tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78324469219578155852024-03-13T21:45:28.633+00:00Hand in Hand with GodMy journey towards God is walked with Him by my side!Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-7490749061433695632011-08-08T19:14:00.002+01:002011-08-08T19:25:03.345+01:00Look Full in his Wonderful FaceGod loves me and He wants to meet with me in a very personal way. I have listened to people who were with me at New Wine this year talk to me about the way He met with them, the words he has spoken to them, even in one case the song He is singing over them. It would be so easy for me to expect Him to meet with me in the same ways that they have talked about, but I think that what He is saying to me is that I need to wait for Him to choose to meet with me in a way that is very personal to me and my life situation. It may be a song, it may be a vision, it may be a dream or a voice in my head, or it may be something completely different. Whatever way God chooses to meet with me I need to wait in <span style="font-style:italic;">expectation</span>. If I do not expect Him to want to meet with me then it simply won't happen. I do know that when it happens nothing will ever be the same again. Normal things in life will cease to matter: "things on earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His Wonder and Grace."
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<br />Last night I went to bed praying that God would give me a sign that I was going in the right direction. I even challenged Him, that I wanted the sign the very next morning. At 9:00 this morning my mum phoned to say to me that she had a verse from the Bible for me...she does not do this very often... and that I was to read Romans 15: 13
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<br />May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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<br />I do trust in him. And I feel that joy and peace bubbling up inside me as I write this!
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<br />Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-70593855308371792792011-01-18T18:15:00.003+00:002011-01-18T18:40:05.500+00:00Six things I heard today<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/TTXeczKL46I/AAAAAAAAAGc/GS_zXql19SA/s1600/IMG_0194.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/TTXeczKL46I/AAAAAAAAAGc/GS_zXql19SA/s200/IMG_0194.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563597501036749730" /></a><br />The scrape of the de-icer as it attacked the ice on the car windscreen<br />The sadness and desperation in the voice of a lovely friend<br />The ack ack ack of the ambucopter as it landed at the hospital<br />The excitement in my son's voice when he returned from school to tell me that he had enjoyed swimming rather than hated it as he had thought he would<br />The thudding of my trainers as they landed on the pavement, one after the other, to the rhythm of my run.<br />The tick tick of the metronome, and the confident piano notes drifting from the study, a clue that Hattie has not given up entirely on the pleasures and joys of her pre-illness life.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-43960999908002299442011-01-17T18:50:00.002+00:002011-01-17T19:02:06.560+00:00Six things I have seen today<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://s4.hubimg.com/u/1968891_f520.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 520px; height: 450px;" src="http://s4.hubimg.com/u/1968891_f520.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Tired women scanning products at the checkout, looking as though they would much rather be elsewhere<br />Fog drifting across the roads, obscuring trees and houses<br />Tired teenage daughter with puffy eyes and a headache<br />Dog gazing up at me adoringly with an unfathomable question in her eye - What is she asking of me?<br />Six round tomatoes, firm red flesh, nestling in a plastic tray<br />The muscle in my husband’s jaw as he chews his tea.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-73816520141205653752011-01-12T21:46:00.000+00:002011-01-12T21:47:08.322+00:00A bit of a day!How many waiting rooms can one person clock up in one day?<br />My total for today is four.<br />I drove to Crowland this morning to teach as usual and left at 12, heading for Grantham hospital. Mum was due to meet me there with Hattie, who had her first appointment with the Chronic fatigue syndrome services. Grantham hospital has several entrances and seemingly endless car parks! I parked eventually in car park 1b. I remember, because I committed it carefully to memory ready for later when I knew I would be needing to ask the question “where’s the car?” <br />We found each other, and then the first waiting room of the day presented itself to me... For some reason my 13 year old daughter had to wait in a “surgical appliances for older adults” waiting room! We were called through by a purple lady...yes, her hair had been dyed to match her woollen dress and tights. She proved to be more competent than she looked and it was a successful appointment all in all. It did however last for over an hour, meaning that my planned drive to Boston’s pilgrim hospital for my own appointment was more of a Formula 1 event.<br />My second waiting room of the day was at the Pilgrim outpatients department, not long here before I was called. “Wow” thought to myself, “that was quick!”<br />Sadly I was a bit pre-emptive in my thoughts as I was led by a sullen, sensible-shoed nurse, down several corridors to another waiting room (no 3). This one I was in for a little bit longer. Long enough indeed to browse “Arthritis today” and indeed to have a quick flick through “Your Colonoscopy”!<br />At last another nurse called me through to a small room, “I’ll just be taking your blood pressure and doing a weight and height check.” She informed me. After which I was led through to waiting room number 4. No magazines here. Just bare yellow walls and two or three of the ubiquitous staring old people. (You know the sort? Their gaze rests on one spot and does not move. Unwavering, it is, and this particular old fellow’s eyes were unwaveringly resting on my breasts.)<br />Finally I was seen. Four waiting rooms later!Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-42683841729728021442011-01-02T17:55:00.001+00:002011-01-02T17:55:58.971+00:00God's Promises Part 1John 16:33<br />33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”<br /><br />I see this Promise in two parts<br />• In this world you will have trouble<br />God does not promise those who love Him an easy life. On the contrary, in this verse, he actually promises us that life will not be easy. Trouble will follow us in this life. Look at the early Christians, were they not put in chains, persecuted and even killed for their faith? Perhaps then we should rejoice in our hardships?<br />“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 15: 18-19<br />• And the second part of the promise : But take heart! I have overcome the world.<br />So, having promised us hardship, God tells us to take heart! He has already overcome the world through his gift of Jesus Christ, and we are free! So whilst we may suffer hardship on this earth, ultimately we have no need to be afraid.<br /><br />Perhaps the new year is a good time for us to look at this promise and see how we will claim it in our lives.<br /><br />When faced with hardships in life, we can either allow them to knock us over and crush us or ride them and when we come out the other side, put them behind us.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-62688335647934274362010-03-29T17:55:00.004+01:002010-03-29T18:10:27.454+01:00Photos<span xmlns=''><p>On the way to taking Molly riding on Sunday we passed an old dwelling. There were bee hives in the overgrown garden and the house was covered with out of control ivy. I did not venture inside. Apart from the KEEP OUT sign, Molly kept telling me that the place looked as though it was on the point of collapse and she was doubtful if I would emerge alive! I took some photographs and we examined the dead badger floating in the dyke, then continued on to riding. The next dwelling, this time lived in was called 'The apiary', which made me wonder if that was the bee-keeper who once lived in the old cottage. Hmm, for some reason the photos I posted with this have not been published....Useless post with out them... </p></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-69499789707686855902010-03-27T21:33:00.002+00:002010-03-27T21:36:01.519+00:00Street Pastor Update<span xmlns=''><p>Well, it's been two months since the Pastors hit the streets of Boston and we are beginning to be recognised and even looked out for by some people. Of course we are still being asked 'Where's the spaghetti?' by every other person, but let's look on the bright side at least we don't go out on the streets of Plymouth; what's the betting we would be Cornish Pasties, there! <br /></p><p>We are having some interesting conversations, but many, many people are asking questions that I have no answers, absolutely no answers to. A man asked for direction last night. He used that very word: 'I'm looking for new direction in my life; what can you offer me?' When we spoke to him about God, he answered, 'I can't believe in a God who killed my 16 day old baby. While I have breathe in my body you will not make me believe in a God that could do that.' Of course we tried. I spoke about a God who loves...a God who doesn't kill, but for some reason, that I cannot understand, allows pain and suffering to happen. But of course, it was not what he was able to hear, and all I really wanted to do was hug him and tell him that it was all right to be angry with God, but I couldn't do that...didn't know what to say or what to do.<br /></p><p>We are doing some good though. There was young George name changed), last night who looked so young and was so very drunk. A big lad with a baby-face, who staggered so uncontrollably that he almost tipped himself over the balustrade into the Witham. While he was propping up the wall of the Midlands bank, complaining that he needed a toilet and he didn't know the way home. I prayed. One of those simple 'on the spot prayers' that are whispered to the wind... and George said, 'over there...It's Ian, my mate. He might take me home.' <br /></p><p>Ian, it turned out, was a pizza delivery man and stone cold sober, thank God. He grudgingly fetched his car and we bundled the young lad in. Answered prayer and a successful end to George's evening.<br /></p></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-85711617526852335162010-03-04T20:15:00.001+00:002010-03-04T20:15:38.642+00:00Neil Gaiman on Writing<span xmlns=''><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong><br /> </strong></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>1</strong> Write.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>2</strong> Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>3</strong> Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>4</strong> Put it aside. Read it pretending you've never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>5 </strong>Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>6</strong> Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>7</strong> Laugh at your own jokes.<br /></span></p><p><span style='font-family:Times New Roman; font-size:12pt'><strong>8</strong> The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.<br /></span></p></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-72028663017733194482010-01-18T11:30:00.002+00:002010-01-18T12:41:08.586+00:00Trinity NewsI am very excited to have recently been christened, "Editor" of Trinity News, our popular church magazine. Having looked into it I have discovered that issues of this worthy tome date back to wartime, and I am looking forward to showing readers some of the oldest articles and looking at how life at Trinity has changed (or not!)<br /><br />Fortunately I am not alone in this venture. Paula is Deputy Editor, Ant is in charge of IT, and Kirstyn of advertising. I would never be able to do it alone! <br /><br />One thing I would like to see is a massive increase in readership. Currently around 200-250 copies are being sold, with a high percentage of readership being amongst non church attenders. I would like to bring that up to 400 over the next year! I don't know if that is achievable, but I would like to think we can make it happen. <br /><br />We need to: <br /> * improve the content<br /> * boost sales by advertising<br /> * Make people feel guilty for not supporting us!!<br /><br />This issue goes on sale on Feb 7th<br /><br />If anyone does not come to Trinity and would like to buy an issue, or contribute appropriate articles, please feel free to contact me here.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-88522403042991731172010-01-01T21:29:00.001+00:002010-01-01T21:29:45.809+00:00Happy New Year2010, or 20-10 as I suspect it will become known as, has begun. <br />What will the year bring? So far it has brought an end to a great Doctor Who, (and of course the beginning of a new one- Good bye David, Hello Matt! ) and the fall of a great man, (well my David came off his bike this afternoon on the ice and looks a little the worse for the wear). Neither of which are particularly good things to have happened, in my opinion, and yet I am feeling pretty positive about this year.<br />I am a different person than I was even this time last year. God has worked His miracles in my life and given me the strength to now bring Him to other people who are in desperate need of finding love and healing. This, I feel, is what I have been called (and indeed prepared) to do. All the things that have happened to me, and that I have experienced over the years, have grown me into the person I am now. God has moulded me into the shape I am and I want to fill the Jane shaped hole that I believe awaits me in 2010 in Trinity Church and in the town of Boston!<br />The Street Pastor venture will begin at the end of this month. I am keen, so keen! <br />Boston’s Soup kitchen is running well and being so well used that I am beginning to believe that much, much more is needed. There are so many people out there who have nowhere but doorways and bus shelters to sleep at night. It is cold at the moment, so, so cold. More than a soup kitchen is needed and I want to do more. I have no idea what I can do. I am one person, but I feel that I should be trying to do something. <br />There are going to be difficult things happening this year to. Things that I am trying to not even think about yet because I don’t know how I will cope, and yet, I do know that I will cope. With the help of the One who has brought me thus far and has a plan for me will give me the strength to cope and not just to cope, but I need to believe that He will lead me by the hand to even better places! <br />May I wish us all a New Year in which we do whatever we can for whoever we can, a New Year in which we smile more than ever and a New Year in which we put Him first in all that we do! <br />Blessings,<br />JaneJane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-40488882674414477692009-12-07T15:19:00.002+00:002009-12-07T15:23:34.148+00:00Street Pastors, Boston<span xmlns=''><p>On Saturday 21<sup>st</sup> November we had our first day's training for the Boston Street Pastor scheme...<br /></p><p><br /> <span style='font-size:20pt'>Serving Boston on the streets</span><br /> </p><p><span style='font-size:12pt'>Here are some of the questions that we had answered:</span><br /> </p><p><span style='font-size:12pt'>Q. What is a street pastor?<br /></span></p><p>A. A Street Pastor is an individual with a heart for their community, in particular for its young people who feel themselves to be excluded and marginalised. They are willing to engage with people where they are on the streets, in the pubs and in the clubs.<br /></p><p>Street Pastors need to be willing to work with fellow activists, church and community leaders, and with agencies and projects, both statutory and voluntary, to look at collaborative ways of working on issues affecting youth, and initiatives that will build trust between them and the Street Pastors.<br /></p><p><span style='font-size:12pt'>Q. Who can become a street pastor?<br /></span></p><p>A. A street pastor must<br /></p><ul><li>be over 18<br /></li><li>have been committed to a Christian fellowship/church for at least a year. <br /></li><li>be able obtain a positive reference from their church Minister.<br /></li><li>be able to attend the training sessions.<br /></li></ul><p><span style='font-size:12pt'>Q. What other qualities does a street pastor need?<br /></span></p><p>A. A street pastor must<br /></p><ul><li>have a concern for society and its young<br /></li><li>be able and willing to build bridges. <br /></li><li>listen...not preach.<br /></li><li>be willing to earn respect and the right to show and share the gospel.<br /></li><li>be non-judgemental and able to operate without prejudices.<br /></li><li>be able to engage with people at their level and with empathy.<br /></li><li>build up a knowledge and awareness of their community.<br /></li></ul><p><span style='font-size:12pt'>Q. I cannot go out on the streets at night, but is there any other way I can be a part of the Boston Street Pastor Scheme?<br /></span></p><p>A. Going out on the streets is only a part of the street pastor scheme. People are also needed who would be willing to be prayer backers for the teams of street pastors and help with administering the scheme.<br /></p><p><span style='font-size:12pt'>Q. When does the Street Pastor Scheme in Boston get underway?<br /></span></p><p>A. The initial training of the Street Pastors has already started. The teams will be commissioned in a service on the evening of Friday January 29<sup>th</sup> 2010 after which the first teams will go out into the town. <br /></p><p><br /> </p><p>For more information about Street Pastors visit: <a href='http://www.streetpastors.co.uk'>http://www.streetpastors.co.uk</a><br /> </p><p>For information about Boston Street Pastor Scheme: <br /></p><p> <br /> </p><p><br /> </p><p style='margin-left: 36pt'><br /> </p><p style='margin-left: 36pt'><br /> </p></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-26027741212088984432009-11-23T16:54:00.002+00:002009-11-23T16:58:39.648+00:00My Testimony!!Had an invitation to give my testimony to the toddler parents at an art and craft evening last week. Here's what I said: <br />I have to admit to being a little nervous tonight...perhaps it was something to do with the fact that when I texted Claire to ask her if there would be food tonight, she texted back and joked that I was to be the after dinner speaker! That was when the nerves set in!<br />I’d better introduce myself...My name is Jane Flynn, most of you know my mum- Daphne. I have four children, Molly, who is now 13, Hattie, who is 12, Sam who’s 10 and Joe who’s 8. 13, 12, 10 and 8 - as you can see they were born in fairly swift succession. When Joe was born, Molly was 5 and had just started in reception. I was walking up to school every morning at nine to drop Molly off and then continuing a little further down the road to Hattie’s playgroup, before dashing home again to tidy up and feed the baby before walking up to school again at lunch time to fetch Hattie and then home again for an hour of nappies and strong coffee, before I had to drag the convoy out again to fetch Molly. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Molly was learning to ride a bike with stabilisers and absolutely had to practice on the way to school! <br />I am being light hearted, but this really was not a good time for me. Every time I stepped out of the door, I pasted a smile on my face, and every time I stepped back inside, the smile would invariably crumble. All my friends thought I was some kind of supermum...but I knew different. I felt as though at some point, possibly as far back as my teenage years, I had slipped and fallen into a deep dark hole and I did not know how to get out.<br />What was wrong with me? If someone had asked me when I was twenty, what I wanted to have out of life, I would have replied... “Several beautiful children, a husband whom I loved and who loved me, a nice house and a good job.” Well apart from the job, which I’d had to put on hold, I had it all. All those things that I had wanted from my life, I had and yet there was a constant dark cloud hanging over my head. That dark cloud was depression. Where was God for me in all this?<br />Well that’s really what I want to tell you about. I want to tell you about how God did help me through it all. About how my depression was lifted and about the importance of friendship – the need to walk alongside each other, to look beyond our friend’s pasted smiles and above all else... to listen to one another.<br />I went to church. Every week I sat in my pew with my smile masking the darkness I was experiencing and I sang the songs and said the prayers. But gradually certain people began to approach me... these people seemed to see beyond the smile, some of them even seemed to want to hear how I really was! They wanted to listen to me! I had been hiding in a deep hole for such a long time and all of a sudden people were beginning to reach out to me, to reach down into the hole. The problem was, every time I peered out over the edge I would withdraw back into it. It wasn’t a nice place, my hole, but I knew it and it felt safer than the outside world. A part of me did not want to be dragged out – the same part of me that told me that I was not worth rescuing. <br />However certain people seemed to think otherwise. Finally one person made it her mission to show me that I was loved and valued by God. Whilst others had reached down into my hole, she climbed right in there into the mud and the dirt with me. She asked me how I was, and when I replied that I was fine, she asked me how I really was. She listened. We prayed. She told me I was loved. She held my hand and gradually together, over the course of many months, we reached the rim of the hole and I peered out. This time I did not shrink back in because God had plans for me and I knew it. I knew I was loved. I knew I was valuable. <br />God had been holding onto me all the years of my life. Through all the dark times and through all the times when I was pulling away from him, he held on. He loved me. But it took another human being coming alongside me, bringing God to me when I most needed it, to bring me to the place where I could turn back to Him.<br />What I want to ask you tonight is this: Is there anyone in your life, who needs you to bring God to them now? The people who need our friendship are the people we meet every day. Is there anyone who always answers ‘fine’ when asked how they are, but who needs to be asked how they really are. What do true friends really gain from true friendship?<br />I’ll leave that thought with you.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-30304089935326532682009-11-06T16:50:00.002+00:002009-11-06T16:54:18.953+00:00Shalom<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SvRUq6juP5I/AAAAAAAAAE0/pxFWIzt3EvY/s1600-h/shalom.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 195px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SvRUq6juP5I/AAAAAAAAAE0/pxFWIzt3EvY/s200/shalom.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401034949374394258" /></a><br /><span xmlns=''><p>The word Shalom is commonly understood around the world to mean Peace. Throughout Israel it is used as a greeting when people meet and as a farewell when they part. Peace, however is only a small part of the full meaning of the Hebrew word.<br /></p><p>Strong's Concordance states that the word shalom encompasses a lot more: <span style='color:blue'><em>A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. <br /></em></span></p><p>So when a Jewish person pronounces Shalom over another they are wishing all of these things upon that person. A blessing indeed!<br /></p><p>In Matthew 5 21-26, Jesus is saying that when anyone's relationship with another is anything less than a relationship of Shalom then they must do something to restore the Shalom- the perfectness, completeness, wholeness, peace- to the relationship.<br /></p></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-38886184399855278632009-09-23T20:01:00.002+01:002009-09-23T20:04:50.134+01:00The Gradual Miracle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SrpxSMUgUWI/AAAAAAAAAEs/x8nkFo7rYH0/s1600-h/DSCF1651.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SrpxSMUgUWI/AAAAAAAAAEs/x8nkFo7rYH0/s400/DSCF1651.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384740861833662818" /></a><br /><span xmlns=''><p>My healing has been a miracle. It has been a slow, prolonged miracle, but a miracle none the less. On Sunday at the evening service I stood before the (Okay very small) congregation and told them, in the context of Penny's sermon on healing, my testimony.<br /></p><p>I did not go into any details, I simply told about the deep, dark hole in which I had been living for such a long time and told them about how Penny, instead of trying to drag me out of the hole or chuck prayers down into it as others had tried to do, actually clambered in there with me and brought God with her. I told about how we had journeyed together hand in hand through the rocky places and through the muddy places and how she was there alongside me, getting covered in mud right there with me.<br /></p><p>I tried to get across that the miracle of God's healing does happen, but it may not always happen just exactly how we expect it to. God heals each person in the right way for the individual.<br /></p><p>It was a miracle. My mind would never have coped with an instant healing- an instant yanking out of the pit- I am too analytical for that and it would have been too far from the way I generally work. He knew that. He healed me in the way that was just right for me.<br /></p><p>Alleluia!<br /></p><p/></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-69323219669507149662009-08-20T19:33:00.002+01:002009-08-20T19:37:33.916+01:00New Wine 09<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/So2X4la9FGI/AAAAAAAAAEk/PjzhevG2SDg/s1600-h/P1010517.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/So2X4la9FGI/AAAAAAAAAEk/PjzhevG2SDg/s320/P1010517.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372116928896504930" /></a><br /><span xmlns=''><p>From the 25<sup>th</sup> July to the 30<sup>th</sup> of August, some 45 people from Trinity found themselves in tents (Well, Tim did have the luxury of a caravan!) in the middle of a field at the Newark Showground. The weather this year was mixed, ranging from hot sunshine to torrential rain, but God has his hand over everything and once again we were able to relax and fill ourselves with his Spirit. <br /></p><p>We learnt some amazing new worship songs and I was able to really bask in the love of my Father. I learnt the need to relinquish control. Something which those who know me will know that I do not find letting go an easy thing to do. I have always been afraid of letting go and relinquishing control, yes, even to God. But over the last year I have realised that when I do let Him take over, He tends to take me to a better place than the place I was before. Sometimes the place I end up is not where I expected to be, but inevitably it has always been a place that has proved to be better than where I was before!<br /></p></span>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-18255239788189368242009-07-21T16:42:00.003+01:002009-07-21T17:00:57.048+01:00New Wine<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmKYn0ecI/AAAAAAAAAEc/2um154sTaNM/s1600-h/DSCF1401.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmKYn0ecI/AAAAAAAAAEc/2um154sTaNM/s320/DSCF1401.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360943997536991682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmKK_7B5I/AAAAAAAAAEU/REszomCvtRo/s1600-h/DSCF1371.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmKK_7B5I/AAAAAAAAAEU/REszomCvtRo/s320/DSCF1371.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360943993879988114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmJ64WLLI/AAAAAAAAAEM/yQhITZWy9Rw/s1600-h/DSCF1416.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmJ64WLLI/AAAAAAAAAEM/yQhITZWy9Rw/s320/DSCF1416.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360943989553245362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmJ3Rtg_I/AAAAAAAAAEE/bhPsHeCaEgk/s1600-h/DSCF1428.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmJ3Rtg_I/AAAAAAAAAEE/bhPsHeCaEgk/s320/DSCF1428.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360943988585890802" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmJr0eZAI/AAAAAAAAAD8/cj3Tye9v7Lw/s1600-h/DSCF1336.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SmXmJr0eZAI/AAAAAAAAAD8/cj3Tye9v7Lw/s320/DSCF1336.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360943985510474754" /></a><br />We are off to Newark for the New wine conference on Saturday. I am really looking forward to it this year! I was not in a very good place the first time we went, two years ago, and last year the memories of the previous one were still very fresh. This year it will be great and there are even a few seminars which I am already planning to go to.<br /><br />It is a good time to socialise with people from church as well, some people, you see in a very different light when you camp alongside them, and it is often easier to share experiences with other people in a context like this. <br /><br />Here are some photos from previous years new wines!Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-7500100327501661882009-07-12T21:03:00.003+01:002009-07-12T21:15:29.541+01:00Salt and light<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SlpEUmivG2I/AAAAAAAAAD0/xKFg-tOqC3s/s1600-h/salt+and+light.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SlpEUmivG2I/AAAAAAAAAD0/xKFg-tOqC3s/s320/salt+and+light.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357669827444939618" /></a><br />Jesus had a way of taking things which seem small and insignificant and showing us that they can transform the world. He had us considering lilies and birds; he taught us about mustard seeds and lost sheep. Now here he is exhorting us to be salt!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">‘You are the salt of the earth’ he tells us. Not- you should be the salt of the earth, or you might be the salt of the earth, or even you will be the salt of the earth if you work hard at it. No, Jesus is simply telling us what we already are: You <b style=""><i style="">are</i></b> the salt of the earth. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Salt- sodium Chloride is a stable compound. By its very nature it cannot lose its saltiness. Jesus knew that, so why does he say, ‘if salt loses its saltiness, it is useless.’? The idea of unsalty salt is <i style="">foolishness. </i>In fact in some translations, the word useless is translated as foolishness. Moros – the same word is used in the Hebrew to describe the man who built his house on the sand and the maidens who brought lamps without oil to the wedding feast. A house built on sand? Moros! Oil-lamps with no oil? Moros! Unsalty salt? Moros! Salt without saltiness is the abject denial of its very identity. Jesus is not telling us to change into salt and light, he is saying be salt- be ourselves...salt salts, light lights, we are being told to act upon our nature. Be the people God has created us to be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In Jesus time, people would have known of the preserving property of salt, of its ability to combat deterioration and decay. As Christians in society, we need to influence people. We should use our influence to prevent decay and corruption in society. We can all do this, all of us - whether or not we hold positions of power or leadership. We do it simply by being ourselves, by living out our lives in God.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Similarly it would have been widely known that salt was used to kill bacteria and promote healing. As Christians it is our role to share the reality that broken lives can be made whole again in Jesus Christ. That there is healing for both the spiritually and physically sick. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Purity. Salt was considered the most pure of substances. It came from the sun and the sea. As Christians in the world, we need to maintain the purity of our own lives in order to lead others to the purity of Christ. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many people disregard the idea that salt as a fertilizer may have been important in the interpretation of this passage. I don’t know what you think, but I see it as quite an important aspect of Jesus’ words. A certain amount of salt was dug into the earth to make the earth more fruitful, more productive. Lives impregnated with Jesus, are productive lives. These lives bear fruit as they grow.<span style=""> </span>Jesus words were ‘you are the salt of the earth’ When he spoke them, he may indeed have had in mind the salt that was then dug into the earth to enrich the soil. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">As it is today, salt was also used to season food. We should not be bland and boring. Let us not be the type of Christians the playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote about, 'Hollow-eyed, pale-cheeked, flat-breasted all; they brood their lives away, unspurred by ambition,' We are salt! We give flavour to the world, we are diffusers of joy. We need to affect the people we meet day by day. If we don’t affect the world, the world will affect us. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Salt and light have one thing in common: Neither of them exist for their own sake, but rather they are there to make a difference to their surroundings. I’ll leave you to think about that!</p>Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-57254460314379036102009-06-27T20:56:00.004+01:002009-06-27T22:27:37.945+01:00The Soup Kitchen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkZ-oM7IeVI/AAAAAAAAADk/PgslcTRGCss/s1600-h/batcherlors+cup+a+soup+chicken.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkZ-oM7IeVI/AAAAAAAAADk/PgslcTRGCss/s320/batcherlors+cup+a+soup+chicken.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352104436305525074" border="0" /></a><br />It was with some trepidation that I arrived at the little van that calls itself <span style="font-size:180%;">Boston's Soup Kitchen</span>, to work my first ever two hour stint. There were already several people sitting on the wall beside the van. They looked hungry. They were foreign. I waited a little distance away, unsure what the procedure was meant to be and too scared to approach these people. After a short while I was relieved to see Marianne arrive on her trusty bicycle. She parked it beside the wall, and started chatting to the woman and two men who were already there,<br /><br />'You are queuing today, then?' she asked them, 'We just have to wait for Mike to come with the key.' As she said this she mimed unlocking the door of the van and shrugged. The people smiled and stood up. They did not seem to understand, and they were hungry.<br /><br /><br />Before long, Mike did arrive. He unlocked and went off to fetch more rolls, while Marianne and and I put the kettles on. More people were arriving, greeting each other with the regulation continental handshake and saying a few words. They nodded at Marianne and myself. As the kettle boiled, the folk, attracted by the tiny, barely audible click, began to hover by the hatch.<br /><br />'Soup?' Marianne asked, '<span style="font-size:180%;">Chicken soup</span>?'<br /><br />The first man nodded. 'Chicken,' he pronounced it <span style="font-style: italic;">sheeken. </span>Those behind him nodded too, <span style="font-style: italic;">sheeken</span> was murmured. 'Zupa'<br /><br />We poured six cups of chicken soup and a cup of tomato for the one dissenter. Marianne asked some of the folks where they were living. A lot of miming took place and someone found the word 'tent'. Lots of nodding.<br /><br />'Well last night I was in the police station,'<br /><br />I asked this young man why he had ended up there. 'I was in TK Max, because I needed new shoes...' the rest was apparently obvious. 'At least you get fed at the police station.' he added.<br /><br />The evening continued with a constant stream of people, most of whom lived in tents and all but four of whom were not English: Latvian, Lithuanian, Portugese. As a group, despite their differences in language and nationality, they were very caring and respectful of one another, they shared cigarettes and even helped each other roll them. The appreciation for what we were doing was genuine and I felt fully accepted into a group of people with whom I had very little in common. I am truly looking forward to the next time!<img src="file:///C:/Users/Jane/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" />Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-43275851185269103802009-06-26T21:49:00.010+01:002009-06-27T12:49:29.565+01:00The fourth Station- Jesus meets His Mother<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkYHOxTx1eI/AAAAAAAAADA/1phAtjnHcbw/s1600-h/DSCF1831.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkYHOxTx1eI/AAAAAAAAADA/1phAtjnHcbw/s320/DSCF1831.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351973157512271330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkU2NJXA0dI/AAAAAAAAABY/m8WtI8xaS8s/s1600-h/DSCF1826.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkU2NJXA0dI/AAAAAAAAABY/m8WtI8xaS8s/s320/DSCF1826.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351743331678343634" border="0" /></a><br />I have spent the day experimenting with plaster of Paris and rubber gloves. This is my result. It is my interpretation of the fourth Station of the cross.You can see the first three below. I am quite pleased with it, although after it has had a chance to settle I am hoping to sand off some of the plaster from the smaller (Mary's) hand. . Now, shall I paint it, or leave it white??<br /><br />Hattie has friends staying over tonight. We have three extras plus our own four. Hmmm, I wonder if we will get any sleep?! I did make her a birthday cake of enormous proportions, so hopefully they will be so full up they will fall straight to sleep! Now I think I must be dreaming!Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-48358338898271393982009-06-24T22:35:00.002+01:002009-06-24T22:41:42.500+01:00Happy Birthday Hattie!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkKdgxzBPxI/AAAAAAAAABQ/ILwCQ7ljLrg/s1600-h/Star+blower.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/SkKdgxzBPxI/AAAAAAAAABQ/ILwCQ7ljLrg/s320/Star+blower.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351012493718273810" border="0" /></a><br />Today is a special day. It is the 12th birthday of my daughter Hattie. She had a good day, despite having to go to school, and was able to ride there on her new bicycle!<br /><br />She is a great kid, and I am very proud of her.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-5837609042348293422009-06-17T22:39:00.004+01:002009-06-26T23:03:25.417+01:00Stations of the cross<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/Sjlj3PswpII/AAAAAAAAAAk/bhWTfm3HqdE/s1600-h/3.+Jesus+Falls+for+the+first+time.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/Sjlj3PswpII/AAAAAAAAAAk/bhWTfm3HqdE/s320/3.+Jesus+Falls+for+the+first+time.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348415833237398658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/Sjlj20FQlBI/AAAAAAAAAAc/UVPgMP2WrdU/s1600-h/2.+Jesus+takes+up+his+cross.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/Sjlj20FQlBI/AAAAAAAAAAc/UVPgMP2WrdU/s320/2.+Jesus+takes+up+his+cross.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348415825823962130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/Sjlj2nSHeCI/AAAAAAAAAAU/HCC4D2oundU/s1600-h/1.+Jesus+is+condemned.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_X9-cIrCCmpw/Sjlj2nSHeCI/AAAAAAAAAAU/HCC4D2oundU/s320/1.+Jesus+is+condemned.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348415822388230178" border="0" /></a><br />I a working on some images that could become part of the stations of the cross. I want them to all be done with different media.<br />The First Station is done in acrylic paint with tissue and fabric to provide texture.<br />The second station is done in pencil on white cartridge paper, which sadly looks blueish on this photo.<br />The third image is acrylic paint with a background of newspaper.<br />I am planning to do the third station in the form of a sculpture.<br />...Be interesting to see what people think.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-34972688375848787522009-06-17T19:55:00.002+01:002009-06-17T19:58:48.500+01:00Writing GroupThere are writers in Boston....<br />Well I guess there are, but where? I am a member of a writing group that meets in Boston on a Tuesday night. We teach each other, we inspire each other, we write together and of course we end each Tuesday night in the pub.<br />If you are out there and you are a writer then get in touch. You'd be welcome to join us.Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7832446921957815585.post-37022529575958132572009-06-14T21:56:00.000+01:002009-06-14T22:05:03.454+01:00Boston with Christ!I have just listened to an amazing sermon. Boston is in need of God, and Christians in Boston need to get together to fulfill this need. We are many. We need to step out of our comfort zones and be Jesus to the people of our town. I am praying that I will not be complacent about this. I need to be pro-active and expectant to see God's amazing works.<br /><br />What have I done?<br /><br />Well so far I have signed up to help at the soup kitchen which has been running around a year now, but I feel that I am being called to something else. Street Pastoring? Perhaps...<br /><br />Watch this space!Jane Flynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02781456638231138994noreply@blogger.com0