Names

Names are tricky things. And yet everything seems to have them. People, places, objects. Moving here to Alice I've got tons of names to learn and it's been kind of exciting. Normally, I'm very good with names so I do have that in my favor, but when you're the only one in the church that doesn't know everyone and everyone knows your name it can be a bit tricky. There are also a lot of new names, ones that you don't hear everyday in the US, so that makes it tricky too. But, overall that's just the start to building relationships isn't it.
Knowing someones' name is an important first step in knowing them. That's why it's important to learn names, and perhaps why it can be really hard to do. You can learn a lot of things about a person and forget them and it won't really matter, but forget their name and the very basis for starting a conversation with them or having one about them becomes very difficult.
You know that old love song that says, "I think I love you, now won't you tell me your name." The ridiculousness of that phrase is what makes the song really. We all know you can't love someone fully or well if you do not know their name. Especially not the way he's describing, speed romance.
This got me thinking about God's names and how descriptive they are of who he is. Scripture is full of names for God which tell us about him and his nature. The Lord Our Provider, The Creator, God Sufficient, The Saviour, The King. So many and all highly descriptive of who God is and what He does. I think as a Christian it is important that we know these names and the meanings so that we can better know our God.
And in a similar way isn't it incredible that He knows our names! Each one of us He knows by a name He gave us. And in John it talks about Him as the Good Shepherd who calls each of us by name and we follow Him (John 10:3). What an amazing God that loves us enough to know us by name. Even though we are, who we are and we have done nothing to earn His affections or His attentions. What a Father and Friend He is to us!
Thanks for reading,
Shannon

Please pray with me for clarity about what God wants me to do while I'm here in Alice.

Here in Alice

Wow! What an adventure the past few days have been. So rarely does one get the opportunity to see how other people live around the globe, that I really try to never, ever take it for granted.
The past few days have also been a bit on the overwhelming side. It's just like that when you're trying to figure out a new life in a new place. I would be totally lost except for the wonderful guidance of my Uncle. He has been taking me all over town and he has bravely sat in the passenger seat while I got the feel of driving around town. I only had to circle a round-about once and only nearly missed turns three or four times, we're working on that.
I've met the pastoral team at church and the church administrator (secretary)and I'm very excited for Sunday when I'll get to meet a whole bunch more people :)
I use a conversation starter with my family at dinner sometimes, especially when we're on vacation. It's called Highs and Lows and basically you describe the high point of the day and the low point of the day. So I think to summarize the past few days I will use this tool.
Tuesday: High point-Seeing Kate (best friend) for lunch Low point- Saying good-bye to Mom and Dad
Wednesday: High-Sleeping 6 hours on the plane ride! Low-The stress of close connections and long lines
Thursday: High-Seeing my Uncle in the terminal in Sydney! Low-Going brain-dead in the grocery store, which made making decisions and having a conversation very difficult.
Friday: High-Feeling comfortable driving Low-Jet lag headache in the morning

So there you have it. So much happened in between all those highs and lows and through it all God was so gracious and faithful. Thank you so much for praying during my travels and please lift up my adjustment period as I get settled in here.

I'd love to hear from you all too so leave a comment here or send me an email maybe with some of your highs and lows from the past few days.

Love to you all,
Shannon

My Father

Well the time has come! By the time most of you read this I will be in the air, or in an airport, or in Australia (depending on when you are reading it!)

I have been thinking a lot about this ministry time and what it will be like. Recently, we finished up a sermon series at church which gave me a lot of perspective. The series was all out of Luke 15 dealing with the story we call "The Prodigal Son". The final sermon was about the father.

In the course of the sermon the pastor told the following story about his family. He needed to build a woodshed in his back yard and he invited his sons to help him. They worked all day and progressed on the woodshed. That night as he was tucking his sons into bed, his four-year-old said, "Daddy, wasn't I such a good helper today!" to which the father replied, "You sure were." As he left his boys room he chuckled to himself thinking how sweet it was that his boy thought he had asked him to help because he needed his particular expertise in woodshed building, when really all he wanted was his boy to be present with him.

This simple story has totally changed the way I've been thinking about this ministry time in Australia. I was thinking that God wanted me to go because of my particular skill and ability in ministry, when really the whole thing goes back to God wanting me. All of me. He wants me to be with him and in a relationship with him. He could save the whole world with a word (and sometimes I wish he would) but instead he invites us to join him. He wants us to be with him that much.

So, with this change of heart and mind I am going to be with God, to do the work he's doing and to find him where he wants to be found. I pray each of you will be doing the same.

Thank you is not enough, to express my gratitude to all of the people who have made this trip possible. I would list you all by name, but then this would be the longest post ever. Needless to say God works through his people and all of you are already a part of the work God is going to do in the next 10 months.

I'll do my best to be on here often, updating all of you and putting up pictures and stories!

See you all on the other side of this journey,

Shannon

Preparations

There are a lot of things we prepare for in life. Births, deaths, parties, graduations, promotions, career changes, moving, vacations, engagements... pretty much any major (or minor) change in life requires preparation. I have to confess I am not a very prepared person. I usually rush into things only to realize later, ah I forgot the toothpaste again.

My mom however, is a master of preparations. She somehow manages to pack everything she needs plus everything you're forgetting, plus the "just in case" stuff. Whenever a vacation was imminent, during my childhood, out would come her purple notebook. A seemingly normal, spiral notebook (college rule) but, the inside of that notebook was anything but normal. That simple book held the battle plans for the entire event. Written in whatever color pen was nearby at the time she would stand at the kitchen table and plan. Packing lists, menus, schedules, to-do's, it all went into the book. And somehow during the weeks preceding the trip it all would come together. Now, my mother would be the first one to tell you it wasn't as simple as that. That there were hours of effort that make those words reality and that there was sleep lost and moments of indecision or times when it seemed that only a miracle would bring all those things into being at the appointed hour. But, when the right moment came everything would be ready.

As I prepare for this Australia trip I can't help but wonder how long God has been preparing me for this moment. How many lists he made in his cosmic notebook (college rule, I'm sure). I think there's probably even been things that looked impossible that needed to come together, and by His grace they have. I think of that and somehow this is all easier to handle. All my lists, scattered on random post-it's and scraps. The boxes and suite cases the loss of sleep and the millions of emails (thank you Uncle Cliff). Everything I'm doing to make this trip happen is just the end of a long awaited process and not even the end it's just a point in the process of God making me who he wants me to be.

I'm sure that not all of you are packing suite cases for Australia (if you are let me know and we can have coffee in Alice one day!) but I know that each of you has a purpose and a next step with God. But, don't think it's a surprise to Him. He has been preparing since before time and He will be the one that sees you through. So trust His preparations from the past will hold, today and tomorrow, wherever He leads you. Oh, and don't forget to pack your toothpaste!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Happy Packing,

Shannon