At home again....well, back to Sydney

With severe restraint from jumping in and swimming back - we cruised into Sydney harbor. We docked at 7am and were gently disembarked at 8:45am. It was sad saying good bye to our room, our bathroom, the dining rooms where they fed us wonderful food that we didn't have to cook on dishes we didn't have to clean. Aaahh..we've been so spoiled.

Here's the view from our balcony cruising into Sydney:



We visited with a friend for afternoon tea at the QVB Tearoom. Which reminds me, I took pictures of this huge three level indoor Christmas tree at the QVB. QVB stands for the Queen Victoria Building and it is beautiful.






Anyways, Tea was absolutely lovely. It was proper - it had scones, and mini sandwiches and bite size desserts. Yummm...it was filling and tasty. Which is lucky because after two days we would be starting a detox called Daniel's Diet, but more on that later. After some post cruise shopping we arrived home around 9pm, and I plopped into bed.

There is a huge window in front of my bed in Sydney - I woke up the next morning expecting to see the ocean. It was a sad thing to re-realize that I'm actually on land. Hmmm....I need to plan another cruise. On the upside, I enjoyed hearing the birds and kookaburras singing this morning. I hadn't even realized I'd missed it. Maybe that's why I thought it was so quiet...

Purple trees and pretty birdies

A few blogs ago I mentioned seeing purple trees, and the beautiful wildlife here. This past weekend we were up at a Christian Retreat Center called Merroo in the Blue Mountains. The drive up was majestic. And, I managed to grab some beautiful pictures. I'll try and post most of them on Facebook, but here are my favorite ones.

Here's the purple trees :


Orange Tree and Pink Vine


The three sisters up top of the Blue Mountains



Pretty Birdies



Everything is much more beautiful in real life, my camera just does not do it justice.

Hillsong

So far I've attended 3 Hillsong services and their anniversary Celebration at Darling Harbour.  It really does look like all the videos we've seen.  And, it is HUGE.  They have 8 services at their campus location and 7 services at their main location over the weekend.  They have a welcome lounge for newcomers that gives free coffee.  It is so easy to get lost at Hillsong, that it is extremely important to sign up for a small group.  The speakers are pretty decent.  And, you can tell that the pastors really care that their people grow.  It is also fascinating to see how they manage all these services and all these people and how they keep them connected and together. 

I miss my church though.  I feel that I get a less out of Hillsong than I do out of my own church.  There are so many announcements and so much goings on, that I feel I don't get the same depth out of it.  I'm sure it takes some getting used to.  And, I've definitely seen people care for each other and really share with one another.  And, I think is one of the most important things about people meeting at a church.

Anyways, those my brief thoughts on Hillsong.

Why Australia ?

Because it is beautiful and hot.

It is beautiful, but lately it hasn't been hot. I packed for 30degree to 40 degree weather. But, that's not what is here. I have to shop...I have to go out and buy a warmer jacket, maybe a couple of sweaters. Because it is NOT hot. I know, it snowed and it is kinda chilly in Ottawa. But, that's what is supposed to happen in the fall (except for maybe snow in Oct). BUT, it supposed to be hot here. Very hot. Not so....

But, that's not what this blog is about.

I came to Australia to spend time with a friend for whom life is a little rough right now. I came really wanting to be here for her. But, the first few days I was here I realized what I mess of emotions I was. Now, what good was I ? I was overwhelmed, at a loss and couldn't offer the support I wanted to.

Fortunately, my friend's mom was around. She helped me realize that it was ok to be overwhelmed. And, she helped me remember that it is God led us to be friends. It is God that led her to share some difficult things a few years back and it is God that gave me the right words to say. And, it will continue to be God that provides each of us with the support that we need and He may use one or the other to do that.

Do you know what that does for me ? It means that all I have to do is enjoy myself and God will lead me to do what I need to do, listen when she needs, distract and entertain at the right times. I actually don't have to worry about saying the right things at the right times. All I have to do is pray and be me.

And, also important is that it means that I can work out my own stuff without being afraid that I'm being selfish or unsupportive.

The lost art of my blog

I lost myself for a little while. I remember writing in Ireland that my blog was for myself. But, more recently, I sent out my blog link to all sorts of friends - friends anywhere from knowing me super well to friends that I only just started getting to know. And, slowly and subtly I found myself filtering what I was saying. Because you see, I was afraid. I was afraid that someone would read something in my blog and think badly or criticize me. So, I started wanting to make it just about the sights I've seen and my trips. But, you see that doesn't work for me. And, I lost interest in blogging.

A few days ago, I realized that one of the reasons I started my blog is to share the things that mattered to me, the things I learned and the things going on in my heart. It is very hard to share things that go on in my heart because it makes me vulnerable. And, an offhand inconsiderate comment could be quite painful.

Over the last few days, I've realized that it is God who needs to protect and heal my heart when it has been hurt. I realized that I lost the fun I had in blogging because I was filtering out all the things that really mattered to me - all so that I could protect myself.

The idea that it is God that will protect and heal me is probably one that I will need to learn over and over again. Because people's opinions while they can be hurtful are only a small part of all the things that can hurt in life.

Morning wake up calls

Every morning I wake up to the coolest bird sounds.  I never realized birds could sound that way.  At the risk of sounding ignorant - Kookaburras actually exist beyond the song we sang as kids.  And, they kinda sound like people laughing. 

Here's my little corner of the flat :













And, here's the view out of my window :












Australia has way more colorful nature than I ever thought.  Mind you - I never really gave it any thought at all.  It kinda makes the most colorful gardens and flowers I've seen in all my life a little bland.  I've seen pink trees, purple trees, orange trees, as well a regular green trees.  And, the birds !  Wow !!  The most colorful birds I've seen before here were in cages.  But, here they just fly about.  Its pretty cool.

We've spent most of our time in the suburbs, though we briefly visited downtown Sydney.  And, in the suburbs there are trees everywhere.  I thought Ottawa had trees (in comparison to TO), but there are just MORE here.  It is beautiful !!