Happy New Year!
2012 has been a massive year. Tim and I got together for a coffee and a year's "debrief" yesterday and were laughing at just how big it's been. Changing cities, moving house, starting a new church, me starting a new job. It has been massive. It's hard to sum up the year, it has had many very tough moments. But we ended up declaring it "the year of answered prayer". The church, despite a very slow start, is going really well, and we have been astonded by the many answered prayers about church that we have had in the last term of the year.
And probably the biggest answered prayer is that we are pregnant. With Twins.
It was so overwhelming how we found out. We had a very early scan because of our history at 6 weeks. There is it, on the screen, a very obvious baby and a very clear heart beat. Tim and I couldn't stop grinning at each other...until the doctor said "That's unusual?"
"What!" we both cried in a panic at his thoughtless comment. He apologised saying "Sorry, not bad, just surprising. There is something else there". And then he moved the wand and there was another, tiny, tiny sack with a shape in it. I knew, from my obsessive googling, that it was the shape of a 5 week old baby. There was no heart beat. Our doctor said the most likely situation was that our second baby had died and that was why it was so small. But he also said there was a very slight chance that we had two babies and one was just a week behind and would catch up.
And two weeks later, when we again sat in that same room, there they both were, but this time there were two heart-beats. We were so very happy and grateful.
I am currently 16 and a half weeks pregnant. Our 12 week scan was fantastic, with both babies looking well. I'm definately feeling what I assume is movement, though its not yet reached a stage of proper kicks. Our families are over the top excited, as are many of our friends. We are so very thrilled, though still getting our heads around our family expanding so rapidly.
I have been well, though I have Gestational Diabetes. It's actually been incredible stressful, particularly as the diet and exercise plan they have given me doesn't seem to be sorting our my blood sugar levels. I've got a doctors appointment this week and am hoping to get things figured out. All in all, it has made cooking and eating (two of my favourite passtimes), very stress-ridden and frustrating. But of course I am very grateful for the little ones, and willing to do whatever it takes to sort things out for them.
So 2013?
My big aim is to survive and keep bar low. Not exactly an inspirational NY reso is it? But everything anyone tells me about multiples is that life at the start is hard. And my tendency is to promise too much. So, for the last months and the first year, I'm not promising anyone anything, except that I will look after the babies and Tim. If I'm up to more, great! If I can't do more, then that's not surprising.
But I also want to enjoy this. I am so grateful every day for these little treasures. I won't to enjoy them, enjoy the pregnancy (as much as I can, I hear the last 10 weeks with two is pretty awful), and enjoy them when they arrive. It will be tiring and overwhelming, but I want to enjoy it as much as possible.
So, 2013? Bring it on :)
Love BG
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The benefits of a four monthly catch up
Last Saturday, I went out to dinner with my sister Sandy and our second cousin Anna. We did this for the first time in June, and we had such a lovely time that we decided to do it again.
This post is not about food, but I can't talk about Sandy and Anna without telling you about my new favourite restaurant. Mamasita's in Colin's St Melbourne is just the most amazing place. I am a Mexican lover from way back, a somewhat frustrated Mexican lover as my beloved is not that much of a fan, and is even less of a fan now than when I married him because I used to subject him to at least one Mexican dish per week, until caving under protests. Mamasita's is a Tapasish place, and it highlights the very best of Mexican, not the processed Old Elpaso stuff (which I don't mind anyway), but the fresh lime and coriander and corn, the slow cooked meat, the lovely spices that aren't too overwhelming. I went there first with Sandy and Anna. It is usually packed out, we arrived at 5:30, and were told to come back in a hour. It is expensive- it's the kind of place I'll go for my birthday or a special occasion. But I love, love, love it! I'm getting hungry and excited just thinking about it.
Anyway, end of rant.
Sandy and Anna and I grew up together. Along with several other couples and their kids, we used to go away and spend Easter together at my Grandparents farm. We all got on well, but despite many years of little contact, Anna is the one that we are the closest too. Our Dad's were great buddies growing up, and if something had happened to my parents, it would have been Anna's parents who would have been our guardians. I often wonder if the reason we enjoy each other company is because our parents are so similar.
Anyway, on Saturday we went to another great restaurant Mamak's (a Malaysian restaurant that is famous in Sydney and has just made its way onto Lonsdale st). It was lovely to catch up and see what we had all been up to. But I realised what a help it can be to have a 4 month catch up. It reminds you of what you were thinking and planning and dreaming 4 months ago, and how life has ended up.
Anna asked how my book was going.
Oh dear...
Of course, in June, it was all about my novel, as I desperately tried to get it finished before starting work.
But the last four months...
Well, the biggest problem was what happened several weeks after our last catch up.
I lots my notebook.
I don't know if other people who aren't writers quite understand how heart-breaking this is (though I guess Anna and Sandy were pretty horrified). But for me, it was one of the most debilitating, horrible moments of the novel writing process.
The not so frantic search "It must be somewhere". The somewhat more urgent "I need to find it, where could it be". Retracing my steps. Searching under the car seat. Madly cleaning the house. Looking in places I know it can't be but wanting to find it so bad that I look there anyway.
Horrible.
And I can't find it. I suspect, maybe next year I will find it. But by then, it will be too late.
And what was in my notebook that was so important? In the late days of June I sat down and read through my entire novel, and wrote down in my novel exactly what I needed to do to get it up to scratch. It was not a fun process but it was necessary and satisfying to get it done.
And now, all that work is lost. I could be thankful there was little original words in my notebook lost. But even so...
It took about a month before I would even look at my novel, I was so distraught. Eventually I started writing a little bit, but I was busy and discouraged and it didn't happen very often. And finally, about 1.5 months ago, I printed out my novel and started again. Painstakingly writing down what needed to change. I was no where near as through as I could have been, I just don't have the heart for it.
Anyway, back to dinner. So I began to talk to Anna and Sandy about my book. And they were great. Because they still remembered the enthusiastic Belinda who felt so close to finishing. They were still keen to read it, they still believed in it. And slowly, as they talked about, so did I.
As I looked through it after the discussion, I didn't feel like it was very good. But that's not the point. I don't have the perspective to know if its good or bad, and I often end up changing my mind as I read. But it needs to be finished.
And I'm going to do it. Sans notebook.
BG
This post is not about food, but I can't talk about Sandy and Anna without telling you about my new favourite restaurant. Mamasita's in Colin's St Melbourne is just the most amazing place. I am a Mexican lover from way back, a somewhat frustrated Mexican lover as my beloved is not that much of a fan, and is even less of a fan now than when I married him because I used to subject him to at least one Mexican dish per week, until caving under protests. Mamasita's is a Tapasish place, and it highlights the very best of Mexican, not the processed Old Elpaso stuff (which I don't mind anyway), but the fresh lime and coriander and corn, the slow cooked meat, the lovely spices that aren't too overwhelming. I went there first with Sandy and Anna. It is usually packed out, we arrived at 5:30, and were told to come back in a hour. It is expensive- it's the kind of place I'll go for my birthday or a special occasion. But I love, love, love it! I'm getting hungry and excited just thinking about it.
Anyway, end of rant.
Sandy and Anna and I grew up together. Along with several other couples and their kids, we used to go away and spend Easter together at my Grandparents farm. We all got on well, but despite many years of little contact, Anna is the one that we are the closest too. Our Dad's were great buddies growing up, and if something had happened to my parents, it would have been Anna's parents who would have been our guardians. I often wonder if the reason we enjoy each other company is because our parents are so similar.
Anyway, on Saturday we went to another great restaurant Mamak's (a Malaysian restaurant that is famous in Sydney and has just made its way onto Lonsdale st). It was lovely to catch up and see what we had all been up to. But I realised what a help it can be to have a 4 month catch up. It reminds you of what you were thinking and planning and dreaming 4 months ago, and how life has ended up.
Anna asked how my book was going.
Oh dear...
Of course, in June, it was all about my novel, as I desperately tried to get it finished before starting work.
But the last four months...
Well, the biggest problem was what happened several weeks after our last catch up.
I lots my notebook.
I don't know if other people who aren't writers quite understand how heart-breaking this is (though I guess Anna and Sandy were pretty horrified). But for me, it was one of the most debilitating, horrible moments of the novel writing process.
The not so frantic search "It must be somewhere". The somewhat more urgent "I need to find it, where could it be". Retracing my steps. Searching under the car seat. Madly cleaning the house. Looking in places I know it can't be but wanting to find it so bad that I look there anyway.
Horrible.
And I can't find it. I suspect, maybe next year I will find it. But by then, it will be too late.
And what was in my notebook that was so important? In the late days of June I sat down and read through my entire novel, and wrote down in my novel exactly what I needed to do to get it up to scratch. It was not a fun process but it was necessary and satisfying to get it done.
And now, all that work is lost. I could be thankful there was little original words in my notebook lost. But even so...
It took about a month before I would even look at my novel, I was so distraught. Eventually I started writing a little bit, but I was busy and discouraged and it didn't happen very often. And finally, about 1.5 months ago, I printed out my novel and started again. Painstakingly writing down what needed to change. I was no where near as through as I could have been, I just don't have the heart for it.
Anyway, back to dinner. So I began to talk to Anna and Sandy about my book. And they were great. Because they still remembered the enthusiastic Belinda who felt so close to finishing. They were still keen to read it, they still believed in it. And slowly, as they talked about, so did I.
As I looked through it after the discussion, I didn't feel like it was very good. But that's not the point. I don't have the perspective to know if its good or bad, and I often end up changing my mind as I read. But it needs to be finished.
And I'm going to do it. Sans notebook.
BG
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Spring! A Seasonal update
Once again time has flown with very little obvious changes on this blog. I always have high hopes for blogging and they never end in anything. Oh well, it's time for my regular 3 monthly update.
I love spring. I'll say it again. I love Spring. I know for many (Hubby included) Spring is an evil time of allergies, but for those of us unaffected by pollen, it is the most beautiful season. I love Spring particularly in this house. I have a theory that the most beautiful rosebush in the world just happens to live outside our front window. I don't have any proof of it yet (having not quite managed to see all the rose bushes in all the world), but out of all the ones I've seen, ours is the best. It is a deep red rose, full, with the most intoxicating blossom. It's just started to go crazy, and I love bringing roses to friends. It makes me smile every time I go past it. This picture below is from another rose bush, not quite as beautiful as ours. Just imagine a richer fuller bud, and a smell that is not too sweet and yet somehow still intoxicatingly strong.
And while Spring hasn't quite got to the steady, lovely temperatures I'm used to in Sydney, Melbourne's Spring is definitely moving from one warm day a week to a few more.
Life has been busy. Ministry (both Church and Uni) has been a joy. It was funny, I was at a wedding and catching up with an old friend. This old friend is a psychologist, and we were discussing life and how often at our age and older- people start to be really dissatisfied with life. They had all these dreams, these goals about life, and even when they achieve them, life never seems and glamorous and meaningful as they expected. And this often leads to real disappointment with life.
In discussing this, I was thinking about my life. I don't think my life is easy, and definitely this year, with church planting and moving and death of loved ones and the like, it has not been easy. Often my life is difficult. But it is not empty or meaningless. My life is rich and full of purpose. And this is something I have been trying to appreciate more and more, realising this is a gift that not everyone shares. It's not that every ones life doesn't have purpose, I believe under God we all do. And its not that people who don't do ministry don't have meaningful jobs and lives- they definitely do!!! But I get to see my life impacting others. I get to see the Gospel go out. My life's meaning is in my face. And that is a gift.
Two weeks ago, my beloved Pa died. It's a strange time. Happy that he is with Jesus. Sad that he is not with us and Nan. Remembering and appreciating him. Sad that what has happened to Tim (loosing all his Grandparents) will happen to me, and this is the start. Thankful for Heaven.
So, I guess that is a brief update on my life. I am hoping to blog more, and I have a plan! The Geneva Push, a church planting network of which Tim and I are apart, are signing me on as a regular blogger. The idea is that I will blog from the point of view of a church planters wife. I'm really excited about this and hope it will be an encouragement to others who are either in my situation or planning to be. It also might help me to blog more regularly. For the purposes of that, I will be starting a new blog (I'll link it to here eventually), and my plan is to also post those posts on both our church website and on threeworlds. That way I can still use this site for personal/silly/writing/non church planting related posts, but will also include a bit of church planting in the mix.
So, theoretically, you should be hearing more of me in the next few months :)
But I have said that before!
love B
I love spring. I'll say it again. I love Spring. I know for many (Hubby included) Spring is an evil time of allergies, but for those of us unaffected by pollen, it is the most beautiful season. I love Spring particularly in this house. I have a theory that the most beautiful rosebush in the world just happens to live outside our front window. I don't have any proof of it yet (having not quite managed to see all the rose bushes in all the world), but out of all the ones I've seen, ours is the best. It is a deep red rose, full, with the most intoxicating blossom. It's just started to go crazy, and I love bringing roses to friends. It makes me smile every time I go past it. This picture below is from another rose bush, not quite as beautiful as ours. Just imagine a richer fuller bud, and a smell that is not too sweet and yet somehow still intoxicatingly strong.
http://www.mzephotos.com/gallery/roses/red-rose.html ]">© MzePhotos.com, Some Rights Reserved
And while Spring hasn't quite got to the steady, lovely temperatures I'm used to in Sydney, Melbourne's Spring is definitely moving from one warm day a week to a few more.
In discussing this, I was thinking about my life. I don't think my life is easy, and definitely this year, with church planting and moving and death of loved ones and the like, it has not been easy. Often my life is difficult. But it is not empty or meaningless. My life is rich and full of purpose. And this is something I have been trying to appreciate more and more, realising this is a gift that not everyone shares. It's not that every ones life doesn't have purpose, I believe under God we all do. And its not that people who don't do ministry don't have meaningful jobs and lives- they definitely do!!! But I get to see my life impacting others. I get to see the Gospel go out. My life's meaning is in my face. And that is a gift.
Two weeks ago, my beloved Pa died. It's a strange time. Happy that he is with Jesus. Sad that he is not with us and Nan. Remembering and appreciating him. Sad that what has happened to Tim (loosing all his Grandparents) will happen to me, and this is the start. Thankful for Heaven.
So, I guess that is a brief update on my life. I am hoping to blog more, and I have a plan! The Geneva Push, a church planting network of which Tim and I are apart, are signing me on as a regular blogger. The idea is that I will blog from the point of view of a church planters wife. I'm really excited about this and hope it will be an encouragement to others who are either in my situation or planning to be. It also might help me to blog more regularly. For the purposes of that, I will be starting a new blog (I'll link it to here eventually), and my plan is to also post those posts on both our church website and on threeworlds. That way I can still use this site for personal/silly/writing/non church planting related posts, but will also include a bit of church planting in the mix.
So, theoretically, you should be hearing more of me in the next few months :)
But I have said that before!
love B
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Once upon a time and the real world
I am totally loving the television show "Once upon a time".
I can't really think of a more "Belinda" like premise. I love fairy tales, I love stories, I love writing, I love TV. And this idea, of fairy-tale characters trapped in our real world with no "happily ever after" is pretty cool.
And they are doing it well. When I saw the show trailer I knew I could love it. But there is nothing worse than hearing the premise for a show, getting all excited, only to find out that it is less than I originally dreamed it to be. But so far I am really happy about it. I look forward to every episode and after each episode ends I think "I can't believe I have to wait a whole week for the next one!" Not since the first two seasons of "Hero's" have I felt like that.
But as much as I am enjoying it, there are a whole lot of things that I feel very uncomfortable about.
For those who haven't seen it, the main story sit around three characters: Regina the major of the town (who was the wicked queen from Snow White), her adopted son Henry, and Emma, who is Henry's biological mother. Emma put Henry up for closed adoption when he was born. Emma is also Snow White and Prince Charmings daughter, although she doesn't know it.
Every character has their fairy-tale backstory, and their real-life reality. But the problem is, these two realities often clash, and we end up with these strangely morally abigious actions from the "good" characters that are justified by their past.
For example, Henry is constantly disobeying his mother, running away, and spending time with his biological mother. This is somewhat justified, because he knows (though no one believes him) that Regina is actually an evil queen. But Emma, who does not know this, lets him do it.
If I adopted a child, did my best to bring them up, and then their biological mother came along and helped them lie to me and disobey me, I would be rightfully angry. If I was a biological mother who met up with my child and believed my child was being mistreated, I would go through proper court processes to make sure my child was safe and well. It would do no good for me or the child if I was deceptive.
Of course, for the sake of the story, this can't happen. And WE know that the Regina is evil, and that it is good for Emma to help Henry stay away from her. But Emma doesn't know that, and so I think she is actually a less apealing character because of her inappropriate "parenting".
And Henry's therapist, who keeps encouraging Henry in his beliefs, also seems a little bit strange. Of course, Henry's theories are true. But again, the therapist doesn't know this and so should be doing his best to showly pull apart Henry's fantasy, in a gentle and loving way.
But the killer one at the moment is "Snow white" and "Prince charming".
SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DIDN"T WATCH LAST NIGHTS EPISODE
In the Fairy tale world, Snow white and Prince charming are Happily married
In the real world, Snow white/Mary Margaret is single, and Prince-charming/David is a coma patient, who has woken up to find himself married to a different women "Katherine"- though he has great feelings towards Mary Margaret that he doesn't understand.
And as watchers who know that Mary Marget is David's true love, we are manupulated into hoping that David will leave his wife to be with his true love.
But how terrible is that! While we might know the backstory, that character's do not. So again, we have the "good" characters acting in ways that are totally inappriopriate, given their understand of the world.
In the end, David made the call to stick with his wife and to try to make their marriage work. And I was torn, both happy that he was behaving well, but also sad that he was kept from his true love.
COMPLICATED :)
As a writer there are all kinds of things that I write that I realise later are inconsistant with the rest of the story, and the premise of my world. I am constantly making changes to the story to make it consistant, and I know a perfectly consistant story is the impossible dream (afterall, if CS Lewis, JRR Tolkin, and JK Rowlings haven't always be consistant all the time- what hope do I have).
And I realise there are a certain level of dramatic licence that writers have in order to keep the story going and interesting that can sometimes mean that "happy ever afters" don't last very long. And none of my characters always act rightly all the time, in fact, the concept of no one being morally perfect is a key idea in my novel.
But writers and TV produces have a way of messing with our minds. Of making us want things to happen because they will make a character happy, not because they are the right thing to do.
And so as much as I love Once Upon a Time it makes me skwerm. Because the king of that show, the greatest good, the overaching priority of every character is "Happily Ever After". Not "Doing what is right and loving".
And in the real, real, world? My world? God's World? That is called Sin.
BG
I can't really think of a more "Belinda" like premise. I love fairy tales, I love stories, I love writing, I love TV. And this idea, of fairy-tale characters trapped in our real world with no "happily ever after" is pretty cool.
And they are doing it well. When I saw the show trailer I knew I could love it. But there is nothing worse than hearing the premise for a show, getting all excited, only to find out that it is less than I originally dreamed it to be. But so far I am really happy about it. I look forward to every episode and after each episode ends I think "I can't believe I have to wait a whole week for the next one!" Not since the first two seasons of "Hero's" have I felt like that.
But as much as I am enjoying it, there are a whole lot of things that I feel very uncomfortable about.
For those who haven't seen it, the main story sit around three characters: Regina the major of the town (who was the wicked queen from Snow White), her adopted son Henry, and Emma, who is Henry's biological mother. Emma put Henry up for closed adoption when he was born. Emma is also Snow White and Prince Charmings daughter, although she doesn't know it.
Every character has their fairy-tale backstory, and their real-life reality. But the problem is, these two realities often clash, and we end up with these strangely morally abigious actions from the "good" characters that are justified by their past.
For example, Henry is constantly disobeying his mother, running away, and spending time with his biological mother. This is somewhat justified, because he knows (though no one believes him) that Regina is actually an evil queen. But Emma, who does not know this, lets him do it.
If I adopted a child, did my best to bring them up, and then their biological mother came along and helped them lie to me and disobey me, I would be rightfully angry. If I was a biological mother who met up with my child and believed my child was being mistreated, I would go through proper court processes to make sure my child was safe and well. It would do no good for me or the child if I was deceptive.
Of course, for the sake of the story, this can't happen. And WE know that the Regina is evil, and that it is good for Emma to help Henry stay away from her. But Emma doesn't know that, and so I think she is actually a less apealing character because of her inappropriate "parenting".
And Henry's therapist, who keeps encouraging Henry in his beliefs, also seems a little bit strange. Of course, Henry's theories are true. But again, the therapist doesn't know this and so should be doing his best to showly pull apart Henry's fantasy, in a gentle and loving way.
But the killer one at the moment is "Snow white" and "Prince charming".
SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DIDN"T WATCH LAST NIGHTS EPISODE
In the Fairy tale world, Snow white and Prince charming are Happily married
In the real world, Snow white/Mary Margaret is single, and Prince-charming/David is a coma patient, who has woken up to find himself married to a different women "Katherine"- though he has great feelings towards Mary Margaret that he doesn't understand.
And as watchers who know that Mary Marget is David's true love, we are manupulated into hoping that David will leave his wife to be with his true love.
But how terrible is that! While we might know the backstory, that character's do not. So again, we have the "good" characters acting in ways that are totally inappriopriate, given their understand of the world.
In the end, David made the call to stick with his wife and to try to make their marriage work. And I was torn, both happy that he was behaving well, but also sad that he was kept from his true love.
COMPLICATED :)
As a writer there are all kinds of things that I write that I realise later are inconsistant with the rest of the story, and the premise of my world. I am constantly making changes to the story to make it consistant, and I know a perfectly consistant story is the impossible dream (afterall, if CS Lewis, JRR Tolkin, and JK Rowlings haven't always be consistant all the time- what hope do I have).
And I realise there are a certain level of dramatic licence that writers have in order to keep the story going and interesting that can sometimes mean that "happy ever afters" don't last very long. And none of my characters always act rightly all the time, in fact, the concept of no one being morally perfect is a key idea in my novel.
But writers and TV produces have a way of messing with our minds. Of making us want things to happen because they will make a character happy, not because they are the right thing to do.
And so as much as I love Once Upon a Time it makes me skwerm. Because the king of that show, the greatest good, the overaching priority of every character is "Happily Ever After". Not "Doing what is right and loving".
And in the real, real, world? My world? God's World? That is called Sin.
BG
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Update on life
I know.
You don't need to tell me.
I'm a shocker!
It's been over a month since I've blogged, in fact it is growing closer to two months. But to be fair, part of the issue is that I have been blogging more on our Church Planting Blog which means that the Christian Ministry/Church planting posts have gone to a different home. You can check them out at: http://gracechristiancommunity.org.au/boxhill/blog/
In fact, the only reason you are getting a post today, is because I was reading up on old posts (I'm doing a little talk about my ministry experiences at my parents/sisters church and was looking for material) and given that blogger was open and ready I though- I better do something :)
Did you know in three weeks I will be starting my new job?
It has snuck up rather scarily. I am pretty excited though. I'm loving the idea of rocking up at Uni and meeting with lots of girls to read the Bible. I have great memories of my time of Uni Ministry, and I am just so excited to see what God will do. There is nothing quite like one to one discipleship in the way it can change people's hearts and make a huge impact for the Kingdom.
The scary thing is time. How I will fit church, Uni work, life, housework, and most particularly writing into my life.
My aim was to get my first draft of my novel done before my start date of June 25.
And while I am very proud of what I have achieved so far this year, a first draft of a novel is not one of those things. I printed it out about 4 weeks ago and sat down to read carefully and make notes of what things needed to be still written/changed. And I suspect I have a list of about 50 things. Some are as simple as "Add more description". Some are as massive as "write the scene". So in three weeks I don't think all of that is going to happen!
So, as excited as I am about RMIT, I am still a little sad to go back from a "part-time" writer to a hobby writer.
BTW, if you are interested in supporting my ministry financially (I need to raise money to work at RMIT) you can support me at This site
And....because he's too cute not to get a mention:
Here is my beautiful Nephew Oliver. He is wearing a suit that I bought him about an hour after he was born :) He is smiley and energetic and adorable. Elise and I both think he said "Belinda" the other day. Of course, it sounded more like Owoooahh, but we knew what he meant.
:)
Love BG
You don't need to tell me.
I'm a shocker!
It's been over a month since I've blogged, in fact it is growing closer to two months. But to be fair, part of the issue is that I have been blogging more on our Church Planting Blog which means that the Christian Ministry/Church planting posts have gone to a different home. You can check them out at: http://gracechristiancommunity.org.au/boxhill/blog/
In fact, the only reason you are getting a post today, is because I was reading up on old posts (I'm doing a little talk about my ministry experiences at my parents/sisters church and was looking for material) and given that blogger was open and ready I though- I better do something :)
Did you know in three weeks I will be starting my new job?
It has snuck up rather scarily. I am pretty excited though. I'm loving the idea of rocking up at Uni and meeting with lots of girls to read the Bible. I have great memories of my time of Uni Ministry, and I am just so excited to see what God will do. There is nothing quite like one to one discipleship in the way it can change people's hearts and make a huge impact for the Kingdom.
The scary thing is time. How I will fit church, Uni work, life, housework, and most particularly writing into my life.
My aim was to get my first draft of my novel done before my start date of June 25.
And while I am very proud of what I have achieved so far this year, a first draft of a novel is not one of those things. I printed it out about 4 weeks ago and sat down to read carefully and make notes of what things needed to be still written/changed. And I suspect I have a list of about 50 things. Some are as simple as "Add more description". Some are as massive as "write the scene". So in three weeks I don't think all of that is going to happen!
So, as excited as I am about RMIT, I am still a little sad to go back from a "part-time" writer to a hobby writer.
BTW, if you are interested in supporting my ministry financially (I need to raise money to work at RMIT) you can support me at This site
And....because he's too cute not to get a mention:
:)
Love BG
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Until Now
If you were to spend 24 hours with me, chances are you would hear the squeal.
It's a strange squeal, an involuntary sounds which just erupts. It's fairly high pitched and I guess if I had to try to write it out it would be a "hee" although sometimes it's an "ee" or event an "ek".
My hands jump off the keyboard as I make it, and I start shaking. And if Tim happens to be anywhere near me at the time, it will usually be followed by these words "I can't believe I've nearly finished".
I still can't believe that I am almost finished my novel.
A novel is a strange beast. It's been left alone for weeks and it's occupied every spare thought. It's got me to smile when I thought I never would again, and it's made me feel depressed and stupid and inadequate.
It's so incredibly real to me, so precious, that it is like extracting a tooth to change a characters name, to get rid of a plot aspect that I created in my first months of writing it, or to cut out a passage that I know is badly written. I have another word documents "The Librex cut" where I dump all those terrible bits. I know they don't belong in my novel, but they are my written word and they deserve a place, even if it's just on my hard-drive.
It has totally dominated our holidays. It sounds weird, but every trip I have taken with Tim in the last 5 years has involved discussions (and arguments!) about character relationships, suggestions of character names, how to solve some kind of plot inconsistency, and some pretty awesome suggestions from Tim as to how to make things better.
I have bulked up my already filled bag with a notebook and a pen, just in case I have an idea. It doesn't happen as much as I thought I would, but I have those moments, where I pull out my notebook on the train, or on a walk, and just write, write, write as an idea takes shape. So often I will look back at those inspired words and realise they are not very good, and need a great deal more thought and editing. But every so often those words will be just right, straight from my head, to the notebook and then to the computer. And those words, despite many, many edits, will remain.
I have spent way to much time when I should be writing just reading because it is my story and I love reliving it over and over.
It's been something to dream about, not just the novel, but the hope of someone reading it, of something enjoying it, of people meeting my characters and going on their journey's. Of someone in the business saying- this just might work.
But it's never been nearly finished. Until now.
"HHEEEEEEE"
BG
It's a strange squeal, an involuntary sounds which just erupts. It's fairly high pitched and I guess if I had to try to write it out it would be a "hee" although sometimes it's an "ee" or event an "ek".
My hands jump off the keyboard as I make it, and I start shaking. And if Tim happens to be anywhere near me at the time, it will usually be followed by these words "I can't believe I've nearly finished".
I still can't believe that I am almost finished my novel.
A novel is a strange beast. It's been left alone for weeks and it's occupied every spare thought. It's got me to smile when I thought I never would again, and it's made me feel depressed and stupid and inadequate.
It's so incredibly real to me, so precious, that it is like extracting a tooth to change a characters name, to get rid of a plot aspect that I created in my first months of writing it, or to cut out a passage that I know is badly written. I have another word documents "The Librex cut" where I dump all those terrible bits. I know they don't belong in my novel, but they are my written word and they deserve a place, even if it's just on my hard-drive.
It has totally dominated our holidays. It sounds weird, but every trip I have taken with Tim in the last 5 years has involved discussions (and arguments!) about character relationships, suggestions of character names, how to solve some kind of plot inconsistency, and some pretty awesome suggestions from Tim as to how to make things better.
I have bulked up my already filled bag with a notebook and a pen, just in case I have an idea. It doesn't happen as much as I thought I would, but I have those moments, where I pull out my notebook on the train, or on a walk, and just write, write, write as an idea takes shape. So often I will look back at those inspired words and realise they are not very good, and need a great deal more thought and editing. But every so often those words will be just right, straight from my head, to the notebook and then to the computer. And those words, despite many, many edits, will remain.
I have spent way to much time when I should be writing just reading because it is my story and I love reliving it over and over.
It's been something to dream about, not just the novel, but the hope of someone reading it, of something enjoying it, of people meeting my characters and going on their journey's. Of someone in the business saying- this just might work.
But it's never been nearly finished. Until now.
"HHEEEEEEE"
BG
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Death, Ressurection, and longing for heaven
It has been a tough month.
After the excitement of Oliver's birth, a week later Tim's last remaining Grandparent, his Pa, passed away. It wasn't a shock (he's been in and out of hospital all summer), and it was a bit of a relief (he had just had a paralysing stroke), but it was still a very sad time.
His funeral particularly was very emotional. While it was filled with joy over his life and the knowledge that he was with Jesus, there was so much other meaning behind it. 17 months earlier I had sat in the same Funeral home at Tim's Nana's funeral. Tim's Nanny and Papa were there, and it was the last proper conversation I had with them before they died, 3 months later. And, while I didn't know it for certain at the time, I was actually pregnant during her funeral, with the baby we would say goodbye to only 7 weeks later.
It has been a really rough 18 months. Eighteen Months of Death.
So, as yesterday we celebrated Easter, I couldn't help thinking of what a miracle it is.
That there was a man, who was more than just a man. That this man was so innocent and powerful that death could not beat him. A man who now has power over death. A man who promises that just as he was raised from death, so all who believe in him will rise.
Sitting at Pa's funeral, knowing that his race was run, knowing that he had gone to be with the savior that he loved and followed for so long, it is a great thing. I almost felt a little jealous.
And during such tough times as these, what a great thing it is to know that death is mealy a small sleep on the way to eternity with Jesus.
Thank you Jesus for Easter.
BG
After the excitement of Oliver's birth, a week later Tim's last remaining Grandparent, his Pa, passed away. It wasn't a shock (he's been in and out of hospital all summer), and it was a bit of a relief (he had just had a paralysing stroke), but it was still a very sad time.
His funeral particularly was very emotional. While it was filled with joy over his life and the knowledge that he was with Jesus, there was so much other meaning behind it. 17 months earlier I had sat in the same Funeral home at Tim's Nana's funeral. Tim's Nanny and Papa were there, and it was the last proper conversation I had with them before they died, 3 months later. And, while I didn't know it for certain at the time, I was actually pregnant during her funeral, with the baby we would say goodbye to only 7 weeks later.
It has been a really rough 18 months. Eighteen Months of Death.
So, as yesterday we celebrated Easter, I couldn't help thinking of what a miracle it is.
That there was a man, who was more than just a man. That this man was so innocent and powerful that death could not beat him. A man who now has power over death. A man who promises that just as he was raised from death, so all who believe in him will rise.
Sitting at Pa's funeral, knowing that his race was run, knowing that he had gone to be with the savior that he loved and followed for so long, it is a great thing. I almost felt a little jealous.
And during such tough times as these, what a great thing it is to know that death is mealy a small sleep on the way to eternity with Jesus.
Thank you Jesus for Easter.
BG
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Things that make me happy right now- FOOD
I love cooking. And I particularly love it at the moment, where I have the energy, free and lead up time to do it properly. Not to mention plenty of time to look at food-blogs for suggested recipes!
There are certain food related things that are making me really happy right now:
Jacket Sweet Potato
About 3 and half years ago I was diagnosed with Pre-diabetes, or "Impaired Glucose Intolerance" as it's more medically known. Basically, my pancreas has to work alot harder than most people's to keep my blood sugar levels in check, so I am a real risk that one day it's going to say "That's enough, I can't take it anymore, I QUIT". And when my pancreas quits, that is when I will officially have diabetes. I had my regular glucose tolerance test to make sure that hasn't happened yet (NOT FUN!), but it turns out I am still in possession of a working pancreas. Yay! And given that supposedly 1 million Australians have diabetes and don't know it, then I'm feeling like I've moved back into the healthy camp, at least for a little while :)
But I digress. Jacket Sweet Potatos. Well, around the time when the doctor and I first started talking about my diabetes risk, I began upon a low GI diet. Now, I was definitely more stringent then than I have been since, but that was because I was needing to loose weight (a very important process in avoiding diabetes). Low GI diets in my book are the best diets! They are all about swapping things. You use different rice, different bread, and keep sweets as a sometimes instead of an everyday treat. I was self-controlled with food, loosing weight, feeling healthy and I was loving it. But there was one big, messy problem. Potatos.
Potatos are just about the worst thing you could have. And swapping to Sweet Potatos (lower GI) just wasn't the same. The thing I missed most was jacket potatos. Jacket potatos were so easy and good.
Anyway, this week, I found out I'd have 3 and a half years of a unnecessary jacket potato ban, because Jacket Sweet potato is awesome!
Basically, just wash (with a little scrub, don't worry if some skin comes off), wrap in foil, and put in an oven at 200 deg C for 45 minutes. I did it with a little one, and I recommend that. Tim and I had one each with our roast for that night and it was awesome. You would have to choose your topping carefully given that sweet potatos do have that strange sweet taste that doesn't match the bland potato, but overall I've found a winner! And so much easier than peeling and chopping :)
Jamie Olivers Easy Raspberry Sorbet
I don't know if I should give Jamie full credit, since I saw him make it on TV once, but had no idea or memory of proportions so just worked it out myself. Basically what you do is get Frozen Raspberry's in your blender with some natural yoghurt and honey, blend it until it looks a bit like sorbet. I found I started with just a little bit of yoghurt, then kept adding until it took the consistency that I wanted. Then put it in the freezer for half an hour then it's done.
Okay, I admit, this is a stock standard Internet photo of sorbet and not the one I made because I never remember to take photos of food. But this is seriously what it looked like.
It is very tart. Yoghurt is tart, Raspberries are tart, and I was hesitant to add too much honey. It was too tart for Tim. But I loved it. I think in hindsight I would also keep adding honey until the taste worked.
It kept pretty well, although it needed thawing time after it had been in longer than an hour. And a super healthy and quick dessert option which was the point.
Frozen Pastry
Okay, Pastry isn't exactly high on the Low GI/keeping-my-overworked-pancreas-happy table. But every girls gotta have her weakness. I've recently purchased some 2 cup ramekins and am celebrating by experimenting with different pies. And usually I only put a pastry top on, so they are actually alot healthy than pies you get at a pie shop. I make a pie every two weeks, and so far Tim's been a fan, although he keeps commenting that my pies aren't as good as the First Pie I ever made for him. He has such fond memories of that first pie, that though I've tried and almost succeeded in making one better, I think I need to just admit defeat and make him his favourite pie again! Frozen Pastry is also great for when Tim asks beseechingly "Is there anything for dessert" and I have the time and inclination to say "Give me 45 minutes and I'll figure something out!" Last night I made a raspberry and white chocolate tart, just with things that happened to be in the kitchen. Again, no photos, but just imagine it. Raspberry. White chocolate. Tart.
I'm sure my pancreas will understand.
Love BG
There are certain food related things that are making me really happy right now:
Jacket Sweet Potato
About 3 and half years ago I was diagnosed with Pre-diabetes, or "Impaired Glucose Intolerance" as it's more medically known. Basically, my pancreas has to work alot harder than most people's to keep my blood sugar levels in check, so I am a real risk that one day it's going to say "That's enough, I can't take it anymore, I QUIT". And when my pancreas quits, that is when I will officially have diabetes. I had my regular glucose tolerance test to make sure that hasn't happened yet (NOT FUN!), but it turns out I am still in possession of a working pancreas. Yay! And given that supposedly 1 million Australians have diabetes and don't know it, then I'm feeling like I've moved back into the healthy camp, at least for a little while :)
But I digress. Jacket Sweet Potatos. Well, around the time when the doctor and I first started talking about my diabetes risk, I began upon a low GI diet. Now, I was definitely more stringent then than I have been since, but that was because I was needing to loose weight (a very important process in avoiding diabetes). Low GI diets in my book are the best diets! They are all about swapping things. You use different rice, different bread, and keep sweets as a sometimes instead of an everyday treat. I was self-controlled with food, loosing weight, feeling healthy and I was loving it. But there was one big, messy problem. Potatos.
Potatos are just about the worst thing you could have. And swapping to Sweet Potatos (lower GI) just wasn't the same. The thing I missed most was jacket potatos. Jacket potatos were so easy and good.
Anyway, this week, I found out I'd have 3 and a half years of a unnecessary jacket potato ban, because Jacket Sweet potato is awesome!
Basically, just wash (with a little scrub, don't worry if some skin comes off), wrap in foil, and put in an oven at 200 deg C for 45 minutes. I did it with a little one, and I recommend that. Tim and I had one each with our roast for that night and it was awesome. You would have to choose your topping carefully given that sweet potatos do have that strange sweet taste that doesn't match the bland potato, but overall I've found a winner! And so much easier than peeling and chopping :)
Jamie Olivers Easy Raspberry Sorbet
I don't know if I should give Jamie full credit, since I saw him make it on TV once, but had no idea or memory of proportions so just worked it out myself. Basically what you do is get Frozen Raspberry's in your blender with some natural yoghurt and honey, blend it until it looks a bit like sorbet. I found I started with just a little bit of yoghurt, then kept adding until it took the consistency that I wanted. Then put it in the freezer for half an hour then it's done.
It is very tart. Yoghurt is tart, Raspberries are tart, and I was hesitant to add too much honey. It was too tart for Tim. But I loved it. I think in hindsight I would also keep adding honey until the taste worked.
It kept pretty well, although it needed thawing time after it had been in longer than an hour. And a super healthy and quick dessert option which was the point.
Frozen Pastry
Okay, Pastry isn't exactly high on the Low GI/keeping-my-overworked-pancreas-happy table. But every girls gotta have her weakness. I've recently purchased some 2 cup ramekins and am celebrating by experimenting with different pies. And usually I only put a pastry top on, so they are actually alot healthy than pies you get at a pie shop. I make a pie every two weeks, and so far Tim's been a fan, although he keeps commenting that my pies aren't as good as the First Pie I ever made for him. He has such fond memories of that first pie, that though I've tried and almost succeeded in making one better, I think I need to just admit defeat and make him his favourite pie again! Frozen Pastry is also great for when Tim asks beseechingly "Is there anything for dessert" and I have the time and inclination to say "Give me 45 minutes and I'll figure something out!" Last night I made a raspberry and white chocolate tart, just with things that happened to be in the kitchen. Again, no photos, but just imagine it. Raspberry. White chocolate. Tart.
I'm sure my pancreas will understand.
Love BG
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Two jobs that no one understands
I currently hold two jobs that no one understands, both of which at present do not pay me anything.
It is a strange place to be.
Particularly now as I am meeting lots of new people, doctors, hairdressers, members of the choir Tim and I are joining if I don't botch my audition. They all ask me. What do you do?
I don't really know how to explain it.
Tim suggested I say this: "I am volunteering at my church and writing a novel".
I feel like such a fraud! I had a very in-depth convo with a man at Centrelink who looked at my healthcare card form and asked "You don't have a job. What do you do?"
And so I answered, "I am volunteering at my church and writing a novel".
He was so very interested. How much had a written? What kind of novel is it? Are you getting to the exciting bit? When do I think it will be done? How am I going about getting it published? I answered all his question, but I was apologetic and reserved. He was treating me like an author. Me, an author? Surely not? I felt like a fraud, and it felt particularly naughty to be a fraud to a government official!
I guess this is how everyone feels when their hobby in some way becomes their job, particularly when they aren't being paid for it. This novel, this dream of being an author, has always been something that has just been between, me, God, my computer and my writing notebook. A private thing. Tim, I suppose, has been cheering from the side-lines. And it always makes for a really interesting conversation starter when people ask what do you do in your free time.
But as a job? It suggest that I am good at this, that this process is worthwhile not just as something to make me happy in my free time, but something that is worth devoting time to for it's own sake. Scary.
Yet I'm doing it. I'm taking 6 months off to write a novel.
And as of today, I'm 70,000 words in.
That's not just a hobby anymore.
love BG
It is a strange place to be.
Particularly now as I am meeting lots of new people, doctors, hairdressers, members of the choir Tim and I are joining if I don't botch my audition. They all ask me. What do you do?
I don't really know how to explain it.
Tim suggested I say this: "I am volunteering at my church and writing a novel".
I feel like such a fraud! I had a very in-depth convo with a man at Centrelink who looked at my healthcare card form and asked "You don't have a job. What do you do?"
And so I answered, "I am volunteering at my church and writing a novel".
He was so very interested. How much had a written? What kind of novel is it? Are you getting to the exciting bit? When do I think it will be done? How am I going about getting it published? I answered all his question, but I was apologetic and reserved. He was treating me like an author. Me, an author? Surely not? I felt like a fraud, and it felt particularly naughty to be a fraud to a government official!
I guess this is how everyone feels when their hobby in some way becomes their job, particularly when they aren't being paid for it. This novel, this dream of being an author, has always been something that has just been between, me, God, my computer and my writing notebook. A private thing. Tim, I suppose, has been cheering from the side-lines. And it always makes for a really interesting conversation starter when people ask what do you do in your free time.
But as a job? It suggest that I am good at this, that this process is worthwhile not just as something to make me happy in my free time, but something that is worth devoting time to for it's own sake. Scary.
Yet I'm doing it. I'm taking 6 months off to write a novel.
And as of today, I'm 70,000 words in.
That's not just a hobby anymore.
love BG
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Time together makes the heart grow fonder
There is a saying, absence makes the heart go fonder.
I get it.
I understand the appreciation that grows when things are absent.
But the opposite is happening to me at the moment.
When we lived interstate, the times well I really felt the distance from family was special events, or times when I knew they were hanging out and we weren't there. I spoke to my family once a week, and I really missed them and was glad for that one phone call. But there was nothing I could do about it, and I enjoyed the 4 or 5 times a year we would see each other, even if I would have liked a few more.
Now?
Now a phone call a week doesn't cut it. And I find myself missing my two families, even if I saw them last week. I'm constantly missing them, wanting to hang out with them. Wondering what they are doing. Praying for them.
When they were a 1000 Ks away I missed them.
Now they are 10, 20 ks away and I miss them more.
Seems that time together makes the heart grow fonder too.
BG
I get it.
I understand the appreciation that grows when things are absent.
But the opposite is happening to me at the moment.
When we lived interstate, the times well I really felt the distance from family was special events, or times when I knew they were hanging out and we weren't there. I spoke to my family once a week, and I really missed them and was glad for that one phone call. But there was nothing I could do about it, and I enjoyed the 4 or 5 times a year we would see each other, even if I would have liked a few more.
Now?
Now a phone call a week doesn't cut it. And I find myself missing my two families, even if I saw them last week. I'm constantly missing them, wanting to hang out with them. Wondering what they are doing. Praying for them.
When they were a 1000 Ks away I missed them.
Now they are 10, 20 ks away and I miss them more.
Seems that time together makes the heart grow fonder too.
BG
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Not in Vain
An update on my Mark memorising- not going so well! It seems that despite my initial enthusiasm, memorising a verse a day is beyond me. I'm changing my strategy, and am going to attempt to set aside an hour in one day of the week to work on it. I'm half way through chapter 1, and am amazed how much I learn by just reading and reciting these familiar words over and over.
This weekend I went to a conference on preaching. The speaker at the seminar I attended was Peter Adam, former Principal of Ridley. He is one of my favourite preachers, when I hear him. But often when I haven't heard him for a while, his whimsical style and thoughtful godliness leaves my mind, and I forget to list him when thinking of who are the great preachers. One point I found really fascinating was when he commented that great preaching doesn't have to be memorable to be effective. He could remember several wonderful sermons he had heard through his life, but that didn't mean that the others he heard hadn't been used by God. The aim of teaching is to change people to be more like Jesus, and that is much more important than being remembered.
But both together can still be nice.
At this conference a very familiar face came up to me. Even his name, bouncing off his lanyard, seemed to ring some subtle bell in my mind. He smiled at me, and said "I don't know if you remember me, but you were my Kids Club and Youth Group leader". The name and face and context came together and I remembered. A kid who went with his family to a church with no other kids, a very enthusiastic Kids Club kid who ended up in Youth Group. A kid who had stopped coming and I always wondered about. A kid I hadn't seen in probably 10 to 12 years.
He told me of the church plant he had joined. He spoke of Kids club and of Bible Studies at my house. I was only just an adult when I lead those studies, and often look back and wonder what they were like, since I have no memory, other than that they happened and vague visual pictures of the Bible, bits of paper and my parent's lounge-room.
I stuttered a bit, and commented on how happy I was to see him at such a conference, to see how seriously he was taking God. I told him, "I often look back at my Youth leading days, at all those who lost interest and fell away, and feel sad".
"Don't worry" the young man said, "It was worth it".
It always is. Praise God!
BG
This weekend I went to a conference on preaching. The speaker at the seminar I attended was Peter Adam, former Principal of Ridley. He is one of my favourite preachers, when I hear him. But often when I haven't heard him for a while, his whimsical style and thoughtful godliness leaves my mind, and I forget to list him when thinking of who are the great preachers. One point I found really fascinating was when he commented that great preaching doesn't have to be memorable to be effective. He could remember several wonderful sermons he had heard through his life, but that didn't mean that the others he heard hadn't been used by God. The aim of teaching is to change people to be more like Jesus, and that is much more important than being remembered.
But both together can still be nice.
At this conference a very familiar face came up to me. Even his name, bouncing off his lanyard, seemed to ring some subtle bell in my mind. He smiled at me, and said "I don't know if you remember me, but you were my Kids Club and Youth Group leader". The name and face and context came together and I remembered. A kid who went with his family to a church with no other kids, a very enthusiastic Kids Club kid who ended up in Youth Group. A kid who had stopped coming and I always wondered about. A kid I hadn't seen in probably 10 to 12 years.
He told me of the church plant he had joined. He spoke of Kids club and of Bible Studies at my house. I was only just an adult when I lead those studies, and often look back and wonder what they were like, since I have no memory, other than that they happened and vague visual pictures of the Bible, bits of paper and my parent's lounge-room.
I stuttered a bit, and commented on how happy I was to see him at such a conference, to see how seriously he was taking God. I told him, "I often look back at my Youth leading days, at all those who lost interest and fell away, and feel sad".
"Don't worry" the young man said, "It was worth it".
It always is. Praise God!
BG
Monday, February 13, 2012
Counting down the weeks
My nephew is due to be born in a little over two weeks.
The closeness of it has creped up. I only realised how close it was when I was flicking through my diary and found myself starring at the date only a few pages on.
I have had hundreds of friends have babies (and no, I'm not exaggerating), and so you would think I would be old hat at this. But it has never been this closer family, and this is my first go at being an Aunt. And as excited as I am, it still feels crazily unreal. The Watermelon in Elise's belly in two weeks is going to be a screaming, crying, gorgeous little person that I can see and touch and play with. But as much as I love him, I still find it hard to imagine.
Most people who have vague knowledge of my sister-in-law and her husband usually say as one of their first comments: "That is going to be one good-looking baby". I have to agree!
I think part of the issue is I find it hard, but fun, to imagine what their baby will look like. Elise and Harry had a baby celebration afternoon tea (basically a gender-inclusive Baby-shower, but Elise wouldn't let us call it that). At that party there were several mixed ethnicity kids. It went from a very Indian looking boy to a blond haired blue eyed girl who in her apperance had no trace of her Indian/Mauritian heretige (and who ironically looked heaps like Elise does in all her baby photos). So am much as I love my nephew, I just can't picture him at all.
But I think that's part of the fun! In two weeks I will get to meet a little boy of unknown looks and unknown name. But I know he will be my nephew and I will be his Aunty and that I will love him to pieces.
And that's all I need to know.
love BG
The closeness of it has creped up. I only realised how close it was when I was flicking through my diary and found myself starring at the date only a few pages on.
I have had hundreds of friends have babies (and no, I'm not exaggerating), and so you would think I would be old hat at this. But it has never been this closer family, and this is my first go at being an Aunt. And as excited as I am, it still feels crazily unreal. The Watermelon in Elise's belly in two weeks is going to be a screaming, crying, gorgeous little person that I can see and touch and play with. But as much as I love him, I still find it hard to imagine.
Most people who have vague knowledge of my sister-in-law and her husband usually say as one of their first comments: "That is going to be one good-looking baby". I have to agree!
I think part of the issue is I find it hard, but fun, to imagine what their baby will look like. Elise and Harry had a baby celebration afternoon tea (basically a gender-inclusive Baby-shower, but Elise wouldn't let us call it that). At that party there were several mixed ethnicity kids. It went from a very Indian looking boy to a blond haired blue eyed girl who in her apperance had no trace of her Indian/Mauritian heretige (and who ironically looked heaps like Elise does in all her baby photos). So am much as I love my nephew, I just can't picture him at all.
But I think that's part of the fun! In two weeks I will get to meet a little boy of unknown looks and unknown name. But I know he will be my nephew and I will be his Aunty and that I will love him to pieces.
And that's all I need to know.
love BG
Sunday, February 12, 2012
A New Job!
As of July this year, I will be working two days a week for the RMIT CU! So lovely to have it first of all sorted, and also something that I can talk about publicly :)
It was a real blessing from God how it all came about.
Tim and I had decided, late in 2011, that I would be working part-time (as a volunteer) for the church plant, but that it would be good for me to work 2 days doing something else that pays. We weren't sure what that would be. I had various different thoughts, and chopped and changed, whether it would be better for me to work in a ministry job, or in a non-ministry job. I had decided with all the stress of starting a church plant, that perhaps a non-ministry job would be best.
I had also received an email from my old Colleague and friend from RMIT, Heather Reid. She had asked whether I might be interested in coming back to RMIT. This did seem like a wonderful option, I loved Uni ministry and in many ways that was always my very long term plan, but Tim and I dismissed it as a short term option. Staff workers needed to raise their own salary, and at the time we were in the mist of raising money to start our church. It just didn't seem possible that we would be able to raise one and a half salaries.
Cut to Boxing day, and a five hour car trip with Tim between relatives Christmas parties! I was sharing just how apathetic I was about the year ahead and I needed a decision on what I should do. Tim prayed, and then suggested a pros and cons list. In the process of that, I found that the top choices for me were AFES and Writing. Tim suggested at that point that perhaps I could have the first six months of the year off, to settle in, help with church planting and to write.
Then, after more discussions on our trip to Tassie, we decided to get back to Heather and pursue the RMIT option. It was something that I was passionate about, that was so obviously important, and it seemed a good use of the time that God had given me. And God had been so faithful in our church fundraising, we actually felt as if it could be possible to raise the two days a week I would be working.
I organised a catch up with Heather, and she was keen. The three of us got together with Steve (the boss at RMIT) and he was keen as well. Last week I had my interview, and on Wednesday I got the official call from AFES saying I had the job. Praise God!
I'll be two days a week, at the RMIT city campus. My main job will be disciplining female students, and probably leading a Bible study. The rest of the particulars will be sorted out as the start date approaches.
Praying friends, please pray for me, as I prepare for this exciting role. Please also pray that God can raise the money for us so that I can work the full two days at RMIT.
:)
Love BG
It was a real blessing from God how it all came about.
Tim and I had decided, late in 2011, that I would be working part-time (as a volunteer) for the church plant, but that it would be good for me to work 2 days doing something else that pays. We weren't sure what that would be. I had various different thoughts, and chopped and changed, whether it would be better for me to work in a ministry job, or in a non-ministry job. I had decided with all the stress of starting a church plant, that perhaps a non-ministry job would be best.
I had also received an email from my old Colleague and friend from RMIT, Heather Reid. She had asked whether I might be interested in coming back to RMIT. This did seem like a wonderful option, I loved Uni ministry and in many ways that was always my very long term plan, but Tim and I dismissed it as a short term option. Staff workers needed to raise their own salary, and at the time we were in the mist of raising money to start our church. It just didn't seem possible that we would be able to raise one and a half salaries.
Cut to Boxing day, and a five hour car trip with Tim between relatives Christmas parties! I was sharing just how apathetic I was about the year ahead and I needed a decision on what I should do. Tim prayed, and then suggested a pros and cons list. In the process of that, I found that the top choices for me were AFES and Writing. Tim suggested at that point that perhaps I could have the first six months of the year off, to settle in, help with church planting and to write.
Then, after more discussions on our trip to Tassie, we decided to get back to Heather and pursue the RMIT option. It was something that I was passionate about, that was so obviously important, and it seemed a good use of the time that God had given me. And God had been so faithful in our church fundraising, we actually felt as if it could be possible to raise the two days a week I would be working.
I organised a catch up with Heather, and she was keen. The three of us got together with Steve (the boss at RMIT) and he was keen as well. Last week I had my interview, and on Wednesday I got the official call from AFES saying I had the job. Praise God!
I'll be two days a week, at the RMIT city campus. My main job will be disciplining female students, and probably leading a Bible study. The rest of the particulars will be sorted out as the start date approaches.
Praying friends, please pray for me, as I prepare for this exciting role. Please also pray that God can raise the money for us so that I can work the full two days at RMIT.
:)
Love BG
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Seven Years
Everyone keeps saying, when I tell them it's been our seven year anniversary on Sunday, "That's a good number". It makes me laugh, because in the grand scheme of things, seven is not any special milestone. Maybe its just a Christian thing :)But every anniversary feels like a special milestone, in my book. It is by God's grace we made our promises, and it is by God's grace that we keep them. Anniversaries are a great time to talk about the fun times, and to make each other feel special. But they are also a good time to give God all the glory for the blessings of our lives.
Tim and I celebrated by having a special dinner at Crown. I sat looking out at the Yarra River and the Rialto thinking- we really are in Melbourne again. And that also seems like a special turning point in our marriage, and another thing to be greatful to God for.
Love BG
PS If you are curious (which I was) the traditional gifts of 7 years are Cooper and Wool- a definately improvement on paper and tin! Maybe we are finally approaching something good enough to buy for each other :)
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The gift of six months
I have not been blogging, but I have the greatest water-tight excuse! We have no Internet. I am currently sitting at my in-law, enjoying some precious webby time. I have my blackberry, and I love it, but I would not love writing a blog post on those tiny keys. But come tomorrow someone will do something that will mean that our phone will magically come on and our wireless machine will kick into gear and we will have Internet.
Our house is set up for living, but is far from unpacked. But one thing that is ready is my writing desk. We've set up the study so that Tim has his big desk, and I have my little corner desk. It looks out the window, which is good, because I write better with a view, even if its just of the neighbours apple trees. And it's mine. It's the first time in our marriage we've had two desks and I am so excited.
As many people who know me will know, I left a job working at a church in Sydney to come down with Tim and plant a church. And our plan was for me to spend some of my time church planting, and two days a week working for money. I have been busy concentrating on the church plant. And things are in the pipeline for work later in the year. But for now, Tim has given me the gift of 6 months.
I realise that it is a gift. A real gift. I don't know many husbands who would insist that their wives take six months off to adjust to a new city, to recover from life, to enjoy reconnecting with friends. And to write. Can't forget that, Tim is always reminding me that this is time to write.
So I have my little writing desk. A desk where I can finish my novel. A desk where I can dream. Where I can blog. Where I can sit and start to jot down the many, many ideas I have for Christian articles, and books and posts.
It's been a big 4 years, and last year was a very tough year for me.
I am so excited by this gift. This slow start.
Love BG
Our house is set up for living, but is far from unpacked. But one thing that is ready is my writing desk. We've set up the study so that Tim has his big desk, and I have my little corner desk. It looks out the window, which is good, because I write better with a view, even if its just of the neighbours apple trees. And it's mine. It's the first time in our marriage we've had two desks and I am so excited.
As many people who know me will know, I left a job working at a church in Sydney to come down with Tim and plant a church. And our plan was for me to spend some of my time church planting, and two days a week working for money. I have been busy concentrating on the church plant. And things are in the pipeline for work later in the year. But for now, Tim has given me the gift of 6 months.
I realise that it is a gift. A real gift. I don't know many husbands who would insist that their wives take six months off to adjust to a new city, to recover from life, to enjoy reconnecting with friends. And to write. Can't forget that, Tim is always reminding me that this is time to write.
So I have my little writing desk. A desk where I can finish my novel. A desk where I can dream. Where I can blog. Where I can sit and start to jot down the many, many ideas I have for Christian articles, and books and posts.
It's been a big 4 years, and last year was a very tough year for me.
I am so excited by this gift. This slow start.
Love BG
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Lessons from Leisure
Tim and I last week got back from a holiday in Tassie. It was wonderful! I love, love, love Tassie, and I recommend it to everyone. Well, maybe not to everyone, but if you are anything like Tim and I, you will have a ball
Things that I loved:
Stanley
Our holiday is Tassie was all about the unexpected delights. So often we would just "happen" to go somewhere and it was lovely. The best was Stanley. Stanley was a little town on the North Western Corner of Tassie. It was beautifully done, all the houses were neat and painted in pretty colours, and there were lots of lovely cafes and places to go. It was on an little Peninsula so it had beautiful beaches on either side. But the best thing was on the very tip of the Peninsula was a very boringly named hill called "The Nut". We climbed to the top and walked around it, having 360 views. It was so lovely, I think it's the cutest town I've ever seen, and my second nicest town after Queenstown, NZ
Cataract Gorge
On our last night, in the evening while the sun was still up, we decided to make our way down Cataract Gorge in Launceston. We weren't that excited, it would be pretty, but we had seen lots of pretty things in that week. We walked along, and found ourselves in a little botanic garden filled with Peacocks and Wallabies. It was one of the highlights for the trip, and a lovely way to round out our holiday.
Our apartment at Freicynet
We had a beach side apartment in Freicynet with Windows running along the side facing out onto Oyster bay. It just just a really lovely place to be. While holidays don't need nice places all the time, it is important for some of it. It meant that Tim and I were able to just hang at home and be together without feeling the need to go out, because the view and the beach and the luxury were right where we were.
Talking time
In marriage, you talk alot. In marriage during holidays, you talk all the time. Tim and I got so much time to talk, about the future, about the past, about God, about writing, about what we were seeing and doing. A real highlight for me :)
Things I learnt to remember for future holidays:
Food is important
I am someone for whom food is very important. I need at least one meal a day that makes me happy, or I get a bit grumpy. I know this is selfish and a very first world probably, but I find particularly on holidays food can really effect how I feel about a day. We had learnt from previous holidays that Self-contained apartments are great, because rather than paying a great deal for a meal that makes me happy each day, you can occasionally make it yourself. What we didn't do was plan ahead. We would end up in an area with only small, expensive stores, that didn't have the things that I enjoy cooking. I also realised that to make anything good you need to buy lots of pantry items. So next time I would plan head, make sure I stocked up on dinner items in the larger towns when we were staying in the small towns. And next holiday I'm bringing at least some spices and stock powder along for the ride :)
Making Driving a choice not a necessity
Tim and I love driving holidays. Particularly when you are traveling in a gorgeous, wild/pastoral place like Tassie, the journey is part of the fun. But because of the way we structured the holidays, we had at least three or four days of at least 4 hour drives. In hindsight I would reorganise where we stayed so that the drives in between places were shorter. That way we can choose to drive and go exploring if we want, but if we don't feel like it then it isn't a necessity.
Expectations low
This wasn't so much an issue this holiday, but as a reflection of previous holidays- the temptation is to spend the 6 months before the holiday imagining that it will be the best time of your life. But holidays aren't like that. You might have a lovely time, but there are still moments of sadness. There are places that don't look as good as they did on the website. There is sunburn and allergies. Holidays are about having a good time, but they are also about recovery from life. Letting the holiday be what it will be, taking the pressure off, can make for a better holiday. The second day I was feeling a bit low, and that made me feel guilty. We are paying money for this. I have to enjoy it all the time. Remembering this was recovery time, freed me up to feel how i needed to feel, and actually let me enjoy myself more than if I was forcing myself to be excited all the time.
And now, some photos
Things that I loved:
Stanley
Our holiday is Tassie was all about the unexpected delights. So often we would just "happen" to go somewhere and it was lovely. The best was Stanley. Stanley was a little town on the North Western Corner of Tassie. It was beautifully done, all the houses were neat and painted in pretty colours, and there were lots of lovely cafes and places to go. It was on an little Peninsula so it had beautiful beaches on either side. But the best thing was on the very tip of the Peninsula was a very boringly named hill called "The Nut". We climbed to the top and walked around it, having 360 views. It was so lovely, I think it's the cutest town I've ever seen, and my second nicest town after Queenstown, NZ
Cataract Gorge
On our last night, in the evening while the sun was still up, we decided to make our way down Cataract Gorge in Launceston. We weren't that excited, it would be pretty, but we had seen lots of pretty things in that week. We walked along, and found ourselves in a little botanic garden filled with Peacocks and Wallabies. It was one of the highlights for the trip, and a lovely way to round out our holiday.
Our apartment at Freicynet
We had a beach side apartment in Freicynet with Windows running along the side facing out onto Oyster bay. It just just a really lovely place to be. While holidays don't need nice places all the time, it is important for some of it. It meant that Tim and I were able to just hang at home and be together without feeling the need to go out, because the view and the beach and the luxury were right where we were.
Talking time
In marriage, you talk alot. In marriage during holidays, you talk all the time. Tim and I got so much time to talk, about the future, about the past, about God, about writing, about what we were seeing and doing. A real highlight for me :)
Things I learnt to remember for future holidays:
Food is important
I am someone for whom food is very important. I need at least one meal a day that makes me happy, or I get a bit grumpy. I know this is selfish and a very first world probably, but I find particularly on holidays food can really effect how I feel about a day. We had learnt from previous holidays that Self-contained apartments are great, because rather than paying a great deal for a meal that makes me happy each day, you can occasionally make it yourself. What we didn't do was plan ahead. We would end up in an area with only small, expensive stores, that didn't have the things that I enjoy cooking. I also realised that to make anything good you need to buy lots of pantry items. So next time I would plan head, make sure I stocked up on dinner items in the larger towns when we were staying in the small towns. And next holiday I'm bringing at least some spices and stock powder along for the ride :)
Making Driving a choice not a necessity
Tim and I love driving holidays. Particularly when you are traveling in a gorgeous, wild/pastoral place like Tassie, the journey is part of the fun. But because of the way we structured the holidays, we had at least three or four days of at least 4 hour drives. In hindsight I would reorganise where we stayed so that the drives in between places were shorter. That way we can choose to drive and go exploring if we want, but if we don't feel like it then it isn't a necessity.
Expectations low
This wasn't so much an issue this holiday, but as a reflection of previous holidays- the temptation is to spend the 6 months before the holiday imagining that it will be the best time of your life. But holidays aren't like that. You might have a lovely time, but there are still moments of sadness. There are places that don't look as good as they did on the website. There is sunburn and allergies. Holidays are about having a good time, but they are also about recovery from life. Letting the holiday be what it will be, taking the pressure off, can make for a better holiday. The second day I was feeling a bit low, and that made me feel guilty. We are paying money for this. I have to enjoy it all the time. Remembering this was recovery time, freed me up to feel how i needed to feel, and actually let me enjoy myself more than if I was forcing myself to be excited all the time.
And now, some photos
Me on "the Nut" over looking Stanley
Tim and I hanging out at Wine Glass Bay
Tim walking along at Boat Harbour Beach, a really cute and out of the way beach on the North Western Corner of Tassie
Tim reading on our balcony in our beautiful Freycynet appartment
Tim overlooking a river on the Cradle Valley Board Walk
Love BG
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