rats

things are not going according to plan... which really isn't saying much because there wasn't really much of a plan to begin with. gah.

and DON'T ask me about the W word, because its frustrating and i have to tell the same story to everyone every single time. i feel like i need to hang a sign around my neck saying that i'm NOT a bum, and i am doing something worthwhile with my life. i just haven't started yet.

sigh. i hate delays.

oh, and my brother got a hamster today. her name is sakura. she's a little round ball of fur, very hyper and cute and has the largest black eyes. kinda reminds me of when i was in primary school and had 2 hamsters... which soon became 16 hamsters. i think we all know how that works. so now... in addition to the two turtles, raphael and donatello, the snakes and chameleons in the garden, the cats in the driveway and the birds in the roof... we now have a tiny ball of fur named sakura running on a plastic wheel inside a cage in the dining room.

family

watching gilmore girls always leaves me with an overactive imagination and a feeling that i've just contracted some form of verbal diarrhea

that said, i love gilmore girls.

every family has its own kinks and eccentricities, some are harder to live with than others... but i guess thats what makes us all different. makes us who we are.

although they are not directly co-related, there is much wisdom that comes with years. it would do this generation good to sometimes stop and listen to the gems of advice from those who have gone before us.

we young people have much to learn. God please humble our hearts and give us teachable spirits.

my new crush

i brought calvin out for a walk today and discovered that he loves bikes...


... and scooters...




and he loves his stella artois.

God has exciting things planned for carmel this year. i can feel it with every fibre of my being. but nothing will happen until we fall at His feet, and our hearts are above our heads.

O God let us be
a generation that seeks
that seeks Your face
O God of Jacob

thanks m. you really encouraged me today, whether you realized it or not. its great to know that God is stirring up the hearts of other people as well. let's do this for the future generations :)

debsheep!!

it's been awhile...

reachout.buildup.SENDBACK.

i realized something last night, as i was composing an email to my youth pastor. that of all the things that i want to do in yf... above all, i want them to know the freedom that comes from understanding who we are in Him, and the passion and inspiration that comes from seeking His face.

"Thy standing is not in thyself - it is in Christ; thine acceptance is not in thyself, but in thy Lord; thou art as much accepted of God today, with all thy sinfulness, as thou wilt be when thou standest before His throne, free from all corruption... perfection in Christ!"
(excerpt from C.H. Spurgeon)

If anything… I just want to see the youth inspired by God, and excited about the Bible. I want them to stop trying to DO so many things, and to sit down and seek Him. I want them to taste and see that the Lord is good. I want them to have a faith that is based on Him alone, not on the highs that they get at camps, the textbook answers they give during bible study or on the friendships that they have or the roles that they play in a particular ministry. It's something that has to start from the leadership downwards. I don't know how it's going to work… but I believe that God will put it into motion if we will only seek Him and pray that He will show us the way.

nigel and i were talking about this last night, and i thank God for putting us both online at that crazy hour (abt 3am in the morning?). the task seems daunting... and the obstacles loom like mountains... but one thing that makes me smile in the midst of it, is that God is continuing what He started in us when He brought us to australia and to OCF, and we have been sent back to make a difference in our churches and communities.

God is good.

makeover

as you can see... NEW SKIN!

yes i was bored. and i figured that if i revamped my layout... i might feel more inspired to blog regularly. (we'll see how this theory plays out in the next few weeks). i've been having problems with the 'comments' section and i can't seem to get it to work properly... so i've left it out for the moment. its late and the html is giving me a headache. i might work a bit more on it tomorrow. something's still missing...

in the meantime... chew on this...

i'm going clubbing next week. but for WORK.