We’ve had another great family fun day at Houghton Road Centre.

Playing crazy golf

Having fun indoors

Weeding and planting vegetables in the new planters

Meeting old friends

Come along next week (Tuesday 29th August, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.) for more family fun!

In my daily readings today, the following verse reminds us of the need for whole-hearted living: ‘The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.’ (2 Chron 16:9) It’s very encouraging to know that God is ‘constantly on the lookout’ (as the Message version puts it) for people who are totally committed to Him.

There are a number of aspects to whole-hearted living. We are encouraged to do the following things ‘with all your heart’:

1. Love the Lord (Deut 6:4-5; Matt 22:36-38)
2. Trust the Lord (Prov 3:5)
3. Obey the Lord (Ps 119:34, 69; 1 Chron 29:19)
4. Praise the Lord (Ps 111:1, Ps 138:1)
5. Work for the Lord (Neh 4:6; Col 2:23)
6. Seek the Lord (Deut 4:29; Jer 29:13)

That’s enough to keep us going for a while!

With the Dearne Community Arts’ Festival less than two weeks away, it’s perhaps not surprising that my thoughts are on crafty things lately like mosaics and embroidery! When I was at school, the subject I hated the most (because I was no good at it!) was sewing or embroidery. I could never see well enough to thread needles and the sewing machine I had to use seemed all wrong to me, being left-handed. I lacked the patience to persevere with these skills and always ended up with work which would be tangled and messy and need unpicking and re-working.

I loved to look at embroidery that was done well. Tablecloths and cushion covers at my grandparents’ house were inevitably embroidered, and I would marvel at the neatness of the stitches I saw. Tapestry and cross-stitch both fascinated me and I would gaze for hours on wall-hangings in museums, taking in the intricate detail which I was unable to reproduce in any of the kits I tried! If you’re interested, Pat Harris & Ralph Fletcher from church are exhibiting their cross-stitch, hardanger and tapestries and these are beautiful works to see.

Just as God is described as a potter and builder, so too He is a weaver and embroiderer. He takes different colours, different strands, and weaves them into the fabric of our lives. When viewed from our limited earthly perspective, the picture looks like the ‘wrong’ side of an embroidered piece, with tangled threads, hastily-tied knots and lumpy, bumpy sewing! But God is not working from the limited perspective we have. He is working out eternal purposes. He is shaping us for eternity. The work isn’t finished yet, and the picture can’t yet be fully comprehended. But we should not be discouraged, for He is infinitely patient and doesn’t give up on us!

I have been meditating on brokenness lately, and that usually leads me to thinking about mosaics. At the school where I work, the art teacher runs a session for pupils on mosaics, using coloured paper rather than glass or stones for the mosaics they make. I’m constantly amazed by the pupils’ ingenuity and skill in using the tiny pieces and making them into a beautiful picture.

Most mosaics are made of small, flat, roughly square, pieces of stone or glass of different colours, known as tesserae. Some, especially floor mosaics, are made of small rounded pieces of stone, and called “pebble mosaics”. Other materials used include beads and shells. They are often found on floors and walls and were one of the earliest forms of decorative art.

What fascinates me about mosaics is how something which is broken into tiny, apparently meaningless pieces can become something beautiful, telling a story that is much bigger than its composite parts. The picture below tells the story of Ulysses and was probably made in the 2nd century A.D.

Our lives can often seem broken, our control of situations smashed by circumstances, our security and happiness devastated by life, as the story of Job demonstrates. Yet the Bible firmly declares that God is able to make something beautiful out of brokenness and is able to restore our broken, shattered pieces into a picture that is breath-taking in its beauty. In the fine detail of a mosaic, it may be hard to see the overall picture, but we have to rest in the fact that God sees the overall picture and is working on our lives, even when we cannot see His hand or feel His presence.

Because of holidays, we had a lot of birthdays to catch up on yesterday!

Aaron Shust has captured in his song ‘You Redeem’ so many of the points made in tonight’s service.

‘Poverty loses its grip.
Race can no longer divide.
Wherever Your Spirit is,
Every darkness dies.
Freedom is here with us.
Burdens will fall like chains.
Beauty will rise from the dust
All that’s lost will be regained.

You redeem, You redeem
You restore what’s been stolen from me.
You reclaim, You releasem
You rebuild with the words that You breathe.
You redeem.

Mercy will pour down like rain.
Justice will come for the weak.
Lies that were meant to defame
Will be crushed by the the truth that You speak.

Miracles will happen.
Healing will come.
The plans of our enemy ruined undone.
Miracles will happen.
Healing will come.
Here in your presence, lost in Your Love.
Miracles will happen.
Healing will come.
The plans of our enemy ruined undone.
Miracles will happen.
Healing will come.
Wrecked by Your presencem I’m lost in Your Love.

You redeem, You redeem.
You restore what’s been stolen from me.
You reclaim, You release
You rebuild with the words that You breathe
You redeem, You redeem.
Let Your revival awaken me.
You reclaim, You release.
You rebuild what’s been broken in me.
You redeem.
You redeem.’

God is all about restoring us to relationship with Him and giving us new life, strength, spirit, hope and joy. He is our Redeemer, the One who has bought us back and given us the freedom to walk according to the law of the Spirit instead of the law of sin and death. (Rom 8:1-4) He wants us to reclaim all that He has made freely available, to be released from the negative impact of sin, to walk in newness of life and be rebuilt according to the image of His precious Son, Jesus Christ.