Reason no. 417...

Really blessed by the people God has put around me in Manchester - had a lovely evening with friends and meeting their friends too. Reason no. 417 :)

Reason no. 416...

"We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul." 

Charles Spurgeon

Thank you Jesus!
 Reason no. 416 :)

Reason no. 415...

Today I did my presentation. It's great to get it out of the way so I can now focus on some of my other work. It went well and I got some positive feedback. Reason no. 415 :)

Reason no. 414...

Today I have a presentation, which I'm not really looking forward to. I don't really like standing in front of people for 10 minutes and then being asked questions for another 5 minutes. For me, presentations are something that I fear...the fear of forgetting what I'm talking about, the fear of not saying what is right, the fear of people judging me. Yet despite the fear, deep down I know I have no  reason to fear. He is God and He is good. He's the One who goes before me and loves me unconditionally. The way God sees me is not based on my successes in my degree. His grace abounds in my weakness. He is my safety and my refuge. He's the King on the throne and He's looking after me. Reason no. 414 :)

Reason no. 413...

Yesterday I went to an evening which had churches around Manchester united together, all wanting to reach the students of Manchester and see God's love displayed to these people. Here's some of the things that I took away from this evening:

- We can't just assume that other churches are reaching the 18-30 age bracket (or wherever there's a gap in the church).

-We are Christ's ambassadors...we are acting on behalf of the King in the places we are now.

-I am a new creation and there's no way of going back to my old self.

-God wanted to be my/your friend before I/you even considered being His friend.

-Amazing story of how God kept creating God encounters within the space of a couple of days with the same person...God knows our days and where we are.

-Growing up in a Christian family is an amazing story of God's grace in my life.

Reason no. 413 :)

Reason no. 412...

Today I skidded over at lunchtime...I may ache quite a bit now, but it's reminded me that I haven't fallen over in years and it could have been so easy to have broken something or end up cover in bruises. God's protection over me day in and day out is yet another reason. Reason no. 412 :)

Reason no. 411...

New poem from the weekend...it's all about His Grace!

Grace like a waterfall,

a well spring that never runs dry.

Unending, unrelenting,

never ceasing to pursue me.

Once caught in the mud and mire,

entangled by my sin and shame.

You stretched your arm to me

and pulled me into your embrace.

Grace like an avalanche -

so thick, so deep and so pure.

I'm surrounded by your mercies -

they're new every morning.

Regardless of all I've ever done

Your grace abounds in me.

Reason no. 411 :)