Seed 6
My Mountains, Ravines, Valleys
(sub-title : Oh Outrageous Grace!)
6th October, 2025
Wow! What a journey!
I never imagined 10 years ago that I would still be writing and sowing these seeds and SO many people would be digging and tasting..... thank you one and all. Thank you Lord!
I do not know really what to say.
I will leave you to read some more of my journey here.....it ain't over yet! :-)
6th September, 2025
The unexpected trials of life took another turn for Barbara and myself, and our wider family, when my mum unexpectedly died at the end of July. Thankfully she passed in her sleep, at the good age of 96. However, the shock hit us all hard and the last few weeks have been somewhat surreal as we sorted through possessions at her home.
She was a woman of faith for sure and has left us a worthy example to consider and follow.
Our hope is in her resurrection in Christ Jesus.
But the pain is definitely real. We miss her.
These last 3 months have been a heavy journey for sure and on top of other things in life, this was not needed!!
So I take time regularly with Paul's words.....and TRY to be content....whatever my circumstances.
NOT easy I can assure you so very often.....
7th July, 2025
The unexpected trials of life are still travelling companions for Barbara and myself.
We are still between a rock and a hard place and our time-out seems to be never ending!
We are so grateful for our circle of support....six good and trusted people.
We are grateful for places of worship and fellowship on our extended time-out travels.
We journey on.....but certainly feel a bit like Abraham when he didn't know where he would end up when God led him out!
We believe.....but LORD help our unbelief!!
16th June, 2025
What a challenging few weeks this has been.
I am holding onto God by my fingertips to be honest.
But I am convinced His hold of me is far stronger and more reliable.
I can but encourage you to hold onto Him.....
28th April, 2025
I have constantly been challenged by the Thy Kingdom Come global prayer venture these last 10 years and the call to Pray for 5 is part of my prayer routine.
It has refreshed my understanding of the Lord's Prayer.
It has made me look at the Kingdom of God.....in the Bible.....on earth as it is heaven .....in a completely new way!
I encourage you to journey with it this year.....29th May - 8th June......and to pray for your 5!
17th March, 2025
I am continually challenged to P R A Y.
P ause, recognising who I am praying to
R ejoice, giving thanks for blessings received!
A sk, for others and myself
Y ield, saying Yes to God's Kingdom ways
3rd February, 2025
My current evening bedtime book is based on Psalm 23. (Are you reading anything meaningful before you turn out the light?)
Our church family has travelled many a dark valley in the last 12-18 months. We have journeyed together....a true blessing at times I can assure you!
Personally, I yearn to be restored....and taken to green pastures more and more!
8th January, 2025
I must admit that this Christmas/New Year time was not my most joyful.....for various reasons.
But....the New Year has started....and Life goes on!
W W J D has always been in my mind somewhere.......sometimes nearer than at other times to be honest!
As you step further into 2025 I wish you health and happiness as you walk with Jesus.......and experience of God's good gifts from His love, joy and peace!
13th November, 2024
It is getting closer.....and it seems rather quickly this year!
There are presents bought.....to be wrapped and posted sometime.
There are cards to be written and mailed.....some sooner rather than later.
There will be carols sungs.....and mince pies to be eaten (sshh some already have been!!)
But above all, like everyone else, I have to remind myself CHRISTmas is all about Jesus and God sending His Son from heaven (wherever that is) to earth (where we are).
I must get my priorities right.
It is what John the Baptist would be telling me.........
7th October, 2024
These have been busy days at this end.....and October doesn't look to be much easier at the moment in my diary!
But......Ezekiel 37 has caught my attention once again.....and made me pause.
I knew the chapter so well.
I have heard sermons - a good few - on the passage.
But.....recently it has made me chew it over once again.
And reminded me not to drive past familiar Bible passages too quickly!
29th August
I make no apology for recommending once again the book Red Moon Rising and the birth of 24-7 Prayer. Wowsers. Encouraging is an understatement. Challenging for sure.
Our Prayer Ministry Team at church are reading through it in preparation for our time of retreat in September....
With the contents still alive in my mind......Lectio365 has been focussing on the Moravian Church and its inspirational example 100 years agao......and it has been soo refreshing!
Ask, Seek, Knock has taken a new dimension I can assure you!
What are you reading these days??
17th July, 2024
My prayer life has very recently been challenged by reading a certain book.
No. Not the Bible.
Red Moon Rising by Pete Greig and Dave Roberts.
It is the story of 24-7 Prayer and how this vibrant venture all started....and grew and grew around the world!
It has challenged how I pray.
It has challenged who I pray with.
It has created a new hunger in me.
I really recommend you track it down....soon!!
27th May, 2024
So.......Thy Kingdom Come prayer venture is over for another year........but we still pray the words.
Pentecost Sunday has come and been.
The year is moving onwards......with lighter evenings......and plenty of summer rain showers for sure!!!
I'm getting closer to time-off from the usual daily tasks.....and time with family!!
But first, there is a retreat planned....and a day away for myself.....
What do the weeks ahead look like for you? Time-out planned? Time-off scheduled?
I hope so!!
12th April, 2024
So...the box of goodies has arrived from Thy Kingdom Come!
Prayer Journals, Novenas, Pray for 5 cards and leaflets about the Cheeky Pandas!!
In under a month, millions will be praying for 5 people they know to meet with Jesus.....
Believers and churches will be praying to see evidence of God's Kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven!
Disciples of Jesus will be daily looking at themes that will include The God who Loves, The God who Gives, The God who Listens and Pentecost!
I'm still praying for my 5......
I'm looking forward to being part of this global venture!
Can I encourage you to be a part of it also? www.thykingdomcome.global is worth a visit.....
14th March, 2024
At this time of the year, my soul is weary to be honest.....it's been an uphill journey for Barbara and myself.
I treasure the journey Lent brings towards the Cross...and the empty tomb!
Life's seasons are not all rainbows and mountain tops we can agree.
The example of Jesus' short life show us this also.
Yet I journey on.....with Him!
I wish you a meaningful Easter-time.....full of rich and meaningful blessings.....with the Risen Jesus Himself!
9th February, 2024
In a couple of weeks I am preaching from Jeremiah chapter 36. It wasn't my choice. It is part of a series from Jeremiah.
What a long chapter!
What names!
What a mix of reactions to the scroll!!
I have many reactions to God's Written Word......agreement, disagreement, confusion, disbelief.... etc etc etc!!
How do you react when you read and feed from the Bible?
What version do you prefer to use? why is that?
I will need to read the chapter a few more times me thinks..........
th January, 2024
I like this image above from the Church of Scotland....
As part of our weekly pattern, Barbara and I meet with a few others on a Tuesday in our church's Upper Room space...... time-out with God.
As part of my going forward, I am planning a day out in personal retreat with God.....once a month for a few hours in a quiet church building........ time-out with God.
That's the plan!
And yours?
I wish each and all a meaningful year.....rich in blessings.....as you walk with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen?
Amen and Amen!
30th November, 2023
As I look back over 2023.......
As I journey through Advent 2023......with a garden covered in snow tonight......
As I anticipate Christmas 2023......the cards have started to arrive.......
I hold my focus on this truth.
Christmas is CHRISTmas.
Saviour's Day.
And I will try and not eat too much on that significant day!!
3rd November and 8th October, 2023
As October has given way to November.....
Covid and winter coughs have resurfaced around us.....
Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas continue to be at war big time.....
And the rain continues to fall and fall!!
One foot in front of another...day to day.....week to week.....trying to eliminate hurry and worry.....and looking upward to the God of Psalm 24!
11th September, 2023
Sigh....yes that kind of month to be honest.....
Busyness and age and everything else!! LOL
Thank you LORD my God for Psalm 18.....David's testimony.....your faithfulness.... Amen and Amen
2nd August, 2023
What a few weeks it has been!!
A holiday time away....yess it was all lovely!
Church family members hurting......sigh
My uncle passing away, 2 days after we visited him in hospital.........and all the emotion and family activity afterwards. He was a truly gentle, godly man. I will miss him.
And everything else life could bring our way has come our way!!
But I journey onwards and upwards and downwards......over that wall after wall after wall!!
9th June, 2023
So, once a week in our church the hall above the cafe becomes an Upper Room.....space is given for people to come and take time-out.......and at three times we pause to pray with those gathered in the room....
This summer time....where will you find space and time?
We have had quality time away on holiday....sooo good!!
Then we came back to a foot operation and church life and work!!!
But...time-out with God continued and will do.....in the Upper Room or not....
st May, 2023
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven....
How often have I prayed those words?
How often have I longed to see evidence of God's Kingdom on earth - and it be reported in the news reports!!
How many times have I met with others and joined in praying these words?
Will I do so again this May 2023?? I hope so....
Will you?
31st March, 2023
100 really??
Well I never!
100 issues??
Yep.
It still seems surreal to me as I remember that time in 2015 when God was opening a door for me and LastingFruit.co.uk......
And now, today I am uploading Issue 100.......wowsers!
Thank you Father God.
Thank you Lord Jesus.
Thank you Guide and Helper Holy Spirit.
8th March, 2023
Well, well....Alastair went to a monastery!
Kinnoull in Perth was my choice of location.....quiet, spacious, lovely!
Psalm 26 was my choice of meditation....challenging!
I would fully recommend the practice of getting away.....for a few days, a day, a few hours.....to somewhere quiet....where you can speak with God....and He with you.....
Will I do again? Yep!!
4th February 2023
It's been a while since I took myself off on retreat with God.
I've had team retreats recently - so meaningful!
But I realised that I was giving more than receiving.....and my time-out with God in a quiet place was being taken up not with God...... So, in a few weeks I'm taking myself off to a place of Retreat for a few days......to be still with God, to ask...seek...knock....and hopefully receive!
When did you last do similar?
Need a top-up time-out?
13th January, 2023
So December, Advent and Christmas, has gone.....and January is well under way!
Phew!
Our December was mixed.....busy, busy....and two journeys north to be with mum - in hospital and at home.
Phew!
How I long for time to stand...look...ask....at the crossroads.........
25th November, 2022
As I write this it is exactly one month until Christmas Day....phew!
Where has the year gone?
As I look around at the world, the nations and their leaders, my homeland, my family, my Church family, my home......I wonder where it is all going and how it will end.......
It is so goood to know that Someone knows and Someone has a Master Plan....
I believe and trust in God, the Three-in-One.
I believe in Jesus, the baby, Saviour of the world, returning King.
I am looking forward to CHRISTmas Day!
Advent and Christmas blessings be yours as you journey towards the Day.....
28th October, 2022
As I reflect that turning 65 wasn't really that too bad....
I am grateful......for my wife and family.....for my Church Family.....
As we ponder the news stories that come our way, it is easy at times to see only the black clouds and miss the rainbow moments that God gives.....
So....right now.....who not pause and give thanks...for....and for..............and for.........
30th September, 2022
So, here I am....about to turn 65.....
Wow...where have the years gone??
Primary school memories.....Glasgow.....family holidays.....school.....youth group at church......and SO many more memories!!
Grandparents.... friends.... homes lived in.....
The ups and downs over the years.
I am reminded of a song my parents often used in their Christmas letter to friends...
How good is the God we adore!
Our faithful, unchangeable friend;
His love is as great as His power
And knows neither measure nor end.
For Christ is the first and the last;
His Spirit will guide us safe home:
We'll praise Him for all that is past
And trust Him for all that's to come.
24th August, 2022
This was my dad's birthday. 1926 was his year.
And 24th August is still a significant day in my calendar. Memories.
I wonder what he would have made of our world in these days.
War had a part in his life. Ukraine and Russis would have greatly saddened him.
Teaching was his chosen career. Striking was not something he supported.
People deserve a fair wage...but he would have wondered who is paying for it all??
I miss my dad. A lot.
And I wonder what discussions we would have had about this changing world....
11th June, 2022
The image and words above are my hope and prayer as I step into summer weeks - hopefully less busy than recent ones!!
Hopefully some time with family members...
Hopefully some quality reading time...there are a few books waiting in front of me!
I hope and pray that you find some time-out.....at a slower pace....in another setting maybe....and that you make time to slow down with Father God....
30th April, 2022
Thy Kingdom Come.....mmmm.....let me think....
It's a challenge as I hear the news reports coming out of Ukraine....
Is God really Sovereign over all?
It's an encouragement as I consider that one day every knee will bow....and that one day there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth....
And the Kingdom Rule of God will be over all.
But until that day....I wonder...I think...I struggle....I believe....
1st April, 2022
I have always found Easter to be that special time of the year - often more so than Christmas.
I do like an Easter egg - or 2 or 3!!
But that's not my main reason - honestly.
I find that Lent and Holy Week and Easter weekend call me to focus again on the basis for my Christian faith.
Why did God send Jesus?
Why did Jesus come from heaven to earth to that cross?
Why did God allow Him to die and wait to raise Him from the tomb?
And I add my whys to all that is still happening in and around Ukraine and Russia.....and my questions add up....
However you remember that first Easter....Jesus....the cross....and all those others involved.....I wish you a meaningful Holy Week and Easter weekend!
4th March, 2022
Like so many others around the world I have been shocked and saddened by the events in Ukraine and the actions of the Russian government and military.
I have watched the news reports in silence.
I have wondered why and how it will all end.
I have prayed to the God I believe and trust in for a menaingful peace.
I still do...
And I journey through Lent 2022 towards Easter....a time to remember suffering and celebrate resurrection...
3rd February, 2022
I love this photo - taken by my nephew Daniel on his travels!
Sometimes we need to stop and see where we are at...and where we are going...
Often the journey is on our own...
Often the road is unknown...
Often we are weary...
And so February 2022 has replaced January in life's journey.... travel onwards!
7th January, 2022
I remember singing in a church choir the words of Psalm 1!
Many years ago!!
And so, as the year started, I found myself revisiting this particuar Psalm.
And each verse still stays with me.....and causes me to ponder the truths behind the words...
2021 has left us.
2022 has begun its journey.
Bring it on!
Psalm 1 and all.....
10th December, 2021
Family times.
Omicron.
Christmas party - or not.
Vaccines. Booster jabs.
And the news rolls on and on around us.
As Barbara and I finish wrapping presents for others...and writing our cards.....the world seems to be travelling back and forth at an abnormal speed.
Yet the CHRISTmas story is ever old and ever new.
God is still on His throne.
Jesus is the same, yesterday and forever.
As I watch my mum get older and my family journey through this season, I cannot but wonder what 2022 will bring.
It's a good thing God knows!!
I wish you a very meaningful CHRISTmas and a new year filled with God's good gifts in His love, joy and peace.
He can be trusted above all.
October 2021
I cannot believe all that has happened with Lasting Fruit since October 2015.
I am still amazed each week as I look at the viewing numbers.
I am humbled.
Grateful.
And hungry to keep sowing seeds here for one and all who pass by and dig around.
Thank you for being one of those who pause here and dig and taste!
Thank you Lord for lasting fruit that truly lasts!
Fridays 13th August and 11th June, 2021
Let me repeat myself.
P-R-A-Y
The Prayer Courses I and II
24-7 Prayer
Really worth exploring!
And so, summer is all but over and the new season of church life and work resumes....ho hum.
It has been lovely to spend time with family up and down the country and to have days to ourselves!!
Now we change gear and busy ourselves - some days!
Thursday 13th May, 2021
Thy Kingdom Come has started!
90% of the world's countries are involved - wow!
Over 80 Church denominations - cool!
A global prayer venture adventure indeed!
5 friends to meet Jesus - person-to-person - have you made a list? (Are you on someone's list??)
11 daily themes - including Thanks, Pray For, Celebrate, Sorry and Silence.
www.thykingdomcome.global is well worth a visit!
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.......that's a pretty big prayer request isn't it...... but the great news is that it is all down to God to make happen......
Monday 19th April, 2021
Death and Resurrection.
I believe, Lord.
But help my unbelief!
Death and Resurrection happened.
I just wish I had seen Lazarus before and after!!
I so wish I had run to that empty tomb that first Easter!!!
WOW.
WOW.
I believe it will happen.
When and where and how still confuses me!!
That's my honest thoughts.
And you??
Thursday 11th March, 2021
Well, here we are again....another Easter to be celebrated in a very different way.
No real big celebrations allowed sadly.
And yet Easter eggs are still on sale!
It's a strange old world isn't it?!
And yet coronovirus and lockdown restrictions do not change the facts.
He is not here. He is risen!
I believe, Lord.
But help my unbelief.
Because I am still human.
But I am an Easter person after all!!
Friday 5th February, 2021
As I journey through this stage of lockdown and as I look around at the world, I wonder what my grandparents would have made of it all??
I wonder what they would be thinking and saying, considering their experiences of World War?
I would love to have asked them!!
I wonder what my grandson will be thinking and asking in the years to come........
I wonder what we will be saying this time next year.....I wonder.....
Thursday 31st December, 2020
And so here I am, sitting on the last day of the year, with the new one less than 12 hours ahead.....looking back on a year that in many ways was the year that wasn't.
Surreal really.
And wondering what 2021 will bring...
For me, Barbara....our children and grandchildren....my mum....our families and friends and neighbours......in fact we don't really know!
As I wonder...so I believe and trust in Father God, the Almighty....in Jesus Christ, His Son... in the Holy Spirit.....in the Three in One.
The songwriter said....How good is the God we adore!
That's fine by me.
Sunday 29th December, 2020
It has felt all year as if we would never reach the top of the staircase!
And yet..here we are stepping into Advent..with Christmas on the horizon..getting closer and closer!
What a year eh?!
What a crazy surreal year!!
What a Christmas-with-a-difference it will be!!
Or will it...... of course in many ways yes.....times and hugs with family and friends will be reduced..... but the REAL reason for the season hasn't changed!!
It is CHRISTmas after all.....
As we prepare to journey through the days of Advent - with a daily dose of Advent prayers and reflections to help stay focussed - I am not sure what I will ask Father God for this year to be honest.....probably something very different from what I had in mind in January!!
Monday 2nd November, 2020
And so November has arrived!
Fireworks should be fewer on 5th this year hopefully!!
However, November 11th will still be there to remind us ....to remember.
I remember my Dad, and those he lost in a bombing gone wrong many years ago in World War 2 in the town of Wick.
I remember the horrors of modern warfare.
I remember that man is still at war with man.
I remember.
I choose to remember.....on the 11th.....and many other days.
And I long for...hope for....the day when there will be no more dying, pain, tears!!
Friday 2nd October, 2020
So...5 years later to the exact date...Seeds sown and fruitful blessings evidenced...here is LastingFruit. I am still amazed at how it all came about - a true God moment for me in that Upper Room in 2015.
There have been times when the weather-of-life has slowed the sowing...
There have been times when the harvesting has been awesome...
There have been times when I have sown away..wondering what on earth I am doing...
And yet...God in His mercy and faithfulness and outrageous grace has had His hand on it all.
So..5 years later on this exact date...I give to Him my sacrifice of praise, my thanksgiving offering and my apologies where there has been more of me and less of Him...
Friday 4th September, 2020
So..after visiting family in the far north..and a very brief stop-over at home..we journeyd south to family in Yorkshire...phew were we tired afterwards!! But it was so good to see them all again!
It was interesting to compare COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions and attitudes north and south of the border.
It was intriguing to see and hear from those not directly affected and to compare our experience of Barbara's shielding weeks and months.
When I was considering the overall theme for this Issue - suffering in the Bible - plagues and illnesses - I realised afresh how my experiences and the experiences of family and friends affected my views and beliefs. It is not easy to point a finger without 3 coming back to ourselves.
As you chew over these seeds, please do look around at others, learn from Job, put 2 Corinthians 1 into practice and above all listen to what Jesus taught and the Spirit is saying in these days.....
Friday 7th August, 2020
So...here I am...sitting at Mum's up in the far north...the seagulls are up there....the blue sky is coming and going....the North Sea is relatively calm today.....and Barbara and I are wondering was this really supposed to be a summer break this week for us??
The country is still see-sawing with Covid-19.
Aberdeen has brought it much closer.
Guidelines are being read and re-read as we ponder our next journey south.
Church life and work is moving up a gear.
And then the tragedy in Beirut happens.
And somehow I am trying to keep my head above the waters....not sure if I am succeeding at this time to be honest!
God really is out there I know.
His strength and patience and wisdom and loving faithfulness are constantly in my backpack....but I do have to keep checking I am realising in these days!
This week is a pause - of sorts - but life goes onwards.....
Friday 10th July, 2020
So this is Summer 2020??? Really???
June has flown away and July is here + face coverings + shops opening again!
These are indeed strange times for us with shielding restrictions still in place in certain ways.
Wearying and trying some days.
And yet we believe and trust that God is there and knows what He is doing, why He is allowing what He does and we journey slowly onwards.....hand-in-His-hand.....wondering what is ahead around the next corner.....but trusting that God already knows!
Friday 12th June, 2020
And so May has gone....and June is rushing along it seems!!
But the lockdown remains - with only a few changes at the moment.
The shielding update here in Scotland has made us pause.
The grass is still getting cut but the jigsaws have slowed down.
Baking and tidying are not top of the list for now.
Zoom and Skype and WhatsApp are real blessings!
(As is Spooks - all 10 series!!)
Count your many blessings
Name them one by one
And it may surprise you
What the LORD has done!
YEP!!
Friday 15th May, 2020
What a strange, hard few weeks it's been at this end.
A family death from the coronavirus.
A meaningful but sad lockdown-funeral.
Daily briefings from Westminster and Holyrood with varying statements to balance out in daily life.
And somehow life goes on.....
To be honest, it sure hasn't been all rainbows and blue sky.
But prayerful support, loving texts and an unexpected visitor in the driveway sure have helped!
I really can't imagine what it was like for the Israelites to wander and wait for 40 years before they eentered the Promised Land!!!
Wednesday 8th April, 2020
Good old Snoopy and Charlie Brown!
I have so appreciated this cartoon above so much at this time!!
Humour hasn't been restricted in our supermarkets.
The Government hasn't banned it.
It isn't limited to one country in our world.
A laugh or a smile every hour is a good thing to practise!
Go on - find something amusing out there - and share it with someone else!
Friday 20th March, 2020
Lent?
Easter??
Are we really heading towards celebrating the Cross and the Empty Tomb??
Barbara and I are slowly coming out of a winter flu period....phew.......and then all this comes along!!
Visiting family north and south has been postponed.
Shopping has become an experience - watching others as well as buying!!
And through it all......faith and hope is called for indeed.
God is a refuge and a fortress....but there are days it is a struggle to hold on!
Pray for us as we pray for you.
Saturday 11th January, 2020
Christmas seems already so long ago!!
The tree and decorations are stored away...or donated...or binned!
January has started and is rushing ahead of me....the calendar is getting filled....March and April and May have dates booked up already....phew.
My hopes for 2020?
To experience the living and true God afresh in my life.
To lead others in my family to knowing Jesus for themselves.
To help others in my church family grow, grow, grow in Christ Jesus.
And yours??
Thursday 28th November, 2019
With trepidation I sat at my laptop...switched on...and logged in to edit the website here....and phew - thank you Lord - it is working!!
My recent weeks?
Family joys and family trials have coloured my days and my feelings....and my faith has been sorely battered I can assure you most recently.
And yet....I have found that Father God is only a prayer away....that my Jesus is walking beside me and that the Spirit is nudging and prompting and reminding me......
And my Advent hope?
Love
Joy
Peace
Hope
Celebration
and lots of carol singing no doubt!!
Friday 25th October, 2019
Apart from the frustrations here on the website builder - ggrr - it has been a plodding onwards few weeks.
Loss and missing Barbara's dad is always our shadow as we start preparations for Christmas 2019.
However, the sense of Father God walking with us is very real.....
Church-wise there has been a very recent sense of a longing for new believers, for one and another to follow Jesus.....oh how we need an urgency in our prayers and in our conversations - how long will we have this day of salvation??
Monday 23rd September, 2019
Days and weeks of adjusting......expecting a phone call.....visiting an enpty home.......grief and loss is a VERY up and down journey.....
But through it all..there have been rainbow moments........always good to look upwards on occasion.
(Sorry btw that some of the Seeds have not been posted successfully today. IT glitches...ggrr!)
Friday 16th August, 2019
What a strange few weeks.....
One day we were visiting Barbara's dad...the next he was being admitted to hospital.
Five days later...he had passed away with family around him....and we are preparing for his funeral next week.
Since then we have heard of the deaths of others known to us.....including someone we both loved and worked with in Bethany Christian Trust.
What a strange few days....
We have been carried along by the love and prayers of so many people...in our family and church family.....thank you thank you.
We have held onto our faith.
We have stood on God's Word.
And we will journey onwards in life.....with the hope of life after the grave our anchor.
Friday 5th July, 2019
Summer break.
Holidays.
Slower days.
Less meetings!!
And the weather......
Ahhhh bliss....for now.....
Summer blessings be yours - wherever you go or stay!
(And remember - God never goes on holiday!)
Friday 7th June, 2019
What an upstream swim it has been these last weeks – and months!
Cough splutter sneeze cough cough COUGH!!
Would it ever end?
Will I feel better sooooon??
S I G H.
What a torrid time for dear Barbara!
(Of course what an excellent patient I’ve been!!)
At times it has been a struggle to believe that God was near.
Hopes and meetings and events were missed.
But somehow I have held onto the belief that I wasn’t trudging through this grim ravine alone.
I realised that many others have much much worse to deal with daily.
I realised that I am just human after all!
I discovered afresh that God is just a prayer away.
And the coughing is slowly passing on by thankfully!
Friday 10th May, 2019
It has been a full-on week with mum...phew.
However it was a grand week up and down the A9 and around Caithness and quality time with my sons - are they really getting taller or am I shrinking??
With the ThyKingdomCome prayer venture draawing closer and Pentecost around the corner, my prayer for them, for others in my family circle, for my church, for my homeland and for this world echoes the prayer above.
Will you join me in asking...seeking...knocking....
Friday 12th April, 2019
my song for Easter
Outrageous Grace by Godfrey Birtill
There's a lot of
pain but a lot more healing
There's a lot of trouble but a lot more peace
There's a lot of hate but a lot more loving
There's a lot of sin but a lot more grace
Oh outrageous
grace oh outrageous grace
Love unfurled by heaven's hand
Oh outrageous grace oh outrageous grace
Through my Jesus I can stand
There's a lot of
fear but a lot more freedom
There's a lot of darkness but a lot more light
There's a lot of cloud but a lot more vision
There's a lot of perishing but a lot more life
There's an enemy
That seeks to kill what it can't control
It twists and turns
Making mountains out of molehills
But I will call on my Lord
Who is worthy of praise
I run to Him and I am saved
Friday 15th March, 2019
It's coming!
It's on the way!
Lent is showing me the way....tough at times....
I really, really like the time of year that we call Easter - I always have!
And so I journey onwards......
Tuesday 12th February, 2019
And....it seems like the last few weeks have had everything!!
Mountain tops at Centre Parcs with family, the album launch with Celtic Worship in Glasgow and family reunions in Paisley!
A valley when we made an unexpected visit north to mum...and a family funeral for my aunt.
A ravine Barbara and I have recently traipsed through thanks to a grim virus.
It has all taught me that the spirit was willing but the flesh is weak indeed......
As I ponder this Promised Land Living I am amazed that the LORD God has been there all the time and oh the wonderful truth of What a Friend we have in Jesus!!
Friday 5th January, 2019
So 2018 has come and gone.
Barbara's new knee is behaving well and she can straighten her leg now!
Mum is now in her 91st year...wow!
Christmas presents have been given and opened....and some have already been bought for the next one!!!
And 2019 is here....a young 5 day old journey has started....and none of us...none....know what is ahead...the good, the bad and the ugly!
Of course I wish I knew!
But it would spoil the adventure.
It would cheapen my trust in the Living God.
It would mean I had more control.
And would decrease my faith.
So here we go - mountains and ravines and valleys and all - travel with me!!
Friday 30th November, 2018
Big ALPHA course has just finished - with a party last evening!
ADVENT is a-coming...so very soon!!
CHRISTmas is coming...sooner than most of us would like!
And in among all this.....family and friends to be visited
Concerts and events to attend
A Mum turning 90!
And this Sunday..Barbara and I will be ordained as elders.
Sometimes among all the trees we miss the beauty of the forest or the wonder of each leaf...
Friday 2nd November, 2018
Last week, Barbara and I went to a concert...in aid of TEARFUND....and put on by a group of Scottish musicians called CELTIC WORSHIP - bagpipes and penny whistle and all!! What a great evening of music! What a challenging evening as we watched a film clip of refugees living in a tented camp for the last 7 years.
Listen out for a cd early in 2019.....but meantime.....enjoy!
Friday 5th October, 2018
3 years - wow! I still remember clearly sitting in our Kirk's Upper Room (a place with space to take time out each Tuesday from 7.30am-7.30pm) with my Bible open and my talking and thinking with Jesus.....and LastingFruit being birthed from John chapter 15.
It was a HUGE step of faith I can assure you!
And oh how faithful God has been in showing me seeds and fruits!
Thank you to all those who have been digging and tasting and sharing - in the UK and Canada and New Zealand and Japan and wherever you are - including of course LST (my old London Bible College). I so hope and pray that these seeds may be used by God in our lives at this time and that we will know fruitful blessings as His Kingdom come, His will is done - as it is in heaven!
Saturday 8th September, 2018
.......and then Barbara has a total knee replacement op....our year just turned another giant page!
And through it all...not an easy journey 3 weeks in....we are discovering how faithful in love and prayers are the Family of God, the Church!
Treasure your church family. Love them. Help them.
Friday 3rd August, 2018
Well..it was the holiday that wasn't for sure! We saw parts of North Wales last month that we had never expected to see for sure!
Barbara, her dad and I set off for a week at a lovely hotel resort - but 2 days in he suddenly fell and broke a hip and lung problems emerged and for a week it was 50/50. The nearby hospital was a real blessing and the care and attention offered was wonderful. However the short trips Barbara and I had to places in North Wales were surreal aand were always within a trip to the hospital HDU.
The words of Psalm 137 seemed so real.
We kept family informed.
We called on church family and others to pray.
And God answered!!
By the time we had to return north home - with plans to return shortly - we were told he had turned a corner.
By the end of week 2 - he was told he would be transferred by ambulance to Edinburgh Royal.
We saw him this week - a man dressed and in his right mind - very much alive!!
We have no doubt God acted for him and for us.
We would never wish it all on anyone - but oh how grateful and humbled we are by His mercy and compassion - and the power of prayer.
Thursday 12th July, 2018
Summer.....between times away with my mum in the far north and Barbara's dad in North Wales....and a knee replacement operation around the corner for her.....we have discovered this song and it was a rich blessing as we sang it for the first time in Wick Baptist Church recently.
To the river I am going...... so dive in and be blessed!
Friday 8th June, 2018
Another month has passed.
Life goes on.
I watch Barbara and others physically struggle.
I watch the news reports from around the world.
I struggle with the low numbers who gather to pray.
I attend a CAIRN conference and am privileged to witness God at work in the lives of people from USA.
I am amazed that God loves me, that He can use me - a restored jar of clay on His shelves.
And I know that is at work in ways I cannot see.
And I want to be a part of His Kingdom come on earth, His will being done.
Amazing grace? Outrageous grace!
Thursday 10th May, 2018
These have been pressing onwards and looking upwards days for me.
Pressing onwards daily with daily life - and family joys and trials - and an impending operation for dear Barbara much on our minds.
Looking upwards through and beyond it all with a loving, faithful, merciful God!
A day or two at Cairn Movement was quality - refreshingly challenging - it was great to receive!
And it was there that I heard the words....."what would it be like in (Edinburgh or wherever) as it is heaven".
I was gripped by this concept. And it has occupied my prayers many a time since.
I have prayed the Lord's Prayer many many many many a time - and never grasped this truth.
God wants - really wants - this is His Kingdom will - that His heavenly Kingdom rule and blessing is experienced and evidenced on earth - in the world today - in our land - in our city - in our church family - in His Church - in my neighbourhood - in my life - JUST AS IT IS KNOWN IN HEAVEN WHERE HIS THRONE IS.
Life and work and rest and family and all the other stuff does not have to just follow a routine.
Jesus came to enter in the Kingdom of God.
And it is still freely available to all!
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
The Holy Spirit has been given.
And the words Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done are not just words.......
Let me leave you with one more song that has come to mean a lot to Barbara and me recently.
Be Still....... https://youtu.be/H7pJb49vVQY
Friday 13th April, 2018
‘Even though the fig-trees have no fruit and no grapes grow on the vines,
Even though the olive-crop fails and the fields produce no corn,
Even though the sheep all die and the cattle-stalls are empty,
I will still be joyful and glad, because the LORD God is my saviour.
The Sovereign LORD gives me strength.
He makes me sure-footed as a deer,
And keeps me safe on the mountains.’
Habakkuk 3 vs 17-19 GNB
Frday 16th March, 2018
I feel as if I am sitting in a ravine these days.......I am actually lying in bed coughing and wheezing away again.....ggrr!! Oh for warmer and slower better days!
But as I ponder my lot...I am reminded of a friend lying in a hospice bed...of two couples struggling with pregnancy issues...and of Barbara soldiering on with her arthritis......and my ravine seems to in a better place than I realised.
Wasn't Psalm 75 this time all about God's time-keeping.........
Friday 9th February, 2018
Slow...stop...slow...
These last few weeks have not been travelled in top gear.
Health issues and forms and appointments for and with Barbara have been our priority - and they have tested our patience sorely at times - although today's was lovely!!
A visit to share with a local church in Edinburgh from John 3 was such an encouragement as we saw first hand God's grace at work touching individuals and new people added to the church family since we had last visited. The desire to share Jesus and lead others to seek Him is becoming a burning desire!
And personally - it is proving to be a time of asking, seeking, knocking what God is saying to me at this time........it seems to be a season of 'grace change' ......but why?? Is there something new ahead for service or is it a time to stand and receive - I wish I knew......
Friday 12th January, 2018
Barbara and I definitely thought life would pause after all we had gone through in the weeks leading up to Christmas and we would be celebrating with family on the
Day itself....enough had been enough! DOH!
After enjoying a family event 2 days before..we woke on Christmas Eve to find that shingles was with us.....poor Barbara was diagnosed later that day and events
were cancelled and rapidly changed.... and so began our journey with this painful and draining illness!
It has been a steep learning curve - and the patient has learned to be more patient!
Church family have been SO supportive - and family have gradually realised how long-term this is proving to be for the next weeks and months!
What a ravine we have found ourselves in..... with the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23 walking gently beside us......
Friday 22nd December, 2017
So.....apart from the grotty virus staying longer than ever wanted...these weeks have been heavy. 2 deaths in the family - one very sudden - have shaken and taxed us. Uncertainties over incomes have not helped. And now the website here is not behaving and for some reason I cannot upload material and get it saved.....ohh the joys!
BUT - CHRISTmas is all but here - and the wonder and hope and joy of the child in the manger who came to be the Servant King for ALL in the world is still the treasured gift to be held onto!
I trust and pray that - whatever your circumstances - you will know the love, joy and peace that comes only from the Living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - for the first time or all over again!
Friday 1st Decembr, 2017
Swimming upstream is how I would best describe these recent weeks - ill-health has been our companion in various forms and it hasn't been fun to be honest. Life and faith has been tested.
And through it all.....Father God has not been too far away and His Spirit has kept on nudging me forwards.
Bring on Christmas - but not quite yet please!
Friday 3rd November, 2017
What a few weeks it has been!
Blessings and good gifts from Father God - in abundance!
Family and friends and places and meals and much more!
Let me encourage you - to pause and remember - and name your blessings received - small and great - and thank Father God! None of us need a milsetone to count our blessings...day by day...
Friday 13th October, 2017
Well, Alastair, it's been an eventful journey so far!
Please feel free to read it all below.
Mountains sure - but a good few ravines and valleys too......some I hope I never revisit.
And yet Father God has been amazingly gracious, kind and patient with me.
I wish I had listened to Him better many a time...
So this past Tuesday.....Barbara and I made our way to the Upper Room at Liberton Kirk as is our custom each Tuesday. It is a place with space to have time out with God - and it works for us!
Life has been hectic and demanding over recent weeks and we have both been running on low.
This Tuesday I was going feeling frazzled to put it mildly!
Concerns about a good friend, demands in the calendar and plans for family times in the coming months were weighing heavily on me.
As I sat in the Room, the Bible I was holding opened at Zephaniah 3 - Zephaniah!?
I wasn't sure what I was going to read but had a sense God was in on it.
Zephaniah 3 verses 14-20 was where I read - and it changed my day and my week!!
(Go on find it in your Bible or online and give it a read)
I imagined Jesus Himself sitting down beside me and turning to me and talking to me, asking what I was frazzed about...and talking it all through with me....using these verses!
I was dancing with the Lord on a mountain top!
I left the Room a bit later a different person.
Friday 22nd September, 2017
The Shack has still not been far from our thoughts over these last 3 weeks - roll on the dvd release!!
However, it has been a rotten cold virus that has dominated our lives for almost 2 weeks now - and almost shipwrecked 1 birthday and 2 wedding anniversaries!
It has reminded us of our humanity - but also God's faithfulness through all the days of our lives - good, bad and ugly.
Thursday 31st August, 2017
With The Shack book still fresh in my thinking, enjoyable and frustrating summer travels to Keswick and Caithness alive in the memory and Autumn events creeping up, it is time to move up a gear towards a significant milestone later this year!
I am aware that the world is in a state of confusion and turmoil and unrest, my family and friends are moving on with their lives - some with Jesus, some without - and that my God is not idle and is not expecting me to be either!
I am grateful for His gifts of Barbara, Mum and the family at Liberton Kirk in particular to encourage and sustain me - and so I truly hope you will also take a moment to pause at this time of the year to 'count your blessings' and to 'name them one by one' before Father God.
Friday 14th October, 2016....it has been quite a journey - these last (almost) 59 years!
I hope you will read on....and share my mountains, ravines and valleys with me....and end up thanking God for the way He has been with you through your life journey!
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While I was reading through the Psalms and the book of Isaiah in preparation for some church studies, I came across these three words – more than once – and it struck me how much they described my life. And so they became the title for this section, a section about my life.
It is not always a good thing to travel up and down mountains, through ravines and across valleys on a journey –
some parts will be more memorable than others and some people will remember the mountain journeys, others the ravines
and still others will recall the trek through the valleys for all sorts of differing reasons.
My journey is not always a pleasant one to recall to be honest.
Some of the mountains, ravines and valleys I wish I had avoided totally.
However, here I am now, with a lot to be grateful for and people in my life I would otherwise have never encountered.
I had planned another route altogether.
But I took wrong turnings – time after time.
So, if you are ready….let’s set off.....from Glasgow in October, 1957!
Last Tuesday, sitting in our church's Upper Room, I was presented with a reminder of what kind of child and youth I was.
On a whiteboard in the room were written most of the words of Jeremiah 6 verse 16....a great verse of challenge to know God's direction in life. However...the verse ends with God's people of old saying that they will not choose to go God's way...they actually thought they knew better than the LORD their God!
As I look back....how impatient, stubborn and proud I was as a boy and a teenager.
I had a real bad temper to add to the mix! Ouch...the things I said and did to those closest to me, especially in my family circle.
I thought I was right. All the time.
Stubborn? Yep without a doubt.
Over the years God has slowly changed me - and still needs to for sure.
I am learning to stand....and look...and ask willingly to follow God's direction in my life. It isn't easy at times. But I have learned that He is right...always.
If you don't know this verse in Jeremiah 6, why not have a read and consider the words there now?
After leaving High School.....which I enjoyed - exams and all - it was a year at College of Education before my first job with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The branch was in Dumbarton, just outside Glasgow.....right opposite Hiram Walker's Distillery!!! Three years later I left to go south, to London Bible College (now London School of Theology) in Northwood, Middlesex.
Those years changed me in many, many ways....not just the studies stretching my mind and my faith, but also living alongside others from other denominations and cultures and countries. I loved it!!
I wasn't too keen on London at that time....a bit too big for my liking.
After that it was a year back at the Scottish Baptist College in Glasgow before working in church ministry, corporate finance, another year of studies, teaching, running an office for a timber-home company and working in three of the Bethany Shops in Edinburgh.
I didn't set out to have such a varied CV at all.
I failed at my calling and other doors have opened over the years.
However in various ways at various times God has overruled, provided and led me.
In a sense, that is His job.
But it has taken me all these years to realise that. How foolish I have been at times. How selfish my choices were.
And yet, outrageous grace indeed!
If you can identify with any of this....please don't give up....God isn't finished with you yet..... He is an amazingly faithful God and He really does love you. He might not like all you have done....but let Him rescue you and give you a new hope, a new dream.....and please let Him make you more like Jesus.
Pitfall number 1 happened just a very short time after my baptism as a believer, in my home church.
There were seven of us young people that evening.
I was on my way home from school, at the railway station shop, and something caught my eye. I paused but made the purchase and so began years of an addiction, a chain around me that got tighter and tighter over time. The habit grew and it has eventually cost me dearly.
Being tempted is not sin.
Giving in is and it always leads to some very ugly ravines and valleys.
Right now I would say that I wish I had never ever taken that step.
I cannot stand in judgment at all of anyone else.
However I really really urge you that if you are struggling with a particular habit, addiction, sin or temptation then do something now about it. Tell someone you trust. Really be willing to let it go...and do that, let it go. Pray for that. Believe that victory is possible through Christ Jesus and that His Spirit will help you each and every time.
And change your accompanying routine.....maybe you need to shop somewhere else, lose a friend, take a different route home, spend your time and money better, delete that recorded programme or bin those items wisely (or give them to someone else to do with you).
And it will help when you find something better to do, to fill the space that will be left.
And if it helps.......listen again to that song Outrageous Grace?
The first big mountain in my life was really when I left home in 1979 and travelled south to study at College in Northwood, Middlesex on the edge of London.
I had never left home before!
I had never been to London before!!
I had never even seen the College before - my interview for a place had taken place in Hamilton!
It was a journey indeed for the next three years as I shared life and studies with other students from so many other denominations and countries.....my Baptist-eyemask was utterly blown off and I had to re-think so much of what I had come to believe as we worshipped together and studied Theology, Church History, Sociology and sooo much more!!
It is three years that I wish I could live over and over again.....rich indeed were the treasures that I discovered in and out of the classrooms, in various places of worship, during passionate discussions in fellow students' rooms and in the quiet walks around the College grounds.....as well as the busy busy streets of London itself of course.
Mountains are great for a time. They offer wonderful views. They stay in the memory long after.
However, mountains are not always ideal for permanent living and so verty often we have to make our way down from them....after making the effort to climb all the way up!
I am so grateful for those three years at London Bible College...what a life-changing experience in many ways!
Count Your Blessings indeed and enjoy every mountain-top experience!
=======
(Advent Interlude!)
Over the years I have so many, many Christmas memories of times spent with family and friends up and down the country….presents exchanged….meals eaten….trees decorated….carols sung….crackers pulled etc etc etc!!
In among it all, music has always played its part and so I would encourage you to take time at some point and listen to….
A bit of Handel.… https://youtu.be/-61gjgy9GiE
Something from the Salvation Army.… https://youtu.be/Xzkm-kbx2T4
Good old Boney M…. https://youtu.be/8amHW-xdbzE
And a song from Casting Crowns….. https://youtu.be/M7670CXvPX0
Wishing you a very merry musical meaningful Christmas!!
=========
Back to my story.............
Coming back to Scotland in 1982 it was home with a bump……my idea of what should happen next wasn’t shared by others and I found myself living at home again while studying at the Scottish Baptist College for a year, undertaking the Diploma in Pastoral Studies course.
It was a totally different culture from LBC down south. Far fewer students and far, far fewer cultures and nations represented! In many ways it was like putting the blinkers back on and it was a year of one step forward, two steps back I felt.
However, God knew I needed to be there and when I left in 1983 I had been enriched in mind, heart and spirit.
It wasn’t a mountain-top experience.
It wasn’t a dark valley journey.
It was more like a learning-experience as God took me through another ravine.
I thought I could find my own way but I needed to lean on Him and others afresh during those months in Glasgow.
God has a habit of doing that in our lives………
This has been a heavy two weeks with all sorts of things happening around my life…..some good…some bad….some quite ugly.
Let me take you to two songs that I have held onto anew…..
Will your anchor hold in the storms of life? and When peace like a river…..it is well with my soul……..
I hope you will find time to hear them afresh or for the first time and find this God to be with you in life…..whatever and wherever you are right now.
--------
Since 1983 until 2000 I had so many ups and downs….and as I look back I know that the downs have been so very often of my own doing, my failure, my stubborness, my weakness – my sinful nature not fully put to death in Christ.
I worked in Church ministry (north and south of the Border), corporate finance (in the City of London), teaching and office administration and served as a church deacon, secretary and youth leader until the bubble burst in early 2000.
I am not proud of many of my actions at all.....and so wish that I could turn back time or travel in Doctor Who's Tardis!! Yes, there were mountain-top times and they were joyful! Yes, there were ravines to trek through and they were hard-going! But yes, there were dark valleys and light was so often invisible in those days....
And yet.......God, Father God, God my Saviour has been sooooo faithful and somehow worked my life into His amazing Kingdom tapestry. At this time of Lent, with Easter around the corner, let me encourage you to keep on keeping on with Jesus above all.......to feed on His Word and trust what He has said.....to walk in step with the Spirit.... to share the Gospel Good News with anyone and everyone on your pathway.......and to have the hope of eternal life with the Living God in your soul and mind..............and therefore to put to death whatever is not of Him and is of self and the world.
=====
Easter 2016...............
This week is bitter-sweet for us as a family.
A year ago this week my dad died. I can't believe it is a whole year!
A great time for a believer maybe but it still hurts...it sure does.....I miss him a lot.
And yet as a family we have this glorious hope of life everlasting in Christ - beyond the grave!
I really don't know where I would be day-by-day without my faith in the Living God.
A couple of weeks late......4 weeks + of a grim virus.....but Issue 12 got here!
I have had many days to ponder and pray...as well as cough and sleep.....and there were times I got pretty down with it all....my daily and weekly timetables were abandoned.... Barbara had a double-load to carry.....meetings were unattended.....aargghh!!
And yet....through it all, others were faithful in love and prayers, and God was always there - although I wasn't totally convinced!
Life does have its long tunnels at times.....with no apparent light.
Life does change speed at times.....without any warning.
And yet.....God is the same God who was with us a moment before....He does not change, He is not affected by Life.....after all, He is the Creator, the Way, the Truth and the Life!
I have learned a lot over these last few weeks.....my weakness....His faithfulness.
Whatever Life is for you....good, bad or ugly......travel through it all with God - please!
Hold onto Him. Trust Him. Ask Him. Follow Him. Always.
=====
In March 2000 my life fell apart.
In May 2000 I found myself over 200 miles away from my family and in an addiction hostel.
My past had caught up with me and my marriage fell apart. I had to say goodbye to my two young sons as I left.
I had nowhere else to go. It was a HUGE step into the unknown.
I arrived at Bethany Christian Centre in Leith, Edinburgh with my church pastor. My bags were searched. I was given a room to share with another resident. I had been welcomed in. My journey had begun!
I cannot begin to describe to you what those early days were like.
New faces. Different culture. Rotas and timetable. Escorted to go outside. One-to-one sessions. Group sessions. Counselling. Volunteering in one of the charity’s shops. Phone calls to the boys.
I wasn’t sure if I was in a ravine, on a mountain or in a valley.
However I knew that my God was with me.
It wasn’t easy at all.
Why had He taken me so far away from my family??
Why had I been so wrong in my life??
Why did the staff love me so??
And yet, slowly, issues were tackled….and things changed.
There was some light at the end of this tunnel……
However…God and me we had a disagreement after a few months.
When I arrived at the Centre in May I had no idea how long I would be staying. My family probably expected me back in Wick sooner rather than later.
It was clear that would not be a good move for various reasons and I gave them space to rebuild their lives….although I treasured every visit, every phone call, every letter.
After several months of counselling and treatment I expected to move on to a flat of my own. That was my plan.
God had other ideas.
And He chose another resident to break me and my big idea.
But I was angry. Very angry. How dare God do this to me!!!
I told Him what I thought!
I argued. I wept. I fought against His idea.
But He graciously worked on me and I agreed.
With three other residents I moved into a flat adjoined to the Centre, the Discipleship Flat…..and they were wonderful months together!!
We shared, discussed, prayed, cooked, laughed, played Playstation and truly rejoiced as God moved among us…including two of the group being baptised in the bath one day after our study time!!!!
I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Thank you LORD.
The months went past and eventually I moved on…into a flat on my own – apart from a few friendly mice at one point!!
It was strange to be own my own. It took time to feel comfortable.
Life moved on.
Work with Bethany Christian Trust developed.
I found a spiritual home in Charlotte Chapel and then at the Niddrie Mission.
I got back to see my sons and family when I could. Citylink and I became regular friends as I travelled up and down the country!
Of course there were struggles and failures and I longed for things to be so different at times over the next months and years.
However, God was so faithful and always a prayer away.
As I look back, however, I realise that I was the unfaithful one at times, still trying to do it my way, in my strength.
How foolish we are at times – even after receiving such outrageous grace and mercy from God our Father!
How like the Prodigal Son we are – choosing to go our own way, thinking we know best.
How grateful I am for God’s protecting, providing, guiding hand as I look back now!
Oh I pray that you know this to be so too….that you can look back and give thanks…..or maybe even now give thanks for where you are at in life….or maybe like the Prodigal Son in Jesus’ story you need to stop, admit you’ve got it wrong and come home to Father God……..
A few years ago my son, Paul, and I had had a grand holiday....football at the Emirates Stadium down in London and all!
I returned to work....and a few days later I was off sick. A rotten virus.
A virus that couldn't be diagnosed...week after week...month after month....and eventually, after every possible test, a doctor concluded it was ME/CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome). I was utterly drained and couldn't get my head around it all. Even the very smallest task became enormous!! I had never felt such a heaviness in my limbs before....
The next 2-3 years were a form of torture...as I adjusted my pace of life, my priorities and my whole way of thinking!! I had arguments with physiotherapists galore as they patiently worked with me to change how I should think and act and when and where and why....aarrgghh!!
It took time.
My whole outlook to life changed. I could no longer race around in top gear. Now I learned which gear and when.
Some things just seemed so less important now and every day was a new challenge. Tomorrow at times would have to wait.
And it still does. I am grateful for what I can do each day and for how I approach the daily, weekly and monthly schedules ahead of me!
God has shown me so much since then. Psalm 139 became a totally new revelation I assure you and Psalms 18 and 121 were clung to! God was faithful in good days and bad - He always is although we may not feel it so! Hang onto Him!
Some 10 years ago a new member of staff arrived at the Bethany Shop in Stockbridge. She was to be the new part-time Retail Assistant and her name was Barbara.
6 years later...we stood outside the same shop and got engaged - much to her surprise!
We were both surprised how the journey had gone!!
We were part of a great team working in Stockbridge with Amy and others and then at the Duke Street shop with a bigger team of workers.
We shared life's ups and downs together.
Amy and I attended Barbara's husband's funeral.
Barbara was there for me when ME arrived on the scene. We met occasionally and encouraed each other along.
Then - drum roll please - one day the time together for coffee'n'chat changed and life was never the same after that time together at Ocean Terminal and the Standing Order pub in the city!
TWO weddings later - legal and a blessing - in TWO different parts of the country and here we are - very happy, very blessed, very grandparentish - and still learning together all that God's plan and purpose involves.
I never saw this coming!
God loves to give good gifts to His children is soo true! Thank you Father God for Barbara!
I am sitting here at home writing these words...after 4 or so heavy weeks. We both caught a rough virus - and that was after a huge car repair bill.....aarggh!
So Elijah's enough enough is quite understandable to me!!
But so is his God, my God - faithful and loving and strong and leading and so so gracious.
It is no wonder that that classic hymn What a Friend we have in Jesus has meant much in these last weeks.
I can but encourage you to trust in Him - whatever the weather of the circumstances of your life!
2nd September 2016
This week, on Facebook, I saw a post that hugely encouraged me.
Uglygrace.com posted this verse from Psalm 118….
‘God is now at my side and I am not afraid.
Who would dare lay a hand on me?’
It is verse 6 and from The Message version….but I have found it still as encouraging when I read it in the New International Version, New Living Translation, Good News Bible and Contemporary English Version!!
These weeks of ALPHA preparation have not been an easy road at times and I have questioned God at times.
This posting on Facebook came at the right time and was used to lift me up in my spirit – and it did – and it does!
I am looking forward to the ALPHA course Barbara and I are part of planning for. It has truly snowballed from an evening in our link/house group one evening in the home we met to now looking ahead to something much bigger!!
But now here we are, standing on the edge, wondering what God will do in the weeks ahead – wanting to be part of it all – and realising that only He must be our strength, our refuge, our rock, our shield – the One alone in whom we trust.
Friday 16th September, 2016......phew what a fortnight!
Chest infections for us both...wedding anniversaries....a failed MOT for the car...a birthday and a step of faith with ALPHA!
Life sure has its mountains and valleys!!
But God does not change and is not surprised by anything that happens to us.
What a gracious and merciful God He is!
What a perfect heavenly Father He is for those of us in Christ Jesus!
I really cannot stress enough that if you do not know God as Father and Jesus as Saviour and Lord - you should.
Forgiveness and strength and wisdom and peace await.
Friday 30th September 2016
Family birthdays!
We have just celebrated someone special’s first birthday and we have another in just over a week. There are four other family birthdays over the next couple of months!
Family is hard work at times but oh what a joy so very often.
I know that I wouldn’t be where I am without the love and support of family.
Let me encourage you to treasure those who are part of your family and to keep on being there for them and loving them – even when they are unloving to you!
Why not find a way to tell one or another what they mean to you – birthday time or not!
Saturday 29th October, 2016.........what an encouragingly two weeks it has been! I decided it was time to put Lasting Fruit on a more public platform on Facebook - and not just posted among Facebook Friends - and as a result the viewing figures doubled for these last two weeks - thanku thanku Lord indeed!!
Friday 18th November, 2016....... well, here we are - 2 days from my oldest son's birthday, 5 weeks away from Christmas - and the day after our Alpha course (officially) came to an end. What an 11 weeks it has been!! We started with an Introductory Evening back in September and then we met every Thursday evening for 2 hours - eating and chatting and laughing and watching the new Alpha Film Series (excellent stuff btw!!) and then discussing and praying in our small groups - PLUS a Saturday focussed on the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit that was SO rich in blessing! It has been hard work at times....before, during and after some of the evenings....but we would do it all over again!!
This has been a mountain top experience for sure. Thanku Lord SO much!
Friday 9th December, 2016
Advent and all that…..including leading and preaching at Coatbridge Baptist on the 1st Sunday evening in Advent!
Thank you Lord for this privileged opportunity - rich blessings indeed!! It was a mountain top day all day!!
And discovering another song – thank you George Thomson for sharing it on Facebook…and Graham Kendrick for writing it!!
'Thorns in the Straw......'
Saturday 31st December 2016.......and so another year is almost over.......as I look back over these 12 months the highs and lows are there......as they are for you am sure. Let me encourage you not to dwell in the valleys and ravines - nor to stay too long on the mountain tops either! Life's journey will have many of each I am discovering but the important thing is where I am heading and where I am now....................and you? How would you describe your 2016?
Monday 23rd January 2017......well, I didn't expect 2017 to start like that......sickness and bad back et al. It hasn't been the best few weeks to be honest....and several good things planned in the diary never happened....aarghh!! I am usually a positive person....usually! Life certainly has its twists and turns and it is a good thing that we don't always know what is around the daily or weekly corner although sometimes it would be nice to be prepared........but then we would be more in control and less trusting the One who created us, knows us, loves us and has a bigger, eternal purpose at work. I have learned again of my human weaknesses and His outrageous grace, perfect wisdom and the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit in this world and in my life.
Friday 10th February 2017.......what a strange few weeks really......... the valley has been a rotten cold/flu virus that I generously gave to Barbara....... the ravine has been the weather - and the unpredictability of other pilgrims on faith's journey...... BUT the mountain has been our church's first Gathering for Prayer for some time - and the hope of monthly ones to come now - and the discovery of the website/project from www.thykingdomcome.global!!
Thursday 2nd March, 2017
A Thursday because tomorrow Barbara and I will be going to the funeral of a man we came to know only over recent times. A godly man who faithfully served God in Christian ministry. It is almost 2 years since my dad died – and I still cannot take it in some days that I cannot speak with him or see him. I miss him. These days are something of a valley – and yet I believe and trust that Father God is not far away at all, that Jesus the Good Shepherd travels with me, and that the Holy Spirit does bring comfort to me and others in the valley of grief and mourning.
Friday 31st March, 2017
Lent. Easter. Better than Christmas! I have always thought that we do Easter an injustice - and overdo Christmas BIG time!! After all, since Easter is the pivotal reason for our Christian faith we should remember and celebrate the events before, during and after those days in the life of Jesus with a greater sense of importance surely? Yes, Christmas is hugely significant as we consider the Son of God becoming Son of Man and without Christmas there would be no Easter - but are we seen to remember and celebrate all that occurred that first Easter because it is essential to our Christian faith and discipleship? Less Easter eggs and more foot washing me thinks?
And so this season of the year is one of climbing a mountain for me - and enjoying the view from the top!
Friday 21st April, 2017
Easter blessings indeed!! From a joint-churches service on palm Sunday evening to a Stations of the Cross service midweek to three events on Good Friday (including one at 3pm with 300 others) to morning worship on Easter Sunday and then Resurrection 2017 event at the Usher Hall in the evening - it was blessing after blessing! Powerful reminders of all that Jesus endured and suffered. Times of reflection and celebration at the foot of the cross and in the empty tomb. And yet, even now God has been saying, one week after Easter, don't hold onto those blessings - look, there's another mountain over there! We climb a mountain to get a better view - and so often we see another mountain awaiting our ascent on the horizon. And so we climb on - until one day - face to face with our Saviour and Lord, the Servant King, the One who will return as He promised......
Thursday 11th May, 2017
Well, I am climbing this mountain - and I am looking forward to the 10 days of Thy Kingdom Come and then Pentecost! There are a few ravines to get over and a couple of valleys to cross through but I am travelling on in hope. Oh Lord, meet us early! Oh Father, Thy Kingdom be seen to come! Oh Spirit, fall on me afresh - even now! Travel with me!!
Friday 2nd June, 2017
Oh Spirit of God
Holy Spirit
Fall afresh on me
Oh I need You
Your life and power
To fall afresh on me
In me
Through me
Oh Holy Spirit
Pass me not by
There is much to fill
Much to cleanse
Much to take
Much to give
Oh Spirit of God
Come today
Come now
Fall afresh on me
On those around me
On those I love
On your Church
On our nation
On our world
Oh Holy Spirit
Fall afresh
And
Take control
I call out
In the name of Jesus
To the glory of God the Father
Amen
This prayer was written on 5th May as I sat watching local election results being counted.....and as the news reported on a
missing water boarder being found - after he thought the rescue helicopter had passed him by.......
Friday 23rd June, 2017
And so the heat has paused for now, the rain and thunder is with us this week – and summer holidays are but a breath away – although for some I know holidays are under way!
It will be so good to get away soon!
Repair, renew and restore of body, mind and soul is needed – for each of us at home or away, holidaying or not, summer or winter or spring or autumn.
I trust and hope you have some time out from the daily rhythm – for an hour or two, a day or two or a week or two.
I hope you manage a change of scenery.
I encourage you not to ‘leave God’ at home – but to find time with Him to bring your sighs and requests – and to enjoy His creation and His Presence and His Word in a different setting.
But if not – for whatever reason – He is truly faithful and will stay with you – He never goes on holiday – He doesn’t need to after all……
Friday 14th July, 2017
Is it holidays yet?? One week to go!! One week for this cold virus to go away on a very long holiday!! The words above, from 3 weeks ago, are still so true…… summer blessings as you slow down, go away and take time out from the normal routine – remember that Jesus Himself took time out away from the busyness around Him – if He needed that solitary time, so do we!
Friday 4th August, 2017
It is difficult to know where to begin - these recent weeks have seen a journey through a valley and a time spent with others among mountains.
A few weeks ago, our income was drastically cut - and we are still wondering where this matter will end and take us for days ahead. Oh how it has been a test of our faith in our God! How He has surprised us - financially!
Over a week ago, we set off for a holiday - in the town of Keswick, with the beauty and grandeur of the Lake District around us - to spend time at the annual Bible Convention there - the 142nd!! We had opted for Week 2 (of 3). Despite heavy HEAVY rain we met with others in the marquee or in the other locations (some 5,000 people attend each week) and worshipped and prayed (sometimes with others) and listened to God's Word being preached. Of course some books and cds were also bought!!
We enjoyed visiting Grasmere again - a lovely place to wander around.
We spent time beside the Lake - relaxing.
We met friends I had not seen for y e a r s!! Lovely lovely!
We are still chewing over all that we heard - especially from Alistair Begg each morning in the Psalms - and I do not know what God is saying overall regarding my service for Him - but we were strengthened in our Christian faith, encouraged and challenged - and glad to be now home!
some of the photos were taken by nephew currently in Japan: www.danhighwood.com/photography
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