“This is an outrage” I thought to myself, as the staff in the charity shop were nowhere to be seen. I purposely chose this local store in a bid to develop the town’s commerce but how that choice had come back to bite me. I stood for at least four minutes at the till with a box of handmade Christmas cards in my fingers, which were quickly turning blue. I started to huff quietly. It was the sort of noise that might be associated with a toddler who had been denied some shiny fabric in the supermarket.

I had places to be. Oh how I longed for the freedom to drop my daily tasks and do my own thing like these vacant volunteers. My huffs became muttered words. ”Does anyone work here?” I asked with a subtle annoyance in my tone. Nobody answered for a few seconds until a shopper soon perked up. “Have some patience young lad” an elderly man replied.

This response sparked a horror show in my mind. There I was, waiting to support my local charity, asking a perfectly natural question, and getting flack from some human doormat!

I turned to the queue behind me to win them over with my disgruntled stares, only to notice them all focussing on the same area in the shop. I repositioned my head and saw two ambulance men treating an old woman with oxygen less than three feet away from me. I hadn’t even clocked what was going on. In fact I walked past the lady moments earlier with no clue. The staff were keeping her spirits up with tea and blankets.

I felt like a complete and utter moron. Why don’t I just use my head? Why can’t I disperse a fraction of the grace God has given to me in abundance?

The first chapter of the book of James has now become my prayer for myself in the coming days and weeks. Have a gander and allow yourself to get smashed around a bit by the Word.

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Peace

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We receive lots of encouraging stories from men across the UK who have attended a CVM event. Check out this letter we received from ‘Bob’ (not his real name) who attended the National CVM Conference – Codelife 2010, earlier this year.

Dear CVM,

First of all I want to say a big thank you for the conference last month. This I the first time I have been involved in this type of event and despite several reservations before hand it was an incredible experience!

I just wanted to briefly let you know of the significance of the weekend for me. Once I finally convinced myself to attend (yes, like a typical guy, I don’t make anything simple!) I realized that this could be a great opportunity to spend some valuable time with God without some of the usual distractions of everyday life. So I decided that I would aim to deal with a particular area of like which clearly needed addressing. Prior to the conference I prayed and prayed… I told God that I really wanted to deal with this area and asked (actually begged at times) for his support.

The thing is you see, I am a relatively new Christian and have a lot to learn. However the one thing that has become evident is that God doesn’t do things in the way, or time I would like. Therefore, intellectually I realized that despite my prayers and my intentions God wouldn’t necessarily do what I had planned!

A quick silly example which illustrates my point – when I first became a Christian I prayed that God would help me sort out some particular issues from the past. Instead something amazing happened and I found overnight that I wasn’t swearing nearly as much as I used to. That’s great I thought: God has given me something which was amazing and free… but where was my bloody answer to my prayer (as you can see there are still some lapses in the swearing!)

Anyway – back to the conference. I was having a wonderful time and enjoying all aspects of the weekend. We got to Sunday morning and was just starting to think about the long drive home when God turned up – poked me in the ribs and answered my prayer… instantly! Since that day the area of my life which so needed addressing has changed, It’s not always easy and I clearly have to put effort into avoid temptation – but God has done the hard work for me… he has changed my heart again!

So there you go. Just a quick example of how cool God is. You guys are doing an amazing job and I thank you all once again for providing an environment which helped me hear God.

Cheers all.

‘Bob’ attended Codelife 2010. Are you coming to The Gathering 2011? CVM are changing the National Conference to accommodate more men, having more fun! Find out more …

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We have just launched a fantastic new resource that you can share with your mates. TalkingHead is a collection of videos where real men share their stories.

Just a man, a story, and a video camera.

Check it out. Contribute. And tell your friends!

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