Home Sweet Home

 

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Do you enjoy the warm feeling of being in your home? That assumes, of course, that you have a home, you enjoy being at home, or your home is in a fit state to live in. However, home life can be a nightmare for many people. It is often a place of confrontation, where you are on edge, unsure what will happen next. For others, home just doesn’t exist. It’s a dream, something that, so far, just hasn’t happened for them – couch surfing, shared accommodation or, at worst, they have ended up living on the street. 

 

I’ve been privileged to travel extensively in the last 10 to 15 years. There seemed to be abundant wealth in North America, but despite Uganda being a beautiful country, there is significant poverty. Yet, at the same time, the people are really happy. In Pakistan, for the average person, life is just so hard, and it’s incredible to see what some people call home - tents, etc. Those living in comfortable, safe, dry homes should be grateful and appreciative.

Cadbury’s Chocolate

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The name Cadbury is associated, in many peoples minds, with their range of chocolate products but there is more to their story than the production of sweet confectionery.

In 1879 George and Richard Cadbury moved their factory out of the centre of Birmingham into the healthy clear air of the rural Bournbrook Estate. George Cadbury was appalled at the terrible living conditions of workers in the city and he wanted better lives for those he employed. So alongside the new factory a village was constructed. The brothers adopted a french sounding name Bournville, for the area, as France had a good reputation for food and they thought that this might help in boosting sales of their products.

An Architect was employed to design the village. Rules were strict, each house was not to occupy more than a quarter of the building plot. Gardens had to be not less than one sixth of an acre and have at least six fruit trees.

Morning has broken - a song of encouragement

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The popular and well-known Christian hymn ‘Morning has broken” was first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon, and is set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" and is often sung in children's services. In 1971, a hit version of "Morning Has Broken" was recorded by British singer Cat Stevens, helping to popularise the hymn in the UK and North America. 

A morning prayer is a wonderful way to focus our time and attention on seeking God's plan for the day ahead. With the current problems in Ukraine and Gaza we certainly need encouragement, peace, strength, and rest. Thankfully God can meet us in a very real and present way when we come before Him with a humble heart. We need to seek  God's presence each morning before our energy and attention is pulled by all the tasks we have ahead. Here is a poem by an unknown author to encourage us to seek God today and every day:-

Brutal Honesty

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Moments of brutal honesty about ourselves are rare. We go to great lengths trying to present ourselves in the best light possible. We either deny our failures or apologise for them:- 

“That wasn't the real me.”

“That was a weak moment when I messed up.”

“My inner demons won that time, but that's really not who I am."

The world was shocked when the news broke that Philip Seymour Hoffman died at 46.  Every major North American media outlet immediately elevated the breaking story to headline status. The winner of the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor had died in his apartment. In less than twenty five years Philip Seymour Hoffman had appeared in more than fifty films, winning multiple awards and numerous nominations. As the sad news broke, accolades and words of praise for this most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation, flooded social media and news channels.

Those who knew him were well aware of his struggles with drugs and alcohol. Although he battled addictions for years, he managed to stay clean for twenty years, but on 2 February 2014 the world became painfully aware that he had succumbed to chemicals once again.