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thirty

30
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

i turned thirty last week and had the company of great friends for the occasion...jono from scotland and julia from snohomish. we saw august rush and it was cheesy goodness...then went out to dinner with the fam...and had a great day altogether. felt very blessed and loved!

christmas parade

cutie snowflake kids
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

this year i went to the christmas parade in downtown seattle the day after thanksgiving. it was so much fun! marching bands and christmas everywhere...it was a baptism of christmas...and i loved every minute of it!

amelia

amelia
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

this is my friend's baby. she's so beautiful. a bit of her mommy and daddy mixed together for a delightful little girl. too bad they live so far away...and even more far away once i return to australia.

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!

BEST FRIENDS FOREVER!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

back in october when i went to saint louis to visit friends. we went out to a fancy dinner and we were hot!!! it was such a good night...good conversation...good friends...good food...good night! the comfort of old friends...

oh the joy of old friends!

surprise
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

over this past weekend, i enjoyed a visit from my good friend, sebastien. we enjoyed autumn and coffee and road trips and music and art and opera and rain and pumpkin pancakes and so much more. i'm thankful for the depth of friendship i have enjoyed in my life.

goodbye leaf

goodbye leaf
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

actually, i stand corrected with the date of the first day of autumn. it was actually september 23rd. i was humbly corrected by an eight year old named emily. she's quite bright!

the first day of autumn

bleeding tree
Originally uploaded by dEEsign photography

and i'm actually here to enjoy it firsthand...
i love driving down the road and BLAST...
there's a patch of orange or red...
and then there's the leaves falling...
and crunching underneath you as you tromp over them.
yes, i welcome autumn wholeheartedly!

quiet and still

CHE ORA E' ?????
Originally uploaded by ezio.zaia

last night i received a call from my mom saying that two of my brothers were in a car accident. both were going to separate hospitals, one with a head injury. thank god they are both okay and recovering but the thoughts that run through your head. life is just so precious. and i'm so incredibly grateful to god for his protection of them...i remember my parents praying for their protection that morning, just like they do every morning. it's kind of dream like in my head...they pray in the morning and god hears them. his ears are attentive to our cry...to our requests...to our petitions. then fast forward to the end of the day and i picture what i think their accident might have looked like...and i see his hand. it's strong and gentle and swift. oh, thank you my lord for protecting those that i love so dearly. thank you for being a god who hears and sees and feels and acts. what would i be without you?

Julia and Joel's Wedding

Meeting of Minds

Meeting of Minds
Originally uploaded by bonedad

the next weekend is full of celebration and old friends...
first, my cousin julia is getting married on saturday.
i'm her maid of honor.
we were best friends growing up.
most of my childhood memories have her in them.
not only that, but my best friend laura is coming to the wedding...
and for a visit of course.
it's going to be a great couple of days.
and then next week charissa is coming in for a visit.
we were on our dts together and we just staffed the last dts at
reed to outback together...
good friends, good times!
ministry to my soul...

crazy

crazy
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

i'm going through and posting old photos to my flickr account, since i haven't done it in ages due to computer issues. it's amazing how a picture can bring such emotion...such memory...such truth. this one brings laughter though and the security of friendship.

what a night!

what a night!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

this was one of the nights during the last week of the school. we had watched a movie and played settlers. it was raining outside and almost past curfew. momma mindy had to send them off in black plastic garbage bags so they didn't get too wet. we were laughing so hard as i was shoving them out the door to get home. then, of course, it stopped raining. some of them ran home without posable arms...cause the bags didn't have arm holes. anyway, i shut the door that night and couldn't stop giggling. oh, the people that come into your life. they are precious.

the beginning of our journey

the beginning of our journey
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies

this was the first day of outreach as we were driving away from the base...some time at the beginning of april 07. i miss seeing those smiles everyday...i miss it a lot.

it's been a long time...

well, i haven't been on this thing in ages. i'm at home now in seattle. my plan is to work until the end of the year and pay off debt that i have and then i'm returning to my other home in townsville, australia.

i'm enjoying the wonders of washington...like good coffee around every street corner, trees, family and last week it rained...oh i love the rain!

i just finished reading a wrinkle in time. a lot of people tell me they read it as a child but i didn't read fairy tales as a child. i think it's because i grew up too fast. i didn't have time for fantasy...but now i do. especially if it's madeleine l'engle, george macdonald or cs lewis.

well, i need to get back to my reading...i'm starting on a wind in the door next. charles wallace thinks there's dragons in the garden.

welcome january 2007 dts!

jan 2007 dts staff
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

This past week we welcomed in 33 new students from 8 different nations. Some have been planning on doing a DTS (Discipleship Training School) for a couple years now and some decided just recently to come join our family. Stories of God's faithfulness have been rolling off their tongues this week and anticipation is brewing for what God has in store during the next 5 1/2 months.

Patriotically, we spent the first afternoon together partaking in a good ole Aussie BBQ and Tim Tam Slams. There was also a time of worship, where we were challenged to lay everything down at the feet of Jesus.

We all gathered together as a base to welcome the new DTS and SOMM (School of Music in Missions) into our family at the beginning of the week. We spent time getting to know each other, praying for one another and general orientation details. Humility was definitely a theme during worship and God was calling us to simply come as we are.

The latter part of the week was spent together as a DTS. At the core of our faith is the Gospel, so Andrew spent time laying it out for us. We also spent time going over hearing God's voice, learning styles and identity. Joanne led us in her famous postcard exercise on hearing God's voice and God spoke significantly to many of the students, as well as the staff. It's exciting to see how God is moving already and it's only the first week.

All in all, it's been a pretty full week and I'm sure everyone will be resting well over the weekend. The DTS will have the opportunity to serve in either our Youth Street or Backstage ministries on Saturdays and we'll be looking forward to hearing how that's going over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your prayers!

hello 2007...pleased to meet you!

hello 2007...pleased to meet you!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

happy new year everyone!

i celebrated new year's in brisbane with some friends and then we flew home the next morning to townsville.

my vacation/holidays were AMAZINGLY refreshing and i was blessed to take some time away and get ready for the new year.

Christmas Joy!

Christmas Joy!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

like i said in my previous blog, we laughed until...well, until a lot of things...

i don't know if i've ever spent so much time consistently laughing in my life...

i need to figure out how to bottle it up and then re-open it on my meloncholy days...

oh, the beauty of laughter!

a perfect holiday!

most perfect cafe EVER!!!
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

well, it's hard to believe that my time away is coming to an end. tomorrow we leave nikki's to drive up to brisbane, where we'll spend new year's and then fly out the next day.

i feel at peace and refreshed...more than i have in a long time!

i've taken naps at my leisure...spent hours in coffee shops...verbally processed the past year with my friends...experienced god's deep refreshing and comfort over my soul...watched the lord of the rings trilogy once again...been fed like kings and queens...laughed until my stomach ached and more...talked to god like a friend again...blessings upon blessings upon blessings...so countless to name!

i am ready to go home to townsville and jump into all that god has in store.

raindrops keep falling on my head!

wah wah
Originally uploaded by I like fireflies.

this afternoon there was a delightfully random rainshower. first there was thunder and then came the rain...in case you were wondering the order. the sounds were glorious! when the rain let up a bit and the sun was peeking through the clouds sporatically, i took my camera out into the elements and caught some moments.

then i took a nap and was content with life for a few moments.