Category: Uncategorized

Showing thankfulness to others

First off, let me say Happy National Writing Day to those of you in the UK! When I heard it was today, I decided I absolutely had to get round to posting my next blog in the thankfulness series. It has taken me until late afternoon, but I have been writing during the rest of the day too! (And sorry these posts haven’t been as regular as usual – work on my books has been filling my time – more writing! 😉 )

This post encourages you to do some writing of your own…

light-sign-typography-lighting

1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to ‘encourage one another and build each other up’. A great way of doing this is looking out for ways to show someone else how thankful you are that they are in your life. Perhaps you could cook them a meal, buy them a small gift or, what I’m suggesting here, find a way to tell them exactly what they mean to you. This will do wonders for their inner spirit – and you’ll also find you are uplifted through doing it.

I would suggest keeping a steady supply of nice notelets or paper and then write notes of thankfulness for the people in your life every so often. Today, pick those closest to you and spend some time pondering what you could say in a note to them. Using pen and paper rather than a computer forces you to slow down, giving you the chance to really stop and think about the person you are going to be writing to.

If you have a partner, or a flat mate, leave them a card letting them know why you thank God for them and why it is wonderful to share your home with them. If you have children, make it a priority to write them a little note and hide it somewhere for them to find later. I have a little tradition with my kids– I write a note each morning and put it in their lunchbox. I know that both of them, since being in full-time school, have found lunch times difficult as it reminds them they are away from home all day. I make a point of telling them how much they are loved. And on days I know they have a test or are worried about something in particular, I write a Bible verse or a little prayer that addresses that. I also try to write notes to them every so often pointing out particular characteristics in them that I really appreciate too…

Of course, you could extend this out to people you don’t know well. Saying, or writing, a quick phrase that lets them know you’ve noticed them, and how they make your day better, will be such a blessing to them. For example, do you have milk delivered? Leave your milkman/woman a note simply saying ‘I thank God for you every time I see fresh milk on my doorstep’ – and then say a prayer of thanks whenever you bring in the milk.

What I have been reading: Spring

3 Comments

I know that we are well into summertime now, but I hope you will forgive the lateness of this post. I have been working hard on two books (both of which will be published in November – more details to follow). But, although I have had a little less time than usual, I have been delving into my pile of unread books and have a great selection for you below. I have the pleasure of knowing a few of the authors and it is great to be able to celebrate their amazing achievements with them (and to actually really like their books! 😉 ) I will also be posting up interviews with a couple of the authors featured here in the coming weeks so do look out for those…

Mosaic Of Grace New Cover Black EdgeMosaic of Grace
by James Prescott

This book oozes authenticity. James has obviously been on a huge journey into understanding more about God’s grace, and he shares beautifully and honestly with the reader. There are also stories from others that back up what he’s saying. I was so encouraged by this book, as God has been saying such similar things to me – isn’t it great when that happens? If you want to understand more about the precious grace of God, and be drawn in by an engaging writer, then look no further.

THroughmartha'seyesThrough Martha’s Eyes
by Corinne Brixton

I have recently discovered that I enjoy biblical fiction and I was intrigued to read this particular title, as I have read a few books based around Martha’s story in the last year or so. This one was definitely more scholarly in approach to begin with – the author is keen to capture 1st century Judea, with all its traditions and customs, well – which she does. I found I was a bit impatient in the first part of the book, eager to get to the action, but I was totally gripped partway through and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the book.

InkcoverInk
by Alice Broadway

I had heard a lot about this novel, and knew its first print run had sold out extremely quickly. Some are hailing it the new Hunger Games; others told me it was suitable for my 11-year-old daughter. So I picked it up with great curiosity. Alice is a wonderful writer and I was drawn into the dystopian world she has created immediately. The premise of the story is fascinating, as every significant event in a person’s life is tattooed on their skin and, at their death, they are skinned (descriptions not for the faint hearted) and then weighed to see if they are deemed worthy of being made into a book of remembrance. This novel tackles big issues such as love, loyalty, trust and immortality, and there are biblical stories and ideas woven into it too. I will be interested to read the next book in the trilogy – the jury is still out as to whether my squeamish daughter will be reading this one!

whatfallsfromtheskycoverWhat Falls From the Sky
by Esther Emery

When most of us face a life-changing crisis in our lives we can have a tendency to hide ourselves away or rant a lot online. Not Esther – she gave up the internet for a year and then wrote about it! I love her honesty and the wrestling within her journey. The book is full of struggle and yet contains a huge amount of hope too. She doesn’t shy away from discussing the difficult relationships in her life – and the things she doesn’t like about herself. She had walked away from faith in the past, and it was beautiful to read how the silence drew her back to God. If you know you are too dependent on technology or are experiencing a crisis then I would thoroughly recommend you read this book. For anyone else I would say – read it too!

therunawayThe Runaway
by Claire Wong

This book is about a close-knit Welsh community and what happens when a teenager runs away from home. Then two strangers enter her village not long after she leaves it and old secrets begin to be discovered… The story is centred around the teenager Rhiannon, hence the title, but there is great treatment of each character. I warmed to many of them – mainly the strong, positive female characters such as Maebh and Grace. I love the way storytelling is given such prominence in the book too.

This is Claire’s first novel (she has written a lot of poetry) and it shows great promise and skill – I’ll be looking out for her next book.

annabelleeAnnabel Lee
by Mike Nappa

This thriller is not the usual type of book I read – and it wasn’t a clear cut story either, which kept me guessing for a long time. Annabel Lee is the main subject of the story, a young girl who is hidden in a bunker near the start of the book. The secrets surrounding her are eventually discovered by private investigators Coffey and Hill, although they are complicated figures too. In fact each character is unusual, and the novel twists and turns throughout. I found the author’s treatment of ‘the Mute’ particularly fascinating. I wasn’t sure how to engage with the book to begin with, but found I began turning the pages more and more quickly as I wanted to discover all the links. If you like thrillers then I would definitely suggest you try this book out.

thelivingcrossThe Living Cross
by Amy Boucher Pye

This is a devotional for Lent, which I used this year. Utilising daily reflections and prayers I found it a really helpful and thought-provoking book. The theme Amy focuses on throughout is forgiveness and the scriptures and stories she shares from others really gets the reader to dig deep into the subject – such a skill when there is only limited space each day. There are also creative ideas to interact with, which means the book would lend itself well to a group as well as for individual study. I’ve never been through a Lent devotional before but I was glad I started with this one!

thesecondbride


The Second Bride
by Katharine Swartz

This was my chosen fiction book to take away during half term break. I was away with my extended family so I thought I would simply be dipping in and out of it when I had a spare moment. However I read the book in one straight sitting because I was completely hooked (and it happened to be the one rainy day and everyone else was occupied with games or their own books – phew!).

The Second Bride is about a family in which the parents have each been married before. It is when the mum’s (Ellen’s) stepdaughter Annabelle moves in that the tension levels hit the roof. Alongside their difficult story is one from the 1870s – connected to theirs from the outset when Ellen finds a death certificate hidden under their floorboards. To begin with, I found the way that the book hops from one story to the other quite tricky (as I wanted to find out what was happening to the characters and didn’t like the interruption). However, I got used to the rhythm and found myself reading faster and faster as the emotions and stories heightened. When the rain stopped and I was invited to go on a walk I commented to my family that I couldn’t believe how many emotions I had been through while reading this book, and I couldn’t possibly stop until I got to the very end! It is certainly a gripping page turner…

 

 

Encouraging thankfulness

pexels-photo-101063

We were made to be thankful, to bow before our God in grateful worship. But sometimes it can be really difficult to do that. So we are now going to look at some of the ways in which the apostle who told us we need to be thankful (Paul!) encouraged thankfulness in others. He wrote many epistles to the early churches and often at the start of them gave greetings of grace and peace – and sometimes thanks. Let’s take a look at a few examples and see what they can teach us:

Read Colossians 1:3–8.

This letter to the church in Colossae reveals four things that Paul is thankful for. He begins by reminding them of who they should all be thankful to, centring the letter at the start on the source of everything: ‘We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ’.

He moves on to being thankful for the faith that the members of the church had in God, and praising them for their genuine love of others: ‘we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people’. He then goes on to being thankful for the power of the gospel and the fact that it bears fruit if people believe. Finally, he thanks God for Epaphras in verse 7, a faithful minister who Paul refers to as ‘our dear fellow servant’ and who was looking after the people of Colossae.

This short passage in Colossians is packed full of the things we need to be thankful for. Of course, ultimately, it is praise to God that our hearts should be brimming over with, but we should also be thankful for other believers and those who are committed to teaching and caring for us week in week out.

Why not pause for a moment and thank God for those who lead your church?

Now read Ephesians 1:3–22.

Here Paul starts by praising God for all the blessings He has lavished upon us, including choosing us from the beginning of time: ‘In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will’ (v.11).

Then, in a similar vein to Colossians, Paul thanks God for those he is writing to: ‘For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.’ (v.15–16).

Take another moment to read the first half of this passage and allow your heart to praise God for the amazing truth it contains about how God has chosen you and sealed you with the Holy Spirit.

You might also like to take some time to thank Him for those that reveal His love to you through the way they look after you and encourage you.

A thankfulness psalm

give thanks to the Lord

This series on thankfulness is going to be a little different to the other blog series I have written, as I’ve prepared some creative ideas for us to utilise. Today’s focus is on spending time drawing out meaning from a range of scriptures that talk about showing thanksgiving towards God. I’ve put some scriptures below to get you started, but do take the opportunity to search the Bible for other verses you may like to use too. Try to become aware of your own personal response to the words as you read them, writing down how you feel and what bubbles up inside you as you read.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:2

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 136:3

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 1 Timothy 4:4

Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples,
 proclaim that his name is exalted. Isaiah 12:4

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 
1 Corinthians 15:57

I often find that writing my own ‘thankfulness psalm’ or song after I have been reading scripture really helps me to express my own personal response to God. If you want to, why not trying writing your own today? You could start from scratch, or put all the response sentences that you’ve written together to create it.

Cultivating a thankful heart

2 Comments

woman-happiness-sunrise-silhouette-40192

Be honest. Does your heart brim over with thankfulness on a daily basis? No? Me neither. Not every … single … day. But that’s what Paul says it should do, whatever you are facing: ‘Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Ouch. It’s the ‘will of God’ for us to be thankful for, and in, everything. That’s quite a tough one isn’t it? Well in this new blog series on thankfulness we are going to take a look at some ideas that will challenge our hearts and minds, and start to cultivate an attitude of thankfulness within us.

Insecurity, frustration and anxiety, despair and hopelessness are rife amongst people of all ages, classes and races today. The anecdote? Learning to be thankful changes our perspective, and helps us become aware of possibilities around us. You will find that as you choose to cultivate a thankful heart, your spirit and body will become transformed. Indeed research has shown that being thankful boosts our feelings of well-being and our immune systems, makes our hearts function well and helps us to sleep better – so there are health benefits too!

Take time to thank God for five things today…

Helping your tween deal with pressure

2 Comments

I am delighted to be guest posting over on Like-Minded Musings today – here is a taster and a link for you to read the rest of the post:

exam hall3_1

Today my tween daughter, along with thousands of other 10 and 11 year olds across the United Kingdom, is starting a week-long set of tests. Whether I agree with the system or not, UK schools use SATs (standard attainment tests) to check a pupil’s progress at the end of their time in their first (primary) school before they leave to start secondary school (for ages 11–16/18) in September. So this is, in effect, the culmination of seven years of schooling.

No pressure then!

We actually live in an area that has a particular type of secondary school that I have never been fond of – grammar schools. Entry to these single-sex schools (something else I’m not that keen on) is by exam. There are usually over 3,000 applicants for a few hundred places. It’s high pressure!

My daughter has always excelled academically, but I wasn’t sure she would cope well emotionally with such a rigorous and demanding entrance criteria. I didn’t push her into taking the tests; she decided for herself that she would like to try and reach the required standard for grammar school and so studied hard for well over a year.

So this week’s set of tests has come after she has completed and passed not only the grammar school tests but also excelled at music scholarship entry tests at other schools too. She is going to be going to her own first choice of grammar school in the autumn, and I am proud of her for not being swayed by her peers as she is the only one from her school who chose it.

The long journey to get to this point has taught us both so much.

For example, we learned to look around each of the secondary schools in our area with spiritual eyes as well as physical, and I was astounded at her spiritual awareness.

I also learned to let go and entrust my daughter to God – over and over again!

This week may be a week of intense pressure, but I feel she has already achieved what her end goal was and so I am trying to alleviate the pressure as much as possible. As well, of course, as utilising some of those vital lessons learned, which I believe can be applied to all sorts of tween parenting situations (not just exams). Click here to read some of them – I hope they are helpful to you too.

Encouraging each other

2 Comments

couple-climbing-a-mountain

‘Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on.’ (The Message)

Reflections based on Hebrews 10:19–39.

This is the final blog in our series on encouragement, so let’s remind ourselves that God calls us to journey together in order to encourage each other in our walk with God – to keep going even when it gets tough. The examples in this passage are pretty extreme aren’t they – friends being thrown in prison and enemies seizing belongings – and yet the believers all stuck together through the hard times as well as the easier ones.

I love the way that The Message version of this passage of Hebrews does some encouraging of its own in the language used: ‘let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out’. It just speaks to me of God’s creativity – that there are so many new and inventive ways we can find to be encouraging to one another. That’s the challenge I’d like to leave you with, along with the prayer found in 2 Thessalonians 2: 16–17: ‘May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.’

I do pray that you will have gained encouragement from this series on encouragement, and have experienced in an even deeper way how God strengthens us through the work of his Son and the Holy Spirit, in order that we may be strong in our faith and reach out to those around us. Let us be those that, like David and Paul, continue to find our encouragement in God and champion those he has brought into our lives, helping them to do the same.

Prayer: Thank You Lord that You are the Source of all encouragement. Help me to draw on You even more deeply. You also set us in families and churches so that we can build one another up – help me to champion those around me.

Choose to speak and act positively

 

friends chatting

‘For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit … Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.’

Reflections based on Romans 14:1–23.

When you act and speak, you make a series of (often subconscious) choices. This passage encourages us not to make ourselves a stumbling block to those who think differently to us (or are perhaps ‘weaker’ in their faith). Paul was referencing some of the inevitable disputes that occurred in the Early Church. Some believers, for example, felt free to eat anything whereas others did not want to unknowingly sin so ate only vegetables. They were possibly worried that they could unknowingly eat meat sacrificed to idols, as often the sacrifices were only partially burned and the rest of the meat was sent to market to be sold. While some believers knew idols were worthless and unreal anyway so were free from any sense of guilt, others (possibly those who had previously been idol worshippers) found it unhelpful. What I think we can learn from this is not to be judgemental or critical but rather to be aware that what we do and say affects those around us, and we should seek always to build people up.

Church is also the last place this should happen, but it can also be full of comparison. Try and keep a check on any subtle criticisms you may engage in as they are so unhelpful.

Of course we need to be honest – life is full of problems and as Christians we aren’t immune to them. And yet, if we aren’t careful, all we see are the problems. Even when we think we are empathising with someone, we can have a tendency to join in with negativity rather than lifting the conversation to more positive words of hope and encouragement. Proverbs 10:11 reminds us that ‘the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life’, so let’s use ours in that way.

Prayer: Lord help me not to be a stumbling block to anyone around me, but to be one that encourages and builds up. Teach me to keep a check on the words I say and the actions I take.

Developing a positive thought life

3 Comments

dawn-nature-sunset-woman

‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’

Reflections based on Philippians 4:4–9.

This passage is such a helpful key to living our lives well. In it we are told how important it is to have an attitude of rejoicing (and this from a man in prison!). He also says we should not worry but bring everything to God and that it is this process that will allow our minds and hearts to be full of his peace.

It is vital that we develop a positive thought life. We’ve already seen in this blog series how David did this. Immerse yourself in the Word and pray regularly. But it is of course a process, not an instant result. Just think what a minefield our minds can be, and often it is what we mull over that causes us to become discouraged. Romans 12:2 combats this, telling us that we should ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’. How do we do that? Well in 2 Corinthians 10:5 we are told to ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’. It is a very active thing; we need to fight for our mind and boot out the thoughts that aren’t helpful. The start of that verse says: ‘We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God’ – these are all things that can come against you in your mind.

I think the last few verses in our Philippians passage can be truly life-changing. I’d encourage you to write them out and post them where you will see the passage regularly. They are a great plumb line to use to stop and think every so often throughout your day about what you’ve allowed your thoughts to linger on. You’ll probably be shocked by some of things your mind entertains without you really noticing. I was when I tried it.

Prayer: Lord I am sorry that so often I can just allow any thought to linger in my mind. Help me to be proactive about throwing out the unhelpful thoughts, and replacing them with ones that do me good.

Words that bring life

1 Comment

pexels-photo-94857

‘But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.’

Reflections based on Ephesians 2:1–22.

We have been focusing on the power of our words, and how we can give encouragement through them. Encouragements can simply be words of thanks when something goes well or when somebody’s actions were a real blessing to you. But, actually, the greatest words of encouragement that we can not only receive but give to others are the truths about our identity in Christ. A quick word to someone who is having a bad day, reminding them that they are God’s child, loved and accepted and full of His Spirit, can do wonders to affirm them.

I think it is important that we remind ourselves regularly of who we are in Christ too. That is why I picked out this passage in Ephesians. It is stuffed full of truth about what our identity is now that we are in Him. I’m going to quickly highlight some of them for you: we were once dead in our sin but we are now alive. God has seated us next to Jesus. We have this gift through grace – we don’t deserve it nor is it because of anything that we have done or need to do. We were once far away but are now near God. Jesus is our peace. We are now citizens of heaven and members of God’s household, part of His body in which the Holy Spirit dwells.

Isn’t that all amazing?!

To top it all off, the previous chapter of Ephesians reminds us that we are not just part of God’s household, but we are children of God: ‘In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will’ (v5). I don’t know about you, but soaking in those truths really lifts my spirit!

Prayer: Lord I thank You so much for the new life that I have in Jesus; for the standing and authority that You have lavished upon me because of Him. I stand in amazement before You today.