Virtually Paul

People Batteries

Introverts and extroverts. What makes you one or the other? Which one do you think you are? Which one do other people say that you are? It’s been a long running topic amongst a number of people I know - most notably Bec, who had a bit of a fling with Meyers-Briggs questionnaires before Geoff came along.

The most popular distinction between the two -verts, seems to be how a person “recharges their batteries”. I most definitely consider myself to be an introvert (recharging while by myself) but recently have been having the opposite experience. I’ve found myself on numerous occasions, craving interaction with other people.

My housemate’s sister came to visit us last Saturday afternoon. She told us that she’d been sitting around by herself, decided “I need people” and got up and drove to our place to visit her big brother. I’m not entirely sure why… but I think I’d find it difficult to do that. There is something about saying “I need to be around people” that makes me feel a little bit out of control and uncomfortable. I’m not sure why.

So, over to you…
Are you an introvert or an extrovert? How do you charge up your people batteries?

Moving Day

I’ve spent today moving most of my useful belongings to my new place out east. It’s been a satisfying day. I’ve had the opportunity to go through most of my stuff, throughout the process of packing and unpacking, and I’ve got myself better organised than I have been for a while. It’s a good feeling. The house is great. It’s much better than both of the other two shared houses that I’ve lived in.

What makes it even better are all of the furniture, appliances and kitchen stuff that I get to benefit from as one of the fantastic perks of sharing with a man who just got engaged. And I’m not just talking about a knife block Lance. These guys have a pretty cool setup.

Of course, leaving the old north-west didn’t come without a second thought. I had a bit of a moment here tonight as I was unloading my stuff. The house was dimly lit and very quiet. And it all hit me like a wave. There I was, surrounded by pretty much everything I really need to live quite comfortably for some time, but in a new suburb, some distance from pretty much everyone I know, feeling like somewhat of a visitor in the house.

The words came out aloud “What on earth amI doing here?” A few light-switches later, with a bit of a classic old CD on the stereo and I started to feel a bit better. I spent some time just praying as well, which is always a great idea for those’moments’. And now that I’ve set up my room, I’m sure I’ll be pretty cosy.

I’m not entirely sure how long the feeling of being out of place will take to completely go away - but I know that God has brought me here. Let the adventures begin!

Moving East

I just found out that we have a house! (and soon I’ll probably find out the address)

For anyone who hadn’t caught up with the change yet, I’m about to move over to the eastern suburbs to share a house with a great bloke called Geoff who has a blog that is much better than mine. I’ll be sharing with Geoff until January when he gets married to my good friend Bec, who will be henceforth referred to as my housemate-in-law.

I feel a little bit privileged to be included in the experience. It’s a bit of a special thing when two people like these guys get all married and start on the journey together in their first little home of their own. It’s kind of nice to be trusted with that somehow. I don’t think trust is exactly the word I’m going for but there is an element of sacredness there somewhere which I’ve been given permission to tread quite close to. I’m sure my share of the rent won’t hurt either. If all goes well I should have also beaten them both to blogging about it.

I’m having a house cooling party at my current place this Saturday night, so if you know me and I haven’t told you about it yet, get in touch if you’d like to come. I’ve been a bit slack on the PR.

The results are in

I got my uni results tonight for the first three of my six accounting certificate subjects.  Two DIs and a HD.  Not too bad at all!

Freedom at last

As of 4.15pm today, I have finished my exams for the semester!  Yay!

What I am…

For a bit of pre-study procrastination, I think I’ll shamelessly rip off Geoff’s idea.

What I am reading

There is a bit of a backlog at the moment (as always).

Michael Frost’s book “Exiles” is still in the queue. I’ve also just added this one by Mark to my list.  At the moment the bulk of my reading is related to the world of accounting.  Surprisingly enough, I actually don’t mind some of it… but I can’t wait for two weeks time when the exams are over!

What I am listening to

Not a lot.  I haven’t bought a good CD for a while.  I’m leading the service at church this Sunday night, so most of my musical efforts over the last week and a half have been directed towards thinking about that.

What I am watching

I went to the footy last Saturday night and watched the mighty Bombers return home triumphant against a valiant effort by poor old Richmond who were out-kicked, although not necessarily out-classed, by a last minute dash for points.  I’m not really watching TV or anything at the moment.  But Spiderman sounds like a good way to kill Friday night.

What I am loving

Lots of opportunities to spend quality time with quality people and having conversations that go beyond the surface and into the gaps in my understanding of God and the world around me.   I am loving the hope for the future that I feel at the moment.  I am loving the chance to safely let go of some burdensome ways of viewing life that have been dragging me down, potentially for years.  I am loving that I can trust God to keep making things interesting and that I don’t have to be able to see the whole picture for the way forward.

What I am praying

Holy Spirit, thank you for this hope.  Thanks for the gifts you’re offering me.  When can I have them?

Head Space

I don’t like that term very much because of an unpleasant text message I got once… but I think I can identify with it at the moment.

Usually I very much like to have lots of things to think about, lots of ideas to play with and lots of potential for new little projects. At the moment though, big ideas about my identity and my vision for life are bubbling away under the surface.

The result is a state that I can perhaps best describe as weary. I was just reading this post by Bec which I just completely don’t have room to process right now. I long for a chance to start getting back into a place where I can consider themes like those ones without feeling like they’re going to turn the unsettled questions into impossibly chaotic and almost distressing accusations.

I’m in a bit of a tired patch. Have you ever been there and what was the catalyst to finding yourself walking on solid ground again?

Alive on a Sunday

Last Sunday, after finishing up with my house-sitting gig, I had the privilege of being able to attend the morning service at Yarra Valley Vineyard, which in my mind was just a convenient excuse to catch up with my wonderful Essendon-supporting friend Bec and her almost-as-wonderful recently acquired fiance Geoffrepops. Enough about them though… they’re already getting enough attention at the moment. Geoff has the statistics to prove it.

I expected to be participating in a run of the mill church service. Stand up, sit down, sing this, listen to that, nibble this, drink that, have a chat, go home. And I’m sure I could have been that nonchalant about it if I’d tried hard enough. Fortunately for me, God had other plans.

The time that I spent there was nothing short of exactly-what-I-needed. The music was phenomenal. Acoustic rock all the way with at least one vocalist who I could have listened to all day. There was no sign of a crass performance mentality from the musicians. They were there to lead us, indeed, to draw us in to meeting with God. I’ve missed seeing that happen so much in recent times. The song choices were rich with meaningful words that embodied the theological concepts that I’ve been learning and meditating on over the past year and before. There were no fairy floss one-liners. This was about God. Come as you are. Be engulfed in who He is. Know God, even though everything hurts.

The sermon was fantastic and again hit the nail right on the head as we were led through content on the illusive connection between suffering, faith and healing. I’ve spent a lot of time learning about the first two of those in the last two years. I wanted to go forward for prayer afterwards but didn’t have the strength to step forward. Unfortunately I allow that to happen all too regularly.

After/during the service, I got the chance to catch up with some other Vineyardians who I’ve run into over the years. I think that really added to the atmosphere because I didn’t feel like I was there on my own. My housemate’s sister and her fiance were there, along with some people I’ve led on camps with. In fact, I think I got the best welcome I’ve had to a church service in years when Laura spotted me in the carpark and escorted me into the building, preventing the need for plodding in awkwardly and trying to work out where to go.

I had lunch with Bec and Geoff after the service, at the traditional eatery of anyone who’s just been to a church service - La Porchetta. We had a great chat and I even got the chance to unpack some of the things that have been happening in my church’s youth ministry that have been weighing on me over time. It was good fun and big encouragement to me. Thanks guys!

I took a reasonably significant detour on the way home to visit a place that I spotted in the Melways - Silvan Reservoir Park. I spent a good hour or so there reading through lots of different bible passages and praying heaps before driving back home.

And so for reasons I have shared… and also for reasons that I haven’t… I am seeing the Holy Spirit moving in and around me more and more. Through these experiences and many others, He is showing me that soon He’s going to bring me up out of this valley. He is teaching me how to walk in His strength and not my own. He has even given me a slightly amusing sense of hope that runs deeper than I usually allow anything to go.
Hope is a wonderful thing. And I’m glad that, after all that’s happened, I started to feel that extra bit alive, on a Sunday.

Bored out East

If the previous few posts didn’t give it away, I’m a little bit bored!

I’m house-sitting for one of my bosses in the eastern suburbs for the week while he goes on a well-deserved break with his family. I have a cat and a dog to keep me company but I’m still a bit on the bored side.

If any of you easties want to do something after work one night this week, drop me a line.

A bit of New Hope for Essendon Bapts

I make no apologies for the horrible pun. The events of Sunday can still manage to bring a smile to my face.

After over 2 and a half years without a permanent senior pastor, Essendon Baptist has finally appointed someone to take on the role for the long haul. The congregation voted overwhelmingly to endorse Daniel Bullock, currently the Senior Associate Pastor at New Hope (Blackburn North) Baptist Church, to be our new senior pastor.

Before I had any idea about who was coming to pastor our church, I had a strong sense of God really gearing up to do something that would exceed my expectations. I’m really looking forward to meeting this guy. Having had some exposure to people outside of my church over the last 18 months who take ministry formation studies quite seriously, I’m pretty stoked that God’s called someone with Daniel’s educational background in Christian ministry to be our pastor. He also comes with glowing recommendations from the multitudes of Blackburn Northians that I know.

Welcome to Babylon, Daniel.