Psalm 18:2 2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.   Yesterday I received the first of my Covid-19 vaccinations.  I’m still processing this truth in my life; the vaccination came just as we all received news of alarmingly increasing rates of infections in our end of the Health Unit area.  We now know that Perth and Smiths Falls are under ‘class orders’ and we are likely moving into ‘orange’ or ‘red’ zones next week which will … Read more

Defying Public Health Orders    For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.  In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91: 11,12)   Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against … Read more

Matthew 5:34-37 (The Message) 33-37 “And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong. Mark 8: 31-33 (New international Version) … Read more

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13: 34,35 This week, a close friend of mine sent me a message telling me that her brother had died.  She was very close to him and normally spoke to him every day.  His death was surprising, but not unexpected, if that makes any sense.  He had been sick for a long time and now is relieved of his suffering, but even though my … Read more

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”  So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mark 1: 35-39) Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain and he showed him all … Read more

“The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Exodus 16:3) I have spent a whole lot of time with my own thoughts in the last month with this lockdown.  I am home with two family members, which is absolutely lovely, but they are both busy with their own work and get a little annoyed when I interrupt them for my own entertainment.  … Read more

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, ESV) (Before I begin, I need to wish a Happy Birthday to the amazing Heather T.!) I spend a lot of time in Zoom meetings.  I have since Zoom was released but it used to be only once a month or so.  Now, during my work week it is normal for me to have 3 Zoom meetings a day often adding up to 9 hours of time staring at my screen with my new bright red head phones on. Don’t get me wrong – I love that we have this … Read more

Philippians 4:8, KJV: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any praise, think on these things.”   I hit a bit of a pandemic wall this week.  I completely ‘get’ the ‘why’ of our stay-at-home orders but this extrovert is chafing at the restrictions. On Monday we discovered that the toilet in our main bathroom was leaking and I had to find a plumber to come and fix it.  The first plumber I called said that … Read more

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: `And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:3-6) I had a completely different blog planned for this week around remembering our baptism … Read more

Luke 1: 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. All week I have been pondering the stories of Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary in the Gospel of Luke.  I have been struck by several things: that our scriptures tell us that in their encounters with the Angel, that Zechariah lost his voice when he questioned the Angel, and Mary gained her voice when she questioned the Angel, that the whole of our stories … Read more