Scrambled eggs!

I know it's been a few days since my last entry, but for some reason I've kept putting off updating my blog. I can't quite put my finger on the reason why, maybe I just haven't been in the right frame of mind till now. It's been an eventful past week and I remember saying to Fenella that on Saturday I was glad to have my head back to myself and don't have to be focused on a lesson and constantly have my head in books and study. I know that sounds pretty negative, but These past days I have struggled to find some freedom from lesson preparation. Since we moved the teens class from a Thursday to Friday night I have challenged myself to make the lessons as real and connective as I can. The results have been obvious and the teens are responding to the challenge from the lessons. However, I do feel a huge weight and at times almost obsessively focused on the next class presentation. I know it's healthy to respect the Word and right to make the most of the opportunity, but I worry sometimes if I don't get the balance right and that there is too much of ME and not enough of GOD in my preparation. My desire is for the teens to be brought into the spiritual realm and challenged to consider who Jesus is, and why He is so important to mankind in completing God's plan for our salvation. Our class on Friday we looked at who Jesus was and talked about the fact that it is not enough to think of Jesus as a great Man or Teacher, in fact, to think of Jesus in this way is to totally miss the point of His life and death. I used CS Lewis point that rather see Jesus as a fool or a demon or in fact Lord, but don't see Him as simply a great Man! I wish I could see into the hearts of the teens to see what they are doing with the seed! I know I need to chill out a bit and stop taking things so seriously, and have faith that God IS active and will bring the increase - IN HIS TIME.
Well, that's my heart laid bare. I know God is active amongst us and I am confident that He has hearts that are seeking Him. I pray that the harvest will come soon!

Let me change the tone from me to my family! This past week has given Fenella and I so much reason to be proud of our girls. Beth has been the talk of the high school as a result of her honesty. She found £15 at the school, handed it in and thought nothing of it. She came home at lunch time and told us what she had done and we took it for granted, thinking that was good and having a quiet sense of pride that our daughter did the right thing. However, the next day she was called out of class to meet a young girl who had been distraught at loosing the money and having to explain to her parents what she had done. The young girl was so thrilled that Beth not only had found the money, but had handed it in to be returned to her. She thanked Beth for what she had done. Later that week Fenella and I got a letter from the school expressing their delight at Beth's exemplary honesty and the sentiments of the letter was telling us that Beth had restored their faith that there is good in human nature. Beth is still wondering what all the fuss is about and says it's just "normal," but I suppose the truth is that this now considered out of the norm behaviour. The school were going to use this to promote honesty within the student body at the high school - Go Beth!!!

Amy was asked to sing at a funeral. A good man in our community died and his favorite song was "A Gaelic Blessing," a beautiful song! Amy was asked to learn and perform the song in the space of a few days. Fenella and I went to the funeral and gripped each others arms as it came time for Amy to sing. We, along with over 600 people sat there totally captivated by the beauty and blessing that was Amy's voice. Amy was most certainly a channel of blessing to us all and a very fitting tribute to Sam, who's life was exemplary!

Well, that's a cupful from the barrel that was the last week in our life and ministry.

One last thing - Please keep Billy Campbell in your prayers. Billy is John's dad and he is in pretty bad shape at the moment. He had a tumour removed from his bowel and it was later discovered that after surgery there was a part of the bowel that was not properly closed and the result was that leakage has spread throughout his body, leaving him fighting for his life. Billy is a good man and John & Michelle are struggling to get through this, so please lift them up to the Father - Thanks!

God bless!

Exciting Stuff!

I just needed to put in a quick entry about last night's class. Today reflecting on the events I have a fantastic feeling about the road ahead. I am excited for a number of reasons, firstly because I know there is no better opportunity for the seed to be sown than at this class. Last night there were around 30 teens there who are, admittedly, at varying levels along the road of finding and making faith their own, but 30 teens who listened very attentively and engagingly to the lesson. I am excited about the fact that this class gives John Campbell, Angie and David Chapman a chance to get excited and focused about outreach. I have talked with John and my dad a fair bit this week and we are all anticipating a great year for the church. I am also excited about preaching to this group. The changes we have introduced to the setting and having all boys and girls together has made this a very exciting opportunity. I spent a long time getting last nights lesson together and praise God I think it connected and challenged the teens to think seriously about their commitment to believing that God is creator and therefore His purpose for our lives needs to be taken seriously. I talked about a campaign that is running here by an atheist group who have sponsored buses to display posters saying, "There is probably no God! So stop worrying and enjoy life." At the end of the lesson I asked the teens, "Why do you think it's easier NOT to believe in God?" There were a number of responses expressing that if you don't commit to believing in God you can pretty much do whatever you want. I finished with the question, "Have you made up your OWN mind about whether or not you believe in God?" The freaky thing was that after I finished the group started clapping. I take that as a positive that they got the message. We managed to hold their attention for a good 30 minutes. We sang two devo songs and again got a good response. Over the next 3 weeks I will do 3 lessons based on the C.S. Lewis, "Liar, Lunatic or Lord." This will naturally lead to having to answer the question about who Christ really was and what to do in response.

We chilled out for the following two hours. We played some cards, table tennis, football and talked. We had 3 new faces and the feedback from the teens is all good. I anticipate there will be many more coming in the weeks ahead. I pray God continues to give us the insight and vision to maintain the opportunity for community and faith to thrive. We continue to pray for guidance on how to marry this group with church too. Anyway, I suppose it's up to us to take the small steps and leave the BIG stuff to the Creator!

I am putting the finishing touches on my lesson for Sunday night. I am again excited about where this journey has taken me. God has been leading me to some amazing stuff this past week and I pray that my heart and tongue can get it all across. I must also ask for your prayers again. Although this past week's journey has been amazing I am physically and mentally drained. Please pray that I can continue to minister effectively in spite of weakness. Fenella needs your prayers too. We've both been running on empty. Fenella is working a bit more than she needs to be and struggles to find any kind of time for herself. She does a magic job for me and the girls, making sure we all know what we are doing as well as running a physio department. Although we are struggling a wee bit, at the moment, we have much hope and anticipation for the year ahead.

God bless!

Big Weekend!

There has been plenty to write about this past week, but I need to focus for a time on this upcoming weekends events. I need your prayers!! We made the decision to move our Thursday night teen stuff to Friday and change the format too. The teens were telling us that they had little to do on Friday nights and there was no place to go, so we asked if they would prefer the class to be held on Friday's, and had a huge response to do that. I have been talking a lot with John Campbell and we see this class as our potential for growth, so in light of this we have decided to rejig the format to allow for a more challenging and focused class. We will meet at 7.00pm and for the first hour have the class time and try to replicate our 3rd Sunday atmosphere with this group. We will go till 10.00pm and have some chill time with the teens in a similar way to the existing Thursday night style. This changes, we feel, are the best way ahead and we are prayerful that this is the direction God is opening up for us. As with any "change" we are a little fearful because we had such a successful class on Thursday's, but we want the group to grow and to see Jesus in a bigger way, and so, we step out in faith!
I have been working on the lesson for the past few days and I am really excited about it. It will be aimed at challenging the teens to examine if they have really made the choice to believe that God is the creator and, if so, will they seek His purpose and design for their lives. John is as excited as I am and we have David Chapman and my Dad as recruits to venture out with us, of course Angie is along for the ride too!

On Sunday night we have our third Sunday. I have been busy getting the bones of my lesson together for that too. As with the Friday, I am excited about what the content is and by the way my mind has been guided. I plan to preach with the idea of "Holy Ground" in mind - still a work in progress.

Last Sunday it was my responsibility for preaching Sunday morning. The whole week I was struggling with what was on my heart to preach. It wasn't till late Saturday night I was finally able to make sense of what I needed to preach. The reason I was having trouble was to do with the fact that this lesson was a reality check for me. I came to realise that I had been, spiritually, running on empty for a while. I was struggling with my own soul, because I had neglected spending time with God. The lesson touched the hearts of many in the congregation, not the least of which was mine! One brother in particular came and told me how he felt I was talking directly to his heart. We talked for a while that morning and shared a coffee earlier today. As a result both he and I are working together on a shared passion and with God's help I am excited that great things will result this year. I have a deep seated hope that this year will be a great year for the church here and there are others who share this anticipation. I am asking that if you have opportunity to remember our efforts here and pray for all the classes and avenues we are trying to ensure that the precious seed is able to find good soil in the hearts of some this year.

My ministries at the local schools are up and running and the early signs are that this will be a great year of opportunity within the schools! I constantly find strength and joy from the response of the children and staff. Again, please keep this focal point in my ministry in your prayers. Alex Swango will be with us in February and you all can be praying in advance that Alex will also have opportunity to share my joy within the schools. I have no doubt that his heart will be ready to bless the kids.

In short, we are thankful for all your prayers and just ask for more of the same please.

God bless!

A milestone for Fenella!

On the 30th of December we celebrated Fenella's 40th birthday. We didn't make a big fuss, but wanted Fenella to know that she is greatly loved! We had a great day with visits from Fenella's good friends and our families. We went out for supper with Jackie and Alexa and enjoyed relaxing with good company and good food. For Fenella's birthday I got two tickets for the "Strictly Come Dancing Tour" in Glasgow. So we will stay in Glasgow for 2 nights by ourselves and enjoy a weekend together in February. It is now that point in our lifetime where we have spent more time together than apart, this year is our 20th anniversary!

SPOONS! (Family Fun At New Year)

Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish all a happy 2009 and may God truly be our focus as we venture out into another year of opportunity! Personally. 2008 was a tough year and there is something refreshing about turning the page of a new year. It's almost as if we can enter with a renewed optimism and faith that God will continue to guide and challenge us through this new year with the same purpose as ever - that we break from the world's mould and be transformed and having the same mind and thinking as Christ. Things are never easy, but they are for the best.

Yesterday I spent the day filling my work week. I am again humbled with the response from the local schools. Again there is an obvious desire on the schools part to have me involved in the life of the schools. I am thrilled and thankful that we will have this channel to show God's character and love to the lives of many children. My diary is once again a little tighter packed with trying to take on as many opportunities as I can. I have 4 schools that I will be visiting on a weekly basis - Anna Ritchie on a Friday afternoon, Crimond on a Monday afternoon, Dales Park on a Wednesday Afternoon and Central on a Thursday afternoon and Tuesday, Wednesday lunch times. On top of these I have 7 schools to teach assemblies and these cover various times throughout the week. In short I have a full work week within the local schools - Praise God!!!
It continues to become more and more obvious that this is an essential part of my ministry, not only because of the opportunity to touch so many young lives, but to help fulfill the essential role that the church must play in the community. The seeds that continue to be planted may take years, even decades to come to fruition, but this gives us hope that there are seeds and activity that God can work with over time.

I need to mention more about Alex Swango! I did mention, very briefly, in a previous entry that Alex will be with us in February this year. I feel a little guilty that I have not given this commitment from Alex it's due respect. Over the Xmas break I have had time to reflect on this and am now totally ready for Alex to get here and I am sure that God's timing is right for this to happen at this time. Alex has spent some time getting his support together and through all this time his desire has not wavered to be a part of the kingdom work here in Peterhead. I am now excited that there will be help! Alex will be an asset to the work here and having been to Peterhead on numerous times before, he knows the work and the people here. I know things are never the same visiting a place as they are when you live there, but I have a feeling that Alex will fit in well and adjust fine. I can't deny God's hand in all this and as ever His timing is right. As a congregation we are ready to grow and, God willing, Alex will bring a fresh injection to our efforts.

Let's all dream, dreams and anticipate the Lord's working in His church this new year.