What's up? Nothing much...
This is another one of those posts that's going to start with "Sorry...I know I said I would update my blog...but I simply haven't had the time." Maybe I should have put a notice up like Lord Ling did - "This blog shall not die!! Just laying dormant for a while". He hasn't updated his either. Although he has a better record than I do.
In all honesty, I have been busy. With all the packing, all the moving, not to mention all the uni stuff and all my extra-curricular activities, time has just flown by. Add to that the fact that I am not really very good at writing about my day to day life because I'm an extremely private person. A friend of mine suggested that I write about my observations, and when I asked her to elaborate, she said something like how a car looked like an elephant or hippo, or something about a bald guy... Heh - I'm not really that kind of writer either.
Maybe for this particular post, I should take a leaf out of Lu's book. It seems appropriate to do a reflections post because it's that time of the year. I am 26 days late under the common calendar, and 11 days early under the Chinese calendar.
I believe that over the last year or so, my faith has grown. Faith does not grow in particularly big amounts. Or does it? I mean, it is not an entity that can be measured. So I, for one, cannot say that my faith has grown huge amounts, or has grown only a little bit. I can only say that it has, in fact, grown. I have learned, and am continuing to learn to entrust things to the Lord. I believe in the power of prayer. And I have seen him work some miracles for my family since we have moved to Sydney. Perhaps the best example has been in our search for a home to purchase. God's timing is everything. How we came upon that property was truly God's leading - it was a property being sold privately, and the owner had just put up the sign when we went there. We were actually looking for another property on the same street. Something prompted my dad to drive a bit further down the road, and voila, there it was. It was everything we prayed for, and in saying that I won't delve into the matter any more. Let's just say that had we purchased a property any earlier, we would not have been reaping the same benefits.
As for my other reflections, I think I will keep them to myself, and instead go on to another topic. 2008 kicked off with a bang. Literally. Sydney has beautiful fireworks over New Years and I was fortunate enough to watch it on television. Then I took a trip up to the Gold Coast with 2 of my best friends from New Zealand. It was a lot of fun, and we definitely had some memorable experiences. Things like Lu boiling water and forgetting to turn the stove off (which resulted in Tina and I smelling something burning and running to rescue the pot) to toilet paper rationing (from 3 squares each to one square - those being the ones stuck to the roll - each), from screaming our heads off in thrill rides to the girls running around in the rain with me to look for a sweater...these memories and more will always remain in my mind. It's funny how the three of us are so very different, and yet get along so well and are so very good friends. I believe that the ingredients of friendship are, among other things and in no particular order, that you have respect for each other, fierce loyalty to each other, acceptance of each other's differences, and love, support and care no matter what. Who said friends always have to see, talk to and hang out with each other to remain friends?! They just have to live in each other's hearts. I thank God for giving me such great friends, and for blessing me with many other really awesome friends.
Coming to Sydney has its ups and down. I came here because I wanted to be with my parents. If I was in New Zealand, I would be done with my studies, I would be working at a law firm, I would be stable, I would be comfortable and everything would have gone as I had planned. Moving to Sydney changes all that. I am not stable, and I am certainly not comfortable. I will have to do some more Australian papers prior to doing Profs and getting Admitted...and this process is taking longer as I have to wait for the Board. My plan for work and Masters has been put on hold. I am still looking for a church (ps: I miss my cell group terribly, especially during Wednesdays). I am still trying to settle down here. But despite all this, I believe that I made the right choice in being obedient to my parents. We believe that God has lead us here for a purpose and have faith that everything will be ok.
I have other experiences - definitely more amusing, but it's hard to put into words because it works better as a conversational tale. So here's a hint - don't be stingy, pick up the phone and call me. Especially you people on Vodafone in NZ.
In all honesty, I have been busy. With all the packing, all the moving, not to mention all the uni stuff and all my extra-curricular activities, time has just flown by. Add to that the fact that I am not really very good at writing about my day to day life because I'm an extremely private person. A friend of mine suggested that I write about my observations, and when I asked her to elaborate, she said something like how a car looked like an elephant or hippo, or something about a bald guy... Heh - I'm not really that kind of writer either.
Maybe for this particular post, I should take a leaf out of Lu's book. It seems appropriate to do a reflections post because it's that time of the year. I am 26 days late under the common calendar, and 11 days early under the Chinese calendar.
I believe that over the last year or so, my faith has grown. Faith does not grow in particularly big amounts. Or does it? I mean, it is not an entity that can be measured. So I, for one, cannot say that my faith has grown huge amounts, or has grown only a little bit. I can only say that it has, in fact, grown. I have learned, and am continuing to learn to entrust things to the Lord. I believe in the power of prayer. And I have seen him work some miracles for my family since we have moved to Sydney. Perhaps the best example has been in our search for a home to purchase. God's timing is everything. How we came upon that property was truly God's leading - it was a property being sold privately, and the owner had just put up the sign when we went there. We were actually looking for another property on the same street. Something prompted my dad to drive a bit further down the road, and voila, there it was. It was everything we prayed for, and in saying that I won't delve into the matter any more. Let's just say that had we purchased a property any earlier, we would not have been reaping the same benefits.
As for my other reflections, I think I will keep them to myself, and instead go on to another topic. 2008 kicked off with a bang. Literally. Sydney has beautiful fireworks over New Years and I was fortunate enough to watch it on television. Then I took a trip up to the Gold Coast with 2 of my best friends from New Zealand. It was a lot of fun, and we definitely had some memorable experiences. Things like Lu boiling water and forgetting to turn the stove off (which resulted in Tina and I smelling something burning and running to rescue the pot) to toilet paper rationing (from 3 squares each to one square - those being the ones stuck to the roll - each), from screaming our heads off in thrill rides to the girls running around in the rain with me to look for a sweater...these memories and more will always remain in my mind. It's funny how the three of us are so very different, and yet get along so well and are so very good friends. I believe that the ingredients of friendship are, among other things and in no particular order, that you have respect for each other, fierce loyalty to each other, acceptance of each other's differences, and love, support and care no matter what. Who said friends always have to see, talk to and hang out with each other to remain friends?! They just have to live in each other's hearts. I thank God for giving me such great friends, and for blessing me with many other really awesome friends.
Coming to Sydney has its ups and down. I came here because I wanted to be with my parents. If I was in New Zealand, I would be done with my studies, I would be working at a law firm, I would be stable, I would be comfortable and everything would have gone as I had planned. Moving to Sydney changes all that. I am not stable, and I am certainly not comfortable. I will have to do some more Australian papers prior to doing Profs and getting Admitted...and this process is taking longer as I have to wait for the Board. My plan for work and Masters has been put on hold. I am still looking for a church (ps: I miss my cell group terribly, especially during Wednesdays). I am still trying to settle down here. But despite all this, I believe that I made the right choice in being obedient to my parents. We believe that God has lead us here for a purpose and have faith that everything will be ok.
I have other experiences - definitely more amusing, but it's hard to put into words because it works better as a conversational tale. So here's a hint - don't be stingy, pick up the phone and call me. Especially you people on Vodafone in NZ.
posted by Gilainne @ 9:12 PM
1 comments
