Sunshine in the Winter

Well once again it’s been a long while since my last post. So much has happened since my last post, I  completed my first semester of Hillsong college, I was blessed to be a part of Hillsong conference 2014 – which can I just say was mind-blowing! Mmm what else, I celebrated my one year anniversary with Tim and I cooked my first lasagna away on my own. So let’s be real..it’s been a productive time.

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to visit my family in Brisbane, Queensland. I flew in on Friday 18 July and before I knew it I was already back in freezing Sydney

.

My trip to Brisbane was spectacular, was such a blessing to see my family that I haven’t seen in over 10 years and was absolutely spoiled by them. I loved the city of Brisbane, most of all I loved the sunshine. We went to the Gold coast for the day and well I found myself more than at home with my feet in the sand, salty breeze in my hair and sunshine beaming in my face -  heaven!

Can you believe in the dead of winter, there I was soaking up the warm sun! Who knew just an hour and 15 minute flight away was a place that reminded me of home.

Finding the sunshine in winter made me think a little bit about life.

Finding sunshine in winter was like …being welcomed home by my lovely Guatemalan friends, Ale and Christian who are such a blessing – and gave me a ride home.

It’s like… coming home to your roommate and housemates you haven’ t seen in weeks  and catching up over lost time

It’s like the realization that you have Monday off and can sleep in – and yes I slept in till 12pm ;)

It’s the feeling of peace and ease that I don’t have to struggle with money this month because my uncle and aunt blessed me with some extra money.

It’s like the feeling of being so refreshed after a weekend away and being ready for the next semester!

So it’s basically like CHRISTMAS in July, which it is indeed! Despite the cold, there is love and sunny happiness!

Much love

A little thing called GRATITUDE

So I’ve been living in Sydney doing Hillsong life now for almost 5 months and one thing that keeps flashing it’s face at me is a little thing called GRATITUDE.

//God

Now more than ever I have been in total awe and gratification to God for getting me to where I am today, living my dream and being able to learn and make way for greater things. In the beginning I found it SO easy to complain about the little things;

…I don’t have a car so now I have to walk

…I don’t have a job so have to be extremely cautious of my money and only buy essentials

…I have little to no free time and a very full college schedule etc…

BUT then  I had some realizations…

…I don’t have a car, so now I walk, which means I get an hour of fitness every day, also means I am healthy and capable of getting to places on my own, even get to experience the adventures of public transport. Thank you Jesus!

…I don’t have a job, YET, giving God so many opportunities to open my eyes to receiving blessing, see the love and generosity in people to bless me and also teaching me how to handle finances. Thank you Jesus!

…so I am tired most of the time, but why did I use to see this as a bad thing? Being tired means I’ve had a full productive day. I’ve been placed in the most active serving areas which requires my utter most attention and reliability. This may not be soon as ‘cool’ to a college life student but I now see it as the biggest challenge for me to grow- Bring it ;) Thank you Jesus!

Joel A’bel once said how do we live in gratification? Simple- Learn the most you can out of life because God is more interested in who you are BECOMING than what you simply can achieve right now.

//Parents

Only when you move away from home do you realize how freaking amazing parents are. Honestly would have never been able to come to college without their support. So thankful to God for giving me parents who have NEVER questioned what I want to do with my life, ALWAYS support me (and my expensive dreams) and always make me feel like everything is going to be okay.

//Family

Been so thankful for family and their love and generosity to me here in Sydney. Family I have not seen in years have just showered me with phone calls and support as well as family friends here in Sydney that have blessed me beyond words with meals, furniture, airtime, rent money etc.

//friends

God has been so good to have blessed me with such a lovely house of girls here, making my house a home. Making good memories and more than that meeting some new friends in the different serving or learning areas of college has been inspiring and just such a blessing. Secondly being here made me realize how crazily grateful I am for amazing friends back home that are so supportive and just so great with maintaining deep friendships with mail, skypes, messages, texts etc. Man I miss them, I am seriously surrounded with people of gold!

//Church and support

To all the support I got from church back home, I am so thankful for every prayer and word of encouragement. To the wonderful couple who sponsored my air tickets, without them this trip would have been impossible and their investment in my growth and potential was just so encouraging to this day!

//Timothy

Moving overseas choosing to leave your loved one behind is never ever an easy thing, every other day I still get those moments that I wish I could hop on a plane to just see his face but I know for now God has called me to be here. But I thank God for Tim every day, he has been the most loving, committed and caring man. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be blessed with such a kind hearted guy who is not only such a beautiful creature (haha) but so talented and in love with Jesus. I chose a man who allowed me pursue a deeper love for Jesus, a man who always gives me the freedom to follow my dreams. So I guess at the end of the day I am just so ridiculously thankful to have Tim in my life because his life shines JESUS more than any human in my life.

Life is too short to not be thankful for the little details. xxx

The Modern day Deborah

Judges 4:7-9

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ And I will call out Sisera, commander of Jabin’s army, along with his chariots and warriors, to the Kishon River. There I will give you victory over him.”

⁸ Barak told her, “I will go, but only if you go with me.”

⁹ “Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.

What type of woman do you want to be?
The normal or the exception...

Deborah was the exception to the Rule, she was a brave leader, a warrior of her time!

She inspires us to act with authority, live without fear and listen to God for his wisdom!

This is no lady for the feint hearted, she was bold and ready for action! People admired her and came to her palm tree for council.

What would it look like to be a woman without fear, what would the world look like if woman stood in the gap and took up the seat of courage? How much more beautiful can a woman be, who is powerful yet with such grace and poise!

The story of Deborah is a tale about a woman who was aligned with God and served His will with fierce determination. She stood her ground as a leader! If woman could be this strong, how strong would her man have to be? In order to lead her, he would have to be twice as brave and strong in order to be worthy of submission by such a woman.

Living courageously, with no fear!

Happy weekend xxx

The Leap… challenging your heart and lifestyle. #youngandfree

So I think the thought of the future is half and half for me... half scary half ‘ I- can’t- wait -excitement’. Today I received my certificate for enrolment to Hillsong College 2014. A lifelong dream I have wanted to do since grade 8. It’s almost weird now, being older that these ‘dreams’ can actually come true.

On the other hand it’s a scary thought, leaving al you know behind you, leaving PE, my home town for the past 23 years. I come across people always wanting to run from this place, patting me on the back for ‘finally getting out’. But I don’t see it like that; I love my city, the simplicity of it, the chilled life, small town, friendly faces. I KNOW it all too well. Yes, I am a creature of comfort and I dislike change… so 2014… will be one of the biggest changes my eyes will ever see.

Yet I can’t wait to see what Hillsong has in store for me. I can’t wait to journey with a bunch of new people from all over the world that shares my passion for worship and ministry. I can’t wait to finally be free to write music and play my instruments in an environment of musicians, I can’t wait to see how God is going to change me and mould me after the year.

To tell the truth I am too comfortable here, life’s a peach. Friends, family, a job, live by the beach, got a good man by my side, working with youth and worship and I am alive and healthy. What more could you want? Well everyone needs a challenge, what better way of challenging yourself when you at your most comfortable happy place in life!

One thing is for sure. I am a blessed. One of the biggest changes I had to go through this year was, well … I met the man of my dreams. No but really, haha I asked God for a very specific guy, VERY SPECIFIC. And the funny man upstairs decides to give me everything and more that I asked for! WHAT A DAD! It’s crazy looking back now, I am dating my Hillsong Boy and I haven’t even gone to Hillsong yet! The thought of long distance is a frightening one, BUT I also know that God is good and he knows best.

My mom asked me the other day ‘Kel are you happy to have a boyfriend?”

My answer “haha mom I’m not happy to have a boyfriend, I was perfectly fine before this, BUT I am happy I am with Tim”

It’s about the person and not his title ;)

.....................yip it's about to get lame and cheesey

He will probably never read this so I am a free bird writing what I want ;) But if I can sum up anything it would be that God brought us together because of our mutual desire and passion for worship and life! Something simple grew from small beginnings into a deep friendship that blossomed into something that makes me smile every day.

Timothy Heine, the man that challenges me to be even stronger than I was before, he inspires me to get closer to God and love God more than I could ever love him or anything for that matter. He taught me to see a whole new world of compassion and love for people. He taught me to be generous and give people my time and patience. He proved that getting angry is a waste of our precious time and he also showed me that honouring God with EVERTHING is the bottom line.

I am quite excited to see where God takes us in the future and pray he takes us to new heights in our ministries both separately and together.

So that’s it from me for now… thoughts for the day,

Peace xxx

 

 

Simple joy

So I've been thinking lately, we waste so much of our time striving for big explosions of happiness or the event that would bring ultimate contentment. What about the little things? What about everything else that we let slip by whilst waiting for something big to happen. What if all the little things make up for  the time wasted waiting for 'that thing' you have been waiting for. It's the simple joys that happen in dull moments which can bring us happiness if we let it.

Like turning around a bend and the traffic light turns green to go...
Like a friends saying they miss you on a wall post...
Like your mom buying you a packet of sweets when you get home...
Like finding a quality youtube video that keeps you laughing for hours..
Like a hug from a friend
Like a smile from a car guard or till cashier
Like a prayers from a stranger...
Being invited to social events without asking
A gentelmen opening the door
Receiving a reply straight after you sent a message
Getting home and supper is made
A friend letting his food go cold in order to wait for our food to arrive

It's the little things that can effect the big things.

Much love

What are we looking for?

Mattew 7:7 
 “Ask, and what you are asking for will be given to you. Look, and what you are looking for you will find. Knock, and the door you are knocking on will be opened to you. (NLV)

Sometimes what we WANT is different from what we NEED. Sometimes we may ask for things and have to wait for the right time to receive it. A purpose driven life is waiting and hoping with a steadfast heart for the things we have dreamed of, actively waiting and seeking for greater things, getting up and living life.

We should ask ourselves, are we ready for the things we are asking for in life? Maybe we have already received it but it just looks diferent from what we expected.


Expect the unexpected.Never give up hope. Keep asking.

Till next time xxx

The authenticity of love

Hello 2013.

It's been a while, but here's a thought.

This year I wish to challenge myself into what it really means to understand, not the soppy kind of romantic love that we always just think of when we see hearts or look ahead to that day we call VALENTINES ;)

No. I mean, our love in the true authentic meaning of it. Loving ourselves, loving life, loving God, having love for people, our friends, partners, family, the poor, loving our hobbies or our pets, I guess what I mean is underatnduing the in's and out's of our hearts and what is meant by "Being in love with LOVE". It needs to be more than a word or a song lyric or a feeling or passing emotion, it needs to be a state of being, a movement, a lifestyle.

I've recently decided to do some theologial reserch on the term LOVE. I think to some people the word is overused and perhaps even lossed it's meaning. To others, maybe its misundertood or even used against each other. To many it is a complex thing term that they don't know what to do with. But to those who get to feel it, experience it, a zeal for love in life it becomes quite simple...

1 Corinthians 13:3-13

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

peace x

A fresh perspective on Faith and Actively waiting

You ever in a situation where things are just not working out and it sucks? And then someone say’s “just wait on God’s timing”…and you seem to wait and wait and wait and you get over the cliché words. Things are out of your control and you end up losing the thing you wanted to keep so dear to you.

So the context.

You know something so well, it’s a habit, could be your job or a person you like or a dream that you’ve always held onto or perhaps a stagnant friendship. But as you grow up and you change, seasons change, it seems like those ‘things’ you were hanging onto seem to be slipping away.

In that time it is tough to be in that situation, it feels like things are being ripped from you and you will never get it back again. But some small quiet voice in the back of your mind is saying “Don’t worry, BE STILL, WAIT”.

So you say to yourself, I’ll never find a better job, or I’m never going to find someone better than him or could I have done something different? Am I passing up these opportunities?

An awesome quote I heard the other day was this “FAITH has to post signs on it… SLOW DOWN and WAIT HERE”

I have no doubt in my mind now how true that saying is…waiting is for a reason and the BEST is yet to come. A while back I thought I couldn’t possibly find better than what I had at that time. But rip them away…and change a few things up in life. Suddenly everything has changed and I think to myself. What was I thinking before? That was only a glimpse of what I could have in life, a glimpse of what I could do with life.

Since that time, I have developed a serious love of self- time and just dwelling on life and future dreams. Keep dreaming big, they always say. And that is what I will do. Sometimes the good is taken away from you to prepare you for something even greater.

I can feel the dawning of an exciting new chapter, when it will begin? I don’t exactly know but the butterflies I get from just knowing that it will be better than the last makes me smile and gives me hope. Until then I will wait, actively not passively. Waiting is never forever, it is temporary.

Much love xxx

Quality over Quantity

I pose the question?

Wouldn't you rather have 10 good friends than 30 or 40 average friendships that seem more like aqaintances than anything else.

Getting older, I realized seasons change, people change and so do our friendships, I love fellowship and I love my friends but I firmly believe now more than ever that a "friend" is not classified as a friend if you ...

1. Only see them at one of your other friends birthday parties and say hello or goodbye.

2. Never get asked how you are or never receive any sort of trace via text message, house visit, heck even facebook or twitter ..a trace of friendship that is.

3. They only come to your events when thee is free food or all their close friends are coming.

4. If you wouldn't hang out one on one with them (and now obviously im not talking about say if one of your girlfrieds has a boyfriend and you think you and the guy should hang out in order to be friends, NO, usually its rather creepy to be hanging out with your friends boyfriend alone, unless you are his sister or cousin, I'm sure the girlfriend would agree.)

5. I guess the biggest test would be if you and a friend can still keep in touch if circumstances change and one or both now live in different cities or countries.

Friendships are maintenance, but a good maintenance, they need effort, from both sides. They are not single roads, they are two way streets!

Funny random story for the day: so a guy at uni today, who I have known for at least 4 years and even have on facebook and actually had coffee with a group of people many a time. Well he walked up to me and said "hi are you Amber?" so I looked at him and laughed saying back, "Are you kidding?"

So the man says "No really are you not Amber (insert confused and serious look on his face)?",

So I said in a polite manner "No I am not and well ive know you very years, so you should know what my name is."

The man walked along saying "So worry, well then what is your name, Lauren perhaps ey?" the end.

You see ladies and gents...THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF PURE CONFUSION, and no I wouldn't considor us friends. haha.

Till next time xxx

A thought on CHANGE "We live and we learn"

So im busy reading an amazing book at the moment by Martin Smith. Wow a man of much wisdom.

He talks alot about CHANGE.

"Not in his goals but in his transitions man is great." - Ralph  W. Emerson

Smith reckons that CHANGE is the nature of contemorary life and that it is these 'transitional phases' that man goes through that proves his identity and charachter. good word.

We often meet people who say "yes i love change" or on the contrary we get others that say "I hate change, I love routine and order".

Truth be told, change is inevitable. Seasons come and go, and as people we CHANGE, and things change, are friendship groups change, our circumstances, phases of life, new jobs, moving to a new church or city or country even. one day we single next day we might find ourselves planning a wedding or beginning a family. One day we might be a student next thing we are in the working world.

But whatver happens, Smith puts emphisis on the TRANSITION. Tht its not so much the end goal that we should rely on or strive to accomplish but the journey through our transitional phases and chow those transitions mould us into the people we are becoming.

Towards the end of the chapter called "Keep the Faith" Smith says "transitions begin with an ending...Sometimes these endings are messy, sometimes smooth, sometimes terrifying. Often we have to takethose first steps in the predawn darkness"

He closes with this "When the wold is changing , we simply have to fix our eyes on something that never changes."

My new life motto has become this. "you live and you learn".. whether it'slearning from our family, friends, a tragedy, a mistake, an accomplishment, your pastor or a role model... we live and we learn. We never stop learning, we go though change, and the change moulds us and are charachters. We learn from our mistake or learn what works for us and what makes us happy or gives us joy.

peace xxx

the stepping stones

So been a while since I've blogged.

Past two weeks have been madness, but you learn and you live. So this is what has been some of my learning curbs...

1. the body loves sleep and rest, dont deprive it. It will show you who is BOSS and give up on you. Yes after a week of disturbed sleep and pulling all-nighters due to honours I came out after this weekedn, sick, tired and sincerly OVER everything haha! Lesson learned.

2. the next time I think im dreaming of the rain I WILL WAKE UP. So my drama for the week came at 230am on Tuesday morning... I thought I was dreaming of being in water and hearing the rain, but in reality, my room was flooding. Yes, indeed the geyser had burst and my room was no filling up with water. 5 days later, here I am, currently living on the floor in my study with 'stuff'. Room is bare and waiting for new paint, new carpets, new curtains, new bed, furniture. well that was eventful.

3. When life gets overwelming. STOP.

Theres a difference between being busy and being overwelmed. this past week, I dont think ive ever felt so stressed. Ever felt that everyone wants a piece of you, but they all have so many of their own issues that you feel like you cant share yours? well yes. ta da ;)

Its all about the mind at the end of the day. So when life hands you lemons and you have no evergy to whip up some lemonade, all I could do was sit back and stop. Just stop. stop. pause and reflect.

4. When your world is spinning. Pray :) the message lasnight at our church really hit home.

Life is all bout what we make of it, we choose to see things, to say things, to think things and to DO things. We need to constantly renew our mindsets to not be drowned out by the mess and drama of the world. Why are we always striving? what if the things we are contstantly striving for just never came. we need to find peace and contentment.

5. Remind yourself that lifes a journey not a race and you must always have the bigger picture in mind.

Keep it real xxx

It’s the difference that counts.

Living in a world where we always running to find the new adventure, meeting new people, working hard to reach your goals, running in circles, living life, having your ups and downs, fun and sadness in between. Ever wanted to just stop?

So after just doing more and more…it would be always wise to step back and take a break. It is not so much doing everything but how we do the things we do.

Do we do the things we do because we feel obligated or because we couldn’t think of life without them? What if everything we had to do disappeared, our schedules, work, study, play, duties.

My pastor said last Sunday that “it is not what makes us happy but where you find it that makes us happy.”

“Happiness is a relative thing based on what we have and don’t have” It’s short lived and runs out. So what then? Why is the world so hell bent on having a pursuit of happiness?

The truth is that we need to recognise what it is that we need. And this is what it is…JOY.

Joy is not limited to anything; it’s being content with your life, in the good times and the bad.

Joy is not just limited to laughter or happiness, it’s worth more than a fun weekend or road trip. It is our desire to live our dreams, it is our passion to try new things, and it is our will to live healthily. It is the delight we take in doing things that make us smile, or the people who make our hearts happy

So it’s the difference that counts, the difference between happiness and Joy. Where do people find their Joy?

The fact is that Happiness is often found in the external, the outside, the world that keeps on striving for more. But what if we just stopped and found a place of peace and rest RIGHT where we are at right now.

The revelation that there is no need to strive is amazing once we realize that the Joy we are looking for does not comes from us mere beings, but from the One that gave us breath, the One that gave us the will to pursue happiness, the One that planted the desire in our hearts to want things and do things.

Happiness comes from the world. But JOY comes from a relationship with God.

Simplicity at its best ;)

Much love xxx

*verse for the week:

Nehemiah 8:10 (NLT)

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Thought for Tuesday .Dream it.

Habakkuk 2:2-3

New Life Version (NLV)

² Then the Lord answered me and said, “Write down the special dream on stone so that one may read it in a hurry. ³ For it is not yet time for it to come true. The time is coming in a hurry, and it will come true. If you think it is slow in coming, wait for it. For it will happen for sure, and it will not wait.

Out with the old, in with the new? easier said than done, what?

So it dawned on me for the past few weeks that maybe im just that kinda girl that doesnt like change. Although life doesnt wait for us, the only way to live is to embrace change. And that means letting go of the old to allow space for the new.

I've recently come to the conclusion that maybe its not that I need closure from unresolved matters, or I dont need something huge to happen to enter a new season. Sometimes I think people are a little afraid of letting go of the past because the past is all they know, those memories, those old habits, it's easy right? you know the routine of how life works because thats what you know. Even if its terrible and the routine sucks, why do we stay there, we linger.

 Is it maybe becasue we still hope that maybe that certain area or issue will resolve itself? or maybe you hope that maybe change can just happen by itself without doing anything?

No ...

No change. why settle for just holding on, if maybe just maybe letting it go could be the best thing you could ever do. Maybe the daunting thought of something new, is JUST the thing youve always dreamed of. But that something new needs space, space in our heads, speace in our hearts.

Do it, start today. Let go and try something new. I will try ;)

Let go and Let God

This past month it has really just been a pressing issue to just LET GO.

We always just want to hold on, but sometimes what we hold onto is what is holding us back from greater freedom.

Sometimes the tighter we hold onto things the thinner the rope gets! Ever heard of the saying, "If you truely love something, let it go, if it comes back then it is truely yours"

Well this works in all ways, with our friendships, relationships, passions, dreams, desires, secret hopes.

So many things Ive had to surrender, If we lean on our own understanding, we will continue to be insecure and strive for a success that will never come to us.

Well I am done, Dont think this is me giving up, Oh no in actual fact this is me fighting. Its waking up in the morning not worrying about tomorrow, Its enjoying every moment of each day because God lives in me. Its guarding my heart because it is the wellspring of life. Its dreaming dreams and believing they will come true.

MAY MY PASSIONS BRING YOU FAME!