#1 Jesus

That might sound to some like the trite Christian answer, but I really am serious. I still remember the day at 16 years old where Jesus ceased to be a religious figure and became my saviour. I am 36 years old today, and he continues to be the most treasured thing in my life.

I am so thankful for Jesus—my God who became flesh, lived the righteous life I should have lived, suffered and died for my sin, and rose from death to give me hope for a future resurrection.

#2 My wife

Day in and day out my beautiful wife gives herself to care for our family in a way that makes me thankful for her more than anyone else. Thank you Megan—for how you love us all selflessly, and serve us every day. I love you and thank God for you.

#3 My children

Before we had our first child I really had no idea how strong a father’s love could feel. My three little girls bring me constant joy, and I so enjoy striving along with Megan to provide for them a good foundation for their future life—a foundation of love in which Jesus is the cornerstone.

#4 Our families

I am so thankful for our families, especially our parents who have given of themselves to us time-after-time without asking for anything in return—except that we live our lives for Jesus. The last few years would have been especially difficult without them.

#5 My health

And finally, I am so thankful for my health. Exactly one week ago today I had back surgery for a ruptured disc in my spine that was causing unbearable pain. I cannot express how thankful I am today to be able to sit here typing pain free. I hope never to take good health for granted again and to treat this body of mine with more respect—to steward it better.

So there you have it—the things I am most thankful for today.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Last week I had an MRI taken of my back that has confirmed I have a herniated disc (a prolapsed disc for my British readers) in my spine that is pressing on the sciatic nerve and causing the throbbing and shooting pain I feel from my lower back all the way down my right leg.

Today is day 20 and the pain is slowly getting worse. I cannot get pain free even lying flat any more. For the last two nights I have not slept more than 4 hours before waking with the pain. I am confined to my bedroom and can just make it to the bathroom and back before needing to collapse on the floor, experiencing pain that brings me to tears.

I am daily praying to Jesus to heal me. Sometimes it is more like pleading through tears than it is a confident prayer of faith. I just want the pain to go.

But in the midst of all this I know Jesus is with me and I’m learning a lot. When pain is a constant companion there is a real temptation to get angry with God. After all if he is sovereign and he loves me, and if he really can heal miraculously—then why did he allow this to happen, and why doesn’t he now stop it? This was the same temptation that Job faced in his suffering, which was to curse God (Job 2:1-10)—to blame him, and get angry with him.

So how should we respond to God when living with pain 24 hours a day? What should the attitude of our heart be, and what can we do practically to walk through it with Jesus? These are the questions that I am going to try and answer in my next few blog posts—as I face the present reality of life with Jesus and pain myself.

But there is also a hidden gem with this study bible. Inside each purchased copy is a secret code that will give you lifetime free access to the online version. The online version has the same content as the paper version—but it is also searchable, you can insert your own study notes, and you can listen to an audiobook version of each chapter read by Max McLean. Brilliant!

Move it to the top of your Christmas list, or buy it for your friends and family.

UPDATE: The online audio has already been updated to include an audiobook read by David Cochran Heath, which I feel is clearer than the original Max McLean version.

You can supersize the slideshow by hovering over the picture, and then clicking on the icon with the four arrows in the bottom-right hand corner of the slideshow.

Not for the feint of heart, Mark’s preaching style has always been raw and honest, and I for one am looking forward to his handling of this fantastic book.

If you want to know what the Bible really has to say about sex—make sure you visit the Peasant Princess website after Sunday and download the podcast.

I cuddled her for a while and let her cry.

Sometimes as fathers we need to preach the Word to our children. Sometimes we just need to cuddle them and let them cry.

Personally, I am not surprised at this. Jesus is, and will always be, a stumbling block to those the world considers wise. I can totally understand how the idea that a carpenter from Nazareth could actually be the God who made this world looks utterly ridiculous. The question is not does it seem intellectually ridiculous, but is it true? In which case it really doesn’t matter if it seems ridiculous or not.

Anyway, if you are interested in the debate here are some articles to read:

• ‘Creationism’ biologist quits job
• Who are the British creationists?
• Call for creationism in science

For our eldest daughter (now 7 years old), I had hoped that God would appear to her in a miraculous dream telling her where we were going and somehow let me off the hook. But alas no. I knew all along it would be my privilege and responsibility to lead my family into the purposes of God for us. In God’s economy, it’s all part of his leadership training.

So I did really what I only know how to do—I preached the word of God to them.

I took them to the scriptures, and I showed them in John’s gospel that after the resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” I explained to them that God sent Jesus into the world to show us that he was the way to the Father—and that Jesus is sending us into the world to do the same.

I told them that Jesus sent mummy and daddy to America because he wanted people to know him. I told them about people at Harbor who had given their lives to Jesus since we had come here. I told them that Jesus had sent them to their schools, and to their friends, for the same reason. And I told them that now Jesus was sending us back to England, because there were more people he wanted to know and love. And then I placed my hands on their heads and prayed for them, “Peace be with you.”

And amazingly they were all okay with the news. No tears.

1. It is in the beautiful county of Devon, the 4th largest in England.
2. It sits at the mouth of the River Exe (hence its name).
3. It begins a 95 mile stretch of coastline called the Jurassic Coast—designated a natural World Heritage Site.
4. It has a 2 mile expanse of beautiful sandy beach.
5. It is known for excellence in water sports—and home to Olympic sailors Joe Glanfield (silver medalist in Beijing), Stevie Morrison, and Ben Rhodes.
6. It has a growing population of over 35,000 people.
7. It serves as a market town to a further 12,000 people in the surrounding area.
8. 30% of the people in the town live on their own—70% in shared homes.
9. 60% are between 16 and 65 years old.
10. The local secondary school (high school), Exmouth Community College, has almost 2,500 students—one of the largest in Europe.

The last 6 years here in Portsmouth with Harbor Church have been the best, and at times the toughest years of our lives. It will be very hard to say goodbye to the country and church family we have loved and given our lives to here.

But we are also very thrilled that Jesus is now sending us to Exmouth, and amazed at how welcoming the church have been towards us already. We had a great time visiting with them over the summer, which was for me the key moment in knowing that Jesus was leading us there.

A lot of practical things will need to be sorted out in the next few months—like selling a house in an incredibly depressed housing market, as well as the cost and stress of arranging another international move. For these things we would very much value your prayers.

So that’s the big announcement! I’ll be blogging more about all this in the coming days and weeks. The picture on the header of my blog is the Exmouth estuary and gives you an idea how beautiful the town is.

To The Kings Way Church in Exmouth—we really cannot wait! :)