continuing the "undignified" theme....

I just had some fun putting this silliness together.

(It expires sometime in January 2011, so apologies to anyone reading this after that date)

Merry Christmas!

undignified

so I had my last swimming lesson for the year this evening.... 

I have to say that swimming lessons have been a massive challenge. As an overweight woman in her 40's, the idea of being seen in public in my bathers is bad enough, let alone having a lesson in a public swimming pool. Well, I have survived the regular embarrassment and gained some confidence in my swimming skills. I'm slowly on my way to getting fit.

This evening, my instructor, Maddy, announced that instead of a normal lesson, we would be cutting it short to have a game of volley ball, then have a go on the water slides! Eeek!

True to her word, the lesson ended early and Maddy marched us off to the kids pool for a game of volleyball. It was fun and great exercise. But there I was jumping around in a public place in my bathers (ugh!) 

Finally, she announced that it was time for the water slide. She wasn't kidding! She really wanted us to have a go. I have never been on a water slide before. Ever.

First of all, there's the whole bathers-in-public thing, ...then there's the loss of control / undignified thing. Two good reasons to avoid them. 

But tonight, I was confronted with the challenge of having a go. I am very proud to say that I did it! 

It was exciting, exhilarating, uncontrollable, fun and very very undignified! 

I don't want to know what I looked like when I came out the end of the slide and hit the water with a huge splash! It didn't matter. Everyone was having fun and laughing and being just as undignified. I went back for two more turns!

On the way home, the words of Matt Redman's song, Undignified popped into my head.

Inspired by the Bible verse 2 Samuel 6, the lyrics are:

I will dance I will sing to be mad for my King
nothing Lord is hindering the passion in my soul
I will dance I will sing to be mad for my King
nothing Lord is hindering the passion in my soul

And I’ll become even more undignified than this
(some would say its foolishness but)
I’ll become even more undignified than this
Matt Redman

Joseph Neil Adams writes more about this here 

This evening I experienced unexpected undignified joy. 

May my praise for my King be even more undignified! 

May I be brave enough to express myself freely in worship without being concerned about what others might be thinking.

candidating

It's been some time since I last blogged and a lot has happened, especially in relation to my call to ministry. Here is what I shared with my congregation (Tea Tree Gully Uniting) this morning.

You may be aware that over the last two years I have been spending time discerning whether God has a specific call on my life. I committed to a Period of Discernment, during which I met regularly with a mentor, did some study through the Uniting College, began preaching, tried ministries outside of this congregation, and journalled my experiences. Through this process I discerned a call to ministry…. A call to ordained ministry as a Minister (of the Word).

Before (our Minister) Phil Marshall left, we met several times and he helped and supported me in starting the application process. I also met with church council to talk about my sense of call. This began a new journey as I had to write my testimony (1000’s of words), including my spiritual development from childhood, select referees, have extensive medical and psychological testing, and then, finally meet with the ministers selection panel at the beginning of November.

This meeting with selection panel was an intense experience. It was held over 2 days, staying overnight at The Monastery in Glen Osmond. There were 2 hour-long interviews, personal presentations plus two different scenarios where I had the opportunity to show how I work in a team and my leadership style. The panel of 6 then met to decide whether the church is convinced that I am called to ministry and whether I am a suitable candidate.

Fortunately I didn’t have to wait very long. I received a phone call that afternoon to say that the panel decided unanimously to accept my application to candidate as a Minister.

This whole experience has been amazing. I have grown so much in faith, in understanding of who I am in Christ, and in self confidence.

I am now officially a Candidate, which means that the Church is committed to my preparation for ordained ministry. To begin,…I will need to study – I will enrol in a Bachelor of Ministry at Uniting College in the New Year.  I will also need to participate in spiritual formation days run at the College, and eventually, will need to go into a student placement in a congregation. But this is not likely to happen for at least 18 months or more.

With Paul, I have more decisions to make…. How much study will I take on? Will I continue working the same hours?

So, another new journey begins. I hope you will share that journey with me, and would very much appreciate your prayers for myself and for my family.

Eeyore

Following on from "The Wall", I received a surprise gift today from a lovely friend: Eeyore's Little Book of Gloom a book for those Eeyore-ish moments! I'm ever so grateful for this caring and thoughtful gift.

"If you follow your own footsteps... you'll only find the road to nowhere."

"Even if you think you have nothing  worth stealing... someone will  come along and steal your tail."

 Ahh, I feel the 'gloominess' lifting.

weekend away

Well, we had a brilliant long-weekend escape - a road trip to Melbourne with good friends.

We started off at SAYCO for a few hours on the Saturday. It was great to see a big team of enthusiastic young leaders and a few 'old hands' all working well together. Each year it gets a little easier for me to visit - I still miss it: the event, the people, the excitement. The hugs and the genuine welcome were lovely.

Then we were on the road to Melbourne....We spent what was left of Saturday on the road, stopping off overnight at Ballarat. Sunday was the big day:

• brunch with an old friend in one of many busy laneways full of cafes;
• ACMI at Federation Square for the Tim Burton Exhibition; 
• a wander around Federation Square, where they were celebrating Seniors Week(!) - why do seniors like country music and bootskooting?
• back to ACMI to see their exhibition of a history of moving images, TV, animation, special effects, social media, gaming - fascinating stuff
• checked into our apartment in South Yarra (by the railway line!)
• had dinner at a Greek restaurant - yum!
• watched the movie Alice in Wonderland, appreciating Tim Burton's creativity.

Then back in the car to drive home to Adelaide on Monday.

I really enjoy visiting Melbourne: the eclectic mix of architecture, artwork and people. So much to see and so stimulating.
The Tim Burton exhibition was excellent. For a few hours we were immersed in the art and creativity of this talented director and artist..."the creative genius behind Edward Scissorhands, Batman and Alice in Wonderland." He is heavily influenced by Dr Seuss, Roald Dahl and Vincent Price. An interesting mix of horror and humour.
I was really interested in seeing how small ideas formed in his early years re-appeared and were adapted for use in different projects. It has inspired me to be more careful about keeping my own ideas.

It was a great weekend escape - quality time with friends and lots of creative stimulation. We returned home tired and happy. Now we need another long weekend to relax!

The Wall

I should be packing, or writing a reflection paper, or working on stuff for worship@Synod. Instead I'm in mega-procrastination mode.
Why? I've hit a wall. An invisible huge solid wall. It's called fear and self-doubt and tonight I've let it block my path. I know what's happening, I know it's illogical, but this wall is still there. I hope that typing this blog will make the wall crumble a little.

There are times when I'm prone to extremes of emotions: joyous, giddy, silly Tigger-type excitement but then other times, like now, I can be self-doubting, miserable and whingey - a bit like Eeyore.

Paul and I are going on a road trip this long weekend with friends to Melbourne. Hopefully, I snap out of this mood and return to a mild-mannered Tigger (I think a full-on Tigger might be a bit too much for the other passengers in the car!)

Enough of this self-doubt! Enough

End of PoD #6

Here is the final installment of my end of PoD report. Thanks for reading....

Calling – the result of my discernment
In December 2009, following my sermon at the 10am service at Tea Tree Gully Uniting, and the feedback received, I felt in my spirit that ‘this is what I am called to do’, as a vocation. That is, I felt called to ordained ministry. I shared this with a few trusted people who were very affirming and not at all surprised* by this news! (*Which was a surprise to me!)

This sense of call has not left me since that time. The Ministries in the Uniting Church course really helped to confirm this for me, by both confirming what I did not feel called to, and what I did feel called to. In particular I listened to the panel of deacons, hearing about their diaconal ministry. It helped me develop a greater appreciation for this area of ministry but confirmed for me that this is not where I feel my call is focussed.
I have applied to be a candidate for minister of the Word.

Conclusion
Now, at the end of 19 months of discernment, I am amazed at how much has changed in my life, particularly with respect to my own perception of my strengths and my self confidence. I am in a very different ‘place’ to where I was when I began. I am now in a place where my nervousness in relation to worship leading and preaching has dramatically reduced and my confidence, enjoyment and passion have greatly increased. There has been unsolicited affirmation from a broad range of people during my PoD. Through this time I have been blessed with many wonderful opportunities which have really challenged me and I have grown in faith and in understanding of who I am in Christ, and what He is calling me to. I am passionate about pursuing a call to ministry in the Word and keen to learn and soak up as much as I can wherever and whenever I can to help me achieve this goal.