What gets me up in the morning?

Today I was talking to a new friend and now is my next door neighbour and she asked me
"What makes you get up in the morning?"
And I started to think what is making me get up in the morning? I could easily have just been a bludger but instead I am here as an alien to this country.

My answer was "I get up because of the children here, because where I am now all I want to do is grow in Christ and see them grow in Christ also. You can't help but love them and I want to see them in Heaven with me."

So I ask you this question, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU ARE REALLY WAKING UP FOR?
Would God be smiling on you right now with what you are doing with your time and resources?

Just think about it please.

Blessings

Confirmation

Yesterday in class we started to talk about the this idea of confirmation by John Wesley (AKA the Wesleyan Quadrilateral)

It's broken into four parts


Experience / History
-----------------------------
Scripture / Holy Spirit


Which really makes sense when you think about it but I had never really thought about it before. Well I have with most on various occasions but never comparing them and processing all these aspects.

I'm really going to start trying to do this now as much as possible. I need to really grow in this area and I'm ready to. Please pray that this will stick with me because some of these points of confirmation I do struggle with.

Blessings

DROPS

'The works that we do are only a drop in the ocean but if we don't do it the drop will be lost forever'

Mother Teresa

Lets not waste one drop

One smile

Today I found helping at the community house very challenging because kids were listening and back chatting (just making it more difficult than usual). I went to Rob and Heathers to prepare for our cell group in not the best mood and I also had in mind that the kids who would be coming would be a handful and run wild (sometimes when they get together they try to out do each other) but to my surprise the kids that came to this cell group (5 boys between 6-8 years old) were really well behaved really. We had alot of fun and enjoyed laughing with each other. When Heather and I were debreifing I was praying and I just remember seeing the smiles on these kids faces and that has totally made my day feel worth while. I just pray that I'll be reminded of the kids smiling faces the next time they are challenging so that they will smile at them at all times so they know that I love them all.

Standing firm

God has given me a new promise this week. It's found in Job 11:14-15 (NIV)

if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.

Over the past few days during my quite time with God I've been handing over to him the sins that I've been holding onto. It is a hard process because they have been apart of me for so long and have sometimes even been used as a security blanket but not anymore.

Since doing this I have found that I have been able to stand up for myself more (which I've been struggling with lately) and I'm become less and less scared of what people are going to think when I voice my opinions.

It's hard I'm not going to lie but it's what God wants so I'm not going to hold out on him what he wants.

Miss Diamond

There is this little girl named Diamond in our neighbourhood who just loves to hang out with us at the comunity house every afternoon. Just to see her smiling is awesome and such a blessing.

Any the point of me telling you about her is that she came over yesterday went back home for a little bit then came back over in tears. So she came over to me on the couch and gave me the biggest hug and just stayed wrapped up on me in this hug where she could just have someone love her. When I asked her what was the matter it turned out to be that her Mum wouldn't give her candy (no big drama) but she just stayed in my arms listening to my heart beat for like 5 minutes. It was really beautiful for two really awesome reason, 1 she new that I loved her enough to hug her for as long as she needed no matter how big or small her problem was and that she loves me enough to trust me enough to hug me.

I love our kids

Tickets

Well today I rebooked my tickets back home (the one from LA to NZ to Autsralia) and I will be returning back to Australia on the 17th of September 2007. It seems so far away but I know that it will go past really fast. Lots is happening here. I'm loving every minute of it. I building awesome and last relationships with the students, the leaders and the kids in the community.

Warning to those back home in the land of Oz I'm not the same. I'm growing in Christ. I love it.

Finding rest

Well yesterday and today I have not been feeling so good (Tummy and head aches and bringing up food.) I can't say that it has been the best time since being here but it has given me time to rest in the LORD. For those of you that know me from back in Australia you would know that I am a bit of a work freak and haven't really had a break in a long time. It's been good just to lay down in silence and actually take time to listen to what God wants to say to me, to bad I had to get sick to really figure it out.

Blessing

A song from God

From Monday to Thursday this week Leo, Heather, Rob and I have been at a conference and on Tuesday God gave me a new song which I always enjoy because I love to sing a new song to the Lord (makes sense hey?) I was really excited about this song because it's about the tribe of Judah (Judah means praise) and then on Wednesday morning the speaker was talking about the tribe of Judah. I love that God is using me and music to worship him and them to have it reaffirmed by someone else was so cool.

Helping hands

Yesterday we took the kids from our neighbourhood to one of the local Salvation Army Corps (as we do every Sunday) but it was a little different this week because it had been raining. Usually after church we take them all back home and then feed lunch outside but because of the rain we chose to make up the food at church and serve it up there in the gym. I was asked to cook the food (macaroni and cheese) which I was totally happy to do because serving is one of my spiritual gifts and I get to feed the kids (it's really a blessing and I can not understand how some people could see it as a chore).

I was cooking in the kitchen and on of our newer kids came into the kitchen and was so keenness on helping that although there really wasn't anything for him to do, I welcomed him and his heart that wanted to bless his friends by helping feed them. So he helped me by putting cold water on the pasta (which could have just sat under a tap) and putting the powdered cheese in the pot (more ended up on the floor than in the pot) but it was just such a blessing to see his smile and his willingness to help and try to express his love to those who were eating and without even telling people that he helped cook it.

I just wanted to share with you all the blessing that I experienced when I was able to see a 7 year olds heart wanting to humbly serve his peers and leaders. Helping hands brought a blessing to many. Myself as an observer and the 30 kids that he helped feed.

Beauty in the smallest things

Well yesterday I was hanging out with this kid named Poo at the community house and he would have to be one of the most beautiful people I know and it is such a blessing that God has let him come into my life and that he trusts me with his precious children (it's pretty amazing). But with yesterday I really got to see more beauty in Poo. It was so simple but his smile just stayed in my mind all day. All that happened was he had asked me to help him make a rubber band ball (it's a piece of paper with lots of rubber bands all around it and it eventually becomes bouncy) Poo had the biggest smile on his face only because someone cared enough about him that they wanted to help him with it and not only help but enjoy spending time with him. He ended up giving me the biggest cuddle afterwards and all for a rubber band ball and that's how yesterday I found beauty (through Poo) in a rubber band ball.

Poverty

Today I decided to look up quotes from Mother Teresa today and I found this one that really stood out to me and I thought that other people needed to here it to so I'm sharing it with you all.

"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."

Wow. What a slap in the face, hey? That's what community is really about.

What to say?

Do you ever find that sometimes you want to say stuff but the words just don't make it out of your mouth? That would be called wisdom. Do you ever want to say something really profound and inspiring but you end up just backspacing it all? That would probably be God intervening. I think that this is one of those situations that God is wanting me to really say nothing that is of me but all of him.

So all that needs saying is

"God is so awesome"