night on the top of a hill

Provision for the Journey Light for the Path Freedom to Move Forward

Inspirations Beacon of Hope

THE LIGHT SHINES THROUGH

The light shines through the flowersAs if an electric bulb had beenPlaced within the arrangement

To enhance it –But this is no artificial light,

It is the sunStreaming its unobserved rays

Through the glassTo illuminate nature’s bounty

On the ledge –As if the Spirit of God

Were dancing within it –And now the light is gone,The sun’s moved round,

But God’s Spirit is still here,Bringing His LightTo hurting hearts,

And those now filled with joy,The Light of God

More powerful than the sun,That stays within us

Whatever darkness comes,Shedding His Light abroad

Within our hearts C.H.M.

Wikipedia describes a beacon as ‘an intentionally conspicuous device’, and that neatly sums up its primary use and appearance. Beacons have been synonymous with intense light – formerly a strong powerful bright fire lit and contained in a burner atop a mast or pole. They have been used for centuries, often to send an alert or warning, or to make an announcement or to act as a guide. Being highly visible at night on the top of a hill or along the coast, they served to convey hope or to warn of danger.

It is the theme of Hope that Travelling Light wishes to share as it publishes its newly launched ‘Beacon of Hope’. It is very apt that beacons relayed messages from one location to another, as that implies a ‘travelling light’, communicating news to a growing number of people in different communities. Jesus said, “You are the world’s light—a city on a hill, glowing in the night for all to see.  Don’t hide your light! Let it shine for all; let your good deeds glow for all to see, so that they will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:14 – 16) Our message is about The Light of the World – Jesus - who brings hope to all those who seek Him. We trust that Beacon of Hope will beam a ‘travelling light’ of hope to all its readers.

S.W.

Prayer RequestsIf you have a prayer request for yourself, family member or friend, please let us know and we will share it with our Team. If it is confidential please let us know.

Welcome to Travelling Light’s second ‘Inspirations’ Newsletter. It includes thoughts about ‘Beacon’ and the importance of seeking God. We have also added a third page with a word search produced by a friend of ours. We all need encouragement, particularly at this time, and we hope that these newsletters will be an encouragement to you. If you have suggestions for subjects you may like included in future editions, please let us know. Contributions are very welcome and we will try to use some of them in each edition. The next edition will be out in 4 to 6 weeks. Keep safe.Every blessing, Robin and Carole

ChristOvercomesVictoriouslyInescapableDangers

A.L-H.

Covid is an ugly word and ugliness increases our fears.

We can transform it into something positive.

Do you have an idea to transform this negative word into something positive?

Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. (Matt. 7v.7)

Recently as Carole and I have shared the Northumbria Community Morning Prayer together the following words from the opening sentences, have leapt off the page at me, in a way they have never done before.

Call: Who is it that you seek?Response: We seek the Lord our God.

Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?Response: Amen. Lord have mercy.

Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?Response: Amen. Lord have mercy.

Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?Response: Amen. Lord have mercy.

Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?Response: Amen. Christ have mercy.

The word seek is not a passive word – it is an active word calling us to action; to seek God with our whole being - not just coming to Him but to engage in a two way relationship with Him.Have we as a faith people fallen into the trap of allowing others to establish a ‘long distance’ relationship with God for us, rather than actively working on our own relationship with Him?

During this unprecedented situation that the world finds itself in, is God calling us through this time of isolation, to come to Him as individuals, not relying on institutions or others to help us to come to God but for us to have the desire to seek God as ourselves for ourselves and so build a closer relationship with Him, both for ourselves but also for those around us?

The deeper our relationship is with God the better we are at sharing His love with those He brings around us. R.M.

We use the word ‘seek’ when we really want to find something – or someone. Seek is an active word we use relating to something of importance. It implies that we won’t easily be discouraged, however long it takes, or however difficult it might be.

Seeking God is a lifetime endeavour, which will never be completed, but the more wholeheartedly we seek Him, the more He may reveal Himself to us. In the bad times as well as the good times, a seeking attitude towards God helps us to be more open to Him, and to deal with those things that get in the way of our seeking.While we seek Him, He also is seeking us, as Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (see Luke 15) show. The joy of finding Him whom we seek, and of being found by Him will bring us a joy and peace beyond our imagining.As lockdown is lifted, let us not get so busy again that seeking God gets pushed to the margins. For those of us who have found ourselves extra busy, may we carry that seeking attitude always in our hearts. For God is still with us, however challenging or difficult the circumstances we find ourselves in. C.H.M.

IIN THE HOLLOW OF YOUR HAND

To be held in the Hollow of Your

Hand,As the Celtic blessing says

Is to be in a place where worlds meet –

The world of my anxiety and fear,

Meeting the peace and beauty of Your

Creation;The knowledge of my inadequacy,

Meeting the assurance of Your

Love and Compassion;

The busy emptiness of so much daily lifeMeeting the peace

and serenity of Your Eternity –

A place where tomorrow and today

and yesterdayAre all held in

balance by your timelessness;

A place from which nothing in Creation

or beyondCan drag us away,

W o r d S e a r c h

Hidden in the grid below are words from Psalm 23. This is a good way to spend time letting God’s word penetrate your heart and mind as you look for the words.

Words to find are in CAPITALS. Just draw a line through the words as you find them – or circle the whole word, if you prefer, as many letters are used in more than one word.

The LORD is my SHEPHERD, I SHALL LACK NOTHING. He MAKES me LIE DOWN in GREEN PASTURES, he LEADS me BESIDE QUIET WATERS, he RESTORES my SOUL. He GUIDES me in PATHS of RIGHTEOUSNESS for HIS NAME’S SAKE. EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH the VALLEY of the SHADOW of DEATH, I will FEAR no EVIL, for YOU are WITH me; your ROD and your STAFF, they COMFORT me. You PREPARE a TABLE BEFORE me in the PRESENCE of my ENEMIES. You ANOINT my HEAD with OIL; my CUP OVERFLOWS. SURELY GOODNESS and LOVE will FOLLOW me ALL the DAYS of my LIFE, and I will DWELL in the HOUSE of the LORD FOR EVER.

D E A S A K E C U P A T H S E AR H S Y R C E W G E R N R R V QO I G U E A F N A M E S O L I UL N G U O L I E S T A F F I L IW W O H O H L P E R E K P E N EA O O R T R E A E B R R E A A TP D D O O E H S V O E Y S S L RT R N A R V O T D P G O K L A WR A E E H D E U A A R U E V O LO E S S V S R R S E E W I H E LF S S A E E E E F N D L G D H AM O U T G N I S H L E U I T E RO U L R O M C A I P O S I H L SC L E L E R O E R H E W S E B YA E R N O L E I T B E H S A A AN R E V E W Y S L L A H S D T D

Enjoy! A.R.