Alpha, Church Membership, Worshipping

It's been an eventful couple of months!

Alpha has been going really well! We had five people for our first session, plus myself and the leaders, and we had a really social evening, sharing a meal together and getting to know each other. We had one person drop out a little way through, so now we have three or four at each session, depending on circumstances, and things are working out really well. I think it being a little group is working well for the individuals who are in it, and we're all gelling together really well.

We've completed five weeks of the course so far, and we also took a break for a week to have a 'Film Night', where we watched an incredibly uplifting, inspiring and educational documentary on the life of George Mueller, called the Robber of the Cruel Streets. If you haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend it as an example of how to truly live your life by faith alone.

We are also planning for our upcoming Holy Spirit Day. We have yet to decide whether to try and fit it in before Christmas, or wait until January, and whether to split it over two days, to be more convenient for those of us with children at school, whether to fit it all into one day, or whether to go away for a Holy Spirit weekend.

In addition to helping out at Alpha, I have also been attending House Group every other week, and we had a fantastic Fun, Food and Fireworks Night on Bonfire Night, held at one of the leaders' houses! We all brought friends with us from the local community, and absolutely everyone had a fantastic time, and it was really great to see new connections being made!

And, I've had my interview for church membership! Because the church I attend has closed membership, it means that I had to apply separately for church membership after being baptised. So a few weeks ago, two members of my House Group popped round one morning for a chat and did my interview, and they're hoping that I will be welcomed into church membership very soon! We're hoping that the two people I was baptised with will be welcomed in on the same day, which would be lovely!

And ... I have been asked to sing with the worship group!!!

On 31st October, after the morning service, one of the church leaders spoke to me and said that they'd heard that I can sing! I laughed, and said that I certainly enjoy singing, and used to sing with a folk band, and have been told that I can sing, but whether I'm any good or not is up to the listener, I guess!

I was very pleasantly surprised when he asked me to consider singing with the worship group on a Sunday, and/or to consider playing a piece on my clarinet during the Christmas celebrations! I said I'd go away and think about it, and pray about it, and so I did.

That very night, my reading in my Cover to Cover book was about the temple Solomon built, and about ... the Temple Musicians! Oh so very appropriate! I love how even though the book was printed several years ago, it is still relevant specifically to my daily life, as if it was written just for me! No matter what is happening at the time, there is almost always a message or a teaching of some kind in my daily readings.

I thought about it some more, and prayed about it some more, and two weeks later, I was thinking that I had better get back to the church leader about his offer, and so before reading my Bible that night, I prayed again about my decision. The reading was from 1 Kings 8, and 2 Chronicles 5, about the dedication of the temple, and at first, I wasn't particularly struck by what I read as an answer to my prayer, until I got to the section 'for thought and contemplation'.

It said: "God required not only that the temple be built for Him but also dedicated to Him. Dedication goes further than hoping God will accept what we offer - it gathers up those hopes in a distinct and definite commitment. Don't just hope God will use you - dedicate your talents to him - now." Taken from Cover to Cover, by Selwyn Hughes & Trevor J Partridge.

Wow!

That was me told, eh?!

So on Sunday morning, I found one of the members of the worship group, and accepted their offer! :o) And then I had yet another shock, as she invited me to sing with them this coming Sunday!!!

Despite the butterflies in my tummy, I said yes, and so this Sunday, God willing, I will be up there at the front of the church, behind a microphone with two other singers and the band, singing:

How Great Thou Art
Hosanna
Who Is There Like You?
Everlasting God (Strength Will Rise)
Knowing You (All I Once Held Dear)

I'm praying that God will fill me with His Spirit, and help me to give Him glory and praise as I worship Him with song!