The Prodigal Daughter Returns

I love having small talk with  people I meet along the way. Sometimes, these small talks end up becoming so meaningful I record them for posterity. Here are a couple of examples. Last week, on the bus home, this woman sat beside me. I told her I loved her hat and she said she loved mine. I asked her if she was well and she said she was feeling a lot better. She said she recently spent two weeks in hospital for a serious lung condition. She said she was in such a bad state, she called the ambulance.  She was told they would be with her in 40 minutes. As she didn't think she would last that long, she went out of her house and tried to stop cars driving by. One man who stopped agreed to drive her to the hospital, where she happens to work.  She was treated really well and she had visits from her colleagues. I told her I was very happy she was better and I said I would pray for her. She was open to that idea as she's Catholic. She also told me her daughter is in hospital su...

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.," Psalm 32: 8 "Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together." Psalm 34: 3 ---- Whenever I watch a classical concert, my attention is always focused on the conductor.  I love how they are in command of all the musicians. Because the conductor knows the musical piece inside out, he knows exactly when to bring different musicians in. Of course, those musicians must be willing to submit to and trust in the conductor to lead them. Where there is a lack of trust, there is disharmony.  I believe Jesus Christ is the Conductor of my life experiences. When I trust in Him, He let's me know when it's time to play my instrument and when to rest. Here's an example. Earlier today, I read a friend's post on Facebook about how she is still struggling with letting go of the last images of her mum before she passed away. As I have had a similar experience, I c...

"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." John 12: 46 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15: 4-5 Thank you, Holy Spirit, for helping me to create this Image. I never knew you were such an expert at using PowerPoint. 😄❤️ (Christ Image courtesy of Google Images)

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.."  John 14: 16-17 ---- Before I went to church, I watched a pastor on a Christian TV channel  preaching about doing everything for the Lord. He cited a passage* from the Bible. I felt as if he was speaking directly to me. I looked up the Bible passage and copied and pasted it on my notebook app. Before I left home, I checked that I had all the essentials in my rucksack like my keys, travel card and purse. I was going to leave my reading glasses at home as they usually project the words on this screen which I can clearly see, but I decided to take my glasses with me.  During my bus journey to church, I meditated on doing everything for the Lord. This means when I go to work, I am not working for an employer, I am...

We sang this song at church today. ------- Lord of the Dance I danced in the morning When the world was begun, And I danced in the moon And the stars and the sun, And I came down from heaven And I danced on the earth, At Bethlehem I had my birth. Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he I danced for the scribe And the pharisee, But they would not dance And they wouldn't follow me. I danced for the fishermen, For James and John They came with me And the Dance went on. Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the Dance, said he, And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be, And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said he I danced on the Sabbath And I cured the lame; The holy people Said it was a shame. They whipped and they stripped And they hung me on high, And they left me there On a Cross to die. Dance, then, wherever you may be, I am the Lord o...

Reflection.  This is actually a photo of the reflection of our back garden on the television screen in our living room. I think it's pretty cool! ❤️

"He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Philippians 2: 9-11 ---- While I was lying in bed watching a video on my laptop, I started feeling pain in my right calf. I adjusted my leg slightly but the pain got really severe. Immediately, I started calling on the name of Jesus, first out loud and then in my thought. Within a minute, the pain gradually dissolved. I continued thinking of Jesus while watching the video. After an hour or so, I felt pain, this time underneath my right foot. I continued calling on Jesus' name and the pain dissolved. Nice try, Satan! The name of Jesus is ...

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;" Psalm 23: 6 ---- While I was in town, I stopped off at my favourite store to buy some grocery. I still needed a few essentials like bleach, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls etc. I decided to get them at the supermarket near where I live. I was thinking it was going to be challenging carrying a shopping basket, my bag of shopping and my rucksack. I could go home and come back out, but I didn't fancy that idea.  Not to worry, all will be well. Just as I was getting off the bus, I felt someone tapping my shoulder. It was my flatmate. It turns out we had been travelling on the same bus, but we hadn't seen each other as I was sitting in front and she was right at the back. I told her I needed to get a few items at the supermarket.  I asked her if she could take my other bag of shopping home for me. She even loaned me her shopping bag, which came in very handy. I marveled at how God had met my need so perf...

 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10: 10 ----- On this day in 2019, I went for a walk at Hampstead Heath. Today, I went to the same place and took some photos from the top of the hill, which gave me a different perspective. Back then (thanks to Facebook Memories), the temperature was 17C/62F compared to today's 8C/46, but it's the same old Hampstead Heath. As usual, I  avoided anywhere that was muddy as I hate mud. Same old me.😄 As you can see from the attached photos, I took some photos then and some new ones now. For me, Hampstead represents the one eternal now which can be experienced in many different ways. Every time I go for walk, I immerse myself in the experience and enjoy myself. After the experience, I am not depleted of energy. I am full of energy and full of joy. I give thanks to the Lord for giving me His inexhaustible life that is...

"For God is not  the author  of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." 1 Corinthians 14:33 "And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie," 2 Thessalonians 2: 11 ---- I was watching this reality TV show.  Two girls, who are also best friends, are having a heart to heart about their respective relationships. One girl says she's now realised that their conversation should always be confidential. I'm confused.  If their conversation is meant to be confidential, why are they having it while being filmed for millions of viewers to watch? 😆 Photo courtesy of Google Images

I went to the phone shop to ask an engineer about an issue. While I was there, I asked her what the new version of my phone now looks like. She showed me the phone and said the camera on it is a lot more superior to mine. She also showed me how you can now use AI to edit your photos. If you want to remove something from a photo, the AI will replace the background with an object it thinks should be logically there. I told the engineer I wasn't keen on that idea.  She said some people like that feature and others don't. As a fan of Star Trek, I believe AI is perfectly acceptable in science ficttion, but in my reality, I'm not having an AI filling in the gaps of my life experiences, thank you very much! The only One who I have authorised to fill in my life experiences is the Lord Jesus Christ. ❤️ ---- "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;  and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." Colossians 2: 9-10

I have been reading a book called "In Search of the True Light" by Mike Shreve. (See link below).  It's one of the best books I've come across. It explains perfectly why you can't mix Christianity with other religions and spiritual disciplines.  I can so relate to it. As a former Truth seeker, I studied various religions and spiritual disciplines including the New Age, New Thought etc. I practiced meditation and had lots of interesting spiritual experiences.  I also trained in various spiritual healing techniques.  When I became a born-again Christian, I realised I had to give up everything for Christ.  I even deleted 40 blogs where I shared my spiritual experiences.  Thank you, Jesus, for bringing this book to my attention.  ❤️ ---- "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the...

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." Psalm 32: 8 --- When I went to volunteer at our church as a visotor host, I was hoping to shadow one of the experienced hosts, but things didn't go according to plan. While I was shadowing one host who was with a group of visitors, a group of ten visitorS arrived and wanted soneone to show them the Great Hall. As there were no other experienced hosts available,  I had to take the plunge. They were really nice peoole and they didn't ask me any technical questions, thank God. The group also sang a hymn which was lovely.  I knew God was at work when one of them asked me a question that only the organist could answer. Next thing I knew, the organist walked in. He not only answered their question, he played the organ for them and we were all so delighted and grateful we applauded him. I also took two lovely ladies around the building and they were so grateful to be given a pers...

While I was working at this art gallery, a visitor handed a Freedom travel pass she had found.  The name  on the pass was Mr J Bond (not James).  At first, I handed it in at the lost property. Then a colleague and I decided to search in the gallery in case Mr Bond was still in there. As soon as I walked in, I noticed this man who looked like the photo on the bus pass. I asked him what his name was and he said Mr Bond. I told him his Freedom pass had been found and handed in.  Before I returned his pass to him, I asked him.if he was related to Mr Bond and he laughed.   I told him I've always wanted to meet Mr Bond. 😊 Photo of Roger Moore (courtesy of Google Images), who was/is my favourite Bond.

 I'm starting to volunteer as a  host showing visitors around our magnificent church building. As there's a lot of historical facts to learn about the building, I will be shadowing the experts until I am confident to go it alone.  I believe whether I am a confident or unconfident host, God will be my Guide every step of the way. A few interesting facts about the building: - The building was host to the very first meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations in January 1946.  - The Great Hall, where they have the main service on Sundays, has hosted events with speakers like Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King Jr, Margaret Thatcher etc. - Last year the media used the building to broadcast King Charles' coronation.  I'm looking forward to getting to know more about the building and sharing that knowledge with visitors. ❤️ Here's the link for anyone interested in visiting. https://www.mchw.live/

As the church I was going to doesn't yet have the facility to pay your offering by card, I decided to withdraw some cash from the machine. I was going to get £10, but the machine said they only had £20 notes, which meant I had no choice but to withdraw £20. I then went to the local supermarket to get some change but I had to buy something. What can I get?  I looked at the chocolates, but I was reluctant to pay £1.50 for a bar of chocolate I didn't want. I decided to get a packet of sweets for 70pence. I asked the cashier to give me my change in £5 notes. Later when I came home, my flatmate told me she had a box of  mini bars of chocolates. She said I could have as many as I wanted. Now that was unexpected. Thank you, God, for the chocolates! ❤️

After church, I needed to ponder on some stuff so I went for a long walk. I got my answer. God is good! ❤️

Early this morning, I thought of the Church of England  (C of E) church next door to where I live. I thought one of these days, I'll attend one of their services. Later on the way to my local Methodist church, I bumped into the priest outside the C of E church. I told him I was thinking of paying them a visit sometime. He told me he had just posted events for this week on their noticeboard. He also told me they were running Bible classes for Lent, but they will be during the day. He then wished me a blessed day. I love how God answers my  questions. ❤️

 The other day, I went for a tour of the Methodist church I'm a member of and took some photos including the Supreme Court. Today I went to my local Methodist church. After the service, I chatted to an Elder and asked how he was. He said he and his wife went for a walk last week, ended up at the Supreme Court and had a look round. I told him I had taken a photo of the Supreme Court. I even showed him the photo. How wonderful is that? 😊❤️

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10: 10 ---- Whenever I hear that someone passed away in their sleep, I see it as a spiritual attack.* I have been attacked three times in my "sleep" and had to fight to stay alive. The first time, I felt a hand trying to strangle me. I fought valiantly, but the hand was too strong. In desperation, I thought of a line from Psalm 23: 4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." The hand immediately left me and I could breathe again. The second time it happened, I felt the hand pushing the blanket over my face and I couldn't breathe. Again, I thought of the line from Psalm 23, but it didn't.  I thought of several Bible verses I had memorised, but the hand only got stronger. I then thought, "Help me, God."  The hand instantly left me. The third an...