Saturday 30 June 2012

Saturday hike



Today was Saturday.  Yay for days off.  I so needed to relax a bit.  Didn't relax much though, at least not physically.  We went to Wiskey Town Lake.  It was so so so very beautiful.  The water was crystal clear and a little chilly.  I decided to brave it though and get in.  It took me about 20 minutes to get in fully though.  I stood there inching in bit by bit while others just ran past me and dived in.





I even swam to the island which really reminded me of growing up in Hong Kong.  It was so fun and I was really pleased I braved the cold and got in.  The water was clear and lovely to swim in.






We didn't have much time at the lake before someone in the group suggested we take a hike up to the waterfall.  We hiked for about 4 hours on very rough terrain.  I was very proud of my hips and knees for managing it: although I now feel exhausted and my body aches. 




 On the way home we stopped quickly to have a look at some ruins and old buildings.  It was great to read about the gold rush history.  I was so pleased today to see some scenery and some older buildings.  Everything here is so new and 'boxy'.












Tonight the girls are going to go and watch an outdoor movie.  I have decided to stay at home and catch up on my blog and chill out.  I am still so very tired.  



Friday 29 June 2012

Day 5 Bethel School of Worship

Today was a hard day.  I have been here a week now and I am really missing home.  I am exhausted and my brain is so full of information I have not had time to process I am seriously in need of a break.

I decided to skip one of the main sessions today to try and catch up on my blog.  I really needed some time to myself so I bought a coffee and sat in the cafe.  Bliss.

I tried really hard to concentrate all day but struggled a bit.  I knew things were on a downward turn when I couldn't keep my eyes open and started to yawn all through my classes.

My first class was with Will Matthews.  He really inspires me.  He was going through the processes of turning a spontaneous song into congregational song.  I loved his openness to show us the process.  He was talking about how his song started as a spontaneous song and he grabbed his iphone to record it.  He played us the original recording.

I have been wanting an iphone for a while now and he really stressed how important it is to carry something that can record sound wherever you go.  I felt this message completely validated my need for an iphone.... :))))))))))))))  I might have to save a while for that though.

He then let us listen to another sound track of him and Brian Johnson working on his song.  He stressed that we need to let others help us citique our songs (even if the songs are our babies!)

Here is the song in the finished form.. I love this one.


Then I went to another Danno McCollam class 'Worship bigger than the room'.  He talked about how we are always busy getting God's presence to fill the room, and we should be aiming for more than the room.  He told a story of a church who always sang asking God to fill their church and the nearby highway with His glory.  They used to get so many people turn up at the church, not knowing why they were there, their car just drove them off the highway.

He said how we often are in church and we sing a song that does directly apply to us.  BUT he said we can sing that song directly at someone outside the church or even your town.  Eg, if you sang a song that that says I am lost, you could sing it towards someone who is lost.  If you worship directionally it will have huge impact.

He also talked about the worship team and how in his church they hire people on the basis of the 4 c's.
  • Character - are they a follower of Jesus? Do they have intergrity?
  • Commitment - Do they come to band practices?  Do they show up on time on a Sunday?
  • Chemistry - Do they get on with others in the group?  Do they love others and do they work well in the team?
  • Competence - Can they do the job.  How can you encourage them to invest in their craft?  Do you need to encourage them to have some vocal lessons?
He said you really need to invest in your team and develop friendships.  He says the best teams are like family: they eat together and have fun together too.

After that we were dismissed from classes and given the evening off.

I was all up for staying home and chilling out but the girls dangled a trip to the 99cents store in front of me so I took it with both hands.  Unfortunately they only needed one thing from there and we made a move to a health food shop,  which was so expensive.  I was sad not to have time to look for bargains... But I soon felt better when we went to look at the sundial bridge.  It was so beautiful (but covered in midgies). 



I cannot wait to kick back a bit this weekend.  We are thinking of going to a lake so I might just get a little bit of sun on my skin after spending a whole week indoors.