How do you fit an elephant in a car?

Essay time again.
When I said I was going to complete my training at STETS and work full time, my friends, the people who know me best and have a shrewd idea what training would entail, told me I was crazy! That's ok, I already knew that, and it is good preparation for weeks like this when the whole of life seems crazy.
Some days it feels like trying to fit in everything I have to do is as futile as trying to squeeze an Elephant into a Ford Ka - why would you even try?! But things still have to be done, and I'm told that nothing is impossible for God so with that in mind God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can't get done, energy to do the things I can and enough sense to work out which is which!

Routines!

This morning I was conscious of picking my way down a luggage strewn carriage to sit in my Favourite tube seat. It's not that I HAVE to sit there in fact I often don't but if it is free I will even swap seats half way through my journey to sit there. What creatures of habit we are! Ok so maybe liking the end tube seat on the right isn't such a bad habit but I know I have others less innocent... Still, I'm reassured! Today is the feast day of the conversion of St Paul proof that anyone can change no matter how set in their ways they are!

Life seems relentless. Some weeks it feels like I do nothing but work, study, eat and sleep, but yesterday I took a day off to walk in the Peak District near Buxton.  It was the most beautiful day. Cold crisp and clear. I doubt the temperature rose much above freezing all day and in places the frost was almost an inch thick but on the tops the sun was shining and the air was fresh. When I stopped, in the stillness, all that could be heard was the crackling of ice falling from the trees.
How easy it is to "find God" in such moments and places.  Not that God is ever absent, but sometimes life obscures the view.
The walk was hard and I can really feel it in my legs today!  But for all the exhaustion I feel refreshed.

News just in...

I passed my first module!

The consensus from my markers was that the first half of my essay certainly would have benefited from a better structure and a clearer presentation but the second part was much better, so overall I did OK!
Wow!

The new term has started! I am officially into my second term at STETS.
Last weekend was challenging, stimulating, fun and exhausting! I came away with a brain ache!
My &Co group were on duty this weekend which meant among other things that we were responsible for running the bar, so at least we had a legitimate excuse for being the last ones propping up the bar on Friday night. 

In class we looked at how theology is shaped and changed by its context.  We had a great drama presentation from the staff which illustrated how theologians such as Gregory of Nyssa, Calvin, and Moltmann re-engaged with the Bible and theology as a result of the social and cultural situations of their time.  Its exciting to think that we can always find new meaning and relevance in Scripture.

This month I'm studying the Hebrew Scriptures, in particular the ethics of the Old Testament. I'm just beginning to get my head around some of the key themes in the reading,  (which is just as well as the next assignment is due in four weeks).

The last few days have given me some space to reflect on the last year.  A year ago I was anxiously waiting for an appointment with the Bishop, and a date for my selection conference. I was embarked on a journey, hoping that I had heard the directions correctly but with no garuantee of the destination.  Since then I have survived the selection process, been recommended for training and completed my first term at college.  It has been a rollercoaster year but the ride has only just begun!