Beautiful Music

Coldplay! I love their music... here are some of Coldplay's old one's but GREAT one's!

There are so many beautiful songs by Coldplay, to many to list but YouTube Coldplay and be amazed.

Instagram

For those of you who aren't familiar with Instagram, it's an App created to allow people to express themselves through photos. The photos range from amateur to professional. Myself falling completely into the amateur category! I have an account, my username is- poppyjs08. Follow me for some of my photographs, most taken by me and all edited are edited by me.

God Bless.

Free Fallin'- John Mayer

This song just puts me at peace.

I know that Tom Petty was the original artist but this version is better quality.

Enjoy!

Some Things To Consider

I think sometimes we get too caught up in the everyday treadmill of life. Me included. It's not easy getting up at half six, sleepy eyed eating breakfast, barely acknowledging your family, heading into a busy, stressful day at work or school. It really isn't easy.
I think we all need to make the most of our time, (even at work or school) and live our lives fully.

If your in a profession that you dread every decision you make, every day you step into your office or workplace, you shouldn't be in the job. Yes, I think that you should be challenged in your day to day life but challenged in order to increase your performance and experience, not to make you breakdown or hate what you do. I think that there is a high risk of bullying in a serious profession. Bosses blaming mistakes on you, accusing you, hypocritical bosses or colleagues. There are endless possibilities of hurt and bullying in a career. So be careful. Don't let your boss take you over, be strong. Your job shouldn't be viewed as a job, a chore. Unfortunately careers earn you money which pays for your car, your house and your kids. But bear this is mind. Work at something you love and you'll never work a day in your life.

I think with school whether you hate it or love it, your going to be there for about 14 years and then possibly college or university, so learn to at least enjoy some aspects of it. When you break your school day down, it doesn't consist of that much work. Maybe you take five classes a day, two or three of which you enjoy and maybe look forward to, which means that you will be more willing to learn in these subjects. Then you only have a few other classes to sit through. Then there's the social side to school. Your always with people! Your friends, classmates, teachers, grow in relationships and having friends in your classes will make school more enjoyable. The thing is, school is not that bad. You just need to relax and learn to enjoy some of your school years, if not all!

This may sound strange but eat well. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with some snacks in between. Don't skip breakfast! I'm sure you've heard people repeating these words over and over, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" I really don't like being told this but it's true. Think about it... After sleeping for hopefully 8 hours, with no food or drink you are going to be hungry and thirsty. Eight hours is a long time! So make sure and leave yourself time to eat and drink in the morning. You will feel so much more willing to participate in school and learn.

Smile and laugh. Yes, smile! Yes you, reading this blog post right now, I dare you to smile :) believe it or not smiling makes you feel happier and smiling at someone will make them smile and the chain goes on. Amazing how one smile can impact someones day or week! So why not do it! Laughing with your friends and colleagues can help your mood and performance in work, school and it'll make your life feel happier even when it may still be jam packed.

Do things you love. Doing things that make you peaceful and happy have a huge positive impact on how you live your life, how you handle situations and just making you happy! If your thing is photography, go exploring. Take a friend, photograph them. If your thing is writing, do it. Type, hand write, or just think about the words running through your mind. If your things is art, try all kinds, collage, mosaic, painting, oil pastel, chalks, charcoal, sketches and the list goes on. Have at least one thing that you strive for and thoroughly enjoy doing, something that isn't a chore.

Take time out. Even though smiling and eating breakfast are so good and positive, they probably don't make your busy life any freer. So take time. Time to yourself, time for your family, and time for your friends but I want to just briefly talk about taking time for yourself. Time for yourself makes your days seem more relaxed and free. Aside from doing things you love, take quiet time, time to reflect and think. Journal, sing, sit in silence or almost silence, write a song, anything that brings you closer to yourself and your Father, God.

Pray. I think prayer is hugely misunderstood, it's often thought of as kneeling by your bed, using big words that you don't understand and rehearsing what you think you should say. No! Prayer does not need to be like this. You should be growing in your relationship with God and get to the point where you can talk to Him like y would talk to your closest friends, because that's what he is- a best friend, a father and He is love. Also, prayer does not need to take place beside your bed or in church, talk to God anywhere and everywhere! Walking to the bus or in the car (of course you shouldn't close your eyes in these situations!) , in the lunch line or washing the dishes- anywhere! Also you do not need to physically speak, you can journal your prayers or talk into yourself too. Just remember that prayer does not need to always be traditional- though it could be! Just talk to God.

Make a difference. Whether you visit elderly people at the nursing home or you go on missionary trips, you're making a difference. The thing is, you were made the make a difference, isn't that cool!? I think we all get bored with the same distance, same scenery as we stomp along on the treadmill of life but why not run outside, run free? A lot of people including myself, get urges to do something, to help, to make a difference! I feel like i need to get out there and see what needs to be done. In a couple of years when I am 16 I am hopefully going to volunteer in the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice, which is a hospice for children. For kids who are terminally ill and will never overcome their illness, but also for patients who are going through treatment and hope to get better. We have a close family friend whose son sometimes goes to the hospice, he is epileptic and has learning difficulties. The hospice provides the parents of these children with a short break because they devote their whole life to the care of their child or children. So go on! Get out there and make a difference.

Praise God. Go to your nearest window and look out. Whether the view is muffled may rain or dazzling from the sun- God did that. He made the light, the stars, the planets, the grass and the flowers, the water and the fish, the animals and the birds and you know what else? Us. God took time to plan your life. He knows your name, you secrets, your likes and dislikes and even the number of hairs on your head. Wow. God the creator of ALL wants us to know Him and praise him and have a relationship with Him! Praise Him, sing endless songs, declare your love and passion for Jesus.

Love. So there's a verse in the bible. It says- "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful and I know that full well." Psalm 139:14. Until quite recently I didn't know what the word fearfully meant in this context, now I do. When God made us fearfully, He made us with a space in our hearts for God. A gap for God. So that we could love. God made humans to love, animals don't love like us, birds don't either, nor fish but God and humans can love. We can love God and trust him because we were fearfully made. You know the word good? That four letter word that your English teacher probably tells you not to use because it's not descriptive enough well let me tell you what God meant by good. When God made the sun, plants, birds, sea, animals and everything else he said it was good! Good meant perfect. Everything was perfect. When God made Adam and Eve he said it was very good! Which means very perfect. Unfortunately we disobeyed God and sin was made, everything was not good. But! We can love God and get washed clean. We can become new again. Love. God is love.

Obviously I haven't covered every single last detail but I might be coming back to this post and updating over time.

Read. Reflect. Pray.