Food wise, so far, I’ve only found one thing that I’ve not liked, and that was a snack – almond butter balls. I’ve tried some really nice food, such as Rice, Sweet Potato and Bean Soup, Hummus Casserole, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, Pineapple Muffins and Fig, Pear and Walnut Salad. I used to think to myself “what do vegans eat?” Let’s say that my eyes have been opened! I’ve really been thinking about the food that goes into my body. I think when the fast is over I will continue to use some of the recipes in my weekly diet, and have a largely vegetarian diet.

The first few days I got hungry a lot and it tortured me to give food to the kids that I couldn’t eat. I’m definitely less hungry now. Spiritually, I’ve not put the time in that I should have, so far. We started homeschool back this week, so that generally means an all over the place week, until we are back into routine. I feel like God has spoken into a couple of situations that we’ve prayed about. I’ve also become aware that I need to journal more. I’m hoping to connect more with God this coming week.

On a side note, I tried Quinoa tonight, for the first time, and loved it. The kids ate it without complaining too!

believe

believe

“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” (NLT)

Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” John 20:29 (NLT)

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

Tired…

FreeDigitalPhotos.net

GO!

I chuckled to myself when I saw the word for today’s Five Minute Friday. It seems to me that my response to people this year, when asked how I am, is that I am tired. It’s been a long, busy year and I am, well, tired! We are 18 months into transitioning our church and it has been quite a stressful and fast paced time. Turning the church around has been difficult and not without cost. The honeymoon period was very short lived. I could quite happily go on an extended vacation to recover, but the work is not yet done. In same ways, it’s just beginning. There is a long way to go. This, in itself, makes me feel even more exhausted! However, I’ve realised this year how much God sustains me if I push into him each and every day. I’ve learned that when I don’t push into him that I can become disillusioned, overwhlemed and lose hope. When I give myself to Him, he gives me peace, hope, brings surprises and gives me the energy to carry on.

My husband and I are intentionally having a quieter Christmas period this year. We recognise that we can’t keep up with the pace it has been. We need time to reflect, regroup and re-energize. I’ve experienced God stretching me this year, way beyond my comfort zones and capacity. Yet, I’ve grown so much. I also feel like I’ve aged some. There are definitely more grey hairs and crows feet than this time last year! I’m fighting off a cold right now, which is desperately trying to come out. I can feel the ache in my legs, my throat is sore and my eyes are sore and tired. Today is our day off and it seems like a good day to rest up, sleep and shake off some of this tiredness.

STOP!

The photo above is by Karen Shaw you can view more of her photos at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here is my link to The Gypsy Mama’s Five Minute Friday

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no back tracking.
2. Link back to Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in.
3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

This weeks five minutes is on – Grow

Go!

The older I have gotten, the less I have thought that I have needed to grow, but God continues to stretch me. I realise, now, that the older I get, the more I am growing, rather than the latter. Perhaps, there is a wisdom that comes with growth, so that in the end you don’t fight it anymore and just accept what is happening? At 36, I think I am yet to reach that place. It’s a learning curve, but I guess I’m headed in the right direction? I can look back over the years and see where the Lord has pushed me to grow, through lifes circumstances and through His love of me. There is less of me and more of Him with each spiritual growth spurt that I have, although, there is still not enough of Him, make sense?

Stop.

Currently there are a group of bloggers in Ecuador on a trip organized by Compassion.The trip is for the bloggers to witness firsthand (and blog about) Compassion International’s ministry to children in the highlands near Quito and the Amazon basin. Ann Voskamp, a very gifted writer, whose blog I read is there, along with her husband The Farmer.

I’m not able to blog about this trip as I am away at a conference for a few days. However, if you’d like to follow along, then please go to Compassion’s Bloggers page to view the blog posts. You can also follow along at Twitter.

If you are not currently sponsoring a child through Compassion, please would you consider doing so. They do amazing work. Many children, who would otherwise not get an education, are benefitting from sponsorship, as are their family and the community in which they live.

The Voice New Testament translation is the result of 27 Bible scholars, 51 writers and 36 other contributors, who have captured the New Testament in a beautiful and narrative way. Bible scholars include David Capes, Darrell Bock and Peter Davids and writers include Chris Seay, Leonard Sweet and Lauren Winner.

When I received my copy of The Voice NT, I was expecting something along the same lines as Eugene Peterson’s The Message. While the translation is in contemporary language, I was pleasantly surprised at how The Voice differs from The Message. The Voice is set out in a screenplay format, indicating the person who is speaking. For example:

Disciple: It’s a ghost!

Another Disciple: A ghost? What will we do?

Jesus: Be still. It is I. You have nothing to fear. (Matt 14:26-27)

I really like the design and format of the book. Throughout the books of the NT, there are notes for the reader, that explain some of the culture/situations found in the NT, or asks the reader to think about a particular thing. There are also four different reading lists – readings for Advent, readings for Lent and Easter, read the NT in 24 weeks and daily readings for personal growth. Other information, included in The Voice, is a detailed explanation as to how this translation was come up with, a topical guide and information about the titles of Jesus. Some of the language used is truly beautiful. I love how Jesus is referred to as Jesus, the Anointed One.

My husband is a church pastor and he has looked through The Voice NT. He has said that he really likes it, so much so, that he has taken my copy and placed it on his bed side table! The only draw back to The Voice is that it is just NT, although, from the back I can see that the complete Bible is set for release in 2012.

Here are a few lines of scripture from The Voice, compared with The Message and NIV, so that you can see the comparisons and difference:

“Here is the bottom line: do not worry about your life. Don’t worry about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about how you clothe your body. Living is about more than merely eating, and the body is about more than dressing up. Look at the birds in the sky. They do not store food for winter. They don’t plant gardens. They do not sow or reap – and yet, they are always fed because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird.. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you.” Matt 6:25-26 The Voice NT

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” Matt 6:25-26 The Message

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matt 6:25-26  NIV

I really recommend reading The Voice NT. It would also be a good starter bible for a new Christian, or for a teen moving to an adult Bible. I think, though, if you are someone who enjoys reading a translation such as the KJV, then you may struggle with the contemporary feel to The Voice, or, it might be a breath of fresh air!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

For weeks and weeks I’ve planned on taking part in The Gypsy Mama’s Five Minute Friday. In her words, this is what we do:

We write bold and beautiful and free. Unscripted and unedited. We just write without worrying if it’s just right or not.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

Today’s word is: Beyond…

GO!

Beyond the 4 Walls is what I named my blog when I first started out in 2005. I wanted to move from beyond the four walls that I live in. From beyond the mess, the sticky finger prints and the chaos. I also wanted to move beyond the box that I had put God and what it meant to follow Him into. I wanted to move beyond the end of the grey street that I lived on and into the lives of others. In part I achieved this, in part I think I also took a few steps backward. Don’t ask me to explain, I’m not really sure that I can. I guess the only words I have is that my faith did a 180 degree turn and has probably leveled out at a 90 degree turn from where I started out. I literally stripped my faith down to the bare basics and then rebuilt. Reluctantly with some things at first, but as I went further along on the journey I began to see the importance in parts of the spiritual body which I had run from.

STOP!

For the past few days I’ve been devouring Angie Smith’s new book What Women Fear. There are two reasons for this: First, it took a while for my book to arrive in the mail, so I am playing catch up so that I can take part in the current Bloom Book Club. Second, even if I was not playing catch up, then I would be devouring this book. It is beautifully written, so readable and honest. Angie has allowed her innermost self to be vulnerable to other people, who she does not know, which takes guts. The thing is, as I read, I see me. I’ve read about some of Angie’s fears, from both childhood and adulthood, and have realized that they are not too different to ones that I have had. I wonder how many of us have fears which, at times, almost seem irrational, yet if we shared and spoke about them more, then we’d come to realize that they are actually common?

Anyway, I really recommend that you buy Angie’s book and come and join in on the book club discussions. We are half way through the book now, but the club still has another two to three weeks to go. All posts will remain online, so even if you miss joining in as things are posted, you can still watch the videos and leave comments. You won’t regret it. There are some inspiring ladies over there. You can find out about other books by Angie, and follow her blog, at her website Angie Smith Online

Here’s a link to the book – have it within one minute if ordered digitally

Here’s a link to Bloom.