Category: General

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What a load of waffle

Wow. I can sure spout enough waffle can’t I. Just gone back through the archives here and discovered that this incarnation of the blog is now just over 5 years old! Tempus Fugit.

It’s the good thing about keeping a blog, this ability to go back and read what was running through my mind and what was grabbing my attention at any point. Of course, that relies on me keeping the blog fresh and up to date – there are some notable instances in the past 5 years where that hasn’t happened but I am getting better.

So what prompted the time travel excursion through the brain dumps of my mind? Well, I was going to build a page that linked all the articles I’ve done regarding our house move saga. It’s been a huge part of our life, and purpose, for so many years now and the journey leading up to where we are today has been fascinating (well, from my perspective anyway) in the way the God has worked our roots loose ready for transplanting in a new location.

What I wasn’t fully prepared for was the sheer number of posts, the length of them (I told you I can waffle!), and the time period they covered. It’s been a LONG road – and it’s not yet done!

I’ve gained quite a few new readers since we began on this journey, so not everyone has been with us since the start and don’t know the full story. With that in mind I’m going to do a recap post I think – one that summarises the story so far and gives a bit more insight into the overall saga.

The other thing that’s become rather obvious, as I’ve trawled through the library of my life, is that there are subjects I don’t write about enough whilst there are others that deserve a higher prominence here. So over the coming weeks I’m going to do a bit of tweaking in regards to the categories, tags and overall structure of the blog(as time and house move allows – although this will probably be my therapy away from it all.) There’s also a chance that this will lead to a few tweaks in the layout and in the way that I highlight key posts.

The other thing I’d love to do is make it easier for folks to comment, without leaving myself open to spam. I’d really love to get peoples responses to posts and to get a feel for how people are connecting with us. Not sure how I’m going to manage that one…

Anyway, to sum up: There’s going to be a “journey so far” post coming very soon, I’m going to be fiddling with things so there may well be some changes coming, and I’d really love to hear your thoughts and responses to the articles I post here!

Keep’em peeled folks 🙂

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Wake up and smell the Petrol

The testing is done. The wait is nearly over. The lights on the gantry will soon be flashing – 1,2,3,4,5….

Oh yes folks, the F1 season is so tantalisingly close it’s almost within touching distance. If that’s not enough, there’s the start of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) this weekend at Monza. Woo Hoo!

Now, irrespective of whether or not you feel let down by the BBC over the whole F1 coverage farce – the fact is that we now have 2 big players in the world of F1 coverage this year. Sky bring their usual big, brash and huge-budget approach to the table whilst the BBC will endeavour to deliver the intimate, personable, approach that has endeared them to millions of fans. The team we have grown to love over the past 3 season has split over the two channels, giving room for some great motorsports commentators and experts to step into the limelight (Crofty, Ben Edwards, Gary Anderson to name but three) – and that gives the fans possibly the biggest challenge… who to watch?

When the races aren’t live on the beeb, it’s a straightforward answer – Sky of course. But when both channels have the race… that’s a toughie. I really like Martin Brundles commentary, and Crofty is brilliant… but likewise, I really like Ben Edwards (having listened to him do BTCC for years now) and DC was a great “expert voice” in the box. Jake, EJ and DC make for a brilliant anchoring trio and feel like you could sit down with them and just have a laugh… Sky, well we don’t know yet but it’s likely to be a bit more sterile I suspect but with plenty of flash, resources, presence and quite probably with more access that the BBC have had (money opens many doors!)

The beeb will be keeping the only true F1 theme tune, whilst Sky have gone with a rather more sedate affair (I seriously hope it’s a grower as it definitely lacks punch and presence.) There’s also the fact that the F1 forum has been a true gem of broadcasting, giving a lot of insight into the drivers and teams as well as giving them all a bit of personality – something that the formal interviews and press conferences can strip away.

Practice sessions are less of a conflict, with Crofty and Ant Davidson doing the honours for Sky I really can’t see any competition coming from 5Live with James Allen and Jaime Alguersuari (who really deserves a race seat, not a box seat!)

One thing that Sky do offer, that the BBC cannot compete with, is the added coverage. Being on a dedicated channel there is so much scope for analysis, insight, features, history and much more.

No matter where we end up on race day, one thing is for sure – it’ll be great to have F1 back and, despite our daughters wish to see less F1 (she’s even suggested we skip it this year!!!) I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more of the sport rather than less.

I can’t wait!

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Slavery didn’t end 200 years ago–it’s happening TODAY


TWENTY SEVEN MILLION.

I can’t make that number sound as big as it is. It’s a number that’s so big that we can’t visualise it.

If we counted 1 per second it would take 7500 hours to count. That’s 312 1/2 days. Nearly a year of counting 1 every second.

T W E N T Y  S E V E N  M I L L I O N

That’s roughly how many people are in slavery today. Human trafficking is huge business. It’s worth BILLIONS of dollars per year.

It’s not just happening in Africa, or Eastern Europe. It’s not just happening in the Middle East or Asia. It’s happening HERE. On our doorsteps.

Kids sold by their families into slavery, either for labour or the sex trade. Kids stolen, kidnapped, taken to a life that is literally hell on earth. They are sold promises of a bright future, of helping their impoverished families, of getting a new life that offers hope and life – they end up in a soul-destroying world that removes their humanity, silences their voices and makes them disappear.

IT MUST STOP NOW!

We need to be a voice. We need to be the restorers of humanity. We need to BE the change in the world that truly and utterly destroys this evil trade. Whether you have a faith or not – this transcends spirituality and speaks to our humanity. We ALL need to be crying out for the one person every thirty seconds who is sold into slavery, who is trafficked into a life of hell.

LZ7 and Matt Redman, along with Matts wife Beth, are working to raise the profile of this issue in the UK. There’s a single out NOW on iTunes and they are speaking out whenever and wherever they can. They are a handful of voices, shouting out in the UK… and we, if we want to truly be considered good human beings, MUST join the shout. They are partnering with the A21 Campaign, an international body working to end human trafficking and to shine a spotlight on the horrific industry that is so prevalent in our world.

It can’t be optional. It really can’t. If we are silent on this then we are condemning these millions to the lives they are trapped in. We have got to join the cry of an outraged nation and be vocal.

You might think that one voice can’t make a difference – but if you tell 3 friends, who then tell three more each then that’s 10 of you aware. Multiply that. Post it on Twitter and Facebook and see your friends respond, GET THEM to respond. One voice can lead to a thousand, who can lead to a million. It’s not that big a stretch of the imagination to think of this being shouted out in the media, in parliament, in the UN.

Visit the A21 website to get ideas on how you can get involved. Tell your friends. Tell your MP. Tell your pastors, your teachers, your neighbours, your colleagues. Buy the single and get the song played out across all radio stations and on the TV.

Watch the two videos below and please, TAKE A STAND.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ15rbJUnNM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1pthSgxTC0[/youtube]

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The worst time of year to be a petrolhead.

The off-season for motorsports is always a barren time for petrolheads, the withdrawal symptoms driving many true fans to extraordinary lengths to simply get a second of the glorious engine note that can only come from a finely-tuned piece of engineering being thrashed to within a hairs-width of its tolerances. With the faffing around and shambolic handling of the WRC this year, there’s even been uncertainty over getting a fix of dirt and gravel action.

Football fans get their beloved sport pretty much all year round thanks to friendlies, tournaments, internationals etc so don’t truly appreciate how bad it is for us. There is no F1, no MotoGP, no Touring Cars and no WRC this year (well, there is but it’s pot luck on the coverage) – yeah there’s NASCAR but you have to pay for that, and even American friends we know admit that watching it on TV can cause a strong desire to watch some paint dry. It’s a different matter being there, and I’ve always said I’d like to experience a NASCAR event for real to get that sense of atmosphere, excitement and thrill that people enjoy.

What is it about the thought of motor vehicles being pushed to their limits? It’s the sound, that rasping sound of internal combustion and the vibrations you get in your chest as a car (or bike) shoots past. It’s the smells, being at a racetrack and getting that whiff of oil, carbon, petrol. It’s the thrill of seeing people pushing finely engineered machines to their limits. It’s the technology and the engineering itself, the genius of design and science with the best engineering solutions that exist. It’s the whole package.

The petrol withdrawal symptoms are so bad that F1 testing (yes, TESTING) is marked on calendars, counted down to, and then followed on Twitter, Autosport, blogs and more with a level of enthusiasm that is almost embarrassing in its anorak-yness (hey, a new word!)

What’s truly sad about testing is that it doesn’t tell you anything. The times are often irellevant as each team is doing different test programmes. The cars that have just been launched will bear little resemblance to the cars that will turn up for the first race (due to the endless push for performance, and the perpetual air of paranoia) so you can’t even get a full picture of what the cars are going to look like. Yes, you get a rough idea as a cars appearance will rarely change drastically but the front wing will change, the rear wing will likely change, elements on the bodywork will change, the diffuser may well change and so on.

The biggest sadness of this all, is that I am one of these people. I’m counting down to the first race in Australia. I’m looking forward to seeing what Sky are going to bring to F1 coverage. I’m following all the tests. I check Autosport more times a day than I check any other site (except twitter, but I use an app for that and that’s primarily to get the latest motorsports news the instant it’s out there!)

Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Mr Hartley and… I am a petrolhead.

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And the next destination on life’s journey is….

To be revealed as you read on 😀

Regular readers of this little corner of the blogosphere will know that we feel God has been preparing us to move for a few years now. I heard a great analogy the other day that God sometimes lets us know his intentions early enough that our roots, like those of a tree being moved, are gently shaken loose and worked free to make the replanting elsewhere an easier and less harmful activity.

The preparation time came to a head late last year and we felt that God had fired the starters’ pistol triggering much prayer, soul-searching and deep-thinking.

As we looked on the invaluable Google Maps/Earth, we very much felt drawn towards the Rugby and Daventry area. It was almost as if the map dimmed slightly and that area was lit. As we looked around at several areas surrounding my workplace, there were no churches that seemed to draw us in and nowhere else seemed to sit right.

After the dust of the chaotic Christmas period had settled, we quickly decided to spend a couple of weekends exploring both Daventry and Rugby. Looking at the areas, the facilities, the Churches and getting a feel for where we thought God was calling us to. It was also a chance for the kids to get a chance to have a look and get an idea themselves as it’s important to us that they are included in the process – God isn’t just calling me and Mrs H, He’s calling us all as a family and it is imperative that the kids all get their say in where they feel comfortable, excited, at home.

This weekend that has just gone saw the second of our “explorations” completed, covering Daventry after visiting Rugby the week before.

It’s amazing how God works. It really is. He can change hardened hearts, open blinded eyes and bring about a unity of purpose. Praying that 5 people ( of ages 7,10,14 and 30+) would find themselves with a desire to move to the same place and the same church, and that we’d all feel a sense of excitement about it, sounds a bit like herding cats… but our Father is the Great Shepherd and even cats cannot escape when He wants them herding into one place!

And so we find ourselves, after the 2 weekends, with a unified view of where we want to be and a genuine feeling of anticipation and adventure.

Do you think I’ve procrastinated enough? Are those cries of “Just get on with it and tell us where” that I can hear from you dear reader? I know, I’m really dreadful at making important announcements – I love to waffle and then suddenly drop in to the conversation that we’ll be moving to Rugby at some point in the near future. It’s so easy for me to talk and talk and casually drop it in so that the casual reader (or listener) misses the big announcement.

In case you missed it there – yes I did say that we will be moving to RUGBY.

There’s a lot to happen before we actually move there but we all had the same feeling that Rugby is right. The Church there is welcoming, spirit-filled and comes across as having a great heart for God, for His plans and for His vision. There’s loads there for the kids as they grow up and there’s so much regeneration and rebuilding work happening around the town that we really had the sense of Potential in the whole adventure. Potential in Rugby, potential in the Church, potential for us as a family.

It’s a strange feeling or, to be more accurate, spectrum of feelings. There’s excitement at the thought of what we’re heading into, relief that we now know where we’re going, nerves about the road ahead, and sorrow at what we’re leaving behind. The fact is that this has been building up now for the last few years, and we’re finally at the point of starting to fulfil that sense of purpose.

Now, where’s that mile long to-do list gone?!?