BOWLS!

On the 20th December my housemate hacked my Facebook account and wrote

"So.. I got the hair dye out and one thing lead to another.... my whole hair might be teal. Oops."
In response, for fun, I posted a photo of myself with a bowl on my head the same night.

By the 22nd many of my friends had started posting photos of themselves also with bowls on their heads, 

so I thought Id make it a competition and started a Facebook open group
"We wear bowl #mixingitup"
 www.facebook.com/groups/1444664599089006/

What happened next?
Well it got a bit out of hand.
1,102 people have become members 
and there have been 96 photos to date posted for the competition.

We have had photos from
The Netherlands, Denmark, China, USA, Canada, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Australia, France and loads from the UK.

The oldest entry is 92 years old! a lady Ive never met.
And the last entry as I type is of the Norwich City Football club mascot with a bowl on its head whilst a game is going on! 

So I guess Im extending an invitation to have some random fun with your friends and relatives this christmas.
Post a photo.
Ill pick the winner on 1st January 2014 and there is a small prize.
 
Have fun.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Fun and adventurous New Year.

ZJ
 

Pro-Vision

Over the last year God has been talking to me about how He provides all I need and challenging me to trust Him more with my finances, heart and future.

I have a tank full of petrol and am about to leave for a ministry trip to Devon and I feel like God say, “why don’t you get a car wash before you go”. Huh? The problem is I only have £5.27p in my bank account and using £4.99p doesn’t seem too sensible.

 When I was a kid, my dad would give me 10p pocket money each week, this would buy a packet of snaps crisps and polos (yes I’m that old).  He gave me pocket money to teach me how to look after money, to teach me responsibility and also to see what was valuable to me.  This pocket money wasn’t all I needed, I needed meals and love and clothes and fun, but my dad wanted me to feel like I was involved and liked watching the decisions I made.

When God says He provides all we need (Philippians 4v19), He means it.  Over the past few months Ive started trying to realise that what God gives me is my pocket money.  What I need is lot more than the wage I earn or how well I can budget or save.  I’ve found that there are always surprises I hadn’t budgeted for, the car breaks when I don’t have the cash in the bank or God says to give someone money for something they need, when it doesn’t seem sensible to give money I was going to save for something else I was planning for away.

Provision is an interesting word.  

Pro as a prefix means for or forward, vision means to see.  

Seeing forward seems ridiculous when I have no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring. I can try and plan all I like but to think I can supply my own financial needs doesn’t really make sense. All I’m given really is pocket money, God is teaching me by seeing what I spend it on and how I use it and how I view the bigger picture as I learn how to believe that He really is my provider.

When the Israelites were in the dessert for 40 years, on their way to the promised land, God provided all they needed.  In some ways it was a 40 year holiday, they didn’t have to work, or cook, or grow their own food, it even says their clothes didn’t wear out. He provided all they needed.  When Caleb got to the promised land His reaction was one of faith and adventure, we can do this, our enemies are like grasshoppers to our God.  Its easy to grumble and worry when times seem lean, but I wonder if Caleb saw that God was supplying all their needs, every morning, in everyway. I have a feeling this was part of the reason He reacted with such faith, He learnt God was going to be more than enough.

If I feel God saying to give something away, it’s for my good not just the person receiving the gift.  I breaks my reliance on things and possessions and I get to share in their joy and their adventure of trusting God.

In my journal last week I wrote down things I was praying about and then started thinking about what He had provided already, the things I needed. 

I wrote:
Money, 
God said ”What do you need?, what do you want money for?”
I had a few things, like a new guitar but really I was just worried cos I don’t have much of a financial cushion to fall back on right now. He reminded me I have food in my cupboards and asked me when the last time I had gone without a meal, He reminded me that my friend had baked a carrot cake for when I visited her that morning, like He wasn’t just providing needs but treating me too.
As I counted my blessings I saw actually for all the things I wanted, He had provided already.  (I’m  not saying don’t ask for more, but having an attitude of gratitude really does help put things into perspective). 

Jesus says about worrying; don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough worries of its own. We really can’t see forward very far.  We really can’t provide for ourselves. 

God + Nothing = Everything.  He said to His disciples, leave your nets and follow me. Leave your way of earning your living and see what I do. 

I’m also not saying be irresponsible, its important you learn with your pocket money, I believe if we get how to use it, He will trust us with more and more and let us distribute wealth to nations.  But realising it is just pocket money helps me not worry and helps me keep my eyes on Him not my own abilities to provide.

God has forward vision. 
God sees,
He will see to it and
He will be seen in it.

Here Kitty, Kitty

"Here Kitty, Kitty"

This phrase has been buzzing round my head for a few weeks now.
So i thought Id let you in on it.

Tracy Evans in the book "Outrageous Courageous"
 www.amazon.co.uk/Outrageous-courageous-obedience-radical-faith/dp/0800795547
uses this phrase when talking about God.

In the bible God is described as being the Lion of Judah.
There are 2 ways of looking at a Lion.

Disney would have us believe that Lions are cuddly and snuggly and we can nestle in their manes.
In some ways God is like this, He is our Dad, our Father and so comfort, gentleness and affection are how He likes to be when He is around us.

If you are fortunate enough to ever watch Lions, they are like this with their own, they play and snuggle a lot.

But when you watch them in the wild, they are also ferocious.

I mean a Lions paw will rip through flesh like its butter, they are like razor blades.
A Lion will chase and hunt down its prey in order to annihilate it.
Its not chasing it for a cuddle.
Its gonna rip it to pieces.
When a Lion feeds it whole face gets covered in blood, dripping off its chin.
Sorry to be graffic, but...

When the bible says when we pray, our prayers are powerful and effective.
Thinking about the Lion of Judah has been helping me to remember who I pray to.


God is a Lion, he not only takes our prayers seriously but hunts down answers, destroys problems and rips them to pieces.

Sickness is like butter is his claws.


He is ridiculously powerful and for some mind blowing reason loves us so much He is willing to fight for us and our freedom.

Good bye Kitty, Kitty.

Thats not my Lion.

Its a new day

Just a quick update for you all.

I feel very honoured to let you all know I have a new job.
I start officially on 1st September as "Operations and Human Resource Manager" at the Kings Arms Project.
Kings Arms Project I hear you cry, isnt that where you used to work?
Strangely enough, yes it is.

This role is more of an oversight role and not only will my past experiences Managing the houses come in useful but I will learn a whole shed load about Project oversight for future adventures.

Its been a suprising year, and if you would have told me when i left that I would be rejoining the Project a year to the day later, i wouldnt have believed you.
I feel like Ive been through a corker of a year, fun, amazing experiences, trauma and back again, all this has changed me.  i feel like ive grown in a way I cant yet explain.  My heart is more alive than ever and the things Ive learnt through it all seem like they will be invaluable for the journey ahead.

Am I saying Africa and mission work is over? Not at all, but it seem very clear to me that being in England for a while is where Im meant to be for the next season.

People Id like to thank..
The Kings Arms Church Bedford, seriously one of the best churches in the world (not even exaggerating).
to those who have supported and loved me through it all, those who have skyped, been there in Zambia, England and Canada, those who have written, prayed and given financially.

THANKYOU

This is a new chapter in my crazy, adventurous, roller coaster of a life,
Lets see what Jesus does next.

Ask for more .... Beautifully real

Last weekend some of my class went to Niagara Falls.
Its the result of tonnes and tonnes of water streaming down to this one point for probably thousands of years, each year eroding and wearing down more and more rock to form what we now see as a beautiful waterfall.

I'm at the end of week one in Toronto, Canada.
I'm on a 3 week Leadership school at the Catch the Fire church.
This week we have been relearning how to hear Gods voice.

What i have discovered is that I know a lot in my brain, I know this stuff, Ive even taught on it, but over the years Ive lost some of the freshness in it.
Working hard and giving out has eroded the freshness of being able to really, from the depth of who, I am hear God.
I had gotten a little worn out.

I mean, I have heard him for what to do, or what to teach others, help others through difficult times and lead worship, but Ive spent less time listening to what He says over me.

This week I heard Him say

"ZoeJoy, I love you"

I know it in my head,
I know it a bit in my heart, but I often hear it and quickly move on as if I had heard it a thousand times and it doesn't matter so much.
This week Ive learned to stay here a bit longer and let my heart feel it more.

Why do I feel the need to write this?
In a word,

Authenticity

I know it is all too easy to live without anyone really knowing you.
I mean really know you, all of you, I know how its easy it is to live as an introverted single especially.

There is lie that we believe that says "If people really knew me they would...."
(You can fill in the blank....)
will think less of me,
stop being my friend,
think Im weird,
stop loving me

The truth is you can only love people fully when you know them fully.

When people let me in, tell me things from their vulnerable places it makes me love them more.
Do you feel that?

When others know it all, they can love you including all your weirdness, wonderfulness and junk.

Part of what makes you and me beautiful are our scars and weaknesses

How do you do that?
The only way I know to do this is:
Ask God to love you first,
Tell Him everything, even the things you feel ashamed about, look at Him in your minds eye - instead of anger - you'll find He wants to accept, love and comfort and then help you grow.
Ask God for friends you can tell things to and when you find them, make time to talk things out, chose carefully, but take a risk, there are some really good people around you.

Authenticity is a weapon.

• It destroys loneliness and builds community
• It fights individualism and builds a culture where everyone is loved and matters
• It smashes through self-pity and makes you and others happy
• It confronts self reliance & helps you realise that others genuinely love you
• It feeds the hungry, clothes the stranger and homes the wanderer

 Ask Him, He is generous and has plenty more to give you.

Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen

Wow, what an amazing weekend.
I got to catch up with my friend Signe Randrup and spend some quality time with the lovely Sharon Correr.

We went on a boat tour of the sights, Nyhavn, the Queen's houses, the little Mermaid and the Opera house.

We took a couple of bike taxis including to Christiania, a hippy commune that the Danish government allows to be self governing, where soft drugs are openly sold and quality live music was playing (a brilliant band called the Boho Dancers).


On the Sunday morning we went to a church where a friend of mine is the pastor, he asked me to say a little something, so i talked about some of the healings we have been seeing and got to pray for a few people at the end.

One lady, before we asked Jesus to heal her, described her pain level as 7/10.
On Monday afternoon we got this text.

"Thankyou so much for taking the initiative to pray for my knees. Since December I have had major pains in my knees and my right one is making crunching noises when I walk down stairs. The last two or three weeks I have had hellish pain, especially with the right one, but the left has also been irritating. But yesterday the pains disappeared and today I have had none either. I thankyou but my thanks are especially towards Jesus. It's amazing to be able to leave home without supports on my knees."

Wow and Brilliant!
After this we shared our packed lunch with some homeless guys by the river.

I have decided I love Denmark.
I love the laid back quietness, I love the feeling of space - even in a busy city, I love the love of design in buildings and display of art everywhere, I love that they eat raw bacon and love fish, sausages and icecream.
I love the hunger for something real and I love that Jesus loves Denmark.

What if...

I have spent that past 2 days reading a book an old pastor friend of mine wrote about his journey from being a successful church leader to loosing that through a moral slip up and back again.

I started reading this book cos i was curious, curious to what really happened and curious to how he was doing now.

What I wasnt expecting was how much I would see myself in these pages and how challenging that would be.

My friend talks a lot about being a son, what this means, what it means to have God as your Father, like not just as a nice concept but knowing it and living like that. 

• Living like a child who says "Dad can we have fun today" and having fun all day long with him.
• Living as if "My" bank account was actually Gods and believing he has enough cash when my pocket money isnt enough or runs out.
• Living a life asking "Break my heart with what breaks yours" and loving others from that place.
• Not just doing the right thing or what is expected of me, but knowing God well enough to see and do what God is doing

I mean, knowing God like that
Knowing Him

And as I look at Him today, He is smiling and saying, "Im right here".

With fear and excitement all rolled into one,
I feel this may be an interesting summer!