• Faith

    To The Perfectionists

    July 28, 2015

    It’s okay.

    It’s okay not to have it all together.

    Sometimes I know this but for me to actually believe it, it’s impossible. There’s a verse in the bible about being perfect isn’t there? Oh yeah…

    “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” – Matthew 5:48

    But what does “perfect” look like in the eyes of God? What is He expecting of us? This is something that I have struggled with trying to understand for quite some time now. But God has finally freed me from the slavery of trying to be perfect. All I had to do was ask…

    I prayed about how much I struggled with trying to be perfect and how I felt that I needed to be for Him to love me. I got that Jesus died for me because I wasn’t but I also knew that it wasn’t okay for me to keep sinning either. So I wondered, what did God expect of me?

    And he answered my prayer, He has led my heart down an amazing path of healing from perfectionism. He knows I’m not perfect, and He knows you’re not perfect.

    Yet He loves us anyway.

    What God cares most about is your heart. He desires to know the real you. The messy you. The you that you don’t even like. He desires for us to let Him in and ask Him to help us to be better. Only He can do that anyway, we can strive and strive all we want to be better, look better, feel better. But without letting Him in and asking Him to change us, we can’t and we won’t be better.

    “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'” – 2 Corinthians 12:9

    This was the verse I was missing. The perfection I was looking for and God expected me to strive after was already completed in Jesus’s work on the cross. Now that’s all that’s left to do now is:

    REST.

    In his grace. Because it is sufficient.

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  • Life

    Lake George Vacation Recap :)

    July 23, 2015

    Hi guys, I’m sure no one has been wondering where I’ve been, BUT if you have I’ve been, I’ve been  here…

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    Lake George, New York. It’s been so much fun and I’ve been super busy which is why I haven’t posted at all this past week or so. I just thought I’d recap my vacation and let you all know what I’ve been up to.

    So my boyfriend’s family has been going up to Lake George every year for as long as he can remember. This year I was lucky enough to join them for a few days. My boyfriend and I drove up Saturday night and stayed until Wednesday night because I had to work today and tomorrow. Our days have been packed full of fun stuff so I thought I’d just recap each day so I can try to remember everything we did.

    S U N D A Y

    Tommy’s parents had a wedding to go to so they weren’t up at the lake yet but his brother was. On Sunday we woke up kind of late because we didn’t get there until pretty lake Saturday night. We went shopping for some food and things that we needed at the store, then hung out at the public beach for the day. At night we stayed in and watched some Friday Night Lights on Netflix (our new fav show we watch together).

    M O N D A Y 

    Sunday night I had researched a cute coffee shop to go to the next morning and I found one called “Cafe Vero” so on Monday morning we went out to breakfast there.
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    I’ve never seen latte art before this so I thought that was pretty cool. I got a peppermint mocha latte and it was delish. Tommy parent’s got there while we were out to breakfast. We all went down to the beach and hung out. We got to float around on the tube, lay in the sun (my fav), play ping pong and just hang out with Tommy’s family. At night we went out to a cute little Italian restaurant. We got to eat outside, it was really nice. Tommy and I were planning on going down to the beach to hang out by the fire but we both passed out when we got back from dinner. We had a long day 🙂

    T U E S D A Y

    On Tuesday Tommy woke up early to go wake surfing (see picture below) while I slept. (He’s the morning person obvi). I woke up when he got back and we headed down the beach again to hang out. I got to try wakeboarding for the first time – which was really difficult. I almost got it but will have to try again next time.
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    We also went fishing on Tuesday and I caught a small mouth bass (woohoo!).

    W E D N E S D A Y 

    One of our plans while we were up at the lake was to go hiking so we did this Wednesday afternoon. I was hoping we would get a nice view of the lake but it was kind of hard to find trails or really know what they looked like before we picked one. The one we picked was a cool one though and wasn’t like any of the hiking trails we normal do in New Jersey. We hiked near this cute little lake:

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    After we went back and hung out with his family at the beach again before we had dinner and drove home.

    It was an awesome little trip and we decided were going to drive back up Friday night and spend the weekend up there too. It’s a nice little getaway and is super relaxing. God has been showing me lately how awesomely good He is and reminding me that he really only wants what is good for me and that I do not have to be afraid because He’s always with me. This trip really reminded me just how blessed I am. I have the greatest boyfriend who always showing that he loves me, and I’m so thankful that he wanted me to be apart of this vacation.IMG_6001

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  • Faith

    For Those Of You Who Have Anxious Hearts Like I Do….

    July 14, 2015

    This post is for those of you who know how it feels to be anxious. Anxious about life. Anxious for no reason at all sometimes. This post is for those of you who want so badly to trust in God’s good promises for you, who want to experience the peace that Jesus offers – but just can’t seem to grab a hold of this peace and keep it in your hearts.

    Instead you know how it feels to keep repeating the same anxious thoughts over and over again not sure how to make them stop.

    “If only…”

    “What if…”

    Now I want to let you know I am no expert on this. I too struggle with grabbing a hold of the the peace that Jesus offers. I’m on the same journey as you but I want to share with you what God is teaching me along the way.

    I don’t know about you guys but sometimes when I’m feeling anxious I think that I can figure out God’s plan if I think hard enough about my life. Now I realize how ridiculous this sounds admitting it but I’ve realized that that’s exactly what I am trying to do when I can’t stop my anxious heart from worrying.

    Sometimes I even examine other people’s lives and think that I can figure out how God works.

    So she grew up in a Christian home and has had a good life so far so ultimately something bad has to happen to her eventually, right?

    Or, I’ve had a really good year.. that must mean that something bad is lurking around the corner…

    Or, I better not enjoy this too much because then it might get taken away from me…

    Just admitting those thoughts out loud and bringing them into the light makes me realize how ridiculously wrong they really are.

    ” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

    – Acts 1:7

    This verse hit me hard when I read it today. No matter how hard I try to figure out what is going to happen, I simply cannot. It is not in my ability to do so. That again is reserved for God alone. Just like I mentioned in my post “If God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours Why Does He Allow Bad Things To Happen To Us?”.

    God must really be trying to tell me something huh? Our jobs aren’t to figure out our future, what might or might not happen. Our jobs aren’t to go over every bad thing that can happen to try to figure out how we are going to deal with them if they do.

    Our jobs are to rest in His great love and provision for us. God is faithful guys. He promises to always meet our needs. That’s His job, not ours.

    But more than that, let’s remember how good our God really is. What I’m learning is that this is at the root of our anxieties and worries – we do not ultimately believe that God is good…

    And how wrong we are. God is really transforming my mind about who He is and the main thing that He’s showing me is that He is good! So good we can’t even fathom. If something bad is to happen to us, He’ll be there – every step of the way.

    Holding us, loving us, and growing us.

    We’re never alone, and never without what we need.

    “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

    Pray that God will open your eyes to just how good He really is – it will rock your world.

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  • Life

    10 Fun Facts About Me!

    July 13, 2015

    Hey guys, one of my favorite types of posts to read on other people’s blogs are the posts where the writer shares a little bit about their life. I enjoy being able to connect with them on a more personal basis so I thought I’d share some fun facts about me in this post.

    1. I work at a bank that is closing soon and I’m going to need to find a new job. (prayers please)

    2. I still live with my parents, I have a younger brother, and 4 dogs (yikes, crazy I know).

    3. I have an iPhone 5 with a very cracked screen and a missing home button lol

    4. I enjoy reading but rarely make enough time to do it.

    5. I drive a VW Jetta that’s manual and I just bought my first dirt bike in December.

    6. I just graduated college in May with a Psychology degree but don’t know if I’ll ever really work in that field.

    7. I’m very shy and prefer to hang out by myself or with my close friends or boyfriend rather than go out any day.

    8. I can’t wait to be in the stage of my life where I get to buy my own house, get married, and have children – although I am learning to be content with where I am in my life also.

    9. For some strange reason I am unable to finish the bottom of any drink. There is usually multiple water bottles in my room where there is only about 2 sips left in them. My boyfriend usually combines them all into one water bottle when he comes over.

    10. I love coffee and tea and will probably end up having a whole cabinet devoted to them when I have my own house.

    What about you guys? I’d love to hear fun facts about you 🙂

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  • Faith,  Life

    I Wish…

    July 9, 2015

    Some days are harder than others. For no reason at all. Today is one of those days. I feel crushed by my own desires. Contentment is what I struggle with. Some days more than others.

    I wish…

    I wish I was prettier.

    I wish my skin was clearer.

    I wish I was married.

    I wish I had a job that was more stable.

    I wish my home life wasn’t so stressful.

    But then I hear a still small voice whisper, “You are exactly where I need you to be. Stop wishing your life away.”

    Sometimes I so easily forget how far I’ve come and how much I DO have.

    I have…

    I have a loving mother.

    I have a job that I love.

    I have the best boyfriend I could ever ask for.

    I have awesome friends that I can have fun with.

    I have Jesus.

    Isn’t that the most important of all? He is all I need. How easily I forget that sometimes. He is my fulfillment. I do not need any of those things I wish I had. I need to rest in His love.

    “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 

    This is what He’s been trying to tell me. Be content with what you have now, there’s a season for everything and you are exactly where He needs you to be.

    Rest.

    Enjoy where you are.

    Love.

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  • Life,  Marriage

    4 Ways To Keep Your Relationship Centered on Jesus / Meet Tommy!

    July 6, 2015

    Hi Everyone! Meet Tommy, my other half/the best guy out there.

    I wanted to write about something a little more personal this time and something I’ve been struggling with this past week.

    I wanted to write about idolizing someone in a relationship because I haven’t been able to find too many posts about this topic and my hope is to help others that might be struggling with this as well.

    What I’ve come to learn about this is that it is much easier to idolize a relationship than I had originally thought. In the past I have been in relationships that were not pleasing to God and I thought that because of that sole fact was what made me idolize those relationships since I had replaced them with following what God had wanted for my life.

    But I’ve been dating Tommy for 8 months now and we both have realized that even though are hearts were in the right place (we wanted our relationship to be centered around Jesus) that didn’t mean that it was just going to happen by itself. We realized that this meant that in order for our relationship to stay centered on Jesus we needed to be intentional about it.

    So me and Tommy sat down and wrote a practical list of how we were going to start doing this. Here’s our list – 4 ways to keep your relationship centered on Jesus:

    4 ways to center your relationship on jesus

    Now we only made this list last week, so we are starting out small to make sure that we don’t set unrealistic goals for ourselves but my plan is to hopefully build on it once these things become habits for us. I think the most important thing we did though was to ask Jesus for help with these goals because we know that without His grace there’s no way we can do this.

    Oh and I almost forgot, after we finished making the list we came up with two other ideas that we thought might help us. We decided that it was important for us to make time for ourselves and make our friends more of a priority so that we have more to focus on besides of each other.

    But how about you guys? Does anyone else struggle with this/have any other tips that might help?


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