Oh and that sister introduced me to some amazing new music today as well.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Zs7XS3XUo

Adele is truly incredible.

I am practising this song already and hope to be able to sing like her one day.

WOW.

How do people make it through life without a sister? ~ Sara Corpening

I hung out with Lea today before she headed back to Solihull.
We drank tea and talked about life and played a bit of guitar. I showed her a couple of my new songs that she hadn't heard yet.

And then we did what only sisters in Christ can do.

We prayed together, and we worshipped God. We encouraged and uplifted one another, and held each other accountable. We were honest and open.

I came away feeling refreshed,

and so excited about what God is doing in both our lives,

and similarly excited that I get to hang out with her again in a couple of weeks and sleep at her pad and we'll play more tunes and teach her puppy new tricks and we'll pray some more and "as iron sharpens iron" so we shall sharpen each other as we do life together!!

I praise God that I have so many great and true friends, and even though I don't live close to them, distance doesn't matter.

:)

God is good!!

And sisters are awesome!!

Emmanuel

God with us.

"Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel." Isaiah 7:14

Today is the day we celebrate that time when God sent His Son.
Jesus. Fully God and fully man. Born of a virgin. The fulfillment of prophesies from hundreds of years before His birth.

We celebrate because it is good news.
God became one of us, that He might save us through a sacrifice of Himself, in our place. It was the only way. And it was God's plan that we might be reunited with Him, so He could dwell with us as we go about our lives here on earth.

The Christmas Story is not just an irrelevant myth about some kid born in a stable in the middle east some where a couple of thousand years ago.
It's a true (albeit sometimes embellished under artistic liscence) story of a King who gave up His throne for a short time, to show us, through his life and his death, how much we matter to Him and His Father.

To show you how much you matter to Him and His Father.
The story is not irrelevant.
Don't miss the true reason we celebrate this Christmas.

Be of good cheer, eat lots, give generously and remember Jesus :)

Friends.

I haven't got anything to say today. Which is a first.

And it's late, so usually by now, if I'm still awake, my head is teeming with words and thoughts and newly acquired information.

But today, apparently not.

But I'll say something.

Because the title of my blog requires me to.

And just in case there was something to say, I'll say something, so nothing goes unsaid.

This morning I handed in two essays and a portfolio (yes, I deleted one of the questions in my portfolio because I couldn't answer it, and I just hope they don't notice. please note, I haven't stooped that low in any of my other work. thank you.)

Anyway, so work finally handed it. Receipts received. Weight lifted?

YES.

Time for a quick load of laundry?

YES.

(Admin and emails and boring stuff - skip that bit!) and THEN my beautiful friend Steffi phoned, coz we needed a catch up before she has an operation on her vocal cords tomorrow and so she can't speak for FIVE DAYS..

*1 hour passed*

And then I went for a spontaneous coffee with a friend. Well, more like a chat with a friend since we didn't have coffee and he had like 15 minutes to spare before meeting his tutor and the person I was supposed to be meeting never showed.

So yeah. By this time in my day, it's 2.30pm, and I realise I haven't eaten yet.

Fail.

But I got chips with cheese and beans (yay for student food!).

Bit of a chill sesh with the Chapel gang... (it's nice to have somewhere to go when plans fall through!!)

*1 hour passed*

..followed by a VERY EXCITING phone call from Jessie, who is back in the UK for Christmas.

*30 minutes and a bus journey passed*

And then went for Coffee with another friend. This time it was planned. But this time was also free from coffee since we both got Earl Grey Tea (it's sophisticated and really tasty. double bonus.) There were smiles and giggles and tears and God talk and girl talk and lots of encouraging words shared.

Good times.

Plus it was snowing heavy outside.

Even more good times.

*2 hours passed*

And so after saying bye, I caught the bus home and waited for 5pm to roll round as I was expecting a call from yet another friend, another catch up.

And there was less giggle and less girl-talk, but more God talk and stories shared and talk of christmas family traditions, and I'm sure many encouraging words too.

*1 hour passed*

And finally (pretty much, finally) - a girly evening out at the Sneyd. Great food. Even greater friends. LOTS of girl talk, reminiscing of high school and odd habits, and about the times of our lives when we never knew each other.

*3 hours passed*

My day today consisted almost entirely of time with friends. New ones, old ones, ones that are far away, ones I won't see for a while, ones I don't know that well, ones I know like the back of my hand, ones I'm looking forward to getting to know a lot better!!

The only thing I can say, is thank you:

'Thank you God, for blessing me with good friends. Friends who love and encourage me. Friends who lead me closer to you, and who inspire me to live a life of love. Thank you that I am not alone. That I can share this life with loved ones. Thank you for being the best friend anyone could know. When I have days like this, with amazing friends, I realise how far above it all, you are, God. Thank you for giving all that you are, so that I could be called your friend."

John 15:15 (the words of Jesus)

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Bit of Miss Dillon always goes down a treat!

I love Bethany Dillon.
She, like, makes my day.

I'm not even kidding.

She has the most beautiful voice, it just chills me out.

Tonight, for no apparent reason my head just decided that I was gonna be in a mood and so that was basically it for the evening.

Great.

So instead of going out and having a good night with friends, I came upstairs to bed.

Well, I sat on my bed and wrote songs about how annoying life can be sometimes. And then decided to edit a few photos.

Like, real fun, uplifting stuff, you know?

But I have my iTunes on shuffle, and every time BD comes on, something inside of me is reminded that I'm actually OK. I'm not perfect, and I'm not gonna be in a super-fantastic mood all of the time. But regardless, I am His. I know someone who loves me an incredible amount, and whatever happens, I am forgiven and free in Him.

:) reasons to smile, even when i'm in a bad mood. yay!!

Thank you LORD Jesus :D

This poem tells of the Christianity of Christ, that the world doesn't hear from most Christians.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZSz1FDTj2g

It changed my day.

People need to know this.

Less of this 'negative groove', man...

A lady I know who writes the most beautifully eloquent and colloquial blog spoke my mind today;

"The needle of my thoughts is stuck on a negative groove these past few weeks.."

Mine is rather 'days' but still.

I'd like to change that.

Starting now.

Three things I'm thankful for?

- Christmas Quizzes. Because it's almost Christmas, hurray! And my quiz team is amazing. It's made up of all (nay, some) of my newest friends and even when we find it boring (every week) we still love it.

- People who pray for me, even when I haven't asked them to. It's amazing enough to know that my God is with me everyday, everywhere, and that He knows my in-most thoughts and feelings (and yet He still loves me!) but it's also amazing when you get a text with a simple "thinking of you today", and I know how bad my day has been... I love that God prompts other's to pray for me, and care for me even though I'm not around.

- Trains. Going home next weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't seen my little bro in ages, and I miss him. I can't wait to hang out with mom, and show dad the songs I'm playing on Saturday night. I love my family so much. I'm so thankful that there are trains which can bridge the gap between Stoke-On-Trent and Birmingham in just 47minutes (plus a 40minute bus at each end). But that's way shorter than long-haul flight from YVR.

I am blessed.

I am thankful.

Thank you LORD.

Rest a while.

The Pulley By George Herbert

When God at first made man, Having a glass of blesings standing by; Let us (said he) pour on him all we can: Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie, Contract into a span. So strength first made a way; The beauty flow'd, then wisdom, honour, pleasure: When almost all was out, God made a stay, Perceiving that alone of all his treasure Rest in the bottom lay. For if I should (said he) Bestow this jewel also on my creature, He would adore my gifts instead of me, And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature: So both should losers be. Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness: Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.

I am learning.

We can work ourselves in to the ground.

But there's really no need.

People want us to do that. They don't realise, but they'll ask and ask and ask of us, as long as we say yes. And even when we say no. We're built for community, but sometimes we unknowingly take advantage of other people's kindness / inability to say "no".

Other people probably have no idea of my limits and capacity, not because they don't care, but just because we're all caught up in our own limits and capacities - and they don't extend to other people. They look out for Number 1.

So I can't make that meeting, or juggle four different responsibilities at once, or fit something else into my already crammed day.

I am set free, in knowing that God does not require of me any such thing. He doesn't judge me by how much I can fit in to 24hours. He doesn't love me less if I can't fit everything in and have to say no this time. He doesn't punish me for needing rest.

He asks me to love Him, and to love others.

He asks me to be humble as I walk with Him.

He asks me to not be scared, and to cast my worries on to Him.

He asks me to lay my heavy burden down before Him, and take up His light one.

He asks me to come to Him if I am weary and burdened, because He wants to give me rest.

Sure I have to carry my cross.

But that's something altogether different than running myself in to the ground, exhausting myself, over-working, people-pleasing and wasting time through busyness.

Oh how good my God is.

How kind and gracious and compassionate.

How much the rest of God can give us strength and joy and to ability to carry on.

Are you too busy?

Feel free to say "No" to something, and rest a while.

I (don't) Promise.

I have learnt from experience that I can not keep promises.

Firstly, it is not fair for me to promise you anything. And if I do, please do not hold me fully to my word. For I am human, and with me, nothing is certain. I make mistakes. I fail. I forget.

I am not saying I won't try to keep it, if I happen to promise you something, and it will never be my intention to purposefully break a promise I have made in the past.

Even now I can not promise that I will no longer promise anything!

Secondly, it is not fair for me to promise me anything. Words are binding and controlling, and sometimes I say things I don't mean, in order to make the people I love, happy.

This is no way to be.

I don't want to be held captive today, by promises I made time ago, even though at the time I truly meant them... For I am changing. I am restless. I am not sure of what I want. I am growing and learning, and I realise now that I can not always hold true to promises I make.

And I am sorry.

But my God, He is steadfast and unchanging. The same today, as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. He makes promises that He keeps. He is faithful and true. He can be fully trusted! It is fair that He makes promises, for He knows that He can not and will not break them. He will not let us down. He is good.

Deuteronomy 7:9

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God. He is a faithful God, who keeps his promise and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands..."

(GWT)

There are, however, two promises I will try my hardest to keep;

The first - To love my God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength.

The second, I have not made yet but if the day comes when I may say 'I do', I will do all in my power to hold fast to that promise.

Thanks for the constructive criticism!

It's about 10pm.

I'm sitting at my desk, staring at my laptop.

A blank word doc is open, I'm completely stumped as to what to do next, and the guy downstairs who has his bass line turned up full is not helping my creative juices flow.

(why not blog about it?)

I have no idea how to make a bibliography, or how to correctly reference texts I've referred to.

I don't know what stance to take in my essay, or even how to start writing about The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

"...There's a bit to do to make the most of your ideas, but this is quite promising work."

:) Well I'm glad it's quite promising. Thanks.

Unfortunately, however, your feedback has no practical advice, and merely just states the obvious so is therefore quite unhelpful.

It is taking the majority of my self-control right now, to not start typing www.faceboo....... in to the address bar.

Here's to life as a student.

(And yet I shall praise my LORD that Heaven is my home and this is just a place I'm passing through until Christ returns!! Philippians 3:20. There's always reason to hope!)

Good News!

I feel like I've been such a big moaner lately, and I've been having a complete downer on Christians too. I'm really sorry about that.

This is my formal apology, and I'd like to tell you about my morning in hope it counteracts my recent negativity...

After time in the Word with God this morning I went for a shower, only to find that we had no hot water... after phoning to inform someone of this, I proceeded to boil the kettle, add it to cold water in the sink and wash my hair that way.. I then got a text from my friend that she'd overslept and might not be able to make it to church today...

It seemed like it was going to be one of those days.

Even so, I took joy and peace in knowing that I am blessed to own a Bible, God's living word, and be able to read it. I am one of a privileged minority, to have access to clean water, be it hot or cold. And I also have the freedom to actually go to a church and worship without fear of persecution.

This reflects my every day.

Lord help me to be thankful and grateful for all that I have, give me the strength to let go and not hold on to worthless things, and help me to give more generously where there is need, and to those who don't have.

So Tamsin made it on time for the pick up this morning, despite sleeping through her alarm, hurray! (Tamsin is a new and rather awesome friend of mine from the CU at Keele!)

And waiting in the SU Carpark for us was a lovely gentleman called Stuart, who had driven twenty minutes out of his way this morning, to take us to church. We got tea and toast when we arrived, and were given a tour of the building by a nice girl, Lauren.

We made our way outside, to the Town Square, for the Remembrance Service. We sang and prayed and read scripture, we stood in silence for 2 minutes, and reflected as the wreaths were laid and salutes were given, in honour of all those who died that we might live.

I sat next to a beautiful older couple, when we returned indoors for the rest of the service; Marjory and Peter, who's granddaughter is named Jemma and is in her 2nd year at Keele.

I stood side by side with Tamsin, young and passionate, on my right, and Marjory, experienced and full of wisdom, on my left. And we worshipped our God together.

This morning, people went over and above to make sure Tamsin and I got to and from church and felt comfortable and welcomed whilst we were there. They loved us the way Jesus loves them, in small and simple ways, but still..

We remembered those who fought and died in Wars long since past, the heroes of our country, the ones who secured the freedom of our nation. We remembered those who are still fighting, serving our brothers and sisters in other countries, sacrificing comfort and time with family, to try and secure the freedom of other nations.

People, old and young, believers and non-believers remembered today.

Remembered the sacrifice of a few, to save many.

People, old and young, believers and non-believers heard today.

They heard of the sacrifice of One, to save many.

The Good News was preached today. All around the world.

And some people will not only have heard, but will have responded.

Those in war-torn countries and in countries at peace, those with and without access to clean water, those facing persecution because of their faith, those worshipping in the open, those who can read, those who can't, the old, the young, men, women, children...

The Good News is for everyone.

May it never cease to be preached.

Amen.

1 Corinthians 2:2

"For I decide that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified."

Just a little ditty I wrote for you to enjoy, on this not-so-pleasant November evening...

I called it the Happy Song.

It's not so happy, but I wanted it to be. So that's the point.

Enjoy.

With LOVE, in Him x

OOooh I'm just looking back through to some folders of stuff I wrote during the year and there is some GOOD STUFF in there...

Yes it's 1.30am and I should be in bed fast asleep right now. But when it's ridiculous O'clock I just want to write!!!
Anyway, so I'm blogging this as an official reminder that in the New Year, I want to post some of (not all of!) my old pre-blog writings. Coz some are quite funny, and creative! Others are quite raw and deep.

But all of them are a testimony of how far I've come, how good my God is and how much He has done in me over the past 12 months.

So this is how I'm gonna do it.

E.g. Something I wrote on January 9th 2010, I shall post on January 9th 2011... exactly 365 days after writing.

:) and now, goodnight!!

christian.

I've been thinking lately of how much I don't like this word.
Well I have no problem with the word itself I suppose. The noun form is fine, too.

But the adjective I have a problem with.

Nowadays this word has so many uses.

It conjures up so many images, and memories and historical references.

So many negative connotations. So many rules, and judgements and fears...

Rob Bell talks about the use of this word as an adjective, a describing word. Sometimes it works, but at other times it's dangerous.

It puts pressure on us.

It reminds of all the rules and laws, the things we should avoid or stop doing or give up.

Today the word 'Christian' seems scary and is avoided at all costs (unless used as the focal point in most stand up comedy routines).

To talk about 'Christian' things seems foolish, to be a Christian is even worse.

Because it's no longer just a title, it's the description of a lifestyle - one associated with self-righteousness and hypocrisy.

And therefore those who are Christian, are embarrassed*, those who aren't are glad.

(*I know that's not strictly true.. I am proud to call myself a Christian, and there are many others who are too, in the true sense of the world..)

It shouldn't be like this.

Most of all, the word 'Christian' seems all too far removed from the concept of grace.

And that's not right.

We need grace.

Desperately.

Without grace, there is no meaning to the cross. Without grace Jesus was just a crazy guy who died a sinner's death for treason and blasphemy, and nothing more.

Without grace there wouldn't have even been a guy called Jesus. The Messiah. The One who Saves.

There would be no Christ. No one would be saved.

No Christ to save = No saved, to be called Christians.

No, we need grace you see.

Because we're dirty, and sinful and wretched. And we need to be saved. Remember? Like filthy, old rags before a pure and perfect God? Without grace we stay that way.

Without grace, we work for our salvation. We try at least.

And through this we have created a monster of a religion, full of rules, regulations, denominations and discrimination. A religion that focuses on works, on standards, on ability to not slip up or fall to the dark side or get things wrong.

Oh, how far we have fallen from our first love!

I don't know how it got like this. We've forgotten the fundamentals of our faith. We have forgotten what the Word tells us:

For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)

And while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)

He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24)

Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Romans 6:4)

For it is by grace that we are saved, through faith (Ephesians 2:8)

Praise God!

Our actual religion is centred on the cross, which is God's way of displaying grace to us, the least deserving.

The World needs to hear about the love, grace and forgiveness that is offered to us by God, through Christ's sacrifice.

That's the only way they're saved. He's the only one that matters.

Instead of our lives preaching do's and don't's, our lives should reflect the fullness of Christ. We should be displaying love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We are Christians because we are follower's of Christ, the One who saved us. And we are being made more like Him each day.

So lets start living like it.

They were first called 'Christians' at Antioch. (Acts 11:26)

Waking Up

When you're in that semi-conscious state somewhere between being asleep and waking up, and your brain has already started to mull over the things that were concerning you yesterday. Upon finally reaching full consciousness, and without consent, your mind has already begun to worry.

It's not the greatest way to start a day, but how can it be helped? I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like this!

I hope that one day I might wake up singing praises, or praying or reciting scripture. Perhaps that seems weird to some people, maybe to those who don't believe the same as me.

But doing any of things would be better, more joyful and more productive than worrying!

Who'd want a broken heart?!

(me, please)

http://chughes.ca/?p=239

Hungry for the Word!

So i'm sitting there, right. And i'm thinking about the LORD (as you do), and about life lessons and sound teaching i've heard from good people.

And then it just sort of dawned on me.

A wise woman once told me that reading your bible, is like eating meals.

"Sometimes," she told me, "you don't even feel hungry, but you eat anyway because you know that you need to eat to stay alive. And sometimes you just eat because you like eating, and it tastes good and you get cravings that you want to fulfil! You don't just need food to stay alive though, it's not all about survival, but growth. Babies need to eat for growth and repair, same with children, and even adults. You (we!) just need food."

And in the same way, we need to read our Bible. Not just to stay alive, but for growth and repair.

Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that 'All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training..'

It's never a waste of time. ever.

My favourite part of the conversation with this wise friend of mine went like this though;

Rebecca - "What did you eat for dinner this time last year?"

Me - "Erm... Really? I have no idea."

Rebecca - "Alright, how about last tuesday?"

Me - "....I can't remember."

Rebecca - "OK, well what was the best meal you ever had?"

Me - "Erm.... Oh gosh, well, oh yeah OK, when I was younger my mom used to always make this soup with these tiny little pasta shapes in... ohh no actually, there's this dish at Big Wok called Egg Foo Yung and i've actually never tasted anything like it, or nooo there was that time I went out for my friends birthday and-"

Rebecca - "Now you don't necessarily remember what you ate last year, or even last week, but I guarantee those meals gave you energy to continue through the day, even though you probably didn't think about it. But you do remember the really good meals, the ones that mean the most or taste the best, and you can recall what they were, when you need to."

Again, this is like reading Bible reading.

And this encourages me in a morning, to get up and read His Word, regardless of whether I'm completely shattered and have a 10am lecture to get to.

It's unlikely that I'll remember everything I read or study. But it's never wasted, it gives me energy, it makes me spiritually healthy and it gives me nutrients to store up and draw on when the time is right. And then every so often, I'll have an incredible meal, I'll read something specifically relevant or God will reveal something new and invigorating, and I'll remember it and it will be a defining moment and a meal I'll remember for a long time.

But I need to remember that most times when I read my Bible won't be like that.

But they are just as important.

And so the thing that dawned on me?

(and i'm not sure if it's theologically sound yet, but it's a cool concept with regards to the theme of food and bible reading yay!)

"In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God..." (John 1:1-2)

This word was breathed out and things were formed and other such cool things.

And it goes on to say that "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

So this 'Word' (logos) they are referring to is Jesus, yes? He became flesh, and He dwelt among us in around about 2 AD.

And the Bible, is also the word of God (remember that 2 Tim 3:16 verse!) and therefore, Jesus is the Word of God: the Bible... In a sort of weird, supernatural way.

Let's just say Jesus = the Word = the Bible.

Yeah?

OK so another thing about Jesus is that He declared "I am the Bread of Life." (John 6:35)

And so not only is Jesus the WORD (i.e. the Bible) he is also the BREAD of Life.

For the mathematical among us then, Jesus = Word + Bread.

And there you go. That was my revelation moment. That Jesus even told us that he's the bread of life, He's the food we need to survive, and grow, a be repaired and yet we can enjoy it too. And we get this bread through reading His word, feeding on it, chewing it over, savouring every syllable, every word and verse and letting it satisfy that hunger inside.

Man, our God is good. And having just got back in to reading my Bible, I remember now, how good His word tastes.

Mmmm...

Bon Appetite!! (And thanks God, for the good food!!)

http://owlcityblog.com/2010/10/25/my-hope-is-found/

It's nice to be reminded that I'm not alone.

I, indirectly, got called an f***ing moron today...

I'm tired, and I'm having one of those days where I just can't be bothered.

There's a lot of work that I should be doing, but I really just don't want to.

I feel lonely today.

And a little doubtful.

And I'm not sure what I'm doing here.

But I'll press on. And keep faith.

For faith is being sure of what I hope for, and certain of what I do not see.

I'm hoping for the future He has for me. I hoping this is all what He says it is.

I am certain, or I will try to be - though I do not see.

Because the most important things in life are the things we can't see.

I can't see the love that I feel for my family and my friends, but I can feel it. It's important, and it keeps me alive.

I can't feel the oxygen in the air. But I know I breathe it in. It's important. And it keeps me alive.

Even when there's no clock around to tell me, I know time exists. But I can't see it, I can't necessarily feel it.

I have enough reason to believe that these three things are real.

Yet I have not seen any of them. Have you?

And I can't see God. Not yet.

But for the most part, I can feel Him.

And when I can't feel Him, it doesn't mean He's not there.

'I've learnt to reach out just the same.'

For I believe that God is who He says He is.

He is always with me. He is enough. He is mighty to save. He is able. He is compassionate. He is love. He is.

The Bible may just seem like an old book. But it is full of truth, that not only was true once upon a time, it continues to be true. Even today.

Either God is the God of all things, or He is not God at all.

God, by nature of being 'God' can not lie, and can not fall short of anything He claims to be. If He did, He would cease to be God.

God (god)

- n

1. theol The sole Supreme Being, eternal, spiritual and transcendent, who is the creator and ruler of all, and is infinite in all attributes...

When people say Christians are fools (or a 'f***ing morons') for believing in a higher power, for believing that there is a God that created all things, I can't help but think, 'Really? You think we're fools?'

OK so say there was no God then, we would rely on the assumption that from nothing, the earth and everything in it, became what it is now, by random chance, and for no apparent reason.

Is that what we should believe?!!

Surely this is harder to believe, than believing in some form of higher power or creator.

You can't possibly call me a fool!

I may not have it all right, but God, whatever and whoever He is, exists.

I know it.

And I know there's more to the story, but for now I'm leaving it there.

I pray that the people I love will understand this, one day, before it's too late.

I pray that I'm a good example, that I will be evidence enough, and that I won't give in to pride and not use every opportunity I can to help them see.

I pray that open eyes, would not just be open, but they would also be able to see.

Will truth prevail?

I believe so.

Praise be to God.

Coffee?

You know how certain smells bring back memories?

I recognised that familiar, musty smell of not-that-freshly-brewed coffee as I walked down the stairs. I heard the busy hum of people buzzing around meeting new people, discussing the talk, saying goodnight.

It was comforting. And exciting.

I felt like I could have been back at home.

Walking out of church after the Sunday service, past the coffee shop, surrounded by friends and loved ones, passionate and inspired as we step out in to the world that still needs Him.

Message heard. Response made. Lives changed.

I felt like I could have been half way around the world, heading up to the Peter's kitchen. Some Timmy's brewed an hour past, waiting to wake me up, before the day ahead brought to-do-lists and meetings in a job I love, bible studies and devotions with friends I love, crazy games and car journey's with youth I love, and a late night ended with a simple prayer to my God, whom I love..

It's the smell of servant-hood and joy.

Of hope, passion and inspiration.

Of family and familiarity.

It's the smell of coffee.

Meet the Girls.

This afternoon I plucked up the courage to walk down the hall, knock on Elly's door and ask her if I could join her while she jams out on her Uke.

One of the best decisions I made this week I feel :)

Elly is a new friend of mine. She lives in E block avec moi, just a few doors down the hall. Hails from Congleton (near/in Stoke). Loves Owls. Had orange hair once upon a time. Plays the Ukulele. Sings beautifully (with the coolest British accent might I add). And she writes and performs her own music.

She's nothing short of a legend.

And so I sat and sang a few harmonies while she played today.

And soon after, Lisa came to join us too.

Lisa is also a new friend of mine. She, too lives in E block avec moi, next door to Elly. Hails from the Cambridge area (St. Neots of all places!!). Has a nose piercing like me. Loves trampolining, working with kids, volunteering, giving out plasters to people and being the 'mum' of the group.

She's incredibly passionate and asks lots of questions. A girl after my own heart...

So Elly played and sang, and Lisa and I sang along too, and we revelled in our mutual love for both Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber. And then when Dan let me borrow his guitar, we had two instruments and three voices and it was just pure awesomeness, occurring before our very eyes.

Before we knew it, we realised we were only one girl short of being our very own Girl Band (unfortunately Amy wasn't here this afternoon!)

By 7.45pm, having being taught 5 chords on the Ukulele and feeling rather accomplished, we set down our instruments and set about finding food, since none of us had eaten tea yet although we were all really hungry but had just being having too much fun to notice our rumbling tummies!

*...pot noodle.

*international students.

*pub quiz....

We ended the evening with Cadbury's Hot Chocolate, chocolate digestives and a good old natter to put the world to rights. The conversation went from boys, to work, to God, back to boys, to kids, to more serious topics like abuse and poverty and religion and life...

There's nothing like your girlfriends to have a good proper chat with.

I do miss my old friends, in Canada and in Halesowen...

But I'm making new ones.

I'm making memories.

And I'm having fun.

Thank you LORD.

me, amy, elly, lisa

the girls

If you look closely, there's always a silver lining!

We got 29.5 on the quiz this evening.

At first sight, that's definitely not an improvement.

However, at least we didn't come last this week.

I HEART PUB QUIZZES!

Yes. It's true.

I am a total sucker for Pub Quizzes.

I took a long stroll up from the Late Night Service at the Chapel, to meet my block mates in the local and of course, it's the Sunday Night Pub Quiz.

*Instant Excitement*

I was only there for the last two rounds though.

History. And Michael Jackson songs.

I was basically only of some help in the Jacko round, and contributed to 6 out of the 10 questions.

However, I shall from now on, alwayssss remember that George III was the King of England during the War of Independence (I knew it was a George! But apparently not George IV. Oh Well..)

Gotta love pub quizzes.

Even if your team comes last with 31 out of 60.

The guys weren't too stoked when I suggested we look on the bright side, and come often so we can chart our growth in general knowledge as we make our way through our various uni courses.

Better luck next time, eh?!

To be fair, it did take 7 days to get like this...

And it's probably all down hill from here....

Dog is a man's best friend.

Bungle

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

- posted by Molly Gatt (who else?!) today.

We dog-sat this weekend for the Harris' while they moved Jess in to Uni.

I love having Bungle to visit! He's wonderful. Pretty dopey. But very affectionate.

He makes me want to get a dog!

Even though I really don't want to get a dog.

Still hoping to persuade my parents to get a little westy dog when they retire, haha. That's still a way off.

It's worth a try.

No excuses

‎A Pastor I know posted this as his facebook status this morning.

One of the great uses of Twitter & Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.

- John Piper

John Piper has such a way with words.

Making Britain Great

I've missed my blog over the past two weeks.
But it's been nice to be free of facebook!!

During the past two weeks I've been working as part of the Conference team on Pais GB in Life Church, Burnley.
It was Foundational Training. And it was awesome.

There were about thirty-five new apprentices this year on Pais in Great Britain. And the Team Leaders for this academic year are nothing short of incredible.
It's going to be a good year!
Apprentices from England, Northern Ireland, Germany, Canada, USA and Brazil were commissioned this afternoon and sent out around the country (and over to Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) to spread the gospel, to make Jesus known, to make missionaries. To make Britain Great again.

It was an honour to meet them all.
I thank my God for the number of amazing people He has brought across my path this summer.

It's just one of those things.

You know like oversleeping, or running out of milk when you want cereal for breakfast, or forgetting to fill up on petrol...

That sort of thing. Your run-of-the-mill, unfortunate everyday occurrence.

Haha. Not exactly.
What happened?

The boot of my car fell of this evening.

I know it doesn't look like much, but until you've had to stand for 20minutes, holding the boot on to the back of a car, you can't really appreciate how big of a deal this actually was.

Anyway, to get it back in to it's correct position, the bracket which wasn't broken had to be snapped, and thus the boot is currently resting as if nothing's wrong on the back of poor little Vernon (my car is named Vernon). Let's hope it's not wet and windy tonight!!

Praise Jesus for mechanics who work on bank holiday weekends and are willing to help you out!
Vernon goes in at 8am tomorrow morning, and I'm hoping he'll be fit as a fiddle to drive to Burnley at 2pm tomorrow afternoon.

But God is good.
:)
Regardless.

I Survived

I returned yesterday, from a week away at a Christian festival / camp called Momentum.

http://www.soulsurvivor.com/uk/momentum/

It's the highlight of any young Christian's year, without a doubt. I haven't been for the past three years and oh! how I've missed it.

I missed the amazing worship, the foreshadowing of Heaven, singing God's praises side by side with just a fraction his church, giving Him all the glory. I missed Mike Pilavachi, his bad (but really funny) jokes and his banter with Crofty and Tim Hughes. I missed actively seeking God and expecting Him to move in big ways. I missed Soul Survivor Hot Chocolate.

I got to experience all this stuff in the past week!

One thing I haven't missed, however, is camping in torrential rain. By torrential, i mean TORRENTIAL. Severe weather warnings. Flooded tents (not mine, thank the LORD). Joggers so wet I could ring them out. The unfortunate realization that 'shower proof' is not waterproof.

But I survived.

And not only did I survive, I got to hang out with some completely awesome people.

Samantha Lola - the girl who made it happen, who wore her wellies all week, who stayed up late with me talking about boys, and who let me sleep in her tent so I could stay (remotely) dry.
Becky - the girl who lives in paris, who took a slight detour off the M5 to meet me in McDonald's and drive me to Shepton Mallet, who was using the burner when it exploded, who got just as fed up with the rain as I did, and who has a date tomorrow night that she's very excited about!!
Ben - the guy who I'd already heard about, who is wayyy over 6 feet tall, who pretended he had nothing nice to say when actually he really did, who I think only had one shower the whole week.
Jessie & Jeff - the couple who camped with us, who spent a lot of time cuddling, and who usually knew all the answers.
Rachael - the girls who's from the south, who came a few days later than the rest of us, who didn't bring much with her, who is also starting Uni this year, and who knew just what to say to make people laugh!
David - the guy with the beard who I met in Canada, who sat with us most evenings in the main meeting, who's mom is a LEGEND, and who I'm slightly jealous of as he's going back to Canada in two weeks.
Lea - the girl from home who has been camping for about 75% of this summer, who hadn't showered in a while and yet still looked hott, who I already miss since we, once again, live in different places, and who introduced me to the following people (thank you!).
Beckie - the girl who persuaded me to sing open mic by pretending that God was texting me (I don't regret one moment! thank you!), who has incredible hair, even after 5 days of camping, and who fell over three times in two days.
Immi & Ellie - the twins who I finally got to meet, who sang on the first night of Open Mic and set the bar high, who couldn't wait to hear me sing and therefore made me feel good, who have the most unusual fashion sense but who always look amazing.
Karl - the guy who I met at Xtreme, who had never been camping before this week (except that time when he was 11), who got in touch, and who graciously let me bore his head off with my incessant ramblings about Christians, theology, my dreams of being famous blah blah...

Proverbs 27:17
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another".

Thank you God, for meeting with me this week, in a quiet but real way. For surrounding me with encouraging people who love and look out for me. For providing me with friends and acquaintances whom I can both sharpen, and be sharpened by.

Un-clouding my cloudy mind.

• It's 1am on Thursday August 19th.

• I'm tired and bored. I really want to go upstairs, get ready for bed and read a couple of chapters of Primo Levi's If this is a Man. I have exhausted every possible time-filler on my laptop (facebook, yahoo, ebay, university stuff) and yet can't seem to drag myself away to go read, or to get some well-needed sleep. Weird.

• I've also noticed that the last post on my blog was L O N G. Shan't be posting long ones like that very often!

• Went to the Botanical Gardens tonight with Mom and a rather huge group of other people I know and love. We saw The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde. It was good, although I prefer Shakespeare. Also, whilst there I caught up with someone I haven't seen in a while! She's as beautiful as ever, and her and the family doing well. That was also good.

• Momentum on Saturday! Looking forward to seeing friends I haven't seen in a while, and hanging out with God. Which, in all honesty, I haven't done in a while either..

• Excited about, but slightly freaking out about Uni... I know it's gonna be fine. Just saw Psalm 32:8 on someone's fb profile, and realised that it's pretty much verbatim of a word that God spoke to me whilst in Canada deciding whether or not to stay there or come home to university... the verse is The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."
  I didn't realise it was scripture until just now. That's very cool. Thank you LORD. :):)

• We're almost two thirds of the way through twentyten. Time goes so fast...

• Goodnight.

Pray like you've never prayed before.

I was just reminded of something I wanted to post.

Part way through the worship tonight, Pastor Mark Burchell did a little talky bit and offered people the chance to say "I Will" to God's call on their life. As we began to pray for those who went forward, he encouraged us to pray like we've never prayed before.

I thought to myself, well that's not gonna happen.
Not because I'm cynical, or didn't want to pray!!
Instead because it reminded me of the time I prayed with more passion and vigour and desperation than I have ever before.

I wrote it down. Let me tell you the story..

I went on a Christian High School Retreat with Rebecca and Robin one week last September, we were somewhere about 4 hours north of Vancouver, BC. We had an awesome time, especially when chatting with the few students who were really going for God and who were striving to make a difference in their school and community.

But most of the other students had grown up in this Christian School and didn’t seem remotely interested in living out any sort of faith. And it made me angry. A righteous anger that caused me to pray and cry out for them as they sang ‘Hosanna’ with no integrity or understanding of what they were singing.
In apathy, they simply sang along to the nice tunes, and sat down when the songs finished.

Now I’ve been guilty of this before too. I’m not judging them for it. And I know some of the students were actually worshipping, but it just my heart broke for those who weren’t; those that had been taught the truth year after year, but still didn’t actually know it.

Apathy is a way the devil tries to steal, kill and destroy. Steal passion, kill joy, and destroy a generation of youth who could rise up with selfless faith and preach Jesus to a dying world. If only they won’t slip away in to a life of apathy.

Jesus said He came to give life. Life in all it’s fullness.
A life on the edge, a life that counts for something. A life that doesn’t slip away in to non-existence, but one that stands out and rises up. Radical. Extreme. Alive.

That’s the way I want to live.

“The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on Me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
(Isaiah 61:1-2 / Luke 4:18)

Isaiah prophesied it. Jesus fulfilled it. But He said that we would do even greater things than He did.
Jesus in me is fulfilling this. And as I cry out to Him for the broken-hearted, for the captives, for the prisoners, I know he is binding, freeing and releasing them. I believe it.

A friend of Jess’ recently gave her life to Christ (recently to the time of writing! It was around October 2009 sort of time.) In fact, I met her the summer before that, and at that time she had no idea who Jesus was. His name was merely a cuss word.
Eight weeks after meeting her, she met her Saviour. And her life, which had literally been filled with rejection and pain and anger, until the age of 21, has been radically turned around. And she’s now one of the boldest Christians I ever met. Her facebook status regularly updates us with her growing love for God and her knowledge of how she’s accepted and loved by a God so much greater than her circumstances.

It angers me that her two young children don’t live with her because of choices in her past, and that she hasn’t got a home, and that her family now ridicule her for believing in Jesus… that her situation is so much worse than mine, but yet she’s more grateful, joyful and full of hope than I am. Even though we know the same God. The God who provides and loves and has for us a glorious hope and future.

I've heard it said that converts to Christianity are more passionate than Christians who have simply grown up going to Church.
That makes me angry.
Coz I'm one who grew up going to church. And I wish I was more passionate.

That righteous anger I felt for the students, and for Jess' friend returned a couple of weeks later too.
My mom had emailed me that day, with an update on a family issue that had been going on for at least two months. And the situation hadn't seemed to have gotten any better. During weeks between the accident happening, and me getting mom's update about it I had gotten so caught up in Pais and work and Canada, that I had completely forgotten about it and stopped praying.

I was angry that I’d forgotten, and that I take for granted everything God gives to me.

I felt so convicted.

And so I prayed. And I mean, really prayed. I cried out. Literally, on my knees in Jess' bedroom, crying out to Jesus.
For forgiveness to forgetting, for Jess’ friend, for my family, for the ‘Christian’ students who aren’t living it out, for the ones who just found Jesus, and the ones that are yet to find Him.

To me, these are the broken-hearted, the captives, and the prisoners.

The girls, Jess and Tera prayed too; we prayed together. And God reminded me of Isaiah 54,

“Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood.”
And then of chapter 61. “He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
And then chapter 62. “Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.”

I love the people in this world. I really do. My heart yearns for God’s people who don’t know Him yet, my family who don’t know him yet; I can’t remain silent.
And, right then, I didn’t want to stop praying for them until God did something.

Of course, I did stop. And life carried on. I quickly forgot and became distracted.
But I do remember, every so often. And of course, ten months on, God has answered some prayers and worked miracles. But there are new things going on that I need to be praying about, and there are still those students, who I'll probably never meet again, who still need to know Jesus. There are those I know, whose lives are wrought with consequences from past mistakes. Those who are desperate, poor, broken-hearted, hurt and in pain, anxious and confused...

And now I'm writing I feel like I'm back in that place, where I don't want to stop praying. Until God does something. Until their situations change. Until their ashes are beauty, their mourning is joy and their despair is praise. Until they meet their Saviour. Until they know my God.

I need to pray for them. And I need to proclaim the good news. It’s what I was made for.

When we become a leader, it’s our choice and our right to do whatever we want with our time. But it’s also our responsibility during this time to choose to pray. To cry out. To not cease, until God completes what He started.

“Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes His work.” Isaiah 62 :6-7.

We’re almost there.
He won’t be long. But there’s still work to be done. There are still people that don’t know.

So don’t stop praying.

Two words: Parachute. Band.

I was at Champions Church in Netherton this evening (http://www.championschurch.org.uk/) at their Friday Night Live event, with the Parachute Band (http://www.parachutemusic.com/PARACHUTEBAND/).

Matty and I went. Brother and Sister. Probably the first time we've ever been anywhere together. At least that I can remember. And it couldn't have been a better evening. In hindsight (oh, hindsight, why are you so sensible?!) I should have taken a photograph to document.. But I didn't, and therefore this post shall have to do.

I have nicked a pic from google though so you know who I'm talking about. This is their latest album, 'Roadmaps and Revelations'. Get it off iTunes or buy the CD or something! It's awesome.

Omega and the rest of the band led us in worship to our Awesome God for the best part of two hours.

Amazing, heart-felt lyrics, incredible music and vocals, and an unforgettable time of singing praises and bringing glory to our LORD.

...Living Rain, fall again, over my life, over my land, Living rain, fill my life again. Open wide, Heaven's skies, over my street, O Spirit reside, Living rain, flood my heart again...

...Who am I that you would care for me? I glorify the one who died for me... Let your name be lifted up and glorified..

...Take over me, til I can't stand and sing to thee...

Thank you God, for giving me an awesome not-so-little-bro.

And for letting us worship you freely like we did tonight.

It's only by your grace.

Yeh and thank you for your grace too.

The grass is the same shade of green!

I've been so busy over the past six weeks, since returning to England.

I've been out for coffee, dinner, movies, walks, drinks, picnics, car journeys, adventures..

I've potentially seen more of this country in the past month and a half, than I have in my entire lifetime! ...Bristol, Cheddar, Newcastle (Geordie-Land), Northamptonshire, Cambridge, Stoke, Newcastle (the other one)...

I've caught up with old friends, and I've made new ones.

I flew a kite, I abseiled, I went on an open top bus, I read more books, I led amazing people in worship before an amazing God, I took photos, I tried to cook, I learnt two new ways to braid hair!

I have been BUSY. And I'm having one of the most awesome summers of my life, probably.

But you know, the grass is always greener...

Even though it's not.

The grass is the exact same shade of green here in England as it is in Canada.

It's just a different type of grass here.

I'm being honest, I suppose the emotion I've been feeling in the past four or five days is jealousy.

Just a tiny pang.

It's a feeling of not wanting to have made the wrong decision.. of not wanting to miss out on something that I could have been a part of.. not wanting people to move on without me, make new memories without me, have too much fun without me..!

Even though I'm moving on, making new memories and having loads of fun without them...

Jealousy is selfish. It makes me selfish.

That's not cool.

I'm praying that God would remove this feeling and replace it with love..! And then fill me up with trust in Him. Because I know that in Him I will and do have an abundant life.

A life with green grass, the same shade, no matter where I am - as long as I'm walking with Him.

Psalm 23:2 "..He makes me lie down in green pastures.."

Hear Me

The creative part of me wakes up at about 11pm... At that time last night I got out my guitar and wrote a new song.

It's sort of reflective, and really chilled, the style inspired by artists like William Fitzsimmons and Priscilla Ahn.

Kites

I spent a day at the beach, a few weeks back. My Aunt, Uncle, Mom, Dad. And Me.

The weather was perfect, and we lay on the sand under the British sun, naming as many films beginning with the letter A, B, C, etc..

Dad brought his kite too. Well, if is wasn't for my mom he wouldn't have. She got it out the loft just before we left, in case it was windy enough to fly. I'm glad she thought of it. We had so much fun.

So Dad and I spent about 30 minutes working out how to put it together. The last time it was out of it's case was probably about 12 years ago...

I could tell Dad was excited. He's usually quite solemn, but I could see the anticipation in his eyes and his eagerness to get it up in the air!

I held the Kite as high as I could hold it, Dad gripped the handles, and we walked further apart until the string was taut.

I let go, Dad held on, and up it went.

And after a few minutes getting used to it, Dad gave up to reigns and let me try.

It was the first time I've flown a kite, I think. And it was awesome.

Soaring. Flying. But not quite free.

See the thing about Kites, is unless they are held tightly and the string kept taut, they just fall. They're freedom to fly about meters above the ground and do loop-the-loops and whatever other tricks, is only made possible through being anchored to something on back on ground.

Something unshakeable, that won't fail, fall or let go.

Let go.. and the kite comes crashing down.

Remind you of anything?

Well it sounds like me.

My desire is to be free. To do what I please. To please myself. To look out for number one. To ensure my happiness and success. To soar and fly and show off what I can do!

This is my human nature. Sinful, yes. Selfish, yes.

But I am still created in His image and made for eternity.

And I am being changed in to His likeness, more and more everyday I hope.

The paradox is that I am free, when He has full reign over my life. When He is in control, when He is holding the reigns, when He is guiding my life. When I am held tight in his marvellous, gentle, capable hands, I am free.

I live in the tension that when I die, I live. When I'm weak, I am strong. When I give up, I gain. When I am held, I am free.

The Kingdom of God is not backwards or upside down. But it makes sense.

It seems full of paradoxes. It's not easy to grasp, and especially not easy to live out. But God existed before time. He knows how things work. His ways are not our ways.

In a strict sense, I cannot break the rules. They endure, for they reflect the way things are. I can only break myself against them.

- John Ortberg, When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box

Too Many Words, Not Enough Time

I've been sorting through everything I own recently! Filing, organising, throwing out, making space etc.etc.

(i have too much stuff.)

And in the past few days I've come across a number of folders crammed with scraps of paper, old notebooks, napkins, anything with space enough to write on, all covered with my words.

Poems, Lyrics, even part of a Novel I started to write (and which I may continue?).

Creative, inspiring lines I jotted down over the past few years.

Now when I think back over my younger years, that's one thing I remember doing a lot of. Writing. And even now, it's just what I do. Lists, cards, notes, music, letters... I write!

But I'm still surprised at just how much I found in these folders, stuff I'd forgotten about! Some bad stuff. But some really, really good stuff.

So many songs.

So much passion and love and heartbreak and confusion and praise and emotion.

I was so expressive.

I'm gonna take some time to sort through, and will probably post some up here!

With love x

Like Mother, Like Daughter

I didn't inherit the 'cooking gene'.

Neither of my parents are particularly genius in that area. I can muster up a baked potato, or a bowl of pasta with tomato sauce. Survival. Not extravagance.

My mom was never one for home-cooked meals or baking or anything like that.

And it's not necessarily a bad thing; our oven is actually horrendous (and this is not the bad workman blaming his tools!), it's honestly a terrible, terrible oven and if it doesn't burn everything that enters it (which is does) then it shorts the fuse for the whole of our downstairs. Yay.

Why would we bother?

So this is not a complaint. Merely an observation! I don't blame her at all for not teaching me to cook. Some people just have that ability. Some don't. We don't. Haha.

My mom taught me an awful lot more valuable things, and she is more of a quality time sort of person. I inherited that from her.

Plus we're all happy with baked spuds and penne!

Anyway, yesterday we tried our hand at cooking Chickpea and Spinach Curry with Tofu, and also had steamed rice using my new rice maker! This from a recipe I picked up from my hosts in my first year in Canada.

It turned out pretty good, and went down well with all who tried it!

Chickpea and Spinach Curry with Tofu, thanks to Tamara.

This morning was the attempt at making dessert: Granola Bars. Chocolate Chip and Cranberry.

Donna KP-style. Canadian-style.

:)

(No picture though I'm afraid!)

Although slightly crumbly (not to mention approx. 1 billion calories per mouthful) they were incredibly tasty, and were finished in time for Matt and Becky to take a couple as they left for the airport (jetting off to Tenerife for 2 weeks!)

The many things I'm thankful for?

~chance to make lovely memories with my wonderful mom! (even if that's running round the house with make-shift fly-swatters eliminating the fruit flies which took over our pantry...)

~the time to enjoy each others company (in the same continent, country, town, house.. first time in four months.)

~that Spain beat Portugal in the World Cup Quarter Finals this evening. WOOHOO!

~the hottest week of the year (hurray for lasting sunshine!)

~God's faithfulness, even when I'm not. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

I am blessed. Thank you Lord.

Just uploaded some of my photographs from the past few months.

Check them out :)

The Taylor's Kitchen

I had my first gig in the UK there today!

To an audience of 2.5 people, with a borrowed guitar :)

It sounds like it could be a cozy little bar somewhere in the country side, right?

Well, no. It's actually the kitchen of the Taylor family's home. Lea thrust a guitar in to my hands and asked me to play.
So play I did.

To her and her mom, Cal, and her dad, Clive was in and out at various intervals (hence the audience of 2.5).

Good times.

Plus, Lea now wants to be my UK manager and sort me some real gigs. woohoo! That's exactly what I need!

Watch this space!

Long Flight Home

Pondering on the last few days I've had, and a lot of people have asked me how my flight home was.

Well it wasn't bad...

But I've had better. And I'm leaving the airport shenanigans out of it.

I don't like the window seat on airplanes.

I don't like the centre seat, either.

Fussy, I know. But I just prefer an aisle seat.

I like feeling free to stretch my legs out, or use the bathroom when I feel like it.

Well anyway, I got seat 20E. The centre seat in the centre aisle of seats..

And unfortunately, the seat by Mr. 'I-hate-long-haul-flights-about-as-much-as-I-hate-talking-to-strangers-and-I-hate-it-even-more-when-strangers-keep-getting-up-and-sitting-back-down-or-fidgeting-while-sitting-next-to-me'.

OK so, I'm a bit restless when trying to settle in on a long flight, and I like to make sure I have everything to hand and not stowed in the over-head bins so I don't have to disturb said Mr. any more than absolutely necessary).

The seat to the other side of me was occupied by a guy who slept the entire 11 hours. Amazing.

Now I like to think of myself as a good sleeper; I can fall asleep pretty much anywhere, for a decent amount of time too. But this guy was incredible. Only, his nap-time meant I had to ask the first Mr. to get past.

Well anyway. I didn't get as much sleep s intended, but I at least managed to read a good majority of Cecila Ahern's Thanks for the Memories, as well as goodbye cards from some of the girls back in Delta.

It was a long but successful flight home.

On the bright side...

Home means:

~mom, dad and matty

~other family and english loved ones!

~greatly anticipated world cup atmosphere

~GHDs

~sonic, tails, charlie, vernon (3 snails and a corsa)

Congratulations to my host brother, Taylor, for Graduating yesterday!

siblings

I love that North American tradition of Cap and Gown and a big celebration at the end of High School. I've only seen that on movies!

Well until, yesterday.

Very cool.

Time to Say Goodbye

Why is it so hard to say goodbye??

I'm pretty sure I'd be fine if I could just go about life here in Canada, get on the plane back to England on Tuesday and then continue with life as normal in the UK on Wednesday... No goodbyes. No tears. No reason to think about potentially never seeing these amazing people again. Or at least not seeing them for a couple of years!

Don't get me wrong, I like reminiscing. I love that I have sooo many fantastic memories that I have to sit and think a while to recall ones I've stored away. And I'm not afraid of the emotion that's awaiting me, when I finally board the plane and wave a tearful goodbye to my Canadian family. I know it's coming!

But maybe it's just the finalisation of actually saying the word and embracing the change. Maybe it's that goodbye has such weighty connotations. Like that I seriously may never see this person again. When, in all seriousness, I have no intention of never seeing them again!

I like to think that life isn't so black and white.

Goodbye is merely, see you again sometime. Maybe not soon, but sometime.

Yeah. That's better.

But it's still not easy.

Things I'm thankful for today:

~That I have people to say goodbye to here in BC.

~And people to say hello to when I get back to the UK.

~an Omnipresent God.

~7 year olds who like swimming, and who love to learn! :)

~Sun Cream

Killers & Comedy

Killers starring Aston Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. I went to see it at the theatre with Kenzie and Morgan last night.

Very funny and so easy to watch! And while it's not the best movie I ever saw, I would probably go and see it again.

She's stunning, he's unbelievably hot, and then Usher turns up for a scene, so automatically the aesthetics are top notch!

My Rating: 3.5/5.

And to top things off, it was Telus Tuesday. That means I paid a mere $11.45 for the movie, a regular popcorn and a large drink!!

How have I been here for two years and never heard of Telus Tuesday?! Head in the sand comes to mind, but that's another story..

We went to G'ma's after for tea and fruit and some north american TV.

Well I can't stand America's Got Talent. I've got to be honest, it's just horrendous.

Last Comic Standing however, was surprisingly fantastic.

It's season 7, and last nights episode was of the New York auditions. Too funny!

Mike DeStefano is my favourite to win. See his, and other auditions here:

http://www.thedeadbolt.com/news/107622/last_comic_standing_auditions_news.php

Growing Up

I started monday morning in the office, clearing out my stuff, tidying, throwing out, packing away etc. Mission Accomplished.

Office emptied, I took my box and walked through the church corridors savouring the last time I'd do that...

I then drove to see some good friends of mine in Vancouver. To hang out. To say goodbye.

My 10-year-old as-good-as-sister, Taylor greeted me at the door with open arms and the widest grin! It's been 4 months since I saw her last, and could be as long as 3 years until I see her again.

Her hair had grown so much since February, but she's still as petite and graceful as ever.

We ate chips, made music and played in the garden while her mom was out. So much fun :)

But I think 10 years old is a difficult age.

You're too young, and too old at the same time. Too young to be a teenager, to be responsible. Too old to play role play or imagination games with your 5-year-old kid sister. Too clever and yet too immature. And so misunderstood.

But Taylor is beautiful and passionate. She dances and reads and likes to learn. She knows what she loves, and she's finding her niche in life.

She's growing up.

I'm so proud of her.

Hindsight

It's 23:07. It's late, and I'm tired. But my evening was pretty awesome, like I hoped.

And God is good.

:)

So I just got back from the studio, having finished recording vocals on my new song: 20/20.

I've posted the lyrics on my the Lyrics page. (Clever, eh?)

Check it out.

My filthy rags

Pastor Mark gave a sermon at Village (www.myvillagechurch.org) this morning on Philippians 3.

The Apostle Paul is such a dude. Seriously.

He's so audacious. He's totally unafraid to speak the truth, and he does so without a hint of pride or arrogance.

'If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more'

And he sure does. Any guy who can say this, mean it, and still remain humble, is officially a dude.

He goes on to list the reasons why he's levitically righteous but then disregards it all for the sake of Christ. Sure, there's a profit which comes from being a good Christian and upholding the law. But it's nothing, nothing, compared to knowing Christ.

Paul acknowledges that true righteousness, the kind that matters, is only attained through faith in Christ. Working to earn our salvation by keeping the law, is not only contrary to the Gospel message, it's not even possible.

'How then can we be saved? ...all our righteous acts are like filthy rags' (Isaiah 64:6)

The only way to the Father is through the Son. Jesus paved the way already. We are saved by grace. And grace alone.

I totally underestimate what a privilege it is to know Christ, and how faith in Him counts for infinitely more than my own attempts at securing salvation.

Why do I find this so hard to remember?

Time again, I hold my filthy rags up to my Saviour and seek His approval, as if they actually make a difference.

It makes not a spec of difference to my salvation. That's already secured. But I think He'd be pleased I'm trying at least. If it's for His pleasure and Glory and nothing else.

I can imagine Jesus, in His grace, taking those worthless old rags from me, and holding them dearly in His bloody fist as they crucify Him in punishment for my wrongdoings.

Oh how He loves us.

This concept of grace is so hard to grasp..

Sunny Days

It feels like a new year's resolution.

Or the excitement a five year old would have with their new toy at Christmas.

Two posts in two days! Lets see how long this lasts..

So the sun really changes things. People are happy when the sun comes out. Even the flowers look happier when the sun comes out!

All is well with the world and the desire to be at one with God's creation is so distinct.. it's glorious.

We sat outside to eat lunch at Grandma's. And I've had sun cream on for two days in a row! I love the smell of sun cream. It's one of my favourite things. It brings back so many happy memories from summer vacations when I was a kid!

We also walked around the market today, the sun darting behind the clouds every so often, keeping me on my toes; armed, cardigan in hand, ready to shield my pale skin from the cool wind.

Plus it's the World Cup too. All my memories of the world cups past, include sunshine, face painting and matches shown on big screens at church. Despite not being completely over England's 1-1 draw with the USA, and the fact that Germany won their first game, 4-0 against Australia, the World Cup is still my favourite time of every four years :)

It's only 5:30 and my day is already more than awesome. Here's to an awesome Sunday evening too.

Thank you Lord for sunny days. I really love them.

Daisy on a Sunny Day