Some people just have a gift. A gift of welcoming, a gift of hospitality. They make you feel at home and it’s as if you have known them for a very long time. That’s how it felt this weekend just gone. Both Bruce and I had never met this couple, who opened their “retreat house” up to us. We were spoilt by their company, their cooking, their home, their time. Their Ministry to others is very evident and genuine. 1 Peter 4: 8-9 came to mind.  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 1 Peter 4:8-9 NIV This wonderful…

Humph…. oh….I groaned as I looked at my watch. Why is the queue taking so long? I looked ahead at the lady at the front of the counter and saw an old lady getting something out of her purse. She was moving very slowly and so again I sighed….. Ah well it is going to take a bit longer. My mother’s words crept into my mind. “Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can ……” I started thinking over this saying. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. So, patience is…

It was school holidays. And as it so happens my little three-year-old granddaughter did not sleep in as her parents would have liked. She woke up her usual early time and came into their bedroom. “Time to wake up.” There was no movement in the big bed but a groan. “I’m ready for breakfast.” Again, no movement but a deep voice from her Dad from the depths of the blankets said “You go, I’ll meet you there.” She replied, “I’ll help you.” And proceeded to pull off all of the blankets. Because her Mum was holding onto the blankets on her side of the bed and would not let go,…

Have you ever done a whole lot of washing and then things happened in the day that you got so busy that you never got a chance to fold and put everything away? Then the next day and the next day it occurred again and, coming from a family of 7, the piles of washing grew into mountains, or so it seemed. The loads of folding that came from those loads of washing, once added to the original pile, became a mountain of clothes. Added to that pile was 3 days of baby’s cloth nappies. (No, I did not use disposables – they were not around much when my children…

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:10b NRSV I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. John 10:10b AMP Many of us, if not all of us have heard this scripture many times. But have we truly heard it?  I heard it the other day with a different mindset, a different slant. Jesus came to give us abundant life. Another way of putting it is that Jesus, the son of God, is the God of abundance. What does this abundance mean? The dictionary meaning is – a very large quantity of something. The spiritual meaning…