The other day, what an adventure I had. I woke up fairly early and had a sense of anticipation in the air. I had the day off from university and had to go into work at lunchtime for an hour or two.
I finished work and had every intention of going to the Public Library to return the Famous Five book that I had just finished reading. I had $7 in my bank account, but fully intended or exploring, yet again, the same shops and places that I often do on my journeys around Palmerston North.
Firstly, I finished work and went to visit my friend, who works at Marbecks. I love Marbecks and although I too work in a book shop. The atmosphere and quirkiness of Marbecks suits me and I love to explore in there. I happily chatted away with my friend, discussing vintage china, new recipes, new books and my studies. She showed me a new book called, "Colour the Stars, " which is a delightful book, about teaching a blind child the concept of colours. Her parents used to be teachers and was going through boxes of old resources and suggested passing them on to me, if they could be of any use. Obviously, I jumped at the chance. We finished our conversation, after about half-an-hour and as I was leaving she handed me a NZ Music Month badge (Gesture No.1).
I then passed through the cafe, in Marbecks, with every intention of setting of to the Library, only to be distracted in conversation with a ex-friend's flatmate. We talked of our motivation being sincerely lacking for our studies and the change in the weather fueling this downward spiral. As I was finally about to leave Marbecks, another friend (who works in the kitchen) popped out and we discussed her chefs course at UCOL and the new concoctions she was inventing for the food cabinet... I spied a yummy looking citrus and white chocolate truffle and as I was leaving, she handed me one to eat on my way (Gesture No.2).
I, finally, was off to the library. This is one of my favourite places to get lost. The world of books and librariness just fascinates me and could simply consume hours of my life. The photos and old newspapers in the filing cabinets on the top floor; the Maori and Pasifika books, too. The hundreds of interesting arts and crafts books; the books on the countries of the world and all the childrens books on the second floor. The cafe, internet and city living room on the first floor and last, but not least, the historical archives, the sound and vision and the basement. This world is like a reverse Narnia. When you go in the door, time stands still and you can be lost in there for hours. It's daylight when you enter and by the time you leave it's dark, but you feel like you've been in there for five minutes. On this day I visited the childrens section and loaned another of the Famous Five series (I am trying to read all of them) and I visited the Sound and Vision centre, where I rented The Good Life series 1 for $3.
I then thought of visiting one of my favourite op-shops on George Street, Urban Charm. They have recently put their prices up so high it's ridiculous, but nevertheless I love to explore in there and see if I can find a bargain. Today, I was not so lucky. I then visited a new op-shop on George Street. I began chatting with the owner and found that she too was a crafter. I saw a delightfully large jar of buttons and asked to look at them... I oohed and aahed over them for a short while, and was asked if I would like to pour the jar out and select a few to take home with me. "A collector of buttons would never say no," I thought, so I politely accepted the invitation (Gesture No.3). I talked with the owner and her friend for quite some time and just when I was going to politely make my escape, "The Dish," they had been discussing walked in. I must add, "The Dish," was one of the ladies brothers. He was shocked when they said, "This is the Dish we wanted to introduce you to, Kendall." He very gentlemanly took my hand and shook it, however we both felt uncomfortable, and I certainly didn't regard the man as, "The Dish," I had been lead to believe he was. I made my escape with my buttons and giggled about my experience on my way home.
"What an afternoon!" I thought to myself and I always thought my adventures were mundane and that they were consistently no eventful in Palmy... How wrong I could've been... Perhaps more will be on the way?
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Saturday, 12 May 2012
The Adventurer returns
What a fabulous time spent with family and friends.
Firstly, I spent Easter weekend celebrating my friend Erika's 21st Birthday. Ohope and Whakatane were so quaint and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a little bit more of my homeland No.2.
In Whakatane, there is something that all teenagers, boy racers (hoons) and other people who simply feel like it, do and that is something called a "Heads Lap." This is where you get in your car, drive down a road to the heads, that ends in a car park and scenic views of the ocean. Obviously, this is THE thing to do and so to fit in with the locals, Erika and I's first point of call, upon entering Whakatane, was to do a heads lap. When we arrived, the tourist in me screamed and we HAD to pop out for a photograph, in front of the Lady on the Rock!
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her family and friends (outside of Palmerston North). The girls from Palmy and I said spontaneous speech which had its high and low points. The whole weekend was full of celebrating a great person's life-so-far. Furthermore, a chocolate factory in the house was something we thought that we'd all like to have and was a huge hit with everyone, young and old.
Erika's auntie had made two tremendous cakes and spent hours and hours getting them to look and taste so yummy! The importance of family really shined through this weekend birthday gathering.
From Erika's amazing 21st.. I went to stay with family in Pukekohe... and although things are quite stressful for them at the moment, it was a very enjoyable and they showed me great kindness and hospitality. They always have done, but it's always so much harder (I think) when you have stressful things to deal with. However, I think I was able to listen and support them best I could, without being overbearing. They took me on a couple of different adventures.
We went to dressmart where I bought a gorgeous pair of shoes, AT HALF PRICE!
We went adventuring around... visiting places that I'd never been to before. This wasn't really hard, as most of the places in New Zealand I've never been to before!
I found a new, "Dr Phil," but I wasn't tempted to go visit him, nor did I feel he had a TV show. I'm sure if this Dr Phil has a TV show, it would be on youtube and be in a language I don't speak.
When we visited Auckland, we went to Smith and Caughey's, which was absolutely to die for... kind of like a miniature Harrods, but so much more authentic, to the olden days. I got a lipstick from there and I carry it with me everywhere! I love it.... if I had the pennies I totally would shop in there for EVERYTHING, but realistically, that would be a huge waste of money, if I had it. On our walk back down Queen Street we passed a little alley, that reminded me of parades in London and couldn't resist taking a little photo. Oh, how adventuring in big cities is so much fun! Especially, cities with character, charm and quaintness!
Firstly, I spent Easter weekend celebrating my friend Erika's 21st Birthday. Ohope and Whakatane were so quaint and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a little bit more of my homeland No.2.
In Whakatane, there is something that all teenagers, boy racers (hoons) and other people who simply feel like it, do and that is something called a "Heads Lap." This is where you get in your car, drive down a road to the heads, that ends in a car park and scenic views of the ocean. Obviously, this is THE thing to do and so to fit in with the locals, Erika and I's first point of call, upon entering Whakatane, was to do a heads lap. When we arrived, the tourist in me screamed and we HAD to pop out for a photograph, in front of the Lady on the Rock!
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her family and friends (outside of Palmerston North). The girls from Palmy and I said spontaneous speech which had its high and low points. The whole weekend was full of celebrating a great person's life-so-far. Furthermore, a chocolate factory in the house was something we thought that we'd all like to have and was a huge hit with everyone, young and old.
Erika's auntie had made two tremendous cakes and spent hours and hours getting them to look and taste so yummy! The importance of family really shined through this weekend birthday gathering.
From Erika's amazing 21st.. I went to stay with family in Pukekohe... and although things are quite stressful for them at the moment, it was a very enjoyable and they showed me great kindness and hospitality. They always have done, but it's always so much harder (I think) when you have stressful things to deal with. However, I think I was able to listen and support them best I could, without being overbearing. They took me on a couple of different adventures.
We went to dressmart where I bought a gorgeous pair of shoes, AT HALF PRICE!
We went adventuring around... visiting places that I'd never been to before. This wasn't really hard, as most of the places in New Zealand I've never been to before!
I found a new, "Dr Phil," but I wasn't tempted to go visit him, nor did I feel he had a TV show. I'm sure if this Dr Phil has a TV show, it would be on youtube and be in a language I don't speak.
When we visited Auckland, we went to Smith and Caughey's, which was absolutely to die for... kind of like a miniature Harrods, but so much more authentic, to the olden days. I got a lipstick from there and I carry it with me everywhere! I love it.... if I had the pennies I totally would shop in there for EVERYTHING, but realistically, that would be a huge waste of money, if I had it. On our walk back down Queen Street we passed a little alley, that reminded me of parades in London and couldn't resist taking a little photo. Oh, how adventuring in big cities is so much fun! Especially, cities with character, charm and quaintness!
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Pre-travels
There is nothing I love more than exploring. Over the next two weeks, I will be visiting a couple of places, never before seen by my eyes!
My first stop will be to Ohope, right by the beach in the Bay of Plenty (NZ). A friend will be celebrating their 21st Birthday and I shall have the joys of exploring Ohope. The main attractions, of the area, are the golden sands and beautiful coast.
My first stop will be to Ohope, right by the beach in the Bay of Plenty (NZ). A friend will be celebrating their 21st Birthday and I shall have the joys of exploring Ohope. The main attractions, of the area, are the golden sands and beautiful coast.
My second stop will be to Pukekohe, to visit the Whanau! This is going to be super exciting, as I've not seen them in the longest time! I've never been to Pukekohe before and all I know is that it's at the beginning of the motorway, just before Auckland. I am also quite excited as I will be flying back down from Auckland to Palmerston North. This will be the first time in THREE YEARS that I've been on a plane!! This is the longest time I HAVE EVER been without traveling, or going on a plane!!
I love traveling and exploring and have missed it dreadfully! In a country that is so new and in a city that has been designed without any higgilty-piggilty streets/lanes/alleys it's hard to explore. One of the main purposes of exploration is to get lost... if a city is laid out in blocks, it's nice to drive around, but no fun for foot traffic exploring wanderers! Hopefully, I will have lots of adventures to share when I get back! :) Happy exploring people...
Friday, 2 March 2012
Lemonade Scones
A fabulous recipe I discovered... Lemonade Scones
A friend of mine gave me a fabulous recipe for Lemonade Scones. I'm not sure where she got it from, so I was unable to reference it (apologies). I've tried them, along with my flatmates and we LOVED them!
Lemonade Scones.
Ingredients:
2 cups Self-raising flour
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup thick cream
1/2 cup lemonade (like sprite or something)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs milk
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 220c. Then lightly grease a baking tray. (I don't like having to wash the grease off the tray so I always put baking paper on the tray instead. Occasionally, I even go as far as to grease the baking paper, just to feel like I'm following the recipe exactly, heeheehee).
2. Sieve the flour, sugar and salt into a big bowl (don't go for the medium-sized bowl otherwise you'll need to move it into a big one and then you'll have more washing up to do. Always go for the biggest bowl first! Don't listen to Goldilocks with "The small one was just right.").
Then add the cream and lemonade and mix together to form a soft dough (use your hands. It's way more fun). P.S. the dough was super sticky when I tried this, so don't panic if yours is too.
Turn the gooey dough out onto a lightly (or heavily in my case) floured worktop and knead until combined.
With your hands flatten the dough until it is about 2cm thick (give or take a couple of cms). Then use a cutter to cut the scones out. I didn't have a cutter so I used a teacup to cut them. It worked perfectly well and teacups are way more elegant than a cutter anyway! Also, mix the leftover dough up into what I like to call, "The Blob."
Place scones onto the baking tray (and the blob) and cook for 10-15mins or until lightly brown.
Then eat them with lots of cream and raspberry jam!
Obedience
Obedience is described by Merriam-Webster dictionary as "an act or instance of obeying." This shows us that in order to be in obedience we have to do something. We have to choose, by an act of our will, to move/change/act.
There have been multiple times where God has told me to stop being friends with a person(s) and I've not listened. The desire to be accepted and to have a friend outweighed the warning of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting over the times when God told me to move/change/act and I didn't listened revealed one thing... Disobedience brings consequences.
More often than not, God tells us things to help us or warn us or protect us. Just like a mother tells her child, "Don't play on the road!" Why? Because she knows that a car could zoom along the road and injury or possibly kill the child. God gives us warnings to stop our spiritual life from being injured or killed... and often so we don't have to deal with the pain associated with injury/death.
I have had God tell me many times, in different ways, to stop being friends with certain people and when I've not listened my relationship with God has suffered an often become non-existent. I have been brought to a point where there is nothing left and I feel, in a very real sense, lost. Lost not only in the sense of not feeling God's presence, but also not being able to recognize who I am anymore.
Recently, I saw a side of a friend that I didn't like... normally I would've ignored it or even apologised for it, but I felt that this was an instance where I had to move/change/act. To say, "our friendship has come to an end," is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do, and it didn't exactly help my acceptance issues, but nevertheless, I backed off from the person, asked for some space and I've finally plucked up the courage to say, "your expectations of me are unfair." I know that this was a choice that I had to make... God showed me the true colours of my friend and then asked me to decide what I wanted to do about it. The characteristics I saw, I had seen before and the destruction of staying friends far outweighed the value of the friendship.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this... even though obedience is hard and it's something you have to choose to do, the consequences of disobedience is far harder. Obedience an act of obeying!
There have been multiple times where God has told me to stop being friends with a person(s) and I've not listened. The desire to be accepted and to have a friend outweighed the warning of the Holy Spirit. Reflecting over the times when God told me to move/change/act and I didn't listened revealed one thing... Disobedience brings consequences.
More often than not, God tells us things to help us or warn us or protect us. Just like a mother tells her child, "Don't play on the road!" Why? Because she knows that a car could zoom along the road and injury or possibly kill the child. God gives us warnings to stop our spiritual life from being injured or killed... and often so we don't have to deal with the pain associated with injury/death.
I have had God tell me many times, in different ways, to stop being friends with certain people and when I've not listened my relationship with God has suffered an often become non-existent. I have been brought to a point where there is nothing left and I feel, in a very real sense, lost. Lost not only in the sense of not feeling God's presence, but also not being able to recognize who I am anymore.
Recently, I saw a side of a friend that I didn't like... normally I would've ignored it or even apologised for it, but I felt that this was an instance where I had to move/change/act. To say, "our friendship has come to an end," is one of the hardest things that I have ever had to do, and it didn't exactly help my acceptance issues, but nevertheless, I backed off from the person, asked for some space and I've finally plucked up the courage to say, "your expectations of me are unfair." I know that this was a choice that I had to make... God showed me the true colours of my friend and then asked me to decide what I wanted to do about it. The characteristics I saw, I had seen before and the destruction of staying friends far outweighed the value of the friendship.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this... even though obedience is hard and it's something you have to choose to do, the consequences of disobedience is far harder. Obedience an act of obeying!
Day of small beginnings
I have heard people say, so many times, "Don't despise the day of small beginnings."
It is real easy to preach this at people, but how often have these people really experienced, "the small beginning,"?
Martin Luther King had a dream. Winston Churchill gained victory for Great Britain (with a little help from a few friends). Mother Theresa loved the unlovable. There are great women and men of God out there, whether past or present.
How does a person know that they carry greatness inside them? What stops them from screwing up the path that is set before them?
I watched a movie (and read the book) called The Help. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It inspired me. It made me realize the potential in me, that others have seen before. However, how do I stop myself from screwing it up? In the Bible it says, "Lord the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!" My flesh is weak and I long to be accepted by my fellow peers.
I look around at the people my age and I think half to myself and half to God, what about those you have called to be set apart? Where do I fit? How can I be accepted and be set apart? isn't that a contradiction?
Ultimately, I wonder, "God, what do I do now that you've shown me you have a purpose for me?"
It is real easy to preach this at people, but how often have these people really experienced, "the small beginning,"?
Martin Luther King had a dream. Winston Churchill gained victory for Great Britain (with a little help from a few friends). Mother Theresa loved the unlovable. There are great women and men of God out there, whether past or present.
How does a person know that they carry greatness inside them? What stops them from screwing up the path that is set before them?
I watched a movie (and read the book) called The Help. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It inspired me. It made me realize the potential in me, that others have seen before. However, how do I stop myself from screwing it up? In the Bible it says, "Lord the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!" My flesh is weak and I long to be accepted by my fellow peers.
I look around at the people my age and I think half to myself and half to God, what about those you have called to be set apart? Where do I fit? How can I be accepted and be set apart? isn't that a contradiction?
Ultimately, I wonder, "God, what do I do now that you've shown me you have a purpose for me?"
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
A step behind...
Whilst studying at university there often comes a point (or many in my case) where I feel a step, or two, behind the rest of the herd. I question myself. Is it the lack of time I have dedicated to the masses of pages we are expected to read in the space of a week? Is it the fact that I am 25 (going on 26) and the rest of the flock are in their late teens or early twenties (with the exception of about five)? What is it?
I have come to the solid decision it is none of the above. It is because, once again, I have left the most important Man out of my study and taken the reigns of my future into my own grasp. You would think that twenty-five years of faith would allow me to recognize when I have taken things upon myself again, but no...
How can we expect to move closer to the desire of our hearts or the dream we so desire to see brought about if we constantly take control and try and make things happen on our own accord. To expect things to succeed from our own selfish desires is folly and to try and force God's hand into making something happen is unrealistic and so human.
To move forward in our dream it must be God-focused not dream focused. I've heard so many great Godly men and women tell me, "Kendall, if God has given you a dream then take a step towards it everyday." In my heart I always screamed, "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!"
No-one told me that taking a step towards your dream doesn't always mean to start collecting wood to build that orphanage you dream of or to start making massive pots of soup for the masses of people you one day hope to feed. No. Taking a step towards your dream is taking a step towards God. Making Him truly the Lord of your life and learning to trust Him in all things. Taking steps towards God IS taking steps toward your dream.
The rest God will lead you in, but before you start making leaps toward your dream try taking some steps towards the maker of that dream.
I have come to the solid decision it is none of the above. It is because, once again, I have left the most important Man out of my study and taken the reigns of my future into my own grasp. You would think that twenty-five years of faith would allow me to recognize when I have taken things upon myself again, but no...
How can we expect to move closer to the desire of our hearts or the dream we so desire to see brought about if we constantly take control and try and make things happen on our own accord. To expect things to succeed from our own selfish desires is folly and to try and force God's hand into making something happen is unrealistic and so human.
To move forward in our dream it must be God-focused not dream focused. I've heard so many great Godly men and women tell me, "Kendall, if God has given you a dream then take a step towards it everyday." In my heart I always screamed, "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!"
No-one told me that taking a step towards your dream doesn't always mean to start collecting wood to build that orphanage you dream of or to start making massive pots of soup for the masses of people you one day hope to feed. No. Taking a step towards your dream is taking a step towards God. Making Him truly the Lord of your life and learning to trust Him in all things. Taking steps towards God IS taking steps toward your dream.
The rest God will lead you in, but before you start making leaps toward your dream try taking some steps towards the maker of that dream.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)