I have been busy the past few weeks, but wanted to blog a little bit about what’s been going on. I went to the GCN conference a little over a week ago. It was so awesome to first of all meet people I’ve only known online, and then even moreso to witness and fellowship with so many of God’s children who are seeking him in their lives. It was an amazing opportunity for community and fellowshipping, and I was continually amazed at the authenticity and vivaciousness of people’s faith.

I got to meet my fellow blogger Eric, and attended a blogger session. I was also glad to get to meet and know Jenny for the first time, and I hope to keep in touch with her. I have so many people to keep in touch with, though! I didn’t attend Eric’s session on building community, but a close friend of mine did, and we are both excited to try to put these things into practice with our local group, one that started out as a GCN Bible study and is gradually expanding beyond just that circle. This is what I hope to see GCN developing into: a seed for the development of local communities of GLBT Christians which can then reach out and bless their community and integrate into the body of Christ as a whole. This has been on my heart lately, and I am looking forward to, along with my fellow believers, trying it here in my own city. As an example of this, a group of us drove up to Maryland to meet a fellow GCNer who, due to family issues, was unable to come to the conference, to encourage and support him. This is what I think we can, and should, be all about.

So much has happened over the past couple of weeks, some good, some bad, some of which I can blog about and some of which I cannot. I’m beginning to question the wisdom of praying to God a few months ago to bring me into a place of pouring myself into community. It has certainly happened, and I feel so blessed by it, though it comes with enough of its own time commitments! I am very excited about the church though, about working to reach across to everyone inside and outside of it for the sake of Christ, and though I have enough reason to be disillusioned about it, by my own failures and those of others, and though I know there is enough discouragement that will come, I am for the moment optimistic about witnessing the working out of the kingdom with my own eyes. And it starts with my own patience and my own ability to reach out, particularly in some of the difficult circumstances I have come back to – a frightening thought to me!

To round out the last ‘C’ of this post, I have gotten back into playing piano some, and am trying to learn a Chopin nocturne. It has been about eight months since I have learned anything, and am hoping to have the piece down, but not polished, by mid-February. I find playing piano to be one of the most relaxing and beneficial experiences in my life, and have enjoyed getting away to the ivory and the ebony to learn how to make some new music. The semester is looking challenging, but the conference, my Christian siblings, and Chopin have refreshed me to take it all on.