Wednesday, September 29, 2010

A Million Small Steps: An Explanation


I've just created a page which explains what this blog is all about. You can reach it from the tabs at the top of the page- its title is "A Million Steps? Huh?"

And now it's time for bed... sweet dreams everyone!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

New Recipe on Downunder Kitchen: J's Chicken Curry


Well, I've already mentioned on here that I'm a bit of a cooking buff.
Aside from the pot burning incident, a few occasions when I've served my family some nasty glop for dinner, and the first year of my married life, when I fed my hard-working husband 2-minute noodles for dinner every night, I've mostly shaped up to be a fairly decent cook.

Although I juggle a lot of plates, I occasionally find time to blog about a favourite hand-me-down recipe on my cooking blog, Downunder Kitchen.
Today's recipe is an old family favourite: J's Chicken Curry. Before it was J's (that's me!), it was Ruth's (my mum). And before it was Ruth's I don't know whose it was, but it doesn't matter anymore, because it's OUR family tradition now! It's a simple recipe, so I hope you'll hop on to Downunder Kitchen and take a look.
Ooo-roo! (means "see ya later!")

Monday, September 27, 2010

Dwelling within limits

The past 12 months in one paragraph...
Teenagers, School, Marriage Ministry, Cooking, Kitchenaid Mixer, Graduate Studies In Health Promotion, Hubby Turns 40, I Win A Weight Loss Challenge At My Gym, New Smartphones, Job Promotion, Being Faithful In The Little Things, Coffees, New Friendships, Footy, Stepping Up, Going Deeper, Refining The Dream, Enjoying Life.


And I ask you, isn't that enough??
An inbuilt facet of my personality always drives me to strive for more. I have to say no to myself more times than I care to count, and if I wanted to be a dill, I would try out 20 different careers and serve on 6 different teams at church, just for a season in each! I love to try things out, obviously.
But more than anything, this season has been about learning to dwell within limits- I can't be everything, but I can be something.
So although I have fancies about opening a boutique patisserie or designing gorgeous weddings, I understand that I am here for a purpose bigger than my own desires, and I press on slowly towards the dream God has placed in my heart.

And "what is that dream?", I hear you ask. Well it's not yet clearly defined, but it's something to do with improving health in under-resourced communities. In January I started a graduate diploma in health promotion, and for my first major assignment I looked at tuberculosis prevention in East Timor (Timor L'este). East Timor is a little country next to Indonesia which became an independent nation in 2002 after many decades of neglect and unrest. The East Timorese now face a huge challenge in establishing a solid economy, health system and more, and the rebuilding work will likely go on for many decades. I don't know where I'm going to end up, but this is the kind of work I want to do: helping establish systems to improve health in needy communities.

For now though, I have a long road of studying ahead, with many opportunities to choose to press on, rather than taking the easy road. I'm doing one subject at a time, so at this rate I'll complete my course in 3 more years- when my youngest daughter Betty is starting her final year of high school. And so every day I must choose to keep on the path- studying and following God, enjoying other hobbies such as cooking and occasional event planning, but staying true to the course that God has put me on.
Wish me luck!