Great Doddington - Canada and boats

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We talked for a long time this evening, but it was more than just talk for talk's sake. We covered a lot of topics and considered how some of them related to the things we believe and hold true.

One of the things we discussed was the idea of giving up our lives for the Lord. It's not enough to do things for him and to work hard at being Christians, instead we need to really let go of everything else but him. Nothing in our lives should matter more than he does.

Chris shared a thought from something he'd heard on a Colin Urquhart recording. We know from the Bible that it's more blessed to give than to receive and this is a spiritual truth. It applies to the Lord just as much as it does to us, so when we receive from Him He is blessed. We should never be reticent about accepting His gifts and favour, He enjoys giving us good things just like any good parent. This is an interesting point; we don't normally understand it this way. It's clear to us that we should be cheerful givers and that we benefit from that, but we don't usually consider how much the Lord loves to give and the benefit He receives. When we refuse to accept from him we take away the blessing he is due.

We also spoke about the ways in which we are all in a state of transition, with Jody and Peter considering moving to Canada, and Chris and Rachael's Mum and Dad's recent transition from this world to the next, the imminent transition of Rachael's daughter Rosie to motherhood, and overall the transition of priority from 'self' to 'his will' in each of us. This is truly the most important thing of all, that he should have his way in us, not that we should have our own way.

At the end of the evening Jody suggested we spend some time in prayer, and that turned out to be really useful.

Father told us we are like little boats bobbing in a stormy sea, but we are safe, the waves will not capsize us, the wind will not blow us over, he is with us in the boat.

We thought, not for the first time, that these meetings are all different and don't really follow a particular pattern. Yet the Lord graciously reaches into our lives and touches us - over and over and over again.

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