Hope For Today

Dear Friends, Towards the end of last year I had a strong sense God was telling me that I needed to get Jess tested for dyslexia.  God didn't speak to me in an audible voice, yet he spoke so clearly to my heart that it was just as if he had spoken the words aloud to me.  " The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, [ Jesus the Good Shepherd]  and the sheep [that's you and me]  recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4  After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.  John 10:3-4 (NLT) I shared with Jason what I believed God was saying and he agreed it was important for us to look into it.  I am so glad I had Jason's support and that we were in this together.  So we went through the appropriate channels at her school. I have to admit part of me wasn't too sure about acting on what God was telling me to do.  What...

Dear Friends, I waited in hope for a devotional I had submitted online to be accepted.  The previous one had been accepted so I was hopeful that this one would also be accepted.  Surely they would like what I had written?  Yet hope dwindled as time went by and I had received no response.  The deadline for hearing back from them had passed.  With the passing of time, hope left me. I was so disappointed. I had really hoped to hear a yes from them.  There were brief moments when I was able to think objectively.  When I was able to tell myself, "That's OK.  What I had written did not meet their requirements this time.  It wasn't needed because it didn't fit with the direction they wanted to take. It's alright.  I can try again another time."  However, my heart was saying something else and I began to have doubts and fears: I'd been so sure God had given me a gift to write.  I ...

Dear Friends, Today's post is different to my usual ones. Deeper Waters accepted a devotional I submitted to them, and it is ready now to view online. It is called "What a True Friend Looks Like".  If you are interested in reading it then just click on the link below:   http://deeperwaters.us/true-friend/   Vicki

Dear Friends, ( www.crosscards.com ) I recently watched a documentary, "Do We Really Need the Moon?"  The presenter, a Space Scientist, posed the question: "What would happen if the moon was in a different position?" She explained that the moon is nearly 1/4 million miles away and that if it was twenty times closer it would be catastrophic because of the moon's affect on life and tides.  It would result in a mighty tidal bulge which would mean London was flooded, followed by other cities such as New York. When I heard this my response was to be in awe of our Creator God.  The moon being where it is, is no coincidence, it's not happenstance.  The moon is in just the right place for us to have life on earth because it's where God deliberately placed it.  He knew exactly what he was doing.  For me, it again reaffirmed that the universe and everything in it, did not just appear, or gradually evolve, it was designed and shaped and purposed...

Dear Friends, Have you ever experienced a time when God seemed distant?  When he was silent?  When you didn't feel his presence with you? If you have, you'll understand how I was feeling a few weeks back when I went through a time of feeling that God was distant and silent.  It really was not a nice place to be. In truth, it was horrible. I was away on a Bible Week with Jason, and I had gone with high expectations.  I hoped to hear some good speakers, to receive some spiritual food and I was also looking forward to joining in with hundreds of others worshipping God in song.  There is something so special about being with a large number of Christians, all lifting our voices to sing praises to our God. Yet in many ways, I didn't experience what I'd been hoping for.  The speakers all had something good to share and I did learn from them.  Yet I didn't feel God with me.  The worship was great.  Yet I sang the word...

Dear Friends, We recently celebrated my son, Josh's, eighteenth birthday.  We had a night away with extended family, which included a meal out, an amazing birthday cake made by Jason and  watching Josh open his presents.  The following day we all went to Colchester Zoo where Jason and I had arranged a surprise for Josh.  We had organised for him and his girlfriend to have an animal experience with one of the zookeepers.  As meerkats are Josh's favourite animals it obviously had to be a meerkat experience.  He and his girlfriend got to go into the meerkat enclosure.  They weren't allowed to touch them but they could sit and let the meerkats clamber all over them.  They had time to feed the meerkats and talk with the zookeeper about these animals.  The rest of us got to watch them and take photos.  It was a great break away, everyone enjoyed themselves and it was a great opportunity to make some lasting memories.  Jason and I...

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...