Being Mrs Ruddock

WORLD PRAYER ASSEMBLY

Mrs Ruddock — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:35:30 +0000

The World Prayer Assembly is taking place from 14th – 18th May in Jakarta, Indonesia. Thousands of prayer leaders, intercessors and young people will gather to hear what God is doing around the world and to unite to see how we can bring God’s Kingdom on Earth. I will be reporting back for UCB on what is happening at the World Prayer Assembly on my blog, so subscribe to get the updates.

Snowball raises funds to help rebuild addicts lives

Mrs Ruddock — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:44:52 +0000

The Snowball took place on Thursday 29th December 2011 at Manchester United football club. Over 120 people enjoyed an evening of fine dining, comedy and great music!

A charity auction on the night raised over £1000 for the Victory Outreach Recovery Homes. This amazing charity works with people caught in crime and addiction to get them off drugs and alcohol and rebuild their lives.

A huge thanks to all those that attended and took part in the auction. Your donation can help to change someone’s life for good!

Bless you!

How to pray to change your marriage

Mrs Ruddock — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:29:55 +0000

Marriage is a lifelong union created by God. There is immense power in two Christians coming together as one. The enemy will always try to attack Christian marriages in whatever way he can. For a marriage to survive and be successful there needs to be three parties involved: the husband, the wife and God. Putting God at the centre of your marriage can give unlimited possibilities for growing closer to the perfection God intended it to be. No matter what stage your marriage is at, you need to commit to fulfil the plan God has for your marriage, and to ultimately glorify God through it.

Take authority

If you are facing struggles in your marriage, all I can say is… PRAYER CHANGES THINGS. I have witnessed it in my own marriage. Through Christ’s death on the cross, God has given us the authority to change situations (Luke 10:19) and prayer is putting that authority into action. Pray for your spouse and your marriage regularly. When you face a tough situation in your marriage, take authority over it in Jesus’ name and then praise God for the victory He has already won on your behalf! When we pray with God-given authority, it releases the power of God to work in both your lives. Remember… “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Here’s what to pray in different situations:

If communication breaks down

That the enemies plan to disrupt communication will not succeed and that you will be able to communicate openly and clearly.
That you will both have ears to hear God and each other.
You will enjoy doing things together and become best friends.
Speak words of encouragement and honour, respect and appreciate each other (even if you don’t feel like it).

If finances get out of control

Ask God to open your eyes to clearly see the truth.
That you will be of one mind with regard to handling money and for wisdom to make sound financial decisions (Proverbs 12:11).
For discernment about what you don’t really need and strength to resist buying it.
That God will show you how to pay off all your debts.

If hearts have become hardened

Ask God to speak to you through His Word and seek Him every day.
For a wise, understanding and repentant heart (Psalm 51:17).
Ask God to show you what is in your heart that shouldn’t be there, and what isn’t in your heart that should be.
That God will remove any sorrow from your heart and life (Psalm 30:5).

If hope seems lost and you need a miracle

Humble yourself before God and tell Him you can’t do this without Him (Matthew 18:4).
For the ability to see the situation from the Lord’s perspective.
For grace and patience to persevere and not give up and to stand strong till the end.
That the almighty God of the Universe who created marriage, will unleash His power to restore it.

Marriage Week UK will be taking place from 7^th-14^th February and celebrates commitment and marriages. Visit www.marriage-week.org.uk. Adapted from: The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage © 2009 by Stormie Omartian. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. Used by permission. More prayer points can be found in the book.

THIS ARTICLE WILL FEATURE IN THE FEB-APR 2012 ISSUE OF PRAYER FOR TODAY.

Be thankful

Mrs Ruddock — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:44:42 +0000

Today, I was on the radio. I was asked to pray with people on air that had phoned into UCB radio’s Prayer & Praise Day. They asked me to do it last year. I did it grudgingly as I had an issue with praying out loud so the last thing I wanted to do was pray in front of thousands of people! It wasn’t so bad. It was really only me and another person in the studio. I just tried not to think of the thousands of listeners!

Last year was the beginning of my breakthrough. Fear can prevent us from doing sooo many things. But I learnt that day to ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’! Since then, God has tested me and continued to push me… particularly into the public arena when I just want to shrink into the background. When God has a plan for our lives, the calling won’t just go away if we ignore it! When we delay God, we are not obeying God. God will always use you in your weakness because then it can only be Him.

Today… The lesson was to be thankful. Hundreds of listeners sent in their prayer requests. People suffering with cancer, struggling with mental health, unemployment, grief & loss, financial problems, lack of faith…the list went on and on. My problems became insignificant. How thankful are we? Or do we just take everything for granted from our loving & giving Father. We must thank Him we have a roof over our heads, when others haven’t. We must thank Him we have food to eat, when others haven’t. We must thank Him for our health, even with those aches and pains, when others won’t be getting out of bed tomorrow. We must thank Him for our loved ones, when others have no one and face a life of loneliness. There will always be someone who is worse off than you. So let’s learn not to complain but just to be thankful for where God has got us right now…because it’s where we are supposed to be. It’s just recognising that God is right there beside us!

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ.” 1 Thess 5:18

Finding a new me!

Mrs Ruddock — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 17:35:15 +0000

October 2009, I got married. I didn’t only get married. I also moved to a new city to be with my husband, leaving behind my Mom and friends, my job which I loved and I also felt God say that I should set up my own business as well. Quite a lot to handle in one go! However, I felt that God wanted me to do it. So, I did. The transition went smoothly and all was well.

As New Year 2009 arrived, I started to feel quite down. I missed my family, friends, old job and familiar surroundings. I now worked from home and felt quite isolated with no car, no money and having not made many new friends yet. I became very emotional and would cry without even knowing why! Since I had got married, it felt like I had to start all over again… at the bottom rung of the ladder! It was like a period of mourning for my old life and achievements. I began to feel like I didn’t know who I was anymore. I had lost myself. The uncontrollable tears continued.

One day, I cried out to God, “Lord, why do I feel this way? I don’t know who I am anymore”. God said to me, “Tash, your past is not your future”. Although I felt I had lost myself, He showed me that my future was going to be much better. Although I felt I was having to start all over again, it was actually a good place to be. I could leave behind the things that I didn’t like in my life and myself, and I could be the person I wanted to be… that God wanted me to be. Although it felt I was starting on the bottom rung again, God revealed that I had actually moved up to another level as a married woman, but I was starting again at that level. This revelation set me free. I started to look positively at my future and all that God had in store for me and my lovely husband.

I began to find myself again. A new me.

Featured in the IDENTITY issue of the Prayer for Today (Nov-Jan 2011)

Journey of a travelling soul

Mrs Ruddock — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 16:42:44 +0000

A poem that I wrote in 2004 while travelling around the world for a year…

Travelling through the lonely wilderness of life,
Sometimes not knowing which path to take.
Missing all the signs that could grow into opportunities.
The fear, that prevents me from fulfilling my dreams & destiny.

The confines of routine prevent my soul from growing,
From the realisation that life holds many more experiences.
Is our journey about taking the easiest route?
Or, is it about being brave and bold enough to tread the path of uncertainty?

The feeling of freedom lightens my stagnant soul.
To do what I want to do; To go where I want to go;
If I am not happy then I change my circumstances.
The world truly is my oyster and life is what I want it to be.

No longer will I be afraid to follow my hearts desire
For it got me here, on this path that I am meant to tread.
Not knowing where it will lead or when it will end
Is what makes the journey more enjoyable and worthwhile.

There are still many things for me to learn and appreciate along the way
But I have a smile on my face and a song in my heart
And I live day to day, putting one foot in front of the other
In the direction of happiness and contentment.

Am I the Weakest Link???

Mrs Ruddock — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:51:52 +0000

New Year 2011, Mr Ruddock issued a challenge to me. “Do something different!” he said. I think he was subtly trying to tell me that I am a woman of routine and obviously a bit predictable! That is not me and I’m not going to claim in the name of Jesus! At the time we were watching ‘The Weakest Link’ and usually I have quite a high ration of answering the questions, so I said, “Like go on the Weakest Link?” “Yeah something like that” he said. Half an hour later I had submitted my application online and thought nothing more of it.

Fast forward to March 2011… I get a call from the ‘Weakest Link’ to ask me to an audition. So I go to the audition and we talk about ourselves and have a round of the game with a fake Anne (where I got my question wrong… why did it have to be a sport question!) and then do a 5 minute piece on camera. A couple of weeks later I had the call to say I had got through the audition and would definitely be going on the show but it could take up to a year. In May, I was called to go and record the show at the end July!

Having recorded the show last week, it was a great experience! It was a busy day with getting to BBC Scotland (Glasgow) and meeting the other contestants, being whisked into wardrobe and make-up and a quick rehearsal and then it was filming with Anne Robinson standing right in front of me! “How did I get ‘ere?” I thought. Anne was her usual dry and cutting self, trying to find a weakness in each person that stood before her thinking “I’m gonna give her as good as I get”! She probed to find the weakness in each one of us. So that’s why they call it the weakest link! It taught me something. We ALL have weaknesses… even those who don’t think they do have! I’m sure even Anne Robinson has her weakness (let’s not mention plastic surgery!).

The question is… how as a society do we handle others weaknesses? Do we point them out and ridicule them? Do we ignore them? Or do we actually support them and help them to overcome those weaknesses? The bible tell us that in our weakness, we are made strong through Jesus and what He did for us. We can overcome them! It was our weaknesses that Jesus carried to the cross; it was our sorrows that weighed him down (Isaiah 53:4)… so that we wouldn’t have to live with them. How different would society be if we came along people and built them up and encouraged them instead of tearing them down?

So… my challenge was complete. I’ve done something very different this year and God managed to speak to me through it! Challenge achieved Mr Ruddock… and there’s still 6 months of the year left! What shall I do next?

What obstacles do you need to remove from your life?

Mrs Ruddock — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 23:28:55 +0000

Today I been pondering smooth roads! On our life journey, we have to travel many roads but they can be filled with rocks and boulders from our past experiences that prevent us from driving straight to where we need to be in life. We have to swerve to accommodate the obstacles which delays the journey, uses extra fuel and can damage the vehicle.

What obstacles do you need to remove from your life? Today… Clear away the rocks and stones (Isa 57:14), smooth out the road, and prepare your highway(Isa 62:10)! You will get to where you are meant to be much quicker and easier. You can drive in cruise control!

Welcome to my world!

Mrs Ruddock — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:27:16 +0000

Hello world!

I’ve decided to check out what all this blogging business and social media is all about. I’m entering the digital world!

This will be a blog to report about what is happening in the world of Mrs Ruddock. Sometimes it can be hilariously funny and other times quite boring, but maybe… just maybe… someone might be touched or empathise. Come on a journey with me. We can laugh, cry, and chill together!