Hope For Today

Dear Friends, I have recently finished reading Robin Bertram's book,  "Hidden Treasures: Finding Hope at the End of Life’s Journey".   In her book, Robin  writes that her purpose for writing it is so the reader “will know what it means to live well and die well.”  This book is for those who are going through illness, trials and facing death, for those closest to them, their loved ones, and for those who want to know how best to support and care for them. Each chapter includes: Nuggets of wisdom (Scripture to comfort and encourage) Treasure Chest (a summary of the key points) Shareworthy (quotes) Within the chapters, Robin shares examples from her own life when she faced a life-threatening illness, examples from those she has ministered to in their suffering and examples from the men and women of the Bible. Not only is this book full of Scriptural truths and promises, it is also full of practical suggestions and help. In the appendix, ...

If you would like to listen to today's devotional, then please click  HERE Dear Friends, Is your glass half full or half empty? I'm guessing most of you are familiar with the saying 'the glass is half full or half empty'. According to the Cambridge dictionary, the saying is " used to refer to an attitude of always thinking about the good things in a situation rather than the bad ones". In my younger years, those closest to me would probably describe me as 'glass half empty' kind of girl. But I think, with God's help, I'm changing to be more of a 'glass half full' kind of girl (although perhaps you'd have to check that once again with those close to me!). It's my birthday at the weekend - not a special one mind you - but one to celebrate anyway. 😁 Jason and I have also recently celebrated our 23rd Anniversary - again not a significant one, but still cause to celebrate.  The reason I'm telling you this...

If you prefer to listen to today's blog, then please click   here Dear Friends, I recently preached on 1 Corinthians 6 (not an easy chapter to preach on! If you would like to hear it, please click here ), but there were two verses which stayed with me as I was preparing and have stayed with me since. They are the final two verses in that chapter: Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honour God with your body. v19-20  (NLT) Let's spend some time meditating on those verses now: 1. God paid a high price for me because he saw my worth, even before I did. Love was the price he paid. Jesus, God's own Son, died in my place, taking my punishment on himself. Do you know he paid that high price for you too because you are valuable to him? When Paul writes about God buying us at a high price he is ...

Dear Friends, I first heard about Lucy's book on Facebook and listened to her talk about it on Facebook Live. Both the title and what I heard from her persuaded me this was a book worth reading. The phrase "Give me an undivided heart" comes from Psalm 86. It is a phrase that has meant something to Lucy for many years and she writes, "It captures a deeper longing, beyond the surface chatter of my mind." I can relate to what she is saying. I too want to know what it means to have an undivided heart for God. To live totally for God. To have him first and foremost in my heart. To live a life surrendered to him and his will for me. Lucy writes honestly about longing for an undivided heart whilst at the same time, knowing that she is often divided. She writes about her journey and invites her reader to come with her on that journey. In her book she shows how we have all been shaped by our environment, the family we grew up in, other relationship...

Dear Friends, A Father Who Knows How To Give Good Gifts My husband, Jason, is so good at buying gifts. Not just gifts for special occasions, but gifts for no other reason than it's what he loves to do. It's one of his ways of showing someone he loves them. I've been blessed on numerous occasions with flowers he has bought for me. When he is away from home or is on a day out, he will often see something he thinks one of our children or one of our nieces will like and will buy it, such as a particular colour of nail varnish for our daughter Jess. His way of giving gifts to our children just because he loves them reminds me of how God, our Heavenly Father, loves to give his children gifts too, for no other reason than he loves us and it brings him pleasure. If you, imperfect as you are, know how to lovingly take care of your children and give them what’s best, how much more ready is your heavenly Father to give wonderful gifts to those who ask him? Matthew 7...

Dear Friends,  A God-Created Dream One of my favourite houseplants is the orchid. The flowers are so beautiful and delicate and come in such a variety of colours.  A few years ago, my first orchid had some lovely pink/purple flowers. When its blooms had died I cut down the stem ready for it to produce new growth. I watered it regularly, but nothing happened. There was no new growth. I wondered if I had somehow killed it. So, after weeks of caring for it with nothing to show, I decided I'd ask Jason's Dad to look after it. He came to look at it before taking it off my hands and pointed out to me something I had missed. Under one of the leaves was a new shoot growing. I was so excited! I didn't need to pass it over to Jason's Dad, I could continue to look after it and watch it grow and blossom. I am learning how to best take care of and nurture my orchid. To encourage growth and blooms, I have found it needs the right environment - it seems to like being ...