New experiences in the year so far and other ramblings

2010 came pretty fast for me. Busier than expected. I suppose it had a lot to do with my mother being around with us in NZ for the first two Sundays of the year. And the fact that I am preaching 4 out of the 5 Sundays in January to add to the mix so there wasn't time to do as much reflection as I would have liked until this morning (courtesy of waking up at 5 AM sneezing?!)

So far I have learned to "water blast my decks". Good friends from church, Greg and Su came over a few days ago to teach me. They ended up doing most of the work as well :-) Then I learned to oil stain my decks and had quite a bit of fun doing it with my son Steven. A bit messy as we were learning as we worked. Still have to do a 2nd coat and touch up - hopefully in the next couple of days (i.e. this time getting my son to do it himself! LOL) Later today, Su will be coming over to teach me and my boys how to wash the outside of our house ...

I've also reorganized my vegetable plants. Have transplanted most of my veg from pots into my sand pit. Also learned how to dig up parts of my garden (getting rid of my flax plants).

I have also started to use my itouch to read my Bible. I bought the itouch version of the ESV Study Bible and want to be comfortable using it. I am trying to do this often so I get used to this. I am thinking in particular of my mission trip to Cambodia. Want to be able to travel light and still have emergency resource tools in case it is needed. I am not comfortable yet reading the Bible part with my itouch. Guess I am still old fashioned and like the feel of a paper based book.

What I wish is the itouch would be the size of a B4 pad ... the kind they use in Star Trek! :-) Now that would be easier to read! But I am quite comfortable using it to check news updates. And it is nice to view some fun videos and store a few files for handy checking.

Yesterday I started my first mentoring triad in NZ. New but exciting experience. Soo Inn, if you read this, I hope this encourages you. Meeting went well and the discussion guide is a real help. I am thinking of ordering more one day soon. But trying to figure out first if I can handle another group as interestingly, there are quite a few people seeking out mentoring relationships. The other problem is ... I do not think I am the best person to help some of these people, especially in the light of the kind of mentoring they need.

What is nice is to discover this morning ... the return of the Breakfast Show on TV1. But that means no more Charles in charge on TV3 :-( (since TV3's morning show also returns)

2010 looks to be another busy and challenging year. First quarter is already packed. Yesterday's church picnic went well. Great weather and good fellowship. In February, the Chinese New Year meeting is coming up soon, followed by the International connections meeting. Then in March a Food and Craft fair to raise funds for continued rebuilding of Samoa (last year's tsunami) and an opportunity to further connect with our community by getting involved in a Government Local Council organized family day picnic cum BBQ. The organizer asked me to help by doing a major show! :-) All this of course means I need a lot of discipline and focus as it is a big thing and I have not had the time last year to work on my magic. :-(

Okay, it almost 8 AM ... time to get ready to go to the lab for my blood test - then I can have breakfast! :-)