102 Days in Oz

"The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who orders his way rightly

I will show the salvation of God!"

-Psalm 50:23

Yup triple digits! (Oz = Australia. Try saying the first three letter out loud.) I was thinking about writing a top __ highlights, but I won't bore you with things you've already read about in previous posts. I'll just tell you highlights of this week. 

On Tuesday, I went to Unit Discipleship instead of ultimate pickup (it was raining and I didn’t want to get sick), and we talked about being an emotionally mature Christian. I guess it’s not taught a lot in church or it just never occurred to me, but Christians need to mature not only spiritually but also emotionally. We took this quiz in preparation for the session, and I was kind of struck by some of the questions. It definitely showed me that I still have room to mature emotionally. I wouldn’t (don’t want to) say that I’m a very emotional person, yet I’ve probably cried more times in the past three months than I have since college. I remember thinking to myself, What’s wrong with me, why am I crying so much? But the session really helped clarify some questions, doubts, and suspicions I had about emotions and how they tie into our Christian walk. 

1. God has emotions and created us in His image. This means that we have emotions too (duh). It’s not wrong to feel sad, angry, or frustrated at times, and it’s unhealthy to squash or deny that we have those feelings. But at the same time, we should not be controlled by or obsessed with our emotions. 
2. “It is impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.” -Pete Scazzero. We got a handout with eight qualities of an emotionally mature Christian, and there were several I could work on, but the one that especially stood out to me was the last one: Emotionally mature Christians believe God loves them for who they are, not what they do. It sounds so simple, but it revolves around the belief that God cares more about who I am than what I do. I am not defined by the amount of things I accomplish (and my relationship with God isn’t defined by what I do/do not do). Rather, He sees through those works and into my heart attitude and motivation, and that’s what is more important to Him! Btw if you want to know the eight qualities, let me know and I’ll send you the handout. 
3. Practical steps to grow in emotional maturity! 1) IDENTIFY your emotions. This can be difficult sometimes! And there may be more than one feeling. 2) IDENTIFY the faulty thinking that makes you feel that way. 3) What is God’s TRUTH? What does the Bible say about the situation? God promises that the truth will set you free. 4) FORM new habits. We can be transformed by renewing our minds with God’s word rather than dwelling on the negative feelings. Psalm 51 demonstrates that we can be honest to God about how we feel. And of course Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” <3 The leader used the analogy of a water bottle with dirt. When we’re constantly running around, getting shaken, the dirt makes the water murky and difficult to see through. But if we let the bottle sit for even 5-10 minutes, the dirt settles to the bottom and the water becomes more clear. In the midst of crazy everyday life, our emotions cloud our judgment and decision-making. Yet even a short time to be still can make a powerful difference in our response to difficult situations/triggers in life. 

I got another QUT t-shirt from the Study Abroad Office for filling out an exchange experience survey. It has Brisbane printed on the front like a college t-shirt would, but the amusing part is the back. It has a map of Australia and a GIANT arrow pointing to the east coast where Brisbane is. Whoever designed the t-shirt probably figured that students will go back to their home country where no one knows where Brisbane is. Which I think is accurate, because I don’t think many people I talked to before the trip even knew Brisbane existed. And I don’t blame people who don’t know where SFBA is (I’ve only met one person who knew about Mountain View; he was from Sweden) and think I live close to New York and Hollywood. While the world is getting smaller (globalisation), planet earth is still the same size and there are many, many places that I have yet to learn about. 

My favourite class is ending 😔. No more funny comments about how the weather forecast is statistically inaccurate or random tangents on “The Bachelor,” cheap haircuts, or the number of times a lecturer should shave in a semester. I’m going to miss working with Jamie, Matthew, and Jack (when he remembers to come haha) (will I ever see them again?). This week was the last week with new material in the course, and we learned about confusing things called Brownian motion. But the most mind-blowing thing I learned was that Aussies call mechanical pencils “pacers.” How did they come up with that name, and how is it even related to what a mechanical pencil is?!?! 😮  

Otherwise, not much has happened. I’m still cooking, giving away lunch boxes, and finally started working on my music essay again (which hasn’t been as bad as I thought, thankfully. Sometimes I wonder why I procrastinate haha). It’s finally sunny today! I didn't have to battle the wind while walking to uni and got to enjoy the nice views. Can't wait to share everything with my mum when she comes :). 

Yes Brisbane is Beautiful

It's Spring!