On 29th January 2016 I was living in my flat in Hereward Close, Shirebrook.
When I bought the flat in 2005, God had given me the scripture – Hebrews 11:6 – And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
I found out many months later that the house I now live in in Forest Town was put on the market for sale on 29th January 2016.
On the morning of 29th January 2016 I was led by the Holy Spirit to drive to Lincoln. I parked at the bottom of the High Street and walked up towards the city centre.
There is an art gallery called Bluestone Art Gallery at 139 High Street where God has often spoken to me through the artwork in the window (interesting no. because Psalm 139 is a favourite psalm of mine). On this occasion there was a painting of 3 emojis, one red with a sad face, one orange with a neutral face and one green with a smiley face.
James phoned me at 8:26 a.m.
I am reminded of Romans 8:26 (NIV) – In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
and also that I was born again in 1994 on August 26.
At the time a van was pulling out of Flames of Lincoln at 134 High Street
Psalm 134 (a song of ascents) says:
1 Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who minister by night in the house of the Lord. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord. 3 May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.
It was very windy and I had trouble hearing James, so I went into Anchor Street to get away from the wind.
I am reminded that Jesus is our Anchor to whom we can go for refuge – Hebrews 6:18-20 (NLT)
18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
When I returned to Shirebrook on 29th January 2016 I went to the Christian Centre and on the counter were 3 boxes for tips, one red with a sad face, one orange with a neutral face and one green with a smiley face (just as seen in the picture in the window at the Bluestone Art Gallery in Lincoln).
The following day I awoke at 4:29 a.m. and the words on my lips were “phone me James, I can help you”. Immediately, my phone rang and it was James phoning from the High Street in Lincoln in need of help. I drove over to Lincoln and couldn’t find him anywhere until he phoned again at 6:19 a.m. (Hebrews 6:19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.)
On 2nd March 2016, I bought a new duvet cover from ASDA with an anchor on it, to remind me of how God had spoken to me on 29th January 2016, but it also had the words Faith, Hope and Love and Sailor and pictures of swallows
1 Corinthians 13:7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
1 Corinthians 13:13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Psalm 84:2-4 2 I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! 4 What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude
The following year, on 9th February 2017, I moved into the home I now have. The story of the time leading up to this move is here.
In the living room of my new home I had a ceiling light with a fan and I wondered why anyone would need one of those in this country. What followed was a hot summer and I was very grateful for the fan.
Also in my new home I had a wood burning stove and this reminded me of the day I had gone to Lincoln and found myself outside Flames of Lincoln on the very day (26th January 2016) that this house had been put on the market. I believe that God had a plan for me to live in this house even before I had put my flat in Shirebrook on the market.
The Cross is in the Field 