Hope For Today

Dear Friends, I so enjoy reading books about people from the Bible, particularly the women of the Bible, who I believe have so much to teach us about what it means to know God and to be known by God. So, when I heard that Joanna had written this book I was keen to learn how I could be involved and I joined her 'Forever Loved: Eve's Story' Launch Team. I was not disappointed when I read her book. I only wish it could have been longer! 🙂  Forever Loved: Eve's Story is a creative retelling of Genesis 1 - 5 , told through the eyes of Eve. It's a beautiful retelling of her story and she really comes to life within the pages of Joanna's book. We get to see just how much Eve is loved by her Papa. Throughout her story, we see God's father heart and his unconditional, endless, love for Eve. We see the special relationship she has with her Father and how he lovingly draws her back to himself as he forgives her. There is pain and heartbreak, but also joy and ...

If you would like to listen to today's devotional, please click  here Dear Friends, What does it mean to remain in Christ? In John 15:1-17  Jesus uses the illustration of a grapevine to explain our relationship with him and how we are to remain in him. He uses the word "remain" ten times in those verses. Jesus says: "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener...Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing." ( v1,5  NLT) In v4   Jesus says this: "Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] … abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine," (AMP) The Message paraphrases v4   as  “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you." But what does it mean to remain, dwell, live, abide in Christ?  1. Connection and Communication  I am in Jesus and he is in me. This...

If you would like to listen to today's devotional instead of reading, then please click  here Dear Friends,  Rest: A Necessity or A Luxury? We live in such a fast-paced world, where we hardly take a moment to stop and take a breath. We feel pressured to move at the pace of everyone else. Whenever I've had to get the train to London, the moment I step off the train and onto the platform, I find myself swept along in the frantic pace set by those around me. Everyone is rushing and without realising it, it's easy to get caught up in the rush. We tend to feel guilty if we admit we need to have a rest. We find it hard to accept our own limitations. We put a huge amount of pressure on ourselves to keep going. We view rest as a luxury and tell ourselves "I'd love to be able to have a rest, I just don't have the time." But rest is not a luxury, it is, in truth a necessity. We need rest. I believe that if we continually ignore our need to rest, Go...

Dear Friends, Just last year I connected with Liz Carter through Facebook. I also signed up for her newsletter because I love what she has to say. When I signed up I received her eBook, "A Tale of Beauty for Ashes" for free. (If you are interested, you can do the same by clicking on this link here ) Alternatively, you can buy it as an eBook or paperback version at a very reasonable price (through Amazon ) Read on if you're interested to know what her book is about and why I liked it... I loved how Liz Carter combined the live action Disney film "Beauty and the Beast" (My all-time favourite Disney film 😊 Who doesn't love "Beauty and the Beast"?!) with Isaiah 61 for this six week Bible Study. She has used scenes from the film to explore the Biblical theme of redemption and restoration. Each week looks at a different aspect of restoration: such as our identity, our past, our hope, and our future. Each session ends with a thought from Isaiah 61 a...

If you would like to listen to today's devotional instead of reading, then please click   here Dear Friends, Attend to your oxygen mask first Jason and I have recently returned from a short break away in Morocco. We travelled by plane and if you've ever flown then you'll be familiar with the safety talk given at the start of each flight. The part of the talk which always stands out for me is when they mention that if oxygen masks are needed  in the event of an emergency,   you are to attend to your own oxygen mask first, before assisting your child with theirs. The principle here is that if you don't first take care of yourself, you will not be able to help anyone else. For me, this behaviour is the opposite of what I learned growing up in an evangelical church setting. Through teaching and example, I learned that others and their needs came way ahead of mine. I grew up believing that as a Christian I should serve and minister to others and that my needs...