Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Personal. Show all posts
27 January 2011
21 October 2010
Vlog channel
I've started a vlog channel on YouTube to separate vlog stuff from other videos I make. I'll be posting them here too so here are the first few I've posted.
Go to youtube.com/ruthEvlog
Go to youtube.com/ruthEvlog
10 December 2008
the real x factor
I want to tell you about 'J'. I first met J in September 2008, I can't remember where we were exactly when we met (though it was bound to be somewhere at church), or what was said but I remember being struck by his generosity and his concern for others, but most of all how alive his faith in Jesus was. As the years have gone on I have heard many many stories about J, stories of how he has gone out of his way to care for others, how he has welcomed people to our church with such great warmth and sincerity which has led them to join our church, stories of his patience in many circumstances, stories of how he has led others to care for various groups of people too and stories of how his relationship with Jesus has led others to faith too.
I have visited with J and his wife M quite a bit and everytime I have they sing each others praises - "he's one in a million", "she's my precious wife". It's refreshing to see a couple expressing their love and admiration for one another instead of complaining about how "my husband doesn't do this" "my wife doesn't care about that", J and M can't help but show how much they love each other and weren't afraid to tell others. This has been a real lesson and example to me because in the time I have known them I have gone from being a singleton to being part of a marriage myself. I learnt from them how to respect and honour your spouse, to speak words of love and how to strengthen a marriage.
A year and a half ago J was taken into hospital. It shocked so many in our church because J was extremely fit and able for being in his 90s. He was always more involved in things than the average person, he always stood at the door to the church on a Sunday morning welcoming people in whether his name was on the rota or not and he came to any and every event he had time for. I remember praying that if ever I get to be his age that I'd be of similar health and able to do all he was able to do too - a selfish prayer, definitely not characteristic of J.
His health improved enough for him to be at home again, however a week ago he was taken back into hospital after not feeling too great and then on Wednesday he passed away. I thought I had already heard such incredible amazing stories about J while he was alive but since his death I have been in such awe of the wonderful incredible man he was. He was humble, patient, kind, generous, caring, genuine and most importantly a true man of God, an inspiration and example to us all.
J had the real X factor in his life - Jesus - and it was evident to all he met and has impacted on them in ways they probably never expected to be impacted. I can't help but think that as amazing as J was and is, how much more amazing is Jesus for J to have followed and served Jesus all his life?
I miss J a lot and have been fighting back tears when I talk to people about him, but I praise God for J and being able to know him for the little while that I did. I'm thankful and excited to think that J is now in heaven amongst Abraham, Moses, David and all those other great witnesses in the Bible and that they're all cheering us on to reach that goal too.
I'm thankful for J, for the life he lived, the love he shown and the example he shared. I hope and pray people will see the x factor in my life too.
I have visited with J and his wife M quite a bit and everytime I have they sing each others praises - "he's one in a million", "she's my precious wife". It's refreshing to see a couple expressing their love and admiration for one another instead of complaining about how "my husband doesn't do this" "my wife doesn't care about that", J and M can't help but show how much they love each other and weren't afraid to tell others. This has been a real lesson and example to me because in the time I have known them I have gone from being a singleton to being part of a marriage myself. I learnt from them how to respect and honour your spouse, to speak words of love and how to strengthen a marriage.
A year and a half ago J was taken into hospital. It shocked so many in our church because J was extremely fit and able for being in his 90s. He was always more involved in things than the average person, he always stood at the door to the church on a Sunday morning welcoming people in whether his name was on the rota or not and he came to any and every event he had time for. I remember praying that if ever I get to be his age that I'd be of similar health and able to do all he was able to do too - a selfish prayer, definitely not characteristic of J.
His health improved enough for him to be at home again, however a week ago he was taken back into hospital after not feeling too great and then on Wednesday he passed away. I thought I had already heard such incredible amazing stories about J while he was alive but since his death I have been in such awe of the wonderful incredible man he was. He was humble, patient, kind, generous, caring, genuine and most importantly a true man of God, an inspiration and example to us all.
J had the real X factor in his life - Jesus - and it was evident to all he met and has impacted on them in ways they probably never expected to be impacted. I can't help but think that as amazing as J was and is, how much more amazing is Jesus for J to have followed and served Jesus all his life? I miss J a lot and have been fighting back tears when I talk to people about him, but I praise God for J and being able to know him for the little while that I did. I'm thankful and excited to think that J is now in heaven amongst Abraham, Moses, David and all those other great witnesses in the Bible and that they're all cheering us on to reach that goal too.
I'm thankful for J, for the life he lived, the love he shown and the example he shared. I hope and pray people will see the x factor in my life too.
17 October 2008
hurting
The past 3 years at the Youth Ministry Summer School there has been a lot of focus on teens suffering more hurt and pain than they have in the past. The first 2 years we had 
Chap Clark who wrote Hurt and Deep Ministry in a Shallow World as one of the keynote speakers. Marv Penner, who wrote Help My Kids Are Hurting: A Survival Guide to Working with Students in Pain was a key note speaker at the last Summer School. So each summer school has featured a lot of discussion around the subject, leading us into the thinking that as youth workers we need to set up communities for young people to feel loved, accepted, valuable and worth something. I have to admit that at each discussion on hurt and pain I was struggling to relate personally because I couldn't remember going through anything similar myself.
When we were in the airport on our way to Egypt a few weeks ago I couldn't help but have a look in the book shop. I'm not much of a reader usually but on holiday I read 2 or 3 books - I ended up reading 4 books and got halfway through another. I left the shop having bought 2 extra books to take away with me, one of which was called Loose Girl. It's a book about the author's struggle as a teenager and beyond to feel accepted and loved. She journals how she discovered a way to be accepted, loved and attractive was to use her feminine powers over men. In a search for attention and love she went down a path full of meaningless one night stands and emotionally unsatisfying relationships. Ultimately using and being used in order to fill a void.
As I read this book I couldn't help but think about Summer School and my own experiences of wanting love when I was a teen. I was reminded of times when I felt desperate for a boy to notice me, not just as someone else in the crowd but as someone special. I remember thinking that if anyone ever did want to be with me that I would have to be someone different than who I am so they would like me. I was insecure and rejection made me feel more insecure. I identified with the author in her quest to work out what it meant to love and to be loved. I identified with her as she dealt with her insecurity and compared herself to other girls. From reading magazines, watching TV, seeing movies and more back then I thought love was about feeling loved and thought nothing about returning love to that person too. I thought about how all this made me feel unattractive, unloveable, unaccepted, useless and worthless. Yes, I had friends who cared about me, but this still didn't make me feel like I could be loved. Thankfully I'm past all that insecurity and am a very happily married woman - though I still have my insecurities but they're not related to feeling loved or valuable anymore.
Thinking through all this helped me to identify more with what we have been talking about for the past 3 years at Summer School. It's helped me think more about how I as a youth worker need to get alongside young people and show them a God who loves them and cares for them as they are and not who they think they need to be or act like. It has helped me to see more of how God has created me and is using me to do His will and show His love. I can see more of how He's using me and my flawed humanity to serve others.
Chap Clark who wrote Hurt and Deep Ministry in a Shallow World as one of the keynote speakers. Marv Penner, who wrote Help My Kids Are Hurting: A Survival Guide to Working with Students in Pain was a key note speaker at the last Summer School. So each summer school has featured a lot of discussion around the subject, leading us into the thinking that as youth workers we need to set up communities for young people to feel loved, accepted, valuable and worth something. I have to admit that at each discussion on hurt and pain I was struggling to relate personally because I couldn't remember going through anything similar myself.
When we were in the airport on our way to Egypt a few weeks ago I couldn't help but have a look in the book shop. I'm not much of a reader usually but on holiday I read 2 or 3 books - I ended up reading 4 books and got halfway through another. I left the shop having bought 2 extra books to take away with me, one of which was called Loose Girl. It's a book about the author's struggle as a teenager and beyond to feel accepted and loved. She journals how she discovered a way to be accepted, loved and attractive was to use her feminine powers over men. In a search for attention and love she went down a path full of meaningless one night stands and emotionally unsatisfying relationships. Ultimately using and being used in order to fill a void.As I read this book I couldn't help but think about Summer School and my own experiences of wanting love when I was a teen. I was reminded of times when I felt desperate for a boy to notice me, not just as someone else in the crowd but as someone special. I remember thinking that if anyone ever did want to be with me that I would have to be someone different than who I am so they would like me. I was insecure and rejection made me feel more insecure. I identified with the author in her quest to work out what it meant to love and to be loved. I identified with her as she dealt with her insecurity and compared herself to other girls. From reading magazines, watching TV, seeing movies and more back then I thought love was about feeling loved and thought nothing about returning love to that person too. I thought about how all this made me feel unattractive, unloveable, unaccepted, useless and worthless. Yes, I had friends who cared about me, but this still didn't make me feel like I could be loved. Thankfully I'm past all that insecurity and am a very happily married woman - though I still have my insecurities but they're not related to feeling loved or valuable anymore.
Thinking through all this helped me to identify more with what we have been talking about for the past 3 years at Summer School. It's helped me think more about how I as a youth worker need to get alongside young people and show them a God who loves them and cares for them as they are and not who they think they need to be or act like. It has helped me to see more of how God has created me and is using me to do His will and show His love. I can see more of how He's using me and my flawed humanity to serve others.
10 September 2008
Walk like an Egyptian
After all the chaos of our holiday to Cuba being cancelled we got another one sorted and for cheaper than our original plans too. So next Thursday (18th) we will be heading off to Egypt for 2 weeks!!! The place we will be staying in looks gorgeous and the weather forecast.....
Compared to Cuba.....
Just got to unpack now but leave everything ready to pack again in a week!
Weather forecasts taken from Weather Underground
Compared to Cuba.....
Just got to unpack now but leave everything ready to pack again in a week!
Weather forecasts taken from Weather Underground
09 September 2008
What a difference a day makes....
.... 24 little hours....On Sunday night I was packing clothes and suncream for going on our long awaited holiday to Cuba on Tuesday morning. Monday night came and so did a phone call from our travel agent saying the holiday was canceled because of Hurricane Ike working its way through Cuba - more specifically the resort we were heading to.
We were gutted - we had been looking forward to this for so long. We spent the rest of the evening trying to find a holiday we could take the next day from Gatwick seeing as we had booked flights with sleasy jet to London and back that we couldn't get refunded. We ended up missing the flight this morning because we didn't find anything, so if anyone needs a flight from Gatwick to Belfast on 24th September give me a shout... otherwise it looks like we're loosing it too.
So right now we're in the middle of trying to get another holiday sorted that will leave over the next week.
It's amazing the difference a day can make.
Image from sxc.hu
01 September 2008
I shouldn't have said anything
So I'm back from Summer School where I had a really great time, full of great fellowship and teaching. I've come away with lots to think about and work on implementing in our own youth ministry.
In getting ready to go away I wrote a post about the end of summer and yesterday I was leading the congregation in prayer, introducing it with the words "we're approaching the end of summer". I really shouldn't have said or wrote either of these things because I can't help but notice leaves falling off the trees and other signs of Autumn. Normally I'm not bothered because I love the beauty of Autumn but having not really had any real summer this year again I just don't feel ready for it all.
It got me thinking about the changes we go through in life and how often changes of season come without us being ready for them, even if we have known about the change coming for a long time. I remember being in university knowing God was calling me into a full time youth work job so after university I spent a year at Belfast Bible College preparing for full time ministry, but when that year was up and I got a job I still felt unprepared and a little overwhelmed. Looking back on that time now I can see how God was using my struggle to make me stronger, better prepared for things to come and to make me more dependent on Him instead of me.
I don't feel ready for Autumn, not just the changes in nature but the change back to the routine as our church organisations start up again. I haven't had time to prepare much for it yet or to think through programme much yet but I need to remember God is using this time of change and unpreparedness to make me stronger, better prepared for things to come and to make me more dependent on Him instead of me.
In getting ready to go away I wrote a post about the end of summer and yesterday I was leading the congregation in prayer, introducing it with the words "we're approaching the end of summer". I really shouldn't have said or wrote either of these things because I can't help but notice leaves falling off the trees and other signs of Autumn. Normally I'm not bothered because I love the beauty of Autumn but having not really had any real summer this year again I just don't feel ready for it all.
It got me thinking about the changes we go through in life and how often changes of season come without us being ready for them, even if we have known about the change coming for a long time. I remember being in university knowing God was calling me into a full time youth work job so after university I spent a year at Belfast Bible College preparing for full time ministry, but when that year was up and I got a job I still felt unprepared and a little overwhelmed. Looking back on that time now I can see how God was using my struggle to make me stronger, better prepared for things to come and to make me more dependent on Him instead of me.
I don't feel ready for Autumn, not just the changes in nature but the change back to the routine as our church organisations start up again. I haven't had time to prepare much for it yet or to think through programme much yet but I need to remember God is using this time of change and unpreparedness to make me stronger, better prepared for things to come and to make me more dependent on Him instead of me.
27 May 2008
Our first anniversary celebrations
I've been really bad and not blogged this sooner, but I hope you'll forgive me for the tardiness of this!
It all kind of started on the 19th April (day before our anniversary) when we took a bit of a road trip with Stewie and his belongings up to Conlig because he was going to stay with friends for the weekend.
We traveled home via Belfast and decided to stop into the Odyssey to get some food from the Indian Ocean. It was delicious (as usual) but the dish I ordered reminded me more of Chinese than Indian food, besides the point though, because we had a lovely meal then headed home to get tucked up in bed to watch a movie and eventually fell asleep.
We got up the next morning after a long lie in, which is very strange for me seeing as it was a Sunday and that's usually the busiest day in my week. We got up and packed our overnight bag and headed down to Newcastle for our overnight stay in the Slieve Donard Hotel. Neither of us had been before (at least as far as we can remember) and as we drove towards the building I think both our jaws dropped. It's a stunning hotel built right beside the sea with a beautiful view of the Slieve Donard, so it was a great place to go away to and relax.
The Slieve Donard Hotel
We walked up to the door and were greeted by a doorman holding open the door for us... I felt all posh already! We walked in and I was breathless at the beautiful reception hall. We got all checked in and headed to our room - we dumped our bags and headed straight for the spa to enjoy the swimming pool with an incredible view and the heat experiences. This was sooooo relaxing! We hadn't booked any treatments but this seemed to be enough on its own.
When you visit Newcastle, it seems like a law that you have to get some ice cream - after all you are beside the sea! So we headed into Newcastle to get some Maud's and couldn't help but get their top selling flavour known as "poor bear" but used to be (and still is in my eyes) "Pooh Bear" because it's ice cream with honeycomb through it. It's such a delicious treat and something we try to make ourselves at home but it's never as good as Maud's version.
We walked back to the hotel and up to our room, then watched a little tv while we waited for the time to head downstairs for our evening meal. A very posh affair indeed!!! As soon as we were seated the wine waiter introduced himself and took our order, as soon as he left a waitress offered us some bread rolls, then shortly after that we were asked for our order from the menu. And what a menu it was!
I ordered the barberry duck with rhubarb chutney and potato gratin and Rob ordered the fillet of beef. Both very delicious dishes! And came to the table looking rather classy too....
Then for dessert I went for the hot dessert of the day - sponge pudding with custard.
We had brought our top tier of wedding cake with us so Rob skipped dessert and had some of the cake where as I was a pie and had both!
I can't believe it has been a year where we've gone from this:
to this:
And it's a shame we didn't get to have any of the cake a year ago at the wedding because I would imagine (well I hope so anyway) that it was tastier than the top tier was after being frozen for a year and defrosted. The marzipan kind of "sweated" through the cake making it all taste of marzipan and it was also quite a hard cake (and yes it was defrosted fully!) so we didn't eat very much of it at all. Still we had a beautiful meal and were well looked after.
After what I thought was a great night's sleep on a really comfy bed (Rob wasn't fond of it and thought he was getting a sore back) we woke up and headed for breakfast with almost everything you could want for breakfast, the option of a cooked one, cereals, fruit, cheeses, hams, toast, bagels, croissants... and much more. It was a lovely relaxing breakfast in a dining room while some guests read the morning paper and sipped their tea.
I was sad to be going home so soon after this but we had an incredible time there and I'm pretty sure we'll be back, if not for the night at least for the spa!!!! We had a fantastic time celebrating our first full year of marriage and we had a fantastic first year together. I'm excited to see what the future will bring for us and what other things we will be celebrating together.
It all kind of started on the 19th April (day before our anniversary) when we took a bit of a road trip with Stewie and his belongings up to Conlig because he was going to stay with friends for the weekend.
We traveled home via Belfast and decided to stop into the Odyssey to get some food from the Indian Ocean. It was delicious (as usual) but the dish I ordered reminded me more of Chinese than Indian food, besides the point though, because we had a lovely meal then headed home to get tucked up in bed to watch a movie and eventually fell asleep.
We got up the next morning after a long lie in, which is very strange for me seeing as it was a Sunday and that's usually the busiest day in my week. We got up and packed our overnight bag and headed down to Newcastle for our overnight stay in the Slieve Donard Hotel. Neither of us had been before (at least as far as we can remember) and as we drove towards the building I think both our jaws dropped. It's a stunning hotel built right beside the sea with a beautiful view of the Slieve Donard, so it was a great place to go away to and relax.
We walked up to the door and were greeted by a doorman holding open the door for us... I felt all posh already! We walked in and I was breathless at the beautiful reception hall. We got all checked in and headed to our room - we dumped our bags and headed straight for the spa to enjoy the swimming pool with an incredible view and the heat experiences. This was sooooo relaxing! We hadn't booked any treatments but this seemed to be enough on its own.
When you visit Newcastle, it seems like a law that you have to get some ice cream - after all you are beside the sea! So we headed into Newcastle to get some Maud's and couldn't help but get their top selling flavour known as "poor bear" but used to be (and still is in my eyes) "Pooh Bear" because it's ice cream with honeycomb through it. It's such a delicious treat and something we try to make ourselves at home but it's never as good as Maud's version.
We walked back to the hotel and up to our room, then watched a little tv while we waited for the time to head downstairs for our evening meal. A very posh affair indeed!!! As soon as we were seated the wine waiter introduced himself and took our order, as soon as he left a waitress offered us some bread rolls, then shortly after that we were asked for our order from the menu. And what a menu it was!
I ordered the barberry duck with rhubarb chutney and potato gratin and Rob ordered the fillet of beef. Both very delicious dishes! And came to the table looking rather classy too....
Then for dessert I went for the hot dessert of the day - sponge pudding with custard.
We had brought our top tier of wedding cake with us so Rob skipped dessert and had some of the cake where as I was a pie and had both!
I can't believe it has been a year where we've gone from this:
to this:
And it's a shame we didn't get to have any of the cake a year ago at the wedding because I would imagine (well I hope so anyway) that it was tastier than the top tier was after being frozen for a year and defrosted. The marzipan kind of "sweated" through the cake making it all taste of marzipan and it was also quite a hard cake (and yes it was defrosted fully!) so we didn't eat very much of it at all. Still we had a beautiful meal and were well looked after.
After what I thought was a great night's sleep on a really comfy bed (Rob wasn't fond of it and thought he was getting a sore back) we woke up and headed for breakfast with almost everything you could want for breakfast, the option of a cooked one, cereals, fruit, cheeses, hams, toast, bagels, croissants... and much more. It was a lovely relaxing breakfast in a dining room while some guests read the morning paper and sipped their tea.
I was sad to be going home so soon after this but we had an incredible time there and I'm pretty sure we'll be back, if not for the night at least for the spa!!!! We had a fantastic time celebrating our first full year of marriage and we had a fantastic first year together. I'm excited to see what the future will bring for us and what other things we will be celebrating together.
18 April 2008
Photo meme
I saw this over on my name is cool... so I have to do it now, but hey I like the sound of this meme anyways.
Photo Meme:
If you read it you gotta do it!
1. Go to photobucket.com
2. Type in your answer for each question into the Photobucket search bar.
3. Only use the first two pages.
4. Copy the html and paste it here.
5. You can only answer in picture form.
What is your name?
When is your birthday?
What kind of car do you drive?
Where did you go to school/university?
What is your favorite season?
What is your favorite type of shoe?
What is your status?
What is your favorite movie?
What is your favorite song?
Who is your favorite Disney character?
What is your favorite vacation destination?
What is your favorite dessert?
What is your favorite drink?
What are you most afraid of?
What is your favorite TV show?
Now you've seen it give it a go!!!!
Photo Meme:
If you read it you gotta do it!
1. Go to photobucket.com
2. Type in your answer for each question into the Photobucket search bar.
3. Only use the first two pages.
4. Copy the html and paste it here.
5. You can only answer in picture form.
What is your name?
When is your birthday?
What kind of car do you drive?
Where did you go to school/university?
What is your favorite season?
What is your favorite type of shoe?
What is your status?
What is your favorite movie?
What is your favorite song?
Who is your favorite Disney character?
What is your favorite vacation destination?
What is your favorite dessert?
What is your favorite drink?
What are you most afraid of?
What is your favorite TV show?
Now you've seen it give it a go!!!!
21 March 2008
Man's Life in Australia for Sale Online
I can't remember how I came across this, but here's an extract from the article from the San Francisco chronicleA painful breakup with his wife has prompted a man to put his entire life — his house, his car, his job, even his friends — up for sale online in an effort to start over.
Ian Usher, a British immigrant to Australia, said Tuesday he would auction everything he owns and more on e-Bay starting June 22.
"On the day it's all sold and settled, I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet in one pocket and my passport in the other, nothing else at all," Usher says on his Web site. (Read the rest here and read more on his own website: alife4sale.com)
I find this just incredible and amazing. Really seeing as a Christian I am challenged to do and give everything to God; my heart, my mind, my body, my soul, my time, my talents, my energy, my possessions, my everything. Yet it's just so hard!!! I'm sure I'm not alone, but I fail so often at this. I fail to put God first, I fail to give Him the first say and I fail to give Him my all. I pray that God will take my imperfections and my failings as well as everything else and use them to His purposes.
26 February 2008
Encouragement
On Sunday, I was leading the League of Church Loyalty Service in church where we give prizes out for the children's church attendance and traditionally the youngest Sunday School group (ages 4-7) help to lead it.
I always dread leading services, mostly for the "preaching" part of it. Really I've never had any training or guidance on how to do it, so all I have to go on is what I've learnt by observing others and any time I spoke in university it was a little like this:
Photo found on http://youblog.typepad.com via Google images
Also usually the service I'm given are the family services, which I'm more than happy with I don't think I'd want to preach a "normal" service anytime soon anyways, but this means that I've to try and keep the message understandable for everyone and interactive for the younger children who are used to leaving part way through the service. This worries me sometimes because by trying to keep the message simple and understandable yet applicable for all ages can be quite tricky and I often feel like I'm lousy at speaking because of this. Sunday was one of those times. On Saturday night I was going over my 3 little talks and cringing, it just all sounded rubbish in my head, but I prayed that God would take my rubbishness and use it to his advantage.
So Sunday morning came and the service went well but i felt it could have been better, really though I was just glad it was over. I went to the door with the minister to shake hands with people as they left church and lots of people complimented the service saying how much they'd enjoyed it. It kind of irritated me, I mean it's great that people enjoy church but did they connect with God? Did they grow in their faith? Were they challenged? Was God the centre of what had happened? My interpretation of "I really enjoyed the service" or "That was lovely" was that they had only looked to their own interests and what makes them happy. Did it make God happy? Did he enjoy it and think it was lovely? Is it OK to think of church as just lovely? I also was looking for a little constructive criticism, but it wasn't going to happen.
Sunday morning disappeared and I rushed off to my next thing in the afternoon forgetting all about the service. I hadn't even thought about it really until today at our church lunch group when so many of the folk there were so thankful for the service, for a great message that they felt they needed reminded of, a few who weren't there on Sunday had said how they'd heard all about the service from others and were sorry to not have been there and even someone who said they were glad they understood it straight away. I felt encouraged that people were still thinking about it and talking about it, how often do people talk about the Sunday service after it's over? And the fact that they were telling others about it really encouraged me too.
I'm not just encouraged personally but also that people haven't just enjoyed the service, but got more out of it than a warm fuzzy feeling. God really can use a mess to bring about his purpose!
Preacher cartoon found on http://www.timshen.truepath.com via Google Images
I always dread leading services, mostly for the "preaching" part of it. Really I've never had any training or guidance on how to do it, so all I have to go on is what I've learnt by observing others and any time I spoke in university it was a little like this:
Photo found on http://youblog.typepad.com via Google images
Also usually the service I'm given are the family services, which I'm more than happy with I don't think I'd want to preach a "normal" service anytime soon anyways, but this means that I've to try and keep the message understandable for everyone and interactive for the younger children who are used to leaving part way through the service. This worries me sometimes because by trying to keep the message simple and understandable yet applicable for all ages can be quite tricky and I often feel like I'm lousy at speaking because of this. Sunday was one of those times. On Saturday night I was going over my 3 little talks and cringing, it just all sounded rubbish in my head, but I prayed that God would take my rubbishness and use it to his advantage.
So Sunday morning came and the service went well but i felt it could have been better, really though I was just glad it was over. I went to the door with the minister to shake hands with people as they left church and lots of people complimented the service saying how much they'd enjoyed it. It kind of irritated me, I mean it's great that people enjoy church but did they connect with God? Did they grow in their faith? Were they challenged? Was God the centre of what had happened? My interpretation of "I really enjoyed the service" or "That was lovely" was that they had only looked to their own interests and what makes them happy. Did it make God happy? Did he enjoy it and think it was lovely? Is it OK to think of church as just lovely? I also was looking for a little constructive criticism, but it wasn't going to happen.Sunday morning disappeared and I rushed off to my next thing in the afternoon forgetting all about the service. I hadn't even thought about it really until today at our church lunch group when so many of the folk there were so thankful for the service, for a great message that they felt they needed reminded of, a few who weren't there on Sunday had said how they'd heard all about the service from others and were sorry to not have been there and even someone who said they were glad they understood it straight away. I felt encouraged that people were still thinking about it and talking about it, how often do people talk about the Sunday service after it's over? And the fact that they were telling others about it really encouraged me too.
I'm not just encouraged personally but also that people haven't just enjoyed the service, but got more out of it than a warm fuzzy feeling. God really can use a mess to bring about his purpose!
Preacher cartoon found on http://www.timshen.truepath.com via Google Images
21 February 2008
Change of hair
I've had long hair for the longest time, and despite trying to get it cut a lot shorter last October for our honeymoon:
I finally decided recently to get the chop I originally wanted then and when I told Rob he was all excited cos he's always thought I'd suit short hair.
So this is what it was like yesterday, rather long with bad roots from my blonde highlights I got for the wedding around this time last year):
This morning I coloured it myself (I just refuse to pay extortionate prices for something I can do myself with a £5 bottle of hair dye):
And this afternoon i went to the hairdresser and got it chopped:
What do you think?
I finally decided recently to get the chop I originally wanted then and when I told Rob he was all excited cos he's always thought I'd suit short hair.
So this is what it was like yesterday, rather long with bad roots from my blonde highlights I got for the wedding around this time last year):
This morning I coloured it myself (I just refuse to pay extortionate prices for something I can do myself with a £5 bottle of hair dye):
And this afternoon i went to the hairdresser and got it chopped:
What do you think?
19 February 2008
What a week....end
Last week was a bit chaotic and had me stressed and panicked.
Last Monday
My car was in for a service and there were several things found that will need replacing soon that will end up being rather expensive, never mind the fact the service itself wasn't all that cheap either!
While the service was being done I got a call to let me know that the centre we were going to take the youth group to on Friday had some problems with the boiler for the heating and that we couldn't go anymore. so there was a panic about finding somewhere new to go and I spent a good portion of my day off stressing about work stuff again.
Tuesday
A new power cable for the computer still hadn't arrived, so I was starting to panic about the actual teaching and weekend plans that I had already worked on and that I needed to spend a good amount of time on still.
I had found somewhere new - Ballywatt Presbyterian Church - to take the group for the weekend but spent ages phoning round all the parents letting them know the change of plan and what else needed packed etc.
Wednesday
I met up with a friend, but on the way filled the car with petrol, went in to pay and found I'd forgotten my card and had no cash, but it's all sorted now.
The power cable arrived so I could get started on the weekend prep.
Thursday
Today was full of prep for the weekend. I was so glad to get the power back because this took quite a while with the computer never mind without. It also meant I could find what the readings were that I had decided for a special service in church on the 24th for the kids to be given them for practicing.
Friday
A lot more last minute prep for the weekend, including getting all the packing done, food bought, getting everyone into cars and driving off for the weekend with 15 teenagers (eeeek!) and to find somewhere I really didn't know how to get to. Thankfully Mr Tom Tom knew the way!
The rest of the weekend
Was great but i felt a little stressed when everyone decided to ask the same questions a million times that had already been answered at group meetings.... I guess I just need to work on being more patient. Didn't get much sleep either, but enough to get by.
We also had Indian takeaway on the Saturday night which left my tummy a little off (as well as a couple of others).
On the whole I had a great time - and I think the whole group did seeing as they were asking when we were coming back!
Ballywatt Presbyterian was incredible, great facilities, very cosy rooms, well heated, very clean, great kitchen for catering and even showers!!!! If ever you're looking for somewhere to take a youth group to up at the north coast of Ireland you should check it out!
Monday (yesterday)
I actually ended up having a proper day off for the first time in weeks! It was great. I got loads of sleep, took Stewie for a nice long walk, went to see my in laws for a little while, got the groceries, came home made dinner etc. I was so glad to see the end of last week and hope this week ends up being much nicer to me.
Last Monday
My car was in for a service and there were several things found that will need replacing soon that will end up being rather expensive, never mind the fact the service itself wasn't all that cheap either!
While the service was being done I got a call to let me know that the centre we were going to take the youth group to on Friday had some problems with the boiler for the heating and that we couldn't go anymore. so there was a panic about finding somewhere new to go and I spent a good portion of my day off stressing about work stuff again.
Tuesday
A new power cable for the computer still hadn't arrived, so I was starting to panic about the actual teaching and weekend plans that I had already worked on and that I needed to spend a good amount of time on still.
I had found somewhere new - Ballywatt Presbyterian Church - to take the group for the weekend but spent ages phoning round all the parents letting them know the change of plan and what else needed packed etc.
Wednesday
I met up with a friend, but on the way filled the car with petrol, went in to pay and found I'd forgotten my card and had no cash, but it's all sorted now.
The power cable arrived so I could get started on the weekend prep.
Thursday
Today was full of prep for the weekend. I was so glad to get the power back because this took quite a while with the computer never mind without. It also meant I could find what the readings were that I had decided for a special service in church on the 24th for the kids to be given them for practicing.
Friday
A lot more last minute prep for the weekend, including getting all the packing done, food bought, getting everyone into cars and driving off for the weekend with 15 teenagers (eeeek!) and to find somewhere I really didn't know how to get to. Thankfully Mr Tom Tom knew the way!
The rest of the weekend
Was great but i felt a little stressed when everyone decided to ask the same questions a million times that had already been answered at group meetings.... I guess I just need to work on being more patient. Didn't get much sleep either, but enough to get by.
We also had Indian takeaway on the Saturday night which left my tummy a little off (as well as a couple of others).
On the whole I had a great time - and I think the whole group did seeing as they were asking when we were coming back!
Ballywatt Presbyterian was incredible, great facilities, very cosy rooms, well heated, very clean, great kitchen for catering and even showers!!!! If ever you're looking for somewhere to take a youth group to up at the north coast of Ireland you should check it out!
Monday (yesterday)
I actually ended up having a proper day off for the first time in weeks! It was great. I got loads of sleep, took Stewie for a nice long walk, went to see my in laws for a little while, got the groceries, came home made dinner etc. I was so glad to see the end of last week and hope this week ends up being much nicer to me.
17 February 2008
The end of the long week...
I'm glad to say that this week is over... it's been rough in all sorts of ways, with being away with 15 teenagers this weekend topping it off. We had a great time and it's been a success in all sorts of ways, but it's totally drained me. I'm so glad I'm off tomorrow and don't have to even think about work.
I'll post something more tomorrow when I'm more awake, and also post the stats for the last month that should have been posted on Thursday.... exciting huh? :-S
I'll post something more tomorrow when I'm more awake, and also post the stats for the last month that should have been posted on Thursday.... exciting huh? :-S
14 January 2008
Dentist again
Since I had my root removed last week the pain just wasn't going away. I spoke with a woman in church who is a dentist to ask if it's supposed to be like that or if I should see the dentist again, or even the doctor for that matter and she advised tat I go back to the dentist. So I called this morning and described the problem to the receptionist, she then shocked me by giving me an appointment for this afternoon (usually I'm left waiting 2 or 3 weeks to see the dentist), so I took it and headed up to Glengormley to find out I had Dry Socket where the bone underneath was exposed to food and air and stuff making it very painful. It has now been washed out and filled in with some stuff that should last a couple of days, but has took the pain away, I'm feeling much much better now! Long may it last!
09 January 2008
I hate dentists
I always dread going to the dentist, i mean he's a nice man and all but what he does is rather scary. The weekend before Christmas I accidentally swallowed a crown that I have, well I should say had and after the Christmas break I finally got an appointment to get it seen to, which was today. I had thought I'd just get another mould taken and a temporary filling put in, how wrong was I?!?!?!?He took an X-ray and discovered that the roots had separated and were twisting so a new crown wouldn't be a good idea seeing as it would keep falling out, he suggested removing the root and asked would I like to do it today or make another appointment. Quickly weighing up the idea of how nervous I would get anticipating it if I made another appointment alongside the idea of driving from Banbridge to Glengormley and back again, I decided to just get it done there and then, despite the fact I'd be getting an unnecessarily huge needle jammed in my mouth.
I was such a wimp, the nurse had to hold my hand while I was getting the injection. I really hate needles - I'm fine seeing it happen to other people, but I'm a different story. So my mouth was all numbed and then the dentist charged on in there with more unnecessarily large implements to yank this root out of my mouth, a few minute later the deed was done. He stuffed a cotton ball in my mouth and told me to bite on it until I came home and gave me some spare for incase it keeps bleeding. I left the place shaking, I really am a wuss when it comes to the dentist.
I went to my Mum and Dad's house where I had planned to go afterwards to get lunch, however seeing as I can only eat on one side of my mouth, am not allowed to let liquid near the hole causing great difficulty drinking and I can't actually feel anything on the right side of my face/mouth/tongue means eating is rather tricky at present, so Stewie got my leftover Chinese from last night (seeing as cooking wasn't going to happen then, the power came on again around 2.30am).
Well, if you're the praying sort please say a little prayer that the gum will heal over quick and that dinner tonight won't be as tricky.
01 January 2008
2007 Review
Many blogs have done a review of 2007, mostly using the format of "highlights" or the "best blog posts" or "my tops tens of x, y and z for 2007" etc. However I was reading fellow April 07 bride Chris Cool's blog and loved how she reviewed the year by what happened month by month and have decided to do the same seeing as the last year has been very eventful for me too!
January
We spent New Year's Eve in 2006 with some of Rob's classmates and their significant others by having dinner at our new house. We had just got the keys to our house a few days before Christmas and I had insisted on having a tree put up, my first ever Christmas tree and it was a real tree. Mum and Dad have always had artificial trees so this was a real treat, but soon after the turn of the new year we had to remove the decorations and say goodbye to our first tree.
On the 2nd and 3rd of the month I starred in a play put on by the church called, "Don't Tell the Wife", where I played Hilda, a girlfriend of Cyril who was a little odd.
And a lot of wedding planning took place, as well as Rob and I going to a marriage preparation course run by Christian Guidelines
February
Wedding invites were sent out, replies started coming in as well as some wedding presents!
I went go karting with the BB as the only girl!
Tried my wedding dress on for the first time, it was rather big and was taken to the seamstress for alterations.
March
Had my first wedding - in a play, not a real wedding - a short sequel to "Don't tell the wife" was written where my character got married and was performed exactly a month before my own wedding at the church annual review. Like my dress?
I also went for hair and make up trials for the actual wedding - it was so much fun being pampered - and did lots more wedding prep.
And more wedding presents came!
April
The first Bannside Youth Retreat in my time being there was held in the first week of the month. There were about a dozen of us altogether and we had a great time.
A few days later I had my hen night at Fat Buddha which was great! Gorgeous food! Fantastic company! And great craic!
I had wedding dress finally altered and picked up just 3 days before the wedding!!!!
And on the 20th Rob and I became Mr and Mrs Ruth! lol We had an amazing day, it was so much more fun than I had ever imagined it would be! I'm a very forunate girl to have married the love of my life.
After the wedding we had our "minimoon" as I called it. We weren't able to go away on our honeymoon straight away seeing as Rob had his final exams to do for his degree, so we spent a few nights in the bridal suite of the Malone Lodge Hotel which was fantastic! Recommend it if you can afford it!
We came home and I started living with my new hubby.
About a week later I turned 24!!! and I got birthday presents!!!!!
And we had lots more wedding presents!!!!
May
Rob took part in the Megaw Memorial Lectures and came second. In my humble (and unbiased lol) opinion I think he should have won, but I was so proud of him!
We got our wedding photos, and i added loads on flickr and bebo. I was so happy with how they all turned out. Our photographer, Michael Taylor was amazing and did so much for us, he really understood what we wanted. We would recommend him to anyone! And he doesn't just do weddings, so if you're after a good photographer check him out.
On the 10th we got our wee puppy Stewie. And here he is the first day we got him:
He was so scared and still is a little scared of things but he's come out of his shell now and become a cheeky spoilt pup lol. But we love him lots.
June
The first 3 days of the month saw a huge fundraising event for the church that had took the best part of 2 years to plan. The Bannside flower festival where we served over 2000 meals as well as serve a huge amount of tea, coffee and scones. We had thousands of people come to see the beautiful flower arrangements. But the biggest success was having members of the church all working together, getting to know each other, involving new people and having fun together!
This year was the first ever Kid's Praise Party held by PCI. It was a fantastic event, I can't wait to see what happens at this year's party.
On the same day, straight after the Kid's Praise Party was Youth night, another great year, however as usual it ran over time a little.
The last few days of the month were spent at Summer Madness which was known as SBSUSM07 (meaning "stand by or stand up, summer madness 07) for the year and was the last year of the StreetReach outreach project, with over 2000 (if memory serves me right) people (mostly teenagers) hitting the streets, to clean up, serve, play with kids and much more.
July
The first few days of the month saw the second half of Summer Madness with Rob's Graduation in the middle
Another day where I was all proud of him!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out at the cinema. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released.
August
August saw the start of this blog. which has been going very well if I say so myself.
And soon after that I started "Just add eggs" which is now "ruth's kitchen experiments"
We booked our honeymoon.
And I went to the second PCI Youth Ministry Summer School
September
We cut the grass for the first time
Rob and I headed down to Kilkenny to see his mum and brother.
October
We went on our Honeymoon in Menorca and while away got to finish reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Then about a week later I took a crowd of 16 to the MAD weekend and we had a great time
November
November was a challenge for my blogging because I signed up to do NaBloPoMo and decided to post about things I learnt everyday.
I also had my annual review this month and was offered permanent contract which was rather exciting!
My lovely hubby bought me an iPhone
I had also made my 100th post
December
December was it's usual self - extremely busy but lots of fun. Especially seeing as this was our first Christmas together married and New Years was celebrated in style, just the 3 of us on the sofa watching TV.
What a fantastic year!!! I'm looking forward to the next one! Happy new year everyone!
January
We spent New Year's Eve in 2006 with some of Rob's classmates and their significant others by having dinner at our new house. We had just got the keys to our house a few days before Christmas and I had insisted on having a tree put up, my first ever Christmas tree and it was a real tree. Mum and Dad have always had artificial trees so this was a real treat, but soon after the turn of the new year we had to remove the decorations and say goodbye to our first tree.
On the 2nd and 3rd of the month I starred in a play put on by the church called, "Don't Tell the Wife", where I played Hilda, a girlfriend of Cyril who was a little odd.
And a lot of wedding planning took place, as well as Rob and I going to a marriage preparation course run by Christian Guidelines
February
Wedding invites were sent out, replies started coming in as well as some wedding presents!
I went go karting with the BB as the only girl!
Tried my wedding dress on for the first time, it was rather big and was taken to the seamstress for alterations.
March
Had my first wedding - in a play, not a real wedding - a short sequel to "Don't tell the wife" was written where my character got married and was performed exactly a month before my own wedding at the church annual review. Like my dress?
I also went for hair and make up trials for the actual wedding - it was so much fun being pampered - and did lots more wedding prep.
And more wedding presents came!
April
The first Bannside Youth Retreat in my time being there was held in the first week of the month. There were about a dozen of us altogether and we had a great time.
A few days later I had my hen night at Fat Buddha which was great! Gorgeous food! Fantastic company! And great craic!
I had wedding dress finally altered and picked up just 3 days before the wedding!!!!
And on the 20th Rob and I became Mr and Mrs Ruth! lol We had an amazing day, it was so much more fun than I had ever imagined it would be! I'm a very forunate girl to have married the love of my life.
After the wedding we had our "minimoon" as I called it. We weren't able to go away on our honeymoon straight away seeing as Rob had his final exams to do for his degree, so we spent a few nights in the bridal suite of the Malone Lodge Hotel which was fantastic! Recommend it if you can afford it!
We came home and I started living with my new hubby.
About a week later I turned 24!!! and I got birthday presents!!!!!
And we had lots more wedding presents!!!!
May
Rob took part in the Megaw Memorial Lectures and came second. In my humble (and unbiased lol) opinion I think he should have won, but I was so proud of him!
We got our wedding photos, and i added loads on flickr and bebo. I was so happy with how they all turned out. Our photographer, Michael Taylor was amazing and did so much for us, he really understood what we wanted. We would recommend him to anyone! And he doesn't just do weddings, so if you're after a good photographer check him out.
On the 10th we got our wee puppy Stewie. And here he is the first day we got him:
He was so scared and still is a little scared of things but he's come out of his shell now and become a cheeky spoilt pup lol. But we love him lots.
June
The first 3 days of the month saw a huge fundraising event for the church that had took the best part of 2 years to plan. The Bannside flower festival where we served over 2000 meals as well as serve a huge amount of tea, coffee and scones. We had thousands of people come to see the beautiful flower arrangements. But the biggest success was having members of the church all working together, getting to know each other, involving new people and having fun together!
This year was the first ever Kid's Praise Party held by PCI. It was a fantastic event, I can't wait to see what happens at this year's party.
On the same day, straight after the Kid's Praise Party was Youth night, another great year, however as usual it ran over time a little.
The last few days of the month were spent at Summer Madness which was known as SBSUSM07 (meaning "stand by or stand up, summer madness 07) for the year and was the last year of the StreetReach outreach project, with over 2000 (if memory serves me right) people (mostly teenagers) hitting the streets, to clean up, serve, play with kids and much more.
July
The first few days of the month saw the second half of Summer Madness with Rob's Graduation in the middle
Another day where I was all proud of him!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out at the cinema. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released.
August
August saw the start of this blog. which has been going very well if I say so myself.
And soon after that I started "Just add eggs" which is now "ruth's kitchen experiments"
We booked our honeymoon.
And I went to the second PCI Youth Ministry Summer School
September
We cut the grass for the first time
Rob and I headed down to Kilkenny to see his mum and brother.
October
We went on our Honeymoon in Menorca and while away got to finish reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Then about a week later I took a crowd of 16 to the MAD weekend and we had a great time
November
November was a challenge for my blogging because I signed up to do NaBloPoMo and decided to post about things I learnt everyday.
I also had my annual review this month and was offered permanent contract which was rather exciting!
My lovely hubby bought me an iPhone
I had also made my 100th post
December
December was it's usual self - extremely busy but lots of fun. Especially seeing as this was our first Christmas together married and New Years was celebrated in style, just the 3 of us on the sofa watching TV.
What a fantastic year!!! I'm looking forward to the next one! Happy new year everyone!
19 December 2007
Loosing control....
I've been writing this post the past few days, making edits, adding, deleting, changing etc etc. and now I have finally decided to post it
Recently, what with all the events, services and so on to prepare for in the church, I've been noticing more of how I just don't seem to want to give up jobs to other people. I've often felt a little annoyed (not just in work related things) when I feel like I'm left on my own to do things that could be done between a few people. However when it comes to sharing out the jobs and spreading the load a bit I often worry that something won't be done right or the way I'd like it done. Logically I know sharing the tasks will make my life easier as I'll not have as much to worry or stress about, but there's something in me that I'm slowly discovering about how I need to feel in control.
Last Saturday was the Christmas Babysitting day we hold for parents to leave their kids with us at church for some fun, games, crafts, food and a movie so they can do some Christmas shopping or just have some time to themselves. I had designed posters, publicised it round schools and the church, organised booking forms, planned the programme, went shopping for all the food, watched the video to be sure it suited all the ages we were looking after, made examples of the crafts, and so on so on. The day before I made a note of what all I had to get done before it started, getting the food bought was one of the most urgent things, and planned to get them all done after helping at the Mother's and Toddler's Party in the morning. I was starting to panic slightly during the party thinking about all that was still to be done, and then one of the volunteers for the babysitting day came in to help at the party and asked if she could do anything for Saturday. Initially I thought I would be fine and get it all done myself, but then remembered my panic and the feeling in my stomach a few seconds earlier then asked if she could sort out the food. I told her to buy cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, chicken nuggets, squash, crisps etc to feed 40-50, and as soon as I did I felt so much better, despite also thinking it might not be the right stuff.... silly really, i mean how wrong can you go with the list I gave her.
The following day I arrived at the church, still with lots of bits and pieces to sort out. The food had all been sitting waiting for me, ready to get it cooked and , well it wasn't what I would have bought exactly but it was perfect! And it was all plenty of food to feed everybody.
I'm slowly but surely learning to delegate and ask for help when I need it, instead of putting extra pressure on myself. It makes me think about Proverbs 3:5 -
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"
So often I try to do things by myself and too often I turn to God for help last, again I'm slowly learning to ask for help and to trust in God for the strength, wisdom, courage, resources and so much more to get through whatever I'm faced with. After all "With God all things are possible."
Recently, what with all the events, services and so on to prepare for in the church, I've been noticing more of how I just don't seem to want to give up jobs to other people. I've often felt a little annoyed (not just in work related things) when I feel like I'm left on my own to do things that could be done between a few people. However when it comes to sharing out the jobs and spreading the load a bit I often worry that something won't be done right or the way I'd like it done. Logically I know sharing the tasks will make my life easier as I'll not have as much to worry or stress about, but there's something in me that I'm slowly discovering about how I need to feel in control.
Last Saturday was the Christmas Babysitting day we hold for parents to leave their kids with us at church for some fun, games, crafts, food and a movie so they can do some Christmas shopping or just have some time to themselves. I had designed posters, publicised it round schools and the church, organised booking forms, planned the programme, went shopping for all the food, watched the video to be sure it suited all the ages we were looking after, made examples of the crafts, and so on so on. The day before I made a note of what all I had to get done before it started, getting the food bought was one of the most urgent things, and planned to get them all done after helping at the Mother's and Toddler's Party in the morning. I was starting to panic slightly during the party thinking about all that was still to be done, and then one of the volunteers for the babysitting day came in to help at the party and asked if she could do anything for Saturday. Initially I thought I would be fine and get it all done myself, but then remembered my panic and the feeling in my stomach a few seconds earlier then asked if she could sort out the food. I told her to buy cocktail sausages, sausage rolls, chicken nuggets, squash, crisps etc to feed 40-50, and as soon as I did I felt so much better, despite also thinking it might not be the right stuff.... silly really, i mean how wrong can you go with the list I gave her.
The following day I arrived at the church, still with lots of bits and pieces to sort out. The food had all been sitting waiting for me, ready to get it cooked and , well it wasn't what I would have bought exactly but it was perfect! And it was all plenty of food to feed everybody.
I'm slowly but surely learning to delegate and ask for help when I need it, instead of putting extra pressure on myself. It makes me think about Proverbs 3:5 -
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"
So often I try to do things by myself and too often I turn to God for help last, again I'm slowly learning to ask for help and to trust in God for the strength, wisdom, courage, resources and so much more to get through whatever I'm faced with. After all "With God all things are possible."
25 November 2007
Personal questions....
Sundays are my busiest days and usually on Sunday mornings after Bible Class I'm running around the church trying to find people before the service for various reasons because as soon as it's over everyone rushes home for their Sunday roast.
Today while I was rushing around someone stopped me for a quick chat and asked, "have you put weight on recently?" I didn't know what to say, I was really caught off guard! Like there was no "how are you?" or anything before hand! In truth yes, I have, not much, so little that I didn't think it would be that noticeable to other people. Well I kind of laughed and said "well sure everyone does around Christmas". The next question was "are you pregnant?" The phrase "none of your business" came to mind but I laughed again and said no.
I walked away sucking my stomach in and thinking do i look fat?. I don't think I'm all that paranoid about how I look, in general I'm quite happy with it - like most people there are a few things I would change if I could - but these two questions left me feeling very paranoid and self conscious. When I got home poor Rob had to hear all about it.
I've posted before about the campaign for real beauty - why don't I get it into my head that beauty is more than what's on the outside?
Tonight at the local youth rally the speaker was talking about all sorts of things but a little sentence was in there about how we are a unique and beautiful creation, individually crafted by the Maker and unconditionally loved by him. Why should I, or anyone for that matter, be seeking approval from others? I'm not saying I shouldn't take pride in my appearance and want to look my best, but that really I need to find assurance from my Heavenly Father.
Today while I was rushing around someone stopped me for a quick chat and asked, "have you put weight on recently?" I didn't know what to say, I was really caught off guard! Like there was no "how are you?" or anything before hand! In truth yes, I have, not much, so little that I didn't think it would be that noticeable to other people. Well I kind of laughed and said "well sure everyone does around Christmas". The next question was "are you pregnant?" The phrase "none of your business" came to mind but I laughed again and said no. I walked away sucking my stomach in and thinking do i look fat?. I don't think I'm all that paranoid about how I look, in general I'm quite happy with it - like most people there are a few things I would change if I could - but these two questions left me feeling very paranoid and self conscious. When I got home poor Rob had to hear all about it.
I've posted before about the campaign for real beauty - why don't I get it into my head that beauty is more than what's on the outside?Tonight at the local youth rally the speaker was talking about all sorts of things but a little sentence was in there about how we are a unique and beautiful creation, individually crafted by the Maker and unconditionally loved by him. Why should I, or anyone for that matter, be seeking approval from others? I'm not saying I shouldn't take pride in my appearance and want to look my best, but that really I need to find assurance from my Heavenly Father.
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