One Week Later...

Another Sunday, and another week has passed. Where has October gone? I must say I had every intention of writing daily in October but I have been extremely busy and haven't been very consistent this month. (Sigh) Oh well. . .  Here's to the catching up :)

Tuesday and Wednesday were nothing of the spectacular. I worked in the office, got things done. . . off Tuesday night - Worship prac. and Bible Study on Wednesday night.

Thursday we had a leaders coffee/tea morning at the church. I was to help Hannah serve. (Ahh my first professional tea party!!!) I must say I wasn't the best at pouring tea. Agh no matter how hard I tried that last drop always landed outside the cup :( What an amazing and powerful meeting though. I definitely was encouraged and blessed by the amazing words spoken and the heavy anointing of the Spirit. I know I say this alot but BIG THINGS are happening! That night we had Junior Youth - with my AMAZING kids and then High School youth after! I have fallen in love with all of them as well and am excited where God is taking this youth ministry!

I had Friday morning off - a nice break. The sun was out for the first part of the day so I met up with Abigail and Daniel at Lough Shore and we went on a long walk. They brought along their dog, Cassie, so our outing consisted of throwing things into the water for her to chase, collecting pieces of blue glass for my newest mosaic creation, and playing on a playground we found nearby. All in all a very relaxing morning/afternoon. That night; Vinny, Myself, and the team went out on Street Reach! Met some new teens and saw several of my favorites! I truly wish I could describe to you what all happens on those nights. . . but words don't do justice. I am forever changed each time. God is AMAZING!!!

Saturday was a busy day. Adopt-a-Block in the morning. Saw a ton people! I love them all so much!! And I am loving the new site we've just started! After AAB I met up with Lynsey and spent the afternoon/night with her and some of her crew from Celebration Church Belfast. Morning + Afternoon + Evening = Wonderful :)

Today I had church in the morning. It was a healing service. I was in tears again. God's spirit was so heavy in that place! It was so beyond good! Liberating! Then I had lunch with Sue, Allison, and her dad, at the Clarion Hotel. . . before church again tonight.

God is truly changing me and stretching me in this season of life. I can honestly say I'm not the same person I was two and a half months ago. I am far from perfect - but daily strive to live out the destiny He has for me to it's fullest!

Before I end I must mention that this past week I was consumed by a couple of books by Francine Rivers. They took me 25 hours to read - didn't finish until 4am on Friday night. . . I couldn't put the book down! Not a "happy ever after" novel as some might hope to read. . . but the Lord spoke to me through them and I must say I now look at the scriptures in a whole new light. It's funny how God can speak so clearly through practical things. . . but He did just the same and I'm ever so grateful for it.

In awe of Him and all His splendor.

Be blessed friends
-J

A Moment of Weakness...

I LOVE MONDAYS!!!
What a completely relaxing day! Slept in until about 9:30am and then had a delicious bowl of cereal while having some Jesus + Julie time. Spent the day as planned - eating, relaxing, and watching TV. I did clean my room and did a load of laundry at some point in there :)

I also must confess I had a moment of weakness. . . I don't know if it was the cold and overcast weather, the chai latte, or being slightly homesick for my family, but all of a sudden this afternoon I had a strong desire for one thing - and I definitely caved!!!


I blame it on Frank. . .

After dinner tonight, Sue, Allison and I played Skip-O eleven times. After I think the 5th game we decided to break for tea. Sue offered me hot chocolate, I figured - why not?? Next thing I knew I caught myself humming jingle bells . . . Oh man - how will I manage once the snow starts to fall?? November 24th can't get here fast enough!

I hope you all had a wonderful Monday as well!
Missing you!
-J

Four Eventful Days...

Wow time is really flying by! I can't believe that another weekend has passed by so quickly! Had a crazy busy weekend packed full of exciting moments! 

Thursday I hung out at home for the day, relaxing and cleaning (I didn't want Sue coming home to a messy house!). That night I went to the church - day two of the Life-Giver's Conference! Cecil brought a powerful word and I was so proud of all the teens that came and paid attention to the message!

Friday I worked in the office until half five (5:30). Then, Vinny and I took a team out to Street Reach! Another exciting night! No rain praise God! I spent most of my night with one group of teens. Was a little worried that I might get checked for alcohol when the police showed up. . . but they passed my group by. (Uhh not that I had anything on me! But still it would've been funny had they of asked) Afterwards I went out for coffee with Rachel and had a lovely wee chat. Miss spending time with her and it was good to catch up on life :)

Saturday morning I went out on Adopt-a-Block! What a great morning that was!! We had about 10 volunteers so we split into two groups. Vinny stayed at Glenville with a group and I took a team to a new section called Abbeyglen. The response we got blew me away! Tons of families - a lot of children. Everyone was pleasantly surprised at our offer of free service. Some people had questions about the Dream Centre and others took fliers and seemed interested in building relationships. Really excited to see how this new site develops!

After AAB, Rose, Daniel, and Abigail, and I, headed out on an adventure to Victoria Square. I've been there several times but promised both Abigail and Daniel I'd take them cause they've never been. (Victoria Square is a large shopping mall in Belfast) I also told them I'd take them out for their bday so after taking pictures at the lookout point in Victoria Square, we all headed over to Nando's for a late lunch.

Haha Daniel had never had chicken wings before so that was the only thing he wanted, regardless of where we went to eat! Rose, Abigail, and I, all got chicken in pita while Daniel ordered his hot wings. We were all enjoying ourselves nicely when Daniel decided to pour Nando's extra extra hot sauce on his last wing.

 I love catching moments like this on camera! . . .

Needless to say we had to wait 45 minutes afterwards until his stomach settled. Haha but it was well worth it. Daniel Wright is now a legend :)

Spent the rest of our time there shopping (well us girls helped Daniel shop) for clothes, before heading home. . .

Later that night I went out to a hockey game with Sue and Allison to see the Belfast Giants. Brought back memories of the time my youth group went and saw the Houston Aeros play. That and the time my sister Melody, my best friend, Rebecca, and I, watched the movie Miracle back to back to back!!!

Finished the evening getting fish and chips with the ladies. . . all in all Saturday was the best!

Today was Sunday - church in the morning, lunch at Alan and Rachel's, and church in the evening. A wonderful way to finish off my weekend. God is really teaching me so much through Dr. Stewart and all the people I do life with out here in N. Ireland.

Tomorrow I have off so I plan on doing nothing all day but sleep, eat, and relax. Maybe a waste of a Monday. . . I guess we'll see what the weather's like :)

Love to everyone!!

xoxo

-J

What An Ending...

Dr Stewart's messages tonight were amazing! And then to cap off the evening Alan, Vinny, Andrea (Vinny's wife), Stevie Shaw, a couple others, and I went out to an American Diner for dinner. Got me some delicious chicken strips . . . But seeing this made my night complete:

Sweet dreams <3

-J

A Little Bit of Random...

What a spectacular day! Yesterday and today both! Working hard and getting a lot done! Today I had a coffee date at the Cozy Chair with Evelyn. It was a wonderful way to start off my morning! This afternoon I had an attempted skype date with Pastor John which ended up being a phone call - but an encouraging and life-giving phone call. . . I am so blessed to have him in my life!!! I have now been told by several people that I have a slight accent - so funny!

Fresh vision on the direction the Dream Centre is to go - God is really blowing me away! Please keep in prayer the Dream Centre as we move forward. We are really believing God for a building and one recently went up for sale in downtown Belfast! An 11-story building!!! Enough for men's and women's recovery floors, long-term and short-term volunteer rooms, and endless possibilities for the rest! My mind is seriously exploding with God-given creative ideas of how we could use them!

Of course we don't have but a few pounds to our name so in the physical it's impossible - BUT in the supernatural we know that NOTHING is impossible! So please believe in prayer with us as we continue to pursue this option!

We are having a conference tonight thru Friday night. Dr. Stewart has a ministry (CCN) that is working in Italy so the conference is being recorded for Italian TV. The testimonies that we've received from viewers in the past are incredible and we are expecting many more in future days to come!



RANDOM OFFICE PICS:



My Shell Collection - Compliments of Lough Shore :)






Very proud of my artwork - "Pin the Rock on Goliath" (Junior Youth)



 Currently on my whiteboard :)

 

Kept me alive today! - Thank you Glen Turbo!



I felt like it's been awhile since I last put anything random up! Missing yall but I'm really starting to feel apart of what's going on here in N. Ireland. Excited for what's to come! Have the day off tomorrow before the conference. No plans. . . really depends on what the weather's like. Hmmm we shall see!

xoxo

-J

A Lovely Weekend...

Hello again!

Been a couple days here now hasn't it? Really good ones. Some busy - some relaxing. It's late so I don't wanta spend too much time on here blogging but I know if I let another day go by I'll regret it...so here is a quick update :)

Friday night we went out to Street Reach. Absolutely amazing (like always) I spent most of my time talking to Ryan ... one of my new friends out there. He'll be 18 in Nov. and plans on becoming a tattoo artist so we talked about that for most of the time. I also got to see Gemma and several others that I've grown quite fond of.

Saturday morning I headed out to Adopt-a-Block with my faithful team of volunteers. Rained a bit but we had the umbrellas :) Not a lot of people home so we had a litter picking up contest - I believe Abigail and I won that...though I've been told otherwise :) Later that day I went to Lynsey's to hang out. Love her!

Sunday we had church (morning) and I was on childcare duty. Had lunch with Allison and her dad - fun moments :) And then we had church in the evening and Pastor Henry brought the word.

Today is my off day - and what a wonderful day it's been! Slept in, had a great Jesus and Julie time, cleaned the house, did laundry, watched some TV, polished my nails, and then went out to dinner with Lynsey, her brother, and a friend of theirs. Loads of fun :) Now I'm just relaxing at the house. Apart from the heavy rain outside it's pretty quiet - I'll be glad for Sue's return on Thursday :)

Working in the office all day tomorrow - nothing exciting planned. Probably gonna take it easy tomorrow night. God is good though - I definitely can't complain.

Goodnight to all!
-J

Meet Lynsey Agnew :)

Sunshine in the Garden...

Had the morning off so I slept in until about 10am and then made myself a chai latte to drink while I enjoyed the couple hours of rare sunlight! Spent my morning in the back garden - it was lovely ♥

Hakuna Matata...

Just got back from the movies with Sue. Allison, and Evelyn! We all went to go see The Lion King 3D at the cinema! So much fun! I have fallen in love with the film. Was never really a favorite of mine - but yes. . . it is now. Ha the ticket lady commented on our "Two senior citizens and two adults" - asking where the "kids" were. Ahhh but Disney is for ALL ages :) There is such a spiritual parallel in The Lion King which I love - but really just a nice relaxing evening all together :)

Had a nice day in the office. A lot of meetings - but a really productive day! Got loads to do tomorrow but I enjoy being busy.

Planning on unpacking tonight - get all settled in before another day comes. Sue is going out of town now a little unexpected. She'll be gone a week but I'll still be at the house. Hmmmm gonna miss her company and her cooking but she'll be back soon enough :)

Well I know it's super short but I'll try and write more tomorrow!
Have a great night!

xoxo
-J

Allison and I getting ready for the film to start!



Evelyn's 3D glasses took to the camera flash perfectly :)



Beautiful Life...

I have had the hardest and yet most amazing weekend since being out here. . .

It started on Friday. I woke up under major enemy attack. I think the heaviest since moving out here. It wasn't one "specific" thing. . . it was something unexplainable really, but I felt such a weight on my shoulders, such condemnation, - I felt all twisted up inside and physically I was having trouble breathing. I had no one to turn to but Him and knew it was time to take the devil on.
About an hour before Street Reach I went into my room at the church, put on some worship music, filled up my air mattress fully and went to town on my "boxing match" (thanks MCLA). I can't even begin to describe what happened in that hour. Lots of tears and running mascara. I was wrecked. I fought for so many things - people, ministries, but most of all myself. Complete liberation happened in that hour. It was beautiful ♥

Street Reach that followed was absolutely incredible. Every week God continues to move outside City Hall and I am completely torn for those teens. I can't get over how much they have all captured my heart.


I had Adopt-a-Block Saturday morning - only 5 youth came out to volunteer but it was a good group that came. We spent most of the morning visiting with a family and had some wonderful conversations - excited to go back next week! Afterwards Lynsey came and picked me up. We spent the afternoon at her church that was hosting a craft fair. Cute stuff - but nothing that I needed :) Then headed out to Funderland (A Carnival in Belfast)
SIDE NOTE: I have decided that I am NOT a fan of carnivals. Who PAYS money to vomit and get a headache?? (No I didn't vomit but felt like I was going to towards the end) - - - I am much more a fan of amusement parks - yes rollercoasters instead of spinning whirly twirly rides. . . still the company was great and we had a good craic :)

Everyone came back to Lynsey's and after my head stopped spinning and my stomach settled I was able to eat some Chinese take-out while we all watched the US x-factor.

Sunday was a wonderful day! Church in the morning. Came back to the house (Alan and Rachel's) for a few hours for lunch and relaxation before heading back to the church for church in the evening. Afterwards we took the youth group to a nearby church to join up with their youth club for a service. Steven gave his testimony and all the teens performed a drama. They were all EXCELLENT! So proud of them!

Today was good. Spent the morning relaxing with Rach and Benjamin before heading out to run some errands. Got a couple cards and gifts that I needed + some stuff for Saturday's Adopt-a-Block. Then Rach and I met up at Montgomery's so she could get a cappuccino and I could get a chai. We had a lovely chat - not a day goes by where I'm not thankful to have her in my life. Came back around 3pm and phoned home. (It's so weird having such a large time difference. My day is half over and theirs is just starting. . . ) Got to talk to my mom and the twins - miss them but glad to hear that they are all well. Since then I've been doing laundry and packing (I move back in with Sue tomorrow - should be my last move until after the Christmas holiday). Right now Rach is cleaning the house while I'm blogging (feel bad that I'm not helping her but this post is long overdue), Alan's on his way home from work in the south of Ireland, and Benjamin is away at campaigners (it's the UK version of Royal Rangers). I think Rachel will be leaving shortly to pick him up. We have our show (One Tree Hill) on later tonight so i figured now would be a good time to play "catch up" on the blog.


Working in the office tomorrow - no plans for the evening except maybe to unpack. Hmmm hard to believe I've been out here for two months now. Even harder to believe that we are near the middle of October. . . days continue to fly by. I'm trying my best not to look too far ahead into the future - I'd hate to look back and see days I missed out on. Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!

Be encouraged! God is in control ♥
-J

Back on Track...

The past two days have been hard but God has really shown me some things. Yesterday I worked in the office all day making crowns for tonight's Junior Youth. I used a copy of the Burger King crown and spent literally 3 hours cutting them out....Esther herself probably didn't have one so great! Thanks BK!

Last night I had Worship Practise and then Prayer and Bible Study. God really spoke to me during worship. I'm afraid I have been so busy with outreaches, and ministry, etc...that I've failed to spend personal time with the Lord! Big mistake...but one that can easily be fixed :) I think with trying to adapt to the culture over here, and the church, the people, and how everything is done in everyday life, I forgot that the Lord remains the same. My walk with Him doesn't need to change just because my physical surroundings have. And I think without realizing it I kinda expected it to. (Obviously our walk with the Lord is supposed to continue to grow - but that's not the change I am referring to) So...I'm back on track - ready to embrace this season...and excited already to put into action the things He has taught me even in these past two days!

Today I worked in the office. Got everything ready for youth (Junior and High School). Both went extremely well!! I had several amazing chats with some of the teens. Two of my girls are working on overcoming some addictions/situations in their lives. I don't want to reveal their names but just keep them in your prayers - the Lord knows who they are!

Had a lovely skype date with Sandy just now! Really miss her!!! Skyping is my favorite! Unfortunately I've been trying to get together with about 8 different people and for some reason we cant seem to make them happen! Still this has been my lifeline out here.

Working all day tomorrow and then I have a possible meeting with one of my teen girls, followed by Street Reach. Busy busy! I'm exhausted so I'm gonna call it a night.

Peace ♥
-J

I Could Not Ask for More...

Hello Hello !!

Yes I'm still alive over here on the Emerald Isle! I know its been what. . . 4 days? Been busy but let me do a quick catch up for you on what all you've missed.

Saturday was a wonderful day. We had Adopt-A-Block in the morning. (Congratulations to Abigail Wright - our AAB Leader of the Month for September!) The rain held off for us so we were able to visit with some people. Then after AAB Lynsey came and picked me up and we headed into town (Lisburn) with her two wee nephews to run some errands. After dropping them off we went to her house to eat Chinese take-out and catch up on the X-Factor UK and the X-Factor US. . .

Later that night Lynsey and I got together with some friends at the Cinema. Not the best film ever but I enjoyed being with friends :)

Sunday Lyns dropped me off at church. Service went really well and God showed up for me big time!!! (God had told me to put some change in the offering the week before - not alot. . . but still I'm tight on funds so it felt like alot. . . I had told him that He would have to provide for me. Sunday morning I was handed a card with money in it and on the card all it said was Philippians 4:19. It was perfect. I don't know who it was actually from but they were definitely an answer to prayer. I love when God shows up like that!

Sunday after church I headed back to Rachel's for tea (that's what they call lunch/dinner) and then back that night for church. I got to share a testimony and heard several others that really ministered to me. God is seriously doing some big things over here!

My adventure at the church came to a close as I moved back in with the Kirk's that night! Watched some TV with Rach later on - really missed our girl time :)
SIDE NOTE: Got a little emotional - we were making cheese and toast and Rach was slicing some tomatoes to put on top. My grandmother used to LOVE tomatoes - on everything! It's funny how little things remind you of someone after they're gone. I'm just glad she is in a better place now.

Monday (yesterday) I slept in - praise God for real beds that aren't made of air and have no leaks!!! Then I went into town (Ballymena) with Rach for lunch, and to run a couple errands. Relaxed at the house the rest of the day - oh and I did a TON of laundry!

Today I slept in - again :) I didn't go into the office because Alan's been out of town in the States and I had no way to get to the church. Instead I went into town to buy some things for Junior Youth. So I kinda worked - just not in the office :) Alan got home this afternoon and brought presents for everyone! Perfume for Rach, a spiderman costume for Benjamin, and as requested - GUM for me!! Haha he went a little overboard. . . and though not ALL of it's for me I'm pretty sure I'll be stocked up for a good while :)



Seeing that tomorrow is the first day this week I'll be in the office I'm sure it'll be a busy day! Plus I have worship practise and Prayer/Bible Study tomorrow. Best be getting to bed! Knew though I couldn't let another day pass without writing :)

Missing you all! Especially my family. Ah but these next 10 weeks will fly by and I know once I get on the plane to head home. . . I'll be missing everyone here in N. Ireland!

xoxo
-J