Be A Blessing

By Iola Goulton

My word for the year for 2016 was STILL, which I shared about last February.


As I reflected on last year, I realised ‘still’ has multiple meanings … and some of the less obvious meanings might have been more applicable. My initial interpretation was around resting in God, being still before Him:

But was I? 

I don’t know. It’s one of the complexities of Christianity (and perhaps life in general) that we always think we should be doing more—even if that ‘more’ is less. So no, I wasn’t as still as I’d wanted to be. But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t still.

Because ‘still’ has other meanings. The first is to continue as in the past. To be unmoving. To remain. Perhaps to endure. At times, 2016 did feel like a year I endured.

Yet …

I’m still a Christian. Still a wife. Still a mother. Still a daughter. Those are all good things, things I wouldn’t want to change.

On the less-good side, I haven’t done many of the things I said to myself that I wanted to do last year, like publish a book. That’s a lack of motion—another meaning of ‘still’. A negative meaning, in this context.

I was reflecting on the nature of still at the Omega Christian Writers Conference in Australia last October. Was ‘still’ still (!) the right word? Had I interpreted it wrong?

Was it time for a new word?

Then one lady I’d had a one-on-one meeting with at the 2013 conference came up to me. She thanked me for what I’d said during our meeting, because my words had blessed her. I met with several authors at that conference, but my meeting with this author was the one I remember because I was impressed with her ability to overcome and forgive.

She blessed me in 2013 by sharing her story, and she blessed me again in 2016 by thanking me. Her words were an encouragement that I was in the right place at the right time, both in 2013 and 2016. She reminded me that God had worked through me in 2013 to provide her with a word in season.

And she wasn’t the only person. Several other conferences attendees blessed me with their words and their actions in different ways.

During the last meeting at the 2016 conference, we were asked to come up with a word to describe our writing for the coming year (I think. It’s possible I’ve got this wrong!).

The word I chose was BLESSING.

I want to be a blessing to others. I want to be able to encourage people in their writing, and in their lives. I want my writing to bless others. And I want the books I edit to bless others.

So that’s my word for 2017: Blessing.

What about you?

About Iola Goulton

IOLA GOULTON lives with her husband, two teenagers and cat in the sunny Bay of Plenty in New Zealand, between Hobbiton and the Kiwifruit Capital of the World. She holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting and freelance editing, is active in her local church and plays in a brass band.

Iola is a reader, reviewer and freelance editor who is currently writing her first novel, contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist, and her first non-fiction book, which aims to help first-time authors navigate the changing world of Christian publishing.

Connect with Iola at www.iolagoulton.com, www.christianediting.co.nz and www.christianreads.blogspot.com.

DEVOTION: Travelling with Jesus

"Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" Ephesians 5:1-2

A few weeks back I was fortunate to be travelling through America. I had a conference to attend in North Carolina and decided to extend the trip and do some exploring in Los Angeles and New Orleans. I’d never been to New Orleans before, so I was excited. The fact I was travelling alone had me more excited, so off I went. I started in LA, which was amazing and full of laughter, good food, great fellowship and some really cool God moments. On a high, I waved goodbye and boarded the plane for my next stop, excitement bubbling over. And then I landed in New Orleans.

If you’ve never been to New Orleans, let me tell you, it’s something else. It’s an amazing place, but one of extremes. You have voodoo stores sitting alongside cafes sitting alongside strip clubs sitting alongside children’s clothing stores. Faith, religion and voodooism are side by side, and in some cases, intertwined.There is so much heart and love, yet at the same time you have a restaurant full of people happily ignoring the young homeless girl asking for food by the door. And while this is not a reflection of all New Orleans, it was the part that I was staying in. After a stroll of the surrounding streets of my hotel left me feeling unsettled and uneasy, I sat and prayed. And as I prayed, God whispered into my heart, ‘I will send my angels before you. Go.’ This promise made me pause and ponder what He meant, to which He replied, ‘go be a blessing.’ Right.  

Unsure what ‘be a blessing’ would look like but determined to try, I prayed for opportunities to bless others and God began prompting me to do little things for people. And each time I would hesitate (which I hate to admit was on a regular basis), God would gently nudge me to do more, say more, be more. One night He nudged me to pray for my Uber driver. Now, while I’m comfortable to pray, I’m not really comfortable in asking random strangers if I can pray for them. It’s awkward. But one night as my driver complaining about his life and his singleness I felt God say, ‘pray for him.’ Me, in all my self consciousness, ignored it (obedient to a fault.) The guy kept talking and I told God it was a bad idea because this guy probably didn’t even believe in God. Right at that moment, the guy referenced the bible, and I’m pretty sure God chuckled. Finally taking the hint, as the car pulled to a stop, I asked the guy if I could pray for him. A little stunned, he said yes and I prayed for him. His face at the end of that prayer is something I won’t forget; there was pure joy shining out of his face. Pure joy! I barely remember what I prayed but it doesn’t matter because obviously God turned up for this guy. And He used me to do it. 

It’s easy to forget how much people need Jesus. Often my insecurities get in the way of being Jesus for someone and God used an Uber driver to remind me that even though I was on a vacation, it’s still about Jesus. It’s always about Jesus, regardless of where we are or why we are there. And that’s difficult at times. It wasn’t easy for me to pray for a partner for this guy while inside, I was struggling with that very thing myself, but the reality is that for some people, we are the only Jesus they will ever encounter and our willingness to be vulnerable and uncomfortable could be the turning point that brings them back to God. 

God’s blessings look different and maybe for you, God is calling you to bless someone with a copy of your book, or a home cooked meal, or a listening ear. Or He could be asking to you to walk up to a random stranger and pray for them. Whatever it is that He is nudging you to do for someone, let me encourage you to do it, no matter how uncomfortable you may feel or how odd it may seem. God is unique in what He does and how He loves, so He will use unique ways to love His children, and He will use your unique gift to do it.

                                                           

Leila Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, shares her life via her blog page Looking In . You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author  and via Twitter at @LHalawe)

                                                      

DEVOTION: When God Shines On Us ~ by Ray Hawkins

The Lord gave a beautiful blessing through Aaron to Israel recorded in Numbers 6:24. The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

How would they know that the Lord God Almighty was pleased with them? They could be kept even when faced with great opposition. There would be the awareness of God’s covenantal grace. They would know Yahweh’s indwelling peace. When the nation walked contrary to their covenant the result seemed as though God had looked away. The nation was vulnerable, grace seemed in short supply and there certainly wasn’t any inner or outward peace.

There are some quotes in the Psalms dealing with the ‘shine’ from the face of God. Asaph wrote Psalm 80 and it highlights the nation’s longing through their disgrace and defeat. Three times Asaph appeals to God to shine on them so that they might be saved. (Psalm 80:3,7,19). David in Psalm 31:16:’Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.’ In Psalm 119:135 the writer equates the experience of knowing God’s smile through knowing and keeping God’s word.

It interests me that various writers hark back to the blessing by Aaron. They sought His face, acknowledged their errors and as it were, claimed His promise.

Is there something similar we as Christians can cling too? Is there a blessing for us from the triune God? 2 Corinthians 13:13; ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.’ How awesome is that? Grace for us through life’s turbulence. Love for us even though He knows us. Communion with the Holy Spirit so that we can share with God our everyday events, hopes and fears. What is the place where this takes place? Where His breath is felt! 2 Timothy 3:16 (the word for ‘inspired’ is ‘God breathed.’)

The wonder of that relationship is expressed in 2 Corinthians 3:18 ‘All of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.’

___________________________

Ray Hawkins. Devotional author of ‘Children: God’s Special Interest.’ ‘From Eden with Love’ (Re. Marriage) 'Bethlehem’s Warrior Baby.' 'Captured by Calvary.' 'Dynamic Ageing.' 'Signposts to Happiness (31 insights from Scripture on the term Beatitudes)'


http://rayhawkinsauthor.blogspot.com.au