Another Study Year Up!

A frantic last month or two has rocketed past - and here we are in the middle of my final week in the Hawkes Bay this year.

   I've just completed my final exam and sent it off....

   My Mum arrives tomorrow afternoon....

   I get my first tertiary qualification on Saturday (a diploma from The Shepherds Bible College)....

   The CD I've made arrived in the mail this morning, and will be available next Friday....

                  Lots is happening. 

Next Monday I travel down with my Mum to Dunedin for five weeks down in the deep south, mostly working on the farm up in the scorching Central Otago heat. Following that I return north to set off for three weeks of music ministry in churches around the upper North Island.

Then next year I'll be doing a internship in music (what else) at Onekawa Bible Church, where I've been since February. Very excited about this opportunity. Also I'll be continuing to take papers at The Shepherds Bible College (tsbc.org.nz). Then after that.... we'll see. In other words, I don't know yet. But God does, and I'm resting in that. What's the point in being anxious about the future? God has it already all mapped out.

What a year of study its been. I continue to say that this is the most enjoyable study I've done in my life. Just a pity it took me 25 years to discover that (it could have been 50 I guess). The Bible is continuing to come alive for me! I continue to understand God's ways and nature more and more each week, and growth is often slow, but I think I have been slowly growing in different ways.

Theology has never been so practical! The Bible has never been so real-life! Now I just want to get out there and teach others - impart some of what I've learned, and help others grow and mature in their faith.I think growing in my desire to live my life alongside and disciple other Christians younger in the faith.

Discipleship. It may not be easy, it may not always be fun - in fact it generally will take patience, sweat, tears, prayer, humility, honesty, and a lot of time. It's what we're called to.

Closing In

Well presently I am immersed in study. But in only two weeks, exams, projects and lectures will be over for the year that is 2011. As other tertiary students know, once you get your head down and into the work, the weeks roll on by like golf balls down a dry green. I've shifted my base to the Hawkes Bay, but still home will always be home (I'll always have Otago blood in me and be a true southerner). And homewards is where I head in less than three weeks. I have enjoyed settling into life up here, finding it a very easy transition (well it's not like its a completely new culture!)

And I've come to see how lucky I am to be studying here at The Shepherds Bible College - excellent teachers, great opportunity to do ministry in a local church alongside the academic intake, fairly small so personal and friendly, and committed to remaining faithful to God and His Word in a world where His words of power and life are largely ignored or misinterpreted. I recommend and will continue to recommend Shepherds highly. And not just those headed towards a lifetime of ministry, but all Christians, no matter what their maturity or experience. Just taking a year out will deepen your love for Christ and the Scriptures hugely - I've seen that this year first hand with people who've decided to take some classes to just help them grow in their Christian walk. Check it out at http://www.tsbc.org.nz/. For me, the Scriptures have come alive this year more than ever before!

So page one of my Hawkes Bay chapter is almost complete. In December, January, and February, alongside some work, I'll be aiming to record a full length worship album project - called 'To Him Be the Glory'. Stay tuned on that one, more details and perhaps a sample or two are to come. But to share the vision of the project with you at least:

 ..... to produce and offer songs of worship for the wider body of
Christ in New Zealand, that have God-centered/glorifying, and
Scripturally-based lyrics, are quality songs, and yet are accessible
enough for all variety of different local churches to learn, teach,
and use in a congregational setting.

Looking forward to working on it over the summer with Tommo! But let's not get too far ahead. I had better flick down my laptop lid and delve back into the Greek vocab for the time being.....

Hello Holidays

Ki ora!

Last night I typed in the final few words, checked over it a few times, and then emailed off with a single calm click my final assignment for the semester. Which means....... this morning I'm on holiday! I can take my time to slowly sip my coffee, and look outside at the rustling trees and clouds racing over the sky, and reflect. I think in our busy schedules today, we don't take enough time to simply reflect. For me that is definately true anyway. I find that when I do reflect, it always leads back to recognition of the way God's been at work in my life and has been answering prayer... so reflection seems to always lead to giving God thanks. I'm sure many of you can relate.

So what are my honest thoughts on my new home here in the Hawkes Bay? (though the deep south will always be Home of course!) I think the word that comes first to mind is 'rightness'. I feel a deep and settled peace and rightness about where I am right now, what I'm doing, and where I'm headed. I know that this is surely a peace from God that I'm following the path He's already laid out. It has been hard to move from Flagstaff to here, in that I was so involved in the communities and people in Halfway Bush and Wakari day by day, and suddenly they've all disappeared. But you do adapt quickly to new places. And I feel very settled here already. My plan is to remain studying part time here (alongside some work) for the next 5 years. I really like the people at the church at Riverbend. There are a strong bunch of young people at the church who love God, which isn't verycommon - and it's been great to get to know them. And being such a small college, all the students and staff get to know each other well. I've enjoyed these aspects a lot. I feel right at home in the church here at Riverbend, with great preaching, diversity of music, lots of families, and friendly, down-to-earth people (just like my church at Flagstaff). I think I'm very blessed to be part of this church. And it's been awesome to be able to do practical ministry as part of my studies (so not just all academic, but putting what I'm learning into practice in a church setting). That is quite unique among Bible colleges, but I think is a really good and important thing. This year of course, my internship is focussed on song-writing. Next year, I want to do something I haven't been involved with before. I want to expose myself and have experience in all different areas of ministry that I may end up encountering in the future! I'm here to be equipped after all.

The Hawkes Bay is also a beautiful part of Aotearoa. The people and the land. There is such diversity with the people who live here, drawn together from many different cultures to this location. And the surroundings are equally as diverse and wonderful, as my parents and I will be exploring over the next few days. They arrive tomorrow from the deep south, which I'm very excited about! Following some days here in the Bay, we'll do a bit of a road trip (in their campervan) northwards to catch up with family in the big smoke of Auckland. And spend some time on the Coromandel, which I've really yet to properly explore. The harder you work, the more you appeciate the holidays...........bring them on. Sweet as!

Study Mode

It's been several years since I last got down and studied. So it's like re-learning a lost skill all over again (not that I was very skillful at it to begin with), and it's taking time to get back into the swing of it. I'm attempting to do Greek level 1 which will be a momentus challenge but I've no doubt will be worth the sweat. I'm also studying english grammer which is more complicated than Greek, and New Testament survey which is real fascinating, currently looking at the historical context the gospels were written in.

Below is a photo of me just to prove I'm not lazing around up here, but getting into the studies! I'm holding a book of the Scriptures in Greek in one hand... and my name written out in Greek in the other.

Notice the guitar in the background... my occasional compulsary diversion from the books.

My weeks are already filling out with Bible studies, lectures, 15-20 hours of work in a local restaurant washing the dishes and a nursery each Saturday, church and other church events, writing songs, watching live music and exploring the local beaches and hills, and at many hours study a week. And I haven't even started my ministry internship within the church (I get to choose what that will be, and will be sorting that out this week). But really settling in up here, enjoying Hawkes Bay life... well apart from my car being broken into and laptop nicked, and being part of a new church family. Right better get back to study!!