A New Season.

:) Happy New Year my wonderful friends.

My 2008 year verse -
"Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the comings of rain in early spring." Hosea 6:3

...this totally inspires me to not just press on to know Him myself, but also to press on to help others know Him, builds a deeper desire in me to see God responding to people as their hearts press on to know Him.

Through the end of last year, God really pushed me out of a few comfort zones in the form of having to make a lot of decisions about my time and how im spending it. As always, its still something i find a little more difficult to know what exactly is good and effective..
I think the hardest part was the seeming decision between carrying on at iD, or taking up the role on exec at CU at my uni. Both of them made me reeeeeally quite excited, because God is at work in both things, but i guess a lot of my heart was attached to the iD group, having spent so much time with them, having built into them, prayed for them and God having grown me to love them over 2007, the prospect of not being able to be involved in their lives as much made my heart break.
As well as that, i think i knew that in some ways, staying with the iD group would be so much safer, in a way, a little easier - because i know the leadership team so well, because i love those guys aswell and God had blessed me so much with the opportunity to serve with them, because i was comfortable in that position, i knew what was happening, i knew the vision, and the iD group isn't huge, and ive learnt all their names now!!
Going on to exec at uni...was a whole different kettle of fish (those small blue electric ones). The likelihood being that i wouldn't know any of the other exec members, because most of the people i know well at CU are 3rd or 1st years, the scope and the people group being HUGE, and also the people group being the one that actually i feel least comfortable with. Being honest with you guys - people my own age sometimes scare me! They're big bad and mean! No im kidding, but they are big. :P
Ive always found it so much easier and less scary interacting with people under 16, or over 24...
The role on exec (which is global by the way :) ) wasn't one i knew a whole lot about - ive never done anything like it before and i didn't really have a full grasp of what it involved...
However, it wasn't all bad!! It was something that built up so much excitement in my heart - this semester God's really being growing my heart for international students, and also been growing my heart even further into going into full time ministry after uni, rather than a secular job. Three weeks before i was asked, i was having all these ideas for the international ministry at uni, and i know that getting involved at CU this year was something God had called me to do - and though it was hard, i was enjoying growing into this group of people who know that our God is Lord :)

In the second to last iD of 2007, the iD which i knew would be the last before i had to make my decision, we sang the song Surrender...

"I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within
I lay it all down for the sake of you my King
I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights
I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life

And I surrender all to you, all to you
And I surrender all to you, all to you

I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross
And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss
For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name
To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain"

And by the end of the song, i was in tears, knowing that God was calling me to surrender iD, to let Him draw me out of my comfort zones and lead me along His planned path. The best way for me. But definitely not the easiest.
Ive still struggled with making this decision - because its not one i thought i would have to make. I honestly thought id be at iD till i at least left uni. But there you go, something ive found out about God is that many things that He does, or asks of me are unexpected - because His ways are far beyond my own.

And so, there are big challenges ahead for such a small person as me.
Ahhhhhh! Im trusting in my big God. :)