4, 13 HOUR WORK DAYS - DAY 2

Actually not as tired today. After I came home from work last night I just crashed into bed and I think I got about 7 hours of sleep.

Liv called me 3 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off. She had been sick most of the night and she wanted me to pray. I knew something was wrong because she normally wouldn't call me and wake me. Thankfully she got feeling better as the day went on.

The sunrise was amazing this morning. Yesterday was great too. The sky was filled with those light wispy clouds that the sun reflects off of and paints the sky pink and orange. Massive.

Still haven't begun training at my job yet. They have me just re-naming files and doing busy work because they don't have time to train me yet. Hopefully they will start training me tomorrow.

Had lunch with Josh again today. He's a cool guy.

Ross talked about "Bringing Back The Biff" on sunday. I guess a "biff" is a fight in Australian football. He said we need to have some fight in us if we're going to be anything in this life. It was the perfect message for me this week. I feel like I'm fighting my way through each day.

I just want to go home and go to bed. Only two more days and I'll be home everynight, no later than 4:30. I can't wait.

4, 13 HOUR WORK DAYS - DAY 1

I'm typing this at 7:01 pm on Monday, the very begining of my 12th hour of work today. I'm tired. My hands are heavy and my eyes are too.

I couldn't get to sleep last night which makes me mad because I was exhausted. Too tired to sleep, too much on my mind.

I'm excited about my new job. It seems like a really great place to work and I like my co-workers so far.

It's really hard to be here at the newspaper job. I could have been home or with Liv all this time. Oh well. Everyone keeps telling me, "it's just four days," but on day one i'm already beat.

I think I will sleep better tonight cause I know what to expect in the morning. I will probably take breakfast with me also which means i can sleep 10 minutes more.

Found out today that I will be able to move in to my new apartment no later than March 18th and maybe even sooner. I can't wait. I've wanted to move for a long time.

My back hurts and so does my stomach. Liv and I went to Mimi's Cafe Last night. She got sick from it last night but I think I am sick from it tonight. I don't know why my back hurts. Exhaustion maybe.

13 hours working. 8 hours sleeping. 1 hour driving to/from work each day. That's 22 hours. The rest is filled with getting ready for work/bed and a 1 hour lunch. This is nuts. I miss my sweetheart.

I'll stop complaining now.

Bad Start...Ok Finish

Today did not start out so hot. My stomach was upset. Woke me up a couple times in the night and it woke me up this morning. Pain is not a good alarm clock. It got better though. After a couple of trips to the bathroom (yea it was brutal) I felt a whole lot better.

I spent the morning cleaning the house and then I finished up some praise & worship backing tracks for my mom. All in all it was a productive morning considering it had such a rotten start.

Liv got a totally new hair cut/color today. I like it. I call it a Cleopatra cut. It was wierd though because when I saw her I felt like I was seeing another woman. Cheater! lol.

Today is payday and boy can I use it. My part time paychecks don't go far enough. I'm looking forward to starting my new job on monday. I'll be working 14 hour days next week. WOOO!! It's only temporary during my transistion.

I heard some very sad news today. One of my very good pastor friends' church is in trouble. Looks like they might have to close the doors. It sad when good church's have to close. I will be praying that they can keep going.

Tomorrow is the end of my "secular" music fast. 30 days of nothing but christian music. Not many people thought I could do it and I had my doubts myself. But I honestly have not missed it for the past two weeks or so. God really rearranged my heart during this time. I'm sure I'll have to fast it again.

Australia, Sunrise, Christmas Day

We stayed up much too late on Christmas Eve, talking about where we had come from and where we wanted to go. But we knew that this was a moment we wanted to share. Even though it meant sleep deprivation, we were going to get up early and spend our first Christmas morning together, watching the sunrise over the ocean.

The alarm clock chirped out above my head. I had borrowed it from someone else so I wasn't used to the sound. It startled me. I realised what it was and reached up to silence it. My eyes were so heavy. I felt like going back to sleep. But I wouldn't let this opportunity pass. I got out of bed, put on my swimmers and headed downstairs to her room. I cracked open her door and saw her sleeping there. So silent, so still, so beautiful. It seemed wrong to disturb something so peaceful but we had decided that this was what we wanted.

I layed down next to her and gently put my arm on her shoulder. "Good morning Beautiful." "Good Morning." "Do you still want to go down to the beach?" "(huge yawn) Yea." "Well, the sun will be coming up soon so we'd better go." "Ok" "I love you sweetheart." "I love you too."

I step out of the room so she can change into her swimmers.

We walk out the front door of the house. So sleepy, but so excited. The air has a slight chill compared to the warmth of our beds. The whole street is asleep as we walk hand in hand down to the beach. We are quiet. In these moments, just being together is enough, you don't need to say anything.

We wrap ourselves in our towels because we didn't bring blankets. The air seems even colder, but we huddle close together and stay warm.

Anticipation. The sun seems to want to make a grand entrance. Finally it begins to rise. I look at her. "Merry Christmas baby." "Merry Christmas." We kiss. The day has begun so perfectly. Our first sunrise, our first Christmas, our new life waiting somewhere beyond the shore.

Gospel Music Will Save You

This is where it all started. Gospel music. There's nothing like the fire and passion found in it when it's done right. Rock & roll only immitates it. This is the real deal. A small church in the middle of nowhere. The deep south. No air conditioning. July hot as hell. People singing and fanning themselves with the service bulletin. A woman in a black dress grabs the microphone and belts out more soul in one note then Mick Jagger has in every song he's ever sang.

This is not the music of pure souls. This is not the music of uptight people who've never broken a rule in there life. These are songs from the pit. Right down in the mud. We've held the devils hand. We didn't just walk through the valley, we live our life in this here valley and this music is our prayer for salvation. Our attempt to get God's attention. We let out souls spill out all over the church floor. The choir shouts.

If you don't understand Gospel music, just quit thinking of it as religious. It's about SOUL. If any music can save your soul, it's Gospel. If it's not Gospel, it's the blues. This is what music is. These are examples of how it is supposed to be done. Stand up, plug in and bleed all over the stage. Can I get a witness?