the Mighty Winner

to shout,

to scream

the victory I have in Him.

for this will be my destiny.

this is my purpose.

He is the Reason I am free.

my fears themselves tremble,

my mind flees from thoughts uncivil,

and the world breaks in two,

when simply the name of my Savior

is uttered in the mouth of a believer.

every knee will bow to Jesus,

the Precious Savior,

the Mighty Winner.

~A~

to hold for all eternity

I crave His love,

oh

for His love is my love,

the love of my life.

the love that makes my life worth living.

the love that is the only thing stopping me from breaking in two.

the love that my soul longs for.

my soul flies on the wings of this great love.

and with it I soar high.

without it I am nothing.

without it I am just a broken heart,

longing for my purpose,

sinking deep into the sea

because I am not in the place I'm supposed to be.

Your love,

oh Sweet Jesus,

is mine to hold for all eternity.
~A~

the Cross

the Cross,

that tree,

the same one that held the Savior who died to set all who believed free.

earth and Heaven crossed paths again,

when the Savior carried the weight of the pain it took to mend us back to Him,

the Cross was tall,

oh yes,

and Heaven is forever.

the arms were short

like the short lives on this earth of you and me.

the nails to how He pinned the problem in place

and took care of it once and for all.

yes,

the Cross crossed the paths

of the great Lover

and us,

the guilty ones,

who are now redeemed

because He was willing to hang on that tree.

Have an amazing day!

~A~

our own personal temples

Hey peeps!  Hope you guys are having an amazing Sunday!  Today's post is going to be a bit different than my normal posts but leave a comment if you read this and want me to do more like it!
Now onto the post!...
I am a kind of a health freak...but not exactly...I am an unsuccessful health freak.  Now I don't know if you who are reading this are one of those, too, or you're one of those people that I envy, who do insane workouts it seems about everyday and eat nothing but food from the ground, and your body shows off all that you do.  But I know that I seem to fail every time I try to eat healthy/workout more/etc.  And this is extremely frustrating for me!  It's like no matter how. much. I. try. I end up falling off of the Health Wagon.  But I want things to be different now.  And if you're in the same boat with me (and I'm kinda hoping I'm not the only one), then we can maybe help each other!  I am going to be sharing 10 reasons why you and I should both try to be our healthiest selves!  I am hoping that writing these down and sharing them will motivate and keep me more accountable and will help you, too!  So, without further ado, here are 10 reasons why we need to strive for our healthiest selves:

1.  As Christians, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, the Bible says: "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought with a price.  Therefore honor God with your bodies."  I think this is one of the most motivating things for me personally to be become healthy.  It shows me that  health and fitness should run so much deeper than trying to look a certain way to please society.
2.  We can serve/love others/God more when we are healthy.
I don't know about you, but when I don't feel right on the inside, I don't act so beautiful on the outside.  When feeling healthy mentally, spiritually, and physically, it is easier to love the way God desires us to! 
3.  We need to try live long on this earth so we you can show others Christ's love all the more with a long life.
Living a long life would be amazing, because the more and more years I have here on earth is more and more years God can work through me to build His Kingdom!
4.  We will feel better and think better and clearer.
This kind of goes with #2, but eating healthy food that God made for us in order to fuel our bodies, staying active, drinking plenty of fluids, and making sure you spend time talking to God and everything else that allows healthy lives, makes for a much better working brain!  Also, it is easier to think positive when you feel like you are treating your body the way God wants you to treat it!
5.  To be able to love what our bodies can do!
The more we practice a certain sport or move or pose, the better we become and the more we love our bodies and how amazingly God created them!
6.  To show others Christ's love even in the way we treat and love ourselves.
Treating the bodies the Lord gave us the way He wants us to treat them and doing it all for Him and His glory can show others that maybe there is a reason behind the motivation we have for being healthy!
7.  To have less depression/anxiety/etc. because we will be more emotionally/mentally stable because our health should not be focused just on physical health and fitness, but also everything on the inside, too. 
This goes a lot with #4 too, but I believe that how we fuel our bodies and everything helps tremendously with how our emotions are and with how our brains work.
8.  To inspire others to also be healthier.
Can you imagine how great the world would be if we all ate and moved for the glory of God and we all benefited from it?!
9.  To possibly be able to see our great-grandchildren one day. :)
I just think being around to see my family grow up would be amazing!
10.  To be our happiest selves! 
All of our healthy ways can give us happiness, especially when done for the glory of God!  If we can view health as a way to point others to Christ, then we can being doing what we were made to do, and therefore our souls can soar!
1 Corinthians 10:31: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."


I really hope that this post motivates you to be the healthiest and most joyful version of yourself!  Tell me what your #1 motivation for treating your body as a temple is and if you think I should do more health posts in the comments!  Thank you so much for reading!  I hope you all have an amazing rest of your day and God bless you!
~A~

broken record minds

broken record minds,
they tell you to come and play.
what they won't tell you is how
after you're there you can't change.
you try to run
you try to hide
but you don't know
you are running from yourself.
you know where you are,
so you can't get away.
oh, my darling, don't say you'll play.
for so many have been tortured by nothingness that is everything.
you didn't know that it's lies are endless,
and that it's never satisfied.
it keeps on promising things will be okay,
if only you come and play
for such a short while.
to get out of this maze,
you've tried to say no,
tried to turn away.
you thought it would be easy,
that you could quit any day.
but you just trapped yourself in your own cage.
you have the key,
if only it were that simple.
it's nothing,
they say,
'how cruel they are,
for this is my world,'
you think,
'but I know they are right.'
but this, one day will be the reason you shine so bright.
my love,
say no to that broken record mind.

Have a great rest of your day!! :)
~A~

{sixteen} goals

Hey guys!  So this very day, August 28th, 2016, I turn sixteen years old!  It is an exciting (and scary, honestly) number for me and I can't wait to see what the Lord will bring this year!  But I am so grateful for another year that the Lord has given me!  In this post, I want tell you guys 16 goals I have for this wonderful new part of my life!  :)  I'm hoping this post will help me actually accomplish these goals (haha) more because I am telling it to others on the internet and I hope that you enjoy it and get something good out of it!  ;)

1.  more time spent with the Lord.  I want this year of my life to be my year that I am closest to the Lord (yet), and to accomplish that, I'm going to have to spend more time with Him!  Daily is going to be my goal.
2.  learn to love myself.  This is one of the biggest road-blockers in my life, so it's important!  I want to learn that God loves me exactly the way I am now!
3.  become an optimist.  Let's face it, I'm quite a negative person, and I don't like that!  God has given me new life and a wonderful life with wonderful people, so I should never be a pessimist.  I want to replace my negative thoughts with positive ones.  Life is too short to be as negative as I am.
4.  trust God with everything.  I want to stop worrying and just give it all to God, because He really has got this.
5.  become the most healthy I've ever been physically.  I want to become super fit physically, but I want to do it for the right reasons, and not just to be like what society tells us we have to be to be beautiful.  I want to become healthy so that I glorify God with my body and so that I can use my body to do things for people, like people who do not have as healthy of a body as I do!  I want to point everyone to Jesus, even with the way I treat my own body!
6.  keep everything tidy.  I love having a tidy space all of the time, so I need to work hard having it that way!
7.  be a light in the world for God to show and tell people about Jesus.  I want to act and speak in a way that makes everyone who is not a Christian wonder what's different about me.  I feel like this past year I could have done a much better job with that, so I want to change that now.
8.  read more.  I love to read, but if I'm honest, I don't do it much unless it's for school.  I usually pick something over it, and that needs to change.  A book a month would be nice.
9.  forgive.  I have a really hard time forgiving, even if I am trying to, so I need to work on that, because God wants me to and I would be so much happier!
10.  love more.  this is a big one.  The main two reasons I am living on this earth is one: so that I can love God, and second: to love others.  I need to show kindness to everyone and love them - no matter the circumstances, because this life isn't about me and I don't deserve the love God has given me.  I want to do things for people without them having to ask, even if it is something as simple as smiling at stranger to let them know that God loves them.
11.  be in the moment and enjoy life.  I have a hard time staying in the moment, the now.  I want to stop worrying about the past and the future and just live and breath in God's love now.
12.  be myself and do me.  I often want to do things because my friends are doing it and I just feel like a lame loser if I don't (example: not driving yet).  And I want to learn that I was made by God like this for a reason, and I don't want to try and change just because everyone else is doing their own thing.  Just because that path is others' path, doesn't make it my path.
13.  become a better listener.  I just need to listen better to people.  I want to become the one who listens to others instead of talking about myself all of the time, because I think I don't always do a great job at that, sadly.
14.  get my permit and start driving.  The thought of driving terrifies me, but I would love to be able to go places myself, so I need to do that and trust that God has me and those around me in His hands.  Studying some more for my written permit test will be my first step, so that is where I need to start.
15.  practice more and try to get great at my hobbies.  I want to practice and get much better at things I like to do such as playing volleyball, playing piano, writing, etc.  This will take a lot of practice and time and patience so I want to do it!  One of my goals for piano is going to be to practice everyday!
16. spend more quality time with my loved ones.   This especially goes for my three year old sister who is growing up so fast!  I love my family and friends so much and therefore, I need to always treasure them!  I need to make more time to spend with all of them.  This also goes for my dogs :) .  
Tell me in the comments what you're doing right now to improve yourself and your life!  I'd love to hear it!  I would also love to hear if you have any tips on accomplishing goals! :)
I hope you all enjoyed this post and thanks for reading!  God bless you!
~A~

and there I was - Hemingway's home

there I was,

the floors sometimes creaked but did not give as I glided slowly around,

as age can do a mighty work on even a solid one under our feet.

breathing in history can be one of the most amusing games I can play.

for taking in such vast happenings and mysterious people would be almost too much for me in this time to comprehend.

165 years in between can do that to a girl.

but there I was,

with no one around me that I had any more with than a short term aquiantence with surrounding me,

with my brother as the exception. 

some, speaking in languages that were unknown to me, proved the effects even foreigners experienced.

standing in the very places talented ones had once stood was incredible and addictive.

laughing eyes told the stories of their own as amusing stories of the heroes were being shared.

as a person with the same passion as the main character of the house,

I drew in deeper because of such interest spark.

it was quite an amount to take in,

but how grand I think it to be.

and there I was,

just a little girl standing in the middle of history.

for that has now become part of my own history. 

I hope you guys liked this bit of random writing!  It was inspired by my time visiting Hemingway's house in Key West, Florida, a couple of weeks ago!  Hearing Hemingway's story and seeing/being in his house has greater inspired me as a writer so I hope this has captured some of that. :) God bless you all and have an awesome day!

~A~

cling to Him, dear soul

oh broken little spirit,

you spend so much time running to other broken, insecure things.

you sprint to what the enemy tells you is the 'finish' line,

but you soon find out it was simply a lie and a mirage,

yet once you have discovered such things,

you feel as if finishing the race will give you worth,

even when you know in the deepest of your core that if you got to that place you so idolize in your mind's eye,

it would come to no real satisfaction.

but the enemy keeps prompting you on so that he may have you further,

but little does he know that while you are being dug deeper and deeper into your own pit,

he's leading you more and more into falling into the arms of the Precious One.

the wicked one tries to block out the soft call of Him,

screaming to move forward and that is how you will find happiness.

how you will find yourself.

but one day,

when you, you terrible but beautiful soul,

you will hear the good voice over the loud garbage that is always yelling its lies at you.

and when you do you will go running away from the road to the 'finish' line.

the dirty voices will try to pull you back to the mirage,

and though they will sometimes succeed temporarily,

the Precious One will still show His mercy and grab you back up.

and at some point you will realize the One whom the kind voice belongs has been there all along,

waiting for you to simply tune out the loud but lying voices and look up to Him.

and when you do see Him,

though you will try to go back down the fallen way sometimes,

you will know that running to One with the precious voice will and has always brought more contentment than your previous race.

and oh how much more lovely it will be to run His race!

you will be able to see the King look upon you with those eyes that love you more than the beautiful trees down to the ants of the ground He has made.

my small, fallen, and unworthy soul, cling to Him!

for even the stars in the sky look to Him for guidance.

Psalm 63:8

~A~

Precious Savior

I thought to myself,
'they must earn it - my love.
why would I love such filth?
such deceitful skin and bones?
for mouths that break hearts,
for hands that rip out the light,
for minds that play childishly with demons,
those unlovable rats,
are not deserving of my love.
so why would I care of what they do and think?
and why be concerned of their fates?
is it not their own to worry of?
it is not my place to show them affection.'
then my eyes opened,
and I fell to my knees looking heavenward,
for I am one of them,
one of the unlovable rats.
I did not deserve His love,
yet, He could see through the mess of myself,
and He found potential and delight in me.
and then I was humbled to the ground,
in awe of my Precious Savior.
~A~
Hope you enjoyed this little poem thing. Have an amazing day! <3

Submit, and Be Healed

Hello, everyone!  Sorry it's been such a long time but hopefully now that summer is here you'll be hearing a lot more from me!  I hope you all are doing fantastic and having an amazing beginning of your summer!

Thank you to my beautiful friend Madilyn from Thoughts of a Wildflower blog for this picture!
Today I went to my friend's church, and the sermon was on Mark 15 verses 1 through 20.  The pastor spoke on the subject of how submissive Jesus was to the Father when he was brought to the rulers to be examined for the "sins" He had committed, and how His silence amazed Pilate.
I have a hard time with giving anyone else control-including God, and I doubt I am the only one.  In fact, if I'm being 100% honest, I usually don't.  But I find it so incredibly amazing how even on His walk towards death, shame, and torture, Jesus stood firmly in His submissiveness to the Father.  And how He was even giving an example for us and how we are supposed to react to persecution despite the fact that His life was on the very brink of ending.
I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I would be saying something if I was being falsely accused of sins I had not committed.  I would probably be very angry and saying anything I could if I knew I was completely blameless and pure and was dying for dirty sinners that deserved absolutely nothing but punishment.  But He stayed quiet.  He stayed submissive to His Father.
And it all makes me think of how fast I am to try and take control of myself.  How I don't give God everything because then I wouldn't be in control, would I?  Jesus is an amazing example of how following the Lord is not and never will be easy, but in the end it was always and forever be the ultimate best.  I love how Jesus made it perfectly clear how faithful and submissive He wants us to be in our life, even if that means laying down our lives for Him.  After all, He did it for you and I.
" And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council.  And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate.  And Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"  And he answered him, "You have said so."  And the chief priests accused him of many things.  And Pilate again asked him, "Have you no answer to make?  See how many charges they bring against you."  But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed. " -Mark 15:1-5
" But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. " - Deuteronomy 4:29
I hope everyone enjoyed this post and if you did please give it a like!  I really appreciate it!
Have an amazing rest of the day! <3
~A~

Saying Yes

Hey everybody!  I hope you are all having an amazing day!  It is gorgeous here where I live and so warm!  My kind of weather! ;)
So, a couple of days ago I was playing with my little sister, with Play-Doh (hold on, I'm getting somewhere here), and I was trying to use a cookie cutter to make a little shape in the dough.  I was trying to reuse and  reuse that little ball of dough to keep on and keep on making a shape.  It got me thinking, I think God uses us sort of like that Play-Doh(even if it sounds silly).  He uses us even when we think we're too worn down to be used and He forms us to do and be something great.  A difference between that dough and us is that when God asks us to give part of ourselves for something good for Him, you get built back up, and very likely built back up to the point where you surpass the place you were before you gave Him anything.  That's the God I serve!  You see, serving God is what we were made to do, and He wants us to serve others - be a servant to God and others.  Everybody wins when you do what we Christians were made to do, not just the ones being served. :)  It's then that we are thriving, even if at first we thought we were just gonna disappear by doing what He says.  God can use you, even if you think He can't.  Therefore, if you simply say yes to God, you will see positive results!  I encourage every one of you(including myself) to say yes to God when He asks something of us!  God can make more of us than we have ever imagined!
Here are some great verses that could encourage you(they encourage me!):
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
-Philippians 4:13(ESV)
"For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do."
- Hebrews 6:10(ESV)
"Only fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart.  For I consider what great things he has done for you."
-1 Samuel 12:24(ESV)
"But you, take courage!  Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded."
-2 Chronicles 15:7(ESV)
Even Jesus served God and said yes to Him, so we should do the same.
"and whoever would be first among you must be your servant, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many."
-Matthew 20:27-28

I hope you enjoyed this post, and if you did, please give it a like!  It's very appreciated!  Thanks for reading!
Have a blessed day! <3
~A~

Liebster Award!

Hey guys!!  Thank you so very much, Danielle, from Christian on Campus for nominating me!!  I am so grateful!  Everyone, you should totally check out Danielle's blog,(it's amazing)!  Also, I was nominated a couple of weeks ago so I apologize for the lateness of this post.
So the rules for the Liebster Award are:
1.Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2.Share the award on your blog.
3.Answer the ten questions you are asked.
4.Nominate at least ten more bloggers.
5.Ask ten new questions.
So, now for the questions!:
1.When did you publish your blog?
I first published my blog in July of 2015. :)
2.What was your motive for starting a blog?
I had never really thought I wanted to be a blogger, until I saw my step cousin doing it while we were on a vacation together.  For whatever reasons, at that time, I thought it might be kind of a cool thing to do, suddenly I was interested, so I got her to help me set it up!  Now that I think back on that day, I feel like that could have been God telling me that that is something He has created me to do! :)
3.What is your number one goal for your blog this year?
My number one goal for my blog this year is probably to grow my readers and subscribers!
4.How do you overcome writer's block?
Hmm...that's a tough one.  Honestly, I often don't.  Oftentimes, I just don't write anything until I have an idea or inspiration.  Although, one way to help overcome it is reading the Bible, and finding a good topic to put your thoughts on.  What better place to get inspiration from than the One Who made me?!
5.What is your favorite way to study the Bible?
I really love doing Bible studies with my friends, whether it's in person or over FaceTime. ;)  I love Bible journaling, as well.
6.What makes you unique as a blogger?
I honestly don't know about this one, really sorry. :/
7.What do your family and friends say about your blog?
They are all very supportive and cheer me on, which I am so grateful for.  <3
8.Who is your all-time favorite blogger?
Probably Mary Shelley from The Reid Who Writes or Madilyn from Thoughts of a Wildflower .  I can't pick which one honestly, they're both amazing and I totally recommend checking out their blogs!
9.What is your favorite thing to do, besides blogging?
I absolutely love to dance! :)
10.What is one tip you have for a brand new blogger?
Don't be too hard on yourself.  If you aren't inspired one day that you wanted to write on, and you can't get out new material right then, it should be alright. ;)  Make your blog a place to tell people about Jesus, glorify Him, teach others things they may not know and just have fun there!  It will make your blog so much more enjoyable for you if you aren't so hard on yourself! ;)
Those are all of the questions I was asked!
Here are the nominees!! :
Congratulations to...
-Madilyn from Thoughts of a Wildflower
-Mary Shelley Reid from The Reid Who Writes
-Olivia Knight from Summer of 1999
-Maiya MacMaster from MaiyaMac
-Madison Landers from Simple Surrender
-Dominique from Tee Shirt and Jeans Blog
-Abbie Emmons from Abbiee
-Grace Anne Johnson from Totally Graced
-Autumn from Autumn's Readings and Writings
-Jordan Sky from Fox in the Woodlands
Now, for my questions!:
1.What's your biggest inspiration for writing your blog posts?
2.Did you ever write before you started your blog?
3.Who is your biggest role model?
4.What is one tip you would give to a new blogger about growing readers?
5.What's your favorite way of keeping your eyes on Jesus, even when it's hard to do so?
6.What's your favorite song?
7.Has your blog changed you in any ways that you didn't think it would when you first started it
?
8.Where is your absolute favorite place to travel?
9.Who is your all-time favorite blogger?
10.What's the most inspiring quote you've ever heard/read?
<3
~A~

A Tiny Girl with a Big God

Alright, so I'm writing this post off of my phone(I don't have have my computer with me, but more about that later) right now, so we'll see how it turns out! ;)
As I said, I don't have my laptop with me, and that's because I am officially in Florida on a vacation. My mom, brother, sister and I all hopped onto a plane this morning and flew here to Florida.  And I will just have to say, today's flight was the scariest flight I think I have ever been on in my life.  Now, I'm not exactly sure why I was so insanely afraid of the flight today and I've never been that afraid(I've flown many times before and have since I was around nine or ten months old), but it was terrifying for me.  I'm not sure if it was because it was my (who happens to have just turned three years old) sister's first time flying and I wasn't sure how that was going to go. Or because of the way the plane took off and made you feel like you were about to drop out of the air any second. Or maybe it was because I wasn't sure what stranger I was going to get a seat beside.  Whatever the reason, I became a nervous wreck.  I was trying to keep myself together as I wanted to burst into tears as we were taking off(I'm very irrational apparently as my mom thought it was a pretty smooth flight).  I pulled up an app on my phone that had a Bible on it, and started reading some of it to try to get calmed down. I found some comfort in that and praying, but I've realized how much I need Him.  I have realized, through that, and several other experiences, how small and insignificant I really am in this world.  I don't have control of really anything-as much as I wish I had full control.  If you've read a few of my posts, you have probably heard me talk about how hard of a time I have trusting in Him, well, I guess I'm just talking about it again, and it will probably continue, but hopefully some day I will be able to trust Him more.  I now have another story of where I was worried, and God protected me, because He's God and God has a perfect plan for me and you. I've realized how much I truly need Him and how much I need to trust in Him, because He's got this.
I guess God gives us little reminders of how much we truly need Him sometimes, and I think maybe He did that for me today. Maybe in the future, I will be able to know He's got me and is with me, and hopefully, not worry so much.
I hope you found this post inspirational and I hope you have an amazing day!!  God bless you!!
P.S.  For the next days, we should be here in Florida, so hopefully I'll have some more posts up and more pictures up on my photography page up soon about all of that!! ;)
~A~

As White as Snow

Isaiah 1:18 says:
"Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
~A~

Off of the Sidewalk

Tonight my mom and I were talking, when I looked at our little Chihuahua dog and asked how the dog is always so clean, and my mom replied with, "Because she never goes off the sidewalk."  This got me thinking, God doesn't call us to be "safe."  He doesn't say, "Do this, if only it is safe."  No.  He says: Obey Me and trust in Me to be your safety and to keep you safe.   This past Sunday at church, the guest speaker talked about the difference of being comfortable versus being effective.  He was saying how we often say "I'm not really comfortable with that."  We often do say this, we think that we are inclined to always be comfortable, but this is simply not true.  As far as I know, God was never concerned about the safety of His people, because He knew He was going to keep them safe. He knows everything, so why wouldn't He know that?  I guess I'm always worried about safety, "Oh, that's not very safe,...Oh, I can't go there to tell people about Jesus because that place is dangerous,...If I did that I wouldn't be very safe...."  Always trying to play it safe.  I guess it is very hard(especially for people like myself), to really and completely get away from that because it is very much in our instinct to try to survive, but it is not exactly what God always wants us to do.  I guess I am a lot like our Chihuahua, never going off the sidewalk, never wanting to get my paws ;) dirty.  I also realize how much I don't trust in Him.  He says to trust in Him with all of my heart, and, to be honest, I don't really ever follow that command.  I worry.  A lot.  Like you wouldn't believe.  But, I have no reason to worry because He's got me in His hands, always and forever.
God calls us to go off of the sidewalk and to do the work He has laid out for us(Deuteronomy 31:8):
"...The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you not forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
So, I ask you, are you living on a little safe sidewalk, or are you going out into the fields God has called you?
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19)
I really hope you liked this post and please have a great day!!
~A~

A Few Words for the Insecure People Out There

You are God's creation.  He made you perfectly imperfect, and gave up His Only Son up for you.  You are as beautiful as the wonderful nature He made-yet so much more beautiful and loved.  Though it's beauty is breathtaking, it is still not loved the way you are.  It still can in no way compare to your immense beauty.  So trust what God has put into you-all of the gifts, all of the beauty; and trust how He has made you!  Look at yourself through the eyes of The King of the universe, not even your own opinion of yourself can argue with the real and true opinion of God.  <3

~A~

Hard Times Are What We Need

A Closer Look at Romans 6

FALL into the Arms of Him

Thanks Be to Him

Since Thanksgiving is approaching rapidly, I thought I would write something on it. :)  It's one of my favorite, if not my very favorite, holidays.  The Bible speaks of giving thanks to God, and I have realized that I do not thank Him enough and that I take things and people for granted way more than I should, because I am so blessed!
-Philippians 4:4-
Rejoice in the LORD always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!
-Ephesians 5:19-20-
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the LORD, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our LORD Jesus Christ.
I think I will share just some of the many, many, many things(I'm not even sure if there are enough numbers to count all of them) and people God has blessed me with...
-My incredibly loving/lovely family.
I have the most amazing parents, grandparents, and siblings.  They are so supportive and oh how wonderfully blessed I am to have them!
-My amazing friends.
They have always been there for me, loving and supporting me no matter what.  They have helped me get through so much, from giving me advice on what to do, to being with me on those days I haven't felt so great.  I'm so incredibly thankful for them!  To my friends, I love you guys. <3
-Having a roof over my head and food on my table.
-Having an education.
-Being able to worship my God.
I'm so thankful for being able to worship my God, because not everyone in the world is able to do this, but since so many people have given their precious lives up for my country, I'm able to worship Him.  Thank you, everyone who has served. <3
-Having a loving, caring, wonderful God.
I am so so so thankful for having a God who loves me, and cares about me enough that He gave up His life for me.
There are many more things I'm thankful for, and these are just a few things, but I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who reads this small blog of mine, it means so much to me. <3
~A~

Becoming Confident with His Love

Hey guys!  I'm sorry it's been such a long time since I've put up a post for you!  I've been pretty busy with school and just everything that consumes my life!  Before I get on with what I would like to talk about on this post, I would like to make the announcement that I've started an Instagram account just for my blog!  Here I will be giving updates and telling when I have posted new posts and other things that relate to this blog!  It's in the sidebar of my site, so I would love it if you would give me a follow there!
Alright, now onto the actual post!  So, I have been struggling for a long time with insecurity.  Now, I know I have already written a post on confidence in yourself(so it's very possible that I will repeat myself often in here), but I feel like that did not quite do it justice.  Not having enough confidence is a huge problem for me.  I think confidence is one of the main ways to be successful in life!  So many women and girls(and I would guess guys have the same problem, but just aren't as vocal about it, usually), are super insecure about their bodies, their intelligence, their almost everything!!  We just don't like ourselves and we compare ourselves to others(at least I do) and it brings us down, and makes us often perform poorly in even the things that we are passionate about!  I think that if I loved myself and was confident in my abilities and talents that God has given me, I would do so much better in everything in life!  And I would guess I'm not alone in that.  We were having a conversation the other day about trusting in the abilities God gave me(someone's idea, not exactly mine, by the way). So in reality, accepting God's love for me is how I'm really gonna get it right.  God is the only one we should truly look to for approval, after all, He made us all, and in His very own image!  Who are we to judge ourselves?!  I think if every woman tried to obey God and looked at the things that God looks at, there would be much more humble, confident women in the world today!  God looks at our hearts, not our bodies, for beauty.  He cares much more about how we treat people and obey Him than how we fix our hair or how cute our outfits are!  How wonderful it is to marvel at!  What an amazing God to serve! :)   So, I encourage you(and myself) to look at yourself in the way God looks at you!  Because if we're in Christ, we're clean from our sins!  He looks at you in the way you wish everybody would look at you, like a drop-dead gorgeous model, because He made you and sent His One and Only Son to die for YOU!!   You can be confident because God gave you those talents and abilities for a reason, even if you don't know what it is yet! Here are some inspiring verses-
Proverbs 31:30-
"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."
1 Peter 3:4-
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

This is me.  Full of insecurities, flaws, and doubts, but beautiful in God's eyes.
We need to focus more on our inward appearance and being beautiful for God, rather than our outward appearance and being beautiful for man.  So again, we need to trust in the talents God has given us!  I hope this helps you become the most confident version of yourself you can be!! :)
What is your favorite way of loving yourself and staying confident?!
Have an amazing day!!
~A~

Thankfulness

I just recently watched a movie with my cousin, Julia, which was actually quite touching for me.  It was named "The 50 First Dates," in it, a man named Henry, (portrayed by Adam Sandler), meets a girl, who he thinks could be the girl of his dreams, Lucy, (played by Drew Barrymoore), but, there's a problem, Lucy was in a car accident on her father's birthday the year prior.  The car accident brought brain damage to her and now, every morning when she wakes up, she still thinks it's her father's birthday, and she cannot remember anything from the day before and she keeps on reliving the day of her accident.  Even with her current conditions, Henry keeps on making her fall in love with him, day after day, even though she never remembers him.
My cousin, after finishing the movie, mentioned something that made me think that I would like to discuss here.  She said something like "It makes you grateful for what you have, doesn't it?"  She's right.  I am thankful for what I have but I tend to take for granted all of my many many blessings!  I have a good brain, wonderful parents, food to eat, a nice home, and so much more, but most of all, I have Jesus who loves me so much!  Why would I take all of these things for granted?!  I think of all of the girls my age in this world who would love to have my life, and it makes me feel bad that I would ever not give thanks to God for everything He's given me, and, everytime I complain about things.
In Philipians 2:14(NIV), The Bible says, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing,..."  I think about this verse and it brings me guilt, because I think about all of the times I've complained about things in my life, there's so many!  I think everybody complains at least a little bit sometimes, but I think there are others(including myself), who do it more than sometimes.  It's a hard habit to break, but we should strive to break it because The Bible states that we should do everything without complaining.
This brings me back to more of the thankfulness topic.  Think of how wonderful it would be if instead of filling our minds with negative, complaining thoughts, we filled them with positive, happy, thankful thoughts?!  In Ephesians 5:18-20(NIV), it says, "...Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.  Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."   These verses do not say "Gives thanks to God for some things, sometimes."  Rather, it says to give thanks always for everything.  I am very guilty of not giving thanks in the way that those verses say, and it would be nice to change that.
So, I challenge you; try to go for a whole entire day without complaining, and give thanks to God more than you usually do on a daily basis, and then once you've succeeded in that, make it a habit!!:)  I think that habit would make everyone's lives much better!
Therefore, let's all try to be grateful for God's blessings, especially the most special one of all, His Son!!
I hope you enjoyed this post!  Have a great day!:)
~A~