BEGINNING UNLIMITED

Happy memories from 11 years ago! I thought you would enjoy a photo to bring this book  excerpt to life! Saturday 21st July 2007 I have moved from a community where I smiled at the hairdresser – had to start dashing past her shop when we changed our allegiances – knew the greengrocer and the newsagent, where the coffee shop knew my husband’s order before he spoke it. And yet all these people didn’t really know us. They knew our faces. We were part of their fabric. Occasionally in crisis they contacted us, but in the main we were all anonymous to one another. We could dip in and out of society as we chose. We could pretend to ourselves that we were there for everyone, but in reality had only space for so many friends. We were friendly with everyone but not everyone was our friend. It is not the same in the village. We are not anonymous. Everything we do has an effect. So today I find myself covered in green face-paint, wearing a green ball gown and a long red wig. I don’t d...

It is good to reflect. To remember and rejoice. To release any pain. Four years ago today it seemed like our hopes was dashed as funding for Pete, as a trainee youth outreach worker, fell through. Now we look forward to employing him as a fully fledged youth worker having completed his degree and training.  A s I reflect on how we got to the joyful moment I know that his journey to this point has not been simple. He and his wife have needed immense faith and courage at points. None more so than 10th July 2014 when everything seemed to have fallen apart. These excerpts from ‘Beginning Unlimited’ tell just a small part of this story. Wednesday 15th January 2014 It feels right that now is the time to think about expanding our staff team. With just James, myself, an intern and a handful of volunteers, we all feel stretched too thinly. We were amazed when out of the blue Pete approached us to ask if we would consider him being our youth worker while he studies for a d...

I honestly didn't think too hard about what 350 books would look like, but probably I was fondly imagining 2 reasonable size boxes that could easily be stashed in a corner somewhere. Now that they have arrived the size of the task ahead of me is very apparent. Writing the book was the easy part. Just being honest with words as I typed in the quietness of my kitchen was a process I relished. Even the first, second and third edits were enjoyable as the book kept on getting better, being honed into something sleeker and more coherent. Today, it becomes less comfortable. Today I have to start promoting this book. I keep being told it won't sell itself, I need to get out there and promote it. This feels way outside of my comfort zone, but despite my reluctance I am determined to keep pressing ahead, as I am proud of this book. I set out to write a book that was honest about the life of a family planting a church, including the full story, not just the 'facebook' highlights...

I hope these endorsements give you an idea of what the book is about! The Right Reverend Dame Sarah Mullally, Bishop of London “We talk about our longing to see young people engage with the gospel and the church.  What we forget is that this takes imagination, perseverance and because of the nature of young people while they may encounter Christ they may not become church members.  Liz has written an amazing book which  recounts the first 10 years of Unlimited through her eyes.  She demonstrates that Christian ministry is not about one person but many and that if the work and those involved are not rooted in Christ the workers will weary and loose heart and the work will fail.  I commend the book to you.” Louie Thorpe, i n ministry (including Church Planting) for 32 years alongside husband Bishop Ric Thorpe "It's a beautifully written book, full of honesty in the struggles, integrity in the resolutions and sheer grit to follow God's call!  It encourages yo...

I am so excited to share the cover of my book. It makes this whole project seem excitingly real! I'm hoping to have some advance copies within 4 weeks, the book itself will be sold at Summer Festivals in the UK, and then in September it hits the book shops.

I have always wanted to write a book. It has always been a longing within me. I know I am not alone in this desire, but I think I had accepted that it would always remain as just that. A hope. An aspiration. Another thing that would remain forever on my bucket list. I have tried before. In my eagerness to be published I followed a first degree in physics with yet another, hoping to get my name indelibly in ink. I think I thought that somehow then I would never be forgotten. I succeeded in part. I did publish a few scientific articles during my PhD, but I know I won't be remembered for them.  I'm not being modest when I state that hardly more than a handful of people will have read my specialist papers on the ground breaking work I pioneered (truly it was!) on the electron microscopy of Rare Earth metals. If you don't know what I mean by Rare Earth metals then picture in your head if you will the periodic table. There is a main group of elements sitting in a table in the...