Advocate...

It has been an interesting wake up in the last couple of days, where I came to the realisation that what I am doing is more of a focus on ministry than God, and that is a bad place to be. I also reflected and meditated, and realised that Christ was not as central as He should be in my life, and that I was trying to be the one in control.

I wanted to meditate more on the person of Christ, and less of 'things' happening around me, and found a list of names/ titles/ roles of Christ. The first one that really struck out to me was advocate. As you know, I am a sucker for justice, rights and therefore advocacy, but I honestly have never thought of Christ as my advocate.

In 1 John 2:1 it says "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One"

That is amazing - to think we have Christ advocating for us. If we sin, we have Christ defending us - wow! It has given me so much peace, and such a new found admiration of Christ, to know He is advocating for me, even when I am screwing up, and running around in circles....

Recessravel

Travel in the recession...

I have found that with the Euro and NZD not being very good friends anymore I am having to scale back my trip. My time in Europe/ Asia/ USA is set though, so I am looking at newer, more exciting ways to cut costs, but still have a super time. These are some ways so far:

- Couch surfing. I have been hosting people, and it is truely the greatest invention ever. Meeting people around the world, and staying places for free... my two favourite things in the world combined... Check it out at www.couchsurfing.org

- Vaughan Village (ok, so I was gonna do this anyway) - Speaking English with people in exchange for four star room and board in Spain... in other words, free food and accomodation for talking!

- Free things to do in ________ I am researching free things to do in major cities. So far I am part way through Paris, as I figured that would be my most expensive. The list so Far:


Seine River walk
Notre Dame
Le Musee De Parfum (AKA Fragonard museum)
Friday 3pm Fashion show at Galleries Lafayette department store
Visit a gardens
See sights at night when lit up
Friday nights at Louvre for students is free (I have an ID :) )
Pére-Lachaise Cemetery (like a million famous people, from Chopin to Van Morrison buried here)
Sacre-couer choir rehearsals Sunday one hour 9.45
Free walking tour (by you know who)
Hike with rando-panameurs monthly
Musee cognacq-Jay (old-school mansion muesuem)
Visit Victor Hugo's house
Visit the museum of Marie Curee

And it aint even finished!

my kitten

Kevin and I have a kitten.

He is a very vicious ginger male.

I like my kitten.

He has bitten my hand and it looks like I have a rash. The 'rash' is actually lots of kitten scratches.

Busyness

Well I have found myself once again very, very busy.

I am teaching, working with my brother and studying. And to top it all off, my course does quizzes on the readings - so I actually have to do them...

Anyway:

more +ves of Nelson:
pretty mountains
lots of missions stuff.

More -ves of Nelson:
People Drive REALLY slow, like there is an 80 k zone where heaps drive at 50.. a sort of "I'll have to slow down eventually anyway"...

I have changed my travel plans. I am now going via China for 3 weeks, then onto Europe... I'm still figuring what a SUPER budget traveller like me will do in China, but it sounds fun...

Nelson!!!

Well...

I now live in Nelson...

Things I don't like about Nelson:
*Food prices... A comparison... ave hamilton shop for four people for a week $3.20... Ave Nelson shop for four people for a week $3.2 million...(Auckland in the middle!)
*Prices of everything else... even the No. 1 shoe warehouse is more expensive
*Isolation... the nearest Borders is 5 hours drive away
*Lack of up to date travel books in the public library...
*Its too hot
*Kevin's dvd player is broken
*The travel agency is far, far away
*Hamilton is even further away!

Things I like about Nelson:
*My brother is here
*Free bags at Pak'N'Save
*Extreme natural beauty
*The movie theatre is really cute!!! Like old fashioned leather seats and stuff
*Because it is a popular backpacker/ traveller destination it is set up for them - therefore it has a cool 'feel'
*Near my favourite cafe in the entire world (Up The Garden Path in Motueka) is nearby
*Church looks like eastside so I can pretend I'm back in Hamilton
*My mates are obliged to visit me and go on roadtrips
*Not a huge selection of lollies at pak'n'save so I will spend less on lollies and have an amazing waistline
*Amazing swimming holes extremely close
*Nice beaches
*It's not auckland (:

Climate change DUN DUN DUN!!!

Wow - So, have been thinking about and reflecting on travel recently...

As a Christian I believe that we DO have a responsibility to look after the planet, and my 'carbon footprint' is huge, due to the amount of flying I do (and other lifestyle factors. Regardless of whether the global warming thing is as accurate as it is made out to be, or, like some people say, it is a natural phenomenon or hoax, I still believe that there s environmental damage done by the way we live our lives and it is our responsibility to look after the planet.

I have been thinking and researching about this a lot recently and these were the conclusions I drew...

1. I should be doing SOMETHING to offset the carbon that I create when flying, as well as my everyday life. I know that I cannot negate the damage done, but I still think that it is a way of minimalising the risks... I will investigate different environmental options and perhaps make a small but regular donation... I am not necessarily going to do it to a 'carbon offset' scheme as some of these have been proven to be hoaxes, but look at investing into renewable sources of energy etc...

2. Travel should still happen!!!!! Travel employs, directly or indirectly, one in 8 people worldwide - this is big business, and a lot of jobs. Travel boosts local economies. It is often the poorer nations that rely on tourism more to build their ecomonomy...

Anyway... have a nice day...

Happy pretend Christmas...

Hey all...

It is 'pretend Christmas' at my house today, where I am celebrating Christmas with my darling Daddy and Stepmum...

Merry 'pretend Christmas' to you all..

Also, I may be back in the wonderful land of Hamilton sooner than I anticipated... Glyndal is becomming legal :) (That is Glen and Lyndal's wedding).

Have a great day

Laura