Wednesday 25 September 2013

Two Giant Steps


Most of our journey through life is made in small steps. What the writer Eugene Peterson calls ‘A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.’ A coffee here, a meal there. A conversation one day, a car journey the next. Small integral parts of life’s direction.

Occasionally, a giant step comes along. For us two have come at once.

The first is the start of KingsGate Community Church Leicester. Our first (amazing!) meeting was last night. As someone who had spoken often of the possibility of KingsGate planting a new church into Leicester, it is the realisation of a dream. And a giant step.

The other giant step comes as we drop our youngest child, Lois, off at Heathrow later today, as she starts her long obedience in the same direction. She is travelling out to Bulembu in Swaziland to serve as a long term missionary. For us, it means an empty house for the first time, with the other three children having already moved away.

Two giant steps. Two key moments in our lives. And fuel for the journey as we continue our own long obedience.

Thursday 12 September 2013

Life Is Short

Life is short. Live it to the full.

Here's a small reminder of how quickly the years go by.....

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For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

Saturday 7 September 2013

When God Says 'Hello'


Just back from my monthly Businessman’s Life Group and I was really struck by a small phrase my friend Jarek used. He talked about the times when God says ‘hello’.

In fact if you think about it, those times are frequent. He is a God who loves us and wants to say ‘hello’, even if we choose to say ‘goodbye’.

He says ‘hello’ every time the sun rises. Every time you smell the fragrance of a rose. Each time your children or grandchildren give you a hug.

He says ‘hello’ through a friend’s prayer when you are struggling to stay sane. Through the gift at the door when there is nothing left in the kitchen. Through the unexpected addition to the bank balance, the bonus and the promotion.

He says ‘hello’ through an act of kindness, the squeeze of a friends hand, the arm around the shoulder.

And he says ‘hello’ through you. Every time you reach out, pray out, show you care, send a card or give a gift.

We have a God who loves to say hello. From the beauty of the sunrise to the grandeur of its setting, He is opening up a conversation. And He loves it when we reply.