Southern Voice

This is who I hung out with last night...

Tim McGraw and the Dance Hall Doctors!

Tim McGraw brought his Southern Voice Tour to Australia this week. Luckily, I have friends who know my love for country music and keep an eye on the local music scene for me (Thanks heaps, Dan and Mel!), which is how we found out last May that Tim was coming to Sydney in September. Who would really pass up seeing TM in Australia?!?! Not me, so my parents graciously got me a ticket for my birthday!

The concert day finally arrived: I put on my cowboy boots, and Dan, Mel, Joy, and I headed South, TM blaring on the ipod. The concert was AWESOME, probably my favorite concert I've been too. Before the show started, Joy and I were practically bouncing in out of our seats, buzzing with energy.We could barely contain our excitement as we impatiently willed the opening acts to hurry up and finish! TM came on at 9 pm and played until almost 11, and sang almost the whole 2 hours... and so did we! Not a big talker, that Tim McGraw, but I didn't mind one bit. He sang my favorite oldies like "Indian Outlaw" and "Just to See You Smile," as well as his more recent hits and a song off his new album. Just when I thought the show couldn't get any better, he started singing "I Need You," and everyone started screaming. We all knew Faith was going to have to come out and sing her part of the duet! Out she came, and brought the house down. Our seats were in the front row nose bleed section, which turned out to be the best seat in the house. We could see Tim perfectly, and hear even better. One of my favorite parts was hearing everyone else in the audience singing along to his songs, too. Sadly after an encore, TM went off stage, the house lights when on, and the concert ended. We joined the masses leaving and finally made it back to the Central Coast at 12:30 am. We fell into bed, happy and still humming "Don't Take the Girl" as we drifted off to sleep.

Tim and Faith, singing their hearts out for us.

Great view from the cheap(ish) seats.

Joy and I were definitely the most excited out of our group, but maybe out of everyone in our section! We both had a sore voice from screaming and singing at the top of our lungs.

The rest of the TM posse: Mel, Dan, and Joy.

All of the Mowday kids went together to get Joy a ticket for Mother's Day.

True Dedication

So, this is what we do when our beloved Mariners are out of town...

Despite being gone all weekend chaperoning teens at Bible Bowl, no shower, and not much sleep, I was still there to cheer on the Mariners on a tonight. And they aren't even in town!!! They were playing in Queensland against Gold Coast United. We had to go to a local pub (which is really a restaurant with a bar and a grill. Don't worry, we sat in the restaurant side, Mom) to see the game, because it was only being shown on satellite. Sadly, the game was a draw, but it helped us hang on to her 2nd place lead in the standings.

Sidenote: TREK Youth did not win Bible Bowl this year, despite being the reigning champions. Even though we lost, we still had a great weekend of fellowship and worship with the other Sydney churches. We'll get 'em next year!

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung in Gosford and that can only mean one thing: SOCCER! We are oh so blessed to have our own major league soccer team in our backyard (well, it's by Donnison Street, which I feel like is my backyard some weeks.) The past two Friday nights I have been cheering along with all the other loco fans at Blue Tongue Stadium as the Central Coast Mariners fought their way to victories over two different Melbourne teams. Many of the members of the congregation, especially teens and young adults especially love going to games together, which makes the games even more fun.

Before I moved to Australia, all I knew about soccer came from watching OC soccer games and intramurals. Let's be real: I did a lot more socializing at those games than actual watching. But, I am a changed woman! I can now tell when a player is off-sides...well at least 50% of the time I can tell. I even can name 3 players (Matty Simons, Daniel McBreen, and Bow-itch) and I know what they look like. Sadly, the Mariners won't be back in town for 3 weeks, and I have no idea what the under 30 population of Gosford Church is going to do with all of their free time. But on October 2 when our yellow football team returns, we will be there to cheer them to another win, and we might even have homemade t-shirts! Can't wait!

All the little soccer teams practicing at half-time of the Mariners game.

We do watch the game, I promise!

This past Friday night was so cold! Good thing Amber and I had our Mariners scarves to keep us warm.

The girls at the game.

Central Coast Mariners beat Melbourne Heart 1-nil last Friday night.

Home is...

- snuggling with your new baby niece.
- taking walks with your sister-in-law.
- going to a Ranger game with your family wearing matching t-shirts.
- being picked up from the airport in the church van.
- driving around in a green Honda with Nebraska plates.
- going to Wal-mart at midnight...and then an hour later because you forgot something.
- summer bbqs with friends.
- holding hands in church.
- eating Chicken Express twice in one week.
- praying before dinner.
- Grandma Jackson hugs.
- Rt. 44 Sonic drinks with easy ice during happy hour.
- Buffalo Wild Wings on a Thursday night.
- two triple dates.
- staying up until 2 am talking and laughing with old friends.
- getting a pedicure with your best friend, your mom.
- laughing over old stories with your cousins.
- Singing along to country music on the radio.
- spending 5 days in a row with your childhood best friend, but that's still not enough.
- Pilsbury cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning.
- mom's brisket at a church potluck.
- ESPN on non-stop.
- adopted parents driving 3 hours just to see you off at the airport.
- taking naps with your dad.
- the aching feeling in your heart when you leave.

I was blessed to have 3 weeks of furlough to visit friends, family, and a few places I call home. Two weeks in Arlington, one week in Edmond, and a weekend in Stillwater. It was a great couple of weeks, but also crazy couple of weeks trying to spend time with as many people as possible! Though I came back exhausted, I came back rested and refreshed, feelings that only come from spending time at home. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to have a break and go home, and I wouldn't have traded the last 3 weeks for anything!

Tie-Dye Tuesday

School Holidays=Tie Dye Tuesday! This past Tuesday afternoon, Amber and I got some of the teen girls together for some tie dye fun. Because of all my years as a Gamma girl, I consider myself a tie dye connoisseur, but I had never actually tie dyed a shirt! After mixing up 3 buckets of dye and rolling our shirts into spirals, we were off and ready to go. Once all the shirts we brought were dyed, we were looking around for more things we could twist and tie. The Moads almost ended up with tie-dye curtains in the kitchen, but we restrained ourselves. After the tie dying had died down, we made some pancakes and spent the rest of the afternoon playing Wii. It was a great way to spend a lazy Tuesday off of school.

Three of our tie-dying apprentices.

The finished product.

Connecting

Last weekend, I was privileged to attend a camp on the Gold Coast of Queensland. (I know, right? I could make a career out of going to church camps all over Australia). Five of us Gosfordians set out from the Central Coast Friday morning at 8 am. After over 700 kms, two trips to Maccas, one drunk man insulting customers in the Subway line, and 9 hours of driving, we finally arrived at the camp. It was such an amazing weekend, and I was able to catch up with many people I hadn’t seen since attending Camp Gidawarra in Queensland after Christmas. Also at the camp were two campaign groups—one from Harding and one from Lipscomb. Ironically, I met a second cousin of the Watson-Hawley family from Harding, and played spades with her. I felt like I was back in Mexico! I also saw the Gentry family from none other than good ole Arlington, Texas. Todd Gentry used to be one of the main organizers of Arlington Work Camp, which I attended for 6 years and led one year while in college. I couldn’t believe it as soon as I saw Todd, his wife Debbie, and Tyler. Though we never knew each other well , we all recognized each other and had friends in common. The weekend retreat was filled with great teaching from Peter Randall and awesome singing. Many of the songs I hadn’t sung since I had been here in Australia. I was asked to lead one of the small groups, which met 4 times throughout the weekend. We had a great group of teen and young adult girls who had lots of great insights and discussions into having a real relationship with God. One of my favourite things about the weekend was the gorgeous weather! It was so warm in Queensland that we were able to wear flip flops and go to the beach on the Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t warm enough to swim, but we still enjoyed soaking up the sun and watch the people play ultimate Frisbee. We finally headed back South on Sunday after worship. We left about noon and didn’t arrive back until about 11:30 pm. Though it was a quick trip and lots of driving, I was so blessed by this weekend.

The Gosford crew hanging out at the beach: Anne, Tim, Cam, Me, and Amber.

My lifesaver and co-pilot on the long drive home.

Amber and Peter being Amber and Peter.

We saw a double rainbow while we were driving to Queensland on Friday. We were in the middle of nowhere and could see both ends of it! So beautiful.

Deeper Deeper

Last weekend, I was privileged to help organize and plan Deeper, a retreat for young adult women. I had the idea for this weekend about 6 months ago and started compiling a team to get the ball rolling. Finally after lots of planning, praying, stressing, laughing, eating, studying, scouting, and facebooking, it was June 18 and it was time for Deeper. God did so many amazing things last weekend, that I have to make a list so I don't forget anything! Here is Deeper by the numbers:

125 blessing notes--Anne had a great idea that each person got a blessing box at the beginning of the weekend. Throughout our time together, we were supposed to write blessings or encouraging notes to each other. We didn't open or read them until we left on Sunday. When I got home after the retreat, I was unbelievably blessed by my sisters through reading their kind words.

55 Powerpoint slides--One of the huge highlights of the trip was Sunday morning worship. Amber and Kim worked at creating a prayer concert to prepare our minds for taking the Lord's Supper. We used DEEP as an acronym to direct our thoughts--Dedication, Examine, Empty, and Promise--during this time. We sang songs and read scripture about Dedication. Then, in our prayer groups we read scripture, discussed, and prayed about these words. We also spent some time in silent prayer as well as. We repeated this process for the other three words. After focusing and looking at each of these words, we were ready to partake in communion of homemade unleavened bread and grape juice. This was one of my favorite times I have ever taken communion and I will remember it forever.
33 hands of Nertz--I haven't played Nertz in years (I think the last time was during the ice storm my junior year of college), but it was THE game of the weekend. Though we got a little bit competitive, we still had a blast together.

20 ugly mugs--Jamie scoured Vinnies (the local thrift store) looking for 20 ugly mugs for a mixer game on Friday night. We had to get into groups based on our mugs theme, like Christmas mugs, Dad mugs, Saying mugs, Boring mugs, and then answer a question. Each mug had a shape and a color written on the bottom as well, which made us switch our groups a few times. After switching three times, we found our selves in our Prayer Groups for the weekend.
15 kilos of wood--Point Wolstoncroft has an amazing fire pit with wood benches and a stage, which is one of the reasons I fell in the love with this camp site. On Saturday night, we decided to have a bondfire, which took all 15 kilos (about 30ish lbs) of wood we brought! Who knew you needed so much wood to start and keep a fire going! We had our evening devo, led by Claire, and sang around the warm glow of the fire. Of course we couldn't have a fire without having s'mores!
13 women--We ended up having 13 wonderful women come to our retreat. Our original goal was 20, but with uni exams, work schedules, family visiting, and new babies being born, we ended up with a smaller number for the weekend. But, it ended up being such a blessing! Because we had a smaller group, everyone got to know each other and bond on a deeper level. New friendships were born and old friendships were strengthened.
7 kilometers--Our camp was located 3.5 kms from a point at Lake Macquarie (hence the name Point Wolstoncroft). We decided to take advantage of having such a nice walk so Saturday afternoon, Mel organized a prayer walk. Before leaving our lodge, every person filled out a questionaire about our spiritual walk--what were we struggling with? What did we want God to accomplish through us? What was our spiritual gift? ect. Then, we were put into pairs and given another person's question sheet to pray for our on our walk. Once we reached the point on the lake after our walk, the whole group met up together and was given a new partner and a new person to pray for. It was such a wonderful experience to bond with another person through prayer for someone else! And, to get to pray outside, surrounded in God's creation, just made it better. The Prayer Walk was one of the highlights for me!
4 prayer groups--Through the genius Mug Mix-Up game, we were put into prayer groups for the weekend. The groups met to pray Friday and Saturday night. We also prayed in these groups for the prayer concert and communion service on Sunday morning. I was in a group with Jamie, Claire, and Marcelle, and LOVED every minute of it! It was so nice to be able to share my struggles, fears, and doubts with these women and take them to God.

3 classes-- On Saturday, there were three classes taught by three different people to equip us to have a deeper relationship with God. The first class was taught by Rebecca about having practical faith. Using examples in the Bible and from her own life, Bec reminded us that we really can trust God with everything in our life, if we give up control and take a leap of faith. Jamie taught the second class about Bible reading. She gave us tools to battle distractions while reading God's word, as well as introduced us to different reading plans and versions. I taught the last class of the day on prayer. I used Jesus as an example of why and how we should pray, and then gave different practices, techniques and tips for spicing up our prayer lives. I got so much out of listening and preparing for these classes, and left feeling equipped with tools to implement in my relationship with God.

2 cooks--We were so blessed to be fed so well this weekend by two amazing women: Joy Mowday and Deb Brown. Not only are these two ladies are known as some of the best cooks in Gosford, but they are also my Aussie mums. They planned menus, bought groceries, and prepared scrumptious meals that kept our tummies very full! In addition to serving in the kitchen, they also offered wisdom and insight as they interacted with the girls and participated in the prayer groups.
1 boy--I know we said the retreat was for young adult women, but we made on exception: for Joel! Since he is just a little over 3 months old, we had the pleasure of having him and his mum around for the whole weekend. His favorite parts were the 7 km walk and the bondfire.

I'll say it: The BEST prayer group!
(Claire, Me, Jamie, and Marcelle)

Our bonfire--we made it ourselves!

Enjoying the bonfire.

Blessing boxes filled with encouraging notes to take home.

The halfway point of our Prayer Walk over-looking Lake Macquarie.

(This photo was not my idea)

Rebecca and Anne

My girls: Amber and Jamie

Our beautiful camp at Point Wolstoncroft.

Claire, Tammy, Joel, and Kim in class on Saturday