YESTERDAY
We took care of the land, and made things by hand.
We also prayed, worked, poached eggs for lunch, and washed our socks. #béthanie
LIVE FOR OTHERS
Bless' adventures in Europe
LIVE FOR OTHERS
SCRATCH LITURGY around the fire at Beta Church on Sunday:
When I’m too busy, He disrupts me
When I walk away, He walks with me
When I say ‘what if’, He says ‘I am there’
When I feel under pressure, He lifts the lid
When I have questions. He answers with His beautful creation
We break bread & share the cup in remembrance of what God has done and is doing for us
When I say ‘I can’t’, He says ‘you can!’
When I forget, He remembers
When I look down, He helps me look up
When I can’t, He can
When I’m selfish, He makes me aware of others
We break bread & share the cup in remembrance of what God has done and is doing for us
Amen
‘O Lord you have searched me and you know me…you hem me in - behind and before…Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence…even the darkness will not be dark to you.’ Psalm 139
On seeing THIS image I was struck by the size of the net and how when cast into the water, the net covered so much more than one man ever could by just using his bare hands. I remembered Psalm 139. David spends a lot of time describing how there is no escaping the Lord. Everything is within his grasp. He covers every inch of the earth and he know our hearts better than we do.
I suspended some netting in the prayer room and provided some paper and pens. We spent some time writing down everything that was pressing on our hearts, big or small, personal, local, national, global, political, medical, religious, past, present future. All of it.
With the image of the net suspended above our heads we placed all these things into the net. Instead of praying over it, we prayed under it. Knowing that it is God that holds the weight of everything in the earth, not us. There is nothing that he has not seen, nothing he doesn’t understand completely.
- Lou Van Der Linden
Stay at the beautiful farmhouse at Bethanie in the Normandy countryside for 5 nights with 5 of your friends (6 in total). August availability.
AVAILABLE IN THE BEND IT LIKE BLESS auction.
Rainbow rice packs for children, handmade by The Lovells for the Bend It Like Bless live auctions. #BILB
An Opinel no.8 and wooden spoons for the Bend It Like Bless auctions, handpainted by Ben Tanton in Bless Cranberry Red. #BILB
Chalkboards for the Bend It Like Bless auctions, upcycled by Laura Bradford from old frames and painted in Bethanie Slate Grey. #BILB
Maintenance Tim oversees another successful morning of..
Scrubbing shutters. Painting frames. Drinking tea. And Fixing drains.
Ben Tanton is now living at Bethanie.
With plaid shirts and tools aplenty, he’ll get this place looking spick and span.
Here at Bless we are pretty much in love with pallets. We think they are great. They are so useful & the burn well too.
Justin (@Juststuijv) made a sweet pallet kitchen shelf in Rotterdam.
Why don’t you tell us the best thing to make with a reclaimed pallet and we will make our favourite over at Bless HQ a la France!
Tweet us your ideas @blessnetwork #palletable
From the cage to the farm.
Earlier this week we took a trip to Le Marché Saint-Pierre and doubled our chicken community. There are now more eggs for Gemma to poach!
Pick up some BETHANIE TEXTURES fresh from farm life. We’ve been digging, painting, soldering, moving, raking, turning & pulling the last few days. Here are some of the textures we have seen:
wood store branches
patch material
tyres
fire pit pond
cider barrel
apple barn straw
good wood
Funding Update
Our 125-day fundfest comes to an end this week. During this season of focussed prayer and fund-raising, we have added €20,000 to our Bethanie purchase fund, from 40 donors in the UK and the Netherlands. Thank you so much to all who gave and to all who prayed. We are richly blessed by your partnership with us.
We are seeing real momentum build around this project, and though it is still an uphill climb, it is moving! Our faith is stirred to believe God for the completion of this exciting challenge.
What Happens Now?
We have established two key targets for 2013:
1. To recruit 50 new partners, each supporting our ministry by £30 (or €30) per month. This will add to the current committed income of £500 per month to provide the £2000 per month needed to fully fund our ministry, including the financing of the Bethanie purchase.
2. To secure, through donations or loans, at least £50,000 in new capital by September 2013. If we can break the £50,000 barrier in 2013, we will: but we have set this as a minimum goal.
You will receive more information in the coming days about these opportunities to be part of the Bless future, and of a different dream for the continent of Europe. Please do join us in praying for God’s plans and god’s provision for this work.
£30 / €30 - just £1 / €1 a day to secure a dynamic hub of mission and ministry for Europe. Will you join us in this great adventure?
22nd - 24th March 2013 is our LEARN2LEAD teaching weekend
STAY at Bethanie, our missional training centre in France, and enter into our rhythm of daily PRAYer and shared meals. Explore what missional LEADership may look like for the emerging cultures of 21st century Europe?
The weekend costs £75 which covers all your accommodation and food, but does not include the price of your travel too and from Bethanie. We ask that you organise your own travel but we’re more than happy to give you advice or help you find a car share. For directions to Bethanie go here.
For more information go here.
