My absolute favourite photo of the night… Finally got a decent shot! He’s my rock, the one I can talk to about anything, my one & only, the guy I wanna spend my life with. Can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since I first fell in love with him. I was taking the photo just as he kissed my head - the perfect moment, and my favourite photo from my birthday
From Steph
The butterfly box - from Steven
My sister & bestie being crazy (aka themselves)
Trying to get a decent photo with him is like trying to get a hyperactive puppy to behave :P but I love him to bits
Birthday cake!
Beanie from Cornwall & an address book - both from Grandma….
We all have them. Most of us tend to put on a different mask in front of different people. With our Christian friends, we sometimes put on a Pure & Holy mask so they don’t see the real us, with our other friends, we put on a mask, sometimes even when with our families, we have a mask on. But why? Are we really that ashamed of who we are that we have to hide from the world behind lies and ingenuity? I’ll tell you why: Because we’re afraid that people won’t like us for who we are. We say things that make us sound exciting and interesting, but maybe that person won’t care if you don’t like that band or that t-shirt. I am guilty of that, someone once mentioned a book to me and asked if I’d read it, and I said yes. Then they were talking about one part of the book and then I just went along and pretended I knew what she was talking about. Of course, I felt so guilty about it that I went out and borrowed out that book just to read that part. At times, I become so frightened of what impression I might give a person, instead of just being myself. If they don’t like my hair or my shoes, or anything, that’s their problem. I’ve stopped worrying as much. If I don’t have the perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect teeth, that’s fine with me. Because I’ve reached a point where I’m beginning to be comfortable in my own skin. Yeah, maybe it is nice for you to date that really attractive boy (or girl) in your class or at your church, but what if they have their own mask and are the nastiest person you ever met? We won’t know that until we dig deeper and learn more about that person. Maybe it’s about insecurity? You have a not-so-great home life or feel left out of things, so you put on a mask of confidence and march out of the house with your head held high. But when you get home, you take it off because you don’t know how your family will respond to your courage and self-esteem. They might mistake it for something else. If we go through life pretending to be something we’re not, how can we possibly discover who we truly are? We all have identities, and we were all created to discover that identity. You may have a certain talent or skill you didn’t know about. You could use that to make your world better. Maybe you think your opinion doesn’t matter and you start to write your thoughts down in a journal and discover that you want to be a writer? Maybe words aren’t your strong point, so you draw them out, and discover an unknown love of art. Maybe you never knew that you were a good singer and someone overheard you one day and complimented you? Maybe your friend told you that you’re a good listener, or you’re good at speaking publicly? Go out of your house today and leave that mask at the front door. Go to work, school, college, uni, TAFE, church, youth group or even just to the grocery store and be yourself. If people don’t like it, that’s fine. Don’t live your life trying to please everyone. Because in the end that’ll only bring them happiness - not you. God bless!
Well that was a one hour trip that turned into most of the day! My original intention was to buy my mum and stepmum a present each. Here’s a list of what I actually left the mall with:
*Car stereo for Mum
*A new beret
*A new iPod dock (it’s my first voluntary pink item I bought)
*Groceries
I also attracted a lot of male attention. First, the guy at JB Hi-Fi thought I was “pretty cute”, so added an Auxiliary cable for free. Next, the guy at the Sunglass Hut kept grinning the whole time I was trying out sunnies and told me that every pair looked good. I walked into Foot Locker to find some sports socks (and left empty handed) but with a compliment that I could be a “shoe model” from the sales rep because he noticed I was wearing the same Nikes he was displaying in the window. Finally, I walked into a different JB Hi-Fi and the guy in the laptop section immediately took a liking because I told him I loved his Collingwood jersey. Ahhhh! I don’t want your attention, just your flipping products!!!!
Yesterday was Day One of Easterfest 2012. When I got into Brisbane, I needed help finding Roma Street Station, so this homeless guy helped me get there and then he bought me a mocha and tried to convince me he was the Messiah. After he left, I went to the coach terminal and met a couple of bands who were going to Easterfest as well. There was a solo artist named Bryce Wastney, originally from New Zealand, and his backup band, Luke and Micah. I talked to them about churches, praise & worship and music. When I got to Toowoomba, I was so hungry, so I bought a salad from the local Woolies. After dropping my stuff at the house, I went to the grounds for registration. I was put on duty with some girls from YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and one of the girls prayed for me just before our shift ended. Then it was time for dinner, and it was packed by the time I got there, so I tried to find my way back home, found out I was about 3km away from the house and sat on the side of the road until a lovely elderly couple asked where I was headed and drove me home.
