nallan!

woohooo!!!! after a looong dry spell, i'm blogging again!!

my siblings and i (and a whole bunch of my brother's friends)

 took a trip wayyyy up north to a friend's cattle station over the easter break.

Going away with your siblings out country to a place you went years ago does funny things to your soul.
You remember who you are, underneath that it is your becoming.
It has a funny way of bringing you back to your roots.

assuming your childhood roles can either be a good, or less positive experience.

it was a good thing for me. 

it gave me a chance to be quiet again.
 to listen, watch, blog.

little pieces of my soul that might have been rearranged through change over the past 5 months

 slowly assembled themselves together from far places again. 

I was reminded that things haven't always been as they are.
And they won't always be as they are now.

"this too shall pass"

this happened by various things -

• belting out celine dion "that's the way it is" and remembering that's what song you listened to each saturday morning as you cleaned your dorm room in denmark. 
• thanking the Lord quietly alone as the sun set on Good Friday, and remembering how you spen tthe sun rise last Good Friday in the air enroute paris back home to denmark. 
• using a kettle on the stove, like you did in every accomodation place in italy. 
• blaring country music with your sister, remembering the various road trips throughout america and canada taking you took with her over the years.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  i've been reading "living waters" by Francis chan, and oh my :) 
  renewing of the mind and renewing of the heart are two separate things.
  

  they must go hand in hand.
  my mind has been doing some serious catching up with my heart.
  
  
  
  
  

 

being out in the open air, driving on the country roads certainly gets my heart going. 

i think if The Lord hadn't kept my helium balloon heart tied to perth through my dream home and dream job, I'd be seeking The Lord for the green light to book a ticket already to fly south for a few years.
somewhere like Copenhagen or London!! .. start afresh!! learn a new language?
ticket for one please!

 surely I can be too free spirited for my own good..

but it's still got me dreaming ... ;)

i'm never eating mince again. 

the last time i said that was in denmark when somebody made me sloppy joes.
and i felt sick for the next 2 days. 

i ate so much ground beef this weekend I swear I'm 3 kilos heavier. 

fun at the time. but never again. 

I'm surviving off water and carrot sticks for the rest of my life. 

(nicole held me to this when I reached for a muesli bar, 2 hours after I wrote this and told her that. so sometimes we say irrational things when we are full or hungry.)

 

 being away helped renew my perspective that all of life is ministry.
work, socialising, hobbies.

its all a way to experience The Lord and to bring him to people.

loving God, loving others. praying that others find God gloriously wonderful too. 

so many hours on the bikes - just the sun, sky and dust had me some time to reflect on some things..

nallan is the only place and time it's ok to wear double denim 

while riding horses, motorbikes and quad bikes. 

haha :)

and also.

every pleasure on this earth is an appetiser meant to point us to the great banquet in heaven.
so, if that's the case..
what does it really matter if we miss out on one delicacy this side of eternity?
 - we won't even remember what we missed out on when we get to heaven!

"I came that they may have life and life to the full."  (Jn 10.10)
"and my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches" (Phil 4.19)
so,
God has given us everything we need to live life to the full.
What we don't have now, we don't need now.
ahh, rest :))

and play!



























and embrace what you DO have! 


 

i also remembered that The Lord alone unveils revelation in perfect time.
We mustn't concern ourselves with matters too great for us.

as i tracked the changes since i spent esater at nallan in 2011,
i was renewed with awe over God's sovereignty in my life. 

some of the greatest things that have happened in a chance meetings, or placement of seating..
those serendipitous moments have produced the most life giving friendships, the chance to live overseas, the chance to live with the most amazing home,  and to work in the best job for me as a new grad.

I pray a revelation of gods sovereign power over our affairs and efforts, God is on the throne and nothing takes him by surprise. 

 i sense i'm in the training ground for something.
it can certainly be a battlefield at times, but i definately sense my faith, character, personality and giftings

are being refined.

luckily, though,

these past 5 months have taught me more than ever

that the Lord will always give us fellow sojourners to pilgrimage with!

 travelling does wonderful things to my soul.

always has, probabaly always will.

being in the air or on the road has a funny way of unlocking dreams and aspirtations.

it messes with time and space.

 you can stare  at the same landscape for hours without noticing,

because each new song channels fresh thoughts down new avenues to be explored. 

being under God's auspices,
He uses circumstances to ebb and flow us into change.

sometimes He entrusts us with a gift,

and then He will take it away.

the key isn't to shake your fist and say "well then why did you even offer it in the first place!"

instead, we must ask..

 "what are you trying to teach me in all of this? "

"the secret is Christ in me, not a different set of circumstances" - Elisabeth Elliot

acceptance is the first step toward freedom :) 

phew!

so that's all my thoughts and pictures down and out into the cyber world!

cal-assic! just like the golden days. 

it's been fun ya'll!
back to the woodwork tomorrow, down and dirty back at work.

so until the next holiday!

x