How offen can we get dragged in to an effect of getting warn out and warn down- how often can something that only weeks before we were jumping around being happy to do, the next your stuggling to even work out how to move on

This happened to me last week

most people will prob say one of the big things is my love for all things food related, after all if i'm not eating I'm thinking about food either in a science or a genraly eating sence, 9/10 and even took up the 'offical' title (Aaron 'hired me' after houseparty last year) to be CU foody (don't wory Katie has now taken over that roll- blame Matt H)

However last week I was sat arround trying to get motivated to do anything, even my some of my most favorate area's of my degree (e.g. things like the digestive system which I normally find intresting and amazed by how complated it is, and yet how it all fits together and works so well 90% of time) just seemed to be failing to inspire me

However this wasn't just in my uni life- this was effecting my walk with God as well, even reading my bible seemed more of a chore than a blessing (and this is from a guy who runs a small group week in week out) everything seemed to be same old things

however one week on things have changed hopefully for the better, I'm seemingly back to my normal happy self

so whats changed this week

First of all I've changed my revision  plans completely- Rather than locking myself away from hours on end I've desided to spend more time either in the front room of my house- or the FC, I was worried I'd be getting distracted and not working- however all I was doing in my room was getting lonely, depressed and rather than working spending hours on various gaming sights rather than working

secondly I've got back in to Church- there had been occations where I'd not go cos I though my time would be better spent working- however I'd spend prob more time trying to chear myself up on things that were doing nothing for either my uni work or my Christian walk, and in some cases- determental to this. However I went to the morning service at community- something that I'd not done in what seemed like months, and for the first time ever I've felt that worship was actually meaning something- That at last I'd found something to be inspired about

so offen we can look to earthly things to inspire us, in my case I'd look to food, and well it wasn't doing it Job- Why, beacuse its something earthly and flawed, and as much as I love food and amazed at how complex the human body's digestive system is, I was failing to see the fact that our Father, the Creator of the universe and the stars spent the time to make sure that our digestive system would work

For example the acid in our stomachs is strong enough to digest metal- and can deal with the huge amount microrgansiams that enter our bodys from food (considering food is foreign, that fact that we don't get food poisoning more often is amazing in my view). however even more amazing than that (well to me at least) is the fact the the stumuch produces huge amounds of bile and other checmicals that make sure if doesn't digest its self)

but the most important thing is our God made that, He took the time out of making sure that stars and moons are doing what they do- to make sure that we could digest the foods we eat, that we could survive life on earth

(anyway off biology and on to something that normal people might get!)

So if we shouldn't be looking to earthly things to inspire us, what should we be looking to

Well as hard as it can be if we find it a chore- look to the bible- however if reading it alone is a chore, ask someone to read with you, there are plenty of people I'm sure who are happy to sit down and go through a passge with you- there should be people in your church who will do it, if not I'm sure various small group leaders and other people in the CU are happy to sit down with you and just read though something

However don't push on alone if its not working- trying to read the bible when stressed most offen than not ends up with you throwing it accross the room if your find a bit you don't understand (and your less likely to understand becuase your stressed and your mind is thinking about other things then your not going to be thinking right. so look at a new way of looking at it, as said study with someone else, get some study notes, or even listen to people talking about certan passages online

2. look to Christian friends and family.
So offen we can think that the things we are stuggling with, are things no one else stuggels with. its sometimes hard to look at other Christians and think that we are the only people who stuggle with that, as someone once said to me, your can't have a testomony with out a test, and its rare for christians to go an entire life time with out feeling Dry and almost as if God is ignoring them, some times even it can go from a time where someone is realy up for God, and then fall away- this isn't God abanading the person, but a lession in learning that we are human beings and thus arn't strong enough to survive with out other people- I reading someones facebook status and it said this "depression isn't a sigh on weekness, its a sign that the person has been strong for too long" it says in the bible that is is not good for man to be alone- by this God didn't mean if your single your bad, but that if you try and be a Christian on your own, your fine for a while, but when you trip up and go the wrong way, you tend to find there is no one around to pick you up, and if you feel that you can't turn to God, and there arn't other christians you can't turn to, then you tend to do a 180 and start going the wrong way, and short of being eaten by a 'big fish' it can be hard to get back on the path to God alone. so try opening up to someone, there are plenty of people who are happy to listen and to talk and to pray for you, (and if your too scare to ask someone, please feel free to come talk to me, who ever you are, I'm always happy to put time aside for you, well I should be)

3. Get back in to Church
The church is the body of Christ, as Christians we are supposed to be in the body, which means in a church. so offen we can get scared of people asking us how we are and if there is anything up, and worrying what they will think of us if we mess up. However thats us thinking that we are inferiour to everyone else, when we aren't- we are all parts of the body, and we are on a level with anyone else, and I'm sure there are just as many people who look up to you as there is that you look up to and its a running circle- the people you look up to, they were once in the possition that you where, looking up to someone else, just in the same way a few years down the line, people will be looking up to you. So get back in to church and find someone to open up to, rather than looking at awe at someone cos there a 'super chrisitian' talk to them, ask them to help you, I'm sure many church leaders/student workers/ex-students/older students you can talk to

4. Do something fresh and new
as said in one of my earlyer blogs, doing the same thing over and over again can get repetative and stagnanent- Christian life is like a river- if your not moving forwards you tend to be either going backwords or stagnating, neither are good places to be, and lead to problems- push in to God and push in to Church and Cu life- risk answering that question in small groups, risk going to a prayer meeting an saying something, risk going and talking to a speacker after a church servace or CU meeting and asking that question you had, Risk asking someone to pray for you about something

and on that bomb show keep on rocking!