Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Mother's Day will soon be upon us so I want to concentrate on Mothers in this post.  Mothers have such a significant role in the family and we should never underestimate the value and influence of mothers.  God knows how important the family is and he may perhaps have placed another woman in your life to be a "mother" to you, such as an older sister, an aunt, a grandmother, or someone in your church. My Mum will never be famous, she will never have her name in a "Who's Who" book, although, more significantly, her name is in God's Book of Life, just as all those who have accepted Christ as their Saviour are named in his book.  " They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life." Philippians 4:3 (NLT).  The world may never believe she has contributed anything of significance, but I know there will come the day when God will recognise her for what she has done and will say...

Dear Friends, Last Sunday morning at church I preached on  'Hearing from God'. Whenever I preach I know that what I'm sharing is as much for me as it is for those who are listening.  God really made that very clear to me that very afternoon. I based the message on 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1 and shared how we need to have the same attitude as Samuel, who, when he realised God was speaking to him said "Speak, your servant is listening."  ( v10 NLT).  I shared that if we are really listening to God then we will act on what he says to us no matter how hard it may be. Jason and I had a decision to make and we had been seeking God for the answer. That afternoon, as we chatted over a cup of tea, Jason shared what he thought God was saying.  He said there was a part of him that didn't want to follow through on it, but he couldn't get away from what he felt God was telling him, and God had brought it back to him as I'd been preaching that morning. ...

Dear Friends, Ever had one of those times when it seems that one thing after another goes wrong?  At the end of last year our heating broke down and we needed to call the plumber.  Early on in this year Jason's car had a service as it had a major problem, we thought we had it all sorted when, in only a matter of days, another problem with the car surfaced so it needed fixing again and then last Sunday it broke down as Jason and my son, Josh were leaving church after the morning service.  I couldn't believe it when Jason rang me to let me know what had happened and to ask me to come and pick them up as his car was going nowhere! I was annoyed to have something else go wrong, especially when we had anticipated an enjoyable afternoon with friends.  Like I said, it was one thing after another and I'd had enough!  Where was God in all this?  How could he let this happen?  Didn't he know the affect it was having on us to cope with o...

Dear Friends, While trying to come to terms with the diagnosis that I was suffering with M.E I can remember asking God "Why now?"  Why now when I'm in the early years of marriage to Jason and we are still adjusting to the relationship, why now when I'm busy with church activities, why now when, in my 20s, I should be fit and healthy and able to go out to work and make a financial contribution to our marriage.  Now is just not a good time to have to deal with a long term illness. I didn't realise it at the time but what I was actually saying to God was: "You know what, you've got it wrong, I shouldn't be ill now, you've made a mistake and I'm going to tell you why you're wrong."  I thought I knew what was best for my life, surely I knew better than God what I needed and when I needed it.  I had forgotten that God is my Creator and I am his created one, that he is the potter and I am the clay.  " And yet, O Lord , you are our F...