It's been a while since my last blog, and a lot has happened so I thought it was about time for an update (although I imagine it'll be old news for most people, but still it'll be a nice blog for me to look back on one day).
I've recently found out that I will be graduating with a 2:1 (including a 2:1 in my dissertation), which I'm very pleased with. It was what I was aiming for and considering the busyness of this year I'm pretty chuffed.
I have job! I'm loving my placement at the moment on NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), and it's even changed my mind about health visiting! And then to get a job in NICU is perfect. I'm so pleased and it gives so much security for the coming months. I feel honoured that God has placed me in a job in which I will be supporting families in such a precious time of their lives, it's a real privilege and hope that I'll be able to do the job well.
PJ and I have a flat! We looked round one flat, liked it, went for it, started the process... and the landlord pulled out. Very annoying! So we looked around some more and found another - it's nicer, but more expensive and unfurnished, although it has everything we want (a spare room and nice big lounge/diner) so it's worth it, and we're both relieved to have somewhere to live again once we're married! We both really want our home to be a place where we can glorify God and bring a little bit of His Kingdom to earth so finding a place where we could welcome people into was important, and praise God we've got the perfect place to do just that.
So all that's left now is 3 weeks of placement and then the wedding! With just under 7 weeks to go until the wedding day I'd say we're fairly in control and very excited! 7 weeks is nothing compared to 7 years :)
One of the things I'm looking forward to most about being married is just being able to see each other, and being able to chat - we're both pretty busy people and for most of the time we've been together we've seen each other weekly or less, so it'll be nice to see each other most, if not every, day :)
I'm very thankful to God for pouring out so many blessings, it's amazing how within a couple of weeks everything has fallen so perfectly into place. God really does keep His promises and provides.
With only three weeks left in Portsmouth I'm beginning to process the fact that I'll be leaving so soon- I am going to miss it so much, but I'm looking forward to the next adventure :)
Sunday, 28 July 2013
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Dissertation stress!!
I'm currently a bit of an emotional, stressed, all over the place kinda Hannah. I'm feeling the pressure of wedding jobs that need sorting, churchy stuff that needs doing, leaving Promiseland and university work which has ever nearing deadlines.
The main stressor at the moment is my dissertation... due to lack of input from university staff, despite my efforts, I am now not in the place I would have hoped to have been in. (Here isn't the place to go into details, and its not very interesting anyway!). I met with my tutor today to think of possible options to tackle the problem and there appears to be no right solution. So we've gone for second best. It will probably effect my marks a bit, but not enough to change my classification so that's a positive. But it's not ideal, it's frustrating that I didn't get the support I needed and our new solution makes me a little as though I've already failed before I've even finished!
I know this post is vague, but I just needed a little vent. Once again, prayer would still be hugely appreciated.
I know this post is vague, but I just needed a little vent. Once again, prayer would still be hugely appreciated.
In other news, wedding stuff is well underway:
- We've met with the florist, and have chosen flowers
- Rings have been ordered
- We had a fun day at Legoland, where the little ushers and flower girl met each other
- I've got my shoes
- Hairdressers have been booked
- Guest list is finalised
- Invitations are designed (and nearly ordered)
- We started the Marriage Preparation Course on Tuesday. It was good, if not a little cheesy!
- On Saturday we're going to London to meet up with the vicar who will be marrying us
- We've got gifts for the bridesmaids and ushers
- We've bought material for bunting
So we are definitely on track,which means one less thing to worry about :)
Talking wedding things (nearly) always makes me happy again! :)
Talking wedding things (nearly) always makes me happy again! :)
Promiseland
It's currently Wednesday evening and I've just officially handed over Promiseland at our meeting this evening (I've waited a bit to post this so it's a little more common knowledge and all the Promiseland team know first).
Passing it on was hard.
Mikey, Harriet and Sam will do an amazing job I have no doubt whatsoever, I believe that God has placed each one of them here at this time to do it. But it's still hard to say goodbye. So, I am no longer the 'go to' person for Promiseland and I'm no longer going to be on the rota. Now is the right time for this to happen as dissertation stress is high, and I'm due to start placement in a month- with shift work it's very difficult to commit. I'll still go along as an extra helper when I can, but officially I'm done.
It makes me very sad, and as pathetic as it sounds, I've already shed a few tears. It has been an honour and privilege to work with such a fantastic team ministering to some amazing children. God has taught me a lot through this experience and it's been a real blessing to see the children grow in confidence, in relationship with each other, and most importantly with God. Never could I get bored of seeing them worship, hearing them pray or learning how God has spoken to them and used them. They encourage me weekly!
I love Promiseland a lot and I love the children even more. Thankfully, I've still got a few months until I have to properly say goodbye to the children - that will be even more difficult!
Some of you might think I'm over reacting but it's a pretty big deal to me. I've put in a lot of time and effort to Promiseland over the last couple of years. I'm not perfect and there's still loads that can be improved and potential to be nurtured, but I've given in my best and so it's difficult to let it go. Especially, as I'm not yet sure what I'm moving on to, but I'm looking forward to the next steps God has planned for me as I move to Southampton, and what exciting things God has in store for Promiseland!
Some of you might think I'm over reacting but it's a pretty big deal to me. I've put in a lot of time and effort to Promiseland over the last couple of years. I'm not perfect and there's still loads that can be improved and potential to be nurtured, but I've given in my best and so it's difficult to let it go. Especially, as I'm not yet sure what I'm moving on to, but I'm looking forward to the next steps God has planned for me as I move to Southampton, and what exciting things God has in store for Promiseland!
'For there is a time and a way for everything'Ecclesiastes 8:6
Thursday, 18 April 2013
The final stretch and a bit of reminiscing
After a lovely couple of weeks at home in Abingdon, I'm now back to Portsmouth life.
The two weeks at home were very productive; lots of wedding bits done, made good progress with my dissertation, spent time with family and saw friends (including meeting my friend's very beautiful baby girl, who's Mummy is fabulous!) .
I'm now back in Portsmouth for the final 4 months... this time will mainly be writing my dissertation followed by final placement, hopefully getting myself a job (once again, prayers for getting a job would be very much appreciated!) and making the most my favourite things in Portsmouth - friends, Kings Church and the sea.
On a soppy note... After spending pretty much all day everyday with PJ for 2 weeks I wasn't really keen on getting back to only seeing each other every week/every other week, but PJ did point out that this will be the last long stretch of time when we have to do this, and the next time we get to see each other lots will be the few weeks leading up to our wedding! With 5 months to go, most things booked, plans coming together, and marriage prep course due to start in a couple of weeks it's all becoming much more real! I look forward to when I get to see my best friend everyday :)
On a very different note, my sister is currently looking into a trip to the Galapagos Islands and how she will fund it, and it's reminded me of my Delhi trip (of which I recently stumbled across my blog; click here!). I was extremely blessed by my family, friends and church who made it possible to raise £4000 in about 4 months! I realise it's now 3 years since I got back to England but I still massively appreciate it, as it had such a positive impact on my life. And to the person who donated £1,000 anonymously, I have no idea if you'll read this but if you do, a very special thank you to you - such a huge, humble and selfless gesture, I'm not sure that I would have made it to India without you.
Here are a few of my favourite India photos:
Oh, I do miss India and would love to go back some day!
Anyway, enough reminiscing.. time for bed!
The two weeks at home were very productive; lots of wedding bits done, made good progress with my dissertation, spent time with family and saw friends (including meeting my friend's very beautiful baby girl, who's Mummy is fabulous!) .
I'm now back in Portsmouth for the final 4 months... this time will mainly be writing my dissertation followed by final placement, hopefully getting myself a job (once again, prayers for getting a job would be very much appreciated!) and making the most my favourite things in Portsmouth - friends, Kings Church and the sea.
On a soppy note... After spending pretty much all day everyday with PJ for 2 weeks I wasn't really keen on getting back to only seeing each other every week/every other week, but PJ did point out that this will be the last long stretch of time when we have to do this, and the next time we get to see each other lots will be the few weeks leading up to our wedding! With 5 months to go, most things booked, plans coming together, and marriage prep course due to start in a couple of weeks it's all becoming much more real! I look forward to when I get to see my best friend everyday :)
On a very different note, my sister is currently looking into a trip to the Galapagos Islands and how she will fund it, and it's reminded me of my Delhi trip (of which I recently stumbled across my blog; click here!). I was extremely blessed by my family, friends and church who made it possible to raise £4000 in about 4 months! I realise it's now 3 years since I got back to England but I still massively appreciate it, as it had such a positive impact on my life. And to the person who donated £1,000 anonymously, I have no idea if you'll read this but if you do, a very special thank you to you - such a huge, humble and selfless gesture, I'm not sure that I would have made it to India without you.
Here are a few of my favourite India photos:
Oh, I do miss India and would love to go back some day!
Anyway, enough reminiscing.. time for bed!
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Just a bit of procrastination
So right now, I should be working on my dissertation but instead I'm sat here typing not quite sure where this blog will end up...
Maybe a general update is in order:
I'm currently home for a week or two - came home for Easter and now enjoying a mixture of seeing friends, family and spending lots of time with PJ, wedding planning, uni work and job hunting.
I'm currently home for a week or two - came home for Easter and now enjoying a mixture of seeing friends, family and spending lots of time with PJ, wedding planning, uni work and job hunting.
I love my friends. I love coming home and catching up with my friends from school. I will be honest, I'm pretty rubbish at keeping in contact with them whilst I'm in Portsmouth but I love how when I do see them it's like nothing has ever changed. Though I am still yet to meet the newest, and youngest, member of our group!
I love my family. Don't really need to say much more than that - they're all fantastic and a brilliant support when it comes to wedding things. (And a very happy birthday to PJ's mummy!)
I love PJ. Again, I don't really need to say much more than that - don't want to be too mushy!
Wedding planning is going well, we're pretty much on track. The great thing about both being home together for a week or so is that we're able to crack on and get lots done. Oh, and I've now seen our wedding reception venue at church - it's beautiful and I love it! Seeing it made me a very happy and excited bride-to-be :)
Uni work is slowly but surely coming along. I now finally have a dissertation question and research to critique, waheyy! Which is great as it now means I can properly get on with it... just means 8 weeks of some head down hibernation to get it done!
Job hunting. I'm still aiming for health visiting - currently in the process of applying for another post, but also keeping an eye out for ward jobs too. Whatever happens will be God's plan.
I was saying yesterday how I don't know how people manage the busy, stressful, important times in life without God! Obviously they do, but I am so reassured by the fact that God has my life in His hand, He has the bestest plan for me and protects me and so I don't even want to think about how much of a stressy Hannah I would be without Him.
Friday, 15 March 2013
A 'no', for now...
Today I got the call to say that have not got a place on the Health Visiting course... and I expected this. I'm not a negative person, just realistic. The interview didn't go as well as it could have and there was a lot of competition, so I kinda saw it coming. However, once I had finished the conversation that confirmed my prediction I just cried.. and cried, despite telling myself to pull myself together! I now feel a bit stupid about it as I had suspected it so I'm not really sure why I got quite so upset.. probably wasn't helped by the fact that I was home alone, so no one to console me!
I have now, after a few hours of feeling sorry for myself, managed to put myself back together and no longer believe my hopes and plans are completely ruined (I realised that I was over-reacting!). I'm still slightly confused as to how something could feel so right and then just flop... but I'm holding onto the promises that God has for me...
I have now, after a few hours of feeling sorry for myself, managed to put myself back together and no longer believe my hopes and plans are completely ruined (I realised that I was over-reacting!). I'm still slightly confused as to how something could feel so right and then just flop... but I'm holding onto the promises that God has for me...
'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future'. Jeremiah 29:11
We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
God has a plan for me far greater than I could ever imagine, so this might be a permanent 'no' or it might be a 'not yet', we'll just have to wait and see...
I still learnt how to improve in interviews, and I was very lucky to even get through to the interview stage, considering I wrote my personal statement rushed in a weekend and only about 150 people from 600 applicants get to interview. I can also re-apply if posts come out again, so hope is not lost.
I must also remember that I am infact very blessed to be in this position - in a few months I will (hopefully) have a degree and professional qualification, in 6 months time I will be married to the most wonderful and amazing man, I have good health, I have amazing friends and family around me and I'm writing this blog from the comfort and warmth of my own home.
So all in all life is good and tomorrow is a new day.
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
A gooood day!
Well today has been a very good day... Started off by going to the library for 9 like usual, I finished and submitted an assignment and 20 minutes later received an email saying I'd been offered an interview! Wooooo! Literally the best timing for the email for several reasons:
- It was after I'd submitted my essay, had it been before I would have struggled to concentrate.
- I'd said to myself if I hadn't heard by the end of today then I would give up and look for ward jobs (of course I may still need to do this anyway... we'll see!)
- I had told God about a week ago, that I'd quite like it if He could make the email come through promptly after submitting my assignment! God is good, and has a sense of humour! :)
So after a few minutes of celebrating in the library by myself, I decided that I really wasn't going to focus on my dissertation after the exciting news so after a few nudges from the librarian (who I shared my news with and I'm getting to know quite well) I came home and spent the afternoon being excited and pottering around the house.
My housemate and I went for a walk this evening in the hope of catching a beautiful sunset, and we did which makes me very happy. I don't think I could ever get bored of living by the sea and seeing glorious sunsets, there's just something about it... Every time I'm simply in awe of how big, amazing and creative God is.
So I'm one very happy girl right now. I've got lots to look forward to as well - church weekend away this weekend, seeing a good friend the following weekend, Sarah is coming down to visit soon, and before I know it it'll be Easter and I'll be visiting home :)
- It was after I'd submitted my essay, had it been before I would have struggled to concentrate.
- I'd said to myself if I hadn't heard by the end of today then I would give up and look for ward jobs (of course I may still need to do this anyway... we'll see!)
- I had told God about a week ago, that I'd quite like it if He could make the email come through promptly after submitting my assignment! God is good, and has a sense of humour! :)
So after a few minutes of celebrating in the library by myself, I decided that I really wasn't going to focus on my dissertation after the exciting news so after a few nudges from the librarian (who I shared my news with and I'm getting to know quite well) I came home and spent the afternoon being excited and pottering around the house.
My housemate and I went for a walk this evening in the hope of catching a beautiful sunset, and we did which makes me very happy. I don't think I could ever get bored of living by the sea and seeing glorious sunsets, there's just something about it... Every time I'm simply in awe of how big, amazing and creative God is.
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Monday, 18 February 2013
Happy one-year-of-being-engaged anniversary!
Now I'm not really one for soppiness to be public but this is an exception, so if you don't like mushiness I suggest you stop reading right about now!
It was exactly a year ago today that PJ asked me to marry him! I guess it's not a really big deal anniversary, but it makes me to smile to think back on the moment and look forward to our wedding in 208 days!
This year has gone so quickly and we are nicely on track in terms of wedding planning. We're blessed with so many lovely family and friends around us, willing to help and offer advice - we appreciate it all and look forward to sharing our day with you.
After 6 and half years of being together the one thing I am looking forward to most is simply being able to see PJ without having to book him in my diary. I stumbled across this quote the other day and I feel it sums it nicely:
'I want to hold your hand, laugh at your jokes, walk by your side, snuggle on the couch, look into your eyes, talk about whatever and kiss your lips, every single day.'
PJ and I were also incredibly sentimental on Saturday and decided to go back to the exact place where he proposed... it first started off as a silly suggestion when deciding what to do for the day, but we decided it would be cute to actually do it! By my amazement PJ managed to remember the exact place that we were (very impressive considering it was in the middle of a fairly large forest!), and after a few 'nope this log doesn't feel right', we found the one!!
Very soppy, mushy, lovey stuff I know... But it could be worse!
In other news... I'm still waiting to hear back about my Health Visiting application, and beginning to lose hope more and more as the interview week gets closer and closer. I'm currently spending the majority of my time in the library - which is proving to be very productive and I'm even finding myself wishing that the library was open into the evenings too!
It was exactly a year ago today that PJ asked me to marry him! I guess it's not a really big deal anniversary, but it makes me to smile to think back on the moment and look forward to our wedding in 208 days!
This year has gone so quickly and we are nicely on track in terms of wedding planning. We're blessed with so many lovely family and friends around us, willing to help and offer advice - we appreciate it all and look forward to sharing our day with you.
After 6 and half years of being together the one thing I am looking forward to most is simply being able to see PJ without having to book him in my diary. I stumbled across this quote the other day and I feel it sums it nicely:
'I want to hold your hand, laugh at your jokes, walk by your side, snuggle on the couch, look into your eyes, talk about whatever and kiss your lips, every single day.'
PJ and I were also incredibly sentimental on Saturday and decided to go back to the exact place where he proposed... it first started off as a silly suggestion when deciding what to do for the day, but we decided it would be cute to actually do it! By my amazement PJ managed to remember the exact place that we were (very impressive considering it was in the middle of a fairly large forest!), and after a few 'nope this log doesn't feel right', we found the one!!
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| The day we got engaged! |
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| 363 days later in the exact same spot! |
Very soppy, mushy, lovey stuff I know... But it could be worse!
In other news... I'm still waiting to hear back about my Health Visiting application, and beginning to lose hope more and more as the interview week gets closer and closer. I'm currently spending the majority of my time in the library - which is proving to be very productive and I'm even finding myself wishing that the library was open into the evenings too!
Friday, 1 February 2013
Plan A or Plan B?
(Mum wants a blog, so Mum gets a blog - this is for you Mum! :) )
wow... what a week!
So until last Sunday my plans were to qualify, get a job as a staff nurse on a children's ward and just go from there and see where I end up, but things seem to have shifted slightly... To be honest the thought of being a staff nurse on a ward has always frightened me due to the amount of responsibility they have, and I've never been able to see myself working in a hospital for the rest of my life. Last Sunday I was just chatting to my housemate and fellow student nurse about qualifying and getting jobs and finding it scary etc etc, and something clicked within me... I was beginning to question if I was really pursuing what I really wanted to do. (Don't worry I'm not about to say I'm not going to nurse and my degree was a waste of three years!)
I would like to be a Health Visitor. It's always been in the back of my mind but I guess I've always shunned it away because I've felt like there's an obligation to work on the wards for a year or so first to consolidate my nursing skills. Whilst there is a lot of truth in that, I also thought there's nothing stopping me from applying to Health Visiting now - I don't need ward skills in health visiting and I have other valuable experiences which will help. So Monday and Tuesday I did some searching as to how I go about applying - basically you apply for a 'student health visitor' job and you get paid a salary whilst doing a year of uni and placements to become a qualified Health Visitor. I had a little look on NHS jobs to see what there were any around, and there was one (for this area) and the deadline is 4th February! Less than a week to get a CV and personal statement together... This is when my hopes quickly diminished thinking I'd never manage it and that I'd missed all opportunity, and the sudden change in plan was a bit of a shock! So until today I'd sort of put it off for now thinking jobs might come round again and thinking more about whether to pursue Health Visiting. The more I've thought about it the more I really want to do it.
If I didn't have to worry about money, or working and could do whatever I wanted I would love to be in the community getting alongside and supporting children and families. Which is a major part of Health Visiting... it's a no brainer about whether to go for it or not really...!
So anyway, I met with my tutor today and was chatting about how I'm thinking of doing the Public Health degree and she responded with 'Go for it, bite the bullet! Write your personal statement over the weekend and apply!'. And so in a bit of a whirlwind I made it home, calmed down a little and settled down to fill in the job application form and write my personal statement. I'm now done for the night (wish I was this motivated with my essays!) and will carry on writing it in the morning.
I'm feeling pretty excited that this could potentially change my career, and also a little overwhelmed by how fast this has all happened. But I'm feeling very peaceful about it and know that God has it in control.
This may not have been my original plan (and I realise it may not work out - competition is high!) but it could be God's original plan. I just really feel whatever is happening is happening for a reason. As my Bible reading reminded me this morning - 'We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28). Whatever happens it's for my good, I may not get a place, but that's okay because God has something better planned for me.
This is a very rambly blog tonight as I'm now quite tired, but I hope it makes some kinda sense!
For those who pray, I'd of course love some prayer for guidance and to continue trusting this is all in God's hands! And that I will form a decent personal statement by the end of Sunday! Thank yooou :)
wow... what a week!
So until last Sunday my plans were to qualify, get a job as a staff nurse on a children's ward and just go from there and see where I end up, but things seem to have shifted slightly... To be honest the thought of being a staff nurse on a ward has always frightened me due to the amount of responsibility they have, and I've never been able to see myself working in a hospital for the rest of my life. Last Sunday I was just chatting to my housemate and fellow student nurse about qualifying and getting jobs and finding it scary etc etc, and something clicked within me... I was beginning to question if I was really pursuing what I really wanted to do. (Don't worry I'm not about to say I'm not going to nurse and my degree was a waste of three years!)
I would like to be a Health Visitor. It's always been in the back of my mind but I guess I've always shunned it away because I've felt like there's an obligation to work on the wards for a year or so first to consolidate my nursing skills. Whilst there is a lot of truth in that, I also thought there's nothing stopping me from applying to Health Visiting now - I don't need ward skills in health visiting and I have other valuable experiences which will help. So Monday and Tuesday I did some searching as to how I go about applying - basically you apply for a 'student health visitor' job and you get paid a salary whilst doing a year of uni and placements to become a qualified Health Visitor. I had a little look on NHS jobs to see what there were any around, and there was one (for this area) and the deadline is 4th February! Less than a week to get a CV and personal statement together... This is when my hopes quickly diminished thinking I'd never manage it and that I'd missed all opportunity, and the sudden change in plan was a bit of a shock! So until today I'd sort of put it off for now thinking jobs might come round again and thinking more about whether to pursue Health Visiting. The more I've thought about it the more I really want to do it.
If I didn't have to worry about money, or working and could do whatever I wanted I would love to be in the community getting alongside and supporting children and families. Which is a major part of Health Visiting... it's a no brainer about whether to go for it or not really...!
So anyway, I met with my tutor today and was chatting about how I'm thinking of doing the Public Health degree and she responded with 'Go for it, bite the bullet! Write your personal statement over the weekend and apply!'. And so in a bit of a whirlwind I made it home, calmed down a little and settled down to fill in the job application form and write my personal statement. I'm now done for the night (wish I was this motivated with my essays!) and will carry on writing it in the morning.
I'm feeling pretty excited that this could potentially change my career, and also a little overwhelmed by how fast this has all happened. But I'm feeling very peaceful about it and know that God has it in control.
This may not have been my original plan (and I realise it may not work out - competition is high!) but it could be God's original plan. I just really feel whatever is happening is happening for a reason. As my Bible reading reminded me this morning - 'We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:28). Whatever happens it's for my good, I may not get a place, but that's okay because God has something better planned for me.
This is a very rambly blog tonight as I'm now quite tired, but I hope it makes some kinda sense!
For those who pray, I'd of course love some prayer for guidance and to continue trusting this is all in God's hands! And that I will form a decent personal statement by the end of Sunday! Thank yooou :)
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
I will dance, I will sing to be mad for my King!
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to help out at 'Kings Kids'. For those who don't know - Kings Kids is a weekly event put on by Kings church, children aged 5-11 from the nearby community (so lots of un-church kids) come along for an hour of games, worship, teaching and whole lot of fun!!
Not only are we teaching the children, but the children teach us too - today one thing especially stuck me. There was one girl there who at the beginning was very hesitant to come and sit with the rest of the children, didn't like the loud noise, didn't want to join in with the games but as soon as the worship songs began she was dancing with her whole heart and body, and probably singing the loudest, without a single ounce of hesitation!
So often in worship I'm hesitant in being free... worried about what others will think of me or just 'not in the mood', but it shouldn't matter at all. Worship is for God, not for me or anyone else, purely for God. God deserves all our praise whole-heartedly and I need to learn to give it to Him.
So my challenge is to worship in a child-like way. The Bible tells us to humble ourselves like children... 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 18:3-4) And of course we should worship God - 'Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name' (Psalm 100:4)
This song came to mind, and maybe it should be something to aim for...
Yes, a challenge but God deserves my unreserved, heartfelt worship!
Not only are we teaching the children, but the children teach us too - today one thing especially stuck me. There was one girl there who at the beginning was very hesitant to come and sit with the rest of the children, didn't like the loud noise, didn't want to join in with the games but as soon as the worship songs began she was dancing with her whole heart and body, and probably singing the loudest, without a single ounce of hesitation!
So often in worship I'm hesitant in being free... worried about what others will think of me or just 'not in the mood', but it shouldn't matter at all. Worship is for God, not for me or anyone else, purely for God. God deserves all our praise whole-heartedly and I need to learn to give it to Him.
So my challenge is to worship in a child-like way. The Bible tells us to humble ourselves like children... 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven' (Matthew 18:3-4) And of course we should worship God - 'Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name' (Psalm 100:4)
This song came to mind, and maybe it should be something to aim for...
Yes, a challenge but God deserves my unreserved, heartfelt worship!
Friday, 11 January 2013
In 9 months time...
...I'm not about to announce a pregnancy, don't worry! 9 months from now I will be a fully-fledged qualified Children's Nurse, hopefully with my first job as a staff nurse on the wards. This scares me... A LOT! Now that we're in the same year that I'll qualify in and the talk of applying for jobs bounces around it's beginning to become much more real. I'm facing the realisation that I won't be able to say 'I'm only a student' forever and that I will be a staff nurse, along with all the responsibility that comes with it. As much as I want to qualify and work, trying to imagine myself in 9 months time fills me with slight dread!
Each placement that I've had as a student I've realised more and more what it is to be a staff nurse... the pressure, the responsibility, the knowledge, the skills... Especially my most recent placement where I had a bit of melt down moment as it all overwhelmed me a bit. However, it's not all bad - if it were then I probably wouldn't have made it into my final year. I think nursing can be one of the most rewarding jobs, and placement taught me this too. It makes it all worth it when you build up relationships with patients and families, when you see children get better and go home after hours, days or even months of being in hospital, when you can be that person that the family can chat to and even when all you can do is go on the journey with the family.
As scary as the thought of being a staff nurse in 9 months is, I know that I can trust God that this is His plan for me. This week especially, God has been laying on my heart the idea of surrendering to Him. Surrendering aspects of my life to Him, giving God all the control. Again, something that isn't easy but is most certainly worth it. So I'll leave you with this song - which I think is hard to truly mean all the words, but definitely something to work towards :)
Each placement that I've had as a student I've realised more and more what it is to be a staff nurse... the pressure, the responsibility, the knowledge, the skills... Especially my most recent placement where I had a bit of melt down moment as it all overwhelmed me a bit. However, it's not all bad - if it were then I probably wouldn't have made it into my final year. I think nursing can be one of the most rewarding jobs, and placement taught me this too. It makes it all worth it when you build up relationships with patients and families, when you see children get better and go home after hours, days or even months of being in hospital, when you can be that person that the family can chat to and even when all you can do is go on the journey with the family.
As scary as the thought of being a staff nurse in 9 months is, I know that I can trust God that this is His plan for me. This week especially, God has been laying on my heart the idea of surrendering to Him. Surrendering aspects of my life to Him, giving God all the control. Again, something that isn't easy but is most certainly worth it. So I'll leave you with this song - which I think is hard to truly mean all the words, but definitely something to work towards :)
Friday, 4 January 2013
Another year over, a new one just begun
So I've realised I'm not very good blogging, well as least not very regularly anyway!
And to be honest I'm probably blogging now more as a way to procrastinate from essay writing than the fact that I've got anything to say... ah well!So Christmas has come and gone. December was relatively busy with a mixture of lectures, assignment work and plenty of Christmas related events! Including:
Promiseland Christmas Party - was a lot of fun just to play games and eat yummy party food with the children.
CU Christmas Carol Service - I believe it's only the second Portsmouth CU carol service, and the committee did a fantastic job at organising it (As well as organising many other events this past year!)
Under 5's Christmas party - Hosted by Kings church and Surestart, lots of children and parents from both church and non-church backgrounds came along. It was a brilliant opportunity to bring people into church environment and to see children and parents having a good time. The Christmas Story was told by our wonderful Donkey puppet, and we even had a birthday cake for Jesus!
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| The stable - children had the opportunity to dress up and have a photo taken in the stable which they then got to take home at the end of the party. |
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| One of the activities - make your own gingerbread house! |
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| Church set up ready to go before the masses arrived! |
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| Myself and two of my lovely housemates at the party :) |
Foodbank Panto - This was brilliant! Everyone involved did a wonderful performance! By the end my cheeks were definitely aching from all the laughing. I hope they raised lots of money for a good cause.
Mid-December I then arrived back in Abingdon to family and more Christmas events...
Christchurch Carol Service - Wonderful as always, and good to see some old church friends.
Christmas meal out with my girls - I enjoyed a lovely (and posh) meal out with my school friends. Great friends and good food :)
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| My beautiful friends |
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| The poshest Christmas dinner I've ever had! |
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| And a very yummy dessert |
The week between Christmas and New Year consisted of seeing lots and lots of family which great to catch up, especially with those I hadn't seen in a couple of years!
The New Year rolled in with silly games with friends, and inevitably a time of looking back and looking forwards.
Just like any other year 2012 had its up and downs. The biggest up of course being the day I said yes to PJ asking me to be his wife :) Overall, I've enjoyed the year- happy with what I've achieved with uni/placement, enjoyed church life, seen friends get married, deepened relationships with friends and family and enjoyed the simpler things such as walks and snuggling in front of a film with a cuppa tea!
2013 has a lot to bring.. wedding planning, assignments and dissertation, graduating, finding a new home, getting married, settling into a new city and lifestyle and starting a job (hopefully!). All are both scary as well as being exciting. I'm looking forward to what God has in store for this year!oh, and on a different note.. Reverse advent went well. I found it a great opportunity to tell people that I love that I love them! It's so easy to live everyday life without telling people how much you appreciate them and I found it so good to have a little nudge to do it. It can brighten up their day hugely and it doesn't even cost you a penny :)
So now I'm all packed up ready to return to the hustle and bustle of Portsmouth life!
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