What’s really important??

Yes – it’s been a while since my last post…where has the time gone? Life is full, busy, exhausting, fun, exciting, and fulfilling – and it’s all rolled into one big adventure here in Whyalla, South Australia.

I was privileged to be a part of the country Corps’ Mission Ingathering – Make it Happen – last week, and what an incredible moment I had where, once again, my eyes were opened to the big picture of life. Sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves, our own challenges, our own journeys, we forget that life is about ‘others’. Lord forgive me!

We heard the stories of the women of the Congo – and once again I was forced to put life into perspective.

Life for women in the Congo is difficult, especially so for widows. When their husbands pass away, these women are considered inferior and are evicted by their husband’s family, leaving them homeless and without their belongings.

We had the opportunity to raise some money, and collectively (5 corps) we were able to give nearly $1,500 to the women of Congo.

I complain about dusty tasting rain water at the Corps – women of the Congo collect water for their babies, that is contaminated by sewrage.

I complain that our church heater has broken down – women of the Congo live in small mud brick huts with their families, without electricity.

I complain that people in my community sometimes refer to me as the “ministers wife” instead of acknowledging that I am a minister in my own right – women of the Congo are considered to be inferior, and wives are often marginalised by their husbands.

I totally take for granted the security and blessing of a fortnightly deposit into my bank account – women of the Congo are desperate to stop begging and generate their own income through setting up their own businesses, for instance by selling salted fish.

I dare you to watch this video, and not be challenged about the things you complain about or take for granted. I dare you watch this video, and not be moved about the lives of these women living in the Congo.

Much grace,

Cath

Psalm 146

¹ Praise the LORD.^[a]

   Praise the LORD, my soul.

² I will praise the LORD all my life;
   I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
³ Do not put your trust in princes,
   in human beings, who cannot save.
⁴ When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
   on that very day their plans come to nothing.
⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
   whose hope is in the LORD their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
   the sea, and everything in them—
   he remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
   and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
⁸ the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
   the LORD loves the righteous.
⁹ The LORD watches over the foreigner
   and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
   but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

¹⁰ The LORD reigns forever,
   your God, O Zion, for all generations.

   Praise the LORD.

Seven years….

Seven years….where has it gone?

This time, seven years ago, Adam and I drove to the hospital. I was to be induced because my body was protesting about going into labour naturally. This was such a surreal time. The anticipation was electrifying, terrifying, exciting and emotional all at the same time. We had waited SO long to finally meet our little girl. I had participated in all the nesting one could possibly participate in. It was time!

The next day our darling baby girl Charlotte Grace came into the world. Her lungs produced an almighty cry as she declared her important arrival.

I was awe struck at the instant love I felt. I lavished that love upon her. I watched her sleep. I sometimes woke her up as she was dozing, just so I could look into her eyes. I was completely and utterly besotted!

And so it is the same with the love of our Heavenly Father:

 ¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
      Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
 ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
      as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
 ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
      Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
   Every moment was laid out
      before a single day had passed.

 ¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God.
      They cannot be numbered!
 ¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
      they outnumber the grains of sand!
   And when I wake up,
      you are still with me!

Psalm 139:13-18

I praise you Lord for all the blessings that new life has given to me – new life not only found in my beautiful children, but in the new life you offered me all those years ago when I said yes to you and became one of your children.

Happy Birthday my darling Charlotte! Love you BIG!! Mum xoxox

much grace,

cmack

 

Japan

Wardrobe Army Apparel are being proactive in doing their part to help Japan. Pre-order yourself (and a couple of friends while you’re at it) a t-shirt or two:

Japanese media reported at least 1,000 people are presumed dead from Friday’s massive 8.9 earthquake, most drowned by the wall of water that swept across the northeast coast of the island nation. The Salvation Army in Japan is responding to the earthquake and tsunami that brought devastation to the north of the country. Joshua Smith from ( Hydro74 ) has designed a shirt to help raise funding and awareness for those affected by the disaster. The Japanese Kanji on the shirt translates to “Save World Army”

100% of the proceeds of the sales of this shirt will go toward The Salvation Army’s relief efforts in Japan

Printed with waterbase discharge inks on pre-shrunk, super soft Tultex 100% ringspun cotton.

Pray. Sometimes it’s hard to find words. Pray for the rescue teams, pray for those who are missing but still alive, pray for those devistated by loss, pray.

Much grace,

cmack

Cat Food

Anyone who really knows me would think it very strange for me to title this post ‘Cat Food’, seeing as I don’t really like cats in the slightest, in fact I’ve supported the phrase ‘a good cat is a flat cat’ (eek! I’m only half joking for all those cat-lovers out there!) ….but I thought it was fitting to what I have to write about tonight.

I picked the kids up from school yesterday, and it was Harrison’s night to choose what we were going to cook for dinner. So he was riding up front in the trolley, and happily pointing out all the things he liked: cheese, milk, chicken, yoghurt, noodles….

And then a look of disgust came over his face as we rolled down the pet food aisle. Harrison looked at me and said: “I don’t think I would like to eat cat! Cat would taste yucky!”

As you could imagine, I laughed in hysterics!! This was the funniest, cutest thing he’s said for a while. I then had to explain to Harrison that a packet with a picture of a cat on it didn’t mean that there was cat in it, rather it was for the cats to eat. He was pretty relieved after I had explained this to him. But usually when we see food packaging, such as a juice bottle, or a bag of M&M’s – the picture on the front represents what is inside – right?

 

 So this got me thinking. Am I on the inside what I profess (with my words) I am on the ‘outside’? I often wear my Salvo ‘branded’ t-shirts, or my work shirt that is embroidered with’ The Salvation Army’ on it – and this is a constant reminder of the values that I align myself to – the mission that I live out on a day-to-day basis. But before I label myself a ‘Salvo’ and before I am an officer in The Salvation Army, I am first and foremost called to live my life as a disciple of Jesus.

It is expected of me that my actions line up with my words. We all know that ‘christians’ are the ones most criticised by the non-christians because of their hypocrisy, their double-standards, their alleged inability to live up to what they expect others to live like.

I hope that when people look at me, when they really look deep into my character, my heart – that they see Jesus in me – not someone struggling to ‘do-the-right-thing-because-that’s-how-I’m-supposed-to-live’ - rather, a woman who is completely sold out to the purposes of God for my life, and for the redemption of the world.

Once again I have been challenged by the passage found in Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
   And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy 
   and to walk humbly^[a] with your God.

I pray my walking-it-out matches my talking-it-out. God help me, please. Amen.

Much grace,

cmack

 

It’s only just begun…

Today marks the start of the Season of Lent – and what a great day it was! Let me tell you that I’ve just sat down for the day, and it’s 9.33pm – so it’s been a pretty hectic day, but so fulfilling. Wednesday’s are a busy day at the Corps (my church, where I work/minister), and I was run off my feet the entire day – but tonight my heart is full of gratitude for all the people who I walked alongside today. There were a few moments where I could have grumbled and complained, retreated and refused counsel, or even locked myself in my office to escape the commotion – but I made a choice to press in, to be grateful for life’s experiences and to position myself so that I could be used by God as He willed.

So it’s only just begun…..Lent…..no TV, no Facebook, no junk food…..yahoo! I’m embracing it, enjoying it, using this time as a reminder for all that Jesus Christ did for me. So every time I go to turn on the TV, i will resist, and I will spend my time doing more significant things. My kids are even into it. They’re going without any junkfood too; no lollies, chocolate, treats, take-away etc….and the coolest thing is that all three of them understand (in their capacity) what Lent means: it’s the time where we fast, an act of self-denial, so that we can reflect on the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, get serious about some spiritual disciplines, and to grow closer to God. Their understanding and experience of Lent is already impacting them – I’m so proud that they aren’t just participating in a ‘gimmicky season’, but they have some true insight into what it’s all about.

I was reminded tonight, as I read Oswald Chambers’ word for today, that it’s all about dependence. There is nothing that we should be striving to do on our own, in our own strength. There is such freedom when we willingly hand over everything to God – I can testify of unspeakable joy and freedom the day that I said “You can have it all…I surrender it all to you God”. Every now and then, I have to check myself, see if I’m drifting into independence (cause sometimes it’s so easy to do), and then get back to dependence on God.

One thing God constantly requires of us is a oneness with Jesus Christ. After being set apart through sanctification, we should discipline our lives spiritually to maintain this intimate oneness. When God gives you a clear determination of His will for you, all your striving to maintain that relationship by some particular method is completely unnecessary. All that is required is to live a natural life of absolute dependence on Jesus Christ. Never try to live your life with God in any other way than His way. And His way means absolute devotion to Him. Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus.

 I only want to act, speak, love, and respond like Jesus would – Lord help me to be your hands, feet and mouthpiece in my day-to-day living.   

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart  be pleasing in your sight. (Psalm 19:14)

To all of you participating in this Season of Lent – stoke it up! Dig deep. Seek God. Pursue him with every fibre of your being. Relinquish control. Stop striving. Depend on the One who gave you live.

Much grace,

cmack
 

Covenant Day

After nearly two years of training at The Salvation Army Training College, Tomorrow is Covenant Day. It’s a sacred and significant day when I’ll declare that I am called by God to:

to love and serve him supremely all my days,

to live to win souls and make their salvation the first purpose of my life,

to care for the poor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, love the unlovable, and befriend those who have no friends,

to maintain the doctrines and principles of The Salvation Army, and, by God’s grace to prove myself a worthy officer.

Basically, from tomorrow, this will be my ‘job description’. Wow! What a covenant to live up to! Can I do this? Am I ‘good enough’? The answer is no! “I” can do nothing. “I” will never be good enough. In my own strength I am nothing, I am weak on my own. But the good news is that WITH God’s help, strength, mercy, love, grace and guidance ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is possible. When I start doubting what God can do in my life, and in the lives of those around me, it’s an insult to my Creator. Oswald Chambers says:

To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, “Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint.” But to say that before God means, “No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible.” That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.

I’ve been reflecting on the past 10 years or so of my life, and have experienced firsthand the incredible love and grace of our mighty God. There have been things that I’ve done that I’m not too proud of, people I’ve hurt, mistakes made along the way – but in spite of all of this, God still chooses to love me and call me deeper into His love.

Tomorrow is all about my declaration to God in saying there is nothing  in my life that I hold onto, there is nothing more dear to me than Him. I live for His purposes, not mans.

Adam and I (and the kids) are so excited to find out where we’re going to be posted next year! We live daily trusting that God goes before us, and walks with us in everything we do.

1 Corinthians 15:10   -     But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.

Trafficking…how would YOU like it?

This weekend an initiative called ‘I Am Traffic Jam’ was launched. People with Facebook accounts were ‘jamming’ the homepage with status updates challenging people to think about the effects of Sexual Trafficking.

Hopefully you’ve seen these updates and have been challenged to become involved in raising awareness. Sometimes I feel helpless and powerless to do anything about this horrific injustice in this world, but by ‘jamming’ my facebook page with various updates and statements during the day, I’m hoping to inform and educate as many people as I have contact with, communicating to others that Sex Trafficking is happening, these are real people it’s destroying, and it is NOT ok.

People shouldn’t be bought and sold

Slavery still exists

Trafficking steals lives

Trafficking is an injustice

Stop sex slavery

Real men don’t buy sex

Sex tourism isn’t a vacation

Protect our women and children – End the demand

Porn kills & enslaves – Ditch it!

Women aren’t a piece of meat

Keep children innocent

Yo pimp – get a real job!

These are the statements that are being plastered all over the internet in the hope to raise awareness and get people talking about this horrible injustice.

A momentous day on the Australian sports calendar happened today – it was the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final. The final result was a draw – and in AFL, when a draw occurs, the two teams have to come back the following week and have a re-match. Now I understand that this is frustrating for the players, coaches and fans, but I became increasingly surprised at the enormity of this result. It was plastered all over the news; it’s all everyone was talking about.

I just wish that Australians would get as passionate and upset about Human Trafficking as they are about having to replay the grand final next week. C’mon people – get some perspective!

Love wins

Love frees

Seek justice

Live justly

Break the chains of sex slavery

Restore hope

Heal brokeness

Raise your voice. Spread the word. People shouldn’t be bought and sold.

check out http://www.facebook.com/#!/iamtrafficjam for more information.

Room to move

Today marked quite a significant day in the life of my ‘no-so-baby-anymore’ 3 year old Elijah (insert tear here). He moved out of his toddler bed into a big boy single bed. Complete with new doona cover (How To Train Your Dragon), new pillows, new sheets and all. It was a moment to behold – he walked in the door this afternoon from childcare, ran into his room, and jumped on his bed. He was so excited! He was so keen to get into his new bed, he asked if he could go to sleep. Cute!

Everyone he saw tonight heard about his ‘new bed’. When the time came for bedtime, there were no problems getting him into it tonight. I went into his room to check on him when I got home from coffee with the girls, and I found him sleeping soundly – but I did notice that he was using up the exact same space he used to in his small bed. I thought that was funny because I thought he would be spreading out in all the new space he had.

Subconsciously Elijah was still in the ‘small’ bed, and didn’t realise that he had all this new room to enjoy.

It’s kind of like when we limit the work of God’s Spirit in us – by only operating in the ‘safe’ areas that we’re comfortable in. May we only ‘operate’ by the power of God’s Spirit, not in our own strength.

Joshua 1:9 says: Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

We are not alone. God is with us always.

Lord, help us step out in faith today, may we be strong and courageous to follow your leading, and trust that you will equip us with everything we need.

We have room to move.

Trust. Believe. Move.

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word spoken to me

And I I’m desperate for you
And I I’m I’m lost without you

This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence living in me

This is my daily bread
this is my daily bread
your very word spoken to me

And I’m, I’m desperate for you
And I’m, I’m lost without you

Day 3…

The View from our 6th floor apartment in Melbourne

Well, it’s three days into my campaign to once again get fit, drop some unwanted kilos, and become more energized. A couple of friends and I have committed to meeting downstairs in the foyer at 6.30am, and venture out for a walk/jog around the beautiful Princes Park.

 The hard part is rolling out of bed at 6.20am – but once we get out there, it’s just lovely. Oh, except for the fact that there are SO many incredibly fit men and women sprinting past us around the running/walking track….kind of makes me feel redundant! Lol!

 And so the morning accountability has begun. It’s good to know that I’m not doing this on my own. Knowing that there are two other people counting on me to roll out of bed, and make it downstairs, on time is a huge motivator.

This ‘fitness campaign’ is something I just can’t do on my own. Now, I’m a pretty independent person at times (just ask my husband), yet I’ve found instead of it being a drag, I’m feeling encouraged, supported, expectant and excited in doing this.

It’s kind of like life with God.

At times in the past I’ve tried to go about my life on my own, with little thought of partnering with God. But there is such strength, power and favour in being united with Christ, being empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His work, and to push God’s agenda, not our own.

Hat tip to my friend D who shared this with me today:

‘Even in our Christian circles we are prone to depend upon techniques and methods in the work that Christ has given us to do. Without a complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit we can only fail. If we have been misled to believe that we can do Christ’s work ourselves, it will never be done.

The man whom God will use must be undone. He must be a man who has seen the King in His beauty.

Let us never take anything for granted about ourselves, my brother or sister.

I tell you again that God has saved us to be worshipers. May God show us a vision of ourselves that will disvalue us to the point of total devaluation. From there He can raise us up to worship Him and to praise Him and to witness.’

A.W.Tozer “Whatever Happened To Worship” page 56.

 

Today may I stop. Admit my total need for dependence upon the Holy Spirit. May I become ‘nothing’ so that He can become ‘everything’ in me.

 The words from the beautiful Hymn ‘From A Hill I Know’:

 Wash from my hands
The dust of earthly striving
Take from my mind
The stress of secret fear
Cleanse thou the wounds
Of all but thee far hidden
And when thy waters flow
Let the healing appear

None of self and all of thee Lord. Make us holy. Destroy the desire in us to operate without you. We are NOTHING without your Holy Spirit. May we fall before your feet, undone. Thank you Lord that inspite of our independance at times, you still choose to work in and through us.

 What drives your independence?

Why not try surrendering today….watch and see how God shows up.

 Grace,

cmack

Iron sharpens iron

Some encouraging words from a friend this morning sparked the thought ‘Who am I being influenced by? Who am I being sharpened by? Who are those people in my life that encourage healthy, godly conversations / discussions? Who in my life nurtures the fruits of the Spirit? Who am I inspired by?’.

These questions linger.

Some are easy to answer – others not.

Proverbs 27:17 says:

As iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another.

How are you ‘sharpening’ those people around you? How are you influencing them in Godly character?

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says:

Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another.

When you’re conversing/emailing/messaging a friend today, why not encourage them, admonish them, build them up and position yourself to influence them in Godly character.

Love for God is not something sentimental or emotional— for a saint to love as God loves is the most practical thing imaginable. (Oswald Chambers)

Grace,

cmack