Hold me in Your arms....

I had a song buzzing around in my mind yesterday (Check it out here) as I once again recalled the events of Feb 12th with tears in my eyes, as I wandered through Reading town centre.
Aside from me, I am aware of so many other people with life-challenging situations - alcohol addiction, grieving the death of a precious husband, work related stress, bad news about an unborn child.....

What's the answer to all of this ?
It's in the God who never leaves nor forsakes us - the answer is in that precious relationship which has been made available through Jesus' death and resurrection. So glad He's with me through every step of life.....I marvel how anybody can do life without Him?!
When everything else is stripped away, when all else fails, when credit cards can't buy the answer, when people can't meet the need, when bereavement happens (as surely it will), Jesus still remains....the same yesterday, today and forever....a rock, a fortress, reliable, dependable, faithful, caring, loving, healing....

Song Lyrics :

I long to know You
Only You can satisfy
I long to touch You
Only You can heal my life

I can't find peace in the things I do
I need to see Your kingdom
I can't find peace as I strive for You
I need to see Your face

Hold me in Your arms
Don't ever let me run away
Hold me in Your arms my Father
Say You'll stay, say You'll stay.

People, people, people....

Yesterday was utter madness....a ferry to the Isle of Wight nice and early and then 64 miles / 4 1/2 hours later and Sean, James and I had circum-navigated the Isle of Wight on our rocket-bikes. For more details, on our epic adventure, see the Green-boy's blog

I was thinking that we must be clinically insane (we probably are!) - but it turned out to be an enjoyable day :-)

I ask myself sometimes why I do these things - and when it comes down to it, it's not really the 'thing' that's enjoyable, it's doing the 'thing' with people that I love that really makes the big difference....these last months have made me appreciate the importance of close friends and family more and more.

So today, I bought some sunflowers for myself and some for a family that I love dearly, just because they are a radiant example of God's creation, they made me smile, and because life is all about knowing God's presence and is also about people, people, people....

In better words than any I can muster up, Jesus said it this way..."Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind, AND... love your neighbour as yourself" (Matt 22:37-39)

My challenge to you today is to tell those closest to you that you love them - they probably know it already - but tell them anyway face-to-face if you can......and why not phone a friend and tell them the same thing. It'll brighten their day, your day and I'm sure God will be smiling too :-)

Race for Life....

Photos from todays Race For Life featuring lots of friends running in "Team Karena...." (the dalmation is nothing to do with it but is just quite cute!!)....

Everybody who ran in Team Karena did really well - a fabulous team effort!!

If you still want to sponsor the team, please do so.... here

The Race For Life per Heb 12:1-2....

"...let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"

"I do..."

10th July 1993 probably isn't that significant a date to most people....for me though it was a life changer....I really landed jam-side-up that day !

17 years later I'm still so glad that Karena said "I do" because she totally changed my life in the process. This year of course there are no anniversary cards, & no hopes for our future married life together...in their place there are just shatterred hopes,shatterred dreams, tears and sadness.

In my bible reading notes this morning I have been reading about the goodness of God from Psalm 34:8

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that takes refuge in him"

...and the commentary notes read as follows :-

Some people misunderstand the idea that God is good, and take it to mean that bad things will never happen. Then, because of the results of the Fall - things like death and sin and sickness and abuse and earthquakes - still happen, they get angry with God....but in verse 19 the psalmist makes the remarkable announcement "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" which is the exact opposite of what many people today would think. Even with a good God who is sovereign over everything and has the power to do whatever he likes, good people still suffer. The punch-line comes in the next phrase though..."but the Lord delivers you out of them all".....and "no-one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him" (vs 22)

My theology is clear, but I still feel sad most of the time ! So....exactly 17 years after saying "I do", I will cling onto the most important person that Karena introduced me to just a few months before we were married - Jesus - He alone is my Helper, my Comforter, my Hope, my Salvation, my Rock, my Fortress & my Song....

...and when He asks "Will you follow me wherever it leads and however hard it is?"...

...through tears, I reply "I do".

It's all about the journey....

Two weeks ago I cycled to Windsor Great Park to the place where we scattered Karena's ashes. What struck me when I got there was how high the grass had grown - about a metre - of course time has marched on and, if left unattended, grass tends to do that type of thing. There I prayed and told God that I knew it was time to move on....

Yesterday I fancied a long bike ride so headed back towards Windsor - but this time I didn't stop at the Great Park but stayed on the road and raced all the way into Windsor then back out in a big loop around the route of the Windsor triathlon and then back home. It felt a little strange to stay on the road and not stop as I passed - but Karena isn't there anyway, she is with Jesus in a far more beautiful place and will certainly never be forgotten by everyone who loved her.

I was quite chuffed with the cycling - for the saddo fitness fanatics like me, the stats are : 76km, 2hrs & 33mins, 30kph average speed, 67kph max speed (on the road into Windsor - it's downhill and I was pushing hard !).....I was quite tired at the end of it all ! After 'working' so hard I decided to go out for a lunchtime panini - it had scrambled egg, bacon, sausage, and ketchup in it and was a taste sensation! ....but I cried going there in the car and over lunch too as I keep reliving parts of life's recent journey ;-(

In a few weeks time I'm planning (weather permitting) to cycle around the Isle of Wight with Sean and James - will look forward to that but the boys are going to struggle keeping up with me ;-)

In my bible reading notes today I read (based on Jer 32:17)...."Nothing is too hard for the God who created the heavens and the earth". I'm sure that includes healing a heart which is still very very bruised...

The good news is, tomorrow it's my birthday - 42 !