Dear Friends and praying Saints:

This has been one of the wettest winters on record for the last hundred years, and severe winds have taken a huge toll on trees across the UK. It took nearly a week just to clear the roads and downed trees are still everywhere. A few hours of sunshine today highlighted this barn built on high ground—a safe haven for sheep and feed. In just such a way the Lord is our shelter from the storms of life, and He covers us with his hand.

We were very encouraged by a small prayer gathering inspired by the Heal the Land Conference that we attended last October. There we gathered to pray in groups according to our localities across Wales, and we were recommended to try and meet locally throughout the coming year. So this was the first of seven consecutive Saturday meetings in our area. Represented here are folks from Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion, and we would like to encourage more from West Wales to participate this coming Saturday.

These meetings were organized by a very dear friend who was called by the Lord to pray for revival in the 1980s. We've known one another almost since we first arrived, and have been mutually blessed and encouraged over the years. She gave an introduction to the meetings and the history of God moving here powerfully back in the 1970s. In fact, she has researched and written some amazing testimonies of God's workings here during that time. You can read her article at this link. 

There were some powerful prayers for revival for our area, and for the Lord to call into action the many members of the Body of Christ who have not been walking in the fullness of God's giftings. From there we we moved into a precious time of prayer for one another present, for boldness, free anointing,  physical healing, etc. We finished with communion, and are excited to see who and what next Saturday brings.  

For some time I've felt a gentle leading of the Lord to find a way to share more of the things He puts on my heart, so I've launched a small podcast project called "Welsh Morning Moments". The aim is to record a daily, or nearly daily, short reflection based on the scriptures and/or surroundings.

These are just spontanteous impressions I receive and pass along to encourage us all to spend more time seeking the Lord in prayer and making ourselves available to receive new things from His heart to ours, and so have more light to shine into the lives of those around us each day. I am very much in the learning-my-way stage, and you can dip in as often as you like through the web version at this link: Please click here. I hope to make it a regular podcast you can subscribe to as soon as I figure that out! I trust and pray it blesses and encourages you! Today's podcast is called, "Digging for Treasures of Salvation"

May the blessings and grace of God and His goodness fill you, follow you, and flow out through you into the needy world that surrounds us.

Dick & Gladys

Dear Praying Friends:

On my way to Cilfowyr Chapel this morning, I was singing this song: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God, on the mountain of His holiness, beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King." — Psalm 48:1-2

As I sang, the phrase "Beautiful for situation" came to mind, and I reflected on how it applies to the church—the body of Christ worldwide—today. We are living in a time of distress and challenges, yet we stand within the unfolding plans of God. As we look toward Mount Zion and the new Jerusalem—the city of God—we find encouragement in what it prophetically symbolizes: the body of Christ.

Just yesterday, I finished reading Revelation and was struck by its description of the new Jerusalem. The city’s gates are never closed, and the kings of the earth bring the riches and glories of what is outside into it. This made me think about how we, in our daily lives, bring offerings to God—our worship, our times in His word, and our giving of thanks. Each moment we spend with Him becomes an act of bringing treasures into His presence.

When we testify about Jesus or share His love with someone, we are contributing to the treasures of the body of Christ. As believers, we are built up in God through hymns, spiritual songs, and revelations, and we don’t need to be in one central place to do it. We are part of a global body. For instance, if someone in the South China Sea experiences a revelation and gives glory to God, we are immediate recipients of that spiritual input into this new Jerusalem.

Then I thought back to the Old Testament, where offerings and sacrifices were central acts of worship. They were about consecration, setting oneself apart, and bringing glory to God. Today, the principle is the same, but the offerings are different. Romans 12:1 says, "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God."

As we walk through life, every interaction can become an act of worship. If the treasure within us—God’s Spirit—shines through in our actions, those become our offerings and sacrifices. Living in the presence of God, we are these sacrifices, contributing to the treasure of the body of Christ.

The church is strengthened day by day, word by word, and believer by believer as we fulfill the unique roles God has given each of us. This is the beauty of our situation: wherever we are, whatever we’re going through, we can glorify God, contribute to the body of Christ, and prepare for the Lord’s return.

Hallelujah! May God bless and empower you in this brand-new year as we walk together in faith!

Dick & Gladys