on purpose.

I have a pretty ordinary life, there's not too much about it that screams "I'm special", "I'm super talented" or "pick me, I'm the best one for the job". No, outwardly I'm not that special (of course, in God's eyes, I'm something pretty special and that's all that really matters), I'm pretty average in my offerings of talents and I certainly don't think I'm better than anyone else. So, all in all, I appear quite ordinary to any stranger peering through the windows of my life.

I know so many Christians (myself included) who have grappled with the confusion and uncertainty of their identity and purpose in a life that is ordinary. I know so many people who have missed or ignored their purpose by trying to live a less ordinary life.

Today I've been thinking about purpose. About my purpose, about purpose in general, about how God thinks about purpose. It pops into my mind every now and then and I pause for a moment to ponder. I don't have a very visible part of church life, I don't have something specific that I feel my life is fulfilling its purpose for at the moment, I don't even really know what the purpose for my life is yet...but it doesn't matter. I don't have to know about a specific calling and purpose to my life right now. I don't need to seem like I'm fulfilling my purpose because I get a more 'visible' job or area of service. I don't need to seek approval from the world to affirm my purpose.

I am reading a book at the moment in which the author says, "In order to care for my wife, I resigned from fulltime Christian service - something that represents the ultimate type of work to many believers. I struggled doing so, because I felt that my new role was not as significant as my previous one. I was looking merely through human eyes. As I came to see the importance of all good work, I saw purpose and value in what I did, that it pleased God and He would reward it."

I realised that already have a purpose. If nothing else, my purpose in life is to worship God. And to serve Him. Plain and simple. Not anything too fancy or praiseworthy in the eyes of the world but there you go. Even if I never 'find a specific purpose' for my life, my life will not be (and is not) without purpose. His purpose for us doesn't just fit nicely into a box which we put a nice-sounding label on. I am sure that God's purpose for me will take on various forms and they will change according to His leading. However, my primary purpose in life remains to give all glory to God. Without Him, I am nothing.

And as for the ordinary life I speak of, being ordinary is not that ordinary at all. Living in God's purpose and will in an ordinary life is far more fulfilling than living an extraordinary life without Him.



Today I'm unwrapping my thoughts with Emily at Chatting at the Sky.

one thousand gifts - the beginning.

Today I am grateful.

1. Thank you God, that you care for me. Thank you that I can trust You to be concerned about the little things and take care of the details.

2. Thank you that You love me more than I will ever know.

3. Thank you that I don't need to look to anyone but You for my value and worth.


I'm joining Ann Voskamp @ Holy Experience and many others giving thanks to God for all the good things God has done, is doing, will do and for who He is. Sometimes I take things for granted and forget to take the time to thank Him. Thus, I've begun my chronicle of One Thousand Gifts.

tonight i have nothing to say other than:

He is good.

Thank you, God, for you are good and your mercy endures forever. Your promises are true and your word never fails...

words escape me.

"i'll have a soy, decaf, caramel latte with cream and an extra shot".

I spent the greater part of eight hours yesterday making coffee at my work.

So what makes a good coffee?

Well, it's all about the crema. Of course, this is getting into coffee-speak so I'll explain.

This is a beautiful extraction (coffee that is extracted from the ground coffee beans and compacted. Water runs through the compacted, ground beans and comes out thus) with an amazing crema. So, the crema is the stuff with the lovely golden colour which when settled, forms a layer at the top of the coffee in the cup. Get it?

Pictured above is a long black, which is as it sounds, black. And long because water is added before the extraction so it's not pure coffee! A coffee with milk, like a flat white or latte is a shot or double of extracted coffee with frothed milk. Milk is an art. It took me about a year to master the skill of frothing milk! Needless to say, I got pretty good at it.

Depending on the kind of coffee being made, so depends the kind of milk being made. Flat white is smoooth, with hardly any bubbles. Latte is about the same but in a mug not a cup. Cappuccino is lots of froth, not quite bubbles but thick and full. The kind of milk that will give you a moustache when you sip it! And hot chocolates? They're almost fool-proof. Just add chocolate powder with the milk and froth away. And finish with marshmallows! Just the best when you put them into the hot chocolate and they're melted by the time you finish.

night lights - part two.

These pictures are the result of an early morning adventure I had with my dad on a few months ago. We went into town for the Anzac Day dawn parade. As you can tell, I had a bit of fun with my camera on the walk from our car to the square:)

moving furniture.

I'm going to sleep well tonight.

I know that because I always sleep well when my bedroom has not a thing out of place. Tonight is such a night. Every few months or so, I feel an unbelievable urge to change things. And usually in doing so, I organise everything there is to be organised, tidied and rearranged in my bedroom. Since I still live under my parents roof, I feel like my bedroom is the only room in the house in which I have complete and total power. I can decide how the furniture should be arranged, how the books are sorted, what stays and what goes in the sorting out process etc. And in saying that, moving things around is the best way I know for me to keep on top of all the useless junk I keep.

At the end of my evening I have successfully rearranged all the existing furniture (bed, chest of drawers, bookshelf, small table, chair) to a new spot as well as the addition of my desk, at which I am now writing. It was in the kitchen previously and I decided that it was time for it to come back into my own space again.

So, now that I have a lovely, organised room I feel like I've tidied up my brain too. The environment in which it now lives is ordered, comfortable, spacious and most importantly, cosy. It helps all the scatter-brain thoughts in my head somehow feel more organised and cohesive.

P.S. I don't know why, it's purely coincidence I promise, but I seem to post on Thursdays a lot...weird.

chocolate cake goodness.

Last week we celebrated my dad's birthday. Unfortunately, he had to work in the morning and I had to work from three in the afternoon till late. Not ideal when it's a Saturday and a family birthday. It made for a very uneventful birthday for my poor dad. I didn't even have a chance to make him a cake. So yesterday, since I had finished my last exam the day before, I had time to whip out the baking things and make him a cake. A chocolate cake. His favourite! Just a warning though, this is a secret family recipe, so no matter how good it looks, I can't divulge it to anyone!! But don't let it stop you from doing your own version! Happy Baking :)

The batter starts off with hot water, cocoa, egg yolks, sugar, oil & vanilla essence.

Next, flour and baking powder are sifted into the batter with a tiny bit of salt.

The egg whites are beaten then folded into the batter.

Ready to go into the oven.

The final product.

Hmmm...yummy!