Today I had my first meeting with my GSA guide, and it was great.  We seemed to connect pretty well and she engendered a sense of trust and ease from the moment we met.  Chomping yummy Italian salad as we talked was a good plan too.

I've always been a fan of appraisal, probably because I've always had good experiences of it and rarely was it ever linked to promotions or pay rises during my industrial past.

Being able to talk honestly and say "these are the areas where I need to focus" without risk of ridicule or reproof was vital, and I now feel motivated to begin to put in place some next steps to refresh and renew myself for ministry that I've know I needed to do but never quite got round to as Iwas too busy doing ministry.  And that's the point - it's about making time to pause, reflect and redirect ourselves so that we stay healthy in body, mind and spirit.

Thank you MK for a great meeting - I'm looking forward to getting on to the next stage.