This stunning photo was taken by Eileen Kelleher from Ballingeary. It was taken at Gougane Barra in West Cork with the lake completely frozen over. You had the added bonus of a very light dusting of snow. When you add in the shadows from the trees and the blue sky it all adds to a most beautiful photograph

The new video for the week has been uploaded and it is called ‘Let God’s love melt you’ (More below)

On This Day

On January 19th 1912 British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and four members of his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen  had preceded them by a month. Scott and his men subsequently died trying to return to their base camp.

On January 19th 1980 Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall” went to No.1 in many countries across the world

On January 19th 2017 the Mexican drug lord  “El Chapo” is extradited to the United States to face trial for his leadership of the Sinaloa drug cartel

Birthday’s Today

Dolly Parton (Country Singer) is 78

Macy Kate (Pop Singer) is 26

Interesting Quote for Today

“Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” ~Elbert Hubbard

Saint For Today

The Saint for today Jan 19th is Saint Wulfstan who put an end to slave trade between England and Ireland. He was a Benedictine Monk.

Significance Of Today

This is a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Christians across denominations come together in love and faith, setting aside differences to serve others and spread joy.

Did You Know:

Did you know trees can communicate? Trees talk. Their roots are connected through an underground network of fungi, nicknamed the “Wood Wide Web,” that allows them to share resources with each other. They “talk” by transmitting nutrients to one another through the fungi. For instance, a mother tree, or oldest and strongest tree in the forest, will share some of her sugars with smaller, nearby trees.

Video For The Week🎥

The video for this week is called called ‘Let God’s love melt you’ (updated every Wednesday)

Thought For The Week

We all know in talking about climate change, how important a tree is, in its ability to give out oxygen and pull in carbon dioxide. But there is also something beautiful and graceful having a tree growing in your garden, in a local park, in a wood or wherever.

There is a fable told about a beautiful tree that was tall, graceful and mature. Everyone who saw it could only admire it. During the spring it would burst into life, in the summer its leaves were a sight to behold, in the autumn it shone brighter than gold and in winter it stood solid and firm withstanding the cold and wind. And the tree chirped “I am so graceful and beautiful.” But its roots burst into conversation: “Although no one sees us we give you strength to be as tall as you are. Although we seem barren and hidden, we pull up water and nutrients. You as a tree are only as good as your roots.”

At this the soil interrupted: “My dear tree and dear roots, do you not realise that it is the soil which is so often taken for granted and the least praised, which gives you all you have and makes you what you are. Without me, you would not exist. I give you nourishment, security and strength. I am the one who holds you firm. Without me the soil you are nothing.”

And so the story goes on to say that all three of them argued it out. Eventually all of them realised that to find the balance, all three of them had to work together with each one as important as the next. The same can be said of life. Are we sometimes like the tree forgetting about the soil and roots? Do we sometimes feel off balance, without depth or meaning? Or do we strive for balance? For us this might be drawing strength and nourishment from what we believe in, from our family and friends, from love filled moments, from accepting each day as God’s precious gift to us, from enjoying the simple moments and treasuring the good news to be found in our daily lives. 2024 will provide lots of opportunities to help us find the balance.

The Thought For The Week is updated each Monday