Sin No More

Sin No More

4 Jul 2018

Now that I've gotten home and gotten a good night's sleep in my own bed, now seemed like a good time to write up about some of the things I learned over the course of the weekend. 

I go to Summer Madness every year with certain expectations. These expectations do tend to vary each year. For example every year we expect the weather to be crap and ordinarily, it is but this year was an exception and we had sun the whole time which honestly was the absolute dream. When I was younger everyone always told me that Summer Madness would be the best week of my summer and sure enough the first year I went I grew so much in my faith and really gained a lot of confidence in Christ and obviously, it made such a big impact on me that I keep going back year after year. However, as I've gotten older these expectations have shifted ever so slightly in a more negative direction. I go to Summer Madness knowing that it's a youth festival, the talks are geared towards young people and I'm not a young person anymore. What could I possibly get out of this and just like with the weather, my expectations were succeeded.

This year the theme of the week was 'Truth to Dare' exploring the importance of truth in the Christian faith as we unpacked stories from the bible in how different characters encountered truth and how it transformed them. This included one of my favourite stories from the Bible, the story of the woman caught in adultery from John 8:1-11. 

It's a funny phrase 'Sin no More'. It's so often depicted as angry, the kind of thing you hear those intense street preachers yelling down their megaphones as they try to terrorise passersby to 'turn from their wicked ways before they burn in hell' or something to that effect. But how far is that from the real meaning of these words. In John 8:11 after the woman caught in adultery has all of her accusers walk away from her unable to condemn her Jesus says the words "Neither do I condemn you, now sin no more". Those words, Sin no more. Was Jesus angry? No, He was probably almost definitely disappointed but Jesus knows that we as humans are incapable of living a life free of sin. Jesus faced all the same temptations as we did because He was fully human but the seemingly contradictory fact that He was also fully God meant that he did not give into that temptation and He lived His life without sin. 

We see sin as the ultimate act of freedom, that by living in the world and all of the temptations that we face that it'll give us more freedom and more satisfaction when in reality it's really doing the opposite, it's constricting us and acting as a stumbling block in us developing our relationship with Jesus. So yes a life without sin would be impossible for us to live but Jesus' call for us to Sin no more was a compassionate cry for help. Jesus see's the sins that tarnish us and it breaks His heart. God loves us just the way we are and He accepts us just the way we are but if He didn't teach us to grow and change the way we live He would have failed as a father. Krish Kandiah put it that God doesn't try and change us because He doesn't love us the way we are but because He loves us too much to leave us that way"

The part that really hit home to me the most, however, was on the final morning when everyone was tired and ready to go home, I didn't even have my notebook out to take notes it was at that stage. But the words resonated load and clear all the same, "Secondhand Christianity", or, living vicariously through other peoples faith encounters without ever really having your own faith encounters. I love hearing how other people are encountering God and what He's doing in their lives, it excites me so much to see young people encountering Jesus and how bright their futures are going to be without really thinking about myself and how God is going to work in me to bring transformation, clarity, and purpose. Just because God hasn't done something in your life yet doesn't mean that He's incapable of doing it. Other people's experiences with Jesus don't define your walk, only your experiences can do that and the only way for that to develop is just to continuously seek His face and put Him first in everything that you do. 

So once again Summer Madness you've snuck up on me with truths that I can take home and try my very hardest to live out but the most important truth of all is that we also have grace and that God's grace is so sufficient that it covers everything. He's removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west. That's an immeasurable distance, if you walk north and keep walking north, eventually you're going to end up walking south, but if you keep on walking east you'll never stop walking east, and that is how far our transgressions have been removed from us, our transgressors, or the things leading us to sin cannot condemn us because Jesus hasn't condemned us, instead He has reached out His hand and invited us in truth and grace to sin no more. 

So I'm going to try. 

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Tan Review

Rimmel Sun Shimmer Tan Review

1 Jun 2018

It's Summer, my dudes! I'm officially finished with University for the year and now the sun is shining brightly in Northern Ireland, so that means it's time to embrace the summer sun, especially since we've had such a run of insane weather lately (literally 20 degrees may not seem that warm to you but in Northern Ireland it's the equivalent to actually being on the sun) but maybe it's not quite time for the population of Northern Ireland to embrace my pasty white skin! Well, how great is it that there's a cure for that and it comes in the form of self-tanner (what a shock I know). I'm not a big fan of self-tanning but it's mainly just because I'm far too lazy to maintain it because I genuinely do love the self-love and appreciation that comes from looking just a little bit more bronzed and glowy than usual. So that's why I was super excited when Influenster sent me a whole load of self-tanning products from Rimmel London to try-out for free!

I'm blonde, and I'm so blonde that I'm almost ginger so I can't get away with a super dark tan without it looking really off. Here's a funny sorry about that: I was at work and a man I'd never met was trying to explain to someone who didn't speak English that my tan was fake so if that's not a punch in the gut about how pasty and white you're expected to be then I don't know what is! Anyway after that little tangent back to the main reason we're here, Self-tan and particularly the Sunshimmer Self Tan Mousse from Rimmel London. I haven't gotten round to using the other products yet (which are Sunshimmer Self Tan Lotion With Chia Oil and Sunshimmer Instant Tan Matte Water Resistant) but when I love the mousse so much why would I bother! I'm not a serial tanner by any means if and tan and I were a tv show we'd probably be Sherlock, only releasing episodes at special occasions every couple of years, but recently since receiving this tan I've become a little bit obsessed. In fairness the first time I applied it, it was a shoddy job, it definitely wasn't even and my hands were definitely darker than everywhere else on my body but that is no fault of the tan, that's purely me being lazy and not wanting to get a mitt. The second time was much better and I can base this review of that. 

I love the mousse the most because it comes out like a foam and when tanning is such a monotonous task who wouldn't want to inject a little bit of fun into it with foam am I right! It also goes on super smoothly and gives an even coverage (provided you apply it correctly that is oops), It has good colour payoff which s brown as supposed to orange so you're not at risk of looking too much like Donald Trump. It doesn't have the typical fake tan smell either so your noses will be safe as well. I think that just about covers it, I've attached some photos below of my failed first attempt so you can see that even if it doesn't exactly go to plan you won't look awful! Have fun being your best-tanned selves and I also promise to post more in the not so distant future because this has been an embarassingly long break!

Love, Alice

ADVENT: He's in the waiting

ADVENT: He's in the waiting

22 Dec 2017

Everything around me lately has been crying out about waiting, waiting for new episodes to drop, waiting for grades to be posted and most importantly waiting for Christmas. We're currently, albeit not for much longer, in the season of Advent, commercially known as, the period leading up to Christmas when we get to eat a tiny little chocolate every day for a month, waiting in anticipation for that one day that comes round every year that gives us an excuse to eat too much food and open our own presents as we celebrate someone else's birthday. However, Advent was never supposed to be about just awaiting Christmas but about being in constant expectation for the second coming of Jesus. 

We live in a world of fast food and next day delivery where if we have to wait even slightly longer than normal it's a waste of valuable time but what is waiting an extra ten minutes for some food that has clearly been freshly prepared and tastes a lot better. Yet still, we (me included) are so reluctant to wait on God. We want things instantly but fail to notice that God is in the waiting. The 'not yet' answer to prayer is often the most frustrating because of society telling us we need things right now and we're not willing to wait for God's abundant blessings that He has prepared for us we just need to be willing to wait and put our trust in Him.

In my church during this season, we're looking at the parable of the ten virgins.written in Matthew 23 verses 1-13 (as written below)

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

It tells of the importance of being prepared for Christ's second coming at all times, the foolish virgins in this parable missed out on an eternity in heaven because although they had been vigilant and ready at one point, when the bridegroom (or Jesus) finally arrived they weren't prepared. It's all well and good giving your life to Christ but if you're not prepared to be fully with him and prepared for him during the waiting, you're not really following Him.

This advent season I've been constantly coming back to the song 'Take Courage" by Kristene Di Marco which proudly proclaims that God is God in the waiting. The bridge of the song cries

And You who hold the stars 

Who call them each by name 

Will surely keep, Your promise to me 

That I will rise, in Your victory

Proclaiming that God will keep his promises, He's promised to prosper us so He will prosper us we just have to be willing to wait for Him to do so. But with the immense blessing that He has for us, more than we are even capable of fathoming, why the heck would we not want to wait!

 Although Advent is the season of waiting, our attitude to waiting in expectation shouldn't be left behind after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season has died down. No-one knows the day or the hour of Christ's return so we should live our entire lives in expectation, waiting on Him, and being prayerful and expectant of everything that He is going to do in the build-up to His inevitable return.

REBRAND

REBRAND

14 Nov 2017

For a little over a year, I've been grappling with ideas on what to do with this blog, I wanted it to be everything it possibly could be all rolled into one, I was trying to write about what I thought people wanted to hear, rather than what I wanted to say. And while I'm super thankful for that year and the chance to grow it is time to truly decide once and for all what this platform is for and why I should keep it open after all of my attempts at blogging in the past had fizzled out.

Introducing: 

MOM JEANS AND JESUS

Combining my two main loves of fashion (probably some beauty too let's be real) and my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I don't claim to be an expert in either area but is anyone? I want this to be a space where I can share my ideas, thoughts and general advice, whether anyone wants to listen or not. I want this place to be authentic and to truly express me as a person. Currently, I still don't know exactly what that looks like but hopefully, you'll continue to join me on this next chapter. Wherever it leads.

Childlike Faith.

Childlike Faith.

30 Jul 2017

PSA: this is a very belated post about New Wine for various reasons, please try to pretend that I posted this weeks ago!!!!

"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."

The New Wine Ireland annual summer conference has been and gone for another year and yet again I've come home feeling more full and more challenged than before and this year it was all down to the amazing kids that we have the privilege of leading.

This was my first year volunteering on the children's ministry team, people tend to attend conferences to further their relationship with God and when volunteering you are responsible for assisting the children in doing so but it doesn't always work that way. In fact, I'd say I learnt just as much from the children as the children learned from me. Leading children is a symbiotic relationship, you feed off of each other, each one planting seeds in the others life and watching them grow.

Children aren't born knowing the gospel, they aren't brought into the world knowing that Jesus died for them, it's our responsibility, as their elders, to bring them that truth in order that they may prosper in it. Children are the easiest to evangelise to because they're so open and accepting of the gospel, they want to learn more. When you tell them that Jesus died for their sins they don't think anything else other than to believe it. This is what Jesus meant when he said we have to have a childlike faith. We should be totally fixed on Jesus, and not care about any other fulfillments in life. Children pray so freely and so often I stumble in prayers worrying about what others will think of what I'm saying, that they're going to think I'm not reverent enough because I don't use big enough words or because of the things that I don't say, Children don't have that fear, they just pray, knowing that it doesn't matter what other people think. That all that matters is what you say to God even if it's only something simple like "please don't make them be afraid".

When Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them" we need to reflect on whether w took it to heart. Children's prayers are even more powerful than we could imagine yet some people are so concerned about getting children to pray. At our family celebration on Friday afternoon, we had children pray with their parents and other adults and we saw results.

So live out that childlike faith that your adult-self forgot, approach the King of Glory as the King of Glory, praise him and don't question it. If each of us could learn to be more like a child, completely unafraid for God didn't place a spirit of fear in us, but a spirit of freedom, we need to live freely and glorify him with our entire beings. Children are so hungry to learn more and to grow even more in their faith. Are you?

Flying Solo: My London Adventure

Flying Solo: My London Adventure

30 Jun 2017

I've been pretty MIA lately and it's mainly because it's darn near impossible to blog on a laptop of which 8 of the keys don't work, but nevertheless, here I am with a life update. 

Travelling solo can be a daunting experience especially if, like me, you're not used to it and are unfamiliar with the place you are travelling to. So these are just a few tips of things that I found useful, when I was travelling. 

Have a Plan

Having a plan and being aware of the things that I wanted to do while I was there really helped to calm my mind. I didn't need to panic about getting lost and not knowing where I was going because I'd already decided what I wanted to do and how I was going to get there. Now this doesn't mean that you can't make spur of the moment decisions and deviate from your plan, but I found that on my second day, when I had no plan that I found it a lot more stressful than the first day when I had meticulously planned everything.

Eating Alone Isn't Weird

Believe it or not, nobody is going to judge you for turning up to a restaurant on or own and asking for a table for one. It happens all the time, tere are so many tourists in the city also travelling alone,. Don't let there be a stigma about it. Research local restaurants before you go as well, so you have an idea of where you'd like to eat, to take the stress out of finding somewhere last minute when you are there.

Take Your Time

It may sound obvious, but try not to rush around. You're in a new place, take some time to enjoy the place you're in. Even in cities like London, famous for the hustle and bustle, it is possible to take things slow, just because your surrounded by something doesn't mean that you have to conform.

Embrace Your Oneness 

You are on your own, use it. How many times have you been somewhere with friends or family when you've been the only person who has wanted to do something. Well, there's none of that when you're flying solo, you have free reign of activities, there's nobody to tell you that you can't go to that super obscure place that you've been dying to go to. YOU DO YOU, MY FRIEND!

Don't Worry

If you spend all of or time worrying about ever little thing about te trip, you just simply won't enjoy yourself and what's the point of going away in the first place if you're not enjoying yourself, you're there to have fun so have fun. Fully absorb the place you're in and you'll be a local in no time!