Pressing On

Dylan Thomas did not live long, according to today's expectations. He wrote a poem for his dying father that, when I read it recently, triggered a thought process. It expresses a desperation to hold on to life, but I suggest it also echoes a sentiment that should challenge us to live life well, and to the full. His poem, same title as above, includes the lines ... Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. So, what is the thought it triggered? I don't want to get to the end of my life and look back to think 'what was the point of all that?' I want to get to the end, look back, and think 'That was a bit of a roller coaster ride - but I enjoyed the gift of life as fully as I could!' The challenge is that I have the capacity to make sure that I can say the latter by the degree to which I align my decisions and activities to the priorities that are important to me .....

Doers, Leters and Becomers ... Which are you? There are lots of different tools which can be helpful in enabling us to gain a better understanding of who we are, how we function and how we affect others of differing personalities to ourselves. Recently, I read an interesting article in which the author proposed that there are THREE basic christian viewpoints. Basically in the form of a triangle - with each viewpoint at the apex, in other words, we may find ourselves anywhere within the triangle and that would represent the balance, or mixture, that describes who we are. These three ‘types’ are: The Doers - they want to know what God desires of them, and then they do it. The Leters  - they focus on waiting en god seeking his face and letting him change us and work through us The Becomers - their focus is entering into being the kind of person God wants them to be, to be transformed inwardly in order to reflect the nature of Christ outwardly. So what? These...

Ambition fulfilled! The summer of '14 included the fulfilment of a long held ambition of mine when I visited the quaint village of Portmeirion in North Wales. It held, and still holds, a fascination for me both as an eccentric work of architecture and as the set of the cult 60's series 'The Prisoner'.  There are a lot of reasons why, as a teenager, this series held my attention - the imagery, the fact that it was on just at the time when I had been given my first TV set so I could watch it after going to bed, the 60's feel to it. On reflection though, it also coincided with that time as a teenager when we rebel against the angst of feeling the increasing pressure to conform to the model of the world and of preparing myself (or of being prepared) to take my place in the rat race. When Number 6 cries out "I am not a number, I am a free man " or " I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own....

More thoughts from my guest blogger, Malcolm Gr a y - Thailand.   “Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks?” (Judges 5:16).  Israel have settled in the promised land of Canaan. There is an uprising under Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army with their 900 iron chariots. Israel are too disunited and afraid to face the enemy. Owing to a lack of willing male warriors, God chooses a courageous woman, Deborah, to lead the Israelite army into battle, consequently shaming the men. Predictably, God pulls through, and an amazing battle is won in the shadow of Armageddon (Mount Megiddo). God sends rain, the plain of Megiddo turns to a sticky mess, rendering the chariots useless, and Sisera flees on foot to a friend’s tent. Jael is the welcoming hostess, allowing the exhausted commander to sleep – just long enough for her to drive a tent peg through his temple, rendering ...

Sacred Pathways: Discover your Soul's Path to God - Gary Thomas  When you became a christian did you look around other people's lives and seek to model some of their spiritual disciplines? Did you find that somehow they didn't work for you in quite the same way as they seemed to work for them? Did this lead you to a place of discouragement? Did you think that, somehow, the things that bring such life to other people but don't bring life to you must mean that there is something wrong with you? Or that maybe God doesn't love you as much as He loved those people whom you sought to emulate? These are very real questions that all c hristians probably grapple with at some point. As we grow and mature in Christ we eventually reach a place of liberty where we realise that we are unique and therefore we shouldn't be surprised when our Father deals uniquely with us - and the way we most easily 'connect' to Him is also unique. Or perhaps we find over time th...

Due to the fact that I am a verbal reasoner, someone who prefers to talk things out rather than write about things, as well as the fact that in my current role a lot of time is spent on laptops writing emails, debrief reports, Conference minutes, vision statements etc. etc. ... you know 'the fun things!' ... I have recently been exploring options for less typing and more talking - which will alleviate the admin burden but also make tasks themselves perhaps more enjoyable. Here are my three easy solutions tried thus far and comments ... 1/ Phone a friend (or Skype) ... the bad thing about email is that it is a trap - People email me, I email a response ... but does it need to be this way? If people email me I could always ring them back ... duuuhh! However this is not as easy as it sounds ... if a response is required then I can write an email when it suits me, ie I am in control of the time, if I phone then they have to be available to take my call and talk - this is n...

Sometimes when we get to the end of the week we can look back and wonder what has been accomplished. Especially when the previous week seemed to fly by in a blur! Busyness can be deathly to a good spiritual life - if rushing from one thing to another becomes the focus of our energies, and we never feel as though we are accomplishing anything. Paul Yonghi Cho wrote "God is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) but He is never in a hurry." Which I do believe to be true, however, this does not mean that moving quickly from place to place necessarily equates to being a rush ... We can know real peace and be confident of His presence at all times - nurturing that attitude is the key. So as I looked back on the last week I thought to myself, in the midst of the busyness and travelling what have been the highlights and where have I seen God at work ... On Sunday we went to St Marks Church in Versailles ... And enjoyed a weekend with Friends in Paris. It was wonderful to see what...

The last week could be summed up in one word ... Hassle! But was it any more 'hassle-ful' than any other week? I don't think so - or was it how I tackled it? Definately Yes! Hassle comes from a whole host of sources, some my own making and some the makings of other people ... but wherever the cause of my hassles I have a choice in how I respond to them - that is always my choice! So what are some of the hassles last week? Losing half a tooth ... (sorted now thanks to Oscar, my Spanish dentist), juggling work between the normal office and home (drop box is great, but you need to remember to put key documents in it.) Snatching moments between dropping one child here, and another there and then finding you don't have the document you need ... good to have Kindle readers and good books on hand! Okay, so really I'm not good at multi-tasking in the way my wife does with such ease!!! Okay ... emails, admin, too! All seem to crowd into the areas of work and life that bring...

And so we come to the end of week 5 ... I have had the challenge of juggling many different balls as my wife continues to recover from the operation on her shoulder. It was a very busy week of meetings anyway, but the additional demands have meant that at about 3pm on Saturday and Sunday I hit a wall of tiredness that was best succumbed to .... I always considered that siesta was a good thing throughout my seven years in Africa!!! Perhaps I should start a campaign to see it established as part of the working day here in the UK! One thing that constant demands from other people can bring the surface is our pride. Especially when, as is my case, you are a borderline introvert/extrovert ... Needing to retreat regularly to be refreshed ... As this can lead to a sense of justification when we cry out 'what about me?' But have been thinking this week about the effect of pride ... And have come to conclusion that the effect of pride can be explained using the analogy of calcium carbon...

Where has the week gone? It is already Sunday afternoon and the week 5 is about to begin! So, once again time to take stock, reflect and see what the last week held. Bit of a busy week, so grabbing some time between helping the youngest with her homework ... The daily life of Celts! ... And preparing for tea! (anyone know where I can get my hands on a copy of Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals? Even if they do take and hour and a half!) On a personal note, my wife had her operation on the shoulder, which I understand is an incredibly painful procedure ... The Doctor said it would be, and my wife confirms it!! This has meant that since Thursday I have also been chief cook, sandwich maker and everything else that we normally do together for the family. The kids have rallied round and filled in the inevitable gaps that I leave between what 'Mum' usually does, and what 'Dad' remembers to do! Also had a great time queuing for a KS2 Disco with my youngest daughter ... The fev...

Aarrrrggghhhhh! No this is not a reflection of my week ... But of the fact that I had already written this blog out once when I inadvertently pressed the wrong button and discarded it instead of saving it ... Still I have now learnt what buttons to press in case it should happen again. Now .. What did I say last time? I had intended to write something each week so that I could break my record of blogposts in one year .... Which I think currently stands at 24! ... But here we are in week 3 and I am only on post 2 for 2011 ... It was not a resolution so I don't feel bad in any way!! The last few weeks have been manic to say the least, not because of workload but because an operation that my dear wife has to have on her shoulder has been brought forward by a month to next week. So the arrangements I had had in place to be available for the extra driving, shopping, work and household chores that will fall upon me as she is convalescing are now needing to be changed, and four weeks work...

I guess that depends on what you do with your time!! For me it was a time for spending with the kids, swimming, cycling, playing cards etc. No screens in sight for anyone ... And so we were "forced" to talk with each other!! Good to have nothing to do with a day except whatever presents itself ... Well, for two weeks anyway... Reading also played a big part of the time - two Harlan Coben novels (weekend reads) then Hunger for Reality (G Verwer), Outpouring of Grace (Roy Goodwin), Discerning the Spirit of the Age (D Tidball) followed by the completion of The Everlasting Man (G K Chesterton) ... An excellent riposte to the wave of aggressive atheism based on the 'science' of evolution. The scientific argument may have moved on since 1925 but the underlining arguments for a creator God remain unshaken and, indeed, unanswered by science. Having space ... no emails, texts, phone calls, facebook, twitter etc ... So what happens in space? In my experience, if you a...

I was walking home in the snow this morning, having dropped the smallest member of the family off at school, my normal habit when doing this is to walk in a straight line across a nearby common to get home ... Which I started to do this morning. This was harder work than normal due to the snow which was deeper where I wanted to go, so I found myself deviating in order to find a path that many had already used ... Thus it was well worn down, flatter and easier to walk on ... Then the challenge came to me 'Is this how I have been called to live my Christian life?' Not following the normal paths and cutting afresh into new areas is always harder work ... But it is worth it - in fact, if we are being obediant to the word of the Lord we will always be following another! It then reminded me of the time in, 1993, when the Lord gave me what I can only describe as a 'prophetic burden' ... which has been foundational in the shaping of my life and ministry since ... Occasionally...

It is the middle of the last afternoon before going away for a few days to celebrate Christmas with family in the south west ... I hope the snow will permit the travel! I just wanted to write to say 'Happy Christmas' to all of you who work, pray and support the work of WEC International here in the UK. (And, of course, any who have stumbled across this website - get in touch if you have any questions about what you are reading.) As I come to the end of the year I am reaching the end of my 'read the Bible in a year' programme - which has been tremendously inspiring and ultimately very satisfying. I already have my plan for what to do next year and am starting with a 30 day study of John 15 'The True Vine' - Andrew Murray... can't wait. As with most Bible reading programmes the book of Revelation comes last - much of which is difficult to understand to say the least ... however some aspects ring through loudly and clearly, and are an encouragement to us all ...

Perhaps surprisingly this has nothing to do with first book of the Bible and everything to do with a well known 'prog rock' group!!! I had the opportunity to go to a concert in London to watch a cover band playing the music of one of trhe favourite bands of my youth ... Genesis ... And I was not disappointed ... Great evening of quality musicianship and music! One of the things that struck me was that it was the quality of the music that superceded the 'names' of the band ... It didn't matter that it was not the original band members, we were left savouring the quality of the music ... I wonder how we might reflect on this? I was reading in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 last week ... Where the apostle Paul wrote 'thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.' This is where we need to get to that place of trusting ... That what people are left with, after an e...

My littlest one has spent the last few weeks 'worrying' her two front teeth ... Knowing that things don't feel right ... But not having the courage to do what was needed (despite much agitation by her siblings, and Father, and many assurances that it would not hurt!!) ... eventually one fell out! ... then, realising that it didn't hurt, she swiftly pulled out the other! So what can I learn from this? How many times to I allow myself to listen to my doubts and fears, which then prevent me from doing what I know I should ... And all that despite the constant affirmation of the scriptures and the Spirit within telling me to trust .. 'Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me, Jesus!' Trust and obey ... Simple isn't it??!!

It is my birthday this week - so Pauline and I went to watch Mousetrap at the theatre in London ... Preceded by a walk round a bustling Covant Garden ... I am now a member of a cultural subset ... I know who did it!! (but, of course, my lips are sealed ... I can say that it wasn't Professor Plum in the Library with a Candlestick ... Because that's Cluedo!!! ... But I can say that the end was unexpected, but what else would you expect!)

Just a quick snap, taking in the dingy light of a local restaurant! Having dropped a number of the kids off at various clubs ... Church youth group, Scouts etc ... We have managed to fit in a quiet hour together ... No mean feat! ... It is funny to think that whilst we know that time alone together is very important it seems to be low in our actual 'to do' list ... Swamped by other 'urgent' things ... Life is like that, the urgent often overtakes the important.

This is a little snap of our littlest 'Baggie' - enjoying the sun in the South of France ... really just trying out the camera and mobile posting to the blog ... couldn't bring myself to delete it after the test worked ... too gorgeous! ... truly children are a gift from God!

Had the opportunity for weekend of ministry in the Isle of Wight recently ... so Ollie and I decided to go together ... the weekend was made up of a multi-cultural evening with food from many different countries ... the Senegalese Chicken Yassa was a firm favourite ... Ollie managed to take a chunk out of my finger with a cantankerous roll-out display ... he thinks it was my fault ... then we had a Church service in the morning before returning home ... the hospitality was very warm ... the weather was great and it was good to spend some time together ... as well as meeting friends from our time in Senegal ... should do these road trips more often. I think I may have converted him to Prog Rock ... many hours confined in a car with your Dad's limited collection of CD music can have that effect ... though he now listens to it voluntarily I notice ... is this brainwashing?