Through it all – He is Holy

"When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. "


"When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. "

At the beginning of the year nobody would have predicted the events that have been taking place in recent weeks, and that are still taking place today, as waves of civil unrest sweep across Africa and the Middle-East and event threaten to touch nations such as China. We’re not removed from it here in the UK either as rumblings against cost-savings, student fees, petrol prices and more lead to threats of strikes and “action” within our nation.

On top of this there have been the natural disasters in Australia and New Zealand, the on-going rebuilding of Haiti and Pakistan and the war in Afghanistan and conflicts in Iraq.

The situation in Libya has particularly shaken and scared me as I’ve read and watched the news of people being killed by Gaddafi and wondering just what atrocities his insanity will lead to. I’ve found my heart crying out and my soul shaken and unsettled, with the only possible response being to call out to God for His peace, mercy and endless Love.

Then one song struck home with me and made me realise that through it all, and even if we can’t see it, He is Holy. Gods heart breaks at the suffering and the hurting, and it’s hard sometimes to see suffering and equate that to a loving Father – but without getting into the whole debate over free will etc all I can say is that faith and personal experience speak louder than words to me.

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2010 – A year in review

faith

faithWhen Mrs H and I both felt God saying to us that 2010 would be a year of change, and where we would be shaken up, we never fully anticipated what that would come to mean or how that would change us but looking back now it’s fair to say that we’ve both changed quite a bit this year and that we’ve grown as a result of all that’s happened.

The year started out with me being ill on New Years Eve, so not the best start – but I was in a job I loved, working with people who were more friends that colleagues, and with plans for the company that had the potential to take us on to big things. We were looking forward to our first family holiday for 3 years and also the celebration of 10 years of wedded bliss. Church life was good, with me especially getting quite heavily involved in some areas and we were planning on pushing that forward more and more as God opened doors for us.

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For I know the plans…

There are times when God astounds and amazes in ways that you just can’t imagine.

As readers of this blog know, it’s been a year of major change and upheaval. It’s also been a year of huge promise and faith. The full fruition is yet to be realised, but I can honestly sit here and say to you that, with the exception of 1 thing, everything that God has told us has happened. That one thing is not ruled out by any means yet, we’re still believing it will come about at the right time, so we’re watching this space and keeping ears open.

To give you a taster of what we have experienced, both me and Mrs H felt at the beginning of the year (independently of each other may I just say!) that we were going to be shaken up and that I would be changing jobs. We were also, along with others, told that we would be moving out of the area – that one is the one thing we are awaiting but are prepared for when we get the nod.

When I lost my job through redundancy we both knew, independently of each other once again, that the following would occur:

  • The redundancy would be longer than I have ever known (we’ve always been blessed in that any unemployment has been no longer than 6 weeks or so in the past)
  • I would get my operation to remove the discs at C5/C6 & C6/C7
  • I would get time to recover
  • I would then get a job

Since being made redundant in July I have applied for over 100 jobs – and never even got a polite “thanks, but no thanks”. I’ve knocked on doors, sent off CVs and called in the hope of a position. Nada, nothing, nowt. It just wasn’t happening. I didn’t slack off I pushed *HARD* even applying for jobs the minute I got the email alert through (the weirdest one was at 2:30 in the morning!) – but the doors were not opening even a small bit.

I had my operation only just over 3 weeks ago (wow, it seems ages ago) and have fully recovered from it – even the scar tissue is healing in an amazing manner.

Now I have a job 🙂

Yup, you read that right. Just at the point I am able to drive again, feeling fully recovered and everything is sorted – I have been given a job. It’s at the only place to have offered me an interview and meets all that we have been looking for in a job. It’s a shorter commute (15 minutes), better pay and is a job that will allow me to grow in new areas professionally. With the decrease in travel we will also see a financial benefit as petrol costs will be more than halved, and insurance costs should come down as well.

I start my new job on Monday. It’s a crazy rollercoaster as we were expecting a situation where I would start in the new year, but this works out brilliantly for us as it allows me to re-integrate back into a working environment with the benefit of having bank holidays to enjoy as well.

All that God has told us would happen, has happened. My oft-quoted favourite bible passage, Jeremiah 29:11-13 (New Living Translation) says it all really:

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Obedience : The Sequel

The most spiritual place of the house.

The place where more close encounters of the God kind seem to occur.

The room that seems to resound with the call of The Spirit and where the clearest insights are received.

I do, of course, mean the bathroom!

Don’t ask me why but the bathroom seems to be the place where God will often grab me and where I will hear His voice clearer that anywhere else. Don’t think I’m insane in this either as I know I’m not the only one who finds this… it seems to be pretty well documented! Continue reading “Obedience : The Sequel”

Obedience

Oh-beeeeee-deeee-ents

No matter how you try to say it it’s not a pleasant word – or rather, the implications of the word can often be unpleasant.

So why the focus on that 4 syllable word you may ask? Those of you who follow me on twitter or on facebook will know that I received a phone call last Thursday whilst on holiday with my family (more of that in another post!) – the subject of that call was to notify me that due to a failure to get funding the company were making a bunch of us redundant with immediate effect, and that included me.

Not really the most pleasant of calls to receive on holiday but I can honestly say that we still managed to enjoy the rest of the break without letting it cast a shadow on our enjoyment – but that’s a sideline…

Obedience… that’s the reason I’m blogging.

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