So as I was running in sub zero (literally!) temps listening to music, the only sound I actually heard was this blunder playing repeatedly in my mind.

After enough distance had passed that my fingers were finally beginning to thaw, I decided to create a blunder box –an imaginary box whose sole purpose in life was to hold my blunders (yes, it is quite large actually, thanks for asking).

Sigh…

So, once it was filed I wouldn’t allow myself to dwell on it any longer!  What was done was done, I could not change it, and dwelling on it was not going to bring the text back or change the outcome.

Makin’ it Personal:

Are there any blunders you have been harbouring which need to be thrown into your own blunder box? 

Beating ourselves up for mistakes does not help anyone, and instead gives the enemy room to add condemnation to the blend of self criticism, regret, and hurt.  Don’t allow this!  Get the blunder in the box and move on!

I enjoyed the rest of my run far more once the box had been opened, the deposit made, and the box closed.  And so will you.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Phil 4:6-7

Questions to Ponder

When have you allowed a mistake to steal your peace and joy far beyond the apology?

Are there any blunders you have made recently which need to be made right?

When God forgives, He forgives.  So if you have confessed, receive His forgiveness and then live as if He loves you and accepts you.   Because He does….and He will.

I have enormous respect for the Metropolitan Police and having the opportunity to hear their hearts for service, see them caring about their jobs, and listening to the difficulties they face on a regular basis has only increased my admiration of all they do.

In the past few months I have had opportunity to pray with some of the officers, pray within the building, witness the love of Christ on several occasions, meet with one officer for a few hours in a ‘counselling’ capacity, and have been invited to take part in a Diversity board at the Station. I also am beginning to build relationships with those officers working directly within the anti-trafficking field, which I think will be important as I move forward in my new role with City Hearts.

It is only a two hour commute from Sheffield to London, so I am hoping my volunteer role can continue with at least a few visits per month.

Your financial support would, amongst other things, help make possible the ability for me to travel back and forth, keeping this connection active and developing.  You can go to the Donation page here http://www.jenbaker.co.uk/support/ for more information.

Thank you for helping make a difference in the lives of the hurting; in the heart of the Police force; and in the lives of everyday people through this ministry!

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by HHA124L

As many of you know, I finished my pastoral position at Westminster Community Church the end of December and have been waiting for God to reveal the next step.

As of last month I believed that was to move forward with CGI (Christian Growth International) and align my ministry with them.  Many of you know I didn’t have peace about moving to Chelmsford, but I valued the relationships with CGI.  Well, finally I am getting clarity!

October 2011 I was invited to attend an Anti-Slavery Day Celebration at 10 Downing Street.  Being there challenged me once again of the unique privilege we have to bring the Kingdom of God to earth and to be a voice for justice wherever we go.  It made me think ‘what am I personally doing, and is it enough’?  Some of us will be called to work locally fighting for justice; others will be called to work on a national or international level.  It isn’t where we impact, it is that we impact which matters most. 

It was an honour to be invited, and I felt at the time there was more to it than just the invitation.  It seems that was correct!

While there I met Jenny Gilpin (see picture) who, along with her husband Dave, pastors Hope City Church in Sheffield.  They also founded City Hearts, which has two Safe Houses for those who have been trafficked, plus a Recovery House which is a residential program for women overcoming serious life issues such as drug abuse, unplanned pregnancies, depression, and eating disorders.

Three days before I was due to finalise with CGI, Jenny phoned me out of the blue offering me a part-time job as Director over City Hearts UK.  Not only would I oversee the program, but it would also provide opportunity to attend monthly meetings in London with the Home Office and other agencies, focusing on the anti-trafficking issue.

I will also be part of their preaching team and still have the freedom to itinerate on the weekends and develop my own ministry.  It’s a win/win all around!

You can find out more about City Hearts and the church at http://www.hopecitychurch.tv/community/city-hearts.

I spoke to Bev Murrill from CGI and they also believed this was God.  My relationship with them will still continue, but my ministry will now be aligned with Hope City Church in Sheffield where I’ll be based.

I believe a key part of this new season of ministry will be as a ‘voice to the voiceless’ – making known the atrocities of trafficking and speaking up for those whose voices have been silenced.  Thank you for your support which helps make this happen!

A few days ago I found an illustration I read about a year ago.  It simply said:

In modern life we are losing the ability to be brief. For example,

the Lord’s Prayer consists of 56 words

the Ten Commandments – 297 words

The US Declaration of Independence – 1300 words

The EU Convention on the importation of caramel – 26, 911 words

Who knew importing caramel could be so difficult?!

Whilst there is some discrepancy on the exact number of words in the above documents, the point is clear: the most powerful is often the most simple.

Proverbs 18:21 says “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Maybe today focus more on those fewer words which hold great meaning (I love you, I’m sorry, You matter, Well done….) as opposed to a plethora of words which hold great opinion.

Selah.

There’s not much to say now of course; when this is an actual article there will be more interesting bits and pieces to include I’m sure. So really I’m just waffling now to show what this page will look like.

Here is some random text often found on website’s currently in development:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Nam liber tempor cum soluta nobis eleifend option congue nihil imperdiet doming id quod mazim placerat facer possim assum. Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem. Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere me lius quod ii legunt saepius. Claritas est etiam processus dynamicus, qui sequitur mutationem consuetudium lectorum. Mirum est notare quam littera gothica, quam nunc putamus parum claram, anteposuerit litterarum formas humanitatis per seacula quarta decima et quinta decima. Eodem modo typi, qui nunc nobis videntur parum clari, fiant sollemnes in futurum.

And this is a picture of a funny cat…

We all get them, everyday.  General mishaps, minor mishaps, inconvenient (are they ever convenient?!) mishaps, and at times even disabling mishaps.  These are things we don’t see coming, but circumstances which block us from moving forward with the ease and expediency we had previously been experiencing.

This past week I have shaken hands, quite literally, with mishap on several occasions: I had what I thought was a strategic housing opportunity fall through, then – fall being the key word – I had a rather ‘fly through the air’ type of fall whilst running one evening which damaged both of my hands (making it somewhat difficult to type this blog!), and finally two days after that I had/am having continual computer problems where it decides to crash at will, and often.

Mishaps.

Recently I read the following quote by Dr Caroline Leaf, “Love and fear are the root emotions – all the other emotions grow out of these. We are wired for love. We learn fear.”

When mishaps happen my automatic, and natural, response has become fear.  I’ll try to sort something out myself fearing that otherwise it may not happen; I’ll fall into the trap of self-pity fearing that otherwise I won’t be cared for; I’ll fear going for a run in case it happens again, and on it goes….

What would it look like to walk in love instead?

Love trusts.  Love worships.  Love gives.  Love thanks.

Instead of fear I am choosing to worship the Lord for Who He is and all He has done for me, knowing He is an amazing Provider; I am choosing to give generously in order to keep my eyes away from self-pity and onto the needs of others; and I am choosing to be thankful, knowing that thankfulness walks us out of pain into victory – inwardly if not yet outwardly.

And finally – I am choosing to run again, knowing when fear is faced, freedom is found.

What to do with mishaps?

Embrace them.

Something which seems quoted far more than experienced.

We all long to live the dream…whatever that is. As a child I dreamt of becoming an A-list Hollywood star, an FBI agent, and at one time even the first female American football player for the Detroit Lions! (I know, can you imagine?!)

Yet how many of our childhood dreams become reality? At what age did I realise my talent isn’t quite A-list, I would be pathetic as an undercover cop, and the football helmet would definitely mess with my hair / make-up way too much to be worth the millions I was going to make!

All too early in life we choose to shelve the dream instead of trust it; we assume that the child was simply being a child and as an adult – things must look different. Maybe it comes with our first job, first bill, first mortgage, or first child, but somewhere along life’s continuum a decision is made to either forego the dream, or at the very least to modify it (read into that make it safe). And sometimes that is right. Me attempting to become the first female football player is right up there with the Queen trying out for England’s Rugby team. It just isn’t going to happen.

But are there dreams which have been modified to the point of moribund? They are barely gasping for breath, lifeless and weak, when at one time they were the strength behind us getting up in the morning. And those dreams, the ones which had true life in them at one time, are the ones which we need to re-examine. Have we shelved something out of despair instead of direction? Might it be time to pull a dream off the ventilator and breathe new life into it?

Joseph had a dream which landed him in prison. (Genesis 37) But whilst there he continued believing in the dream and acting with integrity, until it came to pass. Yes, it looked different than he originally imagined, but seriously, don’t they all?

This thought came to me a few months ago during an intense time of ministry. As I was ‘complaining’ to God about the stress and difficulty I was under, He reminded me that I grew up in a tiny Midwestern town in the US, and am now living in England, have a flat in London, am travelling and preaching at meetings, writing for magazines, and working for Him.

I am already living the dream; I was just too busy to see it.

My sense is someone has a dream they are questioning, wondering if anything will ever come of it? Bring it before the Throne room, ask the Lord for His direction, trust Him, be willing to fully obey, and always follow your peace. (Colossians 3:15)

Because who knows, quite possibly the child’s dream … isn’t just a dream….

After two weeks on holiday and a long journey home, I wearily entered the house, put down my things, and made sure I hadn’t forgotten anything important – like leaving the iron plugged in whilst away. The fact my flat had not burned to the ground should have been my first clue that things were probably okay, but one can never be too careful. Does anyone else have that reoccurring fear of having arrived at your holiday destination thousands of miles away, only to remember you left something electrical plugged in and turned on?

Thankfully everything appeared as normal…everything except the foliage.

The sound of them gasping for breath was nearly audible; and if they wore clothing, I can assure you vanity would have jumped out the window, alongside every item of clothing, in their feeble little attempt to cool off. They were clearly dying from lack of water.

Spiritually we often find ourselves in the same position. We take an unintentional holiday from the Word and before we can say ‘oh oh’, we find ourselves gasping for life. Clothes of righteousness, patience, kindness, and generosity have been thrown off along the way without us even realising they were gone; inside we have begun to wilt and droop as a result of no spiritual energy; and the way we look in the spirit has begun to resemble a balloon which has lost its air – deflated.

Amazingly one glass of water turned a plant which looked like it had just crawled the Sahara into the radiant, plush, and beautiful being it once was (okay that’s a slight exaggeration as this one has yet to even produce a flower …. but I am quite certain that has nothing to do with my horticultural skills). The point being the leaves are once again green and standing tall, as opposed to knocking on death’s door begging for entry.

And so it is with us. If you have found yourself lacking the water of the Word and refreshing of the Spirit lately, let today be the day you pick it up again, dive in, and drink deeply.

Not only will you feel better on the inside, you will look more appealing on the outside.

No holiday required.

Here are some selected scenes from a preach Jen gave in Devon at a 2010 conference. They look at the keys of authority we carry and how that changes the way we should see ourselves and our daily walk with the Lord! The entire CD or DVD can be purchased in the Store. click here!

Normally when I have a haircut, death is far from my mind; and might I add, this is generally a good thing.  Yet on this occasion as I stood at the counter preparing to pay, my eye caught an image on the arm of the man behind the counter.

It was beautifully scripted, written in a lovely colour, and looked somewhat poetic; yet this fine work of art boasted only one word – DEATH.

Deftly striking up a conversation, I eluded to the bold statement hitching a ride on his bicep, commenting on his unique choice of words to indelibly print on one’s body.  Mr Tattoo laughed and said others had also questioned his decision, wondering if he had been depressed when it was done.  He assured me he had not been; also that he was not a masochist, nor did he have a death wish or any other disorder — he simply liked the design.

It made me wonder: what unsuitable image imprinted on my spirit am I tolerating, simply because I like the design?

Insecurity can look quite attractive when it masquerades as humility.  Or success can appear rather colourful when the true design is labelled pride.  ‘Freedom of expression’ sometimes hides behind the swirls of laziness, or ‘just appreciating her beauty’ becomes a smokescreen for the marks of lust written upon one’s heart.  We are lured in by what looks attractive and acceptable outwardly, bypassing the true writing on the wall.   Or in this case – arm.

Jesus bore the marks of death all over His body, so we would not have to.   Those marks contained no façade –they declared total surrender.

His scars still write today.  They engrave Freedom on the heart of anyone who seeks to be truly identified with Him…

…and that my friends, is a tattoo worth displaying.

“You show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:3