This week, I want to share with you a new song that I have written in this short post.
‘All for you’ is about giving your life to God, accepting that we don’t know what He has in store for you or me, and being at peace with that thought.
Since actively deciding to give my life more readily to God, I have felt an inner sense of peace – even though, at times, my road hasn’t been completely clear to me. But things have also happened that I could have never have imagined and for that, and so much more, I am continually thankful.
Imperfectly I come before your throne
Longing to be more than this world I know
I lay my life down here at your feet
So you can use all of me
I don’t even know your plans for me
Strip it all aside what do you see?
Broken and in need of love so strong
I need you ‘cause you are good.
Here’s my heart, I empty it before you;
Lay it broken down.
Won’t you fill it with your love joy and compassion perfectly,
That I might be…
All for you.
Almost a year ago, we decided that we were going to move to Sweden to pursue God’s calling on our lives. So we did: we stepped out in faith & 4 months ago, we arrived on Swedish soil.
Music
This week, we released our first single as Salt of the Sound, entitled It must be hope, which is also our first release since our debut album in November 2013. We feel hugely blessed to have already received fantastic reviews, with Jesus Wired calling the song, ‘Evocative & Beautiful’.
We have also been working on a lot of brand new material, new sounds & ideas & will be bringing you an EP of all new material in late Summer 2014. All of our music is available on iTunes, Spotify & bandcamp.
Inspiration
We are also using the Salt of the Sound website to bring you the best that the Christian music scene has to offer, from Songs about Hope to a 90 minute Spotify playlist of meditative Christian music . In our latest post, we bring you The Best Worship Songs in 2014 – definitely worth checking out (if I do say so myself)!
Ministry
It has become so clear to me recently that God really does call us to where we need to be & we are excited to have recently joined the team at Immanuel International Church in Stockholm, to focus on their youth ministry program. Even in the short time we have been here, it has become clear how blessed we are to be surrounded by such a welcoming & loving new church family here in Sweden, and for that, we are ever thankful.
The unknown
We are also thankful for this time in our lives. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying everything has been rosy for us…moving countries is hard. Going from full-times jobs to working freelance & trusting that God will provide is hard. Not being a native language speaker is hard. Knowing that family & friends are going through difficult times of illness, worry & loss, when you are a thousand miles away, is really hard.
But we are taking these new experiences & running with them. We don’t know exactly how our future looks right now. We don’t even know where we are going to live after July at the moment. But I’m not worried…
“Where God guides, He provides.”
Ok…so that’s easy to say & I don’t know where you are in your life journey, but if I’m completely honest, God’s provision has been overwhelming for us at times…and the mystery of not knowing where life will take us is an adventure in itself.
So right now?
I’m ok with not knowing.
Since arriving in Sweden in January, I have slowly begun to notice several cultural / lifestyle / geographical differences between Sweden & the UK (apart from the language!). I have started to note down such differences & thought I would bring them to your attention:
1) Leaving bikes unattended (& unlocked!)
Not recommended anywhere in the UK unless you want to get rid of it. In fact, even with an industrial strength lock, you will be lucky if it is still in that London bike shed in the morning (it doesn’t count if all parts are not still attached!)
= SWE 1/0 UK
2) One sunny day in March, the sun is beating down & you feel its warm rays as you jog along…bliss!
The next day… 6 inches of snow?
I feel the UK wins the prize for consistency in type of weather this year (even if that was wet & windy). I think Sweden is going for the surprise factor – keeps us on our toes (…or in our snow boots)!
= SWE 1/1 UK
3) Tea!
Tea is just not the same over here & for those of you who follow me on Facebook, you will see that last week, I ran out of tea bags that I brought from England – not good. While there is an English Shop here in Stockholm, at close to £15 for a box tea bags, this is just not financially sustainable with my tea addiction! (Some wonderful friends sent us a surprise package of nearly 500 tea bags in the post which arrived today – for which I am very grateful…& panic over!)
= SWE 1/2 UK
4) Second-hand stores
There is a different view toward second hand stores & charity shops here in Sweden – maybe it is because things can get expensive. In fact, we have created a new website to help ourselves (& other people) learn how to explore Stockholm on a shoestring.
(No points for this one – points go to us for our new website – 1 to us!)
5) Cafe culture
One thing that is definitely missing from the UK is loads of independent cafes that are well run, reasonably priced & open late (I’m talking until the early hours!) I mean the UK government supports the same concept of allowing establishments to open all hours… with the 24 hour opening of… pubs/ clubs/ anywhere that sells alcohol & allows people to binge drink…oh wait…that doesn’t help society at all – epic fail UK!
Sorry – getting all political there – anyway, we are also on a mission to test the best value cafes out there too (What’s that? What a good use of our time, I hear you say!)
SWE 2/2 UK
That’s enough for now – I shall continue my research & bring you my findings all in good time. (I can tell you’re on the edge of your seats!)
I am also aware that I am not the first immigrant to land on distant shores…if you have also made the move to an unknown land, I’d love to know some of the differences you found when you first set foot on new soil.
Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!
This week, I would like to share with you some of the best blogs, websites and articles that I have been enjoying – some of them are brand new while others have been around for many moons. After reading these this week, I am inspired: to create, to craft, to sing, to cook (& to eat), to pray, to run & to just be me.
I have categorised them into themes below so you can have a nosey at whatever interests you…
CREATIVITY:
Paper Fashion
I absolutely love this post from a 4 year old & her mum who create paper clothes for fun…but these are not ordinary paper clothes – no no! Think elaborate… princesses… dream dresses… designers… Hollywood… now, that is what we’re talking about!
Fairies & Co.
Looking for a little bit of magic? Well, look no further…beautifully crafted prints & artwork with just a sprinkling of fairy dust.
The Flower Studio – Manchester
This brand new independent floristry business is owned by a friend of mine, Alison, who is fantastically creative. I would encourage you to visit their facebook page while their website is still under construction.
MUSIC:
Over at Salt of the Sound, in our Inspiration Section, we have been busy compiling the best in Christian music including songs for Good Friday, Easter & our top free Christian downloads.
FOOD & FAITH:
Kate Battistelli
Kate Battistelli blogs about good food for the soul & the stomach. Definitely worth her read – I loves her Chilli with Cinnamon & Chocolate recipe. Yum!
Jamie, The Very Worst Missionary
This well´known blog is open, honest & often very funny. I definitely think more of us should aspire to show this kind of openness in our lives.
HEALTH:
Honey, we’re healthy
This is one of the best healthy living blogs I have found lately (I’m quite picky in this area). Full of healthy recipes & fitness tips – perfect for me as I train for my first marathon.
It is fair to say we have been off the radar for the last week as we enjoyed life up in the Arctic Circle – in Lapland, Northern Finland. Why, I hear you ask? Well, as many of you know, we chose to get married in a small ceremony in Sweden, on 16th February 2013 & then followed this up with a rather wonderful wedding reception in the UK in April. We didn’t want to go on our honeymoon before the end of all of these celebrations so we decided, after lots of deliberation, that our honeymoon would happen (rather belatedly!) for our 1st anniversary.
And it did…
We stayed in a rather quaint log cabin complete with its own log fire.
And anyone who knows us will know how much we enjoy trying new things, so we had a bash at…
…Husky sledding (you can read more about this here)…
…Snowmobiling…
…Reindeer Safari-ing (at much slower pace than the previous two excursions)…
…Oh, & for our final night, contrary to what they forecast said & made especially epic by the fact that we were staying in a glass igloo…
…the Northern Lights appeared for us…
So we would now, one year on, like to thank you everyone who came to & was a part of our wedding, & to everyone who contributed towards the most fantastic – words cannot describe – wedding present we could ever have hoped for…the chance to make memories from our adventures together. We had a blast!
