Psalm 16

A miktam of David. ^a]">[a]

¹ Keep me safe, O God,
for in you I take refuge.

² I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing."

³ As for the saints who are in the land,
they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. ^b]">[b]

⁴ The sorrows of those will increase
who run after other gods.
I will not pour out their libations of blood
or take up their names on my lips.

⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

⁷ I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

⁸ I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the grave, ^c]">[c]
nor will you let your Holy One ^d]">[d] see decay.

¹¹ You have made ^e]">[e] known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

A song that I heard today that spoke exactly where I'm at right now :)

Lyrics to While I'm Waiting :I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am hopeful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it is painful But patiently, I will wait I will move ahead, bold and confident Taking every step in obedience While I'm waiting I will serve You While I'm waiting I will worship While I'm waiting I will not faint I'll be running the race Even while I wait I'm waiting I'm waiting on You, Lord And I am peaceful I'm waiting on You, Lord Though it's not easy But faithfully, I will wait Yes, I will wait I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve you while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

While I'm Waiting by John Waller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFwZ7Ekg080

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ, that a man should have to seek Him first to find her." When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'." I'm whispering "I was lost, now I'm found and forgiven." When I say... "I am a Christian" I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not claiming to be perfect, My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it. When I say... "I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name. When I say... "I am a Christian" I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow! Pretty is as Pretty does... but beautiful is just plain beautiful!

Courtesy of Maya Angelou :)

South Africa Mission 2008

Sean Kelly Disabled Children's home.
We got to hang out with the kids,
help the staff workers and be humbled
all at the same time.

Cape Town beach facing Table mountain…no sand just beautiful tiny multicoloured pebbles!

Stunning scenery…trying to capture it’s beauty with a camera is quite hard!

a perfect place for reflection at the end of a day…

Working with the locals in four different townships…jobs are scarce which makes living situation desperate and unstable from day to day.

Yes I did my share of washing up!

We are not to ignore suffering but to grieve it as God does, attempting to be His hands and feet while not giving into despair. It's an uncomfortable place to stay in, but an essential part of fulfilling the social calling of the gospel.



Preparing the spuds for the feeding programme!

BEAUTIFUL FACES!

One of my favourite days, spending time walking through the township chatting with the locals, obliging in prayer requests, listening to life stories....

Up to 50 of us from all over the world came together for two weeks and worked together with churches and 'Boost Africa' to work in townships, schools and the community as a whole.

Feeding programme, feeding approx. 300 children everyday in a township, where they could otherwise go without.

Giving out food was great but i LOVED connecting with the kids, hugging them and spinning them round and listening to them laugh!

I love hands on, practical stuff...that is the one of the biggest parts of the gospel for me (although God's grace is even BIGGER! lol)

I finally get how to do the towel thing!

I am there...right at the back (we're playing 'paper, rock, scissors' but a different version of 'ninja, police, waiter'....they LOVED it!
(Township school of Da Noon, Cape Town)

Just 5% of the children at the Kibbutz nursery in another township.

Many of these children would have a bleak future if it wasn't for those working full time in the kibbutz, dedicating their lives to parenting and supporting them.

This REALLY is the tip of the iceberg...i have so many wonderful memories and other times when it was really hard.

The 3 month course before going out taught me SO much about the Christian faith that it's hard to know where to begin but one of the biggest things i learnt was the main theme that runs through the Bible...'Be blessed, to be a blessing!'

Don't keep hold of what's given to you...GIVE IT AWAY! :)

We're off in 3 days (monday flying from Birmingham to Dubai then on to South Africa..loooong but great cos we're flying with Emirates and apparently they're really good!)

We have a big team of people from all over that want to join us so it has gone up from 8 to around 50!

From my beautiful sister working with children in the slums of Brazil :)

May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

The mission has finally been confirmed as South Africa...we'll be in a place called Worcester!

We have various things that we'll be looking into doing,these include helping out in schools (primary and poss secondary), possibly working with a community that lives in a rubbish dump, possibly working in an AIDS Orphanage, Street drama, prisons, alongside farmers and other stuff... a lot of the things we'll be doing will be decided as a team out there so i'll be more precise once it's happening!

click on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BreedeValley.jpg to see image :)