Tag Archives: soul

We Have an Anchor

Posted in Canada, My thoughts, Nations, Restoration, Travel by

Good morning everyone near and far away, especially in Vancouver and Vancouver Island.

Has God given you a promise? Are you familiar with prophecy? God wants to show His love to us and to show he cares and has life for us on the earth and in heaven. Life can change for you here and now.

I read the Bible and I hold on to what the word of God says. For example on page 1 it says increase and multiply and fill the earth. I believe in prophecy. It is from prophetic words I believed and hoped in that I am alive. It is from prophetic words and dreams God guided Brendan and I through the storms of life.

Men of old believed what God promised them. Abraham received the promise of a son. He was 100 years old when the son was born. Joseph had a dream his family would bow down to him. The dream came through after many testing times of being a slave and being in prison. David became a King after being chased from his country and lived in caves.

Believing for the promises God gives takes patience and endurance. God sends encouragement along the way to help us not to give up. I had cancer and was giving up hope of God answering my prayers. But God is faithful. He kept his promises to me. I am alive. I have since seen promises come to me but there are more promises to be fulfilled.

I’m watching programmes on iplayer about trawlermen. They are fishermen. They go out in bad weather and expect to catch fish and bring the bounty of the deep home. They don’t give up. They have faith to catch the fish they believe are there.

I am learning from them. I was reading Hebrews 6 v 19 NLV
Believing in God’s promise is like an anchor that keeps the soul through the storms of life that try to abort one’s promise. Remain anchored in faith in Jesus. He is attached to your anchor. He is with you till you come to safe grounds.

I am very encouraged by Hebrews 6 v 19 today. I am anchored in God. I will see His promises come to me in this life on the earth. I shall not die. I shall live and proclaim the Word of God.

Don’t give up. Don’t get shipwrecked!!!

Read The Scriptures

Posted in Cancer, Healing, My thoughts, Restoration by

Good morning everyone,

Near or far, east or west, north or south, old or young, family or friend, fair or dark, native or immigrant, welcome to my page.

I want to share with you something I read this week from Matthew 22 in the Bible.

The Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious of the day tried to trick Jesus with their questions.

The multitude who heard him were astonished at his doctrine. So much so that no one asked him any more questions. Jesus silenced them.

One example stood out for me. They asked Jesus whose wife will a woman be in heaven who had married seven brothers on earth.

Jesus replied You are in error. You don’t know the scriptures or the power of God.

Are we all guilty of being in error? Do we read the scriptures regularly, even every day?

I cannot emphasise the importance of reading the scriptures. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

I started to read the Bible regularly forty two years ago. I was a housewife looking after my family. It is became bread for my soul. It is the Word of God. Who is the Word of God? Jesus is. He is present with me as I read.

After many years of reading the scriptures I believe and have seen the power of God. I was able to draw on the truth of God’s Word that by the stripes of Jesus I am healed when I had fourth stage cancer. I am free from cancer. I am sure of this promise that I now pray for people to be healed.

Start reading the Bible today. You will become wise and you will live and be renewed by the power of God.

The Word

Posted in My thoughts by


John 1 v 1 and 14. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He was full of grace and truth.


This weekend we celebrate Christmas, the day when we remember that Jesus, the Saviour of the world was born. He was a baby lying in a manger in a stable. That little baby is the Word of God made flesh.


Two thousand years later, is Christmas real for to us today? Is it just a time to eat, drink and meet with friends and family?


God left us His Word in the Scriptures. The New Testament tells us the stories about Jesus life and the stories written by witnesses who lived with him on earth. The power of God is in the Word of God that we read in the Bible.


It changed me. I was given a bible by a publican, Harry Mc Court. I had free time so I began to read it from Genesis to Revelation. The power of God changed my heart as I read it. The Word of God is the true Light that gives light to every man. The words I read were giving light and truth to my soul. I believed that Jesus is the truth from that time until now.


Perhaps you attend Church and you already believe in Jesus. Praise God. To grow in faith read the scriptures for yourself. It will enlighten you and show you what is true.


The bible is a small book. I can guarantee if you read it sincerely you will be changed. The power and light of God will touch you. What God has done for me He can do for you. Start out on your journey this Christmas. Meet the Word who became flesh, today.

Black Guillemots Nest Nearby

Posted in Birds, Family Friday, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature by

The Loughshore Rd in Portaferry, Co Down is very popular with local walkers, and more so during the Covid restrictions. There is less vehicle traffic. A family of Black Guillemots have become quit celebrities to local visitors. They have brought joy to many people during this difficult time when people have had to self isolate. Getting out in nature among God’s creation brings healing to the soul and mind.

The Black Guillemot is a small black sea bird with a white patch on each wing. Each has a pointed beak, smooth feathers and red feet. They feed on sea creatures and can dive very deep underwater to feed. It’s a privilege to get to see such wild life nearby.

Black Guillemots have a nest amid the rocks in the wall along the shoreline of Strangford Lough. They have become quite tame. Passersby stop to watch them as their family play in the water below. My daughter was driving past last evening. Two birds were sitting on the wall. I asked her to reverse the car to see if we could see them up close.

Amazingly the two birds were not disturbed as we stopped. They didn’t fly off. We were able to take photos of them close up. What a delight.

The waves from storms in February breached the shoreline wall in various places. Some were repaired before the lockdown. The road had to be closed to traffic about a mile along the shore from where we live. The wall was broken and part of the road fell into the sea. The Covid lockdown prevented workers getting to fix it.

Then in July when work was due to start to repair the road, it was discovered that another group of Black guillemots had built nests nearby. They were still feeding their young in the nests. The department of the Environment stepped in and advised work to stop. The repair didn’t go ahead. The workers are waiting till the Black Guillemots are finished reading their young.

Bird Watching Again.

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

I’m telling my children who are returning for Christmas to make sure they bring warm hats and gloves. No we are not going skiing. I’m planning to go Bird Watching instead of Christmas shopping. I have plenty of binoculars to share and I am blessed to live by the an inland sea Lough which invites many birds to stop a while. I will not have to organize a long journey. There is a variety of bird life nearby.

I am being restored in my mind and body as I take time beside still waters as Psalm 23 says.

He leads me beside still waters to restore my soul.

I discovered a group of birds I had not encountered before yesterday. They were a delight to watch. I was happy to look at these birds for a while. God too is taking pleasure in his creation.
I was reading today from Revelation 4 v 8 to 11

8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—
the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”
9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,
to receive glory and honor and power.
For you created everything,
And it is for your pleasure that they exist and were created.

When I returned home I got out my bird books. Brendan has bought me quite a few over the years. I looked up my favorite one. It gives pictures and descriptions of the most common birds found on our shores. There were all kinds of birds, ducks, geese, swans, sea gulls, oystercatchers, and waders but there was no sign of my discovery. I looked through another. It must have been bought in America. No luck here either.

At last I picked up a hard backed book with a picture on the front. At last. There on the front cover was my new discovery, a bird with a few feathers sticking up from its crown, a Lapwing.

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According to the book the lapwing has green feathers on his back and wings. I was not close enough to see the green colour of the back wings. His underbody is white. The lapwing gather is flocks. When one takes flight they all do. Their black under feathers make up a full wing span and aides it to spin, twist and dive in flight.
This bird is distinctive because of the tuft of feathers on his head.

Yesterday this group of lapwings were resting along the shore. They were within easy sight as the full tide allowed the water to come up near the bank. They were well camouflaged amid the stones and seaweed on the shore.

I didn’t have my binoculars or note book with me. I will make sure we are fully equipped for our nature study day at Christmas time. Who knows what other residents or visitors to our Irish shores I will find when I next go bird watching.
It will not cost us money. There will be no temptation to overspend or visit coffee shops. Just a flask and a few nibbles will help the bird watchers to endure. They will enjoy it so much; a welcome change from work and study. Time to breathe fresh air, slow down and hang out together like the birds. Time to heal and be restored. A time for peace.

I am Celebrating Easter

Posted in Cancer, Healing, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature, Prayer, Restoration by

I was looking back at photographs on my iPhone taken in the last six months.  Some photos capture the beauty and colors of the sky and sea from where I live on Strangford Lough in Ireland.  The beauty all around me revives my body and soul.  I am being restored.

image imageimage

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.  Psalm 19 v 1

I am happy to enjoy the changes in the heavens all around, knowing the Creator holds me in his arms.

Tonight the time changes in Ireland.  The clocks move forward one hour.  It is Eastertime 2016.  I am thankful to God to be alive, six years on from being diagnosed with fourth stage colon cancer.

This Easter weekend we celebrate a world changing event that happened about 2000 years ago.  Jesus died a cruel death and was buried in the grave.  But he didn’t stay there.  He arose from the grave.  He now lives at the Father’s right hand interceding for us.

By his death he conquered the power of sin and death, and power of the devil over mankind and made a way for us to go to heaven.  He is the way, the truth and the life.

I know the power of his death on the cross.  Isaiah 53 says “By his stripes we are healed.”  I received my healing six years ago.

Are you weighed down by misfortune, misery and ill health? Look up. Ask the Creator of the universe for help. His son Jesus paid for your freedom from oppression and sickness by the shedding of his Blood. Have faith in God.

Celebrating St Patrick along the Ancient Pathway

Posted in Canada, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations by

I returned to Co Down sixteen years ago.  I was born and lived in Co Down till I was eighteen.  I went to university in Coleraine eighty miles away from home and remained there to get married and rear my children.  In those days I might as well have been moving to another country.  God led us to live return to Co Down.  This scripture spoke to us,

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’ (‭Jeremiah‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬ NIV)

Today, St Patrick’s Day, I am savoimageuring the blessing of living along the shore of Strangford Lough.  There is a small bay below our house where gulls play about on the water.  The water is still. A lone heron stands on a stone for long periods of time looking out for food.  A flock of Brent Geese fly in low over the water.  They come to get some fresh water from a stream nearby that flows into the lough.  My soul is at rest.

I am amazed that these Brent Geese’ only winter habitat is along the shores of Strangford Lough.  Thousands land here after a long journey from Northern Canada in September.  Most are to be seen along the sunny side of the Lough.  They feed on Eel Grass and return in April to the tundra to have their young.  The Brent Geese link me to the past.  For generations  they migrated here.  Their generations back would have been here when St Patrick arrived as a migrant.

In the fifth century St Patrick came to these shores.  The main means of transport in those days was by boat.  A boat could access inland by river.  He came to Ireland answering the call of God to go as a missionary.  He would have sailed up the entrance to Strangford Lough and up the Quoile river.  It is recorded that he settled in Saul near the river.

The tourist board of Northern Ireland has mapped out the St Patrick’s trail which helps visitors travel to areas where early Christians settled.  I have lived in three sites that are along this trail.  I lived in. Saul St,  Downpatrick for sixteen years,  one year in Bright, and now in Portaferry.  I can imagine those early Christians coming ashore like the Brent Geese to get some fresh water after their sea journey.  They could have built a shelter and fished from the sea that was teeming with fish in those early days.  No pollution or over fishing then.  They may have even built a settlement on this land where we now live.

St Patrick’s writings mention scriptures, dreams, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  It is interesting that the Christian denominations, Evangelical, Pentecostal and Catholic all look to St Patrick as their patron in Ireland.  At least we are united in the heritage St Patrick left us.

In Ireland we are blessed to have a Christian heritage for 1500 years.  Ireland is known as the Land of Saints and Scholars.  Many missionarys travelled from these shores into Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.  God is calling the Irish men and women to remember the God of their forefathers. I celebrate St Patrick today, not with green beer, leprechauns, or parades, but by being quiet on this ancient site remembering the God of St Patrick.  He is the same God I worship, 1500 years later.  Praise Him.

It Is Well With My Soul

Posted in Healing, My thoughts, Nature, Prayer by

It is well with my soul.

I wanted to relax earlier so I looked to see if there was anything interesting on TV.
I flicked from channel to channel.  A game show, a food programme and a dance show.
My eyes, ears and mind were bombarded with advertisements, bodies gyrating and loud music.
No definitely not relaxing.
I turned the machine off.
Then I got a call on my mobile.  I was talking for some time.
I began to get a headache.
Is this mobile frying my brain?
I wonder what neuroscientists think of that.
If I take a call again it will have to be on my house phone.
How could I relax?
I retreated to my room.
The room lit up.
The sun shone in the living room window giving warmth and brightness.
The sheep grazed in the field across the way, enjoying the warmth on their backs before sunset.
There was stillness in the air.
Be still and know that I am God.
I began to relax.
My eyes soaked up the light and beauty of the green trees and pastures.
My ears are enjoyed the stillness and my mind did not have to work.
This was better than any TV programme, beauty massage, or therapy session.
The trumpet flowers turn towards the evening light.
image
It was such a beautiful evening Brendan and I went out to the local beach.
The sun was going down.
The sea was calm with a gentle ripple lapping the shore.
A bird called in the distance.
A heron stood motionless on the water’s edge, eyes concentrating.
Seals froliced in the shallow water, a little exercise before bedtime.
Children’s voices echoed across the water from the nearby caravan site.
Making memories before holidays are over and school days loom on the horizon.
There is time for everything under heaven.
We returned home.
We looked up into the moonless sky.
There was an extravaganza of stars and the mist of the Milky Way.
The Lord put on a show for me this evening.
I will magnify my creator and my God.
God made all these things for us to enjoy.
I cannot but praise him.

What is man that thou art mindful of him?
The son of man that you care for him?  Psalm 8 v 4

I see the Stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul my saviour God to thee.
How great thou art, How great thou art.

Lyrics from Hymn How Great thou art.

It is well with my soul.