‘Some people put walls up, not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to knock them down.’
Archive by Author
Are You Putting Up Walls?
June 23, 2013 
7 Comments
How Is Your Fear?
June 22, 2013 6 Comments
The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.
Oswald Chambers
Are you Believing?
June 21, 2013 5 Comments
‘Just because you can’t see the air doesn’t mean you stop breathing. And just because you can’t see God doesn’t mean you stop believing.’
Is God Happy With Your Everyday Life?
June 20, 2013 5 Comments
If God does not enter your kitchen, there is something wrong with your kitchen. If you can’t take God into your recreation, there is something wrong with your play. We all believe in the God of the heroic. What we need most these days is the God of the humdrum, the commonplace, the everyday.
Peter Marshall
Is Your Worship In Vain??
June 19, 2013 24 Comments
Matthew 15:8-9 (NIV)
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules”
Isaiah 29:13 (NIV)
13 The Lord says:
“These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”
My Thoughts 💭
We spend countless hours checking, then double checking if everything is plugged in correctly, microphones, instruments, sound desk etc but we fail to leave time to plug our hearts into God!
- Have you followed the rules (I mean order of service) correctly and to the letter?
- Have you dared to remain seated instead of standing during the song as you wouldn’t want to be frowned upon would you?
- Do you make sure you speak nicely during prayer, putting style over substance?
📖 Another Verse 4 2day!
Isaiah 1:15 (NIVUK)
When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.
Your hands are full of blood!
More Thoughts 💭
I hope this will challenge you to focus on connecting your heart to God and not being distracted by what other people are doing, what clothes they’re wearing, if they are sitting, standing, dancing, running, kneeling. Just connect with God as you can’t worship for someone else! When you do, nothing else will matter anyway!
Don’t just go to Church, BE THE CHURCH!
Daily Prompt: Might As Well Jump
June 18, 2013 25 Comments
Today’s Daily Prompt: “Photographers, artists, poets: show us JUMP”
⇧ Bruce THE Boxer jumping on Hunstanton beach ⇧
⇧ Surf Border ⇧
⇧ Sarah, Maddie, Tori, Marshall & Alfie jumping on their sand town ⇧
Are You Climbing Up The Ladder?
June 18, 2013 4 Comments
The problem with spending your life climbing up the ladder is that you will go right past Jesus, for he’s coming down.
John Ortberg
Our Family In Christ
June 17, 2013 0 Comments
Lord, we are grateful that we can be a part of Your family. Help us to live in unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ so that others may see how gracious You are and want to know You too. Amen.
Reveal Your Own Character
June 17, 2013 6 Comments
You reveal your own character most clearly when you describe someone else’s.
God Took Me In
June 16, 2013 2 Comments
Psalm 27:9-10
The Message (MSG)
You’ve always been right there for me;
don’t turn your back on me now.
Don’t throw me out, don’t abandon me;
you’ve always kept the door open.
My father and mother walked out and left me,
but God took me in.
Psalm 27:10
New International Version (NIV)
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Curves
June 15, 2013 38 Comments
“Curves. I bet you can find curves wherever you are. Show me!”
Some curves!
⇧ Hampton Court Palace ⇧
⇧ Our Back Garden ⇧
⇧ Roller Coaster in Brighton ⇧
⇧ My Taylor Custom Macassar Ebony Electro Acoustic Guitar ⇧
⇧ Castle Rising Castle ⇧
⇧ Doughnuts ⇧
⇧ Swan Lake ⇧
⇧ Ageas Cricket Bowl ⇧
Related posts:
Worship Is…..
June 14, 2013 5 Comments
Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is! and what He has done! Expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live. ~ Louie Giglio
Related posts:
Is God Pleased With Your Worship?
June 14, 2013 11 Comments
Isaiah 1:11-17 ~ Bible Gateway
The Message (MSG)
11-12 “Why this frenzy of sacrifices?”
God’s asking.
“Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices,
rams and plump grain-fed calves?
Don’t you think I’ve had my fill
of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?
When you come before me,
whoever gave you the idea of acting like this,
Running here and there, doing this and that—
all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?
13-17 “Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
I’ll not be listening.
And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.
Go home and wash up.
Clean up your act.
Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings
so I don’t have to look at them any longer.
Say no to wrong.
Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenceless.
What Seeds Are You Sowing?
June 14, 2013 3 Comments
I love this challenging post!
Some scatter seeds of anxiety,
and harvest nothing but fear
some collect in their memory
the reason for all their tears.
Some spread seeds of gloom,
and collect grains of doubt
some gather up their losses
when there’s a spiritual drought.
Some cast seeds of excess,
and reap in what they sow
some collect worldly pleasures
thinking God will never know.
Some throw seeds of greed,
and amass envy and pride
some lose their hope and faith
when their will, with God’s collide.
Some scatter seeds of doubt,
and harvest nothing but fear
but those who mock not God
sow the seeds of repentant tears!
~~~~~~~~~
Galatians 6:7
King James Version
“Be not deceived;
God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.”
Copyright 2013
Deborah Ann Belka
Lighthouses Don’t Fire Cannons
June 14, 2013 6 Comments
We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining- they just shine.
D. L. Moody
Daily Prompt: Person Of The Year
June 13, 2013 16 Comments
Today’s Daily Prompt: “Person Of The Year!”
Photographers, artists, poets: show us BIG.
My Thoughts 💭
I would nominate my lovely wife Sarah for person of the year, she is simply amazing! 🙂
When I thought of the word ‘Big’, I immediately thought of these two photos I took of Sarah & Bruce with my fisheye lens on holiday in the lighthouse at Hunstanton, Norfolk.
More Daily Prompt Challenges:
We Want!!
June 13, 2013 10 Comments
We want to be saints, but we also want to feel every sensation experienced by sinners; we want to be innocent and pure, but we also want to be experienced and taste all of life; we want to serve the poor and have a simple lifestyle, but we also want all the comforts of the rich; we want to have the depth afforded by solitude, but we also do not want to miss anything; we want to pray, but we also want to watch television, read, talk to friends, and go out. ~ Ronald Rolheiser
Daily Prompt: You’ve Got The Power
June 12, 2013 11 Comments
Today’s Daily Prompt ~ “Photographers, artists, poets: show us RULES”
My Thoughts 💭
I was struggling with today’s prompt, so I asked my wife Sarah and she reminded me of this…
My lovely wife Sarah happily showing she has the power as a type 1 diabetic to eat anything she likes and whenever she likes, especially when it is a doughnut dunked in lots and lots of sugar! 😀
Related posts:
Spiritual Boot Camp Day 23
June 12, 2013 3 Comments
Please check out this challenging Spiritual Boot Camp series on the book of James by Shelly (Deeply Rooted in Him).
Well we are at the halfway point this week so let’s remain faithful as we dive back into James 4.
James 4:4
4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
James starts this verse by address the people as “adulterous people”. “The people of God in the OT are considered the wife of the Lord (Jer. 31:32), and in the NT, the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:22-23). It is reasonable, therefore, to understand “adulteress” intended to jar the reader and awaken him to his true spiritual condition.”1 As we read this passage, we too, are to be jarred and made to really look at our own spiritual condition. When you look at your life, is it more in line with the ways of the world or the ways of…
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Love Is A Choice!
June 12, 2013 11 Comments
Always, love is a choice. You come up against scores of opportunities every day to love or not to love. You encounter hundreds of small chances to please your friends, delight your Lord, and encourage your family. That’s why love and obedience are intimately linked- you can’t have one without the other. ~ Joni Eareckson Tada
Daily Prompt: Take Care
June 11, 2013 24 Comments
Todays Daily Prompt ~ “Photographers, artists, poets: show us HELP!”
My Thoughts 💭
When you’re unwell, you can decide to focus on the dark clouds that start to surround you. Or you can dance in the storm! 🙂
⇧ Bruce feeling sad after his ear operation ⇧
⇧ Bruce dancing in the storm! 😀 ⇧
Related posts:
- Daily Prompt: Green Eyed Monster
- Daily Prompt: RSVP
- Bruce THE Boxer
Point Of View
June 11, 2013 8 Comments
I have a point of view. You have a point of view. God has view. ~ Madeleine L’Engle
The Lies of the World
June 10, 2013 Comments Off on The Lies of the World
Father, forgive me for believing the lies of the world and being deceived and enticed by the temptations of Satan. I know that sin brings heartaches, complications, and problems. I also know that choosing the right things, standing up for truth, and living faithfully for you is sometimes very difficult. Please help my heart believe and my mind see that walking in your will brings me life. In Jesus’ name I ask this. Amen.”
Weekly Photo Challenge: Fleeting
June 10, 2013 10 Comments
This weeks photo challenge “Fleeting ~ Capture Time“
Description
This is my friend enjoying a fleeting moment with fireworks! 😀
Related posts:
Daily Prompt: Do Not Disturb
June 8, 2013 7 Comments
Todays Daily Prompt ~ “Photographers, artists, poets: show us PRIVATE””
Screenshot from my iMac
⇧ My Online Passwords are kept PRIVATE in the 1Password app. ⇧
A photo I took of the padlock at The Old Lighthouse
⇧ LOCKED! ⇧
Related posts:
Daily Prompt: RSVP
June 7, 2013 34 Comments
Today’s Daily Prompt ~ “Photographers, artists, poets: show us CELEBRATION”
I had to start this post with the best celebration blessing of my life! 🙂
⇧ Me and my lovely wife Sarah on our amazing day! ⇧
⇧ Our Wedding Cake! Mmmmmm 🙂 ⇧
⇧ Sarahs Sunflower Birthday Cake ⇧
⇧ Sarah returning to the beach (her favourite place!) ⇧
Daily Prompt: Four Stars
June 6, 2013 13 Comments
Todays ‘Daily Prompt‘ by ‘The Daily Post‘
Photographers, artists, poets: show us LIFE.
Bruce’s Contagious Love Of Life!!! (July 2000 ~ Dec 2011)
Related page:
Don’t Love The World’s Ways
June 6, 2013 6 Comments
1 John 2:15-17 (NIV)
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
The Message (MSG)
15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
The Tongue
June 5, 2013 Comments Off on The Tongue
‘The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?’
Clean Yourself Up!
June 4, 2013 Comments Off on Clean Yourself Up!
Colossians 3:8
But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Word A Week Challenge ~ Metal
June 4, 2013 7 Comments
⇧ Precious Metal ~ Our Matching Wedding Rings ⇧
⇧ Metal Fence ⇧
⇧ Me Playing Metal ⇧
⇧ Metal Fence 2 ⇧
Description
I was inspired to take part in this weeks ‘Word A Week Challenge‘ by Vastlycurious, so here are my images on ‘Metal’.
I took the fence shots while waiting for a sunset in the lighthouse garden where we stay on holiday.
Related posts:
Be Not Angry
June 3, 2013 11 Comments
Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.
Thomas Kempis
Related post:
Weekly Photo Challenge: The Sign Says
June 1, 2013 41 Comments
This weeks photo challenge by The Daily Post
Description
I couldn’t decide between the ‘walk on the water’ sign I took in London, or ‘Lighthouse’ which is our fave holiday destination in Hunstanton, Norfolk! 🙂
Marriage
May 31, 2013 15 Comments
My Thoughts 💭
One of my fave ministries is “Telling The Truth” and this is an article on marriage by Pete Briscoe
💬 Quote 4 2day
“Getting married for sex is like buying a 747 for the free peanuts.” —Jeff Foxworthy
The Pew Poll reports that 44% of Americans under 30 believe that marriage is heading for extinction, but 95% of Americans want to get married someday.
That’s interesting, isn’t it?
There’s skepticism, but also intrigue. They know there’s something dynamic and special about this relationship, but our culture keeps saying, “Marriage was great for your grandparents, but it’s unnecessary bondage for this age of freedom.”
Time magazine recently ran a cover that simply asked in big letters, “Who needs marriage?” Good question. How would you answer?
Lie number 1: Marriage is an archaic institution irrelevant for enlightened modern people. Many believe this lie, the rest of us need to ask ourselves if marriage is even worth it. Why do we even need this anymore?”
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. —Genesis 2:24
This is the way God always intended it: one man, one woman coming together, becoming one, enjoying oneness in Christ. It’s God’s original plan, and it’s meant to last. He’s never rescinded it. Marriage is simply one of God’s great ideas.
I’ve done dozens of weddings over the years, and I start them all the same way:
“Marriage is:
- A holy estate.
- Instituted by God.
- Commanded in Scripture for all who enter it lawfully and in true affection.
- Confirmed by Christ’s solemn words and consecrated by His gracious presence at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee.
- Set forth by the apostle as signifying the mystical union between Christ and the Church.
- Ordained for the consecration of union between man and woman so that the natural instincts being directed aright they might live in purity and honor.
- Ordained for the increase of mankind and that children might be brought up in the fear and the nurture of the Lord.
- Ordained for companionship, health, and comfort, which husband and wife ought to have of each other.
- Ordained for the welfare of human society which can be strong and happy only where the marriage bond is held highly in honor.”
- Satan lies. The truth is that marriage is divine, timeless, and significant. You might be in it or out of it—either way, marriage is partof God’s eternal purpose for the Body of Christ… and it will be until death we do part.
🙏 Prayer 4 2day!
God, make me a vessel of Your truth. When I begin to doubt the validity and need of marriage, make me willing to take that thought captive. By Your Spirit and Your Word, convict me of Your divine purpose in the marriage covenant for my good and for Your glory. Amen.
Isabella Plantation ~ Part 2
May 31, 2013 10 Comments
Watch My Language
May 31, 2013 6 Comments
“Jesus, please enable me to watch my language. Help me to listen to the words that I use so I can discover the meanings and motives behind them, Amen.”
Isabella Plantation ~ Part 1
May 29, 2013 9 Comments
My Isabella Plantation Photos ~ Ben’s To Follow (Part 2)
Camera used ~ Nikon D2Xs
Related posts:
Meet Vini
May 28, 2013 8 Comments
Description
Me, my lovely wife Sarah, Ben (The Dynamic Force), Ben’s wife Rosie & their son Vini, went for a lovely picnic yesterday in the Isabella Plantation at Richmond Park, London (photos to follow soon).
Camera Used ~ Nikon D2Xs
Love
May 28, 2013 9 Comments
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” ~ C.S Lewis
Related posts:
Weekly Photo Challenge: In The Background
May 27, 2013 10 Comments
This weeks photo challenge from Daily Post ~ “share pictures that say In the Background.”
⇧ Me in the background ⇧
⇧ My Lovely wife Sarah in the background ⇧
⇧ My lovely wife Sarah also in the background ⇧
Related posts:
Tranquility Lane
May 26, 2013 16 Comments
Description
Havein a relaxing day off today from church building duties. So thought I would share a couple of the flowers we are blessed to have in our garden.
Camera Used ~ Nikon D2Xs
Lens used ~ AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED
Related posts:
The Bad Stuff!
May 26, 2013 Comments Off on The Bad Stuff!
The bad stuff will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.
The Retreat In Acle
May 24, 2013 22 Comments
Description
Sarah, Bruce and I stayed in ‘The Retreat’ log cabin in Acle, Norfolk for a week in 2008.
It was a lovely relaxing holiday. I played guitar on the porch while Sarah sat in the hot tub for most of the week Bruce enjoyed long walks and pretending to be a guard dog.
Related posts:
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