Hey there!

I’ve been thinking about the whole issue of discipleship recently because I’m working on the programming for Youthwork the conference which is happening in November.   I find, that it’s good to ask yourself questions about what it’s all about.  Questions like; what it means to be a follower of Jesus and how I live my faith out.

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, once said:  ‘The measure of a man or woman’s power can be found in the depth of their surrender.’ Often, even for Christians, God gets crowded out… we make decisions which are more about us than they are about him.

It’s been refreshing to ask myself these questions and to realise again that being a Christian isn’t about make ‘one decision once’ and that being the end of the matter – it’s about making multi decisions every day which reflect my commitment to God and my surrender to him.

Wendy

A favourite quote of mine is:

‘Words, words, words.  I’m so sick of words. Sing me no song. Don’t waste my time. Show me!’

People outside the church hear what we say but so often they are waiting – in expectation – for us to ‘live out the words we say’.

I love this song because it’s a heartfelt cry to God that our hearts would break for the things that break his.  And that from that we’d live out our faith in word and deed.

I pray as you watch this and as you listen to the lyrics that you’d open your heart to God.

W

xx

A little while ago I posted a “Behind The Scenes” video from the day Vicky filmed her ‘proper’ EPK in London.

Well..here is the *actual* piece we were filming that day! It’s called an EPK, which stands for Electronic Press Kit.. so basically it’s a short video that explains the heart and vision behind her new album.

It’s only another two weeks before the CD comes out now! So watch this and catch a bit more of why she wrote the songs and her vision for the album. You’ll even get to hear some of the new songs…

Also… check out her new network for Women in Worship at www.womeninworshipnetwork.com or here

Grace

W
x

Deliverer – Vicky Shares About The Song from Vicky Beeching on Vimeo.

Ever since Vicky recorded the EP, she’s wanted to make a video about each of the three songs, to give you an introduction, a guided tour of sorts, to each song!

So here is the first one! The video contains three parts so feel free to skip if you want to focus on only one or two sections.

• In section 1 – Vicky plays the song on her acoustic guitar so you can see how to play it on just one instrument… sometimes it’s hard to imagine a song without the full album arrangement, so here it is, stripped down and simple!
• In section 2 –  She shows you how to play the chords on guitar.
• In section 3 –  She gives you the story about why the song was written… so you can get some insight into what inspired me in the writing process.

Hope you enjoy… Let us know if “Deliverer” touched you? Why and in what way? And if you’ve used at church – we’d love you to share when you used it, and how it went!

W x

A midwife friend of mine once said to me: ‘I deal with life and death every day. You just get people singing!’ When she said it I nearly fell off my chair laughing… clearly there is some truth in her observation.  I run events… and she is there at the most precious time when babies are born and she can make all the difference in the world to that experience (and she does – I know this from my own experience!)  However, I don’t entirely thinks she’s grasped quite how life giving ‘getting people singing’ can be!

Worship songs have the potential to make this amazing connection between us and God, and us and our World.  So I’m really excited to say that my best mate Vicky Beeching is releasing a Limited Edition three song EP next week.  Her full album ‘Eternity Invades’ is released on April 6^th – just in time for Spring Harvest!  I can’t begin to tell you how much I’m looking forward to you hearing these songs!

The three songs are really different – Salvation Day is the opener, an upbeat song with big guitars. Second is Blessing and Honor – a 6/8 anthem that’s based on a hymn from the Book of Revelation. Third is a slow song called Deliverer which, for me, is one of those songs which resonates at a deep level and gives me life.

You can hear the songs at here and you can get your copy of the EP from iTunes and all major digital stores. It would be great if you are going to buy it if you bought it from iTunes on Feb 16th as this will help it ‘chart’ and will cause it to have more impact.

Peace, love and kindness

W

xx

This week I spent a bit of time with Jim Wallis at Youthwork the conference – he was amazing as ever.   He referred to a speech Bono did to the President’s prayer breakfast, here’s an extract…

‘God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives,  And God is with us if we are with them.

If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire even in scorched places.

It’s not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It’s not an accident. That’s a lot of air time. You know, the only time Jesus Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor. ”As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.”  Matthew 25:40. 

Thoughts from the crowd?

W x

Love and especially how much God loves us seems to be a recurring theme in my life at the moment… I’ve been reading, thinking and talking about it a lot. 

A close friend gave me Brennan Manning’s book ‘the furious longing of God’ which is all about how much God loves us and desperately wants to be in relationship with us.  It’s an incredibly inspirational book which is shaping how I view the love of God.  It’s made me think about how God who is the very definition of Love – endlessly, completely, without restraint, furiously, joyfully, without limit, totally abandons Himself to love me and you.

Recently I came across this poem from Mother Teresa:

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

I wonder if you can only ‘live’ like this poem when you know you are ‘loved’ with a furious longing…

In the words of someone I love dearly ‘thoughts from the crowd?’

W x

This video looks at how we always seem to want ‘more’ in life but this ‘more’ is often completely the wrong type…

Let me know what you think.

W x