Today I got up at 4.00 to drop Danelle at the airport. Ouch!

She has a conference in Sydney until Monday – which means that I am now responsible for two children…

Thankfully we have good friends who have offered to look after the kids while I work today and tomorrow. But after that its all down to me…

Tonight we had fish and chips for dinner!

Actually it was a great night out. We went to the local marina and had dinnner in the pub – the kids were really good and loved being there near the sea, around the boats etc – whew… one night down!

Believe it or not that is news!

I’ve got a stack of preaching gigs over the next 6-8 weeks and the first one was today at Warwick Church of Christ.

I really enjoyed it – the whole bit! I haven’t been to a church service for over 8 weeks but it was really nice to be back in that environment today.

I actually find singing a helpful way to worship, but given our current situation we are not doing much if any singing and things don’t look likely to change greatly on that front.

I wouldn’t say I miss singing – I rarely think about it – but it is good to occasionally be able to worship in that way!

Today I completed my third week of teaching… only 37 to go.

I wish I felt different but that’s just where its at.

We had a swimming carnival today where I bumped into a lot parents who I hadn’t seen for ages. They all wanted to know ‘so what brings you back to teaching?’

My answer?… ‘I need the money’.

How inspiring and encouraging for them…download rules of engagement free

Life still feels very chaotic as I navigate the path between three paid roles, a voluntary position and regular preaching around the place.

I’m also aware that spiritual disciplines are floundering as is my exercise and diet.

Two days given to teaching actually feels like a big slab of the week at present. I’m not sure I like the way my life is shaping up at present – may need to make a few changes…

On that score you will have observed that blogging has taken a different place in the scheme of things as I try and find a rhythm in the chaos.

Some life shifts needed…

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After a very very busy week, preparing for the Forge intensive, teaching and all that goes with that, I decided to take today off.

As usual I woke at 6.00am… gone are the days of sleeping in until 11.00!

The plan was to jump in the Kingswood (my boat) and head out to a break called the Alkimos, to get some waves.

Yesterday the surf report described it as ‘psycho Sunday’ – the biggest swell we have seen in months. I was hoping it might have dropped off… it did – from 5 meters… to 4 meters!… Still in the ‘bloody huge’ category.

We bounced our way over the swells, the 10 km to the wreck of the Alkimos. Somewhere out there was the wave we were seeking. We negotiated our way between breaking waves and anchored out the back – well out – these were big waves.

Despite feeling way out of our depth, Sephto and I decided to paddle across and give it a shot. We made it to the take off area and sat on the shoulder as these monsters thundered thru. Perhaps 20 years ago I would have paddled in and ‘to hell with the consequences’. Today… no!

After 20 mins out there Loges was waving at us to come back. Turns out the swells were rising and he was feeling pretty vulnerable in the boat.

We paddle back and made our way down the coast a bit. Somehow we stumbled on some quality head high waves and spent the next two hours surfing ourselves silly.

Its about as close to heaven as I can imagine!

That’s just how I feel today!

Sounds like the Forge intensive has been going really well and I’m bummed at missing so much of it. Such is life when you’re a bivocational missionary church planter!

Currently I am running hard to try and teach at school as well as being involved with overseeing the first Forge intensive. Today I went and got things under way then headed back to school – taught in the steam box (gym) for 5 hours and then drove back to hang out with the guys and speak at the night session.

Phil Baker beverly hills chihuahua online surfed in here the other day and dropped an email, so tomorrow Alan and I head down to Subiaco to have breakfast with him before repeating the whole thing again!

The intensive is going well, but I reckon come Sunday arvo we’ll all be a little tired!

So… my first two days of teaching are over – 1 week completed only 39 to go…

That’s kind of how it feels.

I have 5 classes of year 6’s and 7’s – 11 & 12 year olds. They come out for 40 minute phys ed lessons with me and they are just bursting with energy and excitement. Currently class sizes are ‘set on maximum’ which means 32 kids… yeeha… that is a lot of kids!

I find that with each class, 40 minutes is just enough time to get them settled… and then they go back to their teacher and the next wave of hyperactive midgets lands on the oval! Its a never ending assault – and it is exhausting. I fell asleep on the couch at 7.15 on Thursday night!

It is the first week of course – the week when you have to set your boundaries and kick a few heads (in a loving Christian way of course) to make sure they don’t get the better of you.

Every class has a few who have already tried it on with me, but there are also a whole stack of really great kids who sometimes get lost in the haze of the meatheads. I have to remind myself that most of these kids are good kids who want to do the right thing and that there are only a small minority who are difficult. At this stage in the term the idiot brigade require some intensive ‘training’ if they are to know their place in the scheme of things.

The other staff have been very welcoming and willing to help. On that front I feel very encouraged and am enjoying the relationships forming there.

However on the ‘enjoyment of work’ scale my first week of teaching would rate a 5/10.

Things could get worse… but I am hoping they will get better.

My one big goal for this year in teaching is to work effectively enough for both students and staff to be disappointed when I leave at the end of the year. Even better would be for me to be disappointed too…

Please God?…

First day back at school actually teaching!

Hmmm…. ‘enjoyed’ would be too strong a word at this point, but I can see some light at the end of the tunnel. 11 & 12 year old kids are pretty full on in terms of energy so its always a job to get them focused. I think I did ok today…

From here on in I imagine you will be hearing less from me on this site.

I have enjoyed the experience of sharing my thoughts and reflections for the last 9 months, but now that my various work commitments have increased I expect to have less time to spend waffling on here!

As a person who loves writing I doubt I will stop posting regularly, but in my own head I am making the choice to drop blogging much lower on my list of daily priorities.

I initially started blogging as a way of helping our friends keep track of the journey we are on as a missionary team. But as I have moved into the Brighton area I have noticed that I am more and more reticent to say anything about my neighbours or those we hang out with. It is more often than not inappropriate and I don’t want to write stuff that will damage relationships or that I will regret.

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