My last week as a single woman...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

So it's my last week as a single woman...

I've had good times and bad time but am looking forward with great excitement to the journey ahead of me!

Goodbye old, hello to the new chapter in my life.

LOVE, battlefield or other?

Monday, October 5, 2009

I found this little article online and thought it was an interesting take on things.
Let me know what you think...

Is love a battlefield?

How hard to you have to fight for love?

If you listen to pop radio, you have to fight really, really hard for it. Right now, there’s a hit single describing love as a battlefield (not to be confused with Pat Benetar’s “Love is a Battlefield,” which was a huge hit way back when in the Eighties).

I’m always hearing songs sung by well-lit young women describing their pain in love, and these songs usually become giant hits. And it’s no wonder. They can be pretty catchy.The problem is, a lot of other women listen to them and come to the conclusion that love equals pain. If we’re not feeling sad, if we’re not feeling the drama, then we can’t be in love. Furthermore, a lot of us who are in bad relationships tell ourselves, “Hey, this is the way it’s supposed to be. Love is work.” This causes some women to put up with a lot of substandard behavior from the men they spend time with.

Love is not a battlefield. It’s supposed to be joyful, exciting, uplifting, full of mutual attraction, affection, consideration, and fun. (Does this mean you’ll never have a doubt or a disagreement? No, of course not, but if you’re crying more than you’re laughing, something is seriously wrong.)

Love is supposed to be you making a special someone’s happiness your priority. That person should be making your happiness his priority (that’s where the work comes in; sometimes somebody has to make a sacrifice, and and it shouldn’t always be the same somebody).

Accept nothing less than a man who doesn’t expect you to settle for crumbs.

I really liked this article. I thought yeah for sure in marriage there's going to be tough times, and times when you don't like the other person at all & find it impossible to "love" them. But with the right attitude, good support from great friends and a whole lot of prayer, I think it really is possible to love someone for a lifetime. Remembering you're on the same side as your spouse and not at war with them; rather warring together against the god of this age. I can't wait to begin our journey...

Spent, Sore and Swindled

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I'm tired.


As in, completely and utterly exhausted.

I don't even have kids to use as an excuse either.

A combination of long days at work doing thankless jobs for grumpy customers, wedding planning (which I'm so over: 'let's just elope' has been my key phrase these past couple of months), too many late nights due to not being enough hours in the day to get everything I want done. And this is all the while knowing I've cut back my commitments so I hardly have any "church" stuff to do anymore.

But, on the up-side after I've enjoyed a good moan, I'm going on holiday in 2weeks.


I can't wait!


To start a new chapter in my life complete with fresh vision and dreams, to rest, to draw closer to God and my new husband, and to capture anew the meaning of why we're here on this earth.

Wonderful Wednesday...

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

My dress is finished!! WAHOO! That means I don't have to get married in overalls.
Or jeans. Or chuck taylors heh

Thanks to mum and Debra Sampson for all their hard effort these past couple of months

Sorry no pics of it - it's a surprise. You'll just have to be there on the day.
(which is only 3 and a half weeks away YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY)

Did I happen to mention that I'm a
teeny bit excited?

Re-inventing the date night...

Thursday, March 26, 2009

So last Sunday afternoon we made dinner together for Mum and Dad. I know, who has rhubarb flan for dinner right? But anyway, I was surprised at how well it turned out! Not because we can't cook or anything, just because it was a new recipe and the rhubarb wasn't quite up to its usual standard.

Most studies of love & marriage show that the decline of romantic love over time is inevitable. The butterflies of early romance quickly flutter away and are replaced by familiar, predictable feelings of long-term attachment. But several experiments show that regular injections of novelty and excitement - simply doing new things together as a couple - may help bring the butterflies back, recreating the chemical surges of early courtship (which, by the way, are also the brain chemicals involved in drug addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder). So on that riveting note, I thought about re-inventing the date night to come up with some different ideas. Here are some of our ideas so far...

Eeling, floundering, goat shooting, fishing, golf, random road trip, attending a rugby or soccer match, picnic dinner at the beach, progressive dinner with other couples, reading a landscaping book together (have actually done this one surprise, surprise haha), a trip to the observatory, games of tennis & badminton and my personal favourite (I found this one online) - find it & fix it. Buying a cheap piece of used furniture from a garage sale and fixing it up together: painting/sanding/decorating/etc.

All this got me thinking about God and our first love. When we first 'met' God, all the crazy emotions we felt and things we did for Him simply because we were 'in love' with Him. And maybe now, the feelings have worn off somewhat and we don't spend as much time with Him as we should. Or maybe the relationship has become stale and familiar. (Just cracked myself up when the line 'and may you' came into my head. I think I've seen too many Rob Bell dvds haha)

So what things can we do to inject some novelty back into our romance to make it come alive again? And how do we press in even when the feelings aren't there anymore?

Because that's what God longs for. To romance us and for us to do things for Him & spend time with Him simply because we love Him - no other reason.

Speak God, you're servant is listening

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Jessie Garrick and I went for a swim at Whale Bay yesterday. Yup that's right, in the rain. Was beautiful. No people, no noise, just us and the rain and a couple of brave seagulls. It was so peaceful. And on Sunday afternoon I finally got to spend some quality time with Jase. It hadn't happened in about 3 weeks due to a number of things and seeing one of my love languages is time, I tend to get a bit tetchy and disillusioned if I don't spend proper time with people close to me on a regular basis.

So then it got me thinking, when was the last time I took some time out to be with God... With no people around, no noise, no 'to do' list to think about, no problems to talk about; just being with my best friend. One on one with no distractions.

Even though I'm super busy at the moment, I took time out of my day to be with Jess because I wanted to. Not because I felt obligated to or thought that I should, but because I knew how much we'd both enjoy it.

And that's how it should be with us and God. Not a 'quiet time' because we should, because we think our 'church rep' will suffer if don't or maybe our pastors might ask us how we're doing. No, quality time spent with our Lord because we want to. I challenge you (just like I'm challenging me right about now) to go somewhere just you and Jesus and see what He has to say to you. You just might be pleasantly surprised!

Things I'm loving...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Having a new project
- For a 50's themed 21st birthday -
So I get an excuse to go op-shopping, or to make something for this funky theme. The funny part is, a lot of the dresses I 'googled' look pretty modern to me! Amazing how fashion comes and goes.

Coffee with friends

People who come in to work to see me and we go out to coffee together, well it just makes my day. Thanks to Heather and Arna :) love you girls!

Free Dinners
Tomorrow night I get to go to a free dinner. So it's a 'sleep' seminar and they'll probably try and talk you into buying stuff, but hay, a free dinner is a free dinner! Pretty stoked about that. Here's to a great night with friends...

Simple Weddings
I went to Becky & Jeremy's wedding last Saturday and was blown away by how such a simple wedding could be so peaceful, relaxing and yet totally effective and charming. I had such a great time and loved everything about it!

The Theatre

Starting next Friday is 'Faulty Towers' being held put on at the Otamatea Theatre. I just love this show and own all the episodes so can't wait to go see it in real life!

Faith

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

I had an MRI scan last week. Having been having health problems since last June and the doctors still can't figure out what's wrong with me after countless tests, they decided to take photos of my brain instead. Sort of exciting (almost like caving except you can't move at all), but sort of scary in a way because I didn't know what to expect. I had some fun with the nurse who proceeded to put one of those IV thingys in my arm but popped the vein instead. She then moved onto the second vein which was equally as painful, attached the IV thing to a long tube and put two syringes at the end of it. Then they counted down and squirted the contrast dye at high speed into my vein causing copious amounts of blood to leak out of the IV. Gross! Lucky for me, I couldn't see any of this; could only feel my blood dripping everywhere (I hope there's no squeamish people in Renewal Youth reading this). My arm still hurts!
Which brings me to a word that I still haven't quite grasped the full meaning of.

FAITH

Did you ever wonder if you weren't healed from something or it took a long time, that meant you didn't have enough faith? Or if it was because you didn't pray enough? Or had sin in your life that hadn't been dealt with? If God has the power to heal then why doesn't He? I have been wrestling with these thoughts for awhile now and wondering how on earth people who are diagnosed with cancer and don't ever get healed, cope. How do they stay happy? How do they explain to non-believers why their loving Heavenly Father hasn't made them whole? I was talking with a good friend about this subject recently. She's been through a lot herself so I knew I'd find some wisdom in what she had to say. Sometimes I believe God cares more about our character then about our comfort and well-being. So I've come to think of it a little something like this:

Faith is implicit trust in a sovereign God who knows exactly what He is doing and is in total control. Faith doesn't just fall from the sky conveniently whenever you need it. It involves the heart, as well as the choices you make. Here's a question that really challenged me... Will you still serve God while you're sick? Will you still pursue what He has called you to do? Or will you believe the lie that there must be something wrong with you for this to have happened and therefore God must be punishing you.

A guy who definitely knows what it's like to trust God has this blogsite that I quite often visit. You can check it out here.

On Valentine's Day...

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Seeing it's coming up to Valentine's Day real soon and I haven't put up a post in awhile, I thought now was a great chance...

I was talking yesterday to a certain someone about all the reasons why I'm not a fan of it and why apart from giving one of my female friends a card every year, I have never celebrated it. Call me a cynic or whatever you like, but for me personally, the thought of having to give somebody a gift on a specific day just because everybody else is doing it, doesn't really appeal. I like spontaneity and gifts that are given just because. I was once given flowers a few years back, to apologise for something. It just put me off. I think I was more upset at them for giving me flowers to make up for it then I was over whatever they had done! Maybe I'm just weird, but hay, everybody's entitled to their opinion.

Business's love Valentine's Day because not only is it a huge marketing success, it gives them a chance to have a sale and promote their goods. In this aspect I like it, because working for a business myself, I will be exploiting it for all its worth! But for the people who fall for the advertising ploys every year, I have no sympathy at all. Prices go up (especially for things such as red roses), it's hard to get dinner reservations, and then you get some people (not all I might add) who see it as an excuse to be slack all year. This isn't a sexist comment, it's just something that I've noticed throughout my working years by colleagues.

It got me thinking though, what if we were to treat God the same way some people treat their partners on Valentine's Day? How would it make Him feel? It wouldn't be much of a relationship would it? Just paying Him attention and showering Him with gifts on one day of the year. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered, maybe it IS how some of us view God and church. We come in on a Sunday once or maybe twice a week, give Him our half hour or so of lip service, think we've somehow paid our dues and then carry on the rest of the week hardly thinking about Him. Not all of us are like this obviously, but how many times do we fall into that trap?


The ultimate advertising guru, the devil spins us this lie that as long as we keep up appearances and just give God a little bit of our time when everyone else is doing it, that we're ok. Never mind, that without constant work, a relationship will fall to pieces. Without spontaneity and showing appreciation for each other on a regular basis, the partnership will soon become dry & boring. Without consistent communication that is extensive and thorough, hurts & grudges can accumulate, leaving it wide open for satan to come in and mess things up. Maybe I'm looking too far into things, but I was in a deep-thinking mood and this is what came out of it :)


So this year I won't be celebrating Valentine's Day, but I will be trying to make more time to spend with my Saviour and all the other important people in my life. Not for the sake of a day, but because they mean a lot to me and I don't want the relationships in my life to go stale and dry

Patrick and the great Sleepover

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Arna & I had a sleepover for our POD on Monday night. Well, I've had sleepovers before, but not really being the girly type, had never really enjoyed them that much. But I've decided that since all I ever seem to think about now is paying the bills, cleaning my house, mortgage stuff, trying to get better at being a manager at work (all boring adult stuff), etc, that I would let myself go and act like a hyperactive teenage girl for once. Man was it fun!

Our mascot - 'Patrick'

We started off playing some games (which I made up on the spot while we were waiting for people to turn up). I wish now that I had a video camera as photos just don't do them justice! Balloons, shaving cream, razors, newspaper, toilet paper, toilet rolls; well I'm sure you get the message.

Then we had dessert which consisted of chocolate chips, chocolate wafers, chocolate sauce, peppermint chocolate, marshmallows and some bananas chucked in so I could attempt to call it healthy (Yeah right).

So the girls now being hyped up on copious amounts of sugar, we sat down to watch a great movie.

I'm not sure what they were thinking, but 3 of the girls decided to sneak off and give each other "makeovers". The end result sure wasn't too pretty! Maybe they thought they were going to a rugby game or something. I'm not quite sure, but it took ages for them to wipe it off anyway.


By this stage it's about 11:30 and as girls do, we managed to talk for 4 hours straight before we all finally fell asleep exhausted at 3:30am then got up at 8:30 for a bacon and egg breakfast. Mmmm so good!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Some people quote the Sound of Music as being their ultimate movie, others are into Pollyanna, and still others frequent the channels of Discovery & read Geographic Magazines as their favourite past-times... So I thought, that it was time I let the geek in me come out and share my love of Jane Austen films with the world of Renewal Youth. A few of us girls have started this movie club of sorts where we pick out a different movie each week to watch while the men go off and do their thing; although secretly we know they are dying to watch it with us.


So far on our list we've seen:
- Pride and Prejudice (Old school BBC version)
- P & P (Modern version with Keira Knightly)
- Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood version)
- Emma (Modern version with Gwyneth Paltrow)

Still to come we've got planned:
- Emma (old version)
- Clueless (based on modern day Emma)
- Sense and Sensibility (BBC version)
- S & S (Modern version with Hugh Grant)

Jane lived a really bizarre life...

She was born in Steventon, Hampshire, where her father was a reverend at the local parish and was the second daughter and seventh child in a family of eight. The Austens did not lose a single one of their children, which was very unusual in those days. Cassandra Leigh, Jane's mother, sent them all to a wet nurse in a nearby village a few months after birth to be looked after for another year or longer.

Her mother was a hypochondriac (or had a 'health phobia'): basically a person who tends to exaggerate their symptoms no matter how insignificant or excessively worries that they have a serious illness . Many people suffering from this disorder focus on a particular symptom as the catalyst of their worrying, such as gastro-intestinal problems, palpitations, or muscle fatigue, rapid heart beat, sweating, muscle tension, stomach discomfort, and numbness or tingling in certain parts of the body (hands, forehead, etc.). This explains why in Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennett is always complaining about her 'poor nerves' and her 'palpitations & flutterings'. Jane obviously based this particular character on her own mother.

She published her works anonymously and only really became famous after she was dead.

She first started to write for family amusement as a child and was very shy about her writing; she wrote on small pieces of paper that she slipped under the desk plotter if anyone came into the room.

The theme that prevails in most of her works is that the young heroines must marry in order to secure social standing and economic security; yet Austen herself never married and was considered by society to be an old maid at the young age of 25!

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." (from Pride and Prejudice, 1813)

As she grew into adulthood, she still lived with her parents (I told you she live a bizarre life) carrying out those activities normal for women of her age and social standing: she practiced the pianoforte, assisted her sister and mother with supervising servants, and attended female relatives during childbirth and older relatives on their deathbeds. Austen was particularly proud of her accomplishments as a seamstress. She also attended church regularly, socialized frequently with friends and neighbours, and read novels - often of her own composition - aloud with her family in the evenings. Socializing with the neighbours often meant dancing, either impromptu in someone's home after supper or at the balls held regularly at the assembly rooms in the town hall. Her brother Henry later said that "Jane was fond of dancing, and excelled in it".

Virginia Woolf called Austen "the most perfect artist among women."and still others considered her to be right up there with Shakespeare, among "the fine painters of life".

Now although I am not too keen on the idea that you have to get married in order to be accepted properly into society and to have a stable income, (that's just how it was back then I guess) I just love how most of her stories have such good morals. If just one person in the whole family was to go out and sleep with someone outside of marriage, then it would bring shame to the whole entire family! They would be disgraced unless a marriage was quickly arranged. They led such simple lives and everything was uncomplicated. Yes, we have definitely moved on from then, I mean, what female wants to wear a dress every single day of their lives? But morally oh how far this world has fallen! Makes you think...

A different Spirit...

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

You know, this past year for our family has been one of the hardest years in the whole of all of our Christian walks. We've been through so many changes and hard times, it's just been nuts! But anyway, at family night last night, we were talking about the whole depression thing and how it's sweeping, not just over our family, but over the whole church. Pretty much everyone I know has been battling with the spirit of oppression, heaviness or something similar. And that's just what it is. A spirit. We have so much, yet we still get down. And not just a little bit like happens to most people, but it becomes really dark and heavy. It's a sure sign that we're living in the last days. God is teaching his church to be strong now so that we can have the strength to fight in the hard times that are to come. He is calling us to be warriors; to fight the good fight of faith and learn how to war against the principalities and powers that rule the earth. We must put on the garment of praise for heaviness. The oil of joy for mourning. Learn how to rebuke the evil one off our lives and the people we love. So we had this upbeat song playing in the background while we were all sitting there feeling a bit gloomy. Anyway, I made dad get up and dance for me (now you can understand why I'm a little bit mad - it's in my genes). The following is a little taste of the Garton dance routine...






Hope it makes your day! Sure made mine...

Gift wrapped and all

Friday, September 5, 2008

A couple of weeks ago, I did this job for a customer. It involved scanning some old Christmas cards, cropping, resizing, printing and laminating them. A simple enough job, but one that takes quite a lot of time. I had a deadline of 4 pm that day, but as there was a huge volume of customers, I didn't get it finished on time. This was on a Thursday afternoon and she wanted it for the weekend but decided to come back the following week. So I eventually finish the job and Tuesday rolls around. In she comes and lo and behold, she comes bearing a gift! Beautifully wrapped and everything. Now I work in an industry where people can be very demanding, ungrateful and impatient when things don't go to plan. They expect you to pay for the fact that they are unorganised! But anyway, this lady comes in with a present. I was so shocked I didn't know what to say. She was so grateful that I had done her job. Didn't care that it wasn't done on time or that it wasn't perfect, she was just so happy that she could now stick her photos onto felt for whatever weird and wonderful creation she was making. I was so blessed. I didn't care that the only use I have for her present is to put it in the bathroom and use it as an air freshner/toilet spray - I don't think I would ever have the guts to wear it as a perfume as it was a bit of an odd smell! But the simple fact that she took the time out to think about me was enough to make my day. See blessing others doesn't have to be expensive, it doesn't even have to involve something they would actually have a use for (although it helps), it's more about the thought. So I dare you, take some time out of your busy day to think about someone and bless them. And sometimes, a smile and some cheap perfume is all it takes.............

The Jon Dylan Guide to Life & Living

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I wrote this post two days ago and I thought it was pretty cool. Until I went to publish it and the internet (which had been playing up all day) decided it would go offline and it was only then that I realised the auto-save function hadn't been working. So I lost most of it and had to pretty much start from scratch and write it again. Then I got home and found it had saved most of it, just hadn't showed up yet! All that, after I'd already re-written it. I've always said God is into irony (no, not ironing) and now I know it for sure! The post was all about trying to find humour in a bad situation. So if anyone can see the funny side of that then I'd love to hear it! Anyway so this is my attempt at re-writing the post. Here goes...

I found this meaning of the word humour: An alternative (or surprising) shift in perception or answer is given that still shows relevance and can explain a situation; When a sudden relief occurs from a tense situation.
They say that humour is a great way to live longer, be healthier, and helps to get you through life's struggles and trials. They, whoever they are, would be right I believe. I have found throughout the years that whenever I'm going through a rough time, if I try and see the humour in a situation rather than point out all the negatives, the valley becomes less intense. It is still hard, but somehow easier to bear.


The trick is, as well as seeing the funny side of things, is remembering to look back. To look at the past that God has brought you out of; to look at the dry times that God has brought you through; to look at the good times that God has provided for you. If you look back and see where you've trekked already, it becomes easier to look forward because you don't have to worry about the future. You know God's going to come through because He's already proved it. It becomes so much easier to trust Him that He will work the situation out for good. The hard part is letting go of what YOU think is best. When things don't go quite the way you planned them to, it's so easy just to curl up in a ball and think woe is me. But God wants you to stand firm. Stand on His word that never lies, and on His truths that never fail.

The world could fall to pieces and still there God is, unchanging.

Wow.

Powerful stuff if only we could remember it in the midst of our struggles!


So back to the part with the humour in it...
Sometimes it helps to laugh at yourself. About a week ago, I had a really bad day: Woke up at least 3 times in the night, had heaps of stressful customers at work, machines jamming all day long, jobs not coming out right the first time, people asking me stuff I didn't know how to answer, and I was still pretty sick so not feeling the greatest. I got home, lay on the couch and wanted to cry and scream at God in anger and frustration. But knowing full well that wouldn't get me anywhere, I turned on my stereo, cranked up my favourite song & began to jump up and down. After a little while (seeing there was no one around) I started to sing at the top of my lungs. And seeing there was no one around - the one good thing about not having any flatmates - the jumping turned into spinning and crazy dancing (Kate, you know what I mean) and I started to smile. Just a small one, but it was enough to be infectious and then the laughing started. Suddenly, things didn't look so bad. In fact, they were starting to look pretty darn good. It reminded me of the times when I was a kid and my dad used to tell me a dumb joke whenever I got grumpy. I would roll my eyes at him, but eventually a smile would appear and all would be right in the world again. Trust dads to know the right things to do.

Yup that's all I've got.
Till next time...

The one with the random sense of humour...

Monday, August 18, 2008

STEPHEN TURNS 20!

Time passes, life rushes by, but special people remain in the heart always...

Being a poor family growing up, and living out in the whops as it were, my brothers and I made our own fun, choosing to spend most of our time outdoors. I have so many good memories of making huts in the bush, building tree houses, bike-riding up and across slippery hillsides made of clay to see who could get the furtherest without falling off, skids in the gravel, bunny-hops over potholes, soccer matches with the dog, reading Asterix and Tintin comics, seeing who could build the best things out of lego, playing marbles, racing cars down sheets of iron laid out on a hill, rough and tumbles, jumping off the roof or out of trees onto the trampoline, playing computer games such as One Must Fall, Street Fighter, Bomber Man, Worms, Micro Machines, Relentless, etc. Ya know, just your typical, standard, run of the mill stuff.

Good times!

So, my "little" brother, who at 6 feet has become the tallest one in the family, is about to leave the teenage years behind him forever! From the moment he was born, it's been my mission in life to stand up for him, attempt to protect him from bullies, look after him and try not to get annoyed when he always got me into trouble when we were younger. Blood is definitely thicker than water as the saying goes! But I realised today, that instead of me looking after him, it's mostly the other way round now. He seems to be able to coax stuff out of me that nobody else knows, frequently checks up on me, saves me from bullies (tehe we won't say who) and stands up for me when people insult me.

Brothers.

I thank God for them. They have taught me to appreciate life in all sorts of different, exciting and often dangerous ways. No wonder I love adventure so much! They have showed me how a real man ought to treat females. Sure they're annoying, get under your skin and no matter how hard you try, you cannot understand the way they think, but if it wasn't for my brothers, I'm sure my childhood would have been a whole lot different!

So welcome to the 20up world Stevo. And thanks for being you. I wouldn't change one thing. Well maybe just one or two... Just kidding! Happy Birthday

Another perspective...

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

After reading Arna's amazing post on recent events, I got to thinking about some things (which doesn't happen often - as it has been scientifically proven that not only can guys think about nothing, so too can girls - check it out at http://www.you/)...

Attitude: A position of the body or manner of carrying; The way in which one is placed or arranged; A state of mind, opinion, a feeling or disposition or a person’s mental set, A frame of mind affecting one's thoughts or behavior; A general cast of mind with regard to something

I'm alive. Yup. That's right, alive.


- I might not feel completely whole.

- I might have next to no energy, in fact, so shattered that I wonder if I will ever get enough sleep to recover even after two and a half days off work pretty much in bed the whole time.

- I might still struggle with my throat giving me hassles.

- My head might feel like it's going to explode somewhere if this constant headache keeps up.

- My bladder might not be working properly (things you really didn't wanna know).

- I might be incredibly nauseous all the time that I feel I could pass out at any moment.


But you know what? I'm alive. And a lot better off then some!

WOW!

I woke up this morning.
I don't have terminal cancer.
My heavenly Father loves me no matter what.
And my salvation is in Him. Such good news.

Yet, we (or is it just me who does this) seem to only dwell on the negatives, on the here and now, on our feelings that will quickly pass or change, on the things wrong with us rather then the things right. Maybe if we stopped looking at ourselves and started to look at the bigger picture; changed our perspective even for a moment then we would start to be so much more thankful for our lives and the things God has done for us.

So thanks Arna, for reminding me of the bigger picture; of the way things really are and not just the way I see them through my fallen sin eyes.

Another perspective...

The one with the guitars...

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The mid-winter praise celebration is drawing near and as we were practising last night, I happened to notice that there were four guitars on stage (5 if you include the bass) and I thought to myself that must be some sort of record. And as much as I love guitars and was in my "happy place" listening to them all, I thought about Perplexual's latest post (check it out at http://perplexual.blogspot.com/2008/07/complexity-kills.html) and wondered what the church would do if for the next Praise Celebration we had an acoustic set with one guitar, one singer, congos and nothing else. I think everyone would be shocked at first, but would soon appreciate the change. And it would give the musos a break! As much as I love to listen to great bands play and love every Friday where it's loud and pumping, I think sometimes we can put too much emphasis on the sound rather then the soul.

Oh for the simplicity

To get back to the heart of worship. To realise that worship is not about the best band playing the phattest licks with amazing harmonies, but it's about touching the very heart of God. I think that some of my favourite worship times have come during Essence (7am Thursday mornings-be there!) where the worship isn't flash, but wow it is annointed! God turns up because of his faithful ones reaching out to Him, and for no other reason. Let's get ready for God to turn up during our "quiet" times, for Him to pour out His presence on us as we reach out to Him and for God to change us from the inside out!

Stephen Garton is my hero...

Saturday, June 21, 2008

I decided I felt a bit weird making a blog site about Jesse Kelly being my hero, so felt it was time to let the world know about the genius in our family. I have no idea where he inherited his incredible sense of humour from (it's so different to any of ours) but it definitely needs to be advertised I think. Below is just a few of the reasons why I love my brother...