Alone Time ~ Beholding & Becoming

I am so thankful for some time alone. By nature, I think I'm an outgoing introvert but over the past 5 weeks the introvert in me has been forced to take a holiday. Living with 12 girls in one room and 20-something students in one building demands a lot of people time. However, I feel like I'm slowly getting into the "groove" here and I was able to squeeze in some alone time today. I am so thankful. I slipped into the prayer room (on base) after my work duties were done and enjoyed about half an hour of alone time; playing the piano and singing my heart out to the Lord. Bliss. Sheer bliss!

The last few days have felt a bit like a roller coaster... some days I am so happy to be here and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit so close. Other days, I am simply frustrated and cranky. There's no other way to put it. Overall, the Lord is doing some really good things in my heart. The Lord has been speaking to me about different areas in my life that He wants to heal, restore and shift. So good, so painful... Bring it on!

My time on the internet has been so few and far between it's really hard to know what to write on my blog. Sometimes it's easy to share the deep heart stuff, sometimes it's hard. Sometimes I feel shallow sharing the just the surface stuff, other times there's so much going on in my heart that it's the only stuff I know how to put into words. So, this post is going to be a mixture of both.

Here are some fun/weird words they use here in NZ.
*Heaps. They use this word for everything.
Example: There are heaps of sheep in NZ.
Substitute this word for "lots" and you'll be good to go.

*Keen.
Example: I'm keen to be alone today.
If you're keen on something it means you're "into it". I'd like some alone time today.

*Weird fact: Here in NZ they round up their money. It's so weird. If I bought something for $5.86 they would round it up to $5.90. If I bought something for $10.12 they would round it down to $10.10 because they don't use pennies here. I was shocked at first but now it's getting a little more normal and it creates a lot less change in your pocket.

Here are some pictures!

Haka Falls - on our way home to Tauranga from Taupo.