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Hey guys!

This is a poem/piece of writing I wrote from 27/12/15.

God is parting the seas,
but this time
He is leading his people
straight to their heavenly home,
where they will worship him forever.

His children are homesick
In worship they thirst for Him
they long to be home
free from the bondage of this world.

He hears their cries
He honours their prayers
He will answer
He will come to them like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.

This world is soon coming to an end,
What we know will be gone
like a mist,
But his love endures forever.
Nothing will separate us from the love of Christ.

His faithfulness will endure
from this side of eternity into the next
and no one and nothing could take us
from the grasp of his hands.

He holds us close to his heart
He will protect us when the time comes,
Nothing will harm us by day or by night
for under his wings we will find refuge.

This is the love of our Father
His goodness knows no end
His glory radiates forever
May the name of the Lord be praised
for He alone is worthy.

6 practical tips on encouraging others

"Worry weighs a person down; but an encouraging word cheers a person up." 

Proverbs 12:25

I think we've all had days or times where we've felt down, unmotivated, discouraged, or afraid. and if you're lucky like me, you've also experienced the power of a single, encouraging statement. It doesn't even have to come at a time when you're feeling low, as a general rule of thumb, encouragement gives you that extra boost in the day and stride in your step to lift you up and shine a ray of sunshine on your path. So I randomly came up with 6 practical tips on how to share the gift of encouragement to others :)

wait sorry before I launch into the specifics, the overarching umbrella is from Mark 12:31 "Love your neighbor as yourself." or in other words, approach encouragement the way you would want to be encouraged :) 

1. Be Specific

Choose something specific which you particularly appreciated rather than something generic

eg. "I love how you did an epic build up on the drums during the bridge! It really suited the lyrics and added to the energy!" Rather than just "You're good at music"

2. Don't wait for the "right time" to encourage someone

Even if it's 5 days later over a fb message at 10pm, just say it! I'm sure it will make their day-only you feel self conscious about it. In any case, doesn't it make you extra happy when someone randomly messages you to encourage you? :)

3. Encourage anyone and everyone!

Don't hold back and only encourage your best buddies for life. If a stranger or someone you just met does something that you appreciated, let them know! In fact, it will be even more flattering coming from someone new.

4. Encourage them to keep doing what you think they're doing well

Sometimes people aren't aware that things they are doing are good/helpful/significant, affirm them so they can be more intentional about continuing it in the future, it makes the world of difference. 

Eg. I want to encourage you to keep using gestures when you give a talk, it really helps to engage the audience!

5. Don't neglect leaders or people you think it should be "obvious" for

If someone is "obviously" good at singing, don't dismiss your encouragement because you think they probably already know, imagine if everyone else thought the same thing and held back? That person (like all humans) is still prone to feelings of insecurity or self doubt. Same with leaders, encouraging your leaders does wonders in motivating their leadership of the group, even if they "seem" confident in themselves. Everyone needs a word of encouragement, even superman does. (see song "It's not easy" by clicking here)

6. Don't be afraid to get personal. 

If something someone said or did genuinely made an impact on you in some way, share how with them! They may not have thought that much about it and so would be pleasantly surprised to see that some "small" thing they did or said was able to make a difference in your life.

These are just my thoughts though-please comment below if you have any other tips you want to add, or any stories of where encouragement made a difference in your life. :) Thanks for reading, I really appreciate how you took the time to read my blog post which was admittedly a bit long and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. X)

During this past year while I had mild depression, my mum has been a massive source of encouragement and support. It has made a world of difference :) 

ask me about it if you'd like to find out more!

02.01.16 A prayer of longing

Dear God,

My heart is so prone to wonder. So easily I fall in and out of love of idols. They capture my affections and consume my thoughts. Out of proportion I chase after them, they capture my fancy and my imagination. Whether it be food or a man, satan whispers their worth in my ear, 'bow down to them' he tells me. Blinded by what's in front of me I lose my whole hearted devotion to you. I dance with the world. 

But Lord I want to love you with all my heart, mind and soul. Only you are worthy of my worship. Only to you belongs all the praise forever. Lord will you still my wondering heart and bring me back to you? Will you crush these idols and altars, these meaningless longings and direct all my affections to you? For what goodness is there outside of you? None my Lord. Any other answer comes straight from the lips of the enemy. 

Lord give me a fixed gaze upon my saviour Jesus, and help me to throw off everything that hinders, my sin that so easily entangles. Help me to thirst after you and your word and righteousness and holiness. For to these I have been called and reborn to live for. Help me Lord for I am weak against the spiritual forces of evil but you have overcome satan and the world and sin and death. 

Thankyou that you are the only one who is Almighty and sovereign and God. Lord of lords and king of Kings. May my knees only bend at your name, the name of Jesus Christ. For he alone is worthy, the lamb who was slain for the sins of the world! Help me love you more!

"help me to know continually that there can be no true happiness, no fulfilling of thy purpose for me, apart from a life lived in and for the Son of thy love."

Deb

God is good. 2015, 2016 and forever.

Praise God for new glasses! Yay ^^

One thing I find really refreshing for my soul, is to stop, look back and reflect on all that has happened. Whether it be what happened today, last week, or this year. For me, this naturally takes the form of a spontaneous mix of doodles + words on a large piece of blank paper (lined paper is no banana. It limits my creativity man) 

As I mentally and physically drew my way through the year, I found nooks and crannies of the year that I had forgotten about, but were significant. For example I moved churches, moved houses, moved cities (back to Sydney), got a job, lived with my grandparents for the first time. and beneath the tangible changes (like what I just mentioned), were all the emotional highs and lows. 

Truth be told, I did not start this year in a happy chaps mental (or physical) state. In fact I was in a rather low low. I felt completely empty of motivation or courage. But one by one, piece by piece, by the grace of God through the love of my super-godly-amazing mum, God rebuilt me-this time he was going to build my house on a rock, and not sinking sand. 

It's absolutely amazing the journey of deliverance + transformation God has taken me on this year. If you ask me I would 100% LOVE to tell you about it. God is so good. So here's the challenge, if I could look back and testify that every single thing (whether seemingly 'good' or 'bad') actually was a good gift from God, will I-and will you-look ahead and praise God for his guaranteed goodness in 2016 starting now? On the very edge of the new year?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17) 

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  (Romans 8:28) 

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

We belong in the body

As wonderful as it is to serve alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ in ministry, sometimes it only heightens my awareness of how different I am. How the way I see the world, think and function is just different, or abnormal. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a whole other world from everyone else, let alone not on the same page. While uniqueness really should be celebrated, often it feels isolating when I start to look sideways.

God showed me that satan had been whispering lies into my heart...
I don't belong in the body...
I'm out of place, out of context...
The body seems to function fine without me...

But God comforted me with some verses from 1 Corinthians 12:

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!”

I can trust in Gods design because it is good, and he has placed me exactly where I need to be with the right gifts for me to use to serve others. I am so thankful that in the body, every part is equally valued in the eyes of our creator and plays its significant part...even me. :)

 Thankful for time with Dad + Sis around Christmas

Above all

Recently in a sermon, I was reminded of the importance of thanksgiving in prayer-are there corners in my life that I fail to bring to God in prayer? Especially in thanksgiving? I decided to do a mind map of all the main areas of my life I could give thanks to God for:

This morning however, I was reminded of how we are to take up our cross daily, and offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord as our spiritual act of worship. I looked across my mind map again and asked myself: am I willing to surrender all these things for the sake of following Christ? Would I say with Paul,

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him... 

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

(Philippians 3:7-11)

How much do I long to "simply" know Christ? Would I consider every other blessing in my life a loss compared to this surpassing greatness? How often do our blessings become a distraction rather than a good gift from God increasing our worship of the giver-when we fail to love him above it all?

I put a rectangle around the blessing on my mind map that could never ever be taken away from me. That is-the love of God and my relationship with Him. May I surrender all other things into his hands, that I may follow and gain Christ.

#lifeofanintrovert

There are (quiet) riches found in words that have been thoughtfully formulated and expressed in what has been written that is waiting to be discovered…by everyone? Introverts-I am talking to you. While extroverts are busy going out and socialising and doing what extroverts do, we (introverts) may find we have a different calling.

Maybe it’s to travel back in time and listen to the written wisdom of saints of old (I am talking about reading), or to meditate on melodies until a new song pours forth from our soul, or to gaze upon the beauty of the earth and create: a picture, a story, a poem, a video, to capture the glimpses of glory to share with the world.

We may read. We may write. We may reflect and create. Whatever it is, pursue that inner calling-for this is how you were meant to experience and respond to the presence of God in this world.