unfortunately blogging has had to take a back seat the past month or two as life and work has got in the way! i’ve been spinning a lot of plates, thankfully I’m somehow managing to keep them all in the air.

i’m so thankful that mid-year assessment is behind me, although there’s a lot of journals, directed tasks, observations and assignments to be completed before our final deadline in june.

our YF residential to coleraine went well, it was on the theme of record-breakers and the young people really engaged with the interactive Bible studies. one of our young people even drew with one of the world records (8 jaffa cakes in the space of 60 seconds!) please pray that YF will continue to grow and mature in their faith, they really gelled together which is a great start.

i’m making progress with my placement with Mencap, working with this minority group has taught me lots about social injustice and shown me God’s heart for those who are ‘sidelined’ from our society. i’m praying that i’ll give just as much as i’m getting from this experience.

the busyness of life unfortunately means that my writing projects have been left unfinished.  please pray that God will show me what my priorities are as there’s so much to be done before the summer rolls in. thanks for your continued prayers, i appreciate the support as things start to pick up in Church in the run-up to Easter.

blessings in abundance, conniex

for several months in 2010/2011 i didn’t write a thing. i was juggling several other commitments and had to make the hard decision to focus on other things. but as some of you may know i picked up my pen in the summer and have fallen in love with writing all over again… here’s some of my latest work http://e100chatni.wordpress.com/ today, tomorrow, and the 10th january i’ve contributed a little something to Essential 100, I hope it blesses you… connie xox

ps i hope that 2012 is the most blessed and best yet! God’s richest blessings on you all :]

once again a lot has happened since I last blogged.  I moved house a couple of weeks ago and am now in the Church of Ireland and Methodist Chaplaincy (The Hub). I’m still working in Second Comber, I’m not leaving (!) until they make me. I just decided that I wanted the full student experience, so me and my goldfish packed our lives into boxes, moved out of ‘Connie’s Cottage’, and now live with 9 others.

please pray for this transition, I’m loving it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the easiest thing in the world to adapt to after living by yourself. i have to say that it was such a God-send, a door opened at just the right time. only God could have been behind it! God goodness to me never ceases to amaze me :]

also, a number of people have placed orders for ‘faith undiluted’ which is great to see. if you want to take advantage of this offer, or know anyone else who does, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. they’d make great wee stocking fillers and at £1.00 each (when an order of 10 or more is made) they’re a bargain.

and finally, have a very merry Christmas! i hope you find Jesus amidst all the craziness at this time of year.

God bless,

connie xox

i really do want to get the remaining copies into the hands of young people and think that youth organisations and Churches especially would benefit from this offer so if you know anyone who may be interested please pass this message on. i’d encourage you to get in touch ASAP to avoid disappointment.

if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me through this website. in His service, connie xox

just a couple of quick prayer requests.

I’ve written up my first draft of my three devotional pieces for Essential 100 and I’d really love it if you could pray over them. I want the words I type to be the words God writes. I want the words on paper to reflect God’s heart instead of coming from my head. Please pray that God would shape these devotions and that He’d speak to the readers. Over the next few weeks I’ll be spending some time fine-tuning this work so please pray for God’s direction, I want Him to have all the input He can get!

And another thing… Instead of sitting twiddling my thumbs in the summer I put my spare time to good use and wrote another book!  This material focuses on important events in the life and death of Jesus that are recorded in the Book of Matthew. There are 24 devotional pieces in total.  I spent some time dissecting some of the parables, looking to the Jewish culture and language to reveal some hidden truths. The problem is I don’t know for sure what to do with this work. I’m toying with the idea of an ebook but I’m still undecided. Please pray for wisdom and discernment.

God bless you immensely,

connie x

I’d like to introduce you to Essential 100.  It’s a tool to help us get to grips with the ‘big picture’ of the Bible narrative that runs from the Old Testament into the New.  These readings take us from cover to cover in 20 weeks from October 3rd 2011 to March 2nd 2012.  It’s a resource I used last year, and I can’t recommend it any more highly!

The blog (www.e100chat.com) and booklet (which can be purchased through Summer Madness or on the blog) hope to encourage as many people as possible to share in the journey together, both young people and leaders.  E100 Chat gives some input from local Bible scholars and youth ‘experts’ who share their thoughts on how to apply the Truth to our everyday lives.  This website also allows feedback to be given and questions to be asked.

i’ve got a favour to ask of you… i’ve decided to stick some of my ramblings online and i could do with a bit of support in getting the word out as far as possible.  this is where you come in :]

if you’d like to give me a hand please follow this link http://www.faithwriters.com/search-writers-name.php and stick ‘barrett’ in the box… when my name pops up click into my profile and you can have a read of some of my UNPUBLISHED works in ‘article archives’… even better, you can ‘track’ me, so every time I add new articles you’ll receive an email.  don’t worry your inbox won’t be full of my emails, i plan to add one or two every 3 or 4 weeks.

i’d appreciate some help with this, the more friends who read my work, track me and forward the link onto anyone they think may find them an encouragement- the better. if you like what you read please do pass it on.

i’ve stuck 6 articles up to get you started: ‘I AM enough’, ‘God allows us to be human’, ‘uncensored, and exposed’, ‘the ugly truth’, laying down your rights’ and ‘acting in response to His Will’. if any of these titles grab you i’d really encourage you to have a read.

i hope they speak to you, i really do. thanks for your support, God bless you buckets, connie x

I arrived home early Thursday morning and fell straight into bed.  I’ve spent the past couple of days recovering sleep and taking it easy which has allowed me to reflect on our mission.  I learnt a lot about myself (most of which I had been hiding from and didn’t want to admit to) which has really helped me grow in my faith and determination to serve God.  I need to hold onto the stubborn belief that no matter what life throws at me I need to keep running the race instead of slowing to a stop.  I learnt so much about life.  More than anything I learnt that it’s not always what you expect.

 While we were in Cabra we helped facilitate English conversational workshops, take part in Church services, and perform at an Irish cultural night.  We were well received by the locals and built up good relationships with the Church family.  Spending time getting to know the Church was the highlight for me, I hope we were an encouragement to them.

I learnt so much from the people in Cabra, especially my host family.  They saw me as being their adopted daughter which was very touching; they welcomed me into their home with open arms.  I thank God for the time we shared together and am sorry to have had to leave them.  I hope they know that they blessed me so much more than anything we offered them in return.  I expected to give more than I got out of missions but I found that my ‘output’ fell far short compared to their ‘input’ into my life.  The Ruiz’ family, as well as the wider Church family, are true witnesses of God’s love in action and I would just like to thank them for all that they gave me.

 I’ve to keep on reminding myself that the mission hasn’t ended, it’s only just begun.  I can’t wait for the next step, I can’t wait for what God’s got around the corner for me.  Whatever it is I’m now more determined that ever to throw myself into it.  Missions aren’t just for a season, they’re to last a lifetime.  This is what I firmly believe and this is what I have chosen to hold myself to.

 Thanks to all who prayed for our team when we were away, God bless you for your faithfulness in prayer. much love, connie x

Last time I blogged I shared an urgent prayer request that really did need a quick response… thank God He said ‘yes’! Yesterday my long-awaited passport came in the post (if I hadn’t received it by tomorrow it would have been too late)! Saying that I’m relieved is an understatement, for a while I thought I wouldn’t be able to go to Spain on missions, but I should have been more trusting. In a way I count it as confirmation that God has a mission for me in Spain. God affirms you in the strangest ways at times, all that stress and panic actually had a purpose behind it now that I have my passport in hand.

I’m so looking forward to what God’s got in store for our team in Spain, good things are ahead. Please pray for the team as we organise a kids’ club, lead English language workshops, take part in Church services, are interviewed on radio, lead worship, and organise a cultural night amongst other things. Pray for energy and enthusiasm as there’s a full programme lined-up for us. I’d encourage you to partner with us in prayer, we may be the hands and the feet on this mission but you can be just as much a part of this by being a praying heart.

Also, can I just say how awesome our God is and thank Him for an opportunity that only He could have orchestrated. Last Saturday night I had the chance to share at Summer Madness a bit about the story behind ‘faith undiluted’ and ‘frank’. I hope and pray that it spoke to the young people about how God’s Word has a place in their everyday lives and should have the last word on decisions that they make and steps that they take. I’m so thankful that He never fails in being faithful. Before I shared the last thing I wanted to do was stand up infront of everyone, nerves took over behind stage, but as it always happens as soon as I open my mouth God takes over and I have nothing to worry about.

When I return I’ll share about what God got up to in Spain on our mission… until then please hold us in your prayers. Yours in Christ, connie x

Ards Half-Marathon has been and gone thank goodness, it was the longest 1 hour 52 minutes of my life!  As you may know I did it as a sponsored run, although since the last time I blogged (seeing that we completed our fund-raising for Exodus) I ran for The Net (Comber YFC drop-in) where I volunteer. We’re in the process of doing up the centre so every penny makes a difference. It’s not too late to sponsor, you can contact me through the website and I’ll give you further details.

Summer is officially here for me! My first year of Bible College flew by, it was over in such a flash. I find out whether or not I’ve passed (?!) in a couple of weeks, so, fingers crossed! In the meantime I’m looking forward to the summer and what it brings; having a couple of months free from journal writing allows me to get involved in all sorts. I’m taking a small group of young people to Summer Madness, and I’m involved in a sports summer scheme as well as our Church’s Holiday Bible Club.

I’d really ask you to pray for a specific need at the minute. I’m having difficulty getting a passport and the plan is for me to go on missions to Spain on the 9th of July. We’re running out of time, things really do need to get moving, so please pray that I’d get it in time! I had countless cups of tea on Thursday to try to calm me down after being put on hold by the Post Office for over half an hour and not really getting anywhere so please pray that God would intervene in this.

Another thing, if you want to take full advantage of a special offer both ‘faith undiluted’ and ‘frank’ will be sold at Summer Madness this year. Looks like you’re going to have to visit the bookstall to find out the pricing, a one-off is hard to beat.

Love and hugs, connie :]