Still dreaming

I thought I would try to be a bit more honest with you in my blogs... Rather than simply listing the things I've been doing, I want to share my heart and what God is really doing in my life, instead of just telling you the practical things that I'm doing for him. My hope and my prayer is that somehow, through this, God will speak to you - the people who, for reasons I don't understand, continue to read what I have to write!

I've been so blessed and privileged to have had all of the experiences that I've had already in my life... and I continue to dream...

At Rock Solid last week, one of the girls asked about how we actually hear God speaking to us, which I thought was quite a profound question for someone so young, but it got me thinking. Personally, I often find that God speaks to me when I take the time to slow down and really observe what's going on, and what I'm thinking about, so I sometimes just write - about whatever I'm thinking about, and I often find that God will guide my words to teach me something new.
I had a few moments last weekend, and this is what I wrote... It's cheesy I know, but this is it...

"I've been thinking a lot about who I am, and what makes me who I am, and who do I want to be? I guess I realized that I don't know any of the answers, and I doubt I ever will, but I do know this... I want to be loved and I want to make others know that they are loved too. I never want to stop learning or growing, I don't want to stop dreaming or fulfilling my dreams. I want to travel, I want to meet lots of different people, I want to laugh and cry and sing and talk into the early hours. I want to see God do amazing things and be a part of it. I want to see the miracles in the small things, I want to appreciate the little blessings and the big ones too. I want to learn from the tough times and help to carry others through their own. I want to care for people and watch them grow. I want to have dreams, not just for me but for those that I invest in.

I may never be able to define 'me' in a sentence, but if I can get to the end of my life knowing that I didn't waste it trying to figure out who I am, I'll be pretty happy with that."

My struggle right now is to live in the moment. I want to give the work I'm doing right now my all. I don't see anything wrong at all about having hopes and dreams for the future, but I do see something wrong with always waiting for the next thing, and never just 'being' where you are at present.

Compton on Saturday

I've been able to see recently some of the things that God has been teaching me lately. I know that he is not only using me now, but preparing me for the future at the same time. Thinking about what I might do months from now, and also what I might do years from now, is so exciting. I've got big plans for my youth work here, and big plans for my life beyond that, but I'm sure that God's plans are even bigger still!

I'm looking forward to seeing my brother and Catherine who are coming to visit me tomorrow and then to welcoming Clare who is coming to stay for a few days next week. 
We're finally starting to see Rock Solid take off - it's been steadily growing in numbers for the past few weeks. We're hopeful that The Space (our youth cafe) will start to grow soon too.
If you want a few more details about stuff I've actually been doing, I keep a youth work blog at www.gunvillemethodistyouthwork.blogspot.com

Things to pray about:
- Pray for my latest project: The Space youth cafe, and that some young people will come along.
- Pray for me as I try to find new experiences and organize trips and days out with my young people.
- Pray for John and Cat travelling to the island tomorrow and for my friend Clare as she travels to the island to stay for a few days. Thank God that we have an opportunity to catch up and spend time together and pray that we will have a lovely time.