Amazed & Confused

Video Greetings for IAM10

I filmed this little offering with the 24-7 Team in our London Office.  I'm giddy about all the different national and international celebrations 24-7 is hosting around its 10th Birthday next year.  Steve and I got together at the UK gathering IAM5, it's hard to believe we're now planning IAM10.  It's such a privilege to be a part of this with so many amazing people.  I can't wait to see all the Birthday greetings flooding in from around the UK.  Please click through to YouTube and add a Birthday greeting of your own.  Mine's below...

Let Us Pray

Today is the last of the 40 day season of prayer and fasting for the Revelation Church community.  It's been an amazing time with a great sense of camaraderie and an interesting journey of prayer and worship together.  Some fasted the internet, others television, some food, others altered sleep patterns... each chose something that would be a sacrifice and release time to spend with God.  

During the six Sundays of our prayer experiment we've explored different ways of praying together: meditation, liturgy, symbolic acts, installations and films to name a few.  Last Sunday our family meeting prayer time was one of my favourites.  Way back in September, crowded around a pub table some friends and I brainstormed how we could inspire our church family to pray.  We racked our brains for anything that would focus our minds on Jesus and invite Him to make His presence felt among us.  (If you're not a Christian that sentence probably sounds weird... ask me about it some time).  Charlotte brought her boundless creativity, Smiles shared experiences that have profoundly affected her, and many others volunteered to build, write or lead something inspirational.  The lovely Ben Wilkes stuck his name down for something I considered to be rather ambitious... Ben offered to lead us in prayer for the world... The fantastic film above was the fruit of Ben's prayer and thought and as I watched, it moved me to tears. It's just one week of headlines and a simple response in prayer... I hope you enjoy it and find it as inspiring as I did...

Three Years...

Today is the third anniversary of the day Stephen and I made vows to one another before friends, family and God. Today we celebrate by looking back together, sifting through the memorabilia and reminding ourselves of the promises we made. One quote shared by a good friend and tucked away in our Wedding box made me pause and smile. These words are true... 

"Being in love is a good thing but it is not the best thing. Love is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habits re-enforced by the grace which both patterns ask to receive from God... On this love the engine of marraige is run, being in love was the explosion that started it." CS Lewis

A Little Light Reading

I absolutely love to read.  There is something magical about opening a book, locating the first word and (with luck) falling immediately into a world that captivates and enthrals.  Not every tale grabs me so, I'm definitely describing my ideal.  Sadly I tend to only experience such immediate and complete immersion in a story about once a year; but with every crisp new spine, every un-touched page there is the potential for something like...

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

or

"Mr & Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

or even

"When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would soon be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton..."

Each of these books has enraptured me at different points in my life.  I feel gratitude to their authors whenever I glance their spines on our bookshelf.  The Lord of the Rings was my companion after late nights on the streets of Ibiza.  The conclusion of Harry Potter's saga was read aloud on my living room sofa through an outpouring of tears.  The tail of Roland Deschain and the Dark Tower (probably still one of the richest pieces of writing I've delved into) found it's conclusion/continuation on our Honeymoon.

Memories of these books lead me to others, more first lines that took me to unexpected places...

"My suffering left me sad and gloomy."

"I'd never given much thought to how I would die..."

And the timeless...

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Each book is filled with people I've learned from... others I've loathed... heros, villains, victims and bystanders who's lives have become as familiar as my neighbours.  Many have taken up residence in the culdasac of my imagination.  As I began to compile the stack of books pictured above for the holiday Steve and I are embarking on today, I started hoping that hidden within their pages may be one or two new additions to my most loved list.  Many of these titles I've been hoping to read for some time and with five days of nothing ahead of me I look forward to exploring them...

London Calling...

Yesterday the 24-7 Office was a buzz with note taking, database sifting and phones ringing. Dan, Lottie, Toggers, Wardy and I undertook the challenge of calling as many 24-7 supporters as we possibly could in one day... all to say a big THANK YOU!  The lovely men and women who given financially to 24-7, have supported the movement in an important way throughout the last decade.  Each and every person is an incredibly vital part of all we do.  

Having our leaders down tools for a day to call all of them may have taken a lot of organisation but it was certainly worth it.  There were a lot of nerves (we would be rubbish telesales people), some competition: "I've spoken to three people." "I've spoken to six", many answering machine messages and lots of emails saying "Hi, tried to get hold of you but thought I'd write my thanks instead."  The only disappointment was realising how many supporters we don't have phone numbers for... If you're one I'm sorry I didn't get to say 'hi'.  

Hmmm... though... if you are a 24-7 supporter (or want to become one) and you're reading this why not email me your phone number and I promise we'll call.  What could be more enjoyable than a little natter over a hot beverage of your choice about the things God's been up to and a personal invite to next year's Birthday celebrations?  (carla.harding@24-7prayer.com)

21 Days...

21 Days for Global Harvest from SVM2 on Vimeo.

I come across a lot of campaigns working within 24-7 Prayer... This week, this one caught my eye... xc

Talking About a Revolution

Everywhere I go, the topic of conversation is the same... whether I'm hanging out with friends in the 24-7 office, Guildford bowling green or a stone's throw from the red light district in Amsterdam... whether I'm talking to my hubby over tea or gathering with my church community for prayer and worship... everyone wants the same thing...

The presence of God

I can't get away from it.  It's like it's being broadcast subliminally to all the followers of Jesus I know...  Programs, roles, rotas, jobs, friendships, targets, holidays, anniversaries, information, confirmation, incarnation... it all means little without the presence of Jesus...

"Well if your not really here, then I don't want to be either, I want to be next to you..."
Sam Sparro, Black & Gold

Sometimes God whispers, other times I think He shouts, right now I'd have to be deaf not to hear the hunger... "Spend time with me... revolve... return to the beginning to my original call... reconnect with me... remain.. remain..."

It's even on the X-Factor.  As Robbie Williams launched himself back into the media and minds of the British population I give my head a shake certain I'd mis-heard his lyric... but there it was again,

"Jesus really died for me.  Jesus really died for me."
Robbie Williams, Bodies

"I tell you... if they stay quiet, the stones will cry out."
Luke 19:40

So on day 14 of the 40 days of prayer the Revelation community is in together I'm hearing Him loud and clear.  "Don't tire, don't waver, remain in me."

I'm glad He cares enough to remind me.  It's sad I still need it.

Smallville Series 9

Say it with me... "Flights and tights!  Flights and tights!  Flights and tights!"

Fringes and Friends

Last night as we revealed the Krispy Kreme donuts I'd picked up in London and I looked at the glee on Itzi's face and the curiosity on Sun's I think I got a glimpse of what it's like to be a family.  I'm not saying I felt like a Mum, quite frankly that would be weird they're only a few years younger than me, but I do feel very protective of our ladies and love treating them after a hard day of important exams.  We are very fortunate to have such lovely lodgers and I keep throwing up prayers that they do as well as they hope in their English assessments.

The last week has been full of moments like these.  It's not been a particularly notable string of days... work, more work, singing, eating, laughing, catching films, more eating this time with friends, work, praying, thinking, praying some more, reading the Bible, wondering if I'll ever know even more than half of what there is to know about God, learning a few surprising things about myself, work, interrupted sleep, reading Inkheart for a little mental rest and siestas... Really it's been pretty uneventful but small things, tiny pleasures and miniscule pains, have peppered the days and nights.  Mostly, they've simply reminded me to be grateful.  Even the interrupted sleep - I definitely still getting more than Ruthy and Kirsten who are nursing new borns :)  Steve and I have so much.  I don't want to forget it.  

In the last year I've started keeping lists in my journal of things I'm hoping and praying for; a friend to be healed, another to know how much Jesus loves them, provision for this or that, my leaders, my community, my husband and his business... important things, big and small that I've asked God to intervene in.  Many things on the many list have had some sort of movement or conclusion and there are days I've had to remind myself to fill the pages of my journal with as many notes on the blessings and answers than all the new needs I can think of.  Though I'm not as good at remembering to write those down, I think gratitude might be the key to my contentment...

So today I am thankful for my new fringe, my household and how well we all live together, that I can learn something new each day, that I get to be part of 24-7 Prayer and that soon I'll be taking off to Amsterdam to see some good friends... xc

An Opulent Sensory Overload

This weekend has been an assault on the senses... light, colour, curry, bangra, dancing, tight hugs, wide smiles, exclamations of joy and moments of touching beauty.  Steve, the Trundle clan and I flew to Northern Ireland to celebrate the Wedding of our old friend Pawan to the breathtaking Naomi.  Though technically this is the second Hindu wedding I've witnessed, the first was so long ago my memory of it somewhat resembles the list above.  Our weekend in Belfast was a cornucopia of colour, symbolism and promise with a rather challenging priority and honour given to the whole family, maybe especially grandparents.  It was interesting to watch as two people made life long vows to each other in such a different way to Steve and I...

I did find it strange however that Pawan is a grown man!  In my mind he is perpetually the eight year old I used to hang out with and his Mum, Indu, is the woman who introduced me to curry and spicy chips.  The Bedi Wedding was simultaneously a trip down memory lane and an eyeopening reminder that the road goes ever on and on (in the words of a hairy footed, small bloke).  For Pawan and Naomi I pray that God blesses them even more than He has blessed us and I hope that our paths cross again without the excuse of nuptials in future.