Why Am I Blogging?

Why indeed? I am a 35 year old theology student and Church In Wales ordinand who’s training at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford for a few more months until I’m ordained and start work as a curate. I’m married to Amanda and have a beautiful daughter called Elizabeth who’s 1 month old. I’ve been meaning to blog for years but never really got round to it. Similarly I’ve been meaning to write some sort of spiritual journal tracking my journey through life and especially this bizarre journey from atheist who worked in IT to trainee vicar and Christian for almost as long but again never  managed to stick at it. So here’s the plan, I thought I might try both at once. 

Now obviously this is more public than a journal might be so you can’t expect to find everything that I might journal about on here, and you might well find that names have been changed to protect the innocent (or less innocent). But I will try to be as honest with you as I can and as is appropriate given all that. 

So why now?

As I said I’m nearly done at theological cemetery, and so we’ll be moving in the next few months to Cardiff so I can start work as a curate in the Church in Wales, I’ve also just become a Dad so life is all about change for us at the moment – nappies especially – and hopefully this blog will help me make some sort of sense of the liminality that’s in full swing around me. Oh and I sort of think that God might be wanting me to.

I’ll also point out bits and bobs from around the web that I find funny or encouraging or I want to say something about or just find again.

So why “From the inside out”?

It’s from a hillsong song, and it’s about how Jesus’ love gets hold of us and  into us and then transforms us from the inside out. Not all at once, goodness only knows we still stuff up plenty but gradually and inexorably he makes us like him. It’s a good song.

A thousand times I’ve failed
Still Your mercy remains 
And should I stumble again
I’m caught in Your grace

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

So that’s me. And that’s this. Let’s see where it goes.