Getting old!

I haven't posted in a while and as I'm having a rare, well-deserved quiet night in, I thought I'd make the most of it and make a new small post for anyone out there who cares! Haha :)

So I turned 19 on Saturday which felt superrr weird as it's one step closer to not being a teenager anymore! Wahhh :( In some ways I want to stay young forever because I feel like this time in my life is when I should be living life to the full and taking advantage of everything so when I look back I can say these were the best years of my life.. but on the other hand I'm really loving my life since I've finished education. I feel like I've started growing up because of the responsibility that comes with the internship and my new retail job and I like feeling self-dependent! I didn't think I'd feel this way but it's honestly a relief not to have to rely on my parents as much anymore for little things like lunch money haha! (Of course I still live with them so am blessed to have a hot meal cooked for me at least once a day, and this I have no problem with relying on them for!)

Anyway, my birthday was so much fun, I got lots of lovely presents and was spoilt immensely by my parents :) But the best part was just having everyone I love together in one room. Introducing my family to my church family and my church family to my friends was so great and they all instantly got on which gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling hehe! I honestly can't believe how lucky and blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life. Sorry for all the cliches in this post but I just want to shout about how happy I am! 

The first month of the internship at my church has been absolutely flipping mental, with sooo much stuff going on! But it's all paid off and it's been so worth it because we're starting to see such progress in all of our plans for this year. I'm still buzzing off everything God's put on my heart for the year ahead, and I know there's so much more to come from Him that I can't even begin to imagine! I'm really loving working in a church and event planning youth socials and I'm starting to think that maybe God's given me these gifts of passion and organisation for this reason. He's led me to where I am now and it's been pretty good so far so I've just gotta trust Him to take me the rest of the way!


Like usual, I could go on for many more paragraphs but I'm forcing myself to stop now and get some rest :)


Night and God bless, you beautiful people!

My gap year!

So my gap year plans are really starting to come together which I'm super excited about! Some great opportunities have come my way and I can't wait to take advantage of them all! God's got some really cool stuff lined up for me and my church family and I hope we can really make an impact this coming year!

Me and one of my best friends are doing an internship at our church this year. Not only will we be helping running Christian Unions at local schools (including our old one!), we'll be involved in other youth work like a new multi-church youth group we're trying to set up. I think working with young people will be so fun because we pretty much are still kids at heart :)
We'll also be doing assemblies in schools (ahhh!) and other challenging things but I know this will only help us grow in ourselves and our faith.
Our church also has lots of great ideas and plans for doing good in the community but as they're not definite yet I won't jinx it by putting them on here. Although when they do happen I'm sure I'll be writing about them all the time!
This year is gonna be so crazy, not only is there tons of stuff going on so I'm gonna be super busy, but this will be my first year out in the "big wide world". I may not be moving away but I'll still get a taste of what it's like to be an adult with responsibilities and commitments. My usual routine of school is completely gone now but I feel like I'm ready for this new one to begin! It'll take some adjustment but I really can't wait for this year and all it's potential.

As for a job, I'm starting to look for one this week. Although I'd love to spend the whole of the year in the church, I need to be realistic and find a job to support myself and to gain more experience in a work environment (yawnnnnn)

One last thing.. Since September 1st I've been following Soul Survivor's Bible in one year. I won't start preaching about how great the bible is (although it is!), but just to any Christians out there reading this who like me, found the bible very intimidating and didn't know where to begin.. Please try a BIOY plan. The daily reading is completely manageable and I've found myself wanting even more to read each day! It's such a great starting point and doing it with a group of friends or finding a site that has daily blogs (like Soul Survivor) is such great motivation to keep you going. Okay I'm not gonna get carried away because it's only been 5 days and I could very well lose my excitement for it (although I pray I don't) but I've learnt so much more through God's word this past week than I have in years!


It's coming up to 2am now and I'm getting pretty tired. I could probably babble on for a few more paragraphs but I don't want to bore you even more :)


Peace outttttttt

Summer time!

So it turns out I'm not as good at blogging as I was hoping.. haven't posted in months! Oops!
Honestly though I've been super busy this summer so that's the main reason behind my lack of posting.

Firstly in July/early August I was away doing a project in India with my school. A group of 30 of us went to a town called Tirunevelli in south India to work in and help build schools. We also got to experience the culture out there and even did a few touristy type activities like visiting a temple and a group of waterfalls. Overall it was probably the best three weeks of my life. I was completely out of my comfort zone and deeply challenged but I learnt so much about myself and who I want to be. It's a cliche but it really did open my eyes to how some people are living and you can't help but appreciate all that God's blessed you and your family with. Although it did make me question why these innocent people are suffering, it also showed me that I was put in this position to help people in these situations. I know God's called me to help people less fortunate than myself and I was lucky enough to have a taste of that this summer. I'm still not sure on what exact job I want in the future but I know whatever I do it'll be for the benefit of others. It just feels right to use what you have to change other people's lives. The project was a massive success. Everyone had the time of their life and we all became so close from living together 24/7 for three weeks! I think the project is such a great way for young people to do something proactive and good whilst also learning about themselves and what they want in life. Hopefully the trip will keep running each year for our school because I know hundreds of kids could benefit from it like I did!

So when I got back from India, I gave myself about a week to recover (which meant junk food and movie days). Although I didn't get as homesick out there as I thought I would, it was still such a relief to see my family again. I'd missed the familiarity and comfort of home. For the past three weeks since I've been back I've just been seeing my friends as much as possible. Most of them will be leaving for uni within the next month and so we're taking advantage of every second we have together now! In the past few months I've gotten closer with a lot of people and I'm gutted that our friendship will only be like this for a couple more weeks. I'm fortunate enough to have such amazing friends and I know I'll never be this young and free again so I've got to appreciate every minute. The last few of us turned 18 this summer which meant even more going out and painting the town red! I've had the best summer of my life and really really don't want it to end.

As for uni, I've decided this is not the right time for me to go. Firstly, I don't feel ready to leave home, live on my own and be totally independent. Secondly, I'm completely undecided on which course I would want to take and which direction my life's going in. And thirdly, I feel God calling me towards doing good this year, taking my first year out of education for 14 years and really sorting out my plans for the future. He's already used me so much this past year and now He's ready to use me even more. I know He's got great plans for me to help serve Him and help others. Hopefully this year will see quite a few things ticked off my bucket list! I also plan to use this year out as a way to clear my head and really help me decide where I want to go in the future and how I can get there. I think since joining my church a year ago and going to India this summer I've started to realise who I want to be, my main question now is how do I become that person. So I'm giving this year in my life to God. So we can develop our relationship further, so He can use me for good and so He can help me find my identity.

Think that's about all for now folks! Sorry about the essay of a post but a lot's been going on that I wanted to get off my chest!

Laterzzzz

The bucket list!

My bucket list:

• Meet an idol of mine 
• Visit Harry Potter world
• Visit Laguna Beach
• Work abroad
• Go on a road trip around America
• Give back to my parents
• Win someone to Jesus
• Start a blog
• Kiss in the rain
• Fall in love
• Have my dream wedding and honeymoon
• Have children
• Be confident in my own skin
• Help a stranger
• Change a child's life
• Stay up all night, watching the sun set and rise
• Have a BBQ on a beach
• Visit Christian pilgrimage sites
• Go to a yoga retreat
• Have a girly holiday
• Save an animal
• Travel the world
• Learn an instrument
• Find a sport I enjoy (and am good at!)
• Get a head-to-toe makeover
• Go on a spontaneous, completely unplanned trip
• Try vegetarianism
• Help in a social cause
• Contribute to charity
• Work within a church
• Thank someone who wouldn't expect it
• Plant a time capsule and open it in 10 years
• Live without technology for a month
• Make a scrapbook
• Keep a diary for a year
• Design and create my perfect room
• Purposely face a fear and overcome it
• Attend a Bible course
• Attend a midnight premiere
• Join a choir
• Apologize to someone about the past
• Forgive someone about the past
• Find my spiritual talent and use it
• Find my passion and get a job involving it
• Be a mentor 

Welcome!

Last night at 3am when I couldn't sleep, I needed something to pass the time and so started my own bucket list. I didn't get very far into it before I decided one of the items should be to make a blog and so here I am!

I've named this blog after a favourite song of mine; My Heart Is Overwhelmed by Hillsong. This song means a lot to me personally because the lyrics say everything I feel in my heart. It's a Christian song that focuses on everything our Lord has done for us and all that we have because of Him. I'd love for people to read this blog and realise that society's stereotypes of Christians aren't always right. Yes, I'm a Christian, but that doesn't mean I'm some bible bashing nutcase!

I'm still not 100% sure what the purpose of this blog is and what it will become in time but hopefully it will be somewhere I can be honest with myself and others. I don't really mind whether people read it or not, but if they do I just hope they can relate to what I say in some way.

So here it is.. the honest blog of your average teenage girl during a turning point in life, not knowing exactly where she's heading but laying her trust in God.