Why I Need to Pray What goes through your mind when you wake up in the morning? Honestly, my mind seems programmed to go down a negative track as soon as I wake up. I don’t know if that’s a normal thing, or if it’s some kind of spiritual attack, but when I wake up generally my thoughts head (pun intended) down a negative track. My default seems to be to find some kind of flaw in myself and then to feel bad about it and start the day negatively. Not very healthy right?! I say this because it illustrates why I need prayer. I can’t live without prayer because prayer connects me to my Father in heaven who loves me. I try to practice giving God my thoughts

GTWM Have you heard of the “GRWM” trend? What about the “GTWM” trend? Maybe you’ve heard of one but not the other? Over the past 13 years, there has been a trend called “grwm” going around. This stands for “get ready with me”, and it is a trend that is quite popular on social media. People have been attaching this tag to videos they shoot, and it is effectively a video blog of the process it takes them to get ready. Maybe they are getting ready for work. Maybe they are getting ready to go out to a party. Or they could even be getting ready to go and run a marathon. Through this article, I would love to kickstart a new trend that I am abbreviating - “gtwm”.

You Are Capable - With God  If you’re like me, sometimes you think you’re a little useless or ill equipped to serve God. Or sometimes you compare yourself to others and think there is no way you can serve him in your current context… so why try? Upon reflection I see that this puts pressure on yourself that can paralyse you to serve God. I hope the three illustrations below encourage you, as they did me, to see that our context doesn’t matter, who we rely on does.  You are a Glove   Corrie Ten Boom - a woman who faithfully served God to save many Jewish people in the Netherlands during World War II, and who continued to serve him faithfully thereafter - is a woman I will always

When in doubt  Have you ever found yourself doubting the goodness of God? Or at the very least wondering what on earth God is doing? Maybe you're in a tough season. Maybe someone close to you is. And you know that God is sovereign, that He has a plan and that His plan is good. But you just can’t see it. And so, you cry out to God for an explanation, thinking that if you could only understand what God was doing, you would be satisfied.   In the OT we find the story of Job, an upright man who faces a series of hardships and wants answers from God. He's lost his livestock and servants, sons and daughters, and his health (Job 1,2). For the most part He remains

A Book Every Parent Should Read  During my time in pastoral ministry, I’ve spoken to lots of different parents at all different stages. I’ve prayed with young parents who have felt overwhelmed by the task and responsibility of raising young children. I’ve sat with older parents who have expressed regret over parts of their parenting journey. I’ve heard from other parents at a complete loss about what to do with their teenagers. And I, as a parent of young children myself, have felt all of these emotions at different stages of my own parenting journey.   My point? Parenting is tough. Yes, it is rewarding and fun and deeply worthwhile, but it is also hard, and it can be very complex. While there is no silver bullet; no one single

The Idolatry of Coffee (And Other Things)  What are the things in your life that you could not live without? Day to day, what are the things that you depend on to get you through?   For many, it’s coffee. I’ve lost track of the times I’ve heard someone say something along the lines of, “Don’t talk to me before I’ve had my coffee” or “I’m not awake until I’ve had a coffee” or “I don’t function without having coffee”.  Perhaps a close second (regarding things we depend on) is family.  Now, it’s not that I dislike coffee drinkers…there is nothing wrong with drinking coffee to enjoy it. However, issues arise when we become dependent on it (and other energy drinks)…issues arise when coffee becomes an idol.   If reading this

Praying for One Another  Last week I wrote about one-anothering. The repeated Scriptural command to love and care for one another (among many other things). I have since come across a beautiful prayer by Scotty Smith that we can pray for and over each other as we seek to do this.   I encourage you to save it on your phone, print it out to stick in your Bible, or put it on the fridge. As you pray through it, open up the Scriptures referred to throughout and meditate on them.   A Prayer for Grace to Bear One Another’s Burdens  Dear Lord Jesus, the call to shoulder up under the burdens of friends and family drives us to you today. Otherwise we would simply turn and walk away, just like

One-Anothering  One-anothering isn’t a real word, but it is a concept I’ve learnt more about recently… and I love it! I’m currently enrolled in a Pastoral Care unit at Bible College and of the standout things I have learnt is what lecturer, Dr. Murray Capill, calls ‘one-anothering’. You’ve probably heard reference to the many “one-another” commands in the New Testament? Put simply, one-anothering is about heeding these commands and following in the steps of the Good Shepherd, Jesus.   In church terms, we usually call caring for others ‘Pastoral Care’, and I appreciate that sometimes this type of care will take place in more formal meetings with a Pastor or Church Leader. I also acknowledge that there are some who are specifically gifted and trained in counselling. But the truth