Get your Swords out...
Ok guys - now's the time. Can I call on your prayers for these next three days, selection conference. Decision time.
Please pray that God's will be done, that He will get the glory. And pray that the selectors will look to Him and not to their own agendas.
Survivor
You'll be glad to hear that I survived New Wine. If I didnt' have a reputation to uphold, I'd say I enjoyed it. Well I enjoyed the conference, I can't say that I enjoyed the camping by any stretch of the imagination. Spiders, minging toilets, muddy showers, rainy and blustery weather...I mean WHY? Why do people camp????
Anyway I survived and it was worth it for (some of) the speakers. Some were just plain weird, but I'm sure that
someone got blessed by it...just not me.
On the other hand, I went to some seminars and talks which were fantastic. Absolutely brilliant. Mike Hill, Bishop of Bristol, did a fantastic series on leadership, inspiring and passionate. Set me up well for selection conference on Monday.
Camping
I can't believe it - I'm going camping. I don't even LIKE camping. In fact, I hate camping. Who in their right mind would put a few flapping bits of canvas up in a field, pump up a rubber compartment and wriggle into a cocoon made of polyester and cotton? Then, when you need "the facilities", you wander across a field, find the portaloos, or the showers in which hundreds of people before you showered, maybe even queue for the priviledge of a wash.
I am (or rather was - I got thrown out) a fully fledged member of Cacac (Christians against camping and caravaning). I HATE
camping.
John Donne
"Batter My Heart, Three-Person'd God"
Batter my heart, three-person'd God, for you
As yet but knock, breathe, shine, and seek to mend;
That I may rise and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town to another due,
Labor to admit you, but oh, to no end;
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captiv'd, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be lov'd fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy;
Divorce me, untie or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.
Catering
Ok - well it's official. I am not good at catering (or estimating quantities) for large numbers of people. We had our end of term evening service, with a BBQ afterwards. I catered for 70 (granted, due to sunshine and another evening service going on, only 50 turned up). Or I thought I'd catered for 70. I bought 120 burgers, and 100 sausages. 90 Burger buns and 60 sausage roll buns or whatever they're called. Weeeeell...let's just say we overcatered a bit. Never mind. Better overcatered than undercatered.
You know, if you say a word often enough, it loses its meaning: catered, catered, catered, catered, catered, catered, catered. See what I mean?
Office Moves
Today is the last day in our old offices. We are moving across the street, to bigger facilities. You can't imagine the mess this creates. There are crates everywhere, we havet totally lost the overview of what is where, customers ring up and we have to tell them that we can't do anything for them because everything is packed up.
It's also quite funny as we discovered windows where we never knew we had any as they were hidden behind cupboards. We also discovered any amount of spare parts and bits and pieces. How is it that you find things when you're moving that you never even knew you had? The kewlest thingy I found was a CATPHAN (or however you spell it), which is a plastic thingy with different densities - looks like a round plastic gadget, and nothing special, but apparently it is used to calibrate CT machines and costs in the region of £2,000. So I won't chuck it in the bin then boss?
Leadership
I led the main service yesterday. I spent Friday and Saturday fretting about it, and in the end it went really well. God was there, (obviously) and I actually enjoyed myself. Apart from the beginning, where I had to say a few words of welcome to the German contingent who was over here for an exchange - I totally confused myself with the two languages and had to concentrate VERY hard. But, apart from that, I think it went reasonably well.
I also have now worked out why God has called me to this specific life. I think if He hadn't called me to leadership, and thrown me in at the deep end, He'd never get me to pray. When things bumble along nicely, I tend to conveniently "forget" about prayer and bible study. So God has to keep me on my toes with regular challenges, and hopefully by the time the challenges have become more of a regular feature, my prayer life will have become such a habit that I won't need the panics to get me back to Him.
Bombings in London
Just a quick update. We are all ok here - after all, we're quite a way out of London. Thankfully, even those of my friends who commute to London for work have not been affected at all. Neither has my Bishop (who lives in London) or any of his people.
Thank you to all who are praying - it is quite frightening. We live in an unstable world and it would be a good idea to remember that and rely on God instead of the world.
