Seminars, Conferences and Visiting Friends

I'm glad I don't have to commute regularly to London, though when I do I enjoy walking down Borough High Street. During the day the get the delightfully exotic aromas of the coffee bars - in particular the Moroccan one halfway down. At night, it's like a seen from Dickens' London.

I was on a 2 day seminar on Transforming Conversations - about to shape conversations to be more purposeful and intentional. This is not to be used at the breakfast table, but when helping people to make decisions and move forward. It surprisingly hard work and tiring to listen carefully in order to reflect back and help people formulate their own decisions. Both days I was falling asleep by 9 pm. And we have 2 more days in May to finish the course. I hope it will help me help others process their own thoughts about the future when they need to.

Tomorrow I'm off to Harrogate for a 2 day New Wine leaders' conference. I believe two of the speakers will be Nicky Gumbel and Justin Welby, plus others from the Vineyard Church. I usually find something to challenge and encourage me at the conferences, though my capacity for long uninterrupted sung worship sessions seems to be diminishing.

In between I've visited two old friends in Leeds. John and I were in the church youth group together in the 1970s in Twickenham, and having this sabbatical has been a great time to catch with friends. It's good to see people who were on fire for God as teenagers still on fire today, and we were able to encourage one another. As an added bonus I was treated to the most fantastic sunset on the train from Leeds to London.