Thoughtful Thursday featuring Mandy Hudson

I have been looking forward to sharing my latest inspirational interview with you!  I would like to introduce you to Mandy Hudson.  Mandy was my youth leader during my teenage years and played a key role in influencing my first steps on the Christian walk!

Mandy is an amazing woman!  She continues to inspire me everytime I talk to her, so it was a real treat to have a chat with her for this post.  She describes herself as a lover of God and is currently based in New Zealand.

How would you describe the current season of life you are in?
God is in the process of answering a prayer placed on my heart.  This prayer can be found in Psalm 2, and it says "Ask of me and I'll give the nations to you".   During the first 6 months of 2013, God has opened up two new nations on two different continents!  It's a season of new things and blessings.

What are you currently working on?
There are three key areas in my life at the moment:

•  I currently work as a part time probation officer in New Zealand which involves mentoring offenders into pro-social lives.
•  I am also in the process of completing a theology degree
•  I teach part time for YWAM New Zealand on their DTS course

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement so far?
Everytime I've had the opportunity to invest in discipling another person.  I thank God for the opportunity to sow into what I will reap in eternity.  Degrees and well paid careers are of little value for where we are heading.   

So my greatest achievement will only be great if it affects eternity. 

What has been the greatest challenge you have overcome so far?
The decision to trust God with my life.  Responding to His call to leave my home nation and follow Him to the other side of the world and live there.


Do you have a faith?  If so, how has it contributed to the way you approach life?
Yes - it is the new lenses I see everything through - my purpose, my relationships, how I spend my money, how I suffer and enjoy pleasure.

I cannot hold a conversation, friendship without relating it to this Jesus who guides my life.  

(adapted from "The Call")

What is your biggest dream/goal?

To disciple the nations He gives me, to grow and make disciples, to build a community that is a refuge to many.

What or who inspires you?

• My friends- I love seeing God unfold amazing things in them that I never saw.
• Francis Schaeffer - he set up a community in Switerland and provided a place where people could go for retreats - searching and looking for answers.  The shelter he set was called L'Abri.
• Hudson Taylor - he was a missionary in China who had a passion to see the gospel reach many in China.  By the end of his lifetime, he saw 220,000 chinese people become missionaries.  To put that into context, the organisation YWAM has only 16,000 full time missionaries.
• John Maxwell - I love his inspirational books.  Every chapter motivates me to do something!  I have just finished reading "The 15 invaluable laws of growth" and have been applying his suggestion of reviewing the year.
• Rob Bell - this american pastor is a controversial choice but while I don't agree with some of his views, I do admire his creatvitiy in his teaching.
• William Young - the author of "The Shack".  I heard him speak in New Zealand and he talks about Jesus like he knows Him - a very personal perspective!
• Phillip Yancey - I enjoy reading his books and I'm currently reading "What good is God".  This is a book looking at 10 suffering areas in the world

What would you describe as the key advice/principle you are currently applying in your life?
It would be my life verse - Ephesians 5:2 which says "Live a life of love".  It sums up the motivation behind all we do as Christians.

I love because I'm loved.  I love because He first loved me.  I love because He is love. 

My thoughts

Well I'm not going to say much as there is plenty in this interview to ponder and reflect on, but I will say that I continue to admire Mandy's simple and passionate focus on loving God and doing His work!  

I'll just leave you with one key question to think about:

What are doing now that will have an impact on eternity?

Thoughtful Thursday: The Importance of a Teachable Spirit

How teachable are you?

When I started to prepare for this post, I wanted to look at what the Bible says about being teachable and came across this scripture:

"If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it—
    how shortsighted to refuse correction!" 

(Proverbs 12:1) MSG

This was the nicest version of the scripture I could find.  Have a look at a few other versions:

 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
    but whoever hates correction is stupid." (NIV)

"Whoever loves instruction and correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is like a brute beast, stupid and indiscriminating." (AMP)

I love the book of Proverbs!  It is full of such wisdom but can be brutally honest at times! It makes it very clear that being teachable is a wise thing to do but what does it mean to be teachable? 

According to dictionary.com, teachable means that you are "capable of being instructed, as a person or capable of being taught".  

As we walk through our Christian lives, it is essential that we are willing to learn from God and others.  Throughout the bible, we see several people being teachable and reaping the rewards.  We see Jesus' disciples being transformed into passionate teachers of the gospel by listening to His teachings and applying them.  They engaged fully in the learning experience - asking questions and taking the corrections when they came.

If we want to see growth in our lives, we must be willing to be teachable.  Being teachable isn't easy!  It can mean that at times you have admit that you are wrong and eat humble pie.  It also means that you have to be willing to face what can occasionally be the harsh truth!  A big challenge in today's society is that we are supposed to act like we know everything all of the time.  It seems that admitting that you don't know something is often seen as a sign of weakness rather than honesty!

But is there another side to being teachable?!

We so often hear the harsh side of being teachable - learning the hard lessons and being willing to make difficult changes.  It is very common for teachability to focus on us accepting our shortcomings or weaknesses - this is absolutely true and essential as God refines us into the image He created us to be!  

But I am learning that it is just as important to learn to be teachable about the good things too!  How do you react when someone tells you that you are gifted in a certain area?  Do you squirm with embarrassment and dismiss it?  Do you make some passing comment that downplays the importance of what they have said?  It is so easy to brush away praise from others because we think we're being humble BUT are we missing out on a lesson we should be learning?!

Over the past year, I have been realising that God has been trying to teach me about the gifts that He has placed within me, and I've been brushing away comments and insights that people have been sharing with me.  I've failed to be teachable in this area.  I know some of you have never thought of it in this way but think about it.

Being teachable is having a willingness to learn all the lessons - the good, the bad and the ugly!

So, until next time, remember to be teachable.  Listen to good advice.  Be willing to eat humble pie when necessary.  And don't assume that all the lessons are going to be bad!  

Cece
xxx