Sacrifice.
At Home Group on Wednesday night, my husband (i.e. Home Group leader) spoke about communion. We watched part of 'The Passion of the Christ', and then had a communion of cake and cordial. After that, I wrote this:
What a wonderful sacrifice, what a beautiful Saviour. You gave your life for me! You knew no sin, yet You came and died so that I could be with You forever. Jesus, You gave me so much, the least I could do is live my life for You. It's nothing compared to what You did for me, though. Nothing at all.Sarah said, 'We know
nothing about sacrifice until we look at the cross.' She pointed out that we sometimes think it's so hard for us to give God some of our time, but Jesus gave His
life for us! He willingly gave us so much, but we find it hard to give Him a moment of our day.
Jill pointed out that it wasn't only physical torment that Jesus went through, but that He also experienced spiritual separation from God. We don't see that in the movie, and it's barely ever mentioned, but that must have been, by far, the hardest part of it all. I can't imagine what that would feel like, and thankfully I'll never know. Some people will, though. :o(
Dale mentioned that dying on the cross would have been enough of a sacrifice, but that every day God blesses us more and more. He has poured so many blessings on my life, most of which I take for granted. He's so good to us, and so deserving of our time, our hearts, our everything.
I think that Wednesday night was the first time I realised the full extent of what Jesus did for us.
--- --- ---
On another note, my work email address isn't working. The annoyance of that is completely overpowered by the fact that I haven't received any spam for three whole days! :o)
The heart of worship.
My weekend was awesome! I was on singers on Saturday night. Georga was worship-leading for the first time, and because she was more focussed on leading rather than doing raves and stuff, Keren asked me if I could do some raves. Oh yes, I raved. :o) Not hugely (I didn’t want to seem like I was taking over or anything), but I did quite a few. Raves are fun. I like raves.
After the praise and worship, both Keren and Candice came up to me (at separate times), gave me a hug, and said how awesome I was. They were really proud of me. It meant so much to me to hear them say that, because they are both awesome worship leaders who I look up to and respect. :o)
AND, Rebekah came up to me and said that I inspired her, because she could see that I was praising and worshipping with all of my heart. That made me so happy, because lately I have been trying really hard to put everything else aside, and not think about anything else but God when I’m worshipping. My one focus has been to meet Him face to face, and it’s awesome to see that by doing that, I’m inspiring others to do the same. That’s what worship leading is all about.
So, to sum up, I am marvellously happy!!! Even without the compliments, though, it still would have been an awesome, awesome night. As I said before, I have been trying to give God my all in worship, and I think I went to a new level on Saturday night. God rocks my world. :o)
An old friend from school and her sister came to Youth on Saturday! They’re not Christians, and hadn’t really been to church much (she said that she doesn’t feel comfortable in ‘those places’), but they came, and I think they may have enjoyed it. I successfully overcame the urge to tone down my praise for the sake of them, which was great. I’m not quite sure what to do now, though. I didn’t ask them if they enjoyed the service, or if they want to come back again... I think I may message them today or tomorrow, and just say that the invitation’s open for them to come back. And I’ll advise them of special events, like Youth Alive and Fusion. Sound good?
One more thing. Sometimes the accountant comes in and tells me what he’s done on our accounts, and I have no idea what he’s talking about, or why he’s telling me. But I listen and say “Aha, aha” all the same. Also, when he wants to talk to me, he just starts talking from the other room, even though I can’t hear him properly. So I guess in that case, he’s ensuring that I’ll go to him so he can speak to me. Good plan. Too bad I miss half of what he says before I get there! :o)
Unfunnyness.
Last night went really well. I’m a bit discouraged, though, because no-one has said that the praise and worship was good, or that I sang well. And when other people sing, I tell them how good they were, and other people rave about how good they were. But it’s all right. It’s not about me, it’s about God... and I
know He was glorified through it all. That’s all that matters.
Our Youth pastor was talking about worship, and it really touched me. I entered into God’s presence last night. The only thing on my mind (other than hitting some high notes, which I was trying hard to not worry about) was God, and meeting Him face to face.
I’m starting to read the Bible again {after a bit of a hiatus}. It’s great, I’m really getting a lot out of it. Also, in the Youth Leadership meeting, our Youth pastor challenged us to read one Christian book per month. So I’m reading ‘The Heavenly Man’ again. I started it ages ago, but only got about a quarter of the way through.
I’m not feeling very happy. My husband got paid today, for some casual work that he has been doing. I expected him to be paid for three weeks, but they only paid him for two. So the amount that we received is $400 less than the amount I budgeted for. I’m really sick of having money issues.
I don’t feel like I’m in a rut anymore, so that’s a bonus. I felt like that all the time when I wasn’t praying and reading the Bible.
I wish I had something funny or clever to write, but I’m not in a funny mood today. I will tell you about my dreams, though!
My dreams: I was at K-Mart, looking for a blender to surprise my husband with (he walked in halfway through, so the surprise was ruined). I couldn’t find them, so I asked a guy who worked there. He told me they’d e in the hardware section, and showed me two - which were bowls mounted on top of gas bottles. They were $800 and $650. He brought another one over, which was $45, but it was an Esky, and had nothing to do with blenders.
Then… I saw a DVD at the video store that had Hilary Duff and Eric Bana as the main characters (i.e. love interests!). Eric looked much younger, though. But when I looked at the actors’ names on the cover, it said that they were Colin Firth and Cori someone.
Pickup lines and self-acceptance.
I just went to get milk and biscuits for a meeting tomorrow. The guy at the cash register said to me, "I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before!" Is that a pickup line??? I put my left hand out in front of me inconspicuously, just in case. :o) And
then, he "didn’t have enough silver coins", so he gave me twenty cents extra change. Meanwhile, what cash register in a major supermarket only has three twenty-cent coins, and no ten-cent or five-cent coins? The answer is NONE. He could have just got some from the next cash register
if it was true... and would have to, anyway, after he has the same problem again and again.
Note to self:I don’t need to be "as good as" someone else, or strive to be like anyone. I am unique, and God will use the talents and giftings He has given me to fulfil His calling on my life!
'I love who I’ve become in You...' (Planet Shakers – Sing Of Your Love)
Coffee usually includes a dairy product of some sort.
A friend from school may be coming to Youth on Saturday!!! She’s going to let me know today. :o) I feel a little bit bad, though, because when she asked what we do there, I said "There’s almost 200 kids, lots of music (I’m singing! Yay!), Extreme Games, and stuff like that. It’s awesome. :o)" I didn’t mention the preaching part, which would have probably influenced her to stay away. Is that bad? When our Youth pastor was invited to Youth for the first time, he was told (by our senior pastor), "Come to this guitar competition!" and there
was a guitar competition, but also preaching, worship, etc. Whatever gets them there, hey! Please, tell me I’m right!
I was on my to Gloria Jeans to get a coffee and cheesecake this morning, but when I walked in I saw my boss! He was at the counter, ordering something. I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded me getting a coffee while I was out getting the mail, but it just freaked me out, so I walked away without him seeing me. Instead, I got some fruit, yoghurt, and an iced coffee. Notably healthier (except for the iced coffee), but I was really hanging out for a Vanilla Latte. Oh well. It’ll be fine and dandy. I enjoyed my yoghurt! And as usual, the iced coffee made me feel really full and bloated. Yippee!
On another note, I probably shouldn’t have any dairy products for a while (ummm, except for my iced coffee and yoghurt. Ahem). My throat is all yucky. Not good, considering I’m singing tonight at a combined Home Group thingy. But I think I can still sing all right. I seem to be able to hit the high notes OK. It’s just a phlegm issue. Too much information? :o) Meanwhile, we’re only doing two songs (one praise and one worship), but I’m excited, because there will be only three of us! The male worship leader, and one other female singer. Thank You, God! You rock! That means that our music directors chose me, and I am special. And it also means that I can sing really loud, so it sounds like there are more than three people singing. And it also means that there won’t be anyone to back me up in singing my harmony (or high melody), so I must be a not-too-bad singer.
I’m really enjoying my blog at the moment. It is fun. BUT, I must read my Bible. I told God that I’d read and pray this lunch time, because tonight I totally want to go off for Him. I want to praise and worship Him with my whole heart, soul and spirit, and I won’t be able to do that if I don’t include Him in the equation. It just wouldn’t work out. :o)
My valentine.
I had an awesome Valentines Day! I woke up at 10:30 (that is the LIFE!), and commenced about five hours of cooking and cleaning. Really, it was fun! Then my husband came home, and we ate. Lots. :o) It was very good, and he loved every bite. In between courses, we danced and hugged. Afterwards, we watched some DVD’s – Envy and Sleepover. And then we went to sleep. It doesn’t sound like much, but my husband was just so loving and caring and wonderful to me. We were laughing and having so much fun. AND he bought me the Fighting Temptations DVD! I love this man. :o)
Lately, I’ve been having problems with frustration at other people progressing further than me in my area of calling. Sometimes it seems as if other people are getting heaps of opportunities in this area, and I’m just stagnating in the same place. One person in particular... I love this girl, she’s so extremely awesome, and deserves all the opportunities she gets. But
I want them! Not because I’m selfish, but because I know that I could be doing so much more for God if I was just allowed to be closer to my calling. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not because she’s a better Christian than me, or that she’s more talented than me, but that God’s timing is different for each of us. It’s not an easy task, though. Definitely not easy.
BUT, note to self: I’m unique and wonderful and no-one can take my place. :o)
Speaking of my calling, I want to have a baby. Apparently my husband and I will talk about it in October, and then he’ll put it off for another 6 months. So if all goes to
his plan, I’ll give birth in about two years. If all goes according to
my {very futile} plan, I’ll be giving birth in nine months. But that’s so not going to happen. *sigh* Oh well.
I think God wants to teach me a lesson about patience, and trusting His timing. :o) God, help me learn quickly!!! Ooops, I just realised that wanting to learn a lesson about patience
quickly (especially with three exclamation marks) is a bit of a contradiction. Let me rephrase that. God, help me learn in Your perfect timing (which I hope is soon).
All things considered, I’m happy. :o) And tired. But I seem to be tired a lot. Solution? More coffee. Yay! I’m lovin’ it.
Excitement.
I am so excited! As you know, Monday is Valentines Day. I’m taking the day off work, to cook up a storm for my husband! This is what I’m making:
Appetiser: ‘Cajun Angeled Eggs’ (They’re really called ‘Cajun Deviled Eggs’, but I’m making the holy version).
Main Course: ‘Real Italian Calzones’ or ‘Spinach Quiche’ (depending on whether I can find yeast for the Calzones or not), and ‘Mexi Tatoes’.
Dessert: ‘Easy Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Pie’.
All of these recipes are from www.allrecipes.com. I love this site! It has inspired me. I made dinner FROM SCRATCH three nights this week. Since we’ve been married, up until this week, I think I’d made dinner from scratch once. Or twice. Either way, now that I have found the best recipe source in the entire universe, I just find my dinner on the Internet, and then buy the ingredients at lunch, or after work. AND, on the site you can search for recipes by the ingredients you want, and the ingredients you don’t want. So I can search for recipes that use the things I have in the house, and not have to spend very much money at all. See how much I’m loving this? A lot.
But apart from the fact that I get to cook all day on Monday, I’m also excited because I get to sleep in. Sure, I also get to sleep in tomorrow, but that doesn’t count. Monday is a workday! And I get to skip work, and sleep as long as I want! I’m giddy with anticipation. :o)
Meanwhile, today I saw a guy peeing into the garden at the front of our building. I was going to yell out the window “We have toilets inside, if you want to use them!” but of course, I didn’t. I don’t really have the guts to yell out to strangers while they’re peeing. Or talk to them. Or even acknowledge their existence. Imagine the poor fella, finally getting some relief, when someone yells out at him from an office window. That would be scary. He’d never pee in a garden again. Oh wait, maybe that would have been a good thing!
Do you think that ‘robust discussion’ is code for ‘argument’ or ‘shouting match’? I do. My boss wrote in the board meeting minutes ‘a robust discussion ensued’. I knew what he really meant. I am so using that! When my husband and I argue, he calls it a discussion. I’m like “I don’t want to argue anymore!” and he’s all “We were just having a discussion!” and then we argue about whether it’s an argument or a discussion. Hilarity ensues.
When I wrote ‘hilarity’, it looked like ‘Hilary’. I like Hilary Duff. She’s rockin’. My friend Kristy and I are Hilary fans. Hilary and Amanda Bynes. Yessir.
Sometimes when my boss signs things, I get to sign as the witness. It’s fun. I get to be on all these official documents. I’m so important!
I’ve got nothing to do at work. I’ve finished everything. Hopefully when I come back on Tuesday (not Monday!!!), there will actually be some work for me. That would be good.
I’m going to stop typing now.
Fourteen days.
Today, I finally went to get my name changed on my driver’s licence. You’re supposed to let Queensland Transport know within 14 days of the change, but it’s been over three months, and… *oops!* I don’t see how many people could get it within the 14 day deadline, because I was on my honeymoon for two weeks, and then I had to order the official marriage certificate from the government, and that took over two weeks to arrive! So who knows? But it’s done now. They didn’t say anything about the 14 days. And I have a nice new driver’s licence, with a new photo! Too bad my licence expires in April, so I’ll have to go in again, and get
another new photo taken. :o) Don’t worry, I can handle it.
We’ve been receiving a freakishly large volume of phone calls today. Well, when I say ‘freakishly large’, I mean ‘large compared to how many we usually get, but still small compared to every other company in the world, especially those with more than three employees’. Did you know we only have three employees? We have a board and some committees (with reps from other companies within our industry), and contractors do work for us occasionally, but as far as ‘real’ employees go, there’s only three. I think that’s pretty cool, but it’s not really a huge bragging point.
To do the accounting, I have to go into an office just across the hall from my reception area. When the air-conditioning is on, it’s a bit hard to hear the phone from there. I usually hear a faint ringing, hit the ‘pickup’ button, and everything’s fine… but I find myself listening so intently, that I
think I hear the phone even when it’s not ringing. I’ve been trying to learn how to discern which calls are real and which are imaginary, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.
As I was going to have lunch (at about 12:40), I got an 800ml bottle of water from the fridge. By 1:00, I had completely finished all of it. AND, I don’t even need to go to the toilet yet! (Too much information? Sorry…)
I just called my husband. He couldn’t talk for long, but it was enough. Just to hear the sound of his voice brightens my day. I miss him. :o)
What I'm doing.
Eating: Nothing. I just had reheated KFC for lunch though, and realised that I've never really liked reheated KFC. It's very yukky, and makes me feel sick. So I had a yoghurt and an iced coffee to wash it down, and now I'm feeling better.
Drinking: Water. Lots and lots of lovely water!
Thinking: Maybe I should turn the air-conditioning on, it's getting a bit hot.
Wondering: Why, when asked what I'm wondering, I immediately
try to think of something I can wonder about.
Listening to: Myself typing, the hum of the computer, and the sound of traffic going past outside the building.
Singing: 'The Potter's Hand' by Darlene Zschech. ('Beautiful Lord, wonderful Savior')
Quote of the Day: 'Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt on the door at night.'
Mood: Peaceful.
My eyesight is failing me.
Looking at my bottle of water, I could have sworn I saw the words "CAUTION: HIGHLY FLAMMABLE". *cough cough* Obviously, I was wrong. It actually said "WARNING: CHOKING RISK". (which also doesn't make much sense, unless you realise that they're talking about the cap, not the bottle)
Tonight, my husband and I are going to clean our spare room. I love the man, but when he suggests something like this, I secretly scheme against him. :o) Just kidding. I don't do it secretly. Our spare room has basically been a junk room since we've been married. Not junk as in rubbish, but junk as in everything that hasn't found a place in the rest of the house. There's my books, various items that he brought over from his old house that he probably shouldn't have, a bed (somewhere, I'm not sure where), an ironing board (you can probably tell, that doesn't really get much use these days), and other "junk". Oh! My boxes of ceramic ornamants are there somewhere, too. :o) So, it's a huge job.
Truth be told, he's excited. I don't understand men sometimes. He's all like "Aren't you excited? I'm excited!" See? This is why I love him. A man that gets excited about cleaning? Very rare. :o) I guess it'll be satisfying to have it all clean and pretty. Maybe when people stay over, they won't have to sleep on the couch. They can actually stay in the guest bedroom! That would be kinda cool. I'll really try to get excited about it, I promise. I won't even complain!
Home Group was awesome last night! We had 17 people! In our small living room. :o) It was really fun, our prayer session was amazing. So many people, all praying in tongues. It was really Spirit-filled. Yay! But seriously, we need a bigger house. Or to split our Home Group into two groups. BUT, the second option means that I'd probably have to be the leader of one, because I'm currently the assistant leader, and that's what we're there for (to be trained up to eventually lead a Home Group ourselves). I don't think I'm ready. OK, I'm definitely not ready. We'll work something out, I'm sure. But God is good! He rocks. :o)
Annoyances.
You Are 20 Years Old |
20
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
|
I was hoping to receive a startling revelation about my immaturity / maturity (take your pick), but instead I found that I act a whole ONE year younger than I really am. Shocking, I know.
*Rant Mode Alert!*
Sometimes I get sick of people who can’t manage their money wisely. One of our contractors (who brings in his invoices sporadically, but usually about once a week) has just come into our office and asked for his payment for the last job he did for us. He said he needs it
today, as he has to pay his girlfriend some money (because she’s short on cash this week) and owes some money to someone else.
Now I understand being in debt and all, but I’m not
controlled by my finances. I make a budget for every paycheque, and although sometimes (*cough cough*
most times) I go over budget, I always pay off the crucial things before even looking at anything else. I don’t live paycheque to paycheque.
But anyway, the problem is, we need two signatures on each cheque we write out, my boss’ and mine. The boss is out in a meeting, and I don’t know when he’ll be back. This guy is adamant he needs it within, well, 15 minutes from now, as the banks close then. Aaargh!
What makes it worse is that he put his invoices in on Monday, a mere
two days ago! He insists that it has always taken only two days before, so he assumed the cheque would be ready. While I highly doubt this (as I do a cheque run no more than once a week), the only way this would have happened is by pure coincidence. It’s totally unreasonable to assume that a company would pay every invoice within a two-day period.
Now this fellow is waiting outside in his car, just in case my boss comes back soon. I bet he’ll come upstairs any moment now, telling me that he’s desperate, and needs the money today. Three words – NOT MY FAULT. What am I supposed to do? Frustration setting in.
While I’m in rant mode… here’s part of a phone call I received today:
Me: Hello, Alyssa speaking.
Him: Hi, can I speak to {boss}?
Me: He’s out in a meeting at the moment, can I get him to call you back?
Him: Yes please. Can you ask him to call Rick?
Me: What’s your phone number there?
Him: {phone number}
Me: And what was this regarding, Rick?
Him: Audio Visual requirements.
Me: Which company are you from?
Him: {company name}
Me: And is this for the conference?
Him: Uh, yeah.
Me: Have you spoken to him before?
Him: No.
As a receptionist, I have a responsibility to filter calls, especially ones to my boss. But when someone like this calls, a person who only gives tiny little spurts of information, and only when he is asked a direct question, I naturally get suspicious. This is what someone is usually like when they’re cold-calling us, trying to sell something. They realise that they
could make their sales pitch to me, but I’d just say that I need to run it past my boss anyway. So they
somehow find out my boss’ name, and ask for him directly, like they know him and he’ll know exactly what they’re talking about. So if someone speaks like this, and is from a valid company, and has a valid reason for calling, chances are they still won’t get through. On the other hand, I love when people call and say:
Them: Hi, this is {name} from {company}. Could I speak to {boss} please?
Me: He’s out in a meeting at the moment, can I get him to call you back?
Them: Yes please. It’s {name} from {company}, and my number is {phone number}. I’m calling about {subject}.
Me: Not a problem; I’ll pass the message on to him. Thank you!
Yes, ten times quicker. And easier. And I don’t have to pry the information out of them, which is always a bonus. :o)
--------------------
*UPDATE*
My boss just came back, and the man came up and got his cheque. The bank has probably closed, but he’s hoping it’s open until 4:30 instead of 4:00. He apologised for the misunderstanding. He said that the other contractors had also told him that they’re usually paid within two days. I don’t know of any contractor that would apply to. Hmmmm. But it's all good. BUT, I told him (and I've told another contractor) that I usually do a cheque run every Friday, so now I'm kind of committed to doing that. D'oh! In reality, it was kind of 'whenever I could get around to it', combined with 'whenever my boss was available to sign cheques'. Oh well, it'll be good for me. :o)
