Friday, 10 January 2014

Photo Friday


Saturday involved going to the airport with Kristin to pick up Casey, who was returning from the States, and Christy who was moving here! Well, she's moving to Ukraine to serve there with JV but she's here for a month. So I cracked open the chocolates - I love Butlers chocolates and their tag line, "Purveyors of Happiness", is just superb for a chocolate company.



"She was an adventurer at heart; but oh how she loved drinking this tea from this mug in this chair. Oh how she loved to be home." 

After seven sleeps in NI, two in Ostrava and three with Kristin and the boys this is how I felt on Sunday morning morning - loved my adventures and love being home.


January 6th marks epiphany and the day my Christmas decorations come down. So sad! My living room still feels bare with no pretty tree.


I was able to pick up some great fabric on sale in NI and set about making curtains.. I've gotten a little frustrated with the hem so they still need to be finished but I'm excited to finish this project!


A beautiful walk in my town during my working-from-home lunch break on Wednesday.


Fun post this week!


I love how the light comes into my kitchen! 

Thursday, 9 January 2014

Book: A Kingdom Called Desire




Title: A Kingdom Called Desire: Confronted by the Love of a Risen King
Author: Rick McKinley
What’s it about: This book is about the Kingdom of God! It looks at the desires we have - how those desires can sometimes appear in ugly ways but they, at their deepest, are desires that can only be met in God. It talks about how we often try to do the right thing only out of a sense of duty but when we truly encounter the love of God we obey Him because we love Him and we see how deeply He loves us.
Why did I read it: It's been on my bookshelf since 2011! It was good to finally pick it up and read it. 

Favourite idea: Oh goodness. I don't think I could pick one so instead I'll leave you with some quotes.
"But if God called us to His love freely by grace and apart from works, then that love changes everything, because God called us to love us, not simply to use us."
"The creation drama is the most passionate love story ever told, and God is the pursuing lover. We are invited to respond to love that so furiously and recklessly has come after us in Christ."
"They [people of God] have been captured by a vision of another world, and they are sustained by a love that comes from somewhere else. They are Jesus' people. They are the fragrance of life to a dying world... They are a people who have found what their hearts are made for."
"Next time you want to quit loving and serving and giving yourself away for the sake of the kingdom, remember: you're playing offence, not defence. Hell will give way to heaven. Death will give way to life; we know it is true because it has already come true in Jesus, who conquered hell through His own death and brought heaven to earth through His resurrected life."

Wednesday, 8 January 2014

Book: Leadership and the One Minute Manager


Title: Leadership and the One Minute Manager
Author: Ken Blanchard, Patricia Zigarmi and Drea Zigarmi
What’s it about: This is about situational leadership - how different people need different kinds of leadership depending on how much direction and support they need. And the kind of leadership preferred by a person might even depend on the project. 
Why did I read it: This was another book I read for work.


Favourite idea: This was a super short read and I learnt a lot about how to support people and, even more than that, learnt how to assess what kind of support I need in different situations which is very useful!

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

Book: The Checklist Manifesto



Title: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
Author: Atul Gawande
What’s it about: The power of checklists! The author talks about how many tasks today involve many steps and simple checklists can catch and prevent simple errors that could have huge consequences. Many errors that are made in certain fields are not because of lack of knowledge but because we fail to use that knowledge properly. Gawande was one of the surgeons involved in a World Health Organisation project that ends up creating a checklist that has made surgery safer worldwide. There are lots of brilliant illustrations and great stories.
Why did I read it: Another work book! I've been looking at how we could create checklists for some of the things we do.

Favourite idea: That checklists allow us to capture the minimum number of steps required to successfully complete a task. They are not a bad thing but serve us! 

Monday, 6 January 2014

Books Read in 2013





I finally got a second to sit down and write blog posts for the books I hadn't already shared about reading in 2013. So, this week and next week there will be daily posts during the week sharing my bookshelves (and kindle) with you. 

Friday, 3 January 2014

Yearly Recap 2013!

I saw this list of questions on another blog somewhere and thought it would be a good way of recapping the year!

1. What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?
I moved to the Czech Republic in the exact middle of the year. It’s been something that I know God had in store for three years and to see His faithfulness and provision lead to the point of me getting on the plane was an incredible thing.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Errr… ish. I resolved to no longer put sugar in my tea and, even though January was horrible, eleven months later the thought of sugar in my tea really grosses me out. I can even drink my coffee black and without sugar.

There are some resolutions I did passively, rather than intentionally. For example, while I probably know more Bible verses of by heart now I didn’t memorise them as intentionally as I’d have liked.

And there are some resolutions that never happened – like being able to run 5 kilometres.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
There were a couple of births in my community, yes. And it looks like 2014 is going to hold lots of births! Anyone have any good baby gift ideas?

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my granny died in July.

5. What countries did you visit?
I was in America for two months in February and March, April saw me in Scotland, in May I was in Czech, Poland and Ukraine. June saw me move to Czech via a couple of days in England! In the autumn and winter I also travelled to Latvia, Estonia and Slovenia for work (and the Slovenia trip involved driving through Austria).

All in all, in 2013 I slept in thirty-five beds in eleven countries. And I was on twenty flights.

6. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
More discipline with my time – that I would have time to get everything done but still rest well.

7. What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
30th June – moving to Czech.
23rd August – my first night in my flat.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Surviving the first six months of living in Czech!

9. What was your biggest failure?
Failing to be disciplined in taking more time to learn Czech!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes, I got to have morphine for the first time when I contracted e.coli (the bad kind) when in the States.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
A blue coffee table on castors from IKEA – I saw it in Belfast IKEA and knew I would want it in whatever flat I ended up getting in Czech. And it sits in my living room now.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Looking at my travelling schedule probably flight tickets and fuel!

13. What did you get really excited about?
God’s faithfulness in how He provided for the calling He gave me to move to Czech and His faithfulness in providing everything I’ve needed since I moved here.

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Phillip Phillip’s “Home” – I only bought it in August and yet it is already the most played song on my iTunes having even overtaken songs I’ve owned and loved for years. All the lyrics are wonderful but there’s something about the repeated “Just know you’re not alone, ‘cause I’m going to make this place your home.” that became almost like a promise to me as I went through, and continue to go through, transition.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? happier
– thinner or fatter? I don’t own scales here but when I checked in NI I discovered I’m lighter.. That was before Christmas though.
– richer or poorer? Not sure.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d seen more of the area around where I live – but with colder temperatures those adventures will now have to wait until the spring.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Sleeping too late in the morning, giving me just enough time to dress and run out the door (admittedly that running out the door happened most often at 6.15am).

18. How did you spend Christmas?
Back in Northern Ireland with family.

19. What was your favourite TV program?
Grey’s Anatomy continues to be one of the shows I watch most consistently.

20. What were your favourite books of the year?
Oh goodness, that’s a tough ask. I’ve only blogged about six of the books I read in 2013 – I hope to catch up with that but I don’t think I read more than twenty which is ridiculous. I think Believing God has stuck with me a lot and I can see a recent read, The Insanity of God, doing the same.

21. What was your favourite music from this year?
I’m still loving The Rend Collective and Mumford and Sons. I have an “Irish Playlist” that includes Foy Vance, Duke Special, U2, The Script, Damien Rice, Glen Hansard and others that I love on rainy days.

22. What was your favourite film of the year?
Despicable Me 2 was amazing. And I saw BraveHeart for the first time this year and it was great too!

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I had a rather relaxed 25th birthday – I had breakfast with Kristin and Caleb and went to youth group in the evening. It was a wonderful birthday weekend though and thanks to the variety of how long it takes things to arrive here it felt like I celebrated my birthday for a long time!

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
On and off I documented five things each day that I was thankful for, something they recommend you do at MTI to help you see the beauty in the hard things when you’re adjusting to life in a new culture on the mission field. I wish I’d done it more consistently!

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?
Layers. Lots and lots of layers. I can’t seem to buy enough thick socks before others get holes and I discovered the joy of thermal leggings.

26. What kept you sane?
Documenting my joys via photographs and the incredible community of people who are around me, who follow this journey and encourage me.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.
How to drive on the right side of the road!


Photo Friday





One of the great things about being back in NI for Christmas was being able to see and spend time with people! I enjoyed getting to see Frozen and have dinner with some friends on Saturday night. 


It was also great to be back at my sending church, First Saintfield, for two services.


My week in Northern Ireland felt so short but it was great! On Monday I was back down in Dublin to head back to Czech. That date marked six months from the first time I landed in Czech. It was fun to think of all that had happened.


I celebrated New Year's Eve in Ostrava with some great friends. Just before midnight we headed outside to watch the city light up with fireworks!


I headed back to Český Těšín on Wednesday to stay with Kristin and her boys while Casey is in the States. But I dropped by my flat to put away some things and finally decided to tackle all the boxes I'd never thrown away from flatpack furniture when I moved in. It felt very cathartic to get rid of it all and the room looks bigger and much more ready for guests!


Thanks to a very generous Christmas gift I was able to get a rug for my living room! It makes the room a lot warmer. 


The oven in my flat doesn't work (it's either off or on at 400 degrees celsius..) so staying with Kristin and the boys means I can do some baking! The recipe said it made twenty-four cinnamon rolls but fifty-two rolls later Benaiah's verdict was "Look, it's yummy!"