Keeping Up With the Andersons

Hello again cyberspace

I have just had a wonderful morning. I think Fridays are my favourite morning in the week (after Sundays and maybe Mondays. Tuesdays are pretty good too.Oh, I like them all!)

Anyway, Fridays are great because Caleb and I get to go to playgroup at our church. It's so much fun. We play, eat, sing, play, watch mums make crafts (it's the pre-cursor to parents doing children's homework!). And the highlight for me is seeing lots of great friends. Neighbours, friends from mothers' group, people I always see at the shops. Friends from church. And we're all together and all enjoying life together. And helping each other.

I also get excited when my friends grow to love my church. Them (and their children) see church as somewhere they want to be. In fact, a friend says that she walks past the church most days and her daughter always wants to go inside, because she likes church. And I know it's the people and the love of Christian people that they love. Because our church isn't the most child-friendly in design, the temperature inside is not always pleasant, and the toilets are not nearby. But we have a ball

And these friends are slowly and surely coming to church and the womens fellowship (bible study) group. It's so cool to watch God at work. And I know it's him. Because I don't push, my friends are genuinely interested. And why wouldn't you be? The people are nice, we have food, and we actually talk about and care about the details of life. We pray to a God who answers prayer, and we talk about all those things that you mean to talk about in life but never do - the deep questions from within our very selves. Is there any meaning to life? Does God care? Is death really the end? The deep questions that God answers in the Bible, and in the very fabric of our lives.

Oh, I wish I could freeze time and be at playgroup forever. Praise God for his kindness to us.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work I've got to do at college right now. I have lots of contact hours this semester and all the readings and translation I'm supposed to do each week don't fit into my remaining hours. On top of that I have lots of assignments (see "upcoming" section of the side bar) and many of them are due around the same time.

Pray that God will reduce my anxiety, and that I will be able to prioritise my time well. I'm aiming to not let the urgent things displace the important things, such as time with my family and with God.

Already God is answering my prayers in this, as I'm feeling less anxious now that the main ideas for my Deuteronomy sermon are taking shape in my head. MG is being a big help for me, even though she's just coming out of a week of sickness. She's helped find resurces for my Genesis assignment and single-handedly put together our next newsletter.

For those who are less busy right now, here's something to ponder: Compare Deuteronomy 28 with John 9:1-3 and Luke 13:1-9. What do you think?