.tomfoolery.

On April Fools Day last year I got done, stitched up. I had my guard down, I was gullible & yes I got fooled. One of my colleagues played a prank on me. Sitting at my desk completing my daily tasks, I heard the doorbell chime & knowing one of my workmates would answer, I continued tapping away at the keyboard. Then, one of the senior staff members (in both position & age, she is 70) came in & told me there was someone at the door with a bouquet for me. "Flowers! For me?? Oh my....I wasn't expecting this!". Half way down the corridor, I heard the words no one wants to hear on April 1st 'April Fool'. I skulked back to my desk, embarrassed that I had been sucked in & on all days - April Fools Day...

Reflecting on this now, I no longer feel foolish & fearful that Mr T is going to jump out in front of me at an unsuspecting corner, confronting me with his catch cry 'I pity the fool '. Rather, I think about how I had forgotten that it was April Fools Day & that I needed to be on guard. I've been paralleling this to the spiritual....I need to be aware, be on guard that the enemy is trying to bait me, fool me into sin....sending temptation my way to pull me away from God & into a lifestyle that doesn't honour him.

I know that there is an unseen war, an unseen battle waging everyday over me & over you & our eternity. Praise God, that through Jesus we have the power to overcome Satan’s tomfoolery & win the battle, leaving the devil the only fool!

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. 14 Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness. 15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. 16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. 17 Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.18 Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere”
-Ephesians 6:10-18.

.recycling.

I never used to be interested in recycling. It's not that I didn't care about landfill and the other ramifications of just dumping things in the bin, it just wasn't a priority. Now, I am what one would call a recycling 'convert', I look for every opportunity to save plastic and reuse it, or I make sure I recycle items when I can. I remember when I learnt that certain plastics couldn't be recycled, I actually got quite upset! My conversion to 'recyclablism' can greatly be attributed to the awareness the community around me generates about this issue.

Often I think we aware of the problems and social issues our world is facing, but these concerns don’t take precedence in our lives because they are not a priority. I’ve observed that our priorities are often in alignment with the priorities of those around us. And just as recycling became more of a concern to me as I was around others who were concerned about the state of our planet, I think this can be the same as with any other social or justice issue. So much about our lives is hinged on our attitude. Surrounding ourselves with individuals and groups who have positive attitudes (and in turn, positive priorities) can dramatically impact our lives. The ultimate person we can look to for an attitude adjustment is Jesus and beyond this his family, his community – the body of Christ

buses

My life is dictated by Melbournes Public Transport system. More specifically, I am at the mercy of trams 1, 8, 59, 96 and bus route 508*. Mostly, I catch the 508. That bus is never on time, ever. If the bus were ever to arrive at its scheduled time, I wouldn't know just what to do with myself.

I think that if by some miracle the 508 made its way to my bus stop at its intended time, I’d have an adverse reaction. What that adverse reaction would be, I cannot quite determine. Perhaps my future self would step off the bus and due to the cataclysmic event that would occur, I’d wake up in a DeLorean with Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown on the way back to the future.

Despite the 508s inability to arrive on time, there is one thing it always does; it takes the same route every day. And it is BORING. Mind numbingly boring. Gouge my eyes out with my nail file boring. Slowly pull the hairs out of my arm and make myself a moustache for the next time I go incognito boring. Same streets, same stops, same traffic lights, same turns, same, same, same.

Yes, the 508 will get you where you need to go. But it’s the safe trip. I’m sick of the safe, of the same, of the known. I’d much rather take the scenic route – traversing through the city, investigating quaint little shops, soaking in the various cultures, conversing with eccentric characters along my travels. The scenic route takes a lot longer, yes, but imagine how much I’d miss out on if I stuck to the same route all the time. The relationships and life experiences that would pass me by.

The easy route, the expected route, the planned out, step-by-step route. Graduate from high school, go to uni, get the degree, work for a couple of years, climb the corporate ladder, meet and fall in love with Mr. six foot-/cleancut/kahki wearing/tennis playing/hybrid car driving/organic eating/guitar strumming/soulfully crooning/poetry reading/superman, have the fairytale wedding, go on a European honeymoon, work for a few more years, pop out three kids, raise the kids, volunteer with some charities, retire, marry off my kids, travel around Australia in a caravan, spoil the grandkids and pass away an old grey haired lady holding my husbands hand.

I’ve often felt that is the route the world is telling me to take. But lately I’ve realised I don’t want to. Its not that there is anything wrong with this path in life. If that is what you want to do, then do it. Just don’t do something because you feel you have to. Obligation is a dirty word. Well it makes me feel like I need a scalding hot shower with an industrial loofah and a 10 litre bottle of body wash. Of course there are situations in life where responsibility takes precedence and in these moments we need to choose the right attitude and have faith to come out of these seasons on top. But when responsibility results in oppression, perhaps we’re not on the right path…?

When we are living the life, living the route that God has planned for us – we are free. Our anointing is realised and released because we are outworking whom we were created to be. Moving in our strengths and living out our dreams and desires (which when we are seeking him, are Gods dreams and desires) will rarely be boring, every season has its moments, but when we are passionate people, living out the passions instilled within us, dull moments are far and few in between.

I want to be one of those passionate people, I wish I was one of them. You know, ‘them’, one of those ones who never works a day in their life, because they are doing something they adore. However, I’m afraid. I want to pursue what I feel God is telling me, to get off the bus and not to take the expected route. To take the scenic route, but responsibility and obligation creep back up on me. They’re words that make me stick to my seat, afraid to push the ‘next stop’ button, hold me back from jumping off the bus and tearing up my ticket, because I’m never going to take the safe option again.

This is where trust comes in. Knowing that even though I can’t see the scenic route – the plan that is unknown, exciting, mysterious, unfamiliar to the world route, is really what was planned all along and that I have the creator, the mapper of the plan guiding me along. Showing me where to stop, where to turn, where to accelerate and to not let the world tell me which way to go, but to allow him to guide me through the streets.

*when I started writing this, I was a frequenter of public transport. I now have a car, but take the same route to work everyday, because the voice in the GPS told me to.

.big mac.

Melody: I want a Big Mac!
Valerie: But, Mel, you're a vegetarian.
Melody: I know, but suddenly I want one!
(Josie & the Pussycats – 2001)

Nobody needs a Big Mac, especially a vegetarian. No one needs a Big Mac full stop. Particularly no one needs the 26.9 grams of fat, 35.1 grams of carbohydrates & 958 grams of sodium. But that doesn’t stop people from wanting a Big Mac, fries and a coke (but hey, I heard that if you order a diet coke, that makes it okay).

Need and want are two very separate things. We might all want a Big Mac, but what we all really need is some poached chicken breast, brown rice and lettuce with no marinade, dressing or salt. I want an Iphone, a trip to Europe, all 10 seasons of Happy Days on DVD, a 50’s Vintage Couture dress, a lifetimes supply of Carmen’s original fruit-free muesli bars, a 1st edition copy of ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, tickets to West Side Story and toilet made out of solid gold.

But do I need any of these things??? No!

Looking around my room, I don’t think I really need 95% of what I have. I certainly don’t need my DVD collection, all my clothes (I would however keep some, for the sake of the general populations eyeballs), the ‘Santa’ Mr. Potato Head I bought one Christmas working in the toy department at Myer, my scarf collection, the co-ordinating sheet sets and the various knick knacks I have lying around (including trolls, a game of yatzhee, throw cushions and a retro alarm clock). I could do away with everything but the bare essentials and still be one of the richest people on the planet.

What we want, often is not what is best for us. All 10 seasons of Happy Days on DVD and a lifetime supply of Carmens original fruit-free muesli bars will only leave me desolate, on the couch, requiring a crane to transport me to see West Side Story, depressed because I can’t fit into my 50’s Vintage Couture dress and having to purchase two airplane seats for my Europe trip so I don’t spill over onto my fellow passengers. The only thing I will be able to do is read my 1st edition copy of ‘Jane Eyre’ on my solid gold toilet whilst texting my friends from my Iphone.

So why am I afflicted with this desire of ‘want, want, want’? There are so many different things I want to happen in my life – but are these wants, these desires what I need??? Circumstances in my life have displayed to me recently that what I want, is not what I need. Moreover, the majority of the time what I want, is not what God wants for me and what God wants for me is what I need.

The above statement generates the following automated response ‘but how do I know what God wants for me?’. God wants us to live a life fully connected, fully reliant and fully alive in him and this is what we all need to live a contented life. He wants us to do as he instructs in Matthew 22:37-40: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”. Everything overflows from this, when God and others are our focus all other elements in our life come into alignment. He satisfies our needs and his wants become our wants.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
Psalm 37:3-5

I trust that God knows what I need more than I do, because, well, God is God and I am not and aren’t we all glad of that!!!

.yodelling.

On my 16th Birthday my Mother passed onto me a beautiful necklace and earring set that was once my grandmothers. Being the whimsical romantic I am I decided to save these precious pieces for a special occasion – my first date. Little did I know, that 6 years later the stunning 18ct gold amethyst jewellery still would not have graced my neck and ears.

Yup, I am 22 years old and have never been on a date. Sure there were some fleeting romances during my primary school years, well from a distance at least (I developed my stalking abilities early on in life). Numerous ‘crushes’ and whatnot. In grade 6 there was a boy, he gave me a pokemon card – our love was going to last!! Well it did, for about two weeks. It was bliss and I looked fondly upon our precious time together, until a mutual friend told me many years later that the only reason he liked me was because I was, lets say, one of the more ‘developed’ girls in the class and consequently those fond memories were deleted from my memory bank.

Since the aforementioned experience, I’ve shunned love, turned away. I’m not speaking metaphorically here, I’m speaking literally, and have actually done this. Upon seeing an interest I freaked out I turned around and walked in the opposite direction. That is certainly not the way to let a guy know you are interested.

I’ve always wanted to fall in love, get married and have babies, buy a house on the lake with a white picket fence, a rose garden and a Labrador to go along with it. It hasn’t happened yet, but it will one day. It might not be next week, next month, next year or in 5 or 10 yeas, but I’m ok with that, I’m content to wait. Most days, I’m happy to be single, to be free and independent and to be able to pick up and leave and go yodelling in the Swiss Alps if my heart so desires.

I’m not waiting for my Knight in Shining Armour to come and rescue me from a fate worse than death (a.k.a ‘singleness’), because I’ve already been saved from death, by death and my fate is secured because of it. I wish I could say that I believe this every day, but sometimes I can’t help but feel like some mutant because I do not have a man in my life. Human beings were created for relationship, relationship with others, but more importantly, relationship with God. Scripture tells us this in many places, however I seem to fall prey to gaining mans love rather than Gods love and as I have learnt from experience, seeking love from any source other than God leaves you broken hearted.

God is love (John 4:16). I’ve come to the conclusion that if we seek love in any form other than God then we will only be dissatisfied. Also, I’ve learnt that trying to love others in your own strength is futile, to love others the way they need to be loved, we need to do this through the strength of the creator of love. If we are not receiving love from God, who is love and demonstrated love to us (through Jesus), then how can we truly love others??

I am by no means an expert on love. I daily fall short of loving others in the way God calls me to, but if I am content knowing I am loved by God and if I love others through the love God gives me, then I can be 122, still never been on a date and feel totally loved.

Me yodel-odel-odelling in the Swiss Alps

.jaywalking.

I'd like to think I was an upstanding citizen. One who has never broken the law, committed a felony, done something illegal. If you were to glance at my life, you'd probably say I was an upstanding citizen. I know better. I'm not upstanding at all, I actually have quite an obvious lean to the left (and I'm not referring to my political stance).

There have been certain acts I have committed across my years that the law would deem illegal.

When I was about 10 or 11, I stole a packet of glass beads. Not only did I steal them, but my five finger discount was from the shop my mother was managing at the time. Who would have thought that a few years later I would hold a casual sales position at said shop?.....

I'm a jaywalker. A reckless pedestrian. I had The Beatles Abbey Road album cover as my desktop image for about two years. Obviously I didn't take John, Paul, George and Ringo's lead, because I seem to do everything in my power to avoid zebra crossings.

To add to my thievery and jaywalking;

I've fare evaded,

Run red lights,

Littered,

Sped,

Ridden a bike minus a helmet,

Downloaded music without paying,

Texted while driving,

Burnt CDs,

& more.

Yes, these may be seemingly insignificant illegal activities. I haven't stolen a car, killed a man with a trident, burnt down a house, robbed a bank or sold drugs. But the way I see it, breaking the law is breaking the law. Whether you drive with an expired licence or stab a man - it's breaking the law. Evidently the consequences of your actions are different and the ramifications of crossing the road at random intervals and random shootings are at quite different extremes.

Each law has its purpose and reasoning behind the legislation. Basically, the law is there for the protection of society, as a whole and as individuals. We cross the road at pedestrian crossings to avoid being slammed by a bus and having our innards strewn across the road. These laws protect us (the pedestrians) and those who may be driving the car (the rest of society). Our actions affect not only us, but also those around us. We may like to believe they don't, but when we ignore and disobey the laws, guidelines, rules (whatever you want to call them) that have been established for our own protection, we can't expect the outcomes to always be positive.

1 My son, do not forget my teaching,

but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years

and bring you prosperity.

Proverbs 3:1-2

This priciple of the law protecting us, also extends to Gods word. Keeping Gods laws, Gods commandments prolongs our lives (it protects us, keeps us safe) and brings us prosperity - a life of abundance! The commandments are not there to kill our joy and stop us from having fun, but like the 'law of the land', Gods laws are there to keep us from harm and from harming others.

The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7) in which Jesus expounds the 10 commandments (Exodus 20) gives us quite a high standard to live up to, it displays the way God longs for each of us to live and the attitudes and actions he desires us to adopt towards himself and others. Nine out of Ten (well 9.9), I don't follow Gods commandments and I fall and break the law, not only hurting myself but those around me whom I love.

Unlike the law of the land, in which the result of breaking the law is punishment, God does not punish us. He gives us grace and it is because of this grace that every day, when I fall short of what God asks of me, that I can kneel at his feet and thank him that he sent Jesus so that I may be forgiven. It is because of Gods grace, that the even biggest 'law breakers', that sinners can come to him and experience a love like no other. In the eyes of God, there are not 'levels' of sin, we have all broken the law and we all need him, regardless of our past. We could jaywalk every day of our life and God would still be waiting at the other side of the street, arms open, waiting to show us grace.

.nail biter.

My name is Zara and I am a nail biter. I’ve been a nail biter for as long as I can remember. For years my Nanna has tried to help me refrain from biting my nails. Various tips and tricks. Sitting on my hands. Wearing Gloves. Chewing on Gum. Knitting. Anything to keep my hands away from the giant abyss that is my mouth.

One of the more effective tricks was ‘stop and grow’. Nail polish, which also doubles as a ‘biting deterrent’ - the polish is flavoured. To sum up the taste, it has a wretched bitter tang. The combination of a cheap and nasty coffee, sour milk, olives, lemons, vinegar and an old shoe chucked in for good measure. For about month in grade 9 I used ‘stop and grow’ to assist in combating my serial nail biting. That was until my friend stole the bottle and applied it to the end of the pens of all the ‘pen biters’ in our grade. I stopped bringing my ‘stop and grow’ to school after that incident to avoid looks of scorn in the playground. And thus, the non-nail biting came crashing down to my feet.

I remember once being told that underneath your fingernails reside more germs than in a toilet bowl. I lasted for about a week not biting my nails after hearing that fact, but couldn’t resist the germy goodness and went back to munching on my digits.

In the last six months I have been so busy I’ve stopped biting my nails. Consequently I’ve got these beautiful nails. I can now relate to the phrase ‘Oh No! I broke a nail’ and have actually used it seriously in conversation without a hint of sarcasm or mockery.

Today my nails taught me a lesson. I woke up and somehow, one of my nails had a crack and was on its way to breaking. And, much to my embarrassment, I prayed that my nail would not break. This seemingly insignificant and innocuous few words have completely rocked my world. A prayer for a fingernail, A FINGERNAIL!

If my biggest worry is praying for a slither of keratin, then I seriously need to get my priorities straight. My prayer life should revolve around Jesus, how he wants to transform me and use me so others can know of his love. My prayer life should not be focused on my fingernail, but the nails that were driven into his hands so I can be cleansed, purified, loved and have eternal life.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5