Singular Scene

There will be local friends who read this blog and be a bit dismayed… and some family who may quiver with anticipation… but I had some news today which made me look more closely at moving back to NZ than I have done in all my time here… A kind of “what if?” thought process and a running by God to see what sort of resonance I get about it…

Sis is pregnant… bringing the total young ‘uns in my family to 5 (you may remember that Lil’ Sis will give birth in the next couple of weeks).

Why do I live here? I have no kids of my own so being an aunt is the closest thing to motherhood I can see at the moment and here are all my favourite people in the world growing before my very eyes. That’s the one thing I hate about living here.

Is it enough to make me up stakes and go home?

I guess I’ll know more in two weeks.

You may have (and if you haven’t… where have you been???) noticed the signs… Everywhere you look proclomations of an impending holiday. Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs, declarations of the arrival of spring (or autumn!). Parades and Easter Bonnets.

Hip Hip Hooray. What Joy.

Joy in Choclolate. Joy in Seasonal Change. Joy in a 4 day weekend.

Bah Humbug.

The real Joy of course, for the believers, is in salvation the holiday rembers; the celebration of a sacrifice horrific in the extreme. A sacrifice at once personal and universal and one I am embarassed to admit is one that has scarcely touched me this year even as we approach Easter. Even as I work in an instutition whose very foundation is build on the life of the sacrifice Himself.

I had intended to write of another anniversary, the 1st marking the end of an era in my life but I find myself more conscious of the stance of my soul towards Him. I am listening to someone sing of Him and for the 1st time in a long time, I am moved, I feel myself turn and see his hand outstretched. His smile warm and his arms, oh so inviting.

Who am I to be so singled out?

His creation,
His daughter,
His servant.

His precious.

And all at once I am once again moved toward him. Even ashamed at my neglect, at my wilful withdrawl and rebellion I look up, redfaced

and hopeful.

And He takes my face in his hands, tears streaming down both our cheeks and he kisses my forhead, wraps his strong arms around me and doesn’t let go.

In Love?

Yes, I am.

Isn’t this picture gorgeous? It’s night skiing, probably somewhere in the gorgeous South Island of the gorgeous New Zealand.

I don’t ski, in fact, I don’t do snow at all. This is why I live in a place where the mean temperatures are very, very friendly indeed. I have done cold, I have lived in places where snow is a regular feature and while I am prepared to admit that it is very pretty and the hush that comes when the air is filling up with snowflakes has a touch of the divine; as a permanent prospect, snow and cold have very little appeal for me [read none!].

So, you may be surprised that as the weather turned, the temperatures dropped, the wind whipped up, and the rain softened the edges of today I was happy! Here I was coming home to a warm bath and my favourite doona (duvet, comforter) er on the telly and homemade chili con carne. I guess, in the grand scheme of things, each of the seasons has its own appeal.

I really love the summertime! When winter is fading I get so excited at the prospect of the warmer weather, of breakfasts at sidewalk cafes, summer fruit and lighter clothes. Yet, here I am really looking forward to the winter, switching on the electric blanket, the winter stews and roasted dinners and lots and lots of lovely winter red wines, Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot – they just don’t go down as well in the summertime!

Cheers!

Smudgie rightly pointed out that I had been remiss in adressing the reasons that Rev and I have parted company.

Actually, it isn’t just Rev I have parted company from. I have, in fact, put the agency babysitting work on hold!! Hooray! There are a couple of clients I am happy to return to, (well, just one actually) so I will have first refusal of going to them, but basically I have one private client I go to and one agency client. And that is all.

Did I hear you ask why I have put the agency on hold?

Well… it’s because I landed the contract to build 2 websites… And it’s a big contract!! So big I have had to register my business name, get a business bank account, an ABN number and actually start taking this work seriously.. Yikes? Yes… Yikes indeed!

So, I have sent an invoice for 1 quarter of the money I will be expecting from this new client and it took me 3 days to send because the amount of it was so scary that I had to convince myself that I actually desereved the money.

You see, this is the 1st time in my life that I have skills that are more valuable than babysitting at $16.00 per hour.

I really feel the favour of God on the whole situation. I haven’t had to advertise for any business at all. In fact someone else has contacted me and asked me to give him a quote on doing the web interface for 2 sites and then for sale and install of a content management system. I quoted too high… Way too high… because I was busy and hadn’t really quizzed him on what he needed but we are still talking about the work and look like we might be able to come to an arrangement that suits… which is very cool and of course… means more work!!!

THEN… I met up with another contact here who had done some design for one of our departments which I had turned into web content… He was so impressed with what I had done he is planning to give me work as well…

So, my plans for my own website are on hold because I couldn’t handle any more work than I have been offered without advertising!!

So, after spending 3 Saturdays with him,I had to prioritise all the stuff in my world (real work, fun work, home, card playing, Jonah and blogging) and Rev could well have become the straw that broke this camel’s back…