Take Time to Rest

I got the opportunity to celebrate our great freedom and the men and women who fight for us this weekend at Bayou Country Superfest! It was so much fun, but also pretty exhausting. Between that and the LONG graduation night (which was so fun), I needed a serious day of rest!

I went to see what the bible said on rest and loved that it was plentiful on the subject. I found great comfort in being reminded that when God was creating the universe (even though a lot greater than my little weekend), He took time to rest (Genesis 2:2-3). Sometimes we get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that we forget to rest and take time to just relax. I sometimes find myself feeling guilty for just relaxing, but I now know that isn't from God.

Taking time alone to spend some time with God is important to in our resting (Mark 6:31). He will give us the rest that we need to be rejuvenated (Matthew 11:28-29). I have recently found that quality is better than quantity. Taking time to rest and then do things the right way can allow you to be so more productive. So find some time today or tomorrow to just rest. When I allow myself some time for peace, I always find myself to be a much more effective person!

I head out for the Bahamas in two days, so I won't be posting until next week! With that said I hope you have a fabulous week and here are some verses I am loving!! Let me know what your enjoying!! Much love!

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with everlasting kindness."
Jeremiah 31:3

"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No;' anything beyond this comes from the evil one."
Matthew 5:37

"There is more mercy in Christ, than sin in us."
- Richard Sibbes

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying."
1 Thessalonians 1:2

Incredibly Thankful

Well the big graduation day is finally here! The reason I say finally is because I have literally been talking, preparing, and attending parties for this for months now. Don't get me wrong, I've loved every second of it! Anyway, I decided to reserve today's post as both a thank you and a pass along of some fabulous advice I've received.

First, I have to thank my incredible family and my dearest friends. They take time out of their busy days to read this blog and pass it along to people they know, so I felt this would be the best way to tell them thanks. They have each taught me and inspired me more than they will ever know. I would not be the person I am today without their unconditional love and support. I would like to thank each of them for loving me for exactly who I am and believing in me when I was unable to do so for myself. My gratitude for each of them is infinite.

Secondly, I want to pass on some of the great advice that they have each given to me over the years and recently that has and is continuing to change my life.

- Never change yourself for anyone else or yield to peer pressure, stick to the pure path that you have chosen.
- Love passionately and completely, even if it breaks your heart.
- Share what you have
- Make each day better than the last.
- Don't just hear, but really listen
- Never forget where you came from
- The Lord will provide strength and character to get you through any situation
- Stay open-minded
- Be present and take nothing for granted; life is short.
- Take risks
- Stay humble

I have heard many speeches, received letters, and had long talks with family and friends, but these are the things that stayed with me. These are the pieces of advice that are changing me. Maybe you've heard them all before, but something might stick with you too. I am not saying each of these things will be present in my life everyday, but I am striving to get there.

The last thing I want to leave you with is a verse that I am holding so dear to my heart right now is Psalm 126:3. The Lord has blessed me with people and things in these past years that will keep me forever grateful. I have never been more joyful as I enter into this new chapter of my life.

Have a wonderful day!! Much Love!

P.S. My apologies for how long this post ended up being! I appreciate you getting to this point :)

Believe in Yourself

"If you don't believe in yourself, then who will?" So, I came across this quote yesterday and I just fell in love with it. Isn't it so true? Many times believing in someone else is easy, because you probably see all these positive and wonderful qualities in them. However, we as not always so nice to ourselves and miss all those positive things that can allow us to live purposeful lives.

Since I will be graduating on Friday (craziness!!), I keep thinking about the "rest of my life" and what I'll be doing. I am trusting that the Lord has a perfect plan and that His timing for each opportunity will be all part of it. Believing in myself and that plan is so important though to the rest of my life.

I'm not sure where you are in your life, but I hope whatever you may be doing you believe in yourself. I just finished up Blue Like Jazz (must read) and his last chapter was on loving yourself. Not in a self-righteous or boasting way, but rather an overflow and understanding of Christ unconditional love for us. It is not until we understand those things are we able to love others fully and through Christ (1 John 4:19).

Whatever you may be doing or what adventure you might be embarking on next, believe in yourself. You are fully accepted, and loved in Christ (Ephesians 1:6). With Him you can do anything (Philippians 4:13). So, make choices that reflect that love for both yourself and Him. Believe in who Christ made you to be, it's a wonderful person!!!

Hope you have a great evening! Much love!

Peaceful Praying

I have realized I am becoming more and more like my wonderful grandfather by the second. I am currently at what might be his favorite place in the world, the lake house, and it is quickly becoming my favorite place as well. I have been coming here since I was young, but this weekend it really captivated my heart all over again (I'm aware I sound a bit dramatic). I am writing to you from the back porch and I just love how present God is here. There is nothing but peacefulness. I am hoping to come here much more frequently this summer

Our world is so busy, it is hard to take two seconds without a phone ringing or hearing the television. I think we often forget the simple things (I know I do). In forgetting the simple things, we sometimes forget to thoroughly pray for other Christians. I have always loved the title "Prayer Warrior," which means someone is constantly praying for you. There are some major prayer warriors in my family (what a blessing). Anyway, I have always wanted to be a good one.

In my readings of Colossians, the Lord showed me how to become a Prayer Warrior for the people that He lays on my heart daily. It was a step by step list on the ways to pray for a fellow Christian. I have listed them below:

1. Be thankful for their faith and changed lives (Colossians 1:3)
2. Ask God to help them know what He wants them to do. (Colossians 1:9)
3. Ask God to give them deep spiritual understanding (Colossians 1:9)
4. Ask God to help them live for Him. (Colossians 1:10)
5. Ask God to give them more knowledge of Himself. (Colossians 1:10)
6. Ask God to give them strength for endurance. (Colossians 1:11)
7. Ask God to fill them with joy, strength, and thankfulness. (Colossians 1:11,12)

What if we began praying for fellow Christians this way? What a difference it might begin to make in their lives! I have tried to be the best prayer warrior for some people, but I now I have a great guide. I hope that God lays people on your heart to pray for and that you trust in the great power of prayer. I often get discouraged, because sometimes prayer is my only way to get anything done. However, I always end up overjoyed because the Lord answers my prayer in His way (the best way).

I hope you have a lovely Sunday! Much Love!

Current Inspiration

So, I forgot that I changed the post schedule (whoops)! I am thoroughly enjoying my time off and spending it with the people that I love. Sometimes just taking some time off to breathe is so nice (I feel blessed to be able to do it). I wanted to share with you the things that are inspiring me this week and keeping me on track!

"If it is meant to be, it will be."

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves."
- Philippians 2:1-3

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."
- 1 Corinthians 13:7

"Be daring, be different, be impractical."
- Cecil Beaton

"As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you."
- C.S. Lewis


These quotes and verses are guiding me this week, so I hope you enjoy them! I have been doing a lot of reading on humility and it is so convicting. Have you read about Mother Theresa and all the incredible things she did (I encourage you to do so)? Her humility is so inspiring and reading about her brings me to my knees. I hope to write on humility soon (maybe tomorrow), but I like to do very thorough research and reading!

Let know know what your loving and being inspired by! I hope to have an exciting message for you tomorrow from God's word. What are you reading right now out o of His word?? I love hearing from y'all about what your reading (I get so excited).

Hope you have a great evening! Much love!!

P.S. Don't you love these beautiful white roses? They were on the dining room table when I arrived at the lake house this afternoon!

Be Thankful Always

I have decided to change up the post schedule for the summer to Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I hope you don't mind. I am finally finished with finals and couldn't be more ecstatic about the summer I have ahead of me.

With all the wonderful plans and ideas swarming around in my head I am overwhelmed. However, I keep thinking about all the incredible things that have just happened in my life. I recently posted about remembering the good things that have happened, even if you have to let go of them. Today though I want to remind you to be thankful for the things in your life both in the present and past.

I came across the quote, "You never know what you have until it's gone." This is often true for circumstances in my life, I forget to notice how great things are until they have passed me by. I forget to live intentionally. All the change that is occurring in my life is causing me to really notice how blessed I am and have been. Don't get me wrong I am loving the changes, but I also am sad to let something go (like a few best friends moving away)! We must remember to be thankful (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

My hope for you today is that you realized how truly blessed you are by your sweet Savior. Sometimes we're too busy counting all the things that are wrong, instead of counting all the things that are good. I have started to think of five blessing for every one complaint. It has helped us me to notice what I have, while I have it. I think you'll be surprised by how blessed you really are, all because the Lord loves you (Ephesians 5:20)!

Hope your having a marvelous Monday! Much Love!

Fearing the Unknown

As I have told you many of times (probably too many), my life is experiencing many changes. With that said I am receiving SO much advice from the people around me, I am absolutely reveling in it! Having the people I hold most dear give me insight about life is one of my favorite things. Finishing one chapter in my life means that there are many more to come (both scary and exciting) for me.

It has me thinking a lot about the unknown future ahead of me. I know that recently I have been all into "living in the moment" and "being thankful for right now," which I promise I'm not straying from. However, the unknown can be kind of scary and often times difficult to understand. Meaning that I don't want to just push it away like it doesn't exist. I went to my favorite source of wisdom, the Bible to give us some encouragement and insight.

There is much comfort to be found in Deuteronomy 31:6, where we discover that God will never leave us nor forsake us. No matter what obstacle we may face or unknown change that comes our way we can be strong and courageous knowing that He is there for us. He tells us over and over again that He will never let us face things alone. In Isaiah 43 (love this chapter), He tells us that whatever we pass through He will be right there with us. I hope you find great comfort in that.

Since I started my project "In Search of Everything," I tried to figure out what I was looking for and to be honest I still don't know. There is so much that I do not know yet about life and about myself that I hope to discover. I take great comfort in that fact that the Lord is going to be right alongside me as I do it.

A quote that I am just identifying so much with right now (maybe you will too) is "I didn't really know what I wanted to do but I knew the woman I wanted to become" by Diane Von Furstenberg.

I hope you have a great Thursday!!! Much Love!


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Fitting Everything In

I am in finals (no fun!) and it is taking up ALL of my time this week!! So, instead of giving you a long devotional today I thought I would just share with you what I am studying in the bible. Hopefully you will read it and see what God has in store for you!

Current Book: Colossians

Verse for memory: Colossians 3:14

The current background on my IPad is the quote, "Most of all let love guide your life." The message is derived from Colossians 3:14. The words seem so simple to just allow for love to guide your life. If you read the post on Unconditional Love, then you remember that God is love. Therefore, let God guide your life and your actions. I like to dwell on that idea of putting love in all of my actions, to allow my motives to derive from love.

Colossians is teaching me SO much more than just this verse, but I wanted to share this one thing with you. I would love to hear what the Lord is teaching you either in this book or any book in the bible.

Have a marvelous Tuesday! Much Love!!!

P.S. Here is a quote that I am loving right now - "What's for you will not pass you by"

Image: Pinterest

Unconditional Love

Since Mother's Day is exactly a week away, I have been thinking of the things that I value most in my mother.  The quality that keeps reoccurring in my mind is unconditional love.  The dictionary defines unconditional love as "affection with no limits or conditions."  That seems pretty accurate to me, but it also seems like so much more than that when you experience it. 

Understanding unconditional love can be a hard task in a world that so often loves with great limits.  Having the freedom to be loved for exactly who you are with the mistakes and baggage you bring is incredibly humbling.  No matter what kind of love we have experienced by the people around us, we must be able to grasp God's unconditional love for us.  The bible says that God is love and without understanding that, we do not understand love (1 John 4:8).  In order to give love, we must get it from the source.  If someone was thirsty, you could not provide water for them without going to the source of water.  Love works the same way, you must receive His love in order to give love (1 John 4:16).

We often make mistakes, because we are sinners.  However, Christ died for us even when we were sinners (Romans 5:8).  That is love, laying down His life for the one He loved.  He died for you (how humbling is that??).  He does not count our wrongs or hold them against us (1 Corinthians 13:5).  Sometimes it can be hard to accept a love that seems so unreal to the human logic, but God says that we are wonderfully and fearfully made in His image (Psalm 139:14, Genesis 1:27).  We are capable of recieving such a powerful love.

Once we learn to accept and abide in His love, we must begin to love others in this way.  The world often wants us to not always be forgiving or turn our backs on the ones who have done us wrong, but God calls us to something different.  He says to love our enemies and those who have hurt us (Luke 6:27).  He calls us to forgive other and not to count their wrongs (Matthew 5:44).  1 Corinthians 13 gives us this perfect picture of how love should be given to others.  Do not get discourage if you cannot give love perfectly, He never calls us to be perfect.  However, when we dwell in His love we will have the love to give unconditionally to others.

I hope that this gives you encouragement to give unconditional love and thank those who have illustrated love to you (including Jesus)!  Have a blessed Sunday evening! Much Love!

Trust the Plan

God's will for our life is often a process and a puzzle. It can be tough to believe in something that we cannot see or understand. His word tells us that we are to live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). His ways are completely unfathomable to us (Job 9:1-12). We are not suppose to understand, because we are not control.

When you begin to walk by faith, it will be a walk of love. The Lord knows you intimately (Psalm 139:1-6). Due to this unfailing love for you we can rest assure that our plan is safe in Him. I often ask for explanations (it's the over thinker in me), but I must come to realize that He owes us no explanations. We are talking about the maker of the universe.

Worrying seems to be one of those things that goes along with the next step and the plan for life. Jesus gives us a whole section in Matthew on NOT worrying. He says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life (Matthew 6:27). Then He goes on to tell us to seek Him first and not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:33-34). We live in a world that is focused on the next moment or what is going to happen next, so we miss the present. The Lord is clearly telling us to stop worrying and planning and enjoy right now.

I got the opportunity to do an interview on someone who I admire most in this world, my grand-father. Something that he kept repeating over and over is to enjoy right now. We only have right now, so stop worrying about next week or how everything will play out in four years. The maker of the universe has your plans in His hands. Trust Him.

A little activity to help you with your worrying:

Make sticky notes or note cards of all the things your worried about. Then, put them into categories (Personal issues, School, Work, Home, Relationships, Etc.). After doing that look at your worries and decide whether they are 1) Over-thinking 2) Out of Your control or 3) In your control. The things that you can fix, well fix them. The other things you need to either let go of or give over to God. I already did this and found some real clarity. Sometimes we just to literally see what we are dealing with (I'm a visual learner).

I hope you find some clarity from this activity and remember that your plan is secure in Him. You are dearly loved and chosen in Christ!!!! Much love!

Remember the Good

Often times life can involve so much hurt and bitterness that we forget to remember the good. So, today I am asking you to remember the good. I get the opportunity to see my closest friends everyday. It is one of my favorite things throughout my day. However, we've all experienced trials and tribulations in our years together. As we all part ways in a few months, I hope that we remember all the good. There was so much good.

The Lord tells us to cling to what is good (Romans 12:9). This morning I heard the quote by Dr.Suess, "Do not cry because it over, smile because it happened." Are we ever too old for some Dr.Suess?? I hope not!

So, since my post was just a small tidbit today here just some quotes and verses that I'm being inspired and currently loving!! Hope you like them and they bring you some encouragement!

"Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good." Psalm 34:10

"Jesus loved the outcasts, He loves the ones the world loves to hate." -Relient K.

"My grace is sufficient, for my power is made perfect in my weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

If you are a To Do list person like me, then try this one today!! 

Have a fabulous Tuesday! Much Love!