Month: July 2024

Sue’s Views

How’s your tank? Are you running on empty? Life’s demands can mean that we are constantly giving ….. but you can only give what you’ve got! Make sure you schedule into your day some time to fill up your tank. Time with God and His Word is like refreshing rain. It will cleanse away the dirt ….. and make you feel new!

Sue’s Views

‘Rainy days and Mondays’ ….. don’t have to ‘always get me down!’ I used to love listening to the Carpenters songs when I was younger. But when I hear them now ….. I find some of them depressing. I believe the words we speak (or sing) have a huge impact on the way we feel and ultimately on the choices we make. The Bible says ‘As a man thinks in his heart ….. so is he.’ If your thoughts and feelings take you to a dark place ….. exchange them! I know that sounds overly simple ….. but it actually is! Listen to something more positive and joyful ….. make a list of all the good things in your life ….. do something you enjoy ….. call someone who can help you see things in perspective. Things may be tough ….. but the devil will take you on a downward spiral. You are not fighting against flesh and blood ….. but against spiritual forces of darkness. Knowing that should help you say ‘no’! What you are feeling is not the truth. Talk to God about it and let Him show you His thoughts. They will give you a future and a hope!

Sue’s Views

Yay! It’s magnolia season! These beautiful trees remind me that ….. in every season ….. there is something beautiful! Just as most trees have lost their leaves and blossoms ….. these beauties do their thing. The same God who waited for the wine to run out at a wedding and then made the best wine out of water ….. the same God who waited four days after Lazarus died to bring him back to life ….. is the God who waits till things seem hopeless and then shows up in amazing ways! If you are in a winter season ….. look out for the magnolias!

Sue’s Views

Early signs of spring up at the Gardens! A reminder that the winter season is temporary ….. it must give way to the new! You may be in the middle of a fiery trial ….. or a time of barrenness ….. but your breakthrough is coming. ‘Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning!’ God is faithful! This too will come to pass!

Sue’s Views

Are you living with regret for mistakes you’ve made in the past? If only life had a ‘delete’ button ….. or a ‘rewind’! Most of us would be going backwards more than forwards! The truth is ….. we have all done things that haunt us. That’s why Jesus came! There’s no way we can erase the past ….. but through the Cross we are forgiven. God’s grace and mercy are the greatest gifts because we can’t earn them and we certainly don’t deserve them. Now ….. if God says we are forgiven ….. who are we to dispute that fact? He has ‘blotted out our transgressions like a cloud’ ….. and we can move on to see His promises fulfilled!

Sue’s Views

Reflections can be beautiful! The only problem wth them is that they are not always exactly true. For one thing ….. they are upside down and back to front. And if the water is rippled ….. the reflection will be distorted. So it is with our memories! Our childhood memories ….. as true as they may seem ….. may not be totally accurate. We may not have all the facts. Over the years ….. we may have added to or subtracted from what really happened or what was really said. Many of us live our lives with resentment or disappointment due to a painful memory. Because we’ve focussed on it ….. it may have become bigger in our mind than it needs to be. Ask God to show you the situation from His perspective. He will not only reveal the truth to you ….. but will also bring healing to your heart and reconciliation to your relationships.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, 

because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” Is 61: 1-3

Sue’s Views

No matter what you are going through right now ….. one thing you can hold onto is hope! Hope is not wishful thinking ….. ‘I hope things will change’. Hope is a blessed assurance that God already knows the future ….. and has your very best interests at heart. He is the One who made a dry path through the Red Sea ….. made streams flow in the desert ….. fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish ….. and countless other miracles. Put your trust in Him! He will change your outlook from bleak to sunny!

Sue’s Views

One of the hardest things to understand about Christianity is that we are saved by faith ….. not by works. We are so used to earning our way through life that the idea of receiving something free doesn’t sit right with us. On the other hand ….. there are some who having received the gift of salvation ….. think they can live as they please. The balance is explained in this illustration. If the rower uses only one oar ….. he goes round in circles! If he uses both oars ….. he will get across the lake to his destination! ‘Faith without works is dead’. We don’t do the works ….. or good things we do  ….. to earn our salvation. We do them out of gratitude for it.

Sue’s Views

Communication is one of the most important ingredients in any relationship! It requires two skills ….. assertive speaking ….. and active listening. Don’t assume your partner knows what you are thinking. They have no idea! Be clear ….. and make sure they have understood your message. When someone is speaking to you ….. listen! Be attentive! Don’t focus on what you are going to say next. In a world of high tech communication ….. we have to work hard to maintain the art of conversation. These two seem to have it sorted!

Sue’s Views

Are you struggling with temptation or wrong thinking? Take it to the Lord in prayer. The hardest part is often facing it and acknowledging it. Once you do ….. God will show you where the door was opened for the enemy to come in and do his damage. But He won’t leave you there! He will reveal to you His power and authority over the lies of the devil ….. and replace them with truth. He will lead you to repent of your wrong doing and forgive those who have hurt you. Then ….. instead of turning to things that temporarily numb the pain ….. He will give you a new way of thinking. Instead of the cycle you’ve been accustomed to ….. you will find yourself on a new pathway to freedom. It all starts with a decision to say ‘No’ to the devil ….. and ‘Yes’ to God!