One of the great things about being involved in the music business, even on the periphery, is that you get to discover some great raw talent, and 18-year old Toni Gibson certainly fits the bill. She has a powerful voice and uses it well. It would be good to see and listen to a professional recording and video, and well worthwhile for someone to invest in doing. Here's another young singer to watch out for!
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Friday, December 31, 2010
'Forever Friend', sung by Darren Mullan
Meditation on Romans 10:17
Once we have received the message of Jesus Christ into our hearts we have a commission from Him to share it with others.
Let the Light of Christ be something that glows constantly in you and proclaim His glory and His saving grace to the world.
Poem for Today: 'A Thought of Thanks'
A Thought of Thanks
Picture now the firelight glow;
outside is crisp and white with snow.
Picture now a smiling face,
looking down on fireplace;
thinking back upon the past,
of yesterdays that did not last.
Yet, full sublime with Christmas cheer,
I think the whole world's peace is here.
© 1966 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
New Hymn for today . . .
We Thank You, Lord CM
TUNE: Belmont
We thank You Lord, for all that grows,
For every living thing;
For all that You have done for us,
For flowers and birds that sing.
We thanks You for our Mums and Dads,
Brothers and sisters too;
For those who teach to read and write,
And make us better too.
So many things to thank You for,
You give us every day;
Help us O Lord, to share Your love,
And hear us when we pray.
Help us remember each small thing
That fills our hours and days;
Then we’ll all sing our songs of joy,
And everlasting praise!
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
Happy New Year!
Whatever has happened, good or bad, is now in the past. One of the most important lessons that we have to learn is that you cannot change the past. What has gone has gone for ever. But you can change the present. What happens today may often be out of your hands, but the manner in which you deal with it, the way in which you react to the situations that you find yourself in, these are the things over which you have control. In this way, because it becomes your choice as to how you deal with things, you are able to change them, and changing them will mean that you change your future with them.
As I look back over the past year there have been many changes in my life, not least of all my retirement from my position as the full-time Minister of a church.Not only that, but a couple of weeks or so after my final service the church was closed due to the high cost of much-needed repairs and as a result of a membership vote to do so. Of course, not every member voted for the closure, although there was enough to carry the vote. Nevertheless, it meant that a huge change took place in the lives of those who regularly attended the church, many of whom had one so for many decades.
'Retirement' has not meant that I have lots of free time on my hands, but it has meant that I can choose what I do with my time on a more personal basis. Hence, I have spent more time on this Blog, trying to maintain the interest of you, dear reader, and also to attract new readers to it. Only you know how well I have succeeded in the former, but my statistics tell me that the readership has gone up ten-fold over the past few months. I am able to spend more time on the music aspect of my Ministry as well, with the result that I have managed to post a new hymn of mine on the Blog every day for the last four months, both lyrics and score.
What will 2011 bring? Your guess is probably no better than mine. One thing is certain, however, and that is that 2011 will be a time of fresh opportunities and new challenges. How we meet them will be the way that we alter the present and establish the future. Let them pass us by and they will be gone for ever!
Above all, for 2011, I wish you peace and happiness. I will continue to proclaim the Saving Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as often as I can, and in every circumstance and place. I will continue to fight against the evils that surround us, and of which we read and hear about in the Media every day. I will continue to do all that I can to follow the advice given in the Bible to let my light shine before men, as I share the Light of the Living Christ in my work, my writings and my meeting with folk. And I will continue to do all that I can to make this Blog somewhere worthwhile visiting each day.
Happy New Year!
Joanne Lowe's Meditations
A NEW COMMITMENT
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
Malachi 3:10 (King James Version)
Many people will make resolutions for the New Year, things that they want to do. Instead of making resolutions, let us make a new commitment to serve Jesus and to give God everything that belongs to Him. Our Scripture verse tells us to bring all the tithes into the storehouse. Yet, many times we don’t do it.
We forget or aren’t aware that bringing all the tithes into the storehouse doesn’t mean just giving our money. We are to give our talents. If we can sing, then we need to be singing in the choir. If we can play the piano, we should play the piano. If we can teach, we should be teaching Sunday School.
However, it’s not enough to just do things for Jesus on Sunday. We should be doing them every day of the week. There are twenty four hours in a day so two hours and forty minutes belong to Jesus. Can you honestly say that you give Him two hours and forty minutes of your time every day?
Will you make a new commitment to set aside at least two hours and forty minutes every day for Jesus? Let’s use this time just telling Jesus how much we love Him and appreciate Him. It will make Him very happy. If ever someone deserves to be happy, it is our precious Saviour.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Meditation on Romans 11:33
It reminds me of the walk we have with Christ. How easy it is to be distracted from the straight and narrow way, feeling that it lacks adventure and excitement; dashing off down the side routes that invariably take us nowhere. Yet when we stick to the pathway that He points us along, what a joy awaits us at the end of it.
Poem for Today : 'Friendship'
Friendship
It needs a friend, in troubled times,
to lay a hand upon your own;
to turn away the shadows of the past,
seeing seeds of hope are sown.
Someone standing by to fill a lonely gap;
to give, and to receive in giving,
more joy in fleeting moments
than once you had in living.
So listen now to these few words ---
If you think you've reached the end,
in your hoping and your waiting,
share your living with a friend.
© 1967 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
New Hymn for today . . .
There Will Come a Time DSM
TUNE: Diademata
There’ll come a time one day,
When all the world finds peace;
When lion lays down with the lamb,
And every war will cease.
Then Christ will rule as King;
Rule over all the earth;
Then all will bow before their Lord,
And live the second birth!
Then on that glorious day,
We’ll stand in God’s own light;
There’ll be no pain or sickness there,
There’ll be no day and night.
Then Christ will rule as King;
Rule over all the earth;
Then all will bow before their Lord,
And live the second birth!
We’ll join in heaven’s choir,
Our voices lift in praise;
We’ll glorify our Lord and king,
Through our eternal days!
Then Christ will rule as King;
Rule over all the earth;
Then all will bow before their Lord,
And live the second birth!
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Poème pour Aujourd'hui
Seigneur O, Notre Seigneur!
De Psaume 8
Seigneur O, notre Seigneur,
Comment majestueux est Votre nom!
Seigneur O, notre Seigneur,
Comment majestueux est Votre nom!
Vous avez fait les cieux,
Arrangé les étoiles dans le ciel,
Vous avez soulevé le faible
Et les a rendus fort;
Vous avez rempli tout le monde
Avec la gloire du Seigneur,
Vous nous avez appris comment dire
Le droit de mal.
Seigneur O, notre Seigneur,
Comment majestueux est Votre nom!
Seigneur O, notre Seigneur,
Comment majestueux est Votre nom!
© 2006: Colin Gordon-Farleigh
Gedicht für heute
O Lord, Unser Herr!
Von Psalm 8
O Lord, unser Herr,
Wie majestätisch ist Ihr Name!
O Lord, unser Herr,
Wie majestätisch ist Ihr Name!
Sie haben das Himmelsgewölbe gemacht,
Repariert die Sterne auf im Himmel,
Sie haben sich auf dem Schwachen aufgelöst
Und machte sie stark;
Sie haben die ganze Erde gefüllt
Mit dem Ruhm des Herrn,
Sie haben uns beigebracht, wie zu erzählen ist,
Das Recht auf Unrecht.
O Lord, unser Herr,
Wie majestätisch ist Ihr Name!
O Lord, unser Herr,
Wie majestätisch ist Ihr Name!
© 2006: Colin Gordon-Farleigh
Poem for Today
O Lord, Our Lord!
From Psalm 8
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name!
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name!
You have made the heavens,
Fixed the stars up in the sky,
You have lifted up the weak
And made them strong;
You have filled all the earth
With the glory of the Lord,
You have taught us how to tell
The right from wrong.
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name!
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name!
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
New Hymn for today: 'Restore us Lord!'
Restore Us Lord! CM
TUNE: Abergele
Renew us Lord, without delay,
As in those early days;
Remind us of the vows we made
To follow in Your ways.
Then we, with laughter, will be filled,
We’ll sing with joyful heart;
Acknowledge each amazing thing,
Done for us from the start.
As streams of living waters flow,
And life to deserts bring;
So we will give ourselves to You,
And worship You, our King!
What everlasting joy we’ll know,
When at Your feet we bow;
To know that we have served You Lord,
For You’ve restored us now.
© 2006 : Colin Gordon-Farleigh
Joanne Lowe's Meditations
EVERYTHING
Mary Dagworthy James wrote a hymn that I love. It is a hymn that should make all of us search our hearts “All for Jesus”. I wonder how many times we have sung this hymn but didn’t even realize what we were singing or worse, didn’t mean what we were singing.
The words in the hymn are so beautiful. “All for Jesus, all for Jesus! All my being’s ransomed powers: All my thoughts and words and doings, All my days and all my hours”. Can we honestly say that we give Jesus all of our thoughts, words, doings, days and hours? Do we give Him everything?
Not only are we to give Jesus everything, we are also to live in such a way that our bodies are a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God. However, there’s more to our Scripture verse. It says that it is our reasonable service. There are times when we act like we’re doing God a favour to live holy lives.
Is your life holy and acceptable unto God? Have you surrendered everything to Jesus or do you keep some of the days and hours for yourself so you can watch television? I once heard a pastor say in his sermon “If you watch television more hours than you serve Jesus, it has become a god to you”.
If you have allowed the television to become a god to you, get rid of it! The Bible clearly tell us that we are to have no other gods before our God (Exodus 20:3). If we really love Jesus, we will give Him everything. How much do you love Him?
Joanne Lowe
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
What about their Human Rights?
The media is full today of the news that nine terrorist suspects have been arrested, their plans to blow up various London landmarks and cause mayhem and terror in the land having been discovered. Amongst their proposed targets were places such as the London Eye and the Stock Exchange, as well as various individuals.
Personally speaking, I'm glad that they are now incarcerated safely for the time being, and that they have been refused bail, but the question remains, 'What about their Human Rights?' After all, they are probably all nice people given the right set of circumstances to judge them by. Not only that, I'm sure that they were only planning to create an atmosphere of terror and to destroy property and kill people as a result of their desire, just like their fellow Islamic Fundamentalists, to turn the United Kingdom into an Islamic State.
Given that the UK is generally seen nowadays as a soft touch by criminals and terrorists of all persuasions, and that the Human Rights Legislation, irrespective of the purpose intended originally, appears to be designed to be in favour of the criminal element and against the victims, I wonder whether these people will actually be punished at all. Oh dear! Cynical old me! I guess that my cynicism comes as a result of the way that we have seen these people treated in the past, since the EU controlled our legal system and insisted on the ridiculous Human Rights legislation being incorporated into our Law books.
Perhaps, just perhaps, we might one day find that our government has the sense to abandon the malpractice of Human Rights that we constantly find paraded before the judiciary today, in favour of a real Bill of Human Rights that truly ensures equality and common sense.
At one time, way back when this nation had an identity of which it could be proud, unlike today, those who planned acts of terror were charged with treason and then treated to the punishment that such treacherous behaviour deserved. Unfortunately, today they are more likely to be given a slap on the wrist and then allowed to live out their lives gratis of the Benefits System, supported by the very tax-payers whom they deigned to make the target of their treasonous endeavours.
I wonder just how long it will be before the cry of 'What about their Human Rights?' will be heard. Sadly, I suspect that it won't be too long.
Personally speaking, I'm glad that they are now incarcerated safely for the time being, and that they have been refused bail, but the question remains, 'What about their Human Rights?' After all, they are probably all nice people given the right set of circumstances to judge them by. Not only that, I'm sure that they were only planning to create an atmosphere of terror and to destroy property and kill people as a result of their desire, just like their fellow Islamic Fundamentalists, to turn the United Kingdom into an Islamic State.
Given that the UK is generally seen nowadays as a soft touch by criminals and terrorists of all persuasions, and that the Human Rights Legislation, irrespective of the purpose intended originally, appears to be designed to be in favour of the criminal element and against the victims, I wonder whether these people will actually be punished at all. Oh dear! Cynical old me! I guess that my cynicism comes as a result of the way that we have seen these people treated in the past, since the EU controlled our legal system and insisted on the ridiculous Human Rights legislation being incorporated into our Law books.
Perhaps, just perhaps, we might one day find that our government has the sense to abandon the malpractice of Human Rights that we constantly find paraded before the judiciary today, in favour of a real Bill of Human Rights that truly ensures equality and common sense.
At one time, way back when this nation had an identity of which it could be proud, unlike today, those who planned acts of terror were charged with treason and then treated to the punishment that such treacherous behaviour deserved. Unfortunately, today they are more likely to be given a slap on the wrist and then allowed to live out their lives gratis of the Benefits System, supported by the very tax-payers whom they deigned to make the target of their treasonous endeavours.
I wonder just how long it will be before the cry of 'What about their Human Rights?' will be heard. Sadly, I suspect that it won't be too long.
Great Quotes on the subject of 'Holiness'
"Holiness has been the message of saints of God down the centuries, and was the foundation of the glorious Revivals of Christianity under the original Quakers, Methodists and the Salvation Army and wherever it is truly known and experienced, it is the bringer-in of Revival today."
- Paget Wilkes.
"True holiness is a Revival of Holiness. Personal holiness is more desirable than happiness, he (Duncan Campbell) taught, and it is not in heaven alone that God wants our saintliness - it is here and now; holiness is not just a doctrine to be taught, it is a way of life - it is the life of Jesus."
- Duncan Campbell
Poem for Today
Perfect Love
The soft green sward of the park
stretched, acre upon acre;
silver flashes from the gentle flow
of the stream that winds across.
Wooden benches below the willow trees,
giving refuge to the lovers
wandering hand in hand below.
Old people sit and watch together;
a child sits and plays alone,
laughing happily to his unseen friend,
rejoicing in his imaginary world.
He watches a flower, fragile amongst the green;
eyes wide, gazing rapturously downward,
hardly daring to even rest a gentle finger
on the beauty of the gold and white.
It seems like hours, he sits and watches,
softly murmuring to his new-found friend,
stopping only to listen to the wind’s reply.
In the distance his mother sits and watches,
remembering her own youth and innocence.
She smiles an envious, wistful, smile,
happy memories bringing momentary tears.
She glances at an old couple as they watch,
taking in the scene as their twilight draws.
The old woman sees hope and innocence;
the old man sees a great love in magnitude.
slowly his hand reaches out, trembling,
to hold that of his own treasured love,
clutching to himself a flood of memories
that lie enshrined within a golden casket.
For a moment they gaze into each other’s eyes,
tear-stained by the years of happy thoughts,
before turning back to watch the child.
From the rustic bench the lovers wait,
yet not quite knowing what for.
They watch, awe-struck, as the child,
oblivious to the world beyond his dreams,
tenderly reaches out his hand, whispering gently,
content with the answering breeze
whispering soft and clear across the park.
Leaves rustle through the trees, urgently calling
to the songbirds, circling high in summer flight.
The birds echo everyone’s thoughts
as they fly upward above the child,
their eyes seeing so much more than ours,
especially the wonder of a perfect love.