CUPCAKE GAL
I ended my Bank Holiday weekend with a delicious cupcake with my Cupcake gal, allow me to introduce Cupcake gal, she’s famous for making the most scrumptious cupcakes you name it, she’s made it. My personal favourite is Peanut butter jelly……the most mouth- watering cupcake EVER! It’s an American recipe, so think bigger than average cupcake topped with peanut butter buttery icing and jam in the middle, how she gets the jam in it, I’ll never know! I met Cupcake gal while doing the Alpha course journey before I was a Christian. Meeting her really challenged the perception I had of Christian gals as she was young, blonde, beautiful and actually fun to be with. I’d never met any Christian gals like her before! I remember at the Alpha launch saying to her “I can’t ever come along to Church, I just don’t like singing”...... now look at me, singing God songs every week! Now she’s my friend and I love her to bits- she’s got such a love for gals not in a Lesbian way, she just sooooooo wants gals to know their worth as women and know deep, deep down in their hearts the value God places on them. Cupcake gal is the type of friend you trust which can be kind of rare in female friends these days. She has shared with me lots of what God has taught her about gals, how we should look out for each other emotionally and stick together more. She’s such a blessing to me a fabulous gift from God.
30 PIECES OF SILVER
In search of inspiration, I ended up in the Tate modern – I forgot it was half-term week it was so busy in there, I was just wanted some ‘calm’ so the people and kiddies everywhere was just really annoying. Until I stumbled across a piece called ‘30 pieces of Silver’ by Sculptor and Installation Artist Cornelia Parker. It was so creative and the side note said it was probably inspired by the story in the Bible when ‘Judas betrays Jesus’ for 30 pieces of silver. It made me happy to see the name of Jesus attached to something so artistic, interesting and creative. I hear the Bible inspires a lot of artists but I’m not really an Art Gallerina gal, I think I really need to get out and about more in the daytime!
GALS DAY
I ended my week at the Women’s day at Church; it’s a day for the gals. Around 100 gals gathered together for a day of women specific teachings, cakes, sunshine and fun! The bible teaches that men and women are equal in Gods eyes but different. So as gals our strengths and weaknesses are different to men. It was just fantastic to have some teaching from women who have been in the ‘God game’ much longer than me.
For me there is something special about hearing teaching from the Bible from a female perspective. It just connects with me! I learned soooooooooo much.
JOY
The first speaker spoke about ‘Joy and happiness’ and l learnt that when my happiness is based in my relationship with God nothing can steal my smile away! However when it’s based on my circumstances, my plans working out the exact way I want, people, or my bank balance then it will go up and down depending on what’s going on in my world that week. Although crap happens life can get dark, hard, confusing, complicated and sometimes so sad and painful. It’s actually ok to get cranky, cry and be sad but it’s in those times we can skedaddle to Jesus to help us stay sane and not get too overwhelmed he’ll give us what we need in that moment, whether it be peace, strength or to smile. For some people living without God, their ambition in life is to be happy and this must be hard to achieve as we live in such an imperfect world with imperfect people. Happiness is just bliss; it can make you feel just energised and alive. I remember listening to a guest speaker at Church and he said that many people binge drink because they just want to be happy they just want joy. This was such a ‘light bulb on’ moment for me as I thought to myself “Yeah that sounds right”. I've also read that happiness is a feeling and joy is a choice but I haven't quite worked that one out yet!!
WORDS
The next speaker spoke about being careful with our words and keeping a check on tiredness and stress as it’s in those times we are vulnerable to saying ugly things. She taught us that the Bible teaches in Proverbs chapter 11v22 “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” So when we speak out of place with ugly words just think fat, pink, hairy, muddied pot-bellied snorting pig with a gold ring through it’s nose.
It made me chuckle! I’m always speaking without thinking, I soooooooooo needed that reminder. I just love the Bible….God’s word really does make me laugh some days. Except when I read about Jesus loving his enemies and teaching me to do likewise and reminding me that being a Christian gal in the City is not just about ‘God spliffs’ and fabulous parties but I must love and pray for people who ill-treat and hurt me. I tell you one thing! There’s no laughter then.
Luke 6 v27 Jesus said “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” This teaching is Jesus all over, he’s just so the opposite of what I would naturally want to do. For me following Jesus on this one is ‘no walk in the park’ it’s like running through stinging nettles…ouch! But I suppose the truth is they certainly are the people in my life who need my love and prayer. Jesus says love, bless and pray for them and he teaches this because our enemies are actually in a worse state than we are.
VISION
The last speaker spoke about living with a vision from God which gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. A vision of our future that although we feel glued to the bed in the morning, you actually want to get up, get ready and work towards a goal.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish”KJV proverbs 29v18.
The Bible teaches that living with no focus on a vision is a vulnerable way of life. It seems that our minds need a vision, a reason to do the things we do, a goal or a finish line. She said we should think about what we want our lives to look like in 10 years time and work towards it. Our choices shape our future! God has absolutely fabulous plans for our lives, plans that actually never expire. He has a God-given assignment for each one of us! It’s soooooooo exciting!!!
The speaker also taught about living a disciplined life. I remember reading somewhere that there is no two ways about it, undisciplined people are always unsuccessful and disciplined people are successful. The speaker taught how bad habits, so I suppose habits like bad money management, poor diet, little exercise and always living for the ‘here and now’ with a cruise control attitude toward the future is actually unproductive and unwise and living life undisciplined may feel fine in our 20’s but it actually leads to little cracks and left untouched can become holes in our 30’s and even bigger holes and problems in our 40’s. I’m such an unorganised gal, I love that there’s hope for me as God will help me, I don’t have to get ‘super organised’ all by myself! I suppose this is why Jesus said to his disciples in the gospel of Matthew “Go make disciples” this teaches us that Jesus is looking for ‘life long learners’… gals and guys willing to learn the ropes for life. Interns, so to speak! Not just ‘believers’ or ‘converts’.
I ended my Bank Holiday weekend with a delicious cupcake with my Cupcake gal, allow me to introduce Cupcake gal, she’s famous for making the most scrumptious cupcakes you name it, she’s made it. My personal favourite is Peanut butter jelly……the most mouth- watering cupcake EVER! It’s an American recipe, so think bigger than average cupcake topped with peanut butter buttery icing and jam in the middle, how she gets the jam in it, I’ll never know! I met Cupcake gal while doing the Alpha course journey before I was a Christian. Meeting her really challenged the perception I had of Christian gals as she was young, blonde, beautiful and actually fun to be with. I’d never met any Christian gals like her before! I remember at the Alpha launch saying to her “I can’t ever come along to Church, I just don’t like singing”...... now look at me, singing God songs every week! Now she’s my friend and I love her to bits- she’s got such a love for gals not in a Lesbian way, she just sooooooo wants gals to know their worth as women and know deep, deep down in their hearts the value God places on them. Cupcake gal is the type of friend you trust which can be kind of rare in female friends these days. She has shared with me lots of what God has taught her about gals, how we should look out for each other emotionally and stick together more. She’s such a blessing to me a fabulous gift from God.
30 PIECES OF SILVER
In search of inspiration, I ended up in the Tate modern – I forgot it was half-term week it was so busy in there, I was just wanted some ‘calm’ so the people and kiddies everywhere was just really annoying. Until I stumbled across a piece called ‘30 pieces of Silver’ by Sculptor and Installation Artist Cornelia Parker. It was so creative and the side note said it was probably inspired by the story in the Bible when ‘Judas betrays Jesus’ for 30 pieces of silver. It made me happy to see the name of Jesus attached to something so artistic, interesting and creative. I hear the Bible inspires a lot of artists but I’m not really an Art Gallerina gal, I think I really need to get out and about more in the daytime!
GALS DAY
I ended my week at the Women’s day at Church; it’s a day for the gals. Around 100 gals gathered together for a day of women specific teachings, cakes, sunshine and fun! The bible teaches that men and women are equal in Gods eyes but different. So as gals our strengths and weaknesses are different to men. It was just fantastic to have some teaching from women who have been in the ‘God game’ much longer than me.
For me there is something special about hearing teaching from the Bible from a female perspective. It just connects with me! I learned soooooooooo much.
JOY
The first speaker spoke about ‘Joy and happiness’ and l learnt that when my happiness is based in my relationship with God nothing can steal my smile away! However when it’s based on my circumstances, my plans working out the exact way I want, people, or my bank balance then it will go up and down depending on what’s going on in my world that week. Although crap happens life can get dark, hard, confusing, complicated and sometimes so sad and painful. It’s actually ok to get cranky, cry and be sad but it’s in those times we can skedaddle to Jesus to help us stay sane and not get too overwhelmed he’ll give us what we need in that moment, whether it be peace, strength or to smile. For some people living without God, their ambition in life is to be happy and this must be hard to achieve as we live in such an imperfect world with imperfect people. Happiness is just bliss; it can make you feel just energised and alive. I remember listening to a guest speaker at Church and he said that many people binge drink because they just want to be happy they just want joy. This was such a ‘light bulb on’ moment for me as I thought to myself “Yeah that sounds right”. I've also read that happiness is a feeling and joy is a choice but I haven't quite worked that one out yet!!
WORDS
The next speaker spoke about being careful with our words and keeping a check on tiredness and stress as it’s in those times we are vulnerable to saying ugly things. She taught us that the Bible teaches in Proverbs chapter 11v22 “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” So when we speak out of place with ugly words just think fat, pink, hairy, muddied pot-bellied snorting pig with a gold ring through it’s nose.
It made me chuckle! I’m always speaking without thinking, I soooooooooo needed that reminder. I just love the Bible….God’s word really does make me laugh some days. Except when I read about Jesus loving his enemies and teaching me to do likewise and reminding me that being a Christian gal in the City is not just about ‘God spliffs’ and fabulous parties but I must love and pray for people who ill-treat and hurt me. I tell you one thing! There’s no laughter then.
Luke 6 v27 Jesus said “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” This teaching is Jesus all over, he’s just so the opposite of what I would naturally want to do. For me following Jesus on this one is ‘no walk in the park’ it’s like running through stinging nettles…ouch! But I suppose the truth is they certainly are the people in my life who need my love and prayer. Jesus says love, bless and pray for them and he teaches this because our enemies are actually in a worse state than we are.
VISION
The last speaker spoke about living with a vision from God which gives you a reason to get out of bed in the morning. A vision of our future that although we feel glued to the bed in the morning, you actually want to get up, get ready and work towards a goal.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish”KJV proverbs 29v18.
The Bible teaches that living with no focus on a vision is a vulnerable way of life. It seems that our minds need a vision, a reason to do the things we do, a goal or a finish line. She said we should think about what we want our lives to look like in 10 years time and work towards it. Our choices shape our future! God has absolutely fabulous plans for our lives, plans that actually never expire. He has a God-given assignment for each one of us! It’s soooooooo exciting!!!
The speaker also taught about living a disciplined life. I remember reading somewhere that there is no two ways about it, undisciplined people are always unsuccessful and disciplined people are successful. The speaker taught how bad habits, so I suppose habits like bad money management, poor diet, little exercise and always living for the ‘here and now’ with a cruise control attitude toward the future is actually unproductive and unwise and living life undisciplined may feel fine in our 20’s but it actually leads to little cracks and left untouched can become holes in our 30’s and even bigger holes and problems in our 40’s. I’m such an unorganised gal, I love that there’s hope for me as God will help me, I don’t have to get ‘super organised’ all by myself! I suppose this is why Jesus said to his disciples in the gospel of Matthew “Go make disciples” this teaches us that Jesus is looking for ‘life long learners’… gals and guys willing to learn the ropes for life. Interns, so to speak! Not just ‘believers’ or ‘converts’.
I remember watching the gals in the reality TV show Running in Heels where 3 interns are in a competition to win an internship at Marie Claire magazine in America and I remember thinking my life with Jesus is quite like that always learning new things through different tasks, experiences and at times crazy scary steps of faith outside my cosy comfort zone.
Disciple comes from the word discipline. Living disciplined is a whole new habit in itself so will inevitably take time but can see it must make such a difference in life.
Disciple comes from the word discipline. Living disciplined is a whole new habit in itself so will inevitably take time but can see it must make such a difference in life.
I’m up for the challenge! How I ever lived without teaching from the Bible I’ll seriously never know. I left feeling so inspired, uplifted and refreshed like I just had a steaming hot shower. Oh I love Gal’s days!
Thanks for reading my post!! lets catch up next week for more Christian gal in the City fun and remember gorgeous gals “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” xxxxxx
5 comments:
Happiness is fleeting, joy can be found even in sorrow.
What I mean is that happiness as a feeling is fleeting, like a laugh or a smile. Whereas joy encompasses hope, trust/sense of conviction, peace. Joy is what we feel as a result of putting our trust in God for our lives even when everything seems to be chaos and often all those feelings, hope, trust, peace, well up and overflow. I heard in a preach recently, is peace a quiet calm countryside scenee or is peace like the bird that's made its nest on a branch in the middle of a waterfall? Happiness is just a feeling dependent on circumstance and joy is felt inspite of circumstance.
Thanks for your comment Anne- Claire!!
This sounds absolutely fabulous in theory but have you experienced this in your own life??
I know peace, hope, trust in the storm but i'm not about sure about Joy would you define those feelings as JOY?? XX
x
It is hard to describe but I have been in the situation before when my heart felt broken and I experienced an overflow of hope and peace from knowing Gods promise and to me they became that feeling of joy, I was dancing around my kitchen after feeling desolate for two days. Joy is so often a slightly bittersweet feeling but pure joy I suspect lacks that bittersweet if that makes sense? Pure joy to me is when people get so lost in God like they do in worship and all they can do is laugh and cry with happiness.
I was talking to someone today about feelings and that I think you can have feelings based on knowledge and ones based on emotion. To me ones based on knowledge are feelings that come from something substantiative like knowing God loves you, trusting and hoping in him. Feelings based on emotion are a rollercoaster as substantiative as vapour.
Not sure if that clarifies things much for you though! That's just what joy is to me.
Thanks CGITC, absolutely love your weekly blogs and no matter what you write, there's always an important message for me to take with me through the week and apply to my day to day thoughts/actions. This week it really hit home about loving those who ill treat and hurt me, my natural instance is to harbour bad feelings and seek petty revenge but deep down they maybe be in need of love/support but too afraid to admit. I know its important for me to continue in my quest for discipleship and others around me may follow suit. Pls keep up the good work. You're doing big things in the lives of others (me especially) and pray you continue to share your selfless gift with others. Xxxx
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