So, September has arrived and I am in the midst of busyness. I've been away from home (bar four nights) for the last 3 weeks and will arrive back properly on Thursday. This explains, I hope, the lack of blogging, especially as web access has not been readily available.
I hope to write a proper post within the next week, maybe explaining what I've been doing, possibly even a photo or two (just to prove that I do still use my camera). But I'll not promise anything ;)
Have a good week everyone!
Monday, 8 September 2008
Friday, 15 August 2008
One Year On
I set off for the Soul Survivor festival with the youth group tommorrow. That's a whole 5 days of youth-leadering, going to massive worship & teaching events (YAY!), workshops and general hanging out with all the fun of camping. I'm really looking forward to it.
Last year's Soul Survivor was a very special time for me. It was great to get away and spend time with God. When I left for Soul Survivor I was still pretty dead-set against doing a DTS. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the christian gap-year opportunities and the suchlike but my main plan was to head off to Australia to work and travel. Within a few days of returning from Soul Survivor I was seriously considering DTS and within 9 days I had applied to Reef To Outback.
I am so incredibly grateful to God for what this year has become and what I have become in the last year. I could fire off Bible verses to try and describe it or use lots of words, but I'm not going to. I'm just going to say this: that I feel more secure in my belief in God, happier in day to day life and more confident about my future than I think I ever have. My outlook has changed and I think that's changing me more and more into the person I want to be. And so, I am grateful to God, who made it happen.
Last year's Soul Survivor was a very special time for me. It was great to get away and spend time with God. When I left for Soul Survivor I was still pretty dead-set against doing a DTS. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the christian gap-year opportunities and the suchlike but my main plan was to head off to Australia to work and travel. Within a few days of returning from Soul Survivor I was seriously considering DTS and within 9 days I had applied to Reef To Outback.
I am so incredibly grateful to God for what this year has become and what I have become in the last year. I could fire off Bible verses to try and describe it or use lots of words, but I'm not going to. I'm just going to say this: that I feel more secure in my belief in God, happier in day to day life and more confident about my future than I think I ever have. My outlook has changed and I think that's changing me more and more into the person I want to be. And so, I am grateful to God, who made it happen.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
Guarding Your Heart
"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
- Proverbs 4:23
I've heard this verse so often quoted in relation to guy/girl relationships. Over the last few days, I've started to consider its application in other areas. I believe hope is a great thing, it's good to have dreams and desire things. But at the same time, how do I guard my heart as I attend job interviews and dream about the life I want to be living in the coming months and years?
If I was answering my own question, I can't think of a better verse than this one:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 4:6-7
This isn't to give a cliche answer. I've spent too long ignoring simple truths because they were too 'cliche'. As I practice going to God with my requests, thanking Him for His love and power I find Him guarding my heart. I find a peace entering into my life. I find myself able to say that I am "confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). I don't have a problem with the same old answers when the same old answers are truths that really work.
May God's will be done.
- Proverbs 4:23
I've heard this verse so often quoted in relation to guy/girl relationships. Over the last few days, I've started to consider its application in other areas. I believe hope is a great thing, it's good to have dreams and desire things. But at the same time, how do I guard my heart as I attend job interviews and dream about the life I want to be living in the coming months and years?
If I was answering my own question, I can't think of a better verse than this one:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
- Philippians 4:6-7
This isn't to give a cliche answer. I've spent too long ignoring simple truths because they were too 'cliche'. As I practice going to God with my requests, thanking Him for His love and power I find Him guarding my heart. I find a peace entering into my life. I find myself able to say that I am "confident that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13). I don't have a problem with the same old answers when the same old answers are truths that really work.
May God's will be done.
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Bringing Memories to Life
Since I got back I've noticed slight changes in my tastes and attitudes towards food. After having fasted for the first time on DTS I've continued that discipline. I've noticed that I no longer like marmite as much as I did before I left, and I don't like vegemite as much as I did when I was away. I love having fruit around the house (not bought by me!) all the time and have rediscovered my love for yoghurt.
Diet seems so connected with community, lifestyle and weather. I know that my Friday night (at youth club) diet is far worse than my diet the rest of the week. I know that I'm more likely to eat a proper lunch at a sensible time if I'm eating with others.
So, in all this thinking about food and how it is such a bit part of being somewhere, I started to miss Mi Goreng noodles. I didn't eat them that much in Australia, but they were an ongoing joke and I ate them when they were there. So today I went into the Chinese/Asian supermarket in town on a Mi Goreng hunt.
As I walked in I saw what looked like packets of instant noodles on one of the aisles, so I went down there but...no Mi Goreng. However, I picked up a packet and realised that these weren't the dried noodles so there was still hope. I moved along to the next aisle and my heart leaped...but alas, it was a similarly packaged brand of instant noodles called 'Maggi'. Determined, I stood and carefully considered each shelf, not wanting to miss what I was looking for. Then, there on the bottom shelf at the right hand side was the Mi Goreng! They sold 3 flavours (I chose Original, as always) and they were only 20p each. I bought 2 packets.
So I had Mi Goreng for lunch and it was good. It reminded me of weekends in Townsville. I was disappointed though because I didn't have any dried onions with my seasoning, and that was my favourite thing about these noodles. I'm hoping that this is just a rubbish batch, not par for the course for Mi Goreng for export to Europe.
Diet seems so connected with community, lifestyle and weather. I know that my Friday night (at youth club) diet is far worse than my diet the rest of the week. I know that I'm more likely to eat a proper lunch at a sensible time if I'm eating with others.
So, in all this thinking about food and how it is such a bit part of being somewhere, I started to miss Mi Goreng noodles. I didn't eat them that much in Australia, but they were an ongoing joke and I ate them when they were there. So today I went into the Chinese/Asian supermarket in town on a Mi Goreng hunt.
As I walked in I saw what looked like packets of instant noodles on one of the aisles, so I went down there but...no Mi Goreng. However, I picked up a packet and realised that these weren't the dried noodles so there was still hope. I moved along to the next aisle and my heart leaped...but alas, it was a similarly packaged brand of instant noodles called 'Maggi'. Determined, I stood and carefully considered each shelf, not wanting to miss what I was looking for. Then, there on the bottom shelf at the right hand side was the Mi Goreng! They sold 3 flavours (I chose Original, as always) and they were only 20p each. I bought 2 packets.
So I had Mi Goreng for lunch and it was good. It reminded me of weekends in Townsville. I was disappointed though because I didn't have any dried onions with my seasoning, and that was my favourite thing about these noodles. I'm hoping that this is just a rubbish batch, not par for the course for Mi Goreng for export to Europe.
Friday, 4 July 2008
Step by step
I'm not actually sure who'll be reading my blog now that I've got home (the idea was pretty much to keep in touch) but just incase anyone still is, and for myself, I'll continue for the time being.
The last couple of weeks have been ok. This job hunting thing is pretty new to me, I've always just got a job with my parents before and applied for jobs as and when. I'm working with my parents for a couple of weeks (on the shop floor this time, counting out parts for assembly, so different!) but that ends at the middle of this month.
I've spoken to my vicar about increasing my involvement with church and there's a couple of new projects for me to get involved in, which is pretty exciting. I'm looking for part time work to go along with that - hopefully as a teaching assistant because I think I'd really enjoy it and I'd get school holidays.
Not a terribly exciting post I'm afraid. If you're reading this and you're a praying kinda person, prayers would be appreciated for:
The right job
Patience
Ability to hear God's voice
And as always, much thankfulness for His great goodness, especially that I'm so much calmer in myself since I got back than before I left, even with all this uncertainty.
I realised this week that I was looking forward to uni before I left because it sounded better than what I was doing. Uni stopped being so appealing when staying home and really exploring using my gifts and time at church, for the Kingdom, in Sheffield became more appealing. It's probably why there was no big 'moment' for me...just I keep catching a glimpse of a vision that I think I could be part of for a while. Maybe it's 2 years, maybe it's my whole life. I don't know. I don't need to know. Part of me is tempted again to give up already, but what's the point in that? What's the worst that can happen? I fail at something?
If I risk it all, for love and loyalty,
Promise me one thing:
If I'm wrong You'll stand in my defence,
For acting like a fool.
-Pete James, Trust Begins
God bless you.
The last couple of weeks have been ok. This job hunting thing is pretty new to me, I've always just got a job with my parents before and applied for jobs as and when. I'm working with my parents for a couple of weeks (on the shop floor this time, counting out parts for assembly, so different!) but that ends at the middle of this month.
I've spoken to my vicar about increasing my involvement with church and there's a couple of new projects for me to get involved in, which is pretty exciting. I'm looking for part time work to go along with that - hopefully as a teaching assistant because I think I'd really enjoy it and I'd get school holidays.
Not a terribly exciting post I'm afraid. If you're reading this and you're a praying kinda person, prayers would be appreciated for:
The right job
Patience
Ability to hear God's voice
And as always, much thankfulness for His great goodness, especially that I'm so much calmer in myself since I got back than before I left, even with all this uncertainty.
I realised this week that I was looking forward to uni before I left because it sounded better than what I was doing. Uni stopped being so appealing when staying home and really exploring using my gifts and time at church, for the Kingdom, in Sheffield became more appealing. It's probably why there was no big 'moment' for me...just I keep catching a glimpse of a vision that I think I could be part of for a while. Maybe it's 2 years, maybe it's my whole life. I don't know. I don't need to know. Part of me is tempted again to give up already, but what's the point in that? What's the worst that can happen? I fail at something?
If I risk it all, for love and loyalty,
Promise me one thing:
If I'm wrong You'll stand in my defence,
For acting like a fool.
-Pete James, Trust Begins
God bless you.
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
The Message / Psalms
Over the past year or so I've found myself occasionally looking up passages in The Message translation of the Bible, just to see how they're worded. Often I find it brings out a new aspect, or just makes the words appear more 'real' to me. I especially like reading the psalms in the message, it's so poetic. Take the psalm I read earlier for example, psalm 8:
Psalm 8
A David Psalm
God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.
I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?
Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden's dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.
God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.
The psalms are incredible. I think what I really love about reading the psalms is that the writers are so open about their emotions and feelings towards God. I guess humans haven't really changed since the psalms were written, and God certainly hasn't. I wonder, if David had written this psalm in english, today, which translation would be closest to his words? At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter to me - I figure you use whichever translation God can best teach you through, beit old King James or the Word on The Street.
Psalm 8
A David Psalm
God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.
Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.
I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?
Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden's dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us lords of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.
God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.
The psalms are incredible. I think what I really love about reading the psalms is that the writers are so open about their emotions and feelings towards God. I guess humans haven't really changed since the psalms were written, and God certainly hasn't. I wonder, if David had written this psalm in english, today, which translation would be closest to his words? At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter to me - I figure you use whichever translation God can best teach you through, beit old King James or the Word on The Street.
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Back in Sheffield
Just a pre-post warning...this post is kinda random with a few different bits and pieces. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it.
So after a door-to-door journey of some 43 hours, I am home. I am not jet lagged, although even after a good night's sleep I'm still tired. To be honest, I think the constant light is more confusing than the time difference. In Queensland we had pretty much 12 hour days, while sunrise/sunset times today in Sheffield are 0438/2134 - nearly a 17 hour day!
The journey home was long, but good. I spent a fair amount of time listening to podcasts, reading and that kinda thing, just relaxing and spending time with God before getting home. Also, the last flight (Dubai - Manchester, some 7.5 hours) was really empty and I had three seats to myself. I put myself in the corner by the window and enjoyed having space. I also had one of the same air stewards I'd had on the way over to Australia last December. How random is that?
On one flight I was able to have an amazing conversation about God with a young woman who was already considering becoming a Christian. We talked a bit about that and it seems that her main issue is that she wants to be really sure before she does it, although to hear her talk about God she's pretty certain! I told her that there's always going to be a gap - not of blind acceptance, but of faith - that she'll never come to a place where she's 'ready', but that she'll have to step out and let God make up the rest of the distance. We prayed together as well and I know she has christian friends praying for her too. It was such a blessing to share a little more of God with someone who is just so open and I believe that God put us next to each other on purpose and will continue to persue her. I'm believing that she will accept Jesus as her saviour, and that's always exciting!
It's cool to be home but I'm very aware that this is where the rubber really hits the road. I have had an incredible time in Australia and learnt so much about God and myself (a lot of which I'm sure I won't even realise until some later time). Now I have to make that choice again - am I going to live it out or not?
I read Psalm 1 this morning and was so moved by what it says, it talks of how those who delight in God's word rather than act like the wicked will be blessed. It describes this blessing as being a tree planted by streams of water. As I thought about that I realised that being planted by water says that this blessing is consistant and constant, that God will continue to provide and provide and provide for us, it's not just a one off deal. Then it talks of the tree yielding it's fruit in season. So not only will we be blessed but we will bear fruit and then yield, or surrender it, for God to distribute as He will. Kinda reminds me of a drama we did on outreach.
As for this week, I will be unpacking, seeing friends and family, tidying my room, doing laundry and all those kinds of things. I got a new phone today and I think I like it, though I can't figure out yet where the headphones go, which is an issue cos a major reason to choose it was for the mp3 player.
One thing I am particularly thankful for today - that I know that God is with me and has plans even for today, even for right now and that He is able and faithful to fulfil them.
Finally, thank you so much to everyone who prayed for me while I was away, we'll not know the full extent of the difference that undoubtedly made for a long time, but I know it was worth it! God bless you all!
So after a door-to-door journey of some 43 hours, I am home. I am not jet lagged, although even after a good night's sleep I'm still tired. To be honest, I think the constant light is more confusing than the time difference. In Queensland we had pretty much 12 hour days, while sunrise/sunset times today in Sheffield are 0438/2134 - nearly a 17 hour day!
The journey home was long, but good. I spent a fair amount of time listening to podcasts, reading and that kinda thing, just relaxing and spending time with God before getting home. Also, the last flight (Dubai - Manchester, some 7.5 hours) was really empty and I had three seats to myself. I put myself in the corner by the window and enjoyed having space. I also had one of the same air stewards I'd had on the way over to Australia last December. How random is that?
On one flight I was able to have an amazing conversation about God with a young woman who was already considering becoming a Christian. We talked a bit about that and it seems that her main issue is that she wants to be really sure before she does it, although to hear her talk about God she's pretty certain! I told her that there's always going to be a gap - not of blind acceptance, but of faith - that she'll never come to a place where she's 'ready', but that she'll have to step out and let God make up the rest of the distance. We prayed together as well and I know she has christian friends praying for her too. It was such a blessing to share a little more of God with someone who is just so open and I believe that God put us next to each other on purpose and will continue to persue her. I'm believing that she will accept Jesus as her saviour, and that's always exciting!
It's cool to be home but I'm very aware that this is where the rubber really hits the road. I have had an incredible time in Australia and learnt so much about God and myself (a lot of which I'm sure I won't even realise until some later time). Now I have to make that choice again - am I going to live it out or not?
I read Psalm 1 this morning and was so moved by what it says, it talks of how those who delight in God's word rather than act like the wicked will be blessed. It describes this blessing as being a tree planted by streams of water. As I thought about that I realised that being planted by water says that this blessing is consistant and constant, that God will continue to provide and provide and provide for us, it's not just a one off deal. Then it talks of the tree yielding it's fruit in season. So not only will we be blessed but we will bear fruit and then yield, or surrender it, for God to distribute as He will. Kinda reminds me of a drama we did on outreach.
As for this week, I will be unpacking, seeing friends and family, tidying my room, doing laundry and all those kinds of things. I got a new phone today and I think I like it, though I can't figure out yet where the headphones go, which is an issue cos a major reason to choose it was for the mp3 player.
One thing I am particularly thankful for today - that I know that God is with me and has plans even for today, even for right now and that He is able and faithful to fulfil them.
Finally, thank you so much to everyone who prayed for me while I was away, we'll not know the full extent of the difference that undoubtedly made for a long time, but I know it was worth it! God bless you all!
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