April is a very special month for me. Many of my great life changes seem to have happened in April. This particular celebration is very special to me: on 7 April 2012 I was baptised in the sea at Brighton beach in the UK! I was 30 years old at the time. Baptism was something I had been thinking about doing for years, but I never really understood what living a life in Christ really meant and how baptism fit…
This verse is often misinterpreted and then people are discouraged and think God doesn’t keep His word. It’s not saying God is a genie and will grant all your wishes, whatever they are, we know that not everything we lust after in this life is in alignment with God’s will or even part of the path He would like us to be on. I know my own desires were far from godly before I gave my life to Christ and…
I absolutely believe that we are safer with God in any storm than we would be anywhere else without Him. It’s hard when you focus on the pain and suffering in this world or even your own personal trials to remember that this is just a fraction of eternity. This will eventually pass, it is only a temporary part of your life. Keeping an eternal perspective allows you to see just how small and temporary every trial is in the…
When living with a chronic illness, whether it’s a physiological or psychological condition, it is common to start doubting yourself. Your confidence dwindles as you lose the ability to function the way you once did. You might start to feel useless, helpless and hopeless, but there is so much you can still offer the world, don’t let doubt and negative self-talk steal your joy and faith! Note: You may freely download and share the following graphics on social media or…
Sometimes it’s hard to accept that when you’re living with a chronic illness, people fall away, but it is something that commonly happens after a period of time, and it might even be beneficial. Initially, once people are made aware of your struggles, you might have an outpouring of support and practical help from many around you, but over time, when you don’t improve, most people will inevitably drift away as they are unable to make taking care of you…
Does chronic illness make you feel useless? I know that many Christians with chronic illness feel like they are no longer useful to God or others, that they have lost all purpose and can no longer contribute to society or ministry, but that is just not true! Don’t compare your resources and abilities to anybody else’s, they are yours and they are enough. God Can Use Us Despite Ourselves We may have good reasons why we can no longer be…
Sometimes you don’t notice the weight you’re carrying until you let it go. This is often such a hard truth to accept, but letting go of that control we try so hard to hold onto can actually be very liberating! There really is freedom in letting go. Being A Control Freak There are many areas in our lives where we crave order and control, but in reality it isn’t up to us and we can save ourselves a lot of…
So many Christians live in fear and doubt these days. I know this well, I was one of them. I loved God and wanted to please Him, but I feared Him too, and His judgement. I feared angering Him and I feared death because I doubted my own salvation. I was relying on my own flawed and weak attempts to be good enough and lived in constant disappointment and frustration at my own shortcomings. I knew I could never live…
As the new month starts, I am filled with joy and anticipation. It’s been two years since I fell ill, that’s two whole years in bed with ME/CFS, but I am celebrating. My sister says remembering the very day I got sick is like a memorial, something sad and depressing, but it’s not like that for me! I have a very different perspective. I praise God that I have never felt hopeless or depressed by my current circumstances. I have…
Today marks 18 months of this Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. At least 18 months in this severe housebound state, we imagine I might have had it milder for at least 6 months before this. As a Christian, I find myself reflecting on the role of my faith through chronic illness. I don’t believe God made me ill or that He is testing me. I don’t think God works like that. In my view, that would contradict His character of Love. Many…
