Uninspired, Unexpected, Undeterred

(Games in the Peaks with the Youth)

Usually, when I sit down to write my blog, I wait for something to pop into my mind that has inspired me. An event, a song, a silly saying, a picture. This month I found myself feeling a little uninspired. And I didn't think the song, "Natural Woman" was a good basis for my blog. But I digress. In its own way, my lack of inspiration became my inspiration. Don't get me wrong; many hopeful and exciting things are occurring here. I think I've just been getting down about finances. I've been needing the verse from Philippians 4:6-7 on a regular basis. Be anxious for nothing. Be thankful in everything. By prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace that passes understanding will guard your heart and mind. And I say it again to myself.

I guess it's really all about faith and trust. Which is exactly what I've been teaching the children. We've been going through a book called Here Comes Heaven in the Launch Pad. It's exciting to be teaching it, and challenging to be living it. We're calling it "Catching Heaven." And as I teach it, I'm catching it as well. The kids seem to love hearing about the power of God and journaling to Jesus. Oh, there must be still more. We've been talking about believing what we see with our 'faith eyes' and praying what's in Heaven down on the earth.


(Heavenly Sheffield rainbow)

A nearby church had an exercise in that very thing. The tale is a bit sad, but hopeful. A young woman, my age, was exercising and collapsed, dying instantly. Her husband of three years asked the hospital if they could delay the postmortem so that the church could pray for her to be raised from the dead. They fasted and prayed for 4 or 5 days. The woman had an intermittent pulse and the coroner could find no obvious cause of death. Hundreds of people were in and out of the hospital praying, and everyone on staff noticed a difference in the atmosphere. The young lady did not rise from the dead, but the faith of the entire church body in the city has been raised. The Church in Sheffield was unafraid to ask for impossible things and expect them to happen. That's catching heaven.

Nello, our Italian friend and lifegroup member has caught a bit of heaven and taken it back to Torino (Turin). Before he left Sheffield to return home, he wanted to be baptised. His testimony of his faith being strengthened and meeting the Holy Spirit is amazing. Nello even wants to start a lifegroup in Italy. And Nello's younger brother Christian asked us to pray for him to encounter the Holy Spirit. All due to a meeting in a stairwell in a group of flats in Sheffield. Who can say that there won't soon be a church plant in Italy? Sometimes you find fruit in the most unexpected places...


(Nello, Julie, and I at his leaving do)

Antioch Sheffield has had other visitors from other nations. Kate, our youth pastor, invited an Afghan woman and her son to the Gathering. It was the woman's first time in a Christian church. Will she return? I don't know, but she has been introduced to worshippers of Jesus. And she told me that she thinks perhaps we are not quite so different as she once believed. May her heart be turned to the One who is Father and Love!

As a church staff, we've been asking the same for those who've come along on our Alpha course. Asking that they too would be drawn to Jesus. We've had a consistent group of 8 or 9 attendees and their hearts are soft. For some, it's a chance to ask questions, for others a chance to experience Jesus, and for the rest, a chance just to realise that Christians aren't as nutty as we're rumoured to be. At least not in the ways they think we are (wink). Coming up 23-24 April is the Alpha Weekend Away. It is usually a very pivotal point in the course. God has supernaturally provided a venue due to a last minute cancellation, and we're asking that no one would leave the weekend without experiencing God's love. Let's just see what He will do.

I'm glad that God doesn't rely on our inspiration or expectations to work. I mean, to a great extent our faith is a large part of the equation. Maybe that's why He puts us in community. Chances are slim that all of us will lack inspiration at the same time. And when we all have inspiration at the same time, amazing things can happen. I've wanted to assemble all of the children's volunteers that have want to be more involved with the children's ministry since the end of the last year. Just a fortnight ago, five of us met to discuss vision for the children of our city. The amount of vision in the room was inspiring and a bit daunting. It will definitely be Jesus that accomplishes what we dream for in our children. Little men and women who love Jesus and walk in power, passion, and purity. God help me to figure out how to walk it out with You, remaining undeterred even whilst lacking inspiration. I'll keep you posted.

(My Tea, Tots, & Thoughts Peeps)

Thankful for you, praying for you, believing with you!
xx