Why the Queen is so keen on Debra Green

I was delighted to hear that mother-of-four Debra Green, who initially started a charity to provide somewhere for teenagers to meet, has been awarded an OBE for her services to community cohesion.

The mother-of-four was the principle founder of church-based project Redeeming Our Communities (ROC), which has spread all over the UK and is really helping to improve quality of life in local communities.

ROC has built partnerships between police, the fire service, churches, voluntary groups and others to tackle issues from anti-social behaviour to the isolation that is often experienced by elderly people.

“I am humbled, delighted and honoured to be recognised in this way. I pay tribute to my wonderful family who have faithfully supported me and to friends who have believed in me and to my ROC colleagues and volunteers who are working so hard for the good of communities across the UK,” she said.

While some of us might have been tempted to put our feet up and focus on our mantelpieces if we made the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Debra had other plans. The same weekend the list was announced, she was speaking at the Alive Festival in Inverness.

Then on Monday she was in London speaking at Jesus House, one of the fastest-growing black majority churches in England, and on Tuesday she met the senior command team at New Scotland Yard to discuss ROC developments in the capital. And on Wednesday she travelled to Sussex for an ROC Projects Training Day for the South East.

Even just reading all that makes me feel tired…

But that’s what makes Debra so special. She never tires of doing good and is continually thinking of new ways to bring communities together. Constantly on the road, she is an example to all of us of how one person’s obedience and determination can make a difference to individuals, families, cities and nations. And she somehow still manages to remain completely down-to-earth and humble. No wonder the Queen likes her.

So what’s next for Debra? “I have so much to be grateful for... perhaps I'll have a bit of rest next week!” she says. (Don’t tell her I said so, but with her schedule I’m not sure there’ll be much chance of that!)

Read the full story in the next issue of Liberti magazine and find out more about Redeeming our Communities here.

I have a new hero…

Her name is Martha Payne.

You may have read the news coverage of this intrepid nine-year-old whose blog, NeverSeconds, has made headlines.

She started photographing her school meals and giving them various ratings in a bid to a) improve the quality of school meals and b) to raise money for Malawi-based charity Mary’s Meals.

The blog was an instant hit, drawing praise from fellow campaigner and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Children from as far afield as China and Canada were sending in pictures of their school dinners as they lapped up what she was writing.

But like Jamie's work in the UK and LA, Martha’s efforts were not universally appreciated...

When a local newspaper picked up the story and gave it the headline “Time to fire the dinner ladies”, Martha was hoiked out of her maths lesson by her head teacher and told to stop photographing her meals. The local council was leaning on the school in a bid to silence its outspoken food critic.

Argyll and Bute Council accused the nine-year-old of “misrepresenting” the menu options available and refused to budge, even when Jamie Oliver and fellow celebrity chef Nick Nairn intervened. It looked like the ban would stick.

What she thought would be her last blog entry was titled “Goodbye” and read: “I only write my blog, not newspapers, and I am sad I am no longer allowed to take photos”. Freedom of speech (and photography) had been dealt a major blow.

But then people power took over. There were almost three million visitors to her blog and a large proportion of these expressed their anger at the decision on Twitter.

It was too much for the local authority, which backtracked and overturned the ban, claiming there was “no place for censorship in Argyll and Bute Council”. But best of all, the extra publicity has helped the schoolgirl campaigner raise nearly £46,000 for her chosen charity.

A spokesperson for the Mary’s Meals said: “We are extremely grateful for everything that she has done to help us reach some of the hungriest children in the world.”

I’m glad Martha’s blog has the green light to continue; it really is extremely articulate. But it was also great to see that so many people were prepared to fight her corner and to show that they too cared about the quality of the food their children were being offered.

And it also appealed to the public’s better nature. While impressive donations of around £2,000 had come in before the story broke, the giving level has rocketed over the last few days and has now grown enough to build at least one school kitchen in Malawi. According to her father, Martha may even be dreaming of a visit to Malawi to see where the money has gone (and to check the quality of the meals, no doubt).

This girl’s creativity, eloquence, innovative approach and fighting spirit really appeal to me, and to millions of people around the world. I only wish I was brave enough to stand up for the things I believe in!

The girl that hugged the queen

You may have read about the Ugandan war orphan who hugged the queen during the Jubilee celebrations. Well I had the privilege of meeting Lydia Amito face-to-face at the Cherish conference in Bradford this week (and getting some hugs of my own).

I first saw this little girl on the main stage during one of the conference’s celebration meetings. She walked on stage with the Watoto Children’s Choir and stepped forward, confidently introducing herself and explaining the difference the Watoto charity – and her newfound Christian faith – has made in her life.

But while seeing her beautiful smile and listening to the choir’s incredibly moving performance, I was still unprepared for her tragic story. It turns out that Lydia’s father and uncles were butchered Lord’s Resistance Army, who also slaughtered her mother in front of her older sister.

Lydia and her six siblings managed to escape and were rescued by the Watoto Church; a Pentecostal church that now cares for 2,500 children. The church places orphans like Lydia in families of eight, housing them in simple homes that are built around a communal garden. Each home is presided over by a ‘house mother’, usually a widow who has lost her husband and/or children to war, AIDS or malnutrition.

Sitting down with Lydia was a humbling experience. On one hand she was just a shy, giggly little girl, but on the other she had been through intense trauma, seen horrors I am unlikely to ever see, and managed to start a new life. She confides that when she grows up she wants to be a nurse. “I want to treat people so they can get better,” she says.

This little girl, who could have been sex-trafficked, abused and even killed, is now in a safe home with people who love her. When she’s not at school she loves practising for the choir and helping out her house mother, Mamma Santa, by cleaning the house and cooking. She has also formed close bonds with her brothers and sisters, as well as experiencing the love of Jesus Christ, which she prizes above all else.

Being away from home for five months of the year must be strange for the choir members, some of whom are as young as ten. But Lydia says she enjoys seeing new places and loves singing and dancing on stage.

She and two of the guys caring for her – Mark and Stephen – totally stole my heart as I sat listening to her story, and to the boys’ explanations of the Watoto Charity’s aims, which can be summed up by the following passage:

“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:26-7).  

If you had asked Lydia a few years back what her future held, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have been too convinced she would even have a future. I want to see more children like Lydia with magical smiles and beautiful spirits who are capable of impacting our nation from the top down.

As well as breaking protocol by hugging Her Majesty, I’m pretty sure she broke the queen’s hearts for the orphans’ plight. I hope this precious little girl and the other children – all of whom have had similarly traumatic experiences – continue to touch the hearts of people around the world.

You can support the children of Watoto in lots of different ways. Visit to the Watoto website to find out more.

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Liberti magazine.

Abortion, murder and ‘unfair’ dismissal…

Everyone has their own opinion on abortion – ranging from the ‘it’s the woman’s right to choose’ attitude through to the ‘it’s murder’ viewpoint.

It seems to me the media is giving mixed messages about the practice. I read two news stories this week that seemed ridiculously contradictory.

The first was the story about Bei Bei Shuai, a Chinese woman living in America who took rat poison after her boyfriend left her. She was pregnant at the time and her actions led to the death of her unborn child.

The second was the story of Margaret Forrester, a Roman Catholic who was sacked by the Central and North West London NHS Trust after showing a colleague a booklet highlighting the physical and psychological damage women can potentially suffer after terminating a pregnancy.

Ok, so the first isn’t exactly ‘abortion’, but Shuai’s actions resulted in the termination of her foetus. Interestingly, she is among a rising number of women who are finding themselves charged with murder after losing an unborn child due to maternal drug addiction or a failed suicide attempt. If convicted, Shuai could be sentenced to 45 years or even life in jail.

Now I’m not saying there shouldn’t be consequences for her actions. But I would have thought that seeing her baby, whom she named Angel, die in her arms was a pretty high price to pay. In fact, she was so distraught she was instantly transferred to a mental health wing. Unbeknown to her, the local homicide department immediately started investigating the incident. She was eventually arrested and taken to a high-security prison, where she has now been for about 15 months.

I have to say I sympathise with this young woman, whose mental state clearly wasn’t great. She was not only dealing with the physical and hormonal challenges of pregnancy, she was also feeling abandoned by her partner in her hour of need. That doesn’t justify what she did, but I do think she is being targeted considering the general acceptance of abortion in the US.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), roughly 50 million legal abortions have been performed in the US since 1973. 50 million – that’s not far off the total UK population!

A study from the Guttmacher Institute cited the following reasons women gave for terminating a pregnancy:

• 74% Having a baby would dramatically change my life
• 73% I can’t afford a baby now
• 48% I don’t want to be a single mother/having relationship problems
• 38% I have completed my childbearing
• 32% I’m not ready for a(nother) child 

If you can have an abortion on the basis of your financial status or because you don’t feel like having a baby right now, how can poisoning your foetus because you are broken-hearted and mentally unstable be classed as murder?

Then there is the other extreme… losing your job for questioning whether abortion is the only/best solution for an unwanted pregnancy. Ms Forrester was dismissed for “gross professional misconduct” because she expressed concerned that women were being offered abortions without considering the alternatives.

Let’s get this straight. A woman was sacked for holding a discussion about abortion with a colleague… Not a patient, a colleague. Despite the fact that the booklet she shared contained content from women who had had abortions themselves and regretted their decisions.

It seems the only people with any power in this country are the pro-abortionists. If you get pregnant and don’t fancy having the baby, you can head down to the local clinic and ‘get it sorted’. The unborn foetus is seen as just that: it’s a bunch of cells, not a baby.

But if you poison your unborn foetus you’re seen as a murderer. Can you murder a bunch of cells? Surely it must be a living being, a baby, if you are able to murder it. In the meantime, if you happen to suggest abortion could have negative consequences you could find yourself down the dole office. Can we please get a bit of perspective here???

I’m not arguing for or against abortion here (although I do have strong views on the matter). I merely ask that there is a bit of consistency when it comes to defining words such as “foetus” and “baby; “abortion” and “murder”. Because at the moment they just seem to be arbitrary words used to bring about the personal agendas of the most ‘influential’ individuals and institutions.

Rant over. 

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Liberti magazine.

Save some pennies and shed some pounds

Just when you thought the worst was over, news of a double-dip recession breaks. But although times are tough, there’s no need to resort to wartime rationing.

By introducing a few simple measures it’s easy to save a few quid, lose a couple of pounds (weight-wise) and do our bit for the environment. 

Here are a few tips to get you started...

1. Travel

If the idea of giving up your car drives you crazy, it might be worth downsizing, joining a carpool or even ‘sharing’ some wheels. It’s better for the environment and could get you on the road to financial recovery.

           

Those who feel brave enough to ditch the motor altogether might consider swapping four wheels for two. Find out if your company is part of the government cycle initiative, which will get you 20% off a bike, helmet and accessories and could even allow you to give up your expensive gym membership. Get fit and shape up your finances at the same time!

2. Banking

Debt should be dealt with as a priority. Consider switching any debt you have to an interest-free, balance transfer credit card. Pay off as much as you can each month, but make sure you at least meet the minimum payment every (on time). Red definitely isn’t the new black!

A cash ISA is a good way to save as it’s tax-free. It may be worth going for a fixed-term, limited-access version so you’re not tempted to cash in your stash. This type of account offers a higher rate of interest than an easy-access ISA.

3. Groceries

Plan your food shop carefully in advance, preferably meal by meal. Then when you get to the supermarket, stick to your detailed shopping list! This will reduce waste and help you to avoid unhealthy, purse-draining impulse buys.

Buy seasonal fruit and vegetables and use leftovers rather than throwing them away. There’s nothing tastier than a bit of bubble and squeak on a Monday night, nom nom.

Taking a packed lunch to work rather than buying a sandwich each day, and try cutting out your posh morning coffee. At the risk of sounding like a granny, a flask is quick to make up and could save you about £10 a week!

4. Bills

Get switched on about your energy bills and shop around to see whether you could get a better deal. Some providers offer discounts if you buy gas and electricity combined, and many reward customers who pay straight away or by direct debit. Visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk for great energy-saving tips.

Broadband and mobile phone bills can also add up. Compare deals before you sign up and find out whether you could get cashback on a new deal (see sites like Quidco and TopCashback for more information). Some companies offer packaged deals that bundle TV services, broadband, landline and even mobile phone contracts, which may cut costs.

5. Leisure

Take advantage of discount sites such as Groupon, LivingSocial and kgbdeals. They offer a range of cheap days out, restaurant discounts and even cut-price holidays, allowing you to do fun things without breaking the bank.

Avoid buying expensive new clothes, shoes, accessories and electrical items. Why not host an 80s-style swap shop instead? You can rid your wardrobe of items you’ve never worn or are fruitlessly hoping to squeeze into again and hunt down some bargains of your own. Get everyone to bring a plate and a bottle and you’ve got a low-budget, sociable evening sorted.

Remember to...

...Think of ways you can give to the people around you without spending a fortune: offer to mow a neighbour’s lawn, babysit for a friend or do a day’s volunteering. The cost to you will be minimal, but the reward will be eternal.

...Be obedient with your tithe, giving the first 10% of all you earn to God. This may seem like a lot if your budget is tight, but it is something we are called to do – and with glad hearts.

Malachi 3:10 says: “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’” 

Read more from Joy in the upcoming issue of Liberti magazine.

What do you go to church for?

I had lunch with a close friend this week and the conversation somehow wound its way round to church.

She’s taken a break from it for the last few years but is thinking about going back. There’s one thing stopping her though: she feels like a hypocrite.

She explained that she wouldn’t be going to turn back to God, but for the sense of community church life brings. Coming from a family where the door is always open to friends, she misses the social aspect and the values it teaches. But she feels a bit uncomfortable about the praise and worship side of things. And while her husband supports her in everything she does, he is worried church members will make her split up with him if she starts going.

I personally think she’d get a lot out of church, both from a social and a spiritual point of view, and it’s probably her own reticence that will act as the biggest obstacle to her enjoyment of church itself. I’m also 100% sure no-one would try to split up her marriage – it’s a God-ordained institution (and he’s lovely!).

Anyway, my problem with church is the complete opposite. It’s only when I’m worshipping God that I feel completely free. It’s the social side of things that I struggle with. I’ve been known to sneak in as the first song starts, sit alone at the back and sneak out as the invitation for tea and coffee goes out.

I’m horrible at small talk and blush embarrassingly when I feel awkward. I’m also bad at recognising people I’ve spoken to before, so I’m always wary of asking questions I should already know the answer to! What if someone asks me something and I don’t give a holy enough answer? What if they invite me to something when there’s football on?!

I have been working on this, and the friendship groups I’ve built up in various churches over the years have been incredible. But I still get incredibly nervous when I go to a church where I don’t know anyone.

Like last week…

I made it inside through a maze of doors and was confronted by a host of indistinguishable older ladies: similar shape, hairstyle, fashion sense, glasses. They were invariably named Phyllis, Ann, Joyce and Edna and were all immensely friendly (one even invited me to lunch after the service… but there was football on).

The service itself was fine, although there were a few awkward moments. Phyllis/Ann/Joyce/Edna did an exercise with the kids involving a map cut into pieces and ‘hidden’ around the room. This went horribly wrong when one little boy grabbed a pile and refused to bring them to the front. (Hilarious.)

Then we were split into small groups to pray for the church’s missionaries, something I’m used to, but is still a bit awkward if you’re a visitor. The mood was significantly lightened when another little boy broke free of his parents and started attacking the piano (and our ear drums). Stevie Wonder he was not.

Finally, a guest speaker approached the microphone. Now I’m not saying middle-aged, leather-jacket-wearing Cockneys can’t be good preachers… but this guy wasn’t. Moments of greatness were interspersed with loud and repetitive cries for us to “get desperate for Jesus”. And I’m pretty sure he offended some of the Anns and Ednas when he said he wanted to see some “life back in this place”.

I resisted the urge to run away immediately after the service – in fact I spoke to another Joy and a young couple, all of whom were lovely. But it’s still the social side of church that I struggle with the most.

Whatever it is that puts us off, though, there are so many advantages to church. We get to worship our Heavenly Father. We develop relationships that are more like family than some of our own families. And we can then collectively take the love of God into our communities; representing Jesus to those who would rather stick pins in their eyes than go to church.

Every church has imperfections, and many of us find aspects of church difficult. But after 29 years of going, I’m convinced the pros far outweigh the cons.

I’m definitely looking forward to being back at my own church this Sunday, though!

I can’t TAKE it any more!

Yesterday I read that Rihanna was being treated for exhaustion and it made me think about the pressures celebrities face.

Many young girls and women dream of becoming a famous pop star with the glamorous lifestyle it brings. But few realise that getting to the top invariably involves long days, lack of sleep, constant travel, physical exertion and lack of privacy. 

If wannabe singers knew what it really involved, would they go for it?

Furthermore, if many of us realised how stressful it would be to get our dream job, have a family or overcome our various physical challenges, would we be game to take the risk?

The fact is, modern life is stressful. We are constantly on the go… always reachable by some form of technology… always feeling like we should be doing more.

Do you ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day? That as soon as one task is done, ten additional jobs will torpedo themselves into your ‘inbox’?

When we get stressed, our bodies release stress hormones. These hormones raise our blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels and long-term stress can lead to mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, obesity, heart disease, skin problems and (in women) menstrual problems.

So what can we do about it?

Well, on a practical level, it’s worth exploring what the cause of our stress is. We may not be able (or willing) to give up us our jobs/motherhood/illness/family strife but there may be ways to reduce stress.

Do you take on more responsibility than you need to?

Do you feel guilty delegating work to others?

Do you have trouble saying ‘no’ to things you know you don’t have the time or energy to do?

Are you constantly striving for things you think will make you happy but in reality don’t?

Once you’ve had a think about this, it’s worth finding out what God says about stress:

1. It is a real thing that affects us all: “The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me” (Job 30:27)                                                                                                         

“All man's efforts are for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied” (Ecclesiastes 6:7)

  

2. Stress makes us unproductive and unfruitful: “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22)                        

“Unless the Lord builds the house, it's builders labour in vain...In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat” (Psalm 127:1-2)

3. The answer is Christ: “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30)

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27)

So how should we respond? By making the right choices…

“You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Choose what is better and it will not be taken from you” (Luke 10:41-42).

What is the “better” option though? Relationship with God…

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

The woman who spends time with God and reading His Word, she will be…

“Like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever she does prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Liberti magazine.