February 2026

VIEW FROM THE HEIGHTS               

February 2026

Greetings!

This month, our newsletter has a guest editor: none other than St. Valentine!

I pass the pen to him…

Happy Love Day!

I am deeply honoured that you have chosen the anniversary of my martyrdom to celebrate God’s gift of love.

You know, of course, that my “crime” was to stand up for marriage when Emperor Claudius II forbade his soldiers to wed. He thought it weakened their combat readiness. My protest was not because I’m a romantic. Even though I am!

I was deeply opposed to Claudius the Cruel’s (as we called him) continual, bloody, military campaigns. Nothing good comes from warfare.

So celebrating love is the PERFECT tribute to me.[i]

As you think about what to give your beloveds, remember that cards and confections are not the only love offerings out there. The Bible has lots of gift-giving suggestions.  So think outside the box- and inside the Bible! 

Perfume is Scripture favourite and fresh well-water. Gift something that supports clean water or bee conservation. BTW, did you know that I am the patron saint of beekeepers?

Gift your best self to your loved ones and neighbours, near and far.

Paul wrote the primer on this:

“Love is slow to lose patience—it looks for a way of being constructive.

It is not possessive: it is neither anxious to impress nor does it cherish inflated ideas of its own importance.

Love has good manners and does not pursue selfish advantage.

It is not touchy. It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people.

On the contrary, it is glad when truth prevails.”[ii]

Gift your best self to God.

Over to you, Micah:

God has already made it plain how to live, what to do,  what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,  be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously.[iii]

Gift your best self to yourself:

“Love others as much as you love yourself.”[iv]

Which means, of course, be as fair and just and loving to yourself as you are to others.

Jesus was serious about that!

Friends, I wish you a LOVE-LY “Valentine’s” Day! (It’s weird referring to myself in the third person!)

And a LOVE-FILLED journey to Easter.

 Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope;

it can outlast anything.

It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.

In this life we have three great lasting qualities—faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love. [v]

Blessings & Love from us both!

Brenda & Valentine

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[i] St Valentine is believed to be the 3^rd Century Roman cleric who was martyred on February 14^th, 273

[ii] 1 Corinthians 13: 4-6 JB Phillips

[iii] Micah 6:8 TMSG

[iv] Matthew 22: 39 CEV

[v] 1 Corinthians 13: 7-8a,13 JB Phillips

January 2026

VIEW FROM THE HEIGHTS               

January 2026

Nothing harmful will take place on the Lord's holy mountain.Just as water fills the sea, the land will be filledwith people who know and honor the Lord.

Isaiah 11:9 CEV

Happy New Year!

May 2026 be the year God’s dreams come true!

It’s easy to doubt this, isn’t it? Or even denigrate the ideal?

But God has said that goodness WILL happen! And this coming year is the perfect reminder, the very prompt we need.  We will celebrate inventions and events that prove transformative change is possible.

THE BIG HAPPENING is the 250^th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. India, meanwhile, will celebrate 80 years as a sovereign nation.

Both point to God’s support for movements that give his children freedom to be their best selves, freedom to rule their own countries, and freedom to follow their own paths to the Holy. Empires and regimes, theologies and ideologies that limit [non-malignant] liberties: listen up!

Another important event in 2026 is the 150^th anniversary of the invention of the telephone. On March 10^th, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell spoke those famous words: “Mr Watson, come here. I want you.” It was a request for help after a lab spill, and the world has never been the same since.  Lesson to be learned: a mess can be the start of something great!

My last commemoration doesn’t come with a nice round number. The World Wide Web will be 33 years old this year. Some time ago, [creator] Tim Berners- Lee was asked if it had turned out as he’d imagined. He replied that he was surprised by all the cats! Stating he had never anticipated "kittens" becoming a dominant feature of his creation! He also admitted to being more of a “dog person”.  Lessons from the Web: even when life doesn’t turn out as one expects, it’s still good. Also: cats rule!

Though diverse in time and nature, these significant milestones jointly lift up the human spirit. They are testaments to our ability to discover new ways of being, communicating, and existing in community.

We humans have achieved so much, surely, we can establish peace and justice on Earth? For people, for the planet, and, of course, for cats of every kind!

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power.

Then will our world know the blessings of peace.

William Ewart Gladstone

(British Prime Minister 1868 -1874, 1880-1885, 1886, 1892-1894)

Wishing you a New Year filled with peace!

Blessings,

Brenda

December 2025

VIEW FROM THE HEIGHTS

December 2025

“Lucy stayed behind because she thought it would be worthwhile trying the door of the wardrobe, even though she felt almost sure that it would be locked.

To her surprise it opened quite easily…”

C.S. Lewis, “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” Chapter I

Advent and Christmas Greetings!

“Advent”, from the Latin, “adventus”, means the arrival of someone or something important. The name signifies the coming of God into the world through Jesus.

But I’m beginning to think we’ve reversed the direction of travel.

God is always here – in our world and in our hearts. Love created the cosmos and without their abiding presence nothing and no one would exist.

It is we who need to make a move. We hover on the threshold, uncertain that Unconditional Love is a real thing, and uncomfortable with the implications of Extravagant Generosity.

Stepping into God’s realm of peace and justice takes gumption!

Modern faith parables reflect this truth. Harry Potter & friends have to shove through the platform wall at King’s Cross station. Lucy and co. negotiated furniture and furs. Dumbledore & Aslan, goodness and love, awaited them on the other side. But, first, the kids had to get themselves through the entrance.

THAT is what Advent is all about! God sent Jesus to let us know that Love is safe to enter. Jesus’s role was not – is not – to let God OUT but to invite us IN.

Into Heaven on Earth. Into a fuller experience of God’s passion for us. Into a deeper understanding of our oneness with all people and all creation. Jesus is the Way, the Gate, the “on the latch” Door.

Like Lucy, we will have to brave empty rooms, tangles of old clothes, and the stink of mothballs. We will have to push on lots of doors!

No worries- NONE OF THEM ARE LOCKED!

All of them lead to a world where animals are our friends, buttered toast with honey is served for tea,i and it’s “always Christmas”!ii

May this season of Love and Light bless you now and throughout the coming year.

May it be for you “always Christmas.”

Brenda

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i Food was rationed throughout the war. Rationing did not fully end until 1954.

ii “It is winter in Narnia,” said Mr. Tumnus, “and has been for ever so long…. always winter, but never Christmas.” (L, W & W, chapter II)