Recently I held a Hight Tea for some of the women who hold existing leadership roles or have the potential to be developed in their Leadership at Lighthouse. This year I feel that one of the things God has put on my heart is to gather and inspire women in leadership.

You may have heard the word ‘culture’ mentioned at Lighthouse recently and if you haven’t  then you will have the opportunity to hear and hopefully experience in some way a change in culture throughout this year.  The first challenge I gave our key girls was to not just attend the conference ‘Colour’ but notice how the message of ‘Colour’, bringing value to women, was expressed through culture.

Then we began to identify the culture of our women at Lighthouse in the context of Life Groups. We are so blessed to have so many talented, beautiful women already contributing in so many ways in the life of the church and our community.  I believe God is having us address culture that is not beneficial or is contrary to kingdom culture in our Life Groups and services so that we might increase our capacity to carry what He has for us.

My desire for the girls at Lighthouse is that they will truly experience Kingdom culture in every area of their lives.  What is Kingdom culture it is a reflection of the King and his nature and attributes.  We serve a King that is creative, beautiful, excellent, generous and full of love, peace and mercy.  Everything we do should ultimately reflect his nature.

The first cultural tweak we would like to encourage amongst our girls is to increase our ‘God Talk’.  Simply when we get together let’s include God and what He is doing in our lives in our conversation.  So simple but you will be surprised how it will change the atmosphere and your perspective and outlook on life.

So proud of the women of our church and excited to see every last one of them fulfill their God given destiny.

Annette

Weeks and weeks ago we were sitting on the floor in the new kids room at church praying about what message, what creative direction, what words we should paint across our church this Easter.

At Christmas we told the story of John 1, how Jesus is The Light and we focused about what happened in the spirit realm as the nativity scene played out.  The original plan, around 9 months ago when we started talking about The Light was to do part one at Christmas and part two at Easter. Light entering the world, the Light going out and then bursting forth into an uncontainable force spreading across the world…

But when we started planning Easter it just didn’t fit this year. So we prayed and I felt the sound of God laughing, a joy-rumbling laugh and the words echoed in me ‘Tell the Cross from my perspective.’

Then I started laughing. Thinking about Luke 15.20. The Father who watched the horizon day after day, waiting for his son to stumble home. And finally when he glimpsed him, he ran. He embraced him. Fell on his neck. Kissed him fervently.

When I read this I imagine that he didn’t run and give his son a stiff ‘welcome home son’ hand shake. He collided into him, crash tacked him to the ground, overcome with joy and celebration.

Since the Garden of Eden, just like the prodigal son’s father, God had been staring at the horizon waiting for us to ‘come home’…and with the cross complete, the veil torn…we were finally complete in his perfection.

Imagine it…thousands of years spanning between the Garden and the Cross. Thousands of years of humanity separated from God…and finally the time has come to activate the plan and bring us home.

God’s motive was love. His plan was redemption and his expression was pure joy. The Bible says it pleased God to crush Jesus (Isaiah 53.10) – pleased him because it gave him access to us again.

The motive was greater than the sacrifice for God. It’s not that we’re playing down the sacrifice, it’s just that we’re looking at it in a different light. Behind God’s great sacrifice is a roaring passionate desire to love and bring us closer to him. He was excited to send Jesus for us.

This is the story we will tell throughout Good Friday and this is the message we’re celebrating on Easter Sunday. The Collision between us and God at the Cross. When healing collided with pain, when light collided with darkness, when he collided with us through his unfathomable love.

God revolutionised everything. He’s grace and his nature collided with us. Changed the way we lived, changed they way we thought. Changed the law into freedom.

We’d love to invite you to join us for Easter at Lighthouse this Good Friday where we will tell The Collision story in four parts:

1.  The Aftermath (What the Cross Did)
2. The Motive (Why the Cross)
3. The Collision (The Cross)
4. The Response (Our response to the Cross)

Can’t wait to celebrate the Cross with you all this Easter. See you on Good Friday (details here.)

Love Fyona

At Colour a couple of weeks ago many of the women in our church received a ‘The 500 Project’ money tin to use change to bring change.

As Lighthouse Women we will use our tins to support our local community through our MyPlace Youth Housing.

For $500 we can give 10 new residents ‘Welcome Home Packs’ including shampoo, nail polish, deodorant, chocolate, movie ticket and  journal etc to spoil them.

As a church, we can all get behind this, in our Life Groups and families we can use our change to bring change in the MyPlace house for years to come.

If you don’t have a tin from Colour don’t worry. You can get (or make) yourself a money box and help save those coins to ‘Welcome Home’ our lovely MyPlace girls.

When you’re ready to donate your $500 contact the Church office.

Have you ever witnessed something BIG and watched other people make it small?

It’s usually because you’re IN the MOMENT, but other’s aren’t…

It happened all the time with Jesus. He heals a blind man and people squabble over the logistics of the miracle. A widow gives her all at the temple and people only see the two tiny coins. Even at the Cross – that time-splitting, magnificent, eternity-altering moment when everything shifted – the crowd looked at the dying Jewish carpenters son & whispered to one another ‘I thought he was going to change the world.’

There are countless stories of people standing in the midst of history-in-the-making and totally missing the point…I don’t think they miss the point because they don’t care, I think it’s because at the time, few moments look grand. They are there in the moment but they’re not REALLY IN THE MOMENT if you know what I mean!

So I’ve been learning.

Learning to see past the small, into the BIG.

To not just watch the moment but get IN the MOMENT.

Today the thing most in my heart/mind/soul/spirit is Colour Conference.

We can make Colour this year small. We can be there but not BE there. We can make it about who’s in our room and ‘what hotel are you staying in?’ Make it about shopping and friends, a fun few days away. We can make Colour about us and our experience and just stop there…*

Or we can make Colour BIG. Be IN every MOMENT.

Beyond the beautiful openers, look past who the guest speakers are or how fast they talk or how feminine or girly or uncomfortable you feel certain aspects are. Colour is a humanitarian conference. It’s a unique and profound gathering of women across multiple nations across the world. As Bobbie preached at Colour a few years ago the United Nations prepared a report that concluded that the solution to end poverty and activate justice across the earth was to mobilise and empower the women!! The Sisterhood isn’t a cute t-shirt – it’s a deceleration!

I’ve been to Colour 12 times. I won’t deny that I LOVE every aspect and adore every pretty detail from the invite in my letterbox to the little brunch boxes (and yes I keep them all!) I love spending time with my friends, getting lost in worship, laughing together and visiting the expo…again and again! But most of all I love Colour because I’m convinced we’re changing the world. We’re seeing women mobilised, empowered and hearing about a Sisterhood rising all around the world.

There’s a great great depth to Colour. Jesus is doing something – I see it every year – layer upon layer…and I just hope that this year while we enjoy and experience all the conference has to offer we also see the BIG plan, hear what God is saying and leave with much more than another (cute + must-have) t-shirt. I hope (and pray) this year we don’t just go to Colour but we GO to COLOUR!

I’m saying all that to say this: Don’t pack your bags and set off to Colour without first preparing your heart.

Take time to ask God to ready your heart.

Pray against the enemy and any distractions or delays because he HATES us going to Colour.

Experience Colour before you get to Colour!! In the next week stir your spirit. Listen to some Sisterhood podcasts. Worship & linger in his presence at home. Prepare your heart so on Thursday night you’re already in that Jesus-zone!!

Don’t miss the first 24 hours warming up to things – pack your bags & prepare your heart.

“We’re living in days that were hoped for by many and prophesied about…”** Let’s not make them small.

Love always.

Fyona

*P.S. I don’t mean Colour isn’t and shouldn’t be special, relaxing and a well-earned break – I hope it’s all these things (for you and for me.) May it be all that AND so much more! x

** From Bobbie’s preach For Such a Time as This available in the Sisterhood podcasts.

Hey Girls,

We are only a few weeks away from Colour and excitement is building around the offices as we put the last minute details on everything! If you haven’t yet registered you can click here. We are praying for you and your friends as you prepare to come and we know that God will show up and do what HE can only do beautifully.

 
OUR HEART FOR THE CITY
When we host any large event, we have a heart to bless the city it is being hosted in and to touch that city in a tangible way. Last year we wanted to extend a welcome to those that have arrived on our shores as refugees. Most of these courageous people have escaped war and persecution to arrive in Australia and we wanted to have a compassionate and non-political response to these beautiful families. As a Sydney conference you generously donated $40 000 of gift vouchers to this project and we packaged them into gifts of $300 to be distributed through refugee agencies working in Sydney.

We were able to attend one of the events where we were able to hand out some of these gifts to refugees on behalf of the Colour Sisterhood! We had the privilege to speak to many families including some from Palestine, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Many were families with young children and as we spoke to the mothers and fathers you could see the relief in their eyes that their children were now safe.

In 2013 we are continuing to put a focus on asylum seekers who are being placed in communities around Sydney while they wait for their applications to be processed. Many of these people have arrived on our shores with little or no emotional and financial support. As you can imagine it is an extremely difficult time for them and our heart is to help them feel welcomed into our community. We believe that as the ‘collective church’ we can have a compassionate and non-political response to this very real need at our doorsteps.

We are asking as many women as possible, who are coming to Colour this year to contribute in some way to our ‘Welcome’ packs which will again be distributed through the networks of agencies working with asylum seekers and refugees throughout Sydney.

JOIN WITH US!

If you would like to be a part of this response this year, please choose one of the items from this list and bring it with you to Colour and drop it off at the Sisterhood Stand in the Expo at Colour. There are many options which will be collected together and given as a ‘Welcome’ gift.

1. Buy a giftcard/voucher of any amount from one of the following stores. (All amounts will make a difference)

• Woolworths Wish Cards (includes Woolworths, Big W, Dick Smith) purchase here.
• Coles Myer (includes Kmart, Coles, Target, Office Works and Myer) purchase here.

OR

2. Purchase and bring one or more items of food for hampers to help stock pantries.

• Instant noodles
• Rice
• Lentils
• Can of chick peas/peas/corn/tomato
• Can of tuna
• Salt
• Cereal
• Long Life Milk
• Coffee/Tea
• Sugar
• Soap
• Tooth brush/Tooth paste
• Unisex deodorant
• Shampoo

I know that the loving TLC and prayers that will accompany these gifts will bless many and hopefully open their hearts to a good God who cares about them.

Thanks in advance for being SISTERHOOD in action!
SEE YOU SOON!!

Love,
Bobbie & your Colour friends

I had the privilege of travelling to China on a missions trip a number of years ago, in preparation for the trip our team leader explained to us that we might experience a culture shock. She explained because the culture was so different to our own it may unsettle us. I will never forget waking that first time in Southern China after sleeping on a hard floor looking out the window to a very different world. Everything was different – food, toilets, language, even the colour of the sky was unlike the clear blue sky’s of home.

Until that experience I was unaware of how immersed I was in my own culture. The way culture effected me in my everyday life was so unconscious and unexamined I truly believed how I saw the world was normal and universal!

There is a belief in the world today that we should not challenge a way of life if it is the culture of a people. However, not all aspects of a culture are beneficial to the people who are living out their lives in that culture. One of the greatest challenges in our world today is how culture determines the treatment of women, from being viewed as second rate citizens to being used as sex slaves which is prevalent across the globe.

My question is, if the culture is not beneficial for the health and well being of its community than should it go unchallenged? Jesus while on this earth spent his life and ministry challenging culture: religious culture, political culture, and even the very culture he was born into. However, the greatest culture he challenged was a world that ignored the fact that they had a creator that loved and cared for them, longing to be reconnected to them.

A culture that is unconscious, unexamined and unchallenged is a dangerous one. This year I invite you to go on a journey to explore your present culture that effects every aspect of your life and be open for God to have permission to speak into it.

Annette Bartlett

This is some words that I hope will encourage other chronic pain sufferers.

I have experienced daily chronic pain for over twenty years, during that time I have tried numerous treatments including having both my knees totally replaced and recently a foot reconstruction, with the joy of the other foot needing to be fixed too!

I would love to say that during these years my faith in Gods healing power has been consistent, sadly it has not. Although I have never doubted His love for me and His ability to heal, I have not always believed that He would do it for me.

I still have daily chronic pain in my knees that  stops me from doing a lot of things I would like to do and limits my capacity to serve in our church and community too. I feel as if my physical challenges define me, I try not to talk about it too much because it’s the thing that people remember about me, so whenever we meet, I get asked the same well meaning questions…and the answer is always the same.

The question I ask myself is this…how can I live a full meaningful life when the constant pain seems to overshadow everything else?

I have no clear answer. I have to walk the mental and emotional, as well as physical bridge of faith between what I am feeling right now and what I believe God will do. The Bible is full of healing scriptures, believe me when I say I have claimed and meditated on every one! I have had prayer over and over…
The question is…am I going to give up and accept pain or keep fighting?
The temptation to just isolate myself and “give up” is very real for me on some days, self pity enters the equation too which always makes for a great party, pity party that is!

Of course I will keep fighting, exhausting as it is, I can’t afford not to!

My revelation is to give myself some time to recover from latest surgery. I realise that it’s ok to rest for a while, I’m learning not feel guilty if I feel I’m not doing my share.
My salvation is not based on works, I know that, but out of a grateful heart I desire to reach out to others and to encourage. I want to serve God and to be full of His love and grace.

I’m learning that it’s ok to just rest for a time, I’m learning to accept not the pain, but the timing of my healing. I accept Gods perfect timing and I’m trusting him for the patience and resilience I need in order to keep going.
God is good, there is no denying that.

I’m learning to take joy in the little things, I focus on what I CAN do, not on what I can’t do. I can still be a positive influence on people that are in my life or come across my path. I can still pray for people, still encourage them, still be a voice for the disenfranchised.

I have not given up on my healing, it is a journey of healing for me I think, not an instant miracle…I appreciate the life that God has blessed me with.
Until I get my healing, I can just learn to live with the pain and take the limits off as much as possible. Joshua 1:9 is one of my ” hang on to” scriptures.

I thank God for those people that have walked some of my journey with me, I have some very beautiful friends and a great, supportive family, I think I would have given up on life were it not for them.
I know that I am a strong person and I have a good measure of courage!

I’m praying that this year will be a breakout year for me physically and for anyone reading this, I pray Gods absolute  blessing and healing over your life.
Take heart and know that despite how things might seem in the natural, your Heavenly Father is willing and able to bless you abundantly in every area of your life.

Don’t give up.

Catie

Chances are that with all the ‘organic hype’ hitting the supermarkets, you’ve probably heard about nut milks, or at least almond milk. They sell it in a carton on the shelf, but it’s expensive, full of added sugar and yucky additives, and the last one I tried was a rather confronting shade of purple. I still can’t figure out why it was purple….. All I know is that it’s much cheaper, and much healthier to make at home, and can act as a great replacement for cow’s milk in porridge, smoothies, and a range of other recipes requiring dairy.

Home made almond milk contains more nutrients than other commercial milk alternatives such as soy milk or rice milk. It’s also much creamier. Almonds are one of my favourite budget friendly ‘superfoods’. In my opinion, it isn’t necessary to pay hundreds of dollars for a berry eaten by warrior Amazonian princesses in the depths of the jungle in order to secure yourself with some solid nutrition. The humble almond boasts a range of health benefits that might actually surprise you: They’re high in protein, fibre, vitamin E, magnesium, selenium, manganese, zinc, potassium, iron, phosphorous, tryptophan and calcium. The flavanoid antioxidants in almonds have also been found to reduce levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol and protect heart health. US research has revealed the power of almonds to help inhibit the growth of free radicals which can lead to a range of chronic diseases including cancer. Furthermore, UK research has recently found that almonds can boost digestive health through potential prebiotic properties that increase the levels of good bacteria in the Gut. This is just a tiny glimpse of the amazing benefits of almonds.

Now, how to get milk out of these bad boys? I’m very excited to have found this simple, informative clip by Sarah Britton of the My New Roots food blog that’ll have you making almond milk in no time:

My New Roots – How to Make Nut Milk from My New Roots on Vimeo.

A few tips on almond milk from my own experience:

1. You can flavour almond milk! During the blending process, chuck in a vanilla bean and some honey or stevia (for a sugar free sweetener) for a delicious tasting milk. Or get creative with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves to get a nice chai flavour going. I prefer to keep mine plain, because I use it in so many different recipes.
2. If you want your almond milk creamier, use only three cups of water to one cup of soaked almonds. But this will make it more expensive.
3. You can use the almond pulp for other recipes. Keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Google search “almond pulp recipes” and you should find a range of ways to make use of it if you don’t want to throw it in the bin.
4. After a few days make sure you smell your nut milk. You’ll know when it’s not right to drink because it will smell like its fermenting.
5. If you want, you can make large batches of almond milk and keep it in the freezer, and then you can minimise how often you need to make new milk.
6. Shake it before you pour it, as the creamiest parts of the milk will settle to the bottom.
7. If you don’t have a nut milk bag (which you can purchase online or from some health food stores), you can use cheesecloth, muslin cloth, or any fine mesh material. But I wouldn’t advise using a sieve. Even the finer strainers seem to allow little grits of almond through, which makes your almond milk experience less than favourable.
8. You can make really nice, fresh coconut milk in the same way. Just replace the almond milk with shredded coconut. But don’t buy the cheap supermarket stuff. Read the ingredients and you’ll find it contains preservatives. Get the good organic, additive free stuff. All Good Things Organic Market in Wollongong, and Manic Organic in Woonoona are the cheapest places I can find it.

Now to put your almond milk to good use!  Here’s a few almond milk smoothie recipes:

Tropical berry smoothie. Recipe from Supercharged Food

Serves 2

375ml (1.5 cups) almond milk

125ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk

80g (1/2) cup frozen blueberries

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon liquid stevia, or stevia powder (amazing, plant based sugar free sweetener)

Handful of ice cubes

Coconut flakes, to serve.

Place all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into two tall glasses and serve with a sprinkling of coconut flakes.

Raw choc banana smoothie. Recipe mastered by the one and only Grant Lowe.

¼ cup cashews

2 heaped tablespoons of raw cacao powder (this stuff is amazing, and amazingly high in magnesium and antioxidants)

1 avocado

1 very large, or two small frozen bananas

2 tablespoons raw honey or agave syrup

½ a vanilla bean or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4- 1 cup of almond milk.

Handful of ice cubes.

Chuck everything in the blender and blend until smooth. This is a super filling smoothie by the way!

Beetroot & berry antioxidant smoothie (created by ME!)

Serves 2

The juice of 2 oranges

One very large handful of frozen mixed berries

1 medium, or 2 small raw beetroots washed and chopped into little pieces

½ cup almond milk

2 handfuls of ice

Place all ingredients except the ice into the blender and blend until the beetroot is broken down. Add the ice at the end and blend until crushed. Pour into two tall glasses.

Caution: this is VERY bright red and may make you look like Bella from Twilight after consumption. Perhaps brush your teeth before facing the public.

Enjoy!

Jess

It’s almost here! 21 Days of prayer and fasting will kick off this Monday the 4th of Feb, and word on the street is that many lighthousers are deciding to opt for Daniel, raw food, vegan, and even liquid fasts this year. For those of you who lack knowledge and experience in these styles of eating, you’ve probably resigned yourself to 21 days of brown rice eating, celery munching, misery. But I’ve got good news for you my fellow fasters: this needn’t be the case! If you’re aiming to be in it for the long haul, a few tips, tricks and recipes may be just the thing you need to get you over the finish line.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting recipe ideas and a bunch of information and resources that’ll equip you for the challenging journey ahead. This week, we’ll be taking a look at my all time favourite topic: raw juicing.

If you’re doing some kind of modified food fast, or liquid fast, then a juicer will be your best friend in the world. Juicing fresh, raw veg is one of the healthiest things you can do for your body; filling you up with a condensed hit of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that’ll make your insides sing.

Many people squirm at the idea of drinking veggies, and opt for a fruit packed concoction instead. However; juicing fruit alone can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels, leading to sugar highs, followed by those ‘I can’t believe I just fell asleep on my laptop’ moments. Not sustainable for 21 days, particularly if you aren’t eating solid food.

Here are a few tips on how to ease yourself into successful veggie juicing.

1. If you’re going to add fruit, be minimal. It takes many pieces of fruit to make just one juice; making fruit juices very high in sugar. If you do choose to add fruit to your veggie juices; oranges or apples are a good combo with the taste of the veg. Aim for one piece of fruit only.

2. Adding half a lemon to most veggie juices will eliminate any bitter or questionable flavours that can come from some veggie combinations.

3. Drinking your veggie juice super cold, or with heaps of ice, will improve palatability. Heat increases flavour, cold masks it.

4. Make sure to wash all your veggies prior to juicing and remove any dodgy looking/bruised bits with a knife.

5. Aim for organic wherever possible to avoid pesticide residues coming through your juice.

6. If the juice is too strong for you, dilute with water. Slowly remove water over time as you become used to the taste.

Here are a couple of my favourite combo’s:

Garden in a glass:

1 medium beetroot

2 carrots

2 celery stalks

1cm ginger

1 small cucumber

½ lemon.

Gorgeous green juice:

2 cucumbers

4 stalks celery

1 large handful parsley

1 large handful mint

1 large handful baby spinach leaves

1 apple

½ lemon (or 1 lime)

And for all of you who are still contemplating what on earth you’re going to eat if you’re doing a Daniel, vegetarian or vegan fast, here are some helpful blogs containing a load of recipe ideas.

www.greenkitchenstories.com

www.puremamas.squarespace.com

www.sproutedkitchen.com

www.loveandlemons.com

x

Jess Lowe

We’re celebrating Christmas at Lighthouse Church over three days!

Starting Sunday 23rd December – We’re gathering for morning services ONLY at both Southern (9am) and Central (10am) campuses.

Our Christmas Eve service features ‘The Light’ (hear the Christmas story like you’re never heard it before) and then it’s the CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL! Life music, great food, kids entertainment and of course CAROLS all happening straight after outside Lighthouse Central. The Christmas Eve service will be held at 6pm at our Central campus.

Finally we have two very short Christmas Day services, both at 9am, one at Southern and the other at Central campuses.

We’re so excited – can’t wait to see you there.

Oh and one more thing – If you’re a VOLUNTEER at Lighthouse Church you’re invited to our Volunteer Christmas Party on 4th December. See invite below. xx

At Lighthouse Church we have a rich history of gifting big beautiful food hampers to local families in need within our community.

In 2012 we’re focusing on our families that attend Beat the Streets each Thursday night. We want to continue to bless them above and beyond this Christmas.

It’s such a cool (and simple) way to impact our community!

Girls, get your Life Group involved – Bring in good quality, non-perishable food items and leave them under the Giving Tree in the foyer of both Central and Southern Campuses. You can also make a financial donation  via the Information Desk. Donations will be received up until Sunday the 2nd of December.

Let’s give as many families as we can a dream-come-true Christmas this year.

(Invite your Life Group + Friends to get involved via our Facebook event.)