http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytyE7ThLquA&feature=youtu.be
Good evening all! Sorry this week's blog is a bit late but I had issues with technology. Please click on the link and have watch. Please give me feedback, if you enjoyed it or just found it funny. Please tell me! Sorry about the picture, I did video it on my phone.
Hope you have a wondeful Christmas!
God Bless
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Tuesday 24 December 2013
Monday 16 December 2013
My friend, the King
Good evening. It's been so busy this week that if it wasn't for Sophie reminding me to do my blog tonight, I think it may have slipped my mind. But another good week has been had here in Eston.
The Salvation Army's work in the community at this time of year is very much heightened, even though we work just as hard all year round. But here in Eston the work in the community is so vital. This week I had the oppurtunity to walk around the estate around the back of the hall, leafleting the houses around there. I can certainly say it was an eye opener, some of these pockets of houses were in areas that were clearly run down. But I had this I overwhelming feeling of God working in this estate, He is still God of this town. He is God of all, the rich, the poor, those who know Him and those who don't. We can only love them and be the face of Christ to these people! I can only pray that this week as the Christmas present appeal comes to an end that we will have the opportunity to bring hope and show love to these people who we shall come in contact with.
The pinnacle of the week for me was the absolute privilege of being able to lead worship here at Eston on Sunday. It was such a good time and I really felt that God was praised and put in his rightful place as Lord of all! I focused the meeting upon Jesus and who is Jesus to us as individuals. I looked at who Jesus was to the Shepherds and the wisemen and the message I felt God was leading me to preach is that at this Christmas time we need to know who Christ is to us. We need to know this Baby Boy who was sent from Heaven to Earth to be our friend and to be our King. For those reading this I urge you to ask the yourselves the same question, who is Jesus Christ to you? Is he an afterthought once all the festivities of this time of year are over, or is he the most important thing in your life? The Shepherds came and worshipped Christ, they were marginalised, they were outcasts but Jesus was their all sufficient Friend. The wisemen came and worshipped the Baby Jesus and these prestigious, intelligent people saw Jesus as their Lord and King. But there were many people that night who didn't pay attention and never got to meet Jesus, he wasn't important to them. Is that more like us at this busy time? We are too preoccupied by Christmas shopping, meeting family members, being busy at work. We forget about Jesus and the peace and love He brings. Do you know Christ this Christmas? Who is He to you?
Well I have big news, I go home on Saturday but I shall still be posting my blog. But it will be in the form of a video... watch this space! Any questions or you'd like something/somebody to be prayed for then do get in touch!
God bless
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 9 December 2013
"An Uncomfortable Idea"
Good evening once again. I said last week we are getting
busier here at Eston... that was no sort of exaggeration. Love being busy, it
means it's closer to Christmas! I am such a big kid.
It's been such a blessing the kindness of people in this
community. The Salvation Army nationwide have a Christmas present appeal where
we ask anybody who comes into the hall and those in the community to help those
who will be referred to us by buying a present. These presents will be given to
families who struggle to afford any presents for their children. This whole act
of giving is just an enormous showing of unconditional love, strangers buying
presents for strangers. It really is amazing the love that is shown and in
particular how apparent it is this time of year. Thank you God for the love and
kindness people have and continue to show.
It's quite incredible what God is doing in my life at the
moment. The one thing that has really stood out to me this year is this whole
idea of Grace. It's obvious that the Lord needed me to understand what it is
and really experience Grace this year. I say this because this week the big
news story is the passing of Nelson Mandela and it really struck me that
Mandela's story was basically a story of Grace. He went from a convicted
criminal, accused of terrorism to a man who would end up as president of South
Africa. Not only that, he was a man who left prison not with anger or malice or
revenge in his heart but a whole spirit of forgiveness and incredible Grace. To
see the hardship and pain Black South Africans went through and yet not want
any retaliation. Surely an embodiment of Grace? But I know this doesn't sit well
with people this thing called Grace, how can we be graceful when everything
about us is saying not to accept it but to condemn it. Our House Group, as
previously said in other blogs, are going through Phillip Yancey's "What's
so amazing about Grace?" and one chapter is called "Grace- an
uncomfortable idea" and it is uncomfortable, being Graceful is not part of
the human race's DNA, we would rather be angry and sometimes like to have revenge
upon people. But this is the exact opposite of who Jesus is and what Jesus
taught us, in fact some of His very last words before He was crucified was
"Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do". As the song
says; O to be more like Jesus. I so want to be more Graceful like him and I so
want to understand more about this Grace but I think it is one of those
mysteriously Godly things that I will never quite get a grasp of, however much
I try.
I suppose I could write about Grace for the 20 blogs and we
still wouldn't get anywhere in understanding more about it and although you may
get bored, it is one of those things that will continue to fascinate me.
So there we are. Can I ask you who is reading to pray for
Eston Corps at this time, we are very busy like many Salvation Army corps
around the territory, we have some big and exciting events coming up soon such
as Carols in the Car Park where the community is invited to come and share with
the Salvation Army, last year the corps had 300 people turn up! We also have
our distribution day for the Christmas present appeal. I hope you have a good
week.
Get in touch:
@peggo36
Every Blessing!
Monday 2 December 2013
A Powerful Silence
Good evening all. I'm back up in Eston after a week training, good to get back to my ministry here. Just had a team meeting this morning and it's fair to say that the next few weeks are going to be busy and then it'll be Christmas!
So as I said in my last blog, our training was at Aylesford Friary. Other than the training, the most significant time for me last week for me was when I was on my own at night where I could relax and spend time with God in the silence. Once all the sessions were out the way, I would wrap up warm and find a bench and sit and do nothing. I just listened and spent time in prayer. I'll try and describe the surroundings; I sat on a bench with a pond behind me and in front of me a garden with tree's around the perimeter, although it was cold, it was almost silent with an occasional noise made by the swans behind me. It was very peaceful and I think at times it was just what I needed. It was so powerful those moments, just thinking and quietly spending time in prayer with God. I almost came away from that bench refreshed and relaxed because it was that quiet, even if it was at times around 11pm at night. When I was thinking about me being silent before God, I suppose silence is key to the story of Jesus' birth. It implies that Mary was silent when the Angel Gabriel came to her and told her she will carry the Son of God. It was in the silence, on the hills when the shepherds again were told by the Angels that Jesus has been born in Jerusalem. How many times did God use the silence during sleep to speak to people through their dreams in the Christmas story? People being silent before God is key in the story of Jesus' birth and it is in the silence God spoke to people and told them what He wants them to do. I am not sure how I would have reacted if an Angel turned up while I was on that bench at Aylesford, probably very much like the shepherds.. utter fear. But what a hallowed moment that must have been, I hope that I will continue to get the oppurtunities to be silent because it is those moments God does speak. That doesn't mean that the Lord won't speak in the noise, God spoke to Elijah during the earthquake! But it was refreshing and I felt that I was on Holy ground.
I think I may keep my blogs nativity themed in the coming weeks. I love the Christmas story, it is full of so many "wow" moments and challenging words, every year I read the beginning of Jesus' life again just to see if anything new jumps out at me and every year I get a new meaning or something stands out that hasn't before. I want to get a new dimension of Jesus' birth and make the coming of Christ not just a story that happened 2000 years ago and gets pulled once year, but in fact a very real and relevant thing for my life. My saviour being born.
I hope you have a good week this week, still no sign of snow... long may it continue. If you have any questions or want to get in touch about anything then like always I will leave my contact details and feel free to get in touch
God Bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
So as I said in my last blog, our training was at Aylesford Friary. Other than the training, the most significant time for me last week for me was when I was on my own at night where I could relax and spend time with God in the silence. Once all the sessions were out the way, I would wrap up warm and find a bench and sit and do nothing. I just listened and spent time in prayer. I'll try and describe the surroundings; I sat on a bench with a pond behind me and in front of me a garden with tree's around the perimeter, although it was cold, it was almost silent with an occasional noise made by the swans behind me. It was very peaceful and I think at times it was just what I needed. It was so powerful those moments, just thinking and quietly spending time in prayer with God. I almost came away from that bench refreshed and relaxed because it was that quiet, even if it was at times around 11pm at night. When I was thinking about me being silent before God, I suppose silence is key to the story of Jesus' birth. It implies that Mary was silent when the Angel Gabriel came to her and told her she will carry the Son of God. It was in the silence, on the hills when the shepherds again were told by the Angels that Jesus has been born in Jerusalem. How many times did God use the silence during sleep to speak to people through their dreams in the Christmas story? People being silent before God is key in the story of Jesus' birth and it is in the silence God spoke to people and told them what He wants them to do. I am not sure how I would have reacted if an Angel turned up while I was on that bench at Aylesford, probably very much like the shepherds.. utter fear. But what a hallowed moment that must have been, I hope that I will continue to get the oppurtunities to be silent because it is those moments God does speak. That doesn't mean that the Lord won't speak in the noise, God spoke to Elijah during the earthquake! But it was refreshing and I felt that I was on Holy ground.
I think I may keep my blogs nativity themed in the coming weeks. I love the Christmas story, it is full of so many "wow" moments and challenging words, every year I read the beginning of Jesus' life again just to see if anything new jumps out at me and every year I get a new meaning or something stands out that hasn't before. I want to get a new dimension of Jesus' birth and make the coming of Christ not just a story that happened 2000 years ago and gets pulled once year, but in fact a very real and relevant thing for my life. My saviour being born.
I hope you have a good week this week, still no sign of snow... long may it continue. If you have any questions or want to get in touch about anything then like always I will leave my contact details and feel free to get in touch
God Bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Tuesday 26 November 2013
Building Up
Good evening. As I am writing this, I am actually at a priory. Aylesford Friary in Kent for another lot of training. But I haven't got Internet access here so if I have posted this on a different night then I promise I've wrote it on Monday. Promise!
So it's been another good week at Eston Corps and a good weekend back home at Wellingborough Corps for their 140th anniversary celebrations. The thing that has really stood out to me this week has been Eston Corps ministry to the schools around the area. Gary and Lorraine have spent so much time building that relationship with the schools around the Eston area. We go into Bankfields school, Normanby primary, Grangetown primary, whalehill school, southbank primary and to be honest I am sure there are more but I can't quite remember them. We do the reading support and we deliver assemblies and classes on what we believe. But I think it is the relationship the school has with the schools is most important. How can we expect to lead to people into a relationship with Christ if we don't build that bridge from those who don't know Him and those who do? We can't. So it is vital that the Salvation Army is a visible presence in the school community and that we are offering them a way to come into an understanding of who Jesus is to them. I really hope and pray that this ministry will grow and be a really powerful tool to win souls for Jesus.
It was Wellingborough's 140th anniversary weekend. 140 years, just a sign of God's faithfulness. I wad excitee already about the weekend as I get to see my family and Sophie for the weekend and the anniversary just heightened that excitement. It was a really significant time for me this weekend, God really spoke to me. Colonels David and Sylvia Hinton led our weekend and the Colonel's message really spoke to me, he preached on Joshua and the obscure story I suppose of when Joshua built a stone monument within the Jordan river as a sign of God's faithfulness of when the army crossed the river safely. No one knew where those stones were but it was between God and Joshua. It was an everlasting sign between God and Joshua that God's presence followed him and delivered him and that if we are to be a Salvation Army going forth into a community confident and ready to win people for Christ then we must have the presence of God with us and through that he will empower and send us in to anything according to his will. What a message and a challenge it was, in Exodus it says 'How will anyone know we are your people unless your presence goes with us?'. This has to be a challenge to every Christian and for me I will take this challenge and use it for my ministry in Eston, in Wellingborough and wherever else I may be in the future.
So I do hope you have a good week. It's advent next week! Exciting stuff. Thankyou for reading my blog and if you have any questions do get in touch.
God bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 18 November 2013
Keep Listening!
Good afternoon! Thankyou for clicking on that link and reading my blog, it is very much appreciated! I hear snow is on the way? I am not happy about that whatsoever, I bet I sound like a right old man but I don't like snow. I do hope the forecast is wrong...
Well I think this week in particular there have been individual specific moments that have spoke to me. Sometimes it has been God shouting at me and really obviously blessing me and then there has been times where it's been a very small whisper of God working but yet it has been so powerful.
We were out on Friday night going round the pubs and working men's clubs when we arrived at our fourth working men's club and to meet us outside was three girls around the age of 12-14, we stopped and we had a chat with them. What an incredible experience, even though we began just chatting about trivial things like school and Doctor Who, of all things. But then the youngest girl asked what is the Salvation Army and it was an utter priviledge to talk to this girl about the Salvation Army. I explained that we are a church and that we are christians and we do a lot of work all over the country and all over the world, working with the poor and the homeless. We gave them all a Kids Alive and one of them, bless her heart, said in a way only a young child of that age can. "Nah, the Salvation Army is sound." I thank God for that experience, he put us right where he needed us to talk to these girls. To tell them about who we are and maybe just plant that first seed of, I so hope and pray, the beginning of a a relationship with Jesus Christ. Although as we walked into the club, one of the girls shouted at us telling us to enjoy our pints (we didn't get round to the Army's principle of abstinence from alcohol), we were able to tell her who we are, what we do and who we stand for. Praise God!
So that was a real obvious moment where God used us and really did His work. But a particular time this week I couldn't really see where God was untill I took a step back, looked at the programme and thought this is incredible! Eston Corps offer a programme called the CAP money course designed by the Christians Against Poverty organisation. I took part in the course and it basically goes through your finances and helps you build a budget and it helps you understand what is going on with your finances. Now because I am on this programme with the Salvation Army, there is little going on with my personal finances and so trying to work out what is going to happen for the whole year was a bit difficult and I got caught up on all the figures and the numbers. I went home and remembered that Lorraine told us some facts about finances around the country some like that every 5mins someone is declared bankrupt, it costs £28 a day to raise a child til the age of 21 and that every 17 minutes a home is repossessed. These are very real facts and they are effecting real people and actually these facts may effect us all one way or the other. But it is incredible that the Salvation Army is doing something to combat this, we are trying to make a difference in this world. There are so many references to money in scripture but the thing that really stood out to me was that we know and believe that "God is Love", He loves us and wants us to be happy and when this awful thing of finance causes us trouble and pain, I think He hurts too. He doesn't want to see us suffer! So as God's people it is amazing that Eston corps have seen this need and are really doing something about it. Although it took it's time God really spoke to me about the relevance of the CAP money course, albeit a quiet whisper of how incredible this work is and how it is all done in His name.
I think it is important that as Christians we keep our ears open. God has shown throughout scripture his willingness to talk to his servants and I don't think that has changed, He still wants to speak to us. Are you listening?
So there we are, I'm going home this friday for the weekend and I am really excited for it. It is Wellingborough Salvation Army's 140th anniversary, what a celebration of God's faithfulness. So I wish you a good week and untill next monday, goodbye!
God Bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Well I think this week in particular there have been individual specific moments that have spoke to me. Sometimes it has been God shouting at me and really obviously blessing me and then there has been times where it's been a very small whisper of God working but yet it has been so powerful.
We were out on Friday night going round the pubs and working men's clubs when we arrived at our fourth working men's club and to meet us outside was three girls around the age of 12-14, we stopped and we had a chat with them. What an incredible experience, even though we began just chatting about trivial things like school and Doctor Who, of all things. But then the youngest girl asked what is the Salvation Army and it was an utter priviledge to talk to this girl about the Salvation Army. I explained that we are a church and that we are christians and we do a lot of work all over the country and all over the world, working with the poor and the homeless. We gave them all a Kids Alive and one of them, bless her heart, said in a way only a young child of that age can. "Nah, the Salvation Army is sound." I thank God for that experience, he put us right where he needed us to talk to these girls. To tell them about who we are and maybe just plant that first seed of, I so hope and pray, the beginning of a a relationship with Jesus Christ. Although as we walked into the club, one of the girls shouted at us telling us to enjoy our pints (we didn't get round to the Army's principle of abstinence from alcohol), we were able to tell her who we are, what we do and who we stand for. Praise God!
So that was a real obvious moment where God used us and really did His work. But a particular time this week I couldn't really see where God was untill I took a step back, looked at the programme and thought this is incredible! Eston Corps offer a programme called the CAP money course designed by the Christians Against Poverty organisation. I took part in the course and it basically goes through your finances and helps you build a budget and it helps you understand what is going on with your finances. Now because I am on this programme with the Salvation Army, there is little going on with my personal finances and so trying to work out what is going to happen for the whole year was a bit difficult and I got caught up on all the figures and the numbers. I went home and remembered that Lorraine told us some facts about finances around the country some like that every 5mins someone is declared bankrupt, it costs £28 a day to raise a child til the age of 21 and that every 17 minutes a home is repossessed. These are very real facts and they are effecting real people and actually these facts may effect us all one way or the other. But it is incredible that the Salvation Army is doing something to combat this, we are trying to make a difference in this world. There are so many references to money in scripture but the thing that really stood out to me was that we know and believe that "God is Love", He loves us and wants us to be happy and when this awful thing of finance causes us trouble and pain, I think He hurts too. He doesn't want to see us suffer! So as God's people it is amazing that Eston corps have seen this need and are really doing something about it. Although it took it's time God really spoke to me about the relevance of the CAP money course, albeit a quiet whisper of how incredible this work is and how it is all done in His name.
I think it is important that as Christians we keep our ears open. God has shown throughout scripture his willingness to talk to his servants and I don't think that has changed, He still wants to speak to us. Are you listening?
So there we are, I'm going home this friday for the weekend and I am really excited for it. It is Wellingborough Salvation Army's 140th anniversary, what a celebration of God's faithfulness. So I wish you a good week and untill next monday, goodbye!
God Bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 11 November 2013
"Your Church in Your Community"
Good Afternoon, hope you've had a good week this week and that you're ready for another one. Bonfire night has come and gone so that basically means Christmas is around the corner... scary stuff.
I've called this blog 'Your Church in Your Community'. It is one of Eston Corp's slogans so to speak and now I've been here for coming close to two months, I can really see why. It was so apparent to me last monday when we went to a school to pick up some food donated by the children, there was tonnes of it. So much food it was an incredible sight! But this was the community, giving food to the Salvation Army who then in turn gives that food back to the community through food parcels, although it maybe unseen, which helps build the community up and bring those struggling people a little bit of comfort and support. We are a vital role in that cycle of serving the community. People around this area know who the Salvation Army are, I had a conversation with a woman at the local shop, she knew exactly what the Salvation Army is and where it is located. Eston Corps is in the community of Eston and surrounding areas, serving the community of Eston and surrounding areas. The pub ministry we have hits right at the centre of the community. I am learning that the North-East has a strong Working Men's club and pub culture and that it has been a tradition of these people to gather and have a good time in these buildings. Eston Salvation Army is a known presence in these pubs and clubs, the men and women know who we are. We bring Jesus right into the very hub of this community on a friday night, even if it is only through a listening ear and the offer of a War Cry.
I've called this blog 'Your Church in Your Community'. It is one of Eston Corp's slogans so to speak and now I've been here for coming close to two months, I can really see why. It was so apparent to me last monday when we went to a school to pick up some food donated by the children, there was tonnes of it. So much food it was an incredible sight! But this was the community, giving food to the Salvation Army who then in turn gives that food back to the community through food parcels, although it maybe unseen, which helps build the community up and bring those struggling people a little bit of comfort and support. We are a vital role in that cycle of serving the community. People around this area know who the Salvation Army are, I had a conversation with a woman at the local shop, she knew exactly what the Salvation Army is and where it is located. Eston Corps is in the community of Eston and surrounding areas, serving the community of Eston and surrounding areas. The pub ministry we have hits right at the centre of the community. I am learning that the North-East has a strong Working Men's club and pub culture and that it has been a tradition of these people to gather and have a good time in these buildings. Eston Salvation Army is a known presence in these pubs and clubs, the men and women know who we are. We bring Jesus right into the very hub of this community on a friday night, even if it is only through a listening ear and the offer of a War Cry.
The Territorial Commander, Commissioner Clive Adams, preached on Transformational mission at the territorial congress a couple of weeks ago and he said "Transformation happens out there...", The TC then went onto say that Jesus transformed lives because he was out there, "Jesus, the very embodiment of Grace and Truth was made available to a desperate world because He was there with them." If the Salvation Army is going to make a difference in this community we need to be in it. I see this in Eston Corps, it has a real presence in this community. The schools know who we are, the pubs know who we are, the council knows who we are, the local shop knows who we are and people know who we are. There is a real need in Eston, just like there would be a real need wherever you are reading this and so if we are going to make a difference then we need to be in the community. The past few weeks have made this fact so apparent to me.
I hope you are still enjoying reading my blog. The tenth one! How time flies. If you have any questions or comments to make please get in touch.
God Bless
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
I hope you are still enjoying reading my blog. The tenth one! How time flies. If you have any questions or comments to make please get in touch.
God Bless
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 4 November 2013
"Let the Morning bring... your unfailing Love."
Good afternoon! Yes I am awake and writing this blog after 24/7 prayer week and no I am not sleepy either! What a blessed time we had this week, just taking time to be quiet with God. What a privilege.
But before I talk about my experience in the prayer room, I just wanted to share with you the awesome time we had yesterday in the Grid. For those who don't know, The Grid is the group of young people aged 11-14 in our YP. We only have a couple but they are a great group and through them God is really blessing me. So we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount teachings and we spoke about how Jesus taught us to give. So first of all I asked them to make a trumpet! Yep a trumpet, okay it was only out of cardboard and tin foil but all the same, it made a noise. We then were treated to a very dramatic performance from come Pharisee/rich man, Captain Gary as he boasted and bragged about how wealthy he is and about how much he is giving to charity. This almost was met without any hesitation with a sound of blowing our trumpets at him, it was such a fun way to get the message of not blowing your own trumpet when you give but instead be humble and give all you can quietly. I really ask you who are reading this to pray for Eston's Grid, we have just started up and I know through your prayers great things can come through this group of youngsters.
When we think about prayer there are so many types of prayers or there are so many different aspects we include in our prayers. We pray for forgiveness, strength, wisdom. We pray for individual people or our church or for the Salvation Army. We pray for situations around the world and in all of this it is almost like we are asking God to give or replenish something that isn't there at the moment. Of course there is nothing wrong in that whatsoever but over this week I have been praying so many prayers of thanks and praise to our God. Whilst in the prayer room, I set the scene by putting some background music on and the CD I frequently picked was the International Staff Songsters; "Let the Morning Bring" and the title of the CD was taken from Psalm 143; "Let the Morning bring me word of your unfailing Love." What a truth that is, when I would wake up in the morning at a ridiculous hour to walk to the prayer room, God's love to me is evident. First of all he blesses me with the most wonderful people in my life, my wonderful family, my wonderful Girlfriend, my wondeful church family both in Wellingborough Salvation Army and Eston Salvation Army. I then think about his calling on my life to serve him and I think of all things he has provided me to do this task, my God is a God of Love and Grace and he doesn't enjoy watching me flounder in the deep end. He Loves me! Then I think of the greatest showing of Love of all, I think of Calvary where God sent his Son to die for an unworthy sinner such as me, that's Love. How wonderful it is. But it doesn't stop there, it is unfailing. He will always love me no matter what I do, He will continue to bless and Love me each new morning I wake.
Well another week is upon us, I hope you have a good one! Please get in touch if you have anything to say about the Blog or if you have any questions about Essential or the Salvation Army or whatever! Do get in contact. God Bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
But before I talk about my experience in the prayer room, I just wanted to share with you the awesome time we had yesterday in the Grid. For those who don't know, The Grid is the group of young people aged 11-14 in our YP. We only have a couple but they are a great group and through them God is really blessing me. So we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount teachings and we spoke about how Jesus taught us to give. So first of all I asked them to make a trumpet! Yep a trumpet, okay it was only out of cardboard and tin foil but all the same, it made a noise. We then were treated to a very dramatic performance from come Pharisee/rich man, Captain Gary as he boasted and bragged about how wealthy he is and about how much he is giving to charity. This almost was met without any hesitation with a sound of blowing our trumpets at him, it was such a fun way to get the message of not blowing your own trumpet when you give but instead be humble and give all you can quietly. I really ask you who are reading this to pray for Eston's Grid, we have just started up and I know through your prayers great things can come through this group of youngsters.
When we think about prayer there are so many types of prayers or there are so many different aspects we include in our prayers. We pray for forgiveness, strength, wisdom. We pray for individual people or our church or for the Salvation Army. We pray for situations around the world and in all of this it is almost like we are asking God to give or replenish something that isn't there at the moment. Of course there is nothing wrong in that whatsoever but over this week I have been praying so many prayers of thanks and praise to our God. Whilst in the prayer room, I set the scene by putting some background music on and the CD I frequently picked was the International Staff Songsters; "Let the Morning Bring" and the title of the CD was taken from Psalm 143; "Let the Morning bring me word of your unfailing Love." What a truth that is, when I would wake up in the morning at a ridiculous hour to walk to the prayer room, God's love to me is evident. First of all he blesses me with the most wonderful people in my life, my wonderful family, my wonderful Girlfriend, my wondeful church family both in Wellingborough Salvation Army and Eston Salvation Army. I then think about his calling on my life to serve him and I think of all things he has provided me to do this task, my God is a God of Love and Grace and he doesn't enjoy watching me flounder in the deep end. He Loves me! Then I think of the greatest showing of Love of all, I think of Calvary where God sent his Son to die for an unworthy sinner such as me, that's Love. How wonderful it is. But it doesn't stop there, it is unfailing. He will always love me no matter what I do, He will continue to bless and Love me each new morning I wake.
Well another week is upon us, I hope you have a good one! Please get in touch if you have anything to say about the Blog or if you have any questions about Essential or the Salvation Army or whatever! Do get in contact. God Bless.
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 28 October 2013
Prayer Week 2013
Good afternoon! I hope you are all well reading this and haven't been effected by the storm last night. I think we had a small breeze last night up in the North-East, either that or I slept right through the whole hurricane...
A question throughout this year that we have been directed to keep on reminding ourselves of has been "What is God doing?" and furthermore this can be developed to ask the question of Where is God at work? Something that has being shown to me numerous times this year already is that God is with his people. Although some may not realise it, He is there. I've said this before and I will say it again, our job is to build relationships with these people so we can show them who God is and where He is working. This is a goal of mine for this year and I have been making progress! The school's work we do in Eston is huge and every time we go round a school all the kids know Gary (or Captain Chaundy to be more official) and now they are beginning to know who I am. I would have kids walk past me and shout "Hi James!", I haven't a clue who they are but we are building that relationship with the schools and pupils in them. I just pray that I would get to know the schools more and that they will know what we stand for and believe and one day just one child (obviously we'd love there to be more) would remember us and that relationship the Salvation Army had with the school and they would want to know more and build a relationship with Jesus for themselves. But God is with his people and He is working through His people!
A question throughout this year that we have been directed to keep on reminding ourselves of has been "What is God doing?" and furthermore this can be developed to ask the question of Where is God at work? Something that has being shown to me numerous times this year already is that God is with his people. Although some may not realise it, He is there. I've said this before and I will say it again, our job is to build relationships with these people so we can show them who God is and where He is working. This is a goal of mine for this year and I have been making progress! The school's work we do in Eston is huge and every time we go round a school all the kids know Gary (or Captain Chaundy to be more official) and now they are beginning to know who I am. I would have kids walk past me and shout "Hi James!", I haven't a clue who they are but we are building that relationship with the schools and pupils in them. I just pray that I would get to know the schools more and that they will know what we stand for and believe and one day just one child (obviously we'd love there to be more) would remember us and that relationship the Salvation Army had with the school and they would want to know more and build a relationship with Jesus for themselves. But God is with his people and He is working through His people!
A big part of ministry I believe is to reflect. To take a step back from the business and just relax and pray on what has happened and what will continue to happen in the future. This week Eston Corps has a great oppurtunity to do that in our 24/7 prayer week. At least one person will be praying at the corps all week for one hour. I am really looking forward to this week because I believe it is so important to cover all that I do with prayer and through prayer be revitalised and ready to do God's work. I remind of Psalm 91 which says "He who dwells in the Shelter of the Most high, shall rest in the Shadow of the Almighty." And this is exactly what I am going to do this week, I am going to dwell in His presence and really listen to what he has to say to me. I am doing a lot of the night hours and so I will be on my own just listening and talking to God. If there are any prayer requests that you want me to bring before God then please let me know, I will incorporate them into my prayers tonight and for the rest of the week so please do get in touch. It is through prayer that we can really come closer to God, the song says:
"Prayer gently lifts me to highest Heaven, from Earth's confusion to Jesus' breast. My sin and weakness, my doubt and sorrow are lost forever in sweetest rest."
I know I am going to come closer to God this week as I just relax and rest in His presence under the Shadow of the Almighty.
So please get those prayer requests to me in any way possible. Through blogspot, twitter, Facebook, email... anyway you can! Please get in touch. Have a very blessed week.
God Bless
@peggo36
Monday 21 October 2013
'Be Courageous'
Good evening all! Once again it is monday so as per usual it is time for my blog. It's becoming almost routine for me to write this some time on a monday, just to reflect what has gone on in the past week otherwise it's very easy for me to just allow the weeks to fly by without any recognition of where God is working.
The week has been jammed pack to say the least (all weeks have been really) and I can honestly say that I have never worked harder than I have done recently, yes it would explain my A-Level exam results. But I am enjoying what I am doing here, on a daily basis I am talking to God's people. Those who regularly attend the Salvation Army and those who find themselves in the hall for whatever reason. Two examples of this happened this week and the examples are of opposite ends of the spectrum...
Recently at Eston Salvation Army we have been visited by a homeless man and he goes by the name of Ray. I have spent a lot of time with Ray in the past week and actually while I was writing last week's blog I was at the hall with Ray while he was sleeping. We don't really know why Ray is homeless but all we know is that he is sleeping rough and we need to help him. So we do what we can for him and then leaves the hall. But on monday afternoon just as he was leaving the hall, I had a chat with him and I told him to come to the army on sunday for the morning meeting, he said he would but I wasn't so sure. But I obviously have very little faith, it was 10.15 and in walked Ray with his bike. Hallelujah! He sat in the meeting which focussed on Grace and afterwards I just asked if he understood all what has been said and this was his reply, "I know God loves me...". Grace, the undeserved gift just because God loves us. This man is having a huge impact on my life and I thank God I have been able to sit and talk with him, not just about his life and his circumstances but also about Jesus. I pray for Ray, I really pray that he will be able to turn his life around and furthermore accept Jesus as his friend and saviour. I ask you, the one reading this, to pray for Ray. He certainly needs them.
Now the total opposite to Ray's situation is that I have been given this exciting and fantastic oppurtunity to lead the 11-14 year olds group on a sunday morning. There are two girls in the group at the moment but I am so excited for the potential this small group has got. This sunday we talked about Jesus' teaching on Loving Everyone, including enemies. During this lesson, one of the group asked me how "Is God's love bigger than space?". It was an absolute priviledge then to answer that question and teach the young people that God's love is eternal, it is immeasurable! Again I ask you to pray for this small group. It's the start of the youth work in Eston and I am praying and I am ready for God to work in this group and do marvellous things.
But through both these humbling situations I have seen my faults. I have spoke to both these sets of people about the Love of God but I need to do it more. I need to be more courageous when it comes to speaking about what God has done for me. I have been commisioned to go and make disciples of all nations but for some reason I draw myself back from telling people about Jesus. I need to be more courageous. As I realised this, I truly believed God started to put things in place to help me. This year I am attempting to read the Bible in a year and one of this weeks readings was from Matthew 14 and verse 27 really stood out to me. It is the story of when Jesus was walking on the water and the disciples panicked thinking it was a ghost. But Jesus said "Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.". Jesus tells me and you to take courage for it is Him. For it is Jesus and that is all we need, we need to take this courage he gives and just go and tell all about him!
I hope you have a good week this week. Please get in contact if you have any questions and I'll do my very best to answer them. God bless you all!
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
@peggo36
The week has been jammed pack to say the least (all weeks have been really) and I can honestly say that I have never worked harder than I have done recently, yes it would explain my A-Level exam results. But I am enjoying what I am doing here, on a daily basis I am talking to God's people. Those who regularly attend the Salvation Army and those who find themselves in the hall for whatever reason. Two examples of this happened this week and the examples are of opposite ends of the spectrum...
Recently at Eston Salvation Army we have been visited by a homeless man and he goes by the name of Ray. I have spent a lot of time with Ray in the past week and actually while I was writing last week's blog I was at the hall with Ray while he was sleeping. We don't really know why Ray is homeless but all we know is that he is sleeping rough and we need to help him. So we do what we can for him and then leaves the hall. But on monday afternoon just as he was leaving the hall, I had a chat with him and I told him to come to the army on sunday for the morning meeting, he said he would but I wasn't so sure. But I obviously have very little faith, it was 10.15 and in walked Ray with his bike. Hallelujah! He sat in the meeting which focussed on Grace and afterwards I just asked if he understood all what has been said and this was his reply, "I know God loves me...". Grace, the undeserved gift just because God loves us. This man is having a huge impact on my life and I thank God I have been able to sit and talk with him, not just about his life and his circumstances but also about Jesus. I pray for Ray, I really pray that he will be able to turn his life around and furthermore accept Jesus as his friend and saviour. I ask you, the one reading this, to pray for Ray. He certainly needs them.
Now the total opposite to Ray's situation is that I have been given this exciting and fantastic oppurtunity to lead the 11-14 year olds group on a sunday morning. There are two girls in the group at the moment but I am so excited for the potential this small group has got. This sunday we talked about Jesus' teaching on Loving Everyone, including enemies. During this lesson, one of the group asked me how "Is God's love bigger than space?". It was an absolute priviledge then to answer that question and teach the young people that God's love is eternal, it is immeasurable! Again I ask you to pray for this small group. It's the start of the youth work in Eston and I am praying and I am ready for God to work in this group and do marvellous things.
But through both these humbling situations I have seen my faults. I have spoke to both these sets of people about the Love of God but I need to do it more. I need to be more courageous when it comes to speaking about what God has done for me. I have been commisioned to go and make disciples of all nations but for some reason I draw myself back from telling people about Jesus. I need to be more courageous. As I realised this, I truly believed God started to put things in place to help me. This year I am attempting to read the Bible in a year and one of this weeks readings was from Matthew 14 and verse 27 really stood out to me. It is the story of when Jesus was walking on the water and the disciples panicked thinking it was a ghost. But Jesus said "Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.". Jesus tells me and you to take courage for it is Him. For it is Jesus and that is all we need, we need to take this courage he gives and just go and tell all about him!
I hope you have a good week this week. Please get in contact if you have any questions and I'll do my very best to answer them. God bless you all!
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 14 October 2013
'Your Grace still amazes me'
Hello! I hope you are all well and have had a happy and blessed week. It's Monday again! The weeks are coming round so quickly, dare I say it'll be Christmas before we know it.
So now I am well and truly involved with the corps programme here in Eston and something that I can see is vital to the corps here, and an important part of the ministry, is their Children's work. We minister to over 1000 school children a month, bringing the good news of the Gospel to assemblies and a couple of us also volunteer to read with 6 year olds at a local school. Also, on a Wednesday we have about 100 children ( not including the parents) come through the doors of the salvation army for Parents and toddlers. Now you may laugh but, if you were to ask me what I have found to be most challenging about my work in Eston so far, without a shadow of a doubt, it would be Wednesdays at Parents and toddlers. The usual type of people who come to Parents and Toddlers are women bringing there young child, usually around 2/3 years old. This group of people are the most difficult type of people to relate to, as a young man of 19, I have very little in common with them. Also, many mothers come to toddlers to meet other mums and they form friendships which is great! But they do like to talk. Now my mum and Sophie (my girlfriend) can talk and gossip till the cows come home and even with them I feel a little intimidated getting in on their conversation. But when there are women who I don't know and I'm trying to talk to them, it gets difficult. But God has brought them into the Army for a reason and it is my job to be there so I can talk to them and share my faith or just even reflect the Face of Christ. I pray, although I find it difficult, that God will still use me to do great things through this wonderful ministry.
Now again, if you were to ask me what part of the corps programme has had the most impact on me I would answer House Group on Tuesday nights. Every Tuesday evening we gather round as a small group of roughly 10 and we discuss and we study different aspects of the Christian faith. At the moment we are focusing on Grace through Phillip Yancey's book, 'What's so amazing about Grace?'. The book (along with a dvd) tackles so many issues as Christians we need to talk about. It talks about, receiving Grace, distributing Grace, forgiveness. But through all of this there has been a message that stays constant to me and it comes from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15: verse 10- " But by the Grace of God I am what I am...". It is by God's Grace that I was saved, this unearned, unwarranted free gift of Grace. What a great God have I! But what has challenged me more is the need for myself and my ministry and the places of Eston Salvation Army or Wellingborough Salvation Army or even the whole Salvation Army is to show Grace at all times, in every circumstance. We can not go preaching a message of hatred and damnation to all who do wrong but actually we must preach a message of Love and Grace to all who need to hear it. It says in Scripture in so many words that our war is not against the sinner but sin and we as a body of God's own people must take this message of God's Grace and open our arms to those who are broken. For if anyone needs God's Grace, it is those who are broken and are on their knees. We need to be Gracious and pick them up and show them this great, undeserved gift that we have received called Grace. I thank Gary and Lorraine and the house group for allowing us to focus on this teaching and I know that God is and will continue to do great works in my life and in others through his word and through the inspired words of others. I've titled this blog 'Your Grace still amazes me' because it is still amazing me, the more I learn about it the more I begin to realise how amazing it really is!
So I pray that you have been blessed. Please get on contact with me if you want to discuss what I've said or if you want to know anything about Essential or anything to do with the Salvation Army's work. I hope you have a good week.
God Bless.
Twitter- @peggo36
Email- pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 7 October 2013
All Good Gifts around us!
Hello! Once again thankyou for clicking that link and reading this blog, very much appreciated! This week at Eston it has been Harvest. So, yes, the songs in my head this week have included 'Bringing in the Sheaves' and 'We Plough the Fields'. I'm not really a fan of either song but they are the best ones for Harvest. Controversial? I hope so!
This week has been another good week and the thing that keeps cropping up in everything that I do is this vital aspect of ministry of building relationships and really going out of our way, out of our comfort zones and meeting the people where they are at. The perfect example of this was on friday when I sold the War Cry in the Pubs and clubs with Captain Gary and Una (a lady at the corps). We went to about 5 different pubs and in each one of them I felt that the people there were friendly people, enjoying the company of their friends and having a good time together. I really felt the presence of God in those pubs, there is an automatic view that going to the pub is wrong and the people who go to the pub are bad, but actually it is wrong to think like this. Actually when we look into the dynamics of a pub atmosphere we see people being happy, people enjoying being in each others company, people almost sharing brotherly love with their neighbour. Is this such a bad thing? To me it shows that God is working in and amongst those men and it is our job to be in that environment and to continue building those relationships so we can point out that God is here! He is already working. This is something that has really hit me and I just pray that as I continue this ministry, God will use me to show people where He is and that His work in that place will just grow and grow into something beyond what we could ever imagine.
So we have been preparing for the Harvest at Eston Corps and harvest this year has been in particular a bit more real to me. The idea of harvest is to gather the crop and the grain and store it all for winter, for when times get hard. But in the modern day we don't have to rely on the harvest. If there is a bad harvest in England we can just go to another country to get our produce and if there is a bad harvest there then again we can just move onto the next country. It would seem we have it pretty sorted... actually that couldn't be farther from the truth. I said in my last blog that there are people still coming to the Salvation Army for help so they can feed themselves. This is wrong. In this country, people are going hungry! So we as the Salvation Army collect food in which we can give to those who need it, we save it for those who are going through those hard times. So to have an actual part to play in that ministry is very challenging and day by day I am being challenged when I see people need the Salvation Army's help and when it is me at times who passes over that box of food, I have this awesome sense of humbleness that I am serving God by serving man.
One thing about Harvest that I really like is that it gets me to think about the special things in life that are around me and how blessed I am. If you read Matthew Chapter 6- verse 25, it tells us that God provides for us and at this time of year we focus on food and that sort of provision. But the way I kept on thinking about God's provision is the people he has put around me. Here at Eston I have a great support network of Gary and Lorraine, Trevor and Gillian and Phil and Dawn and there are others. God has placed me here in Eston but he gives me everything so I can fulfil the task he has assigned including these wonderful people. I then also think of the people back home who I hold close in my heart in particular I think of my Family and I think of Sophie, people I love and adore and these people who have influenced my life incredibly. God has given me them hasn't he? What a great gift to give me. But he also gave me his son, Jesus, the greatest gift of all. He gave his son to die for me and yet he rose again and now lives within us. What a gift, what provision! I serve a Great God. So, all good gifts around us, all good people around us most definitely come from Heaven above and all I can do is give my grateful thanks and praise to my God who provides me with all things.
I hope this blog has made you smile and also really made you think about the good things around you. I say this every week, please feel free to post comments about the blog or if you have any prayer requests please do post them below. And please do get in touch!
God bless you all!
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 30 September 2013
The Face of Christ
Evening all. This is now my 4th blog, so that means tomorrow it'll be a whole month since I had my farewell from Wellingborough Salvation Army (my home corps/church) and started my journey on this Essential programme. Wow, how time flies.
My first full week at Eston has gone and this week to say the least has been a real eye opener. In one way it has been great to see the work Eston Corps is doing here, passionate and driven ministry and something that excites me beyond belief. Although in other aspects the ministry Eston Corps has to provide isn't pleasant at all and I think it is very sad and challenging that there is a need for this type of work. It was my first proper day at the Corps and Gary and Lorraine (the officers/ministers at Eston) had told us the nature of the ministry they provide, in particular to those struggling financially and seeking food parcels. I saw people that day look to the Salvation Army for help at a time when they were most at need. We would so rather not want to have to do this ministry but the fact of the matter is that there are people who need it. I am no politician and nor do I have any political opinion but when I see people having to ask for food to keep their family fed because they simply cannot afford it and yet there are still people in this country who get paid large sums of money on top of what they should be earning, something is not right! That day people came to us for help and again, although I would rather it not happened, it was a priviledge for God to use me and the team around me to minister his Grace. I saw the Face of Christ that day, I saw it through those who ministered to those people who came to us. To them, we were the Face of Christ. In Scripture, we read the story in Luke Chapter 7 where the Woman stepped out from the crowd in faith and touched the robe of Jesus, he turned around and looked at her. She literally saw the Face of Christ, a face of compassion, a face of comfort and ultimately a face of Love! If I am to be anything like Christ I must reflect his heart of compassion and to anyone who sees me, they must feel like they have encountered the Love of Christ. For if I will not minister to them, if I will not show Christ's love for them, who shall?
But also I looked upon the Face of Christ when I spoke to these people. In Matthew Chapter 25 it says "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." God loves his Children, so much he would give his only Son to die on a cross for them. He sent Jesus to suffer for us, so when we suffer, so does Christ! So surely as Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, we must serve these people with love and compassion? I read a story and what happened in this story isn't too different to what happened to me, just in more drastic circumstances. It comes from the book 'The Irresistible Revolution' by Shane Claiborne. It reads;
"Most days I would go to the clinic run by the lepers-become doctors, and a line would form as people waited to be treated. The doctors would lay out a huge pile of cotton about four feet high, and my job was to roll cotton balls for them as they cared for one another. I would watch intently, fascinated by their love and compassion. One afternoon as things were winding down, one of the doctors had to leave early, but there were a few patients still waiting to be seen. He looked at me emphatically and said 'You know how this works; you have been watching. It's your turn,' Startled, I just stared at him. I had been watching, and I did know what to do, but I wasn't sure I dared. I came forward and sat in the doctor's seat and began staring into the next patient's eyes, and the decision hasd already been made. I began carefully dressing the man's wound. He stared at me with such intensity that it felt like he was looking into my soul. Every once in a while he would slowly close his eyes. When I was finished, he said to me that sacred word i had come to love; "Namaste." I smiled with tears in my eyes and whispered "Jesus." He saw Jesus in me. And I saw Jesus in him... I saw a clearer glimpse of Jesus in this leper's eyes than any stained-glass window could ever give me."
What a challenge we have, to show Christ and yet also to serve Christ. This really challenged me this week and I know that God will continue to challenge me and really work wonders in me and pray that I will be given this priviledge again to minister the Grace and Love of our God.
Once again I thank you for reading this and I hope in some way through reading this blog you will be blessed and encouraged and maybe even inspired to make a difference and be Christ to those who you come into contact.
Please get in touch if you have an comments or questions or prayer requests. It would be good to hear from you.
God bless each and every one of you!
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
My first full week at Eston has gone and this week to say the least has been a real eye opener. In one way it has been great to see the work Eston Corps is doing here, passionate and driven ministry and something that excites me beyond belief. Although in other aspects the ministry Eston Corps has to provide isn't pleasant at all and I think it is very sad and challenging that there is a need for this type of work. It was my first proper day at the Corps and Gary and Lorraine (the officers/ministers at Eston) had told us the nature of the ministry they provide, in particular to those struggling financially and seeking food parcels. I saw people that day look to the Salvation Army for help at a time when they were most at need. We would so rather not want to have to do this ministry but the fact of the matter is that there are people who need it. I am no politician and nor do I have any political opinion but when I see people having to ask for food to keep their family fed because they simply cannot afford it and yet there are still people in this country who get paid large sums of money on top of what they should be earning, something is not right! That day people came to us for help and again, although I would rather it not happened, it was a priviledge for God to use me and the team around me to minister his Grace. I saw the Face of Christ that day, I saw it through those who ministered to those people who came to us. To them, we were the Face of Christ. In Scripture, we read the story in Luke Chapter 7 where the Woman stepped out from the crowd in faith and touched the robe of Jesus, he turned around and looked at her. She literally saw the Face of Christ, a face of compassion, a face of comfort and ultimately a face of Love! If I am to be anything like Christ I must reflect his heart of compassion and to anyone who sees me, they must feel like they have encountered the Love of Christ. For if I will not minister to them, if I will not show Christ's love for them, who shall?
But also I looked upon the Face of Christ when I spoke to these people. In Matthew Chapter 25 it says "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." God loves his Children, so much he would give his only Son to die on a cross for them. He sent Jesus to suffer for us, so when we suffer, so does Christ! So surely as Christians who believe in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, we must serve these people with love and compassion? I read a story and what happened in this story isn't too different to what happened to me, just in more drastic circumstances. It comes from the book 'The Irresistible Revolution' by Shane Claiborne. It reads;
"Most days I would go to the clinic run by the lepers-become doctors, and a line would form as people waited to be treated. The doctors would lay out a huge pile of cotton about four feet high, and my job was to roll cotton balls for them as they cared for one another. I would watch intently, fascinated by their love and compassion. One afternoon as things were winding down, one of the doctors had to leave early, but there were a few patients still waiting to be seen. He looked at me emphatically and said 'You know how this works; you have been watching. It's your turn,' Startled, I just stared at him. I had been watching, and I did know what to do, but I wasn't sure I dared. I came forward and sat in the doctor's seat and began staring into the next patient's eyes, and the decision hasd already been made. I began carefully dressing the man's wound. He stared at me with such intensity that it felt like he was looking into my soul. Every once in a while he would slowly close his eyes. When I was finished, he said to me that sacred word i had come to love; "Namaste." I smiled with tears in my eyes and whispered "Jesus." He saw Jesus in me. And I saw Jesus in him... I saw a clearer glimpse of Jesus in this leper's eyes than any stained-glass window could ever give me."
What a challenge we have, to show Christ and yet also to serve Christ. This really challenged me this week and I know that God will continue to challenge me and really work wonders in me and pray that I will be given this priviledge again to minister the Grace and Love of our God.
Once again I thank you for reading this and I hope in some way through reading this blog you will be blessed and encouraged and maybe even inspired to make a difference and be Christ to those who you come into contact.
Please get in touch if you have an comments or questions or prayer requests. It would be good to hear from you.
God bless each and every one of you!
@peggo36
pegg.j@hotmail.co.uk
Monday 23 September 2013
Only a Train Journey
Good Evening! I hope you are all keeping well? I hate to say it but I think Winter is on it's way. The essentials were in Leeds this week and take it from me that it was bitterly cold up there, so I do ask for your prayers this winter because as a true southerner I'm not sure I will be able to survive the Northern Winter.
Yes, our final week of training began in Leeds, in the lovely Christian Westwood Centre. A really fitting place for, once again, God to speak to our Hearts and Minds. At the start of our week the sessions very much focussed on Social Action. We were challenged and, certainly in my case, had a blanket of naivety pulled away from us and we experienced a place in Leeds where it is fair to say that there is obvious poverty. We were thinking about this community and the people inhabiting it and we asked the question, Why? Why are there people who want to live on this estate? Why don't they want to get away from it all and start afresh? I suppose these are questions that we cannot answer, but I know there is a God whom I love and serve who is already in that estate. Although it maybe difficult to see Him through the misery and obvious lack of ambition and love in that place, He is there. This got me thinking, as a Salvation Army, as Christians should we not be in those places? Should we not be working with people in this darkness and showing them the light of God that is trying to beam through the community? My answer was yes. Yes we should. In every aspect of our lives we need to show Christ and we need to in particular show these areas Jesus and the love he has for them. What a task! But the greatest thing and maybe also the most daunting thing is that this task was given by Jesus to his disciples many years ago. In Matthew Chapter 28; we read of the great commission and Jesus says "Go make Disciples of all nations". There's the task, there's our commission but Jesus also said to us, "I am with you always..." Wow. What a promise! When we have Jesus we need not fear anything, he gives us everything for any task by just him always being with us! We need to take him into those communities and let the light of God grow and grow in those places. We carried on the week, continuing with our sessions and learning a bit more about ourselves and the work we will be doing this year. It was a great couple of weeks and I personally want to thank the Alove team for the oppurtunity.
A key theme running through our training over the last few weeks has been building relationships with the people around you. I personally believe that this week God has put me in situations where I have had to put that teaching into practice. I was on my way home from training and I was really looking forward to see all the ones I love, but anything that could of gone against me did. I missed two trains, one I was only seconds away from and two, if I stayed on that train I may have been fined as I had the wrong type of ticket. So after waiting a good hour and a half I finally got the train I wanted. Sat down and opposite me was a man and being polite we got chatting and the conversation turned to the Salvation Army and what the Salvation Army believe. What a priviledge! So as I got off that train and went on another, sat down and another man was there. Again we got chatting and the conversation once more led to the work of the Salvation Army and we had a discussion of there being one God and the fact that there shouldn't be any sort of deep divisions in beliefs (touchy subject I know). But the fact of the matter is that by simply talking to two complete strangers, I shared what I believed. I thank God for that oppurtunity, I thank God that I wasn't able to catch the earlier trains and I pray that whatever I may have said to those men that something may have been planted and that God would be able to grow in them. What a priviledge for me that God put me in that situation, it was only a simple train journey back home but I was able to unexpectedly just tell people of who God is and his work on this earth.
So it is the 24th September tomorrow and the real work starts. I am so looking forward to it! There is so much potential here in Eston and I am just honoured that God has placed me here. When I think back I don't really know how I've ended up here but by the Grace of God I am here and I know he will continue to do marvellous work here in Eston but also in your life because he is a faithful, loving God.
I say this each week but again please feel free to get in contact about anything in this blog or about essential or whatever! And remember hold each other up in Prayer.
Twitter- @peggo36
Email- pegg,j@hotmail.co.uk
God bless.
Yes, our final week of training began in Leeds, in the lovely Christian Westwood Centre. A really fitting place for, once again, God to speak to our Hearts and Minds. At the start of our week the sessions very much focussed on Social Action. We were challenged and, certainly in my case, had a blanket of naivety pulled away from us and we experienced a place in Leeds where it is fair to say that there is obvious poverty. We were thinking about this community and the people inhabiting it and we asked the question, Why? Why are there people who want to live on this estate? Why don't they want to get away from it all and start afresh? I suppose these are questions that we cannot answer, but I know there is a God whom I love and serve who is already in that estate. Although it maybe difficult to see Him through the misery and obvious lack of ambition and love in that place, He is there. This got me thinking, as a Salvation Army, as Christians should we not be in those places? Should we not be working with people in this darkness and showing them the light of God that is trying to beam through the community? My answer was yes. Yes we should. In every aspect of our lives we need to show Christ and we need to in particular show these areas Jesus and the love he has for them. What a task! But the greatest thing and maybe also the most daunting thing is that this task was given by Jesus to his disciples many years ago. In Matthew Chapter 28; we read of the great commission and Jesus says "Go make Disciples of all nations". There's the task, there's our commission but Jesus also said to us, "I am with you always..." Wow. What a promise! When we have Jesus we need not fear anything, he gives us everything for any task by just him always being with us! We need to take him into those communities and let the light of God grow and grow in those places. We carried on the week, continuing with our sessions and learning a bit more about ourselves and the work we will be doing this year. It was a great couple of weeks and I personally want to thank the Alove team for the oppurtunity.
A key theme running through our training over the last few weeks has been building relationships with the people around you. I personally believe that this week God has put me in situations where I have had to put that teaching into practice. I was on my way home from training and I was really looking forward to see all the ones I love, but anything that could of gone against me did. I missed two trains, one I was only seconds away from and two, if I stayed on that train I may have been fined as I had the wrong type of ticket. So after waiting a good hour and a half I finally got the train I wanted. Sat down and opposite me was a man and being polite we got chatting and the conversation turned to the Salvation Army and what the Salvation Army believe. What a priviledge! So as I got off that train and went on another, sat down and another man was there. Again we got chatting and the conversation once more led to the work of the Salvation Army and we had a discussion of there being one God and the fact that there shouldn't be any sort of deep divisions in beliefs (touchy subject I know). But the fact of the matter is that by simply talking to two complete strangers, I shared what I believed. I thank God for that oppurtunity, I thank God that I wasn't able to catch the earlier trains and I pray that whatever I may have said to those men that something may have been planted and that God would be able to grow in them. What a priviledge for me that God put me in that situation, it was only a simple train journey back home but I was able to unexpectedly just tell people of who God is and his work on this earth.
So it is the 24th September tomorrow and the real work starts. I am so looking forward to it! There is so much potential here in Eston and I am just honoured that God has placed me here. When I think back I don't really know how I've ended up here but by the Grace of God I am here and I know he will continue to do marvellous work here in Eston but also in your life because he is a faithful, loving God.
I say this each week but again please feel free to get in contact about anything in this blog or about essential or whatever! And remember hold each other up in Prayer.
Twitter- @peggo36
Email- pegg,j@hotmail.co.uk
God bless.
Monday 16 September 2013
Second Week- 'Looking Back, Looking Down and Looking Forward'
Good evening everyone, hope you've all had a good week? It's been a very interesting week for me at the training college. As I said in my last blog I am currently receiving my training for my upcoming year on the Salvation Army's programme- 'Essential'. This week's blog is called 'Looking Back, Looking Down and Looking forward' and thinking of the past week that's basically what I have been doing. Sometimes with excitement and promise but other times literally been looking with fear!
Seeing as we were in London this week, we went on the Salvation Army's Heritage Tour. Lt.Col Alex Morrice took us around the East End of London to show us the very birthplace of the Salvation Army and just where William Booth received his call from God to preach the Gospel to the lost. During the tour, the Lt.Col said something very profound that has stuck with me. He said 'We need to know where we have come from to know where we are going'. And he's right, yes we can't afford to dwell on it but we have to look back on our history to understand what runs through our veins, why we have this passion for the marginalised and why we have to continue God's work through the Salvation Army. So as we walking around 'Mile End's waste' viewing the sites of the old 'Christian Misson' (yes both songs were sung) I felt this sense of not only this being the Salvation Army as an organisation's heritage but actually it being my heritage. God raised the Army up to fight for the lost and preach the Gospel, but also through the Army I was born. Through the Army my parents were born. Through the army I've met the most wonderful people who have had a huge impact on my life and it has been through the Army God called me to ministry. I have a lot to thank the Salvation Army for. So looking back at our past really secured that great feeling of where I've come from, spiritually through the Army but also what the Salvation Army has done for me.
If there is anyone who is reading this who is thinking of applying for essential next year then I can assure it's not all work, there is some play. However on this particular evening I would have preferred to sit in any session of any deep theological subject, as we all went Rock Climbing. Now I am, admittedly, a bit of a coward when it comes to heights and this was not something I was looking forward to. So as I was getting strapped up and ready to go, I looked up at this wall and thought that I'm never going to get up there! But off I went all the same, and I almost got to the top when I looked down and saw how high up I was. My legs began to tremble and kept losing my footing and yes I was very scared. My little blog thought for you actually has been inspired by this... interesting experience, who needs to know how to climb a rock when you are living on one? In Matthew Chapter 7: verse 21-29 we read the parable of building a house on solid ground. This house was built on top of the rock, it was firm, it was safe. I cannot afford for it to be on the side of the rock, dangling off of it and holding on for dear life. I must put my trust in Jesus and build my life on the sure foundations of his love. Needless to say I did get off the rock and I can assure you I won't be going rock climbing any time soon... I'll stick with bible study or something.
Maybe the most powerful thing to happen this week was actually coffee. We all met Captain Nick Coke, the Commanding Officer at Stepney Green Corps, to have a chat about what's happening and how the corps is growing in the community. However what I didn't expect to hear is how powerful Captain Nick's vision for the community of Stepney is. He spoke about the surrounding areas, he spoke about the multi-culture in the community and how he builds relationships with people throughout Stepney. It is easily said that great things have happened and are happening at Stepney but it got me thinking about my own future ministry and that I have to keep looking forward, looking for ways to minister, looking for ways to build relationships with people in the community. It really inspired me just how much work God can do in a community in what is quite a small space of time. I went home from that coffee shop to put it simply 'buzzing' and enthused to get on with some work because I have just heard a testimony of what God can do with a community of believers. But now I need to witness it for myself and I hope and pray I will experience that might moving of the Spirit in the coming year at Eston.
Well thankyou for reading my blog. You can follow me on Twitter- @peggo36. Get in touch if you have any questions about Essential or anything you've read in my blog or just that you have a prayer request. Don't be afraid to contact me. I hope you all have a good week!
God Bless you all.
Monday 9 September 2013
First Week- Change and Challenge
Hello!
So it's begun. After a summer what could be said to have been occasionally stressful and anxious, Essential is finally here! It wasn't exactly the easiest time leaving the people I love but in faith believing, I am here. The Essential Year is a year where I will be working in a corps, getting involved with the programme and (God Willing) make a positive impact in the community. My Placement is up north, around 300 miles away from my home, in Eston Corps near Middlesbrough.
If you are reading this you've come across my blog, Thankyou! Here you can read all the happenings, all the challenges and hopefully just get an insight into what God is doing in my life. So please read on and hopefully you'll get something out of my blog...
We began the week on monday, meeting at the very scenic location of Gilwell Park in Essex. Although it wasn't, at first, the nicest thing to have this enormous change happen in my life, that place has now become in my memories a very special and hallowed place. Other than the activities and all the fun we had there, there were moments when I could really feel the presence of God. To recall a few, we went and settled down on top of a hill. This hill was overlooking the whole of North London and we were challenged to look over the city and think about the task that is ahead of us. Then all of a sudden, this awesome sense of God telling "James! you have work to do!" I looked over that hill and I knew that there were people who need Christ and why shouldn't it be me who brings them closer to an understanding of the Love Jesus has for them.
So after Gilwell we travelled to our placements to meet the people and the Corps and get a little taster for what is in store for us. On our first day, it rained.... and I would of loved to have said it rained 'Showers of Blessings' but instead of it was more like a Monsoon of anything but blessings. But as the Corps Officers, Captains Gary and Lorraine Chaundy, took us around the area, again I felt this urgency to 'get stuck in' and do some proper work and really bring the knowledge of God into areas where it would seem almost "Godless". Sunday we went to worship at Eston Corps and Captain Lorraine led our worship and focused on 'buying into the mission' and getting behind what God is doing in the community. The meeting, although different to what I'm used to, was fun and it definitely gave me a new experience of what worship can be. But overall, the welcome was excellent, the people were so down to earth and myself and my housemate are very blessed and thankful that God has placed us there.
So it's begun. After a summer what could be said to have been occasionally stressful and anxious, Essential is finally here! It wasn't exactly the easiest time leaving the people I love but in faith believing, I am here. The Essential Year is a year where I will be working in a corps, getting involved with the programme and (God Willing) make a positive impact in the community. My Placement is up north, around 300 miles away from my home, in Eston Corps near Middlesbrough.
If you are reading this you've come across my blog, Thankyou! Here you can read all the happenings, all the challenges and hopefully just get an insight into what God is doing in my life. So please read on and hopefully you'll get something out of my blog...
We began the week on monday, meeting at the very scenic location of Gilwell Park in Essex. Although it wasn't, at first, the nicest thing to have this enormous change happen in my life, that place has now become in my memories a very special and hallowed place. Other than the activities and all the fun we had there, there were moments when I could really feel the presence of God. To recall a few, we went and settled down on top of a hill. This hill was overlooking the whole of North London and we were challenged to look over the city and think about the task that is ahead of us. Then all of a sudden, this awesome sense of God telling "James! you have work to do!" I looked over that hill and I knew that there were people who need Christ and why shouldn't it be me who brings them closer to an understanding of the Love Jesus has for them.
So after Gilwell we travelled to our placements to meet the people and the Corps and get a little taster for what is in store for us. On our first day, it rained.... and I would of loved to have said it rained 'Showers of Blessings' but instead of it was more like a Monsoon of anything but blessings. But as the Corps Officers, Captains Gary and Lorraine Chaundy, took us around the area, again I felt this urgency to 'get stuck in' and do some proper work and really bring the knowledge of God into areas where it would seem almost "Godless". Sunday we went to worship at Eston Corps and Captain Lorraine led our worship and focused on 'buying into the mission' and getting behind what God is doing in the community. The meeting, although different to what I'm used to, was fun and it definitely gave me a new experience of what worship can be. But overall, the welcome was excellent, the people were so down to earth and myself and my housemate are very blessed and thankful that God has placed us there.
I don't really like sharing my personal devotions but I don't mind sharing this one with you, but actually my thoughts could not be diverted from these deprived areas. My devotions focussed on The Gospel and we all have heard or said "We need to preach the Gospel" or "show people the Gospel" and in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 it begins to tell us what the Gospel is. That night I also heard a sermon that reaffirmed my feelings that the Gospel is simply Jesus and it is "by the Gospel you (we) are saved" (Verse 2). I need to bring Jesus into this community, I need to take the Gospel of Christ and really make a difference in Eston. For it is Jesus and only Jesus that can change the lives of people and although they may not know it they need him, I need him, we all need him!
Well now I am writing this in the William Booth Training College, I'm here for a week to do some training that is pretty essential (ha! See what I did there?) and I know God is going to be in the teaching. I'm pretty excited to learn more about theology and mission but I'm actually enjoying this experience. I'm not enjoying not being with the people I love but I think that is part of the whole journey, I need to be challenged and my comfort zones rocked but God can only use this to change and help me grow to be more like Christ.
So that's the first week, please keep an eye out for more blogs and hopefully over the next couple of weeks I may do some video blogs (I hear they are called vlogs?). Please feel free to comment and to leave any sort of prayer requests as I ask that you will pray for me, my essential and Alove colleagues, my loved ones and especially for the work of the Salvation Army in Eston and throughout the United Kingdom territory.
Follow me on twitter- @peggo36
God Bless.
Well now I am writing this in the William Booth Training College, I'm here for a week to do some training that is pretty essential (ha! See what I did there?) and I know God is going to be in the teaching. I'm pretty excited to learn more about theology and mission but I'm actually enjoying this experience. I'm not enjoying not being with the people I love but I think that is part of the whole journey, I need to be challenged and my comfort zones rocked but God can only use this to change and help me grow to be more like Christ.
So that's the first week, please keep an eye out for more blogs and hopefully over the next couple of weeks I may do some video blogs (I hear they are called vlogs?). Please feel free to comment and to leave any sort of prayer requests as I ask that you will pray for me, my essential and Alove colleagues, my loved ones and especially for the work of the Salvation Army in Eston and throughout the United Kingdom territory.
Follow me on twitter- @peggo36
God Bless.
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