Amazed & Confused

Reasons to Rest

I have been inspired and challenged by Phil Togwell and Jude Smith's aim to read a book a week each year. I absolutely love reading fiction and I'm growingly getting better at reading/listening to Christian literature.  Their challenge speaks to me... I yearn to read a book a week.  I won't make it.  I don't have enough time, the books on my too read pile are big fatties and I'm already one and half books behind... I could slip in a few shorties maybe next weekend to try and catch up, but if I'm too religious about it I may not savour what I'm reading.  My current book for example is an enjoyable beast.  It doesn't fit comfortably in my bag but I'm loving it and I'm glad the story won't end any time soon.  Reading lost a bit of it's luster last year so I was overjoyed when I found new drive for it in December.  There's something about sitting and having to focus on just one thing that really relaxes me.  I'm such a multi-tasker, I'm often doing at least two things at once and I'm totally guilty of having constant sources of stimulation and back ground noise around me.  Maybe if I took on this challenge it would force me to be quite for a little time every day... bliss... xc

Food Glorious Food

I love it. I miss it. Yesterday I started to feel ill, that stomach churning, throat contracting nausea that makes you curl up on the sofa wishing you could throw up 'cause you'd probably feel better.  Sadly my stomach of iron was enjoying the fight.  I can't work out if I've given myself food poisoning from frozen soup or have a normal tummy bug... surely food poisoning wouldn't last into the next day??  I'm wrapped in a blanket sitting on my sofa feeling hungry and sick in turns.  So far I have resisted food in the hope of starving it out but I'm rubbish at this.  I love food.  I really enjoy eating.  It's really annoying when it's involuntarily taken away from you. Fasting to show God you love him more than your own comfort is one thing, but feeling like your gonna puke and not being able to cheer yourself up with a some crisps dipped in caramelized onion humous is quite another... oh well at least it gives me the time to finish The Shack. 

The Joys of a Curry/Admin Hurricane

So Steve's Birthday celebrations have drawn to a close with smiles on our faces and slightly queasy tummies.  Last night we had a bunch of good friends round for a Massala Gate curry before meeting even more friends at the Nags Head for some Birthday drinks.  My queasy tummy comes not from alcohol but from eyes bigger than my belly.  Passanda, Rogan Josh, Madras, Rezela and Tikka Massala sauces, though individually yummy, don't blend well in the stomach.  So my lovely husband is another year older and another step closer to the amp he wants (my valiant attempt at buying a £500 Chesterfield armchair for him at a tenth of the price was dashed at the last second - the frustration of E-Bay! There were tears).  

Anyway - now I look ahead at a week of hard work.  Well by hard work I mean copious amounts of administration.  There's no getting away from it.  The DeLoreans band is becoming even more popular with more booking forms to chase, songs to be learnt and dates to be co-ordinated.  We have a worship team meeting tonight for Revelation Church so there'll be minutes to write, rotas to re-arrange and actions to... well action.  All squeezed around my days executing all the lovely decisions and actions from last week's fantastic 24-7 Prayer international team meetings.  We had such a great and important time together and and exciting changes are afoot... thinking about it, exciting changes are always afoot but I guess that's the nature of a movement... it moves a lot.  I love my life, I love everything I'm involved in but sometimes I am amazed and slightly baffled at the amount of admin it takes to make the world go round... xc

Happy Birthday Steve!

Isn't this the most hideous Birthday Cake you've ever seen?  In my mind it was gonna look awesome... a sumptuous edible masterpiece!  Oh well, thank goodness my Birthday-Boy husband has a decent sense of humour.  Steve-Sleeve-Sven Hardini is 31 today!  Hurrah!  Another year closer to his ultimate dream - all the advantages of old age.  I'm very proud of my man and we will celebrate today with family, friends and great food (Birthday Cake not withstanding)... xc

From Somewhere in Surrey...

Today I am somewhere in the middle of nowhere at a beautiful home with the International Team of 24-7 Prayer.  We're meeting to talk and pray about all the life and challenges within the movement and to look ahead at 2009.  I'm gonna miss Mr Brian Heasley who is absent for a super exciting reason... the 24-7 Ibiza team are moving into their Farm today!  The meeting will be quieter and not quite so much fun without him.  If you're of the praying to Jesus persuasion please do pop a few up for us: wisdom would be very helpful. xc

The International House of Sven Pt. 2

Let me introduce you to the latest addition to the House of Sven: Miss Itziar Lanpreabe Martinez!  Itzi is 23 from Bilboa, Spain and is a breath of fresh air.  Confident, positive and friendly she is a lovely mediterranean addition to our home.  With her arrival we are now four: Steve and I, Itzi and our Japanese housemate Fumino.  It has been a real pleasure to have them in our home, to share life with them and to talk about the differences and similarities between our cultures, languages and beliefs.  It also makes me a little less lonely when Steve takes off on tour as he did this morning *sigh*.  Mr Tim Hughes has kidnapped/invited Steve to join the leg of the Worship Central tour through Holland, Germany and Sweden... I think...  Er maybe I need to listen more carefully to where my hubby's flying off to somewhere... xc

Living on a Prayer

Seen the front cover of Relevant magazine this month?  The feature story is all about the 24-7 Prayer Movement and the vision of Campus America!  Hurrah!  Spread the word you lovely publishing people.  Campus America is one of the most exciting visions to come out of 24-7 in a few years (and that's saying something when you work with this many visionaries)!  Get your copy of Relevant and check out the Campus America website to find out more... They almost make us look slick!  Miracles happen in 2009 :) xc

God Was Busy in 2008

I've just finished my favourite job of the year.  I've being going back through all my correspondence with people praying round the world in 24-7 Prayer Rooms and pulled out a selection of prayers and stories to make everyone smile.  A much larger selection is available in an article I've just uploaded to the 24-7 Prayer International site but here are a few of my favourites...

Philippines>>> “This is life changing for me. I have been praying and fasting for years but none of it can compare to praying 24-7.”

New Zealand>>> “Greig rang the office to have an urgent prayer request put in the prayer room for his sister who had just had a baby and was bleeding dangerously.  From his own knowledge as a doctor, Greig knew that the condition she had was usually fatal…  Not only did she recover, but she had an encounter with God through it all.  As soon as she opened her eyes she apologised to family members from whom she had been estranged and there was an amazing reconciliation in the family!  Isn’t God amazing!”

Australia>>> “Our prayer room has now been operating for nearly 18 months and God has been so awesome in His continuous answers to prayer and many, many blessings!  Our prayer room is a shop front that we rent and is operated by the combined churches in our community, which is situated in a very troubled neighbourhood… We have seen about 6 people come to faith this year and have had reports of a number of healings.  We continue to marvel at the impact of the prayer room when the churches of our community come together in prayer!”

UK>>> “We are still covering three days a month… every hour is filled now its flowing well.  It took a bit of perseverance and God’s grace!  We have recently seen a lady get out of the wheel chair, and another throw away her crutches. Another had an inoperable cancer disappear.  All verified by the medical people. It’s in direct relationship to the 24-7 prayer.”

Australia>>> “A couple of months ago, a young lady who has a drug addiction wandered into the Thrift Shop next door wanting to turn her life around.  Deb, the shop manager, began building a relationship with her and God gave Deb an opportunity to speak into her life.  Just before Christmas Deb was able to invite the lady into the 24/7 Prayer Room for prayer and the next day she came back into the shop all excited because she had given her life to Jesus!  God is transforming her life and she is making positive steps to overcome her addictions.”

Uganda>>> “Praise the Lord. Thank you for 24 Prayer it works and has worked for us... In our prayers the lord revealed to us an island without the Church and yesterday the island was found and 50 people got saved and church is planted because of prayer... The island is called Kacunga… I have just come back from there and the fellowship is so strong... [Kacunga] has no power, school [or] hospital and 99% are HIV/AIDS victims but prayers are making a difference. The island is on Lake Victoria in [the] Kalanga district… their occupation is fishing. I am blessed to carry on Jesus’ ministry of raising fishermen from fishing to fishers of men”

It is an amazing priviledge to be a part of 24-7 Prayer and hear about all these amazing lives being changes.  I've printed these little snapshots and stuck them in my journal.  If I am ever in doubt of the nature of our God, reading these paints a pretty clear picture... xc 

24-7: Enlarge Your Tents

"Clear lots of ground for your tents! 

   Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!

Use plenty of rope, 

   drive the tent pegs deep.

You're going to need lots of elbow room 

   for your growing family.

You're going to take over whole nations; 

   you're going to resettle abandoned cities."  Isaiah 54:2-3 (MSG)

These are the verses that Pete Greig read at the open of our prayer morning yesterday in Guildford.  The ensuing three hours with 24-7 friends were the most encouraging of 2009 so far (I suspect it would take something particularly spectacular to knock from the top spot in the next six months).  Any of you who've spent any time around the 24-7 Prayer family will know that though God has spread the movement far, we are a very small and disparate bunch of people helping to coordinate the Holy chaos.  It's rare that lots of us can gather in one place but this is set to change somewhat here in the UK this year.  The people who are vocationally committed to 24-7 are being invited to gather monthly to share our encouragements, challenges and to pray together.  Yesterday was our first gathering and it was absolutely awesome.  "Enlarge your tents..." said God... those words from Isaiah still mulling around in my head 24 hours later.  Enlarge... wow, it's all pretty large already!  Interestingly though I've been mulling over ways in which we could open our hands even further and give away even more in prayer... Brian Heasley's word before Christmas about upending bottles to let things flow faster, my own practical thoughts and the words of Isaiah are colliding in my busy mind firing off ideas.  I think 2009 will see interesting change and yes even more enlargement... Hehe, sounds like fun xc

No Slave to Fear Here...

I noticed something trivial at the weekend.  I am no longer afraid of Spiders or Horses.  Big whoop you might think but actually this is a drastic change from my rather pathetically fearful teenage state.  I couldn't be in the same room with a spider, they totally freaked me out (watching Aracnaphobia was probably not my brightest move).  I would scream, shake and generally look like an idiot if I saw one.  Now I don't know if I want to pick one up but the other day a pretty big Mr Spider and I agreed to share my bathroom quite amicably.  He had really gross long legs and those pincer looking things and everything... 

On my New Year's Day walk two riders crossed our path on two small but lovely horses.  I used to be so afraid of them after a rather unfortunate kicking me down and jumping over me incident that I made horses skittish around me.  I get scared - they get jumpy - I think they're about to attack - etc. etc.  It was a vicious circle.  This one (I think his name was grubby or grotty or something) came right on up and said hello.  It felt like a triumph.  I wasn't scared at all, I could stroke him and have a little chat and felt nothing but enjoyment for one of God's most noble creatures.  I haven't been purposely conquering my fears, I think I've just grown out of them.  At this rate I should be able to eat raisans by the time I'm 35.  On second thoughts maybe not... I'm not afraid of them I just think they're from Satan.  Can't see that changing any time soon.  xc

Campus America: The Time is Now

I watched a draft of this film at a technical rehearsal during the 24-7 Home gathering.  As I stood at the back of a massive meeting room leaning against a wall and taking a breather from the joys and strains of event management I was moved to tears by what I saw.  Undoubtedly Bob Jobe is a gifted documentarian and unequivocally the Campus America vision is very exciting and very much from God. This film and passion and people behind it are so impacting that it captured even my frazzled mind and gave be fresh hope and fresh energy even in the midst of the practical and mundane.  Check out the feature story in Relevant magazine and the Campus America website for more. It's gonna be an exciting year... xc

Happy New Year!

The first day of 2009 has been a very social one.  Beginning with a brunch with two old friends, an energetic walk with thirty of my favourite people in the south downs and ending with tea and crumpets with fellow DeLoreans band member Rees and his lovely fiance Julie.  It's been brilliant.

I've always been a bigger fan of New Year's Day than New Year's Eve.  There's something about the fresh start, fresh opportunity and hope that January brings... 

I've made a few frivolous resolutions (read more, listen more, pray more, be kinder) but who knows what will come... I hope good things.