Full Measures

The Bible rarely uses the word 'some'... if you scour it's pages you are more likely to find the world 'all'. There's a very good reason for this; God doesn't want just some of our heart, our time, or our worship. He wants - and indeed deserves - it all.

I was at a school today teaching a Year 1 class and experienced a lovely moment as the kids came in from play. The whole school had been to assembly earlier in the day and, as it was a Church of England school, we had sung the classic 'Give Me Oil in My Lamp' and most of the children had sung it with gusto. For those not in the know, the chorus goes: 'sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna to the King of Kings' (you'll see why this is important in a moment).

A young boy called George was in my class that day and, as he came in from play and hung his coat on his peg, I realised he was singing the song from assembly. With a smile, I listened as he sang to himself, and smiled even wider as he got to the chorus and sang 'sing lasagne, sing lasagne, sing lasagne to the King of Kings' 

What a joy to listen to that boy sing with such abandon, despite his lack of lyrical knowledge. I believe in my heart of hearts, that this kind of worship gives God more joy than a song sung perfectly; right notes, right words. A song sung from the heart, with a spirit of tthanksgiving and joy. I wondered as I listened whether I ever get caught up so much in singing and worshipping 'correctly', that I forget the heart of it. I'm sure I have made that mistake in the past but I hope that, in the future, I will remember George and repent; coming back to the heart of worship and giving God my all.

Matthew 22:37 NIV

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

One Day Like This

"Throw those curtains wide!
One day like this a year'd see me right." - Elbow

So it's been a whole month since I last posted. Life gets pretty busy doesn't it? The lament of every youth and children's worker I imagine. Christmas is almost upon us and it's all Nativity and drama and singing and parties... Love it! But I'm posting today because it's my birthday. 27 today! And what a day. Isn't God good? Blessing after blessing is poured out without limits, even when it's undeserved and beyond what we could have asked for. As Relient K say "the beauty of grace, is that it makes life not fair." How true.

Today started with the opening of presents and finished with a McDonalds - good times. In between there was lunch with a friend (always a blessing) and a trip to a musical. So why am I singing God's praises? Well, a couple of reasons. If you are a York resident you will have noticed that there was a little bit of snow today. Well, a couple of days ago I asked God if He could send me some snow on my birthday. I'll admit I wasn't expecting Him to say yes, but 'yes' He said and there were just the beginnings of snow - I think I was the only one with a smile on my face as I walked through it but I thank God for that small blessing that put a big grin on my face.

The other thing I'm thanking God for is the musical! I went to see Sister Act the Musical in Bradford tonight and though I was expecting to enjoy some good theatre, I was not expecting God to bless me in the midst of it. It was amazing theatre and there were a few voices in the cast that were clearly God-given gifts. One of the songs (the first one Dolores sings with the choir of nuns) is called Raise Your Voice and I was blown away by it! I shed a tear during the part where the sisters layered 'hallelujah' and 'gloria in excelsis deo' and a few Latin lines on top of each other. I'm not sure if all the actresses saw it as worship, but I certainly did. And when Dolores encourages them to sing it loud, and a nun says "I hear what she’s saying – It’s the word of the Lord, why should we whisper it?" I found myself saying Amen slightly involuntarily.

It still surprises me how God can bless us through anything and anyone. Are you always ready to hear God speak? Do you keep your ears, eyes and heart open at all times? Because you really never know when and how God is going to bless you, or speak to you or remind you that He loves you.