I love watching TV series’ on DVD. It is great as you can watch it at your own leisure and you don’t have to put up with the adds.

Anyway, my latest is Seachange. Jo and I have become addicted. It took awhile to get into but now I can’t seem to get enough. I mean I don’t know if it is as good as the West Wing or the Sopranos and definitely not Buffy but it sure is sweet and I am totally hooked.

Martin’s brother and his girlfriend had a baby yesterday. It is a little girl but they haven’t decided on a name for it yet. I wish I was there. Anyway congratulations to them I really hope and pray that all goes well for them and thier little girl.

I was not going to tell anyone this as I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do it and I thought it might be bragging or something but hey it’s my blog which is keeping a record of my life so I can. Not to mention the more people that know the more people to keep me accountable so here we go. For lent I have decided to not drink alcohol at home. I know that sounds rather lame in some ways and really I should just give it up all together but truth probably is I don’t want to do that and I don’t know if I see that is necessary. The reason I want to give it up is so I can use the time when I get home to pray or meditate or something rather than drink and really just be more present to my home. I am obviously not going to be doing that when out so I feel I can have a drink. Although I have not used my time as effectively as I can but well there is still time and I do feel better.

I have also joined the not buying anything new group. I love the idea. I think it is so great and the idea of going on after lent excites me but again I don’t know if I can. However Martin bought a new camera and given that you know my money is his money and his money is my money does that mean I bought it too. I also really like and was excited about him buying it. It is very cool you should all see it. On the other hand I can’t force him to do it (and I don’t want to if that is not his choice) and I don’t really want to separate everything so what can I do.

I have been meaning to write this post for about two weeks now but I knew it would be a long one (therefore anyone who’s not up to it can stop reading now) and I have not really had the energy to sit and do that. But then yesterday Jane said to me that I needed to write a long post for her to read and I told her that I had this long one coming and then she said that I should write a post about obedience which we had been talking about and I was shocked as that is exactly the post that I had been thinking about writing.

Okay so obedience who would ever have thought that I would ever wite a post about obedience. Certainly not be I hear the word and I put my guards up but that is the theme that was spoken about in church last week and it also the theme that came up in the book I was reading so I thought that I had best engage it.

So I found myself reading my bible. I was reading Galantians, Ephesiuns and Phillipians and I noted that Paul was giving lots of directions on how to live (as he does) and I thought that I would write them all down. So this is what I wrote:

trust in God who lavishly provides his prescence
be sensitive and kind
serve one another in love
live freely animated lives
don’t seek repetitve, loveless and cheap sex
have affection for others
be exuberant about life
stick with things, be committed
have compassion in your heart
don’t force your way in life
stay convicted to holiness
direct energy wisely
live creatively
forgvingly restore others
remember you may need forgiveness also
don’t criticise
stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed and share their burdens
make careful exploration of who you are
know your journey and work and sink yourself into it
don’t be impressed with yourself
don’t compare yourself with others -just take responsibilty for doing your creative best
be mature
enter into generous common life with other
share the good things you have and the experiences
don’t be mislead
don’t allow yourself to get fatigued by doing good
don’t boeast for anything but the cross
tear down walls between people
treat people as equals
walk the road that God calls you to travel with humility and discipline
steadily pour out yourselves to eachother
stay together but don’t be the same – remember out of genorsity Christ has given us our own gifts
take your lead from Christ
don’t go along with the crowd
don’t become obsessed with er
sex and perversions
tell the truth to yourself and other
allow yourself to be angry but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry forever.
get an honest job and help others work
watch the way you talk – say only what helps, each word as a gift
be gentle
be intimate with God
don’t be cautous with love but be extrvagant with it as Chrst was and don’t expect anything back
free yourself from gossip
make the most of every chance you get
don’t drink too much wine
sing prises to God at any chance you get
don’t abuse your body do what your parents tell you
don’t just don what you have to but go the extra mile
pray for eachother
be willinh to also suffer
be deep spirited friends’don’t push your way to the front but help other get ahead
be energetice
give up your earthly credentials and trust in God
don’t take the easy risk free path but stay focused on the goal
make it clear to those you meet that you are on their side and not against them
don’t worry – pray
fill your minds with things that are true, authentic, compelling and gracious
celebrate God
receiev and experience the amazing grace of Jesus deep, deep within you
allow God to shower his grace and kindness upon you.

And I have to say that is not all of them but I had to cut it as I need to go to church now. But anyway I don’t know about you but for me after reading that list obedience to God didn’t seem like somthing I wanted to put my bac about against but something exciting and fun and altogether wonderful.

I got a haircut last night and I think I look quite different. Everyone who has seen me at work today has said so too so I am letting you all know so you don’t have to say it.

I am quite happy with it at the moment but I guess we will really find out when the nice blow drying that the clever hardressers do goes away and it is left up to me to style it.

Martin, Jo and I are going to this:

http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/pages/content.asp?plid=44

and I think everyone else should come too…..

Woke up feeling pretty crappy – sort of stressed and up tight and I couldn’t shake it. I tried to read the bible but it annoyed me too so I went searching for a prayer that I wrote a little while ago in some of my old diaries. That was the worst idea that I had as I ended up reading my diary from when I was about 17 and 18. What a total jerk I was. How absolutlety embarassing and made me feel more anxious. So finally I tried some meditation but that didn’t feel good either.

So I made some peppermint tea for Jo and I and went and sat in her room. She was chatting to Jem which I did for a bit and then we decided to do some art. I drew a leunig and it was unbelieveably soothing. We also put on some John Coleman and he always makes me feel like everything is right with the world. After Jo made some very yummy lunch I lay on her floor and read some poems and here is one that I founf by Noel Davis. He like John and Luenig some how manages to make everything feel okay.

Called to be loving reminders for eachother

We need to tell and retell stories in word and deed
that keep reminding us of what we most forget
that our essence is Love
our destiny Divine
and that Love ebbs and flows
from the heart of our being
to the far shores of the universe
when we dare to listen adn to acknowledge
our loving self
to let go into one another and let our fragile lives
be drawn way out of their depth
into the living flow
of You

It has been a very long week and I am exhausted. Probably the biggest I have had since I started at Compeer. I am very much looking forward to going home, attending my meditation group and then having dinner, wine and a catch up with my sister. And then I will have a big sleep in tommorrow.

Given that I have been such a slack blogger during the month of January I thought I might do a catch up list about what I have been doing. So January was the month that..

I attended RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award). I really loved some of it and learnt a lot but I really hated some of it and still shudder when I think about it. But all in all I think that it was worth doing and I met some really great people. Probably the most important lesson that I learnt was that not everybody is going to like me all the time. And to realise that and not have my whole sense of self caught up in what others think is unbelievably liberating.

Was really busy at work. It is a relief to have lots to do but I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all.

Saw Keating with my mum. I think it was one of the funniest things that I have seen in a long time and mum and I had a great time together too.

Jem left for Mexico. I am very sad and feel like I am going to miss her heaps. It was so wonderful living with her in 2006. But I am very excited for her and it has been so great reading her blog. It has makde me excited about travel again.

Have started settling into my church and really loving it. So nice to be part of one again and have met some awesome people. Yay for St John’s Glebe.

I went to Tamworth for country music and of course to see my family. It was okay but so many poeple around and I think now when I take a holiday I want to get away from people. It was nice coming home and again feeling really happy when I pulled into Enmore Rd. It really feels like home.

Continued my love affair with Isabel Allende. I am reading Of love and Shadows now and I am really enjoying it.

First day back at work and I am finding it very hard to get back into the swing of things. I am however very excited about tonight. Martin and I were invited to some people’s house from our new church for dinner. We only met them on Sunday and we were sitting around chatting to them and then they said, “Hey you guys should come around for dinner on Wednesday” and we said, “Yes”. Then they got a little embarassed and asked, “was that too full on?” and we said, “Not at all, we are like that too” and we are. It should be good and I am happy to be making more connections with the community.