Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash When my son reached a certain age we allowed him to have a Facebook account. Once he'd set it up, he excitedly told us how many 'friends' he had.  But we know that there is a world of difference between our social media 'friends' and the face-to-face friendships we have with others. Social media has highlighted the need that we all have for connection. God has made us for connection, first and foremost with himself, and secondly with others. Facebook has provided me with the opportunity to develop friendships with others who I would have never otherwise known and it's great to connect with like-minded people. Whilst such a friendship can develop over time  to a certain level , I don't believe it can ever replace the depth and closeness that is gained through face-to-face friendships. I belong to a friendship triplet and I am blessed in so many ways by this group. We try to meet as regul...

Dear Friends, It's so good to be back after a few weeks break over the summer period. The following story is thanks to a friend of mine for bringing it to my attention. My friend recently posted a news clip on Facebook from BBC News with the title "US runner praised after stopping mid-race to help fallen rival".  The story is about two athletes who were competing in the qualifying heat for the 5,000 metres.  Hamblin, the New Zealand Athlete fell and as she did she also tripped up US athlete, D'Agostino.  Instead of getting up and running on D'Agostino helped Hamblin to her feet, encouraging her to finish the race. Later D'Agostino fell as she had been injured from the first fall and this time it was Hamblin's turn to help her up and encourage her to keep going.  They were both awarded the International Fair Play Committee Award Medal for their Olympic spirit. In the Bible the writer Paul uses the example of athletes and running a race as an illustra...