Satisfaction

Today is the first day since the 23rd February when I have not had a commitment at uni, work or some appointment to attend to. It feels so good to be at home.

Though I'm probably going to be on the computer for most of the day, trying to make an impact on the mountains of work that have built up over the last couple of weeks, I'm really happy. I've already got one thing done, and now I'm getting on to the second (out of six things I want to get finished today...) I know it must seem like I'm procrastinating by writing to you all about this, but really I'm not.... I'm waiting for all of my printing to come through.

But yeah, to make a point to all this.... Be grateful for the time you are given. Make good use of it. There's definitely a time for everything, so try and make the most of it! Sometimes this does mean just chilling - taking time for yourself, watching some TV or listening to music. But not when it is at the expense of more important things, like the time you spend with God, or your commitments to work or study.

Way to go, Sydney!

This week The Resurgence - one of the ministries of Mark Driscoll and co. from Mars Hill Church in Seattle - published the stats on who uses their site, which focuses on equipping people for ministry in reaching their cities, in a culturally relevant AND Biblically faithful way. And guess what? Sydney-siders were the second biggest users of the site, topped only by Seattle - the home of Mars Hill Church. We came in ahead of London (double the population) and New York (five times the population)! Not that statistics are the most important thing, but this is really encouraging to me...

Around 10 months ago, Mark Driscoll came to Australia and gave a talk called "Burn Your Plastic Jesus". Amongst all the great stuff he said, there was one comment that really stuck with me. Mark was complimenting Sydney on its beautiful harbour and parklands, and he said something along the lines of "But you know, this is the problem. You guys know you have it so good, and you think, this is Heaven, this is all there is." (I think he phrased it much better than that but that was the general idea.) And that really struck a nerve, because it is so true! Sydney (and Australia in general for that matter - I'm a Melbourne girl by birth) is a really great place to live - as much as we complain about it, we do have great health care, education, food and so on, and a beautiful country to boot. And we think, it can't get any better than this. But it can, cause none of it means anything unless God is in the centre of the picture.

And though Mark was mostly talking about non-Christians, I think Christians can be equally guilty of this: "Oh, we have a great country, we have free of religion and the right to meet as a church free from persecution." But that's not what God calls us to, to just happily meet together and 'do church' and that's it. We are commissioned to go out and reach our cities and ultimately the world. And seeing the number of Sydney-siders (over 15,000!) visiting a site like The Resurgence last year gives me hope that as a Christian community, we are catching on to that vision, to reach our whole city and beyond.

You're the God of this city, you're the King of this people, you're
the Lord of this nation, you are - Chris
Tomlin

A Conversation of Value

Do you ever get that feeling that you’re special, just because someone took the time to be interested in you? I had that feeling recently.

One afternoon I accidentally got on an all stops train instead of my normal express. Concerned I was going to miss my bus connection, I decided to get off at the next station and change onto the express, which would come through a couple of minutes later. Waiting on the platform at the next station was a lady holding a purple flower. We made eye contact and smiled politely at each other, as you do at bus stops and train stations, then I wandered over to check the timetable, only to find both the express and all stops train reached my destination at exactly the same time. Go figure.

So the express arrived and I boarded and the lady with the flower got on behind me. We stood next to each other holding on to one of the poles. She began to twirl the flower around, and I started watching, which she noticed. And so she started talking to me.

I don’t usually have random conversations on trains; I usually get quite freaked out. But when this lady casually enquired if I had come from work or from uni, I found I was happy to tell her about my day and enquired about what she occupied herself with. We didn’t exchange any personal information – as you may be able to tell, I don’t even know her name. But I can tell you that talking to her really turned my day around. I was able to share with her my opinion on various health care issues, and to listen to her experiences and difficulties with the health care system. It made me feel valued, and I hope she felt that way too. And I hope I can pay the favour forward one day, in making someone else feel heard, even if it is by a complete stranger whose name you don’t even know.

A Proverbs 31 woman...

I've been following a devotional which looks at the woman described in verses 10-31 of Proverbs 31 and I wanted to summarise them here, to help me remember what I've learned.

1. The only image of womanhood that we want to be aiming for is the one presented in the Bible, not the one found in magazines or movies.
2. We are all, as Christian women, on the road to being like this woman. It's the Pantene Principle (It won't happen overnight, but it will happen). And we can't do it on our own - we need God and the Spirit to make us grow.
3. We are going to fail, but we have to keep pressing on. A godly woman is strong in charcter - she knows who she is - a child of God through Christ - and what she is living for.
4. Godly women make great wives! Seriously! What guy wouldn't want to marry a girl who is working toward being a woman who is trustworthy, faithful, encouraging and who serves and builds her husband up?
5. Women do a lot of work, whether they stay at home or not! They have a major role in ministering to the needs of their home.
6. A godly woman goes about her work with joy. Yes, even when she's vacuuming or scrubbing. Why? Becuase this is an expression of love for the others who share our life, and ultimately our love for God.
7. Watch what you say, especially to those closest to you!
8. Keep watch over your home, whether you live with family or flatmates. Look out for those in your home spiritually and emotionally, as well as looking after your home itself! (Yes, I did just write that... now my parents can officially come after me for the state of my room!)
9. Make time for the important stuff, like praying for your family and friends and serving their needs, but cutting out the not-so-important stuff, like hours on Facebook or chatting.
10. Nothing will change unless we depend of God's strength, that we can lay down our lives that we may gain them.

Always and Forever

It’s funny. Eternity is such a ridiculously long time that I think we almost try and avoid thinking about it. But a little while ago I was thinking about it. I was writing a birthday card.

I always used to sign birthday cards “with love today and always”. And then I stopped, because I started thinking, ‘It’s pretty ridiculous for me to be promising that I will love someone forever’, when I was only 15 years old. I mean, you’re not even friends with the same people from year to year, let along loving them that long.

But writing this card got me thinking about it. If my friend and I are going to see each other again in Heaven, then I can honestly say “I will love you forever”. And the best part is, the majority of those years are not going to be my human waxing and waning love, but the full and complete love found only in perfect relationship with God. It gives great confidence, that even if your paths lead you down totally separate roads, that friendships built on the foundation of the gospel will last the test of time, because it is a love that continues into eternity.

It’s a good day.

[I wrote this over a week ago now, but it's still true...]

As humans, we can be incredibly fickle. Or at least I can… I shouldn’t really speak on behalf of the entire human populace. But I’m fairly certain I’m not the only one.

I just had an amazing day. I was invited by my campus Christian group to go to another uni campus in my city to help out with their Orientation Week, as it is one of the biggest weeks for evangelism in uni ministry all year. And we saw God do amazing things! Almost one in four students we approached wanted to be followed up either to learn more about Christianity or to join a Bible study group. I even got a contact of a girl from my own uni, who was just checking out the festivities with her friends from the other uni. God was so good to us, and really used the team of students powerfully.

And then when I got home, I found my uni had made a paper work error and not given me my travel concession for the year – without which I cannot afford to travel to uni each day. All the jubilation I felt about what I had seen God do earlier went out the window, and was quickly replaced by irritation and discontent.

And that is what I wonder about? Why do I fall into unhappiness so easily? Is the God who made our outreach such a success also God over the admin at my uni? Can He not use this for good and for His renown? Not doubting God when things don’t turn out my way will be a challenge I think, but one that must be faced.