Getting back into the groove

Sooooo after two years of silence….. I’m back!

After a little bit of cajoling from a friend, I thought I’d get back into the blogosphere and share some thoughts and prayer requests again.

For those of you who only see this life through the internet, here’s a quick overview of the past couple of years.

Sept 2009: Started PGCE training here in Oxford with the intention of becoming a Science Teacher. (Physics in particular).

Summer 2010: Had an awesome holiday with some great friends in USA. (Lis and Drew: your wedding was amazing btw!) Chicago, Niagara Falls, Detroit, Cedar Falls and more.

Sept 2010: Started my NQT year teaching at a school in Oxford; which was a massive blessing and enabled me to stay with OCC, (The community church, rather than the city council, county council or computing company) and live in the same house with some good friends. I was also reintroduced to the world of taxes, and introduced to the world of pensions and student loan repayments

This school has been a great place of friendship, with many other new teachers and some amazing kids. Despite falling over in lessons and more than a few verbal slip-ups, I can honestly say I love my job and feel that it is God’s plan for the next few years at least that I teach. There has been nothing quite like a kid coming up and saying “that’s my teacher!”.

All these blessings have been amazing and I’ve built some very deep friendships with those still left in Oxford. However, life is not static and with a little push from both myself and a few close friends I’ve decided to move into a local estate this summer and also to take up some theological training in my spare time.

This has been partly due to a continued sense that I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what God might do with this life. Also I want to know him more deeply.

For those of you that know me well, I hope that this doesn’t sound too serious! There’s been much mischief still including:

-Making a gunge nose for Kids Club

- A few silly dances at church

Ms Cole has nothing on us :P

As well as dressing up as a 6ft bunny for an Easter egg hunt!

 

This is meant for just a quick catch-up on life, more detail will follow soon , but I’ll leave you with some prayer points and an interesting thought:

 

1) Housemates for next year and a suitable house/flat. (Once I’d resolved to live on this estate, God provided a

2) Settling into my new school well this September and maintaining strong friendships with the staff from the current one.

3) Opportunities to share God’s love with the families and individuals in the local community.

4) More intimacy with God, through prayer and Scripture: This is more important than all the others, and the one I need most.

 

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”  - Exodus 33:15-18

My life is turning out well filled with many blessings. However, it will not count for anything unless God is living in it. Moses knew that he couldn’t go anywhere or do anything worthwhile without God being there. What about you?