<div>It feels like school life has only just settled down into some sense of normality and here we are facing</div><div>the summer break. I don’t think that is a bad thing, the children have the opportunity to put the last</div><div>year behind them with a real optimism for the new academic year. By September we should be able</div><div>to go about our daily life free of the anxiety of missed lessons and unorthodox testing and</div><div>assessments. The important lesson here is that it matters not how disappointed we are with our lot,</div><div>how unfair it may actually be, all we can wisely do is look to the future. Sometimes, whatever the</div><div>situation, dwelling on what has already passed, things we cannot control or change, limits us and</div><div>robs us of our future, or at least the future we are capable of having.</div><div>Throughout the time humans have existed, survival has depended on those who look forward, those</div><div>who seek solutions and never give up.</div><div>"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance</div><div>taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." Romans 15:4</div><div>We take the lessons of this last year and use them to reprioritise our whole life. We put all our</div><div>energy into the important things, the things we value the most. Success is not without failure. Many</div><div>very successful people have a history of failing. The difference between successful people and those</div><div>who never succeed is that successful people dust themselves down, learn the lessons and try again.</div><div>It is not easy I know, but nowhere does it say that life was ever meant to be easy. In fact, Jesus made</div><div>it abundantly clear that life is difficult, particularly if you choose to serve God.</div><div>The world is a dark place where God’s love is</div><div>unwelcomed in so many parts of it. Christians are</div><div>persecuted today as much, if not more, than ever.</div><div>Why? It only makes sense that Christians are</div><div>persecuted because the world does not want to</div><div>hear or allow others to hear the message we have</div><div>to proclaim. Yet, we push on believing that one</div><div>day the whole world will understand that this</div><div>world could be a very different place. A place</div><div>where fear and violence is replaced with love and</div><div>peace.</div><div>Rev Barry</div>
<div>It feels like school life has only just settled down into some sense of normality and here we are facing</div><div>the summer break. I don’t think that is a bad thing, the children have the opportunity to put the last</div><div>year behind them with a real optimism for the new academic year. By September we should be able</div><div>to go about our daily life free of the anxiety of missed lessons and unorthodox testing and</div><div>assessments. The important lesson here is that it matters not how disappointed we are with our lot,</div><div>how unfair it may actually be, all we can wisely do is look to the future. Sometimes, whatever the</div><div>situation, dwelling on what has already passed, things we cannot control or change, limits us and</div><div>robs us of our future, or at least the future we are capable of having.</div><div>Throughout the time humans have existed, survival has depended on those who look forward, those</div><div>who seek solutions and never give up.</div><div>"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance</div><div>taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." Romans 15:4</div><div>We take the lessons of this last year and use them to reprioritise our whole life. We put all our</div><div>energy into the important things, the things we value the most. Success is not without failure. Many</div><div>very successful people have a history of failing. The difference between successful people and those</div><div>who never succeed is that successful people dust themselves down, learn the lessons and try again.</div><div>It is not easy I know, but nowhere does it say that life was ever meant to be easy. In fact, Jesus made</div><div>it abundantly clear that life is difficult, particularly if you choose to serve God.</div><div>The world is a dark place where God’s love is</div><div>unwelcomed in so many parts of it. Christians are</div><div>persecuted today as much, if not more, than ever.</div><div>Why? It only makes sense that Christians are</div><div>persecuted because the world does not want to</div><div>hear or allow others to hear the message we have</div><div>to proclaim. Yet, we push on believing that one</div><div>day the whole world will understand that this</div><div>world could be a very different place. A place</div><div>where fear and violence is replaced with love and</div><div>peace.</div><div>Rev Barry</div>
