A Great Prayer

This prayer was sent to me via email a few years ago. You may have already seen it before. I think it has been around cyberspace a bit.

Dear God

I thank you for this day.
I thank you for being able to see and hear this morning.
I'm blessed because you are a forgiving God and an understanding God.
Yu have done so much for me and you keep on blessing me.
Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you.
I ask now for your forgiveness.
Please keep me safe from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from you.
Please broaden my mind so that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.
Let me continue to see sin through your eyes and acknowledge it as evil.
And when I sin, let me repent and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing and receive your forgiveness.
And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits.
I know that when I can't pray, you listen to my heart.
Continue to use me to do your will.
Continue to bless me so that I may be a blessing to others.
Keep me strong that I may help the weak.
Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others.
I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way.
I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood.
I pray for those who don't know you intimately.
I pray for those who don't believe, but I thank you that I believe.
I believe that you change people and change things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers, and for each and every family member in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes, that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye who has read this knows there is no problem, circumstance or situation greater than you.
Every battle is in your hands for you to fight.
I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.
This is my prayer.
Lord, I love you and I need you; come into my heart, please.
Amen

P.S. Thanks God for the rain, even though it soaked my washing and then me when I ran out to get it. But it's so good to have rain. Cheers :)

Black Friday Not So Black

Well, I'm back from dinner and I can say that Black Friday has ended on a much brighter note. Although today wasn't really bad, it was just annoying and maybe it was a test? But I had dinner with my friend and the other friend and I really enjoyed it. It was great spending time with them. I didn't feel left out at all. I'm thankful that the day has ended well and I know God was behind it. I'm always astounded how God cares so much about the little details of our lives and blesses us abundantly in so many ways, often ways that I don't even notice cos I've been grumbling.

I only celebrated my first month blog birthday last week and I'm already realising how I need to decide what to blog and what not to. I don't want to bitch or vent dramatically on the internet but I feel lead to keep it real with all the ups and downs. I'm sure when I read over my not so good posts, I'll learn something and realise it was all part of my journey. Maybe I blog for a couple of years, I can look back at my archives and see how far God has brought me.

He continues to blow me away every day :)

Black Friday???

Is today Black Friday? No, I checked the date and it's the 28th July. It sure feels like it's the 13th though.

Everything just seems to be going wrong today. Not drastically wrong and I'll pray it stays that way. Just wrong nevertheless - and some of it's my own doing.

One of my bad habits is not writing everything in my diary. At work I have a paper diary and an Outlook calendar. So now I have to remember to put all my commitments in both of them. God has blessed me with a long-term memory worthy of an elephant. Sadly I can't say the same for my short-term memory. Emma can testify the number of times I've misplaced my wallet, mobile, keys or a combination of the above.

Another two of my bad habits are oversleeping and dawdling - both which lead to the dreaded lateness disease. The lateness disease is one which seems to affect Perthites in epic proportions.

Today I stayed in bed 40 minutes past my alarm and then spent ages doing the washing and dawdling and consequently was running late for work. The next thing that went wrong was that I thought I had a shift on the Enquiries desk in the morning so I went down there and started up the computer. I'd completely forgotten that I was meant to be an observer at a talk one of my workmates was giving for new students. She had wondered where I was so had left without me. So I had to race up to the other end of campus, find the room and was 10 minutes late. Luckily I wasn't the one giving the talk.

Then later I was giving a talk to 35 new students for orientation week and I was showing them how to use the catalogue to find their course readings - and the catalogue died. It was kinda embarrassing but funny and I tried to make the best of it and showed them some other stuff for their course. They were good about it though but it was frustrating.

Tonight I was going to be catching up with a friend who I hadn't seen for a while. Then I found out she was bringing someone else along and hoped I didn't mind.

Well YES I did mind. I was looking forward to catching up with my friend alone. I have nothing against the other friend, she's nice and all but I'd rather she asked me BEFORE she invited her other friend. Of course now I had no choice but to say 'yes that's ok' otherwise the other friend will think I'm a total cow. Oh well, I'll suppose I'll just have to go and hope that we have a good time all the same.

Grrr. I know some of it's my own fault. Please Lord don't let anything REALLY bad happen. On the good side - I ate a very nice piece of fudge that I brought back from Victoria. I suppose you can't go a whole day without ONE good thing happening.

Lesson 1 from Sarah's School of Dating

I know you've all been looking forward to this since I mentioned it in my second post....admit it :P

I also know what you're thinking. What gives her the right to start a dating school on the internet? What right does she have to give advice?

Well.....
a) This is not really a dating school. There is no building and there are no fees. Yes, this is absolutely FREE peoples. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is, right? Well, that's wrong where the gospel is concerned. Jesus really did take the punishment we deserved so we could be reconciled with God. That's GOOD and TRUE. My dating wisdom is NOT gospel truth but you may be interested anyway.

b) I have the right to give advice cos I'm a person, I have an opinion and this is my very own chunk of cyberspace to say it. And I'm not forcing anything on anybody. It's your choice to be here :P

Okay, so here's lesson 1 - FREE!

Picture this scenario (and I'm aiming this session at Christians).
A Christian guy/girl approaches you about starting a relationship or is giving you signals that they're VERY interested. You just consider this person a friend and are not interested in taking it any further. It may be because you feel you're too different and it wouldn't work, you're going in different directions, you find them physically unattractive, you may find their annoying habits unbearable if you got together, there's a massive age difference etc etc. I'm sure you can think of various other reasons why people refuse the offer of a relationship.

But what do you actually tell them? Here's this person putting themselves on the line, facing rejection and opening themselves up to you about their feelings and you know you're gonna reject them. Do you say:
a) Sorry, I just see you as a friend (or something similar).
b) Walk away laughing.
c) Tell them you want to stay single to focus on God.

The reason behind this post is that I have seen this situation before and often answer C is given.

Now don't get me wrong here. Focusing on God is a wonderful thing. I fully respect people who do this and often God calls people to do it during certain stages of their walk with him. I'm not saying everyone should get married. God loves and uses both married and single people for his purposes. The problem I have is with people who give answer C when the real reason is one of the others I listed above. They're just saying that but they really just don't want a relationship with that person.

My advice is this peoples. If someone asks you out and you just don't feel the same way, definitely don't give answer B or C if it isn't true. The only kind answer to give is a variation of answer A. I fully respect the courage of people who ask others out with a sincere motive, it takes a lot of guts to admit your true feelings for someone and risk losing their friendship. They've done a HUGE thing so please be honest and gentle with them. You don't have to feel the same way, just be honest.

If you lie and say you're focusing on God when you're really on the lookout for someone else, the person who asked you out is going to be very confused and hurt if you do meet and start going out with someone else a short while later. They're going to think, why is he/she going out with someone else so soon when they said they were focusing on God? They may be hurt that you weren't honest and you may be seen as a liar.

Of course, God should remain our primary focus all the time, whether we're single or not but as sinful humans we often get distracted.

I hope I haven't offended anyone. This post is NOT meant as a dig at any particular person. As they say in movie credits -any similarities to any persons living or dead is purely a coincidence (or something along those lines).

So that concludes lesson 1. Hey, I could start up my own website - Ask Sed. Like Ask Ted. Get it? Get it? Woohoo :D

Quote of the Day

This is a great quote (and very true) from one of my favourite movies - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

There are no perfect men in this world - only perfect intentions.
- Azeem in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

Hey, if you've got a favourite or funny quote to share, leave a comment. Nothing rude or offensive thanks.

Please Pray...

If you are reading this post, please pray for my Mum. She is not a Christian and since I became one in October 2001, it has made our relationship rather difficult at times. Yet at times over the past few years, it has seemed the Spirit has been at work in her and she has expressed a desire to come to church in Albany a few times and she also wanted to read More Than A Carpenter which I have lent her. Then at other times, she has been abusive towards me about Christian stuff and told me I wasn't a real Christian and that all Christians are mentally ill and hide in the church because they can't face their problems. I always invite her and the rest of the family to church but explain there is no pressure and I'm not going to force them to come. Usually she makes any excuse not to come but a couple of times she has surprised me by suddenly announcing that she would like to go to church with me. One of those occasions was yesterday so she and I are going to church tomorrow morning before I head back to Perth.

When I'm down in Albany I go to the Church of Christ. I used to live just down the street from it and I have friends that either still go there or used to go there plus I know their families and have gradually got to know more people. I love it there, everyone is very nice and I am now famous as Emma's housemate (kidding!) ;). I can also see how gracious God has been to that church, how everyone is coming together and reaching out to the community.

My Mum has come along to the Church of Christ a few times and seemed quite comfortable there. There are lots of people her age and she already knows some other people there. Recently a lady from the church (who we used to live near) has started to come into the physio place where Mum works as a receptionist and Mum has said how nice she thinks this lady is and how much she enjoys chatting to her. I'm praying that God is working here.

So please pray that my Mum and the rest of my family come to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour and experience fellowship with other Christians. Pray she will be touched by the message tomorrow and will be dissatisfied with what the world has to offer and realise Jesus is what she needs. Also pray for the guest speaker tomorrow that he will speak clearly and faithfully to God's word. It's sometimes hard being the only Christian in my family; I stuff up heaps but I know God will use me despite this. Pray that I will trust him too and have patience.

Ta :)

Chill Out Time

Just as soon as one trip is over, another one begins. I came home from Victoria on Monday then I spent Tuesday washing, ironing, shopping and packing and managed to squeeze in a walk with Emma down at the South Perth foreshore, a brief gym workout (punishment for bad eating on holidays) then bible study with the girls.

Now I'm in Albany and will be down here in my home town until Sunday arvo. I'm hoping for some real chill out time down here to practice singing, watch videos, write my novel, blog and catch up with family and friends. This morning I caught up with my good friend, Rachel, and met her new boyfriend, Nick who was very nice. Tomorrow, Rachy and I are having lunch and she's gonna show me how much everything's changed down here since I was last down at Easter. Apparantly the Albany folk are stoked cos they have Target and Best and Less hehehe. I also found out one of my favourite restaurants, Neros has closed down :(. Dome is also going to be opening here soon in the building that used to be part of my old primary school. They demolished the rest of the school to build the new building that Target and others are in. How weird to think that people are going to be drinking coffee where I did Year 7.

Tomorrow night I'm going to catch up with another good friend of mine, Rianna. And of course I've just got to visit the beach. I won't be swimming though - only the grannies are crazy enough to do that.

It's weird being back in Albany. My cats, Ellie and Marmalade and my goldfishes, Aquarius and George are pleased to see me (well as much as the fish can remember anything ;)). It all feels very nostalgic and I'm sure when I go down the main street I'll see about 50 people I know. Makes me feel like a celebrity; it's so easy to be anonymous in Perth.

It's good to be back :)

End of the Grand Adventure

Well I'm back in WA after a week in lovely (but cold) Victoria. And I had a great time so I thought I'd share with you a day-by-day account of my movements in the Big V.

Monday - I arrived in Melbourne at 7pm. Sarah's dad picked us up and drove us back to Warragul. Melbourne looks beautiful at night with all the lights and I got to see the Telstra Dome, the MCG and some funny-looking convention centre which looks like a cow shed (Perth's convention centre looks much better).

Tuesday - Sarah and I went into town and met up with one of Sarah's friends from high school, Rowena. We had lunch and looked around Warragul and then went to the movies to see Superman Returns (wait until it comes out on video).

Wednesday - This was a chill out day. We walked the dogs, Molly and Lola around the neighbourhood and I had my first experience picking up a dog turd with a plastic bag. We spent the rest of the day watching videos and then went for a drive out to Morwell and Moe so I got to see a bit more of the state.

Thursday - My first adventure in the big city. We drove to Melbourne, arriving about lunchtime and dropped our stuff off at the Victoria Hotel where we would be staying for one night. After buying a throw-away camera and grabbing lots of free maps, brochures and tram timetables we were off.

Botanical Gardens
These are huge so I didn't get to see much of them but I saw the war memorial and Government House. I would so LOVE to have a picnic there and just lie on the grass.

Then we headed to Ascot Vale on the tram to see Andrew and Heather (the former CCC pastor and his wife who now live in Melbourne). Then it was out to dinner and then to Hard Rock Cafe for icecream. I felt sooo sick after that.

Friday -
Queen Victoria Markets
These are so much bigger than the Freo markets and there are a million ugg boot stalls!

Bridge Rd, Richmond
I'd been looking forward to this - shopping at direct factory outlets! Unfortunately a lot of it is a rip off and you have to hunt around to find good bargains. I got a dress for $30 so I was happy :)

Picasso exhibition
This is not my kind of art but it was still quite interesting. I much prefer nice beach scenes while Picasso draws people's noses on their cheeks and their eyes on their chins. I don't think we would have got along.

St Kilda
I ventured down to St Kilda on the tram - and all by myself! It was disappointing as I couldn't find a renovated cottage to photograph for the novel I plan to write next (the characters live in one). There are lots of mansions and tall skinny terrace housing. But I took some pics of the bay and the beach and of Fitzroy Street and then walked past a gym that was down on the beach and saw lots of old rich people working out (it was a posh gym).

MCG
Definitely one of the highlights of my trip (of course) ;) Yep, on Friday night we all went to the Melbourne vs Richmond game at the G. Now Sarah's family are all Dees' supporters so of course I went along as a fake Dees' fan for the night. I'm not a traitor - really I'm not! It was ironic that I had brought a red scarf and a blue scarf with me. I nearly didn't get in because I had a bottle of wine in my bag that I'd bought as a thank you present for Sarah's parents but I ended up leaving it in the cloakroom (although the man at the gate told me I should drink it). There wasn't any biff though but I was told I need to go to an Essendon vs Collingwood game to see some psychos getting stuck into it.

After the game we headed back to Warragul.

Saturday - In the morning we cleaned up the house in preparation for the big family reunion that Sarah's parents were going to be hosting the next day. In the arvo, Sarah and I went to Yarragon (a little farming, toursity place right near Warragul). We visited craft shops, a second-hand bookshop, lolly shop and the cafe. I bought heaps of lollies for myself and to take home for my family but my favourite buy would have to be my new golly. I guess it's considered racist to call them golliwogs now so I just call him Golly. I've always wanted one since I was little and read Enid Blyton books.
On Saturday night, we went out to dinner at one of the local pubs with Sarah's friend, Matt, and his girlfriend, Lisa. The pub soon got pretty boring after we finished eating an talking amongst ourselves. There was only one pool table and there was so much cigarette smoke that we ended up leaving and heading to the nightclub. So I got to experience Warragul's nightlife with all the teeny-boppers and bogans and the like. I don't usually like going out to places like pubs and clubs unless I have a big group of friends with me and I go cos I love dancing NOT to be hit on by creeps and drunk people so at times I felt a bit uncomfortable.

Sunday - After getting home at 3am, we slept in and then all the family started arriving around lunchtime. I have quite a small extended family in comparison so it was kinda tiring but they were all very nice. Then came the cleanup.

Monday - It was time for me to leave. Sarah's sister, Emily took me to Melbourne but before she dropped me at the airport, we headed to the Direct Factory Outlets in Essendon to do some last minute shopping. I FINALLY got a new pair of boots after looking all over Perth and not being able to find any I liked. So I got on the plane happy.

My opinions of Melbourne

• It is so BIG. Well, obviously being 3.5 times the size of Perth. I got blisters just by walking around.
• A lot of people live centrally in terrace housing where there is about a metre between the front door and the fence. You have to go to the outer suburbs to get a decent backyard.
• It's so old. In the CBD you can really feel the history of the place which I don't feel in the Perth CBD. I have to go to Freo to feel it.
• The public transport system is heaps better. Although tram fares are more expensive and there are not many seats, it's much more regular and convenient.
• The atmosphere is much more rushed and busy and party-like. When Sarah and I went to Hard Rock Cafe at 10pm, there were people getting meals there and then just going out. Obviously sleep is not a high priority on weeknights. People walk much quicker too.
• At times I found myself getting stressed and irritable and I had to keep reminding myself that I was on HOLIDAY. There was just so much to do in so little time and I am one of those people who try to cram too much into unrealistic periods of time.
• There were many lovely strangers who helped us out with directions when we were lost, even before we asked. Praise God!
• St Kilda Beach is nowhere near as good as Perth beaches.

Overall, I liked Melbourne and just two weeks before my trip when I was really low and confused about where my life was going and what God had planned, I just wanted to move to Melbourne and start afresh. How ironic that just two weeks later, God allowed me to visit there. I still don't know if I could live there. I don't like being really busy and stressed all the time and I guess I'd have to have a reason for moving there. I don't know but God does.

It was a wonderful trip and just what I needed. God was faithful and took care of me even when I tried to do things on my own strength. Thanks God!

My Big Adventure!!!

Today I fly out to Melbourne for a week long holiday with my friend, Sarah. And in the words of (the late) Big Kev - I'M EXCITED :D

a) It's my first time on a plane - yes, I've waited 23 years for this flight. There are babies that have flown more than me.

b) It's my first time out of WA.

We're staying at Sarah's parents' place in Warragul (about an hour from Melbourne) but will spend a lot of time in the big city. Shopping, food, snow (we're going to the mountains - my first time seeing snow too), trams......I'm reeaaadddyyy!

And it's gonna be so good to have a break from work. I also hope to take some pics of St Kilda which is where my second book (which will be Christian fiction) is mostly going to be set.

Maybe I should wear my Eagles' gear and see what kind of reaction I get ;)

Praise God!

Dirty Dogs

The nerve of the Western Bulldogs, coming here and beating the mighty mighty WCE on their home turf. Now all the Vics will think they can come here and win. Kick a Vic, I say. Yes, I'm extremely one-eyed and I don't like to admit when the other team played well, even though I suppose the Dogs did really.

I watched the first half of the match at Kate's place before I left for church but I had set my VCR to record the second half. That's what I do when I have to go out when the Eagles are playing. I tape the match and then get the score on my mobile. If they win, then I watch the match with glee (especially if it's a thrashing, I love a good thrashing, particularly when we thrash the Dorkers). If we lose, then I quickly tape over it.

So as soon as church finished, I got the score and let a rather loud 'Nooooooooo' which alarmed Duncan. I think he thought someone must have died.

I saw the footage on TV later of Big Cox (no I'm not being rude - he's the ruckman) going down with a broken collarbone. Well now, Michael Gardiner has a chance to show his dubious pastimes are well behind him and get back to his 2003 form.

I really hope this week the Eagles can dig their way out of this form slump they've found themselves in. Yes, they've only lost the past two matches and are 10-3 on the season which is very good but they haven't thrashed anyone this year apart from Brisbane and Richmond and, they're well, Brisbane and Richmond. One of the so-called 'wise men of the East' reckoned it's because we don't have Phil Matera anymore but I dunno. Everyone was talking about the Eagles amazing comebacks against Geelong and Carlton but they should never have let themselves get in such a position against such crap teams anyway. I missed both of those due to being at the State Youth Games and then Chris, Hester and Kayla's farewell. It's probably a good thing too - my heart wouldn't have been able to stand it.

Woosha has wielded the axe this week and a jolly good thing too. May Hawthorn be thrashed tomorrow. I'll be watching.

GO THE MIGHTY WEST COAST EAGLES!

This is Funny!

I did a feature film scriptwriting class in my 2nd year of uni (in 2002) which was heaps of fun. The tutor gave us all this handout which contains some pretty common scenarios that happen in movies. Read through it, see how many movies you can recall that contain these scenes - and laugh!

TIPS FOR BUDDING SCREENWRITERS

1. During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.
2. All telephone numbers in America begin with the digits 555.
3. Most dogs are immortal.
4. If being chased through town, you can usually take cover in a passing St Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year.
5. All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets which reach up to the armpit level on a woman but only to waist level on a man lying beside her.
6. All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
7. It's easy for anyone to land a plane providing there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.
8. Once applied, lipstick will never rub off - even while scuba diving.
9. The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No-one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other parts of the building you want without difficulty.
10. If you need to reload your gun, you will always have more ammunition even if you haven't been carrying any before now.
11. You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
12. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do.
13. If your town is threatened by an imminent natural disaster or killer beast, the mayor's first concern will be the tourist trade or his forthcoming art exhibition.
14. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.
15. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
16. If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown throught it before long.
17. The Chief of Police is always black.
18. When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a bill - just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.
19. Interbreeding is genetically possible with any creature from elsewhere in the universe.
20. Kitchens don't have light switches. When entering a kitchen at night, you should open the fridge door and use that light instead.
21. If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear.
22. Word processors never display a cursor on screen but will always say: Enter Password Now.
23. Mothers routinely cook eggs, bacon and waffles for their family every morning even though their husband and children never have time to eat it.
24. Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames. The Chief of Police will always suspend his star detective - or give him 48 hours to finish the job.
25. A single match will be sufficient to light up a room the size of RFK stadium.
26. Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.
27. Although in the 20th century it is possible to fire weapons at an object out of our visible range, people of the 23rd century will have lost this technology.
28. Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.
29. It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.
30. Even when driving down a perfectly straight road it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.
31. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off.
32. It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting.
33. A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.
34. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.
35. Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communicatioon systems of any invading alien civilization.
36. If doesn not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts - your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.
37. When a person is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, they will never suffer a concussion or brain damage.
38. No-one involved in a car chase, hijacking, explosion, volcanic eruption or alien invasion will ever go into shock.
39. Police Departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.
40. When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other.
41. You can always find a chainsaw when you need one.
42. Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds - unless it's the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.
43. An electric fence, powerful enough to kill a dinosaur, will cause no lasting damage to an eight year old child.
44. Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at that precise moment.

Apparently this was written by a Mr K Costner. Not sure if it's THE Mr Kevin Costner.