Coaching- Not Just Travelling By a Big Bus...

'The world exists not merely in itself, but also as it appears to me.' C.G.Jung

Recently, as many of you know, I have started training with a coaching program for young people called 'Connect,' where I am being trained up to begin working as a Christian based coach. The training is absolutely fascinating and has taught me real awareness of other people's personality traits and qualities. 

As it says in Corinithians 12 v 4-6:

'There are different kinds of gifts, but the same spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.' 

There are some whose gifting is being good with people, like me and there are those who have quieter giftings which are logical and reliable, but all come from the same God and should be valued as thus. :) The uniqueness of everyone in the world and their personalities is so apparent when there are fallings out and arguments, but is it necessarily celebrated? Well it should start to be!

The biggest problem that I have found as a coach is not giving advice. I am often the person many of my friends turn to when they want advice. This is probably because I have a lot of 'Red' quality with being a quick decision making and incredibly purpose lead. As the picture shows, I often butt my nose is straight away and think I can help everyone! 

However,coaching is not like that at all. Coaching is unlocking an individual's potential by helping them distill fear and lack of self-worth. I can certainly tell you that if I am having a bad day and I am feeling pants about myself, Gaz can tell me his glittering opinion of me (what a lovely boyfriend) until the cows come home. My brain will dismiss each word of encouragement he gives me: 'Oh he loves me he has to say that,' 'He's trying to encourage me so he's going to say whatever he thinks I want to hear' and so on and so forth.  Encouraging people on their strengths and good qualities is so worthwhile but often we have to believe these encouragements ourselves in order for the to make a good impact. We need to come to conclusion ourselves. 

In coaching, the aim is to ask open questions to allow room for the individual to talk about their issue but also steer the 'Coachee' through their different options and to hopefully formulate a plan. When I have been practicing, the most important factor for the coachee has been someone to listen to them. But coming from a christian perspective, I know what has given me the best self worth I could get. 

One of my most favourite verses in the entire bible, deals with this idea. 

Psalm 139v13-16 says:

'For you created my inmost being;

you knitted me together in my other's womb.

I praise you because I a fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.'

According to this verse, my days are ordained and I am created and known by a perfect creator. If you look at yourself and everyone around you with those same statements in mind, it can change your outlook. I am not an accident, a bundle of cells clumped together, but a planned and purpose-filled individual.How I look is not an accident, my personality is not a accident but a most treasured and thought through, logical plan.  

When this finally becomes apparent and hits home and you accept that you, just the way you were created and designed, have extreme value and worth like a precious jewel, you will feel like you've just won the After Eight game- as seen below. And I can tell you- that is a pretty awesome feeling. Peace out. x

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Success

Success....

What does success mean?

This random picture I found on the internet has really challenged me in so many ways as to what I expect success to mean and what I expect other people to strive to also. Many of you may know that at some point I was desperate to become a professional trumpet player. I played hours upon hours a day and did everything possible to try and make it happen. But- it wasn't meant to be. Many people said 'Oh if only you'd started seriously practising from the age of 12!' or 'if only you'd been at private school' and many other perfectly useless phrases such as the above but I did the best with the hand I was dealt and as I said before it just wasn't meant to be. At the time I was very angry with God and felt that verses in the bible such as 'I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength,' simply didn't apply to me. Now, 4 years later and a lot more mature (I know hard to believe isn't it!) I know for many reasons why the idea of becoming a trumpet player wasn't the best for me. That many other gifts I have such as people/children skills and creativity are so much better served in other places and I'm nor pursuing the dream of becoming a primary school teacher.  

So according to the world- I have failed. I am not a successful person. But according to God I am successfully becoming the person he planned for me to be all along!
In Jeremiah 29v11 it says:
'For I know the plans for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'

So if you feel like a failure or you feel like in the world's eyes you are not successful- step into the plan and purpose God has before you. This isn't a call for people to stop striving and trying hard in exams or work or anything else. Hard work is important but it says in the bible that

'God gives you the desires of your heart'

But maybe you don't know the desires of your heart yourself! I know I didn't!
Alternatively you don't know God's plans for other people and they are without a doubt completely different to what we expect!!
Peace out. <3

A New Blog... A New Year...

I'm Lydia Ross, commonly called Grace-Ross by many of my friends because of a string of in jokes involving a mix up with hoody names. I am a recent music graduate of Royal Holloway University of London and am embarking on a wonderful year out back in my home county of Wiltshire before I hope to go onto train to be a primary school teacher. I love all things crafty and am blessed with a wonderful creative streak which tends to seep through to everything I do :)

So.. why write a blog?

The reason I have started a blog is for the following main reason:

There is such utter rubbish on the internet. You can't go two seconds without a Justin Bieber scandal, a huge amount of first world problems eg. 'I can't stand it when my phone charger doesn't stretch to my bed,' or some form of nudity flashes up brightly straight in anyone who's unlucky enough to be observing, which nowadays is just about anyone. Infiltration of the inappropriate straight into our front rooms. What the internet needs is truth and the best place to gain truth is straight from the bible. \The aim of this blog is to present thoughts and advice to anyone on the internet read straight from the bible and from other Christian resources. In an era where everyone is looking for reassurance and answers to life's big questions, where the 'church' seems to have possibly failed, I am hoping to present some ideas as to how and why the bible and Jesus can help people where they are. As a personal relationship or even just philosophical ideas and advice. 

I look forward to sharing my journey with you :)

Peace out <3