Over the past few days I have had people ask me questions about a variety of “life issue” topics, ranging from some of the biggies , “Why doesn’t God do something?”, to “What colour is Heaven?”

Some I have been able to answer satisfactorily for the questioner and maybe give them book suggestions or internet sources to help with their queries. But to other questions … I have to say sometimes – “I don’t know!” Because I don’t!

For some, they seem content that my faith in God stands intact and growing; despite the fact that I don’t know and they have gone away knowing that it is not a competition between “faith” and knowledge, or “proof”.

I wonder why we have to know everything, or have answers to those timeless questions, that if we are honest, only God knows!

Don’t get me wrong –I think we should ask questions, wonder why and Continue reading

Feeling low?

I woke up this morning with a very heavy “Monday morning” feeling! Well it was Monday… but the sun was shining, I had the day off (I thought) and I’d slept longer … perfect you might think! But I also woke up with the most intense feeling of “Oh no! Not another week! How am I going to be content and strong and filled with faith this week?!”

Ever been there?

Some of you have I know – others maybe aren’t hit with these feelings as much – or ever… but bear with me … because I hate these feelings… when everything should be great but the heaviness just isn’t that easy to shake off!

It’s Monday evening now and I survived the day! Haha! But there’s another one tomorrow!

What did I do? – stay in a sad state? Do lots of work? Try and forget ?

Well I tried all of that and, nope, I didn’t feel loads better… maybe a wee bit but Continue reading

Today I was travelling home from another city, pondering on something someone said to me … “I can’t hear God speaking – it’s all just a blurr. Why’s that?”

Now I can’t be specific as to why that person in particular finds it difficult to discern God’s “speaking”, but it got me pondering!

While I was pondering I changed radio stations to listen to our local Christian Community radio station. Unfortunately I was out of range and all I got was a much of sound and static crackles! It crossed my mind that if I just kept driving sooner or later I would come into range and would hear my husband’s voice on the radio show he was hosting! I checked that I was actually tuned into the correct frequency and waited to hear … as I drove home!

Sure enough – as I came into range, after about 6-7 minutes of crackling nothing I heard splutters , then a vague sound that might have been my husband’s voice, then very quickly could hear his voice and the music he was playing!

It’s maybe not THE answer, but one of them… that when we can’t ‘hear’ God speaking to us – we could be out of range!. Continue reading

Ever felt like you’ve not got very far?

Ever felt like the journey is v-e-r-y l-o-n-g?… and that the end is further away than the beginning?

Ever felt like the encouragement to press in and aim high is more than you can handle … today?

It’s called discouragement!… and for some it’s a familiar companion, that we’d love to lose down a deep hole!!

Many journeys we take have a limited length. My husband and I often drive from our home to London to visit our children there. The Sat. Nav. usually gives us an estimated time of arrival… about six hours after we set off, but invariably it takes us nearer eight! I don’t enjoy that extended journey –especially when I know the train only takes just over three hours! But I can put up with it because it is limited and the end result, seeing our family, is very worth it! But there are journeys in life that seem to be forever journeys and the destination is a little bit undetermined as to its eventuality!

When our 5 children were little and we did road trips that lasted hours, sometimes a day or so, I used to plan treat bags for them. Two bags, one for Continue reading

Pray for Japan!

“More disasters!! When will it stop?” someone said to me, “There seems to be more and more of these happening! It’s scary!”

Yes it is… but not unexpected! Jesus said in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 24:

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

I’m no expert on “end times” or on theological arguments about the return of Jesus, but I do know that in these days of recession, wars and rumours of wars, nation rising against Continue reading

Time to work!

Spring has arrived!!! The sun has been out for three whole days and, biggest wonder of all… I worked really hard in my garden pruning, chopping, digging, and clearing the greenhouse, replanting strawberries – and Mark worked even harder chopping and tidying hedges!

The amazing thing is – I still have loads more to do before it will begin to grow the crops, plants, shrubs that I work with!

It got me thinking (in the bath afterwards!) … all this hard work!

It’s the season for hard work! We have just left behind the season of dark nights, for huddling up in front of the fire, closing curtains early and being cosy!

Even naturally it has been a resting season… where the land rests, plants replenish themselves and get ready for the next season, animals hibernate and use up old stocks of food!

But there comes a wonderful time called Continue reading

I was chatting to a dear friend the other day who was feeling the weight of being a Mum! I knew exactly how she felt … more along the lines of the non-stop multitasking a mum needs to do, especially when there are a “few” childrenabout!

I remembered an article I read from a book on Babycare, when my oldest (who is now 28!) was a newborn, and I wanted to encourage her with it. I have extracted it and posted it here – Thank you GK Chesterton!

“A Mother’s Special Role

Daily, mothers recognise the magnitude of a mother’s role – so do others.

Especially during the first few years of her child’s life, a mother must perform a multitude of functions. She is her child’s first and most important contact with the world and through her he will learn about himself. In “What’s Wrong With The World”, Gilbert K. Chesterton wrote that Continue reading