One from the archives… This year. You can have Hope. Whatever you’re facing; (and even if you’re refusing to face it). Not a wishy-washy sense that everything will be okay. Not a feeling or a temperament. Not a stake in something that can be torn away. Hope. Not something you work up by yourself. Not dependent on those around you. Not about your house or your health or your happiness. Hope. Not for other people. Not for when you’ve earned it …Read More
A good prayer is not ‘Dear God, thank you that I’m so good and everything is perfect’, (including my grammar). A good prayer can be inarticulate and halting; a torrent of tears and grief and anger; a slow grasping towards the light, from a very dark place. Good faith is not always about having a sense of God’s presence; or peace in the face of challenges and fears. Good faith is talking through your doubts with close Christian friends, speaking …Read More
We’ve recently adopted a little boy and are in the early stages of settling him in. The wee man is doing well, and we are so thankful to be at this point. We wouldn’t swap him for the world! We are also however, very tired. This is when stresses get under the skin and start to itch. Molehills tower over the stack of dishes and dirty nappies; it’s easy to feel like everything is too much. I have no time to …Read More
One from the archives…. God’s time-frame is not ours. And sometimes, He answers our prayers, a little later than we expect. When I was nine or ten, I entered a competition that our primary school was running with Belfast zoo. To enter, you had to write a poem about the new baby kangaroos. The winners would then get to visit them with the class, and – get this – give them kangaroo names. I felt sick just thinking about it. So, I got to work crafting the …Read More
This morning, my daughter was building the world’s biggest rocket out of lego bricks. It was all going brilliantly, until the very last piece. As she placed it on top, we watched it wobble and come crashing down. There was a two second pause when I held my breath… before she let out an ear-ripping howl and vowed never to build anything else, ever, ever EVER again. My daughter moved on, with a little help from Bruno Mars. But when …Read More
Remember that Jesus comes for failures. He’s not shocked by this and neither does He condemn you. If you come to Him He will forgive you and restore you and redeem even your mistakes, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:32). Look to Jesus. The greater your sin, the greater the cross that carries it. Yes, you’ve messed up – (and worse …Read More
Another stunning guest post, from Lizzie, who is training to be a curate. Thank you, my friend. “How many kids do you have?” Until recently, I’d have thought this was a pretty easy question. Mr 7 and Little Miss 1 have, after all, spent the day bouncing around like lunatics – you’d almost think it was nearly time for the 7 year old to go back to school – very much here, very much present. The truth is, for …Read More
1. He’s the God He always said He was. 2. He’s the Saviour we always hoped He’d be. 3. He’s the Lord that the enemy always feared would triumph. 4. Death is dead. More than dead – it is defeated, humiliated, laid bare. 5. Jesus took our sins to the grave and left them there. 6. Jesus stepped out of the tomb into new life, and that new life is ours. 7. Our old lives are like the grave clothes left …Read More
Forget January 1st. For the Christian, every day, every moment is a brand new start. It’s a new start that’s the opposite of all the others. Not, ‘I must change if I want to be loved’. Turn it around. ‘I am already loved. The new is now.’ It’s not that you don’t feel scared. Or sad. Or angry or lonely or anxious. You can still feel these things and more; but God in you is greater. And here’s something wonderful: …Read More
When God made you, He knew exactly what He was doing. You’re here because the Lord wants you here. You have a purpose and you matter. You don’t need to compare yourself to anyone else because He has marked out your path, and it is full of meaning. You’re going through hard times because you follow a crucified Lord. It doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. It doesn’t mean He’s forgotten you. Your name is written on the palm of …Read More
