Do one thing every day that scares you.

Take a second and think about all the things you fear. Some people fear failure, or animals, or being their true selves. There is so much to fear in this world. Fear is something we are born with. When you're young it may just be the thought of the monster in your closet but as you get older that monster may become something else. We all have a monster in our closest, its nothing to be ashamed of. So since we all have something that scares us we all have something we need to face daily. If you do one thing that scares you every day you can make so much progress on becoming a stronger person. Face your fears for God is with you.

Zig Ziglar once said,"F-E-A-R has two meanings; Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. The choice is yours."

Verse of the day

"We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn't hope. Who hopes for what they already see? But if we hope for what we don't see, we wait for it with patience." -Romans 8:24-25

Verse of the day

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged; for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Waiting

Please wait..... We wait for things to load. We wait to be seated. We wait for things to be ready. We wait for the future. We wait for everything. From the second we are born we are waiting for death. In all this waiting do we ever think about how much we might miss. Life shouldn't be a waiting game. We should make the time we have something incredible and forget that we are waiting. There is always something you can do instead of waiting. Go out and push boundaries, move mountains, be adventurous. Don't wait for things go out and make them happen. Waiting for time to pass is a waste. Go be incredible, wait for nothing. Happy Thanksgiving. Have a blessed day!

Verse of the day

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1Thessalonians 5:18

Verse of the day

"And do whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

Home Stretch

Home…. the one place you want to be. As you round the bases, home is where you're running to. It’s the same thing with life. No matter where you go or what you face there is always a home you can get to. As I have recently moved away from my home it is hard to face life… you're away from your family, scared and all alone. You round the bases by yourself only with words of advice and encouragement you hear from others on your team. No matter how far you are away from home your team and fans are always rooting for you. Remember you can always go home. 

Have a happy Tuesday!

Verse of the day

“Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name!” Psalm 100:4

Strong people come from hard battles

My amazing friend and Zeta sister, Erin Pollard, truly inspires me. This weekend was our Semi-Formal and Erin chose to accept the honor of bringing Mr. Garett Parrish. Now I know you're probably wondering what is so great about this, it just sounds like a normal date, but Garett is no ordinary date, he is an extraordinary one. Recently Garett and Erin, long time friends, were out of school for a snow day. Garett was involved in a tragic accident stripping him of a simple and normal life. Now Garett is paralyzed and has experienced much hardship with all that has flooded his life. Garett, an athletic fun loving teen, has not lost his spirit. He is still one incredible human being, bringing laughter and light to any room he is in.

I wanted to write about these two incredible people after Erin posted the most inspiring comment on her Instagram photo.

"The world is in desperate need of more Garetts. While most of us are probably stressing over the most petty things like what to wear, homework, or relationship problems, for the past 9 months Garett has much bigger battles to wake up to, but he wakes up with a smile on his face and goes at it and gives 110%. What a different place this world would be if we all had his attitude and determination."

Garett's story is truly inspiring. Always remember that no matter what struggles face you or how hard the fight is going to be wake up everyday and give your all. Everyone has a Garett in them, find your Garett and do that every single day you walk this earth. Thank you Garett for being you!

"We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future." -Steve Maraboli

Verse of the day

"I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles." Isaiah 42:6

Happy Saturday everyone!

CNN Films

Hey everyone! So I wanted to let everyone know that tomorrow night, Sunday November 22nd 2015, at 8PM ET on CNN there will be a CNN film called "The Hunting Ground." This is a film about sexual assault on campus. Being a college student this is something that I see and hear about more frequently than you'd like to. If you want more info about the film go online to CNN's website and they have information about it. It is going to be very interesting and have a lot of information so be sure to check it out!

Facebook Finds

So as I was browsing through Facebook I found this sort of quote/picture thing and I just had to share. It said, "I gave you $10, he gave you $20. You felt that he was better just because he gave you more. But he had $200 dollars, and all I had was $10."

Just think about this... very deep and inspiring!

Daily Devotional

So GREAT news!!!! My package from Amazon finally came in so that means I get to start my new devotional, Women of the Word!!! I am super excited to be able to start this journey and I hope y'all enjoy this hearing about my study and things I read!!!

I am starting just with the introduction today because I really want to go step by step and work through the entire thing. When I opened to the introduction the first thing it says is "How do you move a mountain? One spoonful of dirt at a time." -Chinese proverb

I would like to share with everyone the opening of the introduction because it really spoke to me. "This is a book about moving a mountain. The mountain is my own, though I admit that I overlooked its existence until I was in my twenties. I suspect it may be your mountain as well, but you'll have to decide that for yourself. Unlike Pikes Peak or Kilimanjaro, this mountain does not immediately announce itself to our vision-it takes time to see. Thankfully, unlike a real mountain, this one can be moved. That's a good thing, because there is something unspeakably beautiful to behold on the other side." (Wilkin p.15)

It doesn't matter the size of your mountain, when you realize your mountain, or when you finally want to move it always take it one spoonful at a time. It will take time to move and at first you might not see much improvement on it but over time you will and eventually the mountain will be moved and you will have a magnificent view! Happy Thursday everyone!!!

Verse of the day

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

In conjunction with "Presentations" if claim to life a certain way you must act like it, you must devote your life to that ideology and present yourself the way that life demands. Happy Hump Day!

Presentations

Quick.. what is the first thing to come to mind when you hear the word presentation? 3...2...1... Lots of options could have just popped in your head. Most of you probably thought about a business presentation or the presenting of information to a group. As presentations can bring thoughts of a type of presentation they can also bring thoughts of emotions or anxiety to people. However, one thing a lot of people don't think about is "myself". Everyday you wake up and throughout the day you are presenting yourself. When you get up you make the decision of what you're going to wear, if you're going to be on time or not, how you're going to act, etc. Throughout the day as events take place you are called to make a decision, are you going to let it change how you want to present yourself. As you have these thoughts always keep in mind how you want to be perceived. Nothing and no one is worth putting your self image in jeopardy. Always put how you want to be presented and viewed first and let that influence your daily responses to events rather than the other way around. 

One of my favorite quotes says, "Let your smile change the world, don't let the world change your smile." -Zouhair Medemo 

Verse of the day

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." Mark 12:30-31

Toss Back Tuesday

Have you ever just thought back to when you were a little kid? You think about how care free you were. How you weren't afraid to take that leap of faith and just try something. When you would get knocked down you'd instantly pop back up and continue on like nothing bad happened. Then you get to the age where things start hurting a little more, life is a little scarier, and you are starting to have more responsibilities. Then you continue on and maybe think about being in middle school. Most of us had our awkward years, some got bullied, people were a lot meaner. Then high school, some people's worst years and other's best. Now you have lots of responsibilities, things hurt way more than you ever imagined, and life is getting pretty terrifying. Now that I am in college all of these past moments seem minuscule to how terrified I am of the future, how many responsibilities I have now, things hurt so much more than they ever had and I'm wondering how in the world I am even an adult now and have no clue what I'm doing. There's one thing we don't realize through the years though... as people come in and out of our lives and as all of these things are happening we sometimes forget who has always been there. When you fall down who is there to scoop you up and make sure you're okay. Who teaches you how to kick life's butt. Who will never just walk away because you're at your worst. God of course is what a lot of people may instantly think but what about the two people that God gave you. We take those two people for granted for the majority of our lives but now I'm at the point that I see how much they do and have done for me. Now I call them regularly for the advice I used to just dismiss. Or to cry to them when things go wrong when I used to try to keep my problems from them. Today when you think about your old memories think of your parents. Be grateful and maybe share with them how much you appreciate them.

Monday Motivation

Being a Zeta Tau Alpha at Texas Tech is such an honor to me and impacts my life to incredible extents. Each Monday during chapter our wonderful chaplain, Paige, continuously inspires me. This week in a post-chapter email Paige sent, "We do not have this life figured out, or all the answers to the vast questions that are within each of us, nor have we been made perfect…but if each of us continues to press on to take hold of what Jesus Christ has for us, we will not be left unchanged. Turn your eyes heavenward as you eagerly seek His presence here in this place. You are not here by accident." Remember always that you have a purpose, there is a plan for you, always keep going. Sometimes times get tough and all you can do is trust in the Lord and keep praising Him and yourself. Celebrate even the smallest victories and cherish the defeats, they are a learning experience. Be gracious and humble, you are loved and incredible! Happy Monday! 

Happy Meals

Everyone knows the childhood favorite McDonald's "Happy Meal." We all remember how joyful we became when we would get that cardboard box usually with a smile on it or some cool design. We remember sitting in the room with the playground and enjoying some nuggets with our friends. The collection of tiny plastic toys we would acquire and always trying to complete the collection, but lets be real... no one ever did. Now, thinking about it, what is a happy meal? Does a happy meal do good? Is it actually happy? What if the happiest of meals was actually one of the saddest meals? The Last Supper was a happy meal but one that signified the end of a life... but the saving of all others. I believe it isn't the meal itself but possibly the fellowship had over the meal, the fact you get a meal at all, the fact that meal you are eating is made possible because of a divine Lord. A happy meal is one you believe is happy and one you believe joy will come from... any meal is a happy meal if it nourishes your body. Today and everyday make all meals happy meals. Share the joy of having that meal with others, carry the joy from the meal into the world, and most importantly always be grateful that the meal you are enjoying is in front of you. Not everyone gets meals but no matter if you get one meal every 2 or 3 days or if you get one every few hours be gracious and generous.


"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples."
                                                                           - First Chronicles 16:8

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."
                                                                           - 1 Corinthians 11:26

"Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when He had said the blessing He broke it and gave it to His disciples. 'Take it and eat,' He said, 'this is my body.' Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He handed the cup to them saying, 'Drink from this, all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'
                                                                            - Matthew 26:26-28