Early voting began yesterday, and it’s emphasized every year how important it is to vote and let your voice be heard. I do believe voting is a privilege that should be exercised. So often I think people who grow up in countries like the USA and UK take voting for granted because it’s what we’ve always known; there are many countries where the idea of safely voting and letting your voice be heard by the government is nothing but a dream. I also understand that for many in the youth group reading this are not of voting age, but don’t switch off, this thought is still something you can take with you. Voting isn’t the only thing where we can let our voices be heard. Many schools and work places have a body for complaints or suggestions – a student body or internal affairs, etc. Social Media gives a platform for thoughts and ideas to be shared. It allows you to tell the world what is happening in your life, what you’ve been doing and what you’re looking forward to. It’s a place to tell the world what you think about things and for people to agree or disagree. We like to be heard. Some like to be heard more than others, but even the quietest of us like to know our thoughts, concerns, joys, and ideas have a place in the world. Being heard is important to us all. It doesn’t matter how old you may be or how young. Even Zoey will scream for attention if we’re not feeding her quickly enough. God has given us a place to be heard. If we sit for a while, I believe we might even hear a small voice back. We’re blessed to be given the opportunity to talk to God through prayer and meditation. Prayer is something I think, we do often out of habit at meals, when we’re a little too stressed, or when we’re “at church.” Prayer is so much more than that though. I emphasize over and over that God desires a relationship with His people. It is for this reason He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, it’s why He met Moses on Mount Sinai to give the commandments, it’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, to live and dwell among us creating a way for all mankind to have a relationship with Him instead of just the select nation. Through prayer, we can give our requests, our venting, our joys, and our thanksgiving. God desires for us to talk to Him about anything and everything. God wants you to know that you can talk to Him, and despite being able to hear everyone’s prayers, He will listen and you can be certain that your voice is being heard by the most powerful being ever to exist. We don’t have to go to anyone on Earth, just directly to God through Jesus. This week I encourage you to let your voice be heard by God. Peter Hunt

Paul writes in many of his letters, to both churches as a whole and to individuals, a section often (added in by men much later) called “Thanksgiving and prayer”. Philemon 4-7 is just one of these examples. I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. So often I read these sections of scripture and I wonder what it would have been like to be spoken so highly of by someone the church all around the world now holds to the highest (under Jesus) respect. I wonder what it was like to minister alongside Paul and to hear his lessons etc. Of course, I think about this with Jesus and His apostles too. It appears, even when Paul is going to rebuke the church for losing their way, he tries to encourage, uplift, and be thankful for the people receiving his letter. I know November is the month people like to do the 30-day Thankfulness Challenge, but I think we can be thankful year-round. I think we can be thankful for even the smallest of things. I was reminded today, even when we hurt, we can be thankful to God that we have a body to hurt and to feel emotions. God is doing great things in our lives even when we can’t always see it. There are times when I can get down because I don’t feel like things are happening the way I think they should be. The truth is, I get to thank God for working in His timing. I get to be blessed by knowing He sees the bigger picture. God is working. All the time. What might be a quiet time for you, may be a time of preparation for a time just around the corner. This week, I want to challenge you to tell someone, a different person each day, how you are thankful for them being in your life. Tell, text, call, DM – however you want to say it, SAY IT! Paul was certain to tell the readers how much he appreciated their love for Jesus and all that they do for the Kingdom of God. I challenge you to thank someone for what they do and what they mean to you. I will start by thanking you for taking the time to read this and follow up on this challenge. Peter Hunt

Everytime I sit in the dentist chair I always enjoy looking up at the TV in each room, which without fail, has the channel eScapes on. I have always loved travelling, and this channel shows scenes from various places around the world, some I have been to, others I’d love to visit someday. On the side of the screen there is always a small bar, for advertising and facts. I personally never care for the adverts, but I do enjoy reading the facts. Silly things like, “the plastic on the end of shoe laces are called aglets.” One thing I saw this morning, which I hadn’t heard of before was that the oldest record of ICE CREAM dates back to the Persians in about 400 BC. The Romans, invented the roads and sidewalks as we know them today around 2000 BC in Anatolia (now Turkey). There are many, many other inventions that we use a version of that were all created in the era we call BC; some include: the wheel, sewing needles, basket weaving, boats, twisted rope, and more. This might not interest you as much as it does me, but I always find this sort of information fun because I believe it can bring us a little closer to knowing what parts of life for Jesus was like. We are about 2000 years since Christ lived as one of us, we are so far removed from Him, we can often struggle to think about what a normal day could be like for the average person. Today we have Wi-Fi, cell phones, electricity, AC, cars, and so many more things that Jesus and the people of that time never had. It can be hard to think about life for them. As often as life brings new things from so many brilliant minds from all around the world, God remains the same, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” Hebrews 13:8. This week I encourage you to take a step back from the hectic-ness of life, to stop and breathe for just a few minutes and reflect on how much God has done for you, for your family, and for your friends. So often, we come before God with prayer requests and they are in some form of a ‘to-do’ list for Him, but when you stop, think about all that He has done for you. Some inventions are created and then over time improved; I believe personal improvement happens when we stop and think about what changes can be made in our individual lives. I believe God remains faithful in working on us to improve our lives and who we are. Things may not be what they used to be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t relate to God in the same ways. So, sit back with a bowl of (ancient) ice cream, and thank God for being forever patient, forever faithful, and forever the same. Peter Hunt