Corsham Court & All That!

In my Blog yesterday, I mentioned Corsham Court, together with the information that I had been born in Corsham. I thought that you might be interested to know a little more about the place, and Corsham Court in particular.

Corsham has been home to the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Army, especially during the second world war. Prior to that it was a typical West Wiltshire weaving town, tastefully built of Bath stone, several quarries of which were worked in the parish from early times. Of particular interest to visitors is the row of weaver’s cottages known as the Flemish Buildings.


The local Anglican church is the Church of St Bartholomew, and it was there that I first sang in public when I was a choirboy! I remember that we used to get paid the princely sum of two shillings and sixpence, (about 12.5 pence), whenever we sang at a wedding!

In 1801 it was the eighth most popular town in the County, jealously preserving a number of ancient rights, which included the right to hold a Court Leet and have its own coroner. The parishioners were exempt from jury service and the vicar was empowered to hold his own consistory court. As a point of interest, my father, who was a well-known wine merchant in the town for around forty years, used the name Court Leet as a brand name for his own-brand sherry. I well remember spending many hours as a youngster labelling bottles with the Court Leet name on them. His business was unusual in that it was one of only five in existence that boasted an ‘irrevocable licence’.

In and around Corsham is are several distinguished country mansions, Hartham Park, Monks Park, Puckeredge House, 17th century Pickwick Manor, Jaggards and Easton Manor House (Circa 15th century) amongst them. Without doubt, the finest and most imposing of those in the district is Corsham Court, home for many generations of the Methuen family since the mid-18th century.

CORSHAM COURT

The earliest known records of a house at Corsham date back to 978 when the house was a summer palace for the Kings of Wessex. The property subsequently became part of the dowry of the Queens of England until Elizabeth I granted a leasehold interest following which Thomas Smythe (one of her subjects) erected an Elizabethan manor house on the site.

Corsham Court was a Royal Manor in the days of the Saxon Kings and is currently the home of James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there. He succeeded to the Corsham Estate on the death of the Seventh Baron Methuen in 1994. The home is based on Thomas Smythe’s Elizabethan Manor House, dating from 1582. It was bought by Paul Methuen to house a collection of 16th and 17th century Italian and Flemish Master paintings and statuary. During the middle of the 19th century the house was altered to receive a second collection of fashionable Italian Masters and rare Italian Primitives and stone inlaid furniture.

Inside the building, Corsham Court is home to a magnificent collection of over 140 paintings, statuary, bronzes and furniture. The collection includes works by such names as Adams, Chippendale, Caravaggio, Lippi, Rubens and Van Dyck. The picture gallery is 72ft in length, and the intricate plasterwork of the ceiling is mirrored in the pattern of the carpet specially commissioned by the 4th Lord Methuen and made in 1959 by the Royal Tapestry and Carpet factory in Madrid.

The grounds to Corsham Court were planned by ‘Capability’ Brown and were later finished by John Nash and Thomas Bellam. When I was growing up I was close friends with Richard (Dickie) Ball, and his father, the late Ivor Ball, was Head Gardener at the Court for many years.

It’s interesting, isn’t it, that once you kick-start your memory about a particular period of your life, so the friends and incidents surrounding it come rushing to the fore in waves. At this moment, as I write this blog-post, I am surrounded, metaphorically speaking, by my childhood friends. I can see in the darkened recesses of my mind, the images of yesteryear, images such as the late Joan Pictor, a great local eccentric and ultimately benefactor to the town, shabbily dressed and sitting in her house in the High Street, gazing out onto the passing world through her net curtains that were so dirty that they would fall apart if they were touched. After her demise the town benefitted by her bequest of her house and contents.


I loved the Alms Houses, set on the edge of the town, and magnificent in their design. These were given to the town by Dame Margaret Hungerford, wife of the commander of Cromwell's forces in Wiltshire, and incumbent of Corsham Court at that time. The Schoolroom doubled as the Chapel, and it still contains the original desks, the master's chair being built into the pulpit. Well worth a visit!

I’ve written before about childhood trips to the local sweet shop, but there was so much more. My early forays into the world of learning were the result of my childhood educational journey via ‘Miss Bailey’s’, or, to give it the correct title, Cheviot House Primary School, which was housed in the High Street.

Ah, dear reader! The wonderful benefits of memories! I hope that you enjoyed today’s journey down Memory Lane.

At present I'm reading a book by Joanna Trollope called The Steps of the Sun, and written under her pseudonym of Caroline Harvey. Like all of her books it's well-written and provides a good read, something to relax me in the few moments prior to finally shutting off the day. Last night i had an interesting experience as a result of my reading, for one of the characters in the book, which is against the background of the Boer War, mentions his commanding Officer, General Methuen, and goes on to recall a time spent at the 'Family Seat' of the Methuens, Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The reason that the words jumped out at me and made me reflect for a moment, was because Corsham Court was a few minutes walk away from my childhood home, for I was born in Corsham and spent the first years of my life there.

I recall another incident, this time one that involved one of my brothers when he lived in Johannesburg. One day he was feeling a little homesick (NOT something that I ever experienced, I must say!), and he had gone into a cafe for a meal. Whilst looking around at the pictures on the walls he saw a framed poster of the Wiltshire village of Castle Combe, voted several times as the prettiest village in England, and also the village which was taken over for much of the filming of Dr Doolittle. There in the picture was one of my late father's vans! You can imagine the effect on my brother, already feeling far from home! Just to give you an idea of how pretty the village is, I've included some pictutes of Castle Combe on this blog. One of them is of the Cstle Combe Manor House Hotel, where I have enjoyed several excellent meals in the past. Even the memory of them makes my mouth water!

It puts me in mind of our Christian lives as well, for there are times when we need a gentle reminder that we are far from home in a sense too. Not our physical home but our spiritual home, I mean. As Christians we are Ambassadors serving in Christ's diplomatic service, and our task is to ensure that we deliver His message to everyone whom we meet. Sometimes, when we are on our life's journey, we will stop for a while and reflect on the fact that we are far from home, yet that is exactly where we should be. When our period of service is over then we will be called home. In the meantime we have to ensure that we do a job well done.

Our call is a call to MISSION, and it means that we have a job to do! There is no time to simply sit back and leave it to somebody else, for they will have their task before them too. When God calls out to YOU, He really means YOU, and not the person in the next seat or the next row!

We are all part of God's army, and we are called to fight in the battlefield every day, never letting our guard slip for a moment. We are equipped with all that we need when we Have His Word, for His Word is the SWORD OF TRUTH.

I spent the first few years of my life in Corsham, and I have many memories of my childhood there. After that I travelled all over the place, including twelve years in Africa, and my head is full of memories of people, places and events from those years. Now I'm here in the North-West of England, once again building up my memory reserves with many pleasant things. But through it all I've looked to the ultimate home. I've looked towards the time when I go to take up my place that has been prepared for me by my Saviour when He finally calls me to Glory! Not, dear reader, that I'm anxious to depart from the here and now! not for a moment!!! Life is exciting, life is wonderful, life is here to be lived and experienced in full, but experienced in the fullness of Jesus Christ. But when the time comes I hope that I may be told that I have served my Saviour well. I certainly try my best to do just that.

Amazingly Beautiful Places!

I thought that I would share this picture of the Yosemite Valley with you, which I think is an amazingly beautiful site!

I hope it gives you the sense of peace that it does for me.

Just Enjoy!

An Insidious Encroachment

Yesterday evening the television was on and the programme was hosted by Gordon Ramsey, the foul-mouthed TV chef who has become extremely rich by becoming well-known for his use of the 'F-word' expletive. We changed channels. However, the Gordon Ramsey programme was followed by the TV Reality show 'Big Brother', and this is another programme where the use of obscene language is so blatantly used by the contestants that it almost slips by without notice.

When I was growing up, we were taught that the only people who constantly felt the need to use obscene or blasphemous language were those whose education was sadly lacking, and who simply did not have sufficient command of the English language to know the correct way to express themselves. In this age where the teaching methods instigated by various government 'red papers' leave much to be desired it has long been felt that the standard of education has caused a 'dumbing down' of those in receipt of it, the result being that we have reared a couple of generations of people to whom the use of expletives is as normal as riding a bicycle.

Interestingly, one contestant in the Big Brother programme, a female named Belinda, blasphemed the name of Christ at one point, and then said to her fellow contestant, "I suppose that I shouldn't have said 'Christ', it would have been better to say 'Fxxx'. How sad that her educational standards are so lacking that she feels that they are the only two alternatives that she knows to express herself!

I realise that in writing this blog today I open myself to ridicule by those whose standards match Belinda's and many millions of others, but I feel strongly about the manner in which the use of profanity and blasphemy is such an everyday event in so many people's lives. It is an insidious encroachment into our lives which has lessened the quality of them rather than enriching it.

What do you think about it all, dear reader? Does it really matter, and if you think it does, what can be done about it at this late stage in the day?

The Spirit Stirred!

Yesterday afternoon I was a guest at a Baptism Service here in my home town. This was a great service! There was no fancy Baptismal Pool, no river or rock-pool, just a swimming pool in a local Leisure Centre, but that made no difference at all to the occasion. Seven people went through the waters of baptism after confessing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and their ages stretched from about 15-years old to about 60-years of age (My guesswork, which is a reasonable estimate!)

My own profession of faith goes back to September 9th 1969, and that was the moment that my life was changed for ever, for from then onward I have always done my best to walk in Christ's footsteps. I came to Christ at a meeting that was held in the Friends' Meeting House in Bath, and was led by the evangelist, Peter Scothern, a great man of God. A few years ago I had the privilege of sharing a platform with Peter at a meeting which was held in a school hall in Chester, and I was struck again by the humble manner that he had.

Since I accepted Christ into my life it has been a wonderful walk, although not always an easy one. There have been many moments when I found the going tough, but in retrospect I can look back and see that they were moments of growth. I guess that they were my 'growing pains' as I moved on towards Christian maturity. Despite these tough times I would not change a moment of the journey, for how can any journey with Christ be anything but a mind-blowing experience.

Along the way there have been times when I have been out-of-step with God, even wondered if He had left me alone, and yet once I came back into line I was always able to see that He'd always been there, and that He had never left me. I remember one night in 1982 when I was in hospital in Zimbabwe awaiting a major back operation. In a lot of pain and very fearful of what the immediate future held, I sat in a window-seat one night at around 11.30 pm, looking up to the stars, trying to get everything into perspective, and trying my best to reach out to God. Yet, try as I may, I could not reach out! I felt totally desolate, for it seemed to me that I had become separated altogether from God. How could I go on on my own? It would be impossible.

The duty night nurse came to speak to me and I turned to her with tears coursing down my cheeks, yet no sound came from my lips. She arranged that I could call my Minister, a great guy by the name of Mike Rutter, and so I 'phoned his home. His wife answered and all I could do was sob down the 'phone. "Is that you, Colin," she said. Somehow I managed to mumble that it was. "Just put the 'phone down and Mike will be with you in a moment," she said. Even though it was past midnight and he lived about five miles away, it seemed like only a few minutes before he was there with me. The nursing staff allowed us to use an empty side-room and made us a cup of tea. For a while I couldn't speak, tears still coursing down my face. Mike talked quietly to me fro a while and then, taking my hands in his, started to pray. The desolation was dreadful. I was in the darkest place that I have ever been in. It really was as though I was completely and utterly without God, and I could not stand it. It felt as though my separation from Him was breaking my heart.

About 4.30 in the morning, as dawn was beginning to break, suddenly everything changed. I felt a warmth spreading through my body. I was no longer alone. I was back with God. Mike immediately sensed and then saw the change in my face.

It was an experience which I never want to go through again, yet it was an experience that gave me a taste of what it would be like to spend eternity without God. Every experience is a learning experience, and that day I learned the importance of doing all that I could to share the gospel with those in need of salvation, for the outcome for the lost soul is too dreadful to imagine. It would still be many years before God brought me into full-time ministry, although I already knew that it was something that would happen when He said that the time was right.

Today my heart burns with a passion for the lost souls that are still awaiting to hear about Jesus, to know about His saving grace, and to be released from the chains of sin. How I thank God for the wonderful committed Christians who have been in my life, and for the opportunity to give back something of the gift that He has blessed me with.

Yesterday at the Baptismal Service I spoke to a young man of about 18-years of age, asking him if he went to a local church. "No," he replied, "I just came here with my sister." I made direct eye-contact with him and told him that it was nearly forty years since I accepted the Lord into my life, adding, "and it was the best thing that ever happened to me!" I urged him to get to know the Lord, and to experience the change in his own life that had happened to me. "Just imagine," I said to him, "Who would ever have thought all those years ago that my decision would not only change my life but also have a bearing on countless other lives through the calling with which I've been blessed.

WE HAVE A CHOICE

Today, dear reader, I am going to share the following, which I received by email from Joanne Lowe. The copyright is hers for this piece. If you like the way that she writes then I recommend you to visit her via this link or else email her direct.

WE HAVE A CHOICE

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

Colossians 3: 15 (King James Version)

Our Scripture verse tells us that we have a choice. We can make the choice to let the peace of God rule in our hearts and be thankful for what He has done for us or we can choose to allow bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, hatred, criticism, jealousy, envy and sarcasm rule our hearts. We will only have peace in our hearts as we allow Jesus to remove all of these negative and sinful things that hurt Him and bring shame to Him.

We don’t have to live a life that is full of turmoil. We can make the choice to forgive people and let the peace of God rule in our hearts. It is very difficult for us to forgive the people who have hurt us. In fact, it is impossible for us to forgive them from our hearts in our own strength. We are still in the flesh and it takes the power of Jesus working in our hearts to bring us to the point where we can honestly say to people from our hearts “I forgive you.”

I tried for over sixty years to forgive someone. I told this person that I forgave him but I really hadn’t forgiven him because I allowed all of the bitterness, all of the hurt, all if the resentment and all of the hatred for this person to remain in my heart. I finally realized why I didn’t have peace. It was because I did not want to forgive this person. I was honest with God about it. He already knew that I didn’t want to forgive this person but I needed to admit it and confess it to God.

I told God that I was not willing to forgive this person that hurt me but that I was willing for Him to make me willing to forgive this person. Sometimes we have to start with the basics. It didn’t happen overnight but the more I yielded my heart to Him, the more I really did want to forgive this person that had hurt me so deeply. The day came when I could honestly say to this person from my heart “I forgive you. Please forgive me for not forgiving you.”

You have a choice. You can allow unforgiveness, criticism, sarcasm, jealousy, envy, hatred, resentment and bitterness to rule your heart or you can allow the peace of God to rule your heart. What is your choice? Will you allow the peace of God to rule your heart or will you continue to allow Satan to rule your heart?

Which way did you say?

Whichever direction your life is going in the sign says it all!

The main thing is not to be too distracted and to follow the arrow that points in the best direction of all!

A few issues ago The Voice Christian News & Views magazine featured an article on the late Leonard Ravenhill, a great Christian of our time who always seemed to have just the right thing to say at the right moment. I'm often led to turn to his quotes for a quick 'spiritual uplift', guaranteed to set the grey matter working.

I thought that today I'd share a selection from them with you, so here they are:

"The true man of God is heartsick, grieved at the worldliness of the Church...grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil. A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry for God. We live in a generation that has never known revival God's way. True revival changes the moral climate of an area or a nation. Without exception, all true revivals of the past began after years of agonizing, hell-robbing, earth-shaking, heaven-sent intercession. The secret to true revival in our own day is still the same. But where, oh, where, are the intercessors?"

"The true church lives and moves and has its being in prayer."

"A man who kneels before God will stand before men."

"No man - I don't care how colossal his intellect - No man is greater than his prayer life."

"To stand before men on behalf of God is one thing. To stand before God on behalf of men is something entirely different."

"A man may study because his brain is hungry for knowledge, even Bible knowledge. But he prays because his soul is hungry
for God."

"If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all."

"The one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn from history."

"Are the things you're living for worth Christ dying for?"

"We’ll have no broken-hearted pews until we have broken-hearted pulpits."

False Prophets & True Revival

We are warned in the Bible about our need to be on guard against false prophets, especially as the end of the Age draws near, and amongst the many signs that we are present at the birth pangs of the end there are many appearances of false prophets in the world today; those who would seek to lead Christians away from Christ and away from God, under the guise of Revival. What is needed therefore, is a greater awareness and discernment of all that is going on around you.

By and large the stage is well set for such things. It's widely recognised that the church in general is lukewarm at best, and there are many who are today crying out "Lord, Lord," whom Christ will not recognise when the Day of Judgement comes. It is time for people to look long and hard at themselves and REPENT of all that is wrong in their lives, Christians and non-Christians alike. Part of the act of repentance will be recognising the need for spiritual reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. No matter what you may be led into thinking, one thing is absolutely certain, and that is that there is no other way to the Father except through Jesus Christ the Son. He is the Truth! He is the Life! He is the Way!

If you are invited to one of the many Revival Meetings that are taking place in the world today and decide to attend, make sure that before you attend you go before the Lord in prayer, seeking His protection from anything in that Meeting that might be harmful to you. If you know beforehand that there is controversy about the Meeting or the leaders then ensure that if you really feel that you must go then you are covered by prayer for the whole time that you will be at that Meetings. There are leaders today whose agenda is far from bringing people to know the One True God. Rather the agenda that they work to is to distance you from God and from Jesus by all manner of hocus pocus, trying to convince you that the 'signs and wonders' that proceed at those Meetings are of God, when in fact they are from Satan himself. In order to discern what is true revival and what is false, everything MUST be measured against the Bible. Only God's Word is paramount!

So how can you be sure that you discern correctly? Firstly, of course, it goes without saying that you must know God in a deep and intimate way, both through prayer and your daily walk with him. The more you can identify God then the more easily you can discern counterfeits! If you handled large quantities of bank notes as part of your daily job then you'd quickly recognise the counterfeits from the real thing. It would become almost second nature to you. In the same way, once you get to really know God through living the faith, spotting the false amongst the true will become second nature. As soon as something counterfeit is offered you will instinctively recognise it as such.

Of course, getting to know God means that you also need to enjoy getting to grips with His Word, for the easiest way to recognise non-Scriptural teaching is to know what Scriptural teaching is. It has often been said that too much knowledge, just as too little, is a bad thing. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you know all the answers and therefore ignoring the need for a Spirit of Discernment.

The Holy Spirit will guide us provided that we let Him. The still small voice that we hear when things are wrong will save us from being deceived, PROVIDED that we hear, listen and obey! If you feel that something is wrong then don't ignore the feeling. Immediately send up 'arrow' prayers, asking for confirmation one way or the other.

How easy it is for people to be fooled simply because they are being offered something that they desire. For so long Christians have sought Revival. They have looked everywhere for signs of it. They have prayed for it. They really want it badly! Then along comes someone who appears to make all the right noises, say all the right words, have the right appearance, and WHAM!!! Without any questioning people are ready to accept that, just because something looks right then it must be right.

Satan is very cunning. He knows every weak spot of the human race, and he will exploit the desires and lusts of people whatever they are, whether it's power or money or sex. The only way for us to stand against Satan is to ensure that our hearts are right with God, and that means that we need to undergo a lot of soul-searching to discover all that is wrong in our lives. It's never an easy task to admit that you are not as good as you should be, but it is an essential one if you are to be right with God. Having exposed all that is wrong then we need to confess it to God and express our sorrowful repentance. We need to throw ourselves on His mercy and seek His forgiveness. Only then, through confession, repentance and forgiveness, can we be right with God.

Many of the 'signs' of the current wave of Revivals, such as the Lakeland Revival, display acts of chaos. Leaders such as Todd Bentley project spirits of chaos into people's lives, not spirits of peace. Standing back from the event, do you really imagine that it's pleasing to God to see His people jerking around in a convulsion, or running about screaming, or being kicked, or punched, and much more, all supposedly in the Name of Jesus!

True, God will supply your needs, not only that, but He will do so in abundance. But do you really think that one of your needs is to become immensely wealthy? Do you really believe that God will dispatch angels who will help you to amass worldly wealth? Is it not true that when you pay overt attention to worldly wealth then the true wealth that awaits you in heaven is gradually getting further and further away from you?

Of course we would love to see and to experience Revival, but only when it is TRUE REVIVAL. Remember that revival starts with the individual responding to God and living in obedience to Him in and through Jesus Christ. It comes about when we get on our knees and confess, when we repent, when we receive forgiveness, and then when we do as Christ has commanded us, and go out and share the Gospel message of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

Zimbabwe Election Result Delayed!

It was announced yesterday that the results of the Zimbabwean 'sham' election have been delayed, and that they will probably be available on Sunday (today). I suppose that the problem has to be that those responsible for the counting didn't have enough fingers to count the minimal number of votes that resulted from the thankfully poor turnout. Either that or the clown himself is trying to add up beyond 20!

The surprise will be one of great shock when the results are announced if, in this one-candidate poll, the winner is anyone other than that one candidate. Mugabe's actions in this fiasco must surely discredit him further --- if that's possible --- and raise the question of his very questionable sanity level. Surely, not even a child would take this sham seriously!

If it were not for the serious implications that it has for the impoverished Zimbabwean people then we could enjoy the spectacle of this strange series of events. After all, why bother to call an election at all. Mugabe was so obviously set on holding on to power at all costs that there never was any chance that he might be democratically removed from office. Why, therefore, can he not do as other dictatorships and simply declare himself as president for life, and state that he means for the entirety of his life. I think that the answer is a psychological one. It's obvious that Mugabe needs to believe that he has the entire nation supporting him, thereby demonstrating that he is the much-loved and revered leader that he aspires to be. It's unfortunate that he's made mistakes along the path of his 28-year rule that refute any suggestion that he is loved by all. After all, the thousands of Zimbabweans who have died as a result of his orders all have many thousand more relatives and friends who certainly have good reason to hate this despot. For those who lie buried in the mass graves in Matabeleland though, it's possible that they got the best from Mugabe, for those who he didn't order slaughtered by gun, knife and machete, he has systematically starved over the ensuing years.

You choose then. Which is the better choice --- to die relatively quickly or to take a long time to starve to death, the latter taking several years?

Watching this debacle unfold in the media does not tell you very much about the Zimbabwean people. Sadly, after a while it's easy to become so used to the news reports that one almost ignores them, and that's something that tyrants like Mugabe rely on to continue their murderous regime. So, let me share with you that the Zimbabwean people are a wonderfully warm, friendly people with a great love for God. Unlike the majority of people in the West, they are a people who are not only God-fearing but who can also claim the title 'Christian' without reprisal. Despite their poverty, they have, even in the face of the most horrific leadership, a dignity about them that stems from the generosity of their nature.

This is why I write so much about the situation in Zimbabwe. Having lived with these people for twelve years that stretched from the days of Rhodesia through the Zimbabwe-Rhodesia period and into the current Zimbabwe, I learned to love them as a people and respect them as a Nation. Apart from that, as a Christian I cannot stand idly by and say nothing whilst they are subjugated to a point of death, forced to face atrocity on a daily basis.

Please pray for the Zimbabwean Nation on a daily basis, praying that God will release them from Mugabe's stranglehold before it's too late.

Zimbabwe's Sham Election is Today!

Democracy means that you have freedom of choice, and this is as true in Zimbabwe as anywhere else. The tyrannical despot Mugabe guarantees the people of that beleaguered nation a choice in today's sham election. The people have been told that they must vote.

The choice is a simple one:

Either you vote to re-elect Mugabe or you opt to be beheaded.

Couldn't be simpler, really, could it.

I'll spell it out.

If you want to remain alive (albeit only for the national average of 37 for men or 34 if you are a woman), then you must vote to keep in power the very despot who is directly responsible for all of your nation's downfall. If you decide that you want change then you'll get the greatest change of all by not voting, because you will have chosen to die.

Of course there will be those in the country who see death as the preferable option.

The best result would be if the entire nation refrained from voting, although of course Mugabe's thugs will vote for him at all costs because they fear the retribution that will ultimately follow when this despot if finally toppled from power.

Please don't let up from PRAYING for the Zimbabwean people.

PRAY for:

• God to intervene
• Mugabe's rule to be destroyed
• Freedom from suffering for the people
• The restoration of the Nation

Zimbabwe: Well, that's one job done!

FINALLY, the UK Government has stripped the despotic tyrant, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, of his honorary knighthood! That's a piece of good news, but he still retains his other title of Ambassador for the Prince of Darkness.

Keep on PRAYING! Don't let up for a moment from seeking God's intervention in this dreadful affair. We must continue until Mugabe has been destroyed altogether! He has boasted that he refuses to leave until God ousts him, so let's pray that that happens soon, thereby freeing the people to receive international aid and assistance to start to re-build their ravaged country.

God & man together . . .

There is great beauty created

when man cares for God's creation

and places his mark upon it

in such a way that it

calls us to simply

stop and stare for a moment.

Oddwalk Ministries --- a GREAT site!

I stumbled across a great Christian music site which features the ministry of Shannon Cerneka and Orin Johnson. It's called Oddwalk Ministries, and they are helping to liven up all sorts of Gospel gatherings both in churches and schools in the USA. Why not look them up by clicking here and then make up your own mind about their music and ministry. It's well worthwhile!

Same-Sex 'Marriage'? Rubbish!

You will know by now dear reader that I most definitely disagree with the term 'marriage' being used to describe the various legal partnership arrangements that are taking place. I stand by the teaching which emphasises that marriage is the sanctification of the union between a man and a woman, and that its prime purpose is the procreation of children. The ceremony is perform in the sight of God and receives His blessing on the union. It is pleasing to Him, because it is what He intended for men and women. The Bible makes no allowance for sex outside of marriage. It is regarded as sin. Further, it makes no allowance for same-sex unions.

There is no means of interpreting Scripture correctly that would allow the exchange of marriage vows between two people of the same sex as happened at the 12th century church of St Bartholomew the Great in London, on May 31st 2008. To compound the degradation of the Scripyural intent of marriage, this was between two male priests, and was conducted by the rector, Rev Martin Dudley. This blasphemous ceremony took place despite the Church of England's ruling against such ceremonies.

That the details of this event have been so freely publicised, including photos of the two men dancing together at their 'reception', only serves to demonstrate the distance between God and the people who support this type of blasphemous union.

The following, which I leave you to draw your own conclusions from, is an extract from a report by Janet Folger which is headlined:

How Same-Sex Marriage Points To The End Of The World

What do May 17, 2004, and May 15, 2008, have in common? One judge and a redefinition of marriage against the will of the people. Both the Massachusetts Superior Court and the California Supreme Court by a one-judge margin redefined what marriage has always been in every culture and every religion for more than 5,000 years of recorded history. Why does this matter? As I wrote in my book, "The Criminalization of Christianity," Jeffrey Satinover, who holds an M.D. from Princeton and doctorates from Yale, MIT and Harvard, was on my radio program one day and I asked him about where we are in history. He explained that according to the "Babylonian Talmud" – the book of rabbis' interpretation of the scriptures 1,000 years before Christ, there was only one time in history that reflects where we are right now. There was only one time in history, according to these writings, where men were given in marriage to men, and women given in marriage to women. Want to venture a guess as to when? No, it wasn't in Sodom and Gomorrah, although that was my guess. Homosexuality was rampant there, of course, but according to the Talmud, not homosexual "marriage." What about ancient Greece? Rome? No. Babylon? No again. The one time in history when homosexual "marriage" was practiced was … during the days of Noah. And according to Satinover, that's what the "Babylonian Talmud" attributes as the final straw that led to the Flood. Rabbi Aryeh Spero verified this to be true. Rabbi Spero spoke of God's compassion before the Flood, in hopes people would repent and turn back to His ways. He showed patience for hundreds of years. But, he said, the Talmud's writings reveal that "before the Flood people started to write marriage contracts between men, in other words, homosexual 'marriage,' which is more than homosexual activity – it's giving an official state stamp of approval, a sanctification … of homosexual partnership." In fact, he said, "the writings indicated that it wasn't even so much the 'straw that broke the camel's back,' but that the sin in and of itself is so contrary to why God created the world, so contrary to the order of God's nature, that God said then and there 'I have to start all over … to annihilate the world and start from the beginning. …'"

Britain's Shame

Want to take a peek inside the opulent palace that is Mugabe's main home in Zimbabwe? Take a look at this report.

Want to see what hanging on to power is really about? You can forget all the diatribe about looking after the people --- that's all so much hogwash! No, it's all about how deep you can get your nose into the trough and how much you can steal on your pillaging trips around your own country. Mugabe is an expert at many things:

• Violence
• Murder
• Corruption
• Rigging elections
• Grand theft
• Torture

The list is fairly endless. Looking to find someone who is an expert at Genocide? look no further than Robert Gabriel Mugabe. And you know what is especially sickening? He's actually proud of all that he's achieved during the years of his despotic, tyrannical rule!

Look at his major achievements:

• He's reduced the average life span to 37 for men and 34 for women; almost half of the average when he came to power in 1980.
• He's presided over the almost complete economic destruction of Zimbabwe during his years of tyranny, turning the 'Bread Basket of Africa' into an empty beggar's bowl.
• He has grown richer as his people have grown poorer. Easy to understand because he's done it at their expense.
• He has systematically destroyed the average Zimbabweans work-expectancy by ensuring that there is virtually no employment beyond his armed forces. Current unemployment stands at around 85%.

One 'achievement was to be Knighted by the Queen at the behest of Prime Minister John Major thirteen years ago. Accordingly he is entitled to refer to himself, and be referred to, as Sir Robert Gabriel Mugabe KCB (Knight Commander of the order of the Bath).

I have TWO burning questions for the current British Prime Minister and his government:

1. "Why have you not stripped this murdering tyrant of this title already?"
2. "When do NOW propose to do it?"

As long as he still officially holds this title then he brings the British Nation into disrepute. Remember the quote that 'when good men do nothing then evil flourishes.'

For too long this government, and many others like it, have stood by and let Mugabe prove the truth of that saying. We can know that men, therefore, will do nothing about the situation, so

It's time to get on your knees and pray to God that He will do something about it!

GREAT FREE Magazine!

The July/August issue of The Voice Christian News & Views magazine is now available. If you are already a subscriber then it will be winging its way through your letterbox in about a week's time! If you've never received it then why not take this opportunity to be added to the mailing list. It's absolutely FREE to anywhere in the world. That can't be bad!

Inside the magazine there are articles by leading Christian writers, cartoons, features, and all sorts of interesting things. You can find out more about this great resource by going to the Voice Publications website and following the link to The Voice. You will then be able to register online and the current issue will be posted to you the next working day following your registration.

A CRUCIAL Week

This coming week is a crucial time for Zimbabwe as preparations continue for the election run-off. News came through last night that the MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, is considering pulling out in order to prevent the further bloodshed and brutality against his supporters. I wonder whether this is a political ploy in order to rally support from other African leaders. The problem is, as I see it, considering things from a long experience of Zimbabwe and also of that nation's politics, that whatever decision Tsvangirai takes there will still be wholesale bloodshed by Mugabe's henchmen. If Tsvangirai pulls out then his supporters will still be punished for daring to support the opposition, whilst if he stands, then the bloodshed will continue right up to the run-off and probably for a while after that. I believe that he must stand for if he doesn't then the fate of the nation may well be irrevocably sealed. Mugabe will be able once again to prance about like the demented lunatic that he is and claim that he has been democratically elected to power by the people. The problem is that there will be those who choose to believe him, despite the facts.

Tomorrow I will be preaching at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Garden Village, Wrexham, and I will lead the congregation in prayer for Zimbabwe and its people. If you can join me there you will be welcome to do so, but if not --- and of course I realise that you, dear reader, will most probably not be able to be there --- then I do hope that you will heed this Call to Prayer and stand in prayer in your own church or your own home to pray for God to intervene.

Remember that if you do this for Christ's people then you do it as unto Him (Matthew 25: 31-40)

Zimbabwe: the latest atrocities

Desperate to hold on to power at any cost, despite the wishes of the great majority of the Zimbabwean people, Mugabe continues his murderous campaign of violence against the people whom he claims have 'democratically' placed him in power. The truth is that this tyrant has a history of violence that goes back decades, long even before he came to power. He fought tooth and nail in a long and bloody campaign of orchestrated violence in order to win the prize that he ultimately did --- the country that he has persistently raped and pillaged until today it is a mere vestige of the once-great nation that it was. He came to power by the sword and he has remained in power by the sword, no more so than he does today.

The fate of the Zimbabwean people is unimaginable. Their life expectancy, should they survive his brutality, is one of the shortest in the world as a direct result of the manner in which he has consistently stripped the country bare to line his own pockets and fill his own larder, thereby depriving 'his' people of both adequate food and medical supplies. Not that he cares for one minute. As long as he and his murderous band of thugs can surround themselves with all the things denied to 99% pf the population then Mugabe considers that everything is fine.

His despotic regime has been constantly propped up by other African leaders, many of whom, although not so blatant as Mugabe, have their own crimes to answer for, but no greater support has come than that from Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's president, who is the sad excuse for a leader whose record of supporting Mugabe's regime is such that he must be tarred with the same brush. After all, if you are not against Mugabe and his tyrannical rule then you are for it. There is no excuse, and there is no fence to perch upon.

So what can be done? One of the greatest weapons that Christians around the world have is prayer. The power of prayer is immense. Prayer changes things and brings about change in a manner which man alone --- especially when so distant from the land in question --- cannot.

A short while ago in my blog I pointed people towards a website that spoke of the Stand Up for Zimbabwe campaign, and so today I do so again. Click on the link and read the latest comments.

But more than anything else I urge you to call upon your leaders, both those in the church and in national and local government, to ask God to intervene and save the Zimbabwean people from further tyranny. Pray that God will remove this despot altogether. Pray that the murder and violence against the Zimbabwean people will cease. Pray for sufficient supplies of food and medication will be made available for the people.

PRAY FOR GOD'S INTERVENTION!

• PRAY FOR CHANGE!
• PRAY FOR PEACE!
• PRAY FOR THE ZIMBABWEAN NATION!
• HOLD THE NATION AND THE PEOPLE BEFORE GOD IN PRAYER CONSTANTLY!
• PLEASE, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE FOR THOUSANDS OR EVEN MILLIONS MORE.
• PRAY THAT GOD WILL FREE THEM FROM THIS RULE OF TYRANNY!

The following comment was left on this blog yesterday:
Just found you via the Zimbabwe Prayer Vigil link - Is this happening right now, or was it in the past? I felt to organise prayer for Zimbabwe, and have emailed quite wide to ministries in America etc. In Ipswich Australia, we held a day of Prayer and Fasting yesterday for Zimbabwe for God to move. Let me know of anything you are aware of. There is going to be a rally in Perth Australia tomorrow, led by Morgan's daughter, who lives there. I believe in prayer, and am keen to help in any way possible. Ruth Booij Ipswich Australia

Use the comment section on this blog to share your prayers for this once-beautiful and proud nation and for the millions of God's people who are being subjected to the unspeakably depraved acts of a madman. If you add your voice in prayer for this people then I thank you. If you don't then I would ask you to question why not.

Funny pictures to brighten your day!

It's good when something or somebody makes you smile! I hope that I manage to do that today with these photos!

Think that God TEMPTS you? Then read on . . .

Every now and then I hear people saying that God had tempted them to do wrong but, realising that it was just a test, they refused to succumb to the temptation. Sometimes even well-meaning Christians will say this, or words to the same effect, which is sad because they obviously have not considered Scripture. Not only can God not be tempted to do evil Himself, NEITHER CAN HE TEMPT OTHERS TO! Whenever anyone is tempted then it's the devil at work, and anyone who is misled into thinking otherwise is being misled by Satan.

Anyway, I spoke on this subject last Sunday morning, and I thought that I'd share it with you dear reader, today. The reading that accompanied my teaching was from James chapter 1 and the first 15 verses. My text was from Matthew: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (6:13) .

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13)
Because temptation is a daily battle right throughout our lives, there can be no doubt that when Jesus taught us to pray to ‘Our Father, who is in heaven . . .’ we were intended to pray the prayer on a daily basis. We must never forget to whom the prayer is addressed ― the sovereign God who is our heavenly Father. In a sense each petition in the prayer affirms this in some way, but the petition that does so in a particularly special way is ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’. Even one day of relaxation during the battle with temptation can be spiritually fatal. Whilst Jesus didn’t experience the need in the second of the prayer’s petitions, Forgive us, He did experience temptation. Since He never succumbed to any temptation he had no need to ask for forgiveness. Some people may question whether or not Jesus really knew the full power of temptation, but the truth is that the only person who can fully understand the power of temptation is the person who is able to fully resist it, and so we can understand that Jesus knew more about temptation than any of us.
Lead us not into temptation. In this particular context the Greek word used for ’lead us’ is a word that is commonly translated ’bring us’, and is usually used with reference to a person moving something from one place to another, and probably expresses also the Hebrew idea of causing something to be brought or led. So this petition affirms that God is in a position to cause things to happen — to bring us or lead us — as it may please Him, thereby affirming Him as Sovereign. As our Sovereign Lord, God has control over everything that affects us: over our circumstances, over the spiritual forces outside our lives, and over us.
Lead us not into temptation. Since temptation can come from finding yourself in the wrong circumstance, this petition affirms that god has control over circumstances. It addresses Him as the one who orders the steps of His people, and so it becomes important to believe that God can actually order the circumstances of your life to protect you from the attractions of evil. Since temptation usually comes from spiritual forces outside the sphere of our lives this petition affirms that God has ultimate and sovereign control over all the spiritual forces in our world. Even though Satan and the forces of evil would love to be in control, the truth is that they cannot move outside the realms of God’s control. Whilst God does not cause them to do the evil that they do, nevertheless He does still have them under His sovereignty.
Lead us not into temptation. Many temptations are of our own making, and so this petition affirms that God has sovereignty over our own lives. We petition Him to LEAD US! To BRING US! And this personalises the sovereignty of God. It’s so easy to see God as having control over everything except our lives, simply because we like to feel in charge, but that can never be the case. Our lives will always be controlled by outside forces, whether the forces for good or for evil, the choice will have been made by us. It’s easy to slip into an attitude that sees all life as being out of control, but this petition affirms that God is in control.
Lead us not into temptation. Sometimes people can be confused about the source of temptation. The Bible teaches us that the devil tempts people whilst God only TESTS people. James 1: 13-15 says, let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he us carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. God Himself cannot commit sin, nor can He tempt anyone to commit sin. Therefore, it’s always a mistake for anyone to blame God for their temptation to do something wrong, for God is never responsible for temptation of any kind.
The Bible speaks of God’s testing a person. For example, Abraham was tested by god when he was instructed to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. God as not tempting Abraham to do something sinful, but He was testing the depth of Abraham’s commitment and the strength of his faith. Whenever God puts a person to the test, it’s to give that person the opportunity to prove themselves. Of course, there’s always the possibility of failure, but the test won’t create the weakness of commitment ― it will only reveal it.
Lead us not into temptation. Whenever the word temptation is used in connection with sin, another beside God is responsible. Ultimately the responsibility lies with Satan, but obviously he’ll work through our own sinful natures, through others, and through circumstances. It’s this type of temptation that is referred to in this petition. When we pray, lead us not into temptation, we are praying that we might escape a confrontation with the temptation to sin. Only fools flirt with temptation because there’s always the possibility that they’ll succumb to it.
Lead us not into temptation. What can we expect when we pray this prayer? Can we expect that god will protect us from the influence of Satan, or immunity from temptation? No! even our Lord Jesus, who surely knew how to pray this prayer, didn’t escape confrontation with temptation. We can, however, expect that we will not be stumbling headlong into temptation unprepared. We can expect that God’s provisions to aid us to resist temptation will always be both available and adequate. Paul writes, No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Lead us not into temptation is a prayer of personal surrender to the lordship and leadership of God in your life. It’s a renunciation of the lordship and leadership of self, and it expresses the desire to avoid sin. The location of this petition in the Lord’s Prayer, coming as it does after the petition for forgiveness, is very significant. Whenever we experience release from guilt through forgiveness, we are left with the desire to never sin again.
We must give God complete control over our lives. Consider what this this involves. Since temptation occurs in certain circumstances, we have to agree to stay away from places, from people, and from circumstances in which we know temptation will exist. We must surrender our free time to the Lord, allowing Him to guide where we go and in what we do. This includes the books we read, the TV programmes and films that we watch, and the company we keep. By praying this petition to the Lord we ask Him to direct us to things, places and people who will help us to avoid sin. Temptation also occurs when riches or poverty come to a person, so we must surrender our finances to His control, and be ready to let god determine how much or how little wealth will be ours to enjoy. Only when we surrender everything to the Lord do we let Him protect us fully from temptation.
Lead us not into temptation. This petition must be part of our daily prayer life, and must be the true desire of our hearts. Unless you consider sin a serious matter you cannot seriously pray this prayer.
Lead us not into temptation. Praying this petition earnestly leads to a new freedom and a renewed walk with God in full control of your life.
Amen

Refreshed, Renewed, Restored!

I'm back, dear reader, after my week's holiday, raring to get going once more with all the things that my Lord is calling me to do. Actually, I started back yesterday with my Sunday Service at St John's, so today is one of my theoretical 'Days Off', although I expect that I shall work for much of it as usual! On the other hand, because I enjoy what I do so much, can it truly be referred to as 'work'? I'm not so sure!

We had a good few days relaxation, going hither and thither just as the mood took us. One day we went to nearby Chester, had a wander around the shops and then purchased some lunch which we took down to eat by the river, spending a very pleasant hour or so simply watching the world go by. All very good for body and soul! Last Thursday we travelled to the Wirral to meet up with Chris Mercer, a great Christian singer who has also topped the Country charts both in the UK and the US with her song Jesus, Me and You. Why not take a visit to her website and check out about her.

This morning I started my week off by writing to the Archbishop of Canterbury to make my feelings known about the reports that have emerged about a sham of a marriage ceremony that was enacted at the church of St Bartholomew the Great last month. The ceremony, which involved two homosexual priests, was presided over by the Rev Martin Dudley. If we, as Christians and members of Christ's universal Church, do not make a stand and protest at this flagrant disregard of Scripture, then the Church is doomed to be cast onto the waste-heap. This was no quiet ceremony either, for the homosexual couple made their entry up the aisle of the church to a fanfare of trumpets. In fact I would suggest that the whole thing was intended to be as widely broadcast as possible as part of a means to force the church into doing what the so-called 'gay lobby' wants, which is that same-sex unions be regarded in every sense in the same way as heterosexual unions, despite Scriptures stance on the matter. It's very much a case of choosing to do what suits the individual rather than that which God has decreed, and as such will be ultimately doomed to be cast forever from God.

We are in an age where the Church is under increasing pressure to conform to the will of man rather than the will of God, and this sham ceremony, complete with the exchange of wedding vows, is a prime example of this. Christianity is being sidelined further and further from the Nation's core values, and political correctness, with all its insidious practises, is being promoted more and more. The ultimate aim, which includes the destruction of the family unit which has been promoted with great success for some years, is total subservience to the State. In the case of Europe with its aim of a single government, that means that we in this country, as others in the European Union, will be subservient to the overall European State via the puppets who are placed in the individual parliaments to create an impression of autonomy. Once this is achieved then America beware, for it will only be a matter of time before the two become one. Of course the ultimate aim is World domination, but if you talk about that then the men in white coats will be paying you a visit!

As Christians it is up to us to stand firm for what we believe in and refuse to be enticed into watering down our beliefs for the sake of expediency or political correctness. Only Christ knows the answers about our future that God has planned, and even Jesus Christ Himself does not yet know the day or the hour of His return. One thing is for certain, and that is that we must be ready for that moment, for afterwards it will be too late. NOW is the time to make DECISIONS! NOW is the time to stand for the TRUTH! NOW is the time to stand up and BE COUNTED!

On Vacation!

I'm on holiday this week and so I will probably take a holiday from my blog as well. Mind you, I've said that before and then snuck something in when nobody was looking, so watch out!

Whatever happens, I'll be back for certain with you next week, and so just in case I really do manage to stay away, I'll say:

T T F N!

So, What's the Problem then?

On Wednesday the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, rejected calls to strip the tyrannical despot Mugabe of his honorary knighthood, a title that was conferred on him in 1994 during the sojourn of John Major's government. Brown warned that stripping Mugabe of this honorary title --- (strange to use the word 'honorary' in connection with Mugabe!) --- would undermine efforts to force Mugabe to end human rights abuses.

On the same day the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, when speaking of the illegal detention of Zimbabwe's Opposition Leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, said: "The history of violence and intimidation against the opposition is a stain on Zimbabwe."

This morning's news carried an item in which Miliband made the idiotic statement to the effect that democracy meant that if the people wanted change then all they had to do was vote Mugabe out.

WHAT PLANET DO THESE PEOPLE LIVE ON!

In the recent elections in which people DID vote Mugabe out of power even after he did all he could to rig the results he still refused to leave. Now this week the world's attention has been drawn to this prancing madman as he took centre stage in Portugal as a GUEST of the UN for the Food Programme Forum.

When will the world act? When will world compassion kick in and rescue the people of Zimbabwe from the clutches of this megalomaniac? Please lobby your Political Representative, whether Senator or Member of Parliament, depending where you live.

And one more thing . . .

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF ZIMBABWE

The UN is Guilty by Association!

Yesterday the leading African Despot, Robert Gabriel Mugabe --- you know the one; the creature that believes the best way to stay in power is by starving and beating your people into submission, and if that fails, by killing them off --- was officially granted a platform to speak by the United Nations at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation HQ in Rome, addressing the delegates who were either too fat, too bored, or thinking about ways to enrich themselves even more at the expense of the masses, in one of his normal diatribes.

This time it was to tell the world that the people of Zimbabwe were starving because 'the UK has mobilised their friends and allies in order to impose illegal sanctions against his nation in order to cripple the economy and thereby effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.'

Well! There was me, like the rest of the civilised world, convinced that the reason that Zimbabwe was 'enjoying' inflation at 165000 per cent, along with the devastation that exists in this once beautiful land, was all down to the tyrannical rule of this megalomaniac of a dictator. Whoops! There I go again. he can't be a dictator can he? After all, he was elected by a massive majority, not once but time and time again. We all know that this man would never stoop so low as to rig the voting in his favour, and the stories about voters being 'persuaded' by Mugabe's blood-crazed henchmen couldn't be true, could they? After all, everyone knows that Mugabe is the true saviour of Zimbabwe don't they!

To utilise a favourite expression when I lived in that far-off land (in better days!), Tough Tackies! if you are stupid enough to believe that Mugabe is anything other than a cruel, vindictive, despotic megalomaniac, hell-bent on amassing wealth at the expense of Zimbabwe; a man who has systematically raped the land and, albeit generally metaphorically, the people.

For the UN to afford this creature a platform to perform one of his well-practised rants tars the UN with the same brush. I accuse them of being guilty of the starvation, torture and killing of Zimbabweans, by association. To remove this slur all they need to do is what they should have officially done a long time ago, and that is to denounce Mugabe and his rule for what he and it is. He recently lost the election yet still refuses to hand over power, no doubt fearful of the retribution which will eventually come. How fortunate he is that he can count the UN amongst his minuscule circle of friends. What volumes it continues to speak about that Organisation if they persistently refuse to condemn Mugabe and insist that he be brought to International trial for crimes against humanity.

Do YOU have money to throw away?

This morning I picked up a 2p coin on the pavement. I picked one up yesterday as well, and a couple of days before I picked up a total of 15p in a small cluster on the pavement. Twice in recent times both Gill and myself have picked up a £2 coin, and it's become unusual to go for walk in the vicinity of our house without getting anything. you might well wonder where it comes from, but that's easy to explain. Some, of course, is the result of being accidentally dropped, and this certainly applies in the case of the larger denominations, but smaller denomination coins are simply being discarded as not worth bothering with, usually by young teenagers.

When I was growing up we were taught the value of money. We were taught that if you looked after the pennies then the pounds would look after themselves, and we learned that you needed to keep a watch on your pocket money, such as it was, and not waste it. We were taught that if you wanted something then it was important that you saved up for it first. We were taught that if we wanted money then we needed to work hard for it.

By comparison it seems nowadays that children ask for birthday and Christmas presents that are extremely expensive, urged on by advertisers who use encouraging phrases like "It's only £ xxx", and the figure can sometimes be as high as £499! How can children learn the value of money, or indeed anything else, if this is the way that they are led to believe is the right way? How often they can get a present which has cost maybe £200 or more, and then discard it in a few months or even weeks because there is something newer or bigger or with a different label that they decide they absolutely MUST have!

So who's really at fault? Is it the Advertisers who seek to relieve us of as much hard-earned cash as possible, or is it us for falling for the pressures of child-nagging and the need (at least perceived) for our children to equal their peer group? If all parents refused to be bullied then the peer groups would be much as they were in our younger days, and perhaps then the sense of balance would be restored along with a true sense of value. There is nothing truer than the fact that something achieved or obtained for no cost is usually of no value to the recipient.

Want to see change? And no, I don't mean the change that I find thrown away or carelessly dropped in the street. I mean a change in the way that people value what they have. Perhaps you have an idea of how you might achieve this. If you do then why not share it with my reader by posting your comment.

Are YOU a 'Whenwe'?

The other day I posted a blog about the time that I lived in Rhodesia, and that reminded me about a particular type of person who could often be found living there. They came from all sorts of backgrounds and from a variety of countries, although those from the UK were probably the most prevalent, and they all belonged to a group of people who were known as 'Whenwe's'.

Whenever they started to get into a conversation with you it was easy to see how they earned the sobriquet, for it would not be very long when they started to talk about a subject before they started to say of it, "When we . . ." It was "When we lived in England we did this." or "When we went to ---- we saw/did/ate/thought/etc." I'm sure that you get the idea!

The problem with these people was that they seemed unable to be satisfied with where they were or what they had. They always talked about where they had been previously as being better than where they were now, or claimed that what they used to have was far better/far bigger/etc than what they currently had. It's a bad trait in some people to never ever be satisfied with what they have at the time, yet the moment that you have something, whatever it is, is surely the finest moment to appreciate it as it is, 'faults and all', so to speak.

if you go through life wishing for times/places/things/people/situations/etc that used to be then you will never manage to find the time to appreciate the gifts and blessings of today. The truth is that yesterday is gone and tomorrow is yet to come, so that only leaves today, so today

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!

Another musical notch!

Just a few days ago, on the 26th May to be exact, my song-writing partner Greg Scheer wrote in his MusicBlog: I just finished my 34th song with lyricist Colin Gordon-Farleigh. It’s a ballad called “This Is the Way.” If you know any Broadway musical producers, call them and tell them I’ve got their next hit. If you visit Greg's site by clicking on the link in the sidebar of my blog then you can catch the song for yourself. Have a listen to the cheesy computerised Finale version as you read the words, and see what you think.

In fact, his blog entry is already out of date because yesterday evening I received the 35th song that Greg has co-written with me! It's a song for the Country-style album that we are putting together for release in 2009, and it's called A Country Kinda Guy. In fact there's a very strong rumour that Greg will be recording this CD, so watch out for news of it in the future!

Greg has been composing the music for my lyrics since 2006 and , although we've never yet met, we seem to have struck a chord with each other's work (pun intended!). I really enjoy the music that he composes for my words, and I think that I would have to go a long way to better it. I hasten to add that's not intended in any way to diminish the compositions that other composers work on with me in the Worship field of course.

I really thank God for the day that He got Greg and I together!