Brisbane Riverfire

Each year, to celebrate the beginning of Spring, the city of Brisbane puts on an amazing show of fireworks all long the Brisbane River. They call this night 'Riverfire'. It is so appropriately named, as the river truly is 'on fire' with fireworks and so much more. Well, last night was Riverfire. But before we headed down to the river to watch the show, we had our monthly Community BBQ at the church. We were not sure how many people we would have, as they were expecting 1/2 million people to be along the rivers edge... with some of them walking past Ann St. Church of Christ to get there. Well, we had a very good turn out, and heaps of food to share around. It was a great time, with planes flying overhead, doing some amazing stunts.. and then we quickly cleaned up and headed down to the river. One of the highlights of the night is when a jet (Oh, I am sure there is a specific name for this type of jet, but I don't know those details) flies over the river and does a fuel drop. When that happens, the fuel catches fire and lights up the night sky. I have a picture here where you can see the fire.. and the sky all lit up. The jet was flying very quickly, so it was hard to get a good picture. I also have a picture of the Story Bridge, with fireworks on it. These fireworks are seriously everywhere.. they come off of the bridge, several places along the river as well as the tops of the city buildings. These pictures will not do justice to seeing it in person(not to mentionthey're a bit blurry, but you'll get the idea).. So, if ever you'd like to come and see.. it is always right around the first part of Sept (or end of Aug). What a great way to welcome in Spring.. and the sunshine.

'Stop and Smell the Flowers'

So, it's been awhile since I have written anything, so I thought I'd share about a walk that I went on this past Sunday with Brianna (she is 11 and I live with her family). We just walked down to the park down the road from our house... it was a beautiful, sunny (finally) day and so we thought we should enjoy it. So why would any of you care about this, well maybe you won't but I want to share that God uses times like these to speak to us. First of all, this is a park that I drive past nearly every time I go anywhere, and I have never taken time to walk through it. I love Australia for reasons like this.. here I am just 15 minutes from the City, aka downtown, and here there is this most amazing park... full of so many different kinds of flowers, a creek and some great birds. I have attached some pictures so that maybe you too can appreciate it.

OK, I will get to my point... I guess in a society that is so fast paced we rarely take time out to simply enjoy the things that God has created for our enjoyment. I was reminded of the value of just taking time out. It brought a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Stop and smell the roses". So, they weren't roses that we saw, but we did stop and look at every type of flower, looked at the detail and took pictures of each one. We spent 2 hours just enjoying God's creation. And to think, I was so tired when I got home from church and almost did not go. I am so glad that I did.

If you take nothing else from this, I hope you are encouraged to 'stop and smell the flowers'!

Just lean into HIM

'Just lean into Him'. These are words that I heard spoken tonight. I went with some friends to Brisbane City Church tonight to hear Reggie Dabbs, an American, speak. He is an amazing man of God, and has a powerful ministry.. more on that in a moment. But it was not Reggie that spoke those words. What I did not know is that not only did we get to hear Reggie speak, but Darlene Zschech was actually there leading worship. (She is the one from Hillsong.. you know, "Shout to the Lord"). How amazing it was, she is so passionate about God and in her worship to Him. She was sharing the story behind one of the verses in a song that we were singing, and encouraged us, that in those times that we 'walk through the valley of the shadow of death' that God is there and He is safe.. Just lean into Him, and you will feel Him. Those words got to me.. really got to me. God never said that living life for Him was going to be easy, but that we WILL face trials, but in those times, if we trust in Him, we will grow stronger. I will hold on to the vision of Darlene leaning in.. I must lean into God.
So, Reggie Dabbs... he is from Florida, but I had never heard of him until coming to Australia. He has a wonderful ministry to young people, in the State highs schools. This week alone he will be speaking to over 120,000 youth around the state of Queensland. So what makes Reggie so special? He would say he is not, in fact he shares that he was conceived because his mom had sex with a man for $20. Yes, she was a prostitute. He was raised in foster care by a great family and found the Lord. It is God that has taken him and used him.. simply because he opened himself up to be used. Please pray for Reggie as he speaks to all of those youth this week... just last night 250 teens gave their lives to the Lord at a service he spoke at. If you would like to read more of his story, check it out at reggiedabbsonline.com/story.php
Anyhow, it was another wonderful night and I hope that I will always remember to 'Lean into God'. I hope you do too.

Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics

So tonight I got to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. It was not only exciting to see the spectacular show, but Sue and I sat and watched with LuLu, who is from China. For those that don't know, LuLu lives here with the Pennells as well. It was so amazing to have her sit there and not only translate for us, but she explained so many things that were not spoken of by the Australian commentators. China is so rich in history, it was very special to sit and learn from her as we watched.

I am not sure when they will air in the States, but I encourage you all to watch them.... they are still on now, with the athletes coming in... but it is late so we are taping them. I will finish watching that part in the morning.

This is my second 'summer' Olympics here in Australia (although it is winter here now). It is interesting to watch from another country.. of course I see mostly the Aussie's, but when I hear the National Anthem of the USA, I smile... sometimes I feel as though I should be standing...

I will say, when it comes to men's field hockey, I will be cheering for Australia, as we know one of the players. Should you happen to watch, look for Matt Wells and cheer him on. He was the Foreman of the crew that remodeled our kitchen last year.

Anyhow, here is getting into the Olympic Spirit, but remembering to pray for the many Christians in China that are still persecuted today.

Nick Vujicic

So, I was just watching a story about Nick on 60 Minutes. Nick is a 25 year old Aussie that was born without arms or legs. He has made a career of going, around the world now, and speaking to people and sharing his story. He is an amazing Christian man and is very inspiring. Hearing him speak reminds me that with God nothing is impossible. Nick certainly proves that in what he does, and how he lives his life.











Three years ago, we had the blessing of having Nick at Redcliffe State high. He came and spoke to year 9 & 10 students. To see the impact that he had on the students that I work with on a regular basis was incredible. I am truly inspired by his story, but more than that, encouraged to keep trusting in God for all of my needs.

I love, too, that he has now been to my home church in So Cal, Knott Ave., two times....

I encourage you to check out his website.. http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/ and be encouraged by his story too.