During one of those times outside and getting air and exercise we went to what has to be one of my favourite places - Queen's Valley Reservoir. It was a beautiful sunny day with nothing more than a gentle breeze to refresh us as we made our way around this lovely body of water which is rather like a mini lake.

Sometimes when we go there the water is all troubled because of the elements but not that day! The day we visited the water was like a mill pond! The sunlight played on the ripples which enhanced the beauty of where we were, and I couldn't help but be reminded of the above verse from Psalm 23.

Still waters are a place where the Shepherd leads His sheep. Such is the intricate and loving care of the beloved Lord Jesus, 'my Shepherd'

... maybe He's your Shepherd also!

He doesn't need to drag us there, He leads. He doesn't push us there, He leads. He is not following along in case we just so happen to come across a place of stillness and rest - He leads us there!

Did you notice also that the Shepherd doesn't lead his sheep 'into' the still waters but 'beside' them! And there is a good reason for this; because if we got in, the waters would not be still anymore! Any movement we made would send ripples out and disturb the tranquillity of the moment.

Now, although there may be times when we are called upon to go through certain trials and suffering which are pictured in the Bible as waters, or rivers, or even fire through which we must pass, God has promised these will not overcome us because He will be with us. (See Isaiah 43: 2.) But the waters to which the Shepherd leads are 'still waters', and He leads us there for a specific purpose.

There are lessons to learn from a situation like this that we would not learn elsewhere.

You see, still waters are like a mirror reflecting the sky looking down on them, and the clouds silently passing overhead. The still waters catch the sunlight and translate it into beautiful flashes of sparkling radiance. You cannot help but receive an essence of joy at such a sight of such illuminated beauty.

Life is full of ups and downs. It has its joys and its sorrows, and it has its dark days and light days. And just like the sea or a body of water like the one where we often visit, life can be subject to external disturbances and our peace can get all ruffled!

Ahh, but where He leads is somewhere very different! Under the Shepherd's loving care and following the Shepherd's leading, we are taken to a place of calmness deep within the soul that none can disturb.

When we who are so often beset with cares, worries and trials, the Bible encourages us and instructs us as to what to do:

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4: 6-7.

'The peace of God, which passeth all understanding'! Does this not sound rather like those still waters where the Shepherd leads His sheep? This is a stillness that is ever so much deeper than merely what's on the surface. Deep as our minds and thoughts are maybe!

In spite of our circumstances through which we must all pass, this peace is found in abundance only in the One who is able to give it freely, enabling His people to remain in a state of quietness and serenity while going through a trial of one sort or another. The Lord Jesus invited us to:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11: 28-30.

He stands in the midst of a troubled world and calls for His people to come to Him; the 'good Shepherd' who not only 'knows' the way but IS the way.

There is one thing we must do therefore in order to appreciate what it is He is communicating to us - we must follow!

~~~~~

It was just an ordinary day like so many others, or so I thought ...

I love walking and like to do a little bit each day to keep as active as possible.  Because most of the things that occupy my personal time are creative, and it's not really possible to be active and creative at the same time, so walking gets me moving and gets the fresh air into my lungs.  Anyway, a few days ago, like I do quite often, I arranged to walk to my husband's place of employment, collect our car and drive to my work about twenty minutes away. Afterwards I planned to do my grocery shopping, deliver it home before bringing the car back to Paul's work and walking back home again.

However, when I arrived to collect the car I was greeted by Paul who wasn't wearing his glasses!  He and a couple of his colleagues were busy lopping lower branches from the trees surrounding the premises where he works, and in the midst of all the activity his glasses got caught by a thin branch and flicked off somewhere out of sight!

They searched and searched but couldn't find them anywhere.  Oh dear!  Fortunately he had a spare pair which would suffice as emergency specs for the time being.

On my way to work I whispered a little prayer that they would be found soon, and then I got on with my plans for the next few hours.  It wasn't that I was casual about this but I was sure that the Lord would attend to this matter.  I later returned the car and walked back home. Upon Paul's return home the glasses were still missing!  Oh, how disappointing!

Then I had a bright idea - I suggested going back to his work after our dinner for another search.  He wasn't all that enthusiastic because he was very tired after a long physical days work in the baking hot sun.  And besides, they had searched all day while working all to no avail!  But I wasn't convinced that the glasses would never be found.

They were out there in the debris ... somewhere!

So I started praying about the matter with more fervour now because this was turning into an issue that was more than just about finding missing glasses.

After dinner was finished and dishes were cleaned we headed off back to try again.  When I got there and saw what we would have to be searching through, my heart sank!  There was so much debris in the form of tree limbs, leaves, ivy, trash, and dusty ground, it would be literally be like looking for a needle in a haystack!  "This is impossible", I began to think, but then I remembered that I had prayed about this and I was confident that the Lord would enable the glasses to be found.

Unfortunately Paul wasn't at all optimistic about finding them. I can't blame him because he was tired and we were covering ground that had already been searched through earlier.  But I was asking the Lord to come through with this because although the glasses were important, something else about this was more important! I know that the Lord values our trust in Him, so what would be the good of asking Him to aid our search so that the lost item would be found only to go home empty handed?

But after the sun set and twilight came in fast, we had to concede, and leave the premises without the glasses we searched for.  I was quietly disappointed! I couldn't understand why this happened!  I was praying in my heart asking the Lord what was the purpose of this incident?  Why did we have to go home disappointed after I was confident that He would help us find the missing specs?

Tomorrow a team of men would be coming to take all debris away for burning.  They would be quick and heavy handed, and possibly throw them out without noticing!  And then I thought ... "There's tomorrow!"  And I began to feel a bit more confident once again.  Perhaps it wasn't too late after all!

I must add at this point that my life's circumstances have allowed me the privilege of having and making time to spend in the presence of the Lord for the most part of this year.  I have learned many precious things about His sweet character, and learned how to pray prayers I know God will answer.  So to have been disappointed in this way didn't make any sense to me, because as I mentioned earlier, this was more than about finding lost glasses.  This was about a meaningful relationship with Him, and demonstrating enough confidence in Him to encourage others to trust Him as well.

This was all about protecting His character and maintaining His integrity.
And ... I had prayed about this!!!

So, as the next day dawned I asked the Lord again about this matter, said 'good bye' to Paul as he headed off to work.  I glanced at the clock and made a mental note of the time and things I had to do before walking up to collect the car as I did the day before.

It seemed that in no time at all it was time once again for me to leave.  The weather was good.  I met some nice smiling people walking in the opposite direction to me and had some sweet moments in prayer while walking.  While I entered the last little road before going down the back lane to where I would find the car, I wondered if the men might have found what we had been unsuccessfully been looking for, and prayed about this - just one last time.

As I rounded the corner and headed to the car Paul came walking towards me ... wearing the said glasses!  The men who were clearing away the debris had been informed and were on the lookout and found them about half an hour in to their work.  AND they were found completely undamaged and unmarked!  I was so very grateful and my heart was touched very deeply, I couldn't help but shed a tear or two ... because I had prayed about this.  And His answer to prayer verified to me that the outcome of this was important to Him as well, which made His answer to my prayers about this issue all the more precious.

So why have I gone to great lengths to tell you about this?

It is because those of us who know our beloved Lord Jesus as our Lord and Saviour are precious to God.  He cares about the intricate details of our lives, and it is so easy to forget about this our daily living.  But the Bible tells us that He who knows and cares about every little sparrow, knows the number of hairs on our head:

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows."
Luke 12: 6-7.

'He knows about all our wanderings: and puts all our tears into His bottle'
(See Psalm 56: 8.)

So it stands to reason that He who knows and cares about what we would consider mundane or random things cares about - missing glasses, lost car keys, sick children, job interviews, and every or any other possible thing you can think of that is important to you.

He cares about these things because He cares about what you think about Him.  He wants you to know that He can be trusted not just for the big stuff like our eternal destiny but for the everyday things that are part of our everyday lives.  What He accomplished on the cross when He came for the purpose of atoning for our sin was also to mend the relationship between us and God that our sin severed.

A relationship with Him is what He values so highly,
and this is something His people are meant to deeply appreciate 'here and now' as well as 'there and then'.

How can we as His people enjoy a relationship like this now? How can we know how to pray prayers we know God will answer? Please allow the Lord Jesus Himself to answer these questions:

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,
ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you."
John 15: 7

Unlike me who hasn't learned yet how to communicate without the use of many words - my beloved Lord can say it all in just a very few of them. :)

May I appeal to you from the bottom of my heart to make the time it takes to be alone with Him each day, just to sit quietly with open Bible, open ears, open eyes, and an open heart.  Let His Word sink in and become an integral part of your inmost being, and before long you will begin to think like He thinks and be able to pray with 'the mind of Christ'.  There cannot possibly be any higher or more satisfying way to live ♥

~~~~~

>> Do you have any questions or comments about what it means to have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus?  I would love to hear from you - why not say hello down below! ♥

It was a morning off work and there were a number of things I would have liked to do but an unexpected turn of events curtailed my plans .... in a very nice way.

I had to break away from what I was doing for a while to take my car to the garage to collect a new key and get it coded. For some silly reason I had a mental block and headed off in the wrong direction to where I needed to go and had to re-route my journey, which took me on a small detour and over a hill which overlooked one of our beautiful bays.  There is was in all its glory, bathed in beautiful sunshine, and it looked so very appealing.

I thought for a moment of time how much I would love to be there ...
'right now!'

I couldn't stop or slow down to enjoy the view because there were cars behind me, so I just caught a glimpse of it on the bend as I descended the hill down to the road where the garage was situated.

I thought the process of coding my key would take about twenty minutes or so, but I was wrong.  It was possibly going to take up to an hour!  So, I was invited to wait in the car showroom on a comfy seat in a cosy corner.  While sitting there and sipping on a small glass of water someone had kindly provided, I was wondering what I would do with all this waiting time.  I looked out of the window into the sunny street and thought: "The bay is just a few minutes' walk away from here! .... I know what I want to do while I'm waiting."

I quickly drank up my water and went to the reception and suggested that I would go for a walk and be back within the hour instead of waiting inside.  I left my mobile number just in case they were finished before my return and off I went.

In only a few minutes I was 'there'!  The very place where I had that momentary longing for, no longer than twenty minutes prior to actually being there in that beautiful bay for a stroll on the beach.  Oh, it was wonderful indeed!  The sky was blue, the sea was pleasant, the waves curling in and breaking softly on the pebbles that had earlier been washed up by stormy weather.  The smells and the sounds excited my senses.  And even better still was the fact that this most pleasant outing was an unexpected surprise!

Any other February morning would have been cold and extremely unpleasant but we have been enjoying unusually warm weather for the time of the year and there was nothing more than a slightly cool breeze to remind us that this IS actually February and not April or May!

I walked and walked, breathing in the beautiful fresh air and enjoying the sound of the waves and gulls calling to each other.  The only other people I saw down there was the occasional  person walking their dog.  It was absolutely wonderful!

When I finally turned around and walk back I stopped for a few moments to do a reality check.  Was I really here or was I imagining all of this? And then something rather wonderful occupied my thoughts.

I saw this place afar off, I longed to be there - 'right now',
and suddenly I WAS there all within a very short space of time.

How many times have we longed to be at home in heaven with the Lord Jesus and with those who we know have arrived there before us?  Occasionally we've had a glimpse of our eternal home afar off during our alone time with the Lord, or while enjoying the lyrics of a lovely hymn.  Sometimes we might be listening to some stirring music and our soul has been carried away with thoughts and imaginations of this beautiful place. Or we might have been listening to a gifted preacher expounding to us the Scriptures which gendered our longing to be there.

I have great joy in telling you that one soon day, quite unexpected maybe, those of us who are God's people  WILL be there, perhaps sooner than we thought.  The Lord Jesus promised that He is going to come again one soon day and call all of His people out of this sad old world up and away to join Him in His.

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also."
John 14: 1-3

And if it took God six days to create the earth upon which we live in all its beauty, how much more wonderful is the place He has spent over two thousand years preparing?  For me, my unexpected stroll on the beach in the sunshine was wonderful enough,  but how much more so will it be to be taken by surprise and find ourselves in His fair land and in His presence?

I don't know about you but I can't wait to get there!

But there is one more important thing.  Although I didn't know that I would be walking on the beach that day, I was prepared!  I was suitably dressed for the environment in which I unexpectedly found myself, which serves as a gentle warning to all who are reading this right now ... to be prepared!

If you are one of God's people you need to allow the possibility of the Lord's imminent return to fill and thrill your soul, because soon all the suffering and trials we know will be over.  His coming is something that ought to be paramount in our thinking, and that which we are talking among ourselves about because the Bible tells us to: "Comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4: 18.

But you may be reading this and you are not prepared for this event.  You need to know and understand that God will not allow anyone into His heaven unsuitably dressed!  You are loved more than words could ever fully tell by God Himself.  The Bible tells us this is the way He demonstrated His love: "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 1 Timothy 1: 15.

God has done everything it takes in order that you might have the assurance of a home in His heaven for you to look forward to.  It takes a humble heart willing to trust in Him fully and believe that when Jesus died on the cross, He died as your Substitute. Trusting in Him with all your heart will make room for God to change your destiny and your 'apparel'.  The Bible tells us that God clothes those who He has saved with "garments of salvation", and "a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61: 10.

It won't be long to wait before God's people find themselves in that wonderful place called heaven.  We have seen it afar off, and we long to be there 'right now'!  And one soon day, may be sooner than we thought 'right now' will have come suddenly.

Be prepared dear ones, this wonderful event may be ....

~~~~~

>> Do you have any questions or comments? I would love to hear from you - why not say hello down below! ♥

My apologies if you are familiar with this little thought. If you are on my mailing list this will have arrived via 'Snail Mail' a week or two ago, but for the sake of my Rest a While friends and family I thought this might be a little thought you might value.

For a large proportion of the year my mind has been occupied with the mighty subject of the Sovereignty of our great God. After all, such a High and Lofty One warrants our attention and sincere homage. Think of it, the One with whom we are acquainted is indeed the mighty Maker of the universes! The human mind cannot comprehend the total sum of them - but stars, comments, galaxies, and black holes are a 'piece of cake' to Him! He specialises in impossibilities and in things that cannot be comprehended.

Now let's come home to earth where we are in more familiar surroundings. Our beautiful little blue planet suspended in space is the perfect home for a diversity of life including ours. To this place long ago God visited in the form of a human being. For thirty years He lived His life in obscurity and then when the time was right He began His ministry which lasted for a mere three and a half years before He did what He ultimately came to do when alone on the cross He died to put away sin once for all.

But look what happened when the Sovereign came to live on earth. There were a few people whose lives were changed quite possibly forever. The blind were made to see, the deaf to hear, the diseased where healed by the mere touch of His hand. Some came into blessing by the command the of His voice when demoniacs were liberated, raging storms were stilled and the dead were raised to life again.

At last, here was the answer to all human suffering and need, but alas when the question was raised by Pilate: "Who will you that I release and who will I deliver to be crucified?"  To his dismay the gathered multitude cried out for the blood of Jesus when they said: "Let Him be crucified".(Matthew 27: 17-22.)  How could this be?  Humanity had never seen such a wonderful Man before! But the crowd being stirred up by the religious leaders of that day rejected Him and sadly got what they asked for instead! In effect they said: "We will not have this man to reign over us."(Luke 19: 14.)

And the world wonders why there is such suffering at every turn, could this be the reason why? They rejected the One with all the answers, and sadly, if Jesus was to live on earth again as He did back then, the human race would do the very same thing. It's in our nature!

However, there are still a few folks around who are prepared to reverse the cry of the world that has rejected Him. They call for Him to reign over them as their Lord and Saviour. We are among those folks, and it is possible to know the sunshine of His love upon us every day because we have trusted Him with our souls and with our lives. 

One day He will reign as Sovereign but it will be different then. He will reign with a rod of iron every inhabitant on earth whether they want Him to rule or not; for the Bible tells us that:

"Every knee shall bow,
and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."
Philippians 2: 10-11.

But the question is, "what about us?" It is truly wonderful to have a saved soul and to know that we have a home awaiting us in heaven, but do we have 'a saved life'? One which has been subjected to the Lordship of the One who is able to turn fear to joy, darkness to light, beauty out of ashes and the oil of joy for the spirit of mourning.

May each of us be able to truly say of our beloved Lord Jesus that as well as being our Saviour, that He is our Lord and lover of our souls, and .... our Sovereign!

It may be of interest to you that my latest song called 'Sovereign' and a video to go with it has been created about this very subject and I am hoping to publish it before the New Year. It will be posted in my next blog on the last day of this year if all is well.

Now may I take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a lovely Christmas and very much blessing for the year to come.

See you in the next blog ... next week :)

 ~~~~~

~~~~~

>> Do you have any questions or comments? I would love to hear from you - why not say hello down below! ♥

"I'm afraid the prognosis isn't very good!" Said the veterinary practitioner as he finished examining the limp body of our faithful old cat of 19 years. He had suffered another stroke like episode leaving him without the capability of using his back legs. He was helpless and very stressed.

 It felt as if I was giving my consent to end the life of a child of ours!

Teddy came into our lives when our children were young. He has been there all the way through those troublesome teenage years. And now that our family have left the nest to marry their own loved ones Teddy is still with us. By the way, Teddy is STILL with us :-)

You see, it was arranged that the vet would come to our home at 5:00pm, so we had the best part of the day to do all we could for our beloved furry friend. Our son came and spent some 'quality' time with Teddy - on the floor where we had been spending most of our day. He was groomed, petted and fussed, which Teddy appeared to relish while time ticked on relentlessly to that dreaded hour.

To anyone who has never owned a pet our behaviour might appear to have been rather peculiar but it's at a time like this that you realise just how attached to a pet you can become.

I glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time, it was just gone 5 but no one had showed up yet! After a few moments the phone rang - it was the vet calling to enquire about Teddy and about ourselves.

"Well," I told him, "Teddy still seems the same to me but he has calmed down after the injection he was given in the morning. He can do everything a cat does but only with assistance and he's hungry! As for us - well, we are in a dilemma! Earlier, having him put to sleep seemed the right thing to do but as the day has progressed we're not so sure."

I asked if he would come anyway to see Teddy for himself, and help us to know what to do to which he agreed. I no sooner closed the conversation when Teddy surprised us all with an impressive effort to rise to his feet and head over for a drink of water! What a pitiful sight, Teddy looked like he was well and truly 'tipsy' but he made it - well, after a fashion :-)

When the vet arrived we told him what had just happened. He took a look at Teddy now lying back on the floor like he had been doing all day and to our surprise and encouragement he told us:

"Do you know, I think he is going to recover!

I'm not sure to what degree his recovery will be but I believe that if you are prepared to wait 24-48 hours you will have a clearer idea what to do because Teddy will let you know."

After a further small conversation the Vet left. And so 5 o'clock came and went but our Teddy remained. I'm not sure how many lives he has left but he surely had the closest shave I have ever known in a long while.

On that sad day I lost a day's pay, and paid an extortionate veterinary bill and although Teddy has made a partial recovery he is still very wobbly. I wonder why all that happened a few weeks ago. But even as I am writing about it I realise that all this may have been for your benefit; for as you read about the events in our family you may recollect some 5 o'clock events in your own life.

~~~~~

Everyone's life is very precious you know, but there is something you possess that is even more valuable than life itself, and that is your soul and spirit! If '5 o'clock' was the time of the day when your life was going to end where would that part of you that is eternal be the moment after your body has died? The Bible puts it like this:

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16: 26

Did you know that you may have been preserved by God Himself from many a close shave without you even realising it? And you are still here! Isn't that amazing? If only you would value your soul like God does then you would make sure that all is well with your soul for time and for eternity.

God values it so highly He has made all the provisions for its eternal well being. He sent His only Son into the world to ultimately go to the cross and die in the place of sinners like you and me. When He died He took away the power that sin has to separate us from His very best and a home in His glorious heaven. All that for you and for me! What amazing grace! What love!

"The redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.
Psalm 49: 8

Seeing as you and I do not know when our 5 o'clock is going to come, it would be wise to turn from the sin for which He died and trust Him wholly for the security of your never dying soul. You will be eternally glad you did :-)

"Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."
Proverbs 27: 1 

Teddy ♥