Storage Almost Full

Picture from Google

Have you ever seen this warning message? If you're an Android user, it's likely you've seen various other messages; 'insufficient storage available', 'storage space running low', 'low on space', etc.

If you have seen this message more than a few times it's perhaps likely that you're like me. You hold onto photos and videos too long before moving them to the cloud or Dropbox, and/or you have apps on your phone that are barely used but 'might come in handy one day'. I also like my music, as much as I can fit is downloaded onto my phone.

When I see this message pop up I click 'done' every time. Rarely have I clicked 'settings' and got to the root of the problem. But then my phone starts freezing on the unlock screen and I panic each time that maybe, just maybe, I've pushed my little phone too far. When it unfreezes and I get in to read my messages I sigh a sigh of relief. But I don't delete those photos I've been meaning to delete because, for now at least, my phone is still functioning - albeit not at it's best.

I began to notice a few months ago that I was treating my body much the same; holding onto things that I could let go of. If you've not read my previous posts and don't know much about me, I'll sum it up for you: I live in one beautiful town during the week with a lovely couple, a puppy, and a tortoise (he's my roommate). At the weekends I return to the town where I grew up to spend time with my family and friends. In my 'spare time' I am known for running monthly worship events and summer camps, organising fundraising activities for Mexico, and getting groups of people together for a drink or two.  

"If anyone serves they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Christ Jesus." 1 Peter 4:11

"With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of" Ephesians 3:20

These are dangerous verses. Mostly because they are true - we have God on our side and we can do more than we could ever imagine through His strength. Great. Amazing. But when your workload becomes 'superhuman' and you just about get through each day knowing that you can sleep many hours that night, it's not sustainable.

I recently re-evaluated, following a bad few months health-wise, all that I was doing in my 'spare time' and what 'spare time' I actually had. See, in the summer these 'spare time' activities arose because 1. I had no job and 2. I wanted to spend time with my friends before we all separated in September. I had spare time to spend in abundance! Fast forward to December... I have a job that I love (9-4 Monday - Thursday) which, with my health as it stands, equates to a normal person's 9-5 Monday - Friday. I'm living with a new family who I'm loving getting to know. I'm going home at weekends to spend precious time with my family. A non-busy weekend day in my life might look a bit like this at the moment: a few hours at church, cooking lunch with my dad, creating a poster with mum for a campaign, seeing some friends at their new house - cooking them dinner and playing games all evening. When I told a friend that that was my chilled day he was shocked. *ping* 'storage almost full' ignored again.

I'm in the process of learning what it's like to be not-busy and stay not-busy. When I first began to get not-busy I filled it with seeing people that I otherwise wouldn't have had time to see. Then I became busy again but busy with new and exciting things. Note to self: must keep trying to stay 'not-busy' for a while.

You might be pleased to know that I have released the monthly worship nights into the hands of a great team of youth leaders and my almighty God. Because "He who has started a good work is faithful and just to complete it" (ref. Philippians 1:6). This was not a decision that I took lightly because I really didn't want to let go but my storage is almost full so I had to hit 'delete'. I'll still visit and play a part from a distance, but a part that isn't taking up storage space in my life. I have also passed the Mexico fundraising baton to the other leaders whilst they run their part in the team race. Another app deleted.

In essence, I have hit 'factory data reset' - leaving only the vital apps in tact. First, I'll get to know my body in this state. Then I'll look at downloading a new app or two into my life. For now I'm in no rush.

"Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. Accept my work and learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will find rest for your souls. The work that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is not heavy." Matthew 11:28-30

So, this month, I'm focussing on:

- Family

- Friendships

- God as my first love

- Work

- Colleagues

- Strengthening my body physically to overcome my disability

Out with the old stuff and in with the new nothing!

Cool,

Cheers for reading!

Amy xo

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...