All I Want For My Birthday Is....

....to not get gastro.....unlike what happened the day after my birthday last year.

I have a Viennetta in the freezer I'd quite like to enjoy tomorrow, too.  It's an annual tradition for me.

Image from here

Happy Birthday to me for tomorrow!  You too, Libby, if you're reading this post.

5 More Sequels Which Were As Good As Or Better Than the Original

Here are my first five.

1.  The Gods Must Be Crazy/The Gods Must Be Crazy II

2.  Terminator/Terminator 2: Judgment Day

3.  Father of the Bride/Father of the Bride: Part II

4.  Shrek/Shrek 2

5.  The Wizard of Oz/Return to Oz

Decluttering

I'm currently in the process of some major decluttering.  I have SO MUCH JUNK! Everything must go! Yes, I'm in nesting overdrive.

My study is being transformed into Rory's new bedroom and the new baby will have Rory's current room. When they're older maybe they can share a room, but until then the contents of my study are either being thrown out, recycled, sold, given away, or relocated around the house.

Which brings me to the point of this post....I really don't understand hoarders!

What is the point of hanging onto things that you don't use or don't work, saying "I'll use it/fix it one day."?  Guess what? Chances are 'one day' will never come. Throw it out!

I hear so many people complaining that they need a bigger house for all of their stuff. Unless you're a family of seven in a two bedroom apartment, how about you just have an almighty decluttering session instead? 

I don't get it. Please explain....

Against the Wind by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

Sometimes life really does feel like I'm running against the wind. I could really relate to these lyrics during that lost feeling I had during my first year of uni...until Jesus found me.

And the years rolled slowly past,

And I found myself alone,

Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends,

I found myself further and further from my home.

And I guess I lost my way,

There were oh so many roads.

Against the wind,

I'm still running against the wind.

I'm older now, but still running against the wind.

Well, I'm older now, but still running against the wind.

Lyrics from here

The Church Often Gets This Wrong

Yesterday's Bible verse tells us to warn those who are idle, encourage the timid and help the weak.

Unfortunately the church often gets this so wrong - warning the timid and the weak rather than helping and encouraging.

Too often churches mistake reluctance to serve as laziness, when it is really due to fear or shyness.  The church focuses on the people they WANT, rather than the people they HAVE. Instead of encouraging people to use their gifts as part of the body of Christ, people get bent out of shape, like square pegs being squashed into round holes. They focus on what ministries and personalities they want, instead of trusting that God has arranged His church just as He wants it. I've blogged about this before in The Young Adult Body Part.

How about we all realise that not everyone is an outgoing, dynamic leader-type....and that's ok. Some people will step out of their comfort zones....but with encouragement, support and proper training. I think that's why a lot of people are reluctant to serve on committees, as they're aware they're just going to be chucked into an unfamiliar role by someone who's desperate to get out of it, and be expected to swim.  Proper 'handover' takes a lot longer than 30 minutes.

Bible Verse of the Day

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

It's Too Long!

It looks like I won't be entering that writing competition after all...my book is double the length of the maximum word count permissable (yes, it's an epic!).

Pah!

Back to hunting for more competitions and agents:

Manuscript Monday - Pan Macmillan Australia accept the first 100 pages from an unpublished manuscript on the first Monday of every month.

Monthly Catch - Penguin Books Australia accepts unpublished manuscripts during the first week of each month.

I think I need to enter some short story competitions as well so I have an impressive resume.