Reason no. 200...

Even when situations do not seem to speak of His goodness, He wants us to continue to praise Him. It's so easy to praise Him when everything is going well and praise Him for what He's done, but He's worthy of so much more. Today a friend posted this short video on facebook and it's powerful, challenging and inspiring.  http://vimeo.com/90336946 Reason no. 200 :)

Reason no. 199...

Had a lovely evening on  with some friends - played a game of tension then one of guys got plastered in make-up for charity! Reason no. 199 :)

Reason no. 198...

Saturday lunchtime was hilarious! Where my room looks onto a patch of grass and some trees, it's probably quite a nice place to sit and relax. So a random guy comes and has his lunch out there by himself, but then once he's finished he spent the next 10 minutes bird calling!! Since it's rather funny, I decide to leave my room so he can't tell I'm laughing. When I come back he's not by the tree. So, I look out the window I can't see him, but it turns out he's moved somewhere else and as soon as I see him he starts waving! Haha! The situation definitely made me laugh, so reason no. 198 :)

Reason no. 197...

On Friday a few friends took me to a Chinese restaurant which wasn't so westernized. The food was so good and I apparently used the chopsticks rather well! Afterwards we ventured onto a 'desert room', where they treated me to pudding! I tried 'sago' for the first time which is this bubbley-custard like thing! It was a lovely evening with some great company! Reason no. 197 :)

Reason no. 196...

'The hallmark of our lives & the definition of a good day is

 no longer the absence of something but the presence of 

Someone.'

Reason no. 196 :)

Reason no. 195...

'Let's not wait for freedom to come before we worship freely, let's worship freely and see freedom come.' 

King's Arms Church, Bedford

Great quote, but definitely a challenge!

Reason no. 195 :)

Reason no. 194...

FREEDOM COMES! ... 'Because of your great love.'
What a great song! What great lyrics! This is God :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMTx0bYDaYk#t=196
Reason no. 194 :)

Reason no. 193...

This week I've learnt some interesting facts about swallowing. You never chew on both sides of your mouth at the same time and if you eat a bowl of cereal the liquid and solid never go down at the same time - the milk goes down before the cereal!Plus the fact that there's over 20 muscles involved in swallowing is incredible. To think that they all work together and the food actually ends up in your esophagus is amazing! Interesting facts: reason no. 193 :)

Reason no. 192...

Memories are good! Today I've been re-watching the doughnut man ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8WL8BEOUfM  - it's definitely worth a watch! It'll put a smile on your face!! Reason no. 192 :)

Reason no. 191...

'When we fill our mind with who God is - it just has to come out.'

It's so true... There's a song that declares so so so soooo many truths about God. It's called: 'Wonderful God' by Godfrey Birtill and it's so good for reminding me all that God is. Here's the lyrics:

I will set my face to seek the Lord,

I will set my face to seek the Lord, 

Give my full attention to my God, 

I will listen for His voice, 

I will listen for His voice.

My Wonderful Counsellor, 

My teacher, reminder, 

Revealer, my healer, 

My strengthener, repairer, 

Refiner, my Jesus, my Saviour, 

My wonderful God.

Forerunner and finisher, 

My conqueror, deliverer, 

Restorer, my hammer,

My fire, uniter, 

Redeemer, my Jesus, 

My wonderful God.

I will set my face to seek the Lord, 

I will set my face to seek the Lord, 

Give my full attention to my God, 

I will listen for His voice, 

I will listen for His voice.

Creator, defender, 

My maker, instructor, 

Commander, my warrior, 

My shelter, my helper, 

My leader, my Jesus, my Saviour, 

My wonderful God. 

My shepherd, my gatherer, 

Refresher, rewarder, 

Protector, inspirer, 

Provider, my portion, 

Forever, my Jesus, my Saviour, 

My wonderful God.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fF09k-myu0

There's so many characteristics that I never really think of God as being. He is my instructor. He is my helper. He is my refresher. It talks about God being a hammer and that just sounds weird  in my mind...but what does a hammer actually do? It constructs and guides a nail into place. So God guides, He's making me into the person He called me to be, He's the creator and that's only just the beginning! Reason no. 191 :)

Reason no. 190...

Having a little flick back over some of the past reasons has been so encouraging. Who God has reminded me  he is and all that he has done has been amazing. What the old me has written has really encouraged the me today! All that God has taught me before has not been a waste! Reason no. 190 :)

Reason no. 189...

Just finished an event called: 'dial-a-doughnut'. This was an outreach event where people could text in questions about God and we'd go round answering them and giving them a free doughnut. As a group we had several really good conversations and it was great to see people thinking about stuff like this! Reason no. 189 :)

Reason no. 188...

Yesterday I found £10 on my way back from the library! What a surprising find! Reason no. 188 :)

Reason no. 187...

'I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.' 

Psalm 34:4

Fear is put to death through Jesus: now to stand in the fullness of it!  He is the deliverer and triumphs over fear. So, fear of what other people think, fear of failure, fear of what lies ahead, fear of loneliness, fear of confrontation, fear of disappointment, fear of embarrassment, fear of lack can all be left at the foot of the cross. He releases freedom! Reason no. 187 :)

Reason no. 186...

This week I made cheese and potato bake for the first time - it tasted rather good! Reason no. 186 :)

Reason no. 185...

Less than 2 weeks until the Easter holidays and I'm heading over to Paris for a few days with a few friends! Reason no. 185 :)

Reason no. 184...

Nearly finished applying for a job! I'm actually quite excited about the idea of it as it has a lot of potential!! It would involve working for a language school over the summer and organizing little activities etc. Reason no. 184 :)

Reason no. 183...

Yesterday, my sister got back from a youth leader's training weekend away. She was encouraging me and saying how I was 'an encourager' (how nice!). Over the weekend someone shared the impact of what that can have. It knocks on to surrounding people, for example: someone encourages someone, that person feels happier/ more confident, they could share something of God, which someone could hear and consequently salvation comes...ultimately encouragement has the potential to reach beyond where it is initially sown! Reason no. 183 :) 

Reason no. 182...

'...The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.'

Joshua 1:9

So, that means...

-Right now, God is with me!

-As I'm writing, God is with me!

-As I eat, God is with me!

-As I sleep, God is with me!

-As I wake up, God is with me!

-As I brush my teeth, God is with me!

-As I go on facebook, God is with me!

-As I travel,God is with me!

-As I walk down the street, God is with me!

-As I breathe, God is with me!

-As I watch TV, God is with me!

-As I talk, God is with me!

-As I worry, God is with me! 

-As I study, God is with me!

God doesn't leave me.

Reason no. 182 :)

Reason no. 181...

It's about time I did another post! If I'm honest, this past week I've been feeling rather depressed, disappointed and frustrated. It's so easy to get locked into that mindset. As soon as my attention was off God and focusing on everything that seemed to not be going wrong, I would continue to spiral downwards. But, the amazing thing is God did not let go of me, He continued to pursue me and His amazing love has captured my heart! And, God has put a new song on my heart!

It is such a relief to have David in the bible - a man who was honest before God. He poured out his heart and that included anger, hurt and disappointment. The incredible thing is that as David did that, his hurt turned to praise and he had a realisation of who God is. I love reading the Psalms...poetry, honesty and the truth of who God is - something I can relate to! So here is a little poem:

As I run, You pursue me,

As I fall, You pick me up,

As I hurt, You bring restoration,

As I cry, You keep comforting,

You keep loving me,

day after day,

situation after situation,

Today I will choose again:

to hide myself in You. 

Yesterday, I began to read through some of the entries on this blog and it amazes me just how good God is. It can be so easy to forget and that's what I did, I was consumed by what was going wrong and failed to see God working in it. What a mistake that was! God was still and continues to be SO good!

Reason no. 181 :)

Reason no. 180...

God's extravagant grace: unearned, undeserving, free, beyond understanding. It can be so easy to forget the extent of His grace and everything that Christ did so that I can now walk in freedom and know Him. The fact His grace not only covers my past, but my future too it incredible. It means that nothing can separate me from Him, including guilt and shame. Reason no. 180 :)

Reason no. 179...

This week my dad came over for an afternoon! It was lovely :) I haven't properly seen my family since Christmas and so it was good timing - the Easter holidays are still a few weeks away! We explored the city centre, ended up at Media City and just wondered through Salford. The weather was so nice too! Reason no. 179 :)

Reason no. 178...

I love experimenting with color and that's exactly how I spent my morning yesterday! Reason no. 178 :)

Reason no. 177...

SUNSHINE!! The weather is gorgeous at the moment...just being able to sit outside between lectures is lovely! Reason no. 177 :)

Reason no. 176...

This weekend I caught up with a lovely friend I did Newday Global with. We hadn't seen each other in over a year. We spent the day exploring Manchester and doing all the tourist-y things I'd never normally do :) Reason no. 176 :)

Reason no. 175...

God is so generous - not only meeting the day-to-day needs, but giving beyond that too! :)

Reason no. 174...

Just paid the deposit for a house next year! Reason no. 174 :)

Reason no. 173...

Thank you God for languages! This week I've been reminded by just how much I love using French and German and how He has blessed me with the ability to use them. I've started reading children bible stories in French and it was about the faithfulness of God and how He always keep His promises. Several years ago God spoke to me about using languages and since going into SLT I kind of had written myself off from that...but this week God's put a fresh passion and that He doesn't want me to forget about them! Reason no. 173 :)

Reason no. 172...

The other day as I was waiting for a bus a little kid waved to me from the bus, in such cheerful manner and that just put a massive smile on my face. Reason no. 172 :)