Tag Archives: Change
Magical Haircuts
This week I have had a little time for pampering… well, when I say time I mean I crammed some appointments in to my week to make me feel human again. This week has been nuts… but because it was the same last week and the week before and the week before that my hair has been slowly growing into a tangled mess which was almost touching my ever-expanding eyebrows. So this week, between running around to different commitments, I managed to get my eyebrows waxed back into submission and my hair cut and coloured. Too much information perhaps, but this is what happened. Why am I telling you? Well there are two things I find amazing about these experiences…
1. How just doing something small can make you feel brand new. I have been super exhausted all week, but these two little trips to the salon have somehow rejuvenated me, I feel like a real person again. This is a far cry from the pretend girl I once was, who had an annual hair cut and not much else, I now really look forward to these experiences because I know they will make me feel better, like a functional member of society.
2. The other thing I find amazing about getting my hair done or going to the ‘beauty salon’ is that for that half an hour to an hour that I am there it almost feels like time stops. Sure the people who work there are buzzing around, but I just have to sit with a cup of tea, ready a trashy magazine and catch up on what’s happening with my favourite couple… Wills and Kate, while I just enjoy the music that is being played. I can just check out for a little while, I am not expected to do anything or say anything… although hairdressers are always amazing at starting conversation, but that’s a whole blog in itself… but I can participate as much or as little as I like. Sure as soon as I walk out the door life goes back to the full on pace it was moving at… in fact it’s kind of like merging back on to a freeway from a side street… it also always costs me more than I think is necessary, but I still love it. Just a few moments where my whole purpose is to stop while the world continues around me.
So, having said all that, I am still tired, but my hair is great, my face is clean of unwanted hair and I feel like at least a small part of me is under control in my crazy busy life.
Nobody Ever Told You
I know I only just posted about the Carrie Underwood concert two days ago, but I have listened to her song ‘nobody ever told you’ a few more times since then and I have decided there needs to be more songs like this one. Songs that actually encourage and value girls for who they are and tell them not to listen to all the other rubbish that is constantly thrown in their faces… It’s just refreshing to have a secular song that has morals, that encourages and lifts up and leaves you feeling good… If I had daughters this is the type of song that I would want them to be listening to, this is the type of song I wish they played on the radio, this is the type of message I wish the world sent to our girls… Anyway, here are the lyrics have a read and see what you think….
Take off all the makeup girl
Shine your light, show the world
Don’t be shy, don’t be scared
You don’t have to hide under there
Let’s throw away all the magazines
Turn off the static on the TV
Wish you could see yourself the way I do
Nobody ever told you
Nobody ever told you
You shine like a diamond
Glitter like a gold
And you need to know
When nobody ever told you
Yeah
La la la la la
Mirror mirror on the wall
Acting like he knows it all
Tells you lies of vanity
He doesn’t care what’s underneath
All hung up on the negative
Doesn’t have to be the way it is
Wish you could see yourself the way I do
Nobody ever told you
Nobody ever told you
You shine like a diamond
Glitter like a gold
And you need to know
When nobody ever told you
Free as a bird,
Up on a watch
Just like a flower growing wild
You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful
Nobody ever told you,
Nobody ever told you
You shine like a diamond
Glitter like a gold
And you need to know
When nobody ever told you
You shine like a diamond
Glitter like a gold
And you need to know
When nobody ever told you
Wordless Wednesday – Call to Action
Go Mixed Nuts
Last year I returned to my first sporting love… netball. Since living in Castlemaine I had started to get the netball itch because it turns out the football netball club is at the social heart of most small country towns and the more time I spent in the country the more I wanted to play… anyway, when I moved back to the big smoke I was invited to joined a mixed netball team. Now don’t get me wrong, my netball skills are… well… not great, but they are getting better and I do love playing. Last year our team Mixed Nuts was in a grade that we could compete in, we won a few… lots a few, but mostly it was pretty even. But not this season… despite the fact that we didn’t even make the finals at the end of last season, the netball association in their white uniformed wisdom, moved us up a grade… Disaster! This year we are 11-zip… I wish I could say that meant that we had won every game, but no… we haven’t won anything… no games… in fact we haven’t just lost all our games we have been smashed most of them… and while we are improving, it still sucks.
But guess what… we won tonight… yep that’s right… only by 3, but still a win… and it felt good… look at how happy we are…
All that’s left to say is Go Mixed Nuts.
Fixing my attitdue
So I have something exciting to share with you… it turns out my husband is a lot wiser than I thought. Seriously no sarcasm intended… he is really wise. He has been writing this blog called ‘just a thought’ for a while now and each time he posts something I learn something… I think he is on to a winner… so if you are looking for some interesting thoughts… check his blog out… seriously do it… you won’t regret it.
Another wise man has been sharing some rather wise words in the form of a podcast I have been listening to this week. I have been listening to Steven Furtick speak at Life Church about the favour of God and what it means to walk in the favour of God. I have found it quite challenging, which was quite unexpected, because normally when I think of the Favour of God I think of it raining down blessings of all kinds. In fact, to be honest, I normally get a little sceptical when people start talking about the favour of God, because it makes me think of prosperity gospels and doing things so God gives you stuff, but usually it’s a feel good message so I gave it a crack. But that’s not what it is about at all… seriously the favour of God could not be further from that. Sure while you are walking in the favour of God you might get some good stuff, your blessings may increase but that’s not the point… the favour of God doesn’t mean favors from God… in fact Steven defined favour as:
The guarantee of His presence and the provision of His power to accomplish His special purpose, in and through my life.
Pretty cool ey? I really like it… The other thing that hit me was the attitude it should come with, Steven talked about the fact that lots of people walk around doing life and when bad stuff happens they say things like ‘that would only happen to me” or “that’s the story of my life” but if that’s the way we are thinking then we need to get a new writer/director… because our current is terrible! Instead we should be waking up in the morning saying “I wonder what blessings God is going to give me today” or “I wonder how I will see God working today”, we should have a grateful attitude as gratitude is the gateway to favour.
This really made me think, I have been guilty of having a ‘woe is me and my life’ frame of mind for probably a couple of years now, granted I have encountered some pretty life altering events and some of them haven’t been that awesome… in fact some of them have been less than average. But through this I have come to expect that I will always get the rough deal, that me, and my family are destined to have second best, to always be facing something bad and that when things are looking good for once, not to get too excited because it probably means that the next disaster is about to strike. This is a terrible way to live… and it doesn’t really scream hope, faith, love, grace and favour… in fact it pretty much says doubt. I know I have blogged about changing my attitude before and it probably seems like I just round in circles, which is probably true in many ways, but I think each time I go round I get a bit better at taking steps in the right direction. I need to start living like God likes me, like really does have something special for me to do, which he does, like he loves me and wants the best for me, which he does, like all things will work for good, for those who love the lord and are called according to his purpose, which I am and he will. I need to get thankful, like really thankful, not just for the big things, but for the little things too, in fact for everything (because he is worthy). I need to expect wonderful, powerful, amazing stuff all the time, I need to trust that even if I can’t see, I’m in his favour so I am safe, secure and heading in the right direction, and I need to do this consistently… I need to life the bar of expectation for my life… and when/if… no, when the bad stuff comes, be thankful for the people, the prayer, the power that I have been given to lift me out…
So one of the things I am going to do to help me be more consistent is get more thankful, like really thankful because I am and I should be! So one day each week I am going to stop and take a moment to post about the things I thankful for, it might just be a wordless Wednesday, or it might be a day of its own, perhaps marvelous Monday… Or something along those lines, either way, when ever it is it will be full of thanks, not just for big things but for all the small things too… I am going to share the favour that have received… And slowly but surely my attitude will change… I hope… but just to get me started, I super thankful for God’s beautiful earth… how’s this for favour…
I haven’t grown out of it yet
Yesterday I handed in my first assignment for my second degree. As I have previously blogged, I have just started my dip ed while continuing my full time work and if it is going to be like last week all the time, it may just kill me. I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s true, last week was busy, really busy and of top that, I had this stupid half sickness (which continues, just FYI) and my first assignment due.
To be honest with you I thought it would be different this time around, I mean this time I am a fully fledged adult… and perhaps I even classify as that annoying mature aged student (although I am not sure that 24 really counts as mature… just yet). I was ready and organised but then stuff just kept happening, my motivation lagged and while I am not behind yet, I am pretty close. Completing my first assignment also brought with it a lot of memories… I have also referred to myself (when talking about my school/uni work) as a perfectionist, there are lots of things I don’t do perfect but when it comes to my academic life I just can’t cope with the P’s get degree’s philosophy of my husband. As I prepared to hand in my assignment all the anxiety I used to feel came flooding back, did I answer all the questions? Will my word count be ok? Is this the right way to submit it? Have I proofread everything a million times? Is my reference list done correctly? All these things stress me out and unfortunately take a toll on those around me. Last night as I got Dave to check something for the 100th time he rolled his eyes and told me it was fine, I have to admit I was a little shocked and explained that he knew I was like this when we got married, and he responded ‘well I did think you might grow out of it” and in fairness to Dave, it’s probably fair enough. I thought I would have out grown stressing about that part of uni too, but I haven’t, not yet anyway. It made me realise though that the next two years are going to be really intense, there will more than likely be more weeks like this… it isn’t always going to be easy and there will probably be times I wish I could give up, but I am in it now and I will keep going… perhaps I will learn how to not stress about assignments as I get further in? Perhaps it will help me become the super organised person I always wanted to be? Perhaps it will leave me stress and exhausted with just an extra piece of paper? But here’s to hoping that I do ‘grow out of it’ but in a good way and this expereince makes me stronger and better…
Please stop messing with my shows
I need to have a whinge… why do TV stations insist on changing the night programs are on… seriously, we started watching because it was convenient, we weren’t watching at the other time slot because it wasn’t… this is not going to change because you would like it to!
At the moment I am hooked on the biggest loser, which is strange for me… I love reality TV so that’s not the bit that is strange, but usually I have to turn the biggest loser off because it is filled with terrible nutritional advice and sets crazy weight loss expectations which are not maintainable or in some cases even achievable, which usually makes me so mad that I yell at the TV and the channel is switched by someone else to shut me up. But this season has me hooked, I think it’s the combination of reality TV with the hope of love… I know it sounds corny, but I think that is what has me hooked.
Now because my life is filled with more than just TV, I couldn’t watch it every night, but I did enjoy watching it most Monday nights, which coincidently was the best night to watch because it was weigh in and elimination night… the best bit. But in channel 10’s lack of wisdom, they have decided after weeks, maybe even months of Monday nights they are moving it, well have moved it to Sunday night… this makes me mad… why? Because Sunday nights don’t work for me, I am busy on Sunday nights and I will not skip church just because the biggest loser is on, regardless of what the promos promise. Surely I am not the only one in this situation? Perhaps it’s not church on Sunday night, but maybe something else, perhaps even another program… you can’t just change things channel 10… It’s just not right!
Look, I know there are more important things in life than what night biggest loser is on TV, but it made me really mad so I had to let it out… now it’s out and I can now go and watch the copy that Davo taped for me (well DVD’d) for me last night… but channel 10… consider yourself warned.
Moments of Love
Day 13: A moment that filled you with love
On May 14th 2011 I married my prince charming… now even though it was 10months ago tomorrow, because I started my blog in July I have never really posted about the day itself… I have given a 6month update on ‘Being Mrs. George’ but never the wedding day itself, so I have decided it’s time and because I really wanted to I have found an opportunity to make it fit perfectly… what has more moments filled with love than a wedding…. so here it is….
I was going to try and write this blog without being too mushy and soap opera like, but then I decided that I didn’t care… so feel free to tune out if you don’t have the stomach for it, but the reality is we are a fairytale and my dreams have come true… I got to be a real princess for the day and Dave was every bit my prince charming and still is… So here is my Wedding Day broken down into moments filled with love…
Moment One – The Night Before
So this one isn’t technically on the wedding day, but it is just as important. The night before we got married Dave and I had been down at the church setting up what we could for the big day to follow, once we were done we said goodnight and headed off in separate directions. Being the stress head of a person that I am, by this stage I was beginning to get really nervous. Getting married is a huge decision and I was worried I would back a bad choice (I know that i shouldn’t have been worried, because there is really no one quite like Dave, but I was), anyway as I drove home, I started getting sentimental about the fact that this was my last night at home, my last night under my parents roof and my last night as a Lewis, despite the fact that I had had over a year to get used to the idea… As I walked to the door I noticed a present on the door step. It was from Dave, the accompanying letter told me that he was so excited about getting married and that what we had was a once in a life time love and that I shouldn’t be worried, I should just go inside and go to sleep, but before I do I was to watch a particular song on the ‘Keith Urban’ DVD that was the present. I had to watch the song ‘Once in a life time’, which would feature in the wedding tomorrow, because the lyrics explained how he felt. The lyrics he was referring to were those of the first verse…
“I can see it in your eyes and feel it in your touch,
I know that your scared but you’ve never been this loved.”
It was exactly what I needed to hear and as I feel asleep listening, I rember feeling like I was ready to get married, that it would all be ok, because I really was loved more than I would ever understand.
Moment Two – Getting Ready
Nothing makes your feel more princess like than the way you get pampered on the morning of your wedding. We were up nice and early and ate breakfast while we watched it pour down with rain outside. Over night there had been huge storms, but it seemed that nothing could phase me, in fact it;s probably one of the few times that I have been completely unphased about the details of something. I had planned everything down to the minute so I knew what to do and when to do it, anything outside of this didn’t matter or was a bonus. In fact fact I was so care free that I forgot to go to my hair appointment… but it was all ok and at about 10:30 my little tiara went on and stayed on. As I had my hair and make up done, I just soaked it up, as I got dressed and started having photos done I was so aware of how happy and excited everyone was, how much my parents loved me, how much my girls loved me and how much fun we were about to have. It was so special to spend that time with them, busy getting ready, but relaxed enough to enjoy, to laugh, smile and have fun. As we arrived at the church Kirsten suggested that we prayed together before I started the process of becoming Mrs George. This moment was so overwhellimg that I was crying before I even saw Dave, but I was just so conscious of being surrounded by people that loved me and wanted nothing bt the best for me.
Moment Three – The Ceremony
Dave and I got married at the Church that I grew up in which is where we both attend… this meant that people I had grown up with and in front of were able to come and witness this next step for us. There were so many more people there than I ever thought there would be, all to cheer us one and be part of our special day. The ceremony was fun, light, and romantic… well I thought so anyway. I can’t even begin to explain how overwhelming it was to get to the church, all dressed up and to see the man of my dreams waiting for only me. During the ceremony we reflected on the 6 years we had already spent together through photos and publicly declared our love for each other. There were tears and laughter and music… perfect.
Moment Four – The Party
After the service we had a million pictures taken, and then headed to the Langham Hotel for our wedding reception which was even more magical then we could have ever hoped for… it was as Dave said when we chose it “where princesses should get married’. The room looked beautiful and the evening was so much fun. Everyone was so excited and happy for us, it was really special to have most of the people that had helped us get to where we were today, and become the people that we are in one room, celebrating with you. It was so much fun that I didn’t really want to leave, I had to be pushed out.
Everything on our wedding day went super smoothly and we loved every minute of it… The story itself doesn’t really even do it justice, but they say that a picture is worth a thousand words so here are some of my favourite pictures taken by our amazing photographer Kelly, from Alexroad Photography.
I think the best bit about the day though, and something that still makes me have a moment filled with love whenever I think about it, is the fact that Dave and I left the wedding day stuck together for life. Dave is more than I could have ever hoped for and I am very excited to be the most curious George, by name and nature. And while I think of it, I need to and want to say thanks to all of you who have helped us get to where we are now… it has been an incredible journey so far but I know this is a journey that which we are really just starting.
The Bumpy Bumpy Road
Day 6: Love Your Bump
Love my bump ey? Well while I do have a bit of a gut… I don’t have a bump because as I mentioned earlier… I am not pregnant… but thinking outside the box a little and determined to use as much of this love list as I can, I decided that while I don’t have a physical bump, I certainly have had, and still have some metaphorical bumps in that crazy journey that I am currently calling life. So I thought that I would post about something I have been thinking about for a while… Embracing these bumps and moving on, and learning to love the person that they have made me become… which I guess by default is… ‘loving the bump’. Some of you would know that over the last couple of years… Well maybe more than a couple, my life has been a bit topsy turvey, there have been some really crap parts and some awesome parts, and I think for the I have slowly been getting better at dealing with events such as these.
This year, yes I know it’s only the second week of Feb, has unfortunately been no different, the bumps they keep on coming. Each time I deal with one and I am just starting to get my confidence back, it seems like there is another just sitting there, ready and waiting to pounce. I have spent a lot of time thinking about the purpose for these bumps and I know for one, they are making me stronger, in fact I often catch my self thinking surely I am strong enough… but apparently not, coz they just keep coming.
In my most recent bump I was reminded of something very important the way I respond both immediately and ongoing in a choice… I can either choose faith or fear…. Now despite the fact that I love and serve the king of kings, saviour of the world, all powerful, all knowing, omnipotent God, and I know that faith is the better response… my first reaction is usually not god, but fear.
Fear is something I have struggled with for a long time… Most of you probably already know this, in fact, in the middle of last year I preached about it, but once again it’s back and… once again I have had enough of living by it. The thing is, most of the time fear seems like the easiest option, but more often than not, it just makes things worse. So, in order to get on top of this fear and faith thing I have found my self seeking god in completely different ways than I normally would, I have been reading different books, listening to different songs and trying for the first time podcasts from churches around the world. I have now listened to three podcasts from Bethel church in the states and surprise, surprise I have been learning… I know I shouldn’t really be surprised, coz in the bible it talks about the fact that if we seek, we will find and if we press into god, He will press into us, but I still am, just a little bit. Anyway, in the first sermon I was reminded that we are called to be warriors of hope, and that it’s by our faith that we inherit the promises of god… Pretty cool ey? And then in the third one I heard something that I don’t think I had thought about before… That when you believe the lie, you empower a dis-empowered devil. I know that the devil is defeated, but when I let the bumps get me down and cripple me with fear I actually just give the devil a stronger hold on my life.
So once again, I am taking a stand and making some decisions…
1. The worry box is back… I will hand it over and let it go
Mark 5:36 – ‘Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe’
Philippians 4:6 – ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’
2. I will be thankful for the bumps because they have made me who I am but I will not let them bump me off the track…
2 Timothy 1:7-9 – ‘7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time’
3. I will choose faith. I will choose trust and I will not empower a die-empowered devil.
Romans 8:28 – ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’
John 19:30(b) – ‘Jesus said, “It is finished.”’
The Most Curious George 