This week saw us taking a trip to Brussels in Belgium, to meet with colleagues working in International Ministry throughout Europe. People serving in Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Sweden formed our group this year and we took time together to talk, worship, listen and enjoy each other as well as the city of Brussels.
- Listening to an experienced Pastor talk about listening for God’s calling in his life was just what I needed to hear this week.
- Hearing from those in such similar, yet such different church environments was insightful in so many ways.
- Leading worship and worshiping with friends and colleagues touched my heart.
- Seeing the good works, enthusiasm and inclusivity of this church, which experiences significant turnover due to its location in the very International City of Brussels, was deeply encouraging.
- Being able to talk openly, take a step back and breathe was more helpful than I could have imagined.
In fact, it is clear to me that this week was just what I needed.
Thank you colleagues.
Thank you Brussels.
Brussels: A City Of Contrasts.
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All Photos © 2016 Anita & Benjamin Tatlow
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t really like February. January? January I like: A month filled with good intentions, positive thoughts and a curious excitement as you look unknowingly towards the potential that the new year holds.
It is a month full of feelings that I want to capture and keep. I want to wake up everyday and be excited at the possibilities of what that new days holds.
If you’ve seen the Disney Pixar Movie ‘Inside Out’, basically, I want to be the character Joy. Everyday. (But I will admit that I am definitely much closer to her co-stars Disgust, Anger, Fear and sometimes even Sadness than I am to Joy.) And, if you haven’t seen this movie – you must. It’s like therapy…in a Disney movie! Great stuff.
So in light of this revelation (and in my effort to be more like Joy), I have made 3 simple adjustments to my life in an attempt to simplify, create positivity and keep me looking & moving forward:
1. Exercise in the morning
No excuses. Whether I feel like it or not. In fact, when I don’t feel like it, that is when I need it the most. So I do. (Yoga mostly… And maybe I’ll squeeze in a weekly run… But either way, I make sure I do it.)
2. Set reasonable goals for each day
This is especially important on the days when I work from home. I start by writing a to-do list for the day, stick it on my fridge and cross off each task as I work my way through it. Inevitably, the tasks do vary in size – some big and some small – and as I was recently inspired to acknowledge even the simple things, I make sure I do acknowledge and celebrate the completion of them all.
3. Turn off push notifications (and avoid checking my email).
Working to the point of burnout is just no fun at all. So now, when I am not working, I don’t. This is easier said than done, especially when you care about what you do (that would be most of us, I hope). But now I intentionally put work aside and enjoy my downtime. Guilt-free.
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So there you have it. Just 3 small changes… but gradually and remarkably I have begun to feel more like Joy…
January has closed its doors.
February is welcome now… slightly warmer than its winter cousin (for now at least)…
But let us not forget January:
When doors were pushed.
Steps were taken. Just baby steps and tiny movements.
But movements all the same.
And now February is here.
And answers lie around the next corner.
Answers which I do not hold they key to…not yet.
But I do hold onto hope.
I let it surround my heart.
Build me up. Inspire me. Encourage me.
I try to hold onto faith as well as hope… and hope that both don’t slip away through my fingers.
Welcome February.
Help me to jump beyond my baby steps. And take the leap you want me to.
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All Photos © 2016 Anita & Benjamin Tatlow
Something unexpected happened to me last week; it caught me off guard and I was not prepared.
I’m not sure it is something I can fully explain it. So forgive my rambling as I try to express what happened in one small moment.
If you press play below, I’ll try my best to take you back to where I was in that moment…
Sitting. Listening. And trying to hear.…
Last year, I spent countless days, weeks and even months writing the lyrics and songs for our latest album: Echoes of Wonder. And you would think after all that time that I knew the songs I had written pretty well, wouldn’t you! At least I thought I knew what they were about. After all, I had spent time crafting each one carefully. Writing and re-writing…
And as it turns out, there was more contained within these songs of ‘mine’ than even I knew.
As I sat on the train on regular journey into Stockholm, looking out over the frozen lakes & watching people walk on water (well, frozen-water…but still!). Taking in the beauty of the illuminating sun; hanging low in the winter sky, just above the rooftops of this snow-capped city. I stopped thinking for a moment and I just listened: To this music which I had a hand in creating yet felt strangely unfamiliar to me…
For the first time, I listened with intention to the evolving instrumentation and lyrics that I had penned.
And for the first time… in my listening… I heard!
The song ‘Did You Hear It?’ is a song about listening for God’s voice in our lives. Sometimes we make ourselves so busy, we don’t hear it. Sometimes we hear it but we just don’t want to know. The answer wasn’t quite what we were looking for. It isn’t quite the path I wanted. It makes me uncomfortable.
How closed I have been. This song was written with the intention of being an encouragement to everyone who hears it. But in that moment, and for the first time, I knew it was also written for me…
For God to speak to my heart too.
Did you hear it in the wind?
Did you fear it once again?
Did you see it closing in?
Did you wonder if it was for you again?
The answer that you wanted isn’t there for you. You know in time you’ll need to see this thing through.
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All Photos © 2016 Anita & Benjamin Tatlow
Today…
…is a cold day. Too cold to venture out. Better to stay inside where it’s cosy and warm.
Today…
…could be a productive day or it could all go to pot. I don’t know what today has in store for me.
Today…
…is not a big day. It is full of little things. Small moments. It’s probably not even worth mentioning most of them.
Today…
…is ordinary. Simple. Tuesday.
I am reading a book at the moment called ‘Simply Tuesday’ by Emily P. Freeman. I am listening. I am learning. She reminds me to take note of the small things. To not be rushed. To not look forward to the exciting days of the week like Saturday. To not focus on the exciting life moments but rather to live in the details of the here and now. To embrace the ordinary, the smallness and the simplicity of Tuesday moments.
Today is…
…small. Unrushed. But very necessary. And I am more than ok with that. In fact, I think I’ll embrace today as being what it is…
Simply Tuesday.
“Happy work is best done by the one who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment “as to the Lord”. It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.” – C.S. Lewis
All Photos © 2016 Anita & Benjamin Tatlow
