New Years Road Trip

I hope everyone had a wonderful day-after-Christmas...

In just two short days, me and 3 of my dearest friends will be making our way up to CT.

This will be a 8 hour road trip (longest for me since I'm the farthest South).  

I've never been on a road trip this long, especially with friends.  There will surely be lots of music, laughter, and food.  Can't wait for my first real road trip! :)

Goodbye Christmas

Christmas is over.

Can you believe it?

Man, it always flies by so quickly!

I hope everybody has had a blessed Christmas filled with lots of love and laughter with family and friends!

So thankful for my amazing family.
I really need to hit the hay, but that bottle of coke was probably not my brightest idea...
Hopefully the sandman will follow in Santa's footsteps tonight.

How was everybody's Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

Even though it's Christmas break, I still am busy with things to do.  Our family had a wonderful Christmas!  My grandparents from NC came up and we just got back from our aunt, uncle, and cousins house.  So much food and laughter!  I'm gonna to start the 5 for Five posts, because I always seem to get things done quicker (or actually get them done at all) if I make a list, especially if I post that list for all to see ;)

1) Buy a wedding gift for my friends wedding in CT on Sunday.  SO excited for the road trip with some of my favorite ladies as well!  It's gonna be an awesome weekend!  Expect a picture heavy post mid-week next week for this event!

2) Finish reading Hunger Games then go buy Mockingjay.  This is definitely not something that needs to be done, but I really want to do it, so I'm putting it on this list anyway because it is pretty important to me right now ;)

3) Order my books for next semester online.  My mom is being so generous and paying for them for me!  Such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders!

4) Go to the gym before I leave on Friday!

5) Clean the mess that is my room...

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas!  

I will hopefully also be posting one more post before this weekend, and after I get back and the New Year starts my posts will be much more regular because I will actually have a schedule again.  Wahoo!

Carytown Adventures

Today I went to Carytown with my dear friend, Em.

We ate yummy salads with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese at New York Deli.

I tried Moshi for the first time.  It was very interesting...

I got a vintage RVA postcard to hang in my room at school.

I got an RVA T-shirt.

We marveled at the books in Chop Suey.

I left B-sides without the ugly sweater I desperately wanted (that took major self control).

We ate yummy truffles from For the Love of Chocolate.

I got a pumpkin chocolate chip cupcake from Carytown Cupcakes and showed Em the proper way to eat a cupcake.  

I got very depressed that Dixie Donuts and the Yarn Lounge were closed.

And, we had loads of fun.  

This girl is great and I cherish her friendship.

 

Fall Semester 2012

Some of my favorite memories from this past semester with some of my favorite people in the world.  I am beyond blessed to have such amazing friends.  I love every single one of them.

Christmas List

All I want for Christmas is an Asian baby.  Is that really too much to ask?

Christmas Tree

I want to make a Christmas tree like this so bad.  

Safety

Two things.  

A reminder for the weekend.  

&

The big announcement... :)

1) A reminder of truth:

"Be to me a rock of refuge,
to which I may continually come;

you have given the command to save me,   
for you are my rock and my fortress.
Psalm 71:3

This verse is so comforting.  The Lord is the one constant in our lives that is always there and never-changing.  Friends, please remember this as this can be a hard time of the semester with all the stresses of finals, along with the many changes that are about to take place in so many people's everyday lives.  He is ALWAYS there.  He is unchanging!  He is our rock and fortress... He is our safety.  The worries of today shouldn't have a place in our hearts anymore, because they are in His hands.  So let them go.  He's got this.

2)  The announcement you've all been waiting for (drum roll please!!)

My best friend is engaged!!!!!  



Yayy, congratulations Rachel and Nathan!!!  Bridesmaid numero two dress, coming soon :)

Such a beautiful godly couple, that I am privileged to know and see grow in their relationship with the Lord and each other.  

Love them both.  

Our King

A great reminder today.

Happy Wednesday.

Five more days till the end of the semester for me!

Mumford on Repeat

Cravings and Procrastination

This the the blog post where I wish I were drinking Boba tea.



It is also the blog post that is the last form of procrastination from my commentary that I should be working on.  Don't worry, I have four pages... out of thirty.

And if you read this and brought me Boba Tea or brought me to get some, you would be my best friend forever.  Very unlikely though since it is 8:30 in Lynchburg on a Monday night.

Okay, enough this procrastination.

Have a wonderful Monday night everybody!  Last day of class tomorrow then finals.  I am going to go crush this commentary now.

再見 (That is goodbye in Chinese, since I'm craving Boba Tea).

I am a Dreamer

1 Corinthians 2:9

Thankful today that the Lord has a much better plan for my life while here on earth then I could ever imagine in my wildest dreams.

Encouragement

"Remember, even if you don’t see how things could ever work out, God does. Speak to those mountains in your life and declare God’s favor over those situations. Instead of talking to God about how big your problems are, talk to your problems about how big your God is! As you speak to your mountains, they will be moved, and you will move forward into the victory God has prepared for you!"

Definitely needed this reminder today.  I hope this encourages you, as it has encouraged me.  Our GOD is GREATER!

This Lady is Letting Go

Just Listen

Press this and just listen.

5!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! :)  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!  Here is a list of my five favorite things from this week!

1. I've loved spending time with my little brother this week!  He is such a goober.

2. Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with knitting?  REALLY obsessed.  If you know of any good patterns for me to start next, let me know!

3. I've loved spending time with my parents and grandparents this week.  I love them :)  My grandparents from North Carolina came up for Thanksgiving and it was nice to see them and spend time with them.

4. Thank the Lord for thrift stores.  I found so many great cheap things thrifting over the last few days.

5. I'm loving my new ankle boots.  I'm going to wearing them all the time, so I don't feel the need to post a picture because you will surely see them in person soon.

She Did All She Could

"She has done what she could..."  Mark 14:8

She is someone that I want to be like.  

She knew Jesus.  When Jesus was in Bethany, as he sat at the table in the home of his friend, she came in.  She had an alabaster jar in her hands of expensive perfume.  She broke the jar and poured the perfume onto Jesus' head.

People started whispering and rebuking her, stating that the perfume could have been sold for a year's wages.  

They judged her.  They rebuked her.  The looked down on her.  Harshly.

But Jesus told them, "Leave her alone."  

He defended her.  

He said, "She has done a beautiful thing to me."

"The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me."

"She did all she could..."

He explained how she was preparing him for his burial, which is something that only he knew would occur.  He said that her story would be told around the world.  

She was a woman who knew Jesus and I want to be like her.  

She understood something that no one else in the room did.  What she did was sacred and precious.  Jesus knew that, but the rest of the people didn't "get it."  She didn't care, because that was her act of worship.

I love her faith and bravery.  She didn't care what anybody else though, just Jesus.

We don't know much else about her.  We don't know where she got that expensive perfume, but we do know that she had something precious and valuable.  The perfume was worth very much to her as well as the onlookers.

I love this story because I can relate to it.  I don't own expensive perfume (unless you count the Vera Wang perfume I got as a Christmas present several years ago).  Myself, as well as other young Christian women can relate because our hearts and lives are worth so much.  And we alone decide how we are going to live our lives and who we are going to give our heart to.  

Like the woman in this story, I chose to give my life, my heart, my future, my love, my time, and my worship to Him no matter what the cost.  It is costly, but it is worth it.  I am pouring it out on His head in worship, like costly perfume.  I am giving Him my all because it belongs to Him anyway.

I choose to give him the rest of this semester, next year, and every year to come that will follow.  I choose to pour it out on Him in reckless and passionate worship like this woman who poured it all out despite what others thought.  All she saw was Him.

What are you doing with your costly perfume?  With your life?  With your heart?  

My prayer is that my life will be full of this reckless and passionate abandon, pouring out every last drop of my perfume as I worship Him.  And someday He may say of me, "She did all she could."

Overdue List

How in the world is it November already?  I can't wait for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years and all of the yummy treats that come with some of my favorite holidays.

I feel like today is officially the start of the holiday season.  Just gotta make sure to keep up going to the gym with all the extra treats that I will surely be eating.  My family loves to feed me when I'm home :)

Me and some friends at our Fall Festival in the mountains this past weekend.  The ride up there was probably my favorite part.  Lynchburg is SO beautiful in the Fall!

Since I haven't blogged in a while, this blog would not be complete without a list.  But really, what else would you expect from me?  Here's a list of what I'm most excited for for the Holiday season :)

1.  I love having the freedom to go to the gym at any time of the day that I want when I'm at home.  I know that's pretty dumb, but I really love a good workout and it's just so much more convenient to do when I am at home.

2. Making crafts that I've been pinning on Pinterest, but sadly don't have time to do.  (Almost everything on my wish list is for a project I want to do.)

3. Thrift shopping and yarn shopping.  No need to elaborate on this one.

4. Delicious food that my mom, Bebe, and Nana are going to make.  My grandmas know the secret ingredients to make everything delicious: butter and sugar.  Can't wait till all their yummy recipes get passed down to me :)

5. And last, but certainly not least, my family.  I love and treasure them so much and am so thankful for the time that I do get to spend with them as it is getting more and more sparse as I get older.  They are truly a wonderful blessing to me in so many ways.

There is much more that I am excited for with Thanksgiving and Christmas break coming up, but God has been really teaching me to embrace life where He has me, right now and in this very moment.  Every day is a gift, and I will not let one go to waste.  I'm already starting to get nostalgic with three of my best friends leaving next semester.  Christmas break will definitely be bittersweet this year.

Have a wonderful November everybody :)

Me, Lord?

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5-8

Man, did this verse speak to me or what.  

I have been struggling recently about trying to decide what church I want to call my "home" for the next two years (or more) that I will be here at school.  Notice I said "decide" not "find", because I have actually found two that I like very much.  

I have been weighing out the pros and cons and have attended both since I've been back and definitely have done a LOT of praying about it.  And I am happy to say that the Lord finally placed one of the churches on my heart.

The church I am deciding to call my "home" for at least the next two years preaches the Gospel every Sunday like nobody's business.  They are extremely passionate about missions, which is something that I also hold very close to my heart.  

I also plan on starting to volunteer with the pre-schoolers during one of the services, because I really want to get involved and meet the people of the church.  

There is one con though.  They don't have a Youth Ministry.  This was one of the reasons that I wasn't so sure about calling this church my home.  I wanted to go to a church that had a youth ministry so that I could volunteer and learn from great men and women of God who have a burden for teenagers just as I do.  But then I had one of those "Duh" moments from God.  

What if I am one of the people to start a youth ministry within this church?  I feel so nervous thinking about it because I know how inadequate and unprepared that I am, but I know that if it is God's will for me to help in getting a youth ministry started, then by God's grace He will equip me to meet the needs of my church along the way.

"God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called."

"Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.  Have I not sent you?"  Judges 6:14

"For nothing is impossible with God."  Luke 1:37

My Heart

When I started this blog, I knew I wanted to talk about sexual purity.  It is something that I am very passionate about, that God placed on my heart at quite a young age.  But to be honest, it is quite frightening to post my personal convictions and opinions on the Internet for the whole world to see.  I remember reading my first book about purity with my mom and some very close friends when I was fourteen years old.  Reading this book and other books and stories since then about couples who have waited and their journey of purity have been such an encouragement for me.  

I have been nervous about some of my previous posts, that they might offend someone.  I've honestly almost deleted some of my latest posts, scared because I felt as if I was being so open and vulnerable about what I believe, and scared that I would upset someone.  But then I thought and prayed about it.  I didn't delete those posts... I couldn't.  I knew that the Lord wanted me to share my story and passions, and I needed (and still do) need to cast all my cares on Him and learn to trust Him fully.  I know that the Lord wants me to be willing to stand alone in this fight.  He wants me to be faithful to what I believe and to take a stand, in prayer that someone may be encouraged by what the Lord is teaching me and doing in my life.

Yes, I still have fear.  I have several close friends that have made the same commitment as me, read multiple books on the topic of purity, and have heard the beautiful stories of older women that waited till marriage for physical intimacy.  I still wonder, what if no one agrees with me here on the Internet?  What if I'm one of the only ones who is taking this stand?  But, I'm going to do it anyway.  Because of I seek to please God, not man.  Galatians 1:10 is one of my favorite verses.  "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."  I still wonder though.  Are there still women out there that have made the same commitment I have?

At thirteen years old, I made the commitment to God and my future husband to stay pure until marriage.  I committed to pray for my future husband and to live a life of purity.  I knew then that I was choosing the "narrow" path, and that there may be times that I was all alone on this walk.  Even though I was young I knew that I was defying what most girls my age were doing, I knew that it could be a very long wait for God's timing, and I knew it wasn't going to always be easy or fun.  I knew I may feel alone in my choices at times, which I most certainly have.  But I also knew that the Lord would be with me each step of the way and if I waited on His perfect timing, it would be better.

When someone makes the choice to go against the flow and choose the harder path, it requires bravery and fearlessness.  I made that choice six years ago and it's not the easiest, most fun, or popular way.  But it is the best way and it is worth it.  And although there are times on this journey where I have felt alone, they are far outweighed by the number of times that I know and feel that I am never alone.

I thank the Lord daily for the friends He has blessed me with that have made the same decision as me and are always there supporting me.  I pray that this will be able to be a community of fully committed women of God that can encourage each other in this pursuit of purity.  There have been so many times that I have read blogs of stories of Christian married women who have waited and have told how worth the wait it was.  Maybe we can also encourage our brothers in Christ as well to continue to faithfully wait for their future wives.  It's only been a month since I have started this blog, and so many friends and family have already told me how encouraged they were by it, and I give all the glory to my Heavenly Father.  

And to any of you girls that have made the same commitment I have, you are not alone.  

Ladies, this long hard wait will be worth it one day, if we are patient and wait on the Lord's perfect timing.  Every time we flirt or have any kind of physical intimacy with a man, we are giving away a piece of our heart that our future husband will never be able to have.  

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.  Ephesians 5:3

When we realize that the Lord is pursuing us and He is the lover of our souls, it makes striving for physical and mental purity so much easier.

May you be encouraged and inspired today to keep running towards a lifestyle of purity, to save sex for the beautiful thing that it is in marriage, and to trust Jesus with your purity.  No one is perfect and we all fail often.  But we can rest in His grace and know that if He is not giving it to use right now, then it is probably not good for us.  

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11

May you cling fast to Jesus today, who saves sinners and gives us everything we need in at the perfect time.  

Trust in Him.  He won't let you down.

I am thankful today.

Because God gave me the courage to write this and to soon press publish in a few mere seconds.  

He graciously gives me all things I need.

Let love, strength, grace, and fearlessness in our Lord Jesus Christ be yours today.  

Journal Entry

In this season of my life, God has been doing SO many amazing things.  I am always amazed how God brings me through so many different seasons in life.  During this season of my life, God has been teaching me and convicting to fully mature into the woman that God has for me to be.  I used to focus so much on finding that "perfect", godly guy, but lately I have been very convicted that I haven't been concentrating on growing myself into the mature godly woman that the type of guy that I am looking for will want.  It is certainly a process to overcome sins or issues in my life that I want to do away with, but by God's grace, I know I can overcome anything.  I seek to be restored and renewed everyday of my life, because I know it is not a one day process or a specific goal that can be attained.

Part of my journey to become the godly woman that I strive to be is watching very carefully how I treat the men in my life.  I have a lot of guy friends that I am close with and I tend to open up to people very quickly.  It is just my personality, but I need to be careful to not share every little detail of my life with every guy that I become buds with.  I need to purposefully watch my words and my actions as to guard my heart, and theirs as well.

I want to guard my heart so that one day, I can give it fully to the man that God has for me.  I don't want to go around sharing precious thoughts about my hopes and dreams for the future with every guy I meet.  I need to work to guard my heart everyday, which is a process that is very hard to do alone.  Thank Jesus, He doesn't let me go through it alone.  

"Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."  Proverbs 4:23

God is concerned about every little thing that is concerning you.  From the strands of hair on your head, to your thoughts, to your relationship choices.  God loves you more then you could ever imagine.  While He loves us right where we are, He loves us too much for us to stay there.  He calls us to come up from the pain, heartache, and lies, and instead to run into His arms.

Princesses, men will fail you, they will disappoint you, and they won't always be there.  This doesn't make them bad, but merely human.  Christ, our Lord is ALWAYS there.  He is wholeheartedly pursuing us with an everlasting love.  He is surrounding us with protection.  He is more then able and the definition of sufficient for us.  Our Abba loves to love us.

"Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils.  Why hold them in esteem?"  Isaiah 2:22

My prayer is that as you ladies continue on in this journey of guarding your hearts, that you would fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus.  Despite the past, no matter what it may hold, we must leave those things behind and press on towards the future.  The future filled with hope that God has for you.  I pray that you desire to guard your heart and renew your mind everyday, and when you don't feel like it, to do it anyway.  

Weekend Fun and Back to the 'Burg

Bounce houses, Ferris wheels, roller coasters, tie dye, 3 new restaurants, and Dip N' Dots.  That's what my weekend consisted of.  I had so much fun my last weekend at home.  I am officially back at school now, all moved in, just have to put up a few more pictures and by a few I mean a whole wall full.

While I was away for a few days, one of my biggest blog inspirations, Erin from sweetnessitself.blogspot.com posted the sweetest comment on my post.  Did I practically scream from excitement?  You bet.

Since I've been back I've already hung out at my friends apartment and ate chicken nuggets and watched a chick flick with my leadership team.  I have a feeling it is going to be a good year.  God is going to move in awesome and powerful ways

Starbucks runs are my favorite, and this kid makes them even better.  Me and my Pop had gotten Starbucks that morning, so we were able to get a venti cold drink for only $2!  I love bargains, and I love Starbucks, so naturally I snatched that deal up when I had the chance.

I've also been so proud of my brother lately.  He has grown up so much this summer.  His long facebook status' about what God has placed on his heart or what he has been contemplating are astounding.  He is actually thinking about starting his own blog as well, so if you know him, you should encourage him to do it!  I love my brother to death and I miss him so much while I'm away at school!  Skipper, if you're reading this, stay out of my room! :P

I went to Dixie Donuts on Cary Street with my grandma on Friday and they were absolutely delicious!

I also went to a small Mexican restaurant in Cary Town on Friday called Don't Look Back.  I had the pulled chicken taco and the Costa Rican style black bean taco, which were both delicious.  The Costa Rican style black beans actually tasted like the black beans that I had in Costa Rica too!

Went to Inflation Nation on Friday night with my favorite teens and had so much fun, bouncing, dancing, and praising our Lord!

Had so much fun with my sweet friend Em at our local amusement park on Saturday.  Then she got baptized on Sunday night!  SO excited for her and for how the Lord is going to continue to use her.

Two awesome pictures from Instagram that Em took.  We are kinda obsessed with Instagram.  I absolutely love roller coasters and just rides in general, so being able to go one last time before heading back to school was great.  I love the feeling of your stomach going into your throat and the adrenaline rush that you get from the roller coasters.  I used to be afraid of roller coasters when I was younger, but man I didn't realize what I was missing!  Maybe I am an adrenaline junkie.

I believe that me and my twinsie made the best tie dye shirts.  We are pro tie dyers.  I had such a fun time making them with her!  She has such a sweet and loving spirit and is growing up into an absolutely beautiful woman of God!  I am so thankful that the Lord blessed me by putting her in my life!  I am so humbled that she looks up to me and that I have the wonderful opportunity of mentoring and loving on her.  I don't actually need to mentor her much anyway because she has wisdom and maturity far beyond her years.  She is going to do great things for the Kingdom!  I love my twinsie to the moon and back!  Twinsies forever! :)

Then came Sunday.  I went to church on Sunday morning just like I do every other Sunday morning of the year.  Little did I know that God would grab my attention and pull my heart through an Egyptian man.  He was talking about how Americans had become lazy in their ministry.  Whoa, that is exactly what God had been convicting me of in the last few weeks.

Last year there are times when I felt like I was being a "good" prayer leader, but God really spoke to me over this summer and I know that it is not anything I do that makes me a "good" prayer leader, but it is my willingness to say "YES!" to the Lord and grabbing every opportunity to minister to the girls that he puts in my life.  Last year, I sadly was very self-centered and didn't take every opportunity I had to love on my girls because I had something else that took top priority in my life.  I was spending time pleasing myself, when I needed to be focused on those precious girls.  There is so much more to college then how much fun I can have and how many Cookout milkshakes I can drink.

There is a hunger in my soul to be a woman who serves.  Who I am today will not be who I am tomorrow.  I need to choose to focus on the eternal things because nothing else of this world will last.  I long to be like Jesus.  Jesus is selfless and the ultimate servant.  Oh, how far I have to go...

I believe...

This isn't a post about my spiritual beliefs.  Just some things that I have found are very useful to life :)
Here are a few of my "beliefs":

I believe in loving and living out loud.  (Kilmarnock 2012, let me hear you HOLLA!)

I believe in pursuing your passions and following your dreams.
I believe in bear hugs.
I believe in laughing till you cry.
I believe in choosing your battles wisely and being present in every moment.
I believe in chivalry.  Hold those doors open, guys!

I believe in playing in the snow like a little kid.

I believe in reading a good book snuggled up in bed.
I believe in driving with the windows down and singing at the top of your lungs.
I believe in dessert.
I believe in finding joy by serving others.
I believe in being crazy and not caring what other people think. 

I believe in surprises.
I believe in trying new things even if they scare you.
I believe in picking flowers.
I believe that a smile can turn some one's day around.
I believe that every one is beautiful.
I believe that one person can make a difference.

I go back to school in a mere 5 days!  Summer flew by!  I'm so excited to be reunited with all of my friends and can't wait to see what plans God has in store for this semester.  He always seems to do whatever I least expect.

If you could also be praying for my grandma as she just had knee replacement surgery on Tuesday.  She is still in a lot of pain.  Prayers for a quick recovery and very little pain would be great!  She is such a trooper through it all though, and I couldn't ask for a better, godly role model in my life.  

You Are Loved!

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

I am always astounded when I think about how God loves us and accepts us just as we are.  He didn't wait for us to "get our act together" because His love is unconditional.  I think of those girls who think that they have to compromise their morals and convictions to get or keep a guy.  They are searching for love from these guys to fill this place in their heart, but in reality no guy can EVER give them complete satisfaction like Christ's love can.  I have this desire and longing in my heart to just love on precious teenage girls and shower them with the Truth.  If I could write all girls that are feeling like this a note of encouragement, I would say this:

Daughter of God, 
You are loved.  You are beautiful.  You are worth waiting for.  You are worthy of love.  Jesus deemed you worthy of His life!  You have so much value, worth, and purpose.  While you sometimes cannot see this truth, it still remains.  As it says in one of my favorite Starfield songs, "But help me not forget in darkness the things that I believed in light."  

The man who truly loves you with a Christ-like love and the man that God has for you will not push you to do anything that you have made up your mind not to do, or don't want to do.  You are worth waiting for. 

For those girls who are in the season of waiting, as I am, God's love is far more then enough for you.  I know how sometimes you hear people say this, and think it's not possible to feel sufficient and that Christ is enough to satisfy your desires.  Trust me, I know how you feel because I was there myself.  Chase Him, seek Him, give Him all your pain and fears, and watch Him change and fill your heart with an everlasting, indescribable love.  

Also, ladies, be very careful not to make emotional or spiritual bonds with a man that is casual with you.  We need to not only guard ourselves and pursue purity physically, but emotionally as well.  

We are God's princesses, and we should all be treated like them.  I know that sounds really cheesy, but it is true nonetheless.  You were made for an unconditional, never-ending, "always there for you" kind of love.  Don't settle for anything less.

Our Heavenly Father knows best.  Allow Him to govern your ways.  His plan is perfect.  Like a good father, His job is to protect you.  Run to him and He will, "bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes" (Isaiah 61:3).  He is eagerly waiting to lavish his love on you.  

Pallet Furniture

It had been quite a while since I had been on Pinterest, which is probably a good thing because whenever I do get on I re-pin like there's no tomorrow.  That's what I just finished doing actually.

I know I still have two years left of school, but I'm already thinking of cheap and affordable ideas for my first apartment or home.  I know, I'm way ahead of myself.  That's what I get for being an SC personality.  A dreamer and a planner all in one.  That's me!

I looked at a lot of pallet furniture, and I absolutely love pretty much all of it!  I love the rustic look of it and you can build it yourself, so it's super affordable and much cheaper then buying new furniture.

Maybe one day I'll have a post on what my own pallet furniture that I create will look like!
Here are a few pictures of some of my favorite pieces.

How do you feel about pallet furniture?

And holy cow!  I go back to school a week from tomorrow! :)

Welcome!

Hi my friends!

Welcome to my first ever blog post!  This is really exciting for me because this is one of the first major steps that I am taking on my journey towards what God has called me to do with my life. 

God placed a passion and burden for teenagers on my heart when I was just a teenager myself.  I went on a middle school mission trip as a student leader when I was a Junior in high school and ever since that summer I have known without a doubt that God has called me to love and minister students to the cross of Jesus Christ. 

More specifically, I want to work with teenage girls one day.  I pray that this blog will be a place where young women can learn to combat the lies that our world is throwing at us with the Truth.  

Everywhere in the media we are being bombarded with images that claim to portray beauty.  Trying to live up to these seemingly flawless women can be quite tiring.  Trust me, I tried it myself.  If we continue to compare ourselves and our bodies with these women, we will never be happy or content with ourselves.

I know that when I was a teenage girl, I also struggled with trying to "fit in" and get other people to like me and accept me, especially boys.  Do you know how many times I changed my "style" to try please or try to get the attention of whatever young lad that I thought was cute at that time?  I'm sure we're all guilty of calling up our girlfriends, spending hours trying to figure out what the cutest outfit we own is so that we can just get a look or smile from that special guy.  Let me tell you ladies, it's not worth it.  

You're probably thinking, "Wow, Jessi.  That sure didn't make me feel any better about myself."  Don't worry, this is where it just starts getting good.  

As you have seen, the title of my blog is "Flawless."  At first I was hesitant to have this title because I thought that some people might think that I  am being vain by saying that I am flawless.  Nope.  

My blog title was inspired my Song of Solomon 4:7.  It says, "You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you."  

Ladies, this is how Christ sees us.  We are beautiful and flawless in His sight.  We don't have to keep trying to achieve the perfect body, the perfect wardrobe, or the perfect looks.  When Christ died on the cross for us He washed us clean.  We are without blemish in his sight.  

Our aim and desire shouldn't be to please others anymore.  We should desire to bring glory and praise to our Creator above all else.  Let us return to our first Love, ladies.  We are flawless in His sight.