Monthly Archives: April 2020

Life Lessons

Opinions versus Facts.

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     We all have opinions about things….very strong opinions in some cases. But we have to make sure that our opinions are based on facts, and not just on our feelings! I’ve noticed that some journalists reporting on the radio, keep passing their opinions on certain news items….we aren’t interested in what they think or feel, we want to know the news! Facts, not opinions!

      Opinions can very easily become convictions, and if they aren’t based on the truth, and  are wrong, then all our talk is worth nothing.  People aren’t prepared to die for an opinion, but they WILL die for a conviction….we see this continually today in the people who become suicide bombers to promote their beliefs.

    So it is with all the talk about the current corona virus. There is so much being published and said about it, that one hardly knows what is fact and what is merely another’s  opinion. Such a thing of this magnitude has not been within living memory, nor has the speed with which it has travelled been seen before. We really have no idea whether it is under control yet or not. As we progress into level three of the control effort, we all want the time to go quickly as we are not used to restrictions such as have been in place for the last month. What seemed painless to begin with has quickly palled….doing puzzles and having unlimited time for reading has turned to boredom when the books have got filled and  finished.  

    But let’s remember the blessings that have come with it, and concentrate on the positive side of it all, turning this time into a time of learning new skills and practicing patience. We need to look at the wider picture than at just our own annoyances, and ask ourselves if maybe God isn’t wanting to teach us to look upwards to Him for the answers instead of merely listening to other’s opinions and what is passed off on the news as facts!

Morning Musings

Fear Not!

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    Have you ever noticed how many times God says to people, “Fear not! Don’t be afraid!” In these days of the unknown future, fear has taken hold of many people. That is why the panic buying was going on in the supermarkets lately….something that was world wide and not just confined to our small corner. The speed with which the corona virus has spread to all corners of the world is unprecedented. Life as we have known it may never come back again. For many people their livelihood has gone, and their very homes are on shaky ground. Only time will tell how well the world can weather this storm.

   Yet there is some good that has come out of it. Families have found each other again. We have found that simple things like walking around our neighbourhood is still there and what is more, it is free for the taking! Fathers have time to play around in the kitchen with their children and mothers have the time to take up handcrafts again.

   All the crazy running around takes so much of our time and energy, and the small things at home tend to be pushed to one side until “there is more time!” That time is now there to be found and used constructively. Not just in doing chores around the house, but taking time to listen to one another, and to rediscover the things about each other that once attracted us but have somehow got lost in the high pressures of our modern life style.

    So for those who know their God, take some of this time that has been given to you to spend with Him, because who knows what lies ahead. And for those who have never found Him yet, take this time to think these things through and to find this One Whose love is beyond measure. His promise still stands of “Those who seek Me shall find Me.” Then nothing of what happens around us will be able make us afraid as He is our Strong Tower that we can run into and be safe.

Life Lessons

Lock Down!

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   At first it didn’t seem real! Lock down? Impossible! But as the days wore on, it became apparent that perhaps it was the only way to halt the spread of the deadly virus that was sweeping the world. Looking back, we wonder if it would have worked more efficiently if it had come into force a few weeks earlier! But it is, what it is, and now we have been shut down completely, and at what a cost to the whole country remains to be seen. We’ve heard it said that life as we have known it, will never return. Time alone will tell that story.

   There are some pluses. For instance, we see whole families out walking together up and down our road. Then again, we see neighbours who we’ve never met before as they go past our garden fence. Life on the whole has slowed down. There are no dead lines to meet; no meetings to attend; nothing that simply HAS to be done! There is time to get the garden back into order, and time to catch up on all those jobs that get pushed into the background waiting until “there is time”.

   The disadvantages are mostly in our minds. The children cry that they are “bored”! What is that, but simply a matter of attitude? We had a snippet come through the email box the other day that reminded us that the virus can’t take away our enjoyment of a brilliant sunrise;  it can’t take away a smile; it can’t stop an encouraging word, nor can it stop a phone call or email!  

    If we know the Lord, we realise that this thing is all part of God’s wider plan….the only trouble is that we can’t see the big picture yet! So let’s take heart and look upward, waiting for Him to work everything out, knowing that it will be for the best, even if we don’t particularly like the outcome.