Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Love: I Want You Near

I was driving around last night and my mind started creating a melody on its own. I pulled out my iphone to record the melody and by the time I got to my destination I had a song written. All it needed was some piano! I got my friend conner to help and sing the guy part. The song is about long distance relationships and pretty much how much it sucks being away from the person you love. Here ya go:

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Life: Santa's Workshop

Now that I've finally finished my gift wrapping for Christmas, I wanted to show you guys some of it! I had a lot of fun being creative with my gifts. The time you put into creative wrapping is a whole other gift in itself!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Life: Finals

So...all throughout my high school career, I never really had to study that hard for finals. I'm taking those habits with me to college, because I have all 3 of my finals tomorrow and I haven't started studying yet. I mean, I took the first steps by coming to Einstein's, getting my coffee, laying out my highlighters and pens, but I cant seem to get myself to start making those flash cards. Ugh. I am such a procrastinator. So naturally...


What have I resorted to guys? Taking a picture of me not wanting to study? WHAT IS THAT. Okay, so  in all seriousness........I just wanted to say hello. So I'm gonna force myself to make these stupid flash cards now. Bye.
P.S. Back to Texas in 1.5 days!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Love: Forever His

"But as for you Isreal, my servant, Jacob, my chosen one, my friend, I have called you back from the ends of the earth saying "you are my servant." For I have chosen you and I will not throw you away." 
-Isaiah 41: 8&9

How many times in this walk of faith do we expect perfection out of ourselves? I know there are times when I do. All I want to do is make Jesus proud. I just want to show him I love him. And somewhere along this road of trying to please him, I get caught up in the attempt of perfection. Somehow, I forget the truth that perfection is not obtainable. So, when I fall or fail, it hits me hard. It hits me so hard, that I find myself not being able to forgive myself. Even when I know Jesus has forgiven me, I dont think I'm worthy of that forgiveness. What kind of mindset is that? 

Jesus doesnt expect perfection out of us. If we were perfect, God wouldnt have had to send his perfect son Jesus. He could have used one of us as a sacrifice. But no one was perfect. And Jesus came and died so that by accepting his sacrifice, we would be made perfect in the sight of God. There is nothing I could do to make God see me as anything more or less than Jesus. How amazing is that? 

Sometimes I forget this though. And when my faith isnt as strong as it should be, or when I get caught up in the ways of this world, I get so disappointed in myself that I start to distance myself. My mindset tells me that because I have failed him, I cant be used by him. And as I give into this false mindset, I start to fall away from his heart. I start to feel like I cant be used. That I cant be worthy of being called His own. 

But then, God picks me up the moment I start falling away. He reminds me of a little thing called grace. And that because of that grace, he doesnt require perfection of us, he only requires that we love him with everything that we are. With all of our minds, all of our heart, and all of our strength. When we love Him in this way, we are made right. We are clothed in righteousness. We are made perfect in his eyes. And by loving him fully, we are able to live a life that pleases him. Not a perfect one, but one that uses every moment to love Jesus more than you did the day before. One that is sensitive and obedient to the Holy Spirit. A life that bows in awe at the sound of his name. One that delights in who he is. One that honors him and represents him. 

And so, Isaiah 41 spoke to me this morning while I was feeling unworthy in the way I explained above:

"But as for you Isreal, my servant, Jacob, my chosen one, my friend, I have called you back from the ends of the earth saying "you are my servant." For I have chosen you and I will not throw you away." 

This is God. This is Jesus. This is Grace. He calls us from the place we've wandered to. "The ends of the earth". It doesnt matter where we are, how far weve been away, he is still calling us back. He calls you his servant, his chosen one, his friend. And how does he get our attention from this far away place we have wandered to? He calls us by name, saying "you are my servant." He tells us the way he has claimed us, he tells us that no matter how far weve wandered, he still sees us the same way he saw us the day he saved us: as his servant. He chose us. And even though we may stray, even though we mess up, He wants us back. He wont throw us away. We are still able to be used by him. We are still His

Friday, December 9, 2011

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Life: A Day in Pictures

Today has been a long day. I've been fighting to keep my eyes open. Luckily, though, today was my last day of classes for the semester. Thank goodness. Now I have off until my exams start Monday. Then I get to go home. 6 days until I come back to Texas, which also means 6 days until I have to say goodbye to Ashlea for good. Yep. Shes leaving the U of A for good. *tear*. I'm gonna miss that lady so much. I'm so glad I got to meet her. Love love love.

Now I'm fininshing off the night in Panera Bread trying to get some studying and math homework accomplished. No matter how many cups of coffee I have, it wont make my eyes feel any lighter. Wish me luck, friends. 

**Oh, and PS, I had a job interview today for a restaurant in Fayetteville. Pray pray prayyyyy. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Life: Tuesday Thank You's!

Guess what?? Fayetteville had their first snow of the winter this morning! Unfortunately it only lasted half a day, right now its all gone, but it was great while it lasted! The cold is much more enjoyable when theres snow on the ground to keep you company. Today was an amazingly lazy day. I slept in, browsed the internet, looked for christmas presents online, watched some of Serendipity on 25 days of Christmas (I have seen only bits and pieces of this movie, multiple times. Is it good? I've heard its good. I need to watch the whole thing). I took a long shower, went to my english professors office hours to get my paper  revised, went to a body sculpting class at the gym (kicked my butt), and now I'm at Panera "studying," AKA facebooking and updating my blog. Gosh. I really need to get into the habit of studying. Finals start Sunday for me and I havent even started studying for them! I dont take this kind of thing seriously. I need to. Anyways, here are this weeks 
Thank You's:

1. I'm thankful for the changing of seasons. I love wintertime, and the smell and feeling it brings. I love the snow on the ground (as long as I'm able to drive in it), getting bundled up in scarves and coats and hats, snuggling up under the covers, drinking hot drinks, yay. I love winter time.
2. I'm thankful that the art of writing letters is still appreciated. Although its seldom practiced, there are a few people in this world who still love to write letters, and some of those people happen to be in my life :) I love writing letters so much. And I love getting them even more. 
3. I'm thankful for marriage and that my best friend is engaged! I'm so so so excited for her. No one deserves a happily ever after more than this girl. She is the first one of my friends to get married, and I'm so thankful its her. Her and her fiance are truly a godly example of what it looks like to have a god fearing relationship. I know they understand the covenant of marriage and what it illustrates, so I'm so excited for them to tie the knot. Cant wait to start helping out :)
4. I'm so thankful that people actually come and look at my blog. But not only that they view it, but that they enjoy keeping up with it! Its so cool to actually write for the purpose of people reading. I'm so so so so thankful for that. 
5. I'm thankful for Macy, Conner, and Chris. They're the best friends anyone could ask for. Today, I recieved a package in the mail from them for my birthday. They know how to put a smile on my face :)

So sweet :) Happy Tuesday, ya'll. 

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God, our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow." -James 1:17

Life: Finally!

Since day one at Arkansas, I've been searching for some musical people! Not only that, but musical people that love Jesus! I just wanted someone to hang out and play and sing with but I wasnt finding it! So, for the first 4 or 5 months of college, I did music by myself in my room (which is cool too, but i wanted a friend with me!) and I had been getting involved with a worship team at an on campus ministry, which was awesome, but I just wanted to hang out and play for fun too! So, fast forward to.  November, I started going to the Grove Church here in Fayetteville. Love it. I wanted to get involved with their worship so I went to their volunteer meeting. There I met Jason, the worship pastor at the Grove, who invited me out to their worship practice the following Wednesday. I went, and of course loved it. Jason is just as obsessed with Hillsong with I am, so I knew I'd fit right in ;). That night at their worship practice, I met a guy named Connor who goes to the U of A as well. After that, we'd see eachother all the time on campus! Eventually, we decided to hang out and jam. That was this past weekend. AH! Words cant express how much fun I had. Finally, I felt like myself. Finally, I was able to do what I love! We did a few covers and had alot of fun. We recorded one for you guys too! Check it out, and feel free to leave a comment at the bottom :)



House of God Forever // Jon Foreman 

Monday, December 5, 2011

Life: What I Wore


Just wanted to take the time to show off my new headband that I got at the little craft show this past weekend! I've been looking for a new headband like this for a while, so when I saw Mandy's headband assortment, I couldnt resist! So cute and only $10! She even has an Etsy shop, & you can browse her stuff here! These headbands make awesome gifts, I know I'd like one for Christmas :).

Life: Craft Fair Photo Booth

 
Thankful for these ladies.

Your Whole Life: Week 3

Sorry for the late post today, guys! I usually like to get the health posts up early in the morning so I can stay motivated the rest of the day. I've been super busy today, and am finally able to relax and spend some time by myself. Last week was great, health wise! I ate great and am really proud of myself for taking the theme of the week "discipline" and incorporating it into my eating habits and getting to the gym. It was my birthday Saturday, so I ate really healthy all week so I could indulge in a cupcake Saturday night :) Yumma. I met my goal of working out 5 days out of the week too! Actually getting to the gym is the hardest part for me. Once I'm there & get a good work out in, I'm so happy I went. I just need to find a way to motivate myself to make the haul down the big hill and to the gym.

So, this morning I went to weigh myself. They say the best time to weigh yourself is in the morning, after youre done with your morning routine. So thats what I did. I step on the scale and it said I lost 10 pounds in one week. Yeah right. No matter how disciplined I was, I know that couldnt be true. So I step off, put on my clothes for the day, and step back on. This time it said I had lost 5 pounds. Since when do jeans and a shirt weigh 5 pounds? So, with that said, looks like the scale I used isnt accurate at all. Which sucks, because I really dont have any way to track my progress. So...I dont really have an update on how much I lost, but I can tell you this: I fit into a size smaller jeans this week! Yay!

Week 3: 
The theme for this week is The Will and the verse to memorize is:
 "Yet, not my will, but yours be done" -Luke 22:42

Week 3 Goals:
1. Water every day
2. No coffee this week, only green tea. 
3. Work out 5/7 days this week for at least 40 minutes
4. Eat breakfast every morning

*If you didnt know, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Not only for your brain, but for your metabolism. Breakfast is what switches on your metabolism every day. The earlier you eat breakfast, the sooner your body will start burning calories! You gotta eat to loose!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Love: 'Tis The Season

I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that Christmas is hands down one of my very favorite holidays. The cold weather, getting bundled up, the decorations, the music, the snuggles, the gifts, & the family all coming together. Its such a happy time. I cant wait to have my own home to decorate and my own family to celebrate with. One things I'm looking forward to most is creating my own traditions. 

1. After our thanksgiving meal we will watch a
 Christmas movie (like elf, or the grinch) to take us into the Christmas season.
2. "12 Dates of Christmas": me and my husband will have fun
 christmas themed dates, 12 of them, that we go on during the Christmas season.
3. Cookie decorating contest!

I'm sure you get the point :) Do you guys have any traditions now, or some you want to have in the future? What are they? Only 21 more days until Christmas!




^I cant wait to be Santa!

^I know I'm gonna be one of those wifeys/momma's that always have sweet treats available. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but our home will smell delicious :)


^One of my favorite things to do during the winter is to hang my socks by the fire place for about 15 minutes. I let them get all toasty and warm & then slip them on. Ah. Best feeling ever.


^So CUTE! Ornaments! What a great gift idea.



Merry Christmas :)


Saturday, December 3, 2011

Life: Nineteen

Today I turned 19! Dang. Me? Nineteen? Thats crazy. I remember when I was younger and would hear a number like that and think it was so old. Its crazy to think I'm here already! When will time slow down?! Although I didnt get to be back in TX for my birthday, I had such a fun day in my home away from home. I got to spend time with some lovely ladies out on the town in Fayetteville today, had yummy sushi, got to read the sweetest cards ever written, enjoyed a cupcake, and had a movie night. I was very well pleased with how my day went :) Here are some pictures from today:

^I mean...really? Perfect.
^"The Little Craft Show" was held right here in Fayetteville, AR in a church called "The Vintage Fellowship" (again, really? how cute). It was so much fun to see all the unique crafts that these vendors brought in to share with the town. I even met a local blogger, follow her here. There was free coffee and even a photobooth! Such a fun & unique way to spend the day.
^We took a few cute pictures in the photobooth they had at the craft show. They wont be available until later this week, but I cant wait to see them!
^After "The Little Craft Show," we headed over to a small, hidden vintage boutique a few minutes down the road called "Vintage Violet". Such beautiful stuff in there! I was so tempted to get a tan lace scarf. Its unfortunate to be in a place with all these amazing vintage shops when your bank account is running dry!

Later that night we went out for sushi at our favorite place: Tokyo! It was delicious. When we told them it was my birthday, they asked for an ID to prove it! Thats a first.

Our night concluded with cupcakes from the Fayetteville Square, a movie night, and the engagement of one of my very best friends. I'd say it was a good day.