3.

Breathe.

I can't believe it's december.

The last time i really remember is september....and now all of a sudden it's nearly christmas.

Things have been a bit mad the last week.

I took an allergic reaction to my contact lenses, ended up in eye casualty, missed half a day of work, had to cancel 3 visits, and it completely threw me for the rest of the week.

I met the young person i'm gonna be mentoring for the next year. It's through an organisation called 'voice of young people in care' (voypic)...    so, it's gonna be interesting.   it's gonna be harder than I thought.

I stayed late at work to do paperwork after a very stressful day, I didn't have my key, almost got locked in by the building owners, had to call my boss to come from their home to the office to lock up, and I sat in the office and cried cus it felt like the worst day ever.                     In hindsight....   I was maybe a little irrational.

We had our work christmas do..... and I drove, so I wouldn't drink. There was the option to leave the car at my colleagues and get a lift home with someone else's boyfriend....and I was highly tempted, especially as i'd had a stressful week...but i didn't, and i'm glad I didn't....

I have tuesday off work, and I'm so excited.
I have it off because i have an interview for another job.... i'm not so excited about that. It's first thing and in lisburn, and I hate social work interviews.
But after it, i'm gonna take a look for a christmas present for my brother. Go pick a christmas tree with my mum, decorate it and feel christmassy ( gingerbread latte's will be a must...) and then i'm gonna go pick my friend up from training, who has been in africa for like 2 months and I haven't seen her in about 3 months... and we're gonna take a wee trip to the christmas market and have a huge catch up.

I'm excited about having time to do things.
The weekends always seem so busy, even when I don't have much planned. I think it's because I know they're gonna end, and there's always that dread of Monday....

My life seems to just be passing by me everyday. I'm not taking time to enjoy it. I'm not taking time to breathe.

I am not taking time to appreciate.

I am working,eating,volunteering,sleeping..... and that's it.

I'm not appreciating what i'm doing.       
If I was to go back and tell my 18 year old self that in 4 years i'd be working with young homeless people, I'd have been unbelievabley excited.
now, I dread going to work.....            because I don't appreciate it, because I don't have time or space to breathe in work. Because it's deadline,deadline,deadline....
but just because the organization is deadline focused doesn't mean I have to be....but it is what I have become...and  I need to change that.

One real thought on my mind right now, is that next year I need to take a wee holiday somewhere and have time.

Time to breathe, time to focus, time to relax.    and more importantly time to focus on Jesus.
I need to be inspired again.
I want to learn again.

Now, here's the risk.

i will think to myself great, I'll take that wee trip next year sometime.... and i'll wait until then to focus on Jesus...and then i'll never take the trip....

so, a challenge for myself...  15 minutes a day with Jesus.
15minutes isn't very long.... so I should be able to do that.
then I can build it up.


Things are changing.....