CELEBRATING SUMMER

Some midsummer madness going on here …….

Summer is here -  some days! In my part of the UK we've had days of torrential downpours, days of heatwaves (over 83F in my garden last Wednesday!) and days of just grey cloud. But most days have been clear blue sunny warmth. I love it! And I love summer. You?

But I'm also so over this lockdown thing. No, I don't want to go back to how it was before;  I'm longing to move forward into the new normal. 

So I thought it was just the time to celebrate summer and the new normal with a little midsummer madness.  There are some things in this blogpost I'm sure you'll love.

      - a new box-set of books  (Surprise!)  The third and last set.

      - booking now open for a Celtic Pilgrimage, May 2021

      - a new SPICE course. 

       - an audio book recording

1     SUMMER SURPRISE BOX SET

The first box set at the beginning of lockdown (wow, that seems a long time ago!) had 4 books and we sold all 20 sets in just 10 days! Everyone was wanting to read during those long hours at home. Now we're all planning our holidays - YAY!  I’ve been asked by lots of people for another set, as they are excellent value. So -

For the third and final offer, I've put together a wonderful summer surprise box set ready for your summer holiday reading.

You get 3 different new books, several signed by the authors, but you won’t know which 3 until you open your parcel! The total retail value of your set is usually over £25,  but you pay only £16.50

BOOK 1:   EITHER "The Making of US" by Sheridan Voysey 

                  OR "Taking my God for a Walk" by Tony Collins 

BOOK 2:   "Walking Back to Happiness" by Penelope Swithinbank

BOOK 3:  1 FREE copy of one of the other books in the photo above

To order your set  - and there are only a limited number, so do this NOW!

CLICK HERE to go to the order page. You will enter your credit card info, your address info and then the box set will be winging its way to you! 

There are also just 8 sets of the Virtual Pilgrimage box set still available so if you're not able to go away right now, why not travel the paths of other pilgrims and read their stories? All from the comfort of your armchair.  

CLICK HERE to order either box set - SUMMER SURPRISE or VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE

If you’ve already got a copy of one of them, why not give the new copy to someone for a birthday or Christmas gift? Or order a set to be delivered to a family member or friend with a birthday over the summer as a lovely surprise parcel. We can add a gift card if you email your message to penelope@ministriesbydesign.org when you order.

If you live outside the UK mainland, please note there is a surcharge for postage. 

2         CELTIC PILGRIMAGE

Are you feeling the need for time out?     

Needing to reset your soul? 

Thinking of 2021 for a real restorative time away? 



With restrictions being lifted, we can begin to plan for next year, God willing. 

the old Celtic coastal pathways in Cornwall

​​​​​​​BOOKING IS NOW OPEN for the Cornish Celtic Pilgrimage, walking from the furthest west of England to the furthest south - Lands End to the Lizard, along the coastal pathways often travelled by pilgrims and celts - and by the authorities trying to catch smugglers! 

​​​​​​​MAY 21-28, 2021 (Friday to Friday) 



PILGRIMAGE: the old/new way to wander, walk, think, pray - and reset your soul. To saunter along ancient paths. 

"Hiking - I don't like either the word or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not hike! Do you know the origin of that word 'saunter?' It's a beautiful word. Away back in the Middle Ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going, they would reply, "A la sainte terre,' 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them."
~ John Muir

If you would like the full details of this 8 day holiday, walking with just 12 women, talking, praying, having time to reflect and to be with God, email me here: penelope@ministriesbydesign.org

It will be a special week, with plenty of time for resetting your soul. The walk is only 45 miles (although there are a few steep ups and downs occasionally, as it's a coastal path) and there is a day off mid week to cross to St Michael's Mount with its pilgrim chapel.  It can be seen from the house where we will be staying.

St Michael’s Mount crowned with the pilgrim chapel. Visit on our midweek day off from walking!

This really is a vacation with a difference, as we walk, pilgrim, pray; and set aside time for the things of God. 

There are daily devotionals, based on Cornish Celtic saints and we visit ancient churches, old villages and walk along ancient pathways.

It can be hot and sunny or cold and blustery … no matter what time of year!  

May 2018 was (mostly!) sunny

The total is 12 women (including me) from any stage or walk of life, as long as you can walk 45 miles in a week! But you'll get info in advance on how to be as fit as possible in readiness.  So, with only 11 places bookable, email now for your full information and booking form.  penelope@ministriesbydesign.org   

Why not come with a friend?

Ancient Celtic cross tombstone in a Cornish churchyard

Sea views from the house where we will be staying

3.   THE SPICE COURSE : becoming your best you. 

helping you make a lasting transformation to live your life as God intended. 

I am so excited about this new course I am putting together ! Based on years of experience both in my own life and in helping those I mentor, it's a simple yet profound way to discover your best you, the YOU God made you to be. 

Many thanks to all those (97 ! THANK YOU! ) who filled in the survey for me about SPICE. 

I bit the bullet and complained to the host company who then allowed the option of paying a month's fee,  so that I could see more than the free 40 replies! And it was well worth it for all your comments and suggestions. 

Almost 70% would prefer a downloadable ebook/course with some online input.

85% would prefer 3 one hour (max) online sessions, over 3 weeks.

45% wanted most of the content to be input/speaking/teaching, with the rest spread evenly between reflections, readings, and online participation from attendees.

And then your lovely comments! People praying for me as I plan and write it; people wanting to sign up immediately; suggestions about formats; pleas for personal sessions with me to follow up. 

Having read the survey, prayed and thought carefully, and reflected, I feel the course will be a package  with options: 

• a downloadable ebook and access to a closed Facebook group

• 3 sessions (one a week) live on the closed Facebook group, but able to be accessed at any time after they're posted. 

• the option of 1, 3 or 6  (spread out over a few weeks or even months) one-to-one 45 minute sessions with me afterwards via FaceTime or Skype or Zoom. 

SPICE will be available in just a few weeks,  so that you can do it over the summer.

Details about how to sign up will be coming soon.

AND FINALLY - not just a paperback, not just on Kindle …..

AVAILABLE SOON AS AN AUDIO BOOK

Finally, some great news - 'Walking Back To Happiness' is being professionally recorded June 29 & 30 as an audio book and will soon be available for you to download and listen to. Please pray for me as I read it aloud over the 2 days and for the technology to work! 

If you skimmed through to the end, you missed

• the Summer Surprise Box Set  - click here to order it

• the Celtic Pilgrimage in Cornwall - email for full info

• info about SPICE. Full details coming soon!​​​​​​​

• ​​​​​​​the audio book of Walking Back to Happiness 

Enjoy your summer - may your days be filled with the surprising blessings God sends us. He's a God who loves you and delights in you and just enjoys being with you. I hope you enjoy being with him, too.  How do you best do that?  

Me? I'm off for a walk, of course!

- Penelope

HOW TO THRIVE IN ONLINE MEETINGS

NOT MERELY SURVIVE!

FACE TO FACE – via technology

Coping with the new normal is a steep learning curve.

I’ve been talking with a number of others, including a psychotherapist, my Supervisor, and a Counsellor, about how to survive the intensity of an hour speaking with someone via Skype or Zoom or whatever.

And we all agree how tiring it is.



 Here's what we’ve learned:

• Sit back from the screen and have not just your face but also most of your upper body visible, to help the other person. Staring at a vast face filling the whole screen and staring back at you is tiring. Don’t be afraid to ask at the beginning of the session: Is this all right? Do you need to see more of my face, my body?   Just seeing a face/s means there’s no other body language to observe and that’s tiring. 

• Choose the background carefully. A blank wall is easier to watch than a busy background which can be distracting, even if sub consciously. Zoom allows you to change your background and have waves rolling in or the northern lights behind you – but actually a moving background may not be helpful, and just a plain calm neutral background is easier for the other person. Don't be afraid to ask the person you are talking to for a plain wall behind them.

Here's where I used to sit for onscreen meetings. It's busy; you're already looking to see if you recognise any books, which is distracting for you. And subconsciously it says "look at me, I've got all these books in my study ..."

• Sit lower than your screen and look slightly up.  No one wants to peer up your nostrils which is what happens if you are looking down at your screen. And looking down on others is not good body language. If you are using a laptop or iphone, prop them higher on a pile of books or something, so that you are looking slightly up to the screen. If you have a set desktop screen, get a lower chair.

So here's what I'm now doing - a blank wall, screen slightly higher (in fact I usually have it a bit higher than this, balanced on some books!) Light on my face so you can see my features - some of those faces on the multi screen above are almost in darkness and you have to peer and concentrate to see them. And honestly?  - better without the scarf. Keep it simple!

• Find a quiet room where you won’t be disturbed. Or overheard. Again, that’s easier if you are using a moveable device. If there are others in the house, tell them you don’t want to be disturbed. Preferably lock the door, especially if small children are likely to burst in while you are talking.

• An hour may be too long, even if that’s your normal session. Better to do little and often. Don’t be afraid to say enough’s enough, let’s do it again soon. Whether that’s family, friends or clients. This is an intense way to be with another person, there are none of the usual nuances of the physical presence, and there’s little opportunity to look away. We are concentrating the whole time – and that’s tiring. As is seeing a face fill the whole screen. With family and friends, do other things and chat alongside. Maybe eat together and chat, as you would normally, rather than staring at the face on the screen.

• Wear lipstick. It makes you look and feel more put-together even when you’re not and are not sporting any other makeup or have not plucked your eyebrows. Those can’t be seen anyway but lipstick, bright and bold, makes an impact. Sorry, men, no idea what your equivalent is.

SPIRITUAL DIRECTION and counselling.

• Preparation before and reflection afterwards. These normally happen while you are travelling to and from your session. Remember to build in time around the session for this. Even if it’s only 5 – 10 minutes, take the time in prayer and quietness, in order to hear the Lord and to make the most of your session. Schedule in 10-15 mins prior to the appointment, to get ready physically, emotionally and spiritually; and the same afterwards to pray and process and reflect.

• Have calm and quiet around you.  If your desk is cluttered and there are unpaid bills or stuff needing urgent attention, you will be distracted. Try to make a clear space with nothing else to take you mind off what is going on.  And remove your mobile phone as well - even that is distracting, for you and for others.

• Have a candle ready, if possible.  Usually you come into the house, there's chat, making coffee  – and then there's movement to the counselling room or study, to settle into a quiet space, pray, take time to BE. That is a ritual which makes a difference, although you may not have realised it! On screen, the temptation is to go straight into the session with no time to “be” in each other’s presence or indeed that of the Lord. So, at the start of the session,  have a few moments to catch up socially, then take a deep breath, each light a candle,  and have a few moments of silence, followed by prayer, to journey from everyday life into this sacred space.

What have you found helpful? How do you cope with online meetings and sessions? 

I've almost had it with this lockdown - haven't you? So I'm escaping by reading books set in other places. And there are still just a few sets of the VIRTUAL PILGRIMAGE  books available, so you can escape to Spain or France or Northumberland and walk with the authors through beautiful countryside and go deeper with God as they walk. Buying the set gives you A THIRD OFF RETAIL PRICE.  Great as a gift too - have it sent direct to that person with a birthday coming up! To order click here: