2022 Sunrises

October Sunrises

Halloween - 31/10/22

So... it’s Halloween. I don’t like Halloween; I never have – even as a child I didn’t understand why we celebrated all things dark and creepy; and what were all the silly games about? I never really appreciated having to stick my face in a large bowl of cold water to try and capture an apple. There were perfectly good apples sitting in the fruit bowl! If you’re going to make me undergo SAS training routines, at least make it worthwhile by having some kind of chocolate based treat as a reward, rather than fruit.

Of course, “Bob Apple” has been usurped as the highlight of Halloween by the ubiquitous Trick or Treat. This is the practice of dressing small children in outlandish costumes and taking them from door to door to collect sweets; or, in legal terms, demanding money with menaces. There is something quite unsettling about seeing adorable little three year olds standing at your door painted up to resemble the devil... it’s like seeing a baby with earrings. On the odd occasion that I have forgotten the date and opened the door to these little darlings, I always answer, “Trick”. It confuses them no end and teaches them a valuable life lesson... and in any case, they’re three, what are they going to do?
The problem with Halloween is that it has distorted the truth. It has opted for a celebration of the macabre and chosen the route of crass commercialisation rather than sticking to the original meaning of the day. Halloween is a contraction of, “All Hallows Eve”. The eve of All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day as we now know it. A day when we remember the saints who have gone before us. A day to thank God for the lives of the faithful departed. It is a celebration of good. So amongst all the nonsense that surrounds the day, remember, “The light shines in the darkness and the dark has not overcome it”.

Seeing Clearly - 24/10/22

I wonder if you have heard of Harold Ridley, Charles Kelman, Kai-yi Zhoi and Dr Fischman?

Even though these names may be unfamiliar to you, these men, and the work that they put in, have enabled people to really see clearly all over the world.

You see, over a 55 year period for 1947 to 1993, they pioneered modern cataract surgery. Even though cataract operations had been performed as far back as 1747, it was fraught with difficulty and infections. Each person made an important discovery about it, and put it into practice. Without the combined efforts of these men, the cataract operation would not be the straightforward process it is, and millions of people would have slowly descended into darkness quite literally.

Even though they worked on an important piece of the puzzle, they may have never actually met! They didn’t collaborate together, they built on the work that had been done by the previous person (a bit like a relay race), and worked on the next bit, until in 1993, Dr Fischman put the final piece of the puzzle in place to ensure the safe and effective cataract removal that we know today. Thankfully unlike many of our relay races, no one dropped the baton, they kept going. Interestingly they all knew that their work would be improved on, but they also knew that their part of the puzzle needed to happen.

When we look at the bible and the accounts of all the many men and women of God, we can see how God has used different people over thousands of years, to show the world Gods love and care.

Abraham, Issac, Moses, David, John, were all pieces of the puzzle of Gods great rescue plan for mankind, Jesus. Each one and many others that we don’t even know about were important in Gods story, and Jesus was the centre piece.

This amazing jigsaw that the bible tells us about is not finished. The baton has been passed to us now, so that with the help of Jesus, we can fill in the next part. We may not feel like what we do is being noticed or important, but it is. We all have a part to play in Gods plan. Lets listen to God and keep going

Ephesians 2:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago

Celebrate - 13/10/22

This week we have heard of two dates for our diaries, dates for celebration. Firstly, the King’s coronation date has been announced, and Liverpool is also celebrating hosting the 2023 Eurovision song contest. Both very different events, but both have a common theme of celebrating. Whether it’s the music of Europe, or a new monarch, celebrating will be a major factor in both events next May. However, neither event will be given a public holiday status.

If you want to visit a country that celebrates in style and on a national level, then Cambodia is the place to go. Cambodia has the most national holidays of any other country in the world. From International Women’s Day, to Human Rights Day, to the anniversary of a previous Kings death, Cambodia has a national holiday to allow people to celebrate.

The UK has 8 public holidays a year. The average amount of public holidays in the G20 countries is 12. The USA has 13, but Cambodia has a partying 28 Public Holidays a year! Celebrations will last from dawn to late into the night, and everyone is included.

Part of the reason that Cambodia likes to celebrate so lavishly and often, is that in their recent history, they have had so much tragedy with the Khmer Rouge. Things were so tough for Cambodians, that now that period has passed, they really love to celebrate every day.

Now we may not always feel like celebrating, I know I don’t! Life is filled with good and bad things. Some days we don’t want the day to end, and some days we could really get back into bed at lunchtime!

Whatever kind of a day we are having, we still have an amazing God who is always worth celebrating.

The Bible puts it like this in Psalm 118

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today!

This doesn’t mean that we ignore our circumstances and pretend that everything is fine if it isn’t. It does mean that whatever is happening around us, God is always with us. He is the all-loving amazing creator God and each day is a new start for us with him. Let’s take time to celebrate our amazing God today, even if its not a public holiday, because he is worth it!

The Flowers Of Grace - 06/10/22

I don’t know if you have ever heard of the Babema tribe of Southern Africa. They are well known primarily because of the unusual in the way that they deal with those who make mistakes. The person in the wrong is stood in the middle of the village and everyone else stands around them. They then take it in turns to encourage the person, by remembering all the good things and positive qualities that they have or have done in their lifetime. This act of grace and love enables the person and the tribe to forgive and move on from what has happened.

I was reminded of this this week when I messed up. It was my daughter’s birthday, and as I wasn’t going to be with her, I arranged for some flowers to be delivered. The problem was that I got the address mixed up, and the flowers were delivered to a complete stranger! I was mortified and felt awful that my daughter didn’t get the flowers I had promised her.

It was then that I experienced a real act of grace. The lady to which the flowers had been delivered had contacted the company to let them know that the delivery was incorrect. The company concerned then did something very lovely. Firstly, they told the lady to keep and enjoy the flowers. Secondly, they contacted me and politely suggested that I may have got the address wrong, but not to worry, as they had credited my account with the right amount to order another bouquet of flowers that they would deliver for free for my daughter so that she wouldn’t miss out. It was my mistake, and really, I should have had to pay for it. Instead, I received literal flowers full of grace, which made myself, my daughter and a random stranger very happy.

The idea of Grace, or being given far more than we deserve, is central to the Christian faith.

The bible explains it like this in Ephesians 2

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead….God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

This gift of grace from God is far bigger than we can imagine, and much more wonderful than an encouraging tribe or an unexpected bunch of flowers. This is a life full of Gods love and an eternity with him. Let’s spread the good news of God’s grace wherever we go today.

'Watch This Space' - 03/10/22

It’s been an interesting week; I’ve had the opportunity to wander around the home of people I have never met. I had total freedom because they were not there, sadly they passed away this year. Apart from clothes, nothing has been moved, all the furniture was there, and personal possessions, like photos, which I looked at, and medicines, tools, and books, which I didn’t look at! I wish now that I had looked through the choice of books and the variety of tools. Surely, they would have told me something about the occupants interests and activities. I chose not to browse through their medications, that seemed too intrusive, an invasion of their privacy. If you were selling your home and people visited in your absence, would you rearrange or even remove things? Why? Would you want to hide items; would you want to create a good impression? The space we occupy can reveal so much about our interests and priorities. Maybe we don’t want people to know?

It's worth remembering that our space is not just measured in feet and inches, it’s also measured in time. Paul brilliantly expressed this truth when he said this; “When David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” Our ‘space’ is limited by the years God has granted us. How we fill this space says much more about us and our priorities than the contents of our home. Solomon with all his wisdom understood the reality, “There is a time to be born and a time to die.” He suggested some of the possibilities for us, “a time to plant, to heal, to build, to weep, to laugh, to embrace, to mend, to be silent, to speak, to love, and a time for peace.” And there’s more; have a look in Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Time is precious, this is not a practice run, so let’s place God’s priorities before our own. Jesus doesn’t stop to think about our colour schemes or the condition of our carpet, He offers us this advice, “Store your treasures in Heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be.”

September Sunrises

Seasons - 30/09/22

The last day of September is upon us. The big ship will be sailing on the Ally-Ally-Oh and we need to wake up the bloke from Green Day (I'll let you look it up). It's looking more and more like autumn each day. The leaves our dog insists on eating are now brown rather than green, but she doesn't seem to mind. There is a little nip in the air and moisture on the car windows most mornings. The geese have arrived from wherever they have spent their summer and the American Football season is underway. All sure signs that the long and mostly hot summer is behind us and winter is round the corner.

Seasons change. It is an inevitable fact. It isn't just the meteorological seasons that inexorably alter, but the seasons of our lives. Don’t panic... I'm not going to go off on a maudlin diatribe about being in the autumn of my years etc. etc. The seasons of our lives don't simply mean the passing of years. The Bible tells us that there are seasons when we are happy and seasons when we are sad. It says that there is a time for everything. In other words, we should not be surprised that things, people, happiness, seasons, come and go. It is the natural order of things. God set it in place and is aware of the season that each and every one of us is experiencing right now. More than that, He is experiencing it with us. We are told that God is with us through everything and anything that we face in life. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand". Nothing can prevent Him from being with us and loving us forever, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord". So whatever season you find yourself in right now, remember that you have a constant, faithful and loving companion in God and He will be with you as those seasons change.

'The Sound of Procrastination' - 29/09/22

don’t often set New Years resolutions, but this year I did. There are a lot of photos in boxes under our spare bed, and my plan for the year was to go through them and sort them out. It was a good plan, a necessary plan. However, its now the end of September and those boxes are still untouched! Why? Because life happened!

I don’t know if you are aware, but this week is the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Unlike our New Years eve parties, this is a much more contemplative affair. Rosh Hashanah is spent making time for God and reflection. It’s a quiet celebration, and not because everyone has been up late the night before!

The one exception to the quiet, is a ceremonial ram’s horn, which is used as a trumpet and blown more that 200 times during the Rosh Hashanah services. This is not a celebration trumpet, but used more as a wake-up call. To be fair I would be awake if I heard a ram’s horn blown 200 times!

Its used to remind people to stop, reflect, and to turn to God. New Year in Jewish traditions is a time to remember the year that has gone, to recognise where they got it wrong, and to make new starts. It’s a time to stop procrastinating.

Ephesians 5:

Now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness….. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Take some time to reflect today, think about the things we should have done but haven’t, and the things we probably should not have touched with a barge pole! Give them all to God, and start afresh. Whether it’s a pile of photos, a wrong attitude, or a long-postponed phone call, hear the sound of Procrastination, and let God and his love walk you through it.

Peace Like A River - 26/09/22

Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and real estate investor in Chicago. He and his wife, Anna, had one son and four daughters. At the age of four, their son died of scarlet fever and in the same year the great Chicago fire destroyed most of their properties. They survived for two years, then planned a trip to Europe. Horatio was delayed due to business commitments, so Anna and the children went ahead. On the voyage, their ship was involved in a collision and sank

rapidly. Their four daughters died, only Anna survived. She sent a telegram to her husband simply saying, “Saved alone.” On his own voyage to meet Anna, Horatio wrote this hymn which I have sung this week in two funerals. I am in awe of this man when I sing these words, ‘When sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot You have taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.’ His faith was stronger than his circumstances. I have to remind myself of that from time to time.

We can all feel deflated occasionally, everyone around us is doing better than we are, (or so we think). We live in an unfair world, but St Paul tells us. “Our hearts ache, but we always have joy….We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” He knew the God of Creation and was content with his lot. As a statement of his beliefs and as encouragement for us, He wrote, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.’ Some of us have read this week of a family’s list of catastrophes just like Horatio’s and Anna’s, followed by a similar statement of faith and trust in God. It’s still happening! Whatever we go through in life, if we can keep in focus that we have a God who loves us and is with us in all our circumstances, we will understand that if He doesn’t remove our trials, He will help us bear them.

Letting Off Steam - 24/09/22

Do you know when you have had a really frustrating time, you slowly get more and more wound up about something You just need to let off steam. I had a colleague message me asking if I could spare 5 minutes for a chat, I said ‘of course, as its you, give me a call’. Well, 90 minutes later we were still talking, well I was mostly listening. There are times when you need a friend where you can just let go of all that built up emotion and stress. We talked about all the things that had been annoying him, I agreed with some and we talked about how we can cope and respond to the situation. But mostly I listened and offered him support.

It can be difficult when things build up, and its great when you have a friend who will listen and support. But sometimes that is only a release valve and when the valve shuts, the pressure starts to build up again. You may cope with it differently or avoid some of it but it does not always go away.

There are many sayings that come from the book of Proverbs, and one of which says “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up”. This echoes how we can support each other and cheer each other up.

But there is another friend who will listen for hours and hours, who will not only cheer us up but also bring us peace. When you talk to God, He will listen and listen and listen. He will hear the cries of our heart and if we let Him, He will brings us peace.

In the New Testament part of the Bible, we are told

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Lets support each other in our listening and sharing, lets also bring these things to God who can bring us a peace like no other.

The Still, Small Voice - 23/09/22

Sometimes we can find ourselves overwhelmed by events. Sometimes our lives seem out of control. Sometimes we don't know if we are coming or going. There can be many reasons for this. We may have family problems, or Ill health may be taking its toll on us or somebody we know. We may have a really demanding job, or a particularly tough workload at school or college. Whatever the reason for our discomfort, it is not a lot of fun. Often we call out to God and hope for a clap of thunder and a flash of light and for everything to be okay, but God doesn't always work that way and we wonder why He has gone quiet.

The Bible tells us that the prophet Elijah was in great difficulty. He was in fear for his life and had fled from those that would harm him. He finds himself alone in a cave and cries out to God, voicing his fears. God tells him to stand on a mountainside in His presence. God then sends a mighty wind that breaks the rocks into pieces, followed by an earthquake and a fire, but God's voice is in none of them. Having performed all these spectacular feats, God speaks to Elijah in a, "still, small voice".

The point of the demonstration was to show Elijah that God's works are not always accompanied by dramatic revelations or manifestations. Divine silence does not mean divine inactivity; God's work is, "not by might, or by power, but by My spirit". Overt displays of power are not necessary for God to work. We often need to listen for the still, small voice to hear God's answer.

So, if you are having a tough time and are wondering why God seems quiet, remember that nobody needs to shout when they are standing right next to you.

Wonderful Gifts! - 22/09/22

I wonder if you have ever been given an unusual gift? I have been given a few interesting ones, but the one that stands out was that I was once given some salt as a present to celebrate the birth of one of my children.

I was reminded of this when I heard that over her lifetime, the queen had been gifted (amongst many other things) 8 horses from the Canadian Mounties!

Very often gifts can seem unusual, but when we understand the reason behind the gifts, it makes more sense.

I was given salt as the giver firmly believed it would be good luck for the baby. The queen was given serving police horses as a show of appreciation during her reign. Suddenly these more unusual gifts have more meaning, and make more sense.

Around the world, its important to know the meaning behind gifts, as you can accidentally offend someone without meaning to. This is often the case in China. Did you know, that if you give someone a green hat, it’s a sign that their partner is cheating on them! And even worse, if you give someone a gift of a pear, it means that you want to end your relationship with them!

The bible talks about God giving the world an amazing gift. It’s the gift of his son Jesus. Now this would seem extremely unusual until we understand why.

God sent Jesus to earth, to grow up and live amongst us, to teach us and show us how to love and do what God wants. However, because God knew that all humans mess up and get it wrong, he knew that Jesus would need to give more than amazing teaching and healing. Jesus’s gift to the world was to die, and take all the stuff we have done wrong, all our messes, on his shoulders. He took the blame so that there would be a way back to God for all of us. This way back to God is to accept this wonderful amazing gift of Jesus into our lives.

Romans 6:23

The free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

I don’t know about you, but this is much better than salt or horses! Whatever unusual gifts you have given or been given, lets thank God for his amazing gift of Jesus today. This world changing life giving gift from God. Lets accept Jesus as a wonderful gift from God, and let his transforming love shine out from us to everyone we meet

What Will Today Bring? - 20/09/22

Wow! That was some procession!!! Whether you’re a royalist, or not, you have to admit that the military procession during the Queen’s funeral yesterday was absolutely incredible!! 4000 military personnel marched.

There were 142 Royal Navy sailors pulling the coffin.

And more than 10,000 police personnel where on duty.

It’s not surprising though.

There were 90 world leaders, other dignitaries and people of fame and fortune joining with the entire Royal family.

I would not want to be responsible for that security!! I have been known to go to bed with the front door unlocked!

And yet, with 4000 military personnel and over 10,000 police men and women, not one person’s security was guaranteed. There was always going to be the risk, albeit tiny, that something could go wrong, someone could get hurt.

Bill and Gloria Gaither are songwriters. For many years they’ve written such beautiful and powerful songs about the God they love and serve. During one particularly tough and uncertain time, just as they had become new parents, they realised just how fragile life can be. Recognising that every new day was a gift from God to be treasured and thankful for, they wrote one of their most beautiful songs. They spoke of finding their peace in God despite an unknown future.

Or as Corrie Ten Boom put it, having survived Auschwitz,

‘Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God’

We don’t have 4000 military personnel surrounding us (dang!) but we do have an awesome God. Whatever happens in our uncertain futures may the words of this song ring true in our lives.

‘Because He lives I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives all fear is gone,

Because I know He holds the future,

Life is worth the living just because He lives’.

Click the link below to hear one version of this song recorded during lockdown.

https://youtu.be/La9Zy917JcQ

Unconditional Love - 16/09/22

So... we bought a dog. Well, the paddling pool has been packed away for the winter, so what else are we going to do with our time?

She is a beautiful, twelve week old border collie, who was born on a farm in Wales to a champion trial dog father and a working sheepdog mother. The little bundle of gorgeousness is in the living room, busy attacking a plastic bone with gusto as I write this.

There is something about dogs as pets that is special. I know some people like to have other animals as pets, but nothing beats a dog. I am well aware that some animals can be trained to do special things. A horse, for instance, can be trained to do a version of River Dance, whilst you perch precariously on its back, wearing a top hat and frock coat... although I will never understand why. A cat can't be trained to do anything and couldn't care less whether you even exist and don't get me started on goldfish! I used to own goldfish and I now understand where the expression, "cold fish" comes from. They were completely indifferent towards me. The only greeting I ever got from them was their repeated submarine shouting of my name... and they even got that wrong - I'm not called Bob. Our little canine companion however, greets us with tail-wagging glee every time we return from another room, having been "missing" for all of thirty seconds.

My ASDA delivery man summed it up when he said, "There's nothing like coming home to a dog. It doesn't matter what kind of day you've had, it will always cheer you up. It doesn't care who you are or what you do, it just loves you unconditionally. I can't get love like that anywhere else." He's right, of course - all except for the last bit. I am loved unconditionally by both my dog and my God. There is obviously one big difference. In the case of my dog, I take care of it and see to all its needs. In the case of my God, the reverse is true. He takes care of me and sees to all my needs. There are some similarities; just like my dog, my God doesn't care who I am or what I do, He just loves me unconditionally. He knows all my faults and failings, but is still willing to offer me His love and grace.

One day, I will be separated from my little dog and the relationship and the love will end. Thankfully, I can never be separated from God's love. His love is not only unconditional, but eternal.

"Give thanks to the Lord because He is good, because His faithful love endures forever".

Living In Hope - 15/09/22

Have you ever been in the position where you are desperately hoping for something to happen, and it doesn’t! its so frustrating isn’t it. Having to wait even longer for something that you really want and to be patient is really hard for me.

In our garage, we have a 1976 Triumph Spitfire car. Its beautiful and the body work is in great condition. However, I have never driven it. This is because its engine is in pieces, and has been ever since I met my husband in 1996! It sits in the garage, awaiting the day when the restoration will take place! We have towed it to three houses, still with no engine, because we have hope that one day it will work again!

This week in Mozambique they celebrate Victory Day, otherwise known as Peace Agreement day. It’s a public holiday, and they have parties and celebrate the country achieving their independence in 1974. Whilst it’s a big celebration now, back in 1974, it was a peace agreement made in faith and hope, rather then reality. Almost as soon as the peace agreement was signed with Portugal, civil war broke out, and lasted another 14years! The country actually have another public holiday in October, where they celebrate actual peace being in place when the civil war ended in 1992.

Can you imagine signing a peace agreement and then striving for peace for another 14 years! The inhabitants of Mozambique would have been forgiven for thinking that Peace Agreement Day was a pretty meaningless festival. You might even have understood if they wanted to give up.

Thankfully they made the decision to live and work for peace, even though it was a long time in coming. They lived with the hope that one day, peace would be a reality and not just a piece of paper.

Whether it’s an old car, a country, or something in between that we are waiting for today, lets chose to live with hope. One day, it will be AMAZING. God understands our frustrations, and asks us to keep going living and loving for him, knowing that he is with us.

Philippians 3

I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his… Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.

I Love Thor - 13/09/22

To say I found Lord of the Rings boring, would be an understatement! I didn’t take to the book at all. And I still grieve the three hours I lost when watching the film. HALF watching the film.

I really could not understand what all of the hype and fuss was about. Oh my goodness, how tedious can a story get?!

I am now currently aware that I have just horrified probably more than half the readers of our daily Sunrises! Sorry.

I was having this conversation with friends at church on Sunday morning. I love these friends very dearly, but we completely disagree on the debate around Lord of the Rings. And to make matters worse, they completely loathed the new Thor film! Needless to say, I thought it was absolutely fabulous!

The story begins in a far off galaxy where a man is grieving the loss of his young daughter to a terrible famine. He has prayed to his god for help. And then he arrives at a particular location and comes face-to-face with the god he cried out too. He falls on his knees, in awe of his god. He explains that he doesn’t understand why he lost his daughter, despite crying out to him, but he will continue to serve him with love and devotion knowing that his god is awesome and compassionate and loving. It’s at this point, that this god turns to him and announces that he has never cared for him or any of his family or indeed any of the creation he rules over. He mocks him and teases him, insults him and loathes him.

The man is distraught and devastated and the rest of the film is about this one man mission to kill and destroy all gods throughout the galaxies, believing them to be fake, cruel, destructive and not worthy of the worship they were given. Despite its extremely sad beginning, the film has many very funny parts. It’s a little bit bonkers and chaotic. BUT the theme is incredible! Discovering your god is vile, egotistical and wretched and attempting to rescue the world from the pain you’ve experienced yourself.

It’s very tempting for some to view the God of the Bible like this. Maybe you’ve looked at the news, or your communities, your friends and family circumstances and cried out, ‘God, where are you?’ Only to be met by silence and continued struggle and heartache? I’ve been there! And in those darkest times if you’re not asking ‘where are you, God?’ you may be asking, ‘what are you doing?’

God makes it very clear in the Bible that we will never be able to understand Him fully. He’s God.

He says, ‘…my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts…as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’

But we also hear over and over and over in the Bible that God is all good, all loving, all knowing, a God of justice, grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, a God devoted to His creation, a God whose heart breaks when we mess up, when we suffer, make poor choices, reject Him, fail to seek Him out and choose to trust that His ways (even though we often don’t understand them!) are good.

I don’t know what you are going through today. You may be on top of the world. You may not. But may I encourage you to trust in the one known as King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counsellor…and also Man of Sorrows. God understands. God knows. God cares.

The Bear Facts - 07/09/22

I’ve been reading about polar bears. Fascinating fact coming up!….their hair isn’t white! It’s colourless. How incredible is that?! Each transparent strand reflects the light around them making it appear white. In the bright, beautiful, clear sun of the arctic, the polar bear is a brilliant white reflecting the light; whilst on darker days they will appear less white. They’re completely influenced by the light in their surroundings.

It’s exactly the same for us.

The Bible says, ‘Bad company corrupts good character’.

We can see this in all walks of life. Who we choose to socialise with, give lots of our time to, can often determine whether we ‘shine bright’ or ‘appear dark and dull’.

We’ve all met that person who can’t help but light up a room when they walk in to it. They are encouraging, kind, interested, positive, concerned for those around them. Then there’s the flip side, the person who can steal your joy, feed you bad thoughts, threaten your sense of security and drag you down with bad talk and bad habits.

We all have the potential to be either of these people and it’s important we recognise who our influencers are.

Jesus called Himself, ‘the light of the world’. He was saying to us, ‘spend time with me, learn from me, be like me, reflect who I am’.

Spending time with Jesus was important for so many people during the time He was on earth. He made a massive, positive, life changing difference to their lives. And nothing’s changed. He still does.

We have choices. Who do we want to spend time with? Who do we want to reflect?

Have a beautiful, positive and ‘light’ day everybody

Mad Moments and Quiet Places - 06/09/22

I wonder how your summer has been? Have you enjoyed the mini heat wave? Have you managed to go on holiday? Has it been filled with fun times and memory making? Or maybe the summer months have been a long drag for you? Maybe it has been a time of loneliness? Remembering times gone by? Summer can be great for some and not for others.

My summer has been crazy.

I have to say that’s not a lot different to normal life in our household. There’s always something going on, a deadline of some kind to meet, somewhere to be, the house often filled with a variety of friends and family, and now the addition of our new dog, Alan. Alan the puppy! FULL of life!! And mischief! We love him!! Yes life is indeed very busy and I do find myself looking for a quiet space with increasing regularity! Just ten minutes!! Just so I can hear myself think!

But! While I am seeking a few moments of quiet, I am acutely aware that others would do anything to have something of our noise and madness and activity! Sometimes it can be easy to miss the blessings that are staring you in the face!

It wasn’t long ago when I was waking up each morning wondering how I would have the strength and wisdom and courage to face another day. Wondering how to make ‘everything better’ for my girls. Wondering if life would ever again ‘not hurt’.

If you’re in that place today, can I encourage you to do what I learnt (very slowly!!!) to do? (Still learning!!!) Can I encourage you to hand over your struggles and hurts to a God who truly understands and cares? A God who is so devoted to you that He went through the struggle and pain and rejection in order for us to draw close to Him. A God who so understands our struggles that He was called the ‘Man of Sorrows’.

Jesus said, ‘Come to me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest’.

And if you’re in that good place right now, can I encourage you to say Thankyou to God. To recognise the blessings you’re experiencing. And maybe look to those for whom life is tough and invite them into your ‘world’ for a cup of tea and a chat. That simple action could mean the world to them. And one day, maybe they will be able return the favour?

‘To God be the glory’

Harvest Time! - 05/09/22

The fields around Melling are all being harvested for their summer crops. The landscape changes colour as the farmers gather in the produce and process it. Its not been an easy year for the crops with the very hot weather and small amounts of rain. It’s the end of one lifecycle but it is also the start of another. The birds and mice are feeding off the leftovers, geese coming for the winter get a well earned meal after long journeys, mice preparing for winter and storing up food for later in the year.

Similarly, the children got their exam results and “reaped the rewards” for their hard work. They too will be starting a new part of their journey, finding a job, going to college or maybe university.

Our journey through life brings many different stages, some planned and some unexpected, some fun and some sad. We don’t always recognise the stage until afterwards when we look back and see where we have been or what we have done.

As we enter a new season, lets take a moment to look back and recognise our own journey. Lets reflect on the different things that have happened. Celebrate the good things together as an encouragement for others. Honour and respect the sad things together so that we might encourage you. Through all that has happened, our Melling community continues to grow together.

In the bible, we are encouraged to meet together knowing that all are welcome and God’s love for each of us is real and his promises are trustworthy.

“So let’s do it - full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on” Hebrew 10.

Schultüte - 01/09/22

Well, the summer is officially over! Today, the 1st September marks the first day of meteorological Autumn, and school bells are ringing all around the country (even if its just for the teachers)!

I am not sure what kind of a summer you have had, but whether you are glad to see the back of it or are wishing it to last longer, the march of time has beaten us and we are onto a new chapter.

In our house, ‘back to school’ has been treated with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. Excitement at having shiny new stationery and uniforms, and seeing friends again after the holidays. Apprehension at a new class, new teacher, the dreaded ‘hard work’ and homework looming.

However, if I was in Germany, I would be significantly more excited. They really celebrate back to school, especially if it’s your very first day of school. Students starting school for the first time are treated to a Schultüte.

The literal translation is ‘school bag’, but its actually a cone of presents, sweets and school stationary. The tradition goes back over 300 years, and a great way to celebrate a new start.

One of the few certainties in life is change. Like our British weather, things never stay the same for long. Even so, it doesn’t mean to say that its not sometimes daunting. Even with great presents, I am sure that the students in Germany are just as nervous as their British counterparts.

Whether we might dread or look forward to change, its important to remember that whilst our circumstances may be very different, God is not.

His love and care and presence never change;

Isaiah 40: The Lord is the God who lives forever, who created all the world. He does not become tired or need to rest. No one can understand how great his wisdom is. He gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak.

Whether you are looking forward to something today like a Schultüte, or nervous at what is to come, take time to remember that God never changes, and his love for you never changes either. Take today one step at a time and let God join you on the journey.Letting Off Steam

In the New Testament part of the Bible, we are told

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Lets support each other in our listening and sharing, lets also bring these things to God who can bring us a peace like no other.

July Sunrises

'Good Sport' - 30/07/22

With this as a heading, there could be a number of things that we could talk about.

Could it be the last ever episode of Neighbours, the Australia soap opera which has run for 37 years and given many people years of pleasure. It also gave us Jason and Kylie, some may have differing opinions on that one. G’day sport.

Could it be the Athletics World Championships which took place in USA recently? Jake Wightman won a Gold in the 1500 metres and his dad Geoff was the commentator. What a proud moment to be able to commentate to the world on your sons victory.

Could it be the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where all countries are welcome, even the Cook Island swimmers who have never swum in a pool, why build a pool when you have an ocean on your doorstep?

Could it be the womens England football team reaching the European 2022 final to play this Sunday? The ever increasing support for the team is fantastic.

Could it be the Melling Badminton group meeting most Fridays so that Richard can teach us all a lesson in how to play and have fun, no matter what the score.

Sport has so many ways that it can lift our spirits, its not the competition as such but the effort and support from so many that all come to fruition in the race. The sheer joy of the winners finally realising their goal. They have trained for years just to reach the event. The coach, physio, trainer, family, support group all backing them up and encouraging them to keep going.

Jesus understands how this works and he encourages in our lives to keep going and he will be there to support us.

“Since we have such a huge crowd of people of faith watching us from the grandstands, let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back, and especially those sins that wrap themselves so tightly around our feet and trip us up; and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us. Keep your eyes on Jesus, our leader and instructor.” Hebrews 12.

As each of us supports and encourages those around us, keep listening to God and he will guide us and help us on our journey.

"Another Person's Eyes" - 28/07/22

“So many memories and secrets, so many burdens. Every life has such weight. I don’t know how anybody carries even one.”

Stuart Turton, The seven deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

This book is a detective novel with a difference. In order to solve the murder, the detective relives the same day over and over again by waking up each day in a different person’s body, literally looking at the world through another person’s eyes. He then uses this information to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle.

Now this is only possible through literary imagination, but in doing this the detective realises that every person he becomes has a different set of issues and problems that he may have otherwise been unaware of, hence the quote.

Sometime its easy for us to look at other people’s lives and think that they may have it ‘easy’, or that their life is somehow better than ours. The reality is that as in the book, and as Plato is often quoted;

“Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”

Jesus, when he talks to his disciples in Matthew 11 is well aware of this. Jesus reminds us that even though life can be hard, we don’t have to go through it alone.

Matthew 11:28-30

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Jesus offers his love and care and grace to everyone and anyone who turns to him. Jesus went through betrayal, heart break, torture, and death because he loved us so much. Wherever you are today, Jesus gets it, he knows how hard life can be. He sees the hidden pain and disappointment as well as the visible scars, and he loves you.

Let’s come to Jesus with everything we have, ‘warts and all’, and let him walk with us, sharing our pain and allowing us to rest in him. And let’s also let that amazing love shine through us, so that we can love others with that same love, and stand with them, sharing their burdens.

That’s what the family of God is all about.

"A Great Hootenanny!" - 27/07/22

Last Saturday night after a 2 yeah wait, we went to see Jools Holland at the Liverpool Philharmonic.

I wish I was still there!

It was absolutely fabulous! Just over two hours of music, music, music.

Jools, along with his big band and a variety of vocalists, (Eddie Reader and Ruby Turner were major highlights!) drifted from jazz to blues to boogie woogie to classical to pop, back to Jazz…incredible talent!

A wonderful night, well worth the two year wait!

But one thing stood out to me during the evening.

Everybody on the stage was vital to the evening’s success.

Jools was clearly the leader of the pack, but he treated every single person as an equal. They were respected, admired, applauded and valued.

It wasn’t just what he said about them that made that clear to the audience, but it was shown in the performers smiles and enthusiasm and sheer delight in being part of the evening.

They looked like one big family.

It was wonderful to see.

It didn’t matter whether they played the trombone, saxophone, guitar or double bass, all were vital!

Even the guy who was whacking a bit of wood with a stick, (what is that called?) added something great to the performance.

It reminded me very much of Paul, in the Bible, speaking to a church.

He likened the church to a human body saying,

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ….

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?

If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

If they were all one part, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’

And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’….

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

As we chat on texts and phone calls, as we meet as individuals and as groups, may we all view eachother as equal and vital, to our church, community and world. Each one of us having both strengths and weaknesses. May we show gratitude for each others strengths, and show support for each others weaknesses.

One body.

Many parts.

All vital.

"What's Next" - 26/07/22

We were really tired; we had walked all day and eaten almost nothing. Even our black Lab was exhausted, which we were pleased about because usually when we were drained of energy, he would still be bouncing. We had to eat. Now! And there in front of us was a dream come true. A chippy! To be honest it was a little difficult to see because there were twenty people in the queue. The queue moved very slowly, but one by one, people emerged from the chippy with a bag and a smile. Eventually we reached the door and I looked back with satisfaction; we were now at the front of the queue. We stepped inside and reality hit us in the face. We had been at the front of the queue outside the shop, but now we were at the back of the queue inside the shop. The smell was wonderful, but you can’t eat a smell, so our wait continued. As we walked back to the house, I thought about the events of the day; the long walk, the tiredness, the wonderful discovery of a chippy, the long queue, another long queue, the weary walk home, then and only then, we got the chips. Often our lives can feel like this, one problem after another, then promise of rescue followed by more unwelcome issues, then, maybe, some relief.

Christians are not excused this process, we live in the real world like everybody else, and we experience the same rollercoaster ride of problems, joys, sadness, peace, etc. Jesus made no promises of a protected, peaceful, and serene lifestyle. He told His followers, “In this world you will have trouble,” that isn’t very encouraging, but He added, “But take heart, I have overcome the world.” Sometimes, events in our lives cause us to wonder where God is, but in our Bibles we constantly read that not only is God in control, but He always knows our situation and is always with us. Even if we wanted to hide from Him, we can’t do that. David wrote, ‘Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.’ However we feel today, God knows, understands, and cares. When we feel lonely and forgotten, God promises, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you,”

It’s Tuesday morning; we all start the day in different situations and with different emotions, but in the presence of the same loving God.

"Pass It On" - 25/07/22

There are many times when we look to pass on a message or story or skill. And different people like to learn in different ways. Recently, my daughter was given some recipes to use which described all the ingredients of what was needed, but what she wanted was to watch and be shown how to make it. She is definitely a visual learner. She was happy to try when she has seen it being done and then use the recipe to remind her.

In work, when changing role or job, we write a “handover” document. So all the things I have been doing are written down, describing why it was being done, what was needed and how to do it. Its also good to know who is involved. Often I use W5H as a guide, Who, What, Why, When, Where & How.

There are family stories that we all tell, and most likely, each time we tell them the story gets a little bit embellished, or as you are telling it someone else says “no, no, it was like this…”.

Passing on learning has long been a tradition and methods have changed over the years. Storytelling and sketches started, but the sketches could be interpreted in different ways. Stories could change each time they were told. Event writing it down could still be read in different ways but it was less likely to continue to change.

When Jesus told a story, he would sometimes tell it as a story that people could relate to in their own lives. He would pass the message on by giving examples in ways that people could understand. The stories were often simple but they had a much deeper meaning that people could then understand and relate to.

What matters is not the story itself but being able to understand its message and apply it. Having a recipe card is great but until you actually make the food, its not much use.

In the book of Mark in the bible, Jesus tells us

“What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

The love that Jesus shows for us is a seed that we can embrace in our lives, nurture it, feed it and it will grow to be a foundation of our lives. And then we can share the story of how it changed our lives.

"Marbles" - 22/07/22

In a small town in the mid-west of America, the body of, "old man" Green lay in the chapel of rest. In keeping with tradition, the widow Green sat next to her husband's open casket to offer her thanks to all who came to pay their last respects. She was kept company by her only surviving relative, a cousin, who lived in the nearest town to the north, some fifteen miles away.

Midway through the afternoon, the door opened and three, well dressed, middle-aged men entered; clearly out of towners. One by one they approached the casket and whispered softly to old man Green; and each held his hand as they did so. Having said their goodbyes to the old man, they turned to the widow and spoke the usual words of condolence, before leaving as quietly as they had come. Unable to contain her curiosity, the cousin asked the widow about the identity of the visitors. "That's the Wainwright boys; Charlie, Tommy and Billy. They lived around here as kids and left as soon as they were able; went off to find their fortune in the city. Looks like they found it too".

The Wainwright boys came from a family that could be charitably described as dirt poor. As children, they were regular visitors to old man Green's produce store. They collected what few supplies they could afford with the money their mother had given them and, every time, old man Green asked them whether they wanted anything else. "Ain't got no more money Mister Green" was the standard reply. Old man Green would pause for a minute and then begin the charade, "Well, I was just thinking only this morning that I miss playing marbles. I used to be a keen marble player when I was your age. Now, if you could bring me a blue marble tomorrow, I could take that as payment for some of these beets and potatoes". The transaction was agreed and the next day the requested marble would be produced; only for the old man to change his mind about the colour and request a red one. Every day the proffered marble was rejected in favour of a different one and every day extra supplies would find their way into the hessian bag the Wainwright boys carried. No marble was ever taken as payment, but the Wainwright's larder was always stocked in excess of their meagre income.

At the end of the day, when the time came to close the casket, the undertaker discovered that three marbles had been placed in the old man's hand. The Wainwright boys had finally paid their debts.

Like many of us, old man Green lived an ordinary life, but lived it in an extraordinary way. He was a simple store keeper, but he was capable of changing people's lives. His simple acts of kindness were often the only thing that kept the Wainwrights fed... and the Wainwrights were not alone in benefiting from his graceful generosity. He never lost sight of the Biblical proverb, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act" and always remembered, "to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased". So, let's please God and follow in the footsteps of old man Green. Marbles anybody?

'As Hot as a Furnace' - 21/07/22

It certainly has been a hot few days! For the first time ever, the UK temperature has reached 40 degrees Celsius. A wonderful heatwave for some, a very visual reminder of the effects of climate change for others. Even for the those who can usually sleep ‘on a clothes line’, sleep was difficult as night temperatures hovered around 30degrees!

Although it has been extremely hot this week, it is not as hot as the aptly named Furnace Creek in California. It is officially the hottest and driest place in the world, with average summer temperatures of 47degrees Celsius, and with the record for the highest temperature ever recorded, a whopping 54.4 degrees Celsius in August 2020.

You would think that with such high temperatures, no one would be able to live there, but you would be wrong. Furnace creek has approximately 136 inhabitants, a restaurant, café, store and a golf course, and even several campsites.

I can’t imagine living somewhere that hot all the time, and for people and pets who have struggled in the last few days here, it would really be torture.

It has reminded me of the saying ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’. The idea that going from a bad situation to an even worse one can be described as from a hot place to an even hotter one, we can all relate to this week.

Even when the temperatures settle down to more ‘normal’ levels, some of us will still have ‘fires’ to go through in our own lives, whether its difficult situations, difficult people, or difficult choices, things can feel so ‘hot’ they are almost unbearable.

Whatever furnace you are facing, you don’t have to go through it alone. God is our ever present help and comfort, and he reminds us constantly that not only has he been with us in the past, he will do so in the future.

In the book of Hosea, God sends a messenger to remind his people of how much he has loved them in the past,

Hosea 13:5

I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat.

and how much he still loves them and wants them to turn to him.

Hosea 14: 4, 7

The Lord says….my love will know no bounds……. My people will again live under my shade. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.

Whatever you are facing today, may God be your shade and bring you peace.

'The Small Things' - 20/07/22

I saw an article the other day about someone in the ‘Kardashian world’ getting married. I can’t remember which Kardashian it was, nor remember who she was marrying, I think it might have been in Italy, but I really can’t be sure. To be honest, I paid little attention. But I wish them well.

It reminded me of an article I read some time ago about their tv show, ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’. A continual ‘fly on the wall’ account of each and every day in their very expensive household. One of them made the comment that they look forward to no longer being watched, day in, day out, because perfection is just too difficult to keep up. It would seem that the Kardashians are having trouble keeping up with themselves!? I saw a photograph of all the various tiny children in their family. They were having a photo shoot. All dressed in clothes that complimented the child next to them. All clean. All looking at the camera!! How did they do it???? The photo was, to be fair on those little chicks, very beautiful. I hope they were having fun. I hope I was looking at them, not an airbrushed version of them.

Yesterday I was looking through our family photos. Photos of my four chicks. Sometimes when they were tiny I’d dress them in dresses that matched. Not that they cared. I’d do their hair in beautiful braids, or leave it down with the obligatory hair band in place. I have some truly wonderful photos! (It helps when your dad is a photographer!) But what comes with the photo is the memory of the occasion. We’d just been rolling down a hill. We’d just watched a funny film. We’d had a McDonald’s. They’d just played a joke on me. One of them had just dropped their chocolate ice cream all down their white top, they’d just waged war on eachother, they’d left a trail of destruction in the house, that I would be heading back to, to tidy up. And it was the rarest occasion in the world if all four were looking at the camera! Welcome to real life! I’m sure you can relate?

Someone once said, ‘Appreciate the little things in life, because one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things’.

So today, I’m thankful for every beautiful, scruffy-looking photo of my little girls that brings back memories of mud pies, baking a cake, climbing a hill, planting flowers…

I’m thankful for the everyday conversations I have with my chicks while we do the dishes together, drive to the shops together, watch tv together.

I’m thankful for WhatsApp chats with all our amazing Melling family that can get really mad and busy at times, but are always fuelled with love, humour, concern and help.

I’m thankful for my cup of coffee that causes me to stop for just a moment and stare at my garden that I love so much.

This is my busy, messy, complicated, beautiful, completely ordinary and often mundane life. And I love it.

The Bible says,

‘THIS is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it’.

May today and every mundane, ordinary, imperfect day, bring you reasons to smile, be grateful, thank God, and truly live.

As for the Kardashians, I don’t know them at all, but hope and pray that in the midst of what may be a pursuit for an airbrushed, perfect life, they too discover what it is to truly live.

'Every Praise' - 19/07/22

‘Every Praise’ is a simple, repetitive, easy to learn song that 9 year old Willie Myrick learnt at church one day in 2014. He loved the song so much that he sang it and sang it.

In April 2014, Willie was playing outside his home in Atlanta, Georgia, when he was kidnapped. He was bundled into the back of a car and the kidnapper told him to shut up and sit quietly. Willie had other plans. He was going to sing the new song he had learnt at church. And sing he did. For 3 hours, nonstop.

The driver shouted at him and threatened him, insisting that Willie stop singing that song! He didn’t. And eventually the kidnapper, exhausted by 3 hours of ‘Every Praise’, stopped the car, threw Willie out, unharmed, and drove away.

In thanksgiving for Willie being returned home safely, the church had a special celebration, and sang the song again….’Every praise is to our God, Every word of worship with one accord, Every praise, Every praise, is to our God’.

This simple song may be a little bit repetitive, but the words cry out thanksgiving and adoration of a God who deserves our every praise.

Click the link below to listen to the song, performed by Hezekiah Walker.

https://youtu.be/UuuZMg6NVeA

‘I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever’.

Psalm 145:1-2

'Star Gazing' - 14/07/22

This week some amazing photos have been published from the James Webb Space Telescope. It’s given us amazing images closer to the edge of the observable universe than we have ever seen before. I have been astounded by the detail and the colour, they are truly out of this world!

If this amazing astronomy wasn’t enough, last night saw a super moon event in the northern hemisphere. It’s the closest the moon is going to be to the earth during a full moon this year, due to the ellipsis nature of the moons orbit around the earth, so its really a super SUPER moon!

Now whilst I love looking at the stars, sometimes the light pollution can get in the way, not to mention the wonderful British weather!

However, if you were in Tenerife, you would have a much more ‘out of this world’ star gazing experience. Due to its high altitude, how near it is to the equator, and its lack of tropical storms, Tenerife is one of the best places for astronomy tourism in the world! It even has laws controlling its plane flight paths to protect its stargazing conditions! People flock to the observatory at the top of the Teide volcano for uninterrupted views of the universe!

Its a truly humbling experience for me to even get a glimpse of how truly vast and wonderful the universe is.

It reminds me of how truly amazing our creator God is.

Psalm 147 describes it like this:

Praise the Lord, he heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How Great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!

Carl Boberg, a Swedish poet, described it like this:

Oh Lord My God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all the works thy hand hath made. I see the stars, and I hear the rolling thunder! Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

So today, whether we are gazing at stars, nature, or the wonderful people that are in our lives, remember how great our creator God is, and be encouraged by the thought that God thinks that each one of us is as amazing as one of those stars photographed by the James Webb telescope.

Let’s join in with Carl Boberg and sing:

Then sings my soul, my saviour God to thee, How great thou art, how great thou art!

"Sleep Well Tonight" - 12/07/22

The sun is going down. Soon it will set for another day.

We will lock our doors, close our blinds,

switch the tv off,

hug the dog,

kiss the kids,

brush teeth

and crawl in to bed.

How was today?

How did you do?

Was it good?

Did you achieve things? Tonight can you sleep well?

Or tonight will you go to bed irritated, angry, upset, lacking forgiveness?

Will your conscience keep you awake?

Will you rehearse conversations over and over in your head until you’re completely wound up and then lie awake seeing every hour of the night on the clock?

Days are unpredictable aren’t they? It only takes one unwelcome comment, or a side glance, or someone else’s bad attitude and our day can go downhill and our nights render us sleepless.

Or maybe we’re the ones who’ve ruined someone else’s day?

An old pastor was once asked, ‘why is it, you deal with people all day, every day, and often face difficult problems and worrying scenarios, but always look so well and rested?’

The old man thought for a moment and replied, ‘I’ve learnt over many years that going to bed anxious and angry doesn’t help me at all. I’ve come to understand that God doesn’t slumber, nor sleep, so there’s no point both of us being awake’.

Can I suggest that we take on board this wise advice?

Tonight, before we settle down, if we have worries let’s tell God about them and leave them with Him;

if we have unforgiveness maybe we need to make a phone call or contact someone to bring closure and forgiveness;

if we need to say sorry then let’s say sorry.

We have no idea what tomorrow may bring so let’s settle down in peace tonight and trust the God who holds the future.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Goodnight everybody, sleep well tonight x

"Works of Art" - 11/07/22

I bet you can’t guess what I’ve been looking at this week so I’ll tell you, it will speed things up. I’ve been looking at bus stops. They’re not usually considered to be works of art, are they? When did you last see an exhibition of imaginative and creative bus stop designs in the local art gallery? Probably never. Life in most of the 20th century in the Soviet Union is not remembered as a time of great creative freedom. Ideology regulated all spheres of life, including art and architecture. Armen Sardarov, a Belarusian architect, described it as ‘A time of monotony in architecture.’ But creative people always find ways of expressing themselves and demonstrating freedom even in a country where the state controlled almost every aspect of life. In the Soviet Union, cars were a luxury, but the public transport system was well developed and appreciated. Buses went everywhere and reached even the most remote villages and corners of the republic. Out of this grey, boring, and repressive culture blossomed a new art form. Bus stops! Local architects and artists who failed to win government projects, were employed by local authorities to design bus stops. But unlike in the big cities where design regulation insisted on uniformity, out in the lonely countryside where bus stops could be twenty miles from each other, creative freedom reigned. It was such a huge nation that thousands of these creations mushroomed. You need to see the results to believe what was produced, always from local material. Talk to Google. Surrounded by repression, fear, and a sense of helplessness, these beautiful local creations spoke of freedom, beauty, and joy.
Jesus constantly encouraged His followers to have a similar effect on their local community, and demonstrate an alternative lifestyle to the one that surrounds us. He said, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say, love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. In that way you will be acting as true children of your Father in Heaven….If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” The call to be perfect is beyond us, but we are called to an alternative set of standards to those around us, in order that the love of God is seen in all its’ glory, and so that people may be aware that spiritual freedom, beauty, and joy are gifts from God. Even we could be works of art.

'Rotten Tomatoes' - 07/07/22

I don’t know if you have ever been in a food fight, but if you ever wanted to go to the biggest food fight of all time, you need to go to a little town called Bunol, near Valencia in Spain. Every August, they have a massive food fight called La Tomatina! It basically consists of throwing ripe tomatoes at each other! Its so large that you now have to have a ticket to take part, and tickets are limited to 20,000 people! The food fight gets through 120 tonnes of tomatoes in 1 hour!

Now this is clearly a food fight like no other, but what I found interesting is that it started completely by accident. In 1945, another festival was taking place in the town, when one of the festival performers fell off the parade float, and into a group of young people. Things got a bit heated, and they started attacking each other with the first thing that came to hand, which happened to be tomatoes from the local stall! They ended up having so much fun that they bought their own tomatoes the next year to throw, and even though they got arrested for doing so, the tradition spread to the massive festival that takes place today.

I wonder if you had told those young people 80 years ago, that an accidental fight would lead to a world renown festival with many thousands of people, would they have believed you? I suspect not.

This reminded me of another young person in the bible. He went to see a local preacher, and as it was going to be a long day, he took a packed lunch with him. A few bread rolls and some sardines. Just enough for one. If you had told that young person that his packed lunch would end up being part of one of Jesus’ most well-known miracles, where he fed 5000 men, plus women and children, would he have believed you? If you had told him that 2000 years later people would still be talking about it, what would he have said?

John 6

Another of his disciples, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

It reminded me that even the smallest, seemingly accidental acts can lead to amazing things. Who knows who you will meet today and what might happen! Something that you do today might lead to a major festival in 50 years time! Or the love and kindness that you give to one another might make the world of difference to someone. Whatever happens today, lets not take it for granted, but use everything and anything to show Gods love and care.

'Dishing the Dirt' - 06/07/22

Time to visit the weird and wonderful world of insects! If you’re anything like me then most insects make your skin crawl. They often have speed and agility and not-so-hidden weapons of war all in their favour. But you have to admit, they are fascinating!!

My latest bit of reading has been about the dung beetle! What a truly disgusting and yet incredible little creature!! As the name suggests, these beetles have a big interest in dung! They eat it, sleep on it, sleep in it, lay their eggs in it and find shelter beneath it!! Who knew dung could be so versatile??? And if all this wasn’t amazing enough, we then learn that dung beetles are the strongest animals in the world!!…all relative of course!! The humble beetle can drag a ball of dung a whopping 1141 times its own body weight!! That’s similar to a human being dragging 6 double decker buses!! These creatures clearly have an insatiable desire for others dirt!!

While I was reading these facts, I was amazed to realise that humans can be just like these beetles! How often do we get invited to partake in the latest bit of juicy gossip?? Do we find it fun to talk about someone else’s misgivings and mistakes? What films do we choose to watch? What places do we choose to go to? Do we go out of our way to talk to the ‘right people’ knowing that they’ll quite literally ‘dish the dirt’? Before we know it we can find ourselves having more similarities with the dung beetle than we care to admit!

The Bible warns us often against gossip, cruelty, unforgiveness, mockery, bullying and celebrating wrong. Jesus Himself instructed us to ‘do to others as we would have them do to us’.

Paul put it like this, ‘Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse’.

Dung beetles are incredible powerhouses who spend their entire lives seeking out, consuming and dishing, the dirt. May we all choose to leave that behaviour well and truly in the insect world.

'You're a Gift' - 05/07/22

I was watching a programme the other day about status. How power and position can most certainly corrupt. There were top doctors, business men and women, lawyers and musicians, to name but a few, who openly declared their elevated status and presumed that this qualified them to treat others with disgust and contempt. Their behaviour towards others was nothing short of outrageous and abusive. They appeared to thrive on their ability to intimidate.

This behaviour is nothing new. We read in the Bible of people who abused their positions, considering themselves above others. Kings, queens, Pharaohs, religious leaders, political leaders, and even those who lived in the ‘better parts of town’, elevated themselves to god-like status, chief critics, mockers and scorners. Doing what they liked to who they liked.

God took no pleasure in that behaviour then and takes no pleasure in it now.

When King Saul was less than impressive, God sent a shepherd boy to kill the giant. When the fearsome Canaanites were approaching and fear spread throughout the people of Israel, God chose Gideon, ‘the weakest member of the weakest clan’ to stand up to the enemy and conquer. When Jesus was teaching crowds of people and they were all hungry, He took a young boy’s lunch of five loaves and two fish and shared it amongst thousands.

Some of us are blessed with very specific and great skills and talents, discovering cures for diseases, performing unbelievable operations, writing pieces of music that are so beautiful they bring tears to our eyes. Those gifts are incredible and may the bearers of those gifts remember to thank God for them and use them to bless others.

And then there’s the rest of us, who may not hold degrees, may not earn much money and may not have been offered opportunities, but still equally important to this world and still gifted. If God can take the ‘nobodies’ of the Bible and do great things in and through them, then be encouraged, He can do it in you and I too.

Whoever you are, and whatever role you play, remember you are gifted and needed and equally important to our world.

Whatever we can offer, however small and apparently insignificant, let’s bring our, ‘five loaves and two fish’ to the God who can take our offerings of ‘nothing special’ and do something amazing with them.

‘God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.’ Ephesians 3:20

"Who Knows" - 04/07/22

Every day on our televisions, probably five or six times a day, we watch weather ‘forecasters’ telling us, and showing us on their high-tech charts, what conditions we can expect at 3pm this afternoon or 7am tomorrow morning. Many of us base our activities and destinations on what we hear from these educated and presentable individuals who have become part of our lives. We make family arrangements for a day trip because we have been told that tomorrow will be dry, mostly sunny, and warm enough to leave our overcoats at home. In our house, both mobile phones have weather channels, but they are prepared by different teams of experts. They almost never agree! So, it seems to me that ‘forecasting’ is an optimistic expression for ‘guessing’.

We are guessing about the origin of a plant that has appeared in one of our garden pots that we did not expect. We did all the right things, we bought a small plant in a pot with a card showing what it will look like, used the right compost, watered it regularly, and we are watching it grow. However, we are also watching the monster that is growing in the same pot that we didn’t plant. It has huge leaves, its very pretty, and has swamped the plant we expected to see. Yesterday we bought a bigger pot for it, and we will see what happens. Predicting the future, according to my dad, is a mug’s game. Think back five years, what couldn’t we predict then that has happened since. Did we predict Covid? Or Ukraine? These are global catastrophes and we didn’t see them coming. I wonder what else we have missed.

Christians believe that God is not just outside of time but also in charge of it. When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about their future, He replied,

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the father has set by His own authority.”

The apostle James was very clear and direct in his writing; talking about people who boast about their futures, he wrote, ‘You should know better than to say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money.” What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life?

'Ketchup or HP?' - 03/07/22

The question for a bacon butty always used to be whether you wanted red sauce or brown. These days there are even more options, do you want mayo or BBQ or something else more exotic! This increasingly seems to be the way for various parts of our life, there are more and more options and choices available. Trying to prepare for these choices can be difficult as not only can the options be baffling, but also, you don't want to exclude someone or upset someone. I would chose brown sauce every time, but my wife prefers red sauce, and we seem to manage to get along just fine!
Being inclusive can be tricky but actually most of us don't want to exclude or upset people. If we make an active or inadvertent choice which exclude somebody or a group of people, this can also be seen as judgement about someone else's viewpoint or approach. However, it’s not for us to judge, it’s our job to help and encourage people to be safe and loved.
The Bible reports that when Jesus was a man on earth, some people felt that following Him was exclusive. When Jesus was talking to certain groups of people, they would question why he was spending time with what they considered a more disreputable people in society. Jesus made it very clear that he was here to love everyone, and that all types of people were welcome to talk to him. In fact, he went out of his way to talk to people who at that time were considered not important or even dangerous. Tax Collectors, beggars, lepers, women and children to name but a few.

John 3:16

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, ANYONE can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

Jesus invites anyone and everyone who is willing to follow him. The tall, the short, the large the small, the brave, the afraid, and even those who have red sauce on their bacon butties! Let’s say yes to Jesus today, and include everyone in his love.

"Keeping on" - 01/07/22

You may have noticed that the Glastonbury music festival happened this weekend; as did the British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park. The two events are similar, but different. The Hyde Park event is Glastonbury for people that don't want to stay in tents. It still lasts three days, but everybody goes home at the end of the evening and the festival ground is cleaned and reset ready for the next day... very civilised.

This year, I was struck by the one thing that the two events had in common. Age. Septuagenarians Elton John, The Rolling Stones and The Eagles packed them in for three nights at Hyde Park, whilst Glastonbury welcomed Octogenarian Paul McCartney as its headline act. The combined age of these erstwhile performers is six hundred and eight! So why do they still do it? One thing is for certain; it's not for the money. If you thought that their combined age was impressive, wait until you hear that their combined wealth amounts to £2.72 billion. The reason they do it is because they can. Their resilience and longevity, combined with their talent, drives them on. They enjoy performing. They have been given a gift; and they continue to use that gift, despite their advancing years.

We too have been given gifts; things that we were born with that give us unique skills and abilities. A gift is set apart from knowledge in that it is not a learned behaviour, although it can be strengthened and practiced. The Bible tells us that we are all born with distinct gifts that set us apart from each other. "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us". We are also told where the gifts come from. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them". These gifts are given to us that we might use them. "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms". It doesn't matter what our gift is, it has been given by God and is to be used for God, "There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work". So, whilst I know that I will never entertain a crowd of thousands at a music festival, I also know that that is not what God created me to do. He gave me different gifts and expects me to use them... and to keep using them; "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do". So, just like the rock stars who keep on using their gifts and enjoy doing so, we too should keep on doing what God has set before us, using the gifts He has provided, and take pleasure in doing so, "And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good"

June Sunrises

'Treasure!' - 30/06/22

If you are looking for a place to search for buried treasure, you could start with the Seychelles. In the 17th century, it was renown as a hiding place for pirate’s treasure. It is believed that an infamous pirate by the name of Olivier Levasseur hid treasure worth more than $160,000 in the Seychelles, and it has never been found. So, if you are planning a holiday, I would take your bucket and spade to dig for X that marks the spot!

When I think of treasure, I am aware that treasure can mean different things to different people. For pirates it definitely meant gold. However, your treasure could mean knowledge, or family, or wealth of a different sort.

Whatever it is, treasure is definitely something that is important to you.

The bible reminds us that some treasure is even more important than pirate gold:

Matthew 6:19-21

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The treasure the bible is talking about here, is not treasure of the pirate kind, but rather time spent following God and following the example of Jesus. By loving others with God’s love, and putting God first in your life, this is truly treasure of the heavenly sort. We are called to bring heaven to earth by the way we love God and act towards others. That truly is treasure to search after, and treasure that will last.

So what treasure are you going to look for today?

'Thistles' - 28/06/22

Here I am, walking my dog, in the beautiful sunshine, surrounded by thistles! They are everywhere! Some of them the same height as me (5 foot 4 3/4!!)

I’m feeling somewhat threatened by these spiky yet beautiful plants.

I’m resisting calling them weeds, after all wasn’t it Winnie the Pooh who said, ‘weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them’. Well here I am, getting to know the thistles! (And I like them.)

Thistles have been the national flower of Scotland since the 13th century. Vikings would try to creep up on Scottish clansmen only to discover that they were walking barefoot on thistles laid out on the ground. (Where were their shoes???)

Their cries of agony and distress were the perfect alarm for the clansmen! (Clever!)

Today the Scottish are still very proud of their national flower. They no longer lay them as traps for the enemy, but rather get them tattooed on a bicep, have them embroidered on a kilt, and I’ve even heard of someone using them to make a sporran! (Ouch! Think I’d prefer to stand on one!)

These beautiful yet lethal flowers are covered in tiny thorns in order to protect them from being attacked. It’s natures defence system (incredible?!)

Thinking about that, I realise that we have more in common with the thistle than I thought. How often do we build a brick wall around ourselves, or develop a sharp, spiky attitude towards anyone around us, because we feel anxious or threatened or afraid?

Like the thistle, we may be constantly on the defence, anticipating another perceived attack at any moment. Life is cruel at times, we can feel battered and bruised and weary. Feeling broken by tough times and experiences and nervous about letting our guard down again. As we join together as church, in our communities, and with families and friends, let’s be mindful that the thistles we are sitting next to need kind words, encouragement, patience and understanding.

I’m really enjoying my walk today, seeing these beautiful flowers has given me renewed perspective that spikes are there for a reason.

Let us all be kind to the thistles, the plant type and the people type, and let’s continue to make our world and much better place. One thistle at a time.

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11

'A Sigh of Relief' - 27/06/22

It’s amazing how stress can build up over a year, not because you have done anything wrong or because people have made your life difficult, but just because that’s life. Some of our younger family members have been working very hard all year preparing for exams. Preparing is tough enough, but the actual weeks of the exams can test student’s stamina and confidence to the limit. Inevitably it spreads out to parents and grandparents as well. Then as individual exams are ticked off and the day arrives when students walk out on their final day, you can almost hear a sigh of relief across generations. I’ve not taken any exams this year, or last year, or…. I’m sure you get the message; those days are behind me. How I miss exams! The next events will centre around attendance at various colleges and university in September, so we have a few months of tranquillity, except for that one day in August when the exam results are announced. We’re looking forward to that! One family member has a new job, one is looking for a job. I must have forgotten something.

Our family is no different to any other. Many families in our community have had seriously difficult issues to deal with, and as one is dealt with, another appears on the horizon.

It was no different in Jesus’ time, as He walked the streets and pathways of Palestine, He was constantly looking into the faces of people who were stressed, lonely, angry, frightened, or ill with no hope of a cure. Many of them were transformed by His compassion and power. During the last meal with His disciples, He told them that life would be difficult without Him, but He said, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” Jesus always spoke the truth; none of us can expect to sail through life without problems and sadness’s (and exams!), but for those who trust Him, God’s gift is His peace, which is better than anything the world can offer.

"Can't See The Woods For The Trees" - 25/06/22

There are some times when there are so many tasks surrounding us, that we talk about “not being able to see the wood for the trees”. There are times in my job when we run healthchecks on our computers and when you first see the results, you see hundreds of issues building up. It can be quite daunting at first sight, but when you start to look at the detail from a different view, you see things differently. The hundreds of issues actually are related to only a handful of actual solutions. So what was a daunting task can then become a much simpler one.

Sometimes in our own life, there can be a build up a jobs to be done. In themselves each job may not be that tricky but when you put them all together it can be a bit overwhelming. But there can be a path through which sometimes does not appear straight away, but it is there. Sometimes, other people can help you through this path. It may be an offer of help or just finding your way through yourself. But there is a path, there is a light at the end of the journey.

We are reminded in the Bible “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory through Jesus. He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.”

Being a Christian does not mean that life will be a bed of roses, but it does mean that you can depend on the love, comfort and support that God can provide, either directly or through others.

One thing to remember is that we are not alone in our journey, there are others around you who will help and we have a God who loves us and cares for us

"Embracing The Positive" - 24/06/22

I did something on Monday that I never thought I would do. I set foot inside Anfield; or, as it is now ostentatiously known, The Anfield Stadium. Some people have a, "To Do" list... this was on my, "Not To Do" list. You may wonder why. Well, Anfield is the home of Liverpool Football Club and I am a dyed in the wool Evertonian. Like most football fans, we don't really know what ignites the passion for a particular club. I suppose it's in our blood. My Grandad was on Everton's books in the thirties, although he never made the first team; my Dad was born in Goodison Road; my uncle was a shareholder etc. etc. I had my first season ticket when I was nine. So, to enter enemy territory has always been anathema to me.

Why do it then? Because something was happening there that was more of a positive than the negative of setting foot in the place. One of my favourite bands, The Eagles, were playing there. So, whilst Anfield may have been on my, "Not To Do" list, The Eagles were on my, "Bucket List" and that won out. I have attempted to see the Eagles on three previous occasions; once I had to cancel due to a scheduling clash with another event and the other two concerts were cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. So, Anfield or not, I wanted to make sure I didn't miss this opportunity... particularly as the original band members are now in their seventies and you never know how much longer they've got!

Was it worth it? Oh, yes! The Eagles did not disappoint. They have been performing for fifty years and they can still deliver the goods. So, I'm glad I accepted that there was something for which it was worth setting aside my long held prejudice. The positive was so much better than the negative.

I have found that for some people a relationship with Jesus is on their, "Not To Do" list. Like me, they have what seem like perfectly good reasons. For some it's a dislike of organised religion; for others it was a negative experience at Sunday School; still others grew up in a family where church going was not a thing; some people have always had other things that seemed more important; others just don't like going into a church; some have a fear of commitment, or a fear of change; some believe they will have to give things up that they are attached to; others that there are too many don'ts. Jesus is not about any of these things. He says, "I have come so that you may have life in all its fullness".

Jesus will not disappoint. He has been changing people's lives for the better for a lot longer than The Eagles have been performing. So, if you have been tempted to meet Him on other occasions in your life and something got in the way, don't miss the opportunity now. None of us know how long we have got, so why not set aside whatever prejudice you may have and discover that His positive is so much better than any negative you may be holding on to

"The Power Of The Crocodile" - 23/06/22

I am sure that everyone has heard of ‘The eye of the Tiger’, and that infamous song in the rocky movie that accompanies the boxer training! I wonder though, if anyone has heard of ‘The power of the Crocodile’?

If you are familiar with Papua New Guinea culture, you may have. Whilst most cultures believe that puberty is hard enough, the Sepik people of Papua New Guinea take the transition to adulthood to a whole new level. In this culture, crocodiles are worshipped, and they believe that you must be ‘reborn’ into a brave warrior by battling a ‘supernatural crocodile’. The adolescents must first be ‘eaten’ by the crocodile in a special ceremony which involves tiny cuts on the arms, legs and bodies. They are then caked in clay and confined a ceremonial house until the wounds heal. When they emerge, they have the ‘Power of the crocodile’ and are deemed a brave warrior!

This definitely falls under the category of ‘Don’t try this at home’!

I do find it interesting that in lots of cultures, however different to our own, there is the process of change that is celebrated. The process of ‘becoming who you were meant to be’ or transformation, is seen as an important part of the journey of life.

In the Rocky films, it took a lot of Blood sweat and tears for the boxer to be transformed into a prize fighter. In Papua New Guinea, it takes fighting a supernatural crocodile!

The Bible also talks a lot about transformation. Thankfully tigers or crocodiles are not involved! The bible reports many accounts of how people’s lives are transformed when they encounter Jesus and his love. In fact, when Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, he described it like this:

2 Corinthians 5:

If anyone belongs to Christ, there is a new creation. The old things have gone; everything is made new! All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him.

Saying yes to Jesus doesn’t mean that you have to fight a crocodile or run up a lot of steps (like Rocky), but the more time you spend learning about Jesus and his love, the more we become the person God created us to be. It’s a gradual process and we learn every day. We are all on a transformation journey so to speak.

So today, where are you on your journey with God? Whether you are just beginning, or have been walking with him for years, take time to be with him today and take the next step along the way.

"The River Of Life" - 22/06/22

Wherever you live in the world, water is essential to human life. Water for drinking, washing, growing crops and feeding animals to name but a few. Without water, life is impossible.

This is seen very clearly in the country of Mali. Its landscape is dominated by the great Niger river, which runs through the country. All the towns and villages where people live in Mali is centered around the river. If you go too far from the river you hit the great Sahara Desert. Everything in Mali is focused on the river Niger because they can’t survive without it.

Jesus describes himself as Water, which may seem strange, but he actually describes himself as the water of life!

John 4

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

Jesus was trying to explain that he was as important to us as water is. His love, his care, are as vital to our existence as the Niger river is to the people of Mali. Without Jesus dying for us and beating death, he cant help us through this life, and it means that we cant live forever with God and Jesus in heaven.

That’s a bold claim for anyone to make, but Jesus is clear. He is the living water, he is Love, and his love is there for anyone who would invite him into their lives, to walk alongside them. His invitation is for everyone, everywhere, from Mali to the UK and everywhere in between. Come and see what Jesus is like and how amazing his love is.

Next time you boil the kettle, or have a shower or put the washing on, think about Jesus, the water that never runs out and his love that never runs out.

"Wallpaper" - 21/06/22

I’ve got new wallpaper! 7 foot parrots, toucans and cockatoos in their beautiful bright colours, now adorn one wall of my lounge! I’m more than delighted with them! Totally excited actually! I love my big birds! It reminds me of tropical days, beautiful, bright sunshine, Latino music, fiestas, and an abundance of large papayas! Putting it bluntly, if I had to be a wallpaper this would be it! But I’m well aware that it’s not everybody’s cup of tea! I had a very dear friend in our house a week ago who openly told me, “well I wouldn’t put it up in my house“! That made me laugh a lot.

After all, can you imagine what our world would be like if everybody had a personality of large, tropical, bird wallpaper? We’d be in more chaos than we’ve ever experienced! No one would be on time, ‘peace and quiet’ would be in rare supply, ‘sensible’ and ‘orderly’ would be a thing of the past, but we’d have a great party!

I don’t know what type of wallpaper you would be, but whatever it is, know today that you are vital to our world! Blessed with gifts and skills to make our communities, and indeed our world, a better place! Give thanks for who God created you to be. And give thanks for all those around you who may be a completely different wallpaper to you, but just as vital!!

‘I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,’

Phil 1:3

'Looking but Seeing Nothing' - 20/06/22

As we live our lives in our amazing world, we are aware of the importance of looking, just to avoid bumping into things or people. If we are drivers, there are so many dangers and possible accidents just waiting to present themselves. When you drive to work or the shops, how many road signs do you pass that give you instructions, warnings, or directions. In a ten-minute trip through most of our cities, it’s likely that you will pass more than a hundred of these signs, try counting them on your next trip. Probably, if we are paying attention, we will see, understand, and react to all of them, but it’s unlikely that we can recall them all. How often have you driven to work on the same route each day and arrived at your destination but can’t remember the journey? So much of the world around us is not noticed, it is possible to look at everything as we pass but see nothing that inspires, pleases, or challengers us.

I’m involved with a thing called DayShoot which requires me to take one photograph every day of the year, but each day’s image has a specific theme. This causes you to look at the world in a deliberate way, and amazingly it is transformed into a wonderland. You always look at that oak tree as you walk to the bus stop, but have you ever stopped to look at the beautiful shadow it casts onto that boring wall? Have you noticed that tiny, tiny, blue flower that is so fragile, but manages to grow out of the concrete pavement? When you’re sitting at the edge of a lake, look at the trees on the far side reflected in the water, fifty on the hill, fifty in the water, beautifully rippled. Have you noticed that little children don’t walk, they bounce? Everywhere there is beauty in the most ordinary of locations, but so often we don’t really see them.

In the first chapter in the Bible we read, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth….God said, “I command light to shine…I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain…I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and birds to fly above the earth…I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles”…And God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us.”

The truth is this, it doesn’t matter what you look at in the natural world or above it, in cities or deserts, through telescopes or microscopes, in the oceans or in the skies; whether we notice them or not, they are all part of God’s creation. And so are you and I. Let’s make sure that as we look around, we see the handiwork of the creator God. Just looking is not enough.

"Speaking But Saying Nothing" - 18/06/22

There are some times when you hear some people speaking and part way through you have to stop and think, “what is he actually going on about?”

If you have ever had to listen to a message from senior management, it is often a time you dread, an hour of your life you won’t get back. You join the meeting just because you know they are checking who attends.

These days, the meetings are all on a computer using Zoom or something similar, so you hope you can join but not actually have to listen. But these calls can now be monitored so they know if you have joined but then actually start doing something else on your computer. You hear the management speaking and if you manage to listen you begin to wonder, what are you actually saying? I can hear words but you are not actually saying anything.

Many years ago, I was on a “business writing” training course and I was actually given a cheat sheet which had 4 or 5 sections to it. Each section had about half a dozen phrases in it. You could pick any phrase from each of these sections and when you put it together, it actually made a proper sentence but did not actually say anything. It was all filler just to boost the word count in your report!!

One of my colleagues has a phrase for this today, he calls it “word salad”, its there but nobody really wants it, it doesn’t add anything but you have to eat it. Why do you need salad with a bacon cheese burger?

But anyway, one place where I am constantly surprised at lack of word salad is in the bible. Some people say the bible is not relevant today, some think its difficult to read or some think its all just a story. However, each part of the bible has relevance today, you just have to listen properly. As historians learn more about our ancient world, it confirms more and more about the bible. I was recently listening to a talk about a part of the bible that lists the generations of Israel. When it started, I had no idea what you could get out of this section. But the speaker gave 1 simple message. You matter.

The bible took the time to list the people of the different generations that lead to more well known parts of the bible and ultimately to Jesus. The message taken by this speaker was “you matter”. No matter what part you play, you matter. It may be you are an author, conference speaker or just a bloke who goes to church. You matter.

When you read the bible, you need to think about what it says, you need to think about how you can relate to the passage, the words are God’s words. Not only do they have meaning, but each time you read them, God can inspire you in different ways each time you read them.

Try it.

"Royalty" - 17/06/22

It's been a busy few weeks for the Queen. First, she had all the malarkey surrounding her Platinum Jubilee; complete with the amusing antics of her great grandson, who, despite the demands of royal protocol, behaved like a four year old boy. Given that he is a four year old boy, we can hardly be surprised. Then she had her birthday... not her actual birthday (that was back in April), but her official birthday. I wonder did she have another party and whether she gets another cake? Fitting then that Paddington bear was part of her Jubilee celebrations, because he too has two birthdays... they are on Christmas Day and June 25th; so you still have time to send him a card.

Then to top it off, she became the second longest reigning monarch in history, pushing King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand into third place. Currently top of the leaderboard is Louis XIV of France, but his record of 72 years and 110 days must now be in serious jeopardy. Of course, he had a head start on our Queen, as he became King of France at the age of four and a half. Given the previously mentioned four and a half year old member of our own royal family and his pleasing determination to just get on with being four and a half, I can only imagine that life under the early years of Louis' reign must have been interesting. In truth, Cardinal Mazarin, the first minister of France actually ruled the country until his death in 1661, whereupon Louis assumed the responsibility of the crown at the age of twenty three. History lesson over.

Now, none of the aforementioned monarchs comes anywhere near to reigning for as long as my King. He has reigned forever... since the beginning of time as we know it and beyond; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The Saviour of all men. He shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. The son of the living God. Every knee will bow before Him, every tongue will confess His name. The blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. The author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God".

Long live the King.

"All The Way To Timbuktu" - 16/06/22

I am sure you have heard of the phrase “ from here to Timbuktu”! well if you haven’t, it’s a expression used to denote somewhere very far away. It is used to mean a journey we really don’t want to do, such as “ I’m not going from here to Timbuktu to pick up your things”. Not the best example, but you get the picture.

The origin of phrases like this intrigue me, so I looked it up. It turns out that whilst nowadays Timbuktu is a city in the African country of Mali, on the edge of the Niger river, hundreds of years ago it was a trading crossroads between Europe and the Middle East. It was also known for its lawlessness and a pretty dangerous place to be.

Ancient Timbuktu also had two things that the rest of the world wanted: salt and gold. It was considered a place of mythical riches. In 1824, the Geographical Society of Paris offered a reward of 7,000 Francs and a gold medal valued at 2,000 Francs to the first European who could visit Timbuktu. Obviously to claim the price they would also have to return alive, and with evidence.

Gordon Liang a Scot, was the first to reach there, but he got shot, stabbed, robbed, and to add insult to injury, they even broke his arm. He stayed for a month to recuperate and then got murdered 2 days after leaving. It was the French explorer Rene-Auguste Caillie who eventually made it and claimed the prize.

Thankfully today Timbuktu is a much safer place to visit, but still a long way away.

The bible tells us that even if we are on a long journey, or in a difficult place, nowhere is too far for God.

Psalm 139:

Is there anyplace I can go to avoid you God? to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—you’re already there waiting!

Its really comforting to know that wherever we are in the world, God is there and his love is ever present.

So no matter where you are going today, even if its Timbuktu, God is already there. He is with you on the journey and he is waiting for you at your destination. Lets thank him for his amazing love.

"The Great Declutter" - 15/06/22

After getting much-needed work done on our house, we finally moved back home a few months ago.

When we first walked through the door the space looked huge and wonderful and clear!! And it was!

Then we had to move all our belongings back in! And rapidly the space began to disappear! One after another we carried cardboard boxes into the house.

Surely this didn’t all belong to us? Where did all this junk come from??

‘Junk!’ I had no idea that we had so much!! Looking at it all in boxes spread out across our new floor I realised that it had been kept in cupboards and drawers for years, ‘just in case’.

Something had to be done! And the Great Declutter began! I have to say it’s been very therapeutic getting rid of it. Very freeing!

But physical junk isn’t the only stuff we all live with. There’s a different kind of junk.

Do we recognise resentment or unforgiveness in our lives?

How about jealousy or greed?

An inferiority complex or a sense of superiority?

Selfishness or anger?

When we live with such baggage or junk it clouds our judgement, distracts us from what is important and good and simply weighs us down.

The Bible is very clear about ‘junk’….

‘…So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end’.

Life can be filled with junk if we allow it and we will become distracted and overwhelmed and lose focus on what is truly important. May we all seek to get rid of the junk in our lives, to live free of it, and trust Jesus to guide us, one step at a time, through this journey called life.

"The Scarecrows of Life" - 14/06/22

Next week one of my chicks finishes college in Southport. Two years of hard work doing her A levels.

For a good portion of that time she studied from home amidst lockdown rules. And for the rest of the time I’ve driven there several times a week to drop her off and pick her up.

We would play music in the car, a wide variety, and talk about a whole bunch of stuff.

While I will be glad of the smaller petrol bills, I will miss those journeys. They have been lovely times.

But there is something at this time of year I most certainly will not miss on the journey to Southport!! The ugly, creepy, vile, terrifying, disturbing, stuff-of-nightmares scarecrow festival! If I wasn’t driving I’d shut my eyes!!!! What crazy minds create such frightening, big straw dolls!?

My blood pressure rockets! I come out in a cold sweat! And I put my foot on the accelerator! Scarecrows! I’m renaming them scare-Jos!

But driving past them today I was thinking about my chick moving on to the next stage of her life. There’ll be great things and not so great things! She will have wonderful days, happy days, days of achieving and days of celebration! How wonderful!

But she will also have days of struggle, hardship, fear, worry and upset. On this journey called life, we’re guaranteed ’scarecrow days’. Those days when our blood pressure goes up, worry or panic or upset takes over and we ‘put our foot down’ in an attempt to just get through the day as quickly as we can.

We’ve all experienced those days. Maybe you’re going through a scarecrow day right now?

David knew exactly what it felt like. He knew anguish, stress, fear and loneliness and it was through those experiences that he wrote the 23rd Psalm…

‘The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’

Whatever you are experiencing today, may you know of the Lord who has promised to never leave us as we encounter both great times and also those scarecrows of life. Happy Tuesday to you all.

'Second Best' - 13/06/22

I read about Kenny Perry who was competing in the world-famous Masters Golf Tournament a few years ago. He was leading in the final round and the thought that he might actually win was very exciting. Unfortunately, he was overtaken and was placed second at the end of the match. Asked afterwards how he felt, he said, “I won’t dwell on it. If this is the worst thing that happens in my life, I’ve got it pretty good. There are so many other things in life that matter more. I’ll go home tonight with my family, and we’ll have fun.” For Christians, the ability to look beyond our failures and disappointments is meant to be our normal approach to living. How we measure and order our priorities indicates our level of trust in God. If we made a list of our top five priorities, would ‘Trusting God’ be at the top? Would it be in our top five? Are there more important issues in our lives that push God down the list? Jesus said, “Don’t store up treasures on Earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. Instead, store up your treasures in Heaven….Your heart will always be where your treasure is.” And St. Paul wrote, “You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in Heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.” Our world culture is increasingly focussed on achieving our aims and acquiring even more than we already have. Let’s remember, God also has aims for us and promises us treasures in Heaven that will never fade away.

As Kenny Perry demonstrated, failing to achieve our aims may hurt us, but it doesn’t have to harm us. God has better ideas.

"Peace In The Valley" - 11/06/22

https://youtu.be/R3KBqqc7uvg

"Still" - 10/06/22

https://youtu.be/J8u-H2DN1vc

"It Is Well" - 09/06/22

https://youtu.be/Kh0eklK4H4Y

"Broken Things" - 07/06/22

https://youtu.be/WdUu6ZsdVfM

"Be Still" - 06/06/22

https://youtu.be/OOXj-ZE_2Zo

"The Small Things" - 01/06/22

Someone once said, ‘Appreciate the little things in life, because one day you’ll look back and realise they were the big things’.

So today, I’m thankful for every beautiful, scruffy-looking photo of my little girls that brings back memories of mud pies, baking a cake, climbing a hill, planting flowers…

I’m thankful for the everyday conversations I have with my chicks while we do the dishes together, drive to the shops together, watch tv together.

I’m thankful for WhatsApp chats with all our amazing Melling family that can get really mad and busy at times, but are always fuelled with love, humour, concern and help

I’m thankful for my cup of coffee that causes me to stop for just a moment and stare at my garden that I love so much.

This is my busy, messy, complicated, beautiful, completely ordinary and often mundane life. And I love it.

The Bible says,

‘THIS is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it’.

May today and every mundane, ordinary, imperfect day, bring you reasons to smile, be grateful, thank God, and truly live.

As for the Kardashians, I don’t know them at all, but hope and pray that in the midst of what may be a pursuit for an airbrushed, perfect life, they too discover what it is to truly live.

May Sunrises

"How Great Thou Art" - 31/05/22

In 1885, Swedish preacher, Carl Boberg, was heading home after morning church when he witnessed a short but stunning thunderstorm. Out of nowhere it seemed to come, and a short time later it was over, and a rainbow appeared.

Boberg was so shocked and in awe of the power and beauty he had just witnessed that he sat himself down and began to write the start of ‘How Great Thou Art’.

Years later, an English man by the name of Stuart K Hine was so inspired by what was now a melodic poem that he wrote more verses for it and made it into the hymn we know today.

All these years later and with this hymn having been translated into many languages, How Great Thou Art continues to be one of the most favourite hymns of all time.

There are many different versions of this hymn. You can find them on YouTube. The version below is by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Last night at our choir practice, we sang this version and raised the roof! It was absolutely stunning! Click the link below to listen.

https://youtu.be/QOoTueC1cow

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens.

Psalm 8:1

I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

No one is like you, Lord; you are great, and your name is mighty in power.

Jeremiah 10:6

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

"What's Happening?" - 30/05/22

It seems as if the whole country is getting ready to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Some of us have a huge collection of memories of our monarch’s journey through her reign, and we thank God for her. Looking back, we can remember individual days when something significant happened in her life. In addition, we have memories of other events, large and small, during our lifetime; somewhere in the world a war started; a new Prime Minister moved into number 10; a medical discovery brought hope to millions; Woolworths closed! Although these had some impact on us, and the whole country was affected, often they didn’t feel personal. But some events were closer to home; a child was born into our family; a friend died; we lost our job; Everton won a match! Then there are those things that not only happened to us, but we made them happen. We chose to move to a new home; we bought an electric car; we decided to revive our garden.

For the Christian there is another possibility; we could choose to make things happen for other people. Could we invite a refugee into our home? Huge numbers of people across Europe have done that. We could go shopping for a neighbour who struggles with mobility, even pay the bill. Maybe a family member or friend, or a neighbour, needs us to donate more time. We could do something really difficult; like make a phone call or send a text or mow a lawn. Frequently, people just need to know that you haven’t forgotten them.

Another Royal memory is the wedding of William and Kate. The Bishop of London began his address to them by quoting Catherine of Siena; ‘Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’ He proceeded to urge the happy couple to pursue a love that finds its centre beyond themselves.

Our Bibles are full of ideas and challenges to help others have happy memories; ‘Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you…encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone…’ We can all add our own ideas to help others in these difficult days. Our Queen is 96, if you lived to that age, how many times could you give people happy memories?

‘Be who God meant you to be.’

"Staying Connected" - 28/05/22

In todays world, so much of what we do is now “online”. So many people have phones or iPads that they carry around with them. Lots of TV services are also now “streaming” where all your programmes are sent over the internet. Having a WiFi service at home is almost an essential. Having a good strong signal in each room becomes so important. There are so many adverts on TV talking about how fast the service is.

Lots of things we do are online, booking an appointment at the GP is on line and booking a holiday is online. Even when you go out for a meal, you can order from your table on the phone, pay for it on your phone and they bring it over. And if fast food was not fast enough, you can now pre-order your fast food on your phone so when you go to collect it , it is ready for you when you arrive. We sometimes go camping for a family holiday and one of the factors on choosing the site is whether they have wifi.

What would happen if we lost that connectivity to the internet?? Some of us will cope just fine without a phone for a few hours, maybe even a few days. But it does get harder to do things without being connected.

As a Christian, it is important to stay connected with God, through prayer, through reading the bible, through talking about the bible with Christian friends. Jesus talks about this in a picture about a grape vine, which was common thing for the people to have in the time of Jesus.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Lets make sure we stay connected to God, continue to bear fruit and to help others bear fruit; the fruit of our relationship with Him being shown in our love and compassion for others.

"Blackpool" - 27/05/22

We found ourselves with some time on our hands this week, so we had a think and decided to take a trip to Blackpool. We haven't been to Blackpool for several years and usually only go when it is cold and dark in order to see the lights. So, going on a warm, bright, sunny day was a different experience. To be honest, I think I prefer it in the dark. At night, all the blemishes aren't easily visible, but in broad daylight the place looks tired and worn.

Blackpool is a place of faded grandeur. A place that looks back with fondness at its heyday. Wherever we went, there were pictures of the town in days gone by. The lobby of the tower is full of photos dating back to its opening in 1894. Smiling families staring at the camera, all looking their best and dressed in the holiday garb of the day whilst Blackpool looks new and fresh and welcoming. Time has taken its toll and despite the millions of pounds spent in the town every year, it seems that not enough is being spent to keep the place as fresh as it once was. That said, the new promenade is very nice and the fairground has updated its rides. The problem is that all of that is the face of Blackpool... the thing that is up front. Step back behind the Golden Mile and things are not so shiny. It is as if the Golden Mile is Blackpool's make up - look beneath the blusher and Blackpool's good looks are revealed to be superficial.

I wonder if the same can be said of us? Do we look back with fondness at our youth? Do we consider our best days to be behind us? Are we still desperately trying to cover up the cracks and preserve our fading grandeur? If so, then we are looking at things the wrong way. "People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart". We often judge ourselves and others by our looks, but that is to miss the complete picture. Our true nature is not displayed on our face, but held within.

The good thing is that God is capable of seeing beyond the superficial. He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows that our looks will change as time goes by. He doesn't care. He sees what is within us and knows that the spirit that is living in us doesn't age, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day"

Whilst Blackpool may have lost its shine, we have not. Our shine comes from within and can't be diminished by the passing of time. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"

"Dancing Llamas" - 26/05/22

In a remote region of Nepal this weekend, the Tiji festival will take place. It celebrates an ancient legend where an ancient deity fights back demons to bring prosperity to the land. It comprises of 3 days of dancing and celebrating, in an effort to drive back the demons once again and continue to bring health and peace to the region and the world.

In the second day of the festival, the NgaCCham dance is performed. Its also known as the dancing Llama dance! Disappointingly, it doesn’t contain actual dancing Llamas, but masked dancers and elaborate puppets which look similar to Chinese dragons. It celebrates the chasing away of demons from the region. I love the idea that you need dancing Llamas to chase away demons in Nepal!

Llamas can be quite fierce, and are very good guard animals, with an impressive kick and spit if they get annoyed. I can imagine them giving anyone a run for their money if they didn’t like them.

Whilst I am still trying to convince my husband that a pet Llama would be brilliant idea, I am very thankful that whatever we are facing today, we don’t have to do it alone.

God, our Lord and the one who saves us, has promised that he will never leave us or stop loving us.

Isaiah 46:4

I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned grey, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. I will carry you and save you.

Whatever demons you may be facing today, you never have to face them alone. Lets give thanks to our ever-loving God who stands with us and carries us if necessary through every day. Lets make that choice to walk with God through whatever lies ahead, knowing that He is faithful. Oh, and get a pet Llama if you can, they are great!

"Feathers In My Pillow" - 25/05/22

There is an old Jewish story that tells of an elderly man who told a little boy to go to the village square and rip open two pillows full of feathers and shake the feathers out. The little boy was confused, but thought it would be fun. He was then instructed to gather up all the feathers and put them back into the pillows. There’s no surprise that he couldn’t do it. Every time he tried to gather the feathers up they floated in to the air and drifted in all directions. After much time the tired and defeated little boy sat down on the ground. ‘I can’t gather them all up. It’s just impossible to get all the feathers back’. The old man came and sat beside him looking at the village square now covered in feathers. ‘These feathers are just like gossip and cruel words. Once spoken they are out there and can never be taken back’.

The Bible puts it like this, ‘"The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing". Proverbs 12:18

God hates it when we choose words to hurt, slander, insult and destroy. He wants us to use our words to bring encouragement, support, understand and blessing. Isn’t life tough enough without the addition of cruel words?

Paul wrote a whole chapter on the importance of love…

‘Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love’.

Maybe we should all pause before we speak and ask ourselves, ‘Am I speaking the truth? Am I being kind? Are my words uplifting and encouraging? Will the person I’m speaking about be blessed by my words?’ If not, then let’s keep those ‘feathers in the pillow’ and help eachother get through this sometimes tough and crazy journey called life.

"Rest Easy" - 24/05/22

‘He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities’. Benjamin Franklin.

At the end of this day, how are you feeling? How has your day been? What have you done? Who have you spoken to? How did you speak to them? What thoughts have you had? Have they been kind? Caring? Thinking the best, not the worst?

In a world with ever-increasing levels of violence, road rage and lack of forgiveness, aggressive ambition and being top dog, can you sleep tonight?

Can you sleep tonight with a clear conscience, knowing that today you did your best, showed extravagant love, turned the other cheek, went the extra mile and chose to think the best?

However your day has been, whether it’s been a good one or a tough one, whether you feel that you’ve done well or not done so great. I pray that God blesses you with good rest, humility to correct mistakes, gratitude for all that is good, and a desire to bless others tomorrow.

Now may the Lord bless you and take care of you; May the Lord be kind and gracious to you; May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

"Giants Or Great Fruit" - 23/05/22

‘What you see and what you hear depend a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.’ CS Lewis.

Moses and the people of Israel had been wandering for many years. Looking for the Promised Land that God had spoken of.

Let’s face it, they really did keep on messing up. Having experienced such incredible acts of God, many still lacked trust in Him and chose to complain and moan.

As Moses looked out over the land of Canaan, he chose 12 men to go and check it out and to come back with reports of what they saw.

Well the 12 men returned. 10 spoke of terrifying giants! They were fearful and doubted that they could face such formidable people. The other 2, well they saw amazing fruit! A fertile land that would be good to live on.

It was all a matter of perspective.

The 10 saw the struggles and problems and the trials.

The 2 saw God’s provision.

What we see and hear often depends on who we spend time with. In the midst of daily difficulty and hardship, do we get overwhelmed with the tasks we face, the energy required, the voices saying, ‘You’re not good enough’? It’s easy for us to do. Life can be overwhelming and we can sometimes only see giants.

But the Bible tells us, ‘nothing is too difficult for God’….that includes giants!

The 2 men who saw past the giants were called Joshua and Caleb. Two men who loved God and had faith in Him. They didn’t have all the answers, they didn’t know what God had in store for them, but they did choose to trust Him.

The writer of Proverbs said, ‘Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.’

So where are we standing today?

Who are we listening to?

Are we standing with those who will discourage and criticise, mock and doubt?

Are they helping us to grow the giants?

Or are we standing by those whose voices will speak encouragement, support and of a God who can cause giants to fall.

Whatever you face today, may you know of the living God who is greater than any obstacle.

"Use it Or Lose it" - 21/05/22

I wonder what the title brings to people’s minds when first reading it? For me, this refers to a business approach where you are given permission to something but if you don’t use it often or regularly, that permission is taken away. It’s a good principle to follow for work and to help keep information safe. If I don’t need to access the information then put it away and keep it safe.

However, it also applies to me going to the gym. I need to keep using my muscles to keep them working. Keeping this fine figure is not as easy as it looks! But sometimes that’s hard work. The people in the gym also know this as they have a sign up in the gym saying “before you quit, remember why you started”.

In both cases, there is a reason to start in the first place and we should remember that reason to encourage us and keep us going. A colleague recently walked 100km of the Jurassic Coast to raise money for charity. It’s a tough walk and was definitely a challenge, but he kept going by thinking about the person who he was walking for.

As a Christian, I have a reason for my life choices. Some of those are hard work and I need to remember why I became a Christian to keep me going. I also need to keep on making those choices so I don’t lose sight of why I started. There is encouragement in the bible, where it says

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another”

There is a God who loves you and cares for you, who died for you, so that we might live with Him forever. Keep praying and reading the bible, loving and caring for each other, encouraging each other that we can hold firm to the promises of God.

"The Workers" - 20/05/22

I have spent a lot of time working in my garden in the past couple of weeks. You will notice that I didn't say gardening. That's because it has been more like hard labour. It all started when we decided to get rid of the six metre wide bamboo hedge at the bottom of the garden. We didn't really want to get rid of it, but the panda bear died, so there wasn't a lot of point keeping it. Only joking... the panda is alive and well, but the bamboo kept encroaching into the middle of the lawn, so it had to go.

So, armed with the appropriate sharp things, I hacked down all the stems. Then I dug up all the roots. Well, I thought I had, but every now and again another stalk pops up and I have to dig down again and find the root system. I think I've got them all now, but I wouldn't bet on it. Then I needed to dig up and reposition the washing line pole. If you have ever installed a washing line pole, you will know that it is set in about two feet of concrete. Not an easy job to dig out. However, I managed it eventually, only to find that there was another one buried right behind it in an even larger ball of concrete. This one took twice as long to dig out, but again, I eventually got there. Then there was the job of cutting down a dead tree and removing as much of the trunk as I could. That just left the small matter of planting four trees to replace the bamboo and the dead tree, reshaping the lawn and painting all the fences and Robert is your Dad's brother!

Now, you may wonder why all this was done. Well, it was part of the plan. Those of you who know me will know that I don't look much like a man with a plan... and you'd be right. This plan belongs to my wife. That's not to say that I had no input to the proceedings. It's just that when it comes to knowing what will make the garden look nice, I haven't much of a clue. My input was to say that the garden didn't look as nice as it could and did she have any idea what we could do to make it look better. She did and it does! Her ideas and choice of trees and plants have made the whole thing look twice as good as it used to and I am pleased to have been called into action to play my part by supplying the labour. You see, a plan without action is just a plan. Even when it's a good plan.

God has a plan for salvation. That's not just your salvation, or my salvation, it's everybody's salvation. It's a good plan. The plan involves you and me. We are the workers. We have a part to play. We know the plan and we have a job to do to tell everybody else about it. The plan is simple. The plan is Jesus. I know it, you know it, however, other people don't know it... but if we do our job, if we provide the labour, then the plan is no longer a plan - it's a reality. So, let's get busy. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

'Sweet Dreams' - 19/05/22

The word dreams mean many things to people. You might think of a good night’s sleep, or a nightmare, or you might think of your hopes for the future. Like Martin Luther King, you may have a dream of your own.

In Aboriginal culture however, Dreaming means something very different. Dreamtime does not mean a comfy bed, but a time when the world was created, and how this knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation for over 6000 years. The Aboriginals believe that who we are today is because of our ancestors, and the customs and legends that they have passed down. The ‘Dreaming’s’ or knowledge of the past, are passed down through story, song, dance and even body art. The dreaming is so important to their culture, they think of this time as not only in the past, but also to help them understand the present and future as well.

It’s a fascinating thought, and because the Aboriginals are so good at talking about it and weaving it into their every day life, these ideas continue today.

Whatever your thoughts about dreams, telling stories and passing on traditions to people is an important part of most cultures, and its important in the Bible as well.

God reminds us to think about all the amazing things he has done for us, and to tell others. He wants us to pass on the stories of his love and how he has changed our lives from generation to generation.

Psalm 77 11-12 Once again I’ll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts.

So why is this so important? Well firstly, its so that everyone can know how amazing our God is and how much he loves us. Secondly, it’s because when life gets tough, its easy to forget what has gone before, and to think that we are on our own and that God has abandoned us. Reminding ourselves of how God has worked in ours and other people lives in the past encourages us to remember that God will never leave us, and that he will help us find a way through

So today, spend some time thinking about our amazing God, and how he has loved us and worked in our lives, and then tell someone. Pass the message on, pass on the real dream of Gods love in the past, present and future.

"Be Like Louis" - 18/05/22

Did you know that in the average, animal loving, family home, a dog will bear a grudge for approximately five minutes, as opposed to a cat who will bear grudges for almost an entire day. So when you accidentally stand on your dogs paw he’s completely forgotten about it and moved on in the time it takes you to make a good cup of coffee, while your cat would quite literally still be licking his wounds 16 hours later. Don’t be fooled as any cat lover knows they can be beautiful and vicious all at the same time. To be fair on my dog Louis, it doesn’t even take him five minutes before he’s forgiven me! Unlike our beautiful cat that we had when we were growing up, who would take a swipe at us, at any known moment, probably for some wrong we had done, and not known of, much earlier in the day!

While we can laugh at the funny and fascinating ways of the animal kingdom, grudge bearing does not cause much laughter amongst humans. I was talking to someone just the other day, and they were speaking of the huge grudge they held for a lady who had passed away a number of years before. The grudge bearing was real and consumed this person’s thoughts. They were livid, and sadly it showed in many aspects of their life. They couldn’t let go. As for the lady, she hadn’t even heard of him. Someone once said, ‘ Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent-free in your head’.

In Proverbs we read, ‘If you are sensible, you will control your temper. When someone wrongs you, it is a great virtue to ignore it.’

And in writing to the Ephesians, Paul said, ‘Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.’

Can I encourage each one of us today to put aside our grudges, choosing to not allow people to live ‘rent-free’ in our heads, and recognising the God who sees and hears all of our thoughts, words and actions AND STILL loves us.

Have a lovely day everybody and let’s be more like Louis.

'My Perfect Garden' - 15/05/22

Gardening drives me nuts! Spending hours and hours damaging your back pulling up weeds you didn’t plant, knowing that in two months you will need to do it all over again, it’s too much. I have settled on an historic plan to create a wildlife garden. My understanding is that once you have prepared an area and sown seeds, you can walk away. Actually, my plan is not to walk away but to put a bench in the middle of my mini paradise and sit and enjoy the rewards of my wisdom. That’s my master plan and of course it will be brilliant. I’ll report back when my creation is blossoming. The idea of producing a beautiful garden that needs no work suits me perfectly, but if anybody queries my reasoning, I will explain that I am only interested in the welfare of birds, bees, and butterflies. I’m happy to share my space with them.

We read in our Bibles that, ‘The Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there He put the man He had formed.’ That sounds perfect to me; God made the garden and put Adam in it. However, there is a slight problem in that we also read, ‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.’ Hmm. I’m hoping that when God sees my maintenance-free garden that He will say to Himself, “I wish I’d thought of that.” I’m sure that Adam would. So all I have to do now is; kill the mountain of weeds, pull them all up, rotovate the soil, flatten the land, position some flags as stepping stones, sow the seeds, water the ground and stand back. I’m smiling as I write this because my plan is faultless. And it’s all my own work, how proud I will be.

I suppose that if I was totally truthful, I would need to acknowledge that the soil was already here, and I didn’t create the seeds, and even if I use water out of the tap it originally came down from the sky. OK, so my garden is a joint effort. I will be delighted to share my bench with the Creator. That was the original idea, for Mankind to share God’s Garden, that we call Earth, and take care of it. I wonder if God looks at His property and is saddened by the wild life that seems to have taken over. As we live on, and move around, God’s perfect planet, let’s understand and accept that we all need to take responsibility for our own patch, and let’s remember what David said, ‘The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ That includes my wildlife garden, I hope He likes it.

"Who Would You Choose?" - 14/05/22

Eurovision 2022 is on tonight and it is definitely one of those “marmite” events. Some people love it and some people hate it!! Apparently, Ukraine are the most likely winners for this event and I think that was before any had even heard any of the songs. Of course, the UK has an entry that people in this country thing is a good song by Sam Ryder. This country has a great history of music of all styles and yet our history with Eurovision is not the greatest.

There have been some OK songs that we have submitted, some not so great songs submitted. Some of the performances have been mixed with no backing music or singers who cant hear the music. Who remembers “Puppet on a String” or “Boom bang-a-bang” or “Save your kisses for me”. Our last winner was “Love Shine a light” with an American singer in Katrina & the Waves.

One of the highlights was always the expert commentary from Terry Wogan, whose dry wit kept us sane through the hours of varied and interesting European performances.

The voting was always the most interesting part, where you could almost predict who would vote for who, I don’t think it was based on any of the songs, just on the political interests of the countries taking part. Is it any surprise that the UK did not attract many votes!?!?

So, if you were giving someone a vote, who would you choose or more importantly how would you choose? I would like to think we are generous and look at how people have tried and put their heart into something. Not consider how they perform against some other external standard but support and praise those who try, those whose heart is in what they can achieve.

There was a lovely moment in Britain’s Got Talent when a dance group from Nottingham went straight through to the semi-finals, the group is aimed for those with disabilities or special needs and they put their whole selves into the dance and were given their reward of a semi-final place.

In our journey with Jesus, he encourages us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind”; which Jesus describes as the first commandment. We should put our whole selves into loving Jesus and showing that love to others, as Jesus then also says the second commandment is “You must love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

Jesus put his whole being into loving us and choosing us, do you choose the same for Jesus?

"Walk This Way" - 13/05/22

Some of you may have seen the film, “Hook”; starring Robin Williams as Peter Pan. In this version of the story, Peter has grown up and is now a successful businessman in New York. Nonetheless, through the magic of fairy dust, and a host of special effects, he revisits Neverland and confronts his old enemy, Captain Hook. Peter looks him up and down and declares, “I remember you being a lot bigger”. To which Hook roguishly replies, “To a ten year old I'm huge”.

Which goes to show that age, which is just another way of describing time, provides us with a different perspective. Things that worried us as children don't trouble us now that we are adults. Looking back, we can see examples of difficulties that we have overcome. Some of them more serious than others, but all of them given a different perspective by the passage of time. Those problems may once have seemed dreadful, but with the benefit, and possibly wisdom, of hindsight we can look back and see that we were able to endure them, painful though they might have been. We came through them. We are here now.

There are many stories in the Bible that speak of God's people facing difficulties. Sometimes those difficulties looked insurmountable. Sometimes the people wanted to give up, to turn back, to lament their plight and fall into despair. On every occasion, God walked alongside them and helped them through to the other side. When we look back, our experience of God will be the same. God has walked with us through every difficulty we have faced.

We need to look at our present worries through the lens of time. One day, what troubles us today will be behind us; but right now, right at this moment whilst things might seem overwhelming, we need to look back and remember who it was that walked alongside us in troubled times. It was the God of history. The God of love. The God of peace. The God of hope. “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged”... because He still walks right beside us.

'Chocolate Hobnob Anyone?' - 12/05/22

Its quite common that if you visit someone’s home in the UK, you will be offered a drink, and if you are lucky, a biscuit. Now everyone has their favourite biscuit, from the custard cream to the ginger nut. One of my friends absolutely loves Chocolate Hobnobs! They always have a packet in, and if you are considered a favoured visitor, the chocolate Hobnobs will appear. In this particular household, it’s a sign a acceptance and love, if you are offered a chocolate Hobnob you know you are welcome.

Now in Albania, they take hospitality to a whole new level. Its quite common that a visitor to an Albanian house would be offered so much food it would cost a months salary! This is particularly generous as many Albanians are not wealthy, and this would often mean that the hosts would go without food the following day or week. Generosity is a key part of Albanian culture, and keenly observed.

Now whilst the Albanian hospitality is definitely extreme, Jesus tells a story about how important it is to show hospitality and love to those around us. He tells a story about two groups of people, those who love and share with one another, and those who don’t.

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘people’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

The reason my friend offers Chocolate hobnobs to people is that they consider them the best of all biscuits. I don’t know what your favourite biscuit is, but lets offer the equivalent of our chocolate hobnobs to those we meet today. Whether it’s a kind word, time to sit and listen, or even an actual biscuit, lets love people in the best way we can because that’s how we show Jesus’ love to others.

'Ouch!' - 11/05/22

I don’t suppose you’ve ever gotten close to a lion’s tongue? I didn’t think so. Neither have I. But I have been reading about them. These beautiful big cats have tongues that could literally rip you to shreds. The surface of them is completely covered in tiny spines called papillae that are used to scrape the flesh off the bones of their prey. Nice! Gruesome really. And fascinating. Isn’t nature just fascinating?!

When I read that fact I couldn’t help but smile at the realisation that humans have tongues just like that too!! Ok, so they’re not covered in tiny spines, but they are still capable of ripping someone to shreds.

What happens when we get angry? Frustrated? Overtired? Overworked? Jealous? What about if we’re bearing grudges? Not getting our own way? Chances are we let our tongue loose and it becomes a killing machine. Think of the damage our words can do. The lies, gossip and venom, the bitterness, criticism, mockery and plain old mean talk! All capable of killing relationships, hopes, dreams and opportunities. Of course we can always say sorry for the words we’ve wrongly spoken, and hopefully forgiveness is given. But why say them in the first place?

The Bible has much to say about our words,

“A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell”.

Those are really strong words about this tiny part of the body. But we only have to look around to see how true it is.

I have no idea who wrote the following quote but there’s a lot of wisdom in it…‘Be sure to taste your words, before you spit them out’. Such great advice!! May we all stop, breathe, think about the words we would want to have spoken to us, and then do likewise. May we all learn to speak life into situations and leave the killer tongues to the lions.

'Are you a Superhero?' - 07/05/22

There have been many super hero movies over recent years, with a lot of them based on the Marvel super heroes, such as Spiderman, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, etc. The films often show you how in today’s world we need a super hero to do battle on our behalf against a super villain. Captain America was a figure for the American soldier, he was brave, he was strong and he was courageous. These movies are filled with action showing how these super heroes battle against the odds and have to find that extra bit of strength, courage or cunning to beat the villain and save the world.

Many of the films also show other softer aspects of the characters, their compassion for those in difficulty or the love of their life that they have to let go in order to be the hero. In a recent movie, one of the super heroes was asked “Are you happy? Are you really happy?”. I thought that an interesting question for them to pose as that can be a very difficult one to answer. In the movie, you can see that the hero really wants to say “No I am not happy” and maybe even cry about it. Maybe that is too real for a super hero movie. A super hero who can save the world, they can leap tall buildings, fly round the world, battle with villains and demons, but does that make them happy?

Will our actions will make us happy, will our abilities will make us happy?

The bible refers to our happiness in many, describing to us how God will “bless” our lives or find out contentment or to be at peace. For each of us, there will be different things that will allow us to feel that inner happiness, peace, contentment or feeling blessed. And God knows and understands us so well. But the common factor in all these things is Jesus, in the book of Philippians we read

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Lets look to Jesus and allow him to bring us peace and joy, no matter what our circumstances.

'Zmittag' - 05/05/22

If there is one discussion that is bound to bring about heated debate in our house, its the subject of meals. Not specifically food, but what we might call our meals throughout the day. Not growing up in the northwest, I have quite different opinions to my husband, and we are both absolutely sure that we are correct. Now we can both agree that the first meal of the day is breakfast, but the rest of the meals are all up for discussion. So, when does breakfast become brunch? And what about lunch or dinner, tea, supper, high tea? And does the meal change its name if its hot or cold? For example, if a meal at lunchtime is cold, should it be called lunch, but a hot meal be called dinner? It seems that where you live in the UK, different names are given to meals, and they may contain differing amounts of food. Where I grew up, a hot main meal in the evening was called supper, but in Liverpool, supper would be considered a late evening snack! It seems like we try and complicate things as much as possible!

Thankfully if you live in the country of Liechtenstein, meals are much simpler. Breakfast is Zmorga, the main meal of the day is always had in the middle of the day and named Zmittag, and a lighter snack type evening meal called Znacht finishes the day. Very straightforward and predictable. You know where you are and what you are eating in Leichtenstein!

One thing is certain though, is that we need to eat and drink each day. However many meals we cram into today, we will still be hungry and thirsty tomorrow. It’s the way our bodies work.

In the Bible, Jesus used this fact to explain the difference it makes having a relationship with him when he met a woman at a well in John 4

Jesus said “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life.”

Jesus was explaining that whilst food and drink only keep us satisfied for so long, the love of God is very different. Its never ending, overflowing, generous, amazing and truly wonderful. Its so amazing its difficult to describe. Its better and longer lasting than the best meal ever.

So whatever you are eating today, and whatever you call it, lets remember the truly amazing love of God and give thanks that God is with us whatever meal we are eating and all the times in between. As Psalm 107 says:

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his love and for the miracles he does for people. He satisfies the thirsty and fills up the hungry.

'God Says It's Ok' - 03/05/22

Some time ago, I spotted a new Rolls Royce that must have been worth about four times the value of our house, and it had an interesting colour scheme. The radiator grill was gold (just the colour of gold I think, but you never know); the body work was lilac, and the doors were orange! I got the impression that the owner wanted to be noticed. Many people were appalled at this mix of colours, I can’t think why! Colour taste is very subjective, just look at the colour schemes in peoples’ houses; “Good grief, they’ve got a purple settee and a lime green carpet; what’s wrong with them.” Front doors can be interesting; mostly they are black or white, or timber, stained teak or oak. Red is very popular, and amazingly some homes have a blue front door. But you would never expect to see a pink door with yellow panels would you; nobody could be that silly. Some artists (and some photographers, who are artists also of course) seem to prefer working with a limited pallet for most of their lives. Fashion is deeply involved with colour choices, and designers seem to believe that they have the authority to tells us that next years’ colour is peach, or sand, or porridge. They can say what they like, have a look around any shopping centre and you will see that the favourite colours are, black, navy, and grey. Next year will be exactly the same. Trust me.

You will all have heard somebody say, “Those two colours don’t go together.” “Oh, thank you for your advice” they probably expect you to say, but you may not; you may have already muttered under your breath, ‘mind your own business.’ The truth is that every colour combination you can think of has already been used by God in His creation. Somewhere in His world you will find the most outrageous colour mixes exhibited in the flowers, animals, birds, insects, fish, etc. So, it's fine for you to go wild, knowing that God has already said, “It’s OK.”

In the Bible, one of God’s favourite and most significant colours is white; just white; all alone and beautiful. There’s a lovely passage in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, where John describes a vast gathering of people in Heaven; ‘I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were dressed in white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. It’s a wonderful reminder that God’s redeemed people come from every nation and speak every one of Earth’s languages. Amazingly that includes people from Ukraine and Russia, standing side by side! Where we come from doesn’t matter, but faith in Jesus determines where we are going. And we will look great in white. Just white.

April Sunrises

'Self-driving Cars' - 30/04/22

New cars today can be quite different to drive. When I learned to drive, most cars were a manual gearbox. The instrument panel had a few different switches for lights or wipers. A posh car had a heated rear window. You could lift the bonnet and actually see the engine. If it needed any work, you could try yourself. Changing oil or spark plugs, adjusting the fan belt or swapping an alternator. These days cars are quite different. You don’t need to use a key to unlock the door, when you sit inside and things start moving automatically. When driving, lots of cars are automatic, but then there is the “adaptive cruise control” which sets your speed and changes according to the speed limit. If a car slows down in front, the car slows down automatically. There are automatic lights and wipers, heated seats and air conditioning. The cars beep warnings at you if it thinks you are not driving safely. The cars are themselves making driving “easier” and hopefully safer.

But if you can find the right part of the manual, you can turn all that off. Then there are no warnings, there is no help, you have to drive the right way. It is great that all this help is being added to cars, as it could make road travel safer and easier.

In our lives, we can be in full control, decide how fast and safe our lives will be. A lot of us will do a great job, there will be some mistakes or accidents. But we can learn from that, hopefully repair and move on. But we also have Jesus available as our helper, if we choose to listen to his advice and allow Him into our lives to help us, we will then know that our lives are secure in Him. Of course, this does not mean there wont be any accidents or mistakes along the path, but if we live our lives being faithful to him and accepting his guidance, our lives will be fulfilled and we will have an eternal life with Him. Jesus was talking to His followers and said

“Because a loveless world, is a sightless world. If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word and my Father will love him—we’ll move right into the neighbourhood! Not loving me means not keeping my words. The message you are hearing isn’t mine. It’s the message of the Father who sent me. I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace.”

So do we listen to the beeps, do we allow our speed to be managed, to be advised if we start to change direction? Do we choose to love Jesus and listen to his words?

'Looking Back' - 29/04/22

You may remember a previous Sunrise in which I commented that my garage had ceased to function as a garage and was now a glorified storage area. It is true to say that my loft serves a similar function. Whilst my garage once had a different purpose, I'm not sure that the same can be said of my loft. I'm not really sure what the function of a loft is. In my house, it has always been a dumping ground for anything that no longer had a place anywhere else, but which was potentially useful or collectible. I am, it has to be said, something of a collector. One of the collections is currently under review. My wife and I have been sorting through boxes of old vinyl. Yes, our record collection is being revisited. We even went to the trouble of buying a small record player so that we could listen again to the sounds of our youth, played as they were meant to be played... scratches and all. It's a varied and, some may say, eclectic collection; from Bach to the Beatles; Peggy Lee to Led Zeppelin - all captured on the wonder of a large black plastic disk.

Now, I realise that some of you have no idea of what I'm talking about. Those of you raised to listen to music on a CD or streaming service can have no idea of the joy of the record. Removing the flimsy plastic circle from its twelve inch cardboard cover, reading the sleeve notes and sitting back to listen to the entire album. That's right; sitting back and listening... no shuffling the order of the tracks... no studying our phone screens whilst the music plays in the background... no asking Alexa to skip to the next track; just sitting and listening to the whole thing from start to finish. We are having fun revisiting sounds we haven't heard for years. It has to be said that some of the records we have found have already been disposed of... I don't know what we were thinking buying them in the first place! Many others have brought a smile to my face along with a warm sense of nostalgia, but the point of course is that if these records were so good, why were they consigned to a dark and dusty loft for so many years? Well, the answer is simple. We move on. We move forward.

We can look back with rose tinted glasses to times gone by, but they are just that. We need to focus on today, "Do not say, “Why were the old days better than these?” for it is not wise to ask such questions". Every day God has something new for us, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing". So, let's move forward today towards what God has laid out for us and remember the words of the Apostle Paul, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus". After all, nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

'Unmentionables!' - 28/04/22

I am fascinated in the way that different cultures and countries look at life. In the UK, if I was to talk about “unmentionables”, it brings back memories of my grandmother as it is the word that she used to describe underwear. However, what we may consider unmentionable in the UK, is often different around the world.

In Myanmar, the unmentionable part of the body is in fact the feet! Feet are considered the lesser part of the body. The people of Myanmar wash their feet in a different way to the rest of their body and use a different towel. Putting your feet up on a chair is considered extremely rude and using your feet to point at anything is considered outrageous! In Myanmar, feet are truly unmentionable. They are so strict about this that you are not allowed to walk over a bridge or on the upper level of a bus when someone is walking or sitting underneath, as the sight of feet are so offensive!

Whether you think that feet are truly unmentionable, or if it’s another part of the body, every part of the body works together so that we can function properly as humans. The Bible uses the analogy of the human body to describe Christians. It explains that like the body, every Christians has different gifts and talents, and those all work together to show God’s love to the world.

I Corinthians 12

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ…… If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose…. As it is, there are many members, yet one body.…. God has so arranged the body, so the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

So, whether you think of yourself as a foot, a hand, a voice, or something completely different, you are an indispensable part of our wonderful melling church community. Let’s be thankful to God for each other today, and how our differences make us stronger as a team

'It's the Way I Tell 'Em!' - 27/04/22

When was the last time you really laughed? Where you watching TV? Chatting to a friend? At home witnessing someone do something funny? Can you remember the last time you really laughed? Or was it too long ago?

Life can sometimes be really tough can’t it? Stress and upset, illness and worry. It can become overwhelming. Laughter may feel like a distant memory.

It’s a well-known fact that people who have particularly difficult and stressful jobs can often find humour to be a great help. In fact they would go as far as to say that laughter is essential!! I found this to be particularly true in some of the relief and development roles that I had overseas. When circumstances can feel desperate, overwhelming and quite hopeless, laughter can be the greatest of medicine.

So do you have a favourite comedian? How about Ken Dodd?...

‘ I haven’t spoken to my mother-in-law for 18 months, I don’t like to interrupt her!’

Or maybe Eric Morecombe?....

‘My neighbour asked if he could borrow my lawnmower, I told him of course he could, so long as he didn’t take it out of my garden’.

Ronnie Corbett?...

‘ I wasn’t a very athletic boy. I was once lapped in the long jump!’

Tim Vine?...

‘So I said to the gym instructor, “Can you teach me to do the splits?” He said, “How flexible are you?” I said, “I can’t make Tuesdays”. ‘

The bible says, ‘A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a broken spirit makes one sick’.

This isn’t about ignoring the struggles and pain that we ourselves, or those around us may face. Nor are we to dismiss the daily news and ignore the tragedies that are happening internationally. But it’s about finding a moment of relief. A moment of lightheartedness. A moment where mental and physical batteries can be recharged. A moment to release a whole lot of stress with one big laugh.

If you’re needing to laugh, find that person or those people who can bring a big smile to your face. And if you are somebody who is able to laugh and encourage, pick up the phone and pass that gift on to somebody today.

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped.

Proverbs 11:25

'Room for One More' - 26/04/22

Isn’t our world incredible!! Nature, art and science can regularly blow our minds, but also the differences in cultural practices from one region to another and one country to another. Cultures are simply fascinating

In Japan, I have been reading about the ‘subway pushers’. These are people employed to do one particular job....during rush hour, they are paid to push more and more people onto the already crowded trains. Just when you thought that someone was already invading your personal space, another three turn up as well!! These subway pushers must have been trained to know when to stop, atleast I hope they have, but the idea intrigued me! Room for one more!!

One of my absolute pet hates is cliques! I’m not talking friendship groups that form easily and openly with common interests, but the friendship groups that form in a tight knit, exclusive way. If you’re ‘not the right kind’ then you don’t get in. Cliques are often found in schools and can cause much hurt and isolation. But sadly we also find them in the workplace, in social settings and even in the church! Maybe your look isn’t right, or your lifestyle isn’t picture perfect, maybe you don’t sound the same, or you’re simply ‘not good enough’ to be part of the group! People get left out, just because.

The bible has such a lot to say about this! Paul writes these words, “Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody”.

Can I suggest that here in Melling we adopt a gentler form of ‘Japanese subway pushing’?? Wherever we are, whoever we’re with, as church, we get alongside others, tell them that we’re in this journey of life together, hold the doors wide open and ALWAYS make room for one more.

'Out of Tune?' - 25/04/22

If you go to buy a guitar you really need to do your homework before going to a store, you must know what you’re looking for. You should never buy a guitar online; it is necessary to hold a variety of guitars before parting with your hard-earned savings. It’s very personal; you must fall in love with the instrument, its size and weight, its style and quality of build, but mostly you need to be thrilled with the sound it produces. It’s difficult enough to practice until perfect, without having to deal with the huge frustration of knowing you have brought home, and spent your money on, the wrong beast. I’m thinking of two particular instruments; both guitars, but the similarity ends there. One is fifty years old, was very cheap, not well made, has a worn-out look, and needs repairing. The other one is only five years old, was very expensive, is beautifully made, and is a work of art. There are other differences; the old tired one sounds like a cat fight, and the new work of art makes no noise at all; it has no strings. Clearly somebody needs to take charge and repair one guitar and complete the other; then in the right hands the result could be beautiful music.

Our relationships with other people and our ability to communicate can often be compared to music. Maybe we feel like the old guitar; we struggle with ill-health; feel worn out and neglected and this leads to comments and conversations which could never be described as ‘musical’. Some people are like the other guitar so well catered but with no strings, that they have neither the desire or ability to provide the helpful sounds people around them would welcome. Some of us went to hear our gospel choir last night performing for the first time in more than two years. The result was moving and inspirational; soloists thrilled us, and the whole choir singing together in harmony was memorable. Everyone went home uplifted and refreshed; that’s how our speech to those around us is meant to be.

Solomon who was wise enough to understand the power of words said this, “Kind words are like honey, they cheer you up and make you feel strong.” Fortunately, we don’t need to carry our guitars everywhere and we certainly don’t need to inflict our singing voice on others, lets just talk in a way that cheers people up and brings strength to those who need it.

'Twix O'clock' - 23/04/22

One of my colleagues will regularly eat a Twix bar as part of his lunch and always at 1 o’clock. Its become known as Twix o’clock. If he is ever invited into meetings starting at 1pm, you can always hear the wrapper in the background as he completes this ritual. But then we found out that it was not actually a Twix, it was a supermarket alternative which he thinks is better than a Twix. It did start a conversation about sweets and alternatives.

There is of course the Tunnock caramel wafer, which some have tried to copy but its never quite as good as the original, in my opinion. I also then found that they make a dark chocolate version of the wafer which is even more delicious.

Some of you may have seen a TV show where chefs are asked to make a popular snack, and they have to replicate the snack as closely as possible. They cannot try to improve it or change it, just make an exact copy. Now many of the recipes are protected so that the brand of the snack is unique, so whilst the ingredients are on the packet, quantities and methods of making are not. Watching the chefs try to mimic tiny mesh of Shreddies or the curl of a quaver, they really have to think about how the ingredients are cooked and brought together very carefully, experimenting until they think they can duplicate the original. So often, whilst the replicas do taste ok and may look similar, there is only 1 way to do it and you cannot beat the original.

So, how do this reflect on being a Christian? Well, there is only 1 way to be a Christian and that is through Jesus. Some early Christians were confused what they needed to do to be a Christian. Jesus told them, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” One of Jesus’ disciples explained it like this “Jesus’ life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him.”

We cannot make ourselves Christians, it is simply through accepting Jesus love and living our lives as he guides us and helps us, that we will be a Christian.

'We Can Be Heros' - 22/04/22

I spent much of last week wearing my Batman outfit. Now, I must stress at this point that this is not an admission that I am Batman (although it's fair to say that you have never seen the pair of us together in the same room). The reason for my extended alter ego adventure was that I was attending Spring Harvest. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it is a week when the church effectively takes over Butlins (well, at Minehead and Skegness anyway). It's lots of fun for all the family. The adults can attend meetings and seminars, whilst the children have age appropriate groups to attend that build their confidence and knowledge of their place in God's kingdom in an entertaining way. Of course, for many adults the children's meetings are even more fun than their own. I am one of those adults. This year's children's theme was superheroes... hence the Batman outfit.

What is a hero? There are different definitions and we probably all think of heroes in different ways. For some of us, our heroes are figures from history, for others it may be a sporting star and for others still it will be a family member. It is said that a hero is the person running towards the burning building. In other words, the person who tackles the problem head on despite the danger. I prefer a different definition, "A hero is the person who does what they can".

Last week the children's teaching centered around the story of Nehemiah. It is one of my favourite stories. Nehemiah is one of my heroes. God put a call on his heart and Nehemiah answered it. He returned to his home in Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, at great personal risk, to undertake the task of rebuilding the city walls. A city without walls is, of course, a city that is unprotected. The problem was that he was one man alone and the job would have been impossible for him. So, he brought the people together and together they completed the task. People who had no experience of building walls simply got stuck in and within fifty two days the job was done. They all did what they could and in my eyes were all heroes.

The Bible reminds us that we all have a part to play in answering God's call, "For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us". We will not all be the one running towards the burning building, but we can all be heroes by simply doing what we can.

'Sabai Sabai' - 20/04/22

I don’t know how your week has been, but I seem to be meeting myself coming back at the moment. Everywhere I go I am in a rush, with an endless list of things to do. I have even been known to forget what I have agreed to do, and double or even triple book myself!!

Busyness and rushing around seems to be the state of play for lots of people at the moment.

However, if you live in the country of Laos, busyness is unheard of. People simply do not rush. One well known saying in Laos is ‘Sabai Sabai’, or ‘Take it Easy’!

This is because Laos culture places far more emphasis on spending time with family and friends than power or success. Stress is almost unheard of as taking whatever time you need to complete tasks, is absolutely fine!

Of course, this lack of rushing can have its downside. When you arrange to meet a friend in Laos, be prepared to wait, as a meeting time is seen more of a guide than a fixed point. And timely customer service may be according to the timing of the people serving you, rather than the time you actually need something. However, there is no point getting exasperated, as in Laos, you are encouraged to ‘Sabai Sabai’ and chill out!

In the bible, we are reminded that Gods timing is just right, but it may not be our timing. We may be rushing to get things done or being impatient that something isn’t happening as quickly as we want, but we are reassured that God knows what he is doing.

God also encouraged us to tell him how we feel, and he will come alongside us and help us.

Philippians 4 explains it in more detail

Let petitions and praises shape into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. Fill your minds and meditate on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

The idea of being woven into the harmonies of Gods plan sounds wonderful to me. lets try today, to make a conscious effort not to rush, but Sabai sabai and enjoy being part of Gods harmonies as he weaves his wonderful plan together in his time.

'What's Next?...' - 16/04/22

There are some times when you just wonder, what is going to happen next? This can be in a good sense and when fortune favours you in some way, someway may say you need to get a lottery ticket a “your luck is in”. Other times, it may be in a bad sense and someone will remind us “it always comes in 3’s”.

But in reality, we are never quite sure what may happen next.

How often do we have plans to do something that are then changed because of other things happening? You’re about to go out to do something and someone appears at the door, you start talking, then they end up coming for coffee. Before you know it, your day has changed.

I remember a story of a Christian writer who understood that God would have a plan for him always. One day he was going about his business and ended up missing his train. It was frustrating but he stopped and prayed, asking God what He had planned instead. He sat on a bench near another passenger waiting for his alternate train. That nearby passenger was upset and he was then able to talk to them and offer support and pray with them. Sometimes, our plans are not actually what God wants us to do and He will intervene so that we can fulfil a need for someone else. We can never be certain of our plans.

At Easter time, we remember the sacrifice that Jesus made in his death on a cross. We remember it knowing that we can look forward to Sunday when we celebrate that Jesus rose from his grave to rejoin his Father. But can you imagine how the people at the time felt, they did not know that Sunday was coming, what Gods plan was. Jesus followers thought he was gone, what was next? I recall a story of an African minister whose talk was simply “Its Friday, but Sunday is coming”, the same phrase repeated over and over. We have a hope in Jesus, He died for us and he rose again to give us the opportunity of life with Him. The bible verse John 3 v 16 , from a version called The Message, says it like this

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again “

God has a plan and if we choose to follow Him, he will guide us, love us, support us, bless us and in doing so, we can also bless others.

Its Friday but Sunday is coming, our hope is Jesus.

'Feet' - 14/04/22

Today marks the day that Christians celebrate as Maundy Thursday.

It's the day when we remember that Jesus was arrested. He went willingly, knowing that he would be beaten, put on trial, and put to death. He went for us all, to save us by beating death so we could have a way back to God. It's the definition of unconditional love and sacrifice.

So how does the church around the world mark this day? Interestingly one custom is common around the world on Maundy Thursday, and that is the practice of feet washing.

It follows the example of Jesus in the last supper, when he washed his disciples feet. At that time, it was a custom when people visited a home, that their feet (often dusty from the dirt roads) would be washed by servants so that they were clean and fresh.

Jesus took on a job reserved for the lowest servant to show how much he was willing to give up for those he loved.

John 13

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

In Italy on maundy Thursday the pope makes a special visit to a prison to wash the feet of the prisoners there, to follow Jesus' example. A different prison is picked each year. In 2017 he made the interesting choice of going to the Paliano prison. This is a very specific prison for a very specific group of prisoners that cannot be housed anywhere else. This because they are all members of the mafia who have all betrayed their fellow mafiosa for a reduced sentence. They are about as popular as Judas iscariot at a disciple reunion!

The lowest prisoners in the pecking order had their feet washed by the pope. This act of humbleness demonstrating that Jesus came for everyone, and as Christians we should love and serve everyone with that love.

Now it may not be appropriate to try and wrestle the shoes off everyone you meet today, but offering to love and serve each other is a task we should try and do everyday. As we remember and give thanks to Jesus for how much he gave up for us today, let's keep on humbly loving and serving one another.

'Emmanuel... Not Just For Christmas' - 12/04/22

The crowds cheered. The atmosphere was electric. It was the arrival of the king. The shouting and chanting and praising got louder and louder.

‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!‘

The crowd were throwing their cloaks on the ground, and they waved their palm leaves with much excitement and enthusiasm.

The King has arrived.

On a donkey.

Wait!! A donkey? Are you serious? Kings don’t ride on donkeys! Donkeys are kind of cute, a bit funny looking, enormous big ears....but definitely not regal!

But here He was.

Jesus.

King Jesus.

Riding on a donkey. This was a far cry from the pomp and circumstance of other kings processions. But Jesus wasn’t ‘just another king’.

He was God’s son.

The Miracle Worker.

The Servant King.

The King of all Kings.

Jesus brought a message of love, forgiveness, grace and hope.

As the people cried ‘Hosanna!’ Jesus knew that their cries, just a few days later, would be ‘Crucify him!’ Jesus wept.

He wept for every person who had missed ‘Emmanuel, God with Us’.

He loved them and He wept.

The first ‘Palm Sunday’

And today, Jesus loves us and weeps for us.

May we not miss ‘Emmanuel, God with Us’. But celebrate Him, thank Him and invite Him in to our messy lives.

‘I have come that you may have life, life in all its fullness’. John 10:10.

'All Change' - 11/04/22

It’s interesting to see how people react to change; some love it but some hate it. If you watch The Big Bang Theory, you will know how Sheldon behaves when change is suggested or necessary. He wants life to continue exactly the way he has organised it; change terrifies him. He believes that change invites failure and will be disastrous. We have been living in the same house for years and years. We know where everything is, and we understand our neighbours; but some of our family are now suggesting that it’s time to move. Can you imagine the upheaval? I can, and I feel like Sheldon. Change can of course go either way, we may look back and see how wise our family is; or we may not.

The disciples had been walking with Jesus for three years and had seen and heard everything

you can imagine, and some things you couldn’t imagine. Each week brought such joy to many individuals whose lives were changed beyond their imagination, even Sheldon would be impressed; Jesus was welcomed everywhere, but in the background, threatening opposition was gaining ground. This week, long ago, saw such incredible changes that nobody could predict the outcome, but despite appearances God was always in charge. Jesus knew why He was there, and what would be done to Him, but still His love for us overcame His fear. Even as the crowds in Jerusalem celebrated His arrival, the smallest verse in the Bible states, 'Jesus wept.’ The shocking events of Good Friday changed His followers joy and confidence into the deepest, blackest, saddest nightmare. How could The Lamb of God be dead? Two days later, everything was stunningly changed again as Mary Magdalene announced to the shocked Disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”

Years later in a vision, Jesus appeared to St. John and said, “I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever.” We should never consider that the extraordinary changes that took place during that week are confined to that time. All those events were intended to make huge changes to our lives now. The Bible tells us, ‘God loved the people of this world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who has faith in Him, will have eternal life and never really die.’ St. Paul explains the biggest change of all, ‘Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person, The old life has gone; a new life has begun!’

Fancy a change?

"After You" - 10/04/22

“Manners maketh the man” has been quoted in a recent film but dates back to the 15th century. It is the motto of Winchester College and is believed to have its origin with William Horman, who was headmaster of the college.

It is broadly seen now as meaning that you should be polite and considerate to others but was also thought to mean that the way you behave is what defines you.

There was some debate about whether a man holding a door open for a woman was being sexist, but for me it was just being polite. You would hold the door open for anyone who was close behind so their journey was made easier. But then, do you hold the door open after going through it so they can follow or do you hold the door open to allow them to go through first? Some have a preference but I am not sure it matters really.

The phrase “the last shall be first” is quoted by some as referring to the order in which things happen. In the bible, this phrase refers to a story which Jesus told referring not to the order but to the pay received by workers being same whether they started at the beginning of the day or half way through the day. Some of the workers thought those who worked longer deserved more. Jesus was referring to the fact that all those who enter the kingdom of heaven will be equal. But there are also many stories in the Bible about serving others and putting others first. Jesus compares how we treat “the least of us” as being an indicator of our character.

How we treat others is about being considerate to others, about helping and caring for them. How we treat others is also an example for others. When Jesus came to live with us, he came here to be our sacrifice but he also was an example to us. In the book of Ephesians in the Bible, it says

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved [a]you and gave Himself up for us,

In more recent times, this has been turned into a question, “What Would Jesus Do?”.

As we go about our lives, let’s remember the example of Jesus and choose to follow him.

'Dancing Shoes' - 07/04/22

I have had the honour to attend two funerals this week. Both funerals were quite different, but in both cases, it was a real celebration of the persons life, although surrounded by great sadness and grief as both people concerned will be missed greatly.

How we celebrate the life and mourn the passing of people differs from culture to culture, and some seem very different to our own experience here in the UK.

In Madagascar they don’t just have one funeral, they have lots! It’s a tradition called Famadihana. They believe in celebrating the life lived by the deceased to the extent that every few years, they open up the funeral tomb, and bring out their loved ones to re-wrap them in fresh cloths and write their names on the cloths again so that the person will always be remembered. It may sound gruesome to us, but it’s accompanied by lots of singing and dancing, and they parade the wrapped corpses around the tomb whilst dancing and singing before putting them back in the tombs. The Madagascan people believe firmly that life extends beyond death, and therefore those who have moved on to the next life should continue to be celebrated.

This is a very different experience to one I am familiar with, and in fact I would get arrested if I tried it here in the UK. However, the idea that life is to be celebrated and that it does not end when we die is central to the Christian faith.

Jesus, God in human form, came to earth as a man. He lived for around 30years, and spent his time teaching people about how much God loves them. In John 11, he made an extraordinary promise to his followers:

I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all.

But Jesus was arrested and killed as the authorities thought he was a threat. But just as he promised, death was not the end of the story. Jesus beat death and came back to life to make the way clear for us to have a relationship with God again.

So today, lets celebrate life in all its fullness, with dancing if you want, and lets celebrate Jesus, who gave up everything and beat death, so that for us, death is not the end of the story.

'Sticks and Stones' - 06/04/22

Aren’t blue whales incredible?! Measuring approx 30 metres in length, 5 metres in height and weighing around 200 tons these beautiful, gentle creatures are a sight to behold. They can reach speeds of around 31 miles per hour…I don’t fancy getting in its way! But wait, there’s more…they eat tiny shrimp-like creatures, about 40 million a day, their heart is the size of a car, and their tongue is the size of an elephant! Wait! What? Their tongue is the size of an elephant?? That’s ridiculous! But true. The blue whales tongue carries A LOT of weight! Actually, isn’t that the same with us humans? While we may only be tiny-bodied individuals, let’s not be fooled. Our tongues carry A LOT of weight too! Remember the school playground rhyme?…’Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me’. What an absolute load of twoddle!! Our words matter. Our words carry power.

Years ago, somebody I know was bullied. Outrageously! People talked about them. Openly mocked them and insulted them. Spoke awful untruths about them. The pain and the memory is still there today. Words matter.

The Bible is outspoken about the words we speak…

…Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose….

…Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise…

…Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift…

Our tongues are tiny and yet the damage they can cause is catastrophic. Let’s all pause before we speak. Ask ourselves, are the words I want to say uplifting, kind, forgiving, gracious? Or are they going to destroy, hurt, bully, add fuel to the fire?

The very same tongue that has the potential to destroy, was created to utter words of love, encouragement and praise.

The psalmist wrote…May the words of my mouth and the thoughts in my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer…

So we have a choice, every day, on how we use our words…

Encourage or discourage

Truth or lie

Gossip or silence

Love or hate…

It’s up to us.

'Thank You John' - 05/04/22

Today I am attending the funeral of John, a neighbour of mine who became a very dear friend. From the first time I met John, and Elaine his wife, I knew that I was going to get on with them. I liked them! A lot! John was the neighbour who always knew what colour bin to put out on Monday night. If ever we were in doubt, we would wait for John’s bin to appear. He took great pride in his plants in the front garden and when I bought him a gnome, or two, he laughed and then displayed them for all to see!! When it snowed, we threw snowballs at him when he wasn’t looking…needless to say, he got his own back. When the builders where working on our house, John became our honorary project manager, wandering over to check they were doing their job. And so it went on. We laughed a lot. We would see eachother coming and going most days and always wave. And his greeting was always the same, ‘Hi kid’. I miss John. And wish we all had more days, weeks, months, years with him tending his garden, putting his bins out and shouting, ‘Hi kid’. Putting it simply, John was a wonderful neighbour.

Isn’t life fragile? None of us knows what tomorrow may bring. Or today! The Bible has much to say about living well, forgiving well, not bearing grudges, not destroying someone with our words and actions, going the extra mile, encouraging, caring, loving, and thanking God for each new day. Life is precious. If there’s someone you need to forgive, don’t waste another moment, forgive. If you need to talk to someone and clear the air, talk to them. Help the person in need, encourage the discouraged and love the unloveable. For life is indeed fragile.

The psalmist wrote, ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it’. Today John, we thank God for you and celebrate you, our great neighbour and friend. And for all your kindness, friendship and ‘going the extra mile’, this ‘kid’ says Thankyou.

'It's Fading' - 04/04/22

I’ve been looking at artistic x-ray photographs. I know, it sounds weird but someone has to do it. It works on anything, flowers, butterflies, animals, water creatures (crabs are great), snakes, seashells, vegetables, and of course people, (and teddy bears). Photographers use it to make the point that a simple photographic image only shows surface detail and tells us nothing about internal complexity, health, or conditions that cause stress. Our ideas of beauty discourage us from producing x-ray portraits; nobody wants to look at a pretty skeleton!

Our sad 21st Century culture has caused huge numbers of people to spend a fortune plastering their faces with gooey stuff, removing their eyebrows so that they can draw artificial ones, and masses of teenagers spend more time pouting in the mirror than they spend doing homework. (Rant over). I don’t care how lovely a person appears if they’re ugly inside, and I’m not bothered how unattractive someone looks if they are beautiful inside. Let’s be honest, our external beauty is temporary, it’s fading while you read this, and if you believe that age has nothing to do with appearance, boy, are you going to be a sad and disillusioned old grump.

So let’s think about the important things in life. I’m sure we already know that God is not impressed with the brand name of smelly stuff men and women use, or the attention to detail we insist on to make our hair perfect. He could get agitated when He sees how much money we spend on our appearance, when children around the world are dying for the lack of a few pennies. But He gets much more agitated when our lifestyle and our choices indicate that we think He smiles when we look good. He doesn’t notice and He doesn’t care. When Jesus met Peter for the first time, the Bible simply says, ‘Jesus looked at him.’ But the original words indicate that it was a long penetrating gaze that didn’t notice Peter’s beard or his powerful build, but Jesus saw the man inside the body, and He knew that Peter could do the job God had planned for him.

I’m very happy that God is not interested in my appearance, but when Jesus gives me that long lingering look, does He smile or cringe?

Now that’s important.

'Keep on Going...' - 02/04/22

Recently there have been quite significant changes in our living. The impact of Brexit and Covid is still building into the cost of everyday life. Sadly, the war in Ukraine is also having a wider impact on our lives, though this is nothing compared to the impact on the people of Ukraine themselves. It is devastating what is still going on, our hearts go out to those people who have lost everything and their courage in standing up for their country. And yet, we still try to continue with our own day to day lives. I fill the car with petrol and watch in amazement as the pounds clicked up so much faster than the litres!

Whilst my world is being changed around me, watching our 2 young kittens growing up and seeing them venture into the big outside world in recent weeks is lovely. The wonder on their faces as they explore new spaces, chase each other round the garden, up trees, over the summer house roof, all over the place. They are having a wonderful time doing what comes naturally.

We go about our own lives and are getting back to a “natural” way of living. But some things wont go back entirely the way it was 2+ years ago. ( I still think of things which happened in 2019 and have to remind myself it was 2 ½ years ago, its like a time warp ) Things have changed and will continue to change, we will find a new “natural” way of living, we can follow our instincts to explore and be a part of this new world.

As we approach Easter, we are reminded that there is a constant and some things don’t change. Our God is still the same, he still loves us, he still cares about us and he is still wanting us to follow him. He sacrificed his son so that we might live. That will never change.

In the Bible, in the book of Hebrews, the Christians were encouraged…

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

March Sunrises

"Pigs" - 31/03/22

When I was in London a couple of weeks ago we walked past the Bentley garage. It was an impressive sight. There were some extremely beautiful cars, with some very impressive price tags. The cheapest thing in the showroom were Bentley sunglasses, at the bargain price (compared to everything else in the shop) of £995!!

One thing I am now aware of, is when a Bentley drives past me, that the person who owns it must have a considerable income to afford such a car.

In this country, cars are often seen as status symbols. An expression of how much wealth a person has. However, in the small island of Vanuatu, in the Pacific ocean, they don’t care about cars at all.

If you want to show everyone how important you are, or how much money you have, its all about pigs!

The more pigs you have, the more important you are, and the bigger the pig, the more status you have. For those of you who have met Ron, the Tamworth pig in Acorn Farm, he would be considered the ‘Bee’s Knees’ in Vanuatu!

The reason is that in Vanuatu, daily life, and every celebration and festival that occurs on the island, revolves around the Pig. Whether it’s a hog roast or roast with crackling, it’s the meat of choice for every table, and therefore the more pigs you have, the better off you are and the more status you have.

Now I am not sure about cars or pigs, but in the bible, God makes it clear that its not what you have that matters, its your heart. How much you love God and follow him, and how much you love others is more important that Bentley’s or Tamworth Pigs, and even if you have a whole herd of pigs, if you don’t love God and others, it doesn’t matter.

"Good-Looking Thoughts" - 30/03/22

A few years ago I decided to join Instagram. This is a social media platform where you share a photo or image and add a caption or comment. I’ve got to confess I’m no fan of social media, but I’ve had an absolute ball with Instagram!! I don’t have many followers and I don’t follow many either! Beyoncé has 246 million followers! Cristiano Ronaldo has 419 million! I have 126. Just 126. And I’m happy. If somebody likes my post they show it by clicking on the heart! Once, 40 people liked my post! It took me all day to calm down from the excitement! The truth is, I don’t do this for the ‘likes’ I do this because it’s just a bit of fun. But for some, it’s not quite so much fun! In today’s world there’s more pressure than ever to look a certain way, dress a certain way, stand a certain way, pout in a certain way and then provide selfies of all the above! It’s easy to say, ‘don’t worry’, ‘who cares what people think?’ But when society says you’re too tall, too small, your nose is too long, your eyes aren’t big enough, your hips are too wide, your hairs too curly, you don’t suit that colour and you need to pout, there’s a temptation, at any age, to feel inadequate. To not feel great. A bit of a mistake, or misfit.

In the bible, Paul wrote to one of the churches telling the people that they were, ‘God’s works of art’. Can you believe that? We’re a work of art. God doesn’t make mistakes, so who are we to tell others that ‘they don’t look right’? Who are we to tell ourselves that? Whatever our age!

God told Samuel when the people of Israel were looking for a king, ‘...man looks on the outward appearance, the Lord looks on the heart’.

Ronald Dahl in his book The Twits put it like this, ‘If a person has ugly thoughts it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year the face gets uglier and uglier until it gets so ugly that you can hardly bear to look at it. A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of you like sunbeams and you will always be lovely’.

God looks on the heart, our beauty comes from within. So I guess I can stop pouting now!

"Alexa! Please Stop!" - 29/03/22

I live in a very noisy household! Me and my four chicks all love music and if they’re not playing one of the numerous instruments in the house then they are keeping Alexa very busy! Even Louis, my black Labrador, will join in with great enthusiasm the moment he hears a harmonica! Noise, noise, noise!!! I have to admit, I love it! Most of the time! We go from Billy Joel, to Les Miserables, to Frank Sinatra, a bit of Paloma Faith, oh and then there’s The Mamas and the Papas, maybe the odd Don Williams song, what about The Everly Brothers....don’t you just love their harmonies?! And let’s not forget the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir! Their version of How Great Thou Art is coming to an event near you....just as soon as we can start choir practice again...not on Zoom! We love music! Of pretty much every kind. Alexa keeps VERY busy! But some days, just occasionally, I’d love there to be no noise! Occasionally Alexa gets a few hours off. And there’s silence in the house....but still there can be noise! Not from Alexa, or my chicks, or Louis, or my very busy phone, but in my head! Do you know what I mean? A million thoughts going round your head that makes it almost impossible to hear anything clearly! A traffic jam of thoughts, worries, stresses, more thoughts, ‘what ifs’, busyness, loneliness.....You don’t have to live with four chicks and a big dog for there to be noise in your head. Sometimes silence can be the most deafening of all. Your external circumstances may look wonderful and calm and beautiful.....but maybe you’re screaming inside for some peace? God said these words in the Bible, ‘Be still, and know that I am God’. He wasn’t saying, ‘stop all the music, everybody shut up, nobody speak’. Nor was He saying, ‘I’m going to explain everything to you and tell you just what I’m going to do next’. No. He was saying in the midst of the deafening silence, the excruciating loneliness, the constant music, the relentless ‘To Do’ list....I am God. Trust me. Allow me to walk with you. Know my peace. My home will never be quiet. And I love that. But to know peace in the midst of a bit of Status Quo....it’s a gift from God!

"How Did That Get There?" - 28/03/22

Travelling abroad is stressful enough without all the queuing and checking luggage in, then trying to find a seat in the departure lounge for the next two hours. Going out is tough but at least you have a holiday to look forward to, but coming home is a pain because all you can look forward to is work and washing clothes. Having said that, certain people can get very nervous travelling, because going through customs is more stressful for them than it is for the average passenger. One traveller was stopped by a customs officer who was simply doing his job to randomly check passengers luggage. The unfortunate and ordinary looking ‘holiday maker’ was asked to open his ordinary looking case. What was discovered inside was not exactly ordinary. The Swiss customs agent found a sketchbook containing 14 original drawings by Pablo Picasso, estimated to be worth £1.5 million. I can imagine the traveller saying something like, “Oh that’s a surprise.” You can’t always tell people’s story just by looking; occasionally we may discover attitudes or activities we could never have predicted.

When Jesus walked around the towns and cities of Palestine, He encountered all kinds of characters, both male and female, but none of them surprised Him, He understood everything about everyone. However, those who met Him and heard Him speak, were shocked to discover that He was wiser than any of their spiritual leaders and were simply stunned to witness His power over nature and illness. He hid nothing. In the Gospel accounts of His life we read many statements like these, ‘The crowds were amazed at his teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, not like their teachers of the law’…”Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.” He was, (and is) keen that we should not hide our faith out of sight, He taught, “You are the light of the world…let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good deeds, and glorify your Father in Heaven.” We certainly don’t have the wisdom of Jesus, or the ability to control nature, but let’s do what God has equipped us to do, so that as people discover we are Christians, they will never respond with, “Oh that’s a surprise.”

"THANK YOU" - 27/03/22

Today is a difficult day for many people. Mother’s Day can bring back good or bad memories. It can fuel such painful emotions. Or it may cause great excitement and ‘I’ve made you breakfast’ moments.
‘Mums’ may be mums, dads, carers, aunties, uncles, nans, grandads, neighbours, friends.....but we all have one thing in common, we’re not perfect.
Today I want to say THANKYOU to all the ‘mums’ who have been up countless nights with a screaming baby and still managed to get through the next day;
THANKYOU to all those ‘mums’ who have sent their children in to school in their uniform only to realise its own-clothes day;
THANKYOU to all those ‘mums’ who felt like crying when they made dinner only for it to be looked at with eyes that said ‘what’s that???’

THANKYOU to all those ‘mums’ who have felt like failures....I completely relate!
Being a ‘mum’ can be really tough. Happiness, good health, success and contentment is what any loving ‘mum’ wants for their children, but it’s not guaranteed. There can be great happiness, and there can be immense sadness. Like the song says, ‘love hurts’. When one of my daughters hurts, I hurt, but when they are having a great time, well, that’s wonderful!
THANKYOU to everyone who has filled the role of ‘mum’ in some way for someone and experienced the laughter and the pain.
Let’s remember to be thankful for the wonderful, amazing, imperfect ‘mums’ both past and present. May God bless us with wonderful memories. May He comfort those who grieve. May He rejoice with those having fun. May He heal those in pain. May this be a time when families and friends can be drawn closer together. Whatever you are feeling today, the bible says that God knows, He understands, He cares.
‘You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139:1-10

"Outward or Inward" - 26/03/22

Having started to go back into the office, it’s been good to meet people I have not seen for a while. There are still not many people going into the office, some are regularly in 1 or 2 days a week but some have still not ventured back to the office at all as yet.

On meeting up with people again, there have been some obvious changes in people and some not so obvious. Over the last few weeks, the main comment I have had has been about growing a beard. Something I have never done before in work, so I have had the occasional comment about losing my shaver or checking whether I had time to get washed and dressed properly before coming into the office. Lots of the usual fun between friends. Some people returning to the office have changed what their role was and are now doing different things, which is quite confusing when you first start to talk to them again. Some are anxious being in the office but know that they need to meet up with people again.

Many of us will have times where things have visibly changed for us in some way or times when things have changed but not in a way that is visible to others. We need to know and understand each other to see and accept when things change.

Jesus knew this and understood people better than they knew themselves. He would meet people and see their outward appearance but he also knew and understood their hearts. He knew when someone needed comfort, he knew when someone was being genuine and he knew if people were trying to trick him or manipulate him. But he was gentle in how he dealt with people. We heard in our Sunday talk a few weeks ago about how Jesus was honest and loving in his dealings with people.

Outward change is driven by inward change, if we want to change our behaviour then it will only last if it is something we believe. Jesus would know the motives behind the way people behaved and he spoke to them in those terms. In the Bible, God said to his people,

“I, the LORD, search the minds and test the hearts of people. I treat each of them according to the way they live, according to what they do."

How does our inward belief affect our outward behaviour? How is our outward behaviour driven by inward belief? Let us fill our hearts and minds with Jesus’ love and guidance and our outward behaviour will flow through with Jesus love and compassion to others.

"Intended Purpose" - 25/03/22

I cycled twenty kilometres this week. I know this because the little electronic gizmo on the handlebars tells me so. It also tells me how fast I was going over the twenty kilometres, but we won't go into that. The important thing is that I did it. Well, it is spring after all, so it was time to dust off the bike and get moving again after what seems like a long, dull winter.

I can't really say that I enjoyed the journey. Not because the exercise was too much for me, or that the weather spoilt the ride. It was more a question of the disappointing scenery. Instead of gazing at the passing countryside and feeling the breeze in my hair and the sun at my back, I simply pedaled away without moving and watched as my garage walls stared back at me. You see, the twenty kilometres were completed on a stationary exercise bike. I suppose it's inaccurate to say that the garage walls stared back at me. Not because garage walls don't have eyes, but because my garage is so full of stuff that I can't actually see the walls. Quite aside from the exercise bike, there are two real bikes stored in there, one of which belongs to my wife and one of which had a dodgy tyre, which is why I had to settle for the exercise bike. There is also a lot of gardening equipment - despite having a separate plastic storage shed for things like the lawn mower - plus boxes of toys, camping equipment, folding chairs, tins of paint, boxes of tools and things that will come in handy. In short, my car has as much chance of seeing the inside of my garage as I do of winning the Nobel Prize for literature. My garage is no longer a garage, it has lost its raison d'etre, it is not being used for its intended purpose.

I got to wondering whether the same was true of me. Am I still being used for my intended purpose and who decides what that purpose is? Is there some grand plan for my life and have I deviated from the original course, or am I on target to achieve the ultimate goal? As a Christian, I believe that God has a plan for my life. I believe that He knows what my purpose is and He helps me along the way to achieve it. Oh, I know I have lost my way on too many occasions to count, but I also know that God has always been there to steer me back towards the correct path with words of guidance and encouragement, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose". I also know that I can trust the plans that God has for my life, because He loves me and wants the best for me, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". So, I'm happy that as long as I continue to trust in the one who wants the best for me, I will still be used for my intended purpose.

'Wave' - 24/03/22

Unless you were at the hub yesterday, you may not have ever heard of Norfolk Island. It’s a tiny island in between Australia and New Zealand, with a population of around 2000 people.

However, it has a special place in history as it is the island which Queen Victoria gifted to the mutineers from the mutiny on the bounty in 1856 as a place to settle. The mutineers married local women and the community grew. There are still direct descendants of Fletcher Christian living on the Island today.

As a small but friendly community, over the years they have adopted a wonderful custom called the Norfolk Wave! Whilst there are many good surfing waves on the Island, the Norfolk wave is a traditional greeting. Its very simple and involves waving and saying hello to everyone you meet as you travel around the island. It even includes cars that pass by! This is made possible as the islands speed limit for motorists is 30mph everywhere, so everything is going slowly enough to stop and say hello as people pass by. Everyone on the island joins in with the custom, and it’s considered very rude not to wave and say hello if you meet someone, even if you are in a hurry!

It sounds wonderful, but I suspect that it means that you have to plan any journeys knowing that there will be a lot of chatting along the way!

Enabling everyone and anyone to feel welcomed is a very important part of Norfolk Island culture. Its also a very important part of Christian culture as well.

God welcomes in anyone and everyone who wants to know him better, and encourages us all to do the same. No one is better than anyone else, and everyone has a part to play. We are all equally loved and wanted in the family of God.

Jesus reminds of how important being welcoming is when he is talking to his followers in Matthew 10:

Jesus explained, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one (God) who sent me”.

So today, lets starting a Melling Wave! Let’s welcome everyone we meet with the love of God and encourage each other so that we all feel welcome, valued and loved.

"Coffee!...Please" - 23/03/22

The owner of a small deli was recently fed up with bad mannered customers. He decided to do something about it. He put a new price list for coffee on the board outside. It said this...

‘Coffee!’ - $5

‘Coffee please’ - $3.50

‘Hi! Can I have a cup of coffee please?...and thankyou!’ - $1.75

The change was instant! People didn’t want to be paying $5 for a coffee and were therefore given a wake up call to their not-so-great manners! This story can bring a smile to our faces but how important it is to show manners.

Jesus met ten men one day who all had leprosy. This was an incurable disease. And highly contagious. They shouted to Him. ‘

‘Jesus, have mercy on us!’

He told them to go and present themselves to the priests. While they were on their way, their leprosy was cured. One of the men was so shocked and delighted he turned around and rushed back to Jesus straightaway. He was full of praise and gratitude. Jesus looked around,

‘Weren’t there ten who were healed? Where are the other nine? Have they not come back to give praise to God?’

Then Jesus turned to the one thankful man and said,

‘On your way, your faith has healed you’.

The men had been cured of leprosy. What a gift! And yet only one came back to say Thankyou.

In our frustrations, tiredness and rushing, let’s be careful to still exercise good manners. They cost nothing and may even get you a half price coffee. But more importantly, they show respect to the one you are talking to.

Jesus said, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’.

So if you like to hear ‘please’ and ‘thankyou’ and have people hold a door open for you and help you pick up the papers you’ve just dropped all over the floor, then let’s do it first for them.

"Remember To Remember" - 22/03/22

‘Remember the way He led you up to the top of the highest mountain

Remember the way He carried you through the deepest dark

Remember His promises for every step on the road ahead

Look where you've been and where you're going

And remember to remember’

(Steven Curtis Chapman)

On May 31st 2008, Christian musician and singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest daughter, Maria-Sue passed away in a tragic accident. Maria, just 5 years old had been playing in her garden when she saw her 17 year old brother, Will, arriving home in his truck. As Will backed into the path, Maria appeared from nowhere and was knocked down. For many people it will be hard to comprehend the devastation felt by the Chapman family. Not only for the loss of their adored little daughter and sister, but also the pain and guilt felt by Will. In the days and weeks, months and years since the accident, the family spoke of having great days and terrible days. But one thing remained constant, their belief in a God who laughed with them and wept with them, and never left them.

Remember to Remember is one of Steven’s most recent songs. It speaks of the trials and traumas of life, the good times and the bad. Life! And it’s the words of a man in the midst of both joy and deep grief acknowledging that God has walked with him through it all. It’s a powerful and beautiful song.

Sometimes life can be tough, painful, overwhelming, at other times we can have so much joy and happiness. Whatever place you are in at the moment, can I encourage each one of us to look back and see all that we can be thankful for. And in those toughest of times may we recognise and remember a God who said, ‘Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you’. May we all remember to remember.

"No More Than Six Words" -21/03/22

The best shop in Liverpool One is Waterstones. Discuss. Primark: boring. M&S: boring. Boots: boring. Apple: boring. Disney: boring. You may disagree but I know I’m right. The shop seems to have books on almost every subject under the sun. Many are beautifully designed and printed. Book shops are dying because of Amazon who never appear to be out of stock of anything and will deliver tomorrow. Look around the three large retail parks in Aintree, there are shops selling everything, but there isn’t a single book shop. And don’t get me started on the lack of magazine outlets; where do you get magazines from these days? Asda. Great. One of the most popular sections in book shops today is the biography/autobiography section. There are books about, or by, an amazing range of people from great historical leaders to sporting ikons; from musicians to scientists; medical greats to ‘celebrities’. I met a man some years ago, very educated and professional, and he told me he had been commissioned to write the biography of each of the Beatles. This was going to take him more than ten years! Some of the biographies in Waterstones are so long they are difficult to pick up. The world’s longest biography so far is about Winston Churchill which was started by his son Randolph and continued by another author. Currently, it’s made up of eight volumes, plus sixteen companion books, and contains ten million words. It makes you wonder how many words a life is worth.

Recently I have been wondering how few words you could use to describe a person’s importance. I read of a lecturer who challenged his students to attempt to write a biography using no more than six words. The Bible is full of biographies, so I went looking. Very early in the Bible’s first book, Genesis, one person’s life was summed up like this, ‘Enoch walked with God.’

God describes David, the shepherd boy turned King, by calling him, ‘A man after my own heart.’ A teenager had her life’s work and her part in God’s plan encapsulated with these words,

‘The virgin shall be with child.’ The writer of half of the New Testament and the greatest Christian missionary ever, described himself simply as, ‘Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.’ Such great lives, so few words.

Now it’s our turn; can we describe our lives and impact in six words; or can we think of six words we would love someone else to use to describe us? Or do we think we deserve ten million?

'What Standards?' - 19/03/22

One of the aspects of my job is that what we do is measured against a standard. So all the different jobs and roles that we do are meant to achieve a particular standard. Whilst this is set by the company, it is based on international standards. But the problem we have is that there are different standards, so which is right! So for my job in computers, the standards that are required sometimes depend on who the customer is. So despite there being different standards and the company choosing one, it also depends on who we are providing the work for as to which standard to apply.

So which “standard” is “standard” if they are all slightly different??

Sometimes the standard will define what we have to do and sometimes it will tells us how to do it. But mostly, it does not change what we do just how other people judge us.

One aspect of life which is very hard to deal with is when others try to judge you, sometimes they don’t even know you, they think they do and they try to put you down and condemn you. But what are they judging us against? Often, it’s their own inflated opinion of themselves. But who is in a position to judge? What standards should we be achieving in our lives?

When Jesus lived here, his life was seen as an example for us all. But then we are not all the Son of God, so it can be a bit tricky to live life like that. He was often challenged about he lived his life, with people trying to catch him out. But being Jesus, he knew the real motives of those trying to do this. He always had an answer for them.

One such answer I often remember

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself. “

So when it comes to standards, Jesus gave us the example, first love God and second treat others as you would want to be treated. Or as others put it, if you want to have a friend, you need to be a friend. If you love God, you can share those blessings with those around you.

What standard are you following?

"Pruning" - 18/03/22

I spent some time this week in a tree. You would be forgiven for thinking that I am usually out of my tree. Well, yes, but this week I chose to climb into one. I must admit that this was not my original intention. My original intention was to reshape the tree in question using a combination of sharp things and a set of ladders. This was reasonably successful, but left me unable to reach the top of the third trunk... the one right at the back against the fence. Now, you are probably wondering why the tree has three trunks - most trees usually have one. The tree in question is a Cotoneaster. The Cotoneaster can be grown as a bush, a hedge, or a tree. It all depends on what you do with it during its early years. What I did with it in its early years was to allow it to become a hybrid. It's a bush shaped tree.

I wasn't reshaping the tree because it has got out of hand. Quite the reverse. This Cotoneaster has been cultivated and trimmed in previous years to resemble a dome shaped umbrella. Quite a pleasant sight, but it is now such a size that it has become difficult to maintain such a precise shape. So, time to break out the secateurs, the hedge trimmers and the long loppers. Both my step ladders and my long ladders eventually proved useless in the quest to reach the final trunk, so it became necessary to make an arboreal ascent. It's a few years since I climbed a tree. I'd forgotten how much fun it was. Saw in hand, I plotted my route up the tree and successfully navigated my way to a position where I could adequately apply saw to branch and achieve the final cut. There was a point when I realised that the branch I was hanging onto to maintain my precarious grip on the tree was actually the branch that I was cutting off, but sadly for this story, that point came before I cut all the way through. Disaster averted and with a sense of satisfaction, I yelled, "Timber!" as the errant branch fell to the ground without taking me with it. I can't honestly say that the tree looks better for my attentions. It seems a little forlorn and bare, but in a short time, once spring kicks in properly, it will flourish again and feel the benefit of having had its dead wood cut away and its healthy branches pruned and manicured.

We too can benefit from a little pruning... at least spiritually. Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful". Just as a tree grows strong and sturdy, with lush foliage and good fruit, as a result of pruning and shaping - so we grow stronger in the ways of God and able to bear greater fruit when we allow Him to prune us... to cut away that which would hinder our growth. To remove the dead wood and straggly branches, the bad habits and harmful behaviour that prevents us from bearing the fruits of the spirit that He longs to see, "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control". We too might look a little forlorn and bare at first, but the benefits of the pruning will soon be there for all to see.

New Starts - 17/03/22

As the tide of refugees grows bigger every day, I find it difficult to imagine what I would feel like in their shoes. Having to leave everything behind and flee, wanting to go back but having to go forward into a new country, new people, new beginnings.

It made me realise that whilst some new starts are exciting new beginnings for people, some are forced upon people, as in the case of the Ukrainian refugees.

Spring is often the season for new beginnings, and this can be associated with many customs across the world. In Poland, there is a very interesting custom on the first day of Spring called ‘The Drowning of Marzanna’! Thankfully, Marzanna is not an actual person, she is believed to be the Slavic goddess of death and winter. The idea is that by getting rid of Marzanna, then death and winter will be chased away, and you will have good luck for the rest of the year.

This is accomplished by a parade and a bonfire, where Marzanna (a scarecrow) is burnt at the stake, and then for good measure, thrown in the river to drown. It’s a little bit like our Guy Fawkes night, but with more water and less fireworks!

I am not sure whether Marzanna will be drowned this year, as so many in Poland are spending so much time helping so many refugees fleeing the war. So far more than 1 million refugees have entered Poland, and they have been welcomed with open arms and open homes, as polish families help people find a new start, even if its only for a little while.

Jesus talked a lot about how a life with Jesus is a new start for anyone who welcomes him into their lives. In Matthew 11 he described it like this:

Now it doesn’t mean that life with Jesus means that all your problems are sorted and life is one long party. However, it does mean that whatever life throws at you, Jesus is with you every step of the way.

As you live your life today, know that whether it’s a new start or the same old routine, know that you don’t have to face anything alone, that you can rest in the love of Jesus, even in the chaos. And lets pray for and support the Ukrainian refugees as best as we can, so they can have a safe new start, wherever that is.

"You Can Count On Me" - 16/03/22

The wonderful upbeat song, ‘Count on Me’ by Bruno Mars, is full of encouragement and promises to ‘his friends’ that in the most difficult of times he will be there for them. ‘You can count on me, like one, two, three, I’ll be there.....coz that’s what friends are supposed to do....’ And he goes on to stress that he can count on them to do exactly the same for him. It’s a lovely, positive song that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy!! But can we really sing those words and mean them? Can we really be counted on to ‘be there’ to encourage and support? Or can we be counted on to not encourage, to complain, to always find fault?.....

I once knew somebody who I could count on to criticise pretty much everything I said and did. Not once would I get a call from them to just ask me how I was, or to give me a tiny word of encouragement. But I would get phone calls and knocks on the door to criticise the way I’d said something, with instructions for what I should do next time. Their ‘need’ to continually tell me how I’d got it wrong was really hard work.

We all make mistakes. I make many! And we all need encouragement and to know who is there for us.

At this particular time there’s a lot of mixed emotions! Laughter and fun, chaos and noise, loneliness and deafening silence, anxiety and stress, short tempers and boredom, irrational behaviour and definitely heightened frustrations. Each day brings its own set of challenges to each one of us. How are we going to respond to eachother? We all have our bad days, that’s when we need to know we can count on others to encourage, support and be a friend.

The Bible has heaps to say about how we should treat one another,

‘bear one another’s burdens’, ‘encourage eachother’, ‘rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep’, ‘do for others as you would have them do for you’......

How amazing it would be if we can all allow for each others mistakes and encourage eachother with kind words, forgiveness, support and understanding. And let’s thank God that despite our mistakes and bad moods and frustrations, each and every day He says, ‘You can count on me, I’ll be there for you’.

"Smile" - 15/03/22

Good morning everybody, Tuesday Sunrises, for the coming weeks are going to be a selection of songs that I’ve been requested to share. Today we start with Kirk Franklin’s, ‘I Smile’.

‘This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it’.

https://youtu.be/Z8SPwT3nQZ8

"You Can Trust The Catcher" - 14/03/22

I know someone who trusts nobody; not doctors or nurses; not social workers or counsellors; not neighbours or friends, (oh sorry, he has no friends). He lives alone and even if he didn’t, he would still be alone. We all need people who we can trust, and we need a lot of them. We need to trust our food supplier not to poison us; the car mechanic to fix the brakes; the bank to protect our funds; the airline pilot to avoid alcohol. Then there are those people who are much closer to us; they know all our shortcomings and idiosyncrasies; can we trust them to keep our secrets and meet our needs? And still be there tomorrow! We must remember of course that they may be asking the same questions about us. It's a two-way street.

I read recently of a trapeze artist who was well known for his skill and daring. There was a large gathering at his funeral because he was famous and the ‘star of the show.’ His pastor said however that this daredevil told him that the real ‘star’ was the ‘catcher’. This was the person who was always in the right place at the right time going in the right direction. This was the man who guaranteed a safe landing.

Life has many ups and downs; sometimes we are flying high and performing brilliantly, but there are other periods in our lives when we fall into disappointments and failures and on dark days, fear can drag us down. Events can overtake us almost without warning and we find ourselves in our own no man’s land. The truth is that occasionally we have needs that none of our friends or family can help with. Who do we turn to then? Who can catch us on the way down? In the Bible we read this description of God, ‘The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.’ For those people who have put their faith in God, even those who right now are experiencing the terrifying obscenity in Ukraine, we can trust that when we are beyond all human help, we can reach out and the everlasting arms of our caring God will gently catch us and deliver us to a safe place.

'A Little Watering' - 12/03/22

This time of year starts to bring about more colour into the garden as the spring flowers are coming into bloom. We have to plan for trimming the hedge, mowing the lawn and putting the feed & weed on the lawn. Each of the plants need looking after in slightly different ways, some like full sun, others shady corners. Our house plants also require different care and attention, some require different soil types and some require different watering, some top up regularly and some top up rarely.

Each of us have different needs, we like to do things in different ways. When we have holidays with family or friends, there are a wide variety of approaches to how we do things. This can often cause some fun when people do things differently and others then get upset because it is now how they do it. I know how I load a dishwasher but everyone else does it wrong !!

We each have our “needs” and ways of doing things, but why do we worry about it.

In the Bible, Jesus explains to a large crowd in a story known as the “Sermon on the mount” how we can sometimes look at things the wrong way

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen colour and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.

God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Let God look after your needs, let him provide the nourishment that we really need. Focus on God and share the blessings he gives us to those around us.

"Red And White Cords" - 10/03/22

This weekend I was really pleased to discover that some beautiful crocus bulbs, given as a present last year had managed to survive the winter and were blooming again. I wasn’t sure they had survived, so it was a lovely surprise to see them looking so beautiful.

Things are so difficult for so many at them moment, its easy to despair. However, this small act of defiance against the cold, wind and rain reminded me that spring is coming.

It also reminded me of a wonderful Moldovan tradition to welcome in Spring. It has been celebrated for thousands of years, and its called Martisor. It celebrates Spring defeating winter and involves Moldovans wearing read and white cords, keepsakes or flowers on their clothes or lapels throughout the month of March. The colours symbolise purity and new life (white) and love, courage, sacrifice and suffering (red). It’s a visual reminder that winter is not forever and spring is coming. At the end of march, these keepsakes are hung on trees all over the country as a continuing reminder and hope for the coming year.

This tradition is still being observed this year, even with the influx of refugees and increasing concern about where the Ukrainian conflict will end, as an additional reminder of hope. It’s a small stand, not only to celebrate spring, but that this season of war and suffering will not last. That peace will come, that crops will grow and be harvested, that there will be peace.

We may not have red and white keepsakes on our clothes, but it’s important to remember that we have a hope in God and Jesus. The world will not be like this forever.

In the bible when David was being hunted for his life by King Saul. He cried out to God. He was honest with how he felt, but he never stopped trusting him.

In Psalm 31, he tells God how he feels

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.

But he also remembers how much God loves him later on in the Psalm, and finishes it with these words:

But I trust in you, Lord………Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Let’s marvel in the wonders of the emerging Spring today, and lets also marvel in the Hope that we have in Jesus, that Darkness will not win, and there is a hope and a future with God.

"You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks" - 08/03/22

I was reading an article recently which was considering why it is that people are less likely to try and learn new skills as they get older. The good news is that it is apparently very little to do with the fact that we are unable to learn a new skill but rather more to do with the fact that we are apprehensive. If you have been fortunate enough to find something that you are good at in life, whether that is for work or as a hobby, then we are less likely to try new things for fear of failure. It seems the older we get, the more likely it is that we want to be good at something and not seen as mediocre or, worse still, really bad at something! And yet, it turns out, that it’s actually really good for us mentally and emotionally to have a go at learning the trombone with all the enthusiasm of an 8 year old, even if it doesn’t make the neighbours very happy; or drawing a picture that others might rather kindly categorise as ‘surrealism’ while they politely try and work out what it actually is.

Changing our behaviour or ways – something that is more commonly known by trendy people now as ‘reinventing’ ourselves, can be something that is good for us. Good for our mental health, physical health and also our spiritual health.

God wants us to change and grow throughout our lives as we walk with him. The more we get to know Him, the more we change from the inside out. He takes what we give him and creates something amazing and something beautiful.

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

And the thing is, God doesn’t make mistakes and he doesn’t make rubbish. In His hands every single one of us will be transformed and renewed and will become something wonderful! There may be hiccups along the way and we may stumble a few times (or even regularly) and one or two cracks may need repairing, but if we are willing to seek him out and submit to him, God will create something priceless: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

So this old dog is up for learning a few new tricks – will anyone join me?

'Seeing the Whole Picture' - 07/03/22

Do you feel that it’s time you had a holiday? I imagine that you have been nowhere exciting for at least two years, and now you’re ready to spread your wings. We all have different interests, and this is reflected in our choice of destination and holiday activities. I might think your choices are ridiculous and you may feel mine are pathetic, but that’s ok; if we all agreed we would be tripping over each other and dropping our ice creams on the hot sunny sand or cobbled streets. Recently I have been re-visiting favourite holiday places while sitting at my desk or in the armchair. It’s a very economical way to break away from reality and you don’t have to fight the crowds. Two of my favourite places are Paris and Rome and one of the things in both cities that I remember seeing when walking around was artists creating caricatures of tourists. Usually, they would simply choose one feature of a face and have fun with it, and amazingly produce an image that was recognisable. It was humorous and cheerful, but never an in-depth record of the persons characteristics., it’s just one face.

It reminds me that many people perceive God in the same way. They have a distorted view of Him that concentrates on one aspect of His nature and ignores others. Some people see God only as an angry and cruel individual, having no patience or compassion. This image leads to resentment and rejection. Others see God as a friendly kind-hearted grandfather figure who fails to dispense justice even when it’s needed. Both groups believe that God is incomplete and not worthy of consideration. Those who see ‘God’ as an intellectual idea about morality have no sense of God being a reality. The Bible records God’s own description of Himself; “The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. But I do not leave the guilty unpunished.” We are all aware of horrific events in our world today, and almost the entire planet is calling for justice. Our Creator God is not a caricature having only one face; however things look to us, let’s not imagine that our loving God has no sense of justice. The Bible reminds us all of a fact that we need to remember; ‘Everyone must die once, and after that be judged by God.’

"Our Souls Hurt" - 05/03/21

I found this week difficult watching what is going on in Ukraine and feeling quite helpless. Speaking with some of my colleagues, they have felt similarly. Ukrainians desperately trying to flee the onslaught, trying to defend themselves. Some people have decided to go to Ukraine to join them. We have watched their journey, starting with anticipation and purpose and watching the fear and realisation of what is happening come over their face. Being a voyeur through our TV and phones to this war makes me uneasy.

After the global pandemic of Covid-19, large parts of the world pulled together, helped each other, talked to each other, supported each other, showed each other love and compassion. Then the focus was changed to this particular war. And there are many others happening around the world which don’t attract the same media attention.

And again, people pull together, warehouses are filling with supplies for Ukranians either in their country or for those who are now homeless refugees.

This world has people with such different ways of looking at things and it is so so sad that this can end up in things like this war. It may be a country wide battle, or it may be only a few people fighting or bullying.

Where is love? Where is compassion? Where is hope?

Quite often, when we are in times of difficulty, when we are confused and helpless, people turn to God. They say a prayer and cry out. We can all do it now, “Please Lord Jesus”

But let’s not just turn to Him in times of trouble, let’s turn to Him each day. Our God is love and compassion and hope. He is also a God of freedom and we all get to choose. Turn to God each day and ask his forgiveness, ask for his blessing, show others our forgiveness and show others His blessing. It is summed up when Jesus taught his disciples how to reach out to God. Here is a version of the Bible known as “The Message” with its translation of the Lords Prayer;

This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:

Our Father in heaven,

Reveal who you are.

Set the world right;

Do what’s best—

as above, so below.

Keep us alive with three square meals.

Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

You’re in charge!

You can do anything you want!

You’re ablaze in beauty!

Try saying this each day.

"An Open Book" - 04/03/22

So, day one of my first foreign holiday for two years got off to a good start. A comfortable flight, sunny, warm weather on arrival, a smooth transfer to the hotel, which turned out to be everything I had hoped it would be. Nice view of the sea from the balcony and a lovely sunset. Then I decided to drop my mobile phone on the marble tiled floor of the hotel bathroom. Mobile phones don't like being dropped on marble floors, even ones as nice as the one in the hotel. My phone promptly decided it had had enough and refused to communicate with me. It was still working; calls and messages were still being received and reminders and alarms were still going off, but the screen would not illuminate to allow me to answer the calls, see the messages, acknowledge the reminders or turn off the alarms. Very frustrating, but I was on holiday, so a few days without a mobile phone would be a welcome break.

I could learn to live without my email, without my WhatsApp chats, without being able to follow Everton's latest bid for relegation and even without being able to continue my five hundred and sixty five day streak of language learning... but the problem was that all the documentation that proved my vaccination status, my negative Covid tests and my permission from the Cypriot government to be in the country, were downloaded to the phone. Without them, I would be unable to enter a shop, restaurant, café or any other public establishment. Not to mention that without access to the internet, it would not be possible to complete and download the form that the UK government required to allow me back on the plane to return home. Everything I needed was sitting there staring at me from a little black lump of metal and plastic, but I was simply unable to get at it.

Now, on the basis that I had a thoroughly enjoyable holiday and am writing this missive from the comfort of my own living room, rather than the spartan confines of a Cypriot jail cell, it is obvious that I was able to find a way round my predicament. It even led me to experience a brief philosophical moment. I thought about an unopened Bible. Something that contains all the things we need to live our best life, something that provides wisdom, comfort, love and wonder, something that gives us the information we need to find our way through the maze that is modern life, but it's just sitting there... unopened, unused, unrealised.

Of course, the difference between my phone and the unopened Bible is that I desperately wanted access to the contents of my phone, but there are people who willingly ignore the contents of the Bible. It seems such a waste. I once read the comment, "The Holy Scriptures are to be read constantly, memorised, treated as more important than gold and silver. We should esteem the Scriptures more than our daily food. God's Words should be our delight and hope" and it stuck with me. There is a reason why the Bible is still the best selling book of all time, why it has been translated into more than seven hundred languages and why there are so many versions available - there is even one that can be downloaded to your mobile phone... oh, the irony.

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".

"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ".

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path".

So, my shiny new mobile phone has now been delivered, but I think I will choose to put it down more often in favour of picking up my Bible.

"Pancakes" - 03/03/22

In the last week the world has watched in horror and deepening sadness as Ukraine has been invaded by Russia armed forces, on the orders of the Russian President Putin.

Whilst it is a horrendous situation, I have been so impressed by the fortitude and courage of the Ukrainian people, and their determination not to give in to the might of Russia.

It is particularly poignant, as this week in Ukraine, it’s the festival of Maslenitsa.

Maslenitsa is a festival which celebrates the end of winter, the start of spring, and the beginning of Lent. It lasts a week, and people celebrate by eating pancakes every night, a lot of pancakes!

Now I love pancake day, and we had lots of pancakes in our house on Tuesday night, but under normal circumstances Ukrainians take pancake celebrations to a whole new level. We might have sugar and lemon, but a favourite Ukrainian pancake filling is sour cream and red caviar!

Maslenitsa celebrates with pancakes in a different way each night. On the Monday, there’s a parade and the first pancakes would be given to the poor. Tuesday is when men would give pancakes to the one they love, Wednesday is for family parties, Thursdays is for outdoor sports and outdoor pancakes, Friday is another family party night, and Saturday is a girls only pancake party.

Sunday, however, is known as forgiveness Sunday. There is another parade and bonfire, and people ask for forgiveness from those they have hurt and give them small presents. It’s a wonderful way to end the week, and then Lent starts the following day.

This Sunday 6th March is forgiveness Sunday in Ukraine. On a day when they should be uniting to love and forgive each other, Ukrainians will be uniting against bombs and bullets from Russia. A sobering thought.

Romans 12

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.

Lets stand the Ukrainian people and keep them in our prayers at this time. Lets eat lots of pancakes and celebrate with them, and lets forgive each other when needed, and pray for Ukraine and that they will be able to celebrate Maslenitsa properly next year.

'A Touch of Reality' - 02/03/22

The following is a message received on our art group chat yesterday, by our teacher, Pete.

“Mary and I have just returned from taking our grandaughters on a walk round Everton park. The park will never feature on Spring Watch or Countryfile and has more empty beer bottles than the last day at Glastonbury. It has an assortment of syringes and needles and tin cans shredded by the tractor mower. And yet we had two delightful human encounters.

The first was a man the same age as my youngest son. He came from Romania in 2014 with his wife. He was with his 3 year old son who shared the slide with the girls. The young man delivered newspapers all over the north west and followed world politics by reading the damaged papers. We all had a long discussion about the assault on Ukraine. Yesterday his brother was conscripted back into the army aged 55.

He lifted my spirits for some reason.

Our next brief encounter was with a young man possibly 20/21. He was carrying a huge rucksack and pulling a suitcase down Everton Brow. He was returning home to Lithuania to complete his national service in the marine force. Again we talked for a good while after he’d asked me to take a photo of him with the city in the background. He told me that on Thursday he’ll begin his assault training.

The litter in the park paled into insignificance”.

This is just one story that’s giving us a smack in the face with reality. There are many, many more, coming from Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, North Korea…..

The Bible tells us to, ‘go the extra mile’, ‘love others as we love ourselves’, ‘encourage one another’, ‘’be quick to forgive’, ‘do not bear grudges’…..

Maybe today we have someone to say sorry to, or someone to forgive, someone to go the extra mile for? Let us all make every day count. And may we give thanks for the many blessings we have.

"No Man (Or Woman!) is an Island"- 01/03/22

In 1965 Paul Simon released a song called I am a Rock, he later re-recorded it with Art Garfunkel and it quickly reached number 3 in the charts. The words say this:

“I’ve built walls

A fortress deep and mighty

That none may penetrate

I have no need of friendship friendship causes pains

It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain

I am a rock I am an island”

It speaks of someone who has been hurt in love or in friendship and so has determined to shut themselves away, building walls around them so that no one can come close enough to be able to hurt them again. They search for safety in isolation. Such sad words and sentiments!

But the idea of being ‘an island’ was never intended to be used in such a way. It originated in the work of John Donne, a poet in the 1600’s who first used the phrase in one of his sermons:

“No man is an island entire of itself;

Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;

If a clod be washed away by sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

As well as any manner of thy friends or of thine own were;

Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;

It tolls for thee.”

The language might be old but it beautifully explains how none of us are intended to stand alone, instead we are all part of something much bigger than ourselves. Whenever a loss is felt by any one of our community, near or far, the loss will be felt by all of us and all of us share the burden together.

Time and time again King David called out to God, the God he called his ‘rock’. Sometimes he called out in joy and thanksgiving and sometimes in anguish and turmoil but one thing he always knew was that God was his dependable, immoveable and secure rock:

“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.”

In a world that seems uncertain and ever shifting, I am glad I am not an island; I am glad to say I am part of the Melling Community and that we stand stronger together – and the reason we stand stronger together is because we’re not an island lost in the vast oceans but we stand on God our rock, our fortress, our shield and our protector.

February Sunrises

"What Would You Do?" - 26/02/22

There have been quite a few occasions this week where I have come across stories where I have to stop and think about how I would have dealt with something. Many of us try to support people through difficult times, some find it easier than others to empathise, to feel the emotion of what others are going through.

The people of Ukraine are just trying to go about their own business and yet they have been invaded because Russia is concerned they are getting too close to Europe. The people want to defend their freedom against what seems insurmountable opposition.

In todays world of social media and internet, we get to see and share what others are going through very easily and quickly. But how do we react, what can we do?

God sent Jesus to this earth to be human, He felt the pain, He cried with others, He brought love and compassion for others. He brought hope.

“For God so loved this world, that He sent his only Son so that everyone who believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life”

Let us show compassion to those around us but let us also say a prayer for those farther afield.

Sometimes, we don’t know what to say, so here is a Celtic prayer and blessing to help us

You are the peace of all things calm
You are the place to hide from harm
You are the light that shines in dark
You are the heart's eternal spark
You are the door that's open wide
You are the guest who waits inside
You are the stranger at the door
You are the calling of the poor
You are my Lord and with me still
You are my love, keep me from ill
You are the light, the truth, the way
You are my Saviour this very day.

"Unexpected Poets" - 24/02/22

I love Poetry. I am amazed at the creativity of people who can take simple words, that we use every day, and turn them into something truly beautiful and timeless.

Whilst I love poetry, I am not very good at writing it at all. My level of writing poetry is similar to this Haiku poem I found recently:

A Haiku about getting up early in the mornings:

No no no no no

No no no no no no no

No no no no no

Amusing but also truly terrible!

The people of Yemen take poetry to a whole new level. They have a tradition called Dan Hadrami, which is basically an extreme poetry competition. People get together and improvise poems, to see who is the best poet, and all the poems are made up on the spot! I am not sure I would be very good at this, but despite seven years of war, the custom of Dan Hadrami has continued to thrive and comfort the people of Yemen during a very difficult time.

When I think of great poets, I think of the Psalms. The writers are able to put into words the majesty and splendour of our wonderful God in a way that I could only dream of doing.

Psalm 104 is a great example of this wonderful poetry

O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed,
Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever………. What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations……….Oh, let me sing to God all my life long, sing hymns to my God as long as I live!

When I read these words aloud it makes my heart sing with wonder at how amazing God is and how brilliantly these words reflect this.

So todays challenge is to write a poem, lets see if we can inspire others with our words about our wonderful God and our brilliant world. I am sure you can do better than me!

"Get A Brand New Sense Of Wonder" - 23/02/22

The ancient monastic communities in Northumbria spent a lot of time just sitting and praying. There was a focus on creativity and worshipping God in the beauty of the natural created world. Today we will wake up to another set of charts on the news, listen to yet more experts on politics, science , economics and business and we will be bombarded with information . Celtic Christianity stresses that wisdom is more important than knowledge. Wonder is more important than information. Can you find some space and time today to get outside and look around. In times such as we are living now, our mental health really needs protecting. Can you find time today to create some head space? Can you find time to stop and wonder at the God created beauty in the world around you?

Psalm 8 has David( who incidentally, also had a lot of bad mental health days) writing these words:

“When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honour.

You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

you put everything under their feet:

all flocks and herds,

and the animals of the wild,

the birds in the sky,

and the fish in the sea,

all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Try to recapture a sense of wonder today and as you do so, know that God thinks you are wonderful too

"Tick Tock" - 22/02/22

Have you seen ‘The Repair Shop’? Well-worn treasures are repaired to look like new. I find the clockwork objects most fascinating. A man takes all the bits out of an object and puts them in a dish. How does he know what goes back in what order? He makes precision replacements for broken parts, just like new. Ta Da! The repaired object purrs into life, tick tock. Marvellous! As it was meant to be.

This week we met some meerkats. We have watched a TV series ‘Meerkat Manor’. Meerkat groups form a rigid hierarchy. The matriarch rules her lower ranks. Sentries perform their jobs rigorously. Any meerkat who transgresses is beaten up or worse. They don’t shy away from duty, or a fight. The meerkats we met had never lived in the desert but it became obvious who was who. The timid lower rank that didn’t dare invade the matriarch’s space when she was eating. The sentry on alert who would not feed because they had a job to do, and who shot into action at the noise of a helicopter. This was a completely safe environment but the behaviours were the same. You can take the meerkat out of the desert but you can’t take the desert out of the meerkat. They were behaving as they were meant to. It was easy to see how they ticked.

I wonder how you tick. How we respond sometimes surprises us. It’s ‘out of character’. Sometimes we just don’t know where we are at. People are brought ‘out of their shells’. They may say, “It’s just not me!” “You can take the girl out of Liverpool but you can’t take Liverpool out of the girl!” We have all sorts of sayings to express that this is how I am or indeed this is not normally how I am.

Psalm 139 is wonderful. It expresses that God knows how we tick (even when we don’t know ourselves). If you get time today, read it all. Be encouraged that God knows all about you and still he loves you.
Vs 2-4

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.

Vs 13-16

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;

"You Can't Be Sure" - 21/02/22

I love trees; I love them all year round. It’s wonderful to see the green shoots in Spring and the complete canopy during Summer. The miraculous change of colour during Autumn is stunning, and when all the leaves have flown away, the majestic skeleton that stands proud in the Winter weather is, in many people’s opinion, the most impressive sight of all. We had a Scots Pine in our garden for years; we rescued it after it was planted with others in a landscaping project in one of Liverpool’s back streets, but the day it was planted it was also uprooted and left lying on the pavement. We gave it back to the gardeners the next day, but they wouldn’t replant it unless they got paid again. So, we took this little orphan home, and it found a place where it was loved and safe for twenty years. It grew enormously with a very cute 45-degree angle that everybody loved, but one morning it decided to have a rest and laid down on the ground. It was incredibly heavy, so in lying down it dug a hole in the lawn, it flattened a fence, and plunged into the pond and terrified hundreds of frogs and tadpoles. We were tempted to think we shouldn’t have brought it home despite the years of joy it gave us.

In the past week, many people have had mixed feelings about these beautiful creations in God’s world. Considerable damage has been caused; people have been frightened and still are, and some are so sad at the loss of a loved one who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. How strange that something so lovely and loved could turn into a monster, almost without warning.

Sometimes we get hurt, not by trees, but by people who we have loved for years, then suddenly everything changes. Friends become enemies, and we want to respond by expressing our anger and demonstrating it. Jesus had no time for this understandable but unproductive attitude; He said, “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy,’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst…..If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus?.....live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives towards you.” People can shock us, just like trees falling; lets see if we can re-plant the tree of friendship by forgiving rather than fighting. Paul writes, ‘Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.’

"Before, During or After?" - 19/02/22

Its been a difficult week of weather so far, Dudley and Eunice have introduced themselves and rattled through the country. On Friday in particular, it was curious and beautiful calm first thing which had sunshine and no wind. Yet by lunchtime, I was watching reports of waves crashing into coastal areas and trees falling down. Sadly, there were some injured and killed by the damage. My planned quiet Friday afternoon turned into a DIY rush as I rebuilt a fence panel. The power of the storm can be mesmerising, especially watching the wind and waves at the coast. Then after the storm, an eery calm appears again as we see what nature can be.

Our world can be a very beautiful place, yet we are merely residents and have to ride through what nature can bring. We cannot control these storms and floods, sometimes we need to remember we are not in control.

In the Bible there is a story about a storm, with some experienced fishermen are out in their boat.

A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?” Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?” They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”

For Christians, this is a reminder that our creator God is in control of all things, there will still be storms but God is in control. There will be calm when we can see the beauty of the world created by God. There will be storms when things are happening to us and around us that are difficult. But Jesus will be there with us and He is in control.

Have faith.

"A Joy Forever" - 18/02/22

Maybe it's just me, but I never get tired of beautiful things.

It is the embodiment of the old adage, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever". Obviously, people feel differently when it comes to what qualifies as a thing of beauty. They do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For some, it may be a painting or sculpture that catches the eye. It's difficult to say why we find these works of art beautiful. Perhaps it's the colours; maybe it's the likeness; possibly it evokes a feeling within us. Who knows? My taste isn't your taste, but we can both agree that what we each think of as a great work of art will continue to give us pleasure down the years.

What about places we have visited? We may have taken a holiday somewhere that we considered beautiful. Let's face it, we don't choose a holiday destination that looks ugly in the brochure. No, we choose somewhere that has scenic beauty - perhaps it's clear blue seas and white sandy beaches, or snow capped mountains... maybe you prefer a city break; the ancient grandeur of Rome, the hectic energy of New York, or the romantic streets of Paris. We will probably all choose somewhere different, but the memories of those places will stay with us forever.

There are people too whose beauty lives with us constantly. It doesn't matter how long we have known the person. Decades may have passed since our first encounter, but we can think back to that enchanting smile, engaging personality, or whatever quirky characteristic first attracted us to them and our heart fills with that peculiar, inexplicable feeling and our very being seems lighter. For some reason, it doesn't go away.

What then do we say regarding the timeless beauty of God and His creation? Well, put simply, we never tire of them. Every day we see wonders that lift our hearts and each of them is a gift from God. A thing of beauty that He has provided for us. The wonderful works of art merely reflect the beauty of the wonderful works of God. The places and people that lift our spirits and provide us with such pleasant memories down the years are all as a result of God's hand.

The Psalmist recognised that God also looks on us as things of beauty to be treasured, "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" The great creator has decided that to Him, we too are a joy forever.

"Winter Monsters" - 17/02/22

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like the winter wind and rain. Days like today when the storms are blowing through, make me want to hide under my duvet and sleep until spring. My favourite activities on this kind of day are watching a good film, or day dreaming about visiting a wonderfully warm Caribbean Island.

However, in the Lötschental valley, in Switzerland, they have an ancient tradition which is designed to get rid of evil winter spirits. They have a Carnival parade each February called the Tschaggatta. This involves hundreds of people dressing up as monsters! Clad in frightening hand carved wooden masks, furs, cowbells, and carrying sticks; they march through the valley and unleash mischief. The idea is that they create so much havoc, they scare off the more malevolent evil winter spirits.

I have to say that if we started such an idea in Melling, we might be arrested, but in the Lötschental valley carnival, the Tschaggatta monsters are celebrated and given gifts like free drinks!

It’s a fascinating, if a little frightening concept to actually scare away our own ‘winter monsters’, but Christianity actually advocates the opposite approach. The Bible teaches us that God and Jesus are the ‘Light of the World’, and nothing is more powerful

John 1:4-5

In Jesus, there was life, and that life was the light of all people. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overpowered it.

The more time we spend with Jesus, the more of his light and love are in our lives, and the more we can spread that love and light to other people. When it feels like everything is dark around us, we can’t get rid of it by adding more darkness, we must turn on a light.

Martin Luther King puts it much better than I could

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

So today if you are feeling on top of the world, then spread the love and light of Jesus to others, and if you are feeling as if the darkness is encircling you, let someone know, so that they can be there for you. Remember that nothing can put out the light of Jesus’ love. And if anyone is thinking of dressing up in a scary wooden mask and fur costume, please don’t come to my house!

"My Faithful Friend" - 16/02/22

Talking doesn’t get your rice cooked

Many of you will be familiar with SatNav’s. As far as I am concerned they are one of the most significant inventions of our time! I have the uncanny ability to get lost if I just turn around on the spot and sadly for my daughter she seems to have inherited the same gift.

To be able to tell my trustee SatNav where I want to go is a little like having a faithful friend in the car who can read a map. The problem, however, comes when I fail to follow her instructions or misunderstand what she is trying to say to me: “Bear left” – is that the same as turn left or is it more of a drifting? “Turn right in 300 yards” – what does 300 yards look like?! That’s not to mention the times when, for whatever bizarre reason, I’ve decided I know best and chosen to ignore her. Needless to say, I have on occasions let her down and she has to have a rethink to get me back on track.

The thing is, she can talk directions to me all day long but I will never get to my destination unless I listen and take action.

Just as our Chinese proverb today says, talking alone will never get the job done, we need to put our words into action. In the same way, if we read or hear God’s word and then choose to do nothing with that – what has been the point? Nothing has changed. We need to listen for God’s voice whether that is through the Bible or through those he has placed around us and then we need to do what it says – then everything can change.

In the book of James we read these words: “Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves.” We may know the right words to say and the right ‘religious’ things to do, but unless we live it out in our actions we’re not fooling anyone and we certainly aren’t fooling God. The Bible is a wonderful map for life, guiding us and showing us how God would want us to behave – but it won’t change anything unless we put it into action and follow the directions God gives us.

Let’s start the journey by listening for his voice, paying attention to the map and putting the directions into action – it’s the only way the rice will get cooked!

"IKEA Heaven" - 14/02/22

I’m probably the last person you would want to go shopping with. I work on the quaint principle that you don’t go shopping at all until you need to buy something. The idea of walking round the store just to look at things never occurs to me. If I need milk for my cereal and nothing else, then that’s what I go for; I walk straight past the cans of soup and the selection of cakes. I don’t even notice the new range of pies on display; I can be home in less than ten minutes with the item I went for. I will have checked that I didn’t need more cereal, so my life is complete. It appears that most people think this is strange; I’m often asked when I get home if I saw any bananas or free-range eggs. The answer is always the same, because I only went for milk.

Recently I went to Ikea to collect some furniture for a family home that has been extended and now needs additional items. This was no problem to me because we needed those things, so off we went. On arrival I was shocked, firstly by the size of the carpark that surrounded the huge building, and secondly by the fact that it was full. After using half a tank of fuel to find a space, we went inside and discovered why there was no space outside. Ikea has clearly met people like me who simply want to go to a particular department then clear off; but here, once you’re in, you’re in. Walking passed thousands of products that I didn’t need simply to get out is a great test of patience which my family tells me is good for me. Quite often my family happen to be right, but I’m a slow learner. In the process of hiking past enough cupboards, beds, and frying pans to equip every house in the country, my daughter told me she loved Ikea and would love to live there. She explained that she would sleep in a different bedroom each night, try out all of the fifty-two kettles on display, and invite hoards of friends to the whole variety of kitchens for her famous ‘sausage nights’ (which are brilliant).

Personally, I think I’ll wait for Heaven. Paul told the Christians in Corinth, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” No parking problems, no bills to pay, and everyone is happy and safe, ‘God will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.’ My daughter agrees with me, Ikea might be great, but Heaven is greater. Sometimes, even I get it right!

'...That is the Question'- 13/02/22

Huh? What is the question? Poor Hamlet, deeply depressed, contemplates the merits of life and death, “To be, or not to be – that is the question.” Questions, questions. Some questions clearly have a right or wrong answer. 2+2=4, although there is no doubt some clever clogs could argue otherwise!

When our son was two, he drove me to distraction with the question, “Why?” Makes me smile now, but then …. How can you explain deep meanings of the universe to a toddler? That question, “Why?” from a teenager means something entirely different! You are interfering, ruining their life because you asked them to tidy their room or clear up after tea! Life holds many personal questions, eg exam choices, career, places we go, partners, friends. We tend to ask, “Why?” or, “When?” when our lives become difficult to deal with in an effort to make some sense out of it all.

Scientists ask questions and attempt to answer them as they research something yet unknown. Stephen Hawking attempted to answer questions about black holes, though I find myself asking, “Why?”

There are other questions. Will the Queen become the longest reigning monarch (if she lives another 2 1/3 years to beat Louis XIV)? Will Boris stay? Will Russia invade Ukraine?

The list goes on and on.

Our lives are full of questions. The Bible is full of questions. The second question in the Bible is God calling to Adam, “Where are you?” (Gen 3). I have trouble believing that God didn’t know. God, Adam and Eve had a close relationship but something had changed. The ache in God’s heart that told him their relationship was broken. Adam and Eve had a choice when responding to an earlier question. They chose wrongly, deliberately went against what God had said, and the consequence was separation from God.

God found a way to put this right but it meant Jesus dying, and rising from the dead, so that we could be forgiven. If we choose to give our lives to him and ask for his forgiveness for the things we know come between us, he will do that.

1 John 1 vs 8-9

If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.

We have a choice, a question to answer. Do we want to take God up on his offer of forgiveness and a renewed relationship with him that will be forever?

"Oh! Now i see it" - 12/02/22

There are many occasions when hindsight is marvellous, that moment when you can look and suddenly see something that was there all along but you didn’t see it at the time.

When you watch a TV detective trying to solve a murder, if you watch Death in Paradise, this show in particular had that moment when the detective finally sees all the right pieces falling into place. But the viewer still doesn’t get it, you can see the excitement of the detective as he finally solves the puzzle and they tease you by stringing out the explanation. Then as they gradually explain all the right pieces, it all falls into place.

Or another occasion can be those strange pictures that if you look at them plainly you cant see anything but if you can let your eye changes its focus, an image suddenly appears. Magic Eye pictures I find really frustrating as mostly I just cannot see them. But the sense of relief when suddenly it happens and you see the picture, then once you have seen it that’s the only thing you can see.

There are sometimes in life when you look back and you realise how certain things were happening that you did not realise at the time but when you stop and look back, you can see it. When you stop and look at things a one way, suddenly a different set of events can be seen.

As Christians, we try to view things differently, as we try to look at events through Jesus’s viewpoint. Sometimes our normal viewpoint is blurred by our own feelings, our prejudice of some form. But Jesus looks at things differently.

In the Bible, when God asked Samuel to pick the next leader of Israel, he sent him to a family to choose one of the sons but Samuel could not choose. Got told him “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Later in the Bible, Jesus explains that being a Christian and choosing to follow in Jesus’ example will let us “be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”.

Jesus is present in all our lives, we just don’t always see him until we look back. And when we look at things through Jesus viewpoint, then we can see it.

"Science 101"- 11/02/22

It's been an interesting week for science. Or at least there have been some interesting science articles in the news.

I always feel that science is little bit like your grandchildren - you don't really understand some of the new fangled stuff they talk about, but you desperately want them to succeed at everything they do. We rejoice with each new achievement: tying their shoelaces, riding a bike, passing exams, getting their first job and we pat them on the head and make encouraging noises when something goes wrong, "Never mind (insert grandchild's name here), you'll get it right next time".

There is no doubt that, without science, the suffering caused by the Coronavirus pandemic would have been considerably worse. The research into the cause and spread of the virus and the production of a vaccine is a wonderful achievement and has been completed in a remarkable timescale... and that is only the first in a long list of things for which we are grateful. Well done science.

But then we regularly read of scientists in some branches of the discipline having to revise their theories because other branches of science have now developed techniques and tests that enable them to discover things that they could not previously have understood. Carbon dating is a regular contributor to this phenomenon. So the scientific textbooks are revised to include the new version of reality... until the next advance in scientific understanding.

This week we have learned that NASA intends to allow the International Space Station to crash back to earth in 2031, when it has outlived its usefulness. They will guide the 243 foot long lump of metal through the atmosphere and allow it to crash into a point in the ocean that is the furthest point from land on the planet. It's okay, apparently they have done it before, so what could possibly go wrong?

It is now the intention to transition to the private sector for future space exploration. Speaking of which, Elon Musk's Space X Corporation launched forty nine communication satellites last week... forty of which will crash back to earth due to a geomagnetic solar storm. It's okay... they will burn up in the atmosphere. It's happened before, so what could possibly go wrong? "Never mind Elon, you'll get it right next time".

The biggest news this week was that scientists in Britain have made huge advances in the field of nuclear fusion... the act of creating a mini sun in a laboratory that has the potential to produce limitless energy. This means heating gases in a reactor to 150 million degrees Celsius, but it's okay, they use magnetic forces to prevent them from touching the sides, so what could possibly go wrong? The end product of this experiment is that enough energy was produced to boil sixty kettles. Sixty!

In a TV interview, a spokesman for the company said, without even a trace of irony, that they were still some way from achieving their eventual goals.

When it comes to creating a sun, I think I'm happy to trust the creator of the one we already have. The eternal, infallible, unchanging God has no need for new revelations of scientific discovery. He created everything and already understands how it all works. "And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good"... and it still is.

"The World's Biggest Campsite" - 10/02/21

I have really enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics. I am busy learning new snowboarding terms, and marvelling at people who seem to throw themselves down a sheet of ice on a tea tray! I am also celebrating with countries who whilst they may not have great success in the summer Olympics, really have come into their own when it comes to winter sports.

One such country is Norway. They are currently second in the medal table and are excelling in all sports to do with snow. Of course, there is a very good reason for this. With the Climate in Norway meaning there is snowfall for half the year, Norwegians need to be able to deal with snow. But they don’t deal with it by hibernating and waiting until the sun appears, they relish the outdoors in all weathers, and spend lots of time in the snow.

This is reflected in an ancient custom called Allemannsretten, which is enshrined in Norwegian law. It means freedom of movement and allows anyone in Norway to travel where they choose and camp where they like, even on private property! The rules are simple, you must be not too close to any buildings, and you must be polite. However, it does mean you could wake up one morning and discover that someone is busy having their cornflakes in your garden!

This acceptance that the land is everyone’s to share, and a deep belief in equality for all, leads to Norway being a very open society, with great hospitality.

Now I have to admit that it would be a bit of a surprise to find a tent in my garden tomorrow, even if the occupants were very polite, but the act of sharing and being hospitable is a really important one, and a key part of the Christian faith.

Isaiah 58: 6-7 says:

Is this not what I want you to do……. Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter.

Acts 4: 32 describes how the first Christians lived, and it is full of equality of ownership and hospitality

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

Now we don’t all have to wild camp in Melling to experience hospitality. But we can make a conscious effort to share love and kindness with those around us, and to help those who needs help. By loving and caring for those we meet, we allow them to share in our community and in God’s love, even without the tents!

"The Touch Of The Master's Hand" - 09/02/22

I first heard this beautiful poem when I was very young. You may have heard it before, but it’s worth being reminded that every person, of every country, language, status, background….whoever they are, have amazing gifts and value. Gifts given by God, who looks at us and desires to walk with us each and every day. We are worth so much to God that He considered us worth dying for. Have a beautiful day knowing you are gifted and valued.

'Twas battered and scarred,
And the auctioneer thought it
hardly worth his while
To waste his time on the old violin,
but he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people", he cried,
"Who starts the bidding for me?"
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?"
"Two dollars, who makes it three?"
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"

But, No,
From the room far back a grey bearded man
Came forward and picked up the bow,
Then wiping the dust from the old violin
And tightening up the strings,
He played a melody, pure and sweet
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?"
As he held it aloft with its' bow.

"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?"
"Two thousand, Who makes it three?"
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice,
Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered,
But some of them cried,
"We just don't understand."
"What changed its' worth?"
Swift came the reply.
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."

"And many a man with life out of tune
All battered and bruised with sin
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd
Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and he travels on.
He is going once, he is going twice,
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes,
And the foolish crowd never can quite understand,
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.

- Myra Brooks Welch

‘This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God’.

1 John 4: 9-10

"Making the most of today" - 09/02/22

There is no time like the present

How do you approach jobs that you don’t like doing? If you are anything like me you will have a tendency to keep putting them off for another day; you will busy yourself with all of the much more pleasant tasks until the one that you really don’t want to do becomes urgent and there really isn’t any more room for putting off. The problem with this method of dealing with things is that what usually happens is that the unpleasant job has often become even more desperate and difficult because of the procrastination.

The problem with time is that we have no control over it. We can’t stop it while we make a difficult decision or put off a difficult task and neither can we rush ahead to tomorrow if we are having a difficult day today. All we have is today. Yesterday is gone and cannot be changed, tomorrow is still to come and is out of our reach, all we have is today and the joys, sadness, difficulties, laughter, busyness or whatever else the day may bring.

In the Bible we can read a story about a young woman called Esther. She was just an ordinary Jewish young woman in almost every way, apart from her beauty. Her beauty caught the attention of the King who brought her to the palace and married her. She had very little control over where her life took her, after all, no one said “no” to the King, however, becoming queen put her in a position where she was later able to influence and change the King’s decision to slaughter tens of thousands of Jews. She agonised over the decision to intervene because to anger the King could literally mean the death of her. But her cousin told her: “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” She had one task for that day. It wasn’t something that would wait and it certainly wasn’t something that she was looking forward to but there was ‘no time like the present’. Esther embraced the moment and saved the lives of many Jews - the story ended well for Esther but the lesson had been a difficult one demanding courage and obedience.

I don’t know whether today brings joy and laughter or difficulties and pain, but whatever God has placed in your hands today, embrace the day with a grateful and courageous heart because there really is ‘no time like the present’.

“Today is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”

"The Gift That Came Here" - 08/02/22

The ukulele has gained huge popularity in recent years and many clubs and groups have formed all over the country. The fact that it can be easy to play up to a certain level (so I’m told, I can’t play one.) has allowed many people to join these groups and find new friends, have great fun, and perform publicly to entertain audiences large and small. We probably all connect this instrument with Hawaii, but it started life in Portugal. The Portuguese played a small version which they called Machete and in their journeys of exploration hundreds of years ago they arrived at Hawaii complete with their machetes. The Hawaiians were intrigued by the instrument and its sound, so the Portuguese sailors taught them how to play them. But there was only a small number of the instruments available, so the Hawaiians began to make their own. Their version was larger and more curvy, and this new craze swept the islands. So where did the name ‘Ukulele’ come from? Serving in the court of King Kalakaua was a former British army officer called Edward Purvis who loved this new music. He was described as, ’A sprightly lively fellow, and rather petite.’ His rapid and enthusiastic movements earned him the nickname ‘Jumping flea’ and because of his close association with the instrument, that’s what the Hawaiians called it. The words for ‘jumping’ and ‘flea’, when joined together form the new word ‘Ukulele’. However, history is never that simple, and there is another explanation which was provided by Queen Liliuokalani – Hawaii’s last monarch. According to her, the word ‘ukulele’ can also be formed from words that mean, ‘The gift that came here.’ Take your pick, I know which one I prefer.

Parents-to-be often agonise over a suitable name for their child, and give considerable attention to the meanings of names, as if that is going to make any difference to the nature or character of the child. But it makes parents feel good.

In our Bibles we can see that there are many names given to God’s Son, and all of them are meaningful and they all add to our understanding of His nature and character. In the book of Isaiah we read, ‘To us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ We also read in Matthew these words, ‘A virgin will have a baby boy, and He will be called Immanuel, which means, God is with us.’ When we put all these words, and others, together, they mean, ‘The gift that came here.’

"The Gift That Came Here" - 07/02/22

"Does God Do The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch?" - 06/02/22

For the last few years, we have taken part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. You are supposed to sit for one hour (coffee and biscuits in hand) and watch the birds visit your garden, count how many of each variety you see, then put that info on the website. This helps the RSPB find out what is happening to the bird population in the country. A week before the big event we fill the feeders with all sorts of tempting delights to encourage them to come. We have this theory that the birds know what we are doing, because each year we sit with our coffee and, well, zilch. We think they are all sitting in the bushes laughing up their wings because they have got one over on us! Where do they all go when you need them?!

Jesus talks to his disciples before he sends them out to do some work in the community. He warns them that they might run into all sorts of unpleasantness. In Matthew 10 vs 29-31 Jesus says, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” He is reassuring them that if God knows all about the sparrows, then how much more is he aware of us and what we are going through because to Him we are worth so much more. He even has the hairs on our heads numbered! I ask myself why this is. In some ways the answer is simple – God loves us more than we can imagine.

I’m reminded of the words of an old hymn that some of you might know.

Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit, breathing from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so.
Oh, this full and perfect peace!
Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.

I know it waxes a bit lyrical (it’s an old hymn!), but the writer is sure beyond doubt that God’s love has drawn him close and that that love is for keeps.

Lamentations 3 vs 22-23 says it all really, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I couldn’t say if God does the Big Garden Birdwatch but you can be assured that his love for you is endless. You count to Him.

"The Eye Of The Tiger" - 05/02/22

Tuesday 1st February was Chinese New Year and the Chinese community across the world has welcomed in the year of the Tiger. They celebrate with a thorough cleaning of the home, and then houses are decorated with red paper lanterns and banners, and there are big parties and parades. Children are given "luck money" in red envelopes. The celebrations last for a fortnight, ending with the Lantern Festival.

According to the myth, the Jade Emperor organised a race for a group of animals on his birthday, the results of which determined the order of the Chinese zodiac in a 12 year cycle.

The year you are born is believed to determine your personality. People born in the year of the Tiger are meant to be courageous and competitive, but also rebellious, quick tempered, and unpredictable.

Being successful and courageous sound great, but actually the Tiger is not deemed the most ‘successful sign’. That is the year of the Dragon. People plan to have children in the year of the dragon, as they are traditionally the most intelligent, courageous and successful. Interestingly, the American magazine Forbes did a study of the wealthiest 400 US citizens, and found that 11% were ‘dragons’ more than any other Chinese Zodiac sign.

I am not sure that my personality matches up to my Chinese year, but I am aware of how much I have changed over the years. This is due to a number of things and situations, but having the love of Jesus in my life has had a big part to play. Whilst I am still ‘me’, following Jesus and choosing his way, has shaped and moulded me.

The Bible describes it like this in 2 Corinthians 5

Because of Jesus we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone who follows Jesus gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other.

We don’t have to be a product of our past, our circumstances, our families or the year we were born in, we can have a fresh start with Jesus.

as it says at the end of 2 Corinthians 5:

Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

'You Deserve It' - 04/02/22

Apparently, I deserve a really nice holiday... and the latest model of car... and a lovely new kitchen. How do I know? Because the man on the television told me. "Which man?", I hear you ask. The one on the advert. Actually, it isn't just one man, or one advert for that matter. Quite a few adverts tell me that the product on offer is just right for me, because it's what I deserve - "It's the holiday/car/kitchen you deserve" etc. etc.

I'm curious to know how they know that I deserve it. What yardstick is being applied? How are they judging my merits? Is there a secret tick list? These people don't actually know me, so how do they know that I have met the qualifying conditions. They must be spying on me - much like Father Christmas does when he compiles his naughty list. What happens if I don't measure up to their expectations? What if I fail to be kind to animals, or think badly of fellow motorists, or speak sharply to somebody? Does that disqualify me from the holiday, but still leave the car on offer

Now I come to think of it, I'm not the only one watching these adverts, so when they say that I deserve it, they don't just mean me. They must mean you as well! That doesn't seem fair. How do I know that you measure up to my impeccable standards? Surely we can't all deserve it... and if we do all deserve it then that rather cheapens the gift on offer. Except it seems that it isn't actually a gift. Despite being told that we deserve it, it seems that we are expected to pay for it. That doesn't seem right either. If we deserve it, then surely it should be given to us free of charge... after all, we've earned it. I think I'll complain. I want what I deserve! Or do I?

Whilst the advertisers don't know me from Adam, I know somebody that does. The God who created Adam also created me... and you. He is a God who knows me inside out. He knows everything I do, everything I think, everything I need. He is in a position to judge what I deserve and yet, despite all my flaws, He has decided that what I deserve is not what I will get. Despite being aware of all the ways in which I disappoint him, He chooses to offer me mercy.

Having created every one of us, God values us as individuals and wants only what is best for us and He is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to help deliver it, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life". So, unlike the advertisers, who tell us that we deserve it and then expect us to pay for it, God's gift is completely free - even though we don't deserve it.

So, why does God do it? Put simply, because He loves us... or to put it in advertising parlance, "because you're worth it".

"The Eye Of The Tiger" - 03/01/21

According to the myth, the Jade Emperor organised a race for a group of animals on his birthday, the results of which determined the order of the Chinese zodiac in a 12 year cycle.

The Bible describes it like this in 2 Corinthians 5

We don’t have to be a product of our past, our circumstances, our families or the year we were born in, we can have a fresh start with Jesus.

as it says at the end of 2 Corinthians 5:

Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

"The Elephant In The Room" - 01/02/22

The best way to eat an elephant is to cut him up into pieces

It may not surprise you to discover that today’s proverb doesn’t have its heritage in English culture but instead is an African proverb. Neither is it actually offering advice on how to eat an elephant – that would be outrageous! The meaning behind this saying is simply that when facing a big problem or dilemma, deal with it one small step at a time rather than trying to face it all at once.

We all know how life can throw us curve balls at times; how one minute everything is fine and the next it feels like the rug has been pulled from under us and our world has spiralled out of control. There may be health worries; job pressures and demands; financial concerns or family needs that you don’t know how to meet. All of a sudden life can feel overwhelming and it feels impossible to find the way forward.

Some of our worries are about very real problems that can weigh heavily on us, others are worries about things that haven’t happened yet but we still worry that they might. Either way, the act of worrying will never change the outcome.

Corrie Ten Boom faced many problems in her lifetime – spending time in the horrors of German concentration camps during WWII and losing her father and sister but after it all she was able to reflect on the futility of worry: “Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength – carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

The Bible has much to say about the act of worrying but it could largely be summed up with the words from the book of Philippians: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

Throughout life we will each have to face our own ‘elephants’ that will seem too big, too difficult and too over-whelming but let’s take these words to heart and make the first step to take it to God – tell him about it, let him share the burden with you and recognise and give thanks for all that he has already done and continues to do for us.

We don’t need to worry about the elephant at all when we have a God that is waiting to take it off our hands.

January Sunrises

"Wind Back The Clock" - 31/01/22

We all have dreams of starting something again that we haven’t done for years. Just after Christmas one of the local stores had a cycle sale. I have great memories of serious cycling adventures that took me all over Wales, the Lake District, and all the way down to Lands End. So two weeks ago I wandered around the store looking at the latest cycle technology and dreaming. I could buy the latest Claud Butler cycle for the knock-down price of only £850! How could I justify not splashing out to become the proud owner of this state-of-the-art carbon fibre speed machine? There would of course be the tiny issue of taking it home to show the wife. Having spent nearly fifteen seconds considering her reaction I decided I would let this bargain go and possibly wait until Spring. Anyway, I have enough on my plate because I’ve just started playing badminton again after three years of shuttle-free boredom. Badminton has been my favourite sport for years; it’s free of weather worries, it provides great all-round fitness, and it is so intense when played properly that it’s impossible to think about business or family worries for those few hours. It is the perfect stress-free escape. Having played two sessions in the last two weeks I have discovered that it’s impossible to play and not think about your aching arms, legs, back, shoulders, etc. Hopefully it can only get better, which it needs to do, because my performance on Friday was appalling.

I have also re-started something even more important than Badminton, can you believe that? Now that Covid restrictions are reducing, I can go back to leading school assemblies. It has been an enormous joy and privilege to return to telling Bible stories to youngsters. Every event in this amazing book has a lesson for all people of all ages. In our country, Sunday School has played a key part in the growth of the next generation’s awareness of the reality of God, and the teaching, example, and sacrifice of His Son. It is frightening to see how society has caused this to disappear and be replaced by the millions of random opinions overwhelming them on social media. From the early days of the Jewish nation up until relatively recent times it was always considered the responsibility of the family to teach their children the truths found in the Bible.

‘Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.’ PROVERBS 22.6

‘The Lord commanded our fathers to teach their children His laws, so that the coming generation would know them – even children yet to be born – to arise and tell their own children that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments.’ PSA 78.5-7

Let’s pray that those activities will re-start like my Badminton, but without the pain.

"Never Too Young" - 30/01/22

It was really interesting this week seeing Jay Blades learning to read at the age of 51. He shared his story about his growing up and the factors that influenced his choices, the impact that his dyslexia had on his learning. He even managed to get into a University and pass his exams without having any great ability to read. But he made the decision that he should be able to read properly and wanted to read his daughter a bedtime story, even though she is now a teenager!

It was very brave firstly to try and learn to read; it is also takes courage to share that on TV and let people see the real him. It is an example of how we can all take on new challenges and be open about them no matter what our age.

Being a Christian can very often take courage. In this country, we have a freedom to be open about our beliefs but it can still take courage to speak openly about our faith. In some countries, its takes courage because they do not have that same freedom.

Being a Christian is not a route to an easy life, it’s not going to solve all our problems, it’s not going to make us wealthy or stop us being ill. But being a Christian gives us courage and hope, it brings us a sense of peace. We know we are loved and we are part of a massive global family.

In the Bible book of Isaiah, we are reminded

“Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They will soar up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not be left behind.”

It’s never too late to turn to God and there is no reason to wait.

"It's The Simple Things" - 29/01/22

I am a simple man with simple tastes. I don't like to overthink things, or spend too long troubling myself with the whys are wherefores of every situation. I don't need to know how everything works - if the light comes on when I flick the switch and water comes out of the tap when I turn it on, I'm happy. I have never felt the need to pull something apart, just to see how it works. I was blessed with a peaceful lack of curiosity. I find it easier to simply be content in the moment.

That's why I take pleasure in simple things: watching ducks come in to land on a lake, their cumbersome frame suddenly takes on an elegance, as their little webbed feet provide the perfect platform for them to glide along until they float calmly on the water. Sitting on a beach watching the restless tide - the view is never the same, no matter how many times you have witnessed it. Watching bats hunting at twilight, their graceful aerobatics are a marvel to behold. Standing on a hillside watching the shadows of the clouds tracing a pattern across the fields or valley below. All simple, but all strangely satisfying.

Except they aren't simple. The mechanisms that enable ducks to fly, the forces that control the tides, the sonar and echo location of the bat, the water cycle and winds that allow us to watch the clouds roll by - the principles of lift, gravity, sensory acuity and air pressure are all very complicated. They speak of a thoughtful design, a careful creation - they speak of wonder. The wonder of the creator God. A wonder that I am happy to accept without the need to understand the intricacies of that creation, much of which, in scientific terms, would be beyond my understanding anyway. I am happy to simply enjoy that wonder and be grateful.

Perhaps that's why I have a similar faith. Simple and accepting. God knows what He is doing - His creation alone proves that and I have no need to doubt it. It's also why I don't need to reinvent the wheel and am happy to let the writers who penned the wonder that is the Bible sum it all up,

"By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible"

"By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host"

"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind"

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it"

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen"

"I Hate Scarecrows!" - 27/01/22

It was 1979. I was 6 years old. And a new child-friendly television programme was aired on a Saturday evening. Worzel Gummidge!! Can anybody please tell me what was child-friendly about that programme?? A big, ugly, man-sized, stuffed doll that came to life and got up to mischief. He fancied an equally terrifying doll called Aunt Sally. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse….he pulled off his head!! It was the stuff of nightmares! And nightmares I had! Plenty of them! It took me years to get Worzel and his heads out of my mind!! And yet, in recent years, I’ve seen scarecrow festivals pop up in villages and I have that same familiar feeling from when I was 6 years old….terror!

I’m 49 years old now and yet I have to say, if you take me to a scarecrow festival, I will cope, but only just. I’ll take a deep breath and try to concentrate on the beautiful tree, or the coffee shop in the distance, or my purple boots. I won’t enjoy the experience and will get out of that place as soon as can! Apparently a fear of scarecrows is called ‘formidophobia’.

While my fear is real and brings me out in a cold sweat, I have to say, that I’ve been massively fortunate if that has been my negative childhood experience!! The problem is, for many people, we simply have no idea what experiences others have gone through in life. Why they behave the way they do. Why they can only sleep with the light on, or can only cope with small groups of people, maybe they have trust issues or won’t travel on a train???

Sometimes we can be quick to judge can’t we? Asking such questions as, ‘What’s wrong with them?’ ‘Why are they being difficult?’ ‘Why can’t they smile?’

I have been watching the outrageous images from Afghanistan in recent weeks and how the young children are experiencing such heartache and horrors. I can’t help but wonder what nightmares they will experience for possibly the rest of their lives.

The Bible says, ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love’.

Like the old saying goes, ‘Be kind, always, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about’.

'Slippers' - 26/01/22

I don’t know about you but I love a good pair of slippers. That cosy feeling when you slip your feet into them, the knowledge that you are home and you can relax. I usually get a new pair each Christmas, and I wear them throughout the year until they fall apart, usually about Christmas time, so I can get a new pair.

However, if you live in Japan, they take Slipper wearing to a whole new level. No one is allowed into a home without taking your shoes off and putting slippers on. Most houses will have shoe racks by the front door and guest slippers for anyone who visits. But it doesn’t stop there. There are several types of slippers to wear in a Japanese house, and it’s a great offence to mix them up! So, as well as house slippers, if you go to the bathroom, you must swap your slippers for ‘bathroom slippers’, and swap them back when you leave the bathroom. If you go outside, you must wear wooden outdoor slippers, and if you are invited into the Tatami room (which has traditional Japanese flooring), you mustn’t wear slippers at all!

The reason for all the slippers in Japanese is down to cleanliness and respect, and it reminds me of a situation in the Bible where Moses meets God, and the first thing that God tells him to do is to take off his shoes.

Exodus 3: 4-6

God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He said, “Yes? I’m right here!” God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Now in this case, God wasn’t concerned about keeping the place clean, it was in the middle of the desert! But God did want to show Moses that spending time with God should be done with reverence, humility and being prepared to do what God is asking. It also is a recognition of being welcomed into Gods house.

Just like Moses, God wants us to spend time with him and feel welcome and loved in his presence. We don’t need to wear special slippers, but we do need to come aware of how amazing he is, and willing to listen and follow him.

"When Rain Clouds Gather" - 25/01/22

It never rains but it pours!

Have you ever had one of those days – or weeks, or months – when it just seems to be one thing after another? It may be one disaster after another or it might just be the relentlessness of a busy and demanding life when there never seems to be any let up; no time to stop or take a break before dealing with the next thing. How often we will proclaim “it never rains but it pours!” as we deal with one task after another, one apparent disaster after another.

Many people in our community are dealing with so many difficult things at the moment – I wouldn’t blame you for feeling the weight of those burdens. Yet the Bible reminds us that whatever we face - from trials to celebrations, we don’t need to face them alone, God wants us to walk with Him and to rest in Him.

I make no apology today for reminding you of the very well-known words of Psalm 23:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

If today is a day that feels like you are under a dark cloud; if sadness, doubt or fear are raining down on you; if life’s demands are weighing on your mind - please take a few moments and re-read those words slowly and carefully and allow the love and peace of God to wash over you and the quiet waters refresh you.

"Dishing The Dirt" - 24/01/22

The Bible warns us often against gossip, cruelty, unforgiveness, mockery, bullying and celebrating wrong. Jesus Himself instructed us to ‘do to others as we would have them do to us’.

Dung beetles are incredible powerhouses who spend their entire lives seeking out, consuming and dishing, the dirt. May we all choose to leave that behaviour well and truly in the insect world.

"Matrix" - 23/01/22

One of the film releases over the Christmas holiday was Matrix Resurrections, the 4th in the series of films about “The Matrix”. For those who have not seen it, the film is about a future world where people are held by machines to be used like batteries but are in a dream like state that makes them think that they are living a normal life. This “life” is really a computer managed world that is known as The Matrix. Some people have managed to escape this illusion and are desperately fighting the machines so they can release all the other people. The people are driven by the hope of finding “The One” who will be able to defeat the machines. It turns out that there have been many versions of this illusionary world and this is another attempt to free themselves and the human race from the control of the machines.

I am hoping to see the 4th film this weekend, so I will see where they take the story next!

There have been a number of articles associating The Matrix with different religions and there are many references to these throughout the films.

The underlying hope of the people in someone who can save them draws obvious comparison with Christianity. But there are key differences as this story is about hope in another human, albeit with “special powers”.

Our hope as Christians is not in a person but in the love of God and the forgiveness we have through Jesus.

Our hope does not require us to help our Saviour to achieve the goal, He has already done it.

Jesus is our Saviour, he is God, the Son, who gave himself for us. He is the real ‘One’ We just need to put our trust and have faith in Him and live our lives according to His teachings with the strength that He gives us.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit – Romans 15:13

"Making Your Mark" - 22/01/22

One of the many idiosyncratic pieces that go to make up this crazy whole that we call the Melling Community, is the group of individuals that I have always referred to as the art department. Their correct title was the Melling Watercolour Group, but that has recently changed. They are now known as, "Make Your Mark". The change was made to reflect the different ways in which members might wish to express their artistic sensibilities. Not everybody is comfortable with watercolours. For some; pencils, pastels, inks, oils, acrylics and even textiles may be more their heavy. So the shift in emphasis allows for greater freedom of artistic endeavour and whether you are a budding Botticelli, a potential Picasso, or a would be Warhol, Pete, our erstwhile leader, encourages us to make our mark. To just be brave and do it. To have a go. To get something down on paper (or canvas) and to be bold about it.

For years now, I have watched Portrait Artist of the Year... and Landscape Artist of the Year... and Watercolour Challenge and have marveled at the different ways in which the featured artists have captured likenesses and landscapes alike and have done so in many inventive ways. Some have been wonderful to my eyes and others have impressed the judges without really floating my boat. The important point is that they all made a mark and that mark was appreciated by somebody. All the while, my paints, pencils, pads and canvasses languished in the loft. I watched others make their mark, but despite having the wherewithal to do so, I didn't make mine. Having now joined in with this eccentric bunch of artists and their enthusiastic leader, I'm hoping that that is about to change.

In life, as in art, we have the opportunity to make our mark, but sometimes, despite having the wherewithal to do so, we miss the chance. I can only speak for myself at this point when I say that I marvel at others who seem to know what they are doing, but am often timid when it comes to giving it a go. The reality is that giving it a go is exactly what I should be doing. I know that, when it comes to art, I am never going to have my work auctioned off at Sotheby's, but I still enjoy it and feel that I have something to offer. Making a mark in life should be approached in the same way. Getting alongside somebody and offering them what you have is more important than worrying whether your efforts will hang in a gallery. Whether it's a helping hand, a kind word, or a listening ear, what we have to offer is of value to somebody. We should also know that we have somebody who believes in us and acknowledges the worth of what we are attempting, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me". Jesus encourages us to care for each other and reminds us that He looks favourably on our efforts.

So, my easel and my paints have been liberated from the loft and I'm ready to go. More importantly, I have been reminded that there are other areas where I need to make my mark. Will you join me?

"Lototoo" - 20/01/22

This week I found myself staring at pictures of devastation from the islands of Tonga. An undersea earthquake and the resulting Tsunami, has devastated the Islands and most of the homes of the 98,000 or so people that call Tonga home. It has cut their communication to the outside world and also contaminated a lot of their drinking water with salt and ash from the volcano.

As well as being deeply saddened, it made me wonder how does an island recover from something like this? How, when everything else is destroyed, do you begin the process of rebuilding and restoration?

As I looked deeper into Tongan culture, I discovered what an amazing Island it is. Tongan society is guided by four core values, Fefaka’apa’apa’aki (mutual respect), Feveitokai’aki (sharing, cooperating and fulfilment of mutual obligations), Lototoo (humility and generosity) and Tauhi vaha’a (loyalty and commitment).

Consequently, Tonga is known as the ‘friendly Island’, and for good reason.

Right now, the Tongans are relying on the ‘Lototoo’ of the rest of the world as Aid agencies scramble to get fresh water, aid and supplies to the stricken country. It is my prayer that with the help of a world-wide community, their country will recover in time.

The word Lototoo brought some bible verses to mind from Ephesians 2

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Not only is Lototoo a wonderful value for the Tongans, I believe it is something that God calls us all to carry out in our lives. God loves us so much, and enables us to love others with his love, and show love, humility and generosity to those we meet.

As we pray for Tonga, lets also pray that we may develop even more Lototoo in our lives, to show Gods love to everyone we meet.

"Getting Back Up" - 19/01/22

Sloths are slow. Sooooo slow. On average they travel about half the length of a football pitch in a day. In fact they are so sendentary that algae is known to grow on their fur. These beautiful creatures cause us to smile as they appear to spend their whole lives in slow motion. Although there is one regular action they have which isn’t in slow motion…when they fall out of trees!

Sloths are experts at falling out of trees. On average they fall once a week. And we’re not talking a couple of metres. Sloths can fall over 30 metres and still smile! They’re experts at falling down AND picking themselves back up.

Some days can hit us hard. We can receive bad news, we can wake up tired, we can mess up with a conversation or job, forget to do something important…and before we know it we can feel like we’ve crashed. It’s at times like this that we can feel defeated or that there’s no way forward. We’ve ‘fallen from the tree’. There can be a real temptation on days like this, to give in, to believe those negative voices telling us we’re no good or we’ve failed or we’ll never sort our problems out, or to believe that life will always be too hard.

Jesus understood difficult times. One of the titles He was given was, ‘man of sorrows’. He understood and He understands. That’s why He said,

‘Come to me, all you who are weak and heavy-laden and I will give you rest’.

These weren’t empty words. If you feel like you’ve ‘fallen from the tree’, know that Jesus understands and invites you to find rest in Him. And He will help you climb that tree again, even at a sloths speed!

"You are Not the Weakest Link" -18/01/22

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

If you have ever lost a pendant or beads from a broken chain you may be in complete agreement with today’s proverb. It only takes one link in a chain to be weaker than the others and something precious can be lost and you might find yourself on your hands and knees searching for all of the missing pieces to try and rescue your treasure.

Today’s proverb is speaking about a group of people who will only ever be as strong as the weakest person in that group regardless of how strong and capable others may be – but I disagree! We live in a world where strength, intelligence and some idea of perfection are seen as the only things to value and strive for but who of us can meet all of those criteria all of the time? I know all too often there are situations I would be considered the weak link because of a lack of knowledge or skill or wisdom but by surrounding myself with good people I know that when I am weak, someone else will be strong and that someone will help to carry me until such a time when I have skills to offer and I can then help to carry someone else – less of a chain and more of a team.

In the book of Corinthians Paul writes about something he calls ‘a thorn in my flesh’. We don’t know for certain what he was referring to but we do know it was something that he asked God to take away from him “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” If anyone could be considered a real-life superhero it would probably be Paul, but even he sometimes found that he wasn’t strong enough but instead had to fully depend on God. Only when he did that did he become the strongest link.

You may not feel up to whatever today may hold for you but know that in your weakness you can depend on God and then you will have the strength that you need. We are a community of God’s people and together there are no weak links, just people that come alongside one another and carry one another when needed – whether you are feeling weak or strong today, know that you don’t face the day alone.

"Refreshing Aims" - 17/01/22

At the start of the year, many people will want to set a New Year resolution or goal for the year. It’s not something I really did personally. In my work, we do however set our objectives for the year. As I was reading the information sent out by the managers, there was one part of the business that gave a refreshing message. They recognised how difficult the last 2 years had been with the impact of Covid on people being able to work on site and published just 2 statements.

Firstly, they recognised that having big ideas can be great but it can be difficult to achieve, whereas making smaller, more achievable goals will actually bring more value. Secondly, to have good communication so that all parts of the business are aware of what is happening and what changes are planned.

As we go about our lives, sometimes we don’t know how we can make such a big difference. But if we simply keep doing the little things, showing a kindness, caring for someone, loving someone; this can have a massive impact on others.

During this pandemic, one thing that has changed is that we stopped rushing around and really talked to each other. People have learned to talk to their neighbours and become a community.

As Christians, our love of Jesus, and His love for us, gives us strength and hope that as we share and support each other. The small acts of kindness and love can add up to a real gift to those who receive it.

We are encouraged in the bible with these words…

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

"When Rain Clouds Gather" - 15/01/22

It never rains but it pours!

I make no apology today for reminding you of the very well-known words of Psalm 23:

"If you can see it, You can pick it up" - 14/01/22

I am a cushion straightener. Somebody who likes things to look a certain way. A place for everything and everything in its place. I get it from my Mum... who in turn got it from her mother. They were of a generation that didn’t have much and what they had they took care of. Steps were scrubbed, brasses were polished, paintwork was washed – every day. Things were kept neat and tidy and everybody worked hard to see that they were.

My Mum was fond of the expression, “If you can see it, you can pick it up.” In other words, if something was out of place and you knew it, there was no need to wait for somebody else to come along and put it right – just do it yourself. Don’t sit there pointing out what needs to be done and expecting somebody else to do it.

If I chose to make an excuse to try and get out of my share of the labour, I would be greeted by another of my Mum’s expressions, and my personal favourite, “Act daft son and I’ll buy you a yacht”. The message was clear - although you would be forgiven for missing it - everybody had their part to play and I was no exception. Our little family would survive, and hopefully thrive, by following the foundation of this shared work ethic.

The same is true of any society or community. It is the willingness of the community members to play their part in the building of that community that leads to its prospering. Our Melling community is built on the strong foundations of people who love and care for each other. Those foundations allow us to build bigger and better, knowing that everything we do is to the glory of God and that His hand guides us as we go.

There is always work to be done and we are the ones to do it. All of us have a part to play, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it”. Yes, some of us will be gifted in certain areas and we should not ignore those particular gifts that we have been given, but there will be things to do that fall outside our particular gift and we should not be afraid to tackle whatever needs to be done, remembering that we are God’s church and He created us to be part of a body that works together ,“But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be”.

So, are you ready to build bigger and better? Well then, pick it up if you can see it

"New Beginnings" - 13/01/22

I love to find out about different cultures and customs around the world. Whilst we do have some unusual customs of our own in the UK, I am intrigued to find put about how other people celebrate and live life around this wonderful world of ours.

The start of a year is often a chance for new beginnings in many cultures. Whilst we might have New Years resolutions, other countries bring in the New Year in very different ways, and lots of them involve traditions to bring good fortune for the coming year.

In Brazil, people will place white flowers and candles into the ocean as an offering to a water God called Yemoja, so that she will bring them good things in the following year.

In Ecuador, they adopt a very different approach. They build scarecrows to look like politicians and famous people from the previous year. These are then burnt on large bonfires to get rid of all the badness from the old year, to make room for lots of good in the coming year! This sounds quite intriguing given our current political climate!

Whether it’s encouraging the good, or eliminating the bad, these traditions are all designed to somehow guarantee a great year.

The wonderful news is that whilst God doesn’t guarantee us an easy life, he does promise to be with us throughout every situation and circumstance.

Isaiah 41:13 reminds us of an amazing promise from God:

For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

I haven’t met anyone who isn’t desperate for this pandemic to end, and for life to return to something resembling normal, but whatever happens this year, we don’t have to face anything alone. We can be reassured that as Psalm 46 says

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

Let’s take time today to chat to God, and tell him how we feel about the coming year. Lets also take time to be still with God and be aware of his amazing Love.

"All Creatures Great and Small" - 12/01/22

Over these coming weeks we will be looking at the incredible animal kingdom. From the smallest insect to the largest mammal, from the humble goldfish to the most majestic eagle, the animal kingdom has much to teach us.

Some years ago whilst I was working in London, I made friends with a homeless man called John. He ‘lived’ on a section of pavement down the road from the large building I worked in, next to Tower Bridge. John was a wonderful guy. He was in his mid 50s, was an engineer, and had family. Some difficult circumstances and some poor life choices had led to him being on the streets.

Some days he would be wide awake at 8:30am when I was heading to work, and we would sit and chat and drink coffee together for 20 minutes. Then there were other days when he would be fast asleep covered in blankets and old coats, surrounded by empty cans. And yet, whether it was hot or cold, whether he was awake or asleep, in the snow, rain and wind, in the busy times and the quiet times, there was a constant companion by his side….his German Shepherd, Jenny. This beautiful, gentle and affectionate creature was forever loyal to John. It didn’t matter what condition John was in whether it was good times or bad, Jenny remained by his side. She was absolutely devoted to John and showed her love and loyalty even when John was unable to show it in return.

Dogs are known for their faithfulness and loyalty towards their owners. Devoted friends! They are such great examples to us. The Bible says,

‘Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family’.

This is the kind of friend who is there for the parties and celebrations, and also the grief and distress. As we’re talking about the animal kingdom it feels appropriate to have some wise words from Winnie the Pooh…

‘ A friend is someone who helps you up when you’re down, and if they can’t, they lay down beside you and listen’.

May we all be blessed with true and loyal friends, and do our best to be those true and loyal friends to others.

Thank you Jenny for your incredible display of love and loyalty to a man who desperately needed a friend, and thank you Winnie the Pooh, definitely not a bear of very little brain!

"In The Right Place" - 10/01/22

Sometimes, when you’re out shopping or maybe taking a relaxing walk in the countryside, you see somebody coming towards you and your day is instantly ruined. Of all the people you know, this is the one person you didn’t want to meet today, or ever. Quite often your reaction is, ‘What are they doing here?’ or ‘Why did I choose this place to go walking’? The feeling of being in the wrong place can be very unsettling, particularly if it's for more than a few minutes. Have you ever had a job that you disliked intensely, but you had to turn up every working day? The reason for being unhappy could be that the people were not your type, so you didn’t fit in. Possibly the place and situation was not where you wished to be. You couldn’t believe this place could ever be good for you. The idea that you may have been able to do something worthwhile because you were there never occurred to you.

I think I may have told you before that I was arrested one morning for theft (didn’t do it, honest), and I sat in a police cell from 9am to 11pm before they let me out on bail. I really didn’t want to be there; it was the wrong place for me. But amazingly it turned out to be the right place. I had agreed with a business contact to organise a project that would require me to spend many hours writing. But I could never get the time and I was under great pressure to deliver the goods. And suddenly here I was locked up, going nowhere. I spent ten peaceful hours producing the programme. I smiled frequently as I considered how unpredictable (and wonderful) this situation was.

There’s a lovely story in the Old Testament about a young lady who was captured by an invading army, torn away from her family, taken into a foreign country and made a slave to her captors’ wife. She would be shocked and dismayed at her situation and believed that she was in the wrong place. However, when her captor discovered he had an incurable disease, she had the grace to tell him about a man in her own country who could cure him with Gods’ help. This is exactly what happened and although we don’t hear the end of the story, we can be certain that she was never treated as a slave again.

We often wonder why we find ourselves in places and situations that we would never have chosen, maybe that’s how you feel right now. It’s worth remembering that God works in mysterious ways and the place you are in today could have possibilities you can’t imagine. David in Psalm 18 says, ‘My God turns my darkness into light…..As for God, His way is perfect.’ When you’re confused, disappointed, or feeling lost because of your circumstances, have a look around, you may be in just the right place.

"The Sky's the Limit!" - 09/01/22

Well, a new year has begun and already most of us will have heard somebody say that they hope it will be better than last year. This is something we hear every year. Of course, this year will be better than last year... in some ways – and in others, it will be worse. This is always true and should not come as a surprise, but still, we like to hope for better. It's a natural reaction. We regularly have plans, hopes and aspirations and very often we express them at New Year. It's a time when we look to the future. It's a time when we share our hopes and plans with others.

The coming year holds much promise for our little community in Melling. This may be the year when we finally find a church building (you'll notice that I didn't say a church – we are already a church... if you are reading this, you are probably a part of it). A church building would allow us to have a permanent home for the many and varied activities that already exist within the community. It will be lovely to be able to say, “I'll see you at church” and to know that we mean a place and not a Zoom meeting. It's an exciting thought.

Whether the exciting plans we have involve obtaining a church building, or not, we should remember that we must put all of our plans in God's hands. This doesn't mean that we simply sit back and wait for God to put before us all of the things that we are hopeful for. We need to act within God's will in order for our plans to be part of God's greater blessing. The emphasis here is in the term, “act”. As the great missionary William Carey once said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God”. Knowing that God is able to do wonderful things should encourage us to move forward with the plans we have to extend His community, to encourage His community, to love His community.

The inspiration for Carey's statement comes from the book of Ephesians, in which the apostle Paul writes, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

God can do remarkable things... and He can do remarkable things through us. If we want to see our plans become reality, we must involve God and, just as importantly, involve ourselves. Let's see what we can achieve together.

When encouraging others to attempt great things, we often spur them on with the motivational term, “The sky's the limit!”. That may be true, but, if so, then it's still a limit. I prefer to think that the sky is not the limit; it's just the scenery God gave us to enjoy while we work alongside Him.

"But I NEED it!" - 07/01/22

A little three-year-old girl sat down at the table for breakfast. Her mummy I asked her,

“Would you like toast? Or cereal? Or a banana?“

The little girl thought for a moment and then replied,

“Today I need apple pie, and chocolate, and sweets!”

Her mummy smiled, and took a deep breath,

“Well I don’t think you need those things for breakfast”.

The little girls smile rapidly disappeared, replaced with a frown.

“But mummy, I need apple pie and chocolate and sweets!!”

Her mum, still smiling, replied,

“No, you don’t need those things sweetheart. You want those things but you don’t need them. It would hurt your tummy to eat all of those things for breakfast”.

With big, fat tears starting to roll down her cheeks, the little girl tried again,

“Mummy!!! I do need them! I do! I need them for my breakfast!!”

I’m sure many of you can relate to conversations like this with your children or grandchildren? And I have to say, there have been many occasions where I have felt like I have needed apple pie and chocolate and sweets for breakfast too! And there have also been many occasions when I have been like this with God. “God, I really need…a break, a holiday, a new job, THAT job, that person to stop annoying me, that issue to go away….” Sound familiar??

Often, we can’t see the big picture, and it can feel like God doesn’t care or he doesn’t understand or he is simply not there. The Bible makes it very clear that God does care, and he does understand, and he is very much there. But a bit like the little girl who ‘needed’ chocolate, we get all our needs and our wants mixed up. Maybe, just maybe, God is doing something bigger, something we can’t grasp or understand. Maybe, there’s a lesson we need to learn?

How about today, we take a look at our lives, and rather than give God a shopping list of our perceived needs, we ask Him to provide us with what He knows we need, and through the struggles and confusion and fears we can trust Him to care, understand, and always be there.

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, don’t rely on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and he will make straight your paths’ Proverbs 3:5-6.

"What's In Your Hand Today?" - 04/01/22

A proverb is generally considered to be a short saying that offers advice or expresses some kind of truth. We have thousands of proverbs within our culture – you will probably be able to quote many that your parents or grandparents quoted to you and that you now say to your own children and grandchildren.

Over the coming weeks we are going to take a look at some of these so-called ‘words of wisdom’ to think about their meaning and what they might really mean to us in our lives today.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

At the beginning of a new year it is all too easy to get caught up in making resolutions and lists of hopes for the year to come, after all it does seem to be the most appropriate time to make plans. It’s not that resolutions are bad things, it can be helpful to set goals and to have aims and dreams, however, to live only ever dreaming of what might be could mean that you miss much of the beauty in what you already have. Today’s proverb speaks of what you already have being far more valuable to you than what you might dream of or hope for, but don’t actually possess. We can often overlook the blessings we already have as we reach out for the things we don’t yet have but seem like we need.

In the book of Psalms we read these words: ‘This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.’

Today is the day that we have in our hands; we’re not promised tomorrow or next week or another year, but if you are reading this then you have been blessed with this day, this moment. What will you do with it? Will you use it to dream of things you don’t yet have – if I’m honest, I’m very good at that! – or shall we take the blessing of this day, give thanks to God and then offer it back to Him to make something wonderful with?

‘This most generous God…gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God’.

"Difficult To Believe" - 03/01/22

So many events and achievements have humble beginnings. Many of the retail empires in our cities started in marketplaces or as single shops in small towns. Electricity and radio, light bulbs and television, motor cars and steam trains all came from the minds of individuals who had personal visions of what the future could be like. Many of these ideas were laughed at by people who thought they knew the difference between possibility and impossibility. In our own lifetimes many of us have seen the world transformed beyond our imagination. As I sit here, I wonder what the next great invention will be; free energy; cheap drinking water from the oceans; a universal language; some way to turn off music in supermarkets?

There are plenty of accounts in the Bible of insignificant people and events producing unexpected and overwhelming results. Moses saw a burning bush in the desert and despite his lack of confidence he challenged Pharaoh to free his slaves. Pharaoh said, “No”; God said, “Yes.” Job done. Gideon was an insignificant member of his insignificant family, but God took him step by step, and he became a great military leader. Joseph was hated by his brothers, sold into slavery, thrown into prison, but became a ruler in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. David was the youngest of eight brothers, but while everyone stood and watched, God turned him into a giant-defeating King. Paul was a Christian-killing monster but became the greatest Christian teacher ever because he bumped into Jesus while riding his horse.

Just like society in the days of Jesus, we tend to look elsewhere for success and greatness. We imagine that progress will come from professors and politicians, universities and space agencies, and we are probably right most of the time believing that. But God works differently and chooses His achievers in His own way.

At the start of 2022, are you optimistic about the year to come, or do you think, ‘Here we go again, we’ve been here before?’ Can you imagine that God has plans for you, your family, or our nation, that will cause us to smile and relax a little? What about our little insignificant Melling community, do you think God could be bothered to give us a second thought? Are you expecting to look back at the end of the year with gratitude and say, “Thank You Lord?” Some of us are because Jesus said, “With God all things are possible.” Let’s start the year believing that Jesus knows His Father better than we do, and just like Moses and Gideon, Joseph and Paul, lets believe that God sees more in us that we can see in ourselves. Can you hear God saying, “Watch this space?”