Meeting with Royalty

On Monday morning, the world woke to the news that the Duchess of Cambridge had gone into labour. The long awaited royal baby was on its way! The world’s media had been gathering outside the hospital for days waiting for the moment when we would learn whether a prince or princess had been born.

I’m not a big royalist, and I was a little frustrated after 2+ hours of news coverage once the prince was born. And then there was the waiting for him to be named, and first pictures, and I really was rather sick of it all be the middle of the week.

But I can understand the excitement, even if I don’t share in it. There is anticipation for the future of the British monarchy, and it spills forth into all the publicity and excitement we see. The line is secure, and the Royal family is set to continue for a number of generations still. A future king has been born, and that’s exciting!

The Royal family is a strange topic for a blog post, I’ll admit, but next week, 50 young people will be gathering for the East Midlands and Anglia Summer School (EMASS) to spend some quality time with the King of Kings, and that’s what’s exciting for me!

Whenever we come before Jesus, our hearts should be full of anticipation and excitement. We’re meeting with the King!

I know that sometimes when I come before God, I can feel like it’s a chore, or my mind is on all the other stuff I need to get done. I’m distracted and easily taken away from the moment and what God wants to say to me.

But if I was to meet the Queen, or the new Prince, I wouldn’t feel it was a chore. I would be focussed, wholly dedicated to what they were saying. I wouldn’t just get up and leave before they were finished. I would feel privileged and blessed to have met them.

Why don’t we feel that way when we come before God?

As I said, next week is going to be spent at EMASS, and I’m full of anticipation for what God is going to do there. While I could let myself be distracted and worried by all the ‘important things’ that need to be done (don’t worry, they will be done!), I don’t want to let them get in the way of those moments with God, the King of Kings. I want to spend time listening to him and being blessed, and seeing him speak to and bless the young people who are coming.

So if you’re coming to summer school, I hope you share in my anticipation for all God is going to do.

How often do you think of the times we meet with God as coming before the King of Kings?

How would that change the way you worship him?

How would it change the way you pray?

Time flies

I can’t believe it – I’ve been here over year now! And what a year! I wanted to take some time reflecting on all the stuff that’s happened, what God’s been saying, and what I hope for the future!

Firstly, let’s start by looking back on all the Divisional activities that have happened.

When I first arrived here, I had about six weeks to prepare for my first ever summer school! Looking back, I’ve no idea how I did it, but at the time I loved every second of those few weeks as I learnt to swim in the deep end. I had only ever been to one summer school as a student, and never been on staff, so it was a real learning curve! The week itself was fantastic – the best start to a job anyone could wish for! – and helped me settle in. If you want to hear more about the week, you can find the review here.

In some ways, starting with such a high left me a little down for the following few months, but I worked through it and got out and about to meet young people, youth leaders, and Corps Officers around the division. I also spent time preparing for the youth worship event in November (Boundless: The Adventure Continues) which gave another good opportunity to meet people, and re-launch the Anglia Youth Chorus!

In the run up to the New Year, I spent time praying for this year and the young people within the division. It was a great time, and I felt God was really encouraging us to be courageous this year. And this challenge has not left me. I often find myself being reminded about this message and finding situations that require me to be courageous in my personal life, spiritual life, and decisions for the division. Again, if you want to read more about the challenge, you can find the blog post here.

Soon enough, Youth Councils arrived. The day was spent thinking about Holiness and the ALOVE theme for the year – ‘…. Water’. More about what we did can be read here.

And now, I find myself once again in the run up to the East Midlands and Anglia Summer School (EMASS). We’re just over 2 weeks away (it’s earlier this year), and I’m experiencing the same feelings of excitement and nerves as last year! This year, our focus is on going deeper into our discipleship through exploring the passages in the Bible about Jesus and water (spot the theme yet?). It’s going to be a great week, so if you’re coming, get excited! If you’re not coming, then keep an eye out for the review post in the weeks following EMASS. You could also join us on the Wednesday night (31^st July) for an evening of illusion with Steve Price (£2) or for the Final Celebration on Saturday night (3^rd August, £5). Please message me for more details.

Now for the coming year and beyond – what do I hope? Where do I see things going? I want to develop the discipleship of young people within the division and encourage the leadership skills within them. I want to see every young person in the division come to have a full and deep relationship with God; reaching their God-given potential and following his will for their lives. I want young people to become more involved and invested in the running and organising of divisional events. In short, I have the same vision as I did 12 months ago, and I continue to trust in God that his will is best, and I will do my best to follow his path.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

The Condition of the Court

It will come as no surprise, I’m sure, that we are half way through Wimbledon fortnight. Now, I’m not a big tennis fan, and Wimbledon fortnight is something that I only really acknowledge due to the change in the TV schedule, but I did notice the news about players slipping and injuring themselves due to the condition of the courts. Many of the great names complained and withdrew from the competition because of this, including Sharapova, Federer, and Tsonga.

 

While some players are blaming the courts, the officials say they are in almost identical condition to last year and that the courts always gain grip throughout the competition. Andy Murray has been quoted as saying it’s a surprise this hasn’t happened before and that it is a statistical anomaly that the big names have got through to the later rounds for so long. Other players already had injuries that they were recovering from, or there were other issues than purely the condition of the court. As I’ve already said, I’m not a big tennis fan and so I can’t really comment on the how these various factors can contribute to slips and falls in a tennis match, but the reactions of some of the big names has caused me to pause and consider.

In life, we all experience highs and lows. Just as the big names of tennis have gotten through to the latter stages of Wimbledon for a number of years, often the good times can last a long time. It becomes a normal occurrence. Then, when things the tough times come back, when we start slipping and falling more than usual, we often blame the surroundings, or the most obvious reason for our failure – ‘The court is not up to standard’. When the tennis stars started slipping, it was the courts fault. Many did not look to other reasons. It was the courts fault they were not doing as well as normal. Not theirs. 

Since leaving the competition, I don’t know if the stars have looked at the other possibilities for their slips, but the officials and experts have, and found other possibilities for the anomaly. Often, we need to step back from the immediate situation, and explore the other possibilities, or we need to invite someone else into our life to help us identify what may be the underlying causes of our troubles. Maybe it is our ego that is clouding our judgement on the situation, so we lash out at everything else, and inviting someone we trust to help us can offer us a fresh perspective on what is really going on.

The most important thing we should remember, however, is that God is there throughout, helping and supporting us, in both the good time and the bad.

So don’t blame the condition of your court of life; stop and reflect on the other possible causes. Ask God to help you discern the cause, and He will be with you through it all.