Month: August 2026

Categories
blessed content

Blessed are those who are doing ok

A selection of photos taken during my daily dog walks over the last week or two

I am reading an awesome book by, Joshua Luke Smith. The book is called This is the Main Event and I think everyone should read it. If we fully believed what Josh says we could all get on with being rather than climbing some deceiver’s ladder to some imagined success.

The first section of the book is about Lamenting. We’ve all got sadnesss and griefs that we need to give to God, to be healed of, to see where the great Creator was in them, to accept them as they were/are. You can find a few of mine dotted through this site and my older one site that I no longer post on.

But at the moment my life is ok. I’ve got enough. More than enough. And, on the whole I get to potter about and enjoy things. I live in a safe part of the world and even the Welsh wild fires have been far enough away that I might have smelt them but could ignore them.

As I was reading through the Lamentations part of Joshua’s book, and was reading a reworking of the Beatitudes by Red Letter Christians, I got to wondering what are the blessings for those of us who at the moment are doing ok. And here’s what I got

Blessed are those who are doing ok!

Blessed are you when you’ve reached the point where you’ve got enough money that if the fridge breaks you can buy a new one without it impacting your daily spending, when you realise you can be generous to others without fear, where you are safe in your generosity, that you are no longer giving in the hope God will bless you financially or in trying to prove a point that you WILL give your ten percent because the Bible says so.

Blessed are you when your health and that of your family is ok and you aren’t building your life round tests and hospital appointments, and even your elderly parents are just dealing with minor age-related issues, where you can see ok, hear ok, and are able to enjoy walks, fresh air, sunrises and sunsets.

Blessed are you when your life is calm, peaceful and you realise it is all that it should be, where you can live in a place of low crime, can feel safe and don’t have to be looking over your shoulder, when you no longer worry about “what ifs” or have to fight the demons within, where you can live the life you want because you’ve made peace with your past.

Blessed are you when good things happen to you, when others want to sit with you because you radiate peace and calm, when you can enjoy ice cream and good food, when you have enough that being hospitable isn’t stretching.

Blessed are you when your relationships are enriching, when you can share thoughts and ideas, “chew the fat” without fear, when you disagree, still be friends and have no fears of being reported to the authorities, when the worst your spouse does is not stack the washing up or make the bed as you believe is the correct way to do it or doesn’t laugh at the joke you’d worked so hard to share, and at least 50% of your children think you’re alright.

Don’t look over your shoulder at what was or peer into what should be or strain to see what might be coming in the future, or feel you’re special or that you are less than you should be because things are ok.

Enjoy the moment. Live within this season and let it flow to those who are placed along your path

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And to finish two contented dogs in the sun from a week or so back. Although this morning they weren’t so happy because it was hammering it down with rain but until they can use the toilet inside they do need to go out!!! 🙂

Categories
mustard seed reimagined

Preparing the Ground

local park photographed by myself

I was pondering the story of the Sower yesterday. Most of us, I would say, have this image of a man with a basket of seed going out and throwing this seed willy nilly across some land, as if the whole fertilizing and preparing of land is a modern invention. But the more I pondered the more I wondered how Jesus’ first listeners heard the story. I am also wondering how we would reinterpret this so we “got it” with lives now where we are so far removed from farmers and farming. I think I did a bit of that back in October 2025 with Mustard Seed and the two posts that followed

I am sure back then the farmers went through their fields picking up the stones, getting rid of the weeds and thistles, putting fertilizer on the land, etc, etc. We hear stories of oxen and yokes so farmers definitely made furrows for their seed but we seem to put both these stories in isolation. One the oxen making the furrows for the seed but then of the Sower randomly throwing seed hither and thither.

I think Jesus’ audience would have pondered what on earth was going on with a farmer who hadn’t prepared his field before he sowed the seed and I think this is the key to the story. I think Jesus was reminding his listeners that if they really wanted to know what was going on in his parables and the teachings and even in all they learned in Torah school as children and in the synagogue, they needed to do some work first, that things weren’t random.

We need to be preparing ourselves so we have “good soil” before we go to church, before we sit down to read the Bible, before we pray. We need to hand over our cares to Jesus, give ourselves time whether that is making notes, still quietly, but whatever it is we need to give time for things to percolate.

We were discussing percolate in my writing group the other day and when you percolate you make something stronger, have more flavour.

We need to prepare our hearts to truly know that God, the Creator of the whole Universe, cares for us personally and individually and really is rooting for us and making a way for us. Even if it isn’t what we think is best. Part of our preparing is to step out of the way. As my friend told me the other day “God always gives you what you need but it might not always be what you think you want“. And this is a lady who has gone through some really tough times and not got the answers she would have liked but no matter what keeps trusting that God is giving her what she needs. She keeps on having the good soil that God can keep pouring into.

So in my opinion when Jesus first told that tale his audience would have seen that the Sower was ill prepared, hadn’t prepared his ground, was not believing for a good harvest but was just chucking things out and “hoping for the best”. I think they would have totally got what Jesus was saying – about preparing the ground – even if they hadn’t then gone and done the work.

That was another thing that struck me – how often all of us know what we should do to really live in peace with God and the world, but how many of us rarely do.

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The photo is from Silloth beach, Cumbria and the words are from a poem of mine that can be found in Inspirations From Walking in North Wales

Categories
lugnasa sow/reap

Lugnasa

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A random selection of photographs over the last year or so

Lughnasa is the Celtic festival to mark the beginning of harvest and time of gathering in. 

One could look at Lughnasa a bit like the end of a year review, a look at what was and what happened and seeing what comes next. For me this works because I don’t feel any pressure like one can get with New year’s eve and all that. And no one is telling me I “should” be doing it 🙂

Here’s a bit more about Lughnasa

Lughnasa is a time to gather in and to reap what has been sown. The other side of the wheel from Lughnasa is Imbolc, February 1st, when the very first signs of spring started to rumble awake on the earth. In these last six months, we have seen a cycle of flourishing and fecundity, both around us and perhaps also within. 

It is sometimes thought of as the time of “first fruits” and is when the grain is gathered in. One of the central rituals for this feast is cutting the first corn and making it into a loaf for the Mass at church on August 1st or 2nd. In the Hebrides in Scotland, it is recorded that families would celebrate Lughnasa on August 15th in connection with the feast of the Assumption of Mary. Each family member would take a piece of the bread and walk sunwise around the festival fire and sing a song to Mary. 

The other liturgical connection is the Feast of the Transfiguration on August 6th, tying Lughnasa with the appearance of Christ in glory to Peter, James, and John on the mountain. The Apostles are filled with an ecstasy from which they do not want to awaken. In some Christian traditions, the interpretation of the text is that rather than Christ changing, the eyes of the Apostles were opened so they could see him in his true form. 

Thank you to Abbey of the Arts for this. It can be found on their regular emails.

This opening from Abbey of the Arts email got me thinking – what do I have to gather in, and more importantly what have I sown over the past year.

Number one, in both sowing and reaping, I would say is our little Willow. She came to us in November – a week before my mum’s husband’s funeral – a crazy bundle of nervous snapping energy. She looked as if she’d been loved but not walked and not given boundaries, and possibly beaten. She appeared lacked confidence and being able to trust a human. Over the last 9 months I have walked her miles, persevered with putting in boundaries – sometimes not helped by Renly our old dog who seems to have decided this is an excuse to bring out his inner teenager!! Willow now has muscles in her legs and a trim waist from all the running she does. She plays in the park with other dogs like a normal 3 year old pup. Her recall is verging on excellent. Even when we encountered a horse on the beach the other day [Willow’s first] she came to me reasonably quickly and did stay close to me the whole time she was barking. Even the rider said she was impressed how quickly Willow responded to me. Yes she still barks when the door bell rings, but then so does Renly. But Willow will then run to the living room door and jumps up to be shut in there whilst I deal with the postman. She no longer thinks she needs to protect me from allcomers. She does allow friends of ours that she knows to come and visit but is still uncertain about visitors she hasn’t met before, and still barks hysterically at my writing group. But I think I am reaching a point with Willow that I am reaping what I sowed.

Other things I will list or this will be a huge post. These are in no particular order of importance

  • I have sown regular postings on Substack especially encouraged by the lovely MJ Polk of Stories From the Jukebox prompts, which have included me being a featured writer some weeks and even getting to pick a song one week [first of many there] I have read negative comments about Substack in some corners but I have found a group I have sown into to have helped me reap support and are a group of really encouraging writers who love my work and I love theirs. Win-win.
  • Over the last couple of years I have been sowing into a local church youth group via discussion groups, hanging out on the beach and being me with them. I am reaping friendships from that as well as a deeper trust between myself and the newer clergy there making church a joy to attend.
  • 8 months my diary entry says I would not drive again. Into this time I sowed prayers for healing, QECing around good sight, and some positive thought. This led me to had my eyes rechecked and I am back driving again, which is so lovely, especially during the really hot weather when I could take the dogs to the beach at 6am so they could run before it got too hot, and so I could get in a good walk too before hibernating.
  • I have been sowing into this lovely home we bought 10 years ago and this year it was the turn of the hall and stairwells. It got off to a shakey start when I was let down by the friend of a friend who started the work back in February but then had issues of his own so never finished. After taking a breath a neighbour told me of other decorators and now I have a glorious entrance to my home. Kitchen comes next!!!
  • I love sowing into creatives that I know and am proud to say that most of the art work in my house comes from people I know
  • I have been sowing into my continuing healing journey for years now. This has made me more self-aware when I’ve overreacted. Though doing a mix of QEC and healing in Christ and prayer and forgiveness I am reaping the rewards. I feel more at peace with myself and others, feel safe and not needing to hold control, and have a deeper love of my own company and just hanging out with me – oh and my dogs.
  • I also learned that I can’t sow into everything. I jumped in to a role with an organisation, my enthusiastic labrador tail wagging, only to discovered this was not the place I was meant to be. The joy of being able to say “I’ve made a mistake” and to step away was amazing. I know it will stop me leaping in like that again. Definitely something I’ve reaped from doing the work on myself I’ve done.
  • Also I reaped, from making this mistake, from the regular Substack posts and from doing the healing work, is that my memoir project is coming together slowly and in a way I would never have imagined when I started on it a couple of years ago.

So this is a snapshot of the things I feel I’m harvesting. I’m sure there are more. It would be interesting to hear from yours at this mid point in the year rather than wait till 31st December 🙂

Didi Design
Shop Art | Rossie Henderson-Begg

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Categories
faith important

Being Prioritised

With dogs, so I’ve been reading, when you introduce a new dog there has to be a new pecking order sorted, a new claiming of who is top dog. With Renly being 11 years older than Willow, and being the more easy-going, I’ve had to work on making sure he is top dog and she doesn’t bully him. So he gets treats first, gets to choose his place on the couch, etc. I prioritise him over her. Also to get her to behave I have to be top dog so she does as I tell her, and so she feels safe and secure.

That isn’t how it works with God. God doesn’t prioritise any of us. God doesn’t have any of us as “top dog”, care for more than anyone else, have anyone more special than someone else. [Though if we stick with the dog analogy then to feel safe and secure we need to know that God is top dog!]

That isn’t to say we shouldn’t treat people with care and respect – but then I think that might come back to the “if you fully love yourself then you can love your neighbour fully”.

Many of us, especially in childhood, were not prioritised, or it felt like we weren’t prioritised. It could be due to a demanding younger sibling, a major trauma that happens in the family where the parents fold in on themselves and forget about their children, not from abuse but from survival. But even if we can rationalise out the whys we have still be hurts, still felt unloved and unsafe, still felt unprioritised. We were living with an often unseen wound that needs healing; a wound that would appear as a temper tantrum or a shutting down or a sulking or a walking away from a relationship or an addiction.

Though of course with all wounds we need to identify it first.

I think though many of us, because we haven’t acknowledge and subsequently haven’t been healed of this wound of being scared because we felt we were pushed to one side, we don’t believe God will care for us. Rationally there are loads of people so much more deserving we can tell ourselves. Why would God care about my life, my problems, my job, how I’m going to pick up my shopping, etc? We have learned that we don’t come first, that others do and should, but also we feel unsafe when we feel we aren’t prioritised.

But God does care. God doesn’t have “top dogs”, doesn’t have those they care about more than others, those who take priority.

Yes there are people who seem to have more and those who seem to have less and I don’t understand why, but I do know it isn’t because God cares more for one than the other, or thinks some people are better than others. It is a question I plan on taking up when I get to heaven as God and I sit chatting on the side of the River of Life, but till now I’ll keep it as a mystery.

Each and everyone of us comes first with God, which is dead hard to get your head around. I believe this because I have seen my wound, have been healed of it and now can fully accept that God loves and cares for me as much as they do anyone all at the same time. The mystery of faith!

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Categories
encouraging Freeing

Mary Jones

Mary Jones Pilgrim Centre

Mary Jones was an amazing young woman. She comes from a time before teenagers when by 15 you were a woman, almost married, an adult, expected to pull your weight. But it is her tenacity that stands out in the story. It is said she saved up her pocket money, possibly what was left of her wages from whatever job she did after she’d give her parents her keep. So she saved this up for two years. Then she walks 26 miles from her home in Llanfihangel-y-Pennant to Bala to buy a Bible, a book she was longing to have for herself. The Rev Thomas Charles told her he had no Bibles but could get one for her in two days. So she waits, gets a Bible and goes home again. End of Mary’s story.

This inspires Rev Charles to start up the Bible Society which is still influential and still going today giving Bibles to the world. Read more here – Mary Jones Pilgrim Centre

Whenever I’ve heard Mary Jones’ name mentioned the focus always shifts to the Bible Society story, which is great. But what struck me this Sunday when our preacher mentioned her was that here was a young woman who was probably from a devout Chapel family, heard the Bible regularly, even had ones in the chapel she attended and could possibly have borrowed one at any time. But she wants to read God’s word for herself, wants to study it for herself, possibly wants to sleep with it under her pillow. So she doesn’t moan about what she hasn’t got but is proactive and goes and does something about it. It gave me hope from my children who were brought up knowing God but for whatever reason have walked away. These children of mine, or of any of ours, don’t have to walk 26 miles in the hope that someone has a Bible, don’t have to save up for 2 years, don’t have to wait a few days to get one. There are Bibles in most major high street booksellers or online.

God convicted Mary Jones to get her own Bible [as maybe God did with many other young people who didn’t heed the call] and she went. I am now going to be praying that when God convicts my children to get a Bible and return I will keep well out of the way and let them walk their own path to get there.

I was so encouraged by thinking of Mary Jones as the person not as the inspiration for something bigger.

As our preacher the week beforehand said “we don’t know what little seeds we are sowing in the dark”.

These posts are free but you are welcome to Buy Me a Coffee or similar

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