In need of some exercise?

On Wednesday - yes, THIS Wednesday, I shall meet this year's Pilgrims and we will head off to the Cotswolds for the Pilgrimage. I am excited ... apprehensive ... and I am sure they are too! Will you join us in spirit even if you are not with us physically?  I will be tweeting each day about our progress - find it here: @minstriesbydsgn And maybe you can take a few moments each day as you read our tweets to think about your own walk, your journey with Christ - maybe think about some of the verses which remind us that we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7 ) that we need to keep in step with the Spirit  (Gal 5:16) and we are pressing on towards the goal! (Phil 3:12-14) For the Pilgrims next week, that goal is Bath Abbey, where we will be having our own service when we arrive  - footsore, maybe,  tired - but exhilarated no doubt! 100 miles up and down the Cotswold escarpment.

The Cotswold Pilgrimage

Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey

For centuries, Christians have walked to special places, to take time to be with God and allow God the time and space to work in their lives. A pilgrimage is a setting aside of one’s normal routine, and taking time to reflect on what the Lord is saying, and allowing the rhythm of the walk to give mental and spiritual refreshment. It is a physical expression of our spiritual journey with God; it is a time to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation in the company of others; and it is a desire to spend quality time with God in a new way.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jer. 6:16

SO HERE WE GO!  A Pilgrimage Walk in the stunningly beautiful hillsides of the English Cotswolds. We will be  spending 8 days on a vacation with a difference: walking on the ancient footpaths and pilgrim paths from Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey. It's the fourth time I've done this!

We will worship God in the beauty of His creation; take time to think of how we can live our lives as a daily offering of worship to Him; and allow ourselves the time and space to exercise spiritually as well as physically. Daily devotional talks each evening will be based on different Walks in Scripture or on verses we learn as we walk.  We will walk and talk, pray and sing, reflect and contemplate, listen for  that still small voice.

Join with us - in prayer, in time with God, maybe even in some extra exercise?

Might you share this?   - repost and retweet, as we'd love to have lots of people praying for us!

And why not think about doing the Pilgrimage with me next year?

Asking for your prayers - please?

Dear praying friends - I have a huge favour to ask of you!  As you know, I am leading a Pilgrimage again this year, with 12 of us walking from Chipping Campden to Bath Abbey, in just over a week's time: we meet on Wednesday September 12th and begin walking on Thursday morning. During the Pilgrimage, I will be leading and guiding the walking, and each evening giving a talk on a walk in Scripture.  There will be verses to learn as we walk, and times of prayer and meditation; and often I find I need to be spiritual director for some who want individual help.So my reason for writing is to ask if you would be willing to pray,  and especially to support me in prayer as I lead this week's adventure! I feel very ill-equipped, spiritually and physically, this year more than ever before; and desperately need prayer for strength, grace, wisdom and love.  Prayers for safety, too, as we walk up and down the Cotswold Escarpments, covering 100 miles in just 6 days; for good weather; for friendships to be made; and more than anything for each person to hear the Lord speak to her deeply. And pray for my husband Kim, left at home alone, not something he finds easy!  Thank you in advance for your prayers and support.   Monday/Tuesday September 10/11th I will be co-leading the Church Staff Retreat with Kim - I'm doing the cooking! Please pray for stamina and for a sense of excitement and anticipation, and that our recent holiday will have been really refreshing spiritually and physically.   Wednesday September 12th  The pilgrims meet at Heathrow Airport & a shuttle takes us to Chipping Campden. We'll have the first evening's session (each session includes worship, talk and prayers) Please pray for safety in travel, for safe arrivals, and for a good time as we begin to get to know one another. Thursday September 13th The Pilgrimage begins - with the longest day, 17 miles to Winchcombe. Please pray for stamina to walk and then to give a talk in the evening! And for good rest and sleep each night.  Friday September 14th  The shortest day, just 14 miles to Charlton Kings. Pray that I can find the hotel - it's off the Path and I have to map read a different footpath to get there! Saturday September 15th As we walk to Painswick, please pray that the meditations and spiritual exercises we will be doing as we walk each day will be meaningful and that the Lord will really speak to people in a deep lifechanging way. Sunday September 16th We head to North Nibley, where there is a huge monument to Tyndale, printer of the Bible in English.  Please pray that the Bible will come alive to us in new ways as we read and pray through Scripture, using Contemplative prayer and Lectio Divina. Monday September 17th Walking to Tormarten, we will gain views of the Severn estuary and the Welsh hills. Please pray that our horizons will be enlarged by the Lord and we will continue to be open to what HE may be saying to us; and for me to be a channel to be used by Him. Tuesday September 18th The final day, walking into Bath; and then a short service the Abbey itself. Then the final talk and Communion together. Please pray that we get there in one piece!  And for the final evening to be very special as we reflect on where we've come from and what we've learned, and what the Lord is leading us on to. Wednesday September 19th Parting after such a profound experience can be painful. Please pray that I am understanding and helpful; that people are depending on the Lord and not on one another; and that travels home are easy and uneventful for everyone. THANK YOU for your prayers: we really really need them!