Why I do what I do

Most of you will already know that I'm doing something called a 'Ministry Apprenticeship'. This is really 2 years of looking at ministry to see what it's like and to get some hands on experience. I'm doing my apprenticeship at a university, working mostly with Christian uni students aged anywhere between 17 and 50! I've done 1 year of these 2 years, meaning that I'm half way, and ready to reflect on why I love what I do so much.

Sometimes when you're working it's so easy to get bogged down in the 'doing' and to not really think about the motivations or reasons behind what you're doing (both short- and long-term). Last night I was reminded yet again about the benefits and joys of uni ministry. Some of the 'older' students where on a panel being asked questions by a crowd of enthusiastic students who were mostly new to the group. One of these questions was 'what's the best thing about the group'. I thought the responses where enlightening and very exciting! Behind the gist of the answers were two main ideas. The first was about the community of the group. Being in a group with fellow Christians is a great privilge and the unity that is felt from having such an important part of our lives (that is Christ) in common is amazing. The second idea was about the personal spiritual growth that has occured due to the teaching and training within the group. This last one is very special to me, because it's also the story of my involvement in the group when I was a student.

University is a time when young people are given freedom (especially if you've moved out of home to go to uni) and for many this is their first taste. It allows you to test your boundaries and work out who you are and make your own decisions about what to do with your life. All this freedom can sometimes get a bit much. That was the case with me. It was through the teaching within the group at uni that I was able to put some perspective back into my life and to grow in my knowledge and love of Jesus.

I love hearing about people who are on a journey of continued discovery and growth in Jesus. The best part of my job is being able to walk with them through that and to be a signpost pointing to Jesus and to God. Being able to open God's word with people and to discuss it, be challenged by it, and see it transforming people's lives is such a blessing. Are you experiencing this transformation in your life? Are you seeing God working in the lives of people around you? Be on the look out for these things and tell people about them, because that's one way of testifying to God and His powerful work in the world. And lastly, tell me (as I said, I love hearing about people's journeys of growth)!

Valentine's Day

So I started this blog over a week ago, and never got back to it...now's the time...


I'm sure there's millions of people out there posting on their blogs about today. Unfortunately I'm going to join them...

So in case you don't celebrate this one wherever you're from, today is Valentine's Day. A day when people celebrate love. It's been hijacked by couples trying to out-do each other in showing their love for each other with gifts, flowers, cards and romantic guestures. But is that really love? Spending some money to get the thing that your loved one really wants isn't love. Spending time with someone on a day that you've been told you have to spend with them isn't love. While these things, and many more that I haven't mentioned, may be nice, they aren't love. So what it love?

Dictionary.com (amazing source I know!) defines love in 4 ways:

1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3. sexual passion or desire.

4. a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

None of these definitions really satisfies me. They're all about emotion and feelings. That's what most people think love is...a feeling. But love is so much more than that. Have you ever heard the saying you can still love someone even if you don't like them? Love isn't about how you're feeling at any particular time. It's about your motivation. If you really love someone, you'll sacrifice yourself for their good. You'll do things that benefit them at the expense of your own gratification and feelings.


With that lofty idea of love, is there anywhere that love can ever match up to it? There is one. God. Romans 5:8 says 'But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Sinners refers to our rebellion against God, our opposition of His rightful place as Lord in our lives. When we do this, we are pitting ourselves against God. I'm pretty sure God doesn't have emotional 'feelings' of love towards us at that time. Despite how God is 'feeling', He sent His own Son to die because of His LOVE for us. His motivation behind this sacrifice is love. God sacrificed His only Son, that He could show us His love for us. Is there any greater gesture of love in this world? 

Time vs Technology

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is technology. We're so dependent on it, sometimes I wish it was different. We use it for pretty much everything, and that's getting more and more every year. We use it for work, education, entertainment, communication, time fillers etc. We run our lives using technology (in the western world). I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't like it. We created technology to help us save time, but in reality we spend more and more time using it, that time is taken rather than saved. I'm not saying that all technology is terrible and should be destroyed, it's just that sometimes I wish we could live without it.

Some of you may be thinking 'well, without technology you wouldn't even be writing this blog and airing your views like this', and that's true. But lately I find that I'm lost without technology and I fill my time with it. When I'm bored, or don't have anything to do for the day, all of that time is spend with technology. Watching TV (either on the TV or the computer), on the internet, on my phone. I try to imagine all the things I could get done if I spent less time with technology, but then when I turn off my computer I can't think of anything to do. It's like I have withdrawl from technology and without it I'm bored.

Filling our time with things is what we tend to do though. We fill our lives/time with technology, work, entertainment etc and we don't really focus on what's important in life. How much time do you spend with family and friends? and I mean quality time. How much time do you spend with God? I think this is the thing that annoys me so much about technology. It creates a barrier and a distraction in our relationships. Our relationships with each other and with God. It's much easier to watch a movie than it is to spend time talking and listening to God. I need to learn to take the time for God. To fill my life with Him, rather than with technology...who's with me?

Consolidation

Although this blog is brand new today, I've decided to cut down the amount of blogs I've started over the last 3 years and put them into one. This means all the old posts from the other blogs are now on here. This isn't as many posts as you would think. Over 3 years I've barely written more than 20 posts. So again I'm going to try and see if I can make this blog thing work.

My aim is to write weekly and my motivation is to become someone who reflects on things more than I already do. I'm what you would call a 'doer'. I do things. I plan, organise, spend time with people, read books, etc. I don't just sit and think. It bores me. I remember having a conversation with one of my previous housemates about what I think about. She has words that pop into her head and she thinks about them. I don't have anything. I'm not saying I'm an airhead and that I don't think, it's just that there never really seems to be things that 'pop' into my head. I usually think when I talk to people, so I usually talk a fair bit. I want to be someone who contemplates life, who thinks about what's going on around her, rather than just watches the world go by. Hopefully this blog will help me. If I make myself sit down and write something, anything, then maybe I'll learn to think about things more, and without needing to be talking to someone.

Hopefully i'll think about a whole range of things, and you're more than welcome to come along for the ride.

Waiting

Waiting....it's not fun. Yet there's so much to be waiting for. Your friend to meet you at the cafe for coffee, someone to pick you up and drive you to an event, money to transfer through the bank, love, pay day, a chance to travel and the birth of a child, just to give you a few examples. Sometimes it's hard to wait for these things, especially if they're the 'bigger' or more long-term things in life. We can get fixated on these things and wonder if they're ever going to happen. I wonder if by now some of the things I'm waiting for have happened to you.



Despite all of the things that we wait for, there is in life ultimately one thing worth waiting for that's much bigger and much more important than all these things put together. That's the return of Jesus Christ our Saviour and King. One day He will return to this earth. For those who trust in Him there will be joy and deliverance from the punishment we deserve, but for those who don't trust in Him, there will be sadness and the punishment we deserve. Although this is a foreign concept to many people, I hope that this is something that you still know. Whenever you are waiting for something to happen, remember this and fix your eyes on Him who is to come.

Dreaming of travel

My brother and his partner are heading overseas in April to explore the wonders of Europe. I'm so happy that they have this chance to go and see a part of the world that neither of them have seen before, but at the same time I'm totally jealous. Since spending a year in the Netherlands in 2006, then heading to West Timor in Dec 2007 for a 2 week mission exposure trip, I've been hit with the travel bug. Unfortunately I haven't been anywhere since West Timor, meaning I haven't been anywhere in over 3 years. That may not seem like a long time to many people, especially those who are not inclined to travel, but for me, it's a lifetime. I'm not saying that I want to leave everything that I'm doing here in Adelaide, because I believe that this is the place that God wants me to be and I'm doing the things that I believe God wants me to do. The thing is that I keep dreaming about heading overseas and I just can't seem to get there.

Now I've started a job which I'm locked into for 2 years, with no chance of overseas travel. I'm hoping that in this time I can have some holidays around Australia and see a bit more of this beautiful country. I'm excited about that, but it's just not the same. There are so many places around the world that I want to go to, and so many things I want to see. At the moment though, I guess I'll just have to keep dreaming and maybe even start planning some travels for 2013...

What to do with a life

ok so I was thinking today. Big step I know, especially since I've been sick for a week. Anyway, I was thinking about all the things that I would like to do with my time and the things I would like to change. I've realised that I have no idea what I do with my time and that I need to use it more efficiently. The question is, what do I do with this time? There seems to be many things to do, but what is really of any benefit? I see people with neat houses and the dishes always done and think 'I should really spend more time doing housework, so that I'm not living in a dump'. Then I see people who are really great at making time for other people and really investing in their lives and i think 'I should really spend more time investing in relationships with other people'. Then I go to people's places and they've prepared an awesome, healthy meal and I think 'I should really cook more and eat healthier'. Then I hear about people who are so well read that I can't imagine having read that many books and think' I should really spend more time reading, especially books with meaning'. Then I see people who haven't got weight issues and think 'I really should exercise more if I want to loose some weight'.

The though occured to me today that it's really not at all possible to do everything, so what is it that we should be focusing on? Is it possible to do a little bit more of each of these good pursuits? Is that even a realistic option? And then there's the question of what things I would rather be doing? I would take catching up with a friend over the dishes any day, but those things still need doing. Also, what do I spend my time on, if not the things that I want to be better at/have more time for. Sometimes I just feel as if my head is going to explode with all of the issues and ideas that are going around in it. That's why I procrastinate so much and end up doing nothing, or things that really don't matter, such as writing this blog...