¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139: 13-16 NIV.

Yesterday Colin and I were discussing when the latest babies of our friends are due. Our Church is being blessed by many, many young children just now and it is fantastic. This discussion made me reminiscent of my own pregnancies and babies! Hence the photos above!

I said to Colin how pregnancy never ceases to amaze me and how wonderful and strange it is that only God knows what that little life inside a woman's womb looks like; the colour of the baby's hair, the colour of his or her eyes, the tone of their skin and the personality of the child to be. This made me think of the verses from Psalm 139 above. Certainly there are scans which are so detailed you can see the baby quite well but I think that the air of mystery that surrounds pregnancy is precious.

God is "knitting " these little ones together inside their mummy's wombs and it is so exciting to think of what they will be like. God has the days of their lives planned ahead of them already! What a thrilling thought! That God knows what He wants for our children. We have hopes and dreams for our children but it is such a comfort to know that God also has His plans for our little ones and their best interests at heart.

When we think of these verses we should indeed praise our wonderful maker! He knew you in your mother's womb because He made you! I am in awe of Him.

Thankful Thursday!

Today I join Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey for Thankful Thursday. I need to list 5 things I am thankful to God for this week.

• Jacob was back at school yesterday and feeling much better. I am praying that the illness is over for now in our family!

• My mum! I had a bad morning a few days ago when Jacob was ill. He was very grumpy and Emma was annoying him so they just kept fighting. I phoned my mum for some common sense advice. Mums always tell it like it is and don't hold back with their advice and I love her for this!

• Friends! I couldn't go to our Church Toddlers Group on Monday as Jacob was off school. A lovely friend who goes offered to take Emma along for me. I am so thankful for this help as the kids were arguing that morning and not getting on at all. This meant Emma didn't miss out on the group!
  

• I am thankful that God is everywhere! I have missed Church over the last fortnight due to all the children's sickness! I missed the singing, Sunday school and good atmosphere. Thankfully God doesn't just "live" in Church and we can experience Him everywhere!

• The Bible! Our ultimate guidebook and self help book in life.
  

Stitch ripping!

A few days ago I made a mistake with part of my binding on the new quilt I am making for my mum. So out came my seam ripper and I set about the tedious task of carefully ripping out stitches. I could have left the mistake and just carried on with the quilt. However, I want this quilt to be just right and as flawless as possible.

And they do say we learn from our mistakes! This reminds me of how God works in our lives. It is inevitable that we will make mistakes along the path of life. I will make the wrong choices, go against God's will and continue to do sinful things. However, I will strive to learn from these mistakes so that I do not make them again.

Like the mistake with the binding, I am certain that I won't do that again! It has added to the time taken to complete the quilt and caused me extra work. I find that God works like this too. When I get it wrong He shows me and then I need to work harder to not make the same mistake or act sinfully again. I want my walk with God to be as good as it can be. I want to be obedient to Him. It doesn't just happen all by itself. I need to be conscious of how I am leading my life and striving towards a Godly life.

I am learning from my mistakes in quilting and also my mistakes in life! Thank you God for forgiveness and patience and Love.

Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8 NIV.

Are you content?

Today I read this encouraging article by Michelle from She Looketh Well. If you are experiencing discontentment in any areas of your life today then I would urge you to read her article written over At the Well.

Michelle asks her readers to think about areas in their own lives which they are not content with, how God is revealing this and how do you turn these feelings around.

"Contentment, then, is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace which passeth all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God doeth all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good. This experience has to be "learned" by "proving what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). Contentment is possible only as we cultivate and maintain that attitude of accepting everything which enters our lives as coming from the Hand of Him who is too wise to err, and too loving to cause one of His children a needless tear." A.W. PINK

Upon reading this I think God is showing us that contentment needs to be learned and prayed for. I was dissatisfied with some things before I was a Christian and still today as a Christian. I did not automatically become deeply content with life. It is part of our sinful nature to want, envy, and covet. These elements of our nature do not just disappear overnight. To be content is a state of mind we strive towards and actively endeavour to achieve.

There are many things which leave me feeling less than content in my life. I always think I could do with a larger house, maybe I should be working outwith my home for extra money, I compare myself to other "better" Christians, I need to be a better, more Christian mum and so on! I am sure we all share many of these feelings of discontent!

I wonder sometimes if Satan stirs up these feelings inside of us? Feelings of envy and bitterness can lead to divisions in Church. Materialistic wants can lead to debt problems and this can then lead on to marital trouble.

So how can we learn to be content with what we have?

God's word directs us and we should read this and pray for his enlightenment. I actively look for the blessings in my life to distract myself from what I don't have. I have two healthy, beautiful children (although one is a little sick today!). I have my health. I have a perfectly adequate home with room for us all. I think we get way too caught up on the size of our homes. When you look to under developed countries and the conditions many people have to live in then I think I should be ashamed of myself when I am not happy with the size of my kitchen or how many bedrooms I have. At least I have a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. So many people don't.

I sacrificed working and having extra money to stay at home and raise my children and keep my home. My children are never without clothing, footwear or food despite money being very tight some weeks! God always provides! It is not always easy to be content as a stay at home mum. Often I think I could be working and earning some money to contribute to the bills however, the effects this would have on my family would just not be worth it. They are used to having me at home and this is the way God wants my life to be just now. I am learning to be content with what God wants for my family at this moment in life.

So what areas of your life are you not content with? How do you work on this?

Feel free to link up with us At the Well.

Humility

⁴ For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.

Psalm 149:4 NIV

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
"I will never be shaken."

⁷ O LORD, when you favored me,
you made my mountain ^c]">[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.

Psalm 30:6-7 NIV .

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

Today for Psalm Saturday I wanted to talk about how God has humbled me over the last few days.

I have been experiencing difficulty with Emma at night time. This hasn't made me a very nice person to be around the last few days. I have been tired and frustrated at not being able to make her do what I want her to. I have felt bitterness, anger, and complained about my lot as a mum.

Do you ever feel like you have it all together? I did for a while there and was beginning to feel quite proud of myself as a mum! How wrong was I? In a matter of minutes these feelings crumbled around me as I quickly learnt that I am really just a sinner saved by the grace of God. My sinful nature will never go and boy has God reminded me of this recently!

I have learnt a few home truths about myself over the last few days thanks to God. The lessons He teaches us aren't always the easiest or pain free but they are for our own good. I am grateful to God that He wants to shape and mould me into the Christian He wants me to be.

My prayer today is that God continues to humble me, teach me, discipline me and in all of this I am thankful that He still loves me despite my failings.

Thankful Thursday!

Today I join Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey. The aim is to list 5 things which you are thankful to God for!

• I am thankful to God that Emma feels much better. She has been ill but yesterday we even managed out for a walk.
  

• Forgiveness - quite simply I feel I don't deserve it. Last night I had a very rough night getting Emma to bed and then she was up a lot during the night. I feel very drained and beaten. I got annoyed with Emma, despite my best efforts to remain calm. I am just so tired of this continual pattern of waking at night and wish someone could just fix it all. Thank you Lord that you forgive our sin. I do not deserve your mercy or gift of Grace. I do not like who I am when I am sinful and feel like a fraud. Today I am thankful for the love you show me and new mercies each day.

I am going to leave my post at that today. I am feeling a little sore from my night with Emma and am struggling today already!!

Homemaking

I discovered this today and it really encourages me as a stay at home mum! I hope it encourages others!

*****************************

"Homemaking, if pursued with energy, imagination, and skills, has as much challenge and opportunity, success and failure, growth and expansion, perks and incentives as any corporation, plus something no other position offers—working for people you love most and want to please the most!

In the words of Scripture, I have found a worthy challenge:
Teach them [God’s words] to your children, talking about them
when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you
lie down and when you get up. . . so that your days and the days of
your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give
your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the
earth. (Deuteronomy 11:19, 21)

Homemaking—being a full-time wife and mother—is not a destructive drought of usefulness but an overflowing oasis of opportunity; it is not a dreary cell to contain one’s talents and skills but a brilliant catalyst to channel creativity and energies into meaningful work; it is not a rope for binding one’s productivity in the marketplace, but reins for guiding one’s posterity in the home; it is not oppressive restraint of intellectual prowess for the community, but a release of wise instruction to your own household; it is not the bitter assignment of inferiority to your person, but the bright assurance of the ingenuity of God’s plan for complementarity of the sexes, especially as worked out in God’s plan for marriage; it is neither limitation of gifts available nor stinginess in distributing the benefits of those gifts, but rather the multiplication of a mother’s legacy to the generations to come and the generous bestowal of all God meant a mother to give to those He entrusted to her care."

(Dorothy Patterson, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 1991)

Making your Home sing Monday.

On Monday I like to join the lovely Nan over at her blog, Moms the Word. We all link up to discuss how we are going to make our homes sing! "It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless." (Nan).

This weekend I have had a sick child. Emma has had a temperature, sore throat and cough. She has been a wee lamb. So yesterday I didn't get to Church, Jacob went with a lovely friend and then his Dad later in the afternoon. I am hoping Emma begins to pick up today!

When my two are ill they sleep lots so I have been taking advantage of this and got ahead with my latest quilt project below. I got this fabric on sale! £5 for 40 Moda Charm squares! This is for my dear mum. She turned 60 on Friday! We had a lovely day where I made her and Dad lunch, a birthday cake and just a nice time. So this quilt top is small just now but I intend to add quite a wide border. I just need to get out to get some more fabric. I am pleased with how each block turned out. I decided to cut them all up and sew together to make new blocks from triangles of fabric. I am keeping it simple though because I am no seamstress!

So how am I going to make my home sing today? My home is quite a prayerful one at the moment! I have an ill child to pray for, Colin was a bit down yesterday and had to take the night off work, so I have to pray for my husband. I am thankful to God for this new hobby I have. It is so relaxing and keeps my hands busy and from just sitting in front of the TV. I don't even switch it on in the evening now! Jacob is back at school on Wednesday, so I will be praying for safety for him. So this week I hope that I continue to use my home to bring glory to God in everything that goes on here!

¹⁶Be joyful always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV.

Psalm Saturday

⁴ Show me Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

⁶ Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindnesses,
For they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O LORD.

Psalm 25 :4-7 NKJV

I chose to use the New King James version for today's Psalm Saturday because I think it offers a richer translation of the verses I wanted to share with you.

As a Christian we should look to be in obedience to the Lord at all times in everything we do.

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
2 John 1:6 NIV

As a believer in Jesus Christ I naturally want to do as he asks. It is like the child eager to please his mum and dad. I want to please God by obeying Him. This doesn't mean that I have a set of rules I need to follow every day. It is an obedience of the heart. There are specific commands in the word of God that as a Christian I should follow. However, my heart needs to be in this obedience too.




Out of my thankfulness for God's forgiveness I want to please Him by living my life in a way that is faithful to Him. So I think obedience comes out of faith and love for Jesus. It is the least I can do for Him when I think of everything he has done for us!

Jesus is such a great example of obedience! He obeyed God's will for his earthly life.

³⁹ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 26:39 NKJV

Even when faced with the prospect of a painful death Jesus desired to do as God wanted.

So today I want God to show me His ways and lead me in His truth. I want to delight God in all that I do. I want to be obedient to Him because of his mercy.

Thankful Thursday!

Today I join Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey to give thanks to God. We list 5 things we are thankful to God for over the week. It is a great way to focus on being thankful at all times.

• Last night Emma slept from 9.30pm until 6am. This is unheard of! She was terrible to get to bed. It was a real struggle but thank you Lord that she did not wake up at night. I have no idea what we done differently. I am just thankful for the rest as I cannot remember the last time she slept like that!
  

• Answered prayer. A wonderful lady from Church who is a good friend received very good news regarding her health on Wednesday. There were concerns that something was not quite right but this is not the case and this lovely, Godly lady can continue to live life to the full!
  

• God has recently placed the topic of head covering on my heart. I posted about this earlier and you can read more here.

I am thankful that God speaks to us in ways we don't always foresee! This prompting came
after a conversation with a friend from Church.

• School holidays! The schools are off for their October week! Jacob hasn't complained about being bored once. He is enjoying just relaxing at home and getting out and about. Life is at a more leisurely pace! We visited some pigs on Tuesday afternoon and fed them! The kids really enjoyed this. We are also hoping to get to a Wind farm once we get a dry day!

• My lovely hubby! He is hard working, supportive, encouraging, loving, and funny! Thank you Lord for protecting him when he is out working.
  

So what do you have to be thankful for this Thursday?

The perfect child for one day only!

I love this photo of Jacob and Emma cunningly hiding behind the curtain! They are masters at playing hide and seek with mum as you can see! You can almost hear the giggles can't you?

Today I visited my mum and dad with the kids. As I was strapping Jacob into his car seat he proclaimed - "I am never going to be bad again!". I thought to myself, "can I have that in writing please!".

Jacob was terribly behaved over the last few days. I have no idea why. So as I got up out of bed this morning I wondered what lay ahead of me. I had a terrible night with Emma last night. She thought it would be great fun to wake mum (who had tried to get an early night!), and then proceed to repeatedly tell me that she wanted to go downstairs. This went on for ages and I just turned my back on her and told her to go to sleep! Of course she didn't and I eventually had to give her some milk and then she settled!

Jacob has been really well behaved all day today and I am so thankful that he has! Isn't it funny how God knows when you can't take anymore? He never gives us more than we can handle!

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV.

I know that Jacob's exemplary behaviour won't last! After all he is a 5 year old wee boy. However, I would do well to remember that God gives me days like today when I am reminded that it isn't all a struggle. I admit that I haven't been too great at handling the stress of disciplining a 5 year old lately. It is such hard work and I find cheekiness and lack of obedience intolerable. I have looked lately and thought this is not the character I want for my child! Today though he was great and we heaped praise upon his lovely little head for being such a great boy! He looked very pleased with himself!

So long may it continue, but I am sure it won't. When the bad behaviour appears again I shall remind myself of the good days God gives and remind Jacob of these too!

Any discipline advice and character building advice would be most welcome !

Love Collette x

Making your Home sing Monday.

Today is when I join with the lovely Nan at her blog, Moms the Word. If you wish to join in then please take a look at her blog for instructions on how to do so.

My first quilt is finished!!! It is far from perfect but it is cute and I love it! The head and feet in the first photo are Emma's! She loves it and I was going to put it at the end of her bed until I feel confident enough to tackle a large quilt. I just wanted to keep the first one small as it has been years since I have sewn and I didn't want to make a mess of it!

Excuse the washing hanging on the clothes horse in the first photo! Oh and the books lying on the floor!

This is how I will make my home sing today. By not getting hung up on the lived in condition of it. My home will never be perfectly tidy but at least it is clean! I used to get so stressed and still do, sometimes about toys lying around, clutter and so on. I don't want to have a tip of a home but I have two children and I cannot expect perfection!

God has given me a home to be lived in and children to live in it! I am thankful for a home where God is at the heart of it and I have a family to fill it.

********* added Monday 12/10; please can everyone pray for one of our Church Elders and a good family friend, George. He was taken into a+e on Saturday in severe pain. They thought it was a kidney stone but it appears it is not. Please pray for him and his lovely family and that they get to the root of the problem soon. ****************************

Psalm Saturday

³ Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
⁴ But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you.
Psalm 130:3-4 NLT.

How amazing is it that we have a God who knows every last detail of our horrible sinful existences but forgives us? If God kept a running total of our sin then none of us would survive!

I am in awe of the forgiveness he offers us. Words fail me when I think of what Jesus done for us. It is indescribable.

I don't deserve it but He gives it if I confess my sin and follow Jesus in my life.

There is truly power in the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for YOU and for I.

Headcovering??

Do any of you women out there who are Christians cover your head at Church? What do you think about the topic? Is it disobedient to not cover your head in Church or is it just old fashioned?

Is it OK to cover for a breaking of bread service and then to remove it for the rest of the Church services? What about those who disapprove and think women should have their heads covered? Or is it up to the individual?

Is it important? It doesn't affect our salvation and it is our heart that matters to God and what we believe. But I can't help thinking it is one of those areas we interpret to suit our needs. Some argue that is was a tradition of the times, a custom. Others argue that the woman's hair is given to her as a covering. There are those who contend that the woman is covered by her husband.

I would wear my covering to a Lord's Supper service but removed it for the family service and wouldn't wear it to our bible study service. This is generally the same for the women at our Church. So why is it important to wear it in one service and not any other if the Lord is in our midst always?

I believe that the Bible is the word of God. So how can I obey the Lord in some ways and not others? In Titus 2 women are expected to do the following;

These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, ⁵ to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes,^b]">[b] to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.
Titus 2 : 4-5 NLT.

To be obedient to God I really should be striving for the above. However, I have not always been submissive to my husband. I have been very willful and argumentative and not giving him the respect he deserves in the past. Upon reading more in the Bible about submission, I came to realise I should be obedient in this area because the Lord wants me to.

So why would I not do the same with head covering for public worship? I can't use the excuse of ignorance as I am fully aware of the scripture. I suppose it comes down to how you interpret this scripture. If we use the argument of tradition and customs I think we delve into dangerous territory. It is an argument that could be used to justify all sorts of behaviour in the world today.

There is a great history of Christian women wearing head coverings in Church. Have these women been wrong all along? I just don't know?

⁹He wasn't created for her. She was created for him. ¹⁰And so, because of this, and also because of the angels, a woman ought to wear something on her head, as a sign of her authority.
1 Corinthians 11:9-10 CEV

These verses quite clearly describe what is required to me. We can't put our hair on our hair!!! It is all too confusing!! So what do you think? Please feel free to comment with your opinions. I do think it is a very personal thing depending on your hubby, your Church and God. I would never judge anyone on this topic since I am a tad confused myself!!!

Just a mum?

Do you ever feel like you are "just a mum"? That you don't serve God enough at Church and feel guilty about it?

I remember feeling like this not long after I had Jacob. All around I saw people serving God in many ways and felt guilty for not doing the same. I made the mistake of comparing myself to all those around me.

Colin reminded me that serving God as a mother was one of the ultimate ways of obeying God. During that time of my life being "just a mum" is all that God wanted for me. To commit to anything else just wasn't possible. Raising a child is one of the most challenging things you will ever do in your life! God blesses you with this little being who is helpless at first and utterly dependent upon you for EVERYTHING. As they grow they become a little more and more independent but still you are there to train, discipline, love and give them that little push when necessary.

Of course we should aim to serve the Lord in all we do and it is not just about how much we do at Church and for the Church. This is very important but we have a responsibility to our homes and families also. It is only over the last few years that I have felt finally able to take on a whole lot more at Church. I no longer feel overwhelmed at the prospect of serving God in the Church and at home. I think I have a healthy balance between the two.

I remember reading something about missionary work and how your first job as a missionary should be with your children and teaching them about the Lord. I really understand this and agree that it is vital we teach our own children wholeheartedly about Jesus. This should not be neglected.

So today if you feel that you are "just a mum" and unhappy at the prospect of this, please remember that this is where God wants you to be right now. He blessed you with a child or children and you have a God given role to nurture and protect those little ones. It is the most amazing, challenging thing you will ever do in your life. You are a mum so be proud of yourself!!!

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.
Psalm 127:3

Little children

Today was another successful morning at our Church Toddlers group. We had a great turnout, no accidents, and lots of happy children!

We have a lovely bunch of regular parents who come along week after week and it is a real blessing. I remember 2 and a half years ago when discussing the idea, we worried so much that no one would come and it would just be Church members with toddlers only! God proved us wrong though!

Our group has been blessed with a reliable team, regular toddlers and parents and a close knit group who show a genuine care for each other and the group.

Looking around at all the small children today reminded me of the following verses;

When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Mark 10:14 NIV




¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

PSALM 139 :13-14 NIV

Clearly God wants these little ones to know about Him. This year in the Toddlers group we have introduced weekly crafts with a biblical theme. This has gone down really well with the children and the parents. We have a relevant Bible verse on the crafts for the kids to take home. This is our way of trying to communicate God's love to everyone who comes along including our own children.

The little ones are so precious and display such wonder at new experiences in life they really are an example to us all. God made every one of them, he knows how many hairs are on their heads;

And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Matthew 10:30

My prayer is that each of these little ones that comes along can come to know God in a very real way in their lives as they grow and move on into the world. Lord help them remember the group and the things they have learnt about your wonderful works and world you created. I pray that our work is always done with your glory in mind and done in your will.

Psalm Saturday

^{Photo credit: Wallpaper sites - BEN NEVIS, SCOTLAND.
1} The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1 NIV.

When I was wakened by Emma this morning the wind was still howling from last night. It has been a very stormy night and it is still here this morning! I had a look out the window (it is still dark at 6.50am here!) and the rain was pouring but being blown sideways by the strength of the wind. It was quite scary but what a sight to look at!

For Psalm Saturday this week the verse above from Psalm 19 seems appropriate. Watching a storm is like watching God in action. He controls the seasons as he controls the seasons in our lives! The world is in his hands.

Have you ever visited some beautiful area of your country or the world and felt tiny and insignificant standing within it? I often feel like this when I look at the sea or am amongst hills with not much else around. It is a reminder that His hands made it all! We are meant to feel slightly fearful and in awe of His wonderful creation.

Thankful Thursday!

Today is when I join Sonya at Truth 4 the Journey to give thanks to God. We list 5 things we are thankful to God for over the last week or so. If you would like to join in then please click on the link above!

• A God who provides and knows our circumstances! Last Friday I took Emma shopping for new shoes. I really didn't want to pay the prices in Clarks, £30 upwards, so we tried several cheaper shops but nothing was suitable. In the town centre we discovered a lovely shoe shop that looked v expensive but had a sale rack. The lady was very sweet and Emma had her feet measured and needed new shoes! There were a suitable pair on the sale rack which fitted Emma perfectly. And the price? My ultimate bargain of the year so far! Reduced from £39.99 to £10!!!!!!!! How cool was that! Colin was pleased and they are gorgeous, leather, sturdy and she loves them!

• I am thankful for a beautiful crisp Autumn morning. On the way to school Jacob and I spoke about what season it now is and how God changes the seasons. I can't believe it is the 1st October already and Autumn!
  

• Last night Colin and I had a lovely visit from two of our Church Elders. The Elders like to visit Church members every now and then. It was really encouraging for both of us and we really appreciate the time taken over these visits. I am thankful to God for encouraging words, great Bible teachers at Church and a loving, caring Church family.

• The power of prayer. At our toddlers group on Monday a lovely friend who helps was talking about how she gets frustrated because she can't help physically as much as she would like with our children at Church. She said that she always prays for them though! I was so touched by this because it is even more important that people are praying for our children than whether or not they can run around after them!
  

• Finally I would like to thank God for sending Jesus. I thank Him for the promise that one day Jesus will return to this earth.

¹²"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Revelation 22:12-13 NIV

¹⁷For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
Revelation 7:17 NIV.