Spring Break at Massanutten

It was a refreshing week for the family, away from the pressures of job hunting, worship leading, course developing and for Emily - homework!

We stayed in a nice, 2 bedroomed apartment in Massanutten, a hugh village of fun near Harrisonburg and just a few miles out from Shenandoah Parkway. On site, we did some putting, go-karting, fishing and the kids loved the massive hot tub and singing "who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" due to the latest Spongebob marathon on Nick!

What's happening with us?

Early April and some, at least of the Christisons are in a regular spring rhythm. Emily is doing great in school, even ace-ing a math test which we were nervous about, laughing and joking with her school friends as I pick her up from school, being more aggressive in her soccer games and being such a delightful 8 year old. Andrew, too is energy and enthusiasm personified, especially when donning super-hero outfits or pajamas, taking entirely too long to eat at dinner time, relishing his weekly gymnastics lesson and too often being too cute for words. Well, he was always cute, but now he's learning eloquence as well!

As for the big people in the family - well, I'm going to have to encourage Kathryn to write her own entry, as I don't want to speak for her. For me, I haven't felt a quick or smooth transition back to normal Chesapeake life since coming back from the UK just over three weeks ago. Of course, we don't really know what "normal" looks like! As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my recent trip had the effect of bringing home to me just how much I enjoy living in the US and that it is my home more than anywhere else on the planet! 

I periodically go round in circles, trying to interpret what God has been saying to us and teaching us since September 07 when it was a No or not yet to church-planting in Europe. It's tiring and I probably overanalyze (will my wife giggle at this slight understatement?? I hope so!)

Having good friends to catch up with from church, ex-work and so on has been refreshing, but the ever present "are we going anywhere or not" question is always hanging in the air, along with the "I'm not paying the bills at the moment" question.

We need prayer. For anyone reading, please pray!

I'm going through Psalms at the moment in a fairly informal way, just reading and writing down verses that strike me. The one for this morning was Psalm 27: 14:

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, take heart, and wait for the Lord."

I'm going to take this one to heart....

Finding the Four Corners

Kathryn and I think highly of this guy's blog and biblically-based but challenging articles on how believers can make a difference in the world we live in.

Think about trying to counsel a good friend, who is not a believer, to persuade him not to leave his wife and kids for this younger, fresh, interesting woman at work. You know that "the Bible says adultery is wrong" is not going to cut it. "The Bible says" doesn't have authority any more in most people's lives. So, what are you going to do.

Read the article and see if it helps at all! It did for me....

http://www.doggieheadtilt.com/four-corners/

UK Trip - Scottish pictures

A country lane, near Lochwinnoch, Greenock...

Rainbow over the ferry, Brodick, Isle of Arran

Italian rugby supporters before the Six Nations match, Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Dog in flight! Sandbraes beach, Whiting Bay, Isle of Arran

Early April Update

Early April update

Yes, it’s been quiet on the Christison blog, since in fact the early days of my trip to the UK in March. This is Dominic’s take on what happened, what I perhaps learned and where we are right now…

I’m really glad I made the trip. Three weeks, one funeral, two interviews (with a third by phone just after I got back), over 1,200 road miles, staying in and visiting Arran (my Mum and Dad), Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cambridge (staying with my brother Donald), Oxford and London. A close up chance to imagine us living, working and doing ministry in Britain.

It was an eye-opening trip for me in a couple of ways. First, I experienced a much stronger sense of reverse culture shock that I’d expected. It was unsettling to contemplate moving back to British life and society. It felt very alien, and the people I met very different to myself. I guess I shouldn't have felt so surprised, since it’s been going 18 years since I lived full-time in the country, but it was still a jolt. It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't done it themselves!

The second eye-opener was how expensive living there is compared to what I’m used to in the States. This especially came home to me when researching the price of homes to rent in the Oxford area and what you get for your money in terms of the size of houses. It became clear to me that I’d need to apply for higher-paying jobs than I’d been doing. A lot of families in the UK have to have two full-time incomes coming in to make it work.

So, this was a valuable trip, even if it sounds like I had a negative reaction. It was good to have a clear understanding of what we’d face financially and in terms of unsettledness for all of us if God called us over there by opening a clear, viable job and an opportunity to be involved in church-planting. It can feel overwhelming!

God is certainly at work in the British Isles, I have no doubt of that. The question for Kathryn and I right now is if He’s wanting us to be there and a part of that work right now or not. We’ll keep knocking on doors in applying for jobs, knowing that His plan is best and He will close or open in His good wisdom. That’s liberating in the midst of uncertainty!

In the meantime, there’s plenty of ministry going on right where we are with Trinity and worship, a new church plant in Chesapeake and friends and colleagues to catch up with and have over for dinner!

On a less cerebral note, some photos from the UK trip to come soon and also on Facebook….