Imagine if everyone had a goal to speak life into you and was saying you were unstoppable? What would it look like if everyone poured into your dreams and desires saying "You can do this!"
(I mean here's where I'd get sappy and say, hey, if you really want that why don't you just be that encouragement to everyone and start your own movement and see where that takes you. Just a thought.) Anywho BACK TO BEING INSPIRING. I came across this fantabulous writing blurb by Noor Unnahar on Pinterestt and thought I'd share it with you guys: "I figured out there were only two types of people in the world. Group Nothing and Group Something. Group Nothing’s life consisted of so many nothings; saying nothing, doing nothing remarkable, just breathing till the last breath came. But Group Something were the world shakers; they were always doing something, saying something that made a difference, proving all of us that to belong to Group Something, you’d have to be restless and hard working. And since then, I question myself everyday; where do I belong?" Bam. Mic drop. (Can I just leave you with this??) Man... I don't know about you, but I wanna be a part of that group something. I wanna be that girl that people look at and say "Wow, she's going places. That's the girl who's gonna change the world." (Or hey, maybe in reality just one person. But what can I say? I have big dreams.) What does all this crazy inspiring talk have to do with that intro? I'll tell you what. You see, if you start speaking life and healing into your friends, your family... (maybe some complete strangers..) there's going to want to be a part of this group something. They are going to feel lifted up and motivated to do the same to others as you did to them. My youth pastor this week said influence is someone who lives their life so powerfully following God that other people step up to do the same. I want to be that influencer. I want to be a world changer. What about you?? - Abigail
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Wednesday morning I got up out of bed, expecting to have to re-do all the work I had done throughout the week. I had spent the night before awake until one, scrambling to get my computer to turn back on. I'd plug in the cord and...nothing. Trouble-shooting with the company's website did no help either. I got back home from work Wednesday with one simple prayer: "God, please...help." I tried one more time. Plugged in the cord and... It worked. I was able to finish up my assignments due, print them out, and still have time to spare.
I say this just as a simple reminder that not everything in our life will work out as planned. Trust me, I know what a spontaneous schedule looks like if anyone. But the best part about it is: God was there in every moment. I saw a problem, but He saw a solution. My computer hasn't worked since. It was just that one day, at the exact moment when I had needed it and was to the point of losing hope. Can I just tell you something? Never lose hope. Even when everything seems to be going the wrong way, trust Christ's timing. And find joy in the midst of any circumstance. (It's hard, but it's also so worth it.) I was having a conversation with two friends the other day.
We were talking and laughing and making jokes and friend number one looks down at my shoes and he tells me that they're untied. I look at him and say "I know, they're always untied." Literally, I do not know how my shoes manage to get untied so fast. As we kept talking, he pointed out that now my other shoe was untied. Even though we'd been standing in the exact same place the entire time. So this time, I actually bend down to tie my shoelaces and we continue our conversation. A few minutes later, my shoelaces are untied again. I hadn't even hardly moved. It made us all laugh and I finally decided to just tuck the laces into the shoes. Later, the same friend pointed out my frizzy hair, casually in a sentence. Friend number two laughed and half-scolded him. I just laughed and said "No, it's true. I didn't do my hair today." Friend number one didn't mean it in a bad way, he's just a very blunt person. I thought I'd tell this story just to point out that you don't need to change yourself, your quirks, or things about you (little or big) for people to like you or to get more friends or become more popular or for your crush to like you back. The people who really matter are going to love you for you. In fact, some of those little quirks are going to end up being somebody's favorite thing. They're going to love you. Even with your frizzy hair and un-tied shoelaces. "Living a life fully engaged and full of whimsy and the kind of things that love does is something most people plan to do, but along the way they just kind of forget. Their dreams become one of those "we'll go there next time" deferrals. The sad thing is, for many there is no "next time" because passing on the chance to cross over is an overall attitude toward life rather than a single decision." - Bob Goff
I've had this tug on my heart this year for all my big future plans. In the midst of this crazy hectic thing we call life, why not push for greater things now? Why wait when we have the capability to be everything we were meant to be... today? Why not now? Why not? Why not challenge ourselves? Why not push our limits? We all have dreams. And our dreams are realistic when we choose to let them be. So don't just stamp off dreams as "unrealistic" or "maybe next year." Pursue them! Chase your dreams wholeheartedly and fearlessly. I'm not afraid to tell the world that I'm a dreamer. That I have big dreams that sometimes even terrify me. Know why? Because I serve a God who is for me and who is bigger than any fears I may have of failing. Who can be against me? What could hold me back? There will be struggles jarring the path. But there will also be so much more joy found in that path than in the one of a careful and cautious life. Our dreams are only as big as our perseverance to chase them and make them a reality. Let's go after them, friends! There's no better time to start than now. :) ~ Abigail Do you remember the first time that somebody put a label on you? When somebody decided that they knew your story and could decide your identity. I'm not talking about labels like your gender or age -- you can't change those. Those are just who you are. I'm talking about when somebody decided that they have the right to define you as anything other than the thing God has created you as. People don't think it's enough to know our names, they need something more. So because of that, they label us new kid or weird kid. Maybe they label you by your mistakes: the person who messed up that one time. And now everytime that person passes you, they don't just see you but they also see that label. And every time you look into the mirror, you don't see the sparkle in your eyes or the glow in your smile. You don't see your beautiful self. No, all you see is that label. Labels come from everywhere around us. The media gives us labels when it tells us what we should look like, how we should talk, what we're supposed to act like. Our friends give us labels - sometimes not purposely - and those are the ones that seem to stick the most. The person that we thought we loved gives labels. Ugly. Forgotten. Rejected. We give ourselves labels. We look around at everyone else and if we can't do something that they can or if they look prettier than we do, if we see our selves anything less than what we're told we should be, we give ourselves this label: Not good enough. When will these labels stop getting put on us? When will we stop churning out these labels and slapping them on each other? There's a party and you aren't asked to come: Uninvited Somebody you know is complicated for their beauty but they ignore you: Ugly Your birthday comes and the only people who remembers is your family and maybe your best friend: Forgotten Somebody mentions that you eat a lot: Fat You do something differently than everyone else: Weird And then there's stereotypes. We get stereotyped by our age, grade, skin color, accent. And it just creates more and more labels. I think the biggest two labels that most everyone has been given by either someone else or by themselves are these: rejected and not good enough. I don't know about you but I'm sick and tired of letting these labels define me. I am not a label. And you are not a label. Let me tell you, there is only one circumstance in which you should let a label define you and that is when Jesus puts that label on you. Because God is the only one who knows your story. Why don't we take a look at these labels...rip off the old ones and put these on instead. Loved. Priceless. Important. Enough. Strong. Valuable. Princess. Wanted. Unstoppable. "She has been feeling it for awhile now - that sense of awakening. There is a gentle rage simmering inside her, and it is getting stronger by the day. She will hold it close to her - she will nurture it and let it grow. She won't let anyone take it away from her. It is her rocket fuel and finally she is going places. She can feel it down to her very core - this is her time. She will not only climb mountains - she will move them too." - Lang Leav
Let's live today in this sense of awakening - believing we're capable of so much more that we give ourselves credit for and going chasing our dreams! This is your time. Step out of your comfort zone. Become dreamers and dream-chasers! (The Disney in me is blurting out Tangled lines: "Go. Live your dream.") You have too much potential bottled up within you to just hold it all inside. Go out and become life-changers! And you know what? That just starts with chasing your dream - awakening the passion inside yourself. Go on - see where it takes you! You just might surprise yourself. :) Here's to the dreamers! ~ Abigail xx I think that when we really like someone, we try and cover it up. A lot of times it's because of fear. Fear of rejection, fear of heartache, fear of embarrassment. I've begun to realize that as you grow older, liking a boy becomes a lot more different from a crush that you would have had at ten years old. Now, it's deeper than that. Sometimes it's hard to figure out what you really feel for someone. Especially when you know that you love them as a friend and they make you happy and can make you laugh but you're not sure if it's more than that...or if you even want it to be more than that. I personally try not to have "crushes". When you officially call it a crush, it seems to begin to take over your mind to where you can't stop thinking about the person and you start getting butterflies in your stomach whenever you talk to them. I don't like that feeling. I want to be able to grow closer to them and get to know them even more by just being friends. You especially don't want to let it get out of hand and then have your heart broken when you find that they started dating someone else. When you're not sure what to do with your feelings that you have for a boy in your life, the best thing you can do to keep it from getting out of hand is pray for them. So whether you love them as a friend, have a crush on them, are already dating them, or can't decide what you feel...here are six things to pray for that special person on your mind. -Pray for their safety/well being/health. This one is pretty simple. Just pray that they would stay healthy, take care of themselves, and that God would protect them in their everyday life. -Pray that they would continue to look to God in everything they do. Again, this one is super simple. Just pray for God to be working in their live and that they would continue to chase Jesus. -Ask God to give them wisdom. -Pray for your friendship with the person. Now, this one does vary depending on how close you are with the person but if you are already friends with them, ask God to help you be a good friend to them and just ask that He would allow you keep being friends with them. This is something I always pray for the people that I treasure. People come and go but ask the Lord that if it be His will, you could stay their friends for forever even. -Pray that the people they come across in their life wouldn't be toxic and that they will learn from those who are toxic. You can't control who else your friends are going to meet in their life. One of the absolute worst feelings is finding out that someone who you think the world of thinks the same way about someone else. Pray that God would bless the relationship even if it's not with you. Pray also for the other person in your crush/friend's life. Pray that they wouldn't be toxic and that they would be the absolute best for them. Let's not be jealous because we all want the person we love to have the very best. -Pray for whatever he is involved in. Is he a basketball player, an aspiring singer, or going to college? Pray for God's blessing in those areas of his life. And pray that God's hand would be at work in whatever he is pursuing. These are just some of the things you can pray for somebody who means a lot to you. What are some ways that I missed? Please, please do let me know in the comments. I would love to discuss this topic more with you guys!
Until then... Always remember that you are unstoppable, Lianna <3 Hey guys! It’s Willow here, and today I thought I’d talk about the basics of self care. When I say the basics of self care, I really mean the basics. Nothing too deep just yet. This is actually a problem with self care - people think it’s too difficult to do or too easy to be bothered with. If you’re like me then you would like to do more self care but for some reason it just doesn’t really work. I tend to make a plan and forget about it, but here are a few basic things I managed to work into my timetable and that you guys should be able to do too. The Basics There are four fundamental things in my self care routine: staying hydrated, getting enough rest, forgiving people, and making sure that I’m enough. They are all super important in taking care of both your body and soul. It can be hard remember to do all four of those things but anything is possible! I find it easiest to do by making sure it fits into my daily schedule. Staying Hydrated It can be pretty easy to forget to drink water, especially when you’re really busy (I speak from experience). Staying hydrated is simple to do but it is so important for keeping your body healthy and your mind clear. If you ever get any of the following signs for no apparent reason, then you may be dehydrated:
A way to fix this problem is to have a glass of water
That is five glasses of water already. The daily intake recommended is eight glasses of water a day for people 13+, so that’s only an extra three glasses which you can fit in around the day. Staying Well Rested In a world full of things to do, places to be and social medias to check it can be so easy to throw aside things like sleep so that you can do more during the day. This though is really damaging for our bodies, especially when we’re younger and growing. Generally we need a minimum of nine hours each night to be able to function properly. But with the internet it can be hard to remember to log off on time to get to sleep. Here are two ways to remember to get to sleep on time so that you get your beauty rest:
Forgiving Others
You know that feeling when you’ve had a fight with someone and you feel heavy and sometimes sick inside after it? Well this feeling can really affect you if you don’t resolve it, and is sometimes the reason behind depression. “...you should not pass judgement on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgement must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets…” Corinthians 4:5. We should be forgiving as it is not our place to decide what punishment is right for others. Not only does it make the heavy feeling inside go away but it releases the ties held between you and the person you’re in the disagreement with. Once a day, week or month, pick someone who you feel has wronged you and forgive them. Do it wholeheartedly - forgive them for the deed that was done, pour out your feelings into it. Maybe even apologise for anything you did in return. You don’t even need to say this to the person. It still counts if you do it before bed or in the morning in private. You Are Enough I literally cannot stress enough how important this one is. Deep down, everyone feels that something about them isn’t enough. I’m not enough for my crush; I’m not enough for my parents; I’m not enough to be of any use to the world. Most people have these thoughts subconsciously to a certain level. Believing you’re not enough is so damaging. It’ll cut down your self confidence, and will have an impact on how you succeed in the world. Also, it’s not true. You are enough. Those who don’t think you are don’t truly appreciate you for who you are. How to fix this damaging thought process
As time goes by you’ll start to feel better about yourself. You should gain confidence, feel happier and even be more energetic. These are all things that I’ve just learnt over my 17 years of being alive. And while some of may seem rather obvious and silly, they actually work wonders. Or so I’ve found anyway. I really hope all of these help you. <3 Let me know in the comments if you do these, are going to try them out or if you need any tips on self care. Love y’all! Willow I think we've all had those moments. Those moments when you see something, hear something, smell something that reminds you of your childhood. And then you kind of just re-live the memory in your head and wish. Wish so badly that you could just go back. Wouldn't it so be so great to go back and just be a kid again? When you weren't so worried...so anxious...when your two biggest dreams were to be a princess and to find Prince Charming. When your mom sung you to sleep, and you could walk up to anyone and make friends with them and it wouldn't be weird. But as soon as the memory begins to fade, you stand up tall, put on your brave face, wave the nostalgia away...and push forward. We know we can't go back: it's in the past. So we wave it away and try not to think about it. But...have you ever thought that there are bits of nostalgia that might be good for us? I sometimes walk into my room and remember when I was like ten years old and I would come in there and turn on KLOVE on my sister's radio and then I'd sit on my bed and read my Bible and my Adventures In Odyssey devotions. I made sure that I made time for that every single day. I remember when I made time for quiet time with God every day, when I didn't car what everyone else thought about me, and when something was wrong in my life...I prayed about it. I remember when I wasn't so stressed, so worried. I remember when I could trust fall right into God's arms -- no holding back. I remember when I was kid without a worry in the world. Maybe...just maybe it's best that we don't always wave nostalgia away. Maybe there are certain parts of nostalgia that, instead of trying to forget about, we should actually revisit the things we used to do. Maybe we should make more time for God in our day. Maybe we should practice talking to him --just like we used to. Maybe we shouldn't be so worried and stressed and anxious and overwhelmed. Maybe we shouldn't are what everybody else thinks. Maybe we should trust fall into the arms of Jesus. Do you ever think maybe you should go back and watch VeggieTales again, revisit the basic truths that we already know but really really think about them. Jesus loves you. God made you special. Do you ever think...maybe we shouldn't wave nostalgia away? |