A Touch Of Home

I haven't got a lot to share this week as I've been sick and nearly lost my voice so I haven't been doing much other than school and then going home to rest! Hopefully its on the mend now as it has been very frustrating to not be able to use it in the classroom! The kids have been pretty good though and most have respected the need for the class to be quiet for the last couple of days. It has reinforced my experiences that using a quiet voice creates a quiet classroom and not the other way around. It can be hard to remember that sometimes though!

Since I stayed home this weekend instead of doing something fun, I finally got around to putting up some photos and posters in my room and I really feel like it has brightened up the room so much! Its like I've brought a touch of home with me and transported it into my bedroom :) Here's a photo of my display so far - I am going to put some more photos up later.

I did go out on Thursday night with some of the ladies to celebrate my teaching partners birthday. There are some really wonderful ladies here! I'm a bit worried though... a few of them seem a little TOO keen for me to meet their sons.... They seem to have all decided that they need to find me a husband! I'm still not sure if they're joking or not.....
But all that aside, they really are wonderful Godly ladies and it was a very enjoyable night out!
I really am feeling like this is my home now and I feel sure that this is EXACTLY where God wants me at the moment. He has looked after me so much!

Kayaking at Leslie Dam

One of the most exciting parts about moving to a new town is seeing the sights and I have discovered the Warwick is surrounded by beautiful scenery and places to explore. Over the weekends, I am planning on exploring these beautiful places! Last Saturday, I went kayaking on Leslie Dam with a friend. It was beautiful! We were there long enough to see the sun set over the water and it was so magical!

When we got back to the bank, there was a huge group of kangaroos down by the water.

It was such a beautiful afternoon. I'm definitely going to come back here again!

Do We Need That Stuff???

This morning at church, the message was on consumerism. Not a message you'd expect to hear, but definitely a relevant one and one that really spoke to me. As I have just moved towns, I don't have a lot of stuff. I have the basics, enough to live on. My house is definitely not FULL though. As I have slowly been removing boxes and putting things away, I have some empty spaces in my house. I was beginning to think of things I could put in those spaces to fill my house up a bit. But this message at church made me realise how silly that was.

Consumerism is all about getting more stuff to make us happy. The truth of the matter is that stuff doesn't actually make us happy! It doesn't fill our lives and make us feel satisfied and whole. I've never met a person who has said "I'm so glad my house is full of stuff. It really makes me happy." We fill our houses and lives with things we thought we needed but then have barely used and all they have done is clutter things up. Do we actually need this stuff? Do we need a bigger TV? Do we need another console? Do we need the latest version of Mario Kart or the latest smartphone? I have to ask myself what my motivation is for buying things. Am I buying it simply to fill an empty space in my house, or is it something that will really fulfil my life?

The Bible teaches us that the essence of God is relationship. We are created in His image and that means that we are created for relationship. We were designed to relate to God. STUFF doesn't allow us to relate to God. It just gets in the way. So before you buy a new ipad or the latest ipod touch, ask yourself if you really need it or if it is just going to get in the way of your relationship with God. I know that's what I'm going to start doing!

The Adventure Begins!

I started a new life adventure just over 4 weeks ago when I moved to Warwick to begin my teaching career in a beautiful little private school. I wanted to write about it as a way of keeping in touch with friends and family back home as well as a way to keep track of this adventure I find myself on! So please read and share and write me comments! I'd love to hear from you :)