Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Have you ever felt that God has made a mistake or got it wrong when it comes to dealing with your life or people in your life?  That's how I felt a couple of weeks back and I even told him so.  Let me explain... Last month our daughter, Jess, had to decide which GCSE subjects she would like to take next September.  Jason and I spent time discussing it with her, going to the Options Evening for Parents at school, giving her support and advice on her strengths and listening to what she wanted to take.  She was given a sheet which had four columns on it, from each column she was to indicate her first choice of subject and also a reserve in case it wasn't possible to have her first choice.  We were glad to see that Early Years (or Childcare) and Art were in two different columns as these were the subjects she was really interested in. During our deliberations we have included a lot of prayer as we believe that God is sovereign and we want hi...

Dear Friends, We have framed photos of many of our family, especially our two children, in our home in several of the rooms and Jason also has a photo of Josh and Jess on his desk at work.  Why do we keep these photos visible and not just in an album?  Because our family are precious to us, we love them, they bring us joy and when we see their photos we are reminded of them and how much they mean to us.  They may not be with us all the time, but with the use of photography they are kept close to us. God has an even better way of keeping us, his children, in his thoughts.  It says in Isaiah 49:16 " See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands." (NLT).  Just spend a few moments dwelling on this verse - God has written my name, Vicki, he's written your name, on the palm of his hand.  Why would he do that?  I believe it's because he loves us so much that he wants us ever before him.  We are precious to him, he cares abo...

Dear Friends, I want to share with you one of the ways that my Dad communicated his love for me when I was a young child.  Whenever we were out walking I used to like holding his hand and at some point along the walk my Dad would give my hand a gentle squeeze, it was his code for "I love you", then I would return the squeeze to say (again without words) "I love you too." As a child holding her Daddy's hand, not only did I know I was loved, I knew I was safe and protected. If I was afraid of something, like walking past a big dog I would cling tightly to his hand until I felt the "danger" had passed, and I could relax my grip. When I tripped on a crooked pavement or slipped on an icy patch, my Daddy would keep me from falling.  He gave me security, I knew that anything that might want to hurt me would have to get past my Daddy first. There was no place better to be than in my Daddy's hands. My Dad's love for me as his child reminds me of m...

Dear Friends, Some of you will know that for nearly a year now I have been receiving help from the London Migraine Clinic.  I had another appointment with them last Thursday and came out of it feeling very down and discouraged.  I was reduced to tears and my initial emotional response was that after all these months I was back to where I'd started, still having regular migraines and being told that once again I needed a two month break from painkillers, apart from using a particular medicine which helps as a preventative and some pain relief, while I continue with the preventative medicine I've been taking for the last two months.  I didn't feel like I wanted to carry on with my life like this, it was just too hard and had got too much for me. But I thank God that Jason was with me, he took me to a nearby café for a hot drink, a chat and a chance to sit down and collect my thoughts.  Jason was happy to support me whatever I decided and we...