Biking, Surfing, Dreamworld

This past week has been a great one.  I bought a cheap bike that actually is really nice.  Biking everywhere makes me feel like it is summer all the time. :)  I also bought a used surf board from a new friend.  I have a bunch of friends who are really good at surfing so they have been teaching me.   The only problem with learning from experienced surfers is that they tell you "just go for it duuuude."  So I did just that....  haha I have gotten better, but I have definitely had a few crazy wipe outs.  It really does feel like slow motion when you are being thrown around underneath the water.  No worries... :)

I finished the week by going to a theme park with a bunch of friends; Dreamworld.  There is a special deal where you can buy a 4 month unlimited pass to for Dreamworld and Waterworld for only $60.  I am definitely going to get my moneys worth with that deal.  Both parks are huge!  Extremely fun. :) 

So in the end, I have no complaints.  I have a blessed life!

One of the best rides ever!!!

Enjoy everything, rely on nothing...

·       I have recently decided that this is my new way of living life.  I realize I am still young and immature, but I have discovered this in the past couple years.  It is important that we enjoy the blessings that we have received from the Lord, but we need to continually make sure that our happiness or fulfillment does not rely on them.  For example, I discovered that sports was definitely one area of my life that providing happiness.  Sports in it self, is not bad, but the amount of power I gave it was.  My priorities have not always been correct in life.  Without even realizing it, I was getting my fulfillment from many different aspects of my life.  Now that I have recognized my flaw, I am continually trying to make sure that I do not rely on anything “worldly.”  I want to feel happy no matter what the circumstances.  Relying on “worldly” possessions and activities to be happy is giving the Devil too much power.  Life does not always go as expected, so why would you ever want to base your happiness on things of this world.

Okay, the other thing that I have been reading about is the power of your “thoughts.”  It is amazing how much power our thoughts have on our feelings.  The book I am reading helps teach me to let certain thoughts just pass through instead of dwelling on them.  In the past I had a lot of trouble holding onto thoughts that did not benefit me; primary my past mistakes. (some might say I used to be a slight perfectionist) haha  “Our negative thoughts, any thoughts that cause distress and unhappiness, are not worth dwelling on because they take away from our primary goal, a feeling of happiness."  Whatever the circumstance, you have a choice about how you will think about it.  What you think DOES dictate the way you will end up feeling about something.  My goal over the next few months is to develop a thought life that always looks at life in a positive manner.  A lot of stress can be avoided by simply changes your state of mind.

·     

People of Australia

People awesome in Australia! :)  I have met a lot of people from all over the world, but I have definitely noticed a few key characteristics about the Australians.  I am sure they are not always true, but it is definitely common enough that I have noticed.  First of all, Australians go all out in everything they do.  If they are studying, they study hard.  If they are going out on the town, they go crazy.  They have the ability to focus on certain aspects of their life instead of always focusing on everything.  I do not think Americans are as strong at this.  For example, a lot of fathers have trouble "bringing there work home."  They let their job take over their life.  I hope that I am able to learn from this so I can get better at managing my time.  When I come home to be with my future family, I want them to have all of my attention because they will be to important to me not to. (dad, you are good at this as well!)
The other quality trait that I love is how friendly everyone is here.  It is a lot easier to talk to a random stranger here.  They are excited to meet new people.  For example, today while I was in the weight room, some Australian guy came up and started yelling at me.  He began to say "common!  You can do it mate! There you go!  Three more! Yeah! Good job mate."  This was crazy to me.  If I were to walk up to some guy in a weight room in America, they would probably punch me in the face.
The last quality that I really enjoy is that they love to teach new things.  If you want to learn Cricket, they will teach you or tell you whatever you want to know.  If you want to play beach volleyball, but you are not very talented, they will still ask you to join.  They are patient and open to teach you.  This is a great quality trait and hopefully I can bring this back with me.  The social experience is the most important part of any activity.  Over and out.. :)  I will try to think of a catchy phrase to end each of my posts.  If you have any ideas, let me know. :)

overwhelming joy :)

I am back!  Let me explain myself.  I grew up being the type of person that was ALWAYS happy.  I had a constant joy and thankfulness for my life.  God has challenged me in a lot of ways these past couple years and I think I lost my constant joy.  I definitely had moments where I was happy, but I think that I was "faking it" a lot more than I did in the past.  It was easier for some people to notice this than others.  Whether it was anxiety about the future, stress about school, or just a bunch of little problems, I let everything add up and begin to bog me down.  It is easy to become complacent in life and fall into these types of moments.  There is never a reason to stress about life.  God is in control, not us.  So why do we let stuff burden us?
This trip was a leap of faith for me and God has already been working in my life.  Separating myself from what I am comfortable with has encouraged me let go of some of the things that I have been so worried about recently.  I am also realizing how important friends are.  I have been focusing on those who make me feel like a "million bucks" and it truly does make me feel "awesome." (as my good friend Barney says)  Life is too short to invest your time in friends who bring ya down.  I miss MN and all my friends, but I am excited to come back a better man; a son of God who is excited for life and excited to spread joy.  :) 

God is so good!

As I came back home from a great night with some new friends, I fell to my knees and I was overwhelmed with how amazing the Lord is.  I have made so many mistakes yet the Lord has blessed me more than I could ever ask.  A lot of people don't realize how much of a leap of faith I was taking when I decided to go to Australia for four months.  The truth is that it scared me more than anything I had ever done before.  I decided to trust the Lord and try to give him more control over my life and I am so happy I did.  These first couple weeks have already taught me so much about myself: my strengths, my weaknesses, and the opportunities that I have in life.  I admit that it is hard to be away from my family and loved ones, but it is forcing to analyze myself.  I have always been so concerned with "filling" others up that I really have not paid attention to myself.  Each day I feel the Lord filling me up and turning me into a truly better man.
I have always had a terrific life, but that is part of the reason that I became so complacent.  It is definitely a problem when you feel "self sufficient."  Like it says in the Bible, the Lord will spit the "lukewarm" Christians out.  This time here is allowing me to truly strengthen my faith and make sure my faith is my own.  It is easy to "fake it" when you are constantly surrounded by Christians, but that is not the case here in Australia.
In the end, if you are reading this you are someone that I miss dearly right now, but it is that feeling that is pushing me to become a better man.  So for that I thank you!  I love you all and I am grateful for all of you.  Time to go surf! :)

Classes

Classes are terrific so far!  Yesterday I had 7 hours of class which was a struggle, but it allows me to have a three day week every week.  The teachers are very educated about what they are teaching.  It is hard to tell how difficult the classes are going to be, but I look forward to finding out.  One of the funny experiences I had was in my Advertising and Sales class.  The teacher was talking about inappropriate advertisements and she actually went on to show us all of these advertisements.  I was shocked with some of them!  It is crazy what some people think is appropriate in other countries.  Wow!  I must admit some of them were funny. (sorry this was a boring post, but I am talking about classes so it is kind of deserving)

Mom Jeans!

Okay, so this is a post all about the way people dress in Australia.  All the guys wears singlets. (nice muscle shirts) Literally everyone wears them.  It doesn't matter your age, size, or build, the guys love them. I just purchased one today and I am pumped to rep it tomorrow at the beach. :)  Guys also enjoy the skinny jeans.  That is a purchase that will not be happening.  Men also sport the short shorts.  They are normally quite tight as well.  I am not ashamed of my legs, but I just feel like people don't really need to see them.

Okay, so now on to the girls.  They style is definitely different.  I feel like most of the girls are a decade behind.  The young girls dress like they are old.  It is even more extreme than America!  The biggest difference I have noticed is what I call MOM JEANS.  If you do not know what these are, they are jeans (shorts or pants) that go all the way up to your belly button.  The zipper is like a foot.  The girls will have shorts with their booty hanging out, but yet the shorts go half way up their back.  I don't quite get it, but they girls definitely love them here.  I thought it might help to give you a visual:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLcDZStRjyY&feature=related

arrival and week in cairns (1/5-1/11)

So this last week definitely taught me something.  A straight 32 hours of travel really throws your body for a loop.  That being said, this week was amazing.  I spent the whole week bonding with new friends and experiencing one of the most beautiful locations in the world.  The week was full of meetings that taught us about the australian way of life, swimming, relaxing, and some nights out on the town.  Every day was about 95 degrees and sunny.  The Great Barrier reef has the most gorgeous water I have ever seen.  I was lucky enough to scuba and snorkel and I must say that I am officially amazed by fish.  I saw colors that I didn't even know existed.  Some of the fish were literally bigger than me!  I admit that I was actually quite terrified at first.  It didn't help that the workers on the boat kept throwing shrimp at me.  Wow those fish are quick. :)

Australian people are awesome!!  They are so friendly and so excited to make new friends.  They are the type of people that if you accidentally run in them, they turn around and say, "oye, sorry about dat mate."  I don't know how they do it, but people really seem to be "worry free" down here.  Whether it is working on a scuba boat or teaching how to surf, I definitely understand the appeal of living in Australia.  People have jobs that involve things that love.  I realize that I have not been here long enough to truly know or understand the culture, but those are my impressions so far.  I can already tell that I am going to have a lot of stories this next week so I will make sure to write some better stories in my next post.

Thanks everyone!  I miss you all! 

Introduction to my first blog

Sooooo blogging...  I must confess that I am new at this, but I figured this would be a great way to communicate with everyone while also helping me reflect on this amazing opportunity.  Every day here in Australia has presented me with something different than the "usual" and I want to make sure that I never take any of it for granted.  Most of my blogs will probably be short and sweet, but hopefully you will enjoy hearing about some of my experiences.  I will try to share the entertaining, funny, meaningful, and embarrassing stories.  If you are reading any of this, I want you to know that you mean the world to me and I am grateful for all the support.  Please keep me in your prayers and I will try to make a few posts a week.