HARRY POTTER

ok so the new Harry Potter book is coming out in July. i must admit that i have read all the other books, and have seen the movies. although now I'm of a different frame of mind about the whole thing. now I'm not sure what to think, but i don't think that i will read the last one...

many friends and people i respect all hold different opinions on the topic of Harry Potter. some love him, some hate him, and others just don't care.

one pastor i know took his church on a field trip to see some of the movies.

other pastors i know say that if you expose yourself to them, your position in leadership in their church will be at risk.

what we dwell on will be reflected in us, in how we act and respond to situations, it will come out to those who we have influence over. how will reading and watching Harry Potter influence you/me and those around us?

the bible tells us to read and take in those things that are good, and godly. is Harry Potter?

too much of something...

have you ever had too much of something such as chocolate, or being with a person, or been to a place too many times that you just don't wanna go there anymore...?

i have

on January 8 i went to SIX SUPERMARKETS!!!!

i never want to go to six different supermarkets again in one day. or six supermarkets in 2 days... or in a weeks....

has anyone else done anything like that before???

God is close by

so the previous 2 months or so have been some of the hardest and most challenging times of my life. (i thought it was all supposed to be relatively easy considering it was the holidays and all!).

it all started when my family moved before Christmas. they're all now like a 14 hour drive away. after they had moved i discover that i have no income, and like, no where to live. i was living with friends temporarily. i couldn't move cos i couldn't pay my own way for long.

what do you do when you have no home, and no money?
a test of faith says my father...

i found all this out a week before we did the local Bendigo mission 'Kids4Life'. this in itself is a very challenging time. i was determined that nothing was going to stop me from doing what i belived that God had called me to do. nothing was going to stop it.

On mission i discovered just how lacking i am in mercy, empathy, patience and anything else along those lines. i also found out just how much some others have them, and when they do posses them how much those people give. they give even when they have nothing left to give.
i discovered, not for the first time, that God really does use anyone and everything to do His work. It didn't matter what happened or what was going on, God used it for His glory. It really was all rather amazing and inspiring. i was in awe of God the whole time of the answers to prayer, healing, growth in the team and kids. All that can only be attributed to God.

So after an amazing and very draining 2 weeks i came back to reality... no home, no income....

so to solve that problem i went to Tahlee, to my family to sort it all out, and well, for a holiday. i hadn't managed to get a job and there was like nothing in Bendigo for me. it was great at Tahlee. i rode a horse, went sailing, saw dolphins, did some cooking, played around with Besah. it was good.

on returning to a stressful situation everything was again rather difficult, although i did find a home! half the problem fixed.

through all this i continued to wonder where God wanted me... people were speaking for God and that makes things confusing. i just continued to ask God where i should be and seek His will for my life. difficult to do when people get in the way.

i found God close by through everything with the same verse being repeated no matter where i was, what i was doing, reading, people i was talking to - "seek first the kingdom of God and all this will be given unto you" as well as "you are worth more than many sparrows"

when i had no income, i always had enough money, which was rather remarkable.

i got many answers to prayer, although not the answers i expected or in the time i thought they should come. it was all rather hard, i had to trust God and not panic (i did freak out like once or twice ...)

i do have an income now. i got it back today and i have a home. the simple things in life should not be taken for granted.

God was close by through it all, and well, is close by now.

new blog!

go have a look at the blog Sammy and I made

http://samara-adventures.blogspot.com

after a long blog bleak a new blog seemed to be the best thing to fix this blogging desire...

I'M BBAAAACCCCKKKK!

hello blogging world!!!

these holidays i've done a mission, lost my income, moved house twice, gone interstate and been on every form of transport there is, incuding horseback.... and the uni holidays aint over yet.

so anyway through all that i've been doing a lot of thinking some of which i will share with you at some stage i'm sure.

i have been to a few different churches and different situations through these past weeks where i have noticed that there are points where people are no longer are led by God and just take over. this can go in two extremes where, for example, the church service is so rigid and things have to be done in order and there are not allowed to be any changes in the service. or the other extreme where the music is loud, the atmosphere is created and people come for an 'experience' or 'fix' of God.

neither extreme is good. i do however believe that God can work in these circumstances, but that God is not given control of them and that people have taken over.

when we do surrender control to God that's when we are safe and God moves.