God is good. ALL the time.

Hello! I have returned. Only briefly, of course, because I woke up this morning with a better idea for the beginning of one of my stories, and I have to go and write it down.

Once the term starts again I plan on getting into a proper "writing routine", but thanks to my weird TAFE schedule that will prove much more difficult to do than say. Wish me luck!

For now, this is my new writing strategy - I will go to bed every night with my notebook by my bed, and when I wake up in the morning I am not allowed to get up until I write one sentence. Just one. That's all it takes to make sure that I have at least written something today. If I want to do this, really do this ... if I want to becoming a real writer who actually finishes books and gets things published, I need to work hard. Ugh. Once again, easier said than done.

Here goes nothing.

P.S Happy Easter! Remember Jesus and all he has done, our Savior and our King :)

3 REASONS!

For you to come to Newtown Festival this Sunday the 14th of November.

A) You will have fun listening to live music, hanging out with friends, eating awesome food and shopping for cool nifty stuff in all the stalls.

B) You can help my youth group, SALT, spread the word about God's amazing grace by handing out these books of Luke's gospel:

C) You can help me hand out these pamphlets that I made for Orphan Awareness (click to enlarge).

Is there anything better you could possibly do this weekend? I think not!

Pray.

Today I read several blogs about families adopting young children from China, Ethiopia, and the Ukraine. The Lord has moved me through the words I read about the conditions in which these orphans live … I grieve for them and can only imagine how the Lord aches for them too. This is now my desktop background, so that I won’t forget what I have read today, and so that I will remember to pray every day for each and every child who does not have a family yet. I know that God has a plan for me, and maybe this has had such an impact on me because it’s part of His plan for my future. I don’t know. But I will hope and pray and trust in the Lord, because he has a plan for ALL his children.

Boxes of Joy

The boxes I ordered from Operation Christmas Child came today! :)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Operation Christmas Child is an event run by Samaritan's Purse. Last year OCC sent shoeboxes full of gifts to 8 million children in different countries all over the world who might not have ever received a gift before. 1 million children heard of Jesus through this ministry.

My church is participating this year and we're going to try to fill 10-12 shoeboxes for children with stuffed animals, games, school supplies, hygiene products and other toys, and send them off with Samaritan's Purse, where they will bring a very joyous smile to a little girl or boy's face.

I have a few extra boxes, so if you're interested in going on an early Christmas shopping trip, let me know and I will give you a box. I seriously encourage you to get involved, it's SO much fun, I know you can afford it, and really, why wouldn't you want to be part of this? Watch the video below, it's total worth the 27 seconds you will spend viewing it. 

 

Come Lord Jesus and save us....

... make things perfect again.

And I can't find satisfaction anywhere else. I hope I never stray from you again and look elsewhere ... because I know I'll never find anything better than what you have to offer.

The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still. ~ Exodus 14:14

Started reading the bible from beginning to end. So far at Exodus 34,  with twelve days of reading. Also been looking up biblical baby names; I love some of the ones that aren't so common, like Hezekiah and Jaroah. I want to name my son Ananias. ♥

lost and found

Hello! My this day has gone quickly. It's almost three already.

I plan to try and keep up this writing-big-chunks thing until I leave for my trip so that I can keep on successfully blogging while I'm away. I don't want to stop writing to you all while I am away, and I fear that the thousands of pictures I take will be battling my words for a place on this blog, so I will work my hardest to keep it balanced. Writing now with no pictures should help this.

I'm looking forward to blogging about my trip; I'll try my best to keep you informed on all the things I see and smell and taste and touch and hear, because I'll miss you a lot while I'm gone so if I keep this blog updated as often as possible with the things I do I feel like I'll be taking you readers with me. All 9 of you, or something....

So, I just got back from church and before that I was at Kristen's for a sleepover. The three of us watched The Great Race (fantastically hilarious movie) and talked about a billion things until 3 a.m. I love long, meaningful conversations like that and I find that the later it is the more honest you can be with one another, which is a good thing when you're close friends. By the time we decided it was time to go to sleep I was past the point of being tired and it took me a little while to fall asleep. We woke up at half past 9 - kind of a fail since I then only had twenty minutes to get ready before they came.

Made it to church on time (just). The speaker today was really good, I forget his name but he had the most beautiful deep and he spoke on the parable of the lost son who was found. I love this parable so much because I have heard it many times but each speaker has their own take on it so I get a new insight on it each time.

And yeah not much else to blog about ... looked for sunglasses today but didn't find any. Hope to do some reading or other writing of some kind before I have to leave at four for band practice. Tata for now.

I love your ways, your true, your perfect ways ♫

'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' ~ Philippians 4:6-7


I love this verse. But I always forget how important the word 'transcends' is. Transcend means to pass beyond the limits of something, to be be greater than something in intensity or power, and to exist above or independent of something.

It's so incredibly important to remember that God, and his peace, is beyond my understanding. It's greater than anything I can understand, it's more powerful ... and his peace exists and did exist before my worry. So I don't need to be anxious because God is here even when I feel alone, and even when I don't understand his ways. God guards my heart and my mind in ways I cannot even fathom ... because he cares.

And another thought....

If ever you feel alone or invisible.... Psalm 139 is for you.

It's not so simple.

Life seems very crazy right now. Nothing seems to be working out, and yet, everything is. It's very confusing. I thought I was being led one way but now I'm being taken back the other way. Sometimes I wonder if, when I feel like I'm listening to God, I'm actually listening to myself. I wish I could hear him. I wish he could wrap his arms around me and make me feel safe and secure.

He does speak to me. And I do hear him. But I wish I could hear his voice loud and clear and feel his warmth. I don't like feeling far away.

^"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~ Jeremiah 29:11

I need to stop worrying and over-analyzing things. I need to be more patient, I think. And joyful. And loving. And have more self-control. I think I need to be more dedicated to the fruits of the spirit.





And I need to stop being so afraid.

Hey!

"Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understand, will guard your hearts and your minds in Chris Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

Thank you for reminding me lovely :)

It's not the end of the world! God is in control.

So, I was just crying for like half an hour, because I was frustrated and so confused, and a little scared ... and then I opened my bible and read this:

"God is our strength and refuge, and ever-present help in our trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging." ~Psalm 46:1-3

And now I'm the happiest I've been all evening.

"If you can count your good friends you have on one hand, then consider yourself lucky."

I'm sitting here in my room right now, it's nice and clean because I just spent the last hour or so tidying it up. It's much more relaxing now ... before you literally couldn't see the floor!
 My lovely friend Jessie should be getting here in about an hour; I'm so happy because we don't get to see each other nearly as often as I would like, but I saw her last week and now I get to see her again. Happiness.

Now, I've blogged many a time about how lovely and wonderful my friends are and how much I love them, but I've not really sat down to write about what truly makes them so special. So I thought I'd do that now, and tell you a little about a few of the girls who keep my little world running.

I'll start with Jessie.
She's wonderfully talented when it comes to music. She plays the piano beautifully, and is learning guitar. She likes good bands like U2, and loves The Great Gatsby like I do. We have the best conversations about anything and everything, and even though there a big gaps between the times that we spend together, we can always pick up where we left off and talk as if we're picking up a conversation from five minutes ago instead of three weeks ago. She's wonderful writer. Her writing is eloquent and sincere, and better yet she can just write, lots at a time. Her blog posts are often nice and chunky, which I love. She's loyal and loving and we never get bored when we're together. She has a younger brother and no sisters, so I love that we can relate to each others stories about playing Lego or Pokemon. She's just so sweet and friendly. It's hard to find people who are just friendly to you right off the bat, because most people are so cautious when they meet new people that your first impressions are often incredibly skewed. But I've always thought Jessie to be a caring, welcoming, gentle person since I first met her. And I was so very, very right. Jessie, I adore every second I have with you, and I am so, so excited that you're going to be arriving at my door any minute! So we can create more beautiful memories that I will hold on to forever, because you are such a treasure and I really don't deserve you; I am so grateful to God for our friendship. I cleaned my room just for you hehehe. ♥

And then there's Keira. I've thanked God so often for the friendship we've built to be so strong over the past four years. We've known each other for much longer than that, but it's these recent years in which God has brought us close. He gave us something to share with each other - and so Keira is my writing buddy. We exchange passages of our novels-to-be, and help each other out with our stories as best we can. What I like most is that in recent times we haven't needed those stories to be friends; our writing may have lessened because life got in the way, or we couldn't be bothered, but we still encourage each other to keep writing and to push on with that story idea that just doesn't seem to be working. We'll get there in the end, I'm sure. But it's not the only thing we talk about and do with each other anymore, as I guess it used to be when we first started exchanging. Now we talk about anything and everything, meet different places, hang out together, and have such a wonderful time. My favorite thing to do is to just sit somewhere with her and talk. We particularly like meeting in cafes and ordering one drink and then sitting there for a good two hours at least. Time just passes far too quickly when we talk! I love every minute we spend together, and I love that we can be there for each other and pray for each other and and support one another. Keira is so lovely and is a such a beautiful writer. Keep going at it, my dearest! You are fearfully, wonderfully made by your Creator, and he has better plans for you than all you can ask or imagine; I'm excited not just for the plans he has for you, but for both of us together. ♥

 Bethie is my rock. She's the big sister I never had. I still remember the day I met her back when we were in year 5 at Club WOW. She was the person I wanted to be like; the one that set the example and respected the leaders and paid attention and was sweet to everyone. She's beautiful, really really beautiful. She's clever and has good taste in just about everything; clothes, books, music.... She's mothering and caring, and she has the gift of being able to look at someone and see all their beauty instead of their faults. So if she bags you out randomly, it just means she loves you a lot. She is steadfast in Christ and it so encouraging to see Him as the center of her life. She has such a gorgeous smile and I love it when she laughs. I love it when we talk about stuff we both appreciate, like Shakespeare or Little Women; in fact, I love it when we talk about anything at all, because Bethie is wise and she doesn't say the wrong things like I so often do.... And she's so good at comforting. And hugging. And I think that's because she was made by the God of All Comfort. So my darling, whenever things are hard, look to your God and He will comfort you. Because that's who He is. And he is the reason why you are such a beautiful, amazing person; you are of more value to Him than you could ever know. Let your love and faithfulness never leave you, dearest. ♥

My girl Katherine has the most amazing smile ever. The photo just above is proof of it. That picture just makes me so happy. Katherine brings me so much joy and laughter; like seriously, you have to play Taboo with her. I was laughing so much the other night. She gives the best hugs, and I always feel so valued when I am with her, because she's really good at telling me that she loves me, and that means a lot to me. We can do everything together, or absolutely nothing, we can talk about everything or sit in silence listening to music, but no matter what, I'll walk away feeling like the best time ever. I can't remember a day that has gone by since late October where we haven't at least exchanged a text message, save the times we've gone away somewhere. She bags me out all the time, and I diss her back, but that's just us. She's so strong in faith and love; she doesn't give up on people even when they make it hard. She's an easy person to share with, because she's gracious and generous ... and gullible... haha I'm kidding with that last one! ;) Babe you're the reason God didn't give me a sister, because he knew I'd meet you and then I wouldn't need anyone else, because we fit the same size shoe and the same size dress, so I can borrow your clothes (and you can steal mine!), and He knew I'd love you enough to tolerate you doing things like hanging your wet towel over my pajamas on camp.... I'm so excited for the years we have ahead of us as sisters in Christ, to strengthen and encourage each other and grow in our love for our Savior and King. ♥

Kristy has been my friend for the longest. We met when I was 7, and we probably thought each other weird at first, because in truth we don't have a lot in common, but friends are the people who help you with things you're not good at, who encourage you in your weak areas, show you things you haven't heard of or seen before, introduce you to things better than what you know, and complement who you are. So that's why we're so close. I love all the fun moments we share together and all the things we get excited about, like the Scott Pilgrim movie or random crazy youtube videos like Charlieissocoolike. Kristy is so clever and amazing; I wish I had her gift of wonderful hospitality. She's so good at making be feel welcome, and she really cares about how other people feel. She's wise and careful of what she says and her love for God just radiates from her. She's eager to serve Christ with the gifts he has given her, and I know that He has great plans for her because she is so willing to do good works for him. I love that we have built up such a great trust over the years; we can tell each other anything and know it is safe with the other person. Trust is something I really need from a friend, and you have never let me down, my darling. So thank you for everything you've ever done for me and all that you will do, because I know we're going to be friends for life. And that makes me so happy! You are such a beautiful friend and I am so, so blessed to be able to call you that. God is just too good to me! ♥


Most of all, something I can say about all my girls, is that they care. I'm so lucky to have people who care about how I feel and what I'm thinking; they care about the time spent with me and the time when we're apart. They care about my life and the things I do; and it leaves me breathless when I think of this, because I know I don't deserve any of you and I feel like I can't give you enough. I love you.

Saviour, He can move the mountains; my God is Mighty to Save, He is Mighty To Save ♥

I life my eyes up to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. - Psalm 121:1

Little things that make me ridiculously happy

Doing something fun with my brother.

Eating cold crunchy grapes.

Gorgeous weather.

My kitty curling up next to me.

Playing guitar and having it sound the way I wanted it to.

Singing songs for God.

Playing family boardgames (that don't end in tears!). 

Snuggling up with a friend, especially when it's cold.

Writing something, then reading it back over and liking it.

Phone calls from my friends.

Taking pictures.

Having a clean bedroom.

Text messages that say 'I love you'.

Reading aloud, or being read to.

Long, long long, conversations with people I love.

When my shoes match my shirt.

Making someone smile or laugh.

Sleeping in.

Eating food Mom made.

Kisses.

Watching a good movie I haven't seen before.

Acting/performing and getting it so right.

Writing lovey messages on a friend's arm with a Sharpie.

When someone writes a sweet message on my arm with a Sharpie.

Watching a bad movie in good company.

Reading the bible.

Going away with friends.

Listening to a song and pretending it was written for me.

Reading my friends' blogs.

Knowing that even when I didn't have a good day, someone close to me did.

Hugs.

"I'll put you in front of me so everybody can see my love."

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

My heart and flesh cry out, for you the Living God, your Spirit's water to my soul

I love the Psalms. There is a psalm for every emotion one can ever experience. And if for some reason there doesn't seem like there is one for the way I feel, I read many and then piece together my own from multiple verses.

Hear my cry, O God;

 listen to my prayer.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, 

 For I am lonely and afflicted; 

The troubles of my heart have multiplied; 

 free me from my anguish. 

On my bed I remember you;

 I think of you through the watches of the night.

Because you are my help, 

 I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

My soul clings to you; 

Your right hand upholds me. 

My soul finds rest in God alone; 

 my salvation comes from him. 

He alone is my rock and my salvation; 

 He is my fortress; I will never be shaken. 

I will lie down and sleep in peace,

 For you alone, O Lord, 

make me dwell in safety. 

- Verses from Psalm 61, 25, 63, 62, and 4.

God is listening!

In recent months I read a book by John Dickson called "Promoting the Gospel". It's a great book. I picked it up again just now because I remember a story the author told about his childhood. He knew a lovely elderly lady who used to babysit him and his brothers since they were young. John's father had died when he was nine; every day since then, Elsie had prayed for John, his mother and his two brothers, asking the Lord to bring them into his kingdom.

John Dickson is a christian now. And so is his brother Jamie. Isn't that amazing? The prayer and encouragement of one woman brought two people into God's kingdom! Maybe more.

I know another story like this one. Told to me in a sermon by Josh Apieczonek, who spoke at LiT camp. He said that at his church they have these cards on the pews where church members and new people can write their details and prayer points. Josh knew a girl who wrote a prayer point on one of these cards every week. And every week she asked for the same thing - prayer for her father, who was not a christian. So Josh prayed for the girl's father every single week.

Some time later, in an open prayer at church, this girl prayed aloud and thanked God that her father had become a Christian.

I am just stunned by these amazing acts. Devotion to prayer and faith in God. And I am even more stunned by God's overwhelming care and power. He listens. And, His will be done, our prayers will be answered.

We all have non-christian friends. I know you'd love them to come to Christ. But I'm sure you can think of at least one person who you are convinced could never become a Christian. Don't doubt! Have faith in God. Commit to prayer for this person, and if it be God's will, that person could join the kingdom.

For, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). That means everyone. So it also means that anyone can come to Christ. If you are with Christ, then there is every chance your non-christian friend can be too.

So pray! Pray every day if you can. And have faith like in God. 'Jesus replied, "...you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'move from here to there', and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."' - Matthew 17:20-21

I ♥ My Friends

So a lot has happened since my last blog. Let me explain.

Riding the train to LiT in the summer heat.

Eating Minties.

Getting pumped for Jesus with 200 other teenagers.

Texting.

Trying to sleep in a bunk bed when it's 30 degrees outside.

Watching Ed and John smash a gingerbread house with their head.

Praying.

Reading Matthew 5-7.

Wishing I could go swimming.

Playing Battleship with Patrick. 

Eating camp chicken schnitzel and dearly missing Jackie's schnitzel.

Listening to talks on the Beautitudes.

Loving God.

Loving my friends.

Hating camp organization.

Starting on Wuthering Heights.

Singing with Becky and Mark.

Writing "If I tell you I love you, can I keep you?" on Katherine's back with a Sharpie.

Hanging out til late, late late....

Talking til even later with Kristen, and feeling so much better.

Trying to commit to prayer. 

Getting everyone to sign my shirt.

Eating meatball sandwiches.

Leaving on the bus.

 Getting home.

Taking a long, hot shower.

Watching The Big Bang Theory with Katherine, Beth and Justin.

Sleeping in the living room with the girls and wanting to throttle my cat.

Waking up and making French Toast.

Getting my ear pierced with Katherine and squeezing Beth's hand.

Taking panadol for the pain >.<

Ana coming over.

Lazer tagging in the city.

Wandering in Newtown.

Driving to Katherine's for a 'secret mission' and giving her Wagon Wheels and Big Bang. 

Watching Slumdog Millionare - Ana had not seen it before!

Going to church.

Waking Ana the next morning to say goodbye.

Heading to Sydney Uni for Latin class.

Learning how to read Roman gravestones.

Writing a couple pages of my new idea during lunch. 

Snapping pictures at lunch and thinking the uni buildings look like Hogwarts.

Catching the packed 423 to Katherine's and walking down the road in the blazing sun.

Snapping a million photos down near Cook's River.

Spraying Katherine with the bubbler.

Walking back, hot, wet and itchy.

Eating stir fry.

Watching Zoolander and IT Crowd.

Planning on leaving at 9pm, but staying til 11.

Falling asleep from Katherine stroking my hair.

Getting home and crashing.

Seeing Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D!

Going to Newcastle.

Sitting out in the heat for hours.

Planning an epic trip n the evening to the beach.

Being sorely disappointed when a cold change came and it rained.

Not going to the beach and watching the tennis and Up instead.

Playing Settlers of Catan.

Sleeping in.

Going to Drew's to watch Van Helsing and Jaws.

Playing Playstation 3.

Walking home.

Sitting down to write this blog while watching the tennis.

And that brings us to the present moment. Sorry if that bored you, but I needed to write this stuff down. I've had a pretty good holiday so far - two weeks left of it. Mum's cooking bacon. I'm seeing Kristen tomorrow. Good times still to come!

I'll be home for Christmas

I just made a mad rush to the metro to get pineapple for dinner. We're having hamburgers and prawns on the BBQ so I needed pineapple to go with it. The metro was insane; I was weaving in and out between crowds of people, trying not to get run over by overloaded trolleys. Got my pineapple and came rushing back out, all in 25 minutes. Top time, I reckon. There was a huge line coming out the liquor store. I thought that was a little funny. :)