Skywatch #64

Lazy Days, originally uploaded by duopastorale.

My Tears

Message in a bottle.
Originally uploaded by elvis_payne

You put my tears into your bottle

Psalm 56:8 WEB

Don't Lose Your Peace

Image by duopastorale via Flickr

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You... 
Isa.26:3

One of the greatest promises in the Bible is, 'You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.' Who are you trusting to solve the problem, God or yourself? You need to live by the principle 'Do your best, then let God do the rest.' Too many of us have the idea that it's wrong to enjoy ourselves while we have problems. We grow up believing that if we can't do anything else, the least we can do is worry, act stressed out and be miserable. The Bible addresses this: 'Do not [for a moment] be frightened...for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign...from God' (Philippians 1:28 AMP). This Scripture teaches us that when adversity comes (and it will) we must stay in peace.

Satan doesn't know what to do with us when he can't get us upset; we've taken a powerful weapon out of his hands. 'For such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a...sign...from God.' Keeping your peace doesn't exempt you from life's difficulties, it just allows God to have the last word. By trusting Him completely you are no longer at the mercy of circumstances, other people, or your own emotions and limitations. Somebody quipped, 'In times like these it's helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.' The question is not will trouble come, but how will you handle it? The writer to the Hebrews says, '...We which have believed do enter into rest...' (Hebrews 4:3). When things go wrong do what God leads you to do, then rest in Him and watch Him work on your behalf!

Used with permission from
UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

What Is Man?

Skywatch #63

Brentford Musical Museum, originally uploaded by duopastorale.

Brentford Musical Museum was recently rebuilt with lottery money and I think the result is superb. You can see a video I took inside the museum at Vimeo. Happy skywatching!

Image by Elsie esq. via Flickr

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Let It Go (4)

Image by Izzard via Flickr

I will make up to you for the years that the...locust has eaten
JOEL 2:25

Fourth, let go of what you failed to do! 'If I could just go back, I'd...' The poet said, 'The saddest words of tongue or pen, are these, we hear, "It might have been.' Not one of us escapes the long shadow of 'opportunity missed.' We fail more frequently by what we didn't do than by what we did. We could have helped, healed, blessed, changed things for the better. But by pursuing our own interests we left words of love and gratitude unspoken. Avoiding unwanted consequences, we left the awkward truth unacknowledged. Evading the label, 'religious nut,' our witness remained mute. A responsibility unfulfilled, a decision sidestepped, an ageing parent neglected, a child crowded out, a spouse excluded. 'How different my life could have been if I'd pursued my education, accepted that promotion, made that investment, relocated, or taken a chance on love.'

When the door is closed, the person's gone and the opportunity passed, it's time for: a) letting it go. The same cross that cancels your sins of commission, cancels your sins of omission too. Confession, not remorse, brings God's forgiveness and cleansing from 'all sin' (1John 1:9) b) renewing your faith in the God of second chances. He can 'make up to you for the years that the locust has eaten' (Joel 2:25). Believe Him; He can place you where you'd be, had the opportunity never been lost c) asking God for a new dream, then 'forgetting those things (old, sabotaged dreams) which are behind and reaching forward to those things (new dreams)...which are ahead, press forward,' to a life of restored opportunity and fulfilment (Philippians 3:13).

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

You Are

You Are - Ron Kenoly & Darlene Zchech

I find this song both beautiful and challenging. Is He really everything to me? Sometimes He is and sometimes I want Him to be but I know He isn't. Perhaps the wanting is most important because nothing I can do is worthy of the amazing love that He has shown me. This song draws me closer, I hope it does you too.

You are the love of my life
You are the hope that I cling to
You mean more than this world to me
I wouldn't trade you for silver or gold
I wouldn't trade you for riches untold.
You are you are my everything

I wouldn't take one step without you
I could never go on.
I couldn't breathe one breath without you.
I don't have the strength
To make it on my own

Until the world stops turning
Until the stars fade, from the sky
Until the sun stops shining
I need you in my life and here's the reason why!

Skywatch #62

Hounslow Sunset, originally uploaded by duopastorale.

After our mini heatwave, we are back to temperatures struggling to get above 20C! However, the sunsets have been more than adequate this week. Happy skywatching everyone!

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Praise The Lord!

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Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits
Psalm 103:2

Psalm 103 is jam packed with amazing truths about how blessed we are. From beginning to end it assures us that God is loving and that he wants to give us good things. Just look at these from verses 3-5:

1. He forgives all your sin
2. He heals all your diseases
3. He redeems your life from the Pit
4. He crowns you with faithful love
5. He crowns you with compassion
6. He satisfies you with goodness
7. He renews your youth like the eagle

Recently, a friend of mine told me that she sat in her prayer time and made positive confession of all these truths. He forgives me, heals me, redeems me, crowns me, satisfies me, renews me. I wonder how our lives would change if we got these things right into our hearts and believed them?

Bob Gass writes:
"Faith establishes what we believe about God. Too many of us act like we've more confidence in ourselves than we do in Him. If faith is the action by which we lay hold of the power and promises of God, then if our faith is lacking we won't see the supernatural work of God in our lives - and we'll live in the natural with all its limitations."

God wants to give us more, and in the process is believing and receiving what He has already given and is giving, so that more and more can flow. More Lord!

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Let It Go (3)

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I persecuted the church
Galatians 1:13

Third, let go of what you have done to others! The wounds we've inflicted on others can weigh us down like a ton. The drunk-driving accident. The family shattered by divorce. The child abused in anger. The abortion following an affair. The faithful partner infected by HIV. We can't wound others and remain whole ourselves, so the 'ghost of failures past' dogs our days, fills our nights with remorse and steals our peace of mind. How do I live with the things I've done? Enter Saul of Tarsus, a man with a record. '...I violently persecuted God's church. I did my best to destroy it' (Galatians 1:13 NLT). He'd torn believers from their families leaving traumatised children watching their parents carried off to flogging, imprisonment and death. Now, a convert to Christianity and a preacher of the gospel, he meets the widows and orphans in the churches he once persecuted.

How do you handle such a situation? A crucial decision faced him. He could shoulder the guilt until it broke him and maybe even made him an addict or a suicidal wreck. Or he could roll it onto shoulders big enough to carry it and walk away free. He calls out, 'O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?' (Romans 7:24 NKJV). The answer follows instantly, 'Thank God! It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord' (Romans 7:25 TLB). The result? 'Even though I was...a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy...' (1Timothy 1:13 NIV). Today that same mercy is yours for the taking. Make amends where possible, trust God to heal the hurts you've caused, and let it go!

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

June 2009 Retro

June brought Summer to London, so a visit to my friends posh flat replete with swimming pool. July will bring a pool party! S did some expert cooking (sauces to die for!)

Relaxed walks along the river at Richmond ending in civilised early grey and pastries :0 Me and my shadow go everywhere :)

Lunch with baby sister and a rather wonderful restaurant in Twickers. Lazy time spent with friends talking about what to do when the Summer comes!

St James Piccadilly and an amazing concert of Renaissance choral music and me and my recorder consort filling in. Byrd floats around the church and I'm in heaven. Thanks for coming :) Another walk to Richmond and a drink with a friend to discuss the future, heart to heart. At least at the moment there is peace, before more changes.

Time to get the garden straight. It's actually looking the best it has in the 18 years I've lived here.

Skywatch #61

Summer Take Off, originally uploaded by duopastorale.

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Let It Go (2)

Image by peasap via Flickr

God has made me forget all my trouble
Genesis 41:51

Second, let go of what others have done to you! Thorns come with roses, and hurts come with human relationships. And few hurts go as deeply as those inflicted by friends and family. Ask Joseph, who was sold out by his brothers and locked up in a foreign prison for a crime he never committed. It's the stuff bitterness, depression, despair and defeat are made of. And who'd have blamed him? But Joseph knew that he, not his abusers, had the last word; that he, not they, would decide his future. Others can wound you, but no one can destroy you without your permission and cooperation. It's not what they do to you that determine your outcomes, it's what you do next.

Joseph decided to let the offenses go and accept responsibility for his own reactions. When you do that you take back your power, open yourself to new options, and make choices that position you to come out of it stronger, wiser and more blessed. Notice: a) Joseph saw it from God's perspective. 'You did not send me here...God did...to keep you alive by a great deliverance' (Genesis 45:8) b) he released his resentment. He moved beyond it and ministered to the needs of those who had hurt him c) he refused to become a victim of other people's actions. As a result God made him 'ruler over all...Egypt' (v8) d) he prepared for the future. How? By excelling in his prophetic and administrative gifts, even though imprisoned (Genesis 41:39). So, choose to see it God's way. Let it go. Do what you've been called to do, and watch God vindicate you royally!

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Quickly Quickly!

Storm Cell at Sunset, originally uploaded by .: sandman.

A David Prayer - Psalm 70

1-3 God! Please hurry to my rescue! God, come quickly to my side!
Those who are out to get me—
let them fall all over themselves.
Those who relish my downfall—
send them down a blind alley.
Give them a taste of their own medicine,
those gossips off clucking their tongues.

4 Let those on the hunt for you
sing and celebrate.
Let all who love your saving way
say over and over, "God is mighty!"

5 But I've lost it. I'm wasted.
God—quickly, quickly!
Quick to my side, quick to my rescue!
God, don't lose a minute.

God's Chisel

Skywatch #60

Lake Maggiore, originally uploaded by duopastorale.

I'm dreaming of summer holidays. This shot was taken two summers ago on Lake Maggiore in Italy. This year will bring more Mediterranean travel, but I will have to wait until early September. Meanwhile, we have temperatures over 30 C here in London!!