A monsoon, an umbrella, and a battle scene

Today was my chosen day to go job hunting. Today was also the day the skies decided to flood Dunedin with a monsoon. It's raining really hard, and while the water pouring down the streets in waves, and charging down the river banks is really cool to watch, it is not so cool to walk in. But I decided to go job hunting anyway. I simply would go to the grocery and buy an umbrella. Right. Well I went to the grocery, I bought my trusty new umbrella and I set out walking. About five minutes in the umbrella caved to the wind and flipped inside out. I hate when umbrellas do this. It's a pet peeve of mine. So I glare at the offending umbrella, sharply shove it into the wind and pop it back around the right way. All fixed. I keep walking.. and the umbrella flips around again.. and again.. and again.. During this time period I have only put in one resume at a salon, every where else I went was either closed or, at one book store I walked in, wandered around for a couple mins, and still no one had shown. So I left, figuring if they weren't busy enough to have one person on staff, they probably didn't need me. I walked around the whole of the Octagon. Fighting the rain, wind, and my now un-trusty umbrella the whole way. I was getting discouraged by the lack of places to go, and not really being certain where TO go... When the rain really picked up and wind flipped my umbrella around inside out so fast, it smacked me in the face and bent the arms around the wrong way. So now my trusty umbrella is not only un-trusty, it is also broken. So I walked back to the car in the pouring rain... I now look like a drowned rat and am freezing. So I decided to come home and dry off, cause no one will hire me looking the way I do now anyway. Hopefully I will warm up, fix my hair up, I am thinking I might just wear a hat, and head out again later. Which might be problematic as I no longer have an umbrella, as it throughly kicked my tush earlier. It's a sad day when an umbrella can beat you up. Maybe the rain will let up, and I can go hunting with no fear of drowning. Either way.. this morning was a bust. Mostly I am angry I spent money on an umbrella that couldn't withstand one rainy day before breaking. That is a truly sad umbrella.

Puss and puss

The Puss being Atlas, and puss being his eye infection. And this is the story of the puss has returned. Atlas, the poor thing, now has herpies in his other eye. We had finally gotten his right eye cleared, and he was calming down and trusting us not to put thick, goopy drops in his eye any more. He had stopped charging across the house, like his life depended on reaching the other side, every time we walked towards him, and had started cuddling again. He no longer looked at me (Lisa) like I was evil and ugly(I am pretty sure he was picturing me with warts on my face :p), and had stopped attacking me when I got close to his head. And now... sigh.. It all begins again, thanks to his now disgusting, and painful looking left eye. His poor face is swollen again, green goo is growing in leaps and bounds in his eye, and he just looks positively miserable. Again. Already he is hiding from us and we have only put drops in twice. I think he might be scarred for life. To make matters worse, we had been waiting on his eye to clear up so we could start clipping his toe nails, as his favorite thing to do is it charge around the house, gleefully bouncing on the leather couches as he goes.. actually I think he might believe they are alive and need to DIE! Which means his long, lethally sharp (trust me on that), claws are doing some decent damage to the couches, that are leather, and not ours! So now it seems we might have to just pin the poor thing down and do horrid things to him, all in the name of love. Which of course... he doesn't understand. I feel so bad for him. He finally finds a home, with people that adore him, and he keeps getting sick. Thus by making us, the people that love him, torture him. I really hope this is the last time it flares. I think we all want a break. And I really want Atlas to feel at home, safe and loved. Cause he is, the darling, cuddly, sweet, talkative, gooey eyed, little man that he is. :D We wouldn't trade him for anything.

Turned it down.

So I (Lisa) turned down the job I was offered at the salon on George St. I struggled this whole week, with just strongly not wanting to work there, praying for peace, and trying to convince myself that I was being foolish and there was no good reason for me to not accept this job, no matter how much I did not want to work there, or felt I wasn't up for the job. It finally came down to the day of my second interview. I had Rachael come in with me, and we had a good time, when I could hear her anyway, that salon was terribly loud! And then... the hair cut was done... Janine checked Rach's hair, Rach left.. and it had come to the moment where you either get the job or don't. I wasn't sure at all what I wanted to hear come out of Janine's mouth. It was a job offer. And I sat there, chatted, smiled, said I would think it over, but more then likely I would call tomorrow to go over the contract. Said goodbye.. walked to my car, in turmoil the whole way. I get in the car and the panic hit. I was just trying to hang on till I got home and Aaron could fix me haha. He does have a way of making anything wrong with me better :). I get home, Aaron looks at me, says "You don't look happy. Did you not get the job?"
I flop down on the couch, "yeah I got the job (sobs erupt), but i really don't want it!!" Poor Aaron. He handles me so well. He tells me he doesn't want me to take the job if I don't have peace. I tell him I feel it would be foolish to not take it, as we need the money. Sobbing I tell him," I really don't want to work there, but I will and it will be fine." He tells me, "No. Just think about it for tonight." It didn't take a whole night. I decided pretty quick I was going to pass, I just needed to hear my husband say it was ok for me to pass on it.
 So I called this morning and politely turned the job down. I told her I couldn't be the hairdresser that her salon needs right now. And have felt great ever since! Haven't second guessed it at all. I got that peace I had been praying for.
 This all goes back to the whole blessings thing of my last blog. And me believing God wants to bless me. I was pretty sure that God had given me this job and I had to take it. I was almost certain He was trying to get me to take a job I just... couldn't stand the thought of working, and that He would give me peace later, or it was another lesson I had to go through.(See my self esteem has been shaky lately, and I thought this job would be God's way of making me face that, and to make me see just how capable I am)  And yet again.. I was wrong. Shocking. It was a lesson yes, but not the lesson I had thought it to be. I had to let go of this job that I literally feared, and got panic attacks at the thought of, even though I thought we needed me to take it. We needed the money. This job had come up so easy it must be God's will.. right?? No. I had to let it go, and trust God when He said "No, you need to trust Me that I will give you a job. And that until I do, I will provide for you. Just relax. I got this one."

 So I am back on the hunt. But I am not worried. We will find the job for me when we are supposed to find it. And till then I am going to continue to enjoy this time of peacefulness, of being a house wife(which I love!!) and of being able to spend so much time with my man. He is my favorite person to be around after all :). And I am so thankful I do not have to work there!!!!!!! I can't even tell  you how incredibly thankful I am!! I don't have to do hair competitions!! Not a one!!!! This my friends, is a great, great, great day!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoo. Relief is so sweet. :)

Be there deserts or be there valleys.

We all know God is faithful. We grow up hearing constantly about how faithful He is. But most of the time we don't actually BELIEVE God is faithful.. or maybe we just think He won't be faithful in the things that we WANT Him to be faithful in. I (Lisa) have always felt that just because God can give me some thing, by no means does that mean that He will. So many times I have struggled with if I should even expect certain things from God. It wasn't that I didn't think He wanted to take care of me, I was just pretty sure He was always going to be trying to teach me some thing that I would be to dense to get, and there for not be ready or worthy of His faithfulness. Living here has been Gods time to show me His faithfulness and it's been life changing. The things I grew up knowing, I now see Him doing in every aspect of our lives and I am humbled by His grace and faithfulness.
 Take for example our house. I really wanted a house out of town, with enough rooms for people to come and stay with us, with a deck, and I really wanted a house with a view of the water.. though I figured the last one would be a fat chance indeed. Instead of getting the little hole of a house I figured we would get, we got a house with all things I wanted and more. We have a house with three bedrooms, plenty of room for people to come stay and the perfect little room for Aaron to have as a music room, which he wanted so very badly. We have a dryer, which is not totally common here, and some thing that I really wanted, for I do so love fluffy towels!!! I have been wanting to relearn piano, but in the States, where I had a keyboard, I simply didn't have time. So God gave me a furnished house, with a piano! Come on now! What house COMES WITH A PIANO?? Mine does! Simply because God loves me, and cares that I want to learn the piano again. I have a friend who is willing to give me the piano books she has so that I can start reteaching myself with out having to go out and buy them, as I had to leave all the books I had boughten in the States. And while I haven't confirmed it, I think God actually might have worked out a way for me to actually be able to take lessons on the piano. (more on that later if it comes through!)
 The house even came with a T.V. and DVD player. Which we thought wouldn't be able to play our DVDs, as the regional codes are not usually compatible in other countries. But we decided to pop a movie in just check, and it played! Some times it skips or freezes but the thing plays all of our movies! We don't have to watch them on the computer!! It was amazing!!!
 Aaron had two jobs before we even got here. One teaching guitar, in which he already has 9 students and a few more possibles. In three weeks! And he is able to learn recording and actually do it for his job sometimes. Which is the career we had been praying about for him. God is just lining things up for Aaron in his work, quickly. And it's been so cool to watch God just hustle on our behalf in this.
 I went job hunting for only two days. I already have a job, as long as I do well on the practical interview. A job that is only two days a week, days that Aaron doesn't work, so we don't have to worry about the car. And is close enough to Aaron's work that if we do end up working same days we can walk to the other work and get the car.
 We got a car for a steal, about a grand less then it was worth, the day before we moved into our house. So that we wouldn't be stranded out of town, thus forcing people to still have to cart us around. And the car is perfect for us. Aaron loves little cars, and I love cars that you sit up higher in to see the road better. This car is both, cute little red car, with high set seats. How often does that happen? We both love the car.
 We thought the car had some mechanical problems. And they were things that could have cost us hundreds of dollars. Instead they either turned out to be completely easy fixes or not even a problem.

 Really, the fact that we are even HERE, and with in a month in a half have a house, a car, a cat (who is wonderful and cuddly and darling!), two jobs for Aaron and more then likely a job for me, blows my mind. As we had both struggled for so long, knowing we were supposed to be over seas, but not able to get there yet, for God's timing wasn't ours. He brought us here, He fulfilled the calling that He had given us both, long before we even know each other existed, and proved His faithfulness in amazing ways just in the bringing of us to this place. And then He had to go above and beyond any and all of our expectations, and bless us so completely and so fully that there could be no doubt that it was all His doing, that I now KNOW just how completely faithful and wonderful my God is. And that life isn't always a desert, a time of soul searching and hard lessons, but also there are times when God brings us to the lush valley, where we can rest and be restored. Probably to prepare us for the next desert! But knowing that there will be another lush valley on the other side of that big old desert, and that He holds our dreams and dreams them with us and for us, humbles me. And makes me so thankful, and so proud to call  Him MY GOD. And I will thank Him the next time He brings to me that desert, and praise Him for the work He is doing in me. For while He might have me in a desert, it is only so I can be worthy of the blessings He is waiting to give me.

Being Human

     So...I (Aaron) am trying to figure out exactly how this all works...and I figured writing a blog about it, would be the easiest way to get my thoughts straight. After living here in Dunedin just a short month, I have realized that I feel completely different than I did when living in the states. This is not a product of location, but of lifestyle. I now feel Human. And I must admit, it feels cool...
     Life is different now, in that it is slower. And its not just slower because the pace of life is inevitably slower in New Zealand (I believe this is because there are more sheep than people so we therefore take after the sheep who are by default the more influential species), but also because we have very little that we have to do. Though I have 2 jobs, this at the moment takes up only about 15 hours a week, and all financial stress aside, thats wonderful! The strange thing is, the free time isn't what made me feel suddenly human. It was keeping the house warm. A simple chore that involves relocating firewood, chopping it, relocating some more, building the fire, burning your hand occasionally, and watching the cosiness commence!! This act gave me the natural feeling that I was somehow responsible for our collective survival and comfort. In the states, I turned a nob for this effect, but it yielded far less satisfaction. The work done to gain the nob turning ability, was in no way related to our survival, except that I was payed to survive to work some more. If none of this is making sense, I understand. But what I'm saying is this, I am Human, and I actually feel like it now. As much as I enjoy modern conveniences on a regular basis, its really good to get away from some of it and just exist for a while.

Live a Life of Growth.... Right...

So I (Lisa) am beginning to understand that living in New Zealand is going to be a time of personal growth for me. And I am also realizing that the comforts of the States are great, and might not be matched any where else in the world. That is not to say that this isn't a great country with many comforts, and a wonderful place to live. It is that in the States we have SO MANY comforts.. and think them all our due. Which is a blessing and a curse I think. Here... we have to think about being warm.. and what we are going to do to achieve that warmth. In the States I just turned up the temperature.. I was also spoiled when I lived in my apartments by myself cause the heat was part of the rent. So I can't lie.. I cranked that sucker up!!! I was  COZY!!! I did not have to be frugal like we are going to have to be here. Electricity, I think is going to cost more, so we are going to try to compensate by burning as much as we can. Which for me has been slightly eye opening. I now never throw away anything that can be burned. Recycle? Not this lady!! If it is paper or cardboard its going in the fire! There is also a constant draft in the house. Which in the States now is almost unheard of now. Here insulation is almost unheard of.  So the wind blows right through and takes my hard earned warmth right with it some times!
 I am getting creative about being warm, as I want to keep our bills as low as possible. So some time soon I will be going to the store in search of the fluffiest bath rob and thickest slippers I can find! I might look ridiculous on a daily basis but I WILL BE WARM!
 I am also learning how to cook, finally. I simply didn't have the time in the States. Now my mind is constantly thinking of things I can make, what I need to buy at the grocery store to last us a week, and how I can keep that cheap and healthy.

 Now I do want to clear some thing up. This is not a blog about whining. This is a blog about how ashamed I am of being so lax and taking advantage of  the comforts of home and not really being thankful for them. Of not fully realizing how blessed we are. And also I want to say that I am enjoying this time of growth immensely. Learning to take care of my own home, husband and warmth :) has been truly enjoyable and I am thankful that God has brought us here. To our own land of Growth. 

The Hunt Begins

So we are settled into our house quite nicely. I (Lisa, yes this is my first blog... ever...) love the house and am so thankful for having a house that I do love, and feel completely at home in. It's a gorgeous little place with tons of personality and rosy red windows that make me smile every time I walk into the room. The kitchen is a bit unhandy, and the house is often really cold... but it's home. And I like it!
 Atlas has added a wonderful feeling of home and family as well. Cuddly little man that he is. We adore him for all his crazy quirks and sicknesses combined ha.

 And since we have settled in so nicely into our little home, and we got our ird numbers in the mail, Aaron can now start getting paid for working!! Yay! And I can now start the job hunt. I have no idea what kind of  job I will end up with... I am hoping to not do hair.. but will if I can't find anything else. I must admit the thought of looking for a job in a country I am unfamiliar with scares me a little. But regardless of that, a hunting I will go :D.