Tag Archives: events

Looking Back.

   We are coming to the end of another year. What a year it has been! A year like no other anyone has ever experienced. If we had been told this time last year all the events that were going to come upon us in the year 2020, we would not have believed it!

     To think that the whole world has been affected by what has been called Covid19. It has spread so far and so wide, that most people have forgotten the beginning of it all….just one little virus getting loose that eventually brought the whole world to a standstill!

    For some, there have been other traumatic things happening….perhaps the loss of a loved one or some accident that has turned their world upside down. No matter how smart mankind becomes, we cannot foretell the future. All we can do is to hope that 2021 will be a better year.

    But Christians have more than that to fall back on….we can say that although we don’t know what the future holds, at least we know the One Who holds the future! This makes all the difference as we move on into another new year. If we do not have this confidence, there is nothing to stop us getting it. It doesn’t cost us any money to get it, but it does cost us the experience of having to humble ourselves before a God who we don’t yet know, but Who is calling all people everywhere to come to Him.

   This is one of the reasons we are here on earth so that we can come to know Him while here and learn His ways. He will set us free of our addictions and bad habits, and fellowship with us every day.

   The thing that surprises me most, is that  people say they want to go to heaven when they die, and they speak at funeral services as though their loved ones have gone “up there”, but yet they feel most uncomfortable in a church building, let alone in  a church service! How do they think they are going to be able to stand being in a place that is holy, clean and righteous, singing praises to a God they have never met!!! This is something that we all need to think about here and now, even before this uncomfortable year has finished!!

Keeping a Diary.

     I’ve kept a diary for years, and I must say that it has been the means of solving many an argument! Dates and events are often otherwise forgotten. I’ve got several different styles of diaries, and one I often refer to is my diary of events. These are just the headlines of different things that happen in the month and the family often refer to it as well. Then there is my normal diary which has more detail of day to day happenings, conversations and weather etc.

     Another one that is useful is the garden diary….this one is laid out four pages to a month labelled Week One, Week Two etc, and divided into sections down the page…each one corresponding to a year. This means that you can see at a glance how various plants have been doing from year to year at the same time.

    Then there is the Diary of Items Bought. How often do we remember exactly how long we’ve had that appliance that has suddenly given trouble, and wondered if it is out of its guarantee or not! Or how many years we’ve had a certain machine and what we paid for it?

   Finally there is a Spiritual Journal. Here is where you write precious thoughts that have come to you during the day and times of reflection. Things you have thought of as you have read devotional writings, and perhaps things that puzzle you, the whys of life and eternity. Don’t let these thoughts slip away, but write them down. As you read them later, jot down further thoughts you have had on similar topics. As you do a daily reading of the Bible, write down the thoughts and questions that come to you and ponder them further. Never be too busy to make time for this, even if it is only fifteen minutes a day….what is that out of twenty-four hours? Surely we can make that much time to deal with this, the most important side of our being!