HAPPY CHRISTMAS! We're back. Had a great time over Christmas at Colette's parents. Josiah loved his first Christmas too. I know it's been 10 days since my last blog. Sorry. Life got busy over Christmas. But I have some thoughts brewing. Will try and write them up in the next few days. In the meantime ... have a great Christmas week!
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Reality Check
OK, I know it's a week since my last Blog - life has been busy this week - but I've been thinking just now. About reality. You see, so many things claim to be real, but on further investigation are merely fakes. I don't know if you remember the adverts for Coke that were around a few years ago. Coke claimed to be the 'Real Thing'. Isn't it interesting that now on Coke adverts they no longer claim their product to be the 'Real Thing' (well, apart from in the USA where they still use the caption 'Real'). Is this because they no longer claim that their product is the 'Real Thing'? No - it's merely that their advertising campaign has ended making these claims. Isn't it a stupid claim to make? Of course Coke is real - most of us drink it, and for those of us who do, we know that it isn't some imaginary liquid in a make believe can. It really is real! (Hey, this is deep isn't it!).
This time of year is always nerve racking for parents of younger children. It's the time of year that children ask, 'Dad, Mum, is Father Christmas real?'. Now every parent that I know has battled over the answer to this question; do they say 'yes', and effectively lie to their children, leaving them in a world of unreality, or say 'no' and dash their child's dreams of a reindeer with sleigh in tow landing on their semi-detached roof, and a fat man in red suit dropping down their very small (if at all existent) chimney to deliver every present on the list they sent to him two months earlier? The truth is, there is no such person as Santa, (sorry to spoil it if you still think that he is real!) but many of us maintain the story that there is such a person as Santa, and he really does visit every child in the world and bring presents on one special night a year.
There is a film which came out at the cinema recently. I haven't seen it yet, but I have seen the trailer. I think I'll like the film. It's called 'The Polar Express'. You can watch the trailer by clicking here (you need Windows Media Player to view). The opening line of the trailer is this: 'What if there was a place beyond your imagination, and to get there all you have to do is believe?' It goes on, 'Come, journey to a world where dreams become real'. Later in the trailer the character that Tom Hanks is the voice for says, 'Sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see'. I know it's a kid's film, but there is more truth in that trailer alone than there is in most films around today! My message today is this ... there is a place where dreams become real, and all you have to do to get there is believe. It's not a place that can be seen right now, but it is most definitely a real place. And it is beyond your imagination ... believe me.
How do I know it's real? I have experienced it - and do so every moment of every day of my life. It's a place where my dreams become reality, where the impossible becomes very possible. And its name? The kingdom of God. When Jesus came to this earth (and yes, he is real - in fact there's more historical evidence of Jesus walking this earth than Julius Caesar!) he came to let us know what the kingdom of God is like. And when you look at what Jesus did, you can easily see the impossible becoming reality - water into wine, blind people seeing, those with fatal skin diseases being made well, dead people coming back to life, to name just a few!
To enter the kingdom of God is straightforward - believe. Believing in Jesus is not as hard as you may think - right now if you open yourself up to him - genuinely open yourself to Jesus - you will find a belief and a faith in him beginning to rise up within you. And then you too will begin to know the reality of the kingdom of God.
As you come into the kingdom of God, you will begin to see your dreams turning into reality. What are your dreams right now? What are the things that right now are only in your imagination? Get ready - because if you are in God's kingdom, those things are about to become reality. Are you sick and need to be well? Ask God to do it. Need finance? Ask God to provide. Need an impossible situation to change? You're in God's kingdom, where the impossible becomes possible, so get ready for a change in that situation.
If you're not a Christian and reading this, there is a world waiting for you to discover. All you have to do to experience it is believe. Open yourself up to Jesus now, and begin to enjoy life in his kingdom. If you're a Christian and reading this, live as a true citizen of the kingdom of God today - open yourself up to the impossible today and see what God wants to do for you! And hey, why not spread some of that impossible becoming possible to someone who's not yet a Christian today?
You know, it is true - sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see. That's reality to me anyway.
This time of year is always nerve racking for parents of younger children. It's the time of year that children ask, 'Dad, Mum, is Father Christmas real?'. Now every parent that I know has battled over the answer to this question; do they say 'yes', and effectively lie to their children, leaving them in a world of unreality, or say 'no' and dash their child's dreams of a reindeer with sleigh in tow landing on their semi-detached roof, and a fat man in red suit dropping down their very small (if at all existent) chimney to deliver every present on the list they sent to him two months earlier? The truth is, there is no such person as Santa, (sorry to spoil it if you still think that he is real!) but many of us maintain the story that there is such a person as Santa, and he really does visit every child in the world and bring presents on one special night a year.
There is a film which came out at the cinema recently. I haven't seen it yet, but I have seen the trailer. I think I'll like the film. It's called 'The Polar Express'. You can watch the trailer by clicking here (you need Windows Media Player to view). The opening line of the trailer is this: 'What if there was a place beyond your imagination, and to get there all you have to do is believe?' It goes on, 'Come, journey to a world where dreams become real'. Later in the trailer the character that Tom Hanks is the voice for says, 'Sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see'. I know it's a kid's film, but there is more truth in that trailer alone than there is in most films around today! My message today is this ... there is a place where dreams become real, and all you have to do to get there is believe. It's not a place that can be seen right now, but it is most definitely a real place. And it is beyond your imagination ... believe me.
How do I know it's real? I have experienced it - and do so every moment of every day of my life. It's a place where my dreams become reality, where the impossible becomes very possible. And its name? The kingdom of God. When Jesus came to this earth (and yes, he is real - in fact there's more historical evidence of Jesus walking this earth than Julius Caesar!) he came to let us know what the kingdom of God is like. And when you look at what Jesus did, you can easily see the impossible becoming reality - water into wine, blind people seeing, those with fatal skin diseases being made well, dead people coming back to life, to name just a few!
To enter the kingdom of God is straightforward - believe. Believing in Jesus is not as hard as you may think - right now if you open yourself up to him - genuinely open yourself to Jesus - you will find a belief and a faith in him beginning to rise up within you. And then you too will begin to know the reality of the kingdom of God.
As you come into the kingdom of God, you will begin to see your dreams turning into reality. What are your dreams right now? What are the things that right now are only in your imagination? Get ready - because if you are in God's kingdom, those things are about to become reality. Are you sick and need to be well? Ask God to do it. Need finance? Ask God to provide. Need an impossible situation to change? You're in God's kingdom, where the impossible becomes possible, so get ready for a change in that situation.
If you're not a Christian and reading this, there is a world waiting for you to discover. All you have to do to experience it is believe. Open yourself up to Jesus now, and begin to enjoy life in his kingdom. If you're a Christian and reading this, live as a true citizen of the kingdom of God today - open yourself up to the impossible today and see what God wants to do for you! And hey, why not spread some of that impossible becoming possible to someone who's not yet a Christian today?
You know, it is true - sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can't see. That's reality to me anyway.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
This time six years ago ...
This time six years ago, what were you doing? I bet you can't remember exactly. I can. This time six years ago I was speaking. I was speaking at an event that I will never speak at again. I was speaking at a once in a lifetime event that none of you will ever speak at. What was that event? My wedding day!
Yes, six years ago today I married Colette, and I have never regretted it! In fact, being married to Colette has been the most amazing thing I have ever experienced in my life. She is an amazing woman. She is my best friend, my lover, my helper, a wonderful mother to our son, Josiah ... she is faithful, honest, beautiful, funny, wise ... she has the voice of an angel (particularly when singing), an enchanting smile, a lightness and freedom of spirit envied by many. I could go on ...
Anyone that says that marriage gets harder the longer you do it, in my opinion and experience, is wrong. Marriage gets better day by day, month by month, year by year. The challenges merely serve to deepen love, the arguments serve to sharpen character. As time builds, love grows.
Every day I thank God that he brought Colette into my life, and caused her to fall in love with a klutz like me! But today especially, six years from our wedding day, I take time and say a particular thank you to God, for my gorgeous Colette.
Yes, six years ago today I married Colette, and I have never regretted it! In fact, being married to Colette has been the most amazing thing I have ever experienced in my life. She is an amazing woman. She is my best friend, my lover, my helper, a wonderful mother to our son, Josiah ... she is faithful, honest, beautiful, funny, wise ... she has the voice of an angel (particularly when singing), an enchanting smile, a lightness and freedom of spirit envied by many. I could go on ...
Anyone that says that marriage gets harder the longer you do it, in my opinion and experience, is wrong. Marriage gets better day by day, month by month, year by year. The challenges merely serve to deepen love, the arguments serve to sharpen character. As time builds, love grows.
Every day I thank God that he brought Colette into my life, and caused her to fall in love with a klutz like me! But today especially, six years from our wedding day, I take time and say a particular thank you to God, for my gorgeous Colette.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
I've joined the bloggers!
Where I live, blogging is the new craze. Like the day at school when one trendy kid brought in a yoyo and the next day everyone came in with a yoyo. In South Wales (where I live) blogging is the same - one kid started blogging, and now the rest of us have joined in!
Why have I joined in? Everywhere you look you find opinions. TV, Radio, Newspaper, Pub, Shops, Schools, Gym, Workplace. I have opinions too, and like everyone else I believe my opinion to be right. There are so many questions in life - and to every question there are myriads of answers all pertaining to be the answer. But there is only one true answer to every question in life, and even though some might say that I am copping out with my answer, it is one that I choose to rest in. And it works. All the time. For every question. My answer is the only answer. Get to know me, and you'll get to know my answer!
Faith is an interesting thing. We can't make ourselves have faith. Faith comes from outside of our natural selves, when we open ourselves up to the one who gives faith, we enter a world no longer governed by the rules of natural society. Faith is like the wardrobe leading to Narnia. It's like the mirror leading to Wonderland; the red pill leading to the Matrix. It's because of faith that my answer answers every question. Every other competing answer is merely playing around with earthly thought, but my answer will transport you into the world of the impossible, the world of the (without faith) unbelievable.
So that's the reason for my blog. I have the answer, not an answer, but the answer. As you read you'll get to know me. You'll meet my family. You'll meet my mind, my thoughts, my feelings. You'll get to know what I do each day. But most of all in my blog, I hope you meet one more person ....
... my answer.
Why have I joined in? Everywhere you look you find opinions. TV, Radio, Newspaper, Pub, Shops, Schools, Gym, Workplace. I have opinions too, and like everyone else I believe my opinion to be right. There are so many questions in life - and to every question there are myriads of answers all pertaining to be the answer. But there is only one true answer to every question in life, and even though some might say that I am copping out with my answer, it is one that I choose to rest in. And it works. All the time. For every question. My answer is the only answer. Get to know me, and you'll get to know my answer!
Faith is an interesting thing. We can't make ourselves have faith. Faith comes from outside of our natural selves, when we open ourselves up to the one who gives faith, we enter a world no longer governed by the rules of natural society. Faith is like the wardrobe leading to Narnia. It's like the mirror leading to Wonderland; the red pill leading to the Matrix. It's because of faith that my answer answers every question. Every other competing answer is merely playing around with earthly thought, but my answer will transport you into the world of the impossible, the world of the (without faith) unbelievable.
So that's the reason for my blog. I have the answer, not an answer, but the answer. As you read you'll get to know me. You'll meet my family. You'll meet my mind, my thoughts, my feelings. You'll get to know what I do each day. But most of all in my blog, I hope you meet one more person ....
... my answer.
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