Back at work....

Well... back to work today... was quite a busy morning...
It was hard getting up this morning - it wasnt that it was early but the fact that it was getting up to go to work...

A couple of things happened in the last day... My prawn died... :(
I guess i didnt really know how to look after a prawn so poor thing... i got home after going out to dinner and he was lying on his side...

Yesterday was Bert's b'day... we went out on the boat cos she wanted to go wakeboarding. She did really well and managed a few good rides.

Squibby and Narnia...

No the topics arent related... but the blog is about both...

I caught a prawn yesterday... and kept it... and called it "squibby" - dont ask me about the name... just thought it sounded cute. Anyway, i really have no idea what prawns do or eat... i only know that i eat them!

So i have no idea what to do with my prawn... this is gonna sound bad but i didnt really expect him to survive. He looked really dead in the arvo cos he just lay around... but last night... when the sun went down and all was dark in the kitchen... even my fish had gone to sleep... there was squibby swimming around happy as larry... sooo cute! this morning he was swimming around a bit but it's the arvo now and he just looks dead again... think that's what prawns do... they swim around when it's dark but stay still during in daylight.



I got to sleep in today (yay!). Decided to go see Narnia - The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe this morning. Went to Mac and the shops are so packed! Avoiding the sales at the moment cos i really have nothing to buy. I dont really need anything. And... really, really, really dont like crowds!

In the bible, we see Jesus speak in parables which seem like normal stories but which also conveyed other spiritual implications or meanings. CS Lewis was a Christian and "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" was written as a children's story but it also conveys many of the ideas of the gospel. (Not that i'm equating Jesus to CS Lewis but i admire how cleverly CS Lewis wrote the book.)

I must admit that that the biblical symbolism or parallelism of the movie actually made me bawl so much when they killed Aslan the lion. (That's the first time i've bawled in a movie in ages!) An innocent... killed in a traitor's place. Like Jesus dying in our place.

Anyway, i really enjoyed the movie and it very clearly shows some aspects of the gospel. Even Lucy and Susan's walk with Aslan before he is killed reminds me of Gethsemene. Aslan, the king, humbles himself and dies in place of Edmond but overcomes death and delivers Narnia from the rule of the evil Queen. Sounds familiar...

I end with a quote from the movie... "it is finished" (Aslan and the gospel of John, chapter 19, verse 30)

Boxing Day

I dont know why Boxing day is called what it is... is it because you box up your leftovers, or re-box the presents you're gonna return?
The things I think of when i think of Boxing Day are cricket and boating. Cricket because there is always a test match starting and boating cos we have been out boating on boxing day for quite a few years.

Today was kinda funny... strange stuff happened today... the trailer lights wouldnt work, i caught a prawn (which i kept - i hope it will live... calling it "squibby"), there were fish jumping out of the water in the morning and biting furiously on lines then it suddenly went quiet with no bites, and the engine wouldnt start when we were on our way back.

Wakeboarding again for a bit... conditions were a bit rough tho (not a 6am start today!) Practising jumps... got a bit of air on a couple. Next step is to try to do jump 180's. Practise, practise, practise....

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Well it's Christmas again!
Started a great day with some wakeboarding... 7am... feeling a bit more comfortable on jumps but have to work on getting some more air.

Went to church this morning. It was good to see so many people there.... some people who are visiting and some new people. That's the great thing about Christmas - people who dont usually go to church seem to turn up. I guess there is a God-shaped hole in hearts and Christmas is a time when people seem to feel it and try to do something about it... It is a great opportunity for them to come and hear the gospel.

The bible reading was Matt 1:18-25. For the people who have been to National Training Event (NTE - Aust wide Christian training conference), you prob all remember preparing a bible study or talk on that passage. It's a great passage and so many things you could say. But Joseph was to give the baby the name "Jesus" because he would save his people from their sins.

At Christmas time we remember that amazing gift of Jesus - God provides his life and death on a cross in our place... to save us from the punishment we deserve for rejecting God.

I'm sorry if i'm rambling... just that this year i notice that the shopping centres play carols but not the lyrics... it's politically incorrect in this age to mention "Jesus". But why celebrate Christmas then? What does CHRISTmas mean if it's not about Jesus Christ?

Russ wakeboarding jump - i cant get that high...

Christmas spirit huh?

Last night i went shopping with Daph. We got to the carpark and were waiting for a spot with indicator on... A few cars were going but we'd started waiting for this spot so didnt move. Anyway, the car pulled out... and just as quickly, a Lebanese guy pulled straight into the spot we were waiting for. How incredibly rude!

So what do u say in that situation? I mean it's us... 2 girls... and the guy looked pretty mean. If we protest, there's no guarantee the guy isnt going to beat us up. So... unhappily we had to find another spot.

I'm writing this cos i'm still quite annoyed. I think it's just me... i'm kinda tired cos it's busy at work... and it doesnt take that much to make me a little cranky at the moment.

Pen Crazy

Ok... for the last week i've gone totally pen crazy. Sorry to all the people whom i've bought pens for as a present!

I lost my favourite pen a few weeks ago... and since then i've just been looking for a new fav pen... So i've actually found a few i like... and guess what... i bought them... so now i have a few pens...

Things are so busy at work that i have no time for paperwork. All my time at work at the moment is spent seeing patients so i have a stack of patient files and reports to write up... i've brought it all home to do... and my new pens are coming in handy!

Holding Serve

I just finished reading Michael Chang's biography today. I'm not a very good reader so it has taken me a couple of weeks. I've been trying to read more Christian books lately, this book I guess was just meant to be a lighter read.

I'll go back to the beginning. I must admit that I was never a big fan... maybe it was an asian thing. Cos he's asian, everybody i knew seemed to go for him. I must admit that he wasnt amongst my list of favourite tennis players... until... I found out that he is a Christian and I met him.

Think it was 2000 or 2001 when he came to Sydney. I was working at the tennis and drove him back to the hotel after a match. What struck me was his politeness and genuineness. A lot of the time when you're driving players around, they dont really talk to you or they can be quite rude (except for Andy Roddick!). I had Michael, his brother Carl and his dad in the car and they were just so incredibly nice and even included me in their conversation as we talked about Chinese Christian churches in Australia.

Anyway, going back to his book... i hope i'm not breaching major copyright laws but here are a couple of exerpts that really encouraged me:

"As I have thought about why I became a successful tennis player, I have come to the realisation that I cant answer that question because none of us can know the mind of God. Yet I have always held a strong feeling that God granted me a measure of on-court success because that allowed me the chance to tell others about Jesus Christ. That's why I have seen myself as an evangelist with a tennis racket ever since I won the French Open"

"It is often said that God cant do anything with you until He has broken you to the point where He can rebuild you. That's what He did with me. I had be holding on for so long. Trying too hard. And now I was going to relinquish it all to Him."

"If I have been able to draw people to the Lord through my tennis, then the fame and the money and the rankings wont compare to touching people's lives and encouraging them in the Lord, because that's someting that lasts a lifetime and beyond."

I guess in a world where we idolise pop, filmstars and sports people... I dont want to sound like that... but I must admit that I really admire Michael. I admire his honesty in everything he wrote about success, money, singleness, and his heart for Jesus' ministry. So I end with another quote...

"Be ye fishers of men, You catch 'em - he'll clean 'em."

U2

Yay... I got tix to U2.

I've really liked this band for ages... mainly for the way the Edge can turn 3 chords into an amazing song.

Woke up at 5am to go get tickets... sounds crazy but i'm figuring it's now or never... I didnt see them when they were here last and they're prob not likely to tour again anytime soon... I'll prob be like 40 if they decide to come again... and really they are gettin on too...

Now for the wait... So pumped to go see them... Resisting the temptation to turn my guitar amp up really loud and play Vertigo!

Blog Neglect...

Once again... blog neglect has struck... I havent blogged for quite a while. Mainly because i've been really really busy lately.

So what's new?

Work is same ol, same ol'. Today we were thinking that we seem to attract "home and away" ppl... not the stars... mainly their families.

Incidentally, I bumped into a guy off home and away about a week ago at Castle Towers. he plays the dad of lucas and the police guy on the show. i literally bumped into him, then thought he looked familiar... actually thought he was a patient whose name i prob should have known but couldnt remember. then he joined the queue behind me at the checkouts... i turned bright red when i realised where he was from... how embarrassing!

What else...

Well i have now paid for my course for next year. i'm studying the international chripractic sports diploma. it's gonna be weird.... and i dunno if i'm up for studying again but we'll see. it's gonna mean i'll be quite busy next year.

Big decisions...

decided to take a break next year and not lead a bible study group at church. more for me to just have some time to myself - i've been feeling that i just havent had that lately... when i dont get time to myself then i find i get kinda exhausted being around people all the time (esp with work)

Looking forward to a great wakeboarding season... went yesterday... not for long but the ol' body is feeling it... i'm sore from arms to toes!

Other than that.. my life is boring...