Come on Spring!

Hello everyone

It’s really nice to see the sun outside…finally. I’ve been able to sit on the terrace and start to write a sermon which has been really nice and relaxing, especially since my whole life seems to be getting busier and busier every week. What’s more is that it’s not going to get any quieter. But I guess that’s life, and I can at least say I’m not getting bored or lazy. There has been some really interesting things that have been coming up and new ideas and attitudes that I have been discovering that I thought might be good to share.

I have discovered a lot about my attitude to giving everything to God. I have seen that I can often do it, and that when I do the effects on my abilities go up considerably, because it is not in my own strength I do those things but in God’s. But I have found that it is too easy to then start to think I can do all those things that were done in God’s strength in my own. I have found that once I start to think like this, it is the beginning of the fall to not doing what God’s will for me is, but what I see best for myself, even if I think what I am doing is for God.

I have also found that in the last couple of weeks I have been challenged by the level of respect I should treat others with. I have always tried to be nice to people to their faces, and be willing to do anything for them, but if I am to love how God has intended for me to love, then I must also hold that attitude of love for them in everything I do. It’s so easy for me to think negatively of someone, maybe because of different attitudes or different personalities, but all of that can be unhelpful, leading to gossip and unfriendliness and starting to lose the fellowship that we are called to have with each other. Love for others has certainly been on my heart throughout my time at cliff, and it is something that I must work hard at allowing myself to be transformed by because of my experience of Christ’s, the ultimate example of love.

Just a few thoughts on the way I have been changing, and of course there are loads more things that I have been working through, but I would be hear till midnight writing about them.

I hope everyone is ok

Andrew

Hi all

Been a long time since I was on here, did right one a while ago but the internet went dodgy and got lost somewhere and i couldn't be bothered to write it again. But I'm back with lots of new things that have happened!

While i'm typing i'm sitting opposite my new niece who is currently sleeping. She's so cute and is living the high life of sleep, feed, poop... Simpler times. She is doing really well ad getting bigger and bigger everyday.

Cliff is going well, I've now got all my results from the first set of essays and exams and I feel I've done really well in them, next stage is getting a first in one of them. It has been really encouraging finding that I've been doing well, and it just encourages me and helps me realise that I can strive to do better, which is a novelty :p.

My local preaching is coming on nicely, had my half way trial service which went well and also having my half way interview next tuesday, which I am a little scared about.

Missing everyone at home, I think i would like to see some old faces some time and go to a pub quiz. O how i miss failing at pub quizzes.

Hope everyone's doing well.

Acndrew

Good day!

taking some time from my tiring week to update everyone who's reading this.

It was great to see everyone at home last week and nice to have a sunday lunch! I've been doing so much this week and I am so tired and I have so much work to do! but will get there eventually. I'm going to be preaching next week for the first time since coming to cliff which I'm excited about, I'm really interested to see if my style is different and what I put in my sermon changes since I have changed and learned so much since coming here. I also had a very new experience of playing the congas a couple of days ago. It was a great learning experience but also meant my hands were twice the size after playing!

I'm finding it is time to start getting my work done now if i don't want to be too busy in the Christmas holidays, so please pray for me to get it all done so I don't get too stressed, which is very easy to do here.

Thank you everyone for your support for me, it means so much to me, I have been amazed at the level of support I have received since coming here, it's been really helpful.

Andrew

Hello people :)
I don't know if anyone is actually looking, but it's good fun anyway.
Just a quick one before study skills starts

Just had reading week, but didn't get much reading done, been very busy and had a family holiday. But was a very good week and good to see everyone together again.

I've got an essay to write for thursday and no time to write it so please pray for me to find time!

thanks
Andrew

Just the view i have from my window (i think it's cool)

Hello! if anyone is out there...?

Hi
This whole blogging thing is quite new to me but i thought i would do since i told people that i would keep in touch with people while I'm at cliff, and after much consideration, this seems like the best way to do it :)

So it's been over 6 weeks since I started here! It's quite scary how fast it's going, but at the same time i feel like i've been here for ages. But I have been thoroughly enjoying it and meeting some absolubtly amazing people here (and yes, there is one in particular). I have made cliff my home now which is great but also very new, since i've lived in the same house in Lumley for 18 years. but my room is very nice, about the right size for me as there is enough room to play guitar, which is very important.

The food here is ok, but according to the mens group yesterday, I've lost weight, so I am going to have to eat more food... I know, it's a hard life :p The lectures here are very good, i mean VERY good. I'm learning so much here in my lectures from some outstanding lecturers, Old Testament is by far my favourite, learning so much in that but I feel like I may burst my brain with the amount of information I'm beginning to absorb in that lecture, but still brilliant. The prayer life here is also good, amazing discipline for me waking up and praying everyday, it's a brilliant practice to be involved in, I strongly recommend it. Manual is also a lot of fun, doing Audio-visual stuff, it is a busy (because we didn't spend an hour and a half in one manual writing a song) and time consuming manual but it's nice to do.

The mission that Cliff does has dramatically changed this year which means my mission placement is over the course of the year instead of at 3 seperate events. Therefore, I am doing mission placement every wednesday afternoon at a church in Dronfield (near Sheffield) which is really cool. There are some really encouraging and welcoming people in that Church, which is also a primary school during the week, and they have such a heart for mission. The things they are doing are so encouraging, so many ideas there, especially in the area's of childrens and youth work, I think i will be learning a lot there.

So Cliff college is great, but very quiet at the moment because everyone is away, meaning I can get work done :)

have a nice day,
Andrew