Fall into Motion

Happy November! What a great month...we're in the midst of fall, Thanksgiving is soon, and November recognizes lots and lots of causes and holidays. It's Native American Heritage Month, Pancreatic Cancer Month (which leads to "No Shave November"), National Novel Writing Month, Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, National Homeless Youth Month, National Pomegranate Month, and International Drum Month. Just to name like...seven.

Fall is obviously amazing. I mean the leaves, the smells, the weather, the pumpkins, the preparation for winter, Halloween, Thanksgiving.

It's all a grand ole time. Fall is also really crazy and hectic. I don't know about you, but for me November in a way is like some kind of time warp. It becomes so easy for priorities to get all messed up. There's always so much to do and no time. It feels like you're spinning out of motion. Movement is good, but uncontrolled movement can be detrimental to your self.

What I have to constantly remind myself is to slow down and take a step back. I'm not saying slow down forever - the pace of your life is obviously up to you. But there is a need for

calming down, going into a quiet place, and refilling your soul.

Quiet time with Jesus every day literally equips me for the day. Only God knows what I need for that day and spending time with Him and in His Word is the only way to see that.

Spending time in Creation rejuvenates my spirit while giving me rest and peace. Appreciation and wonder stem from nature and what God has graced us with.

Looking into my own heart to find out the person I am acting like. Sometimes, I find good things and am grateful. Other times I look at my heart and am disgusted. My relationship with God, my friendships, and what I am giving out are all carefully analyzed.

I have to get back on track. All of those church sermons, Bible study lessons, Crossroads talks, and devotionals....where have they gone? Do they remain in my journal or in my brain, only there to look back on to refresh my mind? Or do they remain eternally in my heart and soul, actually changing my life, my character, and my faith? My prayer is that it's the latter.

This notion of "falling back into the motion" is probably overrated and pretty cliche. But honestly, it's so important. The ups and downs of life definitely make this difficult. I know it's not easy. All I know is that I'm sick of having a kind of roller coaster life in regards to the goodness of my soul. Instead of changing my attitudes for a summer, a few weeks, or the beginning of fall, I want to change my LIFE, my PERSPECTIVE, and my ACTIONS.

Keep your eyes sharpened, ears ready, and heart open. Stay excellent.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes form God and is by faith."

-Philippians 3:7-9

A Flower of Love

Lately my dad has been sending a bit of beauty via text message every day. He sends a picture of this natural beauty to my two sisters, my mom, and me. Usually with a sweet caption like "TGIF!" or "A most wonderful day to you all, with love." And my personal favorite which was actually today's... "Have a blessed Sunday. Know that you are loved by God and me." They are his way of sending us warmth and a smile. These little pick-me-ups are something so simple as a flower. Yes...he sends us pictures of flowers. How girly am I that I LOVE it?! I'll just say that it's more of my nature girl/crunchy side that loves these images...for the record.

They may not be the real thing but they're still pretty AND it's the thought that counts. I mean, let's face it..I KNOW dad loves me. But the fact that he has put actions to his love means so much more. It shows me that he is thinking of me and that he cares about my day. Wow, this is sounding cheesy. My point is that our love for others shouldn't just be verbal. We should be LIVING it out! It should be a part of who we are in the grandest capacity. Because we have love in our hearts, others should see it BURSTING from us.

Of course, there are many ways to show this love. One being sending your family an uplifting message and a beautiful flower to go with it. But don't be confined to this way or one other way that gets the "job done." Express yourself and your love in the best way you know how. Learn their love language (http://www.5lovelanguages.com/learn-the-languages/the-five-love-languages/). Make them smile. Give them a hug. Did you know that you need 12 hugs a day to be emotionally satisfied? Don't believe me? Get 12 hugs tomorrow and see how you feel. You'll know.

Okay, so I might have gotten of track. This probably comes off as cliche...which is kinda true. But cliches and cliches because they are correct! You never know how far some words of encouragement can go. And you never know how much a picture will mean...after all a picture is worth a thousand words.

As The Beatles so nicely put it...
"Love is all you need."

A Consistent Inconsistency of Absence

I am a failure at blogging. It's been over a year since my last post...oooops?! But honestly, I don't think anyone missed me. I only have two followers...so yeah sorry to you two. Actually, I changed my mind...I'm not a failure at blogging. I think my desire to blog comes and goes. Even though I wish I had this desire to blog every day because I really do love it, I don't. It's like the waves in the ocean. The water is always there, but the waves come and go. That sounds lame. But my point is that I'm not going to write meaningless things just so I can have tons of posts.


"There is consistency in inconsistency if you are staying true to yourself."


Love that. A good friend told me that one day. It took me a while to understand it, but when I did I was like..dang! that is so freaking true! So basically, if you're staying true to yourself, it's okay for your life to be inconsistent. If you're a runner and one day you just don't feel like running - don't. If you're a painter and one day you want to draw - draw. If you're a writer and one day you feel like putting the pen away - read.

I don't know what got me back here typing a new post. It might have been because I found two of my friends' blogs and missed my own. I don't know..but who cares anyway. I'M BAAAACKKK! What to catch you up on...hmmm.

my family went to Arizona over Christmas...

...visited the Grand Canyon...so vast!!!

went on a hike...


...enjoyed some scenery
(I think this looks likes what Mt. Sinai could have looked like)


...and of course saw cactus!

Arizona holds something special in my heart. Experiencing Christmas there was amazing. My time there was spent celebrating and growing. I came through to the New Year with new perspective and an overall warmth. God's timing is, of course, perfect.

the New Year came about...

I started the New Year out with some pretty good resolutions. One of them being to floss everyday. I was so sick of the dentist asking if I had been flossing and then lecturing me about how I'll die if I don't. But now I realize that there actually are some possible health risks that can turn into something really serious. I haven't missed but like two days flossing.

my school took about 20 seniors to Peru over spring break...


to serve the local community...



to do some touristy sightseeing..(Machu Picchu!!!)

..and of course to enjoy the scenery!

This trip was a really good combination of service, cultural exposure, and togetherness. We had the opportunity to paint, build, and also play with Peruvian kids. Peru is such a warm country. There is so much to learn from other cultures. And so much to learn from each other.

I got a puppy!!! This is Mae and she's a rescue and is absolutely amazing and my obsession :)

she loves nature...

GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL!!! woo

went to the beach with friends after graduation..


..to listen to some AWESOME music at hangout


saw some sick shows!



met some random people. made friends...

and simply "hungout"

Hangout was the EPITOME of what music festivals represent. It was an perfect combination and mixture of listening to live music, experiencing encounters with strangers, and...well, hanging out (onnn the beeeach)! Music is one of my obsessions - passions (for a proper word). I find that when you listen to music, it can take you places you can't go otherwise. It transports me to a place of freedom, clarity, inspiration and contentment. Sometimes, I feel like it's unexplainable. All of you who have been to concerts/shows know (hopefully) what I mean. If you haven't been to a concert before, the only thing I have to say is GO.

In June, I spent nearly a month in Colorado doing work crew for YoungLife at a camp called Frontier Ranch.

My job was "server"..we set the tables in the Dining Hall....

served the campers food

..and bussed their tables

the last night, we set up "the longest table you've ever seen" and the campers ate an awesome dinner. this idea was created at Frontier because this is one of the closest pictures to heaven we have. it says in the Bible that there's a long table where everyone eats together. we came close.


during work crew, not only did I further my relationship with the Lord, but I also made friends with the most amazing people...


we devoured YL's signature dessert "Train Wreck" together..


took a morning hike to the crosses..


..watched God bring up the sun



and sang a song at sunrise

and..as usual were surrounded by this kind of amazing scenery, never got used to it, and always enjoyed it

Here's a better (but not the best because it's difficult to put into words) description of work crew...YoungLife has camps all over the country that are for mostly high school, but sometimes middle school, kids. During the summer, they come with their area for one week to one of the several camps. The camp is run by the full-time staff, year-long interns, summer interns, summer staff, and work crew. The summer staff is for college students, and work crew for high schoolers. It's completely volunteer. But honestly, I feel so lucky. I feel like I should have paid them to get me there. I got to spend almost a month serving the Lord and the campers! And I grew deeper in my faith and formed relationships with both the campers, fellow work crewers and summer staffers. I am so happy and fortunate that I was a part of work crew. A part of something amazing and special. I was a part of teenagers COMING HOME TO THE FATHER! Magical. As you can probably guess, I learned a lot. Power of prayer. Supernatural strength. Jesus. Appreciation. Listening to the Holy Spirit. Seeing God. Oh, and so much more...

"For even the Son on Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many." -Mark 10:45

I went backpacking again in the Smoky's with my cousin, two uncles and dad...

...and it was awesome.

then we arrived to our family reunion three days (via foot!) later to hang with fam!
(these are just a few of us...there's actually 20+ of us)

and now...i'm in COLLEGE!!! woo

More updates about college and such...I promise. OHH and I will soon post my fave music from the past like year or however long I didn't blog...get exxxcited