Days 44 & 45.. not quite the end of the Summer! Couple of hours to go! #45daysofsummer

Well I'm not quite finished as there is still one more evening left of the summer! And I've not yet posted about yesterday either! So here goes..
Yesterday will be summed up in more photos than words (but a picture paints a thousand words though, right?!) and today's events as well as an overall (short!) summary of my entire summer follows at the bottom..

Laura gave me a brief but detailed tour of Bilbao in around 2 hours! I decided that if I would live anywhere in Spain (although of course I haven't been to every place in Spain) I would live in Bilbao. I loved it there! The atmosphere, the buildings, the river. Everything. We started our tour at what I think is the Old Square.

And walked round to the New Square (which didn't look that new to be fair, but was wonderful and was lined with cafés and bars and later on there was live music here!)

The library was rather modest and hidden, I felt. But had a grand door that was worth a snap.

A tiny little stage for the City Orchestra.

Live music in the street! This was on one of the main streets in the city, and had lots of shops and gorgeous little pastelerías (cake shops).

We reached the Guggenheim Museum! Selfie necessary.

A giant puppy made from flowers. Why not?

The Spider in the distance... Can you see the bride and groom in the distance having their wedding photos with said spider? Weird.

And the exterior of the museum was enough to look at without having to go in! 

The spider...! Crazy. Weird. Bride and groom finished and moved on to some other unusual spot for the rest of their shoot.

View down the river.

Arty bridge.

We went for a quick bite to eat in a gorgeous little Tapas bar in the New Square.

 

There was sooo much to choose from!

 Really, so much!! But the kind Spanish waiters helped us decide what to have and poured my mosto (grape juice) for me in a wine glass with ice, an orange slice and an olive on a stick. Wonderful.

Basketball World Cup fever - this year it is held in Bilbao!

There were loads of people milling around and taking part in all the activities in the streets.

We got free balloons :) yay!

And then, after a spot of lunch, and really all to quickly, I caught the bus to the airport.. Where my case was 26kg instead of 23kg and I had to get rid of some stuff and move some things around in a fluster as the queue for the Vueling desk was huge and out the door of the airport! After misunderstandings about hand luggage and being sad that my last proper Spanish conversation was a total muddle, all was well in the end and I reminded myself of my competent and lengthy conversation with Juanma the previous day, and my entire time with Laura which was almost totally in Spanish!! I landed back in London last night where mom and dad met me to take me home! Phew! (We did get lost in the countryside looking for a pub to eat dinner in, but alas gave up and ended up having pizza in Oxford services.) Home and bed. Yes.

Today, on my last official day of my Summer, I had a well-needed lie in, before heading to church at Zion. It didn't occur to me at the time, but thinking about it now, it was very nice to be sat in an English service, to be able to understand everything without my brain working on over time to try and translate. And how good to worship, and let God revive and refresh me. And don't get me wrong, I'm still tired and I'll be hitting the ground running as I start back at work tomorrow but I am so excited about what He is doing in my life at the moment and how clearly I can hear Him speaking to me, challenging me, encouraging and inspiring me. I hope and pray that in the busyness of this new season, I will still be able to hear Him and make time do so. 

This afternoon, we celebrated with some close family friends of ours. Two birthdays and three wedding anniversaries in these past couple of weeks! How exciting to be able to celebrate 55, 52 and 25 years of marriage with those couples, in a world when so often marriages have broken down. What a blessing to share with them in their celebrations today :)

And finally tonight, a brief but detailed and very exciting meeting about the future plans at church and about where God is leading us as a community in terms of our building plans!! 

Sadly no time for Grey's Anatomy tonight (soon I hope!) because the last 1.5 hours of this summer, I intend to be sleeping in order to be up for an early start tomorrow!

But what an incredible Summer it has been. Of adventure and challenge. Of learning and growing. Of new places, new people and new opportunities.

And what an incredible God I serve, who takes away, but who also gives in abundance. Who mends and restores what is broken and lost (and is continuing to do so). Who I don't always understand but who I am learning to trust more and more. Who makes my paths straight. Who sings over me and whispers words of love and truth to me at the times when I most need to hear them. Who is faithful to His promises. Who has said 'yes' to much more than He has said 'no'. Who has given me so much more than a great Summer. He has given me hope. He has given me Jesus. He is all I need.

#45daysofsummer #blessed

Now, what's next?!

Setting Sun

I went for a short walk this afternoon, before it got dark.

To get some fresh air and to watch the sun set.

And to spend some time outside and alone with God, without distraction.

I walked and took pictures, and got really excited that the daffodils are already starting to bloom!!

It was cold out, but with the sun on my face, I really didn't mind the temperature.

And I decided to turn back early, so I could find an ideal spot to watch the sun setting..

Whilst walking to find the perfect spot a thought occurred to me.

It's one thing to be 'where the light is', it's completely different to be 'living in the light'.

(that is something I'd like to expand on when it's not gone 1am in the morning.. but this was quite a significant thought for me today..)

So, anyway. Other thoughts.

Ideal spot, found.

I stood and watched the sun go down, until it was hidden behind the horizon.

I thought of God, and what it's gonna be like when Jesus comes back, or even in Heaven. I think it will look a little like the sunset I saw today.. definitely more splendid and awesome.. I prayed that Jesus would come back soon. (Not because I don't like living, just coz I feel like "to live is Christ and to die is gain" - what Paul was saying in Philippians. But so often I don't feel like I'm doing a great job at the 'living is Christ' part, and I don't want to die necessarily - but I do wanna be where God is everything, where He's at the centre, getting all the glory, and where I have no worries and stresses but I can just be. And so if Jesus returns soon, before I die, then yeh.. all will be well :) complicated thought process perhaps but in my head it makes sense..!)

I also thought of Japan, and how fragile our world is. I prayed for Shizuka and Kaori, my two friends that I lived with in Canada, who are living back in Japan. I prayed that God would be strong, for them and for everyone who is being and has been affected by this terrible disaster.

As I started walking back, I crossed paths with a new friend of mine, who was also out walking and praying and was just going to watch the sun set. (Thank you LORD for your timing!)

We talked about our thoughts, about church this morning, about Japan and about our great God who is steadfast and strong.

She encouraged me in a number of things, and when we talked about the earthquake and how I had been praying specifically for the girls, she reminded me that we can't fully rely on the earth we live on, and that it is not the ground that is holding us up - it is God, by his mighty hand.. She talked about how creation is revealing God to us all the time, and yet even creation isn't a full image of what God is like, we get an incomplete picture. Yes, God is in the beautiful sun set that illuminates the sky and warms your heart.. But the earth is fallen. The earthquake and tsunami that have killed hundreds in Japan is not reflective of our God.. (Although, they do fulfill prophesies in the Gospels when Jesus warned that in the last days these things would happen...)

All in all, a lovely and thought-provoking conversation. And what inspires me most about this friend of mine, is that she views all things through a godly perspective; God is always on her mind and she can see Him at work all the time.

I pondered on those thoughts for a while as I walked back to my block.

I began to feel the chill of the cold air as the sun found its way out of our sky for the day and the temperature started to drop rapidly.

I walked quickly.

Home in no time.

Keele is such a beautiful place to live.

So much nature, so much of God's creation, right there, practically on my doorstep.

I hope to take advantage of more sun sets like that.

And I hope to see more of God, in more things as I go about my days.

Hallelujah.

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."

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