Loving Out Loud

Dear pray-ers,

Thank-you for all your prayers this past month. Since my last letter I have been involved in the planning for a weekend for 12-15 year olds, a Junior High Fall Retreat that I’ve just returned from. Tired but refreshed, I’m encouraged and excited by all that God has in store for the Youth Ministry at Brentwood UMC this coming year. The theme this weekend was “Love Out LOUD”. John 13:35 reminds us that if we are to be known as Jesus’ followers, we are to be known as people who love and love unconditionally. Over the next few weeks we will be rounding up a series on ‘Jesus for President’ which has been looking at Kingdom values on a range of issues, from the environment, national security to the economy. Please pray for me, as we start our new series at BUMC, for confidence and faithfulness in teaching these students. Remember also the other Youth ministers in Brentwood, Travis Garner, Trey Carey and Lindsay Brooks, also our new Youth Administrator Rena Mahaffey.

Also, over the period before Christmas I will be starting to spend more and more time focussing on the church in Spring Hill and the Youth Ministry there. Up until this point I have been dividing my time and efforts between the main campus at Brentwood and Trinity Church at Spring Hill. Pray for discernment, passion and creativity as I work a group of 3 other adults (Kelly Reedy, Brad Holder and Richard Russell) to construct the youth programme for the remainder of this year and up until May 2009. Praise God for the progress that has been made in building a staff and leadership base. It was obvious last Sunday at our first prayer service that God is at work among the people that he has drawn together to help start this church. May we gel together, love and support one another as we try to meet the needs of the surrounding community. Pray for the services over the next month that God will bless this ministry abundantly, for it is only through him that we can do anything for his glory.

As regards my Vanderbilt classes, please pray that I will manage my time in a way that will allow me to read all that is required in order write the next big paper due on the 5th of November. I’ve really been enjoying my classes, but as work as been getting more demanding both at college and in Brentwood and Spring Hill, I’ve been finding it more difficult to keep on top of everything. On that note, the next assignment due for CYMT follows an intense teaching retreat that happened last week, on adolescent development. The next couple of weeks are going to be incredibly busy and as I have a tendency to take on more than I’m able to do well, please pray for wisdom and peace amidst my pride and the craziness. Above all, praise God for all his blessings, he is faithful in answering the prayers of those who love him and he has blessed me through your prayers.

Beersheba

Harry Williams, Lynn Cairns, Mary Wasik, Ellen Cox, Bob Wasik, Bill Lauderdale, Dottie Cairns, Charlie Cox

Keepin' Movin'!

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy, I always seem to be moving - heading somewhere. Sometimes I will have a task to perform when I arrive, sometimes I won't even know where I'm going and have to rely on directions written on a post-it and stuck on my dashboard. Then there are the everyday trips to university for class, to church for work, to CYMT for pastoral care and of course to the coffee shop across the road for a regular fix of caffeine. The talk today in Sunday School was focussing on Jesus' environment policy if he were president - one of the verses that was emphasised was PSALM 24:1 "The earth is the LORD's and everything in it". As we move about and get overwhelmed with all the places that we need to be, whether we're one of those people who are always early or whether we're prone to running late, we would do well to remember God's claim on this world. There is no where we can go where Christ has not already been. The earth is the LORD's. There is nothing there we can experience in this world that God doesn't already know about. The earth is the LORD's and everything in it! God moves as we move!

The ebb and flo of spiritual seasons

Fall has arrived here in Nashville and it's not like Autumn back home - given that I got a little sunburnt this morning at a soccer match. Incidentally, I've also entered a new phase in my spiritual life, although it seems strange to view my life as consisting of separate components, I prefer not to treat my 'spiritual' life in isolation from the the whole. However, if you have been a Christian for more than a week then you will realise what I mean when I say that, fluctuation in emotions and feelings towards the disciplines of prayer and bible reading happens. Our enthusiasm for personal soul-tending practices experience highs and lows. Actually, the picture of 'highs and lows' doesn't really cut it - after all, no one season is necessarily better than another. Currently, I am going through a quieter Fall period, where as my weeks schedule seems to be filling up my relationship with God seems to have slowed down a little - and not in a bad way, just different from the initial craziness! So, I continue to remind myself that God is faithful, and that he is in control, teaching, loving, guiding, comforting, prompting and preparing for action. This is a time of rejuvenation and vision-casting. I pray for patience during this season, as it ebbs and flos, that God's Spirit will rise up from within me and surrender my agenda for God.