For Everyone Who Has Ever Missed A Deadline...

The Light in the Dark

Work
This week has been a really busy week for me and one that I struggled with at the start. I had alot of energy taken out of me by basically not having a weekend the weekend prior as I was preparing for an interview. By wenesday I was stuffed and had a very bad migrane that basically left me feeling lathargic for the whole day. The good news is that I heard that I was getting my contract at the Ministry extended so that was a great sign. I have started work on one important project that is going to take up alot of my time for the next couple of weeks up to Easter and I received real good feedback from my team mates and my manager that I report to. So all in all I felt happy with how work is going on.

Mosaic
Mosaic was awesome of wenesday evening, one of the most defining moments that I've had with Mosaic so far. It was really important for me what we did on wenesday night and it will leave a lasting impression on me. We finished off going through the Sermon on the Mount. This section is one of the most demanding parts of the bible, challenging us to become agents in the Kingdom and offering a set of values that are truly countercultural.

I really enjoyed the focus time. We went through the section on salt and light and learned that salt was used in the time as a preservative, I'm still struggling to apply this idea, so if anyone has any Idea please help me out. But salt is also a healer, it is rubbed into wounds to bring purification and healing. Salt like this is painful - but healing to the brokenness we feel. We then sprinkled salt over a map of Wellington to symbolise our commitment to be salt to Wellington City. We then turned off the lights and sat around a candle. We were asked to take in the scene. It was dark and disorientating, and there was no focus for us. Then we lighted the candle, this gave us focus, it gave us direction and gave clarity, we could see obstacles in the room. Phil talked about a time when he entered a rural house in pitch dark, he had to crawl accross the floor and to try and find his room becuase he was too scared to turn on the light. This is how we can be, with no light we can't find where we are going and find it hard to move forward, it is only with light that we find clarity. Can you remember from watching the Lord of the Rings how important Gandalfs staff was to bring clarity and direction - the light was the lead in the journey. We need light to direct us in the right way. Light also shows up where we are broken, where we need fixing. If we let God shine his light in we can allow him to start the healing process in our broken lives so that we can be restored.

The Game of my Life
Ok maybe not really, but I've made the move to make some healthier lifestyle choices. I've started playing indoor Netball on friday. I played centre and survived the whole game so that was awesome. I enjoyed the fact that I kept up with the person I was marking for the whole game and caused mistakes for the player and I nearly made a two pointer from outside the circle. I got good comments back at the end of the game. We may have lost but we stayed pretty competitive throughout the game against a very experienced team.

This week has been great. I have been learning alot, and gained a bit more confidence that I am in the right place, that God is blessing the decisions I am making but also know I have a more challenges to face when it comes to my priorities and my life.

And all that Jazz...

As you readers would know my life has become very very busy. You are probably wondering what I’m up to and why I havn’t written anything substantial in what seems to be a long time. This is a summary of what’s been happening.

Work
At present I’m working on a contract in town in a government department. This is my first substantial job. I’m really enjoying the experience and the team that I’m working in. I have a whole lot to learn about how things work within government but I’m looking forward to the future challenges I face in this field and endeavour. I am also currently working every second weekend as a library assistant. This should be an interesting role in which I can meet a range of people so this should be fun.

Mosaic
Mosaic is one of my major focuses of my energies this year. Mosaic is a community of believers that is exploring what it means to do church in non-institutional ways. We explore Christian spirituality and what it means to be a follower of Christ in the 21st century. We face an exciting and challenging year, and already seeing growth and excitement in what is happening. If you want to check us out you can go here

Life in General – Priorities
The last few weeks have made me ask numbers of questions about the way I live out my life – Its weird – Two things have really marked this period of time. 1. I now earn a lot more money than I have previously. 2. I have a lot less time than I had previously to do things with. This is different than my university life where I both had little spare time, and also little spare money (particularly in my honours year). Now I am trying to use the resources that God has given my wisely – I have identified the limitations – My physical health, my time and my money, now I need to identify the best way to get optimal performance (I know this sounds instrumental but it really isn’t). I have identified that I want to live intentionally in a way that makes the world a better place (this has become my goal for my life – linked intrinsically with Jesus’s commands to Love the Lord with all your heart mind and soul and to love your neighbour)

At present I’m struggling with this all. I’m starting to get into a rhythm and I’m starting to get my focus straight and placing my energy into those things that I see as the highest priorities. I really need prayed about this though. I want to invest my money and time in things that honour God. I want to be wise about this. Its hard sometimes to know if I’m getting it right.

I don’t want to just live for me, for status, for pleasure, for money. I want to live for something bigger than that. I want to live to see the gospel spread. I want to live to see justice established, I want to live to see Gods Kingdom come on earth as it is heaven. These are the pangs of my heart. I want to see this established through the skills, personality and character that God has given to me for his glory. I am a canvas that God is drawing his beautiful picture on, ripped, muddy, and broken I may be, but the loving creator God is performing his repair work, creating a beautiful piece.