He is writing our life story!

Liana here, hello!

I've finally worked out how to use this blog thingo so now you can hear from me too! And get a wifely perspective of the journey of serving in ministry, always putting others first and releasing my husband to work for the kingdom. This means life gets tough. Add in the challenging journey of doing faith and finances and you have a hard road but a very blessed and worthwhile road because it is good to be in the will of God!

This year has been a long and painful lesson in surrender. God often tries to teach us to surrender our lives to him. He wants us to walk light, and place everything at the foot of the cross. (Matthew 11:30) He wants to align our desires with his and our soul with his. I have also been learning how sometimes God has other plans for us then we had for ourselves.

Surrendering all areas of our life to God means giving up control (or the myth that we are in control) as justin said in the last blog. God wants us to unclench our heart and our hands around areas of our life that we are trying desperately to keep to ourselves and do in our own strength...generally because we have trouble trusting God with our life. This could be our career, our finances, our relationships or simply our future plans.  So he brings up the area so we can surrender it. And he wants us to trust him and 'give all of our worries to him for he cares for us' (1 Peter 5:7)

This is because he has good plans for us and what he has been speaking to me about is that he is the one writing our life story and he is the greatest author of all.  Jeremiah 29:11

Hope this blesses you!

The Myth of Independence!

I have been thinking a lot lately. Its been awhile since i got my thoughts on a page. Its funny how when you go through deep pits of despair you find it hard to share with people and you guys who read this. Maybe there is lot in that! often when the chips are down we strive to become more independent in thinking rather than dependent. It's this whole concept that has me intrigued and as i sit here i really feel that God is speaking to me about this.

Independence is what we are taught from a young age! our parents, mentors and people we look up too preach a message of independence. And this is a message that is certainly one held by our society and our world. Independence is the effort to take control of things in your life. It might be how much money you can earn, or maybe the house you want, or maybe the job you want to keep. All these things we believe we have control over but the reality is we don't know what tomorrow holds. It was just a few days ago that i was watching TV and saw a tragedy at an American air show, when a plane literally fell out of the sky, crashing into a stand packed full of people. (my prayers to those affected) I reckon a lot of those people would have felt like they were going to have control over the events of that day. It ordinarily would have been a great day to watch guys pushing the limits of aero dynamics. Unfortunately there were events that wouldn't have been in any body's minds.

To strive for independence is seen as a good thing in our society, but my question is it a God thing? I think it all stems way back to the beginning when Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2 - 3). God creates the garden for his creation to dwell in, to live in harmony with God and depend on. But what happens is Adam and Eve are wooed into a path of independence. This pattern emerged early and since then has followed ever since for generations and even to this day. It has moved as i said from a bad thing to now a very good thing to strive for. Now God could have done away with us long ago, but he loves us his creation and will never give up on us. He will always try to correct our ways and help us to realign with him in his plans of dependence! In John's gospel Jesus gives his listeners a very real illustration of what dependence is suppose to look like. He likens us to be like the branches connecting with the vine and therefore the source of growth, stability and life. In verse 5 Jesus says "Those who remain in me and i in them will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." There is a lot of truth in these words. And ultimately this is where life is found and being dependent on the vine is truth. Actually the more i think about it our striving for independence is actually a myth. For whether you believe in God or not, we actually are all dependent on something. it just what you choose to be dependent on.

I know that this lesson of dependence is something that i have been wrestling with for the past few months as i serve in my role in Christian Surfers. And more that i couldn't control factors in my life the more independent i tried to become. As i sit here writing it strikes me that trying to be independent and follow God's calling is hard, actually it is impossible. The reason is that independence is not even a reality its a myth. Dependence is the way to go! for life living in isolation lacks meaning and doesn't give the people the chance to discover a very God character trait within them. I challenge you whether you know Jesus or not to steer your life not to independence but to dependence. Dependence restores the order of what was supposed to happen! What are you dependent on and more importantly who?

Bless ya heaps!

Justin

There are some changes in the Air!

Hey Faithful supporters, friends and who ever else has a peek at our blog!

Its been a few weeks since i've chatted to you all. In fact my last update was way back in the start of August. There has been heaps happening in the last few weeks. Some good, some bad or hard, but thats ministry i guess. Jesus did say we would walk the narrow path, rather than the wide one (Matt 7:13-14). Anyway since we last caught up there has been a number of changes happening in CS and always in our life. When you can't really plan a day a head let alone a week you are definitely destined for changes. Anyway here's the update.

CS Leadership Changes

One of the challenges that always arises in my day to day life working for CS is that i always seem to have leaders coming and going. For some its just a case of CS didn't quite fit the calling, but it was worth a try. For some its life changes, whether this may be a new baby arriving or getting married. For others its just about obedience and that God has called them on to new horizons. Dealing with these changes are part of the role, however these changes don't always come when you expect them or want them. I had a few of these lately and it certainly throws where you think you might be heading to a whole new direction. One of the changes that happened recently was two of my key leaders in the Mid Coast mission feel that God was calling them on. While it was a surprise i can say His (God) ways are above ours and i have to trust in that truth. That's all i have to hold onto sometimes!

I do want to pay respect and thanks to Andy and Jess Story. These were the two who moved on. Andy as long as i have been RC has been so supportive of me and my leadership in CS. He has been my wing man on occasions and has taught me and shown me so much about what it means to serve our King. I and the CS team will miss his leadership, but we are stoked to see where God may take him, Jess and there son Eli next. Our prayer and blessings go out to them both!

Changes in work!

As you would all know I worked in CS in a self funded capacity. And while the workload exceeds the money i have to try fill the gap with what ever may come around the corner. Its the path of a worker in CS. For me in recent months this has been a real struggle practically, spiritually and emotionally. I have been the region coordinator of SA for the past 6 years and while we have continued to make it to the next day with our needs met it doesn't get easier even after 6 years. On top of the burden of this challenge i am soon approaching the big 30! This, while it shouldn't it has seen me compare my self to those i know who are in this age bracket. And while they are making their first million, buying their second or third house Liana and i are trusting in each day and believing our needs will be met for rent, food and petrol. When i lose focus on God this really does get me down and it has seemed to be that way for the past few months on and off. The other thing is that it sometimes feels like you have no direction with work. over the past months i have labored, landscaped, surf judged, surf coached and done whatever has come my way to cover life expenses. This is just something that i have to do to keep serving the way Liana and i do.  

Over these past few months it would have been easy to throw the towel in, but i have not and will not because the conviction and the calling is strong. What it has done has made me pray and think about a way that i can support Liana and I. I have been feeling strongly about reconnecting with my Art gift. I have been a drawer as long as i know and have thrown a few paintings together over time. Lately God has been opening doors of imagination and potential avenues to explore this gift again. While it this may seem crazy to follow this dream i've come to place where if God's hand is on this talent it will bring support for us. I am hoping to get some works into up and coming exhibitions and also are toying around with an idea for a fundraising dinner early in 2012 to auction of some mine and liana's art (thats right she is a super talented artist as well). So as our supporters and friends please pray for some "real" support to come from this new venture.

After all just like the servant who buried his talent in the ground (Matt 25:16-18) i don't want to bury my talent and wake up years later going maybe God you gave that gift to me for a reason.

Anyway all, that about it for now! there is plenty of other stuff going on in mine and Liana's life so if you want to pray for us, support us or just find out where we are click on the other tabs on the home page and all the latest info will be there for your perusal.

Bless ya heaps and thanks for the continued prayer and support!

One of my latest digital art works!

The NEXT STEP - Mission Coordinators Retreat!

Hey Crew,

Just an update on the great weekend, which saw Mission Coordinators from all around SA gather and talk about this Christian Surfers year thus far and the next step ahead as we approach 2012. It was super encouraging to see representatives of all, but 1 mission. Christies Beach Baptist and Hotel Kenny were great in providing us accommodation and a place for meetings.

The main gist of the weekend was based around two major themes:

Unity: We talked and strategized about the implications of unity and the affects it has on the spiritual, emotional and practical. The team came up with some great ways to close the gap on this area and unite the missions better in the future!

Evangelism: As Christians i believe we have lost our nerve when it comes to sharing the Gospel with those we meet a long the way. Evangelism has become the elephant in the room. An awkward topic and one that even Christians don't want to know about. Over the weekend i brought forward some teaching that would see us reclaiming the 'E' for the life giving, hope filling, radical message that it is. One that is to be the joy of life rather than scary thing that only few encroach on.

I look forward to the next season of CS in SA as we begin to apply some new thinking, new strategies, and ultimately see more people awakened to Jesus!

Keep praying for the CS missions in our state!

Every Surf we are on Mission!

Just last week i made a decision to drive to yorke peninsula for a surf in the middle of the week. So 5am i awoke the next morning and began my journey, which would take 3.5 hours. Joining me on the trip was a surfer that i had baptised a few years ago and had been discipling ever since. What better way is there to disciple than just going on a journey and just doing life together on a road trip to a beautiful part of God's creation. It amazing what conversations, prayer and laughs you can have when your sitting next to someone for 3.5 hours.

 

So as we journeyed we were greeted with God in all his Glory as we passed through Port Wakefield at Dawn with an amazing sunrise. I just had to stop and take a photo. The journey continued and by 8:30am we had arrived in Innes National Park and there was not a breath of wind! A really Good sign for us surfers. We begun the search for waves, cos ultimately thats what we had just driven 3.5 hours for. I hadn't checked any reports, but i though i had a good chance of scoring some waves. And after 3 weeks not hitting the water i needed to break the fast. We searched all these amazing surf spots, chatted to surfers and finally arrived at our destination and where God would teach me a lesson that every surf is His.

At this stage we were frothing to get out in the surf and when you see surfers coming back with smiles on their faces and stoked you know you in for a good day. As we walked the 500 metres i came across a surfer that i met a few weeks earlier. The irony was that i was just chatting about him moments earlier. He was stoked and said there were some great waves. So as we approached the final boardwalk our eyes where captured by this

Once you see that kind of set up as a surfer you cast aside any worry about the weather, how cold the water is and whether there are any fish that will be joining you. You just want to get out there and get into the action. All you can be is thankful to the one who gives us the waves. Praise God just comes naturally out of the soul. Before we knew it we traded in our clothes for our wetsuits, booties and boards!

As i paddle out i prayed and said thanks for the scene that was before me. Which saw only about 10 surfers out and pumping 4 foot sets (10 ft faces). Pondalowie bay is a great beach cos it allows you to be able to just paddle past the surfers and what them carve up the open faces. My mate that join me kicked off the action with a beautiful wave and when he kicked off he was a picture of happiness. while we waited for the sets i struck conversation after conversation with the crew out there. It's amazing how open, free from stress and happy people can be when in the surf. A parent once told me that the surf was the Holy Spirit because every time here sons came out of the water they were refreshed and happy! there might be some truth to this.

Any way as we surfed one particular guy in the water was more open that others. Everyone was friendly, but this guy was all interested in deeper things. We just started chatting and before i knew it i was sharing about who Jesus was and what it actually meant to follow him. We talked about Church stereotypes and theology. We even talked about if we were to follow Jesus ways of life the world would be a better place. He agreed. Two surfers getting a bit deep! Any way as the hours passed and we hooted each other into waves the stoke level was at an all time high! My mate and i scored a few to write home about was in no regret that we had spent 3.5 hours in a car.

As time passed the guy i was going to get contact details from finished a little earlier. he paddled in and waved good bye. Throwing a little prayer up i ask God to create another opportunity in the future with me or another Jesus guy. I finally paddled in 3 hours later from when the session began.

My surfer mate then went and hit up some lunch before heading out to find another wave. As we pulled up to a spot that might be working i noticed a few surfers also checking out the action. As i approached the them i realised that God had answered my prayer because that surfer i was chatting to in the water was one of the guys on the cliff. He said to me "Justin, right" i said "yep" we always look different when we in clothes and our eyes are masked by sunnies. I exchanged numbers and he said he wanted to catch up sometime and maybe come out to Christian Surfers.

As they day sun set on the horizon i realized that God gives us opportunity where ever we may go. even 3.5 hours away in the middle of the week i was able to minister to those i knew, those i had just met and to people that i would become friends with. This is what i believe it is to be a surf missionary. One that every time you enter the water your an ambassador for Jesus. Christian Surfers is characterized by this kind of mission thinking. While we run events with a specific Christian Surfers banner most of the time we are undercover incarnating into breaks all over SA.

Bless ya heaps!

Justin Monaghan

A Season in the Desert!

Hey faithful supporters,

Well, its been awhile since i last posted and i guess its because it has been a season that really has been one that i would describe as a desert. A few months ago our prayer intercessor Amy said to Liana and i that we are going into a desert season and that it was going to be harder. A word that strikes fear into the heart as it's the last thing you want to hear! At the time i felt its all good will get there, but nothing has prepared me for what it has actually meant to walk in this desert. 

The desert is a place that is not that foreign to us believers because we read in Exodus a story about a man that lead his people into a desert for 40 years. A desert which saw people turn on each other, be pushed to the limit, to give up and to even turn on that very leader that took this people out of slavery which would be far worse than the desert. Over this past few months i have found myself more like those people who lost faith in the greater story that they were being written into. a story that is about the greater purpose of God and his partnership with us to bring about that purpose. I think when you look down all you can see is the dry, desolate and hopeless situation before you.

Liana and i have found to see the greater purpose of God for our lives to be a little confusing at times, frustrating as anything and down right hard. Sometimes thoughts have gone through my mind i'm just going to give up and live a normal life! We have been pushed and stretched beyond what we could even think we were capable of. It has meant that we have struggled financially, emotionally, spiritually and practically. The only thing that has got me through it has been to realize that once you taste the life God has given you there is nothing that will compare and that conviction, that calling will see you through the toughest, driest times.

The other part of that word from Amy was that although we were heading to desert times that there would be blessings in the desert along the way! God grace will continue to extend to us in the driest of times. And to finish off this blog entry i just want to finish off with a story of a blessing in the desert that happened just a matter of days ago!

Last week on a wednesday i was having a day where i was literally feeling very frustrated with life and its direction and what made it even worse was that Liana came home and it all just got too much to handle for her as well. we were sitting on our bed and i was supposed to be at a meeting and i just bailed it. I didn't feel at all like spending the next four days in the lions den that is a pro junior event. Just as we were low we received an invitation to a families house that wanted to bless us with dinner. We decided to go.

We got to this families house and walked in and just began to feel like we could see goodness in the world. We sat, we ate, we laughed and we were just really real with this family and one particular guy who had been invited to dinner also. After dinner we were led into a time that truly was divine. the reason being that a movie night soon became a night of this guy sharing visions and pictures about each of the people in the room. That included Liana and i. The pictures that were given by this complete stranger to us was truly a sign that God was with us, he knew us and that he loved us.

The blessing in the desert didn't just end there. It continued as we drove away to our home Liana received a phone call from the family and direction to open Liana's handbag to find a sealed envelope. As we opened this envelope we discovered six one hundred dollar bills. enough to take our breath away. But there was another mystery in this gift and that was that the currency we were looking at was the old Australian one hundred dollar bill depicting the famous explorer Douglas Mawson who pioneered Antarctica. Unsure if it this currency would still work in banks Liana was told that God had told the mother to give this envelope to us. It had been sitting in an old book for over 10 years and they had never been prompted prior to this in what to do with it. At that stage God just hit me and pierced my heart with a thought that brought tears to eyes and healing to my soul. And that was that God had prepared this gift for us even before we knew Him, even before we started to serve him in Christian Surfers and ministry. He had purposed it for us! God does walk before us into any situation and he has purposed us for little desert blessings. 

An amazing story and hope it brings you real encouragement of a great God we all serve and love. He gave me one last thought after reflecting on this whole desert experience and that is that even though its easier to await that next blessing in the desert, he does not want us to do that! what he does want is for us to look to Him and only him! for he is the source, he is the river of life and the one that does not make us thirst anymore. John 7:37-38 says "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! anyone who believes in me may come and drink for the scriptures declare rivers of living water will flow from His heart"

Blessing to you all!

Justin Monaghan

Perfect Love Casts out all FEAR!

Over the past week the Lord has arisen the whole area of FEAR. In particular when FEAR stops us living the very way he created us to live. What happens when we experience fear? It paralyses, confuses and makes us doubt the very thing that we hold dear to us. Fear is not something that just fades when you follow Jesus. It seems to always be knocking at your door! But should this be the case? Is this just a fact of being human? or can it be overcome? 


Jesus says “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Profound words by a profound King! Maybe we can't get rid of fear completely, but God gives a pretty cool tool to overcome it. "Take Courage." When we think courageously we can do more than we can imagine. Just think of crew that have accomplished enormous tasks, Sir William Wilberforce, Sir Edmund Hilary to name a few. We claim this courage, but i reckon when Jesus says "it is I" he gives a pretty good clue that he is the one who gives us courage if we choose to step out! So as you travel this week, this month, this year may you be drawing on the courage that is already in you just waiting to be released if you are willing! then your fear will dissipate!


God bless ya!