Continuing On

“She was unstoppable. Not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them.” Beau Taplin

Today is a day when I just have to tell tiredness, too bad. Too bad tiredness, today I'm being productive and awesome. For some reason today I'm fighting.

Fighting apathy. Fighting laziness. Fighting for motivation. Fighting for perseverance. Fighting the desire to indulge in self.

Tired adds 5 extra pounds to any feeling, and it's easy to let it weigh us down.

But alas, the winds of change and determination. Today I choose to make up my own mind and push through the tiredness. So, I laugh. I ask questions. I set goals.

How often do I underestimate the power of my own will? Of making up my own mind to choose something different, something better? I underestimate myself in that regard, thinking I have to accept whatever comes to me, that whatever I'm feeling is all there is. So false!

The value of continuing on despite mistakes, doubts, tiredness....

I even believe that oftentimes, God simply desires that from us, our moving. Pulsing, fighting, not stagnant. He knows we are like dust, humans with sin natures. He knows we can't, by ourselves, be anything but that.

But we can continue on! We can remain turned in the direction of God, whether we take leaps, go two steps forward and one step back (which, by the way, is still a step forward!)

It's not that I won't doubt, or fail, or make a mistake, or be exhausted.... but real change hinges on whether I stop in the midst of those things, or keep moving. I won't get it right every time, sometimes I'll even wallow in my tiredness, but... Grace catches us when we inevitably don't do things perfectly. But the marvelous reality is that grace lets us TRY.

What do you think?

And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11

photo via

What I've Learned: From Having A Best Friend

That friend that you can actually say back their home phone number and the names of their parents, a rarity in a world where everyone is so connected on the surface. It’s that friend who brings about the best and most meaningful of conversations, about life and love. Sometimes those conversations don’t even involve words. Just sitting. And looking forward. And acknowledging the silence or the pain, the joy or the confusion.

It’s that friend that pushes us and challenges us. They tell us that yes, we did good, but they definitely know we can do better. It’s that friend that we will never have to question if one day we will be without them or if a fight will cause our friendship to rip. We know in 10, 20, 50 years, they will still be the best listeners to the stories we tell.

It’s that friend whom you grow up with, believing you can give them the world. It’s that friend that holds you when you find out for the first time that the world doesn’t always have to be kind to you. It’s that friend that you can tell with conviction, “the world is going to love you.” And then you think in your head, the world would be crazy not to. via

One of the greatest things about having a best friend is that I'm not afraid of showing my heart of hearts. I know she'll love me through it.

One of the greatest things about being a best friend is the joy of loving someone -- & being present -- through the thickest and the thinnest.

We've been together since we made up our secret handshake in 2nd grade. We've been through valleys and mountaintops together, seasons of distance -- sometimes geographically, sometimes emotionally.

I've learned a lot from her -- she's strong, beautiful, determined, outgoing.

I've learned how to be brave and take chances.

I've learned to step out of my comfort zone.

I've learned to not get stuck inside my head, bogged down by my anxieties. (She's pretty great at lovingly calling me out on that.)

I've learned to believe the best in people.

I've learned what it means to love continually.

She rocks -- thankful & happy she's my best friend.

Coffee in a Tin

If I enjoying drinking coffee I would want it packaged like this. Halfway lovely and minimal, half adventurous and multifunctional.

From the designer themselves, Also Known As, "An attractive shape, an airtight seal, something unexpected."

Thoughts?

A Prayer For 2015

Spinning off She Reads Truth for this post.

May we use the coming days, this new year, as an opportunity not to (only) clean out closets and lose that stubborn 10 pounds, but to reorient our hearts and our gaze to the One in whom our only hope rests, Jesus Christ our Lord.  

O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in Thy presence,
in Thy service, to Thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from Thee,
but may rely on Thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth Thy praise,
testify Thy love,
advance Thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with Thee, O Father as my harbor,
Thee, O Son, at my helm,
Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to Thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.

Give me Thy grace to sanctify me,
Thy comforts to cheer,
Thy wisdom to teach,
Thy right hand to guide,
Thy counsel to instruct,
Thy law to judge,
Thy presence to stabilize.
May Thy fear by my awe,
Thy triumphs my joy

(Valley of Vision)

An attitude over a resolution.

I don't know what 2015 has in store for me, my loved ones, or the world. I know I'd like to commit more Scripture to memory. I know I'd like to develop a lifestyle of activity to keep my body feeling good. I know I'd like to talk more than I text.

I think these are nice and noble resolutions, but I wonder if (for me) a resolve to encounter God, might be more of what my 2015 needs. Remembering that He doesn't keep a record my failures, and that He doesn't want to count my accomplishments. My eternity, my fate, my purpose, my life in Christ, is sealed. With that truth in stone, with that written across my heart... what's next? Celebrating, admiring, resting in, confiding in Him -- relationship with Him. My life, one unflinching gaze upon the glory of Christ.

One day we will all awaken from this dream called the universe, this dream called life, to the sheer reality of God's I AM-ness. And when we do--when you do--will your life have been built on the shadow or the substance? Will you have lived your life for "it was" or for "I AM"? (Look and Live)

God, a believer's true Home. The real Glory. The Infinitely Interesting.

"God commands us to love Him more than anything else because He knows that anything we love more than Him is going to betray us." Matt Papa

"Our whole business in this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen." Augustine

"Our eyes will not go upward to the Lord of themselves, but they incline to look downward, or inward, or anywhere but the Lord." Spurgeon

Fix my eyes.

That's my resolution for 2015.

Excited about this new year! A full year as a wife, a full year working a full-time job I really enjoy, a full year of being back in my hometown as a married college graduate.

The Fullest Year To Date

I graduated from college.. one of the coolest days of my life.

Participated in my senior Graphic Design Program exit show. Months of late nights and stressful moments to finally be completed for a great night.

Celebrated my 22nd birthday with some of the sweetest people in my life to date. The most fun surprise!

Left a church family of almost four years. Being apart of these people helped shape who I am today. Happy our roots are tangled.

Got engaged! Another sweet day of my life's story. A surreal moment.

Spent the summer catching up with my sister and family, memory-making with the best.

Married! Incredible day. Too many special moments to count. Thankful to the Lord for such a day.

Spent a great week in Asheville, North Carolina for our honeymoon. Hiking, eating, relaxing, quality time together.

Our first home together. Learning our lives together. Enjoying each other.

By the grace of God, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the love of my man, I have been growing, and learning, and loving. The year was full, beautiful, bittersweet, emotional, joyful, sweet, peaceful. I will always look back on this year, 2014, and smile.