Engagement

Monday was a very exciting day in - Jody and Phil got engaged! 

Jody and I have been talking about it for months now, speculating about when and how it would happen, and as she is one of the sharpest and most on it people I know, keeping it a secret from her was a challenge. 

However, the secret was kept and the Phil popped the question at the Grove on Monday afternoon. They then had afternoon tea with champagne, before returning home for one last surprise for Jody: a surprise engagement party! 

It was really special for us as their closest friends to be able to celebrate with them, show them how much we love them, individually and as a couple, and how excited we are for their future together. 

One of the walls in the living room was covered with photos of the
two of them.

Emma and I made celebratory cupcakes. 

Food table. Incorporating English and American food.
Well. Some oreos. 

Luke Brown and Emma.

Good old Brown. 

Jody has been collecting little glass pots for her wedding
for months, so we took them and lit candles in them
lining the walkway. 

Jody is American and Phil is British, meaning that Jody's family couldn't be there for the party, so we got them up on Skype instead! We were all prepared for them to be surprised by us until we were told they had gotten into the wrong taxi (how does that even happen?!). So we put the lights on again and were unprepared for their actual entry! I suddenly saw the flash of Jody's gold bag in the hall and there they were. The surprise still worked, we just failed on the dramatic entry.  

Retelling how he proposed. 

The Hamrics! Jody and Phil in England; Justine, Gabe, Coleen
and Jeff (and Caspian) in California and Keely in Nashville.  

Champagne! 

Jo and new baby Bethany came round to celebrate
with us too! 

It was so great to surprise these two and now I'm excited for the wedding! 

Jody and Phil

Yesterday one of my favourite friends, Jody, got engaged to an amazing guy, Phil! We had a surprise engagement party straight afterwards, with all of their closest friends celebrating and loving them. 

There's a proper blog with photos of Phil, Jody and her bling and the party coming tomorrow. 

Until then...

...the beautiful, happy couple!

Fill in the blank Friday (Saturday)

Happy Fill in the Blank Friday...on Saturday. 

I hate picking favourites, so these are some of my preferences rather than faves...

1.  My favorite feeling in all the world is    the feeling of waking up a few hours before I'm meant to and realising I can spend longer staying sleeping in my cosy bed   .

2.  My favorite smell is  vanilla, roasted sugar almonds and my perfume   .

3.  My favorite taste is   pumpkin spice lattes, strong, rich coffee, chocolate or toffee apples and roast potatoes.

4. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen was   a brilliant sunset over the Swiss alps. So many amazing colours in one view.

5. The best sound ever is  being wrapped up inside with a cup of tea or in bed and hearing the rain pitter patter against the window panes. 

6. A smell that reminds me of my childhood is   smoke from woodburning at this time of year. Our neighbours at home have a woodburner, so as soon as they light it, the sweet smell wafts into our house and enhances the crisp outside air. That's when I know the cold seasons have begun.

7.  My favorite of all the senses is  touch. Is touch even a sense? Well it's the one I'm picking. I have to reach out and touch things, its the way I take them in. 

A Day in October

Living in the city leaves little room for lazy afternoon walks in beautiful countryside or enjoying the perks of autumn weather that I remember from home. I haven't carved a pumpkin for two years! I've been missing out. Not yesterday though. 

Yesterday my team and I went on a retreat day before the busyness of new interns and Christmas coming up in the next few months. We went to this beautiful house out in a cute village and spent the day there with one of our pastors, just chilling out, drinking cups of tea, spending time together and with God. It was just what we needed. 

After lunch we went on a walk on the common, taking in the fresh, crisp air and the beautiful autumn colours.

1. Coffee and porridge have become my staple breakfasts in this grey weather. Cinnamon or golden syrup porridge set you up perfectly for the day ahead.
2. A leisurely walk on Chorleywood Common.
3. The first fire of the season.  Roaring fires in fireplaces make everything so cozy.
4. Colourful trees losing their leaves.
5. Burnt orange.
6. The ladies. 

There's just something about a family home and a crisp walk that reminds me so much of family. Being away from mine is horrible, but it's moments like these that God blesses me with a little taste of family of a different sort.
And makes me all the more excited for Christmas when I can go for walks in the snowy countryside with my own family. 

I Love Words.

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I love finding words, sayings and statements that seem to speak from my soul. Beauty crafted carefully.

Friday Favourites

Jane Eyre has a beautiful way with words.

(via)

I made these cookies last night, they never fail to be amazing.

(via)

FILL IN THE BLANK FRIDAY

1. If money wasn't an issue, the first thing I'd cross of my life list is travel the world. I would love to take time out and just travel for ages, but I would hate to go by myself, so to be able to pay for me and some of my favourite people to go together would be amazing.

2. Having a perfectly-bordering-on-OCD made bed is something I like that other people think is weird.

3. If my life were a movie right now, the title would be 'Friendship'.

4. Three things I am looking forward to this month are seeing one of my bet friends who I haven't seen in three months - and twice in one month too! , going home for a weekend and the sun on freezing cold February days.

5. My favorite song to sing in the shower is none. I'm one of the minority who do not sing in the shower. I think and talk to myself instead.

6. If I found out that the production of ready salted crisps was ending this month, I'd go out and buy as much as I could tomorrow.

7. One thing I'll never get tired of doing is spending time with the people I love.

I'm keeping them, my souvenirs

Souvenirs

Pinterest

Here's to the twilight,

here's to the memories.

These are my souvenirs

my mental pictures of everything.

Here's to the late nights.

Here's to the firelight.

These are my souvenirs,

my souvenirs.

I close my eyes and go back in time.
I can see you're still smiling, you're so alive.
We were so young, we had no fear.
We were so young, we had no idea
that life was just happening,
life was just happening.

Here's to your bright eyes
shining like fireflies.

These are my souvenirs,
the memory of a lifetime.
We were wide-eyed with everything,
everything around us.
We were enlightened by everything.
Everything.

So I close my eyes and go back in time,
I can see you smiling, you're so alive.
I close my eyes and go back in time,
you were just a child then, and so was I.
We were so young, we had no fear.
We were so young, we had no idea
that nothing lasts forever.
Nothing lasts forever.
Nothing lasts.
Nothing lasts.
You and me together
were always now or never.

Can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

I close my eyes and go back in time,

I can see you smiling, you're so alive.

I close my eyes and go back in time,

you were wide-eyed, you were wide-eyed.

We were so young, we had no fear,

we were so young, we had just begun

a song we knew, but had never sung,

it burned like fire inside our lungs.

And life was just happening, and nothing lasts, nothing lasts forever.

And life was just happening, and nothing lasts, nothing lasts forever.

I wouldn't trade it for anything,
my souvenirs.

- Switchfoot

Patience is a virtue - it's all about the big picture.

"The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you." Matthew 6:33 (NCV)

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Sometimes it can become so easy to get caught up in the here and now, what's in front of you. The problems, fears, worries, wonderings of what is going on right now. I am especially one of those people. Personality wise I am more prone to forgetting the big picture, the bigger plan for my life and instead focus only on what's happening right now, wanting everything to change and be how I imagine with no patience for waiting.

But we can't have the future in the present. It's the future. That's the point of it.

We can't see the big picture because we are humans, with a limited understanding and view of the world. We can only see the past and the present and as much as we would love to see the future, we can't out of our own accord.

Only God can give us glimpses of the future: dreams, visions, hopes.

And it is key that we look to Him and ask Him for that. Because by looking up to Him, we stop looking down at the chaos of life in front of us that its sometimes hard to see beyond and get a glimpse of something bigger.

Looking to Him and becoming more and more infatuated with Him, is how we start to understand and see things from His perspective. It makes everything clearer.

He knows what's going to happen. He has planned my life. He has it all under control.

The way my life is in front of me at the moment isn't the way it's always going to be whether all is going great or not. Knowing that life is bigger than my now brings so much freedom. It brings so much enjoyment, excitement and anticipation.

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Good things take time. Good things come from God and He has perfect timing.

Patience is the key to the future. We can't have everything now. It's not possible and it's not the point. We live in chapters and not everything fits into one chapter. Lessons are learnt at different times and sometimes one lesson doesn't fit with another. That's OK.

Our part to play is by focussing completely on Him, what He's doing in us, around us and through us. The rest will fall into place. That's a promise.

"Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find your everyday concerns will be met." Matthew 6:33 (MSG)