A cheeky blog plug, is that okay? And perhaps a hidden treasure...

So...I'm not sure how well this blog post is going to go down following those three amazing, truth-filled, heart-pumping AMEN'S of blog posts which Milla, Meg and Eve have just written. But don't write this off entirely because there is a bit of gold dust at the end.

Yes, ultimately, this may seem shallow. Yes, I will be plugging my new blog Knowing God which I will be hyperlinking about a billion times throughout this post (don't hate me). A brief outline:

It's a hopefully more authentic and focused blog than my last one, with a dedication to sharing the good news of Jesus and all the wonderful discoveries about Him that I just can't keep to myself! (When I read  something new, a book or passage, I just have to share it with someone - it's the way these things tend to go: 'my cup overflows' (psalm 23))

So feel free to look around, have a bit of a poke, an explore...be warned though, it's a little dense some of it. To get the gist just scroll through the post and there will be a paragraph written in a bigger font and that will usually sum up that i'm trying to say.

And now for the juicy part. I received this book for Christmas called 'The cost of discipleship' by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and after about an hours reading I'm five pages in and my jaw is on the floor.

Every flipping sentence is pure gold! It's so precious that I just need to share it with you.

His premise is that just because our faith is one of grace (undeserved favour) - as in Jesus took our punishment with his life so no good-work on our behalf could ever get us into heaven, it's only reliance on this sacrifice, belief and trust in Him which can save us - it doesn't mean we carry on in sin and living how we want. He calls this attitude - cheap grace. And it is cheapening grace isn't it? It is not recognising how much it cost God to give up his own son, and how much our lives need to be given up in response to this love. In his own words: 'what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.' (p.5)

He thinks that a faith which says, 'well I don't need to do anything now, I can keep living as sinfully as before, because Jesus has done it all for me and I'm getting to heaven anyway' isn't a real faith at all. His description of real faith, of costly grace, had my mind-blown. I just have to share it:

'Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him...'

'...Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. Such grace is costly because it cost a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'ye were brought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the incarnation of God.'

Aaaaaaahhhh! Doesn't that make your heart go: 'eeeiiiiiiikk!' So true! SO TRUE!

'God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life.'

Flip me.

Bonhoeffer has a brilliant way of putting things and I'm seriously looking forward to reading the rest of this book, even if it takes me years.

God's Call - the unyielding truth

It seems it has begun, the band wagon has well and truly been jumped upon and the blogging has once again begun. I've got so many thoughts running through my mind about what I could write about yet at the same time I'm totally stuck for words, I don't know where to begin or what to say, so I thought I would follow in Eve's well placed footprints and be totally authentic. 

My first term at university has been one of ups and downs. Looking back it's mainly been down, but despite all that I can say that God is faithful. I've thought to myself many times over the last few months 'what am I doing? I had the best job, I was surrounded by people who loved me, who spoke truth over me, who challenged me, and who encouraged me everyday to press deeper into the things God has for me. Why did I give all that up? What on earth possessed me to go to university?!' The answer is simple, God's call. 

As 2014 has begun, I've sat and dreamed for my year, and I've looked back on the dreams that I had for 2013. One such dream was to follow God's call wherever that may take me. In the midst of the busyness of university I had forgotten this dream for my life. I can sit in a coffee shop writing this post and think back to August and September where I heard God telling me that university was the next step for me, I can see how he provided the last place on a course for me, in the city I had wanted to live in for many years. It was no coincidence I ended up where I did. So why was it so easy to forget that this is God's call on my life for this season? 

Surprisingly the answer is simple, because the enemy wants me to forget. Going to university means entering into a whole new lifestyle yet keeping my identity fixed in and on Jesus. But if I forget that God's the one who called me and placed me there, then my identity slips and suddenly my ability to change and shift atmospheres, to speak wisdom into situations, to carry peace and light into fear and darkness, to declare healing, and to share the Gospel is lost. That's exactly what the enemy wants. 

You might be wondering where this post is going, well it's simply a post to say that I know. 

I know who I am - a daughter of the risen King Jesus

I know where I am placed - in one room, in one flat, in one university, on one course for the glory of God

I know what I carry - the Kingdom of Heaven 

I know what the enemy is doing - distracting me from the truth of my identity and God's plan for me

And it's a post to say that I choose to live in the light of that knowledge, to wake up each day and declare my heavenly daughtership, to reject the lie that I am not where God wants me, that my presence is wasted and that I cannot have an impact on my campus, and to be all that God created me to be for his glory. 

Will you join me? 

Christmas is Happening!

My sister and her friends every year create an online advent calendar containing all things creative and wonderful to share their love of Jesus at Christmas time. This year, I had the opportunity of doing a piece of artwork for it - and today, the 21st December, it features!

Click on the link below and then number 21 and have a peek:
christmasishappening.com

Have a listen to today's song too!

Much love and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Sarah
x

The Potter's Hands - Sarah

I think it's time for me to share with you what has been going on for the last three months. My only excuse for this enormous time delay is.... well, business and fulness of life! You will see what I mean in a second :)!

This time last year, I was applying deferred entry to uni. I knew I wanted to go to uni. I also knew I wanted a gap year - I always had done since my brother and sister went here there and everywhere on theirs, bringing back spiritual treasure with them each time. But I wanted to know what God's will for my gap year was. It was a time of doubt for me - am I even meant to be doing this, is this just my selfish human nature, I want to know God's heartbeat especially for this opportunity ... how do I find it? He spoke to me and confirmed my want to do Modern Languages next year. And the sense that I, and others kept coming back to was that God was saying "what do you want to do on your gap year?" It was like He was giving me the liberty and gift of this year. He was asking me to co-partner with Him. This is a really Biblical idea, and if I'm honest, I struggled to accept it. I just wanted God to give a sign out of the sky with an arrow saying GO HERE. But that didn't happen.
           What did happen was that I started to depend on Him more and more. That is one of the most valuable things! It was hard but looking back now, I wouldn't change that experience - I can see all that God was preparing me for. One day, my art teacher randomly suggested that I do an art foundation course. I wasn't totally sure, and if I'm really honest, I wanted to go off on some amazing exotic adventure rather than stay in England and study art.

I decided I'd apply and see if I got in because it is really competitive. When I visited the college, I loved it. I could really see myself fitting in. I had my interview and got a place, and I had this unexplainable ridiculous JOY. Whilst on the campus tour, I had an overwhelming sense of peace that just convicted me that this place was where I needed to be for my gap year. The Spirit of the Lord was moving in my heart.

I was really excited all summer leading up to it. And then 2 weeks before leaving home, a lot of "flaming arrows from the evil one" - I had allowed my "shield of faith" (Ephesians 6:16) to drop for that moment in time. But what this did mean was that I had to consciously choose to trust in God with every small ounce of strength in my body. If I didn't, I couldn't cope.
On the way down in the car with mum, we prayed and declared scripture all the way. We asked for someone nice to meet when I got there. We asked for things to keep my mind off home in the first week. We asked for Godly strength.

This song holds a lot of significance for me. It got me through the tough time of leaving home, leaving my safe childhood stepping out into an adventure with my Lord and Saviour. I didn't want to do it without Him! It is based on Psalm 18, have a listen!

God provided everything - every.single.thing that I needed. There was someone lovely that I met as soon as I got here. The first week was busy and I didn't miss home too much. The art course is amazing. Jesus is teaching me how to release His presence through art. The place is INSANE. I get to live by the sea!!! God just knows my heart so well - everything is so chilled; no one ever wears heels on a night out - I love that! Beautiful inspiration is all around me. He has planted me so well in places that hold no coincidence. I have been able to witness so much to my friends. God has blessed me with a church that just wants to know the Father's heart.

And it's true, there are hard things: - It is not always easy being away from home. And I have had to step out of my comfort zone a lot. But I'm not so fearful of doing that now. God is shaping me in radical ways, in ways that only He can do. I wouldn't change that for anything. And whilst part of me still wishes I got to go travel, I know that deep deep in my heart, I am in the right place for this year. No hardship that I encounter can ever take away from the all-surpassing greatness of knowing Him! I do have a long summer holidays, so am praying about what to do with them :)! Please join me in praying.

So I'll leave you with a word of encouragement and advice for you all -
This experience has made me realise that I just don't want to go anywhere that God is not calling me to be. Sometimes you have to look really hard to find what that may be, but believe me, it is such an important thing. "Keep on seeking, and you will find" Matthew 7:7.

He is shaping me in His potter's hands. And I believe that I really am just a jar of clay made to shine with the Lord's glorious treasure. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
With love,
Sarah xx

The Potter's Hands - Gina

Gap year series HERE WE GO!

So this is a series to give everyone a little glimpse into what we've each individually been doing on out gap years. It's called The Potters Hands (Not because of Harry Potter as I originally thought) but because we've each given this year to God and we now want to share what he's done with it so far...One of the reasons we created this blog was to keep each other updated as we each ventured out on our individual gap years, so here's the first installment!

I was wracking my brains as to a cool and quirky way which I could show this, and I realised that my gap year coincides with my instagram pictures! I'm going to write too, and I'll try and be concise!

 



Sarah's send off to Falmouth . beauty whilst bike riding . a stay in Swindon with Eve .



So far it's been a year full of hardship. I think I wandered into it with a little naievety, expecting to 'get a job', 'earn money', go away to Africa and come back with life-changing experiences! In a sense that's still going to happen, but God's had a LOT to teach me about it and myself in the process.

I didn't just 'get a job' as I expected, there was many weeks of trailing round town with CV's, hopefuls and then dissapointments, hurts and tears as I was rejected. I found the odd one day job, and eventually settled into part time shifts with the school kitchens. This is excruciating as it means being around the school I have supposedly just left. To start with it brought back a lot of memories, and it felt like I was drowning in the old ones while I was supposed to be making new ones.

 

Not being around my friends every day was painful, I felt so lonely suddenly and so miserable knowing that it wasn't going to change. But God has taught me that I don't need to find my happiness in earthly things - I thought that was just money and clothes and all the rest, but I think it means things like friendship too - and that true happiness resides in HIM. So that brought me up short, and meant that I began to tenativlely seek God more and more.



toasties with Eve . Transform interview travel with Abbie and Milla and Kate . Milla 'performing' at Reading train station .

 

The dissapointment didn't stop there though...God still had more to teach! So I expected to go with SMILE  a crosslinks organisation to Uganda. I went to the interview. Got a place on the third team. But ended up not being able to go as they couldn't find the leaders. Crap. This threw me into a whirl of 'what am I going to do?? What if I never go away? aaaaahhhh'. BUT, God is soverign and it all worked out for the best.

 

I've currently got a place on a transform team to go to Tanzania with Tearfund. This is clearly where God wants me to be. It has such a better feel to it than the SMILE one ever did, the interview was soooo relaxed and I met some really nice, notatall intimmidating people there! I think what God was trying to teach me was that, in the words of C.S.Lewis 'not to put your heart in the future.' (Screwtape Letters) The bible says that where your heart is your treasure is also. And what C.S.Lewis was getting at was that you shouldn't put your heart in things that could change so easily and dissapoint you. You should put your heart in the present and praise God for the things that he's given you now. It's changed my whole outlook on life and I love it!

 

Mentioning 'Screwtape Letters' I've been trying to read some Christian books to become a lot wiser and more knowledgable about God and the bible, and to get my head around some issues. I would seriously recommend the 'Screwtape Letters' - I know that Kate would too. It is so amazing and it's written from the devil's perspective so you have to constantly be reversing it in your mind, reverse psychology works!! It's taught me so many things that I can't go into, but go and find out for yourself!

 

Another book (I don't want to turn this into a book-review post but I have to mention it) is 'Desiring God' by John Piper. I know Abbie would also recommend it. It's amazing. Give it a read. It has some amazing views on joy i.e. our purpose is to glorify God by enjoying Him.

 

bike ride with milla . monopoly with Kate, Milla and Abbie .

So I'm currently spending my days in the paradox of dreading and yet needing the call from Julie to tell me there's work in the kitchens. I find it so difficult as it's so hard to get on with the people there, and I find it quite lonely. But I try and use the time to myself to pray for all of them - it is my mission to pray for them constantly so that at least one of them starts to question God and look at Christianity. I'm trying to be a light for God there, his ambassador in that place. I have had one conversation with someone, but I desperately want more. And all for His glory!!

To sum up: The gap year so far has been hard and will probably be harder but it's brought me closer to God! And I have had some fantastic times with friends aswell. There should be another post, post-Tanzania with tons of pictures and stories, so keep reading! I will be so impressed if you read this, hopefully there will be more stories from the others to come.

Walking across clifftops in the summer sun

These photos were taken when Kate and I went on a cliff walk on our holiday in Cornwall (sorry- you've probably already heard about Cornwall if you've been following the blog but I couldn't resist sharing this beautiful view with you!) This beach is definitely making onto my favorite places list! It was a sunshine-y day. From the edge of the cliff, it felt like you could see for miles. We could even see our friends body boarding if we zoomed in on our cameras (photo 5!) I wish I could have taken more photos but my memory card was full and I didn't want to delete my end of term photos. Alas.

The beautiful little beach by our house

If you look closely, you can see Milla, Gina, Abbie, Sarah G, Sarah P and Meggy D body boarding!

You see the big rock island thing  in the sea? We swam out there!

On another note: I just got back from a week of summer camp where I was so blessed. It's been raining for months in England but we had the most ridiculously sunny week (prayer works), friendships were nurtured and many lives were touched by God. We were studying the books of Daniel and 1 Peter- I learned so much about how we should react to suffering as a Christian and what it really means to stand apart from the crowd. One of the memory verses that stuck out to me was this one: 'Do not fear what they fear, do not be frightened. In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord' 1 Peter 3:14. I'm such a worrier and this verse is a beautiful reminder to me that I don't need to be afraid of anything in this world but that I can take all my fears and insecurities to God.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer sun!

Love,
Megan

First glimpse of the morning

So I'm not usually one for getting up any time before ten in the morning in the holidays but around Easter time my Dad told me about a once-in-a-lifetime, spectacular, must-see event happening at 4 AM: the transit of Venus. So my family and a few others walked out onto the levels looking slightly bleary-eyed and consuming vast quantities of tea. Thankfully, it was all worth it: the transit was 

beautiful, the company kept me laughing and the sunrise was indescribably breathtaking.

I love how God blesses me through the world he has created.

All that is important

Am I now trying to win the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I was still trying to please man I would not be a servant of Christ.' Galatians 1 v 10

'I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law Christ died for nothing.' Galatians 2 v 21

'Because we are his sons God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, the spirit that cries out 'Abba, Father!'' Galatians 4 v 6

'You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.' Galatians 5 v13

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Galatians 6 v14

So we had a little stay in Cornwall, all 9 of us. We made it our mission to memorise all these verses during our stay there. They all really challenge and inspire me. They outline five fundamentals which I view as crucial to life:

Who am I trying to please?

How am I trying to do it?

Will I be doing it on my own strength?

How should I express my freedom?

What then should we do??

These verses give clear answers: We're trying to please God. He should be the only one we're working for, the only one we're trying to impress with all our endeavours and purely because of who he is. And the way we should do it is through Gods grace: His completely and utterly undeserved favour that he lavishly bestows upon us all the time. If we could be pure through our own actions or through the law then Christ died for nothing, his death was pointless. But as it is, Jesus died for us all so that our salvation doesn't depend on ourselves but on him, therefore his death means everything.

Because we accept this as fact, God calls us his children and gives us an unbelievable gift. His spirit!! He lives within us, helping us, strengthening us all the time. All this means that we are not dependant on the law or ourselves - we're free! BUT, we shouldn't use this freedom for selfish purposes. We need to use it to serve others in love. I think that's such a fantastic and incredible aim for life. As a result, we should shout about Christ from the rooftops! He is the only thing we should boast about - not ourselves and our achievements but JESUS CHRIST WHO DIED FOR US!!!! (That's shouting over the internet) I don't mean go into a street and yell about it, but metaphorically shout in everyday life. Let Christ be the one thing that matters and it will show in everything that you do. I promise.

So. That's a lot to unpack, I'm going to leave you to think about it ;)

Gina X

Stepping Out.

Hi all.

Last Friday, all seven of us at The Tea House, as well as another friend did something I am incredibly proud of. It's something that doesn't come massively naturally to any of us, making it all the more a better reason to do it, stepping out of our comfort zones.

We performed.
On stage.
To the whole school and visitors.

We sang, strummed, tinkled, picked, twiddled and hit all the instruments we knew how to, with everything we had within us, and took part in our school's band event. Us.........a band.....cool right?!

It was something we have been practicing for weeks and weeks, getting all those fine details to a T. It was so much fun doing all the rehearsals, and our friendship grew even deeper because of it. But as we approached the real day, an ever-increasing lump of fear seemed to grow in all our throats - one that can't easily be swallowed. Knowing that we would have to get up on stage and for me, be as vulnerable as it gets in front of everyone - sing.

I'm pretty sure the rest of Jasper and Carnelian (our band name; the beautiful colours described in Revelation to reflect God's throne) checked themselves, as I did, in the run-up to the event. I asked myself, seriously, why am I doing this? (A tip for anyone facing any challenges - always check your motives. It allows the Lord to enter in and move in power!) Well, I was having fun making something I love with my friends - music. I was showing everyone that I wasn't too scared to perform. I was doing one of my favourite things- singing harmonies.

But none of these reasons seemed to cut it for me. The one and only reason that did was this:


Jesus.



HE was the one that gave such life to us all as we put those songs together. HE was the one that gave us the stamina to keep going when so many other bands dropped out. And most of all, HE was the one that I wanted to do it for, to give praise to through performing, to thank him for blessing us with music, with amazing friendship, with the opportunity to share some of our identities with the school.

Without Him, I was nothing. We were nothing.

Just before we headed out on stage, we all prayed together, asking the Lord's spirit to be over us, and for God to shine through us. I felt energised, ready to go ... excited! And we had so much fun playing those two amazing songs to everyone, it sounded our best yet. I loved every second of it.

It felt like I had kicked down a wall by stepping out into something I wasn't entirely comfortable in doing. I'd like to encourage you to do the same. It was so worth it! Momentarily scary, but eternally rewarding.

The two songs we played were 'Faint Not' by Jenny & Tyler (if you haven't already, check out this amazing American couple who make gorgeous music together as a living) and 'Souvenirs' by Switchfoot (all of us' favourite band). They are not light-hearted songs, and have a deeper meaning that resonates with all of us. Here's some snapshots of my favourite parts:

"Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is injury let me pardon
Where there is darkness let the light come, come"

"We quit because it's not an easy fix
And then forget that they are even there
We forget to care"

---

"Here's to the twilight
Here's to the memories
These are my souvenirs
My mental pictures of everything"

"We were so young
We had no idea
That life was just happening"

I can't tell you what I joy it has been to treasure these last few weeks with you, my friends. We'll never forget this. In no particular order....Gina, you led so brilliantly, both instruments - voice and guitar - sounded beautiful. Megan B, I'm so proud of you performing. Your flute playing graced our pieces with utterly blissful delicacy. Kate, you underestimated your ability to play everything perfectly on stage...gorgeous! Abbie, I am amazed you only just learnt bass for this, you sounded like a pro. An absolutely essential asset to the band. Milla, your beautiful way with the piano was mesmerising, especially finishing off 'Faint Not'. Connie, thanks so much for doing drums with us, it sounded fantastic and you helped us keep the beat. Eve, it was so much fun doing harmonies with you, the judges noticed...thanks for adding all that much needed passion to the songs. And lastly, but not leastly Megan D, you were a brilliant and trustworthy techy for us! We would have really struggled without you.

You are all amazing and pride bursts in my heart thinking back to us standing on that lonely stage on a day never to be forgotten....Friday 1 June 2012.
One of my bucket lists ticked off - play in a band.

With lots of love
Sarah

P.S. On a side note - check out Kate's bio! She's finally done it! It's inspirational stuff...

Praising God

Sometimes bad things happen. We can’t see them coming, we don’t know why, we can’t explain them and we can’t predict what effect they will have on our lives. But we can trust that good things will come from them no matter how serious things may seem. 

Paul writes to the Church in Rome (Romans 8:28); “For we know that in all things, Christ works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV) And this is what I believe, that despite the bad of life, good will come. The Message version says: “That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.”

On Bank Holiday Monday I had a car accident which came totally out of the blue for no apparent reason. I can’t explain what happened or why it happened to me or why it left me with the scars it has done. But some very wise and lovely people have reminded me continually of this verse and that God will work good through each aspect of my circumstances. I don’t know what’s coming next or how long it may take me to recover fully but I know that I can praise God despite uncertainty. 

If you’re struggling with difficult circumstances or something bad has happened to you, remember that if you love Jesus he will bring good through it and from it. We are called to his plan and purpose and this is just one more step on the way.

Keep smiling, forget your worries and enjoy the sun!!

Megs

The smell of the lavender bush in my garden mingled with my mother's perfume.
The cool summer breeze, dancing on my skin.
Gentle hands working through my tangled hair.
Being carried by strong arms after falling asleep on a long journey. 
The sound of out of an out of tune violin played by an 8 year old.
The hours spent snuggled up to my sister watching old films.
Pillow fights that lasted until all that was left was feathers and depleted pillow cases. 
The sound of laughter ringing through the house, filling each crevice.
Squeals at 6AM, because it's Christmas day and it's allowed.
The fractured feel of branches and the instability of my balance as I climb trees and wonder how I will get down.
My Dad's smile travelling to his eyes and resting there for a while. 
Being tucked into bed every night, with a kiss and a whispered 'I love you.'

The days of making dens, running, falling, laughing, seeking. 
The days in which I met my saviour, grew to love him and to know him.

And now I am sitting, looking into his eyes as he takes my hand and leads me on.

Never forget that

In a few weeks' time everything I know will simply be a memory. The place that I've called 'home' and  the people that I've called 'family' are going to violently ripped away from me. Put slightly less dramatically, School will be finishing... Forever. And ever. And. Ever. (I lied about the 'less dramatic' part!)

I don't know about you guys, but I love my school. I love the 'quintessential' grounds, the teachers who feel like friends, the atmosphere that just screams 'God is present', but most of all the people who I have gradually come to know as a part of me.

I can't walk around school without remembering a thousand different memories.

This is the library where we decided to smuggle in a picnic one day and where have got to a stage of having 'our' seats. This is the classroom that holds so many memories of GCSE English and too many laughs to count. These are the toilets where we locked all the doors and I fell in the toilet after breaking the lid that I was standing on. This is the dining room where we have sat for hours eating, laughing, praying, foot stomping, shouting, and frequently getting told off for doing so. This is the stage where I met a person I shouldn't have, as well as having an oodle of laughs with the 'Hot Box girls'. This is the art block where 'under pressure' was sung in the last 5 minutes of an exam, we have been a bit 'in the dark', we never get a computer, we didn't get a cookie, but we have done some pretty ridiculous stuff for our grades. This is the Hockey block where we were threatened with a 'sitting plan' every week and crawled on the floor doing gun drills (for CCF, I hasten to add!). This is the bridge we hid under during a 'latin treasure hunt'. These are our 'preferred' toilets which we daily frequent, even when half of us are actually only keeping the other half 'company', which sertinly amuses some people. This is the room where I'm never lonely, we stay up until the wee hours of the morning, we watch endless movies, we strum guitars, we write songs, we occasionally do some work, and we get to share each other's company. This is the house that always has an open door, always warms our hearts, lights our smiles, calms our troubled minds, provides props for our photography, quenches our thirst with endless cups of tea, and can be called none other than 'The Tea House'.

For anyone who thinks several of those memories were ridiculously weird, then you would be excused for thinking so, but I think we've all got to a stage now where we can embrace our insanity. It stems from being in the company of good friends, and my friends are simply wonderful.

As we come to the end of our time together, I want us to remember the laughs, but also the tears. We have all faced troubles in one way or another but with amazingly comforting friends and a glorious God, these times have shaped us to become the (Dare I say?) 'women' of God that we are today.

The constant in our relationships has always been God and although the rest of our lives look utterly terrifying, as long as we have Him, then we will always hold a tiny piece of each other.

Right now, I want to look at these few short weeks ahead and cherish the present. It truly is a gift.

Whatever the future brings I want you all to know that in this moment, I love you. Please never forget that.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

Faith Is How We See...

Gina and I were talking and I explained to her this idea that I'd had about faith. It's a cool sort of irony that faith should be our blindfold, shutting ourself off to a worldy view of life, and it should be how we see, looking through heavenly eyes. Faith is complete reliance on God, dependant that he will lead us where we need to go and never let us down.

Anyway, I had this idea that life is a minefield...living in the world we're always surrounded by dangers, but because we're not of the world, God will lead us around the mines to reach the treasure at the centre. If we didn't have God we'd run straight towards the treasure and get blown to bits! The metaphor is clear: we need to rely on God to get through life and get to the ultimate treasure at the end.

So we decided to write a short story about it from Gods perspective:

I lace my fingers through her hand. She can't see me, yet she can feel My presence. Her timidity falters and a knowing smile breaks through. I give her hand a tender squeeze and her hold tightens. I don't have to look at the ground, though the mines are swarming around us like wasps on a hot day.

I see her swallow in apprehension and flick the hair from her eyes, wide and searching. I begin to imagine her without me, breaking into a sprint, without a backwards glance, eyes locked on the treasure, heart racing, lungs pounding, mind blindly charging forwards, not thinking. I shudder at the thought, sickened as I hear the explosion echo through my imagination. I grip her hand tighter, flooding her with my reassurance and love.

Bending down close to her ear I whisper quietly and gently. In obedience she starts to move, letting my Words and touch guide her. Her steps are tentative at first, her foot arching as she steps out, but as I put my arm securely round her shoulder, she begins to trust. Her steps come quicker as I guide and weave her around the mines. I spin her round and round, her dress billowing in a multitude of colours, the air around her shimmering. She opens her mouth and starts to laugh, the joy flying from her features. As she grips me tighter her laughter grows and I laugh with her, her joy increasing as she releases herself to me.

I delight in her joy and love. I lead her carefully and purposfully through the mines, our movement that of a dance, twirling and spinning and running and jumping! It's a long circuitous route, not as direct as she might have wanted or expected but we arrive breathlessly at the threshold to heaven. I watch as my Son comes out of the darkness around us, stretching out his hands and forming an archway.

My hand never leaves hers as she takes the leap of faith and jumps into his arms, burying her face into his hair.

She's home.

'I am the gate'

And on a slightly random note (you'll get the pun in a minute) there's a really great song that sort of matches this post. It's by Sanctus Real and called These Things Take Time, enjoy!

God bless,

Gina and Abbie x

A Dedication to Good Music

I often find that when words fail but my heart still longs to speak, good music becomes it's voice.
You know that feeling when you hear a good song and just every part of you is singing 'yes!'
And then those other moments when you're listening to a song and its just so completely wrong.
Well from now on, I do not want to be caught listening to the music that unsettles my heart. Even if the tune is catchy, the words do not lift my spirits and feed my soul. There is nothing of God in those songs.

From now on, I am dedicated to finding the songs that sing the song my heart longs to speak. The words that surround me with truth and wash over me with beauty.
Today I liked to share with you a few of my all-time favourite songs. Some are sad, some are soppy, some are bouncy, some are contemplative, and some just make me smile and fill me with an overwhelming sense of contentment.

So, in no particular order...
1. Jenny & Tyler - Faint Not*
2. Switchfoot - In This Life*
3. Taylor Swift - Safe & Sound*
4. Laura Marling - Ghosts
5. Ross Copperman - Lucky Day*
6. Regina Spektor - The Call*
7. Lenka - The Show
8. Sara Bareilles - City*
9. Saticoy - Arethusa*
10. Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Shine*
11. Brooke Fraser - Betty
12. Charlene Soraia - Wherever you will go
13. Colbie Caillat - You Got me*
14. A Fine Frenzy - Whisper*
15. Ingrid Michaelson - You and I*
16. Jon Foreman - In My Arms*
17. Kelly CLarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You
18. Mumford & Sons - The Cave*
19. Newton Faulkner - People Should Smile More*
20. Owl CIty - If My Heart Was a House

I know I haven't linked them all on here, but they are ALL so worth looking up! Youtube, iTunes, whatever you do, DO IT!!

*When making this list is was impossible to choose just ONE good song from some artists. All the ones with stars next to are ones where the whole album, or actually just all their work is INSANE!

Have a blessed day <3

A Guide to Finding Yourself ~ Part 1

This post could also be entitled 'How I'm going to get my life back on track', but I though that 'A Guide to Finding Yourself' sounded much more enchanting and less like a lot of hard work!!
First of all, I will be polite and ask how you are. How are you? Good, I hope, because the sun is shining here, even if its not wherever you are!
Now, despite Milla's best efforts (she was distracting me on Facebook!), I am determined to share this with you today!!
In the process of finding myself, and discovering who God is calling me to be, and calling me to do, there are few things that I'm going to start doing consistently, to help hear God and get things in order.

These may be no help whatsoever to you, but maybe there'll be a few ideas for things that you could do too...


Here goes...
1. Get into the word ~ oftentimes this is something that is literally the most obvious thing to do, but also the hardest. With life getting busier and busier in the run up to exams its so easy to think 'But I don't have time for that!', as I have done for a couple of months now. But I'm discovering that unless I'm drenching myself in the word every day, then nothing else matters, and the likelihood is that I won't survive the exams anyway!

Ephesians 2:10 ~ For we are God's Masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

2. Write things down ~ This bit comes in three parts (as all good messages do!)
          i) Get a notebook and write down what you are learning in bible study times. This makes it much easier to remember what God has said to you in these times, as it is often so easy to forget. Also, it focuses your mind to study the passage more in depth if you know that you're then taking notes.
          ii) Keep a notebook by your bed. My gorgeous friend Sarah showed me this wonderful podcast about how God speaks to us in dreams and its so true. I'm one of those people that has MAJORLY vivid dreams. A few examples... I was a toothbrush, I was a piece of cheese on a mousetrap, I was conducting the ceremony for Voldemort and Harry Potter's wedding, and Megan's mum got decapitated. There are also certain places in my dreams that I recognise, not because I've been there in real life, but because I've been there before in a dream. Often I know if I'm going to have a nightmare, because it will be a new place, so I don't have the security of the 'Familiar'. Maybe I should do a seperate blog post on this!! Anyways, back to the point... write down dreams as soon as you wake up, because God could be speaking to you through them, so you don't want to forget!
          iii) Write a priorities list. I feel like I need to do this and redo this every few months. It's so easy to lose focus of your priorities and what you're really working for, and a priorities list helps you to really reflect on what you are putting at the centre of your life, and what you're focusing on.

I have a slight obsession with notebooks...

3. Make time for things you love. For me, this is hanging out with my stunning friends, taking photos, using my grandma's sewing machine to make things (tutorial coming soon!), reading other wonderful blogs (list coming soon), reading Jane Austen novels etc etc... The more you do things that you love, the more God will lift your spirit through these things.

As the title suggests, there will be another section coming soon, but I don't want to overload you all in one hit! And I haven't got this all sorted yet, either, so we're journeying through this together!
If you want a teaser for Part 2, here it is...
It is nothing to do with Elephants. Or Anchovies.
Leave a comment below if you have any suggestions of things that are helpful in your life!
xo