Flash back

Hello,
I am writing to you from the study in my parents house. In the house where I lived from the time my mother brought me home from hospital.

It's changed a little.

There are new rooms, there is a rather nice patio. And after 20 odd years of hints, there is finally a fireplace.

But some things haven't changed. My room is still blue- though it seems so much smaller with a big sofa bed and my sisters sewing things stacked on my old desk.

Yesterday I road in the car with my sister.

She tried to get me to listen to her alternative music.
Then she eventually gave in and we listened to Crowded House and Van Morrison which we both like.
We coughed in songs to block out the swear words.
We talked about life and God and friends.
I teased her about being a Melbourne Uni Alternative-hippy who scorns me for my "pop" music and doesn't buy retail.
She teased me about my inability to offer my assistance in housework until the job was already finished.

My life has changed so much in the last six years since I moved out. And many of the changes are very, very good.

But some things haven't changed.

It's lovely.
love B

30 years worth of thankyous!

On Kyck we were challenged to not be people who were focused on gaining things that don't last (money, fame, things etc), but to be people who thanked God for the good gifts he gives us.

So, to celebrate my birthday- I thought I would thank God for things that he has given me over the years of my life.

Year 0-Thanks God for giving me life!
Year 1- Thanks God for giving me awesome parents who told me of you and loved me so kindly and wisely
Year 2- Thanks for my sister!
Year 3-Thanks for the Grandparents and Aunts and Uncles and Cousins who bring such joy
Year 4- Thanks for the house I grew up in, particularly the huge backyard where I could run around, dream, make up stories, and talk to you
Year 5- Thanks for primary school- for the things you taught me and the lessons I learnt about life and the world you created
Year 6- Thanks for my Grandparents farm- a place where I experienced so much joy.
Year 7- Thanks for St Mary's and St Paul's where I had such fun at church and where I learnt so many amazing things about you and your son.
Year 8-Thanks for the imagination that you gave me, and the many fun years (still continuing) of making up stories
Year 9-Thanks for friends you gave me
Year 10-Thanks for the time you gave me in the states- the beautiful world of Madison that you decided in your Divine plan to share with me
Year 11-Thanks for the experience of living in another country- and the love you gave me starting then for people who are from countries other than Australia
Year 12- Thanks for the church I went to in America- particularly my Sunday School teacher Laura who helped me understand what it means that we are all sinners
Year 13- Thanks for High school. Even though it was a hard 6 years, I learnt so much and I grew so much and I am thankful for how you used it to shape me into the person that I am.
Year 14- Thanks for Youth Group- for the leaders, for the opportunities for ministry, for all the fun times, and for the friends.
Year 15- Thanks for Jesus! (That is relevant for every year- but I might as well stick it here, and 15 was a hard year and knowing that Jesus died for me was something that helped get me through it)
Year 16-Thanks for letting me go overseas to Europe. You have blessed me with so many special experiences and I am grateful.
Year 17- Thanks for Beach Mission! It was such a key time in my walk with you, the friends I made are so precious, and it was there that I realised I wanted to spend the rest of my life telling people about Jesus. What a blessing!
Year 18-Thanks for giving me a love of learning.
Year 19-Thanks for Uni. Thanks for that fun crazy time. Thanks particularly for the Christian Union I was apart of- for the fun, the friendships, and the Bible teaching and training which has made such a difference to my Christian life and service.
Year 20-Thanks for my friend Fi- thanks for the way you have used her over the years to be such a source of encouragement and fun!
Year 21-Thanks for teaching me that I should find my self-worth in you and not in other people (still learning that one- but 21 was a key year)
Year 22-Thanks for giving me jobs- allowing me to earn money. Thanks for the growing up that took place and the lessons I learnt.
Year 23-Thanks for introducing me to the most amazing man in the world. Thanks that (after a while!) he decided to ask me out. Thanks that despite my worries over the previous 22 years that you had it all figured out!
Year 24-Thanks for my marriage to Tim. Thanks that despite the fact that we are both sinners, that you have used us to grow each other. Thanks for all those amazing fun times.
Year 25-Thanks for the chance to do an apprenticeship at RMIT. It was just amazing to have people donate money so that I could spend my time reading the Bible with Uni-students and encouraging them in their faith. Thanks for the blessing of being trained by the gifted and godly Steve and Heather. I grew so much.
Year 26- Thanks for Scots Church- for all the things we learnt and the dear friends we made. It is such a blessing even now when we are far away that we have such caring lovely "couple friends" who welcome us back as if we never left.
Year 27-Thanks for Bible College. I still can't believe I got that one precious year of studying your word. Thanks for that unexpected Gift.
Year 28-Thanks for Chatswood Baptist and particularly the chance of getting to work there. Only you could work things out so well! Thanks for Children's ministry and making it fun as well as challenging
Year 29-Thanks for the way that despite hard things and trials and time away from family, that you have held me tight to you, and grown me in my faith.

Year 30
Plenty of things I could say- but as it's only been 11 and half hours (or less than an hour depending if you are going via the actual time of birth), I won't dwell on them ;)
But even though I don't know what this year holds- I know that it is in the hands of a creator who loves me.
Thanks God for being in control of my life.
I love you.
Amen
B

Christmas Cooking

WARNING TO FAMILY MEMBERS- CHRISTMAS TREAT SPOILER ALERT!!!!

When Tim and I first started working in ministry- it occurred to me that Christmas cooking would be a cheaper way to deal with the struggle each year to scrounge together enough money for all the gifts. So, with every Christmas magazine I could find at the time, I pulled together a list of interested Christmas gifts to make for relatives. As my sister and my Mum are not sweet tooth's and so wouldn't be such fans of that kind of thing- I recruited them to help with the process. And so a tradition has been born.

I love it. I love the process of choosing what we do. And I love the chance to cook with and for my dear families.

The first item on the agenda was biscotti- as I felt like giving our "present plates" a sophisticated edge. One thing I learnt from my collection of I think about 8 different Christmas magazines is that almost anything can be Christmasy if you just have the right ingredients or colours. Cranberry and Pistachio biscotti- surprisingly easy!

Second item was another "Not-really Christmas but we can just make it green and red and no one will mind" item. Turkish delight! I'm a little nervous about it's chances (last i heard it was still yet to set), but the idea was so cool that we couldn't resist!

Candy Cane merrange (sp). We were a bit sceptical about whether we could match the cool red food colouring swirls that the magazine suggested- but I think they turned out pretty good.

And finally- the truffles. Sandy had organised some of her youth group girls to join us on cooking day- it was lovely to meet them and it great having them on board

Have I mentioned lately that I love Christmas?

love B

Avoiding a Martha Christmas, and having a Mary Christmas ;)

I love Christmas. I am a total Christmas junkie! I love carols, I love lights, I love the smell of fresh pine wafting through the house. And I love the Christmas story- because it's not just a story it is true and when I remind myself of that I get overwhelmed with amazement at my incredible God.

This year though I am finding myself sliding into a very Martha Christmas. Martha is the sister who was so busy serving that she didn't have time to sit at Jesus feet and listen. Her sister Mary however just sat at Jesus' feet to listen And as I sit here this morning getting ready to wrap 50 odd presents for the kids at church, and ice some thank you gingerbread biscuits for my beautiful, beautiful team of Sunday School teachers- I am tending to think of Christmas as a chore rather than a point of celebration

Ironically I am spending most of my time working hard so that other people do see the true meaning of Christmas- I'm just so busy doing it that I'm forgetting myself. But I don't want a Martha Christmas. I want a Mary Christmas ;)

So, I thought I'd post up some special memory of Christmas that I have, some serious some not- to get my mind back in the right frame.

-Sandy and I loved Christmas time, because suddenly their was a whole new realm of pretend play opening up for us. We would spend hours under the Christmas tree, pulling off the angels and taking them on little adventures

-Mum and Dad and Sandy always kindly set aside my two favourite jobs for me to do- and even as an adult they sometimes still do. I was the one who put the star on the top of the Christmas tree, and I was the one who set out our nativity scene. The nativity scene was made in Bethlehem and was unpainted, wooden and simple. I loved it because it seemed so much closer to what the Bible says than the usual Mary in her beautiful blue robe and Jesus with blond hair.

-My sister was in Israel a few years ago and bought me my own little wooden nativity scene. I am so excited about bringing it out for my Playtime kids on Tuesday and giving them a sense of the simplicity and preciousness of the first Christmas.

-My favourite time of Christmas, funnily enough, was always Christmas Eve rather than Christmas. Christmas Eve had such a sense of anticipation. It was also when we went to church- and that to me was when Christmas went from just another holiday to something special. I remember a late night service at the small church near my Grandparents farm. We sang all those beautiful Christmas Carols and then we walked home under a sky full of country stars. I looked up and imagined the star of Bethlehem- gleaming to show the Magi the way.

-But my most precious Christmas memory wasn't even at Christmas. One night when I was Fourteen (I don't even know if it was December), I remember I was lying in bed and I couldn't sleep. I remember thinking about Mary, who someone had told me was probably very young when she had Jesus, because that's when people got engaged or married in those days. I thought to myself Mary might have been my age. It spun me out so much that I sat up in bed. I looked down into my arms and imagined a little baby in them. And then it struck me. Mary wouldn't just have held a baby. She was holding Jesus. She was holding God! God had become a baby. That was when I finally started to understand.

Immanuel. God with us.
Mary Christmas,
love B

Sandy's "Twenty-Seven today, Twenty Seven today"

Today is a special day, and a sad day- because it's my sister Sandy's birthday and I can't be there.

But sending lots of purple love your way Sandy!
love B

Interesting Typo

Interesting Typo pointed out by my beautiful Sandy- in my last post I said that Uni students realistically only working 26 days a week! Actually, working 26 days a week is not something the ordinary Uni student does- though I wouldn't put it past my conscientious sister :)

And for a birthday Update- I am having a lovely day. I had the worlds BEST banana bread at Envy Cafe (a cafe which Tim doesn't like that much so it was a lovely Birthday concession), and then we had a picnic by the beach. I also had some nice phone chats with friends and family not to mention a very funky fruit hamper from Mum, Dad and Sandy. And my present from Tim? A T2 collection of sample teas. So exciting!

Now, back to my Nana nap!
love B

Shopping Spree!

One of the many things that good about sister Sandy visiting is the shopping. You see, Sandy is an expert op-shopper. She knows what is going to work. One of the hardest things about op-shopping is that the clothes are generally all bunched together on a rack. You see the very edge of a garment, it is a lovely texture and print. This could be a winner you think to yourself proudly as you pull it from the hanger. You find out it has shoulder pads, big mother of pearl buttons, and an anchor embroided into the pocket. You very quickly let it slide to the floor below the rack before anyone saw that you actually touched it.

However Sandy has the knack (from years of practice) of knowing which garments are going to be good based solely on the sleeve.

You also need determination and patients to be a good op-shopper; two characteristics of both my dear parents which seem to have skipped me and ended up firmly in the genes of Sandy. Our op-shopping day was a 35 degree day, and I was walking on a slightly rolled ankle. I spent most of my time at Vinnie's sitting on the floor listening to Sandy's ipod while she very kindly dropped outfits into my lap!

This was my favourite top I got. Isn't it gorgeous?

I ended up spending $40 and if you include a few fantastic cast-offs from my cousin- I've pretty much got my summer wardrobe sorted.

Tim, however, couldn't believe that I would spend $40 at an op shop. You see, usually if we buy clothing over about $20, we warn the other that we are going to do it. For the next day Tim kept muttering to himself "40 dollars at an op shop...". He even dared to compare it to the "joining a wine club" incident of 2006 (always scary when your husband starts a sentence "I know we agreed to discuss first if we were buying something over one hundred dollars but...")

I've never been a fashionable person. And as my Aunt sweetly put it "You have a tiny upper back, but make up for it in the front!". So clothes shopping- though not the stress it has been for many of my friends- was always a cause of frustration as so many styles are not make for someone my shape.

But I'm getting more used to what suits me and doesn't- and now getting new clothes is starting to get more fun. Fun enough to spend $40 at an opshop anyway.

Me: "If you include the free stuff I got from Sulie that's 12 outfits Tim, 12 outfits for $40!"

Tim: "Fourty dollars at an op-shop...fourty dollars..."

Sandy Shananigans in Sydney

Sandy and Belinda's Sydney adventures!

Enmore Road, near where we live
Sandy, Jenny (Sandy's Sydney Stats friend) and Me had rice paper rolls for tea... ...and watched lots of Gilmore Girls (sorry, Sandy's face too dark and I couldn't change it)
Me...hmmm, what city do you think I'm in?
Really hard to tell isn't it?

We actually swapped umbrella's for this shot because they went better with our outfits!

Sandy's Chai latte was too sweet and mine not sweet enough- so Sandy did some mixing. Don't you love the cheeky look!Sandy in the water at ManlyMe in the waterSandy on the ferrie once again doing the cryptic cross word- Always a theme in a Sandy day!

True Story. I was writing the previous post and Sandy was watching. I asked "Do you think it will offend people to quote you saying "crap"?" and Sandy replied "It doesn't offend me"

Me: "Clearly since you said it!"

Quote of the week

Hi Friends,
My sister Sandy has been visiting the past few days- so its been priceless quotes gallore- particularly if you include the 8 Gilmore Girls episodes we have watched so far. But I think this one is still my favourite.

Sandy (in response to a 35 degree Sydney Spring day): "I've spent all day swapping sides of the street to avoid the sun. The song "Sunny side of the street"...it's a load of crap!"

Photos of our escapades coming soon.
love B