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The certainty of the past

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I'm feeling particularly emotional this morning. This last weekend was our London church's thirtieth anniversary, the church that has been shaping my life for the last twenty one years! Well, Jesus really, but through this church and the amazing people that call Every Nation London home. My friend, Pierre, and I first walked through those doors at the end of 2002 as students on a summer break, doing dodgy cash-in-hand jobs in the great city!  And feeling emotional means only one thing to a man in his early forties... Blog! I mean, does anyone still write blog posts? Or read them?! Either way, I do enjoy writing my annual post.  Back to my story, I've been reliving so many memories. A I type this, I'm sitting opposite the building in which I did my first ever interview in London. I saw Dan and Darren, part of the first team (the Ops team!) I ever worked with at EN London. We drove past our EN London office, Rofel House, based at 1D (1 d for dog, as we used to say over th...
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Where do I start?

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As much as many professional bloggers would probably want to declare this blog 'dead on arrival', for some reason I keep resurrecting it. And there we already have a theme brewing... But I will resist! I suppose I believe that this is a good place to process thoughts and feelings and it typically comes to mind when the need arises. Plus, there might be someone out there who benefits from these totally random thoughts. Who knows... Crazier things have happened! Since our last post a million years ago, we have concluded that God is calling us to Wales! And more specifically, to plant an Every Nation church in Cardiff. It's been a crazy journey. We have lived in and loved Slough for the last 12 years. It's the greatest church community one could possibly hope to belong to. Ups and downs and challenges for sure, but overall an incredible group of people who really love Jesus and others.  As if that wasn't making it difficult enough for us to move away from Slough, we ha...
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Slowing down

4th week of Covid isolation. Our home is blissfully silent with Etienne asleep on the couch and the others are upstairs chilling. I heard a rumour of the schools looking to open earlier than expected. I was secretly hoping we could stay in this place a little longer. I have found my dreams turn into reality since we had to pause life as we know it. They say hindsight is a beautiful thing. Indeed.  There was a silent cry from within to slow down, be more present, say no, earn less, be more productive and fruitful and focus on our kids more. But I just was not giving it any attention. Within these 3 weeks I have had more clarity and intimacy with God than in the past 10 years. 
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Much to be thankful for

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I feel a strange sense of contemplation today. Almost as if today is 31 December. It isn't, but I will ride the wave anyway. I watched a little youtube video recently and it really impacted me. The main point was to remind us of everything we have. Especially at this time when we often focus on what we want. You can view the video here . Here's an example: if you are reading and watching this on your phone, you are in the wealthier 33% of the world - owning a smartphone. That's awesome. This year I am hugely thankful for our little boy Etienne. He will be turning one soon. Don't get me wrong, he is HARD work. I often say that he is a pain in my [backside?]. I can probably count on my two hands, the number of nights I've had unbroken sleep in 2018. BUT there are many, many people who would give up almost everything to have the privilege of staying awake the whole night, just to hold their own crying baby. On a practical note, I am thankful for my bike. It has m...
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Football day

Today was a football day. In my 12 years here in England we have never had the privilege of supporting the England team whilst qualifying for the  quarter finals of the world cup. We came together, many strangers uniting in passion and patriotism. As I was looking out over the crowd. Almost like the extended family all made it to a picnic. United under a cause. Celebrating victory. It was special.
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A new day

If you hang around church or Christian ministry long enough, you're bound to come across prophecies (or encouragements) of the new... 'New season', 'new day', etc. We may be tempted to think that these are symptoms of a lack of creativity or just going through the motions. But we shouldn't be. The Bible, the living and active Word, is full of new: 'New creation', 'new mercies', 'I make all things new', 'I am doing a new thing'! God knows, we need the new! I believe it's a new day for me today. A new day for what God has called me to. A new day for ministry and mission and making the world a better and brighter place. I'm even listening to new music right now! And it could be a new day for you too ... He's in the business of new.
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Etienne!

I can't believe our latest (and last!) addition to the family is two months old already! They say time flies when you're having fun... I wonder if it works for when you're feeling a little overwhelmed too?! In my mind, the last two months can be summarised like this: three is greater than two. Greater in every sense... More work, more running around, more nappies, more craziness... And more joy! It's weird how there is always room in our hearts to love more. Somehow, new people - especially new little people - have a unique, previously unused space in our hearts that cannot be taken up by anyone else. I like that. It's not always about how much time or effort you can set aside for people, but rather how much room we have in our hearts for them. Ideally, our affection will flow into time and attention. Of course, we can't really wait for that with babies... They don't do too well on their own! Luckily they're super cute, which is a great motivator! Anyw...
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