Accidentally Triumphant

You're in a cafe on O'Connell Street - a very main and vibrant street in fancy North Adelaide.

Picture this: In the centre of the cafe is a 2 metre tall, free standing glass pane with water gently running down the sides into a little base filled with pebbles. If you can ignore the fact that it makes you need to go to the toilet it's incredibly tranquill and nice to drink your hot chocolate by.

Now let your eyes settle at the base of the glass - what do you see?

Money? Mould? A shrek coloured buddha statue?

Up until last week you could've seen the buddha - but not any more.

You see last week, while in a largely empty cafe, I chose the path of most resistance to say hello to someone. One of the points of resistance was between the (very yucky) buddha statue and my laptop bag. My laptop bag, and by extension, myself - came out best. A giant crashing noise, tiny bits of green ceramic, panic in my chest, dollar signs in my brain and laughter in the corner (thanks for your support girls!) errupted all at once.

I picked up most of the pieces and the girls who work there swept up the rest. I offered them some money (secretly hoping I wouldn't have to fork out for a false god) and was entirely relieved when they said they weren't sure. I let them know I'd be there for a while, recovering on the couches in the corner with me oh so supportive girlfriends, and if they decided they wanted some cash they could come and let me know. They didn't.

And that is the official story on how Jesus, in me, defeated buddha in the cafe.

Got the time?

This is the time of day I get picked up when I work.

It is not a time I actually see every day. But it is a good time and I'm happy to be it.

Happy Harvest

A friend of mine, who has been trying to have a baby for ages, has recently begun the IVF process. Her husband has been giving her the daily injections to stimulate folicle growth and then ovum release. Today she goes in for her first 'harvest'. They will take as many eggs as they can get so that she wont have to repeat this part of the process too often. Once they have the eggs they will place one in a dish with her husbands sperm (the good ones they collected) and pray that they do, in unsual circumstances, what they are designed to normally do in usual circumstances. If all goes well she will have a little zygote, the begining of a baby, placed in her womb on monday.

Is that not a miracle?!

I know there are a lot of ethical, moral and spiritual issues that surround IVF and I know that I am certainly not aware of all the ins and outs of the process or those issues. What I do know is that my friend and her husband both desperately want to share their love with a child other their own, that they have tried many options, that because of sin these parts of their bodies don't work like God designed human bodies to work and here, through IVF, they are being given a chance to use the gifts of science, medicine and intellegence that God has given to us throughout history to come one step closer to their hearts desire.

I have shown her my support by asking lots of questions and giving her interested ears to talk to about it all. And in my quirkiness I made her a 'Happy Harvest' card. I am excited for her, nervous for her, hanging my hopes on this with her and knowing that anything I feel about this for her she must be experiencing a million times more.

Pray for her. Lift her up to our Father, who created life and who gave us the mandate to continue creating it with him. Pray as David did,

"May he [God] give you the desires of your heart" - Psalm 20v4a


*Update* - This just in: Instead of the one egg the doctor thought he'd be able to extract he was able to get SEVEN! Praise the Lord! And don't quit praying for the next phases - conception and implantation.

ummm??

I just came back from the girls toilets here at school... one of the toilet seats was... UP?!

What?

Progress

I am getting somewhere! The toys for downstairs, when my friends with little ones come to visit, have a basket. My knitting has a basket. My ironing things have a basket (now this may sound like I've gone too far but it's so easy now to just grab the iron and the basket instead of making three trips to my tiny laundry. Crazy? You might think so, but my goodness is it tidy and efficient!).

The fantastic baskets come from Ikea. They have millions of the things which means I've slightly compromised my 'not being common' thing but for the sake of unity, the ease of being able to go back ten times and buy more if I need them (and believe me, I am finding more and more things to use them for) and the comforting thought that, as the label says, "each one is uniquely handmade", I can live with it.

I bought one large one for the toys, 4 medium ones (paints, sticky things, knitting and cables) and 3 small ones for the laundry (ironing, laundry bags and enjo's).

Orderliness and peace are creepin' in already!

Unexpected Invasion

Who knew we had this many soft toys in our house? A house with no children?

Where did they all come from? Have they been silently breeding in the cupboard?

I anticpicate that with the advent of offspring in our home (God willing) there will be many more squishy, cuddly animals added to the ranks but, for now, they've gone back in the box in the cupboard.

Face Lift

So, what do you think??

In the market for a basket

Joel and I were discussing yesterday how each of us feels so much better when our spaces are clean and ordered. Joel can't stand things being left on the kitchen (a sin for which I am terribly guilty) and I freak out a bit at the thought of 'shoving things in cupboards'. As part of the discussion (ok, it really did begin a little bit fiery... but it was good and healthy and we understand each other much better now!) we walked around the house together and commented on the areas that frustrate us and how we can make them better and more effective. We immediately got rid of a few things and both felt much more possitive about the potential for our little house and the harmony of two very different people living together.

It turns out that Joel loves things to look clean and tidy and uncluttered bit isn't to fussed about where it goes. I can understand that - out of sight, out of mind right?

Well, I'm a bit of a organising, storage junky. I like boxes, bags, trays, dividers, racks, holders, rails, boards, baskets, shelving, jars, pots and containers. To me, it really matters where it goes.

Here's what's going through my head for one area:

At the moment I'm allocating a lot of brain time to coming up with the best system for my desk area and art supplies. I don't want lots of plasticy things. I don't want lots of clutter. I don't want everything hidden. I don't want everything on display. I don't want dark coloured things. And I don't want it to look commercial or common or contrived.

I want order. Artist, gentle, light, inspiring, natural order.

And I'm going to have to start somewhere.

Firstly I need something new for my paints - the bottom of the basket I've got them in fell out... too many paints?! No!

Then I need something for all my scraps of paper. I can't find anything the way they are now and so I don't look and therefore I don't make anything - too hard.

After that something for my letter writing paper, my 'sticking things' (paper glue, wood glue, metal glue, hot glue, tape - double sided, clear, masking and electrical), my fabric (small amount though it is), my beads, knitting and stamps.

I'm working on it. I'll let you know how I go. And please, please, please, if you have a good storage idea - let me know - I might just like it!