through the rose coloured glasses

Nat Jones welcomes me back for a second night in a row. I'm actually thankful that I didn't get it written last night as I had missed a pretty major point....

Supplies for the night ahead.
Target for the next 10 hours is 3000 words, definitely doable - or at least that is what I keep telling myself.





This is what life looks like when I wear my red sunnies....















When there are blue skies, they turn a wicked purple colour. I have been wearing them all day, my rose coloured glasses certainly change your perspective of the world

snooze time

it is light out now, so I feel ok to walk home down the alleyways.
time for a nap before class.
word count sits on 53 as it has done for last few hours.
stress levels rising (but that is good, I need the stress to get it done)
chatted to MPJ briefly about essay, feeling a little better about it.

words

they're gone
not a trace
not a remnant
not even a glimmer


--
my same old problem is arising
i can talk it
but i can't write it

i think i need to track someone down to talk through it with them. it will have to wait until lunchtime, which is well after when i wanted it finished. or at least to have a couple of thousand words.

It's time to start writing!

I just gotta bite the bullet and start or else this thing will never get done. (either that, of Jesus will come back first)

Discuss the characterisation of God in the Ezekiel 'narrative'.

.....
there is always more to be read, and I stand (sit) here in trepidation that what I have read will not be sufficient to answer the question.

to stir the pot

There was a small amount of procrastination yesterday...

Seeing as I lost the battle here, and then conceded the war effort here, I adopted 'goldingay'. You can feed him by clicking on the jar of food next to his tank. Hopefully goldingay will cope with the cold of my inner-city shack better than Moe and Joe.

Nathaniel Jones, oh how I've missed you

English Lass and her parents are back tonight. 4 people in a 2 bedroom terrace. Hmmmmmm. I don't think that will work well with my planned nocturnal habits tonight.

So, tonight I am going to see my mate Nat Jones. It has been a while since I have visited. I haven't been since exam time 2 years ago. I wonder if the vibe will have changed. No Whitey sitting on the steps with me. No Snitzal frantically doing the last chapters of his project. I think I will stay over tonight.

Ahh Nat Jones, how I have missed the gentle hum of stressed bodies. The comraderie. The joys, the dissapointments. The broken windows. The golf and bocce at 3am. The knowledge that you aren't alone in your current pain.

semi-production

sometimes I fear that I have become a coffee snob, then I relax knowing that that isn't a bad thing, and then I have another coffee.

Working at the cafe today was productive until Tweety and I were interrupted by Mr Gould. We spent over an hour in discussion/defending Christianity with him. He is a very well read and knowledgeable man. I hope he continues to engage with Christians, with Christian literature, but most of all, I hope and pray that he will engage with God's word, the Bible.

Needing a breather, I headed back to the shack.
Not up to the writing stage yet, but hope to be there by tomorrow arvo (the writing stage that is).

I am slightly concerned that my essay seems to have a simple answer. I can't find any complication, which I am thinking can't possibly be right. I must have missed something.

removal of distractions

Determined to face my readings, not to be sucked into the distractions of internet, cleaning or TV, Tweety and I are heading out to a cafe for the morning. We aren't doing the same topic and we aren't allowed to talk to oneanother.

pure reading time....

the rosebush man

I met a man the last week, hereafter known as 'Rosebush Man'. Most days as I walk to college, I have been praying for the people in the houses that I walk past. I have been praying that somehow, if they don't know of God's gift of grace in Jesus, that they would.
As I walk down our little laneway, there is one beautiful garden I admire each day. It has this amazing rosebush which reaches all the way up to the second story of the terrace. It isn't a rose climber, but it is a bush!

Anyways...
There is a lovely older gentleman who is often out tending his garden who I have often said hello to. Last week I stopped and had a chat with him. He is 75, lives alone, and his garden (imagine if you will, 4ft by 2ft area) is his passion. He planted the rosebush in 1962. It is amazing.
What is even more fantastic is that he asked me the question - 'so what do you do?'. Answering: 'I'm studying theology.' We launched into a great discussion on spirituality and life. He is talking with some Muslims, a Catholic priest and a hindu lady at present.
Please pray for rosebush man that God would open his heart.

--
God is good, God is faithful
He answers all our prayers
I despair in my unfaithfulness
I turn, I cry out to Him
He draws me near
My Provider
My Comforter

dinner at that other college

I always enjoy going and having dinner with Trinity at that other college. Good times, hugs, fluffy toys and silly times...

--
God is good.

routine can be good

classes have been back two days and although those two days have been punctuated with various meetings (of the unusual kind), it is good to be back. i am hoping that the rountine of class will spur me on!!

i dropped round to see the chileans this arvo for a quick coffee and catch up. it is suprising that although i have all these friends who live within a couple of minutes walk, i can go weeks without visiting.
this is a piccie of chilean bubba number 1's feet


on a geeky note - hebrew and greek continue to bring me joy. the pain is worth it.

currently working on my old testament essay...

einige Menschen wissen von den schwierigen Schäfersituationen, dass ich mich befasst habe.
es gibt denjenigen, der besonders gequält hat. leider hat es Entwicklungen gegeben. Gebet ist sehr erforderlich.
an diesem Nachmittag kann ich schieben müssen, um etwas tun zu lassen. es ist dabei, schwierig zu sein, aber es ist, was richtig ist.

beten

--
Die Eltern des englischen Mädels kommen vom Vereinigten Königreich heute Abend an. Sie bleiben in unserer winzigen Terrasse. Es sollte seit interessanten 3 Wochen machen.

goodbyes

Last Monday night we said farewell to CT who had been on exchange from a college in the UK for 6months. It will be a little bizarre to not see him around this coming semester.
PS generously opened her place up for us to use as a venue. The views were amazing from her balcony. It was on the 24th floor!!!


Does anyone else get the urge to throw themselves from great heights when they are atop of tall things?

tagtäglich tropfen der Regen und Leben dadurch. es ist eine gute Woche gewesen, Freunde einzuholen. in dieses freudige Wetter ist mit Angst von Finanzdruck eingestreut worden.mein Auto ist für Papiere erwartet. ich habe kein Geld. obwohl ich gestutzt habe und fast nichts für Lebensmittelgeschäfte oder lustige Dinge ausgebe, balanciert es noch nicht. ich bedanke mich bei Gott für meine Eltern, die tun, was sie können. aber sie haben viel nicht.
ich habe Angst über das nächste Jahr. mein Budget ist $7500 im Rot.

auf einem helleren Zeichen. ich habe jemanden anbieten gelassen, um für mich zu zahlen, um die Deutschkurse zu tun, die ich an Sydney uni. tun will sie sind dafür als ein Steuerabzug zahlungsfähig. ich denke nicht, dass es klug sein wird, es im letzten Teil dieses Jahres zu tun, so werde ich fragen, ob das während der Sommerurlaube auf sein wird.

Contentment

this was the topic I spoke on at youth church tonight.
It was a great reminder for me. God is good. God is in control.
I'm looking forward to youth group starting back up this week.

gotta go, inbound call on the mobes....

back to the shack

well it may have been a day or two later than planned, but i made it back from my parents place on the beaches to my humble abode in the inner west.

a cup of tea with jedi master, hebrew with mamma swan, followed by dinner with Miss Eliza, her hubby and child. i am rested from my hols, but oh how easily one can slip back into the pattern (all except for that thing called study of course).

walking home from the compendium, i bumped into the tooth fairy who gave me some money toward my recent dental expenses. words won't express my thanks. i am now almost 1/6th of the way into paying it off. i know i shouldn't worry about finances, as God has everything in hand, but giving that over to God has been tough lately. things are tight, i got a reminder to pay the electricity in the mail today. God has shown me time and time again that he provides. if you are of the praying sort, please pray for me that i will trust in His provision.

other than that, procrastination is still rampant. i still struggle to see parts of my bedroom floor, desk, filing system, bookcases.

some exciting news... our house has another bookcase. i know it may not seem like much, but it is in the hallway, which means that i can get rid of some of the stacks of books in my room!!

tomorrow:

• clean room
• write talk for youth church on sunday
• clean room
• clean room
• enjoy a friday night with no youth group
• clean room
• ummmm, and perhaps finish cleaning room?

es gibt Zeiten, wenn Langeweile zügellos ist
Zeiten wie heute Abendes gibt Momente in der Geschichte, wenn Sie darüber nicht lesen wollenes gibt Regentropfen auf dem Fenster
Licht vom fluro
Tränen vom Mixer
kein Geld in der Bank
Freunde, um anzurufen
Kuchen, um zu backen
Brot, um zu stehlen
wo ist das speziell?
wer ist diese Person?
wo sind meine Schlüssel?

german speculations

Manchmal will ich sterben
Manchmal denke ich an Leben
Manchmal weiß ich nicht, warum ich bin
Manchmal liebe ich
Und Manchmal weine ich

--
Bekommen Sie den falschen Eindruck von diesen Wörtern nicht. Ich spiele mit Tönen, Rhythmus und Reim von deutschen Wörtern einfach.

frisbee

i discovered a new sport whilst i was away. late in the week i was walking back from my thinking rock and some of the girls were throwing around a frisbee. i discovered i could actually throw a frisbee. i was promptly instructed as to how to do fore-hand throws, and i can even catch with one hand (well, most of the time anyway).
Thursday arvo frisbee at college, here i come!! (i may have to squidge my remiedial lessons in the afternoons somewhat)

the thinking rock

I'm back in the real world. I didn't want to come back. I think there were a few others on the trip who were thinking the same thing. Apparently Pumpkin Head told Jacks to turn right and head north instead of coming back to Sydney. Lady Design and I were debating the benefits of doing something similar whilst on the freeway.

But it is good to be back. Holidays are to be savoured like a fine wine, and good cheese!
I am at my parents for a couple of days. Spending time catching up on washing, and writing a talk for this weekend.

One of the most relaxing things about the week last week was that I found a 'thinking rock' nearby. I walked up most mornings, and/or afternoons and spent time thinking. Mainly thoughts about basking in God's creation, but also thoughts like 'what on earth am I doing at college?', 'what does it look like for the sun to rise inland and set over the ocean unlike in these eastern states?'.....

and lots of other random things

another day

still on holidays, soaking up the sunshine and relaxing.
last time i blogged, i had just emailed off my assignment for English Lass to hand in. Well, the dramas that occured when she text'd me around 10 mins after I had left the internet cafe to say she couldn't hand it in. What were we to do....? I had just been charged some ridiculous amount simply for using the power in the internet cafe (not even using the internet) for my laptop.
Thankful to the fast and calm thinking of Lady Design and acf, we worked out an alternative email arrangement.
Thankfully, it is in. I am now fully on holidays, feeling relaxed and enjoying the sunshine. We've seen plenty of dolphins and I have learnt a whole lot about the farming of oysters. I can't remember if I wrote about it in my last post, but we met an amazing man at the Christian Reformed Church on Sunday. He took us out on his oyster farm. It was amazing to meet a man who is so excited about God, his work, evangelism, and is ethical in what he does.
I am now sitting in the internet cafe at Port Stephens between Lady Design and JST. We took the ferry over to Tea Gardens for lunch.
Life is good.
God is good.
I thank Him for, good food, family, friends and holidays.

what a relief

only 2 mins left of internet connection in what i think is the only internet place in the whole of the port stephens area!!!
one min now
but just to let you know that my essay has just been emailed in, now time to crack open the champagne and relax for the next week

--
go well

I'm off

To sunny Port Stephens for a week. My essay is still not written, so I guess I will have to find an internet cafe to email it back to English Lass to print out and hand in for me.

Stay well