cyberspace junkyard

Care for some French?
Wow, blogging sounds so much more exotic when in the language of lurve! Some curious person translated my July archive into French. Here's an excerpt...

"Ce qui à porter, ce qui à porter....?
Je chante au mariage de quelques amis d'église le samedi. Étant hiver, le dilemme est toujours, naturellement, la décision au sujet de ce qui à porter? Je voudrais porter mon décalage en soie indien de vert de mousse - mais le seul problème est lui est sleeveless avec une enveloppe plutôt mince d'organza. Hmm... peut je partir avec lui si j'ai un cardigan ou une veste à porter dehors? Des décisions, décisions... il est être tellement dur une fille!"

and here's the original!

Childhood Memories
For someone who prides herself on the horde of useless, trivial information that patters around in her brain, I have surprisingly little recollection of my childhood. No flashing movies, no warm&fuzzy feelings, no sound, nothing other than static images of remembered photos rather than remembered memories.

aside - is a memory actually a memory if it can't be remembered? Hmmm...

I can walk you step by step through all my childhood photo albums without looking at them and describe where I'm positioned in the photo and probably what I'm wearing and what my hairstyle is (why is that no surprise to anyone), but zippo about my actual experiences. Why the sudden desire to trip down memory lane? Well, I've been reading Domes of Fire by David Eddings and Mirtai (Queen Ehlana's Atana bodyguard) is going through her rite of passage to adulthood, where she sits around a campfire with her nearest and dearest and relives her childhood. Times of gut-wrenching pain and anguish peppered with a few brief moments of joy, that made her who she is today.

I also shared a birthday surprise for a friend's recent 30th birthday, where the gathered revealed memories and impressions of the birthday boy over the years of friendship with him. It all leads me to ponder what it was that made me who I am today. A person of both overwhelming complexity and strange simplicity, who strives to follow the path laid by Christ and laying my life at His feet.

It's no coincidence at all then that the song I'm currently working on is about self-image. In fact, at the start of this post, I had no idea why I was blogging about it, but now as I finish, I realise that God answers prayers in weird and wonderful ways. I had been praying that He would help me to trust Him with it and peel back the layers and reveal my own inner self, the one that cries out sometimes from having to be shunted aside to make way for the weight of expectations and being all things to all people. The one that is secure in His love and forgiveness, that longs for the day of His return and patiently seeks His truth.

God is truly amazing.

Monday... yay!... Monday Mumbles
Well, Easter has been and gone. Anzac Day has been and gone. The office is once more abuzz with activity and I see heads poking above partitions. All is once more right in the world of Chifley.

My baby brother (okay, he's a rather large baby, at fifteen) is getting baptised in a month or so. I spent some time with him on Saturday night going over his testimony and being amazed at how much he's grown in his understanding of his relationship with God over the past few months. He's always been a bit of a trouble maker and a bit too cocky about how much he knows, but for him to be awestruck about how much he has yet to learn, especially as a Christian, is amazing.

The thing about my brother is that he is the only person on the face of this earth who can consistently make me cry. Sure, I love my parents dearly, and treasure lots of different relationships I have, but I would step in front of a speeding train for my brother in a heartbeat. I don't think either of us understands the bond between us, but whatever it is, I'm thankful for it.

PP: wisdom to make tough decisions re production of the the CD. Discipline to make time to keep reading and meditating on a Psalm each night.
BV: Psalm 40:1-3 "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD"

Monday... errr... Wednesday Mumbles
Ah... late again! I really should stop running to Asian time. Although even 2 days is a bit extreme for me. Currently loving my new toy, black fungus, log fires and ultra responsive horses. Oh, and toasted marshmallows! You'd be hard pressed to find me stuffing a "raw" glob of spongy sugar in my mouth, but after a few seconds over a roaring fire, when it's all crispy on the outside and liquid on the inside... oh yum!

PP:saltlight info dinners coming up - that people will really catch on to the vision of an affordable CD, with music that appeals to a wide range of people but with a gospel message that really hits home.
BV: Philippians 4:4-9 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

Monday... errr... Tuesday Mumbles
Ummm... bought something over the weekend.
Yes. Ahem.
Moving right along.

PP: The upcoming Easter/Anzac Day holidays - effective use of time!
Motivation at work - things are radically up and down in terms of busyness.
Joining a newly formed prayer group at work - yay! Pray for our mutual encouragement and our witness to our colleagues.
BV: 2 Corinthians 4:4-12,16-18 "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Sorry the passage is so long - I've just found it mind-blowing though. This is the basis for the song I'm writing about hope.

A little holiday
Aaaahhhh - back at work after 2 days home sick. A little breath of fresh air in an otherwise humdrum week. Oh, and I was greeted by my manager encouraging me to take the 3 days off between Easter and Anzac Day as well, as practically no-one will be in the office. Of course, the downside is I won't get another chance to take leave until the end of the year, but hey, them's the breaks.

Heading off to my church retreat tonight. The theme is "certainty in an age of uncertainty". Updates when I get back!

Pampered
Supple is how my hands feel after my complimentary hand massage. Layered is how my hair is after Rudy attacked it with a razor. Daggy is how I look in a cotten kimono. Blind is how I am after being made to take off my glasses during my head/neck massage and then not putting them back on until Rudy asks "What do you think?". Pampered is how I feel after another Lorena Severi experience!

A tissue, a tissue... and Monday Mumbles
I've never figured out what tissues had to do with rings of rosies or pockets full of posies. The best I can come up with is that the writer of that little rhyme suffered from dust allergies and hayfever like I do! Had a pressure-cooker-style weekend with constant activities from Friday afternoon onwards until 1am Monday morning. I managed to inhale some new house construction dust of some sort on Saturday night at a friend's 21st, and combined with the change in weather, from rainy to gorgeous sunshine, the tell-tale blocked/runny nose and headache across the forehead have set in! waaahh...

PP: finishing up songwriting and starting to think about rehearsing and recording now. The next few months are really going to be ramping up CD wise. Please keep this constantly in your prayers!
BV: Romans 12:9-12 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Hair today...
I'm due for a haircut soon. My hair is getting long and cos it's quite heavy, with a bit of a kink, it has lots of body down the bottom but falls flat from the crown (unless I spend 30 minutes with a round brush and blowdryer of a morning).

What to do, what to do? I've had pretty much the same cut for years - long chunky layers all round, starting from about chin length and falling to below my shoulders. Am due for something new, I think!

Knowing me, I'll just go in and ask for 2 inches off, like always.