The surest thing in this transitory life is the fact that we will all die. No one can escape death’s reach. Each of us at some point in our lives needs to come to terms with our own mortality… But the uncertainties of death still plague us. When will I die? How will I die? Will I die alone? When will my loved ones die? These too are questions we need to face but the problem with these question is there is no certain answer. We can’t really be sure when we are going to die. Neither terminal illnesses nor the appearances of complete health can dictate when or where we will die.

But in all this we can be sure that there is one man who death could not keep down. One man who defeated death on our behalf. Jesus went through death and rose again so that we can be sure that death, while certain, is not the end. Those who trust in Jesus can be comforted by the fact that they too will be raised from the dead to live forever with Him. This does not take away the pain of death, or make grief disappear but it is a comfort to know that on the other side of death we will see the face of our glorious King and Saviour.

What’s more… we know amongst the uncertainty of death that God is in control. We may not understand how things work, why healthy people die without notice and those who are terminally ill live beyond the expectations of medical professionals. But one thing we can know is God’s character, that he is faithful, loving, merciful, gracious, slow to anger, kind, patient… we can know the God who knows what’s going on. And we can trust Him!!

“The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom” (Job 28:28).

If you've seen and love Empire Records then you might understand what I mean when I say at the moment I feel a little like Lucas.

"A.J.: What's with you? Yesterday you were normal and today you're like the Chinese guy from the Karate Kid. What's with you today?
Lucas: What's with today today?"

Well, perhaps not exactly like Lucas...

Change

I love change... I enjoy new things, new adventures, new relationships, change is generally a positive in my books. But change doesn't always come easily. Change can come through a tough time, or a end of something, or an epiphany. Change can be unexpected or much anticipated. Change can be painful or carefree. Change...

In the last couple of weeks God has been changing me. He has been teaching me so much. This kind of change, change at the core of who we are, is generally, no, nearly always painful. It hurts my head to think so hard about things and it scares me as I am shown some of the ugliest parts of who I am. This change at the time is really sucky. But this is the best kind of change.

This is the change that sees the beaten down weather board house turned into a glorious heavenly building. This is the product of the Spirit's work in His people. This is God, the master renovator at work. But the new improved house does not come without the knocking down of some walls or a hole or two. It come with pain and hard work. But the end result... is priceless!!!

Kick Back & Relax... with old friends!!

Funnily enough I never really thought Canberra would be the place I would end up for a winter holiday but it has been really great. I mean, I am FREEZING but seeing my friend Jenny has been really good and today I'm catching up with an old friend, Kerryn, from Uni, who I haven't seen for maybe 2 or 3 years. I can't wait!! Kerryn and I used to pray together during our final year at uni but life gets crazy, as life does, and we haven't caught up since then. Also tomorrow I'm seeing Kelly!! I lived with Kell for 2 years at MAC but this year she has been living in Melbourne at St Andrews Hall (the training place for CMS Missionaries) because she is preparing to go to Japan next year as a missio.

I guess lately I have been thinking a lot about how precious good friends are. They are the kind of friends who no matter how long it has been since you've seen them, its always great to catch up. Ther kind of friends who instantly you pick up where you left off and it feels like you were chatting only yesterday. The kind of friends who know you so well and love you anyway. The kind of friends who you can be yourself around and not worry you are going to say something dumb (coz they've heard you say the dumbest things already). The kind of friends you'll have for life!! What a precious gift these friends are. I'm just so excited that God has given me such amzing friends. What a blessing!!!

I am begining to feel like the idea of having a holiday might just be real... It's been a long time in the making and is well and truly overdue.

This year has been quite hard work. My family has been quite sick and with Nan getting sick and dying so suddenly things got put on hold.

But finally I am getting to the end of playing this catch-up game that I have been playing for the past 3 months or so now. I'm getting excited at the prospects of being back ontrack with everyone in my year. I have now finished 2 overdue essays and my work from over summer (literally finished about 15mins ago). Now I have to prepare for my next essay which is due 2nd week back and I have a 10 min sermon to prepare and preach to 2 of my classmates... but before I really get stuck into all that... I'm going on holidays!!!!

So, Thursday I head down to Wollongong for the night, see some family and friends then I head to Canberra for the weekend to catch up with some friends who I haven't seen for a while (a couple of the girls I'm going to catch up with I haven't seen for 2-3 years). So that should be great!! Then I head back towards Sydney and stay 2 nights with a really good friend (who I have known since I was 6). I'm really looking forward to that. There is something amazing about friends that you have known for that long. No matter how long its been since you've seen them, things are always the same... It's such a joy!! I can't wait!!

I'm also looking forward to things in the future...
* Getting on top of study and getting the most out of the last 18 months at college
* The birth of my nephew in September
* Planning for a holiday to France next July (my first trip overseas)
* Working out what to do as a student minister next year

It's been a while since I've felt this excited about the future... But mostly I'm excited about the prospects of sharing the gospel with those around me and seeing people grow in their relationship with God... What a joy and a privilege it is be apart of God's amazing work. It's really amazing to see how God changes people's hearts right in front of our eyes. It is so humbling (and reassuring) too to know that it is God who gives the growth in people's lives. How amazing is He!?!?

We'll this is a bit of a long entry... sorry about that... I do hope that you are still with me... trying to make up for lost time I think :)

I'm sure there is so much more I could write right now but I wont put you through it... Thanks for reading...