Favorite....

........ Beach...

(yup, it's Balmoral..the more I go there, the more precious times I have there and they just keep growing and becoming more special!:)

Dogs....(In Sydney!)

Bridge...

Niece...

Yup, I am back in Hong Kong, and going through the photos I have- I won't upload them all, there's about 250! thanks for walking this with me, thanks to those who were in Aus who I could see, and thanks to those who allowed me to go, and to come back again!:) A huge gift all the way! Thanks!

Being "home".

Last night I went out for an awesome dinner and conversation with a quality friend, then returned home to find my brother watching an episode of West Wing(my favorite tv show!) it was an episode that I had seen recently so I kept on going, to find Dad watching "ransom" and "speed", so settled in for some good drama as we watched both in tandem, skipping the ads as we went!

It was a great normal kinda evening for here, and very settled, but there seems to come a time when a moment happens and you know it's time to move on, to return to normal life whereever that is. That for me came this afternoon, and while just a moment, was clear and definite. Does anyone else who lives away from 'home' have those moments? I would love to know!

I have lived overseas for 6 years now in total, and I often wonder how long it takes before you can't forseeably return to your home country, because you feel more at home somewhere else? Maybe it just depends on who you are, and the relationships you have been able to maintain during that time.

The first 2 years I lived away overseas I had to start over in terms of friends and life in general- it was back in the days before email(the darks ages!) and I had become a Christian. My life had emtirely changed and it had been hard work keeping up with everyone. I wonder what would happen if I ever did come back here, what work would I do, where would I live, what about friends, and relationships with them and family in general? Are we all destined to grow apart and move on, seeing each other at 'respectable' intervals? I find reverse culture shock the hardest to deal with, and I guess I am just pondering, if God ever did call me back, how would it be, and if God didn't call me back....how would it be?

No conclusions yet, but random ponderings from someone who is about to leave again... It's nice to know I am going back to a place where I know it's right for me to be though!

Thanks

Hi, thanks to those who prayed, it's been a good couple of days here, with one meeting to the next to the next today, which was lovely! I was catching up with one friend this afternoon and we completely lost track of the time, and my sister called to make sure I wasn't in traffic! Oops!

The boats, the QE2 and the Queen MAry are in town today, so we drove down and took a quick peek at them tonight which was good- Sydney Harbour is sooooooooooo beautiful!:)

Tomorrow will hopefully be fairly quiet, and I am hoping to sneak off to one of my 2 favorite beaches in Sydney...:) will see!

OK tired now!

Am ready for a holiday now!

I am loving seeing everyone, but really should have made more effort on the 'holiday, quiet, beach, outside sydney, yet not in a car' front.

I would love your prayers as I really am tired, have hit the 'wall' and don't want to go back to HK in this state as I won't be any use to anyone.

Thanks!

On being single...

While it isn't always fun and games, and the whole world, including oneself seems to have the expecatation that 'being married is best', being single really has it's advantages too!

- I have been able to zip around and the things I have needed, and seen the people so far who have been available to see me.

- I have been able to sit down and listen to friends, and hear how they are doing here, several years on.

- I have been able to hang out with their spouses, and kids and have some awesome time getting to know them in a whole new way!

- Time with the kids has been awesome! I am loving being a part of these precious people's lives in this way!

As a long time single person, it can be easy to put marriage and family on a pedestal rather easily, and it has been wonderful to see the reality of it lived out in all its ups and downs, ins and outs. While it certainly hasn't put me off, if God wants, it has really made it a far richer picture for me, and cemented the certainty that God has me where he wants, when he wants, and how he wants and I am happy to stay right there for as long as he would have me!

For now though, and while I am in Aus, I am loving seeing all these beautiful families and friends!

Travelling the country roads:)

Hi all,

Am heading to Canberra to see my Grandmother via a slow country road and friends near Bowral, then back up, hopefully to stay somewhere on the way to Newcastle for a night with some friends, then back to Sydney on Thursday afternoon!

Looking forward to some 'think' time, and I am going to have to write a sermon for next Sunday morning! So in general I won't be on email for the next few days, but will be on the mobile (Aus and HK:))

Quantifying a life

Coming back to Sydney, while good, always makes me think about my life, how would I sum up the last year, what have I done that is of note, or worth and value.

Have I been happy and successful, and if so, what has made it that way, and what is it that is of worth to me? How has God impacted me, and what is His new direction for me now? Where does He fit in, and in those happy, successful plans I may have or dream of, or others have... for their life and for mine.

All these things I stop and wonder at. I am challenged by those here I see around me, and those back in HK. Am I happy and successful, and if so, what is it that measures it?

At the end of the day, I know I want to live to bring God glory, but I want to do that day by day too, no matter what, right? Thoughts please?

Surf

In Hong Kong, or maybe it's Australians everywhere who live outside Australia....

Anyway, we tend to hold up Australian beaches and all it encompasses as the ultimate beach experience, and while others might be good, or great, there are none other quite like a good Australian beach!

I have just been to Maroubra beach with my brother this morning- a typical Aussie surf beach, and wow, was it a surf! I used to often wonder at the tourists who got in trouble when they went swimming, and I know why now. It's dangerous out there!

For starters, it was freezing, even at this time of year, we dove in, and after the initial shock, headed out. It's getting past the breakers and back in that always gets me! Anyway, I was only mostly dumped on the way back into the beach, but yes, it was worth it I think!

It's been at least 2 years since I have been swimming in the surf, and yes, while exhausting and terrifying, it was awesome!

My Mobile while in Aus:)

Heya,
My mobile while I am in Aus (till 27th) is 0420 804 427. I will try and keep this updated, and for those who are interested, will check things off as they happen... if they happen:) It's looking good though so far, am very grateful:) thanks all!:)

Wish List for Aus!

Heya, Am just going to keep editing this blog post for now, so stay tuned:)

My mobile while I am in Aus (till 27th) is 0420 804 427. I will try and keep this updated, and for those who are interested, will check things off as they happen... if they happen:) It's looking good though so far, am very grateful:) thanks all!:)



I am having a home day today so I can clean up and get some things done before I head off next weekend, but I was listening to a sermon on prayer and how we should be specific in our requests. Later on I was thinking about my trip back to Aus, and decided to write up a wish list! This isn’t a list of things that have to happen, rather a list of things I would love to have happen, things that are special to me back home…

Happy reading:)

I would like to:
- spend lots of time with my family
IN PROGRESS- MY NEICE, EVIE IS A JOY AND DELIGHT TO ALL, AND I AM LOVING MY TIME WITH HER AND THE FAMILY

- spend lots of time with my friends
AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT, BUT IT'S IN PLANNING AT THE MOMENT:) Am reaching saturation point. I am so keen to see and catch up with everyone, but it's time to stop chasing.

- Have brunch at the Bather’s Pavilion
THERE'S TALK ABOUT THIS ONE...! STAY TUNED! AM GOING TO THE BEACH THERE ON FRIDAY WITH MY SISTER AND EVIE THOUGH:)- the beach with Nat and Evie was lovely- there was even a wedding happening in the pavillion there- the bride and bridemaids were dressed in Japanese outfits, and Elvis ran the wedding!! WAY BIZARRE!

WHY, oh why did I wait so long to go there! WHat was I thinking!! It was lovely, so much so that I want to sneak back before I go- tomorrow afternoon! Balmoral Beach os so very special to me for sooooo many reasons, but I have just added one more to the list:) SO, on my sister's birthday, the day before I leave, I have been to BAther's pavilion:) awesome!

- Go to the beach for a swim with real surf!
HAPPENING TOMORROW (THURSDAY) WITH MY BROTHER IF IT'S NOT TOO COLD!
It was freezing, and scary big waves!:)

- Share about what’s been happening here, with my new job, the training I have been doing, and the new developments at work in the last year.
I AM PREACHING NEXT WEEKEND!!!

- Go for some long country drives
HEADING UP TO NEWCASTLE NEXT WEEK! Actually, I drove through the Southern highlands(stopped for lunch at a friends) to CAnbera on Monday which was a delight! It was raining HK style(pouring!) and was a treat! I headed back up to NEwcastle, then back to Sydney, and a long lovely drive along Comenarra Way which I had never done before- lovely!

- stay in Katoomba for a few days(Hmm...won't be happening unfort, but looking at other possibilities...!) note to self: holiday means stopping and having a holiday- aka going to Katoomba!)

- stay at my sister’s and her family’s house
PROBABLY WON'T BUT WILL HANG OUT THERE LOTS WITH THEM ALL:)

- eat some good Aussie food
IN PROGRESS..:) Good fish, Haloumi, chocolate, cooked breakfast, cafe faire, Kangaroo tonight! Loads of figs!

- Drink some good Aussie wine
VERY MUCH IN PROGRESS:)

- Drink some champagne!:)
HAD SOME YESTERDAY, THOUGH IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE THE LAST OF IT! Yup, there was more

- Go to the movies
(ANyone want to go with me?:)) Anyone? Anyone???

- see my Grandparents
HAD THE WEEKEND WITH DAD'S PARENTS AND SHOULD BE GOING TO CANBERRA TO SEE MUM'S MUM SOON. Have seen all the Grandparents which was great.

- see what’s new and changed
Lots has

- share what God has been teaching me
Yup, am preaching on Sunday! Wow, looking at situations where God has taken a small group of people and done big things through them- sounds familiar?:)
Yup, I preached this morning- what a thought, but it was lovely and encouraging to see them all encouraged! For a tiny little church, they do brilliantly, and faithfully go out and share God's love to the local community!

- hear what God has been teaching you.
Yup, this has been happening- it's lovely to see where people are at now. I had a lovely time with a great friend who I don't think I have seen since I first went to HK, as she has been travelling herself, and it was brilliant to share stories and the amazing things GOd has done in each of our lives!

- Go to North Sydney Markets (the ones under the Harbour Bridge).
Not going to happen by the looks of it:(

- Enjoy the sunshine and clear blue skies
YUP, HAVE BEEN LOVING IT!

- Go to my favourite places
Have been to many!

- meet all the babies, toddlers and new families (met Oliver, Evangline and Imogen today!:) Stayed with Jack, caught up with Sophie and Joe today. HAve a few more to see next week:)

- go and see a play at the Theatre
Didn't happen unfort, will have to make better use of the shows that come to Hong Kong in future!

- see some awesome sunsets
Yup, did do!

- get a manicure (I have never had one and my nails are a mess!:))
Got one yesterday with Christy- we were both very pleased with the results!:)

- have fish and chips on the beach(with Nat and Evie on Friday at Balmoral- lovely. I had F and C in a pub too, but they weren't that great:)

- Eat some real Gelato!!(Rasberry and chocolate are still the best combo!)
Had some Rasberry and Chocolate at Darling HArbour with Christy, and last night had Toblerone and Lemon with Clare- at Bar Italia in Leighchart- awesome! I hadn't been there in years!:) Blood orange is a new favorite!

- Have a car to use while I am at home
YAY- HAVE ONE FOR THE WHOLE TIME I AM HERE- IT MAKES SUCH A HUGE DIFFERENCE!

- Get some new books to read.
Oh dear....went to Koorong (Christian book shop) yesteryday! It was great, though to come out with a lovely stack of books and CD's, as usually I am overwhelmed by the enormous size of the place, and the amount of....books not worth buying that are there! I can' wait to read what I have now though!

- Strange but true: Go to Chinatown for Yum Cha!:)
It was nearly going to happen next week..:) It nearly happened last night, though not yum cha, but was rained out- went to an awesome pizza restaurant and gelato shop instead:)

I AM ALSO MEETING UP WITH A FEW PEOPLE WHO ARE PLANNING TRIPS UP TO HONG KONG, INCLUDING SOME GROUPS WHICH IS EXCITING! AND WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE I WILL GET UP TO:) THERE IS A HK GATHERING NEXT WEEKEND TOO WHICH IS EXCITING!
Have I missed anything? Want to join me in doing any of these??:)
See you soon!

Holidays in Australia

I had such plans to do so many things this week, including catching up on emails, and writing to you all to let you know that I am coming back to Aus for hols, from 3 February to 27 February, so if you're around, I would love to catch up!


Stay tuned!!
ps... why have the emails not been sent? I finally had some time... and got sick!:(

Strength and Courage

I found this poem when looking on a website about living with phobias(reasearch!:)) And was struck by this poem on the 'inspirations' page, so thought I would share:) We all need some Strength and Courage!


The Difference Between Strength and Courage

It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard,
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide your own pains,
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.

May the world hug you today
With its warmth, and love
And may the wind carry a voice
That tells you there is a friend
Sitting in another corner of the world wishing you well!


Author not known

Have an Ephesians 3:14-20 Year too!

I know I have just told you about the reference Ephesians 3:20, but someone else wrote to us about not only 3:20, but Ephesians 3:14 to 20! And in the message!!

I was blown away again by the words, as well as the fuller context of the words, so once again I share with you Ephesian 3:20, and more! Read, Soak, Enjoy!


Ephesians 3:14-20

My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

My Christmas Present to Jesus…

Every Christmas day, we celebrate in a special kind of way. We all gather together in the morning, brunch, coffee, and various yummy foods are prepared and brought out, and the family here gather together for a time of celebration, and of sharing birthday presents that we are each going to give to Jesus.

Now how does one do that, I hear you say?!:)

Well, it’s not as hard as it sounds, and every year, seems to get more special and turns into something that really blesses us in turn!

We start a while before, and usually look at the year that’s been and think about something special, something unique that only we can give to Jesus. It can be a song, reading something from the bible, a gift of something, something like, our heart, our whole lives, our Hope, our heart for something in particular, it really doesn’t matter WHAT it is, what matters is that it is something personal, precious that you would like to give back to Jesus!

What did I give this year?? I have been thinking over the last year, and what I gave Jesus last year. It was my strength and courage. I don’t have much, but it was his to use as he like, and he really did, and looking back, I really can see it!

As I walk into the New Year, I have realised that I am starting many new and unknown things- new job, new ministry, church, and who knows what else, so wanted to give back to God all my footsteps, every step I take, wherever that may be. As a reminder to me, though of that gift, I bought a new pair of work shoes to remind me of that gift as I wear them.

Even a week after the year has begun, new turns have taken place, so who know where this gift, and these shoes will take me:)

You're FREE!!

Have you ever thought about what that means?? It struck me on New Year's Eve, but I ahven't had much more of a chance to think about it since then, but some references that I have found are as below.......

1Peter
(2:13) Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, (2:14) or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. (2:15) For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. (2:16) Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God

James
(2:12) Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom

(1:25) But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Eph
(3:12) In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (3:13) I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.


Galations
(5:1) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.


Psalm
(98:1) Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.


So a challenge.. to sing a new song... of Freedom in Christ!

Connections to the outside world....

How's this for connectedness to the outside world.... due to weather(well,an earthquake!) in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries are now, for most intentions, disconnected from teh outside world!

We have some connection, but not much! So my plans to catch up on emails, and send a newsletter will have to wait!

It has been fascinating to see how such a connected city have coped with it all!

MOre news to come, I'm sure, but for now, hope you're all having an awesome holiday!:)

Have an Ephesians 3:20 year!

One email that came in recently really struck me through this super up/super down day today.....

The person said... "we are hoping to have an Ephesians 3:20 year next year, and hoping the same for you!" That sent me straight to my bible to check it out, and yup, I really want to have an Ephesians 3:20 year next year too!

In The Message, is says....

God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

May you have an Ephesians 3:20 year too!

One Desk!

Hi all,

It looks like I now have one very nice desk, after months of 2 or even 3 desks! Tis quite a change! Today was the first day of training Bethan to take over my "usual" "previou" job, which is really exciting, and not only that, she has done the job previously while I was on holidays once, and as she has been here for some time, it gives her a huge advantage in knowing so much about the ways of this work to begin with!

So while I will be at my "Usual" desk for a bit more to come, I am definately nearly there with the transition to moving into the new role!

One thing I DID find as I cleared out my drawers, was my chinese name- and the meaning! Co Lai La, and no, I don't have it in the Chinese text, but it means.... Beautiful, Magnificent, Elegant, Graceful, and delicate, soooooooo won't go into how appropriate it might be or how much I fit the name, or vice versa.

So will see where it all goes! In all of it there, there is peace, and much grace, which has been lovely to see, even though the changes have been challenging and not always easy- tis funny how even the best changes can be hard at the same time! Much food for thought!

Wow moments...

I had an awesome WOW moment on Monday night!

Christmas has hit the village, especially Building 2! We have almost all got lights up in our just outside our flats making for a very bright and Christmassy Building! I love it! I was walking to the laundry just after Steve had put a new set of lights up in one section, and looked back in wonder at our lovely looking building!

I then walked past Kate's place where I have dinner on Monday nights.... and the most awesome smell was wafting out for dinner.....and I walked past thinking....Wow! that's my dinner, and what an awesome dinner it was(Yum Chicken!)! (dessert was Lemon delicious!:))

WOW:) Tis nice to have moments of pure joy in being here:)

Disney at Christmas!

Christmas really is the time to go!

I was going to look after Alex while his parents went to Disney, however instead instead of being given 2 tickets, they were in total, given 3! This meant that we could all have the best of both worlds- going to Disney, going on rides, yet enjoying Alex's reactions as he discovered this new and strange place!

An awesome day out, had by all!:)

Some photos are below!



Main Street, with the Marching Band:)




Alex checking out the Marching band from the Shop





Alex and I





The Family Jam session!



Christmas, snow and all in HK!