Never get utterly and completely lost driving around the city at night with no petrol in your car. It’s a bit scary.
It was good fuel for a laugh though 
Go the adrenaline.
I think it increased my faith. Or at least my humility.
Crazy times.
I wonder when I’ll get my brain back??
Guess who just booked to see Tap Dogs!! I’m SOOOOO excited.
I think if there was anyone in the world that I would consider as some sort of idol, it’d probably be Tap Dogs. Or Stomp. Last time I saw them was to celebrate finishing the HSC 9 years ago and I still remember it so well. Oh yeah!!
I’m not sure if I should post what i write at 5am, but what the heck…
Well, here I am on top of Dee Why headland at 5 o’clock in the morning watching night turn into day. Who needs sleep anyway. This is amazing. Just me, my laptop, the waves, the darkness, the stars. And my Father. I love him!
Well, what a roller coaster of a time I’ve had over the last 10 days. In just over a week God seems to have done a major job on me. Oh yeah.
Melbourne was great. How fun is flying? I tried to blog from the airport, but it didn’t work . As soon as I arrived at The Image Factory where the conference was I was completely overwhelmed…by VIBE. I was in heaven. Art gallery, prayer labyrinth, fashion display, theatre space, multi art worship space, café, and creative people everywhere. I felt…well, not alone…or something like that. Spent the 4 days crying, playing, debating, processing, picking people’s brains, dancing, exploring, healing, dreaming, praying…was just what I needed.
I really like Melbourne. I’m not sure if I like it because it’s new and different to Sydney, or if I really do like it more than Sydney. It’s hard to tell. I guess Sydney will always feel more like home, and other places different and adventurous. I particularly like St Kilda. That’s where Jem, Jo, Ryan and I had zucchini chips and I had a mocha and told my life story when we were on the road trip. Ah the memories. DJ, Jon & I went adventuring there one night and ended up doing the roller coaster and eating fairy floss at Luna Park. Fun. And eating sushi and having D ‘n’ M’s on the beach. We also got terribly lost on the trams trying to get back to the conference. As did we on Sunday trying to get to St Hilary’s, Kew. I must admit I use to be excited about the whole tram experience. Sadly my latest encounters with Melbourne trams have destroyed my new found love for them.
The best thing about Melbourne was the amazing people I met and hung out with. Thanks God for such crazy and wonderful people. The crazy girls I stayed with who all study at The National Institute of Circus Arts and love Jesus, Dee who’s very being exudes vibe, Jamie, who smiles lots and tells story about the early days of Christian music, Bec who bursts with enthusiasm and energy, Brad who let God totally blow him away, Jan who spoke with wisdom and prophetic clarity right into my life, Grant who tacked with sincerity the reality of Christian art, Steve and Hannah who are old friends who build me up, Anna who spontaneously ministered to me through dance, Fraser who made truth live in a most incredible way, Eugene who dreams and lets nothing stand in the way, and not to mention my crazy but wonderful vegetarian hippie friends from the beef capital of Australia, DJ & Jon.
I really enjoyed not having any responsibility. I was like a kid in a toy store and I could buy anything I wanted, and my Dad was paying. Thanks God
So then it was home, sleep, sleep, sleep, and straight to Soul. Soul was good. To be honest sometimes hard, but good. I found a new appreciation for my own bed! God did heaps in me. But this year it wasn’t so much about the big Holy Spirit experiences in the main meetings. I felt like God transformed, challenged and grew me in my relationships with people, in the conversations I had, in taking control of my thoughts, in the way I treated people, in trusting him as I prayed for people and spoke into people’s lives, In some ways it was like God wanted me to grow up. And somewhere in there God completely released and refreshed me. I did have a big God night on the last night. But it just kinda felt like a seal on what he’d already done.
I’m ready to go again God, I’m ready to go.
And so the stars are disappearing and first light is appearing on the horizon. Night becomes day and I wonder again what my Maker has in store for me.
I’m home.
Melbourne was wonderful.
I’m a bit tired.
There’s more to be said.
But I think I might try sleeping.
Well I’m determined to get on a plane to Melbourne tomorrow.
I’ve managed to make it to my parents’ to wash my clothes.
And thanks to the handy internet I have strategically planned my travel route from airport to conference once in Melbourne.
There’s not much left standing between me and that plane…
I’M DETERMINED!!! (cough, cough)
Hopefully see y’all next week.
I just walked outside my house for the first time in 2 and a half days. It felt a little wierd, but refreshing. It was just to get my CD’s out of my car. But at least that’s something. Hopefully it’s up from here.
I’m not very good at not being at work.
Well, I’m finally not horizontal, which is a bit of an achievement. After days of on and off sickness Sun night I finally got hit with the big one and have spent the last 2 days with a full on fever & flu. It’s been quite an experience. Yesterday I was breaking out in a sweat…i don’t think I’ve ever had a fever that’s done that to me before.
When i’m sick I tend to do things I never quite get round to in the rest of my life, like wathc TV & movies. Yesterday I watched Whale Rider and The Wedding Planner. Today I watched FunnyFace thanks to Jo who brought me over the Audrey Hepburn classics. How great are old time movies & musicals. Fred Astaire makes me smile. Apart from enjoying it I also analysed the interplay between acting dialogue and the song and dance numbers, the transitioning between the two and whether or not they furthered the plot line or merely acted as a kind of emotional ad break. So you could argue I was working, or at least doing historical research. Its fascinating really.
Jo also brought me some art books which I flicked through and examined Renoir’s boating party which I now have a new appreciation of since its role in the movie Amelie. What is the girl alone in the middle with the wine glass actually thinking? What’s her story? In fact, all the people seem to cause curiosity. Like most of them who are in conversations aren’t really listening to whoever’s talking to them and looking beyond or looking at someone else. It made me think about how I often I do that. How often do we all wish to be somewhere else than where we actually are or want something more than what we actually have. And how challenging it can be to be completely satisfied with the present moment. Ok….getting a bit vibey now. I also had a sqiz at The Lord’s Supper which I thought I might look at differently after reading the Da Vinci Code, but personally I don’t get it.
And so because I’ve been sick, I didn’t lead Ignite, I didn’t preach, I didn’t go to lunch in a pub for a production meeting, I didn’t teach, I didn’t go to a prayer meeting, I didn’t have an adventurous day off.
But what I am reminded of is that the world keeps going with out me and its good to know. I’m learning to be ok wiht that. For when i am weak, then I am strong.
I will be sad thought if I can’t get on a plane to Melbourne on Thurs.
I guess we’ll see.
Oo and I must say that Emily & Martin’s wedding on Sat was absolutely beautiful. I was a bit teary when Emily appeared down the aisle, i think because she wasn’t in traditional white, but she was so beautiful that the whole thing felt like a fairy tale. I felt really honoured to have been invited and share in it. That in itself spoke to me about the kind of people they are. God bless them I had more to say on that but I think it left when my brain did on Sun.
I think that’s enough for now.
When you open a mini packet of M ‘n’ M’s and there are no brown ones it looks COMPLETELY different.
More importantly, if you have 3 blue, 3 red, 3 green and 1 orange left, which do you eat first?