of their life now then come and step into the trench and ‘go over the top’ by stepping over the sandbags.
This would symbolise a step of faith – a new start – fresh beginnings. It was so moving to see people do exactly this – many with tears in their eyes and a determination to make the changes in their lives.
As they left the stage they were given a prayer which read as follows
“Lord God I know that this weekend represents a very important time for me. You have spoken to my heart and I have responded. This ANZAC weekend I have made a decision that I now need to carry through. I have stepped over the line determined to change. I really need your help. So Lord God would you please help me have the courage to not let this decision be an emotional decision that stops here and produces no real change.
Strengthen me Lord
Give me wisdom
Empower me
Fill me afresh with your Spirit
Guide me
Keep your hand upon me
Let your favour be with me
Lord God thank you for loving me so very much that you will never leave me – so as I surrender my life to you afresh this weekend please use me to see your Kingdom extended.
I love you so much Lord
Please hear my prayer and act on my behalf in the wonderful name of Jesus.”
As i saw people moving off the stage – the prayer in their hand I felt so much joy to be part of a church where it’s people take risks like many of them did last weekend. I love the church here in Ipswich – it’s people and I pray that those that crossed over the sandbags last weekend will now make the changes they desire with God’s help.
I hope that you ANZAC weekend was as wonderful and amazing as mine!
A GENERATION LOST
I recently read Les Carlyon’s brilliant book ‘The Great War’ which outlines Australia’s involvement in the Western Front during the First World War. In his summing up, he says, ‘A generation had lost many of its most generous male spirits’. Then he quotes noted Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey who speaks about the worst effect of the war could never be enumerated – it was the loss of ‘all those talented people who would have become prime ministers and premiers, judges, divines, engineers, teachers, doctors, poets, inventors and farmers, the mayors of towns and leaders of trade unions, and the fathers of another generation of Australians’.
As I stand among the crowd at one of the dawn services tomorrow morning celebrating ANZAC Day I will reflect on this comment but I will also think again of my own potential – the dreams and desires that are still buried deep within my heart.
Perhaps as you read this you may think, like me, that I have the opportunity to achieve those desires and dreams so why aren’t I doing so?
You and I are not part of a ‘lost generation’.
I realize the term ‘dream again’ is overused but at the risk of using it again – DREAM AGAIN!
Make a list of the things that you would like to achieve. Write them down – start working towards just one of them.
We, unlike the ‘lost generation’, can see the dreams of our heart be fulfilled.
Tomorrow at dawn I will remember this aspect of ANZAC Day as well!
ANZAC Day
There are some traditions in our family that despite our increasing busy and independant lives, all of the family want to keep. ANZAC Day is one of those wonderful traditions – the Edwards family bleary eyed (apart from me none like early rising when they don’t have to) attend the dawn service at the RAAF base Amberley. It is dark when we arrive then the sun rises during the service – it is truly beautiful and attended by well over a thousand people. Then home for a cooked breakfast – I love the experience.
ANZAC Day continues to grow, in the sense that rather than less people attending the dawn services and marches across the nation more people are attending – there are even suggestions that it is now our country’s unofficial National Day.
For me personally it is a day where war is certainly not celebrated but a day when I can pause, ponder and pay my respects for those men and women who have lost their lives in conflicts that Australia has been and is now a part of. I am reminded of the true meaning of sacrifice and it causes me to truly reflect on sacrifice in my own life.
For many years now our church has really made the ANZAC Day weekend a special weekend in church. The similarities of the ANZAC Day theme of remembering those who laid down their lives to the message of the good news of Jesus Christ and His laying down His life is breathtaking.
The church also publicly honours those current and ex-service men and women and encourages them to wear their awarded medals at our services.
This weekend I am speaking on “Letters From The Front”- there will be some of the letters soldiers have written to their families and vica versa read out, a narrative of the ANZAC’s Gallipoli landing of 25 April 1915, a moving tribute to honour the spirit of ANZAC Day and then I will talk on what issues would be important to you if you were to go ‘over the top’ the following day. The letters from the front show clearly what mattered and what didn’t to soldiers facing an imminent battle where they could lose their life – through them we gain an insight into what we should be devoting our lives to.
Our services are Saturday 6.00 pm and Sunday 9.00 am – both will celebrate the ANZAC weekend.
Perhaps in addition to coming to church over the weekend – you and your family will get up early and attend one of the many ANZAC Day services held throughout the nation.
As will be said throughout the nation this Saturday – Lest we forget!
