Quotable Friday, Vol. 16 (Monday Edition) December 30, 2007

“[...]and I will sleep beneath the stars and whisper thank you to the Creator of the universe, as a way of reacquainting myself to an old friend, a friend who says you don’t have to be smart or good-looking or religious or anything; you just have to cling to Him, love Him, need Him, listen to His story.”

Donald Miller
Through Painted Deserts

I haven’t give much thought yet to what I want 2008 to be for me, but God has been teaching me a lot about grace while I’ve been here in Australia. I realized I’ve never really accepted it…that I always thought I have to get it right, do it perfectly, be smart and good-looking and super spiritual for Him to be pleased with me. I don’t have to strive to prove to Him that I’m thankful. In 2008, I want to cling to His love, to depend on Him instead of myself, to sit at His feet and look into His eyes and let His story sink into my life and change me.

B.A. in Australia December 29, 2007

I got bitten by one of these guys at Anna Bay on Boxing Day. It was in the cards for me that day, I guess. I say that because earlier in the day, one of these ants came charging at me as I lay on my towel on the sand, minding my own business. My friend Jared killed it (after multiple failed attempts) and I was safe…or so I thought. Later, as we were grilling burgers for dinner, a red bull ant attacked the foot of my school leader, Jesse Lee. Jesse flings the ant off his foot, it lands on mine and begins to attack it ferociously. It hurt like a mother, I’m not going to lie. The pain spread from my toe, over the top of my foot, and up my shin. Then it all went numb. Pretty scary, huh? It was swollen, itchy, and tender for a couple days after that. I had to blog about it because, as I said to Jesse, it’s pretty much the most badass thing that’s happened to me in Australia…I mean, check out the mandibles on that ant! (Yeah, I used the word “mandible.” I’m a smartass as well as a badass.)

I’m Sorry Baby, I Didn’t Mean It December 25, 2007

Gmail is working again. Phew.

Gmail, what did I ever do to you? December 24, 2007

Freaking Gmail just disabled my account for no apparent reason.  Something about a violation of a security breach?  I am so computer dumb that I wouldn’t know how to breach email security if I tried!  Argh.  If you are trying to email me, use my facebook or myspace pages.  And I hope you are trying to email me, because it’s Christmas people, and I’m a stranger in foreign land.  I like hoops and yoyo.  I don’t mind having a stack of those e-cards waiting in my gmail box when we get all this straightened out.  Curse the gmail gods, they’re so fickle!

Boxes December 22, 2007

If you want to think really basically, Christmastime can be sized down to boxes. Big ones, small ones, wrapped and unwrapped, covered in bows or ribbons or jingle bells. Some contain things you’ve wanted all your life, or just since the fall catalog came out. Some boxes will go unopened and be recycled for next year’s gift exchange. Some may hold engagement rings, a promise of a new future nestled into a tiny box. If you want to be really creative, you can say Jesus was born in a box, and three wise men brought him boxes filled with gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Read more of my Christmas article on Radiant here.

I kind of rolled it out in a hurry, so forgive me if it just reads like an entry in my journal…cause that pretty much is how it reads.

Haiku Tuesday December 17, 2007

It all started with this poetic ode to sweet chilli sauce (inspired by the sweet chilli chicken quesadilla I had for lunch).

sweet chilli sauce love
brings magic to any day
so glad I found you

Then I started writing them for everyone sitting near me in the Youthstreet office today:

Highs and Lows of Communal Living December 12, 2007

Living on a commune is fantastic. Or it sucks. It just depends on the day, I guess. Or my mood. Or my roommate’s mood. Or the mood of any of the other 60 people living under the same roof as me.

More Painful Self-Disclosure! December 10, 2007

Hey guys, Radiant put another of my articles up today. It’s called “MySpace in His Love.” Clever, huh? Hee… Hope you enjoy it…I read over it and felt a little embarrassed, but whatev. The above picture is the one they picked for my article. Mysterious, no? Miss you all…pictures of me feeding kangaroos coming soon!

Quotable Friday, Vol. 15 (Thursday Edition) December 5, 2007

“God bestows three blessings on man: to feed him like birds, dress him like flowers, and befriend him as a confidant. Too many take the first two and neglect the last. Sooner or later you figure out life is constructed specifically and brilliantly to squeeze a man into association with the Owner of heaven. It is a struggle, with labor pains and thorny landscape, bloody hands and a sweaty brow, head in hands, moments of severe loneliness and questioning, moments of ache and desire. All this leads to God, I think.”

Donald Miller
Through Painted Deserts

I don’t need to say much about this quote. It’s simply beautiful, and was a gem that I unearthed while trudging through this surprisingly dull work of Miller’s. He always loses me when he starts talking about his car. I would probably still recommend it though, because the good parts are REALLY good. And I have a feeling it’s kind of like the movie Elizabethtown…it’s more about the journey than anything else.

The Exception December 4, 2007

So, the rumors are true. Food in Australia pretty much sucks. There’s basically no Mexican food here, so that’s an immediate problem. Then, if you do find something that sounds good (wrap? salad? falafel?), it usually disappoints. I mean sure, it’s all right, but the flavor is turned town a few notches from anything you’d have in the States. The Thai chicken meat pie I had in Surfer’s Paradise was the spiciest thing I’ve had here.

But the exception the rule of bad food in Australia is…

sweet chili sauce. It is SO good! Especially when I dip my quesadilla from the Cafe into it…yum. Or in a kebab. Australians put it on everything, and I jumped on that train so fast.