Hola amigos!
Hope all in well, my family and I are over here in America at the moment. On the first day we flew into LA arriving at 6, from there we went and hired a car, and drive around Hollywood, unfortunately that day is a bit of a haze as the good ol jetlag started kicking in, all in all we had a 43hr day! Staying at the Castle Inn and suites in Anaheim, which was alright not amazing but did the job by giving a bed to sleep on.
Following that we went to Disneys California Theme Park (which is directly opposite) where there are some epic rides, my favourites being The Hollywood Tower Hotel and California Screamin, two epic rides which get the ol' blood pumping. It was so good the day after we went to Disneyland for a little bit and then decided to go back to California Theme land park where we got to watch this amazing light and water show (videos up soon) with a disney theme to it, World of Colour :O! Hehe
Because we aren't staying anywhere semi-permanantly here, we have been eating out every night and flip the servings are insane!! One meal is the size of at least 2 big dinner plates (in NZ) put together! It is insane! Its no surprise that people are so big over here, in order to avoided further weight gain on my behalf I have stuck to kids meals and going to our hotels local gym (starting tomorrow when we aren't doing any walking.)
Another thing I am so surprised at is how much MAKEUP the women over here wear, it is crazy, what we would often consider as a cakefaced girl in NZ, is the normal everyday American girl. So rarely have I seen a girl without make-up, coming from the girl who only ever wears mascara and sometimes eyeliner. Its crazy!
Another thing which I think has really challenged me personally is the large amounts of poor and homeless people on the streets, especially around Hollywood, Santa Monica and Venice Beach, for many of you when you think of these places the idea of a big, beautiful, glamourous place comes to mind, reality is far from that. For example: Venice Beach is basically weed central, with every 3rd shop selling cannabis for *cough medical purposes.* Hollywood has so many homeless people, it breaks my heart! As we have driven by we have seen so many people searching through the trash, or lying down on the side of the road. It is so hard for me to watch, I wish their was something I could do to help, the only problem is you can't just give them money because they don't know how to use it properly or to invest it wisely. Whenever I see someone I do think about why and what made them homeless in the first place.
Which brings me to today, we hit up Seaworld which was yet another amazing day, followed by me sitting here at my hotel writing about the incredible things so far. My motto over these holidays has been simple: "Carpe Diem- Sieze the day" live and enjoy moment, because its these amazing moments which make up lifes incredible journey!
Saturday 3 December 2011
Monday 18 July 2011
Relationships Part 2
As I pointed out in my previous post about what the 3 things are which can really help make a good relationship Raya, Ahava and Dode. i decided this time to take a lok at how we can maintain a healthy relationship.
Well the answer is simple, its the putting it into action which is diffucult.
BOUNDARIES.
Boundaries-are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for him- or herself what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around him or her and how he or she will respond when someone steps outside those limits. ( Wikipedia definition)
Boundaries are important parts of any relationship you form with anyone, (ie: your boss, their are boundaries in place of how you should act around him, and if you cross those boundaries their are consequences.) We all make boundaries and its tends to be a subconcious thing we do.
Its interesting isn't it, how easily in a dating relationship we become more 'loose' with our boundaries and can easily be pushed beyond even how far we would go with friends, whether its being mentally,emotionally, sexually or spiritually. Interesting.
For many of you, you may be reading this and thinking well I don't need boundaries I have good relationships. So I have written up some questions below for you to ponder.
So you've dated before, thats cool.
How many people have you dated before?
How has that ended?
What has this person (who your dating) done to earn your trust?
What will be your regrets if you breakup?
I probably should clarify that I'm not trying to make you annoyed or frustrated but I just want to get you thinking about these things because they are some wise things you should be thinking about in a relationship.
So what do boundaries define and protect?
Marriage
Or
Breakup
Something I have noticed expecially in teenage relationships is this NAIVENESS in dating, where they think its just gonna end happily ever after. So if your someone who isn't really looking at a serious or potential husband/wife relationship and you don't have any boundaries then be prepared for some pretty horrible heart break if it ends badly.
Why give someone so much of your love when you know how its gonna end. Harsh I know but a reality you need to think about.
Relationships are kinda like a football game.
Pre-game your team is excited, uncertain of what the future holds, ready to give it all. Super psyched up!Sometimes the opposition are alot better than what you expected, by half time the coach is hounding you about what you needed to have improved on. And you try and improve this in the second half. Sometimes it works and you win and sometimes it doesn't.
We come into relationships excited because we think about this fairytale ending, and unfortuantaely sometimes this doesn't get to happen.
I hope that this has given you something to just have a little ponder about, and I hope I haven't offended to many people with my brutal honesty.
Take care :)
Well the answer is simple, its the putting it into action which is diffucult.
BOUNDARIES.
Boundaries-are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify for him- or herself what are reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave around him or her and how he or she will respond when someone steps outside those limits. ( Wikipedia definition)
Boundaries are important parts of any relationship you form with anyone, (ie: your boss, their are boundaries in place of how you should act around him, and if you cross those boundaries their are consequences.) We all make boundaries and its tends to be a subconcious thing we do.
Its interesting isn't it, how easily in a dating relationship we become more 'loose' with our boundaries and can easily be pushed beyond even how far we would go with friends, whether its being mentally,emotionally, sexually or spiritually. Interesting.
For many of you, you may be reading this and thinking well I don't need boundaries I have good relationships. So I have written up some questions below for you to ponder.
So you've dated before, thats cool.
How many people have you dated before?
How has that ended?
What has this person (who your dating) done to earn your trust?
What will be your regrets if you breakup?
I probably should clarify that I'm not trying to make you annoyed or frustrated but I just want to get you thinking about these things because they are some wise things you should be thinking about in a relationship.
So what do boundaries define and protect?
- your love: your deepest capactity and connect
- your emotions: your need to own your feelings and not becontrolled by others feelings
- your values ( very important one!): your need to have your life reflect what you care about most deeply
- your behaviours: your control over how you act in your relationship
- your attitudes: your stances and opinions about yourself and your date
Marriage
Or
Breakup
Something I have noticed expecially in teenage relationships is this NAIVENESS in dating, where they think its just gonna end happily ever after. So if your someone who isn't really looking at a serious or potential husband/wife relationship and you don't have any boundaries then be prepared for some pretty horrible heart break if it ends badly.
Why give someone so much of your love when you know how its gonna end. Harsh I know but a reality you need to think about.
Relationships are kinda like a football game.
Pre-game your team is excited, uncertain of what the future holds, ready to give it all. Super psyched up!Sometimes the opposition are alot better than what you expected, by half time the coach is hounding you about what you needed to have improved on. And you try and improve this in the second half. Sometimes it works and you win and sometimes it doesn't.
We come into relationships excited because we think about this fairytale ending, and unfortuantaely sometimes this doesn't get to happen.
I hope that this has given you something to just have a little ponder about, and I hope I haven't offended to many people with my brutal honesty.
Take care :)
Saturday 25 June 2011
Relationships: Part 1
Relationships.
What on earth are the ways you can enjoy a healthy, fun and fulfilling relationship.
In this post I am just sorta covering boyfrind/girlfriend/daitng kinda relationships in contrast to like family relationships ore friend relaiotnships. Just thought I'd clear that up first :)
I found this quite interesting, but in the Hebrew language there are 3 words which are used to describe our 1 word Love. For many of you who know the English language we tend to chuck this word love around alot:
"I love you"
"I love chocolate"
"I looooooooooooveeeeee those shoes." You get where I'm going with this.
Now see in the Hebrew language love is broken up into three different words and this makes it ten times easier to show how much you LOVE something becuase it is more specific. These three words are:
Raya is a close friendship, compainionship with someone of the opposite gender. (This is different from just a good guy/girl friend relationship but it means you have some form of attraction towards one another.) In this you learn about the other person, this is the time when you are getting to know about the person, by hanging out going on dates. At this stage this relationship isn't the most importnat one you should be investing your time in but moreso in your friends and family because you may find you have numerous 'Raya' relationships before you find someone who wants to take it to Ahava.
Dating would come under this.
Ahava literally means deep affection, such desire to be with the other person it makes your heart break. Ahava is alot more stronger than Raya because it is at a stage were it is more profound than just your typical romantic goody good feeling. Ahava is so strong you feel you want to spend the rest of your life with that person. Ahava is comitment.
Marriage would come under this.
Now Dod. Dod is the passionate, the sexual/physical side of the relationship. (Not gonna lie but if you really wanna know what this should 'Dod' should be like check out Song of Songs, only 8 chapters and its quite explicit and beautifully written.)
This is where sex fits in.
Isn't it interesting how one word can become so specific!
I find this such an eye opener everytime! Just backing up what I said in one of my last posts about just having a mindset of 'the here and now.' You see if we live with this mindset, it can actually be quite destructive to our relationships because you think to only please here and now, and therefore doing things which only feel good here and now.
The best relaitonships which last start with:
Raya and this develops, whether is 6 months to 10yrs+. (Raya is such a short time span when you think about the fact you if you going tovspend the rest of your life with this person.)
Then comes Ahava
and finally Dod is there to continue that Ahava and Raya, and to keep those flames going! Believe it or not sex was designed for a purpose.
By taking out one of these elements of the relationship you are actually making your relaitonship weaker and not allowing them too withstand time.
Tip:
Invest and Nurture those relationships (aswell as keeping your relationships with friends and family up too scratch too.)
In some ways relationships are kinda like exams, at first you have to study and learn for the test, and then you sit the test, and then later you see the results of all your hard work.
Check out wicked book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, it portrays what love really should look, be and feel like.
http://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Love-Francine-Rivers/dp/1576738167
Hope this gotten some of you thinking about where you are in your relationships.
Next time Part 2 of Relationships :)
Take care!
What on earth are the ways you can enjoy a healthy, fun and fulfilling relationship.
In this post I am just sorta covering boyfrind/girlfriend/daitng kinda relationships in contrast to like family relationships ore friend relaiotnships. Just thought I'd clear that up first :)
I found this quite interesting, but in the Hebrew language there are 3 words which are used to describe our 1 word Love. For many of you who know the English language we tend to chuck this word love around alot:
"I love you"
"I love chocolate"
"I looooooooooooveeeeee those shoes." You get where I'm going with this.
Now see in the Hebrew language love is broken up into three different words and this makes it ten times easier to show how much you LOVE something becuase it is more specific. These three words are:
- Raya
- Ahava
- Dod
Raya is a close friendship, compainionship with someone of the opposite gender. (This is different from just a good guy/girl friend relationship but it means you have some form of attraction towards one another.) In this you learn about the other person, this is the time when you are getting to know about the person, by hanging out going on dates. At this stage this relationship isn't the most importnat one you should be investing your time in but moreso in your friends and family because you may find you have numerous 'Raya' relationships before you find someone who wants to take it to Ahava.
Dating would come under this.
Ahava literally means deep affection, such desire to be with the other person it makes your heart break. Ahava is alot more stronger than Raya because it is at a stage were it is more profound than just your typical romantic goody good feeling. Ahava is so strong you feel you want to spend the rest of your life with that person. Ahava is comitment.
Marriage would come under this.
Now Dod. Dod is the passionate, the sexual/physical side of the relationship. (Not gonna lie but if you really wanna know what this should 'Dod' should be like check out Song of Songs, only 8 chapters and its quite explicit and beautifully written.)
This is where sex fits in.
Isn't it interesting how one word can become so specific!
I find this such an eye opener everytime! Just backing up what I said in one of my last posts about just having a mindset of 'the here and now.' You see if we live with this mindset, it can actually be quite destructive to our relationships because you think to only please here and now, and therefore doing things which only feel good here and now.
The best relaitonships which last start with:
Raya and this develops, whether is 6 months to 10yrs+. (Raya is such a short time span when you think about the fact you if you going tovspend the rest of your life with this person.)
Then comes Ahava
and finally Dod is there to continue that Ahava and Raya, and to keep those flames going! Believe it or not sex was designed for a purpose.
By taking out one of these elements of the relationship you are actually making your relaitonship weaker and not allowing them too withstand time.
Tip:
Invest and Nurture those relationships (aswell as keeping your relationships with friends and family up too scratch too.)
In some ways relationships are kinda like exams, at first you have to study and learn for the test, and then you sit the test, and then later you see the results of all your hard work.
Check out wicked book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, it portrays what love really should look, be and feel like.
http://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Love-Francine-Rivers/dp/1576738167
Hope this gotten some of you thinking about where you are in your relationships.
Next time Part 2 of Relationships :)
Take care!
Monday 20 June 2011
One word: Legend
Check these out it will change your whole perspectives of drive thru's!!!!
Cone-ing the new planking???
There are so many funny things people do at the drive-thrus and to make it even more legendrary they video it and put it on Youtube!!! I sooooooooooo am gonna do these one day!
Oh yeah! absolute Legends!!
Saturday 18 June 2011
Busy Busy Busy
Life is just so crazy for me at the moment, it just feels like I am on a roller coaster ride that is sooooooooo long! Waiting for the station to appear, so I can have a break. Catch up with those I love and care about, and just listen to how they are going (so in some way this blog can keep you guys updated with whats the haps for me, so next time I see you I can just listen.)
Sometimes life can just be so tiring and draining, but when I look back at all those moments when I feel at the brink of breaking, I can't help but be amazed!!
In these times I come to realise that I physically, emotionally, mentally can not do it on my own, this is such a humbling experience and keeps me grounded (or I hope so). It seems like when your holding on to the last thread thats when it gets exciting and I get a real insight into who I really am!
I have been learning some really cool things in this season of my life and I guess the best way to describe it is through a picture. So I'll try and desribe it in the easiest way. We are like harvesters, we plant seeds in the lives of those we interact with, we may not see the immediate results of this, but like a seed it takes time to grow. Therefore you may never see the impact you have in someones life right in the here and know, but don't be disgcouraged because that seed needs time to grow.
I just wanna encourage you don't become annoyed or discouraged because you aren't seeing results here and now, but be encouraged because the rewards while be shown soon.
It upsets me how much I see those surrounding me trying to do things which FEEL good in the here and now, but they don't consider the results of there actions and the way it affects the future.
What you sow now, you will reep in the future.
This is such an awesome lesson for me because many people call me a 'leader" but for me I never felt like a was a good leader because I wasn't seeing any change, which got me questioning this idea of me being a leader. It was really discouraging! I reckon its in those times when you develop and become a much better leader.
I think I should talk about Leaders another time though :)
I hope you have a great coming week these are just a few thoughts I have had lately.
Take care Lil 'Harvesters' :)
Much love xoxo
Sometimes life can just be so tiring and draining, but when I look back at all those moments when I feel at the brink of breaking, I can't help but be amazed!!
In these times I come to realise that I physically, emotionally, mentally can not do it on my own, this is such a humbling experience and keeps me grounded (or I hope so). It seems like when your holding on to the last thread thats when it gets exciting and I get a real insight into who I really am!
I have been learning some really cool things in this season of my life and I guess the best way to describe it is through a picture. So I'll try and desribe it in the easiest way. We are like harvesters, we plant seeds in the lives of those we interact with, we may not see the immediate results of this, but like a seed it takes time to grow. Therefore you may never see the impact you have in someones life right in the here and know, but don't be disgcouraged because that seed needs time to grow.
I just wanna encourage you don't become annoyed or discouraged because you aren't seeing results here and now, but be encouraged because the rewards while be shown soon.
It upsets me how much I see those surrounding me trying to do things which FEEL good in the here and now, but they don't consider the results of there actions and the way it affects the future.
What you sow now, you will reep in the future.
This is such an awesome lesson for me because many people call me a 'leader" but for me I never felt like a was a good leader because I wasn't seeing any change, which got me questioning this idea of me being a leader. It was really discouraging! I reckon its in those times when you develop and become a much better leader.
I think I should talk about Leaders another time though :)
I hope you have a great coming week these are just a few thoughts I have had lately.
Take care Lil 'Harvesters' :)
Much love xoxo
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