SoulThirst

Well, nothing else to do at 3:00a.m., now is there? ^^;;; I guess these updates are becoming weekly, for two main reasons.
1. My week(s) are becoming full enough that to update daily is becoming less feasible, and
2. Going along with that, there are just better things to do than sit & update blogs/Xangas all day.
It's not that nothing exciting happens, and I suppose that if I were to go back to the original reason why I kept doing this (i.e. to keep out of town/out of touch people updated as to what's going on), then there's still some point & merit to blogging.

Anyway, it doesn't feel like Monday (er. Tuesday early-morning). Usually Mondays are the "day off," where I get personal things done for the week & generally get to take care of business before my "work week" begins. Actually, it's also more of my Sabbath opportunity. This Monday, youth came over to play games & hang out, which was fun, & then went off to hockey afterwards.

Sunday was definitely a full day, with preaching, teaching Sunday School, teaching guitar class, and leading an evening Bible Study. Praise God for the endurance & stamina to make it through the whole day, & what's more, to make it through in good spirits. As Sandra put it, "my brain was a bit addled", and by Sunday School, the signs were showing: I wasn't quite as coherent, logical, or articulate (even the sermon was somewhat like that), & it completely went downhill by the evening. Still, I'm grateful for the grace given to me.

Moving backwards on through the weekend, Saturday was fun. Had lunch with Tracey, and being in the company of a good friend is always such a blessing. Always great to be back in the company of old friends. I admit, both of us having moved on from Wheaton & being college students, it's been interesting learning how to still keep in touch & all even though time is a luxury we often don't have. Some people think that to have close community (or to connect with others) takes a whole lot of time & constant contact to achieve (or maintain). Well, that's not quite true, and I'm grateful that even the times few & far between have always been a blessing- being able to talk about what's happened since last we talked, sharing prayer requests, & even such simple things as enjoying God's small blessings of good weather & books :).

The rest of the afternoon- spent that with youth who were over to train for Backyard Bible Club teaching, then hitting up Popeyes for dinner. On the way out from dinner, it had just rained, and a full rainbow (from ground to ground) was bright & bold in the eastern sky, with a second rainbow right above it. It's one of those things that makes you pause, take a good look, and simply worship. Briefly dropped by WCAC's coffeehouse, mostly to say hello to people I still knew there & such. Honestly, it made me sad to be there, having seen & known the church for the past 4 years, and seeing how recent events have really hurt their church, and trickled down in affecting their youth group.

Friday night went very well (at least from my perspective). Felt like the letter-writing was good for most people, even the non-introverts, & was a good chance to reflect on the year past & think about the year future. Me, I didn't get to do much of that, having to watch over the evening, and I don't reflect well with a divided mind. I gotta say, I was really impressed and amazed by the youth on that night's worship team (i.e. everyone else but me), in how together & confident they were; as a group who never played/sung together, you guys did great. Not just musically, but in expressing from your heart & giving life to the praise. (Even during the ending-response time when I sprung songs on you guys without practicing beforehand ^_~)

And that, in a nutshell was the weekend.

This week will be a comparatively light load, considering that there's no evening Bible Study to lead, and guitar-class plans are mapped out for the rest of the month. I've already got Sunday School mostly prepared too, and my next 2 talks are mapped out too. It'll still definitely be a full week. In 5-6 hours or so, I'm supposed to take my car in to get some final repairs done on my tire. Then the rest of the week, full of meeting with people, gatherings, etc. Again, it won't be a bad week or even a "busy" week, just a full one. Although the past couple weeks were definitely a much more cranked-up pace, I honestly admit that I enjoyed it more than the weeks that weren't. It's good to be satisfied in your work, and to see the fruits of your labor; too much free time- or rather, meaningless free time- is indeed meaningless.

Prayer Requests:
- continued strength for the week & the tasks ahead
- meaningful times in meeting with different students throughout the week
- meaningful times of my own in meeting with God & growing in my own walk

mm. that about covers it :)

posted by Andy Chang @ 3:50 AM