Once again, I went on another mini blog hiatus. This year has definitely been a busy one and I am coming to you today with a mid-year rewind, where I basically tell you where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing and what I’ve learned over this first half of the year.
This year has already moved by so fast and I don’t know whether that’s from the busyness of life or the fact that this year is simply going by like a breeze. Despite that, I feel as though I have done so much in the last six months and I’ve also learned so much – about life, my spiritual life and much more. Sometimes it’s good to just take a step back and look at everything that has happened, to get a fresh perspective on what is yet to happen!
WHERE I’VE BEEN
Going into this year, I didn’t realise how much I would be stretched and how much my time would be divided between so many different things. Sometimes it’s been a struggle to manage my time, but it’s also been a fun and joyful journey. It challenged me and I feel like I’ve gained a new understanding of my capacity to do things.
THIS YEAR I STARTED STUDYING
As most of you should already know (because it’s not as if I talk about it all the time…pfft), I started university this year in a Bachelor of Arts for Creative Writing and Professional Writing and Publishing. I consider it a blessing and such a joy to be able to study something that I love to do, something that I am passionate about and motivated to do. I’m personally glad that I started university immediately after high school versus taking a gap year. At the end of last year, I came to a conclusion that I should take a gap year, to recover my mental health and to ensure that I could go into university emotionally stable. However, because of my scholarship, I couldn’t really do that, but in the end, it’s turned out to be fantastic.
SERVING WITHIN MY CHURCH
Most of my week is spent at church, serving in the many different ministries that I am a part of: Youth Ministry, Praise and Worship, Kids Ministry – and it’s been amazing. I’m surprised that, despite doing so much, I haven’t burnt myself out. But God’s supernatural peace has definitely been upon me, because I know if I didn’t have God, I would have cracked under pressure by now. Seeing the changes, the blessings and the impact of God’s movement in the church has been encouraging and motivating for me this firts half of the year. And there’s still more to come!
WORKING
And of course, I have been blessed with an amazing job. I never thought I’d enjoy administration/reception work so much – being the kind of person who dislikes phone calls and is an awkward speaker. Surprisingly, I’ve come to really enjoy answering phone calls throughout the day and constantly being alert and on the ball. (However, sitting ina three hour exam to monitor students is very boring).
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
I’ve definitely learned the value of time management and prioritising. Studying, working and committing many days and hours into ministry means that I must learn to balance them all within my week and prioritise them accordingly. Sometimes this meant giving up my well loved hobbies such as reading, blogging and writing. Sometimes it meant spending less time with friends and loved ones. I had to learn how to not get consumed all by one aspect of my life and neglect the rest and at times it was hard, but it’s a slow process. It’s not something that you can master immediately.
I also learned that time for yourself should be equal to the amount of time that you have with others. Being more active in my life now as oppsoed to last year where I spent a lot of my time by myself, I’ve developed a better liking for spending time with other people. I’ve come out of my introverted shell a little bit more and now feel less nervous when going to spend time with groups of people and I’ve even found myself spending almost all of my tie with others. So much so that I started to feel bad for saying no and staying home by myself – I’ve realised that it is okay to want to spend time with yourself, because it’s when you’re alone that you can rejuvenate, clear your mind, reflect and for me, get a sufficient amount of time for my quiet time with God.
I’ve learned to lean and depend on God much more than I used to. Spending more time in ministry and doing devotions with my youth team has given me a much bigger vision and a closer relationship with God. I’ve learned to leave my worries with him, to depend on him for strength. I feel empowered to tell the things of God to people, and I seriously am not afraid to share what is revealed to me. Sometimes though, I feel like I should say less; to speak little and just listen more. In a world that is so full of voices, sometimes it’s better not to add onto that.
I’ve learned that small things make a heck of a difference. Whether it’s an encouragement to someone, helping out with little tasks, or spending a small amount of time every day for devotions and study revision; it can make all the difference. It’s not all about the big things – sometimes the ‘less significant’ is more important.
Josies Book Corner 
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