Hello SUMites, Ann here. So, something momentous happened this week on the SUM front, which I'm about to tell you. But unfortunately, it came out of a time of great difficulty. So, this post will be a mixed bag. I am going to share something hard, and something beautiful. This will be a transparent post, in fact. This past week my relationship with someone in my extended family fractured. It blew up, and it is quite possibly the end of the relationship. It is affecting the wider family, as things have come out that have been painful for everyone to process. As a result, I have been under enormous emotional stress. So, I'm going to take the rest of September off from writing to reset. I would greatly appreciate your prayers. But, as I said, something else happened. And this is a shift for Bryce and me: The second night... Continue reading

Ann here! Oh dear, I said I'd write today but I've ended up coming down sick, ugh. So we'll have a few days of quiet on the blog until I'm better. Back soon! Love, Ann Continue reading

My friends, Ann here. Ok, so I've got this funny quirk. I do believe it's a quirk God gave me, but sometimes I think God gives us some crazy quirks. Do you have one, I wonder? Anyway... Mine's this: I take especially careful note of the things that happen in my days, and I record my life. I've got this living document on which I have tracked all the key spiritual things that have happened to me since my birth in 1975! Yep, it is a little long. And by 'living document', I mean I am continually updating it. On the document, I have written a summary of the things God said to me on certain dates, things I asked God, world events, and other notable events in my life. If I have a dream or vision, I record it. I have tried to keep it as precise as possible,... Continue reading

My friends You never know just HOW God will speak to one of your kids! Something cool just happened in my world: My son, Travis, who is now a young adult, hasn't been to church with me for quite a few years. He went for a while when he was younger, but there came a point where it was his choice. He was about 14 at the time. (Parents of teens get to that point sometimes). He has always been an intellectually curious boy - In particular, he likes science and engineering, and he thoroughly enjoys watching factual videos on YouTube that have given him a great general knowledge. He's often talked to me about things like space rockets, volcanoes, science experiments, and such like. I grin at him and love the fact he's got that strength. That's my son. Anyway: Here's what happened this week. I found out --... Continue reading

Dear SUMites, following on from last week's posts, here's part three of our series on handling a demonized family member. For those who missed it here are part one and part two. Continue reading

Hello my friends We're continuing with the topic of how to handle a demonized family member. For part one click here. I promised that I was going to upload a video on this topic, but I've decided to first share with you the eight key points that are in my video, and let you mull them over before we continue. Ok, here we go: Eight keys to handling a demonized family member -- Forgive them, repeatedly and deliberately Identify what spirit is at work, with God's help, and become determined not to bow to that spirit 'Strengthen yourself in the Lord' before you spend time with them Think of clear and practical ways in which you can show them love Don't try to reason with them Instead fight this thing actively in your prayer closet, and use spiritual warfare activities Take authority over the thing coming near you and impacting... Continue reading

My friends Today I want to turn to a topic that is a little edgy. I wonder if some of you will read this and find you have a situation like this in your own life. Ok, let's go -- Sometimes there will be a situation where a family member -- either in your home, or extended family -- is strongly under the influence of demonic activity. I'm using use the term 'demonized'. I don't necessarily mean demon possessed, but they are under the influence. They have let something in from a demonic source that they're enjoying or battling with, and it has got its claws into them quite severely and it is permeating their behavior. In such a case, that person can be extremely difficult to spend time with and, as a Christian, you see it for what it is. But how can you handle it? Examples of this... Continue reading

My friends One of the beautiful things about running this ministry is that we get constant encouragements from God as we go along. From a personal point of view, he will often send me a confirmation of what I have just written about, as if to say, "Keep going, my hand is on this ministry." A quirky 'coincidence' will often happen, or a testimony will come through, or a dream, a word or a picture from the Holy Spirit. In ministry you need this. If you didn't have that from God it would become too difficult to keep going - You need the quiet confidence in your heart. Well, with the 'house' series it happened again. God gave me a little nod. What happened was this: A couple of days ago, after writing my last post, which I knew would be the last in the series, I was sitting in... Continue reading

My friends, while travelling I've ended up staying in quite a few houses of different shapes, sizes and flavors. It sure has had me reflecting. Bryce and I have now landed on the island of Gozo, which is part of Malta. It is not too far from Libya and Tunisia. This means it has a middle eastern flavor. The house we are staying in, for a month, is a wee stone house. Built in 1430, the owner believes it might be the oldest house on Gozo. It is like a little cave inside. Limestone dust falls on us while we're inside the house, trying to stay cool. And it has a rooftop that I go and sit on in the morning to read my Bible. Here is the view from the roof top. It is like living in Biblical times! Not only that, but I am literally living and breathing... Continue reading

Hi friends Ann here -- Today I wanted to interrupt our 'house' series, to write a short and sweet post. I've had the word 'Resolute' in my head for much of the day. So that's what I wanted to say: Be RESOLUTE, SUMites. I pray that God enables you to be resolute. I bless you to be resolute in your hard and bumpy path. An online dictionary definition of 'resolute' says that to be resolute is to be 'admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering.' That's what we have to be. My friends, the SUM situation might be a journey of many years. Your faith journey might involve some unexpected twists and turns, disappointments, steps back, or detours. Things don't always look the way you think they're going to look; God's move on your life is always surprising. God is surprising! Stay resolute. Love you all Ann Continue reading

By Ann Hutchison My friends, today I went a-walking through country lanes with Bryce and my parents (photo attached). As we did so, I walked past quite a few houses that I deemed my 'dream home'. I salivated over these houses and wished they were mine. Yep, a little material lusting went on this morning. What would your dream home be, I wonder? Mine would be old, British, in a country village, with a thatched roof, a rose-overgrown garden, and spacious .... Of course, way beyond what I could afford! But is that really my dream home?! It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife (Proverbs 21:9, ESV) And Better a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened calf and hatred with it (Proverbs 15:17, ESV) God tells me, through these verses, that the most precious... Continue reading

Hello SUMites! Today, I'm going to pop two verses from Proverbs on here, so that we can chew them over during the weekend. They are two similar verses. Here we go: It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife (Proverbs 21:9, ESV) And Better a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened calf and hatred with it (Proverbs 15:17, ESV) My friends, what do these verses bring to mind? What does a dinner of herbs vs a fattened calf look like in today's society? Have you ever eaten a dinner where there was hatred with it? What does a quarrelsome person behave like, and what do they do to their home? What does a dinner with love look like? I can feel some tough stuff a-brewing. I personally have lived in a home with a quarrelsome... Continue reading

Ann here! Well, SUMites, this week I had a very pleasurable experience, from a SUM point of view. My son Miles is in Birmingham, England, right now playing sport; and, so, we are watching. He is playing in the under-20s world championships for Disc Ultimate, a team sport involving a frisbee. He and a team of other boys are battling it out on the fields against teams like Belgium, Canada, Japan, China, and Mexico. Exciting!! One of the sweetest parts of this week is that one of our SUMites, Libby, who lives locally, came for the day to support our team and join in the fun of the tournament. Not only that, Libby brought her two sons, one of whom is in his early teens and the other in his twenties, along with the older son's girlfriend. The Son was shining on us as we watched the games together and... Continue reading

My friends, I am still lingering over Proverbs 24, which encourages us to build our houses with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Sometimes God plants you in a scripture, and you don’t move on from it for a while! Well, that’s the case here. By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3-4, NIV) I did a little study of these three words -- Knowledge, wisdom and understanding -- as I was keen to know what they looked like more specifically. Here we go: Wisdom, in Hebrew, is the word Hakma. It means, skill in war, wisdom in administration, shrewdness, prudence in religious affairs, and wisdom in ethics. Understanding, in Hebrew, is the word Tabun. It means intelligence, discretion, reason, the act of understanding, insight. Knowledge, in Hebrew, is the word Da’at. It means cunning,... Continue reading

Hello all! Today's post was delayed due to the global IT outage – Oh dear! But thankfully the blog is up and running again, phew. I have been, once again for a few days, staying at my parents’ house in Oxfordshire, England. Sitting at their dining table yesterday afternoon, I looked up to see my Mum’s Bible sitting open. She reads it all the time and leaves it sitting around here and there. I thought to myself, ‘That is a woman who builds her house with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.’ Later, she and I went for a walk along the River Thames, and to a pretty village. We passed a church, and it had a verse on it. She stopped me and said, ‘You know, that verse is a special verse that I pray over Travis’ (my son). Then she spoke it out, the whole verse to me. She then... Continue reading

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV) SUMites, today we're going to talk about how the above verse applies to our houses. Collectively, we each have a house that we treasure. Mine is in Auckland, New Zealand; and it consists of Bryce, my husband, and Travis and Miles, my two young adult sons. Yours is somewhere else, in another pocket of our world. I love that about our SUM community. We each build our 'house' carefully: We think about what we teach our children and spouse, and we think about what we allow into that house. I would say every SUMite I know thinks ever so carefully about such things. And in this way, we are each already building with wisdom. Sometimes God will give us a blueprint as to how... Continue reading

Ann here, with the beginning of our series on building our house. As a reminder: Our 'house' =our family, and our descendants. It includes ourselves, our spouse, any children and grandchildren we might have, our home, and the legacy we leave. So, let's go! Here is the first proverb we're going to look at: By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV) I am going to pause here and ask some questions before we continue with the next blog post (which I am yet to write): What is the difference between 'wisdom', 'understanding', and 'knowledge'? Is there a difference? What are 'rare and beautiful treasures' in Kingdom terms - what might they look like? What about the different 'rooms' of our house in spiritual terms? What might that mean? Can I suggest... Continue reading

My friends, hello. We're shortly going to be looking at the concept of our houses -- What does it look to build and care for your own house, spiritually? But before we do, I wanted to share a visual that God gave me a while ago: He showed me that the SUM community is a collection of individual houses, all clustered together into a mountain. Take a look, if you would, at the illustration of it that I've made here, and have a think about what this picture says to you. Why do you think our houses are in the shape of a mountain? For me this speaks of the sheer strength that we have in the spirit realm. You may feel like your little house, your family, is alone ... But the truth is that it is part of a gigantic force, a mountain constructed by God. Well, I... Continue reading

My friends, Bryce and I have been joined by our children for this next month. They have flown over from New Zealand for their university holidays and we are now in Italy together. It is precious being with them. This past week we have stayed in the home of an Italian family, on another house exchange. This house is in a non-touristy part of Italy, the north-east, in flat farmland. For miles and miles in every direction there has been nothing but flat fields. So we have taken bike rides to the local supermarket, enjoyed the fields of sunflowers, and driven to the places locals hang out, such as the local beach. The house itself is a cheerful family home, rural style. On the walls, the children and family are celebrated, with many messages of love and huge home-made photos. The kitchen has a bruschetta machine in it, and a... Continue reading

Dear SUMites, Ann here. Quite often I’ll receive an email from a reader saying "Help! I am overcome by feelings of regret about having married out of disobedience to God." For these dear ones, it is a truly difficult battle, where they are wrangling deeply with the life they've constructed; and, of course, they cannot share these feelings with their spouse. ((Hugs to you if that's you right now)). Know this: Many in our community have battled this one, and you are not alone. Some were Christians who chose to marry a non-believing partner, suspecting deep-down that it was not God's will. Once married, and once having drawn close to God again, a period of deep reflection and regret follows. Those who’ve gone through this have asked questions like, ‘What now?' 'Is it possible to celebrate my marriage?’ or, ‘Can my marriage still be blessed?’ Often, they love their spouse... Continue reading

Hello SUMites, Ann here. There's been sweet aspect to my time in Europe that I thought I'd share today: Before coming away, Bryce and I signed up to a House Exchange website and during this time in Europe we've been 'house swapping' with strangers. It has been totally fun! It works using a points system: You let people stay in your house and you earn some points; then you can use those points to stay in someone else's house from anywhere around the world. So, to start off, we had a lady from Iceland stay in our house, during a time when our home was going to be empty. Then a few months later, we gave a family from Tahiti our house. My family rolled their eyes a little at all this but went along with it - 'Mum and her crazy ideas'!! However, this week Bryce and I reaped... Continue reading

SUMites, Time for a little ministry update: Farewell Amanda Our lovely Amanda, after writing for us for over two years, has let us know that she's needing to step down from writing to have more time to focus on her young family. Life is busy as a young mum, and many of us have been there -- I certainly have. So, though we will miss Amanda, we completely understand, and we wish her all the best. As it is often said, our families are our first ministry. We're ever so thankful for the time Amanda has put in to writing on the blog, and we're thankful to Daniel, in the background, who gave his blessing for her to do this. But Amanda will not be leaving our ministry: She will stay reading along and you'll see her in the comments every now and again. What I've loved about Amanda's writing... Continue reading

Ann here! I said this morning: "What shall I write about today Lord?" He seemed to whisper back: "Tell them about the key to success." The key to all this? The key to being an overcomer in your faith life? The key is: Absorb the Word of God. Drink it in as often as water. Drink it in regularly throughout your day. Meditate on it. Accept it. Believe it. Act on it. Read it without your own cultural prejudices or ideas of what should be 'right'. If you see something in the Old Testament, for example, that doesn't sit comfortably with our modern-day culture don't judge it: Ask God about it and ask for the 'mind of Christ'. Read it with an open heart. Be willing to have your mind changed. Let the written Word of God do its good work in you. Let it implant itself in you. My... Continue reading

Hello everyone, Ann here! Last week, after the Camino, Bryce and I returned to stay with my parents in Oxfordshire, England; we have been spending quite a lot of time there recently. Given this extended time we're spending with my parents, I thought it would be timely to talk about living out our spiritual mismatches amongst extended family. For some of us, we live out our SUMs in the context of a full-on Christian family, where everyone except our spouse is Christian. That can be very helpful. It can be the only form of church our spouse encounters. And, if we have kids, the grandparents can be a helpful spiritual influence. However, for others in our community, having a Christian extended family can feel sometimes 'unsafe' because you just don't know what your family is going to say. Or, you feel that your family don't understand. You might even fear... Continue reading

My friends, this morning I woke and thought I would like to share some final reflections on how walking the Camino impacted me spiritually. I had actually written a completely different post for today, but that one can wait. Funny how this happens! The Camino (which Bryce and I have just walked a part of) is essentially a celebration of the life of one of the twelve apostles, James. James is a character in the Bible whom I had not thought much about before. Yet, even though I had not given him much attention, James was one of Jesus's three closest disciples. Jesus named him and his brother John 'sons of thunder', for their sheer passion; and then there was Peter. The three of them, together, were chosen to be at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8), a significant fact. Peter went on to be the rock on whom Jesus built his... Continue reading