An Adventure in Ministry

From Christmas day 2024 there were a few days of intense fog. We were travelling back and forth visiting family, and often while driving through the fog, you couldn't see anything in front of you. As we drove down country roads we felt completely alone as we couldn't see anything that surrounded us. Familiar roads became eerily unfamiliar as the fog obscured anything recognisable.  On Sunday 29th December the fog finally lifted. and it was glorious! As we drove to worship the world seemed lighter and brighter and the sun shone once more. I didn't realised how the fog had obscured everything until once more we were able to see the distant hills with the sun shining upon us. Those hills were so appealing that I simply wanted to go and climb them, sit at the top and look out at view that stretches for mile upon mile.  Each year around this time, I take the opportunity to consider all the things that God has done in the year before and ask God to reveal to me a word I can carry...

This week I, along with many other ministers within The UK and Ireland territory of The Salvation Army met together for three days of worship and the word at our ‘Officer’s councils’. I have to admit that in the midst of an incredibly busy season, I was most looking forward to a couple of days away with my husband where I didn’t have to cook, clean or do the washing! However, as God often does, he completely surprised me and I had the most powerful time away.  The theme of the three days was ‘Lifting our eyes to the king’ and from the moment our time began I had a real sense that God was doing something. On the first afternoon, our Territorial Commander, shared with us about Peter walking on water and how we need to lift our eyes to the king, especially when we are in the waves and think we may be sinking. He shared with us some verses from Hebrews 12:1-3 and throughout the three days they kept playing through my mind. Five little words even kept me up in the middle of the night, a...

Mother’s Day is approaching. For some people it is a time full of joy and celebration, for others, however, it can be a horrendous time full of sorrow and pain. I fall into the second category. For the past few years, as we have been ttc it has got harder and harder.  For a while, as a single woman Mother’s Day was tough as it reminded me of a future I wasn’t sure that I would have. Then when I met Paul I suddenly became step-mother to three teenage girls and it brought a whole new dimension. Mother’s Day at church was filled with conflicted loyalty for the girls and a reminder that I wasn’t a real mum! I remember one year, one of the girls going to get me the obligatory ‘Mother’s Day gift’ whilst another having stern words with her that I shouldn’t receive a gift as I wasn’t really her mum and that their mum was at home expecting a gift. The whole while I felt terribly guilty that I had put everyone in such a position, happy that I was seen in some way as a mum and sad th...

Sometimes God wants us to hear a message from him so much that he will use people around us to hammer the message home, and this week, God has certainly been trying to talk to me as I have heard the same message four times from completely unrelated people! Last week, a couple of the officers (ministers) from a Salvation Army church in South Wales came to spend the day with us. They came to see what takes place in the church my husband and I are officers at, and to discuss some of the ways we deal with the challenges we face. Our friend’s corps is very similar to ours and we had a lovely morning discussing how God is transforming lives and making messy situations clean again. But what really struck me was their big God-inspired vision. Even though the vision was costly (both financially and personally they were making giant leaps of faith and God was honouring them. As I sat and listened to their passion and enthusiasm, I felt God say to me “Dream big.” This really challenged...

We soon started our ascent to Jerusalem, and as we did the psalms of ascent that David wrote. The final Psalm of Ascent 134 rang in my head:  Soon I had my first glimpse of Jerusalem. My heart started beating fast...Wow!  We drove into the city and sat on the Mount of Olives. Surprisingly it was very quiet and we didn't need to push through crowds. As we sat overlooking Jerusalem, the presence of God was tangible. This is the place where Jesus ascended to heaven and this is the place he WILL come again! We sat and contemplated this and sang Amazing Grace. It was overwhelming and I wept. Wept with joy at his amazing grace, wept with thanks that I was here and wept with sorrow for Israel, for our world and for humanity.  We soon after descended the mount to the garden of Gethsemane. The trees stood in the garden were from the same roots of the ones that would have stood the night Jesus was arrested.  As we sat outside the church o...