An Adventure in Ministry

A few weeks ago, as part of our staycation exploring Scotland, we decided to take a day trip to the Isle of Arran. The Island holds a special place in my husband’s heart and he couldn’t wait to show our daughter all the places he frequented on his childhood holidays.  In the afternoon we spent some time on a beautiful beach and as I sat listening to the sound of the sea, I had a magical moment where I could almost hear the sound of bagpipes on the breeze. However the sound continued for some time and we realized that the sound was real – there really were bagpipes playing! In fact there was a group of people doing a bagpipe display for a primary school in the local park. My daughter absolutely loves the bagpipes and will happily watch you tube videos of them all day long! So you can imagine how excited she was to seem some in the flesh! Later as we sat on the beach we started to talk about how, often when we are on holiday or daytrip adventures, we find there happens to be interest...

It is rather apt that I have chosen to write this blog post now as Paul and I have just celebrated our six year wedding anniversary. I’m not ashamed to take this opportunity to share some of our gorgeous wedding photographs with you! Although in the grander scheme of things six years married may not be a long time, through our marriage we have faced caring for my terminally ill mother-in-law and later seeing her  pass away; navigating bringing up Paul’s three teenage daughters. We have lost jobs, friends ,   dreams and have also spent nearly all of our marriage trying to conceive children.  Not only have we faced all these difficulties, but we have spent nearly four years working in partnership in ministry. So we not only live and socialise together, but we work together every day too and I am proud to say that it has never been stronger! I don’t say this to brag, but through some pretty big struggles we have learnt some really important truths. ...

Just over a year ago, after a lot of prompting from God, and a lot of support from my husband, I began writing a blog. I was coming into a new season, a season of ministry and I wanted to share my journey and experiences with those around me. In this time a song had been resounding in my heart. It was a song that had been with me through some pretty dark days, but now, as I faced a new calling, it took on a new meaning. I prayer this prayer with my whole heart, and over the past year Ephesians 3:20 has proven true God has led me to a place which is amazing, rewarding, blessed, scary and tough all at once! I have learnt so much; God has taken my passion for writing and has turned it into a ministry I never thought possible. God has taken my passion for creativity and taken me deeper and deeper into the word through it. God has taken my passion for people and put me into a place where I have the privilege of telling them about the life giving love of ...

As many of you know I write devotionals monthly for   www.herbinderproject.com   and www.quitewomen.com  and I recently wrote this devotional. I really felt this morning someone needed to read this x x x                                God’s word promises us that he will give us the desires of our hearts if we live a life sold out to him…but he doesn’t say when! I remember when all my friends started to find long term relationships and get married. It was a really difficult time. The desire of my heart was to be a wife and a mum, but I couldn’t see how God was going to do it! I blamed myself for the long wait…I thought I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough, funny enough! But then I came to a realisation, a God given realisation. God asked me what I was focusing on; my desires or God. You see, we have to be focused on the right things. We must choose to fix our eyes on Je...

I am in such a blessed position! My husband and I are the commanding officers (pastors) of a wonderful church and community outreach, and the people are gorgeous!! In our short year in leadership in this place we have seen God moving in a really powerful way; We have seen people coming to Christ, We have seen people touched with the Holy Spirit, We have seen people blossoming and flourishing before our eyes, We have seen prayers answered in a powerful way, We have seen God provide for our needs, We have seen more and more people who are lost and desperate come through our doors Yet I  WANT MORE! Recently at a conference I was challenged to dream big! To lay aside things that hold us back and press on to the goal. You see it is so easy to get bogged down in the day to day flow of life. It is easy for the little things to become the big things, and then the big things seem to fade away. The devil doesn't play fair! He always plays dirty.  BUT! ...

Today is a good day! The sun is shining, the daffodils on the table I am sitting at are blooming and beautifully scented and as I watch the daily like of my corps go on, I feel so blessed! When I embarked on ministry, I knew it would be diverse, but some days it blows me away! Just this morning (and it's only 10am!) I have spent time soaking in his word, sent copious emails, written a bible study, picked up food donations to gift to a local church, sorted through some donations of clothes and had a sing song!  Ministry is a great orchestra full of diverse instruments, from a simple triangle to an exquisite cello and a kazoo thrown in too!  As I sit and observe the bustle going on around me, I see a member of staff give a lesson to a lad in his twenties on how to add up a bill as he simply cannot count. I watch my husband talk with one of the volunteers, just doing life together. I also see a family come in who are regulars in the coffee shop and have excitedly...

It’s been a tough couple of weeks. The challenges seem to be coming thick and fast and the devil has started to get a bit personal. But if you remember my word for this year is gratitude so I won’t bore you with any details! Instead let me share some of the great blessings the past few weeks have given me! Sometimes do forget, or maybe don’t appreciate the little messages God gives or those answers to prayers that we have been praying for a long while. Today however, I want to celebrate them! Not only to share with you some of the Awesome things God has done, but by remembering these blessing I am building myself up for the things that are ahead A couple of weeks ago as I was reading my daily devotional I was prompted to read Isaiah 54. When I got to verse 2 I read this. “Enlarge the place of your tent,      stretch your tent curtains wide,      do not hold back; lengthen your cords,      strengthen your stakes. ...

It’s been a bit of a week! It was the first week back in full swing after Christmas which is always difficult. It’s one of those weeks that is spent trying to get back into the routine of things and getting up to date on all those little things. It has been busy to say the least! It has also been a week full of vision and dreaming, with meetings looking ahead and God laying heavy on me an urge to think big and to start walking in it! Our church is growing and God is miraculously providing. There have been moments that have felt like the ascent at the beginning of a fairground ride. The anticipation of what might be ahead that excitement mingled with nervousness and that little bit of dread that you cant make it on your own. It has also been a week of brokenness. There have been so many people through our doors this week screaming out for Jesus. There are people struggling with illness, grief and addiction. It really has been heartbreaking, but I am so grateful that we are able...

Today it has been hot and sunny and I have heard many people talk about summer being here. Today we had the obligatory ice cream, purchased a paddling pool and had a bbq! Today I have been thinking about seasons The other week after one glorious day of sunshine followed by a day of rain, I heard people declare that summer is over! It made me think that some seasons tend to be much longer than others. Sometimes winter never seems to end and summer is so short loved. Some years we have a bumper crop of one plant and a shortage of another all because of the length of the seasons.  Seasons are very biblical and play an important part in God's economy. In our christian walk we go through seasons or times that are clearly distinct. In Ecclesiastes it talks about there being a season for everything and that is certainly the case, but I have been becoming increasingly aware that every season is a great opportunity for learning. It is an opportunity for wisdom, an opportunity f...