And so it begins...

I'm biding my time. I should be going to bed to get some good rest for the next few days to come - but I'm a little too wound up. You see, tomorrow morning is the start of 'O' day at UTS - and what I personally mark as the beginning of the crazy season which goes on until Easter. Don't get me wrong, I think that it's going to be good, but 'O' Day has traditionally been a marker for me of the new Credo year and so I feel an air of anticipation.

I've been up thinking about what kind of year would I like it to be? From the outset, let me say that I know some things are going to be hard - with more responsibility always comes more opportunities to stuff things up. I'm a realist so I know that it's going to happen (just a matter of minimising the damage really) - but take out the realism of things falling short of expectations and I still have hopes and dreams for the Credoites.

In particular, some recent dialogues on Justins blog (sorry, still don't know the tech way to make links you'll just have to find it yourselves) have made me think specifically about what I hope the students learn from this year. I want them to get their teeth into the meatiness of scripture (as opposed to the fluffiness of other 'spiritual' trends). I want them to grapple and wrestle with their relationships with God - to be confronted, taken out of their comfort zones and, by the glorious graciousness of His Holy Spirit, to come out on the other side as one refined by fire (actually I want the same thing for myself too, but it feels less confronting to keep it abstract and into the lives of others doesn't it?).

I want them to experience laughter and joy - and I want to have enough energy to be sharing as much of it with them as possible. But here's a thought - how many times have I said "I want" in the last couple of sentences - what about what God will want? Ultimately what I want most is for my will to conform to His - and for the wisdom that, as a staff team, we know best how to serve those that God will entrust to us this year.

And speaking of the staff team - here we are. This is of course not our official photo - I just had to include it because it captures a bit of what I'm feeling at the moment: everyone else seems ready but I'm left with the "huh? what's going on?" expression.


Left to right, standing to sitting we are Kat, Dave, Paul, Mike, myself, Bec and May - please pray for us?