~May Your Light Shine :D~

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.
Psalm 42:1 (NKJV)

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

hi everyone! decided to blog while i have some spare time before everyone thinks i have disappeared from the face of the earth.

currently im in brisbane, just spent the whole day at the australian zoo and was at gold coast yesterday. will update more about the trip later on. the reason why i have not blogged for almost a month, was because after my exams i just got super lazy. correction, i was lazy during my exams, no idea how much shows i watched during that period. terrible, i know. i just got so fed up with working on all my assignments, by the time i got through with them, i did not have any stamina left for studying exams. then again, i only had 1 mcq exam (90qns in 90mins, woohoo!) and one oral exam to prepare. the other exam was a take home exam that no one knew what on earth to write as answers. anyways, after my exams, i just continued watching shows and more shows (i think i was a couch potato in my previous life) and all other time was dedicated to either hanging out with friends or packing, which took longer than expected. thankfully, i dun have as much stuff as some ppl i know so there was still some space left to spare for michelle to pack in the kitchen stuff when she leaves.

i booked for this trip way waaaayy in advance when jetstar was offering cheap flights - i paid only $56 for the ticket from adelaide to brisbane. when i left, i wasn't all hyped up about coming to brisbane. i guess partly cuz i was surrounded by people who were going home straight and i was kinda missing home. 9 months is seriously a long time to be away from home. i could have gone home halfway, but thanks to my stubborness, i was stuck in aus the whole time. well, if it wasn't the case, i wouldn't have gone to hillsong conference and had the time of my life.

to be honest, brisbane is nothing like what I imagined it to be. i think i had too high expectations of the sunshine state and the world famous gold coast. my idea was more glamorous than what it is, and brisbane has turned out to be a really chilled out city, totally unlike the busyness of sydney and melbourne. cruising along the city on a sunday would make you think you have arrived in a ghost town. ok, not that deserted, but still not what you may be expecting of a city.

my impression of brisbane, is that its citizens live very active lifestyles. the city is designed such that people are encouraged to exercise - running/bicycle tracks line the river. i think its really good esp keeping in mind the obesity rates of this country.

took the public transport from brisbane to gold coast, which wasn't as bad as i first thought, and not that expensive either. went to harbourtown (which is a few times bigger than the one in adelaide) and surfers paradise where all the action happens. now is the time of schoolies, this nationwide declaration of non-stop partying for those who just finished yr12, their equivalent of the yr before uni. saw many people at the beach and its surrounding accomodation. however, gold coast was not what i expected either. it certainly was more happening than brisbane, but its not as glamourous as i imagined it to be. the beach was nice, but nothing spectacular. maybe it was because the waves were very mild when we were there. what marred the whole experience really was this bus driver who just drove off despite us hailing, which put us back 1.5hrs altogether due to waiting time as we needed to make 2 transfers. sigh... but the other bus drivers we've met so far have been really nice.

im with patricia, a junior in speechie and ocf, who comes from JB. and i must say we've both been very blessed to be taken in by theo and his mum, auntie lily. when i first asked dave from ocf queensland if he could help me find accomodation, i was quite hopeful. however, as time drew on, i sort of knew that we both probably have to stay at some backpackers. but to my surprise, 1 week before i arrived, i got news that someone has a place to offer. theo's house is huge, it has at least 10 rooms with doors, and they normally have 4 homestay students. theo and his mum have been such a blessing, cooking for us, driving us around - he brought us to the zoo today and bringing us to byron bay tomorrow. i really am thankful to be able to stay with him.

anyways, i gtg prepare for dinner now. theo's bringing us out somewhere for asian food. will update more hopefully before conv.

Lydea blogged at 6:04 PM

May your light shine...
in the darkness...

Friday, November 02, 2007

i don't know about you, but i have trouble waiting, esp when the situation just seems to get worse day by day. if you are like me, maybe you can learn something from this:

Wait

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said, “Child, you must wait.”

“Wait? You say, wait!” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By Faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply!”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, “You must wait.”
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting … for what?”

He seemed, then, to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want – But, you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You’d not know the power that I give to the faint;

You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there;
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You’d never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You’d know that I give and I save … (for a start),
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have LAST.

You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that ‘My grace is sufficient for Thee.’
Yes, your dreams for your life overnight would come true,
But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I’m doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, “WAIT.”

taken from "Perspectives - a spiritual life guide fortwentysomethings". Author unknown

Lydea blogged at 4:40 PM

May your light shine...
in the darkness...