Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Whilst on holiday with family, I am enjoying a day of peace and quiet on my own. As I sit in the stillness I can hear the breeze blowing through the leaves of the trees. Various birds in song and the occasional hum from a bee. Sometimes we are so busy and there is so much noise going on around us that we miss the beauty there is in the quiet. The beauty in God's creation. We miss the sense of peace and tranquillity given by our God who loves to give us good gifts. At home I don't seem to have much time for stillness and quiet. My phone rings and interrupts me at the most awkward times. The washing machine or dishwasher whirl noisily. Emails shout for my attention. Housework begs to be done. Music is playing. The television is on in the background. Despite being busy and often having people demanding his attention, Jesus often withdrew from them so that he could have time alone with God, to pray and converse with God. For...

Dear Friends, Many young children enjoy drawing and colouring. As a child I used to enjoy colouring books, but as I grew older these books were laid aside. As I grew up life got busier with schooling, and other things became more important.  As adults, we have many responsibilities which claim our time and attention - taking care of the home, marriage, children, work, church life etc. We are busy all the time. Rushing from one thing to the next, almost without taking a breath. We even try to multi- task in an attempt to fit it all in. Life can get quite stressful as we try to juggle what needs to be done. Not only are we busy in our bodies, our minds are also often just as busy, filled with worries, concerns, anxieties, fears, lists of things we need to do etc. In recent years adult colouring books have become more and more popular. Some claim there are health benefits to them, that colouring helps us to de-stress, relax, unwind, calm our minds and reduce our anxiety. Th...

Dear Friends, Over the past few weeks these words from Psalm 46:10 have been very much on my mind: "Be still, and know that I am God!" (NLT).  They are a great reminder for me during the hustle and bustle and worry of everyday life. Be ... we are human 'beings', yet we find it hard sometimes, or at least I do, to just 'be'. We can find it hard not to feel guilty when we're not doing something.  But God invites us to be with him, to be who we are, to be ourselves, to be real, to be in a relationship with him.  With him there's no need to pretend to be someone or something we're not. Be still ...in God's presence, to be still physically, to quiet our minds, to be present, to sit in solitude and quiet with him, at peace, calm, unhurried, alone with him, to listen to him, to 'do nothing'. How I struggle with stillness.  As I said, I find it hard just to 'be'.  If I'm watching television in the evening with Jason, I hav...