Time to start this blogging business for real

So it's been a while since I posted on this blog, and to be honest that's been down to a number of things particularly time and exams etc but also mainly due to the direction I want it to go down. However, now that I am completely done with school forever and have much much more free time on my hands (for now anyway!), as well as starting my year out in a few months time, I thought it would be good practice to get into the habit of daily blogging. 

I want this to be a place where I can draw together all my thoughts from the day and really pray on how and why those events happened or didn't turn out so well and I guess just giving myself that focus of daily reflection on what God is doing in my life at the moment. 

So yea, just a quick update on how the activity on this blog is going to be shaped from now on. If anyone is actually reading my blogs, then first of all that's awesome, thanks so much; if no one is, then well it doesn't matter.. this is just a place for me to gather my daily thoughts and hopefully by sharing them, they will give some inspiration. 

P.S. This is my post for today! So don't expect another one! 

Being real

Over the past week I have learnt the value of just being me.

You know when someone says to you 'just be yourself' and you automatically start judging and criticising yourself and aren't yourself at all?

Yea, well that was me.

But I've stepped into a new friendship with someone this week that I never knew before and made the conscience effort to 'just be myself'.

This person has never met me before so can't judge me at all on how I was or anything that I used to do. It's an opportunity for a fresh start and chance to really be me around someone, someone that I may be spending a lot more time around.

Now don't get me wrong, I didn't approach this 'new me' confidently or with ease. It took a lot of courage, a lot of strength and a lot of God. Without Him I couldn't have been me, because he is in me, I'm nothing without Him. So really pray for God to be in your situations and ask Him to help you show who you really are.

What I'm saying is, I hope I can encourage you to BE REAL because if you're real about a situation then the real you will shine and you won't need to judge yourself or worry about others judging you.

Don't create a false image of who you think society wants you to be, be who your Heavenly Father, the creator of all things made you to be.

The power of silent prayer

Have you ever asked yourself what silence means to you? - Personally silence means quiet, peace and reflection.

Last night at church we heard a sermon on the power of praying silently, which challenged me to think about how often I actually take the time to be silent. When was the last time you found a time of silence with no other noise or distraction?

Before we ask the following questions it's important that we approach the topic with an open and generous heart.

So what does it mean to pray silently?
Well firstly, and quite obviously, it means to pray without words. And we must remember that it is only one approach to prayer; for some people this isn't a way they can draw close to God in prayer, and thats fine... you must pray as you CAN and not as you CAN'T. But we must all pray as we read in Jeremiah 29:12 "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." By praying in silence we often contemplate more things than we may do with distractions around us, it allows time for us to clear our minds and it brings rest, refreshment and trust in God. We are temples that He longs to dwell in, so by removing those things we allow Him to fill us completely.
Silent prayer is simple AND difficult. Finding the time to actually do it is hard enough! Yet when we reach that place of peace and reflection it becomes the easiest and most natural thing to do, because we are with our Daddy. Silence acts as a magnifying glass into the deepest places in our lives. Silent prayer is freedom AND discipline. I love this quote from Minnie Aumonier that perfectly describes how silence is an opportunity to listen to God. "There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it." Listening is a gift to anyone that is listened too, and we are all listened to by God, therefore we can all listen to him! Praying silently allows intimacy with God, intimacy to hear him and to act on what he says to us - we were made to be human BEINGS not human DOINGS!

So why should we pray silently?
Well it's in the Bible so that's a good start! If it's in there then it must be good to do! It bears fruit in our lives as we listen to God. We can find refuge in Him through silent prayer: Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God", Psalm 62:1 "For God alone my soul waits in silence" (NRS) Lamentations 3:26 "it is God to wait quietly for the for the salvation of the Lord", Matthew 6:5-15 - "When you pray..."

You might be thinking, well this is great but how do I actually pray silently?
Keep it simple & restful. God knows what's in your heart and your every thought, he just wants to hear you say it. If you don't know where to start, try starting by saying "Here I am God". Offer Him your thoughts and find peace in Him.
Use what helps you to find that place with God, that may be a candle, scripture or a picture. Don't worry if your mind is full of thoughts, just return that thing that helps you focus.
Have a simple framework, even set a timer so you know when to stop. It's the idea of keeping things simple again and do something significant to mark the beginning and end of prayer.
Reflect on what comes up for you in prayer, perhaps write it down - I find journalling really helpful.
And finally... BE EXPECTANT. Persevere in your prayer time and trust that God would talk to you.

Have a go at it and then ask yourself the question again; what does silence mean to you?

Yes this is a Christian blog

Just thought I would clarify what I'm actually blogging about for you all before I start rambling on about my life!

So yes, I'm a Christian. I'm also an 18 year old British girl who is very stressed out with school work, loves to be creative and spends a great deal of time online (as most teens now do!)

'Example for believers' is an extract from a Bible verse that a friend reminded me of recently - 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love in faith and in purity" - a verse that I've held close to my heart for a long time and one that describes my exact mission in life at the moment. So let me break this verse down for you in terms of my life:

Because you are young:
I am highly involved in my church and plan to study Theology in the near future and go on to do mission work, according to God's calling on my life. Due to the many areas that I'm involved in it can be very easy to be put down by fellow Christians who do not believe you are ready to take on the roles that you do, however, I strongly believe that the things that I do are things that God has called me to do. Therefore I do not let their judgements on my age put me down or stop the work that I do for God. Instead I...

Set and example for believers:
Age does not matter. If God has put a calling on your life, you should pursue it with your whole self. I know that God has called me to work within the church/mission work so I have recently taken on roles such as leading services and youth groups as preparation. I believe that I can set an example to younger believers to take this verse (1 Tim 4:12) to heart and to seek God's will on their life. I feel that my journey through faith and through life can be an encouraging example to them. I also believe that I can be an example to older believers - through the way I live my life I hope that by working for Gods glory I can be an example to all believers not just those younger than myself.

In speech:
Public speaking is not my strongest point and standing in front of a congregation or bunch of youth can be terrifying at times, in fact, I tend to avoid it! But more recently I've taken on more speaking roles and hope that I have inspired or provoked thoughts for people. I also hope that this blog can potentially do the same thing.

In conduct:
My greatest desire is to be burning alive with the revelation of Jesus in my heart - that I would be so on fire for God that people will see the power of Christ burning in me and want to experience our Father in that very same way.
I live as who I am in Christ, I do not deny my faith and I do not cover it up. I hope that through the way I conduct myself, the power of Christ in me would be infectious.

In love:
I have been touched by the overwhelming love of Christ and my greatest joy in life is to share that love with others; with the poor, the needy, the broken, the sick etc. With the love of Christ in our lives our time on earth will be fully satisfied.

In faith:
"Faith as small as a mustard seed move mountains." If faith so small can move something so vast, then just imagine what an ever growing life of faith can do!! Faith isn't rules and regulations, it's exciting! It's a journey with our heavenly Father not just Church at Christmas. I live in faith everyday, praying that God would make my stronger, wiser, and more like him.

In purity:
Life is not ours to meddle with. God blessed us with these bodies and these lives and we owe all that we are and all that we do to Him, our Creator. We should not take our rights and our privileges for granted, instead we should stay pure and humble and follow God's plan not our own. In our relationships we should make sure that as well as having fun we are seeking God and staying pure of any immoralities.


Wow... this post was much longer than I had intended it to be. Well yea, thats me and where I am right now! I hope people enjoy reading my blog and please feel free to leave comments and ask questions :)