Weblog
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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Welcome to Australia
Or maybe it should read .. Welcome to Mueller College Chapel. Yes, this is what some of the grade 12's produce weekly to get their message across about the gospel. Its light, sure, but the other kids of the highschool age love it.
Oh .. the cute aussie sheila in the suit .. thats my daughter, Tiffany.
The next video is based on a German show called Inspector Rex. For the uniniciated, Rex is an extremely fit and brilliant dog .. kinda Lassie meets CSI.
You will get to see one of my After School kids too. Ben, you ROCK man!
Who doesnt love an out take!?!
Yes there are many other videos, but I dont want to overdose you on too much good too soon. Man I am going to miss these kids when November comes around ...
Anyhow, bless you all and have a great week.
(Ok .. one last freeby. This is what Tiff and her friends decided to do when they got bored in Brisbane instead of going to a movie ... which the other half of the group did. )
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
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Currently Listening
This Is Our God
By Hillsong
see relatedA few weeks back, Tiff went to the Hillsong Conference down south in Sydney. We were poking around Youtube tonight when we found this. Its the opening of the conference. I know that videos by phone are annoying .. and believe me I feel like grabbing the dudes hand and holding it still at times myself, but suck it up ... its a great opening .. winks.
This would have to be my favourite song of the conference:
ok .. its on par with this one ...
Mike Guglielmucci who sings and co wrote this song had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. When this was recorded, he said in an interview that he felt just terrible. His doctor had given him an oxygen tank because he wasnt getting enough oxygen through the week. That is what he has behind him and on his face. This is a very special annointed song .. enjoy.
I hope you enjoyed that little snippet. I can only recomend that you buy the album. It is MORE than worth it.
God bless you all
Lily
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
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Thailand and me ...
I shall try to make this short. Heaven KNOWS i shall try .. if I dont make it .. sorry from the onslaught!
Well, this story starts about a year ago .. actually nearly 2 years ago but i shant go back that far. Oh ok .. i will for a sec. It begins on this very page, and another (UncleMuncle) when we both decided that xanga was the place to hold our very first chat for a few hours on each others comment box. It seems like forever ago now .. Mike, you are awesome mate, thanks for that chat that started this ball rolling.
For those of you not in the know, Mike moved soon after from MS to Chiang Mai to work with these people .. http://www.globaltribesoutreach.org/ .
*applause here please*
Needless to say, I have bothered and flamboozled the poor man since. I would say sorry, but my Mummy told me never to lie .. so I shant. Chuckles .. live with it bro!
It would be, oh goodness .. maybe about a year ago that the weirdest thing started happening to me. Now you have to realise that if you would have asked me 3 years ago if i wanted to go to Asia, I would have politely turned my nose up and said NO WAY .. there was no way i would wanted to go THERE! It was ranked as one of the last places on earth i would ever want to go. Then of course after seeing the pics of the kids, people and the places that Mike had taken and posted, after a time I really did a 180o on that judgment, though I still wasnt in love with the idea of going other than to meet some awesome people that i had heard about and such.
Twas about then that the weirdest thing started to happen. EVERY new person that I spoke to .. was either going to, been to, had friends who were going/ been to Chiang Mai in the Northern Region of Thailand where GTO headquarters is. Even the woman at the Post Office who received a package for Chiang Mai from me was going in a few weeks. Children whom i worked with in the preschool would start telling me about how they had ridden elephants in thailand .. hard to pronounce for a littly, but Chang Moo was close enough for me to understand where they had been and to roll my eyes accordingly. Even when i went to read the news paper at that time, CM was there in the travel pages EVERY time. I would turn on my travel shows that i love to watch .. EVERY one had CM in it. It was totally bizare. We were invited to a 40th birthday party way back then, and I remember meeting friends we hadnt seen for about a year. I knew that Pete had been going on mission trips to India, so asked him what he had been up to. "Oh Mate," said he in his typical nasal australian drawl, "we are all going on a mission trip together." By now, with my family standing in line around me waiting for their piece of the pig off the Hungi, I had an inkling after the past few weeks as to what was coming. "Where Pete?"
"Oh this place in Thailand called Chiang Mai!"
Ok, so my family just about dropped to the ground laughing, as it was the family joke that the Lord was teasing me for some reason. Ok .. not biblical, but YOU know he has QUITE the sense of humour. If you dont yet .. just you wait!
The next day, after surviving the party whilst just about ready to jump out of my skin, my friends birth mum and her friend came to see my friend and her family take the service and speak about their mission trips to Vanuatu. Safe, thought I .. its nowhere NEAR Thailand ...
WRONG!
You see our Pastor likes a bit of a chat .. in the middle of the service as well. He decided to ask the lovely lady who accompanied my friends birth mother what her mission field is. I hung on to the seat. "Oh I have opened a free bible school in India," said she. "But I have also worked in Thailand." At this, I looked back at my daughters in the back row to see them just about rolling on the floor laughing and pointing at me .. its a pentacostal church ... I could pass it off later I was certain as a move of the Holy Spirit..........
I ended up speaking to the lovely lady later and she confirmed that she had worked in CM. We prayed together and I offered the Lord my will to make it His in whatever way he desired, especially if it meant going to Chiang Mai.
Anyhow, about last April, I was telling my After School Care kids about the poster of their adopted missionary .. yes, the one and the same. They really enjoyed seeing the photos of the bible camp that GTO had run for the Ka ren kids this year and their Uncle Muncle with the kids. It was when i was speaking to the children and taking comments and questions that i felt the Lord tell me to start speaking out my desire to go and work on the camp next year. I decided not to say anything to the kids until I spoke to Mike, but when the parents came in and we were showing them the poster of the above pics and emails, I did start telling the parents that i hoped to go to the camp next year. I received nothing but encouraging words from them. The desire to speak out grew. I spoke to Mike about it and the ball's rolling started to take on momentum.
So far I havent heard back for certain as to whether I am accepted to work with GTO next year but i do believe that whatever happens that the Lord has it all in his hands. Needless to say, I have been seeking the Lord about going. I wont mention all the different confirmations I have received about going, but I will mention the latest. I KNOW that I KNOW that i am going to Thailand for three weeks around March/ April some time when the camp is announced. I also know that I am going for the children. That after all is my ministry. A few years ago i was so silly as to be kicking against the pricks when it was decided that to help pay for my childrens christian education that i would work in After School Care .. and you should have heard me winge when I was told that I was going to have to pay over a $1000 for the pleasure of having to legally study to continue on with it. Man .. you have FULL permission to kick me for my rediculous fleshiness ... if your feet can reach that is ... *winks*
Back to the continueing saga. This Sunday just gone, I was sitting, minding my own business in church when Ps David got up and began to tell us that he received a phone call during the week from a couple who were missionaries. Apparently the church had been financially backing them through the missions group that the funds go into, and they asked if they could come and minister to the church. David introduced the woman and believe me .. on remembering what the Lord did about a year ago with CM, I had a feeling that something was afoot. Mariaana got up first and started speaking about where they had been ministering for over 15 years ... you got it .. Thailand. I looked at my eldest who was sitting next to me and she said straight away, "Settle Mum, settle." I knew what was coming by this point. I knew if they mentioned CM that i would probably lose it ...
So .... lose it i did.
They have a ministry that now includes working with the Ka ren people in Hangdong which is, if i am correct about 50 km away from Chiang Mai. They showed a video of the children worshiping God and singing and just repenting greatly for Thailand. What you have to understand is that these people are considered the lowest of the low from what i hear. Most of these children have lost their parents to aids. (www.firstprioritydevelopment.org click on ministry and you will see a video about the ministry there .. its an eyeopener.) These children and their community are experiencing personal revival. It is beautiful to watch. I dont think it would surprise you to know that i spoke to Erik and Marianna afterward and they invited me to go and spend time with them at the converted hotel/brothel that they have cleaned up physically and spiritually for the ministry there.
Wow .. this is still so amazing to me. The fact that the Lord would bring this couple here to our church so that I could meet them and link shields with them also on this journey. My full ambition for what i believe that I have been called to? To start in Chiang Mai and then take what i learn into Cambodia.
To be honest with you? I have NO idea how i am going to pay for this trip. All I know is that when the Lord calls, He provides. I do ask that you will pray for the financial position, for my family as I prepare to leave, and whilst away, that all will fall into place there. I also ask that you will pray for me and my spiritual preparation. I want to stay humble before the Lord; I want for Him to open the doors or else they stay firmly shut. This is to HIS praise and glory ... not mine AT all.
Oh by the way, I know that most of you know that i am studying for my Cert III in Childrens Services which is law for people working in the child care industry. I went to pick up my next subject out of .. erm .. 23 i think .. could be wrong. I have completed 3 so far. I paid my money and the girl went out the back to get a random subject that they had there. I am amazed at this ...
The subject I will be working on is: Working effectively with culturally diverse clients and co-workers.
*blink*
........ did I mention that i hadnt even mentioned a thing to ANYone there that I was going overseas next year? The first 3 pages of about .. 60? in my book of readings metions Thailand and its customs 5 times .... *blink*
Lord, I KNOW that you are getting a kick out of spinning my head on my shoulders like this ... and hey .. believe me my dear,sweet King .. you aint getting no complainin from THIS daughter of yours AT all!
Bless you all,
Lily
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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Sr Mary Margaret at your service
So, for all of the newbys who dont know .. or those who are trying to work out who this random is who turned up on their site, the news is that I was adopted from birth. I found out .. oh .. what seems like ages ago now ... that my birth name is Mary Margaret Rice. Ok, so i dont blame my mother for that .. she, I am sure, had other stuff to think about other than a name to go on a birth certificate that I would never have used anyhow. And anyhow, how would she know that from grade 5 onwards I would be attending a catholic school with real live nuns (.. though at times .. that was questionable!) with names of the like. Of course, as i have posted before .. as soon as i saw my name i HAD to add onto the front a 'Sister' for good measure. (oh .. i loved the nuns by the way .. they were sweet ladies .. other than my Business Principles teacher and mother superior .. she had shifty eyes .. and they were usually shifting ... on me!)
Well my dear friends .. IT WOULD SEEM that I am more famous than we first realised. IT WOULD SEEM that I actually have a line of 'funny' occassion e-cards fashioned after me. IT WOULD SEEM that even down to the irish accent they may be totally precise, as Rice apparently has its origins in Ireland. Sure, I'm aussie through and through .. as far as i know .. but, I mean .. the woman even has my colour eyes .. ok .. mine are a bit darker .. depending on what i wear .. but STILL. And the dress sence .. well .. that is WAY up my alley.
(so in your oppinion .. do you REALLY think liers go to hell? huh? Cant hear you .. you have to stop mummbling!)
Anyhow .. i have no intention of stealing the cards to put on here .. and cant get them off the site to do so anyhow .. not that i would because i am a good little non-nun ... ahem. So instead here is the link to the cards themselves.
http://www.rubberchickencards.com/content.php/action/view_cat/id/60/
Please do burn me at the stake for the content. It is not bad .. just corny. Ok .. so THAT even suits too!
Have fun with that .. or not ....
But if that didnt amuse .. then try this.
Seeya!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
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On turning 40 .....
Thats right .. I am now 40 years old.
Did I plan on it to arrive someplace in, what seems to me to be, my 26th year? No .. but here it is anyhow.
With this benchmark now under my belt, I decided that maybe, as a good little blogger, I should take a look at my age through the eyes of one of those old blokes who are 40 'for real' and see how I align with his thoughts on the matter. After all, surely THIS will prove my real age .. shouldnt it?
40 things about being 40
Stuart Jeffries
Friday February 28, 2003
The Guardian1 Gardening is suddenly good. Nope .. I STILL kill anything and everything that relies on photosynthesis to survive .. unless you count the ugly, sticky outy, horrendously absurd plants that DARE to take up CO2 on the planet that are somehow thriving in my front yard .. apparently they LOVE my black thumb. *sigh*2 As is Schubert. .......who? Is that one of those American comic strips?
3 The prospect of dancing in public is terrifying. Danced today in the shopping centre .. that is if you count a leprauchan side clip of the heels in wide public view after leaving the butchers counter ... just to embarrass my first and fourth child, as 'dancing'. If not, please let me know and I shall endeavour to do better tomorrow.
4 You hiss when mobile phones go off at the Titian exhibition. Titian Exhibition ... ok .. googling .... DANG! I would SO go to that! As for hissing? Not unless my ego is struck by something sharp ... think about it ...
5 You have a Party Seven stomach rather than a six-pack. Working on the six-pack. No honestly .. really .. i am .. sorta .. more or less .. if you tip your head to the side and squint .... from the distance of about a kilometer .. you will see AMAZING progress!
6 You know what Party Seven means. Yeah well .. I had no idea. I just guessed it was a Yank thing and left it alone .. *winks*
7 Your younger colleagues think your libido requires chemical enhancement, or that it's OK to make jokes about the probability that it does. The unfeeling brutes. (This may just be a guy thing.) *blink* ... no i mean ... *BLINK* And anyhow .. everyone KNOWS that womens libido cranks up in the middle ages ...
By all the blinking going on on the other side of this screen, you would think I had said too much ...TEE HEE
8 You buy more chart CDs than ever (in an attempt to hang on in there) but still go home and slap on Prince's Sign o' the Times. I have NEVER had the desire to go home to ANYTHING Prince ... now ABBA .. that works!
9 You start playing football. *Grins* ... nope, but i DO start watching the Aussie football with all the erm .. healthy looking fellows in their little white shorts. Poor dears .. they MUST be cold in that southern weather!!!
oh .. and on a side note:
State of Origin decider tomorrow ~ GO THE MORONES .. GO YOU GOOD THING!!!!!!!!!
10 You punch the next person who says "Denial isn't just a river in Africa, you know" and laugh when anyone uses the word "closure" in a purportedly emotionally insightful manner. Like dude .. like .. WHATEVER!
11 You are more inclined to tell people to shut up. I would NEVER use such language thankyou very much .. put a sock in it .. or shut it before i shut it for you .. maybe .. but sh** up? Never!
(shut it Chuckles! *winks*)
12 If you're a guy, harmless office flirting may not be so harmless. You don't want to end up a dirty old man. Whereas ending up as a dirty old woman is acceptable? I think not! Anyhow .. somehow flirting with my 'office buddies' who are 4 ~ 13 years of age just doesnt seem something very becoming in ANY age ...
13 You know that texting has passed you by. Lol ... hey i LOVE texting .. i just havent worked out how to get the numbers right overseas yet. Its just one of those things .. you HAVE to text me first.
14 You worry about rudeness, graffiti, the newspaper arriving late, the decline of public services and the possible truth in libido jibes. Well rudeness has ALWAYS been a concern of mine so .. As for the other things? Erm .. not on my highest priorities to be 'worried' about as of yet.
15 Moisturiser for men is the new wet-look hair gel. OH COME OFF THE GRASS!!! GUYS, GET A GRIP WILL YA!!! Ok, a bit of moisturiser for the men as long as they keep the fact under wraps? Not a problem to me. Its when they start getting the eyebrows waxed and buffing their nails whilst dating as many women as they possibly can .. THEN i start to get worried about where these 'men' are headed. After all .. i have 4 daughters to marry off yet.
16 Thinking about death is the new thinking about nothing much. *Grins* .. I am pleased to say that i have no need to worry about death .. THATS already been taken care of .. *winks* Thankyou Jesus!
17 You sit at traffic lights singing along to Barry White. Small boys with squeegees laugh at you. Screw them. No, I sit at traffic lights turning up the music as loud as i can get away with whilst Tiffany sits there looking at me with THAT look on her face saying things like, "Mother, do you not care what music THAT loud is doing to my eardrums!?!" True story... sadly. The youth of today ... *rolls eyes*
18 When your boss asks you when you can do some urgent task, you feel more free to say: "How about never? Is never good for you?" Lol .. when your boss in the Child Care industry asks you to do something urgently? It usually has to do with your levels of sanity for the rest of the day ... you DO it!
19 You think younger people who wear hooded sweatshirts with the hood up look stupid and sinister. You cross the street to avoid them. .....only if they are wearing the same one as you .... i MEAN .. duh!
20 You go to the pub less often due to the belated realisation that it's rubbish and makes your clothes smell. OH MY GOODNESS!!! I came to that realisation after Cunnamulla! Does that mean i was actually 40 when i turned 19!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
21 You are less certain of things than you used to be. EGADS! Things? WHAT things? There are THINGS i need to be unsure about? Oh no .. i dont remember any of those things ... somebody please tell me ... WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO BE UNSURE ABOUT!?!?! *sobs*
22 You argue with the television. You always win. THATS not me .. thats Mark! I dont believe in speaking to appliances .. unless they come under the other heading of 'white goods'.
23 Reading is the new staring into space. *grins sheepishly* ... but then how am i supposed to get away with 'staring into space' around here unless i have a book in front of me. Its the ONLY way to stop people coming up and chatting. ("Ssshhh .. Mum's reading .. give her some time to herself.")
24 Board games are the new cocaine. Hahaha .. not quite. I am still into being thrashed at facebook scrabble though.
25 Childcare is the new nightlife. LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFFFFFFFFS!
26 You find children less irksome than hitherto, and are less perturbed about making small talk with them. Well actually .. i never really DID find them irksome on whole. There are few that i believe need a good flush in a certain white bowl to clean out what is between those wee little ears .. (or is that their parents .. hmmm) .. but nope, on the whole its mainly all good.
27 You increasingly find cryptic crossword puzzles diverting entertainment. OH PLEASE .. that takes thought .. and honestly, I have enough trouble working out whats for dinner.
28 You're temperamentally incapable of using the following phrases: "Oh. My. God"; "And I'm like ..."; "And she's all ..."; "Whatever". But, oddly, not "Well, duh." Well .. 'Oh. My. God' I never liked anyhow, unless in a worshipful way, in which case .. go for it! 'And I'm like' & 'And she's all ...' havent actually really passed my way yet. 'Whatever' .. grins .. I even have motions to go with it .. and 'Well duh'? .........Well duh, if you have ever IMed me .. its a given!
29 You're temperamentally incapable of doing high fives or other showy handshakes. Laaaaaaaffs .. oh .. SO not me! Just ask the teens at school.
30 You find solace in birdsong. Well, I have always loved listening to the birds around here. Especially the magpies. Their song is just beautiful. The lorakeets may screech, but it lets me know that there is a show of colour on the way that is really quite spectacular. The crows sitting out the front all the time tend to irk me. What irks me moreso is how they keep calling 'Maaaaaaaark, maaaaaaaaark!' and he REFUSES point blank to go to them. Thoughtless man! He really just doesnt care about their feelings at all ... *winks*
31 You aren't surprised that the Cheeky Girls were spawned by Ceaucescu's Romania. Huh? I mean ... HUH!?! Matty .. explanation please!
32 You wonder if you would be shopping at Dunn and Co if it was still going. Anything offering Dunn for its wares .. and then speaks of its friends also being on the shelves .. really i DO try to keep a wide birth! (Americans are weird!)
33 You pretend to care about J-Lo and Ben Affleck, subscribe to Heat magazine and have a Celebdaq account to stay in touch with celebrity culture, while simultaneously despising it. OH PLEEEEASE .. i HATE that dribble. There is no way I would spend a cent on one of those things. I dont even pick them up in doctors lounges. Let them just live their lives, I say. God bless them. As long as they are performing well in some awesome flicks .. its all good to me.
34 You think nothing of spending £8 on a bottle of wine. 8 POUNDS? ........ ahem .. sorry .. 'you POMS are weird' ... *blush* (...as if THAT was anything new)
35 You take a Thermos on demos. *blink* ... i think not! Are we REALLY talking about the same 40? Or is 40 the new 80!?!?!
36 Actually, the rugby's on. There are enough people on the march already. Nah .. MUCH prefer the march.
37 You write letters of complaint to Currys, Ikea, Norwich Union etc, while not expecting or receiving anything approaching a reply, civil or otherwise. Grins .. nah. I write letters to politicians who may be able to change the thoughts of the Ning-Nongs who think that paying for abortions should be included our countries international aid relief!!! Oh .. and i DO expect letters in return .. and have many already. Tee Hee .. nothing from Prime Minister Rudd yet though ...
38 It's hardly ever quiet enough. Oh TELL me about it. Especially in THIS house where the kitchen, the lounge room, the dining room AND the computer area is! IS THERE NO RESPITE FOR THE EARS OF THE ELDERLY!?!?!
39 It can be too quiet. Hahaha .. well .. actually ... I AM known to miss people terribly when they arent around.
40 You're going to die sooner than ever. Oh PISH-POSH! I may not know how many days I have left, but i DO know someone who does. I think i shall leave the 'worry' of it all in HIS capable hands thankyou very much!
Ok .. so what do you think? Am I over the hill yet? Should I start sinking money into shares in Depends? Should I start learning how to Tango?
Your deliberations on this subject i would love to hear ... as long as they are in line with mine.
*winks*
Love you all,
narellew
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- Name: Narelle
- Birthday: 6/30/1968
- Gender: Female
- Member Since: 12/6/2005
