For us it is the start of a new chapter. One that requires faith from us on a deeper level than perhaps ever before.
If you read my previous blog post you’ll know that for the last few months we have been pushing on various doors, trying to discern where God is calling us to be. For a while we thought that maybe we were being led back into music ministry in a church setting?
And I don’t write that possibility off. At some point, I think we may well be called to serve in a church again. In fact, I now know that we will always work in music ministry… sometimes that will be in a church setting… perhaps sometimes in several churches… and always with our own music. Our own music ministry.
Yesterday was my last day of teaching…
And as of today, we are now fully reliant on income from our our own music and freelance work.
This still sounds a little scary to me but here is what I know…
Our music as Salt Of The Sound and Narrow Skies continues to grow.
God continues to open doors with our music in small ways.
Ben has worked on this full-time for the past year and we have seen considerable growth, and if I can give everything I have too, we hope and trust that our efforts will be multiplied.
I like plans. I like comfort and security. But I am having to let go and trust. So it goes without saying that this is not a decision we have taken lightly. It has required a huge leap of faith – one which we will need to cling to ongoing.
But through taking this leap and trusting fully I have found a peace.
We may not have it all completely worked out but I know it’s going to be good.
We’ve recently launched a Kickstarter – we’d love for you to partner with us if you feel able and help spread the message carried in our music further than we can alone!
Yes, 2017 has been a year of big birthdays for us with my Dad turning 60 and Ben turning 30 earlier this year and now, here I was this weekend, celebrating the big 3-0.
Ben and I decided that we would celebrate our birthdays here in Sweden this year, doing things that we otherwise wouldn’t do. For his birthday back in July, we spent a night in a Silver Mine – in the world’s deepest suite in fact. And until a few weeks ago we were unsure of what we would do to mark the occasion of my 3oth when, on a recent trip to the open-air museum Skansen, when my brother and sister-in-law visited, we learned that they offered glass-blowing workshops.
I have a big crafty creative side and glass blowing is something I have wanted to do for a long time – so I booked the day off work, and was excited to try this new technique…
We planned to make an ornament and a glass each. First of all, we made the ornaments…
Then came the glass making time…
Needless to say, I now have an even bigger respect for skilled glassblowers – the blowing part was was a lot harder than it looked… the pros made it look effortless (we did not!)…
…but we were pleased with our makes…
and I continue to be in awe at the beauty that glass can create in the right hands…
The weekend was full of celebration including a wonderful afternoon tea with my in-laws at Ulriksdal Garden Centre (we were enjoying it so much that we forgot to take pictures). And I am so thankful for the well wishes that arrived from around the world in the form of greetings, cards and presents. I may live far away from many of you, but you are dear in my heart.
Oh… and of course we celebrated with a winter-inspired release from Narrow Skies…
Written by Anita on 20th November 2017 in Life, Sweden.
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I can’t believe we’re in August already. The long Nordic days are beginning to fade and today’s wind and rain even had a little Autumnal feel (as an Autumn lover I don’t mind saying this). Summer in Stockholm has been warm but we haven’t seen as many hot days as the last few years. But sadly, in this global-warming world, anything can happen…
Ben’s Birthday
Since my last post, we celebrated Ben’s 30th 155 metres underground! Due to other commitments, we couldn’t fit in a longer break so, determined to celebrate in style, we headed to the world’s deepest suite in Sala Silver Mine (about 1.5 hours North-West of Stockholm).
After a guided tour of the vast caves and dinner in nearby Sala, we headed underground for the night. While our surroundings were a little creepy, it really was a remarkable place to be – amongst the historic and vast network of tunnels and caves, with only a walkie-talkie to communicate with our guide above ground (in case of emergency).
We survived the night (although admittedly it neither of our best night’s sleep ever) and decided to head to a Moose Park (Älgpark) which happened to be only about half an hour from the Silver Mine. Since moving here, I have been really entranced by the Scandinavian wildlife. That said, so far I have only seen a moose in the wild at quite a distance. (They can be pretty dangerous so maybe that’s a good thing…!) Anyway, this moose park turned out to be great and really was a fun way to spend the morning…
Music News
We’ve also been using the summer to continue writing new music (as usual) and have released one new track from our new project as Narrow Skies – which has been getting some great traction which is exciting! The complete 3 track EP is released on 25th August.
As for Salt Of The Sound, we also have a Prayer EP releasing on 29th September… and we’ve been exploring new ways of doing Monday Morning Meditations alongside other things so lot’s going on.
Looking forward to a few day’s in the UK next week, not least to celebrate my brother’s wedding! More on that to come…
Well, almost. While I had certainly hoped for a white Christmas at the end of 2016 (as always), it was not to be…
In the following early months of 2017 we have faced many icy cold days – complete with a snow-covered landscape (on and off) and frozen lakes (complete with many ice-skaters of course!).
But having spoken to many locals who have been around a lot longer than I, it seems that the Swedish weather may be a little more confused than ever…
This isn’t the first time that weird weather has affected Sweden in recent years. Our first summer here (2014) was hot and humid interspersed with freak thunderstorms that flooded underground stations and caught everyone by surprise. The following winter was surprisingly mild with very little snow, and then in early November last year (2016) Stockholm experienced its snowiest day for 111 years which brought the city to a standstill and halted public transport (not an easy feat in a country whose infrastructure is designed with sub-zero temperatures in mind).
Changing seasons
One of the things I most love about Sweden is being able to truly experience winter alongside the contrast of each season – the colours of autumn, the freeze of winter, the awakening of spring and the midnight sun of summer. And the seasons do come – but now with a very unpredictable rhythm it seems. We could be in for another scorcher of a summer, but right now it’s -2°C outside and I can’t see it! The buds and early flowers of spring are fighting to hold their ground against the frost and we are all wondering when spring will truly arrive.
Many might argue that it is not unusual to see snow in April here in Sweden – and no, it’s not. But it is the erratic nature of the weather that causes concern… Today, we woke up to a covering of snow on the ground – when two weeks ago we were enjoying the sun, thinking about picnics and Ben was wearing shorts!?
I see a change.
People who have known this place for much longer than me talk about this change.
The media reports on record heatwaves and snowfalls based on years of scientific data.
Still many people don’t want to talk about this change… this climate change.
But if it is affecting the seasons so visibly like this… it makes you wonder… what else is it doing to the things we can’t see?
It’s no secret that many people were happy to see the back of 2016… and yes… I agree it was not the best year on record. Many things happened which made us all think about the state of the world in which we liveMany would also consider the word ‘meh’ as an appropriate adjective when it comes to describing 2016… I hear you too!
But when I was challenged to find what was good or even (dare I say it) awesome about 2016, I was able to reflect on some pretty wonderful things.
It was another in which to experience, learn and grow – and while I hope that these are aspects of life which I will always embrace – here are some more concrete examples of what made the last year great:
Life adventures happened – and for the most part, it was because we made them happen.
We planned. We decided. We booked.
We wrote. We composed. We recorded.
We put ourselves out there.
We may only be able to play our teeny, tiny part when it comes to political referendums and elections and it may not go down as we feel it should have done. We have no control over the losses and tragedies that passed us by in 2016. And don’t get me wrong, these are not small things – especially where grief is involved.
2016 is done.
…but we are not.
I will continue to put myself out there and push all the opportunity doors that 2017 brings my way.
2017 is before us my friends and I, for one, intend to embrace the whirlwind that it will no doubt end up being.
Happy New Year friends – here’s to an adventurous 2017!
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