Tag Archives: Christianity

A Scene That Brought Back Childhood Memories.

Posted in Holiday, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature, Provision by

My husband and I were out for a drive one evening.
There were road works on the main road into town so we took another route.
We came upon a farmer bringing his cows in from the field to be milked.
It was just as well we were not in a hurry.
The docile creatures with full udders ambled back to the farm yard.
I thought of the scripture, 

“The Ox knows its master.”  Isaiah 1 v 3

The farmer opens the gate and the cattle lift their heads and turn for home.
We drove behind the farmer patiently.

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I said to my husband “This reminds me of my childhood.”
I grew up in Co Down.  My father was a dairy farmer too.
I remembered my sisters and I bringing the cattle back from the meadow in the summer evenings.
The cows would swish the flies away with their tails.
We had a pet cow that let us have a lift on her back home.
Cattle grazing in the meadow beside a stream, where there is fresh water is a picture of abundance.

He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭30‬:‭23‬ NIV)

The Lord describes the Promised Land as a place flowing with milk and honey.
Wherever there is cattle one will not grow hungry.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’  I will send an angel before you..
Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. (‭Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭1, 3‬ NIV)

My parents worked the farm to raise ten children.  We had plenty of milk, cream, buttermilk and butter, rich food to feed us.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.” “I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds.
Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt. 
(Genesis 41 v 18 NIV)

The picture of the cows walking home to be milked has stayed with me.
We have often spent holidays in Co Kerry, Ireland.
Last time we were there a herd of ninety cows filed past to the back of our house at six every morning and evening. They knew it was time for milking.
The farmer did not even have to call them.
I believe God was showing me His provision of abundance then as well.
Let us believe God’s word today.
Let us have faith to enter into our inheritance of a land flowing with milk and honey.

Have You Ever Shouted at Jesus. One Woman Did

Posted in Healing, My thoughts by

I heard this reading at church on Sunday. It blessed me so much.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
A Canaanite woman ( not a Jew ) from that vicinity came to him and started shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly ( grievously vexed with a demon KJV ).”
Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and pleaded with him, “Give her what she wants because she is shouting after us.”
He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.( the Jews )”
The woman came and knelt before him and worshipped him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s ( the Jews ) bread and toss it to the dogs.”
“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. (‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭21-28‬ NIV)
This reading greatly impacted me that day.
I have heard this story before, but I never realised the woman was shouting at Jesus.
So loudly in fact that the disciples wanted her to go away.
In Jewish Culture it was not proper for a woman to shout in public.
Women were to be quiet.
In many nations woman is the man’s property.
With the children she cooks, cleans, gets firewood, farms, and keeps quiet.
This woman was a Cananite. This tribe did not mix with Jews. They lived separately from the Jews.
She must have heard about the miracles of deliverance and healing Jesus performed.
She was in distress about her daughter.
She was desperate. She cried out to Jesus for help.
Jesus ignored her.
His friends wanted him to do something to get rid of her.
She bowed before Jesus and asked him again.
She humbled herself. She did not give up even when Jesus likened her to a dog.
She was not hurt or angry but asked again for her daughter’s healing.
Jesus finally helped her.
I laughed to myself.
Would you call out in Church and interrupt the Pastor.
I did.
I interrupted a Baptist Pastor speaking at his Church.
I was distressed about my situation.
I was escorted outside.
It was not culturally acceptable for a woman to speak up in Church.
God sees.
Sometimes one is so desperate that God doesn’t mind if one shouts at him.
Respectability stops us being real.

Sunflowers Fully Ripened

Posted in Cancer, My thoughts, Travel by

I drove from Bratislava to Dolny Kobin when we were in Slovakia recently.
I saw for the first time fields of sunflowers.
I was amazed as the flowers raised their heads as the sun rose in the sky.
They stood tall in the full heat of the day.
As the cool of the evening came the sunflower heads bent down again.
It is how one worships God lifting one’s head to honor our Heavenly Father.
Or with heads bowed in humble adoration.
I took this snapshot on the way to the airport.

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The sunflower heads are bursting with seed and will soon be harvested.

Silhouette . The Farmer Bringing in the Harvest

Posted in My thoughts, Nature, Provision by

A photo oppportunity came my way today.
I did not have to get up early to catch the sunrise or wait till sunset.
I am glad because today is windy and cold and not conducive to be outside for long.
The hot days of summer in Bright seem to have passed.
My iPad can be temperamental.  When I click the button it sometimes seizes up.
I took a number of shots, but this is what turned out.

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The tractor and trailer passed by my house.
My neighbour was gathering in this harvest of hay.
It will be used to feed his cattle and horses through the winter months.
You can see the rays of light silhouetted through the trees and giving off rainbow colours.
I am reminded of this scripture.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (‭Genesis‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬ NIV)

This was given to Noah after the earth was flooded. God promises mankind that the earth will never again be flooded completely and he put the rainbow in the sky to remind us of his covenant.

Farmers need faith in God to do their work.  They plant the seed in the spring time.  They trust God that there will be dry days to get out in the fields to get the ground ready.
Ground is ploughed up, harrowed and then seeds sown.
The seeds grow up as the weather improves and the ground get warmer.
God causes the seed to grow.
As the crop ripens there will always be a warm day for the farmer to go out into the field with his heavy duty tractor and equipment to bring in the harvest.
God promises there will be time to bring in the harvest.
I was studying about the god of Baal.  He was the god of thunder that people of old worshiped and made sacrifices of their children to in order to get good weather for harvest.
God our Father is the only true God, revealed through Jesus.
He is In control of thunder, lightening, hail, rain, wind and sunshine.
He promised he will give good weather for the harvest.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  (‭Psalm‬ ‭19‬:‭1-4‬ NIV)

Praise The Lord.

Cheri Lucas Rowlands | August 15, 2014 at 12:00 pm | Tags: light, photography,silhouette, sunset | URL: http://wp.me/p23sd-n4i

My Son Graduates from Law School

Posted in Cancer, Family Friday, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts by

I hear the screeching of sea gulls as they fly over the roof tops. It is a familiar sound in Aberdeen, the granite city. The bus takes us along the mile long street, busy with buses, cars and people. Ah I am back in Aberdeen for my son’s graduation.

We walk along the white strand enjoying the sea air, with the sunshine on our backs. The people are warm and welcoming.  Two of our children have been blessed here.

As well as the gulls, I hear the sound of helicopters overhead. This is a sound familiar to us who are from Northern Ireland. Military helicopters patrolled the sky during the troubles. It is not a sound of prosperity back home in Northern Ireland.

In Aberdeen the helicopters transport goods back and forth to the oil platforms. Aberdeen is prospering because of the oil industry. I counted fifteen large ships anchored offshore waiting to get into harbour.

There is no recession here.  New office blocks are being built.  New shopping malls being planned. There are a hundred oil platforms offshore.

Today,  my husband and I are in Aberdeen for my son Jacob’s graduation in Law. I remember our visits to this sunny, granite city.  Our daughter Mary graduated as a Doctor eight years before.

A lot has happened to me in the years since I first visited Aberdeen ed and am alive to tell the tale. Today is a day of Joy.

I am alive to celebrate with my son his Graduation from Law School. I suffered fourth stage cancer. I am so thankful to God for this healing.  

Jacob has Graduated from The School of Law, University of Aberdeen.
Well done Jacob.

Grandchildren are the Crown and Glory of the Aged

Posted in Family Friday, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts by

“May you live to see your grandchildren.”  Psalm 128 v 8 NLT

I was reading this verse on Wednesday. I was thinking, does this mean I will get to see my grandchildren that live near Dublin? I was not planning to see them. Could I go to see them soon?

My husband had taken photos at a recent family event. He takes great photos and puts them together and sends them away to Photoshop. He makes wonderful memories for his family.

Some photo books came in the post. They were a present for two of our grandchildren. Brendan suggested we go down to visit and deliver the books the next day. It was my husband and my 43rd wedding anniversary. I knew we should, because I had read that scripture.

As we drove into the street where my son lives, there was a lot of activity. Women were chatting at their doors while their children played with each other.

I thought of the verse Zechariah 8 v 5, “And the streets of the city shall be full of girls and boys playing.”

The warm sunshine brought everyone outdoors. When our grandchildren saw our car they ran over to hug us. They had been waiting for us. Because we were delayed I didn’t ‘t get the tea and scones that Tamara had specially prepared.

Tamara is a great cook and we all enjoyed dinner together, to celebrate our anniversary, when our son got home from work. We got to see, enjoy and bless their three girls before they go off to Italy.

We stayed at our daughter Shann’s home for the night. Her family were glad to see us for a surprise visit. The next day Brendan spent time helping our daughter work in her garden. She appreciated her dad’s help and expertise.

When the her children, a son and three girls,returned form school we got to spend time with them. It was a warm afternoon. They pleaded with their mum to put out a small swimming pool. They were so hot they just wanted to dive into cool water. Jean Luc unwrapped the pool. The girls were eager to get the pool working.

It was dinner time.  The children chatted to their dad telling all that happened at school. It was getting too late to use the pool. It will be filled with water tomorrow. We will have returned home and will have missed the squeals of delight as the grandchildren splash and dive in the cool water.

At bedtime the children came to us for prayer and a blessing.

“As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭59‬:‭21‬ NIV)

I am alive and seeing my children’s children.  I did not die of fourth stage cancer.  Jesus healed me.

“Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged.”  Proverbs 17 v 6

How Weeds, Slugs and Caterpillars disappear!

imageBrendan enjoys flowers. He worked with his pots,  filling with compost, planting, watering, feeding and refreshing.
When we lived in a town house our window boxes were overflowing with lobelia and petunia, thanks to my husband’s expertise.
People passing admired the display of dangling colours.
We collected various shapes and sizes of pots over the years.
Their numbers would be added to as presents on birthdays.
When we moved house the pots came with us.
Brendan’s garden of pots increased.  Daffodils and tulips and primroses sprouted each spring.
Window box displays continued each summer.
Roses did well without much attention.
There was always some flower growing as the seasons changed.
Even in winter there was colour from primula and pansies that danced in the breeze.
Over the last two years, as our children left home, Brendan and I came to realise our home and garden were too big for us.
The birds had flown the nest.
It took time for us to let go and move on.
We had many happy times and memories raising our children in our home in Downpatrick.
Brendan and I now have a new start, a new beginning.
We moved house this spring.
A house that is easy to maintain, no more ashes, just the flick of a switch for heat.
Out plants are having a new beginning as well.
We brought our plants in pots with us.  The yard out back looked like a garden centre.
Over the last few weeks Brendan and I have been sorting them out.
It is sunny where we now live and if my pot plants do not get watered often they will quickly deteriorate.
I was sorting out pots that did not seem to have any life in them and I was pleasantly surprised to find a harvest of bulbs.
I won’t know what they are until next spring.  I suspect most of them are daffodils.  Anyway our pots needed fresh soil so contents of all pots had to be inspected and sorted.  We found little tree shoots growing in some.  Seeds from trees in our last garden took root.  I have ash, sycamore and lime saplings potted out separately. Dead roots and weeds were disguarded to the dump.  The other contents of the pots were choking out the flowers intended to be growing taking away the nutrients and water.

A new beginning for bulbs next year.

I do not need to use slug pellets or roundup.  Other pests of our pot plants at our last house was snails.  They loved the trees, walls and hid under the rim of the pots.  They came out at night to eat.   Caterpillars just loved nastursums.  They munched at the tasty leaves.  The butterflies have not arrived yet so I don’t know if I will have caterpillars.

One way of getting rid of weeds, caterpillars and slugs is to turn up the heat.
The heat and the sunshine just causes them to wither up.
So our pot plants have a new start with weeds and slugs gone.
All is needed is watering regularly with the odd boost of Miracle Gro.
Flowers are blooming and a little pruning here or there is keeping things going well.
I am getting plenty of exercise, fresh air and sunshine as I water my plants.
Perhaps my new situation is telling me God is just dealing with my enemies in the spirit.
Like the slugs and weeds they cannot live in the new conditions.
The heat was turned up in our situation with having cancer and children leaving home.

Job in the bible went through suffering and did not know why.

But by means of their suffering, he rescues those who suffer.
For he gets their attention through adversity.
“God is leading you away from danger, Job, to a place free from distress. He is setting your table with the best food. (Job 36:15, 16 NLT)

God has brought us to a broad place, free from distress.
I can testify that God is good and faithful to keep his promise.  Believe and hope in God.
Brendan and I can flourish and grow without hindrance in our new territory.
God is faithful.  He said in His Word he will deliver us from our enemies.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.  (Psalms 107:1, 2 KJV)

People are Like Flowers, they will Blossom in the Right Conditions

Posted in My thoughts by

 

My husband and I love working in the garden.

We often pick up bargains of plants at markets at the end of the growing season. 
We look out for exotic plants at the local supermarket.
It is exciting when spring comes round, to see what appears in the pots from bulbs and dried up roots we planted in the late autumn.
Our last home had a big garden with hedges, walls and trees.
I could position plants that suited the different conditions.
When we moved house recently we could only bring our pot plants with us.
We now live near the sea, no trees for shade but it is warm and sunny.
Our new climate has advantages and disadvantages.
Strong, salty winds blow in the winter and hinder tree growth and plant life.
A neighbour said he spent a fortune on plants for his new house and they all died in the winter.
He warned me that “Nothing will grow here,” as I planted out my window boxes in spring after I moved here.

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Okay, I have not lived through a winter yet, but I am determined to make the most of the hot, sunny, long days of spring, summer and autumn.
 Lilies have blossomed a month early in the same pot, but in their new setting.  They never flourished like this before!

My roses are doing well in the sunshine and free flow of air. 
Before they were shadowed by trees.
Plants need good soil, water and light to grow.
Jesus told the parable of the farmer and the seed.
Where the seed fell on good soil the plants grew up and produced thirty, sixty and a hundred fold.
On the rocky stony soil the seed died soon after planting because of dryness and lack of nutrients for growth.
We can flourish in the right conditions to remain healthy, and grow.
Jesus is the Light of the world. 
When he shines on us he brings healing.
The Holy Spirit is symbolised as water.
The Word of God is symbolised as Bread.
Plants need light, water and good soil with nutrients to grow.
If we are nourished by the spiritual symbols light, water and nutrients, we will flourish body, soul and spirit.
Jesus is the Good Sheperd. Psalm 23 promises The Lord will lead us beside still waters and green pastures to restore our souls. 
I am being refreshed in body, soul and spirit in this new land.

How Giving to the Poor Brought Healing to Me.

Posted in My thoughts by

My husband brought me to the accident and emergency department in my local hospital when I told him I was bleeding.
This is now four years ago.
I was examined there by a doctor from Kerela in India.
He asked my husband and daughter to come into the cubicle to talk to us all about the examination.
My daughter is a doctor herself and was very nervous about what he was about to say.
She feared the worst.
I was numb and was willing to go through the process the doctor advised.
Instead of talking about my condition the doctor addressed my husband and said, 
“Don’t I know you?”
“No I don’t think we have met before.” 
“Are you the man with the big family?”
“Yes I have a big family.”
Mary and I were perplexed.  “Why is he not getting on with talking about how he can help me?”
“Ah I know where I have seen you before.  My mother has a book written by you.  There is a picture of you and your family on the back page. That book is in my mother’s home, back in Kerala, India.”
My husband has written two books for a lady in India.  Her work reaches out to the poor.
Brendan and I looked at each other.
We knew God was with us in that hospital cubicle.
In our time of distress a doctor remembered Brendan.
That book has helped raise money for orphanages and poor people in India.
The doctor, a stranger remembered Brendan.  God remembered too.
He was reassuring us he was with us.
Psalm 41 says 

Blessed is he who has regard  for the poor and needy. I will be with him in trouble. The Lord will raise him up from his sick bed.  V 1 and 3

We were in trouble and I was on a sick bed.
We all smiled despite our present dilemma.
The doctor proceeded to tell us that he found a mass of tissue inside my back passage when he examined me.
My daughter quizzed him to get more information.
He answered, “It is a firm mass.”  My daughter knew it can only be cancer.  She did not voice what she thought.
“I will make an appointment to get a colonoscopy.  I will ask for you to be seen as soon as possible.”
We thanked the doctor and walked out of that cubicle, silent, anxious but comforted that God was with us in our trouble.
We would face the future together.
Four months later I knew I was healed from cancer.
God is faithful.  

Feeling the Pain of Our Son Leaving Home to Go to Canada

Posted in Canada, Cancer, Family Friday, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations, Prayer, Travel by

We set off at four thirty am to go to Dulin airport.
The mist filled the low lying fields.
Sadness filled our hearts.
We drove along the windy road that passed the green fields, the blue sea and the Mourne Mountains, in silence.
David, our son was going to Canada with Jacquelyn to settle there.
He drank in the view.
We were travelling in our minibus.

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Usually it was filled with excited children, but today there were big suit cases in the back, with David and Jacquelyn’s belongings.
Another of our children leaving home and Ireland.
Patrick lives in Australia, Aaron in Slovakia, and Ruth in Scotland.
With the economic downturn, again many young people are leaving Ireland.
Through the decades people have left.
There are five million people in Ireland, but 60 million people in the world from Irish descent.
Dublin airport has become the scene of crying families hugging each other as a loved one leaves.
Today it was our turn.
My husband, my son and I are experiencing this pain of being separated.
David has been going through the process of leaving for four months now.
He successfully applied for a visa.  He came to terms with leaving family, friends and Ireland.
A new beginning.
My husband and I pray for our children and are there for them when they face crises.
We reassure them of our love and support, no matter what they do.
We tell them God loves them and forgives them when they regret and feel guilty for their wrong doings.
I have written before, that God is a god of second, third and many chances.
A God of Jubilee.
He knows that life can get unbearable with disappointment, hopelessness, making wrong decisions, breakup of relationships or loss of belongings.
There is a rise in Ireland of young people committing suicide.
Today I have hope.  David is having a new start in life.  He will prosper, have a wife and children and a home.  I will see him again.
His family, friends and Ireland cannot hold him.  God has good plans for him to give him a hope and a future.
Jesus proclaimed the scripture,

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
(Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

I know God’s redeeming power to forgive and heal.  I was facing death but God delivered me from my sins and death.  He has healed my broken heart and provided a new home for me. I am alive to tell others and give them courage to believe God and live.

As Brendan and I drive home, the sun has risen and it’s warmth has dispelled the mists.
May the sun of righteousness rise with healing in its wings to dispel our sadness.

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. (Malachi 4:2 NIV)

Tonight I was in the grocery store.  There was a song playing and the lyrics were,
“I will see your face again.”  Yes I will see my son David’s face again!

Many songs have been written in Ireland that are laments, expressing the pain that our people have suffered.  May there be new songs of joy as God heals our pain and binds up our wounds not only of our hearts but of our nation.

I gave David a note which says,

Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them. (Psalm 126:5, 6 NIV)

I write to give others hope, just as this scripture says,

Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. (Psalm 130:7, 8 NIV)