Just for show...

On Saturday night I went to the Townsville show. It has been a few years since I have been to the show, however I always get irrationally excited. It doesn't matter that I am being blatantly scammed by bogan carnies with loud voices, lame catch phrases and over priced unsafe rides; as far as I am concerned it is still cause for excitement.

I have realised that there are certain traditions that I uphold when I go to the show. Buying a show bag is NOT one of them. Don't get me wrong, show bags are super exciting. Mark and I were chatting to a couple of little girls after watching the fireworks who were positively bubbling over with excitement at the prospect of riffling through their Hannah Montana show bags. However they really are a waste of money. I've only ever bought a handful of show bags as a kid. The last time that I voluntarily burnt cash on a show bag was when I was in lower high school. The show bag was titled... wait for it... "The Original Idiot's Show Bag". How appropriate. In my defence, the show bag came with a complimentary pogo stick, which is what initially caught my attention. I never did master the pogo stick. Quite a difficult endeavour. Anywho.. it also contained a variety of practical jokes which proved to be quite a bit of fun.

One of the traditions that I always honour when I go to the show is standing beneath The Zipper with my head pointed towards the sky, shivering with fear as I watch tiny people being thrashed about in those horrible little cages like rag dolls. Sadistic rag dolls. Maybe one day I will be brave enough to go on The Zipper. It didn't happen this year.

I also really love watching the fireworks. I was very impressed with this year's display, it really was quite spectacular. Fireworks are probably a bit indulgent, however I figure that if someone is willing to blow up thousands of dollars I may as well enjoy watching them do it.

The show is certainly a hoot. However the subtle transition from a sensible budgeting observer to a raving money-burning ride addict is easily made. Don't listen to the carnies. You may have to be in it to win it, but the minuscule feeling of satisfaction that you receive from putting a tiny ball into a clown's mouth and watching as it rolls into the correct slot in order to take home a giant stuffed yellow chicken is hardly a win. It certainly isn't worth the $30 that you gave away to have the privilege of feeding a ball to a clown. Bear in mind that I say this as someone who still loves the cliche idea of a boy winning a girl a giant stuffed toy after playing the hammer game. So boys, if you want to win your girl an over sized stuffed animal, make sure that it's from one of the more impressive side shows.

"And so I'm sailing through the sea..."

As some of you may know, last weekend I road tripped to Proserpine to visit Mark, who is there for 8 weeks completing his rural prac. During his time in Proserpine, Mark has made friends with a lovely dentist named Basil. Basil has a sailing boat, and was kind enough to take us sailing around the Whitsundays for the weekend. For those of you who haven't yet sailed through the Whitsundays, get up offa that thang and add this to your bucket list, because it is just incredible! Deserted beaches, intricate coral, clear waters, blue skies, ocean breeze... I could go on; there is so much untamed beauty! We really had a wonderful weekend, and there is so much that I could write about here. However, for the sake of time, I thought that I would write a list of things that I have learnt from the weekend:

• If you begin to feel sea sick, DO NOT go below deck; this will only increase the wooziness.
  
• If you want to steer the boat, make sure that you have an acceptable degree of strength in your arms (or a willing boyfriend), otherwise your arms will quickly tire out and it will be difficult to remain on course.
  
• If you have long hair and are prone to day dreaming in the shower, do not attempt to wash your hair in the piddly shower on board the boat. This may lead to accidentally flooding the bathroom and having to endure the awkward process of emerging from the bathroom wrapped in a towel to ask Basil to please drain the excess water. Washing long hair in the ocean is a much better option.
  
• There are no words to describe the beauty of watching the sun set over the ocean.
  
• Some beaches consist entirely of white coral rather than sand. When the ocean hits the shore it sounds a lot like glass. It may also feel like glass to walk on. Still incredibly beautiful.
  
• Summoning Basil with a whistle to pick you up in the dingy from the shore is fun for lots of reasons.
  
• "Dang dingy dang di-dang di-dang dingy dingy" is a fun song to sing while climbing aboard the dingy.
  
• There are lots of fun songs to sing about sailing, however most of them have little to do with boats.
  
• A guitar is a vital component to a sailing trip.
  
• Deserted caves on deserted beaches have huge scary spiders and bats that make strange high pitched noises.
  
• Walking through 10 metres of sharp rocks is generally a good indication that there are more sharp rocks to come.
  
• If your keen-bean boyfriend suggests climbing around the rugged circumference of an island (consisting of said sharp rocks), you should probably ponder your response before excitedly exclaiming "Yes!"
  
• Three hours of walking on sharp rocks doesn't tickle.
  
• Having to turn back and re-trace your steps after conquering three quarters of the island only to realise that there is a significant crevice that you can not cross may be a little disappointing, although still a worth while adventure.
  
• Sand is reminiscent of satin after having walked on sharp rocks for three hours.
  
• Coral can be a strange and marvelous thing. Poking squishy slimy brain-like coral never gets old.
  
• Black forest cheesecake is an enjoyable way to make friends.
• Listening to Basil tell stories of all the wonderful places that he has sailed to around the world is a perfect way to pass time.
  
• There are so many beautiful shells on beaches that you can take home to serve as little reminders of the gorgeous places that you have visited. This will only be dampened if your boyfriend thinks that you should have a shell quota to limit the number of shells that you take from each beach.
  
• People should be allowed to take more than three shells per beach.
• You can find a loop-hole in the shell quota by taking three shells and one gigantor piece of coral.
  
• Generosity shown by people who you have only just met is deeply encouraging.
  

Culture Shock

This will come as a shock to most of you, I'm sure.. but the truth is; I am not classy in the slightest. Yes, I know, who is this strange blog hijacker and what have I done with the real Carly. I will give you a moment to recover before I continue....

Sarcasm aside, classiness has never been a priority to me. My footwear reflects this quite well. I prefer to wear pluggers most places, and if I am not wearing pluggers I am probably wearing my beloved Connies with the abundance of holes. However, in a dramatic turn of events, today I bought a pair of shoes for the first time in about a year. They are colourful hippy slipper shoes that cost me all of $7.50. They are soft and I like them, although I don't think that the pluggers and sneakers will retire just yet.

Yesterday I was given another friendly little reminder of my distinct lack of class. Last Christmas I was given a gift voucher for a shop called Cue. At the time I had no idea what Cue was (you could say that I didn't have a cue....- get it? Cue.. clue... ok lame, sorry, moving on) and have since discovered why Cue isn't a shop that I frequent. For those of you who may share my previous ignorance, Cue is an upper class clothing store that stocks business wear for women. I don't really spend much time shopping during the semester, so now that I am on holidays, I thought I'd go and have a squiz. The person who gave me this very generous gift voucher was probably trying to subtly hint at the fact that a little class wouldn't go astray, which is ok... as previous mentioned it is certainly something that I lack. But I have never before been into a shop that is less 'me'. All of the clothes were so... dull. I counted four items of clothing that weren't either black, white or grey. How depressing. Even more depressing was the realisation that only one pair of slacks in the whole store was under $150 (which was the amount of the gift voucher and therefore all I was willing to spend). With the help of the stereotypical friendly rosy-cheeked Pommy shop assistant, we carefully took the pants from the rack (team effort) and I proceeded to try them on (no team effort). They were well made I suppose, although not at all appropriate for a school setting, which is the only place I would wear them. Actually, I'm not really sure that the tight-fitting tailoring was particularly appropriate for any public setting, so I didn't end up buying them. I left the shop assistant to put the pants back on the coat hangers, so as to not get any more of my grubby fingerprints all over them, or something equally horrifying, and left the shop feeling like a happy peasant.

Why a happy peasant? As potentially demoralising as these experiences can be, I always feel encouraged afterwards. Experiences like these remind me that my priorities don't align with the priorities of the world, and that this is actually a reason to rejoice. Our church and Bible study are beginning a series on 1 Corinthians and I was having a read of chapter 1 today. In this chapter, Paul talks about the wisdom of the world, and the Wisdom of God. Chapter 1:20 reads:

"Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?"

Worldly wisdom tells us many things. It tells us that prestige is a valuable goal that must be pursued at all costs (literally). It measures success through the lens of financial gain. It tells us that our classy exterior is intrinsically linked to our worth as capable members of society, and our ability to positively contribute. It tells us to boast in our achievements and flaunt our victories. Yet this does not align with the Wisdom that Paul writes about in Corinthians. Chapter 1:26-29 reads:

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no-one may boast before Him."

As many of you have probably experienced, I often encounter people who look down on the way that I live because wealth, class and worldly influence are not goals that I hold in high esteem. Many a time I have been told that I am foolish for not investing my money in things that will directly and often solely lead to personal gain; be that expensive clothing, holidays, technology, or whatever is the flavour of the month. I'm so glad that the Wisdom from God far out-weighs all of these things. So what is Wisdom from God? Verse 30 clearly tells us that Wisdom from God is Christ Jesus, who is therefore our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Paul writes in Chapter 2:1-2:

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you expect Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

I am so thankful that we have a greater goal than the priorities of this world. I am so glad that Christ has paved the way for us, and provided us with a hope, a focus and a direction. It's so easy to get lost in the values of this world. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. However I am so encouraged that even when I stray, Christ's love remains.

Churchisms

Some of the most humourous and enjoyable memories that you will ever experience often happen in church. Seriously. There have been many Sundays where I've found myself doubled over in laughter whilst sitting in church. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be disrespectful. Churches consist of people; and the truth is that most people frequently do or say funny things. Church dwellers certainly follow this pattern of humanity. Communion is a wonderful example of a very serious and important practice found within churches that can often give way to the ridiculous.

A few months ago I was sitting beside Sara Fraser. Need I say more? Those of you who know Sara are probably already picturing her huge smile and beautifully genuine laugh. It was communion time, and the little bowl full of tiny bread pieces was making it's way along the aisle. As the bowl neared where Sara was sitting, she quickly turned in her chair and knocked the bowl straight out of the hand of the poor person she was sitting next to. Pieces of bread went EVERYWHERE! As a few of us got onto our hands and knees and starting picking up the bread, Sara passed the comment "At least we're not Catholic", to which I gave the obligatory overly loud snort-laugh response. She had a very good, if not hilarious, point.

A few years ago, my sister, Mum and I used to attend a church that preferred to give traditional church routines an alternative twist. On this particular Sunday, the elders had erected a large wooden cross in the middle of the stage and tied a large bread roll to the centre of the cross with a bit of rope. The church members were to file past the cross and tear off a piece of bread from the roll. It seemed a little bit random to me, but I suppose that's ok, at the very least the big lump of bread was quite clearly symbolic of the body of Christ. Anywho, as Mum went to retrieve her piece of bread from the cross, she pulled with a little bit too much gusto, and the bread roll dislodged itself from the cross and proceeded to roll down the aisle for the length of the church. Gold. Mum was so embarrassed, hehe.. I think the elders had to discreetly tie the bread back to the cross so that the rest of the congregation could continue on with communion. Guess who was once again laughing the loudest?

My Uncle tells a great story about when he and a friend were playing in the church music team back in the day. This was in a very proper old-school Uniting church where the people were very particular about things being done a certain way. Once again it was communion time, and the members of the music team were being served the bread and juice. Communion at this church required the congregation to tear an appropriately sized piece of bread from a large bread roll. My uncle's friend was served first. He gave the bread roll a tug, and only a tiny crumb-sized piece of bread came loose. My uncle had a bit of a chuckle at how ridiculously small his friend's piece of bread was, and then proceeded to tear off a piece of bread for himself. As my uncle pulled at the bread, he managed to grab an outer piece that was attached to the soft inner bread. When my uncle removed his hand, he realised that he had retrieved a long coiled piece of bread that was completely inappropriate for one man to devour for communion. As the server moved on to the next member of the band, my uncle looked at his friend's miniscule bread crumb, and then looked at his long snake-like coil of bread, and it was almost more than he could bare. As many of you would have guessed, laughing out loud at an old school Uniting church is certainly frowned upon. In fact even the smallest distraction or change in routine would be cause for concern. Although my uncle needed to laugh, badly. The church stage had petitions that the music team stood behind that lined the stage all the way to the room out the back. So my uncle swung his guitar onto his back, discreetly lay down on his belly, and army crawled along the floor behind the petitions (so as to not be seen) and went out the back room door, laughed until he could hardly breathe, and then crawled back onto the stage. From what he could tell, no-one seemed to notice his absense, and the communition routine could continue as usual.

I'm always encouraged when ridiculous things happen at church. I'm so thankful that many of my fellow brothers and sisters seem to have an abundance of crazy...and not just because it makes me feel a little more normal. Enjoying these moments is yet another way that we can show love to our family under Christ.
Feel free to share any stories that you may have here.. I'd love to read them :)