Its Christmas tomorrow. Are you ready? Have you bought in all the food, defrosted the meat, wrapped all the presents, sent out all the cards, hoovered the house, put up the decorations, iced the cake, made the mince pies, chilled the wine and found the crackers? Maybe you’re list has more in it. Maybe itContinue reading “Welcome in”
Tag Archives: 2022
Gratitude and trust
I read a book (or most of it at least) called ‘Ruthless Trust’ by Brennan Manning. Its a books about how trusting God completely can transform lives. One particular chapter stood out to me. It was the chapter on gratitude. The general message if the chapter is that the people who trust God the mostContinue reading “Gratitude and trust”
You are not alone
Life can be lonely sometimes. It can feel like we are surrounded by people and yet completely alone. Even with the thoughts and prayers of friends and the love and support of family, they are our battles, our struggles, our burdens to bear. It can be difficult to ask for or accept help, maybe becauseContinue reading “You are not alone”
Hope returns
Someone gave me some good news today. It was something, without noticing, I’d lost hope was going to happen. I’d knocked on a couple of doors (Christian lingo…) but none had opened. So when my friend phoned me to tell me, it was like a light came on – hope had returned. I wonder ifContinue reading “Hope returns”
Resisting peer pressure
I wanted to look at one of the characters in the nativity story that often seems to be, at least in my opinion, a little overlooked. No, it’s not the donkey. I’m thinking of Joseph. Joseph was betrothed to Mary, they were due to be married. But then he finds out Mary is pregnant, andContinue reading “Resisting peer pressure”
Three trees
I wonder if you’ve heard the tale of the three trees. It’s not one I was familiar with until a few years ago. In my opinion, it’s a rather beautiful tale about ambitions and reality. There were three trees growing on a hill top. The first tree wanted to be a beautiful treasure chest whenContinue reading “Three trees”
Making the ordinary extraordinary
The fourth Sunday of advent is when some churches focus on Mary. Reading the gospels, all we know about Mary is she was a virgin pledged to be married to Joseph in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. She wasn’t remarkable, she had no special quality. She was ordinary. Except… Mary found favour in withContinue reading “Making the ordinary extraordinary”
The end of the chapter
Growing up, I read a lot of books. There was one by Roddy Doyle called ‘The Giggler Treatment’. The reason that particular one is relevant now is because of how Doyle uses the chapters. They were an extra comedy element to an already funny story. Some chapters were of a standard length. Some chapters wereContinue reading “The end of the chapter”
One life is as sacred as an entire planet
I was watching a programme today called ‘The Sarah Jane Adventures’. Its a Dr Who spin off aimed at younger children, and came out when I was at the right age to watch it so I was rewatching for the sake of something easy to watch. In the particular episode I was watching, Sarah JaneContinue reading “One life is as sacred as an entire planet”
I was listening…
Have you noticed how important it is to feel listened to? Often we can have a chat with a friend and we’ll both remember the gist of the conversation, but there will be some bits we won’t remember, that haven’t lodged themselves in our brains. And sometimes we can be thinking up a reply toContinue reading “I was listening…”
The Reason for my Hope Blog 