Why Is It Important To Worship?

Above is a typography video that I created in After Effects a few weeks ago. I got the idea after watching various YouTube videos. When I listen to a new song I like to have the lyrics in front of me, so I can follow it, learn it and most of all take them in. I love worship songs, I have so many favourites!

For the video I chose the song Not Guilty Anymore by Aaron Keyes. When I first heard the song, it made me cry. The lyrics were just what I needed to hear at that time. I felt very guilty for things and very alone in my depression. I knew people around me cared but sometimes I just didn't feel it you know? I'd also been struggling with my faith a little, I couldn't hear God and it felt like He was so far away. I KNEW He was there, but I didn't FEEL it. However something that got me through that time was worship. Yes I found it hard to worship God when I felt He wasn't listening to me. But deep down I wanted to and knew that is what I had to do.  Music just relaxes me and I love to just sit for hours with music playing in the background. Personally I find that I am closer to God when I do so. 

When we are asked why we worship God, we usually say that He is the all powerful Creator and deserves all our praise. We take it for granted. But why is it so important to worship Him? First of all God commands that we worship Him. He wants all our attention, so that we can have an amazing relationship with Him. Imagine if you were in a relationship with someone who you loved very much, you'd want them to give you all their attention, wouldn't you? The relationship wouldn't work if only one of you loved the other. It's a two way thing.

Secondly, think about all that God is. Think of every word you can to describe Him. Think of everything He's done, all that He's made. Surely He deserves praise! No one can ever over shadow Him. Nothing compares to Him. He is worthy of our worship.

I believe that worship is very important in our relationship with God. Just as much as praying or reading the Bible is. God deserves to be worshipped, He's amazing!  

Fall into Him

Today has been a mixed day. One moment I felt fine, the next I was crying my eyes out just wanting a cuddle from Mum. I miss her so much. I can't tell you how much it hurts. I get flashbacks to the last few days and it makes me crumble... But I cry when I'm alone but I can't when I'm with people and I don't know why. Sometimes I just want to scream during worship but I can't! Lately I've really struggled with talking to God. I've not been able to pray or read the Bible or worship properly, maybe because I was still angry with Him for taking Mum and Nanny away and leaving me to deal with things on my own. I mean I'm 16 and I don't have a mum or any grandparents left. How is that fair? I need mum more than ever now for advice, comfort and love. 

I feel like I can't do this alone.

It's so hard...

I just wish she was still here and that cancer never existed...

You know when you're at home and feel so lonely but can't do anything about it? Yeah I feel like that everyday... well at some point...

I see people around me, children running to their mum's, families going out together and it rips my heart out. I can't watch...

Nothing will ever fill the void that Mum left behind but I just need to hold onto God. As hard as it is to do that sometimes, I know that He is always there.

I made the graphic picture above the other day just to show the many names and qualities of God. 

This is a very powerful song that I just came across. We need to just fall into God...

Do Not Be Ashamed Of Jesus

I found today pretty tough going. Why? Because I felt the Devil was testing me, provoking me to see when I would break. However he did not do this in a direct way but rather through my friends. Somehow we got into the discussion of religion and my faith as a Christian. The majority claim to be atheists and were firing questions at me that I did not have a clue how to answer. I wanted to stand up for Jesus but I didn't know what to say except "I don't know how to answer some of your questions but I know what I believe and that is I believe in God."

Now they weren't doing it to be horrible to me but rather to test me I think. To push me to see how far they could go. They were trying to wind me up. There were various remarks such as "If you weren't a Christian you'd have a lot more fun." If I wasn't a Christian, there would be no point to my life! Others were "the Bible's a lie", and "it's all just a crutch". I won't deny that this didn't upset me but I tried my best to ignore them or to try and prove them wrong. Which can be quite a difficult task when put on the spot! 

I've always found this to be a very difficult subject. It's all very well saying we must tell people about Christ but how? It's so hard when someone is adamant that He doesn't exist! And it can be hard to declare that you're a Christian knowing that you may get questioned about it like I have experienced. 

I am not ashamed of my faith but I do find it difficult to share it. I created the image above to declare this. When we are struggling we just have to look to God and trust that he will gives us the words to say. We won't convert people over night and going around shoving it down people's throats is definitely not the way to do it! But we can still sow seeds. Maybe something we say will stay with people and they will dwell on it, remember it and come back to you to ask you for more.

Do not be ashamed of your beliefs. Romans 10:9 says:

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

I remember at the start of my GCSE RE classes a few years back we were asked to write down 3 things we didn't believe in and 3 things we did believe in. Then a few of us were asked to read one out. I was first. I remember not wanting to admit that I was a Christian at first as I was worried what the other people in the class would think. So I said, "I don't believe in reincarnation." The teacher then asked me if I believed in Heaven and Hell. I said yes. At this point I was standing up, all eyes were on me. My palms were sweating and heart was racing. She then asked me if I believed in God and in Jesus. Straight away I said "yes". She concluded with making me state I was a Christian. When I said it the verse above jumped into my head. My heart was still racing but in a good way not a nervous way. I had done it. I had admitted what I believed in front of all my classmates. I knew that God was cheering me on and so pleased that I had done it. I knew it. Every time we declare Jesus as Lord and Saviour there is a huge celebration in Heaven. I left the lesson feeling very proud of what I'd done. 

"But he said, "I am not crazy, most excellent Festus, but boldly declare words of truth and reasonableness." Acts 26:25.

We need to boldly declare the truth and not be ashamed to stand up for what we believe in. We will be rewarded in Heaven when we get there.  It's hard but God is with us all the way. He knows what we go through. Jesus was ridiculed to, they put Him on a cross because they saw Him as a threat. But if He hadn't gone through all that pain, where would we be today? 


God Bless

He Is Our Shepherd and We Are His Sheep

He Is Our Shepherd and We Are His Sheep

Today in Guernsey is Liberation Day, the day when 67 years ago the Channel Islands were freed. Every Guern celebrates Lib Day with huge enthusiasm. There was a lot going on today and I just love how the day brings everyone together.

Along with my dad and brother, I went for a walk around St Saviours and the reservoir. It is a beautiful but tiring walk. Towards the end of the walk we came to a field full of sheep and lambs. Luckily I managed to capture some amazing shots of them, like the one above. Seeing all these sheep reminded me of Psalm 23:

"The Lord is my shepherd, 

I shall not want; 

He makes me lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters; 

He restores my soul. 

He leads me in paths of righteousness 

for His name's sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley 

of the shadow of death, 

I fear no evil; 

for You are with me; 

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 

all the days of my life; 

and I shall dwell in the house of the 

Lord forever."

I love this passage, as do many people. It was read at my nanny's funeral. It's just so comforting. It reminds me that God is with me and protecting me, therefore "I fear no evil". Who are we to fear when we have the Mighty God leading us?!

There is also another verse which is incredible and just makes me feel so safe:

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

Even though sometimes we don't feel it, God is holding us close to his heart, He loves us and just wants to care for us. We need to put our trust in him totally. I know in the past few weeks that this has been particularly hard for me but I know that He is the Way and that He loves me very much. 

God Bless 

Friends Are A Gift From God

"I'll be your friend for a lifetime

Against the wind and the rain of every season

Won't walk away in the hard times

I will be your friend

I'm saying I will be your friend."

I Will Be Your Friend - Michael W. Smith

Today I had an awesome time with my friend Leah from Australia. She's been over for the past 4 weeks along with her family. I've had some amazing times with her but sadly she's leaving on Thursday. I wanted to do something special with her before she went, so we walked down to Fermain, had an ice cream and came  back to mine for Chinese and a film. But it went quickly and too soon I had to say goodbye with a tear in my eye. I won't see her for another 2 years or so and will miss her heaps! Leah is an incredible friend and I am truly grateful to God for bringing us together. She's my sister and I love her to bits!

Proverbs 20:6 says: 

"Many will say they are loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly reliable?"

What this is saying is that good friends are hard to find. I believe that God brings each and every person we encounter into our lives for a reason. Whether that is encouragement, comfort, guidance, love, friendship or to learn, it is all planned by God. He works through people to speak to us and show us the right way to go. I have some brilliant friends who love me and want the best for me. I know for certain that God bought them into my life to help me. Through my struggles with grieving, depression and anxiety I can always count that someone will be there for me. Although sometimes I don't feel like speaking I just love knowing that they are there!

I have an amazing friend in Leah and have truly been blessed to have her in my life! It's just a shame that we live so far away but that just strengthens our friendship! 

And of course God is always our Friend. He's our Best Friend and we can always count on Him to be there to listen to us and comfort us. 

My challenge to you is to go up to one of your friends and just tell them how much you aprecciate them and how much they mean to you. It will make both of your days special!

Thank you to all my friends and thank you Leah for just being you! For being awesome and an amazing friend, I love you loads and will miss you soooo much!!!

Thought this video was perfect for this post, hope you like it <3

God Bless

God is all powerful!

Today is Bank Holiday Monday. We went for a walk around Grande Rocques and Port Soif. The weather wasn't great, quite cloudy but I got some very cool shots of the clouds. Above is a panoramic photo that I took to show the contrast of the dark and light sky. I just love looking at God's creation. Isn't it amazing? Days like these remind me that God is all powerful, after all look at His amazing work! Clouds are an amazing creation, they always look beautiful. Whether they are dark and stormy like this or white and fluffy!

Jeremiah 10:12 says: 

"But God made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom 
    and stretched out the heavens by his understanding."

How incredible is that?! I was at New Wine Guernsey this weekend and helping in Rock Solid - primary age kids. We were doing all about creation. It was amazing to get a fresh look at it. We all know the creation story but sometimes we need reminding. One thing that really stuck out for me was how if we want to make a cake we need ingredients but God created the Universe out of nothing! He didn't have ingredients, he didn't need them! He is the Almighty God! Nothing is impossible for Him. Now that is power! 


Not only did He create everything from nothing but all He had to do was speak and it would appear:

"And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." Genesis 1:3

After we had learnt this, we went on to discover that even though God is MASSIVE in comparison to us, he cares about us sooooo much. He created us and loves us! One of the songs that we did was called "God's Love Is Big". Here are the lyrics:


God who made the universe
The earth, the sun, the moon and stars
Has a place in His heart for me
From the beginning to the end
God will always be my friend
So I can jump and shout 'cos God loves me

God's love is big, God's love is great
God's love is fab and He's my mate
God's love surrounds me everyday
And I love to sing and say
God's love is big, God's love is strong
God's love goes on and on and on
God's love surrounds me everyday
And I love to sing and say...God loves me WEHAY!

This song made me smile so much over the weekend because it is just so true and very catchy! We did some great actions too. 

The point of this post is really to encourage you that whatever you may be going through, God is right there with you and He is MASSIVE compared to whatever you are going through. He has a special place for you in His heart and loves you very much. I have been through some pretty rough months but New Wine has totally refreshed my love for God. I know that He is all powerful and can do anything! NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!

Hello!

Hello, welcome to my blog. I decided to start a blog to just generally share my thoughts. I love graphic design and photography and would love to share more of my work. Generally I do "Christian Graphic Design" like backgrounds for my laptop and adding scripture into my photos. I have also done a lyric video in After Effects which I will be posting at some point later. I really enjoy doing graphics as I love to see the final product, even if it takes hours to do, I am proud of it. It's something I've created.

I haven't had the easiest of times lately, my mum died of cancer 6 months ago and my nanny died too 2 months later. I am dealing with anxiety, panic attacks and depression at the moment as well as issues with my faith. By this I mean that lately I've been finding it hard to fully put my trust in God. I've found it hard to pray and read the Bible and really feel loved by Him. I aim to be very honest in this blog so that it will help me deal with my emotions and how I am feeling. I also hope that I can encourage other teenagers who may be in the same situation. 

I go to Les Camps Methodist Church and help out a lot with the children's group - Lightbulb which I love doing and get a lot out of every week. 

Anyway now you know a little about me... Hope you enjoy the blog :)