Lynda's Blog

  If you have read any of my other blogs, you will know that for a time this year, I had been feeling overwhelmed with all I had to get through in a day. I find so often, that the ‘have to do’ chores take over those things that either God is calling me to, or that restore and refresh my soul—such as my writing. You will know, too, that I have been working on doing something about my schedule. I am sick of feeling depressed and grumpy, and I am sure that those around me are sick of me complaining. The most important thing I have been doing is praying; asking God what he wants me to be doing; asking for his will to be done in my life. So to summarise, this is what I have done to date: ·          Handed over responsibility for leading a weekly life group / Bible study group for a season. I have to say the new leader is doing an excellent job and is probably much better than I, and I have nothing to prepare! ·     ...

  I was intrigued today with the speaker at our women’s fellowship meeting, who gave us scriptures based on bars of chocolate. I have done this several times a year over a few years now for our church staff. We are not a large church, but we do employ several staff to take care of the needs of the community, such as the foodbank, transitional housing and so on. Not all of these staff are Christians. So a few years ago, I started, now and then, buying multipacks of small chocolate bars and putting them in a cellophane bag with a scripture or an encouragement of some kind. For example: Crunchie bars– ‘when it comes to the crunch, God’s got your back!’ Milky Way –   ‘the God who created the Milky Way loves you and will never abandon   you.’ Flake Bars      - Scripture from Numbers 6:24-26 Picnic Bars     - ‘Life is no picnic, but God has promised to never leave your or forsake   you.’ Smarties     ...

  How often do you open your mouth and say something you immediately regret? Often, I have the best intentions, but then fail to display a meek and gentle spirit towards my husband in my response to something he says. So often do I find myself saying a critical word about someone in a conversation. So often I find myself responding to a criticism or perceived wrong with a harsh word. Oh, I so regret opening my mouth at times. I have frequently prayed that God will set a guard over my mouth (Psalm 141:3). But, I forget to stop and heed the gentle prompt from the Holy Spirit and speak before thinking! Then I feel such guilt and shame and cannot wait to confess my sin and receive forgiveness. I thank God so much that he forgives my sin and cleanses me of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) then chooses not to remember my sins (Hebrews 8:12), meaning that he doesn’t hold it against us. I am particularly aware of this at this time of year—because of my sins, Jesus had to endure such a pain...

  As I sat to contemplate Easter blessings, my mind first went to the devastating and horrific crucifixion of Jesus. It seemed a stark contrast to the theme of Easter blessings; the theme for an upcoming women’s event. I had intended to write a spoken word and almost finished it when I realised how distressing it was. How could I possibly then discuss Easter blessings? Of course, it is a blessing that through this shattering event, we can have a new life in Jesus and be assured of our place in eternity. However, it almost seems shocking to refer to such an atrocious experience as a blessing. It almost seemed selfish to think of it that way, as if I had no concern about what Jesus had gone through to obtain this blessing for me. Then I read this in Ephesians 5:2 from The Passion translation:   ‘And continue to walk surrendered to the extravagant love of Christ, for he surrendered his life as a sacrifice for us. His great love for us was pleasing to God, like an aroma of a...

  You may remember my blog from last week, discussing fellowshipping with other women, and how I find the craft time boring. After I had posted that blog I was reflecting on the morning and realised that I had become quite agitated at the time. The following day, I had a frustrating day. I had my new curtains steamed at home as they were badly creased even after hanging for three weeks. When the shop assistant had left, I realised that they were not much better and I was disappointed, especially as they were a very expensive fabric. I then went shopping with hubby at The Warehouse. I was looking for a new photo album. Staff sent me from one side of the store to another and I still could not find what I was looking for. I finally went to the Customer Service desk and was served by a very young girl, who spoke quite rudely, making it plain that I was of no account and she couldn’t care less about helping me. She sent me back across this large store to an aisle which turned out to...