For Interest's Sake

Tonight was the night. We went to the drive-in movie and saw Superman Returns. To start the evening, it was a little hectic. We needed to leave the house by 6:30 to be on time for the show however we had to wait for mum to get home from work. (she didn't know we planned to go to the drive-in and needed a car to do so) She finally got home at 6:29. So everyone grabbed the snacks we made, the sleeping bags and pillows we packed, and everyone bolted for the car wearing our sweats, jumpers, and slippers.

We made it. $16 for the whole car no matter how many people are in it. Last time there was a truck full of guys with a couch in the back. Looked like a pretty sweet set-up. Alright, so bring out the popcorn. Homemade - the best kind. Greasy fingers...where do you wipe them? Well your socks of course!

So the movie you ask? Well it was actually great! Lois Lane on the other hand - not a very pleasant person. What does Superman see in her anyways? I guess in all fairness he did leave her didn't he? And something else that REALLY bothers me is why the heck doesn't the world know it's Clark Kent? Just because he takes off his glasses and becomes all plastic like a Ken doll doesn't make him look any different! We can all see it's still him! Down below is a picture of kryptonite I saw at the museum today. Now I don't want this to sound like I disliked the movie because I didn't...just the opposite, like I said, it was good. I would like to add more however I do not want to spoil it for any of you so I'll leave it at that. Now as we were leaving the theatre, we forgot that I put a soda on the dashboard and I started to drive. It was all good for a bit....until I turned a corner. Yep, you guessed it. The open fizzy drink slid across the dashboard like a pair of sunglasses and landed on the floor - somewhere - in the dark. This clown car of ours has been through quite a bit since the kids arrived. What can we say? Well, we all laughed about it.

So I went to the museum today. Wasn't overly looking forward to it, not going to lie, but much to my surprise, it was interesting and I had a good time. There were lots of bones and weird things to look at such as gross things in jars. There were also lots of animals which had been taxadermied. I felt like I was at the zoo and that there were waaaay too many animals in each cage and especially because they did not even go together. For example a beaver and a koala. Most Australians have never even seen a beaver let alone it being next to a koala. It is also funny because they put these animals in positions that they think the animal would do.

For several days now as Cayley and I have been speedily running to the bus stop, we have passed this dead creature that lies right next to the sidewalk and its tail comes very close to being ON the sidewalk. We have been in too big of a rush most times to take the time to have a close look. We would just describe it as 'a fuzzy weiner-like puppy with an EXTRA loooong tail'. But today, we saw one at the museum (also dead) and discovered that our dead furry little friend is a possum. Interesting. Unfortunately, that's my whole story and it's not very funny because it is true. Strange how that works out. Anyways, I had a picture of him but it's not working right now. Feel free to name him.

Battle of the Toilet Paper

Alright...here's my problem. Cayley and I share the room that is next to the toilet. (I say toilet because it is in a different room from the rest of the bathroom) People get up to use the toilet in the middle of the night and when they tear the toilet paper off of the roll, it sounds like a motorcycle is driving through our bedroom. It is SO loud every single square wakes me up.
So this is my plan of action. I have already politely asked everyone to use the roll of toilet paper that is on the floor next to the toilet. Problem persisted. I then proceeded to remove the roll of toilet paper and placing it on the floor before going to bed. This is my present attempt...today, I created this sign. One other problem I encountered while making this sign is that we have no tape or fun-tac or any sort of removeable adhesive...so I used a glue stick. I justified this action by the fact that the walls are terribly made and that the owners are completely demolishing this house once we move out. If my friendly sign does not work, my next move will to be COMPLETELY remove ALL of the rolls of toilet paper and hiding them until morning. Or else get a screw driver and remove the roll dispenser. I will be forced to take action and do whatever means necessary to get a peaceful sleep. This madness has got to end!

Love Is...

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.
1 Corinthians 13 The Message

I love these verses...in all versions of the Bible, but especially this one. People sometimes get the wrong idea of love, but here it is. We tend to get caught up in the selfishness of life. We try to find someone who 'fits us'. But that isn't how God told us to love. He told us to 'care more for others than self' and 'isn't always "me first"'. Who is it that you fit TOGETHER with rather than who fits YOU? What do you have to offer the other person, rather than what does that person have to offer you? Love is having the best intentions for the other person in mind. Wanting what is genuinely best for that person with no selfish motives. It is stated so simply here...and it is! Yet so wonderfully complex!

'Love doesn't keep score of the sins of others'... Thank goodness. God loves us and therefore - doesn't keep score of our sins. So if God doesn't, then why should we?

'Love puts up with anything'. We are impatient. We can have short tempers. We are so quick to judge others. Love puts up with anything...God loves us, and therefore PUTS UP WITH ANYTHING. If you love someone - you put up with anything. anything.

Love never gives up. Love never dies.

I can't get over these verses. I just want to read them over and over and over again.

Leap Of Faith

If you think God is telling you to take a leap of faith - don't hesitate. Just JUMP! Go already! What are you afraid of? We serve a huge God. He's way bigger than that gap you think you can't make it over.

Keep Recognizing Jesus

This passage is taken from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest. It is exactly what I was struggling with and needed to hear. God knows everything, including the right timing. This smacked me right in the middle of the forhead. Here it is.

"...Peter...walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid..." (Matthew 14:29-30)

The wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn't see them at first. He didn't consider them at all; he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him and "walked on the water." Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went. Why couldn't our Lord have enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves, as well as on top of them? He could have, yet neither could be done without Peter's continuing recognition of the Lord Jesus.

We step right out with recognition of God in some things, then self-consideration enters our lives and down we go. If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where He engineers your circumstances. The things surrounding you are real, but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, and even unable to recognize Jesus. Then comes His rebuke, "why did you doubt?" (14:31). Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance upon Him.

If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, "Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?" Be reckless immediately - totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything - by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. You will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness - being willing to risk your all.

Here it goes...

Can I Be the Side Kick?

Builder and the Wrecking Ball

How can one thing be both the builder AND the wrecking ball? He would have to be the Almighty One. Only God can completely destroy your life and rebuild a new one. That is what I hope for. I want Him to completely destroy the life I live to know as my own and rebuild it full of Him. Less of me and more of Him. Take out every ounce of life in me that I had anything to do with and fill those gaping canyons with God. The life I live is not my own...I was bought at a price. The ultimate price.

His Better is Better

Why do I think I know what's better for me than God does? He has a plan set up for me yet sometimes I seem to think that I can do a better job. Not so. We are like kids asking our dads for something. We are in a store throwing a hissy fit screaming for something that we think we 'need'. Our father has something better in mind for us, but we are so consumed with what is right in front of us, we can't see past that. He can see the bigger picture and wants something better.

God does everything in his own timing (thank heavens) and so when he finally reveals what he has in store for you, I think most of the time, you can look back and see why everything happened as it did. You look back and think, "man, I was such a child. He knew the whole time." It's like wanting an ice cream cone at the mall, parent says no, because they are taking you home to have ice cream cake at home. So much better. The parent can reason with you all they want at the mall - but you aren't going to listen. Maybe that is part of why God works in mysterious ways. He knows that some of us are just too stubborn to reason with. Plus - he's God, he shouldn't have to.

We think we know better but God's better is better than our better.

'For I know the plans I have for you' says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster. To give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

He says yes or no all according to his plans. Can you possibly imagine what life would be like if God said yes to all of our prayers? How do you spell DISASTER! I cannot even fathom that world! God knows better than me. I say again, God knows better than me. God is not a mean God who wants us to have an unhappy life. But always has the best intentions in mind for us. If he says no - there is something better coming. I try to think back on things that God said 'no' to in my life and I praise him for those no's! Things would have been terrible if he'd said yes to some of the things I asked for.

Praise God for NO'S! God is good ALL THE TIME!

On a different note - saw my first big spider tonight.

Cayley was walking down the hall to our room and came skipping back into the living room screaming "spider!!". We all thought, 'daddy long legs.. what a chicken'. Then Wade (my brother's friend) goes down the hall and comes running back screaming louder then Cayley did! So we all rush to the hallway to see this thing. This spider, probably 3 or 4 inches (or a baby cat as my brother would call it) went speeding up the wall and closer to the ceiling. We all went bug eyed at the size of this grey-brown furry thick spider who was faster than any bug we've ever seen move before. As my brother ran for the broom and dust pan, I ran for my camera at the same time. We met back in the hallway, I took some shots, switched to video mode and he started swatting. As it fell to the floor, he chased it down the hall as Wade was screaming. He finally managed to scoop it up and Wade ran to open the door. He opened the inside one but not the screen one. He then decided to get brave and grab a jar thinking he was going to trap it! Stupid kid. But my brother started shouting, "it could be poisonous, you idiot!" He dropped the glass jar on the cement floor and thankfully, it didn't break. So after a long haul, many screams, laughing our heads off, and a few pictures (one below), we got the spider outside. Phew..

Welcome to Paradise

Hey Everyone! Here we go again!

So, we have finally arrived in Paradise! (that's the name of our town). I'm going to write about events leading up to our arrival though.

1. The toilets actually do not flush in one direction or the other. It is more like a fountain of water that just gushes down! It doesn't swirl.




2. We went surfing! As we were getting ready to go to the beach, we put on winter coats and toques. Okay, so to give you an idea of my luck, here's how surfing went. The instructor gave us each a suit. Mine was wet - has anyone tried to put on a soaked wetsuit? So I got it on, turned around for someone to zip it up for me, and everyone started howling with laughter! I thought, what? There was a giant hole in the rear of my wetsuit. Sheesh! So I got another one after I finally got the other one peeled off. Got the other one on. Turned around and hear "AHAHAHAHAH!!!!" What the heck happened now?! You have another hole! This one was like a stretch of hole across my buttocks. So the guy decided to just give me another one to put over top. It was a shorter one, but then I was wearing 2 wetsuits. It was getting a little thick and touching my toes became a difficult task. So we had blue shirts to go over top to tell all the other surfers "beware! NEWBIES!" Ashley and Cayley's were huge...mine.... too small, to go over my double wetsuits to boot. Then the whole lesson, the instructor called me "double". Needless to surfing was incredible. Hard but great. Half way through the lesson, the sun went down and it started to rain. AWESOME!




3. We went to a place called "the farm". I don't know why it's called that, but it is. It was this incredible beach. What a view! The waves, the sky, the sand, the cliffs! Amazing! I stood there on the sand with my pant legs rolled up (after my Aussie friend so nicely pointed out "HOW WHITE ARE YOUR LEGS?!" with the accent of course!) just awestruck at the landscape before me. As I watched the waves barrel over and over again, I couldn't help but think how powerful they were. Then just imagine - if the waves are powerful, how powerful is our God who created those waves! It is far beyond my comprehension. As we were leaving, I needed to wash my feet off because they were covered in sand. I stepped closer to the water and with one wave - it was all washed away. That is what God wants for me. He wants to take away all of my fears and burdens and anything that gets in the way of Him and I and with one breath, He can wash it all away. What an amazing God we serve!

4. We went into Sydney finally and sightseed for the day. In the evening, we went to an actual opera in the actual Sydney Opera House! Everyone goes to see it, but who goes to an opera! So we did that. It was all dancing - some weird - all cool - it was a great time. Sydney at night is also an amazing sight.

5. So finally - we are starting our trek to Paradise. We got to the airport and had a bit of a scare. Cayley and I had kept our passports in the same place so that the two were together. Somewhere between switching bags, mine got muddled into a less obvious place. So while we were trying to check in for our flight - Megan's passport is missing. Holy crap. Only me! I think Cayley panicked more than I did. I knew it had to turn up somewhere. Same thing happened at the beginning of my trip. My auntie lost my passport - but it turned up. Anyways - found it, we once again laughed. Her and I are good for that.

THEN I SAW MY PARENTS!!!!! Wonderful. And then my brother. Oh lovely lovely family.
And on a side note - I think my parents are even more in love than when they left. They are so cute!

I had many pictures to put up, but there are technical difficulties.

My First Purchase

Well... we finally arrived to Sydney. My first Australian purchase was A TOQUE! Australia is bloody cold and I'm not even joking. Everyone's first response is, "But you're Canadian!" Sorry, but I do not live in an igloo! The difference is, when it gets cold in Canada, our houses are at least warm. Here... you just suffer and cannot get warm. I'm sleeping with a winter duna, flannel sheets, and 2 other blankets. I'm wearing sweat pants, 3 shirts, a sweater, and a toque as my bedtime attire. I have never been so cold in my life. So if you are sticking to your sheets right now because you are so hot in Canada...I don't feel sorry for you. However - I'm having a fun time. :)

More stories to come.

Cold one in Australia.