How I came to tear Fund

As I was saying in last week's post...

“Ten minutes later I got an email from a Christian friend of mine asking if I knew of anyone who would be interested in being the Finance Director at Tear Fund.”

Something life changing

So I felt that the Lord was listening. But it was a very different salary grade, based in London, working for a charity: none of which ticked my boxes. Except one. The one that read: ‘I want to do be doing something useful – something that’s life changing for me and others'. So I thought I really can’t ignore this but I don’t really want to do it. I thought I was probably being nudged in that direction but I really wasn’t switched on to it. So I pretty much kept it to myself. I didn’t ask any of my friends their view and I didn’t ask any of my friends for prayer.

Be yourself

But then I spoke a little to a friend just before my initial interview and he came up with the wisest words I have ever heard. I’d said to him that I wasn’t suitable for it; too extrovert, too commercial, too sceptical of charities and that it didn’t suit my personality. He just said “Be yourself. Whatever you do at the interview just be true to yourself. If you are right for the role you’ll get it and they will know what they are getting. If you’re not right that’s fine.

Blown away

So I went along for an open chat the executive team and was totally blown away. It was just amazing - the most transformational half hour of my life. One of the team said to me “I want to change the face of charities and I think you’re the person to do that with me”. Wow!

I finally got the phone call one evening officially offering me the post and asking if I wanted a few days to consider it. Consider it? No – I accepted right then and there! How life can change.

Ali

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Have a Little Faith

Happy Holidays!

I’ve just got back from a wonderful holiday with my family and some of our best friends - it’s been fantastic - I always know it’s going to be fantastic!  We all love each other, so that means our kids and their kids and the adults all gel very well. We get such a buzz when our friends get on with our kids on a different level to how we relate to them as parents. It’s like they have an adult mentor who share your values but also have the ear of your kids.

Who's mentoring your kids?
So my son gets on with this mate of ours like a house on fire. My son’s very arty and so is our friend so where we don’t understand our son, our friend knows exactly what’s going on. He’s been such a good mentor for him, really good through his whole life. We went off to some archaeological ruins and our son just salivated the whole way round and our mate was the same, whereas we are a bit like ‘we’ve done this and we’re not really into the ancient ruins or ancient culture’. But they loved it, and then having realised they had a mutual interest in it they went off and did various other arty thing’s together.

Read more...
Pete, my husband, just sits and looks and didn’t read a book until two and half weeks into the holiday. But he spends his work life reading, a lot of reading, so his idea of relaxation is to just sit and stare. But I spend my time on self-improvement; I don’t know what that says about myself, but I read business books and I read strategy books, I read leadership books and stuff, management books, together with some faith books, I read some gorgeous faith books on holiday, really, really good and not necessarily Christian.

My girlfriend gave me this book ‘Have a Little Faith’ and I just have to recommend it. It’s very much about faith in action and tells the true story of how this guy gets involved with the homeless. It has a very strong message, not about religion but about love and loving, it was lovely, I absolutely loved it and found myself crying!

Get it, you’ll love it too.

Ali

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