Busy day even after i left work. Niw finally get to sit n chill...thinking the chances of me falling asleep on sofa r quite high tonite #fb23 hours ago
Have you ever had a day when all your close friends don’t seem to want to know?
I’m sure we’ve all had days when we could answer YES to all the above questions. But have you stopped to remember that even in days like these, you are not on your own because God is there for you, and He cares for you.
One of my favourite song from our Salvation Army songbook is the song Someone Cares(John Gowans), so please take a few moments to listen to the cornet solo of the same name played here by Yvonne Ferguson (Bellshill) and follow the words:
Do you sometimes feel that no one truly knows you,And that no one understands or really cares?Through his people, God himself is close beside you,And through them he plans to answer all your prayers.Someone cares, someone cares,Someone knows your deepest need, your burden shares;Someone cares, someone cares,God himself will hear the whisper of your prayers.Ours is not a distant God, remote, unfeeling,Who is careless of our loneliness and pain,Through the ministry of men he gives his healing,In their dedicated hands brings hope again.Someone cares, someone cares,Someone knows your deepest need, your burden shares;Someone cares, someone cares,God himself will hear the whisper of your prayers.
Beautiful words, meaningful words, and words I can completely relate to, as I know someone does care about me.
Do you believe someone cares about you?
Hold onto the words of the above song as God does care about you and me.
Imagine what Christmas would be like if there was no Christ…
Imagine what your life would be like without Christ…
I’ve imagined it and I don’t like what I see – A world without Christ we would be a world without hope.
So don’t live your life without hope this Christmas, let Christ be part of your Christmas this year and put the true spirit of Christmas back in our festivities this year!
Ever wondered how your life would have turned out if you’d made a different choice at a particular point in your life?
Is there any point in even considering what your life would have been like if you’d made different choices at some point, because it’s now all in the past and can can therefore not be changed.
Yes, we need to learn from the wrong decisions we’ve made in the past, but don’t dwell on them too much or they will hold us back from achieving what we capable of. We all make wrong choices in our lives, but it’s how we react and cope with those mistakes that shape us into the people we become.
At the end of the day, all we can do is ask God to show us the right path for our lives, and then trust Him to actually go the direction He has chosen for us.
God’s path is always the right path for us, so trust His directions.
It can be easy to think at times that just because we love Christ and profess to be Christians, that we will automatically grow in grace, but I’m afraid that’s not how it works!
Weakness is not your biggest problem, God’s grace is sufficient, but it’s delusions of strength that get in the way of your growth in grace
As the above statement says, sometimes I think we are guilty of forgetting just how much we need God, particularly when life is going well for us. We must be true to God during our happiest times as well as our darkest of times, because in doing so we will grow in grace.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
How many times have you been walking along a path that seems to be long and winding and not really going in the direction you want, so you take a shortcut to try to get to your destination quicker?
How many times having taken that shortcut do you find you way blocked, so you’ve got to retrace your steps and get back to your original path again?
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
God has a path set out for us in life, but sometimes we think we know better than God, and try to take a “shortcut” through life. Have you noticed how things never work out when we do that!
Yet again, God prove to us that He knows best and that His way is definitely better, so don’t try to take a shortcut through life, simply trust God and follow the path He has set out for you….the path to glory!
So we’re now on the second last day of 2011, so I’d like to ask you to reflect on this year as far as your faith is concerned…
Is your faith stronger now than it was at the start of this year?
Have you questioned your faith at times during the year?
How have you coped when troubles have come your way?
Are you still growing in your faith?
I’m sure we’ve all had our ups and downs during this year, but it’s how we’ve coped during those “down” times in our lives that help us build our faith. For me, I’ve been in some very low places in the past which I tried to get myself through on my own…what a failure that was! However when I realised that God was still there with me, things did improve for me, not immediately and no my problems didn’t go away, I was just able to cope better knowing everything was in God’s hands.
It’s because of those really black times in my life that I was reminded that my faith can and will get me through everything life throws my way. Therefore my faith this year is definitely not stagnated or reduced, but through some of the situations I’ve had to deal with, I can truly say my faith has been reinforced and become stronger.
God is good and He will provide for me in all situations, He is faithful.
I pray that this year has been a God-inspired year for you and that your faith in has been deepened by your life-experiences. I pray 2012 will also be one where you experience God’s love for you each day.
I’m sure you will have heard this phrase many times:
Home is where the heart is
But what does that actually mean? Well here’s a great definition I came across a few days ago:
When I walk into my home I feel peace. I feel I am in the most safe environment that I could be in. There are no worries or problems within the walls of my home. It is the one place that I can truly be me. My family is here and love and comfort surrounds me. I am in my world where everything around is me. To know that this is the place where my family and myself have established together and that we all have our special space within our home and spaces where we can come together is why our home is where our hearts are.
How does that definition sound to you?
For me I still think of myself as having three homes…no we’re not really really rich and got two secret hideaways!
My current home is definitely here with my hubby of seventeen years. Just as the above definition says, my home is where my family (hubby) is and love and comfort surrounds me. What more could I ask for?!
So I have my current home with hubby, but a very close run second home to me is still my Mum and Dad’s house where I lived from aged 10 until I got married. Mum and Dad still live in that house and so again, just like the above definition says, it’s a place where my family are and we love and comfort one another. Once again, what more could I ask for?!
Finally, my third “home”…This one’s a bit different because it’s not a place I’ve every lived and is unlikely to ever be one where I would live, however it is still “home” to me. Confused? Let me explain…
I’m sure you’ve probably heard the expression “spiritual home”, well that’s what my third home is, it’s my spiritual home!
So where is my spiritual home? It’s not as you might think, my current church and place of worship. No, it’s Rutherglen Salvation Army, the corps I grew up in, and worshipped there until 2002 when I transferred to Bellshill Salvation Army. Does that surprise you? In some ways it still surprises me, however when I think about how much I learned as a Christian and all I participated in at Rutherglen, it shouldn’t really surprise me…I became a junior soldier, later a senior soldier of the Salvation Army there; I was a member of both the junior and senior bands and choirs; I was a member of the Corps Cadets; I was the YP Record Sargeant for many years; I was singing company and then songster accompanist; I was deputy songster leader and then songster leader; but most importantly I learned and grew as a Christian and Salvationist.
My Mum’s side of the family were some of the founding members of Rutherglen Salvation Army, I have a heritage at Rutherglen, my past, present and future were moulded there…Rutherglen Salvation Army is most definitely my spiritual home.
Take a few minutes out to consider the place or places you consider to be home, and why. These places have moulded you and made you the person you are today.
I thank God for allowing me to lucky enough to have three places I can call home.
Home by Nichole Nordeman
Bright are the stars that shine in somebody else’s sky Green is the grass that grows some place different More possibilities, more than You offered me More than I care to see from a distance
I was certain that the truth would be In a place that kept eluding me But every stone turned and unturned again Would only serve to prove That I never had to move to find You
And You will always be The only love I’ll ever know, home And You have made for me The only place I’ll ever go, home
God, for the shameless pride The times when I rolled my eyes To laugh at simplicity, show me mercy Knowing what I know now it’s hard to imagine how I could feel anything but unworthy
And the mystery of Your love for me Is not as hidden as it seemed to be Should have known then when You said to me ‘Seek and you will find’ It was right here all the time
And You will always be The only love I’ll ever know, home And You have made for me The only place I’ll ever go, home
I believe in the quest and the journey I believe that the answers come in time And where we begin is where we arrive
And You will always be The only love I’ll ever know, home And You have made for me The only place I’ll ever go, home
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
This bible passage fits in very well both with what I said in yesterday’s blog post One Life, and also with my thoughts for today…
Since last Thursday I’ve found myself spending a lot of time contemplating where I am in my spiritual journey…Has my life stagnated, or am I more eager than ever to learn more about God, and pull the whole of my life into His hands?
My spiritual life has definitely not stagnated in the last few years, but has grown in strength during some very difficult times in my life. Though having said that, I was in the depths of despair for a long time, I thought God had deserted me…but unsurprisingly, He proved to me that He was there, He had always been there, and He always would be there for me.
But have I really nailed all my sins to the cross and left them there? Have I really given Him my whole life?
Truthfully, my answer must be “no”. However I believe God has helped me recognised this fact so that I can move forward in my relationship with Him by giving everything I have to Him.
How about you, have you nailed all your sinful passions and desires to the cross and left them there? Are you living every part of your life for Jesus, and Jesus alone?
Now is the time for you, and me, to start anew, and give our all to God.
I pray you will find blessing and inspiration to take your all to the cross, as you listen to the following song, To Thy Cross I Come, Lord by The International Staff Songsters of The Salvation Army:
Last Thursday night was a bit of an odd one for me, as for the first time since I transferred from Rutherglen Salvation Army to Bellshill Salvation Army, I was back at Rutherglen corps playing in Bellshill Band – I have been back at Rutherglen a number of times since I transferred, but just as a visitor, although I have still played in Rutherglen Band when I’ve been there!
Bellshill Band were on duty at Rutherglen for the welcome and installation meeting of the new West of Scotland Divisional Commanders Catherine and Russell Wyles.
I was already fighting some emotions during the meeting, simply because it was my first time back at Rutherglen in a different band, when the Divisional Youth Chorus sang one of my favourite songs, One Life To Live – I ask that you to listen to the audio below and follow the words…
One live to liveOh may I live for theeGive me your spiritAnd I shall be freeFree from desireMy own way to pursueFree to obey your willMy whole life throughI live within a whole full of confusionWhere happiness is nothing but illusionAttractions that deceiveIn what can I believeI’m tossed about by every wind that blowsOne live to liveOh may I live for theeGive me your spiritAnd I shall be freeFree from desireMy own way to pursueFree to obey your willMy whole life throughI live when I receive your holy spiritA promise that you said I would inheritYou’ve planned it from the startI give to you my heartAnd now my spirit really can be freeOne live to liveOh may I live for theeGive me your spiritAnd I shall be freeFree from desireMy own way to pursueFree to obey your willMy whole life through
Well this was just about the tipping point for my emotions, as it brought back floods of memories about my Christian experiences in both the junior and senior sections at Rutherglen Salvation Army, as our Singing Company (junior choir) used to sing One Life To Live when I was both a member and the accompanist.
Although it may seem I was focusing on the past, through the message from our new Divisional Commander I found myself looking forward and wondering am I really doing all I can to live my life for God, to show that I am free to obey His will throughout my whole life…
To answer this question truthfully is difficult, but I must be honest with God, and say “no” so far I haven’t been doing all I can to live my life for God. So now is the time to start living for God.
How about you, are you living your life to the full, for God?
This week I’ve been the recipient of several compliments…and no, none of them were from my hubby!
First at work earlier this week, I attended a meeting (which I do quite frequently!). At this particular meeting was someone I’ve known for a while because they have worked with some of my colleagues, however I personally have never worked with them. The compliment itself, wasn’t said until the day after the meeting, when I received an email from this person which I’m quoting said
And I thought you were magnificent yesterday
Wow! I responded by thanking them and telling them they were very kind. I was then informed by them that and I’m definitely quoting them now…
Actually, I’m not very kind – but I am very honest!
Then on Thursday night I attended my first band practice at BellshillSalvation Army, for the first time in quite a while. Despite having originally expected to be sitting bottom of the trombone section playing 2nd trombone, I was instructed to take my “normal” position on 1st trombone.
Well it was an interesting practice having to sightread a number of pieces including sightreading the Bass Trombone part for I Will Follow Him so we had all the parts covered! Being my first practice back I didn’t think I played very well, fluffing nd mis-pitching a number of notes. Oh and BTW it took till the third time through I Will Follow Him before I got the Bass Trombone solo right!
After getting home from the practice, tired and beginning to get quite sore, I received an email which amongst other things said
great effort! Fantastic reading of the bass trombone part in I will follow
I was very surprised, but then I do rate and value this person’s opinion and their support. I’m sure you’ll not be surprised (especially if you’ve read some of my other blog posts where I’ve told how much of a perfectionist I am!), that I replied to that email by telling the person they were very generous with their praise and pointed out just what I said earlier about all my mistakes.
I got the following response to my comments
You did really well – be positive!
…and that folks probably sums me up! Being a perfectionist I expect and want everything I do to be perfect, and so when people compliment me I find it difficult to accept their comments because, I guess, I don’t appreciate how well I’ve done just because it wasn’t up to my own very high standards.
Do you accept compliments well? Are you embarrassed when people compliment you?
Don’t be! Accept them graciously. Compliments should lift our spirits and make us feel good about ourselves and how many things can we say that about?!
Have you ever had a day when you feel lonely?
Ever wondered how your life would have turned out if you’d made a different choice at a particular point in your life?
Psalm 23:3 (
I’m sure we’ve all had our ups and downs during this year, but it’s how we’ve coped during those “down” times in our lives that help us build our faith. For me, I’ve been in some very low places in the past which I tried to get myself through on my own…what a failure that was! However when I realised that 
So where is my spiritual home? It’s not as you might think, my current church and 
