Wednesday, 11 February 2026

Mark Boleat on Election Challenges













I've been reading Mark Boleat's opinion piece in the JEP and this is a summary of part of what he says, with my comments.

The cost of living is expected to be a major issue in Jersey’s 2026 election. Surveys by the Policy Centre Jersey and Vote.je show that residents consistently rank it among their top concerns. However, Sir Mark argues that the real issue is not prices themselves but living standards - people’s ability to meet costs with their income. While costs have risen, real incomes in Jersey and the UK have barely grown for over 20 years, which is why households feel under pressure.

“The issue is not so much cost of living but rather living standards…”

This is a very succinct analysis but cost of living is important because higher inflation erodes the income of those on pensions, and eats away at their savings. In 2022, during the UK’s cost‑of‑living crisis, Major argued that without strong government support, the poorest households would be left “penniless” and could lose trust in the state. Pensioners, many of whom rely on fixed incomes, fall squarely within the group he was concerned about.

Major has also long emphasised that inflation erodes the real value of income and savings. As far back as his time as Chancellor in 1990, he described inflation as a direct threat to economic stability and to people’s ability to maintain their standard of living. For pensioners, this effect is particularly sharp: when prices rise faster than pensions, their purchasing power falls, and essentials such as heating, food, and rent become harder to afford. As a pensioner, I think this is important.

Jersey’s inflation closely follows the UK’s because the Island is tied to the British economy and monetary system. Jersey does not control its own interest rates, and its inflation rate has moved almost in parallel with the UK’s over recent years. Inflation rose sharply in 2022 but has since fallen, with forecasts suggesting a modest rise again in 2025–26.

“Statistics Jersey’s quarterly reports… show that they are closely correlated.”

Sir Mark stresses that government has limited ability to reduce the cost of living directly. Cutting GST or duties on alcohol, tobacco, and fuel would reduce prices temporarily but would create a £200 million gap in public finances, requiring tax rises elsewhere. Removing GST from food has been repeatedly rejected because it complicates the tax system and is less effective than targeted support. Jersey already provides direct help through the Community Cost Bonus.

“If these taxes were abolished… the £200 million hole… would need to be financed by tax increases.”

While Sir Mark emphasises that government has limited tools to reduce the cost of living directly, there are other avenues worth exploring beyond tax changes. One possibility is reducing the cost of imported goods through measures such as bulk‑freight coordination, shared logistics hubs, or streamlined port handling, all of which could lower the overheads that make Jersey’s food prices higher than the UK’s.

I do agree that removing GST from food would create a large gap needing a significant rise in GST. If GST were removed from food, the government would lose a substantial portion of the £132 million that GST currently raises, because food is one of the largest areas of household spending. 

To fill that gap, the overall GST rate would need to rise sharply—likely from 5% to somewhere in the region of 7–8% depending on how broad the exemption was and how consumer behaviour shifted. In other words, the tax would have to increase for everything else in order to compensate for removing it from food. 

 If government tried to compensate for the lost revenue by expanding household support, it would still need to raise substantial funds through higher GST on all other goods and services, meaning most households would end up paying more overall.

Housing is the biggest contributor to household costs, but its impact varies widely. Those with paid‑off mortgages or income‑support‑covered rents pay little, while private renters and recent buyers face the highest burdens. Mortgage rates in Jersey are about 1% higher than in the UK, meaning homeowners pay around 25% more in interest. Sir Mark suggests the government should investigate why this is the case and consider options - including the radical idea of government‑backed lending - to reduce the premium.

“Jersey home buyers are paying 25% more in mortgage interest…”

For renters, Sir Mark argues that rent controls are ineffective and risk reducing supply. Instead, Jersey should focus on increasing housing availability by reforming planning processes and allowing more flexible development - such as small units without parking - to meet the needs of younger residents.

“The solution is not rent controls… the concentration should be on increasing supply.”

Sir Mark is right that rent controls often backfire by reducing supply, but that doesn’t mean other interventions are irrelevant. Requiring a percentage of new developments to be affordable can help, though only if the targets are realistic enough not to stall projects; otherwise, supply shrinks and prices rise further. 

I am also concerned about a two‑tier island: encouraging small, parking‑free units risks creating a divide between those who can afford cars and those who cannot. 

 As for rent controls, there are places where they have helped in limited, carefully designed forms, such as stabilisation policies in Germany or parts of the US that cap the rate of increase rather than the rent itself, but even these work best in markets with strong, steady supply. The lesson from elsewhere is that rent controls can protect existing tenants in the short term, but they are never a substitute for building more homes, ensuring fair access to them, and designing policies that avoid deepening social divides.


Tuesday, 10 February 2026












A Vegan Future? A Polemic
Guest posting by Gregor Wellow

It is one of the curiosities of modern life that the people who speak most loudly about “liberating” animals are usually the ones who have never had to depend on one. The vegan, like so many well‑meaning reformers, begins with a sentimental picture of the cow as a sort of pastoral invalid,  a creature whose chief desire is to be left alone in a meadow, preferably organic, and whose only misfortune is the existence of farmers. This is a view that could only be held by someone who has never mucked out a cowshed.

The truth is that the vegan’s cow is as imaginary as the socialist’s proletariat or the fascist’s nation: a convenient fiction. Real cows are the product of ten thousand years of human labour. They are not wild animals waiting to be “returned” to nature; they are domestic creatures whose very survival depends on the people who feed them, shelter them, and, yes, milk them. To speak of “animal liberation” in this context is like speaking of “liberating” a bicycle from its owner. The bicycle, if left to its own devices, will simply rust.

Veganism thrives in societies where the business of living has been hidden behind supermarket glass. It is a philosophy of abundance, not scarcity. Only a well‑fed person can afford to moralise about the ethics of butter. The labourer who has risen at five in the morning to milk a cow does not have the luxury of debating whether milk is “exploitative.” He knows only that the cow must be milked, the children must be fed, and the rent must be paid. The vegan’s moral universe begins where his labour ends.

There is also something faintly authoritarian in the vegan’s insistence that his diet is not merely a preference but a moral imperative. Every moral crusade begins with personal virtue and ends with public enforcement. Today it is “I choose not to eat meat.” Tomorrow it is “You must not eat meat.” The logic is as predictable as a government circular. Once you have declared a thing immoral, you cannot rest until it is illegal.

And yet the vegan imagines himself a rebel. He believes he is striking a blow against cruelty, when in fact he is participating in the oldest bourgeois pastime: the pursuit of purity. It is the same impulse that once led people to abstain from alcohol, or dancing, or laughter. The vegan does not eat meat for the same reason the Victorian did not show his ankles - not because it does any good, but because it makes him feel clean.

The real obscenity is not that people drink milk, but that millions of people have been taught to feel guilty for doing so. The cow does not care whether her milk is consumed by a calf or a child. She cares only that she is fed, watered, and treated with the ordinary decency that any working creature deserves. The vegan, in his zeal to save her, forgets that she is not a symbol but an animal, and that animals, unlike ideologues, do not thrive on theory.

In the end, veganism is not a revolt against cruelty but a revolt against reality. It is the refusal to accept that life feeds on life, that comfort is purchased by labour, and that the world is too complex to be purified by diet. It is a philosophy for people who believe that the world can be made kinder by rearranging the contents of their plates.

If the vegans ever succeed in abolishing the dairy cow, they will discover too late that they have not liberated her. They have merely abolished her.

Monday, 9 February 2026

Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella



















“Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella” is a cheerful 1927 song that encourages optimism in the face of gloom, using the metaphor of a smile as protection against life’s rainy days. 

Composed by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Irving Kahal and Francis Wheeler, it was first published in 1927 and quickly became a popular standard. 

Its uplifting message and jazzy tone have inspired numerous recordings over the decades, including notable versions by Roger Wolfe Kahn (1928), The Andrews Sisters (1949), Bing Crosby (1957), and Perry Como (1959).

Once I met a happy little bluebird
I was just as blue as I could be
In a little while I began to smile
When he sang this merry song to me

Just let a smile be your umbrella
On a rainy, rainy day
And if your sweetie cries just tell her
That a smile will always pay

Whenever skies are gray don't worry or fret
A smile will bring us sunshine and you'll never get wet
So let a smile be your umbrella
On a rainy, rainy day

Let a smile be your umbrella
On a rainy, rainy day
And if your sweetie cries just tell her
That a smile will always pay

Whenever skies are gray don't worry or fret
A smile will bring us sunshine and you'll never get wet
So let a smile be your umbrella
Be your big umbrella on a rainy, rainy day




Sunday, 8 February 2026

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, August 1997 - Part 8



















The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, August 1997 - Part 8













St John
From
ANDY THEWLIS Priest-in-Charge

THE twelfth chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians contains some wonderful imagery and some sound teaching. Interestingly, it was the chapter from which the lay Chairman of Synod read, during the opening act of worship at last month's Deanery Synod meeting and consequently it is a chapter I have been pondering as I continue to contemplate the Pastoral Committee's recommendations for reducing the number of clergymen in the Island by two.

The chairman of the Pastoral Committee exhibited a degree of courage and great wisdom in amending the proposal that was before Synod, requesting that members receive the report, but that discussion and voting be postponed until later in the year (18th November) to facilitate further reflection on the part of his Committee and to enable full consultations within the Parishes that the recommendations will affect.

The recommendation received by Synod states that "the living of St Mary be suspended from presentation when the incumbency falls vacant, and at that time, the clergyman in post at St John would become Rector of St John and Rector of St Mary."

Although, the heat has been taken out of the fire that burned when these recommendations were first made, the report has been received and decisions will be made in November. Therefore, it is essential that we do not waste the time before us and perhaps begin by pondering 1 Corinthians 12.

In the opening verses, Paul reminds us that there are different kinds of gifts, "given to individuals for the common good" (v7). Surely this is an important factor in our current plans for pastoral reorganisation, for not only do we have church buildings, congregations and parishes of various sizes, but we also have a gifted workforce of clergymen and women. We have a responsibility and duty to encourage and develop all God-given gifts and never to stifle the move of his Spirit. In planning for the future, let us ensure that we do not end up with round pegs in square holes.

In the latter part of the chapter, Paul draws an analogy between the Church, the body of Christ, and a human Body, in which "though all its parts are many, they form one body." (v 12) and comments, "those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable." (v22). The historic foundation of the Island of Jersey is its twelve Ancient Parishes, which over many centuries have reflected a unique relationship between Church and Municipality. It is imperative for our Island that a positive way forward is found that respects and builds upon these links and can be embraced by all.

Please continue to pray for members of the Pastoral Committee and all Synod members as we wrestle with this difficult task of managing a reduction in clergy numbers. I would also ask you to be creative and send your own proposals to me indicating your suggestions in respect of a positive way forward.

HOLY BAPTISM. 22nd June, Daniel James Vibert; 29th June, Emily Alice Renouf; 6th July, Hannah Victoria Couriard.

FUNERAL. 28th June, Mary Elaine Dick.




St Paul








From PAUL BROOKS Minister

OUR friends from Toxteth arrive this week. A wonderful opportunity for Christians in one part of the British Isles to see how the other live, and to learn from one another. Our Youth Group will be returning on 2nd August, having worked for a week in Toxteth, and 30 members of their congregation (The Toxteth Tabernacle Baptist Church) will arrive here for a week's holiday with members of St Paul's.

The two communities are very different and the insights into how we follow Jesus in these different places will be something very helpful. There is a special evening on Wednesday

6th August at 7.30 pm in St Paul's Centre, to which all are welcome, both from St Paul's and elsewhere, to discover what life in the inner city is like.

Last month you may remember we had a team over from England wanting to share the Gospel on the streets of St Helier during the very successful Island Games. Hugo and Sharon Anson and the Mouth Peace team spoke to literally hundreds of people during the week and many discovered Jesus in that time. Conversations were had with people from Sweden, Aarland, Greenland, as well as various parts of the UK and other Channel Islands. The team made contributions to the worship of St Paul's, St Ouen's, the Elim Pentecostal Church and Oasis at Le Squez. 

Further, the two events on the Tuesday Lunchtime and Wednesday evening were very well attended and many people professed a commitment or recommitment to Jesus. One person who comes to mind is a young lady training for youth work in the Church in Scandinavia. This is her second year here with students and during the Wednesday evening she met with God in a very real and profound way — it was glorious.

Youth Keswick was also a highlight for many of our young people and a big hank you to the team for providing such a great opportunity for our youngsters with God.

Highlights are all very well, but God's desire is that we should walk with him in good times and bad, and in the midst of all that is happening it is good to remember that God doesn't change. We don't know what may be around the next corner, but we do know that there is a living, loving God who walks with us around the corner.

Excitement in events is all very well, but God wants us to be excited in Him, and our delight to be in Him. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37: 4).






From Martin Inman
Hospital Chaplain

IN common with many young people at the present time my son and daughter are awaiting their GCSE and A-level results. It can be a very trying time. So much hangs on how well they do.

For many the next few weeks will be a time of triumph as they see a bright future opening up for them and the world looking very much like their oyster. For others there will be disappointment as they have to revise their expectations, possibly quite radically.

Many of those who suffer disappointment will, for a time at least, be quite unable to see a way ahead. They have set hearts on a particular goal, they may have done their very best to achieve it, and they have been thwarted.

It is my sincere hope and prayer that those who find themselves in this situation will come to understand that this is not the end of every-thing. Admittedly this is not an easy realisation to make in a culture such as ours which, on the whole, looks upon failure with contempt. However, it is worth noting that, in a sense, our Christian faith is based on an event which, viewed in purely worldly terms, was a catastrophic failure.

A young man endowed with the greatest gifts of eloquence and spiritual insight who seemed to have so much promise and so much to offer ended his days executed like a common criminal with his followers scattered. However, from this abject failure there came the greatest outpouring of life, love and power that the world has ever known.

This, I believe, teaches us that in God's world no failure need ever be a total catastrophe. In Jesus he brought life out of death, glorious success out of crushing failure. If we have faith in him and, of course, do our best there will always be a way forward.

Saturday, 7 February 2026

Wetlands



















Since the start of 2026, England has been drenched by relentless rain. January brought 50% more rainfall than average to the southwest and South Wales, with some areas seeing rain every single day. The Met Office described it as a “stormy January,” marked by persistent downpours and saturated ground.

February has offered no reprieve. The first week continued the pattern, with yellow weather warnings issued across the West Midlands, southern England, and Wales. Forecasters warn of ongoing instability, with no clear end in sight.

The impact is stark: rivers have burst their banks, fields are waterlogged, and crops are rotting. While some regions—like Sussex and East Anglia—have seen drought recovery, the broader picture is one of flooding and disruption. This excess rainfall is not just a seasonal anomaly; it’s a sign of shifting climate patterns.

Wetlands

Dry land and sun is shining
Just a cloud in the distance
Now jet stream misaligning
Change brings new existence

Dark skies, the cloud overcast
And so the rain begins to fall
Winds come, strong and fast
We are in this weather thrall

Ground sodden, and crops rot
Rivers break banks, flood land
Climate change is now our lot
The god Auster’s mighty hand

Now is the time of Noah’s bane
And strident turning weather vane

Friday, 6 February 2026

1986 - 40 years ago - February - Part 1

















1986 - 40 years ago - February - Part 1

February 3-9

UK expert Mr Michael Kennard, who is invited to Jersey by the Friends of Queen's Valley, says that an extension to Val de la Mare is a feasible alternative to the flooding proposals.

Hazel McFarlane who passed drugs to her boy-friend while kissing him during a visit to La Moye Prison is put on probation for two years and ordered to do 240 hours of community service. The offence was Hazel McFarlane's second involving cannabis.

Major changes which could lead to voluntary retirement at 50 for States employees are not a way of enforcing redundancies, says the States chief personnel officer, Mr John Tobias.

By 29 votes to 20 the States decide that they want more information before committing the Island to a defence contribution based on a minesweeper and a Royal Naval Reserve unit.

John Nettles, the actor who plays Jersey detective Jim Bergerac, is named BBC TV personality of the year by the Variety Club of Great Britain and thanks Islanders for their help during filming of episodes of his series.

Director of museums Mr Martyn Brown says at a Skal lunch that Jersey should promote its heritage rather than relying on an image based on cheap cigarettes and drink.

Radio Jersey's manager, Mr Mike Warr, says that the local station should not enter the advertising market because there would not be enough business to share with the other media.
















February 10—16

IT is revealed that a quarter of the 70 children in residential care locally are there because their mothers or fathers abuse alcohol. Children’s Officer Mr Terry Strettle says that more should be done to help problem families before their children have to be taken into care.

The week's news is dominated by Queen's Valley.

On the eve of a major States debate on the issue, Public Works president Deputy Don Filleul says there is nothing new in the report from a UK expert which says that Val de la Mare could be extended, and residents of Val de la Mare petition the States expressing their concern that their valley may be further developed to prevent Queen's Valley from being flooded.

A second document is sent to States Members, this time from 35 lawyers who say that aspects of the Queen's Valley Law will place the Waterworks Company "above the law" as far as compulsory purchase is concerned.

Finally, for the ninth time, the States take the decision to flood Queen's Valley by 39 votes to 11 and hopes are expressed that the ten-year controversy is at an end.

Following the vote in the States, naturalist Dr David Bellamy appears on BBC Breakfast Time television to say that the valley should not be flooded.

St Helier Centenier Peter Pearce is suspended from duty following a complaint from the Police Court Magistrate, Mr Bob Day.

Thursday, 5 February 2026

Christianity in Action: Lesson 16: Control of the Feelings













Lesson 16: Control of the Feelings
By G.R. Balleine

[Warning: Balleine was writing in the 1920s and 1930s, and his views and language reflect many at that time. However, as a time capsule of the prevailing beliefs, this can be very useful for the historians of that period.]

LESSON FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT.

PASSAGE TO BE READ : St. Luke xxiii. 23-33.
TEXT TO BE LEARNT : " In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength " (Isa. xxx. 15).
HYMNS : Fierce raged, the tempest " and " Lord, as to Thy dear Cross." COLLECTS for Seventh and Ninth Sundays after Trinity.

AIM :- To warn against the dangers of emotionalism.

I. OUR EMOTIONS.

(a) I have seen at a circus a rider driving twenty high-spirited horses. He stood on the bare back of one. He held the reins of all in his hand. They galloped round the ring under perfect control. He made each one obey him. We should be like that rider. We have seen during Lent how many things there are that we must control. Mention some. Our tongues, our temper, our desires. To-day we look at some more of the horses that we have to control.

(b) We all have within us some curious influences which we call our feelings or emotions. A thought comes into our minds, and touches our feelings. At once we grow tremendously agitated and excited. Often our emotions have most curious effects upon our bodies. For example, fear is an emotion. When we are really frightened, the face grows white, the heart beats violently, the skin perspires (a cold sweat), the muscles tremble (shivering with fear), the tongue refuses to act (cleaves to roof of mouth). Under the influence of emotion people do the most extraordinary things. Clearly here is something that needs to be kept under strict control.

II. OUR FEARS.

(a) Fear is an emotion. A large steamer was sinking in the Indian Ocean. There were plenty of boats. The sea was calm. There was plenty of time to launch them. The captain had no doubt that he could save every person on board. Suddenly a girl began to shriek, " We shall all be drowned." Then some of the passengers made a rush for the boats. All the others lost their heads, and followed in blind panic. They pushed one another into the sea. They upset the boats. Hundreds were drowned. And all because one girl had not learnt to control her fears.

(b) A very different kind of girl was little Alice Freeman. She was only eight years old when she was kneeling near the window at family prayers. In came a great buzzing flying beetle, and, oh, horror it got entangled in Alice's curls. She longed to scream, but she knew that she ought not to disturb the prayers. She could feel it wriggling its way up one of her long curls, but she set her lips close together, and remained as still as a mouse. We are not surprised to find that she grew up into a very strong and useful woman.

III. OUR PAINS.

(a) Pain is another emotion. What a fuss we sometimes make about a little pain ! A girl named Mary Allett, who lived close to Banbury Cross, was busy cooking, when her clothes caught fire. She clenched her teeth, and wrapped the hearth-rug round her, and fought the flames in silence. She would not cry for help, because she did not wish to disturb her mother, who was lying dangerously ill in the next room. Her first words, when she recovered consciousness, were, " Did I wake mother ? "

(b) The Commune was a rebellion against the French Government, which was quickly put down. Soldiers were hunting for the leaders to shoot them. They came to the house of one, and tried to force his little daughter of twelve to tell where he was hidden. She refused ; so the officer began to chop off her fingers one by one ; but she did not utter a sound, for her father was hidden in a secret cupboard in the same room, and she knew that, if she cried in pain, he would come out to rescue her.

(c) Think of our Lord upon the Cross. When prisoners were crucified, they usually shrieked, and yelled, and cursed with pain. Of our Lord's seven sayings from the Cross, four were prayers to God ; two were loving words to those around ; only once did He mention His own sufferings, and that was when He asked for something to drinks " I thirst."

(d) If we cannot rise to the spirit of Christ, let us at any rate rise to the spirit of the baby who said : " I bumped my head, but I didn't cry."

I. OUR LOW SPIRITS.

(a) Then there is another kind of feeling that sometimes comes upon us. We get " down in the dumps " ; we get " a fit of the blues " ; we feel awfully sorry for ourselves, and go about hunting for sympathy, like little walking miseries. In Egypt they have dug up thousands of dainty little glass bottles. Each is shaped at its mouth just like an eye. They are tear-bottles, which ancient Egyptian ladies used to wear by a gold chain round their necks. When anything upset them, they began to cry, and they took the stopper out of the tear-bottle, and caught all the tears. When one bottle was full, they added another to the chain. The woman with the biggest number of bottles would feel quite proud of herself. " See," she would say, " how many more troubles I have had than Mrs. So-and-So." The tear-bottle was the badge of self-pity. Are we not sometimes as foolish ? Do we never feel inclined to wimper and to whine ?

(b) St. Paul showed the right spirit of Christian cheerfulness. He had been arrested on an altogether false charge. He had been kept in prison for many years waiting for his trial. He was disappointed with the Christians in Rome. " All seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ " (Phil. ii. 21). But he wrote, " I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content " (iv. 11).

(c) Our Lord rebuked the women on the road to Calvary. Read Passage. Mere wailing was doing no good to themselves or to anyone else.

V. OUR DISGUST.

(a) Another feeling is disgust. Sometimes we see things that make us feel quite ill. Some children feel like this at the sight of blood. A small girl was left alone in charge of her baby sister. Baby put her arm through the window, and blood came gushing from the wound. The sight made the older child sick, and she felt that she was going to faint. But she pulled herself together, and mastered her nausea, and bound up the baby's arm. Later she became matron of a large London hospital, and often stood by • a doctor's side helping in some horrible operation. She showed that disgust of this kind can be easily conquered.

(b) St. Francis of Assisi, when a young man, met a leper. The poor man looked so horrible that St. Francis turned his horse down a side street rather than pass him. In a moment he thought that he had no right to show his disgust in this way ; that very possibly he had hurt the leper's feelings. He turned back, and dismounted, and kissed the leper's sores.

VI. OUR IMPETUOSITY.

(a) Sometimes we get " carried away by our feelings," and feel that we must do something, whether there is any sense in it or not. A lady walking on a river-bank saw a little boy drowning. She got so excited that she felt that she must jump in, although she could not swim. Then there were two people who had to be rescued, and the man who saved her nearly lost his life. She did no good, and gave an immense amount of trouble, just because she had never learnt to restrain her feelings.

(b) The Knights of St. John have a rather fine legend. The home of their order was in Rhodes. One day, they say, there came to the island a fearful dragon. Many knights tried to kill it, but were overcome and devoured ; and at last the Grand Master issued an order that no more knights should make the attempt. But one young knight, when he saw the dragon, could not refrain from attacking it; and he succeeded in killing it, and was led back in triumph by the people. But the Grand Master met him with a stern face. It was a great deed to have slain the dragon, but it was a bad deed to have broken the discipline of the Order. If knights began to do as they liked, and disobey orders, the whole company would soon fall to pieces. The cross was cut from off his breast. His sword and shield were confiscated, and he was expelled from the Order. It is not always right to do on the spur of the moment what our feelings prompt us to do.

VII. THE SECRET OF SELF-CONTROL.

(a) A strong motive is a great help. We can, most of us, control our feelings, if there is a strong reason why we should. Mary Allett did not scream, because she knew that, if she did, it might kill her mother. The little French girl did not scream, because she wanted to save her father's life. Our motive. " We are soldiers of Christ." He does not want His soldiers to be weak, hysterical, emotional creatures. He wants us to be at our very best for His sake.

(b) A strong helper is even better. Refer to teaching given in previous lessons about God's Grace. Grace is heavenly power for earthly living. An American said that the four things essential for successful life are Grit, Gumption, Go and Grace, and the greatest of these is Grace.