Self Care

"Self care can be about putting yourself out to look out for yourself."

Last night, at 2.19am on New Year's Day, I lay in bed ready to sleep for so many hours. As I tried to fall asleep, though, I noticed that I was ever so slightly too cold. Warm enough that I could easily fall asleep but cool enough that if the temperature stayed that way most of the night I could be waking up in a lot of pain. I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome: Hypermobility Type (in simple terms, my muscles have to work very hard to keep my joints in place where my ligaments don't do a great job) and I get quite cold very easily. When my body is cold, my already over-worked, tired muscles tense up. Usually this leads to knots and nerve pain. So, you get the equation: cold body + tired muscles = tense tired muscles = pain. Sometimes that pain lasts a day, other times it lasts weeks and months (or until I get a massage)!  So, laying in bed that night I had two options: 1 - lay there and continue to fall asleep, knowing that I might wake up with pain that lasts a couple of weeks, or 2 - pull myself out of bed, set up my heated blanket and then get comfortable again. At the time option 1 was the easiest option going. I was already comfy, I didn't feel uncomfortably cold, and both my brain and body were ready to drift off to sleep instantaneously - my chronic fatigue craved all the sleep I could get. But I chose option 2. I chose self care. I didn't choose to give myself what I wanted in the moment: to drift straight off to sleep. I chose to give myself what I needed: warmth, better quality sleep and less pain. To achieve this, I had to get out of bed (despite my sleepy head's protest) and be intentional about caring for myself.

This concept is still inspiring me. Self care can be about putting yourself out to look out for yourself. If I knew of a small act of kindness I could do for someone that would improve their day, week or month, I'd probably jump at the chance. But when it comes to acts of kindness for myself, I'm not too certain I'd be as eager to put myself out in order to put myself first. I deserve to be looked after, especially by myself. And you deserve to be looked after by you too. 
This year, 2019, I want to be more intentional about caring for myself. Sometimes that means making decisions based on what I need and not what I want. Sometimes that means making decisions based on what I want and not what others want of me. All of the time it's about enabling me to be the best me because a me that's caring for herself is a me that's ready to be there when others need her and a me that's ready to be there for herself too.


What are you wanting to be intentional about this year?
Amy xo

 

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A Little-Big Life Update

I've sort of fallen off the whole blogging train in the last few months, and there are a few reasons for that. In short: life has gotten really busy! Which is great. Time spent writing is something that I really enjoy but I don't enjoy anything more than spending time with people and making memories. And that's exactly what I've been doing. For those that would love to know where I've been and what's been happening, keep on reading... you know you want to...

Work  So, I now have a job! #adulting I'm working for a children's charity in Kent. A charity that I had the joy of gap-yearing with last year and really couldn't picture myself leaving. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to stay, working with some awesome people and doing some great work, for a few more months.  With my contract being only short term, maternity cover for a friend, I've been putting more and more thought into where I might like to end up career-wise and how I can focus on my path to getting there come June. I'm still not much closer to knowing where to go, but I'm thinking about it. I work part-time and for the most part this has been manageable for me. I've recently changed my hours around a little to suit my fatigue better and my body is currently adjusting to that. It's panto season! Which means all staff based in the same office as me have stopped their collective worship assemblies and their clubs to focus solely on being their inner wise men and shepherds. Amongst other roles I'm playing donkey this year, which is so much fun in a care-free yet humiliating way! I have completely removed myself from my comfort zone to be a part of panto this year and that's been so rewarding - I've reminded myself that I really can do whatever I set my mind to and sometimes, like panto, those things can bring more joy and make more amazing memories than I could've ever imagined! All whilst bringing the greatest birth story ever to so many children and teachers.

Home (Mon, Tues, Wed) The first half of my week, every week, is spent living in the town of my workplace. Here I stay in the spare bedroom of some friends of mine. In October I hit the one year mark of staying with these beautiful people and it's been great - I'm so happy I get to stay a few more months and I'm so grateful for their constant hospitality, friendship, and support. In this first part of the week I share my bedroom with a pretty cute roommate, Tortellini the Tortoise. The patterns on his shell are so gorgeous and he loves teasing Rupert (the cutest dog around) into chasing him. Rupert is a miniature labradoodle who's currently learning so much in trick training - prayers and cuddles are our favourites right now! It's safe to say I'll be back to visit both the animals and the humans of this household lots once I've moved out!

Home (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun) The second half of my week is spent at my parents' home. I spend most of my time resting which can get really boring really quickly without a hobby or good Netflix series to watch.  Recently I've started getting into pyrography (burning pictures and words into wood) so that keeps me busy on days that I can't do much or make too many plans. I'm attempting to learn some Spanish in my spare time and really hoping to pick up my guitar a little more. If you're interested in my arty side of life, follow me on Instagram @amywaltersart or facebook.com/amywaltersart.

Mexico I'm off to Mexico again in April and this year I'm part of the Core Team Support Group which means I get to be a part of the wider parts of the trip - the beforehand stuff. I'm helping with the graphics and communication, with my most recent task being to write a letter and make a flyer to go out to all group leaders. In Mexico I will be heading up the Kids Team. I'm really excited to do this again, knowing that it will look different to the past couple of years because the sites we're building on dictate the way the kids club works. I'm already thinking about different games and activities we could do with the children and I'm ready to learn so much from them too. Whilst we're out there I will also be helping to run some prayer sessions/activities with a friend of mine. We have no idea how this will look but we're so excited to see God moving in everyone's lives! Dad and I have been busy fundraising for Mexico, enlisting the help of mum and Becca and a number of close friends! I can't thank you all enough. Our most recent success has been a craft fair event which we organised ourselves. With a little bit of knowledge and a whole lot of Facebook connections, the event was a huge success and raised over £800 for 2 great charities (of which one was ReBuild Mexico).

That about sums up where I am right now and what I've been up to. I'm ever-grateful for good friends (new and old) for their constant support and friendship - we have so much fun! God bless you all in this festive season, and may those of you who find this time of year tough find your hearts filled with endless joy and love, Amy xo

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She travels... Prague

| Lows: 8°C || Highs: 28°C |
European holiday post no.3! This time we went to visit our cousins in the beautiful Czech city, Prague. This post is long overdue, but here are some highlights from our trip. And I totally 100% recommend this city to anyone looking for a short break away.

On day one, we explored the gardens next door to our hotel. Following a some-what interesting breakfast (European breakfasts never fail to throw something new in) - of salted bread and butter, scrambled egg, and cake - we were met with the beautiful sights of Pruhonicky park. Can you spot Becca and I amongst the flowers above?
Dad loved the park, he's been working on walking 10,000+ steps a day and daily walks around this park meant he exceeded that goal. And those burnt calories meant more room for great food!

Obligatory family picture in the park. Aren't we just the cutest? 
Over the next few days we ate more weird food for breakfast, spent more time in the park, chilled with our cousins and celebrated lots. There was lots to celebrate! And many a happy birthday was sung!
This day was filled with sights, food and some rather strong drinks! (Who knew their standard shot size is almost triple that of a UK measure?! Oops! Haha).
We crossed Charles bridge...

Took a boat tour along the river...

And made our way above the city for a cold glass of Rhum and coke...

What a view! And at the very top of this hill was a labyrinth that I just couldn't resist completing!

I was in my element.

Then we Uber-ed our way across the city to eat Chinese and drink cocktails.

On mum's birthday we visited the zoo. We saw the penguins, and the giraffes! Happiness all around.

At the zoo, there is a ski-lift that you can take up to the top! And of course we wanted to try it. It didn't feel the slightest bit safe and I held onto my phone so tightly, but it was beautiful and we loved it so much we travelled back down the same way.

Have a few more pictures from the zoo...

Following an excellent day out, we had a wonderful meal with the whole family! Prepare yourselves for another obligatory family photograph! Cute.

Granny loved her cake, and I love this picture...!

We spent our last day of the holiday exploring the city some more and I had one goal in mind: Eat. Chimney. Cakes. & so we did!

We walked down some beautiful streets...

and found an underground bar... :D

Then the time came to head to our airport hotel. We even saw a stag do carrying balloons en route. Not the weirdest stag party we'd seen this holiday, but certainly the most photographable!

We finished our stay in Prague in a quaint hotel full of aircraft memorabilia. We said our goodbyes, and headed to bed before our journey home the next morning!
Certainly so grateful to Granny and Gramps, mum and dad for this holiday!
Amy xo

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Mexico 2017 - The Building Begins

This time last month we were waking up to the last full day in the UK before we began our travelling to Mexico. That means it was our last day to pack and, in true Walters' style, it was the day we began to pack! What followed was an indescribable trip, but I'm going to give it a go.

Photo cred: KG

Being the last to arrive at the airport meant we got to say hello to everyone as soon as we arrived! Seeing KG, ET, JB and KB from last year's trip was brilliant, and we couldn't wait to camp and build with them again!

Photo cred: BW

A quick 10/11 hour flight later and we'd landed in LAX. When going through border security I got separated from the rest of my family by a member of staff, which could've proved tricky seeing as we were entering the country on the same piece of paper (landing forms). But I got through really speedy with no problems, made some new friends who were also going to Mexico, collected all 7 suitcases from the carousel and waited, and waited, and waited for the rest of the group. Fortunately I'd packed my Ukulele, so KG entertained us with some tunes. Eventually the lucky 15 (of which I was one), who'd been separated and sent to a shorter, faster queue, were reunited with the rest of the group who'd just spent the last 90 minutes standing in line.
With everyone together we ventured outside in search of our coach. Yellow Prius after yellow Prius sped past until eventually there was a gap in traffic big enough for us to make it across the road. Once we'd made it to our hotel in San Diego, it was about midnight US time and about 8am UK time - we'd not slept in 24 hours. We had dominoes pizza as a US midnight snack/UK breakfast and then headed straight to bed, in order to be ready for the early start to get to Mexico the next day.

Photo cred: BW

The sun was up and following our American-pancake-breakfast we were treated to views like above whilst we waited for the coach to turn up. Through the Mexican border, we were met with more waiting whilst the coach itself was being checked. 
The first drive through Tijuana was just as shocking as last year, but in a different way. I was shocked that I'd completely forgotten exactly what it was like. 'Houses' stacked upon 'houses'. So. Much. Poverty. Driving through was a feeling like no other, you have to be there to feel it.

Photo cred: BW

Some houses were built so close to the edge, they really looked like they might not stand the slightest gust of wind.

Photo cred: BW

We arrived at the Amor camp and it felt like we'd never left! The yellow circus tent still standing, the baños hadn't moved, and the mountains looked as magnificent as ever. Baños, for those of you that don't know, is the Spanish word for toilets. Only the toilets we got to experience were far from ordinary. No flushes, just a big ditch. And something happened that we didn't expect... Because the the ditch below the baños still had some room and therefore the baños hadn't been moved, we were weeing and pooing upon our own wee and poo from last year! Gross.

Photo cred: BW

Baños were best braved in pairs or groups - thanks to air vents, you could have a conversation with a friend to distract yourself from the buzzing flies and awful smell. Top tip: Poo-Pouri works in Mexican toilet ditches as well as it does in flushing toilets (as discovered by mum), perhaps even better as it covers up years of smell! Okay... tmi, moving on.
We'd set up camp, added a few extra tents to solve the tipee over-population issues, experienced our first lunch and our first dinner, come up with a team name and a team chant (which seemed to change every night), and we were just about ready for sleep. Night one. Humans vs Earwigs: 4-0.
Thanks to a cockerel with an underdeveloped 'cocka-doodle-doo' and a donkey that hadn't yet mastered the 'eeyore', the leaders were 'awake' and ready for their 6am meeting.

Photo cred: BW

The buses arrived promptly at 7am, ready for us to leave the site at half past. We loaded the buses with pack lunches, igloos (cold drinks containers), and humans that were ready to build some houses. Singing our way through Tijuana meant the journey from camp to build site felt really short.
Our first impressions of the site were really positive. There were no 25ft drops like last year, and we got the privilege to all build on one site, together. 80 people, 2 single houses, and one double house.
The building began. (Watch this space for part 2)
Thanks for reading, I promise loads more pictures in the next post!

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Why Mexico?

- Tomorrow I'm flying out to Mexico with my family and some friends. In Mexico we will be building a house, along with a group of people from Plymouth. There will be 3 other builds taking place at the same time, being built by people from all around the UK. We will all be eating together, praying together, camping together and hearing about each other's progress throughout the builds. The building will take 5 days and we will also spend a day either side of the build in Mexico to set up and pack down camp, and to hand over the keys to the families. -

-

"Why help people abroad when those on our own doorstep, in our own country, need help too?" The number of times I've heard this response to mission work abroad is countless. So I thought I'd write an open response to anyone who has thought about this question before or to anyone who has no idea how to respond to this kind of question but would like to. -

-

There are people in the world who need help and there are people in the world who can help. In fact, I'm sure we could go as far as to say that everyone needs help and everyone can help. You see, the help we all require is different and relative. One woman needs help getting a job, whilst one woman needs help getting to and from her job. One man needs help with childcare, whilst another needs help and support after the loss of his child. Sometimes the help we require can be a long and seemingly never-ending list. Does that mean the list isn't worth denting? Checking some things off is surely better than none at all.  - What can you offer to someone who needs help? A friend is struggling to stretch their finances to the end of the month, could you bless them with a meal? Perhaps you are that friend that needs help financially, so could you invite a friend over for coffee and encouragement? Perhaps you are that friend that needs a shoulder to cry on and a whole heap of encouraging, could you smile at someone in the street to give them a warm and hopeful feeling that everything is going to be okay? Perhaps you are that person who needs a smile, could you bless a family with a meal? These small acts of love really do make the world go round. Not everyone can give everything, and not everyone needs everything but it becomes a beautiful cycle when we all give what we can to the people that need it. - There are opportunities around us every single day to help people locally and, occasionally, the opportunity might arise for you to help someone further afield.  A project abroad has a much bigger impact than the obvious: blessing one family with one house, blessing an orphanage with supplies and volunteers, etc. The 'help' reaches so much further. For the people who receive some help, they get a weight lifted off of their shoulders - an item ticked off of the list of things that they need help with. They feel loved and supported, and they feel safe. For the people embarking upon the adventure, they come home with a fresh new perspective on life, family, and what it means to be happy. They work towards helping a problem much bigger than they can imagine, empowering them to know that they can make a difference in people's lives back home too. For the people at home who have cheered them along, they get to see the fruit of their own hard work and support, which in turn encourages them in knowing that they are valued, needed, and that they have purpose. I could go on!  - Sometimes, no, all the time, the project is about the people. The people who need help, the people who give, the people who are inspired. The people. We're all people on earth in search of love and happiness, purpose and direction. So, let's get the ball rolling! Start helping out and start asking for help this week. - Why Mexico? To make love look like something for all of the people involved. - See you on the other side! Expect a picture-filled post in a fortnight's time! - Amy xo -

Lent / Love

Image Source: Google

This year for lent I've decided to do two things, and one of these makes me very happy indeed!
The not-so-interesting one of the two involves McDonald's. I've given up all McDonald's and alternative fast food outlets until Easter. That's the bit that tests my patience and self-control. Especially with these hot days - a Dairy Milk McFlurry and Fanta would go down amazingly in this unexpected sunshine! The second is as much fun for me as I imagine it is great for the people involved. Each day I'm sending an encouragement to whoever is on my mind. Be it a short and sweet message in the hope it gives them a reason to smile, or a longer and deeper message, encouraging them that who they are is great! It's the love within these messages that I think shows God's heart most. It's great to give stuff up for lent - to sacrifice something and work on making yourself a more patient and self-controlled being. But where is the love? Jesus died because he loved us. To quote a great children's Bible: 'it wasn't the nails that kept Jesus to the cross, it was love.' Surely lent should be about love too?
I've loved loved loved the responses that I've had from people - just a simple message and some thought from me has helped to make their day that little (or a lot?) bit better. I've slacked off a bit these last few days so I'll be sending a week's worth of messages tonight but that's an exciting task to look forward to.
Here's to a great Easter, and a love-filled lent in the days before, 
Amy xo

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