its not whats under the tree

its whose around it ...

my friend that i work with was drafted to give the talk  at the Christmas service for our youth this year. 

it was amazing ..

he spoke about how we should look around our churches , homes and places of work. and see the people around us. that's our family. those are the people that God has put in our life to teach us about himself. everyone of them has something to offer us. and we have something to offer them. the things we love in the people around us. are the characteristics of god in them ... even if they don't know it.

think about someone your close to, what do you love most about them ..

their kindness

their patients

their commitment to you and your friendship 

all things of god 

so whoever was around you this year, thank them for what they are offering you. not just there gifts

here are some of the people "around my tree" this year. i cannot imagine life without a single one of you guys and i am grateful for all you have to teach me in life  

my siblings 

my work friends (well straw representations)

uni friends 

this bunch of wallys 

all of the amazing people i have met through having turners syndrome and spending a bunch of time at gosh.

and lastly. but not leastly. you.,that's right, you. if your reading this i am very blessed to have you as part of my life. so thank you

merry Christmas 

im sure i will post a bunch of my Christmas pictures in a later post

but for now i am doing this ...

feel free to tell me your favorite moment of Christmas this year has been in the comments 

i am off to go enjoy boxing day

toodles !

xx

  

15 months !!

so yesterday my mentor gave me some "homework". her question was .. 

"for next time we meet. think about 2 things you have learned professionally and 2 things you feel you need to work on. and do the same personally/spiritually in the 15 months you have been officially working for the church"

and all i can think is ... 15 MONTHS !!! , no way has it been 15 months. but guess what. it has

  now i am someone who is SUPER extrovert. which. if you have ever done a mires Briggs test you will know, means i think best "out loud", so talking to someone or in this case, typing to someone. so you guys are helping me with this and i am gonna write a blog post to help me answer the question. plus i though this was something you guys might be interested in so. here goes..

OK lets start with professional positives

1) realizing i do actually have a knack for making people feel at ease 

i don't know what it is about me. but people tend to open up around me. maybe its because i make it perfectly clear that i have herd/ seen it all before.i don't know, but what i do know is that over the past 15 months i have definitely become more confident in the way i talk to people about these things. at first i was like "are you sure its me you want to talk to, i can think of a million cooler ,more qualified to listen ,people than me" now i just take it as a complement that they chose me to talk to.

2) actually leading   

one thing i have noticed is that i have started intentionally leading people. not just setting off in a direction and hoping people follow. there is a very subtle difference. i think that goes along with the first one in that its a self confidence thing. trusting that your going somewhere these people are going to want to come with you and that your actually worth following

OK, now for the professional negatives 

1) who am i trying to amplify anyways ...

now , i am a real sucker for affirmation, who isn't. but seriously, if someone docent click are bond with me right away i take it  SO PERSONALLY. there are people in my youth group who honestly, don't like me. and i am working on getting over that. at the end of the day i am not there to make them like me. i am there to show them what Jesus is like. and even Jesus only 12 really close friends. he wound some people up so much they killed him so yer , get over yourself loz   

2) i need to shut up sometimes

like i said earlier in this post , i'm an extrovert. that means i like to talk. alot. and i'm not a great fan of silence. but as a youth. leader. particularly if i'm working with an introvert. there going to thrive on having that silence to reflect in the same way i do when i'm talking to someone. and i need to give them that. im working on it, but there is a way to go with this one

personal positives

1) a strong scene of self

6 years ago , i had no idea who i was or what my purpose was in life. this has been a slow process and it is still ongoing. but just before i decided to look at the internship i feel i was just starting to get into my stride as a person. now i know for sure that i am making  a difference and i am confident in who i am in a way i have never been before

2) i can actually do academic stuff

now i have always wanted to get myself a degree but was utterly petrified at the prospect of being a dyslexic with a two 3000 word essays and a presentation to get done. but i'm actually flying !  the first essay is over with. the second on its way to being done. and the presentation is a group thing that hasn't been started yet. i am seriously amazed at how perfect for me my uni is

and last of all personal negatives

1) you cant please all the people ,all the time

i'm a recovering people pleaser and very much like the professional negative who am i trying to amplify. i hate seeing anyone have a problem with me. so i hate having a different opinion to any of the people i am working with. absolutely hate it. this extends to home aswell. if my family say something like "o can you unload the dishwasher" i automatically hear "we think your not helping around the house enough" and that's just stupid ...

2)your not that famous

part of being a youth pastor is at times it feels like EVERYONE knows who you are and your back story. and that is partly true within my little town. but i seem to forget that not everyone knows who i am and is talking about me all the time. I have to get past the idea that everyone is analyzing my every move i'm not lady gaga and i don't have the paparazzi on my tail

 wooo holy self reflection bat man

feel free to leave something you have learned this year and something your working on in the comments

toodals < changing my shining out phrase
love
Lauren
xxx





   

  

     

the most awesome weekend

this weekend was awesome

i spent the weekend at a place called malshanger house 

its a big Victorian manner that is used but H.T.B and other christian organisations to give youth leaders a retreat  

 

see its beautiful

we went for a walk and watched the sunrise (well some of us)

love these people <3

we also had some bible study 

on the Saturday night we had a party. we dressed up and had a fancy dinner 

 it was just the most amazing time hanging out with my uni friends .and a great way to kick of Christmas celebrations

back down the m25 towards reality and a shambolic attempt to catch up on sleep later ... 

was our last day at uni

the arch bishop of Canterbury spoke to us about his vision for the church of England and how we all have a part to play in that.  

we also got to ask him questions

some of the best bits of the hash tag ..

“Say yes to God, and you’ll normally hear him through your bishop. Put that in your pipe and smoke it" @ABCJustin. #joker #smc0212

Research, Relationship, Relief, Risk, Reconciliation, Resource #smc0212

#smc0212 "measuring things in God's time is much more important than measuring things on our time...and that can take a long time"

"Let the institution die and God will give it life." ++Justin #smc0212

"@mattchp29: "Anglicans do bridge building because we are both catholic and reform. We are naturally in the middle." - @ABCJustin #smc0212"

and yes these are all direct quotes from the archbishop ... the guy is a freaking legend

we also had a book shining from the dean of my uni..

which a fellow student hijacked

we also ended the term with a trip to the pub :D 

lots of love

 Lauren

xxx