Tick Tock Said the Clock

The past few months have seen us scurrying about like rats in a maze trying to get all our visa applications done on time. Well, the months of Jan and Feb anyways. March was the month of the ticking and tocking as the clock wound down to the day we had to be out of the country if our new visas failed to come through. April continued on in the same vein, with April 6th quickly approaching (the last day of our visa.) For some reason, we just never bought tickets home. That reason of course being God telling us to wait. So wait we did. Right through April 6th and into April 7th. Which is when we learned we would be able to stay. Haahaa. God doesn't mess around when He wants you to trust Him, He is going to make darn-tutting sure you are trusting Him. Every step of the way. Though I do have to say, we handled the stress pretty well all things considered haha. I, Lisa, had one day where I just wanted to KNOW. See, we knew my visa had come through by the end of March, so we were just waiting for Aaron's. Cause mine is no good with out his, I most certainly would not be staying here with out him!! Where he goes I go!!! :D 

 So yes, we have visas. And yes we will be staying here for the next year. We must be out of New Zealand by March 25th 2012. Just in time for me to turn 30. What happens after that is still up in the air in terms of small details. At least we have a large scale plan, go get our stuff, move it to Nashville, find a place to live, find a job, and Aaron doing his apprenticeship. how that all is going to happen, we have no idea yet. But hey, we got a year to figure it out now. That is a huge relief haha. And God has brought us this far, He will bring us in on the details once He deems us ready. Till then, we are just going to enjoy being here, with each other. And keep trucking on what He has for us in this moment, in this place. No sense worrying about what needs to be done tomorrow, when God already has the plan and you can just wait to Him to pass the word on down to us. :) 

 Also, I have decided we are the worst bloggers in the history of blogging. But hey, I think there are worse things to be the worst at.. don't you agree???

 Also, I was going to add a picture, but it won't let me. So this shall be a plain and bland post. I apologize on behalf of my worthless internet. :D

The Return of the King, I mean, the Neglected Blog...

     Hello Various People. I have become aware that I begin every blog wanting to apologize for not blogging, which is ridiculous because I am blogging right now not to mention no human should ever feel obligated to spill their guts online. Therefore, no apologies.
     Things have been good with us. We've changed our minds roughly 45 times about how long we will or will not stay and are currently planning on sticking around another year! This morning we finished the visa application process and now just wait to see what happens. Obviously, this is the best part, because theres nothing we can do, and can no longer beat ourselves up for our talents in paperwork-procrastination. No seriously I hate waiting. It turns out the only way to learn patience, is to be forced into a situation where you have to wait regardless of your patience, which is really lame.
     So here we are, assuming that we'll get the visa, mostly because this is the more convenient assumption. Assuming we didn't assume this, we would be plagued with worry since we'd have to wrap up our affairs and move across the world in a matter of 2 weeks if we get denied, which honestly is a plague I can do without for the moment. So we assume that we were correct in assuming that this is what God has for us, which seems like the most faithful and enjoyable assumption, assuming thats what you're in to.
     For those who don't know the game plan, we'll be here, we'll enjoy life as we do, then we'll move to Nashville. For those who know me (Aaron) very well, you know quite well that I have no particular desire to spend any substantial portion my life in the US of A. Have no fear, I'm cool with this, because while in Nashville I will be apprenticing as either an Audio Engineer or a Producer. Haven't decided yet, but thats cool, cause I don't have to yet. So thats the plan, I'm excited, cause I love living here, and another year sounds amazing, also I love music, mixing, recording, the works. Therefore, Nashville will be a blast as well! Things are looking good in the Glemboski house! I've been messing around, trying to get my crap together so that when I start the apprenticeship, I can be ahead of the game, or at least know what I'm talking about. So heres the stuff I've recorded thus far (My lovely wife even sings on them!). http://www.myspace.com/ravensheights
Alright, heres the truth. My dominant motivation in writing this blog was not to inform the lovely people browsing the internet of our life plan, but more to listen to good music and drink coffee. Mission Accomplished. Enjoy life people.

Love, Happiness and the lack of Money.

 I have to say that Aaron and I are ridiculously happy together. There is nothing I enjoy more then being with in five feet of my very pretty husband. And when I am not with in five feet of him, I feel a little at a loss... like some thing very important is missing. And I am also ridiculously happy when he comes back into my little bubble of "this is where Aaron should always be". You might even say its a bit extreme how excited i get when he comes home... and he has only been gone an hour.... :)
 It also never really matters what we do, as long as we do it together. We are a cheap date. But a couple of our tops favs are these: Watching movies or shows together snugged on the couch. Going and taking pictures of what ever place has caught our fancy. Going out to eat at new restaurants we have never been to before(very easy to do here as we have been no where before :D) Going and sitting on the beach(this can also include picture taking and or food)
 And there is no one else I would ever want to be with, or any where I would ever go if he wasn't with me. He is my home and my safety. My comforter and my provider.
 Things lately have been... a little rough in terms of money and jobs. We both pretty much lost a job and have been searching to replace them. With out much luck at this point. And though it is hard, and I get beaten down with worry and stress some times, there is absolutely no where I would rather be, then right here, broke as a joke, scrambling for money, learning how to live on nothing, living the dream and spending time on the beach, with my best friend and lover. And I am going to try to always be thankful that God brought us here, to this place of intense joy and intense struggle, just so I could spend so much time with my favorite redhead.
 All though, I am really praying hard, that our move to Nashville will provide just a bit more security and money. So we can up-grade ourselves from cheap/free dates, to cheap/costs-some-money dates. And be able to go back to eating at restaurants we have never been to before. And maybe even see a movie in the theater!! :D

The one year mark

Today is Aaron and my one year wedding anniversary. I keep telling him that now we are legit. Though I hope we never actually stop acting like the crazy newly weds we have been this past year.
 This has been  the most amazing journey, which is actually a good word for our first year... as we journeyed all over the world! haha. For sure we have had little bumps along the way, like our flight to Mongolia, and finding our place here in New Zealand. But over all its been amazing. I can honestly say I adore being married, mostly I am sure, because of WHO I am married too. He is (to sound cliche' and cheesy) so amazing and so far beyond the guy I thought I would get, I can't thank God enough for the man. :)
 Being in New Zealand these past months has been amazing, just for life experience and for growing as a couple. Being able to do our dream of moving over seas in the first year of marriage is some thing we will never forget, and always be thankful for. And I have to say, dealing with the huge stress of that kinda of a move in the first few months, that one, we handled the stress like champs ( well Aaron was the true champ, but I still handled it pretty good. haha) and we came out of with a pretty good perspective on what is worth worrying about in life. We know how to roll with the punches now for sure! :)
 I thought I would share some of the high lights, some of our favorite moments in the past year. Hope you enjoy them. :)
 Well to start, I have to say the wedding was so fantastic! I would get remarried every day if we could duplicate that day! It was so laid back and just fun. I wouldn't have changed a single thing about our wedding.
 Our honey moon was so awesome. But one of the best highlights, we would sit out on the deck of the house we rented at night and look at the stars while listening to the ocean. One night there was a few shooting stars that were so close we could actually see the flames and the smoke trail. Was incredible!
 Mongolia. All of it. So awesome. For me, being able to see where Aaron grew up, amazing. And to see such a cool country, and do it with Mom and Dad G still there was a huge blessing.
 We went on a cruise with my parents before we moved. Had some real crap weather, but so much fun running around a boat and islands with my folks.
 Spending time with Nathan, Jen, and Coen in OK. So grateful for them.
 Getting to know "our kids" here in New Zealand has been great. We love them.
  Out "dates" where we drive around and explore New Zealand together. We live in a gorgeous country.
And over all, for me, its been watching God provide for, literally, our every need. We could actually almost sit back and just watch Him work. I know I have grown so much, Aaron has too. I think we are both are really thankful that God put us in a place early on in our life together where we had to lean completely on God and each other. I think the things we have learned in this first year will benefit us for the rest of our 80 years together. One down.. 79 to go!!!!!!!
 Thank you to every one for being there for us in every thing. You have been blessings to us, and we love you.

Little People.

     Hey everyone! Aaron here! I apologize that its been so long since there has been blogging action here, but sometimes its easy to forget that you have things worth writing about!
     Recently due to a bout of warm weather and a beautiful cloudless night, my marvelous wife and I decided to take a drive and take some pictures of the stars. Since we both love photography, and both love a good bit of nature, our dates usually consist of us driving until we find something we deem 'photo worthy'.
     This night was particularly beautiful, no clouds, warm weather..the only deterrence was the occasional car driving by and a swarm of terrifying sheep (welcome to New Zealand). All this to say, you could see a million stars. Enough to make you feel fairly insignificant anyways. I would submit that we could all use the occasional dose of starry nights. A little blow to the pride, a giant picture that for once doesn't paint us as the center of the universe. Every day society tells us that we are amazing, we're something special, that we can accomplish amazing things. While this is nice and all, and it gives us the highly coveted 'warm fuzzies', its a complete lie. Now before you start searching for the largest and sharpest cyber-rock to cyber-stone me with, hear me out! All of those things, while a complete lie from hell, are also true.

      The difference is the source from which those warm fuzzy things flow. While I am actually something quite special, and have every intention of doing some pretty amazing jazz, that is only because of Christ in me. On my own I'm actually fairly corrupt and capable of innumerable atrocities! You can see why I really appreciate the fact that the crazy awesome God who bothered to make a universe that can make you feel like an amoeba in the ocean did what had to be done to free me from that depraved self and be amazing through me. Also you should be able to see why I actually get surprisingly angry when I see people trying to steal the credit for anything that is actually good and worthwhile. Most of us have heard it said that every good and perfect gift comes from above. That means that if it is legitimately good, and worthwhile, that we didn't do it! If this doesn't make sense, don't worry. I'm not the best at explaining things as deep and wonderful as this. However, do feel free to flick me and e-mail and I'll try again, because it will change the way you see everything once it sinks in! Also I love the stars...and photography..and my wife. But in a completely different order.

My Bathroom Blog

I have a love/ hate relationship going with my bathroom. So now.. my bathroom shall have its own blog!! :)

Love- We have an open shower (no curtain, with a wetfloor), which gives the bathroom a really neat look.
Hate- This means every time you take a shower.. the whole bathroom takes a shower.

Love- The bathroom is on the cold side of the house, which means cheaper heating bills.
Hate- This means every time you turn on the hot water, the climates clashing creates a tropical storm while you attempt to shower.

Love-The window is frosted over so no one can see in or out.
Hate- The bathroom has decided it misses seeing the out of doors and has started to grow wild thing in the shower, like mushrooms and mold.

Love- .... Ok, I have run out of things I love so this one is a hate hate :)
Hate- That the floor never actually dries
Hate- That the ceiling never dries either, and hence the whole room thinks its part of the shower and drips on you as you try to do your hair and make up.

 And thus concludes my bathroom blog. :)
 Also.. this is not a great picture.. but its my bathroom window... sooooo... now it's in the blog.

Unity, and How its Not Practiced.

Alright folks. I've been letting my lovely wife do the majority of the recent bloggage, but its time for me to step up and type! I recently took a trip up to Wellington with Ed Masters (my fellow youth worker from Leith Valley Church) to a conference type gathering called "Connect". The purpose of this gathering was for youth workers to get all motivated and whatnot via inspirational speakers and practical workshops. Unfortunately, I typically go into situations as such with a moderately cynical attitude that causes me to pick apart everything said and search for flaws in the messages that can then allow me to write off the speaker. This is one of my greater flaws as a person, a listener, and a christian.  Despite my attempts and success at doing so, I did manage to learn something. We as believers SUCK at one of the most basic principles of following Christ. Unity. My very desire to find a way to discredit the words of my fellow believers is living proof of this fact. Am I saying that everyone who believes in some form of a "god" should hold hands and sing kum by ya?? Absolutely not! But those who have a living active relationship with the God of the Bible, who share the core beliefs that makes true Christianity unlike any other form of worship in the world really need to learn how to get along and live as a single body. Maybe instead of listening to a sermon and picking out the bad parts to mock, we should be intentionally searching for the things that we can find encouragement in. Perhaps instead of looking down on the weaker brother and wondering why they aren't as spiritually educated with retarded christianeese and condescending terminology, we should be inspired by their passion to serve a God that they've just come to know. To be in awe of God's glory without the need to analyze and categorize it.  Anyways, you've suffered through enough of my rants. The bottom line? God is teaching me to be humble (never fun) and to love the body of Christ no matter how much I disagree with what some of the parts say. If its part of the body, then I can learn something or be encouraged by it!!!
-On a side note, the cross-eyed donkey that I found in Wellington made me laugh, so I took a picture...nay, like 50 pictures :)