My Journey With Identity

I’ve been asked to write this blog on identity, not because I have any degrees or letters after my name but because I have been on a journey of transitioning my identify from one of guilt and shame to one of knowing that I am greatly loved by my creator, which has been life changing.  

Beliefs about our identity are formed in our life journey, we confirm choices, beliefs and influences which builds a unique identity.  Identity is who you believe you are, the way you think about yourself, the way you perceive other people think about you through connections including social media, all combine to define who you believe you are.

Examples of what we do: I am a singer, I make jewellery, I play basketball, I speak three languages, I am a Mum. Now these examples are common to others, but when we look deeper, each singer has a unique tone of voice, each basketballer has unique way they run and jump, becoming an expression of their identity.

Identity is recognised as a large commodity in today’s world with identify theft as a common crime today. Social media platforms are also gathering data to identify your online identity, so that marketing campaigns can specifically target your online presence all adding to quite a financial value.   Identity has unique value, not just financially but in how you engage within your community or tribe, in what value you offer or what you take from those around you.

An acquaintance of mine, Robyn Merrilees[i] (who does have a degree), confirmed that as adults we can filter the things people say about us choosing to agree or disagree. Whereas children do not initially possess this filter, therefore children absorb statements, receive connections, and develop a sense of worth from those who have power to speak over them. First and foremost, its family, siblings or those that are carers during the first few years of life. Then friends, teachers, peers, groups, and connections. The things that are said over us and how we are made to feel can establish our beliefs and sense of identity.

Which leads to my story:

For me, junior primary was hell. I was in a class that was predominantly boys, however there was one girl who became the decision-maker or leader, developing a core group of two other girls. Together they became the ‘management team’ of the girls in that level. As the leader, she determined who was in and who was out, often rotating girls outside of that circle as she pleased. I was one who was rotated in / out and when out, I was taunted and bullied. The pain was so great, that all I wanted was to be in that group, finding value, identity and connection that made me feel powerful.

During this season, my identity and value had been so attacked that I believed I had no control, or capacity to make decisions that benefited me.  I had no filter that could counter how degraded and worthless I felt, which I received as truth. I believed I was powerless to make a stand and I wanted strongly to belong to the group that caused me great pain.

The scars of low worth and shame have been with me for many years, guiding my decisions and impacting my relationships. I believed the following lies:

·       Something was wrong with me.

·       I was not good enough in my person, so I became a high achiever which is a hunger that is never satisfied. I had to perform or prove myself to be valued by others.

·       People would be disappointed if they truly knew me, so hiding behind a mask became the norm.

·       I chose to exclude myself from others because I didn’t want to be criticised.

·       I believed I did not have a voice. I was unable to speak when pressured OR at other times, forcing my voice to be heard.

·       I had many fears about situations / opportunities such as walking into a room full of people and being overwhelmed with the fear that I would not be accepted.

I had become a victim and those negative words and taunts would play in my mind over and over. Those voices sounded like my voice because I had unknowingly agreed with negative words and accepted them as truth which set me on a journey of pain that stood for many years until I learnt that beliefs can be changed.

‘Satan (our enemy) is the accuser of the brethren[ii]. His thoughts are always negative, accusatory, point out others’ faults, blaming others, devaluing, dishonouring, and demanding of rights and justice. Resentment, bitterness and a heavy heart follow our enemies thoughts.’[iii]

By renewing my mind[iv], choosing to replace negative beliefs with positive truths, created a change which came from knowing how much I was loved and who I was purposed to be by my creator.

I began to believe and receive that: ‘God is love. God’s thoughts are positive, comforting, edifying, encouraging, accepting, valuing, and loving. Love ‘thinks no evil’[v]. Grace, forgiveness, and innocence follow-after His thoughts. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil.[vi]

By replacing old thoughts with new promises, I was being strengthened with peace and grace as my beliefs changed and identity followed. I was also able to see the primary school group leader was living from core pain and I began to bless her with my words and thoughts.

We can be transformed by the renewing of our mind, by speaking positive statements and receiving affirmation from others by denying or pushing back the lies that keep us from the identity that we are created to walk in.  

If anything, I have said is ringing bells for you, I suggest that over the next few weeks you ask yourself a question.

Identify and write down any negative beliefs about yourself, which are negative statements that you may often hear – like a pre-recording in your mind.  Write them down, and then write down a positive statement that you can replace it with?

The positive statement becomes your goal and it might also help to break down the goal into small manageable steps, then make a strategy of what each of those steps might look like.

I found it helpful to allow others (who I trusted) to speak positively into my life and I would replace any negative words by stating: I am no longer …………………… but I am ……………….. and I choose to walk in this daily.

I can highly recommend the book: Experiencing Father’s Embrace by Jack Frost. 

Choice brings change to your identity – so you are not stuck. Write them down, put them up in your home or on your phone, so you can see them to remind yourself of them.

If you stumble, know that you can get up and try again. You are accepted and valued above and beyond all that we can think about ourselves. Welcome to a new journey – you are greatly loved![vii]

As you seek to walk in the identity that is yours as purposed from your creator, if you are needing some support through this wrestle, – please contact us  ………………. As we want to support you!!

Julie Mason

[1] Robyn Merrilees: https://robynmerrilees.com/

[1] Revelation12: 10

[1] Experiencing the Fathers Embrace – Jack Frost

[1] Romans 12:2

[1] 1Corinthians 13.5 NKJV

[1] Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Mental Health and our Faith

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sarah. I have grown up on a farm, in a Christian home, with 2 brothers and a mum and dad that never stop showing how much they love me. All my life my family has been dedicated and faithful in their faith and I have often heard that typical phrase “trust God.”

However now, as I write this blog, actually I’m sitting drinking a cup of tea behind a laptop, admiring the view out the back of my home having completed a Bachelor in Counselling and holding a desire for people to live their best lives as the best version of themselves. This puts me in an interesting spot between the mentality of “just trust God” and the knowledge that there’s more to it than that. Both my faith and my training guides me in the way I work with and treat people.

In the text; Counselling the Culturally Diverse Theory and Practice (2016), mentions “it appears that people require faith as well as reason to be healthy and that psychology may profit from allowing the spirit to re-join matters of the mind and body.” It seems that society is seeing the importance of the Spirit as well.

 So “trusting God” is absolutely something we can do. We have a God who is bigger than anything we will face in life and He helps us overcome things that don’t seem humanly possible. I just know that sometimes we forget what God has provided for us here. Let me give you some examples.

When I have sickness in my body, and I’m not talking about the “common cold,” but something more serious, something that concerns me or causes me to feel stressed, I can trust God to heal me. But He has also placed people around me that have a passion and knowledge for making people healthy, so I will take practical steps and trust that God will give the doctors the wisdom and understanding to help me be healthy again.

I have also struggled with anxiety that was stopping me from being able to live my best life, I tried praying and distracting myself but often couldn’t find any relief. God said in Genesis 2:18 that it’s not good for us to be alone, and I totally agree with this, because the only times I was able to bring myself down from those moments of anxiety were when I called a friend I knew I could trust and spent some time with them.

Furthermore, my father died when I was 15 years old, and in that instance hearing the phrase “trust God” almost added salt to the wound. I had trusted God to heal my dad and in the end I guess He did, just not in the way I wanted. But in all of that, I did end up trusting God, I trusted that He would surround me with people that would listen to me, cry with me, pray with me, encourage me. It’s not that I didn’t trust God, it’s just that I needed the people/supports He had given me.

I think it’s important to note that our mental health is impacted through so many different aspects of our lives. The mental health struggles we have can be due to many different things: chemical imbalances in our brain; learnt behaviours; irrational thinking patterns; life experiences including traumas, grief, stress and more.

Developing balance in our lives can definitely help minimise the impacts of mental health issues and so I want to speak to this. It’s often through developing our knowledge of the things God has provided for us that we can find the balance for our lives and be the best version of ourselves.

The Spiritual aspect is good for us to acknowledge and consider. For us, as Christians, this is when we read our bibles, pray, and worship, volunteering, singing, dancing and meeting together with other Christians.

In my first year of studies I was surprised and excited to see how much we are taught to allow space for the spiritual aspect of peoples lives. In one of my textbooks it says “The relationship between spirituality and health is highly positive. Those with higher levels of spirituality have lower disease risk, fewer physical health problems, and higher levels of psychosocial functioning” (Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. Counselling the Culturally Diverse Theory and Practice, 2016).

 The Physical – is your health, including eating habits, sleep, housing situation and your overall physical state.

 The Intellectual – we weren’t designed to be idle, consider how you are challenging yourself, trying new things and developing skills such as cooking, sport, career, study, theology, music and so on.

 The Emotional – now, I know this isn’t something that Western culture has been particularly keen on talking about or even acknowledging, we often hear “toughen up,” “don’t be a princess” or “just get over it”. I’m sure you could think of some others to add to that list, so let’s talk about it.

This isn’t about being “emotional” and “soft”, this area includes things like: affirmation; self-compassion; do you get involved with things that you are passionate about; watch funny movies; buy yourself a present; encourage yourself; cuddle with your pet and practice forgiveness. As you can see, the emotional aspect is so much more than smiles and tears, so how are you looking after this part of you?

 The Relational – taking time to spend with family and friends. Do you invest in your family relationships by going to family events, or if you live a long distance from one another? Do you have a family chat where you can share your lives and random moments? Do you invest in your friendships? And how do you do this?

 I’m gonna skip one and come back to it here because I believe that Relational and Recreational sort of run into each other a little. Do you take vacations? Your recreational aspect may also include your hobbies: painting; sport; music etc. How much time in your life do you allow for this?

 The Occupational (+ time and money) – we all know that, sadly, without money things in our lives can become pretty stressful, but it isn’t the “be all and end all”, it is just one aspect of our lives and it doesn’t need to be the main aspect. Something to consider is: does your job cause you more stress than it does help you?

Let’s be realistic here, we can’t always have a job we love, or we won’t absolutely love EVERY DAY that we work, there will be stresses, but is it a job that allows you to respect the other areas of your life or does it overcome them? Does your job challenge you? Does it allow you to be involved in an area you are passionate in?

For me, my job allows me to speak to a passion of mine, to helping others, is your passion helping farmers do the best they can by fixing their machinery, or is your passion giving back to the community by serving it as an honest sales person, or is your passion looking after your children so that they can grow to be healthy and contributing members of society? How is your occupation, your job helping you be the person you desire to be?

 As you can see, all of the different aspects of our lives play into one another and will at times help or hinder other aspects. Finding the balance is the important thing and so making sure that we are:

1.      Looking after our physical body, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

2.      That we build up our network of people, our support systems of family, friends and professionals, Jesus even surrounded himself with people.

3.      That we take time for ourselves, even Jesus took time away from the crowd.

4.      That we limit the practical stresses of money issues by working, from the beginning God designed us to work to have purpose, Genesis 2:15, Adam was placed in the garden “to work it and keep it”.

5.       Making sure our spiritual aspect is fed and living in the freedom this gives.

 I know for myself that maintaining a balance in all these areas can be tough. However, as I am mindful of it and when I make time for the different aspects, I know I am much better off and much more able to give my best in my work, and overall, in my life.

So, as Christians, I encourage you to challenge the “trust God” mentality we hold and how we portray that to others. Not that we can’t trust God, but how do we do this? Mental health is a real and legitimate fact of life, so how do we, as Christians, speak life into this, acknowledging the difficulties it holds and supporting one another along the journey?

Sarah Johnson

Bachelor of Counselling (AIPC 2017)

Everyday Disciple

A Christian life isn’t just about a Sunday service. Don’t get me wrong I love Sunday church. A time to get together, worship, meet with people, be inspired, equipped, be encouraged and be the encourager. We are called to meet together, instructed to even! I love church, but if church is the entirety of your Christian life I’m afraid you are missing out.

Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave. In so He defeated death and sin. Through faith in Jesus we become sons and daughters of God, we are forgiven, saved by grace. Through faith we have full access to the presence and power of God, we can come boldly and confidently into His presence, we can have abundant life and see the heaven come to earth. This is Christian life, and it is not meant to be restricted to a Sunday service. It is a life, a relationship with your Father in heaven. There is a verse I love in Romans 12:1-2

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (The Message)

Take your everyday ordinary life. You see before Jesus ascended to heaven he told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit isn’t spooky or strange, simply God’s presence on earth. Holy Spirit is with us and within us. Bringing guidance, peace, comfort, really what we need in each situation. In our marriage, our families, our relationships, our hobbies, our work, our finances and our faith. Through the Holy Spirit we can meet with God’s presence each and every day. The Bible saids that His mercies are new every morning, that means God has something new for us every day, even if we don’t look for it. Each and every day God is ready to meet with us, transform us, bring healing, peace and guidance. We just need to meet with Him. An Everyday disciple.

I want to share a quick story. One morning I was praying and asking God for guidance for my day ahead. I felt on my heart to do the big pile of dishes. That felt more demonic than from God so I ignored it. To give a bit of context I was newly married, my beautiful wife was still in bed and that was going to be a large and annoying job for her. So I kept praying for true guidance from heaven, and you know what, more dishes. So I did the dishes. Long story short, it meant a lot to Tahlia and blessed our marriage that day. What matters to you matters to God. He is ready to speak into areas in our life, our everyday ordinary areas. Perhaps God has some wisdom for financial decisions, patience for your kids, peace for the conflict at work or strength to get through the difficult season in life. Whatever it is God’s presence is available to you each and every day through faith in Jesus. Make time to meet with God, be an everyday disciple.

Perhaps you may not have a ‘Christian life’, or perhaps you are wondering on what it all means or asking questions. Want to encourage you to just take a step, see what it is all about. Pop into church, talk to God or begin to read. Wherever you are with everything, God loves you and has a purpose and plan for your life. He is ready to meet with you where you are.

Pastor Ben

Ashok & Emily (the GSM story)

Ashok & Emily

The Good Samartian Ministry Story

It was cold, that’s all she remembers. As custom was, a woman would sleep outside for 3 weeks after giving birth. She thanked God; she had given birth to a boy. Boys would help to make a strong family. It must have been near to Christmas time. That is when it’s coolest in the village. The thick jungle forest and mountains made it really cold at that time of year. She remembers holding him, praying that her boy would be strong and grow up to be a good man. They were illiterate. No date was recorded for the child’s birth. But they loved him, and they named him Ashok, after a great King. When the opportunity came for schooling at a mission hostel, they sent him there. He would have only been 4 or 5.

Ashok grew up strong, after schooling he followed his calling to attend Bible College, then another Bible College, this time in English. He went on to study a Masters in Divinity and Theology, and teach at a bible school. After being held at gunpoint amidst the kidnapping of the College Headmaster, he dreamed to go to a better place, and help these people who were so blind in the faith. Moving to another part of India, Ashok worked with a charity, which originated from Australia. It was here, a young 18 year old from Adelaide came on her first mission trip, and from the moment their eyes met, it was meant to be.

Ashok married Emily less than 2 years later, and after that started the charity Good Samaritan Ministry (GSM) which they both had been dreaming of. The first year it was blankets and saris. Not wanting to pay over $300 for a conference in Adelaide, they took that money to India and with other donations distributed over 200 blankets to very poor families in India. Since that first distribution, GSM has seen blankets, saris, goats, chickens, cows and food parcels distributed. Roofs have been mended, widows are cared for, and children are educated. Pastors are supported to spread God’s word to unreached people groups living amongst the mountains. Children are supported to receive an education through tuition centres which are opened in remote villages.

Now GSM supports around 200 children on a daily basis as well as supporting widows, pastors, poor, illiterate, disabled, remote and outcast people groups. We take short term mission teams across to India to see the work we do.  The aim of GSM is to reach isolated, rural, remote and poor people with God’s love in a practical way. The idea is that they will see Jesus in and through us, and this will preach more than words. When opportunities arise, Ashok goes to remote areas to preach the gospel to people hungry to hear God’s word. With the purchase of land recently, the prayers and goal is to bless the community, and open a place where anyone is welcome to come, feel loved and be blessed. Thank you to everyone who supports us in the work that we are called to do.

Ashok & Emily Mishal

Prayer simplified

Prayer can be such a daunting thing. Where do you start? How do you do it? For how long? It was never designed to be like this. Prayer is communicating with God. You can’t text God, email, Facebook, catch up for a coffee, but you can pray. It is talking to God, thanking God, reflecting, asking and even listening. Prayer can often seem rigid or a chore, but it was never meant to be this way. Prayer is life giving, enjoyable, refreshing, a time where we meet with our loving Father in Heaven. Prayer activates the presence and power of God in our lives, inviting Him in to change, transform, heal and bring forth miracles. Prayer brings perspective on life as we thank God for all He has done and listen for guidance and answers. Prayer can be so powerful, the key words being ‘can be’.

Jesus Himself taught on prayer, we read in Matthew 6:9-13:

‘Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven. hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”’

I am sure many of us would have heard this prayer at some point. Often it is repeated word for word, maybe in a church setting or event. Jesus prayed this, not for us to repeat it word for word but an example of how to pray.

 Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.

 Starting by acknowledging who God is, our Father in heaven. Hallowed can be described as sacred or holy. This is not untouchable though as God is our Father in heaven, a perfect dad. This thought of God as our Father was revolutionary at the time of Jesus. Through faith in Jesus we are sons and daughters of God, with full access to His presence and power. We can pray in boldness, in relationship and vulnerability. Not only is He our Father but God is perfect, holy, without fault or sin. When we acknowledge who God is, His nature, character, love, power and what He has done for us it dwarfs any need or issue we have.

 Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

 God has a plan and purpose for our world, it is to bring heaven to earth. To bring His presence to earth. To bring forth the Kingdom of God. We often think of heaven as simply after we die, this is true but here Jesus prays let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is healing, restoration, peace, rest and so much more. Most of all in heaven everyone is saved by grace through faith in Jesus. This is Gods heart for humanity, that heaven will come to earth and individuals will know and experience the saving grace and love of Jesus. When we pray this prayer it invites God into our world, our personal lives, our family, our church and community. Heaven come!

 Give us this day our daily bread

 Key word daily. Prayer is communicating with our Father in Heaven. If you have a friendship or relationship with someone close you don’t communicate once a month. God is ready to meet with us daily, more than just meeting our needs, but refreshing, guiding, more than we could ever imagine!

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Confession can be powerful and freeing, but I don’t think the heart of Jesus was to list everything we have done wrong since we prayed last. When we make a decision to follow Jesus we are forgiven, a literal full stop. This is a realignment, not just us towards God, but our position towards others. Forgiveness is cancelling a debt. Through Jesus our debt was cancelled. Now we know this grace we can surely forgive others. It isn’t approving of their actions, it is cancelling the debt, so they have no hold on us, or more so the un-forgiveness has no hold on us.

 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil.

 My personal paraphrase would go like this, ‘Please help me, I need help!’ We bring temptation and situations upon ourselves, through relationship with God He can transform us from the inside out, bringing healing, restoration and guidance from heaven. We would be foolish to think we do not need help in our life, whether it is personally, family, work or anything else. God is our Father in heaven, who cares about the big and the small. Healing from cancer and healing from a back ache. Peace in a time of family breakup and peace for an exam. Guidance in career defining decisions and guidance in friendships. God is with you and for you.

My encouragement to you, whatever your situation and whatever your journey in faith, start talking to God. Thank Him for who He is and what He has done in your life, invite Him into your life and world. Talk to Him, listen to Him and spend time with Him. God will meet you where you are. 

Pastor Ben

EASTER: A GIFT TO ALL

Easter is such a relaxing time of the year. Having a four day weekend feels like such a luxury. So much space and time to do something special. Christmas is all busyness and rush and parties. Easter for us is more spacious and reflective. Daylight saving ends, nights are cool. It’s almost like the last farewell to sunshine before winter sets in. Unlike Christmas, with all its jolliness and festivity, Easter is also a time for everyone, no matter where you’re at. A time for joy, but also a time for quiet. Christians love to jump to Sunday, and for good reason, but if we skip the importance of the Friday and Saturday of Easter, I think we miss the most inclusive and welcoming day of the year, because if you are in pain, fear or mourning, the Easter story tells us that God knows exactly what it’s like. God experienced it all through Jesus.

In the Christian tradition, the week leading up to Easter is excitement, anticipation, but also a little bit of dread – When we read the story of this week in the Bible, we’re put in the disciples’ shoes (or is it sandals?). They’re not quite sure what to expect. On the one hand, Jesus must be the one we’ve been waiting for, to overthrow the Roman rulers and free the nation, a conquering king. But on the other hand, Jesus comes into the capital city on a donkey, not a warrior’s stallion. They eat a ritual meal, the Last Supper, as fugitives, tucked away in a safe house, hiding from the authorities. When challenged and arrested, Jesus doesn’t fight back, he just gives himself up.

Jesus is led away, tortured, beaten and suffers through a kangaroo court in the early hours of the morning. Jesus’ followers run away and deny him. But Jesus – God – doesn’t resist. In Jesus, God has put himself in the place of the abused, the suffering, the oppressed. God takes it so that we, in our suffering, our fear and oppression, when we cry out ‘Where is God in this!’ we can know  - that’s where God is, on the cross. Jesus suffered, he was tortured and killed. Humanity did that to God. The spirit of death and destruction at work in the world through humans is what killed Jesus. Don’t you think that everywhere in the world, if we have eyes to see, we can see that truth – people kill God. When we hate, are unforgiving, we kill the spirit of Life in the world. Some people call that sin. And it sometimes appears, like it did to those disciples, that God doesn’t fight back.

Jesus’ followers were as bemused as we are. Why doesn’t Jesus fight back? Perhaps we backed the wrong man? Maybe we also have stood there with the disciples, feeling betrayed, thinking ‘perhaps I backed the wrong God.’ They sit, scared that they’ll be killed next. The Bible tells us that the male disciples fled, they didn’t want to get caught. Only the women who followed Jesus remained. Standing by him until the end. Because they did, they were the witnesses to the miracle:

God doesn’t stay dead.  

The resurrection of Jesus shows us how God conquers. Jesus beat the thing that holds us back. The deepest and darkest fear we have, of death, of separation from the good, true and beautiful in the world. Jesus went there, alone, and he came back. He defeated death. Not only that, but then he invited others to join him to live true life, without fear of separation from Life. Jesus didn’t only invite to ‘good’ people, he went back to his fearful followers, his betrayers, weak and unfaithful, and he welcomed them into this new life. A life eternally connected to Life. Jesus has risen, God is alive, at work here and now. We don’t need to wait until we die. Life is here. But Easter is a gift to all of us. If you’re wondering where God could possibly be in the mess and mourning of your life, he’s there. He’s shown us that by the way he gave himself up to death on a cross. And we have confidence, trust that he has already beaten it, and he stands with us, wherever we are.

Dean McDonald

India Trip 2019

Hot, humid and sweaty are just a few words people would use to describe India, but for myself, India is colourful, beautiful and busy.

What a whirlwind two weeks. I went in thinking it would be humid, over-crowded and loud, but I was so wrong. Indians are quiet and reserved, their country isn't overcrowded, and their smiles are as white as snow. When they smile your own heart overflows with joy. Yes, you sweat bullets, yes, it's hot and yes it’s humid, but this is what makes the experience even better. Everything you see and experience outweighs the amount of sweat you produce.

We travelled with Good Samaritan Ministries who are a family run organisation. We here at Light Church support and love them. Emily and Ashok Mishal are the founders of this incredible ministry and are doing incredible work over in India. They don't just support one church and one tuition centre, they financially support churches, tuition centres, Pastors, Widows and hostels. They are sowing into different villages and changing hundreds of people's lives. I don't like to talk money, but the money that is sown into this ministry isn't used for their flights or paying for accommodation of those who go on mission trips. Every single dollar goes to helping others; providing food for hostels, education for children and building on their new block of land, where in the future it will host children in a tuition centre with hostel like features. The money is used in a way that enables the people to build their own lives, instead of being giving a large sum to hand out and help for a moment, they teach how to properly finance things that will benefit for a lifetime, not just temporarily.

We spent the two weeks travelling through towns, cities and mountains to get to different places and meet different villages. Their modes of transport aren't that crazy, but man, do they know how to honk the horns! I think I had a ringing in my ears for two weeks straight.
We visited tuition centres, hostels and ate loads of meals with different people. We were able to see firsthand the incredible individuals and families who Good Samaritan support. We met Pastors from different villages that had walked 20+ kilometres to visit us and meet us. Hearing about their ministries was inspiring. One night we took the girls and boys from the hostels in Rayagada to the newly opened playground. It cost 15 rupee's to enter per person, and even though the kids were quite reserved at the start, by the end they were having an awesome time filled with laughter. They didn't want to leave! It wasn't a light-hearted giggle whilst playing in the equipment, it was that deep belly joyous laugh. It was beautiful to be a part of.
We spent our time doing lots of different things and trust me, we were never bored! Pastor Ben spoke at two different church services. One location being in a mountain top village where we met in the middle of the street. They had set up a tent for us all to sit under. The other was their church building which was being built at the time. They hadn’t put up the roof yet as finances were not available at the time, but they are praying and believing to build the roof by the end of the year!

One of my favourite things and most memorable time about our trip was watching the children. Being a part of meeting 'white' people, watching them with their gifts they received, wearing the clothes that had been donated and playing cricket or soccer with the boys. Their faces radiated joy and happiness. Being a part of that moment makes your heart explode and melt all at the same time. It also reminded us of how fortunate and blessed we are to live in Australia. We literally have everything at our fingertips, and we need a lot to make us moderately 'happy,’ whereas these kids have barely anything and the simple toys we handed out were cherished, and it made their day.

So, our trip was amazing, we all had an incredible time and we're so blessed to be a part of this ministry trip! I don't think I'd be able to travel now without the group we went with!
I'm very thankful and proud that our church supports incredible groups such as Good Samaritan Ministries, in which we are able to travel and experience all they do! Until next time India!

Gabi Schmidt

start, stop, keep

Start, Stop, Keep 

I’m not one huge on new year resolutions, in fact I feel like I am trying to cut out sugar or exercise more throughout the entire year so when January comes around it doesn’t even feel any different. While many of us may have made a throw away resolution that we all to easily gave up on three days later I believe there is some method to the madness. The new year is a great time to reflect, look ahead and prioritise areas of our life, almost as a realignment. Many of us if we are honest would love some kind of change, whether that is our waistline, our emotional health, bank balance, marriage, family relations or our relationship with God. If we keep doing the same thing, we will get the same results. A change in pattern results in a change in practice. Change your pattern in exercise and you will change your health. Patterns are the small seemingly insignificant events and decisions that when compiled dictate the direction of our lives.  

What I am going to suggest below can be confronting. Analysing our life and patterns can cause all sorts of emotions. These principles act almost as a dashboard, let me explain. When you are driving hopefully you are keeping your eyes on the road. However it is good to now and then glance at the dashboard to see the temperature of the car, the speed, the fuel gauge and so on. It is not wise to spend all your time focusing on the dashboard but it has its place. The same is for these principles, they are healthy tools to assist us in making change to our patterns. 

Start 

What can you start? Again you are going to get sick of this word, patterns. Not destination, but patterns. What you start you want to finish, if you do it once it isn’t a pattern. It needs to be achievable and realistic, no need to change the world in the day. A 15 minute walk, one less chocolate bar, read one chapter of the Bible, sit at the table together, whatever it is for you. Just make sure what you start you can finish.  

Stop 

What needs to stop? This may not be anything drastic, remember we are looking for patterns. Want better family time, stop the phones for a couple of hours? Want more money, stop some spending. Now let’s be real, stopping isn’t always easy. If it was easy to stop we would not have addictions. Surround yourself with people who can help, someone you can trust and who has been there. Plan! Turn that idea into a plan, want to spend less then make a budget, want to stop looking at certain sites then install a filter, want to stop eating it then stop buying it. 

Keep 

Finally, what can you keep on doing. Let’s get positive here, what has been good? What has worked? What has been healthy? It’s all good to make adjustments, start and stop, but I am sure you already have some beneficial patterns in your life. Make a plan to keep it up! 

This has been incredibly practical. Now practical is great, but it often falls short. My faith is a huge part of my life. It isn’t a ritualistic religion but a relationship with my Father in heaven. God did not send Jesus to our world so we could follow rules but so we could walk with Him. When we place our faith in Jesus the Bible tells us we are a child of God. God is interested and involved in our lives. There is no detail too big or too small. If it matters to us it matters to God. That may sound ridiculous but it’s true. In these seemingly practical things such as healthy lifestyles, finance and family God wants to help you though. More than that empower and guide you through it.  Whatever your life situation is ask God for help, read His word, spend time with people who can lead you in it and just watch what happens. God is with you and for you. I am believing with you for the best year yet!  

Thank you for reading. Here at Light Church we will be posting something new each month. Covering a number of topics, written by a number of people.  

Pastor Ben Braund