Kat Across The Pond

Morning Vicar

posted by Kat @ 10:39 pm 0 comments

Back in England

I got back to England on Saturday after travelling quite a few hours. I left Kansas City on Friday at 4 pm and got to Gatwick at 9 am Saturday morning. After breakfast with George, who picked me up from the airport (thanks George!) I drove back up to Nottingham. Which might have been a mistake, as I ended up having to stop about every 45 minutes in order not to fall asleep at the wheel.

I finally got back home at 3.30 in the afternoon or thereabouts and started the long fight for staying awake until a decent bedtime hour to beat the jet lag. At ten pm I took some sleeping pills and went to bed. I woke again at 3 pm the next afternoon! Might I have overdosed??

Since being back, I have tried and failed to beat this jet lag. I still can't sleep at night, but get tired during the day. But hey, that's going to be cured soon. I'm at New Wine North now, kinda working. Not much happening yet though. Hence this blog update. More later.

posted by Kat @ 9:07 am 1 comments

How to make church brilliant...

We need to be more relevant...this is cartoonchurch.com 's contribution

posted by Kat @ 6:04 am 0 comments

Overload

Whew. So this morning I went into the 'Children's Equipping Centre (CEC)' (as I did on Friday night). It's aptly named. They don't do 'occupational therapy' with the kids in order to keep them amused until the parents are done with church. They really equip them. On Friday, they got the kids praying for each other for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and this morning they taught on hurts in our hearts which keep God away - in particular fear. Fear of what others might think, fear of the unknown etc. Then they taught about being an example for the younger generation (these were the 9-12 year olds they were talking to). They taught that the younger ones looked up to them and took their lead from them, and for the need to be wholehearted for God and not to be fake or disinterested. To be there wholly for God when they worship.

Then they got the older ones to pray for the younger ones and lay hands on them etc. It was brilliant to see the kids' teaching being taken serious.

Afterwards, I had lunch with Jennifer and talked about her vision for the CEC and what she wants to see God do in it and through it. Jennifer, if you're reading this - thank you for your time. I was really inspired and encouraged by your vision and your heart for God and for his people - tall and little!

posted by Kat @ 8:50 pm 0 comments

Day Whatever

Lost count. It's Wednesday that's all I know.

I went shopping today in American Eagle and bought loads of cool (cheap) clothes. Cheap as in not much money, not cheap as in ... cheap.

Other than that I've been busy connecting with people, hearing their stories and getting an overall feel for the place. The Pastors and Leaders conference started today, but I skipped the evening session because I decided to go to the International House of PANCAKES instead. Confusingly, I had a burger, but I had pancakes as a side. You get pancakes with everything there. I wonder - would you get pancakes as a side if you ordered pancakes as a main??

posted by Kat @ 3:27 am 1 comments

Day 3

I got woken up this morning with a kiss. It was the most romantic thing that happened to me in a long time. I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with Onion. Sadly, it was only seven am, but I was most definitely awake. Some start to a Sunday!

I just had my first meeting which was very cool. What I find amazing, is that these people are so open and willing to share their hearts and lives with anyone. Judy and I chatted for about 45 minutes about her calling and the way she sees IHOP impact the Christian (and non-Christian) world.

Yesterday, I went to their one day 'Harp and Bowl' seminar, which talked about the values that IHOP is built on and the way they do their 24 hour model of praise and worship. What amazed me is that it's very doable - it's sustainable and practical, nearly pragmatic, with loads of space for God to work. I think they were talking about the interplay between liturgy (structure) and spontaneity (prophecy/the Spirit). Fascinating, especially coming from a 'liturgical' church situation.

posted by Kat @ 5:13 pm 3 comments