Hello...

Well, at Nicky's request I thought I'd leave a wee blog cause she texted and asked me ever so nicely to. Thinking this might be a reflective sort of blog so those not wanting to get too deep look away now.

SO I've been doing alot of reflecting on my time in uni. On Monday, it will be the beginning of week five of a ten week term, halfway through my first term...it has flown. Anyway, know it's not strictly half way, but thought I'd use this blog to reflect on some of the challenges and highlights of this last few weeks...

Start with challenges:

1) Finding Community - this has been so hard, I think I thought I would arrive and fit in but that's proving tough to seek out Christians who I can really share life with. I'm asking questions about what community should look like, what the church should be and where I fit into it all. I guess I thought that would be alot easier too. I've been to five churches and none of them have been what I'm looking for. Does this mean I'm looking for the wrong thing or is God just not revealing Himself yet? It's hard....to get to know people takes time, but to take time to get to know people in every church takes forever and I'll still be church hopping at Easter. I think that I'm seeing churches doing stuff I'm not used to - like propescying in the middle of a service - and wondering if that's Biblically and I've just been pre-conditioned through my upbringing to find it weird, or if that really is weird?! I know God has people out there with whom I can share life, but He's taking his time about revealing it and that is okay cause it's teaching me to cling onto Him but difficult in the waiting. I think this is exemplified by the amazing community we experienced last year...hard to go back when you experience the real thing I guess.

2) Homesickness - suprisingly not as much of an issue as I expected it to be, I think I discovered last year that relationships which really matter will always stand the test of time and distance and that has been cool. I think what has been difficult is being surrounded by people who don't know me at all constantly with no warning....

3) Self-discipline....I don't know if it's the year out of studying or if it's the general dossy nature of uni, but time management (i.e what to do with so much of it) is a real issue...I seem to be best friends with facebook today and that makes me sad. I'm living in a world that honestly never sleeps and there is so much going on and so much cheaper than it will be for the rest of my life, but I guess that it upsets me that I'm letting it pass me by but appear to lack the discipline to do anythign about it. I am getting better as term kicks off but it does make me feel bad.

4) Fire alarms! Glory hour, averaging once a week, tonights evacuation last 2 1/2 hours! I quite like the excitement of it all, I'm just mega scared that some day it'll catch me out when I'm in the shower or something...

Positive stuff?

1) The sense of peace I've had since I got here - in whatever I've struggled with, whatever has stressed me, I've had a sense of peace that this is God's will for my life - the next stage in the journey so to speak...that has been amazing, and has just been the petrol that's kept the motor going!

2) Support from people at home - my housemates are convinced that I am sending post to myself cause there always seems to be an abundance of it in my pigeonhole compared to everyone else...in truth, I am just more loved...

3) New friends, amazing new friends, who make me laugh.

4) Experience in life....don't think I've been in as many pubs/bars/clubs in my entire life as I have in the last 3 weeks. Still not my favourite place in the world but good for relationship building.

Hope this satisfied miss nicky's need for a blog. Miss you! xx