Sex Talk...

Last night I did my first official talk whilst being in this job, & yes it was on sex.

It was to the girls at D-Train (youth group) & I focused on Psalm 51 which is the Psalm David wrote after committing adultery with Bathsheba. So I mainly talked about sexual sin being a result of our hearts, just like any sin is, & then went on to stuff about repentance. But I did go into the world of dating & sex stuff for teenage girls at the end.

I must say I was pretty nervous – more so about the delivery then what I was actually saying, ‘cause I have a tendency to speak to fast (well that’s what I have been told anyway :) )

But I think it went ok – was a very interesting experience.

Who you are, not what you do...

The statement that ministry is more about who you are, then what you do, has been bandied around lately.

And I like it – I think there is something very true and valuable about thinking about ministry like this.

But, how does it affect what you do on a daily basis?

College...

Well as many of you know Marty & I applied to go to SMBC (Sydney Missionary Bible College) a while ago & have been waiting the reply…

we have finally been accepted!

So next year, we will be following in my sisters footsteps & heading up to Sydney to study. We are both really excited, yet at the same time sad as the reality of leaving this beautiful state is settling in.

But its a great oppurtunity, & the idea of really getting to know Gods word & studying that full-time is so exciting. Plus, we can go visit Mel & Kochie every morning!! :)

Ecclesiastes...

We have just done a series on Ecclesiastes at D-Train (youth group) called “Ecclesiastes: The Search for Meaning”. Besides creating emo youth, this series really helped to look at life a bit differently, and just to reinforce the fact that life without God, is worthless.

Ecclesiastes is a Bible book we so often just ignore cause it’s a bit weird and confusing, and it was a lot of work, but was definitely worth it!

(You can find our movie about it here)

holidays!!

Well it is time for me to have some time off!! I am going to be enjoying some much needed rest for the next 2 weeks... so I will leave you these words from Col Marshall (former Director MTS Australia) to contemplate:

“Before you can have a church planting movement you need a disciple-making movement. In order to have a disciple-making movement, you need a Bible-reading movement.”

Bring back the intermission...

You watch great movies like ‘The Sound of Music’ and halfway through the movie the coolest thing happens...

The scene fades out to a beautiful landscape shot with calm music and the word 'intermission' comes onto the screen!

You have a few minutes where you can go to the toilet, get some more food and drink, have a little chat about the movie, get some more pillows…

I say we should bring this back…

Be present...

I heard a great sermon on busyness the other day which had some very helpful practical tips. One of them which I thought was very poignant was to ‘be present’. The point was that when you are going through your day you should think about what you are doing, and don’t let your mind go to everything else that you have to be doing tomorrow, or the next day.

For example, when you are talking to someone, concentrate on what they are saying don’t think about what is the next thing you have to do, or the next person you have to talk to (this will just cause the ‘Wagenaar vague-out’!) but just talk to them!

Very helpful advice I reckon!