Aberystwyth Comes to an End...

These past three years have been amazing and have meant so much to me... Let's take a walk through my time at Uni.

First Year

First year brought the joy of a new place, new people and lots of excitement...

'Anti-Halloween Party' (for scaredy-cats)

The St.Mikes' Ball

CU House Party

Whilst I really enjoyed moving to Aber, didn't find moving away from home too hard, and thoroughly enjoyed making new friends and having a new adventure, November 2009 saw my family break up. 

After a difficult Christmas I was thrown into depression. All I can say is a massive thank you to everyone that stuck with me and showed me such amazing love and support over the year! Especially to the amazing Hannah Sweeney... 

and my fantastic boyfriend, Tom Lott...

Thankfully, through His love and grace, God broke my depression in June 2009!

Second Year

Second year was full of change and the joys of cracking down a little bit more with work and growing closer to different people... now for the pictures!

Isaac, Toby, Laura and Me

Me and Laura

Phil, Ben, and Mark - Ali's birthday celebration

Laura and I go to Marseilles

Harry, Dan and Tom playing FIFA

Josh, Tom, Rachel and I welcome the summer with a walk along the sea-front

Third Year

So, third year saw me become a bit more of a hermit :P  I really put a considerable more amount of time and effort into doing my work, but I have had so much fun! I've learnt so much and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with such amazing friends! So, here comes another year in photos...

Katie

Isaac eating cake off the floor!

Amy and Amy

Laughter in the house with Kirsty, Jo and Chris

Surprise!! Kirsty's 21st

Isaac and Toby in the SUN!

Me and Tom on my 21st

J-Wo!

 

So now all that is left to do is to say thank you to all the amazing people that have made my time at Aber what it has been. 

Thank you so much to all my friends for providing so much fun and laughter over the past three years! It's been a joy :)

And a massive thank you to St.Mikes (both staff and the congregation) for growing with me and encouraging me in my walk with God and being a support in times of hardship. 

Bye bye Aberystwyth... 

Pintrest

Several of my housemates have had a 'Pintrest' for a while but I figured that as I already have a blog, am on Facebook, and have a Twitter account that I shouldn't really get another 'page'. 

I gave in

I was sat in the lounge the other day and Sarah was showing us her Pintrest page which she has used to 'pin' wedding ideas on. I then looked through Kirsty's and decided that I did want one but that I'd only use it a little and would definitely NOT put any wedding things on...

I gave in... although, not too badly! I am resisting, its just some people's 'Pins' are so pretty!! :) 

Here is my latest 'Pin':

I just though it was so beautiful... and of course so true! Just to clarify... it is a reference to God's love for us... see verses such as Hosea 2:19, Deuteronomy 4:24, and so many more!

As you can see though, I haven't gone crazy on 'pinning' wedding things, with only 3 vaguely related 'pins'... Which is good, especially as a girl! It has been really funny looking at friend's pages and noting just how many have a 'board' dedicated to weddings... and so many are single! Ah, girls! :)

I've had much more fun looking at ideas for a home! :) 

Please, take a look at my 'pintrest' page :) 

Search me and know me

I read this last night and was just struck by the beauty of it.


O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139 ESV)

A prayerful person's heart...

'[A prayerful person's] heart is ever lifted up to God at all times and in all places. In this [they are] never hindered, much less interrupted, by any person or thing... [Their] heart is ever with the Lord. Whether [they] lie down or rise up, God is in all [their] thoughts; [they walk] with God continually.'
   - John Welsey

This is such a challenge. A beautiful challenge. And it is something I've desired for such a long time.

I want to be someone who is consistently in a place of prayer. Someone who doesn't mind stopping and praying for someone crying on the train, someone who prays for those around her continually. Sometimes prayer can feel like such a burden when I know I have to pray for someone, but when I finally pray I feel like I could pray for hours. I just need to place my heart in such a place.

I want my heart to be 'ever with the Lord'. It would be so amazing. To have God in my heart and mind and soul continuously would result in me having such a close relationship with Him. A relationship I'd do anything for - however hard that may be to say... and actually do.

The repercussions of such a heart and place of prayer would be wholesome and pure. It would be harder for me to sin. When I'd sin, I'd immediately repent and ask for forgiveness. In receiving that forgiveness my heart would be so full of God's grace. This would lead to me being more gracious and patient with those around me. Which would lead to a clear pouring of God's love on those around me. Which would, I'd hope and have seen, lead people to be more loving and gracious to those around them.

This cycle would lead to a deeper understanding of God's amazing grace and love and would lead to a deeper relationship with Him.

Please pray that I will have a prayerful person's heart and that this would lead to growth in my relationship with Him.

And please challenge me to pray for you, even if you just bump into me in the street.

Christ-Centred Worship

'Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord being tuned, not to each other, but to one standard to which each one must bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship' - A.W.Tozer

How beautiful is that! When we worship together, focussing on Christ, we are united and we sing and pray as one. This seems to make sense of the idea that we will all worship in one voice in Heaven - the voice of that focussed on Christ.

This notion of true Christ-centred worship is just beautiful. The worship that focusses on Christ's awesome power rather than our problems or even our "awesomeness" in pride. How amazing is it to be able to sit back and think that all that matters in life, ALL that matters, is Christ and His person; what He has done for us; His love for us. In the end of the day it doesn't matter if I leave uni with a first or a third, ALL that matter is Christ. It doesn't matter if I find a job, ALL that matters is Christ. It doesn't matter whether I ever get married or have children, ALL that matters is Christ. How freeing is that!!

I'm not at all saying its easy if stuff doesn't happen in our lives, but if we re-align our focus to Christ, all that we get is blessing and in the end of the day, we have to worship. We're drawn to worship Him because He truly is worthy of it.

'HE is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by HIM all things were created, in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through HIM and for HIM. And HE is before all things, and in HIM all things hold together. And HE is the head of the body, the church. HE is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything HE might be pre-eminent. For in HIM all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through HIM to reconcile to HIMself all things, whether on earth or in Heaven, making peace by the blood of HIS cross.
And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, HE has now reconciled in HIS body of flesh by HIS death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before HIM...'
 - Colossians 1:15-23

How amazing is it when we focus on Christ and His glory!

Please also take a look at my boyfriend, Tom's, blog :)

Walking with God

Over the last week it's been on the back of my mind that I am not as close to God as I used to be.

I don't know if this an age thing, and in growing up I have become less 'emotion based' and so I don't get the 'bubbly feelings' any more. Or maybe I'm just in a time where I don't 'need' God so obviously. Of course, I always need Him, but throughout my first year at Aber I suffered from depression and my family was going through a really tough time, in this year I felt God really closely. I guess life in general is much better than it was and I'm no longer suffering from depression, maybe then I don't need so much obvious support and closeness to keep me going.

I've just found it difficult remembering walking with Him and being close to Him, being confident of who I was in Him and in His love for me. I know things are always greener on the other side, and I'm not saying it was like this all the time, but I just miss it.

I remember walking around Aber, on the sea front or up Constitution Hill and feeling God there, right next to me. I used to feel Him in my room with me and I'd regularly worship at the top of my lungs in my room and spend hours with Him reading my Bible.

I'm currently in the process of reading three books: 1. Growing in Christ, 2. Knowing God, 3. Disciplines of a Godly Woman. They have already taught me quite a bit. I've finished the first section of Growing in Christ and it was really helpful at looking at the basics of the Christian faith, in a lot of detail. Packer goes through the Apostle's Creed bit by bit and explains it, taking each section back to Christ's faithfulness and love for us. Knowing God looks at more practical ways of getting to really know God and Disciplines of a Godly Woman (which I've only just really started) looks at spiritual discipline that will help us grow.

While all these books focus on the Gospel and God's greatness and are really very great, I've finding it hard to understand the Gospel in its fullness again, I just don't know how. I've been working my way through John's gospel which has been really helpful, but again I'm left with the same issue. - It feels awkward.

I feel really very awkward when I feel like God may be drawing closer, and so I push away. I don't want to, its just a reaction. I find the same thing when I pray with people or talk with people about God, I just feel like 'whoa this is so cheesy and cringe worthy'.

I do know that God is good, and I know He is faithful, but I want to be able to walk with Him again and not feel awkward, not feel cheesy and not feel weird. He is a good God and I know that in His time He will bring me back into His arms.

Freshers Flood

Well, last week was rather crazy - the freshers arrived!

Aber is again considerably busier than it has been for months and it is impossible to find a decent parking space! I've now gotten into the habit of when I get a parking space near the house, I don't use my car for a few days so that I can keep the spot - makes no sense really as I'm not benefiting from the parking space as I'm not using my car from it... but I guess it's there in emergencies!

I've been really good this term (so far)! I have only driven up the hills once and that was to help take things up for Fresher's Fayre! :) That makes a massive difference to last year! Oh, and it isn't just because I haven't been going up the hill because I have! :) I've walked up it loads in the last few weeks - more than I did in the whole of last year probably!

Having the freshers arriving also meant lots of CU/Church events... freshers' week was very busy! I didn't get involved as much as I would have liked though (I slept through prayer meeting and so didn't get to sign up to things - but I did ask to be on things any way :) )... We had a lot of freshers round at our house after the events though so we've definitely gotten to know people which is great :)

In fact, after CU on Friday Malcolm, Laura, Kirsty and I came home with a group of freshers (8/10 of them) and had just started playing a game when Isaac and folk came in with nearly everyone else! It was insane! We didn't even count how many there were but there were more than enough for an EPIC game of Articulate... we had 6/7 groups of 5-6 people... it was crazy! But fun :)

Sunday lunches have also been a bit crazy... Fresher's Sunday we invited back a group of people and I ended up making roast dinner for 18 people (Thank you Jesus for multiplying food! <- He's good at that!) and then last Sunday we made dinner for 20 people! 38 people in a week can't be bad! I was quite impressed if I say so myself, I've never really been amazingly skilled at the cooking front but people seemed to really like it (in fact, some were commenting to others about how good it was) :D

I was going to title this blog post 'back to routine', but I haven't really yet settled into a routine... this week is a seminar-less week and I have been given LOADS of shifts at work so it's been a bit crazy and definitely not standard routine...

Also, a quite add... thank you ever so much to Rachel from Dreaming of the Country for giving me a blog award :) And a very big welcome if you've found me through her post! :)

Mr and Mrs Bright

Another summer month, another wedding...

The 20th August saw another two of my friends get married. It was such a wonderful weekend!

Here are some photos from the wedding day...

I'm looking forward to going back in September and spending some time with them both :) They're going to be living in the flat above my boyfriend :)

They're wonderful individuals and are a wonderful couple. I'm sure God will bless and use them both immensely... to the happy couple! :)

The Shack

I know writing a post about The Shack now seems a little outdated but today I finished reading it.

I started reading The Shack nearly a year ago but put it down when uni reading became more of a priority, I picked it up today and finished it.

This book is such an emotional roller-coaster... and the emotion it brings is wonderful. I really like a book that brings me in and The Shack certainly achieves that.

The story is beautiful.

While it is beautiful and emotive and a wonderful piece of written work, sadly it has had a lot of controversy around it.

After The Shack was published it received an immediate response from the Christian community praising how amazing the book was and how it would be an amazing tool for evangelism. In fact, the cover of the book quotes "This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress did for his. It's that good!".

However, after the immidiate hype came a somewhat longer lasting criticism of the book as theologically incorrect. Some of the issues include the portrayal of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Another is that of the 'logistics' of forgiveness.

Reading this book, I must admit that, as the writer states will probably occur, I am left with a greater desire for close relationship with God. Despite possible theological inaccuracies.

I think there are a couple of important things to remember when reading The Shack;

1. It was written by a non-Christian as a fictional book... he is not a theologian.

2. We should always question what we read. There are many books written which we, the Christian community, will priase simply because it is written by Wayne Grudem, John Piper, John Stott etc. We still need to question what we read and come to conclusions for our selves. This works in two ways. Firstly, we engage in what we are reading greater and therefore take away more. Secondly, we are not naive when discussing 'hot topics' such as the theological correctness of The Shack; I have had too many conversations about The Shack with people criticising it without having read it themselves.

The issue of the portrayal of God the Father ('Papa') in The Shack firstly as a woman I know has caused many to react. I would like to state however that God is outside gender. Our God is greater than our imagination and our understanding. Also, in The Shack, 'Papa' later appears as a man, a Father, He explains that Mack's issues with his father led to his needing to see God as outside of gender, and approach Him first as a big black woman to break down his stereotypes and his problems with "fathers". This, I believe, reveals God greatly! God reveals Himself understanding of our needs and difficulties, and in a way best restoring our relationship with Him.

How beautiful is that?!

I would urge anyone and everyone to read The Shack. It will bring you to tears, make you laugh, and leave you with a greater desire to know God personally. I have never read such a beautiful and challenging story... other than that of Jesus of course...

Blessings x

The Sweeney Wedding

Last weekend saw the wedding of two of the most wonderful people I know.. Hannah Purnell and Alistair Sweeney.

The wedding was beautiful!

It was such a moving wedding. I found it so hard not to cry all the way through!

It was really moving and the love they have for each other and God was so clear throughout the whole service. 

Ali's speech at the reception was so moving! I nearly cried!

(the lego was Ali's one request)

After the honeymoon the Sweeneys will be off to Leicester to start a church with a church plant from their current church in Derby. I know that God will use them both greatly. They are a wonderful and wonderfully blessed couple.

I am so happy for them :)

Les Miserables

Last Wednesday was so much fun!

So, I'd been walking around London on my own after work and stuff in the first week and saw loads of people having fun with their friends and I just really wanted to be with people I knew! Wednesday was a real treat.

A group of people from uni came to London to see Les Mis :)

We went for dinner, then headed to the theatre. It was so much fun! On arriving at the restaurant I didn't stop talking for ages!

Here are some pictures of us at the restaurant:

After enjoying our food we headed off to the tubbeeee....

And to the theatre...

It was a really good production! I hadn't seen it before so it was really exciting! :)

I definitely recommend it to anyone!