I suspect the ending to my first post ‘Meet Little Miss Particular’ sparked varying reactions. Maybe it turned you off my site altogether – though if you’re reading this then something must have ignited your curiosity! Maybe it was something you could relate to. Maybe it was something you couldn’t. Maybe you were offended by the fact the statement I’m a Christian was only included as a postscript, an afterthought some might say. If that’s the case then I’d like to refer you to the film ‘P.S. I Love You’ (2007). One of my favourite films of all time for many reasons. The primary one being that ‘gifts’ is my love language so to watch an entire film about a man leaving thoughtful gifts (and letters, oh the letters!) to his wife, all over the place, ticks all my boxes. The fact that that man is Gerard Butler is just the icing on the cake! (Don’t worry Mr Particular knows all about my celebrity crush – it was there long before he was!). And then there’s the title, the concept of the whole film. If you haven’t seen the film then I don’t want to ruin it for you – though please go and watch it immediately – but all the letters end with the same P.S. and it’s not an afterthought. It’s the whole thought that underpins everything you see in the film.

And that’s how I meant it. Being a Christian is another one of my labels but it’s not one I feel I have to introduce myself with. But it should be one you can see or feel if you get to know me and it should underpin everything I do. Think of it this way: I’m married but when I meet someone, I don’t say “ Hi, I’m Leanne and I’m married” (unless I thought you were trying to come on to me!). But there are clues that would tell you that about me – the obvious being my wedding ring and my title, another would be seeing me with the same guy often. But I hope you’d also know it from how I act. The way I speak to men or behave around other men, should show respect to my Husband and being married should underpin my behaviour in certain situations.

Similarly I don’t usually introduce myself as a Mummy – unless it’s a school gate scenario and then “I’m the twins’ Mum” is common practice – but again there will be clues and it shouldn’t take a detective to work it out.

That’s how I view my faith. I have often put myself down for not being a very good evangelist, for not throwing a bible to everyone I meet. But I have come to accept over the years that it’s just not who I am. That doesn’t make me a bad Christian it just makes me, me! I often envy the confidence and security of people who feel called to be evangelists but that’s their calling. It’s not mine, at least not in the same way.

But if I believe there’s a God and if I believe my life should reflect that then there should be clues you can see. For me usually it’s the falling in $%*! and coming out smelling of roses scenarios I often find myself in, the ones where I’ve had 100% faith in God even in the darkest times and seen (sometimes) miraculous outcomes, that my friends have then witnessed too. But it’s also in the every day of how kind I am, how caring and thoughtful of others, to mention just a few. It’s being generous in times of lacking and positive in times of hardship. It’s not exactly something I’ve mastered yet and I’m not sure I ever will! To quote Rag & Bone Man, ‘I’m only human after all’! But it is my daily endeavour. And it’s the reason for this website.

There are Bible scholars, theologians and evangelists that may appeal more to some of you than I do. And that’s ok. But I believe there are others who need to talk about the experiences of being a Christian in the every day and how that plays out in this ever changing World of ours. That doesn’t exclude the Bible or theology but for me it’s often about considering these, talking out the confusing elements and then applying them to life in a realistic way. So I might not always explicitly talk about the Bible or God but please know that my faith in a living God is behind everything I do and write. It effects every area of my life – sometimes easily, sometimes in the most challenging of ways. It’s the reason my life is full of perpetual questions – exhausting for me but great for you as I have a lot to say!