Stand Guard Against the Tide

There is time and less time and little time left as we grow older. So it is with all of us. And there is much to do. There are battles of the Spirit and battles of the flesh. There is the world to change and only us to change it. There are those who must be fed, those to nurture, those to heal. The day is fast approaching when chaos will have dominion in the world - but not in your universe. Yours is a haven and you stand vanguard against the tide. For there must always be those that hold fast to the truth, especially in the darkest days. Let the sunshine enter your soul and cleanse it once and forever. There is little else that matters at this moment - the battles that must be fought must be fought tomorrow. Fight them. But give yourself space for a day before you begin.

Listening

God's Word is like refreshing rain
That waters crops and seed;
It brings new life to open hearts,
And meets us in our need.

Kaela Brown

Don't Worry, Be Selfless

Lloyd Mullen, author of "A Long Way from Tipperary" told us just the other day that "Anxiety is a sin because it means you don't trust God."

He has a point. It reminds me of the story of the boy and the bicycle. This lad was given a bicycle by his parents but they'd not given him a puncture kit. He got a puncture his first day out. He worried about it all night long. Couldn't sleep. The next morning he looked at his bike and the puncture was still there. So he didn't worry any more.

You get the point? Worrying doesn't fix anything at all. Nor does it serve God. There's a third point. Worrying is selfish. Well by and large it is. The focus is generally inward.

Hard of course to be told that, if you are worrying. It's a hard lesson to learn, not to be anxious. We all need to work at it, if we can.

Tribulations

Life is full of endless possibilities.

Life is so often delightful. But for some at the moment it is the reverse. Some face tough tough trials.

There's always something of course, the little things people face. Even me. I have done my back in. Within a few days it will be just fine I am sure.

But some have the kind of trial that does not go away after a day or two. Some face trials that challenge the very heart of their being. For them it takes time to recuperate their inner strength. I am sure it will get easier to cope. Well for most of us it does. We have to be gentle with ourselves for a time until, by the grace of God, we grow more able to cope, as we will.

Every good gift comes from God. God is never evil, he does not tempt us. That is not his way. The evil in this world, including sickness and death, we introduce into this world, just as we introduce sin. But it is not our fault. Nothing that happens to you is your fault. Not anyone's fault.

But sometimes you must feel very weak.

When we are weak, we are strong. God's power is greatest in weakness.

Such a beautiful time of year this normally is, but for some a time filled with tests, trials and tribulations.

Your friends and family are there to comfort you, as is God. Your comforter is the very spirit of the living God. All shall be well. That, at least, I know. All shall be well.

Why we matter?

Ahhh, what children we all are. We have our needs and we burst upon this world for instants in eternity bright coloured and filled with excitement. And then where do we go? I believe we live for ever. I wish to believe that we live for ever. And what's more it seems reasonable. Creation is not wasteful. The creator is not wasteful more to the point and I am fully aware of the creator, the great unknown, and the intense degree of her / his involvement in our small but so dramatic lives. We are each one of us like mini soap operas but each with the potential of an epic. That's how we should live our lives of course, each of us, on an epic scale, in the knowledge that our lives matter exquisitely to our fellow man / woman if not to God and all the host of heaven who watch on from the wings. Which is why we should be selfless. Also why we should be loyal.

Love Actually

True love between a man and a woman is all about commitment and is always reciprocated. The rest is either infatuation (which is good fun and can lead to love) - Or it's friendship - Or it's lust. Women generally muddle the last three with the first. Men don't. They know the difference. They just don't admit it.

Practical Magic

Be specific in prayer, and be careful what you pray for, lest your prayer be answered.

Practical magic doesn't just happen. You can't look at a man and say, "Fall off your bicycle" and watch him fall (or can you?). You can't say to a coin, "Throw yourself five times heads," with any expectation of success (or can you?). But thinking a thing can make it so if the focus is sufficiently narrow.

Focussed anger kills over time; whereas focussed love empowers.

The people we love grow stronger.

The line between magic and prayer can blurr. How do you pray or wish something into being? It helps if you are one step removed from the situation, if you are not the prospective beneficiary yourself. Then putting shape and mental substance to the child idea creates the reality. The word "Abracadabra" means "I speak therefore it happens".