An Adventure in Ministry

It came upon a midnight clear. This is a fascinating carol. The first verse reads: “It came upon a midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of Gold; ‘Peace on the Earth, Goodwill to men, From Heaven’s all-gracious king.’ The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angel’s sing.” Sometimes I wonder what it must have been like when the angels sang. Last week I went to see ‘Messiah’ sung by the local choral society, and I think it have me a glimpse, especially in the Hallelujah Chorus! Sometimes I wonder what it would be like if the angels came today, to our society. Now I know it would probably look nothing like this…but just imagine     The second and third verses of this Carol give a great truth. The second verse reads: “But with the woes of sin and strife, The world has suffered long, Beneath the angel-strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong, And man, at wa...

In my consideration of Advent and with Christmas approaching I have been thinking a lot about Mary and the part she played in the Christmas Story. The beautiful hymn 'Gabriel's message' kept running through my mind. Why not take a moment and listen to the song The words to this song are beautiful. They say: The angel Gabriel from heaven came,  His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame, 'All hail' said he  'Thous lowly maiden Mary' Most highly favoured Lady, Gloria! 'For known a blessed mother thou shalt be; All generations laud and honour thee, Thy son shall be emmanuel, by seers foretold' Most highly favoured Lady. Gloria! The gentle Mary meekly bowed her head; 'To me be as it pleases God,' She said 'My soul shall laud and magnify his Holy name' Most highly favoured lady. Gloria! Whilst considering the Christmas story and Mary, I can't help but wonder whether it wasn't quite so ne...

At the Salvation Army in Mold we have a coffee shop and throughout Advent we are pausing on a Wednesday and Saturday morning to consider some of carols we sing at Christmas and what they mean.  On Saturday we started thinking about advent and the carol O come O come Immanuel. The words are beautiful.  1. O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. 2. O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o'er the grave.   3. O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer Our spirits by Thine advent here; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night And death's dark shadows put to flight! 4. O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heavenly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery.   ...

A couple of weeks ago Paul and I went to the cinema. Whilst we sat and watched the trailers, (incidentally the film was  a 12A certificate) I was appalled at the content of the films. All were about evil, the occult, contacting the dead and monsters. It only then occurred to me that Halloween is nearly upon us. I hate Halloween! I really can’t stand it! It grieves me that people think there is nothing nothing wrong with it and that there is no harm in teaching children to dabble in the occult and open them to a very dangerous world. When I was a child my mum always said “The devil makes his wares inviting” and it’s true, but there is so much more to it too! The whole idea of Halloween perfectly illustrates the slippery slope of sin. It makes me think of a fly landing on a venus fly trap. It seems alright at first, and the further in the fly gets, the more danger they walk into. It may start with dressing up as a witch and carving a pumpkin, but soon turns into telling ...

A few weeks ago Paul and I climbed a hills called Moel Fenlli near where we live. It is a stunning walk and it was a beautiful day. At the top you could see for miles and miles The view was an awesome patchwork of fields and valleys with the odd village and town dotted around. You could see the pinpricks of cattle and sheep and the lush green of many different trees lining fields and lanes. This scene was framed against the breathtaking Snowdon range and set against a vibrant blue sky. It was a view that made my heart sing to God to thank him for the wonders of creation. I spent some time there just watching the World and asking God to show me new things about him. It reminded me of these verses from Job:  “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,      or the birds in the sky,  and they will tell you; 8  or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,      or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9  Which of all thes...

It has been an incredibly busy three months as Paul and I have stepped into full time ministry with the Salvation Army. It has been full of excitement and adventure along with trepidation and some fear. In coming months I plan to share some of the exciting things God has been talking to us about, but the past week I have been thinking about peace. Last week Paul and I went on Holiday to the borders of Scotland. On our way home we stopped in one of our favorite towns, Grasmere, and visited a beautiful place called Allan Bank. Whilst I was there God gave me these words: "Drop thy still dews of quietness,  till all our strivings cease, Take from our lives the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess  the beauty of thy peace " Today, peace looks like a battered old leather chair with plumped up cushions and a whippet curled up beside me, my husband reading a book and a steaming cup of early grey tea.  Peace looks like looking out of th...

Recently we have taken up appointment as Corp Officers at the Salvation Army in Mold, North Wales. It has been a big change so last week we took some time to explore the surroundings and the beautiful countryside. We went to a place called loggerheads with the dogs. Whilst we were there my husband pointed out something that got my mind whirring. He showed me a tree that was leaning over rather precariously. It looked like it had either fallen or was close to it. It’s not anything special, in fact it is quite common in the ancient woodland we were wandering in. However, this tree was covered in trailing plants that were alive and well. In fact it was thriving. It looked almost as if it was holding the tree up. As I walked along God spoke to me in this picture. He said that the log is us sometimes. We are leaning over, close to breaking point. He showed me how the vines are the the support that we are given by God through prayer. What a powerful thing praye...

I love technology! I love the way it enhances our life and allows us to stay connected to the people around us. I am a big fan of social media.  I love following the lives of friends and family on facebook and staying up to date on both happy and not so joyful times. I love seeing the pictures of the interesting things people are doing on instagram and I have recently re-ignited my love of twitter. I started this blog because of the inspiration and encouragement I have received through other people in their own blogs. This week thousands of members of the Salvation Army from all over the world have descended on the O2 arena in London for the boundless 2015 congress  Thanks to the wonders of technology I have been able to watch the live stream of the main sessions along with the pre and post shows in my pjs with a cup of tea in my living room! Whilst sharing with my brothers and sisters worldwide, God had been challenging me in a massive way!  On ...

Today it has been hot and sunny and I have heard many people talk about summer being here. Today we had the obligatory ice cream, purchased a paddling pool and had a bbq! Today I have been thinking about seasons The other week after one glorious day of sunshine followed by a day of rain, I heard people declare that summer is over! It made me think that some seasons tend to be much longer than others. Sometimes winter never seems to end and summer is so short loved. Some years we have a bumper crop of one plant and a shortage of another all because of the length of the seasons.  Seasons are very biblical and play an important part in God's economy. In our christian walk we go through seasons or times that are clearly distinct. In Ecclesiastes it talks about there being a season for everything and that is certainly the case, but I have been becoming increasingly aware that every season is a great opportunity for learning. It is an opportunity for wisdom, an opportunity f...