wow!

a speedy wee blog to update on current events in the life of me!

1- Shop with a mission fundraiser was an amazing success!!! u HUGE thanx to lorna, kirsteen, laura, carole and colleen for all the help in pulling it off, and to everyone who bought a ticket and came along!!! the grand total raised was £321.72!!!! i am amazed and astounded at how generous people were and how God completely provided through this event!!

2- on 6th June my savings account had a total of £ 10.60 in it, and as u could perhaps tell from my blogging escapades i had no idea (not one!) as to how to fund this trip!! someone told me that when God calls us to do something, He also calls the resources, and i have been so excited to see the ways He has been faithful in doing this!! i fly off in less than 48 hours and my new savings account balance is... £1003!! wowowowowow!!!! i am once again astounded and amazed at how God has completely provided everything!!! see, He who has called us will be faithful...

3- i love my job! i'm actually quite sad to be leaving it so soon as i'm really getting into it and am keen to get the project underway! there are so many folk who just need a bit of motivation and encouragament to tackle barriers they have to progressing in life, and i can't wait to help in whatever way i can!!

oops, must rush off, will blog again soon!!

My mission trip & Fundraiser!

(this is the wee flyer i made with information, if u are interested to find out more about my trip!)

Over the past few months God has been really challenging
my whole concept of ‘mission’ work, and what it means to serve him and tell others about Him. For the past few years I have been praying about going on a mission trip and having just recently completed my postgraduate degree (hurrah!) have sensed God’s timing and definite calling to take a big leap of faith!

In April this year a team from the USA worked with us in what was a very exciting outreach week for the young people in Newton Mearns: running music workshops (for 35 local young people), playing gigs, building relationships and sharing our faith with many people in & around Glasgow. As a result we now have 6 successful new youth bands meeting regularly at the church, and exciting prospects for developing this further.

As some of you may know, my passions in life revolve around music, people and travel (and obviously, God!). Having envisioned my ‘mission’ trip involving a 3rd world country, extensive social deprivation and a lot of dirt, I must admit I wasn’t entirely comfortable when I felt God calling me to the USA!! However, I believe God has given me these passions and gifts in order for me to use them for Him, so it is with excitement that on 1st July I am flying out to Phoenix, Arizona to spend almost a month working with Desert Hills Presbyterian Church and Dick Dietrich who brought the team over in April!

Some of the things I will be doing include:
· Being a team leader on a music ministry outreach tour with a group of 20 teenagers, playing gigs and travelling from Phoenix to Los Angeles!
· Helping run a vocational bible school for native American Indians in the local community
· Speaking at a variety of youth events/ young adult groups
· Visiting and helping lead worship at a number of contemporary services
· Meeting and sharing information with the church group visiting us again in October (including their minister Jim Noble), to continue developing a partnership with them

It is such an amazing opportunity and I am excited to see all that God will do. I would ask throughout this time for your support in prayer, as there will be many opportunities for people to hear the gospel, and many challenges which will undoubtedly arise. If you would like to support me financially it would also be much appreciated- please just get in touch, or send any cheques to Maxwell Mearns Castle Church, Waterfoot Rd. Newton Mearns, Glasgow, and mark them for me!

With many thanks and blessings, Lynz xox

And remember to come to what will be a most excellent fundraising evening:

SHOP WITH A MISSION!
CLOTHES, BAGS & ACCESSORIES for sale
LIVE MUSIC, DRINKS & LIGHT BUFFET
ALL FOR £3.50
To raise funds for Lyndsay Camerons overseas mission trip
WEDNESDAY 28TH JUNE, 7:45pm
Basement @Maxwell Mearns Castle ChurchWaterfoot Rd. Newton Mearns
(WISH YOU WEAR HERE!!!)

i am now officially a young professional!

i started my new job on monday and actually *love* it! everyone is really nice, and because i'm the first of the new recruits to start i got to choose my desk! so i now have a job, a desk, a computer, some post-it's and a pen, which sits in my drawer filling the gaping space!
this morning was a very interesting Employment Law seminar, which began with bacon rolls and pastries to go with the tea, coffee and bottled water! i learned a lot, so don't ever try and harrass me at work! or out of work for that matter! i won't start my client caseload until i'm back from the sunny states, but i'm chomping at the bit to get going! the induction is excellent, and involves meeting with people from each project and dept over the next few weeks! already i'm feeling exhausted, but it's a total change, in that my student lifestyle does not compliment the young professional lifestyle i now have!! yes, i can now click my heels across the office floor, with my pen tucked into my bun and my briefcase at my side... well, not exactly! but it's good!
off to Arizona in a mere 10 days! how exciting! it hasn't quite sunk in yet, altho i'v been hearing the temp. is averaging at 110 degrees, and dropping to a cool 80 or 90 in the evenings!! meh! i have my suncream already, courtesy of my luvly man, but i think i'm going to need some shorts, altho i don't like them! maybe some new skirts... shopping anyone!?
speaking of shopping, come and SHOP WITH A MISSION! GO ON, DO IT! it's going to be a great nite, and i started going thru all my clothes and bags the other day and hadn't realised i had quite so much nice stuff, barely worn or still with tags!!
there's loads, so please come and buy it all from me! if u do i'll provide u with a buffet, drinks and live music from me and mark, and also from Jenny Purse! and it's only £3.50 for all that, wow!!

SHOP WITH A MISSION!
CLOTHES, BAGS & ACCESSORIES for sale
LIVE MUSIC, DRINKS & LIGHT BUFFET
FOR £3.50

To raise funds for Lyndsay Camerons overseas mission trip

WEDNESDAY 28TH JUNE, 7:45pm
Basement @Maxwell Mearns Castle Church
Waterfoot Rd. Newton Mearns

(WISH YOU WEAR HERE!!)

truth at the core

tonite i was workin the bookstall at an event where Josh McDowell and Roy Crowne (YFC) were speaking. it was really interesting, the main message being that a child's relationship with their father has the most significant impact on how they turn out. they had a lot of statistics, many of which surprised me, incl. a scientific study which found the most significant predictor of 5 diseases was the person's lack of closeness to their parents - it related to stress and the findings that those who had a close and secure relationship coped much better with stress, which in turn reduced the risk of these diseases.

an interesting point made was that nowadays a lot of parents attach more value and worth to education than on their child's spiritual development and relationship with God. this is a sad reflection, perhaps not specifically of our times, but of the state of our world. there's always something more important or more pressing, that is given too much weight and can have an adverse impact on a relationship, causing it to strain and become weaker and even to end. over something which in the grand scheme of things has no great bearing on the important issues and relationships in life. like little fights over small stupid things, which build up and begin to trickle into every encounter with that person, whether its with a parent or sibling or friend or b/g friend or colleague. don't let the sun go down on your anger is a pearl of wisdom from paul there in his letter to the folk in Ephesus. (eph 4:26)

one of josh mcdowell's key points he returned to and built on was that:

our beliefs form our values, which drive our behaviour, and these initial beliefs are grounded in relationships and ultimately, truth.

Absolute, or universal, truth is that which is true beyond yourself. one of my friends at uni asked me out of the blue a few months ago if i had absolute faith. at the time i said yes without hesitating, but to really consider absolute faith in relation to absolute truth is a bit mind-boggling! tonite the meeting began with the speaker asking who could really give true reasons for their faith, why they believe the Bible to be true and the Word of God... what are we basing our beliefs on? how do we know what is real and absolute truth?

i have seen and experienced God working in my life, and the lives of others. i have prayed and seen and heard God answer. i have asked for help and guidance and received so many that i cannot call it coincidence. i have questioned and doubted 'christianity', but my doubts returned void because there is too much proof to deny the existence of God, and the resurrection and hope to be found in the person of Jesus Christ. i am now trying to help other young people ask the challenging questions and not to become comfortable with church, and God, because when we get comfortable we get lazy and complacent and we stop pursuing God with a passion and risk becoming happily settled rather than good or honest or Christ-like. Happiness and comfort have become core to who we are, rather than looking to reach others with the truth of Jesus, if it means becoming uncomfortable or doing things we don't particularly like.

grand finale!

no, not of the world cup (more's the pity as we have now to suffer weeks of football obsessed boys re-arranging their priorities and lifestyles in order to fit around the excessive schedule of 3 games a day! ever heard of too much of a ... thing!?)

anyway, today was the grand finale of my 6 years at University!! i can't quite believe it's all over! as of 12 noon today i am now a fully qualified careers adviser! we had a nice wee morning of celebrating and saying nice things to each other, all very lovely and encouraging, before hitting the pub for the afternoon! it was another beautiful sunny day and i have a nice tan from sitting out on the picnic benches! it's surreal to finally have completed my postgrad degree, this year has actually flown by and it's crazy to realise i am now ready to start a career! we don't graduate officially til november tho, but still...

..."about time", to quote a friend who also said i can now stop sponging off his taxes and start paying for his pregnant wife's maternity leave!

speaking of which, i'm going to be an aunt!! exciting congratulations to my bro matt and his fiance billie, expecting their 1st baby in december!!