Tired...

Absolutely buggered...mentally and physically! I'll be glad when RICE is over in 2 weeks...it's quite a big burden off the shoulders. But don't get me wrong, it's something I am really enjoying and passionate about.

I guess in this time, the one thing I should be doing is always coming back to God, who provides strength, humbles, rebukes and corrects in these times, instead of relying on myself (as ultimately there'll be a point when I begin to crack).

I remember last year after BDO in the logistics and packing up phase when I was getting snappy and was flustered and pretty frustrated. I had lost a few things, inconvenienced quite a few people because I lost those things, was really short on sleep and just physically and mentally exhausted from a long few weeks.

Plonked myself on the couch at home whilst waiting for a truckload of stuff to arrive. I remember feeling sorry for myself and pretty frustrated at things, which is something that rarely happens to me and I guess that could've made it even worse! But the 15-20 minutes I spent there taught me so much and was just a time when God was giving me a little nudge and saying "C'mon mate, this is where you grow! It's a good thing to be getting tired when you are doing My work. Put things in perspective! Stop feeling sorry for yourself!". It was an extremely humbling time and basically I got up off that couch and my mindset had taken a 180 degree turn and I was completely enthused about getting out there and doing the rest of the hard yards for that night. In hindsight, I was really glad that I went through those different emotions at that time and I think God gave me a pretty sharp rebuke and it had a real impact at that time and taught me how to handle situations better in the future. I remember reading the verse below and it had alot of relevance at that time and still does to this day.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

Isaiah 40:28-31

I hope this encourages any of you guys who are feeling tired doing RICE, leading youth groups, preaching or just any type of ministry. Wait on the Lord!

I think tonight I'm just going to have a relaxing one...play a bit of Wii, read a bit of Harry Potter, watch some of the footy - it's good for the mind to take a break once in a while!

This guy rocks...

Yeh...big time, made for combat...

What a bad ass...doesn't matter that he's a coward, overly ambitious and usually fails in his plan. He still kicks some serious ass. And...who survives after Megatron dies in both the animated movie and the just released blockbuster movie?

This bloke ain't too bad either...









Oh yeh...really feeling the new album by 'Musiq'. His album is just another reminder that R&B doesn't have to be raunchy to be popular. It's just good old school R&B. Absolutely lovin' the single 'B-U-D-D-Y'. Listen to it here.

Only 5 weeks until RICE! Leaders Day Out this Saturday! Exciting times...for all of y'all who haven't seen the launch video - check it out here on YouTube. I reckon it's awesome stuff - loving the aerial map effects.

Nevis

One word to sum up the New Zealand trip - aweeeeeesome!

I'll keep this entry short though - a more thorough post will come later on the trip.

In the previous blog entry I mentioned that I would do the Kawarau Bridge Bungy jump (43m). Well, I didn't end up doing it.....yep we bailed out.

Instead, we took on the Nevis Highwire Bungy jump, which was a mere 134 metre dropfall (over triple the freefall of the Kawarau Bridge Bungy). We actually booked for the Kawarau jump but because of a booking error, we were 'upgraded' to the Nevis Highwire Bungy jump free of charge. After a bit of reluctance from a few of the lads, we decided to face our fears. I think it was destiny that we were going to do this Nevis Highwire Bungy jump.

Most of us were pretty pumped up as we rode in the bus up to the site and whilst we waited in the suspended jumping platform (suspended between two valleys). But once I stepped out onto that ledge and looked down the adrenaline/hype turned into pure fear. It was one of the scariest moments in my life...knowing that I would be flinging myself off into this freefall (of course with the strapping, but the thought of it just freaked me out).

After all of that, I can say that the bungy felt something like the 'Vomitron' or the 'Giant Drop' in Dreamworld. Don't get me wrong but, it was bloody awesome and the highlight of the trip. I recommend everyone to give it a go (even if they have fear of heights).

Here are some pics of others - we didn't get many good pics - the fog was heavy so photos didn't turn out well. Wanted to buy the DVD recordings of our jumps but the fog just prevented that even being an option.














Here's an awesome video of someone else doing it on YouTube. Please excuse any expletives that the person scream/shouts out in the video. It happens when you are falling that distance!

More to come on the trip!

PS - Fergburgers are the ultimate burger.