Team Guernsey & New Wine 2011

So in the last 3 and a half weeks I have been home a total of 2 nights!

Firstly I want to blog about Guernsey because it was one of the funniest weeks of my life :D
To explain (because I can't remember if I've mentioned it in a previous blog)...myself, Tegan and Jessie (two friends from uni) decided back in January that we were going to go to Guernsey for our friend Ellie's birthday...fast forward 6 months and oh wow we are actually going to Guernsey!
Team Guernsey had a brilliant time on the beautiful island :) we met Ellie's family, got to hang out with her friends, celebrated her birthday in style, went to the beach, had a bonfire, did the touristy stuff, and played ALOT of Ligretto!
Ellie and Jessie I've known for a bit longer and know well, but Tegan is a new friend and I now have no idea how I survived for so long without her in my life!
It was good to get to see Ellie's world and experience Guernsey which really is a beautiful place, but mostly I just had huge amounts of giggles with 3 of my most amazing friends.

Following Guernsey I was home for 24 hours before I left for New Wine London South East (LSE)...now I've never been to the LSE week before, normally my family & church do the CSW (Central South West) week.
But this year I have finished uni and have no job so decided I would do both weeks...on team! Considering I've never even served on team at NW before this was probably a slightly crazy decision but ah well!
For the first week I served on the Gems team which is the 0-2 year olds team, specifically I was working with a bunch of 2 year olds. They were very cute and it helped that I am able to take a screaming child from a parent and distract them quickly with toys.
Not having my family & church around was difficult, I had some friends around but they all had other groups of friends they were camping with, including PJ who was with uni friends. I made some new friends and actually popped over to Bath to see Tegan a few times which was lovely, but I also had alot of time on my own. It wasn't so bad towards the end of the week, and having some just me & God time was positive but I do much prefer having my family around!

Second week rolled around and I had an equally great time, if not slightly better! This week I was working on the Pebbles team which is 3-4 year olds and it felt alot more like ministry rather than childcare which was good :) made more friends and got to hang out with my regular church friends too. I worshipped my heart out on a few nights which was beautiful, I crushed out on a few guys but nothing more than that (and it didn't break my heart when nothing more happened which is significant for me!), I saw kids praying for other kids, I got to catch up with the youth that I adore, and I managed to end the week with a horrible cold where I cough alot and sound like a man!

I enjoyed doing both weeks but perhaps it was a little crazy! Yesterday was pack up day and I couldn't do anything, I'd finally stopped working and my body just crashed out! my dad ended up driving my car home coz I was too wrecked to do it. Am feeling a bit better today after resting and sleeping lots but still coughing lots :(
Next year I think I'll serve on Pebbles again but probably only for one week!

And now I'm home and I don't have alot in my diary which is actually really nice for me. I'll catch up with some people, maybe go visit a few uni friends...but mostly just have some chill time :) next big thing in my life is holiday club but thats like 3 weeks away so plenty of time!
That's all for now I think, time to go to bed and get more rest!
Much love xxx

Day 1 without the parentals

So the parentals have gone off for a lovely holiday to Egypt, leaving me & PJ to fend for ourselves and have numerous house parties obviously...

hahahaha yeah I knew you wouldn't believe that!

Nah we're not really house party peoples, mostly because I can't be bothered to clean up the house after a party.
Instead I made us sunday lunch (pasta with cheese sauce which I made from scratch!) and then PJ went to a first aid course and I went to the cinema with my lovely friends.

This week we've got various things planned: tomorrow I'm going to Blenheim, on tuesday PJ's off to portsmouth to see Hannah, PJ's working a bit, I'm going to see Glee...and then Mum & Dad will be back before we know it :)

I'm still in that weird limbo between finishing and graduating. I saw my friends graduate on Thursday which was super weird and a little emotional. I was so proud of my friends but I wish I could've been there to join them. All of this was not helped by my graduation still not being confirmed for September, it should be fine but until I'm registered and everything I won't be entirely comfortable.

But I'm looking forward to chilling out with friends and doing some fun things over the next few weeks :)
Much love xxx

Finished forever...

I know it's been a little while since I blogged and I apologise for that...I'm still not 100% sure I even want to blog right now, because like it or not, I am completely done with university!
(well...I still have to wait for my final result in July and graduate in September but I've finished placement and all assignments!)


It is the weirdest feeling in the world...on Friday as I drove home from handing in my last assignment I cried, not because I'm majorly sad or anything, but because the mix of emotions had been building up all day (happiness, fear, sadness, nostalgia, joy, hope...) and the only way I know how to release those emotions is to cry!


I know that God has a plan, and that the best is yet to come...but for now, this has been the best 3 years of my life. I have loved being a student! And I'm not your typical student, I've lived at home, I've never been completely drunk, and I actually spent most of my degree working full-time in an unpaid placement....but it's been great!

Yes there have been some hard times (just read my blogs from late september 2008 or late october 2010 and you'll see!) but overall it's been brilliant :)


I've made some amazing friends who have literally made my university experience that little bit more brilliant. I've learnt that I'm actually quite good at what I do and that I'm smarter than I realise. I've developed in my organisation and cake-making skills. I've passed on my knowledge and experience to others. I've learnt from those with more life experience than me. I've deepened my faith in so many ways and been well supported to do so.


Mostly I've really become comfortable with who I am.
I'm a good friend. I can be slightly overdramatic. I cry at nothing and everything. I'm not skinny but I'm happy. I am stubborn and moody and grumpy when I don't sleep enough. I make good cakes. I'm great at delegation. I'm lazy. I overthink things. I am funny and bright and friendly. I have trust issues. I am highly competitive. I love God more than I thought possible. I am a massive control freak and I am loyal to the people I love.
I know who I am, I have friends who love me entirely and a God who created me this way.
University has taught me this...and I would say that is more valuable than any degree (...although also being on track for a 2:1 doesn't hurt!)


Actually...despite being nervous about writing this blog, it's turned out ok :) I think I've captured how I feel about uni. Plus it's worth saying that I'm enjoying realising that I don't have to work tomorrow, that I can sleep in and spend the day making cakes! I have a holiday in Guernsey, 2 weeks of New Wine, Holiday Club and my birthday and graduation to look forward to. God has a plan for a job and mostly I'm calmly being able to trust that :)

Life is pretty good for Sarah right now!
Much love xxx

Girls Abroad 2011

Every year my student focus group goes away for a week of fun and bible study...a few years ago they decided to split into seperate girls and boys holidays. This year was the first year I could go (last year I was in America) and I could only go for half the week because of placement....however it was some of the best few days ever :D


We learnt about Ruth & Boaz and their story and how it reflects the gospel message. We all decided that we wanted our own Boaz's- men who seek God but also are real men who have jobs and are planning for the future and who want Ruth's. There were lots of discussions about marriage and I realised that I'm not the only one who longs for God to send me my husband!


Another huge thing we looked at was idolatry and this analogy that we came up with really stuck with me:
Imagine that your daddy comes home and you open the door and say 'sorry but I've found another daddy'...that would be devastating to your daddy. But on top of that you haven't just replaced your daddy with another daddy, you've replaced him with a stuffed animal...that would be a huge betrayal. And yet he comes back day after day...

That analogy just really hit me that when we choose other things above God it really hurts him and yet He stills comes back to us constantly! Such love :)


Alongside all the God stuff we also had some brilliantly fun times :) we were staying in one of the girls houses in Tenby, West Wales and it was right by the sea! I missed the first two and a half days but the time I spent there was beautiful. I swam in the sea, which was freezing but I loved it! We played Lions (a game you might remember from this blog: http://space-kitten.blogspot.com/2008/10/major-update.html) which involves running around in the dark trying to hide and avoid being caught...hugely fun, especially when you're in a huge house spread over 3 floors!


Mostly it was just some good times with some great friends :)

Now I've got a nice long bank holiday weekend to just chill with family before placement all week which feels weird because I've only got 3 weeks left! It doesn't feel like long at all...


That's all for now I think, I'll try and keep blogging, particularly as the end of my degree draws nearer!
Much love xxx

Christian Union

So a few weeks ago I wrote a note/blog thing about my Christian Union experience and posted it on facebook- here it is:


So this week is my last ever Christian Union as a student at Oxford Brookes. And those who have seen me in the last few weeks know that I've been a little emotional about this, so I wanted to take the time to explain why this is. Although I do have a blog, I wanted to share with people what Christian Union means to me and Facebook felt like a much bigger forum for that.
Being a Christian doesn't mean that your life is easy. Having a personal relationship with God doesn't mean that you therefore follow a bunch of rules and you become a goody-two-shoes and nothing bad happens. Life isn't always good and you need people around you to lean on during that time.

University is a huge time of transition and change. For me it included having panic-attacks in halls, learning how to be a student whilst still living at home, it involved multiple placements both good and bad for a course that by nature is very hard emotionally, learning to leave the world of social work behind at the end of a work day.
It has also been a time of discovering what an amazing support Christian Union can be.

In my first year I had a small group of friends within CU, friends that I'm still incredibly close to now, and as I learnt to stand on my own two feet at uni there were some great older members in the CU who guided me and supported me.In second year my friendship group widened and I made an effort to pass on the guidance to the new freshers. I also joined the exec committee which was exciting.
In third year I made new friends still. I worked hard to try and bring glory to God by helping to organise events and pastorally support the CU, before handing over to a brilliant new exec who I know will continue to serve God through this work. I learnt alot and had a good time doing it.

Throughout it all I have gained some wonderful friends. Friends who were there every Wednesday and lots of days in between, who I knew would be there any time I needed to talk, who I could debate big questions with and go for drinks with and would be there and accept me no matter what.
Friends who were there to laugh with me, friends who backed me up when I was trying to talk to non-christians about God, friends who held my hand and hugged me when I cried...friends who held me up when I could not hold myself.
I hope my friends, old and new, know how much I value them and how incredibly grateful I am for their unwavering friendship.

Churches are there for teaching and guiding, Christian Union is there for friendship, support and doing mission together.
Oxford Brookes Christian Union is great. They have more members every year, their mission is growing and their faith is astounding. If you aren't part of this family then please let me encourage you to find out about it for yourself.

Christian Union is a group of christians who share the same faith as I do, who are there to support each other and socialise with each other. I am so grateful for the group I have known- they are genuine, kind, generous and loyal, and that is why I am sad to leave them.

They have encouraged me, held me accountable, and loved me unconditionally.
I LOVE Christian Union and I will never forget them.

endings

A friend told me that she'd been reading my blog and it prompted me to realise that once again I've been pretty rubbish at writing in it this month :s

Apologies for that! But as I said to this friend- in the past I have tended to use my blog to get out my stress and upset. I think that the lack of blog postings are maybe a reflection of the lack of stress in my life at the moment which can only be seen as a good thing I think!

I also think I've grown up alot since I started my blog in 6th form...I still have the odd stress-filled rant but perhaps over slightly bigger issues rather than small things that I've blown out of proportion!

I've also realised that my relationship with God has grown massively since I started this blog. Not that my relationship with God was bad or anything, I just think that as I've matured so has my faith and that means that I am more likely to go running to God with my rants rather than on here. And I think that leaning on God can be no bad thing!

Aside from my lack of posting- in 3 weeks and 5 days I will have finished my degree. Which is absolutely mind-blowing to me- I'm sure I'll write a more sentimental blog when I actually finish! But for now I'm hoping that when I do finish I'll have more time to blog about life and my insights into the world :)

Even if hardly anyone reads it, I enjoy writing it :) so I'll try to be better at it!
Much love xxx

almost a month

So it's Saturday afternoon and I log onto blogspot to check in on my fellow bloggers and I notice that the last time I blogged myself was 27th March (the day I finished my dissertation).
Today is the 30th April and tomorrow it is the beginning of May.
On my blog you can find past blogs by clicking through the archive and selecting a year and then a month...I like this feature as it shows me when I wrote more blogs in a month and when I wrote less. This is often linked to either how busy I am or how stressed I am and therefore need to talk alot about it.
I realised when seeing that I hadn't written a blog since end of March that if I didn't write a blog today that I would have a zero next to April 2011 and that would make me sad.
Coupled with the fact that I'm enjoying a relatively free Saturday and writing a blog feels like a quite a nice thing to do.

It's probably a good idea if I update you (my loyal and almost non-existant readers) about what's been happening this month.

I've continued going with placement, now working full-time. I'm enjoying it alot and really feel like I've gotten my confidence back up after the last placement.

Having finished my dissertation I've since done almost no uni work...which isn't a good thing considering I have an essay due this week :S good thing we have a long bank holiday weekend...which brings my onto some of my more recent fun times- yesterday it was the Royal Wedding of Will & Kate which was lovely to watch. Something very patriotic about watching the nation gather to celebrate :) I think it must've been incredibly weird for them knowing that millions were watching their wedding but as much as Britain isn't great at alot of things, we sure love our royal family!

To celebrate I had friends over for a tea party, I wore my tiara and made cake and drank pimms, we went down into down for the local town tradition of bun throwing (where the local
counsellors and mayor throw fruit buns from the top of our town hall to the crowds below). We then wandered back through the wood and the park before having fish & chips with my family. It was lovely to hang out with some lovely friends, maybe daydream a little about marrying a prince one day (Harry is still free, yes?), but mostly just do lots of fun British things.

I'm starting to think about the future now too (and not just daydreaming about marrying Prince Harry!). This week is my last ever CU as a student which is going to be very emotional for me. When we handed over to the new exec and were given cards as a thankyou (this was a few weeks ago) I cried a little because I've loved CU so much. It's been a great support for me these last few years and I'm going to miss it. I'm sure I'll still see people and still be involved but not in the same way.
I'll have my last Focus group, my last social work course lunch with my coursemates...soon people will be graduating (mine is delayed until September), people will be leaving Oxford, I will finish placement and then what?

I have some plans for the summer, holiday to Guernsey with uni friends, New Wine (potentially for two weeks), Momentum, Holiday Club, my birthday.
But then what? I need to get a job and hopefully my own place.
There are some developments in both of those areas. I've had some positive conversations about potential jobs but nothing concrete yet so for now I keep praying that God will show me the plan that he has and that I'll find the right job in the right team.
As for my own job, I'm always checking out places online but without a job I won't be chosing anywhere just yet...but I am excited about it. Which is a massive thing for me, after all my panic attacks and fear over staying away from home, the fact that I'm excited to find my own place and potentially my own place on my own :) it's an exciting step.

My overall thought for this blog is that I am happy.
I love my placement, I have almost finished university which is a huge achievement...I have a brilliant family and lovely friends who I get to spend a lot of time with. The future looks exciting, and as much as I'd love some reassurance on when certain things might happen (job, house, husband and family), actually I trust that God has a plan that will make me incredibly happy and it will all work out for the best.

That's all for now I think, nothing major has happening in the last month but actually lots of amazingly good, fun things have happened and I am enjoying my life :)
Much love xxx