Hope For Today

Dear Friends, A Father Who Knows How To Give Good Gifts My husband, Jason, is so good at buying gifts. Not just gifts for special occasions, but gifts for no other reason than it's what he loves to do. It's one of his ways of showing someone he loves them. I've been blessed on numerous occasions with flowers he has bought for me. When he is away from home or is on a day out, he will often see something he thinks one of our children or one of our nieces will like and will buy it, such as a particular colour of nail varnish for our daughter Jess. His way of giving gifts to our children just because he loves them reminds me of how God, our Heavenly Father, loves to give his children gifts too, for no other reason than he loves us and it brings him pleasure. If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him? Matthew 7...

Dear Friends, I love to write.  I enjoy writing - whether it's for myself in my journal or I'm writing with the purpose of encouraging others through my blog.  Whether  my writing is just between me and God or there's a wider audience. I gain pleasure from it either way. I believe God has created me with this love of writing and that it also brings him pleasure when he sees me doing something he has created me to do. The Bible says in James 1:17a " Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens." (NLT) God has blessed each of us in so many ways and it's good to stop and take the time to recognise and give him our appreciation for all that he has given us. "Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy ." 1 Timothy 6:17 (HCSB) For me, wr...

Dear Friends, It can be so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life, can't it.  We rush from one task to the next, whether it's collecting our children from an after school club, running an errand for our husband, washing dirty clothes, meeting work deadlines, serving at church or going from one meeting to the next.   Have you ever felt like the rabbit from the book "Alice in Wonderland" who is running along muttering to himself "Oh my fur and whiskers!  I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"  I don't know about you but I can often feel that I have too much to do and no time to do it in.  And I can run around in a frenzy trying to keep on top of my tasks for the day. This busyness can stop me from pausing to ponder and reflect on life. It can hinder my thinking process, because rushing around makes me just too busy to think.  I believe Mary, Jesus' mother developed the habit of reflection.  She would take the time to pause and ponder....