he's there but so are You.

he's there in my head,

I can't even lie down in bed. 

he knows my weaknesses,

but also my strengths,

because one gives him false hope

and the other distress.

he loves to falsely accuse,

and oh how many hearts he has badly bruised.  

I often become discouraged when I think on this,

and I know I am so frequently a victim of his tricks. 

he loves to be there in everything I do,

but then, so do You. 

You know my every thought,

and with that so much comfort can be brought. 

You are holding my hand with every step I take,

even when You know how easy my faith is to break. 

You could love a wretch like me,

I don't even understand because what in me could You possibly see?

but there You are, nonetheless,

oh, my Lord, how wonderful You are, I shall confess!



~A~

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~