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Putting It Into Practice – part 2

There’s a lot about the writing life that reminds me of the Christian life. As writers not everything we write will be accepted and published. Rejection, struggle and knock backs are part of most, dare I say all, writers lives. It’s how they are handled that makes the difference. It’s like I wrote about the other day – attitude. Our attitude can cause us to give up when rejection comes or to dig our toes in and think, ‘I’ll show you.’ This sort of attitude keeps us pressing on with determination. Sometimes that’s exactly what we need to do in … Continue reading →

Is It Okay To Be Angry With God? – part 2

In my last blog we looked at the question, is it okay to be angry with God? We looked at some Old Testament characters that were angry. Today we’ll look at some people from the New Testament. When we come to the New Testament and the sisters Mary and Martha, we find, in concern for their brother when he was sick, they sent to Jesus to come and help, John 11:3. Instead of immediately rushing to their aid, even though he loved this family, Jesus delayed another two days before setting out, John 11.6. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus … Continue reading →

The Prayer That Never Fails

The prayer is ‘Thy will be done.’ Recently I came across this is a novel by Jan Karon. At the time it made sense and didn’t sound so hard. But then God, as He so often does, made me put it into practice. In our family a situation occurred where this was tested to the limit. I spent a lot of time pleading, cajoling, arguing and trying to convince the Lord to answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to. I found endless reasons why it would be better for everyone the way I suggested. In the end I … Continue reading →

The Way out of Despair

Lamentations is not exactly the book you expect to find hope and encouragement. Its very name implies otherwise and yet there are some great verses filled with hope and joy. The writer of Lamentations is not identified, though many believe it was Jeremiah. If you read Jeremiah and all that happened to him and read Lamentations with that in mind, it’s more than likely. The writer of Lamentations was doing it hard. He felt he had been given suffering and affliction by God, Lamentations 3:1. He felt completely in the dark, Lamentations 3:2. In his view God had repeatedly turned … Continue reading →

In a Seemingly Hopeless Situation?

Have you ever felt you are in a seemingly hopeless situation? I’m sure that’s how Martha and Mary felt too. By the time Jesus arrived Lazarus had been four days in the tomb. If ever there was a seemingly hopeless situations this was it. Martha believed if Jesus had been there this would not have happened. There is an element of accusation in her words, John 11:21. It is followed by an affirmation of faith, verse 22. Jesus encourages that faith, bringing it to a higher lever, verses 25-27. Mary’s response is similar to that of Martha, verse 32. Jesus … Continue reading →

Dealing With Death

The way death affects marriage partners varies. The death of a child can have serious consequences on a marriage. This could be because men and women tend to try to handle such a situation in various ways, and sometimes they don’t know enough about how the other is feeling and why they react as they do. The death of a parent can also affect a men and woman in different ways and is something most of us will experience at some point. Mick and I have gone through this twice since we have been married, first with the death of … Continue reading →

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Sometimes we hear people say, ‘Why does God let bad things happen to good people?’ Have you ever asked that question? I know I have. And I’ve had people ask it of me. It’s not an easy question to answer. Bad things’ happening to good people is the theme of ‘All the Days of My Life’ by Jo-Anne Berthelsen. But the novel also shows that others are drawn into the kingdom as they see a believer struggle with hardship and loss and still continue to trust in God. Yes, the book is fiction – fiction based on fact. However, we … Continue reading →

For the Good of Others

Each year our family gathers together over the Christmas period. Only twice has our while family not been together. Once was years back when our son and his wife were overseas, and I found that hard. Then this Christmas for the first time ever we did not have our daughter with us on Christmas day. She and her husband are overseas on a short term mission in a third world country. I admit when they first told me what they were thinking of going on mission, I was less than impressed. All I could think of was that our family … Continue reading →

Dealing With Grief

Recently I overheard two women in the supermarket car park talking about the death of someone they knew. One said, ‘It happened so suddenly and that’s always harder to cope with.’ ‘Such a shock to the family. No one was prepared,’ the other woman agreed. Is it harder to cope with? I’d dispute that. Are we ever prepared for death? I thought about my own experience with the death of my parents. Yes, Dad’s death left us in shock. It also left me feeling guilty. I was the only home with him when it happened and I used to think … Continue reading →

Tell Them Before It’s Too Late

Sometimes God stops us in our tracks and gives us times to recharge our batteries, whether we like it or not. This week has been like that for me. As I’ve struggled with the flu, it’s been a case of doing the essentials. Anything else has had to be put on hold. So, it’s been a week of bible study and prayer, writing my blogs but little else, and doing crosswords, reading or watching DVDs, when the head could not focus on print. This means several of my blogs have, or will, result from movies I’ve watched. One was ‘The … Continue reading →