As some of you might know, on Saturday here in 'The Land Down Under', (Australia) we celebrated 100 years since the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Coorperation) landed in Gallipoli. It was a HUGE event - there was even a dawn service at Gallipoli, which only had a number of seats available, so names were drawn out of a hat. Needless to say, I wasn't up that early to watch it on TV (even with the time distance)!
I was, however in the march at the city, which was slightly nerve-wracking, as the were TV camera's and HEAPS of people!!! It was freezing cold when I got there, even though we were in long sleeves and pants.
Also, I'd heard that the Police had foiled a possible terrorist attack in Melbourne that was going to be carried out on ANZAC day and, because I'm a worry freak, I was scared the same thing was going to happen here! I actually got legit scared and was thinking about what would happen if there was an attack - how would I find my family? How would we get away? etc. Needless to say, nothing happened, I was over-reacting, and we got to laugh at all the funny outfits that other marchers had to wear!
I felt really proud of my country on Saturday - I know it sounds really cheesy, but it's true. I realised how lucky I was to be part of this anniversary of the ANZACS; to be able to wear my great uncle's medals (from WW2, but that doesn't matter) and march in honour of what all those brave young men did at Gallipoli to protect us.
Any other Aussies out there reading this post? How did you feel last weekend?
Now that the holidays have been and gone, I thought I'd share some of the stuff that I got up to in an attempt to stop myself from dying with boredom. You guys get bored in the holidays too, right? Just me? Okay.
...
Anyway, for the first week of the holidays (we get two weeks off), my family and I took an annual trip up to Moore River with a few other family friends, which I will be posting photos of soon... not sure when. Usually, I have a friend who comes up with her parents as well, but this year she was overseas, and I was doomed to be alone for a week. Except, my brain actually decided to work (for a while - haha) and I got the ingenious idea...
TO INVITE ANOTHER FRIEND!
Problem solved! She could only stay for the first few days however, so after some decidedly terrible weather (which is a shame, because all you can really do up there is swim at the beach), we took her back home and brought up another 'play mate' for me!
(Also, after we took my first friend home, the weather went from rainy and stormy to sunny blue skies all day!)
Nothing very different happened for the rest of the week, but the second week was slightly more eventful.
1. I went shopping and bought birthday presents for my friend
2. I went to see Insurgent - OH MY GOSH IT WAS SO AMAZING AND I'M REALLY GLAD AND REALLY MAD BECAUSE THEY'RE TURNING THE THIRD BOOK INTO TWO PARTS!!! (apparently) I'm glad because it means the series will last longer, but it will also take longer to see the finale and it will cost me more :) / :(
3. I went to my friend's birthday party which was heaps of fun, and heaps of lols
4. Watched TV, slept, ate, played The Sims, slept, did homework, ate, and slept.
Did I mention that I slept?
And that pretty much sums up my holidays! What did you guys get up to whilst free of school (if you had holidays, I know most of you live in different countries, ie. not Australia), and give me some tips on how to occupy my time when I have way too much to spare.
I need help!!!
I haven't posted in absolutely ages, and I'm really sorry! I was away for the first week of the holidays, and I've also had heaps of homework, and I've been really annoyed that I haven't been able to think of any content worthy of a blog post. Sorry!
Moving on...
Since the last week of term 1 ended, my brain has gone into I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-life-oh-my-gosh-my-brain's-been-switched-off-completely mode, and I haven't really achieved much. Except for the five hours I spent doing homework today when I realised the threat of overdue homework was drawing near and present and I actually managed to get something done, but that's a story for another time.
Therefore, I haven't had time to put enough effort into my posts and I end up deleting them because they are taking too long to complete. So this is just a message to say that I have been writing posts, just not very successfully. I really am trying.
I have a theory that it is easier for me to think and find time to do stuff when I am most busy. For example: during the holidays you know you need to have two assignments finished before school goes back, but you think, "I'll have time to do that next week." And then you end up in a wild dash the day before school goes back because you still haven't done anything.
But during school weeks, you have a schedule. There are strict due dates and deadlines that tasks need to be finished by, which usually makes it easier to stay on task.
And I think that's why I have been able to post a lot more during the school term.
Anyway, I read a post a while back (I can't remember where) that recommended the use of 'back-up posts'. I think this is a good idea, because I will be able to post more often, and still have time to do my school work. I'm not sure if I'll actually get around to this because I'm quite lazy, but I'm going to try.
I will be posting again before school goes back (either today or tomorrow) so see you then!
A while back, I was tagged by Miss Internet to do the Literature Photography Tag! So let's get started!!
Just a note, I know this post is SUPER late, I kind of forgot about it. Sorry!
"to Narnia" (Chronicles of Narnia) - picture of a closet or door
This door plays a very important role in my day to day life, as it is the entrance to my private stronghold (my bedroom).
"Anaklusmos/Riptide" (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) - picture of a pen
This pen was given to me by a mentor of mine when I got baptised last year. It reads, "Emmanuel God With Us" (BTW, my name is not Emmanuel, it was Jesus' other name - yeah, he had two names!)
"to seek a great perhaps" (Looking for Alaska) - picture of a map
This is the map we kept when we (my family and I) went on a trip around Australia the other year. Each different colour represents where we travelled each day.
"a place just for us" (Bridge to Terabithia) - picture of the place you read
I read in a corner of my room on a bean-bag/chair with a lamp bought specifically for this purpose.
"Green Eggs and Ham" (Green Eggs and Ham) - a photo of your least/most favourite food
What can I say? It's cheesecake.
"Mr. Browne's Precepts" (Wonder) - a handwritten quote/saying you live by
My mum gave me a longer version of this quote when I got baptised and it now hangs over my mirror, where I can see it every day.
"The Silver Shoes" (The Wizard of Oz) - favourite pair of shoes
These are the shoes a wore in year seven when I performed a solo at for the first time - in front of 3,000 people!!!
"Time Travelling" (When You Reach Me) - photo of a memory
Meet 'Big Bear'. He used to sit on the end of my bed when I was younger and protect me from the monster under the bed.
- Post your pictures with the original tag graphic
- There are eight prompts. All of these are inspird by books, many of which people have heard and haven't heard of. Take a photo that corresponds to the prompts.
- Tag at least 3 bloggers. Spread the wonderful disease! You might also want to add extra prompts for the people you tag!
When I was at Church last Sunday, I decided to listen to the Sermon instead of going off to teen church, and it was amazing. Every Christmas, our church raises money for lots of different groups who do mission work overseas, and every year we raise so much more than our goal (I'm not sure what the exact figures were for last year though).
Anyway, a lady from IJM (International Justice Mission), one of the missions that we sponsor, came in and talked to us about the work that they are doing overseas and how we helped. It was an amazing sermon, but it was really hard to listen to - I even started crying. She told the story of one of the girls they released from a brothel in India called Suhana. She was one of almost 2 million children who are tricked and enslaved into prostitution. You can watch her story here:
When I hear about problems like this that are happening in countries that aren't even that far away from me, I realise just how lucky we really are. I know, I know, everyone says that all the time, but actually think about it. With a single thought, God could have given you a different mother, a different father. You could have been sold into prostitution, like Suhana.
About 6 months ago, I read a book called 'Kisses From Katie', which is about a 19 year old who travels to Uganda to teach at a primary school. She can't speak any language other than English, yet she moves to Uganda, sets up a ministry there, feeds lots of homeless, starving children, and adopts 14 girls. And by this time she's still only 20! I highly recommend this book, which introduced me to overseas mission work, made me want to do mission as well, and eventually led to me getting baptised. Here is her website: https://amazima.org/about-us/katies-story
Here are some things YOU can do to help impoverished people all over the world:
- Donate: I know it sounds really simple and pointless, but you have no idea how much it helps.
There are approx. 1.03 billion people in the world that live in developed countries (15%) - the rest of the world (the other 85%) lives in developing or undeveloped nations. If everyone in a developed country donated 1 dollar a month, that would equal about $12,360,000,000 every year. Imagine what that could do for the world!
- Have a sponsor child: I guess this falls into the donate category too, but it makes what you're doing so much more personal. I have a sponsor child called Ulziikhishig. She's 7 years old, and the most ADORABLE living thing on planet Earth! I receive occasional updates about how she is doing at home and in school. Yes, she is at school, because I sponsor her and help to provide an education for her. You could do that too, and it doesn't even cost that much!
If you are interested is getting a sponsor child, follow this link: http://worldvision.com.au/home/default.aspx
(of course, there are other organisations, I just thought I'd mention World Vision because I sponsor Ulziikhishig through them)
These are just two options for helping the world to become a better place, and it's easier than you may think. You are a child of God and He is calling to YOU to help His people.
So there we go! I hope you guys found this interesting and will maybe make a difference in someones's life as well. See you next time! (well, not literally, but anyway...)
