Hope For Today

Dear Friends, I am so grateful to you, my readers, for coming on a journey with me through my blog posts this year. It is a blessing to me to think that you like to read what I write and my prayer is that what you have read has touched your hearts - encouraging, challenging and inspiring you in your personal walk with Christ. Emmanuel - what a wonderful reminder that God is with us. With us, whether we spend Christmas with friends and family, or on our own, with us in our joys and our sorrows, with us in our hopes and our fears. I wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. With Christian love, Vicki xx

Dear Friends,  God Looks at the Heart  I've been thinking a great deal about Mary, the mother of Jesus, over these past few days.  Would you or I have chosen Mary if we were looking for someone to be the mother of God's only Son? I wonder if I would have looked for a woman who had experience in being a good mother, who knew what she was doing. A woman who came from a wealthy family and had the means to give Jesus all that he could possibly need.  Yet God didn't choose a woman like that. He chose Mary, a nobody, a girl in her early to mid-teens, from the small village of Nazareth, of which was said: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" (see  John 1:46 ) When God chose Mary, I don't believe he saw a nobody, he looked at her heart and he saw someone just right for being the mother of his Son. He saw a woman after his own heart. He saw in her just what he saw in David, one of her ancestors, born many years before her. But God removed S...

'The World is Waiting' Dear Friends, Today's post is a poem by Malcolm Duncan, used with his permission: ‘The World is Waiting.’ Bated breath and freezing air, Expectation everywhere. In Gerrard’s Cross, Chalfont Heights, Homes and Hearts turn on the lights For Christmas Time is coming Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock, tick... Children wait with saucer-eyes Trying to contain their smiles Parents hope they’ve done enough Or do the kids need some more ‘stuff’ For Christmas Time is coming Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick... And behind next door’s curtain The Joneses aren’t that certain About the point of all of this? There must be more to Christmas But there’s so much still to do Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick... It’s the secret no-one speaks, No-where seen on Wiki-Leaks! But everyone can sense it, We all yearn to confess it, We’re waiting for something more- For someone behind the door. For Hope to keep us going, For Love to keep us growing, And Christ...

What's In A Name? Dear Friends, For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!  Isaiah 9:6-7  (NLT) Wonderful Counselor; Mighty God; Everlasting Father; Prince of Peace. These are all names given to Jesus. As such they are aspects of his character, they describe who he is and what he has come to do. Let's take a look at each one: 1. Wonderful Counsellor ...the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.  Isaiah 28:29   (NKJV) When you and I need advice, guidance, direction who or what do we go to? Do we rely on self? Are we fiercely independent? Wanting our own way? Do we ...

Dear Friends, What Is Your Motivation? By now, many of you will probably know that I enjoy reading. One of my particular favourite genres is Christian historical fiction. A few months ago I read  A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander .  It  really challenged me and got me thinking. And this is what I would like to share with you today.  The heroine of the story is Claire Laurent. She loves to paint and her greatest desire is to make a name for herself in the world of art and leave a lasting impression on the world. One morning she hears God speaking to her heart, asking her, "Would you paint if you knew you were painting only for me?" She battles with her answer. She questions if God has given her the gift of painting, why isn't he using it? She comes to the conclusion that, whilst she doesn't fully understand what God is asking of her, she knows the love she felt from God as he asked her that question is what she wants, more than anything. So s...

Dear Friends, Yes, this is a second blog post for today!  Unmasked: Fuelled by Misunderstanding; Removed through Love In my first one you will have read that Claire Musters was my guest. Well, I also have a guest post on her blog today... I am very familiar with mask wearing. I became ill with M.E. (also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) over twenty years ago. I also suffer with chronic migraines and depression. In the beginning it was particularly hard to adjust to. Whenever I prepared to meet with anyone I would make sure that my mask was firmly in place. People in my life, such as family, friends and church, knew I was living with this long-term illness, but I didn't like to talk about it. If anyone asked how I was, rather than be honest with them and tell them 'I'm really struggling, I'm depressed and my poor health is getting to me', I would tell them that I was fine thank you and then quickly change the subject. I would paste a smile on my face w...

Dear Friends, Unmasked Yes, this is a second blog post for today!  In my first one you will have read that Claire Musters was my guest. (If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, please click  here ) Well, I also have a guest post on her blog today... I am very familiar with mask wearing. I became ill with M.E. (also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) over twenty years ago. I also suffer with chronic migraines and depression. In the beginning it was particularly hard to adjust to. Whenever I prepared to meet with anyone  I would make sure that my mask was firmly in place . People in my life, such as family, friends and church, knew I was living with this long-term illness, but I didn’t like to talk about it. If anyone asked how I was, rather than be honest with them and tell them ‘I’m really struggling, I’m depressed and my poor health is getting to me’, I would tell th...

Dear Friends, I am thrilled to have Claire Musters as a guest on my blog today. I recently connected with her on Facebook when I joined her 'Taking Off the Mask Launch Group'. Earlier this month she published her book, "Taking Off the Mask" and I reviewed it a few weeks ago on this blog. (If you missed it, click here to read it.)  Over to Claire... Having walked through a particularly painful episode in my own life, and then seen how God has redeemed it years later is so encouraging. In fact He has now actually called me to share what was a very shameful part of my past in my latest book, Taking Off the Mask - although it holds no shame for me today.  I think it is so important that we are honest with one another - about our struggles and pain but also about the joys we experience in life with Him. I have seen time and time again how He has transformed my brokenness and turned it into something beautiful. Here is an extract from my book, in which I ...

Dear Friends, It was this time last year when I self-published my devotional book. Today, with help from Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing, and especially God, it is also now available as an eBook in Kindle. Although I may not know you all personally I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have bought a copy of my book and I pray that God will bless you as you read it. If you have read it, please would you consider posting a review of it on Amazon. It need only be a sentence or two with a star rating, as this would then help others when considering whether this book is for them or not. I have been so encouraged by verbal feedback I have received from you, so thank you for this. With the run up to Christmas it may be something worth considering as a present for someone you know, or even purchasing it for yourself ready to begin in the new year. Below is the table of contents to give you some idea of what is in the book: Week 1 Trusting in God...