Hope For Today

Dear Friends, We recently had our bi-annual family outing to the dentist.  I don't mind having a check up at the dentist; to tell you the truth, I'd rather have a dentist appointment than an appointment with the doctor.  Jess, on the other hand, does not like visiting the dentist.  At this particular appointment the dentist wanted to clean her teeth as there was a build up of plaque.  If she was tense before that comment, she was even more tense now, especially as he told her to just lift her hand if it got too painful.  As I sat watching the proceedings I could tell she was anxious, scared and in pain at times.  Now, the casual observer would not have picked up on it, but, as her mother, and  knowing her so well, I knew exactly how she was feeling.  I found it very hard to sit and watch my little girl suffering (at 12 years old she doesn't like me calling her that, but that's what she is to me!) and my natural in...

Dear Friends, In Ephesians 4:1 (NIV) Paul urges us " to live a life worthy of the calling you have received".  Our calling is to follow Christ and be his ambassadors ( 2 Corinthians 5:20 NLT) or as the Amplified Bible puts it "Christ's personal representatives". That's quite a privilege and a responsibility isn't it?  I need to remember as I go about my daily business, that I'm Christ's personal representative.  I am to represent him in the things I say and do.  This week I needed to go to my local pharmacy to collect and pay for some of Jason's and my prescriptions.  Now, I'm no maths genius but I could tell from the figure the chemist gave me that she had totalled it up wrong, she had missed off the cost of one of the prescriptions.  As a follower of Christ and one of his representatives, I knew that I needed to point out that she had undercharged me.  She thanked me for my honesty and seemed surprise...

Dear Friends, This week I was given a free NHS Health Check. The check is offered to everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 and is part of a national scheme to help prevent the onset of health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and stroke and helps you to "be better prepared for the future and be able to take steps to maintain or improve your health."  I had a blood test to check my cholesterol level, my blood pressure was taken and my height and weight measured.  I was declared healthy in regards to those health problems and encouraged to maintain my health with a healthy diet and exercise. This physical health check got me thinking and I made the decision this week to have a spiritual health check too.  Just as I needed the help of a professional to take me through my physical, I knew I wasn't qualified to do my spiritual health check on my own - I needed the help of the Holy Spirit to take me through it as ...

Dear Friends, At the school my children attend they are re-introducing the prefect system. (Make sure you read that correctly the prefect system not perfect system!!) Whereas in the past, most Year 11 (final year of secondary school) students were prefects, this time there is a process to go through and if the student is successful then he/she is given the position of prefect. Josh has decided to apply to be a prefect.  He has submitted his application form, the next stage will involve an interview and then there's a third stage before the final decision is made.  Now, I know that Josh would make an excellent prefect - he is hard working, he has good relationships with staff and his peers, and I can remember him telling me a year or so ago how his friends (boys and girls) would come to him for advice if they'd got any problems.  He would be a great role model for the younger students and be an influence for good.  To be s...

Dear Friends, I get a thrill every time I see a rainbow, as much now as an adult as I did when I was a child and noticed a rainbow. I just can't help it, it fills me with joy and wonder, and an "Oh wow!" escapes my lips.  There's something so special about a rainbow, with it's colours and perfectly created arc shape in the sky.  My family and I were travelling home having spent a lovely weekend with my sister and her family.  It was late Monday morning following one of the biggest storms we have experienced for some years.  The worst of the storm was over, but the sky was still overcast, it was cold, windy and at times there was heavy rain. Then, in the midst of this, the sun came out from behind the clouds and a beautiful rainbow appeared.  We could see it from one end of the bow to the other.  I'm so glad I was awake to see it (often the motion of the car ride sends me off to sleep!)   It was back in the time of a man call...