Joseph's Lullaby

Can you imagine how Joseph felt when he found out Mary was expecting a baby?

Matthew 1:18-19 (The Message)
The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.

At the time of Jesus' birth Joseph would have been frowned upon for marrying a woman who was pregnant outwith marriage. But Joseph believed in God. He believed that God had a plan for Mary and him to raise this child, the Christ child.

Mary and Joseph loved Jesus just as a mother and father should love their child. The song I've used above by Mercy Me portrays some of the thoughts and feelings Joseph must have had when Jesus was born. A beautiful song and a lovely presentation.


Be blessed by the love of God, our heavenly Father this Christmas.

Only Trying to Help

Today I left my work quite sharp so I could get home in plenty of time to play "catch the cat"!

Those of you who have a cat or have had one in the past, probably know what's going on - it's that time of year when I have to take our cat to the vet for his annual checkup and inoculations!

Tigger doesn't like going to the vet, so as soon as he sees his carry case coming out the spare room, he goes into hiding and then plays a mixture of hide and seek and tag when we try to get him into his box! The daft thing is we're only trying to take him to the vet to make sure he stays well.

Isn't this just a bit like our relationship with God sometimes? God has a plan for our lives and when He tries to tells us and direct us, we do everything we can to avoid hearing Him, just because we don't want to do what he's requesting of us.

Just like my cat's aversion to going to the vet, we can often find ourselves scared of what God is wanting us to do. The daft thing is just like my cat, we have nothing to worry about, as God will help us to do whatever he wants us to do. So when we listen to God and accept his leading, we find (just like my cat going to the vet) we actually had nothing to fear in the first place!

Don't ignore God when He's speaking to you, He's wanting to help and guide you.