an open letter to all the single folks this valentines day

to all you single gals and fellas out there, here is an honest letter from a person just like you.


as valentines day approaches, normally I could care less about the holiday but something about living on your own just makes it different. and in a way, it has been harder this year. but I am not here to complain to you about being single - I am here to be honest with you.

getting married. having kids. falling in love. it is not the end all. it is not the point in our lives. if it was, then you would have every right to feel sorry for yourself. but, praise Jesus it isn't.

whenever I start to feel the loneliness or the enemies lies creep inside my head I remind myself through the Word that we don't live for this world.

yes, marriage, kids, & falling in love are all gifts from God and they show us God in a deeper way. and God put them in place for a reason; they were created by God and for God.

but before all that, He was in existence. and we are alive because of Him. we live in freedom because of Him through Christ. our lives are because of Him and for Him.

In Luke 14:27-28 Jesus says, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple." here Christ isn't talking about literally hating your family, but rather choosing Christ before your family.

because when you choose Christ before anything else, you can better love your spouse. better love your kids. do better at your job. we were created by Him and for Him. so, doesn't it make logical sense, to seek Him above anything else if He is our maker and creator?

in Mathew 6 Jesus talks about this again, in verse 33 He says "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." if you read before verse 33 you will see that "all these things" is related to the material things the people were anxious about at the time, but yet God doesn't say these things are terrible. He just asks them to seek Him above all else & "these things" will be added to them.

the key thing I believe Jesus wants us to do is to live for Him. seek Him before it all and give the rest to Him. but, you can't do this by yourself; it is a work of God within you. pray, read the Word, meditate and ask God to reveal Himself to you.

and there is something beautiful about falling deeply in love with God when you don't have anyone else to "fall in love" with.  granted, it is challenging but the way God has changed my heart  + revealed Himself to me these past few months has been incredible.

so, whoever you are reading this, married, single, divorced, whatever your situation may be -  just know that you are not alone and that God is madly in love with you and that is enough.

xo,
Moriah

a week without t.v.

When I get married and have a family,  something I have always said I will do is get rid of nearly all TV - not because I think it is bad or life-draining but because I know the million other fun or relaxing things I could do. But for now in order to prep me for the many months of travel ahead of me without TV I am going one whole week without TV.  Kind of different because Netflix is always playing while I work (because I sew all day) to keep me distracted and honestly for me it is not an issue. But, I want to know how my mood and my sleep would change without it   - so here it goes. I have done it before and it is not that big of a deal but it just takes self-control. Hence,  literally the only reason for this blog post. So, one week without TV. Maybe you will see a blog post or two more up or not. I don't plan this blog out because I have a 1000 other things in my life that are planned and I need something where I can type whatever and whenever I want. So my loves, here is to more creativity and a week without TV. Happy Saturday.

xo, 

Moriah 

our purpose + His saving love

Lately, there have been many things on my plate and my brain begins to look like a scattered mess (and it is). When the to-do list piles sky high - things get cut. People get cut. Sleep gets cut. Time with the Lord gets cut. I don't always like to admit it, but some days I am just mediocre. I just check all the boxes and try to go to bed at a reasonable time.

But, when those days happen - that is when I know the enemy is starting to creep his way into me. Because I was not made to simply do life. To go through the motions or to even leave a legacy. I wasn't made to be successful. To make a living. To live a nice life. Or anything like that. I was made to unconditionally love people and show them Christ through that. (Matthew 22: 37-39 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'")  Whether it be right here in North Carolina or in Australia. It doesn't matter. He is the reason for life.

I have a choice, when I find myself going through the motions, I can choose joy, I can choose love, I can choose servanthood or I can go back to my self-centered ways of checking the boxes. It takes a lot of humility for me sometimes to get back into His purpose for me. To really serve someone else and to be completely in the moment. To love completely just like Christ did for us.

Even after doing this for a day, weeks or years I can still feel defeated. Like I didn't do enough. But that is where God shows up. That is where our beautiful salvation comes into play. You have heard it a million times, but our works will never be enough. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." Our merciful God gave us salvation as a gift. He chooses to love us so we could be with Him and experience something like nothing else. Experience something eternally.

The place where we realize our purpose and His saving love for us is one of such beauty. (Romans 9: 38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.")

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It is where everything clicks. It is where you will have a peace unlike no other. It is where His love story starts to unfold. It is where, when you have that choice between being mediocre or being joyful, your whole mindset can change because He is the living spirit within you. You are free. You are adored. You are loved. Because of His sacrifice. Because of his unfailing love.

So, as another week passes - love completely. Choose Him.

where is the line between hustle living and happy living?

Recently, so many different things have been pondering my mind and I have been feeling like it's not enough. Balancing life is insanely hard. I have been wondering "where is the line" for so many different things. Where is it for work balance? Where is it for relationships? Where is it for God? Where is the line drawn for day to day life in general?

We get this constant message of work harder. Hustle harder. Dream bigger. While I am firm believers in all of those things, some days I feel like I can barely get through the day. Some days I feel like I do one thing really well and then everything else slacks. I hustle really hard to work well, but then when it comes to just being with family and friends I am exhausted and can't give them my all. It is sometimes the simple things that get to me.

Life has been a lot slower these past few months and it has been lovely, but I have just been having a hard time focusing. Focusing on the Lord and being with Him. I feel like all of these things come at me when I just try and be still. The to-do list piles up: the people I never responded too, ideas I have for my business, future plans, relationships I should invest in and everything in between. It is all small small things and typing it out honestly sounds kind of silly - but in all honesty, don't we all struggle with balance?


Where is the line? Where is the balance? In what ways can I glorify God the most? Am I really making an impact in His kingdom?

In tonight's post, I don't have answers. Because in reality I rarely ever have the right answers.
I want your thoughts. Your opinions.

Much love,

Moriah

sunday feels

i miss blogging so much and i am thinking about writing about my travels over the past year, so maybe i will catch up on nearly 2 years of travels. for today this post is just simply about taking a day off to rethink and be with our Creator. sundays are the days i choose to not work or do any school work. lazy? no. healthy? yes. sometimes these days can be hard because i feel my to do list adding up and i often wonder if i really should be just reflecting. but then i have afternoons like today and i can feel Him all around. i can feel the peace and i am reshifted to what is truly important in my everyday life. though on my days off, i find it key to be in reflection on these days. to take time to talk to God, go outside, and let that to do list go for one day. for someone who is very productive orientated (is that even a word?) it is a battle. but i never regret it. i found that today spending about an hour outdoors and by the water left me feeling refreshed and renewed. so, here are some thoughts for today's sunday. who knows, maybe i will be back next week?

today's view ^^^

but if not HE is still good.

life has been a little crazy recently. between sewing, school, work and other life events it is all catching up to me. but as i sit here writing this blog post i have been wanting to write for so long i am reminded that life is one beautiful mess.

last week hurricane matthew hit our area. pouring buckets of water out from your garage into a yard that was half way up to your knees in water, was not fun at 12 am. in those few hours i could feel God's power that i have never experienced before. as the wind races and the water is rushing through our yard, i felt helpless. i felt as if there was nothing i could do but ask God to give me strength to keep going, so I did. and as I sang the lyrics "you are good...good..good...we will prophecy into every situation, that you have never changed and you never will." these lyrics were what i was holding on to as i lifted one bucket of water after another out of our garage and into the racing winds of the night. knowing He could stop this at anytime and He was still on His throne.

then the debate happen and it left me feeling again, helpless. the possibility that these people were going to be in charge of our nation -scared me. now that i am becoming and adult, the law affects me a whole lot more than it did eight years ago. i run a business, i work. i go to school full time. once again i had to remind myself that "He knows and He never falls off of His throne."

so, just a few of these trials in my life over the past few weeks left me knowing a side of God i can easily forget about. that He really is the Almighty Being. He sees it all and yet He is still good. He still could change everything in one moment. He knows. and He never ever falls off His throne.

xo // moriah

the beauty in vulnerability.

A big lesson I learned in July from my disciplining program was the beauty in being vulnerable. I am not a person that will openly tell you my real struggles and issues. I am one to act like everything is okay and be that person for someone else, which is amazing. But, man the Spirit moves when you confess to others. In James 5:16 it says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."  I am a living example of this truth. I have found that when I share my sins and struggles with other believers it is like a weight off my shoulders. I feel a peace come over me. God gave us a community for a reason, to bear each others burdens and pray together (Galations 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.") - when we do that radical things happen.

Here is where my struggle comes in with this verse and concept. When we confess to others or open up to others it doesn't guarantee a life-long friendship or that that person will never disappoint you. We are sinful people and your heart can get hurt, but this is where I believe the Holy Spirit can guide you to be wise in opening up to people. But, it is a risk to be vulnerable. It is not common. But, it is far more dangerous to keep it all in. You can get hurt and I can almost guarantee you will, but then you will find those rare raw Christ-centered relationships where His glory is just overflowing, that is when the risk is worth it. 

But, please don't misunderstand where our faith comes from and what has ultimate value above all of these relationships and that is in the Alpha Omega. He is our ultimate fulfillment and you will go through periods of life where you don't have a strong Christ-loving community around you and that is when you draw near to God, be completely overwhelmed with His presence, (2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence...")

Then, those times where you have that community make sure you are drawing nearer to Christ, rather than each other. Drawing closer to our Creator will pull us closer as one together in Christ as a result.

Community is an amazing thing and so is vulnerability. It is a risk, but the life we are called to live for following Christ is a risk. So, don't be fearful when opening up to others, He is always right beside you and has an army of angles around you. Whatever may come out of your vulnerability we can always count on the fact that He is good and everlasting and never-changing. 

xo // Moriah 

God is so good.

pic credit // harmony reed

I have not written in a while, but I just got back from a month long disciplining program and really felt compelled to share some things that have been on my heart lately. These past few days as I transition from being in a bubble with no knowledge of the outside world, to be thrown back into reality I am realizing God's glory all around. The transition is hard, but the one thing keeping me afloat is just the pure fact, that God changes us. He changes everything is us. We are no longer slaves to evil, but sons and daughters of the one true living King. Just take that in for a moment. In Acts 17:28 it says, "in Him we live and move and have our being", how radical is that? That gives me so much hope, beyond comprehension. Then in 1 Timothy 1:12, "I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judges me faithful, appointing me to His service..." In Ephesians 4:23-24 "..and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." God is so good, y'all. He is living and breathing within us. He have the same mind and same love (Phillipians 2:2) that Christ Jesus had within Him, that is just incredible in itself. Just soak in that for a minute, take in the access to His glory and power we have as Christ-followers. When we are able to even comprehend this in some small way, His presence and love is all around. His goodness is all around.

why as christ-followers we can never just "be"

I love this quote because it reminds me that we can love Him and His people in  every way.

I have thought of nearly 50 blog posts and yet have only written this one today. Oh, how I miss blogging. It is like an open journal. It is a beautiful thing and maybe I will pick it up again, I don't know. This blog won't have a schedule, because life doesn't have a schedule so neither will my blog. Anyhow, today I just wanted to share some raw honest thoughts.

I can't count how many times I haven't wanted to "love" or how many times I have just wanted to "be" and not set an example of Jesus's love. But, I have to come to realize that as Christ-followers we get no break. No off button. Because we should never stop loving.


I fail at this. Every. Single. Day.

I seriously wish I didn't fail at this. But, just today plans changed and I no longer became excited about the plans, but rather dreading having to follow through on these plans a few minutes later the Holy Spirit reminded me that I need to look at this as an opportunity to minster to others. Every minute of my life is an opportunity to minister to others. Seriously, I can't think of one situation where you couldn't show the love of Jesus. Even though SO many times I have wanted to just "be" and not have to love constantly, we are called to be outsiders. We are His people, in the world but not of the world. We are called to love unconditionally. To live a radical kind of way because of His love.

I know there is no scripture in this post, but honestly do I need scripture to back up the fact that loving people unconditionally is one of our sole purposes as Christ-followers? I dare you to go and read a story in the Bible about Jesus and I bet my life on it that there isn't one situation where Jesus didn't show any love, because there isn't. He is love.

I write this blog post, not as condemnation but as accountability for myself and the community of other Christ-followers out there.


xo,
Moriah

an open letter...

I often think about my blog and what to write, so today I am just sitting down and writing the many things that come to my mind.

I live in luxury. Extreme luxury. I have a million things to be thankful for and yet I can still find multiple things to be ungrateful about. Why is this. It is because I am not focused on Jesus completely. When I am in a place of living for Him in every moment of everyday, then I should be so caught up in Him that I do not "want" anything else besides Him.

It is because I live in a world FULL of security. I know that I will have a place to live, money in my bank account, and family to rely on. While these are all blessings I am very thankful, I find it hard to be focused in such world like this. So, what do I do? There are so many distractions. How am I suppose to overcome these in order to be completely focused on Jesus. For me, I just have to constantly rely on Him, worship Him, pray, and read the Word. It is extremely difficult. Take away the distractions, ask God to push me to my furthest. Sometimes I wonder, am I really doing this right? If I proclaim He is my only purpose, why do I get so easily sucked into worldly things.

Please do not take this the wrong way. I know Jesus has placed me right where I should be and has given me these many blessings to spread His love. In fact, this has been something I have struggled with and have found this verse to be helpful, "Isaiah 41:8 - But  you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend, I took YOU from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen YOU and have not rejected you." I am beyond thankful for this and the unending blessings He has given me. 

But, I had a moment this week, were I felt completely reliant on Jesus because my security was gone. I was no longer was under my own roof, or had family right next to me. I had to pray and pray. If I am honest, I was shaken up by this experience, but I ask God to put me in these situations to pull me and push me closer to Him. It is hard for me to focus on God when I have security, but when I experiences situations like I did this week, I can feel Jesus more than ever. I feel Him right next to me saying "I am your protector" (Psalm 46:1  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.") It makes living for Jesus 100x more real. I can see why Jesus came, right before my eyes. I am sinful, we are full of sin and desturction, but because of His undescriable love He saved us, He broke the chains, and He overcame EVERY sin. People need to know Him and I want to show them. 

Living for Jesus is not always going to be safe. It is not going to be this pretty little box full of rainbows and sunshine. But, I believe that He puts us in these situations to shake us, to move us, and pull us closer to His love. Whether these situations be as simple as stepping out to invite your co-worker to church or putting yourself in a dangerous situation in order to serve - it is for a purpose, Jesus, the almighty King, and Messiah. So, as you go into our sinful world, remember your purpose to love, to show His love at any cost. Because He is our purpose and He is the one we will stand before some day and hope He will say "Well done good and faithful servant." - what we do now determines what is ahead of us. So as we go on this week, I ask that you just pray. Pray for courage, bravery, His presence, whatever it is you need. 


This song by Amanda Cook puts these words into a song. "Say something even if your voice is shaking...."



Thanks for reading. xoxo

Moriah

finding balance in the chaos.

Balance is one of the hardest things I have had to learn. With a full time business, full time student at college, and life in general. It is exhausting. But, in no doubt it is one of the most rewarding things I have done. I have come up with a few things that have made my life easier.

1 // passion planner
Best thing I have ever bought. I plan my day out by the minute and create breaks between work and school. Go buy one here. 

this is my week. it is one beautiful mess.

2// get out of town
Not necessarily leaving your home for a weekend getaway (which would be nice), but I often have to force myself to get outside, or go do things with other people, because I am inside 24/7 and consumed with work and school. Work and school can wait. I need to spend time outside of my books and sewing machine in order for me to stay sane. Ha.

3 // make time for Jesus
Every morning I spend about ten minutes with God and just being in his presence. It has changed my life. Throughout the day I listen to my favorite worship songs and this keeps me focused as well.

4 // take a break
On Tuesday afternoon I don't work and Sundays I don't either. I try not to sew or even think about it. This is my time to refresh and renew.

painting on a Sunday afternoon.

5 // be in the moment
I always tell myself that at any moment I would stop working or studying if anyone needed to talk or just wanted to hang out. This has become true in my life and I love it. I have a long list of "to do's" but you know what is more important, being in the moment and soaking up the family/friend time while I can.

Balance is something I strive for everyday. I love my job, like it is a dream job. But I don't need to get caught up in overworking myself just to make the money or feel success. My success comes from Christ and loving him and others around me everyday. If I don't love, nothing else matter. Nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2 says, "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing". 

Thanks for reading, xo.
Moriah

living on less // being grateful

Today, I would like to share with you my "Living on Less" challenge. As many of you know we often (especially me) take things for granted. Whether it be a comfy bed, or power we can get very upset when those things are taken away. I wanted to stop being so dependent on these things and start living with less.

What does that mean, you ask? Well, for one whole month starting tomorrow (March 5th- April 5th) I will be taking/limiting five things in order to live on less.

This is from the book "Seven", I hope to read in the near future. (source google images)

1. Only sleep with one pillow and a sleeping bag.

This might not sound like a lot but coming from 6 layers of blankets and four pillows (no joke), this will be tough and I am beyond grateful just to have a comfy bed to sleep on every night.

2. I will set aside four different outfits for the whole month. 

Even though I already simplified my closet but, it has grown again and it is time for me to stop taking clothes for granted.

3. Shower every other day. 

If you know me, I am a clean freak. Nice hot long showers every night. When I sit back and think about ways to stop taking my luxuries for granted this is defiantly one of them. 

4. No spending on excessive.

Ahhh, this is probably gonna be the biggest one. I had thought about doing this even before I thought of these other things, but now I am really doing it. For two reasons, I just spend a lot of money on IKEA (haha) and two I want to see how much money I actually save by not spending for a whole month. This will not include expenses that I may need to buy (ex. postage for delivering business packages). But, what this will included is food out and about I don't need, and extra shirt here and there, etc. 

5. No TV/Netflix

This is the last but certainly not least. I really want to start going to bed earlier and spending more time with God. I also want to stop staring at a screen every night before I go to bed (which is a habit I picked up after a year of not doing this, boo). This will help me be more creative and not feel like I always have to be entertained. 

By the end of reading this you are probably wondering, what my point is for all this nonsense. So here it is summed up. I have so many excess items that can drag me down and not keep my focused in life. By eliminating these five items for a short whole month, I really think my eyes will be opened to how much more there is that just the luxuries of life. But most importantly, I am looking forward to spending more time with God and enjoying the small things that I miss everyday. 

I will keep you updated with how it is going and what is new. I encourage you to do this as well or something similar. Thanks for reading. xo. 

giving up my future for Him...

    The last post I wrote was about being a true Christ-follower and today I would like to write about how giving up my future is totally worth everything.

    I am your typically young lady. I have plans to get married, go to college, have kids, etc. But I feel there is so much more. It has really shaken me these past few weeks and months. Up until a few days ago I thought my "American Dream" plan was fine, everyone does it, so it must be okay. My plan was to go to college, get married, and have kids, etc. While there is nothing wrong with this and this is God's plan for some people, it might not be for others. Maybe, I need to stop planing my luxury dream life for myself and remember who is in control. I have way to many luxury's to count (I am working on getting rid of them, that is a whole other post, maybe tomorrow). I never really thought that it might be a good idea to let God plan my future (I mean he did create the universe).

    I need to stop focusing on what is best for me and my future, but focus on serving people now and today in this moment. I want God to be in control of my future. His plan could be way different from mine. If his plan is to give up everything I have and go do missions overseas for a year or even forever, that is amazing! But, maybe it could just be to stay in my local area and focus on young people who need to hear God's work. Or even go to college and lead me in a whole different direction, these are all great.

Source

    See, the thing is I don't know what is in front of me. I don't even know if I will make it till tomorrow morning. So why worry about the future when today has enough troubles. Matthew 6:24 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."

    The sole purpose of my life needs to be to worship, honor, love, and serve him and I am praying and will continue to pray intently for him to reveal his plan to me. I don't know what is ahead but God has a purpose and whether or not I think it is best doesn't matter. It is his plan, I fail everyday at this and am far from perfect, but I live to glorify him and need to put all my faith in him.

Thanks for reading. xo.

Why just saying your prayers, doing your devotion, and going to church doesn't mean you are "all in"

Oh I have been itching to write this blog post. I was in the middle of listening to a Francis Chan sermon and I just had to stop and write this. I feel like I need to share a few things I have learned these past few months and how much it has changed my life.

First off, I do not have all the answers, I am far from them all. But I really feel called to write this.

Over the past few months I have realized something incredible but also a little heart breaking. For the past 10 years or so I have been a "Christian"; I went to church, did my devotion, prayed, longed for God, was nice, etc. But not until recently I had a reality shock, I don't know what clicked, but God really opened my eyes. I thought what I was doing was fine. I was living a great life, great family, no problem.

I had heard a lot of stories of people with the same back story as mine but in the midst of it all they got a reality shock just like I did. But you I always thought to myself when I heard these stories, "no that is not me", I have a great Christian faith. Boy was I wrong.

Oh my,  I cannot begin to express what being a true Christ follower is and what a difference from what I thought it was. Let me just tell you there is so much more joy and hope than anything I have ever experienced. It all really made me question if Jesus where to come down on this Earth and approach me face to face, what would I say, what would I do, would I feel like all my life's work was for the glory of God or just to look nice and pretty, was I giving it ALL up for Him or just "enough" to look good.

These questions wondered my mind for many months, I listen to some sermons and read some books. It really had me thinking. All this time were all these friends I was surrounding myself with, were they all in for God, was I even all in for God? I honestly don't think I was. Do you know how much that scared me? To think all this time I was missing out on the true meaning of being a disciple of Jesus. It really shook me and still does.


See, I believe God wants us to stop trying to live this pretty little nice "American Church Dream" but just go do something to glorify him. Stop worrying about your future, your safety, or your savings account.  Really, if you are gonna be who you say you are stop faking it and live it all out for the only eternal person on this earth. Nothing, NOTHING on this Earth matters. It is all worthless, worthless, it is nothing.

Giving it all up for God, has given me so much hope, faith, and joy.


This American Church Dream I see so often, it is just a routine (that I was in for quite some time).  If you really want to know what it is to be a discipline for the one and only true King, step out of your comfort zone, make people question why you live in such a way. Really. Do it. I heard this message so many times, oh and it never hit me that maybe just praying, doing my devotion, and going to church was not enough for the one true, holy, worthy God.

There are so many people who I thought were "all in" for Jesus and now I am started to question, are they really in it for the long run.


 If you don't want to read anything else but this, just listen for one moment. I challenge you to really ask yourself if Jesus came down here on this Earth right now and told you to leave everything behind (I mean everything, family, career, etc) would you?  Would you die for him in a heartbeat? Every day and in everything do you live for his glory?


I still have questions and am asking myself these questions. I am still figuring it all out, but I know now more than I ever have that my Holy, Worth, Amazing, Incredible, God is worth so much more than I could ever fathom and He is worth every moment of my life. He is so much more worthy than I will ever be and his grace is incredible.

Thank you so much for reading. I hope all you see is Jesus through this post. It is all for his glory. Now go love the world and shine bright for Jesus. xo




Here are a few resources that really made me think: I highly recommend them. 

What do you need in order to be happy? Francis Chan (the best sermon I have ever heard)

Crazy Love Book  By: Francis Chan

Radical Book By:David Platt (while I am still reading this I have heard great things of it)

the skinny theory.

Or Why Being Skinny Is Not Always Easy....

I have been wanting to write this post for a six months now and I have finally got the courage to do it. I have thought about it and what I was scared of was not a good enough reason for me not to post it. So here it goes...

Graphic Drawn By: Rabekah M.


You know, that girl you called a stick figure? That was me.
You know how she feels, not so great. Here is why. 

Being called a "stick figure", "twig", "super skinny", and a few more names can get tiring after a while. I never know if people mean it as a compliment or more like an "I am jealous" kind of way. Either way it can be hurtful. My usual reply is just a laugh and a smile. But what they don't know is that saying "you need more meat on your bones" or "what are you, a size double zero" can be just as hurtful as telling someone they are ugly.  For me, when you say these comments something like this is implied, "Why are you so skinny? It looks unhealthy. I am jealous." Listen, there are no secret tips or tricks I use.  I am skinny because I have a high metabolism and I choose to live a healthy lifestyle (note: being skinny does not mean you are healthy or vice versa, whole other blog post) and it just the way God created me.  And for today, this is how I am.

I do love the body God has given me and I do love my high metabolism (don't get me wrong that this is a post ranting about how much I hate myself and why it is your fault). I am proud of who I am and most of the time these comments don't get in my head. I make a choice to take it as an insult or compliment, but really - Do what your mama told you and if it is not nice don't say it. Telling someone that they are too skinny or questioning their eating habits is rude.

Note: I know that there are exceptions to this and are those who choose to not eat or burn all the calories off but please don't think that of everyone and use it as an excuse to say it in the first place.

I am not perfect. I call people things I shouldn't and we are all humans together, but we can all try a little harder together. Most of the time I don't think people mean it to be rude, but maybe we can all just think about what we are about to say before we say it and if it is really going to help or hurt that person.

In the end, all I am asking is the next time you see her walking down the street, look at her in a new way and compliment her with kind words and think that maybe just maybe she is a normal girl living a normal life.

Thank you to the moon and back for reading. xoxo.

What do you think people mean when they tell someone these names?

we all need our own pep talk in the mirror sometimes...

I recently listen to this song below and it instantly cheered me up.


We all need those pep talks in the mirror, that remind us of how amazing life is. Just write a list of five things you are proud of and put it somewhere that you can read daily. Or even hide it until you need that self pep talk. It is completely normal to talk to yourself. I do it all the time. Ha. When you need a pep talk just remember this...
You are one of a kind. You are special. You are brave. You still can do amazing things with one drop of love.

what?!? you have a blog and you don't use any social media?

    You got that right! Too much time, drama, and there are many other ways to promote your blog without it. Yeah, it's free advertising but hey it leads to other things that are not neccessary. Anyway, all to say....I have completed my "gram-less" summer. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about go check it out here. I loved! Loved loved loved it! Not only did I take away Instagram but I eventually took away almost all social media. It all started off with one week of no social media  in December and man, did it lead to something so much better. So  much more fulfilling. I occasionaly go on Facebook but that is about it (only to check messages). Other than that I have not been on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, etc in a while. Let me just say I did not realize how drama-free my life was without them! I am so grateful I was able to do this. My life is so much more simpler.

he skinned his knee in the process of this, hah.

    The super important things that happen on social media or whatever, I hear about. I mean I have a whole entire family that still uses social media. It is not a big deal for me. I am a very social person, so I thought for sure I would not like this, but I love it!

    When I was asked by one of my lovely friends if I was back on social media and I said no. I realized I didn't even miss it. Yesterday, was the end of summer and so that meant I could go on Instagram again and I completely forgot until my friend asked me about it. Honestly, it was great. I thought I would miss it for sure but no, not at all, really.

    I plan to continue this with occasionally check social media but wow, if you don't want to dive all in I suggest you take a week off. Trust me, you can do it. If there is one thing I advise it would be this. It only started with one week about a year ago. It lead to something way bigger. I LOVE a social-media free life.

What do you think about a social media free life?

xoxo lovelies.

on being grateful

    Last Saturday was my birthday and I came to realize a few things. One, I like to be the center of everything on my birthday. Which is not acceptable for any day. It is okay to be the center of attention on some things but, I wanted too much. It was so easy for me to get caught up in "It's my birthday. I should get what I want." All this to say it made me realize that I should stop and look around and see how blessed I am. To think that I was able to get presents, have a nice breakfast, lunch, and dinner, go tubing, spend time with my family, and get many birthday wishes is more than many people will ever have.

my birthday breakfast // kiwi

    During this time,  I was just looking around observing life and I came to realize that I am so l blessed. It just amazes me sometimes how much I take for granted. I mean, I have to sleep on the floor and I am a little sad. All these things on earth are not eternal I need to stop saying I "need this, need that" but more of what can I do wisely with this money.

What my point is that I need to be more grateful for what I have.

Thanks for reading. xoxo

no makeup monday

    I was inspired by this music video below to go without makeup more often. I often find I get caught up and looking good for the "camera" and that is with make up. Even though I don't wear a lot of makeup I like it because it just gives me an extra boost, which is perfectly okay. But, I need to learn to be okay in my all natural skin and honestly I am okay with my natural skin. I don't really like makeup but I know for some people, they can't be seen without it. Other people like me, prefer not to wear it. Still though, I feel like I am not complete without it.

    What I am trying to get to is that starting next Monday I am going to wear no makeup (except some Burt's Bee's lip balm, ha)  for just that day and then the following Monday, and maybe so on and so on. I just think this will help me feel even more comfortable in my own skin. It even gives me five extra minutes in the morning, ha.  :) So, what do you think, would you be willing to go at least one day without makeup? If you need a little boost go watch this video or even if you don't this will brighten your day....



I have always loved Colbie Calliat but she just put this over the top.



It is worth your time, I promise. 

an almost gram-less summer.

    Recently, I have been thinking about having a gram-less summer. Now, what do I mean by a gram-less summer? I mean that from the day I get out of school til the day I start again, I only go on Instagram once a month or not at all. I remember last summer some days when I would sit on Instagram and get jealous of everyone's summer plans, I was very easily sucked into "My life stinks, everyone else is doing this this and this and I am stuck at home". Clearly, this is not healthy or the case. I need to be grateful for what I have and stop wishing it away. If I take a look around at life, it is pretty darn amazing.
    I am not saying Instagram is bad, but it is often a social media many people (including myself) get sucked into and can take us away from all the beautiful things in life. I often find when I took away social media for a week I found more things to do, I was more aware of my surroundings. I was more alive.
   I wrote this post to see what you think, what do you think about social media, Instagram, and technology as a whole? Do you think I should go gram-less this summer?