Faith and Life Blog

     God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 (NIV))   The message from the bank was bad. It alerted me to a transaction on my account a few minutes prior. I immediately became concerned because I had no knowledge of the said transaction. How did this happen? Has my account been compromised? A million thoughts began to swirl through my mind. I sent an email to the bank to inform them that I had not done the transaction. The email bounced. I called the customer service lines, not one, not two, but three times. I was put on hold. There were no available customer service agents to address my concern. I started to get agitated. But then I remembered that I could pray and began to do so.. A second alert came from the bank. Another withdrawal from my account. No, this could not be happening! Then the Holy Spirit directed me to alert members of my Community WhatsApp group from my church and to ask them to agree with me in prayer ...

  A few days ago, I was editing a document at work. I came across an unfamiliar word and so I stopped to check for its meaning,m in order to be sure that it was being used correctly. When I returned to the document, I could not remember the section where I had come across the word.  I read several lines in the general area hoping to find the word and continue. That proved to be a difficult task. Look as I may, I could not locate the word. I thought it strange. My eyes were really playing tricks on me. A few minutes ago I was seeing the word for the first time, and in a few minutes, it seemed to have totally disappeared from the page. I then resorted to a word search of the document and eventually found the elusive word. It was right in front of me, yet hidden in plain sight. It boggles my mind how such a thing could ever happen, but as the saying goes, 'truth is stranger than fiction.' But it is certainly not farfetched that such a thing could happen. How many times have we mi...

  He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Ecclesiastes 11:4 The forecast of rain caused me to change my plans. The Met Office had advised that a cold front would move across the island between Thursday and Saturday and would result in cooler temperatures and showers. True to the word of the Met Office, there was rain on Thursday and Friday, both day and night. Normally on a Friday night, I would load my laundry into the washing machine and allow the clothes to soak overnight. On Saturday morning I would get up early and do my washing. Not this Friday night, however. The steady rain drumming on the rooftop gave the impression that it would certainly be more of the same the next day. It was shaping up to be a wet Saturday…or so I thought! Saturday morning dawned overcast and very windy, but there was no rain in sight. I had an early morning assignment at church and so I left home by 7 am. As I sat in the church office and looked out I ...

   “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” (  Psalm 119:105 ) This morning I went to visit a friend. I had made the promise a long time ago and I didn't want to put it off any longer. I was not very familiar with the area where she lived; I had been there only once before and so I decided to use the highly touted Google Maps as my guide. I am not the most tech-savvy person but that needs to change and so I decided that I needed to get more hands-on where the technology is concerned.  I had originally planned to return the same way I came and so I reversed the information in the app and started out. On the way, however, I remembered that I needed to run an errand at a nearby location. It was a bit out of the way but it could be done, as I was already on the road and in the words of the popular Jamaican saying, I could 'kill two birds with one stone', working smarter, not harder, thus making life easier for myself. So I diverted from the original rout...

  The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, beholding the evil and the good. (Proverbs 15:3) Recently while I was on my evening walk through the community, someone stopped me for a chat,  commented on how consistent I was with my exercise routine and encouraged me to continue on that trend. The brief encounter was surprising on two fronts - one, I did not know this person and had not recalled meeting him, and two, I had no recollection of encountering him on any of my previous walks.  All of that did not matter. I had never seen him but he had obviously seen me walking before and had taken note that I did so on a regular basis. I engaged him briefly in conversation, thanked him for his observation and continued on my way.  As I thought about our conversation it opened my eyes to the principle of integrity which causes one to consistently behave in a moral and upright way, doing the right thing at all times, even when no one is watching. Thankfully, I was doing no wrong. I...

  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. (Chinese Proverb). Hi friends, just popping in to remind us of a simple truth stated above. It's something we often hear, but until it begins to resonate in our spirits and stir us to action, we have not really heard it.  My encouragement for you today is to identify a goal, make a plan and start making steps toward accomplishing it. A goal without a plan is simply a dream, so get planning and get moving. Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today. Tomorrow is not promised and procrastination is the thief of time. Time lost can never be regained, so make the most of the time that you have.  So dig deep, gather your courage and step out in faith in order to fulfill your destiny. Make the first step. Then make the next step, slipping in some courage, tenacity, motivation, determination and drive. Before you know it, what seemed to be the longest journey, will be over and you will be reaping the sweet rewards o...

  It was very bleak and dreary when I left home for work one morning. If I had allowed myself to be influenced by what I was seeing, I would not have taken the first step to start the journey. But duty called and I had to be at work, come what may. So, with a heavy heart, I set out on my journey. I would rather be in my bed, but I had to press past what I was feeling in order to accomplish the task at hand.  Several minutes into my journey, I noticed that the conditions remained the same. It was shaping up to be a rainy, dark and gloomy day. Not the condition that would entice anyone to venture outside. I began to condition my mind for what lay ahead for the rest of the day. As I rounded a corner, I was met with the most beautiful rainbow and the brightest sunshine ever. Instantly my mood and outlook changed. I totally forgot what was behind me and looked with joy and great expectation to what was in front of me. What was behind me was no longer important; what was before...