Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Words can have such an impact for good or for bad on our lives if we allow them to.  Today I want  us to look at 3 different types of words: 1. Words of encouragement I am blessed to have people around me who encourage me in my ministry and my life.  Some may never realise just how much their words mean to me.  Although I believe God has called me to my ministry, there are some days when I allow doubts, questions and fears in.  This happened one particular Sunday and at the end of the morning a lady came up to me and really encouraged me by the things she said to me.  Now, whether she knew it or not, I believe it was God giving me encouragement through her.  He was encouraging me to keep going, he was confirming me in what I was doing and he was with me.   God knows just when we need encouragement and he gives it to us through a variety of means, such as via another person, as we read his word, as we listen to ...

Dear Friends, Bugsy, my daughter's rabbit decided he'd had enough of being confined to his cage and run in the garden, he wanted to see the world! On this particular morning my kids were at school/college, Jason was at work and I'd been out having a great time at my bible study group for mums. When I got home I had a lot on my mind, thinking about what to have for lunch and what chores to do before everyone came home at the end of the day.  I locked my car door and as I walked to my front door, some rustling came from the bush at the side of our house.  The thought came to my mind that this could be Bugsy, but I dismissed this idea as quickly as it had come, after all Bugsy was secure in his run, it had to be a bird hopping around in the bush or probably one of the neighbourhood cats. Jess with Bugsy I thought nothing more about it and got on with my afternoon.  About 45 minutes later there was a knock at my door.  I opened it to find my neig...

Dear Friends, I had decided what I would write in this post, but then midway through the week I changed my mind, or perhaps I should say, I felt that God changed my mind, as to what I should write about. In my daily quiet time I've been reading the book of Daniel, and on this particular morning, God highlighted a verse to me which gave me tremendous encouragement, comfort and blessing.  I have written it onto card so that I can keep reading it and meditating on it.  The more I thought on it, the more I felt that I wasn't to keep it to myself, that if it had blessed me, then there were probably others who would also find it encouraging and comforting. I don't know what you are facing right now, I don't know how your relationship is with God, but my prayer is that as you are reading this right now God will bless you and give you the encouragement and comfort you may be in need of. The verse is Daniel 10:19 “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for...

Dear Friends, I was having a rough morning, battling a migraine and the depression, when my sister rang up for a chat.  Not living locally to each other but being close as sisters we like to keep in regular contact via the telephone and share what's been happening in our respective lives.  We have a great relationship with each other, always have had despite the usual sibling arguments growing up together.  We tell each other pretty much everything, so apart from our husbands, we are the ones who know each other the best. She asked me how I was with my health at the moment and it didn't take long for me to burst into tears.  Now, at this point she could have said to me, "I'll ring you later, bye for now", or "Pull yourself together" as some might do.  Instead she said "You have a good cry."  Her words showed me she cared, that she knows how releasing crying can be and that tears can bring healing.  Crying is an important part of releasing...

Dear Friends, During our holiday in Spain we spent a weekend in Barcelona and the highlight of my weekend was our visit to Barcelona's Cathedral - Basilica de la Sagrada Familia.  Although work began on it in the 1800s, it is not expected to be completed until 2026. It is an incredible building and has been designed chiefly by the architect, Antonio Gaudi (also known as God's Architect).  It was amazing to wander around this building, but it became more meaningful and special when we listened to our English speaking tour guide.  From what I gathered Gaudi was a man of faith, whose vision was to give his best to God and to bring glory to God through his work.  For his time he was an innovator because rather than having everything about God within the building he chose to have them on display on the outside of the building, his aim being for people to look and learn about the teachings of the gospels and the...

Dear Friends, I have a close relationship with my Mum.  She lives just a 15 minute walk from my home making it easy to pop in and see her, we often share lunch and a chat together once a week, and if we don't see each other then we speak  regularly on the phone or send each other text messages. Being the summer season, over the last few weeks either my parents have been away on holiday or I've been away with my family.  During those weeks I found I really missed her as we weren't able to connect in the same way.  We did manage to send a text or two during that time, but this didn't make up for the lack of real, meaningful conversations.  It was so good to come back from our holiday and meet up a day or two later to have a proper sharing time over a cup of tea. I also found that while I was on holiday I faced a similar situation in my relationship with God. I know it's not the same for everyone, but I find I tend to thrive and live life best when I h...

Dear Friends, Where does the time go?  Have you ever found yourself saying that?  I'm sure most of you have said that on more than one occasion.  I had planned a relaxing week when I was home alone whilst Jason and our kids were away at camp.  I knew that if I was going to feel at my best so that I could really enjoy my holiday with my family, I needed to be careful the week prior to our holiday (the week they were all at camp). But before I knew it the first day had gone by and I was on to my second day, and frankly I wasn't feeling particularly relaxed!  Instead of relaxing I kept noticing things that I thought needed to be done, such as hoovering, or changing the sheets on the children's beds, or giving the living room an intense dust and polish.  I know if Jason were here he would have told me not to bother, but he wasn't and so there was no-one to stop me.  I do tend to put pressure on myself to do things that aren't always necessar...