Month: February 2011

Music on a Monday – A song and a prayer….

On By auntyamoIn Getting to grips with God stuff, MusicLeave a comment

I have been writing songs for a long time. Evidently I’m not THAT good or else I’d have been scooped up by now and I’d be living in Nashville, next door to Keith and Kristyn 

As a teenager I was fairly dismal in my outlook. And most of the songs I wrote reflected that. I listened to The Cure and The Smiths. I was never happier than when I was miserable, sitting with my guitar and bemoaning of the meaninglessness of life. I wrote a song called ‘The Puppet Show’ about someone who I thought was my friend, but actually they were just using me and I was their puppet – I didn’t realise they were deciding what I would do and wear and listen to. Bizarre teenage years!!!!

These days when I’m writing songs they usually come from prayers. (Just moaning again really) Some times I don’t know what to pray. Or I’ve prayed the same prayer so many times that I just feel I can’t ask for that same thing again. So I pick up the guitar and suddenly the prayer I couldn’t say comes out in a song. I would say 99 out of 100 tunes disappear into oblivion. But the odd time a tune stays with me and becomes a real song.

The real difference is that, like some of the Psalms (though not as good obviously) no matter how hopeless my songs start, they always end up with hope and comfort from God.
I’m so glad that my songs that have been written in times of near hopelessness don’t end there.

I love music. I’m not a highly trained, dazzlingly talented musician. But I do love it and it makes me very happy.

How’s my profile looking?

On By auntyamoIn Getting to grips with God stuff, HumourLeave a comment

Got one of those personality profiles done. The only thing that surprised me was it was so accurate.

It says that I need “applause” and that if I don’t feel appreciated that I actually get tired and indecisive.

The maddest bit was, one comment on the profile said,
“she will be de-motivated if she is not invited into meetings with her peers.”
I was amazed by that.
I used to work in a team of 7 or 8 people. There was one meeting each week that I was not part of. It was just a coincidence, I wasn’t involved in that area of our team’s work, and the others who were not involved had a half day on the day that meeting would be on.
So I manned the phones for the team during that meeting.
I did not like it at all! Even though I knew there was a valid reason for me not being there.
The worst bit was if someone popped in and wondered why I was the only one not at the meeting and I would be at pains to explain. I remember the feeling so well and I was shocked to see the words in black and white in the profile.

It did make me laugh tho!
How do they get those profiles so right? It’s amazing.

So what does it all mean?

Well if you don’t read my blog, follow me on Twitter and RT when you do then…

I might cwy.

Oh by the way the profile also suggests that I have a very ‘persuasive’ style

aka emotional blackmail 🙂

Music on a Monday – Singing the Praises of Marriage

On By auntyamoIn Family, Getting to grips with God stuff, MusicLeave a comment

I’ve just discovered two great songs about marriage. One is called ‘Lead Me’ by Sanctus Real.

And the one I totally love is “Dancing in the Minefields” by Andrew Peterson
It is a song about a couple who married young and are looking back on it after 15 years. The chorus goes,
“We went dancing in the minefields,
we went sailing in the storm.
And it was harder than we dreamed,
but I believe that’s what the promise is for.”

That line just sums it up for me! When Rich and I married we didn’t REALLY know each other. And even though we took our vows very seriously and wrote them ourselves based on Ephesians 5, I don’t think we really knew what we were promising.

Within two years of marriage we had lost Richard’s Dad and any hope of having children.
“It was harder than we dreamed but I believe that’s what the promise is for!”

Another line I love is,
“‘Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it’s an easy price
For the life that we have found.”

These are encouraging words. And if when my marriage isn’t really like this. It’s a good thing to aspire to.

Links to Lead Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLr6G8Xy5uc
and Dancing in the Minefields http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gs3fg_WsEg

They’re worth a listen 🙂

I wish I knew what way to go on the whole guidance thing….!

On By auntyamoIn Getting to grips with God stuffLeave a comment

If you’re someone who follows God and wants to live as He commands then the whole area of guidance in the smaller more specific things is a tough one (well it is for me anyway).

The Bible is clear about the will of God for our lives as far as how we should live, our attitude to each other and our attitude to God. But the ‘life’ stuff… Will I buy a house or rent? Will I stay here or move somewhere else? Will I quit my job and go work for a mission organisation in Africa? Will go out on that date? Will I take out that loan?

Now I realise that some of those issues above are bigger and have more implications than others. I’m just talking about stuff that’s not mentioned specifically in the Bible. The things we need to work out ourselves.

I’ve always thought that guidance, discernment etc comes in a number of ways. There’s the inner witness, there are circumstances that lend themselves to the situation (the ‘open door’ effect) and then there’s wisdom and counsel of others.

Presuming we all pray and we all believe we hear from God, we hope that those things will match up and together a picture of the future and the path to it emerges.

But that doesn’t always happen. So what if someone wiser than you thinks you shouldn’t do what you’re convinced God is asking you to do?

Answers on a postcard or the back of a sealed envelope 

(Oh, were you hoping I’d be able to answer that question…..? eh…. Sorry!)