I LOVE BEING LOVED

St Augustine said: ‘If the entire Bible could be summed up in a single sentence, then it would cry out like the resounding waves of the sea, 

“The Father Loves You”’.

I love being loved

Every moment, every minute, every hour of the day;

I just love being loved

I love being loved

For doing nothing; for simply being me;

I just love being loved.

I love being loved 

When my Father’s working, lets me join in, then says, “Well done you!”

I just love being loved

I love being loved

When I mess up BIG TIME but He loves me just the same;

I just love being loved.

I love being loved 

When it brims over with joy and bursts out to others;

I just love being loved

I love being loved,

When I write a silly poem and He likes it and laughs;

I just love being loved

I love being loved

When my Father says with a smile, “ I'm very glad

You love being loved."

STORIES FROM THE ORPHAN LANDS - Part Two

STORIES FROM THE ORPHAN LANDS     
PART TWO NOW AVAILABLE TO READ FREE                      
CLICK    HERE

FREE TO READ "Stories From the Orphan Lands -PART ONE

A young orphan leaves home to embark on a journey across the Orphan Lands feeling that the orphan house he lives in may not actually be his true home.
 Read Part One ;  Life in the orphan house with its endless round of work rotas and rewards is what Jason has always known but he begins to suspect that this place is not his true home, so he begins his journey across the orphan lands to find some answers. A few unexpected encounters along the way make him wonder if this quest was such a good idea after all especially when his freedom is put in jeopardy.


Press "Stories From The Orphan Lands" to read part one of this story.


This tale is fiction and written for fun and is in no way meant to be a theological exercise.


 Part Two is ready and waiting and will be put on-line soon.


Copyright S.J.Whittick March 2012

Never Too Old To Need A Dad

The whirs and clunks did not sound like a hopeful noise coming from the kitchen and as I stopped playing with my children to see what was up, the smoke coming from the washing machine was not a very reassuring sight. As I  unplugged the smoking machine with it's terrible smell of burning, I was unsure whether it was now safe or about to burst into flames and very uncertain what to do for the best. My husband was working away and pretty much out of reach, but even though I didn't know what to do about the smoking washing machine I knew what would solve my problem; I rang my Dad to ask what to do. After a few questions, telling me to wait outside with the kids and to ring 999 if it got worse, he uttered the words that made me know that everything was going to be all right, "I'll get straight in the car and be over in twenty minutes." Just knowing that my Dad was on his way brought a wonderful feeling of relief, as I knew, "my Dad would sort it". 

In a short while his car screeched to a halt, and as fast as lightening he was inside the house lifting the still smoking washing machine into the back garden. After an extremely thorough investigation of it's insides, surrounded by a pile of wet washing, a very relieved daughter and two inquisitive grandchildren, he pronounced it, well and truly dead! 

We were now all safe, but it didn't stop there, my generous Dad asked me to check with my  young husband whether he would mind if my Dad gave us the money for a new washing machine, and within days we watched as a shiny new washing machine was being installed in our kitchen. What a good Dad!

In a similar way, Jesus encourages us to bring our requests with trusting hearts to our loving Father in heaven; to enjoy that feeling of relief as we know and believe,"my Dad will sort it all out." In Matthew 6 he tells us to call on our Abba, our dear Father in Heaven and to ask for his help in every area of our lives. He even says, "your Father knows what you need before you ask him" and to not worry about anything as He is a loving father who feeds the sparrows and beautifully clothes the wild flowers. 

Jesus tells us, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)

Even as fully grown adults Jesus encourages us to come in childlike trust, 

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 18:2-3).

No matter what our own parents were like, we can be certain that our Father in heaven is generous, trustworthy, compassionate, and  loving; He never needs twenty minutes to get to us when we need Him as He is always right there with us. One thing's for sure; however old we get, not one of us is ever too old to need a Dad. 

If My Father Were On Facebook

 If my Father were on Facebook He would send out seven billion friend requests and still be sending new ones every day. 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" Revelation 3:20

People would see His list of ragamuffin friends and say in amazement,” Why on earth is He friends with them?”

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15v1-2

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19

He would have the biggest and most surprising, “family group ever”.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are. 1 John 3:1

He’d know each post before it was written, but He’d read it anyway, always leaving encouraging comments with a smile;

Before a word is on my tongue, you, LORD, know it completely. Psalm 139:4

Often saying, “I’m so proud of you my son or my daughter; (whether we deserved it or not).

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

If you posted “I’m tired”, He’d answer, “Let me carry you”

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt 11:28:

If you posted, “I’m sad” He’d reply, “let me comfort you”

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles ............... 2 Corinthians 1:3

If you posted, “I’m lonely, He’d write, “I am with you”

.........Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 

If a pop-up asked, “Do you know this person outside of Facebook?” He’d laugh thinking “Oh yes I  even know how many hairs are on their head.”

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Luke 12:6

He’d always be posting photos of his children; saying, “Just look at my masterpiece”.

 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

We’d study their funny faces knowing that, “Only a Dad could find those faces adorable?”.

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

He’d create an event called. “Party at my House”; He’d not be worried about gatecrashers as my Father always invites everyone.

On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; Isaiah 25 6-8

Every so often He’d write a post saying, “Looking forward to my first-born son’s wedding; His bride is so beautiful.”

For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. Revelation 19:7-8

If He had “Facebook Timeline” it wouldn’t go back far enough; but if it did, it would say, “Loved you before time, loved you when I sent my son, loving you right now, will always love you.”

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning....   Lamentations 3:22-24

(I would press “Like”)

I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among throngs of people I will praise you. Psalm 35:18

Words in bold: C. Sue Whittick

MY NEW YEAR'S REVOLUTION

Each New Year we try so hard to find ways to improve ourself, we make resolutions and rules to try to make ourselves fitter, stronger, more intelligent, thinner, better looking, kinder, tidier, more spiritual or even just more organised, but we so often fail, and are left feeling disappointed and guilty; but reading even just a few verses from the book of Romans, we can see that God doesn't want us to be bound by the law any more, but through Jesus' death and the coming of the Holy Spirit, He has made the way for us to walk in a path of grace, 

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand."

"we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code".

"God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,Father.” 

This doesn't actually lead us to sin more, but when his spirit is in us and we know and experience that we are loved children, we change, and start to become all the things that he made us to be, and to do the things that he gives us to do, often without us even realising. So this year I am not making any New Year Resolutions, but fighting against the idea that I have to make myself better in my own strength; I'm having my own little "grace revolution".

Christmas time is over, New Year’s Day is drawing close,
My trousers feel quite tight, and I could start to feel morose,
But there’ll be no, “resolutions,” no penance to be done,
So here I am announcing, “ReVolution has begun!”
My New Years ReVolution, is full of grace you see,
It’s very, very simple, “Know Abba Father loving me”.
Not pretending to be super strong in any way at all,
Because trying, in my own strength, I very quickly fall.
I won’t try to look all clever, to improve myself some more,
But like a trusting child, with a new world to explore,
I’ll do more of the fun things, the things I love to do;
It’s how my Father made me, so He’ll get pleasure too.
I’ll watch what He is doing, I'll see what He will say;
Sometimes I will work with him; sometimes we'll just play.
No more slaving hard from duty, worrying what’s right,
But a serving heart enjoying rest, with a yoke that’s very light.
So as this good year finishes, I've come to this conclusion,
It's out with all the "oughts and shoulds" and in "grace reVolution".




c.Sue Whittick 2011

JUST WHAT IS HIS FAVOURITE NAME?

"Da da, da da" a sound that thrills most Fathers' hearts when they hear it for the first time, at least in the English speaking world. In other countries, "Papa, Babbo, Abba"  cause parents' heart to leap. Such simple sounds, but Dads and Mums smile the world over as their tiny children make their first faltering attempts to say their name; happily but maybe naively thinking, "my child knows who I am".

"Your Favourite Name Is Father," by Newsong, is a lovely video which I saw posted on Facebook recently, but it made me wonder if we could know this is true, or if it's slightly arrogant to think that we could possibly know God's favourite name for himself. After all, when Moses asked God who to say had sent him to the Israelites God told him to say, 'I AM has sent me to you.'
Adonai-Jehovah - The Lord our Sovereign ; El-Shaddai - The God Who is Sufficient for the Needs of His People; Jehovah-Elohim - The Eternal Creator; Jehovah-Jireh - The Lord our Provider; Jehovah-Nissi - The Lord our Banner; Jehovah-Shalom - The Lord our Peace; Jehovah-Shammah - The Lord is Present; Jehovah-Rohi - The Lord our Shepherd.
These are just a few of the Old Testament names used to describe God and there are so many more, giving us clues to what God is like; clues to to his Fatherly care, provision and protection for the children of Israel and to the close relationship which He desired and still desires with His children.
In Hosea 11 we hear the Father's heart cry,
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son......It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize  it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them."
In Jeremiah 3 we see how like any Father longing to hear his baby speak his name, God longed for His children to call him Father too, 

"I thought you would call me 'Father' and not turn away from following me".

The Old Testament gives us clues that God loves to be known as Father, but then Jesus came to earth and not only showed us exactly what the Father is like and called him Father himself, but also showed us that God is our Father and would like us to call Him Father too.

In the garden Jesus spoke to Mary and said, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Then when the disciples asked him to teach them to pray he taught them to address God using the intimate name Abba, (Daddy, Papa, Dear Father). Jesus only spoke the words that he heard his Father saying so I think it's fair to assume that our Father in Heaven must love to be called Father.

In fact  He loves to hear us say Father so much that his own Spirit inside us causes us to cry out that very name.

 "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6

".........you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Romans 8:15

What an amazing Father we have; what a privilege to come to him as his children and to call out, "Abba, Father", knowing that He loves to hear us say His name. 

CIGARS, BRYLCREEM and TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS

As a child, three times a year without fail I used to buy my dad a present; on Father's Day a cigar (purchased in the days when newsagents still sold tobacco to children), on his birthday a tub of Brylcreem to slick back his hair, and at Christmas one tube of oil paint and a pack of Crystallised Ginger, which he had once told me he liked. I always thought he'd be surprised and delighted by my offerings and he never once let me down as I hopefully scanned his face for signs of his approval; he was great at feigning surprise. It never ever occurred to me that he knew exactly what gift was coming or even that the money that I'd used to buy the presents had come from him in the first place. Thinking about it I still buy him some Crystallised Ginger at Christmas, but at least I use my own money now!


That skill of feigning surprise came in useful with my own children when I used to work in their classes at school. I fondly remember one time working in my son's class and helping him and his classmates make Mother's Day presents. I still smile when I think of him secreting it under his coat all the way home and then carefully hiding it in a safe place in his room until Mother's Day. As, he grandly presented this token of his love to me a few days later, it wasn't hard as I looked at his hopeful face to feign surprise just as my Father had done before me.


A few weeks ago after church a sweet little girl came up to me for a hug as I was chatting to her mum. She lovingly gave me a plastic cup full of tissue paper flowers that she had made earlier. With her face looking a little worried she whispered to me, "These are for you, but I'm sorry the pot is a bit wobbly, it doesn't stand up very well". I told her that I thought they were beautiful and that a little blu tac on the bottom would help them sit nicely on my mantelpiece; reassured that I had liked her gift, she ran off to play with the other children.


What could we possibly bring the creator of the whole universe that doesn't already belong to him? Our very life is a gift from him, our faith comes from him, our salvation comes through Him, our talents are given by him, our money and provision all come from him anyway; He owns everything and can do anything.
Jesus said,

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matt 22 37-40

How can we have love to give him and others like that? Romans 5:5 says that God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Our heavenly Father is loving us all the time; as we spend time with him and experience that love, our own hearts are filled with love back towards him and overflowing out towards others too. 

As we come to him as loved children carrying our small expressions of love to give to Him, He doesn't reject our wobbly offerings. Just like any loving parent or caring friend, He doesn't see all the flaws and faults in what we bring Him and reject them, but He sees our hopeful faces as we come with fragile but love-filled hearts and, with His arms outstretched, smiles lovingly right back at us.  

                                                         What Can I Give Him

A TOPSY-TURVY KINGDOM

My four year old daughter looked with great indignation at her little brother clambering up into the car in front of her and with great ceremony grabbed hold of his coat just below the collar. Saying his name in a very loud voice, she continued, "The bible says, the first shall be last and the last shall be first" and with this she hauled him out of the car by his collar, gently placed him behind her, then with great glee hopped inside the car herself. As we looked at our son's puzzled face as to how he'd got back on the street and the satisfied twinkle in our daughter's eye, I am afraid we just laughed together; only later having a little discussion about how maybe those actions didn't quite match the spirit of that particular bible verse.

I sometimes think that meeting Jesus must have been a bit like meeting with Mr Topsy-Turvy from the Mr Men; everything he said and did seemed to be completely upside down to how the world's system seemed to work; he loved spending time with those considered bad by others, he spoke the Topsy -Turvy beatitudes, he had compassion on fallen women, he said that a widow who gave a tiny coin had given more than everyone and even though he was the son of God he did the job of a servant by washing his friends smelly feet.

He told us the Topsy-Turvy story of a wildly extravagant Father who even though his son had run off with his inheritance and disgraced him, was waiting with a heart full of love for his son's return. What a Topsy-Turvy story, a Father who ran to his son and embraced him with a heart full of compassion instead of the, "You made your bed, you lie in it" that the son deserved.

In this Topsy-Turvy kingdom it is not the grown-ups who are great but those who are child-like,

The disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matt 18:1-4

Jesus shocked the people around him by teaching the disciples to pray to almighty God using the words, "Our Father, in heaven".......Our Abba, Daddy, Papa.

Even clever Paul understood that we live in a Topsy-Turvy kingdom,

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no-one may boast before him." I Corr 1 27-28

Paul asked God to remove a weakness only to hear him reply,

" My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 

responding with,

"Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

What a Topsy-turvy kingdom indeed! But what good news, that even weak, foolish, fallible people like me can come, through Jesus, as children to this amazingly loving Father with all our weakness and find acceptance, love and strength that is not dependent on our own goodness or abilities but on the limitless grace, love and power of our Father in Heaven.

And just in case you don't know who Mr Topsy-Turvy is......

ALL I WANT IS YOUR HEART

I loved reading this description of a message of mercy, grace and love from our Father in Heaven to His child, and asked whether I could post this on my blog. Taina Koo very kindly gave me her permission.


My child,

All I want is your heart. There is nothing more precious for me.
All I want is your heart.

Not your deeds or actions, not your gifts or offerings- just your heart.

There is nothing you can give me that would be more precious.
There is nothing you can do that would be more precious.
All I want is your heart.

There is nothing you can give me that I don't already have- remember the whole world is mine and everything in it- I created it all. There is nothing you can give me that isn't already mine. EXCEPT your heart.

I made your heart and everything in it. But when I gave it to you- I gave up my rights to it. It is yours not mine. But if you, from your free will choose to give it back to me- that is more precious to me than anything else.

There is nothing you can do for me, that would please me more- remember I am the almighty. I don't need you to do anything for me. But I can't take your heart and I don't want to.

But if you give it to me- it's more precious than anything.
That makes me smile, sing, dance, rejoice… and my joy, my joy will make the earth tremble, the rivers flood and the skies burn. My happiness will make the deserts bloom and the glaciers melt. Just cause you gave me your heart.

See all I want is your heart. You don't have to try; you don't have to accomplish; you don't have to please me, you don't have to succeed- you don't have to do anything. It's all done already. Finished. Dealt with. Done.
All I want is your heart.

Your whole heart, not just the clean and pretty bits; but all. I know what you are hiding in your heart. I know the things you don't want anyone to see. I know the shame and the guilt. I know what you have done.

But see, I also know why you have closed up your heart. I know why you killed some parts of it. I know what you have been through. I know my child, I know. I know how they have hurt you. I know every pain, every tear, every fear. I know you thought it was better to never feel anything again, I know how you closed your heart, so you wouldn't be hurt ever again.

But see, that killed your heart- made it black, cold and hard. But it doesn´t matter my child. I understand. I know. I still want it. I still think it's precious. You are precious.

And if you give your whole heart to me- with all the dirt and the pain and the guilt and the shame- then I will make it new.

I will breathe life into it. I will make it beat again. I will give it life from my life, blood from my blood. I'll connect it to my own heart so that they will be one; and my life, my spirit will flow in your heart, in your veins. And I'll never let go of you. Never. You will be mine. And I will be yours.

So do you think you could give your heart to me? Your whole heart? I made your heart and it was beautiful, it was perfect. I put beautiful things in it- but the world stole them from you. Are you going to let me give them back to you?

It hurts my heart to see how you have to carry around this black, cold heart. Are you going to let me breathe life into it?
See all I want is your heart; your whole heart.

Let me take the pain away. Let me take the bitterness away. Let me wash the guilt and the shame away. Let me love you. Let me hold you. Let me comfort you. Let me father you. Let me bring joy. Let me bring laughter. Let me bring life.

I love you my child. I love you. Just the way you are.


By Taina Koo

HIDE AND SEEK

"I'm behind the curtain," a small, wiggly person called out in excitement, as if the cute toes and round tummy-shaped lump sticking out from the fabric were not enough of a give away. Our house wasn't especially big and there weren't many places to hide, but for some reason our three year old son just didn't seem to be able to bear the suspense of a game of Hide and Seek.

One look in a room was usually enough to find the hider. There really was very little risk of not being found, but for our young son being found was always the best bit and it could never come fast enough.

Trying to extend the game I pretended to look under the table, only to be greeted by giggles and a more insistent, "I'm behind the curtain, come and find me!" Eventually, I flung back the curtains, to see a very small boy with outstretched arms. Smiling, I scooped him up and tickled his tummy to the sound of his contagious laughter; joy for the found and joy for the finder.

Even many years later just the thought of that call, "I'm behind the curtain, or under the table, come and find me!" never fails to make me smile at the memory.

I often wonder what Father God felt like when one day instead of Adam and Eve waiting to enjoy a companionable walk with Him in the Garden of Eden, He found that they were hiding from Him, but even worse, not wanting to be found.

"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?
He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. " Genesis 3:8-10

No joy for Father God at finding them, just great sadness that His children didn't call out, "We're behind the trees,"so longing to be with Him; just a terrible sadness that their sinful disobedience and shame made them hide from His presence; just awful sadness that He would have to banish them from Paradise in case they ate of the Tree of Life and lived forever in this terrible shame-filled state of sin and separation from Him

Happily, because of His great love, Our Father in Heaven had a plan so that once again free from sin and shame, we could enjoy His presence; so that we could all once again truly be called His children.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

Father sent His beloved Son Jesus to come and find us; to seek out His lost sheep; to save His lost children. His son Jesus freely gave up His life to save our lives; to make a way to the Father; to take the punishment for our sins, to take our shame so that we could once again enjoy being with Our Father in Heaven and He with us. What an amazing Saviour is Jesus; what amazing love.

We are now hidden in a wonderful new place; "your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Col3:3) a place with no sin and no shame separating us from our Father in Heaven; the safest place in the world.

Now as unashamed, forgiven and loved children, when we long to know His presence with us, we can simply call out to Father God,

"I am at the computer, I am on my iPhone, my laptop, I'm right here, come and find me!."

Just as I smiled when I heard my son call out, "I'm behind the curtain, come find me!",
I think Father smiles.

He knows exactly where we are already, He's right with us by his spirit, but He loves to hear us call anyway; our Heavenly Father loves to scoop us up in His arms, to play with us, to be with us; joy for the found and joy for the finder.

YOU ARE HIS WORK OF ART

Painting: copyright Sue W

I miss the soaring eagles, turquoise lakes and moody mountains of beautiful British Columbia, but for me there is one thing that cannot be beaten in the, "it takes your breath away stakes", and that is the beauty of a simple British Bluebell Wood. Once a year much English woodland becomes carpeted with bell-like flowers, which combined with dappled sunlight and a gentle fragrance, seem to fill up your very soul.

I love the Snowdrops and Crocuses which are popping their heads up through the cold, bleak ground as I write, signalling that winter is nearly over, and the Daffodils who sing about the arrival of spring, but even more I love the bold declaration of Bluebells that summer is just around the corner. Maybe this is why my paintings of Bluebells hang in a variety of homes all over the world, just because I so love to paint them over and over again.

When I do a painting like the one above, the picture doesn't begin on the canvas, it starts in my mind; I have a plan, and can imagine exactly what I want it to be like. Sometimes it's a long time before I put a single stroke of paint on the canvas, but once I begin, I greatly enjoy the process of pencilling in a few trees, laying down a sky and then letting loose with a myriad of colours, tones and shades, until I'm satisfied that each picture I paint matches the one in my head.

I find the thought both amazing and wonderful that we were conceived in God's mind even before He made the world. Before we were ever born on this earth and there was a,"single stroke of paint" on our "physical canvas," our loving Father in Heaven had planned just who we would be; the very thought of adopting us into His family, through His beloved Son Jesus, gave Him great pleasure.Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.Ephesians 1:4-5

I love to look at my paintings. The picture in the photo above hangs in our living room, and it gives me enormous pleasure every time I look at it. In all honesty, sometimes I'm a little proud of it when visitors come and I show it to them or subtly make sure that they know it was painted by me. I get pleasure if someone likes it, but it doesn't really matter because I enjoy it so much myself anyway; it's wonderful to me, just because I think it's wonderful. How much more does our Father in Heaven feel this way about us; He loves us exactly how He made us and He thinks that we are wonderful.

One day I was reading in Ephesians about how we are God's "workmanship;" the study notes in my bible said that the Greek word for "workmanship" used there could also mean, "work of art." I loved it; suddenly I could see that I, (and every one of us) was our Father's "work of art".

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Eph 2:10 (New Living Translation)

Our Father in Heaven planned us before we were born; He made each of us unique and He adores us just how He made us. He even made each one of us with our own unique fingerprints and eyes; I sometimes wonder if in the same way that I proudly showed off my paintings to my friends, whether Father God as we came into the world and He saw His handiwork, longed to show us off to anyone; maybe the angels? I wonder if He looked to see our parent's faces as they first saw the new baby girl or boy that He had given to them as a wonderful gift to care for; hoping that they would be as pleased as He was, as we took our first breath. You can rest secure that even if your parents seemed disappointed with you in some way, that your loving Father in Heaven certainly wasn't; you were just who He wanted.

He loves us how we are right now and also loves the changes that His Son Jesus makes in our lives, making us more like Him in a beautiful way.

If someone defaced or made fun of one of my paintings I would feel pretty upset, maybe even a little bit angry, and I would think that our Father in Heaven feels great sadness and maybe even a little angry too, if anyone does harm to his handiwork. It's a good job that He understands us completely, is the greatest comforter ever and as the perfect restorer, makes all things work together for good in our lives.

He made each one of us love to do different things; be it painting, spreadsheets, singing, mechanics, mathematics, cooking, building, or even running like Eric Liddell of "Chariots of Fire Fame". Liddell famously said,"God made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure,"
and for each one of us, when we are just being who our Father in Heaven designed us to be, we too can be certain that He is right with us, loving us, and taking pleasure in who we are. Why not take a moment and fill in the blanks; because He is loving how He made you right now.

"God made me................ and when I .............., I feel His pleasure"

MY "CROCODILE DUNDEE" MOMENT

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;" Isaiah 66:13

The young window cleaner knocked at the door and apologised for not having come to clean our windows the previous month. I'd recently been in hospital having an operation, and I can't say I'd actually noticed his absence. I was, however, very aware of sporting an extremely substantial, vertical scar, under my T-shirt, that went up, round my belly button and then on for a few more inches after that. As it had been substantially stitched and stapled, and I have a rather larger than average stomach, it resembled something between an extensive railway line and a zip fastener, complete with metal work.

Have you ever seen the scene in the movie, "Crocodile Dundee" when Australian, Crocodile Hunter, Mick Dundee, encounters a mugger in New York City.

[Crocodile Dundee to mugger with small knife] ...."Ha ha, that's not a knife".

[Crocodile Dundee brandishes large Bowie knife] ....."That's a knife".

[The mugger runs off terrified]

Curiously, this scene led to one of my moments of greatest temptation ever, when the nice young window cleaner lifted his T-shirt to show me a tiny, faded, two inch long scar from an appendix operation which he told me was the cause of his previous absence. Oh the temptation! I so, so wanted to lift my T-shirt revealing my foot long, winding railroad of a scar spreading out over my chubby tummy, and say in true Crocodile Dundee style,

[Pointing at his pathetic, little scar] .................."Ha ha, that's not a scar."
[Pointing at my impressive wound].................." That's a scar".

It took all my powers of restraint, but I managed to smile, bite my tongue and try to look both impressed and sympathetic at the same time; mainly because I didn't want to see his terrified face as he fled to his van with his ladders over his shoulders, never to come again after regaling his bosses with tales of a mad woman at number 5.

Whoever we are, we have all received scars in life; some physical, and some emotional. In a recent movie, "The King's Speech," we can see clearly that even the King of England was not immune to emotional wounds; caused in the main by a neglectful nanny, a bullying brother and possibly poor parenting.
Whoever we are, however we got them and whether our scars are small like my window cleaner's, large and deep like mine, hidden privately or extremely public like King George VI's we are all in need of a measure of healing and comfort.
Fortunately we have a Father in heaven who longs to comfort us, with a comfort given like the tender touch of a mother. He sees our scars and longs to scoop us up, "as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,"if we would just let Him.

After my operation I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than a cup of tea for eight weeks. My wounds were expertly and lovingly dressed until they started to heal, by a nurse friend who came to my home every day. Deep wounds need a lot of rest, so my meals, the shopping, the cleaning, the laundry and the ironing were all done by my wonderful family. During that time I learned a lot about what it means to be utterly weak and totally dependent on others for care.

In the same way that my friend dressed my physical wounds, and even snipped out the odd knotty stitch that had begun to slow the healing process, Father God has done the same for the hurting places inside that were causing me pain. It's really true that,

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

As I gradually realised that Father God wanted to be a Father to me in a very real way, and just how much He loves me, I came to Him, weak and dependent; opening myself to His comforting touch, He came and lovingly healed the sore places in my life; tenderly binding up my wounds. He continues to do this as I come to Him with the minor or major knocks that we all receive in everyday life; what a wonderful Father He is!

Whether our wounds are from long ago or received much more recently, whether extremely deep or more like a tiny scratch, He says to each one of us, "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you;" if we will only let Him.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE A DAISY STUCK IN YOUR EAR

"I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind." Luke 6:35 (The Message)

I don't know what sort of training that international peacekeepers and foreign diplomats have, but I know the perfect training ground. A few months spent as a playground supervisor in a school, and they'd be well equipped for the task; sorting out civil wars and such like would seem like a piece of cake.

Most people would think that supervising young children on the school playground would consist mainly of tending scraped knees, finding lost coats, interspersed with holding the hand of a small, friendless child, but how wrong they'd be. Just about every spare playtime moment is spent sorting out squabbles.

"They won't let me play!"
"He hit me!"
"She called me stupid!"
"He stamped on my pet ant!"
"She sat on my head and poked a Daisy in my ear!"

The issues just get sillier and sillier until my replies start to take on a Joyce Grenfell, "George don't do that!" sort of quality.
It says in Proverbs, "He who states his case first seems right, until his rival comes and cross-examines him", and how true that is. I remember one extremely indignant girl in the playground complaining bitterly to me that two of her friends wouldn't let her play. I felt quite indignant on her behalf until I heard the other side of the story, and found that she'd only play with them if she could, "be the Mummy" in the imaginary game, thus gaining all the power.

Kids just find it so hard to see anything from anyone else's point of view, and I used to wonder if the grudging, "S....OOOO...RRY!" that we wrung out of misbehaving children for their victims, (who seldom managed a grunt of forgiveness in reply), was really worth the effort.
When Peter asked questions about forgiveness in the Bible, Jesus told him a story about a king who cancelled claiming back a massive amount of money his servant owed him, only to send him to be tortured in a debtors prison later, after he heard that the servant hadn't cancelled a tiny monetary debt that someone else owed him.
Jesus said, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart."

That's scary enough to have wrung some grudging words of forgiveness from me on occasions. How I had come to understand forgiveness over the years felt more like being a child in a school playground, being urged to say that I forgave, whether I meant it or not. The key phrase, "from the heart" seemed to be missing. Recently I have come to understand that when others have hurt us and just like the characters in the story, we are blatantly aware of how much we are owed by them, we need to ask Father God to help us have compassion and mercy on them, just as He's had on us.

As our Father God pours His love on us, it softens our heart, and His love overflows from us, out to others, making it possible for us to "Love our enemies" as Jesus asked us to.

Take parents for example: in the same way that we are not perfect parents, our parents weren't perfect parents and didn't have perfect parents themselves; nor their parents before them. You could follow this trail all the way back to Adam and Eve. Many people's ability to love and care for their children, is affected by how much love and care they received themselves; they are actually incapable of nurturing children as perfectly as Father God originally intended.

As we honestly assess the damage done to us by other people, and think about forgiving them, it helps us to look at the damage which they have encountered in their lives too; then we start to feel merciful towards them; we become less like childish school kids in the playground as we learn to, "stand in someone else's shoes," and see them as our Father God sees them. It becomes easier to extend to them the same gift of undeserved forgiveness that we ourselves have received through Jesus, and genuinely start to offer "forgiveness from the heart;" a heart felt forgiveness mixed with compassion, that hopefully grows quickly, but sometimes seems more like a slow growing, but beautiful flower.

So if one day I have someone sat on my head, "sticking Daisies in my ear" I shall know what to do, and if one day you find me sitting on your head,"sticking Daisies in your ear," please find compassion in your heart and forgive me too. You may have to dig deep to find it, as I'm pretty heavy!

A NEW PAIR OF SPECS

Jesus said: "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him." John 14v7

I looked at the optician holding his hand out to shake mine and laughingly said, "I either need longer paint brushes, or I need some glasses." Taken aback just for a moment he quickly replied "Well, you've come to the right place then, I can't do much about the brushes, but glasses now they're my speciality."
For months when painting, I had unknowingly been standing further and further back from the easel trying to focus on the canvas, until one day I found that I couldn't see clearly and reach the canvas to paint, at the same time. At this point, after deciding that my brushes were definitely of the normal length, I realised that just maybe age had got the better of me and there might be something wrong with my eyesight.
What a discovery! Although it did also explain my complaint that they didn't print the names of towns large enough to read on maps anymore, and also why I had been holding books at arms length to stop the print looking fuzzy.
After amusing himself by fitting silly contraptions to my face and puffing something surprising into my eyes, the optician prescribed the perfect reading glasses and suddenly a whole new world opened up to me. Now my only trouble is, remembering where it was that I put my glasses down when I need them.
Now, if only everything was as easy to fix as getting a new pair of glasses. "Our Father in Heaven," such a simple start to the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, but for a lot of people the words "Our Father" are as fuzzy as my paintings became when my eyesight wasn't working as it should. When we think about Father God, often it's like we are looking through a pair of glasses that have the image of our parents painted across the lens. We imagine that our Heavenly Father is just like our own Dad was; maybe he was loving, encouraging, protective or fun to be around, but often in some respects our Dads have not always been as they were meant to be. If our Father was absent, unloving, discouraging, bad tempered or impossible to please, we can feel that our Father in Heaven is probably just the same.
Just like I needed new glasses to see clearly, we need to see Father God through lenses that show us the truth about Him. Looking at Jesus is a good place to start, after all, Jesus said,"Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."
What was Jesus like? Friend of sinners, gentle, compassionate, loving, generous, patient, able to protect, self controlled, forgiving; the list could go on and on.
Anyone who has seen what Jesus is like, has seen what Father is like, but we don’t just see what our Father is like through Jesus; we also come to Father through him. Jesus said,
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me".
Jesus is the way to the Father, but amazingly it doesn't even end there, our Father in Heaven doesn’t just want us to know what He is like, He wants us to come to Him, to experience his love and Fathering all the time; to be his much loved child. He's there holding his hand out towards us, smiling; waiting for us to ask Him for His help to see clearly.