Penguins and Joy... :)

I've just finished reading Girl Online On Tour. It's taken less than a day to finish and I loved every second of it. I read a post on Facebook yesterday afternoon, let me see if I can find it for you...

I immediately felt the urge to dig out the book, which I'd put under my bed until I had more time, and started to read. Instantly that feeling of being absorbed in a book came running back to me. I hadn't realised quite how much I'd missed it.  Starting the internship I knew I'd get books to read. What I didn't quite appreciate is how exhausting I would find the content. I began to feel that I'd fallen out of love with reading.  I was so wrong. Choosing to read, choosing to take time out, choosing to do something for me. None of that comes naturally to me. I'm one of those "can't-say-'no'-to-requests-for-help" kinda people. Do I feel guilty for self-indulging when I still need to do so much in preparation for this weekend? Not really. Do I wish I'd spent my time more wisely? I don't think so. Truth is, taking some time out to do what I wanted gave me a big reminder of what I love doing. I love reading, I love writing, I love processing, I love creativity. I thrive from creativity. Perhaps that's what I've been missing recently. It's a crucial element of my life that I cut out in an attempt to make room for what needed to be done when actually I just did the opposite. A big boost for me these past few weeks has been getting together with a couple of close friends to plan some amazing birthday surprises for one of our mutual close friends. Hours spent on Pinterest, Planning, Shopping, Creating. I've been in my element. Someone once told me that 'you can't truly look after others continually unless you look after yourself'. It's true. And sometimes you can mix them together. The birthday surprises helped me to regain a passion for creativity whilst helping a friend to feel loved and appreciated! It would seem that true happiness, true joy, comes from a place where you know you're loved and you love yourself. I know I'm loved by the One. I'm talking the 'one true love' that you think only happens in movies. The One that gives life to your body, the One that loves you no matter what, the One who's only aim is to save you. The One that you can't stop talking about even when you don't realise you're doing it. We laughed together this Summer. For 2 hours. I literally didn't stop, neither did He. And in that moment I knew that's where I wanted to be. In that moment I took it all in, to remember when times are more difficult. To remember when we're crying, to remember when I'm stressed. You see, He doesn't get stressed, but He understands it. He doesn't hold a grudge, but He waits patiently when I do. He doesn't ever leave my side, He doesn't ever stop protecting me, but He gives me space. He knows me better than I know myself. I think I want joy to become my favourite emotion. All too often we can fall into a series of feeling sad and receiving some form of love in that sad place and then we feel a little bit better. Bare with me, I'm not too sure where this is going either. At least we got to hear the words 'I love you' even if we did hit rock bottom first. But truly, truly, truly, is that where I want to be? No. I'm so happy to lift people up, to help them out, to hold their hand. For me, I'm a stage where I'm striving for joy. Truth is, it's been there all along, I've just got to let it show. I saw a video on Facebook of a penguin being tickled and everyone knew for sure that it gave Cookie, the name of the penguin, a moment of joy. I'm a little obsessed with penguins. They make me smile. And here's how to make one of these little fellas happy...

In summary, I want to be more like this penguin. Show my happiness, laugh out loud, and release the chains. Laughter is the best medicine, so I've been told. "Free as a bird on the wind,  Love cannot be tamed, You shattered every chain, Let our praises run wild and free, The lionheart is alive in me, Let our freedom and joy begin, With You we're dancing upon our chains, With You we're soaring on eagles wings." In case you were wondering who I'd fallen in love with... His name is Jesus.

What's So Amazing About Grace?

What's So Amazing About Grace?

Book by Phillip Yancey.

What's so amazing about grace? Everything. 

Small confession: I still haven't quite finished the book.

When I first began reading I found I couldn't get beyond the 7th chapter. I love to read and do so regularly, but for some reason I couldn't get into this book. One Saturday afternoon I was discussing this with the pastor of the church I intern for, who suggested I prayed about what it was that was holding me back. As soon as I began praying, God highlighted the word "forgiveness" to me over 5 times on the next page. So I prayed a little more. (I'm not one to pray for excessive amounts of time). A name was highlighted to me, representing a friendship I have that I really struggle with regarding forgiveness and grace. As a result of this, I have begun intentionally working on this friendship to overcome the struggle whilst growing as a person. 

What was next highlighted to me was very small. I had gotten into the habit of reading at night, and falling asleep mid-sentence, waking up to find my phone in my hand with the Kindle app still open. I always found my eyes getting tired, so I downloaded the audio book.

During listening to the next few chapters God highlighted another of my characteristics which struggles with grace: my passion for fairness and justice. Ever since I could talk and play with friends I have always strived to be 'fair'. If we were taking something in turns I would ensure everyone got their own turn, and be hurt when others didn't ensure I got my fair turn. My mum has told me so many stories of moments like this. So, I struggle with the idea that grace is totally unfair. Yet totally fair. As I read (or listen!) more I am developing this thought; realising that the grace I have received by Christ's death on the cross is totally unfair and totally undeserved; I sin every single day: I will continue to sin. Yet God still longs to spend time with me. To be with His daughter. He loves me eternally and doesn't hold grudges. The idea of myself treating a human, any human, in the same way is beside me. But it's warming to me.

I have come to realise that the entire Gospel would not be the same without grace. Grace is amazing and grace is everything. From graces comes love and from love comes grace. It's a never-ending and beautiful cycle. 

At the moment the majority of my Facebook newsfeed is filled with Christian posts. I have begun viewing these with new eyes. Posts that are about grace stand out so much more. These are ones that are more out of context and, there, counter-grace - these I am able to filter, to pray over and to find out where I stand.

Grace is beautiful, unfair, undeserved, hard, rewarding. Grace doesn't keep track of wrongdoing. Grace is amazing.

What's so amazing about grace? Everything.

Worship Mash Up

My next post was going to be a set list of worship songs that I felt led to writing down and referencing. I meditated in the presence of God and felt a wave of peace over me with songs playing in my heart. I went to find this list with my bible notes today and it's not to be seen. After further thought and silent prayer I feel I am not meant to share that with you, for now anyway. Instead I've got something a little more creative. I was scrolling through Facebook to find out what my friends had been up to and I stumbled across a mash up, from 'Us - The Duo', of 2014 hits. This got me wondering if there were any worship mash ups out there. To my surprise there are loads. I mean LOADS. The first one that I would like to share with you is a worship medley posted by Terry McCaskill. Himself, his brother and their niece  Worship Medley!

*I do not own any of the content I am sharing* The next one was a medley that I put together with three friends: Emma, Beth and Sarah. Emma and myself chose the songs and worked out an order for them to work acoustically. We ran out of time over our weekend away to record our own sound - maybe one day! So Beth, Sarah and myself mashed together Rend Collective's tracks and put some videos over the top - showing joy, joy and more joy. Rend Mash Up:

Video copyright - AW + Friends. Music copyright - relevant Rend associates. Have you ever tried to mash up two or more songs? How did it go?

It's a personal thing...

As part of my intern year I am being given a variety of podcasts to watch and books to read. I completed watching my first podcast this morning. The title of the message was 'Personal Pilgrimage'. My initial reaction to the title, coupled with being from 1985 when video quality was questionable, was that of 'oh dear, what have I gotten myself into?' Little did I know that from the message would come notes, thoughts and a song which would shape my life in some way. The preacher, John Wimber, has a very interesting testimony to tell. In brief, he grew up with little or no connection to the church whatsoever. One evening he found God when he prayed out to Him about a situation with his wife, and God responded instantly. This planted a seed for John that God was real and wanted to work in John's life to make it a better place to live. John speaks about various incidents that happen as a result of finding Jesus away from the church. He doesn't know about the Bible, he doesn't know why people speak the way they do at church, he didn't even know that when he asked God for help that it was called 'prayer'. The most intriguing part of his testimony, for me, is that he found God on his own. It was a personal thing straight away. So often kids are brought up in churches learning about Jesus, about God, being talked at about Noah and his arc, Jonah and his whale (or 'big fish'), Adam and Eve. But they aren't brought up knowing about GRACE, about God's personal relationship with them. They are told that they are unique but they're not told that their relationship with God is unique also. These are quite sweeping statements, I admit. I have visited churches where it is quite the opposite. Where small children are hearing messages from God that are for their friends. We speak so much about having a child-like faith, yet lots of churches fail to fuel that faith in children.  I speak from the experience of having called myself a 'Christian' my entire life. When I was 8 or 9 I found the Lord's prayer in an old book and I learnt it off by heart. When I was 11 I 'prayed the prayer' to give my life to Jesus. I think I always knew that there was something more but I was always quite happy to stay in my little safe Christian bubble. When I was 15 I got baptised. My public declaration of my love for Jesus, God, Father, Son. At this time in my life I was hearing messages from God and sharing them at my youth group. I was starting to develop a prophecy gift which God has blessed me with. I was using all of these skills and talents that God had given me to bless others but avoiding letting God speak to me through these gifts. In the past few years I have been seeing pictures in my mind during worship. The type that suddenly appear and disappear just as quickly, ones which I trust are from God but until I test them out I can never be sure. More recently, however, I have received a picture and then felt a tugging sense of 'this one is for you'. I cannot describe the way I feel in that moment. So I have been writing these down on a notes app in my phone and not doing anything with them. I have also started to write down my dreams. For a few years I have listened to a few of my mum's dreams and been able to interpret what it could mean. As I seek to deepen my relationship with God I have been trying to use this gift/skill on my own dreams, for my own benefit. God blessed me with a gift to bless myself and not only others. I have found that God really does want to speak to me too. One of the things I noticed as I watched and listened to John Wimber was at the moments where I paused the video to give into a distraction, I forgot all about the amazing message I had been hearing. I remembered that I needed to get back to the video to finish watching it but it was only when I clicked play that I got back into the swing of listening and remembering that God was talking to me in an amazing way. I think our relationship with God can be a bit like this. When we get out of the habit of working on that relationship (in this case, getting distracted from watching the video) we forget how amazing it is to be in a relationship with God and we start to view it as a chore which is very time-consuming. However, when we get back into the swing of things we realise just what we had forgotten we'd been missing out on (having an amazing, awesome, refreshing, positively challenging time with God). I have always viewed prayer, when I'm not doing it, as something that can go on for so long and be a bit of a bore. Even though I knew and had experienced countless times that, in reality, prayer is so beneficial, so refreshing, so real. God connects to us on a deeper level when we ask Him to because He's there waiting for us to make that decision ourselves. Our free will is such a precious thing that God has given us because it enables Christianity to be a relationship with God rather than a forced cult. When you need to fill a cup with sand, ping pong balls and marbles there is a specific order that you must do it in. If you were to pour in the sand or the marbles first then the ping pong balls would not fit. And there's always room after the pingpong, balls, sand, for a few beers with friends!

It's the same with God. We must first fill our hearts with Him, then other people, and then things. That way there is always space for God in your heart. He's the best help you can get in any situation.

PODCAST BY JOHN WIMBER:

My First Week as an Intern

Okay, I'm not too sure how to describe how I feel about this week, but it's definitely positive! I saw a post recently which gives names and explanations to emotions that you didn't know had a name. But these were all negative so that'll be no help for me this week. As it was a bank holiday this Monday, I started on Tuesday. I had a fairly busy day with a LOT of information to write down and digest over the next few days. I've had fun this week getting to know different aspects of the organisation and I'm amazed at how many things run on top of the standard 'Sunday Morning Gathering'. God's definitely been challenging me with some choices already, one of which I was lost for how to do even though I knew the right decision and wanted to go for it. And lo and behold a couple of days ago He handed an answer to me on a plate. God is good!
Today I've been in the office preparing a few things for Sunday morning, networking with some people within the church and looking at some personal discipleship. I'm about 10 minutes into a video entitled 'John Wimber Signs Wonders1985 1/12 (Personal Pilgrimage)". It's on YouTube if you'd like to have a listen. Already some thing that has been on my heart recently is cropping up in the video. The difference between "Christians" and those who have a relationship with God. In the next few weeks I hope to have gotten my head around some of the challenges and questions I'm sure this video will present and I plan on writing a bit of a post about what I've learnt from it and what I've found interesting. A quote from the video that is already ringing in my head is that the 'study of scripture' should directly 'affect our behaviour' otherwise it was pointless study. This is quite the sweeping statement to make but it has a very valid point that when we read the scripture our hearts long for things that God longs for and this should, in theory, change our behaviour in some way.

A question to ask yourself as much as possible over the weekend: What would Jesus do? And if you don't know then look it up, the Bible is there for you to use in times of uncertainty as well as every day life.

Stolen Soul is LIVE

Stolen Soul is live!

Please give it a watch it if you can spare a couple of minutes; it's such an important topic that is too often avoided in conversation.

As part of my A level in Media Studies last year we were asked to make a video. I chose to make a short film. We were also asked to write an essay answering a question that we set ourselves. I chose to answer:
How has the representation of the definition of slavery changed in the last decade and how has the media facilitated this, specifically looking at "Taken" starring Liam Neeson (2008), Channel 4's "Captive: The Sex Slave Girl" (2012), and the UK Home Office's "Modern Slavery Ad Campaign" (2014)"?
If you would like to read the 1800 word essay, let me know. It's a difficult read but has some interesting points which I started to explore.

So, yeah, please share the video with your friends!

New Beginnings

Afternoon! Some of you may know that I'll be starting an internship with a local church this year. The church is not one that I am currently a member at but one which I will be working with for a year to gain experience within a church and work on my relationship with God at the same time.  This year has been a busy one for me and a crazy journey with God. I sung true the words 'Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me, take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Saviour'. And God certainly gave me so many opportunities this year to put my trust in Him. It's been so exciting! And it's far from over.  One thing that I hope to write about soon is Fortify. An event God called myself and 3 friends to put together with the help of many for which we are so grateful. The youth and adults that attended this event have had such close experiences with God that many of their lives have been changed! Our God is an awesome God!  From now on I should be posting a little more often. As part of my intern year I will be watching podcasts and reading books. Both of which I will be reviewing. So in addition to some life-style posts I'll be writing a bit about the inspiring things I've been reading and watching. Today I went out to choose a diary and journal which mum and dad kindly bought me as a 'welcome to work' present. I was very excited to write my first few meetings into the diary and I'm looking forward to writing about my first day on Tuesday.  My first day at my internship also coincides with the day I'm planning to release my videos about Human Trafficking onto YouTube. Unfortunately I will only be able to post one of the videos because the other video has too many kids in whom I do not have permission from their parents to release to the public. However, the video I am releasing is still one to get excited about. It's a very deep video with an important message; it's addressing an issue I feel Christians and non-Christians alike should be working to reduce. That's all for now, See ya soon and God bless, Amy My new diary and journal... :)

Immigrant - a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country?

The desperation is real.  They're not an "issue" to be solved  but a people to be helped.  I cannot even think  about the one that died  without realising  'Maybe I saw him/her.  Maybe I even have  a picture of them'  When I visited the migrant camp  in Calais with my mum  we were close to tears.  We could feel the fear  that swept through the camp.  Thousands and thousands of  people  sleeping in tents  and 'shelters'  made of bin bags.  It's all they have.  For a lot of people,  it's better  than where they used to be.  They want the best life,  not for themselves,  but for their families.  I'm sure not one of you  reading this  would sit there and say  you wouldn't risk  your life  saving the one(s) you love  the only way you know how. The truth is: to them  this is the only way.  They hear stories  of Europe the green grass  on the other side  and they want some of that,  who can blame them  when a lot of us want it  so bad that we  wouldn't  give  it  up. In an ideal world,  we'd realise what we have  is a lot more than  what we need.  If we cut back on  big houses  and  expensive belongings  and saw that we CAN  live on less and  still be happy  then we could help  those that need the  necessities. 
One way that I'm doing this is with a group of friends from my church. We're going out to Mexico to build a home for a family without a house. We're going to be living on the bare minimum for the week whilst we build the foundation to the roof and hand over the keys on the last day. We'll get to play with the local children and really see what pure joy they get out of acts of love.   I realised recently that many people base their happiness on the temporary - a new car, a new phone, a Starbucks on the way to school/work. In essence, this is basing your happiness on money.  These immigrants, human beings with feelings, don't base their happiness on the latest IOS update with new emojis, they are happy because they are loved and they love.  The situation I witnessed was terrible. I wanted to give so much - food, water, a fresh change of clothes. Sure, they might've loved that, but the pill of burnt clothes tells me that there are things they need more. Warmth. Shelter. Safety. Maslow's hierarchy of needs says: On a most basic level humans need food, water, sleep. 100 or so of the women and children get two meals a day. The rest of them have to fend for themselves. Having already travelled thousands of miles they don't have money to throw away on coffee and meals out. They need to source basic rations. Yes, the French have given them a clean water supply. The next level up says that they need safety and shelter. It depends what you define as a shelter as to whether this one is fulfilled. But I can tell you right now that they are not safe. Traffickers have spotted an easy prey. Every night is a gamble as to whether they wake up in the same state they were in the day before, or worse, never better.  Disease will spread like wildfire through this camp. If you can't empathise with the adults then at least know in your hearts that the children had no choice too. The child I saw stood half in the straw hut his guardian had built, showing an element of fear and of hope at the sight of our modern car and camera. Were we there to help? Were we there to take away their decency?  I couldn't help then, but I can help now.  Please, just think before you next post about how frustrating operation stack is. Every time I get caught in it. Break, clutch, break, clutch. It hurts my knees. My knees aren't strong and they certainly don't like driving through traffic. But I don't think about that. I think about the poor mother or brother or sister or son that died, risking his/her life to help the ones they loved and themselves. It's not a crime to want the best for yourself either.  Think first, you have a car and a destination. They have neither.
Written after reading this article: ITV - Immigrant dies as 1,500 try to enter channel tunnel.
Matthew 25:31-46 Luke 3:11

A little Disney always helps...

Of course Disney isn't my number one priority in life but helping to encourage and empower people comes high on my list. What better way to do this than with God and Disney?! Power couple right there.  The Bible tells us to become like children (see Matthew 18:3) and one sure way of doing this is with a sprinkle of Disney. So in true child-heart fashion, here are a few quotes for you. Some are not entirely Disney, but most are.

"Life doesn't give us purpose. We give life purpose." - The Flash (DC Universe) What does God say to purpose in our lives? Proverbs 16:9 hits the nail on the head with the fact that 'the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps'. The Lord gives a purpose to those steps. Recently, in a worship service, Steffany Gretzinger exclaimed "you are most yourself when you are wrapped up in your purpose and not your position". We cannot forget Jeremiah 29:11, one of my favourite verses, because God knows the plans He has for us 'plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'.

"I'm ready! I'm ready! I'm ready!" - Spongebob Squarepants. This can always be our cry in response to the next place in life that God is calling us to. We need to remember that these two words are spoken to us over 80 times in the Bible: FEAR NOT.

"Some people are worth melting for" - Olaf (Frozen). l.o.v.e. Love. To me, this is the most important thing about being a Christian. It was through love that we have received grace when Jesus died on the cross. He would certainly say you are worth melting for.

"The things that make me different are the things that make me" - Winnie the Pooh. You are unique, you are different. Through God you are not the same as anyone else, you are even different from the person you used to be before you knew God. That's a good thing. We were all made in God's image (Genesis 1:27) and we were all made to be different.

"I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then" - Alice (Alice in Wonderland).

Like in the last quote, we are reminded that we are not the same as we used to be. Because of this we can be free. The lyrics that came to my head were ones that I heard at a Christian Youth Equipping Day in Watford not that long ago. "Oh no, nothing's gonna hold me back. No, nothing's gonna hold me back. No, nothing's gonna hold me back" - sung by Tom Smith. Some other encouraging lyrics that I'm reminded of are:

"I am chosen, I am free, I am living for eternity, free now forever. You washed me sin and shame away, the slate is clean, a brand new day, I'm yours now forever." - Tim Hughes (Holding Nothing Back), and "take the shackles off my feet so I can dance, I just wanna praise you, I just wanna praise you. You broke my chains" - Mary Mary (Shackles).

Alice felt lonely and isolated in an entirely new world which she wasn't used to and didn't fit into. The glorious truth of God's world is that everyone belongs there, no matter who they are today and who they were yesterday.

These are just a few of my interpretations. Below is the entire list of the 50 quotes which I found here.

Please comment or message me if you think you have any thoughts on these or others of the quotes!

I had a lot of fun writing this post for you all, I hope you enjoyed reading it.

I do not claim rights to any graphics or quotes.

These interpretations are just my opinion, I am open to other thoughts. 

God bless,

MEXICO!!

An opportunity that I haven't posted about as of yet is that myself, and a group from my church (comprised of 4 youth and 2 other leaders), are planning to head out to Mexico next march (2016). The group will be spending 10 days in Mexico building a home for a family without a house. Have a look at a video from a youth group that have visited recently to take part in ReBuild 2015.

We've set up a blog to keep everyone updated. If you fancy finding out a bit more visit the blog here: WBC Youth go to Mexico

WiFi vs. God

I feel this type of title needs some explaining, stick with this post and you'll grasp it all I'm sure! Okay so who here is an Apple user - iPhone? And who here is an Android or other user? I'm a Samsung girl. Recently, during a break from my two-day a level art exam, I switched on the school Wifi to Google something on my phone. Much to my surprise the phone switched off and decided to update without my permission. I was mortified. I never, ever update my phone or computer operating systems, for fear that I won’t like the change. I'm sure if it came down to it though and the device wouldn't work anymore without it then I'd use it as a final resort. Since the unexpected system update on my phone I've noticed a few things that are slower, and not nearly as great. There are some plus sides but anyone with this update will tell you that the new layout was a bit of a shock to Android users. After putting up with these issues for a week or two I looked into updating some of the individual apps on my phone. I figured with the operating system update the old apps might not be able to cope. It turns out that 46 of my apps needed updating whilst 22 were up-to-date. I selected the few apps that I use frequently to see if any change took place post-update.    For these updates I used WiFi, a lot cheaper than 3G for me, but involves being at home or in a WiFi zone. Updates like this can be unwelcome, something that is different and new, something that is unknown but the makers know what they're doing. I don't know about you but with this story God seems to slot right into the role of WiFi. He's the source of all knowledge, has the power to upload, download, delete, and refresh all operating systems, also known as mobile phones. That's us. I'm not saying we're each a tiny little screen with a couple of buttons, you're a powerful computer, you have the potential to go far and change the world. But where would a mobile phone be without WiFi? Sure, it could do the essentials and call for help in an emergency or send a text asking your mum for a lift but it has the potential to do so much more. A potential that can only be unlocked by the use of WiFi. Our human bodies can do the unimaginable through Christ. As soon as we tap into His Spirit we are able to do so much more. But what exactly does a mobile phone need WiFi for? In addition to the previously mentioned system updates a mobile phone can need WiFi for a large number of things. Updating individual apps, browsing the internet, making connections via social media. As Christians we've received our system update from God. One that has been given to us by the death of Christ and one that we know is so so so so much better than an awful phone update. I promise you that. Jesus came to die for all of our sins, all of your sins, so that you could have a new life in Him. That's an amazing human system update, we've been reborn. Once this happens we can find ourselves feeling run down along the way. That's where the app updates come into play. When you pray and ask God for guidance He highlights to you various parts of your life that need an update over WiFi. Parts of your life that have been drained and need a new wave of the Holy Spirit upon them. Perhaps in your updates list are things such as relationships, school work, stress, loneliness, friends, uncertainty. God wants to update these areas of your life, first you need to ask Him to. The second thing that I mentioned that we can use WiFi for is browsing the internet. When I am making a big decision on a new purchase or the next stage in my life I turn to "trusty, old" Google as well as God. Time after time I find myself turning to Google for the answers. This feature is only enabled over WiFi. In our lives we often find ourselves searching for answers. We have access to a big God, brace yourself for the three quite-big-words coming up, who is not only benevolent but also omnipotent and omniscient. These mean that He is not only all loving but He is all powerful and ALL KNOWING. Just ask and you shall find. Sometimes we must accept that the answer is no and trust God because, unlike Google, He KNOWS what will happen tomorrow and the day after and the years after. He has a plan so suited to you that it's impossible to fathom. We can access this when we search. The last thing that I mentioned we need WiFi for is for social media connections. Facebook and messenger actually crashed on my phone moments before I got this analogy from God, leading me to start writing this. For this I have two real-life relations. The first is Christian friendship. Through God, aka WiFi for the time being, we can make connections with Christians near and far, building supportive relationships, which are essential for a happy life with a sense of security. The second is spreading God's love through whichever talent He has blessed you with. Perhaps you have a Twitter gift, that you're able to perfectly sum up God's love and tweet it out to many of your friends. Perhaps you have an Instagram gift, you use your skills in art and photography/film to reach out and make connections with people. Perhaps you have a Pinterest gift, you're great at solving problems and giving creative solutions. Perhaps you're a reverse Timehop type of guy; you're able to connect with God and receive prophetic messages, encouraging messages from God about a person or situation, often links with the future. Or even a Snapchat gift; you have the ability to radiate God's love to others by the smile on your face. You get the idea. Overall, what I'm really trying to stress is that WE NEED GOD. None of the things listed above can be done effectively without first checking that your signal strength from God is strong and that your connection isn't interrupted. There are different ways to get to this stage which you can explore: worship and prayer and the two most common ways of reaching out to God. You might have picked up on the idea that we can also use 3G for many of these updates. For me, this is the most expensive and quite often the most time consuming route. Using 3G is like taking the right route without a full connection to God – you still still end up where God planned for you to be but it took all the more effort to get there. With God, He will do all the work for you. Enough analogies for one Sunday evening, I will leave you with these words from the Bible...

The Best University

For those of you that are searching or have searched in the past for the right uni, what is/was on your 'checklist'? You probably have a checklist of things which would make the perfect university for you. Perhaps accommodation with an en suite bathroom, or just accommodation which you can afford. Maybe the uni needs to be near a town centre. While I am searching for the right university for me, and praying about where I end up, I am also checking things off from a mental list: 1- Offer courses in the subjects that I am interested in (sort of essential) 2 - Sizeable room in accommodation for studying 3 - Have a Christian Union 4 - Job opportunities nearby 5 - Location 6 - Course content and vocational opportunities 7 - Close to home That last thing on my list can be taken two ways. The first is as it first appears: no more than a couple of hours away from my childhood home. The second is a little deeper, and perhaps even more important, it is that I am close to God. He is my home, I will be with Him in Heaven for eternity and I would love to be with Him on earth, at university, and for the rest of my earthly existence. Universities in the UK often have great Christian Unions available to their students, and nearby churches run amazing student programs but is this enough? For students who want to study Theology they can find a Christian College, such as Moorlands or Spurgeons, and settle in with other like-minded Christians. For those who wish to study music, art, maths, english, or science they have it a little more difficult. They will be in an environment everyday surrounded by young adults who want to live life and have fun, regardless of what God has planned. Young Christian's faith will be pushed to the limit at University, and without the support that nearby churches and Christian Unions offer they could lose their relationship with God by drifting far away and building a wall between Him and themselves.  I was talking to a friend about this recently and a thought came to mind about a university which offers a range of courses and subjects whilst being a Christian organisation full of Christian students. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, such institution does not exist in the UK. In the US there a number of universities/colleges which are set up primarily for Christians such as Wheaton College, US. The courses that it runs are so extensive which makes it open to almost every Christian out there searching for a university to attend which does their course subject. Would a Christian University be the answer? To some extent I think that a similar institution would go down really well in the UK. There are so many Christians today looking for a university to study at which won't harm their faith too much whilst challenging it just enough. However, there are also stories of Atheists who met Christians at university and their lives were changed for the better. Would an exclusively Christian University damage the potential to spread God's love? Perhaps so. Or maybe not if the institution was to be linked with a secular college. I can't see these ramblings reaching a conclusion for the time being. I am just mulling over some thoughts which have taken over my revision this morning. I think my new 'checklist' will be: 1 - Offer courses that I believe God is leading me to 2 - Accommodation which will enable me to mix with other Christians and non-Christians day in, day out 3 - An established Christian Union 4 - Job opportunities and charity opportunities to 'give back to God' 5 - Location - near to a supporting church with established Christian student facilities 6 - Course content and vocational opportunities - a schedule which doesn't clash with church involvement 7 - Close to home - a place where I am free to believe in God and express that to my heart's content

What are your thoughts?

EXCITING NEWS

Most of you will know that I have a passion for ending the injustice of the human slave trade. This week an act came into practice that has changed the way people can be prosecuted in human trafficking cases to make it easier for the victim to get help and serve justice. This calls for celebration!

Read more here. Click on the links in the article linked above to read further :)

That Matching Pyjama Feeling

Do you ever find that your Pyjama's never match? You just pick up the nearest top and the nearest bottoms and roll with it? Despite my somewhat perfectionist tendencies I often find myself in a non-matching set of PJs and not minding. But why should we settle for second best when God loves us so much that He would like to give us THE best? Let me explain. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we feel muddled and out of place. We feel like things aren't quite falling together as they should. I'm going to suggest, as many other Christian speakers will say, that you pray, pray and pray some more. If it doesn't feel quite right after some meditating prayer then perhaps it isn't right. God's plans for us aren't things that we don't like. In fact, they're things that we love. We were made by God, and He made you to love the things that you do so use them in your life. Still with me? We need to make a conscious effort to use the things that we love to serve our amazing God. The other night I picked up a pair of matching pyjamas. This was not be coincidence but by choice. I went out of my way to find the matching top to the bottoms that I had picked out. It felt right. They matched. Granted, matching pyjamas do not make my life complete, but I'm using it as an analogy here. The point is, it felt right and it worked well, looked good, felt comfortable. God's plan for you can work much in the same way. You may have to go out of your way to find the right path to take but once you're on track it feels right and the rest of your life begins to slot into place. This isn't to say that you won't face struggles when you're on the right path. You might find a matching pair of PJs that has a hole in that needs sewing together. This shouldn't put you off choosing that path, though. God puts up in situations where we are tested in order to develop ourselves. For a little more information on this, see my recent blog post about trials and struggles here. I pray that you all begin to know God's plan for you in some shape or form: use your skills!

My Video Campaigns

Over the past couple of years I have been working on a few projects to raise awareness of Human Trafficking and the Sex Trade. I have not been able to publish these for various reasons but it's looking very likely that I will be able to post them for you very soon. My estimated date of getting them on YouTube for you all to see is 1st September 2015.

You will all be the first to know when they are up and running, for now here is a still from each to get you all thinking.

27 Million Music Video

Stolen Soul Short Documentary Video

UPDATE from 1st September 2015: VIDEO LINK BLOG POST HERE

The Dark Room Appreciation Post

Hello again, Seeing as I'm a fairly new writer to you all reading here at Freedom is a Beautiful Thing, I thought it only fitting to talk to you about some inspirational talks that I've experienced and really learnt from to share and empathise and love with you all. We're all on the same journey to Heaven, some of us have different mountains to cross than others. The Dark Room - Christine Caine (A21 Founder)

The video above contains the talk that I listened to. You might have hovered over it and seen that it's 45 minutes long. Please don't be discouraged by the length. I want to tell you a little bit about my experience with this sermon and then maybe you'd like to watch it yourself.  The TITLE really stood out for me: The Dark Room. For those of you that don't know what one of these is, it's a totally blacked-out room, with the exception of a safety light, used to develop a photograph from a piece of film (as featured in One Direction's Story of my Life music video). I'm a bit of a photographer myself, having studied it at A level I have gained a bit of experience in the dark room. The second thing that appealed to me was the speaker, Christine Caine, A21 founder. I've researched and heard a fair amount about the A21 campaign, an organisation that helps girls who are victims of modern day slavery, their slogan being #itstartswithone. I feel 'called' by God to work towards abolishing slavery in the 21st Century. So naturally, a woman with a similar calling who has something to say appeals to me. Some of you might be switching off now, you have no passion for stopping slavery and your hobby involves something a little less camera-orientated. Don't go just yet. I stumbled across this talk whilst streaming through YouTube for another funny video to watch. I realised that I could be spending my time a little better and connecting with God a little bit more, one step at a time. I let God guide me to the right video and this is where I ended up. Christine Caine talks about some very real life struggles, maybe you're still single at the "really old" ages of 25, 30, 50, 65. The truth is that you're not "really old" in God's eyes and His plan for you is still there, He's just developing you. Maybe you've been missing out on invites to parties and gatherings, or just feeling left out. People I would consider myself to be quite close with, in fact people who I have previously invited to an event or two, have recently had and planned parties without me with no known reason to me or my friends. This caused a lot of confusion for me and I began to feel as if maybe I had to change, that it was my fault, that I wasn't good enough etc. But then I listened to this talk and things sort of changed inside of me, I realised how God was developing me and various parts of my life have been highlighted to me as a development process. It's been a gradual change but I'm trying to seek God more in everything that I do and this has encouraged that further. If you'd like a shorter video to watch, though still not light-hearted, try this one out for size..

Let me know if you need prayer, want someone to talk to, have something exciting to share etc. in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you!

Where the Spirit of the Lord is...

'Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom' - 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NIV) Many people spend their time searching for some sense of freedom. Whether that is freedom from an old habit that dies hard, like saying like, like, way too many, like, times, or freedom from something more serious, such as domestic abuse, we all crave it. Even the celebrities among us can't hide their craving for freedom: From Ariana Grande's need to Break Free and Elsa's wish to Let It Go to Queen's Want To Break Free.   The one question that hovers closely in all of these songs and situations is 'How can I get that freedom?'. Does it come from 'running away'? Does it come from 'drowning your sorrows'? Does it come from 'allowing yourself to feel the pain'? All of these suggestions might well give you a sense of temporary release but they're far from being a permanent fix. What good does it do to run to no place in particular, drink with no intention of stopping, feel hurt for the sake of feeling hurt? There is an easy answer, a short term struggle might just be your road to a secure, free future: God. Jesus. Saviour. Awesome. Healer. Hope. Our one true route to freedom is God. We can't take all matters into our own hands, in fact despite how much human nature wills for us to fix things ourselves, God wants just the opposite: for us to rely fully on Him. F.R.O.G. Fully Rely On God. Every issue we face, 'every step [we] take', 'every move [we] make' God is watching us. All He is waiting for us to do is ask Him for help and after receiving His grace, thank Him! That's the hard part, the small struggle, to ask God for help and trust Him. Doesn't sound too bad? It's not, just remember that He loves you, take a deep breath and ask. I pray that each of you reading this will feel a sense of freedom. A feeling of flexibility and movement, a feeling of peace and understanding, a feeling of love. I was listening to a pastor of a local church preaching about the parable of the Good Samaritan recently, he gave me an insight into a new way, well new to me, of interpreting the story. He was explaining that the man laid on the floor, beaten and bruised represents our spiritual beings after The Fall. The priest who walks past represents the earthly 'men of God' who may seem as though they are the bridge to God on the outside but they may not be so on the inside. The second passer by, one who was supposed to be all about 'being nice to humankind', did exactly that and passed by. This represents the people who mean to do good in the world but how they fail to satisfy our every need, especially spiritually. The third man, the Samaritan, represents Jesus, a man who came to save us. The oil He poured over the beaten body represents a flow of the Holy Spirit and the wine: the Blood of Christ. When the Samaritan pays the inn keeper to look after the beaten man He says 'until I return' which is exactly what Jesus promised to do: return. Thanks to His death we can be free.

Forever - Kari Jobe The moon and stars they wept The morning sun was dead The saviour of the world was fallen His body on the cross His blood poured out for us The weight of every curse upon Him One final breath He gave As Heaven looked away The Son of God was laid in darkness A battle in the grave The war on death was waged The power of hell forever broken The ground began to shake The stone was rolled away His perfect love would not be overcome Now death where is your sting? Our resurrected King Has rendered you defeated Forever He is glorified Forever He is lifted high Forever His is risen He is alive, He is alive We sing Hallelujah, we sing Hallelujah We sing Hallelujah The Lamb has overcome

What is 'freedom' and why is it 'a beautiful thing'?

Why not start as I mean to go on?
Instead of boring you with information about myself I'm jumping straight in and answering the questions that a lot of people ask themselves when they discover a new blog. Why is it called that? What does it mean? What's its relevance to their posts?

Okay, so why is this blog named 'Freedom is a Beautiful Thing'?
Well, in essence it is because freedom IS a beautiful thing. But, as you may have guessed at the fact that this entire post is about a title, it also represents something more: my dream. I have a vision of a world in which slavery is a distant memory held only alive in order to remind us never to let a person suffer again. As well as this dream, I am still in awe at the gift of grace that we received when Christ died for us, freeing us from our sin!

What does it mean?
'Freedom' has a number of different definitions in the Oxford Dictionary. One of which states that freedom is the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. This can mean both mentally and physically.
'Beautiful' is a word that also encompasses a variety of different meanings. It means love, happiness, warmth, colour, beyond imaginable.

What's the relevance of this title to future posts?
Well, from the previous two answers you may have already guessed that I'm a Christian. I was saved when I was 11, I prayed the prayer. When I turned 15 I got baptised to publicly declare my faith. My posts will be about life in general, God-inspired messages and posts about the modern slave trade.

Just a little extra question that you may now be asking yourself.. Who is this blogger?
I'm GirlWithADream, a girl from the UK, that's all you need to know! I'm here if you need to chat, if you'd like some prayer or if you have any difficult questions that you would like me to attempt to answer.
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