Jiminy Cricket!

This weekend Will's coworker and her fiancé took us to our first cricket match. It was New Zealand v England. I would be lying if I told you I was super excited about it, but it actually turned out to be a great time! Let me clarify: We went to a T20 game which ran about 4 hours as opposed to the other variations of the game which can take up to 5 days. I think the biggest thing that helped was that we sat in a group of rowdy kiwis who were imbibing a few choice beverages. One group of spectators were dressed as Lance Armstrong, there were some men in togas and even a few bananas suits (Megan Fetter). I totally felt like I was back at college. The only way to go to a cricket match is to sit with people who know the game. Will sat in between James and one of his friends and I sat next to Emily, who apparently gave the better explanation because I knew more about the game than Will at the end!

Here's a run down of cricket basics in my words:
-There are 2 batters at a time and they keep batting until they get out by either a wicket or someone catching the ball.
-A wicket is when the fielding team knocks down the "pins" that are behind the batter while he is running between the 2 sets of "pins" on the pitch or if he misses the ball
-You get one point for each time you cross the line while running back and forth, 4 points if your ball touches the outer wall and 6 points if it goes outside the wall
-An "over" is when the bowler(pitcher) has bowled(thrown) 6 balls to the batter.
-During the T20 each team bats until all 10 batters are out, or you reach 20 "overs" which means 120 balls bowled
-T20 games are more exciting because since only 120 balls can be bowled, an out is slightly less significant, so the batters swing for the fences more to rack up the points during the shorter game (not as afraid to get out).
-Part of the game is the spectators heckling the outfielders with intelligent remarks such as "you use too much sun screen" in reference a ginger player.  Couldn't we be a bit more creative?

I think we'll go to another T20 game if the opportunity comes--we had so much fun! It had a great sporting atmosphere and I even got hit on by a very intoxicated young man, which always makes a sporting event better.

Every time New Zealand gets an out, the flames go off!!

Everyone cheers really loudly when the best player and ex-captain Ross Taylor takes the field to bat. Apparently he was removed from being captain in a not-so-nice way by the manager and the public loves him more! 

A six for New Zealand!

Not from the game we went to, but an example of the wicket behind this batter

Christ speaks

I wrote this 'blog' the first or second week I was in New Zealand. Tally and I were still a bit in disarray, a bit anxious, and just trying to get a grip on our new surroundings. We really didn't know what was in store for us, just a lot of uncertainty at that point. Fast forward 10 months and I am amazed at something as simple as keeping good faith in God can do for you. I'm not one who'll push my faith straight in your face, but I cannot ignore the fact that Christ is deeply rooted in my heart and is at work in my life, simply because I have asked him for help and I'd like to think that I do a decent job of treating others as they would like to be treated. 

What does being closer to Christ mean to you?

For awhile for me it meant going to church every weekend and holy day and making sure I fulfilled my sacramental duties like confirmation and receiving eucharist.

Then my mindset changed to me wanting to do every volunteer event I could possibly do in my spare time -- that would get me closer to God's Will.

This morning after reading my daily dose of 'In Coversation with God' I came to full realization (I think I was partially there before) that God makes it much, much easier for us to be closer to Him without drastically changing our plans for the day.  Here's the bit of my reading that hit it home for me:

Love for God does not consist in sensible feelings, although these too may be given to us by Our Lord so as to help us to be more generous.  It consists essentially in the full identification of our will with that of God. That is why we should ask ourselves frequently:  Am I doing what I ought to be doing at this moment?  Do I offer my activity to God on starting it and during its accomplishment? Do I rectify my intention when vanity and the thought of 'what people will say' tend to intervene? Do I try to do my work with human perfection? Am I a constant source of joy for those who live or work with me? Does my daily presence among them draw them closer to God?

I included much more of passage than needed for my point, because it's great food for thought and flows nicely.  However, the last two questions are my focal point and are our simplest 'asks' for us to be closer to God. I've realized that while my job leaves me little to no spare time to do formal volunteer work, I can, in the meantime, align my daily purpose with God by doing what I need to do to answer yes to those two questions above. I view this as simple as being respectful to everyone I meet throughout the day, being generous to someone less fortunate who I encounter (or even someone who is in a less advantageous situation at the time than me), being yourself which should mean naturally displaying your best inner qualities, and bringing laughter and enjoyment to those around you.

While it would be great to check the box on all those things I mentioned above like going to church and using each spare hour I have for volunteering, most of us unfortunately don't currently have our lives aligned to do those things daily or multiple times per week.  Although regularly attending church service and volunteering is something we can refine our lives to make possible, the beauty of God's plan for us is to have the opportunity to be kind, respectful, generous, and enjoyable every waking day we have.

So in the meantime during our busy schedules, let's use these two simple questions to guide us to a more enjoyable day that will leave God smiling.

Beach Bums

This summer Will and I have been doing some serious beach bumming. The beaches here are so stunning and also great to swim in. Hopefully this helps you guys back home get through 6 more weeks of winter :) We thought we would share with you some of our favorite beaches in order of preference!

1. Muriwai
We actually just went there this weekend, but are sad we haven't discovered it before. It's about a 45 min west of the city. It is set among sand dunes to one side and a gannet colony on cliffs on the other. We just happened to be there on a day where the tide and wind came together to make beautiful waves. There had to have been hundreds of surfers out along this long beach waiting for that perfect wave, as well as many grown ups acting like kids boogie boarding on the waves further in. This was the first time we got to use our boogie board on serious waves. We could not stop smiling as we rode the waves all the way in to the beach. Will reckons we averaged about 100 feet per ride. Here are some pictures from our trip there

The gannet colony. The tops of these rocks are littered with them

Will boogie boarding. He has the yellow board in the middle of the picture

Riding the wave all the way to the sand!

2. Mirangi
We really like this beach for our local weekend hangout. It only takes about 20 min to get there and it is usually busy, but never so crowded we don't have fun. There are great views from the beach. They also occasionally get some smaller waves that you can boogie on, but not as thrilling as the Muriwai waves.

Beautiful sunny day!

3. Piha
A very beautiful beach which would rank #1 for most beautiful, but we've never actually swam there.  Each time we've made the 45 min drive out west to get there we really enjoy the views, but the water has always been quite turbulent. Maybe if we get a good day there and can actually have a swim, this might move further up the list :)

The Lion Rock at the beach

Piha from above

4. Ruakaka
This beach was about an hour and a half drive north. We came here after a kayaking trip and had a great time. The wind was perfect, the sand was like powdered sugar and it was relatively un-inhabited by loud children :) The perfect beach for us to sit back and read.

Tally contemplating getting in with Taranga Island in the distance

Tally going for a walk in the water

5. Anchor Bay/Tawharanui
Another beach about an hour and a half north. This is part of a scenic reserve. We've been here once in the winter and once in the summer. Great sand and lots of room to go for walks along the beach, but when we were there there was a big seaweed problem, making it difficulty for this prissy to get in the water (I did, quickly to cool off, dodging the weeds). However, this is the beach where we saw the pod of killer whales so I can put up with the seaweed for the opportunity to see that.

Tally and Will with Little Barrier Island in the background

Crowded beach on New Years Day

6. Kohimarama/ St.Heliers
Another local set of beaches, about 20-30 min from our house. I grouped them together because they are only around the corner from each other and are pretty much the same as far as views, sand and swimming. This has been where I will jump in after my runs.

Sailboats and Rangitoto from Kohi beach

7. Orewa Beach
We've only been to the actual beach once, but we often enjoy driving by the beach as it is set in very picturesque settings. We will be making more trips here in the future for beach days.

Will and Tally at Orewa

Will went for a swim with the boys

7. Mt. Manganui
This beach is in Tauranga, about 2.5-3 hours east of Auckland. Nice white sand, good waves and nice views. Only been there once, but it would be worth another trip in our 2 years here.

Chillin at the beach watching all the boats go by

7. Mission Bay
A very nice beach 20 min from our apt. The only problem is that is the first beach you come to when heading away from the CBD so it tends to be a little more crowded. They also have more bars and cafes so you get a lot of youngins playing their music loud and being obnoxious on the beach. This would be the ideal place to hang out if you were 18-22 looking for some cute boys showing off. In my old age I find this irritating so we tend to avoid Mission Bay unless I go during a work/school day when no one is around to bother me :)

Mission Bay on a sunny day