I Think That I'm Falling In Love

Falling in love with {Adam Dane Neesby} to be quite exact. As K and I were walking around the gorgeous city of Sydney on Monday night, this song kept poking into my thoughts "It's a grand night for singing, the stars are bright above. The earth is aglow and to add to the show, I think that I'm falling in love. Falling, falling in love!" {sigh} How true that is. I know you are all here to read of my adventures in the wild and wonderful land of Australia, but indulge me for just a moment.

Last night, I was quite distraught with my overwhelming feelings of missing my Captain Awesome. Los Angeles is so far away, as is Monday when I get to run into his strong arms as I bust off the plane. But that's besides the point. I am missing our two hour {plus}, nightly conversations, I am missing being able to text him whenever I want. And all coupled up with that is my plain 'ole missing him in general. Missing just being together. Missing laughing over stupid things with each other. Missing holding hands. ... ... {Yes, yes, I hear you. I will stop now.}

A N Y W A Y S. After typing a rather long, depressing monologue email for him and getting ready to cuddle down into bed, these sweet words popped up on my Skype chat

hey my love! r u still up? u wanna skype really quietly for 5 minutes? skype and type? I miss u soo bad. i love u....

{Insert lots of awww's and maybe a little teary eye.} My sweet, loving, sacrificing man woke up at {what was his} 4:00am just to talk to me. And what was suppose to be 5 minutes turned into well over an hour. How amazing is he?! Seriously. I was touched to my pinky toes and soon my depression turned to sappy delight as we talked and prayed together. {Sigh} I love him.

{Note to my single girlfriends out there. Never, never, P L E A S E never settle. Never settle for second best. Never settle for less than God wants to give you. Never settle for a man who does not want to love you like Jesus loves His church. The waiting is crazy hard. And never fun. But it's so incredibly worth it. And when that hunk of a man comes along and sweeps you off your feet. Treats you like the princess you are. Loves you and sacrifices things for you like Jesus does for His church. You will be smiling at the fuzzies around your heart. And will be so glad you waited. Ok. End of soapbox!}

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I am also falling in love with Australia. The beaches. The cities. The brilliant blue sky. The lights at night. The people. The food. Here's a snapshot {or two or twenty} of our two day trip into Sydney.

It was quite funny how, the city that we thought should come alive at night, actually went quite dead around 8:00pm. We were desperately looking for some delish place to have our dinner, but unless we wanted to pay posh prices for posh food, we had to settle for McDonalds. In Sydney, Australia. Go figure.

The next day, we had breakfast at a tiny sandwich/coffee shop we found near our hostel. Like their tee-shirts said "Come for the coffee, Stay for the service". Our super friendly friend, Harry, had us in stitches as he served us our coffee and carrot cake.

After breakfast, we headed to Manly beach via the big green ferry.

{Note to self: Return to Australia with Captain Awesome after getting married. Return to Sydney. Return to ferry. Go to destination stop 1 on 'My Ferry2'. Stay there for a long time.}

{No, I cannot think summer. It's November for crying out loud. Christmas and Summer will N E V E R be synonymous. Period. End of story.}

{We passed scores of school kids taking part in surf education. Are you serious?! Surf education. I would go back to school in Australia just to be a part of that. Top coolness for sure!}

{If I had to be a pigeon, I would want to live in Sydney. Pigeons are treated right there. You would be allowed to enter the open McDonalds and eat fallen french fries. Awesome. You would be allowed to fly onto the ferries and skitter around til you reach the other side. Adventurous! It would be a good pigeon life to be sure.}

{C H I N A T O W N!!! And my favorite red tea. A little bit of heaven!}

{Eating real aussie food: Kebobs! With open air music by the local police band. Thank you, Manly!!}

- - -

This made me so happy. Just like Brian Reagan talks about, the 'Sprinks-Mix-For-Lunitics'!! I'm still trying to figure out the logic behind this sprinkle design. Hmmm....

Today I'm {Loving}

... Enjoying the early morning while tucked into a blue kayak and paddling around an island

... An egg and bacon wrap fresh off the barbeque grill. {Nothing better than the smell of bacon frying in the morning air}

... The color on my arms and legs from this blazing Australian sun {No pastey Midwestern girl for me!}

... Watching my handsome man get all distracted by our Skype date. {He's super cute when he's tongue-tied}

... Blowing him kisses from the land down under

... Talking in excited voices about our upcoming nine days together {nine whole glorious days!!}

... A comforting peace from {Psalms 42}

... A cozy nap and the whole world goes dead around me

... Climbing a big hill and gawking at the blue-green ocean on all sides of me

... Laughing with K as we crumble to the ground in hysteria

... Spoonfuls of cool refreshing {lemon} sorbet after dinner

... Hanging my wet laundry outside in the delicious night air

{what i'm N O T loving}

... Being over {7000} miles from my handsome man's arms

... The kink in my computer screen which makes it only work when opened at a 35 degree angle

... My hair that has gone spastic on me the last week

... The lack of working out with my bro, Tim {my would-be-muscles are disappearing}

... Lyrics of a new song that will N O T leave my head {I actually don't mind this, it's just getting a little over the top}

... Not having hugs from my adorable sisters

... The last {tim-tams} that disappeared from their package this afternoon {I actually am really loving this. It means I can no longer be tempted to eat them}

Wild Air :: Peaceful Heart

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

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It's amazing how the organic, wild, untouched natural beauty soothes my soul. Being here in Australia has reminded me of that truth all over again. As I look out on the crashing waves of sea blues and greens; as my eyes catch a glimpse of huge humpbacked whales; as the soft clean sand sticks to my feet; as the huge white clouds offset the blue sky and water; my heart is refreshed. It's like God comes down and whispers in my soul that He is big. He is in control. He is not confused. He is watching me, loving me, holding me.

One would think that being in such an amazing place as Australia would make you forget all your worries and troubles. Funny thing is, that although I am experiencing things that people spend their lives dreaming about, God continues to allow brokenness to be a real part of my life. I suppose those who read this blog are getting tired of hearing me talk about it. But since that is where God has me now, I cannot ignore it.

Sometimes the brokenness hurts so bad, I huddle in a corner and sob my heart out. Sometimes the brokenness makes my heart angry. Sometimes the brokenness makes me cringe and wonder if it will ever be over. But most times the brokenness makes me turn my face to Jesus and cling to Him in utter desperation. Brokenness causes me to see my daily need of His grace, love and forgiveness. Brokenness makes the Word come alive in ways it can't when everything is right in the world. Brokenness reminds me daily of my utter depravity without God. Brokenness shows me I am nothing without Him. Brokenness makes me love Him more.

Although I hate this feeling of brokenness, I love the feeling of knowing God is right there. I have had so many moments of knowing if God is not there to hold me, I will surely go insane. It's also amazing because I can feel the prayers of the people God has put in my life. That is a humbling, yet incredible feeling. To know without a shadow of a doubt that at this moment, someone is interceding for me. Thank you Jesus.

Why do I share all of this?? Like any of you really care anyway, right?! ;) I just want my blog to be a place where I can know God and make Him known. I want Him to be lifted up and exalted. I would not be here without Him. I also hope that somehow my journey can be a blessing to someone. Some of the best advice I have received from my friends, is this. Read the Word. Press into God through prayer. Don't stop. Keep reading and seeking. {I love you girls... you know who you are!!} Many times I am afraid to encourage people who are going through suffering with 'all the right answers'. But I have been so encouraged by the girls who constantly remind me of this. And deep down inside, we all know it's true. Jesus is just waiting for us to run to Him. To declare our need of desperate dependence on Him. That is when He will answer. When He will come through for us. He is waiting...

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in an ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. - Mother Teresa

There's a wideness in God's mercy like the wideness of the sea. - Frederick William Faber

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. - Psalm 139: 9-10

There's always a hole in my heart and the empty place by my side in all my travels... I miss my Captain Awesome!!

Magical Moments

Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.

-St. Augustine

The Captain Awesome and I had two days together between my Canada and Australian tours this month. I am reminded again and again what a gift those precious hours are together. We were laughing as I was thanking God for two whole entire days together instead of just one. :P

The day I left for Australia, we had a picnic on the sunny beach. The blue of the sky, the blue of the water and the blue of his eyes was quite dreamy.

{i love this man}

We always love feeding the nosy birds that come by to visit. There always seems so be a bossy brat among them.

The little sandwich shop had a jar full of these amazing pickles. This photo is for my sister, Bethie, who madly adores {big pickles}

God has been showing me in such real ways that life is made up of trails, struggles, conflicts, heartache, and pain. And rather than running away from it all, we discover Him in a new way as we run into the pain. Along the way, He sprinkles these magical moments. Moments of love. Moments of peace. Moments of Him reminding us that He is God. He is in control. And that He is loving us through it all.

{O Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble. You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear.} Psalms 10:17