Time to Breathe!

Holy crap.

You know what it's like when you start out with great intentions of doing something like losing weight or exercising, then you try it twice and get busy with other things? I think that's what has happened with this blog. So, I'm sorry, I really will try to do better.

So, I'm halfway through my first semester already. Time has flown by and it's hard to believe I'll be visiting the States in only about 2 1/2 months! I'm really excited for a break and to see Molly (plus everyone else I love and miss, but she takes priority).

School has been great. I'm really involved in a lot of different areas which has been cool. At the moment I serve doing Chapel set-up every other Wednesday, Car Park and Jumping Castle Team for Sisterhood on Thursday mornings, Sexy Sweeps on Thursday afternoons, Lecture Room set-up on Fridays, StreetTeams on Saturday mornings, Chinese Extension Service on Sundays, plus I'm doing some writing for the yearbook. So, yeah. It's awesome, but busy! There have been some let-downs, but nothing life shattering, just things not going quite like I had hoped they would.

I've never had such a hard time finding a job, which sucks. I've been at it for about 10 weeks now and just got my first interview. It's definitely a whole different world down here. God has something worked out and I believe He is bringing me the right job at the right time, I just wish the right time was now!

I've got awesome housemates, of course there are challenges that go along with living in a house with 5 guys, but overall it's been awesome. We've had some really great times so far and I only see it getting better!

I played guitar for the first time about 2 weeks ago, which was really cool. We had an assessment to do a performance for a particular culture group in the church, and my group was senior citizens. We had a great time and playing guitar went way better than I expected.

I've lost weight too, which is awesome. It's not because of my fantastic work out program, it's just what happens when you walk EVERYWHERE and live on a college diet. So, I'll be looking good over Christmas. I'll have a killer tan too, because it'll be summer time here, which means lots of beach time!

On top of all that, I'm learning heaps and having tons of mindsets challenged. Not that I've been wrong in every thing, but definitely re-evaluating things and making sure I'm thinking in a way that will propel me, not hinder me.

I have some cool announcements and big plans coming up, but it's still in the works so I'm going to keep it quiet for now... That's the best I have for a cliffhanger, so keep checking and I'll seriously try to update more regularly!

I apologize for being so random, but I had to just go with the flow. Look for more organized writings in the future!

I Come from the Land Down Under

It's official! I'm now a student at Hillsong International Leadership College! That may not mean much to some of you, but it's the fulfillment of a dream for me. I've strived for years and years to follow God's direction for my life, and sometimes I didn't understand what He was doing, but I'm finally getting it. He's been leading me here for years, but He had to work other things out in me first.

So, for those of you who have never been to Australia, it is the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life. My first week here I was able to spend a day in downtown Sydney with my new housemates and friends, see and walk on the Harbour Bridge, see the Opera House, and walk through the Botanical Gardens. I went to Katoomba to see the Three Sisters and the Blue Mountains, and have been to Manly, Bondi and Bronte Beach. Everything here is amazing! I've also met some really awesome people from all over the world.

On top of those great times, I've been able to start calling Hillsong Church my home church! If you don't know anything about them or what they do, just go to YouTube and look up "Hillsong" and you'll get a small idea. This church is the most incredible thing I have ever been a part of. It's not just a church here. This is literally a community of people who really and truly love God and take their relationship with Him seriously. I have heard some of the best teaching of my life here, and I've only been to services for 2 weeks! And if the teaching wasn't good enough, the worship here is beyond compare. The presence of God is so tangible, because the heart of the church is so pure.

I pray that through my time here, God will engrain the heart of this place into my heart, so that I can duplicate it elsewhere. The world desperately needs what God is doing in this place. I'm so thankful He's trusted me enough to send me here and start on this journey. Words fail to describe the awesomeness of the God I serve. I pray if you don't know Him like I do, that you will start to. It is the best thing you could ever do. There is literally nothing in this world that is worth giving up that relationship with God for. Nothing.

And here we.....GO!

Well, just in case any of you didn't realize it, that blog title is a Batman reference, more specifically a quote by the Joker in The Dark Knight. That's not really important to this blog, I just thought I should point out that I'm a nerd before anyone else had the chance. Kinda like, "You can't fire me cause I QUIT!"

Anyways.

I'm moving to Australia. Yep. On July 10 I will get on a plane in Columbia, SC and start out on the biggest adventure of my life so far. I'll be going to the Hillsong International Leadership College to study music and worship for 2 years. Music is my passion and I love everything about it, but more than that I really love worship.

I don't really know exactly what God has called me to, but I know it's big and I hope it changes people's lives. I'm pretty fed up with the state of the American church and the attitudes of the people who fill those churches. I want to start a character revolution. No more living on the fence and just scarping by. I'm going all out for what I believe in. God has been too good to me for me to offer anything less. I hope I can inspire and push others to do the same.

This is all I'm going to say right now, but please keep checking back. I can promise that this blog will be filled with lots of sarcasm, Batman quotes and references, hopefully some thought-provoking spiritual things, and an honest account of the adventures I take.

Thanks for the support.