Life in Wiltshire

I have moved. I am still in transition, but I am no longer at WEC HQ, and I am getting used to a different rhythm of life in the sticks. There are a couple of things I would like to share with you about this change.

Get Britain Standing

I got an email with this title, and I was converted, or it may have been this BBC article. I realised that sitting down all the time at my desk was neither comfortable nor good for me. People in drawing offices typically stand, and the benefits of standing to work appealed to me. The campaign has linked with manufacturers who supply rather pricey sit-stand desks, but there are lots of alternative solutions. If you follow that link you will see IKEA Galant, a desk with A-shaped adjustable legs, meaning that you can make them fairly high. The most basic Galant desk is £49!
So for the last month that has been what I have done. My office is tight for space anyway, so standing is better, and if I need to I can use a bar stool to sit on. I still have my office chair, and occasionally I use it to sit and read, but it's feeling a bit sad and neglected these days.

Operation World

Since we moved to Wiltshire we have left behind the established rhythm of chapel for half an hour every morning (and two hours on a Tuesday). So my wife and I have decided to take seriously the need to pray for the world, and we are using Operation World daily for this purpose. There is now the slimmer Pray for the World, which has the same essential material, but arguably in a more digestible form. Both issue from the research offices of Operation World, which has established a serious reputation for information about the state of the world, and in particular the church and its needs in every country of the world.

I have recently seen one TV programme, and caught the tail end of another, in a series called Don't Panic. In these programmes statistical showman Prof Hans Rosling looks at the state of the world, and suggests that the elimination of absolute poverty in the world is actually possible by 2030. That is a tremendously exciting and important prospect. I want that to happen, but I can't do a lot personally towards that. But by prayer I can be involved in seeing the gospel get to the remaining unreached peoples of the world. That is just as important; indeed, they should go hand in hand. The task may not be completed by 2030, but I very much want to see it done as soon as possible. Get yourself an up to date copy of Operation World or Pray for the World and get praying for that. Let's join together to change the world!