Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Chicken soup, humiliation, and good friends...


Hello friends...I write to you on my comfy orange couch, in an air conditioned apartment, yankee candle lit, watching on old Katherine Hepburn movie. Michelle and I decided we needed a night in and made some apple cobbler and hot tea, feeding out growing addiction to girls night and black and white movies...Life is good. I had the best chicken soup of my entire life today, made with love by my beautiful roommate and partner in various crimes Bianca, pictured to the right. I was feeling a bit like a got hit by a car today, and looking like it as well. All I wanted to do was fly home and watch old movies in Caldwell with my Mimi while my mom makes me hot tea BUT I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have the next best thing...a house full of girls who take care of me and are the most fun people in the world...God is too kind to me.

Intensives are just about over, and I am ready as ever for normal classes to begin. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind! New head student responsibilities are piling on as the days pass, and while I am excited for this season, I have realized how much I need Jesus to give me strength and energy and organization haha. I am learning to take things one day at a time, and to not take myself too seriously. I didn't realize how when you choose to be a leader and take on more responsibility and make the decision to invest yourself into a ministry or a team...you greatly and exponentially increase the potential for making mistakes and falling flat on your face, which has been the lesson I have been learning the past few days. If you don't ever put yourself in a position where you could mess up, you probably aren't really going for it.

We had a student/staff meeting yesterday and the Hills Campus. That means that every college student (just under 1000 people) and every single staff member at Hillsong Church meets together in the Hub and Senior Pastor Brian Houston shares some big picture thoughts and such. All of us head students were sitting towards the front and needed to head out early to help set up for lunch, so we walked out towards the end of his talk, and he definitely called us out from the stage to ask why we were leaving, and then asked us to come sit back down. I have never in my life wanted so badly the ability to become invisible. We all just wanted to crawl into a hole and die...it was humiliating! Oh my word, just thinking about it and reliving it makes me want to cringe so I can't even tell you about it anymore BUT just know that at that moment I learned how to admit to utter stupidity, pick up, and move on. The 1 minute ordeal plays over and over in my head like an annoying commercial that won't end!! Hence I am learning, NOT to take my self too seriously. It's not if I will mess upanymore...it's when...and I think it's good to learn to laugh at yourself and look at things in the light of the big picture and big scheme of things. If nothing else, God probably a good, hearty laugh at some of his kids lookin like fools...thank goodness He has a sense of humor. (picture- Me and Michelle and Coogee beach)

I have been thinking and praying about my time here and what's it's going to look like and for how long. My one year commitment will end this July, but I am feeling my heart soften more and more to the idea of doing another year. That seems like an eternity right now, but I know 2 years really isn't that long compared to the many years I will live. I was reading Hebrews 11 which talks about all the people in the Old Testament who had faith and what they did because of their faith.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only welcomed them and saw them from a distance, admitting that they were stranger and foreigners on this earth. People who say such things show that the are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return. Instead they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, and he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16

I love how it says that if they had been thinking about where they came from, they could have found reasons to go home. But instead they were longing for a new home, for the city God was preparing for them. And I don't know about you guys, but I want to be the kind of person that God prepares a place a for, and who isn't ashamed to be Lord over. So I don't know exactly how long I will stay here in Sydney, but I do know that I will try my best to be a woman of faith, who welcomes Gods promises even if from a distance...

Now for some honorable mentions. I have already mentioned Bianca and Michelle who along with my other 4 flatmates make my life and coming home from class and absolute joy...and for those of you doing the math that's 7 girls in one house...
Dylan Hibbert (picture above) is one of my favorite people here at school for a couple of reasons. I think one of those reasons is that we both love college and despite that face that there are days when we both want to fly home...we make the best of it, and choose to enjoy it. He knows when to tell me to sit down and stop moving for 5 seconds and takes terrible and embarrassing pictures of me and then puts them on facebook and gives me a hard time about never answering phone BUT he is a legend. Dylan if you are reading this I have two word...FAR OUT :)
There are a million people I could talk about...Andrea Wakim- the best Lebanese-Canadian I know, Chris Trapp- someone who I can't be around for more than 5 seconds without laughing, Kristine Diaz- (the hottie Latina in the picture above!! ) who at the end of last semester admitted to me and I to her that we thought the other was so cool and wanted to be best friends with but never said anything, Vanessa, Rachel, Jess...I love them all.

Well, the just put on Selena and I have got to get my inner "chola" on :) I hope you are all enjoying life. Take it one day at a time...there is enough beauty and crazy in one day to keep us busy without worrying about the rest. I love you dearly and miss you.

Be brave,
Linds

3 comments:

  1. I love you and love love love readying your blog! Its the one thing that reminds me of my other home away from home. Sad I am not over there to make memories with you but am proud to know you. Keep giving it all to God. We truly do not know the potential we hold until we realize we are crap without Him. Choose to be second.

    Love Carli Jean

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  2. Hey girl...headed to Caldwell this weekend with Hudson for Gracie's bday party. Excited to see you mom and Hud can't wait to hang out with Cole...I promise I WON"T watch any B&W movies since you are not here (and bcuz I never do :) but you will be missed!!!! AND....my philosphy on life is "In The Light Of Eternity"....which is the name of my blog....that outlook can sure get us through some hard stuff and cause us to take BIG risks....are faith walks....however you want to look at it. Love you lady!!!

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