Coming to the End....
well...it has been quite some time since i last blogged, i've been thinking about blogging for quite a while but then forget each time i sign off the internet - well i started my new job at the nursing home doing physio - i'm called a Mobility Assistant - i started the first week of September, so it's been a challenge to once again balance work and school and now i have something everyday of the week and no day to sleep in :-( and after a while that really takes a toll on the body - so lately i have been having a rough time with that, thankfully people are understanding so my carpark team have given me the last 2 sunday mornings off to relax and recover which has been so nice and i have stopped going to hillsong women on thursday mornings well serving anyways so that has been good - i'm really just ready to have this year be over i guess though and just to be able to relax and not have to get up and be anywhere etc i'm looking forward to going home to see my family, yes i'm heading back to Canada for 3 weeks which is exciting - we are done exams and assignments though in college right now which is nice, so i only have to go to class right now which is nice, the pressure of homework etc is gone and we are just waiting for grad ball on november 29th which is going to be AMAZING!!! so i work 8 hours on a monday and 5 hours on a saturday and i get paid time and a half on a saturday which is really nice because for the amount i was getting paid and the hours i was getting, it wasn't going to be quite enough to cover all my bills, but God really does know what he's doing and he has provided more than i need. The lady i was working with has now gone full-time with the church with her husband and they are overseeing pastoral care which is so exciting, because it's been her dream to work full-time with her husband and only now is she seeing that dream ful-filled - so if you use what God puts in your hand, he will give you what's in your heart!!! i've started doing this course on monday nights which is called "search for life" its really great, it has been very freeing for me and there is so much to say about that and why i'm doing it and what i'm learning but i'm not sure i want to talk about all that on here, but GOD is good and i'm so glad that he brought me all the way here, it's been so much more than what i was expecting this year - he really is working on healing me and i'm going to be set free - just pray for me for finances to study a second year - as of this minute i don't have any and i'm in debt, so i need a few thousand dollars but that is not too big for God. so it's coming!! also pray for a safe flight for me home to Canada and back to Australia and that God would work out all the financial stuff and whether i could work two part-time jobs in january maybe to be enough money that i need - God is teaching me how to let him in - i realized that i go through most of the day a lot of times without even acknowledging him and then for things that frustrate me, instead of stewing over them, going to God and venting to him and then feeling much better, why i wouldn't do that all the time i don't know! duh! haha..i crack myself up! anyways trying to think what else i've been learning - who i am in Christ i think, my worth in him and getting all that i need from him, i don't think i really totally understand it yet, but i'm starting to see different things that i do and how that is trying to feed whatever my need is instead of going to God and God is so gracious - he only reveals to us what we need to know at that time- but really that's why it's so important to be in the word daily and praying so that we can become more like Jesus, because it really is a daily journey - and we need to keep feeding on God as much as we can - i really need to go to bed now!
So simple
alright, so i just realized it's been a whole month since i last posted anything, surely God has been speaking more than once a month...must've been so boring for you to come check and be like "nothing still!" anyways so here's the latest - so we had hillsong conference which i wrote about before and then we had a 2 week break - i didn't do much during that - slept alot - was catching up on sleep from conference and did some errands that i needed to do - went to the blue mountains one day with some new students and we decided to go on this hike down to these falls and yeah well it got dark before we were halfway back up the mountain, thankfully for whatever reason one of the guys we were with had thought to bring flashlights??? like seriously never thought we would've needed them, but the holy spirit must've been speaking to him! anyways we had a really great time, and i was meant to be back for like 7pm i think i had committed to going to a friends party that she was launching her company that she was going to be running so i had said i would be there - and i'm really trying to be a woman of my word, i know i'm not very good at it, because i take on too many things and then don't have the energy to do everything so i really wanted to be there on time - kept telling them, we need to be back at the car at this time etc, but as time went on i knew we weren't going to make it - and i was getting really angry inside feeling disrespected etc and that i'm going to look bad because i committed to going etc - anyways i was praying about it telling God to change my heart, i knew there was a reason for it and that i didn't want to be a drag to everyone else's fun - at this point i just wanted to get out alive - as it was super cold that night - i think it got down to -3 that night - there was actually frost i heard on people's windows the next morning, i mean i had 4 layers on and was cold - so amongst our trying to find our way out, we run into these two girls who are also on this hike and have no lights, no cell phones no nothing - so we told them to stick with us and we would find our way out - we get out and find my car and then find out that there car is not anywhere near ours it was actually like a 5 minute drive away, which don't know how they would've made it to it - so to me that was revelation about how much God really cares about each individual person on this earth - like he aligned our schedule to meet up with these girls to get them out alive, like we hear it all the time in church how much God loves each individual but when you actually get to see it like that for me, was just amazing, words can't describe - like God went to the ends of the earth to save these 2 girls!!! it's just indescribable - so then also the whole thing with finances, okay we all battle with this stuff - i lost my job, not sure how many of you knew that - the restaurant closed down and of course at this same time my car registration was due etc alot of money needed all at once - but finally got the interview for the physio job at the nursing home that i had applied for way back in may - and then finally actually got the job!!! so God provides - he lined everything up according to his timing which is always perfect as we know - and i finally after 7 months got my loan money into my account!! like seriously praise Jesus - he is providing!!! and really, have i ever gone without until this point? no...so why would he leave me hanging in the dust now - like seriously i know some of these things sound so simple, but sometimes it takes so much for me to understand them for me personally - and then well being here there are so many talented and gifted people here and many times i find myself not measuring up or not being involved in enough and i really feel like God picked me up and moved me here to learn how to rest in him and it's not about being "busy" its about being the mary in the mary and martha story, i was the martha at home, always busy but never really getting it - God wants me to spend time with him first and foremost and i feel like the leadership positions he is putting me in are ones that i dont' have a leader to learn from and i'm learning it all on my own - but he is teaching me how to depend solely on him, because he wants me to lead with him and not be the clone of someone else, so yeah it was really hard for me because i learn really well from watching others etc and here God is saying, nope, all you need is me, i can show you, depend on me, ask me to help you - and like today i was feeling kinda down about this whole leading thing and the qualities i have etc and you know i just realized that it's not about me, like duh i'm human i screw up all the time but God is saying, it's about me working through you for it to happen, cause ultimately it's only him who can make things work well anyway and then there is nothing we can boast about - because i can't do it in my strength, that's the whole point - wow it's such a journey for me - and it's about spending time with him and getting that relationship right first - like tonight i really should be packing and cleaning because i'm moving, i will send you my new address no worries but all i wanted to do was be in Jesus' presence so i just turned on my worship music and sang and then my friend called to go pick her up and i was like singing at the top of my lungs in my car, i loved it and while waiting for her this security man came up to me and was telling me they were going to lock the gates and i got talking to him for quite some time and found out he was a muslim and i didn't get to share the gospel with him or anything but he was quite intersted in talking, but i may have just been the missing link in the chain that may bring him to Christ - it's all about being obedient - like i had i not spent that time with God earlier in the evening, he probably wouldn't have brought that man across my path - funny thing is we are studying world religions in class on fridays and our teacher told us, once you start studying this, you wait, they will come to you - i love how God just drops people in our paths, and i'm realizing more and more people need to see the church being Jesus rather than just going to church, like people need to see the church in action and not be preached to - so yeah very exciting - anyways i have to go there is more i would love to write, so hopefully i will write again soon - luv you all - email me to let me know how you are doing and what is new in your world!!!
It's so much bigger...
Alright, so i just got done writing this in a myspace message as well as an email and my journal, so i hope i remember to write everything because i really want to share everything here but i'm tired and want to go to bed - conference is over, i can't believe it - we have been looking forward to it for so long, probably since Colour Conference ended in March and we were all wondering how we were going to survive it and guess what? we did! we knew we would - it was so cool in church today, you could tell that the church was spiritually refreshed even though physically drained, there was a new excitement today in the house of the Lord, i can't even describe it - i know myself i couldn't stop smiling, God is soooo good - i didn't really feel a part of this conference though because i wasn't in any of the meetings, only 15 minutes of worship each night, which was phenomenal by the way - i think i mentioned in the last blog who we had there for worship, what a great lineup! I just feel so blessed though to have been a part of serving at one of the biggest conferences ever - like seriously, it was amazing, the speakers were amazing from what i heard - i want to get the DVD pack to watch them - and today i was doing my quite time and i got the verse 1John 4:12 that says, "no one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made perfect in us" and that really hit me this morning - God is such a relational God, it's all about people - think about it - his love is made perfect in us when we love others - it's all about giving out to others what has been given to us by Christ, i know so simple but so revolutionary for me - i think i wrot e earlier about how i got to do new people and new Christian calls before Conference and was really impacted by that - i got to connect with a couple of girls and i know for sure now that when i was thinking about buying a car and wanting to use it for kingdom purposes that it's perfect that i have it now - because some of these people i connected with don't live in my area, and having a car allows me to go and pick them up and bring them to church etc - now the girl didn't answer her phone or call me back, but one day she will - anyways just really getting the sense of how important people are to Jesus, he loves each and every single person that he has placed on this earth - he has made each and every single person in his image and every person reading this needs to grab hold of that truth - it really is true - his hearts desire is to connect with each and every single person on this earth - he has created each person with a place in their heart that only he can fill - and he longs to fellowship with you and know every area of your life, he is concerned with every area of your life, every big or little decision that you have to make, everything!!!! he just longs for you to be lovesick for him, so in love with him that you don't feel like eating - when was the last time you were so lovesick for Jesus?? i have to ask myself the same question - man any of you who knows me knows i love food, and i never forget to eat - i'm getting better at just introducing myself to people in church - the church is huge, 3,500 peole in one service - it can be a very lonely place for people who are new - i met this girl beside me and her daughter and she hugged me at the end of the night - i really feel it was a divine appointment for her, not sure why yet, but really did - are we sensitive to the spirit? are we willing to cut the flesh away and to what God needs done or are we too focused on ourselves? another thought entered my mind today as we were at church - why does it take a conference to get us so excited, man we have Jesus living on the inside of us and we should be that excited every day!!!! (i'm preaching to myself just so you know) there is so much more that God wants to do if we just let him, he wants to bless us, but we have to really trust him with things, not worry about things, when we worry we actually cut off the flow of blessings - what can you be doing on a daily basis for God - who can you talk to? who can you give a ride to? who can you invite to your connect group or be a listening ear to? who can you buy groceries for or babysit for wanting nothing in return? you know i get convicted every time i drive my car - because i'm saving people from paying $3 for the bus and i expect them to pay and when they don't i almost get upset to be honest and then i remember what i told God when i bought my car - i want to use it to be a blessing to others - so i remember there is a story in the bible about him inviting people to dinner and he had said to invite the people that you know won't/can't pay you back - that's what living like Jesus is all about - what good is it to do things for those who can pay you back? it's like being nice to only those who are nice to you - how does that show Jesus?? it's a daily renewal, a daily refreshing of his grace, mercy and all that he is - DAILY! not every sunday, but daily - a relationship, talk to him, spend time with him - in him you will find rest and peace and all the good things - oh and by the way some of the stuff written above, if it sounds like i was coming up with it - i didn't - some came from Joseph Prince's preaching today as well as Jentzen Franklin - anyways be blessed and i really want to hear from each and every one of you who reads this - if you can't leave a message on here - please email me or facebook or myspace me - or call me, i would love to hear how each and every one of you are doing!!! peace out,
mel
Conference
So this week is hillsong conference and i'm truly blessed to be a part of the night excellence team - i get more sleep than most people and don't have to deal with people all day long - i don't really feel like it's conference though because we get there at 5 and then conference is out about 9:30 - but it's all good - i love cleaning...okay so i hesitate to write that because by about 2 am i've had enough of cleaning and vacumming and mopping, but i really don't mind this job, like so many people come into the bathrooms as we are stocking them and keeping them tidy during the meeting and being like, 'oh you must have the worst job, it must really suck' and i'm like it doesn't really - it gets hard at the end of the night yes, because any one who's ever worked midnights knows its hard for your body to adjust and with our job we are working like all the time from 10pm on we have a little half hour break, but we are like cleaning the whole time and it's hard at that hour, anyways i'm just having a hard time being up all night and trying to sleep during the day, i wake up every morning with either a very hungry stomach or a very sick feeling stomach and a headache - but you know this week is flying by for me and i really don't want it to end - we get to go into the meeting for a bit to see some of the worship - last night we had Israel Houton and i had never heard of him before they started showing the advertisements at church but he's an amazing singer and i want to get a cd of his - you know i'm so blessed to be here, like i really don't take for granted this place, they have some of THE best speakers etc come through here - i'm getting fed lots and one thing God has really been working on in me to do is just encourage others all the time and i've been so blessed by that - it is so easy to do and people are so touched by it - i've been so blessed by other people being blessed by just a simple thing, like it's just really touching me i don't know how to describe it - like just to tell someone how much they mean to you or to just tell them how amazing they are and you know just to remember someone's birthday - like it was my uncle's birthday on the 4th of July and i emailed to say happy birthday and i was so touched that it meant so much to him that i remembered, like so simple but such a great impact, i seriously was teary eyed - so if there is anything i can encourage you with is to just encourage others, use whatever gifts and talents God has given you and use them - use what he has given to you to use because God has given them to you to reach those in your world
Connect
Haha this is cool, i discovered i can write in different colours!! how fun! alright so now to the real stuff...life is good - we are doing our fieldwork intensive this week and it's getting ready for conference, we had to find a person to work under and help them do whatever needs to get done for conference - conference is next week! July 2-6 - i'm on night cleaning! i'm actually excited - because it's a shorter day and i get to sleep longer! and it can be so much fun if you get a good team and so i know a few other people who are on it as well so i'm excited! anyways back to intensive this week - i'm doing mine with Powerhouse so that's youth aged 18-25 - and our task was to do a mailout which was sending info to those we can't call by phone because their numbers are disconnected or something and then the next two days we got to call New Christians/New People, wow....can i just say how amazing it was!! oh my gosh, i got to connect with some people which was really great - and like the power of just calling them impacted them so much! I believe they were divine appointments for sure. I'm so glad that i have a car, it truly is a blessing, because it has opened me up to be able to connect with some of these people who can't get to church and stuff because of rides, so how cool is that that i get to help them out, bring them to church and connect them with others - i'm so excited, God is so good, i've wanted to get involved with New Christians for a while, but i've been busy with school and assignments and work and was going to do it next term, but God is awesome and allowed me to start already! i just love how God knows our inner most desires even if we havne't been praying about something he still blesses those desires, it's so amazing...so many people out there just long to be connected, know they are loved, what a great opportunity i have to be able to help these girls out and maybe even have them in my connect group! This is what church looks like! anyways i should go - heading to another church tonight to hang with their youth!! i'm pumped! anyways hope everyone is doing well - email me and let me know how you are doing and if i can pray for you! love you
June - the month of miracles!
so June here is the month of miracles as we have been told in college and we are starting to see it everywhere - a friend of mine was given $3000.00 towards staying for a second year of college, so that is really exciting, tuesday night we had a mega prayer night and the nation of australia needs rain and we prayed for rain upon rain upon rain and it has not stopped raining since other than today it's currently not raining but that's because i told God that it couldn't rain today because i had to do carpark and didn't want to be wet and cold - he listens...
another friend of mine does embrace as his weekly ministry which is going into a nursing home and doing a little service there and he's been believing for miracles there and he had the chance to pray for people and their arthritis was healed, back pain, heart pain etc, so God is good, his timing is excellent!!
oh the cops came to my apartment yesterday, i just got home from work and was going to rest because i had a one hour break and then was going back to work and my roommate moriah came in to get me and i thought she was pulling a prank on me, not that she usually does or anything but i thought she was joking and she wasn't, so i came out and they were saying that i had been in an accident in april sometime they had 2 witnesses etc but i said that i hadn't even bought the car until may 19th so it wasn't me so then i just had a nice chat with them as they wrote up the report, they said they are usually in the really bad areas of the city and was nice to come to a nicer area and have a nice conversation rather than all the people that are usually cursing and screaming at them to get away from them - all the things they have to deal with is just crazy, they must really be glad to go home some days - thinking i'll start praying for police officers - here they seem pretty nice anyways
well i really can't think of anything else to say - we have our miracle offering coming up in church this month and we are donating $500,000 minimum to the Watoto Children in Uganda who are child soldiers - these kids hide out in areas to sleep at night because they will be kidnapped and forced to kill other people etc so we are sending money to help these poor children - we saw a dvd on it and wow, it is an eye opener - we are so lucky in north america and europe and australia that we don't have to deal with this stuff, but some kids this is their reality of living - so scary - i'm so blessed
on that note,
peace out
mel
GOD IS OUR PROVIDER!!!
So, i write this today very excited!!! what's new you might ask?? well yesterday i got my student loans papers signed by the college and put them in the mail to Canada, so that money should be coming in a couple of weeks! and then today (saturday) i went job hunting and God provided me with a job. See i had been feeling like God was telling me to settle here, get a job, get a car and then possibly do the degree next year, so yes if you are reading this i do plan on being here a while, longer than a year. Why wouldn't ya? It's hillsong, flippin the best church in the world - well not necessarily true, but a really great church that has a lot of things already established and in place for me to learn leadership skills etc - So i actually did things kinda backwards and bought the car before having the job - and i was really feeling it was a faith step that God wanted me to get the car first before the job and now i see why - because i needed the car to get to where the job was going to be! So now i have a car and a job! the story is kinda neat actually - i was applying to a bunch of jobs online and then was going to go out and look in the area and so i went to Subway, Pizza Hut, Fitness First and then after i applied i fitness first i went to leave, was driving out of the parking lot, looked at this restuarant and thought "i should apply there" and then was like or i'll just go home but i ended up turning around and going back in there and when i walked in I introduced myself said i was looking for part-time work, the lady asked me what experience i had and i told her about Tim Hortons etc, she looked through my whole resume and asked me what my hours of availability were and then asked me if i could start monday at 4pm - so i said sure - she kept saying thank you to me, which i found rather odd, i was the one who needed to be thankful! but anyways - yeah friday morning at chapel they asked anyone who was going through a tough time to come forward so i did - and i got prayed for by 3 different people and one of them prayed for supernatural provision and i thought "man i'm going to take hold of that" and i really kept declaring that and thanking God for it even though i didn't see anything yet and then it was later that afternoon that i got my osap papers back and then today that i did the job hunting - so it was a week of stress and wondering whether i should have bought the car or not, whether i heard God right or not - but i'm telling you, when God promises you something, he does not lie - it's coming, maybe not after a week, but it's coming, DO NOT GIVE UP!!! GOD IS ABLE - Jesse Duplantis spoke here on the weekend and he was amazing - this man lives in blessing because he knows that God is able, he is more than able and we as his children (God's children that is) need to know our rights and authority as being sons and daughters of the most high king - we need to take authority over what is ours!!! anyways so that is what is new here - oh yeah it's flippin cold at night - last night i slept with my pyjama pants, my t-shirt, sweatshirt, socks and 3 blankets - they don't believe in central heating here! they like it cold because to them it gets too flippin hot in the summers or something like that! so yeah now i should go work on some homework - should probaly re-write the sermon i already wrote using some of this! hehe anyways peace out - hope everyone is doing well!!!
