Heading towards year end
2009 has almost run its course, and this is a time of the year when everybody's thoughts focus on Christmas and New Year. Well, most of us... Where does the time go?Well, looking back on a busy 2009 I am pleased to report that I have achieved so many of my personal goals for this year. A few major ones have eluded me - but not for the want of trying. However, I am further reminded that the year is not yet over. There is still time... One final push may see us to further victory!No retreating, Hell defeating, Shoulder to shoulder we stand;God look down. with glory crown our conquering band.Victory for meThrough the bl

Weakness
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NIV)8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.9 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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.This extract from Paul's letter to the believers in Corinth, talking about his 'thorn in my flesh' speaks volumes to me today, as I write this I'm feeling quite weak and lousy.

The Devil Finds Work For Idle Hands...
It's a popular idiom, isn't it? People with no work or activity to occupy them are more likely to do things they shouldn't do.I've had the benefit today of a day at home, so I've been doing a variety of jobs about the house that I have been meaning to do for a while. A chance to switch off from the usual things which usually occupy my mind and deal with other matters closer to home. And I must say, it's produced some fantastic results in the house. I've really had a good time working with my son, and we've worked well together tidying up and rearranging things. It's been great. Can't say I've had idle hands...However, my mind has got to wander th

All is well...
I'm looking back now to Tuesday, to what has proven to be a rather peculiar day. A most strange period of my life; a day of confusion. However, part of the puzzle is because I reflect back on that day with a calmness that is simply amazing. Because on the whole I'm fine, truly convinced that all is well because the choices that I'm making in my personal life at the moment are leading me closer to Him. I hold that fact close to me. On a day like this when 'all is well', it's all the more strange then when I see all around me plenty of evidence to the contrary... that things are far from well. Without too much ef

Worse Things Happen At Sea... part two
The best place to be in the middle of a storm is of course to be safely in port, safely anchored to something firm. What is your anchor when things get rough in life? I know what mine is!Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?When the strong tides lift and the cables strain,Will your anchor drift, or firm remain?We have an anchor that keeps the soulSteadfast and sure while the billows roll,Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love.SASB 280, verse one & chorus (Priscilla Jane Owens, 1882)