it was pretty good. for all the 'usual' slower bits in a wedding of a family member. nat was gorgeous, and steve scrubbed up pretty well too. plus the beautiful melinda and jo. it was lovely to see them 'finally' married - they've only been together just over a year, but everyone kept saying "finally" so it must have had significance somehow! i was so good, even when dancing with mel, but then when it came time to say bye to nat, debbie started me almost crying (there were tears) coz of how much she's going through. silly debbie making me stupid cry. but i was ok after that. then there was the long drive home from appin. so much sleep potential, but we made it back.
and poor tim is getting decked from every side about marriage. scott went up to him last night asking him how old he was, and then saying he wished he'd got married at 19. ay curumba. keen, but not that keen. poor bloke. sorry tim.
how good is sleep - that's in anticipation of the fact. too many early mornings. painful. not as early as others, so i'll stop my complaining.
tomorrow is my cousin's wedding. she's 19. it will be an interesting day. there may be issues that arise - past family stuff, which is already making tomorrow difficult for some. it's tough. weddings should be joyful, but with our family, it's always seeming that it will be tinged with sadness. i hope that people can look past that.
we went iceblocking tonight with combined youth groups. pretty fun. pretty cold and windy. but pretty fun!
and i drove howie to the airport today... i got lost two minutes after dropping him off, and took the scenic route home, via Redfern and factory-outlet-ville. then all the glue smell in my car from the new carpet got to my head, and made me very spacey, tired and headachy. it was a strange feeling. and not one you really want or appreciate when driving.
howie almost didn't get his plane coz of some ticketing mix up, jeepers! but i believe he made it to his Poatina plane.
now to sleep. bring it on!
i broke a nail tonight playing handball. everyone was expecting me to run around like a girl crying "i broke a nail, i broke a nail", but waaa, i broke a nail. i needed to cut them anyway. it was funny.
there are people in my life that i call friends that i know i would not like to face life without. those people will whom there are special bonds. each a slightly different bond, but as valuable nonetheless. while some friends shift in their relatedness or even in that line of friend/aquaintance, there are others who no matter what, you know will be there when it matters, even if they can't be there all the time when it doesn't matter so much. then there are, sadly, people that you think you could do without, or who wouldn be easier to do without - but you know that too are valuable and help to shape who you are. people matter. i think i like to know i matter to people, especially to my friends. and there are those 'special' friends who sometimes seem a step above the rest - not in terms of favourtism necessarily - but who care and go that extra mile when it matters. ones with whom you have that deeper level, even if it may seem somewhat superficial sometimes, but maybe it's when you get to those points of mattering where you see that there is that level, and you really value them being a part of your life. there are people in my life just like that. and i thank God for them. i truly do.
i think its one of the best inventions ever. very flexible, versatile and useful in sticky situations of all kinds. good job mobile phone people. good job
you know when you receive news or something happens and all you want to do is cry, and your tummy does somersaults. in that spot right about now. not a huge fan.
i very liked visiting scott & mime's place last night. lovely little place. one bedroom with ensuite, kitchen, lounge room, balcony. nice, small, cosy. not cluttered with stuff. i like simplicity. i know it's not just a matter of not having much, but an inward thing, but i like it. my house might not convey the idea of simplicity though - we have clutter - but thats coz we don't have storage space. one of my primary motivation at the moment for moving out, is that if i did, my room wouldn't have to be a storage space for my parents stuff anymore, well it might be but at least i wouldn't be in it! but yeh, it was like to the other day at foodcourt, kaia talking about how if you work like we do, you have to change your perception or reliance or active spending on material and other buyable type stuff, coz really, you have to see what's important and spend your money on that. And as an aside, Lord of the Rings is important and it's ok coz it's not my money, it's tims.
tick to the play with sam - dvd, attempted slurpees, double smoked ham (no lolly bananas tho); tick to the hang with tim; tick to the cathy bell hosuehold with 10 of us; tick to the sleep in (til 9:15am); tick to the quick hi to tim at his house before leaving to pick up lauter and go to luke elk's 21st; tick to the church; tick to the supper with deb (and tim and luke); and tick to the supper, first at maccas with the younger guys and then to luke's with matt, tim, luke and me. so all to plan mostly.
funny is with luke elk's 21st and luke's house that today i've mostly been spending time with boys. i tend to do that often. i tend to relate more to boys than girls, and feel more comfortable around boys. it's just always been. but i had soooo much fun today at luke elk's with the likes of dawsons 1 and 2, walkers 1 and 2, lauters 1 and 2, tim, joel, josh, nathan, stu etc. those boys are so funny. especially bj and joel. so that was good fun today. although it was a bit too cold and got drizzly for too much pool fun. but it didn't dampen our spirits.
it's funny how you get into something you don't understand or care much about, just coz of the people you're with and the atmosphere you're in. last night, we were all yelling at the television at many points of the game, and cheering our heads off when Elton kicked those two penalties. good fight despite an unfortunate loss. the medal ceremony was funny though, with that dude not putting the 2nd place medals on with much finesse. not compared to our little johnny who even shook every hand. but rugby continues to be a game of whom's rules elude me. i very much don't understand a lot of it, but the thing is, i don't really have a desire to.
this is the plan. play with sam today - likely a dvd, slurpees and lolly bananas will all be part of the equation. hang out with tim in arvo sometime. cathy bell's house for rugby grandfinal with about 15 others - which will be made with her giant almost cinema size television, that we all have to sit too close to, and so it's all blurry and headachy anyway (defeating the purpose of a humungous tv). so that will be made with the bunch of people that'll be there. tomorrow there's a lovely sleep in. maybe a quick 'hello how you doin' with tim before luke elk's 21st at 12pm. hope it's not raining too much. then church, where me and debs are on supper afterwards. then supper with some people, that i'm not quite sure who... and then back into the working week. i like being busy. it's much better than being bored. that's just painful
DONE AND DONE!! that's so very wonderful! hoorah for debbie, howie and judy, and colin. only one day! one day! to mail it all out... all 500 indiviual ones, and 28x15 bulk ones. that's a lot of paper... but it's packed full of fantastic stories. debbie and howie are funny together. make me laugh.
And then, i got to hold a screaming Phoebe for a while, after holding a calm eye-contact-y Phoebe. she remains so gorgeous and amazing, this whole little person. such potential!
tim's finished exams - yay. tomorrow has been declared 'Two Towers extended edition' day. that will be fun! hoorah for kaia and her eager shopperness.
had really good chats with zoe yesterday... bit interrupted coz we had to go pick up lib at woop woop, but it was good to catch up and hear where each others at. i really like snow. she's such a top girl.
and had lots of fun seeing sam and timD again. can't wait to play with sam. he picked me over tim and kirri on Saturday! woohoo! so now i have to think of something good to do, otherwise he might get all disappointed. i wish that other ex's that i know of had as good a relationship and me and sam do now. what a turn around. i reckon that one of the worst things in the world: breaking up with someone who's your partner and your bestfriend, and not being mates afterwards... and not just saying your mates, but meaning it. sam and me are very fortunate it worked out so very well for us. i wouldn't think that i'd like my life anywhere as much if sam wasn't a part of it.
i just wanted to note that i met jo kemp today - that was fun. what a lovely lass. good job howie :)
we had THREE visitors in the office today at the same time - wow!! there was chris (a Canberra colleague, and good friend of the Sydney North team), debbie (my lovely sister who'd bought me a cute shirt) and jo. that was fun.
and then i really enjoyed cafe this arvo. real good chats and laughs. very exciting stuff. really seeing and experiencing a lot of the purpose in us being there. yay God!
i'm not sure if i'm agreeing with the appropriateness of an (australian) "idol" night at bible study on wednesday night.... seems a little funny. ah well.
i know i had said never to blog in office again, but this is blog in the office worthy. howie and i were going about out business in the office, when suddenly Howie remembered that he was meant to begin jury duty either today or tomorrow... heart attack!!! it's a $2200 fine if you don't show up when not excused from it. so howie and i made a quick trip to his house to get the letter to see if it's today or tomorrow... and it was today!!! eeeeek!! so once back at the office, he rang them up just to see if he had been excused... and phew upon all phews... he had been. Whoah!!! lucky lucky man. coz we'd just been talking about how much money he heaps had.... and so that's why i'm blogging in the office. back to work!
as much as i'm sure it would be fantastic for the wallabies to win, i think they might not. but just quietly, coz i don't want to get beaten up...
last night neil began a three-part series on Ephesians 6:10-20. last night focussed on satan. it was really interesting. i guess i dont give too much thought to satan really. its not that i don't believe he is real, and has power, i just dont think much of him. it was really sad to hear some stats about how something like only 60% or something of born-again americans believe that satan is a personal being - that he is real. i just think thats nuts, coz if you read your bible, i would think you'd know that satan is real. tamara and i could believe that people wouldn't believe. anyway. it was an info-loaded sermon, going through some of satan's names, characteristics, origin, limitations and stuff. it was really good to hear that he is NOT all present, NOT all powerful and NOT all knowing. only our Lord God is those three things. Satan is only a creator being, and he has boundaries. so there was a lot of stuff to take in, and many questions i think to come out of it, so i think it'll be a really good series.
i thought that since i now 'know' tom, i can add him too blog links. and tom said it was ok too :) yay. now i have three friends!
we'd never done it in the red room before. it worked well enough with party hats and pool noodles. when lyndle popped her knees out, the game kinda died, but it was pretty fun.
didn't quite compare to the activities centre effort of 2002. i think we needed ben croucher and jake there. that was a very very painful night. i don't think i've ever had so many bruises from one event. there's nothing like being thrown clear out of a speeding trolley. yikes!
but GAP continued fine form on Friday which was good. and Benny D was back which is exciting. we miss him.
its so inspiring and encouraging hearing the things young Christians have to say. some of the stuff that comes out of their mouths is so profound. often its a real wake up call to hear it too. they'll come out with the most amazing things, and it's exciting to know that they really are seeking and desiring God. i love those moments. i love to see the growth in people i've known since they were little people, to see them grab hold of the Christian life for themselves, and no longer just attend sunday school or youth group or church, but actually be involved and committed and changed by it all, not because of the programs themselves, but because of their own individual commitment and desire for God and his way in their lives. and it is such a privelige to see them week by week, to see the ups and downs, and to encourage them, and be their friend. it's also such a responsiblity, daunting in fact. but God knows what he's doing, and he's put each of us in each other's lives for a purpose. and i think it's awesome having these people i love share in my life, and knowing that i am sharing in their lives.
it was such a hot day yesterday - the forecast of 36 degrees was well and truly on the mark! but yay for no sunburn!! that's exciting. what's also exciting is getting a bus load of people up from canberra to the trip! and whats also exciting is that young people accepted christ into their hearts last night!
we had quite a small small group with just 7 of us, but i think it went well. not necessarily the best - but it's hard to compare. i still think my favourite trip was Lost Cities in June 2002. that was awesome! but as long as young people keep getting saved, there's not much more you can ask for.
i had fun bus trips too. i like to laugh, even when i'm tired and dirty and smelly and sleepy.
and i just want to say too yay for our team!
i'm finding it a struggle at the moment, to know when to speak and when to hold my tongue. i feel that in more cases than not, i make the wrong decision, whether it's a conscious decision or not. sometimes i seem to get myself into situations where you can't seem to help but follow the conversation. one of my friends emailed me last night to apologise for how he'd been 'bitching' about his ex and her potential new flame, and the negative impacts that has on their entire group of friends, and how, coz she's good friend of mine, he'd pulled me into something that wasn't helpful for either of us. i was reading his apology and not really thinking it was necessary. but maybe it was necessary for him to say, for the benefit of himself. i think i just need to stop when beginning to talk with someone about someelse and really think about if it's a godly conversation, or if it's just gossip or going behind someone's back. maybe i should just say outloud, "wait..." before continuing or halting the direction of the conversation. sometimes though too, i reckon i don't even realise the unhelpfulness of the words i say. laughing things off isn't always benefifical for everyone. hmmmm....
and as an aside i finished my book last night - top read!
top book! im only about 150 pages in, but its awesome. i was excited too to see that tom and rohan are big fans. matthew reilly is a top writer (if you're into that sort of genre). i just want to keep reading it - one of those can't put it down type things - but i have other things to do
for all the good summer is (beach, icecream, sunshine, shorts) i dont quite enjoy the being indoors - especially when it's stinking hot indoors. although it's ok to be at the beach, or a person's house (with a pool) or in air conditioning. mmmm... air conditioning. that would be nice. but it's ok. today doesn't look like it'll be too much boilingness.
today is going to be fat. 12 hours of work. but it mixes it up a bit with office, cafe and briefing. i'm scared a bit coz i have to lead the briefing, and that's normally steve's job. but i think i'll know most, if not everyone, that come. still... eek.
it seems only appropriate that i make comment on my opinions of the matrix finale. i was bored. i was also very tired, so maybe that was a factor. and i was sitting next to someone who made me feel nervous/uncomfortable, and the Castle Hill cinema 3 smelled like Roseville cinema - so all those factors may have added to my viewing experience. but did get bored. i was a bit annoying to tim i think, coz i bugged him when i got bored. not that he wasn't bored as well. it was just really long, and repetitive, and i don't know. i guess not being a matrix fan to start with, it just didn't do much for me. but after, tim and i came home and watched the 2nd half of the rugby, and did the crossword - we're so very social. eh :)
last night we had progressive dinner at GAP. it was fun. we had a few new or newer faces along, and phil spoke real well on the tax collector and pharisee parable. he'd got kate's mum to come along, and for her and kate to stage an argument (which i fully was fooled by!!) about kate wanting her mum to go home, and why was she there etc etc. it was really effective. top job phil! the food was good too. and it was good getting to chat with guys i don't normally get to chat with as we walked between houses.
i got home at about midnight, and deb goes "i'm not tired want to watch a video?" and i said ok even though i almost fell asleep driving home. i think i lasted about 30mins into "Nothing to lose" - which was ok coz as long as i see the spider scene which cracks me up - before i was dead to the world. i woke up again after the video was finished and deb was in bed. so i picked up my doona and pillow, and climbed up the ladder half asleep into bed, that took effort. then after a lovely 8 hour sleep, i got up this morning, and for some reason - i don't think i was quite awake yet - i went into the bathroom and flushed the toilet and walked out again - without actually going to the toilet, or making any effort to. so then i started gigglig when i realised what i'd done, and deb laughed and told me i was an idiot. that was funny.
and today i go see the matrix tonight. not all that pumped. i'm more pumped because of the range of people i'm going well. not the hugest matrix fan, coz like lachie and tim, i don't heaps get it, and i don't heaps care. but it's for a good cause - fundraiser towards beach mission. so it's all good.
lots of dreams last night... only part i wanted to share (coz all rest fuzzy, and no one likes to hear much about other people's dreams) was that i met tom french in my dream. i think that was because of the whole foodcourt thing yesterday. i do think i've already met tom. i know i know who he is and what he looks like. but anyway, that was in my dream. howie introduced us. then we were in maccas. definitly influenced by yesterdays conversations.
then the ironic thing was that yesterday, when i had to do cafe shopping by myself (this time with a car, so no trolley hassles) i set off the alarm coz i forgot the last digit of my code - whoops! but it only went for about 2 seconds, coz i remembered it. so i had to message Howie to say what i'd done.
bible study last night was really good. it was on the 1 timothy widows passage. the girls really wanted to understand it. it's good having different versions of the bible there it mix it up a bit - not just NIV. next week, snow's got work party, so i'm leading a study on quiet times.
My day yesterday began with work at 9am - all as normal. Howie turned up at 9:30am-ish, early in preparation for his important and exciting Westfield meeting (in the boardroom!) at 10am. So he left at about 9:50 I guess. He did have time to comment on me looking posh :p
Anyway. He came back later in the morning, very excited about his Westfield experience. I was glad. He was glad to hear steve and ki both comment on my outfit as well. He then hit me on the head a few times with his new bob the builder spoon - ow.
Then we had to go shopping a little while later - me to do banking, and him to get a key cut by Pete the Pom. We decided to also do some café shopping - at Woolies, of course, because we didn't want to argue about whose fly buys card to use at Coles. Better that we both lose apparently. So we went to woolies, and decided to buy lots of cans of drink coz they were on special. So we got a trolley. Howie said he would push it around Woolies, but I had to push it to the café. Shame it was one of those dodgy wheeled trolleys, you know the ones that have their own mind. Anyway, I broke one of the drink boxes as I put it into the trolley - that was funny, in an embarrassing way. So we laughed. Then we bought the stuff (howie's money), and pushed the trolley back to the café - not an easy journey, no thanks to a particular gentleman, who thinks trying to push the trolley backwards while on the walking escalator is funny. Ha ha I say. And having that kind of 'help' all the way back to the café. Joy.
Once at the café, I guarded the trolley while howie opened up. But he mixed up his security code, and so off the alarm went. He'd never set it off before. It's a very loud alarm. Oh boy. So I blocked my ears and laughed, supportively!, as he tried repeatedly to enter his code. He was almost right, apparently mixing up the last two numbers. It took him about two minutes to figure it out. Now that was funny! I don't think he could hear very well for a while after that. We both needed a drink, so got a sunkist out of the fridge before 'returning' the dodgy trolley, and heading back to the office.
After some more work, we had café, which was a lot of fun, not necessarily because of Howie, but not not because of him. Nah, you're good value Howie.
And that's my story. I guess you had to be there.
we rarely have a sunday lunch, except when people come over. and last sunday we got a sunday lunch coz people can over. amongst others, my godsisters Sarah and Hannah came over. I got to play with them for 3 hours. that was very exciting coz i don't get to see them very much. sarah's almost 4, and Hannah is one. sarah is such a little nerdburger. she's very smart, but she's also very creative (making up little games to play) and very cutesy too. we played with blowing bubbles, walked around in the rain with umbrellas, pretended we were cats, played 'flower to flower', looked at her photos from indonesia, and played with hannah. oh so cute. so i enjoyed my sunday very much because of that. plus lunch was really nice too!
as i was lying in bed last night debriefing the day, i don't know how, but i got thinking about my "battle scars" over the years, and my left hand side has been decked! my kidney, my burn, my broken toe, my knee x2, my stuffed shoulder (oh so stuffed!), my ear, my elbow: the left side of my body has bore the brunt of injury. it's a bit rough. i should be more kind to it. but it is strange!
youth group was quality last night. yay for two quality weeks in a row! yay for new term and new focus. had awesome fun playing round the world for almost an HOUR(!) at the end with lauter, joel, ben, rich, tim bell, tamara and kirstyn. those boys are so very funny. so tiring though! lauter is my arch nemisis. i think i won :) ultimate round the world is the bomb - except i couldn't stop laughing, and it's way tiring.
charades and pictionary were also hilarious... it's funny when old games get played how enjoyable they still are! it was a cack some of the things we got. unbelievable. i haven't laughed so hard for a long time. those sort of experiences are so valuable in building community within the group. it relaxes you, and you feel free. and you can see that in the guys as well. and thats exciting!
during the talk (which i was doing on the parable of the widow and the judge) i learnt an important lesson - make sure you're phone is on silent during youth group. my phone rang from the other end of the room (and it's a huge room) and that was annoying to myself. in the end it was luke, who i was probably talking about at the time in the talk, as i was sharing about how prayer brought him to Jesus. i really enjoyed learning as i prepared for this talk. persistent and passionate prayer is something i often struggle with. the whole "too busy not to pray" thing. it's gonna take a lot for me not to be a hypocrite in all the things i said last night, and encouraged the guys to be striving for. humbles you a bit. but our God is good. and he's always there!