First the bad news ... being a little too enthusiastic with a veggie slicing tool, I have sliced the top of my thumb off today - so I now have my other thumb strapped up! Please pray for rapid healing! And please pray that I won't have to cancel any engagements.
That apart, after going gently for a couple of weeks, I am now refreshed and ready to move forward again.
Firstly, I will be travelling down to Presteigne to lead 'He Chose The Nails' on April 4th. If you live near there and want to join in with that do please email me. The day will take place in a family home which used to be a pub - something of a first for me! Please pray for the success of this event.
Following on from that I hope to have a time of 'receiving', to balance out all that I have given out recently. I plan to have a quietly reflective Easter, dipping in to several local events that promise to be good. Please pray for insights, inspiration and a deepening knowledge of the cross during Holy Week.
I have added a few new Easter poems to my Poetry Page. I am hoping to write more in the coming weeks ...
And finally, some exciting news! An opportunity exists to take a 3-month studying and writing sabbatical (in 2010) at a retreat house in New Zealand and I have decided to apply. I'll be asking you to pray for the success of that application in due course, but, for now, please would you pray for those kind folks who have agreed to write references to support my application.
Thank you everyone.
May you enjoy a blessed, fruitful and healing Easter.
.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Sabbath Time
After five weeks of retreat leading and demanding ministry it's good to be home again for a while.
Thank you all for your prayer support and encouragement whilst I have been away. In the times when I was 'running on empty', prayer empowered me amazingly. In spite of my tiredness and vulnerabilities, God worked through me. It was a huge priviledge to see people take positive steps along their journey of inner healing, and in some cases receive the touch of physical healing.
The first ever residential retreat offered by Wisdom House went well and was a joy to lead. After that, the majority of my time away, at Green Pastures, was spent in pastoral listening and prayer ministry, and in the leading of chapel times and Quiet Days. This was challenging work, but blessed me enormously in the process.
I shall now take a couple of weeks to gently recover and re-focus, before turning my attention to my wider ministry of retreat leading and writing. I'll post more prayer news after this short break.
Please pray for restoration and renewal during this time. Perhaps you would also pray for those whom I have been alongside during the last month - pray that the work begun in them would be sustained and strengthened. And pray for the important work of Green Pastures and Wisdom House.
God bless you all - spring is a great season in which to receive renewal from the Lord.
.
Thank you all for your prayer support and encouragement whilst I have been away. In the times when I was 'running on empty', prayer empowered me amazingly. In spite of my tiredness and vulnerabilities, God worked through me. It was a huge priviledge to see people take positive steps along their journey of inner healing, and in some cases receive the touch of physical healing.
The first ever residential retreat offered by Wisdom House went well and was a joy to lead. After that, the majority of my time away, at Green Pastures, was spent in pastoral listening and prayer ministry, and in the leading of chapel times and Quiet Days. This was challenging work, but blessed me enormously in the process.
I shall now take a couple of weeks to gently recover and re-focus, before turning my attention to my wider ministry of retreat leading and writing. I'll post more prayer news after this short break.
Please pray for restoration and renewal during this time. Perhaps you would also pray for those whom I have been alongside during the last month - pray that the work begun in them would be sustained and strengthened. And pray for the important work of Green Pastures and Wisdom House.
God bless you all - spring is a great season in which to receive renewal from the Lord.
.
Monday, 2 February 2009
Prayers Please
Your prayers would be valued, dear friends, as I prepare to depart for five weeks down in Hampshire and Dorset.
I shall be leading at retreat at Wisdom House in Romsey, then moving on to Green Pastures, near Poole. At Green Pastures I'll be leading Quiet Days and the regular rhythm of worship, and offering pastoral support to guests, many of whom arrive at that retreat house at a time of very real need in their life. It is challenging and demanding work, and prayer is essential to underpin it.
Both houses are experiencing financial challenges, and my work is largely voluntary, but who can put a price tag on helping those in need? Those of you who are kind enough to support me are very much enabling my ministry and since I stepped out in faith there has always 'been enough'. Thank you to you all.
Please pray for safe travelling, good health, inspiration and empathy ... and for the grace and empowering of the Holy Spirit.
And may God bless each one of you and hold you in HIs care.
.
I shall be leading at retreat at Wisdom House in Romsey, then moving on to Green Pastures, near Poole. At Green Pastures I'll be leading Quiet Days and the regular rhythm of worship, and offering pastoral support to guests, many of whom arrive at that retreat house at a time of very real need in their life. It is challenging and demanding work, and prayer is essential to underpin it.
Both houses are experiencing financial challenges, and my work is largely voluntary, but who can put a price tag on helping those in need? Those of you who are kind enough to support me are very much enabling my ministry and since I stepped out in faith there has always 'been enough'. Thank you to you all.
Please pray for safe travelling, good health, inspiration and empathy ... and for the grace and empowering of the Holy Spirit.
And may God bless each one of you and hold you in HIs care.
.
Thursday, 22 January 2009
A New Venture and a Busy Schedule
Greetings to you all. I pray that 2009 will be a year of growth and healing, hope and expectation for us all, in spite of the difficult times that we live in.
Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. Happily, I have made a good recovery from my injuries and am finally getting back to normal.
The first draft of a Christmas manuscript is now complete! So I'm currently exploring possibilities for publishers for two manuscripts, as well as someone who is willing to take on my existing three titles when Inspire ceases trading in August. Please pray for this.
And I'm starting out on a new venture. Many creative Christians generously make their work freely available over the web - and I've decided to join them. I would much prefer that my writing be used in helpful ways than that it sit tucked away in some hidden corner of a microchip inside my laptop. So, I have decided to regularly post some of my poetry here. There are only 3 poems so far, but I plan to post more on a regular basis. Please do pass this news on to anyone who might find these materials helpful.
Retreat leading is taking off ... I am inundated with requests and my diary for the coming year is nearly full. I am deeply humbled and very heartened by this. Please pray that I'll be enabled to create a good balance between retreat leading and quiet renewal time in the months ahead.
Please pray too for all the preparations that lie ahead of me before I depart for Dorset in just over two weeks time. And pray that I'll be able to maintain and improve my health this year.
Finally, I am hugely excited by all the possibilities that Christ is opening up in my life. This quote, from the song Light of my Life, is my prayer for the coming year:
May it be so ... for all of us ...
.
Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. Happily, I have made a good recovery from my injuries and am finally getting back to normal.
The first draft of a Christmas manuscript is now complete! So I'm currently exploring possibilities for publishers for two manuscripts, as well as someone who is willing to take on my existing three titles when Inspire ceases trading in August. Please pray for this.
And I'm starting out on a new venture. Many creative Christians generously make their work freely available over the web - and I've decided to join them. I would much prefer that my writing be used in helpful ways than that it sit tucked away in some hidden corner of a microchip inside my laptop. So, I have decided to regularly post some of my poetry here. There are only 3 poems so far, but I plan to post more on a regular basis. Please do pass this news on to anyone who might find these materials helpful.
Retreat leading is taking off ... I am inundated with requests and my diary for the coming year is nearly full. I am deeply humbled and very heartened by this. Please pray that I'll be enabled to create a good balance between retreat leading and quiet renewal time in the months ahead.
Please pray too for all the preparations that lie ahead of me before I depart for Dorset in just over two weeks time. And pray that I'll be able to maintain and improve my health this year.
Finally, I am hugely excited by all the possibilities that Christ is opening up in my life. This quote, from the song Light of my Life, is my prayer for the coming year:
Light of my life
Love of my heart
Be Lord in everything.
Tre Luci
May it be so ... for all of us ...
.
Thursday, 11 December 2008
A Reflective Advent
Thank you to all of you for your prayers and good wishes, and for your practical help in recent weeks. My hand continues to heal, but frustratingly slowly. I hope to be able to get back to normal after Christmas.
So, I am still one-handed, unable to drive, and have had to cancel several events. But I do feel curiously blessed! Due to your faithful generosity, and to some surprising gifts, my ministry has so far escaped the credit-crunch. Thank you - you really do enable all that I do. And this unexpected gap in my schedule gives me a welcome space in which to write creatively. Maybe these unpleasant circumstances are somehow part of God's plan, much like Mary & Joseph's highly inconvenient journey to Bethlehem! Green Pastures have published an article that I wrote about my 'woundedness': you can read it here.
Words are flowing and I am enjoying a very reflective Advent; using this down-time to work on completing the manuscript for a Christmas book. The more I immerse myself in the mystery of Christ's birth, the more I want to get down on my knees in wonder!
I pray that you too will have a renewed sense of wonder this Christmas. May you know love and laughter, joy and hope, and the presence of the Christ-child in your hearts.
Merry Christmas!
So, I am still one-handed, unable to drive, and have had to cancel several events. But I do feel curiously blessed! Due to your faithful generosity, and to some surprising gifts, my ministry has so far escaped the credit-crunch. Thank you - you really do enable all that I do. And this unexpected gap in my schedule gives me a welcome space in which to write creatively. Maybe these unpleasant circumstances are somehow part of God's plan, much like Mary & Joseph's highly inconvenient journey to Bethlehem! Green Pastures have published an article that I wrote about my 'woundedness': you can read it here.
Words are flowing and I am enjoying a very reflective Advent; using this down-time to work on completing the manuscript for a Christmas book. The more I immerse myself in the mystery of Christ's birth, the more I want to get down on my knees in wonder!
I pray that you too will have a renewed sense of wonder this Christmas. May you know love and laughter, joy and hope, and the presence of the Christ-child in your hearts.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Wounded healer
An unfortunate accident has sent my plans for the autumn topsy-turvy!
Two weeks at Green Pastures became extended into five, after I tumbled down the stairs and damaged both hands, fracturing one thumb joint. Unable to drive home, I accepted Green Pasture's invitation to stay longer, and an incident that none of us would have wished for turned out to be a profound blessing. I was able to continue to offer pastoral listening and prayer ministry to the guests, as well as leading chapel services, and it was an enormous privilege to do so. [Leading a Healing Service with both hands strapped up was something of a 'first' ... ]
Though an entirely different dynamic to retreat leading, this was work that I felt very at home with and very blessed by. Give thanks for the Green Pastures team, who blessed me with fellowship and TLC, and pray for them as they discern new ways forward for the ministry of the house.
An unfortunate consequence of my mishap has been the need to cancel several events. I am sorry to have let so many of you down. The fracture was a serious one and I need to rehabilitate myself fully before getting behind a driving wheel or lifting retreat boxes again. But our Lord heals! After being surrounded by healing prayer, the verdict of the medical teams is that the injury is healing better than they could ever have expected and an operation which was thought to be inevitable is now not needed. Give thanks and please pray for continued healing.
I am now back at home base, getting quite adept at coping one-handedly, and going gently. I hope to use this enforced 'down time' to be reflective and prepare new materials for Christmas. Please pray for rest, space and inspiration.
On the publishing front, there is disappointing news - Kevin Mayhew did not feel able to accept my manuscript for publication. Please pray that God will open the door to a new publishing house.
Thank you so much for your prayers - please keep them coming!
Two weeks at Green Pastures became extended into five, after I tumbled down the stairs and damaged both hands, fracturing one thumb joint. Unable to drive home, I accepted Green Pasture's invitation to stay longer, and an incident that none of us would have wished for turned out to be a profound blessing. I was able to continue to offer pastoral listening and prayer ministry to the guests, as well as leading chapel services, and it was an enormous privilege to do so. [Leading a Healing Service with both hands strapped up was something of a 'first' ... ]
Though an entirely different dynamic to retreat leading, this was work that I felt very at home with and very blessed by. Give thanks for the Green Pastures team, who blessed me with fellowship and TLC, and pray for them as they discern new ways forward for the ministry of the house.
An unfortunate consequence of my mishap has been the need to cancel several events. I am sorry to have let so many of you down. The fracture was a serious one and I need to rehabilitate myself fully before getting behind a driving wheel or lifting retreat boxes again. But our Lord heals! After being surrounded by healing prayer, the verdict of the medical teams is that the injury is healing better than they could ever have expected and an operation which was thought to be inevitable is now not needed. Give thanks and please pray for continued healing.
I am now back at home base, getting quite adept at coping one-handedly, and going gently. I hope to use this enforced 'down time' to be reflective and prepare new materials for Christmas. Please pray for rest, space and inspiration.
On the publishing front, there is disappointing news - Kevin Mayhew did not feel able to accept my manuscript for publication. Please pray that God will open the door to a new publishing house.
Thank you so much for your prayers - please keep them coming!
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
To Pastures Green
The suitcase is packed again! I'm about to depart to Green Pastures, a retreat house near Poole, where I'll be spending two weeks as part of the house team. Please pray for me as I take on responsibilities of worship and pastoral care there. Green Pastures is a precious space that has a very special pastoral ministry to people going through life difficulties of every kind, and it is a real privilege to be invited to share in this work.
Whilst there, I also very much need to find my own quiet space 'in the gaps' in order to reflect and prepare for my October events. Please pray that this will be possible. Additionally, I'll be taking the opportunity to meet people from Boscombe and Romsey to plan future events in that area.
On the publishing front, I now learn that Inspire will cease trading in August 2009, not this year, as I had thought. This is welcome news and gives me a breathing space to consider the options and implications. Please continue to pray that Kevin Mayhew will accept my new manuscript.
Financial support for my ministry continues to trickle in, often from unexpected quarters. Give thanks for this. Curiously, I keep finding pound coins (about 20 so far) in unexpected places too ... God seems to be saying something about His provision ...
I have just enjoyed some precious retreat time at Whitehill Chase, the home of Acorn Christian Healing Foundation. I am refreshed, renewed, inspired ... and looking forward to all that lies ahead. Thanks to Marie Calvert and Joy Taylor who led the weekend beautifully, and to my dear friend, Carien, who journeyed alongside me!
Thank you for your prayers. I pray you will all enjoy the beauty of autumn and through it know God's wonderful shalom.
Whilst there, I also very much need to find my own quiet space 'in the gaps' in order to reflect and prepare for my October events. Please pray that this will be possible. Additionally, I'll be taking the opportunity to meet people from Boscombe and Romsey to plan future events in that area.
On the publishing front, I now learn that Inspire will cease trading in August 2009, not this year, as I had thought. This is welcome news and gives me a breathing space to consider the options and implications. Please continue to pray that Kevin Mayhew will accept my new manuscript.
Financial support for my ministry continues to trickle in, often from unexpected quarters. Give thanks for this. Curiously, I keep finding pound coins (about 20 so far) in unexpected places too ... God seems to be saying something about His provision ...
I have just enjoyed some precious retreat time at Whitehill Chase, the home of Acorn Christian Healing Foundation. I am refreshed, renewed, inspired ... and looking forward to all that lies ahead. Thanks to Marie Calvert and Joy Taylor who led the weekend beautifully, and to my dear friend, Carien, who journeyed alongside me!
Thank you for your prayers. I pray you will all enjoy the beauty of autumn and through it know God's wonderful shalom.