ONE WORD 2014 // CAITLYN
So today's one word is from the very lovely Caitlyn. I've had the pleasure of getting to know Caitlyn this past year through our church's intern program. She's pretty rad and I'm very excited for what God has in store for her!
Hey, I’m Caitlyn! I am currently an intern at an amazing church called Glad Tidings, which is how I met the lovely Laura! I live in the beautiful city of Victoria and I absolutely love it.
So, here we go! This past January was the first time I had heard of the “ONE WORD” movement. To be honest, I was not too eager to find my “ONE WORD”, but by the end of January I felt that it was becoming more and more clear.... STAY!
Here’s a little history....
Prior to starting internship in September, my dream was to become a flight attendant and travel as much as I possibly could. In fact, I almost did not commit to the internship program because I had been waiting to hear back from an airline. The interview process alone takes months, not to mention waiting to be called back can take FOREVER! I decided to start the intern program since I did not think I would actually ever be getting a call back from the airline, but I was still hopeful.
Becoming an intern at the church was the best! It was such a great way to get connected in the church, make life-long friends and a great way to be involved in such an uplifting community. It seems like the first few months flew by and before I knew it, 2014 was here. Our church had been conducting a 21 day challenge of fasting/praying with daily prayer meetings at noon for the first 3 weeks of the year. It was great. Thankfully, I was able to attend on my lunch breaks (thanks to some great friends, SHOUTOUT to Andria & Becky!!!!). I was feeling closer to God than ever before and it was unreal.
Just before the end of 21 day Challenge, I received a pretty sweet offer letter from the airline I had been waiting on. It seemed perfect! It was everything I had hoped for. I was soooooo excited! In my head, it seemed like the absolute perfect timing as my then current job was coming to an end in February. But the only thing was, I had 48hrs to respond. How on earth was I supposed to make such a HUGE life decision in two days?
Immediately I was ready to accept the offer. According to my family and friends, this was a no brainer! But my heart was saying something different....STAY. I made so many pro/con lists, talked it out with good friends, and sought out advice from leaders. I was a wreck. Surely, God couldn’t be asking me to give up my dream. I would soon be unemployed and the offered starting salary was double what I was making. This was all wrong! The moment I started praying and seeking God’s will I knew I needed to just STAY.
BUT...that was definitely not the answer I wanted to hear! I wanted to hear GO, SOAR, FLY...anything but STAY. In fact, I did not even accept what God was telling me! I tried to convince myself that I needed to take this opportunity of a lifetime. So I responded to the offer. I scanned two copies, one to the airline and one to myself just to be sure. Immediately I knew I had made the wrong choice but I was totally in denial. God was calling me to stay and I was trying to run in the opposite direction! Then I came across this scripture passage...
“I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them."
So you’ll go out in joy,
you’ll be led into a whole and complete life
Isaiah 55: 8-13 (MSG)
A few things really got my attention in the passage...
1. I don’t think the way you think.
The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
God’s Decree.
For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think
God seriously knows what is best! Obviously! He is in control. Always has been, always will be. I needed to trust Him!!
2. They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
they’ll complete the assignment I gave them
One thing I have really been learning is that what God starts, He finishes! He’s not going to leave us hanging half way. He is right there beside us, cheering us on to run the race marked out before us! He’s Emmanuel, GOD WITH US. He NEVER leaves us or forsakes us!
3. So you’ll go out in JOY, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life
God is FOR us, not against us! JESUS is the ONLY one who can bring true wholeness. I honestly believe that by obeying God, He will lead me into a whole and complete life- better than I can even think or imagine!
I knew what I needed to do. It was hard choice! So, there I was….soon to be unemployed but learning to trust God. OH, and just in case I still really wasn’t sure I was hearing God correctly…the airline later emailed me saying “Sorry, it looks like you didn’t get back to us. Best of luck on your future endeavours!” HA! I feel like God totally has a sense of humour. But guess what? I WAS RELIEVED! For me, that was a confirmation that I had made the right choice.
Today, I am happy to report that I am employed! All in God’s perfect timing, things slowly started coming back together. But those next few weeks were not all warm and cozy! There were many nights I stayed up tossing and turning wondering what I was going to do next. Every day of being unemployed I felt like a failure. There were seeds of disappointment growing in my heart and part of me felt like I had made the biggest mistake. But I knew what God had said, I knew He had a plan, but I just couldn’t see it. And it was frustrating! I am very much someone who likes to have a detailed plan! Everyday I had to make the choice to trust Him. “He knows the plans He has for me..”, I said that over and over until I truly started to believe that YES, He was speaking to me too! But guess what, I’m not perfect. There were many days I made the wrong choice and chose worry over faith. But I am so thankful that we serve a God who is unchanging, who loves us so unconditionally and is with us until the very end!!
All in God’s perfect timing, things slowly started coming back together. Each day I chose faith over worry God began speaking so clearly to me about why I needed to stay. As someone who had quite an unstable past, always moving around, never really following through with anything, this was a big deal. STAY? Like…forever? That did not sound appealing. I do not even know how to do that. I’d been to 22 schools and moved more times than I can remember. When things get uncomfortable I like to have the option of a quick escape route. But He began to speak to me about the importance of having roots and being planted. He started showing me even in the lives of people around me the importance of stability, of being connected. Most importantly, He’s been revealing that He ALONE is my security, my stability, and my safe place! God has seriously moved mountains in my life to get me to this place.
We are all on a journey and He will never, ever give up on us. EVERY SINGE DAY I want to choose to trust Him with every area of my life! God’s way is the best way! Even though I have no idea what the road ahead holds, I am SO confident that the best is yet to come in my life…and YOURS!
How good was that? And FYI I was with Caitlyn and helped her fax the acceptance letter to the airline and it said it went through...CLEARLY God wanted her here! Again, I'm so excited for what He has in store for her here! Thank you Caitlyn for sharing your beautiful heart :)
Previous one words- Amy | Sarah | Tiffany | Danae | Nadia | Micaela | Kristy | Me | Julia
If you would like to submit your one word, email me at laura@ssheart.com
Stay gold,
s.s.♥︎.
SHE LOVES CONFERENCE
What a weekend.
If you follow me on instagram, you'll know that I was at She Loves Conference at Relate Church this past weekend. I've been going for the past four years and honestly, it is one of the biggest highlights of the year. As you may know, part of my job is putting on two major conferences in my church, so it's really, really, really nice to get away and attend a conference where I don't have to do anything..ha.
This year was my favourite so far. The conference is led by the incredible Helen Burns. She is the most encouraging person I know, champions other people, and is just so genuinely lovely!!!
There were SO many highlights this year. Here are a few...
-God spoke to me through every single speaker. Helen burns, Angela Doell, Sarah Bessey, Monica Prescott and my goodness, Caroline Leaf (BLEW MY MIND).
-Hanging out with friends was so so so so good. We came with a massive bus of ladies (& our incredible driver, Pastor Don). I shared a room with my besties (CADTOOL 4 LYFE). And it was sooooo amazing to finally meet the lovely, Jenna Liesch in person (we've been friends on social media for a year now, ha).
-Relate sets the bar high for serving. Their team is incredible and thinks of everything! I was wowed by the decor. And they just do the best job of making you feel loved and welcomed.
-I shared briefly on a panel about impacting the next generation. It was such an honour!!
-Being in God's presence with 700 other ladies is just so incredible. Jesus is so good.
I came home with a VERY full heart and so much excitement for what God has in store for the ladies in Victoria.
If you were at the conference, what were your highlights??
xo,
s.s.♥.
APRIL FAVOURITES
Ok, so I know I said this the past two month round-ups BUT I still can't believe it's the end of April!! How insane is it, that May is tomorrow?? It makes me pretty happy though because our weather is getting beeeeeaaauutiful. Last night I went for a run in a tank and shorts and then James and I went around town and I DIDN'T NEED A JACKET. Summer is coming friends. Summer is coming :)
But let's take a moment and look back at your favourite posts from April...
| APRIL FAVOURITES |
1. Wardrobe // 4 - Ok you guys. For the third time in a row, your favourite post has been the wardrobe post with James and I. These ones are really fun to do and with this fabulous weather we've been having, I'm very much looking to shooting the next one!
2. One Word Julia | Kristy - I'm so happy you've loved the one word posts. I love having other women share what God has spoken to them for 2014.
3. My Running Journey - I got a little bit personal with y'all and shared how I started running in the first place. (P.S. my half Marathon is in May!!!!!)
4. Real Talk Tuesday - In which I tell you about how I had the strangest experience by talking to a REAL LIVE STRANGER and how I was pushed out of my comfort zone..AGAIN.
5. Caramel Popcorn - Ummm, do you even need an explanation? Go make it and then devour it.
Ok, so there are your top 5 posts from April. I'll be making my May editorial calendar today, so please let me know what kind of posts are your favourite to see? What do you want to see on S.S. Heart?
Thank you so much for reading and for so many of you who encourage and share how you've been inspired in this space. It means so much to me.
xo,
s.s.♥︎.
REAL TALK TUESDAY + SOME PRETTY PICTURES FOR YOU
It's Tuesday. Tuesday calls for sunny spring walks, chocolate and pretty pictures that make you smile.
Ok and speaking of sunny spring walks, the strangest thing happened on my walk home last night...A STRANGER TALKED TO ME and we walked and chatted for FIVE BLOCKS.
Ok, I have to admit it, I did find it rather annoying at first. See, I was hurriedly (did I just use the word hurriedly?? who does that??) walking home carrying my heavy purse, groceries, another bag and this awkward shaped Staples box that held my blueprint copy size of a wedding picture that I had printed. My headphones were in and I was hustling. Then all of a sudden, this guy passes me and says hello. Ok, get this straight...I smile and say hello to a fair amount of people, but very rarely do people say hello back. Back to the story...I heard the guy and said hello back and instead of passing me, he then asks me about the awkward shaped Staples box. I told him what was in it and instead of him hurrying ahead, he proceeded to talk to me. Like I said before, I was annoyed, but then my annoyance turned to worrying...worrying that I had to think of stuff to keep saying to this guy because obviously we were going the same direction but then what do you know...conversation flowed! I told him about GT and he told me about his 14 years of travelling. It was actually nice to know I could have a conversation with a stranger for ten minutes.
So often I find myself putting my extroverted personality into "work mode". I can make conversation easily with people coming through the doors at church, I can totally talk to at risk teen girls at the community centre but a random human being in the real world? Ahhhhhhh. You know what that is? It's plain ridiculous. It's me being selfish and staying in my comfort zone. And I'm pretty tired of staying in my comfort zone.
So hey there strangers, I'm ready and waiting to chat to you!!
Ok, onto the pretty pictures... :)
Peonies are out! I'm so buying one on my lunch tomorrow :)
I wish our house was painted white so we could throw in a pop of peach.
stay golden and TALK TO STRANGERS!
xo,
s.s.♥︎.
ONE WORD 2014 // JULIA
Today's one word is from one of the lovely youth girls that I lead. I've known Julia for almost two years and I can say for sure, that she knows and loves God. It makes my heart sparkle to see young girls live out their faith. She wants to be a pastor and I truly believe she will be one. (She's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate that about seeing women empowered in the church!!) Take it away lovely Julia...
Laura is an amazing role model to me. I have loved having her guide me and lead me these past couple of years. When I first heard about Laura’s one word idea, I thought it was an interesting approach to goal setting. I’m the kind of person that will write lists upon lists of goals for myself. When reading Laura’s blog, I found it challenging to pick just one word, but before finishing her post, a word popped into my mind instantly. Passion.
I have always seen passion as an amazing characteristic, something people are drawn to...that spreads like a wildfire.
“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”– Oprah Winfrey
I’ve seen what passion does to people, it makes them uniquely excited about a certain thing and it’s impossible to hide. Passion shapes our lives, and when you find someone else that shares the same passions as you, you fit together like a puzzle. Recently I had to memorize a speech from one of Shakespeare’s plays in English class, and I found myself complaining to my brother. He asked me what the difference is between memorizing Shakespeare and memorizing biblical scripture, and I replied, “Because God’s word is what I’m passionate about”. He told me that that makes all the difference. People sometimes say that they ‘wish they could find their passion’, but passion comes when you’re being your authentic self and embracing your heart’s true desires. I feel very fortunate, being a high school student and having so much passion towards what I was created to do. I thank God regularly that I am able to live out my passions every single day. By doing so I feel joy, excitement, and anticipation for what God has in store.
We are so far from perfect, we face trails, heartache and pain, but take a second to praise God that He gave us passion. He blesses us with the opportunity (though sometimes it’s hard) to live every day for Him. God gives us passion in our hearts, and we need to share them with the people around us. That’s what I’m inspired to do
Wow, Julia. So beautiful! And wise beyond your years (she's in grade 10 people!!!) Thank you for sharing your heart and your passion!!! Love you :)
Previous one words- Amy | Sarah | Tiffany | Danae | Nadia | Micaela | Kristy | Me
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine consisted mainly of homework and running and a few good coffee dates squeezed in, ptL.
Happy Monday!
xo,
s.s.♥︎.