Hope For Today

Dear Friends, I was thinking recently about one of my favourite verses which is Romans 8:28 " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (NLT) It's also precious to me for another reason, it was a favourite verse of my Grandad's too.  My Grandad was a good man, he worked hard all his life, he loved God and he loved his family, his wife, son and daughter and his four grand-daughters.  He had a great sense of humour and a lovely smile.  I remember just a few days from his death, (he was at home, his bed had been brought downstairs because he was to ill to move anywhere and my Nan had insisted that she would take care of him at home) he was full of drugs to help ease the pain of his cancer riddled body and in one of his more lucid moments he smiled and winked at me.  I knew by that he was telling me he loved me and it was ok. After he had died and gone t...

Dear Friends, Some time back I was preparing  a message I was to give at church.  After spending time in prayer and preparation I was pleased with the content and believed I had something good to share which would bless those who would be listening. I believe that when we are doing what God has calls us to do there is a sense of joy, satisfaction and fulfilment to be found in knowing we are doing what he has made us for.  Galatians 6:4 says this "Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done , and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else." (NLT) However, I was concerned at the same time for this joy and satisfaction not to turn to pride in myself.  So I spent time alone with God, sharing my concerns with him.  I am conscious of how easily it could be to become proud in my efforts, mistakenly believing that what I have done is good because of my own abilities, my...

Dear Friends, As a child and growing up I was painfully shy.  I lacked confidence in myself and battled with an inferiority complex.  I disliked having to do anything which would draw attention to myself. I enjoyed English Literature but I dreaded those lessons when we would read a book aloud. I would sit in fear of being chosen to read, but being picked to read was inevitable.  I was not skilled in reading aloud, I would stammer and stutter, falling over words and would just make a complete mess of it.  In GCSE English Language we would have to give speeches.  Having to speak about something for 3 minutes to 30 or so classmates filled me with horror!  I had nothing of interest to say, how could I possibly speak for that long?  I would stand up feeling physically ill, with my knees knocking together and struggle through the speech I had prepared. These experiences added to my low self-esteem and made me feel like a failure....

Dear Friends, Over the past few weeks these words from Psalm 46:10 have been very much on my mind: "Be still, and know that I am God!" (NLT).  They are a great reminder for me during the hustle and bustle and worry of everyday life. Be ... we are human 'beings', yet we find it hard sometimes, or at least I do, to just 'be'. We can find it hard not to feel guilty when we're not doing something.  But God invites us to be with him, to be who we are, to be ourselves, to be real, to be in a relationship with him.  With him there's no need to pretend to be someone or something we're not. Be still ...in God's presence, to be still physically, to quiet our minds, to be present, to sit in solitude and quiet with him, at peace, calm, unhurried, alone with him, to listen to him, to 'do nothing'. How I struggle with stillness.  As I said, I find it hard just to 'be'.  If I'm watching television in the evening with Jason, I hav...

Dear Friends, (Today I want to share with you a summary of a message I recently gave at my church.  As it's a bit longer than usual you may like to split it into two readings or make yourself a cup of tea and take the time to sit, relax and read.) Towards the end of last year I was not in a good place, emotionally or mentally and so I was advised by my G.P to attend a Stress Control Course.  T he course gave me some useful, practical information and in the last session we looked at 7 key things which help to boost our wellbeing so that we can move from languishing to flourishing. Now, while it was good, it was missing one key element – the presence of God and our relationship with him.   When he is included then there is a significant increase in my sense of wellbeing, and I can experience a life that is worth living. I’ve tweaked these 7 things so that I can share them from a biblical perspective. 1.      ...