Beatitudes and Attitudes

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." - Winston Churchill

The above quotation was one I started reflecting on during the course of Friday, as it seemed to speak right into where I was at the time of writing. This was underlined by the preparation work that I did earlier today for tomorrow's Sunday School: it's all about the Beatitudes!

There's a whole host of different and important meetings and milestones coming up in my life during the next week. For example, tomorrow evening is due to see the launch of 'Messy Church' at our Corps. I need to ensure that I stay ready and in the right frame of mind for all these events because I'm already starting to feel tense about it all. Please join me in prayer tonight to ensure that I keep holding onto the right attitude as I seek to serve Him this week.

Thanks. :)

The Black Dog

A recent conversation with a friend had led me to a study on the life of one of this country's elder statesmen, Sir Winston Churchill.

Throughout his life, Churchill suffered from bouts of depression, an issue that he used to refer to as "my black dog". It's from a phrase coined by the Roman poet Horace, later adopted by English writer Samuel Johnson in the 1780s to describe his own bouts of depression, and best known in modern society following use by Churchill.

Despite such difficulties, Churchill not only succeeded in battling The Black Dog but even found the inner strength to lead Britain through the darkest days of the Second World War. Wow.

I'm quite aware of some of the problems of being tracked by The Black Dog. It's a subject that needs to be well publicised. The charity SANE has more to read about the subject here .