Dreaming of the city?!

Now, I know that normally at this time of week you’re probably waiting for me to post some nice photos of open countryside from our day off but I’m afraid this week you’ll have to be disappointed.

In a break from tradition, this week we visited the CITY!

Horrific, I know.

Actually it wasn’t that horrific. We went to visit some of good friends down in Cardiff and it was a really lovely time catching up with them.

I can’t really remember how much I’ve mentioned our move in the summer. I think I probably got over enthusiastic about the fact I’M GOING TO BE A VICARS WIFE and forgot to tell you about any of the details.

Well, here is one big fat annoying detail:
We’re going to have to live in the city for three years.

How will I surrrrrrviiivvvvvvve?!?!

Josh will be attending a college in Cardiff in South Wales. On our visit yesterday our friends were able to show us round the area in which we’ll be living.

Histrionics aside, it actually seems like a nice city to life in. We’ll be in the ‘posh’ part and it actually had a pretty nice village feel.

 

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If you can ignore the main roads that is.

Basically it’s all just a means to an end and I know I have to just suck it up and get on with it. Three years isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things (not sure I really believe that!) and then hopefully we’ll be able to move somewhere more rural. I’m just not sure whether it will send me slightly insane. I’ve only ever lived in towns where you can walk and be in open countryside within 15 minutes maximum. I’ve lived by the sea for 12 years and I HATE DRIVING.

(source)
Okay – before I start hyperventilating lets look at some of the positives:

1) It’s nearer my family and I’ll be able to hang out with them much more often
2) We’ll be able to go bowling, the theatre, go to a cinema with more than one screen and do lots more ‘cultural’ stuff.
3) We’ll hopefully be living in a house or a flat with more than one bedroom which means we can have visitors! (very exciting!)
4) There will be public transport that doesn’t take at least 3 hours to even get out of Wales.
5) ummmm
6) Can anyone help me out here?

I’ve been reading through Numbers over the last month. One thing that struck me was the Israelites’ grumbling in the desert. Even though God provided for them nothing was good enough and they grumbled continually and as a result God was not happy with them.
I need to remind myself that we’re the same. The whole reason we’re moving to the city is because God has provided for us and he has enabled us to go to this college and then hopefully we’ll be able to do rural ministry for the rest of our lives. I need to make sure I’m not grumbling about God’s provision for us.

That aside…I won’t be changing the name of the blog anytime soon.

How would you plan your perfect holiday?

Last Thursday, as I’ve already mentioned we drove over to Pontrhydygroes for my day off. After we’d seen the Golden Eagle we walked steeply up from the village into the mountains.

I love being up in the mountains where you can see for miles over the hills without a house or person in sight. It was beautiful.

While we walked Josh and I talked lots about the future.

It seems so strange. In the space of a week we’ve gone from having no idea what we would be doing with the rest of our lives, to being able to pin-point what we will be doing, God willing, for many years to come.

However, in the short term we still need to make some decisions about what we’ll be doing.

Josh’s course starts in September sometime, and we’ve decided that we’d like to take some time off from work before we move to Cardiff. I started work directly after finishing my degree and getting married and this could be the last time that we have a free space of time with no other ties or commitments for many years, so we want to make the most of it.

But what to do?! Obviously money is factor, but really the world is our oyster! (although we’ll probably stay in the UK!)

Although things are up in the air at the moment we’re vaguely thinking that we’ll finish work in June. Some of our current ideas include:

– visiting lots of family and friends across the country
– Camping in Pembrokeshire
– Go to Britain’s most remote pub
– Going to Soul Survivor with our church youth group
– Helping out at the SU Beach Mission in Aber
– Going on holiday with friends?
– Hostelling/ camping around Scotland

Just thinking about all that makes my stomach knot with excitement!
Have you got any tips? What would you do if you had a free summer of fun but a limited budget?

HE GOT THROUGH!

(if you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about read this post first)

Oh  me, oh my – I’m going to be a vicar’s wife people. I’M GOING TO BE A VICAR’S WIFE!!!!!!!

I’m feeling slightly brain dead from the fact that we’ve actually found out and the news hasn’t really sunk in yet but…

• We are so grateful that God has given us this opportunity and that we get to work for him full time. I am simultaneously ecstatic and terrified about the challenges we will face in the future, but just praise God that he has once again given us the ‘desires of our hearts’.
• I am SOOOO proud of Josh. He has worked so hard for this. We had a report back from the board and they were so positive about him. I’ve married an amazing man.
• I don’t think I will ever be able to THANK YOU enough to all of those who have been praying and supporting us through cards, emails and phone calls. You’re all amazing and we have definitely felt the benefit of the prayers!

So all I have to say in conclusion is Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop!

Will you pray with us?

In just over a week Josh will have his final interview for becoming an Ordinand in the Church of Wales. Cutting the jargon, that basically means if he gets through he’ll be going to Cardiff to study in college to be a vicar within the Anglican Church in Wales. After three years he’ll be sent as a curate somewhere to work with a church for another three years for his ‘practical’ training. After that he’ll get his own church and he’ll be a fully fledged Vicar. And I’ll be a vicar’s wife [can you hear my hysterical laugh from here!?].

This three day interview will be the climax of two and-a-bit years of praying, contemplating, learning, trusting, impatience, joy and disappointment.

God has been teaching/reminding me of two things recently, and they have been a comfort to me as we’ve been waiting for this interview to come around:

1. God’s love is extravagant.
So often I underestimate how awesome our God is, and so often I forget that he loves me. Psalm 147 says that God delights in those that love and honour him. Delights. God wants to love us, wants to bless us, wants to have a relationship with us…so much so that Jesus was willing to die so that we could know God personally.

That doesn’t always mean that things will always turn out as I expect, but it gives me the reassurance that whichever way we end up turning God will be right there guiding us through.

2. God is teaching us faith all the time.
How do we know we can trust something? By hearing it advertised? Or by hearing it recommended my friends? It’s more likely that a real trust will be built by experiencing something that gives us a positive results again and again over time.

It’s the same with God. He promises in his word that he has a plan for each one of us, and that he will provide for us.
We’ve experienced time and time again God’s goodness to us. Sometimes it’s been great and easy, but sometimes we’ve had to go through disappointment or pain in order to learn to trust God more, and see him work through us. But whatever has happened [sometimes in hindsight!] God has always been there, and we’ve always come through loving and trusting him more.

We know it will be the same with this. We’re pushing a door and we’ll praise God whatever the result.

 

So, will you pray for us as this week, and as we wait for the result of the interview?

• For Josh. I’m so proud at how hard he is working. Doing lots of sleep-ins at work, NightLight, writing sermons, leading services [some in Welsh too] and preparing for his interview. Please pray he gets rest coming up to the interview and that his prep. goes well.
• For his interview. It’s going to be three days of constant writing and group work, along with several one-to-one interviews. Some of the people there are likely to be quite liberal too so I know that Josh really wants to keep his integrity while not coming across as too opinionated. He needs lots of Spirit guidance!
• For me! I find it hard at times [despite what’s written above!] that my future is being decided but I have no say into it. Pray that I can be supportive of Josh and that I will have peace about the situation.

Sorry for the long post folks, but I just wanted to keep you updated on what’s going on. We appreciate you all, friends 🙂