one of the top 5 most stressful things...

apparently moving house has been classified in the top 5 most stressful things that a person can do (alongside death and divorce) so you can imagine how great i'm feeling at the moment at the prosepect of being up-rooted from my comfy pad. but can i just say that right now, my home is spotless! we've had photographers in today to get the house at all it's prettiest angles, so the place is filled with flowers, most especially these pretty lillies.

So, anyone want to recommend a new suburb for me to move to? highlights of the area?

another great weekend

This weekend, Ed and I took our bible study to Macmasters for the weekend to spend some quality time together; hanging out, reading the bible and looking into being godly men and women. First of all, you know that the weekend is off to a good start when you see the house that we were staying in - literally off the cover of a design magazine!
a couple of late nights had to happen (hence the afternoon naps for steph and maddy) probably because of too much 500 and scattegories.
the weather was great and the surf was massive (by the way - i took one look at it and decided that i would be toast if i even tried to go out in it). Saturday arvo was very relaxed, but it took a competitive turn when we ran into another BS from CCSI who were also away. inevitably we started playing cricket (and also inevitably we had two crazy boys climbing cliffs to retrieve the balls when Pete and i hit them up there!) and some late afternoon touch footy (which we only lost because somehow Brier managed to sneak through our defences).
But it was great just to hang out. Sitting on the sidelines for a while i couldn't help but think about heaven - i think that this weekend was a touch of it...God's people glorifying Him as they have a great time enjoying each other. so good!!!!

manic mondays

i love my Monday mornings. i know i know...an odd thing for most people to say, but (like someone with a touch of OCD) let me explain my little rituals to you. just before 9 i walk past a favourite cafe in glebe and get a coffee and some raisin toast. then i meander up this road to Sydney uni where the credo staff team meets with the Sydney EU staff team for three hours and work through issues in theology and ministry together.
then i head back through the park and usually sit by the lake and read my bible and pray for the hour before leading one of four (not including CCSI) small groups. it's 'me' time and i love it.
what makes the Monday morning just gone so worth while mentioning is what we looked at in the staff eQuip time. Here's a summary...
we've been looking at Aquinas, Augustine and roman Catholicism. the thing about our spiritual forefathers is that they were no more special than us - these were people who struggled with their humanity just as much as we do. like a $5 note that only has value because our govt says so, we only have value because God says so... so what makes us so valuable to Him? if we're valuable and worthy, then we have been freed to live in an entirely new way. Here are my questions for us as we face the weekend and get set for another Monday:
do we have a vision for our lives that is more than just not sinning?
are we people who are settling for just 'escaping through the flames' rather than living with the fullest freedom that we have been given through Christ, to be the holy people that we were created to be from the beginning?
As for me - this weekend entails my bible study weekend away at macmasters. I'm going surfing!!!

Suicide is painless (well...so the song says)

I reckon that M*A*S*H has got to have been the best TV series ever created. The movie was ok - but it's nothing compared to the delight, humor and heartache that can be seen throughout the 10 seasons that it was on air for (so far I own 9 of the seasons). If you haven't seen it - where have you been? If you haven't experienced the comedic talents of Hawkeye, Clinger, Trapper, Radar, Hot Lips or BJ and co then you are missing out. For those who don't share my enthusiasm - well then I'm tempted to say shame on you! M*A*S*H created history when, on it's last episode to air, the sewerage system in New York was flooded because everyone was holding on til it was finished. In a world where everytime you turn on the TV we're bombarded with violence, gratuitous sex scenes, drugs, materialism (need I go on?) it's so relieving to be able to watch something that combines comments on humanity and humor - why did that have to go?

And just so you know, if Hawkeye was a Christian and not a womanising alcoholic, then I think he'd be close to my perfect guy. So long, farewell and amen...

Lazy Sundays

Today was a good day. A nice sleep in, a lazy breakfast and then just enough time in between to hang out with Annemarie before heading to church. We went to woollahra (I think? - somewhere near paddington anyway) and had lunch at one of those trendy sidewalk cafes. You know the kind of place where people generally go to see or be seen? In our case it was the former rather than the latter, but it was really nice just to hang out and catchup.

Then we wandered around (as you can see looking at kids books amongst other things - almost had to pull AJ away from this toy) and eventually stumbled across a bonsai shop/gallery. It was amazing! I've never been into bonsai (far as I can tell it's the 'art' of spending way too much time looking after little trees) but all the little trees were so cute and you could tell that the owners were really passionate about what they do. The most intriguing part though, came when I asked if I could take some photos. I was told that for insurance purposes, they wouldn't let me because of the chance that some fanatic would see a bonsai that they really liked and come and steal it...i feel like I've ventured into some new undercover bonsai world!

Tonight's sermon channeled into what I have been thinking about lately - the meaning of life apart from the Son, as seen through Ecclesiastes. If you can follow the links through the CCSI website then Robins sermon is really worth a listen. One thing that I really liked was his comment that we ask the question 'why?' (when we suffer) because this is our default coping mechanism. I think it's easier for us to always be asking 'why?' because we want to try and find a reason/explanation because that is then something that we can control - rather than trusting in God and being content to wait on, and in, His sovereignty (as per Job).

on another note altogether, check out:http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/mission/missionthinking/blogging_will_take_the_world_by_storm (sorry if this doesn't link straight through - my computer skills aren't quite there yet!)

eyes up

For a number of reasons, things have not been going so well for me lately in what is often called 'my walk with God'. Any number of reasons really; frustration, confusion, mistrust (and believe me, the list could just keep going) - maybe they can just all be summed up with that nasty little word, sin. But because I have been sick lately, and have had to take a couple of days off work, I've had time to lay in my hammock and read and watch the world go by. Here are some of the thoughts that I came up with: sunshine is good and it comes from God, I am unbelievably grateful that God is patient with me and doesn't deal with me as I deserve (cf Ps 103:8-10), although its a bit twisted, it's fun to watch ants try and swim when they meet with your glass of water...

The highlight last night was getting to go over to Pen's house (on the right) and have dinner with her and Alison (left). Two friends who you can always count on for laughter and wisdom - I luv 'em

PS:Lachlan - cheaters never prosper (all evidence to the contrary) but i will try and remember to bring your mars bar on sunday

two thumbs up

Can I just say how proud of myself I am! Although some of my students have called me a computer nerd (how untrue for those who really know me) - I have always known that my mother passed on her gene of being slightly technologically stunted. And yet - in the last 24 hrs I've managed to learn, and activate, this blog, post comments, add an image and (drumroll please) figure out how to use and upload photos through 'flicker'!!! Now, if I could just learn how to record through my dvd...

And so it begins...

Ok, so after hours of trying to set this site up (and only being able to do so after an hour on the phone with a friend walking me through step by step - you know who you are you star!!!) I've succumbed to the world of blogging. On their site, lachlan has said that 'bloggomania' is on the rampage - so you can understand why I'm a little bit hesitant about adding myself to the ranks. So for a little while I'm going to keep this site to myself and just get used to reflecting outloud.

Here goes with reflection # 1. In one of my small groups at UTS today, we delved into the world of the psalmist, specifically the first one. By the end of the study there was definitely a subdued feeling in the air - most of us felt the weight of seeing, as the psalmist does, that the world is in one of two camps - the righteous or the wicked; the fruitful and the useless; the wise and the foolish. It is such a hard thought for those of us with unbelieving family and friends - so my question is, what are we doing about it? If our answer is 'nothing' then we are being as useless as the chaff and we need to recapture the grief that God has for the lost.

We also talked a lot about guilt - how we feel when we don't delight in the laws of the Lord, or meditate on Him day and night. Thank God for the fact that He deals with our guilt in a patience that is far greater than we deserve.

(PS - don't plan on the rest of the blogs being this intense!)