Thoughts From The Road

The Bridge - A Story of Sacrifice

26/04/2011

Over the years I have heard many evangelistic stories. This is one that moved me when I heard it. I think I may have even used this illustration myself. What this short movie. It will help to put Good Friday into context

Posted at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Loving Your Neighbour As Yourself

17/04/2011

One of the challenges of heading up a Christian ministry is that I spend a disproportionate of time with Christians. I do not come across many "not-yet Christians" in my work place! It is with this challenge that Lesley and I have been considering as this Easter season approaches.

The weather is getting warmer & we are more frequently engaging with our neighbours on the Close in which we live in the Vale of Glamorgan. However, as people move from front door to car, it is often difficult even to say "hello" & yet still more difficult to know there names and share genuine concern & affection for their lives. God knows it is not good for us to live alone, yet so often we fail to make anything more than the most superficial of relationships.

We have lived in the village about a year now & we have determined to get to know people better. Our start was very encouraging. Our next door neighbours brought us in a bottle of wine and the lady over the road gave us a freshly baked loaf of bread. Somehow in our busy life we have not built on these positive beginnings. Easter is all about new starts and we are going for it!

We have bought Easter cards which we will post through each letter box. Contained within will be an invite over to our house for hot cross buns and coffee on Good Friday afternoon. We might even stretch to cadburys cream eggs for the kids :-)

We are also planning to add a bible verse into the card. My favoured one is: 1: John 3:16 "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." Its relevance increases I think when you substitute the words brothers & sisters for neighbours!

Posted at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

99 Balloons

13/04/2011

Last week I attended the Billy Graham Rapid Response Training day to become a member of their rapid response training. It was excellent and very thought provoking. One of the illustrations was the incredible film. Beware, it is very moving

Posted at 05:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Life is Good!

09/04/2011

It's a Saturday night & I have eaten well, laughed with my wife, enjoyed a glass of wine, watched some pretty good tv & listened to something excellent music.

At the beginning of the week I collected my wonderful daughter, Beci, from Swansea University for the Easter vacation. To her slight embarrassment and great amusement I met her newly found boyfriend. I knew this day would come! Clearly at some point I will give him the talk I promised Beci I would give each & every boyfriend. It goes a little like this:

"Good evening son. I understand you are taking my daughter out for the evening. She is very precious to me & I love her very much.

I trust that you will honour and respect her and that you will will do nothing to her that would she does not want you to do OR I would not want you to do to my only daughter. Please know if you do I will hunt you like a dog. I will find you and when I do I will kill you!

I think that should for the trick! She is having such a good time at uni and her relationship with God is going from strength to strength. So proud.

I also saw Ben in his latest production at the legendary Padget Rooms in Penarth. It was a little known production called "Shake, Ripple & Roll". The boy did really well & enjoyed his performance very much. He loves acting & most of his leisure time is spent doing it. His next date is at the Royal Albert Hall which naturally we have tickets for. We are very proud of him.

Today Lesley & I have been to the RHS Flower Show in Cardiff. Although only April, it was like a summers day. Glorious, beautiful, outstanding, stunning, just some of the adjectives that describe my wife and the flowers weren't bad too! She is so out of my class, I know it & the reality amuses me greatly.

So this is not an intellectual blog. Just one that records how God has blessed me with a wonderful family. Thank you Jesus!

Posted at 11:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)