Author: Heather Henson

I'm a woman happily married to the man I love. We produced two amazing children who each found a soul-mate. I now have three delightful granddaughters! I'm learning more about who I am so that I can let others be and be who they are becoming. I follow Jesus Christ, sent by God to reveal His Father's heart of love to the world. He saved me into a life of community, not one of isolation!

A Clay Jar & the Light of God’s Glory—a ‘Monday Morning Minute’

On By Heather HensonIn Monday Morning MinuteLeave a comment

2 Corinthians 4 verse 7 (The Voice): But this beautiful treasure is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth & clay… And the same verse from The Message: (you might hear an echo back to the story of the shell in my vision experience) If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at.  (Emphases in all quotes are mine) 

In the New Living Translation of the Bible, the phrase used for ‘cracked pots’ is ‘fragile clay jars’. Are you feeling a bit fragile or cracked today? Do you fear that you might crumble under the weight of the busyness, the cares, stresses or worries in or around your life? I believe that the words the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write next (verses 8-10 in 2 Corinthians 4) will be of great comfort to you. They seem like a promise to me…

We are cracked & chipped from our afflictions on all sides, but we are not crushed by them. We are bewildered at times, but we do not give in to despair. We are persecuted, but we have not been abandoned. We have been knocked down, but we are not destroyed. We always carry around in our bodies the reality of the brutal death & suffering of Jesus. As a result, His resurrection life rises & reveals its wondrous power in our bodies as well. (The Voice)

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Peter 5:7 NLT) He is powerful, tender-hearted & nothing is impossible for our God who hears you & sees you. Let the Spirit of Jesus Christ hold you & care for you in harmony with the Father’s heart. His loving-kindness never ends. Allow the Holy Spirit to take you into ever deepening intimacy of relationship with Jesus who is one with the Father—our Daddy who is in heaven. And remain in community with your brothers & sisters. God has saved you into relationship… not into a life of isolation. 

And how does God care for us, His children? Each of us could give testimony of how we have felt urged to pray for someone. We will also have equally powerful, life-changing stories of how we seemed to be a part of God’s answer to those same prayers. 

Watch & wait & see what He will do. Let go & let Him be God. Trust Him to be God & be at peace.

God is faithful so… let us have thankful hearts & praise Him from whom all blessings flow. It is He who said “Let there be light in the darkness,” & made this light shine in our hearts so we could know His glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6 paraphrased)

Heather Henson — 24th August 2015

Coming Home

On By Heather HensonIn Heather's News, Personal ReflectionsLeave a comment

Hello! Just a few days ago my husband Ross & I came home from 10 weeks away in Africa… 4 weeks in South Africa & 6 weeks in Zambia. So many adventures… I have met so many people or have got to know other people better. Each one of them have enriched my life in some way.

Why were we so far from home? Ross is the International Director for the MMM International Alliance (MMM was once known as Mobile Mission Maintenance). Part of his job is to visit each of the MMM member centres i.e., Australia (where we live), New Zealand, Hong Kong, Zambia with Associate Centres in Thailand & South Africa. Earlier in the year we were in South East Asia for 6 weeks for MMM related work in Thailand & Hong Kong.

His job involves consulting type work… training, equipping, encouragement, reviews, strategic plan development, etc. (If you’d like to know more about the ‘etc’ you only have to ask!) By the way, the work is a voluntary position… if you would like to investigate what partnership with us would look like, contact Ross at mmmidross@gmail.com

My job? As well as the normal stuff of life… Ross appointed me (last year) as his ‘Communications Director’. I think this position probably involves a lot & not much! Maybe somewhere in between depending on what’s going on at the time. I do know that I’m sometimes out of my comfort zone but even so, I enjoy learning new stuff & ‘having a go’.

Having said that… this blog is & will be a work in progress. If you know about WordPress blogs or about IT stuff & you would like to help me, you’re welcome as long as you… keep it simple!

I’m in transition at the moment… home is great & I love spending time with my family, friends & (Eltham Baptist) church family but after so many weeks away, it’s hard to get back into any sort of routine. (Note… “Be kind to myself”.) Of course, Ross & I are not the same people we were at the time we left home so it’s hardly surprising that it’s hard to ‘settle back’ into life as we knew it before.

I’m not the sort of person who normally likes to dive right into the deep end of a pool. I absolutely do not like cold water so I take a gradual approach… one step at a time getting used the temperature of my surroundings so I guess it’s hardly surprising that I get back into ‘normal’ life (whatever that is) gradually.

The photo is from a day from our week’s holiday at Cape Town, South Africa. I’ve been hearing about the Cape of Good Hope since I was in high school so it was exciting & surreal to be standing right there!

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