And So It Begins

You are not going to believe this. I think I just have bad travel karma. For me and whoever is so unfortunate to travel with me. But anyhow.

Adventure #1. My wonderful friend, Cayley and I started our journey to Australia today. Needless to say, we did not make it very far. Our first flight leaving from Edmonton was delayed. Not by much, but a little. So we arrived in Vancouver at 6:38pm. Our next flight took off at 7:27pm. We had just under an hour to get off our plane, retrieve our bags, check in to a new airline, and make it through customs. As we RAN through the terminals going from domestic to international, upon arrival we were informed that the gates closed an hour before take off so we would not be making our flight. Only Me... and I drug Cayley into this. ha! So, logically, the way our ticket was set up in the first place, we had no hope of ever making our flight. Travel agent's mistake. It would have been the same thing in L.A. We were only suppose to have one hour there too. So if it was not Vancouver, it would have been L.A. Fortunately, it was Vancouver. So after waiting around.. making A LOT of phone calls on my parents calling card..(and later realizing it is not them who pay that bill anymore.. it is the Australians living in my house who pay it. oops!) trying to get numbers of my Uncle, who lives in Vancouver, he came and picked us up.

We need to be back at the airport by about 4:00am to re-begin our journey. The airlines re-did our flights, so we will still make it to Sydney, and because someone big is definitely watching out for us, they waived the 'change fee' because it was not our fault. We just arrive that evening instead of that morning which, as it turns out, works much better for the friend who is picking us up.

God is obviously coming to Australia too (not that I had any doubts!). There is no doubt. I'm so thankful to be travelling with the great friend that I am with because we are both in great spirits, are having a great time already and laughing our heads off at these silly mix ups. I fear if it were anyone else, there'd be anger or something unpleasant. So I cannot thank God enough for her.

Pray for us.

Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Australia...tomorrow...Holy crap.

Has it actually hit me? I doubt it. But things are weird temporarily because I have moved everything out of my house - food and all. I have nothing here. I have no bed - slept on the couch. I have no food - don't know what I'll eat. I have no car - under house arrest. I have no clean clothes - just an empty suitcase. All I have is my laptop and a guitar, so here I sit. I'll make music later.

So I'm clearly not ready to go. My bags are not packed and I am not ready to go, as the song dictates. However - I am still expected to leave on a jet plane tomorrow. I feel weird. Torn between two worlds. Still going to the other one, but I think my heart will still be here. Actually, I'm sure it will.

Well, let's look at the otherside. What waits for me in Australia? OHHH!! WELLLL!! Only the greatest family in the whole world! Except my parents are going on a houseboat without me (gawsh!) so I won't see them for a few extra days. My little brother - the greatest brother in the world - who misses me.. aww. But - Sydney waits for me. An old friend. Another friend who is going to take me surfing and 4x4. The chocolate factory in Melbourne...and Adelaide (hehe). Funny plug-ins. Accents. Also, I have a job interview waiting for me in Adelaide. Which I need but do not want. Mostly because I would love to be lazy and bum around in Australia for the summer, however, I must work to go to school next year because I'm poor. The good thing is their minimun wage is crazy. My brother is making $14.50/hr at K-mart!

Well - I'm starving, so I have to go steal food from my roommates now before they get home. :) Stay tuned for more Aussie/Bauer adventures!

(cannot take credit for the photo at the top)

Through GOOD Times and Bad

People seem to think the hard part of this phrase is 'through...bad times'. I find it is the complete opposite.

Why is it that when things go good in life, that is when we find it the hardest to draw near to God? When we are sad, we immediately go to Him for a shoulder to cry on, but when life is good it takes a little more reminding. We tend to forget we need Him when things are looking up. This is when we start to think we can handle it on our own. You've probably noticed that several of my blogs are about 'leaning on Him'. I just think it is so very important. There are so many things in this world that can send us on a detour so I just need to constantly remind myself of that. God is not a vending machine. He wants us to come to Him for everything - thanks, praise, confession... not just requests.

When things are good it's not because of anything I've done, that's for sure. Don't go to Him just in the hard times, praise Him for the good times too.

Draw near to Him through the good as well as the bad. He wants to be part of it all. What an amazing God we serve.

A/C or Windows Down?

So what do you prefer? Windows down or A/C ("artificial cold" as someone once told me)? In my last car, there was no air conditioning, so there just was no choice. But now, in my new car, it has windows AND A/C!! Soo... I think I am a both. I enjoy the windows down and the wind blowing my hair all crazy, but wow.. It's nice to have the option of "artificial cold".

Hallelujah

There's a song that has spoke to me a lot lately. It's by Bethany Dillon (some of you are probably not surprised). Here are the lyrics.

Who can hold the stars
And my weary heart?
Who can see everything?

I've fallen so hard
Sometimes I feel so far
But not beyond your reach

I could climb a mountain
Swim the ocean
Or do anything
But it's when you hold me
That I start unfolding
And all I can say is

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Whatever's in front of me
Help me to sing hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Whatever's in front of me
I'll choose to sing hallelujah

The same sun that
Rises over castles
And welcomes the day
Spills over buildings
Into the streets
Where orphans play

And only you can see the good
In broken things
You took my heart of stone
And you made it home
And set this prisoner free

It just reminds me that I should praise His name through everything I do. He has given me life, and not just any life, but the life that he has so perfectly crafted. Mine is not like anyone else's. That is amazing to me. How can there be 6 billion people in the world... and I'm not like any of them. I should be so thankful for everything and that is what I want to do every single day of my life. I want to get up every morning and sing Hallelujah wherever I go, no matter what happens. Praise his name! That is why I am on this earth is to give Him all the worship. I don't want to waste a second.

I want to fall in love with Him more and more every day of my life. I want to get out of bed BURSTING with His love. It should spill out of me everywhere because I just can't contain it anymore. There is just an abundance, more than I can possibly ever comprehend.

People laugh when I'm walking down the street listening to this song on my mp3 player because I just can't help but smile and dance a little...or sometimes a lot. But I don't care. It's one of those songs that if you had to pick a soundtrack to the story of your life, this would be a nomination. He puts a bounce in my step and I'm just so happy that the bounce is Him and not anything or anyone else. I LOVE HIM! I'M IN LOVE WITH JESUS!

I've just felt so blessed and loved by him this past while and I just want to praise Him for that.

Alone?

I think this is another one of those blogs that I would like to be anonymous, but I need somewhere to throw all my thoughts down without knowing what's to come next. That's my disclaimer.

Do I feel alone? Perhaps. I know better though. I'm not. I have a great God who is looking out for me day and night, week after week, every up and EVERY down. Again and again and again. I thank Him for that because I don't have it in me to carry on alone. With Him though, I can do it. And well. In my own strength, what good am I? You know that crappy old shoe you threw out awhile ago? Without God's strength I'm that shoe in the garbage. Useless.

Do I have ANY excuse to be out of strength? No. I don't. "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." He lets us and wants us to come to him for our strength. He wants us to use his strength and not our own. If we are out of strength, we should be going to him to re-fill our tanks. OFTEN. There's no excuse for us to be out of life or energy for life because we have an incredible God.

Is it hard? It shouldn't be... But for some reason, we wait...and wait....and wait until we are riding on the red line. Why not fill up? 'Oh, but I can make it a little further with what I've got.' WHAT AM I THINKING?!?! This gas is free!! Not like the $1.10 we pay for our stupid cars! We don't even have to leave the stinkin house to fill up. Just open that hole in your face and talk! 'Ask and you shall receive!'

I don't know where this is coming from. I feel like I got on a rollercoaster last night I think. Got on...meh, I'm alright. This morning, well...tired, but it hasn't gone down the hill yet. Now? WHHHOOOOAAAAA!!!!! You know those butterflies you get in your stomach as you are barrelling down the other side of that hill you just climbed? I'm in the middle...the car has gotten stuck on that ramp...I'm looking way down, face first onto the ground that is so far away. I'm just waiting in fear for the ride to start again with a jolt and I will fall the rest of the way down.

What happens when I finally get to the bottom? He'll pick me up. He doesn't want to teach me a lesson at 'the end of the road'... The road IS the lesson. You learn through the whole thing. Again... the road IS the lesson. The whole thing is the learning process. Not how I'm going to come out of it on the other side. How I will be transformed by him.

See that bump on the log over there? It has a face on it...I think it kind of looks like me.

You know that rollercoaster? Yeah, I know which one you're talking about. Funny, cause tomorrow, I'll be more than half way up again. These things don't last for long. It's all strange.

Took a break....

Had some laughs, chatted with my fabulous roomies. I have the greatest roommates. I love them. God places people exactly where and when you need them. I have learned that a lot over the last year.