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!

SKAM is back and here's why it's important

SKAM is back and here's why it's important

15 Apr 2017

If you haven't heard of SKAM, the hit Norwegian sweeping the world where have you been!?!?!

Skam, or Shame in English, is a drama series focusing on a group of teenagers at a school in Oslo in Norway, the young, diverse cast have been praised for their raw, realistic portrayal of teenage life covering important topics such as, toxic relationships, drugs, alcohol, sexual assault, sexuality, mental illness and Islamophobia. Truly unique in concept, the clips are released as they happen in real time, so if something happens at 12.42 on a Wednesday, the clip will be released at 12.42 on a Wednesday and each of the characters also has their own social media pages that you can follow to get a fully rounded story. It sounds amazing, right? and trust me, IT IS.

Along with the fact that it covers such important topics, the acting is top notch and the chemistry between all of the characters is insane, it's almost as if you're actually watching real life teenagers, in fact, Josefine Frida Pettersen who plays Noora in the show once got accused of actually being Noora while out for drinks with some friends and 17-year old Tarjei Sandvik Moe has just been awarded a Norweigan acting award for his portrayal of Isak.

Another unique aspect of Skam is that each season revolves around a different character, season one was about Eva, season two was about Noora, season three was about Isak and season four which began on Monday will focus on Sana and will also be the last season much to our disappointment.

I assure you that watching Skam will be the single greatest and worst thing you will do because it will consume you. If you can find it that is... Skam being Norweigan is only available to watch on the nrk website, in Norwegian if you live in Norway, So how has the whole world been watching it then I hear you ask, well, some people have been hard at work translating the episodes for those of us who don't understand a word of Norwegian, which you can try and search the archives for, if I've convinced you enough.

Alt er love.

Spring OOTD (feat. Glasses Direct)

Spring OOTD (feat. Glasses Direct)

12 Apr 2017

Spring as sprung, which in Northern Ireland means that it is socially acceptable to go outside without wearing a coat although you may still be slightly cold, which was precisely what I decided to do!

For this outfit, I paired my grey Topshop Leigh jeans with my denim jacket from Zara. Everything else I wore was black and white so that includes my shirt which I picked up in Cuba while on holiday yin Sweden last summer, my Happy Socks and my staple black boots from Schuh, probably not the most springy thing I could have been wearing bt girls yo can never go wrong with a good pair of black boots... trust me.

The main thing I want to talk about however is my glasses.

My glasses are Camden from the Retro London range from Glasses Direct. This was my first time using glasses direct and after getting my eyes tested last month I decided to treat myself to a new pair of glasses, or two pairs of glasses as I was delighted to find out about Glasses Direct's buy one get one free range so I was able to get both the Camden (pictured) and the Bromley for less than £60. Glasses Direct also operate a home trial system so you can try on up to four pairs of glasses at a time that will be sent to you free of charge before you decide to make any purchases. If you like what you see, give glasses direct a go and if you quote my name, "Alice Myles" at the checkout you'll get £30 off your order! I couldn't recommend them enough!