On we march

Influence

I was thinking today about the influence that people have on our lives, and with that how important it is to realise the influence and impact you can have on the lives of those around you. During the last twelve months as we started on this journey of ministry there have been a number of people who have invested significantly in our lives including officers,family,friends, work colleagues, etc.. Each has had their own impact upon what we are doing and where we are headed.
We are truly blessed to have the leaders we have.On a Territorial Level Commissioners Knaggs are wonderful Christian Leaders who continue to inspire me with their leadership, and their willingness to spend time with you and develop a real relationship. Their loving,caring personalities shine through everything they do. Likewise on a Divisional level we are extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful team at Western Vic DHQ led by Majors Peter and Jenny Walker. These are caring people who have made us feel very much a part of the team and valued for what we are, and for that we thank them.
The corps at Warrnambool has embraced us as a family with open arms and we have made some wonderful friendships. Captains Main are great leaders and we are very fortunate to be able to work with and learn from them, Chris Philpot is an amazing young man who has far more potential and is far more valuable than I think he realises.The list could go on and on.
But it was a recent phone conversation with Captain Tracey English that really made me realise how much of an impact on others we can have just by being ourselves and being true to our calling as Gods children. It is easy to just go with the flow and allow life to roll on without really getting too deep with anyone. But if we are to be true to what God wants of us we need to spend time investing in people, listening to them, building relationships and showing an example of what Christian living is like.
As we start youth group this Friday I hope that we can build some real strong relationships with the youth , and that some of them may look back at these times and remember the people who had a positive influence on them and helped to make God real for them.

Listening

I have had the priviledge of spending the last two weeks at the Training College for our intensive training. The subject we studied was called Lab 1 and is all about the skills associated with listening. Now I have always believed that I was a fairly good listener - WRONG !!! The skills we were shown and taught really emphasised the fact for me that I spent so much time thinking about my next comment and working out what the talker really wanted to tell me that half the time I wasnt listening at all. And I definitely was not reading the things that were being told beneath the surface of the words. This is quite a shock when you actually believe that you are good at something only to find out you are dreaming.
The good news is I now know that I have the skills to be a good listener, I am not afraid of the silence, I am OK with people getting emotional, I am listening for the subtle clues as to what is really being said, and most importantly I am comfortable just being there to listen to people without having to tell them my counter stories.
This was a great time and we enjoyed it all the more because we got to share a classroom with a number of friends who are either Cadets or Lieutenants, the fellowship was enjoyable and the bonds we have were deepened and developed. A fortnight like this does make you ask again just what it is that God is wanting to use you for , and how He can get the best out of you. I am praying that God will place the answer to that prayer in front of me and that I would have the courage and discernment to follow His call for my life.