'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”' - John 8:12

'And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.' - Genesis 1:3+4

'You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light.' - 2 Samuel 22:29

'He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.' - 2 Samuel 23:4

'He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.' - Job 12:22

'Turn night into day; in the face of the darkness light is near.' - Job 17:12

'What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.' - Job 22:28

'There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.' - Job 24:13

'The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?' - Psalm 27:1

'Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.' - Psalm 97:11

'Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.' - Psalm 112:4

'The Lord is God, and He has made His light shine on us.' - Psalm 118:27

'Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.' - Psalm 119:105

'He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.' - Daniel 2:22

'“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”' - Matthew 4:16

'“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”' - Matthew 5:14+15

'In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.' - Matthew 5:16

'In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.' - John 1:4

'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.' - John 1:5

'“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”' - John 9:5

'Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going.”' - John 12:35

'"Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”' - John 12:36

'I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.' - John 12:46

'For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.”' - Acts 13:47

'Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.' - 1 Corinthians 4:5

'For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.' - 2 Corinthians 4:6

'For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.' - Ephesians 5:8

'You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.' 1 Thessalonians 5:5

'But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.' 1 Peter 2:9

'But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.' - 1 John 1:7

'Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.' - 1 John 2:8

'Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.' - Ephesians 5:11

- SOPHIE xx

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” – 1 John 4:18

As we are coming up to the annual celebration of Halloween; a time where we now traditionally dress-up in costume as scary monsters, vampires, zombies, ghosts, witches and werewolves. People decorate their houses with cobwebs, spiders, bats and other things to give it that ‘haunted house’ look, and hold ‘Halloween’ parties with food and drink to match the occasion.
On the TV and in the Cinemas there are a plethora of films and programmes all designed with one thing in mind, to give us a fright. To shock & to scare.
To make us afraid.
Fear.

Fear is the watchword of October 31st.

Fear; that feeling of dread that comes upon us when we perceive a danger of threat and gets us ready to fight or flight. However, unwarranted fear or irrational fear, which is called a phobia, can negatively impact our lives, and today, so many people are crippled by so many different phobias.

Thanks be to God who has given us the solution to our modern world with all of its fears and phobias.

In the Bible, God says to us ‘Fear Not’ on several occasions, it is a command God encourages us with, knowing that fear will come into our lives and that He has not called us to live in fear, but to be brave and courageous.

Listen to God’s encouragement to Joshua before he took the children of Israel into the promised land; “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.“

God calls His people to NOT fear, but be strong and courageous.

How do we do this?
The scripture at the top of this post is the key.
‘All you need is love.” or more accurately “All you need is His love.”
God’s perfect love casts out ALL fear. There is not a single phobia that God’s love cannot overcome and cast out of our lives.

The more we allow the truth that God loves us to permeate our thinking, the more we are freed from Fear.
This Halloween, let’s not let Fear have the rule of the roost, but let’s boot Fear out with God’s anti-dote; ‘Love‘.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” – 1 John 4:16
“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” – Psalm 100:5

(Words from a Llandudno YFC blog post. See http://www.llandudnoyfc.com/blog/ for more.)

Great news! From this month, all tea served at National Trust properties will now be Fairtrade.

All 200 of their sites will be serving Clipper's Fairtrade and organic teas to an incredible 22 million people who visit annually. That's a lot of tea!

But it’s not just brilliant news for tea farmers and workers. It’s a tea-rrific result for all the supporters who’ve been asking for Fairtrade tea at National Trust properties over the years.

Your next Clipper cuppa might come from Burnside Tea Estate in Tamil Nadu, India, where Fairtrade is already making a difference.
Take tea plucker Mrs M Kalamani, pictured above centre, for example. Through the Fairtrade Premium, she has been able to support her son to study for a diploma in computer engineering.
Mrs Kalamani says that while she earns enough to support her family, sending her son to college would have meant getting into debt. ‘Fairtrade helped me give my children their education without this pressure.’

So when you’re on your next National Trust visit, you’ll know you’re making a difference to tea farmers and workers with every cup.

(Article from a Fairtrade Foundation e-mail.)

North Wales has been chosen as one of the best places in the world to visit.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-37754756

I think we should take some time to thank God for the wonderful place that we are privileged to live in.
We are so blessed. In Llandudno we have the only Youth For Christ centre in Wales, two Christian guest houses (one by each of our two beaches!) and, of course, a fairtrade centre and Christian resources shop!
What would you add to the list to be grateful to God for?
- SOPHIE xx

We even sell glow-in-the-dark shoelaces!
- SOPHIE xx

On the 20th of October in Kenya, they celebrated 'Heroes Day'. This is a national holiday in Kenya, which is observed to collectively honour all those who contributed towards the struggle for Kenya’s independence or positively contributed in the post independence Kenya.

It is a day for all Kenyans to honour those who have worked and contributed towards the peace and prosperity of their nation.

It made me think of the list of Heroes of the faith that are described in Hebrew chapter 11. The writer of Hebrews then goes on to encourage his readers that “since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Hebrews 12:1

The example given by the heroes of the faith, who despite, opposition, setbacks and persecution that in some cases even led to their deaths, they stayed faithful to God and followed His call upon their lives right until the end, encourages us to do likewise.

Today we have even more heroes of the faith whose lives we can look at to give us encouragement and courage to stay strong and faithful in trials and temptations. People such as  Hudson Taylor, William Wilberforce, Gladys Aylward &  Mary Slessor. Heroes that blazed a trail of faith and devotion as they followed their Saviour.

But we also have heroes of the faith in our own personal lives, people whose faithful obedience has impacted our lives, such as the person who first told you about Jesus.

This weekend, spend some time thanking God for those people that He sent into our world and into our lives to make a difference.
Thank Him for those who selflessly serve and obey Him.
Thank Him for those He has placed in leadership over us, both spiritually and also nationally.
Pray for them too, that God’s will would be done in their lives.

Who are your heroes today?
How can you honour them and thank God for them?

Ultimately let us remember and thank the greatest hero of them all; Jesus.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”  – 1 Peter 1:3

(Words from Llandudno YFC blog post. See http://www.llandudnoyfc.com/blog/ for more.)

Here is a photo I took yesterday.
​- SOPHIE xx

Can I take a moment to draw your attention towards a little booklet? As we all know the 31st of this month is approaching. Maybe you have kids or grandchildren who get very afraid.

This is an activity book aimed for children aged 3-6. I think it is a perfect read for young children at this time of year.
​- SOPHIE xx

Yesterday was National Boss Day.
Maybe you're reading this and thinking about why on earth there should be a National Boss Day. Perhaps you don't like your boss, or have had bad experiences with a boss in the workplace before.
However, I think that bosses have a lot on their plates. Don't be too harsh on them in what you think and say about them to other people. Thinking of my bosses/managers, I wouldn't like to be in their positions.
If you are grateful for your job today, then spare a nice thought or a prayer for your boss.
Maybe you can't bring yourself to be thankful for your job, are you thankful for the money it brings in? The roof over your head? You should always be able to find something to be grateful for.
So, pray for the people in charge over you in the work place. Pray for wisdom and honesty for them. If your boss/manager is a Christian (as mine are) thank God for that, ask Him that they don't lose their faith and that they are always honouring the Lord in all they do.
If you are a boss, you can still pray for wisdom for yourself - God doesn't mind. In fact, He says that if anyone lacks wisdom he should ask for it, because God gives generously to all (James 1:5).
If you are retired, then pray for ex-bosses (not Xboxes!) or any bosses you currently know.

I think I've said enough.
- SOPHIE xx