The fight of my life...

Yesterday I had the greatest joy to go into the City with some of my friends, it all started excellently. We were celebrating Andreas birthday (which is actually tomorrow) and got to shop and do the City thing here in Sydney with a quick rainy trip to Bondi Junction and the beach. It did rain radically, but all in all the four seasons in one day did also bring sun! So we set out- after eating pancakes, strawberries and cream we caught the train and began our day. By the end of our day out some things just started to go wrong. Andrea lost her train ticket- I was busting to pee but the toilets in the station were closed and then got onto a train thinking I can hold for a while, but the train got stopped on the tracks for two hours. I was literally crying as my bladder was aching. I know that this is pretty raw for most, but honestly it was my worst nightmare and I couldn't wake up. In my friends attempts to relieve me we tried to go to the in between of the carts so that I could squat and pee outside. Did NOT work. I had this little Indian man STARE at me and I started to cry- who stares at you laughing when you are trying to pee??? So upon returning to my seat I got talking with a girl on the train sitting next to us. She introduced herself and we began a healthy discussion about Jesus. What strikes me about this girl is nothing other than discerning that God had this planned and even from beginning the train journey I felt like God was moving and shifting some things concerning her. So this conversation continued with me, this Chick on the train and my other friend Eilidh. The all of a sudden Eilidh gets a phone call from her husband- He has been in a hit and run accident and his car is smashed from the van that drove over the top of him and then drove off. What was happening? So after the conversation the train started and we got off at a close by stop. Shaken up and confused we all began to recite scriptures to one another and felt like we were in the middle of a battle. We eventually got back to Eilidh's husband and then drove them home quite a distance away, in the car journey we shared again encouragement with one another and this amazing couple begin to speak of their trust in God and His faithfulness. Earlier Eilidh had told me something, she said, "what sort of fruit comes out when the tree is shaken?" She told me that good ol' Joyce Meyer had quoted this- at the time I was impressed, but now I can't seem to get this out of my head.  What sort of fruit (reaction/truth/faith) comes out when your tree ( life) is shaken? The Robertson's are a champion couple- I know that God can only have blessings for them- because their tree has been shaken to the point of uprooting since they came to Australia- but I see the fruit is good. This is just the same authentic Christianity I want to display. No matter what- HE IS FAITHFUL and I WILL STILL PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! The enemy cannot hold us down- his ways are lower than mine, I rise above, take the ground and share the genuine love and life that Jesus has given me. I will do this forever... This is the fight for life!

Purpose

Over the past week God has begun to redirect my vision. Since being here God has enlarged my vision, but now He begins to piece together the reasons. When I was a Christian in high school I never really saw that I lived any different to others, I didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't swear and didn't flaunt myself around- but in spite of all of that I couldn't really see that I, ME,MY HEART was any different to anyone else in my school. The conversations I would ahve with the girls in my class would consist of similar things, we wanted to dream, to do something great. It is now when I have done about ten years of Christianity that I begin to see why it is so different to live for Jesus Christ,it's so liberating and sometimes so hard but IT IS SO DIFFERENT. What gets me thinking about this is the many creative people in the music industry and arts industry that I know of, or know personally. They once were the same people who stood hands raised in worship beside me at outreaches, they have prayed for the lost in front of hundreds and Christian at heart- are not living like they are different. I am slightly confused at this- I know I have been given one of the greatest opportunities of my life to be at Hillsong and learn from those who live with authenticity and at the same time excellence in their field of ministry. Am I too spoiled with this?  guess what my pondering conclude is that I want to authentic and I want to be the head of my sphere. For me this is painting and the arts, for you it might be something completely different, but whatever it is I encourage you that someone has to begin, to be a forerunner, why not just run with it and not compromise your most amazing gift of life with Jesus? Maybe it can be turned around and the other side of this is the over enthusiastic Christian who just wants to paint hearts and doves, but it never really has a purpose other than a fluffy idealistic view of Christianity and doesn't reach those that need Him. I don't want to be found guilty of either. God my prayer that I glorify YOU above myself, that YOU be seen before me but that in me you show off...

flipping Africa!!!

Over the past year God has shown me so much but also so little concerning the future. I cannot give definitives when people ask me, "what are you doing after degree?", however I cannot deny the huge way that He has and is speaking to me about Africa. I never expected this, but it has arrived and the same feeling/experience I had when God called me to come to Bible College in Australia, is the same unction that I feel when someone talks to me about Africa. At present I am cluing through my cognitive brain as to how this can happen, where exactly in Africa and what about the fact that I am Irish... This all has been buzzing my brain since a conversation with a missionary from Kenya this evening. I didn't expect it, but this lady I was conversing with has been a missionary for fifteen years, as she spoke with me, this unction that I have not felt in three years; came back- this burden is in me and I don't know what else to do, but weep and to continue... 

P.S. I totally stole this photograph from missionaries in Kenya, John and Sharon at shilohhousemission.org

New Wine Community...

Tonight I had the pleasure of celebrating a birthday with one of Michael's friends; Chris at his home alongside his Maltese family. I have been to the Pace family home once before and was dumbfounded at the sense of love they share with everyone they meet. I know that a lot of this community has to do with their culture of sharing and love, but I want this to be part of my culture and have decided consciously to be a sharer and giver. There is definitely a kingdom culture in Church, but this Mediterranean outlook on life brings it further into the New Covenant Church and how they did life. I see that this strong and rich nature of family and community is what God had intended for us, he chose Israel because of their placement to reach the nations with the gospel, however I believe in some ways that He chose this nation because of their humble attitude towards others. Chris' family talk loud, laugh loud and make their own wine in the back yard called Covenant (it tastes amazing!) Whilst sitting in their kitchen laughing with some people I had never met I saw this nature that I can adopt into my relationship with new people. How much they love and how this is the sort of family is what God desires, "He sets (adopts) the lonely into families." Thank God for the Pace family and their New Covenant wine and New Covenant community! 

damn red paint....

This evening whilst moving and changing my bedroom around in my frantic-ever-so-often-creative-bursts at 3am in the morning I happened to step my foot-in-Ugg-boot on some red paint, which decided to tell me just how much I weigh by squirting all over my rented carpet... I emphasize rented not because you can rent carpet, but because I rent and have to pay for damage... sob!!

So this darn red paint squirts all over my floor- I try to wipe it up off my cream colored carpet and it decides to move along not on the lifting tool, but dyes more of my carpet. Finally lifting this paint I decide to find the nearest paper-something to sort of not waste this vast amount of my favorite red. In the process I manage to scatter around the paint and walk away impressed, but more so because God speaks to me in hugely fantastic ways and happened to show me something great.

So this is how it goes, whilst being myself I step on something I don't want to step on, Im just expressing my humanity then all of a sudden I have to wipe up my mistakes. Upon wiping these mistakes up more mess happens and I'm pretty stuck as what to do with this vibrant mess on my hands, so I get rid of it and this process produces something beautiful, unique, vibrant and full of movement that persuades me that God must be in the midst of my mess. He is there, cleaning it up with me, but in the mean time artistically being himself and showing off.

Im going to show of my red dotted carpet until I steam clean it. Im a proud artist tonight...

Dan in real life

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Babies!!

Recently I became an auntie. I can tell you it is the best- even though I have not met Luke I love him already. I got to chat on yahoo tonight with his mummy, she is one of my best friends and happened to marry my dear brother Mark. I am not in any way related by blood, but there is a connection that sometimes is closer than blood. I feel with Mark and Claire closer than I am with some of my very own aunts and uncles. This is nothing to do with anything other than sometimes those who walk life with you can know you beyond blood, and it is a truly wonderful moment when you recognize those that do the journey of life with you in this unique and supernatural way. These are the people that can say without fear that you are doing a great job, or an utterly crap job of life. So many times they bring up issues that you don't even see, they bring up your defeats and encourage you more than those who fought in the battle with you. The reason for this closeness is because there is no agenda other than PURE LOVE and FRIENDSHIP. This is a sacred part of my life, having moved thousands of miles away from home, friends become family- and family becomes closer. I treasure these people because you can truly be yourself, sleep on their sofas, eat their irish chocolate and shop till you drop in foreign countries and in all of that love every moment with them. Today, I miss my asian home in Olongapo - I shall eat your irish chocolate again very soon... 

bats and ants...

So life in Australia brings some interesting days of wildlife, I have seen deadly spiders and snakes, koalas and kangaroos- but most recently I have a HUGE fruit bat living in my tree. I, along with my best friend who lives two doors up have named him Charlie. I thought I was o.k. with Charlie, a few sweeps over my head was a bit much, but naming him made me feel more relaxed with his friendly but still shy nature. Tonight after a walk with my gorgeous beau we realized that there are about three HUGE bats living in my tree. I'm honestly not sure if I can put up with this much longer. The tree to which I refer to as mine is located at my bedroom window. I have a thin screen which, every night separates me from Charlie and mosquitos. This screen however does not separate Charlie and his HUGE wingspan flapping or his sonar pitched squeaks that my human ears can hear from penetrating the screen and entering my personal space. One might say Charlie should just come on in... maybe not! In fact Charlie right now is flapping around. Its the sound of a king size bed sheet flapping fast in the wind, or maybe a cotton handkerchief drying from your snotters outside your driving car window. Its interesting. 

Next on the wildlife agenda is the ants. In my first year of college within two days my whole kitchen was some mini battle field of armed ants. I promise there must have been a few thousands ants eating everything in sight. I know that this is going to sound funny to those who only view ants a few times of the year but ants in australia are ferocious, also very big on occasion and some are human flesh eating, they are red and probably one cm tall. I had to hose my whole kitchen down and drown the suckers. Thankfully the ants present in my bathtub right now are small, black and not that ferocious. Anyway, for the past three days i have noticed a group/army of these small critters parade themselves in my bathtub. Not really that scared of them getting far, I have no idea what they intend to eat to survive- maybe some herbal essence?? However, tonight I saw all these little black dots in the tub. I thought awww so cute they actually sleep- but then realized they had all died. The moral of the story is... emmmmmm we will get to that later. After studying some scriptures on Ants in Proverbs and some real life ants in my bath I see that they are diligent creatures. The bats are too- but they don't really do much, they flap around and get restless, but their team work sucks. The ants have gained ground in a matter of days, sought out their mission in life and have succeeded in biting out a home in a bathroom tile for safety. What great and fascinating stuff!!! I just wonder why they died? this might not be the actual reason, but I want to indulge for a few moments. I believe that we... Christian soldiers can either be like Ants or Bats. The Ants work in teams, work with purpose and with effort. The bats scare other people, claim their territory but don't work to bring about change, their effect is negative and abusive. However there are problems with being either an ant or a bat- its not always about survival. The Bats have survived, the ants have not. Why did the ants have to die? they died because they could no longer have vision. The bible says without vision the people perish, the ants lost sight of what they could achieve, the bath was too much for them to climb- but they tried it anyway!!! The moral of my story is... don't be a B(r)at- live life with purpose, achieve what you can to the best of your ability and work with each other, if you die in the process it was not in vain!!! 

American dreams...

So today was one of the hugest days in America. Amazing! I was hopeful that Obama would win, it's time for renewal. Despite the abortion and anti - gay stuff paraded around by the Mc Cain's I think that trying to deny problems is not anywhere near the answer. Loving society enough is. I think Obama forces the Nation to re-discover God, to question their beliefs and which can quite possibly kick start the old banger of Christianity we see everywhere in the Western World. I am not generalizing at all, I know so many fantastic Christians from the States- but sometimes it takes you to live your faith outside of comfort that can bring the true heart of Worship. The same is needed in some parts of Europe- what dead religion we need to shake off!!! Is my Christianity based upon the country I live in? Is it based on the governments over my country? NO. Thank God for Obama. I believe he has insight to guide and lead the U.S.A into truth. The first black president has arrived! Let us see positive change and growth. On top of all of these things Obama has made a way for anti poverty solutions, things which Mc Cain has not so greatly offered- my vote, if I were American would be Obama- and he won!