take care & GOD bless!!
much love ... :D

I was folding the clothes one day and watching tv looking at the way people dressed ... its so bad these days!! People are hardly wearing anything anymore!! I mean bras are becoming the new t-shirt! What happened to feeling comfortable without showing alot of skin!? Now a days its all about looking "hot" .. whatever that even means!

You walk into a store and with some of the tops half is missing!! And the dresses and skirts seem to be getting shorter and shorter! What happened to modesty?
I was talking with a friend while shopping at the Plaza and we mentioned how you cant walk into certain store and find a decent NOT revealling piece of clothing... stores that used to have really nice clothes too! OHH and did i mention this was a GUY i was talking with!! Just goes to show that not all guys think skin is more attractive!

And the media isnt helping!! Movies, music videos, tv shows, commercials even! ... most presenting ladies... some half naked [or more distrubingly fully naked!] and thinking its all good! What kind of impression does it give to chicks out there? That more skin, less covering is better? Or that guys will only like you if youre half naked? Or youre not "cool" unless you dress that way? ..... and who's to decide who's cool or not ....!?

I guess what bothers me most is not the fact that ladies choose to dress that way ... its your choice ... but the fact that children are being influenced by it!! Children soo young, so innocent, are being bombarded with images of women with micro-mini skirts and short tops that they think its the way to dress! What's worse it that companies are actually making clothes like that in their sizes!!! Little kids are wearing mini skirts and crop tops, looking like they're 16! It may look cute but what's teaching them about respecting their body? I may be wrong ... and if i am GREAT! ... otherwise its just sad...

A song by Barlow Girl puts its nicely ...

Well that's just my insight ... what do you think about what's going on in the fashion industry at the moment? Dont get me wrong .... I LOVE CLOTHES!!! but  showing heaps of skin just isnt "cool"!

Ashore on Malta

WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Im back from my camping adventures and boy was it NOT what i expected!! It was so much harder!!!!!! We were walking on narrow cliff edges ... and when i saw narrow i mean it! ... with 20kg on our backs!! BOY was it hard!!! But the experience was just so amazing! I was 'living' in GOD's creation for 4 days and it was absolutely awesome!! The views from the top of the mountains were just amazing .... it made all the pain it took to get there in the first place all go away! :) So ill go day by day with all the "highlights" of the walks and talks!! .....

NIGHT BEFORE [Sunday 10th September]
I was SOOO excited!! Even at church i couldnt stop moving! i was jumping up around everywhere! hehe! But not just because of the hike but because GOD is soo AMAZINGNESS!!! So after church and band practise we did our usual "go to someone's house and eat pizza for dinner". I didnt mind but i still hadnt packed. But we ate and spent time with our friends and then i got home around 9.30pm and THEN started packing. Wasnt the best idea! I packed and my back pack weighed 17kg. I was like yeah thats cool. But in the morning when i put everything in it weighed almost 20!! ughh!! My mum made me bring a back support thing and at first i was hesitant to bring it but after the hike im so glad i did! My mum was worried that i would hurt myself with 20kg on my back but i said "nah mum, i'll be alright" .... WRONG!

DAY ONE [Monday 11th September]
I was still SOOOO pumped to be going! I had a long shower ... well i wouldnt be showering for 4 days!! ... ate, packed the rest of my bag then headed off to school. I said bye to all of my other friends that werent going then we got on the bus and left for Lerderderg Gorge [weird name, i know but what's weirder is that there was a track called.... wait for it .... "Spanish Onion Track"] But at the bottom of the gorge/mountain track we dropped off the boys then us chicks headed to the top! Before we left we prayed and took pics! We started at a little camping ground that went uphill for 200m. BOY we were exhausted after 200m!!! hehe!! But we kept trekking on and it was so tiring!! 20kg on your back sure makes a big difference when youre walking uphill/ downhill and through narrow pathways with cliff edges right next to you! One of the girls fell on the edge of a cliff!! Thank GOD that it wasnt a steep one like the ones before but a reasonably flat one where we could pull her up!! We got so scared for her!!! Considering that ... the first day was pretty "flat" compared to what we went throught on the 3rd day! But we finally reached our campsite at O'Brien's Crossing and camped right next to the river. This campsite had toilets so that was real cool!! After having to dig holes in the ground for 3 days you learn to appreciate toilets!! ;P   So we set our tents up, cooked dinner [chicken stirfry with hokkien noodles and honey,soy,garlic sauce] ... that wasnt too nice! ughh! Then we sat in one of the other tents and played card games with the other girls. Everyone was getting tired so we all went back to our tents and got ready for bed. My friend and i read the Bible then prayed. Sleeping was so hard!! We were on hard uneven ground and so most of us didnt sleep well...

DAY TWO [Tuesday 12th September]
I T WAS FREEEEEEEZING!!!!!!!! We woke up and it was so cold we couldnt do anything! So we did our best to eat and take down our tents. It was so hard coz our hands would go numb!! BUt we managed to do it and then before leaving we ahd a little devotion. This day was the best day for me!! It was so awesome. The terrain wasnt just flat, which meant less concentration on the pain surging through my legs and more on the "where am i gonna step so i wont fall". About 1/3 of the way one of the girls said we were lost. So we had to sit and wait for the teachers to come and find us .... when in fact we were going the right way!!! But there was one bit where we had to jump onto a big rcok face to keep going and i slipped and kinda fell into the river!!! But at least it was only my foot! but the rest of the way i was walking with one wet shoe and one dry shoe! We FINALLY got to our next campsite and we all ran straight to the river to cool down!! It was so nice!! That night we all cooked in a little circle and talked heaps and just bonded. It was pretty rad! Chicken rice and soup. Not too good either! lol! We had a fire going and we roasted marshmellows *mmm*  then we all headed off to bed! Again we prayed and read the Bible. But i was kinda freaking out about the next day because it was meant to be our hardest and i already thought that day 2 [which was meant to be our easiest] was hard! =( Not that good of a sleep again but it wasnt as cold!!

DAY THREE [Wednesday 13th September]
At least it wasnt so cold that morning!! We all got up at 7am to leave at 9. But we were all late in packing up so we left a little later. Again we had devotion and headed off. We had to climb down a steep narrow opening in the cliff to get down to the river and it took ages! It was so much fun though and looking up at what we just did made us all the more proud!! Then we had to take our shoes and socks off and walk across the cold river on unstable rocks. We finally all got across then kept hiking. We had to climb a really steep track adn my legs were just giving in that i broke down into tears from all the pain!! But when we finally reached the top we had such a good feeling!! And the view was just gorgeous!! Then it was reasonably "flat" for some time and then we went down a steep track. Later on we had to climb yet another steep track and again i broke into tears. And so did my friend behind me! But it was such a good feeling to know that the worst of the trip was over!! We felt so accomplished!! We reached the last campsite of the trip ad set up. We all cooked together again and afterwards we all talked heaps. Even the teachers were socialising with us!! It was quite funny what we talked about!! .. considering they were teachers! But then we surprised Miss S with a 'thank you' present because on her last week teaching at our school before moving to France, she was on a hike with us. Lots of tears and laughs were created and we just ahd a blast!

DAY FOUR [Thursday 14th September]
LAAST DAYY!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! We were all so excited that our leaders for that day woke eveone up at 5am so that we could leave at 7am!!! We all got ready pretty quickly and left on time. Devotion before we left then it was the last leg of our 40km hike! It wasnt too bad except for this one very steep part down the mountain. So much for a "flat" last day! But when we came to an opening in that steep part BOY WAS THERE A VIEW!!!!!!! The view was the best we had seen the whole trip!!! I'll try t get pics up soon!!! :D But at the bottom of the mountain we reached a river and a man said that going to McKenzies Flat [our pick up point] we had to go left. But in fact he lied to us and we were supposed to go right! hrm ... strange man! But we were not 2km away from home and having McDonalds!! [McDonalds was our 'treat' for completing the hike, plus most of us were craving junk food anyway!] We finally made it to McKenzie's Flat and the bus wasnt even there!! BUt we were early so that was ok! So we waited, and waited, and waited .... 1 hour passed since our pick up time and we were still waiting. We ended up calling the school and asked about what was going on and they said the boys called in and said they were one hour behind .. COZ THEY GOT LOST!!!! 1 and half hours .... still waiting!! The bus FINALLY came around 3pm ... we were meant to be picked up at 1.30 ... and we went to McDonalds!! The stories that were being told on the bus were absolutely hilarious!!! The bus trip from Mcdo to home was great too! All in all i'd say the trip was a success!!! Tears, Pain, Laughs and all!! Also on that last day i was walking with a friend of mine and we were just talking away about life, GOD and being a christian that it encouraged me so much, and  made time pass so much more quickly! Finally got back to school and i saw my mummy!! =) I got home and took a long shower!! and used a flushing toilet!!! woot woot!!


So what did i learn over that time .....
1.   GOD created everything amazingly!!! No 'big bang' could ever create such beautiful and intricate things!! It's all beautiful and HE truly cares for HIS creations!! So if HE cares so much for nature ... how much more would HE care for us!? HIS children!!??
2.   Without GOD's strength I couldnt have done it!! We need GOD in our lives in every single way!!!
3.   We need to, as Christians, be able to openly talk about our faith to otehrs around us. I mean we have the greatest gift, joy, LOVE anyone could ever find, yet sometimes we keep it to ourselves!! How selfish is that!!
4.   Family is important!! GOD didnt just say "ok you can go into that family and just learn to live with them" ... NO WAY!!! HE put us into our families for a specific reason!!
5.    GOD IS AMAZINGNESS!!! [I already knew that but i just had to say it again =)]

Thanks for all your prayers and i thanks GOD for HIS protection!! Many of the girls fell and hurt themselves, twisted ankles, hurt knees ... but throughout it all no one was serioulsy hurt!!! woot!

She didnt know

Someone deeply cared

That a person gave His life

So that hers was spared

She found real joy

In the arms of grace

That lifted her high

To the best pace

She finally knew

What it meant to be

At peace with her Father

She was finally free

GOD is awesome

He cares for us all

He'll lift you too

You just have to call

He'll give you that joy

Peace and love too

If you just look to Him

Your dreams will come true

I wrote that poem last December and i only found it again now when i looked through my old blogs. The last verse really struck me now coz I haven't felt too great about my walk with GOD lately. I may seem like its going great on the outside but my inside's a different story. I looked all happy and peaceful but inside I was feeling so alone and it was depressing...

Well ill be going on a 4-day camping "bushwalk" this week and im real excited about it! Not only is it my first time to be camping in the great outdoors but in the great outdoors my FATHER created. The same hands that made me created the scenery ill be 'living' in for the next week. I cant wait to just bask in GOD's wonderful masterpiece of nature .. even if that includes leeches, snakes, spiders and creepy crawlies! Most of which i would normally run away from!! haha!! Im sure ill love being out in the open but im sure gonna miss my music! :P
So ill wrote another entry when i get back!! *woot woot*

Ill miss everyone and talking to you! GOD bless and take care!! LOVE YOU ALL!!
Please pray for me while im out there!

OHH soo i said that i would be singing my song today at assembly .... W E L L ..................

I didnt get to sing it coz there wasnt enough time. But anyways there's a long story and a battle with myself that i went through to actually be confident enough to even get up there and pracitse it. So here's how it all went down ....


Tuesday: I got to school at 8am coz the guys said they would practise my song after they practised the assembly songs. So i was sitting there watching them and then we were meant to show one of our teachers or else i wouldnt be able to sing it! But we werent ready so we asked to shoe her at the end of the day. ...
At morning snack i met up with the guys to practise it with just the guitars. That went well so it was all good. Then we said that we would come back at lunch to practise it again with the whole band. BUT the drummer and bassist were a no show coz they were playing soccer. SO then we just went through it ...
By the end of the day, when we had to show my teacher, i was feeling tired from school, nervous about showing our teacher, and just all these things were going on in my head. So then the other dudes still didnt show up! so then we had to perform with them and i just felt like my teacher hated it... like she didnt say anything bad or nothing, just the look on her face. and that just totally put me off and i was singing so badly coz i was thinking so negatively about it!! My friends tried encouraging me and gave me a few pointers but my mind was set. I walked out of there feeling so disappointed and angry at myself that i just didnt wanna sing anymore! I met my family at the doctors coz my mum has a bad back yet again and i was just so negative! My brother and I walked around the plaza until we met up with my parents again and we went home. Still feeling negative towards everything i just kept playing my song over and over in my room. I just thought to myself ... "Ill tell the guys tomorrow that im not gonna sing anymore" ... but the fact that they all took time out of their days to help me out made me feel mean. So i just had a shower and when i got out i pumped up the music, locked the door to my room and sat on the floor. At first i was psyching myself out of singing at all then I started writing about how i was so sad and angry and everything but then i started debating with myself (yes i know i have weird ways of sorting myself out). On one side i was really negavtive and thinking things like "Eunize just tell the guys youre not gonna sing it. Youre not good enough. Everyone's gonna hate it! ...etc" and on the other side i was thinking "EUNIZE! what are you doing to yourself! get your act together! Why are you being like this!" and so on ... and i debated for like 8 minutes until i came to the conclusion ....
If im being all negative then of course im gonna sound bad. But if i give it my best and sing it for GOD then i have nothing to regret. Im not singing it for anyone, not even myself, but for GOD!!
So I started psyching myself up again and I went to bed feeling happy and excited!

Wednesday: I got to school at 8 again and went to practise. My teacher wanted to go through my song first so we did. I was so nervous but it was bad nervous anymore. So we played it with the whole band and even got my friends to sing harmonies with me and it was all good. After the practise i went to the toilets to psyche myself up more. When i got out my teacher pulled me aside and said that someone said my dad was coming. And that if he was then i would sing my song but if he wasnt then i wasnt gonna be able to sing it coz there wouldnt be enough time. So she gave me her phone and i called my parents and they said they werent gonna come. I almost cried!! (My dad was originally gonna come but coz my mum has a sore bad he said he wasnt) But then i told them what was happening and my mum said that they would come. I told my teacher that they were coming but the program was just too full. So i had to call back my parents and tell them not to come. I felt so disappointed but while they started the praise and worship i just realised that the only reason why i was singing my song in the first place was to glorify GOD and so that maybe GOD could use it to touch someone. So maybe it just wasnt my time yet. But my teacher said that i would be able to sing at the next assembly in two weeks ... GOD willing! :) I didnt feel disappointed after and i just had peace.

So our guest speaker was a dude from Open Doors, an organisation helping the persecuted church all around the world and he showed us pictures and told some testimonies of people they've helped. I was devastated about how bad it really was. It brought a tear to my eye!! Most of what he talked about were of youths just like me .. and all the things they had to endure was just horrible. Makes me appreciate how good i really do have it here in Australia. But it was also really encouraging because even though those guys went through so much pain and torture they still had the heart and faith to trust in GOD and believe HE would help them!! He also shared a story about Oliver, a 16yr old boy who was killed, his body parts chopped up, and left behind the bushes on the side of the road somewhere because of his faith! At his funeral many more youths were there and despite knowing how he had died, they still volunteered to take on his role and share to people around the same place Oliver had been killed! The way GOD is working in HIS children all over the world i just AMAZING!! And it really made me think that ...

if i was faced with the same situation would i stand up for my faith and speak up for our one true GOD? ......*hrmm*
Well that's about what happened this week. I'll write back when i do sing my song! :)

prayer request ...
~My mum's back is playing up again and she's in pain most of the time. She can't sit down for very long or else she'll agrivate it. So she has to stay in bed flat on her back or for the short time she isnt in bed she has to stand up. I just ask that you guys would pray for her and quick healing coz tomorrow is her BIRTHDAY!!!
~Also i think its appropriate to continue to pray for our brothers and sister all over the world who face constant persecution (being totured, beaten, even killed) because of their faith in our LORD!!

Thanks so much! GOD bless!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Well howdy! how's everyone doing!? hope everyone's great!

So with my last blog i wrote down some of the points from the preaching coz i didnt know them all. But after watching it again i got them all:
1. A real fan arrives early.
2. A real fan doesn't mind what time they get home.
3. A real fan can stand any weather.
4. A real fan sits in the best seat (in the stadium, concert hall ... church? the back doesn't count ;p)
5. A real fan memorises statistics (in our case, SCRIPTURE!!)
6. A real fan pays. (tithes)
7. A real fan is vocal and noisy!
8. A real fan is DEDICATED!!!

I thank GOD that it didn’t take me a really bad situation to make me realise what I was doing was wrong. And coming into high school I was able to stand up for myself and not give in to temptation … not all the time anyway. But then around this time last year a friend of mine had a heart attack and was laying unconscious in hospital for quite some time. He finally came out of it and the doctors said he was recovering. Then one tragic day he had another heart attack and died in the hospital… before this happened I thought people only died of heart attacks in their late 50’s and over. But my friend had only turned 21…. It really made me think coz here I was thinking that I had all the time in the world to do what I wanted coz I was still “young” and I wasn’t gonna go anywhere any time soon, but this really opened my eyes. We never know what’s gonna happen to us at any moment. We all thought my friend was recovering but then in an instant it all changed. Not only was the thought “If Christ was to return today, would I be ready?” but the thought “If I was to die today, would I be ready?”

Sometimes it takes a certain situation for us to wake up and realise that we don’t have all the time we think we do. Especially in our generation where time just seems to literally fly by. Take the time to observe your life and ask yourself “If Christ was to return today, would I be ready?” It’s important to realise also that even if no one is around to see you or that no onkne ows what you’re thinking, just remember … GOD knows.

 Would you be ready if He came right at this moment?

So I came home from that and a friend from church brought a dvd to my house which was a preaching of Pastor Jentezen Franklin at the Influencers Conference in Adelaide earlier this year! It was just amazing! He was talking about how as Christians, we should be “real fans” of Jesus Christ! Just like fans are with sports we should be just as ENTHUSIASTIC about our faith!

Here's just a portion of what he said and things that really stuck out to me and what i think about it now ....

1. A real fan is never late – People would leave extra early to get to a sports event on time. People would line up to be the first one in and everything! We should be the same! We shouldn’t be late to church, bible study, youth, etc … if we were really excited about our faith and real fans we would be on time and ready to worship our GOD! HE is never late … so what’s our reason!?
2. A real fan can stand any weather – If a big event was on, say a concert or sporting event, people would stand outside in any weather just to get tickets or in a baseball, AFL, open-roofed soccer match, stay in the stand (rain, hail or shine) to cheer on their team! We should be just as excited and fired up! If it was a cold Sunday morning, It’s no excuse! Our fire for GOD is all we need!
3. A real fan will pay. – People will pay the ridiculous prices of drinks/ food at the stadiums during a game or concert, pay the high ticket prices, pay a lot of money to get the CD or top or something like that but why are we so hesitant to give money back to GOD? Wasn’t it HE who gave it to us in the first place? I’m guilty of this too, when it was offering time I used to look for the smallest amount I could give (e.g. coins, spare change) but I should have known that GOD provided that money in the first place and I was simply giving it back to HIM and HE would surely return in so much more abundance! HE is our Great Provider!
4. A real fan doesn’t care what time he gets home. – Sometimes when the service goes for longer than usual I start to get ‘unsettled’ and distracted and think “great … when are we gonna eat” but that ain’t the attitude I should have! It’s not the attitude of a real fan! Seriously … with the World Cup finished I look back at how many people would stay behind just to watch extra time being played out. They weren’t thinking “oh this is gonna be boring” but “oh something good is gonna happen” … we should learn from that so that when the sermon takes longer than usual think “oh great! My pastor has more to teach us so that we’ll learn and grow” ….
5. A real fan is enthusiastic. – You will never ever see people at a sporting event or concert sitting there like everything was just ‘OK’ if they’re team scored a goal/ sang their favourite song … since when were concerts and ball games quiet! NEVER! There’s always people yelling and cheering and supporting their team! Their not afraid to show their passion for their team! So why are we so hesitant to cheer on our GOD in public places? Praise HIS name when we receive a blessing? Tell someone that HE lives, loves them and defeated death just for us!? I mean when Australia got into the second round of the World cup I was excited! And told everyone! Jesus conquered death so that we wouldn’t have to suffer … isn’t that good enough for us? People got up early to watch the soccer here in Aust. Yet sometimes we can’t even keep awake and our attention in a 45-60min sermon!

It led me to think about the passion involved with fans around the world while the World Cup has been happening. I know the Italians aren’t keeping quiet about their World Cup win. What would happen if Christians around the world were just as passionate about sharing our faith to everyone around us? Think about it …. ARE WE REAL FANS OF OUR SAVIOUR AND LORD, JESUS CHRIST?

Racism is an issue faced by people all over the world. In some places racial hatred is even increasing. As a result to racism wars start between different countries and can be influenced by the government. People, including little children, are harassed and abused by others or worse, harass and abuse others!

Racism is when people are discriminated because of their perceived “race”. People basically judge others based on their appearance instead of getting to know their personality. John 7:24 says, “Stop judging by mere appearance, and make a right judgment.” In Western countries people who look Middle Eastern, for example Indians, are beaten or even killed because of their appearance and assumed geographical origin. Key word, assumed.

There’s a failure to recognise unity between everyone, therefore leading to discomfort and avoiding others that are different to us. We are even racists without knowing it! For example, on an elevator filled with men and women we tend to go on the side where more of the same gender to us is, without realizing. Same goes with getting on an elevator filled with people of different cultures to us. Unconsciously we move towards the side where more people who look like us are. Also at school or work sometimes we keep ourselves away from people who look different to us.

Racism was started in the Americas with the wipe out of the Native American Indians when Spanish conquistadors arrived at the New World. Due to the population decreases the Europeans had a shortage of labourers. This is when the “Black” African slaves started to be traded. Just the thought of people being traded as slaves is pretty horrendous. The colour of their skins made them very recognisable which prevented them from escaping and merging with the rest of the colonial population.

At first the differences between people were not of race, but between slaves and slave owners through religion. It was a case of Christians versus “heathens” (an offensive term that deliberately insults somebody’s nonbelief in religion). The ‘non-white’ people was enslaved by the Spanish and Portuguese and subjected to serve Christian masters. It wasn’t the case that they were dark skinned compared to the others, but the case because they were not Christians. It was natural for dark skinned people to be socially subordinate because of their enslavement, so in a way the ‘Blacks’ must have been naturally inferior to the ‘Whites’.

Even though in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America states, “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, the all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…” it only applied to the ‘White’ people, Spanish, Portuguese and White Americans, so white slavery was out of the question because it would contradict this.

The origin of racism was around the 1500’s and until today, in 2006, there were, and still are, many cases of racism. Adolf Hitler killed millions of Jews and Marxists in Germany and started World War 1. The battle between USA and the Middle East has been an on going tragedy, especially since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centres in New York. USA also has a long history of racism with the African Americans living there. In Australia, there’s been a history of ‘White’ Australians opposing the Aboriginals since the first European settlers arrived in Botany Bay in 1788. As you can see, racism has been a long term issue in society, a ‘disease’ you could say.

A question I ask myself is, “Why are we distancing ourselves from people God created?” They’re just as human as we are. We all have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, arms and legs. Just because the colour of their skin is different or they type of clothes they wear is unusual to what we are used to, doesn’t give us the right to avoid them and not get to know them. I’m sure they think the same about us. But how would we like it if were in a country different to our own and they treated us like we were aliens from another planet?

As Christians we have an obligation to “accept one another” (Romans 15:7). Everyone needs to know about the truth about God. Who are we to deny them of that because they look different? For so many years people have been avoided because of their external features that we forget that God created them too, and loves them just as much as He loves us. “God created man in His own image…male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

We spend so much time examining others by what they look like that we forget that they’re just like us. They have a personality as well and if we just took time to get to know it we could become good friends with them. “Let us stop passing judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13) and stop this whole ‘racism’ issue. It could start in our own schools

Putting it into Practice: The next time you see someone having a hard time, because of their appearance, think about what it would be like to be in their shoes. Is it a good feeling? Take some time to talk to that person and get to know them. You never know, you may find that past all of the cultures and nationalities differences you have a lot in common.

SO that was my report and part of my editorial (my assignment was a magazine) Quite long wasn't it ... ;p sorry bout that! But i hope you think about it coz it really is a major issue in society! Remember GOD created us equally ...

So on Sunday night my church had an ‘overnight retreat’ at our hall. It was freezing but there were lots of heaters on! But it was all worth it! We started the day with our usual morning service, had our usual fellowship lunch, helped dry all the dishes, then we had a Sunday School teachers’ workshop. It was fun coz we had to draw a little kid (whoever we taught, i.e. toddlers, primary, juniors) and my friend draw a funny little boy who she says was in a jumpsuit coz he didn’t have hands or feet. Then a group of us had to write things about that particular age group. After that we had to make a presentation of our discussion and I was chosen to be the speaker. It was quiet funny being up there as the youngest teacher yet I had so much fun!

After that we had band practice where I played the keyboard after a fun morning playing the drums! I loved drumming to ‘One Way’ … it’s so much fun banging those drums! But at this practice I was keyboarding in a cold room where my finger joints hurt so much!! Next came our ‘Overnight Retreat Program’. We started off with a song that was fun for everyone and the kids could also get into the game so that was good to watch coz I was at the front drumming. Then we played games. One game made me think after about what it could have symbolised. Then we had a Bible Study, got the kids in bed, then we ended with a prayer and worship time. Totally awesome!

 
The game we played was a game where everyone member in the church had to hold onto a blanket and we had to keep a ball from falling from it. The key was ‘teamwork’. Afterwards we had a discussion about it and it dawned on me that the ball was like the world. We had to work together in UNITY to keep it from falling. Same with the reality of our lives … we all have to work in UNITY to save the world, with GOD’s help and power, and show them GOD’s free gift of salvation. Ok so visualise this, one person, a blanket and a ball. How can a person with two hands hold up a blanket with four corners (keeping it stretched out at all times) all by themself AND keep a ball from dropping from it? Think about it … But UNITY has been at the back of mind lately. In one day I read about it on my church bulletin, read a verse about it and my pastor even prayed about it during prayer meeting that night. So yeah … UNITY …

 
Just a thought … does anyone else have these moments where you’re listening to something but your mind just wanders off, usually when you’ve got something big happening in your life, then when you tune back the first thing you hear just totally relates to you and you just find comfort in it? Or maybe it’s just me … *hrm*

 
The sermon that morning was totally convicting also! It was titled “Excuses, excuses, excuses” and it was from Luke 14:16-24 …  “The Parable of the Great Banquet”

16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'  18"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'  20"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'  22" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "

Many people were invited but had excuses of why they couldn’t come to the banquet. It’s the same with our lives and GOD. HE invites us to enjoy eternal life with HIM… so why are we making excuses!?

The most common excuse is “I’m too busy!” … now what does that tell you? To me it says that we’re not making GOD our number one priority [esp. if we’re Christians] because we are ‘too busy’ for HIM. Yet when it’s the other way around we expect HIM to always be there for us and never busy so that HE can answer our prayers.

Think about it … what excuse are we giving?

This emptiness I feel

Is tormenting me inside

The late nights I’ve cried

Hidden by a broken smile

From the depths of despair

My soul yearns

For a deeper meaning

For something to grasp

My heart and my mind

Are no longer in harmony

My heart says, ‘Let go’

But my mind says, ‘No’

A punctured spirit

To deepen my pain

My emotions run wild

As I hide behind my image

Where can I run

To escape this feeling

But into the arms

Of a Mightier Being

Day by day

This feeling increases

As I recall my pain

From the heartache of worthlessness

My life has no worth

It serves no purpose

It worsens the lives

Of those to whom I am closest

Convincing words

A whole new style

Who am I fooling?

It’s all a lie

Days become weeks

And eventually years

Living a double life

Is hard to continue

Who can I turn to

To release my sorrow

Who will understand me most

But the One from whom I

was made

Pretending to be something

I’m not in my heart

Concealing the truth

From the world and myself

My path is unclear

I can’t make it out

The obstacles of life

Just keep weighing me down

Petty insecurities

In this dark and gloomy world

Unexplained changes

To shatter me more

My best is not good enough

What else can I do?

Their way to have fun

Doesn’t make this feeling disappear

Where can I shelter

To calm my confused mind

Into His courts

Into His arms

What is this love?

It’s like no other

I sense something’s changed

What could it be?

I’ve found myself smiling

I never thought I would again

What happened to that

other person?

Isolated and forsaken

This Mightier Being

Could He be real?

Could He have loved

So that I could live?

My life was filled

With death and suffering

Now I feel the opposite

Happier and liberated

I love my new look

Towards a new life

I don’t want to return

To my old ruined self

My life has been altered

It’s such a surprise

How could anyone love

 A nobody like me?

Taking my place

He bore all my shame

On a cross he suffered

In a tomb He was laid

Conquering death

Defeating it once and for all

So my life could be spared

From eternal damnation

He’s opened my eyes

To see His wonderful light

It’s going to be hard

But with Him I stand strong

People change and disappoint

Even without realising

But He stays the same

He remains faithful

My newly found faith

Has carried me on

It’s turned my world around

To love from hate

Sometimes I wonder

Why He died for me

I’ve come to this conclusion

HE LOVES ME!