Hope For Today

Dear Friends, At this time of year, many people's thoughts turn to love and Valentine's Day. For some, it's a day to look forward to as they look for ways to express love to someone they care about and as they wait to receive expressions of love in return. For others, it can be a painful reminder of love lost or feeling that they have no-one who loves them as they desire to be loved. Each one of us longs to be loved and accepted. We were made for relationships. We can experience many forms of love, whether it's the love of parents for a child (and vice versa), love between siblings, love of a good friend, love between girlfriend and boyfriend, or husband and wife etc. As much as we can receive and give love within these relationships, no one person was ever meant to meet all our needs. One person cannot totally satisfy our need to be loved and accepted. If we look for that person to do so, they will end up frustrated that they are not able to be all that we nee...

Dear Friends, I love my children and will sometimes say to them "You are my favourite son/daughter."  The response I usually get from them is a groan or rolling of the eyes and "Mu-um, I'm your only son/daughter."  I tell them, "Yes, but you're still my favourite!"  It's my way of letting them know how much I love them, how precious, how special they are to me.  For me, it's a picture of how I believe God loves each one of us.  He loves me in such a way that he says to me, "You're my favourite!"  And I believe he loves you in such a way too and says "You're my favourite!". God loves each one of us with an incredible, incomparable, unconditional love.  A love that goes beyond the ordinary.  A love that is pure and selfless.  A genuine love.  A love that is beyond our understanding.  He loves us each individually and considers us all his favourite. I love words and I love the word used to describe how Go...

Dear Friends, As I write this, Valentine's Day is fast approaching.  I'm sure that with that day comes all kinds of mixed emotions for many people.  Some will be eagerly anticipating it, especially if they are in the throes of new love (such as a certain young man I know!), for some it will be a reminder of their singleness when it seems as though everyone else is celebrating, for some there will be sad memories of love lost, others perhaps will be feeling that their relationships fall short of what they had hoped for etc. But today I want us to put aside these things to re-focus on God and his love for each one of us.  So, make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, get yourself comfy in your favourite chair, find somewhere you can be alone from others and let's quieten are hearts and minds so we can draw near to God and contemplate on his love for us.  Take your time as you read, stop and meditate over each verse. When thinking about what is real love and wh...