The Real Nicole.

This year i was in year 12... im not gonna say it was easy but it definatly did test me. This year for me held a lot of tears, tantrums, high expectations and future choices to make. constantly throughout the year i felt pressured and burdened by expectations of my family, friends and teachers to do well in school. i felt like i had to live up to their standards and that pressure of achieveing what they thought i was capable of was at times overwhelming. There were times when i didnt put my best efforts in and felt overwhelmed and like i didnt care and looking back now i regret not making best use of the time, resources and friends i had to help me achieve better. Having said that there were also times when i put 110% of effort in and was highly disappointed with the outcome. This is generally how i feel about my whole year. sure there were times when i felt i couldnt do it and didnt try but overall i think i work pretty hard in the hope to get a decent score. i know people say i...

i have been thinking a lot recently how we often feel compeled to give gifts to so many people at christmas and birthdays etc but really what is the meaning of us giving the gifts... so that you dont get in trouble for not giving a gift? to repay them for something? to say sorry? Shouldnt Christmas be about community and spending time lovingly together rather then just getting more gifts and giving more gifts. i was asked by a family member what i wanted for christmas and i replied i didnt know and wasnt fussed if i didnt get anything... i was surprised with the response..instead of accepting what i was saying they shut me down saying there must be something i wanted and i had 12 hours to think of what i wanted. i seriously dont see why its such a big deal. if i dont want anything use that money for something more worthwhile. i plan to use whatever im given to good use so it will benefit others rather then me... isnt that the true meaning of christmas? i hate that everything people do ...

Our youth leaders are pretty special, in the 6 years ive been at youth ive been truely blessed to have them in my life teaching, guiding and supporting me. Our leaders couls have been doing better things then spend every friday night with us like ironing, watching TV repeats or hanging out with their mates but they choose to serve God and us each week by leading us. i think sometimes we take for granted all tehy do for us, with text messages, phone calls, hanging out, planning events and even praying for us regularly. we are truely blessed to have them. Lord, i pray for the blessing our leaders are in our life. Thankyou for giving them a servant heart to serve in youth ministry. i thank you for the impact they have made in so many lives and what they are yet to do. Lord i pray for what they plan for next year and for what you have instore. some will continue to work or study full time but lord some will change jobs or finish study and i pray that you bless them in wherever you are l...

On the 14th of November i got baptismed at my church. the decision to be baptised was one that was a long time coming... it had been on my heart for a while but i had never thoguht it was the right time and didnt just wanna do it because it was the christian thing to do i wanted to do it for me and my faith journey and as a public declaration for my faith. i finally decided to do it once i turned 18. I was baptised wth two other awesome ladies in faith Nicole Hall my mentor adn steph Clapp a friend... it was an honour to be able to stand next to these incredible ladies and all share our faith walks which are all so different but still led us to the same place. i shared this with my family nd friends adn church family before i was baptised... I've been coming to HVUC for about 10 years now. So I’ve kind of always known about church and God. At first to me God was someone that I could blame for the problems in my life. But through the pain I felt in these situations I felt supporte...

ive been reading a book called soul revolution by John Burke and its been really challenging me to think more about God in our everyday life. So often i think we pray in times of stress and when we feel we have lost all but during the joyous times we dont pray to God and ask him for more of his presence. Saturday night i was home alone and i felt reall challenged to sit in Gods presence and read the bible or pray rather then fill my night with dvds and facebook. As i sat reading it became increasingly aware to me that what i was doing in fact was a rarity in my life and that i often fill my life with so much other stuff such as just sitting on facebook rather then spending time sitting with God. i also felt challenged to think more about Gods presence actualyl being there. We hear that God is always with us but how often to we actually stop and think about the fact that God is always with us. as i sat reading and praying i felt myself constantly asking God about in THAT moment what...

i think everyone at one or more stages in life has looked at themself and questioned how they look or thought themself as fat and hated flaws in themself. Although its true that we all ahve flaws and that noone is perfect i think there is real beauty in firstly who u are on the inside and how that shines out and through ur actions. i also wholeheartedly believe in the fact that we were made in Gods image and that God created us and he thinks we are beautiful no matter what...thats really cool if you ask me. Psalm 139 13-17 says… Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out ...

i apologies if this comes across rude or not what ppl are wanting or expecting to hear... sometimes the right thing is the hardest to hear and hardest to do...this is why i have to share what im feeling... Some things in this world make me feel so angry and so hopeless in times. Things such as poverty and slavery in developing countries snd how little people in our society know about whats going on. And how many people are apathetic to everything that doesnt effect them. i hate that society tells us we need to be skinnier and have clearer skin. i hate that young people look up to models in magazines and adverts and yet companies photoshop and edit pictures to make models more beautiful or skinner... it makes me mad that people look to these images and feel insecure and like they dont measure up and are worth nothing. it makes me so angry when i walk down the street and guys call sexual comments out the window as they drive past. why cant someone walk around without hearing these co...

In the holidays i was at a leadership and Preaching school and Neil the speaker was talking with me and he said something about the church of the future is actually the church now and there is no reason why we can't achieve great things now as young people. At the time i thought about me and my small group and what we could do to be the church now not someone that sits in the pews for 10 years waiting to be grown up so we can make a difference. i thought about making regular time to pray for the community as a community and even by helping with little jobs around the place. i decided to try adn get more young people in the welcoming at church as im the person making the roster and challenging my friends to find out one new fact about someone each week. the last few weeks ive been more and more challenged about the girls in my kids church group and how im impacting their life so that they too can actively be part of gods church now and not in the future. the verse 1 timothy 4:12 c...

God is constantly teaching me and the more i learn to sit and listen the more God reveals to me. God has put so much on my heart lately, and im learning more about the opportunities it leads too and about following that call as soon as God says it rather then waiting and seeing. God is telling me about Prayer adn being faithful in my Prayer life... this is something i struggle with a lot as im often someone who will pray in difficult times but doesnt always rejoice with God in the good and constantly pray for people like i want to. God is teaching me about the importance of prayer and how he truely does answer and speak if your willing to listen. God is speaking to me about my money and using it wisely and for his glory. God really spoke to me on friday night and challenged me to step out in my faith by giving some money to someone and trusting God to supply me with my needs. this was such a scary idea because as a young person i was hesitant to give money to others when i know im...

Today i went to day 1 of leadership school. i went not expecting to learn that much since i'd been to many differnt leadership things before but man was my mind blown with how i was challenged. Session one was about embracing your calling to leadership and how there are tWo main fears which stop us...the first being our fear of what ability we have and the second being the fear of failure. We had a time of reflection after the session and i sat in Gods presence and listened... i was really challenged to work with youth but wasnt sure how ... i also struggled with the idea of following gods call when it was against what my parents want me to achieve and become. i declared to God that no matter what i would follow this call on my life Session two was about having a heart for God and being passionate, broken and sold out. to be this type of person you need to... 1.be ministering to people where they are in thier life...take ministry to them 2.not give up during the hard times 3. p...

today i went to Preaching school, it was awesome... i learnt so much about how to preach and felt a calling on my life to preach Gods word. Half way through the day i had a major headache and was struggling to concentrate...i went up to the speaker Neil at the end of one of the sessions and asked if there was any panadol i could take...he asked if he could pry for my headache first...after the prayer my headache went away...i thought that was so cool... i was talknig to Neil about Gods healing power and he said Gods only as powerful as you let him be...my first thought was but Gods Gods...hes either there or not there...btu waht Neil was really saying was if we actually believe that God can heal and God can do crazy miricles he will. God also spoke a word on my life at the end of the day...i was questioning God on if i was truely called to preach of if it was my pride and maybe others wishes that were my motives....GOd said Nicole, you are a preacher through actions and words...i want ...

I'm not perfect, i stuff up, i get tired and i get angry. Everyone carries stuff and takes turns and bad times in life. its the way life works. that doesnt mean you just have to push through the tough times and keep fighting. im not suggesting giving up i saying you need time to spend on your own resting. this year for me has gone so fast. i only have 16 weeks till the end of the school year, and with that short time comes so much pressure. pressure to increase my grades from this term, pressure to enjoy my time at school as its the last chance i have and pressure to get my life sorted out for the future. this year is crazy. if im completey honest with you i will tell you, i dont know everything, and right now i cant deal with anything. this yeasr has brought so many tears so many tantrums and some very loyal friends and leaders who were willing to tell me how it was and not be afraid for me to yell at them, hate them, not talk to them and eventually say sorry when i realis...

1 Chronicles 28:20 - David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 - Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing Psalm 91:14 - "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. As the pressure of year 12 and exams and my studies is on my I found myself flicking through my hope journal and reading the past entries. It seems as I get more and more school work I end up spending less and less time with God. But what I found amazing is that though everything God is still there and he is still waiting. Thats pretty awesome!!! So even through school and my tests and exam God is with me and he cares. So I need to work in those situations li...

Often in my life I feel like there are heaps of people who are telling me they see a great plan for my life and that I would make a good youth leader, lawyer, youth worker, children’s pastor and the list seems to go on. At school and even at church we are told that our futures are bright and that there is so much we can to in the future and that God has a plan for us. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” I think this verse talks about how God does have control of our lives and he does have a plan and that plan is good even if at first we are unsure of what’s being asked of us it wont harm us and it will grow us. God wants what’s best for us and he wouldn’t give us a plan that didn’t agree with our talents. We just may be unsure to start with. But I also believe that when we talk about God having a plan for us I think we feel that that plan is for the future...

What do people what to do in their life? this is a question i've been asked many times this year and even this year its changed so much. there ar eso many things i could do and so many opportunities avaliable. noone wants to go through life unnoticed. i know that i want to make a difference and impact someone elses life. at easter camp in 2008 God spoke to me and told me that i would do amazing things in my life and impact others but to do that i first had to think about me and grow in my faith and think about me. one of the most important in that is not just about making a difference, it's about growing in faith and my understanding of God. to be able to grow as christian we need to be honest about where we stand with God. we need to be honest to each other as well as to God about where we stand. its okay to have worries and questions and doubts but God wants us to bring them to him. ive been challenged to openly and honestly say who i am and where i'm struggling, alt...

I've been coming to HVUC for about 10 years now, 8 of those years regularly. So i've kinda always known about church and God. At first to me God was someone that I could blame for the problems in my life, in particular the break down of my family. But through the pain I felt when my parents broke up and the support Lisa and others gave me I was truly shown Gods love. My understanding of Gods everlasting love grew as I saw how God was working in other peoples lives. In the Christmas holidays before I started high school I made a promise to myself that I would speak out about church and why I believed what I believed in high school. This proved to be a lot harder than I thought and had seen done in the movies. Somethings were easy like saying 'I went to youth on Friday' instead of I hung with mates. But when people asked deeper questions like why I believed in Jesus i didn't know how to respond. In year 10, I was all about making a difference in the world and helping ...