Hope For Today

Dear Friends, As is my usual practice for a new year, I am investing in January as the month to seek God's direction for my life in 2017. If you have read my previous blogs written at the start of a new year, you will know that I have chosen a verse which is important for me for that particular year. And last year I focused on a word which was relevant for the year ahead.  I've noticed, from reading various American devotionals and blogs, that the idea of choosing one particular word has become more and more popular. (You can find more information from Mike Ashcraft: myoneword.org and Rachel Wojo: scripturedoodle.com). This year, as I've spent time alone with God, I've sensed him leading me towards the word "TRUST" I was reading Genesis 15 one morning and the verse that stood out to me was 15:6 " And Abram believed the  Lord , and the  Lord  counted him as righteous because of his faith." (NLT)  The original Hebrew word for ' believ...

Dear Friends, As a child I enjoyed visiting castles and old English homes with my family.  I particularly liked it if there was a maze on the grounds.  It was fun to pair off and see who was going to reach the centre first.  Of course it always meant taking some wrong turns, coming against a dead end, not being sure whether to go right or left and sometimes re-tracing our steps, but we always got there in the end.  One of Jason's uncles owns a farm and he has planted and pruned willow trees in an area of seven acres of land.  He did this to create a maze.  But there is something unique about his maze, which you are not aware of it when on the ground.  A different perspective is needed.  From an aerial view you realise that the maze is actually created so that you can read from above the words taken from John 14:6a " Jesus told him, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life.'" (NLT)   Life can sometimes feel like a maze. There are ti...

Dear Friends, Ever had one of those days, weeks, seasons which has been frustrating and difficult, when you're frustrated by your limitations, when you want to do so much more than you are doing, when you're not able to do the things you want to do, let alone the things you need to do? I know I have.  I live with the long term illness, M.E (Myalgia Encephalitis), some days are worse than others, some are bad, some are not too good either.  I've been in the middle of one of those bad times and to be honest with you, I was feeling really frustrated!  When the M.E. is worse, everything is so much harder, even simple things such as walking up my stairs and preparing a meal, become almost impossible tasks as I have limited strength and energy.  Because we are so much more than just physical beings, my whole self is affected - emotionally and spiritually.  I am so frustrated by my limitations, there's so much more I long to do but I'm just not ...