Firstly, my special thanks for all your support and prayers – particularly James who spends his valuable time reading my blog and praying over the issues. It really makes a difference.
Over the weekend I had to attend a year group meeting for my training course. The speaker focussed on the book of Jonah, bringing out valuable lessons – albeit taking a diametrically opposite view to the NIV study bible notes. He said the fish represents Leviathan, the ancient sea monster that embodies chaos – and this was the creature directed by God to accomplish his purposes. We expect God to deliver us at the last minute, yet in the case of Jonah he had gone passed the point of no return and drowned at the bottom of the Mediterranean before god sends the chaos monster to bring him back. So we should not be disturbed when we pass the final opportunity for rescue and the worst outcome happens and chaos ensues – this is God’s vehicle for accomplishing his purpose.
The other lesson is to obey God – even if this involves going where we don’t want to go. I had more confessions for my wife this weekend [not the usual ones, fortunately], and based on the message I had just heard from Jonah, I faced up to the challenge and endured the outcome. But then God speaks in strange ways – that night my child’s bed time book was about a bunny that plucked up the courage to tell mummy bunny he had eaten all the carrots. And mummy bunny’s wise words of love, comfort and encouragement were God’s oracle to me – and I welled up with tears as I read.
I have started at my placement church, attending the Sunday evening service. Not the sixty people in charismatic praise that I am used to – 6 pensioners in the cold Lady Chapel where the vicar solemnly read the exact words from the ASB and a licensed reader spoke an empty academic sermon on the interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer through history. It was really dire! I gather their morning services are better! But even bad experience is good experience and it will all contribute to my training.
At work I have started making enquiries with the people I want to do freelance work for, and the response was encouraging, making me believe it will come about in due course.
No baby news except that we think implantation has failed again – another month gone. Mrs has been avoiding church to avoid people asking her questions and roping her into activities that would be incompatible with the morning sickness she is preparing for, but felt she should come on Sunday morning to avid people asking me where she is. She got roped into helping with the coffee morning on Friday and did a heavy counselling session for a friend who has child custody problems, when really she was not in a fit state to counsel anyone. So she was very fed up and is unlikely to show her face again until she has a strong pregnancy going. This is getting too long. Must stop.
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