Lovely Blessings

You know one thing I don't have a lot of sometimes? PATIENCE. One of the biggest tests of patience I have ever had to experience was waiting to marry Chad. When we got engaged, we had been dating for six and a half years, and then we were engaged for another year. So for a total of seven and a half years, I waited to marry that sweet man. Now, given that we were only 15 years old when we started dating, I really do understand that it was very necessary to wait a while before tying the knot. Kind of hard to get married when you can't drive yourselves anywhere, ya know. I will never forget being in that waiting period though, and how my emotions could go from, "It's so good we are waiting to get married so that we are totally ready and prepared for all of life's obstacles. #patienceisavirtue"  to  "If we don't get married soon, I'M GOING TO HURT SOMEONE!! #futurebridezilla"  I know, I know, I was a little violent back then. But

Have y'all ever heard the phrase, "Fake it 'til you make it"? Have you ever felt like you were having to "fake it" when it came to your prayer life? Like you had to put on a show for other people? "Oh hey, random friends, I really do have my life together. I pray without ceasing, duh... don't you? No issues here. I'm totally good. You can be on your merry way now..."  Yep, me too.  Growing up in church, prayer was something that was always an important part of my life, but it wasn't until about three years or so ago that I truly feel like prayer became the most powerful, influential, and necessary part of my life. Many times growing up I felt like I was just going through the motions because that's what a "good" Christian did. You would pray and then act like you had your life totally together. When people asked how you were, you faked it and said something like, "Oh, I'm great! Life is good, God is great,

I love love love to read. It's been a passion of mine for many years, so one of my goals this year is to spend less time on my phone and more time hitting the books. There is something special about getting lost in a good book, and I feel like it's something my mind and heart need to be focusing more on. (On top of spending time in the Word, which is definitely at the top of the list.) After getting a little inspiration from a sweet girl I follow on Instagram, I decided to compile a list of books that I want to read. I’ve purchased a few from the list below already, but for many of them, I have just heard great reviews and want to give them a try. I mainly wanted to write this blog post to help keep myself accountable (and to remember all those books I say I want to read but forget their titles when it comes time to actually read them, haha). I also wanted to share in case any of my awesome friends who may read this post have any great recommendations on books they'

There is just something so incredibly special about the fresh start of a new year. With it comes excitement, enthusiasm, expectancy, and a childlike wonder of all the things to come. There is so much anticipation for what God is going to do in and through us, and it's like we get to grab a big ole tub of buttery popcorn and enjoy watching the events unfold. I am a planner by nature, so I absolutely love sitting down with my calendar and my prayer journal to begin seeing my year "unfold" on paper. As time marches on though, I realize more and more that my years sometimes don't always turn out like I "planned" them to. Many times they turn out much better, but sometimes they bring more trials, tribulations, and disappointments than I would have preferred. I have been prone to think that all trials are bad. And that the good times are good. Which seemingly makes sense, right? Well, James puts it a little differently. He says this in his first chapter: &q