Pushed or pulled

 Are you forever fighting fires? It seems that I have been doing this for a long time - always having to react to what the world throws at me. I have become complacent, I have to admit. I have got used to coasting along and enjoying the easy life. 

There's a time for everything under the sun says the teacher, Solomon the wise. Time to reap, time to sow, time to live, time to die... Etc. but am I proactive or do I just go with the flow? It will take huge effort to get up out of the couch. I don't know if I can do it.

I woke up thinking this morning about how I am always being pushed. I imagined climbing on a rock face. I and some friends were captured by terrorists on the rock and we had to act before they did. I didn't want to get pushed again. 

When I lived on the isle of dogs we had such a sweet and easy, safe existence and I started getting used to it, it encouraged me to lose sight of God, although we were engaged in church and ministry I didn't really actively seek God's word for my own life and direction. If I had would I have been ready to move on earlier? would I have been better prepared for the move to Margate? possibly even preempting the redundancy from LCM.

God always holds us in his hands, but I'd rather I was getting up and moving when He required it rather than when I was prodded, it's far less stressful I think.

So I came downstairs to read my bible. I opened as you do at Christmas on the story of the Magi following the star. The say 'we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.' Pulled, not pushed. They came because they are looking for God in their life. Am I looking for God in my life?

There's another line in the bible that says that every knee shall bend and every tongue confess to worship Jesus. I'd rather I did this voluntarily.

I hope that I will change, that I will find renewed desire to seek his face and that I will go in response to the call. 

One day we will perish, we can choose to go through that door kicking and screaming or we can go faithfully and peacefully, I think the ultimate goal is this dignified exit that has the knowledge of a positive future.

6 Months later - What an adventure!

 

MMS-360 Media Hub 

So, what has happened in the last 6 months? A lot, more than a lot! the support we have had from family, friends and City of Peace church has been astonishing! At times I had thought I was going to crack up completely! the stress of moving has been immense, and all I can consider is that it is nothing like what it must be to be a refugee running for your life! 

The Girls have more or less settled into their new school - the playgrounds are big enough to have athletics tracks and football fields and tennis courts etc... But for some reason my children are too timid to take part in any of the after school clubs - I am hoping that I will be able to persuade them to get more involved and for the moment the teachers seem to think very highly of them, I hope that it will remain so!

It has been quite a difficult and expensive challenge having Natalie go back to London every week on the train to complete her studies. Last week we celebrated the end of that and the completion of her studies! We are expecting results and licence to practice in August. This will make a huge difference to us, particularly that Natalie will no longer have to work at a school as a mentor. She has found that mentors are quite often the dogsbodies of the therapy world and will be glad to get into a more respected position in order that she will be able to play a more significant role in therapeutic relationships.

Over Christmas we had a visit by our dear friends Bill and Anna - they joined us for Christmas dinner. We have actually had many visits from many Londoners since we moved here. It is really pleasant bridging the gap between new relationships formed here in Margate - we had such a close neighbourly lifestyle in London. I found a 10ft trampoline on Facebook marketplace for £10 which I gave to my kids for Christmas, and now that it is warming up it is truly a marvellous place for a lunch time snooze. 

Now about lunchtime snoozes - I am working from home, have been since November. I didn't know what I would be doing when I left First Love Foundation, but when London City Mission paid out redundancy money I took some of that and used it to purchase a great laptop to do video editing with. I have continued to do video work ever since I left Sky News as I really enjoy it and hoped I could get back into the game. I answered an advertisement for a local job for a freelance editor, and I got the job. The client is called MMS-360  and the work is varied as can be! The head honcho - Damien - is an excellent drone pilot, motorsports lover and altogether thoroughly nice bloke in charge of a fantastic team of people. I have truly connected up with an awesome bunch! Through them I have worked with some really interesting clients, from small businesses to huge recycling depots! Damien is a real innovator and he seems to surround himself with positive and adventurous people, so I have really got to thank you for all of your prayers and concerns! We are well blessed.

So for this reason, yes, lunchtime snoozes are very possible - however they don't happen all too often as I have a lot of editing and video work keeping me busy. And some of it is super exciting stuff! take a look here!