Resting

Take a Break from the Chaos - Desiring God blog

"For those of us who are in Christ, we want to come back better, not only rested, but more ready to love and sacrifice. We want to find new clarity, resolve, and initiative, or return primed to re-double our efforts, by faith, in our callings in the home, among friends, at work, and in the body of Christ.

One benefit of silence is simply searching the depths of our own souls, asking what our blind spots have become in the rush of everyday life. In the busyness, is there anything important I’m neglecting or repressing? How am I doing in my various roles? What needs refocusing?"

Rest is hard, yet crucial. I don't like stopping, slowing or admitting I can't do something by myself. But God made me, I am dependent on Him and He has built within in me (and all of us) the need to stop, rest, rejuvenate. To rest is to stop thinking about that to-do list, to slow or silence the internal monologue, to quiet the anxious heart and to meditate on and praise God, to read His Word, talk with Him and listen to what He has to say. Rest is not escapism from the worries and needs of the day but it is to refocus on the one who made me and sustains me.

Christmastime Peace

December is usually a hectic, chaotic, rush-rush month, with presents to buy and wrap, gatherings to arrange and be at, Christmas services, weddings and so on. The start of the month was like that for me but things have surprisingly settled down. There's a calmness and peace about my weeks right now. Yes, I'm preparing for beach mission and cooking for the team. Yes, there's a CRE Christmas service to prepare and run. But I find I have time for reflection and reading, for catching up with friends, for decorating the house in celebration of our Lord Jesus' birth.

Today I read this from the True Woman blog:

"My favorite Christmas word is Immanuel. That word tells us that Jesus is not only out there at God's right hand, interceding for us, out there preparing a future home for us—He is here now, living with us.

• When you get up in the morning, God is with you! 
• When you go to work, God is with you! 
• When you talk on the phone, or email, or take a walk, God is with you! 
• When you are frightened and anxious, God is with you! 
• When your needs exceed your income, God is with you! 
• When you are alone, or tired, or teary, God is with you! 
• When your health is failing, God is with you! 
• In times of pain and in times of joy, God is with you! 

As you read this right now, God is with you!"

How encouraging is that! The God of this world, Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, is with us! We are never alone!

May you find time to meditate on God and accept the peace that He gives to you. What greater gift than Jesus Christ, born as a man, to live as one of us but perfect, so that he could die in our place and take away our punishment for ignoring and rebelling against God.

Remember that Gift this busy season, that because of Jesus you are not alone, God is with you.

Sharing Life

Last week was a wonderful week of meeting with several different women, for several different reasons. After a season of admin, organising and management it was wonderful to be out and about, sharing life and thoughts with the women of our church. Whether it's over a cuppa as we discuss which women's conference to focus on for next year, or helping a mum tidy the kid's craft box (which I loved!), there is potential for the love, patience and grace of God to be shown and spoken of, there is the chance to share in the struggles and joys of seeking to live with Jesus as Lord.

I was greatly encouraged recently by the Mustard Lunch-time co-ordinator (of all the groups) that I have a natural way of building relationships, mentoring and discipling young women. What a joy to hear that! May God use that for his glory.

Thinking About Next Year

While this blog was started as part of an assessment I decided I would continue it, and hopefully continue to engage others with the nuts and bolts of my ministry apprenticeship. I'd love to keep hearing from others as share their insights, thoughts, suggestions and encouragements. The scope will now be broadened from Mustard to all aspects of my apprenticeship. This blog has helped me create a discipline of reflection.

Today the chaplain, G (the new student leader) and I sat down to think about and discuss what next year could look like. We all feel that the group should have a strong social and nurturing aspect to the Christians on campus. What that looks like? Not sure yet, but I do know that I will need to change my approach somewhat to foster this vision and to work with the new space (where girls are walking past all the time). It's scary to change and in some senses I feel like the Bible might get sidelined. I'm going to have to do more prep in order for discussion and opinions to flow naturally, while seeking to speak God's word and explain it too. First term (at this stage) will mostly be building relationships and getting to know each other as we eat lunch together.

Transitioning

I was feeling really flat all of yesterday, just kinda blegh, perhaps because there's lots of little things to be working on (such as KidzBiz teachers for Sunday school next year, Christmas celebrations to plan etc). And I was honest with my Mustard girls that's how I was feeling. The chaplain suggested we head over to the year 9/10 area of the school and check it out as a potential space to use for meeting next year. I was able to meet some other students and tell them about Mustard and why we were over here. I think that moving to the senior school would benefit the current group and the wider community - we would be visible and accessible to our intended demographic. It's always interesting trying something new, and we would have to stick at it for a couple of weeks to really determine if it would work. So our plan is to meet there for the rest of the year and try it out. Here's praying that it will be suitable for meeting and discussing and inviting other girls to join us.

Starting to Wrap Up

I'm at that time of year where I start to reflect on where I've come from and what I've learnt. I met with the student leader today, she has one more Yr 12 exam and I shared some thoughts with her on how I have seen God grow her in love, faith and maturity. But what about myself? Have I noticed where God has challenged, sustained, encouraged, corrected and rebuked me?

A fellow MTS-er shared these categories to reflect on (drawn from 1 Thess 2-3):
- the faithful proclamation of God's word under pressure.
- love for people
- persistence in prayer.

I should spend some time thinking about the things I've been involved in this year and how effective I have been in those areas. Another set of categories I will reflect through is this:
- conviction (theology)

- competency (skills) 

- character (godliness)

I suspect that I will see many areas that need more attention (such as prayer - I'm not so persistent or intentional about that).

Cool or Uncool?

A week ago I was part of a Mustard Live event at a local grammar school. We spent about 4 hours with the year 7 girls engaging with the topic of 'cool' and 'uncool'. My group (the girls chose their own groups) incidentally was the cool, popular group - a bit rowdy, think they're above it all. But nevertheless, we had some really interesting and honest conversations about identity and creation, and I could see that some of the girls were challenged or encouraged.

During the day I was also part of a discussion panel (first time ever!) and felt the joy of sharing my faith with these girls in a different manner. One girl asked if I ever doubted God existed. I responded that yes, I had but I always went back to the Bible and saw how God had created the world and revealed himself to people through Jesus. As I shared my experiences with them I was reminded of the beauty and joy of the gospel.

It was wonderful to be a little part of the journey for these girls and I was reminded of the value of honesty and openness. May God keep stirring these girls and bringing them to Him!