The third Monday in January is a national holiday i the USA, designated MLK Day...
The quality of our relationships depends on two things: What we think of ourselves, and how we behave towards others.
I have not always been a fan of Christmas, but this year in particular my view has changed......
The Christmas message is this: To make an entrance into human history the Creator chose not to use the official channels, the recognised people nor that which was well known....
We visit a South American prison to witness transformation....
Our experiences led us from what we thought we wanted to what God really planned....
My observations on another period of transformation in my life.
When I was at school, my two biggest successes were......
Most of us seem to want to identify with someone or something...
We sometimes learn things about ourselves and others, in unpredictable and stressful situations, that we would never have known had these circumstances not presented themselves
There is a wisdom that is not readily available from training courses or schools of knowledge.....
In Black History, I celebrate the legacy of a little known Jamaican....
Is it a fact that high Emotional Intelligence will not benefit you if you are not genuine?.
According to secularists and the New Age community there is a Law of Attraction.....
“What is the problem; Isn’t a Christian someone who follows Jesus?”
This is the question I asked myself when wearing a newspaper headline a few months ago.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to assess your level of trustworthiness....
If I was going to give some advice to my younger self, what would I say?
Which of these three is the odd one out?
It's not so much what we see, but the way we see it that makes the difference.
Some say that rest is a state of mind, but people seem to have all kinds of ways of looking at it....
Confidence is a quality which is not easy to define. It's a dynamic experience rather than a character trait....
I've written about confidence a number of times before and this is my latest update.
We now appear to have access to three types of intelligence: IQ, EQ and SQ......
We can add this new dimension of intelligence to the already known IQ and EQ......
It was once assumed that IQ was the primary source of success in our lives....
It was once assumed that IQ was the primary source of success in our lives....
This proverb is still quoted today. But is it true?...
What would you say is your most important relationship?....
I see 6-things in particular that I believe the majority of people in the UK hate....
How we communicate affects our lives more than we realise; so it helps to know some basics....
Getting your message across seems to come easily to some, but there are some basic things you can practice to improve yourself...
How come the underdogs beat the favourites so often......
Confidence can be a very delicate thing, but if it is going to be real and serve you well, it needs to be more robust then that......
We all need confidence, but for some it can be quite fragile. I propose it should be more of a characteristic.
The passage of time often carries with it cataclysmic changes....
Before you say, "Here we go again, diets and weight watching", I'm not referring to diet and exercise.....
The British have a reputation for complaining. Is that a good reputation to have?
What are the secrets of success in life.....
Most of us see Easter as a turning point in the year......
What makes a person attractive and why are others not so much so?.....
Is mental strength innate, or can you grow in it?
Did you know that there are Four Categories of Habit?
How do you make decisions? I thought I knew!...
They say, "You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends"...
Have you ever said something or made a decision which you immediately regretted?....
Ways of staying upbeat in Lockdown....
We are strongly advised not to take risks during the pandemic. This is good advice in the presence of a deadly virus, but applying this principle to life in general is not such a good idea...
We need to find joy in practical ways, especially during restrictive coronavirus Lockdown periods....
The exercise of leadership does not necessarily require an official position or management tile...
We sometimes under-estimate the importance of hope. For instance, most people are hoping for a quick end to Lockdown, so that life can get back to normal....
2020 has proved a challenging year for the whole world.....
Children have the capacity to develop mental strength, but they need to be taught how to exercise their minds...
There are certain things in life that are needed to make it satisfying, worthwhile and joyful...
Lack of mental strength can sabotage our best efforts and most passionate desires....
What makes an attractive person? Is it personality, looks, character....
There are practical steps we can all take to improve our life and increase our value to others...
Chains of habit are too light to be noticed until they are too heavy to be broken....
Self-confidence comes from the way you think about yourself....
How do you head-off low self-esteem and move towards confidence?....
Mentally tough people are able to embrace change...
Mental toughness is not just something you have or have not; it can be developed...
Pride can go unnoticed, unless someone points it out...
What happens when circumstances go contrary to your hopes and expectations....
Continuing on the theme of my last blog (Personal Transformation)....
Continuing my journey....
Some of the things I have learned from personal experience....
Honesty leads to trust: "Doing the right thing all of the time" - C S Lewis.....
Since the COVID19 Lockdown I have observed many more people taking exercise....
Establishing personal and professional boundaries is important and may be vital to the well-being of your family...
In recent times the national news has focused on mental health, especially amongst professional sports people....
We all have unwritten rules that we live by....
Do you talk to yourself when there is no one there to hear you?....
In western societies money is probably the most well recognised measure of success....
Our capacity to listen is often overlooked when we are engaged in communication.....
How would you recognise leadership quality in someone?.....
They say time flies when you are enjoying yourself.....
Have you ever heard someone say, "If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently"
Happiness, Success and Contentment Depend in Large Measure on......
The COVID19 Pandemic has brought into public focus an issue which has always been there under the surface of our busy society....
We all have dreams. I don't simply mean those dreams we have when sleeping, but those we have about what we would like to see happen in our lifetime. ...
Spring-cleaning is not just about the family home, it can also be applied to the people who live there...
Does it seem out of place to talk about joy when we are in the middle of an international emergency due to the COVID19 pandemic?
Innovation in not the exclusive domain of those people who are talented or clever. The Covid19 Emergency has demonstrated that...
Change is not a fearful thing, there are manageable steps you can take towards improvement....
To reach your personal best you need to learn how to challenge the person you see in the mirror....
Are you willing to give up today's security for the potential of tomorrow?
How Do We Choose Our Most Influential Friends?
If you want to be successful in your life, the single most effective thing you can do is choose your closest friends wisely......
In these days of Coronavirus (COVID19) threat, keeping your composure and listening to good advice is so important, both for yourself and those around you......
How do we find the capacity to forgive people who have hurt or wronged us?......
Humility does not appear to have much value in our current world, but actually it's a powerful virtue......
How we respond to criticism reveals a lot about our character.....
Long before I reached my teens, I had decided my life’s ambition. I wanted to be a professional footballer.....
Did you know that God wants to speak to everyone, even those who think they have no connection with him?.....
Do we accept what our British culture says about us?.....
The dating site eHarmony reports that by 2031 about 50% of couples will have met online.....
Early in the New Year I came across this report from a young family. A point of stress had arisen: One of their two young sons had developed an intense fear of dying....
The Christmas holiday can be difficult since we feel obligated to get together with family and friends, some of which are not those whom we would choose to spend time with....
Some of us respond to external pressures better than others. How do you fair when others are witnessing your performance?.....
I challenge you to check yourself out against these criteria, before you answer this question.....
What we believe determines the way we think, our attitude to life and the way we behave....
Performing in order to be accepted by others is very common in western society. But what about our actual identity?...
Have you ever felt ashamed because of something you have said or done? What was your reaction to this situation?...
Have you noticed how some people seem uncomfortable, even embarrassed when they receive a complimentary remark or praise for what they have done?
However you measure success, these parts of your life will affect the outcome…
Before you ignore this blog on the grounds that you are not a leader in the first place, please note that I am thinking of leadership in a wider sense than a recognised position of authority.....
Is the so-called "pursuit of happiness" simply the pursuit of personal pleasure or something else?....
Envy is often seen as a fairly low level of bad behaviour. After all we are all envious of somebody or something aren't we? It can, however, be much more serious than it first appears.....
This is a question I have asked myself and those I have mentored on many occasions. You can be at odds with him and not realise it.
There are many reasons why we feel unable to forgive those people who have hurt or miss-used us......
Following Part 1, I offer 7-more things that characterise and authenticate calling....
Do you have a calling, or do you simply earn a living? Or perhaps you feel more inclined to call your job a vocation or even a passion. How do you see what most of us spend at least one third of their lives doing?....
How do you choose the person who is right for you: A personal experience...
Is being "in love" all you need when you are thinking of spending the rest of your life with someone?
In the current core values of British society, respect doesn't have a very high rating. This can have serious negative consequences in the context of partnership or marriage....
As a man in a relationship with a woman, a key quality she needs from you is the capacity to listen....
Have you been influenced by things people believe and quote as though they are obviously true?....
What do you do when problems pile up and you feel that you just can't cope?.....
Jealousy leads us to try to highlight the weaknesses of others, to reduce their value, to develop a case against them.....
I fell apart on one particular day due to an extremely painful situation in my life which flattened me.....
In the opening quarter of the 21st century we have the world at our figure-tips. Our mobiles, i-pods and laptops give us instant access to information from virtually any location on the planet....
Coco Gauff, the American tennis player, playing her first Wimbledon this year, inspired me to write this blog......
This was the headline of an article in "The Times", 27 June 2019. It appears that GPs face problems that cannot be treated with medication.....
In my last blog I talked about dealing with fear when it is a distressing and negative emotion. But there is another kind of fear which is positive....
Fear has been described as the greatest enemy of our generation: So what is the best way of dealing with it?.....
Are "niceness" and "kindness" the same thing? Does "being honest" mean that we always tell the truth?....
There are many well accepted quotations that sound right, but are not authentic....
If your answer to this question is, "Yes", then it may be worthwhile to consider the source of these two opposite moral positions...
Soul-ties are very common: Marriage, family relationships, romantic relationships. But there are both good and bad soul-ties.......
Have you heard the phrase, "The mind is the devil's playground"?....
Many years ago, when I first came across this definition of a Christian, I was surprised, even shocked.....
In more recent times I have come to realise that the phase, "Constant Change is Here to Stay", has a much wider application that that briefly described in Part 1....
Generally people don't like change, but in the Kingdom of God here on earth change is something we have to learn to expect....
God has various ways of speaking to us. If we want to hear him, it helps if we are tuned in to how he is likely to communicate with us.....
Do you want direction, confirmation and an indication of your destiny?....
The NHS has to take some responsibility for the poor state of mental health provision in the UK. Lack of government financial provision and planning is also a key issue. There is however another significant factor which is largely overlooked.........
Inner rest and peace are gifts from God. They come from his presence.........
We have heard a lot about “fake news” recently. US President, Donald Trump has drawn our attention to it regularly since his inauguration........
The news media publishes various versions of the truth: which one are we to believe?.......
No relationship can thrive and develop unless it is given time and attention. This applies to human relationships as well as relationship to God.......
IIn Part 1 of this blog I outlined 6-characteristics of people with high Emotional Intelligence (EQ). In Part 2 I identify a further 8-indicators of high EQ, so that you can check your credentials further.....
In my last blog I gave an outline of the traits of Emotionally Intelligent (EQ) people. This time I invite you to check yourself out against the hallmarks of high EQ....
90% of the most successful people have high Emotional Intelligence (EQ). So what is EQ and why does it appear to be more important than IQ?...
In a previous Blog I outlined some of the ways in which a poverty mind-set reveals itself. This Blog explains how some of these negative ways of thinking can be overcome.....
When you fall in love, you may think that the way you feel about each other will carry you through anything life may throw at you....
A Poverty Mind-Set is not about current income or status, it's more to do with how you see yourself and the world around you....
The objective of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), as practiced by most professional counsellors, is behaviour modification...
The Bible can be a difficult book to understand, especially if we don't realize that its purpose is to show us what God is like and lead us to know Him.
The Bible is consistently an annual best selling book. The life of Jesus in particular evokes great interest. But why was the Bible written and for what purpose?
We are not always supposed to live from direct supernatural provision for our immediate needs, like the Isaelites did in the desert after leaving Eygpt. However, when circumstances dictate that we have to do this it can be very exciting and just a little scary....
In The Bible God uses dreams and visions to communicate his plans and warnings to people in some very significant situations. He has not changed his ways....
Being able to predict that something will happen makes it all the more exciting when it actually does happen as predicted, provided of course what was predicted was also desired....
God speaks to us in many ways. For example; Dreams, visions, prophecy, an inner voice, verses from the bible etc. Direction can come from unexpected sources, in circumstances we could not predict....
It seems that depression is on the increase. It is now recognized as a worldwide cause of disability. This raises many questions, but do these questions have answers?
In this day of scientific knowledge and enlightenment, we are inclined to dismiss the presence and activity of evil spirits as figments of the imagination or hocus-pocus. However, there are many instances where such activity blights the lives of people. Here is an example....
Personal Prophecy is a message from God, delivered by one person to another by means of the spiritual gift of prophecy. This message has not been prepared before-hand, but is spontaneous. The person giving the message may never have met or even seen the recipient before!
Disagreements can lead to all kinds of relationship breakdowns. Tensions may remain, hurts, people being offended and sometimes never recovering from it. How we handle our disagreements can be very important in shaping our future.
Personal experiences influence our beliefs which, in turn, affect our decisions and choices: these produce results in our life. The way we think is crucial in this process. So can we change the way we think?
The pressures of life reach us all, even children. How does our modern society cope?
In a recent blog, entitled “Gentleness & Humility”, I concluded that pride stands between us and God perhaps more than any other thing. However, its opposite, humility, is not something that comes easily to most of us.
How do we deal with other peoples' mistakes and bad decisions, especially when we have to pay for the consequences of them?
The person with this fruit of the Holy Spirit has an advantage over all others, because no-one can put them down.
Being strong in spirit will enable you to be in control of both your body and soul (mind, will and emotions). You can also rule and reign over your circumstances and challenges.
What are you addicted to? What can't you live without? Are times when you wonder if you are in control of yourself?
God often uses dreams or visions to speak to people who do not believe he exists, like Pharaoh, king of Egypt, or Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in Bible times. These dreams needed interpretation because they were full of symbolism. However, they contained life or death messages and were therefore very significant. Dreams and visions bypass the mind and speak to the heart. They can communicate things our mind would struggle to grasp, or would not even be able to accept at all.
Dreams and Visions are worth taking seriously. The Bible contains many significant dreams and visions which saved lives and, in some instances, changed the course of history. Our family also have had many significant dreams and visions during our time together. Here I share some of them and explain their significance.
Many of us think that the purpose of God for our life is bound to be something we will find difficult, and therefore we will have to be persuaded to buy into it in one of our better moments.
In October 1995, Susan and I visited Argentina, with a group from Northern England, at the invitation of Ed Silvoso of Harvest Evangelism. The purpose of the visit was to witness the revival that had been running there for more than 10 years. I had read a lot about Revivals in Church History and wanted to see one first-hand.
I was away with my family and our church at an annual Bible Week in Staffordshire, when I experienced a searing pain through my chest. It felt like I had been pierced by a hot sword. I was rushed into hospital in Stafford. I was given pethidine for the pain and placed on a diet of nil-by-mouth, apart from 30 mls of water per hour. I was on this diet for three weeks. I had no appetite anyway and felt very unwell. The diagnosis was pancreatitis, which was life-threatening.
We face battles in our lives over various issues and problems: Its part of the fight of faith. For example: A weight issue or eating disorder, a habit or addiction, anxiety or fear, a negative or unwanted way of thinking, or a character flaw that needs correcting....
I never found taking steps of faith easy. perhaps I thought too much about it and found it difficult to simply believe ....
A recent BUPA study of 10,000 people found that 44% of the 66.5 million people in the UK suffer from stress. Of these, 16.5 million (1 in 4) suffer from long-term stress; the kind that inevitably leads to anxiety and depression. Stress and anxiety are the two biggest causes of sick leave in the UK, costing the country about £6 billion a year.....
Many years ago, before Susan and I were married, Holy Spirit gave me these verses from the Bible: Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on what you think you know. Seek His will in everything you do, and He will show the right way (Prov.3:5-6). .....
Who is God to you; a taskmaster or a Father? Personal experience has taught me to be a receiver, because God is a Giver .....
Did you know that inner rest and peace are a vital necessity for every believer in Jesus? If you don't have these you will have a hard time when confronted with the troubles of life that come to each of us.....
None of us likes too much change (unless we do not like what we are currently doing). But, with God, change (or transition) is His way of preparing you for the new assignment or position He has for you......
When I was a young Christian some well-meaning people told me, “You can be to heavenly minded to be of any earthly use”. More recently I have found that the way God sees things (and therefore what He does here on earth) is often quite different from the way most Christians see things (and therefore what they would do)…..
If you do not know that you are completely and utterly loved by God, it will have some seriously negative effects on your life as a Christian. God does not love you because you are a nice person or because you are lovable……
The phase "in Christ Jesus" is used a lot in the New Testament, especially by Paul. Jesus also referred to it in John 15, commanding his disciples to "abide in Him"........
It is vital to our well-being that we count on the fact that God is far bigger than the problems and circumstances that arise in our lives. If we don’t do this, we are in danger of becoming victims of our own short comings and weaknesses…….
There are five simple steps you can use to check the authenticity of what you have heard ...
Great faith is the product of great fights. Great testimonies are the outcome of great tests. Great triumphs can only come out of great trials. | Smith Wigglesworth |
In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. | Eric Hoffer |
Take what bothers you most as an invitation by God to work at solving that problem. | Lance Wallnau |
Without grace, life is filled with struggle, it is not a life we enjoy; but with his grace, we can enter the rest (peace) of the Lord and experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. | Joyce Meyer |
You never lose; you win or you learn. | Nelson Mandela |
Your behaviour won't change until your thoughts change. As long as you think, "I can't do this", you are never going to be able to do it! | Joyce Meyer |
I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe. | Smith Wigglesworth |
Leadership is not about titles, positions or flow charts. It's about one life influencing another. | John Maxwell |
If God is enthroned on my praise, who is enthroned on my complaining? If I enter his gates with praise, who's gates am I entering when I complain? | Bill Johnson |
When we believe in God's sovereignty, and not our own understanding, we'll see how our problems will never outweigh what God has promised us (Prov. 3:5 NIV) | T D Jakes |
Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. | Jim Rhon |
If I give up my right to understand, He will give me the peace that passes understanding. | Bill Johnson |
Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. | Winston Churchill |
You can't change your life, but if you change your mind, God will transform your life. | Kris Vallotton |
In prayer we bring our spiritual enemies into the presence of God. | Jarrod Cooper |
Once in a while we manage to stumble on the truth, but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened. | Winston Churchill |
The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter. | Winston Churchill |
When the Lord says, "Do something", the favour needed to do it is already attached to the command. | David Forster |
Being powerful is like being a lady, if you have to tell people you are, then you aren't. | Margaret Thatcher |
The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but God will make us good because he loves us. | C S Lewis |
Fear is misplaced faith. | Kris Vallotton |
God has already seen every mistake, every failure and every weakness, and the good news is he's already forgiven you. He is not holding it against you. | Joel Osteen |
God is not nearly so interested in changing your circumstances as he is in changing you. | Joyce Meyer |
Pray, and let God worry | Martin Luther |
Those who never change their mind never change anything. | Winston Churchill |
What you do (for a living) is not who you are. | Celia Apeagyei-Collins |
People who write you off when you fail know nothing about history and even less about life. No person ever fully succeeds until they fully fail. | Lance Wallnau |
There is no uncreated being except God. God has no opposite. Satan, the leader or dictator of devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael. | C S Lewis |
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. | Jim Elliot |
You never know how much you really believe anything until it's truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life or death to you. | C S Lewis |
If you know you are loved, faith is easy. It's easy to trust someone you know loves you. | David Forster |
Every moment that you spend upset, despaired, anguished, angry, afraid or hurt, because of the behaviour of someone else in your life, is a moment in which you have given up control of your life. | Unknown |
Remember, you do not have to live today by how you feel, nor by what you think about yourself, nor by what someone else thinks about you. The person who created you thinks you are wonderful, and he waits with open arms for you to agree with him. | David Forster |
Shift gears from doing something in God's presence to simply being in God's presence. | Lance Wallnau |
Your future doesn't depend on what is in front of you, it depends on who is in you. | Lance Wallnau |
Did you know that you are utterly and completely loved by God, without doing a single thing, good or bad. | David Forster |
no one knows how bad they are until they have tried very hard to be good.. | C S Lewis |
If we are living daily by faith, we will be constantly over our head; Beyond our ability to do this our that. We should all be in that place in some area of our life. If we are not, we will be like an old wineskin; too rigid and inflexible to receive the Lord's new wine. | Rick Joyner |
For a believer intimacy with God is not an option, it's a necessity. Guidance and direction depend on this intimacy and sensitivity to Holy Spirit. There is no substitute for the latter. | Graham Cooke |
Jesus reveals the Father to us. He gives us peace and rest. He is not a hard taskmaster. | David Forster |
The God who creates everything, pursues you. Don't let anyone tell you you're are worth less than that. | Louie Giglio |
In the kingdom, physical obedience brings spiritual release. | Bill Johnson |
Don't be surprised if you pray for nearness to God and he sends a trial. Nearness always requires dependence. | Desiringgod.org |
Our corporate worship doesn't meet a need in God, it meets a need in us. | Sam Storms |
How you feel is not who you are. Feelings are great servants and terrible masters. | Kris Vallotton |
There is a lot that is good in your life. Don't take it for granted. Don't get so focused on the struggle that you mis the gift of today. | Joel Osteen |
The enemy commits identity theft when you believe you must earn what God freely gives. | Alison Brown |
If you agree with your creator and receive what he freely gives, you will have serenity in your identity and confidence in your countenance. | David Forster |
If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. | David Forster |
A satisfying and exciting life organises around an identity focused on Jesus, not the church.. | Graham Cooke |
Satan cannot impose his will on anyone, he has to have our agreement. | Graham Cooke |
Every day adjust yourself to where God is taking you, that is, toward the prophetic vision he has given you. | Lance Wallnau |
Real faith is not faith in an outcome (of a particular situation or circumstance), it's faith in a person. | David Forster |
Be in no doubt that God will redeem the losses and mistakes of your past life. | David Forster |
God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because there is simply no such thing. | C S Lewis |
Wealth, women and status; these are the major temptations that can draw a man away from God. Each is morally neutral; yet given the appropriate significance, each can control us. | David Forster |
The devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist. | Anon |
Fear is the enemy of love. The two cannot exist together. We have to choose daily: Fear or Love. | David Forster |
You are not saved because of the quality of your faith. You are saved because of the object of your faith; The Redeemer! | Tim Keller |
Revival goes from the bottom up; Reformation goes from the top down. Therefore reformation is institutional and revival is personal. | Lance Wallnau |
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. | Albert Einstein |
Inner peace is key to experiencing God's presence. Rest is a weapon against the enemy | Graham Cooke |
Fairy tales don't tell children that dragons exist. Children know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed. | G K Chesterton |
When you are at peace with God, you will be at peace with yourself and with other people. | David Forster |
You can believe in Christianity in the same way you believe that the sun has risen; Firstly, because you see it and secondly because by it you see everything else. | C S Lewis |
A little while ago I became old enough to start believing in fairy tales again. This means there are far better things ahead of me then what I have left behind. | C S Lewis |
Your unfinished destiny is your most potent argument with death. | Graham Cooke |
I am not focused on what I am not, I am focused on what he is for me. | David Forster |