Community Living... tastes like Berries!

My last blog post was about time, and that was 7 months ago, so it certainly seems 'about time' to put pen to paper again! We continue to live by the grace of God, having finished off 2016 with a holiday to my folks in PE - courtesy of the tax man (SARS)! That in itself was a story of great improbability, given the shambles that was my overdue, inaccurate (let's just say my newly appointed accountant wasn't a bean counter after all), and ultimately audited submission. I can't imagine there have been many occasions in the history of SARS, where a plea for mercy and resubmission (based on the grounds mentioned above), have been met with a payout equal to a month and a halfs salary! 

The beckoning of a new year certainly did bring with it the expectation of good things, but what was not on the radar in any shape or form, was that by April we'd have relocated to the berry farm next door! And so, in the middle of January, fresh back from holiday, we were quite unexpectedly informed by our landlord, that we were no longer welcome on the farm. Not really the new year start we had scripted... But something that we have been well schooled in these past 2 years, is that there's always purpose in apparent disappointment, and there's always a Way where there seems no way... 

And so in the end, we made the call not to renew our lease, but instead to consider the possibility of relocating to the farm next door (The Field aka Berry Farm), primarily as a result of having developed some special friendships with people living there (forged from our small church group meetings on Wednesday nights). In a clear case of providence, a lovely 5 room home became available for occupation on the exact date our lease expired, for the exact amount we were previously paying... Go figure.

And so we all (Tristan in particular!) jumped for joy, having already been hugely blessed by the communal lifestyle (there are about 15 other homesteads on the farm), facilities (trampoline, tennis court, club house, massive swimming pool, berry farm, etc...) and peaceful atmosphere that is our new home... Not to mention the perfect homeschool environment for Dannean and the kids!

On the ministry front, my long standing desires and hopes to startup up both discipleship and mentorship initiatives, has at last become a reality, with my involvement in both Wednesday evening and Friday morning men's discipleship groups, being run in a friendly, purposeful and impactful manner. One of the key resources we're using in this regard, is a book entitled 'Man in the Mirror', which is a brilliant read for any man seeking renewed purpose and understanding of what it means live as a man made in the image of God... (a couple lads, and a wee lass, from the discipleship group here below)

On the mentorship front, i have become involved in a mentorship programme for a home accommodating and supporting abandoned and orphaned teenage boys (based in Berea, Johannesburg). This involvement is through an organization called the Character Company, which is a unique NPO focused an helping boys become good men (God knows we need some more of those in our country!) (check out www.thecharactercompany.co.za - they're awesome). Anyway, a real highlight was recently taking 12 of these young men on a camping trip in the magaliesburg, for a time of values based adventure, laughter, and education.

(cliff jumping was a real highlight for everyone)

From a work perspective, my mentoring of startup and small businesses with The Hope Factory continues, however this seems to be nearing the end of the runway, with my hope that a new business I have been working on for the past 18 months (also in the entrepreneur support space), will come online in June this year. My farming aspirations have also not diminished at all, and while my vege patches were lost in the relocation, the farming potential that exists at our new home, outstrips my previous vege patches 100 to 1! Hopefully some of my recently purchased organic heirloom seeds will see dirt before year end!

In conclusion, and with reference to the book I made previous mention of (Man in the Mirror), I recently undertook a most valuable and overdue exercise. I took the time to consider, meditate and pray through my life's vision statement. Essentially, this consists of a couple sentences that summarise one's purpose for living. The reason I'm sharing this, is that I am constantly reminded in the marathon that is life (in particular the Christian life), that good intentions or lukewarm living will continue to prevail outside of a life lived by conviction. And for convictions to be readily acted upon, they need to be carefully considered, crafted and constantly before us. 

And so, it will continue to remain a mystery how God's word (the Bible) can be living, until we allow it to penetrate and define our lives. How better then, than to craft your life vision statement from it? If anything of what I'm saying resonates with you, do yourself a favour and buy the book 'Man in the Mirror by Pat Morley' - it's a keeper!