Something terrible has happened. I signed up for Google+ today. And although yes, there are many ways that could be terrible, some would say, the worst thing is that the links for the photos on my blog got tampered with. So, long story short... a lot of the images on my blog now show up as blanks.
I will probably try fixing this at some point, but it will take a considerable amount of time and effort. So, for now, enjoy my other blog and hopefully I will get this one back up to sorts soon.
And if you're with Blogger and thinking of joining Google+... BEWARE!
Friday, 3 August 2012
Farewell... for a year
In view of my impending journey to Japan come September, I've decided to create another blog that I'll be using to write about my time there. Though there's a lot to be said for keeping everything in one place, I think having a separate blog that can be dedicated solely to this unique event in my life will work better.
So, all that to be said: head to juliagjapan.blogspot.com for all the updates I will be making as I start preparing to head out, and to read about the many adventures during my next year in Tokyo.
Not to worry, I will be back here in September 2013, to document my last year of university. (Eek!)
Much love to all!
Jx
So, all that to be said: head to juliagjapan.blogspot.com for all the updates I will be making as I start preparing to head out, and to read about the many adventures during my next year in Tokyo.
Not to worry, I will be back here in September 2013, to document my last year of university. (Eek!)
Much love to all!
Jx
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Sophia.
It has been a pretty long time since I last posted. Actually, let me rephrase that. It has been a very long time since I last posted. Last April was nearly a year ago, as crazy as that is to believe...
To be bluntly honest, I'm torn over how to continue. Part of me - the perfectionist, organisational freak side - wants to backtrack and update all that has happened in my life over the past nine months. The other part of me wants to just pick up from here. To not worry about trying to fill a gap just for completion's sake. To stop trying to relive moments from the past and just recount the adventures from here on out. So, the latter option is what I'm going with.
Life has been busy. Stressful. But good. I entered my second year of university, which was a huge jump from first year - and since coming back after Christmas holidays, it seems that the second semester has been an even bigger leap so far. Teachers giving assignments in every class, huge projects looming with deadlines, essays piling up. But there's one thing driving me, one reward that's making the endless lists of vocabulary and complex grammatical functions and delivering speeches in Japanese worth it... and that is my year abroad.
Coming September, I'll be moving to Japan for a year to study in Sophia University. I am more excited than words can describe. It is in the centre of Tokyo, and will allow me to experience Japanese culture to the fullest, while still interacting with fellow international students. I know that it will challenge me as a person, stretch my language skills beyond belief... and will be a time that I look back on fondly as one of the best years of my life. Am I nervous? Yes. Scared? Gracious yes. But more than a bit ecstatic at the thought that it's so soon.
As a closing thought... I especially like that Sophia comes from the Greek word for 'wisdom'. And it is my earnest wish to gain exactly that during my time there next year - wisdom in how the Japanese language and society works, and wisdom to see what plans my future holds, and what part Japan has to play in it.
Jx
To be bluntly honest, I'm torn over how to continue. Part of me - the perfectionist, organisational freak side - wants to backtrack and update all that has happened in my life over the past nine months. The other part of me wants to just pick up from here. To not worry about trying to fill a gap just for completion's sake. To stop trying to relive moments from the past and just recount the adventures from here on out. So, the latter option is what I'm going with.
Life has been busy. Stressful. But good. I entered my second year of university, which was a huge jump from first year - and since coming back after Christmas holidays, it seems that the second semester has been an even bigger leap so far. Teachers giving assignments in every class, huge projects looming with deadlines, essays piling up. But there's one thing driving me, one reward that's making the endless lists of vocabulary and complex grammatical functions and delivering speeches in Japanese worth it... and that is my year abroad.
As a closing thought... I especially like that Sophia comes from the Greek word for 'wisdom'. And it is my earnest wish to gain exactly that during my time there next year - wisdom in how the Japanese language and society works, and wisdom to see what plans my future holds, and what part Japan has to play in it.
Jx
Friday, 29 April 2011
If my life were a storybook...
If my life were a storybook, and I the author, I would probably write things quite differently from the way that events tend to play out in reality. I would construct a fairytale-esque saga that placed me in the middle of an epic adventure; a life filled with excitement and novelty. For every now and then, I look at my life and all I can see is the difficult or the mundane - circumstances that don't even come close to the events in your favourite adventure or romance novel.
But then, while I'm lying in bed dreaming up a storybook-worthy future, God gently chides me, and reminds me that my life is a storybook - one written by Him. And He starts bringing to mind all the unique events and unexpected twists that it has taken over the years.
He's really been teaching me patience this last wee while. For my natural tendency is to look to the things ahead, wish time would go faster, look forward to the next stage. Even in books I am impatient to get to the next chapter. For I think, with books as in life, that something better will happen then. The next part will be more exciting. I'll definitely be happier when _____ happens. And so God has to grab me by the hand as I'm trying to speed on my way... and He makes me stop and admire the scenery where I am right now. For, as I realise when I finally slow to match His pace, I will never be at this part of my journey again. I'll soon be past this bend in the road. And it's my last chance to admire the view from this spot. Sure, it may be even more breathtaking later on; but as He is teaching me, it will not come any quicker with me wishing for it - and I will miss some gorgeous landscapes along the way.
Had I written my story, I'm sure I wouldn't have even dreamt of including some of the twists that have made it my very own. The city of Edinburgh. Friends I couldn't have thought up had I tried. Andrew. Even an impromptu weekend in Newcastle. And it is when you put all these little things together that the chapters emerge, and He personalises them just for me in that way no one else can.
So, He says, be patient. Wait for Me to write the next part of your story, and enjoy the scenery that I've presented you with right now. Because I can write a much grander tale than you could even dream of; I'm the one who knows exactly where this plot line is going to give you a few unexpected surprises. Just trust Me with the pen - and I promise it will be a storybook like no other.
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord." {Psalm 27:14}
"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord." {Psalm 27:14}
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Trust.
So much of life is unpredictable. If there's anything I've learned over the past year, it's that. I can formulate such perfect plans, mapping out my life to the very last detail, and in one short moment they are all turned upside down. And that's when I suddenly find myself at God's feet again, having no choice other than to trust Him with it all.
Trust. It's a word that at face value seems so simple, yet in reality demands so much more. The thought of letting go of everything you've counted on, the ledge you've been clinging to, and believing that God will hold you up… it's scary. It's utterly frightening. Especially at those times when all your circumstances are telling you that your world's unravelling to shreds, it seems like lunacy to go on believing the promise that all things work together for good. I want to question - angrily, more often than not - why things have happened this way. Why, just when everything seemed to be going perfectly, it all starts to fall apart again.
But you know what? It's times like these that we need Him most. It's times like these, when we can't see two steps ahead for the thick fog that clouds our future, that we have no choice but to let it all go and return to His arms. Pressing on in faith, believing in His promises, loving and making yourself vulnerable when you have no idea whether it will all be in vain… no one said it was easy. It's one of the hardest feats demanded of the human soul. But through it all, He is shaping us, crafting us, making us holy like His Son.
And it's all worth it in the end. Because if your heart is in His hands, if you are rooted and grounded in His great love, then you are free. You know, deep down, that He has your ultimate good at heart. You know that He has written a more beautiful story for your life than any you could ever dream up yourself. You know that there is a purpose behind everything - even if you can't imagine what on earth it might be! And you can just rest, trusting in your heavenly Father to guide you each step of the way. For He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.
So wait for him. Look for His hand in your life. And just let yourself go, free to love and be loved in return, resting in the assurance of His grace and provision and boundless, limitless, extravagant love.
"…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Trust. It's a word that at face value seems so simple, yet in reality demands so much more. The thought of letting go of everything you've counted on, the ledge you've been clinging to, and believing that God will hold you up… it's scary. It's utterly frightening. Especially at those times when all your circumstances are telling you that your world's unravelling to shreds, it seems like lunacy to go on believing the promise that all things work together for good. I want to question - angrily, more often than not - why things have happened this way. Why, just when everything seemed to be going perfectly, it all starts to fall apart again.
But you know what? It's times like these that we need Him most. It's times like these, when we can't see two steps ahead for the thick fog that clouds our future, that we have no choice but to let it all go and return to His arms. Pressing on in faith, believing in His promises, loving and making yourself vulnerable when you have no idea whether it will all be in vain… no one said it was easy. It's one of the hardest feats demanded of the human soul. But through it all, He is shaping us, crafting us, making us holy like His Son.
And it's all worth it in the end. Because if your heart is in His hands, if you are rooted and grounded in His great love, then you are free. You know, deep down, that He has your ultimate good at heart. You know that He has written a more beautiful story for your life than any you could ever dream up yourself. You know that there is a purpose behind everything - even if you can't imagine what on earth it might be! And you can just rest, trusting in your heavenly Father to guide you each step of the way. For He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.
So wait for him. Look for His hand in your life. And just let yourself go, free to love and be loved in return, resting in the assurance of His grace and provision and boundless, limitless, extravagant love.
"…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
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