"Cadet, step away from the folder!"

This just could not escape blogging!...

You may (or may not) be aware that the army 'big wigs' are currently at College undergoing discussion about our territory and, of course, the appointments as we're only a wee way out from the Big Shuffle (or the bit of paper that will cause the Big Shuffle anyway!).

Well, aside from the obvious temptation to stick a glass to the wall of the CLD boardroom (all attempts to wait on the cabinet/DCs for coffee, hot water, food etc. were denied!! - we only wanted to serve...!), I'm sad to say we have all pretty much been kept away from the action - no surprises there! All that is, except one of my sessionmates who found himself moving tables in the boardroom with the TP. This in itself is not exactly cause for celebration, it was the item that almost came into his possession that was!

As they moved furniture, my sessionmate found himself just arms length away from a folder entitled:

Territorial Appointments ...Blah Blah Blah

...(of course the 'Territorial Appointments' bit is all he remembers of the title!)

You can imagine how he froze (just for a split second!) as thoughts of opening the folder whizzed through his mind (along with thoughts of security cameras, candid camera episodes and of course, the inevitable trip to the mercy seat for weighing up all possiblities in the first place!!). Ah! The temptation - could it be Mangatinoka? Corps plant Eketahuna or... Gisborne perhaps?! But alas, this cadet resisted and to this day, will never know the contents of the folder!

Hooray! - I can hear you all cheer. We too, were pleased that after 18months of boot camp, our sessionmate had honesty all sorted. It was only in closing that he relayed the contributing factor of a certain Personnel Secretary appearing at his elbow shortly after eyeing the precious bounty which leaves me to conclude...

Be sure Lt Col Arnold will read your mind and keep you from all temptation when around any documentation pertaining to your future!

...all things considered, I still can't help imagining the tug-of-war between the Colonel and a burly 2nd yr cadet over a folder! - oh to be a fly on the CLD boardroom wall!!

Snapshots

I'm back in photo-blogging action! Some 'kodak moments' are up on the photoblog...enjoy!

Seeing the mountian in such splendour almost made the freezing cold moments down here worth it ... almost!

Where Oh Where

Where did the holidays go?! Sometime last week, it almost felt like I'd never left! Mind you, I like being at home amongst all my bits & pieces and you just can’t beat your own bed and your own pillow - although Nig & Christine’s spare bed came a pretty close second I must admit!

I had a great time away. The drive up was just magnificent. The mountain turned on quite a show along the Desert Rd – to the point where people were stopping and having snow fights, taking photos and just standing in awe of it… it was amazing! Not a cloud in the sky and snow EVERYWHERE. I just had to stop, at least three times I think (!!), to take photos. If only I had wiped the sea spray off the lens since my last adventure – my blue sky came out rather speckled but hey, a few made it through but you'll have to check out the photo blog sometime soon as blogger just won't attach any of my photos at present!

I couldn’t leave Auckland without capturing some more of it and, of course, it just wouldn’t be me if the photos weren’t almost all near water yet again!! Shannon and I headed out to Mission Bay on another scorcher of a day (can I say being in Auckland was like being in the tropics after winter in the Hutt!!) and we stopped a couple of times for some photos. Rangitoto Island was awesome and then the sun poking through the clouds made for an occasional kodak moment if you were quick enough!

It was so good to be able to drive around without a map book for two whole weeks, to go to so many of my old haunts, to soak in the familiarity of it all and to just relax with people that know me almost better than I know myself!! The Factory crowd – you are the best and you have awesome, wise, spirit-filled leaders… how lucky you are! I can’t wait to see you all again at New Zeal.

I’m still on the Brengle wagon at the moment in case you’re wondering! I’m currently hip deep in Helps to Holiness and Sanctified Sanity… mouth wateringly good – the best food you’ll have had in a long time I assure you! – and both highly recommended! So many things are falling into place for me I hardly know where to start so I’ll save it for another day – its in the ‘Monica’s Untidy Closet’ compartment of my brain at present awaiting a good deal of sifting and ordering!

Well, I’m avoiding my theology reading for tomorrow ...again (theology, schmeology!!) – any of you Bridge Builders (or wanna-be cadets – we know you’re out there!) want a[nother] shot at ‘Thinking Biblically C’??... no? Alas, I shall brave it myself… tomorrow morning… maybe!

Brengle on Holiness

I must admit... my head is a bit of a muddle today! I'm keeping a head cold and sore throat at bay - just! - and I'm wading my way through a tough sermon and a few assignments.

I've got everything from definitions of missiology, the ins-and-outs of Liberation Theology, Christian Presence, Dialogue, Social Action and Evangelism ever present in my consciousness and to top it all off, I'm reading Samuel Logan Brengle's Helps to Holiness... mind blowing! I'm loving it.

I know that he would want nothing but to have the glory given back to God regarding how many he has helped on the journey but I'm just so stoked that he listened to God on these matters of the heart concerning holiness and got it all down on paper!

I also have to admit (it must be a day for confessions!) that my pastor and mentor put this book in my hand nearly five years ago and I shelved it somewhere - I can't even remember if I ever returned it or not! The copy I have in my hot little hands at present went for 50c at the last library sale - it would have to be my bargain of the year!

Some of what I'm reading is confirmation of what I've discovered on my journey but I'd be lying if I didn't say that he takes the truth and goes that step further with it.

I've been challenged as to whether my heart is truly consecrated and whether or not my faith has kept me from experiencing a deeper experience of the Holy Spirit. Hard to admit after being on this road for so long but it's not about pride, it's about going hard after God. There's a 'citadel wall', as Brengle describes, that I am scaling for the last time - I claim with boldness and in faith that "I am the Lord's! I am the Lord's!"

There'll be more on this to come I can assure you!

The Magic Flute

Just last week I was having a bit of a lament over the fact that I wouldn't be able to get to the opera this season but God is just sooooo good! Saturday morning, Pete rung and he just happened to be trying to give away 2 tickets to the opera that night. I was almost dumbstruck - not something that happens often I might add!!

So, within the hour, I had arranged Jen to come with me and by 6.30 that night we were making our merry way into town. It was a great night. One of Mozart's more unusual operas - it is in German as opposed to Italian (the international language of opera) and part of it was spoken/acted out in English. It took a bit of getting used to for me but I loved it all the same. Beautiful flute melodies whistling all the way through just as you would expect, and Papageno (the crazy bird looking creature to the right) was fantastic! Some of the other outfits cracked us up - a bit Madonna like but there's always room for artistic interpretation with Mozart!

Thankyou NZ Opera for a great night out!

Petonio

A few weeks back, Hudson and I had an afternoon trip to the pier at Petone. My camera was out and he was just in fine form - we had a blast!

He was so excited with everyone fishing off the wharf that all he talked about all the way home was that he wanted a fishing rod for his birthday and he wanted his mum and dad to take him fishing. This cracked me up immensely as I can't say that fishing off the wharf would be the first place I would look for either Jenny or Marcus on a sunny afternoon!!

Well, he wanted a crack at taking a photo as well - Hudson is never one to be left out of anything! - so here it is...

...and can I say - not bad for an amateur!

There's a budding photographer in there I tell you - and he's only 3yrs old!

And why the title of Petonio you may well ask? Well, on the way home, I spent the bulk of the time trying to get Hudson to translate the trip to 'the special bridge at the beach' into the 'pier' at 'Petone' and, well, Petonio was about as close as we got!!

Mozart

Thoroughly enjoyed the movie! Not everyone's 'cup-of-tea' so be warned. It was a pretty long documentary (just over 2 hours) on the life of Mozart from the age of about 4 through to his death.

The highlight was definitely the cinematography... just amazing! Throughout the movie you went to all the places Mozart lived, worked and played but those scenes were kept modern day which had a great effect - it avoided the fake by trying to reconstruct what might have been.

There were voice-overs used as parts of his letters were read, amazing pieces of artwork were shown and snippets of his music were performed. Every time they focused on a piece of music being performed, the shot was amazing. Sometimes you would only see the fingers on the keyboard, othertimes just the face of the different performers. Everything was extremely close-up which I just love! Aside from an incredibly hard to watch opera singer and an over-the-top swaying violinist who nearly gave me motion sickness, it was all hugely effective.

To top it all off, I had the cinema to myself. MYSELF!! It was great - only one miserably funny moment. In trying to choose a seat, I turned to the manager who was busy starting the film and asked which was the best seat in the house for sound (he prides himself on his sound system.. Dolby Surround Sound... tens of thousands of dollars... ra-ra!) only to be left to my own thoughts - not to mention choices - as I figured out (perhaps a little later than others might have) that he was behind a sound-proof piece of glass!! ...I suddenly had an acute sense of self as I sunk into my arm chair not to mention an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the empty cinema! Things we do eh?!

The Giant Muffin Tin

Weird I know but there are days when living in the Hutt Valley could be paralleled to living in a giant muffin tin!

We're nestled right up against the hills which can be breath-taking with the right sunset but even more so when a cold spell brings the snow... yesterday and today, the mountains were sprinkled in snow - making them look almost edible! My sympathy for all my fellow Aucklanders but the weather here has only left us with a few freezing nights followed by frosty mornings and enough power to keep the heater on full!...not that I'm skiting or anything!

...I'm about done with anything that resembles study this week (and it's only Wednesday!!) so am contemplating a movie at midday down at the Lighthouse Cinema tomorrow (study day). Lighthouse cinemas down here are like mini Lidos. You know, grab your latte and chocolate brownie as opposed to popcorn and coke - right up my alley!... for this week anyway!

In case you're wondering how that works for a poor student, well, the power bill came in under budget and so the prize for keeping within the budget is of course to blow the budget!

...and my movie of choice? In Search of Mozart - seeing as there's no way I can afford a ticket to see The Magic Flute while it's in town *sob! sob!...completely gutted*

Stay tuned for the review!!

My Psalm

I had a belated birthday wish come my way today and wrapped up in the sentiment was a little gem.

The gift-giver told me that Psalm 30 was 'my Psalm' and it made me smile. Not that we could ever really own a part of the Bible but I was intrigued, so I turned up and had a read. It's packed with meaning and not the easiest of the Psalms to interpret but I have decided that I'll commit the Psalm to some serious exegesis and find out what else God might say.

In the meantime, here's what I'm taking away from it:

Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;

praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favour lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:4-5

Just out of interest - what's your Psalm and what does it say to you today?... if you're further down the journey than me in terms of years, don't be shy - there are 150 chapters in Psalms!!

Supremacy

Ah... so many good things today! Most recently, an incredibly tasty green curry chicken dinner with Trade Aid dark chocolate for dessert (so rich that even I can only eat 2 pieces and I'm done!). My head is just swimming with deep and ever meaningful tidbits! - where to start?!

I was watching The Bourne Supremacy yesterday and in one of the interviews in the special features, Karl Urban talked about his character who had hardly any lines in the entire movie. The way he described how he approached the character has stuck with me - he said:

"An ounce of behaviour is worth a pound of words."

Very similar to St Francis of Assisi who said:

"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

Then I started today with an interesting thought from the Experiencing God bible study:

Watch to see where God is working and join Him.

I realised that I had been approaching each day with the mentality that God would use me but that for some reason I kind of had a tunnel vision approach to it all - you know, me versus the world! What hit me after reading this was what a privilege it actually is to join God in His work. Simple but true - no?

And then to top it all off, an officer in one of our classes today shared how instead of asking how someone was, she would always ask: "How's your soul?" because someone once asked it of her. How's your soul?! It hit me like a brick wall! ...How is my soul?... It took me ages before I could even answer. How easily do we sing the words of It Is Well With My Soul without even considering how we are actually feeling? Try it on someone this week but be prepared - you won't get a flippant answer because this is a question that makes you think!

By the way... how is your soul?