Tuesday 30 August 2011

Minister Blog 6

As I come to round up the events of this week since last Tuesday, I have to say I am finding it difficult to think what to say other than we got a kitten on Friday! I've never had a cat before (or anything bigger than a rather vicious rabbit) so I'm very excited and much of my thoughts this weekend have been about him. He's called Spartacus and as with most cats, I suspect I am thinking about him more than he is thinking about me.

And yes, it dawns on me now that I am going to compare my relationship with Spartacus to that of God's with humanity. God is thinking about us a lot more than we are thinking about Him. God's thoughts, we are told in Isaiah, are “higher” than our thoughts and in the Psalms we are told “they cannot be numbered”. Perhaps just as I am musing and worrying about and planning for and adoring the cat, while his concern is almost solely for his ping-pong ball, so perhaps God is musing and worrying about, planning for and adoring us, while we wander around absorbed in concerns of our own.

Of course God has a bigger perspective, we see in part, what God sees in full. I don't mind that. I am more than happy for God to be in charge, to be the one with the knowledge and the know-how. Spartacus' ping-pong ball is constantly stuck under the TV, he doesn't know to ask me to help, he just mews a lot and looks sad (I think). We KNOW to ask God for help, we just need to be smart enough to actually do it.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Minister Blog 5

So here we are creeping near to the end of August 2011. The rain has returned and I've heard a few people already lamenting that the summer is nearly over. We may yet have an Indian summer, but at some point the long evenings will draw in, the barbecues will finish and my resolve to do more exercise outside will drift quietly away into hot mugs of tea and snug jumpers.

Definitely too early to look forward to Christmas, I'm told. But there are plenty of new excitements just around the corner in this coming academic year! Our children's work is back, our lovely youth and children's workers have had a well-deserved break and are now gearing up ready for more fun in September, I'm starting some theology training, and will also be visiting the local school, and who knows what other new ventures God might be planning?

So as the kids enjoy their last few days watching Total Wipeout and keeping the biscuit tin clear, I think it's probably time to thank God for all the blessings of summer, roll up our sleeves and get ready show Him just how much we can do this academic year, with His strength in us.

Pastor Cath

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Minister Blog 4

Another exciting week last week. Lots of prayers answered. Resources both material and human have started to turn up in wonderful ways.

In the youth work area we have prayed for help from the our sister Anglican church – and it turned up unprovoked, qualified and excited! I also prayed for someone with a heart for 9-13 year olds and some one turned up with exactly that. We prayed for more young people at youth club and two new faces arrived. I'm not sure we even prayed for finance and that turned up – what a blessing! We prayed for more male help, that arrived, I prayed for help with a tricky issue I was facing, that went smoothly. I could go on!

It's such an honour and a pleasure when God shows you the way He's going and lets you participate. So many 'coincidences' seem to affirm his guiding at the minute. Our deacons meetings are turning into a series of “I was just reading this in the bible” “Oh, so was I” or “I've been thinking about this, this week”, “so have I!!” It is amazing to see God moving.

I think from the view of pastor you have your fingers in every kind of pie and you are privileged to see more of the big picture, so it's good to be able to share some of these things with you here.

If anyone else has testimony of prayers answered for sharing – let me know!