Love Transcending

Lord, i need you now.

I can’t do life without you.

I cant even go forward with just a little bit of you.

So i give you all of me.

Write my story. I’m sorry for writing it myself.

You are the true author, the narrator, the poet.

I abide in you. please abide in me.

I love you. 

For awhile now some people have been asking me for an update on life and such, so, i thought i’d give you one! First off, i apologise for the lack of contact with some people on my behalf, Life is crazy busy and if i don’t see people weekly or run into them I often forget to make a point to send a text to catchup until i have  a moment of silence.. which unfortunately doesn’t happen very much in uni! :p

I love and value you all so much, and it always does my heart good to know so many amazing people care for me and are praying for me. It really means alot.

so, I am in my second year of social work at Deakin in Geelong. I absolutely love it, and am really leaning towards a Community Development role in the field, particularly with young people. I am also studying anthropology of welfare and development which is really challenging but cool. Another dream is to be able to be a community development worker in a less developed country, so i’m always intrigued by what i learn in that class!  I really dislike study, but its worth it to do something I love!!! 

Healthwise, I am doing a lot better. Last year was particularly tough for me, going through a relapse of chronic fatigue due to high anxiety and also experiencing mild depression. Man, i now have an appreciation for those who suffer with it long term, amazing strength is needed to get through! I feel blessed that i now even have a partial understanding of what those with depression suffer daily.It sucked, but hindesights always good isnt it :p .Thankfully my family and friends were onboard to help me through, and God taught me a heck of a lot in that time too.  

Church at Waterfront is going great, after a rocky year figuring out my role in youth ministry and where i wanted to be i now feel settled and excited for whats to come! i am now only involved in youth ministry on friday nights, every second week (though i seem to turn up nearly every other week too….:-p) i love it so much, and i enjoy being able to spend more time with the youth girls then i could before. God is doing incredible things and a great harvest is occurring in wcc youth. Theres a breakthrough coming,so if you could keep us in your prayers that would be awesome! God is doing a new thing!

 I love learning about social work whilst i am a youth leader, i seems to make learning about principles and supposed situations much more applicable!!! I’ve also had a few opportunities to speak at church which has been fantastic, I was so certain i wouldn’t be a preacher, but once i had to do it for bible college i caught the buzz :p. Mum and Dad said  I had no choice since its in both sides of the family! haha. So its been exciting to be able to step out in that gifting, i often find myself thinking about sermons and how i could illustrate a principle, or share a funny story during my day. Its really encouraging how God is affirming that desire in me :)

Im working at Maccas still, I love hosting the kids parties, its always entertaining and a bit of fun! iI’ve been keeping an eye out for nannying positions, but they are quite hard to come by in Geelongs economic state at the moment, all is good though. God always puts me in the right spot, so i’m not particularly stressed about it. 

I have a lovely group of friends at waterfront and its been really amazing lately as we all grow together. God is doing incredible things individually in each of us and communally. We are all so different, and sometimes it causes a bit of a stir, but I am learning it is much better to work things out and communicate with people then to just drop it all and walk away. Often when people have problems in life its just miscommunication and a different way of doing things. after 21 years im finally realising this!!! haha :p Its also been great connecting with old friends lately, and seeing how we’ve all changed and grown since highschool and bible college :)

What i really wanted to mention was Warrior Attire, my clothing label, God is doing things!!! For a long time i didnt understand what God wanted with it, it never seemed to go as planned and it confused me. Warrior stemmed from a dream God gave me when i was 16. The dream was for a movement to occur in Geelong, where people would experience Jesus, authentically, where there needs would be met and where they would experience hope. Thats all i was given though. for years, every once in awhile a little bit more info would be given to me by God, a name or a design, but i never understood it!!! :P. Warrior happened because i felt it was the start of a culture shift, i didnt know how clothing could make a huge impact, but i knew i had to start somewhere.

the amazing news is- The jigsaw is starting to come together. after a long time of ‘digging ditches’ and not really knowing why, 2 months ago God handed me Hope Movement on a platter. Hope Movement was the name God gave me when i was 17 or 18. I filed it away not knowing what it should look like, and then on one weekend God blew my mind and told me everything! The culture shift that is happening is Geelong, was to be named Hope Movement. A shift from hopelessness and abuse, confusion and shame to joy and peace, love and hope. And that culture shift was to occur through an internet community. My heart has been for young people in particlar. What youth go through these days is shocking, im only 21, and even those in there early teens go through things i didnt know about till i was 18. They have no idea where to go when they need help. so they might go to facebook or they go to alcohol or sex. I realised that Young people need a safe place they can go to, a ‘cool’ place where they can receive legitimate help from appropriate professionals. and more then that, they need to hear a message of hope, they need to know they are not alone and God created them for a purpose. its vital for gen y to receive this if we want to see change in our city, and change in there lives. 

i was a bit scared to tell anyone about my idea at first. it had been sitting with me for so long, to say it out loud might be crazy. but after God basically gave me a push (funny story), or a kick.. haha, i talked about it. and to my amazement, God had been talking to other people about the same thing!!!! So, we now have a team of 10 or so people with wide ranging occupations- counsellors, people studying social work and psycology, photographers, graphic designers, journalists, business management pros. Well. alot of us are still studying those things, but we are on our way :p. We have everything we need to build and maintain a feasible, relevant website for young people. it will have a christian counsellor answering basic questions and have links for legitimate social services in geelong, as well as churches. A blog will also happen where people share there story of pain and triumph. The aim is that young people would know they are not alone, and they can get through the tough times.

So where does WarriorAttire fit in? Good question. The idea of HM actually started from the idea of a tshirt, of selling tees and giving money to charities. Warrior Attire, has now become Hope Attire. My heart was never really for my own label, it was for a movement to help others, so the shift seems timely and fitting (fitting, get it, hahahah…….) Hope Attire will literally be the promo tshirts of Hopemovement, with half the profits going to a local charity. After awhile, you may see a design by me here or there, but the ultimate goal is to get people sending there own designs in of what they see Hope Movement as, shifting Hm from an ‘organisation’ to a true ‘movement’.

Hopefully, that makes sense!! I am so excited by this turn of events, only today i caught up with a friend whom God told to start ‘Hope Movement’ when she was just 14… i didnt even know till now! God has been fine tuning it for so long, and now its begining. 

I still have a lot to learn, and God is teaching me all the time. but i am excited to get my hands dirty!!!

i love you all so much!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxox

The cry of my heart!!!!!

i find myself here on my knees again

(Source: rawbdz)

What a week.

This week i learned a heck of a lot of things. a few awesome and funny things like:

how to get audio Bible on my Iphone,

and that i am really loud in church services. even amongst alot of pentes. 

Certain apple juice bottles are extremely hard to open. 

Its hard to jump in heels.

I learnt a few life lessons too.

doing assignments well in advance is handy. 

People will disappoint you at times. But theres no use getting hung up on it cause they are.. well… human.

Being a friend doesn’t mean you have to be irrational in generosity

Im in love. With Jesus. And he’s the only one who will give me meaning.

Speaking up is important

Just because God gives you a word doesn’t mean you’re meant to extend on it!

I dont really know whats going to happen in the future, despite what people might say or I think Gods said.  The best thing to do is file it away and trust him.

God is very good to his kids

God made me. and He loves me because I am …. me. 

I’m human. shocker.

it’s easy to put certain ideas and people in ‘boxes’. cliche’s and thought patterns are comfortable. Its almost comforting to shake your finger at a supposed failing in someone else’s life. when, it actually points more towards your own inadequacy.Realising that things aren’t always black and white… is uncomfortable. but necessary,  

No ones perfect. and thats ok. 

Theres always more going on under the surface. 

Lifes a journey. Judgment of yourself or others only creates unneeded turmoil.

hope-movement:

Lord, I dressed myself for so long, in the garments I believed I deserved. Creams, off whites and muted earthy tones. I wore them with acceptance, and yet; I hung my head in shame. They were the sum of my past mistakes, my present aches, and my worldly tastes. Whilst white dresses I saw, I passed them by - for in my eyes; discoloured, tainted and stained was all I justly deserved. But wrong I had been. For it was in the midst of my admiration for all garments white and precious - that You showed me Your magnificence and Your true sacrifice and promise for me. You took me through Your cleansing process, Your refining fire and Your refreshing waters. You took my rags and turned them to riches. You took my creams and made them white as snow. You raised me from earthy tones, and placed me in garments of pure praise. You stripped me bare and washed me clean - and there I stood before You; purified and sanctified, by Your perfect love for me. How blessed I am to come before You and raise my head high, in that I am made whole and righteous, in You and by You.