#breathe2017

[lovelyandsaved]

"O come to the altar The Father's arms are open wide Forgiveness was bought with The precious blood of Jesus Christ"💚💙 #breathe2017 #adoration #uiw #UMM

[breatheconference]

‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ - Breathe 2017

“You’re blessed when you can show how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family’’  - Matthew 5:9

I don’t know about you but everywhere I seem to look at the moment, in magazines, on television, on social media it all seems to be about girl power and women smashing those glass ceilings. I can’t help but think that it’s become cool to be an overachiever. I wonder how many women sat over the summer and watched the Olympics and wanted to be just like Laura Trott, smashing targets, getting the gold and standing at the top of the podium. 

Throughout my life I always heard the phrase ‘‘a little competition never hurt anyone!’’ Growing up and competing was something that I enjoyed, competing and winning defined my success and defined me as a person. If I was picked for the first team in Sixth form then I felt accepted, but if I was picked for the second team or the reserve team then suddenly I told myself that I just wasn’t good enough. Forget ‘‘it’s the participating that counts’’, for me it was all about winning, doing it well, and if I didn’t win myself worth would just go down the toilet pan. Maybe a little competition doesn’t hurt but what happens when that competition becomes unhealthy, when you start to judge yourself and others by how well they are doing? Before you realise it, you’ve lost sight of the real reason why you want to do well, but more importantly you’ve lost sight of who you want to do well for.

I know that for me my competitive streak bought out a side of me that I didn’t like, before I knew it I had developed the attitude in my work life and my Church life of ‘I can do better than them & I am the best ’. I wanted to do better because I knew I could and let’s face it, all cards on the table, the main reason was because I wanted to look good. But hold the phone!! Guess what?? That’s not what it is about. What is it about you may ask? Well… it is about glorifying God in all that we do, we want to be pleasing to God, it is about serving with a humble heart. For me it was about learning that we are all part of one body, the body of Christ. It is about being united as one to grow God’s Kingdom, we are all one team, no one is better than the other despite where you might be standing on the podium i.e. what your success is. 

As I write this I am reminded of the bible verse in Peter ‘’Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:9-11). Laura Trott would not have made history by getting four gold medals if it had not been for the hard work and dedication that the whole team had put in. It isn’t always easy to avoid conflict with others, especially your brothers and sisters in Christ, but remember… everything you do, do it in love. Ladies, can you imagine what God’s Kingdom would be like if we all learnt to work as a team rather than fight and compete, that succeeding is not about us looking good or about acceptance but it is about being like Christ…Now that sounds like real girl power to me! 

- Rebekah Bennett

Book into Breathe, 17-18th March 2017:

breathe.thec3.uk

breathe2017.eventbrite.co.uk

[alyannaxxx]

alone in the yuletide season. 😑 #breathe #breathe2017 #moviemarathon #instamovies #merrychristmas #happyholidays

[wee5macs]

I absolutely adore these kids! They all make Liam feel like he's truly one of them! Thank you, one and all!! #backyardtheater #breathe2017 #springinmt #whatagang #wheresthewatermelon #supportyourlocaltheater (at Backyard Theatre)

[cambridgecommunitychurch]

breathe.thec3.uk 

#breathe2017

17-18 March | C3 Centre | Cambridge

[breatheconference]

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”- Breathe 2017

A Poem // Day 1

Oh Lord you thoroughly know me,  

my laying down and my rising up, 

my deepest desires and my most worrying fears. 

Each beat of my heart, you hear it.

Each breath I exhale, you hear it.

All that I am, 

all I do,

every thought that I think.

My dreams and desires I lay before you.

Like an open book I lay my heart open to you and ask,

breathe on me Lord.

Fill me to overflowing

with your life,

Your love,

Your Peace and 

Your truth.

                                                                                                      -Sarah Glover

Book into Breathe, 17-18th March 2017:

breathe.thec3.uk

breathe2017.eventbrite.co.uk

[breatheconference]

“Blessed are the Poor in Spirit” - Breathe 2017

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” - Matthew 5:3

When your breakdown becomes your breakthrough

Around 5 and a half years ago I had a 3-month old baby and a recently-turned-2-year-old. I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally and I have a history of anxiety and depression which crept back at this time. I came down with a flu-like illness which sent me to bed for a week and coming out of that I continued to be very tired, with achey limbs and joints, very little energy, fogginess in my head and problems with memory, concentration and sleeping. My immune system was also weakened and I developed a series of infections and sensitivities to foods. I expected to be better after a few weeks but a year and a half later the symptoms remained and after seeing various specialists I was diagnosed with an illness called ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome. It is a complicated illness that affects different people in different ways and to different degrees. There is no ‘cure’ just different treatments that help manage the symptoms in conjunction with lots of rest. 

I began to realise that one of the main reasons I had got ill in the first place was my inability to rest. I had been a Christian for many years and I loved God but my worth was connected to what I achieved, and I felt what I achieved was never good enough for myself, my family or God. I had to keep pushing myself. Driving the need to achieve was insecurity, low self-esteem, fear of failure, worry and negative thinking. I came to the realisation of my own ‘poverty of spirit’ - that my own strength and self-effort could not save me. I felt very trapped in it all and unable to free myself.

But with God my breakdown became my breakthrough, and into that dark place I felt the light of His kingdom break in. I realised that God’s saving grace was not something to be earned but a free, undeserved gift in Jesus. I was having to rest in bed for several hours each day and during this time I began to listen to worship and focus my mind on God. As I did this regularly I began to hear God speak to my heart, my hunger for His word increased and I started listening to an audio bible and bible teaching. Over time He brought fresh revelation of who He is, who I am in Him (my identity) and the incredible riches we have in Jesus (our inheritance). I let go of trying to achieve things in my own strength and started to trust Him in a deeper way and it’s out of that place that healing and restoration began to come.  

Over the last 5 years God has been healing me from the inside out, healing my heart, mind, emotions and body and teaching me how to rest in Him. It hasn’t been an easy time for us as a family but we have known the faithfulness of God, His love surrounding us, and His provision and goodness through it all.

I am much better than I was but I do still have ME. I still have chronic pain and need to rest more than most and I can’t do all the things I would like to; however, I know that my worth does not depend on what I do, that I am loved just as I am by my heavenly Father in Jesus and that I have hope, purpose and a future in Him. I now have a greater and deeper peace and joy in Him than I have ever known. I am blessed. 

- Kirsten Burrows

To book into this event, or for more info:

breathe.thec3.uk 

breathe2017.eventbrite.co.uk