We held our first of four nights in the park on Friday past. With lots of help from some resound-ers and SMW-ers we entertained 70ish people with bouncy castles, football, a magnificent barbeque and amazing kid’s games.

Along the way we all got to have some good conversations with people from the area, and they got to know who we are, find out more about us, and hopefully over the coming weeks they will remember us and want to get to know us more.

As with anything around these parts, there were lots of people standing around the fringes, not sure whether to take part or not - so we would love it if you could pray that over the coming weeks we get the chance to know those people better too. The whole point of these nights is to find the ‘People of peace’ that Jesus wants us to connect with over the coming months - so please pray that we find those people!

Massive thanks to all the people who gave of their time to come down and help us - we REALLY appreciate you and think you are wonderful.

If you’re free - feel free to join us next Friday (5.30 to set up, 6.30 to eat) - we would love to see you there.

Ryan

Not Shankill related at all, but I’ve nowhere else to post this… !

I’ve been working with Fishbone Studios recently to do a bit of Boring Wells branding to have around Summer Madness. We’ve not done anything like this before, so its been good fun exploring ideas and working out a distinctive style.

Despite some last minute printing chaos and quick redesigning, we’ve got some great stuff in time for Summer Madness.

So without further ado, check out:

Hoodies

Pop-up stands

Year out leaflets

See them up close and personal from Friday….

Ryan

My head is still spinning a bit from Martin and the guys coming over, but life continues. Here’s what I feel most challenged by at the moment…

They talked a lot about availability - making and keeping yourself available to God. That means lots of different things - but mainly it means constantly challenging yourself in situations where if God doesn’t do something you will probably end up looking silly. It means things like walking across the pub to prophesy to someone without yet knowing what you are about to say. As I’m a planner I find this whole concept a bit scary and difficult - but I’m willing to try.

I think the other challenge was just to make more time for actually engaging with people - I’ve been guilty of letting life get a bit cluttered with things that aren’t important, and I need to refocus my attention on the Shankill and what God has us here for. As summer is approaching it means I can make a natural break with some committments, and so have more time available (which I still have to intentionally use properly).

More to come as it continues to sink in

I’m really looking forward to the joint wells tomorrow night - Martin Garner is speaking and I’m hoping he brings his usual mix of challenge, timeliness and brutal honesty. Always a great combination. Come prepared to be challenged!

He and his entourage will be spending some time with us on the Shankill on Monday, and I’m really looking forward to that too - we’re going to take a dander around the area and see if they can see something we have missed along the way. It will be good to get an outside perspective, and hopefully for God to speak into our situation.

See you all tomorrow night.

Ryan

Jonny, Laurie and Sofia are off on hols this week (we’re all jealous), so Christina and I have been looking after their little dog called Tico. Christina thinks this will mean we’ll get a dog of our own soon; she’s wrong. Oh the intricacies of married life!

Anyways, I’ve never had a dog before, and even though its only been 2 days its been an experience. I was rudely woken this morning at 7am by him jumping on my head. Lovely. Yesterday, I was walking him and I felt like God was trying to say something to me, so I did my best to listen.

As we walked along, Tico pulled on the lead to the left, and to the right, sometimes he stopped to pee on a lamp-post, sometimes he tried to run ahead of me; but all the while I had the leash and decided the way to go. When other dogs came along I had to see him round the danger (he is a woose, but thinks he’s hard).

I felt like God was trying to show me this is how we can be with Him; we want to go in the right direction, but we chase all over the place following where we think is best to go, sometimes we run too fast, sometimes we go too slow; more often than not we don’t go in the right direction. But in the end, God has the leash - he directs our paths, he makes all things work for our good, he corrects us and encourages us.

Maybe its time for us to relax a little, and trust that God has it all covered, to really believe and live like He knows best, and will get us to where He wants us to be? Maybe we need to stop pulling at the leash and just go at the pace He wants us to go at?

It certainly seems that walking a dog is much easier when the dog lets you take control.