{"id":2649,"date":"2012-07-11T09:50:44","date_gmt":"2012-07-11T09:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=2649"},"modified":"2014-09-23T11:39:31","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T11:39:31","slug":"the-green-green-grass-of-home-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/the-green-green-grass-of-home-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The Green, Green Grass of Home&#8230;(Your Home)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Much of my younger life was spent desiring things. But not just anything \u2013 mostly things that other people I knew owned. \u2018If I could just get such and such\u2019 I thought \u2018My life would be so much better. Everything would be ok.\u2019 I didn\u2019t just limit this to inanimate objects either: upon reaching a certain age marriage would make my life complete, upon getting married the promise of a baby. All these things I would see in other people and want them, often missing out on enjoying what had been placed in my hands.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to changing myself, this greener grass view stunts my growth too. I look to heroes of the faith, both celebrity and just my personal heroes and I try to emulate them instead of Jesus. And when I fail to do so (as I invariably do) I blame God. \u2018If I had their gifts then I would be a much better Christian.\u2019 The Bible tells me that God has let me lie in a green pasture all to myself and I spend all my time looking at how green everyone else\u2019s pastures are.<\/p>\n<p>Psalm 23:<\/p>\n<p>The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name\u2019s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.<\/p>\n<p>Sounds great \u2013 but what about those legitimate times of feeling the grass is greener for others? How can I be comfortable in my pasture of infertility when plenty of other couples are with child? Well, it\u2019s not always easy, but I am coming to see that the pasture God chose for me is the only one where my soul will be restored, the place where I will not be in want. The place where I will truly change and grow in the ways I desire. The grass may look greener in the neighbouring pastures, but in my pasture it\u2019s exactly as green as I need it to be.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/the-green-green-grass-of-home-your-home\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much of my younger life was spent desiring things. But not just anything \u2013 mostly things that other people I knew owned. \u2018If I could just get such and such\u2019 I thought \u2018My life would be so much better. Everything would be ok.\u2019 I didn\u2019t just limit this to inanimate objects either: upon reaching a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[312],"tags":[20,23,74,79,90,101,110,192],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-GJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8781,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/easter-its-not-a-green-hill-its-a-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":2649,"position":0},"title":"Easter: It\u2019s not a green hill, it\u2019s a cross!","date":"9 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a green hill far away outside the city wall Where our dear Lord was crucified and died to save us all I was privileged to visit Jerusalem, and whilst there I did the touristy things, including visiting both of Jesus tombs, looked at the very last stone his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/felix-besombes-i0JxBZckloA-unsplash.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2187,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/carls-thoughts\/a-very-british-revolution\/","url_meta":{"origin":2649,"position":1},"title":"A Very British Revolution","date":"18 January 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"People love big events. You get a buzz, \u00a0big sound, big names, big crowd\u2026you leave feeling ready to take on the world. I\u2019ve got nothing against a big event or a mega church. Both are great for a preach! I just don't think its where the real revolutionary work happens.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Carl Beech&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1241,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/news\/cvm-christmas-appeal\/","url_meta":{"origin":2649,"position":2},"title":"A Personal Message from Carl","date":"13 December 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We recently\u00a0launched our Christmas appeal, you can\u00a0view that here. I\u2019m writing to ask if you would consider\u00a0sending CVM a gift of say \u00a310.00 or more towards the ongoing work we are all involved in, of seeing men come to faith in Jesus. My aim is to provide you guys with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5452,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/jesus-the-evidence\/","url_meta":{"origin":2649,"position":3},"title":"Jesus: The Evidence","date":"15 August 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cit seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,\u00a0that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.\u201d (Luke 1:3,4, ESV) Luke, when composing his gospel - his account through eye-witness testimony\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Demolition Squad&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8810,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/spring-is-in-the-air\/","url_meta":{"origin":2649,"position":4},"title":"Spring is in the Air","date":"8 April 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I am not going to mention the word that is filling the news and most conversation at the moment (but it has one of my favourite beers in it).\u00a0\u00a0Instead hopefully Im going to encourage you for the months ahead\u2026\u2026\u2026.. Spring officially started on 20th\u00a0March, and already you can see the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/map_of_spring_hope_nc.jpg?fit=953%2C481&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/carls-thoughts\/hedgerows-and-privets\/","url_meta":{"origin":2649,"position":5},"title":"Hedgerows and Privets","date":"3 August 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Most men don\u2019t like small talk. But talking about stuff that has an agenda is no problem. A bunch of engineers confronted with a task or a technical problem to solve might be incredibly animated. Take the problem away and the awkward silences begin. I for one struggle massively with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Carl Beech&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5642,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2649\/revisions\/5642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}