Kind Words are like Honey

It's the one thing I think we all struggle with, biting our tongue and holding back words we know we'll regret later. And just because we struggle with it, doesn't mean we don't do it from time to time. And when I realize I've let harsh words fly out of my mouth in the heat of the moment, I later beat myself up over it and even though I ask God for forgiveness, I still struggle with the fact that I did it. I'm constantly having to remind myself nobody is perfect. The Bible says in Romans {3:23}, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of god but are justified freely by his grace through the redemption of Jesus Christ. We can't and we shouldn't strive for a standard of perfection but we should strive for a standard of grace.

Proverbs has so much to say about this when it comes to the words that we speak, especially in the sayings of Solomon. It talks about not only how incredibly powerful our words are but also about always speaking good and never harsh. Proverbs {16:24} says that kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. And oh how true that is! Our words are more powerful than we know. They can hurt but they can also help far more than we realize. When we speak, we should be letting the Gods grace shine through. We are God's ambassadors through every action we make & every word we speak.

Wherever today leads you, notice the people it leads you to and uplift them because who knows what kind of day they're having. Let them know how loved they are by him and how beautiful they are. Let your presence be so uplifting for them. Allow your words to be like honey for them, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. Show them God's overwhelming love and let it embrace them fully. Carry this attitude day in and day out, on the bad days and the good days because God is there on the bad days just as much as he is on the good days.

What better way to serve God than to spread kindness through your words and share his love to others? It's absolutely incredible. We are so lucky that we get to show others how blessed they are and love them just like he loves them. I am constantly amazed by how great God is. God is so good! He died for me, for you, for them. He loves them and so will we. Today, tomorrow & every day, let all that you do be done in love.

Sunday Praise No. 1

Hey everyone! So long ago I was excited to announce that I was going to take my blog from Fashion & Lifestyle to Faith, Fashion, & Lifestyle but it's taken me a while to really get to that point. When I felt led to do this, I was so ecstatic because I realized how God wanted me to serve but after the excitement came fear. Fear because my faith and my relationship with God is something thats very personal to me and for me to share that is very difficult. I went a little more in depth about how excited to let go of that fear and to serve such an amazing God. I am completely diving in and fully expressing my faith through my blog without letting myself be a slave to fear. I can't wait to share these Sunday Praise posts every Sunday and just talk about what's been on my heart lately, what part of the Bible I'm currently reading, worship songs I'm loving etc. Hope you like!

I have really been learning especially these past few months, there is no right time to serve God. When God calls you to step out in your faith and serve him however that may be, you don't think on it, you just do it. I tried to let myself think on it, I let fear control me and I allowed my fear to control me and my path in life but now I am giving it all to God. On the good days, on the bad days because in he is there in the bad times just as much as he is in the good. When you trust in God, those chains that bind you to fear & anxiety feel like they have been released and oh what an amazing feeling that is. 2 Timothy {1:7}, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Trust in God in your worst and best times, during your highs and your lows, your happy days and your sad days, for the plans he has for you are far greater than you can imagine. You are so loved by him, fearfully and wonderfully made by him, trust in him.

You guys! When I was younger my grandma would always rave about Joyce Meyers and so the other day I decided to jump on the podcast bandwagon and decided to listen to her podcasted sermons. Let me tell you, they are so good. Seriously, SO good!!!! I can't get enough of them. Joyce's words are so true, I decided to start listening to her podcasts at home instead of in the car because I wanted to be able to write it down and really dive into her words more later with scripture.

Just to give an example of how amazing they are, one of the podcast I listened to was about the name of Jesus and the power it carries. So often we Jesus' name used in vain and she asks how would we feel if someone were to use our name like that. It empties it of the power it carries and makes it become useless which is exactly what vain means. Theres a reason we say 'In Jesus name' after we pray, it's because of how powerful his name is and we should treat it as such. That's just a tiny part of what she said and it was really, really good! I highly suggest checking out her podcasts if you can!

Oh how I love worship music! I am always finding new songs every week but lately I've been listening to a lot of classics along with some from elevation, Hillsong, etc. Here's a few I am just constantly listening to on repeat:

• Who You Say I Am - Hillsong
• Every word of this song is just incredible because God's love for us is indescribable. The first lyrics get me every time 'Who am I that the highest king would welcome me?' and it goes on about how amazing his love is for us. I seriously can't get enough of this song.
• You Say - Lauren Daigle
• We are our worst critics. It's our own words that constantly tear us down more than anything and I relate to this song so much. I allow myself to judge every little thing about me from how I look to how I act to my image but when I do that, I am criticizing God's creation. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by him, I can't forget that. This song goes into those harsh criticisms and how God says the opposite of every negative thought we have and thats what matters. I don't normally get emotional about music but this song really gets me because I relate so much.
• King Of My Heart - Bethel Music
• Over and over, you're never going to let me down & you are good. Two things I remember on the daily. I am always saying how good god is and this song says it all. I can't get over God's grace and I just want to praise him always, especially when I hear this song. God is good!
• Miracle - Mosaic MSC
• Just recently heard this song and it's been on repeat over and over. We are saved by his grace, he loves us so much and his love is never-ending, no matter how far we stray. This song just pours all those feeling of praise and thankfulness and humbleness into one and I just love it so much. All for love, all for love, all for love.

Lately, I've really been reading into Proverbs and I find myself hanging onto so many of the words within because they are such wise teachings. From the words we should seek and listen to the ways we should honor God and just about how much we should listen to wisdom and seek it out. It really sinks in for me and especially in Solomon's Proverbs where we're called to serve and how our actions represent him. It all really sinks in and I'm constantly looking back on the my studies of Proverbs. I can't wait to dive even deeper into his word not just through Proverbs but also through other books of the Bible.

Remember on this sunny Sunday, just how loved you are by him. That even when you wander, he sees you out. He calls you out by name and never stops his outpouring love for you. We are so blessed to serve a God who's love is indescribable and never-ending. You are loved, share that love. Wake up thanking him and end the day thanking him.

Following God & Facing Fear

For a while, every now and then I would get these little posters folded up in the mail from Liberty U that would say different things like 'I will defy stereotypes' or 'I will bring healing to the hurt' etc. and I find them in my stack of papers occasionally. The other day I was really struggling with following what God wants me to do because it's something I find myself really uneasy about and it's been heavy on my heart lately. I was going through some papers and once again found one of those posters folded up but this one said 'I will follow God's calling wherever it may lead.' and it really hit home with me. What God calls you to do isn't going to be easy and I don't know why I ever expected it to be. For months and months I've gone back and forth with myself on following what God has called me to do which is sharing my faith through my blog. I consider myself a very private person when it comes to my faith so putting it all out there even if there isn't a lot of people reading it makes me extremely self conscious and nervous.

But I'm quickly realizing just like Phillipians {4:13} says, I can do all things through christ who strengthens me. With him, I am strong, I am loved, I am blessed, I am victorious, I am chosen, I am his. And what better way to honor God than by serving him and following his calling for me. So that's what I'm doing. I'm no longer trying to follow my own path but completely letting go of the reigns and letting God take control and lead me. Isaiah {6:8} is quickly becoming my mantra which is 'Here I am, send me'. I kept telling myself I was going to have my magic moment where I would feel ready to just go for it but I'm not going to feel 'ready' because there will always be that fear lingering but I'm choosing to no longer be a slave to fear (also one of my favorite worship song!! click HERE for it), I'm choosing to be a child of God and with him, whom shall I fear?

Every day I say over and over 'God is SO Good' and what an understatement that is but with that, everyday I shall serve him for his grace saved me. We serve him by serving others. Others within our families, within our community, on campus, through social media, wherever it may be. And how great is that? We get to serve God through helping others and sharing his grace. We truly serve an awesome God and I can't get enough of how great he is but I can share it.

This year has been a rollercoaster for me, full of lots of highs and lows but through it all, I still feel so blessed in the ways that God is working in my life. When I look back at the time I thought everything was falling apart, God was just putting the pieces together. I know that even in my worst of times, he is there and he is setting my path straight. God is so good and I am so blessed and thankful to be stepping out and serving such an awesome God.

Summer Florals

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share this outfit on the blog, it's one of my absolute favorites. I bought this dress a couple weeks ago at Kate Spade on sale and its been on my wishlist forever. Fun fact, I actually tried it on when I was in Washington D.C. back in April this year so obviously it was meant to be when I found it on the sale rack months later! I paired it with my favorite wedges from J. Crew Factory which I love especially because since I'm petite and they don't have any straps, my legs look longer. I of course added one of my favorite summer basket bags along with a couple statement jewelry pieces. I recently bought my cross necklace off of Etsy and it's exactly what I've been looking for! I wore this outfit to church this past Sunday and got so many compliments, I can't wait to wear it into the Fall season with a denim jacket and jack rogers! Enjoy!

Dress | Cross Necklace | Wedges | Purse | Earrings (Similar) | Pearl Bracelet

Life Update

Hey friends! This post is definitely long overdue. As much as I wish I haven't been, I've definitely been off the grid lately. There has been quite a few changes in my life over the past six months that have really turned my life upside down and I've just been trying to roll with it the best that I can.

This August, I planned on finally going off to Virginia to start my sophomore year of college at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA but then again how often do things really ever go the way we plan? In this case, they definitely didn't. One thing I've always been sure I want when I am off at school is a car which my parents planned on providing for me so I can save for one of my own during those years. Unfortunately, my parents were providing that car to my brother before me and he ended up in a wreck with it and it was completely totaled. At the time I was absolutely devastated, once again my plans for college hit a huge roadblock. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do for a few months. Eventually I came to the realization about a month ago that I should just stay at home for one more semester taking online classes so I can work more and save for a car. I've always made sure that the decisions I make will be most beneficial even if it isn't the most ideal and this was one of those decisions. So yet again, I find myself scrolling through social media completely jealous seeing my friends head back off to College while I'm still at home but another semester won't hurt!

So for the Fall Semester I am currently enrolled at Liberty University Online taking classes and working three jobs, yes three jobs. My work weeks average around 60-70 hours which I can imagine will decrease some once classes start so I can stay on top of my studies. I've been trying to find a good balance between work, extracurriculars, hobbies etc. and where blogging fits into all of it. Blogging is something I absolutely love doing and would do all the time if I could, unfortunately it never is able to fit into my schedule. As I stared at my planner last night trying to figure out where I could fit it in (because it was definitely making it's way in there), I realized just because I can't do it during the day doesn't mean I can't do it during the night. My days lately have consisted of working at least two jobs everyday, sometimes all three and so my nights will start to consist of blogging. For some that's really stretching themselves to thin but for me I think it's the perfect balance.

I love all of my jobs so much but it's nice to relax at the end of a long day and just do something for me. One question I'm asked almost every day is 'What made you decide not to go into politics?' since anyone who knows me knows I was involved in politics for 10+ years. My answer every time is that I don't really know but I realized I do know. I realized I found something I loved more than politics and it changed everything for me. The thing I loved more was Fashion & Marketing and I found that out through starting a blog which makes blogging a huge priority for me now.

All in all, while things definitely haven't turned out the way I've wanted them to, I can't help but still feel so blessed about all of it. Even though I have to work like crazy for a car, I'll still go off to College not only in a car I love but also one of my own. I'll definitely feel more ready for College and my tuition is a lot cheaper this semester by taking online classes. I have more time to spend with family and friends before I'm 500 miles away from them. And on top of it all, I get to blog a lot more and do what I love instead of trying to settle in at a whole new college in a new town. I'm constantly learning that my plan for me isn't always what God has planned and through it all, I need to trust in him. So heres to staying optimistic & blessed all while trusting in God through the good and bad.