Tumoulin Girl

Monday, January 8

Anyone remember me?

So Mrs M does (a thousand hugs Miss Julie!!) but whew life gets full so quick. I'm 18, I have a boyfriend, a car, red nail polish, and my Daddy worries about me when I'm out for over 48 hours.

Anyone remember me?

Wednesday, November 1

FOR RACHEL

I'VE JUST GOT TO SHOWER, GET SOME CLOTHS AND STOP SMELLING SO BAD. I HAVE AN OPTOMETRIST APPOINTMENT TODAY AND I DON'T CARE TOO HOOTS ABOUT IT BUT I SUPPOSE IT'LL BE GOOD TO GET MY TWENTY-FIFTY VISION CHECKED. IT COULD ALWAYS START FAILING ANYDAY. AND I MIGHT GET TO GO TO BIG W WHICH WOULD BE AWESOME COZ I DESPERATELY NEED MORE MAKEUP. SO HEY THIS IS A POST. :P OH, AND JUST IN CASE YOU'RE STILL INTERESTED, I DIDN'T GET TO LEARN HOW TO PAINT SATURDAY COZ WE JUST DIDN'T GET AROUND TO IT BUT WE DID GO TO THE YUNGABURRA MARKETS WHICH IS ALWAYS FUN. EXCEPT THE HEAT. OH MY GOODNESS. EMMA AND I BOTH WORE JEANS AND BY LUNCH TIME WE WERE COOKING. LUCKY SHE'S HALF INDIAN, SHE JUST WENT DARKER FROM THE SUN BUT I GOT SO SUNBURNT THAT SUNDAY I WAS SO BEET RED EVERYONE AT CHURCH WOULDN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT IT. I'D WEAR SUN SCREEN BUT IT'S JUST SO STICKY. ICK. I HATE THAT STUFF. BUT YEAH. I'M SURE I NEED TO GET OVER IT. FRIDAY I AGREED TO PLAY SOCCOR FOR THE CHRISTIAN JULIBEE COLLEGE GIRLS TEAM WHICH COULD BE INTERESTING. THEY MUST BE PRETTY DESPERATE FOR PLAYERS COZ I CAN BARELY KICK A BALL STRAIGHT AND THEY KNOW IT. STILL IT COULD BE FUN. I'M DETERMINED NOT TO GET BURNT AGAIN. ARGH. I CAN'T BELIEVE THE PAIN. ANYWAY, IT'S ELEVEN THIRTY AND I STILL HAVEN'T SHOWERED. YOU'LL HAVE TO DO WITH THIS. LOVE YOU, YOU DAG!

Friday, September 22

Hey peoples

As of Tuesday I'm a fully licenses driver.

And now I must away to tea.

Thursday, September 14

Photos for you....

Sleeeeepy Shelby.

Pwetty waterfall.

Aaaaw...

Yours truly.

Wednesday, September 13

Quote of the moment:

Two reminders for myself for when I'm convinced life sucks and there's no point in trying anymore.

::::......
"I think the thing that really had the most effect on me was early on in my career, when I kind of not really sure what I was in for - I knew I was doing 'the singing thing' and the concerts, and all that stuff. When I really realized that it was way bigger than me, I was doing this show and there were a lot of young girls there - screaming, and all that kind of stuff - and there was this one girl who you could totally tell that she didn't want to be there. She had her head down the whole time - rolling her eyes, and stuff like that. I saw her and I just, kind of, kept looking at her. While I was singing I just started praying, "Help me to say something to really get her attention." So, I just started talking about just a little more personal things for me - about insecurities and trying to find yourself, and stuff like that. And she picked up her head, and she started nodding her head. Then I saw her cry a tear. I was just like, "That's awesome." That's what helps me to put everything into perspective and reminds me of what I'm in this for. "

......

"I've only been in this for five years, but it's so easy to get jaded - in Nashville. Not just musically, but also personally with people. You're like, "Oh, everybody's in it for the same reason. Everybody is stuck in the same mindset." No! Let's lift each other up. Let's talk about real things and be honest and talk about things that aren't so great in your life. Let's help each other out. Let's grow. For a long time, I just kind of cut myself off because I was like, "Oh, nobody really wants to know the real me" and stuff like that. Just recently, God's been like, "You have a lot of work to do on yourself - so let's not be talking about who everybody else is. Just be open, be honest...talk to me." Talk to God, and talk to each other. I think everybody will benefit from being a little more real with each other. "
......:::::

Rachael Lampa

Wednesday, September 6

Word Count: 105

This poem has a prequel but I haven't finished it yet. I need to read through a few more Switchfoot songs first. But this one I needed to complete for my second assignment, thus, to be confusing and back-to-front, this is the end before the beginning.

2) In fewer than 150 words of prose or poetry, describe your heart’s desire for your inner spiritual life.

Consume Me

I’d like to be blinded by Your glory
Lost in the sound of Your voice
I’d like to be filled with Your wonder
Dancing in the land of Your choice

I’d like to be dusty and dirty
Broken and true
I’d like to watch the sunrise
See only You

Lord, you’re all powerful, you’re everything

Take everything I could be
This is my surrender
Won’t you consume me

And I see the sunshine
And I hear the wind
And I feel the heartbeat
Here where you have been

Won’t you take me under, fill me through
This is my surrender
To be consumed by you

Tuesday, August 29

I don't like this post...

Long time no write, I know. I pray ask y'alls forgiveness. I've been busy...thinking, living, getting lost (though, how one gets lost in a ghost town the size of Tumoulin I'm still trying to figure out. Shall get back to you on that one).

In case any of you were wondering what the last post was about, I've signed up for the Christian Writers Guild writing course. Yes, indeedy. They've given me a wonderful mentor and everything. I'll put some of my stuff up as I write it and would love any and all comments. So, you know...comment. Or I'll throw exploding bananas...or something equally expensive. Please =D

And what else was I thinking.

1. Pious people make me want to scream
2. I wish I could eat chocolate mint ice cream
3. Rachel and Shelby are coming to visit Thursday (yay!)
4. "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot never ceases to get me out of a bad mood.
5. Praying never ceases to get me out of a bad mood.
6. Talking of which, I need to pray more, which leads me to:-
7. I mean to pray more.
8. Daddy made me a swing, my favourite place to pray, so I shall pray more.
9. I need more summer tops
10. I've fallen in love with gypsy/boho skirts
11. I keep driving by police cars.
12. Or police cars keep driving past me.
13. I'm going for my Ps in three weeks.
14. I really should write something intelligent again soon like I used to.
15. Yes.
16. Hmm
17. Did I say pray?
18. Yeah, I think I did.
19. I need to ring Bethy (love you dear! I've been thinking about you.)
20. And this is twenty.
21. Too bad for twenty-one questions. Answers is all I have brain power for.

I hope you all have a wonderful week =) I honestly mean to try to write more, I've just been kind of busy and brain power as been at an all time low. Still, I shall try. And now I'm away---to bed, and sticky dreams of peppermint chocolate. Buenas noches.

Friday, August 18

So this is what uni is like...

In case any of you have the boredom and patience to read one thousand, one hundred and sixty-six words, this is my first assignment.

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1) Write a letter of no more than 500 words introducing yourself to your mentor. Include such information as your stage of life, employment or family situation, educational background, and church and ministry involvement. Also, let your mentor know if you’ve had any preparation or experience as a writer.

Dear Christy,

Hi, please allow me to introduce myself. I’m Lydia, one of your new students (obviously!). I’ve been dreaming about signing up for this course since I was about fifteen and now that my life has finally hit the stage that I am here, graduated from school and ready for something more, I’m excited to be finally doing it!

I recently turned eighteen, I’m a helpless bookworm, and the third oldest of seven kids. I grew up on a remote sheep station in outback Australia but just of three months ago my family shifted and I’m now cooling my toes off in tropical north Queensland. I don’t have a job yet but on top of this course I’d like to become a part-time secretary or tutor.

Writing wise I’ve done a few things here and there. In high school I won a state writing competition that entitled me to an all expenses paid week long young writers conference. There were about twelve other kids at the conference and the teachers, all published authors, covered all the different perspectives of writing from short story to poetry. That was when I was fourteen. When I was sixteen, my older brother went to Africa on mission work and I spent the year writing and editing his newsletters. I was sending out on average one to two newsletters a month, hard work at the time, but I’m so thankful for the things I learned that year about taking down stories from dictation, writing concisely, and sticking to a set writing schedule (all things I’m terrible at!). I’ve also kept a regular journal since I was about twelve; kept an online Blog for two years; and just last year I wrote my first novel under the National Novel Writing Month Competition.

In unimportant information: I love to travel, I’m besotted with the Spanish language, and my all time favourite authors are Robins Jones Gunn and Bodie Thoene.

I really look forward to working with you.

God bless,
Lydia

2) In no more than two sentences, write your purpose and goal for wanting to become a trained Christian writer.

To encourage and challenge young teenage girls.

3) In fewer than 300 words, describe your spiritual journey to faith in Christ—or, if you came to faith as a child, the key events of your walk with Christ. This will likely take serious cutting and revision.

All the key events of my life seem to occur during the hot heat of summer (maybe living in the middle of the desert had something to do with this?) and the day of my salvation was just one of those events. Technically I became a Christian when I was about five, but I can barely remember it and I’m not sure I knew just what salvation was about. My faith was mostly my parents and I was good just because I couldn’t imagine ever disobeying my parents. Things began to change when I was around eight and my family shifted. I struggled to make friends and I felt alienated and unsure of who I really was. I started getting really scared and I couldn’t figure out if I was truly saved or not. I kept asking God to come into my heart but I couldn’t feel anything and I was afraid He hadn’t heard me. Whenever there was an altar call thing at Sunday school or at church I’d say the prayer in my heart.

I must have done that five or more times until one night I remember lying on my bed. It was a hot summer night, my window was open and there was huge swarms of mosquitoes all around my head. My Dad had just prayed with me. My Dad was a shearer but because he had to be away for days on end he wanted to get a different job. Always my Dad had wanted to have his own sheep station but we didn’t have enough money to buy a farm so he was praying about finding a job as a manager. This was a hard time for my family and that night I must have asked my Dad what was happening because he said he didn’t know but that he wanted things to change and then, right there and then, for the first time, he invited me to pray with him about it. At the end of his prayer he said, “And we trust that you’ll provide what is best for our family. Amen.”

Lying there in the dark, watching the mosquitoes, I thought about what my Dad said. The mosquitoes swarmed up toward the ceiling and then turned and dive bombed straight at my face. What if they could kill me? I suddenly thought. Would I go to heaven or hell? I swatted the mosquitoes away but really I wanted to pull the blanket over my head and hide forever.

Then the words my Dad said repeated themselves in my head: “And we trust you…” What if I said that to God about Heaven? I wondered. Would it mean it could really happen? How did I know for sure He hadn’t saved me? People always said you could tell if someone was really a Christian because they changed. Well, I didn’t feel any different and I wasn’t sure just what I needed to change. But what if I just believed it---what if I just believed he had saved me and then lived as if He did? Maybe then I’d know for sure if He’d saved me. I figured that if I wasn’t saved I wouldn’t be able to change and if I had been saved then I would.

I tried it, I changed, and I’ve never felt the need to say the salvation prayer again.

4) Check your local newspaper or your favourite magazines for an example of persuasive writing. Write one paragraph telling why you found it so.

I found it persuasive because the author used quotes, scripture, and examples of real life people (one from the Bible and others from her own life) to back up what she was saying. I also found it persuasive how she shared her own experience and how it had helped her.

5) List five publications in which you would like your writing published.

Brio/Brio & Beyond, Young Ladies Christian Fellowship Journal, Clubhouse/Clubhouse Jr., Underground Newsletter, National Geographic

6) Write, E-mail, or call those publications for samples and writers guidelines. Begin building a file folder of such material. In a Word document or a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel, record: name of publication, frequency of publication, name of editor, addresses (including E-mail), and telephone number(s).

I’ve attached said document with this one.

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Saturday, July 15

The Cops Pulled Me Over and Carted Me Away

Well, I was scared to death and thought they were going to. Seriously they followed me all the way up the mountain. I was just driving home from youth group when passing the turn-off to Herberton, the cops pull out behind me. Josh is snickering in the backseat, "Guess which way they turned." And Dad's all fatherly, "Don't worry. They're nothing to be afraid of."

The first turnoff I had to make turns up suddenly around a sharp corner and it was so foggy I just knew I was going to miss it. I kept asking Dad when it was coming and I was so nervous I still ended up mistakening the turn off three corners berfore it turned up. I indicated for like three quarters of the mountain and I wonder what the poor cops thought of that. Then as I come up to turn a car comes driving up from the opposite direction so I'm just sitting there dumbly in the middle of the road and I thought (ok, was desperately hoping) that the cops would pull out and go ahead but they're just sitting there nice as you please right behind me and I'm so nervous I forgot to dim my lights.

I take the turn and I'm just getting over my dismay and embarrassment and starting to convince myself the cops just happen to be going in the same direction as me when I see these strange lights in my rearview mirror and realize they're flashing me. I'm gripping the wheel in panic and Dads like, "You have to pull over." Oh. So I do and managed to have the place of mind to wind down my window before the guy turns up with his little torch.

He looks at me with this half smile, "Did you realize you just high-beamed someone back there?" Oh, man. He wants to flame me for that? "Nah, it's ok, you're not really in trouble. I noticed your 'L' plates and it must be nerve-racking having a police car behind you." Understatement!

He ended up being pretty nice and only really wanted to give me a breathalizer test. Consumed any alcohol? No, sir. Oh, good. Then he gave me the straw as a momento for my first breathalizer test and drove off. It was all kind of melodramatic. Thankgoodness. He even noticed I can I go for my P's soon.

P.S. By the way, thank you so much to everyone who wrote letters for the notebook thing Stephen was putting together. I love it so much! Thank you! Namely: thanks to Stephen for going to so much trouble to put it all together (and Mum and Hannah who hacked into my e-mail accounts), Rebecca (from the Sunshine Coast), Heidi, Pete H., Rachel and Matt (& Shelby), Matt D., Sarah, Cory, Beth G., Josh, Caleb, Aaron, all the Khus, Naomi, Kyra, Bethany, Melina, and all the others. It's seriously one of the best presents I've ever gotten.

I had an awesome birthday and I'll try to post photos sometime. Maybe late next week. I have a feeling the next couple of days are going to be kind of full. Could be interesting. I hope y'all have a good weekend/week (depending on where you live!).

Friday, July 7

Nearly There

Countdown: TWO DAYS until my eighteenth.

Or....(and this sounds way better): 25 hrs and 6 minutes until I become an adult.