BlogSpa

Dark, Cold, Wet

I don’t know if it’s because life has become a list of to-do’s moments of coffee with friends here and there or whether it’s just this horrid, dreary weather. Today, i found myself missing the city lights from the evening skyline we used to enjoy at our last flat. Though I love the quiet and quaint road we now live on, I DO miss that sense of escape from a dreary day high up on our penthouse-like flat at A street.

I’m not quite out of that dreariness I feel during these months of short days and long nights. The wetness and rain doesn’t phase me quite as much as the darkness and the cold—though I know it’s mild compared to so many other cities in Europe and the U.S.

Tonight, however, I found one comfort we enjoy on cold Autumn and winter nights in London—warm, mulled wine and mince pies enjoyed by candlelight in our lounge after the kids have gone down. Mmmmm… And with that, I have hope that this too shall pass…

Photojournal of Sept-Oct

SEPTEMBER

Staff Weekday Away in September for training, team-building, worship, vision-sharing, and prayer:

 

OCTOBER

O's 10th Birthday Tea Party

 

The Big Move

 

Settling in...

 

L's latest love:

 

 

Filming of "Law and Order in the U.K." in front of our church:

 

Kids and J out with Uncle A and Auntie S to Westonbirt Natural Arboretum in Glouestershire (pronounced "gloss-tuh-shy-yah") at the beginning of this last week's half-term holiday:

 

When Dreams Come True

Many years ago, J and I dreamed about partnering together to come alongside university students as they journey through their faith and their lives—and tonight, during a prayer time with the 5 young ladies in my bedroom. this was the second time they met in our home—it hit me…God fulfilled that vision that began so many years ago—Now I know why we had to move…Though the circumstances were, in no way, good—God transformed into something good—no, something amazing, actually.

Life for Rent

This is our 3rd flat in London within the short period of 13 months we’ve lived here. I have the luxury of never needing to rent in my life—I don’t really count my student residence in university a rental. After two tiring weekends of planning, purchasing, and assembling, we feel more settled now that we have wardrobes to hang our clothes in, desks to study/write on, sofas to entertain guests, and places to stack our 8 large suitcases.

It’s nice to no longer have to live life out of a suitcase and cardboard boxes. There’s ample cupboard space in the kitchen and the bathroom. It’s quieter here—only the sound of church bells every 15 minutes. The neighbors in the block of flats actually smile when you catch their eye. It’s ultra-convenient in terms of distance to shops, night-life, the tube/bus stations, school/church, and even the hospital.

But living in a house as a tenant is different. The obvious difference is that one doesn’t OWN the house she is living in. So, I hear myself saying to the kids a lot, “Careful not to scratch the floor” and “Don’t sit on the cupboard door handles” and “This is NOT our place—let’s take care of our landlord’s place.” The only thing I need to get used to is the lack of light in this place—something I dread even more as the days are getting noticeably shorter.

I’ve noticed that I’m adopting a mindset that I have never really, truly understood and adopted before—being a tenant, a ‘renter’, has given me a new perspective about my life in general—that I live this life much like a tenant lives—like a traveller lives—I own little, but am grateful for all that I have. All my material possessions, experiences, and even my human relationships, are ‘borrowed’ and do not belong to me and yet, they exist to change/challenge me, to be enjoyed by me and with others, and to help me and others know/love God better. And just as we experienced recently, a time will come when the Landlord will need for us to move out and move on. And though, we can never prepare for the shock of that, I just need to make sure that I have all life’s essentials with me when I need to pack up and go. And in real life, at least, when it’s our time to leave this earthly life, it wouldn’t be so much that God is needing to ‘kick us out’, but it would be an invitation to move in and live with Him in His eternal home.

Recovery Mode

It’s been 4 days since the big move. Since then, J’s come home and it’s been another whirlwind of tasks trying to settle in. Sure, we want to ‘take it slow’ but you really can’t keep eating out every meal. So last night, though tired, we both emptied out most of the kitchen boxes. thank God for all the cupboard space in the kitchen and bathrooms—it makes up for the lack of wardrobes for the time being. J had the crazy idea of making an IKEA run after picking up the kids from school on Wed afternoon. And crazy it was…an IKEA trip usually takes about 4 to 4.5 hours total including the 30 minute train trip up there and the 10 minute IKEA shuttle. Thank God we caught the shuttle right before it left for IKEA when we had arrived at Stonebridge Park station. The big treat, as always, was the £1.50 10–swedish meatball deal (only on Weds!) and so we ate for 11£—the whole family—no sharing! L got to play in the play area, O helped us shop, and we were very productive—ordered/bought a sofa set, 5 wardrobes, a small desk, 2 bookshelves, and a desk chair—thanks to a generous gift from J’s parents, this was even possible!

So, we await the wardrobes so we can rid ourselves of a housefull of boxes and suitcases. Meanwhile, a small Birthday tea party for O set for tomorrow afternoon. J thinks I’m over-ambitious and should’ve cancelled the party, but, really, it’s like the last one we did was quite some time ago—I think when she turned 4–-pretty soon, she won’t care for Mommy to throw her one…so it’s the least we can do on her big 1–0…plus, it’s just 5 guests—small, short, and sweet and I’m no Martha Stewart : )