Flash

I thought I'd throw in a general update on things at the moment. I've not had much time to sit and reflect on the past couple of weeks as it's gone in a flash and I still don't know what's happening! So here's a general overview:

ICC - I started last Tuesday at the International Christian College and already I'm feeling quite at home. Both the staff and students are incredibly friendly and it's not full of 'hippy hoodie Christians' which was my initial fear. The past week however has been overshadowed by the illness and death of beloved Vice Principle Ted Herbert. Although I knew him only from a distance I knew from being in college only a day that he was the most loved and respected man, known for his integrity, compassion and open-door policy of never turning anybody away. Such a man is a living testament to love and compassion of Jesus Christ even when he is no longer here. This aside, college life has begun positively and I'm looking forward to settling in and getting down to work.

KBC - Life at my home church is going well. Things are settling down for a new term and I'm enjoying being back to my regular services. I was rarely at church over the summer just through working, being away or just sheer exhaustion. I must admit it's good to be back. Last week I was even back with a different role - taking the sermon! The sermon was split in to two parts. Fellow-student Keith did the first part, talking about how God builds our patience through prayer, and I did the second part, talking about how God helps us to understand His will through prayer. It was pretty nerve-wracking and I'll admit I wasn't as prepared as I could have been (our lovely DG is not so generous with pre-warning or forward planning!). Still, all went well and the message was well received. I had some good conversations and positive feedback afterwards.

Other stuff - I left my job at the pharmacy and worked my last ever shift. I'll admit I gladly rejoiced. I'll miss the people but certainly not the job. It will be so nice to have my Saturdays back! Work at the pub is going well. Last night was the staff night out which was good fun and although I was pretty tired I made it out till about 2am. It was good to just to socialise with people and get to know a bit more about them. There's a diverse range of personalities on the team and somehow that's what makes it such a good group for me. I genuinely love them and pray for them often. I also believe that many an adult would be impressed at the way a group of 18 to 20-somethings can efficiently run a fairly big operation every day. It's not easy but I'm always impressed and encouraged by the team work and capability shown on every shift.

Two weeks ago I started back at Friday Night Live. This was the 'week on' where we were running the new format of having pods (workshops of different varieties) and The Big Show (similar to the Friday Night Project??) which I co-host. It was pretty crazy! There are loads of new, younger kids and it's going to be a case of settling them in and getting them used to keeping within the rules which at the moment they seem quite adamant to test. The joys! Still, I feel it's going to be a good and productive year at FNL.

Friday and Saturday this weekend I'll be attending the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit which our church is hosting. I'll no doubt be back on here soon with further reflections from that.

That's me at the moment... Life is full. Life is different. Life is good.