Be Warned

Wow what an amazing year we have had with the weather!! All we all talk about is the weather, the great British pastime!! For some it has been life changing, they have lost everything, while others have been a little inconvenienced, like our family, where they couldn’t keep an appointment as the trains were not running due to water in the signals! 'Boohoo', how can we even think about complaining??


Just this last week at Bible Study Fellowship where we are working through Matthew’s Gospel we arrived at Matthew 16 where Jesus says “You have a saying that goes, ‘Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.’ You find it easy enough to forecast the weather—why can’t you read the signs of the times?” Matthew 16:1-4 Message. What an amazing week to be studying Jesus’ attitude to the weather forecasts. What He really wanted was the people to look at their lives in the light of eternity, and where they would spend it. The signs that God has given us, pointing to Jesus as His Son are so clear, and much more important than any signs in the weather! We are so blind to the signs of the times, warning us He is coming back soon.

New Beginnings

My life has been marked by many ‘new beginnings’! They have usually been after times of a house move caused by David’s job re-locations or times when we believed God was asking us to go to a specific place for Him. They were always great opportunities to make a new start! Whether I wanted to or not! Sometimes it meant leaving a job, finding new friends, schools, and new house. I often wish we had chosen a place because of the church rather than the job or house. Every time it was like a New Year, an opportunity to take stock and review my priorities and where does God fit into all of these choices??

Peter in the Bible is such a wonderful example of someone who experienced several new beginnings! When Jesus first called him and his brother Andrew ‘Come after Me, follow Me,

and I will make you fishers of men! At once they left their nets and became His disciples’ (Matthew 4:19,20). What a change, a whole new lifestyle away from all the security of the family business, all his support network gone! 

Just think about no guaranteed income and not knowing if this will be temporary or forever! Times away from his wife and family (Matthew 8:14). Did he really count the cost or was it an impulsive decision from a man looking for something more than his everyday life.

'These children are the Kingdom's pride and joy'

Let us celebrate publicly the joy of the gift of God to very brokenhearted parents. 

About four years ago a friend had told me about her daughter's trials with ectopic pregnancies and the heartbreak. Several weeks later the Lord prompted me to buy a pack of new baby vests, to pray over one and give to my friend's daughter, I didn't do it!
This was based on the story of Paul in Acts 19:12 

'so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them'.

Whose watching your backdoor?

Just had to add this new blog quickly to back up the previous blog ‘Safety and Security’ as an up to date testimony of an example of the power in the Blood of Jesus. A very dear friend with a young family having studied with Joy for Life several years ago had learnt the daily practice of claiming the protection of the Blood of Jesus. She went away for the long weekend and again prayed for God’s protection while the house was unoccupied.

On returning home they did not notice there was anything out of place, but a couple of days later when attempting to access their home through the back door from the outside realised that someone had tried hard to force their way into the house but had been unable to open the door!

The whole family had been able to have a good laugh and had shared a very big thanks and praise to the Living God who had actively protected their home when they were not there but when they had put their faith in the Blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Safety and Security!



Well I am so thrilled that I have something very special to share this time which is something for all of us to apply to our daily lives. In this day there are so many problems and dangers in our lives which can cause us to feel fearful, but our wonderful Father doesn’t want us to have any form of anxiety, Philippians 4:7. 

Well last week after shopping at the supermarket, we went home, packed away the shopping and sat down for a quiet coffee prior to going to the gym. ‘Where is my handbag? Oh I know I will have left it in the car!’ I stated. About two hours later on the way to the gym I looked round the car, no handbag!! 

David was determined that we would find it before going to the gym as he knew I would go over and over my morning activities which involved my handbag! After all my bag contains my ‘life’ - well, my phone on which there are all my contacts, my Bible, daily readings; then there is my purse with my cards and driving licence; free bus pass and library tickets!! No wonder men are starting to carry bags, how else could they have their valuables with them? So we drove back to the supermarket, me praying in the Spirit, feeling sick in my stomach and my mind going hundreds of miles per hour working out what to do with the problems that were going to result with the loss of my bag!

Let's move on?

It is so long since I have written! How much time do we have to read everybody’s blogs these days? If we have two minutes we read their Facebook entries if we have one minute we follow people on Twitter, but a blog – that’s too much information!

Being very verbal in my conversation I can never limit myself for Facebook and really don’t share my heart then, just snippets of meaningless information that keep people at a distance. I am going to try to do little and often on my blog then at least all our valuable family and friends will be more aware of what we are up to on a regular basis.

I stopped blogging as I was so down about ‘life’. The world looked a mess, our life looked a disaster, and friends’ lives looked turbulent; what is the point of it all?

Fitness check?

I am very aware of putting faith in loads of different things and people. I may not always call it faith. Basically I believe in something I cannot see but I know it will work. For example when I drive over a bridge I believe it will hold me up, I don’t get out of the car and go and check the state of the bridge before driving over it! I think that if there are no warning signs from the police or council it will be safe.

Another example is when I buy a packet of ginger nuts do I believe they contain ginger and trust the label is telling the truth? Think of all the daily activities we apply faith to; someone says they like our new coat; a builder says he will come tomorrow to mend the leak; the recipe says the cake will be cooked in 20mins; the petrol gauge says we have half a tank of petrol; I expect the chair to hold me when I go to sit on it; the technician says our computer is broken; my daughter tells me I am the best Mum!! Well do I believe the last one??