It can be so tempting to quit. When I first when to university, many hours from my family home, I found it difficult, and I wanted to leave. My grandmother, on a plain piece of white cardboard, handwrote me this poem by John Greenleaf Whittier Don’t Quit When...
What does “you have not because you ask not” mean in James 4:2? We may ask for genuine desires of the heart to be fulfilled, to receive His healing, provision, or restoration of a relationship. It is important to ask. However, it can be hard to ask,...
I loved reading stories to my kids when they were little. I read to them every night. I loved Richard Scarry’s Busy Town, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. They were precious times snuggling up in...
There is a game show called ‘is it cake?’ https://www.netflix.com/au/title/81333845 The concept was inspired by online viral videos of bakers cutting into their realistic cakes made to look like everyday objects. As the title suggests, the series is a game...
How many times have you heard the words ‘I doubt it?’ “with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26, What you hope for may seem impossible, but with God, is entirely possible? The world encourages us to...
Matthew 7:7″Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.The song This is the kingdom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDeAXu5np20 sums up what it means to receive...
There is a time to laugh The other night my family watched a movie that made us laugh. We have a Christmas tradition of watching Christmas movies that started on a weekend away for Ian’s 50th birthday nearly ten years ago. Some of them are ridiculous and have...
You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service you perform not only supplies the needs of the Lord’s people but is overflowing in many expressions...
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seeds fell among...
Do you ever feel forgotten? Joesph, in the Bible, felt forgotten. Genesis 40:23 says, The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him. Joseph was in prison for a crime he did not commit. The prison warden put Joseph in...
Proverbs 27:12 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. When my father-in-law turned ninety, we took him away to celebrate for four days at a beach near his home. That time together was precious. He insisted on catching a...
It takes time to heal, and whether it is emotional or physical, the healing process goes at its own pace. One Christmas, my brother, decided to take us on a bushwalk that we took with Dad while growing up. It was a walk down memory lane, so we were all keen on it. Two...
When it comes to people there are two kinds. One has vision and the other prefers to follow vision, enabling the ideas. Both people play a role in fulfilling vision. I have always been on the visionary side. For example, recently, we bought a house for my son, who...
“But I want both pistachio and peanut doughnuts” “You can’t have both.” How many times have I heard those words in my life? What to choose, I often want both. My husband gets frustrated when we go to a dinner where they have a set menu...
Three reasons people may fast 1. Health -Although sometimes viewed as unhealthy, depriving, or reserved for religious reasons, short-term fasting can offer excellent health benefits. It generally means it is the withholding of food or drink, though some people will do...
I am no longer worthy of being called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his Father.“But while he was still a long way off, his Father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and...
But whosoever shall deny me before men, he will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 10:33 The word deny is not a popular one in our 21st-century culture. In fact, we live in a world of gratification, wanting to be satisfied with our wants, needs,...
Why explore a relationship with God? Pascal, the famous mathematician and philosopher, wrote in the 1600sThere is a God-shaped vacuum in each man’s heart, which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus...
Author Sallie Dawkins says ‘You can know the heart of God for your life’ P167, Driving along the interstate through Florida last summer, I stopped for coffee. Coffee might help me stay alert, I thought. So, I diligently searched the roadway signs to find...
So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain,...
