REVIVAL IN LEICESTER (20) - CLIMBING MOUNTAINS

Just a week back, I had the privilege of speaking at Chroma Church in their two morning services. I spoke on Caleb, a real hero of mine. The man that cried out ‘give me this mountain’ and at the age of 85 took that mountain. You can find the talk here, at the one hour and seven-minute mark:

I love Caleb. In fact his story is the story behind the name for this blog. It was nearly 20 years ago that I spoke on ‘Mountain Climbing for Beginners’ at KingsGate Church Peterborough; it’s Caleb’s story.

We are seeing many mountains being taken in Leicester right now, in this time of revival. I speak of some in the talk. Over 100 new Christian believers in the last two to three months, meaning a necessary revamp to our New Life and Next Steps courses- but what a great problem to have!

I mention the fact that others visiting are seeing what God is doing and reflecting on it being revival. We had a leader of a church movement visit. He had been particularly involved in the Toronto Blessing revival in the early 1990s. His comment was it was the same as Toronto, except more mature. We’ll take that!

A lady has joined us who was part of the revival in Pensacola in the mid-1990s. Her comment? ‘This is the first time I have witnessed something that feels the same as the Pensacola revival.’ We’ll take that too! Just this morning I saw that lady at our first service with gold dust all over her hands – a reflection of the Holy Spirit at work in the meeting.

We had some friends, Barry and Chris, visit recently. They had read the blog and travelled up from the south of England to join with the revival. They were keen to hear prophetically from God -and they both did. Barry had been a teacher, now retired. He had felt for a while that God was telling him to pick up his pen again in the context of writing and teaching. The thing is, he had a specific fountain pen that he used when he was at school and he has continued to use this to this day, rather than working on a laptop. So imagine his surprise and delight when Rachel, one of our ministry team, came up to him and said ‘I see you holding an old fashioned fountain pen. God is calling you to write again.’ Wow.

Chris’s comment as they arrived back home after spending a few days at Chroma was, ‘it is strange to be back, and yet not back- we both feel as though we have been to a different place….difficult to explain, a different planet sounds too extreme, but catches a bit of the “otherness” we feel.’

The revival continues. Join us if you can, at our Presence and Promise Conference.

 

Reflections

The first picture is the view from my sister’s holiday house. We are frequent visitors and the seat by the window with this view is my favourite place to sit.

The second picture is the view from our kitchen. Most days I start by sitting and looking at the beauty of God’s creation with this view in front of me.

Starting right is important. A time of reflection at the beginning of the day. Thinking through the day before us, looking to the day ahead.

For me as a Christian, it involves a short study from the Bible and some prayer. But whether you have a faith or not, a time of reflection is a good start to any day. I appreciate it’s easier for me nowadays with the kids away from home, but even five minutes reflection will help with the day ahead and bring context to the daily pressures of life.

And last thing at night too- just to be able to look back at the day, maybe to say a prayer of thanksgiving for another day. I reflect in a different way too – I keep a daily diary. And that’s the other rather boring looking photo here – I started writing a daily diary at Christmas 1977, when someone bought me one as a Christmas present. I thought I’d give it a go – I’m still giving it a go.

Diary writing, or an occasional piece in a journal, helps in the same way as a morning reflection – it gives time to consider the day, to record thoughts, thanks, anxieties, prayers, hopes and dreams. It takes us away from a cycle of work, sleep, TV and smartphones to an age-old tradition of crafted words, sentences that reach out beyond the daily rhythm of life.

And that leads to this blog. Just another way of recording and reflection – this one a bit more public. I started the blog when Elspeth, our oldest daughter, got married. It seemed a bit of a watershed moment. And it practically coincided with my 50^th birthday. Hence the 50 in the blog address. Seventeen years later – I’m still giving it a go.

So why not give it a go too? Reflect on the day. If you’re a Christian, pray and thank God for the day ahead and the day ended. If you don’t have a faith, why not try praying anyway? Or perhaps start that journal you always thought you should write.

My blog calls it climbing the mountains of life. The writer Eugene Peterson calls it a ‘long obedience in the same direction’. Our walk of life can mean so much more when we take time to reflect, to adjust course, to record, to say ‘thank you’ to the God who created the view, the day…. the years.

From Purple Flares to Old Pulteney

I remember the details of the day. A warm September  morning, 1976. I was early, so walked around St James’s Square, London, a couple of times before plucking up the courage to go in. The Clerical, Medical & General Life Assurance Society. My first job.

I wore a three piece purple suit with ridiculous flared trousers. Despite that, they let me in. I worked as a Pensions Documentation Clerk and quickly found that pensions wasn’t as boring as the name suggested to a twenty-one year old.

I realised that pretty much everything in pensions revolved around the age of 65 – the normal retirement age for men (It’s changed a bit nowadays). So I did my own calculation on that very first day – when would I reach that milestone? It was with some relief that by my calculation, the day would never arrive. It was so far in the future.

10^th April 2020.

Well here we are. The flares are long gone (though I still like purple). In this strange season of lockdown, my plans to celebrate with a tour of the Scottish whisky distilleries went by the way, though Roh set out a tour of the garden to find my own bottles of whisky! And my main present was a bottle of 12 year old Old Pulteney single malt, from the northernmost distillery in the British Isles. I like to think that my tastes have improved a little since the purple flares.

Where did the time go? How did I get here?

The answer is by the grace of God.

I’m grateful for every step of the journey. Thankful for God’s goodness, a beautiful wife, four amazing children, three incredible sons/daughter in laws and two awesome granddaughters. And a pretty decent career in pensions.

The day did arrive. It wasn’t such a long time. May I encourage you, as the Bible says, to ‘count your days and seek a heart of wisdom.’ (Psalm 90)

My Old Testament hero is Caleb. He was still conquering mountains at the age of 85 (that’s where the idea for this blog came from 15 years ago), so I trust I still have plenty of time to count my days and seek wisdom. And still plenty of time to continue to conquer the mountains of life for the One who conquered all for me.

A 100,000 Thank-You's

Some time during the Christmas period, my blog went past the 100,000 mark in terms of ‘hits’ – people visiting the site. My youngest daughter tells me that this is a rather modest achievement when compared to other social media sites, but I’m grateful.

A 100,000 thank-you’s to all those that have visited, read, commented and posted.

I started out on 6^th December 2006. I was 51 years old and the blog address reflects this: Mountain50. 

The title of the blog, Mountain Climbing for Beginners, comes from a preach I did at the time, at KingsGate Church in Peterborough. It reflects my favourite Old Testament character, Caleb. At 85 years old, he climbed a mountain and defeated what seemed an impossible enemy that had held back the children of Israel for 40 years.  (Joshua 14: 12, 15: 14). As I grow older, I want to be a Caleb- still taking mountains in this life at 85.

As I write this, I am entering my 65^th year. I used to work in pensions, so the age of 65 has always been important to me- traditionally the UK’s ‘normal retirement age.’ In fact I left the pensions industry a few years ago now and have moved on to more book writing, working with Mission24 and other charities and with our amazing church, Chroma.

Looking at those that read the blog- I have some diagnostics on there – it tells me that my many friends around the world look in on me- India, New Zealand, Slovakia, United States, Canada, Argentina, Ghana, South Africa, Eswatini and more. Some are more puzzling- quite a lot from Russia. Are they real people or the famous Russian ‘bots’ checking in?

My most read blogs continue to be the ones on sacrifice, Laminin and being an introvert. My most controversial are the political ones- I’m an unrepentant Blairite and await some reasonable leadership to arise in the Labour party!

Anyway. Thank you. Thanks for reading this. And thanks for being among the many. A 100,000 thank-you’s.

Listening to the Silence

Officially it’s called the Bryniau Glo Walk. I call it the Hidden Valley Walk.

You climb up a long way on a well-defined trail, through a forest, over the hills and into a hidden valley. It’s protected on three sides by higher hills, with a view out to the rest of Snowdonia.

I guess it’s because of that protection that it’s so silent.

I stopped in the valley and listened. Nothing. No bird song. No wind. Just silence. The most perfect silence.

For a moment in time, I was part of that silence. Transfixed by it. Such a perfect moment. Listening and hearing nothing. Looking out onto such stillness and beauty. Worshipping.

Silence is not always welcomed. One of my favourite songs is The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (check out the version by Disturbed – amazing!) But the lyrics are slightly depressive: ‘Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping.’

Too often we shut out silence. We surround ourselves with noise and activity. The TV drones in the background even if we are not watching it. Music plays through our headphones as we travel. The car radio is on. The mobile has its own playlist.

But what if for a moment we stopped and listened? Listened to the silence. Relaxed for a moment, with our breathing as the only sound. And maybe pray a prayer - thanking God for a moment of complete silence; for a moment of complete peace in a noisy world.

Philosophical Walking

Did you know there is such a thing as ‘philosophical walking’? You do now.

There’s even a group in Yorkshire who arrange such walks, complete with a friendly walking philosopher.

But if we think for a moment, all walks can be philosophical – especially those away from our daily routines. We see new things, we plan to get somewhere, we consider routes, we observe the new things around us. All that adds to a philosophical walk.

I’m just back from one of my favourite places – Dolgellau, just south of Snowdonia. Walking in the foothills there is invigorating, uplifting, challenging, tiring…. all these things and more.

One day I went out on my own on what is called the ‘bird sanctuary walk’- basically climbing half way up a hill and walking through a nature reserve. The only bird I saw was a crow! But there was plenty to enjoy, consider – even meditate on.

Those that know me will know that for me there is a ‘God connection’ too. To appreciate the creation made by God is special. There’s a favourite song of mine at the moment that says ‘Every painted sky, a canvas of Your grace. If creation still obeys You so will I.’

For me, that’s what walking does. I see the sky, the plants, the birds. And I worship.

Ready to Climb?

I don't often post my own preaches, but this one is to do with mountains. Preached in Cape Town in July 2018. Enjoy the climb.

ACCESS FROM SITE (Click back to 22/7/18 or type my name next to 'search'):

JoshGen Sermon Site

Sometimes the Mountains are Real

I started this blog nearly 10 years ago. Having reached the age of 50 then (60 now!), and having seen my first child married, I wanted to put into words the ‘meaning of life’ as I saw it, woven from stories, pictures, faith and news items. And that’s what I’ve done.

Once in a while, a mountain climbing clothes store or a mountain climbing club comes along and asks if they can advertise on my site. I’m flattered that anyone would want to advertise on my blog, but clearly all they have done is read the headlines!

But now and again, the philosophical meets the literal. I’m just back from a delightful week in Wales with friends. Fitter than me, they liked the idea of climbing mountains, so there I was one day, at the top of Cadair Idris, Wales’ second highest mountain.

Literal or metaphorical, physical or philosophical, may I continue to encourage my readers to reach the heights!

REPOST: Restore a Town, Transform a Nation

ON THE DAY WE TRAVEL TO BULEMBU, HERE'S A RE-POST FROM JULY 2011  TO TELL YOU WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT AND WHY IT'S WORTH IT.....

You drive for 5 hours from Johannesburg, through the mountains and over the Swaziland border. What greets you is quite breathtaking. Bulembu is an old mining town. When the mines closed nearly ten years ago, the 10,000 population moved out. Bulembu became a ghost town. Until someone had a vision of what could be.

Today a Christian trust owns the whole town. All 4,000 acres. The population is back to 2,000. There are successful industries in wood production, water bottling, honey production, a bakery, a dairy, successful tourism. All from nothing.

Most of all, there are 200 orphans saved. Bulembu has become a centre for rescued children. With the worst HIV rate in the world at around 40%, and an average age expectancy of just over 30, Swaziland is slowly dying. Children die daily. Bulembu is changing the statistics.

Their aim is to be a sustainable community for 2000 children by 2020. Their shirts carry the slogan ‘experience transformation’. And they are. In restoring a town, they are transforming a nation.

Dear BT (Part 5)

Oh, how I wish there were not a part 5, BT. You do manage to excel in the ‘own goal’ department.

Thank you for the bill. Yes, really. Thank you for the prompt delivery with the well explained text. I understood it entirely. It’s just that it’s wrong.

You have charged me for a delivery of the BT equipment for Broadband. Sorry to sound fussy, but you did that already. I know why it happened- you had to cancel the original order and reinstate it because you got the codes wrong. (Remember that? Send my regards to Sam, Julie, Jessica, Ahmed and Natalie by the way).

But what really got me annoyed is that you charged me for calling the BT help line number! You know, the one you asked me to call to sort out the problem that you instigated. That’s the one. Now I know I can be a bit of a pain to you, but when you start charging me for your mistakes, what do you expect?!

So, thanks to Sherif and Shalim for taking my grumpy call today and for changing the bill. I await the compensation…. Or do I have to call your (chargeable) help line for that one too?

Dear BT (Part 4)

Dear BT (Part 4)

The man came. He fixed a lead. It works. Anti-climax.

Dear BT (Part 3)

Dear BT (Part 3)……. Dear Caroline, thanks for the Facebook message asking how we got on yesterday with BT. It is becoming a bit of a soap opera isn’t it?

I was out yesterday when Sam called. (Yes, he has a definite name now). Roh took the call. In fact he’s not called ‘Sam’, he’s called ‘that incredibly nice man called Sam’. He charmed the socks off my wife. So long as it’s only the socks.

So, having exchanged recipes’ and holiday photos, Sam took Roh through what was now planned…. The old order is cancelled and the new one in place. We have been put on the urgent list, so we can expect a BT man in 10 days. (If he turns up of course: One cancellation and one no-show and counting....). I wonder what dictionary the incredibly-nice-man-Sam uses? Ten days?! Urgent means one or two days, a week at the most. Ah well, we’ve been this far on the journey. What’s another 10 days when you originally asked BT to switch to them nearly 6 weeks ago?

One more problem for incredibly-nice-man-Sam to solve though… I have an email from BT saying to return the hardware they sent as I had now cancelled my order. And then I got another saying they would be sending my new hardware next week. So, incredibly-nice-man-Sam, in case you are reading this, how about we call it quits and I keep the one you sent with the first order and you cancel the hardware on the second order? (What’s the betting that’s not possible?!)

Finally Caroline, I wonder whether you would be good enough to take Roh for a coffee. Simple message. Husband good. Toy boy not good. :-)

Dear BT (Part 2)

Dear BT (Part 2).

 

A big ‘hi’ to Julie, Jessica, Ahmed, Natalie and Dan. Or was that Sam? Not sure. You’re all very nice people. It’s just that your company are hopeless.

 To transfer from Virgin to you, you wanted a transfer code. I had to get that from Virgin. Fair enough. But when the code doesn’t work, nor does the system. Virgin tells me they get the code from BT Open who get it from you anyway.... So this is what has happened so far:

 I asked Virgin for the code, who asked BT Open who asked you. You gave it to BT Open who gave it to Virgin who gave it to me who gave it to you. You said the code was wrong. I went back to Virgin who went back to BT Open who went back to you. You said the code was fine. BT Open said the code was fine. Virgin said the code was fine. I said the code was fine. You said it wasn’t. With me so far?

 I then went back to Virgin for a new code, who asked BT Open who asked you. You gave the new code to BT Open who gave it to Virgin who gave it to me, who gave it to you. And it worked.

 Trouble is, over a month has gone by so the old order has to be cancelled and we then have to wait 24 hours before we can re-order. And we start all over again tomorrow when Dan-Sam phones.

 By the way Ahmed, ‘we can work this out together’ only works for me the first few times. And Sam-Dan, I’m not sure calling me ‘Ralph mate’ is going to do much either.

Dear BT (Part 1)

Dear BT. Hi. I'm your new customer. Not that you would know that it seems. Thanks for not coming over today. Thanks for cancelling the appointment without telling us. Yours sincerely, your not-so devoted customer.

Mountains

You never know what’s around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you’ve climbed a mountain.

Tom Hiddleston

[We are] created to walk in precarious places, not on the easy levels of life.

Amy Carmichael

Keep Going (2)

....and sometimes we need to get up off the floor...

CLICK HERE:  Heather's Race

 

Keep Going

Sometimes we just need encouragement to keep going.

 

REPOST: Bulembu

Following our Missions evening this week, this is a REPOST of RESTORE A TOWN. TRANSFORM A NATION from July 2011. We will be sending our first KingsGate team there this November!


You drive for 5 hours from Johannesburg, through the mountains and over the Swaziland border. What greets you is quite breathtaking. Bulembu is an old mining town. When the mines closed nearly ten years ago, the 10,000 population moved out. Bulembu became a ghost town. Until someone had a vision of what could be.

Today a Christian trust owns the whole town. All 4,000 acres. The population is back to 2,000. There are successful industries in wood production, water bottling, honey production, a bakery, a dairy, successful tourism. All from nothing.

Most of all, there are 200 orphans saved. Bulembu has become a centre for rescued children. With the worst HIV rate in the world at around 40%, and an average age expectancy of just over 30, Swaziland is slowly dying. Children die daily. Bulembu is changing the statistics.
Their aim is to be a sustainable community for 2000 children by 2020. Their shirts carry the slogan ‘experience transformation’. And they are. In restoring a town, they are transforming a nation.

You Steady My Heart

Some signs of improvement, but still struggling with a virus that has pretty much knocked me out these last few months. In the meantime, Kari Jobe's new song says what needs to be said:

Even when it hurts

Even when it's hard

Even when it all just falls apart

I will run to You

Cause I know that You are

Lover of my soul

Healer of my scars

You steady my heart

Pressing On

As I look into 2012, it is with some pain. Literal pain. I’ve had a virus now for nearly 12 weeks. I’ve lost two stone in weight and every movement hurts. It is only a virus and nothing more serious, but it’s hard to walk, hard to move much at all.

The virus will go. The pain will go, and I must press on into a new year with all its possibilities. Here’s how the famous Indian poet Tagore put it:

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.