Saturday 24 August 2013

A time to write

Don't you just hate the way that Christmas hits the shops in September? 

I certainly do.  But this August Bank Holiday weekend found me preparing for Christmas!  Crazy, I know - but there was a reason.   I am about to 'go to ground' in order to concentrate on some writing, so I don't anticipate being around very much between now and Christmas.  Hence, I must get organised!

As Virginia Woolf famously said, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write".  This is certainly true for me.  All my best work has been written in quiet spaces, well away from the many distractions of home.  So, I will be kick-starting this period with time at a Writers' Retreat Space in Devon.  Following that I shall be retreating for large chunks of time to a much loved cottage in Northumberland, within a stone's throw of Holy Island.

I am very grateful to those folks who offered me writing space, and to Ros Reay for reducing her prices for me.  Thank you to you all - I appreciated your generous offers.

After some difficult days recently, with my father's emergency admission to hospital, I am immensely tired and my first important need is for quality rest.  Please pray for rest and refreshment as I begin this creative time.  Please also pray protection on my father's health.

So what will I be writing?   Mainly healing meditations, for recording onto CD; but also some liturgy.  If all goes well, I hope to also begin a book about healing; something which God laid on my heart during my New Zealand experience.   I'll tell you what emerges when I get to the other side of this time!   Please pray for Spirit-inspired writing.  And please pray protection on this time, that it won't be interrupted by any further emergencies.  Please also pray for stamina when the going gets tough!

These are fairly big projects that will require both time and money to bring them to completion.  They are projects which people have been encouraging me to undertake for some time and which I believe could significantly help people to find healing, which is why I'm prepared to give my time to them for a period of months.  Please pray that the necessary funding will emerge. 

I am deeply indebted to you all for your continuing support and encouragement - and if you get a Christmas card from me, just remember   ...   it was probably written in August!

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Saturday 3 August 2013

A channel for His grace

I have learnt much, of late, about total dependence on God  ...   about acknowledging my weaknesses and simply offering myself to be a channel.  There were several moments of extreme tiredness during my recent retreat leading at Penhurst; times when I simply had to surrender and pray 'not in my strength, but yours, God'.  And whenever I did that the outcomes were remarkable: words were given, there was a tangible deepening of the presence of the Spirit, and healing and renewal flowed in powerful ways.

"A life-changing experience", was how one person described the Touching the Cloak retreat.  Give thanks for the deep healing that happened at Penhurst and please pray that that healing would be sustained.

It still delights me to witness how healing can flow when people are enabled to open themselves up to the real and present possibility of God's intervention, and it was a pleasure and privilege to lead at Penhurst, a space of immense tangible peace.

Thank you to all who underpin my work with your vital prayers.  And thank you to all who enable this ministry by your financial support.

I shall be offering another healing retreat in that special place in July 2014, and one at the Windermere Centre in March.

Meanwhile, after a very busy six months, I'm now enjoying some rest and refreshment and am off to New Wine tomorrow.  Please pray for refreshment and spiritual nourishment.

Following that, I shall be taking some time out to settle into a variety of writing projects.  More on that later   ...

For now, my love and prayers to you all   ...   summer blessings to my readers in the UK, and winter blessings to those of you on the opposite side of the world!

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