School is almost over, it’s warm outside, I’ve already been on the lake, I’m wearing shorts again, I can hear summer calling. Man, I love summer. I love the warm weather, I love when the sun is out, I love taking trips, I love being tan, I love having a break, I LOVE IT ALL.
But this summer is going to look different than all my other ones. This summer I have an awesome opportunity, to move to North Carolina for an internship. Am I going? HECK YES. Am I nervous? HECK YES x2!!!
Let’s get real friends, most people don’t like change. As for myself, I don’t have a problem with it, but this one is much bigger than anything I’ve experienced. I’ve lived in Conway my whole life, WHOLE LIFE. So although it’s only the summer, 3 months in a new location, with new people, experiencing all these new things makes me very nervous. But while I may be a little anxious, I do know this — The Lord tells me in Joshua 1, that he is with me wherever I go.
“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
I’m nervous, but I’m so ready to see what the Lord wants to teach me through this. So here’s to summer, here’s to taking on new adventures, here’s to trusting the Lord and seeing where he leads me from here. Bring it on, Summer 2019.
This may seem a little contradictory to my last post, but just roll with me here for a second. The semester is almost over, there is a ton of things piling up, finals are about to start, let’s just say it is getting stressful. And while I am still sticking to what I said before about pushing through and to just keep going, I do think there is a balance we have to maintain. Taking a break is OKAY, it’s just the amount of them, and what we do with them that can get us into trouble.
Let’s get real, this time of year brings out the worst in us. We stop hanging out with our friends, we get super school focused, and honestly we get really cranky and overwhelmed because we just want it to end. Well, I’ve found over my years in college that I have to have a break. I am not the girl who can sit there for hours and hours and continue to do things without having one. Otherwise I go crazy, my head hurts, I start writing random things, and I get mad. So I say, give yourself a break. Go do something, have fun, reenergize, and take a step back for a minute.
But what do you do with your break? How do you make it productive?
My favorite thing about it, is that you can make it your own. Do whatever you want, but here’s a little advice on it, set a time limit (I usually give myself anywhere from 30 min-an hour and a half depending on what I’m trying to get done), and do something that refuels you, something that is FUN!
These are my top 5 ways I take my breaks:
Car rides, music loud, windows down
Ice cream break, (an all time favorite of mine)
Get outside!!! (on the pretty days anyways)
Quick game of monopoly deal or spicy uno with my people (if you don’t know what either of these games are, I highly recommend)
Shop shop shop (I may have a problem, but it’s fun for me so here we are)
I encourage you, work hard, get things done, but take a break, refuel yourself, and then get back to it. We’re gonna make it, but we can still have fun in the middle of it.
Honestly, this has been my tiny reminder for the past two weeks. Friends, the semester is almost over!!! (I can’t tell if I’m more excited or nervous)
But the end always comes with something, (at least for me) and that’s LAZZZIIIINESSSSS. Yep. I said it. I get really lazy at the end. Especially when the weather gets warm, and the sun comes out. In that moment I realize I really don’t want to go to school anymore. Hopefully some of you can relate?!
Well I’m here to encourage you that you are not the only one, we are all in this together.
So here’s my challenge:
Get real with yourself. How much effort are you actually putting into these last few weeks? How hard are you working? If you’re like me, you know you aren’t trying your hardest, and that’s OKAY!! But let’s shift that, let’s work hard, and finish strong.
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23
We’re so close. We’re gonna get through it. We’re gonna get to summer. JUST KEEP GOING, and I’ll see you on the other side!
This is not a sentence you hear very often, at least you typically don’t from a college student, but it’s 100% true for me. I love my job. I have the awesome opportunity to be a dance teacher, specifically to the competition team within the studio that I grew up in. When I tell you it is a dream come true, i’m not just pulling your leg, or making it out to be better than it is, it really is something I dreamed about as a kid.
I’ve been dancing since I was two, started competitively in 6th grade, began to assist in 10th grade, and started teaching as soon as I graduated high school. I love it. But the thing I want to emphasize in this is the phrase I hit above when I said “awesome opportunity”.
I think we forget that every situation, job, conversation, place, etc. that we are put in is an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to either bring negativity, or positivity to whatever circumstance or situation that is. If we allow ourselves, we can find the opportunities wherever we are to love people, to affirm them, encourage them, be there for them, or point them to Jesus. When we choose to find the positivity in it, when we choose to see where we are as an opportunity to point people back to God, it changes our entire perspective on it.
“ Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone…” Galatians 6:10
I’m lucky enough to love my job, and find the opportunities in it. I get to teach the most hard-working and fun group of girls, who trust me a whole lot. I get to teach them not only dance, but I get the opportunity to pour into them, to help mold them into who they are going to be one day, I get to be an influence to them, and that’s something I don’t take lightly. It’s challenging, some days are really hard, sometimes I still don’t want to go to work, I don’t get it right all the time, but I do my best to remind myself that I have an opportunity here. I have a chance to show these girls how much Jesus loves them, and that’s something I hope I never take for granted.
So whether you love your job, or hate it, I challenge you, get real, find the opportunities, encourage the people around you, point them back to Jesus, switch your perspective, and then see what happens.
Honestly, one of the best parts about being in college is still getting to have breaks. Fall break, thanksgiving break, Christmas break, spring break, summer break, sign me up for all of it!
This past spring break was great for me. It was full of fun, but also full of rest. While on break I realized just how important rest is. I am the kind of girl who likes to go, and go, and go, and go, and go, until she can’t go anymore. I get irritated when I am not doing something, sitting on the couch for too long puts me in a weird mood, and I would always rather be doing something than just sitting around. BUT, I’ve noticed recently that the more you go, the more rest you need, otherwise (if you’re like me) you go a little crazy.
Coffee, check.
Movies, check.
Ice cream, check.
Sunshine, check.
Friends, check.
Sweet treat, check.
Rest is important, and although it is something I don’t do very well, I am learning how much it is needed in order to do things successfully. So I took spring break to rest, and I mean really rest. But if you’re like me, you might not understand what rest looks like, here’s what I’ve discovered.
Rest is anything that refuels you, recharges you, and gives you more energy than you had before. That looks different for everyone. For me, my rest comes from putting away my laptop so I don’t do any work, not responding to any messages from work (unless extremely important), and spending time doing things I love. (hanging with friends, watching a good movie, shopping, taking a road trip, etc.)
The funny thing about it, is that the Lord encourages us to rest.
“The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
So I encourage you, take some time, rest, do something you love, put down your phone, stop doing work, but find a time where you can rest, and rest well. Let’s be real, it’s hard to do, but we need it more than we realize.
I feel like the phrase “where are you going” is the most common phrase when you are in college. “Where are you going to college?” “Where are you going after college?” “Where are you going to get a job?” “Where is your major going to take you?” “Where are you going to live?” etc.
I think it can become extremely overwhelming to try and figure out where we are going, especially in our early twenties, because if I’m being honest majority of the time I still feel like I’m a 14 year old.
So, let’s get real. For me, thinking about my future makes me want to throw up. I don’t know exactly where I’m going to go, I’m still unsure what exactly I want to do, I get confused about it a lot, and right now it is the main question I get asked. Can anyone relate?? (please say yes) But over the past couple of months, I’ve realized that the main reason it scares me is because I want to make the right choice, so much so that when opportunities come around, I freak out because I’m not sure which one is “right”. (I’m sure you can relate to that too)
As a christian, and a college student, I feel like the verse Jeremiah 29:11 is constantly something people say or try to remind us of. If I’m being real, I got pretty tired of that verse. I didn’t want to hear it. It kind of felt like a broken record. I knew it was true, but I didn’t know if I believed it was true for me. I was just tired of hearing it. But a few weeks ago I came across it again, and this time in a new way.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Let me tell you what I’ve been learning about this. I’ve learned that no matter what choice I make, or where I go, as long as I trust the Lord and run after him, he’ll be with me in that decision.
Yes, this choice may look different than that choice. Yes, the opportunities that come from this choice may look different than the opportunities that come from that choice. But, no matter what choice I make, as long as I trust him, he’ll be with me every step. That is because healready knows the choice I am going to make, he already knows what’s next, his plans for my life will come to pass.
So the next time you’re freaking out about what’s next, the next time you are confused about a decision, or even afraid to make a decision — remember that the Lord knows where you’re going, and he’s not going to leave you where you are. In fact he loves you too much to just to leave you where you’re at. So much so that he has plans to prosper you, plans for you that are full of hope, plans that are perfect, plans that will come to fruition, plans that give you a future.
It’s okay if you don’t know where you’re going, but don’t ever forget that The Lord knows where you’re going, and he’s right there with you every step of the way.
You probably read this title and thought I was going to give you a 3-step process into making the hard things look, or even feel easier. To be quite honest, I wish that I could, I wish it was that simple, but it’s not. I’m sure all of you can relate to this, but sometimes it feels like the world is out to get me. If I’m being real, sometimes things pile up so high I would rather run away from what’s going on around me then to face it. Maybe you got a bad grade on a test, or got into it with your boss, or a close friend, or maybe you got some really hard news that you weren’t expecting. Whatever it is, it seems to be making life a little harder than you’d like. Trust me, I HAVE BEEN THERE.
This semester has been challenging, so much so where everything I listed above was happening at the same time in my life. Although it was overwhelming, it taught me a lot on how to handle it when hard things come my way. Naturally my mind wants to focus on the negative parts of what is happening. I can sometimes become a “worst- case scenario” type of girl. In these moments, I have to take a step back and remind myself of the Lord’s goodness.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
“Tell God what you need, AND thank him for all he has done” — that part hits me. In the hard times it’s easy for me to hit the Lord with a list of everything that I need, but I often times forget to thank him for what he has done. So, I had to retrain my mind.
When I get a bad grade on a test, or an assignment, I thank the Lord for the opportunity to continue my education (no matter how much I’m not a fan of school)
When I get into it with my boss, I thank the Lord for the opportunities I have at my job and how much I love it.
When my friend and I get into an argument over something, I thank the Lord for giving me people in my life that care about me.
When I get really hard news I wasn’t expecting, I thank the Lord for being right there in the middle of it.
When I’m going through hard times, I thank the Lord for the way he is going to bring me through them, even if it hasn’t happened yet.
Trust me, I don’t get this perfect all the time, but the difference it makes is real. The hard times are going to come, but we control the way we handle them. So let’s change our thinking, let’s find the good in the hard things, and let’s make the hard things easier.
Let’s get real. We are all afraid of something. Is it spiders, or snakes? Maybe insects, storms, or heights? I’m afraid of alligators and sharks. Go ahead, laugh it up, I know it’s a wild fear!! But what I’ve realized about it, is that I won’t actually come into contact with those animals very often, if at all in this lifetime. That fear of mine is honestly pretty unrealistic. So what are your REAL fears? What are you REALLY afraid of? What is the thing that makes your palms sweat and heart race? What keeps you up at night? I think I could write a list of mine.
My two biggest fears are pretty connected — failure and not being good enough/successful. These fears play into situations I experience every single day.
This time last week, I was MC-ing for one of the service nights that the college ministry I attend was putting on. If you don’t know what that is, that means I go up on the stage, (yes a stage), with a microphone in my hand, and I give speak a little bit, and pray in front of everyone. When I tell you I was scared, I was SCARED. Overthinking everything, palms sweating, hands a little shaky, completely, 100% full of fear. In that moment I was reminded of something, fear is a liar.
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Fear wants to tell us we can’t, the Lord wants to remind us with him, we can.
Fear wants to tell us we won’t be enough, the Lord wants to remind us in him, we will always be enough.
Fear wants us to think we are alone, the Lord wants us to remind us that he walks right beside us.
Fear wants us to believe that we don’t have any control, the Lord wants to remind us the he is in full control.
Fear wants us to believe that we will fail, the Lord wants to remind us that he’s already won. Our failures, not even one will hold back his promises.
Friends, your fears do not define you. They only have the ability to control you if you let them. So let’s take back control, let’s identify our fears, let’s speak truth over them, and let’s walk in freedom.
“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears” Psalm 34:4
I’ve always loved people, but lately I have really been reminded about how much I love my friends. I love hanging out with them, learning from them, sometimes fighting with them, laughing with them, and just doing life with them.
If I’m being real, I’ve always had a hard time letting people in/keeping a solid group of people around. Let me tell you, friendships are HARD. They take WORK, and sometimes it can get a little too hard to maintain those relationships. But let me tell you how worth it, it is to have a solid community around you. I don’t think you will ever realize how much you value the people around you until you need them the most.
Last year was a little bit of a rough one to say the least. There was a lot of change, a lot of struggle, a lot of feeling alone. I had some solid people in my life, who I still love and hang around ALL the time, but I knew I needed to take a step into finding more of a community. But with that being said, I was not sure how to do that. It seemed scary to put myself out there like that, what if I got rejected, or hurt or never found the community I was looking for? I felt like the lord was pushing me out of comfort zone (as he always does) into something new. So I followed his lead and walked toward the college ministry at my home church. In that moment, if you would have told me that the people I was meeting/coming in contact with would be some of the greatest people I had ever known, I might have believed you, but I would not have been convinced.
Let me tell you, the Lord always exceeds my expectations. His plans for me, the way he has designed me to live far outweighs anything I could imagine.
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
He gave me the people I needed, in a time where I really needed them. He surrounded me with people who are kind, love to have fun, and are worth putting in the work. He gave me a group of people who fight for me, believe in me, and push me to be better than I was yesterday. People make us better, they make life fun, and having a solid group of those kind of people is so important. WE NEED PEOPLE. We can’t do this life alone.
It takes one step, maybe a super scary and uncomfortable step, but that step will be worth it. I promise.
“Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Last year was full of challenges and learning new things about myself. But the funny part about that is, all of this goes back to my freckles.
So, let’s get real. For the longest time I hated the freckles on my face. Everyone knows those people who ask you random questions like “why do you eat this” or “why do you listen to this” or “why do you go to school here”– As a girl we often get the question, “why do you wear makeup?”. My reply was always “to cover up my freckles”. It’s crazy because if you let it, one insecurity can control your entire life. So in July, I stopped wearing makeup. I didn’t do it to prove a point, I didn’t do it to clear my skin, but instead I did it because I felt like the Lord asked me to.
In the process, I have learned this:
If I am not confident in who I am in the Lord, I will always be looking for that affirmation in those around me and I will always be disappointed. If I am not confident in who the Lord has called me to be, then I will be too scared to take the next step. If I can not find confidence and contentment in who the Lord has created me to be (looks, personality, talents, abilities, all of that) then I will never reach the purpose he has laid out for me.
He is greater than whatever is holding you back, friends. Don’t let it control your life. Trust me, some days are better than others. But today, I can confidently say, I’m starting to like my freckles.
“Lord, there is no one like you! For you are great, and your name is full of power.” Jeremiah 10:6 (NLT)
Get real, girl 