This has to be one of my favourite 'church songs' except we don't sing it at my church up here which is a great shame. Based on yesterday's Bible verse from Job, it highlights the reality of following Christ in this world, and shows me that I both fail to praise God in the good times and the bad. We had this song at our wedding because it emphasised our vows to each other as well as to God....to follow and praise him and stick with each other whatever may come our way.
Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in
Lord, still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name.
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bible Verse of the Day
.....The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.
Job 1:21
Job 1:21
Friday, March 26, 2010
It's Baaaack!
Yep, Round 1 of the AFL season started last night.
Someone said to me a week or so ago, they reckoned I must be excited and counting down the days. I was like, "Huh?!? To what?" Yes, I've been a little distracted, especially since I'd resigned myself to a long (and BORING) summer of cricket.
Duncan is not so overjoyed that his wife will be preoccupied for three hours every weekend. Not that he can talk.....I had to amuse myself while he was busy watching cricket!
I hope to see a lot more moments like these in 2010.
CARN EAGLES!!!!
Images are from http://thelittlefish.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html and http://www.theage.com.au/news/afl/one-with-the-lot/2006/09/30/1159337389973.html and http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/eagles-down-fighting-swans/2006/09/30/1159337382150.html
Someone said to me a week or so ago, they reckoned I must be excited and counting down the days. I was like, "Huh?!? To what?" Yes, I've been a little distracted, especially since I'd resigned myself to a long (and BORING) summer of cricket.
Duncan is not so overjoyed that his wife will be preoccupied for three hours every weekend. Not that he can talk.....I had to amuse myself while he was busy watching cricket!
I hope to see a lot more moments like these in 2010.
CARN EAGLES!!!!
Images are from http://thelittlefish.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html and http://www.theage.com.au/news/afl/one-with-the-lot/2006/09/30/1159337389973.html and http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/eagles-down-fighting-swans/2006/09/30/1159337382150.html
Thursday, March 25, 2010
KFC For Me
It's no secret that I miss my KFC since moving up here. So much so that one night I decided to make my own.
Well, it almost looked the same. Alas, it didn't taste the same. I wish I had the Colonel's secret recipe.
I wonder if he'll sell it to me.....
Well, it almost looked the same. Alas, it didn't taste the same. I wish I had the Colonel's secret recipe.
I wonder if he'll sell it to me.....
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Marriage 101: Guys Only and Girls Only
In the last post in this series, I wrote about the importance of having a regular date night.
In this post, I'm going to tell you all to leave hubby or wifey or partner or random other and go and let your hair down with your same sex friends.
Many single people accuse marrieds of being like an island....separate and liking it that way. However, I'm here to tell you that no matter how much it may appear that way, married people need their friends. Not just other couples, but friends of the same gender, the friends you had before you were married.
You see, no matter how much I enjoy being with Duncan, there is one thing I am very aware of......he is not a woman! Well, duh! That means that he doesn't 'get me' the way other women do. We have had COUNTLESS conversations where I'm trying to explain the female point-of-view to him, and he just can't understand (not that I 'get' men that easily myself).
Not only are there differences in opinions, but there differences in interests. Because it's a well-known fact that most men don't enjoy clothes shopping or similar activities, married couples tend to do more 'blokey' or at least neutral things together, like camping or fishing. These are fine, I enjoy these things, but I also need 'girl time'. And blokes need to be blokes just as much which they can't always do in the company of their wife.
Since being married and having moved away, I've found it harder to maintain close relationships with my female friends. Our catch-ups tend to be fleeting and, due to the limited time we have when in Perth, it's often easier to see people in a group. Marriages need a lot of time, love and energy poured into them in order for them to flourish, which means you need to be super-organised to catch up with others as well.
Last year, Duncan had his brother and two of their mates up for a blokes' weekend at our place. I took this as my cue to leave and spent the weekend in Perth with a close friend, whose husband was up at ours. It was a GREAT weekend. Sometimes I think it's good for couples to spend time apart and rekindle other relationships. In April, Duncan and the same group of blokes (plus a few others) are having a similar weekend in Guilderton, and, this time, I'm staying home and have invited the same friend to come and visit.
When I was living with Emma, she got invited to a girls' weekend by one of her friends from church. They had a big girly sleepover and some pampering, and the girl who was hosting the weekend had one rule for everyone. Contacting significant others or answering calls/texts from them was banned! The reason for this was that she didn't want the single girls to feel excluded. The whole idea of the weekend was to get away from couples and concentrate on just being girls together and having fun. Fair enough, I say. I've been to women's events before when I was single, and some of the women did nothing but talk about their husbands and kids the WHOLE TIME!
Couples need date nights, but they also need guys/girls only nights.
So...have you organised your next blokey or girly adventure yet?
In this post, I'm going to tell you all to leave hubby or wifey or partner or random other and go and let your hair down with your same sex friends.
Many single people accuse marrieds of being like an island....separate and liking it that way. However, I'm here to tell you that no matter how much it may appear that way, married people need their friends. Not just other couples, but friends of the same gender, the friends you had before you were married.
You see, no matter how much I enjoy being with Duncan, there is one thing I am very aware of......he is not a woman! Well, duh! That means that he doesn't 'get me' the way other women do. We have had COUNTLESS conversations where I'm trying to explain the female point-of-view to him, and he just can't understand (not that I 'get' men that easily myself).
Not only are there differences in opinions, but there differences in interests. Because it's a well-known fact that most men don't enjoy clothes shopping or similar activities, married couples tend to do more 'blokey' or at least neutral things together, like camping or fishing. These are fine, I enjoy these things, but I also need 'girl time'. And blokes need to be blokes just as much which they can't always do in the company of their wife.
Since being married and having moved away, I've found it harder to maintain close relationships with my female friends. Our catch-ups tend to be fleeting and, due to the limited time we have when in Perth, it's often easier to see people in a group. Marriages need a lot of time, love and energy poured into them in order for them to flourish, which means you need to be super-organised to catch up with others as well.
Last year, Duncan had his brother and two of their mates up for a blokes' weekend at our place. I took this as my cue to leave and spent the weekend in Perth with a close friend, whose husband was up at ours. It was a GREAT weekend. Sometimes I think it's good for couples to spend time apart and rekindle other relationships. In April, Duncan and the same group of blokes (plus a few others) are having a similar weekend in Guilderton, and, this time, I'm staying home and have invited the same friend to come and visit.
When I was living with Emma, she got invited to a girls' weekend by one of her friends from church. They had a big girly sleepover and some pampering, and the girl who was hosting the weekend had one rule for everyone. Contacting significant others or answering calls/texts from them was banned! The reason for this was that she didn't want the single girls to feel excluded. The whole idea of the weekend was to get away from couples and concentrate on just being girls together and having fun. Fair enough, I say. I've been to women's events before when I was single, and some of the women did nothing but talk about their husbands and kids the WHOLE TIME!
Couples need date nights, but they also need guys/girls only nights.
So...have you organised your next blokey or girly adventure yet?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Flat 24
Here are a couple of photos from the bogan student housing flat I lived in during my first year of uni in 2001. Unfortunately I never got any photos when it was at its worst (too upset to even THINK of getting my camera probably) but here are a couple. As you can see, the flat itself was actually quite decent (it was only built in 1998), but it was the people who lived in it who made it into a squalor.
I just had to take this photo. One of the guys actually doing dishes...a rare sight! Note the Holly Valance poster above the sink and the stolen shopping trolley advert posters next to it.
The guys' bathroom. It ended being so disgusting, they kept using the girls' which annoyed the heck out of me. The photo doesn't actually do it justice....the floor and wall tiles are covered in mould and grime, and, yes, that is a drinking funnel on the floor.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Friday Funny
I received the following text message from a friend a couple of weeks ago about a funny conversation she had with her boyfriend. I had a good chuckle. (Note: Names have been initialised to protect identities). :)
How's this for a mere male? I told T I had just bought a 4 Ingredients cookbook so we could make some quick healthy meals together. He replied, "Yeah sounds okay, but we'd probably get sick of the same four ingredients."
Haha.
How's this for a mere male? I told T I had just bought a 4 Ingredients cookbook so we could make some quick healthy meals together. He replied, "Yeah sounds okay, but we'd probably get sick of the same four ingredients."
Haha.
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