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Welcome to the second edition of "letsconnect", which is a monthly magazine style website, where women connect together by sharing what is happening in their lives. You can browse the pages and spend some quiet, and even in depth time, reading others thoughts. Take the time to share with others your thoughts too. www.letsconnect.org.uk is birthed by a group of women who have previously published "Adventist Women", a magazine sponsored by the Women's' Ministries Department of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in the UK and Eire. We know you will enjoy reading about everyday events as well as thought provoking articles that look at ways we are moulded and created to become who we are - a unique woman.
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SCARS OF LOVE. Some years ago, on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole that was behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. In the house, his mother was looking out the window. She saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed, and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms, just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began a very incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim, and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy Survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. On his arms, there were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh; in her effort to hang on to the son she loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked the boy if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. Then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn't let go." You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly, and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been right there, holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you, and provide for you in every way. But, sometimes, we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That is when the tug-of-war begins. If you have the scars of His love on your arms, be very, very grateful. He will not ever let you go.
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Reprinted from the ‘Messenger’ (With Permission) Union opposes Sexual Orientation Regulations In the days preceding the debate on the Sexual Orientation Bill many Seventh-day Adventists in the UK wrote either to their local Member of Parliament or to the Prime Minister expressing their opposition from a Christian perspective to the new Sexual Orientation Regulations. On behalf of the Church’s 26,500 members in the British Isles, Union president Pastor D. W. McFarlane wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, the full text of which appears below: The Rt. Honourable Tony Blair Prime Minister 10 Downing Street London SW1A 2AA. Dear Prime Minister RE: SEXUAL ORIENTATION BILL I write on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist church in the British Isles to express concern regarding the proposed Sexual Orientation Bill. As a church we fully support the principles of equality and justice for all in society and can understand that the Government wish to be seen as being even-handed in the treatment of all citizens. However, equality and justice also mean that all citizens should be afforded the right to express their views and act in harmony with the dictates of conscience where such views and practice are within the bounds of decency. We feel that the very principle that has driven the Government to formulate the Sexual Orientation Bill is being violated with respect to the overwhelming majority of Christians. Certain aspects of the Bill will essentially discriminate against Christian beliefs and practice. After careful consideration of the document we have highlighted the following key elements which will negatively impact the Seventh-day Adventist Church and numerous other Christian denominations in the British Isles: 1. Churches currently meeting in public buildings or those receiving public funding could be open to litigation if they hold to the Bible’s teaching on moral beliefs and sexual ethics. The Bill overrides freedom of religious expression on fundamental core beliefs. 2. Without proper protections the new laws will lead to courts adjudicating on what is and what is not authentic Christian teaching and practice. This would be in breach of religious liberty. 3. At present it is lawful for a Christian B&B to refuse a double room to unmarried heterosexuals. Under the proposed legislation Christian B&Bs which refuse to give double beds to homosexuals or Christian old people’s homes that only allow double rooms for married couples could be closed down or fined. Most Christians will continue to hold to the view that sex is to take place between a man and a woman within marriage. 4. The new regulations threaten to promote homosexuality in all schools and in various subjects. They also will frustrate the parental right of withdrawal from sex education. This will be in conflict with deep religious beliefs of many parents. The new gay rights laws should not override the national curriculum and remove existing safeguards for parents. The majority of Christian parents will not want homosexuality promoted to their children. 5. The gay rights activists have sought to ban Christian Unions from university campuses. It appears that under the new regulations this could easily become a reality. 6. Churches who refuse membership or baptism to practising homosexuals could be fined for so doing or for the way in which their decision is explained. 7. Many good law-abiding Christians could be made to break the law as a result of the new legislation, in that they will feel obliged to live in harmony with deeply-held beliefs that are based upon the Bible and in so doing break the laws of the country. There is a vital need for exemptions in the proposed regulations to protect religious liberty and schools. The Equality Act 2006 provides reasonable exemptions to protect most of the major activities of religious groups. Unless parallel exemptions are included in the Sexual Orientation Regulations, the Government would be indirectly discriminating against religious believers as they are proportionately more likely to believe that homosexual practice is wrong. It is clear that the new laws will benefit only a few people. The 2001 Census revealed that less than 0.2% of all households in England and Wales are headed by a same-sex couple (Census 2001). It seems unfair then that such sweeping new laws are being created for such a small number of people, while ignoring the views of the majority. The new proposed sexual orientation regulations come under the category of civil, not criminal laws. As such they are relatively easy to use and activists could launch legal actions against their opponents with little difficulty. We would not want our Church or any Christian organisation to be sued for upholding basic Christian teaching on sexual morality. We therefore urge you, Prime Minister, to reconsider the implications of this Bill to the religious liberty of the many sincere Christians in the UK who want to exercise their right to religious freedom and expression of beliefs and practice. Yours respectfully Don W McFarlane
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Enhancing Health Reprinted with permission from the “Messenger”. Health Evangelism If the health message is the ‘right arm’ of the Gospel, then we should be practising health evangelism on a major scale. This describes health ministry which positively impacts lifestyles, enabling individuals to make choices which enhance their health. In the USA, I recently witnessed a number of excellent health programmes that have been used successfully as evangelistic tools with good community uptake. These programmes include following the research-based NEWSTART principles, which focus on the prevention and reversal of lifestyle-related diseases. This incorporates Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air, Rest and Trust in divine power as fundamental natural remedies to optimise health. The Adventist-run Lifestyle Centre of America in Oklahoma is an excellent example of effective health ministry. It provides physician-supervised residential programmes focused on prevention and reversal of diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stress-related illness and smoking cessation. This is undertaken using a plant-based diet, cooking classes, personalised exercise, counselling and spiritual devotionals. Another successful programme has been the Coronary Heart Improvement Project (CHIP) run by the Adventist CHIP Association. This world-class programme is conducted in schools, hospitals, corporations and churches internationally, with excellent reviews in numerous journals. Dr Hans Diehl from Loma Linda California, and founder of CHIP, reported that a number of individuals who had undertaken the programme had become Adventists. (Additional info www.CHIPhealth.com.) Having observed the success of these programmes, a team is currently looking at the possibility of implementing them in the British Isles. The BUC Health Ministries 5-year Strategy hopes to make health evangelism a major focus. This will entail revisiting the message of health reform through the promotion of biblical and inspired teachings on health principles and the promotion of the NEWSTART programme. Additionally, support is being planned for local and community outreach health evangelistic programmes which seek to impact the lifestyles of members and the community.
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Several years ago a Christian moved to York, England. They did not have far to go as the church was on their street. Some weeks after they arrived they went into town on the bus. The bus driver lived on their road but being newly moved they did not know all their neighbours. After paying for the bus ride they sat down and noticed they had received too much change by only one penny. Considering what to do a number of thoughts went through their mind. " Look on it as a small gift from the Lord so keep it and put it in the church collection". "It is not worth bothering the driver over such a small amount". When the bus stop came for the Christian to leave they handed the penny back to the driver. The driver with a smile said " you are living on my street and I notice you go to church. I have been thinking about attending church again so I wanted to see what you would do if I gave you extra change. You will see me going to your church this week. Thank you for being an honest Christian as you have helped me to decide to worship God again." A bit taken aback the Christian said to themselves as they stepped down from the bus," I nearly sold Jesus for a penny".
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