God is Good

“Let the King of my heart be the mountain where I run, the fountain I drink from, He is my song! Let the King of my heart be the shadow where I hide, the ransom for my life, He is my song! You are good! You’re never gonna let me down!” - King of My Heart by John Mark McMillan

Today has been one of those days. A day that takes “I’m good” to a sigh followed by “I guess I’m okay.” I went to church this morning, knowing it would be slightly different for me. A girl in our ministry has passed during the week and while I wasn’t exactly close to her, I felt the affect her loss greatly. I volunteered to help direct traffic for her memorial and while I was standing in the parking lot, I found myself singing “King of My Heart.” It’s a strange thing to be attending a funeral and to start singing “God, you are good.” What is good about this situation? A beautiful, young, kind, intelligent, beloved child and friend had just been taken from us.

Earlier that morning in our bible, we came together and prayed for her family. During our service, we praised God that he is there even when we are hurting. We danced and sang even though we had heavy hearts. The situation was not good, but we knew that our God was good. We were not joyful that she was gone, but we were joyful that she had gone home to be with her Father.

It’s during the hard times that we see how good God is. When you are brought to your knees in tears, when you freeze because you just received devastating news, it’s in those moments we can see God. When the community comes around a person, when the church prays and praises, it shows how powerful our God is. He doesn’t let bad things happen, he uses bad things to bring people to his glory. Romans 8:28 says that we “know in all things God works for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose.” I don’t know yet what good is going to come out of this, but I do know my God. I know his heart and his character, and I know he is always, always, always good.

Wherever you are today, whatever burden you struggling with, know that God is always good!  He is victorious over all pain and suffering! He freely gives hope and grace! He faithful to remain by your side and bring you into righteousness! There is nowhere he cannot reach you, He will never leave you nor forsake you, for he is good and he is God.

God is Greater

            Anyone who listens to Christian music knows the classic “Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other!” Maybe you still know all the hand motions from that summer you volunteered in Children's ministry, I know I do! It is such a good song, full of so much truth! I find that so many worship songs are full of so many wonderful things and while we are singing them, we don’t really take to heart what is being said. In this song, when we sing that “Our God is greater”, we are making a comparison between God and something else.
           That something else can be literally anything. God is always greater, no matter what the other thing is. God is greater than chocolate chunk ice cream, greater than death, greater than the beach, greater than news broadcasts, greater than all! Our God is greater! That is so awesome! Saying this is not making a simple statement! When we say that, we are declaring that our God is greater than every single person, place, thing, idea, and circumstance. It is a statement of praise, submitting ourselves to God and admitting that nothing can compare to him!
            We declare that our God is greater, but we don’t always live like we know that this is true. We know in our heart that God is greater, yet in our head, we make back-up plans and we worship other things. Those other things are what get in the way of our complete and total submission to him! Think for a bit about what you place before God, what you worship instead of him. When you realize how awesome God is, all the other things seen worthless in comparison.
            God is bigger than your idols. He is bigger than the other things and people you worship. You put value in your phone? God is greater. You put value in what other people think of you? God is greater. You put value in the media? God is greater. There are things we worship without realizing it, but if you prioritize it above God, it is an idol. All of those things we think are important, all the things we value, God is greater.
             God is bigger than your stress. God is greater than the things that you get so caught up in, the things that drag you down. He will gladly take that heavy burden off of you, he is great enough to take every fear and worry and remove it from you. God is so much greater than the burdens you carry and the stress that threatens to overcome you. When you give your life to God, those worries fade away because he cares for you.
            God is bigger than your dreams and plans. God knows that we don’t always trust him with our futures and it breaks his heart. He has a perfect plan for you, and by making your own plans you deny that his is better. He is greater than everything that you want for your life. He knows what is best for you, he knows how to take care of you.
            God is bigger than your circumstances. If you are going through really hard times, if you are in your lowest valley, God is still greater. There is no place that God cannot reach you. He is bigger than your highest high, he is great enough to meet you at your lowest low. Everything you are going through, when you give it to him, it becomes smaller and smaller. Give you circumstances to the Lord, he can handle it. He is big enough for you.
            God is bigger than your sins. If you think you have sinned too much for God, you’re wrong. There is no sin that God cannot cast aside. There is no place you have gone that he cannot find you. God is so much greater than anything you have ever done.
            No matter what, God is greater. He is stronger, he is higher. Our God is worthy of every praise, every second. He is overcomes everything we think or feel. He is great enough for you.

Plan With Me | How I Schedule Blog and Instagram Posts

            Life gets so busy, especially trying to balance school work with my blog, Etsy, and Instagram! I wanted to stop in and show y’all how I keep myself organized and make sure everything gets done when it needs to be! I have a Create 365 Happy Planner by Me and My Big Ideas! I love this planner because I can add pages wherever I want and decorate/ lay them out however I want!

             At the very top of each weekly spread, I write out my verse for the week! This is just one way to help me in memorizing it!
             The top row is for the bible pages I will do that day. This keeps me on track for finishing my journaling bible, which is a goal I have for the next few years! This month I am working through the book of Exodus- just trying something new! I also do a few other pages each day to mix things up!
             The middle row is for the blog/ instagram post that will go live that day. I put instagram posts into Later and preupload my blogs to Blogger and save them as drafts. This helps me so much the day of, all I have to do is press send and promote!

            At the bottom, I have my daily maintenance and deadlines for when things need to be done. I put the posts that are going up a week in the future here because I like to have time to schedule and make sure everything is done!
            Also at the bottom, I put any maintenance that I am doing that day. The categories for maintenance are: blog editing, working on custom orders/ art to sell in my Etsy shop, Etsy maintenance (uploading new posts, taking old ones down, updating my profile and mission statement, ect.), and blog and Instagram maintenance (updating bios, sharing posts on social media, ect.). These things don’t need to be done daily, but I do need to give each task some time in a week.
           I’m sure to a lot of people this looks really confusing, but it works for me! I wanted to share how I do this because when I was starting out my blog, I had so much trouble balancing things. I hope that this can help out anyone who needs it, or just give a glimpse into what life looks like for me!

Choosing Each Day

        What do you do when you wake up in the mornings? I always see things talking about how important your morning routine is, so I started to rethink mine. I decided I wanted to start this year off on a good foot and reorient how I spend my mornings. I almost always go on my phone and spend 15 minutes on Instagram, but this week, I challenged myself to read a devotion! The one I choose to start 2018 is from YouVersion and titled Choosing Each Day! It is super short, only 3 days and the devos themselves aren’t long, so it was a great way to ease into this routine!
        Choosing each day means choosing God each day! To do this, you have to ask where your thoughts go as your mind becomes alert. For me, that is to school work, instagram, my friends, my family, what I’m wearing that day, what I want for breakfast, what I have planned, my to-do list, and how I look. Notice that God is not on that list. The first step in choosing God each day is to wake up and actively seek him!
        The steps to seeking God are to first thank him for the new day, then acknowledge his sovereignty, and finally spend time in the word and in prayer. One thing you can do is put a scripture where you will see it in the morning to remind yourself to do these things. I also recommend making a christian pop playlist that gets you moving! Spotify has a good one called Workout under the Christian genre, but there are so many other good ones out there!
        Now, all of that seems easy in writing, but it isn’t so simple in practice. There are some things you can tell yourself to help you get through the hard days. The first is to remember that each day belongs to the Lord! We are simply giving what is already his back to him! Then, know that his grace covers all and that we can only do all of these things by grace! If it weren’t for grace, none of this would be possible! Another important thing to remember is that it takes moment by moment focus to reorient our wandering minds on him! It does not come easy because it is not in our nature, we sometimes need to work towards the Lord. Make it a habit to check in on your thoughts and direct them back to the Lord!
        Each day we are presented with a choice between ourselves and God. Focusing on ourselves causes us to become discouraged because we cannot accomplish anything on our own. Focusing on God brings is peace, hope, and renewal. “Humanly speaking, it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Focusing on God puts our whole day in perspective and brings immense joy and purpose into our lives!
        Here are some scriptures to remind yourself that each day you are given the choice to worship God!
        "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14-15
        “Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23
        “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1
        And here’s a closeup of the pages I journaled my notes on! I love journaling devotions like this because I can be creative, but also have a clear reminder of what I learned that day!

        What do you do first thing in the morning to make God the center of your day? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

January TBR

        Happy 2018 everybody! I am so excited to see what books are in store for me this year! I had one of my best reading years last year, in terms of books read and average rating, and I am hoping to carry that into this year! My goals are to read at least a book a week and to read one non-fiction book per month! So, just keep on reading for my January TBR and to see how I am planning on accomplishing those goals this month!
        The first book I am hoping to finish is Once and For All by Sarah Dessen! I started reading it on New Year’s Eve (who needs to party when you have books) and I am hoping to finish it this week before I go back to school!
        Then, I am planning on reading A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi. I have heard such good things about this one and from the little bit I have already read, she has the most wonderful writing! I am excited to see what this world has in store for me!
         After that, I want to read Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi. I know very little about this book, but from what I know, it sounds awesome! It has something to do with eating people’s sins and I am very intrigued! (Plus, it’s under 300 pages, which is the kind of quick read I want right now!)
        Then, I plan on reading The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace. Again, I know very little about this one (I’m kinda sensing a theme here- it’s basically that I didn’t feel like doing any real research…). I saw it on a list of books where I also found The Graces, which I read last month and loved! It has also been shelved as paranormal mystery and magical realism on Goodreads, which is all I really need to know!
        At some point this month, I want to Auggie and Me by R.J. Palacio. I read Wonder last month and loved it, so I am excited to get a little bit more from these characters! It seems like a quick, cute read, which I am always in the mood for!
        My non-fiction book for this month is Unashamed by Lecrae. I started reading it a while ago and never finished, despite loving it! I love Lecrae’s music and his story is so interesting! I would love to understand him, and his music, a bit better!
         Lastly, I am really hoping to read Once Was a Time by Leila Sales. I was browsing in the middle grade section at my library, and the name stuck out to me. Then, I realized that it was the author of This Song Will Save Your Life, one of my favorite books of last year! This one is a time travel/historical fiction novel and I am so excited to read it!
       Okay, that is a lot of books, I know, but I’m feeling a bit overly ambitious right now! What books are you planning on reading this month? I would love to know!

My Word for 2018

        Love. That was my word for 2017. I wanted to give reckless and unconditional love to everybody I met. And I do not think I accomplished that, not at the capacity I know I am capable of. If I am completely honest, I had to go back to my post from last year to remember what my word was. I just let go of the concept as the year went on. It wasn’t what I thought I needed to be working on, I guess. In retrospect, I wish I had been working at it, or had at least given it a little bit of thought. But no, I did not do that.
        As the year went on, my word became more of a phrase and took on a whole different purpose. I read a lot about pouring out all your love and joy to people and then finding your fulfillment in God. It was the idea of the pouring out to be filled up, the constant give and take, that became my “word” for last year. While I did do better at this than loving, it was still not amazing.
        This year my word is balance. Finding the balance between work, school, friends, church, personal health, and other hobbies. The past few months, working has been about 60% of my time. Everything is taken up with writing, making art, taking photos, selling things, and contacting customers. I love what I am doing, don’t get me wrong, but when finals week rolled around and I was knee deep in orders and never actually studied for my AP World      History final, that’s when this became a real problem. Not only will finding balance help me to find my sanity, it will help me to prioritize the things that matter. By that, I mean my faith, family and friends, and school. In giving more attention to faith, things like love, peace, and joy will surely come.
         I already know that balance is not an easy thing to find. I am starting this journey by creating a more consistent posting schedule that will be easier to follow. This will hopefully help me to not stress out writing last minute posts and having deadlines sneak up on me.
         I am also trying to do an online devotional every morning to get in time with the Lord on a daily basis. I like this better than a book because I can study whatever I am struggling with or want to learn more about. If you have any favorite devotionals or websites, please let me know!
        What is your word for this year? I would love to know! Have a wonderful day!

Top 17 Books of 2017

What a year 2017 has been! I read a total of 54, which means I completed my Goodreads goal *happy dance*. I really didn’t think I would make it when November came to a close because I had only read 41 books! Ahhhh! But December was an awesome month that made up for my end-of-year book slump, putting me over my goal! I went back and looked over the 54 books I had read in 2017 and decided upon my top 17 of 2017 list! While most people say their lists are in “no specific order”, that is not the case here! I took quite a bit of time and put them in the definite order of how much I enjoyed them! I hope y’all enjoy perusing my list of the best books of 2017!

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 
2. One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake 
3. Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas (I read the entire series this year, so I am including all of them- but my favorite has to be Heir of Fire!) 
4. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas 
5. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare
6. Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett 
7. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell 
8. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Again, I read both this year, but if I had to pick, Six of Crows was my favorite!) 
9. We Were Liars by E Lockhart 
10. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi 
11. Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco ( Hunting Prince Dracula was was my favorite!)
12. The Call by Peadar O Guilin 
13. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin 
14. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher 
15. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales 
16. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 
17. An Ember in the Ashes and A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir (Loved both, but An Ember in the Ashes was my favorite!)

What was your favorite book of this year? Comment down below! I would love to hear from you!