Leadership, giftings and a beautiful garden

(Scattered through here are piccies of my garden - see the end for further details!)

I've now finished a year-long leadership training course run at my church called Growing Leaders. We met once a month and for away-days and looked at various subjects.

• Firstly I am very impressed with the level of training and support us leaders are getting, especially as having talked to many friends from other churches, they would love something like this as it's just not happening chez them.
• Secondly it has confirmed a lot of things (as training often does on a topic you have been doing for a while anyway).
• Thirdly, it reminded me of what I really enjoy doing, and consequently I have joined the group researching and consulting the church and Prestonville (our Parish name) communities to see what they need and want to help reach conclusions about what to do with our church building and the church hall a few roads away. This really gets me excited, and we've just started planning the approach.
• Fourthly, each of us had a mentor for the leadership course and I am grateful that it has put me in touch with Martine who is a wonderful French lady I hadn't met before. She's great, and every time I meet with her I come away remembering what I love about France, and how much more there is to explore than little England.

At Church we have been having sermons on spiritual gifts and have been praying for them as the Bible says God will give them and they are useful for building the church (eg words of wisdom, healing, prophecy, interpretation of tongues etc). I am testing out (by doing it) what God seems to have given me which is words and pictures which I just seem to get in my mind when I'm praying sometimes. Most recently I've had a couple which when I've said out loud or to the person I think they were for, have resonated with them, which is positive. Frankly it's a bit of a tricky gift because as humans we associate pictures and words in our minds all the time, and so of course you can explain it away as something co-incidental or just from me. However, I am being practical about it and trying it out, and having faith that I have heard from God. I have no idea if I may get prophetic things from God to pass on, but those of you who believe in the God I do, please pray for me and more pray for St Luke's and that we will be receptive to what God is up to. I also personally heard words in my head back (not in a mad sense!) in January during one of the services talking about building joy and also about God wanting to build on the firm foundations he had laid in me. I wrote it down but didn't tell anyone, but again those things were written down and given to me from two different people recently as they had been praying for individuals on the leadership course. I know I shouldn't doubt God, but it is always amazing to get a reminder (or several) that he knows about me as an individual and cares about everything to do with me.

Sorry if you don't believe in all that!, but I just wanted to share what has been gong on with me spiritually.

And to finish this mammoth post here are some pictures of my garden which my parents and I finished last weekend and is now in full bloom.