Something Bigger ...

There's something amazing about being a part of something bigger than yourself. Each time I've been in the prayer room this week I've felt quite emotional as I've taken up the prayer baton and then passed it on when my time was up. I think the best way to explain it is a feeling of solidarity and unity. There is a new found respect between people, barriers have been broken down,  it's unspoken but we are aware there has been a shift. We share a common purpose, we're all in it for the same reason, and together we will reap the benefits.

So far this week of 24-7 prayer has drawn our church family together in a way that exceeds my expectations. There's a physical, emotional, intellectual, social and spiritual unity going down. It's quite spectacular. It's also connected us to our wider church and Army family on an international scale. We aren't doing this alone. As we pray, we unite with Salvationists in Norway, Iceland & The Faeroe's Territory, who are also praying 24-7. Today Big Spring,Tx in the USA Southern Territory join in on the prayer. We are a part of something bigger. And praying in unity, it will change the world!

This morning between the hours of 8am-9am we joined in The Salvation Army's worldwide prayer meeting. Every Thursday morning, people all around the world are praying ... I've heard it describes as "a Mexican prayer wave that travels the globe." It's such a privilege to be a part of something bigger than ourselves as we pray for the Army's current vision: One Army, One Mission, One Message. 

So far this week, I've been encouraged to hear about people sharing an intimate time with their Creator. One person has said "I didn't want to leave, are there still times available so I can sign up again." another has said "It was way better than I expected"

At the moment, as we journey through a building project, having had this experience of 24-7 prayer people are now requesting a space dedicated to prayer. A prayer room set up in the new building that we don't have to pack down. A place of refuge, restoration and strength from our busy lives. Why wouldn't we if this has deepened, challenged and encouraged the spiritual lives of our family?

I can't help but think of the possibilities ... Imagine the spiritual foundation we would set, if the week our new building opens, we engage in another week of 24-7 prayer. Oh, If our new dedicated prayer room was available during the week for anyone who accesses our building to seek God, and come before him in prayer. I imagine how amazing it would be, if we had 40 people from our church family who committed to being in the prayer room and praying during a 9-5 work day, 5 days a week while we serve the community. WOWZAS! The dream excites me.

To be part of something bigger than ourselves encourages and inspires, it establishes unity and gives an incredible sense of solidarity. God is so good, he's faithful and promises to hear and answer from heaven when we humble ourselves and pray. It's not to late to jump on board.

SamME

The journey continues

Day 3 of our 24-7 prayer journey has been and gone, and people continue to pray, from there homes into the wee hours of the morning. Powerful!

 As I spent time in the prayer tent today, a number of things caught my eye, that I thought were worth sharing and may just help and encourage your own prayer time with Jesus, where ever you may be.

Praise ...

Prayers of His people

People gathered in prayer.

“Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” Matthew 18:20

 Written in the prayer room journal, the lyrics to a song which you can listen to here.

And perhaps the most impacting prayer for me in the prayer room yet ... the prayer of a child in the prayer journal.

(To read more about the simplicity of childhood prayer and our call to be child like, have a read of yesterdays post.)

If you are interested in finding out more about 24/7 prayer - the movement, check out the official website.

For information on The Salvation Army's global call to 24-7 prayer check this out.

Tomorrow morning, we join in a global prayer meeting and pray for the vision of The Salvation Army - One Army, One Mission, One Message. You can find out more details about the worldwide prayer meeting from the Generals website.

It's a bit itsy bitsy today, but hopefully you'll be able to find something here that will aid your own personal prayer time with Jesus.

Much love, SamMe

Play 'n' Pray - the skies the limit!

24-7 Prayer: Day Two



Our Church is currently spending the week in prayer, 24 hours a day for 7 days. So far everyone I have spoken to, who has spent time in the prayer room says "The time flies by", "An hour isn't long enough" "I'm signing up for another hour" or something along similar lines. The testimonies so far have been extreemly encouraging as people have sought God and found him. People of all ages have utilised the prayer space ... there is no limit as to who can come before God and experience His presence.

I've spent some time in the prayer room with Zac, Evy and Meila, (who I was looking after) and was encouraged to play and pray. Prayer isn't boring, it's not mundane (unless you make it that way), it can be exciting, fun and joyous. In the prayer tent is a dedicated space to encourage our kids to pray. 





Strait away Zac was drawn to the big beach ball which had sentence starters to help kids start their prayers. "Thank you for ..."

"I love you because..."

"Help me too ..."

"Help others too..."

"I'm sorry for..."

We had 'such fun', throwing the ball to each other ... praying and playing together. It was delightful, and I'm certain that God took great delight in his children enjoying their time with him.

We spent time playing with play dough, painting and sharing in communion together. As the kids painted their hands and put their prints on a sheet canvas, we talked about how God creates us all differently and knows everything about us. We thanked God for making us special and unique.

The simplicity of a childs prayer is inspiring. No flash words, no beating around the bush, just straight up honest. They pray for anything and everything, and nothing is impossible. Their prayers are bold, with a faith that says "the sky is the limit" ... actually, with a faith that says "not even the sky is the limit."

So much hope, so much faith, so much truth, so much love!

No wonder Jesus told us to come to him like little children.

"The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them." Mark 10:13-16 (MSG)

 

Simple.

 

Come to Jesus. Enter His embrace with the simplicity of a child, don't worry about using big flashy words, or trying to impress him (Matthew 6:5-18). Come, just as you are, honestly, truthfully, with hope, faith and in love. He delights when his children come to him in prayer. He longs to gather you in His arms and bless you.

 

Encourage prayer in the lives of our children. They get it. They pray without rules and regulations, in the beauty of it's simplicity. May we not complicate their prayer lifes with our own expectations and requirements of prayer, but encourage their honesty and freedom as they enter the embrace of Jesus.

 

SamMe

 

24-7 Day One: Experiencing the Presence

There’s a buzz of conversation. People are chatting and laughing as they cluster around tables. Knives and forks clang against each other. Chairs scrape back and forwards against the wooden floor. The smell of spaghetti and meatballs wafts through the room. People play with napkins in their hands, rolling them and unrolling them, tearing them up, keeping their fingers busy. The sight really is something to behold, a group of people; diverse in age, ethnicity, socio-economic status and religion coming together to share in a meal. This is our weekly community meal, where anyone is welcome and everyone is equal. Regardless!

Tonight though, there’s a difference. In the corner of the room sits a big white Marquee, a tent. It looks a little out of place. Draped across the tent is bunting which reads “24/7 PRAYER”.

Before the food is served it’s announced that there is a space for prayer in the corner of the room. That this week our church family will be praying for 24 hours a day. The offer is made for people to wander through the prayer room, and someone will be in there, if they want prayer for anything at all. The meal is served and people eat.

No one comes into the prayer room during the meal seeking prayer. The buzz continues. It’s noisy. Yet, within the prayer tent … tranquillity and peace. It’s a little bit surreal. There’s this overwhelming sense of calm. Quietness. Stillness. The noise could be overpowering … but isn’t, at all!

For the last couple of nights, I’ve lost sleep with excitement. Excitement about what God has in store. And this! It exceeds my expectations!

His Presence is like a blanket, it covers with peace, rest, joy, hope and life.

As I look around the room, a Martin Luther King, Jr quote on the wall captures my attention: “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

I breathe, I pray.

He is good. He is faithful. He hears our prayers. He responds.

People leave the meal and a small group of us gather for a time of corporate prayer. We are reminded that God IS 24-7. He never sleeps or slumbers. Where-ever we are, what-ever time, He is ready and available. Much of our time in group prayer is spent in silence as we sit … wait … soak.

We lift praise and adoration, we confess, we thank, we uphold others and their situations, we speak light into places of darkness, we make change in the spiritual realms and our Father is moved to action through our prayer.

As our time draws to a close we are acutely aware that although we leave this place of prayer, we don’t leave his presence. He goes before us, He hems us in from behind. We can continue in prayer, pick up where we left off, anytime, anywhere. We leave for the night, knowing that a fellow prayer warrior has taken up the prayer baton. That through out the night the prayer will continue. 24-7.

Thank-you Jesus for making the way for us to come to our heavenly Father in prayer. Let this week of prayer be for your glory. Let your Kingdom come, let your will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven. “And now, dear God, be alert and attentive to prayer, all prayer, offered in this place.” 2 Chronicles 6:40

God makes the best peanut butter ...

In case you missed it, here's a short article published in the war cry just ahead of valentines day:

Last month, Brenton and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.   What a crazy, fun, wild ride it’s been! Ups, downs, twists and turns don’t begin to describe it.

Living together, working together and two children later, it’s fair to say we have learnt a lot. 

Five key lessons we take from the past five years go a little like this:

1.  When conflict arises, remember the 3 Cs:

Confront: We can be quick to confront the other person, but how about confronting ourselves and asking, ‘What part did I play?’ ‘Did I anger easily, react, or have unrealistic expectations in the first place?’ I won’t change our relationship for the better by trying to change my spouse; the best way to bring about change is by starting with me. This means confronting my own weaknesses, expectations and actions. When I do this, I often end up apologising.
Commit: Whatever the conflict may be, we’re in this for the long haul so we are committed to working through it.
Communicate: Share our perspective openly and honestly. Communication isn’t just about expressing our perspective, it’s also essential to listen to our spouse’s perspective. Sometimes this might mean going away to process what they’ve said and coming back to talk about it again later.

2. People watch.

Growing up, I watched the relationships of those around me and decided what I wanted my own marriage to be like (and not to be like). Brenton and I still look to other couples we respect, seeing what things from their marriages we can implement in our own. We also recognise that other people are watching our marriage, especially our children. How we treat each other needs to be consistent—in and out of the home.

3. Love selflessly.

Ephesians 5:2 (The Message) says: ‘Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.’
If I am serious about putting this verse into practice in my marriage, it means loving my spouse by giving everything of me, without ulterior motives and without expecting anything in return. It means encouraging, equipping and empowering him to be all he can be. I’m convinced this can only result in marital bliss.

4. Keep the fire burning.

Brenton and I have found that time together fuels our relationship. We regularly spend time together on ‘date nights’ without the children. This is invaluable.

5. God makes the best peanut butter.

If we are the slices of bread in a sandwich, God is the peanut butter in the middle. If we’re the bricks, God’s the mortar. If we are the pages of a book, God is the spine binding us together.
This is without a doubt the greatest learning we take from the past five years. Our marriage is at its best and strongest when we make God the centre of our relationship. We grow and develop together as a couple when we are regularly spending time together in God’s presence, in prayer and in the Bible.

We are still rookies at marriage—we haven’t mastered these lessons and have a lot more to learn—but it’s a blast all the same. Marriage, with all its challenges, excitement and fun, is the best adventure I’ve ever been on!
By Sammy Millar (abridged from War Cry 9 February 2013, p3)

Valentines Schmelentines!

I used to hate Fathers day, with a passion! Before I was born my Father relinquished all responsibility and took off not to be seen again until I met him around the age of 20 (but that's another story). Fathers day was like a kick in the guts every time it rolled around. It reminded me of what I didn't have. What I was missing. It was a painful reminder that I didn't have a daddy who could tuck me in at night, cuddle me when I got hurt, and treat me like a princess. Every year the same old feelings of rejection, abandonment, hurt pain and fear would resurface.

For the past couple of weeks as valentines day has approached plastic roses have invaded shop frontage, pink paper hearts dominated store windows, 'luuurve' themed cups, t-shirts, photo frames, monkeys, vases and pretty much what ever else you can think of under the sun is on 'sale', every second advertisement on TV is about the incredible piece of jewellery you can purchase for that special someone. (urgh, and we easily get sucked in by it all and buy into this culture of consumerism).

Every where you turn, there are red hearts, white hearts, pink hearts, happy hearts, excited hearts ... broken hearts. Seriously, valentines day stinks for some people! Just like Fathers day stunk for me when I was a kid, Valentines day really stinks for some.

It stirs up all kinds of thoughts and emotions. It's that yearly reminder ...
"I'm not good enough."
"No one will ever love me."
"I'm unlovable"
"I'm worthless"
"I'm rejected"
"I've been abandoned"
"No one cares"
"Will it ever happen for me?"
"What's wrong with me?"

For some it refuels a desire and creates a desperation, a desire for something more and they settle for less than they deserve.

For some it's a painful reminder of loss, a reminder of something they once had, but is no more.

I don't know if you have a date for valentines day today, if you are someones valentine or not, if you received a dozen roses this morning, or a gift pack full of bath bombs and chocolate or not. What I do know is you are not alone and you are not forgotten. You are loved. You are chosen. You are wanted. You are accepted. Immense in mercy and with an incredible love, the creator of the universe wants to embrace you (Eph 2:4 The message).

When you feel unloved, alone, dismissed, patronised, rejected, abandoned, ignored, forgotten or inferior, God (who is love) sees you, meet him in the secret place. He will love, accept, comfort, acknowledge, affirm, recognise you and reveal to you your identity.
Sounds like the best valentines day date ever to me!

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Itsy.Bitsy thoughts from SamMe

"My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practise real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves." 1 John 3:18-19

When LIGHT pervades darkness - answered prayer

I have a bit of a routine when I take my son Zac to educare (daycare) each morning. I travel the same roads at around about the same time each morning and pray a similar prayer at the same point of the 6 minute journey.

You see, towards the end of last year, The Headhunters motorcycle gang took over a warehouse in Upper Hutt and began to convert it into a cage fighting club. They said their aim was to help at risk youth, although some of us questioned whether the real intent was to recruit. In fact as time went on, it became apparent that they were indeed recruiting some of the more vulnerable 'at risk' youth in our community. In the same building they were opened a debt collection agency with the slogan "You know you owe, so pay or pray" Because of our work in the community we heard about the way in which the headhunters were collecting the debts and it's fair to say their methods are not always just, fair or humane. Tensions were increasing between the local mongrel mob gang and the headhunters gang, and it seemed only a matter of time before the two would collide.

Needless to say, the arrival of the headhunters was not well received in the Upper Hutt community, and the idea of a cage fighting club went down like a lead balloon! We certainly made it a topic of prayer within our church community as did many of the other churches in Upper Hutt.

Each morning, when I drove past the cage fighting club I prayed for it's closure. I prayed that light would pervade darkness. Because darkness can't be present where there is light. I prayed that the Kingdom of God would be established here on Earth as in Heaven. I prayed that this place of  injustice and destruction would be closed down and conquered for the glory of God and for the furthering of His kingdom, reign and rule.

Imagine my surprise this morning when as I went about my usual routine and the cage fighting warehouse had been TRANSFORMED. Signage had been REMOVED, the place was totally EMPTY and in the window a "FOR LEASE" sign!

I shouted out a big fat loud "WAHOOOOO"

Zac piped up from the back seat "Mummy, why are you yelling?"

"Because I'm excited"

"Why are you excited"

"Because I think Jesus has answered a prayer"

"Please don't yell that loudly Mummy, it hurts my ears" was his simple 3 year old reply.

My prayer was different this morning. A prayer of thanks. A prayer celebrating answered prayer and victory. Victory because light has pervaded darkness. Victory because we have taken ground from the kingdom of darkness for the Kingdom of God in our community. WHOOOO!

I'm not naive, I know that it wasn't my prayers alone that caused the closure of that place.

 It was the prayers of many faithful followers of Christ who know the power and authority they have when they pray in the name of Jesus.

When they claim the promises in Gods word.

When they pray "Let your kingdom come, let your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven."

I also know that action accompanied prayer. Letters were written to the council, there was definitely uproar, and while I don't know the details around the closure yet, I know our prayers played a massively significant role!

There is still uncertainty around whether the headhunters plan to open elsewhere, so it remains a topic for prayer, let Gods Kingdom come, to Earth as is in Heaven!

Prayer has power. It changes things.

To pervade the kingdom of darkness with the kingdom of light, love, life, freedom, truth and hope!

Lord let your Kingdom come!

Itsy.Bitsy.SamMe

P.S: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Adoption Stories, links and info

I just got my ugly cry on! You know that cry, where something moves you so deeply, it's like an eruption from within that just explodes. The tears flow quick and fast, and the noise ... oh the noise. It's uncontrollable yet liberating. It's not the kind of cry that can be hidden, you know, the silent one where you can wipe away a tear before it's even noticed. It's the ugly cry! Luckily I was home alone :)

My friend just sent me a link and the note along side it said "Watch this if you want to cry. Especially when the guy is playing how he loves." So I watched the link and sure enough, had a cry. I thought I'd share it on my blog this week, along with some other links and things that have been inspiring and helpful when it's come to our own adoption journey. Some of the resources I've only discovered recently, but have been really useful.

If you are adopted, have adopted, are considering adoption or just want to be inspired check this stuff out (be warned though, you may or may not get your ugly cry on).

• Here's the first link which is about a family who have adopted children from all over the world and simply love ... it's really moving.

• Here's another video which is about a family in New Zealand who are innovators in my opinion when it comes to adoption. Massive hearts filled with love and there's no sign of them stopping any time soon. Steve was actually a key player in our own journey when we first started considering adoption.

• The Huffington Post has recently done a series 30 adoption profiles in 30 days. There are stories of every kind of adoption you can think of, it gives a broad range of experience and opinion.

• This is a website with support networks for those involved in adoption.

• Another website offering support and a huge number of articles regarding adoption.

• "God found us you" is a book that we purchased to read to our kids to encourage discussion about Evy's adoption. It's a beautiful story with illustrations that the kids love. For us it's important to know that Gods plan is for Evy to be a part of our family, and this book really emphasises that.

• This is an article about creating a life book for a child who has been adopted. The focus is to help the child understand their story including information about their birth parents, their adoption and all sorts of other details.

• The Do's and Dont's when writing a life book.

We've just recently finished writing Evy's life book, you can check out a little more about ours here.

If you're serious about finding out about adoption in New Zealand, head along to Child, Youth and Family's website or to Adoption Options website which is specifically aimed at Pregnant women considering adoption.

I also recommend a couple of movies: "Like Dandelion Dust" (also a book) and "October Baby". Both are powerful stories of adoption.

Hopefully, by checking out a few of these links you'll be as inspired as I've been.

SamMe

No fear in death - Midweek Muse

Last Friday Sir Paul Holmes past away after battling cancer. I don’t know if you saw the interview with him on “Sunday” the week before, but I was moved by it. As I watched it I think my heart broke a little.  By the end, I was in tears ... actual running down my face tears. Not because he was dying (which is, without a doubt, sad), but because he was afraid of dying.  During the interview he reflected on the special women in his life, regrets, family, work and God.

When asked if he was afraid he replied:

“Yeah I am, I get a bit scared. The scariest thing is going to bed, closing your eyes and not knowing if your going to wake up in the morning, that’s my scariest thing”

His response to whether he had a sense of peace was:

“Im a bit frightened and I plan to increase my peace with God … I’m worried what’s over the hill… I wonder what there is … I hope the lord decides I’m on the right side of the ledger is all … I will give my life now to some contemplation and pray for Gods mercy”

What struck me most was his fear of death. For a time I felt paralysed to the couch as I considered that sooo many people have this same fear. This uncertainty. This hopelessness.

What I realised was that I have no such fear. I have no doubt that the day my body dies on this earth I will find myself with my Creator, Father, Savior and Friend in a place too glorious to imagine.

Yet Paul Holmes represents one of many, who fear death. This breaks me. Sometimes we pray to God in song: “Break my heart for what breaks yours” yet our hearts are hardened to the fear that others face. We don’t care. We lack compassion and empathy. We are content with our eternity, and our compassion and mercy for others and their eternity dissipates.

As the interview progressed, the line from the song “In Christ Alone” came to mind: “No guilt in life, No fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me.”

 There are people who fear death, there are people living without a glimmer of hope … that should be enough to stir us, to motivate us to action, to move from our state of comfort to a place of compassion and courage. That should cause us to speak up about the incredible hope we have in Christ which is available to all.

 ^“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” Titus 3:4-8

Christ came and saved us from death, he conquered it, and when we are in Him death has no hold on us! Our hope is in him and hope is our anchor. It’s a hope worth sharing!

 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” Heb 10:23

Itsy Bitsy thoughts from SamMe