Day 151: We Fixed It Alright!

Performance Day 2. A highly anticipated day. We've been working nonstop to make this performance twice as good as the last one. And I think we managed to pull that off! It was so much fun; and not just our performance, but watching everyone's! We have incredibly talented people here at college; mind-blowing guitarists, versatile drummers, powerful singers, smooth piano/keyboard players, and even groovy bass players. Everyone played a major role in making this Performance Day amazing, and it was a load of fun recording all of it. Here's the band I was a part of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P002kWpkef0 It wasn't until around 2:45 that we finished all of the performances, and soon after I was here, in my flat just enjoying my afternoon. I also went straight to work on editing the videos, which is going to take a while considering there's about 12 videos with a grand time slot total of 59 minutes and 42 seconds. IT should be fun though; and I'm definitely hoping all the other people will enjoy them too. Well, that's all for now, since I have more TV training tomorrow!

God bless,
Steven

Day 150: Language of a Hero

So this morning, I got the privilege of serving in the 10 and 12 services; the reason being that we got to hear from Ray Bevan again! This Welshman is straight up amazing; I so want to get his sermons on DVD. He is one of the best communicators I've ever heard, and I'm so glad that I received so much from his messages. Worship went really well too; we had such a great time praising God. Afterwards, i spent the rest of the day with Donny and Lauren, having lunch, working on assessments, and hanging out with a couple other friends later on. I thank God for having good friends like them; it helps me not be stuck at my place all afternoon. In the evening, we got to hear from Christine Caine, who is the main Hillsong advisor for A23, the organization against human trafficking; she gave another message of inspiration, which was a great way of ending the day. Church life was all great worship, incredible speakers, and good fellowship. Tomorrow's gonna be a good day, that's for sure. I just gotta take care of some stuff before I head to bed, so I'll see you later!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 149: Red Shield Appeal

So I completely forgot to write about yesterday; oops. Well here I am, and I shall explain what took place.
Street Teams had the opportunity to work alongside the Salvation Army for the Red Shield Appeal, which is basically a community event where we knock on doors and ask for donations for social services. One thing I noticed about the Australian Salvation Army is that they are completely serious about what they do; they love their community, and unlike some Salvos in the States, they work hard to provide. So all of our groups split up to various areas to ask for donation, and we were assigned to a specific street. I was with my friend Andrew, and we went through one of the longest streets on the list and collected a grand total of $13.20 (there was a lot of people that just didn't care... shame..) It's okay though, because what mattered was that the Salvation army could use that money anyway, so it wasn't a total letdown. After our morning on the streets, we returned to the City campus to count what was collected and hand everything over to the SA. We received these certificates of thanks (as well as a free Big Mac voucher for McDonald's) and were free to go. The Towers team decided to have lunch together to give a proper farewell to the girls that came from the Wesley Institute to help us out some months back. They were pretty invaluable to the team, and they will be missed. The afternoon was chilling in the flat, doing random things on my computer and such. In the evening I was hanging out with my roommate Tyson and his friend watching Star Wars, and after that I was invited to hang out with some friends and watch another movie. I can honestly say to go from Star Wars to Singin' In the Rain was quite a turnaround, but it was so much fun; after all, you have to respect the classics. We pretty much just stayed after the movie finished and shared some stories of back home; it's nice to be able to do that. Good friends will listen, and I think we all have some good friendships better established now. That's all for now until later tonight.

God bless,
Steven

Day 148: Getting closer

So today was awesome. It started bright and early at good ol' 5:45 a.m. for chapel rehearsal. It went pretty quick, which was a surprise; the guys really stepped it up today. During Old Testament, Catrina spoke on the minor prophets, which is a subject you don't really hear from often. It was a very informative perspective on those books people tend to skim over, and in the next few weeks we're going to be touching on Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, which I think will be good. Chapel was amazing; probably one of the best. All the musos did an excellent job (including in the special song today, where we got to finally see "Toast" use his beatboxing skills that people thought was a myth.) Duncan spoke on identifying what makes it clear that we've grown; it was a powerful message, as are all of Duncan's preachings and teachings.
After a quick chapel debrief and some packing down, I went with Donny and Becca Potter to Subway; today was their big promotion day where you could get a free footlong sandwich with the purchase of a footlong/soda combo. I blessed Donny with the extra footlong, since he's pretty much broke until next week. After that scrumptious lunch, it was off to Personal Leadership tutorial! We started off with a game called Signs (I'm so bringing this game back with me for vacation); it's similar to the Animal Game I learned here in Australia 3 years ago, but with a stealthy twist to it. It was loads of fun. Then we talked about emotional leadership, which was a subject that I feel we all benefitted from. For today's encouragement, we picked Texas Taylor; her flatmate Bec got her some coffee from her favorite cafe, as well as the card I made. Here's where it got interesting: So last night I was drawing this thing, and for a reference photo's sake I used sunflowers as part of the design. I figured sunflowers would be a good choice to add some extra color, so I added them in. I had no idea that sunflowers were Taylor's favorite kind of flower. That was such an amazing moment to see that I got to put in that extra bit of effort only to find out it was the perfect addition. God's cool like that, I suppose. Anita's advice for my devotion journal has helped me tremendously; I've been doing a lot better on it than before in this semester. I still have a ways to go to finish it, but I'm believing I will. She decided to speak to us for a little bit on the Heart For the House offering coming up in 5 weeks; this specific offering's amount goes to the many different goals set at the beginning of the year through the vision for the church's year. This year's goals are the school in Watoto, South Africa, the Hillsong New York church, A21 (an organization against human trafficking) and our very own CityCare ministry. Please keep this offering in prayer; there's a big need that Hillsong is trying to accomplish, and we need all the support we can get.
After a great class, I got a little bit of down time before I went to the first songwriting group meeting; I have THE Luke Guevara as our leader, Eldon from Canada, and Jessica from Canada too (as well as a friend from my first mission trip to Australia almost 4 years ago; WOW that's a long time back!) It was good; I think we're trying to focus on a theme of refreshment that comes from God, and so far what we have has a lot of potential. Then we all just chatted for a while about all kinds of stuff; it was a good break from not doing anything in my place. I also got to help one of the girls in my Personal Leadership tutorial finish her assessment since I finished that one a long time ago; if I had someone to help me during my break, I would have finished much earlier. But it's okay, because it was fun too. My day was just really good; all I have left is my devotion journal entry for today, the pushup schedule, and then SLEEP.

God bless,
Steven

Day 147: Flow

So today was great. Sisterhood was one reason why. Ray Bevan was another; in fact, his message set the direction of the rest of the day. He spoke on being in the darkest hour and how it can bring out your greatest potential. You know those messages that become just the thing you need to hear? That's exactly what happened this morning. And it was amazing; I'm so adding Ray Bevan to my favorite preachers list. He has that kind of energy you wouldn't expect from a man in his sixties; it's very impressive how he has your attention every second with his powerful words and funny jokes. After that it was a good amount of resting from the setting up for Sisterhood, as well as practicing our performance song on the bass, and then it was time for Old Testament. However, like last time, it was a very quick class, since Bill wanted to focus on the assessment that most of us finished already. So with that, it was off to enjoy the afternoon until Team Night. Before though, we got to put in a last minute practice with the band since we're not gonna get another chance. It was good; our super chill and amazing Canadian Breanna made a rap for the very end of the song; trust me, it's going to be epic. Team Night was quick; the reason being that there was a healing and ministry service happening right after. It was still good though. The real treat was hanging out with Donny and Andrew and watching one of my absolute favorite movies of all time: Just Friends. Man, that brings back memories. An excellent day, I think; just like I said it would be.

God bless,
Steven

Day 146: Feel the Power

So today was my day off; awesome. I got to recover some sleep that the assessments stole from me, and that alone made the day great. I got to a little recording, which made excellent progress. I'm so close to having Here and Alive finished, but it still feels far away. In the afternoon, I talked with Hannah, which was nice. We had a good conversation, just updating each other on what was happening. After that, I had a little bit of time before I went to Powerhouse, which ended up being Pigout-house tonight. I had a very nice, well made burger, and some free sausage sizzles since the group was watching the big rugby game between New South Wales and Queensland. I spent almost the entire game time helping a few other guys pack down the auditorium and set it up for Sisterhood tomorrow. It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad that I get to serve here. That was pretty much my day; I'm gonna have a pretty good day tomorrow I'm sure.

God bless,
Steven

P.S. Here's one verse that stood out to me tremendously during my devotion time: " My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways," Proverbs 23:26 I like that one!

Day 145: On the Frontline

Today was amazing. I started bright and early for TV training; I got to learn about adjusting the on stage screens to add to the atmosphere of the worship. It was so much fun messing around with things I've never seen before. I'm stoked on getting another chance sometime in the next couple weeks. After a nice breakfast, we headed back for Personal Leadership, where we got to hear from another guest speaker who spoke on handling stress in leadership. It was good. Then it came time for chapel, where I spent the entire time in the TV room assisting with what I was practicing with earlier. It was loads of fun; even though these guys and girls are completely secluded from the rest of the college, they play an important role in the church experience. Then it was straight home to chat with the family; I love being able to talk with my parents through Skype. My sister and I prefer to keep in touch via email, so it's all good. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing to the soulful tunes of Jimmy Needham, who is now a favorite of mine. His music blows me away, and his new stuff is definitely a top release of the year. Closing in on the evening, I got a phone call from Georg, who invited me to have dinner with him and hang out. Georg is my Connect Group leader, so we had a good chat about how we were doing and stuff while enjoying a barbecue pizza from Charcoal. Then we visited the Frontline Encounter night, which was technically a 25-35 year olds thing, but we just went in. It was pretty cool; for some reason they had this random fashion runway thing with people dressed all urban/modern/biker like. It was quite entertaining though. Afterwards, it was a Q&A session with Joel A'Bell; this guys is just full of wisdom. I feel blessed getting to hear him speak. Overall, this day was a 10/10, and I'm happy to have the day off tomorrow!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 144: Grace Amazing

Today was almost completely all about music. From Mary's lecture on being a good listener, to practicing our song and stage lighting, to our Music Excellence tutorial and picking up the bass guitar that was so generously given to me by the Garcias, I couldn't be happier with a day like this. I also got to finally relax after all the assessment work, which was definitely a boost in making this day awesome. The afternoon was pretty much going to Redfern and picking up the bass, practicing a little more at our guitarist's place, and resting a bit. In the evening I got to hang out with some good friends, sharing dinner and chatting while watching a movie. I'm feeling more confident with myself after this weekend, and it has helped me get more comfortable with socializing. I'm very grateful to God for what He's done; I can't wait to see how the rest of this week goes!

God bless,
Steven

Day 143: ..And on the 8th day God created cheesecake.

So today was interesting. I was originally planning on waking up at 5:30 to get ready for choir. However, due to my falling asleep on my way out of bed, I ended up waking up again at the wonderfully convenient time of 6:29. Naturally, I got ready in my new record time: 7 minutes. I did just about everything, and then I ran to church; I made it in a record 3 minutes, which I would love to be able to do more often. So fortunately I didn't miss the warmups, and then we served in the 8 a.m. service. The MC, Crishan, decided to acknowledge the choir for what we do, which was very nice; he then asked if we could do a complete improvised song for that moment. We were completely caught off guard, and we ended up just singing the chorus to the last song we sand for worship. I will say, it was fun though. In the morning, we got to hear from Darlene Zschech, who spoke on God's presence and how "He is here." It was a very good message. Afterwards, I was planning on getting some extra sleep, but I ended up working with Donny and Andrew on a song they were recording. So I never thought I would be a co-writer of a rap, but apparently that's what I did; thanks to awesome people like B.Reith, Group 1 Crew, and Family Force 5, I know a thing or two about coming up with clever lyrics that convey a good message. It made me completely slack on assessment work time, but it didn't really matter. Then I went to the 7 p.m. service in the evening; this time, we got to hear from Carl Lentz, a former Hillsong college student who is going to be running Hillsong New York with his wife and Joel Houston. He gave one of the most epic messages of the year, hands down; it's no mystery why he was picked to run the first church in America. He just knows how to connect with people; he's gonna be a fantastic leader. As of right now, I am still working on my assessment, but it's mainly just finishing the very last part; two small changes and I am FINISHED. Thank you Jesus for giving me the patience and determination to get this thing done. Couldn't have done it without you!

God bless,
Steven

Day 142: Productivity. Oh yeah.

Today was excellent. The morning started early with kinder chocolate and M&M pancakes; I don't know what Norwegians do to make such good pancakes, but whatever they're doing is great. Then it was off to Street Teams, which was amazing; God decided to give us a fun travel time to the towers via rain. A lot. Of rain. Regardless, we got to talk with a few people. It was very good seeing a couple people that were sad before now feeling much better and with more optimism. There wasn't necessarily a lot that we did, but it was still a great time. After that, it was a day of relaxing, doing pushups,working on my assessment, and hanging out with friends while watching not one, not two,but the three Lion King movies. It's amazing how much Biblical material you can get from this movie. And it certainly did bring a lot of memories of home. It was good. Getting a few hours of sleep? Won't be as fun..

God bless,
Steven

Day 141: Taking Things a Little More Seriously

Today was another awakening in my heart. The morning started with chapel rehearsal, which was loads of fun despite the fact that I didn't get very much sleep. We had a guest speaker in Old Testament: Ray Bevan from Wales. He's well past his fifties, but he has the heart and energy of one of us; it was awesome. He spoke on being listening leaders, and how God's voice was what challenged His people. It made me really think about how I've been wanting to hear from God, but I haven't quite been "still" enough to hear it. We also got to hear from him during chapel, which was just amazing; God came down like a rushing wind, and we all got something out of it. After that great chapel, I went over to Coles to get a couple things for our target of blessing in our Personal Leadership tutorial, and then it was time to start the class. Today's subject was fitness (oddly enough, I just got pulled into a fierce exercise thing with my flatmate Anders; apparently, his fitness apps on his iPhone are so good, he wants me to the fitness tracking with him. As I'm typing, I'm feeling sore in places I didn't even know had muscle mass; it doesn't feel so great now, but after what I've been through these past few days, I might actually be able to lift something heavier than my normal limit. It's a possibility, of course. ) Anita talked on how being in a generally good physical condition is a key in being a leader; with better physical strength, you have more energy to get things done. It's a simple truth, really. Then we took personality tests, since another key in leadership is knowing your personal strengths and weaknesses and maintaining a good balance between them. It was a very good, informative class, and I feel inspired. Anita also gave me tremendous help on my journaling; keeping a consistent journal as an assignment hasn't been the easiest, but I'm feeling more confident in myself to get it done. I'm believing that it can and will be done. Afterwards, it was back to the flat (we finally got internet back after a 32 hour split from the rest of the world) and I finished another couple parts of the goal setting assessment. All I have left is to go through the budgeting exercise, review my monthly schedule and budgeting, and THEN this thing is OVER!! I'm so close to the finish line; I can see it right in front of me. Pray that I get across. Fast.

God bless,
Steven

Day 140: Return of the Class

So today was the official start of college after break. Surprisingly, it was a small day. All the guys headed to Misterhood at 10 since all the ladies went to the Hills campus for Sisterhood. We had a special guest speaker, and it was a great message. Afterwards, it was a nice little break until the Old Testament tutorial at 1:45. However, our teacher decided to make it a day to focus on the Amos study assessment. Fortunately, I finished that one a week ago, so I basically got to leave super early. Then it was relaxing in the flat until Team Night, where we had a cereal for Citycare blessing and a message from none other than Darlene Zschech! She talked about the power of praise by reflecting on her visit with Billy Graham a couple weeks ago. Apparently he agreed to do a video for the Hillsong Conference, which I'm excited to see now. Then it was hanging out with some good friends for the packdown; it was good fun. This day was very good; it's nice to be back in college action.

God bless,
Steven

Day 139: My Purpose and His

So today was literally a break day; probably the only legit one of the entire week and a half to be honest. Unfortunately, I didn't get to work on my assessment because I let Anders's girlfriend, Caroline, use my Powerbook to work on her assessment; apparently pastoral students have much more difficult ones to do than worship students.. so I spent the day getting outside for more than 5 minutes, chatting on and off with Hannah throughout the afternoon, and serving at Powerhouse. I have to say, it's so much more fun when I'm serving at Powerhouse than when I'm attending. I get more out of it; not to say it isn't good or anything, just that I end up pretty much alone when I attend. With serving, I have people to interact with; people that I get closer to because we work together every week. I got to some extra stuff tonight; I normally come early to help set up, but this time I was asked if I could stick around afterwards to be part of the packdown team. So sure enough, having a thrill for service, I said yes. I helped cleaned up the auditorium by stacking and packing chairs, as well as manning the Ghostbusters style vacuum to make the floors (almost) spotless. By the time I finished, my clock said 10:45; WOW! This packdown team works well into the night to make sure the house of God is nice and clean; that means excellence to me. I admire that these people stay behind every Wednesday to clean up; the best kind of serving is the kind no one sees.
Today I randomly thought of a phrase that caught my attention: I was Jesus' purpose for living and dying.
I had to really dwell on this thought to get the full picture: I've spent a lot of time in my life trying to figure out what my purpose is. I still haven't gotten it, but I've always wondered what's beyond the years I can see. Then I started thinking about Jesus, and what He did. He was well aware of what He had to do for us. He knew it all, that smartypants (I'm kidding, of course. It's technically smartyrobe). It was me; the reason He came to Earth, stayed here, died on the cross, and rose again was for me. Regardless of what happened, I was His purpose for sacrificing Himself; it gives me a greater sense of optimism and a peace in my heart. It made me realize that I don't have to worry about the future; He died so that I could live. That's pure excellence; the kind of excellence I want to get close to.

God bless,
Steven

Day 138: Another Lockdown

Today was pretty much spent in my room. On my computer. Working on assessments and other things. I did however get more done; I completely finished the goals section, and I'm two paragraphs away from finishing the values section. All that's left after that is the month schedule and budget thing and then I can finally breathe relaxed. I also got to talk with my family (despite the worst connection Skype ever gave us) and Hannah, which was the saving grace of the day. Otherwise, it would have been quiet and boring. The rain was pouring a lot today ( we even got scared by the loudest thunder crack EVER; like it was just around the corner!) And because I mentioned my inconsistent exercise schedule, my flatmate Anders decided to have me join him on his 100 Pushups App thingy; turns out the iPhone CAN get you in shape! We'll see if it works out in my favor over the next 6 weeks. Tomorrow will most likely be another lockdown day for assessments, so hopefully I can knock this thing out for good.

God bless,
Steven

Day 137: Asleep On A Rock

Today I set out to write out an idea I've had for a while. I think around a week ago I posted on Twitter my feeling about sleeping in: "Sleeping in rocks." I said it because it's awesome to be able to sleep in since I rarely get that opportunity. Afterwards, one my fellow college students that follows me on Twitter asked "Why did you sleep on rocks; doesn't that hurt?" For some reason that brought my thoughts straight to a message that Priscilla Shirer gave during Colour conference about Jacob receiving a promise from God in a dream. There came the idea of a song reflecting on Jacob's experience in that certain place which would be called Bethel. I would like to share what was eventually (but not completely) penned from this Scripture:

I set out for a land of destiny
Far from where my family lived
When I reached a certain point
The sun began to descend
As the night consumed the sky
I found a spot to rest
But little did I know

That surely You would be in this place
Filling my dreams with Heaven's embrace
And as I lay my head on a rock
The Rock of Ages will reveal His face
And with the multitude of angels
Surrounding Your glory with song
Surely You'll be in this place
And I won't know at all

In my sleep I see a path that touches Heaven
The heavenly host, they climb up and down
And up above, high in the distance
There You stand and say,
"I am the Lord, God of your fathers
And I am with you wherever you go
And I'm not going anywhere."

Surely I'll be in this place
Filling your dreams with My sovereign embrace
And as you rest your head on a rock
Your spirit will rest on Me
And with the multitude of angels
Surrounding Me with song
Surely I'll be in this place
And you won't be aware at all

Early in the morning I awake
In fear of what I saw
How awesome is this place
The house of God, the gates of Heaven
He shall be my God
If God will keep this promise
Now I know without a doubt

That surely You were in this place
You filled my dreams with Heaven's embrace
The rock on which my head rested on
Will be the sign of Your house
And as the multitude of angels
Surrounded Your glory with song
Surely You're in this place
And I didn't know at all.

I might make changes, but this is pretty much what the song will say. I feel like today was an exceptionally productive day. I got a lot of my assessment done, I almost completely finished one of the final 2 songs for Here and Alive, and I wrote this new one. God, thanks be to You for making this day worth living; even if it was almost completely inside the house.

God bless,
Steven

P.S.: Pray Until Something Happens. That quote has stuck with me ever since I received the Gold Medal of Achievement back in 2003, and now I am in the process of making a song inspired by it. Here we go..

Day 136: Giving.

Sundays are either great days or days that could have been better if more effort was put into it. Today was a great day. This morning I got to take part in the choir once again; it turns out that the 8 a.m. service didn't have a choir since so many of the college students didn't show up (don't worry, they had the right to either come or not). I chose to serve anyway, because I knew that there was a need for voices AND I love it so much I couldn't possibly pass that down! So we had the 10 and 12 services, and they were both excellent; we got to hear from Robert Morris again, who presented the Sunday morning church with the extravagant giving message. It's amazing how hearing a message a second (or in this case, third) time around can open your ears to things you didn't get the first time around. I really put some thought into this whole art of giving; I know that I can help other people when I see a need, but I realize there are opportunities all around me. I don't have to wait for those opportunities to come; I can just keep my eyes and ears open so God can reveal what He wants me to do. I'm sure God won't lead me to live a life like Robert Morris's, but I can carry the same spirit he did when it comes to giving of yourself and what you have. After that amazing morning, I got to enjoy my afternoon i relaxation mode; aaaaahhhh...... so good. Then it came time for the evening service; I could have not gone, but tonight was different. You see, Australia's Channel 7 News report was going to air a special on Hillsong church, and since we didn't know if it was going to be a positive or negative report, the pastors decided that we should be able to watch it together. So they set up the garage kind of like a theater and was projecting the news on one of the walls; we just watched as the journalist interviewed Brian, Bobbie, and Joel Houston, asking questions on ideas of Hillsong church being a huge money making business or cult. Pastor Brian did such an amazing job at answering the questions without seeming like he was covering something up; there was nothing to hide anyways, so it was cool to see that the news report didn't make a complete negative spin on what he was talking about. They talked an awful lot about the income the church receives, and they made the mistake of saying Brian Houston gets paid by the church. The truth is, he doesn't receive any money from the church; instead, his income is received through his own stuff, like books and videos and such. He pretty much pastors the church for free, and without any personally financial requirements or needs to take an offering for. It's great to see someone that loves the church for the church, not for the check. I wish we could have many more pastors like that; I mean, I know not every pastor can make as many resources to sell, but rather in terms of just having a total heart for the church itself. I know a couple good leaders like that, and I hope to join them in being part of a church because I love the church. The only other thing I did was go to my friend Andrew's place to let he and Donny borrow my sustain pedal AND give some musician's input on the song they're putting together; apparently, next semester, I'm going to have a class where I have to make a song, including the lyrics and music, to present as an assignment. Can't wait for that one!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 135: The House of God, Forever

Today was one of the best days of the semester. We started off with Street Teams, which ended up being one of most amazing Street Team days so far. We got to share a concert with one of the most adorable Russian couples in the Towers, and it went quite well. They were very happy, and learning a Russian song was loads of fun too. It was pretty much Russian day, because we chatted with a few Russian people and cleaned some windows for (you guessed it) a Russian couple. We even got to try pancakes made with apple (which I must admit, was a pretty interesting in a good way) Overall, Street Teams tends to make the day awesome, and I'm so happy I get a chance to be part of it. Afterwards, I took a break from the outside world until around 3:30, where I joined my friend Sarah to have dinner with her neighbors. She asked me to come with her because she didn't want to go by herself, and since it was a couple guys and their mom, I figured it'd be good to have some other guy there. So I got to make a few new friends, which was great; Sarah feels like fellowshipping with them can turn into a great ministry opportunity, so we'll how it unfolds. Their mom cooked a most excellent dinner, and after having a nice conversation, Sarah played a few songs since the guys are learning guitar. That was the point where we got to talk a tiny bit about Jesus; one small step in the right direction. Right after, it was evening church, which was the best way to end such an amazing day. I tell you, when you just give the day to God, it ends up being so awesome. I can't wait to see how tomorrow progresses.

God bless,
Steven

Day 134: My Core Values

So today was more productive in terms of my assessment. I got to out some more thought into it, and it ended up being a little bit easier this time around. The main subject on the work today was core values, which are things that I personally live by. So far I've only come up with 4 out of the 5, but yesterday I had 2 , so I consider it progress. So far I have honesty, respect, patience, and optimism. I feel like these things have really made me who I am, and therefore it translates into my normal life. I also got to write out a mission statement for myself, which was cool. I have much, MUCH more to do, but I have a little more confidence to get it done now. Other than that, it was nothing super special; but thanks be to God for a good day nonetheless.

God bless,
Steven

Day 133: Definitely off of the schedule

So the original plan was to go to the Blue Mountains today. And that would have happened if my alarm wasn't on silent. And if I wasn't so tired. And if I didn't wake up sick. So I ended up waking up at a record time: 10:26 a.m. I've never woken up so late in the morning; I was almost proud. Oh well.. maybe some other time. It ended up working out for me, because I got to work a little more on my assessment and my recording stuff. So it wasn't a total tragedy. It was a quiet day, but sometimes I need a quiet day. It's cool to get time to yourself. I also got to get a quick conversation with Hannah, since the Fine Arts program was last night; from what I hear it was a complete success. So to all my fellow SFC friends, congrats on the awesome night! Afterwards, I got to visit my friend Izaat at his restaurant Charcoal, and we talked about economic comparisons between Australia and the United States. I then bought a chicken kebab, since it's one of the more cheaper options out here for a measly $7.50 (which, in this country, REALLY is cheaper in comparison to other places, like darn KFC...) I also got to have a quick visit with Shane, whom you all know as the man behind the digital cover for Here and Alive. It's nice to keep in touch with him, since he was so generous to help me get started on doing my own graphic design work. I tell you, Threadless.com is one great website; it's one place to find some of the most creatively artistic people in the world. And Lord willing, if I can get something submitted and printed, that could help me get some extra money to help get tuition paid off (since my family have been sacrificing so much for me to be here; love you mom, dad, and Mandy!!) I'm totally praying and believing it can work out; if there's one thing I've seen and learned, it's that when you declare God's answer to prayer in something, chances are it will happen as long as you believe in your heart that God CAN and WILL do it. After seeing so many friends getting jobs, financial breakthrough in hard times, and even sicknesses going away, God continues to make His presence known among us. It's so cool.
In all seriousness, I'm not enjoying this huge assessment right now. This is without a doubt the most challenging education/life related thing I've ever faced. Please just keep me in prayer that I can get this done so I can stop worrying about not passing. The last thing I need is to have been sent all the way over here just to fall short on an assessment and not be able to graduate. Lord, I need You; help me pass so I can continue on this journey You've sent me on.

God bless,
Steven

Day 132: Not quite to plan..

So I wanted to really work on my assessment today. That didn't work out so well. I've been dreading this goal setting portfolio, and for good reason; it's without a doubt THE most challenging assignment I've ever faced. It's a 10 part portfolio that consists of your top 5 values, your mission statement, long and short term goals and review/update on those goals, a month long schedule and review of schedule, and a month long budget schedule and review of said schedule. It may not seem like much, but what it lacks in mere size makes up with the amount of brain power needed. Today, this assessment absorbed all my brain power to the point I couldn't even think; and I didn't even get halfway through the 1st part.. but fortunately I got to talk with Hannah, which made me feel better. It's cool how just talking with people can brighten your mood, especially under the lamest of circumstances. Afterwards, it was off to Powerhouse; loads of fun, as usual. Overall, this day was pretty good despite being brought down by an inanimate object. Tomorrow is a special day: I'm going to the Blue Mountains! I'll explain later..

God bless,
Steven

Day 131: Steady, steady..

So originally I was going to work on my goal setting portfolio, but due to a number of circumstances, I ended up not doing that. Instead I spent the day chatting with my family and Hannah, organizing my computer FOR the assessments (so I did do something productive!) that I will be working on this week and next week, I re-wrote one of my songs for Here and Alive, and I went to Connect Group with my Norwegian friend Georg. It was a good day, even if I didn't really do what I planned. God's good, either way. Tomorrow will be all assessment. Let's do it.

God bless,
Steven

Day 130: Adios to Amos

So today was quite interesting. I didn't go out of the flat (other than getting a small dinner break across the street at Urban Thai) because I worked on the Old Testament Introduction Amos Study assessment (wow, that's a mouthful). Basically, it was looking through the book of Amos, as well as a handful of other source material to answer the questions. Even though it was only 9 questions, the questions were real mind-bogglers.. like, my brain could not function in the morning with questions like that. So I left it until the afternoon; I worked from 1 to around 10:45 on this assessment. Yes, that's how hard these assessments can be; and I have yet to tackle the biggest one of all: the goal setting portfolio. This is a portfolio style one with 10 sections; all 10 sections are difficult to me, so it's gonna take my whole break to finish it. At least I'll save money though! I also got to hear from my mom on her Mother's Day; apparently it went very well. I sure wish I could be there, but I know that God's in control, and he has much blessing in store for her. So one day of this break over; many more to go.

God bless,
Steven

Day 129: Sunny Days

Today was pretty good overall. The morning started at 5:35 a.m., since I had choir nice and early. I love being able to be a part of choir; feels like home. That's mainly because I've been in a choir atmosphere for quite some time now, so I'm more than comfortable with it =) the morning service was quite spectacular; we got to hear from Aslan again, which was SWEET. He spoke on his mother and all the advice (or her oracle, as the Scripture calls it) she gave him. He spoke on how the things that she taught him were passed on to his children, because he kept ahold of that motherly wisdom. My mom has been full of wisdom for as long as I can remember; no matter what aspect of life, she always has a thing or two to say about it. I appreciate that, because now I'm using those words of wisdom to survive here; she taught me well. After the service, I helped out Donny in making a video card for his mom; apparently, he's had a pair of shoes that his mom has been bugging him to get rid of. In the video, he throws them away as a present for her; it was funny, and it was fun to film. Donny then asked me and our friend Lauren if we could accompany him to go pick up a piñata for a birthday dinner being held for our other friend Noe. I have to admit, that was a lot of fun; it turns out me, Donny, and Lauren make a good team. We just add to each other's personalities; it's pretty cool. When we got back to the Meritons, we hung out at his place and talked music; we shared our favorites. Very educational, I would say. Then I came back to my place to just chill. I also got to talk with Hannah for a good while; I'm so happy she and the family made it back safely. Glad to have you back in the States, Garcias!
So this next week and a half is going to be interesting: we have a break until next Thursday. As much as I love it, there's one thing I have to put on the top of my list: FINISHING THE ASSESSMENTS. These things are so difficult; I'm scared I'm not going to pass this semester because of the difficulty. Fortunately, my flatmates said they could help me out since they've done it already, so praise the Lord for that. If I can get at least 2 of the 3 done by Wednesday, that would be great. Pray that I do.

God bless,
Steven

Day 128: In This Moment

The morning started in the best way possible: Street Teams. It was nice to be back, since I had to miss it for the online open day. I got to return to the Towers, and I had a great time; we got to visit a few people, and the visits were so good that we didn't even clean anything! We just got to sow into the lives of those specific people, and it was so cool. After that, I went to Donny's just to chill; we had an original idea in mind, but that didn't end up working out because he took a nap. So I just went back to my place and started on an important assignment. Over time, the afternoon disappeared, and before I knew it the evening was here. Fortunately it was salvaged by my Canadian friend Valerie, who invited me to hang out with some friends. So we went over to our friend Dave's place and watched stand-up comedy and had dessert; it was loads of fun.
When I think about it, it's fascinating how quickly a day can go; before you know it BAM! and the day is over. I feel like this college experience is going to be just as quick until the end, but I hope I get everything I need for my return before that time comes.

God bless,
Steven

Day 127: Yum.

For some reason, God's blessing of food really contributed to the day being awesome.... why, I don't know, but I guess in the sense that food naturally makes people happy (to some extent) that's truth. Today I was blessed with some crepes made my Anders and Tyson; perfect way to start before Old Testament lecture. Catrina spoke on some of the prophets, mainly Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum and Micah. It was a good lecture. Today's layout was different after class; so tonight was the night that Sunday night church moved to Friday night so that the moms could be properly be celebrated on Sunday. Because of that change, everyone's classes were moved to a different time. My class was moved an hour after OT, so we were going to finish early. Personal Leadership was exceptionally fun today; we got to see the amazing wedding pictures of our teacher, Anita, and her husband. She's one of those ladies whose parents figured she wouldn't get married since she's 40 now (but doesn't ANYTHING close to 40; she looks more like she's in her early 30s. Australia has that benefit: slower aging.) but God blessed her with a great husband, and from the looks of the pictures on her Facebook page, that must have been an epic day. I can only imagine how it must be to get married by Aslan himself, Robert Fergusson; if his teaching is epic beyond reason, his work as a wedding minister must be one of the best EVER. After that fun break, we just got lazy, and Anita decided to teach us some Croatian dances (LOADS of fun!!) It was nice to get a small break from the normal routine of class. Of course, we couldn't go the entire class without doing something productive, so Anita had us work on a budgeting reflection page; I realize now exactly how much I don't rely on that. I just haven't felt the need to do that, BUT I do know that if I give it a shot, it'll make it easier for me to manage my money and where it goes (although the increase in rent does not benefit me in any way; they're taking enough money for like 3 meals away from me!! =0 ). Then it was chill time until the evening service. As a bonus to the Friday night service, Hillsong hosted an International Food Festival; we had dishes from America, China, Japan, Italy, Indonesia, Mexico, India, and South Africa. Unfortunately, due to wanting to pig out after the service and trying to think ahead of what food I would choose to eat, the only thing I got to eat from there was the American hot dog (nothing like Costco's awesome hot dogs, BUT it stayed true to the American tradition of being the cheapest option on the festival menu) and a free brownie I got for getting aluminum foil for the America station (Thank you for that, Mary!). I was going to try the South African sausage roll and the butter chicken curry from the India station, but since I volunteered to help the packdown team tidy up the auditorium, all the food was gone by the time I was done. It's okay though, I decided to invest the money I planned on using to treat myself to the first meal I fell in love with here in college: Charcoal's barbecue chicken pizza with extra cheese, mushrooms, hummus, and a hint of garlic! I love eating at Charcoal; I have made a real friend with Izaat, the manager. Ever since I told him I was praying for him while he was in Jordan to see his mom before she passed away, he's been extra nice to me; I get discounted food and/or free drinks pretty much every time I go now! Like tonight, he charged me $10 for an $11 meal; I know that doesn't sound like much, but even that little bit shows how gracious he is to me. Plus, since Australia is turning out to be an expensive place to live in, it's nice to get little discounts and stuff. God, bless Izaat and his restaurant business; and give me more opportunities to show Your love to him.
Well that's it for now; I gotta wake up early again for Street Teams tomorrow!!!!

God bless,
Steven

Day 126: How can I help you?

Thursday. A highlight of the weekend. A time a service, fellowship, and personal reflection. Today started off like every other Thursday: Sisterhood. As usual, I began by working with the amazing Logistics team (our leader, Ian, even got us cookies!!!) and then it was off to the "unofficial waterboy service". I don't care what others may think, I have a blast doing that tiny extra step to place value on the women visiting, and they appreciate it every time. I'd say that's sticking closely to the Sisterhood agenda, right? After that, I was recruited by my fellow Californian friend Nicole to help her with the head count (basically counting how many people there were). It can be quite entertaining if you make it that way. Thankfully, I've had experience with head count since I now do that regularly on Powerhouse nights. Plus when I was done, I got to treat myself to a meat pie (putting aside thoughts of the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.. you do know what I'm talking about, right?) so it was a wonderful morning. After a rather rigorous workout called Packdown (packing down the auditorium and foyer of what's not supposed to be there) I got some time off before Old Testament tutorial. Bill had us discuss Psalm 15 and 24:3-6, where David speaks on who can dwell on God's mountain. It's a fantastic Scripture, one of those things where you can ask yourself if you qualify for any one of these traits. What I got out of it was that David used the analogy of the mountain in a great way: When you look at a mountain, you look up to it. For a nature enthusiast like myself, I can't help but stand in awe of that mass of nature. That's how God's presence is. It's something we look up to and stand in awe of. To get up to a place we want to be on that mountain, we obviously have to climb it; same goes for our lives. If we want to get far into God's dwelling place, we have to climb a bit to get there. It's a tough climb, but if you make it to your destination, you get a fantastic view! How good is that, hey? After that awesome class, I had time to kill, so I worked on a new vlog; I like this one, specifically because I honestly have no idea where this one will be headed. Around 5:10, I went back to school for a chapel workshop; we listened in on tips for being on the worship group during chapels. It was a great time to see how much love is put into the worship and stuff. Hillsong treats worship like a child: with absolute care, respect, and open mindedness to where it can go. It's awesome; and so was Team Night. We got to hear from Annie Garret, who is one of the worship leaders most people don't know. She's super cool though; and apparently, she's happily prego with her second child! Besides helping pack down after Team Night, having a small snack time with a few friends, and hanging out at Donny's place for a while, I feel this day was excellent. I just finished a card for my friend Ashley, who is an amazing photographer. I hope she like what I made for her; this one took a while to make. Off to sleep!

God bless,
Steven

Day 125: Lockdown

So today was my day off. In the end, today ended up being a lazy day; due to the cold weather that came in, as well as not really having plans, I just stayed here in the flat, enjoying this place that God has provided me with. I truly am grateful for being in such an awesome apartment complex; if it wasn't for this flat, I don't know how I'd handle traveling to school. Plus, the area is so convenient; I can access just about everything I need, which is awesome.

Summary: the day wasn't too productive, but it gave me reason to be thankful for what I have here.

God bless,
Steven

Day 124: Hip-Hop Revolution

So today went very well. I woke up bright and early for helping set up the front of house soundboard for chapel; it's pretty fun to do that, I'd say. Today's Personal Leadership course was on financial leadership, which was something that has inspired me to be much smarter with my money; Duncan does an excellent job at communicating these kind of things. Chapel was awesome; we felt that we raised the standard of how chapel should be, and that means it can only get better from here. After a rather quick piano practice time straight after chapel, I went right back home to talk with my parents; I always look forward to talking with them. I wish I had more free time to talk with them... but it's alright, as long as I can communicate that way at least once a week. The majority of the afternoon was hanging out with my flatmates and stuff. In the evening I got to do some songwriting for one of my songs since I changed the music, making the words not as good. It's a tough situation, but I'll be okay. Overall, I can't really be super specific about what happened because it was a simple day. An excellent, simple day.

God bless,
Steven

P.S.: As for the title of this blog, it's just about several recommendations and discoveries on some good hip-hop music. Here's the list of peoples I've been researching:
Trip Lee
Odd Thomas
Tedashii
Heath McNeasen
and Flame
Most of them have my approval, but I'm not quite done with the research yet 8)

Day 123: Fix This Song

So today was Music day; that's what I decided to call my Mondays since all the music-based classes are on this day. We started the morning with taking notes on an audio message from Pastor Brian on worshipping towards the house. It was a great message on how our worship should lean towards the house, not pull away from it. After that lecture, we had our Music Excellence class. So over the past week, I've been meeting with people from my band, just talking about how we could take this song. We didn't want to completely copy it, so we decided on using the band Ruth's version of Fix You as our reference on how we wanted the song to go. So we have the beginning of the song imitating the original style, but after our first chorus, we introduce the folk acoustic style. Somehow, near the end we end up going full on anthem rock, and our teacher felt that might be a potential problem. So we're going to discuss how we can go about the end of the song; the rest of it is awesome. I'm very proud of our band; I couldn't picture myself with any other group. We have a ways to go, but I'm confident that we'll give it our best for His glory.
Before our final class of the day (which went fantastic, might I add), I got to bless my friend Cory, who is my band's drummer, with lunch since he only has $10 to his name right now. If there's one sure thing I've learned, it's that we Hillsong college students have to look out for each other. I've seen so many people with a direct financial need, and many of us have taken action to make sure those in need get that help. So far, I've been blessed enough to bless a few people with some well needed money; I give willingly because I know that since God is the provider of that money, it's valid for me to share that provision with others (sorry if you're not okay with that, mom ={ ) But seriously, if I see someone that's in a very hard place, I do what I can to see that they'll be okay. I know so many people that would (and have) done the same for me, and I'm so grateful for that. The rest of the day was really just relaxing from the weekend, since I didn't have much of that. I've got lots of work to accomplish this week; Lord, I'm gonna need some supernatural focus and determination to get it done.

God bless,
Steven

Day 122: Possibly the Hippopotamus?

Now you might want to be wondering what in the world the title of today's blog is; allow me to explain.

So today I was rostered for choir during the 10 and 12 service this morning; along with Communion, it was so good. We also got the honor and privilege of hearing from Aslan himself, Robert Fergusson, and his message (like every other one he presents) blew my mind. It was called "Possibly the Hippopotamus"; he named it that after a footnote found in Job 40:15 when God says, "Look at the behemoth". In my Bible, there's a footnote that says 'possibly the hippopotamus or the elephant'. That's pretty much what made Aslan's message so amazing. He spoke on questions we ask that just can't be answered; the fact that he used this footnote as a setup for humor made this particular message something to remember. He listed some questions that generally all people have asked, such as "Why did this person have to die?", "What happens after death?", and "Why is there suffering in the world?" His answer, going along with the title, was "Well, possibly the hippopotamus." It's not supposed to make sense because we just don't have the answer. Then he said that the answer to all these questions is "I don't know." this is the best answer you could ever give to these questions; wouldn't you agree? How could we know the answers? God never told us the answers. Possibly because it's not for us to know at all. Maybe if we did know, it'd be hard for us to believe and accept it. Maybe God wouldn't be as respected and praised if He gave away ALL the answers to life's questions. In the end, Aslan said that it shouldn't be about what we don't know, but rather about what we DO know. In Job 19:25-26, Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, yet in my flesh will I see God." Of all people to say something like that, it was the one man that deserved to (and did) ask all these questions towards God. It's not about what we don't know and can't answer; it's about we do know and believe to be the truth. It sure made me think.. but all the more reason to admire Aslan and his way of thinking!
After the morning services, I had lunch with Donny, Valerie, and Elisa; we went to a nearby Thai place and had some amazing food; seriously, I could have Thai food every day if I wanted to! We had a great time just talking and sharing some similar life experiences; it's times like these that I fully appreciate God sending me here. After that awesome lunch, I joined Donny at his place, where he and his roommate Josh (I call him Reece, since that's his last name) were playing their new video game, Splinter Cell: Conviction. That's one tense game; but I'll admit it's pretty fun to watch.
The only other thing that happened today was going to evening service, where Crishan gave an awesome message on how we all have things in life that God cuts to help us grow. He used the analogy of pruning branches, where farmers cut off the branches that don't produce fruit so that the tree can keep growing. It was a good message to take home.
Overall, this day was good. Because God is good. Because God is God. And because God does good. Amen.

God bless,
Steven

Day 121: Speaking and Learning

So today was the Online Open Day, where people from every part of the world could log on to our website and chat with either staff or students about the Hillsong college experience. I had the 8 a.m. to 12 noon shift, but we had people working since 12 noon of yesterday; that's right, 24 hours of sharing our insight of the college to the world. My flatmates had the 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. shift, and from what I hear that was quite the interesting experience. This is how my shift went:

I talked with a girl named Maria from Mexico for a little bit; it's much harder typing in Spanish than it is speaking it. She was a bit impatient with me and kind of left without saying bye.
Then I started speaking with this random guy that said God spoke to him saying that the next time Hillsong United came to his city he would be in the band. So I talked with him about that, about the leaders, and eventually it went to the subject of music. He asked if there was any type of music that wasn't allowed, and I explained that there were no restrictions to what you could listen to, and that some of Hillsong United's music is actually influenced by several styles of secular music. That's when the talk got awkward... he then started getting all spiritual. He asked, "How do they know they're not being influenced by the devil?" and I replied saying that it was just the style of the music, not the lyrics or status of that band. Then it went to asking about why some of the worship leaders have tattoos and how that's bad. I then replied saying that it's what they choose, not doing it to be like other people. This is where it just went south: he said "but when the devil comes back, he'll be covered in tattoos. How can you do that to the Temple of the Lord?" At that point, I was way too confused to even try and respond. So I asked Katy, one of the staff, about what I should say. Our whole group spent like 5 minutes just trying to figure out what in the world to say to that. After some careful deliberation, I responded saying that the church does not have a policy on tattoos, but that he could check the church website to see our core values. He then asked what about what the Bible says, and I looked to Katy to see what I could say. We decided on my saying I couldn't speak for the church using my personal view and reminded him that this chat was supposed to focus on the college and not a Biblical debate. He then concluded the conversation by saying "Okay, I'm going to look into other colleges that have higher standards." and logged off. So after some observation, we noticed that this guy was actually from Australia, so he was basically just trying to find some way to get us angry and give him a negative view on the church. How amazing is it that those kind of people would even try to ruin something like this?
My other conversations weren't as bad though; I had a good talk with a couple girls from L.A. and Florida, as well as another guy from Japan; they had a big interest in the college, so it was great to give them my input on how I've enjoyed it so far. Overall, it was a good time; lots of fun.

When that was over, I went over to my friend Rebecca's place to work on our Russian. We made a lot of progress, I'd say; Russian is a tough language, but the more I learn, the more fun it's turning out to be. I just need to work on getting this alphabet figured out. The rest of the day was just resting from the week and enjoying this day the Lord made. Tomorrow should be just as good since it's Sunday!

God bless,
Steven