In so many words....

Update and a half!!!

2006-08-25T16:24:00.000-04:00

So yes, I am back. And Europe is BEAUTIFUL! Although I must say the Italians do not have that same welcoming air as the Aussies. But nonetheless, it was still amazing fun and we saw so much in those two weeks. One of the highlights (well, there are tons, but I'll keep it simple for right now) was being able to go into the prison where Peter and Paul were held in Rome before they were executed. All 42 of us crammed into the underground cave, and sang the Doxology. It was one of those moments that sends shivers down your spine as you realize everything that early Christians sacrificed for the name of Christ. What a humbling and unforgettable experience.

So then, I came back and headed back to Cedarville the very next day. We've just finished our first week of classes, and man, do I feel a bit overwhelmed already. But hey, I just have to remember to take it one day at a time. Highlight of the week? AUSSIE TEAM REUNION LAST NIGHT!!! All of us were there (except Jaimie, who had to be at play practice), but we watched videos from Oz and ate tim-tams and picked on each other like old times. I love that team so much. Here's to more good times to come :)

Speaking of good times, Guess who stopped by for a visit. Yep, Kat's here in my dorm room right now (looking through my pictures, actually), and we got to hang out one last time before she up and moves to FLORIDA!!! Crazy times. But yes, it has been so much fun, and so much has happened, I feel as though this blog can't even begin to cover it all. But I must go eat dinner with some friends now, so I'm going to sign off, with the promise of pictures from Europe to come soon. Hope you all are doing well!

~S~

Leaving on a jet plane...

2006-08-04T01:37:00.000-04:00

...for Europe! Aaah, I leave tomorrow! I can't believe the summer's kind of over already and that this trip is finally here. I'm so excited. We're going to be traveling Greece for the first week, and then Italy for the second week, kinda retracing the Apostle Paul's footsteps along the way. I have a feeling God is going to do even more amazing things on this trip. I'm so excited!!!

¡Gracias a Dios!

2006-07-25T23:48:00.000-04:00

So I just got off the phone with my "little sister" Sandra who lives in El Salvador. What an encouragement! We got to talk for at least an hour about everything that's going on in our lives, and the things that we're struggling with, and what God is teaching us. Something that struck me during the conversation is that I love that girl so much, she really is like my sister, and I would do almost anything for her. And as she told me about things in her life that are causing her pain right now, I was struggling so hard not to want to hop on a plane and fly down there and fix it all for her. Funny thing is, though, that I realize that there is Someone who loves her much more that I do, and that nothing I do (in my own power) is going "fix" things for her. I can only carry her to Jesus in prayer and trust that He is/will continue to do a good work in her. Kinda scary when you think about it though. You know? It's so against our human nature to trust something that we can't even sense (except by his Spirit, of course). But I guess what I was referring to is trusting in Someone who we cannot see with our eyes, touch with our hands, nor hear with our ears. And yet, He is our Comforter and our ever-present Help. Praise God that He is with us through everything; He's the best friend we could ever have.

"Vengan a mí todos ustedes que están cansados y agobiados, y yo les daré descanso. Carguen con mi yugo y aprendan de mí, pues yo soy apacible y humilde de corazón, y encontrarán descanso para su alma." Mateo 11:27-29

July 23rd!!!!

2006-07-23T23:46:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 2 SARA!!! (4 the next 11 minutes) =D

So, ya see- ya'll get to enjoy another entry of "the happenings of Sara n' Kat's crazy adventures!" as I came down hur to ye ol' Ohio 2 join fair Saraita 4 this special occasion.

~Its been jus over 24 hrs since my arrival, and yet we've been able to pack in plenty of fun-filled times, such things included:

- Attempting to use a domestic phone card internationally
- Enjoying the high school classic "she's all that" (ohhh freddie) ;)
- Today there was a large picnic here for the youth leaders @ Sara's house (we liked to believe that the 70 or so people who came were here 2 celebrate Sara's 22- n they jus didnt know it...) :)
- So there was a lot of setting up (of which i slept through..hmmm, how did that happen?!....) and EATING! (which of course, i did NoT miss) ~ it was a pig roast, and ohh so good! lots of socializing n mingiling and enjoying the absolutely GoRgEoUs day!!!
- We had an incredible time @ the evening service @ Sara's church (707) - which we thuroughly enjoyed, as it was basically a hightlighted sermon of the book Captivating~ hit right home in far too many ways.
- Afterwards we headed into downtown Cleveland with 3 other hotties to celebrate sara's day with a girls night out. We setteled down in the posche and tottally comfortable restaurant where we were basically the only table there. being seated for six, we couldnt help but wonder if this "is a fat joke??" as there were in actuality only 5 of us...hmmm. but we were treated SO well, enjoyed giant n perfect deserts~~ not to mention laughs on laughs! =D
then we finished our time together singing along with our favorite Rascal Flatts songs on our way home; 2 get back 2 sara's n' call -you guessed it!!- call ShAnnYn!!! - we are now awaiting a return call, filling the time watching part of Sara's bday present "how to lose a guy in 10 days" (ohhh Matthew McOhsohottie)

- EK!! guess who's on the phone?!?! we'll get back to you in a bit... ;)

(ps- pics 2 come at a later date)
*much love*
S+K

Brilliant :)

2006-07-20T19:08:00.000-04:00

And if a card wasn't enough, i got the video tape from Australia in the mail from Leslie today.

hehe, bet you didn't know there was a video tape. And yes, you are ALL in it....

...such good blackmail material....

;-)

You get me

2006-07-18T17:41:00.000-04:00

So today I got a birthday card from Australia. How cool is that?! It made me really happy anyway :)

And I went to the most typical of typical business meetings today. I mean, we're talking at a bank, big oak table, huge leather chairs...the whole thing. And I was in charge of taking notes, except that I really had no idea what they were talking about, so that made things fun. Sometimes I just ended up typing nonsense into the computer until the lady next to me gave me a strange look. Then i decided it was time to stop and look professional (haha).

Man, what a week it has been so far. I'm really nervous about tomorrow because my boss is out of town for the day and has left all of his responsibilities to me, plus I have to make over 100 phone calls to try and sell radio spots and design a radio commercial for a few of the stations in cleveland. Eeek! Me=nervous. But (insert positive attitude), I'm sure it'll be a good experience, right? ;-)

But I have to say that the coolest part of this week has been what God is teaching me. It has been such a sweet time with him. Well, it didn't start out that way. Unfortunately, I'm so stubborn sometimes that God allows painful circumstances in my life to get my attention when I walk away from Him and try to find happiness elsewhere. But, as He draws me closer to him through the painful circumstances, it has been so cool to discover more about Him, and to learn to lean on Him and trust Him more. He is the only One who will ever really "get" us. He understands us so much better than we understand ourselves (even in all our sinfulness), and yet He loves us with a passion so much greater than any earthly love. It has been so amazing to discover that more and more over the past few weeks, and to know that we have a High Priest who can empathize with our pain and knows completely all of our longings. He's been through it all! What an amazing thought that we can come to Him in all our brokenness, and he will give us rest. But not only that, He will give us rivers of abundant life flowing in our souls! He satisfies us so much better than any earthly thing. How amazing to think that greatest love of all is ours through Jesus! He is more than sufficient for us...

"Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself." ~Hebrews 7:25-27

Amazing.

Just a thought

2006-07-18T00:17:00.000-04:00

I wonder what it would be like if we all took off those happy masks we wear so often...

A small update

2006-07-13T18:31:00.000-04:00

A quick synopsis of what I've been up to lately:

- Went to see the new "Pirates" movie yesterday. My cell phone rang during the show (to the tune of "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield") and when I reached to turn it off I spilled the entire bag of Reese's pieces all over the floor. It was no small bag I might add...
- Had breakfast this morning at some business luncheon thing in downtown Cleveland. Started to fall asleep in the presentation only to look up and see the presenter staring right at me...
- Got a tour of one of the major news stations with my dear KTO!
- Had lunch with Dad downtown!
- Wasted time back at the office

Overall, I think it has been a wonderful few days. Seriously, I've had fun :) The other funny thing was that my boss gave me this book to read this morning. I suppose that there's a point to it, but I have a really time not busting up laughing when I read things like the following (mind you, this is a business marketing text, talking about how you need to be the first to introduce your product to the market):

"Falling in love is a similar phenomenon. While people are more selective than ducks, they're not nearly as selective as you might think.
What counts most is receptivity. Two people must meet in a situation in which both are receptive to the idea. Both must have open windows. That is, neither is deeply in love with someone else.
Marriage, as a human institution, depends on the concept of 'first' being better than 'best'. And so does business.
If you want to be successful in love or in business, you must appreciate the importance of getting into the mind first.
You build brand loyalty in a supermarket the same way you build mate loyalty in a marriage. You get there first and then be careful not to give them a reason to switch."

lol, um....Hmmm...I'll have to think about that one it a bit. But I thought it was kinda funny nonetheless...

Should I be worried about this?!

2006-07-13T18:10:00.000-04:00

Your 2006 Summer Anthem Is

Hips Don't Lie by Shakira

"I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right
All the attraction, the tension
Don't you see baby, this is perfection"

What's Your 2006 Summer Anthem?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

This is too funny :)

sad/happy

2006-07-10T23:46:00.000-04:00

My dear Kathryn left me today....sadness. But don't worry. More good times will ensue in a few weeks when I go to Detroit to visit her...heheheh.

Tonight in a nutshell was amazing! After I got off work (which was aaaaah boring again...oh well), we had bible study at the house! What an incredible night. So many people that I haven't seen in a looong time, and the study was amazing. We talked a lot about our identity in Christ, and how we are already righteous because Christ's righteousness rests on us! Such an incredible thought...

And then, to make it even better, I got another phone call from Shannyn!! Me = so happy right now!

BUT, I did go to bed at 3:00am last night and the night before, so I think its time to go to bed at a semi-normal time now...

just another mundane monday

2006-07-10T10:20:00.000-04:00

Drum roll please!...

and the "Nemo" winners are:
Shannyn: Peach (the lil starfish, who keeps all the boys in line)
Craig: Hammerhead shark (he had a name, but we couldn't understand it, it was too Aussie- and we didnt have any interpreters...) :)
Sara: Squirt (that darn cute baby sea turtle)
Mr commercial: The school of fish (no, its not a fat joke) ya know, the group that mocks Marlin, and keeps 'flirting'.... hehe ;)
Dave: Mr Ray (Nemo's teacher)
Tim-may!: Crush (that great sea turtle, dude!)
Fergus (yes, we even did Fergus) Nigel (the all knowing- ever ready to help pelican)
Kat: Dori (despite past parrallelisms made between the two- we found it rather misconnected many times.... hopefully...)
Peter: Marlin (..."and thats a big deal for me" haha)
Jolane: Blow (that classic blowfish, who can't quite control himself)
Brian Burns: Nemo's lil friend octopus ("aww, you made me ink!")
Patrick: Nemo's other lil friend ("ohhh- Im gonna touch the butt!")

What else did our schedule include? well we're glad you asked...

~ Church (great, umm, convicting times..)
~ (I got a troubling call from my sister to start of my morning... i know you like her boys- so hey, plz be praying for her..)
~ FOOD!!!! plz, you know that was a big part of our time :) an afternoon cookout (mmmm) on the deck-- and a nummy nummy dinner @ Chipotle! (staying there many much moments after they had closed--lol)
~ Watching a movie my 9274923 yr old host lady showed me when i was ill that i fell in like with-- go chick flicks-- "Sabrina"
~ TALKING WITH SHANNYN!!! Whoot-whoot! =) lol... yes, gt's all around. we'd like to tell ya more bout that convo... but ya know, we can't ;)
~ taking nice long evening strolls around the neighborhood discussing life philosophies n such
~ ...more texting
~ going to bed round that ripe ol' hour of 3 am
~ reading (and seriusouly laughing out loud) at updated blogs :)
~Driving around in my baby!!! and jammen 2 some lil ol' favorites; "everyting is F'ed up straight from the heart..." (go ahead, finish it for us Shannyn dawg) :)

<3 Kat n Sara
n' ps, its ok to be friends with americans josh, jus stop fighting it

Who wants to play footy??!? ;-)

2006-07-08T23:54:00.000-04:00

...with 2 "crazy" american señoritas homesick 4 Oz?

Here is what such chicas do during a sleepover; the schedule goes a lil something like this...:

~ Converse continually by phone prior to visitor arrival, during her travels (in a hott new car, might i add) ;)
~ Eat at a fish restaurant on a fancy boat in a harbour while pretending to be in a different particular harbour...
~ Go on a long evening stroll all the while discussing trip plans, dreams, and fears (mostly pertaining to trips to Oz- past or future...)
~ Call selected mates (even if just to listen to the accent of the operator...) lol- yes, tis true... (we = ThaT pathetic.... @ times...)
~ Make more phone calls- to the same people.
~ Dress up like princesses (perhaps random to you, but who doesn't wanna be 'beautiful'?) -actually, doing thus just to try on potential New Year's Eve garb.
haha--did you think i was serious??!???! .......well, i guess you'll see later... ;o)
~ Watch choosen 'fish' movie pertaining to a city ryhming with Gid-knee...
--while eating choice 'biscuits'/ cookies ;) -and ignoring altering scale numbers...

~ giggle selves 2 sleep... (yep, we're such gurlz) :)

----This update provided by your local sponsors, recognition going to "Arnotts"; "Disney and Pixar"; and of course, your favorite americans- Sara and Kat -2 presumptious you say? we'll take the challenge.... ;-)

ok~~ n' now it jus' so happens to be the designated time of "later"....

Life is a highway

2006-07-07T18:47:00.000-04:00

So yeah, things have been a bit crazy lately. Although it was a nice short holiday week, I still had plenty of work to do. Have you ever seen that show, "the Office"?? Suddenly I feel like that has become my life. Seriously. Today I had a guy stand in the doorway for like 20 seconds (which honestly can feel like an eternity) after a conversation was finished, like he was waiting for something else. Nope. Just staring into space. Then later on someone down the hall was imitating an Islamic terrorist. And I got winked at by some guy that I don't know who was standing at the copy machine. lol...such a strange world, the office. I salute you all who are currently working in an office. Good luck with that one. Seriously :)

Other than that, it has been an interesting week. God has been doing so much in my life right now. One thing I've realized this week is how incredibly difficult it can be to love people at times. You know when you've been let down by someone time and time again, and you really just want to give up on them? But in my Bible study lately, its been amazing to see the countless times that Jesus continues to love people, despite the fact that they are imperfect and broken. I mean, the people he loved so much literally ended up sending Him to his death! And not only was he perfect, but he loved them with a perfect love! Me, on the other hand...well there's been far more times that I've hurt people and let them down than I'd care to admit sometimes. So I guess to make a long story short, God totally humbled me this week to not give up on people, but to realize that since Christ is my fulfillment, I can love others despite their brokenness, and in spite of my own brokenness. Hmmm...I think I've got a looooooong way to go on that whole being perfect like Christ thing. Good thing God loves me in spite of how many times I fail Him!! And good thing too that we've got eternity and perfection to look forward to some day....

Well, on that note, I'm signing off for the evening. It's Friday night, and I'm going to go have fun...something about my dad trying to teach me how to drive stick shift (manual) on his car?! Hehehe....we'll see how this one goes... ;-)

A random thought....

2006-07-04T21:16:00.000-04:00

So I was thinking today that I need to learn some more Australian slang. It's so much fun to use here (I'm guessing its not quite as fun in Australia itself...). Anyway, I was talking to one of my friends today from Cedarville, and during some point in the conversation I said something about going back to Uni, and she didn't know what I was talking about at first (after I explained, however, that it was the shortened version of "university", she liked it so much that she decided to begin using it as well). It then occurred to me that I could say an entire sentence using Aussie terms, because they're so much fun to use (and its fun to confuse people from time to time like that)! You know, those great phrases like "dodgy" and "How's your father" and such (although, I will never forget the look on Fergus's face when he first heard me say that nor the 1 page definition that he sent David afterwards....hahaha). So, I'm leaving this one open to suggestions......Anyone?

;-)

I will not boast in anything...

2006-07-04T00:17:00.000-04:00

...except the fact that the Indians beat the Yankees tonight, and I was there to see it :) Woohoo!!

:-D

2006-07-03T17:53:00.000-04:00

Hooray for international calling......... :)

2006-07-01T22:38:00.000-04:00

So today was relatively uninteresting...lots of yard work and unpacking (yes, stuff is still laying all over my room from the trip and I have yet to do something with it....). But I think the funniest part was at dinner when we were all outside eating dinner, and the neighbor's cat comes charging through the yard, chasing something, and it darts under the deck where we were sitting. So we're eating and all of a sudden we hear this rustling noise and then these piercing little shrieks as the cat gets ahold of whatever it's chasing. And this doesn't just happen once of course. Then slowly, from under the deck emerges this little baby rabbit and this HUGE gray cat, and the poor rabbit is just limping across the yard as the cat stays menacingly about 2 feet behind it...just waiting for it to fall. Good thing at this moment my neighbor happened to be watching and ran out and grabbed the cat (who was none too happy about being wrenched away from his prey) and dragged it back inside and let the bunny go. Moral of the story: be careful when you eat outside....you never know what you'll see... :)

So after dinner I got to watch one of my favorite movies, Hitch :) I love that movie so much. Perhaps one of the most brilliant scenes ever is the dance scene where Hitch is trying to teach Albert do dance...so funny. And there are so many great lines to quote from it. I think one of my favorites is the one near the end...not sure exactly how it goes but it's where Hitch tells Sara that he's in love with her, and something about falling for someone and hoping desperately that you can fly. Hmm, guess he says it a lot better than me, but oh well. Such a cute scene anyway.

Mmm, I think I've rambled enough for one night :) Off to bed now.

2006-06-30T23:29:00.000-04:00

I apologize in advance for this post...it is kinda random, but I'm doing my best right now... :-/

So maybe its something about boats. I'm not sure, but I went sailing tonight on Lake Erie (which was absolutely FABULOUS) with my familia, my grandpa, and some friends of theirs. It was so peaceful and amazing just floating out there watching the sun set and not worrying about anything that I had to do. I had such an amazing time out there just being rocked gently by the waves and feeling quiet before God.

But, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end...

I'm sorry that this has to be so vague and unclear, but the rest of the night was just not so good. I can say this, though, that I would really appreciate prayers for my family. We're going through some tough times with my grandma, and I really need God's strength (like I don't always!). But seriously, prayers would mean the world to me right now...

¡Que Dios les bendiga! (Translation: May God bless you all!) :-)

2006-06-29T22:29:00.000-04:00

So today was amazing because Kat and I got to talk to Shannyn on the phone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAHH!!! It was amazing. But then of course, it made me sad to hang up.

New Years, anyone?!?!

2006-06-28T12:29:00.000-04:00

So this morning I woke up at 9:00, shut my alarm off, and accidentally fell back asleep until 12. I'm still allowed to blame it on jet-lag, right? Either that or staying up till 2:00am...maybe both? Oops :)

Anyway, in other exciting news, today I get to tackle the huge mound of papers on my desk and try to respond to all the stuff that I need to. Plus, I get to go to the Broadview Heights Police Department and get fingerprinted! Lol, i feel kinda like a criminal, but I promise that it's just for my internship. That should be interesting...never had to do that before. And the internship starts on Friday, which should be interesting as well. I'm working for this huge life insurance company with one of their executives on the sales division. Essentially, that's fancy language for the fact that I'm going to be following this guy around for like 5 weeks and trying to figure out what I'm doing. Hmmm...this should be fun :) Especially cuz my brain is still somewhere else...

Still missing Oz and all of you back there...

2006-06-27T17:08:00.000-04:00

I just got my tickets in the mail for Greece and Italy!!! Oh man, this is a lot in one day :)

2006-06-27T14:16:00.000-04:00

*Sigh* :)

I miss this...

2006-06-25T22:37:00.000-04:00

Back home.

Today we had a get together with my Dad's side of the family, which was fun. My cousin, who's 5, decided that today would be a great time to tickle me constantly and then to plop herself on top of me as I was laying on the couch and then tell her sister to get on top of me too. And then we had to hold that position right there for 10 minutes while everyone got their cameras...nevermind that I couldn't breathe and that my arm was falling asleep. It was quite hilarious, actually. Ah, how I love family. Really, I do. I honestly couldn't have asked for a better one.

Being home is really bittersweet, actually. And sometimes Australia seems like a dream. The whole week at camp was amazing, and then suddenly we were getting on a plane and separating from the team in L.A., and then suddenly I was back in Cleveland (with one of the worst jet-lags ever...lol). I miss the team and especially Australia so much right now, I can't really describe it...

2006-06-18T00:46:00.000-04:00

Heading off to camp today!!!

Hope you all have a great week!

2006-06-16T22:10:00.000-04:00

So yesterday was amazing! We spent the morning at the Vic market (and bought lots of good things of course). But I think my favorite part was the concert that we had in the evening. It was at a bilingual church, where everyone spoke Spanish! I got to have an entire conversation (in Spanish) with a couple from Argentina who didn't speak English very well, which was amazing! It was soooo cool, kinda like a small glimpse of heaven, when people from every nation and tongue will be there praising God, and we'll all be able to understand each other! It was definitely one of my favorite concerts on this trip.

Its times like that that make it harder for me to think about the fact that we're heading home soon. It's a very bittersweet thought for me...

2006-06-15T04:54:00.000-04:00

Oh man. I think this is starting to become a problem. I'm out of the blogging world for one day and I feel this strange sense of withdrawal...JUST KIDDING! (Well...sorta...)

Anyway, yesterday was amazing. We got to go to a wildlife park and pet Kangaroos and Koalas and stuff. We even got to feed the kangaroos...I'm sure those of you who know this team can only imagine what a ruckus we caused. (Something about pretending to ride kangaroos across the wilds of Australia?!...hmmm... ;-)

After the wildlife park, we had dinner at a local family's house (yes, they fed the whole team of 17 plus 2 other families with kids all at their house), and I got to have the coolest chat with Kaitlin. I don't mean to sound over spiritual or anything, but I've just been in awe of God's work here. Ever since I've been in Australia, He's been doing such amazing things in my life and in the lives of all the team members, and I was just FLOORED last night by Him. It kinda all hit me at once, they way He knows so much better than I ever could, and the way that He cares about me! Aaron sang the song "Who am I?" last night at the concert, and I couldn't help but marvel at the truth of lines like "Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth, would care to know my name? Would care to feel my hurt?" and lines like "Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star would choose to light the way for my ever wandering heart?" Just....wow....

And then today we had a team debreifing session, since we're not going to have a lot of time with the team as we head into camp week. Oh man....not only is it going to be ridiculously hard to say goodbye to Australia and all the people here, but the debreifing session makes me feel like it's going to be at least equally difficult to say goodbye to this team. There were no shortage of tears today.

Praise to God for everything that we've been able to be a part of over here. Please pray for the team, as some, including myself, are starting to (or have already) come down with colds. And thank you all so much for your prayers and support.

P.S....here's some photos so you can get the full picture (um, seriously, no pun intended)...and try really hard to refrain from any "dumb american" comments ;-)

2006-06-13T02:23:00.000-04:00

Funny how we've sung this song so many times on tour here in Australia, and yet the words still get to me...

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

~*~*~
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

So amazing. Who could ever have conceived this!?

2006-06-12T04:35:00.000-04:00

FIFA World Cup Party tonight!!! Go Aussie! :)

P.S. I love those commercials with the old guy (representing "history" saying that history is against Australia winning, when the one Socceroo turns around and kicks the ball into his face and knocks him off the stands....so funny. Props to their marketing people!)

2006-06-11T09:17:00.000-04:00

Well, no really deep thoughts tonight. I'm feeling wicked tired from the long day we had today. In the morning, we had a concert in Geelong at South Valley Baptist Church, and then the team split up into two groups and went to 2 different nursing homes to perform. My team only had to walk across the street, which was nice (but of course the Americans forgot which way to look for oncoming traffic and nearly got run over...oops) We headed to Grace Baptist church for an evening concert there (which was absolutely awesome....God definitely got ahold of all of us there), and then finally arrived at our new host church, Suburban Baptist. We have one week here before heading to camp! Eek! Not sure I'm ready for that, but oh well :-)

Miss you all at South Valley! More pictures to come later when I get this figured out :)

2006-06-10T08:28:00.000-04:00

Haha....yeah, oops....still figuring out how this works...here they are :)

Uh oh....trouble times 2 ;-)

Crazy americans...in a bathtub in Geelong wearing full scuba gear and wetsuits....I think it was a dare....or maybe just free entertainment for our hosts. :) (oh man! *insert high squeaky voice and arm movements*)

Sydney harbor....so beautiful....need I say more?!

Definitely more pictures to come as I figure out how to do this from my other camera :)

2006-06-10T07:47:00.000-04:00

So today was another day in the life of the Cedarvillians (a.k.a. "The Cedarville Singers"). We headed out to Suburban Baptist Church for a training day for the camp we're all going to be at next week. Eeek...can we say slightly out of my comfort zone? I was really nervous in the morning, but by the end of the day, I was starting to actually feel pretty excited about camp. Funny how when we feel totally inadequate to do something, God shows His strength all the more. Something about in my weakness, His strength is made perfect? Yep, pretty sure that's how it goes :)

And I had another really interesting discussion today about God's will. Such a frustrating thing to me right now. I feel as though I'm searching and searching for what His will is, and I got a gentle reminder (which felt more like a spiritual slap in the face that I needed) from someone about being all here. Someone once said "Wherever you are, be all there." I feel like that's exactly what I haven't been doing this past week. So many times I got lost in my own thoughts and such, wondering what God was trying to tell me and where he wants me to go, when it suddenly hit me today....I'm in Australia!! Ok, yeah, now I can almost see the curious looks I'm getting at that one, so let me explain. Those of you who've known me for a few years will know this already, but for those of you who don't, I think I have a slight obsession with Oz (a.k.a. Australia). It has been a dream of mine for sooo many years to come to this country, and God has molded that dream into a passion to do ministry here. And it suddenly hit me today, that that's exactly what I have been doing. Funny how I can get so caught up in little things that I forgot to stop and thank God for literally making one of the biggest dreams of my life come true! Funny too how as soon as I realized that and actually spent some time thanking Him for what He's given me, instead of worrying about tomorrow, I felt so much more at peace. Hmmm...this passage from Matthew 7:7-11 comes to mind:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" ....Kinda reminds me how I asked and sought and knocked for so many years for the chance to get here. And now He's finally brought me here, and it has been so much better than I could ever have imagined. Good thing He knows what He's doing.

Well, I think I'll leave tonight with a few pictures. A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. So I'll let them do some of the talking as well. Good times down here in the land of Oz :)

2006-06-09T00:03:00.000-04:00

So, I've caved and joined the world of blogging. Hope this turns out well and that I can make some somewhat intelligent posts. ;-)

Right now in Melbourne, the weather is freezing cold, and I'm sitting here with several layers on still shivering from it. Oh well. This is day 21 of our MIS trip to Australia, and so far, it has been absolutely amazing. There are so many thing that I've seen, so many people that I've met, and so much that God is teaching me. Today was one of those object lesson days. I feel like I've been crying out to God lately a lot about what His will is for my life. But Kaitlin and I had a good long chat today about it, and I think it helped me answer a lot of questions, or at least remind me about a lot of things. First of all, as a child of God, He is not going to hide His will from you. In fact, in Psalm 32:8, God says that "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you." How amazing, to think that the creator of the universe, the one who holds everything together is orchestrating my life! Such an amazing thought. Too bad I don't always have the patience to listen and follow. Hmmm...patience. That reminds me of something else. But I'll save that for another entry.

Peace out y'all ;-)