Showing posts with label Healing. Show all posts

Funny things wind me up... and I find it a bit much that things put up on facebook can push my buttons. But the other day one of my FB friends asked on her status "totattooornottattoo?".....

With out realizing what I was setting myself out for I scrolled down the comments (as you do on a night when you are lazy and slobby and not going out) and got more and more agitated. Most people just were like "yeh tattoo" but the negative people just had such a way of draining the life out of the thought of getting a tattoo.

Statement such as "they are ugly" "unattractive" were taken way to personal as I will explain in a sec...

But then people started throwing God into the mix.... making statements that lean on the idea that getting a tattoo was disrespectful and ... dare I say sinful! I think this is when my blood started to boil...

Then there was the classic "you will regret it when you are an old woman"...

I wrote a long and slightly rude/over the top statement, but then realized (after i read it out to my very gentle and caring husband and he gave me "the look") that maybe its not a good idea to be so self-righteous on someone else status.....

But hey!! my blog is my space and I am aloud to be as self righteous as I want!

So this is to all the Tattoo hater:

If you are going to tell me not to get a tattoo because you think they they are ugly or unattractive then I think you just know that wrong tattoo artist... I say artist because all the tattoos I have are some of the most amazing pieces art I have ever seen. Not to mention that the person that did the art work had one of the hardest canvasses ever to work with.. MY BODY!! True, there are some pretty grim looking tattoos out there, but if you look for someone who is truly talent at the art of tattooing you are going to get a piece of art that isn't "on" you, but "is" you which I think is a beautiful way to encourage creativity.

Also, I'm going to be honest.... I am a broken person. I a not perfect and I grew up being a hater of myself.... especially my body. I know that God doesn't like this about me, because when he made me he loved the way he put me together. I haven't always respected my body in the way that I should and that reflects in some of my wobbly bits. Plus gluttony is a problem for me... But I think God likes to use humans as He teaches and heals other humans. For me getting tattoos on my body was a hugely healing process. I learned that beautiful things can be on me.... and if you have ever gotten a tattoo you will understand when I say that it doesn't feel like you have a tattoo on you, but that it because a part of you. So having an artist put beautiful things on me has helped me to see that I am a beautiful person. Yes I was beautiful before the tattoo, but in my broken humanness I couldn't see it.... and I believe that God gifted those tattoo artist to help heal me and remind me "My Daughter you are my beautiful piece of art, even more beautiful then that art painted on your body, but when you see it remember you are my beloved masterpiece! And I love you with an UNCONDITIONAL love"

I think the God I have am learning about and loving was first known as CREATOR. I think he is highly honored when humans are creative and when they express that. Marking your body is a serious thing. God even talks about how serious he is about loving us when he talks about "writing us into the palm of his hand" and "writing promises right into our hearts". These are extreme because when we mark our body it does last FOREVER! I would NEVER encourage someone to get a tattoo spur of the moment and with out researching the tattoo artist and parlor that you are getting it done in or examining the reason for why you are getting this tattoo in the first place.... But I still would say tattoos are great ways of marking important moments in life and re-telling stories and our body is a great places to care those stories around.

That is another reason why I love tattoos. They tell a story. And this is another thing I know God loves. God loves stories. He loves people telling stories and the power story telling has to connect people and draw them into life changing experiences. The majority of my tattoos are moments in life when I encountered and Gods blessings for me. When I see my tattoos and when others ask about them I have a great chance to tell people the best love story of all.... the one where God and I fell madly and deeply in love.

I think in the bible there are loads of bible verses that we need to take seriously and the ones that talk about not marking our bodies is one that we should take seriously too, but I feel its bigger than just the act of "marking" your body. God tells us over and over again that whatever we do we just need to do it in a way that honors him and loves him. Even Jesus said that the GREATEST commandment is simply "Love God with all of your heart, mind and soul and Love your neighbor as yourself".... I do that and can do that regardless of if I am tattooed or not.

And just as a side note: for all those haters that say "when you are an 80 year old woman/man you are going to hate how wrinkled and faded and ugly your tattoo is"... Just remember when you are 80 year old your boobs will be to your knees (if you have boobs), your butt wrinkled like a raisin and your face a winkled mess of a life well lives. I highly doubt you will care one little bit what your body looks like.... cuz most 80 year old don't give a damn.... the attractiveness of their bodies is the least of their worries... that is a worry of youth.

So to all the haters.... Just remember the next time you start hating on tattoos and claiming that God doesn't want us to alter out bodies.... then maybe you should make sure you your not dying your hair, painting your nails, wearing make up, shaving or cutting your hair, or wearing jewelry either....

Or maybe just realize that God speaks differently in different times about the SAME PROMISES and that above all we should be seeking to honor him, re-tell his story, being creative, helping heal the broken and be about love. If a tattoo can do that then I say

TATTOO!!!

So if you haven't figured it out... I believe prayer changes things. Big things and small things. I think a lot lately I pray for small things. personal comforts, weather, awkward moments, the nature of my overwhelmingly normal life and existence ... But a few days ago I was reminded that as much as prayer is about having those every day conversations with God about life, love and happiness. It is also something that I do when big things... and I mean BIG SCARY things are out of my control and I need God in his wisdom and mercy to intercede and change the course of a physical reality.

When I first moved to England I got involved with a team of young people who were in love with Jesus and put Him as a priority in life. We spent sooo many  late nights praying in prayer rooms, drinking cups of tea while we fought out what church is and often challenging each other to game of less than enormous feats (who can do the most push ups, dance offs, trying to balance a tennis ball on someone unused crutches!!).

In that group was a young lad named James. He was only 18 when I met him, but often acted more like a 30 year old man trapped in a teenagers body. He always had us in fits of laughter from the "games" he would get everyone to play. He had a lovely voice and every now and again we could get him to sing a song or two and people loved it! He was always up for weird grand adventures and the number of "walks" we all went on were fabulous. Not to mention he had an unforgettable head full of curly golden locks.

As a team of people (and more so as a group of friends) we talked of hopes, dreams and the long lives we would all live pursing God, trying to do good in this world and creating opportunities for others to do the same. We were all too young to know any better and too old not to.

After that year we all have gone on to do such different things. Some moved back to their homes, some went on to jobs, other back to education, others into full time mission, some even married each other (wink wink!).

A few months back we got word that my friend James wasn't doing so well. He was living in Ibiza volunteering to help pick up clubbers and partiers off the streets to be the actual hands and feet of Jesus when he started getting sick and had pain in his chest.

To make a long story a bit shorter one of the people that has inspired me most in my faith has cancer... really scary cancer that could steal his life away... and its not ok with me.

His family also believe in God and prayer and the hope of living life. They wrote this incredible prayer and have asked their friends and family to be praying this over the next month to believe that a miracle can happen and James' physical body and life here on earth can be long and healthy.

If you know James or if you want to join in praying this prayer with his family and friends then Please join us for the next month in praying this every day and believing that through prayer change with come. If nothing else be inspired that a family in probably one of the most scary times of life have a relationship with God so deep that they can write something like this:

• May he find a great wife and be married
• May James’ reproductive system be protected and may they have children
• May he pursue his chosen career and serve you fully Lord
• May he live cancer free for 5 years, and then beyond
• May his voice return so he can sing

I help organize a few learning sessions for our community. I have this deep desire to see the Bible be really fresh for all people, no matter age, race, sex, culture, education or family. For people to see it, not as stories of generations past for generations past, but as stories from past generation that give incredible life to today's generations.

One practice I just did with our community was taking time to re-imagine the scene of particular Bible stories. This is done by reading a story from the Bible. Pausing to creatively imagine how those characters and places would be in our culture and experiences. Then writing down this imaginary take to help set up the scene and connection to story characters. This is done either by describing the setting through explaining smells, sounds, visuals, textures and tastes and/or developing the character through detailed description of physical appears, personality, emotional state of being etc. All based off our imagination.

Below is an example of this exercise. I highly recommend it as it worked really well in my experience.


Based on Raising Widows Dead Son, Luke 13:10-17

 ^11-15Not long after that, Jesus went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large crowd. As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman's only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, "Don't cry." Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, "Young man, I tell you: Get up." The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother.
 ^16-17They all realized they were in a place of holy mystery, that God was at work among them. They were quietly worshipful—and then noisily grateful, calling out among themselves, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" The news of Jesus spread all through the country.

2. Pause take the time to use your imagination to connect to the story.
Where would the place this story have taken place looked like? smelled like? would it have been light or dark? was it loud or quiet? what color could have been there? What would the woman have been like? Does she remind you of anyone you personally know? where would she have been coming from? What emotional baggage would she be carrying? What type of physical conditions would she be feeling? What kind of clothes would she be wearing? Write this down to create your fresh take on this bible story.

3. Then read your imaginary description based offer your personal experiences and culture out loud to begin to prepare you for a re-freshening of the bible and that particular story. You might need to repeat the music or choose a couple songs to last this whole process.
4. Then re-read the Luke 7: 11-15 and let your personal imagery bring this story to life.


5. Reflect on these three question to further deepen your encounter with Jesus through the bible.
  A. How do you relate to the character in this story?
  B. What does it tell you about Jesus?
  C. Can you see God's Kingdom in this Story?