Finding the sermon in the task

So it goes like this.

2 weeks ago I on the Monday I was desperately trying to get my sermon started for Sunday. I had my topic, I had my scripture and I had a whole day to put it all together..... I spent the whole day typing up stuff and then deleting it because it just didn't sound right or seem to say what I wanted to say.... which by the way was "get off your backside and put your talents (gifts & abilities) to work in the church"... perhaps not the best way to make friends.

I finished the day having spent a good number of hours on my sermon and not having got very far... Now for me this was somewhat of a stressful moment (to say it mildly) .... and I did not sleep very well that night having dreams that I was going to get to Sunday and have nothing to say.

I was somewhat reluctant to go to Kilbirnie the next morning but knew that I had a huge pile of clothing just waiting for me to sort (again) ........ So I went anyway and I spent the morning sorting through the clothing and at one point looked at all that needed doing at the family store and felt quite overwhelmed...... chaching ..... there was the beginning of my sermon and the rest flowed from there.....

So if anybody tells you that one needs to sit at a computer and read heaps of commentaries to write a sermon and that is all it takes ..... They got it wrong.....

Also for those who have been told by a certain tutor that it takes 20 hours to prepare a 20 minute sermon and you wonder where you might find the 20 hours ..... then just remember that the 20 hours can include the thinking that you do when you are doing some other task.... Talk about multi tasking at its best............

Tricky First Year Cadets

Well the first year cadets are well and truely on campus. They have really made their presense known .. On the whole a fantastic and sociable lot. We have enjoyed any number of BBQs together and Perry and I have really appreciated being able to get to know them well.

I can see that the college are going to have their hands full with this lot though.... There are already a number of pranks that are in the pipe line and a few that have already taken place. This year is going to be so much fun.

Just a little taste of the fun. A certain male (single) cadet had a dentist appointment recently and upon return a female cadet asked him how the visit went... With somewhat realistic tears in his eyes he groaned and held his mouth..... The female cadet said "Do you need a hug" the offer was accepted and the hug given. It was only then the dentally impaired cadet came clean and said that the dentist had in fact done no work what so ever..... hehehe..... I think that there will never be the offer of a hug again........

Being Real

I had the opportunity again to learn about being real in all situations on the weekend. It was Emily's birthday party and we had some people, mostly from the college campus and from Kilbirnie Corps....

The father of one child from Educare started asking all sorts of questions about how the military ranks work in the Salvation Army and asking about what happens if you come into the army with lots of qualifications and so on... Do you like get a better rank the more you have to start with and so on.

I told him that we are all equal. His next question was "So why do it?". Now by this stage I had the feeling that he might be taking the mickey out of us but instead of laughing it off I thought, you asked for it buddy and gave it to him....

"We do this because we are called by God to serve him in a full time and the college is the first step to that. We believe in God and trust Him implicitly." There was stunned silence for about a minute and then he said.... "That is that best answer anybody who is a minister or priest has ever given to me.". Thank you God that I didn't go with my first instinct to brush off this question as a wind up and give a half baked answer.

And yes I know this is the answer that we are supposed to give but it does not come easily sometimes and judging by his reaction, it does not come that often from those of us that profess to be followers of the living Christ.......