Tis been awhile!

Well, I haven't blogged for ages and thought it was about time that I did! So much has happened since the last time I blogged. Hamish has turned 1 for starters! Isn't that strange! I've had a little trip to my sisters place on the central coast & introduced Hamish to the beach, Chris & I have been involved in the Western Plains Christian Convention and Chris was also the comic MC at Youth Convention.We've endured dust storms and little to no rain which is sad for my folks & bro as their crops are starting to suffer because of it!

But in all things we rejoice...the fun, the sad, the scarey and the norm because everyday God seems to pick us up and carry u

s through all the we face whether we deserve it or not...amazing!

Life

Well, today is the day after...it's the day after somebodies life has been changed forever. It's the day after bad news brought great sadness. It's the day after a wife became a widow and children will grow up without a father.

Yesterday, one of my dear friends rang me to tell me her husbands brother-in-law had passed away after a workplace accident. He was a much loved husband and father to 3 children.

In a time of such great sadness, it's easy for one to wonder why, to get angry and to fear the faith that normally binds so tight. Yet, at the same time, that same faith brings peace, strength and hope. It's strange how you can be torn between so many emotions all at once.

In talking to family, one thing rang true...we were all reminded that life is unpredictable and short. Life is not something that can be taken for granted.

We can rejoice in this mans life but we mainly rejoice because he knew that Jesus was his saviour and that he is now with him in heaven where there is no pain and suffering.

The world continues even when one life does not...as a Christian, I am even more inspired now to have people realise that the faith that I have is real and the God that I live for is someone who cares and wants to know them and the Jesus who has saved me knows our every pain, tear and heartache because he experienced it and wants to take us in his arms and carry us through this life that has so many thorns.

Don't take life for granted, don't reject the notion that God is loving and don't say no to God without getting to know him first...our time here on earth could end at any minute.

Fried rice & all things nice

So, I just got off the phone from one of the local eating establishments here in Dubbo...it's of asian decent as was the person I spoke to.

I placed my order, they told me my order number. I asked "How much will that be"...answer = number 35 (my order number), I replied with "no, how much will it cost"...answer = 10 minute, I replied with "no, how many dollars, how much will it cost"...answer = oh $38.60.

I thought it was such an easy question...obviously this person arrived prior to the English speaking test!

Christmas lead up part 2...on a happier note

Well, it's only 1 week till Christmas (surprisingly!) and things are really rolling now! I'm excited, a little busy and even a tad unorganised...but excited none the least!

So what's exciting me about Christmas??? Well, it's not just the fact that I've been able to buy those that I love presents that I believe they will enjoy, and it's not just that I have a beautiful Christmas tree set up, or even that I have lights decorating my the outside of my house. It's not just the fact that I have had a chance to make a bunch of pretty Christmas cards or spend time with people I'm getting to know at various Christmas parties, and it's not just the carols that are playing everywhere. It's also not just the fact that this saturday night I get to sing Christmas carols with a couple of hundred people or so and see fireworks or the possibility of playing Mary in the nativity scene with Chris & Hamish on Tuesday night out the front of church...

So what is really exciting me about Christmas...the fact that I'm being reminded about the true gift of Christmas. I was thinking about this yesterday. People say that the true gift of Christmas, that is, the reason for the season, is Jesus being born and just leave it there but I came to realise yesterday that that is only part of the gift...if we could relate it to a tangable gift we might be given, it would be like receiving a torch without the batteries. Until we put batteries into the torch, it won't work and we'll be left in the dark. So, the Christmas story ending with just Jesus' birth also leaves us in the dark...we need to know that Jesus didn't stay a baby, but grew into a man...a perfect man...who not only taught us great things about who he was, that is, God's Son, but who died on the cross so that he could take the punishment that we deserved for all the times we reject God, rose again THREE DAYS later and then went up to heaven to sit where he deserves to sit...at God's right hand in heaven on a throne because he is the KING...he's my King!

So that's why I'm so excited about Christmas and it's lead up...I'm loving the thought that I can have a public celebration to show my thankfullness to God's great plan to save humanity!!!

Christmas Lead Up

I love Christmas...I love the excitement, the decorating, the food, the joy that seems to fill the air, and I'm even brave enough to say that I love the presents (both giving & receiving) and most of all, I love the promise of HOPE that it brings.
BUT, in saying all that, this year hasn't been such an easy lead up to Christmas for me. Complications that arose for me health wise after Hamish was born have meant that I'm yet to do any Christmas shopping, put up the tree & decorations (which, normally, I would've done yesterday) and frankly the whole situation has made me a little bit blue so I haven't been able to embrace the excitement yet.
Hopefully things are on the up now and I may be able to make it to the shops to do some shopping and planning events that make Christmas so much fun!!
Maybe I need to put on a Chrissy CD and make some decorations??

A bit of a depressing rant I know, sorry...hopefully in a week or two I'll be able to post an up-beat joyful note!!!

Shopping

So, there was a time when grocery shopping was merely a chore...not a job I necessarily enjoyed. Grocery shopping these days isn't a chore, it's a mammoth task! It requires careful planning...how to get both children around the supermarket and get everything I need whilst keeping said children happy!
So, today, I arranged to meet a friend at Woolies who has a little boy 6 months younger than Caleb. I was hoping to get one of these new trollies that they have with a Toddler Seat & Baby Seat...but, alas, they did not have it available for me. Thankfully, though, they did have a double toddler seat one. So both boys sat next to each other and Hamish had a trolley to himself.
The boys pulled a lot of adoring fans...especially when they gave each other hugs & kisses!!!

Church Weekend away

Well, our little family packed up once again this last weekend and headed off to Ridgecrest Christian Convention Centre at Burrendong Dam. We had a great time looking at the Cross of Christ...What God wanted it to mean and what it SHOULD mean to us!
We were reminded of the fact that God doesn't like us rejecting him (and that's what sin is), that this makes him angry. We were also reminded that we are unable to subdue God's wrath by anything that we do or say...only God can thwart God's wrath. This is why Jesus was sent to earth (and I say THANK YOU) so that people could be acceptable to God, and therefore accepted into heaven, not just because of Jesus' death and resurrection but through peoples faith in God and acceptance of this exact event. That's right, Jesus' death wasn't an Amnesty where sins aren't actually paid for but, rather, a substitution of the penalty. How amazing is it that God would take on ALL of EVERYONE's sin so that people could know him???!!!

So that's the amazing stuff I learnt about...

We also had some non-teaching time stuff over the weekend. There was a bushdance on the Saturday night with a dress-up theme of pre-1900's. Most people dressed up which was great seeing that we only had a week & a half's notice. I managed to create a dinasaur costume for Caleb...it was really cute except he didn't want to wear it! Hamish went as Baby Jesus (so easy!!!), Chris went as a golfer from the 1800's and I went as an alien...after all, who knows what Alien's wore before the 20th Century???!!!

If you want to look at some picks you can on my facebook page either here or here.

Although I came home pretty tired, I also came home happy...it's a great time when you can get together with a whole big bunch of people and get to know them better...good times!