We had a fellowship lunch at church today and I have spent an hour excitedly talking with others about how I am so stoked to get into missions overseas.

I wish I could discuss these matters with my family in such a manner.

*sigh*

Happy Sunday from a slightly bewildered Shaun!

:)

Is there any sort of job I could get into that centres around working with children, where the focus is pastoral rather than educational and I don’t need to have trained as a teacher?

I’m finding now that I am not fussed about showing them facts so much as I want to show them their value to God, love them and invest in their lives in a way that the rules of the education system don’t allow.

My heart is very much for this, and God knows that.

I am looking to a change of season, a change of work, and perhaps a change of scenery also…

Watercolour Walk.

This was a writing challenge presented to me by my lovely friend Larabelle. She asked for a story about “a lost little girl, fear and betrayal and brokenness, self-discovery and healing”…I don’t think I did too bad a job, but she wanted the outcome putting on here.

Any more challenges of this sort are more than welcome, just inbox me. :)

Watercolour Walk

Rarely do you buy an expensive portrait and then watch it char and dissipate in front of your eyes, littering ash upon foot-worn wooden flooring, before vanishing without a trace of remain in a gentle July breeze.

That’s not how perfect pictures perish.

Not like that.

They go with grace.

Yet for Stephanie, it had come to pass; a vision of bliss, a household once filled with laughter and warmth, reduced to embers and smoke as a result of an adults foolish decisions and careless words. The consequences of said actions were now all too clear to see, though every best effort was made to keep them hidden at first – A shameful skeleton in a closet the two of them had tried to destroy.

But sheltered they did not remain – Stephanie might have been young, but stupid and blind she was not. Left to piece together the who’s, what’s, when’s and the where’s, she found herself more immediately concerned with why; why they had felt the need to seek satisfaction elsewhere, why she hadn’t been told, why the two of them weren’t trying to fix things…she was powerless to observe as her home crumbled, the debris left for her to wade through, but nobody bothering to clean up.

They were so caught up with their own bitterness; their now-unearthed sadness, their malice and their overly-complicated ways. Too caught up to even notice the day that Stephanie left. A bag packed, appearing far more prepared than in actuality, her astute stature belied what little was contained in the backpack she clung to under the gaze of the Saturday morning sun. She had even left via the front gate; not secretive in her exit, a 12-year old girl wanting, praying, that somebody would stop her and ask the inevitable trail of questions that would result in her spilling the entire fiasco amid a cascade of many a years worth of unspent tears.

Nobody stopped her.

Nobody asked.

For 5 years she had survived, making her own way, teaching herself the things that her parents had neglected to. Benevolent strangers and sincere hospitality from fellow humans were her lifeline. Choosing out of spite to beat a hasty retreat from all who inquired about the whereabouts of her family, she spoke only to those who found themselves occupying the same tunnels and alleyways as she; and when they asked questions, she gave her answers, and they understood. She made friends and developed guardians in a place most consider inhospitable, a new family whose own misfortune and status brought about an empathy and recognition lost on those who looked down from their high-rise offices and second-storey suburban home windows. How they were oblivious to the privileges surrounding them.

Stephanie did not begrudge those people, nor had she ever. This path had been her choice, and she did not regret it; wherever they were now, the ones who had housed her those first dozen years of her life had not seen fit to seek after her. There was no denying that it certainly wasn’t the scenario that had played over and over in her beautiful mind on those infant nights those many moons ago; the passing of time had sped from the glacial pace of seemingly endless summers to a gallop as weeks blurred to seasons in the blink of her emerald eyes - but she was content. She was alive, and Stephanie was also blissfully unaware that a few days from now, while scavenging for food, she would happen upon a kind lady who would stand out from others she had met; unlike any other. A lady whose merciful nature and uplifting conversation would eventually lead Stephanie into her welcoming home, where this hurting adolescent heart would start down a path filled with promise, hope, and a warmth that had seemingly so long been absent from her world.

But now, as she curled up to get some sleep, arms wrapped tightly around a stained coat found in a skip, her bedding dripping wet from recent rainfall, Stephanie stared up at the sky, and wondered what lie ahead; was the image of her life a partially-burned self-portrait?

No. As she would soon discover, it was simply a case of finding the right painting to fit the frame.

Dear inked women - don’t ever let a soul tell you that you’re ‘ruined’ or that you’re somehow not beautiful, because that’s just not true.

The tattoo debate rages ever on, but man alive, I for one hope my future wife has tattoos - the creativity and individuality of her ink will only make her more alarmingly attractive to me.
:)

I am very much looking forward to being a parent:

All in good time I know, and believe me, I am in no hurry - I am far from being even close to the sort of man who would make a good dad; but when I am ready, and if God so wills it, I am beyond excited about the prospect of being a father, especially:

• holding my child for the first time, staring into their eyes and just being so loved up that I will no doubt cry with joy.

• praying with them by their bedside before tucking them in and telling them Bible stories, maybe from a book but most likely by roping in my wife and the two of us acting it out or putting on funny voices.

• teaching them skills they need in life, pheraps by letting them help prepare meals, decorate, or by taking them to the shop and letting them count out coins rather than paying by card.

• going on more adventures than you can shake a stick at. Woods, beaches, mountains, caves, fields, cities, oceans…you name it, we’re going there, and we’ll collect souvenirs, explore, and learn to love and appreciate every part of this captivating world we inhabit. My children will be active; they won’t grumble about walking anywhere; they will run their legs and lungs silly, and i’ll run with them, before stopping to make it all better with juice, an apple or banana and a few sneaky biscuits.

• taking HEAPS of photographs. On my camera, or their own. Then we’ll make family albums with everybody’s pictures in. Silly ones, cute ones, important day-in-the-life ones. Got another stick you can shake?

• listening to, performing and making music in our home. Whether guitar, piano, drums, recorder, banging pots and pans or all of us singing unaccompanied, my children will know the power and value of music, and my wife and I will play and sing to them, before and after birth, they to us (even the ‘dreadful’ violin practice they do as part of school music tuition), and all of us together. This I am particularly excited about.

• telling, but more importantly showing my child how much I love them every single day; even in times when they may need discipline, it will be underlined and highlighted in love, for that is one of the essential foundations of a happy household.

• trips to Church on a Sunday and watching with elation as they start moving to the music, learning more and more of the words as they grow older.

• reminding them that every step of the way there is a God who loves them just how they are, and cares for them oh so much. Jesus won’t be a curse word in our house, but the name of our closest family friend.

That’s just a tiny handful, believe me - I could go on forever.

Man, I’m so stoked. :D

Hello? Who’s calling?

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

- 2 Peter 1:10-11 (NIV)

This passage of scripture highlights something important for us all,  as is the case with all of God’s Word. However, today I particularly feel compelled to share this as encouragement - both to those of you who are currently seeking wisdom and direction from God regarding your calling in this world, and those of you whose passion is already clear, and are in the midst of living it out.

In a nutshell, this scripture assures us that if we confirm what it is that God has called us to do, we can motivate ourselves and pursue it wholeheartedly. The end result? a rich welcome into Heaven. Not a streewise *nod* of acknowledgement upon your entry, but the sort of warm embrace, I imagine, that we so often see on the screen and subsequently long for from one we cherish in our own lives.

So, for those of you who know where God is drawing you, I say this; keep on pursuing it and don’t lose courage. Do not steer away from that direction unless the Lord clearly gives you reason to. Remain sensitive to His Spirit in all things and take pleasure in knowing that your treading of said path is not only fulfilling His plans for your life, but is cementing a heart-lifting greeting on that glorious day we enter into His Kingdom!

For those of you who feel lost, without clear indication of your purpose or doubting your worth and usefulness to God at all, I offer you this -

Don’t give up that search.

Rest in His Spirit, spend time in His beautiful presence and seek out His will for you above all else. He makes everything good in it’s season, says scripture, and that may mean by next weekend you’ll be set to go hand Bibles out to remote villages, it may mean your calling is to minister to those in your home town…you may not get that definitive wisdom for a decade.

But do not become stagnant…don’t tread water and flit around aimlessly just to pass the time, when you could be busy simply fulfilling the most basic instruction we receive as followers of Christ - to share His love and Gospel with the world around us!

You may have a passion for broken youths, for music ministry, writing, or travel…whatever it is, God knows better than you do the weight of value and importance it holds to you…He won’t let that go to waste or have overlooked it, my friend. Who knows, perhaps your calling is a mystery to you because your focus isn’t quite on what it should or could be…that’s why it is so important to be in communion with the Lord at every stage, so that His hold over your heart isn’t compromised and control taken away…He cannot be a guiding light for your path if you won’t come out from darkness.

God will get you to where your heart can serve Him best, if you let Him take the wheel.

Bless you, one and all. :)

I don’t care if I have to invest in a cow,

when I have children they will appreciate that a bowl of cereal is possibly the best snack you can have.

In the whole world.

…and a great source of Calcium to boot.

:D

The only thing pestering me now is the albeit minute thought that if we were ever to meet, I would not fulfill all that you had hoped and dreamed me to be in person.

But I’ll worry about that if / when it comes.

:)

I’d rather see an empty past and Jesus in my future, than see Jesus in my past and an empty future.

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” - Philippians 2:13

A wait that seems to last an eternity is worth it when you’re waiting for your eternity.

Exciting Evening!

I just got back from Worship Team practice, which was awesome in itself because even with a 5-string guitar that was going out of tune, the impromptu worship that arose tonight was colossal.

I’m talking eyes squeezed shut, doubled-over from the overwhelming presence of God, bellowing praise and thrashing at the strings.

Mmmmmm, SO good.

Then I had an encouraging talk with my Pastor about the direction God is taking me in, which I won’t express in detail publicly, in case the enemy tries to sow doubt, but if you’d like to discuss it or pray for me or whatever, send me a message. :)

It’s such an invigorating experience, feeling God conjuring the beginnings of something life-changing and earth trembling.

The ground beneath my feet is about to move, friends. :)

Okay, God -

What are You up to here?

Either things are gonna get real exciting,

or

I’m gonna learn a harsh but apparently necessary lesson and fall flat on my face. Again.

Oh, You do like to keep me guessing. Good thing You know the desires of my heart, and I’ve every faith in Your power and promise. :)

Future Focus.

If my eyes are on the Father,

There is no better way to be,

As His Spirits dwelling increases,

I find less and less of me.

There is no need to fear for the future,

For it’s placed in the safest of hands,

It’s held between fingers that conjured the stars,

the sky, the seas and the lands.

- S. Milligan