One of the most glorious features of the past two weeks has been the three visits from lovely, London-related friends. It was such a blessing that they would come, that they would choose to spend time here in this lovely but entirely unfamiliar city, and that they would feign interest in my dubious yet enthusiastic tourist guiding (“Look! Let’s stop and watch that bus trying to fit through those towers)…

This is a good place to visit. There are many lovely coffee shops, there is the beach, only a stones throw away, and many other delights. I have loved catching up with people I really care about, people I miss hugely – in this strange in-between season where I haven’t quite managed to convince myself that this is not a holiday, that I really can’t jump on a bus to their house for an spontaneous sausage sandwich… It was great to catch up.

This week, which heralds the celebration of a full four weeks here, has been great so far. Yesterday, I felt like a real student when we all got kicked out of our seminar for not having read the text (We’re all sure she didn’t tell us to). I spent some time hanging out with a good friend from my course, then we went back to my house and drank tea (surely doing much damage to the myth that I am engaging in any sort of student hedonism. It’s all tea and early nights here). Then my lovely house companions made yummy salmon, and we had rhubarb crumble (no supernoodles for me!!).

Today, I am in the library studying… studying not blogging… Must. Do. Work.

But I did want to tell two stories that impacted me from the weekend. On Saturday, myself and my two lovely friends caught a bus to the seaside. It’s only a short journey, probably fifteen minutes or so, and I just happened to sit on the outside, nearest to the other passengers. I got talking to a lovely lady called Ann (or maybe Anne… it makes me feel sad that I don’t know how it is spelt). Ann was telling me about her journey, about how she’d spent two hours on a bus to get to the seaside for a day, how it was the only outing she’d had for a while, and that she so missed being around people, so talking to me on the bus made her day. It was one of those conversations – we talked about the weather, the bus (which had just been involved in a minor collision), the election, the state of the nation, her family… I could tell that she was really lonely, and I really wanted to spend more time with her, to hear her story. It made me think about how I take contact and interaction for granted, I speak to people all the time, I have countless coffee meetings each week, and yet Ann had noone to talk to at all. It made me think about London, and how noone talks to anyone on buses there (except when it snows, or when there is a national emergency)… it made me want to keep my eyes open for more lonely people on buses who could just do with an inconsequential natter. It’s made me think twice about plugging my headphones in and withdrawing from the world around me this week for sure.

I hope Ann had a nice time at the beach. I hope she enjoyed her tuna sandwiches. I’m praying that she gets to enjoy the beauty of community back where she lives, that someone will draw alongside her and just listen. Bless her.

My other story involves scones, and was probably the funniest thing that happened to us on Saturday. We had decided that a perfect accoutrement to tea would be scones, with jam and cream (refer to my earlier point about the lack of hedonism), and so had proudly snaffled some before we left seaside-land. The purchase itself had been amusing, because my friends choose the wise option of a pack of scones reduced to 72p, while I viewed this with a certain suspicion. Anyway, we got home and decided to have a brief break. My friends went to have a snooze, while I went on a trip to the supermarket to procure some clotted cream.

I got back, to find a scene of carnage in the kitchen. Dogs are lovely, but they seem to have no food-related decorum (at least the dogs in question, anyhow). All that was left of the scones were some ripped up cellophane, and a smattering of crumbs strewn liberally around. I think they had enjoyed the feast (not minding that the scones were short-dated it seems). I stood there for a while, holding the now-redundant clotted-cream, wondering what to do.

This is where my friends husband saves the day. He decided to make us some new scones, and glorious they were. There were bacon and red onion scones, with special homemade maple chutney, and then normal scones, with fab raspberry jam. We feasted… and the dogs got none. We decided to take it as a spiritual lesson  – that when stuff gets stolen, God always has better in store!

I think that’s all my stories for today… Back to Doctor Faustus then!

It’s been a busy few weeks. In fact I’m not really sure how it got to be August… strange that. And the weather has turned distinctly autumnal, so I’m beginning to think that summer has entirely passed me by this year…

I’ve been to some lovely places recently. I went on a three-day retreat down to Penhurst, which is near Battle, in Sussex. I so needed some time out to think and process, and the retreat was perfect for this. There was a little bit of led teaching, and then lots of space for reflection. To begin with, I was like ‘How on earth do I fill all this space?’ but by the last day I had chilled out and was feeling like I could have stayed for another three days at least!

The other women on the retreat were all from missionary contexts, so I loved hearing their stories (I now know more about Ameobic Dysentry than I ever thought possible). It was so good to share meals and to share life together, and we built up a real sense of cameraderie and community. The days started and ended with prayers in the little chapel, following celtic daily readings, which I found a real blessing.

Getting back to London was a real culture shock. It was all so noisy and crowded after the tranquility of the countryside. I really wanted to try and hold on to that peaceful space inside of me, even though everything seemed to crowd back around.

A few days later I was heading south again to visit a friend. I got to see the sea again, to feel the breeze on my face (and to eat the yummiest raspberry meringue pavlova in the world). I had a lovely day.

And then there was Stourbridge (which is in the West Midlands). I was there to do some summer school teaching, for the first stop of what will turn into a bit of a scenic UK tour. The next few weeks see me taking in Dorset, Chingford, Scarborough, Hastings, Belfast, Uppingham and Wokingham… it’s gonna be fun!

Apart from the travel, there is much else to keep me occupied. I have a couple of cleaning jobs now, so I can regularly be found decked out in attractive tracksuit bottoms and rubber gloves regularly… so much for glamour!

Church has shut down for the summer, so there’s just prayer meetings and Sunday services going on… it’s all very weird, tougher than I could have imagined. We’re all still reeling. I’m wondering when I’m going to stop being in denial. So much is changing.

Work is a bit mad, we’re having a big move-around on our floor, with people from another office coming to join us, so it’s meant lots of cupboard sorting, and lots of shredding! I’ve learned I am bad at filing, bored by mandane tasks, but excellent at throwing stuff away (especially if it’s stuff that needs keeping but I don’t know where to put it… whoops).

I’ve been reading a lot too – I enjoyed ‘A thousand Spendid Suns’, which is about two women and their lives growing up in Afghanistan. I’ve also been wading through ‘The Time Travellers Wife’, which I found a little confusing. Oh, and someone brought me back a copy of Rob Bell’s latest book ‘Drops Like Stars’, from the New Wine conference… it really is amazing, in fact I think I should post seperately about it. It’s a big, hardback book, with beautiful design work and engaging content, all about the link between creativity and suffering – a pertinent theme.

Apart from all the mad travelling, the next few weeks involve some more cleaning, some inspiring meetings and some visits from friends I haven’t seen in a while. At least life isn’t boring!

Today’s news is great, they are planning on letting Jo out of hospital next Tuesday (23rd June), after treating a minor infection she has.

Once she is home she’ll need time to rest and get her strength back and adjust to normal life again.

God has answered the prayers of his people again and again in this stuff. When we think about how things looked just two weeks ago it’s hardly seems possible that so much progress has been made. Back then, we hardly dared hope, and our prayers seemed weak faced with the medical facts. Sixteen days on from when it happened, I think we’ve all been encouraged and reminded again of God’s power to heal.

We’ve also felt overwhelmed and blessed by the responses of people across the Uk and the world, it’s been amazing that this has drawn so many people together. Unity and a passion for prayer are two of Jo’s greatest goals, and this is an example of God bringing something good and praiseworthy out of what has been a traumatic and testing time.

Prayer points for today:

• Please pray that the infection clears up well over the next few days.
• Please pray for Jo as she prepares to leave hospital next week.
• Please continue to pray for strength for the whole Norton family at this time.

Thanks lovely people!!

What a lot can happen in a week! We were musing last night that, just seven days ago, life looked very different. This morning I’m thinking that, last Wednesday, things just looked pretty dire and hopeless, but from here we have so much to be thankful for. God has answered our prayers beyond what we could have hoped, he has brought hope and healing, and he is even working through what look like complications and set-backs. We remain faithful.

Today’s news is positive, and a testimony to the many, many prayers that have been offered for Jo.

Yesterday they took Jo’s nose-tube (I’m sure that’s not the technical term for it…) out, which made her much more comfortable. They also moved her off ICU onto a high dependancy ward. This is great news. Originally they were talking about her having to stay in ICU for a whole week after surgery, so this is fantastic progress.

Her face has started to swell up, which is a normal result of the surgery she had, and she is very bruised and tired, but everything is on course and she is in good spirits.

Some prayer points for today:

• Please continue to pray that the muslin acting as a cap to the aneurysm bonds well, and that the whole area heals well and quickly.
• Please pray for energy and strength for Jo, and that she settles into the new ward well.
• Please pray for the Norton kids – Ben, Sam and Ruth. They’re doing well  but it has been a lot of stress for them.
• Alan had his bike stolen yesterday, which is just rubbish and bad timing – he uses it a lot. Please pray for him, for strength and energy and that he will know God’s sustaining and provision through this time.

Thanks everyone for your support, comments, prayers and the unity of prayer and community we have experienced over the last seven days.

Thanks everyone for the faith filled prayers for Jo’s healing. Many people prayed and fasted yesterday, we’re grateful to you all.

The news post-op is that Jo has come out of the surgery well. She was chatting and moving all her limbs yesterday which is great and an answer to those prayers for safety etc.

She has a headache but is bright and hopeful.

The surgeons could not actually clip the aneurysm, as it was too close to certain other blood vessels and they would have risked inducing a stroke.

As plan B, they covered it in a mesh which should promote scar tissue to act as the cap.

We need to pray that this bonds it well and that natural healing processes take their course.

Please continue to pray for Jo – that the mesh bonds well, that there are no further complications and that she continues to improve.

Please also pray for strength for the whole Norton family at this time. Ruth has important exams next week, so please pray for her in those, especially.

Thanks for all your support, love and prayers. God is faithful.

Just a short post to thank everyone for your continued and faithful prayer support. We have been overwhelmed, encouraged and amazed as we have seen God answering our prayers, and those of people from across the UK and the world.

The latest news has been really positive. Jo was bright and chatty Friday and Saturday, even cracking some jokes, and yesterday she managed two meals. It’s also been a blessing to hear her testifying that God is bigger than this situation, and to see how her strong faith is carrying her through. I saw Jo briefly on Friday evening, and she looked remarkably well considering.

The doctors say that 50% of people who experience the same thing die instantly, and only 20% of the remainder reach the point she has, so it’s incredible how well she is.

The next time when prayer cover is especially needed is tomorrow morning, when Jo will have an operation to clamp the bleed. Please pray:

- That the anaesthetisation etc will go well and that Jo will feel peaceful about it.

- That the surgery will go as planned, that there will be no complications, and that they will be able to clamp the bleed.

- For strength and swift healing for Jo in the days following the op, she will likely be in intensive care for a couple of weeks following the surgery.

- For the whole Norton family – for peace, strength, and a real awareness of the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

We gathered as a church community this morning for worship as usual, and again noted the value and strength of community, of holding each other up, of praying in unity together. We thought about the ways God uses suffering for good, and considered how to have faith during the hard times, a pertinent message for us all. At the end of the service we sang the song ‘In Christ Alone’. I don’t think I’ve ever sang, or heard that song sung with such gusto. In Him our hope is found. In Him we find strength for tomorrow. In Him we believe for full healing for Jo.

On Saturday 2nd May, fresh from our Durham trip, we found ourselves in the creative quarter of Birmingham, setting up for the UK Territory’s first ‘Fullness Retreat’.

These retreats were first pioneered in the USA Eastern Territory, they basically involve a room, plenty of coffee, and a bunch of hungry people waiting to meet with God.

We set the room up with some prayer focuses, some art space and lots of comfy corners for people to do business with the good Lord.

At midday, people started arriving from far flung corners of the UK (like Bristol and Banbury). There were about sixty of us in total, as well as 50 others who couldn’t be there in person, but were kept in the loop with live text updates, and who prayed alongside and fed back prophetic words and pictures they received.

So what did we do? We fasted; we worshipped by singing, by praying loud, and by mumbling quiet praise. We listened to fab, inspired teaching about fasting and prayer, and then went off on our own for a bit to meet with God. We listened to him and shared what he spoke to us about the Salvation Army in the UK, and we chatted in groups about the exciting things God is doing around the country. We prayed for the new Directors of ALOVE (The SA’s Youthwork expression), and we doused each other in anointing oil (which was probably perfume). We painted on the walls, and danced about, and made things with clay. It was great.

And what did God do? Well, he showed up! It was so weird, in that the location was, to put it politely, intriguing. It had been a nightclub venue the night before, so it was all a little sticky, and on the Saturday night it morphed into a nightclub venue one more. We were praying alongside a sound check playing hardcore trance for a bit, and the whole place felt quite soulless and sad, but after a bit of praise and worship, our little area felt warm and transformed. The walls were made of cold white breezeblock, but soon heartfelt prayers and prophetic pictures danced across them, bringing a real life and vibrancy to the place.

The stories coming out of the weekend are exciting. People heard God speak about new directions for their lives. Others encountered the healing power of his Spirit. Some made new commitments and for many the passion for prayer was fuelled and revived. It felt like a line in the sand, one of those weekends you look back on and say ‘that was significant.’

The stuff God said was amazing too. I was awed that you could ask 60 people to listen to God and they would come out with pretty much consistent stuff. There were some common themes – the call to holiness, our mandate to partner God in

setting the captives free, the heart cry to see the Salvation Army become all that God intends, the need to make costly sacrifice, to lay down what is passable and strive for the best.

The bit that was most powerful for me happened on Sunday morning, when we split into two groups, and the ‘parent generations’ spoke words of blessing and affirmation over our generations. It was a powerful and releasing moment.

I loved the conversations over coffee, the undercurrent of excitement that came from giving 24 hours over to God like that, the sense of solidarity in knowing that we were ‘going without’ as a corporate body, in order to find a new place of intimacy with him. I loved the sense of corporate responsibility, the sense that sixty people gathering like that really could make a massive difference.

And the conversations since the weekend have been inspiring. It’s been fab to open my emails of a morning and read more stuff that God has been saying to people, new ideas for going deeper in prayer, and feedback from those who were challenged and inspired. It seems that this was not just another event, but something that was and will continue to be catalytic for prayer in the Salvation Army.

So it’s a watch this space thing I think!!

This weekend held all the glorious components that a weekend should, in my humble opinion. I have arrived at the end of it feeling like much was experienced and much was achieved and much fun was had in the process.

It started well on Friday, with an amusing train journey southwards. Then a jolly taxi driver took us to the glories of the second ‘tat for tat’ party. This time there were lots of people and much more tat. In fact it took about 3 hours to work through it all. My haul of tat (so much for spring cleaning and minimising) was as follows:

• 4 books
• A roman bath sponge
• 2 bags of mongolian wooden animals
• A purple and gold cushion
• a garland of paper flowers
• a wire photoframe
• a dangly 5 photo holder
• a pair of faith sandals
• Some posh cleanser and body lotion
• Some more body lotion
• 8 bags of small beads
• a little star ornament
• A mug with pink roses on
• Some purple hand and bath towels

So all that was very lovely and impressive. I learned some important things too, like (from a good friend) the dangers of drinking tequila before attending a tat party – “oooh yes I’d love that silver handbag” and (from a new acquaintance) the need to be selective about which tat to opt for – “I’m sure my dad would love a new corner shelf”… pure entertainment!

Saturday dawned bright and sunny and was welcomed in the only proper way – with breakfast in Starbucks. I had toasted fruit bread whilst my esteemed companion checked out the brand spanking new chocolate muffins and a strawberry yoghurt. We mused together, putting the world to rights and laughing about the joys and complexities of life. And then spent a while wandering the sunny streets, before we both decided that a sausage sandwich was necessary. The sandwich in question was everything a sausage sandwich should be – thick white bread, brown sauce, well-cooked sausages sliced lengthways… it was bliss.

The next phase of the day was spent walking to the house of some other good friends, who live in a small village. In fact that doesn’t do it justice… they live in the most beautiful village I have seen in a long  old time, but I’ll return to that in a minute.

The walk there was lovely too – just over three miles, in blazing (but not burning) sunshine. Fields and sheep and bluebells and trees. I did however learn that three miles in London is nothing in terms of walking (I’ve done about 25 miles this past week), but three miles through the English countryside is a little more challenging. I realised I have become quite city-fied at the point where the pavement ran out after about a mile and there was just road. I stopped, momentarily flummoxed, but then I dredged up from somewhere in my mind that you were allowed to walk on the edge of roads in the countryside, and that the correct etiquette for doing so was to keep right and face the oncoming traffic. Anyway, I didn’t die, and it was lovely and scenic!

Once I had recovered from my orienteering, we drank tea and ate yummy homemade profiteroles. Then we chatted about multitudinous exciting future plans. After this, I was treated to a scenic tour of aforementioned gorgeous village. I saw the community orchard (where village residents are allowed to pick fruit in the autumn), an amazing water mill, some huge geese sitting in someones front garden (Guard-dogs are so last century…) and countless picturesque cottages. We wandered through some woods down to the clearest stream I’d seen for ages, (I so wanted to paddle) and then back (getting momentarily lost in a nettle field in the process which made it all the more fun!). Then we explored the tiny village church, having been let in by the sweetest, kindest (and probably oldest) church warden I’ve ever seen. Back out into the sunshine we peered through the bowed beams of a real live Tithe Barn with a thatched roof, I’d never seen one before. We both commented that it’d be an ace place for a reception. Then it was back, past more lovely flowers and herbs, with a quick peek into the quaint (but well stocked) village store, and a quick scan of the minutes of the last parish council meeting (where the ’scourge of water voles’ was discussed at length). Genius.

After this, and another cuppa, we headed back and I found my way to a chugging train which brought me safely back to the buzzing metropolis. I unpacked and adored my tat acquisitions a little before heading to bed.

Today has held the usual mix of church, awesome roast dinner with friends, and then youth group. It’s been a nice day, and I’m looking forward to the week ahead

I feel a bit bad that most of these aren’t Holy Week related, they just happened to happen in Holy Week. Anyway….

1) Yarns

I randomly banged into a friend… I happened to be at a Mainline London station at a loose end and she happened to be in a road about 100 metres away. Since we live 70 miles apart this was a feat. I went to meet her at this amazing knit shop, where they had this amazing knitting group, and lots of amazing yarn. I loved the different textures and colours and patterns, I loved meeting random people and talking about everything from Harry Potter socks to what you could knit with Possom wool. I will definitely go back (even if just to pick up Rainbow coloured Schoppel Wolle Zauberball for said friend ).

That leads me onto point 2:

2) Giraffes

Not real ones, sadly. Myself and aforementioned friend decided to make the most of the marvellous coincedence and partake of some tea. We wandered around looking for a suitable establishment, but were a little flummoxed. Then via the marvels of iphones (which cleverly tell you where all the nearest restaurants are), we found ourselves in one called Giraffe. I had an amazing Vietnamese chicken and prawn curry and my friend had a scrummy schitzel burger. There were so many lovely things on the menu we couldn’t decide and so will be returning to try out other things. It was lovely to sit and chat and eat and watch the sun go down on the river. A splendid evening all round.

3) Aunts

For the last couple of days I have been staying with my lovely Aunt. It was nice to see her, to sample much home cooked food, to see people at church who remembered me from when I was five, to sleep in a luxurious and very pink bedroom, to go for a long walk in the sunshine (while it poured in Wandsworth. hehehe), to run screaming from huge spiders, to stroll in the grounds of the local castle, to go to various Good Friday-related services, to see my cousin again after about ten years, to put the world to rights and to plan future exploits. She also taught me to Purl… which I have yet to perfect (it makes more sense that plain stitch knitting, but it messes with my head and then makes me forget how to do plain… more practise is required I think), oh, and how to cast on… I will knit a tank top yet!

4) Watermelons

When I was in Latvia last I stocked up on some Watermelon flavoured Mentos. Like Mango, Watermelon is one of those things where I love the flavour but detest the actual fruit… so when my friends told me they’d got me a watermelon-related Easter present I was a little skeptical!! It turned out to be a quater of watermelon & apple fizzers, and a quarter of watermelon jellies. Top marks for nostalgia,  for taste, for ingenuity, and for actual-watermelon-avoidance there!

That’s enough of the excitements for now I think. Will post more post-Easter!

I like to think I am blessed with some of the most lovely friends in the world.

In what I like to see as a nod towards my appreciation for order, two of them were considerate enough to be born on consecutive days, just at the end of the month of March. Last year, we inaugurated a tradition of celebration this, and (logically) nicknamed the day ‘Dual Birthday’.

Instead of packing the day with zany exploits this year, I decided to go with a more relaxed affair. So the day began with the instruction for my two lovely friends to meet for brunch at my house (an instruction they managed skillfully). I had spent the week cooking and baking (much to the consternation of the builders who have been amending our house this week… they were much saddened by the enticing aromas that they never got to taste!).

I made butternut squash soup, and potato and bacon salad, and apricot crumble cake, and chocolate tiffin. Then there was spinach and ricotta flamme, pigs in blankets, yoghurt & honey, pancakes & maple syrup, crisps and multitudinous other goodies.

My room was set up as Cafe Pterodactyl, with placemats which had a photo of each of our heads stuck onto a pterodactyl body. I liked that touch. There was also an ambient background of Take That playing, to drown out the intermittent African drumming from my neighbour!

I regaled my lovely friends with pressies, including teabags and star-shaped dangling decorations. We also had a mug each with some selected photos of us from the past year super-imposed on them, and a hoodie bearing the DB09 logo, and with each of our names on the back (you can see them in all their glory in the above photo). It was much fun wandering round London later, wearing these to boldly advertise the day.

After we had eaten, we spent some time engaging in some creative prayer excercises. I couldn’t have picked better people to share this with. Funniest moment of the afternoon had to be one of my lovely friends electrocuting herself on my slightly dodgy laptop wire – I know that it is near-fatal to touch to the two ends of the exposed wires together, unfortunately I didn’t manage to communicate this to said friend, and the resulting crackle,  blue flash, and minor burn provided us all with merriment for the rest of the day. Second funniest moment had to be when she decided her life was more important than trying to extricate music from my lethal laptop, and ‘treated’ us to the music on her phone… I will be loyal and not share my opinion of said music!!

After we had set the world to rights some more, we headed out to the beauteous location of a local park, where Hugo ran wild, terrorising the residents, and we lay on the grass enjoying the sunshine. We ate chocolate birthday cake bedecked with raspberries, and yummy cupcakes too. Then we took a bundle of photos, my favourite being the one above, where we had to balance my camera on top of a precarious pile of bags and tupperware to create a tripod. (I may look like I’m smiling, but inside I’m like ‘Eeek, my camera is going to plumment to his death at any moment).

Posing done, we jumped aboard some of London’s finest public transport, and headed to a restaurant near my favourite station in the world. Bumbles, on Buckingham Palace Road, offered a fair selection for a bargainous price (Even if they did try to bump up said price with some intriguing supplements). I enjoyed Smoked chicken and pork salad, followed by fish and triple cooked chips, followed by lemon tart. Lovely friends enjoyed french onion soup, followed by Pork rib with caponata and chips (chips that initially didn’t appear and had to be wrangled for. I think our “It says it comes with chips on the menu” followed by their “It doesn’t come with chips tonight.” was another of those ‘quote of the day’ moments) followed by lemon tart and ice cream respectively.

After this grand fayre, we wandered lesuirely back to Victoria, where one lovely friend jumped on a train homewards. Then other lovely friend and I found a bus that took us back to my house, where we reminisced on the joys and celebrations of the day.

I love my friends, and I loved the chance to again be able to celebrate who they are and what they mean to me. I loved doing fun stuff, but I also loved it that this year we could mix that in with some more serious, meaningful stuff. I guess you know relationships are deep when there is no need to fill every minute with hilarity.

Roll on DB10 I say!!!