Tag: rambling

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A Frantic Serenity

Frantically Serene

(Sadly I’m not talking about a rush to make more episodes of the total excellent and criminally cancelled Joss Whedon series!)

Swimming gracefully on the still waters of a Lake floats the swan – looking serene and peaceful as it loftily looks down on the activity going on around it. As we know though, this is an image that belies the true level of activity going on and is merely an illusion hiding the churning waters underneath. The swan is in fact paddling like mad.

Four days after all the surface chaos that was taking place to secure our new home (pending all surveys etc…) things would appear to be like the swan. We’re waiting for solicitors, surveys, mortgages etc with the whole process taking anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks.

Any rumours of being able to take a few days to relax, breathe, and catch up are greatly exaggerated as we have found that we are unbelivably frantic – sorting out schools (primary, secondary and 6th form), trying to collate a list of all the services etc that we’ll need to contact, filling in forms and paperwork a-plenty. Then there’s trying to enjoy the experience by planning how we can layout rooms, what decorating we can do and in what colours, and trying to fully engage and excite the kids so that they can make the most of this and can create fond memories of this time.

Tomorrow we’re taking them all to see the new house, the first time they will have seen their new rooms other than via pictures on rightmove. It should hopefully prove to be fun for them and will provide us with more of a chance to map out more of the house – all the essentials such as power sockets, tv points, telephone sockets (all important things for a geek like me :-D)

Soon, thoughts will turn to packing up what we have at home (having done a load of packing last year in order to de-clutter the house) and making plans for the logistics etc…

This swan is going to keep on swimming 🙂

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2012 – Prayer, Pride and Pauses

Hard to believe it, but we’re already half way through February 2013. It seems crazy that over 6 weeks have past since we bade a fond farewell to, quite probably, one of the most memorable and brilliant years in modern British history.

It was also a year that featured some major decisions as a family, and a frustrating delay.

With such an eventful year the only way to go about summarising it is to start at the very beginning (apparently it’s a very good place to start) – and probably jump about a bit along the way as well.

We went into 2012 knowing that we needed to look at moving house. With my job being over my comfortable commute time, it meant I was getting very tired during the week and not able to do much in the way of socialising in the evenings and the weekends were pretty much spent catching up on rest ahead of the next week of driving. The big question for us was “Where to?”

We’d prayed lots and looked at Google Maps plenty, before narrowing our search down to the west of Northampton – and specifically either Daventry or Rugby. As regular readers here will know we then proceeded to have some fun family weekends away to explore the area and the towns and to test-drive some local churches. Very quickly it became apparent to us that Rugby was where our next stop would be – there’s just something about it that felt right and it’s amazing how it feels like we’re going home when we visit. In fact, it feels so right that it genuinely hurts if we ever drive by there at the moment as we KNOW we should be living there.

So the house went on the market, following some hasty de-cluttering and re-decorating in some parts, and we started to explore houses on the market in Rugby. We even fell in love with a great house that was on the market for an amazing price and was perfect for us.

But it wasn’t meant to be, at least not straight away – we got to September and had to take the decision (due to schooling and exams etc) to pull off the market temporarily. We don’t know why we’ve had to hit “Pause” but we know there’s a reason and a purpose for it.

With the new year here it’s time to dust off the boxes, review “The Plan” and hit play again – let’s get the house on the Market and get moved!

A massively busy and intense, but wonderful and joyful, weekend in April featured not only my parents celebrating 40 years together but also my cute ickle baby bruvver tying the knot (at long last). It was a crazy hectic weekend but one that will definitely go down in the annals of Hartley history… just wish I’d had the courage to play the Hallelujah Chorus when the vicar announced “I now pronounce you man and wife”

2012 also featured London. A lot!!!

Beginning right in January with a trip to see “The Lion King” with the kids – an absolute joy and one that can be strongly recommended as it really is amazing.

With the uncertainty over house moves etc, we didn’t get any tickets for the Olympics – but we were glued to our TV set from first thing in the morning until well into the night, along with most of the country. We did manage to secure some amazing tickets to the Paralympics though – including a session in the stadium and a Park pass for the Olympic Park.

I said it numerous times on Facebook and Twitter during summer last year, but I have never felt so proud to be British in my life. I’ve always been patriotic, and unashamedly so, but last year we rose to the challenges of economic woes, of previous olympic games, and of previous successes – we rose and soared above and beyond. We didn’t try and pretend we weren’t who we are but we embraced our heritage, we grasped hold of our achievements and we then said “THIS is who we are!”

The Olympic tagline was “Inspire a generation” and there’s been much focus on wether or not there’s been an increase in sports take up since the games, but to my mind that is a very narrow minded view. Did the games inspire people to be proud of who we are? did the athletes inspire people to achieve goals and never give up? did the gamesmakers show that we can have a community spirit and that it’s a positive thing?

To top off our London festival, me and Mrs H had a nice weekend getaway which saw us taking our time around Stratford Westfield (and boy was it odd seeing the Olympic Park in a quiet state and with some bits being dismantled), wandering around London itself and taking in some gorgeous sights and sounds, and then going to see Rock of Ages at the theatre. With unbelievably wonderful company I can honestly say it was a brilliant weekend. The show was beyond excellent – getting the audience involved, ad-libbing and improvising (at one point to the intense blushes of the lead actor), and rocking out to some seriously classic ’80s rock anthems.

There was loads of other bits’n’pieces going on – but a lot of stuff got put on hold whilst we waited to see what the house situation was going to look like.

And that, in a nutshell, was 2012. A year that taught us frustration and patience in equal measure, and had us seeking God more than ever for direction, wisdom, and guidance. There were (and still are) challenges and trials, but there was a lot of joy and celebration. Looking back I think it’s safe to say that we all grew during the year, as we faced the imapct of our decisions and the subsequent delays – and I firmly believe we’re all the better for it. I don’t know why we didn’t move last year, we may never know, but we still came through it with resolve and conviction.

A pretty good year when all is said and done!

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Legends, Lessons and a Lyrical Life

It was sad to hear the news that Robin Gibb had passed away at the weekend, succumbing to the cancer and related illnesses that had affected him recently. As part of the Bee Gees, his influence on music in the latter quarter of the 20th century cannot be underestimated or dismissed with several commentators and contemporaries saying they are second only to The Beatles.

Last night we sat and watched the excellent “One Night Only” on the Bio channel, a recording of a ’97 Vegas concert featuring most of their big hits. I was pleased to see that my 15-year old daughter was aware of some of their music and actually knew some of the tunes.

But that just made me think… if kids are taught art, English literature and similar at school then shouldn’t there also be space somewhere for learning to appreciate music and to at least give them a bit of an appetite for the legacy of music instead of the plastic pop and manufactured “celebrities” that they idolise.

Why not teach some of the main classical pieces? Introduce them to blues and jazz, take them through the history of Rock’n’Roll and pop music. Teach them to understand the cultural significances, the lyrical and music complexities and beauty, the lives that led to the great songs and symphonies.

Why not have lessons listening to Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Handel, Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Abba, Nirvana, the Specials, Dylan and more. Put the music into context within history and help them to learn history in that way, by associating music to events. Let the music tell the story.

And, you never know, it may just be that legends will live on and that a new generation of musicians will rise up and compose the next great songs to inspire a generation whilst having a greater understanding of world history and social changes.

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Lost in translation.

It’s such a famous passage: “They that wait upon The Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 King James Bible)

I’ve always read it as a call to rest, be quiet, wait… and then the strength will come and I will rise up, run, walk. I’ve always heard it preached that way and never really given it much thought. We all know it, we sing songs based on it, and surely we understand it.

Last night I had an OUCH moment. One of those times when the Word of God hits you in such a way that you wince at the impact of it. It makes you cringe as you reflect the word upon your own life. You squirm at the implications for how you proceed.

I was listening to Pastor Steven Furtick and he turned the verse on it’s head saying that to “wait” doesn’t mean stopping, it means the same thing as a waiter waiting on tables… serving.

“What we call Patience, God often calls Procrastination.” was one soundbite from the sermon.

OUCH.

That hurt. How many times have I “waited on God” before acting? How many times could I have been stepping out in faith, getting on with the job and believing that Gods strength would come, that His wisdom would be known as I too a leap of faith. How many times have I sat on my backside when I could have been seeking God through action.

Now I don’t take such radical shifts in the way the bible is interpreted at face value… so I did some digging into the different translations of this verse to see what they said:

  • “But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary.They will walk and not faint.” (New Living Translation)
  • “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wingsand mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” (Amplified)
  • “But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.” (Contemporary English Version)
  • “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (New International Version)

Don’t get me wrong, there are times we need to STOP. To wait on God. To refresh and recharge. Even the most enthusiastic and energetic of Christians need to stop sometimes or risk burning out. There are times when God needs to speak to us in the silence and the calm, to ensure He has our full attention and that we aren’t so distracted by DOING that we aren’t LISTENING.

But it’s also been a far too convenient excuse. It’s been so easy to accept that I need to “wait” and not “do”.

I wonder… how much further would I be if I’d mounted up on wings like eagles? if I’d run and trusted that God would provide the strength?

Yes, there’s always grace – but there are also seasons, and I suspect there have been some that I’ve missed because I’ve been sat on my blessed assurance with a holy face on. Hopefully now I might just be a bit more proactive and less procastinatory (is that even a word?!?)

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The human cocoon

2012 is quite a year in so many historic ways. We’re hosting the Olympics which, no matter your political inclinations and views, is a huge honour and responsibility. HRH Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 60 years as our monarch, becoming only the second in British history to have achieved this milestone. My baby brother is getting married at long last and my parents are celebrating 40 years of marriage.

But it’s not just the events that are happening this year that make it historic for me. 2012 also marks the 20th anniversary of some huge milestones in my personal life:

  • It was the year we left Germany, after a 5 year stint (and a prior 3 1/2 year posting there.
  • It was the year I “re-invented” myself
  • It was the year God started to give me a heart for a small, historical, market town and the people who live there
  • It was the year I first met the girl I was going to end up marrying
  • and so much more…

Although the move from Germany was the major catalyst for what lay ahead, the real key “first-domino” that put my feet on a path I would tread was the whole business of re-inventing myself.

Those who knew me before and after the change can testify to the change in me, I became a completely different person in so many ways. I made a determined decision to use the change of scenery to rewrite my own view of myself, and therefore the way that everyone else would know me.

The analogy that best fits, and was often used, is that of the caterpillar breaking out of the cocoon and becoming the butterfly it was destined to become. That analogy is limited in some ways though as, whilst it does encapsulate what happened, it almost implies a one-off event rather than a step (albeit a hugely significant one) in the journey that is my life.

It’s almost like we, as humans, will periodically wrap ourselves in a cocoon to emerge later as the newest version of ourselves. Still who we were but changed in a significant way.

Sometimes that change is a negative time, as if we wrap ourselves up and come out with the muted tones of a moth rather than the brightness and splendour of a glorious butterfly. Most times though it’s a time when we are re-formed into something brighter and better.

The cocoon period might be a prolonged process as circumstances take hold, as God works within us, as we come to terms with the realisation of impending change. It might be a shorter process, maybe even overnight. But when we emerge, we’re different and those around us notice.

The thing about the cocoon moments is that they don’t always tie in with major life events such as marriage, children arriving, job changes, family deaths etc. They can catch us out, and can simply be as a result of us being in an environment where we’ve been fed, grown, matured and changed. The can also occur when we’ve been cut down, weakened, battered, pushed beyond our limits and shaken beyond what we feel capable of handling.

As I look at the last 20 years my cocoon moments have included a mix of good and bad: re-inventing myself, losing faith, prodigals return to name but three. Looking back, I am completely different to the Me Version 2.0 that I launched in 1992, there was a dodgy release 3.0 but version 4.0 is looking far more promising and I really wouldn’t be surprised to discover a version 5.0 coming up in the next year or few.

If you think back upon your own life what would your “cocoon moments” be? Are your butterfly wings bright and colourful right now or are you in a moth-phase. Wherever you are, whatever stage you’re in, I pray that you will experience a new cocoon full of colour, splendour, joy and wonder.