Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Mother's Day will soon be upon us so I want to concentrate on Mothers in this post.  Mothers have such a significant role in the family and we should never underestimate the value and influence of mothers.  God knows how important the family is and he may perhaps have placed another woman in your life to be a "mother" to you, such as an older sister, an aunt, a grandmother, or someone in your church. My Mum will never be famous, she will never have her name in a "Who's Who" book, although, more significantly, her name is in God's Book of Life, just as all those who have accepted Christ as their Saviour are named in his book.  " They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life." Philippians 4:3 (NLT).  The world may never believe she has contributed anything of significance, but I know there will come the day when God will recognise her for what she has done and will say...

Dear Friends, Last Sunday morning at church I preached on  'Hearing from God'. Whenever I preach I know that what I'm sharing is as much for me as it is for those who are listening.  God really made that very clear to me that very afternoon. I based the message on 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1 and shared how we need to have the same attitude as Samuel, who, when he realised God was speaking to him said "Speak, your servant is listening."  ( v10 NLT).  I shared that if we are really listening to God then we will act on what he says to us no matter how hard it may be. Jason and I had a decision to make and we had been seeking God for the answer. That afternoon, as we chatted over a cup of tea, Jason shared what he thought God was saying.  He said there was a part of him that didn't want to follow through on it, but he couldn't get away from what he felt God was telling him, and God had brought it back to him as I'd been preaching that morning. ...

Dear Friends, Ever had one of those times when it seems that one thing after another goes wrong?  At the end of last year our heating broke down and we needed to call the plumber.  Early on in this year Jason's car had a service as it had a major problem, we thought we had it all sorted when, in only a matter of days, another problem with the car surfaced so it needed fixing again and then last Sunday it broke down as Jason and my son, Josh were leaving church after the morning service.  I couldn't believe it when Jason rang me to let me know what had happened and to ask me to come and pick them up as his car was going nowhere! I was annoyed to have something else go wrong, especially when we had anticipated an enjoyable afternoon with friends.  Like I said, it was one thing after another and I'd had enough!  Where was God in all this?  How could he let this happen?  Didn't he know the affect it was having on us to cope with o...

Dear Friends, While trying to come to terms with the diagnosis that I was suffering with M.E I can remember asking God "Why now?"  Why now when I'm in the early years of marriage to Jason and we are still adjusting to the relationship, why now when I'm busy with church activities, why now when, in my 20s, I should be fit and healthy and able to go out to work and make a financial contribution to our marriage.  Now is just not a good time to have to deal with a long term illness. I didn't realise it at the time but what I was actually saying to God was: "You know what, you've got it wrong, I shouldn't be ill now, you've made a mistake and I'm going to tell you why you're wrong."  I thought I knew what was best for my life, surely I knew better than God what I needed and when I needed it.  I had forgotten that God is my Creator and I am his created one, that he is the potter and I am the clay.  " And yet, O Lord , you are our F...

Dear Friends, When I was first diagnosed with M.E (M yalgic Encephalomyelitis)  in the late 1990s I really struggled to come to terms with it. I can remember in the early years and when it was at its worst saying that God was taking everything away from me. This was truly how I felt, and the hurt and the pain from what I was losing was intense. It's a pain which actually cannot fully be put into words. Not only had I lost my health and strength, I had to give up work and I wasn't able to do the things I'd been doing at church, such as leading Sunday School and running a youth group with my husband. Jason and I had married in the Summer of 1995 and the illness meant I wasn't able to do all I wanted to do in the home or to be the kind of wife I wanted to be for Jason and I wasn't able to socialise (for me that meant not going to church and mixing with church friends). It really felt like God was taking everything away from me and like I said, it was extremely pa...

Dear Friends, As parents, Jason and I are responsible for our children's well-being.  That's why we, like many parents, set boundaries for our children.  One of those boundaries is the time they are to go to bed.  They sometimes moan that everyone else their age goes to bed much later than they do.  My response to that is that I'm not responsible for other children, but I am responsible for them and that means setting an age appropriate bedtime.  I believe that it's important for their health and for them to get a good night's sleep so that they can concentrate in their classes.  They may not agree with me, but I don't do this to be unfair or mean or because I don't care, in fact the opposite is true, I love them and want the best for them.  I remember Josh saying when he reached the age of 15, that now he was 15 he could watch 15 rated films.  We talked about it and I explained that, while in the eyes of the law he is allowed to wat...

Dear Friends, As I write this Valentine's Day is approaching so it will probably come as no surprise to you that I have chosen to write about love.  I'm not talking about the romantic, sentimental, bunch of roses, box of chocolates kind of love, I'm talking about authentic, genuine, godly love.  It's a love based not just on feelings, it's not just a matter of the heart.  To love is a choice, it's a matter for the mind, an act of will.  We are to love consistently, whether we feel like it or not, whether the person reciprocates in love or not, and we should not use it or abuse it to manipulate others.  We read in 1 John 4:8 " But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (NLT)  God loves us with a love that we have never ever experienced before, and as we follow him and love him in return, his love flows through us to others.  Jesus, the Son of God, says to u...