Masquer-Aid 2012

It's come to my attention (and hopefully yours!) that I haven't been posting for a long while, My bad :(
My exscuse is I've been busy. I don't think I wrote about it on the blog but I have actually been organising a charity ball this last seven months, it was held on the 23rd of March and so the month or so leading up to that I kinda abandoned blogging.... and school...and sleep and .... well alot of things :)

The ball was a great night! We were supporting Karinya, A women’s shelter for young ladies aged 13-20 who have been displaced by family conflict, poverty or violence. 

Karinya has 6 beds and 2 separate units that can house up to four people each. They provide young women with a safe place to live for up to six weeks. As well as providing housing and safety Karinya aims to provide each young woman who enters their doors with support and love. Often their charges have little or no possessions and are scared and alone, Karinya nurtures them and seeks to bring a quality of life back to them.

Each year Masquer-Aid ( the name of our charity organisation) hopes to support a local cause or charity with an annual ball and other small fundraising events. For Karinya as well as the ball we held a 'pile of stuff drive' and took some volounteers to work at Launceston Cup Day to raise funds.

On the ball night we had raised $2,725, an amazing result as the anticipated amount to raise had been $1,500, however it was just short of the $3,000 we were praying and hoping to reach. Then, when I walked into tea and coffee after church the Sunday after the ball, much to my suprise, the two pavlovas that had been left over from the nights food supply were being auctioned off to the praish members....AND THEN! they sold for $75 total! One for $50 and the other for $25. i want to thank those people who bought the pavs, You were so generous with your money and God truly worked through you :)

I went to bed that night really really really happy! But God hadn't finished yet! In church and leading up to the event I had prayed many times that we would reach $3,000. At about 10:30 pm, just as I was drifting off to sleep my phone buzzed, it was one of the Masquer-Aid team members, She had been contacted anonymously by someone who said that they felt God was leading them to donate to our cause and so...just 1 and a half hours before the cutoff time we reached exactly $3,000 with that final donation. how good is God and his crazy planning!?

I want to thank everyone who participated in the organising, attendence and running of the ball night! It was a great time and has shown the team that next year we can make this bigger and brighter and more amazing than ever! And thankyou to all our sponsers and and patrons who helped us raise such an amazing amount to support Karinya and their worthwhile cause! Until next year :)

Maybe I'm Going Crazy.....

I think maybe I'm going crazy... With school starting next week, (grade twelve, final year, four pre-t's!) the organisation of a charity ball, (March 23rd) a placement at the examiner for a couple of days, (exciting!) trying to find a job, (so I can get a transfer to Hobart when I move at the end of the year) and just general life, I feel like my head is in a constant state of near implosion! I know, I know, first world problems, but I really am so stressed and crazy at the moment I think I might just be going senile, at the tender age of 17.... oh wait, I forgot my presentation to the Rotary (13th March, BY MY SELF.)

Forgive me for sounding like a spoiled brat but things just seem to be piling up on me. The Charity Ball is my biggest concern for now. My co-organiser and I are hoping to pull a crowd of around 100 people to support Karinya Young Women's Service. That's alot of people, what if the tickets don't sell? What if no-one has fun? What if..... so many worries, so little time! And the funding, the ball will run at an estimated cost of $500 I don't have $500 in my back pocket! That means putting on more events to get the money or alternativley begging for it of local bussinesses and Rotary clubs. Actually the Rotary Club of Central launceston has been a god-send. Craig, the guy who organises speakers came to me a couple of days ago and said;

"Hey Hannah, what if I could give you a way to raise more money to run the ball?"

"Do tell Craig...Please!"

"How's about you get some poeple to pick up litter at the cup?" (or the show? some Launceston event that is held before late March and has rubbish picking up oppurtunities!)

"That's a great idea! Send me the details if you need any more workers!"

<About two hours ago>

"So Hannah, can you get me ten adults by tommorow night?"

"ten....by....night....YEAH, 'Cause I can!....Easy....I Hope...."

Turns out not that many people are keen on the idea of picking up rubbish in front of their possible aquaintances for seven hours on no fee... But it's for charity so everyone should jump at the chance...Right?...RIGHT? Anyway I do remain hopeful! But ingeneral the whole charity abll thing has been going bonkers. I am becoming increasinly aware that there is less than two months till the actual night and I have no mney to actually run it! It's a scary bussiness.

Examiner Placement should be good. I want to be a journalist when I "grow up" so I am hoping that this placement will confirm my future pathway for me and also give me a foot in the door whe it comes to contacts and job-getting and such things. School, Who am I kidding, I'm not that feraked out about it really (this might change come exam time!) i am actually very keen for school to go back so I can see friends and do work and have very clear guidleines concerning what to do with my life once more. The Job, Oh that job hunting stuff. I felt so guilty asking my current boss for a reference! She's so kind and loving and amazing. Great pay, great hours, free food, Christmas and Easter presents...the list goes on. Only problem is that she is a private small bussiness. I need a chain store job...or do I? YES I do! It's so easy to just stop and ignore things I don't like/ want to do.... :)

So really I'm not that stressed and I think that maybe the ten adults before tommorow kinda prompted this post.... But oh well, Iget to vent online and you get to read me venting online. It's really a win win situation for all of us. 

Wish me luck! xx

1 Million Kilos Challenge

Today I signed up for the 1 Million Kilos Challenge by Channel Ten. So far 1,231,053 kilos have been pledged to be lost by people all around Australia. I think this is a great initiative for Australia seeing as we are quickly climbing the ladder of obesity. The challenge runs for ten weeks and procides an online account to all participants where they have a diary, shwoing their starting weith, current weight and goal weight + other details. Each individual is also given a menu plan and an excercise schedule that relates to their weight and level of fitness.

I have pledged to lose 8 kilos in ten weeks. I think this will be a challenge for me but I am hoping that with the online structure I have for my meals and excercise and the motivation of being part of a nation wide movement, I will acheive what I want.  As well as pledging to lose the 8 kilos I have set up an online donation page through everydayhero.com to rasie $100 for MS Tasmania. I am hoping that people will see what I am doing and sponser me through donating to this appeal.

Homophobia...

* I am not judgeing here, please don't get offended by what I have written, look past my intial words and see that I don't love less because of personal differences... God Bless x

My favourite book of the bible is Romans. On the subject of homosexual acts Romans tells us:

 Rom. 1:26-28, "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, ²⁷and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. ²⁸And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."

To me this is straight away a hard truth to face. I believe that the Bible is the word of God and so I must obey what is written in it. But it goes against my nature to say directly that one thing is 'wrong.' However I take hope from what follows in Romans Chapter 2...

Rom. 2:1-3  ^"1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?"

And so through this verse while I still struggle with the fact of homosexuality being wrong by my Lord I can rest assured that He would never want me to judge or condenm people who practice what he finds wrong.  Judgement is brought by the Lord not by men. It is my place to love my neighbour and love them for who they are not what they do. I put my trust in God judgeing the world by the state of our hearts and honestly whatever is in someone elses heart is none of my bussiness....that's between them and God.

So while I can disagree with Homosexuality I can also disagree with Homophobia. Hate the Sin not the Sinner.