adulting level : expert (maby not)

I have now been in coventry almost six months 

things have carried on much the way they started. the youth ministry is in a good rhythm now and things are slowly being introduced or expanded to help the growth of the church i am working at.it feels frustratingly slow at times and i am still finding my feet in many ways (hence why this is my first blog in months)  but i like the fact that the pace is slowly amping up and my days feel more full than they did when i first got here. lots of fun Christmas events coming up that i am looking forward to organising and running 

some VERY good news is that my work has expanded slightly to incorporate some work with a local fresh expressions church with anglican beginnings called urban hope (see , guys ,i haven't completely abandoned my faith roots i promise!!). this feels like a brilliant fit for me and dovetails perfectly with the work i was already as not only dose it means more work hours (thank you Jesus) but their is lots of scope to do collaborative work between my two jobs but I come to urban hope as a bit of an answer to prayer from there side of things . they where given a gift of some initial funding for a youth and children's worker and where praying for the right person to spend it on (double thank you Jesus) there have been more stable and long term funding bids put in for my job role there so please be praying that we get them. 

some of you that have me as a friend on facebook will know i graduated last month. in no small part thanks to you guys support, prayers and encouragement. i was even asked to give a short speech at my graduation ceremony. 

the only slightly bad update i have to bring is that i have to have an operation on my arm in the new year to fix a damaged nerve. but the Dr seams to think its an easy fix and that dose mean that its healing well enough to be operated on so I guess every cloud has a silver lining 

all in all I am starting to feel like maby i can handle this being an adult business after all. i even get letters about pensions and tax and boring stuff like that ... that means i am doing this correctly ? right ?  

I am looking forward to being able to spend some time back in London over Christmas and hope to get to St Luke's at some point during that time to see everyone. 

lots of love 

lauren

xx

sent to coventry (my first update post move)

I have been in coventry a month ! 

I have been meaning to get around to writing this for some time as this blog will now be the main way i will comunicate with friends and family back home that are not on other social media particuly my church back home (hi guys) 

so here goes , the last month or so in a nutshell.

I'm officially settled in and doing well up here. its taken some adjustment. but there have been so many wonderful people that have made it as smooth as possible from my new church and the welcome has been brilliant. and I can now even make it from home to work without getting lost or using google maps (this is no small miracle because the lord has not graced me with any sense of direction to speak of) 

last weekend I had the joy of being a bridesmaid for one of my best friends at uni .I think this will get a blog post of its own in the near future so keep an eye out for that if your intrsted but here are a couple of photos of that 

 as for how the new job is going. I'm slowly getting the hang of being in the driving seat a bit more than when i was an intern. it is defiantly more responsibility. I'm getting to know the kids and they really are a great bunch ! the plan is by the time September rolls around the children ministry will restart with a new lease of life. which i think the vast majority of the congregation are looking forward  to. 

i would just like to take this opportunity to say another massive thank you to everyone who took the time to pray for me offer me words of encouragement as well as gifts of money and cards. the money has been spent on household things that I needed like bedding and towels. so its been a major blessing to have those gifts.  

hope to come and see you all soon 

lots of love 

lauren 

xxx

This . Just . Got . REAL

For those of you that don't know , I'm in bible collage. But not for much longer. As of today I'm about   4 months shy of graduating the most amazing university I could have ever wound up at. ST MELLITUS.

I've gotten to know some of the nicest and most genuine people I will ever have the privilege of meeting and have actuly learned a little bit of theology (a nice bonus )

But as I start thinking about life post smc it's starting to dawn on me that one day in the not to distant future I will have a massive massive life change to adapt to.

I'm most probebly going to be living in a different house 

Quite possibly in a different country 

Job applications and deadlines are the main things in my life right now and is scary , really scary. But more than that it's exiting and I'm never gonna have this much freedom again. 

Lots of love 

Lauren 

Xx

living up to my name , i hope (blogmas day 2)

Lauren Ashleigh Malone  

it means "she has been crowned victorious through Christ"

i hope and pray that i become someone who lives up to my name.

i want to be someone who walks through life knowing they have the victory , that the battle is won 

and its not through anything i did. but through the god who loves me beyond measure. that my very name means i was marked as his child way before i even acknowledged God's existence in my life   

what does your name mean , tell me in the comments

lots of love 

lauren

xxx 

blogmas , more of a candy cane than an olive branch

guys , guys , guys ! 

.

i am so sorry i have sucked as a blogger recently but i have a candy cane (olive branch) for you 

BLOGMAS !!! 

get hyped people !

i am going to blog every day in December

i am going to be doing lots of awesome things so i think you guys will enjoy following me around throughout this month 

i posted the first one just before this 

you guys if your reading this after however long it has been since i posted i love you like my cat likes stealing all the space on my bed  (a whole dam lot)

lots of love 

Lauren

xxx 

six years (and a bit) ago

on the 16th of November 2009 i became a christian 

it was one of the most unexpected and amazing days of my life and alot has changed since that day. 

i am now happier than i have ever been. 

during the coarse of this year i will be graduating st mellitus and leaving my home church to work with young people somewhere else. i don't know where that is or what that looks like yet , and that's terrifying for me. 

the idea of leaving the only church i have ever known and going to live away from of the home i have lived in on and off since the age of 13  is scary and it makes me feel way to much like i have grown up and become an adult (when did that happen , and how the heck do i make it stop) 

but what i love about being able to look back at the last six years is that i have been allowed to make my mistakes , and learn from them. with a whole bunch of people behind me telling me i have the ability to get back up 

this year feels like the first year that safety net id being taken away from me. but thats not true 

i just get to show them now that their investment was worth the while 

lots of love 

Lauren

xxx

I CANT .. Yet

I can't 

It's something I see and here far to often.

From people in almost every aspect of my life 

But particularly the ts community 

I just want to look the girls that say that in the forum  dead in the eyes and say 

I CANT IS NOT A SENTENCE 

What your looking for is "I can" or "i can't yet" 

I don't say this to make anyone feel bad or like they are not allowed to struggle with something. Because you are 

But here is the thing.

You can only fail at something if you stop trying 

Yes you can get that job

Yes you can cope with that family situation

Yes you can overcome that medical complication 

Because if I can by some mirical be 2/3 of the way through a degree. You can do whatever it is you want to do to

Stop saying you can't. It's belittling yourself 

Lots of love 

Lauren

Xxx