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Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:45:31 GMT

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Gaza - prayer request

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 19:12:27 GMT

I just got this urgent prayer request email from Open Doors about the Gaza Baptist Church, and I am passing it on in hopes that you will keep them in your prayers.

I'll try to update properly soon.

"...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."
Romans 5:3-5

Dear Christian Friends,
We just received an urgent prayer update on the situation in Gaza, from our colleagues in the Middle East

Palestinian Authority (PA) police of the Fatah party have seized the six-story Church building as a watch point against armed groups supporting the governing Hamas Islamist movement.

The building houses the church’s sanctuary, Gaza’s only Christian library, a guest hostel, and a mammogram clinic.

The Gaza Strip's borders are closed, locking 1.4 million Palestinians into a coastal territory just 27 miles long and 5 miles deep. Frightened Gazans are remaining in their homes, and food and other basics are running short.

Hanna Massad, pastor of Gaza Baptist Church, described the crisis as "the worst situation we've ever gone through in

Pastor Massad also told us that early worship services had to be cancelled on Sunday morning.

For more details visit this page of our website: http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/news/news_archives/001831.php

Pastor Massad asks Christians around the world to pray that:

* God will protect Gaza & its believers

* Believers will experience the power of God's peace

* God will give Pastor Massad strength and wisdom to minister

* There will be no gunfire around the church building and that God will protect the building for his use and glory

* Gaza's leaders will receive wisdom to stop the fighting.

Thank you for your support and for continuing to pray for Gaza's tiny but enduring Christian community with us

Giving

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 19:40:33 GMT

http://www.xanga.com/gabrielpeter/560755111/item.html?nextdate=last

I have to admit, that due to the fact the divisions in the UK are often expressed differently, and also when you get into politics and economics, well, my brain just fries, that to be honest, I've no idea what the comparable stats are here.

What it reminded me of, though, is something I overheard several years ago and the contrast it present to something C S Lewis wrote.

What I overheard, was someone saying that Bill Gates had it right - he has so much money that he can give millions out of the interest/excess and never feel it.

C S Lewis wrote that the way to know if you were giving enough was if it stopped you from doing or having something that you wanted to do or have - giving that hurt.

It's interesting to contrast the secular vs Christian worldview.

It's also interesting to look at Mark 12v41-44

The Widow's Offering

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on."

When I read this, it makes me think that we in the west know very little what it really means to give.

"......for God loves a cheerful giver..." - 2 Cor 9v7

Give cheerfully, freely, sacrificially. That's the way to do it.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Sat, 08 Apr 2006 09:22:55 GMT

There are nights that are so still
that I can hear the small owl calling
far off and a fox barking
miles away. It is then that I lie
in the lean hours awake listening
to the swell born somewhere in the Atlantic
rising and falling, rising and falling
wave on wave on the long shore
by the village that is without light
and companionless. And the thought comes
of that other being who is awake, too,
letting our prayers break on him,
not like this for a few hours,
but for days, years, for eternity.

enjoy........

Monday, March 20, 2006

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 18:51:36 GMT

"I don't care what you've done, inside you I see my son,
there's nothing more that you can do, I've done everything for you"

- Tree63 - and God

Monday, February 13, 2006

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 00:45:07 GMT

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago, thought I should share it here also.

Once Again

Once again
          I totally fail to hide my smile when you appear
Once again
          it's painfully obvious that it's you I've waited to see
Once again
          I can't disguise that for me you light up the room
Once again
          it breaks my heart to be so in love with you
Do you know how beautiful you are?
Do you even have a clue?
Once again I wish I could tell you.
Once again, I hold my tongue.

Friday, March 11, 2005

Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:12:51 GMT

I will write something new of this, one day or another! But I came across this poem that I wrote some time ago and it fitted with something that's been on my mind...

I keep thinking recently that some people (Christians and non Christians) somehow think that if you're a Christian, or are of some other faith that doesn't advocate promiscuity, or even you just have morals, that you have had your sex drive surgically removed and don't struggle with things like that. Hah. Yeah right. Get real.

The Struggle

my mouth on your mouth
is what I imagine
lips pressed together
my hands in your hair

my eyes on your eyes
is what I imagine
laughter sparkling
as I gaze into your face

your smile - when I catch your eye
our fingers - intertwined softly
my heart - racing at your touch

in my mind I hold you close
in reality you're out of reach
but still I dream of "one day"s and "maybe"s

May my thoughts be made captive to Christ
-only he can set me free
from this maze of longing

only he knows my hopes,
and only he knows why I love you.
and only he holds my life in his hands.

2 Cor 10 v 5 ... we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 16:19:58 GMT

My Child

My child, my child, you are precious to me.

My love for you is as deep as the sea,

Vaster than the ocean wide -

but it does not ebb and flow like the tide.

Forever I'll love you, I'll always be near

though earth and sky should disappear;

When friends desert, when family's gone

my love for you will still go on.

When times are hard, seek my face;

I'm waiting to shower you with grace.

And when your joy is bright and new

I'm right here laughing and smiling with you.

Look to me; trust my love.

Set your heart on things above.

Keep your eyes fixed fast on me;

I will be all I promised I would be.

You know your faults, regrets and sin;

You may be afraid to let me in.

But I can heal, love and restore

if you will open up the door.

My child, my child, you are precious to me,

And my child forever you will be:

My love is yours - it does not fade.

I'm holding you close; don't be afraid.

Monday, October 11, 2004

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 20:29:11 GMT

Kissing

one good thing I can think of, about having kissed one guy I didn't care for and one I did rather a lot.... I know firstly that kissing someone you don't really care for is... well... just pointless. (yeah, I know we all KNOW that, but still, for some people, to have that real experiential knowledge is a good thing) and secondly that even if you enjoy kissing someone it doesn't make them "the one" for you or make you perfect for each other... no amount of passion does. did that make any sense???!

I guess I mean it cleared up the mystique of kissing... I'm not likely to mistake kissing for love, or think that being kissed is worth selling myself short for. it's a beautiful thing, yes... between two people who mean it. between two who don't, it's merely rubbing your lips together in interesting ways. I wonder if this is why so many teenagers or even older people keep going further and further... they are searching for the magic and passion they think *should* be there... but with the wrong person and in the wrong way, so maybe they'll never find what they are looking for... hmmm... or they'll decide that what they have found must be IT. and swallowing their disappointment they'll continue to search for THAT instead.

also I think if you're not going to save your first kiss for your hubby, well, better to kiss a good friend than to kiss some stranger you have never seen before!

thinking about that... those of you who, like me, belong in the "have been kissed" rather than "never been kissed" category: am I alone in this? I don't understand how people sometimes kiss those they don't really fancy but then decide that they do BEACUSE of the kiss... I'd say that how much one enjoys kissing a person relates to how much you care for/about them/like them/fancy them... rather than fancying someone because "they're a good kisser" - I don't get it! Maybe I've just never been kissed by an expert, lol... but I know that the merest peck (or even a glance my way) off a guy who I was attracted to would be preferable to the most skillful kiss in the world from the most gorgeous-looking guy in the world, if I didn't happen to like that guy...

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Sun, 10 Oct 2004 21:23:02 GMT

random soppy post... it's old, but new for my xanga, and I haven't posted in ages, so...

TOPIC: The Perfect Mate?

It's also much easier to say love is a decision than actually making that decision daily... another hard thing is if that decision means saying "I love this person, but telling them now is not the most loving thing I could do, and actually the loving thing to do is to be patient and wait and hope but just to be friends in the meantime as best I can." THAT is SO hard, especially when there's no guarantee that your love will ever be returned. (yeah... long story...)

being in love is painful and wonderful and hard and ecstatic... loving I think is more mundane - daily choosing to do the *right* thing... what IS right, not what FEELS right. I suppose that learning to choose to love our families and friends even when we don't like them, or to be friends with someone because they need a friend when we'd like to be more to them, all this trains us for those daily decisions we'll have to make later in life, to be loving when we don't feel loving.

I think there is also a general misconception that love (as in being in love) is the be-all and end-all - ie, people think that when "being in love" ends, that's the end of the relationship. also that if you fall in love with someone other than your spouse, that is reason enough to ditch them and go with your new love.

also I think a lot of Christians mistakenly think that because they are a Christian in a covenant marriage that they will be immune from falling for someone else... not true! as Christians we are more under attack than anyone, and the devil is out to trap us. So we need to be especially careful that our friendships and working relationships with those of the opposite sex are very definitely friendships, and to be willing to back off if we see that we are being tempted.

all this being said, how hard love can be..... I can't wait to make that decision to love someone for the rest of my life. Hard work and a scary prospect, but isn't it exciting too?

enough of this deep stuff...

my "perfect" man (lol) would:

have dark brown eyes
laugh a lot and make me laugh
be musical in some way - hopefully able to play at least ONE instrument and to be able to sing
love God and be busy pursuing him
give great hugs
have a lovely smile and beautiful hands
love kids
love picking out meaningful names for kids
like cats and dogs, and put up with me talking to them as if they were human
make me feel special just by the way he smiled at me
be willing to be vulnerable and open with me
tell me when he appreciates something I am or did
turn my knees to jelly!
be a friend as well as a lover
be kinda shy and bashful sometimes because that is SO sweet!
be crazzzzzzzzzzy!

oh and love me lots, d'oh!

any applicants??? lol, j/k!