It’s a standard Tuesday evening.

Nothing ever happens on a Tuesday evening.

I come home from work.

Kick my shoes off.

Grab a bite to eat.

Throw myself onto the sofa.

Turn on my laptop and start watching a sport documentary on it.

Turn on my PlayStation and try to become the Madden 12 master.

Turn my phone onto loud to make sure I can hear all the messages from friends I think I will receive.

And just sit.

Sit all night multitasking my PlayStation, laptop, phone and fridge.

Playing PlayStation.

Frequently checking my phone for text messages.

Glancing at the background noise of the sports documentary from my laptop.

Tuesday evening.

Standard.

My “After work evening routine.”

Same thing every night.

Without fail.

Sitting on my sofa.

And that is the exact same place I would be if I hadn’t taken the 20 minute challenge.

Let me explain.

It was all a bit of blur.

My phone wasn’t doing me any favours.

No messages.

No whatsapps.

No texts.

No emails.

Nothing.

So I turned to Facebook.

Without fail you can have a conversation with anyone on that.

So I logged on.

And waited for someone to want to talk to me..

And waited.

And waited.

And waited

Waiting for someone to want to have conversation with me.

To tell me the latest gossip, to ask me my opinion on the sports story’s of the day, to ask for advice or guidance on a matter on their life.

Still nothing.

Nobody wanted me.

Just when I was about to sign out and admit defeat a good friend who I had the pleasure of meeting on a summer camp in Canada called Muskoka Woods popped up and asked me “good day bro?”

This was my chance.

I quickly moved the conversation from Facebook to skype so we could have some banter actually face to face even with the ever dodgy Internet connection and began to chat.

Nothing deep.

Nothing too serious.

Just chat.

Just about each other’s day.

Just general…..’stuff.’

By this time my daily “after work routine” was starting to dawn on me that it maybe wasn’t all that productive.

So I casually dropped it into conversation with my friend and asked him to inspire me.

To inspire me to get up off my sofa, to cook a gourmet dinner, to do 1000 press ups, to wash and iron every item of clothing I have.

To do something productive.

I just laid it out there, “inspire me man.”

And these were his words.

Nothing flashy.

Nothing over the top.

Nothing grand.

One simple question.

One question that has led me to write my first blog to you in over 2 months.

“Have you read the bible today?”

Simple as that.

“Have you read the bible today?”

As I quickly tried to blame the poor Internet connection for my delay in response I began to think, “read the bible today?!?!?! I haven’t read it in months!!!”

How was I going to maintain my outward Christian persona of the ever dedicated Christian who studied his bible day and night when deep down inside……I was ashamed to admit it how little thought it had even crossed my mind to read it.

There was no point lying.

No point putting on an act.

No point trying to hide it.

So I admitted it.

Admitted that I hadn’t read my bible for months.

I was ready and waiting for A WHAT!?!?! Reaction.

For shock.

For disappointment.

For hundreds of questions along the lines of “and you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ yet you haven’t read your bible in months?!?!?”

However they didn’t come.

Not one.

However what did come was the 20minute challenge.

A challenge at first I turned my nose up at.

A challenge I brushed off.

However a challenge that has lead me to tell you all about the 20 minute challenge.

Let me tell you.

The 20 minute challenge is a simple challenge for a very simple guy, me.

My friend challenged me to spend 20minutes with God.

He told me to set my alarm on my phone for 20minutes, put it away, block out all outward distractions and spend 20 minutes of time with God.

Easy.

Simple as that.

Well.

Not so easy as it seemed.

When the Skype conversation was over I thought of every stalling technique possible to delaying the 20 minute challenge.

I turned on the TV.

Started replying to text messages on my phone.

I even started to fold clothes and make my bed.

Things were getting desperate.

I then realised how much I hate tidying and I couldn’t stall anymore and decided to step up to the challenge.

I found myself thinking “it’s only 20minutes, easy.”

I set my alarm for 20m, left it in the kitchen.

Jumped onto my bed and closed my eyes.

And began to smile.

Now if someone was to walk past me and look at me they would wonder what the heck I was smiling about but honestly, I was smiling because I knew I was in the presence of God.

After months of not even considering spending a quiet time with God he had me smiling within seconds.

I prayed a very simple prayer asking for God to just take over the next 20minutes and let happen what he wanted to happen and we would go from there and every time I pray that prayer he always responds.

You see, God has a funny way of popping up in just the right moment in my life.

So many times I can think of instances when what I have needed most, God has provided.

God has been there.

Tonight I picked up my Christmas present from my wee sister, a book called “The Air I Breathe” by Louie Giglio and started to read.

Now if any of you know me that is a rather big challenge for me because I am not much of a reader.

Give me the back pages of the news paper to read the latest sport new and I will read it within seconds.

But books.

Especially religious books.

No good.

I opened the book and read the first line.

“Don’t read The Air I Breathe unless you want to re-examine your life to see whom on what you are truly worshipping on a daily basis.”

Wow!!!

Never have I had a book ,which has told me stay away!

This was a challenge.

A challenge to me.

Was I willing to re-examine what did worship on a daily basis?

I had to step up to the mark.

As I nervously but eagerly turned the pages I was constantly challenged.

With each page a new perspective.

But with each page an underlying definition.

“Worship is our response to what we value most.”

I have now sat for 10 minutes thinking how the heck do I explain this but honestly the book does it better than I ever could so give it a read.

“that’s why worship is that thing we all do. Its what we’re all about on any given day. Because worship is about saying this person, this thing, this experience, this whatever is what matters most to me…it’s the thing I put first in my life. That thing might be relationship. A dream. Friends. Status. A name. some kind of pleasure. Whatever name you put on it, this thing or person is what you’ve concluded in your heart is worth most to you. And whatever is worth most to you is – you guessed it – what you worship.”

Big words.

I sat in silence after I read it.

I was honest with myself.

Recently I have not been worshipping God.

Because recently I have been valuing other things over him.

I have been worshipping my job, friends, status, girls, sports, computer, phone, PlayStation, food, car, social life, money, possessions, desires, dreams, wants, needs.

I have been worshipping my own desire to feel wanted or needed.

Simple was that.

To feel wanted.

But deep down I could never find it.

No matter how many hours I put in on Facebook trying to like everyone’s status or how many hours at work I put in trying to please my bosses.

I didn’t feel wanted.

I was worshipping the wrong things.

And I still am worshipping the wrong things.

Until I took the 20 minute challenge.

You see however simple and childish you may think it is, the 20 minute challenge has just gotten me to spend 1 hour with God.

1 hour more than I wouldn’t have spent if my friend didn’t challenge me to read my bible.

It challenged me to finally write a blog.

To get over my writers block of not having a ‘cool’ enough story that everyone would want to read of a funny YouTube video that everyone would comment on.

But the most important thing is the 20 minute challenge reconnected me with God.

Not any old God.

My God.

My God who showed up on a Tuesday evening.

My God who challenged me to think about my priorities in life and what time I was truly spending in worshipping him.

My God who helped me through the 20 minute challenge to realise that I need to be spending more time in God’s incredible glory to truly worship and learn about his incredible love and plan for my life.

And my God who has challenged me to share my 20 minute challenge story with you.

So the question is.

Are you ready to take on the 20 minute challenge?

Set an alarm for 20 minutes.

Get rid of all outward distractions.

And spend 20 minutes with God.

20 minutes.

For the 20 minute challenge.

Are you ready to take on the challenge?

All you have to do is mutter the immortal words, “It’s for charity.”

For 30 days men take up the challenge.

The challenge to change the world.

The challenge to stand up.

The challenge to be different.

The challenge to make a statement.

The challenge to grow a moustache!

And speaking from personal experience, for some of us, it is a bigger challenge than you might think!

November has had a face lift quite literally.

No longer do we think of autumnal picturesque scenes of golden leaves on the trees.

Now we think of the “handlebar”, the “horseshoe”, the “chevron” and the “Pancho Villa” to name just a few.

We think of Moustaches!

Let me explain where this sudden love for facial hair has come from.

In 2004 a charity called “The Movember Foundation” was set up to help raise awareness for male heath problems. It planned to do this by challenging men or “Mobros,” to grow a moustache for the duration of the month of November, which is renamed MOvember, and through doing this, raise money and awareness for male health problems such as prostate cancer and depression.

However the challenge is not for the faint hearted.

It is for real men.

The Movember website has strict rules which all Mobros must adhere to so no cheating takes place.

The rules of conduct given on the Movember site are:-

1. Once registered at movember.com each mo bro must begin the 1st of Movember with a clean shaven face.

2. For the entire month of Movember each mo bro must grow and groom a moustache.

3. There is to be no joining of the mo to your side burns. (That’s considered a beard.)

4. There is to be no joining of the handlebars to your chin. (That’s considered a goatee.)

Each mo bro must conduct himself like a true country gentleman.

Simple.

Men all over the world have accepted the challenge of becoming a MoBro and attempting to grow a moustache and I myself (Stupidly) along with my male colleagues at work have also accepted the challenge.

I will be honest with you.

You do need a magnifying glass to see my attempt at a moustache.

I look on with envy at the ‘real men’ in work who can grow handlebars, and even have to groom their moustache because it is so thick.

Real men.

Real heroes.

However our charity work was not well received at the beginning.

Walking around work we were met with many giggles, laughs, sniggers, confused faces, puzzled looks at our new chosen style.

Many all believed it was a joke.

Many believed our electric razors had broken and we looked scruffy, dirty, some even described us as looking like a homeless person.

We were misunderstood.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks after a bit of Movember publicity and we are known as the MoBro’s in the office.

One glance at our upper lip and people know we have chosen to do this for charity.

Now you may need a slightly closer look at my upper lip to see if I’m growing anything at all but once you see my pathetic attempt you realize it is all in aid of Movember.

You see, people look at us and can tell we are a part of Movember and trying to raise awareness for male health problems.

People don’t need to ask, just one look at our moustaches (all with individual varying success) and people can tell we are apart of Movember.

It got me thinking.

When people look at you, what do they see?

I’m not talking about physical appearance.

What do people really see when they see you.

The question is, do they see a follower of Christ?

From the way you carry yourself.

The way you act.

The words you speak.

Your emotions.

Your morals.

Your motives.

Your actions.

When people look at you what do they see?

Do they see Jesus?

As followers of God, we are called to be examples, to be a light, to be “Christ Like” to the world.

However is this always the case?

If this really was the case would we let insignificant things such as popularity, social status, outward appearance, relationships and what we believe to be our identity or really, what we believe our identity in the world should be, get in the way of living a life for God?

As follower of Jesus Christ we are called to be his example to non-believers of him.

This is something I struggle with hugely.

God’s Son, who came to earth from Heaven, to die for us on a cross, to save us from our sin, who lived a perfect, sinless life.

We are called to be an example of him?

How can me, an ordinary guy, who fails every single day to live up the incredible perfect standards of Jesus Christ be a worthy enough example of the incredible love and grace that Jesus Christ has poured over my life to the rest of the world?

Well I will be completely honest with you.

I made this big extravagant point and thought…I don’t have an answer.

I have no idea how I am meant to do this.

I started to panic and thought ok, blog scrapped, back to the drawing board.

But with one last shot I picked up my bible verse book titled “Promises Promises Promises,” and turned to the page titled, “Self-Image” and I was overwhelmed with answers.

You see it is not left completely up to us to be an example of Jesus.

This is were I was going wrong.

Ephesians 1.11 says, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

It is in Christ that we find who we are and what we are living for.

It is in Christ we find out how we should be living, how we should be setting an example to the world.

He is our example.

Our Standards.

Our role model.

A Christ Like attitude.

But even more so.

We aren’t striving for perfection by ourselves.

 Philippians 4.13 says “ Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the one who makes me who I am.”

You can do it.

Simple as that.

There has never been a more motivational sentence.

You can make it through ANYTHING! With Jesus Christ.

So when you feel that standing up for God, being different from the crowd, being different from the world is too much for you, remember you can make it through anything in the one who makes you who you are.

The point is best summed up by this amazing analogy I listened to in a podcast in my car driving home from work.

When you step into an expensive jewelers, the diamonds sparkle.

However on request to get a closer look at a diamond, the jeweler will take out the diamond and hold it against a black velvet backdrop to emphasis its sparkle.

It shines.

Just like the diamond, God places us in a black backdrop. A black area were there is pain, suffering, neglect, hurt, sorrow, sadness, disappointment.

The world.

Our world.

Our school, our relationships, our family, our friends.

Our life.

God has placed us in these “black backdrops” to shine just like the diamond, even brighter for him.

To be a shinning example of the incredible grace and Love of Jesus Christ.

So the question is, when people look at you, do they see someone shinning for Jesus Christ?

1 Peter 3.3-4 “What matters is not your outer appearance – the styling of your hair, jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes – but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in.”

“Pray all the time.”

http://tebowing.com/

It was the craze that swept the world!

And to be honest it was one of the most unique, strangest crazes to sweep the world of all time.

It happened in the middle of roads.

On top of cars.

On balcony edges.

In parks.

In playgrounds.

In work.

In school.

Everybody was doing it.

Everybody was planking.

You may be asking, what or who or where or why or when is planking?!?!?

Well.

Planking was the term given to the new craze of lying down face first, completely motionless, body in a straight line with arms by your side, pretty much as the name suggests, in the shape of a plank.

The aim of the game was the more outrageous a ‘plank’ the better.

Push the limits.

Go big or go home!

The challenge to get the best planking photo took off!

People planked anywhere they could.

The more dangerous and outrageous the better. People planked on police cars, on the edge of a balcony from a tall building, on boats, anywhere they could find were they could lie motionless in the shape of a plank they planked!

At the summer camp I had the pleasure of working at in Canada we even ran our very own ‘planking competition.’

Guests had to take photographs of themselves throughout the day, in a different planking pose and whoever came up with the most creative ‘plank’ would be the winner.

The guests loved it!

The effort and planking skills were legendary!

There were guests planking across canoes out on the lake, on top of cabins, between bunk beds, on top of golf karts, on top of people, even on top of the basketball net!!!

It was a hit!

For whatever reason, the action of lying motionless, face first, facing the ground was hugely popular!

It was a rather surreal sight seeing loads of guests dotted around the camp all well, ‘planking!’

However there is a new craze that is slowly building momentum very similar to planking.

Tebowing.

Let me explain.

One of the most debated and dissected American Footballers is a chap called Tim Tebow.

He was a superstar in college American football. Broke loads of records, led his team the Florida Gators to multiple championships, he was worshiped, so much so they have even built a statue of him outside the team stadium and he is only in his early 20’s.

The fans love him.

He created ‘Tebowmania!”

However.

When it came for the time when Tebow would enter himself into the NFL draft to be selected by a pro team everything changed.

Tebow just didn’t fit in.

Analysts and pundits all admitted their love for Tebow the man, but not Tebow the American football player.

He was unorthodox.

He didn’t do it the way NFL quarterbacks are meant to.

He preferred to move out of the pocket and try and make the big plays with his feet and did not have the preferred talent to stand in the pocket and make all the required throws to his receivers down the field.

He was different.

To bring you up to today, Tebow was drafted in the first round (big shock for a lot of people) to the Denver Broncos.

However he has been seen as a project.

Something to work on.

However due to the Bronco’s struggles in recent times they have been forced to throw Tebow into the deep end a lot sooner than expected.

The fans have been calling for him for ages.

His jersey has consistently been one of the biggest sellers in the whole of the NFL.

Fan groups even bought billboards in Denver and covered them with Tebow to try and get the Broncos coaches attention sooner!

They guy is in a whirlwind.

There is huge pressure on him from his coaches, his teammates and the fans to succeed.

Everyone is looking to him to reproduce his college success on the pitch immediately for the Broncos.

And they don’t want to wait.

They want success now.

They guy is under pressure.

Recently Tebow started his first game for the Broncos against the Miami Dolphins and led them to a comeback victory in overtime to register his first win as a starter for the Broncos.

It wasn’t pretty and he didn’t do it the way most NFL quarterbacks are expected to play but he got the job done.

After the game in the middle of the celebrations, the hype, the media scramble to all get a piece of the much-debated star Tebow had something different in mind.

This is when Tebowing was invented.

Tebow did not jump around celebrating, flaunting his first victory in front of the opposition or soaking up the praise from his adoring fans or chest pumping with his teammates or hugging his coaches.

Instead Tebow, knelt down on one knee, bowed his head, and prayed.

In the middle of all the busy surroundings he chose to pray.

To talk to God.

No one knows what he said or what he prayed about.

But he chose in that very moment to pray.

You see what I had failed to mention is what has made Tebow from an ordinary NFL player to a superstar.

Tebow is a Christian.

He has openly talked about his love for the Lord Jesus Christ, his good morals and constant drive to do everything he can to be an example for everyone of the incredible love shown by Jesus Christ in his life.

Tim Tebow is a Christian celebrity.

He has inspired many through his actions, through his words and through his success.

Everyone wants a piece of Tim Tebow.

However in probably the biggest moment of his NFL career to date, his first victory as a starter, leading his team to an unlikely comeback victory, he chose to kneel, bow his head and pray.

It got me thinking.

How do I pray?

How do you pray?

Do you save up all your chat for God at night so when you are bed, when you already have to close your eyes because you are trying to go to sleep, do you try and put together some sort of prayer to God while you are slowly falling asleep?

I do all the time.

Or do you pray at meal times, saying the fastest prayer of all time so you can quickly munch your food before it gets cold?

I do all time too.

Or do you Tebow.

You know.

Drop a knee, bow your head, no matter what is going on around you and pray?

This is something I don’t do.

And I am not talking about the physical actions of literally dropping a knee however I must admit I love the significance of it.

Bowing.

Submitting.

Surrendering.

Giving yourself.

Realising there is something bigger.

A higher power.

An awe inspiring God who you have the chance to come before.

I am talking about the ability, the choice, to pray to God in whatever surroundings, whatever circumstances, whatever moment you find yourself in during the day.

Tebow, took the time in the middle of the celebrations to pray to God. He didn’t wait till he got home and into bed, he didn’t wait to attend a local prayer meeting so he could pray with others who had chosen to pray too.

He prayed right there and then.

He chose to glorify God in front of millions of people watching and make a statement that glorifying God was more important to him than the victory.

You see prayer shouldn’t be a chore.

It shouldn’t be seen as a routine.

It was once described to me as a “mobile phone with unlimited credit.”

A chance to talk to God.

Anytime.

Anywhere.

Anyhow.

No matter what the circumstances.

No matter what the surroundings.

No matter the people.

Prayer is the opportunity to talk to God.

To be honest this is something, which I do struggle with. I struggle to comprehend that the creator of the universe, the God that created you and me and the other 7 billion people on this planet, wants to listen to me.

He wants to hear my prayers.

He actually listens to me.

He listens to me moan, grumble whine, whinge, complain, question, rant.

He wants to hear about my day, about work, about my relationships, my family, choices, my decisions, what’s on my mind.

He wants to hear it all.

And not just me.

He wants to hear your prayers.

Everybody’s prayers!

So let me ask you.

Will you choose, no matter the situation, no matter the people, the surroundings, the circumstances, to pray?

Will you realise that you can’t do it all by yourself?

As the famous U2 song is titled “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own.”

Will you submit to God through prayer in the middle of your busy day and packed schedule your thoughts, feelings, concerns, praises and questions?

Will you make a statement of your faith through prayer?

Will you pray when everyone else around you isn’t?

Are you willing to Tebow for God?

Phillipans 4.6

“Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

Let me set the scene.

It is a typical farming afternoon.

A farmer from Bangor, Northern Ireland, decides to head out on his routine check of his livestock around his farm.

He sets of in his trusty tractor driving across the fields.

However.

As he approaches one of the fields, instead of seeing his usual cows happily munching away on the green green grass of Northern Ireland he is met with a rather different scenario.

There.

In his field.

Is one of the most beautiful, sought after, high profile, celebrities in the world today.

Not only that.

There was a camera crew, make up team, management team, production team, director and security all in his field too.

This farmer had stepped onto the set of the most recent music video starring the world pop sensation, Rihanna.

Rihanna was in his field!!!

And not only that.

The appropriately nicknamed ‘Barbadian Beauty’ was frolicking around his field wearing little clothing which to be honest, for the month of October in Northern Ireland, is a brave feat for anyone.

What a scene to approach.

Every time I have accompanied my Dad to check the livestock on my farm not once have I bumped into Rihanna!

Not once!

However the farmers reaction was not to get his pen and paper ready and to ask for an autograph, nor was it to get his camera charged so he could get his photo taken with the star so he could show all his friends, nor was it to spray on his finest aftershave and to buck up the courage to take the star out on a hot date to see the sights and sounds of Bangor, Northern Ireland.

The complete opposite really.

The farmer did not approve the activities taking place on his farm and ordered Rihanna and her entourage to remove themselves immediately from his farm at once.

He was having none of it.

The story went worldwide.

It was even claimed that the farmer had no idea who Rihanna even was and many critics believed the simple country of Northern Ireland was a laughing stock over the whole fiasco.

To be honest at first I thought it was amazing that such a world superstar had chosen to film her new music video in my home country.

Felt honoured.

Proud.

However it slowly dawned on me.

Rihanna’s new song, video set in Northern Ireland, filmed in Belfast, was called “Found love in a hopeless place….”

Was she referring to Belfast as a hopeless place?

Surely not!

Had she chosen to shoot her new music video here because well….it fitted the song and the title “hopeless place?”

The song got me thinking.

Hopeless place.

What is a hopeless place?

A place where there is no reason to believe, to dream, to hope something might come true.

Like in the middle of a rain stricken desert, completely barren of water, with no hope of any plant to grow.

Or take the middle of a natural disaster such as a tsunami, or an earthquake, were there is no hope for survival.

Or take the world.

The very world you and I live in.

A world that is filled with heartbreak, war, terrorism, pain, suffering, death, bullying, racism, sectarianism, fighting, evil thoughts, pornography, murder, stealing, adultery, eating disorders, starvation, worries, fears, doubts.

Hopeless.

Or take your life.

School, university, work, church, family, friends, relationships.

For a lot of people, one of the above, is a hopeless place.

A place were they experience pain.

Sorrow.

Sadness.

Hurt.

Hopelessness.

It was straight after a routine morning J2 meeting at Muskoka Woods when I learnt one of my biggest lessons in life.

I laid in bed with 3 of my best mates from camp and heard the most simple, yet most mind-blowing words spoken of all time.

We were watching a podcast from the well-known preacher Francis Chan about Love.

Chan challenged us first with the question, do you really believe that God loves you?

Do you?

Do you really believe that God loves you?

Chan went on to say that if we truly believed that God loved us we wouldn’t worry about all the ‘external stuff.’

All the worries that the world throws at us like having to fit, financial security, our health, friendships, relationships, family, appearance, acceptance.

If we truly believed that God loved us we would then understand his incredible love for and we would realise that we do not need anything else to live but the Grace and Love of God.

Chan then went on to ask “what is God’s love for Jesus, his own son like?”

Think about it.

The creator who created love.

His love, for his own son.

Chan described it as a perfect love.

Perfect.

No flaws, no doubts, no trust issues, no insecurities.

Perfect.

And then it hit us.

Chan read this verse about Jesus teaching about God’s love for us all, which I will never forget.

John 15.9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

Just like God’s perfect love for his son Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ has that perfect love for you and me.

Let me read you the verse again, John 15.9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

In this world, in my life, in your life, a hopeless place, Jesus Christ has a perfect love for you and me.

Love, which has no boundaries, which has no limits, which has no end.

A perfect love.

A love which is best described by the song I sang at church tonight, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

In the worst situation.

When you are most alone.

At the darkest depths.

And the end.

In a hopeless place.

Jesus loves you.

Not just any old love, he loves you just as the father loves him, perfect love.

Throughout the bible there are endless examples of love in a hopeless place, take Jesus showing compassion and forgiveness to the adulterous women, take Jesus healing the blind man, healing the ten lepers, healing the paralysed man, but most of all take the cross.

The most wicked, painful, destructive death for any human being to suffer.

A punishment deemed only fit for criminals.

A death with the sole aim of pain.

Jesus hanging on that cross could easily be viewed as a place of pain, suffering, sorrow.

A hopeless place.

However the crucifixion is the most stand out example of love in a hopeless place of all time.

Jesus Christ died on that cross for you and me.

He took all the sin of you, of me, of the whole world onto his shoulders and died a painful worldly death to take that pain away from you and me so that we may be free from the clutches of sin and that we may have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ to spend eternity with him Heaven.

Jesus Christ took the most hopeless place, and showed the most incredible, incomparable, inconceivable love.

Through his actions he declares that he wants a personal relationship with you and me and through this incredible love he deserves our lives to be laid down for him to be used to show and witness his incredible love for the rest of the hopeless place that we call the world to see.

Jesus Christ doesn’t just find love in a hopeless place.

Jesus Christ is love in a hopeless place.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
Just like the plan many people had mapped out for Dan Carter’s life, Tony Dungy’s plan did not turn out the way he thought it would and should either.

Personally I am a huge fan of the ‘I am second’ movement and this is my favourite video for many different reasons.

I have learnt countless lessons from it and think his story of confusion and disappointment about his NFL coaching career is a valuable lesson for when our plans for our lives don’t turn out just how we think they should.

Great is a word often over used when it comes to describing sport stars, however in this case, it couldn’t be more applicable.

The man is incredible.

I myself am a huge fan.

He is without question the greatest player playing the game today and arguably one of, if not the best, player of all time.

Let me give you a few clues as to who this superstar is.

This man makes kicking conversions, penalties and drop goals look easy as his record of over 1,000 test match points is the second highest of all time and is a total which is continuing to rise fast!

To add to his kicking talents this man has crossed the try line no fewer than 29 times for his country.

O yea.

Hadn’t mentioned that yet.

He plays for the most famous team in world rugby and one of the most famous brands in sport, The New Zealand All Blacks.

Not only that. He plays number 10, fly half (or as the Kiwi’s like to call it, first-five eighths).

He is the most important player for the most talented and famous team in the world.

He is the playmaker.

The general.

He creates the tries.

He navigates his team.

He is a national hero.

He is a All Blacks legend.

He is a model.

The poster boy.

He is Dan Carter.

Dan Carter is the man!

There are honestly too many words to describe him.

He is today’s rugby superstar.

And I myself, have had the huge honour of meeting the man in real life.

Yes, I hear you all gasp with amazement, but I have shaken Dan Carter’s hand.

Let me set the scene.

2 days earlier, in Auckland, NZ, I dragged my family to an Adidas sport shop. As we approached I noticed a massive advertising billboard in the shop window which read “All Blacks signing, Friday!”

I couldn’t believe it. I had the chance to possibily meet some of the most talented rugby players in the world. I had to find out who it could be.

I quickly rushed into the shop and harassed the shop assistant to tell me who could possibly be attending the signing. After all my nagging and begging she finally gave in a told me Dan Carter would be there.

Dan Carter.

The most talented rugby player in the world.

And my favourite player.

O yea!

So.

Fast-forward a couple of days till the signing. I am sitting outside a coffee shop with my mum in Auckland waiting for the signing to begin when all of a sudden I notice him.

Could it really be?

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed two well-built men, having coffee with him.

It was Carter.

He was at the same coffee shop as me!!!

I still remember today what he was wearing, a blue-chequered shirt, jeans and well he looked, well, normal. Just a normal guy having coffee with a few friends out on the street.

Ok maybe he didn’t look completely normal. I quickly instructed my Mum to casually walk past his table to get a closer glimpse of the man himself to see if it was really him and on her return she could not contain herself to tell me what a handsome young man he was. The Dan Carter compliments continued on while we finished our drinks, for the rest of the day, and for the rest of the holiday!

So, we queued up with hundred of excited fans to see the players. Carter accompanied by 3 other All Blacks were ushered out onto a stage to a scene of screaming girls, jaw dropped fans and men who immediately felt quite insignificant standing so close to such man mountains!

I waited in line till it was my turn and slowly stepped forward to meet my hero. He asked me my name and honestly, I was completely starstruck, took me like 3 minutes to answer the guy, but when I quickly remembered it, I blurted it out, collected my signed jersey and wished him all the best for the up coming match.

Unreal.

Will never forget my brief 3 minutes (even though I couldn’t remember my name) with Dan Carter.

If you haven’t heard, the biggest rugby tournament in the world is taking place currently in New Zealand, The Rugby World Cup.

The top teams from around the world compete in a fiercely competitive knock out competition to see really who is the best team in the world.

All the best teams and all the best players are on show, to find out who really is the best.

This is Carter’s time to shine.

The competition is being played in his home country.

The All Blacks are the favourites for the competition.

The whole country is willing the team on to victory.

There is the added pressure of history as the All Blacks have not won the World Cup since 1987.

And there is also the added pressure of trying to boost national morale after the devastating earthquake that hit Christchurch recently.

It is lucky that Dan Carter has big shoulders because he is carrying the pressure of a nation on them.

He is the man to lead to them victory.

And the thing is, he has the talent to do it.

On Saturday night Carter was lining up a routine kick in training.

Place the ball first. Four steps back, three to the left, then run up and slot it through the post.

A motion he has done thousands of times. Hours of practise over and over, the same routine. No problem.

Not this time.

On Carter’s final kick of practise while completing his run up Carter felt a searing pain in his groin and hit the ground in agony.

His World Cup was over.

In an instant it was done.

He was assessed by the top medical doctors to see if there was any possibility he could make a return before the tournament but there was no chance.

The golden boy was out.

New Zealands best player, leader and playmaker was injured and out for the rest of the tournament. They would now have to try and win the tournament without him which many believe will be a far greater task.

The world is denied watching the best player in the world try and win the world cup for his country.

And Carter was denied his moment.

His time.

His name in lights.

His tournament.

His plan, did not go to plan.

It wasn’t meant to happen like this.

The plan was Carter would play a staring role in leading his country to victory in the World Cup. Bringing the prestigious trophy back to a country still recovering from tradgey and to a country desperate for some national pride.

Carter would be the star of the show.

That was the plan.

It wasn’t meant to be like this.

You see, one of the hardest things in life, is when your plan doesn’t match God’s plan.

You have a plan for your life, a direction you think you should be going, goals you should be achieving.

And when you don’t achieve this, it’s hard to understand. To grasp. To get.

Many times I have struggled with this. Many times I find myself asking God “why?”

Because most of the time, my plan, is not God’s plan, and most of the time I am fighting God by trying to follow my plan, instead of his.

One thing I have learnt recently and am trying to put into action is God has a plan for our lives.

It is incredible.

God knows everything you have done, everything you do, and everything you are going to do.

He has it all mapped out.

Story written from beginning to end.

He has a plan for my life.

He has a plan for your life.

And the thing is, his plan is perfect.

God demonstrates it in the Bible.

The whole way through the Bible people have tried to follow their own plan instead of following God’s plan with the ending always being the same, God’s plan was perfect.

Moses didn’t want to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he ran away, he hid from God’s plan.

But God showed him his plan for Moses life and Moses put it into action and successfully lead the Israelites to freedom.

However God’s most incredible plan was the sending of his son Jesus Christ.

God planned to send us a saviour.

A friend.

The Messiah.

He planned that Jesus would die on cross so that you and I would be free from sin.

He planned that Jesus would come to save us and lead us to a personal relationship with God.

He planned that Jesus would be the only way for us to attain eternal life through him, by him, with him, forever.

You see guys. God’s plan is awesome.

No matter how much you think your plan is perfect, your plan is flawless.

If it isn’t God’s plan, then it is nothing.

Because God’s plan is perfect.

God’s plan is flawless.

And God has a plan for you.

Galatians 1:1 

So I greet you with the great words, grace and peace! We know the meaning of those words because Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we’re in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins. God’splan is that we all experience that rescue. Glory to God forever! Oh, yes!

Ok this is ridiculous.

I can’t do it.

I am trying to write a blog about striving for perfection, about having the highest standards, about always having to be perfect and you know what?

I can’t do it.

I am sitting here trying to write the most fabulous, witty, insightful, deep, thought provoking…………perfect blog.

What I am trying to talk about, I am a victim my very self.

Perfection is everywhere.

Walk into the supermarket and look a the magazine isle and you will see hundreds of pictures of how ‘perfect’ people look.

Go to a fancy restaurant and eat a dish prepared by a chef who thinks it is the perfect combination of ingredients and flavours. Can’t be any better.

What an athlete perform his or her skill because one inch to slow, one inch to far, it’s not perfect.

Watch an artist create a masterpiece. A beautiful blend of strokes and colours to what? Make perfection.

And then watch a student. Watch a student in primary school, high school or university, strive to revise, revise revise, and revise!!! To be perfect on the class test. 99% is good. 100% is perfect.

Go shopping at all the write stores to wear the perfect outfit.

Hang out with all the right people to have the perfect social life.

Go to the cool happening church to have a perfect relationship with God.

Be perfect.

Be perfect.

Be perfect.

Ever tried to be perfect?

I try to do it with every single act I do in my daily routine.

I have to wake up at the perfect time so as to give myself enough time to wear the perfect outfit to work, eat the perfect healthy breakfast to sustain me through the day and not put on weight so I can have the perfect body, brush my teeth so I can have the perfect smile, put gel in my hair so I have the perfect hairstyle and leave the apartment at the perfect time so I reach work at the perfect starting time.

All this before 8.45am.

Am I striving to hard for perfection?

All day through work I strive to complete tasks to perfection, not finishing them until I have completed them perfectly but even sometimes I am afraid to take tasks on in case I can achieve perfection in them.

After work I arrive home to try and cook the perfect dinner (to my very mediocre cooking standards), go to the gym to get the perfect body so I can look like the guy off the front of the Men’s Health magazine cover, come home and read my bible and pray so I can be the perfect Christian, talk to my friends and family so as to be the perfect friend and son and then finally sleep having set my alarm clock at the perfect time to wake up and start this perfect routine all over again.

Perfect.

Everyone is striving for perfection.

By trying to deny this statement you are saying that “no I am perfect, because I would never try and strive for perfection.”

Everybody does it.

Whether in school, at home, in church, with your friends or family, everyone is seeking perfection one way or another.

However what really is perfection?

If you look at the front cover of the magazines in the supermarket is that the perfect way to look?

Not a hair out of place, perfectly straight teeth, no spots, no blemishes, skinny body, ripped six pack.

They look perfect.

Or what about watching tv? You watch the latest talent show which only selects one winner who compared to the rest of the competitors is adjudged by the so called music experts to be….perfect.

What about exam time in school. You have to revise so hard to attain the perfect grades on your latest test so as to give yourself the best opportunity to go to the perfect university to study the perfect course for you so you can get the dream job when you qualify so you can live the perfect lifestyle the rest of your life.

You look at the celebrities chilling in Hollywood, fresh from shooting a multi million dollar movie while relaxing in the sunshine, pockets full of cash, a beautiful partner on their arm, living everyone’s dream lifestyle.

The dream life.

So whose measure of perfection really is this?

Is it yours?

Is it mine?

Is it the medias?

Is it your parents?

Is it Gods?

You see something I struggle to understand and put into practise is my daily routine…..isn’t perfect. No matter how hard I plan, manage my time, it just never is perfect.

Take tonight, I didn’t get to the gym because I had a meeting after work, not a perfect evening.

And what I am striving perfection in, really is my own perception of what perfect is. Maybe I believe that having a ripped six pack, massive biceps and a perfectly white shinny hair is perfection. Or that I can only write or publish a blog for the world to see and scrutinise if it is completely perfect, to my own standards.

But you see. My standards are not perfect.

Far from it.

And neither are yours.

Yes I know it is hard hearing it.

I don’t get it and battle with it everyday.

But really the only perfect standards in this world are the standards of Jesus Christ.

No individual who has walked this earth is perfect…..except from God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.

You see, the whole time I strive for perfection in my own high standards, when really I should be striving for perfection in God’s high standards.

So maybe instead of me trying to always control every little situation, wanting it to turn out perfectly how I think it should, is not aiming for perfection at all.

What I really should be doing is trusting in God to be in control of every little situation believing that whatever the outcome, it is perfect, because it is God’s very own individually tailored full of love plan for my life and how it should pan out.

OK.

You thought that was hard to hear.

Hard to grasp.

Listen to this.

God’s power is perfect.

There is nothing like it.

It is flawless.

Perfection.

And when we are at our weakest.

The lowest.

Even lower again.

The lowest of the lows.

Rock bottom.

That is when God’s power is perfection.

Because guys we do not need anything else.

God’s love, God’s grace for our lives is so perfect, we don’t need anything. We don’t need to aim for what we believe is perfection but what God believes is perfection and what he truly believes is perfection is loving him whole heartedly.

God is perfection.

God’s love is perfection.

And knowing this, understanding this, and acting on this, is perfection for God.

Because when we may not see it.

When we feel at our lowest.

Our most insignificant.

Our most imperfect.

In God’s eyes, we are perfection.

Because we are his.

And he is ours.

And together it is perfection.

As the famous sporting cliché goes, “it was a game of two halves.”

This was truly a, “meal of two halves.”

Dinner last night.

It was the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde dinner.

Let me explain.

Last night, attempted a bit of cooking. Was starving and decided I would try and be creative and put together a gourmet meal.

I scrawled through my Jamie Oliver recipe book and came across Linguini pasta with cherry tomatoes and chilli prawns!

Sounded delicious!

This was the one for me.

So I copied down the ingredients I needed and headed off to the supermarket. I walked up and down the isle picking up my basil, garlic, prawns, grabbing everything I needed for the recipe and was feeling quite the chef!

With my new added cooking confidence I decided that a spot of garlic bread would just complete the meal and make it perfect.

Only problem was I had no idea how to put together a bit of garlic bread. No recipe. Now you may read this and shake your head at my lack of cooking ability but I decided to just ‘wing it’ with the garlic bread, no recipe, no talent, no clue and just hope for the best.

So back at home I set off making my pasta, followed the recipe strictly adding the chopped ingredients at the correct time, cooking the pasta correctly and then bringing the whole dish together to produce, if I don’t say so myself, a pretty delicious tea. The recipe was so simple and set everything out step by step for me to follow with the end result proving to be deliciously successful.

This is in stark contrast to the garlic bread. Now you may ask, Paddy, how can you get a piece of garlic bread so wrong? Well first big mistake was I used English Cheddar cheese to sprinkle over the top instead of the usual traditional mozzarella cheese and to be honest it just didn’t have that authentic taste. However even worse, I burnt the bread. I bunged the bread into the oven, completely forgot about it, and pulled it out to of the oven to find my bread looking like two pieces of charcoal and to make matters worse the smoke and heat from the oven set my smoke alarm off in the kitchen ringing around the apartment block.

My garlic bread = massive fail.

As I sat eating my dinner it dawned on me that being a Christian is very similar to cooking a bit of dinner. With my pasta meal I followed the recipe very strictly, had all the correct ingredients, followed how to correctly prepare my ingredients and followed the correct cooking times for the food so as to cook each individual element correctly and produce a tasty meal.

This is the same as living a life for God. When we follow God’s plan for us and strive to learn more about God’s plan for us through reading the bible and praying to God we end up living a life that has planned for us and is delighted for us.

This is in stark contrast to the burnt garlic bread. No recipe, no ingredients, no thought, no hope. This is exactly the same as life. When you stray away from God’s recipe for your life you may often find you struggle to follow God’s plan for you because you are not following his recipe for your life.

So the question is would you rather follow God’s recipe for your life or try and go it alone?

All I can say is look how my garlic bread turned out with no recipe!!!