Well, the summary of the last number of days is in the title!!!

With it being the Bank Holiday weekend, and Caleb having some time off (other than revision), we took it easy on Friday other than preparing for our speaking engagement that night. Sadly, around lunchtime, we heard from the organisers that they had to make a last-minute decision to call the event off. We were sad to hear that, and saddened by the reasons for the postponement (which we can’t discuss here), but it did allow us to have a bonus family evening together.

Unfortunately, Janet was starting to feel the effects of a bad head cold/flu-type illness which, as I sit here today, she is still struggling with. Poor Janet! I know it’s such a simple thing, but it’s amazing how much the rhythm and flow of normal family life changes when one of us is out of the game.

On Saturday, I was back helping out a friend with some gardening (I say helping, but I’m unsure how much help I actually was!). As it was Pentecost weekend, our church was hosting a special worship night on Saturday evening. It was a new experience for me, as we were exploring what it was like to worship with no worship leader in the room. It was really special to listen and join in as different people broke into song and prayer as they felt led to. I’m sure it won’t be the last time we do that, and the same sense of presence and excitement carried into our Sunday morning service too.

We had some rest — and more revision for Caleb — on Sunday afternoon before heading off to lead Youth that evening. I also finally booked our Youth trip to Leicester happening in August. That was such a relief, as I’m not a big fan of organising things like that!

On Monday, Caleb and I — sadly without Janet — headed out to breakfast with some friends visiting from California, along with my brother-in-law. We had such a fun time that it turned into an impromptu tour of the North Coast. The weather was absolutely stunning, and we had a great time catching up with them and catching some rays during what was apparently Northern Ireland’s warmest May Bank Holiday on record.

Yesterday was a long old day, mostly spent at my mum’s house where she needed help power washing and bleaching her patio. I love my mum, but I do not love doing these jobs 😂 I try to turn these moments into prayer times, but sometimes I waste them because I’m grumbling too much 🙈

Anyway, after a long shift there, Caleb and I hit the football pitches for some extra training, grabbed some dinner, and then it was revision time again — exams start on Friday.

We have no Miracle Halls today as the council staff are all at a training day, so I’m catching up on some of the things I didn’t get done while I was being a gardener yesterday! One fun thing I did complete already was sending my book off to a publisher so their editing team can have a look. A friend has helped open some doors there, so we’ll see what comes of it, if anything. I really am open to whatever happens, but please do pray that God makes the next steps clear to us.

Once I publish this, I’m going to head out for a run, get some lunch, and then get stuck into some writing. I have a few things I need to start this week, as well as other projects to finish. Hopefully wee Janet will be back to her old self soon!