Week Wrap Up

On Wednesday I took nine students to a ukulele rehearsal with about 300 other kids! It was hilarious and fun. My students are going to have a great time with the ukulele. In November my kids will be part of the biggest Ukulele festival Auckland has ever had. The goal is to have at least 500 students playing in the Ukulele orchestra. There are also professional players coming from Canada, Tonga, NZ, and the U.S. It should be a great event and if you are in Auckland on November 3, I highly suggest coming to the Kiwi Ukulele Festival.

Tonight we took the youth group to Clip and Climb along with the Papakura youth group, that was tons of fun too. We even had four new girls come along! That was totally great. I hope they come back, they were really sweet girls.

Tomorrow we have CIA again and I'm looking forward to another great week of that. Last time we had five new kids, so I'm anxious to see if those kids come back, or if we get even more new kids! That would be great too! After CIA I'm headed off to Cession Community for a Zebulun concert. Zebulun is a Christian rock band from Auckland and Cession is having this concert as an outreach event for youth and young adults, I'll be helping out with serving food and whatever else is needed.

This weekend isn't going to be quite as crazy as last weekend but that is totally ok. I'm sure I'll still get out and do some hiking, probably out by the west coast beaches.

Live it up!

Living life to the full has always been something I love to do. God has blessed me with so many opportunities to live for Him and experience Him in many ways. This past weekend I definitely lived life to the fullest and it was Amazing! My weekend began with a trip to Waiheke Island with Bethany Williams.

We had a great trip. We started out by taking the ferry from the city to the island, which takes about 35 minutes. Once on the island we went for a short hike up to nearest village of Oneroa where we had morning tea and "planned" the day. From there we took a bus to Ostend to visit the market and see the various arts, crafts, foods,ect...After that we went on an in-land hike across the island over to Onetangi, this took about 2.5 hours. Bethany was a trooper, we over a couple pretty big hills/sm. mounts, through the vineyard country. It was beautiful.

Once we made it to the beach we had a picnic lunch and Bethany had her first PB&J sandwich ever!Yay for beach picnics! Then we chilled on the beach for a while after our long hike. I went for my first swim in the Sea since I've been back to NZ! It was wonderful! I forgot how much I missed being in the water, I was so hot that I decided to swim in my clothes because I didn't bring my togs(swimsuit).

After a great afternoon on the beach we headed back toward Oneroa via bus. We walked around some shops for a bit and went down to Oneroa beach to build drip sandcastles:) Then we walked the last bit back to the ferry and headed for home. We ended the day very sun-kissed and enjoyed takaways and ice-cream at Mission Bay as a great conclusion to our adventure.



That was all on Saturday...my living it up continued on Sunday.

Goeff Davies met two American students in the airport on his way back to NZ a few week ago, their names are Bethany and Ben. They are staying a Piha beach on the West Coast, studying marine biology. On Sunday the four of us went up to the Waipu Caves. Waipu is about 2 hours North of Auckland. We had a great day of caving and saw tons of glow worms! Glow worms are unique to New Zealand. They are small worms that hang from the ceilings of caves and the glow like lightning bugs (except it's a steady glow)Whenever we would get into a big cavern, we'd cut the torches(flashlights) and see all the glow worms above us, they were incredible! The cave was wet and muddy, but soon into the adventure we embraced the mud and the water with no problem. Nothing like becoming one with the mud..hahaha! We were covered in it and it was great.

On the way home we drove down the West coast and saw an absolutely beautiful sunset. The whole day was such an inspirational Sunday. It was so worshipful to explore the cave and creation with other believers as we became friends and worked as a team to conquer various challenges in the cave. What a blessing to be able to experience God in this way. When the weekend was over, I was definitely exhausted yet refreshed at the same time. There were many times on the way home that I was close to tears because of the joy, challenges and unity in Christ I experienced. Praise God from whom all blessing flow.

Catching up

This week I have had some opportunities to catch up with friends and see how God is and has been working in their lives. On Sunday evening Joanne McKinnel shared with the church some of her experiences from spending the past three months in the States. She was in Kentwood, MI doing a youth internship with Kentwood Community Church. Joanne had some great stories of how God is at work in the state that I love. I also had a chance to catch up with Geoff Davies after his three month trip to the States. He was doing a youth internship, but in New York. It was interesting to hear the ways that he and Joanne had totally different experiences but they both enjoyed the ministry opportunities God gave them. Joanne had had one of the same realizations that I had the first time I came to New Zealand, that is, "look how big my family is!" It's amazing to worship with the body of Christ all over the world.

This afternoon I was incredibly encouraged by meeting with Beth Fussner. Both of us are embarking on beginning new ministries that the Lord has placed on our hearts. It was a huge blessing to hear what God is asking her to do and the vision He has been giving her. Likewise, it was awesome to share the vision of Heart 2 Heart Mentoring with her and what God is teaching and speaking to me. It was such a God meeting. God knew that we both needed some encouragement to keep our eyes fixed on what He wants to do and not get discouraged with some difficult circumstances. God definitely spoke to my heart this afternoon by allowing me to have this great conversation with Beth. Then to top it off, the sunset tonight was absolutely beautiful! I had just enough time to sit and watch the sun go down before I had to head off to youth group. What a day. What a gift. Praise the Lord.

Why it's so hard...

Well this morning I was waking up and listening to the radio as I usually do and I had an Epiphany of sorts. The Scripture for the day reminded me why teaching is so hard. Ephesians 6:11-12

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Keeping this in mind, how could teaching where I'm at, with the intentions that I have not be difficult. Of course the devil wants to see me get discouraged and give up. The other day I was reminded of just how much God is with me and protects me, and fights for me, especially at school. This past Thursday, I noted that I had two fights in my classroom. Well, the first one was very extreme and the young man who was upset was out of control, completely, he could not think, hear or respond to anything or anyone, his only focus was to pound another kid. As I got the one student out who could respond to instructions, the other one just became more upset. At one point, I thought he was going to break a window. The only thing standing between him and the door (i.e. getting outside and smashing the other kid) was me. I realized the other day that there must have been an angel standing between him and me and he was either unable to see me or he could see something or someone I couldn't, he was stuck frozen. There is no other explanation for this kid not moving me out of the way, he was much stronger and bigger than me and he had a look like fire was coming out of his eyes. I can't tell you how scary this was, yet I was at peace because I knew God was with me. It is true that I am in a place of great spiritual warfare in so many ways, please continue to pray for spiritual protection over me.

This morning as I get ready, I will be intentionally putting on the full armor of God with a renewed understanding of why this is so crucial to living in this world and living for Jesus.

Just keep going

Tonight I went for jog down by Mission Bay. I love jogging down there, It's just beautiful to run along the water and focus on the beauty of God all around me as I go. I've never been very good at jogging or running but for the past three weeks I have been training for a quarter-marathon that is in October. I have been able to see steady improvements in my abilities to just keep going. My breathing is getting better and I'm getting the hang of it. It feels good to do something I never thought I could do. God is strengthening me physically and mentally, He is also using this to teach me about trusting Him and His strength and not my own. For those of you who run, this may not seem like a big accomplishment, but today God helped me jog for a solid 55 min! I could not believe this, I have never jogged that long in my whole life. I went from Mission Bay down to St. Heliers Bay and back. It was such a great time to filter through thoughts and listen to some awesome music too. Mmmm...God is Good, yes indeed.

Williams' Wedding

Today I had the privilege to celebrate 25 years of marriage for Peter and Christine Williams. When the Williams were married 25 years ago, they did not have a proper wedding. Christine always wanted to have a beautiful wedding and today that dream came true as she and Peter renewed their wedding vows. It was such a blessing to attend this beautiful event and it was a great reminder of God's intentions for marriage. Peter and Christine recognize that it is God's grace that has allowed them to stay committed to each other and raise three beautiful daughters together. Below in a picture of me and Sarah Williams after the wedding.

Small things

I also want to take a minute tonight to encourage you to do something small to help or encourage someone. Through this past week it has been the small random acts of kindness that God used to get me through one day at a time. On Tuesday night I went to the grocery store and as I was leaving my hands were full(I didn't have a trolley/cart) and there was a guy who offered to help me carry some stuff out to my car. You wouldn't believe how that little act of kindness helped me regain a positive attitude. Today, the hard materials teacher came to see me before school to see if I was ok because he heard about the nonsense I had to deal with yesterday. This was also very encouraging and I felt very supported by this small act of kindness. Another day this week, I received a short, positive and uplifting e-mail that helped me keep life in perspective. Praise the Lord for using other people to communicate His love in small ways.

Standing Firm

Right now I am determined to stand firm in Christ. I know that God wants to do some amazing things here in New Zealand and I am not about to give up on Heart 2 Heart mentoring right now. I really feel that this is something that the Lord had placed on my heart and I will continue to pray through it until God does what He wants to do. And even though this ministry is going to be stalled for the minute, CIA is growing! We had 15 kids tonight. Praise the Lord!! I was worried that were losing kids because of the time change but today went great. We had tons of fun, it was a good end to my week. So even when school is challenging, God still encourages me. Christ has given me the ability to stand firm in Him, knowing that because He is initiating the work that I am doing, I do not work in vain.

Broken

Two fights in my class today.
Rejection for Heart 2 Heart Mentoring at the School right now.
Choir that was less than stellar.
Lots of tears.
Lack of confidence as a teacher.
Being attacked Spiritually
Tired.
Emotionally drained.
Needing Jesus to rescue and heal my heart right now.
knowing with my mind, yet not feeling in my heart that God is in control.

Still too in love with Jesus to give up.

Song of my soul right now: Untitled Hymn by Chris Rice

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

Ukuleles

Before coming to New Zealand I was informed that I would need to learn how to play the ukulele. I was a little nervous about this, but excited too. The Sunday before I left for NZ someone gave me a ukulele! Totally cool, but I was still intimidated by the little four-string instrument. Now, I have been teaching uke for about four weeks. I went to a few seminars and courses on how to play the uke and I love it. It is so fun to play. I think learning how to play the ukulele gave me more confidence to continue learning guitar. I'm not an expert in any sense of the word, but I definitely have fun with it. I have a few kids who are really good at it too, which makes it more fun.

Yesterday was a very rough day, but today was so much better. I am continually amazed by God's grace and love. Today was not an easy day, but I handled the stress better I think. Playing the uke helps, so does singing to Jesus, and praying for strength. There are days when I feel like I could conquer the world, then there are days when it seems like everything goes wrong. I think I am in a grace-filled season, God is giving me grace and trying to teach me to give grace as well. It takes practice, just like playing an instrument.

Observation

Tonight I went to the laundromat for a bit to get some washing done. I noticed something that made me laugh. I was taking my clothes out of the dryer and folding them, then setting them in the basket. Now ladies, we know that if you take the clothes out of the dryer right away, fold them, then put them away,the clothes don't wrinkle as much. As I was in the middle of this process, a couple guys came in to get their laundry. Both of them took the clothes out of the dryers and dumped the clothes into the baskets then left. Is it really that hard to take ten minutes to fold the clothes? I just laughed.

Orewa Beach

I spent much of my day at Orewa Beach today. It was absolutely wonderful! I walked along what seemed like endless beach all day. I felt like I was saying, "Wow! look at that!" all day long. I was just in awe of God's magnificent creation.

The tide was very far out so I was able to go explore some coral that is usually covered in water. It was so cool! I felt so overwhelmed by the detail and beauty of it all. I saw some starfish clinging on for dear life and tons of shells that still had little critters in them:)

I managed to find two of these cool shells without anything living in them, so I could take them home.

Each one of these little pools was like it's own small ecosystem, it was amazing. They had different kinds of plants growing on the coral, many different shell creatures, and some still had fish in them that didn't get washed out with the tide.

Yay for starfish!! I was wanting to find a starfish today and I saw a bunch clinging to the coral. At first I didn't recognize them as starfish, but when I took a closer look at these brown clumps, I realized what they were.Cool beans.

No, this is not me yet:) Though horse riding on the beach is something I've always wanted to do, I havn't checked that one off the list yet. I will at some point. But isn't this picture beautiful?

I'll leave you with the Psalm that was running through my head the whole way home.

Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet:

all flocks and herds,
and the beasts of the field,

the birds of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

blogable moments

Over the past few days there have been so many hilarious things happen and I remember thinking, "That would be a great blog post!" But right now, I can't remember any of them to save my life...haha. I'm not sure how I feel about that, my eyes started going bad when I was like six or seven, now my memory is going at 23! Something is very wrong with this picture!!! Oh well, don't worry I have a back up plan. A few weeks ago I was down at Mission Bay with some friends and we saw this sign. I had to take a picture because we about fell over laughing when we read it. I guess this is one way to go about looking for a husband, but I don't think it's the best way...haha!

Must be comfortable with microphones?? Random!
*Note: by posting this picture, I am NOT promoting this website listed on it, nor do I know anything about the company, I just think it's really funny.

Traffic Jam

Just a quick post tonight cuz it's late, but I just got home about about twenty minutes ago after spending two hours in a traffic jam. I could have gotten extremely frustrated but God allowed me to stay calm. I was also praying hard out because I really didn't have enough petrol to be sitting that long with my car running, I should have run out of petrol two or three times over. God made sure I made it to the first petrol shed (gas station) off the motorway. Praise the Lord! God always watches over, protects, and provides for my every need!

Extreme day

So today was so random! I don't even know where to start with what happened today. I guess, from the beginning (which is a very good place to start:) Piano lesson this morning, Y7 singing, then some planning time...so far so good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then one of my students showed up and said she had to talk to me, I could tell something was not quite right and I had her come in, she told me that the social worker was not at school and she needed to talk to somebody. Wow, God used this time like I would never have imagined. We talked for about an hour and listened to some encouraging music. She has so many questions and is really trying to figure out how to live and who she is. At one point, she even asked me how to hear the voice of God! This girl is not a even a Christian, but she knows I am. My heart breaks for her! After she left it took everything in me not to start balling. Please Please Pray!!!! I really believe God is going to use some of our conversations to draw this young lady to Himself. Please pray that God gives me wisdom and understanding so that I know how to answer her questions.

Last week and on Monday I had really bad choir rehearsals, so I told the students we were going to have to use their lunch time if they were going to waste our class time. Today, was that lunch time. Ahhhh!!! I was ready to pull my hair out. Honestly, this didn't do any good and I got nothing accomplished. Good grief. I know this is not because I cannot manage a classroom because I managed choirs of seventy during my student teaching and I manage my other classes just fine. This one just pulls at me from every side possible (and then some).

After school, random meetings..first one about how to use an Epi-pen for a student who is having a severe allergic reaction to something. The second about interactive white boards, which by the way are extremely cool! I think the brand was called Mimic, I'll have to double check on that, but anyway, there is so much potential with these things. I have to think up a reason why I should have one in the music room...if you have any suggestions, feel free to note them.

This evening I visited a couple from church, they invited me for tea(dinner). It was very nice to get to know these people and spend quality time with them. It did bring me back to my chorale days because I felt a little like I got their life's story and they got bits of mine. Which for me, is great, I love listening to people tell about their experiences. On my way home, I was laughing because it reminded me of all the host-home dinners and family meetings with random people during chorale tours. Honestly, great memories.

So that's my day today, it's hard for me to even process everything, and I left stuff out, because I don't need to go on any longer.

Weekend

Saturday and Sunday this weekend were very refreshing. Netball is finished for Bethany, so I slept in until 9:15...then I couldn't sleep anymore. What happened? This is the girl who would go home for holiday and be annoyed when her mom woke her up at noon:)I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I don't generally go to bed at 1:00 or 2:00am anymore. I enjoyed my morning and spent some time reading, in the afternoon I had coffee with my friend Serina and we had a great time together. She showed me to a really neat marina where we checked out some really cool boats and enjoyed being outside in God's creation.

Today I had the opportunity to present Heart 2 Heart Mentoring to our church at Redoubt North. The congragation seemed very receptive and enthusiastic about the minstry. Now we need to pray that God opens the door at the school and also speaks to the hearts of those He would like to be mentors. I am really excited to see what God wants to do with this program in order to further His Kingdom in this community.

I was also very encouraged by both sermons I heard today. The first was a confirmation for me to trust and obey God, which is a lesson He has been teaching me over and over throughout the past months. The second was the conclusion to the holiness series at Cession, I'm not exactly sure how to explain what I felt like God was teaching me through this message. However, it was definitely a reminder to be conciously living in a way that honors God through the lifestyle choices that we make. Anyway, I was encouraged and I think God used this message to give me a new perspective on teaching my students.

day by day

I made it through another week and I am tired. God's strength is so amazing, He keeps me going like nothing else could. I am so thankful for such a strong God holding me in His arms and upholding me through every day. We had C.I.A. again tonight and it went really well I think. We only had eight kids this week, so I think we really need to pray that God continues to work and grow this program in the way He wants to do. I still believe that God is going to continue blessing this ministry.

After C.I.A. I went to a "Siva Night" at school. This is a Samoan dance fundraiser. There is a group of students going to Samoa in a few weeks and dance is a big part of their culture. This was a really neat event to attend. I didn't stay for the entire thing because I was told it could go on for a long time but I was there for most of it and enjoyed supporting my students.

Sunday I will be presenting Heart 2 Heart Mentoring to Redoubt North Church as a possible ministry for our church to reach out to the school in our community. I am excited and nervous. I truly believe this is something God wants to do. I am praying that the people are responsive and willing to step out in faith and see what God will do when we trust Him. Pray with me please.

Right now I am going to sleep:) I am going to sleep until I feel rested, then I will get up and enjoy Saturday. Maybe Mission Bay for a run in the morning and then meeting with my friend Sarina in the afternoon, it's going to be a good day. Praise the Lord.

a few ramblings

Ok. Just for the record...

If it is Monday...Yes, we have choir! What time? 11:40 just like every Monday.

If it is Thursday...Yes, WE HAVE CHOIR! What time? 11:40 Like every Thursday!!!

If it is Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday...NO! WE DO NOT HAVE CHOIR!!!

Many students seem to feel the need to ask me every single day if we have choir, by now, I look at them and ask,"What day is it?" To which one may respond, "It's Tuesday Miss." Me: "Do we have choir on Tuesdays?" Student: "No." Me: "Ok then."
Good grief, I can't believe how many students have issues with this.

Another one..just humor me please.

Let's say it's Monday and, yes, we do have choir. Student: "Miss, what time is choir today?" Me: "What time do we have choir every Monday and Thursday?" Student: "Ummm...11:00" Me: "No, 11:40, we have choir at the same time every Monday and Thursday." Student: "Ok, see you later." Now, if it were the second week of school, this question would not bother me...maybe even the third, but NOW we have been having choir rehearsal for a few months! Get it straight people! Another adjustment is that some students seem to think 11:40 means 11:50, 12:00 or even 12:10!!!! Ok, if the student comes with a note saying he/she was taking a test or something, fine, but otherwise these kids need to have their bums in their seats at 11:40! I really don't think this is unreasonable. It may be a South Pacific cultural thing to start later than the the posted time and that's ok, but when it comes to school and class, you can't just say, "Oh I'll get there when I get there."
Alright, I think I'm ok now.

Totally unrelated to the previous part of the post(hence the title) but still relevant to my life is something I feel God is challenging me with recently. That being, worshiping by taking care of my physical body. A passage in Scripture that I was reminded of the other day is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

God has been challenging me to eat healthier and exercise not just because it's good for me, but because it honors Him and is a way to worship Him. In the past six weeks I have not done so well with this and I can tell it has made a difference in me physically and Spiritually. This week I'm in the process of re-evaluating some of my habits and changing them. Another Scripture that comes to mind is
1 Corinthians 10:31: So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do; do it all for the glory of God. If my desire is to love the Lord and glorify Him fully, then I need to make some changes in the way I'm taking care of myself. Praise the Lord for bringing this to my attention and giving me the strength to and courage to listen to Him.

Remember

Today I was reading Psalm 105. This Psalm recounts much the process God went through to bring the Israelites into Canaan. This made me think about all the ways God has worked in my own life to bring me where I am today. It also makes me more aware of what God is doing and preparing me for in the future. As I read this Psalm, this is how I processed it:

What does this Word tell me to do?

Give thanks to the Lord
Sing praises to His Name
Call on His Name
Tell of His wondrous acts
Glory in His Name
Rejoice in Him
Look to the Lord, and His strength
Seek His face always
Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and His judgments

What does this Scripture tell me about God's wonders, miracles, and Judgments?

He remembers and keeps His covenant
He led the fathers of Israel and prepared them to lead His people
He sent the plagues to display His power and bring judgment on Egypt
He delivered Israel from Egypt with riches
He gave the Israelites the 10 Commandments
He drove out the nations before Israel as He brought them into Canaan
He allowed Israel to enjoy the fruit of land

What are some ways God has worked in my life?

He allowed me to born to Christian parents
He allowed me to receive Christian education
He allowed me to see pain in the world so that I would be drawn to His sovereignty and holiness
He led me to continue education at IWU
He gave me challenging teaching placements throughout my teacher education to prepare me for the work I'm doing now and to teach me how to rely on His strength.
He moved in my heart to participate in short-term missions, then used that to call me to further mission work.
He prepared the way for me to come to New Zealand
He continues to equip me for what I need each day

Why did/does God do all these wonders, miracles, and judgments?

So that we will live in the land He has given us, obey His laws and precepts, and praise His name.

thanks

If you were praying for me today, thank you! My day today was so much better than yesterday. It was the exact opposite in fact. I was self disciplined to get lots of work done in the morning and in the afternoon, my Tamaki class went so well. I was so thankful! My kids enjoyed the music lesson, we got tons accomplished and had lots of fun. One of the boys even said, "Miss, can we have the same music lesson next week?" What an encouragement! We will be doing something similar next week because there were about five or six kids missing because most of the year 8 kids are at camp. I don't want to move along too fast but I will add a few things for the kids who were here this week so they don't get bored.

Our staff meeting was cancelled after school today, so I had time to come home and go for a walk while the sun was still shinning. That was such a blessing too! Then I had some time to play some guitar. Hmmm...life is good! It amazes me how day to day, life can be so different. There are times when I am sick of living one day at a time, sometimes I wish I had strength for like a week at a time. But if I had to get through an entire week like yesterday...I'd go nuts. I am constantly reminded that God knows me better than I know myself, He knows just what I need and when. Praise the Lord. Thanks agian for your prayers.

Praising God

I have decided that it is hard to stay in a bad mood or frustrated if I am praising God by singing. I just can't sing praise songs and stay upset, it doesn't work. That is a great thing! Because now I know what I need to do when I am feeling overwhelmed, stressed, worried, scared,etc...I just need to consciously praise God by singing. Yes, prayer does help too but... I wonder what would happen if I started singing, "In Christ Alone" during choir practice..haha..can you imagine? Oh, I might just try this! Tonight was one of those nights. It's just been a rough day at school and I'm so glad I came home to a quiet peaceful place. After school I had coffee with one of the other teachers, Elenore. We went to my fav. spot, Gloria Jeans' in Boarders:) We had a nice chat and it was good to spend some time getting to know her a little bit. When I got home though, I just felt overwhelmed from the day. There was a point in the day today when I was at my wits end with the kids and I didn't know what to do. So tonight I took out my guitar and started singing and learning how to play more songs. I spent the better part of three hours doing this! Crazy! But totally awesome. God blessed this time so much and really used it teach me about drawing close to Him, resting in Him, and being content in His love, all while using a gift he's given me to worship Him. I'm thankful that God's teaching me to choose Joy in difficult circumstances.

Angels are Singing

Tongiht there is a party going down in Heaven!! Yep, NO doubt about it,angels are singing, dancing and making a holy ruckus. You might wonder the reason for all this celebration...well tonight my young friend Bethany made a choice to follow Jesus and ask Him to come be a part of her life! Praise the Lord!

I have been feeling like the Lord has been wanting me to challenge her Spiritually and ask her about faith and the Bible in the past few weeks. Every now and then God has given me great opportunities. Tonight the sermon at Cession was about Holiness(it's a series actually) So on the way home we were talking about what it means to be holy and how the command from God to be holy impacts the choices we make and the way we live. Even before we left the church, I knew tonight was the night God wanted me to give Bethany the opportunity to ask Him to be part of her life. I asked Bethany some questions about what she thought it meant to follow Jesus. After a while, I asked her if she wanted to make a descision to live her life with Jesus and ask him to forgive her sins (we talked about what sin is) and to help her live her life for Him everyday.She said yes! We parked the car and prayed! Praise the Lord!

When we got home and told her parents about it, they were so excited for her choice. After Bethany went to bed, her mum told me that Bethany has been asking lots of questions about faith this week and that God has been working in her heart. What a great end to a fun weekend and a great start for Bethany's new life in Christ. Bethany's second birthday is 19 August, 2007. Happy Birthday Bethany!

Go Green

Last night I went to a night with the ladies from Shore Grace. It was a great social get together and our focus was about being better stewards of God's creation. One of the fun highlights was opp-shopping. An Opp Shop is a second had store...i.e.Good Will, Salvation Army, ect. We had to go get an outfit for under $20 then wear it last night. I went to the Salvation Army near my house and did great! I found a super cute navy blue corduroy skit and a bright pink sweater, the sweater was even "made in New Zealand." The best part is that this is a nice outfit that I would wear to school, church, out and the the grand total cost of this dutch deal: $8.00!!!! Yep, now that's a dutch find if I must say so myself, it was so fun. It was such a nice night to catch up with some of ladies whom I haven't seen in a while. I always learn something new at these kind of things and last night was no exception. I learned about worm farms! Yes, that's right worm farms. Worms break down compost like left over food and turn it into rich soil. I never new this. I may just contemplate having a worm farm in my backyard one day.(They're not too big and easy to hide, so I'm told) So that's the news for today.

Circumstances

One of my classes today about put me over the edge. I sat in my room at the end of the day saying, "God, what are you doing here? and What is the purpose of this frustration?" I was talking out loud in an empty room and I felt silly. As I was going on and on, God began to speak to me. He started reminding me of Moses. I started to remember some of Moses' experiences in the desert with the people and how they were often unruly. The people kept blaming Moses and complaining...ect. God reminded me that He gave Moses the strength that he needed to lead God's people through the wilderness and He will give me the strength to teach my students.

After school I went to meet with my mentor and friend, Julia, and God continued to speak into my heart even more. The unit that I'm working through in "Experiencing God" is about how God works in our circumstances. I'll post more on this later-after I finish the unit-but for now, God used the story of Moses in that study to continue encouraging me. The author reminds us that God wanted Pharaoh to resist Moses so the that the people would see and experience God as the all-powerful "I AM." Yes, indeed, God is the all-powerful "I Am" in every circumstance, joyful and difficult.

Elders' Meeting

Tonight I met with the elders from Redoubt North Church about Heart 2 Heart Mentoring and it went great!! God enabled me to communicate clearly the vision He has given me for this program. Honestly, I felt like everything that came from my mouth was well thought out and beneficial..which I can't say all the time.(wish I could) On my way over the meeting I was praying that God use my mouth and words that came out of it to glorify Himself and accurately portray the ministry of Heart 2 Heart Mentoring, He did in awesome ways. I felt a huge confirmation when one of the elders mentioned just that. He said that he was impressed with how well I communicated and explained the program and my heart and passion for it. What an awesome blessing! By God's GRACE I did not stumble over words or ideas, I was able to pull up all the documents that I needed to present the program, the computer battery did not die. Praise the Lord! In two weeks time we will present this opportunity to the church, after that we will present it to the school as soon as possible. Please pray that God continues to bless this and use this program to draw the children at Redoubt North School to Himself. Pray that God continues to impassion my heart for this ministry. Pray that God works in the hearts of the individuals He would like to be the mentors from our church. Pray that God softens the heart of the school principal so that this program will be welcomed warmly. Pray that all those involved continually seek to honor Christ and bring Him glory.

sore fingers-a good thing

I have been wanting to develop my guitar playing for a long time. For some reason, I have always given up. I think that I was afraid of failing and I also wasn't seeing or hearing myself improve. Well, I have been practicing hard out for the past week and I am hearing tons of improvement and I finally feel liked it clicked. I'm actually getting it and I love it. I actually enjoy practicing a couple hours a day when I have that much time. As a result my fingers are killing me! It's a good pain though because it reminds me that I am achieving something and continuing to learn and develop a musical skill. I like that. So between the guitar and the ukulele I have tons of fun playing and enjoying the gift of music. Praise the Lord!

Sunshine

Today I wanted to go to Bethells Beach after church. It was raining when I woke up so I started praying hard as that the Lord would let there be sun after church. I packed up everything I would need for the beach and went off to church. I went to Shore Grace this morning, which was nice of course. I enjoyed seeing friends on the North Shore today. As we were singing this morning, there was a cat that randomly decided to come to church. It walked in the open door and through the people, then it eventually left(or someone helped it leave:).

After church, the sun came out!!! Yay, praise the Lord! So I headed off the beach as planned. It was a great afternoon. I walked up and down the beach a bit getting wet along the way, I probably might as well have gone for a swim, however the waves were huge and the current was very very strong, so I didn't. The sun was shinning beautifully and I just loved it. I had time to journal and read and sing and just live life to the fullest with Jesus. I did say that next time I would have pray that the wind calm down too because it was extremely windy, but that didn't keep me from enjoying the day. Then after I spent some time at Bethells beach, I went over down the road to Bethells Lake. It's a short hike up to the black sand dunes and then over to the lake (takes about 15 min). Going up to Bethells Lake was a special thing for me. This is the place where God let me know that missions in New Zealand was in my future. It was almost strange going back, but it was really good too.

I left to come home about 4:30pm thinking that if I made it home by 5:30, then I could make it to church at Cession by 6pm. Well, let's just say my navigational skills failed on the way home and I spent the better part of two hours driving around lost, trying to figure out how to get home. Good grief. If there is anything that frustrates me more than anything else, it's getting lost for an extended period of time and not being able to figure myself out of being lost. Once I finally gave in and stopped for directions toward the city, I was home within 20 minutes. Grrrr. So today was good and worshipful and humbling.

It's Friday

Week four of T3 is finished. God has given me strength for another week. Praise the Lord! We had a fun night with CIA today, we had 11 kids come. I think this was a good number today but I that Thursdays may have been better for the kids than Fridays, we'll have to wait and see.

After CIA, I took Bethany and Sarah ice-skating, we had a great time. I am now really tired, but that's ok. It was totally worth it. I think the ice rink was different than the ones in the states though, at least something was different, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I had a hard time getting started for some reason. I got it together eventually though because I had to help Bethany quite a bit, she ended up skating a bit by herself (without the wall:) by the end. I was so proud of her. Spontaneous ice-skating is always a great activity! I guess that could be a good challenge for you this weekend. Do something spontaneous next time you find yourself with a couple free hours. It doesn't have to be anything big, just fun and random, enjoy life and live it up.

More Smiles

God is doing some really cool things...

C.I.A. tomorrow is going to be great!
Tonight I met with Peter Benzie about getting a mentoring program started with our church and the local primary school. It's still in the very beginning stages but we have a clear vision of what needs to happen and when and how the program can work. I also feel like this is something that God wants to see happen and I'll tell you more about that and the vision God has given me for this once more is set in place. For right now, I am thrilled! I feel like this is what I'm here for. If teaching allows me to stay and live here so that I can be a part of getting this program up and running, then that's fine. I'm sure you know that I have big dreams for this program but I don't think they're my dreams, I think this really is something that God has put in me and wants to do here in NZ. This is all super exciting. As you pray for me this week, please pray for Heart 2 Heart Mentoring and how God is going to use this to glorify Himself and build his Kingdom.

Matthew 19:14

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

This is the Scripture that the Lord has placed on my heart regarding this ministry. The goal is to connect to the heart of these kids to the heart of Jesus.

new format

Well I like the new look of my blog, but I'm still figuring out how this new layout and format works. I'm getting there and I think I've fixed the comment issue and about me section is getting there. I still have this random box for my photo, which I may need to put my photo there at some point and take it off the top..?? just trying get a fresh look for my blog, I like this look and will prob. keep it around for a while.There are still a few things I want to add and change, but it's getting there.

Rest

Last night I went to bed kinda early, well really early for me, I was in bed by 9:00 and asleep by about 9:30! That is just crazy but I needed the sleep. This morning I woke up rested and ready face another day. It was a very good thing that I had a good rest because teaching today took every bit of strength I had. I got home and could have crashed but I kept going, at least a little bit. This week isn't flying by as fast as last week did, but that's ok. I had someone come in this morning to work with me and the ukuleles, that was lots of fun and I'm looking forward to what's going to happen with the uke group. I think this is going to be a highlight of my week as well.

Prayer requests:
-youth group tomorrow
-energy for teaching
-feeling rested and full of strength
-CIA on Friday
-meeting with Peter Benzie on Thursday about formulating a mentoring
program/partnership between our church and the local primary school.
-quality time in the Word
-hearing God's voice and seeing what He's up to around me
-obedience to follow Him

Ranting and Raving

Tonight, I had a meeting with God. It was more like me getting all my frustrations out and God just listening. But it was more than that. He promises that when I seek Him with all of my heart, I will find Him. By seeking I mean demanding that He show up. This might seem incredibly bold but I did this because His word also says that I may approach His throne with boldness.

In a study that I did not too long ago I learned what it means to earnestly seek God. One verse that stood out from this study was Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."

seek
Greek Strong's Number:1567
Transliteration: ekzeteo
Part of speech: v
1)to seek out, search for
2)to seek out, i.e. investigate, scrutinise
3)to seek for one's self, beg, crave
4)to demand back, require

So tonight I was seeking God to come help me make sense of so many parts of my life that I just don't understand right now. I was demanding that He speak to my heart so that I knew He was with me helping me work through my struggles. Needless to say, God showed up, I knew He would. I still don't understand everything but I know that I am loved and I know that God is lighting the path for me to walk. As I was finishing up my journaling, I felt God telling me to go the the music section at Boarders (I was at a cafe near by). He said there was something there He wanted me to hear. So I went. I didn't know what I was looking for but it didn't take me long to find what God wanted to tell me. As I glanced over the top 10 sellers for the month it was like this CD jumped off the shelf. On the cover is said, Featuring: You Are Loved (Don't Give Up). It was the Josh Groban album: AWAKE. I bought the CD, went home, listened to this song and wept. Like I said, tonight I had a meeting with God. The maker of my heart came to mend it and speak to me in a special way, a way that is personal to who I am and what I needed in that moment.

Beach, Sun, Ice-cream

So let's be honest, how much better can a Sunday afternoon get? I spent this afternoon at mission bay beach with two of my friends, Peter and Sarah. We were going to have a picnic after church, but when we got to the beach, it was raining! So we had our picnic in the car. Then when we finished eating the sun came out again, yay! We walked up and down the beach collecting fun shells, Sarah and I got pretty wet running through the water and just having fun:) We just enjoyed time with friends in the sun, sand, and water. Then we went to find some ice-cream, another favorite! Back to the beach again because the sun was still shinning and it was beautiful. I am so thankful that I live by the sea, I enjoy the water so so much and the beauty of the sea never gets old. I also love spending quality time with people and enjoying God's beautiful creation at the same time. What a great day! Thanks God.

Psalm 103

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul;
and forget not all His benefits-
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is restored like the eagles.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever,
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His love for those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
for He knows how we are formed,
He remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord's love is with those who fear Him,
and His righteousness with their children's children-
with those who keep His covenant
and remember to obey His precepts.

The Lord has established His throne in heaven
and His kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you His angels,
you mighty ones who do His bidding,
who obey His word.
Praise the Lord, all His heavenly hosts,
who His servants who do His will.
Praise the Lord, all His works
everywhere in His dominion.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Good nights

Tonight is a good night:) I just finished watching the movie "Dreamer." It's about a girl and a horse...how could I not love that? And with a title like that, let's just say it didn't take me long to decide this was a good movie to watch tonight.
I like horses a lot(like most girls)and I love dreaming big dreams. Right now, my dreams don't center around horses like they used to, but it's still fun to remember those dreams. Have you ever noticed that God transforms our dreams to align with His, when we ask Him to? I would never have thought that I would be here living in New Zealand, teaching music, serving with the church. Especially because ever since I was little I kept telling my parents that I wanted to go to Australia! It's funny how God just tweaked that dream just a little. I had the right hemisphere, but not quite the right country. I wonder what other dreams God is going to tweak and change so that He is best glorified. Honestly, I am challenged by this often. I want my desires to be God's desires therefore I am constantly challenged to lay down my dreams and put them in the hands of the One who first gave them to me. This can be so difficult at times! I wish it wasn't, but there is still a control freak in me somewhere that thinks she can make life make sense. News Flash! Life is not predictable, circumstances in life change, people change, ultimately I cannot control my life. Good News! God is solid. He is who He says He is, He is never changing, He is 100% faithful in all He says and does, His dreams for our lives always come to pass, for those who love Him, and His love never fails.

Oh, did I mention that one of my dreams had been to go bungy jumping? Did that:)

Brave?

Recently people have been telling me that I am brave. Well, I guess that could be true. However, I think I see it as obedience instead of bravery. It wasn't hard for me to move overseas because I knew that's what God wanted me to do. It is difficult to teach in one of Auckland's roughest schools, but God has called me there too. God has provided the courage I need to continue teaching there. I think that when God asks you to do something radical or "crazy" or difficult, He gives you the courage to do it. If I'm brave, cool beans, but it's only because God allows me to be. There are definitely times when I'm scared, but not scared like I don't think God is with me. It's more of a fear of me failing or letting God down. At which times I must remind myself that I am not perfect..duh! I am not infallible! God is, and His grace is sufficient for me! So, bravery or obedience, it is all because God is sovereign and gives me exactly what I need when I need it, so that He will be glorified through me.

Photo Pursuit

We did a photo scavenger hunt tonight with the youth at Redoubt North. I think it went really well, we had lots of fun and got some great pictures. We had the students use Scripture verses and various clues to find specific locations around Manukau. I wasn't sure how many places to put on the list, but I think we could have had a few more. Everyone had about 45 minutes to complete the challenge and most finished rather quickly...like 25 minutes. However, you never know how traffic is going to be, or how people will go through the list (in order or mix it up). So, overall, good times.

The theme for the event was Jeremiah 29:13 "When you seek me, you will find me when you seek with all your heart." Throughout the activity the students were doing everything they could to get fun and creative pictures at the right destinations. The idea is that we have opportunities to seek God every day. The verses I used to help the kids find their destinations were connected to our relationship with God and some ways we can seek Him. It was cool, I hope the kids had as much fun as I did. I know they went away filled up on lollies and sugar! oops:)

One kid

It's Wednesday morning and I'm waiting for my first class to arrive. I just talked to the vice principal for a little while in the tech lab. She asked me if I was happy here at this school. I was honest, I said, "Some days, yes, but honestly I'm struggling. It's very difficult." We kept talking for a while and she shared with me why she is here. She said that people ask her all the time why she is here when she could be teaching at a much better school. She reminded me that these kids need a fair chance at life just like all the rest. These kids don't have the support they need at home. If everyone said, "I just can't teach those kids," who would teach them? Who would show them that life isn't about violence, cheating, stealing, and just getting by. If I can just have an impact on one kid, I guess this is worth it. But I don't want my impact to be limited to showing them the positive way to live, I want at least one student to make a decision to follow Christ. If I can show one student who Jesus is and that He is what life is about, then all the trouble is worth it. I am the Lord's servant and I will serve where He places me. Pray that I will do this with a joyful heart every day!

What do I say?

Today was difficult, frustrating, good, and confusing. Difficult and frustrating because my class in the afternoon totally pressed my patience to the limit. Sometimes I just don't know what to do, I feel stuck, trapped, unable to make a difference or teach. Today was good because I had some extra planning time, which God helped me use wisely to get lots of recording of assessments finished. Also good because I had a meeting with a few other teachers at the school after school and I know that I'm not the only one who struggles with these kids. They don't just challenge me, they challenge everybody. Please don't misunderstand, I do have some great students, they are not all so challenging. It just seems overwhelming when I have many challenging students in the same class. Today was confusing because I am still in this process of figuring out what I am doing with my life. I'm a teacher. I always will be, it's in my blood. Usually it's more in the form on one on one teaching/mentoring that I enjoy the most. I don't know if I will always teach music, but I teach. I also know that my life will always be used for ministry for the kingdom of God. I live for Jesus and desire to point others to Him. So, where does this leave me right now? Living one day at a time, with questions, but still living and following the path the Lord has set before me. There is a Phil Joel song that really speaks to my heart. It's called "God is Watching Over You"

He sees you down by the water line
Know what you're thinking all the time
He sees the rising of the waves
When the tide starts rolling in
He lets you know it's gonna be o.k.

He sees you dancing in the moonlight
His arms around you hold ya tight
And if those clouds should start to break
He'll be standing out in the rain with you
And though it's hard to believe
He believes in you

God is watching over you
As always
You are loved
Whatever you go through
He's right beside you
God is watching over you
As always
And if you think He'll ever leave you
You better think again

Painted in the sky a rainbow to remind you
Nothing that is broken
Cannot be made new
He knows when ya feel so far away
He's gonna keep the night light on
He's waiting there to receive you

You are loved
Wherever you go

Through fire, through wind and through rain
Yesterday, today and tomorrow the same
Nothing here can take this love
Nothing you could do will break this love
Climb a tree, gonna reach so high
Swing low sweet chariot
It's time to fly
He sees you down by the water line

Week Three

Well, it's week three into term three at Tamaki Intermediate. Choir is slowing getting better...one step at a time! Today, was a step in the right direction. Nowhere near where I want the kids to be right now, but headed that way. I just keep praying all day long, that God is glorified in what I say! This can be so hard when kids are so disrespectful. I think I did a good job of that today, I didn't loose my cool at all, in fact I stayed really calm. God is so good. No doubt I was frustrated at times, but God gave me strength, He gave me words, and He gave me the ability to keep going. Praise the Lord! I don't have anything big planned for this week at school, which is nice. Next week I have someone coming in to help me the Ukuleles. I'm going to take a group to a Ukulele festival in November, this is going to be a ton of fun, but also difficult as well. Pray that this whole process goes well. We need to start praying for November now, it is going to be a huge month for me and the preparation that needs to happen before then seems crazy, but with Christ, it can be accomplished. Praise the Lord and thanks for your prayers!

Rangitoto Island

I woke up this morning to a very relaxed schedule, I decided that I really wanted to go to Rangitoto Island,(youngest volcano in Auckland). I've been here three months and still hadn't gotten there, nor had I driven in the city during the day...so today was a day of firsts.

I started out by figuring out a plan of action, how to get to the ferry, what time it left/came back, how much it was going to cost...details. Then I started out for the city. Ha, let say it's a good thing God is always watching over me. The city is full of random one-way streets, I had to be so so careful(I was). Then to find a car park near the ferry depot:) Ok, so I decided that next time I go, I will most likely take the bus or a train. But I survived.

Next, I almost missed the ferry because of having trouble with the car park situation but praise the Lord, the ferry runs a little late and I just made it. Keep in mind, I gave myself plenty of time to make it there, traffic is just crazy, and I didn't know exactly where I was going.

The climb was absolutely wonderful. The landscape was georgous, the weather was perfect and the climb was just the right length and difficulty for a random day trip. As I was climbing up, I kept thinking, "I can't believe I live here!" This was the best thing I could have done today. There is so much more to see there too, I only climbed the summit. Needless to say I will be going back a few more times, I think I'd like to go with some friends next time. Today was a good day to go by myself though. I needed a day away to think and just be me, so it was so good.






There are lava rocks all over the island along with the beautiful bush and Pohutukawa forest. The Pohutukawa tree is called the New Zealand Christmas tree because it blooms red flowers right around Christmas time. The lava looks like rivers of rock all the way down to the sea.







I hope I picked the best pictures to give you a taste of what it was like. It was too beautiful to put into words really and the pictures don't do justice to the actual senery. God's creation always leaves me speechless.

CIA

I think I've posted about CIA before or I've written about it in my e-mails that go out every so often. Just in case you don't know what it is, CIA stands for "Christ In Action" and it is an after school children's' ministry for primary ages kids. We meet every other week. The program includes games, a story, craft, singing, and we end with a small dinner of some type. We have changed the day from Thursday to Friday for this term. We'll see how this works out for the kids. Thursday is bringing on some challenges for some of the leaders, so hopefully Friday will work out. Yesterday it went great. We started out with just a few (like six) but by craft time, we had 10 kids. I was excited to see more kids come, but I think it would be better if all the kids came at the beginning. So we need to pray for that.During the story time yesterday, Peter had an opportunity to tell kids about having a personal relationship or "friendship" with Jesus. Pray that the Spirit works in the lives of the kids who don't already know Jesus and that they soon make a decision to follow Him.

This week I organized the craft. The kids made a WWJD doorknob hanging. The lesson was about fighting temptation, so "what would Jesus do?" is a good question for the kids (or me) to ask. It went really well and the kids had fun. I think one of my favorite parts of the night though was doing the dishes with Gloria. I don't often get a chance to just talk with some of the ladies at church, so we had a wonderful conversation about family while we did the dishes. I was so blessed by hearing about her heart for her family and the traveling they are planning to do with their kids. God is good:)

Parent/teacher interviews

Long day! That's an understatement. Class this morning, choir this morning, then parent/teacher interviews from 2pm to 6:30pm. I saw about 10-12 parents so honestly I sat around board for a really long time. I read parts of "Velvet Elvis" (Rob Bell) again and I also spent some time re-reading my cultural anthropology notes again. I know, I'm a dork, but culture fascinates me:) So I spent some time reminding myself about how culture is structured and different forms of culture. Really, this does help me communicate with my students better and understand their different backgrounds. I think I am going to go to bed early tonight. I'll write more later.

Silly Kid, God's Glory

Today I had a student who thought he was funny...let's be honest, I have kids like that everyday...but God used this one in way he wasn't expecting. Conversation went like this...

Me: This is a crescendo (I drew a picture)
Student A: A Christian? (trying to be funny)
Me: No, I am a Christian, this is a crescendo.
Student B: Yer a Christian?
...mumblings about the class like, "hey arn't you a Christian?"
Me: Yes, I am.
Student B: ok, cool.
Student B to student A: Hey, you a Christian?
Student A: no way man!
Me: Ok, back to the crescendo please.
Student A: a christian. (oh isn't he funny)
Me: No, a Christian is a person who follows Christ! A crescendo is a musical term for starting soft and getting loud.

So, I didn't get to go deep into what it means to be a Christian, but if I keep talking about crescendos maybe this silly kid will keep saying "Christian" and I'll keep explaining more about what it means to be a Christian:) Gotta smile when God uses a silly kid who intends frustrate the teacher as wittiness for Him. This is one of the times when God came in and redeemed a potentially tough situation for His glory.

Smiling

So right now, I am cuddled up in lots of blankets and smiling:) I like blankets, especially when it's cold outside and inside. But I'm not just smiling because I get to be wrapped in blankets, I'm smiling because God has blessed me with another Sunday of hearing His Word preached. I'm smiling because I love being inspired and I love to inspire others. In fact that was one of my reasons for becoming a teacher. Though recently I have been doubting my teaching abilities and wondering how in the world I'm going to get my students to learn, let alone inspire them to love learning. In my own life, I feel most inspired when I'm living with Jesus, knowing that He is at work in and through me...this helps me dream big dreams and set out to do the impossible, because nothing is impossible with Christ! Hence I moved to New Zealand and followed the call the Lord put on my heart to serve Him overseas. This was/is an impossible dream that God made happen. Now that I am here, I am in the process of figuring out just exactly what it is I'm supposed to do here. I've been here for about three months and the desire to get churches connected with schools by sending mentors to encourage and love "at risk" kids is burning on my heart. I have a vision of seeing churches caring for their communities by caring for the education of the children in those communities and at the same time bringing the Love of Jesus into the hearts of these kids and their families. I've approached World Vision with questions about getting Kids Hope started here in NZ, similar to the States and Aussie, however, they are not going to go forward with that right now. So now what? I still feel like this is something God has placed on my heart.

This morning I was reminded that Jesus did not give up on Peter. Peter denied even knowing Jesus and yet Jesus later told him that He was going to use Peter to build His church. Peter was impulsive and spontaneous (i.e. jumping out of a boat), yet Jesus led him, gently corrected and taught him through his actions. Trust Jesus, don't doubt, and you might just end up walking on water. Impossible for most, but with God, all things are possible. So, starting a church/school mentoring program to bring Jesus into our communities...difficult, yes!, but impossible? No way! Nothing is impossible with God!

This evening God spoke to my heart with the same Scripture that He used to bring me to New Zealand, Isaiah's Commissioning, Isaiah 6:1-8. Isaiah realized that God put a calling on his life to prophesy to the nations, Isaiah realized He was sinful and unworthy to be used by God, then Isaiah realized that God was willing to cleanse him and was prepared to speak through him. Finally, Isaiah says ok, here I am, I'll go for you, I am yours. I am going to be diving more into the meaning behind the word "calling" in the next few weeks. I am confident that the Lord has given me a passion to point people to Him, to inspire others to know Him, to help people know Him, to encourage those who are currently walking with Jesus to grow and deepen that relationship. I hear Jesus saying, "Bring the little children unto me."

Right now, how am I going to see teaching music as more than a task? That is going to be difficult, I need to be intentionally thinking about how I respond to my students and what I say. I pray that even though I find myself in some pretty hard situations that God steps in and redeems those situations for His glory. Pray with me about bringing the children to Jesus. Pray that God shows me where to start. Pray that God continues to fill me with passion to serve Him one day at a time in all circumstances. I pray that I can continue smiling with the joy that God has put in me so my students see Jesus drawing them to Himself.

Opposite Days

The past two days could not have been more different! (at school that is). Yesterday I had a class that was absolutely awful. The kids were so rude, at one point, I just didn't know what to do with them. It's not even that many kids compared to our American classes, this class was only about 17 or 18 kids but most of them were just utterly disrespectful to me and each other. I had one table of girls who were quiet and minded their own business and followed instructions. I felt bad that they had to put up with the silliness of their classmates. Today on the other hand I had a delightful class. The class I had this morning made my entire week. After we had finished with some notes and basic stuff to prepare them for the rest of the unit, they asked if they could sing for me! Far be it from to to say no if my students want to sing! So I said, "Yes, by all means, I'd love that!" They sang wonderfully, it was so great. Then they asked if I would sing for them, this made me really nervous, but I did it. I sang Amazing Grace for them and they were so sweet and polite when I finished. I can't tell you how blessed I felt after having such a sweet class today! Yesterday, I pretty much vented everything that was in me in prayer and felt utterly defeated. Today, God heard my prayer and blessed me with a day/class that encouraged me exactly the way that I needed to be encouraged. Praise be to God!

I Couldn't Resist

I was looking through my pictures tonight..trying to organize them haha..anyway, I came across this one and new it was priceless. Nigel that is some intense hair! My other dear friends in this photo are Douglas, Steph and Lynda. Steph traveled to NZ with the team and Douglas and Lynda go to Redoubt North. Anyway just a fun pic post.

Finishing up...

On Sunday after church I spent a little extra time in the children's' ministry center. When IWU came two years ago we spend a good chunk of time at Redoubt North digging ditches and painting. Well, the painting never quite got finished. So I am working on that and loving it. Sunday I just did some trim work, touching up the walls where they meet the ceiling. Next week I hope to put another coat of paint on the ceiling as well, I may need to recruit some help for that one:) Anyway, good times!

Totally unrelated, I started school up again today. Jeepers, I know I can do this but I just need some extra strength and endurance from the Lord. I think I also need some fresh ideas for what to teach. I don't have a curriculum per say like we do in the states for music. I still have standards, but have to make up whatever I want to teach. This is ok, but I'd like to use some material that is published and made for middle school students as well. Just keep those prayers coming! I know I only get through one day at a time on God's grace.

Trust

Yesterday I did a ton of processing! I woke up and it was like I had a million things on my mind all at once. It was funny really, I didn't know I could think about so much at once...haha. I started asking questions like no body's business(that wont surprise those of you who know me well:). I was thinking about what I'm doing here in NZ, if I am supposed to continue teaching next year, if it would be possible to work for World Vision, where is God at work here?, what does it look like for me to join God in His work?, what does it look like for me to be obedient to a call of full-time ministry when I don't feel called to be a pastor myself(at least I don't think so)? These are just a few of the questions I've been processing. Throughout the day, I felt like God was using Scripture to speak right to my heart and He was telling me to TRUST. This sounds so simple doesn't it? If anybody is worthy of trust it is the triune God! In the morning a friend of mine sent me a text saying, "This is the Scripture the Lord gave me for you, Hebrews 2:13 'I will put My trust in God.'" I was blown away, she had no idea what I was thinking/going through at that time! God is Good!

Another thing God told me was that I have to pray for Him to open my eyes Spiritually so that I can see where He is at work. Please pray for this with me! My eyes are open to see the Truth in the Gospel and my ears are open to the voice of God but for some reason I finding it hard to see where God is at work around me. Pray that God opens my eyes and shows me where to join Him in His work here, be it at school, church, community, wherever. Pray that the Lord makes me sensitive to the working of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom to know when I should speak and/or act according to the Spirit's leading.

Gifts

Family/friends/relationships.
Home/food/transportation.
Pictures/memories.
Sunsets/sunrise.
Life.
A job.
Christ’s life/death.
The Word.
Grace.
Music.
Education.

People exchange gifts for many reasons, to show love, to celebrate, to appreciate, to encourage, the list could go on. Parents give countless gifts to their children over a lifetime and vise verse hopefully. In my own life, I have been very blessed by the gifts of my parents. My mom insisted that my brother and I have a Christian education so she worked hard to make that happen. My parents then supported my decision to attend a Christian university; they supported me financially and in prayer. Now, I am a long way from “home” using the education I was given in order to glorify my heavenly Father. I am still supported everyday by family, friends, and body of Christ. All of this being said; I know that everything mentioned above is ultimately a gift from God, given to me in order to further His Kingdom. Our heavenly Father knows exactly what we need and He also desires to give us good gifts. His gifts are so perfect and perfectly timed that He doesn’t always give us what we think we want, He know us better than we know ourselves. He knows what will encourage, help, bless, and harm His children.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then through you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will our Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him? So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:9-12

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:16-18

To all those that the Father is using to bless my life, thank you. Thank you for your prayers, generosity and time.

God is watching over me!

This week NZ has been hit with some pretty bad storms...lots of rain, strong winds, and some tornadoes even! That being said, the only thing that is a miss for Ferne and I is our internet connection! No damage to the house, cars, or ourselves! In fact, God must have put His angels around us and the area where we live. What's more is one of the places that was hit the hardest is in the Northland, the town of Kaitia. For those of you who remember, this was the place where I about moved to! I thought I had a job at a small Christian school up there and was all ready to take it and move to the northern tip of NZ. However, God had other plans. That job did not go through, I got a job in Auckland and moved here instead. God is watching over me! Had I been living in Kaitia, who knows where I'd be living now.

Thankful Saturday

Today I am thankful for...

planning youth activities for next term
going to Rainbow's End with Bethany and family time
time with my friend Sarina, seeing her school/art...
going to the Zoo with Julia H. and Nathanael
just enough sunshine to go for a walk/jog at the right time
lunch with Julia E.
reading with no worry about the time
rainy day to relax, rest, and then see a movie with Ferne
a car that will be a blessing for me and the friend I'm buying it from
learning more about the ministry that is happening at Cession Community
spending time seeking out where God is at work
praying boldly and knowing that God hears/answers each prayer
blankets:)
grace

Obedience

This week in the study, "Experiencing God" I am looking at John 14:21 "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

There is so much packed in this passage. It's not just whoever has my commands loves me, it's whoever has my commands AND and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. So I can show that I love Christ by being obediant to Him. This is what I have been striving to do and what I continue doing each day within God's grace. I have found though that when I do obey the commands of Christ to show my love for Him, I sometimes become prideful. I begin to think that I'm loving Christ in obediance in my own power. I couldn't be more WRONG!! I can only live in a love relationship with Christ through obediance because He enables me to. I can only obey because of the courage, strength, and miracles that He provides. Christ enables me to live in obediace by grace that was and is given because of His blood that was shed to cover my sin and incompatance.

He who loves me will also be loved by the Father...through Christ's blood I am able to approach the Father with confidence (Heb. 4:16) because that blood covers my sin. When I am living in a love relationship with the Son, the Father's love also overflows.

...and I too will love Him and show myself to Him. Jesus also loves me when I obey Him and He will continue to reveal Himself to me. Thus the love relationship continues through Jesus' initiative. It is the Father that draws us to Jesus in the first place (John 6:44), and Christ who sustains that relationship by revealing His commands through the Sciptures and through His Holy Spirit (John 14:26). It is Christ who gives me the opportunity to be obediant, Christ who enables me to be obediant, and Christ who blesses that obediance. It's all about Christ, not about me!

If there is any truth in what is written above, it is found in Scripture, not my own wisdom. If God is challenging you in obedience or living in a love relationship with Him, look to Scripture. Pray, ask Him to reveal his commands to you and give you the courage and ability to obey.

Continue Prayer

So I guess I do have a serious side to post on tonight...prayer! The power of prayer has been so evident in every part of my life and living it to glorify the Lord. The Lord has answered countless prayers that you lift up for me and the that I lift up for those around me, Praise the Lord. I guess, the reason I am writing about this is because of the times when I feel that God uses me to pray the most sincerest prayers. Believe it or not, it's in the middle of the night. I think that is for a couple of reasons. First, because that is the same time when so many of you are praying for me, so sometimes God wakes me up to pray for the same things along with you. Which is absolutely awesome!! but just means I'm tired the next day. Also, I think God has been waking me up in the middle of the night to pray because that is when my heart is totally in sync with the Spirit. Sometimes, I feel more analytical or practical about what I pray during the day, but when I'm too tired to analyze(or get in the way), God can use me to pray bold prayers, believing Him to answer them. Understand that I am still processing some of this, but so amazed to see that Holy Spirit is at work, I love it. Keep praying! If it means I don't get a ton of sleep, then just pray that I am rested and not cranky for the sake of those around me:)

Just to say...

Well, I don't have anything super profound to post on tonight but I thought I would just give you a light into my holiday thus far. Saturday...Amazing(see previous post) Sunday, great to be at Redoubt North, really powerful time of worship. Bethany came over and we painted, then I took her to Cession Community for an evening service. Monday, Redoubt youth planning mtg. in the arvo, rock climing with wesleyan youth in the evening. Tuesday, tasky but productive morning, hung out with some great friends. God is so good and is enabling me to build deep and meaningful friendships. I went to see some artwork of my friend Sarina, which was such a blessing. In the evening I had study with the Redoubt North gang, which went so well, Praise the Lord! Wednesday,I took Bethany to Rainbows End (NZ theme park, not as flash as the ones in the states) had fun with that, got rained on a lot...haha. Small group mtg. looking at the ministry that is happening at Cession Community in the evening. So there ya have it, in a nutshell. I'll try to stay up to date.