closing...

Yup, it's come to this. My blogging of late has been so pitiful, so I think it's time to pull the plug. It was fun until it wasn't! :) I'll still be spouting my usual nonsense on Twitter and Facebook, and I'm frequently (a little TOO frequently!) on Pinterest so add me there if you'd like.

I leave you with a fun clip from an otherwise forgettable movie...

catch up...

Ha! It's been such a long time since I've blogged that I couldn't remember my password to get into this thing... Ooops!

In the unlikely event of anyone still reading this blog, I thought I'd give a quick run down of recent months.

In September, I spent 3 weeks in Singapore. I was supposed to spend one of those weeks in India, but lack of organisation led to a lack of visa... :/ However, all things worked out for good! It was a wonderful time with family and friends, mainly helping my 86-year-old grandma, who despite being frail, is still fiercely independent.



Other highlights were hanging out with my dear aunt who has a wicked sense of humour, playtime with gorgeous Asher - the world's smartest two year old, eating tonnes of amazing southeast Asian foods, and getting time to read and to listen to good teaching podcasts.



Since coming back, I've had to catch up with quite a backlog at work, plus things have been exciting at church. It's a new academic year, so we've been getting an influx of uni students, new to London and hungry for connection in the midst of a bustling metropolis. The opportunities are plentiful, but then so are the challenges. Pray for us as we grow both in size and maturity, that we may keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Other exciting news, yesterday Patty and I hosted a bridal shower for our friend Bex. Enjoying new life, laughter and friendship as the big 3-0 gallops towards me.

Presence

photo by Angus Clyne

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

~ Exodus 33:12-19

out to lunch!

You guys, I've hit a brick wall with the blog, so rather than force myself to churn out banal posts, I'm gonna take a break from my blog until the summer. The reading group is also on hold till further notice. I hope to be back in action here in June, but in the meantime I'll still be updating my Twitter feed. That said, if inspiration and anything newsworthy strikes between now and June 1st, I'll blog! :)

Peace!

sorry!

If you've been directed here by my parents' newsletter, hello! You are probably expecting to see some kind of end-of-year news update... Well, my elves are currently hard at work on that, and I will be posting my Christmas news ASAP.

***UPDATE***
So the elves have gotten their act together at last, and my newsletter is now complete and lying in inboxes all over the globe awaiting perusal (love that word!). If you'd like a copy, get in touch!

all is calm (followed by a rant)

View from my bedroom window, 7AM


View from my office window, 9 AM

Hey all, it's Friday! Which reminds me, it's been a while since I've done Cake on Friday. This may lead you to think that I have been dilligently following my low-carb diet. You would be mistaken. Sorely mistaken.

Ugggh, I hate my lack of discipline, my inability to just say no when presented with baked goods. It's so annoying because when I was following the diet, I had energy. And with that energy came a general sense of well-being and cheer. I know! I tossed that aside for the momentary pleasure of cake. Now, I am tired, irritable, putting on weight and have the acne of a teenager. Sigh...

Anyways, it's Friday! And the snow is so pretty! I'm going away now...

weekend away

Recently, I've started going to a new church. We just had our weekend away, and I'm still recovering from it. About thirty of us piled into a coach and went to Ashburnham, a Christian retreat centre in beautiful Sussex. Cold Sussex. Observe the semi-frozen river.



As I confessed yesterday, I didn't take these photos. Yes, I stole them from my new friends. And then to add insult to injury, I edited them. They extended the hand of friendship to me, and this is how I repaid them. For you. You're welcome.



It was a wonderful time of seeking God, enjoying His presence, and growing in community. We may have also engaged in some 60's/70's-esque dress-up.





Whoever said Christians are strange...may have a point.

comfortable

So, I like comfortable. And familiar. And to a degree, predictable. I reason that I've experienced a ton of change in my life so maybe I'm owed a degree of stability. Yes, well that hasn't been working out so well for me, in case you're wondering. Events are conspiring against me, and I know who's behind them...

Anyways some friends, Melvyn and Becks, pastor a church plant in the city of London. They rent an office in the OM building, so occasionally Melvyn will come by and share what God's been saying to him. The other day, he came into my office really shamefacedly, and mumbled something about God not giving him any peace until he invites me to their church. I knew Melvyn and Becks have been praying about me getting involved with their ministry. Without making any commitments as far as my involvement, I said I'd come along to their service this week, really trying to hear God about this. I mean, it's one thing for someone to say 'Thus saith the Lord', but we do need to practice discernment, right?

So anyways, I went. Seriously, it is really a fledgling enterprise; young in more ways than one - in fact I was one of the oldest people there, which was a very strange feeling, especially as I work with people who generally are an entire generation older than me. This church was populated entirely by 12-years-olds. Ok, there were no 12-year-olds and everyone was extremely lovely and welcoming, but everyone seems very, well... young. Most of them are students. I was asked no less than three times what kind of music I listen to. Seriously, no one has asked me that since high school. Obviously, no one knew any of the artists that I mentioned, because I win awards for my lack of trendiness.

So, out of my comfort zone and then some. It's a small congregation of just over thirty people, so there's no hiding in the back row. The rational part of me knows this a good and exciting thing - I want to be involved. But the reticent, insecure part of me is screaming.

God really showed up in the service. It was exciting (albeit insanely loud considering it was such a small space, and I didn't know any of the songs - how much do I sound like Grandma...) and these people really have a heart for Jesus and for the lost. That's something I want to be a part of. Afterwards, we all (pretty much) trooped down to Starbucks and hung out, which is when the music interrogation took place.

The thing is, of the things I want to change about my life right now, my church isn't a high priority. I feel like I've settled at my current church after a long season of feeling displaced. I know people, I have a seat, for goodness sake, and people who have invested in my life. So, to go from suburban church where I get 'well-fed' to inner-city youth ministry, which needs to grow in depth and maturity...

At the same time, my ministry-involvement is minimal at my current church: Cornerstone's a well-oiled machine that functions just fine without me. So, if God is opening a door here I really want to follow him through it. If this week's alloted chapter in The Pursuit of God teaches us anything, surely it is 'let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me'.

So, basically, I know what I need to do. I just need wisdom to transition well from Cornerstone. I'll be sad to leave friends there, but I guess I need to go where I'm going to grow and where I can help others grow. And that's not comfortable.

eyes

'Eye' by Michele Catania on Flickr


People, I'm having surgery done on my eyes tomorrow morning. Gulp! Pray, ok?! :)

dad

My dad had a biopsy done a week ago, and he got his results back yesterday. Long story short, it is cancer, though a slow-growing one. Treatment should begin in two weeks. We'd value your prayers.

amazing

photo by Bethan Philips

If you follow my Twitter or Facebook feed, you may have noticed that my parents' house was broken into in the wee hourse of Friday morning. Nothing much was taken, only my dad's jacket with his office and house keys. In fact, we probably wouldn't have even noticed that there had been a break-in had it not been for the fact that everything we had left on the kitchen windowsill (a bottle of handwash, a cafetière, and a small bowl of dried beans) were lying neatly on the ground outside.

The kitchen window had been closed but not locked, so the burglar had entered through there and rummaged around downstairs. Fortunately for us, we don't really have anything of value, and wallets, laptops and cameras were all upstairs. Around this time, my father woke up. He heard some noise, but we constantly have foxes playing in the garden, especially loitering among our bins, so he thought nothing of it. He did however decide to go to the loo while he was up, and the noise of him getting up probably alarmed the burglar who set off.

In the morning, we discovered the evidence, such as it was, so the police was notified and we began making arrangements to change our locks. The police came, as did a forensics guy who checked thoroughly for fingerprints (our burglar wore gloves), and it didn't look like there was anything more to be done. It was all a little tense - someone out there had our keys. Would they come back? Of course, our home isn't exactly a burglars paradise... :)

Yesterday, we had just sat down to dinner when the doorbell rang. It was a neighbour from a few doors down. He and his family had been away for the weekend, and when they returned, they found my dad's jacket (keys and all) hanging on their garden fence! He then reported that another neighbour had also been robbed that Friday morning. In their case, however, the buglars (apparently there were more than one) had removed the entire pane of glass from their window, had come in and helped themselves to a whole host of their electronic goods - laptops, cameras etc. Hopefully insurance will come through for them.

Imagine my mirth, though, when I got to church yesterday and the 'welcome verse' was John 10:10 - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. God is SO good!

ezers

Meet my Bible study group. A diverse group of women ranging from 28 to 65, we meet on a Monday evening to burrow deep into God's Word. I'm so grateful to the Lord for these ladies, for the impact of their wisdom and grace upon my life.

What are you deeply grateful for at the moment?

home again...

on a bridge somewhere in Switzerland

Back in sunny London, cup of tea in hand...

I've so appreciated your prayers and emails over this last month. Yes, it has been an amazing time. I've loved getting back into teaching/training again, working with people and really seeing God at work. It was wonderful to catch up with some dear old friends, and to make some new friends, to travel and to see a different corner of the world. It was tiring, but I'll certainly miss it.

A highlight? There were many, but off the top of my head: we went to a hauptschule, the lowest of the three streams of German schooling, to 'take over' an RE class of 14 to 16 year olds. We were warned that this was a difficult group of kids and not to expect too much from them. To our amazement, the kids really engaged with the message we were sharing. One of the most responsive kids was a beautiful pregnant fifteen-year-old. The head of RE was effusive in her thanks, and I later found out that she is the neighbour of an OMer who has been witnessing to her over the last few years. It is amazing, isn't it, the way God weaves these things together?!

Please pray with us that there will be lasting fruit from this trip, that not only will people change behaviour that puts them at risk of HIV, but that above all many will draw near to the living God.

What's next? Well, I'm taking a few days off, followed by the OM Southeast London retreat.

Switzerland summary (Part 1)

You know those people who want to share every moment of their trip in minute detail with photos etc, boring you senseless? Well, I’m joining their ranks. Behold, my time in Switzerland…

Day 1: Thursday, 8th April
Early start for my morning flight into Switzerland. Get picked up by Myriam, who coordinates presentation teams in Switzerland. During the drive to Dietlikon, we discover similarities– same age, both TCKs (she went to the Swiss school in Singapore as her parents were missionaries in Thailand), both ‘in transition’. We arrive at the farm that will be my home for the next ten days, meet Werner and Marianne Benz - our hosts, and the other members of my team, Siegfried and Airton. We head over to the OM office in Wallisellen for our briefing. After a very Swiss dinner at the home of an OMer, Michelle, we crawl back to the farm, anticipating delicious sleep. Unfortunately, the church next door to the farm thwarts our hopes. The church bells ring out the time every hour and peal again once every half an hour. All very charming in the daytime, but at 3AM I harbour dreams of arson…

Day 2: Friday, 9th April
After a few hours in the office organising our weekend schedule, we jump into an OM car and begin the drive across Switzerland, from Zurich across to Cortaillod in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Siegfried (our designated driver) has several vocal disagreements with Erika (our GPS), which results in several scenic detours. Finally we arrive at the tiny OM office in Cortaillod. There we meet Hugo, leader of the work in that region. He cooks us supper (which we wolf down at astonishing speed) and then we take a walk around the nearby lake. Ridiculously beautiful area – vineyards, stunning panorama etc. I hatch plans to leave OM in London. Again we hop into the car and make the long drive to Hugo’s home – his family farm – in a tiny village called Ulmiz over the language border in the German-speaking part.

Day 3: Saturday, 10th April
Because we arrived late at night, it is only today that I appreciate how amazing Hugo’s house is. It’s an enormous ancient farmhouse, filled with all kinds of stuff. Can’t even describe it. Anyways… After organising the weekend's meetings, we have an outdoor lunch, watching the cows have their lunch. Following that, we decide to briefly take a nose around nearby Bern, Switzerland’s capital. I can confirm that Bern is beautiful. Sight-seeing completed, we drive over to Herzogenbuchsee for our meeting. It’s a small group that night, but they are all quite responsive. We don’t leave till very late, only to discover we can’t remember the name of Hugo’s village to type into the GPS. Panic! After some time, we find the name on a map – saved!


Day 4: Sunday, 11th April
Sunday meeting in a dynamic little church in Boudry. Amazing to see how different the feel of French-speaking Switzerland is to the German-speaking part. A lot more laid back, etc. After our presentation in the service, we are invited to the pastor’s home for lunch. Airton is thrilled to see rice on the menu, as being Brazilian, he’s used to rice and beans twice a day. Just a small example of how God looks after us. After a delicious meal, almost when we are too sleepy to move, we hop back in the car to pick up our stuff from Ulmiz, and then head back to Zurich.

Part 2 to follow...

so far...

We head out for tonight's meeting in about 15 minutes, so I'll leave you with a few images that summarize my life over the last 5 days.


My traveling companions, Airton and Siegfried. Siegfried is the 'financial development facilitator' (I just asked him) for AIDSLink. He's from Germany, and we worked together in South Africa. Airton is part of AIDSLink in Brazil. He is the 'official' photographer of the trip, mostly because he's constantly taking photos. I didn't bring my camera, so I'm very grateful to Airton for his endeavours.


We are on the road everyday, guided by the fourth member of our team - the GPS we've been loaned, which we've christened Erika. She's bossy, but usually gets us where we want to go...



OK, gotta go. More soon. Tschüss!

away

(49/ 365) Paper map hearts, originally uploaded by Bombus Design.

Just a reminder that I will be on an AIDSLink presentation team in Switzerland and Germany from the Thursday, April 8th to Tuesday, May 4th. I'd really value your prayers for the team to work well together, effectively communicating Christ and the challenges of HIV/AIDS around the globe.

{edit 10/04} I had hoped to keep you posted via the blog, but have limited internet access, so will be updating via Twitter instead. See my latest Tweets in the sidebar...

{Lost Women} something new...

I'm really excited to announce something new... Mustard Seed Tales is going to host an online book group/Bible study!

The idea arose out of several conversations I’ve had over the last few months with friends, Christian women of different ages and walks of life. In fact, it was like I was having the same conversation several times over – each friend felt ‘lost’, not in terms of salvation, but rather unsure what she was meant to be doing, insecure about her impact in the grand scheme of things, and though each was often surrounded by people, they had a sense of not quite fitting into their church, and of loneliness. And I could totally relate!

I was reminded of a book I’d picked up a while back, Lost Women of the Bible by Carolyn Custis James. In it, James explores the lives of ‘lost’ women in the Bible, seeking “strength and significance” through the insights she uncovered.

My vision is to have a group of us reading this book, and ‘discussing’ it chapter by chapter on my blog. Ideally, we'd meet in my livingroom over coffee and cake, and have these heart-to-hearts in person. Unfortunately, scattered as we are all over the globe, this blog is going to have to be the (less-than-ideal) medium for us to communicate our ideas.

I don’t envisage reading this book will magically turn around our lives or situations. I do, however, hope that it can be a catalyst for wrestling with some of the false beliefs we have about God, ourselves and our situation, that it would encourage us, and maybe even engender a source of community.

The study officially begins on Thursday, 25th of March, so that should give you enough time to pick up a copy of the book and to read the introduction and chapter 1, should you wish to.

Do check back to follow the discussion, and maybe even participate if you feel you'd like to. I do ask that you read the appropriate chapter beforehand if you feel you want to comment, just so we all stay on the same track. Hope this becomes a blessing to you!

By the way, see the 'Lost Women' icon on the sidebar? Click on it to find all the reading group posts in one handy menu. Also, I've noticed that for some reason the two editions of Lost Women of the Bible have different subheadings, Finding Strength & Significance Through Their Stories and The Women We Thought We Knew. Fear not, the contents are still the same.

golden anniversary

D&GV50th14, originally uploaded by sheelajoy.

My photos from the Verwer Golden Anniversary celebration in London are up here. Did I get a single one of just George and Drena? No, I did not. Sigh....

we rest on thee

...you guys go on..., originally uploaded by aphasiafilms.

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

Yes, in Thy Name, O Captain of salvation!
In Thy dear Name, all other names above;
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
“We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.”

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

- Edith G. Cherry (sung to the tune of Finlandia by Jean Sibelius)

* * *

Last week was quite challenging - physically and otherwise, not least because we had George and Drena's 50th wedding anniversary event. Photos of that to follow.

At the start of the week, however, on my drive home from Bible study, the gorgeously rich Finlandia came on the radio. It made me think of this hymn, which then continuously came to mind through the week as I fumbled along, feeling great weakness, in need of great grace.

I hope this jubilant song blesses you today.

hello

snow 2, originally uploaded by sheelajoy.

Is anybody there? So I'm emerging from my blog-hibernation, mostly to thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement after my plea for prayer! It has meant so much to have the support of friends.

God has risen to the occasion magnificently. He has been reminding me in many little ways that He is sovereign and that He is looking after me. Joy of joys, this Monday two new members (both Australians) were added to our team, Marguerite and Geoff, which is already proving to be a blessing. Marguerite came from the Doulos, while Geoff came over from Australia. Both will be with us for 3 months.

To my great delight, my small Bible study group is resuming after a long pause. These ladies are dear to me, and I enjoy our times of discussion and fellowship. This coming Monday we’ll be starting Beth Moore’s Breaking Free, a study on Isaiah.

I’ll also be helping at an Alpha course for a group of ladies at lunchtime on Fridays. We are starting this Friday, so we’d really appreciate your prayers for that. We have several ladies who are really seeking, so I'm excited to see what God will do in our midst!

Would love to stay and burble on, but work calls!