Gods special AA provision for me today.

I really think God provided for me today. My car got stuck fast in a ditch. I called Green Flag and they would not pull it out because they did not consider it to be a breakdown and if I wanted them to come they would charge me a great deal of money. I asked Quinta Hall if they would pull it out with their tractor, but they could not as they are not insured for the public highway and my tank was on the ground. I listened carefully to what a member of the staff said about the situation and then I remembered that I upgraded my bank account recently and that automatically gave me AA membership. I called them and they did it. Praise the lord. I really believe he provided that for me.

The battle is won

It seems that she who caused me such a problem last year is almost certainly a scammer. That information helps me greatly. I can now get back on one of my regular email addresses knowing that the crisis is over. I am not complacent however. There will be future battles, but for the present, I am safe. I can only conclude that it is the lord who brought me through and if you dear christian brother of sister are reading this. I strongly urge you in all your trials to submit to the lord and let him carry you through. You may indeed have to do some wise and practical things. It is foolish to think God will do things for us that he expects us to do do for ourselves. I did the practical things that I thought would be good for me, but God has added to that the things I could not do for myself and I have made it. I am so joyful about that.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future". It sound brilliant, doesnt it. The truth is however that well meaning Christians frequently pay no attention to the context of this verse. This verse was for the people of Isreal who were taken captive to Babylon and for no one else. It is Jeremiahs letter in which he is telling them that there are false prophets saying that they will soon be delivered and Jeremiah is telling them the truth. They will remain in Babylon for 70 years and at the end of that time the lord would come and take them back and this verse was given to them so that they knew the lord had plans for the nation as indeed he did and at the end of the 70 years Daniel could see the exile coming to and end.

People treat this verse as if God wrote it to them personally. If I find a letter written to someone else and i see something in it that thrills me. I do not then assume the letter is written to me. It is a fact that it has been written to someone else, so why do we not read Gods word properly and apply it in the fashion that is intended?

The Crew

Tonight will be the last time for the present that I stand in at the Crew. Weather permitting we will be out in the wood and for the childern they will be in the wilderness. Last week they were spying out the land. I still would not do this weekly, but I do think that that it is good to see what goes on and to pray for the children that they will learn and come to knowledge of the saviour for themselves. I had a sunday school background which helped a lot when I finally became a christian. Most children today do not have that privilage and the Crew (Crusaders) is a way of filling that gap.

Straight after crew, I am off to the theatre for the first rehearsal of Improble fiction. I love the theatre. I wish I were picked for more performing, but I love working with them and I love them as people. Having recently joined the committee, I love that to. I put forward five suggestions for plays last weekend. Lets see if they go with any of them. there was only one suggestion from someone else that I cannot support them in and that is Calendar girls. I can just imagine what would happen to me, so if that is accepted I will declare myself unavailable. That said some of the other suggetions were brilliant. I fancy the Beggars opera or the tempest. I once saw it at the Royal Shakespear company with Patrick Stewart. It was brilliant.

pygmalion

I emailed a fifth suggestion to go with last nights suggestions for the theatre. I suggested pygmalion.

pitching to the theatre

Tonight we had a meeting in the theatre to put forward ideas for plays. A lot of ideas were put forward. One of them I suggested two years ago which is "The Steamie", I also pitched two Noel Coward one act plays, "Still Life" which is better known as Brief Encounter, " Ways and Means" and at the last minute I reminded them that by email I had mentioned "Blood Brothers". I really would love to direct at least one of them.

Heaven is richer by ten lions

I was looking at the book chacko left, "Heaven is Richer by Ten Lions". It is about Billy Jones. I knew Billy in the last ten year of his life. He was a very unusual person and when I was joining OM we were all told about him at the Training Conference. I said to two other men that I would love to meet a character like that. One said, "You probably will meet him because his wife works at the Quinta". Indeed he was right and I did meet Billy.

There is a chapter in the book about Billy meeting his wife. Billy and Pauline told me about this one day when I was visiting him. He told me that as soon as he saw Pauline, he knew that he wanted to marry her. Like Billy I have gone for a long time without marrying, but so far not as long as he did. However I do pray about it. He prayed for a year, I have prayed somewhat longer than that. I wonder when and how I will get an answer.

Billy said that he felt like ten lions, hence the title of the book.

life the universe and everything

The car failed its MOT, but only on the exhaust, so that is being fixed. Road tax next.

Today we had a very emotional testimony from IO and perhaps I need to take the basic framework of what he said and fill in my emotional bits.

If things to plan I will have a copy of my testimony returned to me and then I can look into having it published.

I still feel a need to marry. very much indeed and I pray about it a great deal. that said, though I am very aware of the lord and his providence in my life. He has given me things in a fashion that I could not have forseen such as my baptism, my mobile and my car. He has also given me experiences that only now I value.

Psalm 103

I spoke on Psalm 103 this morning. To set the tone I got kevin to project a video of the Andrae Crouch song "Bless the Lord, Oh my soul". I think this psalm holds together Gods goodness, but also his wrath. Indeed he is slow to anger, but that does not mean that he is never angry.

Getting Published

A couple of years ago, I wrote my testimony. Unfortunately I have lost the original file. I say unfortunately because a certain OMer asked me if I would be interested in having it published. I hope that I am able to get a copy so that I can have this done and not be like J R Hartley who was for a long time the character in the yellow pages commercial who went around looking for a copy of "Fly Fishing by J R Hartley".

I am in the local newspaper

A photo of me with a policeman and a girl from the church is in the local newspaper. It was taken when I was at the Victorian Tea Party which was fund raising for the youth club.

Getting Published

Chacko and Rhada Thomas are visiting this weekend. They will be at my church tomorrow. Chacko has asked me if I would be interested in publishing my booklet about my testimony. Indeed I would, but as I have lost the original file I need to recover it. I hope that I am able to get a copy of it to get things going.

The Christian Institute

I was at a Christian Institute meeting last night. It was good to know what is going on. I was already familiar with most of it, but what pleased me was that the meeting was quite well attended and there were people there that I know from other churches. It was also good to see Paul a former collegue.

I came across the Christian Institute last year and I got involved. In view of one of the things that was said about them sending letters to supporters, I have decided to remain on the mailing list as some of the things they do are targeted by postcode and it is such an appoach that led me to see my MP at the end of last year.

I look back on my secondary school days and how right from the day I arrived at secondary school until the day I left, I did modern studies. At the time it was a new subject and I did it because I enjoyed it. It made me politically aware just as the church made me spiritually aware and I can now see that even at the age of 12 years old the lord was preparing me for things like being involved with the christian institute and indeed for all the things I do now and for all I know he could at this very moment be preparing more for me.

A certain video was shown and when they asked for a show of hands of people who had not seen it before, I was surprised at the number who had not seen it. Pehaps they were not on the mailing list but I had seen it because I follow the CI on facebook. The arrest of the street preacher in it had been well reported in the press.

Ah well another meeting tonight. This time at the village institute

Testimonies

I was listening to Andys testimony yesterday and I noticed that he was converted AFTER he decided to have nothing to do with with church. I was like that. I wanted to have nothing to do with church, but God did not let me go and I am so happy about that. If I had got my way, I would not be saved and I would not be where I am now.

With all my ups and downs, I do love the lord and have never regreted the day he dragged me into salvation