for fun's sake

Someone once pulled me aside, having overheard a conversation between colleagues, and, being of a different generation, asked

"What's all this about 'comfort zones'? When I was young there were things you did want to do and things you didn't. You had to do the things you didn't want to do and you waited to do the things you did."

Thankfully I am blessed with a life where I actually have the option of making those choices but this comment makes me reconsider what choices I make and whether or not they are the right ones every time I'm confronted with a decision to make.

Climbing is something I very much do for the fun of it but it is riddled with these moments. The intense, short experience of leading a route can cause you to come away feeling like you've made a life-time's worth of (potentially) life or death decisions. People I know who aren't into this kind of thing often assume I love taking risks, pushing limits or chasing rushes of adrenaline when actually the truth is quite the opposite. For me the satisfaction I get from climbing, and other similar sports, is the feeling of having done something well, having been successful and being very much in control throughout.

And now the God bit - simply put, deciding to live faithfully is simultaneously the most exposed yet peaceful and satisfying choice I've ever made and will continue to make. I'd thoroughly recommend it.

still walking in faith

It does feel like things have been quiet for a long time now but I know that's looking at this walk from my perspective. One thing I do know is that, before my very eyes, a miracle is being shaped and nurtured. As my wife's tummy grows with our first baby so does my faith in the God that is 'knitting' it together.


Life is about to get a lot louder (or so I'm told) so it's probably a good thing that God is letting me enjoy this bit for what it is.

Testing testing

Ever got something new and just had to try everything?

living in community

This is Saturday night in the living room.


Sharing stories of the day.


Listening to each others music.


Communicating with each other while also communicating with the outside world.


Text. Phone. Skype. Blog. Watching people pass by the window.

how (not) to move house - God does it His way (part 4)

Surely this was the easiest bit? As mentioned before - we sell, he buys. Easy. For one reason or another it never is. Days passed and it eventually got to the day before we needed to sell or would simply be out of pocket. I had been invited to a men's prayer breakfast. My friend rather boldly claimed "of course it would work! A couple of weeks ago we prayed for my sister and brother-in-law's place and they got it that day." Again...my thoughts fell on 'can't hurt to try.'


Up at 6am, breakfasting, praying, enjoying a good start to the day. I did leave feeling positive but it's funny how a deadline can soon change that. Approaching lunch I had a chat with a work mate about it all which finished with him encouraging me to "name it and claim it!"


"TODAY I WILL SELL MY HOUSE!"


No sooner had the words left my mouth but my phone rang. It was the solicitor. It was Monday 31st October. To avoid all manner of complications we had to sell before 1st November. On Friday 28th our solicitor had assured us that exchange and completion on the same day is very rare. Something to do with the process having to take 5 working days.


"Hello, this is your solicitor...it's all happening a little backwards isn't it?"
"...yes?"
"Well - the buyer's solicitors have already paid us but I am in fact calling you to check over some details and make sure you still want to sell."

Do you see now why I wrote 'reality'?

God is the same God yesterday, today and forever. My God is the God that created the universe and conquered death. If He says 'move' of course He's going to get my house sold.

But the story hasn't finished yet. In fact I feel like we're only just getting going. My only hope is that when He reveals the next part of His plan to us I won't have that 'can't hurt to try' thought preventing the clarity that comes with faith.

how (not) to move house - God does it His way (part 3)

The offer on the house dipped a little below the line. We didn't want to lose this buyer but needed more than was on the table. We talked, prayed and decided on a number. As an aside this happened to be a number I had thought of when first considering selling. Unfortunately I had brushed this aside feeling it didn't make sense and that I'd probably just plucked it out of the air.

The buyer accepted! Not just that but he was a cash buyer. We sell, he buys. House selling doesn't get more simple.

Hang on...have I said 'praise God' yet?

PRAISE GOD!

Now all we need to do is find a place for us. Something the following weeks revealed not to be so simple. Returning to that initial prompt time and again we trawled the options but there just wasn't anything. Sat at my laptop one evening I searched 'Christian places to rent'. My attitude was one of 'can't hurt to try' but, once again, God reveals Himself in a way that makes me sit up and take note.

The first place was ideal. The price was everything we had hoped for. Perhaps more unbelievably was that the couple who had posted it had only decided to do so the night before we found it. We got in touch straight away, ran with it and that is where we are now living.

We just needed the exchange and completion to go through...

how (not) to move house - God does it His way (part 2)

The initial shell shock of having made such a decision soon wears off and you naturally begin to try and 'manage' the situation - 'damage limitation' as it's also known.

One thing was clear - a drop in regular income would mean needing to sell the house. Thinking abstractly this all worked nice and neatly for me. Among other things it was coming to the end of our initial mortgage agreement so there was a feeling of coming full circle. Like the closure of one part of your life leading into the opening of a new part.

'Reality' was very different however. You'll learn the reason for putting that in inverted commas as you continue reading (God is definitely not limited by what we might see as insurmountable issues). Approaching those in the know ie estate agents the feedback we got was pretty much "you couldn't have chosen a worse time to sell your house, and the less said about the time frame the better." But we had made this decision so pressed forward.

A few months passed...

While on holiday we discussed our options. Clearly the best way of getting interest was to drop the price. We had a bottom line we didn't want to cross as this would most likely mean making a loss and probably having to pay more out of the money we wouldn't have to get rid of it. Until my wife made the observation that we had been praying intermittently about it but not regularly. She suggested that we do so and we became more expectant, assured that a buyer was out there.

While looking at our numbers again I came across a completely untouched envelope tucked in amongst everything else. Considering I open all letters as soon as I pick them up off the doormat this was slightly unnerving. Inside it was a letter from our mortgage lender saying that they are scrapping all early repayment charges on old mortgages like our own. Sorry? thousands of pounds and you don't want it?! Ok then. With this new information we decided on a number we felt we could manage and immediately received an offer.

how (not) to move house - God does it His way (part 1)

Another title for this post could well be "An unusual journey/in the world - not of it"


Earlier this year my wife and I felt God was setting some stuff in motion. Some decisions needed to be made. Of course, when making life changing decisions, it's normal to need some degree of control over it. Tied into the prompt though was a much bigger/deeper need. That of faith. And this is how it is going - are you sitting comfortably?


Our church leader brought together a group of young adults with the hope of empowering/enthusing/enabling us to make some faith led decisions and responses to what God might be wanting to do with us. We focussed on the story of Peter walking on water and what Jesus commanded of him, how he responded and what he needed in that situation.


My wife and I discussed this, both understanding that this wasn't just an opportunity for working out the theory. The 'what if' was to become reality. The initial step was recognising that there has been a dream and desire that my wife has held onto since an early age. It was her motivation for going to uni and is something she endeavours to pursue in her own time. Now it was time to push for forming that into a reality which meant handing in notice to her current employer.


Done - that was easy.


A few days later we found out she was pregnant...help! So this is where the faith comes in?


As I have learned before, God's timing is not necessarily synched with my own but His wisdom goes way beyond. Really though?! Ok...let's keep pressing on.