Jesus said, 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me to...preach deliverance to the captives.' Luke 4:18 Two years ago, I was enjoying the summer sunshine and busy working while listening to a new Christian radio station I had discovered after being frustrated at the lack of appropriate songs on the major secular stations. The day was a typical uneventful one and everything that would occur and that I would do and discover was predictable. However, a song I heard on the radio by Matt Redman caught my attention. I heard the lyric that there are at present 27 million slaves. I could not believe it-I genuinely believed that slavery had been universally outlawed two centuries ago. I was so surprised at the lyric,so I checked online and found out it was indeed accurate! What is Trafficking? An official definition: "The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over... (read more)

On Monday 24th March, the 'People's Parliament' organised a meeting in the House of Commons about the apparent demise of justice in the UK it consisted of talks by a panel of four lawyers and it was accessible to the general public. The speakers were Jules Carey (Lawyer, Bindmans),Michael Mansfield QC,Liz Davies (Lawyer) and Gareth Pierce (Lawyer). They spoke on several issues including police searches without warrants, deprivation of citizenship,the increasing difficulty in obtaining state benefits and Legal Aid cuts. It was a relief to hear that there are people in high political and legal positions who are not satisfied with certain laws and policies that enable injustices to occur and encourage wicked behaviour from members of the executive branch of government.Unfortunately,there was not enough time delegated for the attendees to share information,scrutinise the speakers (and Parliament) or ask questions. There were about five attendees who permitted to speak. One of them, an older man, seemed to summarise what the most people in society and in the room seemed to think. He asked why politicians often talk about issues and appear to be interested in the citizens and residents of those they govern but fail to implement (any adequate) policies... (read more)

For decades the government has allowed homeless people to suffer in silence. Nobody seems to care about the plight of the poor. How terrible that some people are without personal space, a place of dominion, a place to rest and dwell,sleep, have privacy, take care of themselves,be protected from the violent and wicked. Thankfully, there have been several churches who have helped those who have not been able to find somewhere to live. On Tuesday 1st April 2014, I attended another People’s Parliament discussion. The title was the Housing Crisis and Homelessness. I purposefully entitled this post Homelessness and the Housing Crisis to highlight the fact that the issue of allowing people to go without homes has been around longer than the housing crisis and more terrible than the government, a ruling organisation, providing less help for people to find homes. The discussion was informative as the speakers gave details on examples of legal and illegal injustices concerning landlords, councils and the government. A homeless man testified that only the Church and NGO’s were providing help and other speakers shared their difficulty in gaining a house while others suggested solutions and how to make a great impact as campaigners and... (read more)

Nowadays whenever people have a health issue they assume that they have to put on or consume harsh chemicals, which often have adverse side effects. However, long before modern medicine had been established people relied on natural substances for curing and preventing ailments. Even the Bible reveals the healing qualities of food see 1 Timothy 5:23 and Matthew 5:43. Hippocrates was indeed telling the truth when he said food was medicinal. Recently, I have been learning more about how and what foods help the body and I have been observing the benefits of using food for healing. It is not only citrus foods that help the body combat illness; there are many fruits and seeds that work wonders! Common examples of medicinal food are cruciferous vegetables that destroy cancer cells and support immunity 1. It makes sense that creatures, whose ancestor’s body was formed from the earth, would need minerals and vitamins and other substances found in things that grow in and utilise the ground. God created food for human beings and these food items were described in the book of Genesis 2 and what God intended for people to eat and not eat for health reasons was elaborated in... (read more)

The fashionistas have finished using their avant garde binoculars to spy on the grand creations of designers and it is clear that this seasons new breed of clothing and accessories are distinctively different to what we have seen in the past. Finally it has happened! Modesty is fashionable. Alexander McQueen, Valentino and D&G have created dresses/skirts and tops that show off the face instead of the anatomy. Valentino, Chanel and Vivienne Westwood all showcased oversized coats and Valentino in particular chose to use light colours which makes a refreshing change. Roksanda Ilincic Continuing the trend of using light colours for autumn/winter wear is the theme pink is the new black.DKNY, Carven, Marc Jacobs and Jonathan Saunders have all embraced the theme. House of Holland et al have chosen to add spring prints in their autumn collections. In contrast, Mulberry, Givenchy and Christian Dior have kept their lines traditional by imcorporating plaid printed clothing. Traditional wintry colours also dominate in beauty. Oxblood is a colour essie, Loreal and Butter London and many more nail varnish brands have added to their lines. Grey is also popular again. Lips are either dark red or nude and eyebrows remain thick. MAC have complied with... (read more)

Azonto, the dance originating from Accra,Ghana, has for the past 3 years or so has been bubbling underground, but with hiplife and afrobeat artists gaining spots in the top 10 of the official UK music chart and  other charts worldwide, the accompanying dance has been exposed to a wider mainstream audience and seems to be going from strength to strength all over the globe. It began in the secondary schools  and ghettoes of Accra, but was popularised by Ghanaian celebrities including international footballer Asamoah Gyan aka Baby Jet.  From then onwards Ghanaians and West Africans  and all those who love the latest trends have infected their respective nations with the new dance craze through the power of social media- like all good crazes start these days. Flashmobs in Paris, international dance competitions and meetings  with the Prime Minister of England have propelled the dance unto new heights. People in Afghanistan, Australia, Germany, Canada, the USA and beyond have been catching on with the underground sound of afro beat and hiplife and now Azonto is continuing to make its mark in new demographics.

Dying to belong, Cruel Intentions, Gossip and Mean Girls all evoke the typical secondary school experience as well as being the names of movies. Each movie depicts people trying to be accepted among their peers by taking drastic measures. Conformity is not necessarily a bad thing but sometimes a person has to realise that they are created in the image and likeness of God just like the people they are trying to impress, so they should respect themselves and the LORD and stop putting on a pretence. When I started school I was the new girl and I understood that if I wanted friends, and not to be the weird girl in the year group, I would have to conform to one of the sub-groups that had already been formed. I did not mind because I could 'be myself' among my relatives and close friends and just do things for the sake of peace and fiting in at school. By the time I entered year ten, I could not care about what people thought of me. Becoming a believer and being committed to Christ enabled me to accept that I am only meant to be ineterested in being pleasing and... (read more)

Why is it that we seem to be familiar with the likes of John the Baptist, David the King, Sampson, Abraham, Job, Moses and Joseph, but we have neglected the women God used for great works and are examples to us? The mainstream church has neglected the teaching on the women in the Bible such as, Tamar, Deborah, Hannah, Esther, Anne and Ruth. Christians and atheists alike often claim that God does not think highly of women, as the heroes he used were all male. God is not sexist. Could it be that many churches have ignored the Biblical accounts of heroines due to an unloving attitude towards God's creation: the woman? Great emphasis has been placed on the male children of God in the Bible and their life stories from Abraham to Zechariah and the Judges to the Disciples of Christ. The latest mainstream Biblical TV show has several advertisements which all give glory to the men of the Bible and not one woman is honoured. For some strange reason several stories have been omitted from the 'church curriculum' When people try to recall the famous women from the Bible names such as Delilah, Jezebel and Lot’s wife are... (read more)

There is an explosion of baby rainbow baby coloured duplex paint pots splashing in my bedroom then a soft rising train of waves bubbling at the sea shores surface and a shell due to the explosion releasing its hidden song in perfect harmony with calm early morning birdsong. Then percussion of bovine animals pounding the ground and shaking the pebbles and shells near the beach adds the beat. Next, a mother approaches the beach whilst conversing with a sweet sounding little child.The spontaneuos orchestra gradually quietens until the illusion fades and I'm left elated.

The UK Supreme Court justices are currently racking their brains after being told by Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling to come up with a plan to bring more revenue into the HM Courts and Tribunals Service. They seem to be hell bent on turning the Justice system into a business. They have recently summoned two leading businesses for advice on privatising the UK justice system. Such drastic action has proven to be controversial and makes some people in the legal industry question the judges ability to make sound judgments. Ironically, this country's archaic justice system is rooted in fundamental democratic values and it has withstod many corrupt governments but now its core values could be undermined by the judiciary itself! The Magna Carta 1212 states: ‘we will sell to no man’, which is the very thing the justices have decided to do. Thankfully, their secret plans have been revealed to the public and have not been enforced – yet. The main problem for citizens is that privatising the court will eventually lead to people buying justice when it is meant to be a right according to the Human Rights Act 2000 and the European Covention of Human Rights. If the justices... (read more)

This post was influenced by Pete Briscoe’s of Telling the Truth ministry sermon on relationships. Relationships are not our lives but forming them with the right people can give us happiness,support and company. No matter how spiritual you are you will need to have relationships. Christianity is not a religion but a relationship with God the Father,Son and Holy Spirit and you must be connected to other believers to accomplish his dreams,purposes and works. The devil wants to steal our relationships by making us settle for solitude. He wants to isolate us so he can destroy us like he did to Eve. She was alone instead of working with Adam, so he was able to convince her to kill herself and get Adam to do the same. He convinces us that there is such a thing as personal peace our time undisturbed by others not even the needs of others but people and their company in general. We believe that we can entertain ourselves; work by ourselves; worship God ourselves; raise ourselves and teach ourselves etc. The reality is we need to be connected to Jesus the vine and people for God himself said it is not good for man... (read more)

This post has information taken from Pastor John Kilpatrick’s sermon entitled: Do You Have a Hole in Your Soul? A hole in my soul? Isn’t the soul a non tangible creation? The soul cannot have ‘holes’ in it but a person can have something cause them to lose a part of their inner being,character,persona or whatever makes them who they are as a person. A missing part of a person is what constitutes as a hole in the soul. Even an emotional hurt and aching that becomes almost physical is a hole in the soul. Soul issues can scientifically and spiritually lead or invite physical issues. Therefore they must be addressed. If you ignore the hole you may not become obsessed but your life could be ruled by it. The woman with an infirmity in the Bible, the book of Mark, sought many physicians but they nor could any body else heal her. No human could heal her nor could they restore her, so she had to work to pay for medicine and fees and her lifestyle would obviously affected by this. Soul problems can lead to physical problems: stomach ulcers, Cancer,headaches,digestive problems, bloating and the list continues.70 to 90%... (read more)