This weekend the Trundle tribe made their way from London and the south coast, to converge in the sleepy little village of Grendon. Once more, every bedroom was full in my parents home as siblings, spouses and friends gathered to celebrate the birthday of my little bro, the son and heir, Mr Adam Trundle.
It was a particularly enthusiastic celebration as little Trund' (as he's affectionately known) has just recovered from a particularly horrible bout of pneumonia. The put-you-in-the-hospital-miss-Christmas-kind. It was horrible to see him so ill, so this weekend was all the sweeter for having his energy, health and sarcasm back among us. As he missed his favourite time of year we decided to turn his Birthday weekend into a mini Christmas break resplendent with tree, crackers, hats and all.
We bowled, we took a trip to the flicks, we ate, we watched classic Trundle movies/TV, we ate, we laughed, we ate... It was awesome. I am super proud of my gorgeous little brother. He is a fine young man and now able to grow a fine beard :) Happy Birthday Abi. May this year be full of adventure and no more trips to the hospital xx
Sunday is the night for a certain glitzy awards show that, in my humble opinion, beats all glitzy award shows... the 83rd Academy awards... more affectionately known as the oscars.
This is the one set of film awards that I have watched nearly every year without fail throughout my twenties. I know it can be political, and it most certainly isn't necessarily a representation of the best cinema has to offer, but I love the red carpet, the tension and the speeches. I have even been known to stay up through the night to watch the whole thing live. Jumping up and down in a silent scream (because someone was sleeping in the next room) when Peter Jackson won best director is a particularly funny/fond memory. Sadly I'm not quite so invested in this year's competition.
I've only seen five of the ten best picture nominees, and of Black Swan, Inception, True Grit, Toy Story 3 and The Kings Speech, I am totally biased and have a clear winner...
Come on Colin! This is your year!
I will be totally gutted if he doesn't at least walk away with best actor. I am a huge Jeff Bridges fan but he won last year and I really want our English lad to have his day in the sun. I guess it's the only competition I'm really invested in this year. Without much more of a pull it won't be a through the night marathon for me... more of an avoid all news, magazine and social networking outlets and watch the highlights Monday kinda year. Do you have any favourites?
I have a friend who often speaks on the topic of prayer. Whenever he shares about prayer meetings he is known for saying, "the average attendance is three old ladies and a goat... and the goat was inconsistent," (or something to that effect.) It never fails to make me smile :) Well, right now his words are a challenge. I am investing time and energy into the way the community of Revelation Church prays together and what I'm discovering is we have some things to learn/re-learn. We love to pray creatively, many have deep personal lives of devotion and we're used to praying in small groups and with friends, but we have a way to go to confidently and powerfully pray together.
As a quick aside - if you're reading this as someone who wouldn't consider themselves a follower of Jesus or attend a church this probably sounds weird. If you will indulge me for one moment and dare to believe that this universe was created by a person, a person who is inconceivably powerful, imaginative, generous and present. A person we call God. And if you can hold that possibility in mind and understand that we can know Him, more than that, He invites us to converse with Him, to walk with Him, to live with Him... and most pertinently, to bend His ear about this world, to ask His intervention in the bad and His blessing in the good... well what an invitation. As a church - we're getting a little better at taking Him up on his offer together...
Back to the topic - so with monthly prayer breakfasts to plan I am feeling the need to learn and stretch once more. The aforementioned friend recommended reading my latest book, "A Church on it's knees" by Jeremy Jennings. I was not disappointed. It was what I believe a good book about the Christian faith should be... practical and to the point. Jennings' no nonsense approach to why we must pray, and many ideas on how, sparked much thought and brainstorming in my journal. I already have several things I'll be trying over the next few months. I recommend it to anyone in a similar position. I read it in one commute from the London office - if only all book were so swift in getting their point across!
I've regained my reading stride this week with a few more books under my belt. The twelfth of my fifty two was A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle. As interesting and creative as it's predecessor, this science fiction series barrels ahead in the lives and adventures of Charles, Calvin and Meg. The first of the series, A Wrinkle in Time, took us into outer space, this, the second, takes us into the human body. Think inner space... but with kids... and no miniaturised ship... and way trippier.
In fact 'trippy' is exactly the adjective I would use to describe this book. It may not have been helped by my mental (on the brink of sleep) state when reading it, but the story definitely dove into the deep end of the surreal pool. I liked it - though, honestly, not as much as the first. I would read the rest of the series though. The imagination alone is worth the effort. I'm yet to really connect with the main female character (which is part of my challenge) but I like her well enough to find out how she will grow. So with that book done and another read in a day (my thoughts on that tomorrow), I find myself at a loss as to what to read next. Books, books everywhere but not a word to read... hmm that doesn't really work does it!
Today I was reminded again of how blessed I am to have my family. My Dad is a man who doesn’t know the meaning of half measures – he works, worships and loves with everything he’s got. My beautiful little sister Lisa is a force to be reckoned with – her loyalty, love, adaptability and exuberance constantly inspire me. She’s also getting rather wise in her old age. My youngest sibling Adam (the only son and heir as he likes to remind us) is growing into a man of conviction, integrity, and intelligence. He also has the most annoying/amusing dry sense of humour. (To be fair it’s only annoying when it’s in perfect harmony with my husband and focused upon me!) It wasn’t Dad, Lisa or Adam however who prompted my gratitude today. It was the matriarch or our particular clan, most commonly known on this blog as “She Who Must Be Obeyed.”
Yesterday was my Mum’s birthday. I won’t say how old she is because truthfully I always get it wrong. For many years she got stuck at 36 in my mind and since then I have been totally lost on how old she actually is. Not something Mum’s particularly fussed about I’m sure.
My Mum is a woman who greatly inspires me. She (unlike most of the rest of us) doesn’t need to be the centre of attention, she’s wise (very wise!), discrete, generous, excellent to shop with and has taught me a lot about the woman I want to be. Looking back at my teenage years I’ve realised there were some important foundations Mum instilled in me then, that I’m not sure I’ve ever thanked her for. For example from a young age she taught us to think for ourselves, she emphasised that honesty and trust are fundamental and she assured us that we were worth being treated with respect.
She constantly inspires me in her faith too. As a teenager I would plod downstairs and emerge bleary eyed into our kitchen for a little caffeine assistance before school. Each time I arrived Mum would move her Bible and notes off the worktop to make room for the various cereals, etc. we raided. While I was still trying to string a sentence together my Mum had been praying and studying. She never bragged about it. She just got on with it. She's awesome.
So happy birthday Mum. I love you very much... and not just because you make me food :) Though I love your food too!
This was even more fun to make than it was to watch. Our attempt at a joint rewind video for 24-7 Prayer goes rather wrong when the batteries for the mic go bye bye. Thankfully Scot's fabulous kids Mimi and Evan save the day with some fabulous overdubbing. Scot also, quite mercilessly includes some rather embarrassing outtakes from Friday's filming. I am supposed to be leading people in prayer but I keep stumbling over words and tripping over. Oh well. Maybe I have a future in comedy. Check it out and subscribe to 24-7's YouTube channel here.
Last week my ambitious reading project hit a road block... I got really busy. I couldn't lose myself in a story for an hour at a time and I was often falling asleep with the book across my face at night. It brought my reading speed down to a crawl and provoked a quick substitution. After a recent run of fiction I had every intention to dive into something more substantial; "With Christ in the School of Prayer" by Andrew Murray. A few pages in however I realised this was not a pick-up-put-down read. This tome will take perseverance! So, in the midst of many priorities vying for my time I swapped it for a book I'd been looking forward to reading, but knew I could abandon when needed... Anne of Green Gables.
I felt bad. Once more my good intentions were put aside. But, I do agree with Paul Scanlon who said last week, "It's not just about the right book to read but the right time to read it." Murray - I will return - I just want to give you my full concentration...
Having said that, I was surprised by what I found in the covers of AOGG. The tale of Anne Shirley and her growth from childhood to womanhood is amusing, moving and a surprisingly insightful spiritual journey. Not only does Anne grow in knowledge, wisdom and character, but she makes amazing observations on the Christian life and particularly prayer. When she arrived at the home of Matthew and Marilla Cuthburt, she may not have known the 'proper' way to pray, but she had the most amazing, instinctual grasp of talking with God. She embodies one of the most beautiful examples of contemplative prayer I've read. I may use it as an illustration some time.
The book was surprisingly challenging and thoroughly entertaining, I immediately mooched the next booked in the series for later this year. For now I've picked up A Wind in the Door, the second book in the Madeleine L'Engle series.
Today has been fantastic! I've been chilled to the bone, stared at by passers by and generally made a wee fool of myself all for a good cause. 24-7 Prayer is putting out a series of videos, a podcast in fact, to help lead people in prayer through the season of lent. I'm one of the hosts/pray-ers for the season and today Georgina, Scot and I tried out our ideas around various spots in Chichester.
There are many, rather embarrassing, outtakes in the possession of Miss Micklewright. My reputation is in her hands. Everything from the moment I read "Mary went to the hill country..." as "Mary went to the kill country..." to many explosive laughs and funny faces. I loved praying through passages about Jesus washing his friends' feet and Mary's song of praise and vines and branches and more. I think the podcast is going to be brilliant.
We also filmed a rather amusing little trailer for it that Scot is editing together. As soon as it's live I'll post it here for everyone to check out. That's all for me - I think I may need a nap. Having a camera pointed at you all day is surprisingly tiring!
Working within the 24-7 Prayer movement, I’m never sure where each month will take me. Will I be abroad? Who am I going to meet? How often will I be commuting? What nations am I going to learn more about? There’s never a dull moment when you’re a small part of a viral, international, groundswell of prayer, mission and justice in the Christian tribes. The variety definitely spices up my working life!
Today I woke up to a beautiful clear sky and bright sunshine – the perfect day to take a trip east, along the coast to Brighton. Archie Coates, the leader of St Peter’s church, invited me over for lunch to chat about their upcoming 24-7 Prayer Room. As we discussed motivating, envisioning, praying creatively and much more, I was reminded again how much I love what I do. Archie and the guys in his community are in a really exciting place. They have such a love for the city they’re in and he’s so passionate about the need to pray for it. We shared our stories, and talked about the challenges we’d faced and the lessons we’d learned. It was good to chat it all through because in the last few months I've started investing time in the prayer life and rhythms of Revelation Church. Always good to hear how others do it.
As I wandered back through the north lanes on my way to the station, a cute faux vintage dress was the perfect topping to a satisfying trip... I love my job. Someone buys me lunch, we chat, I shop, then travel home to a beautiful Chichester. Ok, so, most of my days aren't this chilled but that just makes me savour this one all the more.
Intimacy with God, and involvement with those in need. Buzz phrases like this are easily said, but rarely have I heard of them more beautifully lived out than through the lives of Brian and Mirte Longridge. I first spoke with Brian via email when they hosted their first 24-7 Prayer Room last year. Their group name appeared in our diary, and I contacted this group in the Philippines to find out how it was going. The ensuing conversation moved me deeply. Brian shared how he and Mirte live out prayer fuelled lives amidst great need…
“Prayer is loving on Christ, but we feel part of prayer is not complete without a prayer lifestyle, which is also loving on Christ through loving the poor.” Writes Brian. The Longridges work at a Leprosy centre and have planted two churches among those who suffer with the disease on the island.
“His word says that what we do for the least of these we do for Him, and when we see those broken people, we often feel that He looks back at us through their eyes and makes us want to cry… We spent our honeymoon in a leprosy camp for two months on top of a mountain in Indonesia. I know, we're kinda crazy, but we felt Him so close when we were with the people there… Our spirits never feel so full of God (even to the point of crying), as when we come back from being with the people who have leprosy. To us that indicates how God feels about it. We feel personally that we CANNOT separate our prayer life from living out that very prayer we pray...”
Beautiful.
I posted this story on the 24-7 Blog yesterday and it's one of those email encounters that make me truly grateful to be involved in 24-7 Prayer. I find it constantly challenging and inspiring.
Saturday marked the sixth anniversary of the day Stephen and I started dating. It was a blissful day! We slept in, ate a late brunch in town, strolled in the sun, bought flowers, read, talked, had a curry and watched a film together… In the midst of this relaxed day we also lost about a stone in hair…
We’ve needed haircuts for some time so it was with great excitement that we invited the lovely Tracy into our home with her scissors and clippers. I went a little shorter that originally anticipated – and though I think I have a similar hair cut to the one I sported at 3 years old – I like it! Stephen looks rather handsome with his lego hair gone and freshly trimmed beard. It may be six years on but I definitely still fancy him!
Someone died this morning… I’m sitting on my train to London, the sun streaming in the window. I’m just about to begin this morning’s Bible reading and I’ve just said ‘hi’ to God when an announcement comes over the tanoy…
“There will be some disruption to the service this morning…”
There’s been a fatality further up the tracks.
The train company are doing there best to re-route busy services to get everyone to their destination. There doing such an effective job it will actually cause us little inconvenience. This makes me sad. It’s unlikely I know the person, but their life has ended today… the way it affects the dozen or so people in this carriage is a delay, a disruption, that’s all.
It feels like it should mean more...
I wonder who that person was. I wonder what they loved. I wonder why they died. When we reach six billion people in this world, and hundreds of thousands living within your region, it’s impossible to have a large enough heart to hold them all…
Only you God have that capacity….
Please be with the family and friends the recently departed fellow inhabitant of this earth has left behind. It’s not the news I’d want to give anyone on this bright Monday morning…
I have so much to learn. I have learned so much. Sometimes I have learning fatigue.
All these statements are true.
All of them are running through my mind as I sit in some fascinating sessions today at the Holy Trinity Brompton Leadership Conference. I want to remain in a life long attitude of teachability, I only wish it could be motivated by something a little more comfortable than it usually is... Usually I learn because I can't, I learn because I don't know, I learn because I've been thrown in and it's sink or swim. Maybe it's what it takes to make me stretch, to make me consider. I am easily contented, easily satisfied and maybe God needs to shake me to reform me. I have a hunch I'm hitting a new season of learning. Each day I feel like I'm being presented something else I need to learn, some way else I need to grow. Deep breath... here goes...
I'm barely keeping my head above water at work at the moment. I have so many meetings I'm struggling to find the time to sit in front of my computer and plough through my to-do list. Sadly, there isn't an imediate end in sight as the next couple of days I'm at a leadership training conference at Holy Trinity Brompton in London. Oh well... maybe I'll find time to get ahead of the curve at the weekend!
The problem with my time management is that everything I'm doing is so interesting. It would be easier to prioritise if there were dull or less important tasks - but when my time is filled with chatting with amazing people all over the world, training new members of staff (Dana and Theresa are lovely!), creating a prayer podcast for lent, organising a meeting of some of my favourite 24-7 peeps next month, checking the manuscript for a new edition of 24-7 book and much more... there's not a lot I'd immediately bump off the list. Oh well - I'd rather be too busy and love what I do than have time and be thoroughly bored... Having said that, God's been talking to me about Sabbath a lot... but I won't get into that now... it'll take too long and this post is about something else.
I was singing in a choir tonight for a recording of the upcoming Ishmael album (legend), when I was suddenly reminded of a late night recording session I'd done last year. Steve, with his good friend Mr Paul Burton, has produced a series of Christian worship compilations called Encounter Worship. They choose some old classics you love belting out on a Sunday - ah that warm glow of a good chorus - and some of the most engaging modern songs, then re-record them with flare. The aim is a decent resource for churches around the world.
During the production of Encounter Worship 5 last year Steve called me into his vocal booth and asked if I'd sing something for him. A little while later I stumbled out and pretty much forgot all about it. As I was adding my 'aaaa's to tonight's recording I wondered whether that forgotten singing session had turned into a track... it totally has! Oh my gosh - I know this is normal for some people but this is my first lead vocal on a track available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. Eeek! You can have a listen to a sample here. I love to sing and though I'm nothing spectacular it is very gratifying to get to sing such a great song on an album like this. :)
This week I broke one of my unspoken rules. As I embarked on this little challenge of 52 books in 52 weeks I began automatically alternating between fiction and non-fiction. I guess I knew that if I didn't set some kind of rhythm I would likely slide into all fantasy, all of the time. Well my good intentions lasted until February. This week I wasn't feeling so hot, so I dove from pre-moon landing SciFi classic, A Wrinkle in Time, into the latest instalment in Rick Roirdan's mythological series, Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero.
I have a soft spot for young adult adventure novels and I tore through the first five books in this greek-mythology-alive-and-kicking-in-the-21st-Century series (otherwise known as the "Percy Jackson and the..." series) at the end of last year. I can read them in a few days and they require nothing of me whilst entertaining me greatly. The latest instalment was a bit of a risk for Riordan. He's expanded his world, introduced major new characters and done it all with his aforementioned titular character missing in action. Where was Percy?! At first I didn't like it. I've spent five books following this kid around - bring him back. Buuuut... the tale of Piper, Leo and Jason was enjoyable and as there are hints of Percy's return in coming books soooo I was able to overlook his absence.
I'm still not feeling brilliant but as I've indulged in two adventures in a row I feel it's time to reinstate my good intentions. The next book in my reading marathon is suitably worthy - With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. I guess I'm unlikely to find bronze dragons or temporal travel within it's pages, but I am likely to find a lot of wisdom...
So, one month into my year long experiment I'm ahead of the curve. In four weeks I have finished eight books! I'm really enjoying it. Taking in the thoughts and adventures of others is stretching and awaking my mind in so many ways. It's good to be blogging again regularly. It's a relief to feel like the the rusty cogs of my brain are getting a good oiling... sentences and musing are flowing freely as my fingers fly across my keyboard. Apparently Stephen King says that if you want to be a writer, you must be a reader. I have many worlds I've grown up imagining and developing and one day I hope to be somewhere near competent enough to capture them on paper. Even if they're just for my children.
So, on to book nine! A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle was a gift from a dear friend. When I listed it in my potential 52 for the year it got some comment and seems to be greatly loved by many. How had I never read it before? As I read through this pre-moon landing science fiction adventure I was taken back to CS Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet. There was a similar feeling of exploration, not just within our solar system but in ourselves. By the end of the book I was hoping it wouldn't end and keen to know more about L'Engle's world. Thankfully above mentioned friend also gave me the second book in the series so I may have to break it out soon.
A mate just sent me a link to this video and I found it both fascinating and funny. AJ Jacobs is an agnostic journalist who decided to live for a year obeying every one of the hundreds of commands in the Bible. In this TED video he tells a little of his story and what he took away from it. I admire him - pretty hard core!
It made me think further about my attitude to the Bible. Do I take the Bible literally? Or to phrase it another way, do I believe the Bible is literal? The answer is... I don't really know. Ummm no I don't think all of it is meant to be read literally (Is Job a play? Should that affect how we understand it?) The more I read of this fascinating book of God's word (I'm a twelfth of the way through this year's read through) the more I realise there's so much to it I'm yet to grasp. There is much I will spend my life time discovering about context, intention, style, purpose, depth, reference and so forth and then there is that undefinable edification and enthusing I ingest from reading it. The Holy Spirit is at work in me as my eyes move across the page and my mind interprets the black shapes into words and my consciousness assigns them meaning and my heart responds...
If there are two things I feel certain about regarding the Bible it is that I will spend my life reading it's pages and discovering new things, and if I live to be a hundred years old I will never grasp even half of what God has to give through it.
Do I believe that every law written in the Pentateuch is applicable to me - a non-jewish woman living in 21st century England - no. I'm grateful for the church fathers who in the book of Acts, chapter 15, decided that gentiles, like myself, did not first have to become Jewish (or maybe it's more accurate to say, follow the Jewish tradition in it's fullest) to be saved. That was a pretty big deal. Equally, I don't want to write off the law, as I know there is much to learn from it. As I re-read God's interaction with Moses on Sinai (Exodus 19 onward) I'm struck by how the heart and purpose of the laws they were given pointed to compassion, mercy, justice, freedom, purity and dignity for the former hereditary slaves who now find themselves a free people. I have much to learn, but with Jesus and the Holy Spirit as my guide I look forward to learning it.
I went and ordered AJ Jacob's book pretty much straight after watching his video. Should make for a rather interesting read. If you haven't read the Bible I thoroughly recommend it. It may require something of you - but it's well worth the journey.
