Where Do I Begin?

The spring has been FULL. It has felt very full, with many lovely and good things, but also with times of overwhelm and a fairly regular “churning” in my thoughts and spirit.  God is faithful and true, and is with me and for me…which is good.

In April I had the joy of taking my 86yr old Aunt Liza to Canada for my Dad’s 85th birthday.  We only had 2 weeks so focused on family events (sorry friends!) and re-visiting some of my aunt’s favourite places/aspects of Canada.  We celebrated my niece Marissa’s 16th birthday, my Dad’s 85th, saw a bear, saw sea lions, ate Me’n’Ed’s pizza, walked Crescent Beach, visited Whistler, took in the Chilliwack Tulip Festival, and had lots of time hanging out with my Dad, my sister, my brother, nieces & nephews, and various long-time family friends of my Dad’s.

We made it!

That IS a bear...

Family Birthday tradition...Me'n'Ed's Pizza!

View of Mt. Baker

Dad opening his presents! :) 

Came back to a busy May with ‘pilgrims’ visiting the House, catching up with the “usual” (Ancient Paths Course, Leadership Pathway, Prayer Room, Lara-sitting) and then a lovely weekend trip out to Germany to join in with a “Extended Family Reunion” weekend with my polylux family! Came back from Germany and headed into helping with 24-7 Prayer’s Wildfire Festival, before heading into my final full week with Lara!

My Polylux Family 💛

June consisted of trying to get my head around re-starting my massage business, with all the marketing and budgeting aspects that I don’t delight in, alongside hosting the end of year Day Retreat for this year’s Ancient Paths course and then reviewing the course and the feedback provided as we look towards re-starting in September.  Eventually, the course is hoping to come fully under the Waverley Abbey College ‘offerings’ but we’ve decided to try and run one more year of a hybrid type course, as it seems to continue to have a lot of interest from people, even though the College isn’t quite ready to fully take it over.

At the end of June I came to the end of my time looking after Lara, although I’m trusting that as they don’t live that far away, we may still manage some periodic playdates!  With the end of my “Lara Days” came a final concerted push to get the massage stuff up and running and it’s with great pride that I’ve done it! I have a basic booking page, business cards and fliers (thank you @craftcurate!), and received my first “official” booking within minutes of releasing the information!

Ta-da!

The hope is that it will become a flexible but secure additional income for me, as I continue to try and live out and learn what it means to be a “Prayer Missionary” within this time and place.  

Since returning from Germany in 2021, I have been giving half of my work week to volunteer towards helping to create and establish a multi-faceted expression of a “modern day monastery”.  The overarching vision of it being to become a House of Prayer supporting local churches, a “motherhouse” of prayer and resourcing for the wider 24-7 Prayer Movement and the Order of the Mustard Seed, as well as a centre of learning and training in the areas of Christian Counselling and Spiritual Formation (alongside various other things), and a “5 star with simplicity” retreat and conference centre. (https://www.waverleyabbeytrust.org/)

Within the past two years that’s begun to happen in various ways, as we’ve created spaces for prayer and reflection in the gardens, the prayer room and our “Herrnhut” retreat hut; hosted numerous pilgrims and people from around the globe on retreat, and hosting everything from an Easter Egg Hunt for the local churches to our quarterly “Jazz at the Abbey” evenings. 

Our June "Jazz at the Abbey" was held festival style in the grounds, with 100 people attending!!

This spring it has felt as if we’re finally reaching the end of “Phase 1”, which was about the creation and establishment of the new Waverley Abbey Trust, as well as trialling out all the above mentioned initiatives.  This summer feels like it may be a transition season into what will be “Phase 2”.  Phase 2 will likely be a combination of consolidating much of what was initiated in the last couple years as well as looking at how we can develop, deepen, and extend other ideas not yet begun.

Where and how I “fit” in the midst of all that is an ongoing journey, but remaining as part of the residential community onsite, overseeing and developing the Ancient Paths course, and helping facilitate the prayer room for our visitors is likely to remain core themes.  I’m also hoping to continue developing my involvement with the wider network of 24-7 Prayer Communities, seeking to encourage and support some of the scattered, smaller communities.  

There will also be two larger events I hope to go to, one being a networking weekend or “New Monastic Roundtable” near Geneva in Switzerland at the end of August, and the other being the annual 24-7 Prayer Gathering which will be back in Vienna, Austria this October.  Both these events are important to me in keeping connected with the continental European communities and development, and may allow for some community visits en route or ‘au retour’!

All this comes together in a diverse and sometimes challenging mix of life, as I continue to try and balance involvement and rest, finances and faith.  This summer will likely be a financial challenge, as any new small business will be able to relate to, alongside trying to save for the proposed trips in the Autumn.  My car’s annual MOT is also coming due at the end of July and will likely require some repairs (definitely a bulb connection issue and possible wheel refurbishment) before passing.

I mention these because, although I sometimes feel my life may sound carefree and ‘exotic’ to some people, ‘flitting here and there across nations’, there is also the other side of seeking to live, serve and accomplish things which don’t always make sense to other people but which I passionately believe in and feel led to pursue.  I can only do that through a combination of faith, work (when & where it’s available!), and the generosity of many of you who support me financially in big and small ways.

I mention them as well, because there may be other’s among you who having read this far(!) feel even a little stirred by what I am trying to do and the way I am trying to live, and would like to help me to continue.  As I said, I hope that my massage business will pick up quickly and ease some of the financial challenges of this way of living, but in the meantime if you would like to donate towards any of the above (travel costs, car repairs, new business start-up costs, etc), I’m including a QR Code to where you can do so, or you can use the give.net link on this page. (If you are N.American based, simply contact me and I can provide account information.). Or, if you’re local to Farnham, Guildford or Aldershot you could help my business through booking a massage! 

QR Code Booking Link for McLaren Massage

QR Code for Stewardship Giving Page

I am, as always, incredibly grateful to live the life I live, and am generally in awe of how God uses people, places and circumstances to enable me to do so, so thank you to any and all of you who have been a part of that!

Thank you also for once again reading this far, and for all the love and support you continue to offer me!  I hope you have a fantastic summer, wherever you are! 💕